chapter thirty-

one

                Sky and Rachel met the next morning at McDonalds and ate breakfast together and went to Wal-Mart and bought tons of stuff for the baby and then bought gift cards for Michele to use as she needed them. They put everything together in a laundry basket and brought it to the hospital to give to Jason and Michele. They were a happy couple, and the baby looked robust and bright eyed, even this soon out of the womb.

                After the girls gave them their gift, they headed back to Rachel’s house. Alcide’s pack was there and they began to load up boxes and put them in the panel truck to be taken to the new house. By lunchtime, most of the house was packed except for the bedroom, where Bill still slept. Rachel kept the door locked. They would load the bedroom tonight, after Bill rose.  They stopped at lunch and Sky called to have pizzas and cold sodas delivered and the helpers wolfed it down, no pun intended. They finished loading and drove to the house. Rachel had carefully written where each box went and the workers followed her instructions carefully.  The truck was finally empty and the wolves on their way. “I am going to go home and get a shower and change and wait for Bill to wake.”

                “Yeah, I will too. Do you want me to come back here and help you unpack and wait for the bedroom furniture?” asked Sky.

                “Yeah, if I don’t do something, I will go nuts worrying,” said Rachel.

                “Yeah,” said Sky. “I will run to Sonic on my way into Bon Temps, do you want me to grab you something?”

                “A chicken sandwich and tots and a vanilla milkshake,” said Rachel.

                “That sounds like a good deal,” said Sky. “I’ll see you then.”

                Rachel was in the shower when Bill rose and joined her. They made love in the steamy water and then soaped each other up, dried off and got dressed. “I will call you when we leave the Governor’s house.”

                “You boys be so careful,” she said. “Are you taking your car?”

                “No, Eric has rented us a car,” he said. “I will leave my car at Fangtasia.”

                “Remember, we will be at the new house tonight,” she said, reaching up and putting her arms around Bill’s neck. He pulled her off her feet and kissed her.

                “How could I forget?” he asked. “Be careful, you and Sky have a nice night, and try not to worry.”

                “I will try not to,” said Rachel. She kissed him again and let him go.

                Mustafa Khan and Heidi and Rasul were waiting for Bill outside. They were taking a black SUV and would follow them to Baton Rouge and back. Eric was waiting there as well by the rented car. Bill parked his car and stepped out. He had his iPad in his hand and a small case with some documents about the current laws that were about to be repealed. They were basically all the laws that had been passed that were now being hidden in laws for the two natured to make them either useless or repeal them all together. Among them was the right to marry laws.

                Bill got in and drove. Eric was pensive. “Are you well Eric?”

                “Sky is preparing for a marriage that may not be legitimate in the eyes of the human government,” said Eric.

                “Rachel too,” said Bill. “The laws won’t come up to be voted on till spring, we have a chance.”

                “Damned humans,” said Eric. “For myself, I care nothing, but Sky asks so little of me except to love her and come back to her when I have to go away.”

                “Rachel is like her. We don’t rate them,” said Bill.

                “No, we don’t,” said Eric.  They said nothing else and drove along in silence.

                The three cars watched from their vantage spot. The rented car whizzed by with the moderate traffic. “We have visual. Team is standing down to wait,” said one of the watchers.

                “Be careful,” said Latesta. “And remember, don’t kill them.”

                “Affirmative,” said the voice.

                Rachel sat with Sky and ate her supper. The wolves had come and packed up the bedroom suite and loaded the truck and drove to the new house and unpacked it for her and put it together. “Well, we can start with the kitchen and the linens, move the furniture around and put them where I want them to be, and then move upstairs and do up the bed.”

                “Sure,” said Sky. She popped a tater tot in her mouth. “We have plenty to do.”

                “So, Michele and Jason and Sam and Luna and Kennedy and Danny are having a shared wedding? Where are they having it?”

                “At Jason’s house. They are getting a garden arch and all that, having a preacher in, and then a lawn party reception. Then they rented a little cabin and they are doing a honeymoon there. They are having it at night so Bill and Eric can come,” said Sky.

                “When is that going to happen?” asked Rachel.

                “This spring, after Easter,” said Sky.

                “It will be lovely,” said Rachel.

