A/N: The SVM universe is owned by Charlaine Harris. This story is being beta'd by the snazzy and supercool Ms. FiniteAnarchy.

Chapter 19 - Spitting Vampires

The following morning felt like...well it felt just like Christmas morning, come to that. Eric left close to dawn and I was quite sure that he had enjoyed the night before as much as I had. He'd left his fang marks on my thigh, as if I needed the reminder. I felt him all over when I woke, a bit later than normal but far earlier than I ought to have considering the time I went to sleep.

If the sex with Eric last night was any indication of his general performance, I'd definitely be going back for seconds. Or fourths? fifths? I'd lost track of my orgasms. Last night all counts as one time, right? So yeah, seconds.

I showered and dressed, much more casually today than last night. I had all the gifts loaded into shopping bags, wrapped and ready to go and I carried them out to the car and drove to Bon Temps. My brother was already there when I arrived which meant I was probably even later than I thought. He was in the kitchen munching on some pastry when I arrived and he met me with a sly look.

I'm familiar with the idea that a woman thoroughly made-love-to tends to show it the following day. There's a certain light in the eyes, a glow to the skin, a sort of smile that lingers on her lips. It's an indefinable quality of sheer contentment and I could see through my brother's eyes that I had it in spades.

"Morning, Sook. You look like you had a good night last night."

I raised my eyebrows at him and he continued to grin, at least until I asked, "And whose bed did you crawl out of this morning, brother?"

That wiped the smirk off his face, if only for a moment.

"Well we weren't talking about me."

"I had a quiet night at home," I said, stretching the truth a bit on the "quiet" part.

"Uh-huh," he said disbelievingly.

"Morning, Merry Christmas!" Hadley said as she joined us. She looked between he and I, caught in our staring contest. I lost when I looked to her and returned her greeting.

"Everything alright?" she hazarded.

"Just fine," I smiled.

"Sookie's got a secret boyfriend," Jason announced.

At the same moment I reflexively spouted, "I have not!" Hadley began to "Ooo," with interest.

"What's he like?" Hadley asked.

"When do we get to meet him? Where's he at today? With his family?"

"He's..." I stuttered.

"Oh so there is a he!" Jason said triumphantly.

Irrationally, I went completely flushed. I suddenly felt half my age, standing here in the same darn kitchen being ganged up on by the pair of them. Jason's problem was that he didn't quite know how to act around Hadley. Unfortunately for me, the closest thing that felt normal to him thrust them both back in the roles of teasing and juvenile antagonizers. All we needed now was for me to blurt out the nastiest secrets I happened to have read from either of their minds lately, then run crying to my room.

"Oh grow up Jason," I muttered, and stalked past them to find Gran.

I gave her a hug and a kiss in greeting then unpacked the presents and in the few minutes that passed, I settled back into the happy feeling I'd had since waking up.

There was a steady stream of visitors to the house throughout the afternoon. Many of Gran's friends stopped by to bring her little gifts and miraculously she seemed to have something for everyone in return. They were small exchanges; a loaf of cranberry nut bread for a mincemeat pie, an embroidery pattern for a set of recipe cards, a jar of raspberry preserves for a jar of blackberry. It was heartwarming to see her so well loved. Perhaps Gladiola and Diantha would visit me at home tonight so I could give them their gifts. I probably should have just shipped them to Mr. C's office where his basket was delivered. Oh well.

Jason was well pleased with the belt sander I got him. He's always doing projects to maintain and improve his house and would get a lot of use out of it. Gran absolutely adored her quilt, and Hadley was touched to receive the necklace and earrings. She'd lost her all her costume jewelry in the dumpster. In return, I received a sweater and shirt set from Gran and an art nouveau brooch which had been her mother's in gold and pearl. My brother got me a bird bath to go out in the yard. It was a pretty substantial thing. I might need his help setting it up. Hadley had given me a small basket of things for the bath. I was touched that she had found time to do some shopping, and that she'd spent some of the little money she had on me; on all of us really.

Gran had to excuse herself to the bathroom during dinner, another symptom of her advancing age which we, her grandchildren, noted but didn't comment on. During a lull in conversation, my brother started up on Eric again.

