A/N:
Hi all! I have my fingers crossed that this chapter works the way I envisioned it. This was the hardest chapter for me to write (and the one I'm most nervous about), so I'll be chewing my fingernails until I hear from you.
CKat
Chapter 55: Flaming Star
For Sookie Stackhouse, time had always seemed so linear. Linear and inevitable.
Clocks ticked forward. The past was already gone. The future was both infinite and only a moment away.
As for the present?
It was impossible to grasp onto, for it was constantly ending.
But that was before.
Before she'd lost Gran.
Before she'd lost her innocence.
Before she'd found Eric.
Before she'd found peace in herself.
Power in herself.
Now—time seemed like it could ebb and flow like a wave, and—though she'd only ever seen surfers on television—she imagined that she could be like one of them, simply waiting for the right wave to break and then riding it, rising to her feet on a surfboard and winding in and out of the wave's curves—in and out of time's curves.
As she waited for the right "wave"—the right moment to move—she felt as if she had all the time in the world before the future began.
For Eric Northman, time was an odd thing. It had stretched out for too long; however, something in him had always longed for more of it, despite the fact that this longing had sometimes seemed illogical to him.
After all, he'd prayed for true death often when he'd been with Appius; however, he'd also been able to—somehow—look forward to a time without his maker, and he'd had the strength to hold on until that time on his own had begun.
He was experiencing another paradox of thought in that moment—even as Appius threatened to twist the future into a chasm of pain for both Sookie and himself.
A large part of Eric wanted Sookie to be killed—to lose her life in a single second to Karin or to whatever vessel would end her quickly so that he could end with her.
But—then—another part of him continued to long for more time with her in the realm in which they now dwelled. He could see—almost feel—years stretching out in front of them in the home they'd made together in Bon Temps.
More time.
So much more time.
"There is so much more," he whispered.
"What did you say?" Appius hissed at him.
"There is so much more," Eric repeated, this time louder.
"What do you mean?" his maker stormed.
Eric said nothing to Appius, knowing that the elder vampire wouldn't understand. Instead, he simply focused on his bond with Sookie. Their bond and the woman he'd made it with felt different from anything he'd ever felt before. Her emotions were settled—like a still pond. Yes, there was an undercurrent that told him that she loved him, but the surface of Sookie was all placid.
She was waiting—impossibly serene, given their situation.
But she was also communicating to him, not with words or thoughts or even emotions. She was communicating with him as if she was the future and he was the past—as if she already knew what was to come, already knew how their story would end and was content with that ending.
He caught a movement from her as she lifted her head slightly. They locked eyes, despite the veil of her hair.
She winked.
And then all hell broke loose!
Batanya had waited for the witches to be close enough to Karin for their magic to work to free the Viking's elder child. The Britlingen observed Octavia waiting for Hallow to be distracted. Then, the elder witch used her magic to light a stake on fire and spoke a single word: "Freedom."
Even as the word lingered in the air, the Britlingen activated her own magic in order to shift fully into the human realm—inside of the witch's barrier.
Mark Stonebrook's head was off in the next moment, and his blood decorated her sword.
Hallow screeched as she saw her brother on the floor, and she launched some kind of binding spell that was strong enough to freeze Batanya in her place—motionless and powerless.
And then Hallow lashed out with her magic almost blindly, injuring Desmond Cataliades and Diantha, who had moved in front of Octavia and Amelia.
In a suddenness that made her drop to her knees, Karin returned to herself. She was kneeling in blood next to the headless corpse of Mark Stonebrook.
She looked around, trying to get her bearings—to figure out what was happening. It didn't take her long to understand the mortal danger her maker was in.
She did not—she could not—dwell on what had happened during the last several nights. That would come later.
For now, she needed to move.
Seeing that the protective spell was down, Appius rushed to secure Eric. He spared a moment of regret that he'd not get to play with Mark Stonebrook, after all.
Ultimately, however, Appius was looking forward to the evening progressing in a more private setting. With the magical barrier down, he needed to remove his remaining "party" from the scene in order to ensure that he maintained control of the situation. After all, he had what he'd come for. The telepath was in William's hands, and he had Eric, so it was time to withdraw.
