44

More Than A Telepath

Hello, everyone. I'm back, and I'm better. This may sound weird, but I had to actually have therapy to get past my Baby Dennis's death. I still cry, but I'm getting better and tomorrow, I will be even better. Thank you all for bearing with me and being understanding. I will not abandon this story.

As always, thank you for being patient, reading, favoriting, reviewing, and alerting. Y'all are wonderful, and I appreciate each of you.

As I lie on the couch, I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. I thought of tonight's events, my mind wandered to anywhere and everywhere. I wondered about my grandparents and how they're doing. I wondered if my dad was safe now and if, before tonight, he'd had any more contact with Sam. I wondered if they'd had a chance to discovere who the other contact is that lives in Bon Temps. I wondered if Jason was having a good time on fishing trip with his friends. I even wondered about my mom. I wanted them to be safe. Even my mom. I wanted to go home to feel something normal. I wanted to gossip with Gran and eat a big, thick slice of chocolate cake with a great big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I wanted to take a long walk through the woods with grandpa. I wanted to eat cronuts and drink mocha chocha lattes with dad. I wanted to do anything but what I was doing right now. I wanted to escape my reality for a few hours, but I couldn't do that. I needed to stay in the now. I needed to figure out what was going on and how to stop it. I wanted to know what I could have done differently. I wondered if what happened is my fault. I wondered if I could go back and change things to how they should be. I wondered if after tonight, if I'll ever be the same.

Tonight, I've killed. I didn't kill for fun but for necessity. I had no other choice but that doesn't change the fact that I've killed. They were after me. They were going to kill anyone that they had to kill to get to me. They were going to kill Salome to get to me. I don't care for Salome, but I don't want anything to happen to her on my account. I guess grandpa was right. My gift is priceless to the supernatural world, and they will do anything to get it. They don't have to take me. They can hire out my services, and I will help them. I've always been willing to help others. I'm not a selfish person. If they would get to know me the right way, nothing bad would have to happen. We could all have great relationships. People, humans and supes alike, don't have to die. I will help them. None of what happened, had to happen. No one had to die.

A couple of hours earlier ...

As I glanced down at my watch, I was getting a bit impatient. She needed to come out here and tell me what was going on. I tried to stay out in the hallway and wait for Salome. I truly did, but something didn't sit right with me. Something was terribly wrong. Call it women's intuition, but I could feel it. Things weren't adding up. Not to me they weren't. How did the vampire get into my apartment? Only two vampires, well three now that I've given Salome permission, can come into my apartment, and that's Eric and Pam. I did my best to think of how another vampire can get it. I didn't invite them in. As Eric said, I must be the one to invite them in, right? I should be home to let a vampire in, right? I didn't invite them in, and I wasn't at home to invite them in. How did they get in? If it wasn't me that invited them, how did they get in? There are obviously some things that Eric and Pam didn't tell me. Things that I needed to know.

"Salome?" I called out.

She didn't answer me, but I could hear her in there. She was speaking in low tones, and she sounded different. She sounded far away but close by at the same time. She needed to say something to let me know what was going on.

"Salome?" I called out a little louder.

She still didn't answer.

"Salome," I repeated. "If you don't answer me, I'm coming in there."

And surprise! She didn't answer me.

That has really ticked me off. She wasn't answering me. I felt that she was ignoring me. It was like she was letting me know that she was in charge, and I was going to have to wait until she was ready to let me know what was going on. She is the most irritating person, well vampire, that I've ever met. If she would just answer me, I wouldn't have to stand out in the hallway …

Don't come in here.

My heart began pounding in my chest as I ran into my apartment. No one was in the kitchen or living room, so I ran down the hall to the guest bedroom. The room with the familiar mind. The sight before me terrified me to my very soul. There stood my dad wrapped in the arms of the vampire called Jonathan. The vampire that helped Maxwell Lee take Pam and kill her friends and Eric's vampires. The vampire that we once believed to be dead had my daddy. My daddy looked to have been beaten within an inch of his life. His face was bloodied and bruised. There were slits where his eyes were supposed to be. I lied earlier when I said that he was standing. It was more like he was leaning against Jonathan's body because he couldn't stand on his own. I tried to get into his mind, but nothing was clear. He was dying.

