chapter twenty-

nine

                The St Lucien’s Fever Hospital was an ornate French colonial style mission hospital when Louisiana was still a French held territory. It was abandoned in the 1940’s and had been until the Great Revelation. When Marcus bought the property, he had grand designs for it but he still had not sold it to other more wealthy vampires. Eric was doing a head count. He expected all his sheriffs and their seconds there.  “Where is Salome?”

                “She was detained,” said Herodotus, the manager of Temptations, a vampire cabaret featuring vampire sex acts and other fetishistic performances. Humans could only attend with an engraved invitation and signed release of responsibility for the bar. She was also Salome’s second in command

                “Then we will wait,” said Eric. He and Bill sat down in a lounge area. They were both brought TrueBlood and some vampires took the time to speak to them. Some had heard about the outreach center and Eric assured them they would be able to find out more a little later. He wanted everyone focused on the job at hand.

                Salome finally arrived and they went into what must have been the cafeteria. Bill’s nose wrinkled with a mildew smell. If it were him, he would have this building razed. They all sat down around an old table with Eric at its head.

                “I’m pleased to see all of you here.  As we have communicated with all of you and you have identified problem areas, I note there are some areas that have fewer problems than others do. So I want the sheriff of these areas to send their minions to other larger places,” said Eric. “I don’t want any humans harmed. We are not ready to do that action. You have compiled your various problems and the leaders of these human groups and submitted them to me. I will be visiting with someone of some importance in the human government in Louisiana.”

                “Is it true after this governor finishes his term, he is going to run his Lt. Governor, and he is being made vampire?” asked Rasul, the sheriff of Area Four.

                “We have heard this as well,” said Bill. “We don’t have confirmation, but we have heard they are going to run a true Deadacrat for governor. The person running with him as Lt. Governor will be human and will run the daytime hours of the government and the Governor will of course run the nighttime hours. Literally a 24/7 government.”

                “Will that help us?” asked Pam.

                “That is what we hope to find out,” said Eric, though he personally believed this Deadacrat was a puppet for De Castro.

                “What should we do if we think we will be overcome?” asked Booth Crimmons, the Sheriff of Area Two.

                “Get out. There is always another night,” said Eric. “This is the first strike, to get as many as we can at once and then we can work on picking them off. Some will return to De Castro.”

                “That will be our death knell,” said Audrey Matthews, Sheriff of Area Three.

                “De Castro will not say anything. He will not like showing his hand too soon,” said Eric. “He will know we are on to him, but he will not know how deep we are in his organization. Remember, no humans. We can’t afford to have any scrutiny from human law enforcement. Vampires killing vampires is actually ignored. They don’t know how to deal with us anyway in human law enforcement.”

                “And then what?” asked  Salome.

                “Then this spring, we gather before the Ancient Pythoness. That is why we need our ducks in a row. Some of you may not know that I am taking responsibility for accusing De Castro. I have the help of several kings and queens and I can’t afford any mistakes among my own. So continue gathering evidence,” he said.

                “What happens between now and spring though?” asked Rasul.

                “We stay alive. I will be formally invested at the winter solstice.  He thinks this is a way to monitor this kingdom. I want him spread too thin. After my investment and the Yule holiday, we will begin to move on humans. We will have a policy of capture and collect intelligence. Judith Vardamon was his vampire connection between him and the humans. There is still a vampire connection. She was not the only one,” said Eric.

                “When should we be connecting with the packs?” asked Anthony Bolivar, Audrey’s second.

                “You should be contacting them now. The weres and shifters of Area Five have been contacting the two natured for about two weeks now, you should extend the olive branch and begin to organize them after Thanksgiving.  They will be important when we begin to go after the humans.”

                “Is it true you are marrying a human woman?” asked Salome.

                “I am being married to a human woman. She is not like Sookie, she has no unusual quality except she is intelligent and lovely,” said Eric.

                “I hear Sookie Stackhouse is still alive, that is why De Castro is after you,” said Chico Ramone, Rasul’s second.

                “Sookie Stackhouse no longer exists,” said Eric.

                “Why would he believe she is still alive?” asked Salome.

                “I have no idea,” said Eric.

