A/N: Characters and setting are owned by the wonderful Charlaine Harris. This story is being beta'd by FiniteAnarchy, who is quite marvelous in her own right. Thank you to both! There's another note at the bottom.


Chapter 4 - A Brain of Vampires, and a Heart of Lead

He set me down beside a building and I stumbled backwards two steps to the brick wall. My fingers threaded between the masonry and I slunk to the ground. I'm sure I must have breathed at some point in the last few minutes, but it certainly didn't feel like it. I stared at the asphalt, glittering in a distant orange light, trying to focus on that while I calmed down. It's a good thing I hadn't eaten in hours. Holy crap.

I flew!

Well, technically he did the flying, but I was right along for the ride. A hand descended into my field of vision.

"Come. We shouldn't stay out here."

"Where's here?" I asked, taking his hand and letting him pull me up as much as I stood myself.

"A warehouse." He pulled open a door to my right. Before I followed him inside I glanced around just enough to note that the location was very isolated. Presumably this is where the drainers were being held for questioning.

"Don't do that again without warning me," I said as I followed him inside. My voice still sounded a little shaky to me. If he noticed, he didn't comment. He said nothing at all.

We passed through two dark rooms where I could just make out some office furniture, and then into a dimly lit hallway. No, not a hallway, an aisle. There were loaded palettes stacked up almost to the roof. The dim illumination must have been coming from lights in a different part of the ceiling. I followed him as he turned a corner and we wound our way through short corridors as though they were a maze he'd already solved. As we walked, I cast out, but there were only two humans and us.

"No guards?" I asked.

"Sent away for now. Through here," he said, and indicated a narrower passage. I imagine anyone under age eleven could spend hours exploring in here. We entered a wider space, a room. It was darker here than it had been on the other side of the makeshift walls. "Will you need light?" he asked.

"Best not." I didn't want to get too good a look at the men. I could smell blood and sweat and fouler things in the air. It wasn't choking, but it was there. If I could pick it up, he definitely could.

"Are you in control of yourself right now?" I asked him. I hoped it was pointedly, and not quavering. I was actually pretty nervous.

"I have fed well tonight. You are in no danger." Don't worry, Sook! I already ate some guys earlier. You'll be fine! Actually, it was probably girls. Certainly there were boy fangbangers, but just judging by what I'd seen the night before, most of Eric's fans were female.

I let my eyes adjust a bit more to the deeper darkness. Stepping closer to the men I could see that were bound to chairs with hoods over their heads. Very GITMO.

"Do you need them to speak?" he asked.

I shook my head, trusting that he'd see it. I could see him no problem, glowing away over there like a night light. It looked brighter than it had the night before. Did it just seem that way because it was darker in here, or was it because of his recent feeding? I focused all of my attention on the nearer man as I reached out and lifted the back of the hood enough to rest my hands on the back of his neck. I shuddered involuntarily as his fear and rage washed over me.

"Do you drain vampire blood?" I questioned. I listening in as the thoughts began to form in his head, memories and mental pictures flashing up to the surface. I began to steer them. "How many vampires have you drained? When was the first?" More images and scattered words came to the fore. His feelings sickened me, but I pressed on. "Who is Clint? How much money did you make off the last vamp? Who was your next target? Do you ever target females? Have you ever been to Fangtasia? Where did you find the vampire Liam? Who is Jerry? Where do you keep the vampires?"

I had to pull away after a while.

I was vaguely aware that I was crying. The things in his head were awful. It made my skin crawl. I felt filthy, and I wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but still standing beside him. The vampires they'd taken, some from here, and some from Mississippi, and some from Florida, had not only been drained, but abused by these two men, two other men, and a woman. They were less than human. It was fun to them. They wiled away the hours as the blood drained raping, flaying, cutting until the wounds stopped healing. They burned their hair and doused them and burned it again. Vampires are afraid of fire, almost innately. It is worse than silver, which only causes pain and weakness. Fire will kill them, sure as sunshine.