He'd simply return at a later date to punish the Louisiana monarch for her insolence. It galled him that she had tried to come between him and his eldest child, and he'd already decided that she would suffer—a long time—for that disrespect.
But—before then—he wanted for her to dread her inevitable fate at his hands. He might even "play nice" with her for a time—just to keep her dangling on a string.
Just as he gripped Eric by the throat to bring him to his feet, however, he felt a pain unlike any he'd ever felt before. He turned just in time to see Alexei looking back at him, his eyes wide in surprise. And, then, he began to disintegrate into sludge and ash!
The telepath's hand was still up, having clearly been the one to throw the wooden dagger that had been the vessel of Alexei's demise.
Appius yelled out in anguish, even as Eric scrambled to attack him; however, a maker's command too old for Eric to resist stopped him in his tracks.
Though every fiber of his being wanted to, the Viking couldn't harm his maker!
In madness and rage, Appius gripped Eric's neck even tighter, and—had he not been weakened by Alexei's death—he would have certainly squeezed off Eric's head! Still, the Viking could feel his maker's strength returning, and he knew he had only moments to live.
But—then—Appius was knocked off of him as he was hit from two sides—one by Thalia and the other by Karin.
Karin gave Eric the slightest of nods, and he could tell that she was "back." However, he had no time to celebrate as Appius had already recovered and had turned his rage toward Sookie, moving murderously toward her!
Hallow felt wild. She felt the need to kill—to destroy.
But she also felt free in a way that she never had before.
Mark had always held her back—made her feel as if she should have a conscience.
She would avenge him—to be sure. But she had to think of herself first. As she looked around the room, she realized that—without Mark's shielding—she was vulnerable. And Appius was obviously too busy to prioritize her safety.
As the queen and other vampires tried to attack her, Hallow spoke a repelling spelling into the air, and then she spoke another spell that would make her virtually unnoticeable to those around her.
And then she simply left, uncaring when she saw the other members of her coven being killed.
What was important was that she would live to see another day.
Russell Edgington hadn't been tapped on the shoulder since he was a human. It was a completely wasted gesture on a vampire, for their senses would tell them when there was another nearby—well before any "tapping" was necessary.
Hell—even Talbot knew better than to "tap" him on his shoulder to get his attention. Such a gesture seemed almost patronizing to the elder vampire.
But Niall fucking Brigant would have the audacity to tap him on his shoulder—and to find a way to do so in a room full of supernatural creatures—while fully concealing himself, of course!
Fucking fairies.
Fucking favors.
Fucking friendships.
Niall fucking Brigant!
Russell didn't spend too much time contemplating what would happen in his next seconds, however. Instead, he acted, for he knew it was time for him to put himself between Sookie Stackhouse and Appius Livius Ocella.
The gods help him!
She'd managed to kill Alexei and weaken Appius.
And, now, Sookie's instincts told her that she was about to face Appius's wrath. She braced her body and her will—as she faced her death.
However, death did not come. Instead, two blurring figures collided right in front of her, and then tumbled to the ground.
She heard a horrific screech and then a yell. But the next thing that her eyes could pick up was Russell Edgington lying several feet away from her. He had a stake shoved deep into his gut. Sookie scrambled to help him, but someone grabbed her foot. She looked back to see who it was.
Bill.
As Sookie kicked her feet, trying to dislodge his hold, she saw Betty Joe Picard running toward her. She managed to shove Bill away from Sookie before moving quickly to her king's side.
A loud grunt caught Sookie's attention. The sound was coming from Appius.
"I gave as good as I got—almost," Russell hissed in pain as he looked over at Appius, who had a large wound inches below his heart.
Since she'd not been able to see what had happened, she could only speculate that Russell had managed to stake Appius before the elder vampire pulled the stake out in order to return the favor.
Neither of them had managed to find the other's heart, however.
