Just remember that death is not the end
And all that you held sacred
Falls down and does not bend
Just remember that death is not the end.
Bob Dylan- Death is not the end
There was a knock at the door. Len got up and went to the door. “It’s Bill and Eric.” I stood there, a paragon of indecision.
“Please,
let us in,” said Bill. He said this quietly, gently. I nodded and Len
threw the bolt and helped Eric in the house. “Thank you.” This was the
first time Bill had been in the house in a long time. Eric sat down on
the couch. His face was still smeared with his bloody tears and he was
speechless. Aolani brought a wet wash cloth and knelt in front of the
big Viking. I motioned for Bill to come over to the computer desks.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“It is all up to Sookie now,” he said. He looked slightly uncomfortable. “How are you and Renee?”
“We saw you, when you were outside the house, we saw you,” I said.
“I know, I just didn’t know what to say,” he said. “Aslinn…”
“Can we help you at all?” I asked.
“Can
you talk to Sookie for me?” he asked. I bit my lip. “I don’t think you
will have any more luck than me, but can you talk to her?”
“We’ll try Bill,” I said.
Minnie
was patting Eric’s shoulders and back as he sat there and let Aolani
wipe his face. “Eric honey, you were so brave, you were with her till
the very end, she died safe in your arms,” she said. “Everything that
could be done was done.”
“Not everything,” he growled. “Where is that mongrel?”
“Sookie has him,” said Minnie.
“I could almost say I hate Sookie Stackhouse,” he said. “Bill is asking Aslinn to go and talk to her.”
“And they will, we all will,” said Aolani.
“Cast whatever spells you ladies can, make her bring him back,” said Eric. “We are running out of time.”
“We
have some Tru:Blood Eric, can you drink some for us?” asked Renee. “It
is safe, we got this from Fangtasia before all hell broke loose.”
“I had better have some, thank you,” he said.
“Bill, do you want a Tru:Blood? It is clean,” said Renee.
“Thank
you sweetheart, I think I better,” he said. She walked into the kitchen
and grabbed two bottles out of the fridge and popped them in the
microwave. “This is good for Eric, being with you all. Aslinn…”
“Please Bill, not till it is over, okay?” I said. “When it is over, and we can count on you being you…”
“I am sorry,” he said.
“Just
don’t worry about us, just get Jess and Tara and Pam and Willa out,” I
said. “I love you Bill.” Bill opened his mouth as if to speak then shut
it. He nodded and Renee came up and handed him the Tru:Blood. He leaned
down and brushed his lips on hers and thanked her. Renee grabbed him
around the neck and he put his arms around her. I could hear him
muttering to her.
I went over to the other Vampire in the room.
Barrister got up and I sat down next to him. “I always end up here when I
lose someone,” he said. His mood ring eyes were rimmed red.
“It is because we are your family,” I said.
“I don’t want any more family if it hurts to lose them,” he said.
“Eric, hun, we need you to get ready,” said Aolani. “We need you to save the others.”
“How?” he asked.
“Something
will come up but you have to keep yourself up and be strong, maybe
stronger than you ever have been before,” said Aolani. “Would you let
us…bless you…and Bill?” Eric sat there and looked at Aolani. He cupped
her face and sighed.
“I don’t think it will do any good,” he said.
“Well, do it for us,” she said.
He stood, unwilling but still stood, and we pulled him into a circle.
Renee led Bill in. We joined hands. I guess there would be some who
would say this just a little too sweet and syrupy and reminiscent with
hippy encounter groups but these were our friends and we wanted them to
know even if they believed, half believed or didn’t believe at all, that
we loved them and we wanted only the best for them.
I waited for Aolani to begin but it was Minnie’s voice who began.
“I pray you are both safe and strong and you are protected as you go out there and fight for your friends,” she said.
“And I know what it is to lose a sister and the pain that you must have so I hope you find justice for her,” said Barrister.
“Fear nothing,” said Len. “And let your best intuition be your guide.”
“Open
Sookie’s heart to these two, she said once she loved you both, prove it
Sookie, help them save their friends and their progeny,” said Renee.
“Bring
them all back safe, and help us to know what to say to convince Sookie
they are her friends too and they, no matter what petty faults she finds
in them, are her friends and she once proclaimed her love to them,” I
said.
“I call upon Godric and Nora to walk with them and protect
them and be their guides,” said Aolani. “I call upon the energies of the
elements and earth and the hand of the creator to cradle them and guide
them, comfort and protect them and give them wisdom and bravery.”
We
unlinked our hands and we watched them. They hugged and kissed their
lovers, shook hands with the rest. Barrister gave Bill a look I could
only describe as confident and hopeful and then the Viking came to me.
“Be careful,” I said.
“I will try,” he said.
“I love you, you know, you are my best Vampire friend, I wouldn’t like it if you get hurt,” I said.
“I have more stories to tell you,” he said.
“You better believe it,” I said. “We’ll talk to Sookie.”
“I know you will do your best,” he said.
“Go on Eric, time is fleeting,” I said.
After
the Vampires left, there was a noticeable gloom in the house. You know
how you have a picture and over time, the color fades out? That is the
way the house felt. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.
“Let’s go, I am tired of fucking Sookie and her fairy vagina,” I said.
Aolani
still drives like her broom is on fire. We were in Bon Temps in record
time and we headed past Merlotte’s and went straight for her house. The
path to Bill’s house was dark. She was crossing the yard to the porch. I
got out with Aolani. The rest followed suit. The Vlad Squad.
“What now?” she asked. “Look, I don’t care what Bill wants you to say, this has to be my decision.”
“It is your decision,” said Aolani. “But we want to talk to you.”
“I am just a little worn out right now, in case you didn’t know it, but a friend of mine died,” she said.
“And
a lot more are gonna die…You know Sookie, if you are so fed up with
Vampires, why do you keep fucking them? Strike danger whore and just
call you a whore if you keep humping everything with fangs and then
conveniently deciding they are not really worth your friendship, love or
effort…You got Tara turned into a Vampire and you have the nerve to say
she isn’t your friend?” I asked. “How dare you.”
