The hallway was dark, lit only by torches, every few feet away from each other. I had no clue as to where I was. It looked like some sort of dungeon or something. I couldn’t really tell. It kind of freaked me out. Spooky, would be a good word to describe it.
He put me back on my feet, opened up the double doors and pushed me into a hallway, that led into a room. I stumbled as I entered, then righted myself before I fell flat on my face. I looked around my surroundings, wondering where I was now.
“You must be Sookie Stackhouse,” a voice greeted me from across the room.
I spun around to look at the person who had spoken. My eyes widened. I knew it was a Supe, his brain waves were like a deep, dark hole. That led me to believe that he was another vampire. But I had never seen this vampire before.
“You are no doubt wondering who I am.” His was at an age that I couldn’t determine. He had long white hair and wore a long robe in black velvet. He looked exactly like what you would expect as a vampire. “Let me introduce myself,” he greeted me. “I am Dimitri.”
Who? I had never heard of this guy before in my life. I waited for him to explain to me, why he had kidnapped me. I glared at him, angrily.
“You are a telepath,” he continued on, as if not noticing the expression on my face or just choosing to ignore it. “I’ve heard all about you in our world. You have become…a great topic for conversation.” His gaze zeroed in at me, studying me.
I wondered what he wanted. This wouldn’t be good. I had a funny, uneasy feeling about this. What did he want with me?
“What I want with you is simple,” he answered, as if he could read my thoughts.
My eyes widened, while I stared at him, astonished that he had known what I was thinking. Was he another telepath?
“No, I’m not a telepath, but I wish I were,” he explained, guessing my reaction and thoughts. I guess, I wasn’t as good as hiding them as I had thought. “I am a vampire, as I’m sure that you can tell.” He gazed at me, studying the expression on my face. He stood up, walked around the desk, then stood next to me. “Have a seat,” he motioned with his hand, the chair closest to me.
I sat, mostly because I knew that if I fought him, I wasn’t sure if I would survive the fight. Vampires were amazingly strong.
“You are Eric Northman’s blood-bonded,” he stated, as if I could have forgotten about that fact.
I nodded my head, not sure of what I should say to that. I stared at him, like he was staring at me. With surprise and astonishment.
“You are unusual…” he stared at me, studying me again. “Eric has never struck me as the kind of vampire that would choose a human to bond with.”
I stared at him, surprised. He knew Eric? I wondered if he was one of Eric’s friends or enemies.
“How do you know Eric?” I asked. I couldn’t keep my curiosity at bay. I wanted to know what this vampire wanted with me and Eric. I felt protective all of a sudden. So…this vampire was using me to get to Eric, I deduced.
“I’m the one who asks the questions,” he explained, determined to tell me the rules of the game. Not that my life was a game, but judging from his reaction, I could tell that this game of twenty questions was for him to ask and me to answer. “What is Eric thinking right now?” He wondered.
I wondered that too. I shrugged. “Guess,” was all that I would reveal. Why would I tell this vampire every little secret that I may have? He deserved to have a few surprises, I thought to myself, stubbornly.
Dimitri studied me, then grinned. “You can’t feel him can you? Did you know that he can read your mind as well?” he asked, staring at me, curiously. “I wonder what he sees in your mind?”
Whoa, Eric can read my mind too? That freaked me out because a) talk about embarrassing and b) I was pretty sure that if Eric knew exactly what some of my thoughts were, there would be no way that he would be avoiding me. Not the Eric I knew. Wouldn’t he have tried to seduce me by now? I was still bitter that Eric hadn’t gone out of his way to see me since he had come into Merlotte’s and told me that he had been assigned as my personal bodyguard. Like I was just a business arrangement to him.
It hurt, because my feelings went so much deeper than his were to me. Even though he desired me, I had a funny feeling that his feelings weren’t much more than friendship. God help me, I wanted the fake Eric back. With him, I knew how much he loved me. With him, I was able to be myself. There’s a part of me who always holds myself back whenever the real Eric was around because he was a business owner and Sheriff of Area 5. It scared me how much power Eric really had. I was only a barmaid, I wasn’t the type of girl to hook up with someone like that.
