All Hell Breaks Loose
Chapter 44: Home Sweet Home
Bon Temps
Sookie was grateful to be back in her hometown and at work, even if it had gotten busy in the last hour and now it was six thirty and nearly all the tables were full. She worked at double speed to help keep all of her customers happy, bringing them plates of warm food and glasses and pitchers and bottles of cool drinks.
"I can't believe you went to Dallas for those assholes," Tara said from behind the bar where she was making a Long Island Iced tea for Jane Bodehouse. "Didn't these guys try to sacrifice you and Eric?"
"Under the command of Steve Newlin," Sookie reminded her as she filled up her tray with a couple of beers and various cocktails. "Who is quite different these days, or nights. He only kills the real bad and evil vampires now."
"That would be most of them," Tara said and handed Jane her drink. "Now I added a bit of the ole Tara TNT to that so don't drink it too fast."
"The Tara TNT," Jane said as her eyes lit up. "Don't tell Sam but I like your iced teas better."
"What is the Tara TNT?" Sookie asked.
"Secret recipe," Tara said and winked. "My cousin isn't the only one who can do secret recipes." She spoke of the infamous Burger Lafayette. It wasn't just the way the sandwich was assembled as Lafayette said. He mentioned it was the right kind of spices within the meat and the way he cooked it.
Sookie took the drinks to her fifth table, took orders from the sixth and seventh table and checked on the other five. Her first table was ready for the check and her second wanted their pitcher refilled.
"You are wrong about all vampires," Sookie said after she dropped off the food orders for the two tables and handed Tara the request for margaritas for her sixth table. Table seven just wanted one bottle of Samuel Adams and sodas for the rest.
"I said most," Tara corrected her as she mixed up the margaritas.
"You should meet Ismene, Anya and Valentino. Isabel is nice and Bill and Eric-"
"Bill tried to kill you and he lied to you and Eric used you."
"They actually loved me." She closed her eyes and inhaled while thinking about Eric. "I believe they still love me. Jessica is a nice girl."
"Tore out Hoyt's heart."
"Okay how about this? Steve Newlin is a much better person now that he is a vampire."
Tara shrugged. "Okay he aint as bad as he was before, but I still don't want to sit down to dinner with him."
"He is staying with us but he will be with Ismene on Thanksgiving." She took the margaritas back and dropped off the check before she returned with the beers and sodas and checked on her other tables before returning to the bar to grab a few more beer bottles and refill some soda glasses.
"Are we still making plans for Thanksgiving?" Tara asked.
"If you and Lafayette still want to come," Sookie answered. She had already purchased the turkey and the baking ingredients. Jason had told her he got the can of cranberry sauce and bought the potatoes and the box of Stovetop. That just left the corn, string beans, carrots and celery for the nibble plates and she needed a jar of gravy. She tried making gravy from scratch and it never tasted right to her.
"Course we do. Who's all going to be there?"
"Jason, you, Lafayette, Lawrence and Cassidy." She paused. "Oh I should invite Claude. He is family sort of. And Eric asked if it is okay if I invited his employee" Before they left Dallas, Eric had mentioned calling Pam and ask her and the waitress, Hailey to return.
"Won't Claude be worried that he will be on the menu?"
"The vampires will all be together. Ismene invited us but I told her I had plans and she wanted you to come but I explained the situation for you and we all came to the idea of the humans in one house and vampires in another." She closed her eyes. "Good lord that sounds like segregation."
"No it sounds like a good idea," Tara said. "For inviting your fairy God Uncle that is. Eric's employee is human?"
"Mostly," Sookie said. She decided to wait to tell Tara that she was inviting a half succubus. "Like me, and Steve knows her and vouches that she is a real sweetheart."
"Keeping busy?" Sam asked as he walked into the bar.
"Sam, we got the usual whiner," Tara said. "But why aren't you open on Thanksgiving?" Tara made her voice sound as whiny as possible. "I don't like my family, I don't want to cook, Not everyone wants to be with their families or want to cook on Thanksgiving."
"Oh boy," Sam said and chuckled. "What did you tell them?"
"The same thing you told that other person," Tara said. "Sam Merlotte actually cares about his employees and all his employees wants to be with their families on Thanksgiving and if you want to eat out then go find a fucking Denny's."
"Except for the fucking that is what I say," Sam said. "Sookie when you can tell Arlene that Luna will infiltrate this place."
"I will," Sookie said. "She told me she was running out of excuses to keep Terry from going. Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?"
"Luna invited me to join her family," Sam said. "Sookie, you have tables waiting."
"I'm on it," Sookie said as she went back to wait on her customers.
"They got that news on that church attack," Brian Rathers said when Sookie returned to his table to bring them more onion rings and hot wings.
"Oh," Sookie said and glanced at the screen. The vampire that Steve had identified as Gerald was giving his speech while the screen was shaking. She watched as Gerald was shot and Steve Newlin walked up to the podium.
"Woo," Brian said as he and the rest of his table stood up and clapped after watching Steve tell Russell's crew to get out. Other people were also cheering. "You do not mess with a reverend's church."
