A/N: This has been a very hard chapter to write, largely because of the tragic news that rocked the fandom earlier this week; that our dear friend and awesome fanfic goddess, EricizMine, passed away on Tuesday, aged 37. Words cannot say how much she will be missed, so I won’t even try. But if you have been unfortunate enough not to have come across her work yet, please go to her profile and read something. Anything. It’s all good.
As a member of her Bratpack I couldn’t help but be aware of what a truly special person EricizMine was. The fact that there are so many members of that fanclub is its own testimony to her warmth and sense of humour, and the tributes and messages of support are only what I would have expected to see.
So, as my own personal tribute, I would like to humbly dedicate this chapter of Happy Ever After to a writer whose enormous talent I admired and envied in pretty much equal proportions. God bless you, Angela; may you rest in peace and find your own Happy Ever After.
All About Eric
Chapter 14
EPOV
Rising from my daytime rest had never been a gradual process for me, as it was for some vampires; I was instantly alert and aware of my surroundings and I smiled as I opened my eyes and registered Sookie’s presence. I inhaled her scent, and was relieved, as always, that there was no hint of tears or fresh blood. This was not always the case; my little love was all too prone to running into trouble when I was not around to shield her. It had always been a source of frustration to me that all my strength, experience and cunning were of no use to her during the hours of daylight. Having to rely on her witch friend or else shifters and dogs for her protection was galling but, regrettably, unavoidable.
But even though there was no smell of blood tonight, there was the most appalling stench of something that I couldn’t place. “Sookie, what is that hideous smell?”
“Hello to you too, Eric. Yes, I had a good day, thanks. How about you?” Ah. That was revealing; she was always a little snippy when she was on edge. I checked the bond, and sure enough it was rippling with nerves and excitement. That was only to be expected, bearing in mind what the night would bring, but I was getting an underlay of guilt, too. Something was going on…
“I was dreaming of you, lover, so it was very pleasant, but the waking reality is much better. I’m glad you had a good day. Tell me about it.” I sent soothing pulses along the bond and turned on my side to face her, reaching out a hand to brush a lock of her hair away from her face.
She settled a little at my touch. “Well, I know what you mean about the smell; its something Ames is working on. A new type of charm she’s not tried before.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked interested, but simply waited without comment. When Sookie was in this sort of mood, almost anything I said could be cause for an explosion, and I had found it best to let her speak without interruption.
“I wanted to talk to you about it.” Ah, there we go. I pulled myself up until I was sitting against the headboard, and she snuggled in close to me. I would have preferred to see her eyes, but sometimes she found it more comfortable not looking at me if she had something she wanted to confess. And this did feel slightly confessional …
“You remember we were talking about Bertine – Mr C’s godmother …” I might have known she would not take my decision that morning as final. As she talked, I reflected ruefully on her inability to leave well alone. Her saviour complex led her to assist anyone who asked for it – or even those who didn’t ask for it …
I acknowledged that she had been trying very hard to change, as had I; she had been behaving in a very mature fashion since we reconciled in Bon Temps, and I had been trying to be more open, and our trust had strengthened as a result. Still, old habits are hard to break, and it was only to be expected that sooner or later her rebellious nature would reassert itself. But I was pleased that, this time, she was telling me what she had done before she went ahead with her plan. This gave me the opportunity to adapt to circumstances and, to be fair, she and Amelia had thought things out very thoroughly. I was pleased that they were involving Ramon, too.
When she had finished speaking I considered everything she told me and then said, “tell me again why you feel it’s necessary to do this tonight and not tomorrow.”
“Well, I figured if we could get Bertine out, she’d surely be willing to help us. And she’s the sort of person you’d want on your side. I mean, a pissed-off demon has got to be worth having, and if she’s free then Mr C’ll be able to help us too.”
“Have you spoken to him about it?”
“No, I wasn’t gonna say anything until I’d talked it over with you. But another reason I thought tonight was better would be in case Freyda took it into her head to start killing prisoners if things went badly. I’ve heard some regimes do that – they give orders that if anything happens to the leaders, the soldiers have to kill all the captives. I didn’t want to risk that – Freyda’s exactly the type who’d do it.”
I was inclined to agree. “So tell me, how are you going to handle the CCTV?”
“Ramon says the Max Security block is monitored from the front desk, and he’s gonna take care of the Were who’s manning it. He didn’t tell me how.”
“He will tell me, however.” I reached out and pressed the button that would summon a servant. Then I rolled out of bed and put on a robe. Sookie went into the living-room and waited for whoever answered the summons, before sending them to fetch Ramon. She also turned the air-conditioning up, in a vain hope of removing the smell from the room.
When Ramon came I sent him to fetch breakfast for Sookie and Amelia, and Sookie added a request for some strong air-freshener. Amelia tried to look offended, but even she had to admit that the smell was almost overpowering. I made what I thought were helpful suggestions as to how to neutralise it, but for some reason she didn’t take kindly to the idea of dousing herself in tomato sauce, which was the Mythbuster-approved remedy for skunk scent.
I didn’t understand her reluctance; it was entirely for her own good. After all, after the first whiff had nearly destroyed my sinuses I had stopped breathing and the smell no longer troubled me. But she and Sookie both glared at me coldly, so to distract them I asked for a demonstration of the ‘bunker-buster’ charm while we waited for Ramon.
Amelia somewhat gleefully invited me to try and breach the wards on her room, but I’d heard about what happened to Bill and declined the invitation, saying I would take it on trust. She shrugged, and picked up an orange from a bowl of fruit nearby. She tossed it at the open door to her room, and there was a fizzle and a sparking, and a small charred lump hit the floor. I was startled and not a little impressed; Maybe I had under-estimated the witch – if she had set these wards, she was a lot stronger than I had realised.
