I apologize for the longer wait - my muse disappeared and I must have started this chapter about 4 times before I settled on a rhythm. A wonderful review sent to me yesterday restarted that engine and I feel strong in my ability to continue this story. Thanks to smanfan for creating a wicked banner for It Makes No Bloody Difference - check it out - it's sweet as chocolate. Thanks for you all your kind words, it keeps me the words flowing out of my mind and onto the keyboard.
I don't own these characters. If these characters belonged to me, I would be living somewhere in the New Zealand mountains. I'd have a rustic and modern chalet near a mountain lake. It would have a hot tub overlooking the views, sleep number beds, and a manservant. There would be plenty of Bailey's Irish Cream and coffee. The food would cook itself and I'd drive a sweet ride. Charlaine Harris owns the all of it, I'm just playing. Anyway, I don't own this stuff.
Chapter Three
The three of us arrived at Fangtasia shortly after Pam's crude comment. Eric and I walked in the door, and he led me into the inner office. I took a seat on the leather couch, and Pam continued on into the bar, where the music was pumping. I wondered if it was going to be like this every night. I thought about asking Eric to go home, so I could check on my house, and maybe get my car. I needed to speak to Sam too.
Chow came walking back in with a couple of bottles of True Blood, and I nodded at him. He eyed me appreciatively. "This suits you, you know."
Eric looked up and shot him a dark stare. "Are you finished? You may return to the bar Chow." I rolled my eyes.
After Chow had left the room, I looked at Eric. He was opening mail, and I didn't really know if I should be doing something or what. I sat back and relaxed, clearing my mind. The barrier of my telepathy felt completely different, and I felt the walls of it in different places, like the entire process had been renovated. I worked on bringing down the barriers, and opened my mind.
"I'm going to go out in the bar Eric." He looked up and smiled at me. Don't leave the building Sookie. Not yet." I nodded and he continued on with his work at the office.
I suppose that he had a lot of things to catch up on, especially because he had spent so much time with me. I felt really out of sorts like I should be doing something. I was fidgety and this felt so wrong. Was I supposed to stick around with Eric at Fangtasia? I really wasn't interested in "entertaining the vermin" as Pam put it. Should I try to go back to my old job? Whether I was vamp or human, I needed to be earning a living. There was so many decisions to make, so I made the first one – and left Eric's office.
I walked out and looking around decided that there was no effing way I was sitting at the throne table, where the dancer's pole was and where Eric normally sat. I walked over to a two person table near the DJ and the bar, and sat down with my True Blood. Pam nodded at me, and continued to work the room.
The bar was only slightly full of patrons and I scanned the room, focusing in on conversations. I didn't even have to try to use my telepathy – my hearing was so much better and I could hear the slightest whisper above the music. The customers at the bar were dressed mostly in varied shades of black and gray. Oh wait, there was the occasional red. There was a lot of pleather, and latex and sheer fabrics. It looked like slut was in, with regards to the low cut nature of many of the women's shirts and the shortness of the skirts. I was glad that even though I had chosen the black outfit, that I had kept it on the side of modest.
There were about six vamps in the bar, all in varying states of disinterest. I recognized Chow, of course at the bar. He was asian, and couldn't have been extremely old. I say this because his arms were covered in what I was told were Yakuza tattoos, a prominent symbol of the Japanese mafia. He wore a lot of sleeveless vests, I assume to show them off. Pam was checking id's at the door, and Nayali – Eric's younger sister was sitting at a table tapping at a laptop. I noticed another two males sitting at the bar, occasionally speaking to Chow, and one other fierce looking female at a table on her own. She looked up and met my gaze, nodding at me – before returning her glare to the humans milling around her. I had heard of Thalia, of course but had never met her.
The humans were all in varying states of peacocking, with their eyes constantly surveying each other, and the vamps. I wasn't used to having so many eyes on me, I mean – I had gone from being normal Sookie to vampire Sookie, and it was unsettling how many of the humans were eyeballing me the lust apparent in their eyes. Not all were male either.
One such human male, decided to brave it and approached me. It seemed that his movements were awkward and stilted, and I wondered if this is how I looked to Eric when I was still human. I considered the fact that I hadn't really had much experience figuring out my powers, and thought that this might be an opportune time to test them out without pressure from Eric or anyone else for that matter.
