Sookie

Twenty-Four

As the four of us jumped into the back of a black limo, I had some hope that this would be a low key thing. I wanted low key. It was late and my mind was worn. For a minute back there at the house, the scene had looked so normal, the people had been so at ease with each other. Then you had a little girl that should have been out of place but wasn't. The only thing that was amiss was me.

I had looked as Rebecca talked with Illeta and Pam playing with Andy. All the people around him, made me look at Eric as a person. The deliberation of killing him felt wrong. No. Spending time with all these people wouldn't change a thing. I'd come much too far and sacrificed far too much.

"I haven't seen Matty in a while," Rebecca said excitedly. "Hopefully he has my size and can do something about my hair too."

I looked down at my clothes in confusion. I was dressed in jeans, high heels and a blouse. The ensemble was dressy like most things, I now owned but not overly so. No one had made mention of changing clothes. It was why I thought this would be a low key event.

"Matty, is their supplier of all things fashion," Illeta said cluing me in. "It's why this one," she inclined her head to Pam "Never packs when she leaves home or takes her wallet for that matter."

"Maybe I should go back to Eric's and change," I said. I didn't want anymore new clothes and I knew for sure that this Matty person didn't have my size.

"No need, Matty has been dying to meet you," Pam said. "Plus, I never take my wallet because me spending Eric's money makes him happy. With the two of us burning cash, he'll be thrilled." They all shared a laugh. I cringed internally.

The trip out that night had opened my eyes. Pam was nothing like Eric. He was reserved and moved with cool confidence. Pam was like a kid in a candy store. She said Eric's name like police officers used badges, she got what she wanted and when. She said, 'jump' and people, of all species were happy to comply. I realized, it wasn't that Eric didn't have emotions. He simply reserved them for select people and I was making my way up the totem pole.

~ooooo~

"It's my birthday," I told Eric. I hadn't expected him to remember. It didn't bother me in the least that he hadn't. To be honest, it had slipped my mind until Tara had called.

"Happy birthday," he said with a smile. "How would you like to celebrate?"

I told him. Tara wanted to have a barbecue dinner at my old farmhouse. She had invited Sam and Jason. It was a very low key and I wanted it to stay that way.

"I will pick you up after," he said. "I will have a present for you."

"Yes to the first part, no to the second, please."

"Why?" he asked getting dressed. Gah, he was even throwing on his suit for just the quick ride to the airport.

"I don't need anything," I told him.

"If anyone is allowed to buy you a gift it's me, is it not?"

He had stopped what he was doing and had his eyes on me. I hated when he did that. I could practically feel him probing at my mind without glamour. Those eyes of his gave the impression of seeing everything without giving anything away. I knew it was my imagination…still I wondered if it could be true. There was no way he knew I wanted to end him.

Deciding to give my feminine wiles a try, I walked over to him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I brought his head down to mine. I felt him relax in my arms even before my lips touched his chin. I kissed the corner of his lips and he wrapped his arms around my waist. I was living a lie and there were moments where I believed it. Then I would remember just how much of a monster Eric was. My plan was working; I was creeping closer to my goal.

"I don't need anything," I whispered into his still parted lips. "And no offense, but I don't think you know how to give normal presents."

"I resent that," he said, planting errant kisses on my cheek, as his fingers were combing through my hair.

"Do you now?" I asked, leaning even closer.

"Emphatically so," was his somber reply. I could already feel his cock twitching and growing harder in his pants. He was holding me closer and molding me tighter against him.

"Pam told me for her hundredth and fiftieth birthday you bought her a private island in the South Pacific somewhere…" I wondered out loud.

"That's different," he huffed.

"Uh-huh. All I have to say is French Polynesia."

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

I gave a derisive snort. "That pervert offered to whisk me off to her island the day we met."

I laughed and found I'd been amused by the playful banter. Then I put an end to it by walking away to resume packing. The playful repartee had served its purpose. He wouldn't get me anything for my birthday. I didn't want a new car that I would never drive. I didn't want jewelry that was meaningless. I didn't want anything from him. In truth, it would be meaningless no matter what he thought to buy. It would be one less thing to remember him by when he was gone or more precisely, when I ended him.

Shadow Wraiths were interesting creatures, to say the least. The first time I met mine they scared me half to death. I was on a business trip with Eric in London. A reporter had been hounding me. Cypher and Lynx just materialized from my shadow. Where fairies left behind a shimmer in the air, Shadow Wraiths sucked out all the light.

