Author's Notes:
Sookie & Breandan finally face off.
*The characters in this chapter belong to their respective authors, CH, & AB.
**I OWN NOTHING**
Chapter 61
SPOV
As I walk back into the house, the fact that Alcide was about to die was the last thing on my mind. He made his choice when he gave the locations of our safe houses to a masked courier two days ago and I said goodbye. That was that.
Now, my focus was on Breandan. I can feel his rage, the rancid stench of his evil was spread over my land much like the fog that help tip the scales of this fight in our favor.
The time has come for me to deal with him and be one step closer to removing this threat and bringing my babies home. Even if they can't come home soon, I will be going to them and no one was going to stop me.
I put every other thought into their respective areas in my mind and locked them down. I didn't want to give him any ammo. I shut down my bonds with everyone, although the one I share with Eric could never be fully closed. I know that with that action alone, he would know what I was about to do. I send a prayer to my mother and walk out onto the front porch.
EPOV
"Any last words before I end you, traitor?" I would not normally be this generous with the likes of him, but I was quite curious as to how he would see his own end.
"Sooner or later, she will see you for the beast you truly are and she will run." He stares into my eyes as he makes his declaration and his belief in it is astounding.
"You just do not get it. She has already seen the beast. She pets him, rubs his stomach, and tells him to heel when necessary. She has always been the only one to tame me. I am her beast and will be forever."
I place my right hand on top of his head to grasp his skull. And with a flick of my wrist, I pull his head away from his body as blood spurts out of his neck. Pam and Godric both step aside before any can get on them.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish." She says. We both look at her confused. "Oh, come on! That is a saying from my time for fucks sake." She sighs as her hands go to her hips.
"I'm going to check on Jessica." He says as he takes a step toward the door.
Suddenly, my bond with Sookie dims drastically. No. Not yet. Godric and Pam both turn to me, feeling my dread and desperation in that moment. Before either of them can act, I shoot into the farmhouse, blowing the door off its hinges.
Just as I enter the kitchen, I see her step onto the porch. I vamp towards her and slam against an invisible barrier. I did not see it as first, but it is made of the same material as her and Claudine's privacy bubble.
"SOOKIE! SOOOOKIEE!"
SPOV
It hurts me to my bones to hear his gut-wrenching screams as he tries to get to me. I know he want to talk to me and reassure me, but that is not what I needed. I'm way pass needing that. I know it was what he needed to reassure himself, but time is of the essence. I just hope he won't be too mad and take it out on the others.
"Seems your vampire is pretty angry that you finally saw the ridiculousness in your resistance and have come to give yourself to me. Soon, you will be in too much pain to think about him, let alone anyone else." The sneer on his face is irritating and I've decided that it's time to bring him down a few pegs.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that being the reason for his anger. From what I was told, Niall and the rest of our bloodline had similar reactions before they were ended not too long ago." I must have struck a nerve as the sinister smirk melts from his features.
"Nonsense. My brother is making the finally preparations for your entombment as we speak. Don't worry, we will give you a proper welcome before then." He says the words, but the conviction doesn't reach his eyes.
"Aww. You mustn't have heard. Dermot, Claude, Dillon, and Niall are all dead. Not only did I order my vampires to complete their executions, but that angry vampire behind me ripped Niall's head and spine from his body. We had it preserved so non-believers could look upon it anytime they get the urge to fight against the peace that will return to the Faery." He bares his fangs at me as he continues to call for his brother.
"Since you obviously don't believe me, why don't you summon that witch of yours? Surely, if she her magic is worth anything you claim it to be, she can use but a drop of your blood and tell you if your kin lives. Take your time, I'll wait." I walk over to the porch swing and sit, using my feet to set a slow pace. As his panic begins to rise, I send orders to Colman to be ready to apprehend them once they begin using magic on Niall's remains.
EPOV
Again and again, I slam against the barrier. I try blinking onto the porch, flying at top speed through it, and event using the shotgun in the foyer's closet to shoot my way through. Nothing works. I step back a few paces and raise my power into a concentrated orb of blue flame. As it builds in power, my maker comes to my side.
"Eric. You knew this moment would come. You need to calm down and trust in her." His words are true, I know this. Yet, I cannot stand here and do nothing while my wife faces evil incarnate in our front yard.
"I will Not JUST STAND BY AND DO NOTHING!" I am just about to throw the orb into the barrier when Pam walks and stands in front of the door.
"MOVE!" I command. "Do not make me use my power as your maker!"
"And do not make me use mine." Godric says next to me. I immediately drop my hands, extinguishing the orb. I cannot believe that he would threaten me in such a way, and at a time like this.
