chapter fifteen

                “So what sort of mess do you have me in now?” asked Sookie.

                “You know De Castro is interested in you and you know Latesta is interested in you,” said Eric.

                “Yeah, so who else is interested in me now?” she asked.

                “Judith,” said Bill.

                “Your sister?” she asked. “Gee Bill, how come the women in your life can’t be here to see you when you are involved with someone else? Then they would know just how uninterested in me you are.”

                “Because I still care about you Sookie, and this is what Judith knows. But what concerns me is how connected she is to De Castro,” said Bill. “She was the one you spoke to on the phone when we called that number.”

                “So do you think she was in with him to get to Sookie?” asked Preston.

                “Only as a means to an end,” said Bill. “I have discovered through Heidi and Rasul that Judith was often in the company of Freyda and De Castro.”

                “I do not recall her at court,” said Eric.

                “When you married the Queen of Oklahoma, she sat aside her lover just as you sat aside Sookie for her. Judith then made her way to DeCastro and made herself…available,” said Bill.

                “Is that your Ashley Wilkes way of saying she was screwing the King of Nevada?” asked Sookie. Eric laughed for the first time in months.

                “Yes,” said Bill. “But we think she was making promises to both the King of Nevada and the Queen of Oklahoma. To deliver you both, Hunter and you, to one or the other to get revenge on me and to control Eric.”

                “Great,” said Sookie. “So how sure are we about Bubba?”

                “Bubba doesn’t have much in the way of guile. He is easily deceived and he cannot lie,” said Eric. “And he said the little boy cried for his father and some woman named Erin and for you.”

                “So, is he okay?” asked Sookie. “He hasn’t been feed from or anything?” Eric and Bill made twin expressions of disgust. “Well, you can’t tell me there aren’t vampires who wouldn’t do that.”

                “As far as we know he is fine,” said Eric.

                “So where is Bubba now?” asked Sookie.

                “He is guarding your house,” said Bill. “With strict orders not to leave his post unless told to do so by either Eric or myself.”

                There was a sudden banging and the sound of someone coming through the kitchen. Eric, Bill and Preston turned to the kitchen as Amelia came into the house. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle anyone. We finished the interrogation, of the guy who attacked Sookie at Merlotte’s.”

                “If you will excuse me, I will step out on the porch for a breath of fresh air,” said Bill. He was a little fangy from the scent of fae. Sookie made a shooing motion toward him and Bill left.

                “So, anyway, the King should not trust his guardians. Apparently, it was a very large pack of these dogs, and your dad brought them over when he came back here to see you about your little brother. Your dad was in trouble with the vampire Emperor of Italy, from what we got he was really old school. Ocella sold you to the Queen of Oklahoma for a shit load of money. I didn’t know he could do that.”

                “My maker could dispose of me in any manner he liked,” said Eric. “How much was I worth?”

                “Around 10 million dollars. The Queen paid half up front and then promised to pay the other half when you were actually married. Ocella knew she owed money to the King of Nevada, so he approached her through him and De Castro was to get a finder’s fee because he had you in a strangle hold and he didn’t much like Freyda anyway. He was counting on you killing her. When Ocella died Freyda was pleased because then she would not have to pay the other half of the “Groom price” and she said she would not have to pay the finder’s fee because that was an agreement between De Castro and Ocella,” said Amelia. “So, basically Freyda was getting you pretty cheap.”

                “And how does Bill’s sister come in?” asked Sookie.

                “Well here is where it gets interesting. That FBI guy who was here that time, asking you about that stuff at the Pyramid of Geezers, he wanted you for himself, but he sold De Castro on the idea that if there were two of you, then Latesta could have you and De Castro could take Hunter and sort of raise him to serve vampires. Apparently, it is something they used to do in the old country. So De Castro made the deal with Latesta for the kid and he was supposed to get Hunter and Latesta was to get you. But what none of them knew was that Bill’s sister, or whatever she was, wanted you too, Sookie, and not for your skills. She wanted your blood. So she approached Latesta and made a better deal,” said Amelia.

                “Which was?” asked Bill, returning a little less fangy.

                “That Latesta would have both of you. She was going to double cross him of course. Bill, your mom was pretty well to do and when the Sook told Russell Edgington about how she killed your maker, Judith went to Edgington and he just wrote that he had knowledge of Lorena’s death and she was entitled to her maker’s estate, which I confirmed with a quick call to Simon Maimonides, who was his lawyer. Judith got to go and get the money. You are the elder sibling though, you should have gotten it,” said Amelia. Bill looked disinterested. “Anyway, Judith has been using her inheritance to pay for Latesta’s missions.”

