PART FOUR

Chapter 7

He was only feeling traces of her, and that alone sent alarm bells ringing as he landed before the stately manor house with his accomplices. Pam, since she had given Sookie blood not too long ago, had also noted the subtle and almost blocked fright from Sookie through their own bond too. "Somethin' is really wrong if we can't get a great read on her, just glimpses. " Pam said. "And something about this place stinks of magic. Again." she rolled her eyes. "Why is magic always fucking with our lives?"

Elsa offered a grim smile. "If not for magic, none of us would be here right now…..it is a powerful thing and it isn't all bad."

"Easy for you to say, you missed out on the fun with the witches a few years ago, pulling their necromancy crap, turning your brother into a…well. He had no clue who he was and he was-"

"Enough." Eric said with annoyance in his voice. "We Didn't come here to go down memory lane-"

"I'll spill later, he was a mess." Pam whispered loudly to Elsa, who oddly enough she had taken a fast liking to.

"Anyway-lets see what se can see from outside and then break in somewhere…..we don't know how many people are here, or what may await us. Caution-"

"Caution. Something you're legendary to use….." Pam said and she soon felt a hand grab her roughly and her sass was quickly stifled. She had been trying to soften, lighten the situation and though as she was concerned for her friend inside, she was only trying to help. In her own way. His hand was around her neck, not roughly, but she knew she had push it too far and he soon relinquished her. "Sorry. " she managed to muster and she saw his face turn back to the building, then anger replaced with stark worry.

"Lets start looking around for any security cameras, take out any wiring we see in cease there is a system in place. Take that out, that could be helpful…..though the magic may be n entirely different problem." he said and to their shared chagrin, he looked at the time on his phone. "it took some time getting here and the sun will be up within a hour, you two, go take care of any wiring and leave me to get inside the place. And then I want both of you finding somewhere safe to be for the day. Not. In this house." he paused, not looking at them. "I wont risk you two in this. And if I have to secure you somewhere safely myself, I will, if it ensures your safety."

Neither of the two women said anything, though they were both prepared to fight tooth and nail to help them as much as they could. Obeying their orders, the two took to doing as they were commanded and using a rare degree of caution, the Viking approached the front door after jumping the gate. The door was heavy and was a double set of doors. Whoever lived here clearly did well and it had a homey look to it, almost as if it were something out of a storybook. Still, he knew that even the most innocent people and things could be trouble. Finding the door unlocked, he frowned and knew that clearly he was expected, or someone else was. As quiet as he could be, he was doing all he could to resist smashing down every door he passed. As strong as he was, he hated feeling defenseless against magic and yet, he had always possessed some of his own. And now that he had some of hers within him-though he wished he had had the chance to be taught how to use it-it was still daunting to go up against whoever this was.

He heard some muttering from a upstairs room and saw there was a soft glow, a mist in the air. Of course, none of that would be anything good. But then the lamps went dead and he knew that if nothing else, this house was powerless now. That was a start and the girls had done as were asked. So far, anyway. There was a strange feeling that seemed to begin to overcome him and it was as if the life was being drained from him. Already he felt weaker and no doubt he knew that there was clearly some nasty magic at play. He remembered seeing how she had tried using her gifts before, he remembered seeing her focused, using her light with the other faeries when they were being accosted by Russell Edgington outside the faerie nightclub. He had to be prepared for anything and tried to channel, to focus and as strange as it was for him, he watched as sparks started appearing around his hands, the color somewhat darker, more fiery in color than hers. And then he reached the top of the starts where a clean cut man stood, almost as if he knew he was coming. Wasting no time, the Viking let the light fly, though he was disgusted as he missed his target.

"So it is true….after everything I observed, learned….you two are hybrids, for all intents and purposes. And your child…he will be next, I assure you. Once I see this work on her. You, my friend, come with me and I will gladly bring you to her and you can see as I strip everything away from her that makes her special. The name is Ian, by the way….funny, you never even asked what my name was when I drove you to your little party…." ignoring the annoyingly pleasant tone of the man, Eric lunged at him, fangs out and ready for a all out bloodbath. And true to her nature, Pam had clearly no intentions of letting him fight alone and she and Willa had flown in through the windows and for a moment, the Viking had to note that apparently, flight was in the bloodline of his lineage and for a moment, wondered if Willa too could fly. Most likely and he hoped to find that out when this latest mess was over with. All three were flung away by something invisible, knocked down the stairs as shouts from a room nearby were being heard. Retreating into the room, the door slammed and Ian was alone with Sookie and had managed to grab something from the room adjacent from hers. With only the door separating them from their loved one, the three found the door was unmovable, unbreakable.

