A\N: Sorry this took so long you guys. We had some major home owner issues after New Year's and my life has been a terror. (Living with in-laws for a month, AHHHHHHH.) We had some very unexpected renovations to do and I've been away from my computer since my last update. The horror, I know. I've made this chapter extra long as a mea culpa and I truly hope you enjoy it. I've missed all of your kind words and cool insights. ;)

Chapter Eighteen

All we could do was wait.

I slept for a good six hours, which was more than I expected to get. It was a restless sleep though, broken up by terrifying dreams. I watched all of my friends being pulled apart into pieces or fried by the sun. And just before I woke up, I saw a vampire version of myself staking Eric through the heart, because Marcus told me to.

Part of my brain just wouldn't let me rest until this thing was done.

I was the only one up, which was a relief. I couldn't be bothered making conversation with anyone while in my current mood. I took my time showering and dressing, trying not to think certain things, but thinking them anyway. This could be my last shower, or this could be the outfit I die in. I used the good soap and body oil, then slathered myself with scented lotion. I put on a carefully chosen pink sweater set and drawstring khakis. I even took the time to paint my toes and put on a dab of make-up. I was pretty as a picture, but the person in the mirror stared back at me with empty eyes.

I set out to make myself a big breakfast, even though it was well past lunchtime. I put on the country station and smiled when I heard my favorite Luke Bryan song - there was something about those good ol' boys in Nashville that could always brighten my mood a bit. I sang along and shook it like a country girl all around the kitchen, happy to have a momentary distraction. I ended up cooking enough for three people, just in case Dermot or Claude should happen to stumble out when the smell of frying protein wafted into their bedrooms. But no one came, so I sat down with a giant cup of light and sweet coffee to eat three scrambled eggs, extra crispy bacon, and toast loaded with butter and jelly. I assumed I wouldn't find to time to eat again later, so I made it count and tried not to think of it as my last meal. But I did anyway.

I've never been a fatalist, quite the opposite in fact. I've always tried to keep a sunny perspective on life, because the alternative - wallowing in my own misery and becoming a shut-in - was unacceptable. Yet as I sat there, forcing myself to eat rather than actually bothering to enjoy the food, I couldn't help thinking about how I'd gotten to this place. And the more I thought about it, the further my shoulders slumped. Finally, with both my stomach and my head full, I pushed the plate away with a grunt.

It all stemmed from Eric. He was the strongest person I knew, and I'd seen him nearly die and suffer a mild breakdown in the same day. He would never admit to it or speak of it again, but I knew the second I saw him in those chains that he was a goner. If we hadn't shown up, he surely would've died that night. And I would've too, if our bond held true. If Marcus could do that to Eric, there was no telling how the rest of us would fare by the time this battle was over.

Marcus had the upper hand, and we all knew it. He made sure we knew it. He wasn't in love with one of us, he had no emotional ties to any of us, he did not share a blood line with any of us. These were all things that connected us and made us weaker, because we'd all end up doing something stupid to save one another. I knew I would put myself before each and every one of them, if forced to make a choice, and that in itself made me weak. I had always been the weakest link.

Well, wasn't that a slap across the proverbial face.

The phone rang around three, and I knew it was Sam. The lunch rush would've died down by then, and I was sure that the supernatural grapevine had let him know about the rumble going down on Hummingbird Lane. I settled onto my Gran's phone stool in the kitchen, right next to the pad and hanging pencil. I'd long since updated the rotary wall-mounted phone with a cordless, but old habits die hard.

"Hey Sam."

"Hey Sook."

I didn't have time to waste on the preliminaries. "Before you ask, I'm fine. We're all just fine."

"Right now you are. After sunset, I'm not so sure," he said.

I let out a short sigh. "So you've heard then."

"Alcide came in."

Of course he did, that damn Alcide. Always trying to impress me, always missing the mark. "Well, spill it. How much you know?"

"All of it," he replied. "I'm coming there, as soon as Terry gets in."

"No, you're not," I insisted.

"Mind's made up, Sook. You guys need all the help you can get."

"Not your help."

He sort of chuckled. "I'm coming whether you want me to or not."

"Sam, he knows everything about me," I referred to Marcus, knowing he'd understand. "He'll kill you just to spite me."

"I'm willing to risk that."

"Well, I'm sure as hell not."

