Chapter 13

Thank you to the one who heals all my written boo boos'
my beta, Northman Maille.

The Phoenix Caged

XXXXXXX

Dark.

So dark … too dark … and the pressure, as if someone very heavy is sitting on her chest. She tries to open her eyes, but after her lids lift only slits, she feels the sting of something gritty and closes them tight again.

She should have seen light, even with something in her eyes, but there was none. She tries to lift her hands, but they seem to be held in place. With a little effort, she's able to move her fingers. They're pushing against something that slowly gives way and crumbles between her fingers as she moves … something … oh god … dirt … that's what got in her eyes, dirt, that's the pressure. She's covered in, a lot of dirt.

No, no, no, no, she thought wildly. I'm not dead! Her mind was screaming. When her mouth attempted to follow suit, it filled with tiny clumps of dank earth.

I must have fainted and they thought I died. She clawed furiously at the dirt, silently thanking her lucky stars for the loosely packed soil around her as she repeatedly spat in an effort to clear her mouth before she began to choke.

Through her panic, she realized granules of dirt would shift downward with every movement, so she began to shake her body. She was encouraged as she felt the grainy soil being pushed beneath her.

The pressure was lessening. She was making progress. Her hands were at her chest now. She seemed to be gaining strength as she fought her way to the surface with grim determination. A leg moved and her fingers broke through to air. She felt a breeze.

Only a few more seconds and she was free enough to pull herself out of her early grave. She rolled onto her stomach and pushed up onto her hands and knees so she could spit the contents of her mouth back onto the ground where it belonged. She rubbed at her eyes, but the action only served to make matters wore. Apparently she was crying, or had been, because mud was caked all around her eyes and since she and her clothes were covered in dirt.

She managed to scoop enough away that she was able to squint and see a little. It was night and fortunately the sky was clear, so she wasn't without light. She was in a field. She thought she could see a house in the distance, but she couldn't be certain until she managed to get her eyes cleaned out.

Air first.

She spat the last clump from her mouth and sucked in a deep breath of air mixed with the taste of the damp earth that permeated the entirety of her world at present.

She was surprised by a sharp pain in her chest as her lungs filled to capacity. A hand went instinctively to the source of the pain. Something was stuck in her bra.

"Ouch!"

It was sharp, whatever it was. As she lifted it out of her cleavage, scratching herself in the process, she leaned over and wiped her eyes on the shoulder of the sweater she was dressed in. It didn't help a lot, but it did improve her vision enough to see the throwing star in her hand. She'd nicked herself with it and as she watched the trickle of blood drip into her cleavage she was suddenly overwhelmed by hunger.

The sensation went through her like a wave. She started to take in another deep breath, but …

She looked back down at her chest. It wasn't moving. It couldn't. Her lungs were still filled with the air she'd breathed in … how long ago was it now? It had been several seconds, at least; more than long enough for her to have taken breaths … or at least to have exhaled this one.

She told herself to breathe out and as she watched her chest contract to expel the air, she saw something else. Or rather, she didn't see something. The little cut where only a moment ago she'd nicked herself with the throwing star, was gone.

Surely not? I must be looking in the wrong place.

She dropped the star and began groping at her chest, moving the sweater around and feeling where she thought the wound had been. She was so hungry. How long had it been since she'd eaten?

No longer occupied with the business of digging herself out of the ground and making sure she was alive, her mind began to tick off an unsettling series of facts. She woke up buried … at night. She wasn't breathing. She cut herself, she saw the blood, and the wound healed within seconds.

The star, she thought, patting around on the ground until she found it. She held it with one hand as the other went to her throat. A memory that seemed as though it came from forever ago drifted through her mind. She stared at the jagged edges of the star's six points. If this was indeed the star Lorcan had planted in her neck, it should have left a hole big enough to accommodate her fist when it came out.

If there had been any injury, it was gone now.

She was either dead and going through some sort of induction process for whatever afterlife this was, or she was horribly injured and in the throes of an extraordinarily vivid hallucination brought on by drugs or her impending death … or they had let Alexei turn her.

If it was the last, she wondered if they intended it to be a mercy or a punishment?

Whatever it was, she was starving. She needed to eat. Or was it feed now? She needed to do it, regardless of what it should be called. It was a house she'd seen before. She started to head toward it when she was distracted by the sound of running water. There was a stream nearby.

