A/N: Holiday craziness and real life idiocy have kept me from writing and posting as I wanted to. I apologize to and thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited or PM'd in the past few weeks. I will do my best to keep up from here on.
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Hadley's tale was so bizarre that if Jason hadn't lived through the last two years in Bon Temps, he never would have believed it.
"So you hooked up with the vampire Queen of Louisiana and Bill was the one who introduced you?" The thing that surprised Jason the most so far was that his cousin ended up with another woman-the same cousin who had slept her way through most of the boys' sport teams of Bon Temps High School.
"After I left rehab, I felt like I was a waste of space. I was taking anything and everything to make the pain go away. I even got hooked on V." Hadley's gaze met Jason's, and he shifted uncomfortably.
"One night, I met Bill Compton," she continued. "He bought me some drinks and I told him a lot about myself. He said he knew someone who'd like to meet me, who'd give me whatever I wanted if we hit it off. At the time, it sounded like a good deal and he took me to meet the Queen."
"What was she like?" Jason asked, fascinated despite himself.
Hadley was silent for a minute. "Beautiful. Stranger and crazier than you can possibly imagine. She could be generous and funny, then turn around to rip someone's head off. Literally. We played a lot of Yahtzee." Hadley smiled, which faded quickly. "She was really lonely." Jason got the feeling that Hadley had been more than a little in love with Sophie Anne.
"You can't imagine what it's like when you get so deep into that world." Hadley's expression said that she was seeing something far removed from Jason's small living room. "Your human life just fades away. There was no way I could come back. Even after I got sober, I figured I'd either be drained or turned into one of them." Hadley laughed a little. "Then Russell Edgington and Eric Northman came and turned everything upside down."
Jason brushed aside all the political vampire crap. He didn't get human politics most of the time. Coerced royal marriages, vampires selling their own blood and the idea that every state had a vampire King or Queen was too much for him. He briefly wondered if Jessica knew all this. "You said you were here last year to see Sookie. She didn't tell me for some reason, but why did you come back? You just said it wasn't an option."
"I'll tell you but I could really use something to drink. You got sweet tea or a Coke?" Hadley looked wrung out. Jason nodded and got a can of Coke out of the fridge, bringing it and a glass of ice back for his cousin. She poured out the soda and drank thirstily. "Thanks." Hadley sighed and ran her fingernail around the lip of the glass. "I came because Eric Northman sent me to warn Sook. Eric was playing some sort of game with Russell Edgington, I don't know what. But he wanted Sookie to know Russell was coming after her. I think Russell wanted her for the same reason Sophie Anne did. The telepathy and the daywalking. I felt so horrible that Sookie was in trouble because it was all my fault. So I warned her, told her she was in danger and to get out."
"But nothing happened then. Russell didn't get her," he pointed out. "She disappeared and went to that Fairy place."
Jason had the pleasure of seeing Hadley's jaw drop for once. "Mother of God, so it's true? Sookie really is a fairy? And there's a place where fairies live? Is that where she was when you were looking for her?"
"Yeah, there are really fairies and yes, she went off with them for awhile." Jason waved this off impatiently. It was old news to him. "She said time's different there somehow. She thought it was a few minutes but she was gone for a whole year." Jason didn't mention Grandaddy Earl. It didn't seem like the right time.
"I thought Russell had killed her," Hadley said softly. "I thought it was all my fault. I saw you on TV, looking for her. You were so scared and sad." She began crying again, but the tears slid silently down her cheeks. "I checked your website all the time, but I knew you'd never find her because she was dead."
"You never called or e-mailed," Jason grated. "You could have told me, dammit!"
"But it wasn't true! She was off with the fairies, not drained to death by Russell Edgington," Hadley yelled then clapped her hands over her mouth. She wished she could take back the words as soon as she said them.
"Well, she'd dead now, Hadley! And I think you know something about it!" Jason thought he might hit his cousin if he didn't move away from her, so he did.
"I was afraid." Hadley's voice was so quiet, he wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly.
"What?"
"I was afraid," she said more clearly. "Russell killed the guy on TV and then disappeared. Sookie went missing. Sophie Anne was dead and Bill Compton was suddenly King." She added tonelessly, "Did you know it's a vampire tradition to kill the human favorites of the old King or Queen when a new one takes over?"
Jason didn't know what to say.
"For a year we...I...hid, trying to stay out of sight. Then I saw on your website that Sookie was back. I couldn't believe it. I was so happy and relieved." Hadley gave a watery smile, then let out a quavery breath. "It still took awhile for me to believe it was safe to see her."