The guy was a decent looking fellow, a little short for my taste, but a good open face, and part of me wondered what he could possibly think he was accomplishing by approaching a vampire. I stared at him steadily and opened my telepathy towards him bit by bit in the event I hurt him like I did Eric when I tried it out. He was only human after all. The man didn't react at all, and I steadily opened it up – hearing his thoughts come through. Initially it was like hearing them through a closed door, that was slowly opening. I felt much more in control of it, and when the guy finally sat down – I was tuned to him like a short wave radio station. His blood smelled different to me, and this marked the beginning of my appreciation of the different nuances of the blood song for vampires.
"Hi," said Grant, by this time I knew his first and last name, and the name of the woman he was dating. "Sorry to bother you, wondered if I could get you a drink?" He wouldn't much like it, if I chose the drink that I really wanted...
"Well Grant, since I already have one in front of me, I would think it's obvious that I don't really need one, but if you would just like to talk, that's fine with me." Grant looked a little stunned, and he sat down quickly in the chair, looking amazed. I felt the increase in the rate of his heart, and I flashed a toothy smile at him, which left him looking slightly dazed. I caught a glimpse of my face in the mirrors behind the bar where Chow was standing, and was taken aback at my reflection. My hair stood out like a golden halo, and my eyes glittered.
"How did you know my name," stuttered Grant.
"Never mind that," I said brightly, and he blinked at me uncertainly. I noticed Chow looking at me from the bar, appraisingly but I ignored him. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself Grant?" I wasn't really interested in the words that were coming out of his mouth, but as Grant told me about the city he was from, which ended up being Minden, not far from Bon Temps and our arch rivals in just about everything small town. I reached out and felt into his mind as he continued to talk, and I found that Grant lived at home with his mother and father, he had a married sister, and he also had a girlfriend. He was talking to me on a dare from him friends, and he found himself attracted to me which surprised him. I also saw myself through his eyes, and was stunned at the beauty he saw me as. I nodded while he spoke, and took just enough interest to be polite, while he continued on about his job and his car. He had stopped talking and I saw him looking strangely at me.
"It's very odd, you don't seem like a vampire. What's your name?"
"Well my name is Sookie Stackhouse it's been very nice to meet you Grant. I think you should go back to your friends now though. I think they might be a little worried about you." I indicated his group of about five or six friends who looked like they were on the cusp of walking over to make sure all was okay. My True Blood was empty, and I inclined my chin at the bottle to say that I wanted the waitress to bring me another one when I caught Chow's eye, but he conveniently pretended to ignore me.
Grant shook his head, "No, it's okay –I really want to talk to you." I felt his attraction to me, and knew that there was no way that Eric would be pleased with seeing a human out here obviously attracted to me. My throat was beginning to burn a lot now, and Grant's scent was beginning to be more at the forefront of my thoughts, rather than the back of my mind. I really needed a True Blood. I felt my hands hook into the bottom of the table, and I looked over at Pam who was busy checking id's and taking money. Chow continued to ignore me, and there were no waitresses near. I was terrified of moving, for fear I would bite this nice young guy but I made one last stab at trying to make him go away.
"Grant, really – I have to get going soon, and I really need you to leave NOW." I emphasized the 'now' in my statement and he looked a little shocked. Without even thinking about it, I pushed the 'go away' at him, and he stood up. He nodded at me, and without saying another word, walked past his friends and out the door of the bar. They looked at him agape, and one of them followed him out at a brisk walk. The rest of them buzzed and shot looks of distrust at me. Did I just glamour Grant?
I stood up and made my way quickly over to the bar.
"True Blood please Chow?" I said this not very nicely, and Chow caught it. "Now okay?"
"Thirsty Sookie?" He smiled malevolently at me, and I snapped.
I reached over the bar, and grabbed his hand as he put down the blood in front of me. "I don't know what your issue is with me Chow, but if you ever pull bullshit like that again, you'll be sorry."
"What would you do Sookie? I'm centuries older than you. You have no skills that can match mine as a vampire. I should teach you to respect your elders."
