Appius continued cackling for almost a minute as the queen kept her stake poised and ready to slay Eric.
“You are all so amusing!” he finally said, drawing out each word. “What a delight I have found in Louisiana! Indeed, I am so diverted that I will allow you to protect your own children, even as you threaten to end mine!” the elder vampire said as he winked at the queen. “I give you permission to have your Weres remove your two children, Queen!” he offered with a wave of his hand—as if he were the monarch. “Indeed, their thrashing and moans of pain are a distraction!”
“No!” Sigebert insisted, clearly unwilling to entertain the notion of leaving the side of his maker, despite the fact that he was badly injured.
In the next moment, Appius was in front of the warrior, and then the queen was screaming and sinking to her knees as she felt Sigebert’s agony as he was struck and then flung mercilessly into the wall fifty feet from where he’d been. The crunch of his breaking bones filled the room, and the vampire warrior wailed in pain before clearly passing out.
Peter immediately moved next to Eric, the Viking and the King of Arkansas forming a screen between where Appius now stood and Sophie-Anne. One of Sigebert’s legs was in his hands, though it was quickly turning to ash.
The queen quivered in agony, though her eyes were fixed onto her battered child; in Latin, she murmured thanks to a god she still believed in that the rest of her child’s body wasn’t also slipping into dust.
Reacting to the violence, the Weres and other two-natured beings—led by Mustapha—quickly moved to attack those who had come with Appius. Immediately, a high-pitched sound came from Hallow as she used her magic to repel the fastest of the two-natured beings; then she turned to her brother. Mark Stonebrook quickly raised his hands and squeezed his eyes shut.
Quinn and Mustapha, who’d been the ones to feel Hallow’s repelling spell most directly, were able to get back up and join the others, only to be greeted by some kind of magical barrier that was now protecting all the clustered members of Appius’s group—save the ancient vampire himself.
Alexei giggled and clapped his hands with glee as one after another, the Weres bounced back from the barrier erected by Mark Stonebrook as if they’d been electrocuted.
Wybert—though clearly in pain due to his own injury, his maker’s agony, and his worry over his brother’s obviously grim condition—stared warily at Appius as the elder vampire took a step in his direction. The Saxon clearly knew that his head might very soon be ripped from its shoulders, and he took the moment to send all of the love and devotion he had to his queen—so that these would be the last things she would feel from him if the worst came.
However, Appius stopped and winked at Wybert, even as he rubbed his hands together in order to dislodge some of the blood and dust upon them.
Then, Appius turned his back on the group around the queen and strolled over toward where Alexei and Bill stood—in the center of Mark Stonebrook’s protective barrier. Hardly breaking his leisurely stride, Appius hit a few Weres on his way to his cohort—swatting the two-natured beings as one would swat flies. Those he touched were sent careening into various walls; one even hit the ceiling before falling to the floor dead. Those who wisely stayed out of Appius’s way withdrew toward the queen.
“Mark—if you would be so kind?” the elder vampire asked casually.
The male Were-witch immediately lowered his spell so that Appius could join his small group again. At the same time, Bill took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and—with a respectful bow—he handed it to his master.
“Ah—thank you, William!” Appius said wiping his hands. “Just what I needed!” He chuckled as he looked across the room at Sigebert, who was no longer moving—but still clinging to his existence.
The elder vampire turned back around to see Peter lifting Sophie-Anne to her feet. There were tear tracks down her cheeks.
“I do apologize for all the unpleasantness. It’s just that I do not like being told ‘no,'” Appius said with a little shrug. “Tsk, tsk, Eric. I would have thought that you would have conveyed that knowledge to your queen.”
“The Vampire Council will . . . ,” Peter started.
“Do very little to me,” Appius interrupted with a grin. “Especially once I tell them that the queen tried to stand in the way of my rights to my child. No, dear boy, they will give me a slap on the wrist. Likely, I will have to pay one of their nuisance fines,” he added with derision. “Of course, I shall make Eric pay that anyway, so what does it matter to me?”
“You cannot just harm a queen’s child!” Peter growled out.
“I could have killed him. I could kill him even now,” Appius returned threateningly. “Anyway, did I not give the queen the opportunity to send her whelps away to safety?” he grinned as he looked at the queen. “In fact, some of the conquering Weres,” he intoned sarcastically as he looked at the ones he’d flung and smiled at the number of broken bodies he saw, “could remove that one.” He gestured toward Wybert.