"Damn it, Sookie," he said, anger building in his voice. "You don't get to make all the decisions."

I was on the verge of crying, again, but I just didn't care. "No!" I snapped back. "I couldn't bare it if something happened to you."

"I'm not gonna -"

"You might and you know it," I said quickly. "Now, you listen to me, Sam Merlotte. There are very few things I have left to control at this moment. You living or dying is one of them. I'm not gonna let you get hurt on my account. Jannalynne would never forgive me."

"I don't care about Jannalynne, I care about you."

Uh, what now?

I heard a heavy sigh on the other end if the line, and I could just picture him running his hands through his messy curls. "Damn it, girl," he grumbled.

I held my breath, hoping to God that he would just let the moment go. The last thing I needed was to get into a sticky conversation about his feelings for me. There were no heartfelt words I could say that would change any of it. At the end of the day, I would still love Eric and Marcus was still gonna try to kill us. Sam declaring his love, or whatever I was to him, was just gonna make everything that much more complicated. Though I had to admit, there was a very small, very selfish part of me that wanted nothing more than for Sam to love me. Being with Sam would be as close to normal as I would ever get, and I couldn't just ignore that possibility. Maybe it was more like a curiosity than anything else. Either way, I would never forgive myself if I let him get dragged into this whole mess.

"I have to see you." His voice was softer now, and sounding a little desperate.

I glanced out the window. It was an very overcast day, which meant the vampires would all be waking up early. Eric would be rising any minute. Bill, and the others who'd slept at his house for close proximity, soon after. "You can't, Sam."

"If anything happen to you, I'll kill Eric myself."

And he meant it.

"I'll be sure to pass along the message," I said. "Really, Sam, all this worrying is for nothing. We'll be fine. Alcide was just running his mouth again."

"Yeah." He accepted the lie I'd just told without question, for once.

"I'll come by Merlotte's tomorrow, okay?" I said, trying like hell to put some sunshine in my voice. "We'll fix up my schedule and I'll tell you all about my trip."

"Yeah, okay."

I didn't want to hang up, but there was nothing left to say. "I'll be seeing you soon, okay?"

"Okay. Wait, Sookie?"

"Yeah?" Oh, God, please don't say it. Please don't say it.

"You know that I...it's just that I worry about you."

I smiled a bit, despite myself, and shook my head. "Yeah, I worry about you too."

"I worry about you a lot."

"I know you do, and I'm sorry about that. I'll try to be a better friend from now on, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," he sighed.

"Bye, Sam."

"Bye, cher."

I hung up the phone and just sat there for a few minutes, my feet dangling a few inches off the ground. I didn't want those to be the last words I ever said to Sam, but I wasn't into sappy good-byes, especially over the phone. I promised myself then and there to have a real conversation with Sam about our relationship when I saw him next. Fortunately enough, I was too distracted to worry about what the exact content of that conversation would be.

On a whim, I picked up the phone again and dialed Jason's number. No answer, as usual, just voicemail.

"Hey, Jase. I'm back from my trip, just thought I'd give you a call." I searched my brain for the right words to say, because I didn't want him cowboying up and charging over here either. If I said anything too sentimental, it would immediately clue him off that something was up. Even Jason would get that message. So I went with something simple. "Anyway, I sorta miss you, haven't seen you in a while. Just call me when you get a chance, okay?"

That would give me good week before he even thought about calling me back.

Eric joined me soon after, in as somber a mood as I've ever seen. Less than an hour later Pam, Sorren, and Bill showed up. I heated up some True Bloods for them, knowing it wasn't going to be enough, but they didn't have a choice. They'd all fed the night before. If they left for even a few minutes to hunt in the woods, it could be all the time Marcus needed to take me, or worse. Even after showing Eric what I was capable of the night before, I was still the weak one.

The sunset came and went. A bundle of weapons, identical to the one we'd taken on the plane, was stashed on the front porch. We didn't discuss what would happen or make a battle plan, though I'm sure Sorren was bristling to do it. Because really, what was the point? The vamps wouldn't need weapons, and I doubted any of us would have time to get into a duffel bag of guns and stakes in time. It was just there to make me feel better. So we all sat around the kitchen table, quiet as a still river, drinking coffee and synthetic blood.

