I could see he was torn between being the host he knew he should be and protecting Pam. I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him as I slipped a hand into his tux and grabbed his speech.

"Go," I told him. "She needs you. I'll look after things here."

Eric nodded once briefly. "Thank you."

Of course he had no reason to trust that I could host this party successfully and to my mind, the fact he left proved just how worried he was about Pam.

Somehow I made it through the party, delivered Eric's speech (I was glad I'd read his drafts a couple of times) and everyone left, seemingly happy.

I stayed with Amelia and oversaw the clean up with her because I didn't have anything else to do. I made it home in the early hours of the morning and then waited. I tried reading and watching TV but I couldn't settle to anything. I ended up cleaning, though Eric's cleaning lady hadn't left me a lot to do.

I considered calling Eric for an update but I knew he'd call if he had news, I would only distract him if I called now. Eric returned about an hour before dawn looking worried and drawn.

Every vampire he could find had been searching for her but no trace had yet been found.

I listened as he called Dawson to arrange for the search to continue during daylight hours. Eric's overpriced lawyer also agreed to see what he could do about getting the police to help.

When dawn was only minutes away, Eric looked exhausted. He needed sleep and I took his hand and led him through to the bedroom. He laid down and I held my wrist to his lips. I doubted he had fed and he would need his strength.

Eric looked reluctant.

"Drink. She needs you strong," I urged and he did. I wouldn't need much strength since there was nothing I could do. For the first time, I found myself almost wishing I was a vampire so I could help.

Eric then pulled me down beside him on the bed and wrapped his arms around me. He knew I'd been up early the day before to prepare for the party and that left to my own devices, I would just continue pacing. I didn't expect to sleep but surprisingly, wrapped in Eric's arms, I did.

III

When I awoke the clock read 10am. I rarely got up before noon these days since I worked the evening shift at the clinic and spent the nights with Eric. I tried to go back to sleep, but I was immediately too keyed up to fall back to sleep again.

I got up and headed to the kitchen. I left the door to the bedroom open which I shouldn't have. Eric was unable to defend himself during the daylight hours so I should have locked him in again but once I did that, I'd be locked out. I needed to be close to him today.

I made coffee and checked the answering machine. His lawyer had left a message. While the police wouldn't list Pam as a missing person for 24 hours, they had agreed to list her car as stolen so the police would be on the lookout. It was a good idea, actually, since the Weres or vampires would be able to follow Pam's scent from there. Well, assuming she hadn't been loaded into another car, of course.

I called Eric's daytime man, Bobby Burnham, and asked him to tell Fangtasia's staff not to come in today. Every vampire would be on the hunt again tonight and a vampire bar without vampires would be a little pointless. He wanted to hear directly from Eric, Eric's wife wasn't good enough, but that was fine. I told him to warn the staff that they might not be needed and Eric would confirm when he awoke.

I wrote him a note, leaving it taped to the answering machine, the first thing he was sure to check.

Although I wasn't hungry, I knew I needed to eat so I made a sandwich. I then took a shower and laid back down with Eric for a while. I hoped to drift off to sleep again but my thoughts were swirling too fast.

Finally it was time to go to work so I dressed in one of my new suits. I left Eric his lipstick print 'goodbye note' on the corner of his mouth since I wanted him to know I was thinking of him, but knew he wouldn't want to play games searching to the little red mark today.

At work I was really just going through the motions. We were busier than I expected since our launch party had only been last night but, of course, I hadn't counted on the power of the internet. I made half a dozen or so bookings for people who had been impressed with our actresses' results, the rest I sent our brochure and price list.

Ordinarily I would have been dying to tell Eric how well we were doing but today we both had more important things to worry about.

Shortly after sunset I called Eric. I didn't bother with any preamble. "Any news?"

"Her car has been found. The Weres have been searching that area for the last hour, we're going to help now."

"Let me know, okay? Is there anything I can do?"

"No, love. And thank you for calling Bobby for me. I've told him if he ever ignores what you tell him again he's fired."

Normally that would have left me feeling warm and fuzzy, today I was too tired and worried. I could feel Eric's worry through our bond and it only exacerbated my own. I tried to keep calm because I didn't want my worry making him worse, but it wasn't easy. When we hung up I told him to be safe. Whoever had hurt Pam would probably jump at the chance to hurt Eric too.