“Colonel Flood, see to it,” Eric quickly ordered a solid-looking Were who stood near where Wybert was still watching Appius stoically. Wybert’s remaining arm continued to grip his sword, but he was clearly weakened by his blood loss.
Conflicted, Wybert looked to his queen, who nodded to him in order to show that she wanted him to go.
“And my other child?” she asked, looking toward Sigebert.
“Tell me,” Appius taunted, “how close is he to the true death? He must be very close.”
The queen raised her chin in what little defiance she could, even as she turned to make sure Wybert was leaving the ballroom.
“So? Is he very close to death? I know you can feel him,” Appius mocked.
“His body is barely clinging to its magic,” the queen answered honestly.
“Bring me the telepath, and I shall allow you to feed him your blood,” Appius offered with a smirk. “It will take him a very long time to heal—as it is. Why not limit his suffering—and your own?”
Sophie-Anne brushed a tear from her cheek, even as she shook her head. “I will not do that,” she answered steadily.
“Then that child,” Appius said, pointing toward Sigebert’s body, “will stay here for now. Perhaps, he will continue to cling to his life. Perhaps not. We will be entertained to find out just how strong your blood and his will are, Your Majesty,” he teased.
Alexei clapped his hands and laughed, clearly enjoying his maker’s games.
“Let them all leave,” Eric requested softly, addressing his maker. “What is to come is between you and me alone.”
Appius chuckled darkly. “That is where you are wrong, Eric. Dead wrong. I am not ready for my audience to leave just yet—at least, not until the next part of our evening begins.”
The Viking tried to hide his fear as he wondered what horror Appius was planning.
He did not need to wonder for long.
“I command you to bring the telepath to me now!” Appius growled. “Only then will I dismiss the little collection of monarchs gathered. Alternatively, I will kill them all and take over their states!”
“I will not give you Sookie,” Eric growled, in clear pain as he disobeyed his maker’s command.
“Ah—open rebellion—then?” Appius laughed. “Come!” he yelled out loudly as if speaking to a dog. Eric, feeling the pressure of his maker’s new command, even as he continued to avoid the directive to bring him Sookie, immediately began moving toward the elder vampire.
“Kneel,” Appius ordered, his voice soft.
Eric went down onto his knees. Appius bent down and gripped Eric’s long, blond hair into his fist, moving his head so that his child was forced to look into the eyes of his maker.
“You are bonded to her—yes?”
Eric growled.
“I know you are,” Appius grinned. “So she will feel your pain!”
The elder vampire punched Eric hard with his right hand, even as he kept a grip of his hair with his left. The force of the blow echoed throughout the ballroom, as Appius’s laughter did the same. When he let go of Eric, the Viking sank to the floor in pain, and Appius admired the blood-stained hair, which he’d yanked from Eric’s head.
“Bring her to me—now!” Appius commanded again as he fisted Eric’s hair before letting it whisp to the floor.
Eric looked up at his maker, his eyes still defiant. “Never!” he yelled out, though he was in clear duress due to his resistance.
“Now!” Appius repeated, increasing the pressure of his command. Immediately, blood began to pool in Eric’s ears and then drip from his nose—as if he were suffering from the “bleeds.”
“Never,” Eric whimpered. “You cannot have her.”
Suddenly, the pressure of Appius’s command was taken off of Eric, and the elder vampire laughed heartily.
“Perhaps, I should command you to kill your queen then?” He smiled sinisterly. “Yes, that might be quite fun. You—taking over as King of Louisiana.” He looked at Peter and then licked his lips. “I’d be happy to let you live, young one,” he sneered. “I like the looks of your,” he paused and leered at Peter’s crotch area, “knife.”
Peter cringed, but thought better of saying anything as the elder vampire returned his attention to Eric.
“Just think!” Appius continued. “If you were to become Louisiana’s king, then Alexei and I could have so much fun here! And you would have to clean up after us—again and again and again!” he laughed maniacally.
“If you command that, they will kill me,” Eric grunted, gesturing to those behind him.