                Sam watched the four strange vampires walk into the bar. They came in like gunslingers and spread out in a line for a second before taking a seat at a four top in the center of the room. They ordered TrueBlood from Holly who came up and asked them what they wanted. She put the order in at the bar. Sam gave Holly a look and she shrugged a little. Sam popped the four bottles into the microwave to heat and when they went off, he put them on Holly’s tray and she ran the bottles out. Several of the human patrons had taken note of the vampires as well, keeping an eye on them. Sam took out his phone and dialed Jason. “Hey buddy, what are you doing?”

                “Sitting around, waiting for Michele to pop,” he said, contentedly. Michele gave him a frown.

                “I was wondering if you and Calvin have forgotten our pool game,” said Sam. At first, Jason was silent.

                “Yeah, appears I have,” he said. “I’ll see if Calvin is around, maybe Carlton and Marvin can join us.”

                “That would make things really interesting,” said Sam. “I will see you all real soon.”

                “You bet,” said Jason.  Michele was watching with pursed, disapproving lips. “I am going to go to Merlotte’s.”

                “Yeah,” she said.

                “Luna is home, maybe I should take you there,” said Jason.

                “I’ll call her,” said Michele. She struggled out of the chair and went into the kitchen. Jason went to the door and grabbed his coat and began to dial Calvin on his way out.

                “Calvin, Sam is in trouble,” said Jason.

                “We’ll be right there.”

                Jason was waiting outside of the bar when Calvin, Carlton, and Marvin appeared in his beat up work truck. The panther stepped up. “Vampires?”

                “I don’t know,” said Jason. “They will smell us, which may be enough to get rid of them if that seems to be the problem.”

                “Just be careful of the humans, we don’t want anyone to get hurt,” said Calvin. “Jason, you go in first, then Carlton and Marvin will follow you. Kind of spread out a little. Then I will come in.” They all nodded and Jason headed for the door.

                During the ten minutes it took to get there, the humans had slowly sent the women out. Even Sam had sent Holly and Kennedy and the new girl out. When Jason walked in he looked around casually and sat down at the bar. “Hey there Sam,” said Jason. “Calvin and them will be here soon.”

                “Great, I plan to mop the floor,” he said, looking for a second at the vampires.

                “You will get your chance,” said Jason. He knew when Carlton and Marvin walked in. The two panthers strolled in and sat down by the jukebox. Sam opened Jason a bottle of beer and sat it in front of him. He sipped it and Calvin came in and sat down by Jason.

                “Hey bartender, bring us another round,” shouted one of the vampires. Sam grabbed four bloods and heated them. “Boy you are slower than death.”

                “Sorry about that,” he said, bringing them the bottles. “We are a little short staffed. You fellahs new?”

                “You can say that,” he said. “Nice place, I knew the vampire who owned it.”

                “You don’t say?” asked Sam.

                “We provided him with security. You need security?” asked another vampire.

                “This is a family place, I don’t have much need for security,” said Sam.

                “We think you do,” said the vampire, scooting away from the table. Sam took a step back and shifted. The big brown bear stood up on his hind legs. Three panthers slid between the tables quickly abandoned by humans. The good old boys playing pool stepped up with the pool cues in their hands.                “You think this scares us?” Three more vampires appeared. The vampire who had been speaking to Sam laughed. “You don’t want to cause a blood bath here?”

                “I think you better rethink that,” said Carlton. He pointed behind the vampire who was standing and he turned.

                The thing standing behind him was basically human. Basically. It looked as if the human thing was covered in black velvet. His huge upper body was more barrel shaped and his hindquarters were made like a cat’s. In his human form, Jason was 5’9”, maybe 5’10”. As a panther, he was 7 feet tall. His tail was not as long as the panthers that now guarded the vampires but it waved back and forth in agitation. It snarled its blunted face and showed the powerful prothaganous jaw and long sharp teeth. His hands were as big as supper dishes and ended in huge tips. His whiskers were trembling. His human ears were more pointed and laid back against his skull.

                “I hate cats,” said the vampire. He drew back his fist and Jason swiped a paw and the pale cold hand fell on the floor and another swipe sent his head to lie next to it. The remaining vampires jumped on Sam and the three true panthers and Jason waded in to help Sam. Danny Prideaux ran with his pool cue in this hand and planted the cue between a vampire’s shoulders that had a hold of one of the true panthers, biting it in its thick throat. He shifted back and Catfish grabbed him and slapped a bar towel over his neck. The blood slowed down, so it was not a killing bite. One of the panthers separated a vampire from his head by biting down on his neck with a force that broke the neck and tore the muscles apart and the head rolled away.

