SVM is owned by Charlaine Harris. I am lucky enough to have FiniteAnarchy as a crackerjack, A-1 beta.

Chapter 13 - Vampire the Oar

The snarling of the hellhound grew in both ferocity and volume as I clung to my perch. I was holding on for fear of falling as much as fear of meeting what was below. A fine job it would have been if I'd responded to my apparent rescue by Mintah's bodyguards by falling out of the tree and breaking my neck.

There was the fast but steady sound of beating wings.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

I looked to my right as I felt the gusts of air.

The eagle's talons were dug into the beast's back, like it was using its spine for a roost. It almost resembled a hyena in its shape, with its head looking too small atop very muscular body, hind and forequarters. Being comparatively smaller in size did not detract from the fact that its face was all gaping mouth and sinister eyes. I could see the glint off the jet orbs as they swiveled wildly above the jagged, gnashing teeth. It wasn't near close enough for me to smell or feel its breath, but I could hear it panting, and I could only imagine it would be fetid.

The eagle gained more air with every gust of the massive speckled wings, which were bent and broad. It reminded me absurdly of that butterfly exercise on a weight machine at the gym, though I doubted even the most steroid-addled body builder could match this relentless, thrumming pace while burdened by such a weight.

The hellhound thrashed and struggled, trying to break free and straining to get its hideous maw around any part of its attacker. I couldn't imagine the kind of pain the hound had to be ignoring as it twisted its body, tearing its own flesh under the relentless grasp of the raptor. I let out an involuntary shriek. Just as the beast lashed round, bringing its awful jaws snapping wildly towards the eagle's unprotected body, the bird let go.

With another whoosh, the bird shot upwards with miraculous speed, its claws extended and the hellhound began to fall.

The satisfying, fleshy thud as it hit the ground seconds later was punctuated by a high pitched yowl which cut off abruptly. All too quickly the eagle plunged downward in its wake, with its own victorious screech, shrill in the cold air.

I'd been so distracted by the nearer struggle that I'd lost track of what was happening on the ground. I didn't have to actually look down to be aware of so much movement, but I did look. The demon was flailing wildly, as two or maybe three eagles were buffeting it with their huge wings. They seemed to be trying to drive it into a more open space. This was great because it was quite distracted from me. There was another hellhound that looked to be injured, if the blackish glinting I saw across its flanks as it moved was blood. It was hard to tell from up here, but it seemed to be backing itself against the trunk of this tree, which gave the eagles a hard time meeting it head on.

Quite quickly the demon seemed to realize what the hound did instinctively and started maneuvering so its back was against the tree trunk - my tree trunk! The eagles were swooping up and down but this ineffectual dive-bombing seemed only to steer them closer. That wasn't going to work. I pulled myself together. My rescuers were going to need a little bit of help if we were all going to get out of this alive and relatively unharmed. I pulled my socks up and got a hold of myself.

Shifting my way around the branches I started to lower myself again, ever so carefully bringing myself around to just above where the demon and hound were now cornered. At intervals an eagle would alight on my branch as I worked my way downward. I tried to signal my plan to them, pointing downward, but if they understood, I couldn't say. I got only flaps of wings in response before they took off down again trying to reach their quarry. Finally, I was only a few feet above the demon's raised arms. It was hard to gauge exactly. When attacked around its head, the creature raised its arms, only to be attacked at its midsection, causing him to lower them.

Its frenetic movements under the unrelenting assault made it difficult to determine just how injured the thing was, but clearly it had enough energy to keep fighting. The second hound had pressed its body flat against the tree trunk now, lashing out only when the birds swooped in range. I took a deep breath, and I jumped.

I landed on top of the demon and kept moving downward, taking him forward into a face plant towards the ground. It scrabbled at my calves and feet. I bent my knees and threw out my arms, bracing my body for the landing that was definitely not as hard as it would have been in any environment besides a forest. I kicked my legs out wildly, getting the demon in the face and head, hopefully serving to further stun it, as it certainly hadn't expected my impromptu appearance. I felt the life go out of its arms as an eagle crashed to its back, snapping its spine in a single wrenching shift of its powerful legs as it screamed. The eagle screamed, that is. The demon would be doing no more of anything.

