It’s Elemental 006 – Why Can’t I Kill A Couple?

Revised 2015-01-11

The reference to ‘The Cleaners’ is a ‘tip of the hat’ to ‘Moonlight’, which was one of the best shows ever, in my humble opinion! 

A note about Stan Davis, I know in book two he was merely a sheriff… and in True Blood, he was one of Godric’s underlings who killed Steve Newlin’s family….  However, by book seven he had managed to become King of Texas so I am using the book version and pushing up the time line so that he is already King…  The Stan from the show is just another Vampire named Stan and probably will not be mentioned in my story.

Additionally, the very beginning of this chapter somewhat repeats a scene from Chapter 005 – Waiting For The Pain because I did not think to open Chapter 006 and see if the scene was repeated in another character’s POV.  I chose to repeat a little instead of reediting chapter 005 and then reposting it and making you all have to reread it…  Therefore, there is a little overlap but other than the dialogue, the information is new and helps the story flow into the next scene more easily.  In the future, I will try to open the next chapter before posting the current chapter to make sure this does not happen again.

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It’s Elemental

By Lilly Gray & Robin McAllister

© 2011-2015 Sarah A. Higgins & Robin McAllister

Chapter 006

Why Can’t I Kill A Couple?

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Slightly before the end of Chapter 005 – Waiting For the Pain

As Bill walked into the warehouse, he felt like whistling a jaunty tune because he was so excited about what was going to happen that night.  He saw Jason lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.  Bill thought, ‘God it smells so good, not quite as good as Sookie’s but definitely better than the average human.’

“Did you leave anything for me to break?”  He asked with a jovial smile on his face instead of giving voice to his thoughts.  ‘God it is good to be me tonight.’

Bill could see Jason trying to speak, but Jason coughed up some blood before trying again.  “I knew…  Knew you were trouble, from the moment I heard Sookie met you…  Do me a favor, will ya…  When Eric kills you, think of me…  That’ll make it all worth it!”

“You fucker!”  Bill kicked Jason, not as hard as he could since he did not want to kill the younger man just yet, but he definitely kicked him hard enough to break something.  “I should drain you right now, but I want your slut of a sister to have to say good bye before I kill you, that’ll be the icing on the cake, as you humans say!”

Bill angrily thought, ‘How dare he think that Eric Fucking Northman is going to kill me!  HA!’

Suddenly Bill heard the guards outside start to shout as he thought, ‘What the Fuck?’  Then he heard Eirik tell someone to “stay with ‘her’ until the coast was clear,” and realized Eirik had found them, so Bill decided that it was time to leave.  Lorena and Bill were out the back door just as the front door exploded and Bill could hear Eirik laughing at something Jason said.

Bill swung around the side of the building to see if he could find Sookie.  He saw her leaning against the side of a big black SUV with tinted windows.  ‘Perfect,’ he thought.  Then Bill saw ‘that blasted woman’, and as he inched closer to the women, Bill noticed that the force field, which had already set him on fire once, surrounded Sookie and Sera.  As Bill gingerly touched his singed and slightly shorter fingertips he thought, ‘Well Shit, until I can figure out how to get past that force field I am pretty much out of luck.’

Just then, the wind shifted, and he got a strong whiff of Sookie’s scent.  In Bill’s opinion, Eirik’s stench had completely ruined her previously delicious aroma, ‘that Bitch Blood Bonded to him!  She chose him, over me?  The queen is going to kill me slowly for this!’

Just then, Sera turned to look Bill right in the eyes, which sent a chill and sense of dread shooting down his spine before the feeling settled in his gut.  Lorena noticed Sera’s gaze on them and grabbed Bill’s arm, “William we need to leave.”  Bill knew they would both die that very night if they stuck around so as Lorena pulled on his arm he followed her and they both went back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel he headed up to his room, it was time to pack his things and leave before Eirik decided to pay Bill a visit.  Naturally, Lorena followed him up to the room.

“William, what is your plan now?  You do realize that your little bloodbag Bonded to North…”

“Yes!  Thank you for stating the obvious!”  He growled at her.  Grabbing his suitcase out of the closet, he began to fold all of his clothes at Vampire speed, so he finished packing in a matter of moments.

Lorena huffed as Bill walked into the bathroom to collect his things, “The queen is not going to like…”

Now it was Bill’s turn to huff, “Yes, there you go again stating the obvious.  I am well aware of the situation at hand.”

