Hello, so I've been having some writing difficulties. I'm sure people who also write have the same problems. Your head just stirs with so much ideas at once that you have no idea how to write it all out to make sense for other people to read. Sometimes the writing just comes out easily and I can type out a chapter in a day. Hard days, all the ideas going through my head can overwhelm me and when I sit in front of my laptop, nothing comes out. Hopefully I will find that fluid consistency again, but right now it's hard. I usually listen to music which helps my process, but I cant seem to find the right songs. I was listening to a lot of 70s music for the earlier chapters, but right now I cant find the right songs. Ahh anyway, here's the next chapter.
Sookie's POV:
This is a bad idea, this is a bad idea, this is a bad idea….. I was sitting in a were bar called "The Owl" on 76th street with Alcide, who had just excused himself to go to the men's room. I was feeling overwhelmed by the thoughts of sex coming from the other people in the bar. There were a lot of thoughts about sex, sex, and more sex. The 'street talk' that I picked up from the minds of some of the patrons was that a witch was hunting down a blonde-haired vampire and a blonde-haired woman and was offering a reward of fifty grand to anyone who had information. I was glad that Alcide convinced me to go incognito before we came here. It was the only way I was able to get him to defy the orders Eric had given him; which was to keep me at the mansion safe and away from any danger. From the feeling of the bars' atmosphere, I was most definitely in the middle of some kind of danger. I was currently sporting a brunette wig and it looked natural too. I had asked Marten's employee, Telma, to help with my disguise. I was also wearing a pale blue sundress to try and blend into this somewhat upscale werebar.
My brilliant plan was me being the bait to lure Hallow Stonebrook out of hiding just before nightfall. But we had to find her first. Alcide thought that maybe the local weres would have an idea about where she would be. Once we found her, we would call the vampires and ambush her and what was left of her coven. She would undo the rest of the spell and we would all live happily ever after. Well, I guess some of us would be living at the end of this. I didn't want to think about what Eric was going to do with her after she undid the spell, but obviously he had no intention of letting her live. I brushed the guilt I felt and reminded myself that it was her who started this. She made her bed, now she had to lay in it.
I had given Eric a basic rundown of my plan last night, which I felt was foulproof, but he did not. His response was no. We talked about it, rather more like argued about it for a half hour, before he left to continue his search for Hallow. It was about 5:30am when he returned to let me know that he had been unsuccessful in finding her. I tried again to convince him of my plan, but he was still adamant that I stay in the mansion. He went to rest for the day in the underground lair before dawn. After he went to rest for the day, I couldn't fall back to sleep, so I stayed up. Alcide was up already when I went downstairs. He was enjoying breakfast when I told him my plan. Of course, he thought it was ridiculous and dangerous.
"Alcide, you have no idea how it feels not knowing who you are. I need to get my life back," I lamented. "Will you please help me?"
"Sookie, Eric will not be happy if you put yourself in danger," Alcide replied. "And he will not be happy with me if I help you and if you get hurt. I am responsible for you."
"Look, I'm going back to the city to look for her, with or without your help. You can't force me to stay here and I can't just sit on my behind waiting for Eric to fix everything. And yes, I get that you have some sort of deal with Eric, but I will make sure that he knows that this whole thing was my idea."
Alcide sighed heavily and said nothing.
After a minute, I got up from my chair and called out for one of the house security.
"I need a taxi or a ride to take me back to the city," I asked. "Mr. Meijer said he would provide me with any help that I needed. I need to get back to the city today."
"Uhh… I will need to ask the daytime manager," she replied.
"Ugh," I rolled my eyes. "Can you just call me a taxi or car service or something if you don't want to help me? I need to get back to the city."
I didn't have any money so I had no idea how I was going to pay for it.
"Sookie, what are you doing?" Alcide huffed, with his hands in the air.
I didn't reply to him as I watched the security man go off to make a call.
"Excuse me that won't be necessary," Alcide said to him.
Alcide huffed again. "Alright we will try out your plan. I have a few ideas of where we might find her and where to look."
I smiled in triumph.
Alcide had rented an SUV for him and his colleagues to use. Twenty minutes later, we were in the vehicle, headed back to the city.
We stopped somewhere as we got closer to the city, to meet up with Telma. She brought an assortment of things to help with my disguise.
"Where are we going?" I asked Alcide, after saying goodbye to Telma.
"A were bar," Alcide replied. "It's exclusive to weres and their companions. We're going to have to put a charade on that you're my date."