                “What does that have to do with the guardians?” asked Eric.

                “Well, I think you have a weak link. The pack is a rare and ancient breed of mastiff, and they are mated pairs. De Castro is keeping the mates apart, sending one half of the couple out and keeping the other half with him, they are fighting to get back to their mates. Some of them have already lost their mates so they have nothing to lose, that is why they are so ferocious,” said Amelia.

                “Is the were still alive?” asked Eric.

                “I think so, at least he was when I left. Pam was there,” said the witch.

                “Are they taking orders from Judith?” asked Bill.

                “No, I think Judith is just using their missions to her advantage,” said Amelia. “At least that was the impression I was given. Any word about Hunter?”

                “He is safe, we are going to make a plan to get him,” said Eric. “Sookie needs the wards around her house refreshed.”

                “I will do it,” said Amelia. “But listen, the less De Castro knows the better you will be.”

                Preston was not a happy camper. “But if you don’t get them all at once, Sookie will still be in danger.”

                “What do you suggest we do?” asked Eric. “There are few places Sookie and her cousin would be safe from our kind.”

                “Keep her safe til June 21. I can take both her and Hunter somewhere safe,” said Preston.

                “No Preston, hush,” she said. Amelia looked at Sookie. She shook her head at the witch.

                “What are you talking about fairy, where are you taking Sookie?” asked Eric, fangy and mad.

                “Eric get out,” said Sookie. “I rescind your invitation.” Eric was sent backwards out of her house. “When you cool down I will let you come back in. Not another word Preston.”

                “Sookie, it is the only way,” said Preston.

                “We have to finish talking about this,” said Sookie.

                “Where would she go? Where would you take her?” asked Bill.

                “Somewhere there are no vampires and she would never come back,” said Preston. “And that is all I am going to say. All I need is your help and the help of anyone else you can think of to keep her and the boy safe til we can go.”

                “We have to set up a distraction,” said Bill.

                “If we can make it look like Sookie died in an accident, so no one could come looking for her ever again, no one could ever say anything different and you guys would not be responsible for her disappearance. Vampires have been making humans disappear since the first of your kind drained their first human,” said Preston.

                “Do you love her?” asked Bill.

                “I do love her,” said Preston.

                “Would you die for her?” asked Bill.

                “I would do better than that, I would live for her,” said Preston. “I would kill you to keep her safe, I would kill Northman to keep her safe.”

                “You could try fairy,” said Eric’s voice from the porch.

                “Keep it up Eric and I won’t let you out of time out,” said Sookie.

                “Bill, you should know, that Latesta knows about your friend, that lady with the store. He is working as a, I don’t know, double agent with the Take Back the Night crowd. They burned that beauty shop Pam’s friend’s brother worked in,” said Amelia.

                “They burned Tara’s Togs too,” said Sookie.

                “Yes, we knew that,” said Bill. “I will see to it Rachel is safe.”

                “Preston is right, no one, not me, not Hunter, not even you and Eric and your friend are safe with me still here,” said Sookie. “Keep me safe, one more time until I can get away, and everyone will be a little safer.”

                “Where are you taking Sookie?” asked Bill. Preston looked at Bill.

                “The only place you and your kind and humanity can’t follow. Faery.”

                Outside Eric screamed as if in pain.

                “What the fuck?” asked Amelia.

                “He’s okay,” said Bill. “Preston’s choice of destination is just a little tough for him.”

                “Sookie, you should explain about the bond he has with you,” said Preston.

                “I broke the bond,” said Amelia.

                “You broke Sookie’s bond to Eric. You didn’t break the bond Eric had with Sookie. It is a consequence of the fairy blood,” said Preston.

                “I didn’t know,” said Amelia.

                “It is very old fairy magik,” said Preston.

                “Eric?” said Sookie. “Are you there?”

                Sky was watching TV when she heard a knock on the door. She got up and went to the door and looked out. “Eric?” she said. She looked at the time. It was 11:00. She opened the door. “Come in,” she said, moving away from the door to admit him. He walked past her and stood between the bar and couch. She grabbed her robe and slid into it; she had just had her bath and was in her shortie nightgown. “Everything okay?”

