Chapter 58

What Just Happened?

Hello, everyone. I'm back. As I previously said, I will not stop working on this story. I will not abandon it if I can help it. As always, thank you all so much for sticking it out with me. My life has been hectic, but I'm still here. Thank you for reading, favoriting, and reviewing. Y'all are the absolute best.

Claudine handed me three small vials of a shimmering, purple liquid. I could've sworn that there was glitter floating around in it. I held the vials closer to my eyes, I was hypnotized by it. The colors. There were so many colors. Several different colors of purple. There was lilac and lavender, and a purple so purpled that it was almost black. You may think I'm crazy, but I could feel the liquid flowing through me, and I hadn't even tasted it. "Oh my," I whispered. "What is this?"

"It's an elixir made especially for our kind. This is from the Prince. Everyone in the fae realm drinks this when we are in the earthly realm. We need this to stay safe. To stay alive. What's in these vials will save your life. They will hide your scent." She leaned her backside against Gran's table. "Our scent is intoxicating, and it drives vampires crazy nuts. One taste, and they can and will drain us dry." She nodded as she spoke. "I've seen it happen. It's not pretty. We shrivel up to almost nothing. You don't want that."

I frowned. "You're right. I don't, but I don't smell like anything, Claudine, but Olay bodywash and lotion."

She began to laugh. "Oh, dear. You smell like a lot more than that. You smell strongly of the Northman and Brigant." She closed her eyes and inhaled before speaking to me again. She shook her head as she opened her eyes. "You have the scent of a vampire-owned human and the most powerful beings in the world. We, Brigants, have a unique scent. They will know who you are in seconds."

"But, I've always …"

"You're with a vampire now, Sookie. Their blood enhances everything." Claudine cocked an eyebrow. "You're not a Stackhouse anymore. Not by blood. You're one of us now. You've taken your place, remember?"

I do. And how could I say that she's wrong? I can't get in good with the coven if I smell of my vampire and Niall Brigant. I guess I really had no choice but to do what she said … and soon. I know that Claudine and I are forming our relationship, and she's helped me a lot in the past couple of days but that doesn't mean that I fully trust her. She was trying to get me to consider being with a faery man. Hopefully, she's done with that nonsense. "If I drink this, it won't break the bond that I have with Eric will it? I'm still going to be connected to him?"

"You will," she assured me. "I wouldn't do anything to betray your trust. You have my word. I have several vials of my own. Let me show you," she said. She took a vial from me and drunk it. "See? Nothing will happen to you." She reached into her purse and handed me there more vials. "Here. Take these. Just in case. You can't be Agatha and smell like Sookie, the vampire lover and the great-granddaughter of Niall Brigant."

"Ha, ha, ha," I said. I drank the liquid in the vial and everything in me seemed warm and calming. And unbelievingly, I could taste the colors. When I exhaled, I could see flecks of glitter floating through the air. I could reach out and touch them. I could actually reach out and touch them. "What is this?"

"It's faery magic. It keeps us safe. It keeps us alive," she said. "No one will be able smell you. Only Eric."

"If I see Pam, will she know? Can she tell? She is Eric's child after all."

Claudine almost looked uncertain then quickly shook her head no. "She won't be able to smell you. Though she's Eric's child, she's just like the others. Only Eric will know your scent."

"Sure?"

She nodded. "Positive." This time, she looked and sounded sure. "If you need more, you need only to call. We are here for whatever it is that you need."

"I believe you," I shared. "I'm just nervous."

"You can do this, Sookie," Claudine reassured me. "I'll be there with you and even if I weren't, you can do this." She gripped my shoulders and gave it a little squeeze as she nodded her head. "We're in this together. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Do you know where the hotel is? Do you know what it looks like?"