                With a rebel yell, Terry Bellefleur came out and drove a kitchen knife into the chest of another vampire. Jason and Sam played tug of war with one of the last one of the crew and tore him apart. Yet another met his end at the business end of a pool cue. The last remaining vampire beat a hasty retreat.  The bar was eerily quiet. Sam and Jason looked at one another. Not many people had seen Sam as anything much but the collie dog that one time and no one outside the Hot Shot community had seen Jason Stackhouse. Sam shifted back to human and Jason did too, though his process was a little less fluid.

                “We need to clean this up,” said Sam. “Danny, lock the doors and put the closed sign up. Go in the office and tell Luna to call Alcide, we are going to need help from vampires.”

                Alcide was holding court in Hair of the Dog when the phone rang. “Herveaux?”

                “This is Luna, we have a problem,” said the shifter. She explained what had happened.

                “We need vamp help, let me call Eric,” said Alcide. “He will send someone to help you.” He hung up and called Eric’s phone. It went to voice mail.  He called Sky.

                Sky and Rachel were playing cards in front of the big fire when Sky’s phone went off. “Hello?”

                “This is Alcide, Eric around?” he asked.

                “Not at the moment, something I can do for you?” she asked.

                “Anyone at Fangtasia?” he asked.

                “India and Indira,” she said.

                “I will call there,” he said.

                “Is there something going on?”

                “I think I’ve got this,” said Alcide. “Nothing to worry about. Sam needs him for something.”

                “Okay,” she said. “You be careful.”

                “Thanks,” he said. He called Fangtasia. He listened patiently through the robot voice and pressed the button he needed and the voice on the other end answered in a husky voice. “I need Indira on the phone.”

                “She’s at the door,” said the voice.

                “Well, go trade places with her and have her come to the phone,” said Alcide. He heard the phone being set down and then seconds later, he heard it being picked up.

                “What?” she said sullenly.

                “We have a little problem. Seven strange vampires went into Sam Merlotte’s bar and tried to kill him. They killed six of them and the last one got away,” said Alcide. “They need someone to help them clean the place up.”

                “I’ll be right there,” said Indira. She hung up and motioned for Thalia to come and replace India at the bar, and waved at Maxwell Lee to follow her out.

                The shifters had managed to dress and one of the patrons took Carlton to the hospital with a story about being bit by a stray dog. They had gone through the vampire’s pockets and took out their wallets and phones and were shoveling them up into a trash barrel by the time Indira and India and Maxwell Lee appeared. “You seem to have things under control.”

                “We have their wallets and phones,” said Sam. “Thought you all would want that. What do you recommend we do with the remains?”

                “You can take them out and scatter them,” said Maxwell Lee.  He was looking at the wallets. They were all from Las Vegas. De Castro’s people.  Maxwell Lee called Eric. “Eric call me when you get this.” He hung up and gathered up the wallets and phones and put them in a bag Terry brought to him. “I am going to stay here to sit around and be your guard. Call me if there is any more trouble.”

                “I will. And let us know what Eric wants us to do,” he said.

                “Yes,” he said. Indira turned and went out and India followed her.

                Eric listened closely. “Ask Sam to write it down so I have evidence. Put it all in the usual places. Has Gerald gone through everything on their phone and documented it?” Eric listened. “Have you checked on Sky and Rachel?” He nodded at the phone. “I will as soon as possible.” Eric hung up and went over to Bill. “De Castro has attempted the first strike. Sam Merlotte, Jason Stackhouse and Calvin Norris and some of his family dispatched six vampires and one got away.”

                “He knows something is coming,” said Bill.

                “He can know it all he wants. Sam was smart enough to get their wallets and cell phones as they cleaned up the remains and Maxwell Lee took them. Gerald is stripping them for information.”

                “Do you think De Castro will contact you?”

                “No,” said Eric.  “He will contact his human and vampire minions. But he has someone here who is telling him we were meeting tonight.”

                “Agreed,” nodded Bill.

                Jason and Sam were at Sam’s place in the living room talking to Michele and Luna. “Was anyone hurt?” asked Luna.

                “Carlton was bled a little, but I think he will be okay,” said Sam. “One of those fangers got away but we got six of them. Terry Bellefleur and Catfish jumped in with pool cues and leveled out the playing field. For some reason those vampires felt real young.”

