Compton's laughter echoed off the warehouse walls, a madman's hollow cackle. "Compton, control yourself and answer my damn question!" Victor bellowed, his patience wearing thin.
Bill's manic laughter abruptly ceased, and he turned to face Victor, his eyes wide with a mix of hysteria and resignation. "You remember when I told you I was being set up? You should have believed me." His gaze swept across the darkened expanse of the warehouse. Despite the absence of light, his enhanced vision allowed him to perceive the details: rusted machinery and scattered crates with dust covering them.
"Who set you up?" Victor asked, though he knew it was a futile inquiry. The answer was as clear as the night sky.
"Northman and we all know it," Shinji grumbled, still straining against the unyielding silver chains that bound him. His frustration was palpable as he fought against his restraints, each attempt a reminder of his helplessness.
"Why?" Victor whispered, desperation creeping into his voice.
Bill's laughter returned, this time tinged with a dark amusement. "Sophie-Anne," he muttered, chuckling to himself. Had he truly lost his mind, or was this just the absurdity of their situation?
"All this for that whore of a queen. Give me a break," Victor sneered, contempt dripping from his words.
"She was Northman's child. " A thick, suffocating silence descended upon the warehouse. Even Bill's laughter faded.
"Yes, I would go to war for the true death of my child," Shinji said, his tone grave, ceasing all futile attempts to free himself.
"The telepath, his sudden and utter devotion… it was all a plan to avenge his child," Victor thought, struggling to piece together the tangled web of deceit that had ensnared them. How had none of them made the connection between Northman and Sophie-Anne? Most believed he merely tolerated her, their interactions barely cordial. Yet now, as the pieces fell into place, Victor felt a sickening realization wash over him. Years of observing Northman had not revealed the truth; they had hidden it well. He cursed himself for being fooled, for letting recent events cloud his judgment. If he and Felipe had truly trusted one another, this entire scheme would never have had a chance to unfold.
Sebastian was in high spirits, his enthusiasm about his potential turning bubbling over. He dominated the conversation, leaving Sookie little room to interject, which suited her just fine. "I don't know… if I were ever going to get turned, I'd prefer a man to do it," she said absently, her mind somewhere else.
"Yeah, truth be told, I don't care who turns me as long as I get turned. I'm told all I would want to do is feed and fuck initially, and I certainly would have preferred a woman in that. I suppose, in a way, I do care who turns me," Sebastian admitted a hint of levity in his tone.
"I'm right there with you. From what Eric tells me, after your turning, you won't care as long as it's not forced on you," Sookie replied with a shrug, her thoughts drifting.
"I don't care already," Sebastian joked, eliciting a chuckle from Sookie. But her amusement was short-lived as she abruptly stood.
"Let's get back before they send a search party for us." The urgency in her voice was unmistakable, and Sebastian, sensing her mood, fell silent. The moment they stepped outside the café, Sookie's instincts kicked in. She pulled out her phone, her expression shifting to one of concern. "Eric, there are three Weres currently following us. They plan to take Sebastian. Eric, I think this was part of Victor's plan. I saw him briefly in their minds. But I can't get a clear reading. We are coming back, but in case we don't make it, we walked past the bank. They have cameras, so…" Her words trailed off as a hand suddenly grabbed her, yanking her into a van alongside a blindfolded Sebastian.
Alcide grinned at Sookie's startled expression, then her sigh of relief. They had managed to stick to the plan, but the stakes had never felt higher. The Weres who had followed them were nothing more than pawns—hired anonymously, with no real information to give if caught. They were a distraction, a smokescreen for the real threat.
"We have a job to do, and we are doing it," Alcide began, his voice steady yet firm. "We have absolutely no desire to hurt you as long as you cooperate. Do you understand?" Sebastian nodded vigorously, sensing the gravity of the situation.
"Good. This is not about you; you are a necessary pawn to get to de Castro." Sebastian understood the implications, and surprisingly, his primary concern was whether he would ever get turned if de Castro met his true death. It seemed like an elusive dream, always out of reach, as if fate conspired to keep him from what he desired most.
Meanwhile, due to his age, Eric was awake before Felipe. A chuckle escaped him as he listened to Sookie's voicemail, which contained a picture of Sebastian cuffed to a chair. The young man didn't look distressed, which was reassuring. Eric deleted the image and prepared for the night ahead. He sensed that Felipe would soon receive the same picture, and he quickly checked his bond with Sookie. It was muted, indicating she was now at the warehouse, and Felipe would have no way of feeling Sebastian either. The ward surrounding the warehouse was functioning as intended.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Eric emerged from his room, looking like a force of nature ready to unleash chaos. He spotted Felipe approaching, and the tension was palpable. "They've been taken," he bellowed, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily on both of them.
"I feared as much when I woke up, and I could no longer feel him," Felipe replied, his demeanor deflating in a way Eric hadn't thought possible for a vampire.
"Sookie managed to leave me a message before they were taken. They were after Sebastian, and it appears this was part of Victor's plan. I believe the Weres hired didn't know he had met his true death," Eric grumbled, frustration lacing his voice.
"Even dead, he still manages to be a thorn in my side," Felipe growled, his eyes narrowing.
