Spellbound
Thank you all for the reviews and the time that you have given to me and my story. The characters belong to Charlaine Harris but the story is my idea.
"Sookie," he called after her.
Her back stiffened as she continued the trek to her bedroom.
Eric watched her as she slowly climbed the stairs. There was something wrong. It wasn't just that their marriage was ending. There was something more going on with her and she wasn't going to tell him. Something was happening to her. The fae women are usually very strong and extremely healthy. Not for a second did he buy that 'I haven't eaten much' excuse. Sookie could have gone days without eating and she wouldn't have almost fainted. She was hiding something from him. He called after her again but she kept walking. She never turned around to face him. She continued upstairs as if she hadn't heard him.
After realizing that she wasn't going to come to him, Eric decided that he'd take care of some business before going to his lonely and empty bedroom. He went into his office to make a couple of phone calls. His first phone call was the more important of the two.
"What do you want Eric. I don't have time for you right now," Fintan said. "Adele and I have plans. She's waiting on me."
There were going to be no pleasantries. Eric wanted Fintan to know that he now knows the truth and that he is going to do everything in his power to keep his wife with him. "You know that Sookie wants to leave me. She is going to leave me."
Fintan laughed. "She's not going anywhere. She has already come to us to ask to end this alliance. I told Sookie that she needed to stay with you until the required amount of time." He cleared his throat as he continued. "Her grandmother agrees that she stays with you; granted she believes that you two should stay together for a different reason but she agrees nonetheless. Sookie's not going to go anywhere. She understands how important this marriage is to our people; yours as well. You have nothing to worry about, vampire."
Eric hated the arrogant faery with every fiber of his very being. "Your granddaughter is determined to leave me. Nothing is going to make her stay; not even the alliance. She has looked into going into another union with another vampire. She has taken steps to leave me, Fintan. It's obvious that she doesn't care about the alliance."
Again Fintan laughed. "You have been married to her for some years now and you are as simple as any vampire I've had the displeasure of meeting. You don't know her at all, do you? She's not going to do that. And if she decides to leave you, you'll get over it. You've lost things before. You're a vampire. You should be used to it."
"You lied to me," Eric growled into the phone.
"And?" Fintan replied.
"She does love me. She's always loved me."
Fintan waved Eric's comment off. The ramblings of a vampire didn't matter. "She's outgrowing that love. She can't waste her love on the likes of you. You are no more than an arrangement. You both knew that. You both understood. What was I supposed to do … let her think that she has a future with you? When I saw that she was falling in love with you and you were falling in love with her, I couldn't allow that. Your marriage is not a marriage of love. It's an arrangement. That's all that it is. That's all that it will ever be."
Eric couldn't believe what he was hearing. He believed that Fintan had Sookie's best interests at heart. It never would have occurred to him that he would be as cruel and as callous as he's being with her feelings. She is his family; his blood. A jolt of reality hit him with such force that it almost knocked him off of his feet.
"You showed me what she could do and you used it against us."
Fintan's laugh was all that Eric could hear.
In all of his existence, Eric had never felt so foolish, so stupid. "She never manipulated the bond to make me believe what she wanted me to believe. You said that she had the ability to make people feel things and believe things that weren't true. You said that she could bend people to her will. You said that she'd bent me to her will and I believed you."
And he couldn't blame anyone but himself. He had a choice and he chose to believe Fintan. It was easy for him to believe that she'd manipulate the bond because he'd seen her do it with other supes. When there was a conflict that could not be settled with words, Sookie's voice would bring calm and peace when there was none. A simple touch could make the angriest man docile and sweet. There was no reason why he shouldn't believe that she had done it to him.
Yes there was. He loves her and he should've known better.
"I believed you," Eric repeated.
"As you should have," he said. "I was telling you the truth."
"But she didn't use it on me," Eric said angrily. "Your words have destroyed us. You have betrayed your granddaughter, her happiness."
"You have destroyed her." He said the words as if it wasn't a matter of concern. "You can't blame me for what you've done. You had a choice, Eric. You chose to believe the worst about her. You can't blame me, old friend. Give yourself a nice little pat on the back." Again, he laughed.
"I'm not going to lose her."
"Oh, dear vampire, you are wrong. You will lose her," Fintan replied.
Eric couldn't help but hear the joy and amusement in Fintan's voice.
