Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns all.
Rated M for several reasons.
Chpt 33 Left Field
EPOV
The Sheriffs loyal to me are forming a protective shield around Sookie and I as we hurry down the carpeted hallway.
The non-human's desperation to be away from here is like a shot of adrenaline direct into my veins. And I am not remotely disposed to question it. Apparently if she told me to insert my in a bucket of hot coals I would comply with alacrity.
For now I am just focussing on getting us away from the Palace.
A battle is erupting around us. I can hear it. The exhortations, the clash of swords, the screaming.
Whoever the vampire attacking the Queen's Palace are fighting it is not just her guards, there is something 'other' here that has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Something I should recognise . . . .
We have made it back to the main entry way just in time for the fight to break over us like a tsunami. Our attackers apparently desperate to get inside and away from whatever is assaulting them, could there be two monarchs attempting a takeover at the same time? As the situation turns to hand to hand combat I am struggling to protect the non-human's fragile body with mine. I will need to fly her out of here and back to Herveaux as quickly as possible but first we will need to clear a way outside. I am familiar with the layout of the Palace but there are too many assailants and too many unknowns to attempt a back route. Decided I push her into the alcove underneath the sweep of the marble stairs, watching as she shuffles back and out of sight, calm and focussed even amidst all the bloodshed. If she remains hidden she will not be noticed until the chaos of battle eases.
Whirling away I snatch up a discarded sword and wade into the fray, the defenders easily shifting to take their cue from me.
Once she is safe I will be returning for that treacherous fucker Andre's head. Consequences be damned . . . .
SPOV
This definitely qualifies as more excitement than I had wanted in my life. The thoughts rolling off the minds caught up in this situation are more than I can handle and hope to stay calm, so even though it's dangerous, I shut them out. Eric's got enough on his plate without me wigging out on him.
I can't see much from under these stairs and though I should be grateful for small mercies I push forward anyway, I can feel Eric, but I want to be able to see him too. Happy's not the right word, but he's feeling something other than I'd be out there right now, grimly at home maybe. I inch forward a bit more until I can see the lower halves of the struggling mass, and the bodies, Eric's thighs are easy to spot in their pinstripe pants. Just a little further and I can see almost the whole hallway.
Jeez.
The knot in my stomach tightens perceptibly. There are so many of them. How can anyone tell who they are supposed to be fighting? There's blood everywhere, I can smell it, even sense the different sources. Human, vampire and were.
I crawl forward a little further, screaming as arms close around me, hauling me to my feet and pulling me back against a hard chest.
Stupid, stupid, Stackhouse.
Kicking and screaming I try to fight my way loose but it must be a vampire or a were who is holding me because even with Eric's blood I'm just not strong enough. A hand closes firmly over my mouth, clamping my jaws together as I'm pulled inexorably backwards, away from the fight.
Fear and panic explode through me, dousing every nerve ending with painful cold, and across the melee Eric stumbles, narrowly missing having his head cleaved from his body. Appalled I shut down the bond. He knows I'm in trouble, as Thalia said he doesn't need to feel everything I'm feeling. He can track me, if he wants to, if it's not too late . . . .
A cloth suddenly covers my nose and the smell stings my nose, making me gasp and inhale reflexively, striving for clean air.
Across the room Eric is backing away from his opponent, eyes scanning the chaos, completely distracted.
It's getting dark in here . . . .
Another vampire is coming up behind him, lifting his sword for a killing blow . . . .
I can't open my mouth to warn him. The gathering darkness is sapping my strength, locking down my muscles and fogging my brain.
Eric!
I manage to lift my arms, hands reaching toward him, palms outstretched, desperately wanting to warn him, help him.
And then, just as I lose my grip on consciousness, a miracle happens, the vampire behind him is suddenly sent hurtling back as if struck by some invisible force, smashing into the wall and sliding down it.
NPOV
Arriving in New Orleans I left Ortel and the guard near the Queen's Palace and slipped away to do a little scouting.
Philadelphia's forces are made up of his own men and mercenaries, confident of their abilities, the element of surprise and superior numbers.
Oh well. Never mind. They will be no match for my guard, however battle rusty they may be. I watched them limbering up and I will need to inflict a harsher training regime on them when we get back to Faery, and possibly a little less stew. By the stars I will not have fat fairies in my guard. Still, I am content that we will be able to prevent anyone taking the Palace.
