Godric looked up at the ceiling as a blue light fell over them, the alarm resonating in the room in a deafening sound, before looking down again at the petite woman in front of him.
- "Come. I will get you out of here." He instructed with the tone of command that came to him so easily, seeing as how he had been issuing orders for decades. He led the way towards the exit, naturally expecting her to follow in his steps. But instead -
- "No." She said flatly, shaking her head, and Godric was slightly taken aback. "No" wasn't an answer he had heard in a very long time. Not even from Stan - who certainly protested a great deal, yet never actually failed to follow a direct order.
But then it dawned on him that she, as a human, may not have been pleased to be ordered around by a vampire, no matter his position in his own kind's hierarchy. After all, his authority didn't extend to humans – and the current situation was a sad reminder of it.
- "I am sorry if I sounded like I was giving you an order," he offered sincerely, "but given the circumstances, I believe it would be best for your own safety to do as I say." Better?
Apparently not, since the detective only rolled her eyes.
- "I wasn't minding the order, sheriff. It's just that it's you they want, meaning that you have to get out as fast as possible. And since I can't keep up with your pace, you need to go on without me." She explained patiently, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. But when he didn't move, her smile faltered. "Now!" she added, urgently this time, glancing towards the door with apprehension, as if fearing that someone may come in at any moment.
But he couldn't leave her behind. Freeing the two humans was one thing, but she had also freed him, knocking out that Gabe man in the process. As such, she had associated herself with him in the twisted minds of the members of the Fellowship. And he feared he knew exactly what that might entail for her if they were to catch her.
Maybe he should carry her out of the church, he pondered, taking in her short size. Yes, that would be the easiest. He couldn't use his full speed while carrying someone, but he would still be going much faster than she would on her own.
- "Don't even think about it." She said levelly, and Godric blinked in surprise. Had he spoken out loud, or had she heard his thoughts? From what he had heard since the two other humans had been brought into the crypt, the woman could read minds, which was why Eric had sent her to look for him. Maybe this one had similar abilities.
- "Sheriff," she went on "this effin' mess arose because of humans. So now humans have to intervene. Because if we don't, it will give the signal that we either can't detect crimes against vampires, or won't bother to deal with them. In both cases, it will only make humans feel more secure to do with vampires as the Fellowship did with you. Which will cause vampires to retaliate. So, all in all, without wanting to sound dramatic - that'll end up bad." She deadpanned.
Godric remained silent. He hadn't thought about that – but now that he did, he could see that she had a point. But this didn't change the fact that she couldn't deal with them alone, and he told her so. Her answer wasn't quite what he expected.
- "I know." She agreed calmly. "But I have informed detective Davis – I've told you about him already – as soon as I found out that Sookie and Hugo were here." She picked her phone from her pocket, and waived it in front of her. "And I told Sookie to call him as soon as they got out, to let him know just how bad things were." She added as she put it away again. "I dare say he's coming with suitable back-up."
Godric surveyed her carefully for a moment. He had to admit, she had thought things out rather well for a human, especially one this young.
Unfortunately, there was a rather large gap in her plan.
- "If they find you before he arrives, they will kill you. Two random witnesses on the run is one thing, but they cannot afford for a police officer to talk." He pointed out to her.
- "I'll tell them that the police is on its way. If they kill me, they won't get away with it." She countered.
- "Yes, they will. Because they will make it look like I was the one who slaughtered you on my way out." He replied sadly.
She blinked, and he knew she saw the truth in his words. And yet, she still looked stubbornly determined not to leave with him.
- "Detective. You said you were not the kind of person to leave anyone behind – human or vampire." He repeated her words, and she looked confused, not understanding where he was getting at. "As it is, neither am I. But I will not force you to come with me if you say that you do not want to. So, please, allow me to carry you out." He pleaded quietly.
