PART FOUR

Touch Piece

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"As you know, I'm an early riser," explained Octavia, "I was sitting there," she gestured to the chair Sookie was sitting in, "Enjoying my coffee, when I heard a knock on the back door." The old Witch's attention darted between Amelia and Sookie. "Of course I wondered who in the world would be knocking on our door at five in the morning. But because it was coming from the back door, I figured it had to be someone that knew Sookie well. Otherwise, they would have used the front door." Sookie tried her best not to roll her eyes. She just wanted a quick answer. Instead she was getting a play-by-play.

"When I pulled back the curtain," continued Octavia, "Low and behold, it was Sookie's Preston. He looked exhausted," she added. "Well, of course I let him in. I asked if everything was fine, because he was rather worn. That's when he explained that he needed my help and Amelia's. Said that your great-grandfather's enemies had learned where you lived, and that it was very important that we ward the house." Sookie's heart sunk. She wasn't sure much more low-profile she could live her life. She never went out or socialized with anyone…except for Preston and Amelia.

"Well, as I'm sure you would guess," said Octavia. "I told him of course we'd help. He explained that he was expecting two friends. They were coming to help with the wards. So as you can imagine, I was beside myself. I quickly went and woke up Amelia, and explained Preston's plan. When I came back down the stairs he asked for some coffee. So I put on a fresh pot," Octavia continued. "It was another hour before his friends arrived. In the meantime, we cleared the furniture from the center of the living room. Preston explained he needed plenty of room to weave the spells we would be creating. It was so exciting," beamed Octavia.

Sensing Sookie's growing impatience, Amelia interjected, "We won't bore you with the specifics. After we finished warding the house against fairies, we put everything back. That's when Octavia made breakfast for everyone."

"Oh," said Octavia, pulling out a small object from her front apron pocket. "He also had us ward this for you." Octavia, who was closest to Amelia, handed it to her young student.

"Why?" asked Sookie. Whatever Octavia handed Amelia, it was wrapped in a handkerchief.

"It was the most magical thing I've ever seen," gushed Amelia.

"Mary, mother of Jesus and all the saints," prayed Sookie. She wasn't Catholic, but she felt she needed all the help she could get to be patient with her roommates.

"He asked for something made of iron and for something made of silver," explained Amelia. "I had a tiny Buddha made of iron I picked up ages ago on a trip to Taiwan. I brought him that and Octavia had a pair of silver earrings. Preston had us set them on the table."

"This part is amazing," squealed Octavia.

"O.k.," thought Sookie.

"I've read about alchemy but I've never seen it performed," said Amelia.

"What do you mean?" Sookie sighed heavily.

"Most people think of alchemy as the ability to change any metal into gold," answered Amelia. "But real alchemy is much more than that. Taking the tiny Buddha and the silver earrings, Preston melted the two metals and created something new."

"His magic is strong." Octavia was reverential.

"He forged both metals together and made this." Holding out her open hand with the handkerchief, Amelia carefully removed the edges away from the center. Unconsciously, Sookie leaned forward in her chair, her eyes fixed attentively on Amelia's hand.

Laying innocently and unimposing was a small object.

"That's it?" asked Sookie. Unsure of what she had expected, a worn out coin was not it. Amelia gave Sookie a disapproving look. This was a touch piece; something of legend. With a flick of her hand, Amelia excused her friend's ignorance of such things.

"I don't know how he did it, but he took the spell we all conjured and forged it into this. I can feel its power. I've never seen anything like it—it was amazing."

"So am I supposed to wear that?" Sookie dubiously gazed at the touch piece. The dark and light striations gave it the appearance of an old worn Roman coin.

"You need to keep it with you at all times," said Amelia.

"It holds very strong magic," explained Octavia. A wave of uneasiness crept up into Sookie's belly. Ever since the Witch War, Sookie was uncomfortable around magic. It made her nervous.

"What's it supposed to do?" she asked.

"It will alert you to danger," answered Octavia.

"How," she gestured to the small object in Amelia's palm, "will that know that there is danger?" Though Sookie didn't doubt the power of magic, she'd seen it in action, but she still couldn't help feel skeptical at the small object's ability to warn her of danger.

"That's why it's called magic," slowly answered Octavia. "It's very valuable," she said. "I've heard of people paying into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for something like this."

There was no doubt in Sookie's mind that the old Witch was right. She only wondered that if fairy magic was the strongest magic out there, why Preston involved Amelia, Octavia, the dwarf, and Jonathan. She would have to ask him when he woke up.

"Let me see it," gestured Sookie. Amelia handed over the touch piece to Sookie. Taking it into her hand, it didn't feel any different than holding a quarter. Granted it was thicker and had a bit more weight than a quarter. Other than that, it was as unimposing as a faceless coin.

"Well I hate to cut our little party short," smiled Amelia, "But Octavia if you'd like to use my car while I'm at work, we really need to be going." Reaching to the floor, Amelia lifted her bag and stood.

"Let me get my purse," Octavia unfastened her apron, placing it on the hook before disappearing into the hallway.

"So how will this thing work actually?" asked Sookie before Amelia left the kitchen. "Will it glow when evil Orcs are near?" she bit her lip so as not to grin.

"No," Amelia huffed, "It won't glow, and it won't sing either. These things work differently depending on the owner."

"Then how do you know it won't glow?"

"I just don't think that in your case, it will," answered Amelia.

"Fine," breathed Sookie. Amelia blew her a kiss right before she opened the door into the hallway. Alone in the kitchen, Sookie forgot about her coffee and studied her little coin like object.

Several moments later, Octavia and Amelia left, leaving Sookie and Preston alone in the house.

