"So, he's locked himself in his workshop." Eric was trying his damnest not to laugh at Jason; he was being ridiculous.
"You can laugh, I did." Sookie chortled at the thought of her brother.
"In his defense, getting kidnapped by a jealous lover in hotshot and bit repeatedly is no laughing matter." Eric countered.
"He hasn't laid eyes on her yet to feel the need for such caution." Sookie bit her lip. It would help to tell him that Felton Norris, due to the minuscule change in events, has already run afoul of Calvin Norris. Eric threw his head back in laughter.
"Miss Stackhouse, you are wicked." His eyes gleamed impishly.
"Don't get any ideas. I'd know what I'd find if I ran a black light through this room." She snarked.
"It's not that bad." Eric defended feebly.
"Uh-huh," Sookie murmured.
"So, if I have this place…" A knock on his door interrupted him. "Come in." He grumbled, irritated by the interruption.
"You've got visitors." Pam led them into the office.
The only thing Sookie had not been sure of was the date the witches would turn up. She'd picked tonight as the most likely and hit the jackpot. She would admit to a moment of surprise at the sight of Hallow and her brother leading two other witches. She hadn't expected her; Hallow had sent reps the first time with her request.
"Good evening, sheriff, I'm H…"
"Marnie Stonebrook and that is your brother Mark. I know who you are. How can I help you?" Eric sat back in his chair, a smirk gracing his features.
"Well then, you know just how powerful my coven is." Eric was not going to give her a chance.
"Yes, that is true, but if there is one thing I have learned in my long existence, it is that." Eric leaned forward. "Whatever your capabilities, there is someone always better than you… always. Isn't that why you are here?" Their protection spell worked brilliantly, and Hallow's presence was proof enough of that.
"Those two behind you caught the powerful protection smell around the bar and decided it would be best if you came yourself." Eric sat back again. "You might be powerful, but you do not have the power to overcome the level of protection I and my people have. So, I will not pay you to prevent you from cursing my employees, turning my drinks bad, causing the patrons to injure themselves, and suing for the inconvenience. Above all else, I will not be entertaining you for seven nights, nor will I give you access to my blood or that of any vampire in Louisiana. You will not get half, a third, or a fifth of anything." Eric stood. His voice hadn't risen an octave; the entire message was delivered in a rather bored tone, lacking any real emotion. "Thank you for coming, but you offer nothing I require." He finished politely, which Sookie felt was all the more insulting.
The furious glare Hallow threw their way before storming out was evidence of a witch who intended to regroup and come back. "I wondered why she was here. I was certain Pam told me she'd sent members of her coven." Sookie murmured.
"Now we know the protection spell works," Eric said with a triumphant smile,
"She will come back," Pam said what they all knew.
"That's a certainty. First, she will wonder if she has a spy in her group. I knew too much. Second, she will go after the local covens; we already know that. Third, I will be surprised if she doesn't figure out who you are."
"She will, and frankly, I'm looking forward to it." Sookie chuckled. "I just have to make sure I don't give her a chance to catch me during the day. Our bond adds to the protection spell, and I don't know what it will do with you dead for the day." She added thoughtfully.
"Agreed," Eric said.
"We know the end result will be their deaths. Why are we going through this charade." Pam muttered, annoyed.
"We cannot arbitrarily kill them, not without some blowback from the were community. We know they are a threat, but so far, they are only causing me problems and nothing that warrants their deaths. Give them time; they will piss everybody off enough to want them gone."
"In my nightmare, they questioned everybody looking for Eric. This time, I believe their questions would be in seeking answers. Someone will give them a clue as to my identity, and they come calling. In the process, who knows just who they will they piss off." Sookie stood, stretching her back. Her back hurt and had been for a few days now, and she wanted to collapse on the couch. "Are there any body fluids on that couch?" Eric Northman is wearing a look she can only describe as shame. "That's a yes, I take it. I'm going to go home to the safety of my own bed. See you two later." Pam looked ready to tease the shit out of Eric, and he knew it too.
"I'll walk you out." He quickly stood and opened the door before she could protest.
"Simply delaying the inevitable, my dear Viking." Sookie quipped. He ignored it, hand on the small of her back as he walked her out of the bar.
He would not say it, but with everything going on, he wasn't keen on her riding her bike. "Relax, I'm not on my own." She jerked her head to the SUV just two cars behind them. Mael and a female were he didn't know were in the SUV.
"Maybe I should get a protection detail." He teased.
"Oh sure, I can just see it." Sookie laughed. "Call me when you are done, if I'm awake, drop by." A flight to Bon Temp took all of fifteen minutes for him. With her offices opening, she needed to stay close.
"Will do." He kissed her goodbye." Sookie threw her head back in laughter at the thoughts that assailed her. With her shields dropped with Hallow about, she heard it all.
"Your fan club did not like that." She pulled her helmet as he rolled his eyes at the women in the queue. She did a wheelie peeling out of the car park, SUV right behind her.
"What's so special about her?" Eric didn't care to know who asked.
"If you have to ask." Clancy bit back. Eric laughed at the response.
"I take it your office is getting a makeover." She piped up the second his butt hit the throne.