Without prelude, Freyja bounded down the stairs, Claude and Dermot two steps behind her. I saw the look on her face, and I knew. We all stood up at once.

"He's awake," she blurted out. "He's coming."

"They'd fly into West Monroe," Bill said. "New Orleans is too far of a drive."

"It's over three hundred miles, of course they'll fly," I agreed, looking to Eric for assurance. "We have time."

Freyja shook her head. "No, he's not that far away. I can feel it, he's close."

"How close?" Eric asked.

Pam's phone rang. She quickly dug it out of her pocket and looked at the number. Flashing a pensive glance to Eric, she turned her back and answered it. "Speak . . . For what purpose? . . . How long ago? . . . No, we need eyes there . . . Exactly like I told you."

She looked to Eric, all business. "Victor just stopped at the club and took Heidi."

"But that's impossible," I said to Bill, panic rising in my voice. "You said-"

"They must've traveled during the day," he replied dismissively. He looked annoyed, probably for not thinking of it himself. "They have help."

"Maxwell said they left two humans and a were at the club," Pam said.

"Then he doesn't want anyone following them," Sorren suggested.

Eric shook his head. "No, Marcus doesn't need help from anyone, but I'm sure he would've left the details up to Victor." Then he looked to Freyja and gave her exactly a second to answer his questioning stare.

She sighed, and I saw a mixture of dread and determination on her face. Whatever she was going to tell us, whatever secrets she was about to divulge, would cost her dearly. "He wants to face you alone. The rest of us are expendable. He'll let us fight with whoever he brings until it's just you and him left."

"Then why get Heidi?" Dermot asked, having met her once or twice and knowing she wasn't particularly strong or potentially helpful in a battle. But I knew the instant Pam said her name why they would bring her.

"To track someone," I said. Eric turned to me and I had a flash of the dream - me as a vampire, staking Eric. "He still wants to turn me."

Eric smiled lightly. "He can try."

Bill stepped between us and protectively grasped me by the arm. "We need to get you out of here. You'll stay at my place until they're distracted, then-"

"That's exactly what they want us to do, you idiot," Pam snapped.

"I'm not going anywhere," I tried to twist away, but Eric grabbed Bill's wrist before I could get free. I could feel the pressure on Bill's flesh, could see the skin budging under Eric's fingers. When he finally let go of me, Eric stepped closer to Bill and looked down at him with menacing eyes.

"Touch her again and you'll have to grow back another arm," Eric seethed. "She stays."

Bill raised his arm between them, even as Eric held fast. I've seen Eric pull arms off, it's not pretty. Yet Bill didn't waiver, didn't even blink. Normally when the two of them fought like dogs in heat, I would pull them apart and send them to their separate corners, but something told me to keep my mouth shut this time. I needed to see Eric do this. After what happened between us the night before, Bill needed to know that he couldn't put his hands on me like that anymore.

Luckily for Bill, Pam was thinking more rationally than the rest of us. She stepped between them and snapped, "Put away the rulers, boys. We've got more important thing to worry about right now." She gave a quick shove to Bill, who flicked out his fangs in silent protest. For Eric though, who deserved a gentler nudge, she lightly pressed her palm on his stomach and he immediately backed off. This was obviously not her first rodeo.

"Now is not the time to start quarreling amongst ourselves," Sorren said, more diplomatically.

I looked to Dermot and Claude. "You need to get out of here. There's no use in you getting hurt too."

"I think Niall would disagree." That was all Dermot said, and I frowned. Neither one of them moved and I knew the decision had already been made.

"She'll track us just as easy as she would you," Claude said matter-of-factly.

He was right, of course. There was no point to them hiding, just as there was no point in me running. If they wanted us, they'd find us eventually.

Suddenly, we were all silent. I looked at each of them in turn and then, one by one, we all turned to Eric. There was a wild fire lit in his eyes as he once again assumed command of his troops. My Eric - the brutal, ruthless Viking version of the man I'd come to love - was back for good.

"Let it be done then," he said.

He swung the front door open and we followed him down the porch steps and onto the lawn. It was dark out, even for a night looked over by a full moon. The cloudy sky snuffed out all of the natural light and we were consumed in shadows and shallow illumination from the house lights. We assembled shoulder to shoulder, Eric and Bill flanking me, with Dermot and Claude standing directly behind me. I would've never let them stand in front of me, and was silently grateful that everyone respected my girl power with no protest. Sorren and Pam stood on the other side of Eric, while Freyja stayed on the porch. I wasn't sure to make of that, but I could hardly blame her. If Marcus was my maker, I'd want to stay away from him too.

