Eric and I spent the rest of our time up until dawn setting out the bare bones of a plan. We worked back and forth between us, exchanging ideas, picking holes in each others plots, until we finally agreed on something we could work with.
It was far from perfect, and we hadn't had time to go over every little detail, but it was better than having no plan at all. Our focus was on keeping those we loved safe, staying alive ourselves (or at least in Eric's case, staying only partly dead), and making sure Felipe was definitely, utterly and completely dead. Any more than that we considered to be a bonus, and everything else could be considered later, when we could be more certain about our safety.
When the sun was close to rising Eric needed to find somewhere nearby to go to ground, and he left me with a promise that we would see each other again soon, along with a toe-curling kiss to remember him by.
I managed to get a few hours of much-needed sleep, before waking again. As I showered, I felt the ache in the muscles I'd used the night before, and smiled to myself. No matter what the circumstance, the sexual chemistry between Eric and I had always been explosive. And wow, how easily that fire for him reignited and still burned. As I washed I felt the ghost of his hands on my body, caressing me, squeezing and stroking me. I felt his fingers tangling in my hair, the tingle of his cool lips on my neck, his teeth grazing my ear, the sound of his voice as he leaned down to say goodbye.
"I know we can do this, my lover. We will be together again soon, and I cannot wait to be in your arms once more."
I hoped, rather than really truly believed, that I'd feel the pleasure of holding Eric again.
Since I suddenly wasn't so keen on flying, I took a bus back home. It was late evening by the time I was standing in the parking lot at Fangtasia. My car was still there, which shouldn't have really surprised me. What kind of fool was going to steal a car from a vampire's parking lot?
I knocked on the staff door, and it was opened by Thalia. She was wearing the thick, heavy make-up and black, gothic outfit that was expected of her and the other Louisiana vamps at work. I could hear the muffled noise of the bar beyond, and smell the familiar bar smells. I'd sometimes wondered how vampires coped with the sensory overload of such a place, but had never remembered to ask. I wasn't about to strike up that conversation with the vampire in front of me. Thalia had never been a big fan of mine, but then again, she never really seemed to like anyone, so that kind of made me feel a little better.
"Sookie."
"Hi Thalia. How're you?"
She chose not to answer that. Vampires don't really do human pleasantries, but I always seemed to forget. I guess they're always in pretty much the same state. One of these days, maybe one of them is gonna go 'Oh, well I lost a finger the other day and I'm in the process of growing it back. Thanks for asking, Sookie. Nobody else seems to care.' So I guess I'll keep on with the dumb human questions.
"If you are looking for Pam, she is not here," Thalia barked. "And I suppose you heard about Eric."
Since I couldn't determine from her face or her voice whether she genuinely thought he was dead or not, I just nodded.
"Uh-huh." I held out the black duffel bag. "Will you give this back to Pam for me please? I borrowed it the other day."
Thalia took it and gave a curt nod.
"I will do that."
"Thanks."
I turned and walked back to my car, and I heard Thalia close the door behind me. As I drove back home to Bon Temps I began feeling a strange mix of emotions. I was happy at the prospect of being back in familiar surroundings and close to my friends and family again. On the other hand, who else might be waiting for me, ready to give me a happy, warm welcome home?
Sometimes I just had to pull on my big girl panties and face what had to be done.
I stopped off at Merlotte's. It wasn't busy, and Sam caught my eye from behind the bar almost as soon as I walked in. He jerked his head in the general direction of his office, and we both made our way around to the back. He closed the door behind us.
"Sook, you okay?"
The hug he pulled me into came as somewhat of a surprise, but since it felt so good to be home and missed by someone, I hugged him back.
"I'm fine."
"I was worried about you."
I pulled back and smiled at him.
"I'm sorry I just left you in the lurch like that, I just had some urgent things I had to do."
"Let me guess. Eric."
His tone was sharp.
"What?"
"I heard about the crash. It was in the paper; prominent Louisiana vampire businessman perished in airplane accident. But now you're back you've confirmed what I was already guessing, he's not dead for good at all."