Of course being able to read the minds of my enemies is a distinct advantage. I loathe reading vampires, they are mainly such base creatures that thinking down to their level gives me a throbbing toothache.
In no time at all I have all the information I need.
Philadelphia is awaiting the outcome of the attack at a house in Baton Rouge with a small number of his men. He has the Queen, her children and her pets with him and as soon as the attack is underway there will be a bloodbath. The Queen's eldest child has been extremely naïve in his dealings with this Victor Madden. Aware that the Queen is too badly injured to defend her crown, the child Andre has made a deal with Madden for safe passage for her and her retinue out of the state, in exchange for luring her Sheriffs into an ambush. My Great Granddaughter is also part of the deal though the fool Andre has at least had the presence of mind to withhold her location pending his Maker's safe passage.
I trust her vampire has recognised his summons to New Orleans for the trap it is and has made suitable arrangements for my little ray's safety but I will despatch a guard to BonTemps to keep watch, just to be sure.
Unable to discover any more I return to the others to issue my orders.
They are not to leave witnesses to their involvement and so contact with the Louisiana vampires inside the Palace is to be avoided. Should anything wholly unexpected occur they have my permission to align themselves with my Great Granddaughter's vampire. I will deal with the fallout later.
In the meantime I will remove Philadelphia from the equation. Cosmic pest control. I am mindful of Ortel's warnings that the vampires will not be happy to discover that I have ended one of their regents, but really, what does he think I am going to do? Send a formal apology to the AVL? Mysterious house fires happen all the time and have done for many millennia. Besides this is considerably less risky than waiting to see if Philadelphia's takeover is successful then intervening afterwards when the eyes of the vampire world are on him, this way he will simply disappear like the dear departed Reverend Newlin.
The house in Baton Rouge is easy to find but I am already too late for Sophie Anne and her 'family'. This King must be confident that he no longer requires anything from the child Andre and I feel a twinge of concern for my Great Granddaughter.
Urgent now I cast a binding spell to lock down the house and its occupants, then slip inside.
Three are frozen in the activity of cleaning up after the messy slaughter.
One is frozen in the act of shouting into his cell phone, his face registering his displeasure.
I slide into his mind. Victor Madden, caught receiving a report from the field on how well his takeover is not going this evening.
He is aware his men are being attacked by an unknown but deadly force. And that was his biggest concern until he found he suddenly could not move.
I am here to perform a task so I supress my natural inclination to show off and rifle through his mind. It is a deeply unpleasant place to be and I have no desire to linger. My disability, as my little ray calls it, has been honed by thousands of years of practice and every facet of him is laid bare to me. He is indeed duplicitous. And shrewd. And cruel. He is looking forward to taking possession of his new telepathic sex toy and is confident that he will find her. His biggest concern is that my Great Granddaughter's vampire will be the main impediment to his takeover of Louisiana and as such he has other plans in place. The oily specimen is part of this Madden's court now apparently and has revealed the Viking's deeper than usual feelings for his child. The only weakness anyone but the Viking and I are aware of. She will already have been taken as insurance against his possible survival of the battle. And as soon as his death is confirmed she will meet hers.
Now I will need to travel to Bon Temps. My little ray of sunshine will not want her vampire or his child harmed and I will not countenance any risk that she is caught up in this stratagem.
I leave as silently as I arrived, holding them in the binding spell as the secluded house bursts merrily into flames. Waiting to ensure those flames have consumed everything within.
EPOV
This is why I have no desire for a crown. This conflict of interests. It takes far longer than I would like, due to the desperation of our attackers, to safely break free from the fighting. And I do not do so unscathed, I have taken some terrible risks to reach this point. Finally I manage to confer with my fellow Sheriff, Charles. Andre is to be secured until I can speak to him. As soon as possible a team is to be sent out to search for the Queen. I will be back.
Then, with only myself to worry about, I fight my way free from the mansion and take off in pursuit of the non-human. I know she is alive and I know where she is, but that is all I have.
SPOV
I don't know exactly where I am but I seem to be laying on a saggy couch that's not in New Orleans, the air smells different, earthier.
I can feel Eric, pulsing urgently inside me and instinctively I open the bond. Relief floods both ends and I hitch in a breath.