"I keep waiting for one of these visitors at the door to be your new man, sis."

Tscha.

"I don't see why he wouldn't want to stop by and meet your family..."

Even Hadley was smirking. It was just too much. I set down my knife and fork and treated Jason to a hard stare.

"He won't be by," I told my brother coolly, "because he is a vampire. He's asleep right now. And he's not my boyfriend, he's just... someone I'm seeing." I tried to sound worldly and indifferent, as if the circumstance of me casually seeing someone were not a first time occurrence. Jason was gaping like a fish out of water by the time I'd finished.

"You're dating a vamper!"

"I don't know if you could call it dating." It was an immature response, yes, but he'd been trying to get a rise out of me all day so it was only fair.

"My sister's a fuckin' fangbanger?"

"Jason Stackhouse, you watch your mouth!" came our grandmother's commanding voice as she rejoined us in the kitchen.

Jason wasn't about to go down without trying to defend himself and rally support for his cause. "Did you hear what your granddaughter is doing up in Shreveport?" He asked, outraged.

Apparently she'd heard all of it.

"Mr. Northman seems like an agreeable man," she informed my brother in a clipped voice.

"You've met him!"

"He came by to check on your sister when she was ill, which is more than I can say for you."

"You were ill?" Hadley asked me, trying valiantly to change the subject.

"Blood poisoning," I told her.

"A goddamn vampire!" my brother huffed. "Sookie, I've seen those girls that go with vamps. I never would have thought you were the type." He was truly ashamed of me.

He was just about to go on when Hadley interrupted, "Oh cut the crap Jason, lots of people date vampires."

"Yeah, but I never thought Sookie would turn out like you!"

Hadley didn't date vampires or do anything else with them. She'd been with the Were since just after the Revelation, but my brother had made his assumptions and the insult was plain.

My attention was jerked away from Hadley's stricken face by the dish-rattling thud of my grandmother's hand falling hard on the wood.

"Jason, leave my table."

"I'm the-"

"Right now."

My brother slammed back his chair and it fell to the ground as he stomped out the back door.

"I'm sorry to both of you girls," Gran said, when he'd gone. She cut herself another angry bite of her dinner and I felt her frustration. We sat there in silence for a minute, Hadley and I exchanging a worried look as Gran brooded over her glazed ham.

Suddenly the porch door banged open again and we all looked up, bracing ourselves for round two. Jason's face was ghostly pale and he looked terrified.

"F-fire!" he shouted.

We were all startled. When no one made to move for a second he rushed forward and tried to get Gran up around her elbows.

"Propane tank! Get out the front! Go now!" he yelled at us. It took another second for any of us three to react. "Go!"

Then, we were all four scrambling to our feet and making for the front door. Jason was guiding Gran, and Hadley and I held back so he wouldn't be hindered by us as he hustled her out. I grabbed up my purse from the living room table and Hadley ran back to her room to grab the same. I heard her going down the hall and knew she was getting Gran's too. Jason was only a few steps down the driveway with Gran by the time we emerged.

He had his arms caged around our grandmother and was caught up in a weird tangle as he tried to hasten and lead her all at the same time. Finally she threw him off her and moved into a surprising trot down the gravel drive. Hadley ran ahead and I saw the look of horror cross her face as she turned back towards us. Glancing back over my shoulder I saw the great plume of flame blossoming up into the sky, even higher than the house, and then it vanished.

"Is it out?" Hadley cried.

I shook my head, no, and urged her to keep moving. Sometime before we reached the edge of the long driveway I got my wits about me long enough to pull out my phone and dial 911. I told the dispatcher that our propane tank seemed to be on fire and that the relief valve was already going. That's what would account for the great plumes of flame. When the internal pressure builds up due to the heat, some of the gas will release. It's a safeguard on the device. Thirty feet of fire shooting into the air might sound terrifying, and truly, it is terrifying, but even in my panic I knew it was a far better alternative to the tank exploding. That was the fear that had us running.

