A/N - True Blood and SVM characters belong to Mrs. Harris, Mr. Ball and HBO. Storyline and original characters are my own. Whew, this is a heck of a long chapter, please enjoy and thanks as always for the comments, reviews, feedback and alerts.

Chapter 7

Scene 1 - SPOV - Where is he?

The weekend was rough, reinforcing just how much had changed for me. I had four months of additional living which had only been weeks to those in Bon Temps. The local residents assumed I left town for a short vacation, somewhat like Tara.

When I rose Saturday after another nightmare filled evening, I cleaned up the little slumber party from the night before. I picked up the movie rentals and a couple of library books which I would be paying a late fee for and headed into Bon Temps.

My car was running better than it had before, no clicks, no clatter, and no whines from a loose fan belt. I suspected Eric had his hands on my automobile as well as my home. He hadn't simply disposed of it, replacing the old beater with a new luxury car, apparently he understood me better than I thought.

I hit up the library first, getting the fines out of the way and picking up a collection of design and art books for Pam along with my normal trashy romances. I was on the way to check out when the thought struck, it was time I was more productive with my leisure time. I returned to the shelves and returned two of the romances then picked up a book on investing along with a book on basic accounting and financial management. If I was going to be making a larger amount of money whenever I served as a telepath, I needed to know the financial ins and outs to make it grow.

When I was finished at the library I made my way to the video store. I dropped the movies off and picked up a comedy about some young models and a couple of the seasons of Buffy that I did not own. The grocery store was next door so I grabbed up some perishables like milk, bread and eggs. We still had a pretty large stash of True Blood available, so I bypassed that aisle. I was at the checkout when the poster on the wall caught my attention. It was hanging where folks pin up notices requesting jobs, indicated rooms for rent or missing pets and children. This was the first vampire one I had seen. Someone was offering a reward for Pam, stating that she was missing and her family was worried. There was nothing that indicated she was a vampire, and the photo looked like it had caught her walking out of a store dressed in her casual wear. The number was not one I recognized. It was not Fangtasia or Eric's cell phone or Chows.

I waited impatiently for the clerk to ring up my items, walking away with my purchases instead of waiting for the change. I needed to get home to make sure everything was safe. Pam and I had considered going into Merlotte's that evening to catch up on local news while we waited to hear from Eric. Our plan would have to change; unfortunately Pam would need to remain in seclusion.

When I got back to the house I put away the loot haul from the morning then walked out to the garden shed. Alcide had a couple of his wolves checking in throughout the day; Eric mentioned hiring them as part of his normal security force. I threw out a mental net automatically each time I woke up an activity I felt was more reliable than security cameras. Still I had to admit all the supernatural shit which happened to me over the last few month had me considering a real security system with codes and alarms and better lighting. The automatic barrier to entry for vampires, meaning the lack of invitation, wouldn't stop something like a fairy from popping in, which is why I was digging through the garden shed.

I remembered my Dad used to do a lot of welding when we were little, part of where Jason got his car craziness from. I thought I had seen a pile of scrap iron in one corner of the shed the last time I helped Gran with the weeding. I was in luck; the pile was still rusting on the dirt floor. I dug through it and found a small piece which just fit my hand; probably an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick, one end was straight while the other had a slightly mitered cut. It was not a knife or a dagger, but the slight point would certainly harm a fairy and the piece would fit into my purse easily.

I found a two ounce pump bottle in the junk drawer of the kitchen. It was one of those little bottles which hold cleaner for eye glasses and seemed to work properly with a little water. I was thankful that Gran rarely threw such things away. I pulled out the lemons I had purchased and squeezed them into a measuring cup which I poured carefully into the little bottle. I screwed the cap on, tested to make sure it sprayed then twisted it to the 'off' position; this also went into my purse. I squeezed out the rest of the lemons and grabbed the small but powerful water guns I picked up at the store and filled the pair. I placed one on my bedroom night stand and the other in a drawer by the back door.

I powered up my lap top and looked into what I needed to apply for a conceal and carry handgun permit for Louisiana. I looked up the dates and times for various handgun courses chose one which would be held in a few weeks and printed off the permit application to fill out. I had no intention of becoming a version of Buffy the supernatural slayer, but I already had to defend myself a couple of times which resulted in the death or serious injury of the attacker. I might as well be prepared for it to happen again.

I checked the time; Pam would be rising soon so I started dinner. I made a simple hash of red potatoes and left over roast beef with a salad on the side and a glass of Coke to wash it down. Pam walked into the room in a light blue track suit and joined me at the table. I warmed up some blood for her and we talked for a bit. It was hard to remember she was a vampire, as relaxed as she was around me now even with donor blood coloring her lips and teeth when she smiled.

