A/N - TB and SVM characters belong to HBO, Mrs Harris and Alan Ball, original characters and storyline are my own. Your reviews, feedback and alerts make my day. Please enjoy.

Chapter 17

Scene 1 - SPOV - Deceived

Someone was calling my name incessantly. I fought back the fog which seemed to be shrouding my mind and cracked open my eyes. I blinked as I took in the surroundings. I was staring up at wooden beams which I traced to the stucco walls and finely crafted furniture. The fabrics and upholstery I could see were berry colors. A warm hazy glow lit the room. I frowned in confusion, there was a familiarity here but I couldn't place where I could possibly be.

I started to take inventory of my physical well being. I had a split lip which seemed to be healing even though I could still taste fresh blood, multiple bruises and my arm felt broken, though again there was an incessant itchy feeling of wounds mending. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Ah there you are Sookie, welcome back." The voice was rich and mellow like silk over leather but the tawny eyes which swam into my vision were anything but. "You know I believe I am going to enjoy your visit with us. Fascinating how much damage your vampire lover's blood will heal. How long does it last I wonder?" A topaz gaze as hard as diamonds stared down while a mouth full of serrated teeth creased into a smile when his voice rolled over me, "You killed her Sookie, did you think I would really let you walk away?"

"Accident," I had a chance to whisper before my screaming commenced.

He left when the healing slowed down. I wasn't sure if I should curse or bless the variants of ancient blood in my veins. He would have played his painful games regardless of my healing abilities, for now it appeared I would be able to recover at least whole in body.

Throughout the last few hours I had found a way to escape the pain by retreating into my mind, hiding basically in the room where Eric should be. My despair when I found only the faintest glimmer of his essence came close to being the end of me. But when I touched the bond I discovered it was blocked, not severed. The dimensional twist of my location was placing a massive strain on the connection. The other two threads were still there, but hanging loosely as if waiting for someone to pick up the slack. There was hope then, if I could find a way to leave this place, everything might be restored when we are together again.

If I was to curse anything, it would be the stupidity which placed me in my tormentors reach. Why did I not listen to Eric? I played the memories of the afternoon's folly over again in my mind.

I had arrived at Merlotte's right at the end of the lunch shift. Sam had frowned when he glimpsed the overnight bag I carried and pulled me into his office.

"You are really going through with this?" he asked with concern.

"He has information we need. Eric can find me if things go south," I answered with confidence.

Too much confidence, I sneered to myself. There was one place Eric would not be able to come for me, and Quinn's words of Eric being unable to track us should have shouted a warning. But I blindly ignored my bonded instincts and climbed into the car with Quinn and his sister Frannie. Quinn didn't say much beyond a hello though his eyes never seemed to leave me in the rear view mirror. Frannie twisted around in the passenger seat to talk. Her chatter the nonstop nonsense typical of a teenager trying to fill time.

Maybe I should have asked questions when I realized we were heading to Monroe instead of Ruston on our way to Dallas via I-20 but I didn't think an additional half hour to the travel time would be that big of a deal. I did feel a bit nervous when we pulled into the parking lot of an obvious night club. It was Frannie who reassured me.

"This place shares space with a fabulous restaurant. I love their Philly cheese sandwich and their key lime pie is to die for," she enthused as she pulled me toward the back door.

"Why aren't we going in the front?" I asked hesitantly while dragging my steps.

"I'm part owner," Quinn rumbled as he held open the door.

It took me a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim interior. Frannie hurried on by slipping through another door while I looked around. The club was styled after an Irish pub and the bar looked well worn though cared for. There were three stages set up strategically between tables, the center stage being the largest. When the multitude of poles on each stage registered I realized we were in a strip club.

I turned to ask Quinn directions to the restaurant and found him talking to a vaguely familiar man. He had a tall lithe body and long curly dark hair pulled back into a tail. There was a large dog lying at his feet watching me with golden eyes.

I cleared my through to interrupt the conversation and both men glanced over to me.

Quinn began to make introductions, "Sookie this is my partner Cl..." he started to say before he was stopped by the man who was now walking toward me with a wolf not the dog I first thought it to be at his side.