When we finally got up by the road we were far enough away that I could see the edge of the tank in the back yard. It was at some distance from the house, of course. That had always rankled Gran. No amount of shrubbery placed around its perimeter could disguise it from looking like exactly what it was. In that moment I found myself extremely grateful that she'd never updated to a newer model, the painted kind that could go flush against the back wall, or even under the porch. I had no idea how long the fire had been going. It had to be for a while if the emergency valve was releasing. As I had the thought, the gout of flame blew up again like a massive blowtorch. That was not good, it happening again so fast.

We watched for a minute. The fire wasn't touching the house, and that was fine, but it didn't mean we were out of danger. I started to worry that we weren't far away enough when I heard my brother start to wonder if he should run back and try to move his truck. I clutched his arm.

"Jason, don't you dare," I warned him, but that only seemed to make his mind up. Even in the crisis he hadn't forgotten he was pissed at me. With a hard look, he threw me off and suddenly he was sprinting back across the lawn, determined to get his most prized possession out of the blast zone. We all three of us screamed after him, but he just ran towards the house like he was going in for a touchdown. I followed him, visually and mentally, and that's when I caught the fuzzy brain in the trees across the yard. My eyes tore away from Jason and I strained to see or hear the stranger, but the distance was too great, and when the valve went off again, my cousin screamed and I refocused on Jason. When I went to look for whoever it was in the woods again, they were gone.

Gran was hunched over panting, her hand on her chest. It seemed like a long time before Jason reached his truck and was gunning it straight towards us. I knew it was only seconds. I don't think he even had the door shut before he threw the thing into gear and hit the gas.

He made it to us safely.

Hadley practically pulled him out of the truck and started repeatedly punching him in the chest calling him the biggest fucking idiot on God's whole green earth. I couldn't disagree, and Gran couldn't either. She seemed like she was having trouble breathing and that had me more worried.

We finally heard the distant sirens coming and I caught the first flash of light from the firetruck rumbling down the road just as a horrible sound drew my attention back to the yard. I threw my body in front of Gran's instinctively as our entire field of vision went orange. I had to shield my face as the wave of heat hit us. I heard it shake the house. The massive fireball belched into the sky and then there was only thick black smoke.

Suddenly the firemen were streaming past us.

"Is there any other tank?" one screamed, and I shook my head no.

Gran had slumped to the ground behind me and then there were paramedics there, giving her oxygen and hurriedly checking her vitals.

"She's having a heart attack," I heard someone say.

"I need a stretcher over here!"

I tried to get to her, but there were people pushing me away. My eyes fell on Hadley who'd gone pale and seemed to be the only thing standing still in the chaos.

We watched as they eased our grandmother on to a gurney and started taking her over to the ambulance. I shook myself out of shock and grabbed Hadley's hand, following after our grandmother. I got the attention of one of the EMTs.

"This is Hadley Savoy and that is our grandmother. She's going with you."

The guy nodded and Hadley nodded and they let her up in to ride in the back with Gran as they whisked her away to the hospital.

I could see fire on the roof of the house now and steam and smoke coming up from the back yard. Jason found me and dragged me over to his truck, standing me up against the side of it to keep me out of the way.

A second firetruck pulled up at one point. I wondered if they'd run out of water in the first one.

There were scorch marks all across the lawn where burning debris had flown.

For an absolute miracle, the house was still standing. The back wall, which comprised Gran's room and the unused upstairs bedrooms, was scorched and some of the siding had blown off. Windows upstairs and down had broken in the blast. I laughed when they explained the cause of the house's salvation, to the point where Bud Dearborn started remembering that I'd always been regarded as a little off-kilter. Jason put his arm around me and tried to make like I was just hysterical from the whole ordeal. I couldn't say he was entirely wrong.

The roof - that god-damned tin roof which Gran has always loved and I have always hated; the one that she'd insisted on no matter how many times we tried to sway her in the direction of proper shingles when we had it replaced this past spring - had stopped the burning fuel and the debris from falling back to the house and catching it on fire. Twenty years and the thing has done nothing but get my ire up every rain shower or windy day.

"That stupid roof," I choked out, marveling, as my brother patted my shoulder.

"Yeah," he agreed. He knew.

Since I'd arrived last, my car had been largely shielded from the explosion by the house. Gran's was a different story. It had taken some shrapnel to the hood and the windshield and we had no idea if it would still turn on. That was a problem for another day.