                “I just needed to be somewhere neutral,” he said.

                “Can I offer you some TrueBlood?” she asked. He nodded. “Did you fly here?” he nodded again. She went to the fridge and took out a bottle of blood and heated it in the microwave. He looked around her apartment. He spied a carved shield propped up against the mantel. He went and picked it up. “That was the piece I was telling you about. I bought it in Germany.”

                “Sixteenth century. House of Blenner. Christian Norse,” he said.  The microwave went off and she grabbed the bottle and shook it up and handed it to Eric. He took it. “Thank you.”

                “Is everything okay? Is your friend okay, the one you said you were bonded with?” she asked.

                “She is safe,” said Eric. “She is leaving, going somewhere I will never see her again.”

                “How do you feel about that?” she asked. He sat down. He looked too big for her furniture but he gracefully folded himself into the side chair. She sat down on the couch. He drank some of the blood.

                “There is a part of me that is in the deepest most profound pain I have ever felt. And then there is a part of me who knows she will never be safe here. There is a part of me that says good riddance. As it turns out, she broke the bond with me but because of the special qualities of her blood, I still have a bond with her. Now I know why she hated the bond so much,” he said. He put his head back and closed his eyes. His phone rang. He took it out and looked at it.

                “You may as well answer it, else they will think you are in danger,” said Sky. He answered the phone and said he was safe, that he would speak to them tomorrow night.

                “Tell her I am sorry,” said Eric. He hung up and sipped some more of the blood. Sky had gotten up while Eric was on the phone and poured a glass of wine. Eric’s nostrils flared.

                “Does the smell of the wine bother you?” she asked.

                “It is not very good wine, I will send you something you will like better,” said Eric.

                “Is there something I can do for you Eric?” asked Sky.

                “No,” he said. “Is it okay if I am just here for a little while?”

                “Sure,” she said. “Rachel and I went to Merlotte’s to have lunch today.”

                “So you know,” said Eric.

                “Yes, Rachel told me she was the one you and Bill loved,” said Sky.

                “You should know Sookie is a telepath, she can read human minds,” said Eric.

                “Rachel told me that too,” she said. “I don’t think she got anything from me.”

                “It does not matter, Sookie is with someone else,” said Eric. “Someone who loves her and would kill me over her.”

                “Could he?” asked Sky. Eric thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Are you afraid?”

                “No,” he said, looking at her. “You are a very beautiful woman.”

                “Thank you, you are very handsome man,” she said.

                “Do you like me?” he asked.

                “Can’t say yet, I do want to get to know you but I don’t want you to play games with me. I don’t want to be the rebound girl,” she said. “I have no special gifts, so I don’t think I could compete with Sookie Stackhouse.”

                “I would not ask you to,” said Eric. He took another drink of the blood.

                “So, you flew here?” she asked.

                “Yes,” said Eric. “Can you take me to Fangtasia?”

                “I can, whenever you are ready to go,” she said. “I’ll go and dress.” She stood up and she felt his cool hand circle her wrist, the wrist she offered the blood meal from.

                “I thought about you, about how your hair looked and how sweet you smelled and how brave you were,” he said, looking up at her.

                “Well, I thought about you too,” she said. “I’ll get dressed and take you to Fangtasia.”

                Bill hung up with Rachel. He was constantly worried about her now. He had dreams in his resting place similar to hers, dreams of the monstrous dogs cornering her and she screaming for him to help her but he could not find her. He could always make a simple bond with her, but for some reason, he wanted a true bond with her. How would he talk to her about this? Bill had made a blood bond with a woman before, when he was with Lorena. They were monsters with her, they used the bond to keep her afraid and at the same time obsessed with the both of them. When Bill recovered his humanity, he felt bitterly ashamed of himself. Now he questioned his motives for wanting to create a true bond with Rachel. He did not want to hurt or frighten her but could he do it without abusing it, the power a vampire could wield over a human was immense. He would never want to hurt Rachel. He had to admit it. He was loving her. He loved her. He loved everything she was. She was herself, but she appealed to his old heart, she was not an old-fashioned woman but there was an air of an earlier time. He looked at his watch. It was just after midnight. It would be too late to go to her house. He sat down in his big quiet house and thought about the woman he had fallen in love with.

                Sky pulled up with Eric in her passenger side. Fangtasia was crowded. “Hand over fist Mr. Northman.”