“So much for subtlety,” said Len.
“Yeah, but Eric would have enjoyed it,” said Barrister.
“I don’t think Bill would have minded it either,” said Renee.
“Why
don’t you guys help them if you love them so much?” she asked. “Aren’t
you tired of them pulling you around, dragging you through danger?”
“Well,
we are still here, and we are still trying to help them, and we think
the best way….” I stopped. “Never fucking mind, Sookie. Are you gonna
get Warlow or what? How do you think Jason would feel?”
“Careful,” said Barrister. I took a breath.
“Jessica
is Jason’s friend, and she is about to die. Don’t you care about him
and how he would feel if he knew you not only had Warlow but that you
fucked him and then denied Bill access to him to save her and the
others?” asked Aolani. “Help him Sookie…or I will tell Eric….”
“Tell him what?” she asked.
“Tell
him you don’t give a shit,” said Minnie. “You talk about how crappy
they treat you and how they deceive you and betray them and yet, what do
you do? You are doing the same thing if those Vampires die. Maybe Eric
doesn’t mean anything to you.”
“Go help him yourself if he means so much to you,” she said heading up to the porch.
“Where is your grandfather Sookie? Where is fucking Niall?” asked Renee.
“I don’t know, out there somewhere,” she said.
“Ask…” she began, but I grabbed her. “Go back to Warlow and ask him where Niall is and see what he says Sookie.”
“What do you know?” she asked.
“Ah
ah ah…that would be a favor. That would require you doing a favor for
us, which is a favor for Bill and Eric and all our friends,” I said.
“I wished I could just read your alls minds and get it out,” she said.
“Go
ask your lover Sookie…see if he would know the truth any better than
Bill and Eric,” said Aolani. “You may be surprised at what you hear…and
what you don’t hear. Then decide if Bill and Eric and the rest are worth
you keeping your lover du jour another day….”
“Fuck you, fuck all you all,” she said.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Resurrection
Here I am at the end I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again
We were looking out the window when we saw Bill in the daylight, standing there in front of the house. He looked at the building from the roof tops to the steps and he could see me and Renee looking out at him through the shot gun slits of the storm shutters we had pulled down.
"Bill," whispered Renee. He seemed to have heard her and raised his hand and then was gone from our sight, a blur that simply was there and then just wasn't. Tears were sliding down her face and I put my arm around her. Godric was right, The vision of Lilith turning her back on her faithful servant had worked a change in Bill. It was obvious something was happening. I went and sat down. I grabbed the cigarette box and pulled out one of the fragrant cigarettes Eric had for me and I lit one.
"I wish there was something we could do for Nora," said Aolani. "Like we did when they were poisoned with Death's Door."
"Death's Door was not a virus," I said. "Besides, Lilith was right."
"What?" asked Minnie.
"The Tyrant has Bill's daughter and the Blonde has the cure," I said. I hated Sookie at that moment. Right now she was bumping uglies with the solution to all Bill's problems, maybe the problems of Vampire Kind and I resented her like hell.
"Yeah, Danger Whore has mucked up the works," said Barrister, bringing me and Aolani a cup of coffee. "Danger Whore, is that like Danger Mouse?"
"She wishes," said Minnie.
"We need to get Ben back into this world," said Aolani. "If he throws off Lilith's influence, then he loses any influence he has over Ben. He can't invoke the power of the maker. Eric needs what Ben has and Ben has the biggest case of self loathing I have ever seen."
"Matched only by Jessica," I said. "That was brutal. At least James had enough moral fiber to tell those pricks to get stuffed."
"I hope something brutal happens to that Sarah Newlin," said Renee. "Imagine doing that to another human being."
"Well, she doesn't think Jessica is a person," said Len. He was sitting down, looking at the drawings of the new UV bullet gun and the drawings of the bullets themselves.
"Well, Ben hates Vampires, he will never allow his blood be used to cure one," said Aolani. "Which will send Eric over the edge if he can't cure Nora."
"Eric has lost so much," said Minnie.
"I think I figured out what Jason was injected with," I said.
"What?" asked Renee.
"A GPS chip," I said. "I looked at the screen caps. The injector gun didn't have a vial on it, like they used on Nora. They must have chipped him, like you do your pets. Now they may be able to track him."
"That is not good," said Barrister.
"If Willa can convince the other Vampires that they should not drink the Tru:Blood, then she will save them," said Renee.
"If, and that is big thing to ask of a hungry Vampire, they are starving," I said. I got up and went to the shelves. I grabbed a large book and tucked it under my arm. "I am going to do some reading."
"If you come up with anything, let us know," said Aolani.
I went into our room and sat the book on the bed. It was The Vampyrick Booke of the Dead, the real one and not that edited one that Vampire and I wrote for the public. This one showed how to resurrect a Vampire from the remains. I pulled out my phone and called Herbs Herbs, the witch shop we liked to shop at. "Herb, this is Aslinn, I need you do something for me."
"Of course sister," he said.
"Grab a paper and pen," I said.
"Okay, shoot," he said.
"I need about 30 pounds of natron," I began.
Contingency plans, I am all about them.
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again
We were looking out the window when we saw Bill in the daylight, standing there in front of the house. He looked at the building from the roof tops to the steps and he could see me and Renee looking out at him through the shot gun slits of the storm shutters we had pulled down.
"Bill," whispered Renee. He seemed to have heard her and raised his hand and then was gone from our sight, a blur that simply was there and then just wasn't. Tears were sliding down her face and I put my arm around her. Godric was right, The vision of Lilith turning her back on her faithful servant had worked a change in Bill. It was obvious something was happening. I went and sat down. I grabbed the cigarette box and pulled out one of the fragrant cigarettes Eric had for me and I lit one.
"I wish there was something we could do for Nora," said Aolani. "Like we did when they were poisoned with Death's Door."