Now, I find out that he already knew all my thoughts and feelings and yet…he still chose to stay away from me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream in frustration, cry or find Eric and beat his head in.
Dimitri studied me some more. “You’re surprised by that, aren’t you?” he asked. He looked pleased as punch that he had told me something that I hadn’t known before.
I stared at him, revealing nothing. What was this vampire up to? While I was very curious about what he had revealed, there was a stubborn part of me who still wanted to protect Eric. “So?” I asked, angrily.
Dimitri grinned. “Nothing, I was only trying to get to know you. That’s all for today,” he replied, as he reached over and rang a bell that sat on his desk.
The he-man who had carried me up from the dungeon entered the room. “Yes, master,” he came in bowing, of all things. I could tell who had the power in this room.
“Take her back downstairs, while I make arrangements,” he ordered.
I didn’t want to go, but I could tell that I really had no choice. The big man came towards me and grabbed me by the arm.
“Ow,” I cried out. His grasp was rough. I knew that I would have bruises when he was finished man-handling me.
The big man took me back down to the dungeon, tied me back up on the bed in the basement. When he had disappeared back up the stairs, closing the door behind him, I stared up at the ceiling.
I laid there deep in thought. So many things had happened in a short amount of time. The good thing was, I had enough time right now to figure it all out.
Eric entered Merlotte’s, wishing that he would’ve been able to see Sookie working that night. It would be like any normal night. Sookie would be safe. He would be…he didn’t know what he would be doing, but he knew that it would include a bar…and thinking about Sookie.
He gazed around the bar, catching the gaze of Sam from behind the bar. They nodded to each other from across the room before Eric walked to a vacant table and took a seat.
Sam came over himself to take his order, personally. “True Blood O-neg?” he asked, curiously.
Eric nodded his head. Sam wandered off to get his order. Eric gazed around the room, checking out each patron. It was a packed house. If Sookie hadn’t been kidnapped, Eric was sure that she would’ve been working that night. He liked watching her work. She had a smile that was contagious. Picturing Sookie in her uniform wasn’t bad either, especially when it was summer time and she wore those short shorts.
Eric grinned, remembering how well those shorts showed off her graceful legs and curvy ass.
Sam returned with his True Blood, setting it down in front of him. Eric was surprised, but yet not, when Sam sat down across from him in the booth.
“Anything?” Sam asked, curiously concerned.
“Not yet,” Eric replied back, equally concerned, but he hated it that Sam was butting his nose in where it didn’t belong. “I’ll let you know.”
“Good,” Sam got up from the table and walked back to the bar again.
Eric watched him return to work, then took a sip from his True Blood while he studied the patrons once again.
He had a funny feeling about all of this. The more he thought about it, the more he didn’t like it. It really bothered him that his bond with Sookie wasn’t working as well as it should. Little did she know, he could read her thoughts. He always had, ever since the third time they had exchanged blood. He grinned, remembering some of her little fantasies that she would come up with, involving him, before her disappearance. She may know him well, but he knew her better.
Now, he wasn’t getting any of that. He could only tell what she’s feeling and even that, was only briefly. He frowned. Someone or something was interfering greatly. He wondered how and who it could be. His senses weren’t able to sense her presence either. He couldn’t pin-point her location. He was having troubles sleeping when he went into his deep sleep during the day. He wasn’t sure if it’s because he was worried about her or if whomever had her had ended up putting a curse on their bond.
It didn’t matter…all he wanted to do was to get out there and do everything possible in order to find her.
Eric spied a bar patron from across the room. It was Andy Bellefleur. Eric knew that he was a cop and a suspicious one at that. From reading Sookie’s thoughts, Sookie and Andy hadn’t really gotten along over the years. He knew that Sookie could read minds. Andy sometimes used her to investigate crimes, but all in all, Eric wasn’t sure if Andy would go out of his way to conduct a thorough investigation. That angered him.
Since he didn’t want to drag the cops into it to begin with, he wasn’t going to worry about it for now. If the shifter and the witches wanted to get them involved, so be it. Eric liked to do things on his own, in his own way.
