The Past and the Present
Matt stopped his bike outside the MoonGoddess Emporium and stared at the structure. He swallowed hard and blinked. He knew the center of his discomfort had been emanating from this place and he was very afraid as to why. He should probably inform his father of his thoughts but if he was wrong he opened himself up to possible ridicule at the worst and at the best Eric would merely laugh at his concerns.
Eric had noticed his son was carrying something on his shoulders lately but had yet to speak of it. But after his meeting with Bill Compton he had good notion as to what it was. "Have you been to the Moon Goddess Emporium?"
"No sir," Matt quickly answered not even looking up from his book.
Eric knew his son well enough to know the answer was incomplete. "Try again kiddo," he said with a softer edge.
Matt looked up his blue eyes bright but clouded, "something is happening, I can feel it."
"What?"
"I don't know, but it's getting stronger."
"I imagine it is the witches that have come to town, the ones that I have been asked to speak with."
"And you're going to do it?"
"Of course I am, first off my king has asked me to and secondly who better to deal with a witch than me. In fact why don't you come along my adorable half-breed."
Matt didn't read it as a request and quickly went to find his sneakers. He shoved his phone in his back pocket and wished that Sookie wasn't working tonight. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end as they approached the door to the MoonGoddess. Once they entered Eric immediately took charge of the room while Matt looked around at the few faces he recognized. Jesus' eyes darted around him while Lafayette looked to the floor. By the time he found his father Eric was already all over Marnie and his threats were spilling forth.
"There is no behind my back," he boldly stated to the group telling them they could not hide anything from him. "Is there any behind my back Matthew?" Eric asked his son.
"No sir, nothing goes on that you don't know about," he said nervously.
"Do you agree Lafayette?" Eric barked.
"I'd listen to him Marnie he tends to get his way," Lafayette agreed.
But suddenly one of the group's members took charge and got them in a circle and began to chant. Looking at Matt Lafayette stepped away but soon joined in as Tara took center stage in Eric's sights. Matt felt his heart pounding as the air was so heavy he felt as if he was suffocating. He recalled the old days; the awkwardness endured when Eric felt he needed to make a point in mixed company. Having parents on either side of two distinct lines often became a place made of bad memories. Suddenly a chill took hold of him and his worst fear had been confirmed. The words that came from Marnie were not hers and she was no longer in control, but the spell that she cast had hit its mark and the consequences were immediate.
Eric looked up his face uncertain, his eyes lost. Matt felt rage fill up the room and uttered only one word; Aya. He ran over just as Marnie seemed to regain her body. He grabbed Eric by the arm and began to pull him towards the door. Lafayette met them before they could leave. "What is Aya?" he asked.
"Whether you believe me or not; your worst nightmare," he said shoving his father out the door and slamming the door behind him.
Eric stumbled as he walked looking like a homeless drunk as he made his way down the street. Matt shook his head and stopped to pull his phone from his back pocket. He scrolled down to Sookies number and hit dial. The conversation was brief and from what he could tell Sookie didn't believe a word he said, but it didn't really matter whether she believed him or not just as long as she came to pick them up. She could find out for herself that the mighty Eric Northman had just been reduced to a rat lost in a maze. By the time he finished the conversation and caught up to his father, Eric's shoes and shirt were missing.
"Where are your shoes and shirt?" he asked looking around.
"Don't know, where are we going?"
"Who am I?" Matt asked.
"My son Matthew."
"Where are we?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything else. Why do I know you but nothing else?" Eric asked his voice giving in to panic.
"Because your blood flows through my veins, we're connected. Blood is very important to you right?"
"Yes it is, at least I think it is."
"It is, believe me. Let's just keep walking this way; Sookie is on her way to pick us up."
"Who is Snookie?" Eric asked his face showing nothing but innocence.
"Sookie,you don't remember her at all?"
"No, just you and something about that witch was familiar but I'm not sure what."
"Yeah she should seem familiar, we go way back."
"We do?"
"Just walk, don't think too hard you may explode," Matt said directing his newborn father down the street.
Eric toddled forward like a lost four year old while Matt craned his neck in every direction looking for anything out of the ordinary. He wasn't sure what had happened but he knew it wasn't good. Memories began to flood his consciousness and few of them were good.
