The afternoon dragged on interminably as Julian and I waited for nightfall. He'd insisted on briefing Sir Stephen fully on all the developments and as a result I was going to be assigned a full bodyguard at all times. I had no idea how the vampires would react to that, and it made me nervous. I couldn't help but play out all the scenarios in my mind, and none of them ended well.

I wasn't very surprised when Eric confirmed that he had indeed known that the Freemasons Hall was Appius' current resting place – he had just needed us to confirm the exact location in the building.

"If you knew, why didn't you just have us stake him?" Julian challenged.

Eric shivered visibly. "He is my maker, however much I might hate him, it's not that easy. I could no more kill him or have him killed deliberately than end my own existence."

We maintained a respectful silence for a few seconds until Eric spoke again. Once again he was gathered with his vampire brothers, and once again he had assumed the position of leadership which seemed to come so naturally to him.

"This is all working out very well; it should make things much easier than I anticipated."

I pulled a face at that, I was pretty sure it wouldn't make things easier for me.

Eric ignored me and continued to set out his plan. "Tomorrow night, you will go to the main Temple and wait for Appius. He will know you are in the building and come for you. When he does, we will be waiting."

I could clearly picture the main Temple, an octagonal room right at the heart of the building. It was where the Freemasons held their most sacred rituals, so naturally enough it had an altar right at the front.

"Please don't tell me I've got to be tied to the altar like some virgin sacrifice." Even as I said it, the gleam in Eric's eyes made it very clear that was exactly what he was thinking. I had a suspicion the idea might have turned him on just a little.

"Unfortunately you are no longer a virgin," he shot a look at John, who was standing in the corner, completely disengaged, "but apart from that yes, I think it is an excellent plan."

All the brothers, except one, nodded their solemn agreement. I'd let myself get painted into the corner. I'd agreed to help, without laying down any conditions, so now I couldn't see any choice but to go along with Eric's plan.

After the meeting ended, Eric allowed John to take me home, but only on condition that several human and vampire bodyguards accompanied us. In any other circumstances my only desire would have been to spend the night making love with enough passion to force every other thought from my mind, but the knowledge that four vampires, all with superhuman hearing, were sitting out in the stables was a real passion-killer.

John tried his best. By now he knew me so well that normally he could excite me with the simplest touch, the lightest of kisses. Nothing he could do had any impact on the tension which seemed to seep into every part of my body. If I closed my eyes and tried to relax, the image of Appius red snake-eyes would appear behind my eyelids.

"Let's just talk," he suggested eventually. "I find myself anticipating the revelation rather eagerly."

"Are you planning to reveal your true identity?" I'd been wondering how he was planning to handle that. There were a surprising number of famous characters amongst the un-dead so I expected the media interest to be enormous.

"I haven't decided yet. I would like to publish my recent works, but perhaps under a pseudonym so I can judge the reaction. What I most want to do is to correct all the myths and untruths which have been peddled about me." He seemed to find that idea very amusing.

We chatted on the same theme for a little while longer, but eventually my bed called me, and unusually it called me alone.

"Don't worry, after tomorrow night everything will be well," John assured me as he kissed me goodnight.

I spent most of the following day with Julian and our backup team, going over plans of the building and the timescale for the operation. The plan was a simple one. I was the bait to lure Appius into the main Temple. As this was situated in the centre of the building it had only one exit door leading to an outer lobby. Eric Northman, the eldest and most powerful of Appius' children still in existence would cover that. There were windows opening onto an outer corridor so these needed to be covered as well.

The human bodyguards were expected to look out for me as their main priority. They were equipped with small wooden stakes, although I doubted that they would have the chance to defend themselves if Appius were to target them – he was just too fast. Their standard issue anonymous black jumpsuits had an odd sheen to them. Julian explained to me afterwards that it was new fabric which had been developed: Kevlar with a silver weave. The authorities weren't slacking in getting ready for the revelation.

That got me thinking about what I was going to wear. I imagined Eric had visions of me in a lacy white full-length gown; Ingrid Pitt style. That would certainly rouse Appius' suspicions, as well as being completely impractical, so I compromised in a white blouse which was possibly a little lower cut and lacier than might be expected for a special assignment, paired with figure hugging black slacks.

"Appius will think all his Christmases have come at once," I commented to Eric and John as they arrived to meet me, soon after nightfall, trying to inject some humour into my voice.

Eric gave me an odd look, and I remembered that Christmas hadn't been invented – the Roman had lived before the time of Christ. I racked my brains for anything I'd ever learned about ancient Rome, but John beat me too it.

"Saturnalia is probably more appropriate," he commented, grimly, as we set off on our mission.

One of our human security team had already broken into the building through a rear window and disabled the alarm system by the time we arrived. There were eight of them, but their instructions were to keep back, well out of sight, monitoring the exits and awaiting Julian's call. The two vampires quickly disappeared from view.