Now, the drive from Shreveport took a normal person about forty minutes. I knew from experience that a vamp in a sports car could make the drive in less than half that time. Right on queue, two shiny black Escalades rolled up my driveway.

Out of the first one came a vampire I didn't know, but he was big and set my faery senses tingling. Another old one, Günter perhaps? Heidi climbed out of the back seat like it was on fire, then Victor slid out the other side and I understood why. He looked every bit the snake as I remembered. Smug grin, perfectly coiffed hair, and an expensive suit that he managed to make look cheap. His eyes honed in on me the second his foot hit the ground, but what worried me more was the other car. Out came Sergius, carefree and cool as ever. He opened the back door like a visiting dignitary had arrived. Marcus stepped out, wearing a gray suit and a pair of dark sunglasses. However, they couldn't hide the fact that his usual flippant smile had been replaced by a veil of anger.

Marcus was obviously not used to being one-upped by the likes of me.

I did that horrible mental math that every solider must do heading into battle. We seemed to be at an advantage, as their five lined up before our seven. While Dermot, Claude, and I could hardly contend with Sergius or Marcus, I felt confident that our combined magic would be enough to take down Heidi or Victor.

We all stood there, facing each other like we were at the OK Corral. I wondered if Eric and Marcus would exchange some witty banter before someone made the first move. I was surprised when it was Heidi who jumped into action. She charged me, seemingly possessed with crazy and senseless anger. Why was she so mad at me?

Pam pushed her off easily enough, as Bill and Dermot stepped in front of me. Heidi went sprawling down onto the blacktop, flipping head over feet and landing on her face. Victor chuckled as she stood up and came at me again. I looked at him over Bill's shoulder, watching him waggle his eyebrows, and something clicked inside me. Homicidal rage. I was going to kill him and I was going to enjoy it.

Since Victor had her securely placed in his back pocket, I couldn't say I knew Heidi too well. She had a messed up human life and an even more messed up afterlife, so I had some sympathy for her. But I couldn't explain her sudden aggression toward me. She swiped at me again and Pam clothes-lined her.

"I want the girl alive," Marcus sneered. "She can do her job or be eliminated."

Heidi whimpered under Pam's restraint, bloody tears running down onto her cheeks. She looked at me when she quietly wept, "He has my son."

"Control yourself, Heidi," Victor said, but his eyes stayed on me. He watched as I put the pieces together.

She was being forced. She was there to keep me prisoner, to protect me until Marcus could get his hands on me. And she would damn well do as she was told if it meant preserving the life of her only child. Under the circumstances, even I could understand that. At that moment, she was just as dangerous as any one of those other vamps.

A smile curled on Victor's lips. I wanted to rip his face clean off.

Someone had to throw the first punch, so I decided it was gonna be me. I summoned as much energy as I could, in that brief second where no one was paying attention to my hands, and I hurled it directly at Victor's face. He flew back twenty feet, his feet dragging against the driveway, and fell in a heap against his car door. With a groan, he slowly stood up and glared at me with hooded eyes and extended fangs.

For a few seconds, all they could do was stare at me, eyes wide and mouths open. I thought I heard Marcus laugh. Then there was chaos all around me. I couldn't watch as Eric and Marcus hurled themselves through the air and collided with fangs and fists unfurled, or as Sorren and Sergius clamped onto each other like sumo wrestlers. I couldn't take my eyes off of Victor, who was now slowly walking my way.

"Keep her off me!" I yelled as I ran toward the open space of the lawn. Bill leapt in front of me and intersected Heidi. He tackled her and they both went down, rolling around like gators across the grass as Victor closed the space between us.

"You've been practicing," Victor said.

I heard Pam scream, but could only flick my eyes for an instant to see her finger being ripped off by Günter. Victor stood only feet away from me, huddled in a defensive stance. I summoned a small orb and shot it into his chest, just to back him off. He was prepared for it, and jumped back to his feet a few seconds after falling to his knees. After the night before, I knew I'd burn out fast. I had to pace myself.