I could feel my heart shatter as I stared at my daddy. "Let him go," I said to Jonathan. I looked to Salome and asked, "Vampires can use other humans to get into my home?"

"Yeah."

They used my daddy to get to me.

Salome was standing in front of me. She was poised and ready to fight. Her hands were clawed, and her fangs were out. "Who is this man to you?"

"My daddy," I whispered. I stepped from behind Salome and stood in front of Jonathan … as close as Salome would allow. "Please, let my daddy go. He has nothing to offer you."

His gripped tightened on my daddy's neck. "You are wrong, Sookie Stackhouse. He has you and because he has you, he is the key to getting you to come with me. Anyone that's close to you, is the key to getting you to come with us. I don't know why, but everyone in the supe world wants you, and because they want you, we needed to take something that you love and that was your dear, old dad. So, here we are. What do you think? Do you think you'll come with me if I let your daddy go?"

Daddy didn't give me a chance to answer him. He placed his hand on Jonathan's arm to try and loosen his grip, but it didn't work. "Sookie, get out of here," he said, barely above a whisper. "Don't do anything stupid. Get to safety and prepare yourself for what's coming. It's too late for me. Get out of here now." He moved his head just a bit as his body slumped even more.

"No," I said. "I'm not leaving you." To Jonathan, I said, "I wouldn't go with you if you didn't have my father. It wouldn't matter either way. Let him go because he doesn't have me. I'm a grown and capable woman. I am my own person. I make my own decisions, but you should know that I belong to and with Eric Northman, the Sheriff of Area Five. You can't take me from another vampire. A more valuable and important vampire. You wouldn't know what to do with me if you did have the power to take me. How could you know? You're no one. You don't even know who or what I am." I shook my head and said, "You are nothing, Jonathan. You're just the vampire that they sent out to be killed because you're just as useless to them as you were to us."

Jonathan began to laugh, though I could clearly see that he was angry. "I know who you are, Sookie."

He had no clue. He only knew my name.

"I know who you belong to," he continued. "Taking your father was meant to make you decide to leave the Northman and to come with me. Northman has nothing to offer you. As you said, he's nothing more than a valuable and important sheriff." He chuckled. "Well, not for long. Soon, he'll be dead … deader than he is right now. With us, we can offer you a better life. With us, you can be so much more than a lackey that's helping her boss find his missing child. So much more than Eric can or will ever provide or allow you to be." He had the nerve to reach out to me. "Come with me, Sookie, and your daddy will live. We may even release Pam if you would come with me."

I knew that he was lying. I knew that no matter what my choice was going to be, he was going to kill my daddy and they were never going to let Pam go. Not without a fight. I stared at the filthy hand with pure hate and disgust in my eyes. I stepped a little closer to the vampire with Salome close beside me. "Let my father go." The calmness in voice almost scared me.

Salome placed her hand on my arm and gently pulled me behind her. "I must keep you safe, Sookie. Don't unnecessarily put yourself in danger." She genuinely sounded concerned for my safety. "Can you imagine what Bill would do to me if something happens to you? You stay right where I can keep you safe. Can you do that for me? Will you do that for me?"

Staring at Jonathan, I said, "I can't make any promises, but I'll try."

Salome laughed as only should could before focusing on Jonathan. "Who sent you here, Jonathan? I know that a vampire as stupid as you are didn't do this on your own." She glanced at me over her shoulder. "He's the dumbest vampire to have ever walked this earth. He was too stupid to keep his child alive. He didn't tell her to stay out of the sun. I would have assumed that she would naturally know, but I guess not. I can't believe he didn't tell her. Who does that? One idiot turning another. Who'd have thought?" She returned her attention to Jonathan; the amusement had quickly left her face. "You are going to let the human go, and you're going to tell me who sent you here. I don't play well with others, Jonathan. I never have. You know this. Don't make me kill you. I've done enough killing for one night."

He was with a vampire that had a scarred face.

"Do you know his name?" I asked as I starred at my dad.

Jonathan frowned. "Of course, I know his name. We're all working together. I'm not as stupid as Salome makes me out to be." He continued to ramble on about how smart he is and how the operation wouldn't work without him. He was their inside man. He gave them the info that they needed to take Pam. He and Long Shadow were the backbones of their so called little group of nitwits. Maxwell Lee needed them to do the hard work, and they did it. They did what needed to be done. The more he talked, the more he proved Salome's point. He is stupid. I wasn't even speaking to him and he gave up more information than we expected. This could be easier than I thought. We can get information from him and get him to let my dad go.