"I have already called my day man to look into it. Sookie purposefully walked past a bank, knowing it had surveillance. With any luck, we will have footage of the kidnappers by tomorrow evening."
Eric's phone rang, interrupting their conversation. "Mustapha, what do you have?" he answered, his tone brisk.
"We've obtained footage from the café and a few other establishments. They were there for about an hour, and then Miss Stackhouse froze, looking up at three men. She immediately stood, and Sebastian followed suit, sensing something was amiss. She called you as they headed back to the palace, but they were grabbed just as they walked past an alley, and the three Weres followed. That was the last sighting we had. I am calling in a favor that might allow me to view traffic footage. A camera faces the front of that alley; if we can see the car or van leaving, we might be able to follow it to its final destination."
"Excellent. Keep in touch," Eric replied, hanging up with a sigh.
"That sounds promising," Felipe said, his brows furrowing with concern. "My biggest worry is if these Weres discover Victor is no more… what will happen to Sebastian and Miss Stackhouse?"
"Good question," Eric mused, his expression unreadable. Mustapha would inform them that the van had been tracked until the Arkansas border tomorrow night.
Back at the warehouse, Victor could see the fear etched on Compton's face as Northman's progeny strode in, followed closely by a blonde male. "Bill, tonight you get a reprieve. Eric has given carte blanche on these fools… well, all except for Victor," Pam declared, a smirk dancing on her lips as she regarded Victor. "He is to be left for Eric."
"Pam, think about what you're doing… you're not going to get away with this," Victor said, grasping at straws in a desperate attempt to salvage his situation.
"Oh, come on, surely you can do better than that," Sookie retorted coolly as she entered the warehouse.
"Miss Stackhouse, this is..."
"You grasping at straws. Let's look at the facts. You have no maker or children; in short, Victor, there is no one out there who can feel a bond with you. As far as Felipe is concerned, you are dead by his hand or rather his say-so. So tell me exactly how we are going to get caught. Hell, you didn't know good old William here was still with us." The finality in her voice left no room for doubt; Victor knew he was facing his true death, and nothing short of a miracle could save him.
"Miss Stackhouse, please…" He wasn't beyond begging, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"You are pathetic," Shinji growled, his voice filled with disdain. "Die with honor; I only wish I could have died in combat. Stop begging and ask the Viking for the opportunity to die in battle, as I will do the same."
Sookie, however, was focused on Bill. "Tell me, Bill, why did you kill Hadley?" Her hands glowed with power as she posed the question.
"What… you…" Victor stammered, his eyes widening in panic.
"Do yourself a favor and shut up," Jason warned, stepping forward. "You don't want that near you. Ask Willy here; he will tell you all about it."
"Bill, I asked you a question," Sookie insisted, her voice unwavering.
"They would have taken her from me. One whiff of her blood and I would have lost her," Bill replied, his expression one of regret.
"So you decided to kill her instead. Why not turn her? She was desperate to be turned, so why not do that?" Sookie pressed, her gaze unwavering. The look on Bill's face answered her question before he could articulate a response.
"That was your plan," Pam surmised, her tone dripping with contempt. "But somehow, you managed to screw that up as well. You truly are useless."
"So useless I got Sophie-Anne and her entire court killed," Bill spat, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. The moment they left his lips, he knew it was a mistake. Sookie's eyes blazed with fury as she flicked her finger.
"NO, NO, NO. Please, no!" Compton cried out, his voice laced with panic.
"Too late," Sookie sang, and Bill felt the burning heat coursing through his already mangled body.
Victor's eyes widened in horror as Bill screamed, the sound echoing through the warehouse in a cacophony of agony. "What did you do to him?" Victor demanded, his voice trembling.
"I could always show you," Sookie replied sweetly, but Victor knew it was no longer a negotiation. Sookie flicked her finger again before he could utter a word against that suggestion.
"He was to be left for Eric… didn't I tell you that?" Pam deadpanned, crossing her arms.
"Oh, you did. It slipped my mind," Sookie said innocently, feigning surprise.
"It's okay. I am told the human mind is like a sieve," Pam muttered, her boredom palpable. "Can we end this lot and get out of here? There's only so much of their shouting I can take," Pam added, her patience wearing thin.
Jason grabbed a silver stake, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "I wish to die in combat!" Shinji shouted defiantly.
"I want a Ferrari, but that ain't happening either," Jason shot back, plunging the stake into Shinji with relish. Within seconds, the others disintegrated into a pile of goo, quickly turning to ash.
"Now let's go home; I miss Gran's cooking and my bed," Sookie yawned, the adrenaline of the confrontation ebbing away.
"Is Sebastian with Alcide?" Jason asked, looking at Sookie with concern.
"Yep. He's quite the cooperative captive. I think the idea of not getting turned has him more bummed out than the kidnapping," Sookie replied.
"I'd be happy to turn him after all this is over," Thalia piped up, her voice cutting through the aftermath. It was easy to forget she was there sometimes; she had a knack for blending into the background until she wanted to be noticed.
"That will make him very happy," Sookie smiled, her fondness for Sebastian evident. Losing him would have been a tragedy, and she was grateful they had managed to keep him safe for now.