I looked at her with slightly more respect as she brought out a wide-necked jar from her pocket. She unscrewed the lid and closed her eyes, humming gently as she did so. A few passes with her hands and she suddenly turned and hurled the contents of the jar towards the door. A wave of green liquid splashed against an invisible barrier and began to trickle down it. It began to bubble as it dripped, and before it reached the floor it was hissing and fizzing, clearly eating away at the wards. After thirty seconds or so it was forming an emerald pool on the carpet, and when she tossed a grapefruit it went through the doorway and thumped on the floor inside.
Amelia turned to me with a smirk and was about to say something triumphant when a faint shriek from Sookie distracted her. We both looked at where she was pointing and there was smoke rising from the green puddle.
“The carpet! It’s eating through the carpet!” said Sookie and they both dashed for the bathroom and quickly began to soak up the mess with towels.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” Amelia said. “Maybe I added too much capsicum…”
“Never mind, it did what it was supposed to,” said Sookie. “We don’t have time to try again. Have you got enough left for downstairs?”
“Yep. And I doubt if the Maximum Security block is carpeted. But I wish we had time to refine it.”
Just then Ramon arrived with food and while the girls were eating I quizzed him carefully about his plans. I was not happy with his ideas for the Were on guard – he was planning on using wolfsbane – and told him a better way to approach it. I also asked to see the bottle of Elf blood.
“Did you say there were ten guards?”
“Yes sir. There’s enough blood for two drops each.”
I shook my head. “That’s too much – it will kill them. One drop per bottle will put them out for the night and leave them with nothing more than the worst hangover of their lives.”
“Very well sir. What shall I do with the spare blood? I got the impression from the ladies that it was very precious.”
“It is.” I looked over to Sookie. “Dear one, would you have any objection to my using any Elf blood that is left over? We have more than enough for the guards.”
“What are you going to do with it? Durion only let us have it because we told him what it was for.”
I explained my plan in more detail. In discussing the coup with Stan and Joe, we had reluctantly decided that Freyda was too well-protected in her palace – there were too many vampires within call. Our best chance was to attack when we were in public somewhere; preferably in her car, when her guards were necessarily reduced. We had also decided that Stan and Joe would deal with her, as it was important that they be seen as her natural successors, while I devoted myself to taking out Felipe and his entourage. I felt I owed myself that much, after everything they had put me through. Pam, too, wanted revenge for the death of her human Miriam.
I already knew that there was a choice of activities scheduled for the distinguished guests tonight – opera at the Performing Arts Studio on South Jones Street, any number of different strip clubs and casinos, a visit to Cactus Jack’s iconic arcade, a rodeo at the State Fairground Arena and WWE Raw at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
When Freyda had asked for my preference regarding the evening’s entertainment, I had deliberately chosen Cactus Jack’s, the pinball and video gaming arcade. She was surprised at my choice, but I knew she would come with me – she would not miss a chance to be seen with me on her arm. Of course, Stan’s reputation for geekiness would give him the perfect excuse to join us, while Felipe would rather stake himself than be seen in such a place. It would be sensible to split him and Freyda up and I suspected he would probably choose the wrestling. He had enough strippers and gambling in his own clubs in Nevada, and I had not forgotten his fascination with T-Rex, the pro wrestler he had brought to my home.
Although Freyda didn’t yet know it, part way through the evening I would be receiving a call from Pam, who would be panicking about something, and I would have to leave the arcade early. To save time I would fly, which meant Freyda would be travelling back with Stan and Joe, who would make sure she never reached the palace. The Royal limousine seated eight, which meant if Stan and Joe took two bodyguards, Freyda could have a maximum of two in the back with her, plus the driver in the front. I felt if Stan and Joe could not take out four unsuspecting vampires, they did not deserve to hold Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, I would join Pam and some of my other followers at a pre-arranged point and together we would seek out and destroy Felipe and his people, which was where I planned to use the extra Elf blood. Sookie asked, “who will you take with you? I saw the Nevada vamps arriving and there’s five coffins.”
I nodded in satisfaction. “That means Felipe, Angie and Horst plus two bodyguards. I know Sandy isn’t expected – Freyda showed me the guest lists.”
“Can you handle five of them?”
I was insulted. “Do you doubt my skill? I took down Victor and his entourage, and that included Akiro.”
“I?” She raised an eyebrow. “As I recall, you had a bit of help from a few other vampires that night, and one or two humans as well.”
I smiled, feeling her indignation. “I know, I was only teasing. And I will be forever grateful to you; if you hadn’t cut through Victor’s spine, Pam would have died that night. But although Felipe and Horst are fighters, Angie is not, and I will have plenty of my own vampires with me. Not all of them – Parker and his nestmates will have to stay behind to distract Bill, so he doesn’t realise the rest of us are missing.”
“Can’t you send him with Freyda, so Stan and Joe can take him out too?” That was Amelia. It was a good idea, but I shook my head.
“No – there’s not enough room in the car and he’s not senior enough to warrant an invitation. It would look odd. But we’ll keep him occupied here, and deal with him when his beloved Queen is simply dust in the wind.”
“That sounds good. Can I watch?” Sookie was surprisingly bloodthirsty when it came to Bill – she had clearly completely gotten over her infatuation with him and now saw him as clearly as even I could wish.
“If you happen to be at hand when I stake him, then of course you may. But I’m not going to miss an opportunity if one comes my way.”
She pouted briefly, but understood my reasoning. She agreed that Durion would have no objection to his blood being used to help take down Freyda – he seemed to have a dislike of her – and Amelia found a small empty bottle in her belongings which would hold the drops.
Ramon and I carefully divided up the blood, and after he cleared the meal away, I sat the girls down and went through their plan with them again, step by step. I felt it had a fair chance of success, which was as much as I could hope for.