All supes had an exceptional sense of smell, but shifters seemed to have the best. Even though I'd done my best to lose his scent, it seemed that Sam was still picking up a whiff of Eric on me. It was one of those supe things that kind of icked me out. Or maybe Sam just figured I'd be looking more upset if I'd learned Eric had died.
"You don't seem particularly happy about that possibility," I said.
"Eric and I have never been best buddies. I know what he's put you through these past few weeks. I was hoping that no matter what had happened to him, you'd just be able to move on."
Sam had had to do his own moving on, after Jannalyn had been killed. It had been a tough time for him, going through the death of his girlfriend, and coming to terms with the fact he had come so close to death himself. Our conversation about the cluviel dor had been odd, and somehow uncomfortable. Sam was no stranger when it came to magic, but even for him it had been difficult to get his head around. I knew he'd been so grateful to me for saving his life, but I don't think he truly understood how or why I'd managed to do it.
"You said someone had been in the bar looking for me?"
"Two guys, well-dressed. Never seen them before and they haven't been back today. I couldn't really give you much on them, only a description. Dark hair, tan, both tall, medium build. They could've been brothers. One of them had a pony-tail and lots of jewelry."
"Definitely human, not shifter or were, right?"
"Human for sure. I didn't like the look of 'em, Sook. What's a couple of guys like that doing asking after you?"
I sighed.
"Look, maybe it's better if you know as little as possible about all this. Things might get a bit messy, and I don't want you involved."
"I'm your friend," Sam said. "If you're involved then so am I."
I smiled at him and reached forward to squeeze his forearm.
"I appreciate that. I appreciate everything you've done for me, making me a partner in the bar and all. But I'm probably going to be taking some more time off, and I have no idea how long I'll need to be gone. I'm sorry. I'll come in tomorrow, though. You need a waitress for the morning shift?"
I felt my forehead wrinkle and all my muscles tense as I awaited his response. I hoped that he didn't think I was taking too many liberties, acting like he owed me something since I'd saved his life. The last thing I wanted was for my friend to feel like he owed me for that. I squeezed his arm again, probably too hard in my tension, and I got a clear glimpse into his head. He wasn't angry at me for leaving him short staffed again, and he didn't think I was taking advantage of the situation to take time off. He was simply concerned about me, frustrated that I had run to Eric again after spending weeks moping about our break-up, and wondering when the hell I was going to kick vamps out of my life for good, so that maybe he'd get another chance to ask me out.
I let go of his arm.
"Sure," he said.
"Thanks, Sam."
"Just take care of yourself. You know where I am if you need me."
I leaned forward to give him another quick hug, before making my exit. One of the waitresses gave me some serious stink-eye on the way out, and I quickened my pace so that I wouldn't have to hear anyone, or talk to them.
In the parking lot, I pulled out my cell phone and made a quick call to Jason, just to check in with him. He seemed pretty oblivious to everything that had happened, and he had nothing out of the ordinary to report. I told him about the guys who had been into Merlotte's asking about me, and advised him to just be wary. When he began to sound worried, I told him that it was probably nothing to worry about, and he soon calmed down. I let him know I'd call him again soon.
Then I called Bill, and asked him if he'd be so kind as to check my woods for lurkers, which he seemed perfectly happy to do.
I sat in the car for five minutes or so, and waited. Bill soon called back.
"I have completed a thorough search of the land," Bill said. "There is nothing."
I breathed a big sigh of relief.
"That's good news. Thanks."
"I spoke with Pam earlier."
"Oh."
"Since she is deputy sheriff, in charge until another area sheriff is appointed, she has asked me to keep my eye on the local area, for anything unusual. I'm to report back to her regularly on anything out of the ordinary."
That made me smile.
"Good to hear," I said.
"I will be around."
I hung up, feeling mildly more safe than I had before. Since he hadn't mentioned Eric directly, I guessed that someone, probably Pam, had trusted him enough with the truth.
The short drive to my house seemed to take longer than usual, or maybe I was just driving extra slowly. Either way, I was soon making my way up the porch steps. I might have fumbled with the key a little more than usual, but knowing that Bill was out there watching over me gave me some extra courage.
The house was of course exactly how I'd left it. I don't know if I was expecting the place to have been trashed by intruders, but it was almost a shock to find nobody had broken in while I was gone. I hadn't been inside for a minute before there was a knock at the back door. The sudden sharp rap almost made me jump out of my skin.
