Chapter 6

Complicated

I ghosted out of the room with Bill staring at me in disbelief. His shock caused a delayed reaction. It was a good thing for me as he only managed to call out to me once before I took to the air. Never before had I pushed my body though the air at such velocity as I did now. I had to get away. My private phone line was ringing as my sister tried to make sure I was well. There wasn't enough rational thought in me to respond. I didn't stop moving until I was at her bar.

The confusion and internal turmoil I suffered was so great, I didn't recognize I'd finally arrived or that my sister talking to me. It just felt like the bowels of the night sky and this world was closing in about me. Walking away from her case and knowing they were only going to send someone else, was making my skin crawl as if I'd been buried under a silver sandstorm. In my chest was this overwhelming urge to find her and keep her beside me so I would know she was safe. Theses urges were powerful and not at all normal for me.

"Eric," Pam said, holding my face in her dainty hands. "What's wrong?"

I just stared at her. It was at that moment I felt a cool sensation chilling my shoulder. I shuddered reflexively causing Pam to hiss and flinch. Officially, I was dead so temperatures short of burning shouldn't register, but this did. It was like having ice, not only brand my skin but reach under it and invade the sight. I pulled my t-shirt off.

There was an intricate pattern where there had once been smooth pale skin. Pam and I both stared at the alien mark. The image became clearer and more elaborate by the second. It was a blue tree that was upside down, the size of if encompassed my entire shoulder. Its roots enclosed it in a wavy sphere that kept it encircled, enshrined almost. Some of the tendrils were red and others were green.

Fuck me, I knew better than to chase after a fairy and this was what I got. A mark, one that was probably cursed, shouldn't feel comforting, but it did. It should be painful or, at the very least, uncomfortable, but it wasn't. What had I gotten myself into? Whatever it was, it was rooted to the fairy, and I knew it couldn't be good.

"This is right barmy," Pam said. Her words were heavy with her English accent.

Having a vampire resort to their native speech wasn't ever a good sign. It said that no tongue to date was sufficient to describe the fuckery she was seeing. My sister was tracing the outline of the mark airily. It was as if she wasn't sure it would jump up and attack her. Not knowing what it was, I couldn't say for sure that it wouldn't.

After all, I was vampire, what else could mar my skin if not something magical in nature. I was convinced I was cursed. That had to be the only other explanation. I felt like I was losing something. Not my mind, but my focus, and certainly a step in the precision with which I always moved. My mood was bad and only getting worse. I felt I was being pulled in a whole other direction.

I got calls telling me the Old Bat was summoning me. I ignored them. I knew why. Sure, I ignored Bill but that was indirectly. Never had I refused an assignment. The reason I gave didn't make sense either. I've hunted women, just not human ones. I'd been warned that we were diversifying.

I could go to my maker. There was no safer place than with him regardless of my enemy. I might not have a choice depending on how deep in shit I was. If he felt I was need, which I was suppressing he would come. That was never a good thing. Pam and I would be safe, other vampires, not so much. They cringed when my maker was anywhere near them, they had reason to.

Two thousand years of undead living left Godric with little patience for bullshit. He had many issues. I guess everyone in his line did. Where I had a 'A devil may care' attitude, he had severe anti-social problems. Most of them involved ripping a limb off vampires, or anyone who rubbed him the wrong way, with his bare hands, and beating them with it. That was where I learned the behavior. In his defense, he was working on it. He was getting better. What he couldn't deal with on his own, his witch turned wife was able to subdue with a single rant or frown.

That night I was waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. When dawn came, and I went to rest for the day, I dreamt of Sookie. This dream wasn't erotic and passionate. It was darker. I saw her huddled in the night, hiding, bleeding, and trapped. I woke prematurely, with this overwhelming urge to go to her, but it was stupid. I would play right into her hands.

A week passed, and the dreams were feeling more real. They were getting bloodier and more violent. She wasn't getting hurt she was shedding blood. There was nothing but bodies littered around her and she stood victorious. The urge to go her didn't wane though. Whatever this was, I had time on my side, so I would wait her out.

The fairy, would come after me to finish the job, and I would make her pay or time would kill her. That thought made the mark on my back sting. I growled at nothing in general. I wondered if she was trying to make me her servant, or perhaps rob me of my will and fill it with her own. I would make an exceptional bodyguard for someone like her who had powerful enemies. It was a farfetched assumption. Zombies were as real as vampires and their will was entirely dependent on those who raised them.

If that was indeed Sookie's plan, then I pitied her because she'd reached too high. She hadn't done enough research. The bond between a maker and their fledgling was irrevocable. If she wanted to usurp the control that came from that tie, she would have to fight Godric for it. Instead of the thought bringing me a sense of satisfaction and retribution, it only made the sting on my shoulder blade worse.