Work dragged on slowly. We only had one guest now, Sally, whose burns were being treated. The phone calls I had fielded earlier had tapered off.

When I got home at midnight it wasn't shock to see Eric wasn't there. Exhausted, I dozed on the sofa until the front door slamming awoke me as he came in, just before dawn.

"Did you find her?"

Eric ignored me and stormed through to the bedroom. He looked… murderous.

I watched from the doorway as he stomped about the room.

"Eric?"

"No!" he snapped. He closed his eyes and seemed to pull himself under control. "No," he repeated more softly. "There was no trace of her."

I was almost afraid to ask but, damn it, he was my husband, I refused to be scared of him. "Any clues?"

Eric finally looked at me, or perhaps glared at me, his fangs were showing and his gaze was filled with hate. Was this my fault, somehow?

"There was another scent in the car," his voice was positively venomous but he lowered his hateful stare. "A vampire who is known to me."

"Who?"

"Sookie, please! I… I must sleep. Dawn is minutes away."

Right. I knew bullshit when I heard it. As much as I wanted to call him on his behaviour, I was too scared to. I climbed into bed, keeping to the edge, my back turned to him. I assume Eric was in a similar position.

Other than when we'd lived apart, this was the first time since we'd begun our relationship that I didn't fall asleep in his arms. That felt very significant.

III

I had left for work by the time Eric got up the next day. Despite my anger, I still left a lipstick print on his cheek.

When I got back from work he was gone again, no note, nothing. That was the first night he didn't come home.

Over the next week, when he did come home I asked what was going on. I was normally rebuffed. I wouldn't beg.

The only information I got was that, for reasons still unknown (to me at least) a vampire named Christopher had taken Pam and Eric and his vampires were now tracking him down.

I prepared one of the guest bedrooms for Jim since Eric had asked him to work around the clock, calling Dawson to relieve him when he needed a break. I felt like a child who's been handed off to the nanny. I usually slept in one of the guest rooms too so that hiding the entrance to our bedroom wasn't an issue.

I got a call from Eric's bank about unusual charges on our account (I didn't even know Eric had added my name to it). I asked what those charges were and they faxed a copy to the clinic for me.

There were a lot of cash withdrawals and charges for supplies. I allowed the charges through after Eric finally (under threat of the card being cancelled) told me they were all his. He needed to pay people and vampires who were involved in the search.

I learned how to use online banking and watched as more money, sometimes thousands, went out each day. There was very little going in.

I called Bruce, who even after his scare a couple of years ago, was still working as Eric's accountant. I got a copies of all statements I could, some coming to Fangtasia addressed only to Eric but I still opened them.

Bruce explained that money was going out too fast. Eric wasn't taking any money from the clinic because it wasn't in profit yet and Fangtasia had been closed for two weeks. I felt sure Eric had other accounts, but his immediately available money was about to dry up pretty soon.

There was only one option, Fangtasia had to reopen, preferably with vampires.

I tried to broach this with Eric but he wouldn't listen. His pursuit of Pam and this Christopher was single minded.

That left only me, and I didn't know any willing vampires. I could ask Victor for help, or Felipe, but I didn't want to risk them being mad at Eric. He had enough to worry about.

I was mad at him too. Bill had left for Europe, Pam was missing, Sam wasn't happy with me and at the time I most needed him, Eric was ignoring me.

I wasn't quite alone, though.

Amelia had lived with a vampire, my cousin Hadley, so maybe she knew a few others who would be willing to take a vacation in Shreveport. I offered them spending money, free room and board in Bill's house and free meals (on the proviso they didn't kill anyone).

She knew of two she could contact who might help. She knew others but had lost touch with then after Katrina.

I also asked Jim, he suggested three that he'd had dealings with that might be interested. They would need paying, but they'd bring in more than they cost.

Through the internet I also managed to track down Franklin Mott, Tara's ex. He'd always been friendly with me and I hoped he liked me. He also wasn't affiliated with any king or sheriff, as far as I knew. I still made an excuse about why I needed extra vampires, but he thought he knew one or two who might be interested.

Six or seven wasn't a lot, but it was something.