Jason and I stood watching the men come and go and I tried to thank as many as I could for coming to save Gran's house, and for doing it on Christmas. Finally I realized that my phone was ringing, and I answered the number I didn't recognize and discovered it was Hadley calling from the hospital.

Immediately I snapped to, and hated myself for forgetting about Gran's wellbeing for even a few minutes. She had indeed had a mild heart attack. She was stable at Granger Memorial.

"I'm going," I told Jason. "Can you finish out here?"

He nodded. "I'll be by when everyone's cleared out."

"Okay," I agreed.

With the permission of the police, I was allowed to leave. They had questioned Jason and I, and would be heading to the hospital later to question Hadley and Gran, should she be well enough. Since we'd all been inside together the whole time until Jason had gone out and discovered the fire, we didn't have much to say to them. I said I thought I'd seen someone at the edge of the woods, but I hadn't gotten a good look and could have been mistaken. Jason hadn't seen anybody. We'd had people on and off the property all day, and they wanted those names. We gave them the information but I didn't think Pinkie Arnett or Marcia Albanese had come here under the guise of trading baked goods to light Gran's house on fire.

When I arrived at the hospital I found Hadley out by the front entrance smoking a cigarette. I didn't think she was still a smoker, but someone else who'd been out here must have offered her one to calm her nerves.

"How is she?" I asked.

"They're running tests on her. I've been in the waiting room, but I just had to get outside."

I nodded. I wasn't exactly looking forward to going into a hospital either. I'd take a nightclub any day of the week.

We went inside together but it was another couple of miserable hours later before they let us in to see Gran, during which time the police came, talked to Hadley, and went. By then Jason had arrived. That was good because Gran's primary concern, even from her hospital bed, was in touching each of the three of us to assure herself that we were all well. Once she'd done that though, she was ready to get some sleep. Hadley wanted to stay, but reluctantly agreed that she'd do better spending the night at Jason's house. After a goodbye that was tearful mostly as a means of venting everyone's pent up emotions, I drove back to Gran's house with Hadley and Jason following behind in his truck.

Of course the dinner was just exactly as we'd left it, so I settled into putting all the food away while Jason collected his gifts to load into the back of his truck and Hadley packed her meager belongings into a shopping bag to serve her overnight. Jason asked if I wanted the marble birdbath loaded but I declined. I'd try to load it myself, reasoning that if I couldn't, I wouldn't very well be able to get it out of the car, either, and would just get him to drive it up some other time.

Because their tasks were completed before mine, Jason and Hadley ended up back in the kitchen, and picked at the leftovers I'd yet to wrap in tin foil or transfer to Tupperware.

"Did the police say what might have happened?" I asked Jason.

"They're talking about getting an arson investigator out here tomorrow. Did you really see a guy in the woods?"

"Heard," I said with a shrug and a tap of my head. "When you were running back to your truck, which incidentally, was the dumbest thing I've seen you do in twenty-six years."

Hadley was nodding her stout approval at my last statement, but Jason just sighed.

"Well? What was he thinking?" my brother asked.

"I didn't get any thoughts. Some people... I can't hear very well, and I wasn't close enough to be sure."

I was definitely allowing for the probability that it was a supe, but shifter, fairy, demon, or something else, I couldn't know. It could also have just been the rare snarly-minded human. Mentally-ill people can be hard to read as well sometimes. Someone who went around setting fires on Christmas could easily fall into that category.

"Hadley, I know she's had her vengeance, but do you think there is any chance that this could have been Camille?"

Hadley looked startled. The idea had not occurred to her.

"I don't know. She was mad but not... I don't know," she shook her head.

"Right, well, until we do know, let's everyone be real careful of strangers, okay? That means you too, Jason, even strange women."

"You really think a woman could have done this?" my brother asked.

"I don't know why anybody would have done this, but I'm not willing to count anyone out," I said.

I finished slicing up the ham and got it sorted into neat packages. There was a lot of food - too much to fit in the refrigerator. I sent a large portion home with Jason, as Gran would have done, and took some for myself. I didn't linger very long after Had and Jason went off. The house was tidy and it was getting pretty cold. I thought about asking Jason to help me put up plastic sheeting over the cracked windows, but we decided that until we had a contractor out, it would not be wise to go stomping around that side of the house. I shut up all the bedrooms and locked the front and side doors. It would have to do for tonight.

