A/N: I want to send a special thanks out to Boadicea for the brilliant (and hysterical) review left after last chapter. If you all haven't read it, you must, it is pure evil genius (which we all know I appreciate). And thank you to all of you who continue to read and send words of encouragement!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or stories from The Southern Vampire series. I can only hope that Ms. Harris does not mind me taking them out to play with.

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I had no time to ponder how the sun could be rising in a place where time seemed to stand still and had to go with the obvious; that Avel was somehow responsible. The sun was rising far too rapidly for it to be a naturally occurring process, Bill and Eric using every ounce of their vampire speed to try and burrow under the sand. I felt Eric's fatigue growing heavier and heavier by the second, and I knew they weren't going to make it. My options were limited and time was running out.

I ceased struggling against Avel's grasp. "Stop. I want to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Avel chuckled, pausing for a moment. "Alright, little one, I'll indulge you."

The sky began to shift, and if I'd had any doubt this sunrise was unnatural, they were quickly erased. Sunlight flooded down on Avel and I like a spotlight, and we were ringed in a perimeter of darkness. It reminded me of a tiny break in the clouds during a terrible storm, where the sun manages to peek through for a moment. Eric and Bill slowly rose to their feet, safe for the time being, but held at bay by the light surrounding me. I half wondered if the sunlight was even real or just some illusion. Would they really burn if they attempted to cross the strange barricade Avel had erected? I could feel Eric's mind churning over the same question, and knew it was only a matter of time until he would make a move. Now that his instinctual response to the sun was able to take a backseat, his chess master's mind was quickly moving the pieces to find a solution... if there was one.

"Go ahead, Viking, test it for yourself. I will enjoy watching you burn," Avel taunted.

Eric growled, his voice more dangerous than I'd ever heard. "I will see your head separated from your neck before this is over."

I knew immediately that Eric's words were meant more for me than Avel. He was telling me the method by which to kill him. Even though I lacked the means currently, I felt sure Eric was formulating a plan to get that curved blade into my hands. I would need to play along and stall for time.

"Rule one for these negotiations," Avel chuckled, "the dead do not speak."

"I'm perfectly capable of negotiating for myself," I spat, using my best 'indignant child' tone. I figured if I sounded in the midst of a tantrum it would not only be a good distraction, but would keep Avel from realizing I was in sync with Eric, ready to act on any subtle signs he gave.

"Of course you are, Sookie. Now," he said, setting me down but keeping a firm grip on my shoulder. "I certainly do not wish to make this unpleasant for you and would much prefer your cooperation. You do make an annoying habit of stumbling your way into thwarting my endeavors. Make no mistake, however, I will have your compliance one way or another."

I raised a brow, "Oh? I'm real interested to hear this, how exactly have I managed to mess up the plans of the great and powerful Avel? Was I not supposed to pay attention to the daemon behind the curtain? This place does kinda remind me of Emerald City." My voice dripped with sarcasm as I tried to bait him into a diatribe, and I heard Bill snort in amusement. Eric was sending immense waves of calm at me through the bond, hoping to prevent me from having another uncontrolled 'meltdown'. As it stood, there was no way he could physically get to me should I start... exploding.

Avel, however, was neither amused, nor was he going to take the bait. "You gained your Viking a small reprieve when you disrupted the tribunal guaranteed to result in his final death. I suggest you make good use of it, my patience is wearing thin."

Whatever sense of calm I had was erased in that instant, the meaning of his words sinking in. Sure enough, I began to feel the telltale signs that my control was about to be tested. As my jaw tightened and fists began to clench, I willed myself to take a deep breath. This was a battle I could not afford to lose.

"You..." I snarled. "You planted the witness."

How this hadn't already occurred to me reminded me once again that I was no more than a guppy in an ocean of sharks. Avel was willing to sacrifice anyone and anything, including the future of an entire species, just to see that the destiny he so firmly believed in came to pass. No wonder Eric followed me all the way out here, he must have known what Avel was up to the moment I started making those noises at Sam. It explained why he wasn't angry with me... he was letting it happen to draw Avel out and he could kill him.

"Yes, Sookie. The tiger was more than accommodating when I explained my plan to disentangle you from the bloodsuckers. His sister was perfect for the role and more than willing to play it."