                “So it seems,” said Eric. “Thank you for giving me a ride.”

                “Not a problem. Try to stay out of trouble,” she said.

                “I shall do my utmost to stay out of trouble. Would you like to come in, see my bar?”

                “Maybe some other time,” she said. “I don’t want you to become confused about me.”

                “I beg your pardon?” he said.

                “I teach vampire topics but I have never been involved with a vampire on a personal level. I have vampire colleagues, but I have never gone out with them. Despite what some people might think of me, I am not a fangbanger. If you see me in your bar, in the midst of your patrons, you might get confused about me, about what I am, and I don’t want you to do that. Understand?” she said. She had not noticed she had put her hand on his as she talked to him. She moved her hand off his and he took it back and brought it to his lips and kissed it.

                “I understand,” said Eric. “Perhaps another time, when you feel more comfortable.”

                “I’ll take you up on that, you can stand me a drink,” she said, and she smiled. Eric was struck again by her glowing red hair and her sweet healthy beauty. He kissed her hand again and got out.

                Preston was patiently listening to Sookie. “Will grandfather know when we come to Faery?”

                “I can get him a message. You still have a key hole. I can just slip a tiny note to him and let him know we are coming. He can meet us there,” said Preston.

                “What if I am not welcome?” she asked.

                “I think Niall wanted you to come home for a long time, but he knew you were mainly human and he knew you would never want to leave,” said Preston.

                “And Amelia can open the door?” she asked.

                “Yes, I spoke with her when you went out to talk to Bill. She said she thought it was metaphorical thing, to open herself up to magik, but it is true magik and it will open a door. You can take whatever you like, clothes, books you like, mementos but I recommend you travel light. Besides, after a while, you will want to look more like us. You will be beautiful in the clothes of Faery,” he said, cupping her face. “And they will love you and want to help you get used to your new life. I want to show you the world of Faery, where you are from, well your blood. You will realize everything you wanted from this world will be possible.”

                Sookie looked down. “What about Jason?”

                “Jason will always be safe. He is blood of our blood, but he is also himself and he is now two-natured. He would never be happy in Faery. Besides, I think Jason knows how hard life has been for you. I think he would be happy that you were somewhere you were safe, and you were happy,” said Preston.

                “I suppose,” she said. “Can I send them messages sometimes?”

                “Niall may be able to get a message from time to time but not very often,” said Preston.

                “I would just want to let them know I was safe,” she said. She leaned forward and Preston held her.

                “We should go to bed Sookie,  we have things we need to do, there are things at my apartment I need to get and we need to see Sam and make some arrangements,” said Preston.

                “What sort of arrangements?” she asked.

                “Well, where we are going, you won’t need money, so you might want to decide who would get that. Then you need to talk to Sam and Jason and let them know what will be happening to you, that you are going. Plus, we are going to need help from the two-natured community,” said Preston. “To keep you safe til we go. You can help Bill and Eric and your vampire friends with that.”

                “Vampire friends,” she said, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

                “Sookie, Eric and Bill and Pam are your friends, Bill and Eric still love you. They have their own ways, just like the fae, just like the two-natured and they loved you the best way they knew how,” said Preston. “You shouldn’t be so hard on them. They aren’t human, and neither am I but we care about you.”

                “I’m sorry, I have just been so angry with them for so long,” she said.

                “I know,” said Preston. “Come on, come to bed. You have had a big night.” He felt of her head and face. “And you have a little temperature. You should lie down and rest.”

                The papers the next morning were ablaze with news of the fire and people were beginning to get worried. The paper reported the two businesses burned down were owned by Bill Compton. Someone had managed to contact Bill before sun up and he made little comment and did not comment on whether or not the fires were hate inspired. He would let the proper authorities to sort it out. Danny went to the sheriff’s office and picked up the copy of the police report and went to Greg Aubert’s office and gave him the papers. The fire marshal was coming today and would take a look at the scene and make his report as soon as possible.

                Rachel was pleasantly surprised when the florists stopped at the store and brought her a bouquet of purple irises. Bill had written a card. ‘Thinking about you. See you tonight- Bill.’ She took the irises into her office and put them in a large glass candle holder and poured some bottled water in it and slid the flowers in. She watered her little violets. Bill likes purple. Maybe she needed to take a shopping trip to Baton Rouge and buy something pretty in purple to wear for him.