Then I asked if I could feed from Sookie before we went our separate ways, and she agreed. I didn’t really need the blood, but I would never pass up an opportunity to hold my dearest one in my arms…
* * *
SPOV
By eight forty, Amelia and I were leaning against the wall of the training hall, watching the Weres sparring as usual. They’d gotten used to us being there, and ignored us for the most part, but this time Cal was present, and I could feel Amelia’s eyes following him. He could too, I guess; at least, he took his shirt off and seemed to spend a lot of time rippling his muscles unnecessarily. He was definitely built. Not to compare with Eric, of course, but still fairly easy on the eyes. I knew Eric would have glared at me if he’d seen me looking, but hey, I wasn’t blind. I didn’t blame Ames one bit for staring, and I just hoped Cal survived the night …
Eric and all the visiting vampires had been in the foyer, choosing their entertainment for the evening, when we headed downstairs, leaving Barry sulking in Stan’s suite. He’d wanted to be included in the action, but Stan didn’t want to take any chances with his telepath and had ordered him to stay safe in their rooms. He didn’t want Freyda deciding to snatch him.
I knew Freyda was more interested in me at the moment, but once things started to unravel I was pretty certain there were other vampires who wouldn’t miss a chance to grab themselves a stray telepath. Felipe for one…
I’d seen him in the foyer, dressed up to the nines as usual, and I was pleased to see that Eric had made a good call – the king of Nevada and his entourage had joined the group headed to the wrestling. Horst and Angie had stared at me, but Felipe had nodded slightly. I’d just smiled politely and kept walking on by; vampires were notoriously good at reading human body language, and I didn’t want him to pick up even the faintest hint from me that something was wrong. Fortunately, Amelia had never met him so she didn’t react to the sight of him any more than the other vampires who were getting ready to leave.
Eric’s mind had expressed his approval and relief, and we’d stayed connected while everyone was getting into the limos. At the moment he was waiting for Freyda, Stan and Joe to join him, and he was being somewhat scathing about women and their tardiness. I pointed out that Stan and Joe weren’t women and he simply said that he could see them, but Freyda had yet to put in an appearance …
Meanwhile I focussed on the sparring pair nearest to me, and tried not to look at my watch too obviously. It had become something of an obsession, and Amelia had had to nudge me at least twice, but it was alright for her; she had something to distract her attention. Instead I glanced discreetly at the clock on the wall, counting off the seconds, playing mental games with myself. The next time someone lands on their ass, I’ll look at the clock again … When that pair finish their move I’ll look at the clock again …
The minutes crawled by and when I couldn’t wait any longer I carefully reached out with my mind to check the hallways nearby. There were two vampire minds approaching from the direction of the elevator. I waited until they’d passed, and then casually pushed open the swing door and took a peek. I saw their backs as they turned the corner. One I didn’t recognise but the other was all too familiar. It was Freyda!
Damn, what was she doing down here? I let the door swing closed and Amelia said, “what are you looking at?”
“I thought I heard Barry’s voice, but it wasn’t him,” I said calmly. Inside, I wasn’t so calm and I was frantically calling Eric.
Freyda’s here! She’s in the basement, heading towards the Max Security area with another vampire. What should I do?
I got shock through the bond, but then almost immediately back came the reply. There’s nothing you can do. Stay where you are – don’t try to follow her – it would be too dangerous. Did you recognise the vampire with her?
No. I’ve not seen him before.
Can you describe him?
I thought carefully. He was blond and very tall and thin. He had a clipboard with him and he shuffled a bit as he walked. That’s all, sorry – I only saw him for a few seconds.
Concern. That sounds like Ezra Fielding – the vampire in charge of Freyda’s treasury. I mentioned him to you, remember? It sounds as though they’re heading towards Bertine’s cell. A pause. If you manage to get in there, see if you can find out what they wanted. It may be important.
Okay. I’ll let you know the minute I find out.
Good. Meanwhile, stay out of sight until they’re gone. I must go now, Stan and Joe are coming. I’ll wait to hear from you. If the distance is too great to mindspeak, text me – don’t call. I don’t want anyone overhearing our conversation.
Of course. I’ll see you soon?
Yes. Regret. I wish this was over. I love you.
I love you too.
Interest. How much?
I’ll show you how much when you get back.
Amusement and anticipation. As if I needed any more incentive to get this over and done with … and he faded out.
I kept my mental radar on, and it wasn’t but a few minutes before two minds came back along the hallway. I couldn’t check this time – the door opened the wrong way – but I called Eric mentally and warned him. Sure enough, three minutes later he told me that Freyda was in the car and they were moving out.
Okay, this was it. I checked the hallway one more time, and said, “Come on Ames. We can’t stay here all night – let’s go see what Barry’s doing.”
“Do we have to?” she whined, faking reluctance, and even though he was on the other side of the hall Cal grinned in spite of himself. His Were hearing was definitely operating at full strength.
“Yes we do. Besides, you’re causing a major health and safety issue right now – someone’s going to slip in that puddle of drool on the floor. Now c’mon, I want to talk to Barry.”
She grumbled artistically as we left the gym, but instead of turning left towards the stairs we dawdled along towards the open space where the guard sat at the security desk, watching the monitors.
We paused just in sight of the desk, arguing the relative merits of guys with or without chest hair, and it wasn’t long before I picked up Ramon’s mental signature approaching, along with a vampire blank. He was carrying a tray with bottles of True Blood on it, and passed us without so much as a glance. He and his vampire escort paused at the desk while the Were on duty buzzed open the barred gate to let him into the Maximum Security section, the vampire remaining behind.