They were hard to look at too. It wasn't that they were unsightly; they were physically alluring like all supernatural creatures. Unlike the hulking Britlingens, they appeared so benign, frail even, barely six feet, with eyes so light they might be blind and hair the color of red dirt. There was an air of delicacy to the paleness of their skin and the leanness of their muscles. This is what you notice from afar.

When you got close enough, your instincts will recognize them for what they were—dangerous. They didn't talk much to me or to each other. Eric said, it was because they didn't have a grasp on it yet. The longer they were in this world, the better they adjusted, but right now their personalities were like a prerecorded message and a conversation was like a game of Jeopardy. They had answers, but if I didn't word the question just right, we didn't get anywhere. They were my company most of the time, and as odd as my life was becoming, it wasn't too bad.

By the time I was touching down the sun was just rising on the horizon. My usual feelings of relief and freedom that came with it weren't as strong. They hadn't been for a while now. Perhaps because I was away from my prison and the vampire I was sentenced to share it with? No, that wasn't it. I was comfortable and well-versed in the lie I'd been living.

Staying my course on being resolute for my revenge gave me freedom. There was nothing that inhibited me because I was willing to do anything to get closer. When it came to sex…Eric has done things to me I never would have tried. He knew how to make me come with just his fingers. He had introduced me to acts that made my body tingle just from thinking about them; anal, oral - giving or receiving, and much more.

"Human Tara," Lynx said, interrupting my thoughts. (Yes, they addressed people by their genus.)

"Hey!" I greeted, hugging her. I wasn't expecting anyone to meet me here, but she was definitely here holding a pink sign that read "Birthday Girl!"

"You only turn twenty-six once," she enthused. "C'mon. I'm supposed to get you to your birthday present,"

"What?" I was confused.

"Just trust me," she said, tossing me a blind fold.

This cloak and dagger routine was so not like her, but the small treat had me feeling more excited about my birthday than I'd been in years. She might have gotten me socks and I would have rejoiced. It took every ounce of respect and dignity I had not to dip into her mind. Finally the car stopped, but I couldn't say where.

"Ready?" Tara asked, cutting off the engine.

"Yup!"

She pulled off the blindfold, and I was rendered completely and utterly speechless. I was looking at what had to be my little ole farm house except…it wasn't. It couldn't be. The bumpy driveway that would have alerted me to our location had been redone, but there was no denying I was home. There wasn't a speck of land that had been left out of the remodeling.

The lawn was as green as far as the eye could see and even my woods looked thicker. The flower bed had been touched upon, and the porch swing redone. There was a new coat of paint on the house and the shutters were new. The craftsmanship on the door was superb. It matched the trimming along the porch and roof.

In marrying Eric I had the means to remodel a thousand times over, but the idea had lost its' appeal. My life and everything in it had been changing so quickly, so drastically and I wanted to keep this one thing as a monument to my past, simpler life. That had been so foolish, I realized. I explored the house with my mouth hanging open. There were a million things that were different: the fire place, the stairs, and the attic that had been finished and decorated. The kitchen…

"I don't believe it," I whispered astonished.

It was the picture of country living and southern charm. My gran had spent free time looking in housekeeping magazines with such longing. This was the kitchen of her dreams. This was the house she deserved; from the brass handles on the soft yellow cabinets, to the floor, and the retro vintage stove. It was perfect.

It was all so new, yet so native to the spirit of what I'd known my whole life. It may as well have sprung from my mind and rooted itself in the ground. As I continued my inspection, I saw that some things were the same: the kitchen table, the end tables in the living room, and the rocking chair my gran had loved. They had all been restored.

Tara had been shadowing my steps as I took in everything. She apparently had nothing to say. There was just a low appreciative whistle as we both stood in the doorway of my bedroom and all I could do was nod in agreement. We were looking at a canopy bed complete with supple netting hanging over it. With the way the sun was hitting it, I half expected Sleeping Beauty to be in the perfectly-made bed.

"When he called looking to pick my brain I didn't think he'd come up with this." Tara said.

Eric hadn't forgotten. He had been playing me. I'd put this beyond him, it was just...so thoughtful. It wasn't that he disregarded me but he just didn't know how to not go overboard. According to Rebecca that was true for all 'Big bads' as Pam had labeled our husbands. I would never have thought Eric could find a way to keep the spirit of this house the same while giving it a facelift, but he had. He most definitely had.

All through the day I kept finding little things the beauty of the home that I hadn't before. I was awed. Dinner that night involved Tara and JB. Sam was there with a new werewolf female he was dating. Her name was Jannalyn and she struck me as too rough for Sam but I kept that to myself. Claudine was present with Dermot, but no Jason.