I nodded my head yes. I closed my eyes and pictured the view that I've always admired. "I've driven by there a few times. It's gorgeous. I used to imagine getting married there in their Garden of Lilies. Gran has the most beautiful garden, though I'd never tell her, their garden is much prettier. I think it's because they have so many colors. I've always loved gardening. It's so beautiful there in the springtime. Their calla lilies are gorgeous. When I get married, I hope that they allow me to pick some of their lilies for my bouquet. Yellow ones. I can almost smell them. Gran and I talked about planting some."

"Open your eyes," a faraway voice whispered.

When I did, I was standing in the middle of the Garden of Lilies. "Oh, my," I whispered aloud. I reached out and touched each flower that was near me. I looked at the butterflies and the birds flitting to and from the different birdhouses. I'd never seen anything more beautiful. Well, except for Gran's flower garden. I know what I said earlier. She doesn't have to know. She's proud of her flowers. I then thought about her being in hiding. I hope they're okay. I hope that she was able to get Ms. Fortenberry to look after them until she gets back.

"Sookie?"

I turned to see a woman standing behind me. I didn't know what to say, so I shook my head. "I'm not …"

She lifted her hand and shook her head. "Agatha?"

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"I was told to look out for you," she said. She offered me her hand. "My sister told me that you'd be here. I'm your cousin, Claudette Crane." I could see the family resemblance. The same beautiful almond brown eyes and gorgeous brown hair. She even smelled like Claudine. She looked like Claudine. She even sounded like Claudine but with a huskier voice. How I really knew that they're sisters, it was that smell. That sweet, intoxicating smell that told me who she is. I don't know what it is about their smell, but it's so enticing and hypnotizing.

I took her hand in mine and smiled. "It's very nice to meet you." I shook my head in awe. "Why do you smell like that? Why do faeries smell so good?"

She laughed and when she laughed, it sounded like wind chimes. "It's our natural scent." She inhaled when she kissed the tip of my nose. "Your scent is changing … stronger, more sensual," she shared. "Subtle, but it's there."

I blushed. "It's probably the vampire blood." I, then, frowned. "How can you smell me? I drank that stuff."

"We're of the same blood," she said. "You can't hide from me."

"Ok," I replied. I even relaxed a little more. I repeated, "It's the vampire blood."

She shook her no. "It's not just that. It's you. You're coming in." She leaned forward and looked deeply into my eyes. "You're going to be amazing, Aggie. Absolutely amazing."

"What does that mean?" I asked. "Where am I going to be coming in? I don't get it."

She smiled while she didn't answer me. "Come. She's waiting for you."

When we walked through the doors of the hotel, Amelia was sitting at the bar. Claudine was the bartender. She winked at me as she made drinks for the other patrons. Whispering in my ear, Claudette said, "I will see you soon, dear cousin." She cocked her head to the side as she stared at me. She nodded and stroked my cheek. "Yes. Very soon."

Before I could ask what she meant, she was gone.

Oh, well. Let the games begin.

As I stated, Amelia was sitting at the bar and awaiting my arrival. You'd never guess that she's being followed by crazy witches and werewolves. She was as calm as I've ever seen her, though I've only seen her twice, not including today. She was looking around the room, watching as people would come and go. Smiling and waving at every stranger that walked past or sat close to her. When she saw me, she smiled and screamed my name. "Aggie!"

"Amelia!" I exclaimed, just as excited.

She jumped down from her barstool and ran to me. We wrapped our arms around each other. She kissed my cheek and said, "The table to your right has members from my coven sitting there. Don't worry. They won't hear anything we're saying. I've spelled our table. We can hear everything they say." She released me and said, "It's so good to see you." To Claudine, she said, "Can you bring a couple of white wines to our table please?"

Claudine shook her head no. "As you can see, I am the bartender. The waiter will do it."

Amelia took me by my hand and led me to our table. It was the table Eric chose. It was closest to the window, and our backs were against it. It faced the entire restaurant. We could see everything. We could see whomever entered the hotel. We could see whomever leaves the hotel. There was no way anyone would be able to sneak up on us. "Can you hear their minds?"