“You don’t really believe that I’d allow them—or anyone else—to touch you, do you, my boy?” Appius asked, looking back at the collection of people around the queen. He winked at Russell Edgington. “Even the oldest amongst them would be no match for me.”
He focused back on Eric. “Indeed, even if they all tried to come at me at once, they would be no match for me. You know this—don’t you?”
Reluctantly, Eric nodded.
“Yet they are considering just that,” Appius laughed heartily. “Look at the young Arkansas king. Look!” he yelled when Eric didn’t immediately comply.
The Viking twisted his body to look at Peter Threadgill.
“Even now, young Peter is chomping at the bit to attack,” Appius said conversationally—but plenty loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him. He made sure that Peter was looking at him before he winked at the Arkansas King. “And those furtive looks toward Russell and the dashing vampire behind him are just darling! Just who are you, dashing man?” he asked, his voice dripping with condescension.
“I am Ian Bowles, King of Tennessee,” the dark-haired vampire responded, his Irish brogue doing little to hide his pensiveness.
Appius inhaled deeply—as if he were cataloguing all the scents in the room.
“Eric, my boy, tell them what you know will happen if they come after me—or if they try to come between you and me,” he requested eagerly.
“They will die,” Eric said softly.
“Yes—they will,” Appius agreed. “And you saw the barrier that my witch friend can construct—correct?”
“Yes,” Eric answered.
“Do you not believe me to be all powerful, Eric?” he taunted. “Have you not always believed me to be that?”
The Viking looked up defiantly. “Some things are more powerful than you could ever imagine,” he dared.
“Like what?” Appius scoffed.
Eric didn’t respond.
“You cannot be referring to your bond, can you? To love?” the elder patronized.
Eric raised his chin a little.
“Oh—this is rich! So very rich!” Appius declared. “And so very amusing! Hallow?” Appius asked, summoning the witch to his side.
Mark put a cautioning hand on his sister’s arm, but she brushed it off and went to stand next to Appius.
“Yes?” she asked, her eyes taking in Eric.
“Isn’t my eldest child magnificent?”
“Yes,” Hallow responded, nodding her head in such an exaggerated way that it was almost comical.
“I can tell you are looking forward to your time with him,” Appius grinned.
“What?” Eric asked, his eyes widening.
“Oh—I promised the witch she could have a turn when I was finished up with you. She has some lovely surprises planned for you, child!” he grinned. “She’s a bit slender for my tastes—and, of course, I don’t enjoy fucking women. But I believe you will enjoy your time with her.”
Eric shook his head.
“Or she will simply make you enjoy it! Don’t you remember? How you eventually enjoyed everything we did together?”
Eric looked ill.
Appius laughed. “With her spells, Hallow will be able to control your mind; she’ll make you want everything she does to you—just as you once wanted everything that I did to you. And you will love her for it!” he added facetiously.
Eric growled.
“Oh—and she’ll also make sure that pesky little bond you made with the telepath is taken care of. Destroyed,” Appius emphasized gleefully.
“No!” Eric yelled out. “Impossible!”
Appius ignored his denial. “From what I hear, the bond-severing spell Hallow plans will be quite painful, especially for your,” he paused, and his lips shifted up in contemptuous smile, “Sookie. But it will clear you out of her system so that she can—once again—belong to William.
“Never,” Eric seethed.
Again, Appius ignored his eldest child’s protestations. “The pain of the severing might just be enough to teach young Sookie to be grateful for the comforting arms of William,” he teased. “But—if it’s not, you mustn’t worry. I will be there—ready to help William to train Sookie to appreciate him. You remember my style of training—do you not?” he taunted.
“You fucking bastard!” Eric yelled before moving threateningly toward Appius. As soon as he did, however, he fell over in intense pain.
“Ah,” Appius said with a nod, closing his eyes as if savoring the best blood in the world. “My oldest command to you—the command that you never harm your maker!” He inhaled deeply. “That command has aged like the finest of wines; it is so strong in you now—so embedded—that you cannot resist it, as you foolishly try to resist me in other ways.” He moved to loom over Eric. “I can feel the pain that you are putting yourself through, even as you contemplate how you would like to kill me.” He bent down and yanked Eric’s head upward; the rest of the Viking’s body had no choice but to follow along until he was once again kneeling. Appius bent down to place a rough kiss on the Viking’s lips.
