Chapter 11

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Eric didn't introduce Barry, but led him directly to the back of the plane, to Sookie.

The moment he opened the door, Sookie screamed. Eric bolted to the bed and pulled her into his lap.

"She knows I'm here," Barry chuckled. "Or at least that someone is here who can see inside her."

The humor of the situation was lost on Eric. "She doesn't sound happy to see you," he said flatly.

"I doubt she sees me. She can probably hear, but not too clearly. Everything's covered in some sort of thick, black haze. The sounds are echoed and garbled." Barry turned back to her. "It's all right Sookie. It's only me. It's Barry," Barry said softly.

"Snälla, kom tillbaks, min älskar." Eric murmured in her ear. As he spoke, he felt her fear fade briefly, but then some other anxiety began to rise in her. He looked at Barry. "Do you see anything?"

"Of course," Barry snapped. "Isn't that why you asked me to come? But I need you to be quiet. I need Sookie to hear me, not you. You only distract her."

Eric swallowed his flash of anger, lowered his voice and said, "To think she believed you timid."

"Realizing you're too valuable to be killed is very liberating," Barry said with a grin.

You have proven no such value to me, Eric thought, but he said, simply, "Continue."

Barry knelt beside the bed, placed his hand on Sookie's knee and looked into her face.

Barry looked confused and spoke to Eric. "I'm not sure what's going on with her. It's like there's nothing there, yet it's all there at the same time. She's covered everything with a sort of barrier or cushion or something. I'm not sure. She has everything blocked so she can't see it."

"Who's there!" Sookie screamed. "Where's Eric?"

"Sookie, it's Barry. Can you hear me?" Barry put his finger to his lips to indicate for Eric not to speak.

"Sookie", Barry repeated. "Can you hear me?"

"I can't see you." Sookie said weakly. "The dark."

"But you can hear me, yes?"

"I hear you."

"Good. That's very good, Sookie."

"It's so dark. Is Eric with you?"

Sookie started to fidget and Eric tightened his hold on her.

"Yes. Eric is with me. He's right here. I need you to think now, Sookie. Can you do that?"

"I knew he would come. Eric loves me." For the first time in two days, Sookie smiled.

Eric looked desperately at Barry, who again raised a finger to his lips.

"Sookie, listen to my voice. Can you tell which direction I am from you?"

"It's so dark, so dark," she whimpered.

"Concentrate Sookie. Concentrate on my voice. Close your eyes. See if that helps. The dark won't matter if your eyes are closed."

Sookie squeezed her eyes tight shut.

"This way, Sookie. Look in the direction of my voice. Come on, Sookie. You can do it."

"I hear you, Barry. Please come."

"You come to me, Sookie. Very slowly. Come to my voice. You take a step toward me and then I'll come to you as well. Have you taken a step yet?"

"Yes. I took a step, Barry. I hear you. - Wait!"

Eric felt a sudden panic emanate from her.

"Sookie, NO!" Eric cried, fearing she was retreating again.

"Eric! Eric, he's coming!" She began to thrash.

"Eric, shut up!" Barry ordered. "Sookie, run! You can do it, Sookie. Run to me! Now!"

"Eric, help me!" Sookie cried out and tears welled in her eyes.

Eric gripped her shoulders. It took all his strength to keep from shaking her. "Dearest! I'm right here with Barry. Run! Run to Barry and I will catch you."

"He's coming, he's coming," she whimpered.

"Who's coming?" Barry asked.

"Gordon," she said.

"Who?" Barry asked.

"No, Sookie! He can't come. He's dead," Eric proclaimed. "He's dead, Sookie! I killed him. He can't get you, my love. He's dead." A look of complete confusion came over her face.

"He's dead?" she asked.

Barry spoke up again. "Sookie, you're almost here. Look! I can see you. Reach out to me. Reach out to me Sookie, so I can take your hand."

Sookie looked down at her hands. She stared at them and turned them over to stare at her palms. "Barry?"

"Yes," Barry pleaded. "I'm right here. I can almost reach you. Just hold your hand out to me. Can you see me? I'm right here."