This was all normal so far, and the guard locked the gate behind Ramon, who passed out of sight around the bend in the corridor. Our conversation became slightly stilted as we tried not to stare across the space, watching and waiting. The vampire was leaning casually on the desk, talking to the Were in a low voice, who was apparently listening intently to whatever was being said. He nodded occasionally, and when Ramon re-appeared he buzzed him back out. The vampire straightened up, nodded to the guard and he and Ramon headed back the way they had come.
My nerves were so tense that I think if you’d touched me I’d have twanged like a guitar string. I was waiting for something to happen – groans and thumps from the vampire guards; yells of outrage as they discovered their blood had been tampered with; sirens going off, strobe lights flashing, the thud of racing feet – something.
But nothing happened. The Were guard continued staring at his monitors, the hallway remained empty, and we stared at each other. Had it really been that easy? But of course, that was stupid – this was the easy part. Getting Bertine out was going to be the tough part of the evening.
I looked at Amelia. There was still the faintest trace of green staining on her fingers, but fortunately the smell had surrendered to a thorough scrubbing with floral soap and shampoo. Eric had been worried that if it was too strong it would alert people in the security area, but Amelia assured him that the smell was one of the ingredients, not the charm itself. Grinning, she’d invited him to take a sniff at the jar, but for some reason he’d declined…
I didn’t need to check I had the penhallin with me – I could feel it slightly warm against my thigh through my pocket. I whispered “have you …?” I made discreet drinky-drinky motions with my hand to indicate the Elf blood and she nodded silently. Okay, time to do this.
We approached the security desk, and the Were sitting there looked at us blankly. “Could you open the gate for us, please? We want to visit Professor Leventis,” I said, praying the vampire had done what he’d promised. He was one of the vampires Ramon had got Eric information on; he’d served under the previous king as an adviser, but he’d been demoted and resented the hell out of Freyda because of it. He was also heavily in debt to one of the local casinos, and Eric had promised to clear that if he glamoured the Were for us. He’d agreed eagerly, and when the Were didn’t ask any questions, but simply pressed the button to buzz us through, I was thankful that Eric was such a good judge of character.
We hurried through the gate before someone else came along and then made our way cautiously along the hallway. I glanced up at the CCTV cameras, knowing we would be showing up on the Were’s monitor, but he’d been told to ignore our presence completely. Then we were turning the corner that concealed us from the desk, and I wondered what we would see.
Bodies. Bodies and bottles…
I did a quick count, and there were eight vampires, all in Freyda’s grey uniform, all lying on the floor in various attitudes. A couple were half-sitting, as though they’d simply slid down the wall as their legs gave way under them, but most were just sprawled untidily across the hallway.
I gulped, hoping they weren’t dead, but then common sense took over and I realised if they’d been dead they’d be flaking by now. The faces that I could see were very, very red and the eyes were half-closed, and seemed to be staring at me, but they didn’t move as we made our way past them, stepping over occasional limbs …
I couldn’t rid myself of the feeling that one of them would come to life and snatch at my ankle as we did so, but nothing happened. They were definitely spark out.
Amelia whispered, “which cell is she in?”
I thought for a minute and whispered back. “Not one of these – the picture Barry saw was of a cell with open bars – these have all got solid doors. Maybe round the corner?”
She nodded and we tiptoed on, round the corner, and then we both stopped, staring.
There were two vampires face-down on the floor, but even though Barry had described what he’d ‘seen’, the reality was almost too strange to take in.
The end of the corridor, facing us, was a wall of bars, and behind the bars was exactly what he’d said – a junk shop. There were tables and shelves covered with what looked like all manner of crap, but I reminded myself that these were magical and supernatural objects, and that my cluviel dor hadn’t looked like anything special. There was a small single bed in one corner (unmade), and sitting at a desk with her back to us was …
Well, I guess it had to be Professor Bertine Leventis. She was hunched over, studying something I couldn’t see, and then she put down a magnifying glass and started scribbling frantically in a book next to her. Her dark hair was very untidy and she kept running her left hand through it, which didn’t help.
Amelia and I moved a little closer. I mouthed ‘Vlakas wards?’ at her, and she nodded confirmation. She could clearly feel them, although I couldn’t. What I could feel was the penhallin. It was getting hotter and vibrating slightly, tickling my leg. I ignored it – first things first. We went right up to the bars, although we were careful not to touch them. Even though I knew the Vlakas wards were keyed to the Professor, I wasn’t taking any chances.
I cleared my throat, but that didn’t produce any effect; the scribbling continued. I tried again, louder, and said, “Uh … Professor Leventis? Ma’am?”
To my surprise, she didn’t even turn round. She simply waved her hand and said, “yes, yes, whatever it is, take it and go. Just make sure you bring it back safely.”
For a moment I was confused and then I remembered, Freyda had just been down here. Bertine probably thought she’d come back for something else.
I said, “we don’t want anything, ma’am. At least, we want you. We’ve come to get you out of here.”
At that she sighed, threw down her pen and turned round. Pale, washed-out blue eyes blinked at us from behind pince-nez glasses. She had a round, pink face, with a tracery of fine wrinkles, and a mouth which looked like it smiled easily. But right now, her lips were thinned with annoyance as she looked at us. “Whatever you young ladies want, you must take it up with the Queen. I cannot be disturbed like this, it’s most distracting. I’m on the verge of deciphering this amulet and it could be the key to half the inscriptions of the Aefa dynasty, but these constant interruptions are most irritating. Please go away.”
What? Go away? Amelia joined me and we stared at each other. This wasn’t going quite the way we’d imagined it. This time Amelia spoke. “Professor, we’re friends of Desmond Cataliades. We’re here to help you.”
This got a better reaction. “Friends of Desmond’s? Ah, I see. Do forgive me – I thought you were tourists. Are you interns, or students? What particular branch of folklore are you interested in? There’s bound to be something here – it’s the most comprehensive collection I’ve seen in centuries. I simply couldn’t believe my luck when Queen Freyda invited me to study it.”
