Chapter 7: Lethal Lolita

The morning sky was light blue casting a bright gleam from above. She found herself alone between tall stone columns of the ancient bathhouse. The hot steam danced and fluttered above the hot water spring, enveloping everything it touched. The turquoise green water bubbled lightly, causing ripples in the otherwise still water. Her skin felt hot from the bath. Liv ran her fingers through her hair one more time, feeling the warm water run down the curve of her back.

Suddenly a pair of ice-cold hands brush against her hips. His hands were unmistakable. Large palms, long fingers, skin pale like milk. They didn't sit on her hip bones for long, as his fingers made their way to the top of her thighs, as his body moved closer against hers. His chest was firm against her back, his arms embracing her fully. Carefully, he placed a soft kiss on the right shoulder, but inside herself, there was nothing soft about it. It rippled, not like the bubbles on the water, but like a tsunami - powerful, unforgiving, unhesitant. The want that washed over her was absolute.

She crumbled in his arms, leaning against him. Both plunged lower in the water, sinking down to her collarbones. She sat on his left thigh, his lips travelling up her neck, his fingers travelled between her legs. Liv felt the sharpness of his teeth brush against her earlobe as he pulled her closer. Her heart rushed, flooding her with lust everywhere he touched.

He finally pulled her closer, deeper into his lap as if he could not have enough of her. She could feel the hardness between his legs. He wanted her. She needed him. Liv turned and finally faced him.

Eric looked deeply at her eyes while she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her bare wet body against his. Reading her mind, their lips touched. Their tongues melted together, their bodies held each other like their lives depended on it. His hands held her hips firmly and guided her down, slowly pushing himself inside her. Olivia moaned, feeling his -

Olivia woke up with a deep gasp as if she hadn't breathed in 2 full minutes. She was alone in her Carmilla hotel bed, sweating, heart racing. She stared at the ceiling quietly for a minute, reeling on the dirty dream she just had. She was wide awake with adrenaline, the mind automatically replaying the fading dream. It wasn't real. It felt real, but it wasn't. She shared her luxury hotel bed only with her laptop and her notepad, exactly like had she usually did. The subject of her dreams was currently dead two rooms over. Olivia didn't have to check with her fingers - she knew she was wet. The middle of her panties felt soaked - that was real.

"No…No! No! No-" she rushed to the bathroom and quickly turned on the shower on the coldest water setting. She took her pyjamas off in a hurry tossing everything to the corner and hopped in, containing a squeal of shock once the borderline freezing water hit her warm skin. She immediately grabbed the soap and started scrubbing herself violently, trying to clean her body off the dirty dream.

"Disgusting," she cried out to herself. She felt absolutely filthy. Olivia reminded herself of who he really was - the monster in the basement, dripping in blood after committing the violent murder of five men. But she also remembered the feeling of wanting him, and it all made it worse. "DISGUSTING!" Olivia yelled out again.

She felt furious. She should have never come to Dallas! FUCK his trust, fuck this hotel, fuck the designer clothes, fuck his blood and FUCK Eric Northman!

But not like that.

Olivia was in a sour mood all day and to rub salt in the would - she had to go to Church today. To Sunday mass. UGH! Olivia's family wasn't particularly religious, they only went to Church when she was little because her mother made her - and she always hated it. People tend to bring some pretty disturbing thoughts to Church, it was far too overwhelming for her as a kid. Couples questioning their marriage, people praying for their gayness to be cured, a mother's guilt for birthing a disabled child, the ugly shame of a man who had beat his wife again. Pill problems, alcohol, cheating, lying, stealing, gambling, debt. It took her dad a lot of arguing to convince her mother to stop making Olivia come. With time, she learned how to (mostly) block thoughts in situations like these, but the damage was already done. She learned really young what sinners looked like and the truth was: they looked like just anybody.