I started to crawl away hurriedly, at some point getting myself to my feet. I put my back against another tree and bent and rubbed my palms against my knees as the full attention of the four eagles fell upon the other hellhound. I heard myself shriek in terror as it snapped its jaws around the wing of one bird, and the leg of another. Now driven by the berserker rage, it was fighting for its life without regards to its defense. The other two birds took full advantage. When it finally fell, the hound's middle was in ribbons, its insides spilling out. The viscera were steaming slightly in the frigid air. I shuddered and looked away as the eagles cried their triumph.

It was quiet for a time, relatively so, anyway. I could feel shifts in the air as the birds moved around. Very nearby came a truly unsettling noise, as one of the shifters changed back to his human form. I had to swallow my sick feeling all over again. When it had stopped, I looked up to see a very stark naked Rudas lying near me on the ground, sitting up to clutch a leg that looked like it had been mangled by a shark.

"Oh god, how can I help you?" I asked, working my way closer, totally ignoring his lack of clothes.

"I will heal," he said quickly, though his deep, hoarse voice did not belie his pain.

Another naked man approached and crouched down beside Rudas. I'd been too distracted to hear him shift back, but I could see his arm was sliced open in several places, and the raw exposed skin had to be agony. Flesh wounds may not be life-threatening, but they certainly hurt like a bitch. Now that they were human again, I was getting this loud and clear from the minds of either shapeshifter.

"Our master, the goblin, and the vampire have gone to the main house," Rudas told me.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Northwest of Shreveport. I do not know the name. There is a lake to the north."

That wasn't terribly specific, but I had too many questions to be pressing for the finer points.

"How did you find me?"

"Your vampire found you. He led us and Mr. Hob followed him, with Mintah."

"They're fighting now?" I demanded.

He only raised his eyebrows in response. I suppose the answer was obvious.

"We have to go help them!" I said.

"I cannot fight another battle tonight," he told me, sounding truly disappointed about it. "My brother will assist me. Go with Ghellert and Sasha." The second name he said wasn't one I knew. I assumed it was the fourth eagle, one of those I'd seen outside Splendide much earlier, in his human form. Had that been only this afternoon? What time was it?

I was shooed away then, and found myself walking a more direct route back towards the house. Ghellert stayed nearby me, swooping from branch to branch above my head. The other, Sasha, was going farther afield before doubling back, keeping his eagle eyes peeled for any nearer danger. We encountered none.

Though it would have been kind of helpful to be able to talk to either of them about our plan once we reached the house, I knew that shifting back and forth was a huge exertion of energy that would be better spent on a fight if, or rather when, it came to that. Also, as tactful as I had tried to be, I could only ignore male nudity up to a point. Since it was definitely not the moment to be distracted by such things, I was grateful not to have to deal with that. I realized fairly quickly that Ghellert was leading the way. I grew more and more anxious as we walked, and when I heard the muted cry ring out from somewhere ahead of us, it only impelled me to move faster.

Eric was inside the house. I knew that for a certainty at this point. As soon as I realized this I tried to figure out if it was just my gut feeling, or if it was his blood in me, and I figured it was probably a combination of the two. When we reached the tree line I stopped and took a solid minute to try to get a handle on myself. I tried to remember exactly what it had felt like when Eric had done his whole "calling me to him" thing. I'd just had the strong impulse to go to him, even after I'd realized that I didn't know why.

This was different entirely because I definitely did know why I felt compelled to go to the house; it was because I was worried and I wanted to help. Maybe that was a foolish impulse, but I wasn't totally incompetent. Well, maybe by comparison I was, but I wasn't about to throw myself into the middle of any fray without thinking. I'd be careful, and I'd help where I was able. I needed some kind of weapon. I decided whether or not Eric was urging me to come to him was irrelevant, because I was going to go either way.

