We went in through the front entrance so that Sam could get the full effect of Fangtasia. His eyes widened as he saw the line of people waiting to get in. I hoped it didn't give him any ideas. I wasn't sure a 'Shifter Bar' would draw the same sort of crowd. The line was long, but Bill maneuvered us to the front quickly. The vampire at the door tonight was a tall, voluptuous redhead in a green velvet sheath that hugged all of her curves. She looked Sam up and down appreciatively.

"Well hello there. Aren't you a handsome boy." She leaned in towards Sam, giving him a good view of her considerable cleavage and allowing her fangs to show her interest.

"Sorry, Lily. Business, tonight, not pleasure." Bill said. "We're here to see Pam."

"Of course. Neil, take the door please." A young vampire with blond hair and the palest blue eyes took over the reception area. Lily turned back to us. "Come."

She walked through the bar slowly, swaying her hips a little more for Sam's benefit. Lily stopped at the office door, knocking twice.

"What is it?" Sookie heard Pam's voice.

"Miss Stackhouse and her entourage have arrived."

"Entourage?" Pam came to the door. "Ah. You brought the shifter, too. Very well, come in."

To put it bluntly, Pam looked like hell. She wore no make-up, her hair was pulled back in a ragged ponytail and instead of her usual Fangtasia attire, she wore jeans and a purple LSU sweatshirt. She looked every bit like a coed with a really bad hangover.

"Sit." She motioned to the couch along Eric's office wall.

"I'll stand, thanks." Sam said. He folded his arms and leaned against the door.

"Suit yourself." Pam paced in front of Eric's empty desk.

I sat, nervously clenching and unclenching my hands. Bill sat next to me, close enough to give me some security, but not too close. I couldn't feel Eric. Nothing. Not even a twinge. It was unnerving to say the least. Where was he?.

"What's going on Pam?" I asked. "Where's Eric?"

Pam continued to pace.

"Pam." Bill's voice seemed to startle her. "You asked Sookie to come. Tell her, tell all of us what's going on."

"Yash-Ar is here." Pam said. "Eric has been called."

"What?!" Bill was a blur as he shot up from the couch and grabbed Pam by both shoulders, shaking her. Pam's fangs shot out and she shoved Bill away so hard that he lost his balance and fell against the wall. Quickly Sam stepped between me and the two vampires who now faced each other, fangs out.

"How can that be? That monster was destroyed over one hundred years ago." Bill growled. "He is no more."

"No." Pam shook her head. "Eric just told people that."

"Eric just told people that?" Bill sank back onto the couch beside me, mumbling something about an arrogant bastard. Gee, I thought. I wonder who he's referring to? I'd had about enough of this. Pam asks me to come here and then starts babbling on about something I don't understand.

"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Who the hell is Yasser or whatever his name is?"

Pam turned to me, her face a mask once again. "Yash-Ar is also known as The Egyptian. He is the one who walks the day. The one who lives forever." She recited. "The Immortal One." She gave a slight bow. "He is also my maker's maker."

Her maker's maker? Eric's maker? I knew about makers. I knew what they could do. I'd learned that from Bill. My head started to spin. My stomach lurched. All this mumbo jumbo meant nothing to me, but Bill's distress was obvious. I turned to him, hoping for more details than Pam was providing.

"Bill, who is this guy?"

Bill glanced at Sam, then sat down beside me. "Think of the worst vampire you've ever come into contact with." He said.

Gosh. There were so many to choose from. I settled on a combo of Andre and Lorena. "Okay, now what?"

"Multiply it by a thousand."

There went my stomach again.

"Yash-Ar is evil. Period. He is over two-thousand years old and there is not one minuscule spark of humanity left, nor any moral center. It was difficult to find information on him or his offspring when I was researching the database." Bill shook his head. "There is much secrecy and superstition in that corner of the world and many of our kind simply chose to remain hidden rather than reveal themselves. Legend says that he is so ancient he can keep his powers and walk about during the day. But supposedly, Yash-Ar was destroyed in an uprising, killed by his own followers. I do know he made numerous children, and kept many of them as his vassals or slaves. Eric is but one of these, albeit one of the oldest and most powerful of those who have survived. I do not know Eric's personal history with his maker. Pam?"

"Eric has not shared that information."

"Where is he?" I asked. "How did he get Eric?"

Pam rolled her eyes. "He called him, of course. He is in New Orleans. He hasn't been here long as far as I can tell. I think Eric has sensed something for awhile. He has been nervous. Jumpy. Very un-Ericlike. He left me instructions on what to do if this happened." She handed me an envelope.

"Plane tickets?" I stared at her. "Paris? Why would I go to Paris?" I glanced in the envelope again. "And who am I supposed to take with me? There are two tickets here."

"You need to leave. Eric thought that was someplace you might like to see. As to who you take, I believe he wished you to take Octavia, or perhaps Bill. Someone experienced who could protect you."

"I'm not going anywhere." I said flatly.

"Eric anticipated that reaction. I have instructions for that, too." Pam said with a slight smile. This time she handed Bill the envelope. His was thicker. He drew out a map, heavy and folded many times, and a computer disc. A note fluttered to the floor. He stooped to pick it up. I hadn't known it was possible for a vampire to turn pale, but any color present in Bill's face vanished as he read the note from Eric.

"A blood bond?" Bill was furious. He glared at Pam. "Eric knew about this? About him, and still he forged a blood bond with her? I swear I will stake him myself." Bill was the one pacing now, covering the room in long strides. "He possesses unbelievable arrogance. Has he learned nothing in a thousand years?"

Sam looked from Bill to me to Pam. "What is he talking about Sookie? What blood bond?"

I leaned back into the cushions and closed my eyes. Without opening them, I explained to Sam, and to Bill too, since he didn't know the whole story, the origins of the blood bond between Eric and I. "Bill, can't you see?" I asked, opening my eyes. "Eric didn't have a choice. Would you rather have me bonded to Andre?"

"Andre is dead."

"Well, he wasn't then." I snapped. God he could be unreasonable.

"I never would have put you in that position." Bill said emphatically. "Never."

"Oh, shut up, Bill. If it had been you in that situation you would have done the same thing." Pam said. "Or would you have let Andre possess her? "

"Hey!" Sam yelled. "Stop arguing about who would've done what to whom and finish telling me what the hell this blood bond does." He sat next to me on the couch. "Tell me, Sookie. What does it mean?"

Quietly, I explained what I understood of its effects. "So basically, I can feel Eric's emotions, and he can feel mine." I looked at Pam. "Is that about right?"

"Yes." Pam hesitated.

"Go ahead." Bill snarled. "Tell her the rest. Or should I?"

Pam stared at me for a long moment. "When a blood bond is forged between a vampire and a human, that bond exists only between the two of them, unless..."

"Unless what?" For the third time that night my stomach lurched violently. I was sure I didn't want to hear what was coming. I swallowed hard.

"Unless that vampire's maker wishes to attach to the bond as well." My confusion must have shown because Pam changed course. "If I had a blood bond with someone, and Eric wanted it, since he and I are connected by blood also, he could join in that bond and together we would have much more control over the person we were bonded to. It doesn't happen often. Most vampires never forge a blood bond at all. This kind is especially complicated."

"Tell her why." Bill demanded. I had never seen him so angry.

"The influx of emotions from disparate sources causes most humans to simply go insane." Pam shrugged.

So not only was I bonded to Eric, which was bad enough, but I was also bonded to the badass vampire of all time and he could control me, or if I was lucky, the whole thing might just drive me insane. My stomach had reached the end of its patience. I covered my mouth with my hand and staggered into the bathroom. I made it as far as the sink before heaving.