SERIOUSLY, ALWAYS YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL by Randall Morgan -- CHAPTER ELEVEN
Another chapter, hope you like it, let me know if you do. Or don't. Thanks. Ran ADULTS ONLY! The picture of Brian and Eric is by Heather. Thanks H!
Chapter Eleven
ERIC’S POV:
I decide to take a brief detour on our way out of town, and Brian doesn’t notice since he has no idea where we’re headed. Sookie’s grandmother’s house is a dump. Shabby but not chic, in need of a total renovation, but those things are meaningless to vampires. We can be comfortable under six feet of dirt, after all.
“Who lives here?” Brian asks as I slow down when the house comes into view.
“Just a friend. Stay in the car. No matter what you see or hear, stay in the car. You understand?”
“Eric, what are you doing?” I can tell he’s irritated with my barking orders, but he would be a fool not to obey me this time.
“I’ll be back.”
I take a long look around the property and then take a gentle leap up to the roof, landing with such stealth that Sookie can’t hear me. I flatten out behind the chimney and watch. Within minutes, a shadowy figure arrives, slinks up on the porch, raps on her door, and then moves with vampire speed to conceal himself in shadow. Sookie appears at the window, peering out, and that’s when I move. I float down and land in front of her visitor, gripping him by the throat, my fangs out and ready.
He struggles but I can see he’s new at this vampire business and thus is completely powerless against me. I lift him off his feet and just then Sookie comes out on the porch, sporting a shotgun. “Put that away before you blow your toes off,” I snap at her and throw the vampire down on the floor of the porch, placing my boot on his neck to hold him there.
“Eric! Have you been…”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I tell her. “But Bill said you had some pests so I thought I would stop by. What do you want with her?” I direct that last question to the vampire, who pushes at my boot with both hands but can’t dislodge it.
“Fairy blood!” he chokes out. “I heard there’s fairy blood in this house!”
I take the heel of my boot and knock out both of his fangs with it. He wails as blood begins to flow and I tell him, “By the time they grow back, you’d better be a hundred miles from this parish. And your friends had better be with you. I’m the sheriff here, and if I see you again, or if any of you bother Miss Stackhouse, you’ll regret it.”
He nodded and when I let him go, he took off at vampire speed. Sookie puts the shotgun down, leaning on it like a crutch. “I could have handled this one myself. I put little pieces of silver in this buckshot. He’d be sorry!”
“You would have just made him mad and you know what they say about a mad vampire?”
“What?”
“Nothing, because they don’t live to talk about it.”
She smiled at that. As much as she likes to deny it, there’s a little something between us that has nothing to do with her big love, Bill Compton. “Well, okay, thanks, Eric. Who’s that in the car?”
“A friend.”
“I don’t recognize him.”
“He’s not from around here. I have to go. Tell Bill I solved his pest problem for him.”
“Yeah, maybe I won’t.”
I smile at that. “Maybe you shouldn’t.” I turn to go and she says,
“Eric?”
“What?”
“Thanks.”
“Just showing off for my friend,” I respond with a smile and leave her there as I return to my car. Brian is staring at me as I head for the main road.
“What was that?”
“Stupid vampire business.”
“Who’s the girl?”
“A friend.”
“What kind of friend?”
“She’s human, mostly.”
“No I mean girl friend or…”
“She’s with Compton, Brian, why? Jealous?”
He laughs. “Yeah. Right.”
“Good, I don’t like jealous lovers.”
“Not me, Eric. I don’t do jealous. But you jumped up on the roof like it was two feet off the ground. How?”
“We have all kinds of little tricks in our magic bag.”
BRIAN’S POV:
That was just plain weird. The girl, the jump, the skirmish, it’s about time I realized dealing with Eric is not like dealing with anyone I have ever known. He’s not just beautiful and an amazing lover, he’s a vampire and the truth is, I don’t really know much about all the things that make him different. I’m just going along for the ride, enjoying the sex, enjoying his cool personality, enjoying his beauty, but how stupid am I? I am defenseless against him. I know that for a fact. All the stakes in the factory wouldn’t help me if I needed one, because I could never outmaneuver him.
“What are you thinking?” he asks as the scenery turns into something dark and swampy. Spanish moss in the dark looks like the trees dressed up in black lace. Louisiana is one strange fucking place and Eric Northman is one strange fucking man. Vampire. Man. Whatever he is.
“Just wondering where we’re going.”
“New Orleans of course.”
“That sounds good. Is it far?”
