AN: And here we reached the 'implausibly BAMF!Eric' part of the story.
Warnings: graphic violence, references to torture and Bill bashing.
Bill turned out to be a pretty lacklustre villain. We weren't fed and we were trussed up in silver, but otherwise he more or less ignored us. He came and visited us the second night we were there and drained some poor girl in front of us, but he seemed content to take his time with us or something. A part of me wished he'd just get on with it.
It was midnight of our third evening in Sophie-Anne's dungeon when some lackeys dragged us up for an audience with 'King William'.
The Palace was packed with vampires. It seemed that Bill had either offered them safe harbour or he'd threatened them somehow. It still seemed stupid to me for the vampires to group up when they were being hunted down.
We were led through halls and corridors I didn't remember from my previous visit and into a great big hall. A throne room I guess you'd call it. Or maybe a ballroom? It was done up in Sophie-Anne's favoured mix of neoclassical and rococo rendered in plaster and paint. It was tacky. It reminded me of a Vegas casino or a mobster's house. It was huge and kinda impressive though, don't get me wrong.
Vamps were lined up half a dozen deep along the walls. There must've been a three or four hundred. To be honest I wasn't aware there were that many in the entire state. Pam seemed surprised by the turn out as well. Our escorts marched us down a red carpeted aisle between a row of columns towards Bill's throne.
It was big and gold and stupid looking. It even had one of those velvet tents with big feathery plumes over the top of it like the Queen of England or something. The only thing about the scene that was at all vampirey was Bill's choice of backdrop.
Instead of a flag or whatever a human king might have had in times gone by, Bill had a corpse. I couldn't tell if it was a dead human or a vampire that sure as hell wished he was dead, but he'd been nailed and chained to the wall behind the throne. A great big sword protruded from the man's stomach like a pin holding a butterfly to a board. I guess it was Bill's warning. I had a bad feeling that Eric had looked something like that poor thing before he'd been finally killed. Pam's thoughts mirrored my own.
The carpet in front of the throne was dark with blood stains and bits of vampire goo. From the smell I guessed at least a dozen people, both vampire and human, had met a sticky end there over the last few days. My heart gave a lurch as I realised that I could smell Eric. It was faint, old, hidden under fresher blood, but there none the less. He'd bled here. I glanced around. This was in all likelihood the last thing he'd seen before he died. For all I knew some of the little lumps of vampire flesh in front of me were parts of him.
Our guards yanked on our connected chains to bring us to our knees before Bill. The bloody carpet squelched beneath me, soaking into my jeans.
The guards bowed and one of them announced us. 'The Norseman's women your majesty.'
We were quite the objects of curiosity. Most of the vamps were aware of Pam, she was respected as Eric's second, and they were real curious about me, cause there'd been so much drama around me. They were real curious about Tara cause they had no idea who she was. Pam had never made a child, and Eric had only ever made one, so we were something of a surprise.
Bill was wearing an expensive suit and was looking really pink. 'Miss Stackhouse, Miss Thornton and Miss Swynford De Beaufort. I trust you have been comfortable?' I tried to read him. It was like there were half a dozen people inside his head all talking over each other. None of it was in English. I wondered again exactly what that blood he'd drunk was.
Tara and I glared at him and let our maker do the talking.
'Just peachy keen King Bill.' Pam drawled. Bill had backhanded her and returned to his seat before I could even blink. He was scary fast. He'd broken Pam's nose.
Tara and I helped her straighten up.
'I find myself in something of a dilemma.' Bill was using his Southern Gentleman voice and laying it on thick. It was weird hearing him talk like that when his thoughts were in a weird mix of ancient creepy sounding languages. 'Appius Livius Ocella's line was once one of the greatest of all vampire bloodlines. The vampires of his making were truly magnificent. Worthy inheritors of Lilith's great gift. And his youngest child, Godric Teutates, was fiercest of them all before he lost his way. Before he was corrupted.'