“I saw your pitiful Childe with them, maybe we could use her to kill Northman and then bring the little telepath to us.”

Bill sighed as he realized he should have thought of that.  Reluctantly he told her, “I released her.”

“You did what?  Why on earth did you do that?  We could have used her presence in their company to end that ass Northman.  He would not have expected that.  Then we could have had your Childe steal Sookie for us, and we could have killed your bothersome brat when her usefulness was over.  That way when the Council came knocking you could say she disobeyed a direct order to leave Northman and Sookie alone before you had a chance to issue a formal command, and all the blame would have been on her.  The queen will be most displeased by this missed opportunity.”

“I do not plan to tell Sophie-Anne, and I do not need that brat; I will figure a way out of this without her.  In the meantime, I cannot stay in Louisiana because the queen might decide to kill me, and I have to stay away from Mississippi because I did not return Russell’s money by sunset tonight.  On top of that, I probably need to leave Texas as soon as possible because Northman is going to be looking for me here.

Godric’s following here is too strong and too many might choose to assist Northman out of some sense of duty to the late Godric so it would be best to move to a new playing field where Northman will not so easily acquire assistance.  Perhaps somewhere where I can more easily acquire help, do you have any idea where that might be?”  He finished shoving everything into his suitcase and closed the bag with a little more gusto than he needed before staring at his Maker to see if she had any idea where they might find safe haven.

“The late…  Godric is dead?”  Bill nodded so she continued, “Well good riddance I say.  You are correct, however, that too many here might feel beholden to his memory.  My Maker will likely take us in and he has powerful allies.  Between Threadgill and my Maker’s Maker, Lazarus Kross, we should be able to get some powerful allies on our side.  But they are all going to want to know what I want to know, what are you planning to…”  Lorena asked.

Bill wondered briefly if his Maker’s parents dropped her on her head as a baby because she was acting brain dead.  “I am going to head back to Bon Temps to collect my essentials, transfer the money to Russell hoping he does not mind that it was late and then I am going to move somewhere far away.  Arkansas sounds like the immediate choice if your Maker is close with Threadgill.  After that, I will contact the queen and help her figure out a way to get rid of Northman.

The best-case scenario is she kills Northman for stealing her prize.  The worst case is she gets Northman and Sookie in her Court for the rest of eternity.  Maybe she can steal Sookie and Turn her before Northman can do anything, and then he would have to obey, just as she would; if they want to keep their unlives at any rate.”

Lorena shook her head at her Childe’s stupidity, “There is just one problem with that plan William.  The laws are very clear that no one, not even a queen, can mess with the Bond between a Vampire and his Blood Bonded.  The Counsel will have Sophie-Anne’s head, and yours, if you help her.  Since you released your brat, Sookie is lost to all but Northman…  Northman won…  Now Sophie-Anne has to play nice to get him to let her use his new pet.  What we need to concern ourselves with is avoiding retaliation from Northman for your torturing and possibly taking the life of his new pet’s brother, as I doubt the boy had much longer to live.  We also need to avoid retaliation from Sophie-Anne and, to a lesser degree, Edgington for you failure to complete the tasks they gave you.”

Bill smiled and it was not a nice smile, “This might work out yet…  It is all interconnected.  Russell will not be a problem once I give him back his money, which I will do as soon as I have my laptop.  Sophie-Anne will be preoccupied with Sookie and Northman and will never concede defeat so that means she will kill Northman, and then the Council will kill her for interfering with the Mate of a Blood Bonded.  The only problem I see is the matter of how quickly we can find someone willing to take us in until that all happens.  If we find a safe haven then our allies will keep us safe from retaliation by Northman or Sophie-Anne.  Furthermore, after a few days Northman will be just as preoccupied with Sophie-Anne as she will be with him, especially once she finds out he stole her shiny new toy.

Then when Northman and Sophie-Anne are both finally dead, Sookie will be all alone in the world and I will be able to steal her away.  After I punish her, for choosing the Viking over me, I can sell her off to the highest bidder.  I could make millions off her.  Now we have just got to figure out how to make that all happen.”  He grabbed his bags and headed for the door figuring it would be best not to be there when Eirik came looking for him.

Turning as he opened the door Bill saw Lorena just standing there with an expression on her face that he could not place, “Are you coming Lorena?  I am certain this is the first place Northman is going to look for me.  Moreover, he is probably on a rampage since I agree that Stackhouse had mere minutes left to survive.  Sookie either had to watch her brother die or she had to ask Northman to Turn him for her, and even then he was so damaged that it probably would not work, or we will end up with another Bubba, God forbid.”

