"Eric, you cannot be serious," Bill scoffed.
"I am," said Eric, towering from his large "throne" that he occupied at the main floor of Fantasia. It was his turn to be a spectacle for the tourist fangbangers in the bar, but he'd be done at 1. He was as anxious as it was possible for a vampire to be, and he couldn't wait for Pam to arrive and relieve him of his duty. Eric checked his phone. 12:38.
"Eric. What makes you think you can just walk right up to Russell Edgington, exact vengeance, and live to tell the tale? You certainly did not do so last time."
"If you recall, last time we were both gracious and foolish enough to allow Russell to live." Eric raised an eyebrow. "My king."
Bill ignored the jibe and continued. "Yes, but you cannot possibly get there, find Sookie, and rescue her undetected all before dawn. The whole point of sending Alcide and Tara was that they have an advantage we do not— or have you forgotten that sunlight is the one and only way for us to meet the true death?"
"You forgot staking," said Eric calmly.
"Eric," Bill repeated through gritted teeth. "We all agreed upon a reasonable plan. It took weeks just to secure Russell's location. Now, Alcide and Tara will venture there during the day when security will be lax, or at least humans only. We know there will likely be no one else around or else very few others there to give them away. They will find a way to sneak Sookie out before sundown and bring her back to Bon Temps. Russell will likely come after her but he would have to get through us by then. And as you know, the Authority will fully support me once they find out he has caused so much trouble over a human; they will want his fangs on a platter anyway once they realize he is indeed alive."
Bill looked away gloomily. "And ours as well when they find out the part we had to play in it. We could lure him right to us and finally finish off Russell Edgington for good and have no one be the wiser. What exactly is your problem with this plan, again?" Bill inquired caustically.
Eric leaned down so that his face was very close to Bill's. "First of all, I don't send a werewolf and a human to solve my problems. Secondly, should Alcide and Tara run into trouble and still be within Russell's vicinity come nightfall, the two of them and Sookie are fucked. And thirdly…" Eric hesitated, and pulled away from Bill a few inches. "I felt something from Sookie a few hours ago. She is…" Eric thought carefully. "She is terrified," he finished simply. "I've taken care of everything at Fangtasia for the next few nights; I am prepared to go to ground in the woods of Mississippi if necessary. I would rather not leave Sookie there any longer than I have to."
For a moment, a brief moment, Eric saw something like sympathy flash across Bill's face. Or maybe it was pity. Eric didn't particularly care what Bill thought at the moment, but it might come in handy to know.
"But she is alive?" Bill asked cautiously. "I, ah, can no longer feel her presence." Bill shrugged, trying not to care.
"Good," said Eric flatly. "And I think so." He paused. "For the moment."
And for a few seconds, both vampires were silent, their minds focused on what that might mean for the pair of them if they were wrong.
Eric abruptly turned his head towards a door marked "Fangtasia Employees ONLY."
"Pam is here," he announced.
Bill was caught off guard. "I hear footfalls, but how do you know they are hers and not someone else's?"
One corner of Eric's mouth turned up in a cocky grin. "Bill, she is my child. Don't you know Jessica's footsteps?" Bill gave Eric a withering look. Eric's grin spread to his whole mouth now; annoying Bill was among his favorite activities. "Careful, or one night she'll wake up full-grown and you won't even know her."
Bill felt an overwhelmingly human urge to flip Eric the bird.
However, at that moment Pam appeared, fully dressed in her "vampire" outfit for the night: heavily teased hair that was at least three inches high, deep smoky eye shadow, and of course, blood red lipstick, all on top of a black lacy cat suit with elbow-length gloves and stiletto boots that made her look more like the sexy version of Morticia Addams rather than one of the undead.
"What are you boys up to this time?" Pam said by way of greeting.
"I don't know what Bill is doing, but I am going to Mississippi. I'm bringing Sookie back," Eric said firmly, helping Pam up onto the platform where she had a smaller chair placed next to his giant one. Pam tried her best to sound like she cared about what happened to Sookie. "Oh. Well…isn't that exciting?"
Bill stared.
Eric blinked. "I'm impressed, Pam. You almost sound as if you're trying to be n—"
"Do I at least get to be in charge while you're gone?" Pam interrupted before he could even utter the dreaded word. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Ginger accidentally knock over an entire stack of cocktail napkins behind the bar. "I find some of our staff to be extremely incompetent." She watched as Ginger began retrieving the napkins and blowing them off as her eyes darted around nervously to check if anyone had seen. Pam heaved an overly dramatic sigh, her eyes silently pleading with her Maker.
"Oh, please," muttered Bill.
Eric circled to face the bar. "Commencing now," Eric bellowed, "I name this vampire, Pamela Swinford de Beaufort, as the official mistress of Fangtasia in my absence. Anyone who steps out of line must answer to her. And I promise you…" Eric paused for affect, while the crowd waited with baited breath. "She is not as nice as I am." As the club-goers tittered nervously behind him, Eric turned back to Pam with a hint of a smile on his lips. "If anyone can bitch-slap humans into submission, it's you."
"Excellent." Pam flipped her perfectly highlighted blonde hair over one shoulder and settled back in the chair confidently. Then her expression turned grave. "You come back alive, Eric." she said quietly.
"He will," Bill interjected before Eric could respond. "Because I'm going with him."
As promised, here's a new chapter for Sunday night (sorry for the time disparity for my readers who don't live in America)! I was so glad to get back to what was happening with Eric and of course, I couldn't resist the chance to include Pam- she's so fun to write! Let me know if you liked this chapter. Your reviews help me SO much!