They didn't think of vampires like people, not even animals. At least, I prayed that no one was so depraved that they could do these things to an animal. I'd watched my brother Jason clean fish a million times. Even deer. That was disgusting, but it has been done dispassionately. And the animals were dead. These people had severed a vampire's limbs like a child might cleave an earthworm, just to see what happened. They had treated them like things. It was profoundly horrifying. I didn't want to continue.

"Is it Pam?" Eric asked. I shook my head.

"The others," I said softly.

"How many?"

"Seven."

"You weep for the vampires these men have killed?"

"Not killed. Killing is kind in comparison. Killing is quick."

I told him everything I could about the vampires who had been drained by these two. I did it now because I wouldn't want to think about it again. I knew I would, but not by choice. I told him about the men and the woman who hadn't been apprehended. I knew this wasn't why we were here, but he could sort it all out later. By the time I'd finished I had a handle on myself enough to step up to the second man. I'd seen all I needed to see about the vampires. These two hadn't taken Pam.

The second man was similarly hostile, but also truly terrorized. He had sat here listening to me describe each of their victims, as well as their friends. He believed he would die screaming. I believed he was right.

"How do you know Dirk Palfry?" I asked. Dirk was a buyer of vampire blood. That is also how he'd come to work for them. This time I told Eric everything as I heard it. It caused more confusion in the murder's mind as he kept distracting himself trying to figure out what was going on, but it kept me more focused too, and it kept me from looking for the things I never wanted to see again.

"You said the guys at your club didn't know Dirk."

"Correct."

"But this guy knows Dirk as a fangbanger. That's how he got addicted to V," I said, using the slang name for blood as a drug. "They used him to scout because they figured he already had some cred in y'all's community, and also because that's the job where you're most likely to get caught, and they didn't mind if he got caught, since he deserved it for screwing vamps in the first place," I finished, pulling my hands away from the man.

"You never saw him before?" I asked Eric.

"I do not work at the door, scrutinizing the IDs and the faces."

"Who does?"

"Usually Pam."

I sighed and walked to the little passage that would lead me toward blessedly clean air. A moment later he slipped out behind me and started leading the way toward the entrance. I wasn't ready for another flight yet, so when we got to it, I slumped down onto the hard sofa in the front office.

"I just need a minute," I said, when he turned to look back at me. He stood there for what I am sure was a perfect count to sixty, and then when I didn't make to move, he sat down as well.

"You are very upset by what you saw in the men's heads," he observed.

"Yes. I am."

"These things are part of life."

"Not mine."

"The memories will not weigh on you for long. You will soon think of other things." I figured he was speaking from experience.

"Will you enjoy killing them?" I asked.

"I will take satisfaction from their deaths, yes."

I didn't say anything. I was trying to figure out if I'd be satisfied by their deaths. A part of me thought that no, I wouldn't. That it wasn't enough. I hated that thought, but it stayed with me.

"I think we should go talk to Jack Mason, and find out how he knows Dirk, and if he knows Pam. These drainers didn't take her. We missed something."

"Alright."

"How's Daphne holding up?" I asked him.

"Clancy informed me that she has gone to stay with her friend."

"Maybe between the pair of them they'll remember to take care of themselves."

"Are you ready to go now?" he queried.

"We're not flying all the way there, right?"

"No. We will take the car."

I stood and followed him out the door which he relocked behind us. He made a very quick phone call informing whoever was meant to guard this building that they could return to their post. I held my arms up so he could get an easier grip on me, but he had me clutch around his middle instead. He pulled his arms around me again and lifted us. This time I peeked once or twice during the flight. Despite what had transpired thus far this evening, I had to admit this was kind of cool. It was, at least, a momentary distraction. We landed beside his car and I had a much easier time regaining my composure. We were in the Fangtasia parking lot, but had no plans to stay. He opened the passenger door for me and I settled in. I yawned and stretched as he got into the driver's seat.

We were headed east out of the city when he turned into a shopping center and parked in front of a chain coffee shop. He looked at me expectantly and I remembered that I had told him we would need to stop for coffee. Well, he might not remember when it comes to human pets, but clearly he was able to grasp the concept that his telepath required fuel.