I realised that what I felt at hearing Godric's name was something quite different to what I would've felt a week ago. There was pride mixed with the pity and sorrow I felt for one of the most human vampires I had known. It was strange to think we were kinda related now. His blood, through Pam and Eric, ran in my veins.
Rather than scaring me, Bill's words actually helped me regain a little strength of will. I remembered the reason I'd let Pam to turn me - so Bill would never have power over me. It was still a damn good reason. With Eric gone I was living on borrowed time anyway. Bill would kill me, no doubt he'd torture me first, play with me, but he could only hurt my body. I was a vampire. Only my maker could touch my heart, or my soul or whatever it was that made me Sookie, and Pam - being of Eric's and Godric's line, held that trust as sacred. For all her snarky coldness, Pam would never betray me or Tara. She would not use her maker's hold over us to bargain with Bill. She would meet her true death before harming us.
Bill was still gesturing grandly from his throne and pontificating. He reminded me of a particularly theatrical preacher. I ignored him and focused on my bond with Pam, and the connection she provided to Tara. It had taken a murderous werewolf bitch, Bill going insane and Eric meeting his true death, but I finally felt a true sense of belonging. I'd found it with Pam and Tara, my vampire maker and sister. It was different to what I'd felt for gran and Jason, because no matter how much I'd loved them and they'd loved me, my difference had always been there getting in the way and trying to ruin things between us. But Pam, Tara and I, well, as Tara put it, we'd 'been through some shit.' I loved them, in a cold snakey vampire way, but it was still love. They were my family. I could feel Pam's amusement at my emotional epiphany through our bond and Tara's grudging affection. It just made me love them more. I was sure I was about to die a horrible death, but I was glad to be doing it with them.
Of course Bill had to ruin the moment. He'd worked himself into something of a fever listening to his own crap. He waved a hand towards us kneeling women and pronounced grandly: 'How sad to see this great line so reduced. Here they are, all that is left of Appius' noble blood. A whore, a barmaid and a coloured girl.' The bonds between us, between Pam and her children weren't all soft and fluffy with my sappy feelings any more.
None of us had taken particular offense to Bill's words, Pam had been a prostitute and had long since stopped caring about such slurs, Tara was pissed at being called out on her skin, but again, she'd dealt with red necks all her life, and lord knows 'barmaid' didn't bother me one bit, but damn if we weren't touchy as hell about each other. I couldn't remember the last time hearing someone insulted had upset me so much. Pam was ten times the vampire Bill ever was and Tara was my best friend. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself yelling out something stupid at Bill's ugly head.
'Now now Bill, no need for name calling.' Pam's drawl was as perfectly deadpan as ever, despite her bloody nose.
I had to hold back a smirk and I felt Tara's surge of pride and lust as our maker defied Bill so casually.
Bill's face twisted grotesquely in his anger. For the millionth time I felt a little shudder of disgust that I'd kissed that face. The longer I dealt with crazy Lillith-Bill the harder it was to remember the 'real' Bill, not that he'd turned out to be great boyfriend material anyway.
Before I could ruminate further on my poor choices in regards to romance, Bill again used his new and improved vamp speed to approach Pam and haul her to her feet. He had her dangling in the air by her throat in a split second. Tara and I were dragged towards him by the chain that connected us. Amazingly rather than fear, all I felt from my magnificent maker was amusement. It took me a moment to realise Pam thought it was funny that Bill, being shorter than her in heels, could only get her a few inches off the ground.
'I will not allow insubordination Pamela Swynford De Beaufort. You will swear fealty to me, show me the respect I am owed as the Chancellor of the Vampire Authority, the Voice of Lilith and the King of Louisiana or you will meet your true death.' Bill was lying of course. Pam was just as dead as me, fealty or not. Bill's hatred for Eric was too great to let any child of his live. His words were for the benefit of the Louisiana vamps lining the room.
