"Your aim is getting better," Artemis muttered approvingly as she watched me hurl the knife again and again with all of my force. I actually managed to hit the target consistently without her standing in front of it. I was proud of myself, but weighed down by the paranoid fear that I wouldn't be able to perform when actually faced with a threat.

"Can we go inside?" I panted, holding the knife pressed against my thigh. Who knew that throwing a knife could take so much effort?

"Sure," she replied. "Eric and Pam are probably going to wake up soon anyway. We should also probably check on Bubba before Eric finds him."

We wandered into Fangtasia and I sat at the bar staring at the clock while Artemis checked on our unconscious visitor.

"He's out like a vampire in a tanning salon," she reported while taking a seat at the small table that was covered in her research. "It's dark outside. I guess Eric's worn out from last night."

By the time the sheriff of Area Five graced us with his disheveled presence Artemis was already at the point of exploding. Her head was pressed flat against the book in defeat while her fingers tapped without rhythm on the top of the table like a student in the middle of the SATs.

"I take it that things are not going well?" Eric guessed as he emerged from the basement.

"Hardly," she snapped back. "I can't find a thing in here that's of any use whatsoever. I know a thing or two about manticores, but I tend to forget things that aren't immediately useful because I know that I'll have them recorded in here. For some reason I can't find any of my old research. No one has touched this book but me."

Eric sighed and ran his fingers through his hair thoughtfully. "Do you work tonight?"

I looked up at the clock and raised an eyebrow. I couldn't seem to remember my schedule. "I think I work tomorrow night. Sam or Holly would have called by now if I hadn't shown up."

"I'm hungry," Eric complained and eyed me in an eerie way.

"There's plenty of bottled blood in this place," I offered. "I can heat some up for you if you like."

He scowled and nodded his head. "I'm getting restless with this whole game. Honestly, I don't like having to think this much. I didn't become a sheriff to think. I became a sheriff to hire people to think for me."

"Isn't that why I'm here?" Artemis groaned with her head still in between the pages of her book. "I'm going out into the woods tonight to plant Sookie's clothes around the area and see if I can get the vile creature to show itself."

"Can I see the clothes first?" I asked meekly.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "You want to make sure I didn't take anything special?"

I smiled innocently. "I don't exactly want my favorite pair of jeans, my work clothes, or, you know, a thong hanging around the neighborhood."

She indicated a spot in the corner where her bags were stored. I walked over and started rifling through them looking for my clothes. My work apron stuck out like a sore thumb. I pulled out an armful of my favorite clothes and laid them down on the floor sadly. She must have taken them straight out of the hamper.

"Wow, you really did a good job of grabbing all of my favorite stuff," I grumbled in her general direction.

"Good," she spat back. "While you're at it, go ahead and choose which outfit you'd like to be buried in. I'd hate for you to look unfashionable for the worms crawling into your ears."

I shuddered and mentally gave up. "Fine. I get what you're saying. Just take it all and if it gets ruined I'll go see my friend Tara and buy more."

Eric snorted in the corner. "Buy more? When was the last time I allowed you to pay for your own clothing? Or driveway? Or house repairs?"

I glared at him. "You also pay my hospital bills for the injuries that I get as a result of being within a 50 mile radius of you freaks."

"It's not my fault," he drawled, "that you can't stop getting hurt. I, for one, seem to be much better at avoiding near-death than you do."

I grabbed Arty's knife off the table where I had set it down earlier and hurled it at Eric to make a point. I didn't expect to actually hit him. In his attempt to move out of way, he stumbled and it cut smoothly through the fabric of his right sleeve. I stood frozen in shock and started trying to pick my jaw up off the floor.

"PAM!" Artemis screamed immediately at the top of her lungs. "PAM!"

She ran over to where Eric was clinging to the top of the bar and helped set him down on the floor. Pam whizzed around the corner and tried to piece together the situation.

"The stupid human girl threw my knife at Eric," Artemis explained. "His shoulder is cut open a little bit, but it's not too deep. Is there a witch you happen to trust nearby?"

Pam looked thoroughly confused. "The woman that Sookie lives with is a witch. I also know of a few spread throughout the town. Why do you ask? Last time I checked Eric was capable of withstanding a papercut."

"This isn't an ordinary knife," Artemis explained hurriedly. "It was a gift and it has a very powerful enchantment. Eric's life isn't in danger, but it is rather incapacitating. The effect will wear off in a few hours, but I'd rather have him coherent now. The manticore isn't the most intelligent thing out there, but chances are there's someone a lot more powerful behind the attack. They could be watching us even now."

I heard the Corvette tearing out of the parking lot before I even knew Pam was gone. Artemis was leaning over Eric murmuring softly in another language. His eyes were glazed over and his hands were curled into fists.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I didn't know. I swear."

Artemis glanced at me angrily over her shoulder and sighed. "It will be fine. I never explained the nature of my weapons to you, did I? I suppose that is my fault. Then again, I was not expecting you to throw weapons that are not yours at our friends."

After half an hour, I thought I was going to die if Pam didn't come back. Eric sounded as though he was purring, though the panic in his eyes was enough to show his true emotion. I sensed Amelia as soon as she entered the parking lot, but became slightly more distressed when I tuned into her thoughts.

I don't believe this! What the hell is going on? Who does she think she is? I was trying to have such a relaxing day and then all this happens! Maybe I should just leave Bon Temps! I can't handle all this drama all the time!

Pam entered a few moments later with Amelia in her arms like newlyweds. "I have retrieved the witch."

Amelia kicked her way out of Pam's arms and glared at me. "You better tell me what all this is about. I want a discount on my rent or something!"

Artemis grabbed her by the front of her bathrobe and pulled her down next to Eric. "Have you ever heard of a sensitivity enchantment?"

My roommate nodded. "I've used it a couple of times for people that wanted to get dates. What's he sensitized to? The carpet?"

At that precise moment the storage room door exploded and showered everyone nearby with splinters. Bubba stepped over the rubble and smiled at me with his arms held open.

"Miss Sookie!"

"I can't believe this!" Amelia gasped. "What the hell is Elvis doing here?"

Bubba stood rooted to the spot with his face contorted in a mixture of rage and confusion. Amelia, sensing her critical error, started backing slowly away one step at a time. A single question seemed to pervade the room: How could this possibly get any worse?