                “This house will be beautiful for Christmas,” said Sky.

                “It will. Think mom and dad are coming down the day before Christmas Eve and then stay for the wedding. They want to see the outreach center,” said Rachel.

                “They are going to be so proud of you,” said Sky. She finished off her sandwich and slurped down the last of her milkshake. She gathered up all her trash and threw it away. Rachel had a couple more bites to go and Sky went around the room, looking at boxes. There were Rachel’s books on several of the boxes. “Can I go on and unpack these books and put them in the book shelves?”

                “Sure,” she said.

                The Governor’s mansion was what everyone expected a plantation to be. If a building could come from central casting, this one had tried out for the role of either Tara or Twelve Oaks. Bill drove the car down the avenue of oaks and pulled into the port cochere and were met by the doorman. The two vampires got out and were escorted in by the governor’s personal assistant. They were invited across the threshold (Bill and Eric understood their invitations would be rescinded when they left). The two vampires were only interested in what the Deadacrat would have to say.

                They were ushered in by the butler into the official drawing room and the butler left and announced them in another room to the governor. Bill thought he looked like the quintessential southern “colonel”. Upon entering the room, it was obvious why Bill thought that. He was about six feet tall and 300 pounds and wore his hair a little long and it was salt and pepper grey. He was bald on top and dressed in an expensive suit. He was soft and his hands were manicured to indecency and he had a hearty good old boy laugh. “Welcome to the People’s House Mr. Northman, Mr. Compton.” He gave them a nod, approximating the vampire greeting. “Where are the lovely ladies you gentlemen are engaged to? Margaret was looking forward to visiting with him while we had our talk.”

                “Our companions are otherwise distracted governor,” said Bill, his voice taking on an even softer drawl.  “I am moving to a new residence.”

                “Ah, well, at least you are being spared the details of domesticity,” said the governor. “Won’t you have a seat? I have arranged to have some Royalty for you.”

                “That is very kind of you,” said Bill. The governor motioned for them to sit down in the parlor.  Eric took a seat in a high back leather Eames chair. He had said nothing. The governor plopped himself down on a couch and Bill took a seat opposite him. There was a fire roaring in the hearth.

                “Louisiana winters seem to get colder and damper,” the old politician said. “This is my last term. I am grooming my Lt. Governor to be the candidate. And you will be gratified to know he will be vampire as soon as your higher ups give him permission.”

                “Actually, I am the higher up among my kind here in Louisiana, “Eric said finally. “I hold the position equivalent to yours.”

                “Excellent, so we have a direct line to one another,” said the governor. He opened a small tortoise shell box and took out a rum soaked cigar. “Do you gentlemen mind?” Eric motioned to him to do as he pleased. Bill busied himself taking out a folder and his iPad. The first lady of the state announced herself and Bill and Eric stood up briefly. She was carrying a tray with bourbon on the rocks and two brandy snifters of Royalty.

                “You gentlemen please sit down,” said Margaret. She set the bourbon on the table and offered the blood to Bill and Eric. “I hope I got it warm enough. I always worry I don’t get it warm enough.”

                “It seems fine, Mrs. Langthrop,” said Eric.

                “What a lovely voice,” she said, looking at the vampire. “You are not from around here.”

                “No, I am not, and thank you for the compliment,” said Eric.

                “You boys just have to bring your lady friends to the mansion and allow me to meet them,” said the woman.

                “We regret they could not attend you with us,” said Bill.

                “Oh my, and what a southern drawl you have. I am sure that is just the way we all sounded at one time,” she said. “Please do bring them, our house is your house.”

                “Margaret, we need to start our meeting,” prompted the governor.

                “Of course. If you will excuse me,” said the first lady. Bill stood up as she left and then sat down.

                “You have to look over her. Now that my term is about to expire, we don’t get as many visitors and she enjoys new people,” said the governor. “Now, to business. What do you want to talk to me about?”

                “We have been watching the new laws for both supernatural communities for some time and we were gratified so many were passed in our favor. However, we have discovered some of these newly passed laws are going to be seriously curtailed or repealed all together,” said Bill.

                “You don’t say?” asked the governor, puffing his cigar. “Which laws would those be?”

