Sookie stood, looking up at the hotel. She'd never been here, but it was eerily familiar, like most things in her life. She'd long ago stopped looking for validation to her nightmares, but this building was one more thing to add to the list of things that made her nightmares real. In her nightmares, the events of the next few days changed so many lives and ended just as many. She changed so much for so many, but the events that will shape her life and the life of her bonded was yet to be determined. "Min karla." Eric took her hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze before letting go. Nothing else was said.
It's child's play attracting attention when there are twenty-plus strong of you. Sookie leading the pack with Eric and Tray flanking her. She stood out among the sea of black in her purple peacoat with gold metal buttons. That was until you sported the man in the gold fedora and bejeweled jacket.
"Good evening." The gentleman behind the desk greeted me. Sookie nearly laughed at his thought of hoping they had reservations.
"Reservation under Brigant," Sookie mumbled as she leaned against the desk. She didn't miss the quiet that had descended in the lobby as everyone had paused to stare at them.
"Miss Brigant." A voice called out elatedly.
Sookie smiled at the approaching woman. "Amina." Sookie greeted with a wide smile. "How are you?"
"I'm doing quite well, Miss Brigant." She walked over to the gentleman, checking them in. "I will take it from here, Taylor." Taylor didn't look pleased but moved aside all the same. "You are on the eleventh and twelve floors." Sookie turned to Lafayette and Jesus. Both nodded in response.
"That's fine," Sookie murmured.
She handed over several keycards. "Pleasure seeing you, Miss Brigant," Amina said.
"Come up when you have time; it will be nice to catch up." Sookie didn't acknowledge Porter and Camille's sniggering. Those two could be downright childish when they wanted to be.
They spread out along the bank of elevators. "Who was that?" Pam asked Camille.
"Any questions can wait until we have some privacy," Sookie whispered sharply.
"Of course," Pam mumbled. Jason's shoulders shook as he looked on the verge of losing it. Sookie pushed him into the elevator the second the doors opened. "Honestly, you vampires are worse gossips than Mrs. Fortenberry, and that's saying something." Jason barely got out through his laughter.
"Wait until you have walked this earth for a century or more, and then we will talk." Pam snarked.
Everyone exited on the eleventh floor. "Okay, you know the drill, time for some bloodletting." Lafayette quipped. Jesus produced a large copper bowl and dropped in some herbs and whatever else was needed for the ward and protection spell.
"Unfortunately, we have to do this for the tenth floor as well. Of course, all the cutting shouldn't be a problem for some of you."
"Hmm mm," Stephanie grumbled. "As much I would like to complain, my paycheck makes it difficult." She added drily, earning a chuckle from the room.
"Maybe I should come and work for you," Pam said thoughtfully.
"We are short a female vampire for fieldwork. It's proving a difficult position to fill," Holly interjected, earning a glare from Eric.
"Not only that, your lunch will be rather tasty," Sookie added.
"Oh, that's…"
"You are not going anywhere," Eric growled. "You already have a job. If you want a pay rise, ask for it." Sookie picked up that he genuinely believed Pam would take the job. She also knew Pam had used the opportunity to get what she wanted, a pay rise.
Actually, keep an eye out for a good prospect. I don't care who we've got to pouch from." Sookie mumbled. "We've got a lot coming our way, even if things go according to plan." She added.
"Okay, we are done, but honestly, we won't really know until we have a guest." Trying to create the same magic that kept vampires out of private property in a hotel was an exhausting feat. The A.P had booked the rooms, which added a layer of difficulty, but they hoped with it booked in Sookie's name, it would not pose a problem. "Next floor," Jesus hurried everyone into the stairwell.
"You know, it's moments like this that make think Jehovah's Witnesses have the right idea about blood," Porter said.
"What idea would that be?" Bakari asked.
"That blood is sacred and should be not trifled with," Porter answered.
"They are right. Blood in itself is pure magic." Eric answered.
Sookie stood back, staring at them as the discussion continued. It was at moments like that when she found herself questioning her reality. "Maybe, now I'm dreaming." She murmured to herself.
Eric chuckled at her comment. "Come on, we have a meeting with the A.P" As the elevator doors closed, she could still hear the ongoing discussion regarding blood. A conversation Pam had managed to turn into Jason offering his neck.
"Have you ever met her?" Sookie asked Eric as the elevator climbed to the A.P's suite.
"No, and I am ambivalent as to why she wants to meet me now," Eric mumbled.
