chapter forty

               

The early morning air was cool enough for a sweater, but Sky and Rachel knew they would shed them later in the day. Rachel had driven to Sky’s house. They were on their way to Baton Rouge to go shopping.  Rachel came out with her purse and her travel cup with coffee. She walked over to the carport where Eric’s car was parked beside Sky’s Lexus where Sky was standing. “Are we taking your car?”

                “No, Khan is going to take us in a rental car,” said Sky. “It was the concession I made to be able to go shopping. Ever since Eric got that call from their spies he has been edgy. I totally get it, but really, I  was getting cabin fever.”

                “Me too,” said Rachel. “Hey, let’s go to the Dragon House for an early supper, I really miss that place.”

                “Sounds good to me,” said Sky. “So what do you think we should wear to this quorum thing?”

                “I am sticking with slacks and blouses and shoes we can run in,” said Rachel. “I have a distinct feeling we will have to be able to move quickly. I wished I knew more about what was really going to happen during this meeting.”

                “Yeah, it makes me worry more when they don’t tell us things. There’s Khan with the car,” said Sky, nodding her head toward the car. The werewolf pulled around the circle drive and got out. Sky and Rachel saw the side arm under Khan’s jacket. Sky had to admit, she felt two things about seeing Khan wearing a weapon. The first thing she felt was completely protected. The other thing she felt was completely terrified.

                Khan opened the back doors for the girls and when they were in he closed them and came back around and got into the front seat. “How are you ladies this very early morning?” asked the werewolf.

                “Pretty good, Khan and yourself?” asked Sky.

                “Well, it is early in the morning,” said the were. “But it is supposed to be a fine day.”

                During the long drive, the women chatted. They would shop, eat supper and come home about an hour after sundown. They invited Khan to have lunch with them and he politely declined. “The Chinese use pork liberally in their cooking.”

                “Khan, are you Muslim?” asked Sky. “I only ask because you don’t drink any alcohol or take caffeine.”

                “I am a Muslim,” said Khan. “I was born a Christian, but I converted in prison.” Sky nodded. “You are curious about why I was in prison.”

                “I don’t mean to pry,” said Sky.

                “I do, if you don’t mind telling us,” said Rachel.

                “I was in prison for murder,” said Khan. “I was a drug dealer, I sold vampire blood, crack, pot, cocaine, meth, whatever evils I could sell my fellow man. I was in deep trouble with a group of vampires and they went after my mother and father and brothers and sisters. I killed a human who was with them. I went to trial and was sentenced to prison. I was in New Orleans when Katrina came, for my appeal, and we were taken to the overpass. Many were escaping at night. A group of guards had deserted us one night and we were alone, still chained up. I thought we would die, there were already vampires who had been trapped by the flood coming out desperate for food. Some of us actually managed to get free and I was trying to figure out how to get out of the city. I saw a group of humans attacking a vampire. He was pitiful. I turned into my other self and I killed the humans and when I shifted back, I stood over this pitiful vampire. It was Elvis Presley. I helped him stand up and he looked confused and afraid, so different from the way vampires are naturally. He said he had to go to ground soon but he wanted to thank me somehow. I said, I would consider it a mercy if he would tell me someone I could go to for help. He said I should I should go to Bill in Bon Temps or Mr. Eric in Shreveport. I asked who I should say sent me. He said, ‘Tell them Bubba sent you.’” Khan took a sip of water. “I was not so sure they would know who that was. I traveled for a while, went to Mississippi and Alabama and then made my way back to Louisiana. I found out about Eric and Fangtasia and went there. He knew I was a were of course, and I asked him if he needed any help. He didn’t trust me at first. I told him Bubba’s name and he looked at me for a long time. He said he needed a day person and he asked me how I knew Bubba and told him about the night I saved him and then I told him I had been in prison. I told him why. He knew the vampires I had killed and he did not seem upset about it. He said he knew who they came from, they were Victor Madden’s vampires and I shrugged. I didn’t know who he was but he was the one who sent those vampires after my people. Eric hired me.”

                “That is quite a story Khan,” said Sky.

                “I enjoy working for Eric, he seems to want to do what is right,” said Khan.