Funny thing was, most of them seemed to realise this just as easily as I did. I was finding it real interesting to be reading the minds of pretty much all the oldest most powerful vamps in Louisiana in one go. Most of them seemed to be of similar opinion as Eric had been with regards to the Lilith crap. They'd go along with it, but they certainly weren't happy about being bossed around by a religious fanatic with the strength of a couple of Russell Edgingtons and whole lot more crazy. The older ones were pissed off actually. It seemed Bill hadn't been popular when he'd served Sophie-Anne and he hadn't made many friends as King in his own right. The only reason the older vamps weren't trying their strength on him was the grisly flayed and drained figure pinned up behind the throne.
Morbidly I fished around for the identity of the poor vamp. If Bill had hated him enough to do that to him, he'd probably been a decent guy. Maybe I'd have heard of him. I zeroed in on the Sheriff of Area 2, a vampire about 500 years old. She was one of the oldest ones actually thinking in English and I could see from her thoughts that she was fixated on Bill's grisly wall decoration.
'Compton always was a little shit. I can't believe I'm standing here listening to this fucking crap.' She was real angry. 'He was bad enough as King. Going to have to leave the state. Maybe the US in general. I'm too old for this shit.' The woman ruminated on her European holdings for a minute, weighing up if she'd rather spend a few decades in Wales or Ireland. She was irritated at the money she'd loose. She'd made a lot of investments in Louisiana. 'I'm twice as old as this little bastard. I can't believe I have to sit through this.'I could feel her looking at the flayed figure in distaste. She'd seen worse but I could tell she hadn't seen that sorta violence for a few centuries. She thought it was gauche.
'But if the Norseman couldn't kill him I have no chance.'
I 'watched' in growing horror, a cold feeling of dread spreading through my already cold body as the woman tried to reconcile the bloody mess that was chained and nailed to the wall with my Eric's beautiful body. It was him. I could feel bloody tears welling in my eyes. I took an unnecessary breathe in a vain attempt to regain my vampire composure.
Pam's head snapped in my direction and I could felt Tara's concern. Bill dropped Pam and walked slowly to stand in front of me. I tried to remain outwardly calm as I shared my suspicions with my maker through our bond. I felt it the moment Pam realised what I'd discovered. Who that was nailed to the wall. Any doubts I had were dismissed, Pam recognised the sword protruding from the bloody figure as Eric's. I'd never felt such anger. I half expected Pam to burst into flame she was so full of rage. As it was my maker's emotions destroyed the last walls containing my own feelings and they swept through me. Every muscle in my body tensed up painfully. My fangs had descended and were literally achingto be buried in Bill's throat. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to tear him into little pieces with my bare hands. I realised I was glaring in pure hatred at Bill but I couldn't control myself. I was vaguely aware that Pam, Tara and myself were all hissing at Bill like cobras.
The hall had gone utterly silent and Bill was smirking at us in apparent delight. 'Why, I do believe the ladies have finallytaken in the finer points of my decorations for the evening.' He shook his head in mock disappointment. 'I must admit I am surprised it took this long. True, Eric is something of a mess at the moment, but even drained - surely at least you Pam, recognise your maker's scent?'
Pam roared. Literally roared. It wasn't a scream or a yell, or any other noise that should be able to come out of a little blonde woman, it was a roar. It was deafening. I could feelit in my eardrums like water. It seemed to hit Bill like a physical force and he took three unsteady steps backwards. The floor vibrated beneath me. I half expected the walls to start shaking. I found myself joining in. There didn't seem to be anything special about my yell, but it seemed when my maker lost it I came along for the ride, Tara was tagging along as well - screaming her head off like a banshee. Judging from the thoughts that I picked out of the mess of emotions in that hall, we looked quite the sight. Three angry hysterical vampire women.
Bill composed himself as we fell back into silence and hissing. He frowned for a few seconds before smiling again. 'My my Miss Beauford. You are full of surprises. Clamor Magnus. The Great Cry. That skill was thought to have died along with Appius. Perhaps you aren't as worthless as you appear.' Around us I could feel the tension in the watching vamps. They were hoping we'd somehow deal with Bill for them, hoping Pam would pull out a few more impressive moves, but if not they were happy to watch us die and cheer Bill afterwards. Fucking Vampires.
