Chapter 12

My scribbles are shepherded by my lovely beta, Northman Maille,
to whom I am most grateful.

XXXXXXX

Eric was first to arrive on the scene, with Sookie close behind. Oliver was reeling like a pinball, in the hallway outside his room. He was clasping his throat with both hands and the light of reason had left his eyes. His excruciating shrieks pierced through the shadowed halls until all else was drowned out. In this corner of the world, Oliver's pain was all that existed.

Eric stopped fully ten paces before reaching him and extended an arm to stop Sookie's progress.

"It isn't safe, Dearest. Look at his eyes."

"He won't hurt me," Sookie said, ducking under his arm.

He stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Mina is obviously being tortured, Sookie. You know what that means. Her pain consumes him. At this moment, he is the most dangerous sort of wounded animal. Leave him until it is over."

Sookie met Eric's pleading gaze with an almost serene calm. "Eric, I love you more than life, but I need you to take your hands off me, right now, and get out of my way. You didn't leave me to suffer alone. He isn't leaving Mina, and I will not leave him. He will not hurt me."

She stood perfectly still and waited for his response. Another shrill scream came from Oliver, followed by a series of low snarls. There were sounds of footsteps coming, doors opening, and the ding of the elevator. Soon there would be a crowd of onlookers.

Eric held his hands in place and Sookie watched his face change as he considered and rejected his various options.

"You gave Oliver to me," she said evenly. "He is my responsibility. I understand that you don't trust him not to harm me unintentionally, but Eric, you must trust me. Trust me to know what I'm doing. Let me by."

For a moment he looked as though he might grab her up, toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to their room. Then without word or warning, he dropped his hands and stepped aside.

"Thank you," she said as she rushed past.

"Oliver!" she whispered urgently as she approached him with her hands outstretched in front of her. "Oliver, I'm here. Come to me."

"They're hurting her, Mistress!" he wailed. "She can't breathe!"

"We have to help her breathe now, Oliver. Come sit with me and help her breathe."

His face was a contorted mass of confusion and pain. His eyes were wild and bulging. Occasional torrents of tears streaked his cheeks and matted his hair with blood giving him the appearance of being horribly injured.

With Eric watching their every move, ready to intercede in an instant if anything went awry, Sookie got directly in front of Oliver, no more than a foot from him, and she knelt on the floor. Eric felt himself begin to reflexively crouch as his body prepared to spring into action.

There was no need.

"Noooooo!" Oliver screamed. His hand flew to the side of his neck and swatted as if mosquitoes were harrying him. "NOOO! Not Mina!"

As he continued to scream, Sookie reached up, grabbed his shirt and gave him a yank, causing him to lose his balance and come crashing to the floor.

"I wonder if they gave her to Saaset or Alexei?" Ermessen's voice seemed to appear from nowhere. Suddenly she was standing beside Eric, speaking to him in far away tones as she watched Sookie struggling to scoop Oliver into her arms and comfort him.

"Does it matter?" Eric asked.

"Only in so far as Alexei is also the progeny of your Maker. He will be more difficult to avoid in future."

He didn't respond. He refocused on Sookie and Oliver. A long keening howl came from Oliver as his body went limp and fell across Sookie's lap.

He looked up at Sookie through his tears. "The bond is broken. She is gone." He collapsed onto the floor.

Sookie folded herself over him, as if protecting him from some unseen threat from above. "Shhh," she murmured. "She's alright now, Oliver. She's safe and it doesn't hurt any more."

He made a pitiful gurgling sound and Sookie placed her hand gently on his throat. "See, the pain is gone," she said, as the leg of her jeans became blood soaked with his tears.

Eric, Ermessen and a growing number of servants looked on.

"You were always indifferent, Eric." Ermessen said after a moment. "I suppose it was part of your charm, your ability to seem so cool and aloof regardless of what chaos surrounded you, but in all the centuries I've known you, I never thought you cruel."

He didn't have time for inane prattle. He had to be at the ready in case Oliver truly did go mad and try to relieve Sookie of her head in an effort to shut her up. "I don't suppose speaking with a little more clarity is an option, is it, Ermessen? I am ill prepared for deciphering riddles at present."

"You should never have turned her," Ermessen stated with all the bluntness of a housecat dropping its latest kill at its master's feet. "You will never be able to make her happy."