That left Julian and I circling the corridors which ran around the outside of the central Grand Temple. We made a show of searching for something, but it was all a performance, waiting for the inevitable moment when Appius would strike. Don't ask me how, but I sensed his movement and motioned to Julian to hang back as I walked towards the door that led down to the cellar: his resting place. It was a struggle to force one foot in front of the other, my legs were so heavy. I had to hope that my blood was precious enough to him that he wouldn't kill me outright, but the knowledge of the risk I was taking had my heart pounding in my chest.

The cellar door opened so silently that I barely registered it, but there was no mistaking the cold touch of his hand against my cheek. I'm sure I jumped, even though I was expecting it, and I certainly gave a little scream. I couldn't help myself, but at least it made the pretence that I wasn't there looking for him a bit more convincing.

"I had not expected you to seek me out, Miss Stackhouse," he hissed.

"I wasn't…I had no idea…" I stammered in response. No acting skills were needed on my part, I was genuinely terrified.

"No matter, I would have found you when I needed to. Please do not delude yourself that my child is strong enough to protect you. You must know by now that he is helpless against me."

While he was talking he had grabbed my arm and was pulling me through a small door built into the wooden panelling. I hadn't known it was there, but I wasn't surprised to find that it took us into the inner chamber which formed the Grand Temple of the Order of Freemasons. He didn't bother turning the lights on, but the full moon shining through the skylight illuminated the room, casting strange shadows which only added to my sense of terror.

The faint sound of a door opening could be heard in the distance. Appius and I both tensed at the same time. His lip curled into a sneer, but he showed no other reaction to the knowledge that there were others in the building with us.

"There is something I have wanted to try, and this is the perfect opportunity," his voice was menacing as he guided me towards the altar at the front of the chamber.

I didn't bother to resist; there was no point, I would only risk injuring myself. He lifted me so effortlessly that I felt as if I were floating. It wasn't a comforting feeling as it only emphasised just how powerful he was. If he recognised the threat there would be nothing to stop him taking me straight out of the building to a place where no-one could reach him.

How he did it, I have no idea, as there were no visible straps, but as soon as he laid me down on the high altar I was pinned down, unable to move.

"Here I can drain your blood, and the ancient forces will allow me to preserve it for as long as I need it." He bent down and produced a glass flask, a knife, and an ancient looking bound volume from underneath the pedestal on which I lay.

Great plan for him: not so good for me. Fear took hold of my body, even if I had been able to move my limbs would have been frozen. Eric's plan just had to work.

I'd been carefully wired up so that Julian would be able to keep track of what was happening. We didn't think Appius would recognise the technology but it was well hidden all the same. We hadn't planned exactly when he would intervene, that had been left to his judgement. I have to confess that I was very relieved when he decided that this was the moment.

The enormous, intricately carved, gilded doors to the inner temple swung open with the kind of force that only a powerful vampire could have been responsible for. It was my boss who stepped forward into the light, though. I could clearly read the terror in his mind, but bless him, he didn't show it in his voice.

"Let her go, Appius, you are surrounded." He issued his challenge to the ancient vampire.

"You pathetic humans, surely you do not believe you can stand against me," Appius roared and with a burst of superhuman speed, crossed the room to the doorway where Julian was standing.

I screamed, but my boss somehow managed to dodge behind the doorway. One of the security men took the full force of the vampire's attack; I could see the blood even from where I was lying. Then a familiar voice sounded.

"It is not only humans who stand against you, Appius."

"Well, well, so it is my Viking. I am surprised to find you in league with the poet."

"And why would that be, master?" John now stepped out of the shadows to challenge his maker.

I could only see Appius' back in the doorway, and it was too dark to see either John or Eric clearly. Unable to read their thoughts, I could only rely on interpreting their tone of voice. John sounded more determined than I had ever heard him before. Perhaps it was the presence of his Viking brother than gave him confidence. I had to admit it had that effect on me.

"Whatever our differences, there is one thing that unites us…" John left the rest of the sentence hanging, perhaps judging it was unnecessary to spell it out.

I could hear the sneer in Appius' voice as he replied, "Even if you can work together, the two of you are not strong enough to resist me. I will have the woman, whatever you say."

There was a rustle of movement, no louder than a soft breeze, then another voice spoke, and another and another. As each of the vampire siblings stepped forward they added their own challenge to their maker.

Appius responded with increasing fury to each one, threatening to end the existence of all of his children, but I could sense a slight hesitation which increased just marginally as each of them confirmed that they too would stand against him.

There should have been at least eight human bodyguards out there. I knew one was dead, but I tried to remain calm and probe for the others. There was nothing. I said a little prayer to myself, hoping that they were still alive, but had perhaps fallen victim to vampire fascination which had removed all conscious thoughts from their minds.

