Chapter 52: Animal Instinct

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As Sookie raised the phone up to her ear, she noticed that her hands were steady.

She let Eric feel her love and her resolution—her confidence in them both.

During one of their long winter nights together, Eric had told her that vampires had the ability to think about many things in only one moment; he’d described it as the brain becoming completely healed of all its potential barriers upon being turned. He’d explained that this hyper-thinking was likely why most vampires believed in their superiority over other creatures. He’d even admitted to believing that as well—at least to a certain extent—though he maintained an appreciation for other creatures and the steadfast belief that each type of being had strengths of its own.

Sookie found herself thinking about her own seemingly hyperawareness as the call connected with Eric’s maker.

After everything that had happened that night—all the turmoil and violence already—the telepath felt a certain kind of calmness, somehow knowing that the situation would soon resolve itself one way or another.

Very soon.

She did not know where her calmness—her steadiness—was coming from.

Maybe it was an effect of her acceptance of herself, earned after years of trying to escape from the fact that she was a telepath—trying to deny her differences by pretending that they didn’t dominate her life. Yes—it was a hard-earned acceptance, spurred on in no small part by Eric’s encouragement.

Maybe it was an echo of something in Eric, a warrior’s impulse before an inevitable battle, a side-effect of her beloved mate’s blood, which was flowing through her own body, forever connecting her to him.

Maybe it was a feeling from somewhere deep in her own blood—her supernatural or her human. Maybe both.

After all, beings of all kinds had met one another on battlefields from their very beginnings: fighting for food, fighting for territory, fighting for resources.

Fighting for love.

She wondered if all of them felt a surge of steel in their blood as the field was finally presented to them.

Appius had been the boogie man before that night—a creature out in the world somewhere that might someday threaten all that she and Eric had. He’d been abstract. But now he was real; he was simply a foe to face.

And he would die that night.

Or she and Eric would die.

Or they would be on a path that would lead them to their death—a path that might have immeasurable pain attached to it, but that pain would eventually end. And she had confidence that she and Eric would find each other in a common afterlife.

That knowledge—certain and unmistakable—calmed her.

No matter the outcome of the night, it was time to shit or get off the pot—as her brother would colorfully say.

“What should I call you?” she greeted Appius.

A cold laugh replied to her question. “I should have known my child would prepare you for meeting me,” Appius said. “How about you call me Master?” he asked with a teasing lilt.

“Because you are not now—nor will you ever be—that to me,” Sookie answered coolly, though defiantly.

Appius laughed again. “I would not be so sure about that. But—to avoid an argument—you will call me Ocella for the time being. And I will call you Telepath.”

“Eric’s bonded is what I would prefer to be called,” Sookie responded.

Appius let out an even louder laugh. “I see why you enjoy her so much, child! Why William is captivated as well!” he commented, clearly talking to Eric.

“What do you want?” Sookie asked the malevolent vampire.

“So many things,” Appius answered. “But—for a start—I would like to meet you. In person.”

“I’m fine right where I am,” Sookie returned flatly.

“You understand the strength it takes for my child to resist my commands to him—do you not?” he asked.

“My bonded has a strength that is beyond my understanding,” Sookie complimented. “It’s one of the many reasons why I love him.”

“Love!” laughed Appius. “Surely, you know that’s not a word a vampire can understand.”

“My bonded also clearly has ability beyond your understanding, too,” Sookie returned.

Appius ignored her insult, probably not taking it as one. “I have commanded Eric to bring you to me. He resists. Tell me—can you feel his pain through your bond with him? I can certainly feel his pain. Or—perhaps—he is trying to keep that pain from you?”

Sookie said nothing. What she and Eric felt and shared through their bond was nothing that she would ever speak about with Appius Livius Ocella.

“I’ve learned that Eric is capable of resisting my commands; it is a kind of gift for him—I suppose,” Appius said with distaste. “But he cannot resist forever. If he did, he would be driven to madness; of course, I have never pushed him to that point. But I could.” He paused, obviously wanting the threat of his words to shake her.

Sookie shook her head—as if denying that the elder vampire any foothold into her resolve.