The followed the sound and almost passed the tiny stream when she got to it. It sounded so much bigger. She stopped, closed her eyes and turned slowly, all the way around. Everything sounds bigger, she marveled.

She smiled and knelt next to the water. It was like bathing in a sink. She took off her sweater and camisole, put them in the water and held them in place with a rock before setting about cleaning herself.

It was good to be able to see clearly again, even if the first thing she saw was just how coated she was with a thick layer of dirt, mixed with blood. Getting the gooey, caked on mess out of her hair was the worst. It would have been great to have a brush, or even a comb, but she was far too busy being grateful for just being above ground to worry much about grooming accessories.

Once she was satisfied she was as clean as she could get in such a small stream, she wrung out her clothes and put them back on without waiting for them to dry. What difference would dry clothes make? She couldn't even comb her hair. Besides, she had to find food.

She looked around and saw she'd been right earlier. There was indeed a house fairly close by. She could see it much more clearly now. In fact, she was pretty sure she could see it clearer than she would have been able to a week ago. Regardless of her improved eyesight, she could only see the one house, and even by moonlight, she could see for a fair distance.

There was a barn shaped building behind the house. It was too small to be an actual barn, so it must be a garage. She'd check in there first. She couldn't see the front of the house from this vantage point, but she figured this had to be the faerie's house. For one thing, it was secluded and secondly, surely they wouldn't have risked exposure by burying her on someone else's property.

Before she reached it, she knew there was someone in the garage. As she got closer, she realized it was a television she'd heard, since she could also see the flickering bluish light it cast under the side door. There was at least one person in there. She may not be able to see or hear them over the television, but she could smell them.

The hunger churned through her, more than a mere ache in the pit of her stomach. It pulsed through her, setting all her senses on edge. She could feel the human inside. There was only one, and it was a male. She felt as if her body was zeroing in on him, somehow becoming in tune with him.

She crept to the partially painted over window next to the door, and peeked inside. There was the panel van Alroy used to bring her here. Past the van, she could see the back of the television. She couldn't tell what show was playing, but she could tell it was in French.

She'd always dreamed of going to France, though none of her dreams ever involved being kidnapped, imprisoned, fed to a vampire and buried in a field.

Thinking of Alexei gave her an odd little lurching feeling. She needed to find him. She needed to get Saaset and him out of here, so they could all leave together. Him. She knew where he was. She looked toward the house. "I'm coming Alexei," she whispered into the night air.

But first she needed to feed.

When she looked back into the garage she saw him. It was Alroy, lowering his hulking frame into a worn lounge chair in front of the television. His size gave her pause, but only for the briefest of moments. Despite the overwhelming hunger, she felt strong. She knew he would be no match for her.

She could hear the beating of his heart; no, she could feel it. There was an unexpected movement in her mouth, like when you're little and your mother shoves a thermometer into your mouth. She only wants to check your temperature, but it's late and she's tired, so she's a bit rougher than she intends to be. Fangs! She had fangs. So much for the dead or delusional options, they were off the table … and Alroy was on it.

She gave the door a kick. To her surprise and delight, it ripped off its hinges and sailed into the van, smashing a window.

Wow, she thought. Alroy doesn't stand a chance. Not that she thought he deserved one. She hadn't been a vampire half an hour and already she loved it.

Alroy jumped to his feet and did a double take when he recognized her. "You're dead," he stammered, as he stood wide-eyed and gaping at her.

"Not any more," Mina whispered as a smile spread across her face and the pounding of the hunger inside her fell into sync with his heartbeat. "But you are."

XXXXXXX

This was amazing. She felt invincible. Alroy had fought like a tiger, but she had dominated him as if he were no more than a newborn kitten. In all their time together, in all their private conversations, Sookie had never once told her how incredibly powerful it felt to be a vampire.

She wondered if feeding would always feel like it did when she was latched onto Alroy's jugular, taking his strength and his very life force, along with his thick, sweet blood. She hoped so. She hoped it wasn't like they say the drug dealers do; give you the really good stuff at a low price the first couple of times you buy from them, then lower the quality and jack up the price once they had you hooked.

Alexei.

