Chapter 43

Eric has just enough time to move so that the wood pierces his shoulder instead of his chest. The wood tears through the skin, embedding in his bone. Looking down at his chest, Eric grabs the would-be murder weapon, yanking it out of his skin. Lifting his gaze, he finds Lorena and Bill standing in a clearing of the woods. Dropping the make-shift stake to the ground, Eric begins advancing on the two vampires. Lorena and Bill separate; one moving towards Eric’s left the other moving towards his right. They hope to attack him from both sides and defeat him. Eric smirks to himself; even with the injury that is slowly healing, there is no way these two will EVER defeat him.

Lorena lunges at Eric with her fangs down. Under different circumstances, Eric would enjoy toying with her; allowing her to think she has a chance of winning this fight. But he can feel Godric calling him through the maker/child bond. It is not urgent, but the call is firm, reproachful even. Eric feels ashamed; he had let his bloodlust supersede his concern for Sookie.

Rather than toy with Lorena, Eric vamps to Bill, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him into trunk of a large cypress tree. The force of the impact snaps Bill’s neck and several vertebrae. Bill’s body lies twitching in pain on the forest floor. Lorena cries out in pain and drops to the ground, feeling the full force of her child’s pain. Eric vamps to Lorena, grasping her by the neck and twisting so her neck snaps. He then executes the perfect backbreaker, slamming her back against his knee and enjoying the sound of her bones snapping. Eric drops her limp body to the ground. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he calls Godric.

“My child, is it done?”

“No; I am in need of a vehicle to transport Lorena and Compton to Russell’s mansion. They do not deserve a swift end,” Eric declares.

Godric confers with Russell before returning to the phone. “He is sending Betty Jo to you. Where shall she meet you?”

“Lorena’s home; I am sure I will be able to keep myself occupied until she arrives,” Eric says with a fangy smile.

***

Sookie sleeps fitfully. Her head thrashes back and forth, wordless pleas falling from her lips, tears falling from her closed eyes. The events of the last hours torment her mind; an endless reel of torture and pain. Sookie screams shrilly and tries to bolt from the bed, but a strong pair of hands holds her down.

“Sookie, wake up. You are safe, min älskade. I promise,” Eric vows as he comforts Sookie. His hands loosen their hold once her eyes lose their wild look. Her eyes fill with tears as she realizes she is really safe. Eric gathers Sookie gently in his arms, whispering soothing words to her, rubbing circles lightly over her back.

“I didn’t dream it; y’all came for me!” Sookie continues to cry into Eric’s chest, soaking his shirt with her tears.

Eric shifts his hands to frame her face. “I will always come for you, Sookie. You are my love, my life, my soul mate. I deeply regret that it took me so long to come for you. I have failed you,” Eric says quietly, his eyes welling with tears.

Sookie leans forward to kiss the tears from his face, then licks the blood from her lips. “Eric, you have not failed me. We did everything we could to prepare for the attack. I don’t know what went wrong,” Sookie says troubled.

A dark look crosses Eric’s face, but he says nothing. “We will discuss it later. It is almost dawn, min älskade. I wish for you to take some of my blood to help you heal. Ludwig said it would be alright.”

Sookie nods her head in agreement. Eric bites into his wrist, bringing the bloody wounds to Sookie’s lips. Sookie only pulls two mouthfuls before the wound closes. She licks Eric’s skin before releasing his arm. She licks her lips again, making sure she did not miss a drop. Eric’s blood courses through her body, seeking out those areas that need to be healed. She closes her eyes with a dreamy smile on her face. “I love you,” she whispers.

“I love you, my Sookie. I can feel the dawn approaching. It is time to rest.” Eric stretches out on the bed, pulling Sookie down with him. She tries to turn on her side to cuddle into Eric, but she cannot due to her tender ribs. She pouts at being unable to curl into her Viking.

Eric chuckles softly, caressing her cheek with a finger. “I promise, min älskade, you will be well soon.” Soon after, Sookie’s breathing levels out as she falls back asleep. Eric smiles softly, slipping into his daytime rest with his beloved’s hand held gently in his.

***

The next evening, Godric, Russell, and Eric have convened in the basement of Russell’s mansion. His mansion is like Stan Davis’ in that there is a vampire prison in the basement. The previous evening, Betty Jo secured Lorena and Bill in separate silver cells at opposite ends of the holding area.

Betty Jo brings Bill into the interrogation room. His hands are bound with silver shackles. His clothes are torn all over his body, his skin badly burned. When the three elder vampires look at her, she shrugs, “We must have an electrical problem; the ultraviolet lights kept flickering on and off today. I’ll have someone look into it.” Betty Jo nods her head respectfully at the elder vampires and walks out of the room. Russell chuckles at his second in command. She, too, is very protective of Sookie.

Eric stalks towards Bill with his fangs down. “Tell me why you smell like my bonded.”
Bill’s voice rasps out, “Lorena has tortured me for weeks; she gave me blood to begin my healing since she had no further need to torture me. The blood was the sweetest I have ever tasted. I do not know where it came from,” Bill cries out in panic.

“Your story is possible, but I do not know if it is believable,” Eric says with careful consideration. “There is one way we can verify your story, but it will have to wait,” Eric says as his eyes drift upstairs. “If you are guilty, the torture you experienced at the hands of your maker will seem like child’s play. If you are innocent, I will pay financial restitution for my upcoming actions.” Before Bill can ask what he means about financial restitution, Eric severs Bill’s left arm from his body and snaps the fingers off his right hand. Eric carelessly throws the body parts on the stained floor of the basement. Bill’s screams fill the air like the sweetest symphony.

As Bill screams in agony, Eric secures a silver collar around his neck and remaining wrist, uncaring that the silver is burning his own flesh. The collar is attached to a silver chain that is hooked in the ceiling. However, the length of the chain only allows Bill to stand on the very tips of his toes. The smell of burnt flesh rises in the air, but there is another smell that is more prevalent; fear. In this moment, Bill fears Eric Northman more than his own maker. Bill can see his True Death lurking in Eric’s eyes.

“Please,” Bill begs, “I will do anything! Tell me what you want!”

Godric, Russell, and Eric smile in triumph. Godric snarls, “Tell me about Sophie-Anne’s plans. What does she want with Sookie?” Bill sings like the proverbial canary, telling them everything he knows. He rolls on his queen in the hopes of saving his own existence.

Sitting in the security room watching the live feed from the interrogation room, the Guardian of the Authority and the Ancient Pythoness watch the sniveling vampire squeal like a pig. The Guardian stares in disgust as the pathetic excuse of a vampire throws out every secret he knows; secrets involving more than just his queen and maker, secrets involving many high-ranking vampire officials throughout the country.

“Did you know of this?” the Guardian asks the Ancient Pythoness.

“If I had, you know I would have told you. This could have jeopardized everything,” the Ancient Pythoness snarls.

“How did you not see this?” The Guardian leans against the desk looking intrigued. In all the years he has worked with the Ancient Pythoness, he has never seen her miss something this monumental.

“Someone has found a way to block my vision,” she says coldly. Her hands tighten around the walking stick in her hands, a sign of her agitation.

“How is that possible?”

The Ancient Pythoness turns towards the Guardian with a sorrowful look on her face. “In all of my years walking this Earth, I have only known of two that were able to do this; both from my bloodline. One was my father; the other is Niall.” The Ancient Pythoness’ face twists in rage and her fangs extend. “I have no idea what he expected to gain from all this, but you can be damned sure I will find out!

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