From Chapter 15

"I received a rather disturbing phone call shortly after you left Fangtasia tonight. The Tribunal has received information that a handful of Vampires in Louisiana and Mississippi have been privately funding Fellowship of the Sun splinter groups, and giving them information on how to best take out certain vampires. They are unsure if our Queen here or the King of Mississippi are involved at all."

"Hmmm. Russell Edgington is King of Mississippi. I do not think he would be part of something like that. He's too confident in his position; he wouldn't resort to using humans in that way. However, Sophie-Ann is another matter all together. She's gotten more and more ruthless over the past 3 centuries."

"Yes, well, word is the Magister is keen on 'cleaning-house,' so to speak. He's given his enforcers permission to kill any suspects who attempt to resist his summons. And, they believe that whoever is doing this was behind the bombing in Dallas."

SPOV

As weeks went on after the death of Steve Newlin, life slowly started to have some sense of normalcy again. With the police still having no luck locating and arresting Mark, both Eric and I continued staying with Godric to help keep an eye on Ana. A few days after our run-in with the fellowship, I called Sam and worked out a new schedule for working at the bar. I only worked during the daytime. Ana would come with me, and since my shift would always end just after dark, either Godric or Eric, sometimes both, would fly and meet us there and drive back to Shreveport with us. While I was working, Ana would sit at one of the tables and keep herself occupied by reading a book, or visiting with the other customers, or other various things. After the harsh rejection at the dance school, she convinced Godric that she needed a break from dancing and school. They argued long and hard about this, but, he finally relented when she told him that she wasn't giving it up for good, she just need some time to step back and relax. She would still go into her own private dance studio that Godric had built for her and rehearse and try to push herself to continue improving her skills. She even talked me into taking a class at the local fitness club with her.

Eric had to spend a good portion of most nights at Fangtasia, so, after we got back from Merlotte's, Ana and I would often change clothes and go and hang around in the bar. Normally we were joined by Godric, and Eric if he wasn't busy, and even Pam would come by every once in a while. I slowly began to feel like Eric, Ana and Godric were truly members of my family. Ana and I would often spend at least a few hours each night laughing at how distraught the poor fangbangers looked when their seductions did not earn them any favor with Godric or Eric.

My relationship with Eric continued to flourish. I craved his lovemaking like a flower craves sunlight. But, it was so much more than that. We'd lie in each other's arms and just talk endlessly about anything. He told me stories of his time as a vampire. It was definitely something to hear first-hand accounts of some of the more major events of history. I'd never taken his blood during sex again after that first night. When he asked me about it, I just told him that in that moment, it just felt right because I wanted to solidify the connection we had. But, I didn't want to continue because I was still having a hard time dealing with Bill's betrayal of manipulating me. I knew that Eric would never do that to me, but, he said he understood why it was difficult for me. Every day I felt myself falling harder and harder for him. I was bitter because I felt that, if not for Bill's scheming, we could've been happy together long before we were. I hadn't yet told him how I felt, though, because I was still holding back. I was sure he felt my love in our bond, but, he never pushed me to say the words, and I adored him for it.

Eric eventually told Ana and I about the Tribunal's attempt to find out what vampires were helping to fund the fellowship groups. He said that the Magister had assigned all area sheriff's to do a thorough financial check on all vampires in their areas to look for evidence of deceit. Eric was busy working with Pam to plan Fangtasia's upcoming Halloween party, so Ana volunteered to work on it for him. She said she could do some research on her laptop while I was at work, and she'd be glad to help out. Plus, knowing that whoever was guilty had helped fund the bombing of Godric's nest in Dallas, I think she wanted to see those responsible brought to justice for it. Even if the justice the vampires would hand down would be more than she realized.

The frequency of Ana's seizures slowly began to pick up, and I took her to several appointments with various neurosurgeons throughout the area. She insisted that I stay in the waiting room while she met with the doctors, and would always say that the doctors just needed to change her medication, or her dosage. Godric, Eric and I all knew she was hiding something from us, but, none of us pressed her on the issue. I think Godric and Eric let it go because they were honestly scared of getting bad news as far as she was concerned. The more time I saw Ana and Eric interact with each other, the more I began to understand the kind of deep love he felt for her. He would do anything to keep her happy and safe.

One Thursday evening, about two weeks before Halloween, Ana was sitting in a booth at Merlotte's having a sprite and laughing with Jason and Sam while I was finishing up my shift. The sun had been done for about 45 minutes, and I was surprised that neither of the vampires had arrived yet. Just as I was getting ready to grab my purse from Sam's office, my cell phone rang, and I saw that it was Godric.

As soon as I answered he said, "Sookie, there is no time to waste. I need for you, Ana, and your brother to come to Fangtasia as soon as possible. I'll explain when you get here."

I told Jason I needed him to come with us, and he could tell something was up, so he quickly agreed. We piled into Godric's Audi (my Nova had basically bitten the dust, so I was now driving the Audi back and forth to work) and got to the club as quick as possible. When we pulled in, Pam met us in the lot and rushed the three of us through the employee entrance and into Eric's office. As the door opened, I felt my heart drop into my stomach. There, sitting on Eric's couch with blood-red tears running down her cheeks, sat Jessica.

A/N. Sorry this is so short, I wanted to get it up before I left for work, and I'll post again later tonight or early tomorrow morning!