He finished his True Blood, then quickly left the bar, standing outside looking up at the night sky. Where are you, Sookie? He wondered, inside his head.
“I heard you’re looking for Sookie,” a voice said from behind him. Eric spun around, he couldn’t believe that somebody had been able to sneak up on him. But then again…he wasn’t, when he noticed who it was.
Niall, Sookie’s great-great grandpa and one of the fae. Eric wasn’t able to smell the fairy smell, so he knew that Niall was once again cloaking it. Eric stared at Niall, wondering how he had found out about Sookie’s disappearance.
“Do you know where she is?” Eric demanded, angrily.
Niall looked at him, surprised. “Do you think I would be here, if I did?” Niall shook his head. “I came tonight, because I heard from Claudine that something had happened to her,” he explained. “I’m disappointed that you didn’t tell me so, yourself.” Niall looked at Eric, like he was giving him a stern lecture. “I trusted you. I trusted that you would be able to look after her.”
Eric didn’t like this conversation or where it was headed. “I guess not,” Eric replied, instead, hurt and bitter that Niall had thought that he had failed at his job.
Niall studied Eric, not sure of what to think. He sighed. “Tell me what you know so far,” he instructed, waving his hand, motioning for Eric to tell him all he knew.
“No, you’re won’t be able to find her,” Eric replied, stubbornly. “If I am having problems and we share a bond…how do you think her distant, watered-down flesh and blood will find her either?” Eric pointed out. He shook his head. “Stay out of my way, old man.”
Eric tried to walk towards his car, but Niall appeared in front of him. “Look, first of all…you’re older than me, technically and secondly, I know that this is hard on you…but face it, you need help. I’m offering myself to you. I want to find her every bit as much as you do,” Niall explained. “I didn’t recently enlist you to have her meet me, just to let her go away once again so quickly. I want to get to know my great-granddaughter. I know that you respect that too.” He stared at Eric, knowing that Eric would know that what he said, must be true. “I love h-,” Niall suddenly got choked up. “If anything were to happen to her…I don’t know what I’d do,” he pleaded.
Eric studied him, not sure if he should trust him or not. He sighed. “I feel the same way as you,” he replied, without thinking. He regretted his words as soon as they came out.
“I knew it,” Niall interrupted him, before he could change his mind and take his words back. He grinned at him, with a knowing smile. “You see? It’s not that hard to admit that you have feelings too.”
Eric shook his head and laughed. “You really know which buttons to push, don’t you? Just like Sookie.” Eric’s smile left his face, as soon as he realized that he had told Niall too much about himself. “But don’t let that get around, you hear me?” Eric threatened, glaring at Niall, pointing his finger at him. “I think someone’s messing with our bond,” he admitted, hoping that Niall might have an answer for him as to who and why. “You wouldn’t know how that would be possible do you?”
Niall thought about it for a minute. “You say that you can’t find her?” He asked, puzzled and confused. Eric nodded his head. “Well…if that don’t beat all…”
“You haven’t ever heard of anything that would be that effective, have you?” Eric asked, not surprised. He hadn’t heard of anything like that either.
“No, no…” Niall shook his head, deep in thought, while he thought about what Eric was telling him. “But I do have a few ideas…”
“Spill it,” Eric encouraged. He wanted to get some answers and he wanted them, yesterday. His patience was already wafer thin.
“I’ll have to check things out first, but I do recall…something like this happening many years ago,” Niall offered. “I’ll keep you informed.”
Just like that, Niall disappeared before Eric’s eyes. Eric walked over to his car, hopped into his Corvette and drove towards Sookie’s. He knew that this wasn’t going to help out his investigation, but a stronger pull wanted to be closer to her, somehow. Her things were at her house. Memories too. Besides, maybe he’ll discover something that he had missed the last time he was there?
He pulled to a stop outside her darkened house. He figured that the witches were sound asleep in their beds. It didn’t matter. He dug out the key that Sookie had given him when he had lost his memory. Sookie had forgotten to get it back from him. He hadn’t known he’d had it until he had discovered it among the clothes that she had bought him.