                “Well, the voting laws will remain intact. But for example, the equal housing laws. They are actually being repealed and another law put in its place. It will force any supernatural, either vampire or two natured to post on their property that a supernatural lives there. That is tantamount to segregation and it labels us as if we are criminals, sexual predators.”

                “You mean there are no sexual predators among your kind? Child molesters and rapists?” said the governor languidly.

                “No, but I can guarantee you if I find a vampire or a two natured for that matter preying on children or defenseless people, I will give them the true death,” said Eric. “That is even more punishment than humans give to human criminals. I tolerate very little.”

                “What else do you have concerns about?” asked the governor.

                “The restriction of reproduction. The bill is mainly about the two natured, offering a tax incentive for two natured couples to abort the first child of their union, which effectively breaks the reproduction of more two natured. There is a return of a suggestion there be a $100,000 license fee for vampires and a maker can make only one child.”

                “But vampires themselves police who may become a maker and who may not, I understand there are even clandestine places in New Orleans where humans can pay a fee and be turned,” said the governor.

                “Those who sell the gift of the blood are blasphemers against the blood and we are in the process of chastising those who do it,” said Eric. “If humans had to pay a fee to become pregnant, you would have anarchy in the streets. Even in places where humans are asked to curtail reproduction, such as China, there are those who willingly break the law.”

                “There are, and we are far better than the Chinese,” said the governor. “What else.”

                “The repeal of the freedom of marriage laws for humans and vampires who wish to be in legal and binding legitimate unions,” said Bill.

                “Can I speak frankly with you boys?” said the old politician. Eric nodded. Bill sat back. “Back when I was a boy it was illegal for blacks and whites to marry. Miscegenation laws they called it. The reasoning was that it destroyed both races because the children borne of these unions were neither one nor the other. In reality, it was to keep the lines of segregation clear. We didn’t want some half caste child going to school with white children, half caste people sitting at the lunch counters. Now we have all sorts mating up. Even the sin which will not be mentioned is being debated.” Eric looked at Bill.

                “He is speaking of gay marriage,” said Bill. Eric nodded.

                “Marriage between your kind and humans is really silly on the outside. Look at it from where I am sitting. Why would someone who will live for hundreds of years possibly want to marry humans who may only have thirty really good years for sex and whatever else you people do?” he asked. “I understand your kind have a wedding ceremony of your own, sort of jump the broomstick, what would your blood whores care if they were not legally married so long as they can fuck you and call themselves your wives and spend your money?” Bill looked at Eric and saw the brief glow of anger in his eyes. It disappeared before the governor noticed.  Bill willed Eric to not say anything.

                “It limits their claim to our property if we met the true death. They would not be our legal heirs and they would not have access to our wealth,” said Eric carefully.

                “Let’s stop fucking around here boys, what do you really want? A piece of the pie? That is easy enough. You just sit back and let us do what we want and everyone will get something. You are both influential vampires, why do you care what happens to less influential vampires?” said the governor. “Name your price Mr. Northman; I am sure it will be reasonable.”

                “I have to consider your offer,” said Eric. “I will contact you as soon as possible.”

                “Good, now, if you boys will see yourself out, my wife has supper on the table,” he said. He stood up. “We can be reasonable here. These are laws for the ordinary fanger, not well to do strong ones like yourself. We can make a reasonable deal.”

                “As you say, we will be reasonable,” said Eric. Both of them stood and walked toward the front door and were ushered out by a butler. He cast superior eyes on the two vampires and opened the doors. They barely cleared the threshold when the doors were shut behind them and they could hear the governor’s voice rescinding their invitation. “Bill?”

                “Yes,” he said.

                “Are you still making that list?” asked Eric.

                “I am,” he said.

                “Add the governor’s name to it,” said Eric. “And refuse the vampire who is requesting permission to make his Lt. Governor.”

                “They will simply do it without permission,” said Bill.

                “Then that is what they will do, but our records will show they were refused permission,” said Eric. He slid into the driver’s seat and Bill slid into the passenger seat and they began their journey homeward. “Call Rachel and Sky and tell them we are on our way home.”

                “I shall,” said Bill.

                Rachel was standing on one of her kitchen chairs tapping in a nail to hang a picture. She hung it and Sky stood back to judge whether it is straight or not. A phone rang. “Oh Sky that is Bill, please answer the phone.” Sky went over and picked up the phone.