"Those are Shadow Wraiths," Sam's girlfriend said. She had been staring at Lynx and Cypher all evening like a kid stared at monkeys at the zoo. It didn't warm me to her nor did her pointing.

"They're right there," I said politely. "Ask them,"

"They can't talk to me." Claudine gave her a look of censure but she didn't seem to notice. Whenever she looked like that it was because someone was about to clue me in on something she or specifically Niall didn't want me to know. That was all the reason I needed to keep Jannalyn talking.

"Of course they can."

"Not in the way you think," she said. "I learned about them in Demonology 101."

Where in the hell was this college that taught Demonology? I needed a crash course. I spent more time with non-humans than anyone else. I watched, intrigued, as she clapped her hands and whistled to get the attention of my bodyguards, but they didn't seem to notice. It wasn't until she took a step forward did Cypher turn towards her. As was to be expected he wasn't friendly.

"They see only shadows that fall over you." Sure enough, her shadow was around mine.

"How come Lynx didn't look?" I wondered.

"You have two, so I think one is physical and the other is psychic."

She stared at me, and it looked like she was concentrating very hard on a math problem. Lynx looked at her and whatever she was thinking, she dead it and took a step back. "Hubby must love you lots because they cost a king's ransom each."

I enjoyed dinner and the small crowd though I felt a little removed. I felt like none of them knew me anymore, not really, but then again, I didn't know myself. Sam looked at me in concern and I smiled at him. This was one the best days I'd had in ages; shrugging my thoughts aside I focused on the people around me in order to enjoy it. It wasn't perfect because my mind was on Jason. He still hadn't shown. After I cut my cake and made a wish for Quinn, I decided to go to Jason's house under the pretense of bringing him a slice.

"He probably forgot," Tara said disgusted. "He always forgets."

That was true, but he would have shown up if only to ask me for money. He hadn't even called to make a sorry excuse. He usually at least made the effort to do that much. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember the last time I heard from him.

"I can do it on my way to close the bar," Sam offered.

His girlfriend didn't want to make the detour and she wasn't going to hide it, "Or you can send them," Jannalyn said. "All you have to do is give them his name and they will bring him to you no matter where he is, or his corpse if he's dead, but they might take a few bites out of it first. In physical form Shadow Wraiths are flesh eaters you know."

Sam slapped the heel of his palm to his forehead in a show of clear exasperation. "Christ woman! Could you try a less morbid point of view?"

"Sorry, sorry," she said, "I'm sure your brother's definitely not dead."

At that point, Sam began towing her out of my house. "Happy Birthday, Sook,"

"It was very nice meeting you," Jannalyn said as he pulled her out.

I didn't let Sam's girlfriend get to me. Tara was right. Jason always forgets. This year was no different. For a while, cleaning up took my mind off my worry, but after that it got worse. It progressed from a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach to feeling like I had ants in my pants. It was something that always preceded bad things happening to people in my family.

"Cypher," I called. He appeared to my left, in the darkest part of the room. Sooktacualar was all I had to say. "Is what Jannalyn said true? Could you find someone by name alone?"

"Yes," he replied, "I am shadow."

Something about all that information the Were had given me was bothering me too. From what I could gather I was their only focus. If that was true then they weren't the ones to tell Eric about Quinn. I'd been sure that they were. It was one of the many obstacles in my way. Eric might have sex with me, but he was yet to let dawn find him in bed and he still sent his spies to baby sit me. I couldn't risk making a move on him even if I could during the day, not with them around.

"You work for me and Eric," I said, trying to explain the thought.

He looked confused, a rare expression for such a starkly featured face. "I am shadow to Ashai," he said.

"But you told Eric about Quinn," I said point blank.

I was trying to read his mind, but as was common with non-humans all I got for my trouble was a headache.

"I know of tiger John," he said, with a nod.

"So you told Eric," I concluded.

"I know your vampire Eric," he said.

I sighed. I knew I wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him. I was more worried about Jason than a bitter past that wouldn't change my future.

"Jason Stackhouse," I said. "Find his shadow,"

He nodded and vanished. Cypher returned not five minutes later to the same exact spot. "His shadow here," he said.

Translation: he's alive. Well, of course he was fine; he just forgot to show up to my party. Jason was an inconsiderate jerk, not a magnet for disaster like me.

"Where is he?" I asked.

He blinked and I knew he didn't understand. Ugh. Before I leave here I was finding where that damn Supe College was and I was enrolling or at least using their library. "Where did you go to see his shadow?"

He nodded, acclimating that my first and second question were the same. "In vampire shadow in vampire club."