CHAPTER FIFTY TWO

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          THE SKIN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HER FACE WAS DECOMPOSING AND LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO MELT OFF OF THE BONE. Dakota was at a loss for words as she looked at Pamela in an empty Fangtasia. The bar had been closed for some days now as she had searched for a way to reverse the spell on their maker, and Eric was asleep for the day. The blonde had gone to Shreveport after a somewhat panicked phone call from her vampire sister.

"Don't you dare say it." Pam was livid as she paced around the room and shot her a glare when Dakota opened her mouth to try and tell her that it wasn't as bad as it looked. "Those fucking witches."

Pam took a lot of pride in the way she looked and her face was something she was most proud of, besides her long legs. Dakota saw the utter rage behind her blue eyes as she came to a halt in front of her, long black dress flowing behind her. It looked like she was dressed for a funeral, her own most likely as the rest of her skin had the same fate as her face.

The vampire had met with the new King of Louisiana, Bill, the night before and he had forbidden her to seek her revenge on the coven.

"What can I do?" asked Dakota, eyes not tearing away from the flaps of loose skin on her cheek.

"No one knows you're a vampire." Pam snarled, though the anger wasn't directed at her. "I can't even smell it on you. Bill has forbidden any vampires to hurt humans or else he'll get the authority involved. I want you to see the witch and get some insight. Use your telepathy or something."

"Okay," she agreed, brows furrowed as Pam began to pace once more. "I'll go this afternoon."

Pamela agreed and halted her steps, her eyes narrowing as she turned to glance at her. "You should know, Koko. One of your human friends was there. Lafayette. He did this to me, too."

"Lafayette?" she frowned, brows pulled together. Despite she hadn't seen him in the last week, she couldn't believe he had joined some secret witch coven. It was not like him at all. "Lafayette isn't involved with witches. He would have told me."

"Well, he is." Pam stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I don't care you're friends with him. If my face isn't fixed in the next day, I will tear out his throat."

"Let me handle it, okay?" she asked, knowing fully well what Pam was capable of whenever she was angry. "I'll go right now, call you after."

"Fine," sighed Pam, taking a seat at the bar with a pained moan as Dakota made a move to leave the premises but halted when she continued. "how is he?"

Dakota turned back to face her and bit the inside of her cheek. "Safe. Though, he killed Sookie's fairy godmother and ran off into the night before and I found him in the lake somewhere in the morning. Just in time, too. He was starting to burn. I don't think he will be leaving the house again anytime soon."

Pam cursed underneath her breath. "Has anyone spotted him?"

"No," she said. "he's in the cubby during the day. No one knows it's there. Sookie isn't home during the night, off with Bill I assume."

"Good," she said. "keep it that way."

"He'll be alright, Pam." Dakota promised, seeing the worry etched on her rotten face. "I'll see the witch and keep you updated."

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THE DOOR OPENED EASILY AND THE CHIMES ABOUT IT TWINKLED SOFTLY WHEN THE DOOR CLOSED, alerting her entrance. The strong smell of sage and other spices hit her like a thick brick wall and she grimaced. The dark blue drapes above the windows were covered in dust and small little holes, letting in soft rays of sunlight.

Dakota quietly checked her phone to see if she had a message from Lafayette, but he hadn't replied to her, nor had Jesus. The woman sighed and glanced around the room. The room was filled to the brim with knick knacks and as she made her way to the counter her eyes fell on all sorts of crystal balls. 'Cherish Life's Simple Treasures' it read and she ran her finger alongside one.

"Oh, hello." an older woman came from behind the curtains that led into another room, wearing a long old green dress.

"Hi," beamed Dakota, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was passing by and I saw your sign. I'd like a reading please."

"We're closed." said the woman, rubbing the back of her neck tiredly.

"Really? Nuts." Dakota frowned, giving the lady her best sad face before glancing around the room again. "Can I just say this is the cutest little store! You know, when I was a kid, and I was home sick from school my two favourite tv shows were Sabrina and Charmed." The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "God's honest."

