Spellbound

Chapter 68

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I'd also like to thank you all for sticking with me and this story. The story idea belongs to me but the characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

Sookie rode the exercise bike as if she was leisurely riding through the streets of Paris; which she was. She always enjoyed riding the Jillian Michaels bike and walking on the treadmill. She loved the scenic options. They always helped her to relax. Case in point; she hadn't broken a sweat all day. Claudette on the other hand was sweating profusely as she climbed Mount Everest. Her hair was matted to her head. Her shirt was sticking to her skin and her legs were burning as they'd never burned before and she was enjoying every minute of it.

As she pumped her legs up and down on the elliptical machine, Claudette said, "Sookie, why do you bother coming with me to gym? You do the same time every time we come here. You sit on that bike and go so slow." She then pointed at Sookie's feet. "You're barely pedaling. You need to go and sit on that mat over there and let someone who's going to use the bike, use it."

Sookie stopped pedaling and looked at the mat and then at her cousin. It was as if the greatest idea in the world had just been spoken into existence. As she stood up from the bike, she looked at Claudette and said, "You know what? You are exactly right. I don't know why I am doing this. I'm wasting my time and the bike's time. I will go over to the mat as you've suggested but I'll do you one better." She walked over to the mat and lay down. She closed her eyes and smiled. "This is nice."

Claudette threw her sweaty towel at Sookie's head. "You make me so sick."

Sookie grabbed the towel and threw it to the side as she laughed.

"How did Antony react last night?" Claudette asked.

"Very well," Sookie answered as she opened one eye and looked at her cousin. "He looked at me and smiled while the vampires drained him." She closed her eye once again. "He had so much potential," she said mostly to herself.

Claudette cocked her head and shrugged. "I figured as much. Neave and Lochlan didn't like questioning him at all. He made them question their torturing skills. He wasn't a screamer. He took his punishment like a true fae warrior would have. He had the potential to be a great fae warrior but alas, he failed us. It saddens me that he is gone. I would have loved to have been able to train him in the art of the katana. He would've been amazing. You should've seen him in action while we were at the hotel. He made me proud." She smiled as she reminisced about that night.

"Yeah," Sookie agreed. "He really did have potential. If only he could've been trusted." Opening her one eye and looking at her cousin again, she said, "I was shocked when he said that his mission was called off but he took it upon himself to continue with the plan. Do you think that Fintan had a change of heart?"

"No," Claudette answered. "He probably knew that it wouldn't have worked. He knew that you'd see right through Antony sooner or later. There's no good in Fintan. The only good thing about him was Grandmother and she's gone."

"I guess you're right," Sookie said as she closed her eye once again.

"Yeah, I am" Claudette agreed. "So, tell me why you decided to come with me to the gym today. I know that it has something to do with Eric and Sal. What did they find out last night?"

Sookie sat up. "I don't really know. Eric and I haven't had a chance to talk but it started with Gervais. He came by and gave Eric some information on that vampire bar, The Coffin. He said that another girl is missing but she's been missing for awhile now. The reason it wasn't reported to the police was because the brother didn't get a chance to go to the police."

Claudette's eyes widened. "Do tell," she said.

"Her brother is missing now," Sookie said. "Her brother went to the bar and told the vampires there that his sister was missing. He told them that she was known to go to the bar and since her last visit, she hasn't been seen. Now he's missing."

"Shit," Claudette said as she slowed down.

"Yeah," Sookie answered. "Her name was Tara and she was an undercover reporter. He told them everything about her and him; that they were the only members of their family left. She was all that he had; stuff like that. He told them too much and now, he's gone."

Claudette shook her head. "Fucking humans," she said. "They will forever astound me." She was soon back at her normal speed.

"They can't hold water," Sookie agreed sullenly. "Anyway, no one's seen hide or hair of Tara or her brother." Sookie paused and waited.

As she pumped harder and harder, Claudette asked the big question. "Were they halflings?"

"I think so," Sookie answered. "For them to go missing like that, I do believe that they are. Eric's supposed to give me her picture tonight so that I can see. He had a print out but I couldn't get a read on it. He's supposed to have one of his Weres go to Tara's house to get a picture of her. I'm hoping that she's not but right now, hope isn't really on our side, is it?"

"Doesn't seem like it." Claudette finally stopped pumping and looked at her resting cousin and asked, "How many does that make?"

"Six, if you count her brother," Sookie replied.

"Do you have picture of him?"

"No. It would be great if I could get one. I'll ask Eric to …"

"No. That's okay. I'm on it," Claudette volunteered.

"Thanks," Sookie said with a smile.

When Claudette stepped off of the elliptical machine, Sookie threw the towel back at her. As she wiped at her face, she sat down on the mat beside Sookie and began doing her stretches. "Did Eric learn why someone's taking these girls?"

Sookie shrugged her shoulders. "The note that he left for me this morning didn't say whether or not he has. He said that he'll tell me more tonight when you guys come over for the meeting. I do know that when I got up this morning that there was blood all over his shoes and splattered over the front of his jeans. I can only imagine what he'd done."