I realised that over the course of our 'audience' with Bill, we'd all gotten worked up so much that we were all pulling on our chains. The silver around my wrists was digging and burning into the flesh of my arms. I could barely feel it. I was so angry. My eyes were darting between my poor Eric's tortured body and Bill's face. I was torn between the need to go to Eric and my desire to kill Bill. Of course I could do neither chained up in silver. I could feel Pam testing the strength of her chains and Tara doing likewise. To my surprise I realised that Tara could break hers.
She was strong.
Way stronger than me, and maybe stronger than Pam. I remembered Eric telling me, what seemed like years ago, that vampires all had different gifts. Pam apparently had some weird yelling thing, Eric could fly, maybe Tara was extra strong? Hadn't one of Sophie-Anne's vamps had that? I used the bridge formed by our maker's blood to try and encourage her to do it. I could see she'd been holding back. I then reached at Pam and shared that information with her. I sensed her intention to rush Bill and try and kill him the moment the chains broke. I figured she'd be killed, and she seemed to share the opinion, but it seemed as good a death as any of us were likely to get. Better a quick death in a fight than joining Eric on the wall.
The silver snapped suddenly and my body reacted with vamp speed before I could really decide on a course of action. Pam and Tara headed straight for Bill, latching themselves onto him like kids climbing a tree. I was ten feet in the air hovering above Bill's throne before I realised what was I was doing. Apparently I could fly. I wondered if Pam would get the chance to be jealous before she died.
I headed to the wall. I tried not to look too close at Eric, or what was left of him, focusing instead on how he was pinned to the wall. Silver chains attached to great big silver stakes. Great. I pulled at them. They burnt me. They were much thicker than those that had been restraining us. There was no way I'd be able to break them. I felt a sudden horrible pain in my side and my body dropped a few feet before I could stop myself. Pam had been thrown down the hall and into a pillar. She was injured, but already charging back towards Bill the moment her feet touched the floor.
I turned back to Eric. I knew I had maybe a minute, or however long Bill wanted to toy with Tara and Pam for before I'd be back in chains or worse. I grabbed the sword. It was steel, or iron -whatever – not silver. I was able to pull it out and let it drop to the floor. Again I pulled at the silver chains. I felt my strength sap the moment they touched my skin. I couldn't move them. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving Eric in such a state, even if Bill was going to kill us both anyway. My hands were clenched into fists. I was impotent with rage. I couldn't free him. Then I felt a familiar sensation I hadn't felt since I'd awoken vampire.
My light.
I looked down at my hands. Sure enough, there were my faithful microwave fingers. Without a second thought I directed my light at Eric. The blast that came outta my hands seemed stronger than usual. The chains came apart easily and I had to dart forward to catch Eric's body as it started to slide down the wall. I wasn't as strong as Tara, but I was still a vampire. I could have lifted a loaded minivan. Maybe a school bus. One tortured Viking was nothing.
I spun in the air, and just like that, I had hope again. Eric wasn't dead, we weren't chained up. Escape was possible. We could survive. I dropped to the floor with my Viking, already biting my wrist. I pressed it to his mouth and spread my other hand over the centre of his chest. I could feel the excitement of the watching vampires. They'd been impressed with Pam's special yell, Tara's strength and my flying. All were powerful gifts. My light was the icing on the cake. It had them actually amazed. They'd never seen a gift like it before. Of course what they didn't know was that it wasn't a vampire gift at all. Most of them seemed to be hoping we'd pull a victory out of our asses. None of them were contemplating joining the fray however. I blocked them out and focused on Eric.
I could feel my light building up again. I remembered Claude telling me that my light wasn't just a weapon, it was part of me. Even though Eric wasn't dead, we were still more or less screwed. It didn't seem like much of a risk. If I killed him, he'd probably thank me if we met up in hell or wherever it was vampires went when we died.
