Eric had formally introduced himself to me as the Sherriff of Area 5, and one of the oldest vampires in Louisiana. The others had introduced themselves as well, and following their introductions, I told them more about myself.
I am a vampire-Hound hybrid; one of the very first Hounds of my kind, making me an Elder, and also one of the very first successful hybrids born to a live Hound. I assume that she died shortly after my birth, as I have no memory of my mother, or father for that matter, therefore I am an orphan Hound. A name I was never given either, but was always called ignis because of my tendency to frequently burst into flame whenever I was angry.
And that was almost constantly. I have no patience whatsoever, especially for the loathsome younger generations of Hell Hounds. I hate them all for their reckless behavior, and for how they betrayed me…
I shook the thought from my head, not wanting to get stuck on the thought.
After chatting for quite some time and getting better acquainted, Bill and Sookie excused themselves and left Eric and I alone.
I stared at the blonde vampire for a long moment, studying each and every inch of him. His face held a sense of familiarity, like I had seen him before. Something like an old friend that I just couldn't quite place, but was on the tip of my tongue. My eyes crawled up his body, and settled upon his own piercing, blue eyes. They suddenly widened as I realized that I had held eye contact for just a second too long, and before my own eyes, images flashed. Memories.
Were they his? Or were they mine?
The images felt as familiar as Eric, and I broke eye contact, deciding not to torture the vampire by tearing apart at his mind for every memory he possessed. The vampire gasped audibly, and leaned forward in his seat, unable to make sense of what just happened.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," I apologized, making a face.
"What did you just do to me?" His face contorted in a mix of confusion and annoyance.
"Holding eye contact for too long grants me access to your mind…your memories, your feelings, your very thoughts," I scoffed, "and they weren't kidding either when they said the eyes are the window to the soul."
"You can see the soul?"
I nodded. "Hounds hunt souls. And we can also see them; the lost souls floating among the living, and the souls within the living. Sometimes, we look within your soul to see your true intentions. Whether you're pure, or corrupted. And the more corrupted your soul is, the more tantalizing you become to a Hound," I shifted in my seat. "And if a Hound lacks control, you'll become prey."
Eric's eyebrow raised at the last sentence, and he remained silent, a finger touched to his lips. He seemed to be lost in thought, pale lips twitching ever so slightly, eyes moving every which way as he debated something internally. I thought about reading his mind, but decided against it after his last reaction to it. The vampire shifted in his chair and focused his attention on me.
"You're going to stay with me for the night," He said, the words sounding much like an order. "Tomorrow night, just after sun down, I'll deliver you to Sookie's place of work. To look after her."
"Why at night? Wouldn't that be pointless? She'll be left unguarded throughout the daytime."
"She will be…but you can't be out during the-"
I rest my elbows on my knees. "I can be out during the day. Despite being…part vampire, sunlight doesn't affect me."
"Then you will leave tomorrow morning. Do you know where Bon Temps is?" Eric asked.
"It's a short while away, I know that. And I know her scent, too, now," I added. "Finding her shouldn't be difficult."
No, it shouldn't be. Sookie's smell is different than that of a normal human's, too. I inhaled deeply; the scent still lingered in the room, and the more of it I took in, the more an intense thirst for blood rose within me. I made a face and sank deeper into the chair, fighting off my own urges, and failing to keep my fangs from ejecting.
No one should have this effect on me, I scowled. But she just smells so damn good.
"What is Sookie?" I asked finally. I need to know. No human smells like that. And I can only imagine what she tastes like….
I licked my lip, and grew anxious at the thought of her taste. How I would love to drain the life out of her body…Eric cleared his throat.
"Sookie…is special," He said, avoiding answering the question. Truthfully.
Pam rolled her heavily made up eyes. "Don't dance around it, Eric," She looked at me. "Sookie's a fairy, one that keeps fuckin' everything up and getting into trouble."
I just about had to pick my jaw up off of the floor at the revealing of what Sookie is. Eric nodded slowly and continued on speaking. "And that's why she needs protection. Her blood is precious. And if anyone gets a hold of her…"
"That could end badly," I finished the sentence for him absently.
A fairy. A goddamn fairy. I shook my head. For many years, I was under the impression that they were extinct. A dead breed that served no real purpose in the first place. And now, it is my job to watch over one. Her secret is one that best be kept, for if other Hounds catch on to what this southern belle really is, she could be the next thing the demons order to be captured so that her inner workings can be inspected.
"Real bad," Pam said. "And we can't have Eric or King Bill going ape shit if her precious little fairy ass gets kidnapped," She sneered.
"I'll keep an eye on her," I promised, smirking at the vampire's clear resentment for Sookie. "You don't like her, do you?"
"No. All she is is trouble."