Once we hit the open yard, Ghellert flew ahead with Sasha, but both of them were more or less orbiting around me in the air. I stretched my mind as far as it would go. There were three very strong demons in the house, and two that weren't quite as strong. It's hard to explain the difference, but the stronger demons have more of a mental presence. One of them was Mintah. I didn't try to brush his mind as I didn't want to distract him. I felt Mr. Hob, whose mind was a wholly impenetrable snarl, but it was unique to him, or at least unique to his species, which were extremely rare. It was most likely that the goblin mind inside was our goblin. Finally there was Eric, the void of whom was substantial and familiar. That was also hard to explain, but I was becoming used to the shape of that space. Somehow I felt relieved, when I'd found it.

We reached the patio, absent of the traditional cushioned wicker furniture. This home base was either very new, or very temporary. Actually, because it was winter those things could have been stored away for the season. Darn it Sookie, stop being distracted!

One of the lesser demon minds was suddenly no longer present. Based on the positions of those inside, I thought it had been Hob who killed him. There were French doors nearest to us, but further down the house a single door hung ajar. I headed that way. I turned to motion to the eagles of the direction I was heading when I saw a streak of grey bounding toward the house. The eagles saw it at the same moment I did and screamed in unison, bolting towards it and upward. I turned and scrambled up the few steps and into what turned out to be a dark and empty kitchen. I pushed the door closed behind me, and panted against it for a few seconds before turning back and peeking out the window to see that the two eagles were now in battle with a third hellhound. I had to hope they could dispatch with it as easily as they had the others.

I didn't want to turn on a light. I could hear the fighting much, much closer now. I crept around slowly and silently, sliding open drawers in search of a knife or something. I had to go by touch, mostly, and finally my fingertips brushed against exactly what I'd hoped for. Well, maybe not exactly, but definitely something useful. It was a staple in an old Southern kitchen like this one, or even one like my Gran's; a relic from the days before the convenience of supermarkets and plastic wrapped portions in the grocer's freezer. I closed my fingers around the smooth wooden handle and drew out a massive cleaver. I hefted it in my hand, feeling its weight, which was substantial. It would have to be, given its purpose.

I read a lot, and so I'm familiar with the belief that women are delicate flowers, and if they have to fight or kill, will resort to things like jeweled throwing knives or poisons, or dainty little 22-caliber pistols with pearl inlay on the gun butt. Screw that. This was a woman's weapon. The fleeting memory of Adele Stackhouse paring down a hog leg for Sunday dinner when Jason and I were small filled my mind. Yes. This would do.

Abruptly, a wrenching howl of pain echoed down the hallway and as I reached out mentally I found to my dismay that it was Mintah who was injured. I didn't know for how long they had been engaged in the fighting here. It was only a few scant minutes since we'd come up out of the woods but suddenly everything seemed to be speeding up. I was afraid to run out into the midst of them; there seemed to be a large open space at the end of the hall. I heard Mintah howl again and felt Eric and Hob moving together towards a different target. If Mintah lost this fight, what exactly was my life expectancy anyway?

I ran forward. I wasn't completely surprised by the scene, after all I'd known the rough positions of everyone, but I was taken aback by the evidence of destruction around me. There was broken furniture and holes and other impact points along the walls. The ground was covered in blood, broken glass, plaster, bodies, and somehow even more revoltingly, body parts.

Mintah had his back to the wall, crouched, and a demon towered over him, a terrifying sword held high in his arms. He was poised for a killing blow, one that would take Mintah's head. He has already lost a hand. It was lying next to him in a pool of dark blood. I lunged, and sunk my cleaver into the demon's forearm. I felt it bite down and into the bone but it went no further, for though I was stronger than I should have been (thanks, Eric), I was still just a human.

It reeled, and I was flung backwards as its shoulder connected with my face. The cleaver was stuck in its arm. Mintah, who had seen and possibly felt me coming, didn't hesitate. My employer wrenched the sword out of his attacker's injured grasp and in one majestic sweeping motion did to him exactly what he had intended to do to Mintah, severing the creature's astonished head.

"Miss Stackhouse, out!" Mintah ordered before rounding on his heel to rejoin Eric and Hob.

Eric was fighting one and sometimes two. He'd acquired a sword as well. Hob shifted around, trying to get his arms around either of the demons. He looked almost like a basketball player on defense, trying to block a shot. Hob's reach was truly impressive, considering his height. It nearly matched Eric's, who was twice as tall.