                “Rachel’s phone,” she said.

                “Sky, this is Bill, we are on our way back,” he said.

                “Oh great,” she said. “How was the meeting?”

                “As we expected really,” said Bill. “Are you ladies making any progress?”

                “Well, your bed is made and your clothes are hung up and there are towels in the bathroom and TrueBlood in the fridge,” she said.

                “Then you and she seem to have everything in order,” said Bill.  “We will be home as soon as we can.”

                “Be careful,” she said.

                “We will,” said Sky. Bill hung up and she did the same. “That was your man, they are on their way home.”

                “That’s a relief,” said Rachel.

                Eric was driving along, his eyes scanning the road. Suddenly he became alert. “We are being followed.”

                “Is it Heidi and Khan?” asked Bill, as he typed out the minutes of the meeting.

                “No, they are several more car lengths behind,” said Eric. “We have one behind us and we have two that keep switching position. First one and then the other trade the lead places. Later model cars, steel construction.”

                “Damn,” said Bill. He reached down between his legs and pulled a sawed off shotgun from under the seat. Eric reached under his seat and pulled out a pistol and laid it in his lap. Where was a police officer when you could use one? Suddenly the lead car slowed down and Eric had to slow down as well. The side car slid beside them on the passenger side. The rear headlights filled the rental car’s interior.  Bill called Heidi on speaker phone. “We are being hemmed in; they will run us off the road soon.”

                “We will be there in five minutes,” said Heidi.

                “When you do, come in silently and armed,” said Bill.

                “Will do,” she said and clicked off. Suddenly there was a small jolt and the side car rubbed against the rental.

                “Bill?” said Rachel.

                “I’m getting it too,” said Sky. “They feel….trapped.”

                “Shit, what do we do?” said Rachel.

                “Concentrate. Come here and sit in the floor with me,” said Sky. They both went to the rug and sat down facing one another.  Sky took her hands. “We are going to send them energy and courage and strength through the bond.”

                “Okay,” she said. Bill and Rachel had been diligent practicing with the bond.

                “Rachel,” muttered Bill.

                “Um…those wonderful women. It would be very rude to meet the true death after sending us this wonderful energy.”

                “It would,” said Bill. There was another rub on the passenger side and a bump from behind and they in turn bumped the lead car. The lead car put their blinker on and Eric felt another nudge from the passenger side and he turned the wheel of the car to the left and followed the lead car up a rural road. The side car fell behind and let the back car pull in and they presumably pulled in behind. The lead car took them as far as they could into the road. Eric could see the remains of a few old houses, perhaps it had once been a fishing camp of some sort.
                “When we open our doors, we come out shooting. You turn and shoot behind us and I will shoot in front,” said Eric.

                “Sounds like the only plan we could have,” said Bill. “1,2,3 OPEN!” They opened their doors and Eric with the .44 and Bill with the pump action shot gun began shooting. Eric shot the two vampires in front in the head, pulverizing their skulls. One of the vampires behind them shot Bill in the shoulder, slowing him down a little but regretting it when his chest sprang open and his heart was turned into hamburger. He then shot the legs out from under the passenger from the second tracking car, making the vampire’s knees turn to gelatin. Eric shot the first vampire in front of him in the heart and he fell like a stone and a female brought up the rear and flew at him, grabbing his throat and biting down. Jesus Christ, she must have a jaw with a hinge because she was trying pull his head from his throat. Suddenly Bill and Heidi had the woman and Heidi picked up what looked like a piece of fence post and staked her. She let go of Eric and he kicked away from her. Mustapha squatted down and offered Eric his blood and the vampire clamped down to heal quickly. He lost a lot of his volume. Bill went to the vampire he had crippled.

                “Shoot me, finish me,” he said.

                “I will but not before you tell me who sent you and why,” said Bill. The crippled vampire laughed.

                “I can’t tell you that,” he said. Bill reached down and seized a handful of the bloody meat that had once been a whole leg. The vampire screamed.  “Christian Baruch!!!” he screamed.

                “Why?” asked Bill.