                They were on the road home, the sun was going down. Sky was looking out the window and Rachel was snoozing. Suddenly, Khan became alert. “Mrs. Northman, Mrs. Compton?” Sky shook Rachel who opened her eyes.  “We are in trouble. I am going to try not to stop but if I have to stop, or get out of the car, Sky, you climb over the seat and get in the driver’s seat and put this bitch in reverse and get out of here.”

                “Who is it Khan?” she said.

                “Well we know they aren’t vampires,” said Khan. “They may be weres, or those big shifters we encountered before.” There was a sharp bump on the back of the car. “Sky, crawl up now, please.”

                Sky scrambled up into the front seat. Rachel was looking all around her.

                “They are surrounding us,” said Rachel. A car that was running alongside of them bumped the car. Rachel squealed.

                “Easy does it,” said Khan. A harder bump pushed them off the road. “Oh shit!” he swore.

                Bill was becoming worried. The girls had promised to call when they were on their way home and they were supposed to be home when the sun went down. He paced the length of the living room waiting for Rachel’s call. The phone rang and a lightning bolt of hope raced through him and then he saw the ID and it was Eric.

                “Have you heard from Rachel?” asked Eric.

                “No, and I am becoming concerned,” said Bill.

                “Come to Fangtasia,” he said. “I am calling Alcide Herveaux to send his wolves out to search the highway.

                “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” said Bill. He hung up.  Eric slumped in his chair and tried to call Sky again. He left a message and hung up. As soon as they got home, he was going to order them confined to the houses until this was over, he had not liked this situation, he had not wanted Sky and Rachel to go anywhere.

                Pam walked into his office. She sat down in front of her maker. “No word?” she asked.

                “No,” said Eric. India came in with the cordless phone in her hand. He looked up at her.

                “You better take this Eric,” she said.  Pam looked at her child. She shook her head. Eric took the phone and spoke into it.

                “Northman,” he said.

                “I have your women,” said the voice. “Your bodyguard is dead. They will be released unharmed when you produce Sookie Stackhouse. Don’t try to tell me you don’t have her, we know she is still alive, and we want her.”

                “I don’t think she will come back,” said Eric.

                “She will come back. Your king has a chore for you to take care of, do this and we know she will return,” said the voice.

                “Go on, I am listening,” said Eric.

The vampire watched the area as he sought his prey. He shifted carefully in the limb of the tree, waiting for the human to come out.  He looked a t this watch. Where was he? Finally, Jason Stackhouse  walked out of the motor pool. They had a huge job to finish out at the chicken processing plant. They were dismantling the building and collecting the scrap metal and the freezer components. They were recycling as much as they could and there was over time to be made.

 It was dark by the time he got back to the motor pool and he was hungry but he would wait till he got home to eat. Michele had cooked supper for him and put some back for when he got home. He loved being like every other guy his age, a woman and baby waiting for him. He decided he would hire Maxine Fortenberry to watch Adele and take Michele to Merlotte’s for supper and beers this weekend, maybe take her to see that movie The Barrens. She had not been out of the house much since the baby was born. That baby was the light of his life and he raced home to see her as much as see Michele. She looked like him and Sookie a lot but at the same time, she looked like Michele. At first it sort of pissed him off when he heard Michele calling her Adele instead of Sookie, but then he got to thinking this would be better. Sookie was a famous name in the world of vampire.

Fucking vampires. He sometimes still hated them, no matter what they did for Sookie and him. If they had left her alone, she might still be here. He took off his blaze orange vest and walked to his truck and opened the door. He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t know he was in danger.  He never knew what hit him. The vampire barreled into him and struck without mercy. The vampire growled and bit savagely into his neck and pulled hard on his blood for some minutes and then dropped him on the ground. He was gone just in time for Hoyt to find the body. He squinted and then realized who it was.

                “Fuck Jase!” he said, pulling his head into his lap. Catfish walked up and looked at Jason’s white face and the gaping vampire bite. He called the sheriff.

“Andy, we need an ambulance and you better come too, I think Jason Stackhouse is dead.”