“Looking at the fervor in my child’s eyes now,” Appius finally continued, “I have no doubt that he would be willing to die to protect you. No doubt. And because of that, I believe that he will not be able to fight so strongly against my next command to him. Would you like to hear what that next command will be?”

“No,” Sookie said immediately. “I wouldn’t.”

“Too bad,” Appius returned, his voice low. “Eric, I command that you meet the sun as soon as possible—that you kill anyone who tries to stand in your way of meeting the sun! That you fight against your day death in order to meet the sun—no matter how long it takes you to accomplish this goal.”

“Bastard,” Sookie seethed.

“Do you know how difficult it will be to stop him?” Appius laughed. “He is strong, but if he resists my command into the day, the very fact that the sun is in the sky will weaken him to the point that he can no longer resist. And—even if he does resist for one day. Can he resist for two? For three? Perpetually?”

“I’ll put him under silver if I have to,” Sookie returned.

Appius laughed. “I imagine you would. But would you do that forever? Through torture, I have prevented vampires from going to their day-deaths for weeks. Their minds become altered by such deprivation, Telepath. And their suffering is profound. You love him,” he intoned mockingly, “too much to cause him that level of pain.”

“Bastard,” she growled again.

“I will lift the command, little girl,” he said coldly. “All you have to do is come and meet me. It is a little thing—after all. You have ten minutes to arrive; otherwise, I will be taking my leave—with Eric. My Eric. And he will be greeting the sun in mere hours.”

He hung up the phone.

Sookie closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. When she opened them, she caught Mr. Cataliades’s eyes on her again. He was looking at her with paternalistic concern.

“Mark Stonebrook is ready to create another magical barrier around Appius’s group,” the demon lawyer said to her telepathically. “But such a barrier would not stop Karin from picking up the scent of the burning wood—if the witches can manage to trip the failsafe to Hallow’s spell,” he informed.

Sookie took in Mr. Cataliades’s thoughts gratefully.

“Eric is your Charmali,” the demon lawyer continued telepathically. “You must fight for him, or you will lose your own soul.”

Sookie knew the truth of the demon’s words—felt that truth to the very depths of her soul. She’d learned from Mr. Cataliades that a Charmali was a fairy’s soulmate, someone whom they were connected to by light and love.

“It is time to fight for Eric,” Sookie said aloud as she straightened her posture. She looked at Octavia and Amelia. “Hallow’s brother has the ability to construct a protective spell around their group. Is there anything you can do about that?”

“I can try,” Octavia said, stepping forward a little. “But—honestly—I don’t think I could figure it out quickly enough for it to be of any use to you,” she sighed.

“Then, I don’t know how we’ll be able to get to them—so that we can actually fight them!” Sookie cried out with frustration.

In that moment, the air right behind Sookie shimmered a little. And—before the surprised eyes of most of the people in the room—Batanya appeared. Immediately, everyone who didn’t know about her went on the defensive. But Sookie quickly allayed any fears.

“This is Batanya,” she said. “She’s a Britlingen—an extra guard for me.”

“She’s been there all along?” a clearly surprised Amelia gasped.

Sookie nodded and looked up at the tall warrior. “You appeared. Why?”

The Britlingen looked for a moment as if she were trying to retrieve the English language—from a myriad of others in her brain.

“There is no barrier—created by witch or Fae—that can keep out a Britlingen. I will move through the barrier and kill the male witch. Then, his barrier will be no more,” Batanya said slowly and stiffly.

Sookie nodded. In the past, she might have been stymied by doubts over someone’s death being decided upon so quickly, especially since Mark Stonebrook’s mind told her that he was not a bad person. He just had a particularly bad sister, whom he was committed to help and to protect. However, Sookie had no time to give Mark Stonebrook mercy.

He was on Appius’s side, and that meant that he needed to die.

“Could you kill Appius?” Thalia asked Batanya, her eyes narrowed as she took in Sookie’s other guard.

The Britlingen considered for a moment. “I must come forth fully into this realm to kill, so he would see me. I do not know if I could kill him before he struck me down,” she added honestly.

Thalia nodded at her fellow warrior, even as Batanya disappeared from sight again.

Sookie took a deep breath and tried to channel her bonded. And then she smiled a little as she realized that Eric would tell her not to try to behave as he would. Eric would tell her to follow her own instincts. He believed in her—to be her.