"Death's Door was not a virus," I said. "Besides, Lilith was right."
"What?" asked Minnie.
"The Tyrant has Bill's daughter and the Blonde has the cure," I said. I hated Sookie at that moment. Right now she was bumping uglies with the solution to all Bill's problems, maybe the problems of Vampire Kind and I resented her like hell.
"Yeah, Danger Whore has mucked up the works," said Barrister, bringing me and Aolani a cup of coffee. "Danger Whore, is that like Danger Mouse?"
"She wishes," said Minnie.
"We need to get Ben back into this world," said Aolani. "If he throws off Lilith's influence, then he loses any influence he has over Ben. He can't invoke the power of the maker. Eric needs what Ben has and Ben has the biggest case of self loathing I have ever seen."
"Matched only by Jessica," I said. "That was brutal. At least James had enough moral fiber to tell those pricks to get stuffed."
"I hope something brutal happens to that Sarah Newlin," said Renee. "Imagine doing that to another human being."
"Well, she doesn't think Jessica is a person," said Len. He was sitting down, looking at the drawings of the new UV bullet gun and the drawings of the bullets themselves.
"Well, Ben hates Vampires, he will never allow his blood be used to cure one," said Aolani. "Which will send Eric over the edge if he can't cure Nora."
"Eric has lost so much," said Minnie.
"I think I figured out what Jason was injected with," I said.
"What?" asked Renee.
"A GPS chip," I said. "I looked at the screen caps. The injector gun didn't have a vial on it, like they used on Nora. They must have chipped him, like you do your pets. Now they may be able to track him."
"That is not good," said Barrister.
"If Willa can convince the other Vampires that they should not drink the Tru:Blood, then she will save them," said Renee.
"If, and that is big thing to ask of a hungry Vampire, they are starving," I said. I got up and went to the shelves. I grabbed a large book and tucked it under my arm. "I am going to do some reading."
"If you come up with anything, let us know," said Aolani.
I went into our room and sat the book on the bed. It was The Vampyrick Booke of the Dead, the real one and not that edited one that Vampire and I wrote for the public. This one showed how to resurrect a Vampire from the remains. I pulled out my phone and called Herbs Herbs, the witch shop we liked to shop at. "Herb, this is Aslinn, I need you do something for me."
"Of course sister," he said.
"Grab a paper and pen," I said.
"Okay, shoot," he said.
"I need about 30 pounds of natron," I began.
Contingency plans, I am all about them.
Friday, July 19, 2013
For the Dead are Free
We shall be happy, for the dead are free.
Sarah Teasdale- If Death is Kind
And just as suddenly as she appeared Tara was gone…
I was worried now. Eric and Pam were to face off and Bill was in a standoff with Lilith’s progeny and Sookie was being drowned by her father in the form of Lafayette. This was just too much.
The next day, we were at the house. We had had visitors in the night. The LAVTF had been there and they had gone through all the rooms and tried to turn over our shelves as they left, but Alcide Herveaux had made sure they were bolted down. They were mighty pissed they could not open our private room but they knew our house was for Vampire living as well as human living. I was glad we had the foresight to hide a few precious remaining boxes of Tru:Blood, they would have been confiscated as Burrell’s new initiative also included the confiscation of blood products in the hands of humans without a Dr.’s license. Same goes for our weapons, most of them were anti Vampire weapons for those unfortunate days when you absolutely, positively had to shoot a Vampire right now.
So we spent the larger part of our day cleaning up the mess. They muttered something about us being next and even said a few choice words about witches and we just shrugged. We had been there before. We were not on the Fellowship of the Sun’s good list. That didn’t matter; we were worried about our friends in their various predicaments.
I was sorting out some damaged books at the dining room table when Diantha popped in. And when she pops in, she really pops in, out of nowhere. “What the fuck happened here?”
“The LAVTF,” said Minnie. She was not one for cursing but every now and then you could hear her grumble about the situation. “They barged into our house and tore the place apart.”
“What were they looking for?” asked the demon, perching on the edge of the table.
“Vampires,” she said.
“And they thought you all had them hidden in these books?” asked Diantha.
“I guess,” I said. “Maybe they thought we turned them into handy dandy bookmarks.”
She watched me as I carefully taped a torn page with archivists tape and check the next pages and close the book and slide it into a box to be put back into the shelves. I picked up another book and there were boot prints all over it. I rolled my eyes. It was Eric’s copy of the Vampire Bible, the true one, not that bilge Bill had swallowed, but the true Vampire Bible. It was not my holy book, nor Eric’s either if the truth be told, but it was a precious addition to our collection and a gift to all of us from Eric and I hated the way it had been hurt. I grabbed a soft cotton cloth and a gum eraser and began to rub the thin paper carefully, getting most of dirt off and then repaired the pages that were ripped. I wished I could hide them in the pages of a book, but we were not allowed to interfere with this world. Diantha watched us as we all carefully cleaned and repaired the books and then helped us sort them back onto the shelves.
“So there is nothing you all can do to help Eric and them?” asked the demon.
“No, we can’t interfere. We have to stay out of it,” said Aolani.
“I think we should call on Niall, try to reach him in whatever dimension he is,” said Renee.
“Do you all feel up to it?” asked Aolani.
“That is all we can do. We have the LAVTF parked outside our door and we don’t have contact with our vampires,” said Renee. “I want to call Bill.”
“We can’t,” I said. “We don’t know how he will be with us, and we don’t know if we can trust him.”
“And that damned wolf is near about worthless,” said Minnie. She was of course talking about Alcide Herveaux. Eric had brought him into our little family a few seasons ago and he had been helpful in the past, but now, he is worthless, like Minnie said.
“Well, we will have to do it tonight. Let’s go on ahead and close our storm shutters and we can order in Poppa Wong’s and then we can do the ritual,” I said.
We got all our books back into the shelves and gave everything a good dusting and mopping and had showers and our suppers and we brought out the black sheet with all the symbols and signs on them and laid it out on the table and went through the process of lighting candles and setting out dishes of herbs and water and incense.