"Then the news reported the explosion and that Sook was missing. I was too late. But I knew I couldn't stand by this time. Russell Edgington did this. I never believed he committed suicide, it's not his style." Hadley's voice turned hard. "Now I have a question for you, Jason."
"Okay," he shrugged.
"If Sookie was murdered by a vampire why do you trust other vampires to bring him to justice? You used to get in a fight every week at school to protect Sookie from bullies. Why aren't you fighting for her now?"
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Sookie's shoulders and wrists ached from rubbing the sticks together for what seemed like hours. She'd generated heat and scorch marks a few times but no flame. Sweat beaded her face. Her head pounded from fear and effort. This had to work!
The digital clock said 4:15pm. Sookie couldn't believe it had gotten so late so fast. Maybe she shouldn't have taken time out to work on her backup plan, but that was only a last resort. It would be dark in less than 60 minutes and the vamps would wake. Her mind wandered as she sawed desperately back and forth with the wood. Fires broke out in buildings all the time. Why couldn't she be so lucky? In fact, a nursing home had burned down a few weeks ago in Monroe, although the fatalities had been from smoke inhalation rather than burns.
Smoke inhalation. It was a smoke alarm, not a fire alarm!
She didn't have to start a fire as long as she could get enough smoke. She had a brief memory of Jason burning toast at home and the black, acrid smoke billowing into the kitchen. She ran to the toaster, stuffed in bread and a cloth napkin for good measure, then hit the plunger. She carried the appliance toward the smoke alarm as far as the cord would reach. After a couple of minutes smoke began to snake upward. She made sure she had pushed it to the darkest setting. She tried to fan the smoke toward the alarm.
Thick, dark smoke began to pour out of the toaster. It got so hot, she had to set it down on the floor. The carpet itself began to smoulder. For what seemed like an eternity nothing happened. The alarm remained stubbornly silent. Sookie's shoulders slumped. This had been her last, best idea. Soon the vampires would be up and see that she had tried to escape; she didn't think they would give her another chance.
A high-pitched electronic shriek made her jump several inches in the air. The lighted square high up on the wall strobed in time to the piercing alarm.
Sookie thought it was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.
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Hadley's question made Jason uncomfortable. If there was one constant in his life, it was fighting to protect his sister. "You don't know Bill like I do. He loves Sookie a lot. He's a good guy for a vampire." Jason wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. "I went to see him and he told me what happened. I was really mad at first but then...," he trailed off.
"Then what, Jason?" Hadley prompted.
It all seemed a little fuzzy. Probably the shock and grief, he told himself. "Uh, Bill told me he'd take care of things. Jessica came in while we talked, and she brought me home. That was it."
"Who's Jessica?"
"She's a vampire. Bill's kid, you know, his prodigy." Jason was relieved Hadley moved on to another topic.
"His progeny." Hadley looked at her cousin speculatively. "Do you have a thing for her?"
"I don't know. Maybe." He hated sounding defensive but the whole mess with him, Jessica and Hoyt was a total cluster fuck. "She gave me her blood a couple of times when I was hurt. Why?"
"She gave you her blood? God, that settles it." Hadley put her hands on Jason's shoulders and peered into his eyes. "I think you've been glamoured, Jason. And I think your vamp girlfriend did it."
"What?" Jason reared back like he'd been stabbed. "No! She wouldn't do that. I mean, why would she?" Then he remembered sitting in the back of his truck pleading for her to glamour him after they'd had sex, so he could face his best friend. Hoyt, in one of his crying fits, admitted he thought Jessica might have altered his memories at some point because she acted so guilty around him.
"She would if Bill asked her to. He's her maker. And vamps don't like humans getting involved in what they regard as their private business. Like a fight with Russell Edgington." Hadley shook her head. "You can't really trust any vampire, no matter how well you think you know them."
Jason kept trying to remember details of that night at Bill's but they remained stubbornly vague. He remembered only that he could trust Bill to take care of Sookie's murderer and that he was to make her funeral arrangements. God, how could Jessica do that to him over something like Sookie's death? He felt violated by her manipulation. Was everything he felt for her just a lie?
Though the haze of anger and disappointment, he heard Hadley's last comment, saying bitterly, "The only vampire I'd trust now is dead. I met him in Dallas. He liked humans, and thought vampires should act better so we could all get along. His name was Godric."
Hadley raised an eyebrow. "Boy, you really do get around. He was a sheriff in Texas, right? Sophie Anne mentioned that he'd gone missing at some point. Then we heard he turned up, only to willingly meet the sun. She thought he was crazy."
