Spellbound
Chapter 69
Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I know that I have lost a few readers because it took me so long to update and I apologize. I hope that the frequent updates will make up for my mistakes.
The story idea is mine but the main SVM characters belong to Charlaine Harris.
After a day of lunching and shopping with Claudette, Sookie made it home an hour after dusk. Much to her dismay, Eric was on the phone when she found him in his office. She'd wanted to spend a little quality time with him before tonight's meeting but she knew that there was a huge possibility that they wouldn't be able to. She knew that a meeting had been planned and more likely than not, he had to prepare. And just as she'd suspected, she'd have to spend her quality time alone. And she was going to spend it swimming. She was beginning to regret that 'workout' from earlier today; especially after that enormous lunch she had. Spending 10 minutes leisurely biking the streets of Paris and eating a bacon cheese burger with extra cheese and a large fry don't really go together. She hadn't really thought about it until now. She doesn't want to have a Buddha belly after she has the baby
"Buddha belly," she repeated as she ran her hand over her small baby bump.
In order to decrease her chances of having a Buddha belly after the baby is born, she went upstairs and put on her bathing suit. She threw on her robe and grabbed a towel as she walked back downstairs to Eric's office.
"Yes, André," she heard Eric say. "We are trying to get the police officers to give us the names of the girls but they are being difficult."
Sookie placed her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh when she heard Eric tell a fib. They'd decided not to tell André that they already had the info on the girls. Eric believed it best that they kept it quiet until they knew for certain who was behind the kidnappings. They didn't want their only possible leads to turn up missing.
In order to get his attention, she knocked on the door jamb and smiled at him when he looked up at her. "I'm going for a swim," she whispered as she walked to where he stood. "Come and get me when you're done?" She lightly bit his ear before walking away.
He nodded his okay. As she walked through his office and to the french doors leading to the pool, he couldn't help but notice that she'd put a little extra something in her walk as she walked away from him.
She glanced at him over her shoulder and winked at him. "I'll be waiting."
He begrudgingly went back to his boring phone call. "Yes," he said in his cool as usual voice. "We're on it."
As Sookie closed the door behind her, she smiled as she looked at the warm and inviting pool. The turquoise water glittered beautifully under the darkening sky. The shimmering and warm ripples of water were calling out to her. Within seconds, she'd removed her robe and dove into the inviting water. The warm water washed over her. Sookie had soon resurfaced and was swimming through the water with an easy yet quick pace. She glided effortlessly through the water and swam until her muscles began to ache.
As she swam, she thought of the ominous warning that her cousin had given her earlier today. No matter what she'd done to keep Claudette's warning from echoing her in mind, it wouldn't stop. Vampire Compton scared her. She'd never seen so much fear in her cousin's eyes before. And she couldn't help but think that the warning was for Claudette. She's never been able to see death warnings when it involves her family. That's why she couldn't save Claudia. If she could've seen what was waiting for her cousin, she could've warned her. Now, she had a heads up. Sookie was going to do whatever she had to do to keep her cousin safe; even if it meant breaking a promise. Claudette would have to understand.
Just as she was making her way back around for her 10th lap, she heard the doors to Eric's office open. She looked up to see him standing at the door and smiling at her. The broad smile on his face told her that he wanted to join her. And they weren't going to be swimming. She reached behind her to remove her bikini top but before she had a chance to undo the clasps, Chow came outside and began whispering in Eric's ear. Her arms feel back into the water but her eyes remained on him. From the look on his face, he wasn't going to join her. Not too surprisingly, Eric had gone back into the house.
Sookie shrugged her shoulders as she continued to swim.
After her 25th lap, Sookie boosted herself out of the pool. The cool night air felt good as it blew over her body. Though it was November, she didn't want to put on her robe. Shivers didn't bother her in the least. She loved the way the air felt as it blew her dry. It made her feel like she was a part of nature. She walked over to the french doors and tapped on the glass in order to get Eric's attention. Again, he was on the phone.
When he looked up at her, she opened the door and said, "I'm going to go upstairs through the den. I feel like walking through the gardens. It's such a nice and all. Afterwards, I'm going to shower and get ready for the meeting."
He motioned for her to come in. "Let me hold you, lover," he said. He patted his lap for her to come to him. He stared at her bikini bottoms and ideas of what he could do to her flooded his mind and the only thing that stood in the way is a pair of bikini bottoms.