"Wow," Sookie said as she returned to Tara with a few more cocktail orders. "I wonder if this means they still support vampires that are not insane and evil."
"Or they are a big fan of action movies," Tara said as she mixed.
"Reverend Newlin saved us," a Fellowship member said when they were interviewed. "He brought his friends along and they all saved us."
"Were all his friends also vampires?" The reporter asked.
"Not all of them, some of them had complexions," the church member said. "Then again some of those who attacked us were also human."
"I don't know what to think anymore," another fellowship member said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Maybe some are different. Reverend Newlin still had his soul. He wants to fight for us and help the helpless."
"Oh lord," Tara said as she planted her head against the surface of the bar.
"She was referencing Angel," Sookie said.
"Well Newlin did use the same amount of hair gel as him."
"He doesn't gel as often anymore," Sookie said and wondered if Eric was watching.
Eric stared at the large television screen as he watched all the footage that was shown, looking for any detail that might point him or Bill out to the authority. So far everything that has been shown on the different stations and no one had captured an image of him or Bill. They also checked the world wide web via the smart phones that Cassidy and Valentino owned and still nothing.
"How does this change public opinion of vampires, Diane?" The anchor head asked.
"Still divided," Diane said as she held the microphone in front of man. "Reverend Joseph Jones, you are the new reverend of the Fellowship of the Sun?"
"That is correct," Jones said. He was wearing a shirt with God Hates Fangs printed across.
"And what is your view of vampires now?" Diane asked.
"Nothing has changed," Jones said. "They are still evil creatures that must be hunted down and killed."
"This includes the former reverend, Steve Newlin?"
"Sad to say yes. He may have saved us from an attack but why did he wait until after Reverend Owens was killed along with several other parishioners? I wouldn't be surprised if he asked that other group to attack us so to make himself and his friends look like heroes."
"Despite the fact the other vampires are dead?"
"They are willing to sacrifice their own to complete their tasks."
"Why are we watching this garbage?" Jessica asked and pointed at the screen. She had screamed when she saw Bill and threw her arms around him. Eric watched the two of them embrace each other and apologize to each other, making him feel envious and wishing for Pam to be near him. She had told him that she and Hailey will return soon.
"To make sure we have not been filmed," Eric said. He had glanced towards Bill who nodded. Everyone else was seating in front of the screen except for Cassidy who was in the middle of painting and Steve who was pacing while talking to a representative of the AVL.
"I think vampires are a lot like humans," a young woman said as she was being interviewed. "There are good ones and bad ones and they are at war with each other. Steve Newlin is a hero."
"And a sexy one," her friend said and pointed at her shirt. She had used fabric spray paint to write Bite Me Newlin across the chest. "I just made this."
Jessica snickered along with Lawrence and Valentino. Bill had an eyebrow raised and Ismene had her mouth pulled into a smirk while Anya shook her head.
"Oh good gravy," Steve gasped while he had his hand over his eyes. "Yes I'm watching it and I heard."
Eric walked over to him and gave the younger vampire a pat on the back. He would have said something but was afraid they would hear him on the other end.
"I understand you want me to speak in front of the cameras," Steve said. "I'm currently in Bon Temps, staying with a friend. Where am I right now? I'm in the old Compton house with Ismene and her friends. Yes, that Ismene." He smiled at Ismene. "They want to speak with you."
"I wonder what they have to say," Ismene said and accepted the phone. "Hello?"
"What do they want?" Jessica asked.
"They want me to speak about what happened," Steve said. "And they want me to speak right this instance but I didn't really tell them I wasn't in Shreveport."
"Are they coming here?" Jessica asked in an alarmed tone and looked at Bill.
"Yeah I know, Eric and Bill have to leave," Steve said as he grabbed his head. "At least until the interview is over."
"Or maybe Ismene can convince them to remove the mark on their heads," Valentino suggested. There was that possibility.
"Are you certain?" Ismene asked. "This is ridiculous I was one of those who created the Authority and you are telling me you can't do that?" Her voice had rose higher than Eric had ever heard it and her mouth as set in a scowl. "How could you?" Her fangs extracted. "Then maybe it needs to be changed. The fact that you want to kill two vampires who have been extremely loyal to up until now over some minor aspect is ludicrous. Yes I expect you here, but you are not welcome in my book. Good night." She hung up and handed the phone back to Steve.
"You were not able to convince them?" Bill asked. Leave him to state the obvious.
"Stubborn jackasses," Ismene hissed. She retracted her fangs and turned to Eric. "You both need to leave. Find someplace to hide. Somewhere they won't think to look."
"Some place remote," Lawrence said and Eric could smell the wood burning. "Some place in the sticks where a bunch of hillbilly's live."
"Hot Shot?" Jessica asked.
"They won't take us in," Bill said and shook his head.
"They were attacked by Russell's wolves," Eric explained. "And we came to their aid. I believe they will hide us for the night." He hoped he was right.