Ghost in the Machine – True Blood

The lavender outfit was back on, as Christine made her way to the door of the bar again, to see Pam about the book. Christine brought a large shoulder bag to keep her notepad in, it also held her bound incomplete second novel, in case she had time to at least mark up where revisions might need to go while she waited between Pam's breaks.

Pam was, once again, in leather and dark makeup. Christine smiled just a little as she noticed that Pam was watching Christine walk up to the door. Pam made that outfit look just amazing, but it also helped that she was looking appreciatively at Christine. "Hey." A slight blush covered her cheeks, which only increased at Pam's amused and mischievous smile.

"The humans are starting off slow, and it is a warm night. Why don't you sit on the stool and we can talk." Pam offered and Christine found that proposal a great one.

"It's okay to like her, but don't be too smitten so early. The vampire might want a little bit of a challenge." Voice sounded amused as hell and Christine couldn't say anything back to her with witnesses like this.

"I read your book." Pam patted the stool, so Christine moved to take it and glanced at the podium from the working side for a moment. It held what was clearly the schedule for workers tonight and a crossword puzzle. "It was very seductively dark and intriguing."

That was the best review Christine had ever heard about her work, but then the way Pam's lips seemed to caress the word 'seductively' had a lot to do with it. "Thank you."

"Your vampire," Pam smirked, "appears to be the sheriff of her area." Christine frowned a little as she didn't get the comment. "I think you'll need some educating on the politics of vampires for this book. She would be the leader of a physical region. She would have people she reported to and people that reported to her." Pam proceeded to explain the hierarchy in the vampire world and when a few young men came up to them for entrance to the bar she gave them an irritated eye roll and less than subtle insult, before sending them in, before continuing their conversation.

A group of people came to the doorway, standing in line as Pam looked over the id of the three in front of her and Christine looked passed them to see more people moving towards them. Business was picking up.

People in gothwear stared at Christine with either disdain or confusion while they waited. Even as Christine tried to pull her attention to her notes, so she didn't have to see people judging her, Voice spoke up. "Watch that young guy with the blood red hair." Christine glanced at him while Pam waived some brunette into the bar, to see what Voice was talking about. The thin guy did have hair unnaturally red and rather spiky, but it went well with his leather pants and black tshirt. "Tap, tap tap, do you see it?" Christine almost made a face at the unclear description, before noticing the left hand that bounced against his thigh, or that it held something small.

"What is it?" Christine whispered as quietly as she could to Voice, but the way Pam stopped and glanced at Christine had her blushing for the mistake. Christine just shook her head, and hoped Pam would ignore her for a minute more, as Voice was rather intense at the moment.

"He is way too nervous for this. I'd bet money that's a fake id in his hand. He looks old enough, but he's probably only 19. See how he holds it and looks at it once in a while. Have you ever been that interested in your own id before?" Voice's lesson was a bit unexpected, but Christine thought about it and, really, only when she'd just earned her first license was it worth noticing like that guy kept glancing at his.

As he stood up in front of Pam, Christine waited to see what would happen a bit nervously herself. She wasn't sure she should say anything, but would Pam catch it?

Pam took the id and gave it a bored look, like she'd done a few times, and her eyebrow arched. "I'm the first to admit I've been a vampire so long I can't judge human age very well." She drawled, "but your heart is beating like a little bunny rabbit. Get out of here and come back when you're old enough to have pubic hair."

"I'm twenty five." He indignantly spoke and Pam's eyes narrowed. Christine watched as Pam leaned in closer.

"How old are you?" Pam stared into his eyes and spoke with that commanding voice she sometimes used.

"Twenty." The boy spoke, his voice strangely flat.

"I don't want to see you here again until your little blue balls are twenty one." Pam's contempt was clear but the way he just nodded and left without argument was fascinating. Pam's job demanded a certain amount of attitude, but Christine found herself far too impressed with it.

With the steady stream of people starting to come, it was clear that they were done being able to talk for now. Pam sent Christine in to wait for her break. Christine felt self-conscious as she walked into the bar with a lineup of Goths watching her, clearly very interested in her because she'd been up there chatting with Pam and wasn't dressed 'properly' but she did her best to not show it.

Erik was sitting on that chair again, looking bored as people stared, and a few brave people approached him to be waved away. Christine just nodded to him when he appeared to notice her, before turning to slide into a seat a little out of the way and in a corner that was just barely inside the bar at all. He still made her a bit nervous. In Pam that predatory air was sexy as hell, but in Erik it was just intimidating.

