Disclaimer: This characters depicted herein are the sole property of Charlaine Harris and HBO.
A/N: Thanks for not giving me a hard time about the hiatus between chapters. I know the last one was much too short, but it was my way of getting back into the storyline.
Chapter 24
The next two hours passed much too quickly, I had ordered some room service (chicken parmesan for me, house blend blood for Eric) and then we immediately started getting dressed for the evening. As I couldn't drink from him until after the trial, Eric also refrained from drinking from me so that I wouldn't be too weak in case things went badly.
"Lover, that dress is delectable on you" he drawled, taking in the burgundy lace strapless I had brought for a formal night like tonight. "I look forward to pulling it off you, slowly, when this is all over." As he spoke, he walked up from behind me and put an arm around my waist, and another around my neck. Being careful to avoid touching my face, he tilted my head to the side and licked my neck from collarbone to earlobe. With his other hand, he traced circles over the fabric, pulling his fingers over my stomach and towards my breasts.
"We will drink from each other tonight, dear one, while we are both coming, and coming, and coming. I will make everyone else on the floor of this hotel wish they were you." Eric concluded, a dark and incredibly sexy expression on his face.
"Viking, anyone human woman who has seen us together is already jealous. Of course, most vamps tend to think of you as the lucky one." I replied mischievously, trying to shrug off my feelings of unease and pump myself with confidence.
"When you say things like that, Sookie, all I want to do fuck you and rub my scent all over you so everyone will back the hell off what's mine." He said, nipping my neck without piercing the skin. "That is, those who are foolish enough be tempted." Eric said, a low growl emanating from his rippled chest. "But we must go now, lover. Being late for this evening's events would be more than unwise." With that, he took my hands and led me to the door. Pam and Bill were already waiting for us outside.
"Sookie, your face looks just awful. Couldn't my master find it within himself to drip some of his blood onto those luscious lips?" Pam asked with a decadent little laugh.
"Pamela, it is not the time." Eric said sternly.
"Yes master" she replied, and immediately bowed her head. Though I'm sure I caught a look of amusement on her face. Bill, of course, was looking at me with concern but saying nothing.
"Compton, is the banquet room equipped for both parts of the evening?" Eric asked, with an expression that indicated it better be.
"Yes Eric, of course" Bill replied, not without a hint of bitterness.
"And what of De Castro? Surely he is awake?" Eric looked from Pam to Bill for an answer.
"Preston just informed me that they had him moved to a quiet room," Pam said, with a look of total disgust "apparently he is in such pain, and is so wild with anger for what happened last night, that he is quite...worked up. One of his sheriffs, Brady I think, has been granted an audience with him and will represent his interests at the trial. Preston managed to persuade him to keep quiet until everyone was assembled, but he is livid." Pam finished, exhaling unnecessarily for effect.
"Brady is a famously unreasonable sheriff. This does not bode well for us." Eric said, thoughtfully.
I still hadn't gotten past Pam's comment about Felipe being in a quiet room, and I said so.
"Um, I don't mean to sound ignorant here, but what on earth is a quiet room?" I asked everyone.
"It's a way of imprisoning difficult vampires which dates back about fifty years. It is a square cell made of thick iron, with a small hole in the ceiling for spraying vaporized silver into the air. That way, if De Castro opens his mouth to scream, his throat would be exposed to the silver. You can imagine the agony that would cause, and therefore after an hour or two the prisoner can no longer bear to speak." Bill stated, matter-of-factly.
"Why would Preston have a room like this in his hotel?" I asked, aghast.
They all looked at me like I was a naïve child, and then Pam spoke up.
"Preston is a king, Sookie, and as you have seen on countless occasions, kings are often threatened. As he prefers his clients not to be disturbed while visiting his hotel, any overly difficult vampires are dealt with by placing them in the quiet room. It has been very useful to him in the past, while waiting for word from the magistrate on what should be done with the vampire in question." At this, Eric interrupted.
"However, it is still considered a punishable offence to imprison a king. If Felipe is not found guilty tonight, we will all be either killed or forced to pay him a fine of millions. I do not like either of these options. Has Preston fed tonight?" He asked Pam.