I stood mesmerized, unable to follow the order to leave. I watched as the injured Mintah caught the lesser demon with a glancing blow that didn't seem to injure so much as it did draw his attention away from Eric. Hob followed Mintah and the two of them together worked at cornering the lesser demon.

I realized with a shock that the creature Eric was fighting was Mr. Herbahz, or Haagenti. It wasn't easy to recognize him. Though he'd looked perfectly human when he'd come to Splendide, not so now. His arms and chest were massive. He was shorter than Eric, but much broader. While his skin bore the same ruddy color as it had when I'd seen him before, his short hair was darker and what had been a kindly and benign old face was now twisted in a determined and blackhearted sneer.

I watched with fascination as the two circled each other trading blows, pressing one another only to break apart and come immediately back together. It was vicious and almost too quick to follow. Finally I saw Eric falter, losing his footing and lurching forward. Before I could stop myself I screamed in horror as Haagenti's blade sunk deep into Eric's shoulder.

I lurched forward and wrenched my cleaver out of the arm of the fallen demon at my feet but by the time I'd gotten it free and rose to my feet again, I could see what Eric's plan had been. Eric had dug his sword into Haagenti's belly. Just as I stood and watched, he wrenched it sideways and clean out the other side. As he fell, Eric rose to his feet and finished the job.

My mouth hung open in horror and awe.

Mintah and Hob had finished the last of the lesser creatures. Hob was now moving around the room while Mintah slumped down to the ground to cope with the stub of his wrist. I glanced at the hand on the ground for a moment, then back to Eric, who staggered forward and fell to his knees. His sword clattered to the ground as he wrapped his arm around himself to clutch his injured shoulder. His other arm was entirely limp at his side.

It was suddenly very quiet.

This was broken by Mr. Hob, who very unceremoniously kicked over a demon corpse, divesting it of a piece of loose cloth wrapped around it. He used this to recover Mintah's hand. Hob carried the hand over to my boss and began trying to minister to him. I started to step closer to Eric and when I got within a few feet of him, he groaned.

"Stay back," he warned.

I stopped.

"You're injured," I said stupidly.

Now that I was closer I could see that his arm was nearly severed. He was not doing a very good job of holding it in place. I moved behind him, brushing his hand away and lifting his arm gingerly, shifting it so that it was in the proper position to mend and heal. He groaned again as I did so, and slumped backwards on to his butt. I held his arm steady as he lowed himself so he was lying on the floor.

His eyes were closed and I looked down at him, now kneeling over him myself.

"You'll heal, right?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," he groaned.

"How long?" I asked.

"Maybe by tomorrow night. I must rest for a moment."

It was a mark of the pain he was in that he wasn't crazed with his bloodlust. That's really the only thing that made me offer.

"Do you need to feed?" I asked.

His eyes snapped open.

"I doubt there is any Life Force in the kitchens here," he said grimly.

I shifted myself to his injured side and rolled back my sleeve. I rested my other hand on his injured shoulder.

"If you can control yourself, and stop, you can. If you can't, I will pull your arm off myself," I said. I gave him a small smile, tapping my fingers very lightly so he would get the picture.

I did have every intention of hurting him if he took too much, but I was trying to be nice about it. I was giving him the benefit of a lot of doubt. Pain was really not a flattering look on his face.

He regarded me for a long moment then gave me a slight nod. I lowered my arm to his mouth and he brought his other hand up to hold my wrist very gently. He turned my arm slightly, licking across the radial artery and bit very slowly. I felt only the slightest pinch before he began to drink. He let his eyes close again and after a minute I felt the muscles in his arm spasm where my knees were pressed against him. It was working; he was healing. That was good.

He stopped before I had to tell him to, and he pierced his own tongue on his fang and flicked it out across the tiny wounds in a smear of his saliva and blood, which was disgusting, but in comparison to our surroundings, not overly so. I knew it would heal the little wounds very quickly. After that, he lay back again and I rolled my sleeve back down. I found myself staring down at him and I brushed some hair away from his face, now set with a far more suitable calm expression.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"Sure, Eric. Thanks for helping Mintah and leading them here."

