"I believe she has her eyes on Marie, Jason's daughter. She will be born a telepath. She wanted a Stackhouse Brigant to replace her, alright. It wasn't me as she led people to believe. It was Marie all along." She chuckled. "Her protection of me never made sense. Yes, I got back her handmaiden, but it wasn't a job Gretchen or that I'm named after a DC villain couldn't do."
Eric looked confused. "Who is named after a DC villain, the only other person in your line of work is Max Lord."
Yep, that's him. He is named after the DC villain Maxwell Lord. He changed his first name to Max after Russell made fun of his name." Sookie muttered gleefully.
"Right," Eric murmured, his confusion still evident.
"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" She looked thoroughly amused.
"Not a clue." He admitted.
"DC as in DC comics." Sookie clarified.
"Comics only become a thing in the century. I'm too old for such trifle." He said flippantly. Bella didn't buy it in the least; she was sure she remembered something about Batman but couldn't be sure.
"It will be in your best interest to never repeat that in front of Porter, Silk, Bakari, and Aisha. The boys might just glare at you. Aisha will make you regret it."
"I believe she would." Eric chuckled. "I can understand her protection of you," Eric said after a beat.
"In my nightmares, Marie was born a telepath. Protection or no protection, she was…" Sookie trailed off. "Desmond, Niall, me, and you. That is what it would take to make Marie the girl able to lead the council." Sookie understood the other three. What exactly could she teach Marie?
"With such mentors, she will be formidable." Eric smiled at the thought.
"You three, I get. Me… I don't understand Pythia's protection of me to do what exactly," she murmured.
"You said it yourself; the girl in your nightmares could train Marie with her telepathy, but that would be the extent of it. You, as you are now, will teach her so much more. She is a mostly human girl who has to navigate the vampire world. You are the only other person to have done that successfully. Above all else, acceptance of the small supe in her, small but powerful enough to give her the spark. She has to have already earned the supernatural world's respect before any talk of her taking over for the AP. The AP knows that, hence you."
"That actually makes sense," Sookie admitted.
"You know it seems you are destined to have blonde women as your children." Sookie chuckled.
"I change Marie? You sound rather certain." Eric stared at her intently.
"I'm having dreams." She whispered, looking up at him. Eric did not need her to elaborate.
"When did you realize?" He sat next to her on the bed.
"When I realized what AP wanted with Jason, I saw Marie in my dreams training with you. You were fencing. I knew what she would look like; it wasn't as though I conjured a face in my dreams. I'm just realizing I might just have dreamed the future, which means…" Her heartbeat nearly doubled in rate.
"Sookie?" Eric asked, concerned.
"Give me time. I need to verify something first." She pleaded.
"Okay." He assured her, having come to accept she knew when to reveal any pertinent information. Despite that, he did not move from the bed. Sookie looked on the verge of utter panic and excitement. Her emotions mirrored her look.
"I'm fine." She whispered. She just hadn't seen this coming; as far as she was aware, it was never a possibility. "If what I saw is true, then it would seem we weren't bullshitting about my gift being a continuing thing." She finally smiled. "If this is true, Eric, then the future is beautiful." He wiped the tears that slowly tracked down her cheeks. He made a valiant effort to keep his own emotions in check.
"Of course it is. Compton is in for a world of suffering, what is not beautiful about that." He quipped.
Sookie bit her lip. "Yeah…" She drawled. "That wasn't entirely true. Actually, that wasn't the least bit true. That was complete and utter bullshit." She muttered sheepishly. "I should have known Jason would somehow go off script. He wanted his pound of flesh, and since he wasn't going to get Sophie-Anne, I should have known the best thing would be Compton. Even if I had talked him out of it, I could just see someone killing Compton and Jason accused of the crime. I had to say something that would guarantee that never happened. As it stands, if Compton dies, he dies, and my brother is safe. Jase would rather see him suffer, he wanted that more than he wanted Compton dead."
"The AP was still in the conference room when you and Jason talked about Compton. She laughed like a fucking banshee, then told Compton that was just the tip of the iceberg." The two stared at each other and broke down laughing.
"I can't believe she did that." Sookie stared at Eric in disbelief.