"On many women, in more ways than one. He is fully sated." Pam replied with an inscrutable expression.
I, however, was a little confused about the change of topic.
"Again, not to be ignorant here but what does Preston's feeding have to do with this?" I asked.
Eric looked at me kindly, and replied. "After I have explained to the jury the details of last night's events; Preston is prepared to use his considerable talents to make everyone uninterested in whether or not my explanations are true…if it seems we are about to lose the trial. As you can imagine, it will require incredible concentration and strength on Preston's part to divert the attentions of so many. For a seduction of this magnitude, much blood is required." Eric said, and then added mentally "you will have to try and scan the minds of any vampires present to gauge their opinions. As discreetly as possible, you will pass this information on to me. If Preston is forced to act, everyone in the room will be affected. You and I included.
At that, I had to do my best to stifle a gasp. If things began to take a turn for the worse, and if Preston were really that powerful, we would all be lost in a haze of lust. Coupled with the new bonds, the sexual aspect of this night could be just as dangerous as the political. Particularly now that the fae in my blood was strengthening alarmingly fast.
Everyone was now looking at me expectantly, as though waiting for a response to Eric's explanation.
"Once all the vampires are sated, though, wouldn't we have to start right over? I mean, how will any of this actually get resolved?" I asked nervously.
"A good question. The only options are to convince the jury, one way or another, to find Felipe guilty and have him executed immediately, or to start a war this very night, or for me to simply kill Felipe now and face the tribunal later. For crimes of that magnitude, however, I would be either killed as well or made king." Eric said with a strange look.
"It seems like you vamps are pretty black and white with the law. I mean really, final death or a promotion?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
None of the vamps laughed at this, and so we proceeded to the banquet room for the trial.
* * * * *
When we arrived, I was amazed once again by the magnificence of Preston's hotel. The banquet room was large enough to accommodate about five hundred comfortably, and that was certainly necessary judging by the number of vamps who had assembled from both retinues. The room had the same semi-dark lighting as the rest of the hotel, and in one corner of the room was a large fountain surrounded by a small indoor garden. I breathed a sigh of relief that the fountain was filled with water and not blood. Idly I wondered who had the job of being a vampire gardener, and then decided I must be crazy with nerves.
Looking over at Eric who was now discussing something intently with Preston, I thought about how nice it would have been to come here with him simply to relax. That had been the initial intention, and yet now we were all once again fearing for our lives. Or our deaths, ha-ha. As Pam and Bill walked towards them to join in the conversation, I began scanning the vampire minds to see if I could pick up on anything.
The first thoughts I got were from Eric: "Sookie, nod if you can hear me" he projected clearly and calmly. I nodded, and he relaxed perceptibly. "Good. Now try to listen to Pam or Bill, they should be a little easier than the others." He thought at me, while maintaining a conversation with them. I relaxed the blocks in my mind completely, took a few deep breaths, and listened.
First Bill's distinct voice sounded in my head. "Sookie's scent is becoming unfamiliar to me. Are my senses losing their strength? Surely I would be able to smell her intoxicating blood from miles away. It's what I think about, imagine, every night. All I'm getting now is…no it can't be. Obviously I'm losing my mind."
So that was part of the reason Bill was so worried. Apart from his feeling depressed, he was concerned that his senses must be off since I smelled more and more like a fairy all the time. Was he really so ignorant of the fae that he couldn't anticipate this change? Well, I guess even Niall didn't realize the extent of my capabilities until I received the dagger, and neither did I, but still. It's almost as though Bill has this image of me, of our past relationship that is unchangeable. Unchangeable and entirely wrong. He didn't feel so strongly about us when we were together, it is only when he couldn't have me that he fell in love. I suppose that even men born in the 1800's, some men I corrected myself while looking at Eric, simply could not recognize a good thing until it was too late.
With that thought, I shrugged off my grief over my past with Bill and focused on hearing Pam.
"If tonight turns to battle, I will protect Sookie. She is my priority." Pam thought, and I was immediately touched by her concern for my welfare. Pam deciding to guard a human above other vampires was an amazing compliment. I decided, for the sake of my vanity, to let myself listen in for just a moment longer. "Feeling her arousal with my master last night was very strange...she tasted better than anyone I've ever put my lips on. My master's affection for her is well placed." At this, I had to stop eavesdropping and promised myself never to do so again.
