Dead Hearts Ch 10

Quick timeline update:
Thursday - Bubba shows up at Sookie's house.
Friday - Eric and Sookie's date. Sookie seduces Pam and is almost drugged.
Saturday - E/S admit their love.
Sunday - Sookie returns home. Felicia is killed.
Monday - At Merlotte's. S moves in with E.
Tues. thru Tues. - S realizes she likes living with E
Wed. - Today.

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Eric and I had fallen into a comfortable routine at his house. Wake up, make love, then some activity before going to the bar. Lately we had been playing pool; he whipped me almost every time, but I was getting better. After work, we'd go home, watch a movie, make love, and fall asleep tangled up with each other.

At the bar, over a week passed by without incident. Fangtasia now opened at 8:30 p.m. instead of 6 and stayed open until 2 a.m. I screened people as they entered the bar. Every other night I switched between being Eric's escort and a waitress. I located a Fellowship member once, but he had no idea about the drug, simply there only to satisfy his curiosity. Pam erased his memory and sent him on his way.

I was on Eric's arm this evening and we were making our rounds when I heard it. Vamp humping whores I hate being here but that last idiot screwed up and missed the big one so now I have to clean up the mess sluts everywhere why in the hell would anyone like these abominations act like they're better than everyone else parasites they'll get what's coming to 'em starting with that curly haired bitch -the man pictured Thalia, who was on duty this evening- I got a few doses into that idiot that's hanging all over her she'll keel over like the lesbo from last week -Felicia­- or I can stake her she deserves it condescending bitch I hate bloodsuckers scourge of the earth...

The venom continued to spew from his thoughts as I steered Eric in the direction of the voice. Easy, considering this mind broadcast better than Amelia's. I located the guy and pointed him out. Eric motioned to Clancy, who quickly grabbed the murderer and dragged him into the office. We moved over to Thalia's table, where she was preparing to leave with her 'friend' and convinced both of them to come to the office as well.

Surprisingly, the Fellowship spy didn't look out of place in the bar, excepting the fact that he was now tied to a chair surrounded by angry vampires. He was tall, lean and pale. Short, spiky black hair sat above dark brown eyes. He wore a tight, sleeveless black shirt, black leather pants, and what looked like a pair of Doc Martens. Eric motioned for me to take his seat behind the desk as everyone else settled on the various chairs around the room.

Eric slowly paced around the man, as if sizing him up. "What is your name?"

"I'll never tell you anything, you bloodsucking filth." The man's back was towards me, so when Eric met my eyes I whispered his name, knowing full well he could hear me.

"Fine, Scott Anthony Keegan," Scott's head snapped up so fast I heard his neck crack. "I can play these games much better than you can. I have had lifetimes of experience to perfect my poker face. What have you done to this man?"

Eric pointed at Thalia's date. She had propped him up in the corner of the couch, and she had to keep lifting him back into position. He was so out-of-it, he seemed as if all his bones were gone and his brain was almost completely shut off. I would have thought he was dead if I hadn't seen him breathing. Every so often I caught flickers of what was going on in his head, and it seemed like he was experiencing the acid trip to end all acid trips.

"What's it to you? He's just a human. All we are is dinner to you demonic creatures. Kill me and get it over with, at least I know I'll be going to Heaven for my work on earth."

"Spoken like a true fanatic. For being able to fit in so much better than your friend, you certainly are much stupider. He at least had a sense self-preservation, something which you seem to completely lack."

"I will go to Heaven and-" Eric grabbed Scott around his neck and lifted him up off the floor, chair and all.

"Do you honestly believe that by murdering other innocent humans you will go to a better place when you die? Just because your insipid little mind cannot comprehend that there are things beyond your knowledge does not mean that you are above them. Do not seek to punish others for your ignorance. Now if you are quite finished with your brainless babbling, I want to know what you are doing to my customers." He released his grip around Scott's neck and the chair fell to the floor with a loud BANG.