Eric glared down at Ermessen with fangs bared and a menacing growl working its way up his throat.

"A bit too much clarity, for you?" she said with a scoff. "Put those away before a guard stakes you.

Men are such fools. You believe if we are in love with you and we scream your name when you come to our bed, we are happy. You believe this because this is all it takes to make you happy, but women are different, and we are as different from each other as we are from you."

Eric retracted his fangs and stared at her.

"You are surprised," she said with a knowing grin. "Why is it I am not?" She nodded in Sookie's direction. "She is a mother, this woman you chose. Look how she holds him. Her love is plain."

Eric's eyes darted to Sookie and immediately began to display his growing alarm.

"Idiots, all," Ermessen muttered. "She is not in love with him. Look at her. Is that the face of a woman in love? Try allowing the head above your shoulders to think for a moment. You men all do too much of your thinking with your cock. It is far too great a burden for such a little thing."

Eric stared back at her aghast. He looked as if he couldn't decide whether to be shocked at her candor or offended by her size reference.

"Yes, I know," she laughed. "Your endowments are legend. I've seen pictures. Several of your conquests are quite skilled artists, but I digress.

The point is your Queen. She has the heart of a mother. She loves as a mother loves, deep and without conditions. Had you left her in her world, she would have married someone who would have given her many children and she would have dedicated her life to them.

When you made her vampire, you took from her an essential part of who she is. Therefore it is up to you to give her a replacement."

"As you are aware, it is not possible for me to give her children."

"Give her people, Eric. Surround her with pets and encourage her to become a Maker."

"She has several pets," he said defensively. "And she is not yet ready to become a Maker."

Ermessen was looking at Sookie and smiling. Eric followed her gaze.

Sookie was sitting on the floor with Oliver sprawled out next to her, his screams had dwindled to mournful whimpers punctuated by an occasional angry roar. She had her arms wrapped around his shoulders and was holding his head tight to her chest. "It's all right. It's over now," she was whispering to him. "She doesn't hurt any more." Her face betrayed the sadness she felt, but her voice didn't falter.

There, in the floor, rocking another man in her arms, Eric had never been more mesmerized by her, or more in love.

"And Eric."

He tore himself away from staring at Sookie and turned to Ermessen.

"Understand that no matter how completely she loves you, and she does, her children will always come first. It is not a reflection on her feelings for you. It is who she is. Love her enough to give her what she needs to be herself, or she will pay the price for your conceit."

Eric glowered down at her, but said nothing.

"What would you have me call it?" she asked, as if daring him to claim she was wrong. "The decision is yours, my old friend, the gift is yours to give, or not. Do you love her enough to allow others to outrank you in her affections without feeling your position is threatened?"

He looked back at Sookie cradling Oliver. He felt no jealousy, no threat. Her arms did not caress Oliver as they would a lover. Yes, he thought proudly. I could do as you claim must be done. He almost said as much out loud, but decided he would sound like a child trying to talk his way out of a spanking. Besides, Ermessen's question was rhetorical. It required no answer.

Ermessen looked around at the gathered crowd. "I believe the spectacle had ended. It is time we all returned to our duties." As everyone dispersed, she said to Eric. "Appius has requested I accompany him to review the newly recruited members of his make believe army. Not so many as he wanted, but they will have to suffice for the moment. Two hundred, I believe he said."

"Two hundred fourteen," Eric corrected with a forced grin.

"Splendid. See if Sookie can get him out of the hall. One of the soundproof conference rooms, perhaps. I suspect anger will overtake his grief fairly soon and anger tends to be a louder emotion for men."

XXXXXXX

"Alexei, have you risen? Are you there? I don't hear you. Please say something if you're there."

"I am here," he answered.

"Oh, good," Saaset said, relief plain in her voice. "I was afraid I might be alone. Is Mina, umm, is she, did she survive?"

"I am alone." His emotionless tone was chilling.

"I'm sorry. I liked her."

"Will you leave me in peace, woman?" Alexei screeched. "Am I not near enough to madness? Must I listen to the frightened babbling of a lonely schoolgirl as well?"

"Do not pretend to know me," she hissed. "I was a grown woman before my Maker turned me. I am now the chosen of an ancient. I am the bride of Don Perdigo Rog. You will speak to me with the respect I am owed."