                The parking lot of the motor pool was full of wick wack lights and ambulances and scurrying around. Jason and the scene was photographed and he was carried away. “I don’t know how to tell Michele,” said Andy.

                “Want me to go with you?” asked Catfish.

                “Yeah, maybe you should,” he said. He looked out over to his cruiser and there were journalists there. He told Catfish to go on and get into his truck and Kenya and Kevin were moving people out of the way to help the ambulance out and Andy stopped at his cruiser. He opened his door and turned around.

                “What happened?” asked Harp Powell.

                “Jason Stackhouse was attacked and killed by a vampire tonight,” he said simply. “We have no other information.”

                “Do you think the deaths of Nelson Reynolds and the late Sheriff Dearborn are connected?” asked Powell.

                “Yes, I do,” said Andy grimly.

                Sky touched her cheek gingerly. “Jeesh, Eric just healed that cheek too,” she said bitterly, looking at the black eye she had. She grabbed a washcloth, ran it under the cold tap, and wiped the blood on her cheek. Rachel was sitting on the bed. They had been taken on their way back and Khan had gotten two of the weres who had attacked them but they pulled him down and tore him up and the last were had done the killing blow so to speak by tearing out his throat.

                The women were then manhandled into the panel van and handcuffed. Sky had fought back and the were, a woman, had hit her in the face. Rachel did not fight much, she was too small to do much to the weres who had them. “Where are we going?” she asked.

                “To see Filipe De Castro,” said the were. While they were still in the state, she tried to send out her feelings to Bill but then realized this was an exercise in futility, it was still daytime. They drove all through the night and into the next day when they were dragged out of the panel van in the blistering Nevada sunlight. They were pushed roughly into the house and dragged to the room where they were locked in. There were no windows, as most vampire built houses were in the sleeping quarters.

                They slept for a few hours and then woke and tried to assess the situation. They would of course know more at sundown when the vampires rose. “Don’t worry Rachel, they will get us out.”

                “I hope so,” said Rachel.  The door opened. It was a woman, not one of the women who took them, but a dark skinned woman. She opened the closets and indicated they should shower and change clothes.

                “Who are you?” asked Sky. The woman looked at her for a moment, as if she was trying to understand what Sky was saying. In a thick Italian accent, she said her name.

                “Francesca, “she said, putting her hand on her chest. “Friend?” Sky said nothing. She said the word again and patted her hand on her chest again. “Wash, dress, food?” she looked at Sky and Rachel. “Eat…food…” she mimicked eating. When the girls said nothing she sighed and walked out.

                “So we are going to wash and dress and have supper…or be supper?” asked Sky.

                “Hopefully it is to eat,” said Rachel. She got up from the bed. “You take your shower first, then I will take mine.”

                “Go on ahead,” said Sky. Rachel went into the bathroom and closed the door and Sky sat down on the bed. She felt as though this was it. She was not really a religious person, she supposed she had all the Jesus beaten out of her. This was something that happened during the beatings she had taken from her dad. She used to pray all the time asking for someone to come and save her, but no one heard her and she slowly stopped believing anything concrete. She figured there must either not be a God or that God was so remote he really did not know when the sparrow falls. Now she wanted to believe that somewhere her love would be coming for her and she would be free. “Lord, it’s Sky, if you are up there, and you are listening, I sure could use some help down here. Keep our men safe and help them find us.”

                After they were showered and dressed, the two women were brought out to the dining room. There were place settings out and they could smell food being prepared. De Castro was at the head of the table. “Please ladies, make yourselves at home. Supper will be served soon,” he said.

                The girls sat down and a human poured them some wine. “Please, enjoy the sangria,” he said. “I am sorry you were treated so roughly, Mrs. Northman. If you permit, I can heal you.”

                “I’ll pass,” said Sky, sipping the wine. “When are you going to release us?”

                “It depends on your husband,” said De Castro. “I want Sookie Stackhouse, and I have ordered him to do something to bring her out.”

                “Are you stupid? Sookie Stackhouse is dead,” said Sky.

                “Sookie Stackhouse is alive and well and writing to your husband and her brother,” said De Castro. “The rumors of her death have been exaggerated.”

