chapter forty-

four

               

Rachel mentally compared Desmond with his brother. Where Desmond was dark and short and stocky, Simon had a reddish blond hair and he was taller and leaner. He had a sort of accent she could not place and he was wearing a better cut suit. She sat up and gave him her full attention. He began to speak.

                “Ancient Pythoness, Filipe De Castro is innocent of the charges against him. He is the victim of jealous vampire monarchs who resent his power and his extensive kingdoms. He is a victim of greedy regents who wish to overthrow their king and rule the kingdoms as they see fit, without answering to their king,” began Maimonides.

                “Please get on with it, this is not the time for your summation,” said the Ancient Pythoness. “Begin your questions.”

               

                At first the questions were on track. He asked Eric about his marriage, how he came to be in the marriage and what happened to his maker.  “My maker died before I even knew about his arranged marriage of me to Freyda Larson of Oklahoma.”

                “Who killed your maker?” asked Maimonides.

                “A fae named Colman who was the mate of the fairy Claudine. She has gone to the Summerland,” said Eric.

                “And what happened to this very…useful fairy who managed to kill a vampire some two thousand years old?” asked the lawyer.

                “The fairy Dermot threw a dagger into his back and I drained him,” said Eric, nonchalantly.

                “And where is the fairy Dermot?” asked Maimonides.

                “He has gone back to Faery, with the rest of the Fae in North America,” said Eric.

                “That is convenient,” said the lawyer.

                “It is neither convenient or inconvenient, “ said Eric. “Even if they were still in America, no fae would come to this gathering because of who they are.”

                “Tell me about the marriage arrangement,” said the lawyer.

                “My maker made a cash deal for Freyda to marry me, simple as that,” said Eric. “It was a common practice among older vampires to arrange marriages for their children that were advantageous.”

                “And you did marry her?” asked Maimonides.

                “Yes,” he said.

                “And then you murdered her,” said the lawyer.

                “I gave her the true death, in exchange, De Castro could have the kingdom of Oklahoma,” said Eric, his lips turning up a little on the edges in a smile.

                “That is not what I asked you,” he said. “Did you murder your queen/wife?”

                “Yes,” he said.

                “And then, where did you go?” he asked.

                “I went home to Louisiana,” said Eric.

                “And then what?” he asked.

                “I turned my attention to rebuilding my business,” said Eric.

                “You just simply went home?” he asked.

                “No, not simply,” said Eric.

                “Want to give further details about that?” asked the lawyer.

                “I escaped from Oklahoma, with the help of Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse,” he said.

                “You escaped though your king had you in custody for killing Freyda Larson,” he said. Eric said nothing. “Well?”

                “Well what?” asked Eric.

                “Did you escape your king’s custody?” asked the lawyer.

                “Yes,” he said.

                “And then what?” asked the lawyer.

                “I went back to work, I went back to my bar, and I made contact with the other sheriffs. As we did not have a regent and I was the eldest sheriff in our kingdom, I filled the breach and went to work settling some of the things that were happening with criminal elements among our kind, V sellers and vampires selling the kiss and instances of extortion above and beyond the tributes we paid to our king,” said Eric.

                “And you want us to believe you paid the tributes?” asked the lawyer.

                “It is the truth, I have the financial records to prove it,” said Eric.

                “Now, I want to talk about your illegal activities,” said Simon.

                “Very well, talk about them,” said Eric.

                Rachel sat up straight and opened the book she had on her lap. This was where she would be busy. Simon seemed to be collecting his thoughts. “According to public record, you were accused of selling vampire blood,” said the lawyer. Rachel turned to the parts in the book where vampire blood was mentioned. She typed in “From the book” in the chat room.

                “Objection,” said Desmond. “What public record does he speak of?”

                “This is a personal account, Ancient Pythoness,” said De Castro’s mouth piece. “Given on the promise of ‘anonymity’.”

