Chapter 15

Are We There Yet?

"We need to get here," Sookie said to the fairies, inclining her head to the island on a map.

We had traveled as far and as fast as we could and were now in a hotel in San Diego. My mate's hands were busy scrubbing silver residue from my wounds. The Sin Eater who had bitten me had capped his teeth in silver. My body was working to dissolve the toxin. I was drinking a blood, but I was eying the fairies for dessert. Sookie knew letting me drink the fairies would ease my need and heal all my injuries. We both knew I shouldn't, so I just kept on eyeing them as she rubbed my arm to soothe me and keep me from launching at the Fae twins. I didn't see the big deal. There were two of them and I only wanted one.

They picked up the map and studied it closely. We didn't need to explain to them the obvious obstacles that were in our way. We had finally reached San Diego. That was the good news. The bad news was that I still had no idea how we were going to get from the California coast to the Hawaiian Islands. If we flew, the Sky Fae would shoot her down. If we took a boat, the Water Fae would pull my mate to watery grave.

"You are certain you will be safe here?" Dermot asked Sookie.

"Yes," I replied.

The tandem nodded. Their coordinated movements and the way they were finishing each other's thoughts and sentences was beginning to get irritating. It was like engaging someone and his or her reflection in a conversation; creepy and confusing. If I didn't see their lips move, I wouldn't know who was speaking.

"Provide the most glittery pieces of gold and silver you can, a matched set if possible," Fintan said, rising to his feet.

Sookie frowned. "How is Angus going to help?"

I didn't have to ask her to fill me in. "Angus is a goblin who loves 'Sparklies,'" she explained.

"He also knows how to travel in and out of just about anywhere without being detected."

She reached into her bag, made the request, and then offered it to Fintan. He only took two pieces of opposing designs and returned the rest.

"We'll tell him where we got it," he said, pulling his brother to his feet. "Wait for him here."

I arched a brow. "That seems unwise."

Sookie shook her head. "He's greedy and obsessive as hell. If the metal is shiny enough, he'll sell you his own mother. When they tell him where they got it, he'll take the location to the grave for fear of another person getting here before him."

"If he does not come in a week, you must assume the worst and find another way for we cannot return to you," Dermot said—or was it Fintan? I had no clue.

She nodded at him, then he faded. The other lingered, and he looked down at Sookie. "I have always loved you, and I have always kept you as my family, more so than the one into which I was born." Then he too vanished.

I sighed. "I still think you should have let me eat one," I complained.

She laughed and kissed my head. Then she reclined onto the bed and cradled my head in her lap. We didn't speak. Our silence was comfortable, companionable. She ran her fingers through my hair and I played with her fingers. Nothing had brought me this much peace or scared me so much.

The next night I rose and for the first time, Sookie didn't have a warm blood waiting for me. "I can't anymore," she said, remorsefully. "Using the bag is taking too much out of me and stressing him."

The last thing I heard her ask for before the weapons and coins was fifty thousand in cash. That and the weapons was all my backpack held. Sookie carried the maps and her toiletries. We bought what we needed and ditched it once we got somewhere else. It had been more important to travel light and fast than anything else.

If not for the habit she had gotten me into, I would have taken a second to realize I wasn't even in need of a drink. I just wanted it because she made it for me. Still, I should have known that it had been wearing on her. More things did with each passing day. The topic of her child wasn't something we discussed unless it involved her health. I wanted to ask if she was well but I didn't have to; I felt it, and I was more than grateful for our bond.

"I wish I could feed you," she murmured.

"I know," I said, taking her hand and heading for the door.

The thing was, I didn't want her to offer me her vein. It would kill any shred of self-control I had left. Being with her day in and day out with our constant exchange of affectionate touches, and having her soft body over mine as she slept was already too much. At this point, I didn't look past her neck. Sexually, I was frustrated. Emotionally, I was confused and overwhelmed. Mentally, I was tired, and all I wanted was space to deal with it. That was the one thing I couldn't get.

We bought enough clothes and food for Sookie to last us a few days. Unlike the jeans and plain tees Sookie was fond of, she bought sweat pants and shirts. It wasn't really evident that she was with child. The only reason I noticed was because I gave her a perverse amount of attention. I'd never paid any attention to pregnant women, but I noticed, despite my diligent efforts, the way her body was filling out. I noticed the minor growth of her breasts and the swell of her stomach. It made no sense to me that she was more attractive to me now than she was when I met her.

The continuous traveling had been wearing on her. She'd been sleeping less and was on edge more. With the few days off, she caught up on some sleep and got she got her strength back . The losses the Sin Eaters had suffered would undoubtedly result in them taking a few days to regroup.

This was a good a time as any to take a break, so we took the reprieve while we waited for the goblin, Angus. Yet, with every day that he didn't show, I knew I would risk the sun to get us where we had to be. The longer we stayed, the higher the risk of Sin Eaters finding us. The warrant for me had gone out. It was only a matter of time before Enforcers found my trail.