"Well, we are about to find out." Sookie could speculate all she wanted, but the truth was that neither knew why the A.P wanted to see them. If it was just her, she would understand, but asking for Eric specifically was worrisome if Sookie was honest with herself. They'd already received several instructions from the A.P. via one of her handmaidens. She knocked softly and didn't have to wait long.
"Sookie." The cheerful greeting took both her and Eric by surprise.
"Thea." Sookie was again surprised by the hug the vampire gave her. "It has been quite a while."
"It has. Come in." She stepped aside for the pair.
"I'll explain," Sookie whispered, having heard Eric's thoughts.
"I was the handmaiden she rescued in Italy," Thea explained.
"Oh." Eric chuckled.
"She will be with you in a minute. I can take that." She moved to grab the two bottles of blood.
"No, you will not." The A.P. intoned as she shuffled into the room. "Hello, child." Her smile was all teeth, which, for some reason, had Sookie cracking up.
"Hello, Pythia." Sookie greeted her with a firm hug. Despite her frail appearance, the vampire could rip her half with little effort.
"And the north man. We have much to discuss. Your actions are poised to have a positive impact on the vampire world. A future I never thought I would see until a decade or so ago." Those blind eyes stared at them as though she could see perfectly well.
"I swear sometimes you forget I'm not a vampire," Sookie grumbled.
"No, but you are bonded to one, and everything you are doing is to secure your future together. It just so happens that while you do so, the rest of the vampire world benefits from it. Your union, especially after your pledging, will send vampire-human relations in a positive direction."
"You are using our relationship as a publicity stunt." Eric looked on the verge of ripping her throat out.
"No, you are using your pledging to send a message and…"
"It just so happens to help the vampire world at large." Sookie finished. They were keeping their bond a secret. Eric's availability was what would have Oklahoma holding Alexei prisoner until Appius signs the contract. Without Eric, Oklahoma would kill Alexei and send an enraged Appius their way. It was not a risk any of them could take, a grieving and vengeful Appius.
"I am not asking you to do anything you are not planning. In fact, I'm not asking you to do anything at all." She sounded so damn arrogant. Sookie just glared at her.
Sookie damn near punched the button for the elevator. "Min karla," Eric called out softly.
"How the fuck did I forget the death of Jennifer Carter and all but one of the Arkansas vampires?" Sookie groused. News broke of their death while they were with the A.P.
"This changes things," Sookie murmured to herself as the elevator descended.
"I don't see how," Eric muttered thoughtfully. "We can play this to our advantage." Sookie stared up at him; as it stood, she couldn't see it. She'd already got a text message from Andrew. Freyda had decided she didn't need Sookie anymore.
"I don't see any advantages here." It was safe to say she was panicking. How could she forget the bloodbath that was Jennifer Carter's body in several pieces and several other vampires?
Pam was on them the second the elevator doors opened. "We know." Eric groused as he stomped down the hall to their suite. "It changes nothing." He added just as the door shut behind him. Pam turned her attention to Sookie.
"I wish I felt that confident." Sookie's voice was barely above a whisper as she showed Pam the text.
"Did this not happen in our nightmare?" Pam asked, unnerved by such a drastic change.
"It did."
"Maybe we can salvage this. There has to be something we can do." She said instead. Her thoughts, though, were questioning how Sookie could forget something so vital.
"Yeah, I'm asking myself the same question." She mumbled, earning a grimace from Pam. "The A.P. has asked all vampires to be in the conference room in a few minutes." Well, fifteen minutes, to be precise.
"That is new." She added. "Jason, put on your shoes and jacket back on. We are on."
"Oh, right." He looked around for a second. "Right, okay. Are you sure?" He shouted after her.
"Yes." Sookie barked. "Get going." Porter grabbed Jason's cases, and they headed down to set up his stall.
It came as no surprise the conference room was packed. When the A.P called, you answered. The wait for the A.P. wasn't long, but what surprised most, was Sookie walking beside her. Both Sophie-Anne and Russell noted Eric's lack of surprise.
"You have seen or heard the news of the Fellowship's foiled planned bombing of the hotel. I once saw this very hotel collapse, and some of you in this room died as a result. We have Miss Brigant and her staff to thank for this new development. It was her gift that allowed her and her staff to derail the plans of the Fellowship. We owe a great depth of gratitude." Russell was the first to start clapping and was soon joined by others.
"This could be done without my being here," Sookie murmured to herself. Whatever response the A.P had, it was halted by Jason sticking his head through the door.