He gave only a low grunt in response, so I rose to my feet, leaving him to recuperate for another few minutes.

Mintah was in a state of similar repose. He held a bloody parcel in his lap, which I presumed contained his hand, because the wrapped end of his arm very clearly did not contain a hand.

"Are you alright, sir?" I asked.

"I will live."

"Your hand?" I asked, fretfully.

"I will learn to use the other," he said grimly. His eyes wandered to the vampire, almost longingly for a moment, before he shook his head. "This went better than it could have gone. Had they been better prepared for us, had we not had additional help..." his voice trailed off.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"My clerk is coming shortly, with supplies. Mr. Hob and he will recover what was stolen from us. Presumably the things are here, somewhere."

"Where are we?" I asked again.

"Not far inside of Texas, south of Caddo Lake."

I shook my head. We weren't more than 30 miles from Shreveport, as the crow flies. Or the vampire. Or the were-eagle. Just far enough away to be in a different jurisdiction, by either supe or human standards. I'm sure this location had been a very deliberate choice. Supes may not cooperate, but they do gossip. Local happenings, such as a dozen demons moving in to an area, would have been noted.

"Where are the others?" Mintah asked.

"Rudas and, I'm sorry, I didn't catch his name. They were injured in the woods. There were two hellhounds, one demon. They said they would be okay. Ghellert and Sasha came up to the house, but they caught another hound just as I came inside."

I looked around again and realized that the French doors leading out to the patio connected here to this room. I pulled back one of the slashed curtains but I could see nothing outside.

"Wait," cautioned Mintah, and for once, I listened. I couldn't sense anything outside, but then I couldn't "hear" the hounds, nor the shifters, when they were in their animal forms. No one in this room was in fighting fettle at the moment. I could only hope the eagles had made easy work of any four-legged foes.

I nodded and turned back to my boss.

"What can I do to help?" I asked.

"Come with me," Hob growled from behind me. I hadn't heard him reenter. I looked at Mintah who gave me a nod, then looked at Eric, who was evidently still healing.

I followed Hob out to the main foyer and back down the short hall that led to the kitchen. A narrow door I hadn't noticed earlier opened down to the cellar. There were wine racks, some with bottles in them. Demons greatly enjoy human food and drink, so it was entirely likely that these things did belong to the demons staying here. Beyond the wine racks there were other sorts of racks, containing what I immediately recognized were the missing artifacts from Splendide, as well as a number of other trinkets.

"Don't touch anything," Mr. Hob said.

Noted.

I nodded my embarrassment and moved to lean against a convenient metal pole; a support beam for the house above. Being down here was something of a novelty to me. The high water table in this part of the South generally prohibits underground structures. I suppose it spoke to the wealth of the estate above, that it would contain such a feature. It wasn't a large space, regardless. Leonard the clerk arrived and I was in no one's way as he and Hob began to carry down the padded crates that we would use to pack everything up for transport back to Splendide.

I rubbed at my face, wincing as I brushed across my cheekbone. I just knew I'd have a terrific bruise tomorrow. Somehow that thought alone brought tears to my eyes, though seconds later I knew it had only been the tipping point. I let my knees bend as my back slid down the pole and I crouched there, face in my hands, feeling battered and exhausted, hungry, and horrified.

I knew so much about the other things that share this world with us, and yet seeing it, really seeing it, just felt like way too much to cope with. In the heat of the moment I'd managed to take it all in my stride but now that it was calm? What I wanted more than anything in the world at that moment was to climb into my bed, pull the covers up over my head, and believe that monsters didn't really exist.

That could never happen.

My stomach was roiling as I finally cried myself out. I felt faint and miserable as I pushed myself back up to my feet. Leonard and Hob had tactfully ignored my breakdown. Perhaps they'd known it was coming, and had brought me down here on purpose, so I could do it out of the way. With a final sniffle and a sigh, I walked back over to them, ready to help if I could. I refused to dwell on the fact that cataloging supernatural artifacts alongside a demon and a goblin was my comforting tether to normality.