"Barry?" she repeated, and she looked at him. "Is that you, Barry?" and slowly she extended her hand toward him.

When her arm was fully extended, Barry grabbed her hand and yanked. She came tumbling out of Eric's lap, and knocked Barry over, so they fell into a heap in the floor.

Eric reached to pick her up, but Barry lifted a hand to stop him. "Wait," he whispered to Eric.

Barry made no attempt to get up, or even move. "Sookie?" he asked "Are you all right?"

Sookie was lifting herself into a sitting position. "Barry? Where did you come from? Where are we? I thought Eric was here?"

"Dearest?" Eric said softly from behind her.

"Eric!" she said breathlessly and turned to face him. He slid off the bed, to his knees on the floor and Sookie flung herself into his embrace.

"You came back to me," he choked out, clutching her tightly to his chest and kissing the top of her head.

"I knew you'd come," Sookie said into Eric's chest. "I could feel you. I knew you weren't afraid of the dark."

Eric raised his eyes to look at Barry, but he didn't loosen his hold on Sookie. When he spoke, his voice was filled with gratitude and relief. "Whatever you want. I will have Bobby Burnham call you tomorrow. Just tell him your price."

Barry stood and looked down at them, at how devotedly they clung to one another. "Let's just call it a late Christmas gift," he said finally.

Sookie looked up and reached for him again. "Thank you, Barry," she whispered.

Barry held her hand for a second and released it. "Merry Christmas," he said with a smile, and he left.

The cramped bedroom immediately got more crowded. Amelia, Pam and Oliver all rushed in. Amelia knelt down and tried to hug Sookie, but Eric wouldn't let go. He was wrapped around her with his face embedded in her shoulder. Amelia settled for holding Sookie's hand.

"What happened, honey?" Amelia asked. Amelia's curiosity was getting the better of her, but Sookie didn't answer.

"She came back to me," Eric said. His voice muffled by a tangle of his hair and Sookie's.

Pam noticed a single drop of blood fall onto the back of Sookie's T-shirt. Pam stroked Eric's head once and brought her hand to rest beside him on Sookie's shoulder.

"Out," Pam ordered "Everybody out. Leave them alone."

Eric's head tilted slightly. He kissed Pam's hand in thanks.

When they were alone again, Eric picked her up and got back up onto the bed. He laid down beside her, spooned her into him and locked himself around her. "Don't ever leave me like that again, Sookie. I couldn't bear it."

"I'll never leave you by choice, my knight," she said gently, and she fell asleep in his arms.

Sookie woke when the plane landed. She stretched until her back cracked and she rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, she found Eric, propped on an elbow, smiling lovingly down at her.

"I remember you," she said with a grin. "You're that cute guy who's so good in bed."

He raised an eyebrow. "Cute?" he questioned with mock outrage.

"No? I suppose that must be someone else," she teased. "I guess that makes you the devastatingly gorgeous one, who makes my heart stand still every time he touches me."

"Yes," Eric grinned happily. "That would be me. Now come. It's time to go."

They emerged from the bedroom at the back of the plane to much fuss and commotion. Sookie hugged Amelia and apologized for being the cause of their vacation being cut short.

"Oh. Sookie! Don't even think that. We can go to Vegas any time. And what little time we did spend together there was great fun. Well, the time we spent together before your, your accident. I'm just so happy you're back with us."

"I'm happy to be back," she said, and tightened the hold she had around Eric's waist.

Once they were off the plane and into the waiting car, Eric explained that they would be staying at Pam's house tonight, due to the renovations being done at his.

"What are you having done?" Sookie asked.

"A new ventilation system in our bedroom. Nothing major, Dearest. It should be finished by tomorrow night," he explained.

"Good," Sookie said and snuggled into his side.

When they arrived at Pam's house, Eric led Sookie to what was clearly Pam's master bedroom. He closed the door behind them.

"What about Pam?" Sookie asked.

"We won't be here long," he said softly and bent to kiss her. Tentatively at first, then more demanding. His pent up passions finding freedom in her fiery response.

"I need to take a shower," she panted.