Fangtasia reopened. I had splashed out on my own credit card for a couple of newspaper ad's and the crowd was pretty good.

Belinda knew a couple of extra people (and crucially a barman) who could help out for a few weeks.

I worked at the clinic from noon till six. The day manager didn't like me being there, she felt it infringed on her authority, but she could obviously tell I was at the end of my rope and didn't push things. Covering my shifts was relatively easy since we were fully staffed but nearly empty.

Then at six o'clock I went to Fangtasia. I worked as a waitress, dressed in black and hustled as fast as I could. There might have been fewer vampires than usual but the new blood seemed to be a crowd pleaser.

After being at Fangtasia for one night, I realised that Jim was no protection here. Any vampire with half a mind to could take on a shifter and win so I'd made a phone call to Victor's residence in New Orleans, and he gave me the number of the vampire who Bubba was staying with. As soon as he heard I was in trouble, Bubba came running and I was eternally grateful for that. Bubba was still a young vampire, but he was also single minded when given a task and he had never failed me yet.

He couldn't be out in the bar area, obviously, but I erected some sheer black nets over the stage. With the light off behind them, Bubba could see out into the bar but no one could see him. Well, none of the humans could, and that was what mattered.

When the bar closed each night I counted the takings, made notes for Bobby the next day, then Jim and Bubba took me to the night deposit at the bank. The vampires were paid weekly in cash. Jim had offered to pay them but being a shifter, the vampires didn't trust him so Bubba and I did that.

There were a few sticky situations, but on the whole things went well. A couple of the new vampires even offered to get some of their friends to come along for a week or two when they moved on. I accepted all their offers. Beggars can't be choosers.

I only had one real problem, and that was a vampire named Steve. One of Amelia's "friends" Steve had been badly hurt in the New Orleans floods and had lost everything. Only 50, still young for a vampire, he hadn't had time to build up the sort of nest egg someone like Eric had and combined with the physical pain he'd been in, he was in the "grumpy" category of vampires. Which is to say, he had a very short fuse and a tendency to react lethally. He was the reason I had called Bubba.

In the beginning the fact that Eric was my husband and (more important in vampire hierarchy) my bonded offered me some protection. That threat was wearing off now though because Eric never showed up and I never smelt like him.

In fact, I couldn't remember the last time we had sex.

With all these thoughts milling around in my tired brain, after we closed on Saturday night I went up to Eric's office where I would count the takings, put my head in my hands and cried. Right now I couldn't even tell you if my husband was in the same state as I was, that was how little I knew about what was going on.

I must have sobbed for ten minutes or so, but crying never helped anyone so I pulled myself together. I needed to reconnect with my husband. I missed Pam as well, but his single-minded pursuit of her captor was helping no one. I needed answers.

I got home about 4am and got a very strong coffee before I went into the panic room, closing the panel into the library behind me to protect its secret. I told Jim I was going to sleep in Eric's hidey hole so he shouldn't look for me in the morning.

It had been a long week but I didn't trust Eric to wake me if I just left him a note. He came home about two hours later. At least I knew where he was now.

As he opened the panel from the library he looked surprised to see me waiting up for him, and not very happy.

"Sookie," was all he said as he closed the panel and pushed the button so the steel door sealed us in. He looked thinner than the last time I saw him, which had to have been at least a week ago. He also looked battered. His injuries had healed but his shirt and jeans still bore the marks of a fight.

"You look hungry," I said softly as he lay beside me on the bed. I offered him my wrist, holding it a few inches from his mouth. He hesitated briefly and looked at me. I nodded and he closed his eyes and bit down. He wasn't as gentle as he could have been but I gritted my teeth. He took more than he perhaps should have but I could tell he needed it and tomorrow was supposed to be a day off so I would have a little time to recuperate.

When he was finished and the wounds were closing he closed his eyes. "Thank you."

I took a deep breath. "Eric, we need to talk."

"It's nearly dawn, Sookie."

"We still have a few minutes. I need to know what's going on."

He didn't reply but he put his arm over his eyes to shut me out.

"Eric, please, who is Christopher?" Silence. "Why did he take Pam?" More silence. "Where do you go every night? And why are you covered in blood tonight?"

He remained stoically quiet.

"Don't shut me out like this. Damn it, Eric, I have a right to know!"

