Chapter 5
WPOV: (Back at Fangtasia)
When Marnie turned the lights back on, Eric and his child were gone.
What the hell happened?
She shook with rage and threw a chair through the wall making a big hole. She could care less if it was fixed or not.
The spell should have worked!
The vampire should have been unconscious, and now he's gone! Perhaps she performed the wrong spell? Impossible! The spell was very clear on what it was supposed to do, but he's gone! Did she make him disappear? She's clearly missing something. He could not have got up and walked away. Someone else must've been here, that had to be it. Her thoughts were interrupted by Marnie shouting.
"What the hell? What happened to the fucking vampires?" Marnie shouted. "I thought you said the spell would work! Now what are we going to do?" Hallow was instantly in front of Marnie, gripping the collar of her shirt and holding her in the air. She did not appreciate her tone.
"Let's get one thing straight…I'm in charge here! ME! You do not question me! You do as I tell you to, no complaints…" She paused, taking a breath squeezing Marnie's neck harder. "You question me again and I'll see to it you never see the light of day again. Do I make myself clear?" Hallow hissed coldly. She let go of Marnie taking a step back. Fear filled Marnie to the core, she bowed her head in submission.
"Forgive me, mistress." She shivered. "What will you have me do?" Marnie asked, lowering her voice and raising her head.
"Get my book and find a tracking spell. Locate the sheriff and bring him straight to me. Understood?" Hallow commanded.
"Yes, mistress." Marnie said, disappearing from the room. Hallow turned to Antonia.
"Antonia, I want you to stay here and make sure no one knows about this. If the sheriff or his child comes back here, inform me immediately." Hallow said. Antonia only nodded her head, a blank look on her face, watching Hallow disappear from the room.
Sookie woke up the next morning to find herself alone in bed, sighing with disappointment. Eric must've left sometime before dawn. She wished she could wake up in Eric's arms every morning. His lack of presence made her feel cold and even a little anxious. She shook her head, ignoring the feeling, got out of bed and noticed a note on her nightstand. She smiled to herself reading it.
My Love,
Sadly, I cannot stay and wake with you next to me. You looked so angelic while you were sleeping. I couldn't keep my eyes off you. I went to Fangtasia to rest for the day. I'll return to you at sunset.
Yours,
E
Shoot! She forgot to tell Eric about the hidey hole in her guest bedroom. No matter, she can tell him later this evening. Sookie put the note in her dresser and went into the bathroom. She stood in front of the sink, turning on the water to wash her face.
She thought about everything that happened last night. Now that she's Eric's, she needs to let Bill know. She knows Bill won't accept this and will try everything he can to keep her away from Eric or poison her mind against him.
Looking back, Bill has tried so hard to make her hate him and to keep her away from Eric; exaggerating his bad side and making him sound more like a self-centered monster. That he would use her, manipulate her and so on. But deep down, she knew it wasn't true. Eric wasn't all that bad.
He's always been fair and only killed when it was absolutely necessary. He didn't kill for fun and was sometimes generous. Not forgetting he would die for those he cares about; he'd proven as such in Dallas when Godric and Sookie were captured.
She may have been a little afraid of him when they first met, but she didn't hate him. How could she? She didn't even know. It's hardly enough to judge a man who sits on a throne all night entertaining the ladies. She started to dislike Eric when Bill told her about him, listening to everything Bill said and believing every word…like a fool.
When she found Lafayette in the basement, she was angry and hated him then. She may have despised him for torturing Lafayette, but after some careful thought, she understood why. Lafayette knew what he was doing was wrong, yet he continued to sell vampire blood anyway and got caught. He was very lucky he wasn't killed, and that she found him when she did.
When she was done with her shower, she dried herself off and blow-dried her hair. She walked out the bathroom, into her closet and slipping on some jean shorts and a white tank top. She brushed her hair putting it into a high ponytail. She put on her shoes, grabbed her purse, car keys and headed to Merlotte's.
She sat in her car for a few minutes and took a deep breath. No doubt everyone will wonder where she's been and what she has been doing. She didn't like lying to her friends...but it had to be done. It was a necessary evil.