Later in the day, she arrived at the Fellowship of Sun. It was this enormous and beautiful Church just outside of town. The ceilings were 40 feet tall with multiple grand glass chandeliers. The aisles were endless, this place could fit easily 500 people. The altar was simple: a long white stone table and a single Bishop's chair with rich green velvet upholstery. Behind it was this blue and green stained glass window art that reminded her of towers of crystals. It mesmerized her - the grandiosity, all the different hues of the colours, the light coming through it... It was probably the biggest stained glass window she had seen in her life. Olivia didn't even know they made things like that anymore.

But back to work. Rule number 5: know your exits. She studied the whole blueprint of this place, and the exits seemed to mostly match. The main Church hall had 2 exits, one to each side of the altar, plus the entrance. The grand foyer had four other doors: one to the Fellowship's daycare (with four exits), the events hall (with two exits), the admin office (one exit). There were a lot of windows in this place, so if they were keeping a vampire captive, it would not be anywhere public. There was an extra door in the foyer which was locked, which she had assumed from the blueprint it led to stairs going up to the mezzanine where the organ was, but she was wrong. Those stairs were in the Church hall. So her current bet was that those stairs led downstairs, and judging that floor wasn't included in the website's blueprint, it was her leading clue for rule 37 to be fulfilled. She had to find Godric.

As people strolled into the Church and took their seats, Olivia did so as well, sitting in the very back, trying to avoid eye contact with the crowd rolling in. Time to raise the mind-

I haven't seen her before. Is she Tessa Dotson's daughter? I thought she was knocked up-

Oh, there's Marsha. Damn. I gave her my number and the bitch never called me back. Do I go talk to her? No, man don't be such a pussy-

Wow, look at Linda and Paul! They look so good... Almost too good? Why does Linda's hair always look so freshly done? Paul don't make that much money-

Can't believe I'm missin' football for this, if the Broncos lose again I'll never recover in the fantasy league-

Raise the mind wall up.

There. That's better. She was getting rusty working strictly with vampires and not having to 'raise the shield' the entire time. Vampires were mostly psychopaths but the silence was comforting. Having to be so guarded sometimes became exhausting. That and… No one was meant to hear everyone's thoughts. Some may think it's a blessing, but it was most definitely a curse. Soon, the place was flooded with people. Aisles were full of men, women, teens and elderly grandparents, all wearing their little Sunday's best (and that was judgement, from the little she allowed herself to peek). In a shiny golden suit, entered from stage left: Steve Newlin. At first, she thought the guy was wearing a costume but no, the pastor was truly wearing a golden suit, with a white shirt and golden tie to match. When he reached the bottom of the altar he gave his wife Sarah who also wore a matching golden dress an awkward kiss. Were these people for real?

The sermon was cringy at best. Steve talked about our purpose on Earth and how they were all soldiers of God. How light was His first creation and how it protects them against evil. As Newlin spoke he got increasingly passionate, and the crowd got more and more effervescent.

"And on Friday night our Fellowship suffered the loss of a dear soldier, as many of you might have heard about, and knew, of course, Marc Sheldon-" The pilot? Oh, here we go. "Marc was an absolute inspiration to me. The man knew a loss much deeper than mine. See, my daddy - may he rest in heaven - was killed by the demons the media called vampires. But Marc…"

Steve Newlin stopped pacing and looked down for a moment. Was he trying to… Cry? Olivia looked around her and saw women in the crowd getting teary.

"Marc Sheldon was a Fellowship hero. He is getting the welcome he deserves in his Lord's Kingdom for what he's done!" The crowd cheered and cried. "Marc lost everything to vampires! He was a lost soul who found his purpose as a Fellowship soldier!"

"YEAH!" Men in the crowd rallied.

"And now he's been rewarded by His light! Let us praise Marc, and live in his light with prayer."

Everyone raised to their feet and Olivia followed. They all started loudly singing a hymn along with the organ which vibrated throughout the walls. Olivia did not remember Church being like this. It was creepy and weird and deeply unsettling. Marc Sheldon tried to crash a plane into a building in downtown Dallas. Sure that would kill maybe hundreds of vampires, but there were a hell lot of humans in there too. This place was the perfect breeding ground for vampire-hating humans, fueling the fear they already had. Still, these people seemed rather naive and harmless.