Sookie noticed that look in his eyes. She loved that look in his eyes. She walked into the office and leaned against the wall closest to the door. She wanted to take him up on his invitation but she wouldn't and she couldn't. She didn't want to distract him anymore than she already had. From the look on his face, he was beyond frustrated and he'd only be up for two hours. He needed some relief and she wanted to give it to him.
"You have things to do. You have to get ready for tonight. It's fine, Eric. You take care of business and I'll take my shower." She tried not to look disappointed but she didn't try hard enough. He noticed.
"I'm sorry, Sookie," he said as he put the phone down on the desk. "You know that I'd much rather be with you.
"I know. I don't doubt you at all. You get back to your phone call and if you're done early enough, I might have something for you," she answered coyly as she kicked her foot back and forth. She then placed her pinky strategically at the corner of her mouth and winked at him.
His fangs fell into place. He couldn't wait to get what she might have for him. He could smell her need for him when she'd arrived home earlier this evening.
When she stepped out on the patio, she blew him a kiss. When she turned to close the door and leave him to his phone call, she dropped her robe on the ground. Just as she bent down to pick up the robe, an arrow sailed through the air. The arrow was lodged in the brick wall where Sookie had once been standing.
Within seconds, Eric was outside and had Sookie wrapped in his arms and they were on the ground. Bella made herself visible just as the second arrow sailed in their direction. This arrow made contact. It hit Bella in the chest. She looked down at her princess and bowed her head. Sookie reached for her but it was too late. The faery guard disintegrated into glittery ash.
"Go!" Eric yelled at the guards that surrounded them.
Carson was growling and gone before anyone saw him leave. Chow and Clancy went one way. Kellan and Arayleaha went the other. Pam came running outside and kneeled down in front of her maker. Her hands were clawed and her fangs were drawn.
Looking over her shoulder, Pam hissed, "Get inside now! You two go!"
Eric tightened his grip on Sookie and while protecting her with his body and his life, he blurred them inside and into safety of their bedroom. When he was no longer cradling her in his arms, he saw it. There was blood on her chest and around the top of her lip. He cleaned the blood from her face and body. He then began inspecting her for injuries.
When he found none, he began questioning her. "Are you okay?"
She didn't say anything.
"Is the baby okay?" he asked.
Still, she said nothing.
"Sookie!" he yelled as he gave her a quick shake.
She blinked at him and stared as if she was seeing him for the first time. "They killed Bella. Someone killed Bella. When I was girl, Bella and I trained together. She was one of the best fighters I've ever known. She died. Someone killed her." She then cocked her head to the side and asked, "Could you smell it? Did you smell the iron? It was pure."
He ignored her iron statement but it helped him to understand the reason for the blood. She'd inhaled the scent of the pure iron and it caused her nose to bleed. Eric then sat on the bed; pulling Sookie with him. "Better her than you," he answered. "It was her job to die. She understood that."
Sookie looked down at her hands and said, "Yeah but that doesn't make it any easier." She then looked at him. "The arrows were iron, Eric; pure iron."
His body stiffened. She wasn't going to let him ignore it.
"You know what this means?" she whispered.
A feral growl built in his chest. His fangs descended as anger coursed through the bond like a steady heartbeat.
Sookie suddenly jumped up from the bed and stood over Eric. He looked curiously at her as she pulled him up with her and began to inspect him. She needed to make sure that he wasn't hit. She removed his shirt and began running her hands over his chest. She made him turn around as she repeated the steps on his back. She found nothing. She then wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I should've checked sooner. I just noticed the blood and I …"
"It's not my blood, Sookie," he whispered as he stroked her head.
"The nose bleed," she said as she nodded her head. She absently touched her upper lip. Speaking mostly to herself, she said, "Yeah, it was the nose bleed. Okay, that's good. I had to make sure that you weren't hurt."
"I'm fine, Sookie," he said.
"I just needed to make sure," she repeated as she stepped out of his arms. "Are you sure that …?"
"Stop it," he said. "I told you that I'm fine. Stay here while I go downstairs."
"But I …," she began.
"No. You stay here," he ordered. "I'll be right back. I won't leave. I promise you, my lover."