While he was catching his breath, I dug through Eric's desk to find a pen and some paper. He interrogated Scott until I shook my head, indicating that his mind was just repeating itself. I had written down everything I heard that sounded important, including some things that didn't seem so vital, but I'm sure could come in handy.

At that point, Thalia's date slid completely off the couch into a crumpled heap on the floor. Eric looked at me with one last unspoken question. I flipped through -wow- 4 pages of notes. "Back right pocket." Eric reached into Scott's pants and pulled out a small tin.

"I understand that these are not merely breath mints, are they, Scott?"

"Why don't you try a few and see?" Stupid, stupid man. Eric narrowed his eyes as he backhanded Scott across the face so hard the chair fell over sideways. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Pulling his cell out, Eric looked around the room. "Pam, Clancy. Go finish closing the bar. When the authorities arrive, escort them here immediately." The two vampires bowed to him and left the room. He dialed quickly, and I could faintly hear a voice on the other end of the line, although I couldn't make out the words. He explained the situation to the operator and requested an ambulance.

Thalia, who Pam had once referred to as 'a badly-tempered pit bull kept chained in the front yard', was certainly acting true-to-form. She had just finished throwing her date against the end of the couch again, and was staring at Eric like she thought he would burst into flames if she concentrated hard enough. "Master, this is ridiculous. Why should we turn this human," she spat the word, as if it hurt her to say it, "over to the police. He tried to kill me and I have yet to feed this evening."

Eric glared down at her. "I need not explain my reasoning to you. We live in a human world now, Thalia, and while in my area, you will respect that. I have tolerated more than enough of your behavior. Do not make me repeat myself." She ducked her head in acknowledgement, clearly unhappy to do so.

The police arrived within ten minutes, one human and one vampire. An ambulance was with them. Thalia's guy -I still didn't know his name- was quickly strapped to a gurney and hustled off. Eric explained what had happened, mentioning that I had seen Scott slipping something into the other man's drink. When asked about the growing bruise on one side of Scott's face, Eric expained that he may have accidentally handled him a bit roughly when restraining him so he wouldn't try to escape. One of the cops searched the still unconscious man, finding his wallet and the tin that Eric had replaced.

It was discovered that not only was the man a part of the Fellowship of the Sun, he had the membership card to prove it. The vamp cop's lip curled in disgust when he pulled it out. He hauled Scott to his feet and dragged him to the police car, making sure to bang him against any corner they passed. I gave my statement to the human cop, then Eric gave him his lawyer's information if they needed to get in touch with us.

After the police left, Eric flopped down on the couch, pulling me down to sit on his lap. He dismissed Thalia and she stalked out of the room. Pam entered the room shortly afterwards and sank down in the middle of the floor.

"I sent Clancy home. So what's the plan, Eric? Sookie found this one in time, barely. What about next time?"

"I hate to admit it, but I don't know. We were very lucky to stop Thalia before she fed. What did you get from the scumbag, lover?"

I went to the desk to get my notes. Skimming the papers, I sat back down next to Eric. "Um, let's see. He had orders directly from Steve Newlin. There's a base somewhere here in Shreveport. It's fronted by a religious store, I didn't get where. Uh... from what he knew of the pills, it's some sort of cocktail of 'date rape' drugs. He's single, I know where he lives, um.... what else? He's terrified of you, Eric." He smiled. "That's pretty much it."

Eric was thrilled with my information. "A religious store. There can't be many of those in Shreveport. And now we have his address, so we can go look there for more. You did an excellent job, Sookie."

"We should go to his house while he is still with the police. There are still several hours until dawn, and we don't know if we'll have an opportunity later." Pam stood just as gracefully as she had sat down. "I'm going to assume that you are going to accompany Eric and me, Sookie. That means I get to drive."

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Pam had a beautiful car. It was no Corvette, but it certainly wasn't the minivan part of me expected. She drove a BMW 7-series sedan that she told me was her baby. Much to Eric's disappointment, she refused to hand him the keys when he asked to drive.

