Chapter 11
I was still chuckling a while after I'd hung up. And I still didn't know what to do with myself. I'd fed earlier at the donor pool at the palace, so I wasn't hungry. And going to listen to jazz just seemed like it would be more fun with Sookie with me. So I kicked off my shoes, picked up the remote control, turned on the bedroom television and plopped down to watch.
I flipped through the channels and landed on The 13thWarrior on one of the basic cable channels. I rather liked this movie. It was probably the most true to reality Viking movie I'd ever seen – at least from the lifestyle perspective, even if it was told from the point of view of their captive 'Arab'. I really liked how the Arab learned the language the Vikings were speaking (which wasn't exactly Old Norse, but how many people watching this movie – besides me – would know that?) through total immersion. I'd learned a few languages that exact same way in my life. I'd had to. It's not like you can just show up in China and find someone who speaks your language to teach you theirs. Vampire perfect-recall is a true aid, especially in learning new languages. Nouns were always the easiest words to learn because you could always point and listen as they spoke. The hard part was either syntax or verbs. And yes, I knew what nouns and verbs were…
After a few minutes, there was a knock on my door. I cautiously walked over and looked out the peephole, since only one person in New Orleans knew about this suite, and there he was. I opened the door, and Rasul walked in. "Hello, Eric. I thought we could talk safely here. There is much you need to know. Oh, The 13th Warrior, I love that movie. But of course I relate mostly to the Arab." I laughed at that; of course he did.
Rasul was originally from the Middle East. He had been turned around the time of the crusades by an Old Roman warrior who came to the region to capitalize on the spilled blood of the conflict. I first met him when he was about fifty years a vampire in Venice. He had a cruel maker who abused him in various and imaginative ways nightly. Godric and I were travelling through the Italian peninsula together and happened upon his maker's nest. They had invited us to stay for a few nights before we moved on to Pisa. For two nights I watched as his maker first humiliated, then physically abused him. I was about three hundred years a vampire at this point, so I had seen abusive makers before, but I had never seen one this cruel. I never failed to thank the gods of my human life AND my lucky stars that I had been blessed with such a good maker.
After the second night, it became clear to me that we would have to find a way to intervene. I could not in good conscience leave him to his sadistic maker and that cruel nest. I spoke to Godric about it in private, and he felt the same way. As sunrise was approaching I managed to separate Rasul from the rest of the nest as planned, and together we made it out of the building to a safe house I had found earlier in the evening. I sat him down and told him to wait. I don't know the exact details, but shortly after we arrived, Rasul fell to his knees in agony; I knew that Godric had managed to kill his maker. I became worried when Godric didn't arrive at the safe house before dawn, but I still felt him in our bond, so I knew he hadn't perished as well. I didn't get an answer to Godric's whereabouts until after sunset when he finally arrived at the house soaking wet and covered in mud. Since there was no real land in Venice, Godric had to take refuge from the sun under the earth at the bottom of one of the canals when he discovered he wouldn't make it to the safe house before sunrise. Godric's state didn't matter to Rasul, as he ran and embraced him. Godric told us we had to leave Venice immediately before the nestmates discovered the body, or rather vampire sludge where a body should be, and that Rasul was missing. We were out of the city within minutes.
We spent the next few nights in nearby Padua where we purchased new clothes to replace the rags that Rasul was wearing. After that we moved on to Pisa and then to Florence where the beginnings of the Renaissance were just taking root. We stayed there for a long time by vampire standards: almost eight years. Rasul stayed with us the entire time, and Godric took it upon himself to teach Rasul the proper way to be a vampire. We were both shocked when we discovered that at fifty years a vampire, Rasul had never been taught how to feed without killing. He went with us when we left Florence, and ended up travelling with us for the next fifty years. If there were anyone outside of my bloodline I trusted implicitly, it was Rasul. It was no accident that he moved to New Orleans just shortly after I accepted the position of Sheriff of Area Five. He had always been handsome, but now he had also become very polished and poised, and as one of the older vampires in the state, Rasul soon made it to Sophie Ann's court and had been there as my spy ever since.
