"What have you done?!" Bill stared Eric down in complete rage, while Jessica put a hand on my arm from behind Eric. I stepped back to stand with her, while partially hiding her as well.
"I haven't done anything." Eric's voice was flat and even, and almost taunting.
"Don't spoon feed me that bullshit, what have you done?" Bill demanded, and finally noticed who else was in the room. He glanced between the witch and her items on the floor. "You." He whispered, narrowing his eyes at Kristen as it started to make sense to him. "You did this." His hands clenched into fists as he moved closer to her.
"No…Bill…she didn't do anything I didn't want." Jessica spoke up, and he stopped his advance, glaring at her.
"Why?" He asked, still angry, and she stepped up between me and Eric.
She took a deep breath to steady herself, and I watched with anticipation. "I'm done with you. You're a terrible Maker, and you've barely taught me anything. I learned more in my short time with Pam, than I did in all my time with you. I don't want you as a Maker and I never have. The bond is broken, and I used Eric to make that happen. He didn't have a choice in helping me because he owed me for helping him get to know Sookie better." Of course she had realized that Bill would blame Eric, and she was covering for him and herself nicely. "Eric, we're even, and Bill, we're done for." She looked between them with her chin held high, and I couldn't have been more proud of her for standing up for herself.
Bill's face scrunched up slightly as he looked at the three of us, and he finally focused on Jessica. "As your maker, I command you to return home." He waited a moment, and when Jessica didn't move, he seemed shocked. "You'll pay for this." He threatened Jessica and Eric both, before turning and storming away. I giggled slightly when he tripped over a piece of the door he'd shattered.
"Jessica…you did well." Eric said, and her face lit up incredibly.
She frowned then, and looked between us. "Wow, I can't believe how easy that was. But now…I don't know what to do with myself." I could hear the hopefulness in her voice, and Eric sighed.
"Jessica, if you would like, then you could stay around and work here in the bar." Eric offered, and she grinned. "I own a vampire friendly apartment complex two blocks away, and you could rent a place there."
"Or you could stay with me; I have a light tight hidey hole in the upstairs guest room at my house." I offered, and she looked speechless for a second, before smiling broadly.
"That would be so great, thank you. I'm going to go to Bill's and get my stuff, and I'll see you at the house." She was at the door, when Eric spoke up.
"Call if there are any problems." He was completely serious as he said it, and she nodded before practically bouncing out the door.
"Kristen, your services are no longer required here. You may leave at your own will." Eric addressed her, and she left without a word.
"I'm glad you gave Jessica the chance to be here." I told him, and he looked at me seriously.
"I have no doubt that she wanted to be out from under Bill of all peoples thumb, but she will still need guidance. By her working here willingly, I will be able to push her in the right directions, but without her even noticing." Suddenly I realized just how much Eric cared for the young vampire, but I didn't say anything. Instead I just smiled at him knowingly.
"We will need to be careful until the wedding. Bill wants revenge, and he will stop at nothing to get it. If you're alright with it, then I'm going to hire some crews to make security changes to the house." He offered, and I thought about it for a few minutes.
"As long as there aren't any big changes, then I guess it's okay." I relented, and by the smile on his face I knew it made him happy. "Now I need to go back to work." Without giving him the chance to speak, I walked out and returned to the bar.
Mark was swamped when I got there, and was relieved to see me. He slid out from the bar to trade places with me, and started going from table to table. I got the bar under control as quickly as I could, and tried not to make any mistakes as I served drink after drink. It was just a couple hours to closing when Eric finally took up his throne, and I did my best to ignore his piercing gaze from across the room.
My thoughts turned mischievous, and I started to stroke the bond subtly. I sent small hints of lust and wanting his way, and I could instantly see the bulge forming in his jeans. Pam chuckled when she noticed, and came over to the bar for a minute. "You know, I think I've underestimated you." She grinned, and I feigned ignorance.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be." I handed a beer to the man standing next to her, and he gulped it down quickly, asking for another. According to his shirt, his name was William, and he worked for an electric company.
"Sure, whatever you say." She waved it off, and returned to her post at the door.
Thinking back, I knew William had paid me as he got his drinks, and that he had had four tallboys already. He finished off the fifth, and set the empty glass down. "Can I get another?" He asked, and I nodded.
I placed the drink in front of him, and my curiosity got the better of me as he started to gulp it down. "Are you trying to have the worst hangover possible tomorrow?" My question threw him off for a moment, before he snorted.
"No, just trying to get a good buzz going. I've had a hard day." His voice was perfectly steady, and I could tell that the large amount of alcohol he had taken in hadn't had time to take effect.