To my amusement, Pam insisted that ladies sit up front. After all, her car, her rules. Eric squeezed himself in the backseat, sulking the entire way to Scott's house. Pam's eyes sparkled with amusement the whole time, and I could barely keep from laughing.

At the house, Eric picked the lock. I had to go in first and invite the vampires to cross the threshold. I started looking in a small desk in the corner of the living room. Pam and Eric swept off to investigate the other parts of the house.

I found what was to be expected on the desk: a stack of bills, a few pens, a magazine, a red marker, a box of paperclips, an address book. Hm, an address book. I quickly browsed through the names, but nothing jumped out at me. I did notice that it held an appointment calendar, though. One drawer was locked, and I couldn't find the key.

"Eric." I called him softly, knowing he heard. Within seconds he was by my side. "Can you pick that drawer open for me? I can't find the key." He had it open in another second, kissed me on the forehead, and then returned to wherever he was.

The drawer was full of manila folders. It wasn't until I started flipping through them that I panicked. The first few were nothing special; paid bills, bank statements. The next label read 'Shreveport'. I opened it and was greeted with a picture of Eric clipped to a piece of paper with his name, age, known business holdings, what he drove, his preferred company, etc. Underneath that sheet was an identical one with a picture of Pam. Clancy, Indira, Bill, Thalia, Felicia (her picture had a big red X on it), every vampire I knew and some I didn't were in the file.

There were more files with similar contents behind that one. New Orleans 1, 2, 3. Baton Rouge. Lafayette. Monroe. Jackson, MS. Every city within a several hour drive had a file. The very last file simply read 'VDB'. Inside a slim case was an unlabeled CD-rom. Oh, no. Nononono, this can't be here!

Pam appeared beside me and I yelped. She raised an eyebrow at my reaction. "Pam, Pam! If there are any computers around here, get them! CD-roms, hard drives, memory cards, anything like that. Eric! I know you can hear me! Find me a big box, fast." Pam saw what was laying on the desk and her eyes widened. She was gone before I could blink.

Eric brought me a box a split second later. He saw the files, too, and was instantly enraged. He flew off to look for anything else he could find. I piled as many folders as I could into the box. By the time I was done, both Pam and Eric were in the room with me. They both had boxes as well. I put the remaining files on top of their findings and closed the drawer.

After loading our boxes into her trunk, we all piled into Pam's car. We rode to Fangtasia in silence. When we got there Eric kissed my hair and hopped out. He slid in the Corvette and took off towards his house. Pam followed.

At Eric's we gathered in his dining room, spreading our files all over the table. I plunked down into a chair, closed my eyes and massaged my temples. This evening had certainly gone from bad to worse. A loud BANG echoed through the room and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Eric had pounded his fist on the table, almost breaking it in half. I could feel the rage rolling off him.

"Fucking Bill! I always knew that database was a bad idea. And now the Fellowship got its hands on a copy. Wonderful, just fucking wonderful." He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Bill. My house. Now." Slight pause. "I do not give a flying fuck what you are doing, get here NOW." Another pause. "I do not like repeating myself, William Compton. You will be at my house within one hour or this will be the last night you ever see." He flipped the cell closed and looked at it. "Sometimes I wonder why I allow him to stay in my area." He caught my eye and gave me a bittersweet smile. "Oh, yeah. Now I remember."

Throughout the entire exchange, Pam had busied herself arranging the files into neat stacks. "Okay," she pointed at different stacks as she spoke, "these are dead that the Fellowship knows about. These are dead that they don't know of. These have moved out of the area and they haven't managed to relocate them yet. And these," she indicated the largest group, "are the remaining vamps they have information on, separated by the area where they live. Luckily, there aren't any home addresses here."

"Oh, that reminds me, I found an address book in the desk, too. I didn't look at it very closely, though." I dug through a box filled with various CD's and disks. I pulled out the book and handed it to Eric. "While you two go through that I'm getting a drink. Do you want anything while I'm in the kitchen?" They both nodded silently, absorbed in their work.