"Later," he insisted.

Then things got strange. He led her into what was clearly Pam's closet. It was massive. Sookie figured that it probably used to be an adjoining bedroom. In the center of the room was a large, square, mirrored column. It was about four foot wide and ran from floor to ceiling. Eric walked straight to it and pulled on one side.

The mirrored panel swung open to reveal a staircase going down to a concealed basement. When they reached the bottom, Eric punched a code into a keypad on the door and it opened.

The room was obviously Pam's. Everything was pale yellow and pastel blue, with huge cushions strewn all around the king sized bed in the center.

"Do you have a room like this?" Sookie asked, thinking about waking up alone in the master bedroom of Eric's house.

"Very similar, my love. It is airtight and was built without ventilation. I didn't need it." He kicked off his shoes and began undressing.

Despite the considerable distraction, Sookie managed to maintain her train of thought. "But Pam has ventilation?"

"Pam has always kept pets," he explained. "She often allows them to sleep with her."

"And you never kept pets?"

"None who required air."

"But now you do?"

"No!" he stood in front of her and cupped her face in his hands. "You are no pet, my lover. In a thousand years, I have encountered no woman I desired to have still breathing at my side when I woke. It is most important to me that you understand this."

Sookie studied his face. How could she comprehend a thousand years of not having something you didn't even realize you wanted, then suddenly having it?

"I understand, " she began. She leaned forward and kissed the middle of his chest. "I understand that you came into my life and pursued me." She kissed one nipple and pushed against him, edging him closer to the bed. "That you wouldn't take no for an answer." She kissed the other and sucked lightly. She pulled her pajama pants and panties down together and stepped out of them. He stepped back and his calf touched the bedding.

"I understand you competed for my affection, no matter how hard I resisted you." She pulled off her T-shirt, tossed it aside and placed her hand in the center of his chest. She crawled onto the bed she held his eyes with hers and dragged her hand along the length of his arm as she inched toward the pillows, compelling him to follow her. "That you would stop at nothing."

"I understand you made love to me and it was like nothing I had ever felt." She guided him to lie down on his back as she looked down at him. "I understand you have fought for me." She brushed his hair out of his face.

He caught her hand in his and kissed her palm. She pulled it back. "You have risked yourself and others defending me." She ran her hand absently along the muscled lines of his stomach and leaned over to kiss his forehead. "I understand you have killed for me." She looked back into his eyes. "More than once"

"I understand I was lost in a place filled with fear and pain and death." She laid her head beside his. "And then the fear was covered by darkness." She nuzzled behind his ear and drew in a long breath. A melding of saltwater and her backyard after a long rain. "And I knew you were somewhere in the dark." He tilted his head and she kissed the back of his neck. "I could hear you" She could taste the salt. "My heart could feel you close, but I couldn't reach you." She licked the back of his ear. "So close, so far." Her lips skimmed along his cheekbones she kissed the bridge of his nose.

He leaned his head back and caught her upper lip gently in his teeth.

"And I wanted you," she continued as she pulled her lip free and ran her tongue over his fangs. "I hungered for you, but the dark, always the dark." She captured his wandering tongue in her mouth and sucked gently. She tried to keep control of her breathing, forcing herself to take long heavy breaths. "I need to know every inch of you." The tip of her nose rested in the cleft of his chin for just a second, and she kissed the hard line of his jaw. "I have to be able to recognize you in the dark." Her cheek brushed the soft underside of his jaw and she kissed his adam's apple, taking it wholly in her mouth. "I understand you came for me, and found me in the dark." She pulled herself onto him and again captured his gaze. "I understand that you love me, and every time I look at you my heart fills with so much love for you I think it might just shatter into a million pieces." She bent and kissed his lips.

When her stiffened nipple touched his, it was too much. The low moan in his throat escaped, he took her in his arms and rolled onto his side, lifting her left leg onto his hip. "I need you - now, my love." The slight tremble in his voice surprised him. He looked into her eyes and the love he saw there was his undoing. "Sookie", he whispered and he consumed her mouth in his.

