A/N: I hope y'all realize that two concurrent storylines means I can squeeze in two cliffies per chapter. I'll try to resist temptation, but I make no promises. Consider yourselves warned.

Oh, and just to clear something up – I didn't use Barry the Bellboy in Dallas because I couldn't squeeze him in anywhere that made sense. But I wanted there to be a telepathic bellboy in some hotel somewhere, so I whipped up a new character to stand in Barry's stead. There'll be some similarities, but… well, I don't want to give anything away. It'll be a while before he comes back into the story anyway. *wink*

Sookie POV

Godric laughed. "You just now picked up on the fact that the bellboy was a telepath? I knew what he was before I was out of the car."

I kept my face blank and my head down, just in case any vampires happened to see us through the car's windows. "Cut me some slack: I was barely awake. You're not worried about him?"

"I should have woken you sooner, but you can't let sleepiness be an excuse in New Orleans. His skills aren't as well-developed as yours. He couldn't tell that either of us was hearing him until you let on. Shouldn't have done that, by the way: he can't be glamoured any more than you can."

I sighed. "Okay, we'll handle that later, if at all. What do I need to know about tonight?"

"Queen Sophie-Anne may be calling this meeting for any of several reasons. We will not know until we get there. She likes to try to keep her subjects on their toes, but we have several advantages. Eric is younger than her, but I am not; this puts us in a unique position. I will silently keep you informed as we go. For now, all you need to know is to do exactly as I tell you, and remember your act."

That was it? I knew I was good at improvising, but I was really uncomfortable with the situation we were going to be in. I wasn't going to be able to read anyone around me, and that was how I'd always gotten by in the past. Granted, back then I hadn't known that there were people out there who weren't human.

"Will there be any other humans there?"

"There are humans who stay in the palace, but I do not know if any will be present while we are meeting with the Queen. Listen in to everything you can, whenever you have the opportunity. You never know what information might come in useful."

"Can you hear them as well? Or are you listening through me?"

He smirked and turned to wink at me. "Does it matter, so long as I hear it?"

I looked out the window and tried to not roll my eyes. Godric really enjoyed his mysteries. It made perfect sense, but it could be pretty damn irritating at times. It's not like anything he told me could be glamoured out of me.

«Do not let on that you cannot be glamoured, Pookie. What they cannot get by glamour, they may be tempted to extract via physical means.»

Physical means? I gulped. «Does that mean what I think it means?»

«They will not get their hands on you as long as I am around, but never forget what they are capable of; some of them rather enjoy torturing humans.»

Likewise, I should never forget that Godric could listen in on my thoughts without my being aware of it; I heard him snickering after I thought that.

We rode in silence until we reached the gates of a gorgeous mansion. I stayed in my standard pet pose – head bowed, face blank – while Godric spoke with the guard. After getting clearance to go in, we drove through the gates and up a long, trailing driveway. Standing at the door were several vampires: two in guard's uniforms, another one dressed as a valet.

Godric got out of the car and zipped around to my door, growling at the valet who offered me a hand. He obviously didn't want anyone else touching me. I took Godric's hand and let him help me out. The valet looked unperturbed by this, but if it was so normal then why had he even offered? It was the least of my concerns at the moment, but I filed it away for future reference.

There was another security checkpoint after we passed through the enormous double front doors. I hadn't brought a purse with me; there was nothing I needed to bring, and I didn't want to have to keep track of anything other than my own self. The guards seemed interested in me, but as far as I could tell, it was because of my scent and appearance.

«Godric, is it safe to use my influence here? Just wondering if a little invisibility might be a good idea.»

«Best not to. Just keep your head down and your mouth closed. Thank you for asking.»

We passed through security without any issues, and were escorted down a long hallway and into a waiting room. It was furnished with lovely velvet-covered couches. There was no one else here, but I figured if Eric had security cameras in his house, then they'd have something similar going on in every single room in this joint. I wouldn't be dropping my act anytime soon.

«Sit next to me, Sookie, and put your hands in your lap,» he thought at me as he walked over to a couch.

I did as Godric ordered. «They'll keep us here for about ten minutes, just to see if we say or do anything interesting when we think no one's watching. There are cameras, of course.»

«I thought as much. But wouldn't they figure that you'd know that sort of thing?»

«It's not me that they're expecting to make a mistake.»

Shit. This was all on me. No pressure. I was thanking ever deity I could remember that I'd had a lifetime of practice at keeping a straight face. I used the time to scan the place for human minds. There were quite a few on the other side of the door we had yet to pass through. From what I heard, they were all pets in the Queen's human menagerie. Each of them seemed to have some special draw, some specific reason for being there.