Well, that confirmed Eric’s theory. But it was still weird – it was almost as if she didn’t realise she was a prisoner. “Uh … we’re not students ma’am. Amelia here’s a witch and I’m Sookie Stackhouse; Mr Cataliades is my … sponsor.”
She blinked a little, as though registering the names and then her expression cleared. “Sookie Stackhouse! Of course, dear Desmond has spoken of you many times. I’m delighted to meet you – you own the last known cluviel dor, am I right? I hope you keep it very safe, my dear.”
“Um, I’ve already used it, ma’am.”
Now she rose and moved to the bars, brushing her tweed skirt into place, her eyes alight with interest. She wasn’t a great deal taller standing up … “Really? What did you use it for? How did it work? Come in and tell me all about it. I’ve never seen one in operation, and the records are very vague.”
She fished in her pocket, drew out a key and unlocked the door, swinging it inwards. I gaped for a moment. She had her own key? What the hell? Then I realised that it must be to keep other people out rather than her in – a simple lock would never hold a demon; that’s what the Vlakas wards were for.
We hesitated briefly and then stepped cautiously through and joined her, although there wasn’t a great deal of room – even the floor was littered with objects – ceramic pots, mostly. I said, “I used it to save a friend’s life, but that’s not why we’re here. Like Amelia said, we’re here to help you. Did you know that dear Des …I mean, Mr Cataliades is very worried about you?”
“Really? Why? It’s not like him to worry. He was always a very calm-natured boy. Not like his brother Nargal at all – now there was a worrier. I remember once when he was fourteen …”
I broke in on the family reminiscences here. I didn’t know how much time we had. “Freyda has been blackmailing him by threatening you.”
“I beg your pardon?” She looked from to the other of us. “Queen Freyda has never threatened me; she’s been nothing but accommodating to me since I arrived. She’s given me everything I’ve asked for.”
“Except your freedom,” Amelia said, dryly. “Didn’t you ever wonder what all the bars and guards were for?”
“I assumed it was security for the objets enchantés. Many of these items are unique and absolutely priceless, you know.”
I shook my head at her naivety – Mr C had been quite right about that. “They’re not here to guard the treasure – they’re here to guard you. Well, to stop you leaving, really.”
“Oh. Oh my word.” The demon sat down again, hard, looking from one to the other of us. “You say Freyda has been … threatening my Desmond?” A frown was gathering on her brow.
“I’m afraid so, ma’am. She’s told him she has you prisoner down here and she’s forcing him to work for her.”
“But that wouldn’t work on Desmond – he knows that bars and guards could never hold a demon.”
“She has the cell warded to keep you in here, ma’am, but my friend has a charm which we hope will dissolve them.”
Amelia dug in her pocket and brought out the jar, but Bertine waved a hand dismissively. “Quite unnecessary. Come along. I’m not going to tolerate this.” And with that she moved towards the still-open door. I didn’t know what the Vlakas wards would do if she touched them, but before I could stop her she’d stepped out of the cell and was studying the vampires on the floor.
We stared with dropped jaws. What? How? I mean … she just walked out? Amelia stuttered, “but … the Vlakas wards …”
The demon glanced up. “Vlakas wards? Pah, a common misconception. She’s not the first person to assume that just because I’m of Greek origin Vlakas wards would work on me.” She stooped over the vampires. “The only thing that could do this is Elf blood. Whose did you use?” Now the slight vagueness that we’d seen was pretty much gone. She was brisk and focussed.
Which was in direct contrast to Amelia and me – we’d slipped so far down the rabbit hole I expected to see a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party any minute… “Um … his name was Durion … but, I don’t understand. If you could walk out any time, why didn’t you just leave?”
She stared at me. “Leave? This is the greatest supernatural repository in the country – a source of knowledge beyond any scholar’s wildest dreams. Why on earth would I want to leave?”
So she hadn’t even tried to escape. After all the time and effort we’d put into breaking her out of there, she could have just walked out free as a bird. Ames and I stared at each other speechlessly as Bertine said, “I’m going to speak to Desmond about this. It sounds to me like he’s been putting people to a lot of unnecessary trouble. And Durion shouldn’t be giving his blood away to all and sundry – it’s much too dangerous.”
Ah, that reminded me I had a duty to the Elf. “Miss Bertine, do you know if the tunic of Nessus is in here?”
“Yes, it’s in that chest, I think. Why?” She gestured to a small brass-bound box under the desk.
“Durion wants to return it to King Tyriol – it belongs to his family. I said we’d try and get it for him in exchange for his blood.”
“well, normally I wouldn’t approve of tampering with a collection of this nature,” she said, “but frankly, if what you’ve told me is true then Freyda doesn’t deserve to have it. See if you can find it while I call Desmond.”
She closed her eyes and I figured she was connecting with Mr C in some demon-specific way. Amelia and I looked at each other and shrugged before stepping back into the cell, where we went to our knees and pulled the little chest out from under the desk. We flipped the lid and a strong scent rose up from whatever was inside.
Amelia breathed it in appreciatively. “Cedar-wood,” she said. “that’s so much better than the snake lily I used for the charm.” I had to agree – although the name was charming, the smell had been less so … but I focussed on the contents of the box.
Sure enough, a creamy linen shirt was folded neatly inside, and when we lifted it out and unfolded it there were black stains on it, which I figured were the centaur blood Durion had mentioned. We looked at it in silence for a few minutes, contemplating the fact that we were holding something older than either of us could even imagine, and then we heard a faint pop and a voice I knew.
“Bertine!”
“Desmond, dear. Oh, just look at you!”