He shook it off too easily, coming toward me faster now. He looked exhilarated in fact. "Did your grandfather teach you how to beg for your life?"

I hit him again, his fingers inches away from my neck. He didn't even fall backwards this time, he just braced himself and grunted when the energy hit him.

Dermot popped up next to me, his hands at the ready with his own glowing orb. "Focus, Sookie," he demanded in a level voice.

"I can't," I replied, shaking my arms out a bit. Another blink over to the driveway and I saw Marcus grabbing Eric by the shoulders and flipping him onto the ground.

Victor looked over his shoulder and shook his head with a tisk. "Ooo, it looks like your husband is a little out of his league."

"Shut up," I snapped.

"Ignore him. Let go of your anger," Dermot said, hitting Victor with a large blue flash. He went down this time and Dermot turned to face me. Victor tried to laugh, but ended up clenching his arms around his middle and coughing violently.

I ignored him, because I was suddenly completely distracted. As the remnants of my magic swirled all around us, a memory flashed before my eyes - the moment I was attacked on the front porch. Eric said he'd smelled two things - Victor, and magic. I realized, as the adrenaline buzz faded out through my fingers, it was my magic that had hung in the air that night.

"Why didn't you kill me?" I challenged, stalking over to Victor. He laughed , struggling to his feet. When he didn't answer me, I turned to Dermot. "Hit him again."

"Sookie-"

"Hit him again!" I screamed, and Dermot threw another orb into his chest. "What happened that night?" He merely glared at me, smoke rising from the fabric of his suit. "Again!"

Dermot extended his hands, looking more like the Emperor in Star Wars than my uncle. Finally, his eyes widened with fear and Victor held a defensive hand out to me. "Alright, wait," he rasped, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. "Marcus wanted to test your magic, see if you were worth turning or keeping alive."

"And?" I asked, disgusted.

"He wasn't that impressed, although I enjoyed the experience immensely." Then he smiled and I knew what he would've done to me if I hadn't shocked him. I could see the unmasked thirst on his face, the perverse glint in his eyes.

"We'll see about that," I spat through gritted teeth.

I hit him with all I was worth, which turned out to be enough to lob him into the forked branches of a nearby magnolia tree. I held my hand out to the tree in the same instant that Dermot stood next to me and hit Victor with another stream of energy. He was effectively trapped there, stuck like a magnet to the fridge, but only inches from the ground.

It took him a second to realize what I meant to do with the broken branch now resting firmly in my grasp. He reached for my face, clawing the crap out of my cheek and nose in the process. I knew he had no problem going out like a coward and there was no time to waste on monologuing . He went wild flailing his arms and legs, snapping his fangs, trying anything to get out of my uncle's hold. I lifted the branch over my head with both hands and drove it through Victor's heart. His body went limp for only an instant before it dissolved into a lumpy, bloodied pile.

"Fuck you," I grumbled. I threw the branch down with a soggy thwack.

Bill and Heidi, who were flipping around on the lawn only feet away, both stopped wrestling and looked up at me. Heidi gasped, then simply gave in to Bill's clamping hands. They stood up and Heidi stared down at the mound that had once been her master, her captor. She cried again, only this time I knew they were tears of relief. Joy was something I didn't think she'd feel ever again, but maybe something akin to it spread over her face.

"Run," I whispered to her, and she did. She silently slid into the woods without looking back. I had no idea where she would go but I'd at least given her a head start.

I felt a sudden jolt of pain radiating through my chest, but it wasn't my own. I turned just in time to see Eric's collar bones being crushed, then both of shoulders were dislocated. He fell to his knees and let out a guttural scream of agony, just as Marcus kneeled down and ripped out the side of his neck. A geyser of dark blood spewed out, covering Marcus from head to chest in crimson splatters. One at a time, Eric wouldn't have a problem overcoming these injuries, but all together - I had no idea. And, I knew that if Marcus could get Eric on his knees that quickly, he was surely holding back.

I had to get to that bag on the porch.

I ran, or I tried to. My legs left like sponges and I realized just how much energy I'd used. I was dizzy and overcome with nausea as I trudged forward, willing my body to move. Like a scene playing in slow motion, I saw the others around me continue to fight. Bill was now using his own body to shield Pam from Günter as Dermot struggled to get her off the ground. Sorren was using some crazy ass Matrix-looking martial arts on Sergius, who was beginning to resemble a bloodied prize fighter.