"You dare speak to me of respect? I am Tsarevich of all the Russias! You are the whimpering progeny of an old fool who repeatedly tries to will you through your silver cage."

"You are the former Tsarevich," Saaset scoffed. "And just in case that Roman soldier doesn't let you watch T.V. or read a newspaper, there is only one Russia now, and it is a lot smaller than when you left it. You are now merely the current plaything of the Norseman's Maker, and make no mistake, I have heard your screams often enough to be sickened by them as well."

"Fair enough," Alexei conceded. "I was traveling to attend a reception given by the Queen of Spain, when my coffin was stolen from a ship in daylight. I was to meet the Norseman there, for the first time."

"You have never seen him?" Saaset asked. "Surely your Maker has told you about him?"

"I saw his portrait once. It hangs in the palace of King Vincentas of Lithuania. I have heard it said the Queen is in love with him." Alexei paused before continuing. "I believe my Maker is as well. Ocella speaks of him only when making comparisons to my shortcomings."

"I have heard stories of many women, human and vampire, who were in love with him, men too. The stories sound quite mythic. They can't possibly be true."

"Do you know him?" Alexei asked.

"No. I too was going to meet him and his American Queen for the first time, at Queen Ermessen's reception. If you had taken an interest in Mina, rather than all your conversations with her revolving exclusively around you, you could have asked her to tell you about him."

"The human girl? Why would I have asked Mina about him?

Saaset gave a short laugh. "So arrogant. You noticed she had an American accent, yet you never asked who she was or why she seemed to know so much about vampires? Silly boy.

Your temporary roommate was a pet. She belonged to Queen Sookie, your brother's chosen."

After a good thirty seconds of stunned silence from Alexei, Saaset added, "Don't feel too bad about it. You had no choice. You had to kill her. I'm sure the Norseman will understand."

"You bitch!" Alexei screamed at her, jumping up and running toward the bars of his cell and being stopped short by his chains. "You knew who she was, and you said nothing through three nights?"

"Would she still be alive if you knew who she was? Would you have thought of her, or only what she might have done for you? We both know the answer. It would be the same if it were me. The only difference is I took the trouble to show an interest in her before she was taken to you to be slaughtered."

Alexei screamed his frustration in a barrage of obscenities.

"You know, I believe you must have liked her too, despite your willingness to make a meal of her."

"If I get free of these chains, I will kill you along with the faeries," he growled. "And I will tell your Maker you cursed him with your dying breath."

Laughter echoed through the dungeon and Saaset put down the bottle of True Blood she'd been sipping. "If I were a breather, I believe you might have made me choke. That would be an interesting conversation. What a pity I won't be around to hear it. Now let me see, if only I could find my appointment book, I could set aside some time to worry about your escape."

"Is our Alexei planning to leave us?" Niamh's sing-song voice wafted ahead of her. "But we just cleaned his cell." She stopped in front of Saaset, but spoke to Alexei. "Did you prefer it blood soaked and littered with rotting corpses? I can have Alroy dig them back up if you like."

Alexei was silent.

"It is my corpse he would like Alroy to dig up for him," Saaset said, looking Niamh squarely in the eye.

"Really?" Niamh said sweetly. "I will be sure to mention it to Lorcan. Maybe we'll move you into his cell in the morning." She turned and continued to Alexei.

"Would you like that? Of course we'd have to stake her first, because the two of you together might just be able to tear you loose, but I'm sure you would still be able to recognize her scent on the puddle."

"How you arrange your prisoner accommodations is of no consequence to me," he spat at her. "Did Mina know you poisoned her?"

"What?" Niamh asked with genuine surprise in her tone. "Have you forgotten? You killed the girl. You sucked her dry."

"Not enough to kill her, you left that to me, but enough to poison me when I took her."

"Don't worry about him escaping," Niamh called back to Saaset. "He is suffering from some sort of delusions. I think the stress of his captivity has caused his mind to snap."

"Voi stronza! I am ill. You poisoned her!"

"You're ill?" Niamh asked sarcastically. "How stupid do you think I am? You're a vampire, my idiot friend. You don't get ill. Be careful with your lies or I'll tell Alroy he doesn't need to catch your dinner tonight."

Niamh turned around and stomped out muttering to herself.