She reached down and found him hot and rigid, waiting for her. He shivered and groaned at her touch and she was instantly covered in a wave of goosebumps. "Yes, now", she breathed. Her body welcomed him greedily as he entered her, slowly burying himself deeper and deeper in her flesh. She gasped again and again as he gradually pulled back, and plunged forcefully into her over and over.

Her back arched as she made her hips keep pace with his.

He growled - something, as her fingers desperately clutched at his back, searching for support. His arm slipped behind the small of her back and he lifted her, just a little. Her arms would no longer hold her weight and she fell back so her head and shoulders were on the bed. He bent and the hot wetness of his mouth caressed her breast. His tongue taunting her nipple until her surging pulse threatened to burst through her skin.

He raised his head and stared into her eyes as his need for release became more urgent.

She struggled for a gulp of air, grabbed his head in her hands and exhaled, "I love you." - and with all her remaining strength, she pulled him onto her neck.

She cried out as he pierced her hungrily. She felt a trickle of blood drip down her shoulder. "Yes, my lover," she whispered. "Drink."

"uuhhhhhhh", he groaned as he came deep inside and collapsed on top of her.

"I love you," she repeated as she ran her fingers slowly through his hair, shifting her body slightly so she could breathe under his weight. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of his body pressing against her.

"And," she said coyly, "I love you even though you lose." She tucked a tuft of hair behind his ear, so she could see his face as he turned it to her and she ran her fingers down his back.

"What could I have lost?" he asked with a grin. "When everything I desire is within my reach." He slapped his hand on her butt and squeezed.

"You collapsed!" she giggled happily. "I win! I win! I win!" And she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"And you count that as a loss for me?" he asked with a roaring laugh. "You should have felt it from my side, my love."

"Sides don't count," she said triumphantly. "I won." To emphasize her point, she stuck out her tongue slightly and turned her face to one side.

His eyes danced playfully and his grin was almost unbearably charming. "Very well, my lover, I concede defeat." He said dramatically. "I lay vanquished before you, having been overcome by your extraordinary allurements and boudoir prowess."

"That's better," she quipped. And she leaned to kiss him.

He quickly grabbed her and rolled and as he laughed, she screamed in surprise and burst into peals of giggles. He stopped with her flat on her back and he with his hands on the bed, on each side of her. His arms fully extended, so he stared into her face from the height of his arms.

"To the victor go the spoils, my brave coquet. What prize shall you claim?"

Sookie looked up into his waiting eyes. At this moment she knew, without doubt, she could ask for anything and he would move heaven and earth to get it for her. The knowledge left her breathless. "I - I hadn't thought about that," she said.

His grin broadened. He grabbed her butt again and pushed her up higher in the bed. "Perhaps I could bite your ass. I seem to recall you having a fondness for ass biting?" he suggested mischievously.

She put her hands on his arms. "I only want my knight, my daring hero, who rescues me from dark towers."

"I am at your mercy and your command, Sookie. Do with me what you will."

"Kiss me," she said softly.

Eric smiled and dutifully obeyed.

As Sookie woke up, she noticed for the first time just how soft and luxurious the bedding on Pam's bed was. She was gonna have to ask where it came from. It must be filled with only the tiniest down feathers.

No matter how comfy, she needed to get up. She wiggled out from under Eric's arm and went into the small bathroom and took a shower. Pam might have let her pets sleep with her, but clearly they weren't showering together. Not down here, anyway.

Once she was clean, she had no choice but to put the pajama pants and T-shirt she'd had on yesterday back on. Hopefully their luggage had been brought in here and not sent on to Eric's house or worse, Bon Temps. She saw a note pad on a dresser and wrote, *I love you. S* and left it on her pillow.

Sookie smiled down on Eric. "Sleep well, my knight," she whispered to him. Then she kissed his cheek and went upstairs.

Pam's closed travel casket was in the dressing room. Sookie felt momentarily guilty for displacing Pam from her bed, but their travel caskets were very plush, so she probably wasn't uncomfortable.