"Hey Pam, how is the memory tonight?" I asked the same question as previous evenings and watched her eyes become unfocused with a slight furrow to her brow.

"Still nothing Sookie, all I remember is what you or Eric told me," she walked over to the lap top on the desk which was still on the website for the carry permit. "What is this for?" she asked me.

"Just a government site where I can apply to carry a concealed weapon," I nonchalantly replied.

She buzzed back to my side, "You know how to shoot will you show me?" I had to laugh at her excitement. There was no one outside according to the mental radar so I pulled the handgun from its hiding place, loaded it with regular ammo and took her out the back door to the far side of the property. Long ago Jason and his friends had created a little shooting range where they could site in their guns and their bows before heading out to hunt. Jason didn't feel comfortable having it behind his house as his neighbors were pretty close. My property on the other hand was nothing but woods for the other eighteen acres I owned, and beyond that even more swamp and forest. The only person that could be harmed if I missed the rather large lit practice area would be someone who did not belong on my land. There were old hay bales fronting a wooden barricade to hang targets on. I walked back to the garden shed and found a pack of the paper targets, pulled one out and moved to the hay to tack it up. I stepped off forty yards and gave a nod to Pam to join me. She had been watching me intently.

"If we were in a practice range in Shreveport, we would have to wear some safety gear. I don't have anything like that, and honestly if I pull my gun on someone I am not going to have time to locate ear and eye protection so we will just be careful out here. You stay behind me if I have the gun and I'll do the same if you do." Then I raised my arms and held the pistol in a two handed grip, sighted down the barrel and smoothly squeezed off a shot, absorbing the kick back through my arms and shoulders. I fired off two more shots then flicked the safety in place before walking to check the target. I did not do too badly; the two rounds were in the center area of the target, a place which was the size of an orange. If Jason had been handling the gun, they would have been dead center on top of each other.

Pam was all over the place with her shots, and extremely aggravated that a human was performing better than she. Her problem was that she yanked the trigger and braced against the kickback instead of the squeeze and absorb. I called an end to the practice session by saying I didn't have enough ammo to continue without using the silver and she agreed against wasting it. I would pick up more when I was next in town. When we returned to the house I showed her how to break down the gun while cleaning and oiling it thoroughly. I explained to her that handling a gun also meant taking the responsibility to maintain it properly. She agreed with me, stating that Eric had already walked her through taking care of the knives she kept on her person.

I showed her where I had placed the lemon guns, even though a fairy attack during the evening would drive her supposedly into a killing frenzy. I gave her the books I picked up for her at the library then sat down at the kitchen table with the basic accounting one.

She joined me and we discovered while she did not remember how she knew it, Pam had a very good grasp of the subject. So we spent time on a few chapters with me taking notes while she tried to explain the things that would confuse me. She shooed me upstairs to bed when I couldn't stop yawning.

Sunday was a repeat of the previous day, I woke up and did minor chores around the house then headed back into town. I cannot tell you what came over me to attend Church for the first time since Gran had passed, but I wore a light blue dress with a white sweater coat and Gran's pearls. I could feel everyone's eyes on me when I walked through the Church doors. I had tightened my shields so I didn't hear anyone's reaction to my visit. I could read enough facial expressions to know I caught quite a few neighbors off guard. I let most of the words of the pastor wash over me; instead I studied the cross behind him, closed my eyes and let the peace of the church itself flow through me. I felt people shifting around and snapped my eyes open to see that the sermon had ended. No one tried to stop and speak to me when I walked back outside. I didn't care I was there for something other than their approval. I found a weight had lifted from my shoulders; the guilt for the pain I felt I had caused to those around me was gone. I found forgiveness for my piss poor attitude towards others and strength for the battles ahead.

I was dancing around the kitchen, cleaning up after a baking spree when Pam joined me. She grabbed my wiggling hips and pressed in behind almost causing me to crash to the floor.

I was frozen in place, "Pam what are you doing?" I squeaked not sure if I should move.

She danced around me, letting her hands graze across my shoulders. "Oh come on Sookie, I know you love to dance you have never danced with your girl friends?" she asked still twirling around.

"Well, not quite like that," I told her, then realized I had once with Tara in a high school talent night thingy that Lafayette had choreographed. We won though until now I hadn't realized just how risqué the little dance had been.

"Relax, If I wanted to risk Eric's fury I would have seduced you already," Pam was grinning from ear to ear and waggling her eyebrows in a clone of Eric. "Come on, let's just have a bit of fun, I am sick of being cooped up here."

I agreed with her at least I had been able to get out of the house, and tomorrow I would be back to work. She turned the music up and we danced around a bit, though she didn't try to get touchy feely again. The timer went off on the oven, indicating my dinner was done so I shut off the radio and set the table for one. I warmed up Pam's blood then joined her for my meal of baked chicken with corn and sweet potatoes.