"The Goddess told you what need to happen in order to win this war. Did you think she was joking?" He asks.
Pam moves to stand right in front of me. She is almost eye-level with me due to her heels. I can see the sorrow and fear in her eyes as I feel it in our bond. But the other emotion I feel from not only her, but my maker as well is determination.
"She made me promise her the unthinkable, Eric. If I have to sacrifice my own life to keep you from interfering, then I will do so." I cannot believe this! That Sookie would make my child promise such a thing and for my child to agree is beyond my comprehension at this time. I am so enraged that I cannot speak.
"We both can feel you and it hurts us that it must be this way, but you know it is what must be done. If I could put you in silver chains, I would. You must find the strength within yourself to stay the course and believe in her. She needs it now more than she ever has." His words finally get through to me, although I am still pissed.
I look at my maker. His brown eyes show patient and love, just like my father's used to so many centuries ago. I turn back to my child, who now has blood tears streaming down her face. I know I should comfort her, but I just cannot bring myself to do so.
I pick up the discarded shotgun and hand it to Godric. Without a word, I walk to the cubby and vamp down the ladder. I unchain Jessica.
"Leave me. And do not let anyone down here." I order. Tara grabs Jessica by the arm and all but drags her from the room. Once they are gone, I engage the internal locks. I walk over to the monitors and access every camera with any type of angle on the front of the property. Once I see Sookie sitting on the porch swing and Breandan pacing around like a madman, I feel a little better.
Then, I proceed to release all my anger on any item other than the security console.
SPOV
I was beginning to get impatient, but just when I started to doubt he would come through with the witch, he does. The red headed, frail woman falls to her knees immediately as if she was snatched in the middle of dinner. From the stench, I know that she is a resident of Niflhiem.
Breandan conjures a privacy bubble to hide their conversation, but with these new powers, it is pointless.
"I need to know where my brother is and now! Make it happen." He orders.
"I will need an article of his clothing, a bowl, some fairy dust, and some blood from your line in order to find his life force." She keeps her head down, never looking him in the eye. Either she has done so before and paid the price or she has been in the presence of oppressive men before. Both are probably true.
A glass bowl and a deep blue tunic appear on the ground before her. "There is a decaying fairy not ten feet away from you. Get what you need and take the blood from my finger. Hurry it up!"
The bubble pops as she scrambles on the ground, scooping some of the dead fairy's remains into her hands before crawling back to his feet. After draping the tunic over the bowl, she dumps the dust on top of the portion of the fabric that is in the bowl.
"I'm ready for the blood now." He uses his nail to puncture the index finger of the other to draw blood. Several drops drip onto the dust and smoke begins to form.
They are silent as the image appears. Breandan's roars as he discovers that Niall and all the other Briggant males are now deceased. He kicks the witch out of the bubble. As soon as she is outside its protection, she disappears from this realm.
Knowing that her disappearance was not his doing, his attention returns to me.
"You must be wondering where your witch went. With that kick to the face that you just delivered, she was taken back to Faery where she will be held for interrogation. She won't be serving your purposes any longer." He is panting as he trembles with rage.
"I am going to make you feel so much pain that you will beg to be my slave just for it to stop." He begins walking towards the farmhouse as he builds a light orb in his hands. Throwing it toward the porch, he expects it to blow me to smitherings.
Guess again, bitch.
I stand and walk to the steps. The orb hits the internal wards that surround the farmhouse, bursting in shards of light. Breandan is shocked that it does no damage.
"You know that you will not win this. Although you deserve to die, I will give you one last chance to surrender and leave these realms. Never return. All of the fae that believe as you do have been allowed to leave Faery to make a world somewhere else, away from the rest of us who wish to live in harmony." He glares at me with so much disgust that it sends a chill down my spine.
"I see I have your answer." I slow move down the stairs and outside the boundaries of the wards. I feel Godric, Pam, Tara, and Jessica inside, crowding the windows to see what is happening. I feel Eric in the cubby. He is livid and I'm sort of glad that he isn't near them at the moment.
"You are going to regret the day you thought you could take on a pure-bred fairy." He states as five fairies appear to surround me.
EPOV
I watch in horror as five of Breandan' peons appear to aid him in taking Sookie down. This is exactly what I feared the most; she would be the honorable warrior that she is to face him one-on-one and he would double-cross her by bringing reinforcements. Since I can feel our bloodline upstairs, watching with the same dread that I am feeling, I know that she is alone. If I could not get out, then I know they cannot either.
I vamp over to the monitors, transfixed on what is about to unfold. Breandan's lips are moving. Although I can read lips, I want to hear his words. I hit the switch for sound just as the other fairies appear.