                “She was blown up in her house,” said Rachel. “We were there when it happened.”

                “Yes, yes, I know, but I am a vampire too you see, and I know what really happened. Your husbands staged her death and hid her somewhere there are few of our kind,” said De Castro. “Once I get Sookie, I will negotiate with your husbands to give you back.”

                “You aren’t going to hurt them are you?” asked Rachel. De Castro smiled. It was a smile that was wide and gator like, but did not reach his eyes. He looked at her.

                “Bill will be spared, he is so very useful, he has his database. Of all the enterprises, his makes a great deal of money. Of course, he may have to move his base of operations here with you. I have not decided,” he said. “Unfortunately, Eric will have to face the true death. He has double-crossed me. But don’t worry my dear, before he dies, I will assure him I will employ you in one of my establishments. I own several blood brothels in Nevada. You are so lovely and exotic, you will be a real money maker, for a while.”

                “Fuck you,” she said.

                “Being married to Eric has really blunted your intellect my dear,” said De Castro. “But relax ladies, it will be a wait. They say they have done as I asked, but I need to know for sure they have done as I asked.”

                “And what have you asked them to do?” asked Rachel.

                “I have asked them to kill Jason Stackhouse. This will lure Sookie Stackhouse out of whatever hiding place they have put her,” he said. “Humans are stupid and sentimental that way.”

                “Funny, I have very little sentiment for you,” said Sky.

                “But you are sentimental about your husband. I suggest you hold your acidic tongue,” said De Castro. “If your husbands please me I may let them survive this.” Sky looked away from him. She knew he was lying.

                “You think you are some great vampire king. You are just the second coming of my father and every other bully who has tried to push me around and make me feel powerless. You may take my blood, but you will not have the part of me that Eric gets. Always so weak and insecure, you define your manhood by bullying people, making them afraid. Go on you bastard, drink me, I hope I give you the cramps.”

                “You think I could not fuck you and drink you?” asked De Castro. “Or your friend.”

                “No, you can do that too, but you can’t have me, you can have my blood to the last drop, and you can have my body, but you don’t get any part of me,” said Sky. De Castro looked at her. He could hear her heart beating. It was not pounding. In fact, it was steady and even. He looked at her.  “Yeah, just as I thought, a coward, you would torment my friend to get a rise out of me because you don’t know how else to scare me,” she said. De Castro rushed at her and backhanded her. This just broke open her cheek again and caused it to bleed. She tasted blood in her mouth. She spat it onto the floor.

                “Shut up you puta,” he said, growling.

                “Big tough vampire king…the king of nothing, the king of shit,” she said.

                “Do you want to see your friend die?” he asked.

                “You are going to kill us anyway,” she said. “The quicker you get it over with the better.”

                “You are afraid,” said De Castro, addressing Rachel.

                “Of course I am, but because you are a vampire, not because you are a man,” said Rachel. “Because you are not a real man.  A real man doesn’t treat a woman like this, and they don’t wage war on women either.”

                “Get them out of my sight. I would not drink their blood if they were the last women on earth,” he said.  Palomino took them back to their rooms.

                “You were lucky tonight,” she said. “Let’s hope your luck holds out.”

                De Castro was pissed off when one of his vampires came into his office. “Your majesty, we have word. Compton and Northman have done it.”

                “Jason Stackhouse? They killed him?” he asked.

                “He is dead and it is very obvious the work of vampires,” said the vampire.

                “Call Eric Northman,” said De Castro. When the vampire did not move fast enough he hissed at him.

                Eric didn’t expect to hear from De Castro so soon. He and Bill were at Fangtasia, where they had awakened that evening. “So you did it,” said De Castro.

                “Yes, now will you release our wives?” asked Eric.

                “Bring me Sookie Stackhouse and I will see to your wives myself,” said De Castro.

                “The arrangements are being made to have his funeral,” said Eric. “I am sure she will show up there.”

                “You will deliver Sookie Stackhouse to me or I kill your wives,” said De Castro.

                “Please, your majesty, I beg of you, please return them to us,” said Eric.