"If he had blood on his person, I'll bet that he handled his business," Claudette said. She then looked at her cousin and her face was as serious as it's ever been. "Sookie, has Eric mentioned a vampire named William Compton to you?"

Sookie shook her head no. "Not really," she said. "He mentioned him a few nights ago but he didn't really go into any detail. Why? What's up with him?"

Claudette stopped stretching and shook her head. "I don't like him, Sookie. I don't trust him. I've been trying to find some things out about him and I've only learned that his maker is Lorena Ball. From what I've heard about her, she was the most sadistic and evil vampire to have ever walked this earth."

"Did Eric ask you to check him out?" Sookie looked concerned. If Compton was anything like his maker, she didn't want her favorite cousin anywhere near him.

"No," she said. "That was Pam's job but sometimes vampires are half-assed when it comes to doing research. I took it upon myself to see what I could find out and I'm going to find out more. I need to find out more about him."

"Claudette," Sookie said in her motherly tone. "Be nice. Vampires work very hard."

"You're only saying that because you're married to one," she said with a shrug. "Anyway, I get a bad vibe from this Compton. I met him a few nights ago when you and Eric went to the police station and I looked into his soul, Sookie and it was as black as his eyes. He's dangerous." Claudette turned to look at Sookie. "Even Sal could see it and Sookie. I think that what Sal saw in that vampire's eyes scared him."

Sookie couldn't believe what she'd heard. Sal was over three thousand years old. He couldn't be afraid of any vampire. He'd killed Eric's maker and Eric's maker was older than Sal. There was no way that Sal was afraid of another vampire.

"How did you meet him?" Sookie asked.

Claudette sat crossed legged and turned to face Sookie. Sookie mimicked her position. "He was following Eric. We set up a plan to keep him from following Eric to the police station and seeing you. André had sent him to follow Eric right after he'd left André's compound." She then took Sookie's hand into hers and said, "Don't search him out, Sookie. He's dangerous. He's the type that will kill for the very thrill of it. I've seen his eyes and they scare me," she whispered.

"What did you see?" Sookie asked a hushed voice.

Claudette shivered as an image of the vampire appeared in her mind. "Death," she answered. "Even for a vampire, his eyes were colder than any vampire's eyes I've ever seen. And I've met some weird vampires in my time but he takes the cake. This Compton, this William Compton, he's different. Most vampires I've met are not as closed off as they used to be. The new world has changed them. They're friendly and approachable. They still have that superior attitude about them but they're okay but not Compton. There's nothing there. He's empty." She then gripped Sookie's hand tighter. "Stay away from him. Don't approach him under any circumstances and I'm not saying this as your cousin. I'm saying this as the head of your security. Stay away from him."

With her eyes as wide as they've ever been, Sookie nodded her head quickly. "I promise," she replied.

"No," Claudette said. "I need for you to really listen to me. Don't ever approach him. He'll kill you. There isn't an ounce of light within him. He will kill without pause, without a second thought and he'll relish in it. He's a destroyer of life. Something happened to him for him to be that way but he wasn't always like that. Maybe long ago he could've been reached but not now." She shook her head as she continued. "It's too late for him. He doesn't know life. He doesn't know love anymore. He only knows hate and destruction." A tear fell from her eye.

Sookie sat tall and frowned at Claudette. "What are you hiding from me, Lady Brigant?"

Claudette sighed and closed her eyes. Sookie was in princess mode and she knew that she was going to have to answer. She wasn't going to be able to slide by with just trust me or just take me at my word. She was going to have to tell Sookie what she'd seen.

"Tell me," Sookie ordered.

Claudette then did something that she very rarely does. She hugged Sookie to her and she hugged her tightly. They've hugged before but not like that. This was different. This was a hug that said something more than love.

"You're scaring me, Claudette," Sookie said into her cousin's hair. "Tell me what you saw."

She released her cousin and looked into her eyes. "I saw death," Claudette whispered. "This battle will be the end for some of us. Some of us are going to die."

"Did you see who it was?"

Claudette shook her head no. "I tried but the faces were no more than blurs."

Sookie took her cousin's hand in the hopes that she could see something but there was nothing there. She couldn't see the vampire's face. She couldn't even see the blurs. She could only see her cousin's fear. She then looked over her shoulder and called to Carson and Bella. When they were standing at her side, she said, "Keep an eye on, Compton. Stay cloaked and hide your scents and report back to me if you see Claudette anywhere near him. If you need more assistance, send for Neave and Lochlan and tell them to bring their best fighters with them."

"Yes, your highness," they said.

"You will gather them by dusk and bring them to me," she ordered.

"Yes, your highness."

Sookie then turned to face her cousin. "You will stay away from him. Research him from afar. Talk to anyone that may know him. Find out who he hangs around. You will question them but you will stay away from him. If you go anywhere near him, Claudette you will be reprimanded," Sookie said. "I mean this and I'm not speaking as your cousin."

"Understood," Claudette answered as she stood up and bowed to her cousin.

Sookie got up from the mat and took her cousin's hand in hers. "Now, let's go and shower. I've never sweated so much in my life."

Their laughter was the only thing that had in order to keep them calm. For the first time in a long time, the faeries had no idea what was waiting for them.