"Brother," I greeted him warmly as we clasped forearms in the traditional greeting of old. "I was hoping we could talk further. How are you?"
"I am well. Well, I am unharmed. The palace has become something of a minefield lately."
I knew something was wrong. "What the hell has happened to Sophie Ann? Am I reading the situation correctly? Is she becoming more and more unhinged?"
"Oh, you have an accurate read. She was notified a few months ago of an IRS tax audit, which revealed she had severely underpaid her taxes for the last six years. In fact, she owed more than fifty million dollars. She managed to sneak most of the payment out of the state coffers, but she had to use her entire personal fortune as well. Basically, she's flat broke, as is her monarchy. I would expect a rise in her taxation of the areas next."
"She's asked me to go over the books of the other areas to see if I can find ways to make them more profitable. She told me that it was for the marriage negotiations with Nevada."
"Ah, yes… The marriage negotiations with Nevada. Another debacle," he paused. "She only wants to marry him so that he can financially bail her out, but she's trying to keep the fact that she needs financial help from him. However, she thinks she's found a solution up in your area. That's where Andre is now."
"Yes, I know. However, he's in jail right now," I smirked.
"WHAT?"
"He went after Hadley's cousins, Jason and Sookie Stackhouse. And got himself recorded on videotape threatening to kill their family and co-workers as well as the police," I paused. "And if that weren't bad enough, as a side note, the Stackhouses are the great-grandchildren of Niall Brigant."
Rasul gasped, "does Sophie Ann know any of this?"
"She neither knows nor cares, and she doesn't know that I know anything about her plans. I've spent the last week secretly trying to prevent a Louisiana vampire apocalypse. You might want to think seriously about your exit strategy from the palace."
"Are you contemplating leaving the state, Eric?"
"Not at this time. I've uhm… I've…"
"You've what?"
"After a thousand years, I've found love." His eyes widened. "With Sookie Stackhouse." At that confession he actually gasped again. "Godric's up there with her now to help keep her and her family safe. Remember, no one else in the state knows he's my maker. He helped the police capture Andre."
Rasul was silent for a long time, and then he started laughing. And laughing. And snort-laughing with a blood tear rolling down his cheek. Somehow amid all that laughter he managed to ask, "And how is min steg far?" [my step father]
"I had to leave for New Orleans before he arrived in my area, but I'm betting he's looking very… regal these days," I said as I raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously?!" His eyes brightened with glee.
"I haven't actually had a chance to discuss it with him, but I'm hoping…"
"If Godric is to become the king, wouldn't my staying in the palace be helpful?"
"On one hand, yes. However, if The Authority steps in to correct Sophie Ann' behavior in the near future – which I'm pretty sure they will be doing… Due to some incriminating video making it to the media, I'm afraid that no one in the palace would be safe," I stated. "As helpful as having you in the palace would be for a possible Godric takeover, I think it's more important for you to be safe. I know that Godric would want you to be safe… plus I haven't even had a chance to talk about the possibility with him."
Rasul just looked at me for a moment, and then he smiled. "Nothing is ever forgotten. I will always remember the kindness that you and Godric showed me all those years ago. I will always be indebted to you, and it is a debt I can never repay, but it is a debt I carry gladly. Just tell me what you need me to do."
"There may come a time when we will need you to take some action. For now, how much has Sophie Ann told Nevada about the Stackhouses?"
"I haven't been present for all of their meetings, but I don't think she's told him specific details, only that she has some very valuable assets in northern Louisiana, assets that she is calling into her court. I think she was holding out that information until the negotiations got more serious. But make no mistake, Eric, she already considers them hers."
"I know she does. But I have plans in place that I hope will prevent her from acting further on apprehending them. Part of the plan is that Sookie and I have gone public with our relationship. Photographers have taken pictures of us at the ballet, and she has appeared with me at Fangtasia. So it won't be long until word of our relationship reaches the queen. Theoretically I'm not even supposed to know who she is after in my area, so I have plausible deniability, as Sookie calls it. In addition, I have a partnership contract with them both dated almost three years ago as an investor in their plant business."