Slipping the touch piece into her pocket, Sookie went into the living room where Preston was sleeping on the sofa. Carefully, she climbed onto the sofa, inhaling Preston's scent. Still too sleepy, Preston rolled to one side and drew her next to him, sharing the deep sofa and his warmth with her.

"Ouch." He suddenly pushed Sookie away.

"What is it?" panic and hurt filled her voice. Without a word, Preston took his hand encased in ClearSkin, the name of the special glove invented by a fairy owned science lab, and slipped his fingers into the front pocket of Sookie's pants.

"This," he held up Sookie's touch piece. "It has iron."

"Oh," Sookie took it from him. "Are you ok?" she asked, her eyes scanning Preston's body. As if it had been choreographed they both glanced down to his hip where a burn mark appeared just above the waistline of his jeans. "Preston," she gasped. Sookie quickly placed her touch piece on the coffee table and turned her attention to his hip.

"I'm fine," he assured her lifting his hips enough so that he could study the damage. Sookie's touch piece had branded him. A small striated irregular burn marked the front of his hip.

"Are you sure?"

"You could kiss it," he gave her sleepy smile. She bit her lip. Already kneeling on the floor next to the sofa, Sookie slowly leaned forward, her eyes watching his expression. Preston hadn't realized he was holding his breath until her soft lips touched him. His breath hitched, with the surge of sensation rushing through his body from her kiss. He felt his manhood twitch. Gingerly, Sookie placed small kisses on his sensitive skin, avoiding the burn mark. Hearing Preston breathless under her power was always intoxicating to Sookie.

"Better?" she asked innocently, climbing back next to him on the sofa.

An ache radiated in Preston's chest at the sudden realization that this would be the last time he would get to have with Sookie. In order to give her everything that she deserved, Preston would have to wait for her. There was no other way around it. If they were to have a future, one that was not stolen, he would have to respect her fairy kin's ways. As it was customary among the Royals, she had to be the one to court him with no prompting from him.

Careful not to rub against Preston's hip, Sookie snuggled next to him, letting out a contented sigh. The last eighteen hours without a word from Preston had felt like an eternity to Sookie. She hated him not being within her reach, either by phone or touch.

"You were gone so long," Sookie's voice was soft. Preston held her firmly.

"I'm sorry." With his eyes closed, he kissed her on her cheek. "I hurried to get back to you as fast as I could."

"I was worried." She burrowed her cheek into his chest. "I missed you."

"I'm here now," he yawned. Despite her mind racing with so many questions, knowing how exhausted Preston was, Sookie kept her questions for later. Quietly, she decided to relish having Preston with her all morning until she had to start her night shift.

Even though Preston fought against the fatigue pressing against him, the silence of the house, Sookie safely in his arms, he was fast asleep. Laying in Preston's embrace, Sookie enjoyed a morning nap. That is until her human needs woke her up.

As carefully as she humanly was able, she got off the couch. Though she accidently jostled him a few times, Preston didn't even shift. Giving him a kiss, Sookie left him on the sofa. Once she took care of her human needs, she busied herself with her day. Having Preston back with her invigorated her with a new sense of purpose and energy.

In an hour she'd cleaned her bedroom, even changing out the sheets. It was late morning when she found herself back in the kitchen washing the breakfast dishes. Through the window over the sink, the sun, in all its glory, was beckoning Sookie. This was sunbathing weather.

Slipping into the living room, she checked up on her sleeping fairy on the sofa. A bright smile spread across her face. Laying on his back, one of his arms dangled idly over the edge of the sofa, one leg bent away from his other leg opening his hips. "So handsome," breathed Sookie. Her lips perched into a pout when she saw his burn mark. Why he would have given her something made of iron, escaped her understanding.

Satisfied that Preston was safe and still with her, Sookie grabbed her touch piece off the coffee table and went to her room. It took her only minutes to slip into the two pieces of cloth that equaled her bathing suit. As she stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her bosoms into the small fabric that covered each of them, Sookie's gaze caught the ancient worn out coin like object where she had sat it down on the dresser.

Knowing that Preston had created it, Sookie rummaged through a small jewelry box. None of her chains looked like they would work. Instead she opted for a ribbon. Securely wrapping her touch piece inside the ribbon, Sookie very intentionally wrapped it around her wrist, using her teeth and free hand to tie it on. It would have to work for now.

With her sunbathing tote in hand, and flip flops on her feet, Sookie swung by the living room one last time only to find Preston breathing heavily. She smiled, kissing him one more time before heading outside.

There was a slight breeze, but it wasn't enough to dissuade Sookie from her sun worshipping ritual. Sitting her tote bag on the lawn where she could optimize on the sun's rays, Sookie made her way toward the shed where she kept her folding lounge chair and the other lawn furniture she had picked up on sale at Wal-Mart.

As she busily moved things around in the shed, Sookie knew more than half the junk in the shed needed to go. So she made a mental note to tell Jason to come and get what he wanted. Her grandfather's tools, all which looked ancient, were still where they had been left. Even the crate of old iron horse shoes and the crate full of old rusted chains were all still there as well.

Carefully, she pulled out one piece of lawn furniture at a time, leaning them against the shed. When Preston woke up she'd ask him to set them out and give them a good hosing. "Without a shirt," she grinned. As she side stepped the chairs to go back into the shed for her lounge, she froze.

A strange dull tingling sensation filled her body. The odd feeling was more intense at her wrist. "Funny bone?" thought Sookie. Instinctively, her other hand went to rub the wrist decorated with her touch piece. The instant her other hand touched it, the strange prickling rushed through her other hand.

She jerked her hand away.

Inside her chest, her heart raced.

"Danger." This was Sookie's last thought. The dull tingly sensation surged. Sookie spun around.

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