                “You bring me Sookie, and I will make you a trade. Otherwise, I will kill these women,” said De Castro.

                “I can’t guarantee you anything as far as Sookie is concerned,” said Eric. De Castro hung up and Eric threw the phone and Bill caught it in his hand and sat it on Eric’s desk.

                “They are in Nevada, we will go there and get them, we have four vampires in De Castro’s kingdom and we have vampires here that will go into battle with us,” said Eric.

                “So we rush in there and he just breaks their necks,” said Bill.

                “I want my wife back, do you understand? Do know how this is for me? I have never believed there is a place like Hell and right now I know I am there,” said Eric. “I wished I had Sookie here, I would happily give her to De Castro. I would happily trade her for Sky. Don’t you love Rachel, Bill? Or is it getting easier and easier for you to replace them once you lose them?”

                “How dare you suggest I would not give anything to have Rachel back, I would lay my life down for her,” said Bill.

                “That is the difference between me and you Bill, I would fight and live for Sky, all you can do is die for Rachel. Fight god damn you! This plan will work, we will get them back, Bill. We have to get them back.”

                “Is Jason’s fiancée ready?” asked Bill.

                “Calvin said he would call when everything is ready,” said Eric.

                Michele was surrounded by friends. She could not believe Jason was dead. She could not believe he was dead at the fangs of a vampire. “I hate those sons of bitches,” said Michele.

                “Did you call Bill and Eric?” asked Sam.

                “Yes, they said it was none of their vampires and there was nothing they could do and they were sorry and all that, but they had problems of their own,” said Michele.

                “Michele, I don’t think there is much either of them can do. I mean, that vampire got their wives, they are preoccupied with getting them back,” said Luna.

                “Well where is my husband, where is Adele’s daddy?” asked Michele.

                “Look when they get Rachel and Sky back they will turn their attention with a vengeance on getting the vampire who killed Jason and bringing them to justice,” said Luna.

                “That isn’t enough,” she said. “I want that fanger now.” Sam looked up at Calvin who was standing in the doorway. Calvin looked down, a troubled look on his face. He shook his head and went out. Sam went out to him. Alcide Herveaux was standing there drinking a beer.

                “She okay?” asked Alcide.

                “Hell no,” said Calvin. “She’s torn up. If we are going to help her, we have to go see Bill and Eric. If we can help them, maybe they will help us find the fanger who did this.”

                “Want to take a ride to Fangtasia with me?” asked Alcide.

                “Sure,” he said. “I haven’t been to Fangtasia since Halloween a couple of years back,” said Calvin.

Bill and Pam were talking at the bar with Maxwell Lee when the weres and the shifter walked in.

Bill turned. “Bill how are you doing?” asked the werewolf.

“Not well,” said Bill.

“Is there anything we can do to help you?” asked Calvin.

“I don’t think so,” said Bill. “This is something Eric and I have to deal with ourselves.”

“Is there any word about the vampire who killed Jason Stackhouse?” asked Alcide.

“No, there isn’t. Pam is looking into it, but we have not been able to do anything about that

situation. We are sorry. How is Michele faring?”

                “Not real well at all,” said Calvin. “Look Bill, we figured if we could help you that might free you and Eric up to take a personal hand in this thing with Jason.”

                “I am sorry, Calvin, we simply can’t involve you, it is too dangerous,” said Bill. “We are grateful.”

                “But we need you to help us with this thing with Jason, please help us,” said Calvin. Eric appeared.

                “There is a way to help us, but you take a great deal of risk and the vampire we are dealing with, we have to make sure he survives,” said Eric.

                “Let’s hear it,” said Calvin.

                Sky was crying. “Don’t cry Sky,” she said. “We will be okay.”

                “I keep thinking about the other night when Eric and I fought,” she said. “It just never dawned on me that he was going through something. I am sure it was this situation, this thing with killing Jason.”

                “What did you argue about?” asked Rachel.

                “Oh, I just wanted him to come home a little early so we could be together for a while and he was late coming home.”

 “Thanks for coming home a little early honey, I just wanted to hold you and make love with you before you went to sleep, but I guess that is not so important,” she said.

