Lifting the Veil: Chapter Sixteen

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Chapter Sixteen

After assuring Lafayette that Tara was safe and secure with her Maker, Sookie excused herself and retired to the cubby Eric built. She laughed softly while she climbed down the ladder, remembering how incensed she had been when she first discovered it. She couldn’t believe it had only been a week ago. It seemed so much longer; then again, regaining thousands upon thousands of years of memories would skew anyone’s concept of time.

After making sure everything was as it should be, Sookie pulled out her cellphone, and climbed into the small bed. She didn’t have long until sunrise and, unlike the previous night; Sookie intended to actually go to rest. Despite what some may have believed, she couldn’t go indefinitely without rest. She needed to feed and rest just like any other vampire. She may not have needed to feed as often or rest as long, but it was still a necessity.

She quickly sent off a few text messages before she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. While she waited for the sun to claim her, Sookie let her mind wander over all she had learned in the last twenty-four hours. The return of her memories was only the tip of the iceberg for all that had happened, although, remembering her past had brought her a sense of solace. For the first time since she had performed the ritual that made her mortal, Sookie felt whole. Remembering who and what she was had gone a long way in explaining why she railed so much against being Fae. Deep down inside, Sookie had known that wasn’t really who or what she was. She was better than that! Better than them! No, while her memories had brought her comfort, learning all she had afterward had brought her nothing but concern. Too much was happening in such a short span of time for it to all have been coincidence. There was someone, or something, behind the scenes attempting to pull all their strings.

Sookie hated being ‘in the dark,’ unapprised when it came to things that concerned her bloodline, twenty-eight years may not be much time to vampires, but it was long enough to change the direction of the game. For the first time since she had been re-born vampire, Sookie was at a disadvantage. She was fighting blind and playing catch up all at once. It wasn’t the first time there had been a threat to the Blood of Lilith. The Fae had tried to destroy their line a millennia before, and they had succeeded in taking out their Mother. The Fae had killed Lilith. Yet, despite all their abilities, the Fae had never uncovered the true scope of Lilith’s bloodline. They had no idea just how far it spread. The new attack was different; confidentiality was no longer on Sookie’s side. Someone knew who carried the Blood of Lilith, and their line was being systematically targeted.

First Godric, then Eric, and, by extension, Nora, Sookie mused as she folded her hands on over her stomach. Have any of the others been attacked, and, if so who? If it’s an attack on the bloodline, why start with Godric? Was his decision to meet the sun his own, or was he in some sinister and contrived way influenced or compelled?

Sookie let out a frustrated sigh as she tried to make sense of it all. She knew she was missing something, but what? Godric, Eric, Nora… Godric, Eric, Nora… Sookie frowned as she repeated the names in her head while slowly a thought began to form, and she grasped at the thread, trying to unravel it.

Roman…

Roman was the most obvious link! He was Godric’s Maker as well as both Eric and Nora’s Grand Sire. Have I been looking at it all wrong? Sookie wondered. Could Roman’s direct line be under attack? We know there’s a traitor within The Authority. Could they have learned of his line, and be attempting to destroy it in order to weaken him and pull off a coup?

The theory made sense to Sookie. As far as she knew no one else had been attacked. The danger was seemingly focused on Roman’s direct line. Still, as much sense as it made, Sookie couldn’t silence that little voice in the back of her mind that told her there was much more to it. She knew she was missing something, but what?

“What is a question?”

“Something you don’t yet know the answer to,” Sookie replied automatically.

“And, how do we find the answer?”

“We search for it,” A sad smile spread across Sookie’s lips as she turned her head toward the direction from where the voice came. “You’re not real,” she said, her voice barely a whisper as she looked upon the face of her mother.

“Who is to say what is real and what is not?” Lilith replied when she stepped out of the shadows and moved toward her daughter. “There is more to this life, my child, than what you see with your eyes. The true dangers lurk in the shadows, unseen and unheard. It is not those in front of you who are the danger; it is those who conceal themselves in shadow.” 

“How do I fight an enemy I can’t see?” Sookie questioned, a hint of frustration leaking through her voice. “How do I defeat them when I don’t even know who they are?”

Lilith smiled softly at her beloved daughter as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “You know the answer to that,” she said. “The art of war is nothing new to you, my daughter. You have faced these battles your entire life. The answers you seek lie in your mind… In your heart,” Lilith laid her hand over Sookie’s chest, where her daughter’s heart lay as she spoke. “To defeat an enemy you cannot see, you…” 

“Force them to reveal themselves,” Sookie finished. She had to draw out their enemy and strike them down. Sookie shivered while she looked at her mother, she swore she could feel the coolness of Lilith’s hand on her chest, her touch reassuring and soothing. Sookie knew it was all in her mind, Lilith was dead, she had seen her die, but right then it felt real. “I miss you,” she admitted, blinking back tears.

“I never left you, my darling,” Lilith replied softly. “My body and soul may have left this Earth, but part of me lives on in you. You are my greatest creation, Sookie, the person I love the most. Never forget that. Never forget who and what you are. You were my life, and I love you. Now, I need you to do something for me… I need you to wake up…” 

“What?” Sookie said her tone filled with confusion.

“Sookie, wake up!” Lilith demanded. 