She could revel in her newly found power later. Right now she needed to find Alexei. She wanted to thank him for the marvelous gift he gave her. How clever of him to have thought of it. She wondered if Lorcan or Niamh knew he did it? Surely not. She would not have risen. They would have staked her before they buried her, if they'd known.

She peered out the window, toward the house. Lights were on, but she saw no movement.

She slipped out the side door of the garage and next thing she knew, she was crouched beside the back door of the house. Wow. She'd no more than thought of covering the distance and here she was. This is going to be great!

The door led into a mudroom, which in turn led into the kitchen. She could hear whispering, but it was so faint, she couldn't tell how far away it was.

She turned the knob and much to her surprise, the door was unlocked. Such arrogance. Obviously they didn't even acknowledge the possibility they might be in any danger.

The moment she stepped through the door, she realized there was someone in the kitchen. A creaking door hinge would have given her away, but the hinges were blissfully silent. She carefully closed the door and pressed her body flat against the wall adjoining the kitchen.

There was only one and the one was moving around in there. It had to be the servant faerie. Lorcan and Niamh both wore shoes that clicked on the floor, announcing their progress as they came and went. She heard the gentle clinking of china on metal. He was preparing a tray.

Perfect, she thought. It isn't the right time to be taking anything to the vampires. The tray must be for Lorcan and Niamh. I wonder how long it takes them to eat? If they gobble things up, like pigs or puppies do, I won't have much time.

As soon as he left the kitchen, she went in and sneaked a peek around the archway into the service hall. He never looked back to see her. He went to the far end and through one of several doors along the corridor.

The front door was in the middle of the house, as she recalled from her arrival. They had entered into the living room, and the door to the stairs leading to the dungeon, was in that room. She looked up and down the hallway and chose the door that looked to be about in the middle.

Bingo. The living room. The whispering she heard was louder now, but it was still muffled by who knew how many walls or doors. She could probably make out what they were saying if she concentrated, but she didn't have time. There was no one in the living room. She went directly for the stairs.

"Something's coming!" someone said. Not someone, Alexei.

Mina closed the door behind her and softly called, "I'm here, Alexei. I'm coming."

"Who is coming?" he demanded.

Mina grabbed a large key off the wall and dropped it at once. "AHHG!" Silver. She looked around and saw nothing useful. She pulled off her sweater and used it to pick up the key.

"Mina?" Saaset cried as Mina slid the key into place and turned it.

"Mina!"

Saaset practically tackled her, holding her in a crushing embrace. "Alexei! Your illness is here."

"What?" Mina asked.

"Mina, help me get out of here," Alexei called.

"I'm coming," she replied, as she struggled to free herself from Saaset.

"Yes, let's get him out," Saaset said and released her hold. "You're going to be a good boy, aren't you?" she asked, as she peered into Alexei's cell.

"I shall try very hard to resist the urge to relieve you of the burdensome weight of your head, if that is what you are concerned about."

Mina ignored their squabbling and opened the cell door.

It took the three of them no time at all to break Alexei's chains, but the shackles on his wrists and ankles were another matter. They had more than enough cumulative strength to do the job, but they were unable to position themselves in such a way that they could apply the right amount of pressure without the risk of serious injury to Alexei. He needed to be as strong as possible for them to get away safely, so for the time being, he was going to have to keep his set of chunky jewelry.

Alexei shook Saaset and Mina off him and stood in the open doorway of his cell with a murderous grin on his face. "Now, if you will follow me ladies, we have some faeries to slaughter."

"They're upstairs having their dinner. I think there are only the three of them in the house," Mina said.

"You are forgetting the servant," Saaset offered. "It's a common mistake. The best ones are often overlooked. They just seem to blend into their surroundings somehow."

"Not somehow," Mina replied. "It takes a lot of work and practice to go unnoticed, but it is good of you to notice it is only the best ones who can manage it. I watched the servant take Lorcan and Niamh their tray. I killed Alroy before entering the house."

Saaset simply stared and smiled at her.

"Excellent work, Mina!" Alexei said patting her on the back and giving her a huge smile as well. "You are off to a fine start."

"Thank you," Mina blurted. She could feel herself grinning like a fool. It was positively ridiculous how happy his praise made her.

"For what?" he asked, as he headed down the corridor toward the stairs.

'"For turning me. I know what a chance you were taking by risking it."

Saaset laughed out loud, and then clapped a hand over her mouth to staunch the sound, for fear of the faeries hearing her.