As I finally climbed up the porch stairs, my eyes searched for the bag. I nearly tripped over my cousin - he was sprawled out next to my feet, his hands just clinging to the strap of the weapons bag. The side of his face was bleeding and he was unconscious. Freyja was curled up in a ball a few feet away, her body flattened and hidden in between a table and the screen wall.

"Freyja?" I said, like I was calling a frightened child. Her eyes blinked wildly and it took her moment to find me. When I crept down to her level and reached out for the bag, the movement got her attention.

"Marcus made me do it," she whispered. "He'll kill us all." Then she looked down to Claude's prone form and muffled a cry with her hand. "He tried to protect me."

I reached down and felt for a pulse on Claude's neck. It was weak and slow, but there none the less. "He's alive, but don't move him," I said.

"He was my friend," she sputtered. "He let me - I shouldn't have."

"Shouldn't have what?" She bit down on her bottom lip and then sort of shrugged, looking suspiciously guilty. "Wait, you fed on him?" I cried out, then immediately lowered my voice to a outraged whisper. "What's wrong with you?"

"He wanted me to!"

"What?"

"When we went out last night. He couldn't find the donor so he just told me to do it," she pleaded. "I didn't hurt him, Sookie."

"Alright, forget it, just get a grip," I hissed. I didn't have time to fret over the ever-obtuse thought patterns of my cousin. "Your father needs you."

Freyja vehemently shook her head, squeezing even closer to the wall and nearly disappearing all together. I cursed under my breath and began to rummage through the duffel. My hand found its way around a stake and a handgun. Whether it had wooden bullets was unknown, but I couldn't imagine getting close enough to use the stake on Marcus myself, so I shoved the stake down the front of my pants and flipped the gun's safety lever off.

When I stood up, Marcus was standing at the bottom of the stairs, like he'd been politely waiting for me to finish my conversation. He casually folded his sunglasses and slipped them into his breast pocket. I looked behind him and saw Eric arranged in an unnatural position near his feet, but the fact that Eric wasn't just a pile of goo meant he was still alive. I raised the gun with a badly quivering hand and quickly added the other hand to the grip. The shaking didn't stop and I barely trusted my aim as it was.

Marcus chuckled and looked almost sympathetic. As sympathetic as he could look covered in my boyfriend's blood. "Dearest Sookie. You didn't need such a pedestrian weapon to dispatch with Victor, now did you?"

I didn't say anything. I just concentrated on steadying my hands and looked from his eyes as I felt as strong mental pull. He was trying to glamour me again and I'd be damned if he was going to be the first vamp to actually pull it off.

"Tricky, tricky," he tisked. Then he gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. "It's alright, really. I was going to get rid of him myself when this was all sorted out, but you managed the task brilliantly. So why the gun?" he asked, wiggling his fingers toward me. "All juiced out, is that it?"

"Wooden bullets," I said, monotoned.

"Ah," he grinned. "Wooden bullets. Interesting little weapon, very Van Helsing. But, let me ask you something, love. Even if you were able to actually hit me just right, what if I moved faster? What if I'm older than the tree those bullets came from? Would it still work?"

With my lips pressed together in a thin line, I tried not to let my mind wander. "They worked fine on your pals in the cave," I managed to say with as much swagger as I could muster.

A single eyebrow cocked as he took in that info. Then he let out a loud guffaw and smacked his thigh. A few of the tussling vamps lifted a head to see what the big joke was. "My, my, Miss Stackhouse. You are proving to be a bit more entertaining than I'd predicted. You know, I've been watching your big barbarian for quite some time and I've seen all his whores come and go. But I'll tell you, none of them hold a candle to you."

"Yeah, that means a lot coming from you."

My threat was obviously being overlooked, or it just wasn't threatening enough. Of course he didn't give a damn about those vamps, he didn't even care that I'd just kabobed one of his own kids. And he didn't seem to give a damn about the facts those vamps could've told me. Any number of juicy personal details, weaknesses, whatever. This guy's ego just wouldn't allow for that kind of concern.