She thought of Eric Northman. The bloodied Eric in the basement. The one who invaded her veins with his blood. The one who poisoned her dreams. The Eric Northman who made her be here in the first place.

Maybe… They were right to be scared?

"My brothers and sisters," Steve continued, shushing the crowd. "I understand these are uncertain times. Every night me and my beautiful wife Sarah watch that despicable vampire on television-" the crowd interrupted with a boo and cries of anger. He was referring to Nan Flannagan. She was like… The most controversial woman on television since Monica Lewinsky. "I know, I know. Brothers and sisters, we must remember God has created light on His first day! It was so important, so crucial for the universe it was the very first thing He created. His light created life, His light created love! His light is His presence! Do not let these parasites in the media poison your minds. Do not believe vampires are our brothers with different labels - that they are just like us! These demons in human disguises and their puppets revel in watching us live in fear!"

The crowd went ballistic. "We will not fall for the lies of vampires! We know our worth, we know our God we know His Holy light!"

"Kill the vampires!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and soon they were all chanting. "Kill the vampires! Kill the vampires! Kill the vampires!"

The passion and emotion they carried in their minds and hearts as they shouted was real, pure and unadulterated hatred. These were not empty war cries - they truly meant it.

"Kill the vampires! Kill the vampires! Kill the vampires! Kill the vampires!"

Olivia started to think they weren't so naive as they looked.

Maybe… The vampires should be scared.

Olivia approached the long driveway of the Newlin's mansion as the sun was starting to dip behind the trees. She passed the perfectly landscaped shrubs and lawn that surrounded the Ranch style mansion. A security guard in uniform approached her car from the gate, which made her roll down her window immediately.

"Name?"

"Hess. I have an appointment with Mr. and Mrs. Newlin for 6 PM."

"Hess from…?"

"Anne Hess, from Hess-Cannon & Associates Chartered Accountants."

"Oh," he frowned. "What happened to Frank?"

Frank Owens was their actual accountant at the firm, but tonight dear old Anne was going on a fishing expedition. The Newlins won't even know what happened until she is long, long gone, hopefully with Godric in tow. Olivia could hear something coming from the man's earpiece, and he instantly signalled her to head up to the end of the driveway towards the house, letting her through.

While she parked, she had her cellphone on her lap, the recording app ready to go. "I'm Anne Hess, and I consent to this recording," Olivia spoke as she tucked her cellphone in her pocket. Texas Wiretapping Law required one party to consent being recorded in order for it to be evidence valid in court. Rule 13: always have legal standing blackmail material. As she stepped out of the car, she immediately recognized Sarah and Steve, already waiting for her from the top of their front steps. They muttered things to each other as if they were rehearsing something. As soon as she approached them they turned on their Television Smiles. It was a bit unsettling how fake these people were.

"Miss Hess! Welcome!" Steven cheered.

"Hello, hi," she shook both of their hands. "Call me Anne."

"I'm Sarah Newlin, Steven's wife. Are you George's daughter?" She had a very nice southern twang in her voice which Olivia liked.

"In the flesh," Olivia smiled. She had met George Hess once at a Gala, he was a handsy drunk. She was shocked he made it so far without sexual harassment lawsuits. But then again, settlements and NDAs exist. Most things aren't illegal, they just cost money to do it. While Olivia hadn't met Anne, she was listed as an accountant in the firm, as nepotism in the industry was something of pride. The correct term, of course, was family business.

"Well come on in!" Sarah insisted. She's a bit too pretty to be an accountant. What a waste of a wife, she thought.

Olivia was a single woman approaching her 30s and this kind of thinking no longer phased her. She got enough of it from her own family to numb her to it.

Their house was stunning inside, but she didn't expect anything less after seeing their tax statements. The couple led her to a large living room, where they all sat on shiny leather couches. Sarah and Steve sat across from her, wearing more 'toned down' clothes, but still in matching outfits that made them look like they came straight from the nearest country club. Olivia slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and placed it on top of her briefcase, hoping it would catch any shady information these two dumb wits might spill.