Pam started to ask about my day and I explained about going to church. She didn't understand what it meant to me and I wasn't comfortable having a religious discussion with her in her current state. The only way I thought I could explain it was using the experience with Godric but since she didn't remember him it would not help.

I called and left a message for Eric on his cell phone about the poster I had found of Pam. Something I had totally forgotten about until now, when I hung up the phone I urged her over to the couch and told her about it but of course neither phone number was familiar to her. We tried googling them but came up empty handed and gave up for now, instead we made ourselves comfortable on the couch and slid the comedy in to watch.

We were giggling and laughing over the stupid antics of the supposed male models in the movie, when Pam pointed out the young skinny blonde one could have been Eric as a human or his little brother.

'Really, you think so?" I asked her while the video paused and rewound it a few frames during a really stupid conversation. "I cannot imagine him being this silly and goofy even as a human."

"Did you imagine you would be giggling over a movie with me in the past?" she asked me in all seriousness.

I glanced at her and shook my head. I never thought two weeks ago I would think of Pam like my best friend. She had become family to me, the sister I always wanted but never had, having to settle for scatter brained Jason as my only sibling. "No Pam I could not imagine this," I turned away swallowing hard. "Part of my prayer is that you don't go back to hating me when your memories come back."

She patted my knee, "I cannot believe I hated you, perhaps annoyed by yes, but not hate. You are a very loyal and genuine person, something I think is rare in a breather and I bet Eric agrees with me."

I was looking at the frozen frame on the video where a tall skinny blonde young actor with a cocky goofy grin was frozen mid word. Perhaps I could see a resemblance but I couldn't picture Eric without a large dose of ego, charisma and self confidence.

"You wouldn't remember all the crap Eric has been involved with because of this telepath," I pointed at myself. "I am surprised he agreed to help me when I came back, let alone is willing to be a friend. I treated him like shit."

"I do not think my Master was very sweet and innocent himself. I am sure he was heavy handed and manipulative. He is after all vampire."

I smiled thinking of a few of our aggressive confrontations, "He was rarely the perfect gentleman but I have to admit he was normally there for me when things went to shit."

"You love him," her words a statement not a question.

I squeezed the remote and the video resumed while my heart and mind stuttered. She had caught me by surprise and I could feel her eyes upon me. Did I love Eric? I thought I had loved Bill, who betrayed me. I knew what it felt like to love family and friends. I felt something for Eric, something strong and at times confusing since more often than not I either wanted to stake him or jump him. Maybe it was just lust. No, there was more than just lust between us at least for me, whatever I felt for him was huge and it scared me. I had loved Bill and he had hurt me, if what I felt for Eric was love his rejection could destroy me.

"I do not know what I feel for Eric, Pam." I frowned and avoided her gaze.

"Yes you do, you do not wish to admit it," she nodded her head emphatically then switched subjects to talk about the explosion that had just occurred on the video, neither one of us commented on the tears that streaked my face over the blonde actors death.

It was nearing three in the morning when I put the second movie on, nothing special just suspense with a couple of nice looking male actors and a really stupid female heroine. We were debating why the female had taken the stairs instead of the elevator to get away from the bad guys when Pam fell from the couch to the floor screaming. I was reaching for her calling her name when the bond between Eric and I blasted through my shields as agony and fury ripped through it. He had blocked me since he left and the strength of the reconnection with the emotions roiling through it dropped me to the ground alongside Pam.

The pain did not stop until the sun crested the horizon and I was thankful for my habit of locking the house down at midnight, else Pam would have fried on the living room floor. When I could breathe without being in agony I got to my feet. I had to get Pam to her room for the day and I needed a few hours of sleep. I had to go to work today though I was arguing with myself. I couldn't help Eric during the day; there was no one I trusted I could call who quite frankly would care. Sam and Alcide felt I was better off without Eric in my life. I thought I would waste more time arguing with them to help then I would just getting through my work day. I was sure Pam and Chow at least would help me in the evening.

I was able to maneuver Pam over my shoulder fireman style, thankful for all the cases of beer I had helped Sam unload. Pam was taller than I but I managed to stagger up the stairs to her room and get her situated. My thighs were burning and I knew I would feel the pain in a couple of days. To be frank if the adrenaline had dissipated before I got her to her room I probably would not have made it.

I set my alarm for nine in the morning and crawled into bed. I think I blinked and then the alarm went off. I fumbled around for it finally getting it to cease the wailing and stumbled out of bed for a cold shower. I dressed in my uniform somewhat awake and made a large breakfast of eggs, sausage and biscuits with two glasses of apple juice and a cup of coffee.