This young human was a proud one, he could tell. From what he had witnessed on their first encounter, the fact that she had single-handedly overpowered a vampire, and from her fight with Gabe, he knew that she was impossibly strong for a human. With such strength would come self-confidence, and with self-confidence often came pride. Obviously, she had no problems with rescuing others, while greatly disliking the idea of being the one rescued.
But she was also a rational one. Her reaction when he had come to claim the vampire at the police station, and the way she had just handled their discussion as if it were a negotiation, where each of them offered arguments in turns to back up their position, were evidence of that. And his plan certainly made more sense than her stubborn insistence to get out of here on her own.
And so, he watched as conflicted emotions crossed her features, Pride and Reason obviously battling inside of her, until apparently Reason won. She clenched her jaws and walked towards him with a very reluctant look in her eyes, until she was standing in front of him.
The next moment, he had scooped her up in his arms.
The one after that, however, she was yelping in shock, slamming an open hand against his chest to get away from him. Once she was back on the ground, she hissed at him – she actually hissed – her cheeks red and her black eyes glistening with anger, as if he had just done something extremely offensive.
Godric felt slightly confused. What could he have done to cause this reaction? He was positive he hadn't touched any inappropriate part of her anatomy – he had made sure of it.
"NOT bridal style!" she snapped as an explanation, her hands flying to her hips in indignation. But this only served to increase his confusion. Bridal style?
He simply stood there, not knowing exactly what to do - a situation he couldn't remember having happened to him in the last past decades.
Upon seeing the expression on his face, however, her anger seemed to recede and she even looked somewhat ashamed of herself.
- "Sorry – I just wasn't expecting you to do that." She muttered as she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Turn around, please. It'll be, er, more comfortable if I climb on your back."
And that was the final stroke for the old vampire. Why couldn't she just have asked from the start?
Godric left her far enough from the church so that she wouldn't be spotted by the members of the Fellowship, who had started assembling in there at the news of his escape, yet close enough so that she could watch the situation while she waited for the police.
Less than 10 minutes later, he was back home. When he entered the living room, he saw Isabelle and Eric standing there, engrossed in what seemed to be a heated argument.
- "Sheriff! Oh, thank God!" his second in command exclaimed, and the intense relief that seemed to wash over her was truly more than he deserved. He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips at that.
The Viking's reaction couldn't have been more different.
- "Godric." He said simply, his eyes widening in awe. Then, he bowed his head slightly as he slowly sank to one knee. It truly had been a very long time since he had seen his progeny, the ancient vampire reflected. He had forgotten how deferential Eric could be - at times.
But then he noticed his other lieutenant's absence, and the smile was gone from his face.
- "Where is Stan?" He inquired quietly.
The blond and brunette vampires exchanged looks that spoke volumes.
- "We don't know, sheriff." His underling admitted, her eyes dropping to the floor in shame. "He's not in the house, and he won't answer his phone. Eric and I believe he must be having a drink with a couple of nest mates, however we were disagreeing over what Stan "having a drink" may entail…" Her voice trailed away delicately.
The old vampire's face darkened as he wondered whether the cowboy was scheming something. He knew his underling's taste for violence. However, Godric had always been able to contain him, and since despite his prolonged absence, Stan hadn't attacked the Fellowship, it seemed that Isabelle had been able to do the same. There was really no reason for him to choose this particular night to misbehave. But the sheriff wouldn't risk it.
- "We need to find him. Check his usual hideouts while I contact his closest mates." He ordered. Godric was less than fond of the places where Stan usually spent his leisurely time, and he wouldn't step in there unless the circumstances urgently required it.
Before any of them could leave, however, a member of his staff - Javier - came into the room carrying a phone.
- "Sheriff – you're back!" He exclaimed excitedly as he spotted his sheriff, before remembering what he had come for. "Detective Davis is on the line for you, Isabelle."