Anger stabs at me mercilessly, followed by a bit more relief, then determined reassurance and finally, a sharp pinprick of irritation.
Which I interpret to mean; How dare you close the bond in an emergency situation. I am not displeased you are alive. I am coming to get you. Do not close it again. Or possibly, you will be in trouble when I get there.
I don't mind either way. If he's at his jerkiest when he gets here I'll still be pleased to see him.
It's very quiet and I can't hear any movement but nevertheless I open my shields before anything else.
One void. Nothing else for miles.
Satisfied I open my eyes. I'm in a shabby living room, lit only by the moon outside.
A dark haired man is bent over a coffee table, examining the papers arrayed on it.
"Bill?"
He turns to face me, his expression concerned and apologetic.
"What the hell Bill?" I try to sit up but I'm still weak and I flop back down.
Immediately he's beside me, kneeling down, his face a few inches from my own.
"I am sorry Sookie." He breathes. "I could not afford to be delayed. I had to drug you."
"You drugged me?" Well duh, Stackhouse.
He nods tightly, putting on the puppy dog eyes.
"Are you crazy?" I gasp. "Eric will have a fit. A huge one. We're bonded. You're not supposed to even touch me, let alone kidnap me."
"I am rescuing you."
"I didn't need rescuing. I was with Eric."
"Sookie." Was he always so patronising when he spoke to me in the past? "Vampire politics are in play, you are safer here with me."
"Do you mean the takeover?"
He blinks.
Eric always blinks when he's surprised too.
"The King of Philadelphia is making an attempt on Louisiana." He reveals carefully. "Eric will be killed and you will become his asset. His pet. He does not treat his pets well."
"Is this what you were warning me about before?"
He doesn't answer, instead he just manages to look shiftier.
Stuff that Bill. I want information and you're going to give it to me whether you want to or not. Damsel in distress style I reach out to grip his hand, staring into his eyes pleadingly. His face softens and I harden my heart in response.
"Eric's going to come."
"No, Sookie, he is not." Bill assures me. "One way or another my King has ensured his final death."
"Won't your King be upset that you've run off with his new asset?"
And we're off . . . .
He has a plan to get me out of the country quickly. The new King of Louisiana will be busy immediately post takeover. He will be expecting to have to look for me, that such a valuable asset would have been hidden. It's Bill's chance to spirit me away and hide me more effectively. Does he even realise his plan makes me as much of a prisoner as Philadelphia would have done? He genuinely thinks we're going to live out our lives in peaceful bliss. He's thinking about turning me so that no one can take me away.
I can't help it, I snatch my hand back, I don't need the contact now to stay in his mind.
Does he know me so little? How can he think I want that?
My fear spikes and I feel Eric's angry response.
The rest of his plot is running through Bill's mind, like a mental replay for anything he's missed. I've noticed the fact he's got no intention of answering my question, he doesn't think I need to know.
He does love me. But he's seriously got the concept all mixed up. It's terrifying. Loss of control over my life, my on-going nightmare.
There's so much I don't want to know but I refuse to pull out of his mind while it's open to me.
His Maker, Lorena, she made him tell her about me and his mission for the Queen. She used the information to bargain her way out of her own problems, a chronic lack of self-control and a deeply held contempt for humans, several monarchs were threatening her with the true death. At first she thought my telepathy would be enticement enough to those she was indebted to. Then it became public knowledge and I bonded with Eric. Her information became less valuable and her influence less pervasive. But I can see her in Bill's mind, using his feelings for me to bend him to her will. He still believes there is an all pervading threat to Eric and me, even though I can see no hard evidence for it in his mind. The King of Philadelphia has certainly coveted me for his own but I can clearly see, even if Bill can't, that he would never have threatened Eric directly for me. He's as afraid of him as everyone else seems to be . . . .
Oh my god. There was never any grand plot? Only Bill's fears and Lorena's lies. She's been seeking to control him, manipulating him all along. She's jealous?
In lieu of answering my question Bill ghosts his fingers over my throat.
They're cold, bringing goose bumps out on my flesh.
"I need you to trust me Sookie." He breathes.
I can't control my shiver, he really is crazy if he thinks that's going to happen any time soon . . . .
And I'm so deep in his mind I don't notice the other void approaching until the door swings open behind his shoulder.