Growling like a hell hound, Appius surged toward Eric, and Sookie cried out in horror as he brutally bit into her beloved's neck. He drank deep and hard, his eyes on Sookie the whole time, even as he managed to fend off another attack from both Karin and Thalia.
"Stop!" Sookie yelled out, worried that Appius would drain Eric.
And the elder vampire did stop, but in the next horrible moment, he was ripping into his own wrist and forcing Eric to take a drink of his own blood.
Eric tried to spit out the thick foulness, even as Appius shoved him to the floor and rose to his feet menacingly.
"There is no blood more healing than child to maker and maker to child," he growled out. He flung away Thalia yet again, as she ran at him. When her friend landed, Sookie could hear bones breaking, but she kept her eyes on Appius, who was moving toward her slowly.
In the next moment, Jennifer Cater ran at Appius, but he intercepted her and tore her head off—before throwing it toward where Thalia's body had landed!
"You will die for what you did to my beloved child," Appius growled, looking down at Alexei's remains. "And you will die knowing that I will never allow my remaining child to be away from my hold," he added. "The freedom my Eric has enjoyed—the freedom that I have given to him—will be no more!"
"No!" Sookie gasped, her face clouded with anguish.
"Eric!" Appius shouted. "Come to me!"
Sookie could see that Eric wanted to fight his maker's latest command, but he was weak from his blood loss.
"Kneel!" he yelled to Eric. "William! Come!"
When Bill didn't zip to Appius's side—and when it was clear that he was no longer in the ballroom—Sookie managed a laugh. "He's run like the roach that he is!" she yelled.
"No matter," Appius returned flatly. "He will ultimately die for not protecting my child. But he can be dealt with later. You all will be dealt with soon enough!" he added with a yell to the room. "But first you," he hissed, pointing at Sookie.
She lifted her head defiantly.
"And I believe I know just where I can hurt you the most," Appius said, looking down at Eric.
"No!" Sookie cried.
"Eric, I command that you kill your child, Karin. I command that you kill your child, Pam. And I command that you kill your bonded, Sookie," he commanded derisively. "You will hunt them to the ends of the earth and end them; then, you will return to me, for I lift my command for you to meet the sun. In fact, I forbid you from meeting the sun. You. Are. Mine!" Appius looked back at Sookie. "He is mine."
Eric hissed in pain as he felt the effects of his maker's commands on him and immediately began to disobey them.
Appius laughed maniacally as he watched Eric struggling.
Eric and Sookie looked at each other—both horror and understanding in their bond.
Both had the same stream of thoughts. If Eric killed Sookie—as Appius commanded—then the bond breaking would kill Eric, too.
Karin and Pam could live on.
Feeling Eric die would, once again, make Appius more vulnerable, so—perhaps—he could be ended.
Finally ended.
And Eric and Sookie would be free. Not in the human realm—but somewhere.
Freedom.
Sookie nodded slightly, even as bloody tears began to stream down the face of the Viking. He sprang toward her, aiming to kill her quickly and prayed to his gods that he would fall truly dead right after.
But—before he could get to her—he felt searing pain.
He looked up with surprise to see that Karin had managed to stop him by securing him under a silver net.
"Let me go!" Eric yelled out. "It's the only way!"
Karin shook her head. "No. This is how I love you, Eric."
For the first time in many, many years, Karin was grateful that her maker had freed her from their bond, for—though she could see his desperation—she could not feel his pain. However, it was clear that Appius did feel Eric's pain—at least, to a certain extent—as Eric was under the silver.
Karin launched at Appius, having found a sword that seemed perfectly suited for slicing through the bastard's neck!
But, even though Appius was in pain, Karin was not fast enough to slay him.
The elder vampire moved just before the blade could connect with his neck, and he twisted around until Karin was in his grasp.
"Should I take care of this one for you?" Appius asked, licking his lips, even as he smirked at Eric, who was struggling against the silver net.
He laughed as Karin tried to fight off his hold upon her.
"No—I don't think I will save you from that task," he said to Eric.
