A/N - True Blood and SVM characters belong to Mrs. Harris, Alan Ball and HBO. Original characters and storyline are mine. I don't know how to explain how much your forthright feedback means to me. The time you spend out of your busy day compose your comments is precious to me and I savor every word. Thank you.

Chapter 13

Scene 1 - SPOV - Escape

Appius barely cleared the threshold before our cell phones started to ring and sing respectively. He did not answer his, just sent off a text in a flurry of finger tips. He waved off my hesitation to answer mine with a casual air.

"Relieve Ms. Pam's mind Ms. Stackhouse," he said as he looked around my home. I gestured toward the living room, used to the vampire tradition of locating all exits, and flipped my phone open.

"What's wrong Pam?" I asked while I watched Appius sit in my favorite chair.

"Thalia just called Eric. Appius is there?"

"Yes he is. I just asked him inside."

"That was foolish."

"I don't think so, Eric trusts him, and for some odd reason so do I."

"Well his visit has stirred up a hornets' nest. You best be prepared."

"For what?"

"Eric is on his way, flying of course. He's coming from New Orleans though so you will have some time, an hour maybe more."

"What was he doing in New Orleans?" I asked side stepping the information that he was coming here.

"I cannot tell you."

"Pam," I said slowly wheels turning in my head. "I was going to call you tonight to help with the risk we talked about some weeks ago."

I heard her take an unnecessary breath, "It's about bloody time. I was about to seek the sun having to deal with the two of you."

I gasped and she laughed sardonically, "I was joking about the sun Sookie. Find out what Appius wants, and Sookie, Eric has single handedly increased the blood banks profits this month. Neither one of you better screw this up, Good Luck," she said as she disconnected.

I pocketed my phone slowly, so Eric had not been feeding from the fang bangers. This possibly meant he was not fucking them either. The immediate relief from that revelation left me momentarily dizzy. I was thoughtful when I wandered back into the living room.

"Can I offer you any True Blood Appius?" I asked.

"No thank you, I've fed this evening," he responded. "Please, sit down."

I sat down on the couch and watched him expectantly.

He left the chair and wandered over to the fire place mantel, peering at the pictures displayed there.

"You're family?" he asked.

I tipped my head.

He was looking at the picture of Gran and Grandpa in their younger years, then at the photo of my parents with me and Jason a couple of years before they died.

"I would have liked to have met this woman," he pointed to Gran's picture. "Very brave of her to hide the answers in plain sight."

I did not understand his meaning. I joined him looking at the photos. "I am sorry. I do not understand," I told him.

"Your brother bears a striking resemblance to your father, yet neither of you two resembles your grandparents. Then there is this," he pointed to the necklace Gran was wearing in the picture then to the picture of me when I was five wearing the same necklace and my Sunday best.

My eyes widened, I had forgotten about the necklaces existence. It was a pendant on a silver chain. I had loved touching it when I was little. The texture of the piece and the intricate carving had fascinated me. Every time you turned it a different pose seemed to grow out of the twists and turns of the metal. But the subject was always the same, a fairy. I had broken the chain in my grief after my parent's death and never saw the pendant again. Perhaps it was stashed among my Grans things. I hadn't gone through all of her jewelry yet.

"I had forgotten about the necklace," I whispered.

Appius placed the pictures perfectly back in their former positions and walked back to the chair. I trailed after him, resuming my spot on the couch.

"The piece is obviously of Fae craftsmanship. You will not find such skill in the hands of a human metal smith. A gift from her Fae lover I assume."

"I don't know," I answered honestly.

"I did not need the necklace to see the obvious. Your father and brother are, pardon the pun, dead ringers for Niall's son Dermot," he explained.

"You know the Brigant's?"

"Yes, but I am not here to discuss your unfortunate familial connection to such vile creatures. Even though the connection helped Eric survive his foolishness," he explained.

"So why are you here Appius," I queried.

"I need your services and your bonded is being stubborn. I do not wish to give him an order and watch him dig himself deeper by flouting the Authority. So I decided to come directly to the source of our little conflict."

"Well he is my agent or something. I thought he had to grant his permission for you to even approach me?" I asked curious about what he needed from me and still a little vague about the bonding etiquette.

For the first time Appius displayed a bit of fang when he smiled. I admit it was disconcerting. "Eric is not the only one known to flout authority when it serves his purpose."

"So what do you need me for?"

"You assisted Eric in dealing with Russell Edgington, correct?"

"It wasn't necessarily voluntary, but yes I did." No way was a bragging about them feeding on me so Eric could convince Russell to play in the sun.

"You are also aware Eric did not kill the King?"