"He wasn't crazy! He was just tired, and disappointed in both vampires and humans. He was over 2000 years old, you know." Jason was surprised at the memories coming back now that he thought of Godric. The kindness in the vampire's eyes had been ages deep. Godric's simple forgiveness had helped Jason to heal somehow from the madness the Fellowship tried to plant inside him.
Slowly, as if struck by sudden thought, Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it up, he withdrew a business card. Although it was made of thick, expensive cardstock, it had only a single name printed in a fancy script. Isabel Beaumont, Consultant. On the back was a handwritten phone number.
He remembered, in the short time before the bomb went off, Isabel coming up to him. She was still visibly upset from the scene over her human lover Hugo, but she summoned a smile and handed him the card. "Godric meant it when he said you have friends here. I do this at his request. If you are ever in need of help, you may reach me at the number on the back. Good fortune to you, Mr. Stackhouse." Then she turned away, and a few minutes later, Luke had walked in and blown the place to hell.
Jason had stuck the card in his wallet and never looked at it again. He'd wanted to forget how far off the rails he'd gone in Dallas.
He stared at it now as if it could tell him what to do. "Look, if this Edgington really is the one who killed Sookie, that means the head vampires lied or at least made a mistake telling everybody he killed himself. Things have just started to settle down a little bit for the vamps since the thing on TV and if he comes back, it's going to get really bad for them." He showed the card to Hadley. "So maybe someone needs to know about this other than Bill Compton."
"Okay, I meant what I said about not trusting Compton. I thought since you were a cop, you'd go to the police and get them involved. I didn't mean to go sticking your hand in a rattlesnake nest," Hadley protested. "And that's what you'll be doing if you go over the head of the King of Louisiana to some vamp in Texas."
"The cops already got their official story, probably straight from Bill. Who knows who else he glamoured? I doubt I could even get 'em to listen to me now." Jason had a hard look about him Hadley didn't recognize. "I just want to make sure the fucker who killed my sister goes up in flames, preferably screaming. And I want to be there when it happens. Compton's cutting me out of the loop. I think going to Isabel is my best chance. And if Edgington is really as old and powerful as you say, it's going to take more than one vamp to bring him down."
Jason looked around the room and noticed how long the shadows had grown while they talked. Dark came quickly this time of year. He switched on a couple of table lamps. "The vamps should be waking up pretty soon," Jason said.
"You're going to call them tonight?" Hadley exclaimed.
"Why wait?" Now that he had a game plan, Jason was anxious to get started. "One thing I've learned from CSI-I mean being a cop- is that the first 48 hours after a crime is the best time to find clues. Vamp crimes ain't likely to be any different. No sense in letting the trail get any colder than it already is."
"Fine." Hadley gave in. "But keep my name out of it. Please? It still might not be safe for me." She looked nervous. "I'm going to need to leave soon."
Her concern seemed overblown to Jason. Sookie had been the target, not Hadley. "Yeah, sure." He shrugged. "You know you're welcome to stay the night," he offered hesitantly. "I don't want to lose touch again. You really are the only family I got left now."
Tears pooled in Hadley's eyes again and she gave Jason a quick hug. Then she looked out the window. It was completely dark outside. Hadley's anxiety returned. "It's been good seeing you Jason, but I really gotta get."
"No! Please, just stay while I call Texas," Jason exclaimed. "I won't mention you, but they might have questions you can help me answer. If you don't want to stay the night, I'll drive you back to your car." He looked at her. "You musta walked over cause I never heard an engine."
"Oh, all right," Hadley grumbled. "I'll stay while you call but then you've gotta take me back."
"It's a deal," Jason agreed, relieved. Calling the Texas vampires unnerved him more than he wanted to admit. "Okay, here goes nothin'." He got out the business card and dialed. As the line connected, he wondered what on earth he would say.
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Jessica woke up with a sense of dread but couldn't immediately remember why. Then it came to her. Russell Edgington was back to screw up her life. Again. Bill had gone off to save the world and left her at home, with a list of warnings and commandments as long as her arm. Again.
She knew she had to stay away from Jason even though she yearned to see him and make sure he was okay.
Well, she had one thing to look forward to. She was meeting E tonight. Jessica had never met anyone as glamorous and sophisticated as the mysterious black-haired, green eyed vampire; who insisted she was called simply "E". E had caught Jessica's attention one night at Fangtasia's but insisted they meet and talk elsewhere. Jessica was fascinated by the elegant, charming woman, so different than the usual visitors to the bar. She was even more surprised and flattered by the vampire's interest in herself.
