A/N: We're advancing around S05, Ep 6. Full on drama and darker times ahead after the previous Eric/Lina one. Warlow really makes me squirm.

CHAPTER 35

The hardest thing about being on a stake out was the wait. Stand still, keep that mind from wandering and don't even blink.

Lina was standing on the edge of the roof of an office building right next to the dump where Russell Edgington was supposed to be hiding, hauled inside as a mere corpse by some mysterious ally. Eric, Sookie, Bill and Alcide went in only minutes ago, and yet hanging back from the action and standing still with a crossbow on the ready was starting to eat at her.

The wooden arrow with a silver head pointed right to the front exit of the building just in case the corpse had fast feet. Funny thing was that Lina didn't even know what Russell was supposed to look like, so she guessed she'd just shoot any unknown half-rotten creature looking like it could be on the run.

She shouldn't even be here, truth be told. She was supposed to wait a few more miles outside the area for some unfathomable reason. Russell had a thing for fairies, Eric had said, and he already knew about Sookie. No need to make this game any more interesting for the corpse. But to her credit, and to heed to Eric's wishes, she did almost as he said. He could think of her as plan B: a long-distance sniper if all goes to shit.

The second hardest thing about a stake out after all that wait was taking the shot, when it came. Unleashing all that built up momentum.

It turned out she didn't have to wait very long.

A wolf approached Alcide's vehicle and bared his teeth at the smell of Alcide's wolf, which, Lina couldn't really disagree, smelled like something damp from the sewers. The seemingly hostile wolf nodded to his followers, three more of the same pack, and continued towards the building. He got stopped by an arrow to his skull.

He collapsed face first and his body immediately shifted back to its naked human form. The three others leaped backward and pivoted in formation each to their own side, ready to tear into the assailant. The one in the middle got his heart pierced by another arrow coming from above.

The last two wolves yelped and scattered.

Lina leaped from the roof and landed in the middle. Her stormy gaze sought out one of them and with a nod she threw him against the building wall. The other she shot with an arrow, slightly missing her target, but got him on the thigh. The wolf was enraged. He did a massive leap despite the wound and for a while all Lina saw was spit, teeth and an impressive set of adenoids coming right towards her face.

Werewolves were big as hell. Why nobody never employed werefoxes or werebadgers? Just asking. Like, for a change.

Lina landed on her back and the wolf jaws snapped furiously just an inch from her eyes. Her face wet with the animal's rabid drool, she kicked him off. He was back at her in less than a second. Teeth scraping her arm she finally managed to throw him on the ground, held him still under her stare and stabbed him with the silver point of an arrow straight to the heart. The beast quieted.

The last one was still on the ground, shaking its head from the impact against the concrete wall. Lina picked him up from the ground and levitated him a few meters in the air.

"Switch back to human form," she ordered.

The wolf only growled. She shook her head.

"Ok, I'll give you one chance, wolf. I'm nice like that."

She gently lowered him back to the ground and released him, so he could better shift his bones. Well, being nice didn't pay off. The wolf immediately started for her jugular.

She picked him up mid leap, hoisted him into air and quickly banged him back down to the ground with force.

"Wrong."

Bang.

"Reaction."

Bang.

Then lowered him again gently to the ground. The wolf was wheezing like a chain saw.

"Try again," she coaxed like a first-grade teacher and put a smile on her face.

The wolf shook with force and shifted. The now naked man on the ground coughed violently.

"Bet you wish you wore boxers now, huh," Lina said as she crouched down next to him. "Need something to mop up your blood with?"

He grimaced at her.

She cocked her head. "I'd like to know who you work for."

"If I wanted to get killed that desperately, I wouldn't have shifted," the wolf growled.

Lina took hold of his cheeks and searched his eyes. "It does seem like you want to get high more desperately than die, junkie. That's V I'm smelling."

He gave her a nasty grin. "You'll know soon enough who my employer is anyhow, intimately"

"Yeah, but I'd like to know a bit faster. I can take you flying again, but I'd hate to do that while you're human. That's nastier business, more things getting mangled. Family jewels getting squashed."

"I work for Russell. He'll be coming after you. Now can I go? You already killed my friends. You'll get what's coming."

"Russell employs wolves?"

The man gave a derisive laugh. "Stupid bitch. He leads them."

Lina stood up. Her face turned to stone. "What does Russell look like?"