I scanned the room and realized that I could hear individual minds. I've always been able to do that, but it was different this time. Normally, the minds would invade me in a rush. It's not been like that since taking Eric's blood, but it's never been like this. It would be overwhelming but not today. Not now. Now, I could pick out a person and only hear him or her. I stood from my chair and looked around the room. "Give me a minute." I walked to another table and picked up the salt, and I could only hear whomever I chose. The woman that was eating lunch with her husband was thinking of her lover and how she was going to tell her husband that she's leaving him for his sister. I catch my breath when I hear her husband's thoughts. He's thinking of how happy and lucky he is to have the most loving and honest woman he's ever known as his wife. He reached across the table and rested his hand on hers and contemplated how he's going to propose to her again for their fifth wedding anniversary because he's more in love with her than he's ever been. I feel heartbroken for him. I took the salt and headed back to our table.

I went back to Amelia and sat down, "I can," I answered. "But their minds aren't very loud. I can hear them, but it's so peaceful. That's never happened. It's like they're lightly humming in my head. They're there, but their thoughts are so quiet. So peaceful." I then glanced as the man and woman and thought, they're also so sad. I've never had the luxury of going out anywhere and listening to silent voices. I looked around the room and imagined that this is what it's like to be normal … kind of. I heard calm voices. It was glorious. "It's so quiet," I whispered. Grandpa taught me how to use my shields but nothing like this.

"I must be really great," Amelia shared. "I didn't know that I could do that."

And in my mind, she didn't. It had to be the liquid that Claudine gave me. It was the realm. It was the grandfather that I don't quite trust. What is in that liquid? It had to have done something to calm my surroundings. To calm me to make it easier to do my job. I think I like being a Brigant faery. To keep up with our charade, Amelia was filled with excitement and joy at seeing good, old Aggie. "I can't believe you're really here. I'm so glad you came." She gently squeezed my hand. "We're going to have so much fun."

The waiter brought our drinks. He looked at me and nodded. "Hi, I'm Claude. I'll be with the bartender if needed."

"Thank you," I replied. And he, too, looked like Claudine and Claudette.

He winked. "Anytime."

Amelia snapped her fingers at him, which he didn't like. Not at all. With a frown on his face, he replied, "Don't do that. Don't snap your fucking fingers at me. I'm not a fucking dog. Don't do it again." And just like that, he was smiling like nothing ever happened. "What can I do for you ma'am?"

Amelia's smile never faltered. "Bring us two more glasses of wine." She winked at him before snapping her fingers. "Scratch that. Bring us the bottle. You might spit in my drink."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the waiter's face. "Wait on it, bitch," he said as he walked away. And that's what we did because he didn't come back. I glanced back at Claudine, and she was shaking her head. Another waiter that didn't look like Claudine brought our bottle of wine, and he did it with a smile.

After he was gone, the pleasantries ended. Amelia pointed out and told me about each of her coven members that were sitting across from us. "Hi," she called out and waved at everyone at the table. Pointing at me, she announced, "This is my bestest friend in the entire world, Agatha Miller. She'll be my guest today and this week during my graduation ceremony."

Everyone waved. There were a few hellos and heys. Some 'what's ups' and some 'how's it going'. Everyone seemed to be pretty cool. From what I could hear.

After the pleasantries, Amelia's smile was gone and so was the cheerful voice. "They're all going to be in the meeting today. Whenever we have a visitor, they introduce themselves and tell a little about their talent and how they became witches." She waved her hand. "All of it's boring as hell. Most of them lie about what they can do, so take what they say with a grain of salt. When you ask them to cast the spell, they always have excuses." She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Bunch of phonies, all of them."