“Wait guys… maybe Niall is not what we need,” said Aolani.
“Who do you think we need?” I asked.
“Maybe who we need is Lilith herself,” said Aolani.
“But, isn’t she like a god?” asked Barrister.
“No, she is just another dead Vampire,” said Aolani. “And we have contacted dead Vampires before, why not her?”
“It could be dangerous,” I said.
“Not if we conjure another Vampire to sit with us,” said Aolani.
“Who? Lilith is the first freaking Vampire?” asked Renee.
“Godric,” said Aolani.
“But he is not nearly as old as she is,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Aolani. “He is an old Vampire and he would be more of a threat to her than a newborn Vampire who has died.”
“We will have to have a protective spells around us,” I said.
“Wait, you guys just have to conjure Lilith, right, she is the first Vampire but who says she is the oldest? She isn’t much different in age than Russell. She died in 3400 bc, that means she is only that old, she doesn’t get older after she was definitely dead,” said Minnie.
“This is true,” said Barrister.
“We will set up the protection spells and then we will begin calling out to Godric, talk to him first and see what his counsel will be and then we can call on Lilith with him with us,” said Aolani.
We held hands in a circle and we called upon the spirit of our brother Godric and invited him into our circle. We were not conjuring him and forcing his to appear, we were inviting him. It took awhile but finally the slightly glowing image of the young Vampire stood in our circle.
“My friends,” he said, smiling beatifically at us. “How can I help you?”
“Godric, we are calling on you for Eric, he and Nora are in big trouble,” said Minnie.
“He is indeed,” said Godric sadly. “And I know you have no influence in this world.”
“Godric, we were thinking of calling Lilith into a circle and asking her to talk to us,” said Aolani.
“Lilith cannot help you, she will not help you,” he said. “She is consumed with thoughts of revenge, but know this, our kind was never meant to walk in the day and that is the plan all along for her to make her progeny, the one who killed her.”
“Warlow,” I said.
“He has had many names,” said Godric. “But that name will do as well as any other. You must think of ways to separate your friend Bill from her influence, she is mad: Mad with revenge, mad with jealousy, mad with a hunger for power. No one can flout the design of the Maker of us all, we are all his instruments.”
“Eric does not believe in anything,” said Renee.
“You are wrong. Eric believes in himself. He is a strong man, a strong Vampire. His only weakness is he cannot navigate his feelings about being Vampire, with the renewal of his human feelings,” said Godric. “It is easy for him to love certain people, people he deems worthy of his company, but now he has to look at the world entire and deem their value. Eric says all the right things, that we were you at one time, but he forgets how easy it is to be Vampire and be strong and free, but humans are ruled with their thoughts and their emotions because you cannot bend iron in your fists or move with great speed. These emotions are as strong as a Vampire’s hands, but they confuse us. Bill is confused. He knows this Warlow, as you call him, can help him with the problem of the humans, but he is in danger of overlooking what he must do and what Lilith wants him to do. She is indeed a Godless God. But like all false gods, she can be exposed as a petty creature who uses their believers like you would use a rag to clear away filth and throw it way.” He looked around at the room. “Bill must decide to save our kind on his own, without her help. He must awaken to a possibility that she is not Vishnu, the Creator, but she is Shiva the Destroyer. She cannot be reasoned with and the only reason she is still among us is there are those who will serve her as her avatars. Once the believer has turned his back on her and forswears he will love her no more, then he will be free. Then he will save us.”
“How can we help him?” asked Aolani.
“You can’t. He will only stop believing and turn away when he realizes he has been her pawn. But Bill gives his heart away so easily. Strange in a Vampire. We are not known for our love,” he smiled. “He must exorcise this particular spirit from himself, only then will he see more clearly. Then my children will be free to go to him and help him. Eric and Nora were my children, I created them with love and admiration of them and I made them as strong as me, but they must learn about their own humanity. It will be painful and bloody, I fear.” He began to fade away. “Be well my friends. I wished I had known of you sooner, perhaps I would not have met the sun. Goodbye.”
And he faded from our sight.
Sarah Teasdale- If Death is Kind
And just as suddenly as she appeared Tara was gone…
I was worried now. Eric and Pam were to face off and Bill was in a standoff with Lilith’s progeny and Sookie was being drowned by her father in the form of Lafayette. This was just too much.
The next day, we were at the house. We had had visitors in the night. The LAVTF had been there and they had gone through all the rooms and tried to turn over our shelves as they left, but Alcide Herveaux had made sure they were bolted down. They were mighty pissed they could not open our private room but they knew our house was for Vampire living as well as human living. I was glad we had the foresight to hide a few precious remaining boxes of Tru:Blood, they would have been confiscated as Burrell’s new initiative also included the confiscation of blood products in the hands of humans without a Dr.’s license. Same goes for our weapons, most of them were anti Vampire weapons for those unfortunate days when you absolutely, positively had to shoot a Vampire right now.
So we spent the larger part of our day cleaning up the mess. They muttered something about us being next and even said a few choice words about witches and we just shrugged. We had been there before. We were not on the Fellowship of the Sun’s good list. That didn’t matter; we were worried about our friends in their various predicaments.
I was sorting out some damaged books at the dining room table when Diantha popped in. And when she pops in, she really pops in, out of nowhere. “What the fuck happened here?”
“The LAVTF,” said Minnie. She was not one for cursing but every now and then you could hear her grumble about the situation. “They barged into our house and tore the place apart.”
“What were they looking for?” asked the demon, perching on the edge of the table.
“Vampires,” she said.
“And they thought you all had them hidden in these books?” asked Diantha.
“I guess,” I said. “Maybe they thought we turned them into handy dandy bookmarks.”