"If you don't mind, why are you here? You don't look like a regular." I observed his outfit, and it contrasted with the gothic look of the entire theme. He stood out from the crowd, and looked like he would be more comfortable in a sports bar.
"No, I'm not a regular, but this place stays open later than any other place in Shreveport. I don't get off work until midnight most nights, and that's too close to last call for my liking." Glancing up at the stage, I could see that Eric was watching me protectively, and I smiled reassuringly a him. "To be honest, you don't look like the type of girl who would work here." The man observed, and I just shook my head.
"My fiancé owns the place, so I work for him." I stated nonchalantly, and he quirked up an eyebrow, before his eyes zeroed in on the ring on my finger.
He whistled low for a second, "That's a hell of a rock, who's the lucky guy?"
I gestured up to the stage, and his eyes bugged out of his head for a minute when he looked Eric over. Pushing forward, I dropped my shields, and dipped into his head.
Damn, that guy doesn't look big but he sure is scary. I'm certain he's a vampire, so it doesn't really matter what he looks like. He could probably break me in two even if he was an overweight pencil pusher. Pulling back, I couldn't help the smile on my face, and Eric stared at the man intimidatingly. "Well, I'd say if he treats you right, then you're lucky. From what I hear, vampires are real protective of their girls."
"Yeah, I'm lucky. I didn't think I'd ever end up with him." I made of point of looking at his shirt. "So, William, what do you do for a living?"
"Call my Will, and I'm an electrician, sort of. I do a lot of other stuff but mainly I rewire houses and offices. Sometimes I put in security systems, and do home repairs, and just a lot of fun stuff like that. What about you?" I wondered about the changes Eric was making to my house, and wondered who he was hiring. While Will had talked about his jobs I had seen in his head that he knew a lot about security and home modification, and took a great deal of pride in his work.
"You see it, and I'm Sookie. Have you ever done any work for vampires? Like making a house light tight or anything like that?" As I said it, a sort of photo real played through his head about all of his vampire clients, and there were a lot of them.
"Oh yeah, there's a new complex of apartments going up across town, and my office got the bid. So we'll be starting that next week and it'll be a good few months of regular work. The owner of the complex wants the whole place light tight, and I don't start it until next week. I just finished off a site today, and we got paid with a sizeable tip, so I got all this week off." He explained, and I listened as best as I could as I filled orders for other patrons.
"Well…let me ask Eric, but I might have some work for you." I said, and looked up at the stage. "Can you come here?" I asked, and he appeared at my side instantly, while looking at Will dangerously.
Will jumped slightly, and I just smiled. "Eric, this is Will. He does light tight houses and security systems, and is very dedicated to his work. I think he'd be the perfect man to hire to have my house done up." I said, and started to look as indifferent as ever. "Be nice to him." I muttered, and he made a show of smiling.
"Eric Northman." He said, introducing himself, and inclined his head slightly. "You are?" Despite me having said his name, he still questioned him.
"I'm William Shortland…but you can call me Will." I rolled my eyes at the professional look on Will's face, and sighed.
"Well Will, why don't we go to my office, and do some business?" Eric requested, and motioned toward the Employees Only door. Will stood and started toward it.
"He really cares about his work, and always tries to do the best job possible, so don't make him nervous or anything." I asked, and he smiled.
"Me? Intimidate someone? Never." He said, looking wounded, and I swatted his arm as he walked off.
Pam came over a minute later, and looked toward the door where Eric and Will had vanished. "Who was that?" She asked, and I could already tell what she was thinking.
"That was Will, and I think Eric is going to hire him to make my house light tight." Her attention wasn't on me, and I wondered if she had heard a word that I'd said.
"Hmm…maybe I'll have to hire him too." My mouth fell open, and I just looked away from her as she leaved to stalk around the bar.
The two men returned emerged from the back hallway half an hour later, and Will had a large stack of papers in his hands. "I'll see you soon, Sookie." He said, and left the bar quickly.
"What happened?" I asked Eric as he walked toward the stage, and he stopped his progress.
"He'll be at your house tomorrow afternoon to look your house over, and then he's gonna call me with an estimate. Don't worry; I'll get it all taken care of. I called a few contacts of mine, and you were right about his work history. He's very good at what he does, and no on that he's done work for in the past has any complaints."
"Alright, when will he be at my house tomorrow?" I had previously wondered if I should have the spare bedroom made light tight, but from what Eric said, he'd have the whole house done.
"Just before dark, so I'll be able to talk to him." He said, and went up to the throne
The next chapter will jump up to the day before the wedding, so be prepared for some changes. I'll transition them as best as I can.