I tapped Salome on the shoulder. She leaned closer to me. "Go along with this okay."

Salome frowned at me as she faced me, not saying a word.

I began to nuzzle her neck as I made my way to her ear. "I'm communicating with my daddy telepathically. So, my questions aren't going to weird, okay?"

She nodded her head as she placed her hand on the back of my head. "Oh, dear girl. I don't mind this at all."

"This is not sexual. I'm still Eric's woman."

"You don't have to be. You could relinquish all ties to him and come to me on your own."

"My dad, Salome. I don't have time for games."

She wrapped her arm around my waist. "We could play later," she suggested.

Loud enough for Jonathan to hear, I said, "After it's over, we'll think about it. I'm sure Eric would enjoy it."

Salome smiled seductively at me. "I'm sure he would." She tried inching her hand down my back to my bottom, but I stopped that. "Can't blame me for trying."

I sighed as I shook my head.

Jonathan frowned. "I thought that you belonged to the Northman."

"I do," I proclaimed. "But if he likes someone, he lets me have fun with them." Shame was more than apparent on my face as I looked at my dad. I really hoped that my dad knows that I'm not Jason. I would never sleep with two people at once.

I know, Sunshine. It's part of your job.

I sighed as I stepped away from Salome. "Maybe if he's as stupid as you say he is, he doesn't know the guy's name. Maybe he doesn't know that he's working for anyone. Maybe it's all in his head. Maybe he just wants us to believe that he's working with other vampires. Maybe taking me will give him some clout in the supe world."

The vampire … the one that's in control, he has a scarred face. He looks to have been in a battle of some type. He walks with a limp. And he's cruel. He's so very cruel. There are two vampires working together. One lives here in Louisiana. He wants the king's seat. If he rules the state, he owns you. Tears streamed from what used to be my daddy's eyes.

My heart broke as I looked at my daddy. I wanted to know what happened to him, but I was afraid of what I'd see. I wanted to keep the good memories and the best times. I had to hold onto those memories because they were almost over. I could see that we didn't have much time. There were going to be no more lunches at Merlotte's or at Crawdad's Café. There were going to be no more not so secret meetings. I wasn't going to have to listen to anymore of his stupid jokes, and I'm going to miss them; every unfunny one of them. I was going to lose my daddy and there was nothing that I could do to stop it.

"Fuck you, you tramp!", Jonathan snapped at me. "You don't know me like that!" He glared at Salome. "I was a young vampire when I made that mistake! And I do know who I'm working with! I'm not some dummy! Victor knows my worth. He knows that I can get the job done. That's why he has me working for him."

Salome and I smiled at each other.

"It wasn't a long time ago that you fucked up with your child. It was last year that your child walked into the sun," she said as she reminded him of how petty she is. "Victor Madden? Is he one of your bosses? Is that why he went to Fangtasia to visit Eric? To get info about Sookie?"

Jonathan looked dumbstruck.

"See," I said. "I told you that Salome was right."

She stepped closer to Jonathan as she spoke. "Don't do this. You know that she is under the protection of the king. He sent the edict out last night, but I see that you and Victor have decided to ignore it." She sighed. "You have decided to come to his state and take what belongs to his sheriff. You know that this is an automatic death sentence for you. Victor knows that this is an automatic death sentence for you." Smiling, she added, "You won't be leaving here alive. Everyone knows that. Those that sent you, they know that. That's why they sent you. So, instead of dying a dickhead, do something nice and decent. Give the man a little breathing room, will ya?" Using her head to point at my dad, she said, "He's not going to last too much longer if you keep him in that choke hold, then what are you going to use for leverage, dumb ass?"

I could see on his face that Jonathan was considering Salome's suggestion. It was more than obvious that he wasn't ready to die and he's not that smart. He wanted to live as long as possible, even if he wouldn't make it past fifteen minutes. "I'm only going to let him go because …"

"You have to," Salome finished.