He leapt from the bed faster than I could see and the next thing I knew one of the bedside lamps was smashing into the wall above my head. I cringed down under the covers as a piece of porcelain recoiled off the wall and sliced my cheek.

When no more missiles launched themselves I emerged and touched my cheek gingerly. My fingers came away red.

"Thank you, more blood loss is just what I need right now!" I snapped. Perhaps not the smartest move with an irate vampire, but I wasn't feeling very smart right now.

Eric's eyes blazed when he saw the wound. "Sookie, I…"

For whatever reason he couldn't go on. He climbed back into bed and turned his back to me. Within minutes he was out like a light but now I couldn't sleep. His little outburst had ignited a spark of anger in me that refused to be quenched and if Eric wouldn't tell me what the hell was going on, I would sure as hell find out for myself.

III

I awoke just after two in the afternoon the next day, very tired but still angry. I was glad for that anger, I needed it right now.

I dressed quickly, not bothering with a shower. In the kitchen I found Jim reading the paper. I poured myself a coffee and sat down opposite him.

"Do you mind if we go to Fangtsaia today?" I asked.

He looked up, mildly surprised, probably more by my tone than my words.

"Not at all. Are you okay?"

"No. But I will be as soon as I figure out what's going on."

He folded up the paper. "And what's at Fangtasia?"

"Bill's database. I need to find out who Christopher is, what he wants and why he took Pam."

"Eric doesn't know?" Jim had been very discrete about not questioning me on the weird relationship Eric and I had of late, but I could tell from his thoughts that it puzzled the hell out of him that I was putting up with it.

"Eric won't tell me," the time of protecting Eric was over. Well, I'd still protect him from a true threat, but his reputation didn't deserve defending any longer. "If I can't find anything on the database… well I have one more card to play." My grandfather.

I had only spoken to him once since Pam disappeared and I'd lied through my teeth. I didn't like doing it, but I didn't want him to get drawn into a war, or to know how miserable I was.

As soon as I'd finished my coffee we drove to Fangtasia. In Eric's office I turned the computer on, then removed the Ikea print from the wall behind his chair and entered the code into the wall safe. It popped open. The program was on a CD.

I sat at his desk and entered his password into the computer. When the computer had finished booting up, I popped the CD in and opened the database. I'd seen Eric use it a couple of times so I knew roughly how I could search it.

All I had was a first name so I searched by that filter.

74 results.

I had no other details to narrow the search down further. Sure, Christopher was in Louisiana now, but that didn't mean he'd always been here. In fact that was quite unlikely.

I decided to search the 74 profiles for Pam's name. Two results came back, but none referred to my Pam.

I searched for a mention of Eric. Three results were kicked back, none were my Eric.

I finally accepted that I'd have to read through each profile individually. Jim asked if he could help, but he couldn't. He'd brought his paper and he settled down to read it.

I began going through each profile, hoping something would jump out at me. Two hours later, nothing.

I called up Pam's profile. It listed Eric as her sire, her place of birth, place of death and a few details on her second (vampire) life.

Nothing helpful. I checked Eric's. His sire was someone called Shim'on Lathman, latterly known as Simon Latham… That rang a bell.

I pulled up Simon's profile and searched the list of his children. Erik Norseman (Eric's old name) and a Christopher Clarke were both listed, along with nearly 200 others. Simon had been a rather prolific maker.

Was it possible the Christopher who was here now and Eric were "brothers"? Where was their maker now? I read through the rest of his profile.

Simon had been turned around the year 100AD, so he'd been 900 when he'd made Eric. He worked his way up to king of the Northern European territories by 950AD, feared and reviled, he seemed like a thoroughly nasty piece of work. I wondered where he was now and found out in the next sentence. He'd been murdered by persons unknown in 1341AD.

Why had a dead vampire been included on this database? Maybe because he had so many children? I shook my head, now wasn't the time for that tangent.

I read through Christopher's profile again. He was 100 years younger than Eric and listed him as a devoted child of Simon's. What did that mean? Was it important that Eric's profile only mentioned who his maker was, not any sort of relationship?

I thought for a moment, then tried googling Christopher Clarke. Not a lot of help with over two million results. I added vampire to the name. A quarter of a million results. I put the name in speech marks, two hundred and fifty results. I began looking through them but none seemed relevant.

