The Northman Returns Part 5
Eric descended the stairs and headed for the kitchen. It had
taken all of Eric’s strength in that moment not to go to Sookie and take hold
of her and devour her lips in a long, deep kiss. He wanted her still and there
was no denying the affect she still had on him after all that had happened. He
had wanted to comfort her, but instead he had left Sookie to find her own
comfort in her bath and it ate at him. However,
Eric needed to take care of some personal issues that were pressing their way
into his mind, other than his feelings for Sookie.
Eric knew he needed to find resolve with Pam and Willa
and make sure that they were well aware of the changes that were taking place.
Eric was unsure of how his transformation would affect his progeny, either
physically or severe the bond he held over them as their maker. Eric knew he
had only one choice and that was to summon them. Willa would be easy, but Eric
had released Pam – so he was at the mercy of modern technology and he hoped she
would answer.
Eric picked up the portable phone Sookie had in the kitchen
and dialed the number he knew so well. He headed out to the front porch for
privacy. The phone rang once on the other end and Eric thought hard as to what
he needed to say to bring Pam home. It rang a second time and Eric began to
surmised that she could have been somewhere out of service range. It rang a
third time and Eric began to wonder if she wasn’t answering because Pam didn’t
recognize Sookie’s number. Suddenly, there was a click as someone answered.
In Pam’s typical emotionless drawl she asked, “What do you
want Blondie? I hope it is important and just so ya know, I won’t be turning any
more of your friends for you!”
Eric grinned and in his low sultry voice responded, “I for
one hope you won’t be adding any other progeny to our family, as I explained
before it is an eternal commitment longer and more difficult than any marriage…”
Before Eric could utter another word Pam blurted out
frantically, “Eric!...Damn it Eric you just left me! I thought we were supposed
to be a team.”
Eric took a deep breath and tried to answer with what he
knew he had to say, “Come home Pam…I…I’m sorry…” It had been more difficult than
he had expected to utter those words.
He could hear Pam choke up and he was sure that she was
weeping tears of blood on the other end of the phone call. She took a minute
before she answered her maker, “I assume from the number that I can find you at
Sookie’s house?” Pam paused and Eric could sense her anger growing and the
venom she held for Sookie came through loud and clear. “Jesus Christ Eric,
hasn’t that tart caused us enough trouble!”
Eric was impatient now and in response towards Pam’s dislike
of Sookie he growled and dropped his fangs, “Aggg…I have said my piece Pam! Is
that not enough for you?” Eric was able to calm down enough to add in hushed,
but forcible tone, “I need you with me now!” With that he hung up and hoped she
would follow his command. Eric had let her go and it was her choice now.
Eric had to regain control as he now had to summon Willa. He
concentrated, as he had spent so little time with Willa that he barely felt her.
Willa was a quick learner and she had been exemplary in getting to him and Nora
in the prison compound. He had been so proud of her during the chaos; she had
been cool and collected. With the very essence of his blood he summoned her.
Now, he had to wait and see who would come first.
It was little less than an hour and Eric sat waiting in the
shadows of the front porch. The sounds of rural Louisiana filled his ears again,
as he had become accustomed to the silence of the mountain top in Sweden. Crickets
chirped and an owl could be heard calling in the distance. Suddenly, he could
see the glint of movement as a vampire approached Sookie’s house. The vampire
slowed and walked cautiously to the house. It was Willa, who arrived first.
There was a moment of slight disappointment that Eric felt, but he could not
begin to phantom where Pam was at this moment.
“Eric…Northman? Are you here?” Willa said in hushed tones
afraid to wake the owners of the home. Eric noted her attempt to sense her
maker.
“I am here Willa.” Eric said revealing his spot in a darkened
corner of the large front porch.
Willa turned and faced the man that had changed her life
forever. She had wanted to become a vampire like her mother, but she also knew
that her transformation that night had been a part of Eric’s larger plan to take
down her father. She remembered feeling elation when she had risen out of the
grave with Eric and the incredulous sensation of feeding for the first time.
However, she had been hurt when Eric sent her home and her father sent her straight
to the prison compound to be experimented on like the others.
Willa was fixed in place on the gravel driveway, not knowing
whether to approach her maker or wait for his command. Eric made his way to her
and took in all of her and the scents she wore. She had feed not long ago, as a
drop of blood had remained behind on her jacket sleeve. It was not someone he
had smelled before. She had also adopted a more provocative dress than the blue
prison suit he had last seen her in.
Willa looked as attractive as he remembered and yet her face
haunted him in a way too. She had looked so similar to Nora in many ways, which
made it difficult not to feel a little pain when he looked upon her. Willa
definitely retained her level of confidence that Eric remembered from the
amusement park, as she stood firmly with boldness in her posture towards Eric. There
was a familiar scent Willa wore which Eric did recognize though, and that was
the smell of Tara. They had been together when he summoned her, he was certain
of that. The smell was still fresh.
“You’re looking well, Willa my dear,” Eric said with a
slight smile teasing the edges of his mouth.
She swallowed hard not knowing what Eric’s intentions were
and answering, “You…You just disappeared…and I needed you.”
“I think you did fine without me and from what I can tell,
you found a companion to grow your vampire skills with.” Eric inhaled deeply
and added, “How is Tara by the way?”
“She is doing just fucking fine Eric!” Tara’s voice carried
from the back door side of the house. “Thanks for asking!”
Tara moved quickly to Willa’s left side, but far enough out
of the way that Eric could not reach her right away. Tara still feared Eric, as
her elder, and knew she could not match his speed and strength.