Lorena shook her head as if to snap out of her funk and followed behind Bill as he left the suite.  “Of course I am coming, do you really think I am going to let my Childe face off against the world all alone?  You are one Vampire William, you cannot take on Northman and multiple monarchs all by your lonesome, and besides as I said I have friends, friends who are even more powerful than Sophie-Anne, Northman, and Edgington are combined.  They will help you if I am with you,” she matter-of-factly finished her statement.

Bill thought, ‘Good!  I can use them and then ditch them when it’s all over, hmmm maybe I can be King of Louisiana at the end of this.’

They went down the stairwell that would lead them out the fire exit on the side of the building.  By the time, someone came to investigate the alarm Lorena and Bill were long gone.  They ran to the airport since it was quicker and cheaper.  They bought tickets for the next flight to Shreveport, which would leave in 20 minutes.

As Bill sat in the plane watching the runway speed by, he smiled to himself, while he thought, ‘this may all work out even better than I had originally planned.  I can make sure my enemies kill each other, make a couple million off the sale of Sookie, and then I can be King.’

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Right after the end of Chapter 005 – Waiting For The Pain

Sera laughed along with Eirik and his Bonded as they exited the warehouse, but immediately Sera sensed that there were Weres and Demons closing in on them fast.  She turned to Sookie, “Sookie get in the car with the others and hold your force field up around the car!”

Eirik kissed Sookie’s forehead before pushing her towards the car door as he said, “Do it, Sookie.”  Then he looked at Sera, “What do you sense Sera?”

“We are surrounded.  We cannot fight them off with just the two of us without killing them all and we need to find out whom they work for so we need to take a few hostages.  Let’s get behind the force field with Sookie and I will make a call to help facilitate that.”  She took her phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial #2.

She smiled as it picked up after only the first ring and Leifr’s dulcet baritone filled her ear.  “Hello my pet, how are things with Eirik and young Sookie?”

“That is why I am calling… we are currently surrounded by at least 75 Weres and Demons.”  She paused for a moment as she scanned the area then she corrected herself, “Actually, the number is probably closer to 200, at least.”

“What?  Where are you?”

She told him the address, and he said, “I want the five of you behind that force field.  Do not take them on; we will be there with reinforcements in 10 minutes.  I Love you.  Stay safe Sera,” and he hung up.

“Eirik, we have help on the way, we just have to wait 10 minutes and we are not to fight, just wait!”

“Okay but Leifr knows how much I hate sitting and waiting.  Why can’t I kill a couple?  Then there would be fewer of them to kill when our friends get here.”  Eirik looked like he was itching for a fight.

“Those were Leifr’s orders.  You should disobey at your own risk, though I would like to remind you of the thorough whipping and the starvation you suffered the last time you disobeyed Leifr, or the ten times before that.  Sookie needs you right now.  At least wait until after her transformation is complete before you go disobeying orders again, okay?”

He huffed as he and Sera got into the back of the SUV and closed the door, “I was still a kid the last time I disobeyed him on anything major.  I am smart enough to realize that Leifr is my Clan Elder and my GrandMaker and therefore out ranks me in every way.  I would not disobey him on something this big unless it was a matter of life and death where the situation changed to the point that to follow his orders would mean the immediate death of someone for which I cared.

However, you make a valid point about Sookie needing me so even if I was stupid enough to risk willfully disobeying a direct order from my Elder I would hold the urge in check to be here for her.”  To that end he pulled Sookie to him tighter and kissed her forehead again before answering the fear he saw in her eyes with a whispered, “Do not worry Princess.  They cannot get past the shield and Leifr and the rest of our family will be here sooner rather than later.  If by chance, something does happen Sera and I can easily take them all out just as we have done thousands of times before.  The only reason we are not doing so now is that we need to take some hostages and interrogate them to find out whom they are working for, and we also need to discover what their superior(s) know about us.  Know this I will not let anything happen to you, Jessica or Hoyt.”

He nodded as her expression changed to one of gratitude.  “I know Compton filled your head with lies about me but I believe that law abiding citizens, be them human or Supernatural, should be allowed to live happy, free and safe lives free of the fear that they might be hunted simply for being one type of creature or another.  Furthermore, I know you well enough to know that you do not have a large extended family and that you consider Jessica and Hoyt to be as good as your family.  As such, I will do all in my power to protect them too, even if I had not sworn to keep Jessica safe.