I looked out at the group and listened to each person. No one was thinking of Appius or Pam. They were talking about the graduation ceremony and the potluck afterwards. Though it's next weekend, they're speaking like it's taking place today. Everyone was happy and excited. Only one person stood out. One guy stared at me for a long, uncomfortable time. His name is Kenneth, and he inhaled deeply as he stared at me. His mind was filled with snarls. He was a shifter of some sort. It never dawned on me that shifters would be witches. I guess anyone can be a witch, human or supe. But this guy, he didn't fit in. He wasn't right. I went into his mind again and still; I could hear nothing. I thought that I saw a flash of something in his eyes before I turned away.

Amelia continued to tell me about the members of her coven in detail and what they can and can't do. "They're all pretty good witches but none of them are as good as I am, except for one." She frowned as she noticed that one witch wasn't there. "There is one witch that you should be careful of." She looked around the room and didn't see who or what she was looking for. "She's never on time. Always late but always the first one to say something slick about our spells or how slow we are or how much better we could be if we tried. I can't stand her. Her dumb name is Callisto." She frowned and snorted. "Isn't that the stupidest name ever? Callisto. Who names their child Callisto?"

I opened my mouth but said nothing because Amelia continued talking.

"I don't like her." She said. "There's something about her, and I usually like everyone." She leaned in. "I tried putting a spell on her cause, you know, I think she's weird. And guess what? It didn't work. My spells always work but not on her. She even told me that she knew that I tried to spell her. I don't know how she knew. I don't think she's human. She's off." She almost shivered. "Hopefully you won't ever have to meet her." She shook her head no. "I don't like her."

"If you can, send me a picture of her," I requested. "I want to know who I'm going to be around in your coven."

"You got it."

"Eric and I have been invited to a party this weekend at the King of Louisiana's compound. Are you interested in going?" I figured we could use a witch at the party to cast spells. There's no telling what Bill's going to try.

Amelia's eyes lit up like sparklers. "You're damned right I do. I assume Jake's going to be there anyway, right? We're going to have to go shopping for formal dresses. We'll have to get our hair and makeup done."

Though I never considered any of what she said, especially about Jake, I nodded. "I assume so since he's my bodyguard. And don't worry about an invitation. We're going to go together. And we can go shopping today if you want." I've never been shopping with a human girlfriend before today. It's always just been me. That'll be nice. I then cleared my throat. I devised a plan that I didn't tell Eric about because I knew that he wouldn't like it, but it's going to be our best bet at getting closer to bringing Pam home. "Let me ask you something," I said.

"Shoot."

I picked up the menu and pretended to be reading over the day's specials. "What would I have to do to become a part of your coven? Do I have to be an experienced witch or can I be fresh off the block?"

She raised her hands and shook her head no. "There's nothing that you can do. Eric's not going to kill me. You're not supposed to join anything. You're just supposed to sit in and nothing else. I won't allow it because you can't be a part of this coven. It's not a good one. It used to be, but it's not anymore." She leaned forward as she rested her arms on the table. "Octavia isn't the same. She's changed and not for the better. Plus, it's too risky. You know that Appius is there. He's taken over the coven. He'll be able to smell Eric in you. He has Pam."

I shook my head no. "He won't," I assured her. I didn't know if I should tell her about the serum, so I kept quiet. "I have a plan."

But before I could tell her the plan, I heard a loud Russian voice. "They blew up my fucking tattoo parlor! They destroyed every fucking thing! I had fucking originals in there! I didn't make copies! What am I supposed to do now? It will take weeks before I get my insurance money to rebuild my brand!" He was speaking to the waiter that waited on me and Amelia, Claude. He was alone and looked downtrodden. Poor guy. He was at the bar nursing a drink. "What do I do now? I have nothing. I've lost everything. I visit my family for one week and come back to America to nothing." He sadly shook his head as he downed another shot.

I stared at the Russian and couldn't believe my eyes. He was taller than Eric. His blond hair cascaded over his broad shoulders. "Try selling cars," the disinterested Claude offered. "I don't know what to tell ya."