The desperation in Lilith’s voice dragged Sookie back into consciousness, and her eyes snapped open just into time to see a human man toss a silver net at her. A growl tore from her lips as she rolled to the side, trying to avoid as much as the net as she could. The scent of burning flesh filled the cubby when the net collide with her arm, and Sookie let out a string of curses as the silver seared her skin.

Sookie’s fangs snapped down, and she tried to untangle her arm from the silver. She could hear the panic in the human’s mind when he realized she was very much awake and not dead for the day as he believed she was. A layer of flesh was torn from Sookie’s arm when she managed to rip the silver net away, but burned her hand with the action. There was a promise of death in Sookie’s eyes when she turned to face the man who had so foolishly entered her home and tried to attack her.

Oh fuck! Why isn’t she dead for the day? He said she would be out of it once the sun rose. 

A deadly smile curled Sookie’s lips when she got a clear image of just who ‘he’ was. I should have seen it coming, she chided herself while she moved forward, stalking the terrified man. It’s not the first time he’s arranged for me to be attacked, after all. Bloodlust rose up in Sookie as the scent of the man’s fear perfumed the air, and her mouth was almost watering in anticipation of tasting her first human blood in over twenty-eight years.

What the fuck am I supposed to do now? He said it would be easy… 

“Yes, well, he’s an idiot,” Sookie said, answering his unspoken thoughts. “So are you for agreeing to his stupid plan. You see, luckily for me, on the off chance you would have succeeded, I have people who would miss me,” Sookie toyed with him as she stepped around the bed and backed him up toward the ladder that led upstairs. “Though unluckily for you, I know there is no one who will miss you. You’re all alone in this world. You’re disposable…”

“You’re wrong,” he replied, panicking when his back hit the ladder. “There’s loads of people who will miss me, my wife and children…”

“You don’t have a wife and children, David,” Sookie said, smiling at his wide-eyed look when she spoke his name. “You live in a trailer all alone. No family, no friends, you don’t even have a dog. It’s quite sad, really.”

David swore he saw his life flash before his eyes and he cursed himself for being so stupid. He should have known nothing good would come out of dealing with vampires, but he had been blinded by the promise of a large payday. It was supposed to be a simple job. Get in, silver the bitch, move her to the crypt in the cemetery, and have some fun with her while I waited… 

“There is no such thing as a simple job when it comes to vampires,” Sookie informed him, loving the scent of his fear as it rolled off him while she continued to answer his unspoken thoughts. “We are devious creatures who love chaos. We also love death and destruction so you were never going to survive the night. He would have killed you…”

Sweat trickled down David’s forehead and he swallowed hard as he stared at Sookie. A look of absolute fear was etched on his face as he looked into the eyes of death. He knew he was going to die, this woman who was half his size was going to kill him unless he gave her reason not to. Unfortunately for David, he had nothing to offer Sookie. She already knew everything.

“Please, I’ll do anything, just don’t kill me,” David pleaded in desperation.

“I might have been inclined to spare you if I hadn’t heard just what you were planning on doing,” Sookie replied, inching toward him. “You see, David, I heard every sick and twisted thing that ran through your mind. I know what you were planning on doing to me while you waited for him to come.”

“I wasn’t…” David began, but the rest of the words died on his lips when Sookie lunged forward and tore into his throat.

Blood spurted from the wound and Sookie moaned as she attached her lips to his throat feasting on his warm blood. The taste of fresh blood was heavenly to Sookie and she revelled in the feeling. Blood pooled in her mouth and spilled from her lips as she drained David dry. “Mmm,” Sookie moaned, licking her lips as she pulled back and let David’s dead body fall to the floor. “That was just what I needed.” 

Backing up a few paces, Sookie let out a sigh while she eyed David lying crumpled on the cubby floor. Getting rid of his body was a hassle she didn’t want right then. There was already too much she had to do, and the last thing she needed was to have to take a detour to dispose of a body.

Fucking Bill! I swear I’m going to rip his fucking head off for this. What the fuck was he thinking? Did he really think one human would be able to overpower and kidnap me? How was it possible for someone to be so fucking stupid? 

A growl tumbled from Sookie’s lips as she thought about her ex-boyfriend. She clenched and unclenched her fists while she fought the urge to storm over to Bill’s house and stake him during his day death. She couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he was thinking. She knew he wasn’t happy about being overthrown, but to hire a human to kidnap her so he could play the role of a knight in shining armor and rescue her was beyond ridiculous!

It’s like he forgets I’m a fucking telepath. Has Bill always been that stupid and I just didn’t see it because I was overdosed on his blood? How has no one killed him before now?

Sookie ran a hand through her tangled locks while she backed up and sat down on the end of the bed. Thanks to Bill and his stupid games, Sookie was forced to remain awake for the rest of the day. She couldn’t risk another human entering the house and trying to kidnap her. I really need to ask Eric how to secure the cubby.

As she waited for the sun to set, Sookie went over her plans, redesigning and replotted some of her strategizing. Finding and killing Russell Edgington remained at the top of the list, and, with Eric’s help, Sookie was confident that the insane vampire would meet the True Death sooner rather than later. Sookie had originally banked on Bill being a part of that fight. She had been planning on using him as bait, but his actions that day had shown Sookie of what she had already been aware. She couldn’t trust him, and if she couldn’t trust him, then he was of no use to her, and if he was of no use, then… 

Sorry, Bill, but you’ve outlived your usefulness, and signed your own death warrant.

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