"So, they've been your assets for three years?"
"That's what the contract says…"
"But… ?"
"But nothing," I said just a little too innocently. Rasul's smile widened, and he shook his head. "What?" I asked.
"Nothing," he parroted back, also just a little too innocently. At that, we both started laughing. "So, the great Eric Northman is in love… I never thought I'd walk the earth long enough to see this happen," he chuckled. "She must really be something."
"Oh, by the gods, Rasul, she is indeed something. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever beheld. And she's smart; she finishes her master's degree in botany at the end of this semester and starts her doctoral studies next semester. And she's fun! I have laughed more in the last week than I have in the last century."
"And she's related to Hadley?" he asked with more than a little incredulity. I nodded, and we both began laughing again. When he calmed down some he asked, "So… you actually just met her in the past week?" I just raised my eyebrows at him, neither confirming nor denying. He started to chuckle again, "Wow… just wow…"
"I know, right? She's just taken over my life; she consumes all my thoughts… And I couldn't be happier about it," I said with a smile. At this moment, Rasul and I were just a couple of guys, long-time friends, and one of us was in love. And I could sense that my friend was genuinely happy for me as he smiled and nodded his head.
"Is there anything else I should know?"
I thought for a moment. "In addition to the video of Andre and his threats, I also have a video of Bill Compton and his crazy maker threatening the Stackhouses as well. Both videos announce to Sookie that she and her brother 'belong' to the queen. These videos are about to make it into the hands of the media on the heels of a full-page news article on The Enchanted Forest, the business owned by Jason and Sookie. I'm anticipating that this will go national. Also, the vampire hierarchy will be leaked to the press."
"You're going to leak information about the monarchies?"
I sighed. "Aren't you tired of paying your taxes twice? First to the human government, and then again to the vampire government. Just think of younger vampires who haven't had the time or chance to accumulate the kind of wealth that the older ones have. They are having trouble financially surviving, let alone getting ahead. If we are actually trying to assimilate into regular society, then let's, oh I don't know… actually assimilate!"
Rasul just looked aghast at me for a moment. "Holy goats in a bucket. The shit is truly about to hit the fan. No wonder you told me to prepare my exit strategy." He looked down at the floor as he was thinking, "I think for now, it would be better if I stayed at the palace…" I started to object, but he held up his hand, "hear me out. I can do some damage control for you when your relationship becomes public. You vouched for me when I applied for work at the palace, so Sophie Ann knows that you and I are acquaintances of old. I can say I knew all about your lover, but I didn't realize this girl was the one the queen was looking for, and neither did you," he paused. "But when you are sure The Authority is about to step forward after the release of the videos, you can call me. THEN, I'll make my exit. Don't you think that would be best?"
I thought his proposition over. "I think that would work. But Rasul, take every precaution. I have few enough friends in this world."
"As do I, my brother, as do I. I'll be getting back now, and get my things in order. Take care, Eric."
"You take care, also." Again we clasped forearms. He shook his head chuckling, turned, and left.
I couldn't help but chuckle a little myself. Life was about to become very different for the vampires of the good old U. S. of A. There was no denying that. I hoped. Best case scenario, the antiquated vampire system of monarchs in each state would be abolished, and vampires all across the country would join the American democracy and answer to the same legal systems as every other citizen. Then the AVL and The Authority could focus on real advocacy with the legislators, both on the state and federal levels. Worst case scenario, well what I hoped would be the worst, either Godric or I became the king of Louisiana. Preferably Godric.
He and I would have to have a good long talk about that fairly soon. Although I was pretty sure he felt the same way about being king as I did, he would really be the better choice. He was older, more respected, more feared, more patient, and most importantly, he didn't have a Sookie to woo. Funny how Sookie had so quickly become the beginning or end of every thought I had… sometimes both.