She looked up to meet his gaze as she nodded. Sookie then swallowed the tears that were threatening to appear. She had something to say but she couldn't say it for fear of crying. So she waited. She took his hand in hers and she waited. She didn't want him to go. She was afraid. For the first time in her life, she was truly afraid.
And he knew it but he said nothing. He did as any husband would've done. He stood there and waited.
When she was able to speak, she said, "You can't do this without me. I can help you. I can …"
"Do nothing but stay here and wait for me," he finished.
"But I'm …"
"No," Eric said as his jaws tightened. "Your powers have weakened tremendously. You will stay here. You didn't even sense or hear that someone was watching. Do you think that I'm going to allow you to put yourself in danger? If that's what you think, Sookie, then you don't know me at all. I'm not going to risk your life for anything. I will do this without you and you will play the role of the obedient wife."
Though she wanted to argue with him, she couldn't. Everything he'd said to her was true. Her gifts were off and she for now, was nothing more than a liability. And playing the obedient wife won't be as farfetched as it sounds. It is the role that she'd been prepared to lead. She's always played that role. Now shouldn't be any different.
"Okay," she said.
Eric released her hand.
"Don't go," she said With pleading eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. He took a step away from her and pulled out his cell phone to make a phone call. When the person answered the phone, he went into vampire mode. "I need you," he said to whomever he was ordering about. "Be here in five minutes."
When he ended his call, he looked at his wife as she sat on the foot of their bed. She looked so small, so delicate. She looked completely lost. He was thinking that only minutes ago, his life had almost ended. His lover was saved by the drop of a fluffy, black robe. If she hadn't dropped that robe, she'd be gone. She'd be gone and he'd be lost. He'd have nothing and there would be no reason for him to carry on.
The beeping sounds of their bedroom door opening interrupted his musings. Eric looked over his shoulder and there stood his child. Her hair looked like a bird's nest. It was filled with twigs and leaves. Her shoes were covered in mud but her eyes were as deadly and as vicious as ever.
"We couldn't find him," she said. "I've called Heidi to come in and track for us. We have the faery guards cloaked and scattered throughout. We have some of them guarding the tracks to be sure that they remain fresh for Heidi's arrival. We'll find him, Eric and when we do, we'll kill him." she began to smile.
He returned his gaze to Sookie. "We're not going to kill him, Pam. I'm going to kill him."
Sookie lovingly stared up at him.
A slow and deadly smile crept on Pam's face. "Beautiful," she said. She looked down at her feet and shook her head. "Make sure they pay for ruining my fucking shoes. This is why I hate New Orleans. I've lost a perfectly good Alexander McQueen jumpsuit and now a beautiful pair of Prada's. Fucking New Orleans." She then looked at Sookie and asked, "Are you alright, my friend?"
"Yeah, I'm okay," Sookie answered with a smile. "Thank you."
Pam nodded as she left the room.
Once they were alone, Sookie turned to Eric and said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Don't assume the worst, my dearest love. I'm going to be fine and we're going to be fine. And just like all other faery tales, we're going to live happily ever after forever," she said with a smile. "We have forever, Eric. You have nothing to worry about."
He then spoke the unspoken truth. "Someone's trying to kill you, Sookie."
She swallowed deeply before a stiff, hard smile appeared on her face. "No, Eric. No one is trying to kill me. I was out there swimming all alone and nothing happened. If they'd wanted to kill me, they could have killed me on my 8th lap around the pool. They could've killed my while I stood at your office door." She then shook her head as if affirming her comment. "It wasn't for me."
Anger and hate coursed through the bond. Eric's face looked as hard as she'd ever seen it. The muscles in his chest tightened as he began to speak. "You were alone while you were swimming. You were standing inside the door after you were done swimming. They couldn't see you. They waited for you to go out of that office door," he growled. "They waited for you to be facing me. No, my lover, you are wrong. It was for you. It was also for me. Whomever it was that tried to kill you, wanted me to see you die."
She dropped her head as his words filled her mind.
"Don't say that the arrows were meant for anyone else because they weren't. If they were meant for me, they would've used silver or wooden bullets. They wouldn't have used iron. Whoever did this, Sookie, they want both of us to suffer."
Sookie squeezed her eyes closed and winced at his words. Eric is the truth that she didn't want to face.
It wasn't Claudette that needed protecting. It was her. Someone was trying to kill her.