Claudine laughed at Claude the waiter and smiled at me.

I waved at her before I touched Amelia's hand. "Do you see that guy at the bar?"

She shook her head yeah. "Which one? There are eight men sitting at the bar."

I rolled my eyes. "The blond with the great big arms."

"Yeah. The one that's almost eight feel tall." She shrugged. "What about him?"

Focusing back on our table, I said, "We've been looking for him. Did you hear about that tattoo parlor that blew up a couple of nights ago? Some people died?"

"Ok." She was as disinterested as the waiter.

"Well, there's another telepath out there somewhere in this great big world, and he knows him. His name is Barry Horowitz. Barry is working for the vampire that took Pam. He could possibly know the vampire that employs Barry. I need to meet him … the Russian and the telepath."

Again, she shook her head no. "No. That's not why we're here. We're supposed to let Eric know who's working with Appius and Octavia. We're supposed to give him a list of names that are working directly with Octavia. We are supposed to get names of members that have taken Appius' blood. That's it. Nothing else, Aggie."

I began reading the room. Taking names. Retaining faces.

I made her aware of each Were that was in the restaurant that are employed by the vampire and the witch. I let her know their names and their thoughts. I wasn't sure which ones have had his blood, but we can find that out during the coven meeting. "Take pictures of me," I told her. "They'll be in the background, and no one will know what we're doing. We can give the pics to Jake, and he can give them to Eric. Maybe they know them or know their pack leaders."

"Good idea," she said. "But you're still not joining the coven, and you're still not running off to talk with that Russian. I'll rat you out before I let that happen." And just like that, Amelia was off and snapping pictures. She then had an even better idea. She walked over to the Russian at the bar. "Will you take pictures of me and my friend? We don't get to see each other often, and we want to remember this weekend forever."

The way he turned around, I assumed that he would say no but when he looked us up and down, his dirty thoughts told me otherwise. "I sure will, beautiful ladies."

Amelia and I posed. We laughed. We smiled. I did the bunny ears. We gave the thumbs up. We were every picture cliché to known to man. We took pictures with the Weres that are working with and for Appius. Handing Amelia's phone to another man that was sitting at the bar, the big Russian said, "And now, I take picture with beautiful ladies." He wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me in the air.

I yelled out in fake laughter as his grip tightened with each picture that was taken. I took as many pictures as I could stand. I pushed myself out of his arms with a smile. "That was fun," I said, trying my hardest to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "Well, thanks for the pictures."

"Where do you go?" he asked. "We are friends. We hang out together."

I was going to say nowhere in particular but then I remembered that Eric and I need to question him about Barry Horowitz and his vampire boss. And just like that, I had a bright idea. I grabbed Amelia's arm and said, "We're meeting with some friends and then going to get some tattoos."

Amelia lightly elbowed me in the side. "What?!"

I turned to her and with pleading eyes, I said, "It's something I've always wanted and since I'm in town, I've decided to do it." I then had an even brighter idea. "My best friend in the whole, wide world agreed to pay for my birthday tattoo, and we're getting one together! Right, Ames?"

"Right," she said. She also said, "You're so right, you sneaky bitch." She leaned in and kissed my cheek. She then whispered, "You owe me. You know that right?"

"Yeah," I whispered back as I returned the kiss. "I'm sorry."

She sighed and smiled as she looked at the Russian. "What you do for friends, right?"

The Russian laughed as he picked Amelia up and twirled her around. "Anything for friends!" He gently placed her back on her feet and said, "And because you are my new friends, I do your tattoos for you. And my name is Kervyn Vassiliev, but you can call me Kev."

I offered my new friend, Kev, my hand in greeting. "I'm Aggie and this here is by best, great friend Amelia."