                “I don’t know, maybe Bill and Eric can tell us why they are using young vampires,” said Luna.

                “Well, it’s late, I want to see Michele home from your house,” said Jason.

                “Thanks Jason for coming out tonight,” said Sam.

                “Not a problem,” he said.

                The next morning Rachel said good-bye to Sky and headed home. She helped Sky shop on line for things she wanted and fell asleep on the couch in front of the fire. Sky covered her up and continued shopping.

                Rachel went to the center and looked at the work the drywall contractor had done and spoke to the site foreman and gave him his to do list for the day and checked on the muralist who was doing Asian style landscapes for the Tai Chi room and the TM room. The boy doing the Yoga room was doing paintings of the Hindi gods and goddesses in various Yoga poses and a colorful chakra chart.

                She then went out to the house site where Alcide was working on her house. They had the walls around the property going up and the foundations poured for the house. Piles of fieldstone to clad the security walls and the house were already in place as well as lumber for the framing of the house. “Did Bill tell you about last night?”

                “Last night?” she asked.

                “Seven vampires attacked Sam Merlotte’s place,” said the wolf. “They got six of them.”

                “No, he hadn’t said,” she said.

                “Damn, me and my big mouth,” said Alcide.

                “Was anyone hurt?” she asked.

                “No, no, they got six of them, “said Alcide. “I probably should not have said anything to you.”

                “I can keep a secret,” she said. “So, when can you start framing?”

                “Monday morning,” he said.

                “It will be good to see it finished,” she said.

                “Well, it’s new construction, no old stuff to work around and no complicated extras,” said Alcide.

                “It will be a wonderful home,” she said. “Give me a call if you have trouble.”

                “I will,” he said. “When does your center open?”

                “After New Years,” she said.

                “How’s Jerry working out?” he asked. Jerry was the subcontractor Alcide recommended for the drywall work she needed done.

                “He’s great, works real hard and doesn’t complain too much if I change the plans on him,” said Rachel.

                “He’s a good old boy,” said Alcide.

                “You have a good day Alcide,” she said.

                “You too Rachel.”

                Bill and Eric returned about four hours after sundown. The first place they went to was Fangtasia where Gerald, Pam’s nest mate, had gone through the phones. How stupid was that, to use their own phones on a mission. There were hundreds of bits of information on each phone Gerald simply uploaded onto his iPad and read through, segregating the important bits from the useless.

                “So, what I found was these guys are real new. They have messages that are obviously from their human lives and then there are messages from their vampire lives. They have only been in the Blood for a year, maybe two. The eldest seems to be 2 ½ years old,” said Gerald.

                “De Castro is using fledglings?” asked Bill.

                “Yeah, one of them was a regular blogger. He blogged in his human life and then in his vampire life. He talks about how he went to New Orleans to party and woke up in a dark hotel room. He went to open the curtains and got a sunburn for his troubles and caught the maid coming in to clean the room and he drank her. He waited till sundown and left and ran into a vampire and was taken into a nest of some sort. He writes about the League of Lost Boys and how he went west to work for De Castro. He does a lot of complaining about doing menial tasks and being kept on a leash more or less till he was sent back to Louisiana,” said Gerald.

                “Was he alone?” asked Eric.

                “No, he came back with the six other guys. They are this League. They met up in this nest they were settled in. They were given Nevada driver’s licenses and given jobs and were paid but they resent the fact they are vampires and they don’t get to have fun,” said Gerald. “Which in their case is fucking and eating every human they run into. Later in his blog, he talks about a lot of other nests. Young abandoned vampires are picked up from all over the US and are kept for a while and then sent to live in these other places. Like Texas and Mississippi and other places and told they could do as they pleased for as long they could survive. They still get paid and they still answer to their Nest Leader if they call them and tell them to do something. These guys managed to stay together, bonded, and they were sent together back home to raise hell. Sort of like when the Hell’s Angels all wanted to go as a single unit in Vietnam, man that was crazy…”

                “Out of the time warp Gerald. So who do the Lost Boys answer to?” asked Eric.

                “I can’t figure that out yet. They sort of use nicknames about half the time, but I am working it out a little. I will be able to tell you more in a few days,” said Gerald. “Oh, and I think I know why De Castro thinks Sookie is still alive.”