I clenched my jaw and focused on my love for Eric. My desire to heal and protect him, not hurt him. When I was as focused as I could be, I shot the heck outta him with my light. His body jerked like a patient getting defibrillated in a movie. I didn't let up. I put on a fairy light show the likes of which the vamps of Louisiana are unlikely to ever see again. I could feel that aching hollow within me filling up. I pressed my power harder, trying to fill that void. It happened suddenly. One moment Eric wasn't there, so weakened I could only feel his absence, the next he existed within me again. The blood bond between us thrummed with energy once more.
A bloody hand clasped my arm and his fangs sunk into my wrist. I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life.
I felt him pull at my blood once, twice, and then he sat up with all the speed of a thousand year old vamp and sunk his teeth into my neck. He'd never fed so roughly on me before, but it didn't matter since I was dead now anyway. It didn't hurt. He was clutching me to him impossibly tight, one arm wrapped around me like a steel bar, the other twisted in my hair. I reached for him through our blood bond the same way I reached to Pam through our maker's bond. I felt him reaching for me in return. Just feeling his presence instead of that terrible emptiness I'd been feeling for the last week brought me such joy. I raised a hand to gently press it to the back of his head. All I could feel was the crispness of hair caked in dried blood, but I didn't care. He was alive. I leant towards him.
'Eric...'
I was still crying. His grip on me gentled. The fingers he had buried in my hair started massaging my scalp softly. I felt him hum against my skin in response to my voice as he continued to drink from me.
Abruptly I felt terrible pain through my maker's bond. Eric's head shot up and we both looked to see Bill approaching us having torn off Pam's right arm at the elbow.
Eric shot to his feet. He was growling.
I was amazed. Pam was amazed. Tara was amazed. Every vamp in the room whose mind I could sense was amazed. Not five minutes ago Eric had been so close to death not even his own progeny and two others of his bloodline could sense his presence in the same room.
Eric still looked like a complete mess. Worse than Bill had after he'd disintegrated then reformed with Lillith's blood. I tried not to let my gaze linger too long on any part of his body. His golden hair was dark with blood and plastered to his scalp, but I could see parts where it was missing and bone showed where bits of his scalp had been torn from his skull. He didn't appear to have any broken bones, miraculously, or at least none that were slowing him down, but I could see the lines along the meat of his muscles, the white of tendons and the blue of veins. If I didn't look closely I could pretend he was just covered in blood, not for all intents and purposes flayed.
The only part of him that was unmarked, untouched and safe to look at, were his eyes. Impossibly blue against the red and black mess of blood and gore that covered him. They were that same cold arctic shade as always. Those eyes, at seeing his child wounded, narrowed. Burned.
Pam stumbled back from Bill staring at Eric in awe, her injury forgotten. 'Eric!' Bill shot forward and backhanded her across the hall again. With only one arm she could not land properly. I felt bones break through our bond. Rage filled me. How dare Bill hurt my maker! Tara shared my sentiment and charged Bill, managing to get one decent left hook in before she too was thrown aside like a rag doll, despite her strength.
I could feel Eric's rage through our bond. It mirrored my own. I rose to my feet to stand behind him. I was no match for Bill and I was exhausted from shooting so much of my light into Eric, but I'd give Bill a good zap before he got me.
Bill turned his attention to me. 'Sookie my darling, it seems your powers have been strengthened by your turning.' His gaze flicked over Eric. 'Since you will prove such a useful asset, I will forgive your interference with the Norseman's punishment.'
My lip curled as he called me 'darling'.
Eric's growling intensified but he seemed almost frozen into place. He felt strange through our bond Blurred.
'Yield to me Sookie and I will show Lilith's mercy to your traitorous friends.' Lilith's mercy my ass.
A few cutting remarks flitted through my head. I wanted to tell Bill exactly how I felt about him, how low he was in my regard. I wanted to insult him as much as possible, repercussions be damned.
'Give yourself to me. You will be my Queen. The Norseman's life is forfeit, but Tara and Pamela could serve me.' Ha! He didn't really think I'd believe a single word from his lying mouth did he?
