EPOV
"Fairy," I say almost dreamily.
"Fairy? What? Like Tinkerbell?"
I chuckle, "No, fairies are nothing like what TV and movies have made them out to be, they're vicious, dangerous, and powerful. You must be Fae, it makes a lot of sense now. Your blood is sweeter than a human, and fairy blood is the sweetest blood of all. The light you showed earlier today is a fairy trait. Maybe telepathy is too, they're very secretive so I'm not sure. You must only be part fairy, maybe even a small part, your blood is delicious, maybe the most delicious I've ever tasted but it does not cause the same… reactions full fairy blood does."
"What reactions?" She asks wearily. I don't blame her, I'm almost salivating right now at just the thought of full fairy blood.
"None that are savory, I assure you. Fairies don't tend to last long around vampires, their blood is intoxicating. Vampires aren't able to take a few sips and stop, they lose themselves in the blood and almost always kill the fairy."
"Oh." She says and looks very sad. Why is she upset?
"Sookie?"
"It makes a lot more sense now…"
"What do you speak of?"
"Why someone like you would be interested in someone like me."
A growl escapes my mouth before I have a chance to stop it, not that I would. I vamp over to her and grip her arms to pull her close to me. The "No" that comes out of my mouth sounds animalistic. I give myself a moment to calm down before I continue, "You misunderstand min stjärna, Your blood tastes nothing like fairies, if it did, it would not be safe for you to be with me. I've had the opportunity to taste a few fairies in my time and they did not survive the tasting…" I hurry past that point when I see her frown deepen. "Yes, you are unique and you are sweet but you taste much different than the fairies, if you did taste like them I would have known right away what you are. Let us not forget that I wanted you to be mine long before I ever tasted you. Yes, I love your blood but if you told me right now you never wanted me to drink from you again, it wouldn't change anything. You'd still be my woman and I'd still want only you. Your blood is not what draws me to you, it's only a happy coincidence"
It is a strange feeling I have, I want so bad to keep her with me, I have never before tried to convince a human that I want them for more than their blood. I don't know what this means and why I want so badly to keep her by my side, but I do, so I will say what I must. I feel her rising emotions calm and know from the bond that she believes me, probably partly because she can feel my honesty through the same bond. Ah, I finally found an upside to her feeling my emotions.
"So you'd want me even if my blood tasted like sewage?"
"Thank you for the disturbing imagery but yes, I'd want you even then my Sookie."
She smiles at me beautifully, and it draws me in. I lean down and kiss her worries away. I would continue to do so if my phone didn't start ringing again. It's been ringing almost nonstop for the last ten minutes. If it were anyone other than my Sookie who was upset, I would have walked away to handle business. But because it was my lover, she came first. I decide not to think about what that might mean and look at the caller ID instead.
It's from Godric's nest number, is he finally reaching out to me? Godric is my maker, I love him above all others. He is the most important being in my life. I ignore the part of me that wants to fight against that notion, defining Sookie as the most important person to me. Godric has been distant for the last 60-odd years. I feel it is my fault because of how I acted when we were together during the Second World War. I was too focused on finding and getting revenge on the people who killed my human family. He's helped me with this quest since I was turned, but he thought it might be time that I moved on, it had been a thousand years, after all. I can't do that though, I'm almost positive that pack of Weres was manned by a vampire so I can't just give up and forget about it. They were only killed because I was too focused on my own pleasures and not the needs of my family. If I had been there, I could have helped, I might have died in the process but my family could have survived.
I shake my head, No, now is not the time to think about that. I need to focus on my maker. Perhaps he's finally ready to reach out to me to tell me what he's going through. Not long after we separated after the war he cut our bond down. Now, all I can do is feel that he is still of this world, I don't know how he's feeling or what he's planning to do. It has hurt me, knowing that how I've acted when we were last together is the reason he's distanced himself from me. I've tried to apologize and bridge the distance but he will not allow me to. I've seen him a few times since the war but nowhere near as often as I'd like, and when we are together, he feels far away all the same. The last time I saw him was about five years ago and he was acting strange, sad, it was almost like he hated himself because he was a vampire. I shake my head again, I must stop thinking and answer the damn phone.
"Godric, it is good to hear from you."
"Eric."