                “Why?” asked Bill.

                “Latesta, they call him G-Man…go figure…but he found a letter she was writing you two or had written to you and it said something like, no matter where or how far I go, I will always love you,” he said shrugging. “Latesta may have just written something to keep De Castro from turning him into a human juice box, but it worked because De Castro really believes it.”

                “Sookie…the night she said goodbye to us, she took a piece of paper out to refer to while she spoke to us, to say everything she wanted to say,” said Bill. “Did you read the letter?”

                “No, I was listening to her but I didn’t glance at the letter. I don’t think she said anything particular,” said Eric, giving Bill a significant look. “Latesta must have found it in the debris around her house.”

                “He must have,” said Bill.

                “Anything else?” asked Eric.

                “Still collating,” said Gerald. “But they have a lot of money in their accounts.”

                “Clean them out and keep cleaning them out,” said Eric. “Do we have any voice mails?”

                “Scads of them,” said Gerald. “They never cleaned out their phones. Their memories just kept kicking the last messages out.”

                “Can you record the messages digitally on a file?” asked Bill.

                “Sure,” he said. “I will try to sort them so you can hear their voices.”

                “That would be useful,” said Bill. “I think we should play phone tag with their contact.”

                “That would get us more information,” said Eric. “Get to work, pull it together and tell us who the players are on these phones.”

                “You got it boss,” said Gerald.

                “If you have no further need…” began Bill.

                “Go home to Rachel, I am headed home myself,” said Eric.

                Rachel heard Bill’s key in the door and leaped into his arms as soon as he walked in the door. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. “I missed you sweetheart.”

                “I missed you too,” she said. “How was your meeting? How was your trip?”

                “The meeting was fine and the trip uneventful and I am glad to be home,” he said.

                “Did you hear about the situation with Sam?” she asked.

                “I did,” he said. “And I will go see him tomorrow night, but I wanted be home with you tonight.”

                “Do you have to go away anymore?” she asked.

                “Not till we go away together to see your parents,” said Bill.

                “Good,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

                “I am,” he said, carrying her upstairs to their room.

                Eric was lying half dressed across the bed and Sky was lying with her head on his belly, smiling broadly. “Well you look like the cat who ate the canary,” said Eric, playing with one of her curls.

                “I missed you,” she said.

                “I can tell,” he said. “Remind me to go away more often. I like having my village pillaged.” Sky turned over on her belly and shook her hair out of her face. Eric ran his hand over her back to the curve of her rear end. He gave it a friendly pat. “You are a beautiful woman.”

                “And you are a beautiful man, even though you have your jeans pulled open and you shorts awry and your tee shirt pulled up,” she said. She brushed his hair away from his face. “Why am I naked but you aren’t?”

                “Because I made cleaning rags of your clothes,” he said, indicating the shreds of tee shirt and sleep pants and panties all over their bedroom floor like confetti.

                “That was kind of sexy,” she said, lowering her face to his belly and nibbling on his rib. “You have clothes on, do something about that please.”

                Rachel and Bill were sitting in front of the fire in the living room. They had made love and had a shower together and she was letting the fire warm her as he rubbed the water out of her hair. She put her hands to the fire to warm her palms. “Are you cold?” he asked.

                “No,” she said. “Do you get cold?”

                “Yes, but it takes more than this to make me very cold,” he said. “Have you ever seen snow?”

                “I did, I went to Washington one year around Christmas,” she said. “I was little but I remember it. I imagine you have seen snow.”

                “Yes, the first time was when I went to war. I nearly froze to death in Virginia,” he said.

                “I imagine that was a shock to the system,” she said. “Can vampires freeze to death?”

                “We can, but it takes a very long time and it is very painful,” he said.

                “You guys need to write a handy dandy handbook of vampire care,” said Rachel.

                “I have heard that suggestion before,” he said.

                “Secrets…so many secrets you kept from us,” she said. “Like the cross and holy water thing. You know, I never bought that, I always figured that vampires could come from everywhere in the world and not everywhere in the world was Christian, so not every vampire would react to sacramentals.”

                “And not every kind of Christian, either. My people were Methodists, I would not have known what holy water was for. The cross yes, but the host and holy water…clueless. But there are some very old vampires who are uncomfortable in holy places, churches and temples and synagogues. I think it is because after years of hearing human myths about us, they begin to believe in them. But I have been in a lot of churches since I was made vampire,” said Bill. “They were quiet places.”