"Ugly as fuck." The man struggled to get on his feet and started to drag himself away from her. She let him.

Lina fought against a raging impulse. She wanted to run inside the building and see that corpse for herself. Russell was old. Vampire reigning legions of wolves must have been a real trend back in the days. Even if she'd rarely heard of it. To control an entire pack, you'd need to maintain an addiction. Whatever the relationship with Eric and blood bonds with Sookie might made it look, vampires were usually very guarded about their blood. For selfish reasons and for keeping control. Black magic was usually done by bloodletting and you never could smell a witch. Few vampires wanted to risk it, even if it was just wolves. Lina had only seen it done just once. That was 250 years ago.

Before she could make any move towards the door, she could almost feel Eric facepalm inside. Insubordination, his favourite pet peeve. So, she just bit her cheek and after a while she was back on the roof again, crossbow on the ready. With one hand she tried to work her phone to Youtube and searched for "Russell Edgington TV news". No hits.

Vampire attacks news anchor – no video, not even a censored one.

Google was also ominously empty. This only meant a comprehensive wipe out operation had been carried out.

The attic door behind her banged and she whirled around, eyes wide. Macklyn stepped out the stairway and took in his surroundings while scratching his head. His hair was down as usual, wind blowing the strands of brown hair over his eyes. His green outdoorsy shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows molded to his shoulders and chest. He looked rugged, rough around the edges, like he needed an axe or something so he could casually swing it while he walked.

Lina's lip curled and she turned her back at him. Maybe if she just ignored him, he'd walk away and go fight some other pointless battles.

"I'd been thinking we could meet on top of Sookie's roof, but I guess any roof will do," Macklyn said and stopped to stand right next to her. He glanced around her at the building she was targeting and the few naked bodies lying on the ground sporting arrows on their backs. He whistled and grinned at her. "You're one coldhearted cupid, sweet. What did they ever do to you?"

She gave him the side-eye. He was very close finding that out himself.

For the longest while he seemed content to just stand there, silent and ominous. She could feel his eyes on her face, on her neck. He took a step closer, and every hair on her body stood to attention, the air whispering across her body. Being so close to so much power made it hard to keep her posture. He lifted his hand, feeling the long tresses of her blonde hair.

Then suddenly, he stilled.

The slight change in his aura made her turn to him. She was afraid that he might touch her. She wouldn't welcome it. She raised her eyes to his twistedly familiar face. Gone was the happy jokester. His mouth now formed a hard line.

"What did you do to your blood?" he asked with a hint of menace.

"Made it more powerful. What's it to you?"

"You smell more of a vampire," he said. "Less like yourself. Less like us."

Then he touched her, taking hold of her hair and bringing it to his face. Lina flinched away.

"Don't… touch me... ever."

It was like he thought this resistance against his advances was only ridiculous and he was the master of their interactions. His fingers ghosted on her.

"Those wolves you shot... you do know how wolves choose their partners? They have a strong sense of power. They're acutely aware of it. They know how they measure against others. Their pack structure has a pecking order, always on the flux. Only the alpha wolf on the top gets to mate. He gets constantly challenged by omega and outsiders, and if he loses, he needs to leave, find another pack, another mate. For good."

He pointed over her shoulder to the bodies.

"The omegas, they stay without a mate, not worthy. Only work as foot soldiers, because they will never be as strong as their alpha is. And the alpha female knows this. She stays loyal, ruling besides the alpha."

Lina looked at him incredulously. "Is there a point to this 5 minutes of Animal Planet?"

"You said you made yourself more powerful with this mating move. Well, you haven't even seen power yet."

Then she felt his fingers on her back, curling the ends of her hair, travelling on her spine.

She hurled the crossbow to the ground and sent him flying against a stack of grates. With a loud smash, he sank in the middle of the wood pile, bracing his body with his arms. Then he blew the hair out of his face and grinned.

Lina reached behind her back and pulled out a stake. She nailed him on the ground with her stare just like she had the wolf before and advanced slowly. Macklyn was calm, his blue eyes gleamed with wicked glee. Like he'd been eagerly awaiting. Lina walked to stand over his body. With the corner of her eye she saw him move his fingers, testing the strength of her power. No one usually could do that.

"I've had it with power games."

Fast before he could find a way to move, she crouched, hoisted the stake in the air and brought it down with force.