"Isabel, what is the purpose of your call?"
"Godric is missing and we cannot find him. I'm worried something bad has happened to him, what can you tell from the bond?" I go to walk out of the room, and then out of the house. I see Sookie's worried and questioning face but I ignore it. I need to be alone right now so I pace, like a mere human, but what else can I do after receiving such information?
"I cannot feel much, other than he is still on this earth. He's kept his distance from me recently. Tell me everything you know."
"I have already told you all I know, two nights ago he said he was going out for a walk and never returned."
"How has he been lately? Has he been acting normal or unusual?"
"He has not been acting any different. Well, in the last decade he has changed a lot. He is not the same vampire we've known through the centuries but that has been going on for a while now, nothing new in the last few days."
I know that's true, I've seen it myself, he's changed much in recent years. Still, though, they should have reached out to let me know, he is my maker after all. "Why has no one contacted me if he's been so out of sorts? Why am I just hearing of this now? You should have reached out to me sooner." I snarl angrily.
"The only reason I'm reaching out to you now is as a gesture of goodwill. Well, that and seeing if your bond gave us any information. He might be your maker but you're not a part of our nest, therefore we owe you nothing."
I let out a vicious growl, I'm pissed now. Who does this bitch think she is? We've always been friendly in the past but this is different. She should know better than to mess with a child-maker bond. "I'll be there tomorrow," I say and go to hang up.
"That's not nesses…" I hear before I end the call.
As I'm walking back to the house, I'm using my phone to set up a flight, the plane will be at the landing strip in two hours and we'll make it there before the sun rises so I won't have to travel in a coffin. When I enter the house again Sookie is standing there looking at me worridly. I know I must speak to her about this but I need a few minutes to myself to 'get my head on straight'. If I'm remembering the saying correctly. "Later." I all but growl.
Sookie dares to put her hand on my arm as I'm walking by. I allow it only because I don't want to hurt her by ripping away from her hold. "Eric, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I said later. Actually, no. Pack up your things."
"Why?" She asks in a small voice. I see her bottom lip wobble. Fuck, I just now realize how bad that might sound, like I'm kicking her out or something.
"We leave for Dallas in two hours." I have too much on my mind and too much to do before we leave to take the time to explain everything to her, so I hope she just accepts what I've said and doesn't question me more. If she does, I might have to use my authority over her as my pet. I was hoping not to do such with her, ever. But I will if I must.
"O-okay." She says shakily. I've confused and upset her. It's understandable, usually I take the time to explain everything to her but I can't right now.
I nod at her then go to Adele's room. I knock twice on the door frame even though her door is open. She's reading Romeo and Juliet from my library. "Adele, I'm sorry to bother you and I know this is an unfavorable predicament but you must pack. We'll be on a plane to Dallas in a few hours. I'll explain more on the way but it is an emergency."
She looks at me long and hard before she finally nods. "Okay, Eric. How long until we leave?"
"The flight is in two hours, so as soon as possible. Pack light and fast, we'll buy what we don't have when we get there but we have to leave soon."
"I understand, Eric. Now shoo, I'll be ready by the time you are."
As I'm walking upstairs to pack, my phone rings. I almost ignore it to focus on what needs to be done but it might be someone from Texas. I take out my phone and see it's Pam. I answer because I must give her instructions on what to do in my absence. She feels my mood so I hope she's smart enough not to give me her attitude right now, I'm still not sure what's wrong with her and why she's mad at me, but now isn't the time for her to push me.
"Pam."
"Eric, what's wrong? I just got a flight confirmation from Anubus. Why are you going to Texas? Is all well?"
"No, Godric is missing. I am taking Sookie to Texas to help. With my bond and her telepathy, we will do what we must to find him."
I can feel her anger towards me in the bond still but at least she knows this is more important and not the time to start a fight. "Okay, master. What do you need from me? Should I pack?"
"No, dotter. I need you to stay here and make sure everything is running smoothly. Sophie Ann is up to something and is looking for any reason to take Sookie from me and keep her for herself."
I feel Pam's anger grow brighter. Ah, she's mad at me because of Sookie for some reason. She's probably jealous of the time I'm spending with her. Thankfully, all she says is, "Yes, master."
"I shall call you if I have need of you."