I didn't want to pull the Eric card, but I knew as sure as rain that Eric would be mighty pissed to hear Chow talking to me that way. I hadn't let go of Chow's hand yet, and I was furious beyond words. My fangs ran down with an audible click and I snarled at him. "Just don't let it happen again you asshole." Like with Grant, I pushed that last thought at him and Chow flinched. He pulled his hand out of mine, and rubbed his head. A small trickle of blood ran down his upper lip from his nose. But he didn't seem to notice.
"Did you want another blood Sookie?" Chow smiled at me from across the bar.
I stared at him stunned. I sucked back my blood and nodded. Based on Grant, and the desire to drain him dry – I figured that it would be a good idea to make sure that I had a full supply, even if I was double fisting it at one point.
"Thanks." I finished the one blood and Chow set another in front of me. "You're bleeding Chow."
Chow turned and looked in the mirror, puzzled. He touched his finger to the drip of blood below his nose, and then using a napkin cleaned it up. He shrugged. "I was up late this morning."
I looked over towards the front door, and caught Pam staring at me speculatively. I wondered how much she had caught of it. The group of boys that had been standing with Grant were still staring at me with fear mixed with lust. The one who had followed Grant outside returned in, with an angry look on his face. The friends all raised their voices a bit, and after shooting a few baleful looks my way, they left some money on the table and they all exited the bar.
I breathed a sigh of relief. The clock over the bar indicated that I had only been here two hours. There were so many more to go. Is this what my life would be? I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Eric since I left the office, and other than my brief exchange with Chow I hadn't spoken to another vamp. I picked up my purse and it jingled. I opened it and found my wallet, and my keys and make up all intact. My cell phone was also in there, but turned off, so I turned it on. There was a charge.
Flipping through the numbers, I called Merlotte's. It rang a few times, and then I heard Sam pick up.
"Merlotte's Bar."
"Sam." I only said that one word. It was enough.
"Sookie is that you? Hang on – I'm going to switch to the back phone in my office." I heard the phone be placed on mute, and then within a couple of seconds, Sam picked up. The background noise was significantly less. "Oh Sookie, I wondered if you would call. I know things are different now."
"You could say that Sam, you really could." I sighed.
"I heard Jason came by to see you a couple of nights ago." Understatement of the century.
"Yeah, it didn't go too well." Now for the big question. "Does everyone know Sam? Do they know that I'm a vampire now?" I held my breath, unnecessarily.
"Yeah they do. Most of 'em took it real well. They heard about what Compton did, and I guess they figured that if it was die or be turned, then it was better to have you as a vamp than not at all. Most of 'em would welcome you back, I would reckon."
"Most of them?" I had a pretty good idea of who wouldn't.
"Yeah well, you know there are a few. Your brother is pretty much not accepting the whole thing. He thinks that Eric did it to you against your will." I sighed. "Hey Chere, we know that is not the case. Are you going to come home at some point?"
"About that Sam. Would you still need a waitress, even if she is a vamp?" I hesitated in asking, but I wanted to see just how much of my old life would be available to me. I knew Eric would hate it, but I wasn't sure.
"Give it some time Sook. You'll always be welcome here, but let's let you have some time to adjust before we going jumping into it." He paused. "What does Eric think?"
"Eric doesn't really have a say one way or the other Sam. This is my life." I sounded resolute and I knew it.
"Just the same Chere, we need to give it some time, let the locals get used to the idea that one of their own is a vampire." What Sam said made sense, but I just didn't want to admit it.
We made small talk a for a bit longer, and then I hung up the phone. Sadly, I powered it down, and returned it to my purse. I took another swig of the blood in front of me, and decided that I would like to get some fresh air. I felt trapped. I know Eric told me to stay put (like a good dog), but I figured if I went out the employee entrance, and just sat on the back step I'd be okay and close.
I walked towards the bathrooms, and through the swinging door that said employees only. I walked past Eric's office, where I could see light on under teh door, and hear him speaking on the phone. I opened the door to the back parking lot, and closed it with a gentle snick behind me.