I got out of the car and went inside. I bought a small cup of coffee and a slice of lemon pound cake, which I ate right there in the shop. I figured vampires of all people would probably be fussy about eating in the car. Once I'd gotten in there and seen the huge display case filled with pastries, it was hard not to remember that I hadn't eaten since lunchtime. I gulped down the scalding coffee too, and then used the bathroom, splashing some cool water on my face after I washed my hands. I wasn't more than a few minutes when I returned to the Corvette, feeling a lot better than I had when I went inside.

"Thanks," I offered, buckling up.

He inhaled deeply. "You smell of lemon."

"Yeah, I was hungry. Sorry if it bothers you," I shrugged. I wasn't feeling particularly sorry about it, but I cracked my window anyway, even though it was cold outside.

We made the drive to Jack Mason's home in silence. I turned my head toward the window and let my eyes close, thinking back to Diane and the salon and the night before, anything that wasn't the men in the warehouse, really. I was shaken awake abruptly by a hand on my shoulder.

"We are here," Eric said.

"Oh. Good." I looked around and saw that we were parked in front of a darkened house with a large yard surrounded by trees at the perimeter. It looked maybe an acre large. Maybe two, if it went back real far. It was pretty typical for the area. Land is cheap out here and houses tend to be small.

"Do you require all this sleep because of the tax on your ability?" he asked.

"I require all this sleep because I don't keep vampire hours," I snapped. "Most humans go to sleep at night," I informed him, since he was apparently pretending not to know that.

He gave me a long look in response to my small outburst, before deciding to ignore it. Turning back toward the house he asked, "Is he inside?"

I forced my mind outwards until I found the nearest human brain.

"He is," I informed the Sheriff. "In fact, he's sleeping."

He got out of the car and started moving to the side of the house. I knew he was likely honing in on Jack's bedroom. Eric was moving fast, and it was strange to watch. It wasn't the near instantaneous movement, where you blink and they've shifted a dozen feet away. It was more like if you were watching a video of someone creeping along, only in fast forward. Definitely an odd sight. When I stepped out of the car to follow him, I was immediately hit by the smell of magic. It wasn't oppressive, but it was present. It tasted...sour and maybe also...earthy? Loam? I was still standing there trying to identify what I was sensing when Eric returned.

"Do you smell that?" I asked, distracted. I heard him inhale deeply.

"I smell grass and pine and motor oil, the sleeping human, and you. What do you smell?"

"I don't know," I said, frowning. "Did you wake him up?"

"I found an open window. I can't enter the house." Well duh. People knew that much before they even knew vampires were real. It's kind of funny to think of a phrase like "safe as houses," and realize part of the reason that ever came to be a common saying is standing right in front of you sporting boots and a pony tail.

"Well I'm not going in there. Go bang on his bedroom window. I can speak from experience, it's very effective."

"I was banging for several minutes before you even stirred."

"Really? I hope my neighbors didn't hear," I said. "Go do it anyway, we need him to wake up." I might have been surprised that he just obeyed if I weren't so engrossed in analyzing the magic. It could have been just wards, but I didn't think I'd feel them like this, if they were. The magic wasn't acting on me; it was simply in the air. Why could I feel it, if he didn't? I wasn't sure if I should mention it outright, but what if it did start to work on either one of us?

If anything the smell grew more intense as I followed the distant banging to the rear of the house. It wasn't terribly loud. Maybe you could pass it off for some late night decorating; hanging shelves or a painting or something. Jack's neighbors probably weren't near enough to hear it at all.

"Eric," I hissed. I felt the brain inside begin to rouse. "He's waking up. Listen," I began, but Eric took off to the front of the house, and shortly after I heard knocking on the front door. With a pained sigh, I trotted back round to the front again.

"Eric, listen to me!" I said again, but he wasn't listening. Maybe I wasn't speaking loudly enough. The light flipped on in front of the house and then the door swung open.

"Hello?" I heard the unknown man's voice coming from just inside the house. I couldn't see much of him, obscured by the flimsy screen door that fronted the more secure steel one.

