VI.

Roberto thought long and hard about what to say. When Eric called him back there had to be less than twenty minutes of night left in Louisiana. He intended to keep it brief. Even though they could finally talk freely, he approached things cautiously.

"So yes, I saw her. I brought her up to the office and spoke to her. She worked the casino floor for her usual four hours. She started at midnight. I didn't know she was there until she was almost done for the night. I don't think anyone did. She caught a thief, a pickpocket, out on the floor and delivered him to one of my security guys, then spoke to Henry Lin. I heard she was here from security and went down to see her. She was tricky to find- she was perched up on a ledge on the west wall, about twenty feet above the floor. And she was, I don't know, sort of veiled, in the shadows. I had a hard time seeing her at first even thought I could smell her. I think she had bounced back and forth between the east and west walls. You didn't tell us that she teleports, Eric. It's quite extraordinary. I've never seen it before, personally. It's really an amazing skill. And the veiling… I guess you can really see that fae blood in how she turned. That guy Kieran, up in Seattle, supposedly does stuff like that, right? I've heard he might be part Fae."

Eric was silent on the other end. Amazing skill? Fucking disaster is more like it. She his and she was gone. And she was being extremely elusive. Only Niall seemed to be able to keep up with her and it was annoying as hell to have Niall telling him where his own wife was. And even Niall seemed unable to keep hold of her. After listening to the description of how he had tried to restrain her at Hunter's house, he was frankly worried that in Niall's zeal and frustration that Niall could harm her since he implied she was likely hurt escaping him. How badly did she want to get away from them all that she was willing to get burned by magic?

Roberto just waited. He was clearly getting the feeling that Sookie had taken off and that there had been some sort of serious problem between the two of them.

Finally, Eric said as calmly as he could, "So where is she?"

"You mean now? I honestly don't know. She said, if you can believe this, that she was not even staying in the US. I guess that means Canada or Mexico? You know… come to think of it, she must be staying someplace east of here. She was worried about time. Although I don't know, maybe she just wanted to leave because I pressed her to give me more information and to stay here as usual."

Eric fumed on the other end of the line. He simply had to get her back. How could it have all gone so wrong? She'd now been gone for four nights. She'd come back and taken her wallet and left her jewelry, including, ominously, her engagement and wedding rings and even the stupid Brigant locket, which was going to make it considerably harder even for Niall to find her, though perhaps in retrospect, that was a good thing. She wasn't even drawing funds on their joint account, but on a smaller personal account she'd kept. She'd left all their joint cards. What was she thinking? How could this be happening? He almost hated himself for it. He had kept up the slow and steady pressure for years about her being turned and this was the culmination? It was simply incomprehensible.

"Will she be back tomorrow?" he said finally, his voice tight.

"Well, that's the thing. She was rather evasive and said she wasn't sure. I got the distinct feeling that she doesn't want anyone to know her plans. She also said that she was going to only fulfill the contracted work through October. As if she was giving me notice. She suggested that I should get Barry Horowitz to fill in. Of course, I've no interest in that. He's not in her league at all." He paused a moment. What he wanted to say was going to no doubt be taken badly, but he had to say it. "Look, I don't want to intrude in your business, Eric, but she started to cry as she left. I don't know what happened between you two, but I am… concerned. She has worked for me for eight years. She is a personal friend of mine, and of my wife's. She is obviously quite distraught about something."

"You're right. It isn't your business," Eric said coldly.

Roberto was silent for a time, thinking of her, and of her manner. After talking to Henry Lin and then actually seeing her, he had to say that he was very concerned. He hoped that Liesel would be back tomorrow as planned. Perhaps Liesel could get more out of her, and get her to stay with them? Finally he said,

"Well, I have to say that I am rather disquieted by the way I see her."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Roberto?" Eric hissed.

Roberto was silent for a moment thinking back on her manner, the lack of animation in her features. He could only conclude that she was in a dangerous place. A new vampire was a vampire not very vested in living on as a vampire. And she was on her own, with no one to cajole her into a better frame of mind. No one to guide her and no sire to tell her not to do anything harmful to herself.

"I think that she's in a dangerous frame of mind, Eric. I honestly think that if you don't find a way to put things right quickly, that you'll lose her."

Eric's mind reeled at that one. Lose her in what sense? As a partner? Or… What Pam had been worried about for all these years? No. However he meant it, it was not happening.

"That won't happen." Eric said firmly. It absolutely couldn't happen. This whole thing was just fucking inconceivable. How fucking bad was it that Roberto was telling him this? First he had to listen to Niall telling him about how upset she was and now Roberto? And all of that on top of what Pam had to say, that he had really hurt her.