Sookie saw Matt and Eric up ahead and slowed down. Eric was shirtless and kind of wobbling around and Matt looked extremely desperate. She found it hard to believe what the boy had said was true. He claimed a witch had entered Marnie's body and placed a very powerful spell on Eric and reduced him to a shell of his former self. But now as she got a good look at the vampire she was beginning to think he had been telling the truth.
"Eric," she called out.
Matt reached over and grabbed his father and pulled him to a stop. He turned and looked to Sookie with a blank face. If he was faking this amnesia he was doing a damn fine job. "Is this the person you spoke of? The one with the funny name?" Eric asked.
"Yeah that's Sookie," Matt said looking for any recognition on Eric's face. But none was forthcoming and the impact of the spell was becoming all too apparent.
"He only seems to know me," Matt explained to the perplexed Sookie.
"Do you know what the spell was?" she asked.
"Not for sure I kinda blanked out while she was talking." He wanted to tell her more but decided it would be better to wait for right now until he could sort it out a bit himself.
They all climbed into the car and motored back to the house with Sookie still unsure of what was going on but when Eric refused to come in until he was invited she decided this was in fact real. The vampire had no clue who he was and this was no act. Matt had kept his mouth shut since he came home and only reacted when Pam came roaring in begging for Sookie to protect her maker.
"I can't protect him," Sookie stated her face drained of color.
"Fangtasia is the first place they'll look. He is helpless just look at him," Pam yelled.
Eric sat on the couch looking like a kitten that had just been dumped on a front porch. Matt's lips formed a tight line unsure of what his role should be. "This isn't going to sit well in the vampire community, as soon as they hear they will come for him," Matt said.
Sookie looked confused as Pam vigorously nodded her head. "What happened Matthew?" she demanded to know.
"The witch was possessed and cast a spell," he explained.
The look on Pam's face was a mixture of fear and disdain. "You were there; you must no more than that."
"No not really, it happened quickly I wasn't even sure what was going on."
"Don't lie to me, you are half witch after all and can't tell me what the hell happened to him," she shrieked.
"You think I'm complicit in all this? That this was my fault or that I'm holding back?" Matt yelled crossing the room his pale face on fire. "That is my father and I would never do anything to hurt him."
"Hey now guys, just calm down," Eric said rising from the couch. "It was my fault this happened, I wasn't prepared. At least I think it is," he said questioningly. "But anyway Matthew would never do anything to hurt me just as I would never do anything to hurt him. He was such a beautiful baby," Eric said suddenly lost in a memory.
"Okay he can stay here, but I have no idea what to do," Sookie said.
"Just deny knowing his whereabouts and don't invite any vampires in that's all you can do," Pam said as she quickly departed.
"How will they know?" Sookie asked.
"The king sent him there, he will find out." Matt said.
"And then what?"
"And then they will kill him," he said forlornly.
"But why?"
"He is under their control, remember how I told you witches and vampires hate each other, that many are necromancers and can control the dead? Who knows what they might have him do."
"We can't let that happen," Sookie said going over to Eric.
"I know," Matt said running his hand roughly through his blond hair. "I'll be back."
"Wait, where are you going?" Eric asked.
"Out, I'll be back as soon as I can."
Sookie waited for Eric to react to his son's departure but he just sat back down on the couch looking lost to a sea of uncertainty. This was definitely not the vampire she had come to know and the longer the evening went on the more she realized just how powerful this spell was. She realized that Matt had been right in his memories of his father being kind and gentle; this was the Eric he must have known. Somehow time must have jaded him to the derisive vampire he had become.
Matt had decided it was dark enough that he could run along the backstreets unnoticed. He could run faster than he could bike but obviously he had to keep this talent out of public view. He would put any human to shame with his speed but was nowhere near vampire octane. He slowed down as he entered the MoonGoddess parking lot. He peeked inside to see that most had left but a few were around Marnie who still seemed out of sorts from her experience. He wasn't sure what he was looking for but sitting at home with his baffled father didn't seem like the right thing to do.
"So you want to explain what the hell happened in there?" Lafayette asked coming out of the shadows.
"It's complicated," Matt responded.
"So talk slow."
"As you may have figured out Marnie's body was taken over by another entity; a very powerful witch."
"Yeah I kinda guessed that. What's her deal?"
"Revenge," Matt stated simply.
"Revenge from what?"
