| FORTY-EIGHT |
AN EVIL SPIRIT

Eira ran into Fangtasia as she called out, "Pam!"

"You don't have to yell," Pam said with annoyance as she suddenly appeared in front of Eira.

"Where is Eric?" she asked, a bit out of breath.

"That's what she wants to know," Tara inputted as she sniffed. "Man, now I see why you have so many vamps always after you."

"Uh, thanks," Eira said quickly. "So Eric isn't back?"

"No," Pam sighed.

"Well, where is this Authority?" Eira questioned.

"I'm not sure. I've never been there," Pam replied before she saw the desperate look on Eira. "But why do you want to find him so bad now? You haven't been around in more than a week."

Eira hesitated. She knew if she told Pam what she said to Eric that Pam would be livid. Also, Eira felt quite guilty over it and didn't wish to feel it even more so she lied.

"I just...." Eira sputtered. "I just need to see him, Pam. He's been gone too long."

"And he'll probably be gone forever," a vampire she hadn't seen before appeared with a smirk. "But I'll keep you company."

"Who are you?" she analyzed the man. He had long black hair and blue eyes. He was looking at her like she was a meal.

"Oh, no," Pam muttered.

"Your new sheriff, baby," he smirked. "And your old one isn't here to save you."

His fangs dropped and he vamp sped at her. Eira flung him backwards with the wind before pinning him to the wall with magic as she glared at him.

"Pity your maker isn't here to save you," Eira commented as she thought of him burning. Her birthmark glowed as his skin started to smoke and char.

"Holy fucking shit," Tara said in awe.

His skin started to melt until he exploded. Blood and guts went everywhere but Eira was still angry.

"You would feel it if Eric died, wouldn't you?" Eira asked as angry tears fell down her face.

"No," Pam said sadly.

Eira huffed before Pam put an arm around her to steer her to the door, "Come on. You need to go. The Authority will search for whoever did this."

"Good," Eira clenched her jaw. "Let them. I'll murder them all."

If Eric was dead...It would be suicide for all of them. But, no. He couldn't be. He couldn't.

"Eira, go home," Pam said. "Eric will come to you. He always does. He won't let anything stop him from seeing you again."

Eira felt the breath leave her lungs because Eric would not fight to get back to her. Because he believed that she didn't want him. He could very well not care if he died. He could not care.

And once she drove away, she started to cry.

_____

Once it was daylight, she went to Merlotte's because she was starving. Lafayette brought her food to her table.

"Sugar, you don't look so happy?" he analyzed her.

"I'm not," Eira said in a deadpan staring off into space.

"I heard you ditched that vampire," he commented with a small grin that Eira didn't see.

Tears slipped down her face, "I didn't want to."

Lafayette frowned as he analyzed Eira. She could sense that the curse was broken. See, Lafayette was not Lafayette but rather possessed by a witch.

"Well, try to enjoy this, sweet thing," Lafayette said, patting her back, before walking away.

Lafayette didn't go back to the kitchen but went outside. He went to the car Eira drove. And a curse was placed upon it.

          _____

        Eira left Merlotte's and on a long road, her car started to go out of control. It sped up to the top speed and the brakes didn't work as the car headed towards a pole.

    So Eira jumped out of the car just before her car smashed into the pole. She rolled on the ground before she stopped and was left with scrapes and bruises. She looked at her car and the whole front was completely demolished.

Eira stumbled to her feet looking at the car that had gone crazy. She had decided it was karma for saying all that she did to Eric. She decided she deserved it before she started to walk home. It wasn't far but by the time she reached it, she was exhausted.

Well, she was exhausted and sad and just over life itself. So she dug around in her kitchen cabinets until she found alcohol.

She wanted to be numb to her pain so she started to chug from the full bottle. She had decided that even if the Authority let Eric go, he had no reason to come back. He'd probably avoid being anywhere near her which included the whole the damn state. If he wasn't dead, he could be anywhere. How could she ever find him? So all day she wallowed in her own despair.

______

Eric had been allowed to leave with Nora to go on a glamouring campaign. Once he did, he had gotten word from Sookie that Russell had threatened her and made her tell him the location of Eira. So now he knew nothing was stopping Russell from heading for Eira. Eric killed his guards and flew off with Nora.

Russell arrived at the location he was told with Steve Newlin. He saw through the window to the living room that Eira was asleep.

"Doesn't she smell delicious?" Russell sniffed the air.

"Yeah," Steve said in a daze as he smelt the scent. "But how are we going to get inside?"