                “Dad will probably pester you for war stories and authoritative accounts of the battles you were in. Be prepared and if he bugs you too much…glamour him into thinking he needs a nap,” she said.

                “I don’t mind,” said Bill. “I know what people want to know about that war.”

                “Did you ever see Gone with the Wind?” she asked.

                “I did,” he said. “I liked the book much better.”

                “My mother goes up to Atlanta once a year to see Gone with the Wind with all her friends,” said Rachel. “What was your favorite time period?”

                “I am in my favorite time period,” he said. He was now brushing her hair and braiding it. “When  you are a vampire, you don’t get wrapped up in the past because you know if you are reasonably careful, you have an endless future.”

                “Do you want to live 1000 years like Eric?” she asked.

                “I have not thought about it,” said Bill. “Vampires are subject to depression, they get tired of their long existences and they greet the sun.”

                “Eric is not like that,” said Rachel. “He is a poster boy for vampire life. He and Pam both.”

                “That is very true,” said Bill. “We better get you to bed. You will want get up and pack our things and get everything ready to go to your parents.”

                “Will you be uncomfortable tucking in with me in bed at night?” she said.

                “You are so noisy,” said Bill.

                “Well you aren’t exactly a silent movie Bill Compton,” she said.

                “I’ll have to gag you with something,” he said. “I will stay up for a while, watching tv or reading or chatting with your dad and then come up and just relax and read until I go to sleep.”

                “You will be lucky to hit the sack at dawn with my dad,” she said. “He can talk your leg off. And sort of overlook him once he gets a couple of beers on him. He could talk a brick wall to death. Plus he’s a lawyer, so everything has that last will and testament diction after a while. I love him but after a couple of hours, I tune him out.”

                “I will be fine sweetheart. I just want them to accept me for your sake,” said Bill.

                “They will, I think.”

                Sky and Rachel basically spent the next day packing their clothes. Rachel packed their clothes in one large bag and Sky had to use two. Eric was specific about what he wanted to take and what she was to take. He planned something special for her for Thanksgiving evening. By questioning the girls at the bar and a few other humans he dealt with, Eric learned in more detail what made the holiday fun.

                If there was anything that gave him hesitation, it was when Sky had said he was her family now. Eric had no idea how to be her family. He did not know how to meet her needs for family if there be such needs. But to show he wanted to make his best effort he had arranged to dine with her in four star restaurant with assurances an authentic dinner with all the trimmings would be available for her and TrueBlood would be available to him.

                Yule, or Christmas he knew how to do. A tree, gifts, music and feasting and friends. He wanted to open his and Sky’s home to their few friends and family and have a great party on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve he wanted all to himself. There were times he envied Bill Compton. Bill could move around and even mirror human behavior. He knew what was expected of him, and he knew how to do most of the human customs.  Sometimes, it took people a minute to realize Bill was vampire when Eric was obviously vampire.  Before, he had never really cared what people did or thought, but as the lay there last night, looking at Sky, pulling her against him to make love with her again, he realized suddenly he was not the same vampire he was when he first met her.  Although this was not a comfortable situation for him, it was interesting. He realized he had loved Sookie the way vampires love humans. Eric loved Sky the way a man loves a woman. He was not human; he would not pretend to be.  He was a man and he wanted to make his woman happy, this would make her happy.

                Eric and Sky were picked up by Mustafa Khan and taken to the airport to catch their Anubis Air flight to New York. Going up the night before would ensure Sky could watch the parade. She didn’t want to go out on the street, but she could watch from the windows of the hotel. They were staying at Bloodlines, a four star hotel in downtown Manhattan, owned by the King of New York City. Eric knew the king rather well and he was pleased to learn Eric was coming up. His wife, the Queen of New York State, was spending the holidays with her husband in the hotel.

                Eric gave Sky an early Christmas present, a silver fox coat with a hood. It was colder in New York and she would need the coat. Sky was delighted with it. Eric loved the coat on her, and liked to imagine what she would look like with just the coat on and nothing else. She slid it on when Khan came to pick them up over her jeans and sweater.