It hit the ground as her eyes suddenly rolled back. His left hand had moved only an inch, but that inch was well enough. His palm touched her calf. It unleashed as wave of electricity. It smelled in the air heavily of ozone, like a lighting had struck where they were laying.

His first hit stunned her. Her throat closed up and every muscle spasmed with a violent current. It hurt. Oh gods, it hurt. Her body felt like it could light on fire. She convulsed like a marionette.

With her neck bared and back arched above him, Macklyn's right hand landed on the tender flesh at the apex of her neck and shoulder.

No more electricity. His light poured in. All that was left of the burning current melted away.

It felt like sweet poison was taking over a body, the kind that would slay you slowly while you begged for more. The light had her gasping, unable to form a thought whether what he fed her was bad or earth breaking and oh so good. It had all the sinister pleasure of sneaking around, all the revolting satisfaction of stealing something that sure as damn wasn't hers. It had all that light that had been hers once upon a time and so much more. His magic tainted the air, igniting her nerve endings and sent her vision spinning, and she didn't care he was about to drag her down into his fantasy, and turn reality inside out. It felt like it would be worth it. She collapsed on top of him, unable to breathe, her heart filled with pure pleasure that would have made her slam into cardiac arrest.

Finally, she surfaced fighting for air as all oxygen seemed to have rushed out. His eyes were open, watching her shocked face with curiosity, and listening to her ragged breathing. She tried to stop herself from the embarrassing gasping.

She rolled away from him in a flash. She pushed with her heels against the ground bringing more space between as she grasped for her hair and shook herself to reach some lucidity. She was only now starting to realize what had happened and how alarming that was. She'd been sure to stake him, but he could fight against it. She hated to be looked at like that. She hated him for having a way to make her that vulnerable.

The most disturbing thing was his smile when he rose and offered her his hand. He smiled like he was here to save her. His rows of terrible fangs shone in the night. No one would joke about this particular tooth fairy. Let alone hide anything underneath their pillows to invite him in their bed.

Lina ignored his hand, bounced up herself and walked back to the edge of the building. The wind blowing on her face was very welcome.

"I really couldn't let you win now, could I?" he asked her softly. She could hear his footsteps coming nearer again. "Did you like it?"

Lina felt as though something had walked through her and left her numb, shaking. She looked at her hands. Just a moment ago she could feel the energy that had once been there. Her own light. She just couldn't hold onto it. And now it was dead.

"Lina, look at me. How did it feel?"

She gave him a glare. "You're were a photokinetic fairy. That's why you still have the light."

"Very possible."

"People close to me know by heart how much I love having my body manipulated. It just made you seem more like a threat than ever before. And now I know I can't even have what you tried to promise me. Congratulations, you've ruined your own game."

"I think it makes me seem more like savior than a threat. Your nerve endings are half dead. They feel but can't handle the light. They remember it though and that's why the light makes you feel that orgasmic," Macklyn said and shrugged like he just couldn't help his overwhelmingly sexy power. "It could heal over time, if we work on it."

Lina rolled her eyes.

"Who are we guarding?" he asked and came to stand next to her to the edge of the building.

"Sookie and a few others."

"What is Sookie like?"

"A horrible brat. Would make a miserable wife. Nags. Tastes bad too. I heard she's terrible in bed," Lina listed. "I wonder when you're going to take a hint."

Macklyn looked at her questioningly.

"That when we get this trouble out of the picture, do you really think I'm ever letting you into my family? You might have Sookie in the end if you're smart enough, but why make this stupid game last? I'm not every letting you near me in any way you'd want. I'd die before that happens and I won't just hand over Sookie to you. She's fucking afraid of you as it is. Appearing as a weird air shape to her bathroom… you have no class. So, it's getting pretty clear that I won't survive this alive. This flimsy pact that we have going on is doing nothing for us. You should either kill me or go back wherever you'd find yourself at home. I'm not ever going to trust you. You can't have me and her both, and you sure as hell can't have me," she said and looked at him with more honesty than ever before. "And you can't manipulate me with that light forever. You could cloud my mind for a fleeting while, but I'd want you gone each and every time after that haze ends. And I'd hate you more each time you touch me."

Lina got in his face, looking ten feet tall and vengeful despite her petite form. "So get busy killing me, or get busy removing yourself from my life."

Macklyn tried to smile. "You already think like them."

And by them he pointed down to the street where multiple black vehicles pulled up. The Authority. Eric must have gotten Russell.