Leonard looked up from his lists to hand me a pair of gloves. I pulled them on and got to work with the two of them, recovering and cataloging the inventory and packing everything into the crates. Leonard had evidently traveled here from Splendide by van, behind the rest of the party. He was a curious creature; very fastidious and extremely focused on his work. I had the strong impression that I'd be bothering him in the extreme if I asked him anything more about himself.

After we'd loaded everything of ours, Hob started in on Haagenti's own possessions. Mintah was claiming them all under Demon Law of Incursion, or at least that's what Hob muttered. It seemed strange that Mintah, an exile, would be able to claim anything under the rights of demon laws, but I figured maybe it was more of a tradition.

Leonard grew still for a moment, ceasing his meticulous writing. The sudden absence of the sound of the pen scratching on his parchment caught my attention immediately.

"We must go upstairs right now," he said in his soft, whispering voice. He set all of his work down and immediately walked back towards the steps.

I glanced at Hob who merely grunted and followed.

Mintah and Eric were standing side by side in the foyer as though they were waiting for something. Eric had his sword again, held in his uninjured hand. He beckoned with the injured one, though it seemed to me that he was being careful about the range of motion he allowed himself. His face was unreadable, so if he was still in pain, I couldn't tell. I went to stand beside him and he nudged me back behind him a bit. A half step to the side and he would be completely blocking me.

Abruptly, there was a knock at the front door.

"Enter," Mintah commanded.

Two demon guards entered and stood on either side of the door, preceding a more formidable figure dressed in a sleek, black suit. His black hair was slicked back and he had dark crimson eyes. He seemed especially broad across the back and shoulders, and I wondered fleetingly if he were concealing wings beneath his jacket. His ears were crinkled, looking mangled by human standards, but it was very obvious that despite his raiment, he was not human.

"Mintah," the demon spoke.

"Haageros," replied Mintah.

"My son is dead," Haageros stated. So this was Haagenti's father.

"He died in single combat with his sword in his hand," Mintah replied.

"Who defeated him?"

Mintah must have gestured to Eric because he took a small step forward.

"And you are?" Haageros asked.

"Eric Northman."

"And what crime did my son commit against you, vampire, that you would kill him?"

"He sent his minions to attack my human in her home."

The demon's appraising gaze fell on me for a moment.

"They did not succeed," Haageros observed.

"They did not," Eric agreed, stepping back, and slightly more in front of me than he had been.

Any other situation and I might have balked at the obvious possession he was displaying, but at this moment apparently, Eric was the resident bad ass. I was perfectly content to be standing well behind him.

"The cousins?" Haageros had shifted back to Mintah.

"Also dead," Mintah answered.

"Well," Haggeros said, obviously weighing the situation carefully. After a long pause he continued, "What claims do you make?"

"This land, and anything contained herein, much of which I can assure you, was already mine."

"Granted. What more?"

"I do not wish to hear from you again," Mintah said.

There was another pregnant silence as Haageros contemplated the request.

"Granted."

"Good," agreed Mintah. With his good hand, he tossed a cloth-wrapped parcel over to Haageros, who caught it.

The demon twitched back the cloth revealing Mintah's severed hand.

"What am I to do with this?"

"Deliver it to your masters," Mintah said with indifference. "Tell them to be satisfied with their pound of flesh."

Haageros and Mintah shared a long, hard stare before finally the visiting demon inclined his head. Very quickly he departed, followed by his guards. I followed their brains outside and some distance from the house, before they blinked out of my perception.

It was my sigh of relief that seemed to break the tension.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"That was Haagenti's sire," said Mintah.

"Yeah, I got that," I agreed. "But that's just it? They aren't going to bother you anymore?"

"That family at least, will not," Mintah agreed.

"And they just... accept it all?" I asked, disbelievingly.

"They will not have been unaware of what Haagenti has done here. This was simply a final testimony."

Mintah broke the ranks and ordered Hob and Leonard back downstairs.

I was still a little baffled as to what was happening.

"Mr. Northman, you will see Miss Stackhouse home, I trust?"

"Yes," agreed Eric.

Well then.

"Miss Stackhouse, please report for work by noon tomorrow."

"Alright," I said, not troubling to hide the uncertainty from my voice.