She watched me as I carefully taped a torn page with archivists tape and check the next pages and close the book and slide it into a box to be put back into the shelves. I picked up another book and there were boot prints all over it. I rolled my eyes. It was Eric’s copy of the Vampire Bible, the true one, not that bilge Bill had swallowed, but the true Vampire Bible. It was not my holy book, nor Eric’s either if the truth be told, but it was a precious addition to our collection and a gift to all of us from Eric and I hated the way it had been hurt. I grabbed a soft cotton cloth and a gum eraser and began to rub the thin paper carefully, getting most of dirt off and then repaired the pages that were ripped. I wished I could hide them in the pages of a book, but we were not allowed to interfere with this world. Diantha watched us as we all carefully cleaned and repaired the books and then helped us sort them back onto the shelves.
“So there is nothing you all can do to help Eric and them?” asked the demon.
“No, we can’t interfere. We have to stay out of it,” said Aolani.
“I think we should call on Niall, try to reach him in whatever dimension he is,” said Renee.
“Do you all feel up to it?” asked Aolani.
“That is all we can do. We have the LAVTF parked outside our door and we don’t have contact with our vampires,” said Renee. “I want to call Bill.”
“We can’t,” I said. “We don’t know how he will be with us, and we don’t know if we can trust him.”
“And that damned wolf is near about worthless,” said Minnie. She was of course talking about Alcide Herveaux. Eric had brought him into our little family a few seasons ago and he had been helpful in the past, but now, he is worthless, like Minnie said.
“Well, we will have to do it tonight. Let’s go on ahead and close our storm shutters and we can order in Poppa Wong’s and then we can do the ritual,” I said.
We got all our books back into the shelves and gave everything a good dusting and mopping and had showers and our suppers and we brought out the black sheet with all the symbols and signs on them and laid it out on the table and went through the process of lighting candles and setting out dishes of herbs and water and incense.
“Wait guys… maybe Niall is not what we need,” said Aolani.
“Who do you think we need?” I asked.
“Maybe who we need is Lilith herself,” said Aolani.
“But, isn’t she like a god?” asked Barrister.
“No, she is just another dead Vampire,” said Aolani. “And we have contacted dead Vampires before, why not her?”
“It could be dangerous,” I said.
“Not if we conjure another Vampire to sit with us,” said Aolani.
“Who? Lilith is the first freaking Vampire?” asked Renee.
“Godric,” said Aolani.
“But he is not nearly as old as she is,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Aolani. “He is an old Vampire and he would be more of a threat to her than a newborn Vampire who has died.”
“We will have to have a protective spells around us,” I said.
“Wait, you guys just have to conjure Lilith, right, she is the first Vampire but who says she is the oldest? She isn’t much different in age than Russell. She died in 3400 bc, that means she is only that old, she doesn’t get older after she was definitely dead,” said Minnie.
“This is true,” said Barrister.
“We will set up the protection spells and then we will begin calling out to Godric, talk to him first and see what his counsel will be and then we can call on Lilith with him with us,” said Aolani.
We held hands in a circle and we called upon the spirit of our brother Godric and invited him into our circle. We were not conjuring him and forcing his to appear, we were inviting him. It took awhile but finally the slightly glowing image of the young Vampire stood in our circle.
“My friends,” he said, smiling beatifically at us. “How can I help you?”
“Godric, we are calling on you for Eric, he and Nora are in big trouble,” said Minnie.
“He is indeed,” said Godric sadly. “And I know you have no influence in this world.”
“Godric, we were thinking of calling Lilith into a circle and asking her to talk to us,” said Aolani.
“Lilith cannot help you, she will not help you,” he said. “She is consumed with thoughts of revenge, but know this, our kind was never meant to walk in the day and that is the plan all along for her to make her progeny, the one who killed her.”
“Warlow,” I said.
“He has had many names,” said Godric. “But that name will do as well as any other. You must think of ways to separate your friend Bill from her influence, she is mad: Mad with revenge, mad with jealousy, mad with a hunger for power. No one can flout the design of the Maker of us all, we are all his instruments.”
“Eric does not believe in anything,” said Renee.
“You are wrong. Eric believes in himself. He is a strong man, a strong Vampire. His only weakness is he cannot navigate his feelings about being Vampire, with the renewal of his human feelings,” said Godric. “It is easy for him to love certain people, people he deems worthy of his company, but now he has to look at the world entire and deem their value. Eric says all the right things, that we were you at one time, but he forgets how easy it is to be Vampire and be strong and free, but humans are ruled with their thoughts and their emotions because you cannot bend iron in your fists or move with great speed. These emotions are as strong as a Vampire’s hands, but they confuse us. Bill is confused. He knows this Warlow, as you call him, can help him with the problem of the humans, but he is in danger of overlooking what he must do and what Lilith wants him to do. She is indeed a Godless God. But like all false gods, she can be exposed as a petty creature who uses their believers like you would use a rag to clear away filth and throw it way.” He looked around at the room. “Bill must decide to save our kind on his own, without her help. He must awaken to a possibility that she is not Vishnu, the Creator, but she is Shiva the Destroyer. She cannot be reasoned with and the only reason she is still among us is there are those who will serve her as her avatars. Once the believer has turned his back on her and forswears he will love her no more, then he will be free. Then he will save us.”
“How can we help him?” asked Aolani.
“You can’t. He will only stop believing and turn away when he realizes he has been her pawn. But Bill gives his heart away so easily. Strange in a Vampire. We are not known for our love,” he smiled. “He must exorcise this particular spirit from himself, only then will he see more clearly. Then my children will be free to go to him and help him. Eric and Nora were my children, I created them with love and admiration of them and I made them as strong as me, but they must learn about their own humanity. It will be painful and bloody, I fear.” He began to fade away. “Be well my friends. I wished I had known of you sooner, perhaps I would not have met the sun. Goodbye.”
And he faded from our sight.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
The Way I feel under your Command
C'mon now, try n' understand
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand, as the sun descends
They can't hurt ya now, can't hurt ya now, can't hurt ya now...