The night enveloped me, and I felt empowered under the starry sky. I could see as well as if it was high noon, and although I knew it was chilly out – it felt as balmy as a warm June evening. I heard a commotion to my right, and saw Grant's friends struggling with him across the street. He was yelling as he was forcibly led back towards a waiting car. I thought I would try to go over and help, but didn't think I'd be welcome. The young men didn't notice me standing in the shadows, and I was grateful. They eventually pushed him into the car and piled in as well, and then the car screeched out of the parking lot. I felt a lot of guilt about it, and realized that I was going to have to try to hone this blend of telepathy and glamour. I wasn't even sure if this was a normal vampire thing for all vampires or just a "me" thing. Was I seriously going to be a freak even in the vampire realm?
I felt my thoughts begin to rocket through my head again, and I felt panic once again as I knew that everything that I felt comfortable with was now gone, and that I was going to have to relearn it all over again. I was bound to Eric as a child to his maker and I already felt alone. I know that it was unreasonable for me to expect so much of myself considering that I was only two nights old, but I just wanted to be normal. I just wanted to feel good, and free. And that's probably why I found myself dropping the bottle of True Blood and striding into a run before it even hit the ground.
The actual act of running was freeing to me. I saw things so much clearer, and the speed I achieved blew my mind. I couldn't get out of breath, because I didn't breathe, and my legs wouldn't burn as I pushed them further and further – making my strides longer. I leapt over hedges and fences and entered into a wooded area before too long. Following my instincts, I turned towards Bon Temps. I could hear the wild life in the woods hush as I silently ran through the underbrush. I heard the baying of an alligator, deep in the swamp and it was joined by the howling of wolves nearby.
Suddenly I caught a scent on the air, a hot, salty scent that called to me. I turned towards it, and began to stalk it silently through the trees. I slowed down while on the trail of it, and began to listen for signs of where it was coming from. All conscious thought left my brain, and I became predator seeking prey. I pursued my unwary quarry and came upon it suddenly in a clearing. I pounced without examining my surroundings, and sank my fangs into the neck of a man.
His left hand flew up in terror, as his right one pushed something against me. His hot salty blood spurted into my mouth, and I drank deep of it, while he scrambled against me, his feet beating a rhythm on the hard packed earth of the clearing. His blood was vital and alive and the bloody succulent nectar was like liquid sun in my mouth. He kept moving his arm against me, and I suddenly realized that I was feeling a small amount of pain. It brought me crashing back to reality, and disengaged my fangs from his neck and dropped the man on the ground in horror. As he sank to the ground, he made one last lunge towards me and sank the hunting knife once again into my side. My side was drenched in my blood, mingled with his – and I saw for the first time, that which I had not been feeling. I saw that the man had stabbed me several times with this giant Rambo knife, one that he had been using to skin the alligator he had obviously been poaching. The blood coursed sluggishly down my side, and I felt the thirst for blood come upon me again.
The man was moving towards his car, and I wondered briefly about a family or anyone that he might have. Could I kill this man and cover it up? I felt the pull of the animal I had become and a semblance of the human I had so recently been. I made up my mind at once. Using my telepathy, I caught his name as Jeb, and softly I spoke his name until he looked up at me with frightened eyes.
"Jeb, you won't remember this. You came out here to poach some gators, and one of them must have bit you. You managed to kill it, but not before you lost a lot of blood." He nodded up at me, with that blank look that I associated with vampires and glamour but he nodded.
I walked over to him, and used my blood to heal the marks on his neck. I glamoured him again, and thought at him to sit still. I ripped open the side of his shirt, and sank my fangs into several areas on his arm, hopefully to make it look like a gator attack. He hissed in pain, and I withdrew, not with a lot of effort. He tasted fantastic.
"Stay here for a little bit, then finish skinning the gator. Then go get some medical help." I faded back into the bushes, and lifted my now ruined green shirt. The wounds were gruesome, but as I watched they knitted themselves. I felt the draw of Eric, and knew that he was aware I was gone. He had probably felt me attack the man and my reaction to it. He was on his way. I was in trouble.
I turned towards Bon Temps, but I was slower now. I really needed to feed or at least get some True Blood. The wounds in my side were knitting, but I felt the energy it sapped from me. I knew that I had had some in my fridge at my old house, and I only hoped that my house would recognise me. Before long I was upon it, and I walked gingerly up to the front door. I fished the key from the hiding spot under a planter, and opened the door. I cautiously stepped across the threshold and entered my house.