I was scheduled to work the lunch shift so I arrived at Merlotte's a bit after eleven in the morning to help set up for the lunch crowd. I gave a shout out to Lafayette in the kitchen when I walked by to stow my purse in Sam's office and grabbed a clean apron. Sam was in the back stowing some inventory and I told him I would prepare the bar for him. He waved a hand to let me know he heard me. I cut up the fruits and veggies used for various drinks and stored them in the mini fridge then made sure the bar was fully stocked and ready to go.

The new girl Holly was the other waitress working my shift. I did not know Holly too well. She was one of the few folks I hadn't slipped and mind read yet. I knew she was divorced and had a kid because I had heard her ask Sam about health insurance. I did wonder if she made her own bath soap because when she passed by me on the way to speak to Lafayette she smelled like a spring garden, something about the scent did not scream out retail.

I finished setting up my tables and the first customers were coming through the door when Lafayette stormed out of the kitchen.

"Bitch, I tolds you I don't want to talk about it, back your sweet ass off," he growled over his shoulder.

"Lafayette you just look so much better. I only want to know who helped you maybe they can help someone else I know." She trailed right behind him almost within touching distance.

Lafayette caught my eye and I barely shook my head then turned away. I didn't want anyone to know about my stronger abilities. My mind reading was enough of a burden. I might help Terry, but that would be all.

Holly was persistent to the point that Lafayette actually growled at her. She moved away from him when Sam appeared from the back room to settle at the bar. I took care of all the customers, one of which was her table while she was wasting time. I took all the orders up to Sam and Lafayette.

I turned to Holly and told her, "Your table wants a basket of chicken fingers and two beers, the order is in, feel free to join me on the floor at any time." I heard Lafayette snickering behind me as I stomped back to the floor.

Eric was hurt maybe truely dead somewhere, I did not have the patience to deal with incompetence this afternoon. Arlene was the only waitress who had worked at the bar as long as I had. Sam said I was his most dependable employee, until vampires came into my life. Honestly while I had missed some time I had so much vacation saved up it really didn't make a difference. I know the old Arlene would have understood, since most of the extra vacation was from me covering for her when the kids were sick. Dawn had been next in seniority and well she was gone.

The bar began to fill with the lunch crowd, including Jason, Hoyt and the rest of the road crew. They sat down at my tables and I took their order. I was bringing their beer over when I noticed that Holly had settled in next to Hoyt and was leaning into him whispering into his ear. He looked perfectly happy to be there and my anger started to rise. Hoyt was supposed to be with Jessica, how he dare flirt with this hussy.

I walked over and slammed down the beer clearing my throat in case the splash of liquid wasn't enough to catch their attention.

"Holly, your tables are on the other side. Hoyt, don't you have to get back to work soon?" My voice wasn't the most lady like but I was not yelling, not yet.

I turned away from Hoyt's stutters to walk back to the bar for their food. Holly grabbed my bare arm and spun me around.

"What the hell was that for Sookie?" she demanded, but I barely heard her. At her touch I could feel something brush against my shields. I threw up my 'reflectors' and saw her eyes narrow.

"Hoyt is practically engaged to Jessica he doesn't need you draped all over him, this town talks you know," I snarled at her before sending out a mental probe. She was human but trying to read her thoughts was like looking through Vaseline, blurry and indistinguishable.

"He didn't seem to mind and I know this town is a gossip mill especially about you Crazy Sookie."

If she thought to get a rise out of me it was not happening. I saw Sam glaring at the two of us and continued to pick up my tables food.

I ignored her for the rest of the afternoon, making a note to speak to Hoyt later. I was wiping down my tables and preparing to hand over my shift to Arlene when the woman Pam had sketched walked in the front door.

I caught Sam's mental thought of oh shit before the woman seated herself in one of Holly's tables. I tried to make myself inconspicuous and watched the two of them, shaking my head at Sam to leave them alone. He nodded, wiped down the bar and polished a few glasses while keeping an eye on the witch.

She was arguing with Holly, their voices low but forceful. I delicately probed at her mind, expecting her to be heavily shielded by some sort of magic after experiencing her spells. I was surprised to slide right in. She was a shifter, another wolf but didn't feel as strong as Alcide. Her mind was snarly like a were with emotions but I was able to move through them to the crystal clear thoughts below.

I pulled out of her head and concentrated on Sam, trying to read him. His head felt like it always had fuzzy and twisty with a few words popping up here and there. I shrugged and slid back into the witches head.

This was Marnie and she was pissed at Holly who was a Wiccan (!) for not joining her coven. She pulled out the poster of Pam which I had seen around and showed it to Holly asking if she had been to the bar. Holly told her no and stepped away to take care of another table. Marnie just sat there drumming her fingers on the worn table waiting for Holly to return. I decided to take a risk and walked up with my crazy grin in place, behind me Sam was yelling at me in his head.

