"And you believe her?" Andre obviously had an issue with the telepath. Sophie-Anne had no idea what the problem was.
"Andre, what is your issue with her. It is evident to me and everyone else in this room that her actions are in the best interest of Louisiana.
"That is why we must find some leverage to tie her to us. She is an asset whose gifts would greatly benefit the state and, moreover, secure your rule. We have to find some leverage that will give us control over her. Right now, as much as her actions benefit us, they do because she also gains from them. Any number of things could change that. Is that a risk you can afford?" He stared at his maker, imploring her to see reason.
"And pray tell, how do you propose we find this leverage," Eric asked. There was no leverage to be found where his bonded was concerned. The fact that Andre was so hellbent on getting Sookie made it evident to Eric it was more than just the state. This was personal. Andre wanted his bonded, and the fact that he was blind to the obvious was a telltale sign of that. Sookie hated him with a passion; they'd all heard it, yet Andre didn't seem to care.
"Her staff, they are more than that. They are there, I say family. The human girl, Camille… what if we took her as leverage?" He looked positively happy with himself. Eric let out a derisive snort while Pam chortled at the suggestion.
"What?" Andrea growled.
"The closest I have ever come to death was in Rotterdam a year before the great revelation. I thought my time there getting my affairs in order would be brief. Three months in, I was no closer to going home. One night, feeling frustrated at the slow progress, I ventured out for hopefully a good feed and fuck.
To cut a long story short, it was the night I met Sookie Stackhouse; of course, I had no idea who she was. She saved my life that night. Camille was the person who had put me in the position of almost meeting the true death. She's got one human on her team, and he's no walk in the park either." Hugo was about as useful in a fight as a wet of piece of paper, but Andre didn't need to know that.
"Camille is a rare creature with a host of dangerous gifts. Gifts that had me walking into a trap with my eyes wide open." Eric stared at Andre with a look of merriment. "Whoever you send after Camille will not only come back empty-handed but will attempt to kill you instead. That much, I can guarantee you." Andre just stared at Eric for a long beat.
"What is she?" He asked, his voice suitably subdued.
"That, I'm afraid I cannot divulge, but feel free to ask her yourself. If you do, you will also spill your gut about why you are asking." Eric warned him. He was only doing so for the sake of Sophie-Anne.
"If you think Sookie didn't like you before…" Hadley mumbled from the couch, sipping on a bottle of true blood.
"Bill." Sophie-Anne's called softly, moving quickly on from Andre's boneheaded idea.
"I am not going to kill Sigebert. How could I possibly kill him." Compton said as he waved his hands frantically toward the Saxton twin.
Eric could see Sophie-Anne wavering in her decision. Sophie-Anne could not allow Compton to stay; that just didn't work for him and Sookie. "For months I wondered why she let you live," Eric interrupted before Sophie-Anne could change her mind.
"I haven't done anything to her or her brother. I met her once, and we all know how that ended." Compton raged.
"You would have though. The only reason you didn't get the chance to kill gran, and all those other things is because Sookie can see the future. She saw you do all those things." Hadley cut in angrily.
"I can't says I blame Jason wanting to kill you and all." She looked like she wanted to kill him herself.
"I didn't kill her," Compton screamed.
"No, you had a serial killer do it." Eric cut in. He chuckled internally at the look of utter disbelief on Sophie-Anne's face.
"A serial killer?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes, Drew Marshall was killing girls who associate with vampires. Jason was blamed for it, as he had been with both women the night before their respective deaths. Compton saw an opportunity, with the brother likely ending up in prison for the crime. He saw the grandmother as the only obstacle, so he glamoured Drew Marshall, who Compton had figured out was the culprit to kill Adele Stackhouse. He just couldn't strangle her as he had done the other women, as it would raise questions about Jason's guilt. The boy was unlikely to kill his grandmother. Marshall stabbed her to death. Sookie discovered her in a pool of blood in their kitchen. Her death was attributed to her coming home and surprising the killer. It wasn't the conclusion Compton had hoped for, but all the same, Adele was dead." Eric took great joy in watching Sophie-Anne look increasingly infuriated.
"For fuck sake Compton. All I asked you to do is ascertain whether she was truly a telepath and if she was, would she be amiable to move to New Orleans." She threw her arms up in the air.
"He was more interested in starting the database. He thought Sookie would be more inclined to move if he took her family away from her. He hadn't accounted for Sookie being attached to the farmhouse, as she was her family. He assumed the quicker he got her to New Orleans, the quicker he could start on the database." Eric gleefully twisted the knife in.
"Where is the database?" Bill shook his head, looking distraught. "Detain him," Sophie-Anne barked as she sauntered out of the room. Bill did not attempt to leave the room, as he knew he had no hope of making it out. "Does your offer still stand?" they heard the queen ask.
Eric, aware of the events that transpired this morning, knew who Sophie-Anne was talking to. She strolled back into the room with a smile on her face.
"Wait a second." Pam piped up suddenly. "Who is the human on the team? Because she's got Step…"
No, Stephanie is a demon, Gavril. I still haven't worked it out yet." Eric mumbled thoughtfully.