Sookie saw at least one of her suitcases. "Thank goodness," she said aloud. She went over and opened it and found that Belladonna must have packed it with everything Sookie would need for one day. What a sweetheart she was. Sookie took out the underclothes, jeans and her own T-shirt and got dressed. She walked barefoot into the living room.

"Sookie!" Amelia screamed. "Can I really hug you now?" she squealed as she ran across the room and latched onto Sookie. "How long did it take Eric to let go of you?"

Sookie laughed softly. "It took a while," she said. "But then I didn't let go of him until just a little while ago."

"Are you hungry?" Belladonna asked. Sookie hadn't even seen her walk up.

"Oh, Belladonna!" Sookie exclaimed and threw her arms around Belladonna. "Thank you so much! You were so helpful to me and I just want you to know how much I really appreciate it."

Belladonna was shocked beyond expression and her smile beamed. She was clearly not accustomed to being praised quite so enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Mistress," Belladonna said timidly. "I've cut some fresh fruit. Would care for eggs?"

"Maybe just one, scrambled," Sookie answered. "and a piece of toast?"

"Right away."

"I've already eaten," Amelia said, "But I'm gonna get me a cup of coffee. Can I get you one too, Sookie?"

"Please," Sookie answered and sat down at the bar dividing the large kitchen from the living room.

"So, Sookie, who was that guy on the plane? The guy in Dallas?" Amelia asked. "Did you even know him? Eric seemed to know him." She sat a coffee mug in from of Sookie and she sat down at the bar as well.

"Oh, that was Barry Horowitz," Sookie answered. "I've told you about him. He's the other one the FBI were interested in finding when they came to Bon Temps."

"The other telepath!" Amelia exclaimed. "I can't believe I never even thought about him."

"Why would you?" Sookie said dismissively. "You don't know him. Why would he occur to you? I'm not sure he would have even occurred to me and I know him better than anyone." Sookie took a big drink of coffee.

"He occurred to Eric," Amelia pointed out.

"Yeah," Sookie said with a shrug. "Just lucky, I guess."

"The master is responsible for taking care of a lot of people. More than a hundred vampires along with their servants and pets, all of his human employees. And they have to be coordinated with other people, contractors and vendors and who knows who all," Belladonna said proudly. "He's very good at knowing which people will work best together and who to give which job because they will be better at it. He knows everything about everyone he's ever met or anyone has told him about, and he never forgets. It just stays in his head until he needs it." Belladonna noticed that Sookie and Amelia were both staring at her and she shied. "If you were wondering, I mean."

"That's wonderful, Belladonna," Sookie praised her. "That you're so observant. I guess it's lucky for me I was with Eric when that happened to me."

"The master was very upset when you were ill. He stayed with you almost every minute and took care of you. It was very sweet to see. But sad too, because he was sad. When you're not sick, you make him very happy. He smiles a lot," Belladonna smiled sweetly at Sookie and scraped her scrambled egg out of the pan and onto a plate. She grabbed the toast out of the toaster and sat the plate in front of Sookie along with a dish of sliced apples, oranges and pears.

"And he has such a beautiful smile," Sookie said and she smiled at the thought of it. The other two agreed, then Pandora walked into the kitchen.

"You can say that again," Pandora said. "He has a smile you would follow right off a cliff - forgetting that he can fly, and you can't." Everyone laughed.

"Sookie," Amelia began. "Can you say what happened to you in Vegas?" Her curiosity was killing her. All of them actually, Amelia was just more willing to vocalize it.

"I'm not really a hundred percent sure, but basically I started seeing in this guy's mind and he was crazy and he had killed a lot of people. And he didn't try to hide it at all. He knew I was in his head, looking around and usually people start to think of multiplication tables or what they have at the dry cleaners or other things to distract me when they know I'm looking, but not him.

His mind was wide open, like he was showing me everything. Like he wanted me to see all his murders. And when he started thinking about the children he'd killed I just couldn't look any more, but he just kept thinking about them and showing me and they kind of got stuck in my head.

And I tried and tried to stop thinking about him until suddenly everything just sort of went black. It was like the only way to push him out of my head was to push everything out. And I was just kinda lost in the black nothing.