Godric stilled upon hearing that piece of news. If the detective had informed Davis of the situation as soon as she had found the captive humans, and given the time that had since passed, Davis should have already arrived at the church. So why would he be calling Isabelle now - unless something was happening there that was involving vampires? Godric mused. And just when Stan had gone missing…
- "Tell him this is not a right time." His second answered with an impatient waive of her hand, and Javier turned on his heels, but before he could leave the room, Godric had caught up with him and snatched the phone.
After his encounter with detective Park at the police station, Godric had sent a human to Davis to inform the older detective that he'd let him know how the vampire responsible for the attacks on humans was going to be treated. And he had told Isabelle about his wish to cooperate with the human police on this specific case.
However, he had been taken by the Fellowship just after that, and hadn't been able to meet Davis himself. But if the man's name was spoken with such familiarity in his home, it meant that Isabelle had carried on with his plan. He was glad that this one, at least, seemed to have worked out well.
- "Detective Davis. This is the sheriff speaking." He said simply.
- "Well sheriff, we have a problem." The human detective informed him sharply. This man didn't beat about the bush.
- "More precisely, we have a bunch of vampires who just barged into the Fellowship of the Sun's church, before we could do anything to stop them. Park convinced me to call my contact at your office in order to reach you, and not send armed men in there while she tried "to hold the vampires from doing anything stupid" - her words - until you arrive."
From his tone, it was plain that the one doing something stupid right now was her. Godric, however, inwardly blessed the girl's brains.
- "She assures me you'll deal with the situation." The older detective went on, and this time his voice had a suspicious edge to it, as if he was wondering where his protégé's trust in the vampire sheriff came from. And in all honesty, Godric wouldn't have been able to answer that question. "We have agreed on a signal that she is to give me if things get out of hand, so if you're not there when it happens… Well, let's hope things won't come to this." The detective finished.
The ancient vampire was used to dealing with all sorts of situations. So much that all of them had an air of déjà vu, and therefore failed to stir any emotions in him – or at least, not strong ones.
At the detective's second sentence, however, he felt anger. Stan. This time, he had gone too far. Godric had always managed to keep him from harming humans, but now he was going to have to deal with his underling, regardless of what happened tonight.
And at his third sentence, the feeling turned into an even more unusual one. For the very first time in - he couldn't remember how long - he felt something clench within him. He was actually dreading what might happen if he was too late.
In a flash, he was out of his home again, not bothering to check whether Eric and Isabelle were following. They wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed anyways.
The journey back to the church took him even less time that the one from it. When he reached the wide open doors of the sanctuary, he was faced with a situation more serious than he had expected.
Humans had assembled in there, armed with stakes and silver chains. Vampires were clinging to almost each of them, fangs out, but – was it uncertainty on their faces that seemed to be holding them from sinking their fangs into the humans' throats?
He had no time to reflect on that. He needed a place from which he could dominate both human and vampire, and put an end to that mess. He raised his eyes. They landed on the balcony. In less than a heartbeat, he was up there.
- "Enough." He called out to all of them in a calm, yet powerful voice that carried throughout the sanctuary. Dozens of eyes rose to him at that, vampire and humans alike.
From his place, he could clearly see reverend Newlin standing near the altar, dressed in a suit of pure white, Stan holding him by the hair and jerking his head back at a rather dangerous angle, exposing his throat. Godric watched as his Adam apple went up and down, before allowing his eyes to sweep over the scene that lay beneath his feet.
Everyone seemed to be frozen in their position. He saw that the young detective stood facing the altar, and since she wasn't looking at him he could only see the back of her head. But he could tell from her stillness that she was listening to his words. His eyes travelled back to his lieutenant.
- "You came for me, I assume." He stated flatly. "Underling?" He pressed when said vampire failed to give confirmation.
- "Yes, sheriff." The cowboy acknowledged through gritted teeth.
- "These people have not harmed me." He informed him. "You see, we can coexist." He added for everybody's benefit.
Then his eyes shifted to the reverend lying at his underling's feet.