Because the Night- 10,000 Maniacs
I liked going to Eric’s house. We woke to a message from Eric to meet him there, that he had to talk to us. We were a little flummoxed. Eric did not know much about what was happening in Bon Temps and I wondered if we should tell him about Pam and Nora or let Tara tell him. Of course if we told him too soon, he would just race off into the night and we would not know what he wanted to talk to us about.
I pulled my car up to the house and Sean and Renee got out and Aolani and Len and Minnie got out of her car. Aolani asked Minnie if she had her key handy and Minnie showed her the key, she already had hers out. Minnie let us in and we slid out of our shoes and spread out. “Do you all want something to drink?” I asked.
“I’ll get it,” said Minnie.
“Just bring the bottle, dearest,” said Eric, stepping out into the living room, pulling on a shirt. He’d just had a shower. “How are all my friends and allies?”
“How are you?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“A little thirsty, but otherwise I am fine,” he said. “I am getting ready to hunt, so we don’t have much time.”
“So, Willa,” said Barrister.
“What of Willa?” asked Eric.
“Why did you turn her?” asked Barrister. Minnie brought the bottle of wine and Eric took the bottle and removed the cork and Renee brought out the wine glasses. Eric poured the wine and we sat down. Eric sprawled out in a big overstuffed chair.
“What are the chances that her father will not put her in the camp? I have a Vampire homing device in my little Willa,” he said.
“So you were just blowing smoke up her ass when you told her she deserved to be a Vampire?” asked Renee.
“Maybe,” he said, looking thoughtful. “Maybe not, I have not decided. If she is taken to the camp, then I know where the atrocities are being carried out.”
“And what if you find them, what will you do? Will you be able to get her and all your little fangy brethren and sisteren out the camp and to safety?” asked Len.
“Perhaps, can I count on you to take some of them in?” he asked.
“Is that safe?” asked Barrister. “After all, they will be injured and we only have so much Tru:Blood on hand.”
“This is true and there are no familiar Vampires in there I know of,” said Eric. I did not even risk a glance at my friends because we knew differently. Eric would see us glance at one another. “So how are things doing with Bill and Sookie?”
“Just peachy,” said Aolani. “Bill is still being an enormous butthole and Sookie is not making the smartest decisions, but she is holding her own.” Eric looked away.
“Sookie has made her decision, she chose none of the above,” said Eric.
“Sam is in hot water, he has that daughter of the shifter who died at the AVL and Alcide is dead set on getting her back and he is making fast enemies with his second in command,” said Len. “I would not be surprised if she challenged Alcide to the pack.”
“Not of interest to me,” said Eric.
“Me either,” said Renee. Eric stood up and grabbed his coat. He kissed Aolani and Minnie and headed for the door.
“Minnie, lover, lock up the house. You are more than welcome to stay, I won’t be back tonight,” he said.
“Be careful out there Viking,” I said. “The night is dark and full of terrors.” He grinned.
“The dead travel fast,” he said and was gone.
“Should we have told him about Pam and Nora?” asked Renee. I shrugged.
“We can’t interfere with the goings on of this world,” I said. “But I wonder…”
“Wonder what?” asked Barrister.
“I wonder if we can talk to Niall?” I asked.
“Maybe,” said Aolani. “We could back to the house and set up that diagram and send for his spirit, anyway.”
“A Vampire Faery,” I said. “I think we should talk to him.”
The drive back to the house was a little uncomfortable. The Caddo Parish police where on the road, along with that LA VTS, or whatever that was, and we were well known to be friends of the fang. Our House was just that, the fact we had light tight rooms for our fangy friends was no one’s business. Yet, I cursed when the blue and red wick wack lights bloomed in my rear view window and I pulled over into the parking lot of the local Grabbit Quick. I took out my little bill fold with my license and registration and insurance. The police officer was the same law officer who pulled over Bill and Sookie.
“Yes officer?” I asked. “Is there a problem?”
“We are just doing random stops in the area. Are familiar with a Vampire bar around here, Fangtasia?” he asked, shining a flash light on us. It was a bit warm and I knew this was a UV light.
“We used to go there for the music,” I said.
“For the music,” he said.
“Yeah, we used to know the Vampire who owned it, but he isn’t there anymore and we don’t really visit it anymore,” I said.
“And no one will either,” he said smugly. “You knew the owner?”
“Just to nod at him, we liked the music and the dancing and he had a great selection of imported beer,” I said.
“Just to nod at him. Sure you didn’t know him better?” he asked.
“Not really,” I said. “Anything else officer?”
“You all be real careful now,” he said, handing me back my license and registration and insurance.
“You too,” I said.
I rolled up my window and we headed out. Aolani and Minnie and Len were already there. We walked in.
“What did he want?” asked Aolani.
“He just wanted to sniff us, he ran an UV light over us to see if any of us were Vampires and he asked about Eric and Fangtasia.” I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottled water.
“What did you tell him?” asked Minnie.
“I said we used to go to Fangtasia and we were familiar with the owner, just nodding terms, and we hadn’t been there in a long while, which is the truth,” I said. I went into the magik room and grabbed some candles and our sheet painted with the magikal doorway. When I came back, I looked up.
“Tara? What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she said.
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand, as the sun descends
They can't hurt ya now, can't hurt ya now, can't hurt ya now...
Because the Night- 10,000 Maniacs
I liked going to Eric’s house. We woke to a message from Eric to meet him there, that he had to talk to us. We were a little flummoxed. Eric did not know much about what was happening in Bon Temps and I wondered if we should tell him about Pam and Nora or let Tara tell him. Of course if we told him too soon, he would just race off into the night and we would not know what he wanted to talk to us about.
I pulled my car up to the house and Sean and Renee got out and Aolani and Len and Minnie got out of her car. Aolani asked Minnie if she had her key handy and Minnie showed her the key, she already had hers out. Minnie let us in and we slid out of our shoes and spread out. “Do you all want something to drink?” I asked.
“I’ll get it,” said Minnie.