Until Barry came in and led me out. And everything that is supposed to be there was suddenly there again."

Amelia looked confused. "So that guy, that killer, what happened to the things you saw of his? Are they gone?"

"No," Sookie said sadly. "But I'm not afraid of him any more, so I guess the memories of him are sort of packed away so I don't have them sitting in front of my own thoughts any more."

"Huh. That's just strange," Amelia said offhandedly.

Sookie laughed out loud. "Tell me about it! Now imagine it all day, every day. Every time I make it through another whole day without losing my mind, it's like a miracle. - By the way, what time is it?"

"Almost three-thirty," Belladonna said. "About three hours til sunset."

"Wow. I had no idea I slept that long," Sookie said, and took a big gulp of coffee.

"You probably didn't must real rest while you out. You were either drugged or agitated most of the time," Amelia said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sookie looked over at Belladonna, who was arranging dishes in the dishwasher. "Where is the rest of my luggage? I'll need to change later."

"Most of your things were taken home earlier, but I kept a few thing out for you to choose from for tonight. I hung them, so they wouldn't be wrinkled," Belladonna said. "I didn't unpack anything at your house. There were still workmen everywhere, and Bobby Burnham was there with them. He's always in such a bad mood."

Sookie laughed in agreement. "Next time he frightens you, just threaten to tell Eric how he's behaving. He'll straighten right up."

"I'll remember that." Belladonna giggled. "When you're ready to unpack, I'll go with you, to help you get things put away." Then she raised her voice, "We could go now, but Heller and Talon have not gone to pick up your car from the airport yet."

"Ok, ok, we're going!" Heller called from the living room.

"It'll only take me about five more minutes to smash his ass!" came another male voice. That must be Talon, Sookie thought. They were playing a video game.

The guy couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen. And he was playing the game with all the breathless enthusiasm of a guy his age.

"Talon is new. He doesn't quite have his priorities straight yet," Belladonna said. She sounded a bit annoyed, but not so much that she was willing to take any action.

Sookie picked up her coffee mug and went to the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard. It was beautifully kept and ringed with both a tall privacy fence and rows of perfectly pruned rose bushes. Pathways made from large, smooth stones and lined on either side by brightly colored flower beds dotted the large yard, leading between different areas.

Belladonna walked over to stand beside Sookie. "Beautiful, isn't it? Pandora and Jinx tend the roses and the flower beds. At your house too. Pandora can almost make things bloom just by looking at them."

"It is beautiful," Sookie agreed.

The guys left to go get Sookie's car, and Sookie and Amelia decided to watch TV. Since they didn't really have time to get involved in anything with much of a plot, they settled on a stand-up comedian on HBO. No one had ever heard of the guy, but he seemed pretty funny and he made the time pass quicker.

When the show was over, Sookie asked where her clothes were, so she could get changed. Belladonna led her down the hall and into one of the smaller bedrooms. Pandora was propped on a mound of brightly colored pillows in the middle of a king sized bed that took up about half the room. She was reading a book and had earbuds in her ears, off in a world all her own.

Belladonna had three dresses hanging in the doorway of a closet. Sookie decided to wear the emerald green satin strapless mini with a layer of black tulle over the short skirt. She liked this one a lot and had really looked forward to wearing it in Vegas before that trip turned sour. Technically speaking, it was actually a little too dressy for Fangtasia, but hey, the place was a vampire bar, it's not as if she would be anywhere near the most over the top person in the room.

When Pandora noticed what Sookie was wearing, she bounced off the bed. "If you're wearing that, can I do your hair?" she asked excitedly. "I'll make you look great! I promise."

"She's very good," Belladonna assured with a smile.

"Sure, I guess so," Sookie agreed. "Where do you want me to sit?"

"Anywhere you want! I'll be right back," Pandora squealed, and she bolted from the room.

Belladonna pulled a pretty, low backed chair from the corner and positioned it in the center of the open area at the foot of the bed. Sookie sat facing the bay window, which was currently offering a lovely view of the backyard, backed by the beginnings of the first bright orange pale purple rays of the impending sunset.