"As I told you, my intent all along was to turn you. I've been in the market for a new protégé for a while now, and you'll do nicely, once I've thoroughly broken you in of course. But after seeing that little display, I'm truly on the fence. Do I keep you alive and have my own fae sidekick? What I could do with you - why, it's just mind boggling. All the while, trying to resist that scent of yours, that delectable mix of sunshine and spun sugar and magic. Just thinking about the possibilities is driving me wild."

"I'd rather die first," I said, disgust dripping from each word.

"Which leads me to my next point," he said, nodding as if we were actually having a chat about the weather or the next mayoral race. "I wouldn't stand or you running away at every turn. The only way you'd ever submit to me is if I was your maker."

"I'd never submit to you, Marcus. Ever." I lifted the gun a little higher and my grip miraculously steadied itself. If I was going to shoot the bastard, the heart was my only option. Anything else would just piss him off, and I was doing much better with him not being pissed off at the moment.

"But I think you would. Wouldn't she, Freyja dear?"

I looked over my shoulder, to see Freyja standing a few feet away from me. I knew that she was pumped full of faery blood and was probably feeling jacked as a linebacker, and yet she looked scared and frail, like she'd fall over if I blew on her too hard.

"It's not as if I ever had a choice," she replied, her voice meek and her head lowered. She was still showing submission, despite her strong words.

Marcus shrugged. "True enough, but we had some good times."

"No, we didn't," she said quickly. "You left me alone all the time. You made me kill every friend I ever had."

"I never heard you complain while you were eating them," he snapped, his voice lifting with anger. But only slightly. The second after he said it, the rage on his face was gone, replaced with a smile befitting Hannibal Lecter. "Get in the car," he said.

"No."

His eyes narrowed. "Fine. Stand there and watch me flay your father. How delightful for you."

I snuck a glance down at Eric, who still resembled a corpse. His neck was healing before my eyes, but there was an obscene amount of blood spilled onto the pavement and he remained unresponsive. His brain seemed to be on pause, because I wasn't getting much from him other than a sleeping vibe. I tried to push every ounce of terror and dread I was feeling toward him, knowing that anything resembling panic or fear would illicit the quickest response from him. Eric couldn't hear my thoughts any better than I could hear his, but if our bond was as strong as he said it was going to be, he damn well might hear me.

Eric, get up. He's gonna kill you. He's gonna turn me.

A man's scream ruptured the air. I looked to Sergius, who'd just ripped Sorren's beard clean off in one fistful, along with most of the flesh from the bottom of his face. Taking advantage of Sorren's momentary distraction, Sergius pummeled him with stiff-handed chops to the neck and head until Sorren fell to his knees. My heart thumped wildly as my eyes kept flicking back to Marcus, just in case he moved on me. Sergius pulled both of Sorren's arms behind his back and wrenched his head up.

"Fierce warrior, eh?" Sergius teased to anyone who was listening.

"Ditt fostra knullade din heder bort," Sorren managed to mumble through his disfigured mouth.

Sergius looked up at Marcus and they both shared a light chuckle. Sergius leaned down and whispered something in Sorren's ear then, and Sorren quickly pulled his head away, spitting blood onto the other vampire's shoes. Sergius gave him another brutal whack to the side of his neck and Sorren fell to the ground, only to be lifted up and restrained again.

"You see?" Marcus cried out, pointing to Sergius. "You see that? He does what he's told." He smiled like a proud poppa at Sergius and said, "Finish him and retrieve Freyja so we can leave this insufferable place."

Eric, wake up for chrissake!

Sorren didn't beg for mercy or scream. He just fixed his eyes on mine and asked for silent forgiveness as he hung against Sergius's hold on him. Tears fell onto my face and I shook my head. I knew I was about to watch my friend die. I hadn't worried about Sorren. My breaking heart told me how stupid that was. I made one of those dangerous, foolish assumptions that he'd simply be okay. He'd fight them all with one hand tied behind his back and then laugh about it with Eric.

Sergius raised his hand high in the air. I wanted to close my eyes because I couldn't stand to watch, but someone needed to bear witness to the end of this man's life. He'd made his own choices, just as every vampire I'd ever met did, but I couldn't help feeling responsible for his end. He gave me a quick nod and a wink, as if to lighten my burden, then came the sickening sound of flesh and bone tearing. Sorren's head was unceremoniously tossed into a petunia patch, rolling over and over again until his long blond hair matted to the blood covering his face.