                Sky came down, dressed in jeans and a BTCC tee shirt. “Hey Sky, you going to work?”

                “Mainly to see what the office looks like and clean and check out the computers. I suspect I will need to buy my own, most colleges have the worst computers in the professor’s office,” said Sky. “What pretty flowers. Are they from your man?”

                “Yes, both of them are,” she said. “Can you do me a favor?”

                “Sure,” she said.

                “Can you stop by the bakery and grab me an Italian loaf? I am making spaghetti for supper,” she said.

                “I can,” she said.

                “And when you bring it, stay for supper?” offered Rachel.

                “I’ll bring the salad and the wine. Though our local vampire bar owner says it is not very good, I rather like it,” she said.

                “What does he know, he has not had wine in a thousand years,” said Rachel. “I think a lot of Bill, but I would not necessarily take his word about the quality of a glass of wine.”

                “True enough. Man, what a drag…I don’t know what I would do if I could only have one thing to eat for the rest of my life,” she said. “I’m off, I am going to go to the school, check things out, run to Wal-mart and come back and I’ll see you then.”

                “Cool,” said Rachel. “About five?”

                “Sounds good,” she said.

                Sky loved this small town.  She loved the way it had a feel of renewal. There were so many towns that were dying, but Bon Temps was thriving in some way that was not obvious. It was small, well kept. Bon Temps Community College was just beyond the High School. It was once the high school but it was abandoned for the more modern building.  A wing was added to it and this became the LSU branch of the Bon Temps Community College. Sky pulled out her parking pass and hung it from the mirror and parked in the slot reserved for her. She got out and ran her badge through the card key and went into the admin building. She stopped at the main desk and showed her badge on the lariat and the receptionist loaded her down with keys and a canvas bag full of information. “Professor Watson should have cleaned out her office, but you never know. She was in the middle of a divorce,” said the woman. “But, if you have trash, just set it out, grab a trash can and the maintenance will take care of it. You have a great office, a corner with lots of space. May need the carpets cleaned and the walls painted. Just make a list and leave it with me. I will see to it they do it. You will have to call IT yourself, though, to set up your accounts.”

                “Is that an example of what I will likely find by way of computers and printers?” asked Sky, pointing at the ancient IBM.

                “Unfortunately, “said the receptionist.

                “Can I get my own computer and printer?” she asked. “And a scanner?”

                “Sure, just make sure you put your name on it and keep the receipts so if you leave us you can take it all with you,” she said.

                “Can do,” she said. She headed to the elevator and went up.

                The offices were a lot like the offices of any college. There was the main lounge but she planned to have her own little fridge and coffee maker there. She went into the narrow corridor and counted the doors til she came to her office. She was glad there was no one there, she could be alone and not have to introduce herself. She slid the key into the lock and opened the door. She turned on the overhead light and drooped. It was worse than she expected. There was an overflowing, smelly trash can by the battered desk. A violet, pinkish red, was cooking miserably in the window. She grabbed it and moved it into the interior of the room. There was an ugly chair and a standalone lamp with a battered shade. There were folders stacked all over and loose papers and newspapers and magazines. She went to the desk chair and sat down in it and looked around. She grabbed a pad and pen from her purse and made a list of things she wanted right away. She would begin with trash bags, garbage liners, window cleaner, paper towels and Lysol. Then she would get a little vacuum and vacuum the threadbare rug and then she wrote down throw rug. She looked at the window shades. They were real live shades and not just blinds and they were intact. That was very good. She jotted down violet food and hoped she could save the little plant.

                Then she added a laptop and printer scanner and office supplies. She called IT and made an appointment for them to come up and put her computer on the system. They could get to her Monday, they were installing the newly acquired computers in the library. That seemed fine to her. She set her phone message, did a few other household chores, and then got up. No time like the present.

                She locked up her office, first taking the trash out and dumping it and bringing it back to her office, and headed back out. She got into her car and headed for the Wal-mart. Once there, she held her list before her, pushed her buggy first through the household area, and got her cleaning stuff. Then she went to the office supplies and picked up a box of folders and some black pens and paper and a desk set with a stapler and paper clips and cups for pens and a desk calendar. She moved to electronics and grabbed a couple of USB drives and strolled along and picked out the laptop she wanted. She then got the scanner and printer combo she wanted and a power strip with its own surge protector.