A loud crack filled the room as Appius broke Karin's back and tossed her to the side of the room. He picked up the sword Karin had dropped and used it to kill one of Sophie-Anne's Weres, who just happened to be unconscious near him, for spite. He kicked the beast away, even as it was in the process of transforming back into its human form.
"You, my dear Viking, will be the one to kill all of your progeny and your bonded," he cackled.
Hallow made it as far as her van before a shadowy figure materialized in front of her.
The spell that the witch had used to bind Batanya in place had been a bit of a challenge to overcome, but overcome it she had.
Before Hallow could speak another spell, her head had been removed from her body with Britlingen steel.
Batanya looked down at what remained of Hallow.
The seer had told her that she would need to leave the side of her charge—to leave Sookie Stackhouse vulnerable.
Doing so had gone against every instinct within the Britlingen—as well as her training, her oath, and her conscience.
However, the witch would have remained a "long-term problem" if she'd not been ended that night, according to the seer.
So—ended she had been.
And now Batanya could return to Sookie Stackhouse's side.
She used her magic to slip back between realms and then to reenter the ballroom—where she would still need to bide her time and wait to resume protecting her charge.
Yes—against her grain the entire night had been!
As Sookie inched toward Eric to free him from the silver net placed upon him by Karin, Appius looked menacingly around the room. Most of the beings in it were wounded by his own hands. Others seemed to be regrouping. He looked at the one who was leading them.
Thalia.
"Do you wish to try your luck again?" he asked the vampiress with a maniacal grin.
"I'd love to," she responded.
"Thalia! No!" Sookie yelled out, even as the petite vampiress launched an attack against Appius.
Despite the fact that the telepath could not even see Thalia since she was moving so fast, the fierce vampiress was no match for Appius, and she found herself in his grips. Once Sookie could see Thalia again, he was holding the sword to her throat.
"This one—I think—I will kill," Appius emphasized, as he began to press the blade into Thalia's flesh, causing a line of blood to form and begin dripping along her neck.
However, before he could take her head, Sookie was on her feet, and—in the next moment—she saw a ball of fire hit Appius in the shoulder, knocking him back and scorching his clothing and the flesh beneath it. The telepath gasped when she realized that the fire had been from her own hands!
"The light of the Dae," Desmond Cataliades gasped with surprise from where he and Diantha were just recovering from the effects of Hallow's stunning spell.
Seeing that Appius was startled, Sookie reached down to take the net off of her beloved.
His skin patterned with the crisscrossing burns of the silver net, the Viking slowly rose to his feet, uncertainty in his eyes and blood still dripping from where Appius had bit into his flesh. His hands were in claws, and his body ached to fulfill the order Appius had given to him: to kill Sookie.
His mind, too, wanted to follow the order: to save his beloved from Appius—to, likely, save them both from the deranged vampire.
To save them by killing them.
But seeing what Sookie had done to Appius kept him from acting.
Her actions gave him hope.
He stepped away from her, moving so that he could recommence fighting Appius's order to kill her.
"Eric, what are you doing?" Sookie asked with uncertainty.
Appius chortled from where he was getting up, even as he easily brushed off a meek attack from an injured Sophie-Anne and some of the remaining Weres in the ballroom.
Seeing Thalia trying to rise to attack him again, he kicked her—hard—breaking several of her ribs.
Appius ducked as Diantha shot her own burst of fire at him and then rushed over to her and hit her hard enough that her body crumbled to the floor like a ragdoll. Quickly, Desmond Cataliades rushed to her side and pulled her away from any further attack by the elder vampire.
Chow and Indira tried a coordinated attack on Appius—with Chow throwing several knives at Appius's back as Indira tried to distract him by attacking from the front. Moving too quickly for anyone in the room to see, Appius had switched positions with Indira, and he ripped off her head right after Chow's knives had lodged into her body.
"I like you!" Appius grinned at Chow, licking his lips to drink in some of Indira's spilled blood as he tossed what remained of her quickly decomposing body to the side. In the next moment, Appius had Chow by the neck. "But no more of these!" he yelled, yanking off Chow's vest, which held his remaining knives, and then tearing off the Asian vampire's right hand.