"Thank the lord." The lights were off, and I turned on the kitchen lights, and quickly made my way to the fridge. I opened the door, to find several bottles of True Blood, which I uncapped and heated quickly. Putting them all on the floor beside the cupboard, I finally allowed myself to slide down and drink. I felt my strength returning to me, and the wounds at my side were only shallow cuts before long. I started on my second blood, and closed my eyes. I felt, rather than heard, Eric land softly on the ground outside the house, and a small creak on the old wooden porch betrayed his presence, as he entered my kitchen.
He glowered down at me. "I told you not to leave the bar."
I said nothing, just kept my eyes closed, leaning back against the cupboard. I felt myself on the brink of tears. I felt so torn. I bit back a sob, and felt a cold tear trickle down my cheek.
"You left, Sookie – this is for your own good. Don't you see what can happen? You almost killed that man. You are too new at this – you need to be shown by another vampire how to do this." He knelt down beside me. "Look at you, you're a mess – you're covered in blood – some of which is your own." He lifted the side of my now ruined shirt and examined my wounds. I opened my eyes and looked at him.
"You never know Sookie – you can never tell – we are all so unpredictable, and this includes humans. What if his knife had been silver?" He looked down at me his eyes completely unreadable.
"I just wanted to come home Eric." I began sobbing and he took me in his arms, never minding the white Fangtasia t-shirt he was wearing.
"Shhh. It's okay. Drink some more blood." He held the bottle to me, and I drank some more back, feeling better. I knew that Eric was sending me calming feelings through the bond, and as unsettling as the thought of it was, - it helped me right now – in the middle of a crisis.
He pulled out the cell phone, and dialled a number. "Pam, I'm in Bon Temps – I'll be spending the night there – you've got the bar." He listened to a few things Pam said, and then he hung up.
He gathered me in his arms, and walked silently towards my old bedroom in the dark. He stood me on the rug in the old room and undressed me. He walked into the bathroom and started the shower. Leading me by the hand, he put me in the shower and then undressing quickly he got in behind me.
He held me silently, for a moment, and then soaped up a washcloth, gently taking off the blood on my side, and washing my face. I felt arousal through our bond, but somehow – I knew that he wasn't going to act on it. He washed my hair, and we held each other until the hot water began to run out, and he reached past me and turned it off. Wrapping me in a thick towel, he brought me back into my bedroom, and dried me off. He removed a long flannel nightgown from my dresser and pulled it over my head. He slipped his jeans back on, and without a shirt, he led me back out to the living room. We hadn't said a word, but the comfort of his presence was enough for me at this point. I felt overwhelmed and the silence was calming. He quickly lit a fire, with the wood that had been laid out ready to do so. He wrapped me in a quilt and sat on the couch. He pulled me back to him, so that I was laying with my back between his legs, and the quilt was covering both of us. He nuzzled my neck.
"I won't promise that I won't order to you to do something Sookie, if I think that it is in your best interest." I was silent. If he thought I was going agree to him pulling the maker/child card he was sorely mistaken. "You'll just have to trust me on this one, that maybe in a few instances I might know better about how to be a successful vampire than you do. I know your powers have changed Sookie." I remained silent, slightly put out – but nevertheless...
He didn't say another word, and we sat there comfortably with each other in what I used to call downtime. Near dawn, he led me to my old bedroom closet. He put the quilt in the bottom of the closet and entered it. He helped me down, and closed the lid on top of us. I curled up next to him.
As I did Eric said softly, "I have to go to Vegas tomorrow lover. I am leaving you here with Pam to watch over you. I would take you with me, but I don't think you are ready for that yet." I nodded sleepily, I happened to agree.
"I'll be gone only a few days. Perhaps while I'm gone, you could make arrangements to have this hole in he ground provided with a few more amenities? I don't really relish sleeping in the dirt." I thought that this was a great idea. I also thought I might be returning to work very soon. I was going to pay my own way – I was not going to be a kept woman. I drifted off silently as did Eric. I did not dream.
Thanks for your patience, I had a hard time with this chapter. Probably due to a nasty cold that I can't shake. You guys are wonderful. Feed my muse and review!