               

                Bill and Rachel were driving down to Baton Rouge when the sun went down. She wore a festive cream sweater with fall leaves on it and earrings with little leaves and pumpkins hanging from them and a denim skirt and brown boots. He was wearing a plain cream sweater and dark coffee brown slacks. His coat was hung in the back of the car. “You look pretty sweetheart,” he said, pushing back her hair and fingering her little earrings. They were inexpensive novelty earrings, but they suited her.

                “You look handsome too,” she said. She put her tiny warm hand in his and he kissed it. On the way they stopped for a light supper at a little French place Bill knew of and headed back out.

                “What does your family have for Thanksgiving supper?” he asked.

                “Did you ever have Thanksgiving?” she asked.

                “I did, but that was during the period when there was no set date for Thanksgiving. It took some time for people to fix a regular date, and by then, I was vampire,” he said. “I think we had a hen and some ham and gravy and some crawfish and a rice pilaf.”

                “We usually have duck,” said Rachel. “Roasted slow under thick sliced bacon and we have oyster dressing and potatoes and gravy and a green bean casserole and rolls and usually four different pies and a cake. Do you miss anything about food?”

                “No, but I enjoy tasting things. I can’t do it directly, but I can taste things on your mouth and breath and I can smell things,” he said. “I hope your parents enjoy the wine Eric selected.”

                “He chose a nice wine for Sky once, so I trust him. He does run a bar, after all,” she said. “Do you like Eric?”

                “Eric is my superior and of course he was a rival. I have known Eric for a long time. Vampires do not make friends easily. But I respect Eric and I trust him with your safety,” said Bill. “Do you like Eric?”

                “He is a hard person to know,” said Rachel. “He comes off wrong sometimes, but I guess it is because of who he is and his age. He’s nice looking.”

                “Just nice?” he asked.

                “I like brunettes,” she said.  Bill laughed and kissed her hand. “But Sky is my friend. I have not had a like a best friend in a long time, so I like her.”

                “I think it is good, at least you ladies can talk about us and commiserate when we do something stupid,” said Bill.

                “Well, we have made a pact, no matter what you guys do, we are going to keep it out of our friendship,” she said. “We would prefer you guys to at least get along, even if you aren’t buddies.”

                “We shall try,” said Bill.

                “What would you like for Yule?” asked Eric.

                “You in a bow and nothing else, though I might have trouble getting you under a tree,” said Sky.

                “You are not being helpful,” he said, frowning.

                “Sorry,” she said. “Well, I lost a lot of books in the fire. I could give you a list and you could buy a few of them back so I can get them again.”

                “Anything else?” he asked. Eric had already made a list and had Pam order them from Amazon and they had been coming to Fangtasia and she and India were wrapping them in sets of five.

                “I don’t know Eric. You are buying me so much for this trip. These things could be my Christmas gift.”

                “I will have to keep my eyes open then,” he said.

                “What do you want for Christmas?” she asked, putting her head on his shoulder.

                “I have my Yule gift,” he said, putting his hand on her knee. “You are changing me Sky. I don’t know what it will mean, but you are changing me.”

                “Do you like it?” she asked.

                “I think so,” he said. “I have come to an epiphany.”

                “Oh?” she asked.

                “I think I loved Sookie like all vampires love a human. I think I love you like a man loves a woman,” he said.

                “Wow,” she said. “That is the most incredible thing you could have said to me.”

                “I want to remake my world to be able to give you a good life with me,” he said. “Sky, do you think you would ever want to become like me?”

                “Be vampire?” she asked. He nodded.

                “If you didn’t, I would understand, but if you wanted, you could be by my side forever,” he said.

“Think about it lover, take as much time as you want. I am in no hurry. Not all vampires love the humanity in their partners. I do.”

                “Well, I think I would probably want to, I would just want to do it while I was still attractive and in good shape and after I had waxed everything, that was a great idea India had,” she said.

                “Just don’t cut your hair,” he said. “On your head…and other places.” She smiled.

                “I certainly liked the look on your face when I undressed for you that first time,” she said. “Would I have been pretty to your people in your human times?”

                “Well, they would have wanted to fatten you up a little, but you would have been treasured for your red hair. They would have found you a red headed man to pair with, so you would have red haired children. Red hair was thought to be a blessing of the gods,” he said.

                “Well, they certainly blessed me, they gave me you,” she said, snuggling closer against him. Eric took her hand and kissed it.

