I buried my face in my hands. After all this time, I finally found him. By the command of my previous Keeper, I was to kill Eric and bring his soul down to the Underworld. So close I was, to getting my bounty. But during that time we were unsure of the vampires and their capabilities. Hounds, demons…none of us knew what they were able to do, if they were stronger, able to kill us…if they were born and not turned like we are. It was the only reason I let Eric go. I wasn't risking my life.

At that time, I wasn't entirely certain what was going on. I thought the vampire was only feeding. It took some time before I realized Eric had been turned.

Over time we learned that the vampires are strong, but not as much as we had believed them to be. They were easy to kill. And to capture. In the early 1500's, I recall hearing of many vampires being brought down to the depths of Hell, alive. Their blood was drained from their bodies, DNA coupled with that of a Hound or demon, and thus a vampire-Hound or demon-vampire hybrid was born, stronger than all other creatures residing in the Underworld.

The strongest were the Hell Hound hybrids, though. I being one of them, and proof of that. But the mixing of the DNA had a few negative effects on most of the hybrid pups, most of which were worked out a short time after I was born, and had skipped me. I was the first successful hybrid born. The females weren't as fertile as the pureblooded Hounds were. They could only conceive for a short period of time each year, and chances were, the pup would die in the womb or shortly after birth. It was typical for the mothers to die after giving birth as well.

I groaned. Eric placed a hand on my shoulder, his thumb smoothing over a small patch of skin. How many vampires have I captured for those demons to drain and breed with…hundreds? Maybe more, I can't be sure. And now I am owned by one.

"You're not going to kill me, are you? Now that you've found me."

"No," I said quietly. "I had given up on you a long time ago, Eric. Your soul is no longer mine to take. You are…safe." And despite that, I began to feel the familiar pull, the urge to take him, to rip the very life from his body. I tensed and took a deep breath, forcing myself to ignore my instincts.

The Viking stared at the floor, his hand still placed on my shoulder. The two of us sat there, quiet. No talking. I can't even tell what he is feeling…if he's feeling anything. His face is blank. I thought about tapping into his thoughts, but decided not to. My body slouched.

"It's close to morning. Why don't you sleep?" I asked, wanting some time away from him.

"I can stay up a while longer," He looked over at me. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"I was waiting for the right time…and I hadn't anticipated that vampire being in the area. Or turning you." I laughed dryly. "And truthfully, back then, I was a bit afraid of you vampires."

A small smile spread across his lips. "Afraid?"

"Yes." I said. "Vampires were somewhat of a myth then. No one was sure if you really existed, and when we had sightings, we were unsure of your powers."

"Are you still afraid?"

"Not at all. You vamps are strong, but not as much as we thought. I think we just feared the unknown." I smiled a little. "Not any more, though. You're not even a threat to us."

"But you are to us," He said. "How were you able to burn me like that?"

"Burn you like what?"

"While I was trying to bring your attention back, you burned me," He frowned.

"I'm sorry," I scratched my nose. "Hell Hounds have fire-based abilities. We can raise our body temperature enough to burn you, light ourselves and other things on fire. It doesn't harm us, though. Not much does."

"What does harm you?"

"Eric, I can't tell you that," I said, shaking my head.

He gripped my forearm. "You have to trust me. I called you here for help, not to harm you."

I sighed. "Well, you already know what the salt does…anything made of iron-nails, rods, they don't do much damage, but they burn like hell. It's just annoying. Crosses have the same effect as the salt, as long as the person wielding it truly believes in God. Otherwise it's useless, and they'll wind up dying a slow painful death for pissing us off. Aggravating a Hound isn't necessarily the best idea."

"I noticed that earlier with Ginger…Have you ever had anyone pull a cross on you?"

"Yep. And it …sucked, for lack of a better word." I cracked my neck. "For hours I stalked them until they were tired out. Then I attacked…and ripped them to shreds."

"Do you have any idea what is causing vampires in your area to disappear? Humans, anything supernatural…" I asked, changing the subject, even though I already know the answer.

"I have a feeling as to who is behind all this. Why?"

"So I know what I'm protecting you from." I looked away, debating telling him the truth. I decided against it.

Eric ducked his head down so that his face was inches from mine. "You look like you're keeping something from me."

"I'm not," I lied. "It's probably just the humans, or wolves."

Or the pack of Hounds I once belonged to, that not only hunted down lost souls, but captured live vampires.

Eric can't know what I've done, or who might possibly be after him and the others. If they were to come after Eric, I could kill them off easily. If something bad were to happen, I could die, leaving him vulnerable, open to attack from a force he couldn't possibly protect himself from on his own. He made the right choice to call upon me for help…I suppose he's just lucky he got me. Allegiance is something I no longer hold to that pack, and is dwindling when it comes to my own kind.

We were once respected, important beings in the Underworld, but have devolved into a pack of brainless savages. Most of us, the older ones, are disgusted by the newer generations and how they conduct themselves. Those…pups make us look like fools. My lip curled into a snarl. Eric backed up.

I grabbed his arm. "Relax. Just thinking about something."

"Something piss you off?" He asked. "I couldn't tell if you were going to shift or not."

"You'd know if I was going to shift."

"Really? Because each time you have so far, has been completely unpredictable," He smirked. "I think it's time for bed now. We have things to do tomorrow."

"Sookie?" I asked, to which Eric nodded. "See you tomorrow night then," I yawned.

"Try not to kill anyone this time," He added sarcastically before climbing into bed.