There was a woman who was so bored, she was thinking she'd rather bash her head in with a spoon than sit there for another five minutes. That struck me as particularly creative on her part. Her brain seemed to have a different feel to it, like it was softer around the edges. The lines between her and the people around here were blurred.

«That would be the Queen's empath,» Godric thought.

«Empath? You mean she can sense people's emotions?»

«Correct.»

It occurred to me that the Queen might want to add me to her collection. That wasn't a happy notion, but I didn't bother bringing it up with Godric. More than likely, it was something that he and Eric had both already considered. I suppressed a shudder and went back to reading the minds of the other humans in the next room.

Another girl was thinking of nothing but her shoe collection. That was her main reason for being here: it paid well, and she was using the money to buy more shoes. I had the feeling she and Pam would get along great.

There were about five other humans in there, so seven in total. The other five weren't anything interesting. One man was mentally dissecting the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein, another fellow was admiring the Queen's cleavage, and there was a woman who was pondering the mysteries of why socks disappear between the washer and dryer. The other two had been so thoroughly glamoured that their brains were thick and sludgy, like porridge. There was nothing useful in the slightest, unless I wanted to know the Queen's bra size.

Reading the available minds around me helped to pass the time, and soon enough the door to what I assumed were the Queen's meeting rooms opened. A huge guard stepped out and beckoned to us.

I waited for Godric to stand before I did and followed him into the next room. It was hard to resist the urge to take a deep breath to calm my nerves. This was it. This was the big show.

Pam POV

I got my laptop out and set it up on the kitchen table. Eric sat down and I got myself a blood while the computer was booting up. I wasn't the best computer person in the world, but I'd picked up a few tricks.

After connecting to the wireless network, I opened a browser and installed a plug-in for Italian spell-checking. After restarting the browser, I went to Google Translate and set it to translate from Italian to English.

"Let's give this a try. Talk to me, but not too quickly."

While he spoke, I took dictation as best as I could. The Italian spell-checker didn't auto-correct my mistakes, but it was easy to right-click on them and select the right words. There were a few comical errors, but overall it was an effective way to work around the curse. Whoever had come up with the spell really hadn't accounted for technology. Using this method, Eric and I were able to discuss a plan for dealing with these fuckbiscuit witches. This wouldn't work for more time-sensitive situations, but it was a decent place to start.

After going over some points with Eric, I called the owners of other local establishments that were owned by supes. Most of them had also been approached with similar threats and demands. This coven was new in town and their greed was making them sloppy. No one had heard of them until recently, and Fangtasia wasn't their only target. Unlike us, the other business owners had given in or tried to delay the extortion process.

I didn't give them any details about our situation. I was merely doing reconnaissance at this point.

I was placing the blame for this mess on Chow. If he hadn't attacked the messenger… well, there was no undoing what had been done. Once this was resolved, I was hoping Eric would give me permission to discuss tactics with Chow. And by "discuss tactics," I really meant, "chain him up in the basement and test out my new silver toys on his skin."

Once I had spoken with enough of the area supes to know that the witches were a thoroughly valid nuisance, I called a Were by the name of Alcide Herveaux. Thanks to his father's not-so-little gambling addiction, Alcide owed us big time. Why a Were would come to a vampire for financial assistance was beyond me, but it had been a good investment for us.

Alcide didn't like what I had to say, but he realized he had no choice. Not only was he obliged to help us, he recognized that the witches were just as much a threat to him. He was one of the few that hadn't been approached, but it was only a matter of time.

We decided to set up a meeting for the next evening, to be held at Fangtasia. Alcide suggested that he be the one to contact the rest of the pack, seeing as they'd be more likely to comply if the request came from him. Weres and vampires didn't get along, as a general rule.

Eric and I went over several different strategies until Alcide called back about an hour later. He had contacted the Shreveport Packmaster, a Were by the name of Colonel Flood. The PM had agreed to at least meet with us, but gave no guarantees of compliance.

Even though he really didn't like the idea, Eric agreed that we would use Sookie's telepathic abilities to bargain with the Weres if necessary. By the terms of her contract, she could veto some assignments; I didn't foresee that being an issue. She would go along if it was something that would help Eric.

I'd gotten a text message from Godric to let us know that he and Sookie had arrived safely in New Orleans. By the time I got off the phone with Alcide, Godric and Sookie would be meeting with the Queen. Once they were back at the hotel, he would call us with more information. If he texted us, regardless of the message, that meant they'd been held at Queen Sophie-Anne's estate.

All that was left to do, on either situation, was wait.

I fucking hated waiting.

Disclaimer: All of the characters contained in this story are property of Charlaine Harris. I don't own them; I just like to play with them a bit.