Your loved ones have nothing to fear from me, Sookie I swear it.  If it is within my power to keep them safe, I will.  I realize I failed you and your brother by not recognizing the danger he was in.  I will not make that mistake again.”

She opened her mouth to argue so he kissed her briefly and then said, “I know you do not see Jason’s untimely death as a failure on my part but I do.  I should have realized that if Compton could not get to you he would use those closest to you to try to draw you out.  Make no mistake, ultimately, I blame Compton and probably Sophie-Anne if she was the source of the muscle as I suspect.  However, Compton never should have been able to get within a hundred yards of Jason.  He was keeping to himself and I honestly forgot about him.  I regret that more than you can know and that regret will spur me on to avoid making the same mistake again.”

She smiled timorously and quietly told him, “I really don’t blame you but I understand about taking the situation as a lesson for the future.  For the record Jason does not blame you either.”

He kissed her again, “Thank you.”

A few moments later, they heard their enemies closing in and then they saw them break the edge of the lit clearing.  Sera could always Teleport them all out there, but they really did need to know who those guys were working for and what their boss knew, if anything, so they would wait for reinforcements and then kill most of them before taking a few as hostages.

The one in charge walked forward and looked at the group calmly sitting in the SUV, “Well lookie here, they decided to sit and wait for us, how convenient and thoughtful.  Kill the Northman, Seraphina the Elder and the other two but grab the blonde girl.”

Sera threw up her own shield to firm up Sookie’s shield just as the first Were was zapped when he got too close.  A moment later Sera thought, ‘Huh, it seems Sookie favors fire,’ as the guy was screaming and running around with his clothes on fire.  Sera wondered if no one ever taught the man to ‘Stop, Drop, and Roll!’

Another man whom Sera dubbed ‘numbnut number two’ reached out and tried to touch the shield.  He received the same treatment.  His hand looked blistered, but the spark did not reach his clothes.

The bad guys all looked at each other like, ‘what now?’  Then the leader spoke, “If you come out of there I won’t personally torture you.”

Sera thought derisively, ‘No he will just have someone else torture us.’  Sera decided to talk him up and delay him until Leifr and crew got there.  “Oh and how exactly do you plan to get us out of here; we can hold this shield up for days.”

“You only have until the sun rises then your Vampires goes ‘poof’!  So by all means, wait as long as you like.  That’d be two less for us to have to kill any way.”

“You really think this shield will not protect them from the Sun?  I know for a fact that it will, so again, how do you plan to get us out of here?”  She paused as she listened to the air around them and she smiled just as 14 Vampires, one Marked Mate, and one Demon dropped out of the sky.

Sera looked at her Mate and waved.  “Hi Honey, nice of you to drop in.  Have you met my new friends…” she turned back to the leader, “I am sorry I did not catch your name.”

Leifr chuckled and said, “No my pet, I have not had the pleasure of meeting your new friends.”

The bad guy in charge, Felix Covington, was worried as he could feel the raw power pouring off most of the creatures who had just dropped out of the sky.  There may only be 16 of them, but Felix thought most of them could probably raze a thousand strong army singlehandedly.

Sera could hear the Felix’s thoughts, so she smiled as she told Leifr, “Honey, he told them to kill all of us and take Sookie.”  She said it brightly and finished the statement with one of her dazzling smiles.  Leifr always said it felt like the warmth of the sun caressing his skin whenever she graced him with one of her many versions of that magnificent smile.

Leifr did not allow that smile to distract him, however, since he did after all have millions of years to learn how to bask in the glow of her smiles and still pay full attention to what was going on around them.  Therefore, he flashed her one of his famous smirks because he knew she was playfully trying to goad him into killing almost everyone.  A moment later he changed his expression to a scowl and turned to look at Felix before humoring his mate and asking, “New friend have you been threatening my Mate because I will not abide by that!”

“Uhh, I’m just following orders; I got no beef with you or yours.”  Felix was clearly becoming more and more nervous about Sera’s reinforcements the longer they stood there, and he should be worried since the 16 of them plus Sera and Eirik had in fact decimated thousand strong armies with their bare hands.  They had Godric with them then, but really, he was just one of the 19 of them, so the 18 currently standing around or sitting in the SUV would have no problem dealing with their current adversaries!