                “Did you actually collect the account yourself?” asked the Pythoness.

                “No,” said Simon.

                “And is the account from a vampire?” asked the Pythoness.

                “No, it is from a human part fae, a hybrid, a dying declaration,” said Simon.

               

                Rachel typed in: Video recording? Audio recording?
                “Was there any sort of record you made of this dying declaration?” asked Desmond.

                “No, none,” said the lawyer.

                “Then it is hearsay,” said Cataliades. “Inadmissible.”

                “This is true,” said the Ancient Pythoness. “Without some sort of true record of the dying declaration of the human fae, this testimony is worthless.”

                “Your honor, the dying declaration was made by Sookie Stackhouse to a human journalist, this is the only record of her account of the nefarious actions of  Eric Northman in Louisiana while he acted as a regent of Louisiana,” said Simon.

                “Then her testimony is not admissible,” said the Pythoness. “Had she been alive she would have been able to testify since she is not wholly human.”

                Rachel typed in: The book came out after Eric returned to the state but before he was made Regent.

                “Pythoness, the book Mr. Maimonides is referencing was published before I became the regent of Louisiana,” said Eric.

                “Then the book has no relevance, move on Mr. Maimonides,” said the Pythoness.

                “To what do you attribute your success?” asked the lawyer.

                “I like money, I like acquiring it and the level of comfort I can enjoy through the acquisition of wealth. I run a very successful tourist bar and employ both humans and vampires. I own property and have several businesses on them,” said Eric. “We never wavered in our tributes to King Felipe De Castro, in fact, if there was an area which was coming up short, I would make up the rest by cutting into my cut of the tribute as sheriff and I would send the money along. My accountant, Maxwell Lee, would deposit the funds and send his majesty the tribute.”

                “Even though you were going behind the King’s back and conspiring against him?” asked Simon.

                “I was never conspiring against my king, I was cleaning up the area. I was made Regent on Samhain and I began to ruthlessly to curb illegal activity giving vampires the true death. I killed or had killed a lot of vampires who were breaking time honored rules. I would do the same if I had it to do over again.”

                “And did you work in coordination with other kingdoms to do this…house cleaning?” asked Simon.

                “I was approached by vampires who were having trouble with rogue vampires who were coming into other kingdoms. They asked what they could do and I told them what I intended to do. If they followed my lead, it was up to them,” said Eric.

                “So you had a Valentine’s Day style massacre. Where were you Regent Northman?” asked Simon.

                “I was with my wife at the Myrtle’s Plantation,” said Eric.

                “And your second in command, Bill Compton?”

                “I took my wife to dinner and later we went dancing,” said Bill. “Traditional Valentine’s Day activities.”

                “So neither of you were involved in the death of a human, the human Sheriff of Bon Temps?” asked Simon.

                “No, we were not. Sheriff Dearborn’s death was an…unfortunate accident,” said Eric. He looked at De Castro.

                “You look amused,” said Simon.

                “Do I?” he asked.

                “You do,” said Simon.

                “I was not the Sheriff’s favorite vampire,” said Eric. “And he was not my favorite human law enforcement officer.”

                “What was the purpose of the meeting you had with your sheriff’s in Baton Rouge?” asked Simon.

                “I was having a meeting that any Regent or even had I not been Regent, any ranking vampire sheriff, would have had to discuss problems the other sheriffs were having in their areas and to strategize how they might be able to help one another,” said Eric.

                “When you killed your queen/wife, what did you seek to get out of it?” asked Simon.

                “I sought only my freedom,” said Eric.

                “And did you hold King Filipe De Castro responsible for your predicament?” asked the lawyer.

                “I may have some, since he was my king and I was trying desperately not to be married to Freyda. She was not chosen by me to be my spouse, I did not care for her, I did not seek her as an ally,” said Eric. “I was already married by vampire law.”

                “You were married by vampire ritual of the exchange of the knife to Sookie Stackhouse, were you not?” asked Simon.