Thankfully, his arm wasn't wrapped tightly around my dad's neck anymore. "Thank you," I whispered. Lovingly looking at my daddy, I asked, "Are you okay?" I don't know why I asked because I knew the answer already.

He nodded as he dropped to his knees with hands delicately touching his throat. Though he was in pain, he continued to give me as much info as he could. He hates Eric Northman. He and Victor have different plans. Victor wants to rule the state. The scarred man wants Eric's blood. His goal is to kill him, but he plans to make sure that Eric loses everything that he loves. That includes you. I can't and won't let that happen. So, no matter what happens, you let me do what I must.

I shook my head no. "I can't do that. You know that I can't do that. Why?" I asked my dad, but the questioned appeared to be to Jonathan, but Salome answered.

Salome frowned at me over shoulder. "I've already said why. Do you not listen?"

I pushed lightly against her arm. "I wasn't speaking to you, Salome."

She winked and smiled. "I may be little slow on the uptake at times, but I get it. Give me a little credit, will you, Sweetie?"

I tried smiling with her. "You are no longer on my list."

"Be still my dead heart," she said as she placed her hand to her chest.

I don't know.

Verbally, I asked my dad, "How long have they had you?"

Jonathan answered. "Long enough to get him to turn on you."

Please, don't believe that. It's not true. I'd never turn on you. They had some of your belongings. I don't know how they got your things, but I have an idea. They were able to sniff you out.

Smiling at my dad, I said, "I've never doubted you."

Jonathan seemed to be dazed and a lot confused.

"Mom?"

He nodded. The night she turned on you, the night you spoke with Sam, she never came home. She never answered her phone when I called. She's all in, Sookie. You can never trust her again. Never give her a chance to get close to you. She will hurt you.

I walked in my dad's direction. "She'll try, but she won't succeed."

Jonathan began to walk towards me, but Salome stopped him. "Get anywhere near her, and I'll rip your fucking head off … by order of the king no less."

Jonathan stayed where he was and watched me.

I kneeled in front of my dad. I placed my hand on his cheek. "How long have they had you?"

He coughed as he spoke. "A couple of days. I had to go to your grandparents' house to get something, and they were there." The look my face must've shown pure horror. "Don't worry. They're safe. They're not here."

"Does he know? Does grandpa know what they've done to you?"

He shook his head no. "I was supposed to call him, but he knows that if he doesn't hear from me that things have not gone as planned."

I looked at Jonathan. 'My grandfather is going to destroy you for what you've done."

Jonathan laughed. "I'm not afraid of an old man."

Salome cocked an eyebrow. "You will be."

I took my dad's hand in mine and held it tightly. "You know that I have to do this, right?"

He nodded his answer.

"Are you okay with this?"

"I am." He squeezed my hand tightly and there it was. Everything that my dad had been through since they'd taken him filled my mind. They'd snatched him from my grandparents' home. He fought as hard as he could, but there were too many of them. He took out as many as he could, but he wasn't strong enough. He wasn't fast enough, and he was alone. They beat him unconscious and threw him into the trunk of the car. Just as I'd seen when I was with Dawn, my dad was in a blood red room. He was surrounded by vampires. Vampires that I'd never seen in my life. They were abusing him. Beating him. Taunting him with the horrible things that they were going to do to me … thought that they were going to do to me. They brutalized my father with their words and anger. And no matter what they did to him, he wouldn't turn on me. He gave them everything for me and by that, I mean that he gave his life to keep me safe.

I threw my arms around his neck, careful not to hurt him ... careful not to cry. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you, daddy. I'm so sorry. Grandpa told me that I was putting my family in danger and that's what I've done. If we had been together, we could've fought together. I should've stayed hidden. I should've kept waitressing. Please forgive me."

He shook his head no as he kissed my cheek. "You are wrong. They would have killed me and taken you. We wouldn't be here now. You'd be held against your will, and we can't have that. They would have tried to break you and if they couldn't, they would have killed everyone that you love to get you to comply. Don't blame yourself for the sins and hatred of others. You've done nothing wrong. And don't you dare stop doing what you want to do because of them. This is what you've wanted to do. It was meant for you to help others. This is your calling. You don't like hiding in the shadows, remember? This is your world now. You've taken your place here. Be proud of who and what you are."

I removed myself from my dad's arms. "I am."

"I love you so much, Sookie. I should've been a better father to you. I should've ..."

