Chapter 20

Sookie sat next to Eric on a couch in one corner of the VIV Club. Neither of them was pleased to be there. Sookie had one of Eric's hands pulled over into her lap and sandwiched between hers. He leaned over and kissed her temple. The donors across the room glared at her as they were herded towards the exit.

The woman had been glamoured and was on a couch in a seating area nearby, staring blankly at the wall. Her vampire date was sitting next to her. He looked nervous. He hadn't been silvered, but Sookie didn't think he was stupid enough to try to run.

Soon, there were only a handful of people and vampires left inside. Three of Felipe's closest advisors were whispering near the stage when Felipe walked through the door. Everyone but the woman stood, but Sookie still managed to shrink in on herself. The King's anger was usually couched in good humour — or malicious glee — but he was just furious. The way he had been the last time she'd tried to be his telepath. She was terrified of him. Felipe took the seat across from them and they sat back down.

"Sookie, I hope you aren't wasting my time again."

So did she.

He leaned forward.

"Tell me what you heard."

She took a shaky breath and met his cold eyes. Eric sent her courage through the bond. It helped, and she had to make herself not look at him.

"Yes, your Majesty. The woman and the vampire over there sat down at a table close to us in The Stake House. We were about to leave, but she thought the phrase Felipe DeCastro will pay, soI ordered dessert. I had to stall and pay attention to what else she might think."

Well, here went nothing. She swallowed.

"I am almost positive Victor set me up last time so he could keep me here in the Club."

Felipe's glare got even colder. She made herself go on.

"I was afraid he might be doing it again. Something just didn't seem right. I needed her to think about you, but I needed her to think about Victor, too. I asked Eric if you'd punished Victor yet. She just thought those same words again. Felipe DeCastro will pay. Nothing else. We talked about the two of you a little more, but I didn't get anything else, about either one of you, until I brought up the Club. They met up with Victor here sometime last night. I saw it in her thoughts. It was after… It was after Eric saved me from him, but before the floor was cleaned up. Victor was already healed. I didn't hear any of their conversation. Just Felipe DeCastro will pay a couple more times and a few small scraps of memories — them here at the Club, meeting with Victor, and a picture of a little girl."

She blew out another shaky breath. Felipe's eyes were locked on hers and he hadn't even blinked since she'd started to speak. She desperately wanted to look away but she knew better.

"I could tell she'd been glamoured a bunch. I would have expected that anyway because of her date, but I'm pretty sure she was glamoured to think that phrase at me over and over again until I heard her. I pretended not to. I did everything I could not to react whenever she thought it."

Eric sent her more courage and calm and she decided she would be sure to thank him later when they finally made it to bed. It was really helping. He was. With his strength and presence and through the bond. She was able to square her shoulders a bit before she went on.

"Nothing was happening and we had dragged the meal out long enough, so we left the restaurant and ducked into a store nearby to see what they would do. They followed us right out, even though she couldn't have eaten more than a bite or two of her entree yet. They got ahead of us and waited for us to pass by. We did, and then they passed us when we stopped again. We played cat and mouse the rest of the night. I kept pretending to act oblivious and ignored them. They kept following me around the casino, pretending to ignore us, while she mentally repeated herself over and over again. I'm sure if you ask her why she thinks you owe her something, and you get past the nothing-to-see-heres, she will have a good answer that will likely point the finger at someone else, but I am afraid it might all be bullshit."

"You think she was glamoured by Victor to trick you into implicating one of my enemies?"

She shrugged one shoulder. She was trembling a bit. The last beating a few nights before was still very fresh in her mind. And, God, he could be terrifying.

"I think he might have glamoured her to get back at me. And to get me under his thumb again."

Felipe's eyes got even harder. Her voice was pleading now.

"But I don't know, your Majesty. It might not be true. I have no evidence. I can only know for sure what her thoughts tell me, which isn't anything conclusive, or even close to it. But I don't know why else she would broadcast that message like that, unless she'd wanted to make sure I heard it and was under the impression I hadn't yet."

At the same time, it really had been clumsy. The repetition felt so unnatural. Inorganic. Frankly, it had stuck out like a sore thumb, and part of her just couldn't believe Victor would have been involved in something so clunky and transparent with so much at stake. Especially considering how much hot water he was already in with the King. The woman having a brain glitch due to extensive glamouring almost felt more realistic, in a way. Sookie had certainly seen some really strange mental short circuits in some of the VIV Club Donors a few times.

But, then again, she hadn't been reading minds in the wild last time. She had only ever done it for Victor and Felipe and Sophie-Anne face to face, holding the people's hands and asking them questions. And, hell, she'd even failed at that. Spectacularly. Maybe Victor had underestimated her ability. And her acting chops, for that matter. Vampires were cocky and she didn't think any of them would have doubted their senses over a human's ability to hide her surprise and suspicion. And the woman's vampire boyfriend had been trying very hard to keep a very close eye on her, in a peripheral vision kind of way. And, of course, there were cameras all over the casino. It would be easy for someone to be watching their every move. But even Eric, with their blood bond, hadn't caught on that she'd heard a thing until she had dragged him onto the same page a little while later by asking about Victor and the King.