He trusted her.

She took another deep breath and determined that she could make a plan that would protect Eric and leave Appius dead. She would! She had to.

And then something in her mind began clicking. A vivid picture formed as if by magic; she sensed that she was witnessing a possible future, but there was more to it than that.

She could see people doing things at her direction. The image sped up. In her mind’s eye, Thalia died. Sookie shook her head as if forbidding that outcome and rewound the image so that a different path—a different future—could be followed.

As other unacceptable losses flew through her mind, Sookie kept rewinding. Finally, an image played out that just might work. She frowned, wishing she could continue going through scenarios in her mind, but she knew she didn’t have the time. The image—be it from the future or from her own imagination—solidified. She intuited somehow that there were about a million variables in her plan that could go wrong. Still—she settled upon it.

She briefly thanked God for her moment of clarity and then thanked her Fae blood, acknowledging that what she had just experienced might be another fairy power manifesting just as she needed it most. She’d think more about that later though—if she survived the night.

“Anyone who is going to join us in our fight—the time has come,” she said with strength and resolve. “You saw what Appius did to Sigebert and Wybert—how quickly he moved. He could kill us all—or many of us—before we get him.” She looked at the witches. “Are you willing to help, Amelia and Octavia?”

The two nodded.

Most of the people in the room moved toward Sookie, including Hadley, signifying their choice to fight with her as well.

“No,” Sookie said, looking at her cousin. “Stay here with Hyun-Ae; she’ll look after you.” The telepath looked over at the beautiful Asian vampiress, who’d attended the night’s festivities in order to witness the marriage agreement between Peter and Sophie-Anne. She’d already made clear that she had to remain neutral, though she’d also vowed to protect Hadley if Sophie-Anne was killed.

Hyun-Ae nodded in confirmation.

Sookie looked back at her cousin. “Plus, someone needs to take care of Shadow,” she said of her faithful dog.

Hadley frowned, but agreed with a timid-sounding, “Okay.”

Sookie turned her attention to the witches. “Thank you for agreein’ to help.” She looked at Padma and then at Mr. Cataliades. “Do all you can to protect them. Get them as close as possible to Karin while Appius is focused on me.”

Mr. Cataliades nodded and smiled at her, his expression one of pride.

Sookie looked around the room. “We don’t have time for big plans, so I’ll keep this simple. Three things need to happen—in this order. Number one: Octavia and Amelia need to get Karin free from Hallow’s spell. Number two: Batanya needs to eliminate Mark. Number three: We need to do our damnedest to take out everyone else who’s with Appius.”

“What about Appius himself?” Amelia asked.

“I have no idea,” Sookie sighed. “All I know is that we have to get ourselves to a moment when he’s the only one left, so don’t go after him directly until that moment. Protect yourselves—of course—if he attacks you. But don’t move directly against him.”

Thalia growled from next to her.

“You too,” Sookie said forcefully.

The vampiress looked pissed off, but nodded her agreement.

“We have to go,” Sookie said, looking at the clock on the wall.

Immediately, the little band of allies began to move toward the door, with Thalia leading. Padma, Mr. Cataliades, Maxwell Lee, Chow, Amelia, and Octavia seemed to form almost a circle around Sookie. As they entered the tunnel that connected the guest house to the main residence, they were joined by Indira and Diantha, the latter nodding at her uncle as she fell into step beside him.

Sookie felt proud to be a part of such a group, even as she recognized that—unless Appius was in the mood to “play” with his enemies—he could kill them all in moments if he wanted to.

Still, that didn’t stop her feet from moving forward.

It was time to fight.

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Pythia had never become accustomed to riding in a car. In truth, she rarely traveled. The occasional summit would call her from her Mediterranean island home; beyond that, she liked to stay in her remote haven.

Flying on an airplane was something she disliked even more than car travel; indeed, whenever possible, she would try to arrange to fly during the daytime so that she could be dead as it occurred. Even when she had to travel at night, however, she would stay in her coffin. In it, she would meditate or simply allow visions to populate her thoughts without trying to stifle them—as she often did periodically, just so that she could have a semblance of an independent life.