The interactions between Sookie and me had were reverberative of a normal couple. I would go out with her while she had dinner at one of the many restaurants. She would linger in the bars as I looked for someone from whom to feed. Then we walked. It was mostly to scout the area, but we walked hand-in-hand and it felt nothing like reconnaissance. Despite all that was against us, those little walks and the way she needed to sleep in my arms seemed more important. I resented every bit of joy I found in all of it because I knew it wasn't real.

It was our fourth day in San Diego when the Enforcers came. What was odd was Sookie caught their approach before I did. As we walked through the crowded mall hand-in-hand, her head tilted left. I casually scanned the area and nothing alerted my senses.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

I shook my head. "What?"

"Vampires," she said, pulling us into the next store. "I hear them."

She pretended to peruse through the toy store. "Want to tell me how?" I wondered. While we talked, I was trying to filter through all the scents and sounds, and pinpoint where they were.

"I'm a telepath," she said, as if she was telling me her shirt was blue.

I stopped and stared at her. "So you've been—" I began.

She shook her head. "You're dead. I don't get reception from you, just static. I don't hear a lot of other supes either; the frequencies are too different, I think."

"Anything else you want to tell me?" I asked, annoyed. "Now is the time to disclose." I was sick of finding things out a few seconds before shit hit the fan.

She cut me a derisive eye roll. "Once I dyed my hair green. In the winter I wear toe socks. Anytime I walk by a carnival, I go in and ask for a job for a few days. That way I get all the fried dough and cotton candy I want." After a brief moment, she added. "I don't like raccoons. They have people hands and look like bandits. I don't trust em'."

I opened my mouth and found that for the first time ever, I was speechless; utterly stumped. "I'm starting to think you're crazy," I commented. I wasn't sure if I was being serious or not.

She laughed and it made me smile. "You're just getting that, huh?"

"How many of them are there?" I asked, moving her to the cash register to pay for whatever was in my hand.

"Six," she said.

I frowned. "That can't be all." I'm an S7 vampire. I truly hoped that wasn't all there were. That would just be insulting.

She shrugged. "That's all I count in my range."

"Keep shopping." I told her. "I'll be right back."

Sookie took hold of my hand. I stared down at her and saw as she let the bond tell her how little danger I was in. I kissed her head. Through the employee only area, I was able to find a back way out of the store. I followed the corridors and found my way toward the loading docks. This was a nice quiet place to beat the shit out of Enforcers. There were three two man teams of S3 and a team of S4. I wasn't even going to enjoy it.

It turned out there were eight. I saw the first of them slide out through a small grate. He was obviously a decoy. It didn't matter; he wouldn't move fast enough. Before anyone got a word out, I attacked. As I had promised the Old Bat, I didn't end any of them or take any of their limbs. I put my hand through a few of them. It was positively sad that clean up took longer than the fight. It couldn't be helped. I would get in more trouble for causing a spectacle than the actual fight. After I was done, I threw them in the dumpsters nearby. It would conceal their presence as they healed, or protect them from the sun if they didn't.

Sookie was exactly where I left her. We went back to the hotel and when we arrived, she began packing.

"We can stay," I told her. "This is the last place they'll think to look for me."

"I don't care," she said. "I want to get far away."

"We need to give your Goblin friend a few more days."

She stopped and stared at the ceiling in frustration. The urge to go to her didn't fully register before I was acting on it. I carried her to bed with me and held her as she tried to control her fear. This was the first night she didn't sleep on top of me. It would put too much pressure on her stomach so instead, she curled into a ball, and I lay beside her. It took longer, but she finally began to relax.

~ooooo~

By day seven Angus didn't show. That made the choice for us. We left our clothes behind and I even ditched some weapons. I needed to move as fast as possible because I would be racing the sun. We were set to go when a knock came to the door. All I could smell was something really unpleasant.

"You bastard," Sookie said with a scowl.

The unexpected visitor let out a delighted cackle and then he walked through the door. Presumably, this was Angus and he had a face only a mother could love. His fingers were longer than normal and covered with green fur. He was bald and his nose was more of a snout. His eyes were five sizes too big for his face and shone a bright yellow. That was before you looked at his ears. He could use them to air glide.

"Och! I'woolda wagered h'is lot ur yer woolda knocked yer pan in by noo!" His was a Scottish burr, and it was thick. He had a bright smile, but his tone was disappointed. "'En Ah coods 'ae me Sparklies."

In case we didn't get the point, he emphasized it by forming a finger pyramid of evil contemplation. Instinctively I moved to stand in front of Sookie, but she sidestepped me. Cleary she wasn't worried about him. I wouldn't trust this tiny troll to lead me to the lobby, never mind across a damn ocean.

"Do you want to kill him or should I?" I asked Sookie, in all seriousness. She had dibs seeing they were familiar.

"No," she said, picking up her bag. "I'll do him one worse," then she turned to the goblin with a look of disgust. "I bet you have two pieces that I bartered to the fairy. I have their matches and eight other pairs too. Five of them have gold heads and silver tails."