"Oh, okay," I said to him. A strange feeling swept through me. Why did this feel familiar, like deja vu?
So here we were, sitting in a were bar, looking for a witch. I was starting to feel uneasy. Maybe I should have listened to Eric and stayed at the mansion. But then again, sitting at home and watching other people fight for me, didn't feel like that was something I would normally do.
Randy and Hal were sitting at a table across from us and David was outside in the vehicle keeping watch.
I order a gin and tonic to help keep up the charade of Alcide and I being here on a casual. I only take tiny sips. I definitely didn't want to end up inebriated in this place.
"Excuse me miss, would you like to dance?" a voice says.
I had been looking down at my drink trying to focus on the minds around the room and hadn't noticed him approaching. I look up and see a tall, lanky, dark-haired man leering at me. I peer into his hazy mind and see the vile and disgusting thoughts he had about what he wanted to do to me.
"No thank you," I respond cooly.
"Oh, come on, pretty lady. Girls don't come to this place on their own unless they're looking for a man. And you, my sweet thang, are in luck," he says as he reaches out to touch me.
I lean back on my stool to avoid him.
"She's not alone, she's with me," Alcide snarls, as he stands behind the man.
The man spins arounds, ready to give Alcide a piece of his mind, but backs off when he sees him. "Uh, excuse me sir, I did not know that this young lady was yours."
"She is mine," Alcide replies.
The man walks away briskly.
"Thanks," I say.
Alcide takes a swig of his beer. This bar was pretty busy despite it being the afternoon. I guess happy hour was at any time of the day in New York.
"I overheard some people in the hall talking about bounty hunters searching for a blonde-haired vampire man and human woman," Alcide says quietly.
"Yes," I reply quietly as well. "There's a reward for fifty grand."
Alcide raises his eyebrow to me. "You have good hearing too?"
"Yes, my hearing is pretty good," I say quickly. I hadn't forgotten that Alcide didn't know that I was telepathic. I wanted to keep that info about me a secret for as long as I could.
"We should go dance," I say. "I mean, that is, if you want to dance with me."
I wanted to be in the center of the bar where I could hear more peoples' thoughts.
"I would like to dance with you," Alcide replies with a grin.
This bar was more like a rock and roll music type of place and there were a few people dancing. Currently there was a variety of 80s pop and rock music playing on the speakers. Alcide and I start swaying to the music and quickly find a good rhythm. I was surprised to find that he was a good dancer despite being so tall and rugged.
As we continue to dance, I pick up someone's thoughts… That Hallow lady is going to give me 100 thousand bucks for finding out where that dead guy sleeps. I'm glad my lady put that tracking card on him when he was feeding off her. Too bad she can't remember much details, but at least I got a good look at him….
My heart beats faster as I try to continue listening to his thoughts. I had slowed down my dance moves as I focused harder on the man's thoughts. Who was he referring to? Was Eric feeding off someone else? I suddenly see an image in his head of a tall, dark haired man with blue eyes. It was Marius!
They knew where he was resting for the day.
I stop dancing, grab Alcide's arm and whisper to him, "We have to go!"
As we begin to leave, a man approaches us. He was about my height with sandy blonde hair and a stocky build. I peek into his hazy mind.
"You look familiar," he says to Alcide, as he scrutinizes him.
"I know who you are!" he says as his eyes widen.
I see an image of Eric and Alcide in his mind.
"We have to get out of here!" I yell, but it was too late.
In less than a few seconds, a bar fight ensues. I get knocked to the ground as Alcide begins fighting the man. Soon other men join him to start fighting with Alcide. Randy and Hal quickly step in to help. I crawl backwards away from the fight but someone from behind grabs me by the hair and pulls off my wig.
"I think it's her! The one they're looking for!" the man yells as he holds my wig in the air.
He yanks me up from the floor violently. I yelp out in pain.
It was then that I remember the fighting moves Marius had taught me a few nights ago. I hit him in the face and knock him to the ground. Another guy comes to try and grab me, but I evade him and knock him to the ground as well.
Out of nowhere, a third attacker approaches me. This one brandishes a knife at me and I duck quickly as he swings it at me. I punch him in the stomach with every ounce of my strength. He falls to the floor writhing in pain.
"Ow," I gasp, as I flex my fist.
"Are you alright?" Alcide asks as he comes up to me.
I nod my head.
"We have to leave right now!" he says.
We manage to make it out of the bar and onto the street. We run towards Alcide's rented SUV which was currently empty. Where was David?