                “He resents the fact De Castro made Northman regent, so he wanted us to get you both and your women if we could, and bring them to Oklahoma. He was going to kill you and he was going to make whores of your women in a blood brothel,” he said. Heidi leaned over Bill’s shoulder.

                “I smelled this asshole before. He was in the tolerance center,” said Heidi.

                “Who ordered the center bugged?” asked Bill, digging his fingers deeper into his flesh.

                “De Castro, but Christian gave us an extra assignment. Now give me the true death,” he gasped.

                “With pleasure,” he said and Bill rammed his hand into his chest and destroyed his heart.

                Eric was recovering but he was weak. Mustafa was bundling him into the back of the car. Heidi and Rasul were clearing the road of the trapping cars. Bill got into the driver’s seat. “Are you okay to drive Bill?” asked Mustafa.

                “Yes, it was a small caliber shot. The bullet will come out in a while. I can call a donator for some blood,” he said.  “Is Eric okay?”

                “I’m fine, I just need blood. Take me to Shreveport and drop me at Fangtasia and I will be able to get some blood,” said Eric.

                “I’ll call Rachel and tell them we are okay and back on the road,” said Bill.

                “Khan, stay close, we can’t be stopped again, we are too weak to fight,” he said.

                “We will boss,” said Khan.

               

                Rachel’s phone rang. “Bill?”

                “We are okay sweetheart. We are half way home. We will be back in two hours. You and Sky stay there please. I will have to have some blood and Eric too, we weren’t badly hurt but we have to have some blood.”

                “I’ll meet you there and give you mine,” said Rachel.

                “I drank from you last night, I will deplete you,” said Bill. “This is better sweetheart. Just be waiting for me.”

                “I will, be safe Bill,” she said.

                “I will,” he said.  He hung up and put the car in reverse and backed down the dirt road and back onto the highway. “Eric are you awake?”

                “Listening,” he said.

                “Baruch was after us, he wanted us and he wanted Rachel and Sky. He was going to kill us and he was going make blood whores out of the girls,” said Bill.

                “Baruch will not live to see the end of this. Add him to the list,” said Eric.

                “De Castro was the one who had the center bugged and the vampires we killed tonight were the ones who did it,” said Bill. Heidi identified them.

                “Well done,” said Eric groaning. “The one who attacked me must have hit my jugular because I am weak.”

                “You are covered in blood,” said Bill. “Hold on Eric, don’t make me break my promise to Sookie.”

                “Fuck Sookie, do this for Sky. She would be so pissed at me if I met the true death,” he said laughing.

                “They feel tired,” said Sky.

                “Well, you send Eric relaxing vibes, and I will send Bill some energy vibes so he can drive and get them home,” said Rachel.

                “Does Eric need blood?” asked Sky.

                “Yeah, so does Bill but Eric really needs it,” said Rachel.”Maybe if you relax him, he can be healing more.”

               

                Eric slid into a strange sleep. He was exhausted and he felt his eyes close and he felt his chest rise and fall as he breathed. He could not figure out why he was breathing, he did not need to breathe. And he felt warm, almost human warm. Then he heard her voice, Sky, his sun was talking to him, telling him a story. He listened to her voice. He would never be able to tell the story back to her but he felt himself being pulled into sleep. He was resting and it felt like natural sleep, he could not say for sure, because he had long forgotten human sleep but he supposed this was it because this was not like vampire rest or down time or day death. This was sleep. He put one hand on his belly and one hand relaxed and hung off the seat and he fell asleep.

                Pam was pulling on his shoulders when he woke. He was behind Fangtasia and Bill was calling Rachel to tell her they were in Shreveport and once they had some blood they would be on their way home.  Bill followed Pam and Eric into the bar and to Eric’s office. A couple of young women, professional feeders, not fang bangers, were there and they positioned themselves so each vampire could feed comfortably. Bill finished first. The bullet popped out and the fresh blood healed the vampire simultaneously. Eric fed deeply but he was feeling better. His blood meal tapped him off with an apology. “I can send another in sir,” she said.

                “I’m fine,” said Eric. “I beg your pardon if I took too much.”

                “You didn’t, you were just coming close,” she said. “You two get better.”

                “Thank you. Pam?” he asked to the room. Pam appeared. “Call Sky,” he began.

