Chapter 8

I came to an abrupt stop. "Jesus of Judea! What in the heck are you doing back here?"

Preston was hanging upside down and thrashing about. He was also butt naked. He reached up to grab at the rope holding his ankles, and a group of pixies whacked his hands and feet with canes and whips. His feet were bright red and covered in cuts. The pixies were in the surrounding trees squealing and whooping it up with each whack.

Eric was standing nearby, pointing at the fairy and arguing with Tall Oak. I put my hands over my ears and yelled, "Everyone quiet!" The din settled down a few decibels. I pointed to the pixies above Preston. "Stop hitting him! Let him go, now!" All the pixies became silent. They looked at Tall Oak. He gave Eric a look of distain and casually said, "We can always catch him again if need be. Ironwoodians, do as our patroness requests; release him."

The pixies reluctantly cut the ropes binding Preston. He dropped about six feet, hitting the ground hard. He let out a grunt and rolled.

Eric walked in a circle around Preston and sniffed the air. He pointed his sword at the fairy's head. "You reek of a genuine wolf but also Fae. Who are you, and why are you here?"

Reaching for his ankles, Preston untied and pulled off the ropes which looked a lot like my clothesline. "I am here to speak to Sookie. Niall allowed me to pass through the portal, so that I may also tell her he has posted guards on the other side of the door. Nothing will pass through without his permission. These cursed pixies attacked me shortly after I arrived. I was forced to change to a wolf to escape them, but I tripped a snare."

I was impressed. In the short period of time that these little people were here, they made a trap and flushed their quarry into it. They must have been watching the door.

Eric's sword arm went lax as he edged closer to the fairy. Eric's eyes were dilated, and his nose flared. I could see his fangs sliding out, and he began to drool. I stepped forward. "Eric, if you can't control yourself, then you must leave. I want to speak to Preston."

Eric said nothing. Rather, he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and stepped closer to the Fae. Grinslade suddenly appeared on Eric's shoulder. He gave the Viking's long blond hair a hard yank and shouted, "Are ya daft? Let the Fae be, or be hog tied!"

Startled, Eric snarled and made a swipe for the pixie, but the pixie was gone. Yet, that did seem to bring Eric to his senses. He walked back to the edge of the trees upwind from the Fae and waved his hand in an imperialist manner, letting me know I may proceed.

I walked in front of Preston to address him. "Okay, I'm here. Now say your piece."

He looked around at his audience of tiny glaring faces. "Might I have a word with you alone?"

"No. That's not gonna happen. Whatever you wish to say you'd better spit it out now."

The fairy wiped his face. "Sookie, as you have guessed, I am a fairy and not a true were. My family has the gift of shape-shifting. That night when we met…" He paused a moment and appeared be collecting his thoughts. "Niall sent me to you, so that you would not be alone that winter night. He created the ruse because he wanted you to accept me into your home and heart immediately. That is why he created the story about me being pursued by a were pack and needing your assistance. He knew you would help me. He said that you would not understand our customs and would be upset to know I was sent to be your companion for the night."

Eric must have been making menacing expressions because I noticed that Preston's attention shifted to looking at something behind me. "Please, know that in my world sending a gift of companionship and love is a well regarded gesture. It is not unusual to hear about a couple who met that way. Once I met you, I was quite taken back. I wanted to continue to see you, but Niall refused. He thought you would not understand our ways. Also, he wanted to keep you away from the constant violence of the Fae world."

My eyes must have rolled at this point, for he added, "Obviously, he failed in that regard and regrets it. I will be leaving now and returning to my world. I am only sorry that I did not get to know you better."

Preston tried to stand up, but his leg failed him. I reached down and gave him a hand to help him up. He was not in the least bit modest or self-conscious about being naked. I blushed as I had a quick flashback of us in bed together. I could hear Eric making noises behind me. I glanced behind me to find Eric in full fang, his eyes literally blazing. I let go of Preston's hand, shook my head and gave Eric a 'don't you even think about it' look.

Preston started walking back towards the cemetery. I thought, My goodness, he could give Eric a run for his money in the best male butt contest. I turned my head and saw tubby little Grinslade sitting on a tree branch. He gave me a big wink and a knowing smile. I felt my face turning crimson and thought, Am I really so easy to read?

I turned and addressed Tall Oak. "Please escort my Fae guest back to the door. If you could stay and guard the door until it closes, there will be another Dr. Pepper and a pepperoni pizza for y'all tomorrow."