Eric struggled against the touch.
“Your kiss is still so sweet to me, Eric,” Appius whispered.
Both Alexei and Karin growled, breaking Appius from his moment.
The elder turned and gave them both a warning glance before looking back at Eric. Once again, he gripped the Viking’s hair and turned his head so that his mouth was an inch away from his ear.
“I am going to fuck you until you know your proper place again—until you understand what it is to be mine again!” he said—so low that only Eric could hear him. “I’m going to make your woman watch me so that she will witness you in true ecstasy—something she will know she could never give you as I can. And then I am going to give you to Hallow, who is going to control your mind in a way that I have never been able to do. She will force you to cater to her every whim—and you will love her for it. And—then—when the time is right, she will make you believe that I am your heart’s desire, even as you currently believe the telepath is. You will love me with an obsession that is like no other, Eric. You will want me with a fire that will be untamable. And I will,” he paused as he licked Eric’s cheek, “enjoy you all the more for it.”
“That would never be real,” Eric growled.
“It will be real enough,” Appius chuckled, again glancing at Karin. “Look how real it is for her.”
“Let her go,” Eric begged.
Appius ignored his plea. “I will enjoy watching you—feeling you—beg for me. I will enjoy you beseeching for my cock and for what I will do to you. And—oh, Eric—I plan to do so many things—things that will make our first two hundred years together seem like an innocent flirtation in comparison! And you will cry out for more!”
“I’ll find a way to end you—to end myself,” Eric promised.
Ignoring Eric’s dissent, Appius’s grin twisted. “Meanwhile, as you learn to be truly grateful for me, William is going to teach the telepath to be the perfect blood slave—blood whore,” he goaded, his voice still in a low whisper. “And then he will turn her. He will be able to control her in all the ways that I can control you.”
Summoning all of his strength, Eric attempted to break from Appius’s hold—to bite him. But the effort was for nothing. Appius slammed Eric back to the floor and rose above him.
“I cannot help but to wonder if your Sookie will be so perpetually stubborn as you are,” he laughed. “Of course,” he added, after winking at Bill, “even if she is, it will be quite fun to watch the taming process for years to come—centuries even.”
Eric screamed out in anguish and pain as he pushed himself off the floor and stood up. He spit out a mouthful of blood. “You sick bastard! I will find a way to protect Sookie from you!”
“I am much more concerned about whether she will be keen to protect you from me!” Appius grinned. “Summon her to your side and let us test her—shall we?” he ordered.
“Fuck you!” Eric resisted.
“Move one more millimeter,” Appius yelled suddenly in the direction of the queen’s group, and more will die!” He sighed. “I am enjoying having an audience. Pray that I do not stop doing so,” he huffed impatiently, looking in turn at Sophie-Anne, Peter, Ian, and Russell, who were still flanked by Betty Joe and Jennifer Cater.
“Bring the telepath to me!” Appius ordered Eric again. Again, the Viking resisted, his body now writhing in pain.
“Karin! Come to me!” Appius commanded.
The vampiress rushed to his side; she was teeming with frenetic energy. “May I?” she asked, panting and totally focused on her maker.
Appius smiled down at Eric. “What shall I have her do?”
“Don’t,” was the only word Eric could muster.
“May I?” Karin hissed again.
“May you what, dear?” Appius asked.
“Have him,” Karin growled, looking at Eric with intensity and lust.
“Should I let her loose to fuck you?” Appius cackled. “What would you do if I did? Would you let her? Would you give us all—including your little bonded—a show?”
“Don’t,” Eric repeated, still obviously in pain from his resistance to Appius’s commands.
Something seemed to crack in Karin, and she rushed to Eric, pulling him into her embrace and then biting savagely into his neck. She cried out in ecstasy, even as Appius yanked her back by the hair. She looked ready to turn on him in order to get back to her obsession.
“This is how you will ultimately love me—with uncontrollable obsession and passion—as you always should have!” Appius taunted Eric before he turned Karin so that she was facing him. “Be still!” he yelled, pouring all of his influence onto her. “And don’t move until I tell you that you can!”
Karin looked like she might defy Appius until Hallow chanted something softly, which seemed to calm her down.