"No introductions needed my friend Quinn." The man approaching me was beautiful with emerald green eyes, finely sculpted lips and chiseled features. There was something familiar about his face, but my mind wanted to sharpen his features. The man was still speaking when he stopped in front of me, the wolf sitting next to him.

"I am sorry," I apologized, "Am I supposed to know you? Have we met before?" I think I would have remembered if we had.

He dramatically held his hand to his heart, "I am wounded dear cousin, how could you ever forget especially with all the time spent with our sisters. Perhaps the surgery was more effective than I expected?" He touched the tips of his ears, cheeks and chin then winked.

When he drew my eyes to his features my mind replaced them with what it expected to see, the pointed ears, sharp cheekbones and cleft chin of a fairy royal.

"Claude?" I asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"We are waiting for you of course," he replied with a slight smile, waving to the wolf at his feet which started to shimmer until another fairy stood next to Claude.

"No," I whispered in denial.

"Oh yes," the former wolf replied with a wicked smile. He grabbed my hand before I could spin away.

*POP*

He teleported us to Faerun.

Faerun the beautiful land of the fairy with its grassy glades, whispering trees and babbling brooks. Where hazy sunlight shown down from turquoise skies without giving way to twilight's shadows or nights embrace. Why would anyone wish to leave such beauty you might think. I know I did for the first few days of my original visit those months ago. My family treated me like the fairy princess they claimed me to be. There was dancing and singing around the meadows and swimming in the cooling streams. There was food and drink in flavors you could only imagine.

Everyone seemed so happy and care free, even the little people like the pixies and elves I had met. All the fairies of my acquaintance were beautiful, exquisitely formed with perfect everything, face, teeth, hair and bodies. They all seemed to glow with health and vitality. Nothing harsh appeared to touch this world; my time was filled with learning about my heritage and meeting my family and endless circles of fun. Great-Grandfather Niall was quite elegant in both appearance and manners. I thirsted for the knowledge he laid bare at my feet until the day he told me the payment he expected from me as blood kin.

It was then the blinders were stripped away and the darkness hidden under the light became apparent. I saw the creatures hiding in the forest shadow the brownies, goblins and nixes. I saw my fairy families' features shift, become harsher and sharper their perfect teeth bared in a smile adjust to a sharks serrated edge. I felt the claws and the poisons contained within when I displeased them.

I learned of the scent they carried as the perfect predator. For humans it was one of comfort, of safety and home cooking, of children's laughter and a newborns cry. For the supernatural it was like catnip, a lure to bring them closer, intoxicating and irresistible. The scent and lure of their blood made them prey and predator of vampire, one of the few creatures with the longevity of life to challenge their presence in the human realm.

The Fae and the Vampire fell into war. A war the Fae lost when their plan to corrupt certain powerful vampires with the offer of blood and Fae magic failed. The Fae retreated back to Faerun bringing with them poisons and diseases from the human lands. Their numbers decimated, their ability to reproduce damaged, the Fae plotted and planned over the centuries.

Some of the elders developed breeding programs with humans, hoping the infusion would strengthen the female lines so pregnancies would come to full term. This was where I come into the story, a result of, and later on a victim of, such a breeding program.

Just as the fairy who had kidnapped me was a victim of Niall's obsession. Preston Pardloe had loved Claudette, the Granddaughter of Niall and sister to Claude and Claudine. They wanted to marry, but could not until she had produced a healthy child by their joining. They tried over and over again, but Claudette could not carry a child to full term.

Then on a night of heartbreak I took Claudine's hand and followed her through the portal and Niall changed his plans. Preston was told he was to set aside Claudine and marry me after we had produced a child. He had no choice but to obey his prince. I refused, broke his nose was punished, and Preston watched his love Claudette lose her mind. She was the woman Niall planned to carry my children; she was the one to attack me and who I killed. She was the body Claudine had to step over when she rescued me, leaving her triplet turning to dust on the floor.

Preston had never forgiven nor forgotten in the years (in fairy time) since I escaped back to Bon Temps, and I had fallen into his hands like the apple ripe for the picking.