                Satisfied with the first hunting trip, she headed around to the rugs. She found a bright one of patchwork colors and a chair cover that might fit the chair in her office once she tacked it all in place. She grabbed upholstery tacks and staples for her heavy duty staple gun. She cruised the little refrigerators and spotted one she liked and spotted a small microwave. That would be perfect for the evenings she had classes. She could heat up a sandwich or something in it. That would be for the second wave of buying.

                She went by the garden center and got some plant stakes for the little violet and on impulse, she grabbed a violet bowl and some potting soil, put that in, and headed for the grocery store. She got the greens for a salad, chose a couple of tomatoes and a container of mushrooms. She grabbed some shallots, radishes, a packet of cheddar cheese, and some croutons and headed out. She would stop by the bakery for the bread. As soon as she learned about local growers she would buy fresh grown stuff.

                Sky passed by a refrigerated display with TrueBlood and stopped. She looked at it and without hesitation; she opened the fridge and reached in for a case of four, O positive. Until Eric mentioned a preference, she would have that on hand. She headed for the check out. She unloaded the small things and then helped the girl check out the electronics.  She paid the large tab and headed out. She felt as though she had accomplished a lot.

                Sam and Luna looked at Sookie. “And this is what you want?” said Sam. “You won’t ever be able to get back?”

                “No,” said Sookie. “I have some stuff I have to do and some decisions to make. I am going to write some things down I want you to take care of when I am gone.”

                “Don’t you think you should think about this a little?” asked Sam. “I mean, you just met Preston what, a couple of weeks ago?”

                “Yeah, and I am in love with him already, like you and Luna love each other,” said Sookie.

                “I guess there is no way to fight that,” he said, smiling at Luna.

                “So what I want is to give you back your third of the bar and don’t trouble yourself about paying back the money. It is a present. But I wanted you to know that I am going to be okay, and I don’t want you worry about me.”

                “What about Hunter?” asked Sam.

                “Bill and Eric are going to go get him,” said Sookie. “He is coming with us.”

                “Sam, Sookie needs help. She needs the two natured to help Bill and Eric keep her safe until she can leave. She leaves on June 21. Can you help me contact the pack and the panthers of Hot Shot?” asked Preston.

                “Well, yeah,” said Sam. “Probably be best if Bill and Eric can be here too with their vampires.”

                “It would,” said Preston.

                “I will call around to Calvin and Alcide and I’ll give Sookie a call,” said Sam.

                “Thank you,” said Preston.

                “I thought fairies weren’t allowed to say thank you,” said Sam.

                “I do,” he said, smiling. “We have some other things to do, Sam.”

                “I’ll call you when I have things worked out.”

                “We can have Jason over to supper and talk to him this evening. I have stuff for chicken fried steak, he always comes over for that,” said Sookie.

                “That will be nice,” said Preston.

                “Do you have brothers and sisters Preston?” she asked.

                “No,” he said. “Full fairy people have a difficult time having children. That is why Niall and Fintan both fell in love with human women and made children with them. My parents were lucky, they were fertile with me, and my mother lost two children after me and then they were murdered by the water fae who killed your mother and father.”

                “Do you have children?” she asked.

                “No,” he said. “I have been waiting for you.”

                “Maybe I can’t,” she said. Preston smiled.

                “Oh no, Sookie, you can, you have never been with anyone with the ability long enough to get you that way,” he said.

                “That is true,” she said. “Will you love me even when I am waddling around all big and fat?” She bugged her eyes out and puffed out her cheeks.

                “Have you never seen pictures of our idea of the mother?” he asked. “I guess you would think of her as mother nature.”

                “No,” said Sookie.

                “Well she is not a thin willowy woman, she has hips and she has a round belly and large breasts. She is the symbol of fertility,” he said.

                “Can I still be a Christian in Faery?” asked Sookie.

                “You can. You will be the only one I am afraid,” said Preston.

                “That’s okay,” she said. “Are there really unicorns in Faery?” Preston laughed.

                After her shopping trip, Sky went home. She walked up on her porch and there leaned against the door was a bottle of wine, wrapped in cellophane. She picked it up and opened her door, dumping her groceries on the counter. There was a simple card attached.

You will like this better. E

               

“Well, I am sure I will,” she said to herself. She unpacked her groceries, slid the TrueBlood in the fridge, got out her salad bowl, made the salad, put foil over the top of it, and laid the bread on it to take to Rachel’s. She had time to check her emails. There was one she did not recognize. Usually she let those sorts of emails go by unopened, but this time, she opened it.