I reached in the fridge to grab their blood and I nearly knocked another bottle on the floor. Tonic water. Hm, I wonder. I popped the bloods in the microwave and opened a few cabinets. I should have known Eric would notice my drink preference. A bottle of my preferred gin waited for me in the third cupboard I opened. I had planned on just having a bottle of water, but it was a really bad night, and I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon without at least a little help. By the time the blood was warmed up, I had my drink ready and everything put away.
I took the bottles in to Eric and Pam. They barely registered my presence as I set their drinks on the table. Looking around, I saw that they had further divided Pam's stacks and were still poring over the address book. I told Eric I was going to watch a movie, gave him a quick kiss and went to the living room. Mindless comedy, that's what I need. What do we have...

I decided on a DVD, popped it in the player and made myself comfortable on the couch. The opening credits to 'Shaun of the Dead' started and I began laughing in anticipation. This was one of my favorite comedies, and even though it was a zombie flick, watching it was a surefire way to cheer myself up.

About half an hour later I was on my second gin and tonic when someone knocked on the front door. I turned to watch Eric walk past me and fling the door open, revealing Bill standing on the porch. "About time, Compton." Eric glared at him before inviting him in. When he walked back past me, he leaned down and kissed my lips. "We are almost done for the night, my love. Then, I seem I am obliged to," he waggled his eyebrows and grinned, "reward you for all of your hard work today."

When he stood back up, I could see Bill's face. His eyes jumped back and forth between me and Eric; sadness, anger and disbelief were flashing over his face. His gaze finally settled on Eric before he spoke, his voice frosty. "You could have at least let me finish unpacking before you summoned me here to flaunt your new... relationship."

I watched Eric's face transform from grinning and playful to barely contained rage. He whipped around to face Bill. "I flaunt nothing for you, Compton. I do not care for your reaction, so I would not misuse my energy looking for it. You are here because your database, which almost cost us our lives before, WILL be the death of us now. You are extraordinarily lucky that I do not stake you where you stand. The only reason you are alive and well so far is that it would hurt Sookie for you to be gone. We have matters to discuss, and I will tolerate absolutely no insubordination from you for any reason, whatsoever. Have I made myself clear?"

Bill nodded and followed Eric into the dining room, casting one more look in my direction. I chugged the rest of my drink and got up to get a refill. If I'm going to deal with this, I'm sure as hell not gonna do it sober.

I poured a very stiff drink and sat down to finish the movie. I enjoyed a few more parts, but I was mostly absorbed in my thoughts. Okay. The Fellowship knows more about vampires than we ever imagined. And though it technically isn't Bill's fault they got a copy of that damn CD, it definitely is his fault that it exists in the first place. How much havoc can a simple disk wreak? It was the end of my first relationship, almost killed Bill, I was staked, raped and almost drained. Bubba almost got crucified. Eric risked his life to save me. I killed someone -granted she was going to kill me, but still- and I was on the bad side of the King of Mississippi for a while. And because I had to act like a Were's girlfriend, Bubba killed someone who was after me, I had to dispose of a body, and eventually a were-bitch tried to shoot me, so I had to kill someone else in my kitchen. Damn, and it just snowballed from there. That disk will kill us all. I sat straight up as the realization rocked through me. That disk will kill us all. Me, Pam, Bubba, Bill... and Eric. Oh, god, we're all dead, we just don't know it yet. Oh, no. I can't deal with this, I need another drink.

I tried to stand up. Note the word 'tried'. I got halfway and fell back on my butt. Nope, I was definitely not sober. I managed to make my way into the kitchen to pour another super-stiff drink. Somehow, I even made it back to the couch without spilling any. I restarted the movie and tried to focus, determined not to sink back into thoughts of the database.

Just as Shaun and Ed were beating the snot out of a couple zombies with a cricket bat and a shovel, Eric threw himself down on the couch next to me. He sniffed the air around me, "You're toasted." I stared at him for a second before busting up laughing, thinking it was hilarious that a thousand year old vampire would use modern slang. Hey, I was toasted. He got that wicked glint in his eye, darted in, and started sucking on my ear. Immediately, I stopped laughing and started moaning.