"Yep, I called him all kinds of stupid." I should have ignored Eric and staked Russell myself.

"We are in agreement on that point," Appius drawled. "What you may not be aware of is Eric was ordered to kill Russell by the Authority. They of course will and have denied any such edict. But it was explicit; one of the requirements was Edgington's fangs as trophy."

"Eric knocked one out when he chained Russell up," I remembered the disgusting image of Russell's burned face and loose single fang leering at me.

"Eric fulfilled his obligation and delivered the trophies to Ms. Flanagan, but did not reveal he had not destroyed Russell as assumed." Appius growled disgust obvious.

"He had his reasons," I announced. I thought they were pretty crazy these visions of Godric, but hey anything is possible in the world of the supernatural, right?

"Foolish reasons that require him to tolerate the bitch Flanagan, instead of putting her in her place. She is not happy her solution of dealing with Eric and Russell did not go as planned."

"Russell's gone, what else was there?" I asked.

"And Eric is still alive, a thorn in her side. With full knowledge the Authority did not follow their own rules which state they are responsible for the disposal of rogue vampires like Russell. She expected Eric to be killed."

I shifted in the couch, uncomfortable with the blunt statement.

Appius' gaze sharpened, "You are bothered by the idea Eric no longer being with us? Excellent, this will be much easier than I planned."

I was getting impatient; especially with the clock in my head ticking away the minutes before Eric arrived. I needed to prepare.

"Appius, Eric and I are not on the best of terms right now. So I am not sure what I can do which will help you that he couldn't?"

"Yes I have heard about your little spat. I am not surprised, humans can be so fickle." He gestured in my direction. "I need you to help me locate Russell," he simply stated.

"He's buried in concrete. Eric knows exactly where he is." I said with conviction. But Appius' stillness began to make me nervous. "Russell isn't going anywhere for a least a hundred years." Silence. "Isn't he?" I asked the first stirrings of terror beginning to rise.

"Eric took me to where Russell was entombed. The Authority demanded that Russell be excavated and staked. He would have been weak enough for us to handle."

I wondered who he was including in the 'us' team, him, Eric, Thalia maybe. I think they were the oldest vampires I know in the area right now.

Appius words had become slightly accented with a multi layered quality, "When the plot was excavated, Russell was gone. There was nothing but a pile of chains and the imprint of a body to show he had been there."

"No, this cannot be," I stammered in full denial. "Eric said he would be trapped for a hundred years."

"Eric was wrong," Appius insisted gently. "Even the Viking isn't infallible."

I was overwhelmed by so many emotions, astonishment, terror, rage, disbelief, grief, and dismay. I was speeding down the incline to hysteria.

As Appius watched me shiver and cower while crying incoherently on the couch, I became flooded with calm, comfort, strength and resolve. Eric had opened up his side of the bond. My back door slammed open and a wind whipped Viking strode across the room and pulled me into his arms. He held me close and rocked, his hands rubbing soothingly down my arms and back while he whispered reassurances into my hair, his lips brushing against my forehead.

My panic faded washed away by the security I always felt in Eric's arms. When it no longer felt like I was going to shatter into a million pieces, Eric moved us back to the couch. He kept me cradled against his chest, my face tucked into his shoulder, one arm wrapped around my back and shoulders to rest against my hip. The other hand combed my hair back away from my face and wiped away tears.

His attention never wavered from my face. "I told you to keep her out of this," he snapped at Appius.

"She is needed," was the quiet reply.

"There are other ways," Eric insisted.

"Ways which take time. Every moment we waste he grows stronger. You know this."

"No! I refuse to use her."

"You are not using her. She still has choice, free will. Her life is at risk either way. Do you not believe she should be aware of the situation?" Appius said with surprise.

"I only wish to keep her safe, protect her," Eric whispered.

"And this is the best way to do so, hidden in plain view," Appius smiled at me glancing over to the pictures on the mantle.

Eric growled, "I do not agree. I will take her far away where he cannot find her, then return for the hunt."

"And if he sends someone after her? How will you protect her then?"

"I will find a way!" Eric roared curling over me protectively. He was on emotional over load, contradictory emotions surging through him.

It hurt me seeing him like this. I was beyond scared, but I needed to pull on the big girl panties. I reached to cup his cheek, brushing his lips with my thumb. I caught his eyes and smiled saturating the bond with everything I felt for him.

"It's ok Eric," I whispered shifting in his arms to speak to Appius directly. "Tell me everything, hold back nothing."

Eric had caught my hand and held it, pressing his lips into my palm with his eyes closed. His turmoil faded and my emotions were being returned three fold. We would have 'our talk' later but for now, between us the last few weeks never happened.