At this, I decided I was ready to glance at Eric, and see if he was planning to project further instructions. I already knew what I had to do, but I thought he should know I picked up on Bill and Pam quite easily. After a second of looking at his back, he sensed my gaze and turned around. I winked, and then sent feelings of triumph through the bond. Instead of projecting back to me, Eric simply nodded as though I should continue. We still had forty-five minutes until the trial, so I got started.
I wonder if that human slut really stabbed Victor…
Just look at her face; imagine showing up at a formal event looking like that…
Northman is a fool for taking a human as his bonded…
Oh how I would take her pretty little body and bend it over my dining room table…
I would just love to punish that stupid bitch…
Felipe had it coming…
It makes me sick to think of a vampire as old as Eric actually caring for a pathetic human…
Victor was an arrogant asshole anyway, good riddance…
I hope Preston notices me tonight…
I hear Brady wants the telepath…he figures he can use her if he takes over Nevada…
I'd let the gorgeous Viking have his way with me anytime…
Northman should be king anyway; we'd all be better off…
She must taste amazing to keep his attentions for so long…
I hope there's a battle tonight…
It serves her right, not being healed by Northman. She's had too much of his blood already if you ask me…
I would fuck that blond princess every night for the rest of her meaningless human life…
I wonder if Northman plans to turn her. Now that would be interesting…
It went on and on. There were hundreds of hungry, horny, and violent, vamps and they were mainly thinking about me. They didn't seem to care so much about Felipe, or about the trial. All they were interested in was my relationship with Eric. I decided to put up the blocks in my mind and send feelings of annoyance to Eric through the bond.
With this, he actually turned to me and grinned. It seems, much to my surprise, that my ability to read vampire minds pleased him a great deal. He then licked his lips, brought a finger to his mouth and sucked the tip of it for a second before turning back to the others with a devious smile.
I guess he's not so worried about tonight after all. I thought to myself with some relief. If he thinks everything is under control, it probably is. That, or he's simply trying to reassure me. Glancing briefly at my watch, I realized it was only a few minutes until the trial. At that moment, I heard the doors to the banquet room open up behind me, and the noise level dropped immediately to total silence.
Standing in the doorway was a vampire I could only assume was Brady, and he seemed to be supporting someone who appeared to be very weak. That someone was missing half of his arm.
De Castro.
Instantly I knew that seeing Felipe like this would force his subjects to act; we had counted on him being unable to attend the trial. Whatever his sheriff Brady had had to say would have been disputed. We would have used our combined efforts to convict Felipe; believing that most of the vampires present were still angry about his takeover of Louisiana and prepared to believe whatever we had to say. Too late for that I thought to myself.
Almost at once the crowd erupted into deafening noise. Eric, Pam and Bill were flanking my sides before I could blink. Preston's retinue was running towards him from all over the room.
So it would be war, then.
But suddenly everything stopped. The Nevada vamps, who were on their way to Felipe, seemed to pause in mid-stride as though overcome with an urge to stay put. Preston's retinue was already at his side. Vampires loyal to Eric had surrounded us protectively a few moments before.
It felt like the proverbial calm before the storm.
I decided to let my shields back down and scan the brainwaves for any sign as to what the general mood was. Strangely, I didn't pick up voices or thoughts or images, only urges.
Looking over at Preston, I saw him on his knees with his head tilted back halfway, his eyes closed, and a positively devilish smile on his face. He was a true master, and his children were hungry for whatever he could provide them. Almost as if on cue, hundreds of fangs popped down at the exact same moment. Well that's just creepy. A low moan escaped the lips of five hundred aroused vampires. It was a chorus of lust and wanting straight out a FOTS nightmare. Suddenly I became painfully aware that I was the only human in the room. The only one with a beating heart, the only one who was part fairy.
Fairy…what had Niall said about my fae abilities developing? Oh right, nothing. He didn't want to talk about it over the phone. Thanks for nothing.