It was later than I realized when I saw the clock in the car on the way home. If I had ended up with any visitors tonight, they wouldn't have found me at home. As soon as I had the thought I began to worry. What if I did have a visitor today that had found me, not at home, but at Gran's? It was entirely possible that the matter with Haagenti was not as settled as we thought. He seemed to have ended it with Mintah, but he hadn't specifically agreed not to harm me, or Eric, or any of the eagles, or even Hob and Leonard. Then of course there was always the threat of Niall's enemies among the fae. Had they found me?

I'm alone so often, there would be far better opportunities... but was that really true? I go from my house, which is warded, to my job, which is guarded, or out to do my shopping or visit the library, where there are lots of other people around. I guess they could get me in my car? But purebred fairies don't drive cars because cars are made of steel and steel is made of iron.

I found no answers whatsoever; only more questions.

I wasn't sure who to contact. At this point, it wasn't an emergency. I didn't even know what the threat was, or even if it was for certain aimed at me, so calling Niall or Cataliades seemed pointless. Niall wouldn't care, much, and Cataliades couldn't do anything. I wished I had someone impartial just to talk to about my crazy day.

I thought of Eric, but I had no idea if such a call would be welcome. His club had closed early last night, which is why he'd come over at all, but it would be going full swing by now. Yes it was still technically Christmas, but after spending all day with their families a lot of people want to go out, have a drink, and blow off steam. I could certainly understand the impulse, especially after the argument with Jason earlier. Bar owners would be smart to open their doors tonight, and shrewd business seemed to be what Fangtasia was all about.

Apart from the fact that I knew he was busy, I hadn't just been playing it cool with my brother. At no point last night had Eric and I declared what the meaning of our having sex was, beyond him reiterating that I was "his"; a point I'd been too blissed out to argue. I was intrigued by the idea of "just seeing where it goes." It was thrilling to not be sure how he felt about me. I wanted to have that experience, to just enjoy the excitement of a new, maybe-relationship.

Not that I'm immune to romantic fantasies, but I guess I've spent too long by now forcing myself to take the realistic view. Such things, if they did exist, were not for me. I hated to sound so cynical, even to myself, but there it was. And if it all ends in heartache, well, better to have lusted and lost, yada, yada, yada. That would be a new one for me as well, and I'd do my best to take it in my stride.

Either way, I wasn't going to start calling him up like some clingy fangbanger after just one night of delicious sexing. He could call me first. Yes.

I went to bed feeling worn out, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The next day found me back at Gran's putting all her ducks in a row.

This fell to me both because I was the most responsible and because I had the time to do it. Like many businesses, Splendide is closed the week between Christmas and New Year's. That's nice for those who can go away on vacation. It's not really a possibility for me, but for the others it was great. It's really the only break Brenda gets all year. She takes the occasional long weekend, but there's no one else who can take over her job for an extended period of time. Holly loved having this week, since school wasn't in session and she could spend it with her son.

I called John Robert Briscoe, whose name was listed on a magnet on the side of her refrigerator as being Gran's insurance agent. Using Jason's recommendation, I contacted Randall Shurtliff about getting the back of the house fixed up. Unfortunately, he told me over the phone that while he'd try to make it out today for an estimate, there was next to no chance the work could be completed in the next day or two, which meant Gran would either be coming to stay with me or going to Jason's temporarily. That was probably going to be for the best, since she'd require a bit of TLC for a while after being released from the hospital. I called the police department, because we were told to expect the arson investigator today. He was evidently on loan from a neighboring jurisdiction (Bon Temps is too small to merit specialization) and would be arriving sometime in the afternoon.

Since everything seemed to be put off for a time, I packed up an early lunch for Hadley and I before heading over to visit Gran.

She was ready to be done with the hospital but unfortunately for her, the doctors were keeping her right where she was for at least three more days. Gran tried to downplay the seriousness of what had brought her here, but a heart attack is a heart attack, mild or not, and I wasn't going to be fooled. Suddenly I was very grateful that Hadley would be around and staying with her for the recuperation.