"Excuse me miss. I am sorry to bother you but I couldn't help but see your poster there," I pointed at the poster of Pam still on the table. The witch stopped drumming her fingers and focused on me. I was still in her head but I strengthened my shields incase she probed me.

"You've met this woman before?" she asked me and I could see Pam in her head lunging at her during their bar fight in Fangtasia.

"Sure, she stops in once in a while to visit Vampire Bill," I could care less if this woman went after Bill, "but normally she is up at Fangtasia in Shreveport. She hangs out with the owner there; I think his name is Aaron?" I deliberately used a different name but immediately I see Eric in her thoughts. He was sitting on his throne at Fangtasia looking sexy and unapproachable. Her thoughts are tinged red around him.

"Eric Northman owns the bar. I've tried there all ready but apparently he is out of town this weekend," she says distractedly as Holly comes up behind me.

"Oh well I hope you find your friend. Looks like your food is here. I spun away and headed for the bar. I pretended to help Sam at the bar while I kept poking around in the woman's head. I was furious and trying not to show it. Sam touched my shoulder and I slapped him away. I did not want his thoughts to intrude in the delicate search I was doing. When she mentioned Eric's name his body had flashed through her mind. He was bound to some sort of table with silver chains, stripped to his boxers and there were surgical tubes all over him leading to vials and blood bags I recognized as empty donor ones. It was some sort of warehouse; I could see palettes and a mesh wall. The bitch was draining Eric.

She was arguing again with Holly and the warehouse popped up in her head, she wanted Holly to meet her there at Midnight. I memorized the address, someone would meet her there tonight alright and it wouldn't be just Holly.

I had the information I needed and finished up my pretense behind the bar. I removed my apron and tossed it on the dirty pile in the corner then reached to hug Sam.

"Office," I whispered in his ear.

He came in behind me a few minutes later. I had my purse in hand and was anxious to go.

"What was that all about," he asked, staring at me with concern.

"Eric told you about that woman," I asked, positive he had.

"Ya, is Holly messed up with her?"

"I don't know but she probably should not be meeting her at Midnight," I replied.

"I'll ask her if she wants' to help close. I know she needs the money."

I nodded, "That will work, I have to go Sam see you tomorrow." I tried to brush past him but he caught my shoulder. I did not turn around.

"Sookie you know you can trust me right? I'll help you with anything Cher, you just have to ask." He tried to reassure me.

I shook my head and gently pulled away opening the door to the hall, "Not this time Sam, goodnight." He didn't stop me. I broke into a run in the parking lot, slamming my door closed and almost snapping the key in the ignition with the force of my urgency.

Pam was waiting for me at the back door when I walked in looking paler than normal. Her mouth was in a firm line and distress was in her eyes. I had left her a note on the bedside table explaining that I had to work but that I would be trying to help find Eric when I returned.

She greeted me with "He's not dead."

"Not yet," I agreed, "But they are draining his blood we have to get to him."

I was already stripping out of my clothes, oblivious to Pam while I dialed up Chow in my underwear. He answered on the first ring. I told him to get a van, blankets and all the donor blood he could get his hands on as well and told him to meet Pam and me at Fangtasia.

I was speaking to both of them, as Pam could hear our conversation when Chow asked, "You know where he is?"

"The witch showed up at Merlotte's, I got it out of her head. She is expecting to return there at Midnight which gives us three hours after we get to Fangtasia to find him and get him out of there."

At my words Pam zipped away to grab her things. I hung up with Chow and ran into my shower to wash away the bar filth. I was in and out within a few minutes, braiding up my wet hair before I dressed in my only pair of black jeans with a black v-neck t-shirt and tennis shoes. I had purchased the jeans and top to wear at Fangtasia originally.

I grabbed my purse and ran down the stairs to the back door. Pam was waiting for me also dressed in black and she handed me a belt with a knife sheath. I slid it on at her urging then took the silver dagger she handed me. I turned it once in my hand feeling its balance and heft before sheathing it with a nod. We were out the door and in the car, driving as fast as it would go.

"Did Eric leave names of any other vampire you could trust Pam," I asked her, wondering if the three of us were going to be able to pull this off.

"No," she said, "and I am concerned about Chow knowing how weak Eric will be. My instinct is screaming that this is a very bad thing. Sookie, rescind Chow's invitation to your home please."

"Why?" I asked.

"We need to take Eric back to your home."

"What about one of his safe houses? Would they not be better security wise?"

"I don't remember the security codes and we don't know if the spell will reverse itself when the witch is dead."

There was really no question about that, the witch would die tonight.

"If most of his blood is still there we can feed it back to him. His blood and the donor blood will help him recover, perhaps in only a few days if they haven't drained him fully," she explained.

"How long will it take if his blood is gone?"

"Weeks, perhaps even a month," she answered and I could see her lips compress.

