A Thousand Years Chapter 24

Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, or added this story (or me) to your favorites or alerts lists. You guys are the absolute best readers EVER!

Balti K is my beta for this story.

Disclaimer – Don’t own these guys, just the different spin on it.

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“Before we talk revenge, Eric, I have some questions. I want to know why Bill chose Barry, Hadley and Hoyt. I mean, Hadley was probably to get back at me, but…”

“No, Sookie, she wasn’t. Well… not solely to for you, anyway. It’s the fact that she’s descendant from the Fae that made Bill choose her. Bill’s trying to get Russell all the fairy blood he can find. If my “daddy” had been able to track down Jason, he’d have been on the menu too; the bellhop was taken for the same reason. He figured Barry must be part Fae since you let out that he’s a telepath as well,” the baby vamp began to explain.

“Well then, why’d he pick Hoyt? I mean, he’s not fairy,” my lover queried, looking frustrated.

“To get her under control, of course,” Pam said, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrow and motioning toward Sookie’s houseguest.

“Exactly, he said I was unruly and needed to be taught a lesson. Since he didn’t believe I’d willingly give Hoyt up (and he was fuckin’ right about that!), Bill gave him to that crazy fuck for dinner. Sookie, what am I gonna do?” she wailed as she leaned back into my lovers arms, leaking profusely yet again.

Prior to falling in love with the spritely Ms. Stackhouse, I would have been enraged at having to wait for Jessica to gather herself enough to continue our conversation. However, I understood all too well the pain that came from merely the thought of Sookie’s final death. I was willing to give her at least a few more moments to compose herself; my progeny, however, was not so generous.

“Pull it together, sweetheart, we’ve got bigger things to worry about than the loss of one human.” Tact was a skill that had long eluded Pamela.

“Why the fairy blood, Jessica?” Sookie asked gently, ignoring my child’s lack of compassion.

“To heal him faster, at least that’s what Bill told me. But I’ve heard of how fairy blood allows our kind to daywalk, at least briefly, so I imagine that’s part of it too. Who knows the real reason though; Bill’s such a fuckin’ liar that I don’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth anymore. He wouldn’t even let me change Hoyt. I could only hold him as he died,” she whispered the last bit as more blood tears fell. “Wait… how’d you guys already know about this? Were you there?”

“No honey, there were cameras at the construction site. Your brilliant maker forgot to disconnect them, so we watched it all secondhand,” my exceptional mate lied effortlessly. Jessica might be trustworthy in intent, but she was still Bill’s progeny and could be made to divulge our secrets. I was bursting with pride in Sookie for using common sense. The moment I felt a large wave of love and gratitude through the bond, I knew she’d sensed my approval.

“Getting back to you being willing to bring about Compton’s final death, how exactly do you think you could be of service to us? He could easily use his influence as your maker to thwart any plans you were aware of.”

“True…” Jessica agreed, seeming to ponder options.

Eric, I have an idea. Maybe I can mess with her memories like I did those AVL guards back at Fangtasia?

Perhaps, my love… but we must be certain that we can trust her. If it doesn’t work, by the time we discovered our mistake, all could be lost.

Hmmm… should we test it on Pam first? Then you could use a Maker’s Command to make her do the opposite of whatever I suggested, see what she does?

You are as brilliant as you are desirable, my sweet Sookie. Make sure it is something good, lover; let us have some fun with our ‘Pammy’. I knew she’d come up with something wonderful when after a few seconds, I felt her mischief through our connection.

“Pamela, we are going to run an experiment of sorts on you, and I want you to cooperate with Sookie,” I instructed, though I didn’t use my persuasion as her maker; I wanted to ensure that it would work without my having to command it.

“What am I, some fucking lab rat, Eric? What kind of experiment are we talking about exactly? Because I have exactly zero interest in finding out firsthand what her microwave fingers feel like.”

We briefly explained what we needed to discover without giving the full details in front of Compton’s progeny. She reluctantly agreed and I set Sookie loose upon her. I watched, utterly fascinated, as my lover commanded my child to perform the “chicken dance,” something I was certain Pamela would stake us all for when she regained control of herself. Perhaps I’d have to ask my lover to wipe this little incident from my child’s memory, for all our sakes.

When Sookie gave me the okay to utilize my control over Pam, I was hardly able to issue the order through my booming laughter; truly, she looked absurd waddling around the living room flapping about. After I’d ordered Pam to cease her insanity, she still continued, much to my surprise. I tried twice more, but it wasn’t until Sookie commanded her to stop that she finally complied. Sookie also immediately cleansed this from Pamela’s memory without me requesting it of her. I was thrilled that my lover and I were so attuned to one another.

“Well… looks like you’re not as hot-shit as you thought you were, huh, Princess?” Pam assumed, looking utterly bored.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that at all, Pammy. I’d say it worked like a charm,” my mate replied as we all struggled not to laugh. Needless to say, we had to endure ten minutes of unending questioning before I was finally forced to command my child to change the subject. Someday, I’d have Sookie flood Pam with these memories as punishment – but I’d be saving it for the most inopportune time for my insolent child.

Finally getting back on track, Sookie used her new-found powers to instruct Jessica to discover Russell’s daytime resting place. She was told to discreetly report back on any plans she overheard, and to alert us of any movements against any of us or our properties. Sookie forced our contact numbers into Jessica’s “lock box” (as Sookie called it), as well as some addresses where the child could find us in an emergency; Sookie assured us that no one would be able to gain access to these details once she locked them away inside Jessica’s mind. As an added bonus for herself, my love directed that Jessica was not to attempt to bring about Compton’s final death, explaining that his demise was Sookie’s prize to be won after all the hurt Compton had put her through.

My endlessly kindhearted lover also helped to ease Jessica’s consuming grief over the loss of her human; Jessica would continue to act destroyed when in the presence of her maker or those who were loyal to Compton, but Sookie lifted the oppressing weight from the young girl’s heart. The capacity for compassion that flowed from Sookie took my unneeded breath away. She really was a gift from the gods.

We sent the young vampire on her way back to her worthless maker’s side, instructing her to wash as soon as she returned to remove any traces of our scents from her skin. In line with her programming, she’d contact us as soon as she had any news. I reminded Sookie of our need to leave, as well as informing her that the demon had some things to discuss with her. I assured her that the meeting would only take place if she wished it, though I felt we needed to know what the lawyer had to say; any tidbit of information could end up being the thing that led to our victory. We would be insane to ignore any and all information that could give us the advantage against Russell. She was very much looking forward to hearing Cataliades out, hoping to find out everything she could about her true history.

Gathering up Sookie’s belongings, we took to the sky. I was as anxious as my lover to hear what the demon had up his sleeve.

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Love and hugs to all – thanks for taking this journey with me!