By now the movie had ended, and an infomercial selling something called the Ionic Breeze Air Purifier which apparently removes all kinds of allergens had come on. I had spent (or wasted, depending on your point of view) many, many hours watching various infomercials on late night television over the years; I had yet to actually purchase anything. My favorite and most entertaining thing about them was the 'sidekick'. Often it was a fairly attractive woman in business attire whose sole function was to express awe at the product in question. Sometimes it was a man who also served the function of attempting to inject some humor into the infomercial. I sighed, fuck allergens, if I thought for a second that this contraption could remove the stink of desperation from the vermin at Fangtasia, I would've bought the entire company.
I flipped the channel, another infomercial – Proactiv Solution Acne Treatment – flip. Guess what? Another infomercial - Shamwow! Reusable, washable, bleachable cleaning cloths! They didn't work for shit on blood. Pam had bought them; she threatened to end the man on the commercial. Flipped another channel – Bowflex – no, no, no, Christy Brinkley notwithstanding. Flip – Showtime Rotisserie Pro Electr – flip – Carleton Sheets Real Esta – flip. Oh for fuck's sake. I turned the television off. I spent the rest of the evening playing Tetris on my phone and let myself succumb to the sun right at dawn.
4:23 Tuesday
Eyes open, roll out of bed and stretch. I pulled up The Shreveport Times app I had on my phone and found the article on The Enchanted Forest. I quickly read it and looked at the accompanying pictures; this was a major article that must have spread over two whole pages of the paper. This was even better than I had hoped. I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face as I looked at a picture of Sookie in her work 'uniform' showing something or other with a plant. She looked gorgeous.
After I'd read the entire article at vampire speed, I decided to see if there was anything in the paper about Andre's arrest. A quick scan of the paper showed only a blurb on the last page of the metro section that said simply that a vampire had been arrested after showing erratic behavior and threatening to kill a handful of humans as well as local law enforcement. Criminal charges were pending, but the unnamed vampire had been remanded to the custody of the vampire section of the state psychiatric facility for evaluation. Sweet Valhalla, I didn't see that coming. And the comedy hits just keep on rolling. I was laughing out loud. Especially when I thought about it and realized that psychiatric detainees probably didn't even get a phone call. That had me laughing even harder.
When I finally calmed down, I decided to call Sookie to see if the article had made any difference in her business. Who was I kidding, I'd use any excuse just to talk to her. She answered in the second ring.
"Hey you," she said. I closed my eyes at the sound of her voice.
"Good afternoon, my Sookie. How are you today?"
"Crazy busy. We had to assign two of the new employees to the office today. There were so many phone calls and walk-in customers that Lafayette couldn't keep up with it all. If this keeps up, six new employees may not be enough!"
"You sound very happy, and I'm very happy to hear that."
"I am very happy. Business is great, and best of all I'm on the phone with my Eric!"
"A+ for sweet talk," I said and she giggled. "Where are you?"
"In my greenhouse, that is the night bloomer greenhouse. I came in here for privacy when I saw it was you calling. That made me very happy."
"But wait there's more…"
She giggled at me using her phrase. "Do tell…" she encouraged.
"According to the paper, Andre is now being held at the state psychiatric facility for evaluation. Likely he didn't even get to make a phone call." Sookie found this as funny as I had and was laughing gaily. "One more piece of good news, the paper didn't give Andre's name, so no one would know who he was unless they already knew the story."
"So there's no one who will let the queen know anything about this?"
"That's right. Hopefully, all I have to do when the sun sets is go to the palace, pick up some papers, and then head home. However, since she hasn't heard from Andre, the queen is likely to be slightly unhinged, and may find a reason to keep me longer. Keep your fingers crossed that she doesn't."
"So you might be home later tonight?" Her excitement was obvious.
"That's the plan. Why, have you missed me?"
"Sure have," she hesitated a moment, "Have you missed me?"