Pushing all thoughts of the damned fairy and the mark aside, I forced myself to return to my day rest. Every day I was waking earlier and earlier, it did nothing for my irritation. When I rose at dusk, Pam was staring at me. I knew that look. She wanted me to go to Godric and tell him everything I didn't want him to know.

"Maybe—"

I interrupted her. "No," I told her. "I knew better but I got complacent." (and high) "I will resolve it on my own."

She looked uncertain but nodded. Pam owed me. I'd kept more than a few blunders of hers a secret.

"He'll never forgive me," she said, looking as uncertain as I have ever seen her. "If something happens to you to take you beyond the veil and beyond recall, he will never forgive me and I will never forgive myself."

"I'll find her and I will end it," I replied.

It was time to take decisive action. The sting in my back grew to an ache as I made my choice. I packed a bag and dressed. With every passing minute, the pain got worse. It was to the point where I had to cradle my left arm to alleviate the pain, but other than that, I ignored it. In my line of work, I didn't trust anything or anyone. I had to undo the mistake I'd made in letting the taste of fairy blood and sex blind me.

I was old enough to know when it came to men that were hard to reach, female bait was often their downfall. Apparently, I wasn't exempt from that fatal fall that came with having a penis. More than anything, it was embarrassing. This was the second time. Shrugging my irritation aside, I continued to make my travel plans. The good thing was that I wouldn't have to search very hard for her.

I didn't have to go looking for Sookie, the bar had yet to open and I didn't know how I knew, but I knew it. She was here. There was no reason for the feeling of comfort and ease that washed over me, but I couldn't help that. The alley entrance of the bar creaked and the scent of blood engulfed the hallway. I was in front of her. My anger and feeling of vengeance were nowhere to be found as her injuries registered.

A knife wound in her left shoulder was barely staunched because her right hand was shaking so badly. Her jeans were torn at the thigh and blood was pouring from the site, so much that it was dripping and staining her shoe.

"Hey handsome…" she greeted through clenched teeth and a weak smile. "Looks like I took you up on that offer after all."

Then her good leg gave out, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she crumbled. The thought didn't register, and neither did the rapid and precise movement of my arms. Catching her had been an instinctive thing. I carried her back to Pam's office.

"What are you doing?" My sister asked, gliding in behind me. Thankfully, she was the only vampire here, but she'd scented the sweet smelling blood. "This is her, I know it is, let her die."

Pam was right. If she died, it would save me the trouble of killing her. If she died, I would be free of whatever she'd done to me. It made absolutely no sense. I really should kill her. This was not something that was part of our agreement when we had decided to share a single weekend. I should, but I couldn't.

My intent to give her my blood was blatant. "Eric!" she said, snatching my arm. The hold would have shattered that of a human. "Have you gone mad?" she fired. "Do not do this!"

I snatched my hand from her grip. Then I bit into my wrist and brought the wound to the fairy's lips, massaging her throat I helped her swallow. That would would help her heal faster but I still rubbed my blood over the raw gaping wounds. The gashes closed and the ache in my shoulder eased. I realized that I wasn't suffering with her. The instant I registered her injuries, a sickly feeling had washed over me. It was like the day I walked away from her contract, I was standing in the middle of a silver sandstorm and my skin was crawling in unease.

I didn't set Sookie down until her rigid posture eased and the lacerations had vanished as if they had never been. It wasn't until then that I looked up from her face. I found that Pam never left the room. My sister was seated behind her desk in her leather chair, absolutely stone faced. She was rotating between shooting Sookie hostile glares and giving me a look of supreme annoyance.

"She needs water," I murmured to myself.

"Throw her in a fucking lake," Pam suggested.

When my sister got like this, it was best to ignore her. She was angry and would remain that way for awhile. Instead of leaving her alone in the room with the fairy, I used her phone to call the bar.

"Bring me a clean towel and two bottles of water," I ordered. "Now."

I could hear the server gathering the supplies before I hung up. Less than a minute later, she was outside the door. Once I received the order, I knew the perfect amount to give her so she wouldn't choke. Then I wet the towel and dabbed at her face and neck. She wouldn't want blood on her body when she woke. I was her servant indeed; I didn't even know where the thought to give her water had come from. I just knew she needed it.

I was willing Sookie to wake up and she did. Perhaps a bit too suddenly, her eyes snapped open. There was no warmth there. Her eyes were like I'd seen in the photo. I knew she didn't know me. It was the shock and disappointment of that thought that left me vulnerable to her attack, that and the speed in which she struck. The last thing I saw were her hands lashing out at my face, and then darkness.