The horror in Bertine’s voice made us turn round to see Mr Cataliades standing in the hallway, with a disbelieving expression on his face. Bertine was holding her arms open and he went to his knees to embrace her. Even though he was a lot thinner than he had been, he was still close to a foot taller than her, and even kneeling his face was still nearly on a level with the tiny demon’s.
But his weight loss was clearly what was troubling her. “Desmond, you look terrible – what has that woman done to you?”
I was amazed to see the great Mr Cataliades, renowned and respected demon lawyer, almost in tears. “Bertine,” he said again, his voice almost a whisper. “Are you alright? How did you get free? Queen Freyda told me she had you under the strongest possible wards.”
Bertine chuckled slightly. “The stupid woman didn’t do her research properly. She tried Vlakas wards.” A look of comprehension came across his face. Well, I was glad somebody understood what the hell was going on. The demon shook him gently. “Now tell me, dearest. What’s been going on. Are you in trouble? What did that woman make you do?”
While he told his sponsor what had been happening, Amelia carefully folded the tunic again and tucked it inside her blouse and I got out the penhallin and moved around the tiny cramped cell, watching it carefully. I was determined to take something special for Durion. I wished I could ask Bertine what everything was, but she was focussed on Mr C. In the end I found a silver dagger that made the penhallin practically vibrate out of my hand, and slipped it into the waistband of my pants, covering it with my blouse. Then I turned back to the demon couple in the hall.
By now, Bertine’s brow was black as thunder. If I’d thought she was just a fluffy, harmless-looking, elderly lady, mildly annoyed at being interrupted, that impression was long gone; I was seeing a whole new side of her now. She seemed slightly taller, but that may have been an illusion, owing to the way she was drawing herself up. However, she’d removed her spectacles and her eyes were glowing an eerie red and that was definitely not an illusion.
Her voice was almost a hiss as she said, “and that woman had the effrontery, the impudence to use me against you? To force my godchild to be a party to the unwanted divorce of his own godchild? How dare she? How dare she? Mark my words, she will pay for this. Where is she now?”
Ah, that was my cue. I was frustrated at what I couldn’t say, but I did my best. “Miss Bertine, ma’am? Freyda’s gone out for the evening with Eric and King Stan from Texas. I don’t know when she’ll be coming back.”
The demon turned to me, and smiled a terrible smile. “Then I think I’ll arrange a little welcoming party for when she does come back. Where are her rooms?”
“She’s on the top floor of the East Wing. But Eric and a lot of the other wedding guests have rooms up there, too.”
“Then you must go up there and warn anyone you care about to leave immediately.” She paused for a few seconds, her burning eyes closed, then she opened them and said, “you have just over an hour, so I’d advise you not to delay.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Do? I’m going to show Queen Freyda exactly what happens when she tries to manipulate a demon.” And with these words, she turned back to her cell and picked up the notebook she’d been writing in, putting it in the pocket of her jacket. Then she stepped out again and locked the door behind her. Ames and I were still standing staring, and she looked at us. “What are you waiting for? You and your friends must be out of here in one hour. Desmond, go with them. You can’t teleport both of them, you’ll have to go on foot.”
“Yes, Bertine. Miss Stackhouse, Miss Broadway, shall we?” He took our arms and began to escort us back down the passageway towards the exit. I looked over my shoulder as we turned the corner, and then wished I hadn’t. The glimpse I got of Professor Bertine Leventis’ true form would stay with me forever …
We stepped round the drugged vampires, came to the exit gate and the Were buzzed us out. He was still in the same placid state as when we’d gone in – staring at the monitors, apparently oblivious to the fact that the guards behind him were all comatose. I was thankful that at least they’d not died and would recover by morning.
Amelia and I hurried to keep up with Mr C’s long stride and we did our best to look as casual as possible as we passed through the hallways of the security wing. I managed to summon a smile when we saw Cal, who had put his shirt back on after his workout and looked as though he wanted to speak to Amelia, but Mr C didn’t pause and the Were hesitated to stop the famous lawyer.
Amelia waved as we headed up the stairs, and then we were back in the foyer. There were very few vampires around – they had mostly gone out with the wedding guests, but those few we did pass nodded politely to the lawyer and ignored the insignificant humans. For once, I was glad to be beneath their notice.
When we reached our suite we invited Mr C in, and checked the surveillance detector was functioning, then we all sat down and stared at each other.
I spoke first. “What’s she going to do?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but at a guess she’s going to use the storm.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bertine is a powerful weather demon. She can control the environment, and I suspect she is going to summon the storm that’s been hitting Wichita so hard in the last few days. She’ll bring it down here, and that will take a little time, which is why we have an hour to clear the building.”
“But how can a storm help?”
He chuckled dryly. You haven’t seen what my sponsor can do when the mood takes her. It may be a storm at the moment, but by the time it gets here it will be a full-strength tornado.”
I was horrified. I’d seen the effects of tornadoes before. “But what about all the innocent people between Wichita and here? Their homes, their families?”
“Don’t worry, she’s very skilled – if that’s what she’s planning, she won’t unleash it until it gets here and it will only affect the palace. But we don’t have long so you must decide immediately who you need to contact.”
“Ramon, Barry, all the Louisiana and Texas vampires who aren’t out with Eric … anyone else?”
“Cal.” That was Amelia.
“But how do we warn him? We can’t tell him what’s been happening.”
She shrugged “I don’t know, but I don’t want him hurt.”
I turned to Mr C. “Any suggestions? Cal’s the Were we saw on our way up here. He’s a friend of Amelia’s but he’s one of Freyda’s men.”
He was thoughtful. “Where does he normally work?”
“He’s security – he’s usually in the basement.”
“Well, if he stays there, he should be safe enough. If we try and warn him, he’ll either ignore us or want more information than we can give him. I’m sorry, Miss Broadway, but I don’t think there’s anything else we can do for your friend.”