                “I have she is on her way to the residence,” said Pam. He nodded.

                “Bill needs a driver home, and I need you to take me home,” said Eric.

                “If you need another feed, let me call them back and have them get you another blood meal,” said Pam.

                “I just need some volume. Sky can get me TrueBlood,” said Eric.

                “If she is going to be your wife, she should make herself useful and give you blood,” said Pam.

                “Pam, speak that way about Sky again and I will order you out of my kingdom,” said Eric.

                “Yes, Regent,” she said, chastened. Eric struggled to his feet.

                “Help me undress and get me something to wear. I want to shower,” said Eric. “I don’t want Sky to see all this blood on me.”

                “I will see you tomorrow night,” said Bill.

                “Yes, I want to do a chat with the sheriffs and see to it they know to be on the lookout,” said Eric

                “I will see you then,” said Eric.

                Rachel waited on tenterhooks, watching for Bill’s car. When it pulled into the drive and she saw Bill with blood on him, she rushed outside in her bare feet and her robe and pajamas. “I’m okay sweetheart, thank you so much for the help you sent me in the bond.”

                “Is Eric okay?” asked Rachel. “Sky was so worried about him.”

                “He will be fine once he rests and had a little TrueBlood,” said Bill.

                “Do you want some TrueBlood?” she asked.

                “That would be nice and a hot bath,” he said.

                “I was asleep,” he said, cupping Sky’s face. They were lying in their bed, and Sky was cuddling him, sharing her warmth.

                “You sleep every day,” she said.

                “No, this was like human sleep, and I breathed very deeply and slowly and I was warm, almost as warm as a human,” he said. He looked at her. “What are you doing to me Sky? It felt like you were inside me, holding me, relaxing me.”

                “I was just relaxing myself, sending it through the bond. I figured that if you relaxed, you might heal better,” she said.

                “I could not tell you how long it has been since I felt those things. One night, you will have to do this so I can pay attention and feel everything. Just promise me you will never relax while I am fighting. I would lose my head if you did.”

                “I won’t. Did I do right then you were in trouble? Sending you my energy?” she asked.

                “You did wonderfully,” he said. “I have never heard of a vampire benefitting from the bond before. Sookie hated my bond with her, so I never felt the potential of the bond. But this was quite something,” he said. He pulled Sky to him and kissed her. “I love you red haired woman.”

                “I love you my wild Viking,” she answered. She squeezed herself tighter against him and they both fell exhausted into sleep.

                Rachel woke up late to her bladder throbbing. She slid out of Bill’s arms and went to the bathroom. She came back and pulled the blankets up around Bill more. She leaned forward and kissed him. Rachel looked around at the boxes. She knew she could have the LSU marching band in her bedroom and it would not wake Bill, but she decided to let him sleep. She walked downstairs and put on coffee and began to sort through some boxes. Some things were from her house, some things were from Bill’s house. There was a large box marked pictures. She grabbed her coffee cup and a garbage bag and went and sat down by the box. She opened it and began to pull out pictures. Some were paintings. She put them to the side and then found scads of pictures in gilt frames. There were pictures of vaguely familiar looking people. She looked on the backs and in Bill’s scholarly hand, there were inscriptions of who was in the picture. They were local names.  Fortenberry, Laudermilk, Bellefleurs, Thorntons, Norrises (both branches), Stackhouses, Comptons, and Landrys. She chose pictures Bill had marked as family. He had a picture of his sister, his brother, a picture of his parents and Bill and a young woman she supposed was Bill’s Caroline. Then there was a picture of Bill and Caroline and a boy and girl. His family. She sat those pictures aside. She dug around and found some pretty silhouette portraits and put all the other pictures back. She went and got a dust rag and dusted them and set them up on the mantel.

                She worked her way through many boxes, putting her family pictures on the mantel too. She hoped Bill would not mind she had put out some of his pictures. She found her box of doo dads and began to sort through some of them and chose the things she wanted to display the most. She was content to work through her boxes and work on her house.