For some reason, the doors were open and the key was still in the ignition. Upon hearing the assailants coming out of the bar, we all jump in. Just as we drive off, one of the assailants starts firing a gun at us and busts the back window.
"We got to get somewhere safe!" Alcide says loudly. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes," I say as I look back to the crowd outside the bar.
"Sookie, I'm going to take you somewhere safe and we are going to find David," Alcide says.
"You can't!" I gasp out. "They know where Marius is!"
"Who is that? The vamp king's maker?" Hal says.
"Yes!" I yell out. My heart was pounding.
I close my eyes to focus. Where was Marius? I could almost see the directions of where he was resting from that man's memory in the bar, but there was something else as well. It was as though I could almost feel where Marius was. I didn't know how all of a sudden I knew where he was, but now wasn't the time to think about that. I had to make sure he was going to be okay.
"I know where he is," I say calmly.
Alcide peers at me briefly from the mirror.
"We have to get ahold of the king's security," Alcide responds. Hal makes the call while Alcide continues to drive using the directions I provide him.
We stop at about a couple blocks from the building where Marius was. We look around from our vehicle, but everything appeared to be normal. This part of the city seemed barren. There were many buildings and no homes. There were a few people walking around but they did not seem suspicious.
Just then Alcide's phone rings.
"Yes," Alcide responds to the caller. He doesn't say anything to the caller excepts grunts and ends the brief call.
"What's going on?" I ask Alcide.
"The king's security are on their way."
"Oh," I respond. I breathe a sigh of relief.
I close my eyes for a brief moment to try to catch my breath, when all of a sudden, I hear the sound of a click. I try to open my eyes but I couldn't. What was happening?!
Eric's POV:
I open my eyes up and immediately I knew there was something not right. My bond with Sookie still hadn't been restored. She and I had a disagreement right before I went to rest for the day. She wanted to help us with the search for Hallow. I told her no. I wanted to keep her safe. I was close to finding Hallow last night, but it seemed she was very resourceful. With the death of her brother, Hallow was dangerous and unpredictable. I also had to give her credit with how smart and highly skilled in witchcraft she was.
I rise from the bed and put some clothes on. The sun was close to setting as I grab my phone to look through my messages. Just suddenly, the phone rings.
"Eric?" Marten says on the other line.
"They have Sookie," he responds.
I roar out in anger.
"She was taken outside of Brooklyn, along with your were guards. My staff found the SUV they were travelling in, but it was empty. No signs of injuries. They have been searching the area, but so far have found nothing," he says.
I clench my phone, trying my best not to break it. What the fuck was she doing there outside of Brooklyn?!
"My master was resting in a building nearby," Marten says.
I have a hard time trying to control my growing anger. Marten then tells me about the phone call his security received from Herveaux and the fight in a were bar in the city.
I wait for the sun to go down and instantly fly away. I land near an abandoned building where Marten and his entourage were standing. I walk towards the rental that Alcide had been driving. I examine the interior and immediately catch the scent of Sookie. I search for signs of her blood that could indicate injury, but there was nothing. I take in the air around the vehicle and notice something strange right away, witchcraft.
"Eric," Marten says as he stands behind me.
I turn around to face him.
"There is something you need to know," he says to me in Norse. "My master may know where she has been taken. He says that he is able to sense her. Like as though, he has a blood bond with her."
I look at him with anger and jealousy. Did that fucking vampire give her his blood!? I was sooo going to kill him tonight.
"Before you get angrier, he did not give any blood to her. I swear on my life to you, that is the truth," Marten says.
I take a moment to try and rein in my rage. I needed to focus on finding Sookie. I also knew that Marten would not lie to me. I think back to the 1970s Sookie and when she had told me that Marius had been her husband. Did their blood bond not only cross through timelines but also alternate realities?
"Where is she?" I asked him.
"I sent you the coordinates to your phone," he said.
I glance at my phone and immediately take flight. I look back and watch Marten and his people gather in their vehicles and leave. I call Pam and tell her to meet us.
It was a site outside Boston. It looked like a rural area with a few homes and roads.
I'll find you Sookie, I say to myself.
Sookie's POV:
"Ugh," I grunt as I begin to stir. My arms were painfully sore. I try to open my eyes but I was blindfolded. I then try to move my arms but I couldn't. They were tied up above my head. I wiggle my butt and legs. My legs were tied together too. I was also gagged.
Just great, I think to myself.
I suddenly remember my were bodyguards. I hoped that they were okay.
"She's awake," a female voice says.