“Then I’m going to go down there with him.”
“What?” I sat up and stared at her. “Why would you do that?”
“If it’s safe for him, it’s safe for me too, right? And if anything did happen I … well … I want to be with him. Okay?” Her mind said it all. She was hooked. She’d fallen for the hunky Were big-time. And who was I to say she couldn’t follow her heart? After all, she was over twenty-one – I wasn’t responsible for her. And I certainly wasn’t going to interfere in her love life; not after the way I’d behaved when she’d interfered in mine.
I sighed. “Okay, Amelia, if you must, but stay down there no matter what you hear up here, okay?”
She nodded. “It’ll be fine. There’s a canteen down there and everything, so there’ll be food and water just in case. And I’ve got my phone – you can text to let me know what’s happening.”
I sat up. Text. Oh crap! I was supposed to be texting Eric to let him know what Freyda had removed from Bertine’s cell and I’d completely forgotten to ask her. I could only hope it wouldn’t make any difference to his plans …
* * *
EPOV
Cactus Jack’s was a shrine to all that was best (or worst) about the seventies. The place was closed to outsiders for our party, and the visiting vampires had spread out among the hundreds of games consoles and pinball machines beeping and whirring around us. Although we had all been given buckets full of tokens in order to play I had used only a few so far. It was a long time since I had seen games like Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man and I allowed myself a little nostalgia, even though my Vampire reflexes were more than a match for the primitive graphics of forty years ago.
If I had to be here, I was at least willing to enter into the spirit of the occasion. Freyda, on the other hand wasn’t even trying to conceal her boredom as she stood at my elbow yawning ostentatiously.
A few feet away Stan was in his element. Although there was a variety of shoot-em-ups and other modern games, he was only interested in the vintage section. He had already played a very lengthy game of Pong with Joseph, each of them being blindfolded to make it ‘more interesting’, and he was now going for the high score on a classic Asteroids game. He was strangely excited by the fact that it was in a box that said Lunar Lander on it, claiming that it was one of a very few that still existed. I didn’t care, and neither did Joe, who had wandered off to play pool with one of Freyda’s bodyguards.
I wondered what Sookie was doing right now. We were too far away for mental contact, and the bond we shared was sending very mixed messages. In quick succession I had picked up nerves and excitement, strong puzzlement, utter astonishment and now I was getting worry. I wished I could check my cell phone, but with Freyda next to me I would have to wait until it rang. It should not be too much longer before I heard from Pam. I wondered what excuse she would come up with to make me leave early.
Ten minutes later, my phone played Devil Woman, which was Pam’s ringtone. I stepped away from the console and answered it, infusing annoyance into my voice.
“This had better be important.”
“Eric, you’ve got to come back to the palace right now. It’s Sookie.” I stiffened at the realistic sound of panic in my child’s voice. She had chosen her excuse well – she knew I would respond instantly to any threat to my dearest, imaginary or otherwise.
“What about her?”
“She’s been attacked. She came over to the annexe to visit and a vampire from one of the other kingdoms went berserk and tried to drain her. She … she’s lost a lot of blood, Eric. You’ve got to come.” The feeling of dread that swept over me was so real that for a moment I could almost believe what Pam was saying. Only my bond with Sookie told me that my child was faking it superbly.
“Have you given her blood?”
“She won’t let me. She keeps saying, ‘Eric or no-one’. I don’t know how much longer she can survive.”
“Fuck! Are you in the annexe now?”
“Yes.”
“Keep her alive – I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I was already walking towards the exit. “Have you got the vampire that did it?”
“Yes – he’s under guard, and he’ll be waiting for you. He’s a little … damaged … but he’s mostly intact.”
“Good.” I closed the phone and turned to Freyda who was walking with me. “You heard?”
“Yes. Do you want me to call the limo?” She was radiating concern, but I knew it was only for the possible loss of her telepath.
“No, I’ll fly. I can be there in under two minutes, the car will take twenty.”
“Do you want me to come with you? You could carry me.”
I shook my head as we stepped out into the night. The wind was picking up and the dark clouds were racing overhead, but it wasn’t raining. “There’s nothing you could do. Stay with your guests and I’ll see you back at the palace.” Without waiting for a reply I launched myself into the sky and left her behind me. Hopefully, for ever.
I turned towards the palace until I was out of her visual range, and then changed my course, heading slightly south-east for the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Two minutes later I was in the parking lot under I 40, where Pam and the others were waiting for me. I hugged her briefly and congratulated her on her performance.
“Well done – Freyda was totally convinced. I was almost totally convinced.” She nodded and we all turned towards the exits. “Now, are you sure you managed to leave without alerting Compton?”
She smirked. “He doesn’t have a clue. I got Parker Coburn to distract him by talking about computers, and when I left they were buried in something called QR code. Don’t ask me what that is – I couldn’t care less. But we’ve located where Felipe’s party is sitting.”
“Where?” This had been a source of some anxiety to me – I knew he liked the best, and hoped that he wouldn’t interpret that to be ringside seats on this occasion. It would have been a lot harder to kill him in public. Not impossible – just a lot harder.
Maxwell Lee said, “he’s got a suite. Number twenty-four. There’s nine vampires in total; two bodyguards outside, and Felipe, Angie, Horst and four vampires from Kansas inside.”
“Excellent.” I looked over my small group of followers. They had been with me for many years, and I trusted each of them to back me up tonight. Quickly I gave them my instructions, and then we headed for the arena. The bouts were under way, and the hallways were largely empty. Maxwell Lee peeled off, heading for the security office, where his job was to glamour the guards into switching off the CCTV for the section we were traversing.
