Eric's POV

When Pam and I first opened Fangtasia it had been an exciting new venture. It didn't take long for it to become a very popular night club among the open minded crowd, and it was interesting to have meals deliver themselves to us willingly. Unfortunately, it got old pretty quickly. The patrons were becoming increasingly pathetic and unappealing. They smelled of sweat and poor diet and desperation. We got the occasional tourist type who was just there for a walk on the wild side, but most were fang bangers that just desperately wanted to be bitten or bed one of us. There were even the extremely pathetic ones who put on fake blood and bite marks, or worse those who wore fangs and pretended to be one of us. As though we would fall for either scheme or find it attractive.

Nights were blurring together and becoming a painful bore. Pam was getting after me because people didn't come here to see melancholy vampires and I wasn't good for business but I found it hard to care. The best part of Fangtasia had been all the ready and willing feed and fucks but even that had lost its appeal. The blood was tainted by drugs, nicotine and diets of fast food and the sex was less than spectacular. The brunette last week who had wanted me to hit her was the last straw. I may enjoy a good battle, even a bit of rough sex, but abusing young women does not make my dick hard. I was only half joking when I threatened Pam that I was going to run away to Sweden during the Midnight Sun so that I could just sleep for a few months.

This night started like the rest. I showered, responded to emails and downed a bag of blood. Bagged blood was less appealing than biting into flesh but at least it tasted better than some of those that offered themselves to me. True Blood had absolutely no appeal. Yes, we could technically survive off of it but I cannot imagine who would want to. It had the properties of blood but none of the flavor. I went to work and took care of area business in my office before presenting myself to what Pam referred to as "the vermin."

I kept myself busy by playing Snake on my phone and texting Pam to pester her at the door. She retaliated by taking pictures of the most unpleasantly dressed customers and sending them to me. After a few moments I felt her get excited. I often felt her amusement through our bond when she worked the door, but it was usually mean-spirited amusement and something was different about this. Before she had a chance to text me anything I caught a whiff of something that overpowered the stench of the pathetic creatures that were writhing on the dance floor. The smell was like flowers, and honey and pure sunshine.

I looked up to find the source of the smell and my eyes locked on a woman who looked like she was dressed for a tea party rather than a vampire night club. I could not image what she was doing here dressed as she was, but it was a nice change. When our eyes met, her face lit up and she began walking toward me.

Pam sped to me from the door and she leaned down to whisper, "I saw her first, I call dibs."

Without removing my gaze from this enchanting creature I responded, "I outrank you." Pam pouted but just continued to stand next to me. I didn't bother telling her to get back to the door because I knew she wouldn't have left it unattended and she was so nosy that she would pester me about this young woman as soon as she left; it was easier to just let her stay and see what was going on.

"Miss Stackhouse, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Pam purred at her.

The young woman dipped her head at each of us in greeting and didn't balk at Pam greeting her with knowledge from her "vault". How did a woman that looked like that know that we don't shake hands? She looked and smelled completely pure.

"Mr. Northman, Miss Ravenscroft, I have some information for you if there is somewhere that I can speak to you in private?"

My gaze narrowed on her. "How do you know our names?"

She smiled, "I know all kinds of things about you. I can speak to you out here if you prefer, but I'm not wild about the way some of your people are sniffing at me."

I looked up and saw that several vampires were inching closer to her like sharks circling an injured seal. I flashed fangs and snarled at them and they backed off. I looked at my visitor to see if she was frightened, but she was completely unfazed. I stood and stepped down from the stage and offered her my hand. She slipped her small hand comfortably in mine and I began walking to my office, knowing Pam would follow. There was something familiar about Miss Stackhouse, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was almost like déjà vu.

Back in the office I gestured for her to sit across from my desk while Pam and I sat at the chairs behind it. "So, Miss Stackhouse, you said you had information for me?"

"Please call me Sookie. And yes. First of all, are you familiar with a vampire named Bill Compton?"

Pam snorted and muttered "pantywaist" under her breath.

I nodded. "I believe he is living in New Orleans, but I'm not sure how you've come to meet him."

"He came into the bar I work at last night, Merlotte's and said he was new in town. Somehow I doubt he'd checked in with you yet. That probably doesn't matter anyway though. He's dead."

I opened my mouth to ask her how she knew that vampires were supposed to check in with me, but before I got the chance she started digging around in her purse and pulled out a digital camera. She handed it to me and I looked at the picture she had brought up. There were chains on the ground and ashes underneath them along with a needle and a piece of tubing.