Quickly glancing at Eric, Pam and Bill to gauge their self-restraint, I realized they were all eyeing me hungrily. Not in a threatening way perhaps, like I imagined the other vamps would be once they remembered I was here, but with a kind of guilty hunger. The same way I would look at a donut. Struggling to overcome my building panic and come up with some kind of plan, I stomped the heel of my shoe into Eric's foot to rouse him while pushing terror through the bond. That did it.
"Dear one, we have to get out of here immediately." He said, while grabbing my arm forcefully. Then, he slapped Pam clean across the face, followed quickly by Bill. They were both hazy with lust but managed to reign themselves in. By the looks on their faces, however, I imagined we didn't have much time. Once we had managed to leave the banquet room, Eric stopped and looked at Pam.
"Child," Eric said "go to Preston's room immediately. He will not be able to hold onto his strength much longer. You will not participate in the battle tonight; instead you will take care of him when he returns. Bill and I will get Sookie to safety and then get Preston out of here before he passes out. After that, we return here to fight." He said, and they both nodded. With that, Eric looked at me as if to speak. I interrupted him before he got the chance.
"Would you really kill all these vamps for trying to protect their king?" I asked.
"Felipe is a tyrant who killed my queen when she was weak and undefended. He killed many vampires from Louisiana unprovoked, he kidnapped you." Eric said softly, and then he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in for a passionate kiss. I was reminded of the night in Sophie-Ann's palace; the perfect kiss before battle.
Eric's words, his kiss, and his devotion to a dead queen were enough to rouse my own newly bourgeoning bloodlust. With determination I didn't know I had, I looked him straight in the eye.
"If you fight, I fight." I said firmly, and pulled out Niall's dagger from the fabric holding it to my inner thigh.
If anyone could pull off dead shock in a ball gown, it was Pam. At this, she looked at Eric challengingly and said: "if she stays, so do I." Quickly, she leaned in and gave me a light kiss before running back inside. Eric's face was stony and Bill's was delighted.
"I think I'll go join Pamela" Bill said, and rushed off. Apparently his lust returning had caused his bloodlust to return as well. At least that's one less thing for me to deal with I thought, and then turned back to Eric. I could feel his extreme anger and it was more than a little frightening. I had to make him calm down as soon as possible. I knew from experience that when a vampire's lust turned to anger, things could get ugly quick. Without thinking of the fact that we were in a completely public place, I reached for his lingering erection caused moments ago by Preston's seduction, and stroked the outside of his pants while running my tongue over the exposed skin on his neck. The top button of his dress shirt was undone, and so I decided to undo it a little further so that I could have access to more of him. Eric started moaning, seemingly unable to process the fact that there was an impending war, or the fact that a few moments ago both Pam and I had overtly disobeyed him. It was evident through his pants that he was fully erect, and he started to put his hands on as much of me as possible. Right then, I remembered the trial at Rhodes, and had a plan. What's the quickest way to get Eric off? Drink his blood.
Taking a quick breath to prepare myself, I bit him, hard, under his nipple in the exact same place as at Rhodes. His thick dark blood started oozing from the wound, and I latched on as though starving to taste him. His hands went automatically to my back and neck, supporting me as I drank. After only a few pulls of his blood, he unzipped his pants at vampire speed and put my mouth over him just as he was about to come. Seconds later he had pulled me back up, looked me in eye for approval, and with a nod from me he bit my neck, drinking deep. I don't know if it was the combination of blood sharing, adrenaline, Eric's arousal or the arousal of hundreds of nearby vampires, but as he drank I began to climax. He hadn't so much as touched me. Well that's new I thought.
Once we had recollected ourselves enough to rejoin the others in the banquet room, I looked at Eric.
"I spoke rashly before; if you don't want me to fight, I suppose I don't have to." I said sincerely, and smiled a little.
"Dear one" Eric started to say, and then paused as though trying to find the right words "one of the many reasons why I love you is your courage. Another reason, oddly enough, is your inability to listen. I would have you safe in our bedroom with ten guards if only you'd wish it. But as it is…" He finished, with a sad smile. I took that to mean I could join the others in the fight. I nodded in response, and we walked back towards a room full of vampires high on sexual desire and drunk on bloodlust.
They don't call me crazy Sookie for nothing.
TBC