Kev pulled us into his arms and hugged us … tightly. Very, very tightly. "Pleased to meet my two good friends. Aggie and Amelia." He released us and pointed at both of us as he repeated our names. He pulled two cards from his pocket and handed them to us. "Come to me tomorrow night," he ordered. "Whatever tattoos you want, you shall have."

"Cool beans," Amelia said. "Free tattoos."

He frowned and began to shake his head no, but I didn't give him a chance to speak.

I squealed as I quickly threw my arms around Amelia's neck. "You were right, Ames. Russian men are the nicest guys." I then looked at Kev and smiled. I leaned in a placed my hand on his arm. "Thank you so much for offering the free tattoos. You don't know how much this means to us." I flicked the card before putting it in my pocket. "This is so great of you. You really meant it when you said anything for friends."

Kev smiled brightly. "Is okay. You come to address on the card tomorrow night, and I will give you the best tattoos ever."

"Deal," Amelia and I said.

Kev looked over our heads and waved at someone. "Tomorrow night."

"Where do we meet you?" Amelia asked. "Your shop burned down."

Kev suddenly looked ashamed. "My aunt's garage." He shook his head. "I know it's not the best place, but it's a start. You still come?"

"We still come," I said with a smile.

He winked at us before walking away.

Amelia looked at me and shook her head. "I understand now why we have to follow the plan to the letter. You are a serious risk taker, aren't you?"

I was going to say no but that would be a lie. "I have done some dangerous things." I thought about Rene Lenier and what he could've done to me. We began the trek back to the table and I told her about my dad and how I used to help him with his most difficult cases. I even told her about Rene. "I went too far and so did Rene. My grandpa had him killed for what he did."

Amelia picked up her drink and took a sip. Whispering, she said, "What happened?"

"He followed me to my grandparents' home and broke in," I said. "He knew that my gran has relationships with vampires from the Civil War era. She has a lady's club that celebrates the Civil War."

Amelia frowned. "Eww."

"Right?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Anyway, she would have vampires speak to her group about what they'd seen and been through during that era. I think what they've told them has changed the way they see the war. It wasn't some great experience or something to celebrate."

"I don't get people most times," Amelia said.

"I know," I said. "Well, Rene didn't like it. He assumed that I knew the vampires that would attend Gran's meetings. They were always held at the church, but he assumed that they would come to our home. They weren't allowed in our home because of my grandpa." I waved off the subject of my grandpa. That's for another day "He figured he could kill to Stackhouses at once, so he attacked me and Gran at home and tried to kill us. He had Gran tied to a chair and had his knife to my throat when my brother came in." I chuckled as I thought of Jason. "I don't know what made my brother come by for a visit but thankfully, he did. I'd never been happier to see him in my life. He came barreling into the living and saw what he saw. He tackled Rene and beat the crap out of him. I called my dad. He called his partner and the cops and the rest is history."

Amelia leaned back and sighed. "You are a magnet for trouble."

Before I could say more, a member of Amelia's coven approached our table. "Hey, Amelia." She looked me up and down but didn't speak. She only stared. A slow smile spread across her face. "Interesting. And you are?"

"Agatha," I said.

She offered me her hand. Something made me decline and so I did. She didn't look offended. "It's okay. I don't normally shake hands. I'm Callisto."

Amelia stood up quickly and said, "We know who you are. I've already told her about you. I don't like you, and you know it. Why are bothering us?"

She laughed as she focused on Amelia, and I swear it sounded sinister. "The meeting is about the start in the Burgundy Hall." She returned her focus to me. "She tells me all the time that she doesn't like me. I don't know why. I've been nothing but polite to her."

"Go," Amelia said forcefully. So forcefully that others around us looked in our direction.

Callisto waited a beat before finger waving and walking away.

"Come on, Aggie," she said. As we stood, she said as she looked into Callisto's eyes, "God, I can't stand her."

I threw my arm over Amelia's shoulder and laughed. "I never would've thought it. You were so subtle."

And just like that, we were laughing once again.