"Alexei," Saaset whispered when Niamh had gone. "Alexei, why did you tell her you were ill? What would make you say something she would know is a lie?"

"It wasn't a lie," he replied. "Something is wrong with me. I am ill. Or perhaps my Maker is ill?"

"Not likely," Saaset said. "I would say, not possible, but I have learned few things are actually impossible. What are you feeling?"

"A change."

Saaset didn't need to see him to know he was confused by something. It was clear in his voice. He really did believe he was ill.

"Perhaps it isn't poison," he continued. "Perhaps my Maker has given up on me. It is as if the place he occupies within me is growing smaller."

"Is it possible you are giving up on him? Do you no longer believe he will search for you? If you feel less, the change is in you, not him."

But I do not feel less. My feelings for him are as they ever were. It is more like they have been compacted into a smaller space, and are being slowly overshadowed."

"By what?"

"I do not know. I need to feed. I am healing too slowly."

"Maybe that's it. They starved you while she was alive. Blood loss has many unusual effects. You will feel better when you have fed, I'm sure."

"We shall see."

Alexei dragged his chains to a spot near the darkest corner of his cell. They didn't understand what he meant. He didn't understand what he meant. He didn't necessarily feel bad, so much as he felt different, wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. There was a burning in his gut, almost as if he'd swallowed a piece of silver. It burned, yet it wasn't painful. He couldn't describe it, other than to say it was different and wrong. He sat on the floor with his back to the wall. He suddenly felt very old and very tired.

XXXXXXX

The grotto was empty when Gawain came up out of the pool. He was surprised to find himself alone, since he knew it was after sunset, so at least one of the vampires should have been here by now to begin their watch.

He stepped out and shook himself to fling off as much of the water as possible. He would have to talk to someone about leaving a stack of towels in the room somewhere.

"Who's there?" came a frightened female voice from the doorway.

It was one of the nannies.

"It is I, Gawain Brigant." He balanced on one foot, then the other as he gave each leg a good shake. "I don't suppose you brought towels with you?"

A doe-eyed young woman with her dark hair piled on top of her head with dozens of hairpins stuck her head around the doorjamb. "Towels? No, but I can go get some if you are here to take over the watch."

"If I am to take over from you, it would be more accurate to say I was taking over the listen, would it not?"

The girl blushed and pointed to the ceiling across the hall. "I saw you arrive. If someone I didn't recognize came out of the pool, I wanted a chance to have a head start."

"Indeed? And where would you have run to?" It wasn't really a fair question. He knew she had been glamoured beyond most complex thought, but he was irritated by the dripping state of his clothes.

She was clearly bewildered by his question and her inability to answer seemed to be causing some sort of desperate inner battle. She probably had hardwired instructions to always answer when questioned by an authority figure.

"Never mind, child," he said with as pleasant a smile as he could muster in his soggy condition. "It is not important. However, towels are urgent. Would you please fetch a few for me?"

She relaxed instantly, relief visibly flooding over her. She smiled brightly and nodded her head. "Right away! Shall I bring you fresh clothes as well?"

Being waterlogged was one thing, but the thought of being attired in borrowed clothing from who knew who, was insupportable. "Towels will be more than sufficient, child, thank you."

It was only a minute or two before the human returned. Gawain had to resist the temptation to ask where the vampires were, because there was a very real possibility of her not knowing there were any vampires. A clever vampire, or a perverse one, could make a human believe or not believe, almost anything. There was no justifiable reason to make the girl have a mental meltdown, no matter how damp his underclothes were.

"What is your name?" he asked instead, as he rubbed a towel through his hair.

"Esperanza," she answered, her rolling 'r' giving an air of mystery to her already exotic sounding name. "They call me Espy, for short."

"But I think I can see you prefer Esperanza." He scrutinized her until his constant gaze caused her cheeks to redden again. "As well you should. It suits you. A beautiful woman should have a beautiful name. I shall always call you, Esperanza."

The red in her cheeks deepened as she cast her eyes down, and let out a shy, girlish giggle. "Am I supposed to leave now, or should I wait for the man they call Oliver? It's almost my turn to play with Ramon."

"I believe we may assume circumstances have prevented Oliver from joining us this evening," Gawain said, a hint of worry finding its way into his voice. "Perhaps you should run along so you don't miss your turn. I will stand watch here and you can come back later to keep me company. Perhaps you could bring Ramon with you."