"Did you do this?" I asked. She didn't seem the type, but in my many years I had learned that you could not make assumptions about a person based entirely on their appearance.

"No. But I know who did."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, so I know that's him because he's the first vampire that ever showed up in Bon Temps since y'all 'came out'. He was sitting in my section and was joined by two known drug abusing criminals and he left with them. I was out running errands this morning and I stopped by work to pick up my schedule and I saw that. I'm guessing they drained him."

Compton was a fool. He came into my area without checking in and fell for the trap of drainers. You can usually spot a drug addict without trouble based on their features and the way they smell. Vampire blood is the hottest drug on the market right now and if he'd been smarter, he would have considered that they were a threat. Good riddance. Lorena would have to be dealt with though. I was not looking forward to that.

"And I suppose you know the names of these drainers?"

"Mack and Denise Rattray. If say, a tornado flipped their trailor, or a sinkhole opened underneath it and killed them, I doubt very much that anyone would miss them."

"And how do I know you're not trying to trick me into doing something?"

She shrugged. "What you do with the information I give you tonight is up to you. I only ask for one thing in exchange."

Pam rolled her eyes, "Of course you want something."

Sookie ignored her and continued. "There's a man named Drew Marshall who is living in my town under the name Rene Lenier. He hates vampires and the women who consort with them and has been murdering those women. He killed his own sister Cindy and a woman in my town named Maudette Pickens. There were several similar murders in Minden where women were strangled. If you look into the files you'll see that they all had bite marks. All I'm asking is that you glamour him into confessing to his crimes. If you do not, Dawn Green will be his next victim."

I recognized that name. That was the woman who had wanted me to hit her. "Are you a psychic?" I asked her.

She shook her head.

"Seer?"

Another head shake.

"How do you know these things?"

"I can't really explain how, but I know a lot of things that are going to happen in the next year or so."

I decided to humor her and see what else she had to say. If it was somehow valuable to me I would take care of her killer. The drainers would be dealt with either way. "What else can you tell me?"

She looked around and leaned in to whisper, "Long Shadow is stealing from the bar. He's glamoured Ginger into helping him with it. He's taken about 60,000 dollars so far. If you don't believe me, call Bruce in the morning. I'm sure he'll be freaking out when he notices that the numbers aren't adding up."

She sat back up and stared at me, wide eyed, waiting for my response. I gestured for her to continue.

"In the next few months, a coven of witches is going to form in the Shreveport Area. They are Weres and V users and very evil and selfish. The leader is Marnie Stonebrook though she may go by the name Hallow and she has a brother named Mark. I would suggest rooting them out and uh…eliminating the threat before it comes to your door. Oh, before that though- probably in about a month or so, a maenad named Callisto will be in the area and she'll want tribute from you. She may accept an offering of a bull, but what she really wants is to send her madness into the town."

At this point Pam and I were just staring at her. There was absolutely no way for her to know about these things unless she was involved in them, but she was trying to get me to stop the events. Even if she had somehow heard of a maenad, how would she know the name of the one I had met before? This creature before me (for she was certainly not just a human) had found a way to liven up my nights. Not only was her presence nearly intoxicating, but she was giving me a list of things to do and none of them were boring.

"Here is the one I think you will find most pressing and important." She paused to make sure I was listening even though she already had my full attention. "You need to call Godric. He has become despondent and weary of his existence. You should get to him before he offers himself as a sacrifice to the Fellowship of the Sun."

"Godric would never-"

"How long has it been since you have spoken? How long since he has left his side of the bond open to you? He's shutting you out so you don't feel how lost he is, and if you don't do something soon it will be too late."

I clenched my jaw so tight that I nearly cracked my teeth. She was right. Godric had been blocking our bond for the last several months. Pam didn't even know that.

"What are you?" I growled at her.

One side of her mouth tipped up in a smile as she stood. "Well, I'm a waitress…" she bit her lip and considered her next words carefully. "…and a time travelling telepath." She spun and walked toward the door to leave, but before she did, she turned back and said "Oh- call Sophie Anne and tell her not to marry Peter Threadgill. He's plotting to kill her to take over Louisiana." And then she was gone.

Pam and I sat in silence after Sookie left, and after a moment, Pam looked at me yelled "What the fuck?!"