Sera finally got over the butterflies Leifr’s smirk set loose in her belly and decided to add to Felix’s discomfort, “Honey, his exact words were ‘Kill the Northman, Seraphina the Elder, and the other two but grab the blonde girl,’ so he definitely knew who I am.  Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that he also knew who my Mate is prior to my introducing you.  Sooooo, it would seem that he does in fact have ‘Beef’ with us since he knowingly chose to follow…”

“Edgington has the Beef, not us, but if we go back empty handed he’ll kill us.”  Felix looked very uncomfortable but he continued, “If you grant us safe haven we’ll fight for you.”  He shifted nervously as all the Vampires just stood there staring at him.  He wondered if Leifr would accept his proposal.  While ordinarily, Felix would not shift sides, most of the 75 Weres there with him that night were in his pack, and their safety and wellbeing were his responsibility, so if switching sides would keep his pack members alive then he would do just that.

Leifr let him stew for a moment, “Well, My Mate appears unscathed, so that works in your favor…”

Sera interrupted, “That is only because of our shield.”  Everyone turned to look at Sera; she shrugged with her hands out in front of her palms up, as she replied to their unspoken comments “What?  I am just saying!”

Leifr walked towards his mate and straight through the shield before he opened the SUV door to pull her out and into his arms, “My pet, I get the impression you wish for me to kill everyone.  Why so quick to kill My Dove?”

“My Dove?  Really?  That name sucks.”

“About as much as Buster sucks, wouldn’t you say?”

She huffed, “I have not called you that in years.”

He scowled at her, “Except for just now in your head.”  She made an ‘oops’ expression which he leaned in and kissed away.

While they were otherwise occupied Felix and his men started to slide to the side, in an effort to escape while Sera and Leifr were busy, but just as he passed the couple Leifr’s hand shot out and grabbed the Were by the throat.  He pulled himself away from his love and asked, “Going somewhere my new friend?  The party has not even gotten started!”  Leifr turned to look at his Vampires and then turned to the Weres and Demons.  “All of you listen very carefully…  If you choose to swear fealty to me and mine, here and now, you may, and I will spare your life.  Those of you who wish to remain loyal to your current Master will be executed, though I do promise to make it quick.”

In a matter of minutes, all but a few of the Weres and Demons came up to Leifr to swear fealty.  Leifr made them swear to serve Himself and Eirik faithfully.

A Few decided to run.  Leifr nodded his head to his Vampires, so they shot up into the sky to hunt the others down.  Sera could hear screams in the distance, and then the Vampires returned.  Amazingly only one on Sera’s side, Irina, had blood on herself at the end of the bloodshed.  Everyone else managed to get barely a drop or two on him or her.  In Irina’s defense though, she was the youngest and most inexperienced of them all, well, except for Sookie and Jessica now.  However, Sera still wondered to herself, ‘Really?  She is actually covered head to toe in blood?’

Sera shook her head.  ‘I hope no one sees her as we head home.’  Just as Sera thought that two things happened:

1. Sookie, who was now standing beside Eirik and Sera outside the SUV, whispered, “She needs a shower!”
2. Irina screeched as a deluge of water fell on her.

The water hit Irina and no one else.  Sera turned to look at Sookie, who just shrugged, “umm, oops?”  After a moment’s thought Sookie continued, “She can’t be walking around drenched in blood!”  She nodded her head as if that settled it; Sera supposed it did.

Then suddenly Sera’s second sight showed Irina calling Russell and offering to help him if he helped her to kill them all.  Oh and he needed to make her Queen.  Sera thought sadly, ‘Well damn!’  Sera never liked Irina, but really, the future betrayal still hurt especially since it was from someone they were close to, someone they knew and lived with for more than 300 years.

Sera was certain that she blocked everyone from seeing her vision, and Leifr confirmed it by asking, “What did you see?”

She knew she sounded forlorn but she could not help it, betrayal sucked!  “I will explain later, it is not pertinent to our situation now.”  Sera knew she would need to tell Leifr and eventually Eirik, but right then they needed to focus on their new friends, so she turned back to the matter at hand.  “Will Stan let us use his facilities to have a little talk with our new friends?”

Leifr chuckled, “he already offered when we left him in such a hurry.”  He continued after a moment, “Eirik can you carry your Mate while we fly to Stan’s compound?”

Eirik nodded, but then as Sookie went to object he remembered, “We have the… well, Sookie’s brother, Jason, died tonight and we have his… body.  Sookie wants to bury him in her family’s plot back in Bon Temps.  Also, I do not believe Jessica knows how to fly yet.”

