A/N: Howdy. Hope you're all feeling swell. Swell enough to review or comment, even. Maybe?
Chapter 28
Eric looked at Felipe, confused.
"I left her in our room, your Majesty, just like we discussed."
"What are you talking about? We discussed no such thing!"
Eric paused.
"When you called earlier this evening, you told me to leave Sookie in the room and meet you here at six."
Felipe's eyes narrowed.
"No. I got a call from you to meet me here at six-thirty."
Eric's stomach dropped. He felt for her and she was well over a hundred miles away, moving fast. The sun had just risen. He closed his eyes.
"She's gone. Traveling North."
Felipe's expression darkened. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed a button on the number pad. The call was answered immediately.
"Security."
"Sookie Stackhouse has escaped. How did you let her get away?"
Eric heard the security officer clearly.
"The alarm beeped about ten-past six, Your Majesty. She left the room with Northman."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I got a clear look at them both."
The King's eyes burned into Eric's.
"I've been here since before six, Your Majesty. I haven't moved from this spot."
There were dozens of witnesses and the security cameras to back him up. Felipe stared at Eric while he spoke to security.
"Check the feeds. See how they got away."
Eric was worried and mad as hell. What in the fuck had happened? He had obviously not taken her from their room. Who had it been? And had she known it wasn't Eric? He wanted to chase her down and shake her and hold her and scream at her and make sure she was alright, but he couldn't. Instead, he was stuck with Felipe looking ready to kill and no way to find her until evening. And, by then, she could be anywhere. But find her, he would. Thank the gods for the bond. And thank Felipe.
…
Somehow, she'd fallen asleep — or passed out — and woke up in the strange vampire's arms. She was covered in the large suit jacket he'd been wearing when he'd impersonated Eric, who'd been dressed to meet the King. His body shielded her from the worst of the wind.
They landed in the middle of a grassy lawn in front of an old cabin in the woods. It reminded her of Bill Compton's, but this forest was a different shade of green from the ones she was used to.
They had been headed north the last she remembered, with the bright desert sun rising to the east, warming her cheek. Now, the sky was grey and brooding. She shivered. She was suddenly freezing. She didn't know the time or how fast they'd been flying but, if she had to guess, they were somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Northern California, or maybe Oregon.
The vampire smiled down at her.
"Ah. You're awake! Welcome to the land of the living, Miss Stackhouse!"
Sookie thought it a strange thing to say, even though the vampire stood in the middle of the front yard in the daylight. Maybe he was living, too.
"Who are you?"
The vampire's smile was charming.
"We've actually met before in the VIV Club. I just wasn't myself at the time. My name is Cormac. Cormac Maguire. And it is a pleasure to meet you, face to face."
He had a bit of an Irish lilt and a head full of ruddy curls. He was very handsome and his blue eyes held a glint of mischief and good humour.
He set her down on the ground and she was a little wobbly on her feet. He took her arm.
"Come. We must go inside. There are many things we must do before sunset."
She pulled her arm out of his grasp and contemplated running but she couldn't outrun a flying, day-walking vampire. Instead, she stood up straighter and wrapped the suit jacket tight around her. She wondered what things they had to do, and how much they would hurt.
"Felipe won't stand for this. He will find me, and then he'll finally kill you."
And then he would beat her to within an inch of her life. Hell, maybe he'd even go a little too far. Before Eric, she would have been happy to be killed. Just as long as she stayed dead.
The vampire laughed.
"I'm not afraid of Felipe deCastro, Sookie. But he should be afraid of me. Come on, then. I'm sure you have some questions. Let's go inside and have a bit of a chat, shall we?"
Sookie hesitated but followed him into the cabin.
There was a kitchen area with a table and two chairs in one corner and a saggy couch and wooden rocker set in front of a wood stove in another.
"Please, Sookie. Sit down. We have much to discuss."
Even though this vampire was much less scary than the last one who'd kidnapped her, she was afraid. His friendliness made her uncomfortable. Especially since she found herself responding to it. A part of her, anyway.
If she made it out of there alive, she would be nearly killed when she got back to Vegas. She didn't know what this vampire wanted with her, although she could guess. She hoped Eric would come at first dark. And maybe this time they could run. She was afraid it was her only hope.
The vampire knelt on the hearth and lit a fire in the stove. He had his back to her and she contemplated grabbing a knife from the kitchen and stabbing him through the heart. It would slow him down, at least. She hesitated and then sat in the rocking chair so he couldn't sit down next to her. She found rocking it soothed her.
When the fire was lit to his satisfaction, he sat on the couch and smiled at her.
"That should warm you up. It won't take long. "
She hesitated.
"Thank you."
The vampire smiled at her again.
"So beautiful. You were right when you said you're very valuable. I'm sure I could get Felipe to pay me a hefty ransom to get you back. I'll bet I could name my price and Felipe deCastro would pay."
His smile got even wider and she narrowed her eyes. That was awfully similar to that same old phrase she was sick and tired of hearing from Emily's head. She wanted to stop him but he didn't give her the chance.
"But money is of no interest to me. I wanted you. And now you're mine."
"I belong to the King."
No. She belonged to Eric. And he belonged to her.
"Well, we shall see about that."
Sookie took a shaky breath.
"What do you want with me?"
She almost didn't want to know, but sticking her head in the sand was a terrible idea.
"I know you have many questions, and we will get to them in good time, but not just yet. I need to tell you a little bit about myself. As I said, my name is Cormac Maguire. When I was human, I was a fairy hybrid. My father was half fae, making me one quarter fairy. Just like your father. But your dad didn't have an essential spark. That's what gives a fairy its powers. I have one that burns bright. So do you. "
Sookie blinked.