"Yes, well … I was,"

"He was ill," Saaset said with a giggle.

"You said that before. Alexei, what does she mean?"

"She's being a bitch," Alexei snarled, his smile was gone and he was glaring at Saaset.

"You are an accident, dear. A happy accident, I'm sure, but an accident just the same," Saaset announced. "When your blood soaked corpse was carried out of here, no one expected to see you again."

"You had several wounds, and perhaps your mouth was open. I don't remember, but I think it must have been in order for this to happen. I covered you with my body to prevent them from defiling you further."

"But, Alexei, if you were still, then …" Red tears began to well in Mina's eyes. "You made yourself an easy target."

"In my confinement, I was never a difficult target for them," he said solemnly.

"Thank you," Mina whispered. "What you did for me cost you dearly, whether you were intentionally trying to turn me, or just protect me from being abused any more, and I am grateful."

"You will have plenty of time to show your gratitude later, I'm sure. Saaset prodded Mina toward the stairs. "I would like to be reunited with my Maker too. Let's go."

Alexei followed the sugary scent of the fae, to a closed door on the backside of the house. He sniffed the air and looked at Saaset. She held up two fingers, and then one and pointed down the corridor.

"The kitchen," Mina mouthed.

Alexei motioned for the two of them to go, presumably for the servant, to the kitchen, and he would take both Lorcan and Niamh himself. When Mina looked as if she might protest, Alexei gave her a stern look and pointed emphatically up the hall.

Mina felt an odd tickling at the base of her spine, accompanied by a sudden urge to kill the nameless servant. Saaset took Mina's arm and headed toward the kitchen. Mina followed obediently.

The male faerie was standing in front of the microwave, watching the timer count down its last three seconds. When it reached zero, he opened the door and removed two bottles of True Blood and placed them on a shiny metal tray on the counter.

Niamh's scream tore through the house. The servant whipped around as if he intended to run to his mistress's aid, but he froze stiff when he saw Saaset and the resurrected Mina flanked him. The expression of complete shock coupled with abject terror on his face was priceless.

"Are those for me?" Saaset asked sweetly, nodding her head at the tray.

"I, I, I, I,"

"You die," Saaset said, just before she struck the base of his neck.

Mina was tempted to join in, but she held back. She'd already fed on Alroy. It was only fair for Saaset to have this kill.

Niamh was still shrieking and there were sounds of furniture being overturned coming from down the corridor, but Niamh didn't sound as if she was enjoying whatever was happening, so apparently Alexei was keeping the upper hand.

Mina walked past Saaset and the servant. She took a warm bottle of True Blood from the tray and took a drink. Hmm. The thickness of it didn't feel as foreign now as it had when she was human. The taste wasn't as bad as she remembered it either. It wasn't great, certainly nothing compared to Alroy. He was yummy, she thought with a grin, but it was OK. She could drink it easier than she did before.

Her mind wandered as she waited for Saaset and Alexei to finish, so they could figure out where they were and get the hell away from here.

"I miss Oliver," she said aloud, without realizing.

Saaset dropped the servant's lifeless body and reached for a napkin to dab at the corners of her mouth. "What was that?" She asked absently.

"I miss Oliver. I can't wait to see him again. He's going to be so surprised." Mina smiled wistfully and looked at the door as another of Niamh's screams filled the air. It sounded like she was getting weaker.

"Is this Oliver of yours the sort of man who likes surprises?" Saaset asked, picking up the other bottle of True Blood.

"Not usually," Mina conceded, "but we've talked about me being turned a lot. His main concern was always getting the King and Queen's permission. We were both pretty sure the Queen would agree to whatever we said would make us happy, but,"

"But you doubted whether the Norseman would agree," Saaset finished.

"Pretty much. Oliver is always concerned about how much he owes them and how generous the Queen has been to him. He never wants to ask for anything that might make him look or feel like he's taking advantage of her."

"I don't mean to intrude," Saaset began in a serious tone, "but I assume in all these discussions of turning you had with Oliver, it was always him who would be your Maker?"

"Well, yes, of course," Mina answered with a laugh. "We never had any reason to think …"

Mina's mind suddenly filled with images of all the implications of someone other than Oliver being her Maker. That tickling in her spine, the way she felt when he complimented her … all the things he could ask, no, demand of her and she would have no choice but to comply.