"As your brother said, we vampires are worse gossips than Mrs. Fortenberry. Word will spread, and Compton will become persona non grata. Anyone who wants to have a working relationship with you will never entertain the idea of helping him. He will be run out of every state and country, and if any accepts him…"
We will make sure they regret it." Sookie finished.
"How we didn't work out in your nightmares is beyond me. Not even Pam is this in sync with me." Eric kissed her firmly.
"We simply didn't communicate. You hear how essential it is to any relationship all the time, but with us, it would have made things so much easier if we had just talked." Sookie said earnestly.
"That night after you buried Adele, you said you knew she was the one the killer was after."
"After she died, I could think of nothing else but the nightmare surrounding her death. So much about her death did not make sense until it finally did. How and when Jason figured it out is beyond me." Sookie murmured.
"Can you run me through the nightmare?" Eric asked.
"Yes, but it will have to be after the pledging ceremony." Sookie slipped her shoes back on. "I almost forgot about that," Eric grumbled. "Is Oklahoma going to be there?"
"Honestly, I didn't remember her at all. But I know she'd long admired you. She'd heard of you, but this was where she first saw you. You weren't interested, not that she cared."
"Then, instead of letting Alexei pay for his mistake, he chose to sacrifice me instead," Eric growled as they left for the ceremony.
"Ahh, Camille… just the person I was looking for." Sookie cheered.
"How can I help?" The siren asked.
"A member of the hotel security, a vampire…"
"Gia Ermini, I've already started talking to her. She has a break in a few minutes; I was going to tell her about the job offer then."
"Excellent, take a preliminary contract with you," Sookie advised, not that she needed to.
"That was the plan," Camille smirked.
"Nicely done, Camille." Sookie praised.
"Any chance of getting that cold press juicer?" She asked as the pair walked the hallway.
"We both know you can afford it." Sookie chuckled.
"Yes, but I prefer it when others buy things for me. I am a siren, after all." She purred.
"For fuck sake Camille." Bakari groaned. The siren's voice hit him just as he exited his room.
"Sorry." She singsonged. Eric realized it hadn't affected him in the least. Sookie rolled her eyes as the elevator door closed on the two arguing.
The pledging ceremony was exactly as it had been in her nightmares, at least the main ceremony. Again, she found she wanted to leave after the two were pledged. "Miss Brigant." Her escape had again been thwarted, but this time, she didn't mind at all. "Could we talk privately?"
"Of course." She opened the door, allowing the vampire to step out into the cold night. Tray had her coat, scarf, and gloves just beyond the door. "Thank you, Tray," Sookie mumbled, the glint in her eyes, putting a smile on the were's face.
Freyda chuckled humourlessly. Sookie picked up on the fact that Freyda believed she knew she would ask to speak. That wasn't the case. Tray was waiting because Sookie had every intention of ducking out early. She accepted the invite because Russell and Bartlett were valued clients, not because she wanted to be there.
"You knew Jennifer Carter and the Arkansas vampires would meet the true death, yet you did nothing." Sookie found the accusing tone amusing.
"They were never going to leave here alive, especially not after you involved me. Jennifer Carter did not intend to accuse you of any crime until others intervened. She was under the belief that after all was said and done, Arkansas would be hers. The moment word of my involvement leaked, those interveners could not afford for me to see into her mind."
"Henrik Feith…" Freyda starts.
"I wouldn't get too attached to him, the second I open my mouth is the second he joins his fellow Arkansas vampires," Sookie says dismissively.
"Do you know the vampires intent on my demise?"
"Until Andrew called, you were not in my orbit, and I'm afraid neither are those vampires, but we can both guess." For once, she had been entirely honest; she didn't know those responsible for Jennifer Carter and the vampire's death, but she could guess.
"And in return, you seek a favor." Freyda had an issue with this. Sookie couldn't blame her; that favor would cost her Eric. She hadn't missed the way Freyda's eyes were glued to Eric as he performed the pledging ceremony. She hoped to get back to the ceremony and talk to Eric. "I would happily pay for your services," she offered instead.
Sookie knew her next set of words was crucial. "Ten years ago, I had a nightmare where I watched this very hotel turn to rubble. So many lives were lost because of the Fellowship. That was a nightmare I was determined would remain just that, a nightmare. The man who ensured it stayed a nightmare owed me a favor." Without a word, Freyda dug into her clutch and produced the contract. Sookie opened it to find it signed. It took everything not to breathe a sigh of relief openly.