We are watching you bitch.

                Sky frowned. She clicked delete and watched it disappear. She looked at the time on the corner of her computer and then shut it down. She decided to get a shower and get ready to go to Rachel’s to have dinner.

                “Oh man, you should have seen the office,” said Sky, sipping the red wine Rachel poured her.

                “That bad huh?” she asked.

                “Yeah, it smelled to high heaven too,” said Sky. She spotted some magazines. “Hey, you read American Vampire too?”

                “Yeah, well I hadn’t before, but I guess since I am seeing a vampire, I should read a little about them. Do you read them?

                “Yeah, I meant to pick up my usual reading but I forgot,” said Sky.

                “Take those, I have already finished and I was just going to put them out for the recycling bin anyhow,” she said. “Want some dessert? I have some apple crumb cake.”

                “I’ll pass,” she said. “Sure you are through with these?”

                “Yeah, take ‘em,” she said.

                “Great, I will be able to look for new articles,” she said. “I hate text books they have for Vampire Studies class, so I have been getting ready to write my own text book. Someday, I would love to get my PhD in Vampire Studies. Being published always helps.”

                “So have you been studying them ever since they came out of the coffin?” asked Rachel.

                “Yeah, that was before they even had text books, we were just doing comparison studies of the mythology and what we were learning from them, well the vampires who actually came out and decided to help us clear things up,” she said. “They have lived in secret so long, they have trouble doing that.”

                “I suppose so,” she said.

                Bill and Eric listened to the werewolf. Mustafa Khan had arrived back in Bon Temps and began immediately to report all he knew. Latesta had reported to De Castro when the guardians had failed to get the boy and they were looking for the vampire who was responsible for his disappearance. Bill went to Eric’s computer and called up his vampire sister’s profile. Khan looked at it. “Yeah, that is the one who was commanding the dogs but that is not the name she is going by.”

                “What name is she using?” asked Eric.

                “Caroline Laudermilk,” said the were.

                “My mother’s maiden name, my wife’s first name,” said Bill. He rolled his eyes slightly. In his desire to have some connection to another besides his maker, Bill had told her everything about his life.

                “Where is she now?” asked Eric.

                “That is unknown,” said Mustafa. “But you should know too, De Castro knows something about your lady friends, the woman with the shop and about the woman who lives there, the teacher.”

                “De Castro knows she is a teacher?” asked Eric.

                “Yeah, through his human contacts in the Take Back the Night movement,” said Mustafa.

                “This is moving a bit faster than I planned. What is Sookie doing tonight?” asked Eric.

                “She is preparing to have the wards strengthened and she has begun making some arrangements for her leaving,” said Bill. “I have a plan to make her disappearance an accident.”

                “What would that plan be?” asked Eric.

                “I talked to Alcide about it, but I don’t think Sookie is going to be very pleased about it,” said Bill.

                “It is not for Sookie to care about. She is leaving forever,” said Eric. “Khan, go to Merlotte’s, the weres and shifters are having a meeting about Sookie. I want you to go there and represent me at the meeting. Report everything they decide. Then ask Alcide and Calvin Norris to meet me here at Fangtasia.”

                “Sure thing, Eric,” said the were. “What about your friends?”

                “We will have to come up with a plan for them, but we will try our best to keep them out of it,” said Eric. “If needs be, we will have someone from our camp, day walkers, to keep a watch over them.”

Pam came into the office. “Yes Pam?”

                “The were wants to make a deal,” said Pam.

                Eric and Bill stood there. The were was still angry, but he was otherwise fine.

                “You have to help me,” said the were.

                “We don’t have to help you in the least,” said Eric.

                “You help me, I help you,” he said. “You need us to help you with this king, we can do this.”

                “How?” asked Eric.

                “I can go back and organize the pack, and when the time comes, we turn our coats inside out. We serve you, not this peacock,” said the were.

                “How do we know you aren’t turning your coat inside out now, and will betray us,” asked Bill.

                “You help me, and I help you,” he repeated. “My mate, my pack, you get us back home. We stay as long as you need us, but you get us home, we help you.”

                “I don’t know, how do I know you are sincere, how do I know you are honest,” said Eric. The were thought about it then smiled.

                “I can tell you something about him, a weakness,” said the were.

                “Tell me,” said Eric.