"Well… considering it's only been forty-three hours, six minutes, and forty-two, forty-three, forty-four seconds since I last saw you, yes, I sure have as well." She giggled musically. "It will take me three or four hours to drive back. By then it will be past your bedtime, I'm betting. I might be able to swing by your house before heading home. Would that be too late?"
"I was thinking about putting in some serious work on my thesis tonight. I'll probably be up late, so if you were to swing on by, I'll be up."
"Then I'll be swinging by. I'll let you get back to work now. I'm counting the minutes until I see you."
"Literally, apparently," she laughed. "See you later tonight, my Eric."
"Later tonight, my Sookie." We both paused a second before hanging up. I shook my head and chuckled. I was in so much trouble, and yet I couldn't be happier about it.
Happiness. That was a concept I had never spent a lot of time contemplating. Did I not think I deserved it? Or had I just never been truly happy? I thought back over my long life, and there were many occasions where I'd been amused or entertained or pleased or just had fun. But… I don't really think there had ever been a time that I'd been truly, honest to gods, deep in the soul happy. Until now. And now that I knew what it felt like, I was going to hang on to it with everything that I was.
Still about an hour to go to sunset. I checked the emails on my phone and dealt with the ones that needed my attention. Then I showered and dressed for the evening. It was finally time to go. I headed to the palace to pick up my homework, pulled in and parked. Rasul met me as I entered.
"Sheriff Northman, the queen would like to see you. Please follow me." He turned and led me down the hall to her office where the two Berts were already standing guard. Rasul nodded to me and left.
"The queen wanted to see me?"
The Bert on the right nodded and opened the door right away. Well, what do you know? I strode into the office, and Sophie Ann was pacing behind her desk. I stood there in silence for a moment before unnecessarily clearing my throat to get her attention.
"Yes, I know you are there," she snapped.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I was wondering… I mean have you… " She let that unasked question hang there. I knew what she wanted to ask me, but I couldn't let on. "Well fuck, Eric, have heard anything strange from your area?"
"I beg your pardon? I'm not sure I know what you mean." Spit it out Sophie Ann.
"Have you had any news from your area since you left to come here?"
"Well, yes, I have." She stopped her pacing, turned and froze to hear the news. "There are three vampires who want to move to the area, and I've set up interviews with them for tomorrow night. There are also a couple who want to open a new business; I'm seeing them tomorrow night as well. I also heard from Pam that she caught a possible drainer and has him in the basement for me to question." Ah me, a sheriff's work is never done. It took a lot of my control not to smile as I waited for her response.
She stood there in silence for a long time, as if I might suddenly add, 'oh yeah, and Andre is in the state psychiatric facility,' but I wouldn't. Finally she gasped, "IS THAT ALL?"
I forced myself to look confused, something I rarely actually was, and replied almost shyly, "Well… yes, your majesty. Why? Do you know of something else?"
I could see her strain as she settled herself. "Of course not. I was just wondering if you had heard anything that might be of interest to me."
"Your majesty, that's the second time you've asked me that. Is there something I should know?" Gods, I loved to make her fidget.
"If there is something I want you to know, I'll tell you. You may go." I turned to leave her office, but as I got to the door, she added, "and I'll expect results on the review of those financial statements. Quick results."
I turned and nodded to her, "Of course, your majesty. Good evening." And I walked out of her office. Rasul was there waiting for me with a box in his hands. I looked inside and realized these were the photocopies of the financials of Louisiana. "Thank you, Rasul, I'll take these."
He handed them over to me, "good luck, Sheriff." I swear there was a twinkle in his eyes. I nodded to him, left the palace, and got into my car to head home. Home… To Sookie… I couldn't get out of the palace fast enough. I had placed the financials in the trunk, and I may actually get them out of there at some point in the future, but I had a feeling that interesting things were going to start happening pretty fast. In fact, I would make sure they did. Tomorrow the two videos would leak to the media. The following day news of the vampire hierarchy would suddenly emerge on the heels of the videos. By Friday, The Authority would be stepping forward. At least these were my plans, but I realized that the time-table may be unrealistic. No telling what things could happen unexpectedly to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into my plans. I would need to have a long talk with Godric later tonight so that we could plan for these contingencies. If vampires retained their ruling structure, I wanted Godric to consider becoming king of Louisiana. That discussion would take more finesse and care.