                “Yes,” said Eric.

                “And were you still married to her when you married Freyda of Oklahoma?” asked Simon.

                “No, I had set Sookie aside. By law my royal wife would take precedence over my human wife. Look, you are going to question me in circles. I was in love with Sookie Stackhouse, she was my wife in every way I thought was important. We also had a blood bond, which was so profound I was still bound to her, though she was no longer bound to me. I tried to get out of marrying Freyda by every legal means possible. I was bound by my maker, a promise written in the form of a contract, which is sitting there on the table in front of you. I wanted to be free of my maker’s promise, but I was bound to follow through with it and I did. It was my queen who made the marriage untenable, not me,” said Eric. “Freyda called Filipe De Castro into our marital problems. It was he and I who discussed this problem in my car that night a few weeks before I killed her. We decided that if I managed to kill her, all I would take out of her kingdom was myself, that De Castro could have her kingdom,  though Oklahoma is mine by reason of conquest.”

                “His story is quite different,” said Simon.

                “No doubt,” said Eric, his lips turning up in a slight smile.

                “Did you have contact with Sookie Stackhouse?” asked Simon.

                “While I was with Freyda, no I did not,” he said.

                “Why?” he asked.

                “Because she threatened Sookie’s life, so I did not have any contact with Sookie. If you will look at the wedding contract, Mr. Cataliades wrote a clause which clearly asks that Freyda leave Sookie, her property or friends alone as long as I did not have contact with her, either personally or through my minions. I was no longer married to her and she was no longer mine but I did not want anything to happen to her.”

                “And then you gave Sookie to Bill Compton,” said Simon.

                “Yes, this was to keep her safe. If Sookie did not have a vampire protector, she would be in the open and she would be in danger of being taken by any vampire,” said Eric. “It was the only way I could actually protect her after I was gone.”

                “And then you married this human,” said Simon. “Skyller Rae Faulconer, teacher. Is she well to do Mr. Northman?”

                “Well to do? She has access to my wealth…but did she come to the marriage with financial wealth? No,” said Eric. “But she brought something that was far more precious.”

                “But she has become a real money making scheme hasn’t she?” asked Simon.

                “Has she?” asked Eric.

                “Her Tolerance Center, don’t you get a piece of that? She brings in quite a bit of money through gifts and grants,” said Simon.

                “No, in fact, I bought the building the center is housed in and I have paid for the redecoration of the center, and I paid for a computer system and computers for the two natured offices, not to mention the expense of security,” said Eric. “Actually, the center costs me money, Maxwell Lee can give you the figures.”

                “That is all Pythoness,” said Simon. Everyone looked at each other amazed…What was going on? Bill looked at Eric and then back at the girls. Mr. Cataliades stood up.

                “While I certainly have no complaint, if this is all that constitutes the complaint of Filipe De Castro, we may as well ask for a decision of the judges and a judgment by you, Ancient Pythoness,” he said.

                “I am inclined to agree with you,” said the Ancient Pythoness. “I have been called to listen to an absolute case of disregard for the common good,  and most of all for no regard to our position among human society. Filipe De Castro, I will consult with my fellow judges, but I can assure you the law will deal with you heavily.” The Ancient Pythoness stood. She pointed her bony thin finger at the sullen monarch without waver, as if she was sighted. “You drive a wedge between vampires and humanity, who we all pledged to work with, within the laws of human society and they have allowed us to police our own.  You…”

                The Ancient Pythoness stopped speaking and Eric turned to look at her. He began to stand and Sky put her hand on Eric’s shoulder as she stared unbelieving at the Ancient Pythoness. Bill stood up and made to move toward the Pythoness, but Rachel grabbed his hand. Everything was in slow motion. The blade vibrated in the Ancient Pythoness’ chest. Pam and Heidi turned to see who threw it and saw Christian Baruch standing there. They flew toward Baruch despite Eric’s shout to stay there. Bill moved to stand by Rachel and Sky. He pulled Sky back and Rachel put her arms around her waist. Pam and Heidi pulled Christian Baruch up to the front of the room. Eric sped with vampire speed to the stage and grabbed the stake. The only thing that stopped him from killing Christian was Quinn the weretiger. Eric screamed in a way Sky had never heard him scream. Tears of anger and fury slid down his pale white face. Endora Goode stood up.