Chapter 8

She was feeling less and less powerful, trying harder and harder to focus, to channel her power that she felt and yet felt as if it were slumbering within her. "Your family came after you as I thought they would. I will drop the spell around here…after you have been purified." he strode with purpose over to her and removed a vial of a smoking liquid that was clearly hot from the over as it were. Forcing her mouth open, he poured it into her mouth and forced her to close her mouth, all the while she was struggling to spit it out, to keep from swallowing the burning hot fluid. He snapped his fingers as a couple of bound figured appeared, no one she knew but one was a faerie and one a vamp. "Made with your own blood." he reminded her as he removed a couple more vials from his pants pocket, ignoring her as she fell to her hands and knees, convulsing slightly and feeling as if she was dying. Maybe she was, for all she knew. But as she watched him force feed the two figures the antidote for all things supernatural, she ached as she could feel, see the light be extinguished from the faerie. But it worked too well, she watched the body shrivel into its other form, the pointed eared form like she had seen Claudine and Mab morph into so briefly years ago. The body crumbled to dust, to the chagrin of Ian.

"I hadn't meant to kill, but cure…." he said. I hoped your blood could restore life to even the vamps….but clearly not." and there went the second victim, the vamp exploding into a mess of gore. He turned on her and shrugged. "If this can save humanity from all things supernatural, then so be it. The price is worth it…though I wonder why it is you are holding on."

She said nothing, though she had a strong suspicion that it was her royal blood that had some kind of protection in it. But at the same time, she still felt like death was lurking and unless she got help soon, she would still meet the fate as the two she had seen expire had met. Still on her hands and knees and rife with fear and anger, the magic within her, it suddenly burst to life again. Whatever she had, the blood in her veins, she felt her body fighting it all off. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before and it frightened her and yet she felt like she could do what needed to be done. As if on autopilot, her hand reached towards the door and there came a flash of light as she herself destroyed the magic of the room, the house. And there entered the three musketeers, as it were, all looking absolutely murderous. Stealing a glance at the remains in the corner, empty vials where the bodies were, Eric saw another vial by Sookie who was looking almost out of it. He rushed over to her before she stumbled over, the healing not quite finished. The two others, they went to grab Ian, who laughed.

"You really think I didn't have a back up plan? You think I would let you take her without a fight? Her blood can and will be used to destroy you, all of you and it will be glorious to see…..ask those two." Ian gestured to the remains of the vamp and faerie.

"There….there won't be anyone to hurt with my blood, if there isn't any left to use." Sookie said as she rushed from the room, the others following in hot pursuit. Desperation had taken her over and having ordered Pam and Elsa to remain with Ian, Eric followed her to the pool in the backyard, where he found her with a letter opener, her tears falling fast and furious. She was angry, sad and literally glowing with her emotions. "I won't be used to destroy anyone, and he would go after Gunnar…. " she closed her eyes. "I think you know what I am going to do and I…"

"I get it, after everything you're still….in a delicate frame of mind. But this…..its foolish." he was taken back to the night Pam had forced his hand, the night eh had turned her. Déjà vu all over again, but this time, Sookie was simply desperate from having her blood used for such a nefarious scheme. And he got it, but this, it was madness. Out of desperation, raced towards her, seeing the blade going to her throat. But it wasn't her hand any longer guiding the blade. It was the hand of Ian.

"Stunned those two back up in the house….." Ian grinned. "They put up a nice fight but…..I think I will milk what I can from her and then you can have her bones….or whatever is left when she's dead…" Ian looked insane and though she was starting to conjure her light, she wasn't fast enough and felt the skin be cut like butter, felt the wetness, scented the salty smell of the blood as it flowed down her neck, Ian brazenly taking a bottle to collect what he could. But then everything when white hot as a bright light sent Ian hurtling into the pool, along with the waitress he had been clutching. The pool water was rapidly turning red with blood and as he dove into the water, the pool glowed with a violent blast of light and soon, pieces of what remained of Ian floated to the surface. And with a powerful splash, he surfaced with a all but dead Sookie in his arms, her wounds healing but she had clearly suffered a trauma that it was going to take a lot to get healed. Two blurs appeared poolside and he was relieved to see Pam and Elsa, a little beaten but in one piece, appear. The house, on the other hand was aflame.

"We came to pretty fast…took a few swigs from him before he managed to get out here with his power…..and idiot that he was, he failed to keep himself from being able to be glamoured and we were able to get our hands on every trace of intel he had on her, on us…..its destroyed as well as all of her blood he had taken from her." Pam frowned. "And it was a lot."

"She looks….dead." Elsa said as he put her gently down on the lawn. "We can't stay here though, the fire will send people coming this way….."