I hadn't brought lunch for Gran because I didn't know what kind of special diet she'd be put on, though I was certain there would be one. She watched a little sadly as we enjoyed ham sandwiches while she ate yogurt and boiled chicken and something that looked like mashed banana. I looked at her chart, because it was there hanging from the end of her bed, but I got nothing out of it. I would do better with actual hieroglyphics than the strange figures and markings on that tablet.

A self-styled Sunshine Lady arrived with her cart full of goodies, and I was pleased to see that Gran had a delivery of flowers from her Descendants group, sent to brighten her day and speed her recovery. Word travels fast in a small town, and I had no doubt that anyone who hadn't received their briefing this morning would read about the whole incident in the Bon Temps Bugle tomorrow. I couldn't stay very long so I asked Hadley if she wanted a ride back with me.

"I'm going to stay on here for a while long. I can get a ride back with Wallace, he said he'd be stopping by again in the afternoon."

"Wallace?" I asked.

"Fellow from church," Gran supplied. "He was in this morning. He's a good boy."

It was really chilly inside Gran's house when I got back, so I hauled in some wood and started a fire. It seemed wrong, but I was already wearing a shirt and a sweater and it was the only practical means of making heat with no fuel for the furnace. I went ahead and ignored the irony as I lit the kindling. I assumed I would be busy so I hadn't brought anything over to keep me entertained. I found one of Gran's Danielle Steele novels on the shelf in the living room and tried to get into it but I had too many thoughts bubbling around my brain to settle down on reading.

Instead I found myself casting out my mind, pushing to see just how far I could go when I gave it my total concentration. This isn't something I can do at home, because eventually I would hit my neighbors. It was a nice exercise, and relaxing. Sort like mental yoga; stretching and holding - until I came across a brain.

The second I brushed the mind, it vanished. I tried to mentally "chase" after it, but it got too far away too quickly. Something was definitely lurking in Gran's woods, and I was more convinced than ever that it was supernatural. I suddenly remembered that I wanted to get in touch with Holly Cleary. I chewed it over for a minute, trying to decide just how to ask her what I needed to before I dialed her number at home.

"Hello?" I could hear the television and laughter in the background.

"Hi Holly, it's Sookie calling, I'm so sorry to interrupt your vacation."

"Oh, that's alright, I'm on forty-eight hours of solid kid-time. The interruption is welcome," she chuckled.

"Mmhmm," I answered, not knowing what else to say to that. "Listen this is maybe a little awkward."

"Okay..."

I breathed in a little confidence. "I know that you're a practicing Wiccan. I was wondering if you and your coven ever do anything with protective warding?"

She was quiet for a long moment. I didn't need to be able to read her thoughts to know that she spoke of this subject to a perceived outsider like me with a great deal of trepidation. After all, this is still the heavily-Baptist South, and "witch" is still very much an epithet.

"We don't really do a lot with the practical side of things on any scale," she said carefully. "Prayers for goodwill and good health, that is more what we are interested in."

"Oh," I said, disappointed. "I hope I haven't offended you. We've just had some bad luck out here lately, and I was hoping maybe..."

"What's happened?" she asked.

I explained as briefly as I could about strongly-suspected arson and my Gran's attack.

"I can't think of any reason why anyone would want to hurt my grandmother, but I've read a little about protective charms, and really, I'm willing to try anything."

I took care to phrase this in such a way as to seem innocuous, as though I were merely someone who had read a little about the Wiccan faith. I did my best to imply through both my words and my tone that I considered protective warding to be no different than praying or blessing or any other rite or practice from any other religion.

When she continued in her silence I quickly said, "Holly, I'm sorry if this was inappropriate. Please forgive me if I've said the wrong thing."

"No," she said finally. "I was just thinking. I don't know anyone around here that does that sort of thing."

I was incredibly grateful to hear her confirm that she didn't even know Jack Mason. That particular coven was not an option for a few reasons, not the least of which was that they were totally misguided and misunderstanding of the basic nature of the supernatural and their own power. On top of that, I had no idea what might be triggered if I, who had been part of Jack's massive memory wipe, suddenly showed up on his doorstep. No, it was better if he and his just went their own way.

