Eric's Demons

Chapter Sixteen

Illuminated only by pale moonlight, on the rough open ground between an abandoned mill and the reservoir which had served it, a scene worthy of medieval legend was unfolding. Had anyone been observing from the air they would have seen a group of warriors form a circle around a battle scarred male and a beautiful female. While they stood defiant, daring an unseen enemy to approach that enemy crept towards them, using the folds in the ground for cover until the got close.

Had the airborne observer stayed he would have seen perhaps two hundred strangely beautiful men break cover as one animal, rush towards the tiny, woefully outnumbered circle of defenders. Maybe he would have been low enough to hear the high pitched battle cry that came from the encircling larger force as they closed with the grim looking armored men who awaited them.

Unfortunately there was no-one to observe, to see the drama on the ground unfold. There was no-one to hear the blood curdling battle cry of close to two hundred men. Tragically no-one heard the single voice that answered them. Eric Northman answered for all the defenders as the battle was joined.

"Come on then you bastards, it's a fine night to die!"

Twirling the massive blade like a baton Eric risked a glance over his shoulder to Sookie. Her eyes were closed, her face creased with concentration. Fending off a badly aimed blow from the first of the beautiful men to reach him he looked again at his lover. Her eyes were open and radiated what he could only describe as black light. Everyone in the melee felt a surge of energy from the tiny blonde woman at their center. For a moment the attackers faltered, then pressed even harder at the vampire defenders.

Drawing first blood Eric plunged his blade point first down through his attackers neck, smashing his collar bone, penetrating his lung then his heart. The mighty blade would have stuck but for the viking's inhuman strength. Pressing his full weight to it he twisted it to horizontal, was rewarded with a bright crimson shower as the first of the Nephilim fell.

Behind the tiny ring of defenders Sookie was waiting, snuffed out the attacker's trapped soul as it tried to flee the body she had already anchored it to.

One more for the valley she thought.

A howl of rage went up from the hoard as they realized now that this fight would be more deadly than any they had faced before. They could die here, permanent darkness until the Day of Judgment. In a renewed frenzy they pressed the attack harder still, trying to get to the witch behind the vampires.

Beside Eric the warrior Sookie knew to be Conal turned a blow away from her heroic viking, reversed the parry and sunk his own blade into the attacker's chest. The massive strength behind it pushed the blade through ribs and lung before severing the hapless man's spine.

"That's one each, Northman," he told Eric with a grin.

One more for the valley, thought Sookie as she snuffed this one out as she had the first. Around the ring of defenders now more than a dozen attackers lay dead. In her mind Sookie had all the time in the world to snuff out each soul in turn, send it on to the Angels who guarded the valley where Turel and Satarel already waited.

There was a moment when the Nephilim took stock, as if seeing how heavy and how permanent their loses had been already. Eric thought they might break, might flee the field in the face of Sookie's terrifying power. Then they came again even more ferocious.

"Two to me Northman," bragged Conal as he neatly beheaded his next attacker with a sweeping horizontal cut. Blood-lust was on him his face twisted into a terrifying mask that was part laugh part scream.

Beside him Eric danced forward a step into the ranks of attackers, and swung his massive blade in an arc that caught two of the Nephilim across their guts, spilling bowels onto the dusty ground as from behind them Sookie took their souls.

"Three to me, keep up man," Eric bragged, his blade already spinning to block another attack.

But behind them the first vampire fell, his face torn from his skull with a low that was every bit as massive as those being rained on the attacker. The Nephilim reversed his axe and drove the long handle into the fallen vampire's chest, killing him for good.

Beside him Olaf took a heavy bow to the head which knocked him off balance long enough to cause a tiny breach in the ring of defenders. It was enough for the attackers to press forward their small advantage, and for a moment two of them were inside the breach.

Facing Ulrich. Until this moment had not been blooded. His laugh was an insane challenge as he pounced on the pair, throwing his sword to one side as he went at them with bare hands. With vampire speed he was on them twisting the first man's head savagely around on his neck to face the way he had come. As the second man swung a badly aimed blow at Ulrich's back the warrior turned and pounced, forcing the blade aside with his open hand. His free hand was on the man's throat, and with a twist he broke his neck, casually dropping the lifeless body to the ground. If Sookie had noticed how close the men had got to her she never reacted.

More than thirty attackers lay dead outside the circle of vampires, with two more inside where Ulrich had claimed them. As yet only one of the defenders had perished. But their success brought with it another problem as their feet would occasionally snag on the fallen. One such stumble cost the second warrior his life. Without mercy the Nephilim pressed home the tiny advantage, gutted the big warrior through his breastplate as he tried to regain his footing.

Grimly they tightened the ring and fought on.

Eric felt his arms tire as he beheaded another of the attackers.

"Nine," he counted for Conal.

Grinning, the big warrior beside him dealt his newest foe a ringing blow to the head before turning the blade and cleaving him from neck to waist. The blood splashed him, as Conal, bellowed a victorious laugh. It choked in his throat as the attacker behind drove his own blade through breastplate, vampire, then backplate. The blade stuck, wrenched out of the beautiful man's hands as Conal keeled over. Eric sliced the suddenly weaponless man in two. In fury he redoubled his attack, hewing the next man's head in half.

"Not so fucking pretty now!" he spat as he whirled to face his next opponent.

Heavy in the air hung the stench of the dead and dying, of blood and gore, brains and bowels. For a moment the fighting eased, then the Nephilim came again, throwing themselves at the tiring vampires. Another warrior fell, then another, as the ever decreasing circle closed tighter and tighter around Sookie. Her eyes still glowing black she seemed not to see.

Over a hundred of the Watchers were down, the mound of bodies a grim ring around the tight knot of defenders. Still they came, pressing the vicious assault on the band of warriors who stood between them and the witch.

Running at the fighting men one of their foes used the bodies of the fallen to gain height and spring over the ring of fighting men. They were all too heavily engaged to do more than watch as again their circle was breached. Ulrich gutted him as he regained his footing.

But the tactic caught on, with Eric and the other warriors engaged in savage hand to hand combat, fighting for their own lives, there was nothing they could do but hope that Ulrich could protect Sookie. The next landed neatly on his blade, as it swung up to meet him, catching him between the legs and stopping when it bit into the bones of his pelvis.

Three more breached the ring. Again Ulrich dispatched the first one, but the other two were ready. They pressed their attack making the ancient warrior defend himself. Another arrived, unopposed, beside Sookie. As he landed near her, blade ready, she felt the danger rather than saw it.

And opened the final door.

For a moment the beautiful face was twisted in surprise, before the massive force of energy wielded by the tiny blonde telepath neatly ripped his spine out of his stolen body. Twitching and screaming on the ground the Watcher wished for the death she hadn't given him.

"Spineless bastard!" Ulrich goaded as he dispatched the other two, then delivered a mercy cut to the screamer on the ground.

But more vampires had fallen. Ulrich, Eric and Olaf stood defiant if exhausted around Sookie. The rest of their force lay dead or dying. More than a hundred and fifty beautiful men were piled high on the ground around them. For now they had broken off the attack, circling out of blades' reach. But there was no doubt they would come again.

Eric held out his free hand to Ulrich, the battle scarred warrior repeated the gesture to Olaf, who in turn did the same to Eric. As one they bit into the arm before them, each feeding on his comrade while the other fed on him. Blood and energy passed in a ring through the trio. Eric howled with savage delight and blood lust as he sated his thirst on his comrades, and they on him.

Behind them Sookie stepped forward, forcing in beside Eric, and joined the feeding ring. Her fierce yet alien energy flooded through the embattled vampires.

Then they charged the circling enemy.