"You meet something you don't understand, you get scared, and your first response is to get rid of it. You don't want to understand or let alone give it time to grow into something meaningful. Even if it would only promise you good things. That's human behavior. You should be better."

Soldiers jumped out of the vehicles and stopped to investigate the bodies Lina had left behind. A group of them barged inside the building. Before anyone could spot them and raise hell, together Lina and Macklyn backed away from the edge of the roof and disappeared into the shadows between the piles of crates. Lina could hear the commands being passed around and lowered her own voice when she spoke to Macklyn.

"I don't have time for this right now. Look, it's not that I don't understand you, believe me I do. I believe we are the same blood, we share the same kind of demons. We belong to the same ridiculous wolf pack metaphor. But I think this is a slippery slope, you and me talking. I've changed my mind about that light. It doesn't belong to me anymore. Keep it. I don't want to become any more like you. And now we're done, choose what you want to do. Thank you, have a good night."

She tried to push past him, but he in a flash he took hold of her and gently pushed her back where she was. In the dark Macklyn crossed his arms, he too seeming even more bigger than he was. His fingers drummed against his biceps. "Become like me... so what am I, Lina?"

"Mad."

He laughed as if to prove it.

Lina pursed her lips. "I saw your eyes go black at Merlotte's like mine do sometimes. Whatever this darkness is and whatever getting that light back cost you, it got to you. I don't want to chance it being something catching. You keep that plague all to yourself."

He took hold of the wall with his other hand and leaned forward, lowering his head to her level. His eyes twinkled behind the strands of hair. He had freakishly long eyelashes. Every time he blinked it was an experience.

"Do you want to know a secret?" he whispered back. "The black thoughts. The Black, I like to call it. The swirling animalistic aggression in our blood. It's in us by default. It's a little nuisance at first, but it's getting stronger for you too, each day. Try to deny it. I dare you. I double dare you."

The darkness inside her head. You couldn't feel it. That was the scariest thing about it. It just took control when you least expected it. When you least wanted it to.

Lina looked away from Macklyn. There was something about those blue eyes. As insane as the frequently looked, they were laced with not exactly sadness, but self-awareness. Almost as if he knew he was a freakish hurricane and regretted it, but he wouldn't stop. Lina didn't like to think what that meant for her future.

"We fairies are not far from demons to begin with. We were a race full of tricks, attractive as hell, but pretty rotten inside. You too, sweetheart. Think of all the sex and backstabbing in your Brigant family. We camouflage all the deception and bloodshed well with all those revels and good time. I guess the light kept us decent but think how savage some of our men become with even an ounce of power. How ruin immediately becomes the goal."

Lina's mind wandered to multiple proud looking faces of Fairy royalty. "Prince Braendan was actively interested in genocide when I last heard of him."

"And Prince Niall brought legions of human slaves with him to Faerie, when our race first escaped vampires to another dimension. He kept the slaves happy with Fairie fruit, had the weaker dance to death and massacred the rest in human villages to keep the secret," Macklyn declared.

Lina jutted out her jaw. She hadn't heard that particular rumor but had no way of knowing whether it was true or his sick invention. "For fertility?"

Macklyn smiled.

"You could be just making stuff up," she pointed out.

"I could be. You'll never know. All you have is my millennia of experiences against your loving memories of your grandfather. Pretty biased I think," he said and didn't let the shouting from the street derail him. "Like I said, almost demons to begin with, and now, you and me, we sniff out lives to keep ourselves alive. If something was already rotten in us, now it's dead flesh."

Lina was eager to get to Eric. She herself leaned forward and breathed on his face. "Such a positive outlook on our life. Is it any wonder that you're half mad?"

"And you, princess. In time, I'd say the 'half-mad' is an understatement when it'll come to you," he said with a dark smile. "It lives within you already, just like it's a part of me. It'll get triggered by lesser and lesser things. Like me on the porch of Merlotte's. I should've controlled it better, and I apologize. I just don't like to see Sookie, or you get hurt."

"You broke my jaw."

"I hope you liked the rose. How's the Black treating you now?" Lina opened her mouth to tell him off and say she was just fine, but he snapped his fingers unexpectedly. "What good does it do to lie?"

Her mind was quick to deliver all those horrid moments from the exploding car crash when she'd seen Eric kiss his sister. When she'd tasted the witch lover's blood. When she'd killed a man in Paris accidentally, getting lost in the feeding when she was at her hungriest and desperate. When she'd looked at herself in the mirror and stared back into sinister black eyes. She remembered that empty look on her face.