                “Place Mr. Northman in protective custody in his suite with his wife. Filipe De Castro is to be remanded in the Stocks until we can have a trial for conspiracy, along with Christian Baruch. This session is ended. I need to speak to my fellow judges.” Endora Goode and her fellow judges left the conference room and two big vampires from Endora’s kingdom took hold of Filipe De Castro. Eric pulled himself away from Quinn and Quinn let him go, his hands up high to show he was not interested in holding him any longer. Eric went to Sky and pulled her out of Rachel’s arms and held her to him. She patted him and held him to her. She pulled away and looked at him. He looked at her and then turned to look at the remains of the Ancient Pythoness. Her ladies were kneeling all around her and crying over the ash that was their mistress. All that remained was the greyish ash of her flesh and the purple silk they had dressed her in for her trial. Eric let go of Sky and knelt down beside them. He spoke to them in some other language Sky thought might have been Greek. They shook their head and when he stood up, Sky looked at him.

                “They will take care of her remains and take her ashes back to Delphi. I need to call Thalia, she will want to know,” said Eric.

                “Why would Thalia want to know?” asked Sky.

                “She was the Oracle’s great great granddaughter,” said Eric. “That is how she came to be in Shreveport.” Sky did not understand that, but she figured that would be a story that she would hear one time or another. The two Britlingen stood there still. Eric looked at them. “How did Baruch get past you?”

                “We simply did not plan for a more straight forward attack,” they said, shocked.

                “Well, you can return to your dimension now,” he said. “And I want my money back. I suppose your bosses will not be pleased.” Batanya looked Clovach.

                “No they will not,” said Batanya.  And with that they disappeared.          

                “Come lover, let’s go,” said Eric.

                Eric lay his head back and Sky cupped her hands and wet his golden mane and felt her fingers go through his hair and she cupped her hands over and over again until his hair was wet. She then put some shampoo in her hands and began to massage it into his hair. “Tell me more about Thalia. How did she come to be in your kingdom?”

                “She came to me about six years before we came out of the coffin. She had a difficult life as a vampire. She was not living a life of privilege though she was the great great grand daughter of the Pythoness.  As a human she was sold into slavery during a time of famine and was used as a whore by the man who bought her. When she was turned by a vampire who abandoned her, she was still used as a whore by a vampire who did fancy her. His tastes ran to very young girls and she would be eternally young. She murdered her master and she went on the run. She was quite unmanageable. She finally made it to  America but was censured many times. No one wanted to give the true death to the great great grand daughter of the Pythoness.  When we began to talk about coming out of the coffin, there was talk she would have to be put down. She was infamous for her bad behavior. I offered her a place in my Area. She knew I would ask nothing of her in a sexual way, and I would ask for one thing, and that is for her to behave herself, not to kill anyone and to work for me in my bar,” said Eric. “She felt safe.”

                “You are a good man,” she said.

                “A man?” he asked, looking at her.

                “Well, you may be a vampire, but you are also a man, a noble man,” she said. She scrubbed his scalp with her fingernails and he groaned.

                “That feels lovely,” he said. She washed his long hair and rinsed it out, taking her time. She piled up his hair on the top of his head and wrapped a towel around his head like a turban and then pushed him forward. She made soap in the wash cloth and began washing his back. He moaned again in pleasure.

                “Can you feel that?” she asked.

                “I can,” he said. “It feels so good to have your hands on me. You soothe me.”

                “Are you afraid?” she asked.