He unlocked the door and quietly entered the house. The house was dark, still and silent. He could hear one of the witches snoring in one of the bedrooms. He wasn’t sure who it was and he didn’t care to find out. He locked the door behind him, figuring that if he left it unlocked, then one of the witches might get suspicious if they happened to wake up in the middle of the night.
Eric walked into Sookie’s bedroom and closed the door behind him. He wanted to have privacy. He needed to be alone. A wave of feelings arose as soon as he turned around and gazed around her room. Memories flashed before his eyes. Images of Sookie laying in bed. Underneath him and beside him. Naked and not so naked.
He laid down on the bed, grabbed one of Sookie’s pillows and breathed in her scent. “Soon…I will find you, Sookie,” he murmured in the darkness. He hugged the pillow close to him, imaging that it was her body that he was holding.
Images of Sookie making love with him swam before his eyes. Sookie lay, sprawled naked on the bed, gazing up at him. His returned memories remembered how he had tried to be so gentle and loving. Not that he didn’t normally…but with Sookie it had been different. Even without his memories at the time, he had known that there was something special about her. He had wanted her to feel special, like she really mattered to him.
Now, he could remember their talks in front of the fireplace. Their talks after making love in bed, side by side, as if they were old buddies. Sharing confidences and laughing at the oddest things. He smiled to himself, as he remembered all of it. It was too bad that it had taken a witch’s curse for them to finally bond in that way. At least he had had one of his many questions finally answered…she was blond down there, just like he was. He grinned, devilishly at the thought. Images of her would never leave him now.
The attraction had been there from the first, but…out of respect for Bill, then later on, out of respect for Sookie, he had decided not to pursue her. His world and hers didn’t belong together. His world was too violent. She had often voiced her complaints about his kind in the past. There had been a part of him who had been extremely disappointed, but he had reasoned, that she had deserved to be happy and in a world where she wanted to be.
When he had remembered the fact that he’d been willing to give up his life as Sheriff in order to be with her, he had been shocked at first. That wasn’t like him. As bits and pieces had fallen into place and a lot of time and distance of being away from her, he had begun to see that maybe the side that she had seen while he’d been under the curse, might have always been there, hidden underneath his tough exterior.
If any other vampires had known about that softer side, he would’ve had his final death years ago. There would’ve been no way that he could’ve survived this long. Eric thought that it had been apart of his human life, the humane side of him that hadn’t really left that he had keep buried underneath his rough, vampire exterior. It was only now resurfacing because it had finally found what it was looking for after all these years. It hadn’t had a reason to come out until now.
Eric ached with wanting something that he couldn’t have. If he were to let down his walls, what would happen then? He may manage to woo Sookie. They may be extremely happy, like during his time with her, but at the same time, her life would become more dangerous for herself and for him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to expose her to that kind of danger. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to expose himself, knowing that Sookie would be the way to get to him. Most of all, he wanted Sookie to be safe and happy.
She had often rejected him. If he were honest with himself, he had been getting sick and tired of being tossed aside like he hadn’t mattered. Yep, believe it or not, Sookie had made him feel something that thousands of women couldn’t before in his long life…she made him feel insecure at times. He wondered how she had managed that.
He noticed a picture that she kept by her alarm clock. He picked it up. It was a picture of Sookie, Jason and their Grandma. He hadn’t ever met her, but he could tell by Sookie’s feelings that she still missed her, terribly.
Eric had a funny feeling that if something were to happen to Sookie, that he would miss her terribly too. He didn’t think that he would get over that kind of pain. That was another reason why he figured that maybe they were better off leaving things just as they were.
But knowing how both of them really felt…lonely, confused, cautious, concerned and scared…completely in love with each other…he wasn’t sure he could turn away either. One thing was for sure…he needed to find her so that they could settle it once and for all.
Eric decided that he had been around Sookie’s things long enough. He needed to do some more investigating. He climbed off the bed and left Sookie’s room, the way that he had found it, locked the front door on the way out. He drove off down the highway in his fast, red sports car.
Erika's Not-So-Secret Diary 