Over the next several weeks the vampires met for coffee, attended a Ingmar Bergman film festival, and went shopping at the best stores in Shreveport. Jessica had never talked so much about herself, her human family and especially the complicated relationship with her maker. E seemed especially interested in what Bill had done since he became King. Something inside Jessica seemed to unfold and come to life for the first time due to E's attention. Here was another female vampire who was well-traveled, confident, and seemed to have experienced everything Jessica wanted out of her undead life.
Jessica never questioned why E made sure that Jessica went to Fangtasia, stayed a short time and then left with a different fangbanger each night. The vampires then glamoured the human, fed together and sent the victim away with an implanted memory of hot sex to satisfy him or her. The rest of the evening belonged to Jessica and E.
Tonight, E had invited Jessica to the condo where she was staying for the first time. Jessica couldn't wait, but she was also a little nervous. It had taken awhile, but Jessica had realized that there was an undercurrent of attraction between E and herself. It went against everything she'd learned as a sheltered home-schooled Christian girl, but thoughts of the forbidden excited Jessica's vampire desires.
As she carefully chose her prettiest lingerie, Jessica wondered why she also felt a shiver of dread about the coming night.
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The phone was answered on the third ring.
"Isabel Beaumont's line," a male voice drawled. "Who's calling please?"
"Um...," Jason cleared his throat. "This here's Jason Stackhouse and Miss Isabel gave me her number when we were in Dallas during that Fellowship thing. She said that Godric told her I should call if I ever needed some help."
There was silence for a minute, then the voice said, "Just one moment, I'll see if she's available."
Another long pause was followed by the musically accented voice that Jason remembered. "Mr. Stackhouse? This is Isabel Beaumont. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
"Hey...uh, I guess you remember me, right? You gave me your card in Dallas?" Jason was fumbling terribly now that he had the vampire on the line.
"Yes, Mr. Stackhouse, I recall. I provided you with the phone number you're calling right now." Isabel was quite patient. "I hope you and your sister are well?"
"Sookie got killed last night," Jason blurted out. "And vampires did it."
"Ah." Jason had a feeling that a thousand unspoken words were contained in that one syllable. Then the vampire said carefully, "I'm very sorry to hear of your sister's death. She was a brave and loyal friend to our kind." After a moment she continued, "But why do you think vampires were involved? What do the police say?"
"I'm a deputy sheriff here and the cops think she died when her house blew up. But Bill Compton told me a vamp did it. He told me some other stuff except he glamoured me so I don't remember it all. And I got a, a source," he looked at Hadley. "that tells me Russell Edgington is probably the one behind it. He was after Sookie last year, too."
"Russell Edgington committed suicide after attacking that unfortunate human," Isabel recited.
"Do you really believe that?" Jason asked.
"The AVL made the announcement after a complete investigation."
"But do you believe that?" Jason insisted.
The silence on the other end of the line was so complete Jason wondered if she had hung up. Finally the Texas vampire said softly, "No, I do not. But he was gone and it was what people needed to hear."
Isabel's voice took on a gentle, persuasive tone. "Mr. Stackhouse, what proof do you have for such an unlikely scenario? Why would Russell Edgington want to kill your sister? Didn't she disappear last year only to turn up a few weeks ago? No offense but might she not have been unhappy, and arranged all this so nobody would look for her this time?"
Something stopped Jason from saying anything about Sookie being a fairy, even to Isabel. "How did you know that Sookie was gone?" The idea that the Texas vampires had been keeping track of his sister made him uneasy. Hadley's alarmed expression underscored his feeling.
"Your sister's talent is rare and useful. She was the human lover of a vampire who rose very suddenly to become King of Louisiana and then she vanished. Of course we were interested," Isabel said pleasantly. "Your website was very helpful in keeping us up to date on your efforts to find her. We were relieved to hear she was back and curious about where she'd been."
Again, an unaccustomed caution filled Jason. "She went someplace to be safe from vampires like Edgington for awhile. But Sookie was happy to be home. She'd never leave on her own."
"What do you want from me, Mr. Stackhouse? If your own King-I mean if Bill Compton has decided it is not advisable to involve you, why would I go against that?" For the first time, Isabel sounded like her patience was running out. "Why should I risk conflict at a time when vampires must present a united front to the human public?"
Jason had had enough of the vampire politics that already cost his sister her life. "I want justice for Sookie. I know Russell Edgington did it. This guy is old and powerful and Bill told me he's using magic now, too. It's going to be bad for vamps and humans." Jason tried to think what he could say to persuade his listener, who in reality, was as alien to him as any Martian. "I want everybody and their mama after this fucker, and I want in on the kill. Godric was all about working together to help each other. This is one of those times, Isabel."