Roberto, meanwhile, was just silent. Clearly, she couldn't be called or Eric would have her back by now. But then, she could never be glamoured. He didn't think she'd seemed like she'd ever been in Eric's thrall and if she wasn't enthralled by an 1100 year old vampire then what were the chances of a regular sire/child relationship? He'd heard indirectly that even the Fae had trouble glamouring her which was pretty damn incredible. So it really didn't surprise him that she didn't respond quite normally as a vampire child. Perhaps this had upset Eric? But surely it was little different from when she had been human? And if Eric had broken with her, why be so eager to have her back? Was it just to control her, because of her skills? A pride issue? Knowing Eric that certainly would play into it. But still… In spite of his cool manner with things, Eric had obviously been extremely possessive of her. The attachment had appeared quite genuine. So perhaps she has broken with him, he thought? Although, breaking with a sire so soon after turning would require an extraordinary will. But, if she couldn't even be glamoured by the Fae… Eric must have done something to hurt her or upset her. It was the only logical explanation. When he had asked her about that, she had been evasive and made efforts to leave. That had to be it.

"Eric, look, I can try to keep her here when she comes back, but I don't know that it will help you much if she is upset with you. I really have no right to restrain her but I can try to keep her comfortable here. Keep her safe. Perhaps Liesel can talk to her. Perhaps we can gain her trust enough to get her to stay. She said she appreciated my kindness. She seemed to act almost as if she was surprised that I was behaving no differently with her." That comment was probably going to piss him off, he realized. It was accusatory and he was sure Eric would take offense. But what the fuck had Eric done to her, he wondered? With 1100 years of experience, how could he have mishandled things so badly? He had to say that he felt very protective of her. If Eric had harmed her in any way, really Eric didn't even deserve her. She was so unique. So valuable. Actually, really invaluable. In terms of what she had been able to do within the Alliance in easing relations with other races and the humans, and in terms of her telepathic ability, which seemed intact, if not broadened. Yes, invaluable. And she was so very lovely…

As if picking up on his train of thought, Eric shot back the comment,

"Roberto, just so that we're clear, Alliance or not, if you so much as lay a hand on my wife, I will fucking flay you alive just like I did Madden."

Roberto was silent for a moment, taking in the implication of such an offensive and threatening statement. Eric was typically much more understated. Things must really be bad if he was making such an overt threat. After a moment he said,

"I'm so gratified that my offer of assistance, in the face of your evidently botched job of turning her, is appreciated Eric. It's great to see that you have her interests above your own at present," Roberto said cuttingly. The fucking bastard, he thought to himself. He's screwed up turning her and now he's threatening me while I'm trying to do him a favor? If these were different times I would just fucking take her away from him. Carpe diem. If he's done something to her, I could still try to get her to just move here if she doesn't want to go back to him. She can divorce him and her grandfather will protect her from him. She could be free to live here and work as she wishes, continuing with the Alliance. He wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. Liesel would love to have her living here. I would love it. She is charming and extremely clever. She would be an invaluable asset. If he messed up and can't straighten it out, it's not her problem. This can be played carefully to see how things evolve. But it's a dangerous game because Eric is not someone to take it lightly. Still, if she made the choice…

Fine, Eric thought to himself. Fine. He clearly gets the picture that this is a fucking disaster and that she's run away and that she can't be summoned. Not what I'd want to be admitting to anyone, but let's stay focused on the goal. I have to get her back. Roberto is at least discreet. As is Stan, since clearly Stan hasn't shared any of the info that Sookie was acting oddly after she rose, even with Roberto. That's good because, really, having Sookie take off as she had looked quite bad and put both of them at risk as a result. Was she so angry at him that she could turn her back on everything? Perhaps Roberto could be useful getting her back, but Roberto was also a threat. Roberto had always looked at her in a way that bothered him, because it wasn't just the usual attraction for the pretty and curvaceous blonde. No, Roberto truly liked her. In a manner similar to how he himself had liked her before they were bound. Was she vulnerable enough to be suckered into that, he worried? There had to be a way to keep her away from Roberto until she was back to being herself.

"My focus right now is having Sookie return safely home, Roberto. And of course, I appreciate any assistance you can offer. But I want to be perfectly clear as to the limits of my gratitude. You've had a thing for her for years and if you take advantage of her when she is upset or vulnerable I will fucking kill you. You have my word on it. And don't think I don't know how much you'd just love to have her sitting pretty in Nevada in your 'care'. But she's coming back to Louisiana."