"You stop it," I ordered. "You love me and that's what counts. You love me."

He nodded. "I do."

"And I love you, daddy." I did all that I could to keep the tremble out of my voice.

Daddy squeezed my hand. Victor will be at the bar Friday night. He has no plans of going to the king's party. He knows that it will be close to impossible for him to take you from the party. He knows that Eric will not let you out of his sight. He's planning his attack on Eric then.

"We'll be ready," I promised my dad. "He won't win."

The vampire Jonathan frowned as he looked at me. "What did you do?" He pointed dad's and my hands and said, "Let him go. I don't trust what you're doing." He snatched my dad by the back of his shirt and held him close to him. "I don't trust you."

I looked up at Jonathan as I stood from the floor. "You're going to pay for what you've done. You shouldn't fear Salome. You should fear me."

He laughed at me. "Are you serious? You? The fucking human? Or your old ass grandpa?" He continued to laugh at my expense. "You don't scare me and neither does your grandpa. And you don't either. If anything happens to me, Victor will have your ass," he said as he looked at Salome. "This was supposed to be quick and easy but here you are. You weren't supposed to be here. I have to come up with some other way to get the girl to come with me."

Salome began kicking off her shoes. "As I said earlier, I didn't come here to kill anyone. I didn't even want to get into any fights but so far tonight, I have had to get into a fight out in the parking lot and I've killed a few vampires. Now, I'm going to have to fight in Sookie's apartment, and it's a nice apartment too. So cute. So quaint. It's such a welcoming little place. And now I'm going to have to destroy her home because of you. I know that Bill's going to make me pay out of pocket to fix everything that's going to get broken and if that happens, I'm going to clean out your bank account to recoup what I'm going to lose. I promise you that. You've ruined my entire night. I just wanted to make sure that Sookie was going to be safe and sound. She belongs to one of our sheriffs. She's an asset to the king of this great state of Louisiana, and you've come here to take her. This is not what I wanted to do. I wanted a peaceful night guarding Sookie. You've further ruined those plans." She began rolling up the sleeves of her blouse. "You know that you can't leave here alive, Jonathan. You will die tonight, you do understand that?"

"You're not going to kill me" he replied.

He's so evil.

I looked at dad. "Who?"

Jonathan sneered at me. "What are you doing? What do you mean who?" He looked at my dad and then back at me. "What's going on here?"

Salome shook her head. "You don't even know why you're here, do you? You don't know what she is, do you? Who she is?"

Jonathan forced my dad's father closer to his body. "What do you mean what she is and who she is? She is the fucking human that I was sent here to get for the boss. He told me to get the girl, and I'm here to get the girl."

Run, Sookie.

"No," I said. I stepped closer to my dad. "I'm not leaving you." Something inside of me changed. I could feel my heart racing. My breathing was hurried, and my head was spinning. I could feel the anger rising in me, and I've never been this angry in my life. I've never felt this much hatred. I've never wanted to see one person die as much as I want to see death take Jonathan. "I can save you."

Jonathan looked nervous. He looked from me to my dad as he began to walk backwards. "What the fuck is going on? What are you doing?"

I continued to walk towards them. "Let him go, and I will let you live. I give you my word. Let my daddy go." I shook my head as I said, "I don't want to kill you."

I noticed that Salome moved away from me. She was almost on the other side of the bedroom and for the first time since meeting her, she looked afraid.

Of me.

Go!

"No!" I yelled at my dad. "LET HIM GO!"

"What's going on?" Jonathan noticed that Salome was no longer standing close to me. He knew that he was about to die.

I knew that he was about to die. "Daddy, I'm going to …"

Before I knew what was happening, Jonathan twisted my daddy's head so sharply that he snapped his neck. I watched as his body fell to the floor. His eyes were open, and they were on me. I screamed out in agony. I raised my hands and these bolts of light filled the room. Jonathan was pinned to the wall as I burned into him. I could feel my anger leave my body and go into his. I could feel my anger as it killed him. I watched as my anger lifted Jonathan from the floor and pressed him against the wall. I watched his eyes as they rolled to the back of his head. I watched as his body burned from the center and the fire worked its way to every inch of his body. I watched as he exploded all over my bedroom. Ashes, soot and gore everywhere. Even though I'd killed Jonathan, I could still hear myself screaming. I could still see the flames leaving my hands as they burned a hole into the wall. I could still see my daddy lying dead on the floor.