“Few hours.” In the glow from the dashboard he is so incredibly pale, like a marble carving of an ideal man. The image is so striking its almost a shock when he moves. I need to snap out of this fascination he has over me. I’m beginning to feel like a puppy following him around and that’s just not me. Is it a vampire power or is it just Eric?
“Do you plan to kill me when you get bored with this, Eric?” I ask with false levity. His blue eyes cut in my direction.
“Now why would I do that?”
“Food? Fun? I don’t know.”
“I’ll give you a thoughtful answer to a stupid question, Brian. Vampires love blood. We love the taste of it, the feel of it, the smell of it, the way it makes us feel. Sometimes that blood lust fuels a simple kill for food event. Sometimes we get carried away with a human lover and the draining goes too far. It’s a dangerous game, having sex with a vampire. I told you that before. So, do I plan to kill you? No. Could it happen without a plan? Without intent? It could. It has.”
“I don’t want to die. Let’s be clear on that point. This isn’t dancing with Mr. D for me. This is some crazy ass attraction to you. What were you like before you became a vampire?”
“I was a Viking,” he says in all seriousness and that silences me for the moment. A Viking. “I was wounded in battle, on the verge of death when I was visited by my maker and he turned me. He will always be the greatest love of my life.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
“Like dead dead or like you’re…”
“True death. He walked in the light. He was ready to die.”
“I’ve never been in love. Have no interest in it.”
I feel Eric’s glance hit me. “You will be. It’s one of those inescapable life experiences.”
“No, not for me.”
“You’ll see.”
“I love men, I love sex with men, I don’t love a man. Big difference.”
“I know the difference. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I don’t see the point, really.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Eric smiles. Suddenly I notice something odd.
“Your headlights are off.”
“Are they?” he hits a button and they flip on. “I don’t really need them, I see perfectly well in the dark, but other cars may not see me. Good reminder.”
I put my head back on the headrest and close my eyes. I’m still tired from yesterday, maybe a little low on blood. I doze and when I wake up we are on the outskirts of New Orleans. You don’t get to the magic of New Orleans until you pass by the modern buildings, cross Canal Street and enter the French Quarter. There, among the low, slowly decaying buildings and bars and restaurants and people milling around, is the true heart of the city.
I feel energized from my nap, hearing the distant melody of jazz as I ask where we’re going. Eric smiles. “We’ll stow the car at the place where we’ll stay and then I want to take you to an entirely different bar. Members only. I think you’ll like it.”
I nod and let him lead, fascinated by the way his mind works.
Chapter Eleven
ERIC’S POV:
I decide to take a brief detour on our way out of town, and Brian doesn’t notice since he has no idea where we’re headed. Sookie’s grandmother’s house is a dump. Shabby but not chic, in need of a total renovation, but those things are meaningless to vampires. We can be comfortable under six feet of dirt, after all.
“Who lives here?” Brian asks as I slow down when the house comes into view.
“Just a friend. Stay in the car. No matter what you see or hear, stay in the car. You understand?”
“Eric, what are you doing?” I can tell he’s irritated with my barking orders, but he would be a fool not to obey me this time.
“I’ll be back.”
I take a long look around the property and then take a gentle leap up to the roof, landing with such stealth that Sookie can’t hear me. I flatten out behind the chimney and watch. Within minutes, a shadowy figure arrives, slinks up on the porch, raps on her door, and then moves with vampire speed to conceal himself in shadow. Sookie appears at the window, peering out, and that’s when I move. I float down and land in front of her visitor, gripping him by the throat, my fangs out and ready.
He struggles but I can see he’s new at this vampire business and thus is completely powerless against me. I lift him off his feet and just then Sookie comes out on the porch, sporting a shotgun. “Put that away before you blow your toes off,” I snap at her and throw the vampire down on the floor of the porch, placing my boot on his neck to hold him there.
“Eric! Have you been…”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I tell her. “But Bill said you had some pests so I thought I would stop by. What do you want with her?” I direct that last question to the vampire, who pushes at my boot with both hands but can’t dislodge it.
“Fairy blood!” he chokes out. “I heard there’s fairy blood in this house!”
I take the heel of my boot and knock out both of his fangs with it. He wails as blood begins to flow and I tell him, “By the time they grow back, you’d better be a hundred miles from this parish. And your friends had better be with you. I’m the sheriff here, and if I see you again, or if any of you bother Miss Stackhouse, you’ll regret it.”
He nodded and when I let him go, he took off at vampire speed. Sookie puts the shotgun down, leaning on it like a crutch. “I could have handled this one myself. I put little pieces of silver in this buckshot. He’d be sorry!”
“You would have just made him mad and you know what they say about a mad vampire?”