A dreamy, almost orgasmic, look fell over his face, making him look more like an inebriated gremlin, if you can imagine such a thing. "Let's 'ae a swatch 'en," he purred.

"No," she snapped, angrily.

"Naw, lassie 'ae a heart. we be best chums, ye an' me aien't we? Lit ol' Angus hae a wee peek."

"No," she said. By the look on his face, she had indeed dealt him a fate worse than death. He blew a gasket, literally. Steam shot out of his ears, some bits of his fur singed. It didn't make him smell any better.

"Pure techt, pure techt gantin, ool' Battleaxe!" he shouted. His eyes had turned orange. He was jumping up and down like a child having a fit. "Gie it haur! gie it! Angus sparklies! Gimme!"

"No," she snapped, "Just for that, I'm going to melt them into the ocean while you watch!"

She walked out the door and I followed, with Angus still throwing insults. When the door closed, he let out a piercing wail and began cursing in what I thought was Old Scots. I thought she was bluffing but she continued walking towards the elevators. Wordlessly I followed. I trusted her to make the right call, especially since she had experience in dealing with this particular creature and I didn't.

Angus was waiting on the sidewalk. He looked composed and calm, but there was still a manic look to him. He cleared his throat in a deceptively dignified manner. "Ah micht haeoverreacted a tad," he said, bowing his head so low his ears touched the ground. "Mah sincerest apologies tae th' braw lass an' 'er handsome bloke."

Sookie squeezed my hand and we kept walking. We pretended not to see him just like all the humans around us that could not. When the apology didn't work, he had another full-blown tantrum complete with name calling. Neither of our mothers had been spared and according to him, they had a preference for fornicating with barnyard animals. It wasn't infuriating, it was funny! I knew they existed, but this was the first goblin I'd ever met, and he was crazy as all hell.

"You know some really fucked up people," I commented to my mate.

"Baby, you don't know the half," she mused.

We were at the boardwalk, and Sookie reached into my backpack to retrieve one of the coins. Angus was still with us and the instant he caught the shine, his rant died mid-insult.

"How far do you think you can launch this?" she asked me, twirling the coin between her fingers. Angus was watching as if he was hypnotized.

"I might be able to give a shark a black eye," I replied, tossing and catching the piece of gold.

"Sparklies…" Angus murmured, inching forward. "So…very bonnie, so… shiny."

"I can't walk or drive, but I need to travel across water without a boat, plane, or teleporting," she said, waving a coin in his face. "Any ideas on how I can manage that?"

He nodded, held his hand out, and she dropped the gold in his hand. I was really going to have to ask her about him later. This creature almost made Gollum look normal. He took the precious metal, rubbed it all over his face, and down his body. He let out a low purr of glee.

"Fossegrimen Lane," he said, holding out his hand again. "Fussy fella, he is an' reit mingin' temper tay, but if ye play em a braw tune he'll lit ye pass." She paid him again.

"Play what?" she asked.

"Fiddle," he moaned, molesting himself with the new coin he had been given. "Ur anythin' wi' a strings but he fancies th' fiddle."

Sookie looked at me as if that was it, as if I should know how to play the instrument. I was offended. "What makes you think I know how to play a fucking fiddle?"

"You said you were 1,000 years old. I'm assuming at some point you got bored enough to play all kinds of instruments."

"That is not only presumptuous," I fired back. "It's offensive."

She had the nerve to look momentarily shocked. When I scowled at her, she threw her hands up in surrender. You're right," she said, taking my hand. "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to assume things about you."

I harrumphed, though I found that she was already forgiven. "It was," I said, "Plus, I play violin and guitar. Fiddles and harps are for minstrels." I concluded in a distinguished fashion.

Sookie shot me a glower so deep I thought it would be etched on her face forever. All I did was grin. That's what she got for assuming and not asking.

"Angus, my friend," Sookie said reclaiming the Goblin's attention. She scratched him behind his ear. He preened, purred, and his eyes rolled into his head. "I need a guitar," she said. Using her free hand, she rubbed a gold coin across his cheek as she scratched him. Between the coins and the scratch, the little shit was having the best night of his life. "Let me borrow one that never misses a note and all my 'Sparklies' are yours."

"Nae tak' backs?" he asked. "Nae favors?"

She shook her head and held her hand out. "No take backs, no favors; all you have to do is take us to the road of Fossegrimen Lane and provide the guitar."

"Lyre of Orpheus the Muse," he said, leaning his head into her fingers. Unlike his initial presence, the fact that she was touching him made me want to kill him all the more. "Nofin' else, guitar, tis nae but paupers harp."

We had to spend one more night in San Diego. There were no hotels nearby so I invaded the beach home of an older couple. Sookie was conflicted about me using my glamour in that manner. The only other option was to risk her safety and mine, so choice was simple. I rested in the safety of the ward that guarded human homes from the undead. I didn't have to worry about Sin Eaters, either, though I knew they were on our trail again. They'd had more than enough time to recoup. In the event they did come during our last night, they had to be stealthy. The area was much too public. It improved our odds, or so we hoped.