Appius was watching the two of us avidly and when I made my demand his eyes filled with satisfaction.

"I do not know if you know where Russell was born?" Appius asked me. I shook my head. "Then we will start there. Russell Edgington was an ancient Celt from the Carpathian Mountains. He was also a Druid. Do you know what a Druid is?" he asked noticing the blank look in my eyes.

"No"

"In pagan times the druids were the exclusive possessors of whatever learning was then known. They combined in themselves all the learned professions: they were not only druids, but judges, prophets, historians, poets, and even physicians. The druids had the reputation of being great magicians; and in this character they figure more frequently and conspicuously than in any other." He said and even Eric was listening now with an air of interest.

"In some of the ancient texts you will find the issues of battles sometimes determined not so much by the valor of the combatants as by the magical powers of the druids attached to the armies. They could bring upon man madness, sometimes known as the battle madness, sometimes known by other things. It was believed that the druids could cast a harmful incantation, not only on an individual, but on a whole army, so as to produce blight or paralyzing effect on the men; and they were sometimes employed to curse a hostile army. They would also cast a spell or create a potion of forgetfulness, so as to affect the memory of any particular transaction. They were the intermediaries with the fairies and with the Fae realm in general, which they could influence for good or evil. They were the master manipulators, claiming to be able to protect the people from the Fae spirits (sprites, pixies, sheevras, banshees and pookhas) while sometimes being responsible for causing the majority of havoc the peasants feared."

Appius paused for a moment, letting me digest the information.

He started to speak slowly "Druids could also raise or produce a Fe-fiada, which rendered people invisible. The stories of this Fe-fiada are very confused and obscure. Sometimes it appears to be a spell, which rendered the person that repeated it invisible, or a thick concealing fog. A cloak or other device may be spelled by a druid to hide the one that wears it when they are in battle. Many a general supposedly lost their life to a blade they could never see."

"Or a vampire," Eric mumbled breaking my thrall from the story.

"Or a vampire," Appius agreed with a smile.

I was going over the story in my mind, zeroing in on two bits of information. The phrase 'intermediaries with the fairies' did not raise fluffy feelings. Not to mention the supposed 'spell of forgetfulness'.

"I do not believe Russell cast a spell to make himself invisible to escape, Ocella," Eric said with a bit of amusement.

"The 'How' of what he did matters not. It is the simple fact he managed to do so," Appius shrugged in disregard.

"Druids, Witches and Weres, oh my," I laughed. "Oh wait; let's not forget Vampires, Demons and Fairies."

Eric and Appius did not look amused by my little attempt to break the tension filling the room.

I squirmed with embarrassment, forgetting I was in Eric's lap until his natural reaction to my movement made it apparent. I blushed and gave him a half smile, mouthing the words 'I am sorry' in apology.

"I am not," he rumbled flexing his hips once.

My breath caught and I squeaked out, "Loved the history lesson. So Russell magicked his way out somehow and we have to find him. What do you want me to do?"

Appius leaned forward, "I want you to go undercover. We need to find where Russell is hiding. He is weak, unable to feed properly without his fangs fully reformed. Thanks to the information you pulled from the witches mind and some investigation over the past few weeks, Eric and I have discovered a connection to a certain were-tiger. Someone I believe you have already met."

"You mean John Quinn?" I asked.

"Yes Quinn," Eric agreed taking over the discussion. "Quinn is heavily in debt, for a multitude of reasons. He was forced to fight in the pits because his family pissed off the wrong people. His made some bad investment decisions, the fair ground for example, and is scrambling to keep his head above water. I believe the witches and by extension Russell, was using his sister Frannie to black mail him. I believe Quinn to be the man in the shadows you pulled from Marnies memories."

"Quinn made it clear at Merlotte's, from what I hear, he wished to meet with you again and talk," Appius said. "I want you to arrange that meeting. Talk to him, get to know him, gain his trust and pick his mind clean. Do whatever you need to..." Eric bared his teeth and growled. "Do whatever you are comfortable with," Appius amended, "to get the information we need to find Russell."

I looked between the two of them. "But won't he suspect something? I mean Quinn knows I am bonded to Eric, he recognized his scent."

"Which is why we are going to mix things up," Appius replied. "You are going to take a tiny bit of my blood." I opened my mouth to object even as I felt Eric's body tighten beneath me in rejection.

"Hear me out first," Appius snapped. "I've already offered my personal protection to you, which Eric is well aware, before we knew Russell was missing. That protection is critical now. I am one of the few vampires who can cause Russell to hesitate. If you take my blood I can find you without needing Eric. My blood will also mix up the scent you carry. It will obscure, but because of your bond, not over whelm Eric's."