I pretended to contemplate his offer. 'Pam and Tara? You won't kill them?'
Bill smiled. 'No Sookie, for you I would spare them.'
I think Pam knew I was stalling, but Tara, bless her, had to make her opinions on the matter clear. 'Don't you fucking dare Sookie! I'd sooner take Eric's spot on the fucking wall then accept Bill motherfucking Compton's motherfucking mercy.' She did have a way with words did Tara.
I felt Pam's amusement. I didn't feel much of anything from Eric. I wasn't sure if he knew what was going on. I still wasn't sure how he was standing. Strength of will alone? I wondered if he was strong enough to fly. I looked around the ceiling speculatively. Unsurprisingly there was no convenient sky light.
Bill turned to regard Tara who was leaning against a pillar with an arm wrapped around Pam. 'So be it Tara Thornton I'll make sure it takes years for you to find your true death!'
Well, there went Bill's so called mercy.
He turned back to me, his eyes burning with that particular madness that Lilith's blood had instilled in them. I shuddered. 'Kneel before me Sookie Stackhouse. Kneel before me girl.' The fucker was trying to glamour me? And who was he calling girl? I was a womanthank you very much and I might only be a few days old, but I was a vampire to boot goddammit. Not a girl.
I tried to read Bill's thoughts. He intended to kill me, he was just offering mercy so it would be as theatrical as possible. He wanted me kneeling to him when he tore my throat out.
I sensed that this was it. I was gonna die any minute now. Well screw it. It was kinda liberating really. I wasn't going out as some whimpering barmaid. That wasn't why I'd asked Pam to turn me. I was going to die as myself. The real me. Not crazy Sookie the waitress from Bon Temps or stupid Sookie who got played like a fool by Bill Compton and Sophie-Anne. I was the granddaughter of Adele Hale and Fintan Brigant. I was a goddamned fairy and a vampire with the blood of Eric Northman and Godric whatever-Bill-said-his-name-was in my veins! Why the heck would should I humble myself before Bill Compton? Who was he in comparison to me? A southern farmer turned vampire by a psychopathic bitch. Just because he'd found religion and drank some old crazy vampire blood didn't make him any better. I couldn't really express all those jumbled up thoughts as concisely as say, Pam would have been able to, but I did my best.
'Brigant!' Bill looked confused at my outburst. I felt shock from the few vampires who recognised the name. Well good. I'd heard all about how bloodthirsty and proud my fairy family was, Bill himself had seen fit to warn me about them, but it was only now that I faced death for a second time that I felt that fae fierceness within myself. I could feel my light beginning to pool in my hands once more. My voice was clear and strong when I continued. 'I ain't no girl and I ain't no Stackhouse, as you know full well Bill Compton. I'm the granddaughter of Fintan Brigant,' there a few gasps amongst the older vamps. It appeared Fintan's reputationhadn't been exaggerated. '… I'm goddamned Sky Fae Royalty. My kind were around long before humans existed, let along vampires. Before your precious Lilith was more than a twinkle in a caveman's eye!' I was on a roll. 'I didn't kneel to Queen Mab when she dragged me off to faerie last year. And I sure as heck ain't kneeling before the likes of you.'
It wasn't exactly up to Pam or Eric's standards as far as vampiric distain went, I don't think 'heck' is in either of their vocabularies, but I was trying. Bill was staring at me like I'd grown two heads. He didn't like this new side to me. Fae or Vampire pride or whatever it was. In a stroke of inspiration, I continued. 'The only vampire I'll kneel before is Eiríkr inn Sigrsæli.' I wasn't sure I'd pronounced Eric's name correctly, I'd only heard Pam say it once after all, but I made good on my word. I sunk to my knees beside him. I was sorta hoping it would snap Eric out of his funk, but he just continuing glaring at Bill and growling.
Bill looked like he might throw up. I restrained the urge to smirk. Yep. Proclaiming myself better than him and belittling his precious Lilith had been a massive insult to his southern 'gentleman's' pride, but kneeling to Eric over him and casually revealing he was some sorta legendary viking king was he final nail in the coffin so to speak.