I grabbed a kitchen knife, and reached out with my extra sense. Two voids. I'd thought one might be Bill, but who else?
I swapped my knife for a stake I'd concealed in my pot cupboard a while back, shoving it down the waistband of my pants, and went to open the door. Thankfully, I wouldn't be needing the pointy stick yet.
"Hey Bubba."
"Miss Sookie, it's real good to see you. Real good."
I smiled at him, and nodded at Bill.
"Thanks again for checking up on the house."
"It was no problem. Bubba had just arrived, he's been staying in New Orleans for a while. Pam sent him."
I turned to Bubba again. He seemed upbeat and looked well. They'd obviously taken care of him, whoever he'd been entrusted to. He was wearing dark pants and a heavy brown jacket. A pair of large, gold-rimmed sunglasses were hooked inside the top pocket. It wasn't as if a vampire actually needed sunglasses. Someone had given him a little gift, a nod to his glory days.
"Won't you two come inside? I think I've got some blood in the refrigerator."
"Sorry, I got orders, Miss Sookie," Bubba said. "I got work to do. And Mr. Bill here, he just gave me a bottle at his house."
"Bubba will remain close by," Bill said. "He and I will both make regular sweeps of the perimeter. I believe Pam will be making some arrangements for the day."
Pam really knew how to do security. She'd talked about starting up a business, but it had never come to anything yet. Some of her potential customers might freak out, having Bubba protecting them.
"Thank you. I'll be here tonight, but tomorrow I'll likely be out for the evening, I might be back late."
Bill nodded, and then they were both heading back down the steps. Bubba turned at the bottom.
"I'll take a rain-check on that blood, Miss Sookie. And I sure am glad to see you again."
He gave me a little salute, and then he was gone into the darkness of the woods.
I locked the door behind them and took my jacket off. I stuck a microwave lasagne in to heat and checked my answering machine messages while I waited. I had a confused message from Pam in response to the warning call I'd made to her a couple of days ago, and one from Sam asking me to call him. I checked my emails too, but there was nothing but junk. The house seemed eerily quiet after I'd served up my meal, so I went in the living room, switched on the TV, and ate it on the sofa.
Somewhat surprisingly, I slept like a log. The excitement of the previous couple of days and all the traveling had tired me out to the point of exhaustion. Knowing Bill and Bubba were nearby also gave me some comfort, and so I supposed the combination allowed me to drift off easily.
I dreamed that I was floating above my house. Down below on the ground, I saw Eric, with fangs bared and his hands out in front of him like claws. Then they started to come. Dark figures appeared all around, surrounding him, and he drew a sword. He fought and fought, slashing and hacking through the crowds as they came at him, but the shadowy waves kept on coming. I tried to fight my way down to the ground, flailing with my arms, but I couldn't make it no matter how hard I tried. When someone came up behind him, I screamed at him, but no noise came out. He turned just in time, hacking the body in two, but it was no use. It was too much, even for a great fighter like Eric. His enemies closed in on him, and though he was still fighting to the end, he was eventually overwhelmed, swarmed by the dark shadows, until I could no longer see him.
I pushed harder to reach him, and found myself able to slowly drift down from the sky, the figures fading away as I did so. Eric was laying on his front, and I dropped to the ground beside him and rolled him over.
The face of Appius Livius Ocella stared up at me.
"He will never be yours," Appius said, grinning. Then his body disintegrated, just as it had months before, in my front yard.
I awoke with a start, and realized that someone was knocking on my door. It was light, and the clock by my bed told me it was nine thirty. I took a drink from the glass of water on my bedside table, and got up, throwing on my favorite silk dressing gown as I walked to the door.
I saw the motorbike outside, so I knew who it was before I opened the door. Mustapha Khan, who had been Eric's day-guy. He'd had some trouble, but it looked as though he was still on the payroll, for now.
Mustapha was his usual serious self.
"Sookie. Did I wake you?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. Please come in."
I showed him into the kitchen and put some coffee on to brew. He declined my offer of something to eat, and accepted some orange juice.
"Pam asked me to drop by. Now that Eric's gone I'm working for her for the time being."