“What?”
“Nothing, because they don’t live to talk about it.”
She smiled at that. As much as she likes to deny it, there’s a little something between us that has nothing to do with her big love, Bill Compton. “Well, okay, thanks, Eric. Who’s that in the car?”
“A friend.”
“I don’t recognize him.”
“He’s not from around here. I have to go. Tell Bill I solved his pest problem for him.”
“Yeah, maybe I won’t.”
I smile at that. “Maybe you shouldn’t.” I turn to go and she says,
“Eric?”
“What?”
“Thanks.”
“Just showing off for my friend,” I respond with a smile and leave her there as I return to my car. Brian is staring at me as I head for the main road.
“What was that?”
“Stupid vampire business.”
“Who’s the girl?”
“A friend.”
“What kind of friend?”
“She’s human, mostly.”
“No I mean girl friend or…”
“She’s with Compton, Brian, why? Jealous?”
He laughs. “Yeah. Right.”
“Good, I don’t like jealous lovers.”
“Not me, Eric. I don’t do jealous. But you jumped up on the roof like it was two feet off the ground. How?”
“We have all kinds of little tricks in our magic bag.”
BRIAN’S POV:
That was just plain weird. The girl, the jump, the skirmish, it’s about time I realized dealing with Eric is not like dealing with anyone I have ever known. He’s not just beautiful and an amazing lover, he’s a vampire and the truth is, I don’t really know much about all the things that make him different. I’m just going along for the ride, enjoying the sex, enjoying his cool personality, enjoying his beauty, but how stupid am I? I am defenseless against him. I know that for a fact. All the stakes in the factory wouldn’t help me if I needed one, because I could never outmaneuver him.
“What are you thinking?” he asks as the scenery turns into something dark and swampy. Spanish moss in the dark looks like the trees dressed up in black lace. Louisiana is one strange fucking place and Eric Northman is one strange fucking man. Vampire. Man. Whatever he is.
“Just wondering where we’re going.”
“New Orleans of course.”
“That sounds good. Is it far?”
“Few hours.” In the glow from the dashboard he is so incredibly pale, like a marble carving of an ideal man. The image is so striking its almost a shock when he moves. I need to snap out of this fascination he has over me. I’m beginning to feel like a puppy following him around and that’s just not me. Is it a vampire power or is it just Eric?
“Do you plan to kill me when you get bored with this, Eric?” I ask with false levity. His blue eyes cut in my direction.
“Now why would I do that?”
“Food? Fun? I don’t know.”
“I’ll give you a thoughtful answer to a stupid question, Brian. Vampires love blood. We love the taste of it, the feel of it, the smell of it, the way it makes us feel. Sometimes that blood lust fuels a simple kill for food event. Sometimes we get carried away with a human lover and the draining goes too far. It’s a dangerous game, having sex with a vampire. I told you that before. So, do I plan to kill you? No. Could it happen without a plan? Without intent? It could. It has.”
“I don’t want to die. Let’s be clear on that point. This isn’t dancing with Mr. D for me. This is some crazy ass attraction to you. What were you like before you became a vampire?”
“I was a Viking,” he says in all seriousness and that silences me for the moment. A Viking. “I was wounded in battle, on the verge of death when I was visited by my maker and he turned me. He will always be the greatest love of my life.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
“Like dead dead or like you’re…”
“True death. He walked in the light. He was ready to die.”
“I’ve never been in love. Have no interest in it.”
I feel Eric’s glance hit me. “You will be. It’s one of those inescapable life experiences.”
“No, not for me.”
“You’ll see.”
“I love men, I love sex with men, I don’t love a man. Big difference.”
“I know the difference. It’s just a matter of time.”
“I don’t see the point, really.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Eric smiles. Suddenly I notice something odd.
“Your headlights are off.”
“Are they?” he hits a button and they flip on. “I don’t really need them, I see perfectly well in the dark, but other cars may not see me. Good reminder.”
I put my head back on the headrest and close my eyes. I’m still tired from yesterday, maybe a little low on blood. I doze and when I wake up we are on the outskirts of New Orleans. You don’t get to the magic of New Orleans until you pass by the modern buildings, cross Canal Street and enter the French Quarter. There, among the low, slowly decaying buildings and bars and restaurants and people milling around, is the true heart of the city.
I feel energized from my nap, hearing the distant melody of jazz as I ask where we’re going. Eric smiles. “We’ll stow the car at the place where we’ll stay and then I want to take you to an entirely different bar. Members only. I think you’ll like it.”
I nod and let him lead, fascinated by the way his mind works.