                Her parents fairly flew out the door when Rachel and Bill pulled up. Celeste and Richard looked a little tense. Richard was tall and thin and dark haired and skinned and Celeste was small and delicate looking with the beautiful silvery grey eyes of his lover. Rachel hugged her mom and dad and turned to Bill. “Mom, dad, this is my fiancé William Thomas Compton. Bill, these are my parents, Richard and Celeste Westnight.”

                “Mr. and Mrs. Westnight, so wonderful to meet you at last,” he said, offering his hand to Richard. If the coolness of his hand was strange to Richard, he did not indicate it. He shook hands with Bill and then Celeste took his hand.

                “Good to know you Bill, and call us Rick and Celeste,” said Richard.

                “Very well,” said Bill.

                “Do you have bags?” asked Richard.

                “Yes daddy, just one,” said Rachel. Bill went to retrieve the bag and they stepped onto the porch.

                “Bill, won’t you come in,” said Richard, formally inviting Bill into the house.”

                “Thank you Rick,” said Bill. Bill stepped over the threshold and looked around. It was a bright friendly front room. It was a little formal and you could tell it was not often used. They must have a family room.

                “Rachel, take Bill on up to your room and get settled, then you two come on down,” said Celeste. “Bill we bought TrueBlood, would you like a glass?”

                “That would be very nice of you,” he said. Rachel took his hand and led him upstairs to her girlhood room. It was neat and clean and her mother had painted the windows to make it light tight. There was a double bed kitty cornered with tables on each side and old-fashioned style hurricane lamps. He laid their case on the hope chest and she opened the case and just took out their bath things, soap, shampoo and deodorant and cologne and her brushes and Bill’s brush and comb. She took her toothbrush and toothpaste into the ensuite bathroom. Bill peered into the small bathroom. “Did you grow up here?”

                “This was my grandmother’s house.  When she died, she gave mom and dad this house and gave me the money. But this was my room when I stayed here, and I stayed here about as often as my parent’s house,” she said. “I was an only child.”

                “It is a very lovely home,” said Bill.

                “It is,” she said. “Think you will be comfortable here?”

                “I am comfortable wherever you are,” he said.

                “I think they like you,” she said.

                “I think they love you,” said Bill.

                “So you remember when Bon Temps was settled?” asked Richard.

                “Yes, Bon Temps was barely a settlement when my parents bought our farm. I was born in Monroe and lived there till I was thirteen. My mother was from Clarice and my father was from Monroe. He courted my mother one Sunday and married her the next. They were together till the day he died in 1863, after I went to war. Later, I read about his final illness and came to a conclusion he died of a stroke,” said Bill.

                “What did your father do for a living?” asked Richard.

                “He farmed, not cotton, we never had enough money to do cotton and own slaves for picking. But he had an uncle who lived in New Orleans and when he died, he got some money and bought the farm in Bon Temps. It was originally a thousand acres and a small gunshot cabin but he built a house and I lived there eventually with my wife and children and my parents and my sister till I went to war. When I came back, most of my land was confiscated for taxes, but I managed to keep the house and five acres and we just subsistence farmed until I was taken,” said Bill. “My mother’s brother came after that and ran the farm and looked after her and my wife and children and my sister.”

                “When you were taken, when you were made vampire?” asked Richard.

                “Yes, I caught the eye of a lady vampire and she made me and of course I had to leave my home,” said Bill, a little sad.

                “I’m sorry, Bill, we have pried,” said Celeste.

                “Not at all, I understand your curiosity. In fact my own curiosity of my kind and their histories have led me to make a registry of all of our kind, to learn their personal histories,” said Bill.

                “Fascinating,” said Richard. “And now?”

                “I own some commercial property and rent them out to businesses and I have a call center to collect more histories and other investments,” he said. “Coming out of the coffin has allowed my kind to grow their wealth and do more lucrative business. Rachel’s little business was a very popular place to my kind.”

                “Well, it is a shame there are such hateful people in the world,” said Celeste. “But this new venture will be wonderful. To both communities. Vampires…now…two natured, the world has changed.”

                “It has indeed Celeste,” said Bill sipping his TrueBlood.

                The shadows moved carefully through the building. There were cans of paint and stacks of dry wall around and tools all over the building. There were three of them. They were dressed in black and each had a small bag on their belts. They split up and began to do their task. They carefully sought out places and put the tiny listening devices in place, mostly in the office areas and the reception areas. And as silent as ghosts they exited the building.