"Fine," she sighed, defeated. "sit."

Dakota let out a rehearsed squick in delight and gave her a bright smile. "Really? Thank you so much, Miss ...?"

"Uh, Marnie." she muttered, disinterested as her dress floated behind her. The witch let her to a small table in the front of the store.

"I am Dakota." she said. "Nice to meet you."

The blonde sat down opposite of the witch and placed her bag beside her on the floor. The faerie clasped her hands together and met Marnie's gaze excitedly. Marnie lit three candles and placed them in the middle, blowing out her match afterward.

"What is the back room for?" wondered Dakota.

"For meetings," she shrugged, lighting some incense. "it's uh, just social events."

"You know, I am a real social butterfly myself." said Dakota and Marnie hummed as if she wasn't even listening. "The way I see it, a stranger's just a friend you haven't met yet."

Marnie gave her a forced smile and nodded. "Could I get something to hold onto? Just something personal." Dakota quickly unclasped her necklace and handed it to Marnie. The witch closed her hands around it and said, "Now just relax and think of a question you want to ask."

Marnie closed her eyes and Dakota let her mental walls crumble down, breathing in softly as she began to listen to her thoughts. There were a lot of voices, and she couldn't make out what they were saying. As if she was filled with more than one soul.

"There is a presence." whispered Marnie, eyes moving behind closed lids. "There is someone who crossed over not too long ago. A woman. I see a yellow apron." Dakota was taken aback, feeling her heart thunder within her chest. "An elderly person."

"Oh my god." breathed Dakota, stunned. "That's ... my gran."

Marnie gave her a single nod, slowly as her eyes turned distant. "Uh, she misses you very much."

"I miss her, too." said Dakota, almost forgetting why she was there in the first place. "Is she okay? Is she happy?"

"Mmm," she hummed. "she's at peace. She wants to make sure you look after someone. Uh, cousins?"

"Sookie and Jason?"

"Yes," confirmed Marnie before continuing. "Uh, you gran has another message for you. Are you in love?"

"Uh," she frowned, confused for a moment. "yes. I am."

"You gran says that the man who has feelings for you has wrong intentions, you should not give your heart in return. The situation is temporary."

Dakota frowned and narrowed her eyes slightly, knowing she was wrong. She focused on the task once more and looked through Marnie's mind, thoughts flooding into her brain. Adele's voice was loud as she tried to get her to listen.

It is going to last. "It isn't going to last." added Marnie.

Dakota? Dakota I know you can hear me. It's gran.

"What?" Marnie furrowed her brows and looked to the side, half expecting for her gran to stand there and say she was tricked.

Sweetheart, this woman poses great danger.

"No!" denied Marnie, genuinely confused. "How could I ever be a danger to somebody? I never hurt anyone."

Get away from her. Run, Dakota, run! Get out now!

Dakota didn't hesitate and grabbed her bag from the floor and pushed it over her shoulder, getting to her feet. The blonde snatched her necklace back and threw a twenty on the table, ready to bolt from the store.

"What are you doing?" asked Marnie.

"Lady," Dakota retorted. "when my gran tells me to run. I run. Keep the change."

And with that she was gone.

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DAKOTA HAD NOT EXPECTED TO SEE TARA IN HER LIVING ROOM WHEN SHE RETURNED HOME, not had she expected her cousin at home. Tara had left Bon Temps after Sookie had gone missing, and after what had happened to her at Russell Edgington's home, no one could blame her.

"How have you been?" asked Dakota, embracing the woman tightly.

"Good, I guess." she smiled, putting down an empty tub of ice cream on the table.

Sookie was grinning from ear to ear as Dakota sat opposite them, facing the cubby. It was already dark and she really wanted the two of them gone before Eric woke. "She was just telling me about Naomi, her girlfriend."

"You have a girlfriend?" Dakota smiled, intrigued now.

"I didn't plan it." shrugged Tara, small smile on her face as she opened the second tub of ice cream and took a spoonful of it in her mouth. "Just kind of fell for her."

