A/N: First let me apologize for leaving you guys hanging for so long, but I blame E!online for interrupting my life with all of that Alpha Male voting crap! Now that my fingers have stopped cramping up, I can return to this. As promised, this is a bit of a longer chapter (but it's not Moby Dick, so don't get too excited). Once again, KCP thank you for fixing all my commas (cause I hate those buggers) and, for putting up with my multiple mailings when I can't remember what I've already sent you! Yes, since having children I have lost what little of my sanity I had and, with that, my memory flew out the window. They say insanity is hereditary; you get it from your kids. Anyway, back to our Viking . . . *lick, slurp*

Chapter 9

When Pam and I arrived at the airport, we were greeted by Bill, Sam, Amelia, Sandy Seachrest, a vampire introduced as Ian Holcroft, Alcide Herveaux, and another were that I did not know. I cocked a questioning eyebrow at Sam, but Sandy answered.

"Northman," she greeted me in her curt manner. "The king has ordered me and Ian to accompany you and, assist you in any way. Ms. Stackhouse is under his formal protection and, he is quite upset that this has happened. He has also made his private jet available to you." She stopped talking and indicated a Lear jet in the background. "There are five travel boxes already on board." She proffered, anticipating my next question.

"And you Herveaux?"

Alcide stiffened slightly but answered, "Sookie is a friend of the pack! She will always have our support. Sam, Calvin and I can search for her during the day." He looked pointedly at Eric. "When you can't."

My face betrayed nothing, but inside I seethed. The wolf was right. She had suffered the entire day and I had been unable to do a thing about it. The thought tore at me.

The other were shot Alcide a slightly irritated look, then looked at me. "I'm Calvin Norris."

"The were-panther. Sookie's friend." I looked at his hand. "Are you healed?"

Calvin flexed his fingers. "Well enough."

I nodded. For her, I would swallow my pride. Three of the two-natured and a witch. They would be of use during the day.

They boarded the plane and Sandy went to speak to the pilot. A moment later she reappeared. "Northman, where are we headed?"

"South. Venezuela."

Several heads swung toward me. I did not really feel like explaining myself, but they were all here, for her. Pam and Amelia knew and, if he had not known before, Sam learned on the night that Sigebert attacked me and de Castro outside Merlotte's, but I did not know if Alcide, Calvin or the other vampires had been told.

"Sookie and I share a blood bond." I looked at each of them, daring them to say something. Alcide looked horrified, but to his credit said nothing. Sandy and Ian merely nodded, as if understanding something, but they too said nothing. Bill's face betrayed nothing, but his eyes told a different story. Norris looked a little sad, but also nodded.

"So what now? You're like vampire GPS?" Everyone looked at Amelia. "What? You're all wondering it."

I looked at her. "Yes Amelia. I suppose I am like vampire GPS. The bond is currently weak because of the distance, but I can feel her enough to pinpoint where she is."

"I tried using a locator spell for her, but I got nothing." Amelia whispered. "If it wasn't for you, I'd think she was dead. Even Claudine can't find her."

"Well then, we know this much; whoever it is knows about you and," I hesitated, "Claudine." Let the others think she was another witch. "Clearly they've used some kind of magic to block you. The question is, how?" I looked at each of them, but no one seemed to have an idea.

Sandy snapped her phone shut. "We know a bit more." She said ominously. "There was an incident during the day today at one of our offices. The theft of a large amount of cash. At first we had no reason to connect it to what happened to Sookie. However, our investigators just uncovered something. They traced the theft back to someone in the king's inner circle. When they searched his home they found files, listening devices and recordings. Sookie has been under surveillance for a long time Eric. Apparently there were listening devices in her home, her car, her work . . . even one in her evening bag three nights ago."

Three nights ago? Sandy meant the night of the party in New Orleans. So someone knew. Someone knew exactly how I felt about her.

"Why would someone have surveillance on Sookie?" Sam asked.

Sandy looked at me, clearly not wanting to answer the question.

I looked down at my hands then back at all of them. "To get to me. Someone is using Sookie to get to me."

Sam let out a string of choice expletives, but to his credit, did not attack me. He did, however, surprise me. "How do you know it's about you? What if this is about Niall? He has plenty of his own enemies."

Sandy looked from me to Sam. "Niall? The fairy prince? What am I missing?"

Sam looked at me, unsure if he should say anything or not. Amelia took care of that.

"He's her great grandfather."

I hissed at her, but she kept on going. "Don't you give me that Eric! She's in trouble and if we're going to help her, we all need to be on the same page. Sam is right. How do we know this about you and not Niall?"

How was I to tell them? It had to be more than coincidence that two days after we were together, after I professed my love to her, that she was taken. I was not going to share that with them though.

"Whoever it is has made sure that neither Amelia, nor Niall and his ilk, can find or contact Sookie, yet they've done nothing to try to shut down the bond between Sookie and I. They want me to know exactly what is happening to her."

It was Calvin who spoke first. "Eric. What is happening to her?"

I looked him in the eyes. It was obvious this man held Sookie in high regard, maybe he even loved her. I could not blame him for that. My eyes must have betrayed more than I thought because he looked down and asked, "And you can feel it?"

"All of it. Even at this distance. It woke me in the day."

Amelia ran to the restroom and we could hear her getting sick. Alcide looked like he was on the verge of transforming, his rage was so obvious. Bill looked murderous. Even Pam was having difficulty maintaining her usual air of disaffectedness.

Sandy broke the tense silence. "Eric? Sookie is a direct descendant of Niall? We need to make sure he knows a vampire did not do this."

"We do not know that one was not involved."

"Fairy. I guess that explains a few things," Alcide said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked him, taking a step forward. Sookie already believed it was her fairy tainted blood that attracted us to her. I did not need this pup convincing her of it.

"Nothing! It's just that I thought I smelled a fairy with her the night we fought Priscilla and her pack from St. Catherine's Parish. I didn't understand it at the time, but I never had a chance to talk to her about it."

I knew about this from Pam. Sookie had a knack for getting into dangerous situations, but this? This was beyond anything she had experienced before.

I may have grunted something at Alcide, and he got up and to get a drink. I walked to one of the windows and stood, staring at the night sky blur past.

Ian approached and stood next to me. He said nothing for a few minutes and then, "I was once bonded. I will do anything in my power to help your Sookie."

I turned to look at him and the pain in his eyes was all the confirmation I needed. Then I did something I almost never do. I reached out my arm to him and he gripped it like a warrior; clasping my forearm near my elbow. It was our pact.

"Eric?" I heard Amelia's voice behind me.

I turned to face her friend. The brave little witch who was prepared to stab Victor the night of the take over. "You said that what . . . what was happening to Sookie woke you during the day. That means a vampire didn't take her doesn't it?"

"No a vampire did not take her," Sandy interjected, "but I know who did."

Additional A/N: What? You thought I'd give it to you that easy?