She shuffled, uncomfortable.

"Your Black will consume you Aislinn. It won't be me who drags you into it. You'll do it all to yourself."

He brought his hand in front of her face. A cloud of light danced on his palm.

"This is the only thing that keeps me sane.. Or saner. I should be long gone by now without it. And your light is dead. I know you're not fragile like a flower. The Black will torment you for ages still and not have you," he said as his light danced close to her cheek, sizzled on her skin and it felt falsely comforting. "But sweet, you're fragile like a bomb. With that skill of yours, you'll take a lot of others with you when you break."

Her skin felt too tight, and the whole world suddenly seemed too small. She wanted to vomit all that's dark out.

"I could be there either way, you know. With you like this, playing charades with humans and vampires, or with you on the dark side. I'd have the strength over you, I would know how you feel from experience and stop you before you do my mistakes. So, I won't kill you. And I won't let you leave, because you'll need me. The pact stays."

He was too close. He was breathing on her face. Lina put her hands on his chest. "If you're full of the same sickness, I suppose you can't also be the cure."

She gave him a push, just enough that she could find a route past his body and the crates. This time he let her. She took off running. The Authority was still there but she jumped down from the building and landed with a muted thump.

"Aislinn." Her real name coming from Macklyn standing above her derailed her for a bit. She glanced up. He spoke without raising his voice, but she had no trouble hearing him. She just wished she hadn't.

"You know what they say. Forbid a man something and he'll crave it like his soul's salvation... The pact stays."

Lina walked the dark corridors without needing any light to guide her; she just followed Eric's blood. When she was sure he was somewhere close, she stopped and stood a while in the darkness. Around her ripped mattresses, empty cases of food and glass shards lay littered everywhere she looked. Humans had been seeking shelter here for a long time. She leaned on the stained wall and slid down to the cool, grimy cement floor. Sitting on her haunches, she felt the glass stab at her through her jeans. Glass was ever only brittle until it broke.

She sat there until he stepped from behind a corner. She could see his tall shadow standing at the end of the hallway. Her hands hid half her face. She tasted blood in her mouth from biting down on her tongue.

Eric lifted her up. He kissed her hard, with the kind of devouring desperation, fingers digging into her hair. Their mouths slid together, teeth over lips over tongues. Desire hit her like a kick in the stomach, erasing the filthy feeling that still lingered from the few moments before. But it didn't erase the dread.

She was shaking. Her hands were driven by her need. She felt his entire body and opened his jeans. She climbed on him and he pushed them against the wall. Her ragged breath was the loudest sound in the empty hallway. His demanding kisses and movement ripped her from the awful thoughts.

She could escape only for so long. They both heard the voices from a nearby room.

"First thing in the morning," Eric whispered to her as he lowered her.

The next seconds flew past her in a haze. She was unable to even say goodbye.

"Keep yourself safe for me. Until I can keep you safe again myself."

Before she was ready for it, he had left. Lina sank back on the ground and leaned her head against the wall. From two rooms away, he heard a strict voice exclaim:

"Northman, get in the truck. We're ready to bring Edgington to Lilith."

"Lilith can fucking blow me."

Next afternoon, Shreveport Airport

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is a Delta flight to Atlanta with the estimated arrival time 16.15. We're about to leave the gate so we ask each passenger to prepare for take-off. Our cabin crew…"

"Look at all the movies they have listed! And only a few hours to watch them. Apparently, we'll get some headphones for the sound or how does this work? So glad you don't need to travel in a coffin. That's a real downer about Bill, you know."

Sookie sat in the wide business class seat and tried out all the possible little settings the seat had to offer, her legs swinging. She opened a game of solitaire and leafed through the menus, preorder deals and safety instructions. Lina was staring out the plane window and with a side eye followed the crew readying the plane for undocking. The tunnel from the gate to the plane was being pulled back. Boarding was complete. No other passengers could board the plane. All doors were shut. She should feel some relief.

"Now tell me more about Paris. What we're going to do?" Sookie asked. She was studying the laminated drinks menu. "Maybe we should pop a bottle of champagne."

Lina nodded. She'd given Sookie the window seat so she could keep tabs on people. There was a stressed looking business woman trying to steal extra minutes with her computer, furiously tapping away the last email. She muttered about the few minutes delay to herself. The man to their right was already trying to sleep. A couple in front of them spoke about the free flute of sparkling wine about to land on their tables as soon as the plane took off. They were on their honeymoon. The man kissed the woman on the tip of her nose.