“Aw, did you two become BFF’s while I was away?” Eric turned
to look at Tara who stood slightly defensive with her arms crossed.
“No, Eric we became survivors together,” Willa answered
coldly. “You missed the first attacks of the HEP-V infected vampires. Tara was
there for me, to learn from, and I comforted her when her maker disappeared - like
mine did.”
Eric could sense the pain both Tara and Willa wore like a
burden. Eric slid in front of Tara quickly where she had no choice but to look
him directly in the eyes. Tara was on the verge of fleeing when Eric lowered
his head in a bow to her, “Tara, you are truly a child honorable of my blood.
You do not know how much I owe you for taking care of Willa.”
It was so unexpected that it took Tara completely off guard
and she didn’t know what to say or do. Tara’s eyes were large and filled with
surprise and she stammered as she spoke, “Well…you can take responsibility for her
now…I guess.”
Eric slid quickly back to Willa where he took a deep breath
and leaned very close to her and very gently whispered to her, “I owe you an
apology Willa…as my child I should not have abandoned you in that way. I love
you very much…can you forgive me?”
Willa could not speak with the emotions that sweep through
her as her maker spoke to her. All she could do was stand there and shake her
head yes in acceptance of Eric’s apology.
Eric reached out and held Willa by the shoulders as he
brought her into his embrace. He put one hand on her cheek brushing the hair
away from her face and then kissed her forehead. Eric truly did care about
Willa like a father and very differently from Pam. Pam had forced her creation
on Eric, to avoid becoming old and die a prostitute in the streets of San
Francisco. With Willa it had been a moment of beauty in which Eric had wanted
to create her, as much as Willa had wanted to be a vampire. It had been mutual
and therefore he could feel that the bond was very different with her. It was
as if Eric had actually been able to transfer a bit of his wisdom and strength
to Willa in her making.
Eric released Willa and looking at both Tara and Willa
asked, “Do you know the whereabouts of Pam?”
Tara answered with a hint of bitterness, “I had hoped she
was with you. She shot out of here desperate to find your ass!”
“Well, I had hoped she would have stayed with you both, but that
was not the case. Unfortunately, I released her and therefore could not command
her to do so.” Eric said with a hint of regret.
It had been a tough decision to release Pam, but Eric had
known at the time that he was acting in the best interest of Pam and his
safety. He had hoped that Pam would be a good maker to Tara and guide her, like
he had guided Pam. But with Fangtasia seized and no real home any longer, Eric
surmised that Pam must have felt adrift and went in search for the one thing to
bring stability back to her existence and that would have been her maker.
“Did Pam leave you enough money to provide for your needs?”
Eric inquired.
“No, there has been no communication from her,” Willa
responded. Eric became slightly agitated by this revelation.
“Thank goodness for Sam giving us a place to stay!” Tara
said shaking her head.
“Yeah, Sam Merlotte gave us one of the cottages that had been
recently vacated by another vampire during the witch incident, in exchange for us providing
protection to the families that reside there,” Willa added.
“It isn’t a holiday living next to Hoyt’s mama either, let
me tell you!” Tara said shaking her head.
“Sam, the bar owner, provided you with a home?” Eric repeated back to them trying comprehend what they went through recently.
“He’s the mayor of Bon Temps now…” Willa began, but Tara
quickly interceded, “…and Willa’s boss!”
“Do you always finish each other’s statements like this?”
Eric was finding it interesting how close these two had become, but found it slightly annoying
as well.
“Tara does not agree with all of Sam’s vampire policies, but
it has been for everyone’s protection – vampire and human alike,” Willa
explained.
“OH, Sam has put rules in place…I see!” Eric grinned and
bobbed his head in understanding. “We’ll see about that.”
“Actually, Eric what Sam has done has saved a lot of lives,
both for Bon Temps and the vampires you freed,” Tara had to admit. “Things are
very different right now due to the virus.”
“Yes, the townspeople of Bon Temps now provide vampires with
their blood in exchange for protection. You can thank Bill Compton, for he had a hand in the arrangement as well.” Willa moved closer to her maker, Eric,
and in a tantalizing manner added, “We are fed and we in turn defend our food
source.”
“Well, I wish I could find the same pleasure in that bit of
information as you both do.” Eric knew he would have to reveal his secret soon,
as they would both suspect something odd in his refusal to feed on actual
humans, now that it was available to vampires so openly.
“Well, lookie here… if it isn’t a fucking Northman family
reunion!” The sound of Pam’s voice surprised all three, as none of them had
been aware of her arrival. Pam stood there with her hands on her waist, looking
pissed and defiantly at her former maker.
“Pamela, it took you long enough to get here…” Eric began,
but Pamela stopped him mid-speech, “...I just got back into town! You see, I lost
something dear to me and had to go looking for it.”
Eric darted towards her with the need to squash her
insubordination, but stopped short realizing she stood on equal ground with him
as a maker and with her deep knowledge of his tactics. He approached the last few
steps slowly and deliberately saying, “I was wrong to leave you…I have
apologize once and either you accept it or you don’t. We only move forwards
from here Pamela, do you understand?”
Pamela held her ground and someone could have cut the tension
with a knife, as Willa and Tara looked on. Finally, Pam gave in and her voice
cracked with the pain she felt, “Well…don’t ever do that again! I broke three
nails and ruined a perfectly good pair of heels searching first Shreveport, then
San Francisco, and finally that hell hole in Sweden for you. ”
“Now can we finally find out what the hell you
wanted us here for?” Tara piped in as she watched Eric and Pam come to a resolution
of their differences.
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