My body jerked slightly as I noticed the subtle shift in energy. It wasn't caused by Pam's mood, but by an outside force, and quite literally so. I turned my head to the side to face the wall, the direction in which the negative energy radiated the strongest. Eric went to speak, but I raised a hand to silence him.
I listened closely.
Outside of the building, feet scraped on the asphalt, their boots creating a shushing sound as they walked over the gravel. Multiple voices spoke at once in the familiar southern drawl I had heard earlier, hushed, unlike the voices of the others in line. But to me, were clear and loud, as were there malicious intentions. These people are up to no good, and intend to cause trouble.
I glanced at Eric, and shifted, leaving my clothes to drop in a pile to the floor.
My body dissolved into nothing, becoming invisible; pure energy. Like a ghost, I moved through the walls with lightning speed, appearing outside of the bar and before the crowd of humans.
Taking care of them will be a bit risky, considering there is still a decently large crowd of humans lined up outside the club. But, I can handle it.
I padded over to the lot, where humans crowded around, waiting to gain entrance to the vampire bar.
A pickup truck sat in the center of the parking lot, it's engine running. Knowing full well they cannot see me, I traipsed over toward the hood of the truck and extended my claws. I tore through the metal, destroying the engine, rendering the vehicle completely useless. The humans were too riled up to notice the broken truck. I walked back over toward them.
"I can't believe we're doing this," One of them spoke. "This is nuts, man. Fuckin crazy."
"I know, I know."
A red tank sat on the ground in between them, a pungent smell drifting out from the yellow spout.
Gasoline. How could no one not notice this?
One of the men toyed with a lighter. I crept forward, and dug my claws into his leg. He yelped in pain. I closed my eyes and focused, channeling the redneck's thoughts.
"… we're really doing this…I can't believe it…burning down the vamp bar…we're gonna torch those fuckers. Kill em all…"
Oh, no you won't, I thought.
I growled loudly, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth, snapping at the group. They still hadn't noticed. I lurched forward, taking one of the men down. All at once they jumped, wild eyed, yelling, screaming for the man beneath me to get up and quit freaking out. A few of them cussed, regretting taking large hits of whatever drug they had consumed beforehand. I tore into the man's throat, ripping his vocal cords out. My claws extended once more, and I drove them into the man's chest and cracked them bones in his rib cage, reducing them to nothing more than a fine powder.
Chaos reigned around me as the others began to take notice of the violent death I granted one of the men. Some fled, others watched on in horror, or morbid fascination.
"Ah, fuck, man, what the hell!" One of them yelled, stumbling backward. A slew of curses escaped from their mouths, the men panicked, unsure if their companion was actually being torn apart by an unseen entity, or if the hallucinations were finally settling in.
I pushed down, causing his chest to sink, and under the weight of my paws, his heart ruptured. He coughed and sputtered, warm, fresh blood spraying from his lips. I drank the blood pouring from his neck, and shuddered, feeling an ecstasy that I had not experienced in hundreds of years. A newfound energy coursed through my veins.
And with that energy, for I brief second, I manifested, exposing myself to the now terrified humans.
"Oh my god, Tommy, look at that thing's fuckin eyes!" A man choked.
They froze in terror before taking off in the direction of the truck. The driver frantically began trying to start the vehicle, but to no avail. I tore the door off and ripped one of the men of the truck by his ankles. He dropped to the ground, his head bouncing on the concrete as he landed. I dug into his stomach, tearing organs out, chewing the intestines. He cried out in pain, tears trailing down his cheeks, mixing with the blood that splattered onto his face.
The others left, running as fast as they could down the block, and away from the bar and their dead friends. I left the dying man, and ran after them, unable to resist the chase. The hunt. I howled loudly, snapping my teeth at their ankles. One of them stumbled to the ground. With a quick swipe, I slit his throat and dug my snout into the open appendage, draining the blood from his body.
One human remained. I could smell the urine trailing down his leg. Fear rolled off of him, fueling me, giving me the edge I need. I rushed forward, catching up to him quickly, and bit down into his back, sinking my teeth into the flesh. I tore my head away, and the skin and muscle broke with a sickening tearing sound as I ripped the spine from his back, crunching the bones between my teeth.
I fed off of the bodies and burned them, and returned to the lot outside of Fangtasia. The truck still remained, as well as the dead and dying humans. Others lingered, snapping photos of the dead bodies, but the crowd had dwindled greatly since I chased after the others.
I gripped their clothing between my teeth and pulled them into the vehicle, along with the tank they had brought along. I placed a paw on the fabric of the backseat, and lit the cushion on fire. I walked to the rear of the vehicle and shoved, sending the metal death trap into the now empty roads. The vehicle collided with the front of a shop, exploding upon impact, setting the store ablaze.