"Let me know when you find Godric. He probably just needed to get away from everything for a while. I doubt anything nefarious is going on."
"You are most likely correct. He's been out of sorts for the last few decades. I shall speak to you later, Pam."
It takes me less than two minutes to pack. I take my bag out of my room and I'm pleasantly surprised when Sookie walks out of her room a few seconds after me. I smile at her because I know I wasn't treating her the best but she's still doing what I need her to, for me. So, as I'm walking towards the stairs, instead of just passing her, I wrap her in my arms and kiss her like a woman such as Sookie deserves to be kissed. Eventually though, real life creeps back in and I pull away. I wrap my arm around her and continue walking. Adele is leaving her room when we make it down the stairs. I don't know if she packed as fast as we did or if I became too lost in the kiss and lost track of time. I suppose it doesn't matter, we'll make it to the airport in time.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes, Eric. I'm ready. What about you, Sookie?"
"Me too," Sookie says with a smile on her face.
It might not seem like a lot but I appreciate her doing this for me without asking questions. So I try something, I send her appreciation through the bond and I know she gets it when she smiles. This shouldn't be possible while our bond isn't permanent, but maybe the fairy in her allows it to happen. I'll think about that later, after Godric is found. It doesn't take long to get to the airstrip and the plane is waiting for us. I'm not usually one to book a private Anubus flight just for myself, but this is a special situation and I don't have time to waste.
Once we're all sitting down on the plane, I feel Sookie's curiosity growing but more than that, her fear and nervousness are almost stifling. I look at Sookie, why is she so scared? She should know by now that I won't let any harm come to her. She's sitting next to me and bouncing her leg up and down in a nervous gesture I've seen humans do before.
"Sookie, what is wrong?"
"I've never flown before. I'm a little nervous."
I want to laugh, there's no little about it, she's almost terrified. My Sookie hasn't had the opportunity to do much in her life, I wish to change that for her. It's upsetting that her first time flying isn't to some exotic land for a vacation, it's to Texas to find my maker. I'll make it up to her and make sure to take her on vacation soon. I reach over and grab her hand while pushing calm into the bond. "It is fine, lover. You are completely safe. If the worst were to happen and the plane was going to crash, I'd grab both you and Adele, kick open the emergency exit, and fly us safely to the ground."
"Yeah, that's a good point. I sometimes forget you can fly."
That calms her a little but not enough, so I let go of her hand and pull her into my arms. If her grandmother wasn't here I could think of quite a few ways I'd be able to distract her. I could use some distracting myself since there is nothing more I can do for Godric until I get to Texas. Maybe telling Sookie about what's going on will be distraction enough? For her anyway.
"I'm sure you're both wondering why we're going to Texas with such haste." They both nod and I feel Sookie sink deeper into my arms, calming down a little bit. "There is a vampire that went missing. He's a sheriff like me and it's of the most importance that we find him."
"Why did they call you about this? Isn't this a little out of your job description? How can you help?" Sookie shoots off the questions.
"Normally this would have nothing to do with me, you are correct. Godric, the vampire that is missing, is over 2000 years old. If someone took him forcefully, they must be very strong and someone that must be handled. I doubt much could overpower one such as he." The reverence in my voice is clear to hear.
"Wow, over 2000 years old, the things he must have seen," Adele says in a dreamy voice.
"You sound like you really respect him, you two must be close," Sookie says leadingly, clearly wanting more information.
"Of course I respect him. You'd be a fool not to. He's been out of sorts for the last few decades. I've tried speaking to him about it but he didn't want to. He is like me, we're not big fans of vampire hierarchy, and sometimes we just need to get away from it all. I doubt anything bad happened."
"Well, I'm here Eric. The telepath extraordinaire is on the case. Just point me at who to read and I'll do it." I smile at that, she's adorable.
"Thanks, min stjärna. You will be a big help. Usually, because of the bond, I'd be able to know where he is, as I can with you because of our bond. But he's shut me out, I can only tell that he yet lives."
"You have a bond with him too?" I feel that Sookie is jealous at the thought, which makes me smirk.
"Of course I do, he's my maker."
"You mean he turned you into a vampire? Like what you did to Pam?" Adele asks.
"Exactly."