I growled and struggled to sit up in the bed where Preston had tossed me after his round of fun. With every breath strength was returning to me and I gathered it close as I stood and explored the small cabin. There were only two rooms, the one I resided which served and kitchen, bedroom and living room and the second being the restroom. I used the facilities finding the water cooling to my heated skin and managed to rake back my knotted hair.

I was trying to open the main rooms' single window when the door opened behind me. I whipped around as Preston strolled back into the room.

"Feeling better are we," he said as he threw some fabric in my direction. "Get dressed, there is food waiting outside."

My mouth opened and spoke before my brain kicked into gear, "What's the matter, tired of the torture already?" I sneered. Inside I was clapping my hand over my mouth, brilliant Sookie, real brilliant. The man has spent hours working you over and now you are asking him for more?

He answered me seriously, "Actually yes I am. It's no fun when you know your victim will be as good as new in a breath or two. I'll have to remember how much you appear to have enjoyed it when the blood wears off and I start again." I felt the aforementioned blood drain down to my toes. "Regretting your words already?" He asked then continued on briskly. "Come the rest of the family is on their way to greet their long lost cousin and great granddaughter."

I stared at him blankly, "They know I am here?"

"Of course, I would not have been able to pull this off without their assistance."

"Claudine?" I asked with disbelief surely she would not countenance this?

"She knows only you have returned apparently of your own free will, since you approached Hooligan's openly," he responded and then answered my look of confusion. "It is the location of a portal to this realm, just like your cemetery. You should have followed your instincts in the parking lot. A part of you recognized the link to the Fae." He continued briskly, "You will say nothing to Claudine to change her impression, or I will have her join you here in our little games. She has yet to pay for the aid she gave you."

"Niall would not let you harm her," I said with conviction.

"Niall has his hands full with other issues, she like you, is of no importance right now," he responded as he walked back out the door.

I dressed in the clothes he provided, a gown of fairy silk, light and delicate against my skin. When I carefully walked out of the house there was a table set up next to a flowing stream and under a flowering tree. The perfect appearance of peace and happiness. My family had arrived while I had dressed and Preston acted the gentleman by handing me to my seat.

Claudine watched us with disbelief while Niall and the others beamed with pride. They talked of politics and intrigue among the humans. They spoke of a new product developed to allow them to handle iron without fear. They spoke of people and places where the Fae now walked openly. Like my cousin Claude, many of the younger generations had changed their appearance to spy and interact with the other realm.

Niall spoke not a word to me, only kissed me on the fore head, before giving a flask to Preston. A gift he said for the happy couple. I was never alone with Claudine and became frustrated, until I remembered the changes to my telepathy. In the past I could not penetrate a fairies thoughts, they were too good at protecting themselves from the magic of others. I had not tried with Preston but I would try later. For now I needed to get through to Claudine.

I walked over to the little stream where some of the younger kin were gathered and joined them in a card game. I split my attention between the cards in my hands and Claudine's mind.

Slowly I skimmed over the surface, examining her natural shields. The first layer reminded me of rubber, and like rubber could be pierced. The second layer was as familiar as my own and I slipped through the cracks easily. The third layer was the worse for its strength lie in its ability to twist the power of the attacker back on itself until you were not sure whose mind was whose. It would have been very easy to lose myself in a mental loop for eternity. I made it through on pure grit and determination refusing to be swayed from my goal.

I caught a mental breath in awe when I beheld the beauty which was Claudine's mind. As pure and peaceful as her own personality. I had less than a heartbeat to soak in her essence before she recognized an intruder in her mind. I heard and saw the magic forming to throw me out and screamed out to her.

No, Claudine it's me Sookie!

Sookie, How?

I don't have time to really explain, just accept I am much stronger. Please Claudine I need your help.

He is lying then; you are not here because you wish to be?

Absolutely Not! I walked into a trap. I need you to get a message to Eric.

The Viking? You are bonded then.

Yes, I love him Claudine. I need to get back to him.

I will do what I can, now go or they will grow suspicious of your stillness.

She pushed me gently from her mind. It took me a moment to recover and I hid my inattention to the game by yawning and claiming to be tired. The guests seemed to sympathize and soon the yard was empty but for the echoes of their blessings. Preston pulled me back inside when he chained me to the bed then sat down across to from me slowly rolling Niall's gift between his palms.

