Part 3
Not that Andre made much of a point to stay close to Hadley, in fact he tried to stay far away from the girl especially when she was with Sophie Ann, but he had found himself close enough to inhale a scent off of her that had intrigued him. He hadn't mentioned it to Sophie Ann, at least not to that point, partly because he wasn't one hundred percent certain that what he was smelling was in fact a trace of the ancient race he thought it was, and partly because he knew that Sophie Ann couldn't smell it (his sense of smell was his gift), and he had no reason to disclose his suspicions, not when there could be more to gain from it at a later time. And now that Andre knew that Hadley's cousin had the same Fae trace around her, it made the girl even more valuable than a basic mind –reader (not that that skill was particularly basic). There was a brother somewhere around too, and Andre began to think that he had better find this Jason Stackhouse as well, and see if he had been likewise blessed.
The air around the girl was almost sweet with the smell of her blood, spiced with the innocent heartbeat. Andre gambled with moving a little closer, at his preternatural speed so there would be no chance of her spying him. He sat, immobile at the far edge of the porch wall, breathing in the intoxicating scent, fighting with his feral urge to take her. He could hear every breath she took, the sound of her lips as they parted to sip at her tea, and the gentle movement of her throat as she swallowed. His fangs dropped, almost without his consent. He had never desired Hadley, but he found himself desirous of this one, and debated trying to glamour her so that he could taste her. It wasn't sex, that could be had at any turn, with women or men who made themselves easily available. It was the aura of Fae that hung to her, even more so than Hadley. Andre had no breath to hold, but he did clutch his fingers into fists, smelling his own blood as the nails cut into his flesh.
ooOOoo
Sookie brought the mug to her lips again and took a deep drink of the rapidly cooling tea. Some nights in Louisiana stayed as hot as the daytimes with the thick, muggy air hanging around a body like a blanket, but that night wasn't. It was a little cool, a pleasant break from the day, and Sookie was enjoying it, along with the silence in her head, or she had been until she suddenly became aware that everything else had become just as silent. The crickets and creatures of the night had fallen mute in only a few seconds, and Sookie felt a chill crawl up her skin. She stayed very still and threw out her mind, finding absolutely nothing, which still did nothing to calm her. Muscles tensed all over her body, she unfolded her feet and stood, eyes staring out into the blackness. Without even blinking she backed up towards the door, opened it without looking for the handle and fled inside, snapping the bolts shut behind herself. And only when the last of them was slid into place did she allow herself to take a breath.
Sookie had rarely felt that kind of fear; sure there had been fear when people had stared at her as a child, wondering if they were looking at a monster, fear when the family car had gone off the bridge, when she hadn't known what was going to happen, but this was a different sort of thing than she felt back then. That had been panic; there hadn't been time to feel the bone deep uneasiness that surrounded her in the center of her Gran's living room right then. Only when she felt the cold liquid on her fingers did she realize that her hands were shaking and that she had spilled her tea. Taking another few breaths she composed herself enough to get to the kitchen to find a rag to clean up the floor; closing the blinds in the kitchen so that the night couldn't get in to see her. She debated calling Sam again, but quickly dismissed the idea, one, because he was likely asleep, and two, because he would probably think that she was being quite silly; scared of shadows and things that weren't even there. She tried to convince herself that it was just due to the lateness of the night, and the whole revelation thing. The continued silence in her head, and the familiar sounds of the house around her (the refrigerator, the old fan in her Gran's room, the squeak of the floors when she walked from the kitchen to the hallway bathroom) began to push the fear from her mind, letting the fatigue finally settle. Turning off most of the lights, (she left the hallway one on), she went to bed.
ooOOoo
Once Sookie had returned inside Andre understood, with some regret, that his evening of watching her was at an end. There was no point trying to gain entrance to her home. The risk was too great; and Andre wanted to keep some knowledge of her otherworldliness to himself for just a little while longer. There was a good possibility that Sophie Ann would ask him to continue to watch this little telepath; after all he actually had no proof that she was a telepath. If he played his cards correctly he would eventually formally meet the girl, who better, he asked himself, than Sophie Ann's own child, and trusted confidant to make the introductions. He would hold back the information about her Fae blood to ensure it happened he decided.
Allowing himself just a little bit of excitement, Andre left the little house off Hummingbird Lane, in pursuit of some of the other interesting things (and beings) that Bon Temps had to offer.
ooOOoo
Hotshot never really slept, unlike Bon Temps, its more affluent neighbour. It was part of its basic makeup, or perhaps it was better called 'pack instinct'. Calvin Norris made sure it was that way. Someone was always on watch, day and night, over the houses, over the children, over their lifestyle. They'd been in that one place for a very long time, hidden, but now that the vamps had come out, he was more concerned that any oddities would now be explored to a greater degree than before, and not passed off as eccentricities. He had no intention of losing his community. That night, he had taken watch. And he was glad of it when he smelled 'it' coming.
He snarled loudly, knowing the warning would bring some of the others around. He had no doubt of his skill against a Vampire, but numbers counted for something too. He pulled back into human form feeling the presence of his family growing around him.
"Stay where you are!" He growled at the space where he knew 'it' was.
"I mean you no harm." Came the sultry voice as Andre stepped from the shadows to face the panther, yellow eyes still gleaming, muscles tight across arms and legs in the moonlight.
"Your kind are not welcome here Vampire. Be on your way." The words were as tightly coiled as the man. Andre could see the cords rippling beneath his skin, signally the desire to shift, and likely try to rip him to shreds. Andre was not stupid, he knew he could easily snap the neck of one panther, but a dozen, well, he might suffer some harm from that kind of assault, and it certainly would bring unwanted attention, even if only in the supernatural community.
"I am only here to bring you greetings from the Queen of Louisiana." He answered, keeping his voice level.
"Your Queen means nothing to us Vampire. I tell you again to leave." The distinctive rumble of panther voices began to rise in the dark around the men.
"You will have to deal with us now Panther. We are free now, able to move where we want."
"Only at night, and we hunt just as well at night. This is your last warning."
"As you wish Panther." Andre slipped back into the darkness, he'd made his point, he'd never expected to be welcomed by a group of the two-natured, and he wasn't about to play at the charade that he wanted to bring friendship to them. Vampires and Shifters wouldn't ever be friends, not as long as the blood stood between them. But now they were aware, and perhaps just a little frightened that their small world had grown significantly larger in one night. If it kept them off balance then they would be one less group for Sophie Ann to concern herself with. And perhaps the young ones could be used in some way. It was always good to assess your enemies.
He pulled far enough away that he could still smell their animal nature and hear the chorus of hearts, half panther, half human; some thumping with strength others pattering with fear. It was a good mix of foolhardy and submissive, and it made Andre grin. He figured on one more stop before he returned to Sophie Ann and the comfort of her palace.
Calvin could trace the withdrawal of the Vampire by scent. He'd smelled a lot of dead things in his time, a few, quite a few by his own teeth, but Vamps were different. There was this underlying putrification that hung around them, and there was no mistaking it. He hated the idea that the things would be wandering around even more, and that he might have to deal with more 'visitors'. He was going to have to talk to his people, and impress on them the fact that no interactions with vamps were worth it. As long as he was alive Calvin was going to keep his community free of their particular brand of hell.