Jessica shook her head no apologetically, as Leifr turned to Sookie and gently took her hand, “I am very sorry for your loss.  If I may, I have a suggestion.  I will have one of my Childer wait for the Cleaners to arrive and sanitize the area, and they can ship his body to Shreveport for burial preparation.  There is no point carrying his body around where it might receive further damage.  This way he can be tended to properly as he deserves.”  He paused as Sookie nodded, “Tristram?”

“Yes Master?”  Tristram was tall and built like a brick house.  Sookie pressed in closer to Eirik as Tristram approached.

Eirik whispered to her, “It is okay, Princess, everyone here is loyal to Leifr,” she just hugged him tighter.

Leifr turned back to Sookie, “Lady Sookie, may I present Tristram.  Tristram is my fourth oldest Childe.  He has served us well for hundreds of thousands of millennia.  He will see to it that your brother is well cared for.”

Tristram reached for Sookie’s hand and lightly kissed the back of it, “My Lady, I would be honored if you would entrust me with this duty.”  His accent was probably the thickest out of all of them.  He spoke that way intentionally.  His opponents often mistakenly believed him to be far less intelligent than he actually was because of his incredible size and the thick accent.

Eirik could tell Tristram had successfully charmed Sookie as she nodded and said, “Thank you, I appreciate that.  I uh, I don’t know how I’m going to bury him without the whole town knowing, and there will be questions if he just disappears,” She looked up at Eirik as she said that last part with tears in her eyes.

He responded softly, “Do not worry about that right now, Princess; the Cleaners will make all of the arrangements and concoct a believable cover story.  That will allow us to concentrate on planning how to deal with the queen, Edgington and Compton.  We will worry about how to deal with the citizens of Bon Temps later after the Cleaners have done their job.  If necessary we can always glamour everyone but rest assured, the matter will be taken care of for you.”

“Okay, thank you,” She whispered as she looked down timidly.

Eirik wondered, ‘What is this?’ so as he tipped her chin up to look into her watery blue eyes he said, “Hey, look at me; you do not have to thank me for taking care of you, that is my right, privilege and duty as your Bonded.”  He thought the rest to her so that their new friends would not hear, but he did not block his family from hearing ‘and it will be even more so when I give you the Marks.’

He could see every Vampire there, except Irina, smile at that.  He decided he would have to think about that later.  Irina had always prided herself on being the only woman Leifr turned in the last couple thousand millennia.  She was definitely not his only female Childe; there were two more who still existed, both of whom were significantly older than Irina was.  She still told everyone that she was the last and only woman he had wanted to turn in millennia, which Eirik guessed was true, but she did it in a way that implied she was the only woman Leifr ever turned.  Eirik knew Sera did not like Irina, never had in fact, and he believed the feeling was mutual.  He decided he would have to keep an eye on Irina; he thought she might have a problem sharing her family with Sookie and Jessica.

Leifr asked, “Tristram, if it is okay with Eirik, his young charge and her friend will ride with you when you return to Stan’s residence.”

Eirik nodded as Leifr continued his thought, “Are we ready then?  Tristram, you will call the Cleaners, and you will see that Mr. Stackhouse’s body is properly tended to.  Young Jessica and her friend will accompany you on your mission.  The rest of us will fly to King Stan’s compound.  Yes?”  He turned to their new friends and gave them directions to the compound and a few promises about what would happen to deserters, then he looked at his Vampires and said, “Let us be on our way then, My Pet, come here I shall carry you as Young Eirik will carry his Mate.”

Eirik took a moment to tell Jessica, “You will be safe with him, but until you meet back up with us his word is law, understood?”

“Yes, Eric.”

“Very good, I am proud of how you have behaved today, despite all the stress that would have caused a lesser newborn to act out in some way.  You, Jessica, have been very mature and calm since you woke, even when you were scared, and I want you to know I realize the struggle to maintain control you have been successfully toiling with tonight.  The good news is with time that control will be less difficult to maintain.  More good news is that you are well on your way to becoming the Vampire I know you can truly be.  You should be proud of yourself.”

He kissed her forehead and wiped away a tear that escaped her eye as she whispered, “Thank you.”  Eirik smiled at her and nodded, and then he, and the others, shot up into the air.

Sookie was scared, one minute they were all standing around talking and the next she was in Eirik’s arms as he shot up into the sky, “AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”  She burrowed in, as close to him as she could manage, while she thought, ‘This is pretty scary!’