"You should know; if I die tomorrow, so do you." The softness of her voice would have you believe she was jesting, but Sookie had seen the vampire tasked with her death in her mind.
"She isn't fast enough, but I will humor you and say I understand." Her smirk said it all. "Oh, one more thing. Two plans have failed spectacularly, and I don't see a third in the near future, but it would help if you made a snide comment hinting you knew those behind it." Sookie murmured.
"Like what?" Freyda asked.
"I'm sure you can think of something, and I will co-sign it." With that, Sookie walked towards the pool area, her smile a mile wide. "Turns out I can bull shit with the best of them." She whispered as she collapsed on a deck chair. She wanted to send Eric a quick text but remembered her phone was still with Holly.
She relaxed on the deck chair with a smile on her face. Things were back on track as far as Oklahoma was concerned. "At least I only had to call Tray to find you," Camille grumbled at the sight of Sookie in the deck chair. "What are you doing out here anyway?" she asked, looking around the empty and decidedly cold pool area.
"Taking a breath." Sookie finally opened her eyes to find Camille had company. It hadn't come as a surprise; knowing she had company, vampire company, was why she opened her eyes.
"This is Gia. She is currently working as security at the hotel." Security the hotel hired after an anonymous tip that the Fellowship had targetted them.
"Hello, Gia." Sookie stood up. Gia's hand was out before Sookie could request it. "Welcome to the family."
"Just like that." The vampire asked, surprised.
"When we arrived, all heads turned except yours. Your focus did not waiver for a second when everyone else's did. That impressed me. So yes, just like that." Sookie let go of the vampire's hand. "I take it you are coming with us when we leave."
"I am. I only took this job for the duration of the summit. It was enough money to keep me moving for the next year." Gia wasn't the kind to settle in one place for too long. The idea that the job entailed a great deal of travel was perfect as far as she was concerned.
"Good. My lawyer will meet with you tonight to review the contract and finalize any details. Again, welcome to the family."
"Thank you," Gia murmured, standing straight with when vampires walked toward them.
"It's perfectly fine," Sookie said with a smile. It wasn't as though she was alone. Mael and Tray were not far if needed.
"Miss Brigant." Sophie-Anne greeted. "What are the events that led to Sigebert's death?"
"My brother wants his pound of flesh, and well, he's the only blood relative I've got left, and I am inclined to give it to him. Since I can't give you to him, Compton will do. So even if I knew the events that led to Sigebert's death, I would not intervene." Sookie stared at the vampire in question in the eyes. "And bringing them would not change that."
"But you don't know," Sophie-Anne said.
"Compton hasn't been in my orbit since I had him delivered to you in a duffle bag. What he does from here on out does not involve me, so no, I don't know. I only know what happened because of a job I would be doing for Russell a century or so from now. Then a job for Leonid a few decades after that." Sookie sat back down; at this point, it was solely because her feet were killing her. "Tell me, what is this reluctance to part with Compton despite knowing his actions will cost you one of your progeny? Is it his ability as a procurer or the database?"
"The database." Sookie nearly chuckled at the offense the queen had taken. That Sookie should believe she would put her child in danger over tasty blood was absurd. Except it wasn't just blood; had things been different, Compton would have procured her a telepath. Thank you for the funds you raised to aid in the rebuilding of New Orleans. The database would bring in much-needed revenue for the state. We might still be a prosperous state, but readily available funds are not so readily available." Sookie nodded in understanding.
Give the database to Eric." Sookie advised.
"He doesn't agree with it."
"He will after I'm done explaining its impact on not just Louisiana but vampire kind. Give the database to Eric. If Compton refuses to hand it over, I will happily probe his mind for its whereabouts." Sookie offered.
"None of this sounds as though you will be willing to help in a takeover," Sophie-Anne said, clearly testing the waters.
"I don't know about you, but I find it easier when your enemies come to you instead of going to look for them. I also want my pound of flesh, and I would rather they came to me." Sookie stood. "Good night, your majesty." She said with a barely perceptible bow.
Sophie-Anne breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the telepath walk away.