I felt Pam's anguished wail cut through me like a white-hot blade. She rushed toward Sorren's fallen body and didn't even seem to care when Sergius caught her by the neck and held onto her with a lose choke hold. She just stared down him, watching him slowly decompose before her eyes. I knew Pam, she would normally be looking to pop off Sergius' in return for such an act, not cry over a fallen friend. Pam didn't have time for the luxury of grief, even if others around her did. The fact that she was just standing there worried me. A lot.

And still, Eric was not moving.

I aimed the gun at Sergius on instinct. He killed my friend, now he had his grip on Pam. I had no idea how many bullets were in the gun but I wanted to end him very badly.

Marcus put himself in between me and Sergius, fangs snapped into place. "Don't even think about it."

I turned the gun back toward him in one swift arc. I would've shot him then and there and Eric's honor be damned, only Freyja stepped between us. She slipped her tiny body in front of mine and held her chin high in the air.

"Get out of the way," he hissed, each word long and over pronounced.

"No."

"I'll snap you like a twig."

"You'll do that anyway," she said. "Only you'll have to actually do it first before I let you touch her."

It's hard to describe the range of emotions I saw on his face, being that he was psychotic. The anger quickly melted away to show a glimpse of betrayal, only to be replaced by amusement. These seemed to be the three big ones with Marcus. He smiled and shook his head at her adoringly.

"You would side with her, of all people, over me?" he asked.

"Especially over you," was her steely reply.

"Her, the one whom he chooses above all others, above his own flesh and blood?"

"Marcus, he searched for me for hundreds of years before she was even born," Freyja said, taking a brave, yet measured step forward. "You can't lie to me anymore. I will not be a prisoner to your version of history."

"And what do you think will happen to you now? Will she adopt you? Will you braid each other's hair and talk about boys?"

"I would rather stay here with them than spend another second with you."

His eyebrows inched up and he crossed his arms, truly invested in the moment now. "Really? And who here is going to pay for your Prada and Channel, Freyja? Will she keep you in swim models, or were you planning on switching to True Blood?"

"In a thousand years, I have never made a choice of my own. I've known more freedom in these two days than I have ever known with you."

The smile never wavered from his lips, and I knew he was playing with her, mocking her and dragging the scene out for his perverse pleasure. "I will not tolerate another one of your tantrums."

"I am not a child!" she screamed all at once. Her voice was filled with passion and wrath, despite its girlish timbre.

"Then stop acting like one," he snapped back, finally showing some annoyance. "Enough nonsense. Bring her down here and let's be done with this."

"No, we're doing this my way."

"You don't have a way! You Viking piece of mongrel trash!" His words echoed against the trees around the yard and came back to us again. "Kill her now. As your maker -"

Freyja held her hand up in the air, as if to block the very meaning of the words he was about to say. "Marcus," she warned, "I will leave you, and you will have nothing. Nothing but your vengeance to keep you company. I will spend every day for the rest of my life fighting you, and I swear to my gods - you will have your back turned to me one of those days."

The smile returned to his face, and he looked at her like she'd just taken a bite from the apple. "I command you."

I sucked in a shallow breath, one of my last it seemed. I watched the back of Freyja's head shudder as she willed her body not to move. Slowly I backed up and slowly Freyja turned her head toward me. A bloody tear collected under each eye until they shook loose and fell onto her face. Her gaze flicked to my neck as her fangs extended with a soft click. I swallowed and took a useless, meager step backward.

A loud growl distracted me from the taste of bile rising in my throat. Another growl, and then a low rumbling sound half way between a purr and a snarl. Then a voice, barely understandable through a mouthful of teeth.

"Sookie."

We all turned toward the voice, even Marcus. Standing on the lawn behind him were two copious wolves, their teeth bared and dripping with saliva. There was a man-like creature, covered with thick black fur and wearing a pair of blue jeans. And next to him was a lion, something that was bound to strike a note of fear in any Roman's heart. I smiled at the enormous beast, despite my palpitating heart, and it proudly shook his shaggy mane. The full moon sat heavy in the sky behind him and reflected off his gleaming eyes.

Never have I been more happy that the men in my life don't ever listen to a word I say.

Gotta love a cliffie, boys and girls. Whoever could these mysterious beasts be? ;) I know that it's a horrific place to end the chapter, but it's dangerously close to becoming epic. TBC...