It's been a great journey, but we've come to the end at last. I debated splitting this in two, and leaving another cliffhanger, but I wanted my last chapter to be my longest. I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. It's sad when something comes to an end, but all things must.

I've gone back and cosmetically adjusted my first seven chapters, so hopefully it's now easier to read.

Warning: Contains Scenes which some readers may find disturbing.

I don't own any of these Characters (except Jökull) - They belond to Charlaine Harris, who has taken us on so many great adventures, and I can't wait for the next.

So here it is, the last chapter.

Brotherly Love
Chapter 14: Dust in the Wind

"Earth to Earth,
Ashes to Ashes,
Dust to Dust."- Book of Common Prayer.

Sookie's POV:

Bill. I recognised his clothes, and my stomach contracted – what little was left in my stomach came out on the floor next to him. Not a great way to honour his memory. Shakes overtook my body for a few minutes, as I tried to stop retching and take in what I saw. There wasn't only one pile of ash – there were many. Obviously, someone had slaughtered them all.

I couldn't be here. The clothes suggested that the other piles were all Jökull's men, and I can't bring myself to mourn their death, but being so close to the disintegrating bodies made me sick. The wind was coming in through the open door, and the ashes were being blown around. They had returned to the Earth – something long overdue.

I moved back into the fresh air – away from the stench of decaying vampires. I ran back across the graveyard as fast as my injured leg would take me. I managed to get into the forest but I tripped over a tree root as stinging tears filled my eyes. I landed on the floor, but my head hit a tree stump with resounding force. My head, so newly healed, ruptured into agony once again – what a stupid way to die.

I returned to my body in even more pain – somebody had smacked me across my face.

My eyes refused to open at first, and so I was slapped again. I cried out in agony – why am I still in pain... surely that disappears once you die? Unless...

My fear of perdition gave me the strength to open my eyes – I had to be certain I was still alive, and not the plaything of the devil. All I would see was a shock of blond hair... and a pointy ear.

I felt all the tension leave my body. I was safe – my guardian angel was here.

"Claudine" I breathed, lacking the strength to lift my arms and hug my cousin as I wanted to. She pulled back from listening to my breath and gave me a radiant smile of relief.

"Sookie!" her light voice seemed out of place in the darkness of the forest but it lifted my heart like a balloon.

"Wh- What are you," I started, pausing to cough up some blood – obviously the vampire blood hasn't fixed up my new wounds, or some of the internal bleeding, "doing here" I finished once I got my breath back. Through my pathetic attempt to ask such a short question, Claudine had been checking my head, trying to clean with her pretty white dress. I tried to stop her – the dress probably cost more than my entire wardrobe, but I didn't have the strength, and she insisted.

"I'm so sorry Sookie", she began, tears filling her beautiful face, "I should've been here earlier! I felt your emotions, but I was working... I couldn't leave; too many people were watching me. It's my fault". I told her to stop blaming herself – she had to keep up her appearance of human if she wants to stay safe. I let myself get in this mess – I have no right to expect anyone to bail me out of it.

The fall had knocked all thoughts of Vampires from my head, but a soft breaking twig for somewhere behind Claudine brought all my memories roaring to the front of my head.

"CLAUDINE!" I screamed as her light weight was ripped from beside me. Paralysed with fear, I could only look into the feral face of the attacker... and once again wonder how something as beautiful as Eric can be associated with such evil. Eric was no saint, but Jökull was something else.

He glared down at me, a few strands of Claudine's beautiful gossamer hair in his hand.

"Little Bitch" he said, reaching forward to pull me up by my hair. The fresh wound on my scalp immediately started to cry new blood. I screamed in agony and fear. He immediately dropped me, and I hoped he had decided to leave me here to die... but I saw his face. His eyes still held hatred and evil, but now there was a hunger there. A hunger that I've seen only a few times...

Fairies are irresistible to vampires and Claudine - a full blooded fairy – was drawing Jökulls attention.

I turned my head, ignoring the lighting strikes of pain that rushed through me, to see her lying on the floor, her skin cut in several places (her skin was usually almost as touch as a vampires so she had been thrown with a hell of a lot of strength) and her pretty white dress torn and dirty. She wasn't out though, Fairies are tough. She was pulling herself up using a low branch, and she seemed pissed about her hair.