Sookie had given every appearance that she'd been putting all of her attention into driving Eric crazy and hadn't even noticed the couple, other than for maybe a moment or two when they'd first walked into the restaurant. It had given her time to watch and listen, in her own peripheral vision kind of way.

Felipe didn't move a muscle for several seconds. She was so relieved when he finally looked away. She closed her eyes and held them closed for a few seconds.

"Eric, do you have anything to add?"

"No, your Majesty. I just played my part and made sure she was protected."

And mercilessly molested her in the meantime. She was glad. It had kept them conspicuously inconspicuous.

Felipe nodded. He had relaxed a bit and the tension in their corner of the Club eased considerably.

"Sookie, interview her. See what else you can find. I will be having a little talk with her companion."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Felipe smiled at the vampire sitting on the couch nearby. The King looked almost like he had looked a few nights before, on the stage with Sookie, only with less lechery and more malice. This time, it wasn't just for fun and pleasure, but he was finding his good humour again. Sookie didn't think it would be much of an improvement for the vampire.

Felipe stood and Eric and Sookie followed, but they were quickly dismissed. Sookie was very glad to have the King's cold hard eyes fixed on someone other than her. She and Eric sat back down.

One of the King's courtiers released the woman from her glamour and led her to them. She was very frightened and hesitated before sitting down next to Sookie. She was happy to have a human woman beside her rather than a vampire, though, and Sookie hoped she didn't fuck this up.

"Hey. My name's Sookie. What's yours?"

"Emily."

Her voice wasn't much more than a whisper.

"It's nice to meet you, Emily. And you don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask you a few questions. But you need to tell me the truth, okay?"

The woman nodded.

"Can I hold your hand?"

Sookie held hers out and Emily grabbed it like her life depended on it. It hurt, but Sookie didn't really mind. She tried on a smile and hoped the woman believed it.

"Why did you come to The Transylvanian tonight?"

"My boyfriend, Johnny? That's the vampire I was with. We were on a date. He took me out to dinner and then he said we might do some gambling."

Sookie was more interested in what Emily didn't say than what she did, but she needed to pay attention to both. Unfortunately, the woman was terrified and her brain was a jumbly mess, broken up by the rubbed away spots glamour left behind. It was hard for Sookie to get anything coherent.

"Has he ever brought you here before?"

"Nope. This is my first time."

It wasn't the truth, of course, but Sookie had expected that. Emily had been glamoured to lie. Sookie just needed to know whether it was supposed to cover up a plot against the King, or if it was to make Sookie think there was a plot against the King to cover up. And who had done the glamouring?

"What can you tell me about Felipe DeCastro?"

The woman shrugged.

"I know he's a vampire king and he owns this casino. And he's very handsome. Johnny said he met him once."

Felipe DeCastro will pay.

That phrase again. As fuzzy as everything else was, it kept coming through loud and clear.

"Did you ever hear your boyfriend talk about him?"

"A few times, I guess."

"What did he say?"

The woman shrugged again.

"I dunno. Nothing bad. Just stuff. Stories he's heard about him. How rich he was. Stuff like that."

Sookie saw Johnny the vampire on the phone in her head. He said, "Felipe DeCastro will pay."

Now they were getting somewhere. This was something the woman had seen, at least. Seen and heard. Who was he talking to? And did this mean that this wasn't all a plot by Victor to get her deemed useless, once and for all, and sent back to the VIV Club for him to use and abuse until she was put out to pasture? Or, more likely, sent off to the glue factory? Or was that what she was supposed to think?"

Sookie squeezed the woman's hand, although she wasn't sure if it was to offer comfort or in self-defense.

"You're doing great, Emily. Do you know if Johnny talked to anyone else about Felipe?"

"I don't think so…"

The woman thought about the boyfriend on the phone again. This time, the memory lasted a little bit longer. The boyfriend seemed angry.

"Look. I will do my best, okay? When are you coming back to Texas?"

The woman hadn't heard the voice on the other end of the conversation. Her boyfriend listened for a few seconds and then said the phrase Sookie had heard a few dozen times at that point.

"Good. Felipe DeCastro will pay."

Had the woman overheard a private conversation or had it all been a performance? An Easter egg, hidden in the woman's thoughts, meant for Sookie to find? Was Sookie overthinking the whole thing? Was she trying too hard to figure out something that wasn't there? She didn't think so. There was something about the whole thing that just didn't feel right.

Or maybe she was just hoping Victor was involved. She thought it would likely make his problems even worse, and she wanted Victor to be the one flayed raw and on his knees in front of the King, choking on his cock. While they'd been waiting, she'd overheard one of Felipe's advisors telling another that Victor was chained in silver in the basement, awaiting his trial and likely punishment the following evening. The charges kept growing, and she was really hoping to tack on a few more. She was almost afraid of how much she wanted to watch Victor Madden suffer.

"Do you know Victor Madden?"

"I dunno. Maybe?"