Lina shut her eyes.

The plane was finally moving. Sookie got her headphones and settled on an episode of Friends.

They had already left the gate and were rolling towards the runway, when a stewardess hurried past them. Then another one picked up the phone, nodded to whatever she heard from it and rounded up the few colleagues she had. The plane continued moving, but now it was slowly turning around its axis. Lina perked up, took off her seatbelt and walked to the front, where the group of stewards were huddled. One of them took the mic and exclaimed to all passengers with a happy voice:

"Ladies and gentleman, unfortunately we'll have to go back to block, but we'll be soon able to continue to take off. The crew will ask you to keep to your seats and we all thank you for your patience."

Then she turned to Lina. "Ma'am, please return to your seat."

"Why are we returning?"

"Orders from the captain. This won't cause a big delay. We can win it back while flying. Don't be alarmed. Now, please return for your seat. It's a matter of safety."

Minutes flew by. Lina tried not to worry Sookie too much, but when they got back to the gate, and when she saw the tunnel being pulled back and door opened, she was on her feet again. Through the door the gate employee of airport services came inside. She was a young woman in her twenties, with a big white smile plastered on her face. She locked eyes with Lina. Her blue eyes gleamed large and empty.

She walked with quick steps towards their seats. Behind her three security guards followed. Their eyes were just as dreamy.

"I'm sorry Miss Collett, but I need to ask you to come with me. And your friend too, if you please. These men will take your bags. Follow me, please."

"Is there something wrong?" Sookie asked her. "Lina, could it be the… you know who?"

There were so many options for who could be causing this. Sookie just didn't know all of them.

A guard opened the compartment above and took hold of her bag and almost dropped it on the honeymoon couple's heads when Lina grabbed his wrist.

"We're not going anywhere. I'm afraid you have the wrong person."

The stewardess kept on smiling. "Miss, please follow us. There's something that needs your attention and we can offer you seats on the next connection. There's no need to worry. We'll take care of your journey."

Sookie hissed. "They've been glamoured. There's nothing but fuzz in her brain."

"No kidding," Lina muttered.

"Miss, I beg you not to delay the flight. It'll make all the other passengers miss their connections and make their trip harder. Please, follow me."

A pointy cough sounded from behind her. All fellow passengers were looking them, the business woman looking the most murderous. So many onlookers, and no one around capable of glamouring them if they saw something potentially traumatizing, say Lina throwing these innocent humans out of the way.

She had to make a quick decision. She grabbed Sookie's hand and took off running towards the back of the plane before the guards could react. The curtain between business and economy revealed rows and rows of confused and angry looking passengers. Lina dragged Sookie along and hurled a steward, who stood on the aisle blocking them, aside with force. That trauma just had to be caused.

There were shouts now. All the emergency lights and sounds were blaring, and someone screamed for security. The intercom asked everyone to stay calm and let the guards handle the situation. Lina reached the back door and wrestled the door handle down. When regular pushes didn't do much, she switched to vampiric strength and speed, which set off a few panic attacks in fellow passengers. Some from the back row took off their seat belts and escaped to the front, providing very convenient obstacles for guards trying to wrestle through them. Others remained frozen on their seats. A woman started crying and yelling to get out.

Vampire! Vampire!

Lina pushed the door. It didn't budge. She twisted the door handle again and again, but it stayed locked. The mass was too heavy, she couldn't move it. She noticed a fire extinguisher on the wall and used that next to break down the handle.

Before long, Sookie was seized from the back and forced face first against the toilet door. The guards surrounded them. They slowly advanced towards Lina, with hands raised.

"That door won't open, vampire. It's locked from the cockpit. Stop resisting, there's no need for it. You need to get out of the plane now. There's children on board."

Lina counted that there were now five of them. One of them was holding something silvery in his hands. So many innocent people were now witness to all this. People with smartphones, many of them filming right now as they just stood there.

Sookie's cheek was squeezed against the door, but she managed to peep out "Lina, don't hurt them. We need to go."

"Raise your hands ma'am."

Would it be the Authority at the gate? If it was, they probably had Eric. All the damage she did here would rain down on him. He just wasn't anywhere nearby. The static but pleasant hum in her body placed him somewhere far away, in relative peace. Could she risk it?