He looked at me like he was wondering if he should be giving me his condolences, and I read a kind of general feeling of sympathy from him. He'd recently felt his own loss. Hadn't everyone? Loss had just become a regular occurrence, around these parts.
I looked down at my coffee, and tried to look suitably distraught. It wasn't too hard. Pam obviously hadn't trusted him with the truth, but she had trusted him to come and check in on me. Maybe he was the only daywalker she had to send.
"Pam said you were heading out later, and that you might need some company."
"Oh, no. Thanks, but I don't think that will be necessary. It's good of you to visit though."
Mustapha didn't seem to really know what he was doing here; Pam hadn't given him too many details. He'd come to his own conclusions, and as far as I could gather from him, he figured I must be suicidal or something since Eric had died.
"She told me to stick around for a while. I can sit outside, or if there's something you want me to do, anything I can help with..."
I didn't mean to look surprised, but I'm pretty sure I did.
"There's nothing I can give you to do, but you're welcome to stay in the house, watch some TV or something. I really need to get dressed. I gotta work."
Mustapha nodded. He seemed to be happy that I was intending to work, rather than doing myself in on his watch.
"I'll sit out on the porch. I prefer to be outside."
"Okay."
I rinsed my cup, then showered and got ready for work. Mustapha was still sitting on my porch when I left, and he stayed put as I drove off.
My shift flew by. Sam and I didn't talk much, and I was kind of glad of it. I stopped to make some polite chitchat with a couple of familiar faces, including Catfish Hennessey, but my mind wasn't really on the job. I was thinking about what I was intending to do later, and I was considering the possibility that I might be making a terrible mistake. I wondered how Eric was doing, and how long it would be before I saw him again. I wondered if I should have left refreshments for Mustapha Khan, or at least given him some magazines to read, or even my spare key. My Gran would turn in her grave at such a terrible display of manners.
I was just cleaning up my empty tables, ready to hand them over, when two strangers walked in and sat down in one of my booths. They were both tall, dark-haired, wearing dark suits. One of them had a ponytail and lots of gold jewelry.
Sam was immediately beside me, and I heard him think 'That's them. The guys who were asking about you.' I looked at him and gave a quick nod. Then I took a deep breath and walked over to them.
"Hi there." I pulled out my pad and plastered my best friendly waitress grin on my face. "What can I get for you two gentlemen today?"
"Sweet tea," Ponytail said, before gesturing to his companion.
"Coke."
"Anything to eat?"
"Nope."
I was sad to hear that, because I could have spent some extra time scribbling while having a good root around inside their heads. I pulled out the cloth that was tucked into the tie of my apron, and gave the table an unnecessary wipe down.
"You sure? We got good lunch specials this week."
"Have I met you before?" Ponytail asked. "What's your name, sugar?"
"Oh I don't think so, I never forget a face!" His skin was pock-marked and lumpy, and reminded me strangely of an over-baked potato. His nose had been broken more than once. Not the kind of face you forget. "Sookie, my name's Sookie."
The two men exchanged a significant glance. Hardly subtle, these two.
'That's the one,' I heard him think. 'Her boobs are bigger than in the description.' I tried to refrain from rolling my eyes. It was tough, but I just about managed it. 'We'll make the call, and then we can get paid. Halle-fuckin-lujah.'
"I'll be right back with those drinks."
Sam was waiting for me behind the bar.
"So?" he whispered.
"They're just look-outs. Seems like they're here to find me, and all they've been ordered to do is call up their boss to let them know where I am." As I said that, the one with the shorter hair shuffled out of the seat and went outside, his hand in his pocket, no doubt reaching for his cell phone. "I don't think they even know who's paying them for the job."
"Anyone who knows you well enough knows you can get information out of them, you'd read it right away if they were thinking about their orders, even if you weren't suspicious of them at first."
"Right. So the less they know the better, as far as their boss is concerned."
"So do you know who might've sent them?"
I finished pouring the drinks and placed them onto a tray.
"I might have an idea, yeah."
"Are they dangerous?"
I shook my head.
"No, I really don't think so."
It wouldn't be the first time in my life I'd made a terrible error of judgment, and underestimated someone. Maybe it would be the last.