"I don't mean to be rude, Miss Hess but… What's this all about? Frank has been our accountant since..." Sarah looked at her husband waiting for him to finish her sentence.

"Gosh, since my dad founded the Fellowship, some 15 odd years ago-"

"I'm not sure if you heard of the unfortunate news, Mr. and Mrs. Newlin, but Frank is on medical leave."

Their faces froze in a half jaw-drop. "You don't say?"

"Almighty! Poor Frank! Is he okay?" Sarah's high-pitched voice made it sound as if she were to faint.

"Yeah, well… You know cancer..." Olivia nodded, pretending to be sad.

"Oh, no! That's awful news! Just awful." Sarah was borderline crying. "Oh, honey, should we visit Frank and his family? Call maybe? Oh, I know! We will hold a group prayer on Tuesday-"

Steven leaned forward on the couch ignoring his wife completely. "And you are taking over Frank's accounts, I gather?" A woman? They sent a freaking woman to take care of my fucking money?!

Whoop, there it was. "Not entirely, just his high-profile clients. My father wouldn't trust anyone to take on the Newlin's who didn't have the calibre that you deserve."

We're really high-profile clients? I do like the sound of that - Sarah thought. Olivia didn't like it, but it appeared sucking up their asses would be the only way to get something out of them.

"And you do?" Steve asked distrustingly. The guy was still hung up on the existence of her vagina, apparently.

"My name is on the door, Mr. Newlin." Rule 10: if you are going to bluff…

What an odd thing to be proud of. I'll never understand career women, Sarah thought.

"Of course," Steve nodded in agreement. "Well, I can't wait to work with you in the meantime, Anne."

"Pleasure is all mine. I actually attended your service today-"

"You did? What did you think?"

A hateful brainwashing cult - "It was so enriching, so brave! Truly eye-opening. I never really thought of His light that way..."

"You really think so?" Steve asked with the first true smile she had seen today.

Olivia thought a bit more of his Hitler-esque speech at the end of mass. "I truly do not understand why the media allows vampires a platform to begin with!" Olivia continued.

"Money!" Steve answered right away. "Money and greed. It gives them views, it gets them money and it's all they care about."

A bit rich, coming from him but ok - "Despicable!" Olivia snarled. "And that poor pilot who crashed that's been all over the news? My heart sank when you mentioned he was part of your Fellowship."

"Oh, I knew Marc personally, Miss Hess-"

"That poor, poor man." Sarah Newlin interrupted. "I'm helping his mom with his funeral arrangements…" Since his cunty ex-wife won't have anything to do with honoring her late husband and father of their child. But what you can expect from a divorced woman? Clearly, she doesn't honor her vows-

Yikes. "What about his family? How are they coping with such a tragedy?" Olivia asked, hoping Sarah would say the word cunt out loud.

The couple looked at each other awkwardly before Sarah continued. "Well, unfortunately, Marc and his family were separated because of a vampire's cruel curse."

"How come?" Olivia asked curiously.

"About a year ago, Marc had an argument at a bar with a vampire demon, and he made Marc forget his wife and daughter existed through a glamouring curse. When he went home and found strangers living in his house-" Sarah stopped, tears flooding her eyes.

"It was a nasty situation," Steve said, patting his wife's back, Sarah still fighting a total breakdown. "Things got a bit heated, and his wife called the cops on him."

"That's terrible," Olivia muttered.

"Yeah, his ex-wife doesn't believe in the wicked power of vampires and refused to believe he had been glamoured. She swore if Marc really loved them he wouldn't have forgotten, somehow. The guy lost everything in the divorce. It was wicked."

Sarah loudly wept, making a hurtful echo across the house. "I'm sorry!" She tried stopping herself. "I just can't believe a vampire could be so cruel to make a father forget his own daughter!"

Well. Marc Sheldon sure as shit had a motive to strike against vampires. But what did this have to do with Godric?