I stared at him furiously wishing I had the power to pop out of the chains and claw out his smiling eyes.

"You would just love to kill me now wouldn't you," he smirked. He lounged back in the chair. "You and the vampire were so much fun to watch run around in fear."

"Why don't you just kill me, you know we cannot have children."

"True, but you still have the power of that beautiful mind. You will heel for me like you heel for the undead and serve our people in a different capacity."

"Now I know you really are crazy," I scoffed. "I don't heel for Eric, in fact my refusal to obey him is one of the reasons I am even here."

"Come now, I know you are lying. You obeyed him when he commanded you not to stake the ancient, and that was when your connection to him was not fully formed. You were also observed acting as the obedient pet at his club recently."

I was astounded, "Who the hell told you that?" My mind was racing and I blurted out the answer when the light bulb went off in my head. "Bill Compton was spying for you?"

He nodded, "He was quite greedy for a vampire, but sorely lacked the intelligence. I doubt he would have lived to see his second century even without becoming involved with you."

I was still mulling over the information and had grown silent. He sighed and adjusted his position in the chair.

"I grow bored and wish some amusement and I do believe watching your face as the truth is revealed will be entertaining. Do you wish to hear the full story?"

I nodded. I had nothing but time on my hands until I found out if Claudine was able to reach Eric and return with his plan. Eric always had a plan I refused to doubt he would be able to get me out this time.

I listened as Preston explained how Niall had put in motion the plan to lure me to Faerun the first time my Fae magic made itself known. How each time they took advantage of my near death experiences to make this realm more enticing then remaining with the humans. He explained the visit Bill had made to Faerun, thanks to draining me.

Bill had indeed talked to Claudine but before he was returned to Fae, Niall had planted the suggestion and given Bill a number to call him whenever I was in trouble. Bill would not have remembered the manipulation. Bill had told Niall about Russell and Eric's plan for Russell to drink my blood, revealing my heritage and then Eric's failure to finish Russell off. It was Niall who had planted the imperative for Bill to destroy all who had tasted my blood, for the Fae were not ready for the vampire to know the rumor of their extinction to be false.

"Niall was furious when your Viking vampire did not kill Russell," Preston confided. "He sent us to finish the job. Compton led us right to him. It wasn't easy of course, the ancient had powerful magic and even weakened put up quite the fight. It took a dozen of us to bring him down and we still lost a few of our people." He frowned at the memory.

"What did you do, pop him right out of the concrete?" I asked.

"Oh no, he had already called his people to help magic him out," he replied.

"Impossible."

Preston popped across the room and hit me then popped back to his chair. "Do not doubt the power of magic human. Especially when wielded by one trained in the use of both human and Fae magic." He muttered in disgust, "The ancient was a Druid, do you know nothing of your own histories?"

I blushed at the insult, "Magic is new to me. I was not raised with it as you were."

"Niall had met Russell on the field of battle in the original war, under different circumstances. They were allies for a short period of time."

"Until Russell turned on him as he has turned on everyone else I assume."

"Exactly."

"So the big bad vampire Russell Edgington is absolutely truly and beyond any shadow of a doubt...dead?" I demanded.

Preston reassured me Russell was truly dead, but the mystery of his escape served as the bait needed to pull Eric's attention away from guarding our backs against the Fae and instead focusing our concentration trying to locate a bogey man. They had tried to use Compton and by extension, Eric's Queen to pull me out of from under Eric's wing but had failed. Then Claude had introduced Preston to his new partner Quinn who only knew of Claude as a sweet smelling human witch and Preston as a shifter. Quinn had tried to talk Preston into fighting in the pits saying that he could give him part of his winnings in vampire blood.

"And the rest is history as they say," Preston said with a smile. "You cleaned up one of our loose ends when you disposed of Compton. It was easy to plant false memories in the were-tigers mind to mix things up. You've already completed the first part of the process of separating you from your vampire lover by coming here, and in a few days when his blood is at its weakest we will use this," he shook the flask in his hand, "to finish the job."

I looked at him in horror.