                “Sky, please,” he said. “I am sorry, but my duties were pressing.”

                “Oh, so you don’t have any duties to me,” she said. The bond practically snapped and popped with her anger.

                “Sky, if all you wanted to do was have sex with me, you should have been here when I rose,” he said.

                “I was at the center, pulling together the legislative stuff you wanted to present to the other monarchs and use to accuse King Filipe of being a Deadacrat,” she said.

                “Stop,” he said, sitting in the big chair. Sky was by the fireplace.

                “Have I pissed you off your majesty?” she asked. “I beg your pardon my lord.”

                “Sky, what do you want? I am trying to keep us alive long enough to have a marriage and you are pissed off because I didn’t come home in time to fuck you?” asked Eric. He looked at her and knew he had said the wrong thing. “Sky….”

                “No,” she put up her hand. “I understand, I have been dismissed, good evening my lord.” She turned on her heels and walked out of the room.

                “Sky!!” he roared after her. No sooner had she entered their room, tears on her face she felt herself being turned around. “When I call after you, you will stop and acknowledge me.”

                “I am not one of your minions, Eric. I am your wife, I share your name and your bed and my blood flows through your veins just as yours flows through mine. You will treat me as your equal,” she said.

                “You are not my equal,” he said. Sky raised her hand and slapped him hard. His fangs slid down and Sky flinched. He looked at her and he picked up her hand, the one that slapped him and he kissed it. “You are not my equal, you are my better.” He put his arms around her and kissed her. He tore off everything she was wearing and pushed  her on the bed. She moved back against the bed and he followed her. He laid on top of her and kissed her. “Open your legs for me Sky.”He raised up and she opened her legs to him. He undid his fly and grabbed her up and in his arms and slid inside her. He brought her orgasm quickly, using all her angry energy against her by flooding it back to her. He held her down and kissed her hard till she was breathless. He seemed to go on forever and he was ruthless, rough with his sex. Sky matched him thrust for thrust. She bit him and made him growl and then he began to come and she pulled his hair back and bit his neck and drank his blood and when he came she was drinking him. When she let him go, he bent to her shoulder and bit her and drank some of her blood.  He lay limply against her, she was breathing heavy and her hear was racing. “Are you okay?”

                Sky just wrapped her arms around him and began to cry. He rolled over on his side and held her gently to him. He kissed her tenderly and let her go. She had a right to be angry. He did sometimes get frustrated because she was not like the women he had known. She was as volatile as he was and she demanded only a little love and attention. He could give her that much. After all, things may be bad for them after this meeting; did he really want to be so disconnected from her? “I’m sorry Sky.”

                “I just love you so much and you feel so far away, so cold to me,” she said.

                “I am sorry Sky,” he said. “I promise to do better. You just have to demand me, make me pay attention. I have told you this before.” She laughed a little. “What?”

                “Now you sound like a real human man,” she said.

                “It will be okay Sky, they will get us out,” said Rachel.

                Michele had the funeral arrangements and Calvin had helped her. The pastor who would have married them was there. The coffin was on the ropes of the lift that would lower it into the ground. Eric and Bill were standing there, in the back of the group. They were waiting for De Castro. When Eric saw the big SUV, they knew De Castro was there. They had made the deal with De Castro to bring the girls with him to the funeral so they could at least see them. The SUV parked and De Castro got out. Palomino was driving. Eric looked at Bill and he nodded. He made his way to Calvin and whispered. Three Hot Shot panthers left silently at a nod of Calvin’s head. Sam left as well. Eric had gone to meet De Castro.

                “Where are Sky and Rachel?” he asked.

                “They are in the back seats, waiting for me to open the door. I told them to stay right there until I could see how things were and if Sookie was here. Is she?” he asked. Eric nodded and looked back at the funeral service.

                “She is standing by Jason Stackhouse’s woman,” De Castro looked at the woman standing by Michele. Sookie was there. She was dressed in a dark blue dress and low heels.

                “Make sure she is secured,” said De Castro.