                “No dearest, I am not afraid. I think they will be definitely be on my side,” said Eric.

                “It was so scary. When I heard you scream, I was so afraid that something was happening to you, something I could not see. I did not know you felt so deeply about the Pythoness.”

                “When I was first set free by my maker, I went to see her, to see what my future held. She told me that I would find a woman who would represent the world to me. I thought it was Sookie, but it wasn’t. It was you,” he said. “She confirmed it for me when I began contacting her about the trial. It simply never dawned on me that Filipe De Castro would have done this, had I known, I would have simply killed him myself when we tricked him into coming to Bon Temps.”

                “You know, you have that lawyer, Hugo Ayres, you should ask him if he knew something about it,” said Sky.

                “I beg your pardon?” he asked, turning to look at her.

                “Hugo Ayres. He was De Castro’s lawyer too,” said Sky.

                “You are a genius,” he said, he pulled her into the tub with him and kissed her. “Smart women make me horny.”

                “Oh yeah?” she asked. He nodded and pulled her around in the tub on his lap and kissed her hard.

                Bill kissed Rachel slowly and longingly and ran his hand down her body. She parted her legs for him and he slid into her gently. He held still for a moment and looked into her eyes. He kissed her again and slowly slid back and then forward again. “I love you,” he moaned. He thrust into her again and she pulled him tighter to her. She flexed her hips against him and he moved with her. They were slow like this for a long time, thrusting slowly against each other, she meeting each move he made. When they came together, he held her close. “I love you,” he repeated.

“I love you too, Bill,” she said, pulling him down against her, holding him tight.

               

                The next afternoon, Sky extricated herself from Eric’s hold. He had made love to her in the bath and then in bed right after. He had been frantic, almost fearful. All she could do was hold him tight and let him lose himself inside her. He had always said she was his sun, his safe place. When he came with a shout, she pulled him down to lie beside her and she began to relax him, sending him her warmth… sending him her human self. Suddenly he felt his eyes drooping and the warmth spreading through him and his heart…rather her heart…beating inside him and he breathed deeply and closed his eyes and felt himself float away with Sky’s soul deep inside him, holding him on the inside, her warm body holding him on the outside.

                Sky and Rachel met in Sky’s suite and ordered breakfast. They ate and tried to make sense of what had happened. Sky told Rachel Thalia’s story and she simply shook her head. “No wonder she is such a pleasant vampire,” said Rachel.

                “No wonder she is so loyal to Eric,” said Sky. “I often wondered why Thalia liked Eric and did as he told her when she was so disagreeable. You would think she would nothing to do with any man, but she respects Eric.”

                “Well, someone might be able to accuse Eric of many things and they might even be right, but one thing Eric has never been accused of is hurting a woman, at least, not like that,” said Rachel. “I mean, I don’t know him real well, but even Bill says that Eric doesn’t…do that.”

                “He does?” asked Sky.

                “Well, you remember the night he flew away with you?” asked Rachel. Sky nodded. “I asked Bill if there was a reason to worry, and he said no, there was no reason to worry. I mean, if Bill would say that, then it must be something that is well known about Eric, that he doesn’t hurt women like that.”

               

                The Stocks were exactly what they sounded like. They were a sort of jail in the Puritan concept of it. De Castro and Christian Baruch would be in a light tight room and they would be secured in a structure very much like the old fashioned stocks of the olden days, the days of the witch trials in Salem except these stocks were made to cause the vampires the most pain discomfort as possible. There was no way to get comfortable. The collars and cuffs of the stocks were lined in sterling silver. Rumors had it Paul Revere, the silversmith and warning system extraordinaire was the one who crafted the silver inserts for the stocks for Endora Goode just before the American Revolution.