Wailing, Chow fell to his knees and then skidded backwards as Appius kicked him away.
"Who else dares?!" Appius asked insanely, his chin stained with Eric's and Indira's blood—even as he kicked away Thalia, whose body was still prone.
Seeing no one else coming after him, Appius took a moment to survey the room with glee before turning back to focus on Sookie.
"You know—you have done me a favor, telepath," he said softly, almost to the point that she could not hear him.
Appius motioned toward the ashy pile of muck that had been Alexei. "I loved my Alexei, but he could not be ruled—except by a maker's command. So pure a killer," he said with nostalgia in his voice. "So unthinking. Unfeeling. Unencumbered by," he paused to chuckle, "anything."
Another ill-fated attack by Ian and Betty Joe was rebuffed with little effort by Appius before the room erupted in gun fire.
Sookie and Eric dove to the floor, even as Appius moved too fast for the eye to see and quickly tore the Were who'd tried shooting at him into several pieces.
"Yes, you have done me a great favor, telepath," Appius resumed his earlier thought, even as he strolled casually toward Eric and Sookie, bending down to just as casually snap the neck of one of the queen's Weres who was trying to rouse herself.
"Now I am free to focus on a new project," he added thoughtfully. "Eric, my child, I spoke rashly before. I take away my command that you kill Miss Stackhouse. I believe that I will turn her instead."
"No!" Eric hissed, shaking his head, even as he rushed to Sookie's side and took her into his arms. "You cannot have her, Appius!"
"Tsk, tsk," Appius sounded. "Perhaps, where you failed to be the child I wished for and where Alexei was sometimes incapable of it, Miss Stackhouse will succeed. I've never pondered taking a girl child before. But . . . ." Appius's voice trailed off even as he again moved quickly, this time kicking Eric away from Sookie and grabbing her by the back of her neck.
"But," he continued, "one is never too old to try something new." He chuckled and winked at Eric, who was struggling to rise to his feet.
Attempting in vain to wiggle away from Appius, Sookie went for another one of her wooden daggers, but Appius stopped her hands with a chuckle.
"Tsk, tsk, child," he chided.
In the next moment, he'd torn her jacket from her, and a loud snap signaled that he'd broken her right hand.
"That is for stealing Alexei from me," Appius grinned, even as he petted Sookie's hair.
Eric tried to muster up the strength to run at Appius, but the ancient command not to harm his maker was still unassailable for the Viking.
He yelled out in frustration and anguish as he felt his bonded's pain.
Eric's eyes roved desperately around the room—as he looked for help. But he could find none. Those left alive were all injured, thanks to his maker. Eric himself had suffered significant injuries which were still in the process of healing, given his lack of blood, but he managed to stay on his feet.
He cursed in Old Norse—cursed that he had found Sookie only to endanger her, cursed that he was not strong enough to fight against the first command that his sire had ever given to him.
Cursed that the only way to save Sookie was to end her.
"You will still kill your two children, Eric," Appius again commanded, and the Viking felt the order sharply, even as he immediately because to fight against it. He glanced to the side of the room where Karin still lay motionless. He could see that her blue eyes were on him, but she was unhealed from the spine injury Appius had inflicted upon her minutes before. He was just glad that she was back in her own mind. If he couldn't stop himself from trying to kill her, he prayed that she might kill him instead.
"And after you kill them," Appius added, "you will come to me. By then, you will have a new sister to meet."
Eric growled, low and deep—his hatred for his maker seemingly filling the room.
Appius merely laughed as Sookie continued to struggle, even as her eyes locked with her beloved's eyes.
Their eyes spoke a multitude.
In the next moment, the telepath was slightly jostled as Appius, once again, pushed away an attack from a weakened Thalia, but that attack had coincided with her pushing the remnants of Sookie's jacket to Eric. With as much speed as he could muster, the Viking dipped down to pick up one of the daggers still within the lining of the shredded garment. In the same motion, he sent it sailing toward the heart of the woman he loved.
To kill her.
To save her.
To save them.