"YOU FUCKING SHIT" she screamed, shocking me – she always seemed so airy and light, but she was livid now. Jökull didn't seem fazed, he seemed drawn to her like a magnet. An evil, hungry smile split his face, and his fangs slipped down with an almost inaudible click. I knew Claudine was strong – but Jökull was a vampire. He was weakened, no doubt, by silver poisoning but he was still inhumanely strong and Claudine looked like an angry little girl in comparison. Magical or not, she wouldn't be able to stop him.

That didn't stop her from trying.

She launched herself at him, but simply grabbed her around the next and, in a move that my eyes completely missed but my brain assured me must have happened, spun her around using her own weight and forced her into the earth. He climbed on top of her and she punched him between the eyes, infusing her fist with as much of her fairy magic as she could. The blow lit up the entire forest and my eyes widened at the display of power. I didn't know she had that much strength, and neither, it seems, did she. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were half closed. I pulled myself over to her.

"Claudine", I whispered with a frightened look to where Jökull was lying, a few feet away, and saw him getting up slowly, as though in pain, "We've got to go, now!" But neither of us was in any condition to walk, let alone run, and Jökull was recovering quickly. His head was at an odd angle, but he was able to rectify that by twisting it with his hands. His expression revealed that he hadn't expected her to put up so much of a fight.

"I must be closer to an angel than I thought" Claudine whispered deliriously, with a slight giggle. I looked down at the woman who had saved my life so many times, and I knew that I couldn't let her die here.

"You want me for whatever fucked up reason. Leave her out of this" I called softly to Jökull who seemed to be able to focus on me, being outside the influence of Claudine's scent. "I'll go with you – you can kill me however you want". I thought it would destroy me, to give myself to him to kill as he pleased, but I felt stronger. I was doing this to protect one of the last remaining members of my family.

He fixed me with a thoughtful stare, though I could still see the anger burning behind his eyes.

"I only wanted to hurt my brother. You are nothing to me – I now only want vengeance for what you did to me – and it seems I get a prize after I'm done. A fairy to play with".

"With what?" Claudine taunted, more lucid than I realised. Jökull was still naked and although he begun to regenerate his member, it was still no more than a stump. I had no idea what Claudine was doing taunting someone who was about to kill us both – did she want to suffer?

He tensed up and then Claudine's plan became obvious. She was antagonising him to distract him, and Eric ghosted up behind him, with Pam coming from the other side. There were no footsteps, and Jökull was too focused on us to smell or listen for attack. No doubt he thought Eric was still safely tied up – and he hadn't counted on Pam. But I had to keep him busy.

"Yeah... I made it so you couldn't rape anyone else ever again". I knew that would incense Eric too – good, he could make Jökull pay. "It'll never be the same again, will it? I know what you're feeling – I've had your disgusting piss-like blood – so much weaker than your brother's. The silver will inhibit proper growth." I gave a short bark of laughter to tip him over the edge and he leapt for me. But Eric's hand moved faster than even light, and gripped his testicles in a vice like grip. Vampires don't feel much pain – but this still seemed like sore spot. His howl ripped through the darkness and he twisted mid-jump to confront his attacked. Eric's fist met his face and his head was once more at the wrong angle. Gravity took effect and Jökull fell to back to the ground with a look of terror on his face. Eric looked terrible, but his anger shone through, and Jökull knew he wouldn't survive this.

As soon as he was on the floor, Pam held him down, while Eric gave one almighty tug and Jökull's testicles left their home for the first time in a millennium. Jökull was castrated.

I don't know much about Vampiric healing, but I knew they would take a long time to heal, if they did. After all, they weren't vital to life, so perhaps they wouldn't even heal. I had to laugh, a short, sobbing laughter, at the thought of his emasculation. He had considered himself the biggest man in the vampire world, and now he wasn't even a man.

Eric crushed his testicles under his heel, while Pam started torturing the bastard.

Eric moved over to me and held me close, telling me to start drinking from one of his wounds and asking me if he could do the same. I looked over at where Claudine had been, and saw that she had fled (probably when Eric and Pam got close) but it meant she was safe.

I was safe. In Eric's arms. Drinking his blood.

A/N: thank you SO very much for reading. Please review and let me know if you liked it.
And now it is my sad pleasure to class this story as Complete.

The End.