"But I do have some contacts in New Orleans that do...that. I think they charge for it, but, they are sisters in the craft. Good people," Holly finished.

This was a really delicate conversation on both sides, it seemed.

"I'd appreciate that, if you're willing to put me in touch. I'd feel a lot better about Gran coming home to this house if I did everything I could to ensure this place is safe for her."

"There's a place in the French Quarter, the Genuine Magic Shop. They would probably be able to help you there."

"Thank you so much Holly."

"You're welcome," Holly said, sounding almost as relieved as I was. "I had no idea you were open to this sort of thing."

I smiled wryly, to myself.

"There's too much we can't explain in this world to discount anything," I told her.

"True," she agreed thoughtfully. It's probably a very good thing that we had this conversation over the phone, rather than in person.

"Well, I'll let you get back to Cody," I said.

"Sure, Sookie. I'll talk to you next week, let me know how it goes. I hope your Gran makes a quick recovery."

"Thank you so much. Take care now."

Before I had a chance to see about getting in touch with the people at the magic shop, Mr. Briscoe, the insurance agent, arrived and we headed out back. While we were out there the arson expert, Dennis Pettibone turned up as well.

I was surprised by the amount of jagged metal that was around the yard, blown out in all directions when the tank had split apart. As if I hadn't known already, having a good look at everything in the light of day really drove home the point about how lucky we'd been. Dennis would be back again tomorrow with his full investigation kit, so we didn't like to disturb much. We found that the firemen had left behind the most intact portion of the propane tank behind and it was clear that the fracture point had been near the top. That meant the fuel had erupted upwards, rather than outwards, towards the house. After a while, the two of them departed, leaving me with business cards full of contact information.

As I walked him back to the front of the house, another car was pulling in. It was almost as busy around here today as yesterday. I figured it wasn't the contractor, who would almost certainly be driving a pickup truck. This was a little cloth-topped convertible. I spotted Hadley in the passenger seat. Both the cop and the insurance guy had to wait for the convertible to park before they could pull out. The driveway isn't wide enough for two cars to pass.

I recognized the driver of the sports car as the man I'd spotted both Hadley and Gran with on Christmas Eve. Rather than simply dropping her off, the man got out. Hadley was at my side quickly but the man seemed to be taking in the scene. I couldn't blame him. It's not every day you see something like this. I was struck again by how handsome this Wallace was, and how well dressed. He looked like a model out of GQ, not a guy from Bon Temps. He wore a crisp, seersucker shirt and dark blue trousers. He even had on driving gloves. He started to move towards us then, still looking around.

I wondered what he was thinking, so I dropped my shields to check, and instantly paled. He was not a man. Not a man at all. He was a fairy.

"You must be Hadley's cousin," he said, advancing. The voice was smooth, melodic. Through the dense tangle of his mind came a very clear thought.

Three! One leads to three. Three should be plenty.

He was steps away from us then, and my eyes darted from him to the ground. His face was calm, but his eyes were cold.

"Lovely Hadley, I am terribly sorry."

I saw the glint of the silver dagger and dropped, grabbing for the nearest hunk of twisted shrapnel. I ignored the steel biting into my own palm and fingers as I thrust it upwards into his belly, just as he brought his blade down towards my cousin. I heard Hadley start to scream as I rose from my crouch, saw blood on my hand and was unsure if it belonged to me or the fairy. I gripped the metal harder and wrenched it upwards meeting no resistance. The fairy's eyes widened in pain and in shock and there was a soft thud as his weapon fell to the ground only an instant before he crumpled after it.

Hadley's scream had cut off, and we stared in horror at the corpse at our feet. I turned to look at her and she was clutching her shoulder. She hadn't escaped his attack entirely.

"You killed him," she whispered.

"He was going to kill us both."

My hand was shaking, and I dropped my own crude weapon to the ground. When he'd fallen, his head had turned a strange angle. His pointed ears were clearly visible.

"You killed him," Hadley said again. This time her voice, still shaking, came a little stronger.

"I killed him," I said. I'd killed someone. He had meant to kill me. He was trying to kill Hadley. "He's dead."

"Is he...was that...a fairy?" my cousin asked.

I gaped at her.