Sighing, I pulled my phone out. It was time to call Niall, my Grandfather.

"Sookie!" his voice sounded warm as he answered. I realised how much I'd missed him. We had almost nothing in common except some DNA, but as it turns out, that was enough.

"Hey Grandfather. I'm sorry I haven't called much lately."

"How are you, child?"

"I'm okay… but I could use your help with something, if that's alright." I hated asking for things.

A second later he was in front of me. Shocked, Jim reached for his gun.

"NO! It's okay, he's my Grandfather!"

Jim looked relived but confused. "Your grandfather is a faerie?"

"Yes, Jim, this is Niall Brigant. Grandfather, this is James Black, my bodyguard."

They exchanged pleasantries then Niall asked what I needed.

"I don't know how much you know about vampire affairs, but Pam has gone missing and it's driving Eric mad. I think I've found who took her," I pointed at the computer screen with Christopher's details still displayed, "But I don't know why."

Niall nodded. "Why is because Eric killed his maker. Christopher was very loyal to his sire and has been trying to avenge him ever since."

"Why did he wait so long?"

"Because he could never be sure who did it. Simon had many enemies, and I'm talking a legion. He was thoroughly despised by almost everyone who crossed his path, he was as close as I've seen to pure evil."

"That's why Eric killed him?" I asked.

"I believe so. Eric was very clever, his plan was never discovered, nor was there any reason to suspect him above anyone else. Christopher has been searching ever since and this isn't the first time he has gone to war with a vampire."

"Oh. And now he's gone to war with Eric?"

"That's what I've heard."

"Does he have a lot of support?" I thought of Eric's bloody clothes last night.

"He has enough. His tactics are more guerrilla than announcing all out war. I imagine Eric is having trouble finding him. It seems he is adept at hiding and leaving ambushes in his wake. His probable intent is to reduce Eric's numbers before the final showdown."

I sat on Eric's sofa, feeling deflated. "Why didn't he tell me," I mumbled.

"Because killing one's maker is the worst offence possible among vampires, Sookie. Even now, if it were revealed he had killed his maker, he would be put to a long and painful death."

"Then this Christopher can't have proof or he'd have gone to the authorities," I reasoned.

"Or he prefers to extract vengeance himself."

Hmm, well, I didn't much like that. What if I saved Eric and he was still put to death?

"Do you know if Pam is still alive?" I asked.

Niall looked sad, knowing she was my friend. "I do not know but I would suspect not."

All the air in me rushed out suddenly and I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.

"Would you like me to kill Christopher?" Niall asked.

"I…" my instinctual reaction was yes but I didn't know what the consequences would be. Would it cause a vampire/faerie war? I didn't want that. "I need to speak to Eric first."

"Will he listen?" Jim added.

"He will have to," Niall said confidently.

"No he won't, he's been avoiding me," I explained. "Unless you want to hold him down."

"There is no need for me to intercede, child, your bond should suffice."

"Hasn't been a lot of help these last few weeks."

"Have you tried calling him?"

"He keeps his cell phone turned off," I explained. "But I've left a ton of messages."

Niall smiled. "I meant calling him to heel through your bond."

"That doesn't work on me," I explained.

"No, I mean you call him to heel."

I looked up, shocked. "I can do that?"

"Of course. What you have is a version of the tie between child and maker. Most humans don't know they have this power and when they do try, it's weak, however with your unique abilities I believe you could be more successful."

Didn't like the idea of calling Eric to heel, but I didn't like the idea of him ignoring me either.

"Some vampires can ignore the call," I reasoned, remembering Mickey.

"If they are a distance away, perhaps, but not across this small a distance."

I looked at my watch. Eric would be up in another hour or so. "Okay, I'll make him talk to me, then I'll call you, grandfather."

"Very well. Remember, Sookie, I am here for you."

"Thank you for coming." I kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled. "It is my pleasure, my dear. I only wish you would call on me more often."

"Maybe when things settle down again we could have lunch."

He nodded and then he was gone.

"They know how to make an exit, don't they?" Jim brought me out of my thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah." I went to the computer and turned it off, replacing the CD in the safe and we headed home.