                They would be brought from the stocks to the court of Endora Goode. The court was a stately old building that once was the trade and auction house of the Puritans. The Puritans, it was said, also had their executions here in bad weather. Some of the 19 people hung in the Salem Witch Hunts met the true death here.  Some of the rumors were Endora Goode met her first death here and was buried in the relatively soft soil here. It was a bit bizarre this would be the place the Vampire Queen of Massachusetts would have her court. Sky and Rachel also learned how the Massachusetts Vampires called themselves covens instead of areas and their sheriffs were called Covenors and there was a court system called the High Jury.

   This would be a longish drive for them, about three hours, but the only ones who would actually be there would be Bill and Eric and the girls and the judges and the monarchs who had been allied to both sides. Overnight, a loyalty shift had occurred and there were more monarchs on Eric and Bill’s side by default. There was a new arrival as well. The vampire Thalia Onassis,  the fierce vampire Eric had taken into his area before vampires were more than a scary story or a romantic figure in books and films. Sky and Rachel did not know what that meant, but they were fascinated that she had come. There they would discuss what had happened and what would happen to De Castro and Baruch.  Frankly, Sky and Rachel hoped it was something ugly and painful.

                After they conferred with Des, they ordered lunch and had it brought up. They ate and continued to read the book Des had compiled over her long relationship with Salome Agrippa. It was just as fascinating as Sky’s textbook. It talked about the details that governed vampire life and they learned a lot about how vampires had governed themselves before they came out of the coffin. Sky could see why this book would not be a good thing in the hands of human governments.

                Finally the sun went down and they dressed and went down and had supper with Bill and Eric. They left them for a few minutes and came back with Hugo Ayers. He blinked and seemed to shudder when there was a loud noise. This was the result of being held in a silver coffin for some days and he looked peaked. Hugo Ayers said there was nothing he could tell them about the Ancient Pythoness. They never mentioned doing something to her. After he had a couple of TrueBloods he was hustled into an SUV and Rachel and Sky got into a car with Bill and Eric. Eric was driving and Bill and Rachel sat in back. Eric briefed them on the proceedings.

                “Eric, why did Thalia come up here?” asked Rachel.

                “She will take the Ancient Pythoness’ remains back to Delphi and then she will be installed as the Pythoness. Not the Ancient Pythoness, perhaps in another two thousand years they will call her that, but for now she will just be the Pythoness,” said Eric.

                “Is that a good thing for her to be?” asked Sky.

                “It is a very good thing for her to be. Thalia might be a disagreeable vampire but she is very shrewd. She will take on the mantle of her responsibility and she will be taught the law and cared for exclusively by women,” said Eric.

                “You would think that as a vampire, she would be more…confident…” said Rachel.

                “She was confident, too confident,” said Eric. “She is guilty of killing over 600 men, all pimps and rapists and other male garbage. That is why they sent her to me.”

                They finally made it to the court of Endora Goode. They parked and Heidi and Palomino and Pam and India brought out Hugo Ayres. He looked scared for a vampire. They pushed him toward the old stone building. It was something straight out of a Nathaniel Hawthorne story. Rachel could not help looking around for Hester Prynne and Rev. Dimmsdale. Bill put his arms around her and squeezed her she looked up at him.

                The interior of the courthouse was dimly lit. There were benches like for an old fashioned church attached to the stone floor of the building. There were lights all around the room, dimly lit sconces. The front of the room looked even more like an old Puritan church. There was an elevated platform and at the right hand of the platform was a higher raised dais and there was a heavy throne there with four smaller chairs flanking the throne. The raised area was lit with heavy pewter candelabras.

                Russell and Bart were there, along with most of the other kings and queens. The only monarch who was not there was Isaiah Boone. His second, a capable Kentucky boy from Hazard County named Whitley McCoy, went up to Eric. “My king has gone home to Kentucky. But I am here as his official proxy. Don’t worry Regent Northman, I am firmly on your side, this is an incredible night, last night was such a shock.”