"Let's save the insults, shall we, Eric? If you think that I would do anything to take advantage of her, I don't even know why we're even speaking. The plan would be to have my wife try to deal with her. Is there anything in particular that I need to know? Anything useful? Because I have no clue as to how I could keep her here, since she does this teleporting thing, other than perhaps restraining her in silver, which I would not do, no matter how much you want her back. Frankly, I really don't think I have the right to keep her here at all if she wishes otherwise."

"I don't think she can be easily restrained anyway. I'm not even sure about the silver, but I agree that isn't an option. Pain would be extremely counterproductive. As for information… She has problems with hypersensitivity to things. And she hasn't been feeding adequately. She's only drinking bottled blood. But don't try to get her to feed from any humans, okay? She's… You know how she is. She isn't ready for that."

"How do you know she's still only having synthetic?"

"Her grandfather told me. When she comes back, tell her you heard she was staying in Banff. Make her feel it's perhaps not safe for her to go back there. Try to get her to stay the night there in Vegas, even if in another hotel if she doesn't feel safe staying with you. I can be there in a few hours."

"So she's really been staying in Canada?" Roberto said, incredulous.

"You know, actually, I will send Pam to stay with you and have her wait for Sookie to reappear." He had to say that the fact that she was using Hadley Savoy's name in Alberta was a very bad sign in his mind.

"Eric, what really happened?" Roberto asked quietly.

Eric was silent. What had happened? She panicked when he lost his temper? He'd lost his temper countless times before with her. No, she saw something, or thought she saw something, in him and it made her leave. Perhaps in the end, Pam had been right all along. She was so unique. It was unreasonable to expect that she would turn like anyone else. Her resistance to being called should not really have been a surprise. Her brain simply didn't work for that kind of magic. The teleporting? Completely unexpected. Niall was sure that was the Fae heritage. But really, the only thing that had truly worried him was her lack of hunger. He was angry that night, and also worried, maybe even, he had to admit, frightened, that she was not hungry, And hating himself thinking that he had harmed her by turning her. A vampire that doesn't feed is a vampire that doesn't last. She had seemed dazed, paradoxically wanting to go back to work rather than feed. She'd seemed so out of it, not even realizing that she was teleporting. He'd unlocked that door for Pam and had immediately taken in that something was very odd. He'd only seen one other vampire in his long life that could teleport, many hundreds of years before. But the real thing was that she wasn't hungry. She wasn't ravenous. How was it that she wasn't hungry? And what was it that she had seen, or thought she saw, in him? He had held her firmly but not enough to have hurt her and yet she said he was hurting her. Just as he'd been pushing into her head trying to figure it out, he realized that she was teleporting and then… she was gone. Pam said that it really had hurt her, both physically and mentally. That her senses were hyperacute. She'd had three bags of blood in the house and half a bottle with Bill. Niall said she'd been through six bottles the following day at her cousin's son's house. But that first night? She had to have been lightheaded, weak, and she had acted confused. Could she have misunderstood something, misread something in him? He had to believe that she thought he would harm her if she had left in such a fashion. It was simply incredible that she could actually think that. She had told Niall that she wouldn't go back. Even though Niall told her he would never harm her, but Niall said she was unconvinced and said she was being irrational.

Finally he said, "She was acting oddly when she woke. She woke a day early. She wasn't hungry. She had only three pints of blood and started teleporting. She had a lot of hypersensitivity issues to sound, to touch. She hadn't had enough blood, and she wasn't thinking clearly. She just… wasn't thinking clearly yet. How is she now?"

"Well, she was seemingly fine. As I said, she caught a pickpocket, and she expressed concerns about our newest roulette guy. She's talked to several people she knows on the floor. I guess she seemed fine in terms of work. Her demeanor is what worried me. Henry Lin, who as you know is really friendly with her, expressed concern to me. He told me something is very wrong with her," Roberto said. "When I went down looking for her and talked to him, he told me he was very worried about her."

That gave Eric pause.

"What, specifically, does Henry have to say?" Eric asked. Sookie liked Henry very much. He wasn't sure if Roberto knew that Henry was an empath. If Henry said something was wrong with Sookie, he wanted to know exactly what Henry said.

Roberto hesitated. When he had talked to Henry out on the floor it was before he had seen her for himself. He had sort of brushed off Henry's statement. Now he was beginning to be very concerned taking it all in, however. Very, very concerned. He had gotten to the point where even if he'd never specifically asked him, he believed that Henry Lin was an empath. He was extraordinary at reading people, even if he wasn't reading their actual thoughts like Sookie could. He had proven useful in between Sookie's visits. Frankly, Henry's description of Sookie's emotional state was sobering taken together with the facts of the situation and his own observation of her demeanor. Really where she ended up, Louisiana or Nevada, didn't matter as long as she was safe.

"Henry said she's very depressed. He told me that he was worried that she could even harm herself."