'You dare insult the Blood of Lilith?! You would bow to him before me? I who am vessel for the blood of the progenitor of our race?!' Bill was practically foaming at the mouth. His accent was becoming almost absurd.
'I'd sooner die at Eric's feet then spend eternity at your side.' I countered dramatically. Oh yeah. I was getting as good at the theatrics at Bill himself.
He snapped. He moved too quickly for me to follow, even with my vampire senses. One minute he was glaring at me, the next he was right in front of me. But I wasn't dead.
Eric had one bloody hand wrapped around the arm Bill had raised against me. Bill was staring at him in disbelief. I was just as surprised, but managed to use the distraction to my advantage. I zapped Bill with everything I had left. He was blasted back a few meters, but didn't seem injured. I gathered my light for another strike anyway. It was much harder. I was tired and weak.
Bill looked from me to Eric and I heard him decide to get me first to use against Eric in his twisted head. He vanished in a blur but again, but before he could reach me Eric had intervened. Except this time he didn't just grab Bill. I was crouched on the floor with my hands in my ears before I knew what was happening. The vampires lining the back of the hall had been shoved backwards. The two nearest pillars had collapsed. Plaster and stone was flaking down from the walls and ceiling and Bill was on his back right at the far end of the hall.
The Magnus Clamosthingy. Looked like Pam wasn't the only one of Appius' descendants to have inherited it. Compared to her maker's roar though, Pam's was like the squeak of a kitten. Bill was on his feet in moments, dusty by unharmed, although I could see blood trickling down from his ears. I wondered if Eric had burst his eardrums. For the first time since he'd chugged Lilith's accursed blood, Bill looked worried. Almost.
Eric stood before me, bloody and terrible, and magnificent.
Bill bared his fangs and hissed.
I scooted backwards along the floor. Vampire-faerie or not, this was way over my head. I'd just get in Eric's way.
Bill slowly approached Eric, far more cautious than he'd been earlier. I could feel Pam's pride and hope through our bond. She seemed to think her maker might have a chance. I didn't see how he could. He was horribly wounded and only had maybe a pint of my blood in him. He needed weeks, months of rest and a swimming pool of blood before he was anywhere near healed. And he'd been at full strength when he'd initially faced Bill the week before, and that had ended up with Eric as a conversation piece pinned to Bill's wall.
Bill shot forward again. Eric reacted almost instantly. They met midway. I couldn't follow their movements for the first few minutes. They were moving too fast. I did smell Bill's tainted blood however.
Pam and Tara made their way to my side. We watched Eric and Bill in silence along with the rest of the vampires present. I didn't open up my shields, I could tell what they would be thinking. They'd be hoping Eric would do their dirty work for them.
Eric was fighting differently to how I had seen him fight before. He's always loved to fight, embraced it, but still maintained his usual control and detachment to a certain degree. He was showing neither in his fight with Bill. He was making terrible noises that didn't sound even remotely human and literally throwing him around with zero thoughts on finesse.
Bill seemed put out by Eric's wildness. I saw Bill land a solid blow to Eric's chest, aiming for the silver stake that was still embedded beneath his left shoulder, but Eric didn't even react, just backhanded him across the room like a bug.
Bill waved a hand at his favourites nearest the throne. 'Kill him!'
A dozen various vamps popped their fangs and charged Eric. I saw him rip the heads of the first two, but after that it was a blur. It a matter of seconds they were reduced to soup around the Viking, save the last one, whom Eric drained before literally tearing in half. The sight would have repulsed me even a week earlier, but instead I felt nothing but excitement. Eric's strength was exhilarating.
I didn't understand what I was watching. How it was possible.
Pam, who was crouched beside me, whispered quietly. 'Berserkr.'
Bill was up again and looking pissed. He glanced at the vamps on the other side of the room and waved his hand to indicate they should attack Eric. Only six separated themselves from the group, and they were wary. Eric turned towards them and roared.