That sent up a cheer. Dozens of pixies came out the brush and ran after Preston. I yelled after them. "But you're eating it outside, and we're going to have to have a come-to-Jesus meeting about what you did to Eric's and my car! There will be hell to pay for that!" But they were already gone.

Eric caught my eye and gave me a devious smile. His eyes glittered with humor. "You are always full of surprises, Lover. You will have to tell me about that winter night when you saved a were from another pack of weres and bedded a Fae."

I shook my head. "That's not how Gran raised me. A lady never discusses such things. I'm not about to talk about my only blind date with a Fae."

Eric sheathed his sword, walked to me, and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Mmm… you reek of fairy," he said while rubbing up against me.

I chuckled. "Eric, you have a one track mind."

"Only around you, Lover."

With that, he put my arms around his neck, took my shotgun in one hand, and picked me up by the rear in the other. I wrapped my legs around him, and we elevated above the tree tops. He gently air lifted us over the trees and carefully set me down in front of my house.

"Why didn't we do that to begin with?" I asked.

"We would have been a very easy target, but I have made many an escape that way, only a bit more quickly." I kissed his neck. "I'll get us something to drink while we wait for Pam."

I took my shotgun and walked to the front door. Junior greeted me and wanted inside. "Hey, little stinker, you make a fair alarm cat but not much of a guard. I think there is some sandwich meat left if you care to join us."

I put up my shotgun, while the True Blood heated in the microwave. I poured sweet tea for me and arranged the sandwich meat and warm blood on a tray. Once a waitress always a waitress. Eric had his sword sheathed and leaning up against his chair. I gave him his drink as I settled down in my chair. Eric looked down at the cat wolfing his sandwich meat. "I suppose you will be keeping the feline."

"Yep," was my only response.

I settled back in my chair and looked up at the moon. Eric was checking his e-mails. "Pam will be here shortly. By the way, she loves the illustration and commentary on Bobby's jacket. She wants to know who the artist is."

I chuckled as I thought about Bobby walking out of my house with the dick head on his jacket. "I believe it was the same little artists who trashed your car."

"Ah, she just sent me a picture of it. Obviously, those pixies took some creative license with the shape of his head," he laughed. "Speaking of pixies; it has come to my attention that they seem to be very protective of you."

"Sometimes they seem to like me, but they're always rude and insulting. They were definitely hostile to you, Bobby, and Preston; and they tried to cook and eat my cat."

Eric looked down at Junior chomping his sandwich meat. "Maybe having a clan of pixies in the woods surrounding your home is not such a bad idea. If they can capture a Fae then a were would not stand a chance. A vampire would be challenged to pass through these woods unmolested. They would certainly warn you of any intruders. Maybe I can reach an understanding with them. You said they like pizza?"

"Oh yes, with lots of pepperoni and meat. They are little carnivores, and they will fight for a Dr. Pepper, soda pop."

"Yes, maybe we can reach a sort of détente."

Eric relaxed in his chair, his long legs stretched out before him. He was smiling and showing a lot of fang. I knew that look. "What are you up to, Eric?"

"Nothing, it just occurred to me that when Bill returns he may find the new neighbors unacceptable. Or… they may find him unacceptable." I sighed. "Yes, pixies move in, the neighborhood goes to pot and everyone moves out." I shook my head and decided I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

Before I could continue, I saw a small flash of deep blue light coming up from the woods. "Eric did you see that?"

"Yes, I believe it is beginning; Niall is closing the door."

A full moon was high overhead and shining brightly. A larger streak of blue light shot up into the night sky, followed by another and another. The color of the light streaks changed to a deep purple. The flashes seemed to solidify to thin bolts.

There was a heavy fragrance of burned cinnamon in the air. The light looked like thin purple streaks of lighting shooting out of the trees and branching across the night sky. The fine tracery of intense purple light sparkled and shimmered; it was unworldly and beautiful. The color changed from purple to a hot pink, followed quickly by a fiery red. A light dusting of gold sparkles appeared to rain down. It was stunning. I sat back in my lawn chair with my iced tea in my hand and oohed and aahed. No Forth of July fireworks could match this display. The smell of burning cinnamon became overpowering. Magic was heavy in the air; it was suffocating.

The red light became lighter until it was electric orange followed quickly by gold. The bolts seemed thicker now, less spidery and less branching. The flashing became faster, until only one continuous column of light pulsating. The yellow light seemed to hiccup, only to be followed by a huge blast of white light which roared up from the trees, raining down white sparkles everywhere.