"I know my Sookie," Fintan continued. "I know that she will decide to stay with you until the alliance is completed. She would never condemn an entire race of people to death or dishonor because of her unhappiness. She will fulfill her duties as ordered. She will continue to be your wife in the earthly realm. That's all your relationship with her will be … an obligation. You will not keep her. Once the alliance is over, she will return home to her people and marry the fae that I've chosen for her."
Anger and hate filled his body. He'd never wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill Fintan Brigant. "I will kill you."
Fintan believed him. He could hear it in the vampire's voice but sadly, Eric would never get the chance. He also believed that Eric has always loved Sookie. His pride of believing that he was being manipulated wouldn't allow him to show it. Fintan knew that. He'd never meant to hurt anyone; least of all Sookie but it had to be done. Everything that he's done was done with only the best intentions. Sookie's well being has always been Fintan's main concern.
"I did it to protect her and our bloodline. You can't love her the way one of her own kind can. Once your contract is up, let her come home to her family. Keep doing what you're doing. You're doing a great job."
"You used me to hurt her."
When Fintan laughed, it was filled with harshness and reality. "I didn't use you to hurt her. You were doing what vampires do. It's in your nature to hurt and destroy. She knows this now. She knows that she can't have true happiness with you. My granddaughter will bounce back from this. She is strong and resilient. She takes that after her grandmother. What surprises me is that she has tolerated it for as long as she has."
"It's because she loves me," Eric replied. "For years, I've resented her because I believed her to playing me for a fool. Because of my actions, I fear that I've lost everything that has ever mattered to me."
The primal and deadly vampire of old made an appearance. His anger had completely boiled to the surface. He was no longer the vampire of the fae/vampire alliance, he was the vampire that has killed many fae and drained them of their life force. He was the vampire that was out for revenge and he was going to have his revenge.
"If I ever see you, I will drain you of every bit of your life. I swear on all that you love that I will kill you. Believe me, Brigant. This is not a threat."
"Stop being so fucking dramatic, vampire." After a long and curious pause, Fintan asked, "Tell me, has she stopped sleeping with you?"
Eric believed the question to be one of surprise. Why would Fintan care if Sookie and he were still sleeping together? They've never gone one night without making love. It's been that way since they married. They've always made love. Well, that is, until last night. Fintan didn't know that.
"No, she has not. We are married. She has never denied me and I've never denied her."
Fintan fell silent. Eric could almost feel the smugness ooze out of the fae's body. He now had the upper hand.
"Does that concern you, faery?"
He didn't answer Eric's question. "Once Sookie has returned home, your life can back to the way it was. All will be well in the world as we know it."
This time, Eric laughed menacingly and maliciously. "When you are dead, all will be well in the world as we know it," Eric said before ending the call.
Eric paced back and forth in his office. He didn't know what to think. He'd been used to make Sookie resent him and grow to hate him. He'd unwittingly helped Fintan in making her regret the day that they'd met. He'd made it easy for another to come in and take her away from him.
In the beginning, Eric did make Sookie believe that he'd had feelings for her and for good reason. He did. He loved being with her. He loved everything about her. She has so much life in her; so much adventure, so much love. The anticipation that he used to feel when he knew that he would see her made him feel almost human again. When she would touch his shoulder or hold his hand, the strangest feelings used to come over him; feelings that he enjoyed. He needed them. And Eric had let Fintan take those feelings away.
As he thought of the damage that he'd done and the proving that he was going to have to do to in order to keep her, his phone began to ring. He immediately knew who it was.
"Eric," Freyda said.
"What?"
"Is that how you respond me? What? I can't believe you. I travel over four thousand miles to see you and this is the type of reception that I get? I would expect that from Pamela but surely not from you." She shook her head at the thought of Eric dismissing her as he has. "I never would have expected that from you. Has the little woman done something to upset you?"
Eric bristled. "You don't talk about her."
"You always say that. I figured you'd be over that by now because I always talk about her. I won't hurt her, Eric," Freyda said. "I just want to meet her. I want to see the little faery that has turned your head completely around."
"I'm not in the mood for you, Freyda. What do you want?"
"I've called to apologize for not appearing at the party tonight. Lord Worthington came into town and I just had to spend time with him. I hope that you aren't upset because I didn't show up tonight. I didn't call you because I didn't think that you would mind. You know how Edgar likes to spoil me whenever he sees me." She began to squeal as a human woman would. "You'll never guess what he bought for me."