“Just bring the bottle, dearest,” said Eric, stepping out into the living room, pulling on a shirt. He’d just had a shower. “How are all my friends and allies?”
“How are you?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“A little thirsty, but otherwise I am fine,” he said. “I am getting ready to hunt, so we don’t have much time.”
“So, Willa,” said Barrister.
“What of Willa?” asked Eric.
“Why did you turn her?” asked Barrister. Minnie brought the bottle of wine and Eric took the bottle and removed the cork and Renee brought out the wine glasses. Eric poured the wine and we sat down. Eric sprawled out in a big overstuffed chair.
“What are the chances that her father will not put her in the camp? I have a Vampire homing device in my little Willa,” he said.
“So you were just blowing smoke up her ass when you told her she deserved to be a Vampire?” asked Renee.
“Maybe,” he said, looking thoughtful. “Maybe not, I have not decided. If she is taken to the camp, then I know where the atrocities are being carried out.”
“And what if you find them, what will you do? Will you be able to get her and all your little fangy brethren and sisteren out the camp and to safety?” asked Len.
“Perhaps, can I count on you to take some of them in?” he asked.
“Is that safe?” asked Barrister. “After all, they will be injured and we only have so much Tru:Blood on hand.”
“This is true and there are no familiar Vampires in there I know of,” said Eric. I did not even risk a glance at my friends because we knew differently. Eric would see us glance at one another. “So how are things doing with Bill and Sookie?”
“Just peachy,” said Aolani. “Bill is still being an enormous butthole and Sookie is not making the smartest decisions, but she is holding her own.” Eric looked away.
“Sookie has made her decision, she chose none of the above,” said Eric.
“Sam is in hot water, he has that daughter of the shifter who died at the AVL and Alcide is dead set on getting her back and he is making fast enemies with his second in command,” said Len. “I would not be surprised if she challenged Alcide to the pack.”
“Not of interest to me,” said Eric.
“Me either,” said Renee. Eric stood up and grabbed his coat. He kissed Aolani and Minnie and headed for the door.
“Minnie, lover, lock up the house. You are more than welcome to stay, I won’t be back tonight,” he said.
“Be careful out there Viking,” I said. “The night is dark and full of terrors.” He grinned.
“The dead travel fast,” he said and was gone.
“Should we have told him about Pam and Nora?” asked Renee. I shrugged.
“We can’t interfere with the goings on of this world,” I said. “But I wonder…”
“Wonder what?” asked Barrister.
“I wonder if we can talk to Niall?” I asked.
“Maybe,” said Aolani. “We could back to the house and set up that diagram and send for his spirit, anyway.”
“A Vampire Faery,” I said. “I think we should talk to him.”
The drive back to the house was a little uncomfortable. The Caddo Parish police where on the road, along with that LA VTS, or whatever that was, and we were well known to be friends of the fang. Our House was just that, the fact we had light tight rooms for our fangy friends was no one’s business. Yet, I cursed when the blue and red wick wack lights bloomed in my rear view window and I pulled over into the parking lot of the local Grabbit Quick. I took out my little bill fold with my license and registration and insurance. The police officer was the same law officer who pulled over Bill and Sookie.
“Yes officer?” I asked. “Is there a problem?”
“We are just doing random stops in the area. Are familiar with a Vampire bar around here, Fangtasia?” he asked, shining a flash light on us. It was a bit warm and I knew this was a UV light.
“We used to go there for the music,” I said.
“For the music,” he said.
“Yeah, we used to know the Vampire who owned it, but he isn’t there anymore and we don’t really visit it anymore,” I said.
“And no one will either,” he said smugly. “You knew the owner?”
“Just to nod at him, we liked the music and the dancing and he had a great selection of imported beer,” I said.
“Just to nod at him. Sure you didn’t know him better?” he asked.
“Not really,” I said. “Anything else officer?”
“You all be real careful now,” he said, handing me back my license and registration and insurance.
“You too,” I said.
I rolled up my window and we headed out. Aolani and Minnie and Len were already there. We walked in.
“What did he want?” asked Aolani.
“He just wanted to sniff us, he ran an UV light over us to see if any of us were Vampires and he asked about Eric and Fangtasia.” I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottled water.
“What did you tell him?” asked Minnie.
“I said we used to go to Fangtasia and we were familiar with the owner, just nodding terms, and we hadn’t been there in a long while, which is the truth,” I said. I went into the magik room and grabbed some candles and our sheet painted with the magikal doorway. When I came back, I looked up.
“Tara? What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she said.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Gaze on the sunburst
The smoke begins to rise
A sea of staring eyes
Gaze on the sunburst
Bob Seger- Bring On the Night
We were in the livingroom of the house, having drinks and chatting. The tone of the tale unfolding before us was more complex than any we had seen for a while, and I was more than worried as I sat back with my wine glass and wondered how our Vampires were fairing.
“So, Bill can’t daywalk,” said Barrister.
“Apparently not,” said Aolani. “When he is in the transcendental state in the alternate reality, he cannot seem to grasp what is real for him in one world and not real in our reality.”
“So he does not know what is real?” asked Len, seeking clarification.
“He understands what is real in whatever reality he is in, he just doesn’t know when it translates from world to world,” said Aolani. That seemed clarification enough for me, but Len just shrugged.
“There was a method to his madness, though, he had to find out if he could day walk. Then the solution was right in front of him, he could just siphon off his blood and give it to his friends and allies in his world and they would be protected too,” I said.
“But did he have to have his ass completely in the wind? Couldn’t he have just stuck his big toe out to test it?” asked Renee. I nodded.
“But he was so sure, he had faith he could do it. She said to trust what he saw,” I said. “But when he wasn’t immune he went to Sookie, the only other creature he had ever drunk from that allowed him to be in the sun for any amount of time.”
“She had that coming, but still he was a little rough on her,” said Aolani. “The best he could have done was at least ask her some questions and explain what the trouble is.”
“Sookie is just done with him,” said Barrister.