                “I want to see Sky and Rachel,” said Eric. De Castro nodded to Palomino and she opened the driver seat. She pressed the button and the heavily darkened window lowered. Eric looked at Rachel and Sky in the back seat. Sky had a massive bruise on her face and her eye was swollen. “God dammit, De Castro, you said they were unhurt.”

                “The injury is superficial, it will heal in no time. I offered to heal her, but she refused my blood,” said De Castro. “Now, secure Sookie Stackhouse, make sure she does not leave.”

                “When the service is over, Bill and I will detain her,” said Eric. “Please let the girls go now.”

                “Not until I have Sookie,” said De Castro. He waved at Palomino and she raised the window.

                Sky put her head back on the headrest. Seeing Eric had given her a mixture of both hope and fear. “Where was Bill?” asked Rachel.

                “I didn’t see him,” said Sky.

                “He is here,” said Palomino. She went to the control panel and unlocked the passenger side rear door. There was a minute catching sound and the door opened. It was Bill. He put his finger across his lips and shook his head. He then motioned them to come out with his fingers and they began to carefully slide out. He gently pushed the door shut until it clicked.  He motioned for them to follow him.

                “Sweetheart, you and Sky go to my old home, Luna is there with one of the Hot Shot people. They are going to take you in for the night, under Calvin’s protection. Do not leave there until we come for you. We have left you clothes and your phones and purses and Rachel’s little car is parked behind Calvin’s house under a cover,” he said quietly. They nodded and went through the dark cemetery to the old Compton place. Luna was watching out for them and she silently opened the door and let the girls in.

                “Come on through the back of the house,” she said. “Carlton Norris is behind the house with his truck running. Get in back and lay down and he will drive you to Hot Shot. Stay there till Bill and Eric come for you.”

                “Thank you Luna,” said Rachel. Sky nodded. They went out the back of Bill’s old house and climbed into the back of the truck and he carefully and quietly got them out on the road toward Hot Shot.

                The minister closed the service and Bill and Eric went to speak to Michele. They wished her well and gave their sympathies. Then they turned to Sookie.

                “I am sorry about this Sookie, I will do everything in my power to get the vampire who killed him. I will get justice for him,” said Eric. Sookie looked up at him and nodded.  “Allow Bill and myself to walk you to Sam’s home.” Eric and Bill linked arms with Sookie and they began to take the path toward the old Compton place. They looked at De Castro and Bill motioned him to follow. De Castro began to trail along behind them.

                De Castro listened to them talking to Sookie. He discovered they had indeed hidden her along with the child and her baby in the kingdom of North/South Dakota, which had the least vampires in any kingdom. That was pretty smart, considering who and what she was. He was getting closer to them and they stopped and turned to face De Castro.

                “Your majesty, as promised, Sookie Stackhouse,” said Eric. De Castro stepped up to her and looked at her. She looked just as she did the last time he saw her except one thing, she smelled different.

                “She does not smell like Sookie Stackhouse,” said De Castro.

                “She has been around shifters and weres all day and this evening,” said Bill. “And she no longer consumes vampire blood.” De Castro nodded.

                “So, you killed Jason to get me to come back here, what do you want?” asked Sookie.

                “You,” said De Castro. “I want you under my power.”

                “Well, sorry, but I am not interested in you and I don’t think you will be interested in me at all,” said Sookie.

                “That is where you are wrong,” he said. Sookie gave De Castro a smile and then her face began to dissolve. He looked at her, surprised, until she had completely transformed. It was not Sookie Stackhouse, it was Diantha Cataliades. Eric reached out and grabbed De Castro’s wrist and Bill had him by the other.  Diantha conjured up a bright blue flame in the palm of her hand, smiling broadly.

                “You tricked me,” said De Castro.

                “Well, this is the way it works,” said Eric. “You will be calm and you will place yourself under our custody. You are attending a quorum and you will be tried for your crimes against your fellow vampires, your fellow sovereigns. And we are not alone.” Panthers and wolves came out of the woods and something else, something monstrous De Castro had never seen. It was at least 7 to 8 feet tall and was man like except for that black velvet covering it and the human eyes looking out of the strange face. Suddenly it too shivered and Jason Stackhouse was standing there.