With no response from them, Julian was my best hope. The question was whether he could see what was happening, and relay it to me as we had planned. It took a few minutes; initially he was so paralysed with fear that nothing came out but garbled nonsense. The idea that a drowning man's life flashes before his eyes suddenly made sense to me, as that was exactly what Julian's life seemed to be doing now.

Then he managed to calm himself. He began to mentally describe the scene so I could follow what was happening. My part would be coming soon, we had rehearsed it over and over, and I was confident that I would be ready.

Appius roared, so loudly I could hear the glass in the skylight shaking.

'Oh shit: Eric.' Julian thought, so I knew which of his children the vampire had gone for – it made sense as the Viking was easily the strongest.

This was the moment. I channelled all my anger into an energy current that flowed through my arms and gave me the strength to break out of the wrist and ankle restraints that Appius had fixed. It seemed that I flew across the room at a speed which a vampire would have struggled to match.

"Leave him alone," I yelled, turning the full force of my anger on Appius. I was almost as shocked as he was, as the blue current from my fingertips threw him back against one of the great marble pillars.

Eric and his brothers rushed forward and between them managed to subdue him. The human bodyguards stepped out of the shadows carrying heavy silver chains which they wrapped around his neck, wrists and ankles, chaining him to the pillar. The stench of burning flesh made me gag.

By then, the attention of all the vampires had turned towards the great staircase. King Edward and his queen had arrived, in full regalia. They took up position a few feet away from Appius, seemingly unconcerned by his obvious agony.

"Appius Livius Occella," the King intoned, "you are a threat to our entire race, and this cannot be tolerated. Accordingly I have decided to banish you from this vampire kingdom. You should know that you will not be welcome anywhere in Western Europe or North America."

Appius somehow managed to straighten himself up to his full height and glared back with an expression of pure fury in his snake eyes. "They are not the only countries in the world."

"No, but they are only ones where our kind will be recognised and be safe," one of his children cut in. I think from the accent that it was the Count de Medici. "You can go anywhere else, but you will have to go back into hiding if you wish to continue your existence."

All eyes were focussed on Appius, waiting for his reaction. He continued to glare as defiantly as ever, but I thought that his shoulders dropped ever so slightly. Meanwhile, something which looked like a high-tech coffin was being carried up the grand staircase. Sure enough it was placed open in front of him. It came with a built-in stake – nice touch.

It took all seven of the remaining human bodyguards to manhandle him into it, as he struggled and cursed in an ancient language. The looks on both Eric and John's faces told me that his oaths were seriously unpleasant. Julian, with his classical education, understood a few of them as well and relayed them to me. Basically, we were all going to die, horribly.

"Silence," King Edward hissed.

To my surprise, Appius obeyed. Julian and I exchanged glances, impressed with the power that a vampire king had over his subjects, even those who were much older and infinitely more powerful than himself.

The ancient vampire stopped struggling and allowed himself to be lowered into the coffin. The silver chains were pulled from his flesh, and wrapped around the outside. Two members of the vampire brotherhood pulled on thick gloves and lifted the casket. Meanwhile their brothers and the King each took one of the human guards and, stepping in close, proceeded to subject them to the full force of a vampire fascination.

We didn't see any of John's brothers again. They all disappeared into the night, presumably to prepare themselves for the revelation. All but one, that is. Eric Northman, the Viking, stayed in London for a few more days. We saw him once or twice, just briefly as he said he had business to complete while he was over here.

He came to call on me before he left. I was alone, and I wondered if he'd known that before he called. He brought me flowers, an unusual and dramatic arrangement in red and black. I was curled up in front of the TV watching a repeat of an old 'Buffy' episode, dressed in my oldest jeans and a thick sweater. My hair hung loose around my face and I fidgeted nervously with a strand as I invited him in.

"We return to the States tomorrow evening," he explained. "I wanted to say goodbye in person."

I just smiled, not knowing what to say.

"You are a most unusual woman," he continued. "Indeed, if my brother had not already claimed you, I would most certainly try to persuade you to return with me. With your talents, you could make a lot of money in the US."

"That's very kind of you, but I'm happy here, and I have everything I need."

He raised an eyebrow and gave me a knowing smile.

"I will miss you, Sookie Stackhouse," he said, his voice low and seductive. I confess that if I hadn't already been head over heels in love with John, I might have weakened. He slipped something into my hand, then bent down to brush his cool lips across my cheek. "I hope one day you will visit me in America. I cannot say where I will be living, but you will find me." With that he glided off towards the door which seemed to open on its own.

As he disappeared into the distance I looked at the card he'd left me. Eric Northman, it said, in a thick dark script, followed by a phone number. That was all. I tucked it into my bag. It would be good to travel, and I hoped that after the revelation John and I would be free to move about as we wished. Perhaps we would be able to go and visit him.