Eirik chuckled, and then said, “Shh, Sookie, I have you.  I promise I will not drop you.  If you can remove your face from the crook of my neck you can see downtown Dallas all lit up!”

She peaked her eyes up and to the side then she looked down “HOLY SHIT!  How high are we?  OH GOD!”  She was starting to hyperventilate.

“Shh, Sookie, I have carried Sera for far longer and I never once dropped her, well except for that one time, but she deserved it.  I dropped her in a lake, fully clothed from the height of a tree branch but you I will never drop, not even if you deserve it, I promise.  Shh, breathe through your nose, big deep breaths in and then slowly out.”

She just breathed for a while, and then he asked, “Better?”

“Yes, thank you.  I…  I didn’t know it, but apparently, I don’t like heights.”

“Well, the great thing is, when I give you the Marks you will be able to fly too, and then you can never fall because you can catch yourself in mid-air.”  He said with a smile, which she could hear in his voice.  He was not picking on her; he was genuinely trying to help; and what do you know it was working.

“If that’s true and you said that Leifr Marked Sera, then why is he carrying her?”

“Because she is just like you, she hates heights, which is why when I dropped her into the lake I did not do it from any higher than a rope swing would have thrown her.  She was angry and would not talk to me for the rest of the day, but after she got over the shock of it she thought it was funny and an appropriate punishment.”

“But if she could fly?  Then why didn’t she…?”

“Because I am faster than she is and I did not drop her from far enough up to give her time to think about it.”  He chuckled, “It was totally worth my punishment to see her walking out of the lake drenched and her hair all a mess, twigs and debris in it… totally worth it!  Before you ask I will tell you why she deserved it on the way back to the safe house, because we are here.”  He softly touched down and then slowly let go of her legs so she could put her feet on the ground.

When she looked up she was shocked, “Holy cow Eric!  This isn’t a house.  This isn’t even a mansion.  This is like a freaking castle!”  She blushed when she heard someone laugh from the shadows.

“I am pleased by your reaction to my home.  You must be Ms. Stackhouse?  I am Stan Davis, King of Texas.”  He smiled with a little fang, and then said, “You really do smell delicious, too bad for me you are already Blood Bound to Eirik.  Well done, my boy, well done!”

At first, Eirik growled at Stan when he was talking about it being unfortunate that they shared a Blood Bond, but then he smiled and said, “Thank you Stan.  I feel as if I have won the world.”

“In a way you have, young Eirik!”  Stan motioned towards the door, “Please, welcome to my home.  Ms. Stackhouse, can I get you anything to eat or drink?  I have many humans here so I have plenty of food and drink to accommodate one more.”

“Oh, Mr. Davis, please call me Sookie and I am fine thank you,” she said with a small smile.

Eirik growled slightly, “Sookie, you are hungry I can feel it.  It has been hours since you last ate.”

She stepped back a bit at the look on his face, “Yes, but it’s rude to…”

“Sookie what part of ‘you need to keep up your strength’ do you not understand?”  He took a step towards her and she took two steps back.  He paused, “Sookie, do not do that!”

“Eric, do what?”  He took another step closer to her and as she moved to step back again, he used his vampire speed to capture her in his arms.  “Eric you’re scaring me.”

“I am sorry that was not my intention,” He said softly as he relaxed his hold on her.

She started to calm as she felt the Bond between them flooded with worry and love.  “I do not mean to scare you, but we have at least three, three, very real threats to you and you have not finished your transformation.  I just do not want you to get hurt and the best way to prevent that is for you to keep your strength up!”

“Okay, I…  I could eat something,” she said softly while trying to avoid looking into Eirik’s eyes.

“Sookie, look at me.”  She did not want to.  She was afraid of what she would see, but his finger tipped her chin up, and she saw only love and concern in his eyes, “I realize you are not used to all of this and that you have been thrown into the Supernatural World without a manual, so to speak.  It is important that you take your cues from me.  I will try not to be so… scary, but your safety is paramount to me.  I would not survive the loss of you.  Even without the Marks, I would kill everyone responsible for your death, and then I would follow you to Valhalla.  I am not…  I am not used to caring so strongly, so please bear with me, all right?  I am trying to keep you alive and I just have to find the right balance…” he finished that comment in his head but she did not think he meant for her to hear it, ‘between Dominance and submission.’