"We won't need to," Russell laughed as he thought of goading her into a rage about Eric. "She'll come to us."

Russell stepped forward towards the house but as soon as he did, he was taken by surprise. Eric had vamp sped and Russell now lay on the ground beneath him with a stake in his heart.

Russell looked down at the stake in his chest, "Oh, fuck."

Then he exploded.

Steve looked terrified and went to flee but was staked in the back by Nora. Eric looked down at the bloody mess, "Well, that felt even better than I thought it would."

Eric straightened as Nora sniffed, "What...what is that smell?"

Eric immediately reacted and vamp sped before pinning Nora to a tree by her throat, "She is not food, Nora. You'll leave her be."

"But..."

"No," he commanded. "Swear to me."

"I swear."

"On Godric."

"I swear on Godric!"

And he released Nora. She swallowed as he turned, glancing at the window where he caught a glimpse of her. He allowed himself to gaze at her for a moment.

Nora watched him do so curiously. As long as she knew him, no one had ever held the attention of Eric for longer than a couple of hours. Even she, an immortal, back in her first decade of her new life hadn't even been able to hold his attention for longer than a night. But Eric looked at the girl like he'd be content to gaze at her forever.

"This Eira...she's very beautiful," Nora commented, analyzing him for his reaction.

"You will not speak of her," Eric commanded in a harsh tone. "Ever."

Eric did not want to talk about Eira. Ever. It was far too painful. He didn't even want so much as an utter of her name for forever because with just her name he felt like a dagger pierced his chest. He glanced at Eira one last time, sleeping peacefully without him before he turned and started to leave.

"She's to be left alone," Eric said quietly as a lone red tear slid down his face.

_____

When Eira blinked her eyes open, a face was peering down at her. She quickly startled as she realized it was her friend.

"Lafayette?" Eira questioned.

"You survived the car," he tsked as he stood before her with a stiff back. "You just keep surviving, you dreadful girl."

Eira stared at him in bewilderment before she questioned, "Marnie?"

"Guess again."

Eira felt like her blood ran cold as she recognized the perfect posture. The folded hands in front of the body. Her grandmother.

"Velma," she realized.

Lafayette smiled creepily, "I've been lingering here since Halloween. This friend of yours has been very susceptible to my...communication. It took a little work but now his vessel is mine."

"You cursed me," Eira said.

"Yes," Lafayette smirked. "I wanted you to suffer before...I possessed your body."

"You can't do magic here," Eira stated.

Lafayette flicked his finger upwards and the couch was sent sailing backwards along with her. She landed on the ground with a thud.

"You think I couldn't break that spell around the house," Lafayette walked slowly towards her like she was prey. "Now, when I take your body, granddaughter, do you think your precious vampire will just let me kill him? He wouldn't want to chance hurting you."

Eira clenched her jaw at the thought of her even touching Eric. She flung her hands out as she screamed in frustration. She willed with all her might that her spirit would be flung out of the body of Lafayette just like her mother had done to Marnie.

And it worked.

Lafayette crumbled to the ground but Velma now stood. She had an angry expression, "I've changed my mind. Instead of killing your precious vampire, I'll let him watch as you die and then I'll kill him."

Eira glared at her with hate. Her jaw was clenched as she thought about if she could send her spirit back to wherever it came from.

"You want my power," Eira spit out. "You can have it..."

Her birthmark glowed as she thought of Velma turning to ash, to nothing, "Burn in Hell."

Fire erupted on the spirit of her grandmother. It started from the outside and spread towards the center. As it went, that part of her spirit turned black smoke before disappearing entirely.

"No!" Velma screamed as her form started to flicker.

Then Velma uttered one last curse before the fire made her completely disintegrate into black smoke. And then the smoke was gone. Velma was gone.

But Eira winced as a fresh red cut appeared on her hand. It was on her palm in between her thumb and forefinger. It was in the shape of an x.

"Eira, oh fuck," Lafayette stumbled over to her. "I'm so sorry. I've been trying to get this bitch to leave me alone but she was so strong..."

"It's not your fault," Eira continued to stare down at the x as she realized what it meant.

"What the fuck is that?" Lafayette noticed it.

"It means she's won," Eira said as tears started to fall down her face. "It's a hex."

A hex. A form of dark magic that could not be removed. A magic that killed whoever it cursed.

And Eira started to cough. She was coughing out blood. Then it started to pool from her mouth and it got hard to breathe as she started to choke on it.