She’d learned the hard way that trying to stifle her visions led her to debilitating pain. She’d also learned that a period of time seemed to hold a finite number of visions; thus, she could “get them over with” in one fell swoop, at least much of the time.

As the tires of the vehicle that she was traveling in skidded to a stop at a red light, she hissed. Traveling by boat—she minded much less, despite its rhythmic jostling. She preferred a vessel controlled by the winds, rather than by a motor.

The vehicle that she was currently in was what humans called a luxury SUV. Despite its so-called luxuries, however, it didn’t seem right—feel right—to be riding in such a conveyance. She let herself remember the nights when wagons or carriages would take her where she wished to go. She couldn’t help but wish those nights could return. She missed the horses and the lurches and bumps of a carriage ride. There was something alive to it; the potholes that caused the vehicle to jump slightly along the Louisiana road simply were not the same.

Her annoyance with modern travel flickered from Pythia’s thoughts as she received a flash from her future-sight. The flash was momentary, a reminder of a vision she’d had months before. Such a quick flash meant that the vision would, indeed, be coming to pass. Not all of her visions did come to fruition, but the flash was reassuring, for this vision’s fulfillment was a step in the direction the Ancient Pythoness was wishing to travel in.

“It is the least threatening to you,” she said softly, almost as if she were reassuring herself.

“Milady?” Noelle asked with a little concern in her tone.

“It is beginning for the telepath,” Pythia whispered. “She has become more herself.”

“Herself?”

“Let us hope that she is not slain before she can reach her great enemy,” Pythia said without answering Noelle’s question. “And before he who will turn out to be her greatest threat tonight is stopped.”

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After speaking to the telepath and her company, Batanya had phased back to her preferred state in the human world, which was basically between the Britlingen plain and the earthly one. It was her connection to her magic-laced homeland that kept her strong and nourished. She would have preferred to have never come fully into the human realm at all—especially not in such a way that had made her presence known to so many.

Most of those individuals were allies to her charge—to be sure. But it would have been better to stay concealed. However, the Ancient Pythoness was not one to be ignored. She’d shared certain gleanings from her future-sight with the Britlingen guard.

Still, doing what had been requested of her by the ancient seer had gone against all of the warrior’s training and instincts.

But it was necessary. Three times would Sookie Stackhouse almost die that night, and Batanya had to allow them all to happen.

Oh—the Britlingen knew that she could keep Sookie completely safe—if she were a normal charge. It would be so easy. All she would have to do was take her to the Britlingen world. Granted, such things were done rarely and took considerable magic. They were also viewed as a kind of “cheating” among the Britlingens. But—to save her from Appius Livius Ocella—Batanya would have done it, though, perhaps, as a last resort. Sookie wouldn’t have been able to stay in the Britlingen realm for long, but it would have been long enough for the day to come and the vampires to be down for it. However, the Ancient Pythoness had made it clear that—if Sookie were spirited away in such a manner—she would be in unbearable pain due to her profound physical separation from her bonded, and she would die within moments.

Batanya’s earlier instincts had been correct: the death of the vampire Eric Northman would lead to the almost immediate death of his bonded. Such a strong bond was a miracle to behold in some ways—a marvel of magic that Batanya could understand only on an intellectual level, for she couldn’t imagine ever experiencing the feelings that had fueled the creation of such a connection. A bond of that type would strengthen the pair—was already strengthening them in many ways according to the Ancient Pythoness.

The seer had told Batanya that Sookie, especially, was being affected by the bond, as it was causing certain Fae traits to strengthen within her, though the way these traits manifested would be unique to Sookie because of her human blood and the vampire’s blood in her. Sookie was—therefore—truly one of a kind. And her gifts would be too, though they would bear similarities to other Fae talents, according to the ancient vampiress.

But with the good came the bad. The bond was also a clear detriment to the two who had made it, for they could no longer live on if the other died.

No—Batanya would never wish for such a bond. Moreover, it made her job just that much more difficult. Then again, the Britlingen loved a challenge.

Existing in a plain unseen by those around her, Batanya was able to see and sense things through both the physical and the magical walls built by those in the human realm. Thus, she saw Debbie Pelt, lying in wait behind the first corner that Sookie’s group would take after they left the tunnel. The crazed werefox had managed to evade detection, mostly because her own scent was so altered from all the V she’d ingested, as well as some kind of spell that muted her scent.