"I don't care."
Neither did she. She was going to make him hear it whether he wanted to or not. She continued talking about the gift that Lord Worthington had bestowed upon her. "He gave me an emerald and diamond pendant with matching earrings. Can you believe it? It had to have cost him a fortune. He then asked me if I wanted to spend the summer with him in Greece. I just had to say yes."
Eric didn't reply. He didn't care about Lord Worthington or the jewelry that he'd given to Freyda. He couldn't care less about the summer trip to Greece. He didn't care about her.
"You're not mad about that are you?"
Eric sighed. "As I said to you before, I don't care. I've never cared, Freyda. You've never mattered to me. Is that clear enough for you?"
Freyda began to pout. "You're not even a tad bit jealous?"
"Not in the least."
"You don't care that I'm going on a vacation with your sworn enemy?"
"I don't."
"Testy, aren't we?" she asked lightheartedly.
He ignored her sarcasm. "I will say that I'm happy about one thing; your call."
She perked up a little. "Really? Why?"
"Because I don't want to see you anytime soon," he answered her. "Don't come back here until I call you. There are things that I need to take care of. You are not welcomed in my area."
Freyda giggled gleefully. "Is it your little faery princess? Has she finally wrapped you completely around her glittery little finger? Have her sweet charms finally taken you in?" The giggles turned in fits of laughter. "She is quite powerful to make you turn on your own kind."
"Don't worry about Sookie. Stay away or you will regret it," Eric warned.
"Are you asking me or are you telling me?"
"I'm telling you," he replied.
"I'd prefer it if you'd ask me but because it's you I'll do whatever you say." She was no longer giggling gleefully or bursting into fits of laughter. She hated to be told what to do.
"Just know that you need to stay away."
The harshness in her voice from earlier was slowly easing away. "What about my party? Will you be throwing me another one? I so wished that I could've made an appearance tonight. I heard that she showed up in a beautiful red dress to a black and white ball." Laughter filled the other end of the phone line once again. "I'll bet money that Pam had a fit."
Eric decided to dispute that claim. He wanted to burst Freyda's bubble. He was damned near tired of her. "At first she did but she and Sookie seem to be making a step towards getting to know one another. Pam complimented her on her dress and told her how beautiful she looked. And they're going to Paris to a fashion show I do believe."
The laughter stopped. "And you are okay with this?"
"I am. I think that spending some time with Sookie will do Pam a lot of good."
"Hmm," she replied. "What has changed your mind about the fae and the vampire becoming friends? You never wanted that to happen before. Why now?"
Eric stared at the phone as if Freyda was trying to come through it. "I owe you no explanations. I have to go to Sookie. And as I said before, you will stay away. You can take that as a question, request, or a demand. It doesn't really matter just as long as you heed my warning."
Slowly, she said okay. "I will stay away. But I promise you, I will see her. Goodnight, Eric."
Eric looked at the phone as he put it back in its cradle. He knew that she meant what she'd said. He knew that it was going to impossible to stop her. She has always been headstrong and determined. If there was something that she wanted to do, Freyda always made a way. She never cared about the repercussions.
Eric sat on the couch in his office and leaned forward thoughtfully, resting his elbows on his knees. When Sookie talked about how much she'd once believed that he'd actually felt something for her, he could hear the hopelessness in her voice when she came to realize that it was all a joke; or so she'd thought. He thought of her eyes when she said that he'd made a fool out of her and an unusual ache filled him. He wondered how much time he had left with her.
He recalled how proud he was when Adele and Fintan Brigant told him that he was the chosen one. He was the one that she would be promised to. He could tell that Adele was the only one that was excited about it. Fintan was less than pleased but he understood why the Viking was the better choice.
Eric never knew that Adele had been following him. She took to watching his every move. She liked what she saw. He was cunning, smart, brave, and self-assured. He had the characteristics that her granddaughter deserved in a mate. When she'd approached Fintan with the suggestion, he thought that the idea was absurd but Adele's prodding and insistence won him over. Fintan has never been able to say no to his one true love.
The night that he was to meet Sookie, Adele placed her hand to his cheek and said, "You are the right choice." She placed her hand on his chest and smiled. He couldn't help but wonder what she would think that of him now.
Suddenly, Eric was filled with an unbearable ache. He doubled over in pain.
"Sookie!" he called out.