Matt swallowed and turned to face Lafayette pulling him further from the building to a more secluded spot. "Witches and vampires hate each other and I have a feeling you are beginning to understand that. Back in the day there was a thing called the inquisition and a lot of witches were killed and a lot of average people who were thought to be witches were killed. Vampires took advantage of the hysteria and killed as many as they could hunt down under the guise of being part of the church. They would dress up as priests and herd them into a private area and feast on them. The general public having no idea of their true identities and that they were the furthest thing from holy that you could get. It was bloody and ugly."
"So what is up with this chick tonight?"
"She has an axe to grind."
"You called her Aya, do you know her?"
"The height of the inquisition was the 1600's, the woman you saw tonight died in 1610 the same year I stopped aging. I called her Aya because when I was little I couldn't pronounce her name; Antonia."
"So you did know her?"
"She was my aunt." Matt whispered breathlessly.
"Your Aunt?" Lafayette asked incredulously.
"Told you it was complicated."
"What does she want again?"
Matt sighed. "She hates vampires; they killed her long before she was done with her life. She left a lot undone and things hadn't gone her way." Lafayette crossed his arms and as his eyes bored into Matt who continued. "I was supposed to be hers. She and my mother had been living in northern Scotland; old Viking territory when Eric showed up. They both knew he was a vampire and did their best to avoid him but one can't always control their heart. Emotions began to surface and could no longer be denied; unfortunately for Antonia the feelings were between my mother Ava and Eric leaving Antonia a bit bitter with the ill-fated rejection. My parents had eyes only for each other so my aunt already being a pretty good witch attempted to concoct a spell which would turn my father's affections from my mother and towards her."
"But?"
"But love can't be manipulated it is stronger than magic and potions. The spell had power and substance and its energy had to go somewhere."
"What happened?" Lafayette asked truly getting into the family drama.
"I happened; a total aberration and it only solidified my parents relationship."
"And pissed off Antonia even more," Lafayette added.
"Yep, she got kinda toxic after that. Eric told her to stay far away and she did for the most part but would turn up every so often and be on her best behavior."
"Why did she come back?"
"To check on me I guess, to see how I was developing to see if my mother was teaching me the old ways."
"Was she?"
"A little bit but not as much as Aya would like so she began to teach me when I was four; our meetings in solitude and secret. Until Eric found out when I was around ten and banished her from my life. She threatened revenge. Saying she had every right to be around her bloodline even though it wasn't as direct as she originally desired."
"Then what happened?"
"It all went to hell but I can't remember details. But knowing her there were lots of mind games and manipulation. I think she totally screwed up my memories."
"Damn man I hate 'to be continued', Lafayette whined.
"Well you may get a front row seat, I plan to get to the bottom of it all," Matt said as he turned and ran back to Sookie's house.
Barely winded when he returned he called out for his dad only to find Sookie looking upset and very alone. "They took him," she said her eyes wild and red rimmed.
"Who took him?" Matt asked panic rising in his voice.
"Bill and some of his henchman; he said Eric was a threat to the vampire community and hauled him away. I didn't invite them in Eric just left with them." She stated wanting him to know she had tried to protect him.
Matt ran back into the night trying to gather his thoughts as he did. He stopped down the street and took a cleansing breath. He cleared his head and settled his heart opening as many senses as he could. He could feel his father's essence not too far from where he stood; throwing his body back in gear he raced off.
Eric wasn't pleading for his life as he spoke from his knees but he begged for Bill to protect Sookie and his son. The blade was hovering in midair waiting for the word to follow through with its sworn duty when Matt appeared from the tree line. He raced over and shoved the unsuspecting vampire with the sharp weapon. "You can't do this Bill, you just can't," he said his voice brimming with emotion.
Bill who had already begun having second thoughts after Eric voiced his concern for Sookie and her safety. Even compromised Eric would be able to protect her making Bill feel much more comfortable with another set of eyes on his true love. And now looking at this half-human boy reminding him so much of the son he had lost so many years ago he waivered even further.
"I just got to be with him again, I waited so many years. Please don't take him away from me. I have so few that I can live freely with and if you take him you need to kill me as well." The boy said kneeling next to Eric.
"No son I can't let you do this, Bill don't you do it!" Eric said turning towards Bill.
Finally the king decided he would not be responsible for the death of either one and released them to return to their home and Sookie.