"Jack Mason?"

"Who are you?"

"Look at me, Jack Mason," I heard Eric say. Like his sister it seemed Jack was smart enough not to look vampires straight in the eye.

"Who the hell are you? Oh FUCK," he finished with a shout, clearly finding the answer to his own question.

Jack said something I couldn't make out and all of a sudden Eric snarled, growled like a beast and lunged for the door which shook on its hinges and the magic smell flared up as suddenly as a struck match. I felt it stream outward from the house, flowing harmlessly around me like a gust of wind. Then Eric was moving backwards, past his car, to the end of the driveway. I stared back and forth between Jack and Eric, unseen so far by Jack, but that would last about a second. I darted closer to the house. He wouldn't see me now unless he left the house, and it'd be pretty freaking stupid to leave the house right now after whatever he'd just done to Eric.

I dropped my shields entirely.

Fuck fuck. The maker. Fuck fuck. How did he find me? Spell worked, thank fucking goddess. Have to call the coven, but now how will they get past him? Sunrise. Wait for sunrise. Seven hours. FUCK.

The door slammed shut a split second before a heavy rock struck right through the screen and bounced back off the steel. I glanced back at the vampire stalking the edge of the property now and though I couldn't see the look on his face, I knew it would be terrifying.

Can't wait another day. Tomorrow before sunset, before they rise. She doesn't have to be awake until the end. Not weak enough, still resisting.

His thoughts got more muddled then, random tools, supplies, people to contact, just a stream of names and objects, not clear thinking, not even clear mental images. No specifics to his plan. Frustration, doubt, urgency. I felt him come near the front of the house again and look out the window at Eric, but he ducked away quickly. I seriously hoped the vampire wouldn't throw anything else with me still standing here.

Goddess Gaia mother of Earth, make the land my home and let me dwell upon your soil, beneath your endless sky. Make your sun my hearth, make bed of moss my resting place. Grant me shelter beneath your trees...Goddess Gaia mother of Earth, make the land my home...

Jack was praying. Over and over he recited, and I felt his mind shift into a kind of trance. I looked toward the Sheriff. He had stopped stalking back and forth at least. I crept across the lawn toward him, half running, hunched over, as if that would actually be any help evading sight here under cover of absolutely nothing at all.

The instant I stepped across the property line Eric was in front of me with a hand on either elbow holding me in place, not that I'd have any chance of escaping him. I was slightly eased by the fact that he looked stricken, rather than furious.

"He is a witch?" Eric demanded.

"Yes," I answered quickly. "He's praying to Gaia. I think he did a spell to make the whole property his home and then rescinded your invitation. Did you get hurt?"

"No. I felt her."

"Pam?"

"Just before I was pushed."

"Where?"

"Close, I think, it was barely an instant. Now, it is as it has been."

"There is magic everywhere in there, I tried to tell you. Are you sure it was her?"

"I'm sure."

"He is too afraid to call for backup. He's going to wait you out and then do whatever it is he plans to do tomorrow at sunset, but he doesn't think it will work, because she's still fighting whatever it is they're doing to her."

"What is he doing to her? What does he plan to do?"

"I don't know," I hissed frantically, struggling to keep my voice low. "I listened until he went into some kind of stupor, he was mostly just freaking out, no clear thoughts, now, I think he is only reinforcing the spell."

"You must go and search the rest of the property," he informed me.

"What?"

"I can't enter."

Frowning, I stepped back on to Jack's land, feeling the spells at work as I did so.

"Eric Northman, please come in," I said firmly. He shook his head. "I had to try," I shrugged.

"It's not your home, but you are a human, so you can enter at will. It must be you."

"I'm not going up against an angry witch!" I spat.

"You said he is distracted now. You can go quickly and search. You said you felt the magic. Did you feel Pam?"

"I don't think so. I wasn't looking at that moment."

"Go and be sure," he said, now starting to urge me back toward the property. He seemed as fraught as I felt, and that was really saying something. Vampires don't often lose their cool.