"We'll speak at that time. I have much to wrap up here."

Eric's arm was around me again and I was being led out the front door.

"We're not flying, are we?" I asked tremulously. "Because I really don't think I could handle that tonight."

"No," Eric assured me. "Pam is coming with her car."

Despite the cold, I found the outside to be greatly preferable over the interior of the house, which had grown very foul as the smell of the demon blood permeated the air in there, along with the dust and debris from all of the fighting. I breathed a deep breath. I heard the shriek of either Ghellert or Sasha far overhead and found it to be an oddly reassuring sound as well.

I moved over to the van that Leonard had brought, the doors of which were flung open, and sat down just inside of it. Eric came and sat next to me as we waited.

"Seems like you made a friend today," I observed.

"Yes, it seems so," he agreed.

"I wonder what you get out of this arrangement," I hazarded.

He nearly chuckled. "I suppose we'll see."

"How is your arm?"

"Stiff."

"Thanks for coming," I said, again.

"How grateful are you?" he replied. It was only the hint of a leer. Vampires don't get tired, per se, but it was clear that the majority of Eric's energy was going into his healing.

I lifted my eyebrows at him and he merely smirked in response.

"Perhaps another night you will show me," he said.

"Don't hold your breath," I scoffed.

"You are aware that I do not actually need to breathe."

"Yes, Eric. It's just an expression. It means it is unlikely."

"We'll see," he said, and before I could further object, just out of orneriness, he continued, "You are not actually Cataliades' by-blow."

"No," I agreed. "You already know who my parents were."

"But not the connection to the demons. There is no taste of demon in your blood. There is something..." he mused, and I could almost see him moving his tongue around in his mouth as he tried to recall the taste of my blood.

"Oh?" I asked. My indifference wasn't feigned. I'd resigned myself to the fact that he would know my secret, or part of it, at least, when I'd made the offer, earlier. There was no reason to make it easy on him, however.

"It is different now than it was when I tasted it the other day."

That was surprising.

"Is it you?" I frowned. "Tasting your blood in me?"

"I do not think so. Perhaps it is simply all the demon blood splashed around. Your taste is lovely, but not quite as nice as I'd recalled."

"Um, thanks."

"You're welcome," he agreed, contentedly.

Weirdo.

I leaned against the side of the van door with a yawn but he pulled me over to him. It was no warmer and only a smidgen softer than the hard metal, but the shape of him was more comfortable to lean against. I was tentative at first, being afraid to hurt him, but he threw his arm around me and I settled back. He leaned against me a little bit in kind, and brought his sword up to rest across his lap, relaxing a bit as we waited.

"You're quite good with that," I said, gesturing to the sword.

"You've no idea." There was the leer again.

"I meant the sword."

"So did I."

"I meant the sharp metal sword."

"I have had much training and more opportunity to use a sword over the years," he relented.

"Is that one yours?" I asked.

"It is now," he said, taking it up again. He gave a half-hearted swipe through the air. It was a steel rapier, only about an inch and a half wide at the base, with a fairly ornate shell-guard and pommel. It looked a bit girlish in his large hand.

"I would have pictured you with spatha or something."

"You know about swords."

"I know about all sorts of historical artifacts."

"The Roman sword is good, and I did learn to fight in that style," he paused for a long moment here. Maybe he was remembering something. "They are similar to the ones I learned to use when I was alive. I like the broad blade, but I will trade it for the cross-guard. I am rather fond of my fingers and regrowing them is a considerable nuisance."

He gave the sword another twirl before holding it nearer to me.

"Where is this from?" he asked.

I studied it carefully as he turned his wrist slowly back and forth.

"Northern Europe, 17th or early 18th century maybe."

"Good guess," he agreed.

A powder-blue minivan turned up the driveway then, crunching slowly towards us across the gravel.

"Here is Pam," he said, and I sat up properly.

I glanced at the car, then at Eric. His lip quirked up.

"Is she going to hop out of that thing dressed in black vinyl?"

"Probably. She was working tonight."

She wasn't dressed for work though. She was wearing a sleeveless white buttoned shirt and pink capri pants, and she didn't hop out to greet us. The rear door opened automatically for me.