                “You fucked up De Castro,” said Jason.  Hoyt and Catfish stepped up and slapped silver chains on him and secured him.

                “Palomino, Pam and India are at the grave, go and get the silver lined coffin,” said Eric.

                “No, I am your king, you cannot do this,” he said.

                “Yes, I can,” said the Viking. “You took my wife; you interfered in my kingdom for far too long.”

                “Louisiana is my kingdom,” he hissed.

                “Louisiana is my kingdom by act of conquest,” said Eric. Pam, India, and Palomino were bringing the coffin. They laid it on the ground and opened it. It was empty. Eric pushed De Castro into it. He looked at Palomino.

                “I am going to kill you, you treacherous whore,” he hissed at the blond vampire.

                “If you plot no better than you fuck, then I have nothing to worry about,” said Palomino.  She kicked the coffin closed and Pam felt for the locking mechanism and locked the lid.

                “Take him back to Fangtasia,” said Eric. “Calvin?” A large panther shifted back to human. “We will come in a couple of days to get the girls. Hoyt, you, Catfish, and Jason fill in the grave and Jason, you and Michele and Adel get ready to go, they are expecting you in Mississippi. From there, you will fly out to my estate in Barbados where you will have a little vacation until this is over.”

                “Thanks, for everything,” said Bill.

                “Well, I am just glad you and Eric didn’t really kill me,” said Jason. “You guys take care.”

                “Diantha, go back to your uncle and tell him we have De Castro alive. We will be ready to bring him to the quorum the evening after next,” said Eric.

                “Be careful,” she said, and she disappeared. Sam came up to the group.

                “You guys got Sky and Rachel squared away?” he asked.

                “They are at Hot Shot. I need to send Sky some of my blood, can you take it to her?” asked Eric.

                “Is she hurt?” asked Sam. Eric nodded. “Come on, I can find you something to put some blood in.”

                “Bill, go see Andy Bellefleur and let him know what has happened,” said Eric. “Then go home and get ready, get on the chat and let everyone know the quorum is on and reach out to the guardians of the Ancient Pythoness and let her know we will be bringing De Castro to the quorum.”

                “You realize you are, at this moment, the King of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Nevada,” said Bill.

                “Yes,” said Eric.

                “Be careful. You are in danger now, you know he did not travel alone,” he said.

                “There are twenty Nevada vamps in Bon Temps and Shreveport right now,” said Palomino.

                “Can you send any of them back?” asked Eric.

                “I can try,” she said. She took out her cell phone and walked away to begin making calls.

                Eric was sitting in the dining room of Sam and Luna’s house. Sam went up to the bathroom to get a small bottle for Eric to use to put some blood in for Sky. It would not take much blood to heal her. Luna was getting big. Eric looked at her. “You aren’t getting hungry are you?” she asked.

                “No, I can hear the baby’s heartbeat,” he said.

                “Oh,” she put her hand on her belly. “Does it sound okay?”

                “It sounds like the sea, a whooshing sound with a tiny little click of the valves of its heart. Do you know what it is, a boy or a girl?” he asked gently.

                “It is a boy,” she said.

                “Do you have a name yet?” he asked.

                “Samuel for Sam and Ellis, for my dad,” she said proudly.

                “Good names,” he said.  Sam came back with a small bottle.

                “Do you need a knife?” he asked. Eric nodded. Sam reached in his pocket and handed him a small pocket knife and Eric opened it and cut his wrist a little and put the bottle up to the cut. He held it there and  allowed a small amount to pour into the bottle. He put his wrist in his mouth and sucked the blood until it stopped and the skin healed. Sam handed him the cap and Eric put it on the bottle.  “Is it true what Bill said, you are now the king of all those kingdoms?”

                “Only for as long as I can hold them,” he said. “We still have to go to trial.”

                “Think you will win?” asked Sam.

                “I have a very good chance,” he said. “Thank you for helping me, I will not forget your help and I will see to it you are rewarded.”

                “We are all in the same boat,” said Sam. “We have to look after each other. Still it was eerie to see Sookie there.”

                “Diantha did a convincing job,” said Eric. “Thank you, and congratulations on your son.”

                “Thank you,” said Sam.