"What the hell was that in the pool, that light? I saw it -" Pam trailed off as she remembered the now mixed blood of him and the one he had now scoped up into his arms. "It was you?" he said nothing but she looked more impressed than anything else. "Well…..fuck me, you torched him good."

"It wasn't just a light show...but it did warm his blood a little more for me. " replied her maker with a halfhearted smirk. "Come one, I think it is going to need some family effort to get her put right again."

Chapter 9

They had brought her straight home just as Willa had put the baby to bed and seeing her friend, someone who was practically family now in the state she was in, she wasted no time getting the couch set up with some pillows and blankets. When she knew what needed to be done, she was only to glad to help. When they had all taken turns feeding her blood, their patriarch was silent as he took her to the upstairs bathroom and cleaned her up, dressed her in dry pajama clothes and tucked her safely in her bed before returning to the others. He told Willa everything that had happened and he looked troubled. "If someone else managed to learn the power of the blood we have, the mixed blood we have and find a way to do what Ian did…She and I could unwittingly be the reason, the cause of another attempt to destroy not only us but any other being different from humans. The power is there…here, running in our veins. The price to pay for what we did to have that kid….. " the Viking looked more than a little troubled.

"it's a long shot that anyone else will be able to know what power is in your blood and besides, that idiot needed dark magic to work with it to make it do what it did to those two you saw….we saw…in the room he held her in." Pam was trying to reassure him but he was not so easily consoled.

"Al I wanted was to give her the one thing she wanted and I am glad I was able to do so but the price…..when she wakes and she remembers what our blood can be used for…..I don't know if she can take that after everything. Just when she was starting to get her fire back, that she was becoming the girl I knew was still there after all the trauma of the past weeks….."

"None of us saw this coming…and with Ian dead, all the information on us destroyed….." Willa was trying to reassure him but clearly he was incensed nevertheless.

"I can't feel good about any of this and I won't…if there was some way to-"

"Nothing can be done about the blood within you three." Niall had appeared looking healthier though still somewhat weak from before when he had given his blood willingly to the Viking. "Though you clearly didn't need to worry about the sun, making quick work of that Ian, my blood helped that light of yours in the final encounter with him. That was a impressive show of force with that light." Niall nodded with respect and admiration. ""You'll get the hang of it but it was my blood that helped you focus, to channel that magic in you. Going forward, she will teach you….." Niall shook his head. "If you hadn't gotten her back to the house and gave her blood when she needed it, she would have met the fate that the poor souls at that house met. I felt her slipping away, that her blood was used against her in such a way…" Niall was disturbed by what would have happened to his granddaughter. "Her royal lineage is the one thing that kept her alive.

"I had wondered if that was the case, knowing she had been force fed that….." Eric couldn't bear to revisit that which he knew had happened to her. "Thank you for your blood…but I hate that we may be targeted again, leaving us at the mercy of another Ian. If someone else comes along and learns the secret of our blood, what it can do with the right amount of magic combined with it…..she and I may well become responsible for the deaths of millions of supes." Eric said as he started pacing again, the faerie king looking calm. Too calm for the liking of the fretful Viking.

"I cant undo what happened. You two gave parts of each other to one another to make that baby possible. Nor can I prevent anyone else from trying anything funny like that again. Even with my powers, I can't see the future. What I can tell you is that all the information Ian had on you is destroyed once and for all. That he was the only one in on this disgusting plan. The only thing I can do for you is to give you a special blessing but it can only be performed when the big day comes."

It took a moment for him to get it but then the ring on her finger reminded him. "I don't even have any…we have no plans for anything yet…"

"Sooner the better. With this gift, I….will be able to perform the ceremony and give you three the protection you seek. No one save for those you tell will know you have the inherent nature, the power of the blood you have. The price, however will be steep." Niall frowned as he met the glare of the Viking.

"Its going to cost you your life." Eric replied flatly. "You would be willing to do that to save us from being found out?"

"It won't be a deterrent for others to try to go after you but at least your blood being what it is, no one will ever know, suspect. Unless you go blatantly display your other abilities. And that shouldn't be an issue, you can glamour, the both of you. I know her blood has changed more than yours has, you do have the light, the occasional mind reading ability. But she I know, can glamour. She has a slightly elevated thirst for blood….but I think over all the both of you are well balanced."

"That's something I never heard you being called. " Pam said as she, Willa and Elsa remained on the couch.

"Looks like my stay here in town is extended because it looks like there's a wedding to be prepping for." Elsa tossed her blonde ponytail back and grinned at the two beside her. But as she looked at her bog brother, she saw he was trying to process things, that he could give Sookie and his baby the protection he wanted but the price? It was certainly a steep one indeed.

THE END