"Oh my god," Mina murmured. "But he didn't make me on purpose. I'm an accident, so he won't want to keep me around. He won't have any problem with me going home, will he?"

"I hope not," Saaset said with a sympathetic smile, "for your sake."

"Of course you will go home," Alexei said from the doorway. He was covered in blood and he smelled luscious. His satisfied grin sat happily on his face and made him look like the boy he was before Appius found him dying. "First, let's figure out where we are."

Alexei told Mina not to enter the bedroom where he killed Lorcan and Niamh. He asked the same of Saaset.

A search of the house and garage netted no indication of their location. They started to take the panel van from the garage, but quickly discovered the interior was lined with a coating of silver.

"Faeries travel great distances by portal," Saaset said after they gave up on the van. I've never seen one myself, but Perdigo once said they look like a mirage in the desert; a place where the air or water, or even the ground, looks warped. We should look for a portal."

"I don't know about you two, but I know I was brought here in this van," Mina said. "So the portal is bound to be somewhere along the road. We should start there."

"My progeny is a strategist," Alexei proclaimed. "Ocella will be proud to welcome her." He smiled and ran a hand down Mina's cheek.

Her mind wanted to cower away from him, but her body felt differently. She smiled and nestled her face into his palm.

It took them almost no time to find the portal. It was about a quarter mile away from the house, right in the middle of the private road that ultimately led to who knew where. It was a huge circle and it looked like a pool of water, standing upright, on its side. To a human eye, it probably wouldn't stand out quite so much, but even they would see it, if they looked.

Mina, Saaset and Alexei walked all around it, but despite being convinced this must be it, whenever they attempted to enter it, they simply ended up right where they were.

"It seems to be broken," Alexei complained.

"Or we aren't doing it right," Saaset added.

"Or we're not supposed to be able to get through," Mina said, staring up at the top arc of the circle. "Look at the size of this thing. Even Alroy could have fit through here four or five or more times, all at once. And look where it is."

"Perhaps they plan to move an army of fae," Alexei offered.

"Through this place? Where would they put them?" Saaset asked.

"No, just something big, like a truck," she looked at Alexei. "Or a van. It's here in the middle of the road. It has to be for the van." She shifted her gaze to Saaset. "I assumed we would find the portal and it would be next to where they would have the van waiting, but no, they drove the van right through. That's how they got you here too. The silver kept you weakened and somehow it allowed us to get through the portal.

We've got to go back and get that van."

They returned to the house and stripped a guest bedroom. They piled all of the pillows, cushions, blankets, sheets and even the drapes, into the back of the van. Saaset found a couple of rolls of utility tape in a kitchen drawer and they taped sheets and curtain linings all around the inside walls. To further help keep them from bumping into the walls; they put a row of toolboxes and old tires they found in the garage, along the side walls. It made their floor space smaller, but the tight space was preferable to hitting a bump in the road and slamming into a silver wall.

Alexei wanted to drive. The teenage boy in him was showing his face again. The women gave in to him rather than waste time arguing. They both wanted to get home to their men.

The driver's area was not silver lined. The van was designed with a faerie driver in mind. Vampires were only intended to be cargo.

If Mina's theory was correct, it was going to be tricky getting through the portal. Alexei would have to aim for the portal, give the van some gas, enough to get the vehicle completely through, but not too fast, since they had no idea what was on the other side.

If they went speeding through and wherever they came out required an immediate turn, they could end up smashing the van and damaging themselves pretty badly as well.

Once they had the silver covered as securely as possible, they headed out. Before actually making a run at the portal, Alexei practiced tapping the gas and jumping between the front bucket seats and into the back. The first time, he tripped on a blanket and went sprawling as the van veered off the road and into a field.

His next attempt was much smoother. They noticed the van pulled slightly to the right, so he would need to compensate by turning the steering wheel slightly to the left before he let go and jumped. The forth time was perfect.

"Time to go for the gold," Alexei said. It was just before midnight when they rolled up to the wavy spot rising up from the road.

Mina was gripped by a sudden panic. "What happens if we end up on the other side of the world in broad daylight when we go through?"