I know that Godric had been, for lack of a better word, depressed for a while. Even though he had cut off the maker/child bond with me, subtle parts of it leaked through, either through the bond itself, or through his tone on our too infrequent phone calls. For the longest time I had been at a loss for what to do for him. But the voice I heard the other night when he was at Sookie's house, sounded completely different from anything I had heard in a long, long time. He seemed alert, invigorated… interested. And I could only think, who wouldn't be interested in my Sookie?
I continued to contemplate various strategies to entice Godric to accept the Louisiana monarchy as I sped through the highways of the state. Luck was with me so far, no cops trying to pull me over. I had just passed Alexandria, and my mind shifted to Sookie. By the gods, just the thought of her had me hard. I was meeting her at her house tonight, so I doubted that we would find the opportunity to have sex, but holy gods, when we finally did, I was pretty sure it would be the best sex of my life. In fact, I actually worried that I might just spontaneously combust in the process.
I tried to settle my mind because I was aware that I was probably setting myself up for a disappointment. How could sex with one person possibly be that good? But then the image of my Sookie appeared in my brain. And I remembered how she responded the night of out ballet date. And I knew, I just knew, there was no way she could ever be a disappointment, especially sexually. With that, I put my foot down on the accelerator to get to her as soon as I could.
Ridiculously long AN: Review, review, review. I have almost 90 people following my story and 35 who have 'favorited' it. And yet I'm lucky if I get 8 reviews per chapter. What up?
Sorry this update took longer than usual. I've been travelling for my job, and I spent a week in Washington DC. I work for a non-profit medical research foundation that focuses on a specific disease, and in addition to funding research, we try to help people with this particular disorder in any way we can. I was in the capitol to advocate to several congresspeople and senators to not cut funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you are unfamiliar with the NIH, they are the federal agency that researches causes, cures, and treatments for diseases and disorders. They do amazing work, and if you would like that work to continue, please contact your congressperson and senators and let them know. All you have to do is drop them an email. Their email addresses are listed on the Internet. If not for yourself, do it for someone you know who is suffering from some disease or disorder. Now I'm stepping down off the soapbox.
Many of you were interested in the difference between Cajun and Creole. It's very simple. There were two ways that French people came to Louisiana. If they came directly from Europe (and in some cases they came from not only France, but also Spain) to Louisiana, they were Creoles. New Orleans was one of three major port cities since the seventeenth century (the others were Boston and New York), and most of those from France and Spain made port in New Orleans.
However, Cajuns - though French – did not come from Europe. They came from Canada. In the middle of the eighteenth century, there was a little conflict called in history class, The French and Indian War which was won by the British. The British in Canada, mostly Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, then kicked out all of the French settlers. Many of them made their way to New Orleans and re-settled in Acadiana (south-central Louisiana). They were called Acadians, and that name got bastardized to Cajun. In fact, Cajun French is a bastardization of the French language. Someone speaking fluent Cajun French, as my grandfather did, would probably not be understood by someone from France. A perfect example is the word Zydeco, which is a wonderful style of Louisiana music. The word zydeco comes from Cajun French "les haricots" which is pronounced "le zydeco" and means "snap beans". Notably taken from the phrase that says literally that 'the snap beans aren't spicy.' In other words, there's no spicy gossip, news, etc. Note: Wikipedia attributes the term to southwestern Louisiana Creole speakers. Although Creoles may have also contributed to Zydeco, this is yet another reason you shouldn't rely on Wikipedia for your research papers. If you are interested in exploring Zydeco music, I highly recommend a wonderful band called Beau Soleil.
Today, the two groups, Cajun and Creole, have more or less fused together. One way to think of the difference though is, Creoles were more cosmopolitan and settled in cities, whereas Cajuns were more rural and settled into insular communities the country.