Preston roared with laughter, "You see, the Tiger really was telling you the truth. Do not worry; I doubt your vampire lover will miss you when you are gone. I hear you caused him nothing but trouble." He left his seat to walk over and pat my shoulder comfortingly before leaving me to consider some of the honest truth in his parting words.

Scene 2 - EPOV - F'in Fairies

"It was the fucking fairies," I roared at Appius when we were finished with our interrogation, "This had nothing to do with Russell, nothing at all."

"How can you be sure," Appius asked as he pulled on a Fangtasia t-shirt over a pair of loose cotton pants which I had confiscated from the employee locker room. The former owner would not miss them; he was now a pile of goo in the basement.

"Thalia found vampire residue at the fence line along with a trace of fairy dust." I explained. When a fairy was killed their body disintegrated into a glittery dust, like the glimmer of quartz among sand.

"It proves nothing," he warned me. He was correct the ability to identify a vampire by their remains was not yet available.

"It's easier for me to believe Niall may have sent assassins to finish off one of the vampires threatening his great granddaughter then to believe Russell somehow magicked his way to freedom," I admitted.

"This whole thing with Russell is nothing but a fairy tale no matter which way you try to spin it," Appius growled in disgust. "So what other proof do you have the Fae is involved in this?"

"Only the coincidence that the Club she disappeared from has a familiar icon as part of their logo." I handed Appius the slightly crumpled picture of Hooligan's neon sign along with the photo of a five year old Sookie wearing her grandmother's pendant. "And while our connection was extremely weak when she disappeared into their realm the first time this...blockage...feels the same."

Appius sighed, balled up the clubs photo, and threw it over his shoulder. "Fucking fairies indeed," he growled before carefully placing Sookie's photo in a safe spot. "Pam retrieved this from her home?" he asked me flicking a speck of dust from the frame.

"Yes," I answered. "Sookie found the pendant in her Gran's things after the two of you spoke of those photos. She asked me to store it someplace safe. I gave it to the demon lawyer to keep with the rest of her paperwork."

"Doubt they could stir up mischief with it in the demon realm," he agreed. "This leaves us with nothing, since your former employee had nothing to do with this particular scheme."

"No," I agreed. "In the end Chow was useless. I was already aware Nevada is sniffing around and involved in the underground. I thought perhaps Felipe had Chow's master Jonathon assisting Russell escape; he would enjoy the chaos it would cause. But the relationship between the two of them was prior to Russell cracking on TV."

"A worry for another evening," Appius dismissed. "So how do you plan on getting Sookie back?"

My fangs dropped into a feral smile. "Thalia is returning with a new toy for us to play with. The tiger managed to escape but left us a present."

The office door crashed open and a red headed dervish spun into the room quickly followed by Pam.

"Where is Sookie, Eric and when are you getting her back. I want to help, how can I help?" demanded Jessica who was standing with her hands on her hips in a Fangtasia uniform.

I said nothing only signaled my permission to Pam.

Pam had the teenager in the air with feet dangling and her free hand poised to tear out the fledglings throat.

"You do not enter the Master's chamber without permission. You do not speak to the Master. You demand nothing, your pathetic life is only to serve if the Master wishes, do you understand?" Pam informed her with a disinterested voice.

"Yes Mistress," Jessica choked out. Before Pam could proceed with the Child's punishment Thalia arrived with the evening's entertainment.

"A gift for you Master," she purred tossing the bound fairy over Jessica's head and onto my desk. I was oblivious to the wreckage around me, caught by the faint tantalizing scent of fairy.

"He blocks his scent," Thalia explained. "I do not believe he wishes to die."

"Take him to the basement, the second set of manacles are iron." I instructed Thalia and then looked thoughtfully at Jessica whose eyes had dilated.

"Come," I said to the rest of the room. "Bring Jessica she can watch and learn and perhaps enjoy her first taste of fairy blood." Even with his scent masked there was enough still present to drive a vampire so young to insanity. Her presence would serve as incentive for the Fae to speak freely.

"What is this, a fairy ashamed of his heritage?" Appius asked in contempt flicking the ear of the now hanging and spinning fairy.

"You know nothing," the fairy spat.