"Tara, that's wonderful." said Dakota, sincerely. "I am very happy for you."

"And all these years we've been friends," began Sookie, unsure. "you never ..."

"It ain't like that with you." Tara scoffed, amused as she shook her head at her friend. Dakota shot a quick glance at the cubby and saw it was still closed and she prayed he would still be asleep despite the darkness outside.

"I was gonna say you never knew you liked girls."

"Never did before." Tara shrugged, grinning and almost finished her second tub of ice cream. "You got any more?"

"Sorry, we're all out." said Sookie, grimacing. "So, when do we get to meet her?"

"She doesn't know about you." muttered Tara. "Hell, she doesn't even know about me. I've been lyin' to her. She thinks I am at my grandma's funeral in Atlanta. Hell, she thought my name was Toni."

"Toni? Why?" wondered Dakota.

"'Cause I hate this place." she confessed with a sigh. "I hate what it did to me, and I want to fuckin' bury it. I'm back her twenty minutes and Eric Northman wants to kill me."

"What?" frowned Dakota. "What do you mean?"

"First night back, I go to see Lafayette." she sniffed. "He and Jesus take me to this weird Wiccan thing in Shreveport. The fucker just stormed in there and tried to kill us. And Naomi found stuff with my real name on it and now she's gonna break up with me and I don't blame her."

Sookie engulfed her into a tight hug and Dakota droned out the conversation as a slight breeze flowed inside through the open window. Fucker. Bill had exactly know what he had send Eric into and she despised him for it.

"I told her I had a brother named Jason." said Tara, rubbing her eyes in frustration. "I lied my ass off."

"You know what you should do," began Dakota, wanting them out of the house. "you should go tell her right now. Go to her and tell her everything. I am sure she will forgive you. Sookie could go with you, for support."

"I will," she nodded. "tomorrow. Can I stay here tonight?"

"No," said Dakota and Sookie shot her a glare. "tonight is not a good night."

"What are you talking about?" said Sookie and turned to her friend. "Of course you can stay here."

Dakota's mouth went dry when Eric emerged from the cubby, giving her a smile as he caught her gaze. Sookie and Tara hadn't noticed him yet and the blonde shook her head at him but it was already too late. Tara had seen her move and snapped her head toward the vampire.

"What at fuck." she cussed, eyes wide as she jumped up from the couch and grabbed the stoker beside the fireplace. "Get away from me."

"Tara, calm down." tried Dakota, getting to her feet quickly.

Eric bared his fangs at the threat and shot forwards, taking the metal from her hands and tearing it out of her grip. Dakota pushed herself between the two of them as Sookie pulled Tara away from the viking.

"What the hell is he doing here?" demanded Sookie, eyes blazing with anger.

"I live here." sneered Eric, trying to get at her but Dakota laid her hand on his chest.

"Wait," Dakota shook her head at him before turning to her cousin. "it's not what you think."

"Get the fuck out of my house." demanded Sookie, glaring at Eric with all her might. "You are not welcome here. Whatever invitation you had, it's gone now. Dakota, kick him out. Now!"

"Sookie, stop." Dakota glared, staying in front of him as if he couldn't hold his own against two human woman. "It's not what you think. He's different, he isn't going to hurt any of you."

"He's a psycho murdering asshole!" Tara screamed.

"No," Dakota barked. "he's not."

Sookie scoffed in anger and said, "You got a short goddamn memory. This is the asshole who sold you out to Russell Edgington. The one who almost got you killed over and over again. He send you into a church full of terrorists that starved and almost raped you, and didn't even care."

"That's not true!" Dakota sneered, tying her hardest to keep her fangs inside her gums. "You don't know anything. You only know what your precious Bill has told you."

"Fuck the both of you!" Tara snapped, storming out of the house.

"You're an idiot." Sookie shot, rushing after her best friend.

going to edit this chapter soon, i like it but idk about it at the same time.