People entering caused a slight breeze at her table as they passed her by to go further inside. Christine did her best to ignore the odd atmosphere and pull her work out to go over. It partly worked, because she was startled by someone talking to her suddenly. "So, what you having?" The waitress, Ginger, asked and Christine looked up from her notes. "Oh, and Pam says you don't buy anything tonight. On the house." Ginger seemed to be studying Christine as she said that, clearly wondering why Christine was worth the bother and not finding an answer to that.

"You're too distracted tonight, if you get anything make sure it's a bottle and they give you the lid." Voice spoke up after being mostly quiet for a while. "We don't need another drugging attempt tonight." That made sense and Christine ordered a bottle of beer, with lid, knowing she'd probably take forever to drink it.

Now, Voice was more helpful in pointing out vampires and it was just a tad irritating that Voice had clearly known what Pam was and let Christine embarrass herself, but she did understand why. Now that Pam's secret was out Voice was showing Christine how to spot the pale skin, the predator air, the little 'tells' that made identifying vampires easier.

As the night wore on, Christine found herself studying Erik, and more importantly how other vampires that slipped into the bar approached and talked to him. She couldn't hear anything being said, but she could see the way they would bow their heads just slightly. She barely looked down as she flipped her manuscript over to start taking notes on the back of pages, on little mannerisms that would help flesh out her book. If her fictional vampire was truly a sheriff like Erik, then she'd get some of this from those visiting.

It gave Christine some ideas for additional scenes, and revisions. She focused harder on writing and was doing it long hand, which really irritated her because she couldn't write as fast that way. A new chapter was being fleshed out to replace one that didn't quite fit, now that Christine understood a little about vampire hierarchy. Talking with Pam was really helping out and Christine felt energized in her project.

"I've noticed you watching me." A masculine and familiar voice startled Christine out of her description of the clothes her character would be wearing for this scene. Christine felt her muscles tense even as she looked up to see the blonde male vampire staring down at her. He was tall, far taller than she'd thought as she watched him sitting and waiting for people to approach him. "It seemed rude to not come over here and see how you were doing."

"I'm fine." Christine offered, finding Voice's insistence that Christine not bow her head like the vampires visiting Erik did slightly distracting, but Christine ignored the feeling she was making a mistake listening to Voice this one time as she stared Erik in the eyes. "Pam gave me some suggestions and I'm just trying to redo a chapter. Apparently my character is a 'sheriff'."

"So you were watching me for ideas for this character of yours?" He smiled somewhat flirtatiously and motioned to the chair across from her. Christine just nodded her permission and could almost hear the gasp of a few people as Erik sat down across from her. As he sat she did glance around and she was right, quite a few eyes were watching this exchange.

"Actually, I was mostly watching the people visiting you to see how they act." Christine told him, her voice just a tad deeper as she tried to deflect the idea he had that she might be more interested in him than was true.

He frowned just a little, but it was so fast that only Voice's confirmation kept Christine from thinking she'd imagined it. "Oh, what a shame, I really could have shown you a good time. It's my duty, after all, to entertain my progeny's guests when she isn't available."

"He's Pam's maker." Voice muttered the information before Christine had a moment to decipher his comment. "He cares for her, but isn't above trying to cause her trouble just because he's bored."

"You look like you're ready for another drink." Erik said while looking at the half full bottle of beer and Christine wasn't stupid enough to stop him when he waved Ginger over. "You also might like more light. Human eyes are so poor in the dark." He glanced at the small light that was helping Christine read her notes. Her eyes had adjusted, but he stood up and held out a hand as if to help her out of the chair. "We could have a drink in my office and I'll let you and Pam use it for your 'work'." He smiled and it didn't feel as friendly as his words hinted at.

"We need to get out of this." Voice's words were not reassuring. Going anywhere with Erik felt like a mistake, especially somewhere alone. "Do what I tell you to do, we don't want to be alone with him. He doesn't see us as anything but a toy right now and that's dangerous." Definitely far from reassured, Christine took a deep breath and did her best to focus completely on two things at once, Voice's words and the world around her and Erik. She'd gotten better at this ever since Voice joined with her, but now she didn't want to miss anything at all. She wasn't stupid, she knew vampires were dangerous. She just hadn't expected to be interesting enough to garner much attention. She'd enjoyed being wrong with Pam, but not with Erik. The games she was suspecting Erik would want to play weren't going to be fun for her.

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