Eirik knew he must teach Sookie properly, as her safety would fall to him.  He must be strict, but he did not want to use fear as a tool, in his opinion, fear should not enter into their relationship.  He needed her to trust him implicitly for them to work as a couple.’

Sookie pointed out, “Sera said food would not be strictly necessary…”

Sera interrupted her, “Food will not be absolutely necessary once the transformation is complete and I have had the opportunity to teach you how to get your energy and nutrients from the world around you.  However, that ability is more to be used as a supplement to food, not an actual replacement unless absolutely necessary.

You will find it difficult to consume enough calories to keep up with the amount of energy you will be burning given all the abilities and powers you will be accessing so that particular ability will allow you to add to your energy from the world’s energy around you.  It should not be used as a substitute unless food is not available you.  Additionally, you should always eat when you are hungry.  You are going to be expending a lot of energy from now on, so as I said you will likely need to eat more than you have in the past.”

Sookie looked ready to argue as Eirik nodded so he said, “I can feel your hunger so do not try and deny it as that will only serve to anger me.”  He paused and looked into her deep blue eyes, “I need for you to be honest when it comes to your care and wellbeing.  I do not want you holding back or not getting something you need because you do not wish to be rude.  No one in the Supernatural world will think you rude for asking for and/or accepting what you need to survive.  And humans are beneath us,”

Sookie went to interrupt, but he placed a finger on her lips and continued, “I know you do not agree with that, but something you are going to have to come to terms with in your new existence is that we stand outside of time, humans only last for a blink of our eyes.  We are stronger, more powerful and more intelligent,”

She tried to interrupt again, but he did not allow it, “I know we are not all born smarter than humans, Compton is proof enough of that.  Most Vampires were born human first.  However, just as older humans are often smarter than human children are, because their age has given them knowledge and wisdom that the child just does not have yet, the same is true of Supernaturals.  With age usually comes knowledge and wisdom that makes us smarter in the end, with very few exceptions, Compton and his Maker notwithstanding.  Additionally, although we start out the same the transformation from human to Vampire changes things inside us and makes us different and better.

Therefore, be polite if you need to be, but you should never keep quiet when you need something.  Everything you have ever mentioned about your gran and the lessons she taught you tells me that your gran likely taught you how to be polite and still ask for something, no?

Please, for me, try to be more mindful of that particular habit of yours.”  He finished with a quick kiss to her lips and then pulled away from her.  Everyone in the room was trying not to smile, but they were failing miserably.  Eirik did not see what there was to smile about.  He thought that habit of hers was going to get one or both of them killed.

Stan picked up right where he left off before Eirik’s little speech, “I will call you Sookie, but only if you call me Stan!  Now, what would you like to eat?  I can have my chef make anything you like.”

“Uhh.  I’m not, I don’t, I…”  She stuttered.

She was nervous, so with his arms still wrapped around her Eirik kissed her forehead and asked, “What is your favorite food, Sookie?”

“What, no that’s too much…  I can just have a sandwich.”

He growled, “Sookie, Sera just finished saying that you need to eat more than you have in the past.  Therefore, one little sandwich will not be enough!”  He paused and then continued, “Disregard what you have been told again and I will punish you.”

Her eyes flared at that, and he wondered if he went too far, too soon, but then he smelled her arousal, ‘hmmm just as I suspected,’ he thought.

Instead of giving voice to his thoughts he said, “Sera you spoke with the Doctor, what would be a good meal for someone who is transforming into an Elemental?”

Sera looked torn, but then Leifr stepped in, “Sera he asked you a question.”

“Umm fried chicken probably has a little more fat than strictly necessary, but with collard greens, green beans, and maybe some sweet potatoes, since regular potatoes are too starchy and not really of any nutritional value, I think that would be a good meal.”  She smiled apologetically at Sookie.

“Sookie would you like to have that?”  She looked nervous again.  Eirik knew he really should not have asked Sera, he should have made Sookie say it, but she looked so uncomfortable.

“I don’t…  I’m not…  it’s too…”  He frowned at her and obviously opened his mouth to argue the point so she changed her line of thought and tentatively said, ‘Y…  Yes please.”

He smiled down at her and kissed her lips briefly, “Thank you Princess.”

Stan motioned to one of his help and told them what Sookie would like to eat, and they left to see it done.  When he finished placing Sookie’s food order Stan turned to Eirik and Leifr before he motioned down the hall.  “I will have my men speak with your new retinue when they arrive; in the meantime I have several people waiting for us in the sitting room.  Let us sit and we can discuss the future.”

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