"Vampires are not people, Sarah," Olivia said, trying to console the woman. "They are monsters who prey on good people. They take advantage of our sins to destroy us from within. Lust, greed, vanity, pride…" Olivia couldn't remember the rest of the sins, but they got the gist.

They take advantage of our sins to destroy us from within… I like that. I'm gonna use that, Steve thought. "She's right, Sarah." Steve agreed. "And that's why I must stop them."

Sarah finally stopped crying, but her mascara was already running everywhere. Olivia narrowed her mind into the blonde's and got a glimpse of a large bonfire at dawn, with blue and green light.

"Yes, we are." She agreed with her perfect smile, wiping the tears away. We are going to burn them all.

Olivia's internal alarm rang. Both Sarah and Marc used the same words - we are going to burn them all. That, plus Sarah's memory of a large bonfire at dawn made her think they were speaking literally.

"The Fellowship is going to stop vampires?" Olivia perked up, hoping she had kissed enough ass to make their thoughts slip and give her something more concrete. But she wasn't expecting what followed.

"Yes, we are. One of the Fellowship's roles is to actively support any efforts of justice against vampirical crimes-"

"Vampirical crimes?"

"Glamourings, turnings, feedings, rapes, death and the destruction of families. We seek justice for the lives vampires routinely destroy."

Sarah, now composed, spoke. "We give them to God. And it is beautiful, Anne. You really should come to our light celebrations. It happens on the first Sunday of every month, but we are hoping to do it every Sunday someday."

"We gather all the vampire monsters we can and hold our Light celebration. We watch our God do what he does best. We watch 'em burn." Steve said with a feeling of euphoria.

"It's right at the Church, last month we had 3 vampires meet the sun, and it was so beautiful! The way they burned right in front of the stained glass window was absolutely magnificent, I swear you can feel God's presence all around you!"

Olivia was confused for a second. She didn't even have to read their minds - why were these people confessing? "I would love to…"

"The next one is next weekend, and we only got one vampire so far, but Steve and the boys from Church camp are going to Oklahoma this week for more!"

"Oh yeah, baby! It's open season!" Steve shouted all excited.

"Sorry, why Oklahoma?"

"Oh, this one is interesting. You see, vampires organize themselves in these feudal-type systems. They have their own little areas they care of-"

"Right." Olivia was at the edge of her seat.

"And they watch out for vamps in their own little squares. But if you take vamps from other areas, they just assume they left town."

It wasn't completely correct, Dallas just happened to be near the border. It was more like vampires didn't communicate past state lines. All sheriffs in a state very much talked amongst each other, and directly reported to their own Monarch. Kings and Queens, however, usually avoided each other for the most part.

"For creatures so old, they ain't so clever, are they?" Sarah joked.

"And… How do you know if they committed crimes?"

"Oh Anne, don't be silly. They are vampires. They are guilty by their very existence. They aren't God's children and they don't deserve to be here." Sarah explained calmly.

Olivia's heart was beating a mile a minute. They basically just described how human trafficking worked. The church was kidnapping and murdering vampires from other regions. That meant if they only got vampires from Oklahoma, then Godric was not here. Does this mean some other Church from another State hunts vampires in Dallas? It meant Godric would be far, far away from here. And if he was gone for weeks…

"That is truly impressive Mr. and Mrs. Newlin. Wow! I had no idea the Fellowship did… All of this. Does this mean another Church in Oklahoma hunts vampires here? So you keep each other safe?"

"Yes, actually we have two congregations who hunt vampires in Northern Texas. Lord of Light in Texarkana, and Lakemont in Shreveport," Steve mentioned, which made Olivia's blood boil. We came out all this fucking way when Godric could have been in Shreveport this whole time?! "Though I doubt they ever made it as far as Dallas. They probably get all the vampires they need in Longview or Paris. I think Dallas vampires are a bit out of their league. Marc Sheldon and I were working on a side project to remedy that, with the plane crash and everything."

"What do you mean?" She asked, trying not to feel horrified by what she was hearing.