                Latesta was not very happy. He was pacing the area where Bill and Eric had been run off the road. They were supposed to have picked them up and secured them and then gone to get the women.  Now look, those fanged bastards were just piles of ash in the sun and those banes to Latesta’s existence were still on the loose. This was another loused up mission and De Castro was going to wonder what he had tried to do. This was not part of De Castro’s plan. He had wanted the center bugged and nothing else. He said moving against Northman and Compton would tip his hand. Latesta got into the car and drove back to Bon Temps. Maybe he could blame it on the governor. That’s it, Latesta and De Castro both knew they were off to see the governor. The governor could have ordered them assassinated. Then he changed his mind…How would the governor know about the vampires who died to send them out. Latesta decided to say nothing, to feign ignorance. That would be the best thing to do.

                Sky spent her day at the school, grading the work that had already been submitted. Most of it was pretty good. She and Emilio worked quietly together. He was a good office assistant. She asked him what his family would be doing for Christmas, as the end of the semester was coming soon.  Apparently they had  large brood and it would be a joyous riot.

                 The phone rang and she picked it up. “Hello Professor Faulconer, I was asked by the chancellor to call you to see if you would come up and see him for a moment.”

                “Sure Mrs. Halbert, what is the meeting about?” she said.

                “I have no idea,” she said.

                “Tell him I can be there in ten minutes,” said Sky.

                “Surely,” she said and hung up.

                Sky had finished her bit of work, saved it on her drive and headed out. She walked up to the chancellor’s office and stepped in. “Go on in Professor Faulconer.” Sky walked in and the chancellor looked up.

                “Just a moment Professor,” he said. Sky sat down and set her brief case on the floor beside her. He signed a couple of documents and set them aside and looked at her. “I don’t know how to begin.”

                “From the beginning chancellor,” she said gently.

                “The board has met over that little situation you had with the protestors and some other incidents that have happened since we started the vampire courses here at Bon Temps Community College. We have also crunched the numbers. Professor, Bon Temps isn’t like Baton Rouge or New Orleans or bigger places with colleges. Bon Temps is insular, a little more conservative. Now, the courses are popular, no doubt about it, but they simply cost us more in the way of extra security, and all the printing you and others do to supplement the text books they simply cost more than the classes bring in. I hate to inform you of this, but we are suspending our vampire courses and as a result, we are having to terminate some of our professors and offer retirement to some others.”

                “This would not have anything to do with Professor Reynolds and the fact I am engaged to marry a vampire?” asked Sky.

                “No, not at all. And I am not aware of any conflict between you and Professor Reynolds,” said the chancellor. “You just see how it is.”

                “Yes, I do see,” she said.

                “Now, I can’t offer you a severance package, and I do need for you to vacate your office at the end of the semester,” he said.

                “Not a problem,” said Sky.

                “Sorry Professor Faulconer,” said the chancellor.

               

                The knock on the door brought Rachel out of her reverie. She was freshly showered and the living room was warm and friendly with books and art and lamps and the fire going in the fireplace. She was getting ready to warm up a Freschetta’s pizza when she heard the knocking. She went to the door and saw Sky there. “Hey Sky….Whoa…what is going on?”

                “I have been terminated,” she said.

                “My God, why?” asked Sky.

                “Apparently the college can’t afford me and the other professors who teach vampire courses,” said Sky.

                “That is terrible,” said Rachel. “Do you want something to drink?”

                “A coke would be nice,” she said.

                “Interest you in a pizza?” she asked

                “If it would not put you out,” she said. “This sucks.”

                “It does, but now you can come and work with the center,” she said. “After the opening the first of the year, we will be busy. We have classes completely booked till September.”

                “I could,” said Sky. She sipped her coke. “How is Bill?”

                “He’s okay,” said Rachel. “He wasn’t all that hurt. How is Eric?”

                “He is okay, I gave him two bottles of TrueBlood and he went to sleep not long after he got home,” said Sky.  

                “Bill says vampires heal best when they sleep,” said Rachel. Sky nodded. “Hey, everything will work out.”

                “I’m sorry Rachel, I am going home. I want to lay down next to my Viking and wait for him to wake up. Can I take you up on the pizza some other time?” she asked.

                “Sure,” said Rachel. “Just talk to Eric, I think he will tell you that everything happens for a reason. This is a good thing.”

                “Yeah, I hope so,” she said.

                “Let’s go to lunch tomorrow,” said Rachel.

                “Sounds good,” she said.