The burst of calm Eric thrust at me in that instant was enough to make me collapse to my knees, the rage inside me now building to the breaking point. Quinn. He hadn't disappeared due to injury or some nefarious persons... he was hiding out! He couldn't risk being discovered as a traitor yet again if he ever wanted to draw another breath. Of course Avel could talk Quinn and Frannie into this scheme; they blamed vampires for the miserable hands they'd been dealt time and time again. He probably planned to try and swoop back in and reclaim me once Eric was...

The lid on my rage was threatening to blow at any moment. Eric was trying desperately to hold it down as much as he could, sending wave after wave of soothing calm through the bond. I clutched at my chest, my heart racing so fast I thought I might have a heart attack and die right there in the desert. From the corner of my eye I saw a glint of metal. Eric was so desperate he was ready to just throw his blade to me and hope I could make use of it. I wasn't even sure I could stand, much less attack Avel. Keeping the energy inside me from bursting and possibly killing us all was taking every ounce of strength in me, and I thought instead of exploding, keeping it in might just make me implode.

Eric broke his silence then, and though his voice was commanding and forceful, the underlying desperation terrified me. "Enough of this! She's no good to you dead!"

Avel crouched down in front of me, grabbing my chin in his hand, forcing my eyes to his. "You see now? You are incapable of control. Blame that damned fairy for bringing you to this point. Do as I say and you will soon be free of this!"

I gasped for breath, narrowing my eyes hatefully at him. "I am not your pawn. I'd rather die than give you the satisfaction."

"Not much of a negotiator, are you?" Avel hissed.

His eyes began to take on that green glow, and I remembered how he penetrated my mind that night at Bill's. He may not be able to control whatever forces were at work in me, but I knew damn well he could just render me unconscious, which amounted to pretty much the same thing. His 'voice' began to tear through my mind.

I am not evil, Sookie. You have been dealt a raw deal. I would much rather see this play out in a manner least unpleasant for you. I have no desire to cause you pain, but I will do what is necessary. Cooperate, and I'll return your friends to their pathetic lives. Refuse, and the tribunal will play out. They will die and you will still be facing the same fate. It is your choice.

"Sookie, no!" Eric bellowed, apparently having heard Avel through the bond.

Suddenly Eric was howling in pain, and I managed to turn my head enough to witness the horror Avel was inflicting. Suspended off the ground by some invisible force, Eric had been pulled into the light. Smoke wafted off his skin as it began to char and burn, a look of torture strangling his beautiful face. Bill reached out, burning his own arms in the process, trying to pull him back into the darkness, but to no avail.

I grabbed desperately onto Avel's arm, trying to will my body to fight, but only ending up face down in the sand. I was spent, barely clinging to consciousness, having used up all the strength in me to contain myself. I struggled to push up, but my muscles refused to budge, Eric's screams falling on my ears as if they were my own.

Make your choice, Sookie.

Swear to me... swear to me that they will be safe.

I swear it.

In this timeless place, my time had run out. Avel may have called it a choice, but he'd seen to it that I'd come to the end of the line. We'd been outplayed. The memory of kneeling before Eric on the roof of the temple, offering my life to him, came rushing back. It was time to put up or shut up, as Jason would say. There was never any doubt in my mind, nor any of theirs, what I would do.

Please... let me say goodbye.

The howling stopped. I felt my chin being lifted, my gaze directed toward Eric collapsed on the sand, still held from my reach by the boundary of light and darkness. The burns were gone, but I could tell he was still reeling from the agony of it.

"Eric..." I whispered.

The torment in my beautiful Viking's eyes tore at my soul. "Sookie, do not do this," he pleaded.

I offered him a smile, begging him to understand. "I love you, Eric."

The last thing I heard were Eric's cries. Then, they all disappeared, and I was left alone with my captor in the middle of a desert, completely out of their reach. The moment Avel sent them home, my connection to Eric through the bond ceased, and I felt an emptiness that I was sure would swallow me whole. Somehow I knew that, in all probability, I would never see them again. I released what little hold I had left on myself, allowing my mind and body to give up, dragged under into a dreamless sleep. I didn't know if I would ever wake up.

End Part 1... to be continued...