A loud clap of thunder cracked the night sky, followed by a shock wave of air pressure blasted over me. It threw me and my chair straight back into the grass. I shrieked and covered my face with my hands as wind blew over me. I could hear the thunder rumbling over the land.

Then it was over. The night sky was once again dark and the night air silent.

I looked up at Eric, and he was still sitting upright in his lawn chair. His hair was blown back, and he held an empty True Blood bottle in one hand and his cell phone in the other. He was still looking up at the sky, stunned.

I scrambled out of my chair and yelled. "Holy-moley! Wow! That was unbelievable! Eric, did you know that was going to happen?"

"No, I had no idea," he said quietly. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like it. The magical power that Niall must have harnessed to perform such a feat is extraordinary and formidable. I don't think he just constricted or barricaded the portal; he actually destroyed it."

I stood up, picked grass from my hair and righted my chair to sit down. A frightened Junior came running to me and jumped into my lap, wanting to be reassured.

Grinslade appeared before us and announced, "Just in case it escaped your notice, the door is gone. Nothing passed through while we were observing it." I looked at the disheveled pixie and noted he lost his newspaper poncho and was now wearing a red one. "Is your clan okay? That was one heck of a blow out. What did you think about it?"

He nodded solemnly. "I think, I grossly underestimated Niall's ability and powers. Also, I give my most sincere thanks to my new benefactor and friend to be here alive and well." He bowed before me. "The clan is unharmed, just frightened and shaken. If you have no further need of me, I will be off. We are in a new land and much has happened. My family needs me now."

I looked at his red poncho and realized it was leather. "Hey, wait a minute. As noble and humble as that speech was, there is still the matter of our cars and how you're going to pay for the damage."

He cocked his head. "Both machines now work, though the red mechanical carriage has suffered some minor cosmetic damage."

Before I could chew him out, Eric stopped me by interjecting. "Please tell Tall Oak that the True People of the Trees and I can discuss those damages at another time. I believe we might be able to come to an understanding." Grinslade gave Eric a little nod which Eric reciprocated.

The fat pixie disappeared in a puff of air. I heard a disembodied voice say. "Suckie, we shall be here tomorrow at the sun's zenith for our pizza." I spoke in the direction of the voice. "Okay, but you're eating outside! You hear me?" I could hear a small high laughter fading away in the night air.

Eric started chuckling, and I grumbled to myself as I stroked Junior's furry head. I felt a mind tingle and looked down at him. "I agree, Junior; piss-ant pixies are a big-ass pain.

The End

Epilogue

Sookie was standing in her kitchen looking out the window at what promised to be a beautiful autumn day. A storm had moved through last night, and now the air was clean and fresh. She was sleeping much better these days and rarely dreamed about the Fae eating her flesh.

The resident pixies were expecting a baby to be born today. They were overjoyed, for the new arrival was the first baby to be born in their new homeland. The parents proudly announced to her that their new baby will be named Sookie. The baby was going to be a boy. To the pixies, the name Sookie meant loyalty and strength of character, both excellent traits for any pixie child to aspire to. Sookie was moved to tears by the gesture. The coffee maker beeper went off, and it shook her out of her reverie. She decided that today was indeed a special day, and it should be properly observed.

She reached into the back of her kitchen cabinet and pulled out a china canister that Eric had given her. Eric presented her with the gift only a few weeks after the Fae portal had closed. When she read the inscription, she was stunned. She thanked him and asked no further questions. The container was a beautiful antique porcelain piece of china. A gold medallion hanging around it read - 'Sweet-n-Low'. Carefully, she lifted the lid and scooped a small amount of the sweet dust out, sprinkled it into her coffee, and stirred the drink gently. She grabbed a library book and walked out to her front porch.

Junior, the formerly skinny adolescent cat, was growing into a large and handsome tom. He appeared to be snoozing on the porch swing when Sookie sat down beside him. He opened one eye and conveyed to her his contentment. He was happy to see her.

As she rocked and sipped her drink, memories of Thing One, Thing Two, Dermot and Claude crossed her mind. But the past no longer distressed her. As she breathed in that magical smell of burned cinnamon from her coffee, she smiled and felt satisfied. For she was a Brigant, and as with all Brigants, the sweet taste of vengeance in the morning is as good as it gets.

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