"Crap, that's not good. There will be too many questions if he's not back flirting at Fangtasia within a few days." I started to think about the Queen and that woman from the AVL, what was her name, Nan?

"We have to get him free first, remember this witch took down a thousand year old warrior with apparent ease," she admonished me.

"Ya but he didn't have you and me," I flicked my eyes toward her and bared my teeth. Her fangs dropped and she grinned back at me the same determination in her eyes. My dream Eric said I was ruthless when it came to the people I cared for, he didn't know the half of it.

I pulled into the parking lot and parked out back next to Eric's corvette. He must have flown then. Chow met us and he and Pam started to go back and forth between Fangtasia and the van loading up extra items. My eyebrows rose when I saw the hydraulic lift able stretcher they loaded, similar to what paramedics would use. Well that would definitely help getting him into my house.

The van was one of those long ones with two sets of back seats. They had lowered one set and a half of the other. I slid in and perched behind the driver seat while the two vampires' sat up front with Chow driving. I filled Chow in and gave him directions and we sped out of the parking lot. I checked the time, it was almost ten o'clock. We had to hurry if we wanted to get Eric out before the witch showed up.

It had occurred to us that there may be guards. I wasn't worried with the two vampires' at my side. When they came to Fangtasia most of the witches, coven I guess, had been made up of humans. The only two natured has been Marnie, the shifter we tortured and killed and another one who had looked similar to Marnie, her brother perhaps. There wasn't anyone else Eric trusted that we could bring in on this; it was the three of us or no one.

"You don't want them to cast a spell, if we run into someone. Do whatever you have to keep them silent," I said while wondering how many more deaths would be on my hands tonight.

"Bloodthirsty are we Sookie?" Chow teased watching me in the rear view mirror.

"I don't know about you Chow, but without Eric I might as well be dead. Once the Queen finds out I'll be a goner and if she doesn't get me some other high and mighty vamp will. So it's them or I and I like my life thank you very much," I answered him frankly.

His eyes in the mirror filled with speculation and I began to feel uneasy. Pam was watching him too, "If we lose Eric, then I will claim Sookie, you can stop those ideas right now Chow." She was right; he could not be trusted with Eric's life. We had to use him and get the hell out of there.

"Thanks Pam," I was not going to worry about her words. I would cross that bridge when we got to it.

We were in the neighborhood so I threw out my mental net and started to scan as well as probe our bond.

"Pam can you feel him at all?" I asked. He was there in my head, still obviously in pain which I was blocking but there wasn't any pull or indication of a direction by its strength.

"We are close, a few more blocks maybe."

I recognized the warehouse at the same time Pam pinpointed Eric. "There!" we both exclaimed pointing at the derelict building.

"Don't stop drive on by it so I can scan," I urged as Chow slowed. He nodded and passed by going the speed limit.

"The void must be him, in the back. I can feel three humans and a shifter maybe a were."

Chow found the intersection that would take us to the rear of the building and we made one complete pass looking for the best way to get in. The building was one story, about the size of an airplane hangar and similar in build. There were two pairs of large sliding doors in the front with a normal entrance on the left side. There was another set of the large doors in the rear but no other entrance. We doubted we could get the large doors open so it looked like we were taking the only other door in.

Pam had Chow park in the lot across the street, there were other vehicles there and it would not look as conspicuous as parking in the empty ware house lot. I knew that Chow could have it across in moments so I wasn't worried about our location.

When I got out of the van I stopped at the front tire and rubbed my hands all over it, until they were black with road dirt. Then I pushed at some loose strands of my hair, deliberately smearing my face.

Both of the vampires were staring at me. "What are you doing?" Pam asked looking at me in confusion.

"I am going to tell the guy at the front counter that I have a flat tire and ask if he would please come out and help me change it. I am too weak to get the lug nuts free and apparently all the garages in the area are out on road calls."

Chow laughed in appreciation and slapped me across the shoulder, "We are to wait here then?" he asked.

I nodded, "I'll lead him back here maybe we can get a two for one." I grinned when I saw the confusion, "Two for one, maybe one of the other guys will come with him."

"Well then, let's give them a better reason to do so shall we?" Pam replied then reached for the neck of my t-shirt and ripped it a bit, enlarging the 'v' portion so that more of my breasts were on display.

I gaped at her as she laughed, "If they ask you caught it on something while you were trying to get the spare out."

"Let's do it then," I straightened my shoulders and threw my chest out, pasting on my crazy Sookie smile and sauntered across the street. I hoped any security cameras would only see up to the street and not over to the other lot.

I knocked on the door and waited for the guy who was watching a foot ball game and nibbling on Doritos's according to his head to answer.