When I couldn't scream anymore, I dropped to my knees and crawled to my him. I rested my head on his chest and cried. I don't know for how long, but I held him as I cried. "I was going to save you."

Salome placed her hand on my shoulder as she kneeled at my side. "You've been short changing yourself, Sookie. You're more than a telepath. Much more."

Those were the last words I heard her say before passing out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I woke up on the couch wrapped in Gran's beautifully ugly afghan. It was giving me the warmth and comfort that I so desperately needed but luckily, I wasn't alone. Salome was standing over me. Once again, she was ready to fight for me. Die for me. Her hands were clawed, and her fangs were out. "Get the fuck away from her! Who are you and why are you here?"

"Claudine," I whispered. To Salome, I said, "She's my cousin on the faery side of the family. She's my faery godmother."

Salome was no longer in fight mode, but she still stood over me. "Don't do anything stupid, Claudine."

Claudine ignored Salome and sat down on the couch next to me. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't here." She brushed the hair from my forehead. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head no. "He killed my daddy. My daddy is dead. I was going to save him, but he wouldn't let me."

"I know," Claudine whispered. "Fintan's coming. He's bringing Niall with him."

"Why?"

"Because you're a Brigant, Sookie. Vampires have killed a member of the royal family. You and your father are our kin, and we protect our kin." She smiled. "War will come to them, and they will die." She looked at Salome and smiled. "Your kind has always been evil, and she now sees you monsters for what you are. She knows that all you want from her is what you can get. Your kind is incapable of loving anyone or anything. She knows that now." She had the audacity to look triumphant ... like she was proud of what she'd said ... like she'd said something with any substance at all. I was going to have to take her down a peg or two.

"You're wrong, Claudine," I answered. "She was with me when you weren't … when you were supposed to be. Don't fault her for not doing what you were supposed to do. Didn't you tell me that I have your sword and that you're so much stronger than I am? Didn't you tell me that you would be there whenever I needed you? Well, I needed you, and you weren't there. Am I supposed to kill you because you didn't do your job?"

Claudine no longer had a smug look on her face. Her body had lost its superior stance. "I was doing a job. I couldn't be here. I tried to get here, but …"

"You weren't," I finished. "If she should die, shouldn't you die with her? Double standards don't work for me."

Just as those words passed my lips, Fintan and a white haired man that had to be Niall, appeared in my home. Fintan kissed my head before walking to his son's body. He kneeled next to him and lifted him in his arms. He cradled my dad in his arms and rested his head against daddy's. In all my years on this earth, this was the first time I'd ever seen my grandpa cry. "My son," he whimpered. "My loving son."

"Sookie."

I looked at the white haired man and stared. He was beautiful but handsome. His eyes looked like pools of the clearest blue in the rainbow. His hair was a glittery silver. The light of the lamp would cause his hair to sparkle like clouds. It was beautiful and so was he. I was sad about my daddy, but Niall, he made the sadness almost go away. He made me feel as if everything was going to be okay. He made me want to be closer to him and I didn't like it. I didn't trust it at all. With my back resting against the arm of the couch, I said, "Hi."

"Hello, dear," he said. "I'm your great grandfather. I'm Niall Brigant. I'm the prince of the sky fae. It's nice to finally meet you."

Salome was standing next to me. She was as starry-eyed as I was. Staring at Niall, she said, "I've heard of you. I know a lot about you. You're as fascinating as I imagined you'd be. Though I don't care for faeries, it's an honor to meet you."

He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind his pointy ear. "Thank you for that flattering compliment, Salome." To me, he said, "May I sit next to you?"

I pointed to the opposite end of the couch. "Sure."

He placed his hand on my leg as he spoke. "I'm sorry for the loss of your father, my grandson. Though I've only met him a few times, he was an amazing man. He spoke highly of you during our last meeting. I can see why he was so proud to have you for a daughter. We will make sure that he receives the respect in death that he deserved in life."

I was about to say thank you, but I stopped myself. "He would like that."

Niall smiled. "He would."

"Why are you here?"

His smile widened. "I'm here to welcome you to the family."