“That’s better,” Appius smiled, patting Karin on the head before letting her go. He bent down to speak softly to Eric—again so that only the Viking could hear him.
“I’m going to give you a phone, and you are going to dial the number of your bonded.”
“I won’t,” Eric denied.
“You will—or Karin is going to die. If you do this little thing I ask, I will let her go tomorrow night. And I will allow her to leave with her own mind and will intact,” he added more loudly. He turned to Bill. “William, another phone!”
Immediately, Bill took a phone from one of the “lesser” witches in the group and walked toward Appius, even as he kept a wary eye on Eric. His caution was well-founded, for Eric struck like a snake, pulling a wooden stake out of his pocket as he did so.
Bill’s face was horrorstruck as he registered Eric’s quick movements, and in that moment, Bill was certain that he was going to die!
Eric’s Child
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I hate Appius so much. Great job! 💐💐
Thanks!!!
Your story is so riveting! I’m at the edge of my seat wondering what will happen. Someone needs to end the witches then all hell will break loose. Thanks for writing.
Thanks for you comment! I’m glad to be able to put you on the edge of your seat!!!
Me temo que Appius impedirá que Eric mate a Bill, pero sería mejor que Eric apuntara hacia Hallow, porque la debilidad de Appius está tras esa barrera protectora y no es otro que Aleksei. Espero que Russell se haya dado cuenta porque no espero que Eric lo haga.
Someone has noticed. 😉
I so wish Eric will stake Bill, but I’m figuring Appius will stop him, sigh
You have managed to create such an evil character I’m pretty sure every reader cannot wait for him to get killed
LOL — When I was writing, I was very anxious to get to his end. 🙂
I already know you not going to let Eric kill the douche bag Bill quite yet or his while maker and some needs take out that bitch Hallow and her brother also oh well maybe my wish will come true soon🤪😁LOL
Would soonish work? 😉
How many of us want Appius to incinerate at this point?! I’m surprised that Eric didn’t attack Hallow instead of Appius when he was taunting Eric. Sure Appius might have stopped him, but Hallow is key to much of the planned torture. Mark is less skilled than Hallow and seems to have some scruples. Excited for me to come. Thanks.
I see Eric as “trying” to control his aggression. That said, he had to go after Bill. 😉
Damn! I was so hoping to read about the bastards deaths and maybe Sookie beating the crap out of Hallow!
Another fantastic chapter, keep up the great work
Thanks! Keep holding on. 🙂
Congrats! You’ve written a character that your readers love to hate! I think that’s quite an accomplishment for any writer and you should take your bows! Even CH didn’t “fill out” the Appius character she created like you have!
Now……Appius is faster than Eric and won’t allow him to Kill Bill –rats. But if this was a feint on Eric’s part, he can aim that stake at Hallow –after all, she’s a halfie and therefore almost as weak as a full human. Stake Hallow, Mark is distracted and the barrier falls. Alexie is vulnerable to the older vampires and could disable Appius with his death. I’m sure you’ve got something more exciting planned as you always do 🙂 but in another world, I was a low level strategist. 🙂
But, I still can’t figure out who will take out Appius since those who are stronger than Eric have been warned not to interfere. — Naill, The AP and Russell. Ya got me stumped there 🙂
Oh–you know I have my plans. 😉
I do enjoy reading your theories though! Your strategy is good! Stay tuned.
I have no idea how this will resolve. On the edge of my seat. So excited you are feeling better and writing again. Love to anticipate your stories.
Thanks! 🙂
I so hope billy boy got his final death.
It’d be nice, but you know I cannot make it THAT easy. 😉
Loving this! I so hate Appius! I know we can’t fast forward to when he dies, but hopefully his plans will fall apart around him. Can’t wait for more!
Well–he is very prideful.
I really can’t handle this suspense. It’s gonna kill me lol
I know your end game is Eric & Sookie HEA but I am so worried about who else is going to die and how much emotional trauma they will have to overcome once this is over.
Stay tuned – – I should have another chapter (either to put you out of your misery or increase it) tomorrow. 🙂
I would be excited, but I know you’re not going to let Eric kill ScumBheel here.
Appius is monologuing now – let’s hope he pays for it!
Appius definitely suffers from an overabundance of pride! He is enjoying toying with his victims, rather than killing them outright. 😉
Bye bye Bill?