- "Mr. Newlin." He addressed him. "I do not wish to create bloodshed when it is uncalled for. Help me set an example. If we leave you in peace, will you do the same?" He tried to reason.
But as he had expected, the spiteful man was beyond hope.
- "I will not negotiate with sub-humans." He spat. "Kill me. Do it." He said, looking up at Stan while provocatively loosening the noose of his tie. "Jesus will protect me." He added, as he closed his eyes and raised his head towards the ceiling. Godric smothered an eye roll with difficulty.
- "I'm actually older than your Jesus." He conversationally informed the reverend, whose eyes reopened at that, and he looked towards the ancient vampire. "I wish I could have known him. But I missed it." Godric said regretfully.
He did wish he could have known the prophet – and yet, a part of him thought it was for the best that they had never met. Jesus had only been a human, after all, and the Godric from 2,000 years ago had been about as human-friendly as the Stan from the present days. And he had had no one to hold him back from his fits of violence.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on such memories. In a flash, he was standing right next to the reverend, snatching him away from Stand and holding him by the back of his suit so that he was facing the audience.
He heard the humans gasp in awe, and he looked up from the man in his hand. The detective was still standing right where she had been, which was now only a few feet away from him, arms crossed under her chest. She was surveying him with her head tilted slightly to one side and her eyebrows raised, but he couldn't read the expression on her face.
He shifted his gaze so as to embrace the whole assembly.
- "Good people. Who of you is willing to die for this man's madness?" He asked rhetorically.
Everyone remained silent.
- "That's what I thought." He said quietly, nodding to himself. Then, addressing the vampires, he ordered: "Stand down everyone."
To his left, he saw Stan roll his eyes as every other vampire retracted their fangs.
- "People." He said, this time calling out to the human. "Go home. It's over now."
They scattered, and he could hear them whisper to each other as they went. He then pushed the reverend, who fell on his knees in front of him, and looked down at him.
- "I dare say my faith in human kind is stronger than yours." He said with contempt.
At that he raised his eyes, and they fell on the young detective. She was looking down at the reverend with a disgusted look on her face – but he couldn't tell whether the expression was directed towards himself or the man lying at his feet. He hoped it wasn't the former.
Mainstreaming before the Great Revelation had been virtually impossible, which meant that Godric, like most vampires, had had to keep away from humans for his entire life. Except of course for the occasional hunting, feeding and fucking. The last activity, he hadn't pursued in years. The first two he had had to continue, but since the invention of True Blood, he had mostly fed on the synthetic liquid, since he didn't need much of it anyways. All together, he couldn't say that he knew any humans. There were some human figures he admired, of course, like Jesus – but he didn't know them.
And now a human of flesh and blood was standing just in front of him that he was starting to respect. She had shown nerve, strength, intelligence, and her faith in him, although he couldn't explain it, had just prevented a slaughter. Which was why, although his conscience about was he had just done was clean, he felt he would be somewhat chagrined by her disapproval.
His gaze went from her to his lieutenant – or rather future ex-lieutenant – and simply said:
- "Come."
- "Sir." The cowboy protested. "After what these humans have done to you…"
- "I said come." Godric interrupted in a quiet, yet final tone. He was not in a mood to discuss with Stan right now. Or to so much as listen to his voice, for that matter.
Stan went quiet and followed in his sheriff's steps. When they reached the entrance of the sanctuary, Godric saw Eric waiting for him, leaning against a pillar, his arms firmly crossed over his chest, accusation etched on his face.
The maker knew that his progeny must have been wounded when he had sped away from the living room, just after their reunion, and without so much as an explanation. One thousand years, and yet the Viking warrior could still act like such a baby vampire at times, Godric thought rather fondly.
- "Child." He called out to him, allowing his affection to transpire in his voice, and the Viking's features softened. "Escort Stan back to the nest. Make sure he does not disappear again."
- "Aren't you coming back there with us, Godric?" The taller vampire asked, his expression turning to surprise.