When he opened the door, his eyes never left my breasts as he listened to my story, nodding here and there. There wasn't any sort of keypad that I could see just normal dead bolts, his head told me that his other friend was due any minute, so I kept the conversation going trying to explain in a silly southern female way my troubles with the tire. He didn't care; my breasts were apparently the most excitement he had for days. I on the other hand knew that time was speeding by; soon Marnie the witch would arrive.

The two guys followed me to the van where Chow and Pam dispatched them. I wasn't expecting them to feed off of them but I guess it made sense; they were going to need their strength to fight and get Eric out of there. They healed their marks, glamoured the guys and sent them on their way with the idea that they had drank the night away.

Pam had grabbed their keys and we were shortly in the warehouse. I let her lead the way following her Maker bond and the void in my head. I whispered the shifter and the last human were in the same room as Eric.

We turned the corner and there he was, just as I had seen him in the witches mind. He looked paler, weaker than he had in her thoughts. The shifter was leaning over Eric, pulling away a vial full of blood from the drip and sliding on an empty one. We watched him walk to a glass fronted refrigerator and place the vial in side. The vampires growled and pounced while I searched for the human.

I found a young woman, a teenager locked in a cage in the corner. Her hair was dark and spiked her body slim and covered with bruises and something else that I was too far away to see. I glanced to see Pam rip the throat out of the shifter, no spells to worry about there while Chow helped tear him apart. I should have been appalled, throwing up or shrieking at the gore. I did not care, all my attention was for Eric.

I ran to his side, calling his name and started to undo the chains. I didn't want to touch the surgical tubes until the others finished their fun. I didn't want to accidently cause him to bleed out more by disturbing them.

I kept talking to him, trying to rouse him as I worked. He started to come around once the chains were gone, his eyes slitting open.

"Sookie?" he croaked,"...should not be here."

"Pam's with me, Chow is too. We are going to get you out of here." I told him earnestly examining all the medical paraphernalia; didn't these things have a way to be shut off?

"What about me?" another voice whined from across the room.

I looked at Pam who was now next to me, busily pulling tubes free and licking the wounds left behind to seal them. She shrugged, it was my decision. I pulled out my phone and glanced at the clock. We had a few extra minutes. "Chow glamour her and get her out of here. We need some of the blood from the van to get him out of here." He growled but listened to me and ripped the cage door open. He grabbed the girl by the shoulder, stared in her eyes then pulled her back out the way we had come.

Pam had Eric sitting up weakly, feeding him the vials of blood she had pulled from around him. I ran to the fridge and grabbed what I could hold in my arms and took it back to them.

"This can't be all of it," I snarled in frustration looking around for another fridge or large cooler.

"It's not, maybe a third of what they have taken," Pam answered grimly.

"Weeks then?" I asked referring to our earlier conversation.

"A week maybe two, not as bad as it could have been," she replied pouring another vial down Eric's throat.

"All right," I said as Chow appeared at my shoulder with some bags of blood. We got them down Eric and he was looking a bit better, though still weak. He couldn't stand on his own.

"This was too easy," Pam muttered. I agreed I was expecting a lot more from people who had floored the Viking.

Right on cue a voice spoke behind us, "What the hell is going on in here? Who are you?"

I could have slapped myself. I had been so worried about Eric I had not paid attention to my mental radar, which was currently screaming at me.

Pam and Chow zipped in front of me leaving me with Eric when we turned around.

The voice belonged to a male, who was half shifted into a wolf. Marnie was standing next to him with a half dozen humans behind them. The wolf finished shifting to stand beside the witch. She caught sight of me behind Pam and glided forward a bit to get a better view.

"You're the odd girl from the bar this afternoon," she spoke in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

I spoke in a voice only a vampire could hear. "She's mine; take care of the wolf and the others." Eric could hear me and I saw his mouth open, but I ignored him he was in no shape to complain let alone dictate.

Pam gave me a slight nod, so I stalked forward and answered, "You took something of mine," I hissed as I leapt. My move was unexpected and I had my hands around her throat with my legs around her waist trying to knock her over. Chow was on the wolf and Pam sped through the humans.

My attention was all for the creature I was wrapped around. She was snarling and I could see the words forming in her mind.

"Just try it Bitch," I whispered throwing up the reflective shields. She let the spell loose and it crashed into me. I gritted my teeth against the pain but held on, squeezing harder. The pain was nothing compared to the agony she had put Eric through. The witch froze in shock for a split second, enough time for me to shift my weight and topple us to the floor. I twisted so that she ended up beneath me. I just had to keep her occupied long enough for the vampires to finish off the wolf. I already saw the humans spread around us, dead or unconscious. I really didn't care.

She tried another spell and again I was deluged by a wave of agony. I held on panting, still squeezing trying to knock her unconscious. This time she got a flash of the pain, she shrieked and tried harder to throw me off. I was a dead duck if she stopped with the magic and actually shifted. I guess she was spoiled by her magic and wasn't thinking straight. I thanked God for the practice I had lately wrestling with wolves.