The woman's voice got quieter. She remembered seeing him the night before, there in the Club. She looked over at a sitting area a few feet away. Sookie saw them sitting there in Emily's head. Victor had scared the poor woman half to death. Sookie understood that right down to her bones and her voice dropped, too. She let Emily see some of her own fear and vulnerability. She hoped nobody except Eric was paying attention.

"Try to think, Emily. He is very handsome, with dark curly hair and a nice smile that doesn't meet his eyes. He's charming, but in a cold way that makes your skin crawl. He isn't very tall, about the same height as you, maybe, but he feels a lot bigger. A lot scarier. And when he looks at you, he makes you feel really small."

Eric had heard the sincerity in Sookie's words and had felt her fear, without her shroud of armour in place. He wondered if she knew how brave and strong she was to stand up to Victor and Sandy and the King, no matter how scared she was of them. Knowing what they could do — and had done — to her. How impressive it was that she could hide her feelings when she needed to, even from herself. And how she could just conjure them back when required. She had pulled out her fear and her warmth to speak to this woman as easily as she packed them away when the haughty bitch needed to make an appearance. Or maybe she only made it look — and feel — so easy.

Emily raised one shoulder and remembered Victor looking into her eyes. Glamouring her, the night before. But nothing else, even when Sookie tried to press her. Nothing other than fear.

Sookie was frustrated and confused. She was trying to peel back the layers to find the truth but she was afraid she might peel away too much, looking for something that wasn't there. She couldn't really pussyfoot around any longer.

"You were following me and Eric around the casino all night."

Emily swallowed hard and glanced at Eric before she looked back at Sookie. The volume had been turned way up on her fear and her voice got even softer.

"I just went wherever Johnny took me."

"Did he ask you to do anything to get my attention?"

The woman looked confused and shook her head, which confused Sookie. Almost all of her was so sure this was a set up…

"Do you know why y'all were following me around?"

"No."

No matter how scared she was and how quiet her voice had gotten, the woman hadn't let go of Sookie's hand. If anything, she was squeezing it even harder. Sookie could almost hear her bones creaking and grinding together. The touch made it easy for Sookie to see the woman's vampire boyfriend in her thoughts. He was squeezing Emily's hand, prompting her to think the phrase Felipe DeCastro will pay in the restaurant and walking past the slot machines and at a craps table a hundred yards or so away from where Sookie was playing Texas Hold'em. She decided it was time to loop back around to Victor and the King.

"Has Johnny ever told you how he really feels about Felipe DeCastro?"

"Not really."

"Have you ever heard him talking about the King to anyone else?"

"Not that I can think of."

Sookie saw the boyfriend on the phone again, uttering the same old phrase. Sookie lowered her voice, although nobody seemed to be listening except Eric. The only other vampires left in the room were huddled in the far corner near the stage, having a tense conversation.

"Who was Johnny talking to on the phone when he said that Felipe will pay?"

Emily looked up sharply, her eyes wide with fear.

She didn't reply but Sookie could see in her head that she didn't know, although she thought it was a woman. Was it someone who really did have a vendetta against the King, or was that just what Victor wanted her to think? She wished she'd kept her fucking mouth closed and had gone upstairs to spend the rest of the night making love with Eric and had left the woman and her vamp boyfriend alone back at The Stakehouse.

Emily was starting to fall apart. The fear was getting away from her. She wouldn't be able to take much more before she just shut down.

"Why is Felipe going to pay, Emily? Why and what is going to happen to him?"

The woman looked pleadingly at Sookie. She thought of her vampire on the phone again, speaking in hushed tones.

"You were here last night. Johnny took you to the VIV Club. You met Victor. Why?"

Sookie saw Victor looming over the woman, naked. His fangs had run down and he was staring at Emily in a way Sookie immediately recognized. His sinister smile was full of lust and malicious glee. It made Sookie shudder. The woman did, too.

"I don't know anything else. Please. Please let me go home."

Sookie felt so bad for her. She wished she could reassure Emily that everything would be fine. That she could glamour her memories away and let the woman go home and not have to worry about Victor or the King or her boyfriend, Johnny, or anyone else ever again. That nobody would hurt her for what she knew or what she might have told Sookie or just because. She hoped she didn't get Emily killed, the way Sookie had killed Felipe's pet.

"Who is the little girl, Emily? The one in the school picture?"

The woman was sobbing now. Sookie saw Johnny in her mind. He was smiling at her. There was something cold and hard and dark there lurking within the softness and warmth.

"Sweet little Emily. Tell me you love me."

He reached out and swept her hair away from her face and cupped her cheek.

"I love you, Master."

There was no denying the sincerity in her voice. There was also no denying the fact that it was the voice of a child. Sookie could see the girl from the photo reflected in the vampire's eyes. She started to cry, too.

"That's okay, Emily. You don't need to answer me. I'm all done asking questions. Thanks for talking to me. I really appreciate it."

Emily let go of Sookie's hand so she could hide her face. Sookie laid it on the woman's back while she cried. Eric did the same for her.