"Ahh, child, come in." Jason blushed a little at all the eyes on him. Sookie found it amusing that her attention-seeking whore of a brother was blushing at all the attention on him.
"Hi, Pythia." Jason greeted me with a hug. Everyone looked surprised at the greeting. "Oh, I'm not supposed to…"
"I'm fully aware that when you told me you and Hoyt were going to Atlanta for a little fun, you were meeting with her," Sookie admitted.
"Of course, you knew," Jason grumbled under his breath.
"With your gift, surely you saw the hurricane. Why did you not warn us?" Andre's tone did not hide his anger.
"Because the council made it clear she was not to interfere." The A.P. barked in response. Sookie glared at Andre, but with Sophie-Anne's glare aimed at him, he did not even notice Sookie's eyes and fingers light up.
Jason took Sookie's hands, absorbing the light. "He's an ass, but we can't already be frying vampires on the first day. Then again, if you really need to fry anybody, fry him." Jason glared at Compton. That got a giggle out of Sookie and a few others, especially Pam.
"Why is my brother here?" Sookie suddenly turned to the A.P. Even before she asked, Sookie knew she wasn't going to answer the question. "What are you doing here?" She asked Jason instead.
"Thea asked me to come and say hello." Her brother said with a shrug. From his thoughts, that was precisely what happened.
"What are you up to?" Sookie asked, annoyed. This was the same vampire that said she wasn't doing anything to interfere in her life. Then again, Jason's life wasn't hers.
"Annoying, ain't it," Jason whispered.
"What is?" Sookie question.
"Not knowing shit, and the person that does ain't saying a damn thing." Sookie glared at him, but his shit-eating grin remained firm.
"It's a real shame I can't blow you up," Sookie grumbled.
"I 'm going to get something to eat." She mumbled as she stomped towards the door.
"Oh, Susannah. I would very much like to purchase the Fairy blood you plan on auctioning tomorrow night." Sookie froze in place as the request sent ripples across the room.
"I am going to…" Jason quickly grabbed her hands again, absorbing her light.
"Again, if you want to fry a vampire, fry that khaki-wearing motherfucker over there." Sookie's amusement was well and truly dead as she continued to glare at A.P.
"Sure, I will sell it to you." Sookie's smile bothered on manipulative. "Ten million dollars a bottle." She threw out.
"You have…"
"Eleven million." Russell cut in.
"Twelve." The A.P. countered. If Sookie wasn't desperate to raise money for New Orleans and the victims of Hurricane Katrina she would have quickly sold it to Russell.
"Fifteen," Russell shouted.
"You don't have that type of money, so don't bother," Eric muttered amusedly. Sookie then noted Pam making calculations on her phone.
"How about my complete and utter servitude until you die." She offered much to Sookie, Eric, and Jason merriment.
"Pam, you do know she's immortal, right," Jason asked and cracked up laughing at the look on Pam's face.
"Sorry, Pam, as much as I would love to see you attempt that role. This is to raise money for New Orleans and the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"Both of you can take five bottles each at fifteen." Sookie offered, leaving the room before any more could be said. She was sure Pythia had something to say.
"So, they have this steak; apparently, it's to die for. A bit expensive, but I heard it's the best steak you ever gonna have." Jason mumbled as they walked to one of the many restaurants in the hotel.
"And how much is this… hundred and thirty dollars for a piece of fried meat." Sookie blurted out.
"You know… it will be real nice if when you ask a question, you wait for the answer," Jason mumbled, annoyed.
"No one likes a know-it-all."
"Really, because the money I have to enable me to buy a hundred and thirty dollar steak is from being a know-it-all. Sookie snarked as they found an empty booth. Despite the time, the restaurant was nearly full. That came as no surprise as many of the humans were part of one vampire or another's retinue.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but this booth is reserved." A waiter informed them. It was evident he took great joy in trying to kick them out.
"I'm aware, and who the fuck do you think it's reserved for." Sookie had no idea, but neither did the waiter, she picked up from his thought. He just knew it was a party of six. "The rest of our party have unfortunately been waylaid by work and will not be joining us," Sookie smirked, enjoying the look of defeat on the waiter's face.
"My apologies, ma'am. I have a menu for you momentarily."
"No, we would like another waiter." This bastard had plans to spit in their food. "I certainly have no desire for spit-flavoured steak," Sookie added. The waiter's eyes widened comically before he bolted from sight.
"I want your help to kill Compton." Jason suddenly said, shocking Sookie.