He waited to hear the vampire's response, watching as Hadley wandered to the window and looked out, her face tense. Then his cousin opened the door a few inches. She tilted her head as if listening for something, and her expression said she didn't like what she heard.
Isabel finally spoke. "I must do some checking of my own, Jason. I'll contact you regarding what can be done but I promise that if we do go after Russell, you will be with us."
Jason wasn't quite sure he was satisfied with this but he was distracted by Hadley's frightened expression. "Jason, do you hear howling?" she hissed from the doorway.
"What?" he said. "No. Hush up, I'm still on the phone," he snapped and spoke to Isabel. "When will you get back to me?"
Isabelle, confused by the two conversations, said "Who's there with you? Is something wrong?" She heard a door slam and a woman scream Jason's name. Violent snarls and then howling echoed through the receiver. Jason swore viciously and Isabel heard a gunshot. More growls and screams followed, then silence.
The vampire called Jason's name over and over, but there was no response.
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Sam drove down Jason's gravel driveway a little faster than he should. The late afternoon shadows had passed into full darkness. His Suburban bumped and rattled over the rough road, the headlights bouncing up and down across the trees that lined both sides. Jason apparently had neglected his home maintenance since he became a deputy.
Skidding to a stop in front of the house Sam jumped out, revved up for a confrontation with Sookie's brother. Jason's truck sat over to the side. Good, he was home. Jason had damn well be ready to do something more than spout the party line from Bill Compton. Fist raised to pound on the front door, Sam was startled when it swung open on its own.
"Jason?" Sam called, taking a step inside. He didn't see anyone. "It's Sam Merlotte. We need to talk." For the first time, he stopped to take a deep breath. A chill ran down his spine. Werewolves. Their musky scent permeated the house. Several of them had been here within the last couple of hours. His instincts told him he was alone now. Sam looked around, noticing overturned furniture and a broken lamp. Under the wolf stench was the acrid smell of gunfire and fear.
What in God's name had happened here? Where was Jason now? Were they being targeted one by one?
His cell phone rang, interrupting his scrambling thoughts. He grabbed it from his pocket. "Luna!" He exclaimed. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Luna's voice was startled. "Why shouldn't I be?"
"Jason's gone and there's signs of a fight at his house. And I smell wolves." Sam heard Luna's gasp of shock. "I was worried."
"Sam, you need to get out of there. Now!" Luna urged. "One of the Weres may come back."
"I don't think so." Sam had been carefully searching the rest of the house as they spoke. "I think whoever it was is long gone." He wondered what he should do now. Call the police? Would Andy Bellefleur believe werewolves had taken Jason? He sniffed again, and felt a small bit of relief. He didn't detect the reek of death.
"Sam, I need to tell you what I found out." Luna's voice pulled him back. "I talked to Emory and he thought he knew who the shifter might be. It's a girl named Francie Devore. She's a professional for hire and has done some terrible things."
"Damn. How do we find her?" Sam asked.
"Emory didn't know, but he did say that she had accidentally killed her little sister." Luna paused, "He thinks she's a skinwalker."
"A skinwalker!" Sam's mind went blank for a minute. "Why would a vamp need a skinwalker-and a Were-to kill a human?"
"It doesn't make sense." Luna admitted. "I've been trying to figure it out ever since Emory told me. An outright hit wouldn't require nearly that much muscle to kill Sookie, even if it had to take place in daylight."
Sam sometimes forgot that beneath her school teacher and devoted mother exterior, Luna had a ruthlessly practical streak that had helped her survive her troubled past. She was right. "I'm going to head back home," he said. "I want to try to talk to Alcide about all this. Maybe he knows where the wolves would take Jason."
There was a quick intake of breath from Luna, making Sam pause as he got in the car. "Sam," she breathed, as if afraid to say the words aloud, "what if the vamp didn't need the skinwalker to kill Sookie. What if he needed her to be Sookie?"
For a few seconds, Sam didn't understand what she meant. His heart seemed to freeze in his chest, then stuttered and began to gallop wildly. "You think the death was faked? Sookie could still be alive?"
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Isabelle, deeply worried, hung up the phone in her office in Dallas. A tall Asian vampire standing in the doorway came to attention when her gaze fell on him. "Hiro, set a meeting for all the sheriffs immediately. Get everyone on video conference if necessary. We have much to discuss."
"Right away," the vampire bowed and blurred out to fulfill Isabelle's instructions. She turned to the windows of her office and looked out into the darkness made pale by the brilliantly lit Dallas skyline. Russell Edgington was back.
Now there would be war.