"Did I say something funny, lover?" I couldn't remember. All I knew is that I needed him, and I needed him now. I leaned down and bit his neck, but not hard enough to draw blood.

He growled in my ear as his hands ran under my sweater, "Do that again, Sookie, and I'll have you right now." I licked his ear, kissed his neck, and bit harder. This time I tasted blood. Before I knew what was happening Eric had me in the study and he was punching in the code to his room. I bit again in the same spot. When I felt him begin to bleed, I latched on and sucked. His whole body shook underneath me. We barely made it down the stairs before we started ripping each others clothes off.

He stood me up next to the bed and I fumbled with my pants. By the time I had my button undone, Eric was completely naked. I couldn't help but stop what I was doing to stare at him. "Wow." I heard my voice say, and he laughed.

He swooped in on me and tore my clothes from me faster than I thought possible. "You think that was 'wow'? Wait until you see what I'm going to do to you." He growled in my ear, his voice dripping with sex. He gently maneuvered me backwards to the bed, and when the back of my legs hit the mattress, I flopped ungracefully down. Before I could recover my sense of balance, his mouth landed on my center. He sucked my nub into his mouth and ran his teeth over it.
I twisted my hands in his hair and pulled. He moaned and pushed his fingers inside me. I felt them curl and I screamed in ecstasy. Knowing he found my spot, he flicked his fingers against it again, giving me another mind-bending orgasm. I heard my voice again, and I was shocked at what it said, "Eric, oh god... I, uuhhh... I need you to fuck me... oh my god, Eric... fuck me!"

His mouth found mine and I tasted myself. With one quick thrust he was buried in me all the way. I screamed in pleasure as he held my hips still and plunged into me over and over so hard I thought my pelvis would break. I didn't care, I just wanted it faster, harder, deeper. Suddenly he flipped me over so I was on my hands and knees. Before I had a chance to miss him inside me he was back, his hands on my hips, pounding into me. He smacked my ass and a guttural, animalistic sound came out of me. He flipped me on my back again and kept thrusting like there was no tomorrow. I was close to coming, and when Eric leaned over me and sank his fangs into my neck, my whole body convulsed with pleasure. I felt him stiffen a second after me, and I knew he had come, too.

He leaned against the headboard and we started our usual post-sex snuggling. I reached up to give him a kiss, "I love you, Eric. I'm scared about all this. I don't want to lose you right after I found you." He held me tighter to his chest.

"Sookie, my only love, you won't lose me. I will never allow anything to separate us." He seemed to think for a moment. "Just to be safe, though, I would like for you to take some more of my blood. I want you to be as strong as possible for anything that may happen. If you will permit it, I would like to give you a bit daily, so the strength can be maintained. Before you can say it, I know you do not want to be turned, and rest assured you won't be. I promise I would never force that upon you for any reason."

He was right, of course. Sometimes I think that Eric knew me better than I did. "Well, I already got a taste earlier, I guess more blood wouldn't hurt." I smiled at his shocked face. After almost a week of me not arguing with him every chance I got, you would think he would stop staring at me like that when I agreed with him. Since he's already shocked, I might as well take the lead. "If I remember correctly, I believe that this," I straddled him, "is the best position."

Eric wrapped his arms around my waist and moaned when I licked his neck. I bit down in the same spot I had earlier and my mouth filled with the coppery liquid. He entered me, slowly moving me up and down on his erection. I latched onto the flow of blood and sucked. Every time I pulled, he groaned. As I threw my head back and yelled his name, he shuddered inside me. I looked in his eyes and they gazed back at me, burning. I licked my lips, tasting the blood that remained and shivering in delight.

I moved off of him and settled on the bed. Eric got up and stumbled over to the mini-fridge he kept down here. He pulled out a bottle of blood, nuked it, and came back to bed. "You, my dear Sookie, are the only woman who has ever made me weak in the knees." I smiled, curling into his side while he replenished the blood I took from him. When he was done drinking, he scooted down to lay next to me and we fell alseep in each other's arms.