                “Thank you Whitley, I will not forget your friendship, you or your King’s,” said Eric. Red Rita was there, talking to Phoebe Golden and her husband Samuel.  The guards brought both De Castro and Baruch. Stan Davis went to stand with Eric and Bill.

                “Girls, won’t you join me and Barty on these very uncomfortable benches,” suggested Russell.

                “Go and have a seat sweetheart,” said Bill. Rachel and Sky and went and sat down in the front aisle and Bart and Russell sat down in the benches behind them.

                “Don’t you worry about your men, they will have their say, but at this time, there is no way these two will get away with what they have done,” said Russell.

                Suddenly, there was a low murmur. Rachel and Sky and Russell and Barty and every vampire turned to see what had caused the ripple of curious attention. Thalia came in, flanked by the vampire Amazons, the official guardians of the Ancient Pythoness. Between them was the diminutive Thalia, dressed in white and purple. She was a fierce but beautiful thing now that she was dressed in the robes of the Pythoness. Her long hair was loose and flowing down her back and her black eyes were large and liquid as she looked forward. She took a seat on the center benches in the center of the front bench and the guards sat around her, two flanking her and the third behind her. Everyone looked at her and then returned to their discussions in hushed voices.

                “Looks like Thalia has been installed as the Pythoness,” said Barty. Russell nodded.

                “A new age. I have never known a time without the Ancient Pythoness. Perhaps it is a good thing, only time will tell,” said Russell.

                Finally, Endora and four of her Covenors came in and sat down in the throne.  All the judges that had been involved with the trial sat down on the left hand side benches, taking up the front row.  Quinn stepped up and called the room to order. Everyone sat up in attention for the trial. Sky was holding her breath. In a room full of vampires with only a couple of humans, the lack of sound was punctuated by their breathing, which sounded loud, rude, almost. Eric leaned over. “Breathe dearest,” he said. Sky looked at him and slowly let out her breath and he squeezed her hand gently.

                “This formal court has been convened for local jurisdiction since there has been a murder in the kingdom of Massachusetts. I want to dispense with the original charges and ask our jury to make their judgment concerning the charges of Eric Northman and Rita Morgan. Judges, what do you say?”

                “We find the former king of Nevada, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, guilty of sedition against his fellow monarchs and we further find him guilty of breaking the mine rule, by kidnapping and threatening bodily harm to the human wives of Northman and Compton. We further find him guilty of breaching the agreement we, the monarchs of the Amun Territories, signed with the human governments by inciting activities which contravene the Mainstreaming Agreement signed by all of us at the North American Convention prior to our Great Revelation,” said Stephen Soren, the king of Ohio. “We recommend the true death for Filipe De Castro and by right of conquest, the titles of the kingdoms that once belonged to him will be turned over to Eric Northman to rule or distribute as he sees fit.”

                “Thank you King Stephen of Ohio,” said Endora Goode. “Now that we have discarded of the matter, we can now look at the matter at hand. There is no question of guilt here, we witnessed the cold blooded murder of the Ancient Pythoness. Felipe De Castro is obviously the guilty party here. Do you have anything to say on your behalf?”

                “I have been set up by an insidious, vicious group of jealous Regents who no longer wished to follow the commands of their monarch, led by Eric Northman who will now be the singular king of Nevada, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. He murdered his queen/wife  and he deprived our people of the services of a helpful human to our world. He has done everything he can to set me up and ruin my rulership of these kingdoms,” said De Castro. Sky shook her head and rolled her eyes over the gall of Filipe De Castro.

                “Why did you cause the murder of the Ancient Pythoness?” asked Endora.

                “The Ancient Pythoness was unduly influenced. I happen to know she had conversed not only with Northman and Compton but their blood bags,” said De Castro. “I knew she would not be fair in the trial as the final word of the trial. I had no other recourse but to kill her.”

                Endora sat back. She conversed silently with her Covenors. The Pythoness turned to speak with her guards. Sky and Rachel looked at one another.  Bill and Eric looked at them and then each other.