Pam and Thalia led the way, glamoring any humans who looked as though they might challenge us, but the majority of them took one look and gave us a wide berth. One female member of staff was guided to the nearest restroom by Indira, who disappeared inside with her. When she rejoined us, the woman was heavily glamored and carrying a tray with seven bottles of True Blood Royalty Blended on it. The original plan had been simply to use the blood to get the guards to open the door, and then we intended to rush them, but the Elf Blood was so much more effective; our work would be half done for us before we even entered the room…
We moved as a group, the waitress in our midst, until eventually Pam stopped and held up her hand silently. We all came to a halt behind her, and I knew that the door to the suite we wanted was just round the curve. Indira took the tray from the woman and held it steady as I carefully added the Elf blood drop by drop. Then she gave the tray back to the waitress, who took it and set off round the curve of the hallway.
She was immediately challenged by the two bodyguards, but a short conversation later and they tapped on the door and allowed her in. It was only a few moments before she came back out and rejoined us, and Indira escorted her away from the danger zone.
Pam looked at me questioningly, I nodded, and she undid a couple of buttons on her already low top before disappearing back the way we had come. We were aided in our plan by the fact that the arena was circular; this made it easy to approach any given point from both directions and I knew that with her vampire speed she would be in position on the far side of the suite in less than a minute.
It didn’t take long before I heard her sultriest voice coming from round the corner. “Hello, boys. Who are you guarding?” At the sound I took the stakes that Thalia handed me and drifted silently into the air. Once I had reached ceiling level I eased forward until I could see round the curve and sure enough, there was Pam, smiling, displaying large amounts of white flesh, and the two Nevada guards both looking in her direction.
They were both alert, and she wasn’t so stupid as to approach closely enough to them to be regarded as a threat, but even if they had looked towards my followers it was doubtful that they would have noticed me above them. It was the work of a moment to drop from above, stake them and catch their bodies before they hit the floor. Pam smiled fangily at me over the flaking corpses and went to fetch the others.
We gathered silently outside the door and I knocked once, keeping my stake at the ready. There was no answer and after a brief pause I pushed open the door slightly. An elegantly-shod foot came into view, and then a grey pants leg. I had been listening intently, and there had been no sounds to indicate a problem and the guards hadn’t reacted in any way before they’d died, but I was still alert for a possible trap. Gripping my stake I opened the door fully and did a quick body count. Seven still figures, either in chairs or on the floor, lying where they had fallen. It looked like a scene from a slasher movie – the bottles had dropped from nerveless fingers and the blood substitute was splashed everywhere.
I could hear fangs running out around me, and warned my people again to avoid the blood. I didn’t want any casualties at this stage. Then I closed the door and quickly found the Nevada vampires.
All three of them were sprawled in chairs facing a huge picture window looking down over the arena. A nod from me and Thalia drew the blinds over it, and then I stood in front of Felipe, studying his motionless body. He was overdressed, as usual, in a frilly dress-shirt with a scarlet cravat and tight black pants with a scarlet cummerbund. A lock of his hair fell picturesquely over his pale brow, giving him the look of a debauched poet. I was unmoved by the romantic picture, and looked at Pam. “Shall I do it, or would you like the pleasure.”
She shrugged. “Your choice, naturally.” But I could see the hunger burning in her eyes, and stepped back, granting her silent permission.
“I will see to Horst and Angie.” She nodded once and I moved away. It took only moments to despatch Felipe’s consort and his second, and then direct my people to clean up the remains of the guards before I turned my attention to the Kansas vampires. They had been lifted into chairs and arranged more or less comfortably. They would not be moving before the dawn, and I comforted myself with the thought that most venues of this size kept emergency coffins on hand for stranded vampires. Then I turned back to Pam.
She was still looking down at Felipe and I joined her in gazing at my king and enemy. Although it had been Victor who had denied Pam the right to turn Miriam, and thus save her life, it had been Felipe who had inflicted Victor on us and who had refused to do anything to rein him in. Felipe had killed Sophie-Anne, my friend and queen, he encouraged Freyda to pursue marriage with me, he had invaded my home and brought endless trouble on us, he had made it clear he had designs on my dear one. There was no reason why he should be allowed to live.
I looked at Pam. “Are you ready to do this?”
She nodded and said, “oh, yes,” and her voice was hoarse as she spoke. “I’m just … savoring the moment.” Then she leaned down and with one swift, economical motion she stabbed the King of Nevada into oblivion.
Faint applause came from the watching vampires at the clean kill, and I took a last look at his corpse. I had desired, and planned for, his death for so long that in some ways the actual deed had been something of an anti-climax, but on a practical level, a swift, surgical strike with no drama was preferable to a messy, prolonged drama. As we left, closing the door carefully behind us, I noted there were just a couple of small stains left in the hallway to show what had happened.
As we headed swiftly towards the exit I texted Maxwell Lee to come and join us, and it was only minutes before we were all back in the underground garage. I was just commending my people on a job well done when my phone vibrated. I was expecting a message from Sookie, telling me what she had discovered about Freyda’s visit to Bertine, but to it was a call from Stan. Had he already succeeded in dispatching Freyda?
I answered it. “Hello?”
“Eric?” The voice was Joe’s, and I was instantly on the alert.
“Yes?”
“We’ve got problems.”
My heart sank and I gripped the phone more tightly, waiting to hear the worst.
He coughed and then said, “the attack failed. We were in the limo and she got a text from someone, and then went berserk, screaming about betrayal. We got the guards, but Stan’s stake bounced off her somehow, and she killed one of our men and wounded Stan and me. He’s badly hurt.”
Fuck. “Where is she now?”
“She’s heading for the palace. Be careful, Eric, I think she’s gone insane. She’s coming for you. And for your telepath.”
Ericsminion aka AllAboutEric 