Batanya longed to take her sword out of the scabbard on her back and rush through the wall to slay the werefox. But she could not. The task of slaying the Pelt woman belonged to another.

And Sookie was destined to almost die at the werefox’s hands—and to temporarily lose a devoted protector because of that.

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Debbie’s body was shaking with emotion: rage, longing, anticipation, hatred, love, envy. All of these feelings, however, were focused on one goal: to kill Sookie Stackhouse.

In Debbie’s tainted mind, Sookie was the very manifestation of all of her problems. And the telepath was also a gift from Hallow. Killing Sookie was a final hurdle for her to jump so that she could prove herself worthy of receiving all of Hallow’s teaching.

The werefox could not recognize that she had been past any rational thoughts for a while.

She’d always had a tendency toward obsession and a lack of control. Her adoptive parents had tried to give her a nourishing home, and Debbie had reacted well to it for a long time. They’d helped her through the usual stumbling points of adolescence and eased her into what her experiences would be like when she was compelled to shift for the first time.

Alcide had helped her too, though he’d hurt her in other ways. Even when they’d first gotten together, she’d found it difficult to stifle her jealousy if he showed interest in anything or anyone that rivaled the interest that he had in her.

Her propensity toward jealousy grew throughout the years, taking with it some of her rationality.

Alcide’s insistence that they not bring a Were child into the world made her feel rejected in a profound way, taking away even more of her rationality.

And more was taken every time she would consume a drug. Alcohol had been the first she’d tried. V was simply the latest in a long line of substances Debbie had taken in excess to try to feel better, though their effect on her had always been destructive.

To all of this mix were added Charles Claussen’s recent infidelities; she’d not been enough for him either.

And, of course, there was her innate inclination to become obsessed with a thought or an idea.

Right now, that thought was Sookie Stackhouse.

Somehow, Hallow had seen the toxic mix that was Debbie Pelt and had—mostly for her own amusement—stirred that mix into a frenzy, killing any possibility that Debbie might pause and simply think rationally as her parents had tried so hard to teach her to do when she felt out of control.

But Debbie could no longer think beyond the goal in front of her. She couldn’t see consequences. She couldn’t see that Hallow was toying with her. On the contrary, Debbie could see Hallow only as her savior.

The werefox heard a slight whiz as the tunnel door opened. She’d roamed around in the halls for a while—long enough to see that there was the occasional camera; instinctively, she’d crouched as low as possible and kept near the wall, traveling slowly and in the shadows.

Hunting.

She’d finally smelled Sookie Stackhouse’s scent and followed it back to a thick door, which she’d sensed was made at least partly of silver. She’d shied away from it and had hidden herself around a corner. There, still heavily under the effects of the V Hallow had gifted her, she’d resolved to wait.

But as she caught a fresh scent from her target, her body stiffened. She listened to the footsteps of several beings. She smelled demon and vampire and witch. She didn’t care. She didn’t think to run away and wait for a moment when Sookie was alone and vulnerable.

In truth, the V made Debbie feel invulnerable.

From the shadows, the werefox saw a vampiress pass straight down the hall, rather than turning to come in Debbie’s direction. The vampiress was immediately followed by Sookie Stackhouse herself, though another vampire was in Debbie’s path to her foe. But that didn’t matter.

Without thinking, Debbie lunged as she saw a narrow gap to the telepath. Her narrow frame barely fit through that gap, but fit it did, and she missed tearing into Sookie’s throat only by inches. As it was, her body collided with Sookie’s—hard.

Clearly not expecting the blow, the telepath fell down, a fact that made Debbie’s heart soar, but it was only a moment until she felt the pain of a vampire’s fangs. She yanked away from the hold, hearing her own flesh tear as she did so, but she felt no pain as she bit into her attacker, tearing into the vampire brutally and taking in the sweet nourishment of vampire blood.

This blood, she was certain, would make her even stronger—strong enough to kill Sookie Stackhouse.

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go to Chapter 53

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Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to leave a comment–if you have the time and inclination. And–thanks to Kleannhouse for doing the Beta work on this chapter!

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Eric’s Child

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