If it wasn't the Authority… they had better chances to act now. Escape.

It just required hurting these people.

The guard closest to her kept a firm look in his face, but the gun he was holding was wavering. He was looking in her grey eyes that shone with icy detachment, seeing just how otherworldly, unhuman she actually looked. He knew she could kill him, even with the gun in his hand. They were all around 30-50 years old, just doing their job, undoubtedly with families at home. Even a merest push from her could send their fragile bodies to hospital.

Lina slowly raised her hands. Forcing each step, she started to walk after the guards, ignoring all the phones and stares she was getting. None of the guards tried to touch her, the humans around her leaned away. Sookie was walking behind her rubbing her wrists.

"What do we do?" Sookie whispered when they walked out of the plane to find even more guards waiting for them at the mouth of the tunnel. No Authority, just regular human guards. They all had their eyes fixated on Lina and Sookie, and Sookie kept chanting "Fuzz, fuzz, fuzz."

They all were very quiet.

"Stay behind me. There will be someone waiting for us at the end of this chute. If they have guns, we keep our hands raised and wait for a better opportunity. If they're human, I'm going to grab you and we fly, no matter the guns. Okay? You'll just stay behind me."

"Ok."

"Good," Lina whispered and glanced back. The army of guards silently followed them out with faces wiped clean of emotion. She still heard nothing. Just the ringing of heels against the hard floor as they walked.

She was anxious, on the edge, but what she saw when they first emerged from the chute brought back the dread. Her nerve endings jumped to life and her veins filled with ice.

It wasn't the Authority.

Warlow was leaning against the boarding gate counter. He was wearing a white shirt with a few buttons open and deep blue slacks that looked expensively tailored. His hair was helplessly long to hide the ears but he somehow managed to look elegant when all that hair was brushed back. He was showing his smile for the ladies at the gate and keeping up a light conversation. His right-hand fingers were dancing on the handle of a wheelchair propped up next to him.

Lina halted.

"Who's he? The Authority? No guns so we run?" Sookie asked from behind Lina's back.

"We can't run."

Instinctively Lina put her hand on Sookie's thigh, keeping her hidden.

At the sound of Sookie's voice, Warlow softly laughed at the ladies, dismissed them and approached Lina with one hand in his pocket and the other one pushing the wheelchair closer. He glanced at the stewardess standing rigidly at Lina's side like an android waiting for further programming. His smile could've made any mother-in-law melt.

"Thank you, madam, you've done everything I asked for. I hope she wasn't too difficult. I know the trip was important for her. I'm so grateful for bringing her back to me. How can I repay your kindness?" Macklyn asked the stewardess with a voice like honey. His fairy eyes glimmered with mischief.

He took a few steps forward and captured the stewardess' gaze. "Please forget this delay and go back to the plane."

The stewardess smiled back, nodded enthusiastically and disappeared down the long chute.

He had a distinctive feel of barely restrained violence. He was still whistling a merry sounding tune. He let his eyes travel along Lina's figure. Every muscle in her body tensed. She could still remember the burn of electricity.

And the pure heaven of light around her heart.

The guards around them stood still as statues with their eyes looking as distant as the stewardess' had been. Other travelers were watching with the most eager anticipation of what's to come. Macklyn looked over his shoulders.

"Oh, you may go now. Have a nice day."

One by one the guards broke out of their stupor. Wondering where they even were, they slowly dispersed to some new tasks. Macklyn's glamour seemed all consuming. It seemed to take up every ounce of own will and instinct. Lina could only watch with horror how his control of the men evaporated, and they shook it off like puppets, and got to walking like old men.

"I don't know who you are but know that we don't care this is a public place," Sookie fumed and raised her hand from behind Lina's shoulder. "You don't know what we're capable of."

Macklyn only watched Lina.

"You don't have to do this," Lina whispered in Gaelic. "Not in here."

"You broke the rules, Lina. Now watch me break them."

He took a few languid steps and grabbed Sookie's chin. Before she could retaliate, he had her eyes fixed to his.

"Go to sleep."

She sunk. Her knees gave in and her whole body crumbled in Macklyn's arms. Her head lolled back, eyes rolling back and finally shut. Lina was stunned to silence.

Macklyn dumped Sookie in the wheelchair. Her head still hung in an awkward angle.

"Come, sweet," he called out to Lina as he started pushing Sookie towards the exit.