"Sheriff!" I pushed back at him but he still clutched my arm. "Ouch! Stop!" I shrieked, and I broke away. He glared at me for a long moment and then took one step backwards.

"I cannot call another vampire. If the magic that protects a home covers the whole property, and I agree this is what it feels like, then another vampire will not be able to enter. If she is there, I must know. If he plans to act soon, I must know now."

I looked back at the house, reaching for Jack. He was still on steady drone.

If his child did die because I wouldn't help, my life would be forfeit. Not killed, but captured. Taken. Used. Not only would he see no further reason to protect my secret, he would blame me, and hate me, and want whatever badness descended on me in retribution. Or maybe he'd show up one night and just drain me himself. No. Probably not that. He was more creative than that. I'd seen that at the warehouse. A shudder ran through me and I shook all over. Minutes passed as I stood there in silence, my face blank, but my mind busy.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I said bitterly. He said nothing.

"Find more rocks," I said with dull resignation. "And follow me around from the neighbors' yards. I expect you to bean him if he pulls out of his reverie and comes outside."

He didn't answer me, but he did pace away to the ditch at the side of the road, presumably following my instruction. I felt another chill run through me as I stepped back across the threshold of the protective magic. I walked back past Eric's car, still in the driveway, blocking in Jack's car, right up by the house, then around to the left. Jack had changed up his prayer a little bit, imploring his goddess for guidance, strength, and protection. I could only hope if she was listening, that she'd take the broad view of this situation.

I glanced to my side and saw the faint glow of Eric fading in and out as he passed the pine trees that ringed this land. I felt him there, but I needed the visual assurance. I walked clear to the edge of the property, across its back, and up the other side. I searched for a second void and came up with nothing. There was a single outbuilding, maybe twenty meters from the house, just a small tool shed. As I got closer I realized the tinge of magic was more potent there. I don't know what I'd been looking for in the rest of the yard. My courage maybe? I'd wanted to be sure there was nothing else farther back, I guess. I felt horribly uneasy and reluctant to go nearer. I realized the feelings weren't entirely my own. There was strong repelling magic here. I guess I'd come to the right place.

I walked back to the perimeter of the property. I knew the impulse to move away wasn't my own, but I followed it anyway.

"Do you sense her?" he asked, when I was close enough to hear him.

"Nothing. But there's something with that shed. I'm going to go and look. Please watch my back," I said seriously. "Please."

"Where?"

I pointed to the shadowy building a little way off behind me. It was just a darker shadow in the moonlight to my human eyes from here, but surely he could see it with his vampire vision. He nodded slowly. "I will watch."

Jack's mind had gone dull inside the house. Likely his anxiety attack had worn him into exhaustion. I knew that feeling. I had to push myself toward the shed with the kind of effort it must take to climb mountains. I could feel myself slouching forward as I let physics and gravity fight against magic. When I finally reached the door, I let out a bark of mad laughter. No lock. After all that, I'd have been completely stymied by a three dollar padlock, but there wasn't one. I pressed my hand to the wall of the shed, wrenched the door open, and stepped inside. The relief was immediate.

The air was stale and warm, but the effects of the spell had dissipated. I could see nothing, so I just stood and breathed and let my eyes adjust again. I felt the void beneath me now. It was faint, but it was there, and close. Whatever spells had obscured her had been on the shed. That was something I would like to know more about. Wards that could conceal minds, I'd like some for my own home. I moved forward, inching around garden tools and a ride-on lawnmower. I saw a faint sliver of light coming from the floor and I knelt, trying to feel around for a handle, weaving back and forth over the tiny crack to try to keep it in view.

Finally I found a latch and wrenched it upwards I was momentarily blinded by the brilliant incandescent light and a wave of heat. I squeezed my eyes shut and blinked until I could see. There was a little ladder. I pushed the trapdoor all the way back. "I am the stupidest woman in the state of Louisiana," I said out loud as I lowered myself down.