                “Regent Northman, please stand up,” said Endora. Eric stood up.  “Do you have anything to say about the death of your queen/wife?”

                “I have nothing more to say on the subject of my queen/wife. I did give her the true death, but for no other reason but to secure my freedom. If I must have some sort of punishment, so be it,” said Eric.

                “No Eric,” said Sky.

                “Be still lover,” said Eric. “I must put myself before the court.”

                “No, Eric, no,” she said.

                “Regent Northman, your human wife will still herself or she will be taken from these proceedings,” said Endora Goode.

                “Sky, you have to be still dearest,” said Eric. Sky bit her lip and sat back on the bench. Russell leaned forward and put his cool hand on her shoulder.

                “We will discuss this situation,” said Endora. “There are extenuating circumstances. Your explanation of this situation does not negate your guilt, Filipe De Castro. It is the decision of this court you be given the true death, along with your accomplice.”

                The two vampires began to babble wildly. Quinn produced the ornate stake. One of the Covenors stepped down and approached Quinn. Eric watched the two. Suddenly he shouted and his voice was choked off. He staggered backwards and sat down. The stake was deeply imbedded in his shoulder. Huge gouts of blood was coming out around the stake.  Sky screamed. Bill moved over to Eric.

                “He isn’t staked, but when I remove the stake, he will bleed very fast,” said Bill.

                “It hurts,” said Eric, squeezing his eyes shut. Sky began to push up her sweater sleeve.

                “Remove it, and I’ll give him blood,” said Sky.

                “I might drain you,” said Eric. “Just get it out and I will heal and put me in my coffin.”

                “No Eric,” said Sky, brushing his hair back. “You’ll bleed to death before you heal.”

                “And I can’t give you blood if I take your blood to heal, you will be drained too far,” he said, his voice trembling.

                “I can’t let you die,” she said, crying.

                “Take her blood Eric and I will give her only enough of my blood to keep her alive until she can be taken to the hospital,” offered Bill.

                “Please Eric,” said Sky.

                “Do it,” he said, tears sliding over his cheeks. Bill nodded at Sky. She put her wrist up to Eric’s mouth and Bill put his hands on the stake. He nodded at Sky and she pushed her wrist into Eric’s mouth. He dropped fang and they sunk into her wrist and he began to drink. Bill let him drink a few seconds and then pulled the stake out his shoulder. The blood gushed for a minute and then slowed and stopped. Bill pulled his sweater away and the hole was healing. Sky held his hand and squeezed it. He continued to drink and she went pale. She swayed a little in her seat and Rachel steadied her. Eric kept drinking. Bill gripped Eric.

                “Enough Eric,” he said.

                “No,” said Sky weakly. “Let him drink a little more.” She fainted and Bill shouted at Eric.

                “Eric, that’s enough, she has passed out!” Eric tore his mouth away. Bill went over and grabbed Sky and picked her up and sat down, putting her on his lap. Bill bit into his wrist and pressed his arm on her mouth. Rachel opened Sky’s mouth and Bill worked his arm to put blood into her. When the wounds healed, Bill opened them again and Sky finally began to move around. “Let’s get her to the hospital. Russell, would you get Eric somewhere safe where he can sleep?”

                “Of course,” said Russell.

“Take Rachel with you, Pam, you and Heidi, go with them,” said Bill. He stood up with  Sky’s body in his arms and took off to the car. Red Rita followed him out.

“Come on Rachel honey, we have to take care of Eric,” said Russell. He came around and grabbed Eric and picked him up. Rachel hurried along behind them.

“Take Regent Northman to my house,” said Endora.

“Where do you live?” asked Russell.

“At the old Salem Church,” she said. “I will call ahead to make sure he is prepared with a coffin and live blood meals till he is well.”

“What about those two?” asked Rachel.

“I will take care of them,” said Thalia. “Take care of Eric.”