"Well... I know it's not particularly Kosher, but Sheldon was a skilled private pilot who intended to crash the aircraft at a strategic location, rather than a cornfield. We were going to destroy an entire nest of vamps - the Carmilla hotel."

The Newlins weren't confessing - they were bragging.

Olivia had heard enough. The pastor and his wife were co-conspirators to terrorism, and she had it on tape. But she was still missing her main goal. "And how many vampires do you plan to use for your celebration next week?"

"Well, we already got one. A scrawny little stray who surrendered." Steven said as if it were a hilarious joke. In his mind, he clearly pictured a jail cell in the Church's basement.

The domino pieces were falling faster than her mind could follow. Don't come looking for me.

"Oh my Goodness, look at the time! You must be starvin', Anne, let's eat!" Sarah said joyfully getting up.

Olivia looked at the time: one hour until sunset. As she followed the Newlin's she quickly texted Eric to let him know she was on the right track. The plane, the pilot, the Church, the basement.

One hour. In one hour this would all be over.

Eric stood quietly on top of a tree-lined hill, watching the Fellowship from afar. Men walked around the gardens, lazily dragging crossbows between the buildings. Churches used to be grand palaces, it took decades to build it as they laid each stone, carved each plank and blew each glass pane by hand. They were designed to be masterpieces to honour their Gods. But the compound he found himself staring at was quintessential modern human: large enough to make up for this lack of originality, and cheaply built.

The men who guarded the place wore Walmart grade camo and fleece, packs of smokes rolled up on their sleeves, dirty college football flex cap and unshaven neckbeards, not too different from the Hillbillies in Shreveport. They were the kind of men who spent a lot of time bragging about defending America, but couldn't even run a mile to save his life, let alone actually fight. They were truly pathetic.

He was still waiting on Olivia's signal, whatever that may be. She sent a short text earlier claiming the Newlins were hiding something but did not describe what, or where, or why, nor replied to any of his subsequent texts. For a woman who always had something to say, she was really quiet since they last spoke the previous night. Eric did not awake once through their bond, either. He was relieved, but a bit disappointed at the same time. For whatever reason, he wanted to feel her.

"Fancy seeing you here," he recognized the voice, and instantly felt glad she came alone, without Texas Stan.

"Is this it, Isabel? That's the army Stan wants to fight?" She shyly smiled, taking the notice of the scared little bible boys wandering the parking lot. "I could take them alone as a human."

"Oh, I believe you. Godric has told me the stories of the grand Viking warrior of the North. You were quite the fighter, even before your turning. Godric found great honor in you."

Eric's chest tightened. And yet somehow, his Maker was supposed to be here? Don't come looking for me. What the hell was he doing? This entire time Eric feared he was being held captive by junkies for his blood. But a Church? Historically speaking that would be 10x worse but in this day and age? He was skeptical.

"Don't underestimate them though. Support for their movement is growing everywhere. Why do you think Nan Flanagan looks like she's about to have an aneurism at any second?"

"I thought that was just her face."

Isabel laughed again. The Spanish princess was quite beautiful, especially under the moonlight. She had beautifully rich tanned skin, warm dark hair to match her eyes, and wore all black with a large gold pendant necklace, most certainly old Spanish craftsmanship. Humans didn't make jewelry like this anymore. "The fellowship is overflowing with self-righteous extremists, all willing and ready to die for their cause-"

"That can certainly be arranged."

"Your pilot was just the tip of the iceberg, and I think Godric knew that."

"You're sure Godric didn't say anything?"

"Eric, you've known him for longer than I've even existed. He would rather die the most horrible death than risk any one of us. If he thought this place was dangerous and didn't say anything about it, it's because they are dangerous…. Even if they don't look like it."

Eric knew Godric like the back of his hand, but so did Isabel. Godric's secrets were always dangerous and drove Eric absolutely mad. Why couldn't Godric trust Eric to save him? Why couldn't he tell him his dark secrets? Why did he not trust his first and only progeny? Why admire his honor, if Eric wasn't allowed to use it?