She takes the blindfold off my eyes. I blink my eyes for a few seconds to try and focus. My sight was blurry.
Just then, two men pick me up and have me standing to face her.
My vision finally becomes clearer. A woman who looked to be in her early 40s with short brown hair and brown eyes was standing before me. She looked at me with pain, anger, and hatred. I try to take a moment to read her thoughts but I wasn't able to. It was like a brick wall.
In an instant, she smacks me across the face. I sway back a little and instantly feel the sting of her hit. My eyes begin to fill up with tears.
The two men continue to hold me up in front of her.
"So, this is the woman these vampires find interesting," she leers. "You're the reason why my brother is dead."
She stands close to me and begins sniffing me. She then takes a step back. "I can see why they are enamored with you. You're not completely human, you're part-fairy. But there's also something else that's different about you. You're missing a part of yourself."
No shit! You took my memories away from me! I think angrily.
She starts chanting in front of me and waving her hands. She throws some dust on me. I try and not breathe it in. I finally look around the room. There were seven other people standing in a circle around us. I try to peek behind the people and saw that we were in a living room. The room looked like it hadn't been lived in for years. There was dust on the floor and the wallpaper was moldy and peeling off.
Just then I start feeling a weird energy. Something was coming. Hallow stops chanting and looks around the room.
"One of them is here," she says out loud.
We begin to hear a swooshing sound. We hear a couple faint screams coming from outside and from the other rooms. Hallow begins chanting loudly again. The two men holding me up grip my arms tighter and I frantically look around the room.
"Come," she says in a loud and clear voice.
In a blur, Marius is standing in the room with us. My eyes widen in surprise at the sight of him. What was he doing here? Was he here to help me? Or was he working with her? Was he on their side?
"I knew you were close," Hallow says to Marius. "I could smell your essence miles away."
Marius' eyes begin turning a fiery red.
"Now stop right there," she says as she stands in front of him. She waves her hand in front of him and his red eyes start turning to his normal blue.
His arms stay glued to his sides and I could see from the grimaced look on his face that he was trying to move again.
Hallow puts her palm on his face.
"Now where have you been all my life?" she says in a whimsical tone.
"And here I thought that your Viking was the most rousing creature I had ever seen," Hallows says as she looks back to me.
"This one is positively enchanting," she says. Her hands roam up and down his body as he scowls at her.
"You will remove your hands from me and let the woman go," Marius says in a stern tone.
She smiles at him. "Your powers won't work here, vampire."
"Do you know what kind of spell I placed over this young fairy?" she asks Marius. "It was a spell that sends them to the person that they desire the most."
"I should probably explain it with a bit more detail. We were passing through Shreveport and we were low on money. It was then that I spotted the most beautiful man I had even seen, sitting on a throne in the middle of a vampire bar. I wanted him the moment I first laid eyes on him. When I researched Eric Northman, I found that he had a human lover. A young Southern woman named Sookie Stackhouse. As I watched her from afar, I could see that she was deeply in love with him. I wanted to experience the passion and comfort that this woman was getting from Northman. I knew the best way to get what I wanted was to use what was most important to him against him. That was his woman. The desire spell was supposed to bring Miss Stackhouse to the bar that night because Eric Northman was her heart's desire."
We all listen to her attentively. What was she talking about?
"But…. Obviously that didn't happen," she says. "Sookie, here, goes to you instead."
She stands in front of Marius again. "My spells are never wrong. Why would she go to you? You, the one her heart desires?"
He continues to glare at her and doesn't look at me.
"I do not know this woman. I have never met her before," he responds to her in a firm tone.
"I'm sure that's not true," Hallow says to him. "But regardless, you are here now. I wanted Northman but you, my handsome ancient vampire, are a worthy alternate. If you give me what I want from you, I promise to let Sookie go."
Marius' blue eyes gaze fiercely at her.
"I do not make deals with anyone, much less with a vile, disgusting woman like yourself. You are not a witch. You are not worthy to refer yourself as one."
The smug look on her face disappears. "Very well, you have sealed your fate as well as hers."
She begins chanting again. A few moments later, a fog fills the room. A wind begins building up in the room. Soon, I begin feeling a burning sensation in my chest. The pain soon becomes unbearable. I close my eyes and start crying out in agony. The two men continue to hold me up.
"Stooooooop it!" I scream out in pain. I had never felt a more excruciating pain in my life.
Suddenly, I fall to the floor and the pain begins to subside. I hear the howl of dogs and the screams of terror around me.
I open my eyes to find a pair of yellow eyes of a huge dark wolf staring at me.