XXXXXXX

Gawain, Esperanza and Ramon were building a castle in the sandbox near the edge of the pool when Sookie entered the grotto, alone.

"Good evening, cousin," Gawain greeted her. "We were beginning to fear we were to be left to our own devices, and deprived of your company, all evening. Come, join us in the sand."

"Bellla, Soookie!" Ramon called and clapped his hands.

"Hola, Ramon," she called back. She tried to give him a cheerful smile, but she wasn't sure how successful she was. She waved instead. "I don't have much time, Gawain. I don't want to leave Oliver alone for too long. We need to talk."

"Esperanza, stay here and play with Ramon. I'm going to go sit with my cousin for a few minutes," Gawain said.

Sookie and Gawain hurried over to the small conference table still sitting in the far corner.

"Mina is dead," Sookie blurted before she'd even taken a seat. "Oliver is devastated and I feel like a train about to jump its track. I need news from you, Gawain, good news."

"I have news, but I fear it would be described more as informative than necessarily good. Your great grandfather is unable to spare anyone but me to help you, but he does have some new information.

As I've said, Aednat is with child and word has reached us that she is having a difficult time in her infirmity."

"I couldn't care less about her pregnancy," Sookie snapped. "I need to know where she is, what she's planning, where and why she keeps her prisoners."

"She is likely in France. Breandan is known to have had a chalet in Marseille. I have gone there and a ring of portals surrounds the entire city. Any one, or none of them could be close to her. It would take weeks to try all the combinations.

Interestingly, we believe the faeries actually carrying out the kidnappings are based here in Spain, not far from the French border; a small town near the Pyrénées Mountains, called Olot. There are two portals there, both in the Fluvià River. One leads to Marseille and the other comes out just behind my shoulder."

"Sounds like proof of a connection to me," Sookie said, finally settling down enough to sit. "What about Oran? Has anyone seen him?"

"Unfortunately, no, but he is definitely working with Aednat. I went to visit his wife while I was out,"

"He's married?"

"Oh yes, for quite some time. His wife has been very productive for us," Gawain reported with a broad smile. "Triplets! Twice! And two single births as well."

"Wow. She's a regular baby making machine, but what has that got to do with Oran working for Aednat?"

"Not a thing. I just thought I'd throw in a bit of happy news to temper all the bad today."

Sookie's face flashed with fury. "Oran's wife could produce ten babies a year and never compensate me for losing Mina. Move on."

"Yes, of course, cousin, my apologies," he said sincerely. "When I visited, she told me Oran was commissioned by Aednat to make her some jewelry. She had a number of stones she wanted arranged in new settings.

"So what? Who cares about Aednat's jewelry?"

"I'm sure I couldn't say, but Melodia, Oran's wife, says the longer Oran worked for Aednat, the more he talked about her and the less he visited at his wife's bed."

"She told you that?" Sookie asked, her disbelief clear. "Just spilled it out like that? Over tea, I suppose?"

"As it happens, we were having tea," Gawain countered as he straightened his back and tried to keep the offended look off his face. "And if you must know, I suspect she was suggesting I step in during her husband's ever increasing absences in Aednat's service."

"I don't have time for Faerie soap operas, Gawain. It isn't long until sunrise. Eric will be back soon. Oliver is alone and I must get back upstairs. Did she tell you anything besides her husband has a crush on the faerie version of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she might want you to pony up for her next set of triplets?"

"She gave me this." He reached over and took what looked like a folded sheet or tablecloth from the chair beside him and placed it on the table. "Aednat commissioned a dozen of them. Oran worked day and night for weeks to make them. He made thirteen because one had a flaw running through it. Rather than repair it and risk having one of her twelve be even the slightest bit smaller than the others, he simply made another, so they would all match perfectly."

"And this is the flawed one?"

"Yes."

"What is it?" she asked, reaching out to touch it. "Is this lamé? OUCH!" she screamed and snatched her hand back. "It's silver! Why would you bring that here? Ermessen will have you drained for allowing it near Ramon."

"It's a lined bag," Gawain said as he unfolded and opened it.

