Chapter 11

Eric and I were lying in my bed, and I had my head resting on his chest, with one hand making little swirls on his stomach. I was content and sated. I was also fighting sleep because I knew Eric and I would only have a short time together tonight and we still had much to discuss.

"Eric, you're sure Hunter is safe without you there?" I asked. It was one of the questions that weighed on my mind ever since Eric arrived.

"Yes, he is safe. He is a valuable asset of the Queen, so he will not be harmed. And she wants to win him over so he can be useful to her without her having to damage him in any way. However, he did 'see' his father's death in the mind of his abductor, and for that he has suffered a trauma. But he is a resilient child. He reminds me a lot of you Sookie," and with that he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"Sookie, tell me everything that has happened the last few days. Leave nothing out," Eric said. I leaned up and propped my chin under my hands, looking up into his beautiful face. I knew he already knew the gist of things, but Eric was looking for any little clue or insight into Freyda's plans that might give us an advantage.

I relayed everything to Eric faithfully, leaving nothing out. He was, well not sad exactly, but disappointed to hear about Bill. I knew he considered Bill an ally, even though he was also a sometimes rival for my affections, but Bill met his final death trying to protect me, and for that I knew Eric was grateful, as was I.

I also told Eric about the cluviel dor's magic and Claudine's revelation that I would live a very long life. "Sookie, words cannot express how happy it makes me to know you will live for a very long time, but for me, even a thousand years with you is simply not enough. Now that we have made our way to each other again, I do not intend to ever let you go, even in your death," and he squeezed me tight. He paused a moment to both let his words sink in and to steady himself for his next words. "I hope that you will reconsider my offer to make you vampire. If not now, then maybe one day. Please say you will. I need to know there is hope," and the pleading look in ice blue eyes nearly broke me.

What were my objections to becoming vampire? The sun? Yes, I loved the sun, but did I love the sun more than I loved Eric? No, I know that now. My dying thoughts were of Eric and I knew that I would choose him over the sun anytime. Outliving my friends and family? Well, I'd be doing that anyway now, thanks to the magic of the cluviel dor, so that was no longer a valid objection in my mind.

No, my biggest issue was that I was worried about what would happen to my soul. Would I still have one? After last year, I think I now knew the answer to that question, and the answer was yes – yes I would still have a soul. I recalled last year when Amelia's father, Copley Carmichael, and his chauffeur, Tyrese, sold their souls to a devil. The wards on my property didn't recognize them anymore and they were able to enter my land and do me harm. But Felipe DeCastro's second in command, Horst, had also come to my property one night last year to threaten me, and the wards incapacitated him. And Freyda too, she needed the amulet to enter my property, or she would have been kept out by the wards. So yes, I concluded, vampires do have souls.

And an even more convincing argument for me was Eric and Pam themselves, and even Bill. Could I say they were soulless? They were better people than many humans I had come across, including, for example, Steve and Sarah Newlin or Johan Glassport. If the Newlins and Johan Glassport had souls, then there was no doubt in my mind, so did Eric and Pam, and theirs were markedly better. And that also made me feel a whole lot better about Bill. While not all vampires were Christians, I knew Bill had been in his human life. The thought of him in heaven with his wife and children, albeit belatedly, did bring me comfort.

"Eric, all of my reasons against becoming a vampire don't exist anymore. However, I don't know that it's necessary to do it just yet, since I'm expected to live a very long life as I am, but I think one day, yes, I would let you turn me." And with that, Eric's eyes flashed hot, and he bent his head towards mine and kissed me passionately. I could tell where this was going, and if only we had more time, I would have loved to have continued, but I pulled back and we both resigned ourselves to the fact that this would have to wait. Eric exhaled unnecessarily and said, "Sookie, who knew that Hunter was a telepath?"

Eric read my mind. "I've been asking myself that very question. How did Freyda know about him and his disability? It's a short list. Remy knew of course, but he didn't tell anyone, I can say that for sure," and here I tapped my head. "Plus, he wanted to keep it a secret, to protect Hunter. Some people think Hunter is odd, like they do me, but nothing more than that, as far as I know. I knew about him of course, and we know I didn't tell anyone, although I regret that now," I said a little forlornly.

"Oh, wait. Claude knew! Last year, when I was arrested for Arlene's murder, that was Claude's doing. He got Steve Newlin and Johan Glassport, that lawyer who defended Sophie-Anne in the trial for killing Peter Threadgill, to help set me up for that. They wanted me to go to jail, like Claude had when he was in Faery. Well, when that didn't work, they were going to kidnap and torture me to get me to tell them where Hunter was. For what purpose, I'm not sure, and they're all dead now, but who knows who else they might have told." And then it dawned on me. "They must have been working with Freyda, even back then. She had an amulet that got her past my wards. She said it was the same one Arlene had used to get on my property and steal my scarf, the one that was used to murder her last year. That means Freyda must be connected to them, even back then, but how and why?" I asked.

"Although it is unlikely that Claude, a full fairy, would cooperate with a vampire, it isn't outside the realm of possibility. This could be a case of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,'" Eric said. "Both Claude and the Queen had thought you had wronged them in some way, as had the Newlins, and by teaming up, thought they could exact their revenge. It could be as simple as that."

Well, the whole scheme was far from simple in my mind, but Eric was a master strategist, so I would just have to trust his instincts on this one. "So what do we do now?" I asked. After all, this is what really mattered.

"I have to leave soon and go to Dallas in order to keep up appearances." I cringed a little. I sure hoped that keeping up appearances didn't mean having sex with Freyda, but I knew Eric would do what he'd have to do to keep her in the dark. It didn't make me feel very good, but I knew it didn't mean anything to him. He loves me. I have his heart, and hopefully soon I'd have the rest of him all to myself again too. "You, Pam, Mr. Cataliades, your witch and Warren will come to Dallas tomorrow. The summit is at a new vampire hotel called The Coffin. You and the others will stay in the hotel across the street." We plotted and planned more and at some point, despite my best efforts, I drifted off to sleep. I don't remember when Eric left, but when I woke the next morning, the sun light was streaming in through my bedroom window and Amelia was sitting on the edge of my bed with a cup of coffee for me.

"Good morning telepath," she said.

"Good morning witch."