"Appius, as much as I appreciate the offer of protection, I really don't think I want you featured in my dreams, no insult intended."

He laughed, "None taken but I would think the lure of staying alive might be more appealing than foregoing a few inconvenient fantasies. Besides, think of the side effects. The Viking there will have to work harder at keeping you pleasured."

I turned beet red and mumbled, "Well there is that."

"Actually I think you should take a bit of Thalia's too, for the same reasons." Appius announced thoughtfully.

I looked to Eric, at a loss as to how to answer.

"I would rather hide her, you know this." Eric stated firmly.

"Eric you take her away from her friends and family it will travel back to Russell like wildfire. We do not know if they are yet aware we have discovered Russell gone. She must continue to remain in the public eye."

I could feel Eric's conflict and fully understand the reasons why, but he did tilt his head in submission to Appius.

"So you want me to, in essence, seduce the tiger. The mix of scents will lessen suspicion. But I don't think he would really believe Eric and I are no longer involved."

Eric pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and sighed, "Which is why tomorrow night you will come to Fangtasia and you and I will cause a scene the likes of which no one will doubt. The tale will spread quickly and the tiger will become cocky when he thinks you are turning from me to him for protection."

"How will Quinn find out?"

"Chow will run to his Master, who will use Quinn's familiarity with you, to in turn take you to Russell."

I ached for Eric; Chow had been his right hand man. "His Master being the Asian I saw along with Quinn in the witches mind."

Eric confided, "Russell will not just drain you dry. He will take the blood he needs to heal. Then he will torture you until you reveal the location of the fairy portal. Or he will contact Niall directly, after you tell him about your family, and arrange a trade. You for fairy blood. He could also keep you secured somewhere and well fed, his own permanent fairy cocktail."

I winced at my own words thrown back at me.

"It is your choice Sookie. I will hide you if you wish, or we risk everything and try to out maneuver Russell." Eric made no attempt to manipulate me in any way. Our bond was quiet.

The chance of me being killed either way was just as strong. I found I would rather die close to Eric and my friends and family rather than in some strange country all alone. Hell, who was I kidding I didn't want to die at all.

"Then let's do this," I announced. "I will take your blood Appius if Eric agrees it will not harm our bond in any way what so ever, and Thalia's too if you think it is required."

"I do not like it, but I will allow it," Eric agreed but reinforced, "Just this once."

Appius showed his pleasure with a bright fangy smile, "Excellent. Thalia and I will give you blood tomorrow night after the big fight." He looked between Eric and I and his voice sobered. "Use tonight to heal the wounds between the two of you. After tomorrow you cannot be seen together until we act to finish Russell. Thalia will serve as go between she has skills that allow her to remain hidden."

He stood to leave and I blurted in a rush having forgotten about my other potential problem, "I almost forgot there was a fairy sniffing around Jason's place. He was asking a lot of questions."

Appius snickered, "No wonder Northman enjoys your company so much. I haven't had this much opportunity to do battle for centuries. Thank you for the warning Ms. Stackhouse," he said before spinning away and leaving the house.

Scene 2 - SPOV - Risk

Eric stood up and gently placed me down on the coach. He touched my shoulder and said, "I will be right back," then followed Appius out the door.

On my mental radar I watched three voids converge in the middle of the yard. After a few moments two of them dispersed, one leaving my property and the other returning to the woods. The third headed to the rear of my house to the garden shed.

When Eric returned he was carrying an armful of wood which he set in the iron wood box next to the fire place. He made two more trips with wood before I heard him lock the house down. I smiled; of course he would know all the new security codes. I banked down the thrill of excitement; apparently Eric was planning to spend the night. No use counting my chickens before they hatched though.

I watched him settle on his haunches and build a fire. His Levi's stretching and smoothing in just the right places. I was afraid he would turn and see me drooling so I got up off the sofa and wandered toward the kitchen.

"I am getting a drink, would you like a blood Eric?" I asked knowing he could hear me just fine with my head stuck in the fridge.

Of course he was right behind me when I turned around, a smile teasing his lips when I jumped.

"I will take a blood Sookie, thank you. Why don't you fix yourself something to eat while the fire takes hold."

"Sounds good," I pulled out bread and cold roast beef, slathered on some butter and poured some milk. Eric had taken the True Blood which I had warmed and was sitting on his stool at the counter. I took my place across from him and ate in companionable silence. When we were finished I rinsed my glass and his bottle and he guided me back out to the living room with his hand in the small of my back.