"Now now Appius," I admonished with a conspiratorial smile, "Not all the Fae are powerful enough to swap skins. This poor child had to sink to the human's plastic surgery to serve his prince."

"Disfigurement is a worthy price to pay for the betterment of my people," the stupid fairy declared.

"Is death?" I asked as Pam pulled out the first series of tools and handed them over, explaining each one to Jessica.

I spent several hours working the fairy over, while Appius asked the questions. When I felt we had gathered as much as we could I offered the fairy a taste of the death he was now craving by allowing Jessica to feed briefly from him followed by the rest of us taking a sip or two. The control we exerted while tasting such an intoxicating elixir I believed to be a result of the love and concern we all felt for one precious hybrid telepath. I would not allow our fairy to die so easily, I had a use for him.

When we had cleaned up and Pam had taken an intoxicated Jessica back to Sookie's home for the night, (she couldn't be trusted with her human) we discussed the evening's findings.

The fairy, who had refused to tell us his name, even under torture, had spilled everything about the fairy Preston, including his shifting abilities and involvement in the underground, which they used to introduce Preston to Quinn. He explained Preston's history with Sookie and only Appius holding me back had kept me from killing him when I heard about his involvement with Sookie's original torture. The fairy laughed for the first and last time when he told us about the ruse with Russell. Claiming if we needed proof, Niall had kept the signet ring Russell had been wearing. He said we would have better luck trading Niall for the ring then getting Sookie back. He had disclosed how he would contact his people, including Niall only when Jessica sank her fangs into his throat.

We left Fangtasia for the evening with more information than ever before but no other plan then placing a call to Niall and hoping our prisoner was worth enough to garner his attention. The next night we scoured the area looking for the tiger and any other fairy hideaways. We found three more businesses sporting the fairy pendant and made note of their location. I had Thalia and Indira gather intelligence on the owners and employees and their families.

The length of time Sookie had been missing was an ever present concern in all of our minds. The last time she visited Faerun, four months had passed for her in a matter of a week. Sookie had now been missing for two and a half human days the equivalent of which could be as little as a week or as much as several months in Faerun. No matter how we looked at it, she had been gone for too long to return to us whole in mind or body.

Appius and I were traveling across Sookie's property having just visited her brother Jason to find out if he could remember anything Sookie might have said during their discussion about their family. When he had been told she was missing and who had taken her, he had started digging through family memorabilia for anything that might help us.

"I have Doctor Ludwig on standby," I told Appius when we entered the glade by the pond. "She will be here as fast as she can teleport and is prepared with a plethora of potions and elixirs."

"You have heard from Niall then?" Appius asked.

'No," I admitted. "I refuse to believe I will not hold her again."

"I have tendered my resignation to the Authority," Appius announced as we pushed through the brush.

I stopped in surprise, "Why would you do that?"

"I cannot go to War at your side as a political official, too messy." He interrupted me, "Do not deny your plans Northman, I know you too well. The others are also tiding up their own loose ends and pulling in favors in preparation. You will have an army behind you when needed." He grinned and punched me in the shoulder, "Only Godric's child would ignore a throne and war for a human."

We discussed various strategies and had just reached Sookie's porch when a flash followed by the sound of a teleport implosion rang through the cemetery. I beat Appius to the crumpled form sprawled in front of Gran's gravestone.

My nose flared at the scent of fairy and I grabbed Appius arm to stop his killing blow when she raised a hauntingly familiar face under curly dark hair. "No," I said to him. "She's related to Sookie."

She rose swaying to her feet, bracing herself on the gravestone. "I need to speak to Eric Northman, we must hurry, can you take me too him?"

"I am Northman," I told her noticing the exhaustion and signs of hard travel on her face and body.

"Oh thank the Gods," she whispered lifting her face to the evening sky before commanding me. "You need to contact Niall and offer a trade for Sookie immediately."

Appius demanded, "What would we offer to a fairy Prince that would have him charging to our beck and call?"

She looked back and forth between us. "Me," she said succinctly. "I am his Granddaughter Claudine and Sookie's cousin. I understand you are holding my triplet Claude, when you add in the fact that I am pregnant with twins and one half of a viable proven breeding pair, I think Grandpa Niall will come running, don't you?"