Would you risk it?

Bzzzzzz.........bzzzzz..........bzzzzzz

The phone continued to vibrate on the night stand by the bed. Kiara groaned. Who on earth was calling her this early during the day? Her eyes fluttered open. The master bedroom in Bill's mansion was dark, the light tight shutters keeping any sliver of light away. She reached for her phone, very aware of the cool but heavy arm draped over her mid section. She checked her phone, rubbing some of the blurriness from her vision.

There was no picture but the caption "andra chef" told her all she needed to know. Shit. It was Eric. She had to carefully extricate herself from the cage Bill made with his limbs around her. Glad she'd gone to bed wearing something she went over to her office which was adjacent to Bill's bedroom and closed the door. Looking at the time quickly it was just after 12pm. Eric being much older clearly could be up during the day but Bill was currently dead to the world. However she didn't want to take a chance in Bill overhearing anything so she hooked up her headphones to her phone and then finally answered the call.

"You got some nerve Northman...." she whispered, knowing Eric could hear her perfectly.

Finally the woman picked up the phone. He wouldn't give her crap this time around. Knowing her she was making sure Bill wouldn't overhear anything they said. That would be the last thing any of them needed.

you got some nerve northman.....

He grinned. Yes he did, but he wasn't about to let Nora's words go unchecked. His sister had lied to him plenty over the past few months, however even she knew the dangers of Bill being in possession of Lillith's blood.

"Yes I'm sure I disturbed your slumber with Billy but we have a problem" he said bluntly as he dabbed at his nose with a wet rag. He was already getting the bleeds from being awake during the day but it would be the safest time to speak to Kiara.

"...we have a problem"

Was all she heard. Eric never called her for any of his problems and if this was a business call needing donors or blood he relegated those tasks to his daystaff and they would call her staff in turn so whatever this problem was it was a big issue.

"What is it Eric? and drop the cryptic shit for once..." she muttered as she sat behind her desk, keeping her ears open for any of the mansion's daystaff that could be wondering about.

He smirked at her tone. Only because she was his link into Bill's private life did he tolerate her taking that tone with him.

"It looks like Bill may be back to his old tricks. Nora has informed me that he may be in possession of a vial of Lillith's blood"

He paused, knowing that this was news that needed to sink into her if she was going to be any use to him.

Her stomach dropped several levels at the mention of Lillith. Her last encounter with Bill high on even the notion of the vampire god had nearly cost her everything. She took a moment to compose herself before speaking but she was much guarded now.

"Are you sure about this? He hasn't shown any signs of going back to the religion thing, not to mention he on a nearly synthetic blood diet" she said, nearly meaning that Bill did still take a sip of her blood every now and again.

He paused and thought about things for a moment. Bill being back on synthetic was a good thing, however ingesting were blood was bad. It was much more powerful than human blood and could be the trigger for any madness Bill could be fighting.

"Look, I spoke to Bill last night and he denies Nora's claim, but I've known him longer than you and he can talk circles around any point, not to mention as the king, I can't investigate him without warranting the true death on myself. But do you REALLY want to risk him having such a vial?" he asked for added measure.

She sighed. She knew if she asked Bill about it he'd get pissed and know she was still in contact with Eric, but for once the viking was right. She would never risk Bill having such a vial in his possession. He'd hurt Jessica and herself enough to make any rumor about Lillith be one worth investigating.

"So what do you want me to do then Eric? I can't ask Bill about it, if the rumor is true he'd deny it and get angry" she said with a tired sigh.

Eric nodded. She did have a point. If Bill didn't admit owning the vial to him, he would NEVER admit it to Kiara.

"Look around Kiara. Any room you're even barred from, anything he keeps zealously close. We MUST find that vial and destroy it. Give me periodical update reports. If he has that vial chances are it is in the mansion. However we can't rule out he's hiding it somewhere else, with someone else even, so watch for the humans. Any staff he keeps around for no reason, anyone who is acting glamoured when they shouldn't you need to investigate" he said with a hint of dire in his tone.

She nodded despite Eric not being able to see her gesture. She hated having to spy on Bill. She wished she could just trust him blindly but life had taught her never to do that. She'd been burned enough by Bill no less that she would investigate this rumor.

"Alright then. I'll keep an eye out for anything. However it would be nice if your sister knew more of this vial. You're asking me to find blood in a house where blood is stored everywhere. I don't even know how this blood is different from the synthetic stuff" she said.

Eric nodded. He was asking Kiara to find a tree among a forest. "Lillith's blood will have a very distinctive aroma to it. I don't know if it is vampire blood but there is something seriously wrong with it. It doesn't smell like human or like synthetic and it's a far cry from wolf blood. There's just something...." he paused, trying to recall the one and only time he'd sampled from that tainted blood. The blood had been thick, cold and tart. Like there was something acidic in it. It had taken him by surprise since blood, even human blood had the distinct taste of copper and iron.

".... it's tart. I don't know how else to describe it. It didn't have the usual iron and copper markings of fresh blood. The only thing I can tell you is that even in your vast supply of rare bloods, theres nothing that comes close to it. So if you smell something completely different then chances are you've found it"

He dabbed at his nose again which was bleeding like a half open faucet "But whatever you do...DO NOT taste it. That blood made even me go crazy and I'm a thousand years old. You know very well what my blood does to you, so I don't need to remind you what that tainted blood could do to you"

She shuddered. Eric would never let her live down the one time she'd tasted his blood and gone into the craziest phase of her life. It was an experience she wasn't eager to repeat by any means. She could barely control herself tasting Bill's blood and he was barely reaching 200.

"Alright, no tastes... but lets say I find this blood, what then?"

"If you manage to find it you need to get it as far away from Bill as possible. I'm researching ways to truly destroy that blood but if things get bad you need to pour as much liquid silver into it as possible. It would be the only way to ensure that should Bill drink it, the blood would destroy him before he has a chance to change" he said. He would keep his end of the deal and deliver the true death to Bill, even if it meant to do it through the hands of his lover.

She blinked.

"You want me to kill him? Kill the man I love?" she asked. She knew Eric was cold but damn... this went beyond being cold.

He nodded. "Yes. Because if you don't, he will kill you, Jessica, Sookie and anyone who crosses his path. You weren't there when he drank the first dose of that blood. Even I couldn't contend with him. You know very well if he is to die, it is only to spare countless others"

She felt a stab of sadness in her heart. She would hate to have to hurt Bill but Eric was right. When shit hit the fan she'd behead him herself if it meant keeping others safe.

"Alright....I'll search for the vial, but talk to your sister and give me more information. Even I can't just go around looking for things without stirring up suspicion among him and the staff"

He nodded. "Very well. I will call you soon if I get any more details, however call me in a week's time to report your progress" he said.

He then grinned. "I knew I did well dangling you before him.. how could he resist someone who understands vampires as well as you do? A pity he doesn't know just how deep your need for survival goes" he said before hanging up.