Sookie noticed Belladonna staring out the window and she recognized the look of longing and anticipation she saw on Belladonna's face. Surely a similar look was on her own face. One to match the growing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Waiting for the sunset. For the night, which would bring their loves to them.

Pandora bounded back in carrying a small branch covered with oddly pretty blooms all over it. Small purplish flowers with sprays of yellow tendrils dangling from them.

"Witch hazel," Pandora announced happily, from behind a huge smile. "The Master likes the smell. I've heard him say so, in the garden. And they'll look fantastic with that dress." Pandora handed the branch to Belladonna and rummaged around on the dresser for combs and pins and a brush and several other things.

Pandora set to work and half an hour later her hair was …

"Perfect," Eric said approvingly from the doorway.

Belladonna and Pandora immediately bowed their heads and Sookie spun around to face him.

"Eric," Sookie sighed as she smiled up at him.

"Beautiful," Eric said as he held Sookie's chin and admired Pandora's work. Sookie's hair was mass of soft curls falling in all directions, with witch hazel blooms woven randomly throughout. He leaned over and took in the scent of the blossoms. "You've outdone yourself, Pandora," he said without taking his eyes off Sookie.

Pandora turned bright red and began giggling in response to the unexpected praise.

"I have hair too," Pam called from the hall.

"Uh-oh", Pandora said under her breath as she and Belladonna scrambled off to Pam's room.

"Sorry, Sookie," Pam deadpanned. "The only one left is Jinx and she's so clumsy, I'm afraid if I put a rattail comb in her hand she might accidentally stake me with it." She looked over Sookie's hair. "Very nice," she said and went back to her room.

"Shall we go?" Eric asked. "Or would you prefer to ride with Pam and Amelia?"

"Let's go," she responded.

She was surprised to see Eric's car in the driveway when she had expected to see hers. Eric explained that Heller had been instructed to pick up her car and take it to their house and bring his car here.

"If you should ever decide you're willing to have a car worthy of you, I hope you'll let me know," Eric had complained. She had rolled her eyes at him, which had made him laugh.

Clearly word had spread that Eric was back in town. Fangtasia was packed for a Sunday night. Eric headed them toward his usual table in the center of the room, next to the dance floor.

In the same instant, they both saw it for the first time. Even Eric was stopped in his tracks. It was stunning. The entire far wall, between the DJ stand and the row of booths to the right, now dominated the room.

What had been a plain blood red wall hung with a few posters, was now an enormous collage of vampires both real and fictional. Next to the DJ stand, a life sized Pam in a tight red sequined dress, struck a sultry pose leaning against a lamp post. A colony of bats swirled around a haze shrouded full moon in the upper right corner. And in the center was Eric, fangs bared, looking down at Sookie, with her left hand resting on his cheek and her head slightly tilted to expose her neck to him. Javier Ortega-Aznar had captured their likenesses flawlessly.

"It's amazing," Sookie said breathlessly, unable to take her eyes off of it.

"Magnificent," Eric agreed as he stared.

The room exploded into applause. That jolted Eric back into thrill the tourists mode. He gently pushed Sookie through the crowd, to their table. She was still mesmerized by the wall mural.

"When did he do it?" Sookie finally asked after she was seated.

"It was about half finished before we left. But the middle hadn't been done yet. He didn't tell me what would be there," Eric said.

"It's so realistic. I feel like they could all just pop right off the wall and onto the dance floor. I knew his sketches were good, but this is just amazing. I had no idea Javier was this good," Sookie enthused, still staring.

"He studied with Goya. So he learned how to paint realistic portraits," Eric explained.

Just then, the DJ decided to put his warped sense of humor on display and cued up Love Me Dead by Ludo. When it started, Eric laughed harder than he had for quite a while. He reached for Sookie. "Dance with me, min älskare," he asked with a huge grin.

He playfully jostled her around the dance floor like a rag doll, in time to the bouncy music. When the song ended, he tossed her into the air and let her fall nearly to the floor before catching her. Sookie screamed and he pulled her to him and stopped her with a deep, passionate kiss.

For the second time, the crowd applauded its approval.