She was starting to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen, her struggles becoming frantic. I could feel energy of a different type rising.

"Pam, Chow a little help here," I shouted risking a glance over my shoulder to see how they were doing.

The wolf was on Chow, its head clamped on his arm trying to tear it off while Chow's face was buried in the wolf's throat, shaking and tearing. Pam was on top of the wolf, her jaws tearing through the base of its spine. The wolf released Chow with a howl and tried to struggle away but it was too late. Chow tore the wolves throat out then leaped away to grab one of the humans and fed.

I rolled my eyes at his priority, but I suppose he would need to heal his arm. Pam pulled me off the witch then had her up and against the wall with her head buried in the witches throat.

I shouted, "We need her alive Pam for you and Eric. We need to know where the rest of his blood is. We need to get your memories back."

"She has to die," Pam snarled, blood pouring from her lips.

"Yes," I agreed moving toward them. "Don't let her shift." I slipped back into the witches mind. I vaguely heard Pam tell Chow to clean up the mess, they began to argue. I told the two of them to shut up and get a move on, and then slid deeper into the witches head.

"Show me what you did to Eric," I told her pushing harder, searching. She felt me in her head now and I could feel her try to block me, then another chant began. I reached over and slapped her breaking her concentration. Marnie's eyes widened finally showing some fear. "I can hear you. It would be faster if you would just cooperate. You're going to die tonight, I won't lie to you. But it is up to you whether it is quick and painless or if I let them torture you slowly."

"Sookie we are running out of time," Pam warned me.

"All right, Eric will just have to tell us. I am getting your memories back though," I replied.

"You remember Pam don't you Marnie? The two of you fought at Fangtasia. I think she kicked your ass." Her mind did as I had hoped it would. My suggestive words triggered the memory which triggered her anger over the incident which then triggered the instant replay in her head. I caught the words and saw the spell book in her head.

"Chow, there is a desk in the other room, it will have a book in it. Please retrieve it for me." I saw him flit away.

"What did you do with the blood you drained?" I saw an ice-cream truck pull up to the double doors and two large fiberglass containers were loaded inside. I tried to memorize how it looked and strained to see the license plate.

"Was this all your idea?" I asked still rummaging through her head. I caught a glimpse of Russell's mansion, the place where the wolf pack would meet for the initiation. Russell was there with a large man, but the stranger was in the shadows I could not make out his face. A male vampire walked into the room to speak to Russell, he was of Asian descent smaller and leaner than Chow.

I didn't have a chance to ask how she had subdued Eric for Chow was back with the spell book. I grabbed it from him and started to flip through it. The corner was folded over on the page and I skimmed over the words. They twisted under my gaze.

"This is it, can you glamour her ass and make her reverse it?" I asked Pam and Chow, not remembering if they could do that to a shifter. "I have all I can get from her right now. I am going back to Eric. Do with this one what you will."

Eric was sitting up on his own with his feet slung over the side, sucking down the last bag of blood that we had brought. He still looked like shit, and I told him so as I thrust my wrist at his face.

"Don't argue with me right now, I am not in the mood for it. Bite, maybe a fairy cocktail will help speed things along." I snarled at him. I was feeling the effects of the adrenaline. I couldn't jump his bones to show him how happy I was to see him alive. I couldn't break down and cry there wasn't time, but I could be angry that he did whatever he did to get him into trouble without back up. I wasn't thinking about blocking off the bond between us. He probably felt everything that was churning through me because he licked my wrist once then carefully bit.

The pain was minor compared to the rest of the night. He only took a few drags before releasing me and sealing the wounds. The feel of him feeding had oddly calmed me down, reinforced I guess the fact that he was very much alive.

I heard a shriek and then a gargle sound behind us. I turned to meet Pam.

"And?" I asked.

She handed me the spell book which I tucked into my jeans. I was going to look through it later.

"The glamour worked she reversed it. I feel a bit different but perhaps I must rest before it works, like the original spell."

"All right, she's dead then. Let's get out of here."

Pam and Chow got the stretcher also ignoring Eric's complaints when they helped him into it.

The bodies were disposed of and Chow called the cleaners to come in and take care of the warehouse. Pam said they would be quite thorough. We dropped Chow off at Fangtasia and I hopped into the driver seat to take us to Bon Temps. I took the back roads so as not to draw attention. We arrived with only forty five minutes to spare before dawn. We got Eric into the house and up to the spare room he had never used.

I left Pam to get him ready for bed while I hid the van back in the woods. I didn't want anyone asking questions. I rescinded Chow's invitation before I went upstairs to help with a very subdued and weak Eric. I barely remembered to lock the house down before dawn was upon us.