My lover shows no fear. She conjures her iron katana. She moves a little further into the yard and takes a fighting stance. All at once, the fairies try to pop on her. She twirls like a ballerina with her sword extending, which causes them to back away just as quickly.
The bravest of the five pull their own weapons and engage her. Just as I taught her, she keeps moving and deflecting their blows with ease. Another one jumps into the fray, thinking that she would be overwhelmed. He thought wrong as she takes his left arm. She ducks to avoid a swipe to her throat and the attacker finishes off the fairy she just unarmed.
As she rises, she slices the chest of another fairy that was attacking her. He drops to his knees and she takes his head as well.
She pops and reappears behind one of the fairies that are not currently trying to attack her. Ramming her sword through his mid-section, she pulls to the left and right, separating his upper and lower halves at the waist.
She returns back to the fray and clashes swords with the remaining original attacker. She begins to the get the better of her opponent, so the last fairy engages her. She continues to hold her own. Breandan takes the opportunity to shoot an orb at her, which she pops away. One of the attackers absentmindedly steps into the orb and disintegrates into dust. Now, only one fairy and Breandan remain.
A couple minutes more of fighting and she kills the last fairy. She stands from her crouched position. She is composed; she is not panting or tired like she would have been if she were human. She flicks her wrist, flinging the excess blood from her blade as she faces her remaining foe.
Breandan's face is frozen in shock as he realizes that he may not win this fight. Refusing to give up against what he believes is an 'inferior' enemy; he conjures a sword and rushes toward my wife.
SPOV
He launches at with a force like a Mac truck, but I'm quick to defend. The clash of our swords causes sparks to fly in every direction. He is using his anger to fuel his attacks, so sooner or later, he will wear himself out.
I decide to pay possum and pretend that his strength staggers me backwards. He smirks for just a moment, before swinging his fist towards my face. I refuse to let him hit me, especially in the face, so I lean back to avoid the punch.
I side step him a few more times before I slice deeply into his thigh. The sight of his own blood causes something to snap in his mind and he goes into a sort of berserk mode.
He wildly swings at me, screaming and spitting like a rabid animal. In his unhinged state, I'm able to slice up his back, chest, and disarm him of his sword.
As he tries to catch his breath, I look down on the broken fairy before me. He is a pitiful mess and I begin to think that death is too good of punishment for him. But to let him live means that his threat will always live on. Is that a risk I'm willing to take?
With my sword extended to his throat, I lift his head to force him to look into my eyes.
"I should kill you for everything you've done to my family and the many others that have suffered for your greed and lust for power. I offered Dermot and Claude the same option I'm about to give you; death or imprisonment for all eternity. What say you?"
I wait for him to think about it, but I already know his answer. Before he can speak, I take his head.
EPOV
The moment I see his head leave his body I blink to the front door. Now that the threat to our safety was gone, the barrier had vanished as well. I vamp outside to be near her.
Her back is turned to the farmhouse, yet I know she can feel my presence. The bond rushes open and once again, I can feel all her love for me. I want to remain angry, but we both know I cannot.
"I'm sorry. I had to do what I needed to do. You would have done the same."
"I know." I admit. "That does not mean that I like it or that I will like it when it happens again."
"Hopefully, I won't have to do anything like that again." She finally turns to face me. Her brown doe eyes look up into my eyes and my undead heart melts for her.
"You and I both know that it will. Any my reaction will be no different. Are you going to let me be your protector?" I ask.
"Of course! You have been my protector for the majority of our time together. But you do need to accept that there may be an enemy that only I can defeat. Are you going to do that?" Her question catches me off guard, but she is right. And I know that was the entire point in all this, but I do not like it and never will.
"Yes. I accept this and will try to handle it better." I tell her.
She runs into my arms and I lift her off the ground. I feel her tears soak into my shoulder just as she must feel mine drip into her hair. The relief we feel at this moment is only rivaled by the birth of our two sons.
We feel the others slowly emerge from the farmhouse. Godric approaches first and grasp her hand that is holding onto the back of my neck. He sends me his love and pride through our bond. I do not know why, but it makes me feel even better.
Pam come around us and stands behind Sookie. The dried blood from her earlier tears that is caked on her face becomes moist again as they reappear. Sookie unleashes me with one arm and wraps it around Pam's neck, pulling her into our embrace.
Now, with both my wife and child in my arms and my maker at my back, Tara and Jessica stand close by. They are crying as well, but I only feel happiness and relief from them.
Together, we stand in the yard. A nest, a family that is almost complete.
Mentally, I tell Tara and Jessica to grab onto us as well. Once they do, I blink us all to Folkvangr to get our boys.