What I saw once I descended could not be farther from what I expected. I'd anticipated a damp and fetid dungeon. An abused, starving vampire chained to a wall in silver, the reek of burning flesh befouling the air. What I saw was just a room. A vampire resting on a cot that had been made up with soft pink sheets and pillows folded over a yellow chenille blanket. She wore no shoes, but she had on a prim powder blue track suit, the kind bought by women who don't actually intend to work out. Her pale blond hair was held back with a headband. There was a shabby white table beside her bed, with a six pack of synthetic blood sitting upon it. Two bottles were missing. So they'd been feeding her. One of the dozen tense knots inside me slowly loosened as I registered that.

There were a dozen sun lamps all pointed at her, the kind that people who really love their houseplants have. Or the kind you see on the news used by people growing marijuana in secret underground rooms. Rooms exactly like this one, actually. She wasn't being burned by them, so there was a myth busted.

"Pam?" I said tremulously. There was no response.

I started switching the lamps off, one by one, trying to get her attention after each one. I got to the last one, and fully prepared to switch it back on immediately if she proceeded to go nuts, in case this actually did account for her catatonia. Even in the dead darkness, she did not respond to her name. I flipped the last light back on and pointed it away from her, so it lit the space without blinding me.

I had no idea how I was going to get her out of here. I was just moving closer to her when I heard a shout above, abruptly cut off and a thud on the ground. With another glance at Pam, still showing no change, I rushed to the ladder and peeked my head up, listening. There was one unconscious brain about a dozen feet away from me. Good job, Sheriff. I pulled myself up and out, and once I was back outside, I found it much easier to move away from the shed and toward the supine figure of Jack Mason.

He was out cold. I knelt down and felt his pulse, which was present, and that was enough. I wasn't going to risk getting his blood on me. As I stood up, I noticed something silver and shining on the ground beside him. Padlock. I shook my head and huffed out a sigh and ran over to the side of the property.

"Still can't come in?" I panted.

"No."

"She's down there. She's... well, she seems fine, except for being totally glamoured."

"Vampires can't be glamoured."

"Okay, worry about the vocabulary another time. That's how she seems. She's not restrained, they've been feeding her. It looks like someone even brushed her hair. But she doesn't respond to me, and there's no possible way I can lift her out of there."

"She is bespelled?"

"I guess so. Look, the witch is out cold. Thank you, by the way. Call up one of your Were bodyguards now, someone who's strong enough to lift her out of there. I'd say vamps, but it'd be a waste of time if they came all the way here and found they can't enter the property either. Get her to a safe place now and you can figure out the magic later, okay?"

Instead of answering, he took out his phone and dialed. "Dawson. This is Eric Northman. I am aware of that. I am sending you an address, and I need you to come immediately. No. Immediately. Yes. Red Chute. Ninety minutes then." He sent off a message, presumably with the address, then made another call to someone else to go and replace this Dawson at where ever he'd be coming from. When he was done he looked down at me again.

"Bring me the witch," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"Bring me the witch, so when he wakes up, I can glamour him right away. He will not stay out like that indefinitely."

He didn't appear to be kidding, so I trudged over and hooked my arms under Jack Mason's, and step by slow and increasingly exhausting step, I pulled him on his butt all the way over to the edge of the property, whereupon the vampire proceeded to hoist him easily over one shoulder. Unfair.

"Give me your keys," I told him.

"Why?"

"You can't get back to your car. I'll move it out to the road."

He tossed me his keys and I walked across the lawn, absolutely weary. I had to lean way up in the seat, but I was able to back the car out into the road. I tripped as I was getting out and thrust my hand out to break my fall, realizing only when the pain shot through my hand and radiated up my arm that I'd landed hard on the finger I'd injured the day before. I cried out. Eric was at my side in a flash.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"I just split my damned finger open again," I grumbled.

"Do you want my assistance with that?" he asked.

"Do you have any duct tape?" I figured he probably wouldn't keep a first-aid kit in his car. Just a hunch.

"In the trunk."

"Well, you can assist me by getting a piece, please." Definitely his turn to do the legwork.

"I can heal the wound," he offered.

"Yes, just the duct tape please."