“Bill might have been rough with her, but he could have done worse,” said Renee. We all nodded, we knew he could have just forced her, but he didn’t. Maybe that meant there was some hope.
“He was sort of a scary prick though,” I said. Barrister looked at me. “Well, he was. I’m not taking up for Sookie, but now he is sniffing Andy’s faerie children.”
“Yeah, this will not get Bill invited to the Bellefleur family reunion anytime soon,” said Minnie. Aolani filled my wine glass again. “And then the law is abusing their extended powers. You know they know something weird is going with Alcide and the pack.”
“That boy has got to be the sorriest excuse for a pack master ever,” said Len, a werewolf himself with the Moon Singer pack. “Everyone in the community is talking about it.”
“Is this because he didn’t snack on JB when he beat him?” asked Minnie.
“Maybe,” said Len. “And what the hell was Eric Northman thinking when he stole Willa Burrell?”
“I don’t think he was thinking much at all,” I said. “And Eric needs to give Ginger a mercy shag, maybe she would calm down a little and not scream so much.”
“Nah, she would scream,” said Barrister. “She’s a screamer.” I punched him on the arm and he made a face at me.
“Well, it was stupid for him to leave the phone around so anyone could pick it up and answer it,” said Aolani.
“And then Tara ran off with Willa,” said Minnie. “Wonder where she will take her?”
“Well, they could take her to Sookie’s. Eric’s cubby is sort of a dungeon,” I said. “She might take her to Lafayette, she probably thinks Sookie or LaLa owe her one.”
“Who are those Vampire Unity people and why aren’t there Vampires running around with them?” asked Renee. “And why are they fooling around with shifters and weres”
“I am with Sam, they should steer clear of them people,” said Aolani.
“What’s wrong with Jason?” asked Barrister, motioning for a cigarette. “It seems like either Niall’s moving from world to world, or the presence of Vampires is causing the hamster to change directions on the wheel.”
“I could not say, but I put money on it being Niall,” said Len.
“Mine too,” said Aolani.
“I believe it is Vampires,” said Barrister.
“I do too,” I said.
“Renee, you and Minnie want to be the tie breakers?” asked Len. They looked at each other and shrugged. “A three way tie, a definite who the hell knows.”
“Not us,” I said.
“Amen,” said Aolani.
A sea of staring eyes
Gaze on the sunburst
Bob Seger- Bring On the Night
We were in the livingroom of the house, having drinks and chatting. The tone of the tale unfolding before us was more complex than any we had seen for a while, and I was more than worried as I sat back with my wine glass and wondered how our Vampires were fairing.
“So, Bill can’t daywalk,” said Barrister.
“Apparently not,” said Aolani. “When he is in the transcendental state in the alternate reality, he cannot seem to grasp what is real for him in one world and not real in our reality.”
“So he does not know what is real?” asked Len, seeking clarification.
“He understands what is real in whatever reality he is in, he just doesn’t know when it translates from world to world,” said Aolani. That seemed clarification enough for me, but Len just shrugged.
“There was a method to his madness, though, he had to find out if he could day walk. Then the solution was right in front of him, he could just siphon off his blood and give it to his friends and allies in his world and they would be protected too,” I said.
“But did he have to have his ass completely in the wind? Couldn’t he have just stuck his big toe out to test it?” asked Renee. I nodded.
“But he was so sure, he had faith he could do it. She said to trust what he saw,” I said. “But when he wasn’t immune he went to Sookie, the only other creature he had ever drunk from that allowed him to be in the sun for any amount of time.”
“She had that coming, but still he was a little rough on her,” said Aolani. “The best he could have done was at least ask her some questions and explain what the trouble is.”
“Sookie is just done with him,” said Barrister.
“Bill might have been rough with her, but he could have done worse,” said Renee. We all nodded, we knew he could have just forced her, but he didn’t. Maybe that meant there was some hope.
“He was sort of a scary prick though,” I said. Barrister looked at me. “Well, he was. I’m not taking up for Sookie, but now he is sniffing Andy’s faerie children.”
“Yeah, this will not get Bill invited to the Bellefleur family reunion anytime soon,” said Minnie. Aolani filled my wine glass again. “And then the law is abusing their extended powers. You know they know something weird is going with Alcide and the pack.”
“That boy has got to be the sorriest excuse for a pack master ever,” said Len, a werewolf himself with the Moon Singer pack. “Everyone in the community is talking about it.”
“Is this because he didn’t snack on JB when he beat him?” asked Minnie.
“Maybe,” said Len. “And what the hell was Eric Northman thinking when he stole Willa Burrell?”
“I don’t think he was thinking much at all,” I said. “And Eric needs to give Ginger a mercy shag, maybe she would calm down a little and not scream so much.”
“Nah, she would scream,” said Barrister. “She’s a screamer.” I punched him on the arm and he made a face at me.
“Well, it was stupid for him to leave the phone around so anyone could pick it up and answer it,” said Aolani.
“And then Tara ran off with Willa,” said Minnie. “Wonder where she will take her?”
“Well, they could take her to Sookie’s. Eric’s cubby is sort of a dungeon,” I said. “She might take her to Lafayette, she probably thinks Sookie or LaLa owe her one.”
“Who are those Vampire Unity people and why aren’t there Vampires running around with them?” asked Renee. “And why are they fooling around with shifters and weres”
“I am with Sam, they should steer clear of them people,” said Aolani.
“What’s wrong with Jason?” asked Barrister, motioning for a cigarette. “It seems like either Niall’s moving from world to world, or the presence of Vampires is causing the hamster to change directions on the wheel.”
“I could not say, but I put money on it being Niall,” said Len.
“Mine too,” said Aolani.
“I believe it is Vampires,” said Barrister.
“I do too,” I said.
“Renee, you and Minnie want to be the tie breakers?” asked Len. They looked at each other and shrugged. “A three way tie, a definite who the hell knows.”
“Not us,” I said.
“Amen,” said Aolani.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)