"My grandfather was half fairy?"
Mitchell Stackhouse had been a simple man who had taught her how to bait a hook and shoot a gun. He'd died back when she was in high school. He'd raised her for many years and she'd loved him a lot. She certainly wouldn't have pegged him as a fairy, though.
"The grandfather you knew was not your real grandfather, Sookie. That was Fintan Brigant. My father was a good friend of his."
"Was my father adopted?"
She knew she wasn't; she and Jason were almost carbon copies of Corbett Stackhouse, but her daddy had looked nothing like either of her grandparents. Come to think of it, neither had their aunt, Linda.
He laughed.
"No, Sookie. Fairies don't leave changelings for humans to find like the old legends say. Fintan fathered two children with your grandmother, Adele."
She shook her head.
"No. He must have tricked her."
"No, I'm afraid not. They were very much in love, from what I understand."
"Gran would never have betrayed my grandfather."
He laughed again.
"Never say never, Sookie. Your grandfather couldn't sire children and your grandmother wanted to have a house full of babies. Besides, fairies are beautiful and charming. They get what they want. Fintan wanted your grandmother, and have her he did. And I wanted you."
"And I belong to the King."
His smile softened.
"I almost admire your loyalty, but I saw what he did to you. You owe him nothing but pain. I plan to make that pain a reality."
Sookie's heart started beating faster. Her loyalty didn't lie with the King. She wanted Felipe to finally die. Painfully. Had prayed for it more than once. She would cheer this vampire on. But she would not belong to him. She couldn't. She belonged to Eric.
The vampire crossed his legs and continued his story.
"When I was human, I could do things. Things my human family didn't understand. When I was a child, I discovered I had a knack for mimicry. I could sound like just about anyone and borrow their expressions and mannerisms. It was almost uncanny. I could also… manipulate people to get what I wanted. I was handsome and charming, if I do say so myself, so that helped. But it went further than that. Once I came of age, I could have almost whatever — and whomever — I pleased. And I pleased a lot."
He winked.
"One night, almost a century ago, I met a man in a bar who seemed to be more there than anyone else in the place. It was almost like he glowed. He was very handsome and had been watching me for hours, nursing a single glass of red wine. I knew I had to have him. But the joke was on me. He knew what I was and wanted me even more. Vampires are very attracted to the smell of fairy blood and love how sweet it tastes. The man beat me badly and then took me. At his peak, he bit my neck. He drank and drank and drank. Three days later, I rose Vampire."
Sookie got a chill and shivered, even though the small space was warming quickly.
He continued.
"It took some time to discover all of my gifts. My maker didn't get a chance to see any. When I rose next to him in the cellar under the bar in the early afternoon of my first day reborn, I staked him with a jagged piece of kindling I found near the furnace."
He looked wistful. Sookie shivered again. He shook himself and looked back at her.
"It didn't take me long to get used to my new existence. I was stronger than other vampires. I had far more powers. I could take the form of anyone I saw. I could fly. I could have and do whatever I pleased, without limitations. But I was lonely. I found another fairy hybrid and tried to make him my child. I wanted someone as special as me. Unfortunately, he didn't rise. Neither did the second one. I had more luck on my third try, but there was just something… not quite right about him. He was odd. Confused. He preferred cat blood to human. I couldn't bear the thought of finally killing him, so I made him forget and let him go. Others take care of him now."
Sookie had met a very strange vampire who ticked all of those boxes, right down to his love of cats. Victor was a really big fan. You just had to make sure you didn't call him by his real name. She started to shake.
He sighed.
"Then I had another who didn't rise. I wondered if I was somehow special. The only fairy who could survive the turning with my wits intact. But I couldn't give up. And finally, only a couple of years ago, I thought I'd found some success. He was a little strange. Not really my type, but I knew I could mold him into what I needed. He rose with a very special gift, but he too was damaged. Just like the last time, I made him forget and set him free. And you killed him just a few short months later. You and your bonded.
"I was angry, at first, until I saw you for the first time, on your knees in front of the King. Smelled you. Heard about your gift. I knew right away that you were the one. You are so special, Sookie. And now you're mine, just as it should be."
…
Eric followed Felipe into the security office off the VIV Club. He pretended it was the first time he'd been inside. The same guard he'd glamoured the night Sookie had overdosed was behind the desk. He fumbled with his zipper and stood up.
"Your Majesty. How can I help you?"
"Pull up five-fifty this morning."
The security guard did and Felipe skipped forward until Eric walked in at about five to six. He passed the action and sat down on the couch in Felipe's sitting area. He stayed there until Felipe walked in forty minutes or so later. Eric resisted the urge to tell the King he told him so.
They went to the main security office for the casino next. There was a vampire sitting in front of a bank of dozens of monitors. He stood when the King entered.
"Your Highness. I have the video cued."
Eric saw himself come into frame in the hallway outside their hotel room. He approached the door and knocked. The door opened a few seconds later and he went inside. They both came out not three minutes after that. He noticed Sookie had something peeking out of her pocket. He leaned a little closer to get a better look. It was the picture of her with her brother and grandmother. She hadn't planned on coming back. A small part of him wondered if she'd known it wasn't Eric, but he pushed it aside. He trusted her. And he'd let her get taken again.
The security officer had spliced together the video files. Eric and Felipe watched as Sookie and the not-Eric walked through the casino and took the elevator down to the parking garage in the basement. The imposter shot into the sky from the exit with Sookie wrapped in his arms.
Felipe said nothing. He turned and walked out. Eric hesitated, but then followed.
Felipe was in the hallway, glaring at him with cold, dead eyes.
"It is late. Go to your rest. You will leave at first dark. You will find her and bring her back to me. I don't care what it takes. She will pay for this."