Sookie got out of her car and walked across the parking lot through the doors of Merlotte's. When she walked in, she spotted Sam behind the bar. When he looked up his eyes widened in surprise and relief. He rushed from behind the bar and stood in front of Sookie. He quickly pulled her into a hug and sniffed her.
"Sookie?" He asked.
"Hi Sam." Sookie replied.
"Where the hell you've been? You've been gone for a..."
"For a year...I know Sam. And I'm sorry. I..."
"You have any idea what we've all been through? We all thought you were dead!" Sam said angrily, raising his voice. Sookie looked down at her feet. She felt bad for leaving Sam high and dry with no guarantee she was alive or coming back. Not that she knew that time in Fairy had worked differently than here, but still.
"I know what you must've gone throu-"
"No you don't ...a lots happened Sookie, a lots changed." Sam interrupted.
"Yeah...you've gotten lot pricklier." Sookie replied with a touch of sass. Sam stared at her.
"You start part-time. Holly and Arlene got kids, they need the shifts." Sam said, walking back to his office. Well, that wasn't as bad she thought it was going to be. Suddenly, Terry and Arlene walked through the doors and stood frozen as soon as they spotted Sookie. They rushed over to hug her.
"Sookie, thank god!" Arlene exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I missed you're wedding!" Sookie said.
"It's OK! Oh, we were all thinking the worst!" Arlene said.
"I'm OK and still alive." Sookie replied.
"Well, you know where my mind went...the man you love, turned out to be a crazed killer..." Arlene trailed off.
"He wasn't." Sookie said quickly.
"I know, but-"
"He wasn't." Sookie interrupted quickly. Terry rolled his eyes and Arlene looked at Sookie with pity.
"Of course." Arlene said.
"Good to have you back Sook." Terry said after an awkward silence. He hugged her again and smiled.
"Thanks Terry." Sookie replied smiling back. For the next few hours, she stuck around at Merlotte's catching up with her friends and left moments later. She had to admit, she didn't really feel right being here. She decided since she had time, she'd go grocery shopping and run other errands before she saw Eric again.
By the time she got home it was around 3 in the afternoon. When she got home, she decided she'd clean the house. All the waiting around and having nothing to do was driving her crazy. By 5 in the evening, she was done cleaning the house, then went to the kitchen to make herself dinner. She made herself some fried chicken, mashed potatoes and string beans, with a class of sweet tea. She sat down at the kitchen table and dug in.
By 6:30, it was sunrise, which means Eric should be on his way by now. When she was done eating she washed her dishes. To pass the time, she decided to read a book. Sookie went into the living room, picked up a random book and started reading. An hour and a half later, she stopped reading for a moment and realized it was dark out.
Eric should have been here by now.
She heard a knock at door, lowering her shields and felt two voids. She stiffened taking a deep breath. She got off the couch, looking out the window. It was Pam, and another female vampire she had never seen before. She opened the door.
"Can we come in Sookie?" Pam asked. Sookie felt nervous, knowing if Pam was here instead of Eric, then something was very wrong.
"Is something wrong Pam? Is Eric OK?" Sookie asked.
"Something's happened to him. We need your help." Pam replied.
"Who's your friend?" Sookie asked. Gracie smiled and took a step forward.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gracie Vitello. It's nice to meet you, Miss Stackhouse." Gracie said gracefully. To Sookie's surprise, Gracie held her hand out. She hesitantly took Gracie's hand and shook it slowly.
I thought vampires didn't liked to be touched. Sookie couldn't explain it, but she somehow knew Gracie meant no harm.
"Don't be alarmed Miss Stackhouse, I'm not here to cause trouble or hurt you. But I am here to tell you, that you and Eric Northman are in danger." Gracie said coolly.
"Has something happened to him? Is he OK? He was supposed to come back here tonight." Sookie replied.
"Can we talk inside?" Gracie said. Sookie looked at both vampires and took a deep breath.
"Come on in." Sookie said. Gracie and Pam walked into the foyer and Sookie closed the door behind them.
"Would either of you like a blood?" Sookie asked politely. Pam shook her head.