"Hi Pam," I said, getting in. Eric slid the door closed behind me before taking shotgun.

"Good evening, Sookie. You must be cold. I will turn on the seat warmer." She sounded pleased to have an opportunity to use the luxury feature.

"That would be lovely, thank you," I smiled.

"The demon is dead?" I heard Pam ask Eric.

He proceeded to give her the full run down on the evening's events, during which time I learned that he had led the eagles to me just outside the estate, and Mintah had used the mail glove and one of the pegs to travel instantly to him. Mr. Hob, it seemed, had his own method of traveling, and was able to meet them there.

"The eagles left once we arrived, and I knew that Sookie was in peril, so they went to her to deal with the hellhounds, and the goblin and demon and I were able to take out the two in front easily. After that it was a small matter of time before we were able to get into the house, there was a bottleneck at the door, which was to our advantage. They sent the weaker ones after us first, and I think the goblin killed another hound at one point."

Pam was clearly enthralled as he got in to all the details of his own battle.

"If I had been there, perhaps you and Mintah would not have been injured," she said.

"Perhaps," Eric agreed shortly. "Sookie was able to cleave one of the demons before he could behead Mintah."

"That was fortunate," Pam said hesitantly. It was clear she wasn't sure if Mintah was now an ally of theirs. After tonight, I'd say he was.

"It was," agreed Eric. "And now, we are assured there will be no further trouble from this quarter."

"That is very good," agreed Pam, sounding more comfortable.

They fell silent then, though at intervals I caught them glancing at each other, and again I had to assume that they were somehow communicating to each other. It was obviously nothing they intended me to know, and so I tried not to pay attention to it.

When we finally arrived at my house, Pam pushed a button and once again the side door swung slowly back of its own accord.

"Thanks for coming to pick us up," I said to Pam. "Goodnight now."

"Goodnight," she replied.

Eric had gotten out, and I realized only as we walked towards my house that my keys, wallet, and phone were at Splendide. I stopped short, frowning, but as I turned back, Eric had produced all three things and handed them to me.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"I assumed you would need them."

"That's very thoughtful of you, thank you."

I unlocked my door and stepped inside and he followed me. He seemed to be waiting for me to say or do something, and after I shut the door I rounded on him with a questioning look.

"What's up, Eric?" I asked, feeling entirely too tired to play any kind of game.

"I will be at Splendide tomorrow at first dark to see your boss," he informed me.

"Alright..."

"I am pleased that you are safe," he said.

"Me too. That I am. And that you are," I said quickly. "I hope your arm heals alright tonight, or today, I guess."

"I would like to kiss you now," he informed me, stepping closer.

I bit my lip, sighing through my nose.

It would not be the most foolish thing I'd done today.

I nodded very slightly, and then his hand was cupping my jaw, his thumb freeing my lip from between my teeth and his mouth was on me. This was appropriate, yes? The maiden bestows a kiss upon her rescuer. And he did ask permission. He'd even carried my favor in to battle with him, if a cellphone counts. Very abruptly I was thinking of nothing at all, nothing but his lips on mine, his hand in my hair, his tongue pressing into my mouth, stroking mine, tasting.

I gasped as his arm curled around my waist pulling me towards him and lifting me all in one motion, and I folded my arms around his shoulders and he was kissing me again. I let my fingers curl up into his hair. I may have let out a little moan, which only seemed to inflame his passion. It went on and on, until finally he set me down on my feet again, still holding me against him as he bent his head to the top of my hair. It was me who let go of the hug first, and then he stepped back, smiling faintly.

"Good night Sookie. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Eric."

I locked the door behind him and walked to my bathroom in a daze. My shower was quick and as I pulled on a flannel nightshirt and fresh underwear. I climbed into my welcoming bed, pulling up the covers around me and snuggling down. "What a day," I murmured aloud, as I closed my eyes.

A/N: In case you haven't already, consider taking a look at the entries for the Every Picture Tells a Story contest. There are 3 from this fandom, all of which are great. You can look them up on the profile page of user: random-fandomdotnet. This is the last week to vote for your favorite, so if you're looking for something else to read before Friday, check them out!