She needs to get up and get out of here! the wolf says to himself.
"Okay," I say to the wolf. I look beside me and find the two men who were holding me up dead. I sit up and the wolf begins gnawing at the rope around my ankles.
I finally manage to get untied and try to stand up. I follow the wolf as he leads me outside to the front door. It was completely pitch dark outside. I didn't know where we were but it looked like we were in a deserted area. There was a field on the right side of the house and a long dirt road that looked as though it hadn't been driven on for years. We only had the stars and moon for illumination.
"Sookie," Alcide says gruffly.
I turn around swiftly and find Alcide standing in front of me butt naked.
"Alcide!" I exclaim. "That was you?"
He nods and kneels down. "I don't know what happened. I woke up in the basement of this god forsaken house. Hal was dead. Randy was injured but he was able to transform. That old vampire somehow freed us."
"Where is he?" I ask him.
"He went to follow that witch," he replies. "She escaped."
"You're bleeding," I say to him.
Just as I kneel down to try and help him, I get pulled away.
I try to scream but a large, cold palm muffles me.
"Shhhhh, it's me," Eric says as he turns me around.
"Eric!" I whisper to him. I had never been happier to see anyone in my life. I hold onto him and lean my head against his chest.
He takes a moment to inspect me before looking behind me at Alcide. His eyes blazing with anger.
"Please don't be mad at Alcide, Eric!" I cry out. "It was my decision to leave the mansion. Alcide didn't want to leave. I made him help me."
"We will have words about this, Herveaux," Eric says.
Alcide fills Eric in on the current situation. He goes back inside to help Randy, who was apparently gravely injured.
"We must go somewhere safe Sookie," Eric says.
I raise my eyebrow. "What? You mean you just want to leave without helping Marius? He saved us!"
"Sookie… you are testing my patience," Eric replies through gritted teeth.
"He might be in danger. She was able to take his powers away. Not to mention, she still hasn't undone the spell on me! I may never get my memories back again," I reason.
Before Eric has a chance to reply, we both are knocked at least ten feet away from each other by a powerful force.
"Ugh," I say as I rub the back of my head.
I sit up and take a look around to see Eric getting up from the ground. He rushes to come to me, but is knocked to the ground again.
"Fucking fairies and fucking vampires!" Hallow snarls. Her eyes were no longer brown, but now completely black.
"I will destroy you all!" she yells.
"Now you won't," I utter.
I get up from the ground and feel a surge of confidence flow through me. I knew that I was capable of defeating her. I focused on the feeling within my chest and let it grow till it flowed throughout my body. I looked at Hallow and push my palms toward her. A blue glow hits her in the stomach and she begins disintegrating. She looks at me astonished, before the rest of her body melts away.
I take a few short breaths before the blue glow diminishes around me.
Eric looks at me in astonishment.
"Eric," I whisper before I pass out again.
I could feel my body falling, but I never hit the ground. The world swirls around me. Thousands upon thousands of images flash before me. I see my childhood and myself through teenage years. As I reach my early adulthood, I see images of something that was not familiar to me. It was a life when I hadn't met Eric yet. I see myself meeting and falling in love with a vampire who was not Eric. I see images of when I meet Eric at his bar, but instead of falling instantly in love with him, I feel myself initially loathing him. I see myself saving people in Dallas and in other places. I see myself getting tortured by fairies. I see myself getting betrayed by Eric. Thousands of more memories start flooding me. I see the moments when I meet Marius and we fall in love. I see all the memories of when we lived together as husband and wife. As I continue to watch and feel these moments, I could see something else. The figure gets closer and clearer. It was me! I place my palms against the other version of myself. A bright light flashes around us and all of a sudden, I open my eyes.
"Sookie," Eric looks at me.
"Eric?" I say to him. "Am I back?"
He looks at me with confusion.
"It was dark but then all of a sudden, I saw light," I say to him. I start to feel dizzy as images of my life here flow within my mind.
I take a moment to think. I never met Bill, only Eric. I fell in love with Eric, the moment I saw him. He was also the only one that I had ever been intimate with. I think back to more memories and see Gran. Gran! She was alive! Happy tears start flowing through my mind as I look up at Eric.
"Eric, I remember everything!" I say ecstatically.
I reach up and put my arms around his neck as he lifts me up. We share a deep kiss.
"Is it really you?" he says to me.
"Yes…. and no. I can't really explain it right now," I say, my voice trembling. "Take me away from this place."
He nods his air and we take to the sky.