"No, thank you. I've already fed." Gracie replied. Sookie walked to the living room with Gracie and Pam behind her. Sookie sat on the couch, while Gracie sat in a recliner across from her and Pam sat next to Sookie. They sat in silence for a moment, until Pam finally spoke.
"Sookie, something's happened to Eric. Last night this witch named Marnie came to Fangtasia last night asking for an audience with him." Pam said. Sookie looked at Pam and gasped.
"What did she want with Eric?" Sookie asked.
"She demanded 30 percent of Fangtasia's profits and a week to use his body. When he refused, she threatened him and disappeared. Then later she came back with two other witches and silvered me to a chair. They hid until Eric showed up, and I tried to tell him to get out, but it was too late, they reappeared and threatened to stake me if he didn't take the deal. He was about to attack when suddenly the witch started chanting and he just…collapsed. I don't know what else happened next, but I regained consciousness in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. That's where Gracie comes in."
"Right before the witches were about to take Pam and Eric, I flipped a light switch, flew in, grabbed them and flew out of there before the witches even knew what hit them. Eric is still unconscious though, I figured by sunset he'd be awake. But he's not. We need your help, Miss Stackhouse. For some reason, I believe the witches put him in some kind of magic induced coma, maybe? There's really no telling what they did to him. We'll know more for sure when he regains consciousness…if he regains consciousness. We need your help to track the witches…with your telepathy." Gracie said.
"One day and there's already a problem…" She paused already coming to a decision. "I'll do whatever I can to help." Sookie replied.
"One more thing…you by any chance know Bill Compton?" Gracie asked, narrowing her eyes at Sookie. Sookie stiffened. Even though she's not sure she can forgive Bill, her hurt from his betrayal was still fresh in her mind and she couldn't trust him again.
What does Bill have to do with this?
"Well, I was coming to…visit the king, and I overheard him talking to the same witches that attacked Pam and Eric…" Gracie trailed off, gauging Sookie's reaction.
"I believe he may have paid those witches to get rid of Eric and me. I'm not surprised the pompous little dork has anything to do with this…since he hates Eric and wants him out of the way." Pam added angrily. Gracie laughed.
"Pompous little dork?" She laughed. "More like foolish, incompetent pompous dork…yes, that's more like it." Gracie said. Pam snickered. Sookie rolled her eyes, very quick to come to Bill's aid, then thought about it for a moment and nodded her head in agreement. Ever since Eric had Sookie's blood and she his, he's tried every possible way to get rid of Eric.
There were also a number of other reasons why Bill would try and get rid of Eric. One, Eric is stronger, two, he has more connections than he does. three, like Pam said he always hated Eric. And finally, Bill promised Sookie he'd end any vampire that has had her blood. It is very possible Bill would go to these lengths to have Sookie all to himself and get rid of the competition.
Right now, Sookie wished she'd never met Bill Compton; he's caused nothing but trouble, hurt and heartache. However, if it weren't for Bill, she never would have met Eric…that much she's thankful for.
"Now Sookie, when you go and find the witches hiding place, try to pretend everything is normal. When Bill comes asking for Eric, you haven't seen him or Pam." Gracie said seriously.
"Ok then. Where is he?" Sookie asked.
"He's safe somewhere in Shreveport. I'll tell you the location soon; right now Pam and I are trying to make sure nobody finds him. Find anything you can on the witches, their plans, spells…anything. And let us hope we can find them, before they find him. I sense Louisiana will be in serious shit if they succeed with whatever the hell they are planning." Gracie said, as she stood up with Pam behind her.
They get up to leave, Pam going out the front door; Gracie froze turning back to Sookie.
"And Sookie…stay away from Bill as much as possible, and don't invite him into this house." Gracie said as she sped out the door closing it behind her.
Sookie sat on the couch, thinking about what she just learned. She wondered how Gracie knew about her telepathy. How she knew her last name, and how she knew Bill and Eric? Sookie couldn't help but feel she knows more about what's going on than she's letting on.
If these witches tried to kill Eric, then surely they'll be looking for him?
Sookie decided to go ahead and get dressed. If she was going to help find the witches, she'd better get to it soon.
And she's going to start at Merlotte's.