He went and got it, and took the liberty of slapping a piece over the witch's mouth. Jack Mason had been lain down by the side of the car, obscured from the road. He handed me the roll of tape and I just taped right over the bandage. This would be a pain to clean off, but it would contain the blood, which was the main bit. I handed him back the roll and got into the passenger seat of the car. We had a long wait ahead of us, but I didn't notice, because I fell asleep again almost instantly.

I was laying on my own couch when I woke up, and I started, confused by the new surroundings. I looked around me and saw my phone, keys, and wallet sitting on my coffee table. I looked up and Eric was standing over me, eyes on me, but talking into his phone. I rubbed my head and dragged myself into a sitting position as he finished his call.

"Did you get her?" I asked blearily.

"Yes. She has been taken to a safe location until we determine what has happened to her. The witch too, has been safely moved. I will need you to question him tomorrow night. It will be dawn soon."

"Yeah, fine. Sure."

"Do you need to call your sponsor?"

I reached for my phone and pushed the speed-dial.

"Good morning, Miss Stackhouse."

"Hi Mr. Cataliades. I'm just calling to let you know I'm home. The sheriff is here. We got Pam, but he is telling me my services will be required again tomorrow. I'm dead tired, and I have to be at work in, oh, three and a half hours, but he didn't abduct me and sell me to his Queen tonight, so yay for that."

"In-deed," he replied ponderously.

"Sorry, feeling a little crabby right now."

"I'm sure the reasoning is understandable. Please phone again tomorrow, my dear."

"Will do. 'Night."

I set my alarm for seven-thirty, double and triple checking that it was seven-thirty in the morning.

"What?" I asked, shoving every ounce of petulance into my voice that I could muster. It probably wasn't all that much. It was a struggle to keep my eyes open.

"You are more than you appear to be," he said.

"Oh yeah?" I said, pulling myself to my feet with a monumental effort. I walked toward my door, thinking he would take the hint.

"Are you sure you do not wish me to heal your wound?"

"Quite sure. Please leave now, I need to go to sleep."

"You were very helpful tonight."

"That's me, Miss Helpful."

"I will come here at nine tomorrow, so you can sleep after your work, as well."

"That's very generous of you Eric, good night now."

"Good night Sookie," he said, as he finally left my house. I pushed the door closed behind him and locked it, grabbed my phone, and went to bed.

My terribly obnoxious alarm woke me up just when I intended it to, which was a great, if not welcome, relief. I cut the tape off my finger with some tiny silver scissors as I waited for the shower to steam up and gasped when I saw the amount of semi-dried blood that had come through the bandage. Removing that, I saw a huge, dark blister of blood had formed on my fingertip and it stung like all get out. Maybe I should have just let him heal it. I was careful with it as I climbed under the scalding water, letting it wash away the various stresses of the last two days. I finally emerged just before the water started going cold, finally feeling halfway human. Only three-eighths shy of my norm.


A/N: I do not really like to do long notes explaining things, but we are still early on here. I feel compelled to speak up, in case you were looking for something that this story isn't; you can bow out now, and no hard feelings.

#1 - This Sookie is not a "super Sookie." This is set chronologically about the same time as Club Dead, the winter after her 26th birthday. She has had about 7.5 years more exposure to the supe world and its entire bag of tricks than Sookie as we met her in Dead Until Dark. She's certainly a smidgen more "red," but most of what she's got more of is knowledge and experience. I definitely intend to continue working what she's got, but this will be extrapolating the hints and impressions I've taken from canon.

#2 - Eric won't be treated with the keyboard of correction here. He's unashamedly himself - a thousand year old vampire who is not conflicted about doing what he feels he must. Yes, his interest is already piqued. Yes, he's nigh irresistible. Yes, I love Eric and Sookie as a couple. But it'll be a long and bumpy road. I'll try to throw in a few rest stops and some scenic vistas along the way, but I'm not going to stop him from doing or being the wrong thing, sometimes. It's fair that you know that up front.

#3 - All that being said, this is my favorite chapter so far. Did you like it? /needy, shameless :D