- "I have unfinished business here. I will join you later." The older vampire answered simply.
- "But the sun will be up in barely more than an hour!" His child protested, his overprotective tendencies towards his maker showing. "It's dangerous – "
However, before the giant blond could finish his sentence, a clear voice resonated behind him.
- "Sheriff!" He turned to find himself face to face with the detective.
- "Well, you made quite the entrance there… Sweeping in at the nick of time like that…" She said with a clouded expression. And then, her face broke into a smile so suddenly that he was slightly taken aback.
- "Do you know what that makes you?" She inquired with good humour, and his confusion increased. What kind of question was that? When he failed to reply, she graciously offered the answer: "Well Sheriff - that makes you a big damn hero." Her eyes twinkled, and she gently tapped a hand to his shoulder.
He was so surprised by the familiarity of her expression and gesture that he didn't even see Eric's hand shoot towards hers.
The next moment, she was jumping backwards as his progeny snatched her wrist away from Godric and held it tightly.
- "Do not. Presume. To touch him. With your filthy hands, human." He spat at her, and Godric almost almost torn between fondness and annoyance at this demonstration of his progeny's possessive nature.
But then he saw shock and pain spread over the detective's lovely features, and decided on annoyance as something twisted inside of him.
However, in a heartbeat her expression had turned to anger, which almost immediately vanished as she quickly groomed her features into a blank expression. Once more, he was impressed by her self-control.
Slowly, she looked down to his hand on her wrist, and then, slowly, her gaze travelled back up to his face.
- "Let me go." She said calmly, but he didn't miss the cool edge in her voice.
At that, Godric was brought back to their first encounter. She had adopted a very similar expression and tone of voice when the big man – Joe – had seized her after she had instructed him to hand Godric his money back. Only, if she came to hands with Eric, she wouldn't end up having the upper hand this time.
So before the situation could worsen, Godric decided to intervene.
- "Unhand her, Eric." He called out to his progeny wearily. He felt like he had issued this exact same order to his child over a million times already. And when the taller vampire failed to comply with his order, he repeated, rather sharply this time: "Unhand. The detective." Eric blinked in surprise.
- "Do you know this tiny human, Godric?" He inquired as he dropped his hand to his side submissively. Godric nearly smiled as the corner of his eye caught sight of said tiny human's expression upon hearing the adjective.
- "Yes." The shorter vampire answered simply.
Eric looked at him expectantly, and Godric knew that his child was waiting for him to elaborate on the nature of his relationship with the human. But he didn't, and after a moment of unblinkingly looking into each other's eyes in silence, Eric didn't dare press the matter. With one dark, warning glance towards the detective, he super-sped away.
Godric turned to look at the young woman. Her eyes were lingering on the spot Eric had just vacated with a very annoyed look to them, but the moment she caught sight of him looking at her, she forced her features into a smile again.
- "I apologize for his behaviour." He said truthfully.
- "No harm done, Sheriff." She replied smoothly. "He wasn't among the ones who swamped the church tonight, so he definitely has that going for him. Plus, if a bunch of crazy lunatic vampires had just kidnapped my superior and planned to offer him as sacrifice to the god of vampires, and I had seen another one raise a hand to him, I may have had the same reaction." She seemed to ponder her own words for a second. "Well, no, I wouldn't – not without a word of warning first." She conceded.
No, Godric agreed. From what he had seen until now, she definitely wouldn't. Dimly, he wondered where the feeling of pride that stirred inside of him at this thought came from.
- "But then again, not everyone can be the epitome of civilization that I am." She added in a mock tone of self-importance, pushing her hair away from her eyes with an exaggerated gesture, before flashing him another smile and winking at him.
This human was quite surprising. The first couple of times he had met her, and even that very night in the crypt, he had believed her to be the independent, quiet type. But now, he realized that when she wasn't in a life-threatening situation, she was, in fact, much more easy-going than he had imagined.
And that she had a truly charming smile.