"Anyone close by gets a fireworks display," Alexei answered with a wink and a maniacal grin. He tapped the gas pedal, gave the steering wheel a little tug to the left, and hurled himself into the pillow-covered floor in the back. Saaset and Mina immediately helped him right himself so he could get ready to climb back into the driver's seat as soon as they were through.

The world around them changed with a jolt. They were in a large parking structure.

Alexei got to the front, threw the gearshift into park and out of the van. Saaset looked through the window. "Marseilles, no place else has green and purple buildings at night."

"There is another large portal on the other side of the elevators," Alexei said. "Shall we try it? It may get us closer to where we want to be, and if not, we can always come back here." They all agreed and off they went.

XXXXXXX

"Water!" Saaset screamed as Alexei scrambled for the front seat.

He was fast, but unfortunately not fast enough. The van was moving, but not in the direction Alexei wanted it to go. "Get out!"

Mina kicked the back doors open and she and Saaset crawled out the back. Alexei simply opened the driver's door and stepped out.

The water where they were standing wasn't deep, but it was moving. The portal opened onto a cement ramp built at the bank of a river. It was only covered by about eight inches of water, but it was only slightly wider than the van. If a faerie had been driving, or if they'd known where they were going, they would have been able to keep the steering wheel straight and driven right out of the water. As it was, the few seconds Alexei was in the back was all it took for the van to pull enough for the right wheel to slip off the ramp.

Mina got a small cut on her ankle from scraping the edge of the door, but she was already healing. The three of them walked up onto dry land and had a look around.

There was a modest house close by, but they figured it was likely occupied by fae affiliates of Lorcan and Niamh, so they decided to make for someplace else. It was different here. They were in a populated area. The landscape was dotted with lights from houses. Houses meant cars and they needed new transportation, at least until they figured out exactly where they were.

"We're in Spain," Saaset announced happily.

"How do you know?" Mina asked.

Saaset pointed across the river and up at the mountains in the distance. "The Pyrenees are to our north."

"Those could be any mountains," Alexei scoffed. "Mountains all look the same."

"Not to me," Saaset said with a beautiful smile. "I have lived my entire life in the shadows of The Pyrenees. Trust me. I assure you, these are they. We get a car and once we have our bearings, we should be able to make it to Zaragoza without having to go to ground before dawn."

"That's fantastic!" Mina said eagerly. "Alexei, are you coming to Zaragoza too? I'd love for you to meet Oliver and all my friends. My mistress is a Queen. I can't remember if I ever had a chance to tell you that?"

Alexei's face turned to stone. "I will not be going to Zaragoza. We will need to acquire two vehicles."

Mina's smile disappeared. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I was looking forward to introducing you to everyone. We'll be going back to the US before too long, but you'll come visit me, right? I know I'll miss you."

Saaset turned away and looked up at her beloved mountains. She couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen.

"Saaset," Alexei called. "Would you make my apologies to Don Perdigo. I was looking forward to meeting him. I will be in contact with him again when the dust from this rift has settled."

"What rift?" Mina asked. "What dust?"

"I will tell him," Saaset responded without turning to face him.

"I would also considerate it a great personal favor, if you refrained from discussing Mina with anyone."

"What?" Mina's growing confusion had raised the pitch of her voice nearly an octave.

"I cannot lie to my Maker. I will avoid the others. I will have no control over what Perdigo decides to share with the Norseman. Perdigo has much respect for him."

"You know Eric?" At this rate, only dogs and werewolves would be able to hear her soon.

Still speaking to Saaset, Alexei said, "I don't give a damn about his respect for my brother. I am her Maker. Tradition and the law make her mine. Even Don Perdigo will have to respect and honor my claim on her."

"Yes, Alexei. Yours is the greater claim. It will take precedent over all others." Saaset turned to Mina, who looked as if she'd just been staked in the gut. "I believe he truly likes you, Mina. I hope to see you again. Try to be happy."

With that, Saaset vanished into the night, leaving Mina with the feeling she'd just found out that everyone she knew and loved had died today. Of course it was actually the other way around, but did it really matter?

"Come with me quietly, Mina. I know where we need to go, but we must first find a vehicle and a map, so I can which way we need to go to get there."

XXXXXXX

Gawain sat at the table in the grotto with the repaired silver bag folded neatly in his lap. Spread out in front of him was a map of the border regions between Spain and France. He'd been studying it for hours. It was just before midnight when he heard Sookie approaching the door.