"How did it happen, Eric? Did he turn you against your will? I hear that's how it used to happen a lot."
I don't really want to talk about this, I don't like talking about myself in such a way. I prefer to keep my silence but I see that we're about to take off and she's still scared. Adele looks just as interested and I trust them not to tell others of my story. So I decide to tell them a little of my background.
"My father was the chieftain, I suppose these days you can compare it to a king of our land. I was the heir that wanted nothing to do with the title. I spent my time fighting, and training. The rest of the time drinking and sleeping around. When he died I had to fight hard to keep our lands. There were many battles because other chiefdoms thought we were weak. We quickly proved them wrong and I grew a name for myself. I was known as Eirik den mäktige. I was on a mission of revenge as I promised my dying father I would. My men followed me as we looked for those who killed my family. In one such battle, I was mortally wounded. As I was lying there dying, someone came to me. I thought I was seeing things because I had never seen someone move so fast, or have teeth like he did.
"We spoke for a while and eventually, he asked me if I wanted to live. I said yes. I had no idea what I was saying yes to, I didn't know what he was, and I never even heard of a vampire before. We believed there were things called the Draugr, which were the closest things to vampires we had. At the time, I was positive that he was just death incarnate coming to get me. It was quite a surprise waking up a few days later." I didn't intend to tell them so much but it just came out of me. It's a good thing too, I spoke through take-off, and thankfully, Sookie is calm now.
"Oh my Lord, Eric. That is both an exciting and an incredibly sad story." Adele comments after a few moments of silence.
"Yes, but it was a long time ago. There's no reason to be sad, I've had time to get over it."
I hope they can tell that I don't want to speak any more of this. It's a lie to say I'm over it, I'm not. I will still find the vampire responsible for sending his pet Weres after my family. In fact, I also blame him for my distance from Godric. Godric thought I was spending too much time trying to find the perpetrator and not enough time living. After we pretended to be Nazis looking for clues he told me I should stop looking, I told him I cannot. He's been distancing himself from me ever since then. I fear it's my vendetta that keeps him away. Even after I stopped spending so much time looking for the vampire, Godric would not let me get close to him again. We barely ever see each other and our phone calls are far and few between.
I shouldn't be worrying about this right now. I should be working on a plan to find Godric and make sure he's safe. If he's not… well, I don't want to think about what it means if there is a being strong enough to capture Godric. No, he's probably just taking some time for himself, he's been acting different over the last decades, and lately, he's been spending as much time as possible alone. That's most likely what's happening now.
I wish I felt more assured about that but I don't, it makes me more worried. Now isn't the time to worry about this, we'll be in Dallas soon and that's when I'll actually have time to fix this. I look at Sookie and realize she hasn't actually said anything since I told her how I became vampire. She's staring off into space but she's not feeling any distressing feelings so I put my hand on her arm and she jumps.
"All is well, lover?"
"Huh, yeah, I was just thinking about when you were turned. Did you and Godric stay together for a long time?"
"Yes, for over 600 years."
"Wow, I can't imagine. Is that normal for makers and progeny to stay together that long?"
"No. Usually, a progeny will stay with their maker for a few decades and then go their own way. Pam has been with me since she's been turned but I told her she is free to roam if she wants. She stays because we enjoy each other's company. Sophie Ann has children that have never left her side either, but other than that I don't know many more vampires that stay with their maker for long." Karin only stayed with me for three decades before begging me for some freedom. She had good control over her urges so I let her be. I only see her once every decade or so and only hear from her on our yearly phone calls.
"You must be a good vampire daddy just like your dad was."
I'm not really sure how to react to that. Daddy? No, that word does not work at all. If I was her father then some of the things we did in the early years would have been illegal. Then again, some of the things we did were illegal, by human standards at least. Same with Godric and I. No, I don't like it, I decide.
"Yes, but I'm not her father, I'm her maker."
She gives me a strange look then an impish feeling comes over the bond. "But you are her Daddy, you made her, you created her, and raised her. If that's not a dad, I don't know what is."
I drop my fangs and growl playfully at her, she's messing with me because she knows I don't like it. If Adele wasn't here with us, I'd have my way with her right now. Instead, I pull her in for a quick but passionate kiss, then change the subject. I'll just have to punish her for her cheek later.