For vampires, being knocked unconscious was distressing. You went from the most powerful creature in the room to an invalid. It was a long way to fall. It got worse because your senses returned one at a time. First, my mind seemed to flicker back online, then I gained one sensory perception at a time. Finally I was able to hear someone mumbling.

"A stick of gum," at least that's what it sounded like and the voice belonged to Sookie. "It's just a stick of gum. A stick of gum."

That made no sense, but it kept her occupied while I recovered. I flexed my fingers and realized that she'd broken my neck. That explained why the sensation in my body was numbed. The nerve, I should have killed her on site. I had turned down her contract and gave her blood. This is what she did the first chance she got. Very well then, she could have it her way. It was true what they say, "Fool me once, I'll kill you so you never get to do it twice."

"Hey," she greeted when I sat up.

"I want to rip your head off," I told her advancing.

"The hostility; totally understandable," she said. "But baby, please, I've been having a rough week. I would consider it a personal favor if you didn't try to kill me."

Though it shouldn't, the term of endearment affected me although not by much. "You broke my neck," I growled, low and dangerously.

She nodded and appeared repentant. "Yeah…I didn't mean to…I mean I did but…," she sighed again, and rubbed her face as if exhausted.

Despite my blood donation, she did look fatigued. I wondered when she had last eaten or slept. I shook the thought aside. It wasn't my concern. No doubt it was the spell that she'd cast that made me feel compelled to care. I was upon her, but I didn't move to do anything harmful. My hands rose but I simply placed them against the wall on either side of her and glared down at her.

The look in her eyes was tender, so like the woman that had given me pleasure, not this literal pain in my neck. I'd long ago learned my lesson when it came to women. There was no way what I felt for her was genuine. I really should kill her. Knowing I should and entertaining the mere thought were two very different things.

"You're pissed and confused and you should be. I'm sorry."

Why her words were managing to dull my irritation was beyond me. From what I learned about her, she was a killer, so lying would come naturally. Yet, I didn't fail to notice that if she were out to end me, then she had her opportunity but she hadn't taken it. It could be that she had a more sinister motive but I couldn't image what that would be.

Despite the homicidal look on my face, she reached her hand up and cupped my face, stroking my cheek with the pad of her thumb. "I woke up in a room I didn't recognize with a strange man over me. I freaked," she confessed. "I couldn't hurt you like that."

Before I could hold the thought back, I voiced it, and I couldn't hide the fact that I was offended. "How am I a strange man?" I asked her. "You've been with me before, many times." I reminded her, because it wasn't like I could forget. "And you came here in search of me."

She lowered her hand, but my face held her warmth for a second longer. "I also crashed the car I stole into a red corvette outside and I stole these clothes because my bag isn't here," she said, pointing to herself. "So I'm sorry about all that too."

She had on Pam's clothes. Not her work clothes, but the pink and lacy ones she wore on her on own time. I looked, my sister was seated in her chair, but her back was to the door. Her form was slouched, limp even. Pam was born in the Victorian era, she didn't know how to slouch. Sookie had broken her neck and staged her in her seat.

"You. Did. Not." I growled.

"This isn't what it looks like, honest." she begged, urgently backing away with her hands up "I can explain."

This time I didn't give her a chance to make excuses. I wrapped my hand around her neck and brought her to my eye level. She didn't fight. She raised her legs and crossed them around my waist. It alleviated the pressure, not that I was squeezing.

"I don't want you to get hurt, sweetheart," she said, rubbing my hand in a placating manner. "Let me go now, please.

The mark on my shoulder moved from a tingle to a burn, but I ignored it. For the first time since I crossed paths with her there was nothing to cloud my mind. For her to attack me was one thing. I was apparently set to let her live no matter how detrimental it was to my survival. Pam was off limits.

"Are you threatening me?" I asked, feeling my anger rise.

"No," she replied. "I'm highlighting the outcome of your current course of action."

I narrowed my eyes at her and squeezed just enough to show her that I'd had enough of her games. Her presence had caused me nothing but unrest. The taste and pleasure I got from her body wasn't worth it, nothing was.

She sighed. "I'm sorry about this," she said, and she truly sounded it.

I waited for her to move knowing that no matter how much my blood enhanced her strength and speed, I would see her coming. She didn't move a muscle, but there was a bright flash of light that seemed to fry my eyes, causing a scorching pain to tear through my skull. Her attack was more than effective. It stunned, blinded, and deafened to ensure her maximum time to flee.

For the second time in less than five minutes, she had dropped me to the least dangerous creature in the room. That was due to my continued obtuseness to the threat she posed. I never saw Pam regain consciousness, but when my vision began to return I saw her standing over the fairy, who was on the floor. My vision was still a bit blurred, but it didn't keep me from seeing how much pain Sookie was in. She was on all fours and her body contorted as if she was being tortured.