Sookie stood and stepped back so she wouldn't risk touching it again. It was indeed a very thin bag. It looked like a big garbage bag dressed up in a formal. The inside was lined in velvet.

"It is silver coated silk, with a velvet inner lining."

"It's big enough to put a body in," Sookie remarked and then realized what she'd said. "You brought it through the portal. What if someone was inside it? Would they go through?"

"I believe they would, cousin, but it will have to be repaired first. The flaw will have to be closed tight. I will begin my search for the thread to make the repair first thing in the morning. Melodia could not find any in the workshop, but there are a number of fabricators who provide medical grade silver fabrics and threads. I think that will be of sufficient purity to darn the flaw closed."

She reached over and touched the inside of the bag. No pain, only the soft feel of the velvet nap. "Don't tell anyone else about this Gawain. Not until we know for sure if it will work."

"As you please."

XXXXXXX

Sookie sat in the middle of the bed, in the dark, waiting for Eric to return. She needed to feel his arms around her, to know there was still sanity and stability in her world. She felt as if a terrible hole had been ripped in her life and it was bleeding profusely, but she couldn't find the right place to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

Eric would know. He always knew how to heal her.

She ran to the door the moment she heard his footsteps approaching their room. He no more than opened the door when she threw herself into his arms and clung to him. He lifted her up and carried her to the bed, where he sat down and held her close.

"Is she really gone, Eric? Couldn't Oliver be wrong? Maybe she only passed out or something?"

"There is no mistaking the break, Dearest," he answered, making no attempt to loosen her from him."

"I've never asked him if he's been blood bonded before. Maybe if this is his first time, he did make a mistake. She was in pain. Maybe when she passed out, the pain stopped and he just thought she was dead, and she'll wake up in the morning and everything will be fine."

"I'm sorry, Sookie," he said, tightening his hold when she tried to pull away.

"Don't tell me you're sorry, damn you! Tell me a way he could be wrong! Tell me Mina is coming home to me!"

Eric took her under the arms, as you might a small child, and held her at arm's length, searching her face for answers he obviously didn't find. "Coming home to you, my love?"

"Well, yes," she stammered, "I mean to Oliver, of course, and to all of us. Are you sure there's no hope? No hope at all? Not even a little?"

"Nothing I would waste my time dwelling on."

"But there is something," she said, eyes wide and a smile almost reaching her lips. "It is possible."

"Most things are possible. This thing is more than highly unlikely. If someone were to suggest the possibility to me, I would scoff in their face and challenge them to provide me with proof or be silent."

"I won't laugh in your face, lover, and I won't ask for proof. I will believe what you say."

"Then believe me when I tell you, I believe Mina is dead. I believe she was tortured by her faerie captors and given over to a vampire to be drained."

"I believe you," she said with her chin quivering. "Now tell me what it would take for you to be wrong."

"The only possibility is if she was drained and turned."

Sookie latched onto the possibility at once. "That's it then! That's what happened. Of course it is. Oliver felt her being drained, their bond broke and then she was turned. That has to be it. Thank you, Eric! Thank you!"

She threw herself against him again and as always, he drew her close. As he did, Ermessen's words echoed in his mind. "… but in all the centuries I've known you, I never thought you cruel." He was being cruel now. It was nothing short of cruelty to offer Sookie such a fool's notion and call it hope. But he had to cushion the blow for her, did he not? Clearly she was not prepared to face the reality of Mina not coming home … to her.

"Give her people," Ermessen had said. He was trying.

They sat, locked together for what seemed like a very long time before she spoke again. "If it's true, and Mina can't come home, Oliver will never really recover, will he?"

"It is difficult to say," Eric responded, thinking more of Sookie now than Oliver. "A vampire, whose feelings for someone are intense enough to mourn, is often a danger to himself. Humans are not bound with blood, so they are spared the knowledge of what their mate felt as they died. They can comfort themselves by saying there was no pain.

When you have felt the pain of dying along with your bonded, and then felt the bond break when the moment of their death arrives, it is not possible to make yourself believe prettier versions of what happened. You are left with only truth, in all its simplistic brutality."

"What if it was me? Please tell me you would recover and not be a danger to yourself."

"Perhaps not to myself, my love, but no creature on Earth, alive or undead, would be safe from my wrath. I would demand they pay, but no one would ever be able to pay a price great enough to balance the loss of you."