It was even more terrifying than first time. One of the vamps was only maybe 6 feet from Eric when he let loose. The vamp exploded. The slower ones behind him were thrown back in the air and slammed into the wall before dropping in the cowering crowd. In the deafening silence that followed, a chandelier fell and two random vamps were splattered beneath it.
Eric was unrecognisable. He was shaking or shivering and I could hear his teeth chattering. I heard vampires echoing Pam's sentiment in awe around the room. He didn't wait for Bill to charge him this time. Eric snarled and laid into Bill. They threw each other around the room, although Eric had an advantage in that he couldfly and didn't appear to feel pain. Or anything else. Bill managed to lift one of the collapsed pillars and hurl it at him, but even that didn't seem to phase Eric.
I felt Pam dart away, but I was too mesmerised by the scene in front of me to pay attention to her. She was gone only a few seconds before she appeared in front of me.
'Eric!' Her maker ignored Pam's call, but when she threw Eric's longsword in his direction, he caught it one handed and quickly put it to good use.
Pam was smiling. I could feel her anticipation. Tara and I were still freaking out, but she had absolute confidence in Eric.
Bill had slowed now. I was able to follow their movements as he and Eric belted one another around the room. However Bill now appeared to be at a distinct disadvantage. Eric showed no signs of slowing and he now had a very pointy sword that he had a thousand years' experience using. Bill had the strength of Lilith's blood, but he wasn't a warrior, he didn't have the skills. Eric was a thousand year old Viking berserker.
The end of the fight was so swift that I wasn't really sure what had happened. One moment Bill was still holding his own, the next Eric had flown up and plummeted down onto him, his sword splitting Bill in half from his left shoulder down to his right hip. He hadn't disintegrated. The sword wasn't silver and his head and heart were still intact.
Bill made a horrible screaming noise as he fell to the ground.
Eric smiled at him as he flopped on the floor like a fish at his feet. He then grabbed him, pulling him up by his hair. Bill was still screaming. His body wasn't completely severed in two and the glistening tubes and lumps of his entrails were sort of falling out of the gapping V of his torso. It was disgusting.
Eric seemed to savour the moment for a few seconds, then tore out Bill's throat with his teeth. There was a terrible screeching noise as Bill turned to goo that I assumed was Lilith making her displeasure know. I realised that Eric had wanted Bill to survive the sword blow. His aim had been intentional. He had wanted to kill him with his bare hands, or in this case, fangs.
There was utter silence in the now blood splattered and more or less totalled hall. Eric growled and looked around at the spectators, as if daring any of them to step forward. As one they cringed backwards.
I wondered if we should run or what. I wasn't sure of the protocol in these situations. Luckily Pam seemed to be in the know.
'My master, Eiríkr inn Sigrsæli…' I'd definitelymispronounced it earlier. '…I swear my fealty to you.' She dropped to her knee and dipped her head to her maker.
I felt her prompt through our bond that I should do likewise. As one, Tara and I knelt and echoed her words. There was shuffling and murmuring as every single vampire in the room followed suit.
Eric's growling quietened. He took in the room of kneeling vampires in almost disappointment, as if he had hoped to fight them all. After a minute he walked past Pam, resting a hand on her shoulder as he did so. She practically bounced up to her feet and followed him. Tara and I nervously waited until we received similar taps before rising. Eric stared at me for a long moment and although I could feel him reaching for me in across our blood bond, he did not speak. Instead he nodded at us, Pam, Tara and myself, 'his women', like a parent pleased with his children, and headed towards the doors. We fell into step behind him. It was surreal. Eric Northman. Our naked Viking berserker vampire. Victorious indeed.
Someone made sure the doors were open before we arrived and one vampire even presented Pam with her severed arm. She raised an eyebrow but accepted it.
The moment we were clear of the hall the murmuring behind us became a cacophony. The foyer was deserted and we made our way outside without incident. By unspoken agreement Eric picked up Pam and I took Tara and we rose up into the air and disappeared into the night sky.