My breath caught when I saw the afghan and pillows piled in front of the now raging fire. I was about to say something when both our cell phones chirped. I pulled mine out and saw a text message from Pam. All it said was 'Well?' I replied back 'not right now' and hit send. Eric was waiting with his hand out when I was finished, wiggling his fingers to indicate he wanted my phone. I handed it to him and he placed both phones side by side on the coffee table, and then emptied his pockets of everything else.

I was curious so I asked, "Pam?" meaning who was on his phone.

"Pam," he answered shedding his leather jacket then stepping around me to lay on his side on the afghan, his feet away from the fire.

He held his hand out to me. "Join me Sookie," he requested.

I gave him my hand and let him guide me down so I ended up seated with my legs curled under me, my back resting and supported by his knees and my toes being warmed by the fire. He curled his long body around in such a way that we were interlocked like inverted esses.

He reached out with a cool hand and started to trace a design on my knee, just as he had the night he claimed me. I stopped the fidget by clasping his hand in mine and resting them on my lower thigh.

"I am sorry," we both said in harmony breaking the awkward silence.

He started to speak and I rushed over his words. "Eric, please let me go first." He inclined his head. "I've realized over the last few weeks that I was automatically expecting us to fail before we even got started. In fact I voluntarily set the stage. In essence I seduced you (with your cooperation) and then within days questioned the relationship. You were right; nothing you would have said that night would have changed my mind. I would have thought you were just humoring me to keep me in your bed."

I began to play with his fingers while I stared into the fire. "I wanted you to risk everything for me, including your heart, but I was willing to risk nothing in return." I looked into his eyes as I whispered, "I may have avoided some suffering, maybe some sorrow by pushing you away but then I would have become stagnant. Caught in an endless loop of woe is me and pity parties, expecting everyone to commiserate with my misery because another man left me."

I shook myself not too happy with the vision in my head. "I hurt you more than I hurt myself that night by deliberately sabotaging our relationship." I caught his gaze with mine his eyes were wary. "Will you give me another chance Eric? Let me prove to you I do trust you with my heart? That I am willing to risk it all so that the love I feel for you has a chance to mature and grow, become everything it should be, everything we should be?"

He brought our hands to his lips and kissed mine, running his thumb in circles over my knuckles when he returned them to my thigh. It was his turn to stare into the fire.

"I over reacted," He said "I should not have left you behind. I gave you exactly what you expected, very foolish of me." He looked back over at me. "What I feel for you Sookie I cannot put into words. It is too... huge," his accent thickened. "I love you, seems too weak of an expression. I do not know what to say, how to make you see everything you are to me. So I tried to show you instead, and apparently failed miserably." His lips twisted in an attempt to smile, "Relationships are new to me, and human ones seem so complicated. Pam has been trying to instruct me in all the ways I have failed you."

He sat up so he could lay his forehead against mine while he whispered, "I do not wish to fail you. I wish to rise to your beauty every evening. I wish to show you the world and see it anew through your eyes. I wish to care for you, provide for you and protect you. I wish to show you pleasure behind measure. I wish to see the love in your eyes again. I wish to trust you with mine. I wish all of this and so much more than I have words for. I wish to be with you for eternity. If this is what humans call love, then I do love you."

He kissed my lips then continued, "I am positive that you will be the death of me," he said with a soft laugh. "We will take this heart risk together, yes?" he asked his words heavy with the flavor of another time.

My heart had grown wings with his words, "Yes."

The bond was singing with joy between us, we both ignored the phones that started ringing. Pam could wait.

His smile was brilliant, his eyes worshipful as he drew my shirt over my head. My bra quickly followed. We slithered out of our clothes, our hands and mouths quickly rediscovering each other's tastes and textures. When our bodies merged it was two halves becoming whole. We rocked together, in no hurry to end the pleasure. Allowing the pressure to build, savoring each other's expressions. We allowed our feelings to swirl and meld through our connection, enhancing everything two fold. I peaked once, twice and then a third each time changing position striving for perfect harmony. The pace never faltered.

He trembled beneath me, hands guiding my hips. We were both so close. He felt so deep I swore he was touching my soul.

"Bite me," he whispered. I never hesitated, folding forward my blunt teeth breaking the skin of his chest. I almost swooned at the taste of his blood, so much power, so much of Eric contained within. I sucked hard against the wound, drawing deep. He came apart beneath me, my name a cry from his lips. Then I felt the swift penetration as his fangs pierced me, his lips pulling me down into ecstasies embrace.

We loved long and hard that night determinedly making up for lost time. We never spoke of the next evening to come. I fell asleep cradled in his arms in front of the dyeing fire, safe and secure in his love.