"I doubt polishing everything in gold will change her view of that office." He grumbled. "But if you are offering, you won't hear a no from me." He added as an afterthought. In time, she might feel comfortable in his office, even if just enough to sit on the couch.
"You know…" He knew he would not like where she was going. "I have sat on that couch in my finest, and now I might have to get it cleaned." Her attempt to hide her merriment was pathetic at best.
"Oh, fuck you." He grumbled.
"Isn't that the same sort of…" He was gone before she could complete her sentence. "I will pay for that later, but it was worth it." She moved to sit in the seat he'd just vacated.
Half an hour later, she wasn't so sure it was worth it.
"Sookie, you have to give the place a name. It's bad luck or something." Gavril muttered, Russian accent getting thick in his frustration.
"I think that only applies to ships," Holly muttered behind the reception desk. She was arranging her side to suit her, something Sookie encouraged everybody. It wasn't as though she had to stay behind the desk. The surveillance cameras would see any visitors coming a mile away.
"Still, it requires a name." He argued.
"You do realize the business you've been working for, for the last six years doesn't have a name per se?" Sookie asked. For tax purposes, she was Stackhouse Brigant consultant.
"Don't care; the house needs a name." He was not backing down, and she knew it.
"Okay, come up with one." Sookie decided what was the best course of action. "Now, I have an office to sort. She had a mountain of paperwork to get through. Despite a business of dealing in secrecy, she still had a staff, and the staff came with paperwork.
Two hours later, she didn't think she'd made a dent in the pile she had to sort out when a knock came. If anything, she welcomed it. "Come in. I thought we had an intercom system to save people running up to knock." She murmured, rubbing her eyes.
"We do, but erm, the were witch and her brother are here." Nana planted herself in front of Sookie's desk. She was a coyote that Mael had brought in, and he surprised everyone when he introduced her as his sister. No one questioned it; in the supe world, you made family were you could, especially those that would have you no questions asked. "The rest of her coven, though, aren't far. I don't think we are supposed to know that." She added.
"Tell her I'm on the phone, and the minute I'm free, someone will bring her up. I don't want anyone hovering. In fact, I'd prefer if they didn't see anyone at all." Sookie strangely welcomed the paperwork with vigor.
"You know we've got food in the break room, and Laff has got the barbecue going." Nana reminded her.
"Yes, actually, bring me something and a can of coke." It was their first day in the new offices, and the guys insisted on celebrating. "Oh, and can you get Hugo and Laura to ensure Holly's paperwork is done and dusted. Also, if any travel documents are required, I would like that sorted out before next week. She's coming with us to Monaco."
"Will do." Nana saluted, shutting the door behind her.
She managed just over half an hour of paperwork, mostly shredding old documents. She had no idea they'd accumulated so much junk.
"Send them up." Sookie was still sitting on the floor when the two walked in.
"So, you are the one that gave everyone a heads-up about my coven. Even better, you offered protection." Sookie saw her eyes drift to the broach on her lapel.
"That would be me." Sookie finally stood, smoothing down her pencil skirt. "You didn't come here to tell me what I already know, so how can I help you." She settled down on her couch, taking a sip of her Coke. She'd already demolished her two slices of pizza and chicken Lafayette barbecued. The view behind her desk showed her staff having one hell of a time. Hallow and her brother followed her view and found Eric, Pam, and a few vampires from the area among her staff.
"I doubt you'd tell me, but I will ask. How?"
"I know my future and, therefore, anyone who comes into my orbit. You in Shreveport are in my orbit, and I know your actions."
Hallow could not see how her actions could affect Sookie. She's only targeted vampire businesses, so this business would not have been on the list. Unless. "The Viking, he's yours."
"My bonded." Sookie smiled down at the vampire in question. Although he couldn't see her due to privacy glass, he looked up and smiled back with a wave.
"Indeed," Hallow whispered. The protection spell was so powerful it had masked the smell of his blood in her. The whole place reeked of it. Walking in through the doors, she could feel the magic warning her.
"Shreveport has all the protection it needs; we don't need anything from you and your coven." Sookie looked away from Eric and stared at Hallow. "We both know you will not walk away despite what you have encountered here. You may want to believe and think you can overcome us, but I can promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, you will die trying. I don't need to dream of tomorrow to tell you that." Sookie pretended her attention was elsewhere as Hallow and Mark's eyes widened at what they believed to be an unintended revelation. "You can show yourselves out."
"We should move," Mark whispered.
Hallow chuckled mirthlessly. "Wouldn't be surprised if she already knows where we will go before we do. Neither you nor I can make any decisions as it stands."
"It worked." Eric smiled, entering from the balcony.
It came as no surprise that Hallow and her coven had stirred up a hornet's nest the following morning. They attempted to forcibly recruit from the Shreveport pack to do their dirty work for them to combat what they thought was an ongoing gift. The plan was to kidnap her gran, Jason, and enough vampires in the area to force Eric and Sookie to come to them. Colonel Flood wanted her head, which Eric had promised was in the works. Sookie wondered if there was a certain level of naivety in believing Hallow and her coven would have left and caused havoc elsewhere. Yeah, she would have strengthened and returned when Sookie's knowledge of the future had long run out. Hallow wanted Eric, and nothing would get in her way of that. It's too bad, she was not stepping aside for her, Freyda, or anybody else.