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something move in the dark. From behind a school-like building, emerged a small figure, running half-ducked down and disappearing again behind some parked trucks. Her strawberry blonde hair sparkled under the moon. He watched Olivia quickly and strategically make her away to the main Church building while avoiding the Fellowship "guards". He didn't know why he found it so amusing, but she moved like a fox. It was like she was incapable of being ungraceful.

"What in the actual fuck-" Isabel whispered. "Eric, please tell me that is not who I think it is."

"Why did you think I brought her in the first place?" He smirked, but Isabel did not look amused.

"You brought the Queen's-" Isabel stopped herself in anger. Or was it because she wasn't supposed to say?

"The Queen's what?"

Isabel pursed her lips and looked agitated, watching Olivia dash across the campus, closer and closer to the main building. "If anything happens to her you will be in such deep shit, Northman."

"I'm aware of the edict of protection on her head, thank you for your concern."

"And you still sent the woman into this cult alone?! Do you have any idea what the humans would do to her if they found who she works for?!"

"Look at her," he nodded down the hill. Olivia just entered the side of the building through a fire exit and disappeared quietly just in time to not be seen by three men guarding the building. "Olivia can take care of herself. She's been there all day and not once she was afraid."

"Did you ever think this was perhaps a trap? That this is exactly what these lunatics wanted?"

"Yes."

"Yes?!" Isabel was losing her patience. "I cannot believe you are risking her life like this-"

"It was either this or Stan's all-out war!" Eric's fangs came down. What the fuck was he supposed to do?! Just leave Godric behind?! "Plus it was her idea, I'm not making her do anything-"

Isabel glared at him in a way he didn't like. It was like she could see right through his lie.

"Oh, really?" She mocked him. "Olivia Carson willingly came to Dallas and offered to go rescue your Maker from a possible terrorist organization? And let me guess, she asked to be bound by blood to you too? Wow, it almost makes me think she is in love with you, Northman."

"She's not."

"I didn't fucking think so. If Sophie-Anne finds out about this-"

"She'll what?" Eric had to lower his voice, he didn't want to attract the attention of the humans. "What's the deal between the two? She's the Queen's what?"

"Accountant." She barked and turned away, looking nervously down the valley, but mostly avoiding Eric's eyes.

The same men wandered aimlessly through the parking lot and the gardens, smoking their cigarettes, carrying their little crossbows. Whatever Olivia was doing inside the Church was happening right under their noses. Eric was right in bringing her. If Godric was here she would find him, he knew it. But the shifty way Isabel was behaving indicated she knew something, and wasn't telling him. Whose secret was she keeping?

"I think we both know there's a bit more to her than that. I'm not as stupid as I look-"

"Well, how could you?" She looked at Eric again, with such contempt in her eyes he actually questioned whether or not Isabel wanted Godric found at the cost of Olivia's life.

"What is she?"

Isabel's eyes darkened. She seemed reluctant as if she were studying a distant memory. "Do you trust her?" Was all she asked.

Trust? What did trust have to do with anything? It was an odd question. His poor judgment of trust was precisely what led to Queen Sophie-Anne's cruel and usual punishment. He was forced to let Olivia manage all of his finances, properties, businesses and assets - Pam's too - all because Eric had trusted Longshadow not to dip his filthy hands in places he shouldn't have. Now he entrusted Olivia to find one of the most precious things Eric ever loved: his own Maker. Why? The woman was deceitful, unprincipled, exploitative and highly manipulative. In all honesty, he thought Olivia Carson was formidable.

"I trust her." Eric finally confessed.

And just like that, the spell broke. A loud sound of glass shattering echoed all throughout the valley, followed by sirens and bells ringing. The men scattered through the property all turned facing the Church. They charged towards the building, storming through the large front doors.

Shit Olivia, what did you do?

AN:

HELLO!

Sorry for the wait, there was A LOT to cram in this chapter to set up the rest of this plot arc. Are y'all ready for what she finds in the Church or what?! Get hyped.

Til next time my beautiful tater-tots

xoxoxo