- "Girly!" A voice sharply interrupted his musings. He turned his eyes to the entrance of the church to see a young woman sprinting up the stairs and towards them. Tall, thin, elegantly dressed – definitely Asian. Or Eurasian, he thought as she got closer and he took in her green eyes and slightly less angular features.
- "You, my dear, have got some explaining to do." The newcomer said with a scowl, as she resolutely crossed her arms under her chest.
Godric's look shifted back to the detective, just in time to catch her eye-roll. Her eyes met his, and she pointed towards the church's exit.
- "You should leave, sheriff… This may take a while." She told him wearily. "Davis is outside, and I know he'd like to have a word with you" she added when he failed to go. Godric hesitated. He would have liked to ask her how she had managed the feat of keeping Stan and the other blood-thirsty vampires from slaughtering the humans until he arrived. And why she had trusted that he would come if called in the first place.
But then both girls were staring at him, one looking apologetic, the other furious, as if he were interrupting some private conversation. Which he found a tad bit rich, since she was the one who had stormed in there while he and the detective were talking.
But he smothered the disappointment and irritation that were threatening to rise inside of him, and after inclining his head in farewell, took his leave from the young ladies.
As he stepped outside the church, his eyes fell upon the cars of police that were still gathered in a barrage, as the policemen were taking the statements of the human that had witnessed the scene. He inquired for detective Davis, and a blond, youthful looking officer pointed him towards an older man a bit further away. Godric took a moment to examine him. The man was in his early forties, he would have said, tall, lithely built, with light brown hair and deep blue eyes in a strong face. Godric supposed he could be described as quite alluring.
Once he arrived at the man's level, he was about to introduce himself, but after a single glance, the detective greeted him with a sharp nod.
- "Sheriff. So we finally meet." He said in a somewhat guarded tone.
Godric blinked, wondering how the older man could have known who he was. But he didn't allow his surprise to show. And he was truly pleased that the detective didn't look him up and down disbelievingly, taking in his youthful-looking appearance, like most people did upon learning that he was the sheriff.
- "Detective." He greeted the man back. "I've been told you wanted a word."
- "I would like to take your statement. For the investigation." The man acknowledged.
- "What will be happening now?" The old vampire inquired. He truly hadn't foreseen all the consequences of his actions when he had allowed the Fellowship of the Sun to take him, he realized.
- "Bah." The detective shrugged. "We're charging the reverend with a couple of felonies – mostly false imprisonment. But he'll have a lawyer who'll get him out in not time. And we've given the witnesses a warning that next time they participate into such actions, there would be consequences." He paused, before adding: "Although I think your intervention made more of an impression on them than our warning." He said, surveying the sheriff through narrowed eyes.
- "I never threatened them." Godric said quietly.
- "I never said you had." The detective replied levelly. For a moment, the two of them only looked at each other in silence. Then the detective spoke again. "I will need to take your statement now." He said simply.
The vampire reflected on that. He really couldn't stay any longer: the sun was going to rise very soon, and he still had things to deal with once he got back home. He told the human so.
- "But if detective Park were to stop by at my office when the sun goes down, I would be happy to give it to her." He added, emphasizing the young woman's name. "I believe you know the address."
The man looked at him with a rather surprised, then suspicious look on his face. Then he shrugged and the expression was gone, which Godric took as an acknowledgment of the proposal.
The ancient vampire turned his gaze towards the church one last time before leaving. As he flashed away, he realized he didn't even know the young detective's first name.
That's it for the Fellowship of the Sun part!
Next chapter will cover the welcome-back party at Godric's place. I've already written it, but I don't want to publish it until I have written the one after, this way I can still make corrections.
VampireElf14, zebra-scarf, xSealiee, Xtyne, Lil Miss Sunshine thank you sooooo much for your support! Your reviews made me want to write faster AND better, because I feell like I have to keep up with your expectations :D
VampireElf14: I hope you'll find I didn't kill him off ;)