"Is that why you were asking about him?" Pam asked.
To everyone's surprise, Eric looked sheepish. "No, I was drawn to him." His incoherent mumbling was barely decipherable.
"You wanted to turn him?' Pam's emotions went from shock to elation.
"Uh-huh." He grumbled. It was apparent he felt embarrassed about the conversation. Why, none of them understood. Most vampires with children only turned them because they were drawn to them.
"Of course you did. He could pass for your sibling." Sophie-Anne chuckled. "So what happened?" She was eager to know.
"I went to Sookie first, and she told me to talk to Gavril. I did. He looked surprised that I didn't know he wasn't human. He wouldn't tell me what he was, expect to stop masking his scent briefly." He wasn't going to add the fact that Sookie had teased him mercilessly.
"I should have known," Pam grumbled. "She said as much when I asked about them needing protection. But why does Stephanie?"
"She is a pacifist." Almost everyone rolled their eyes at the thought.
"She…" Whatever else Pam was going to say was cut short by a knock on the door. Wybert, closest to the door, opened it. Mael walked in first with a box in hand, followed by Sookie.
"No," Bill whispered.
"This is a small gift from me." Mael put the box before Sophie-Anne, who eagerly pried it open. Inside were three bottles of blood. "It's around forty percent Fairy blood," Sookie laughed.
"This is unexpected. Thank you very much." She took one bottle out to inspect it. "How does it stay warm?" She asked, her voice awed.
"That would be Jesus, he's a Brujo." Sookie looked over at Bill. "Well, hello again, Bill.
"Your Majesty, the database is all I have left." He pleaded.
"I was sixteen when my nightmares started. You walked into Merlotte's, and it took you a few seconds to try glamouring me. I actually liked the idea of not hearing your thoughts. Rather naive of me, wouldn't you say. The following night, you had me beaten within an inch of my life so that you could get your blood into me. Of course, I thought you'd saved my life at the time. Thanks to you, that was child's play compared to the rest of what I'd endured." Sookie chuckled. "Somehow, when it's all said and done, you come out of it a wealthy vampire, while everyone else is either dead or their existence fucked beyond comprehension."
"I haven't done any of that." Bill cried.
"Yeah, I know, but I don't care. Your actions during the first two weeks in Bon Temps convinced me you would have given the chance. Consider this a preemptive strike." Bill growled at her and quickly found himself held down by the twins. Sookie placed her hand on his temple, and despite his attempts to move away from her hand, she got what she needed.
"Thank you, Bill. It's in his room. He's got a copy on a disk, another on his brand new laptop, but the main copy is conveniently back at your residence on his computer," Sookie told Sophie-Anne. Andre vamped out of the room to get it. He was back mere seconds later.
"It's password protected," he murmured when he opened the laptop. Bill let out a growl as he attempted to free himself from the twins' hold.
"That is one long password. Let's go through it one at a time." Sookie read out the twelve-digit password.
"We have it," Andre murmured.
"Okay then, I have another queen to go rescue." Sookie chuckled.
"Thank you, Miss Brigant," Sophie-Anne said sincerely.
"Call me Sookie." She smiled. "One more thing." She turned her attention to Andre. "The next time you have a boneheaded idea of how to tie me to your queen, Eric won't be around to inform you how bad of an idea it is. Tread carefully." She warned as she strolled out of the room, Mael a constant shadow.
"Bill, your services are no longer required." The queen muttered. Eric noted that her affection for Bill, which had her wavering, was long gone. He suspected Sookie's disclosure that Bill had grown wealthy while she had died outweighed whatever affection she felt for him.
"Eric, please stay a moment. The rest of you can get on with your evening." Andre did not appreciate being dismissed but left the room with the rest.
"I take it you know about this." Sophie pulled out an envelope at the bottom of the box. It was evident it was for her and her alone.
"I do." Sophie-Anne read the three-page letter three times before lifting her head to stare at Eric.
"I suspected I had her support this morning, but this just cements it." She looked back down at the letter. "Nevada, I would never have suspected de Castro of a takeover. Quinn has not made any request to move to New Orleans."
"We don't know that he will. He only did so in Sookie's nightmare because they were dating then, and de Castro saw an opportunity," Eric explained. "There are spies, especially in Shreveport. We know who they are."
"You believe de Castro will approach Sookie after the conversation with her brother?" She asked.
"Currently, they are not in Sookie's orbit, so we aren't certain, but it looks likely. If it doesn't happen, Sookie has a second plan." Eric chuckled. "We will keep you updated on our progress." Eric stood, knowing the meeting was over.
"And Eric, thank you for warning Andre. I know his constant machinations regarding your bonded must be infuriating. So thank you for not retaliating." Eric raised an eyebrow. "It became rather obvious when she saved Bill simply to ensure I refused any marriage contract. Why else? Don't worry, not a word of this or that conversation will ever be uttered by me." Eric nodded in thanks.
"None of Andre's machination will get him anywhere," Eric said.
"No, only a distrust of him," Sophie-Anne grumbled.
When Andre stormed back into the room, Sophie-Anne was burning the letter in the fireplace. His questions were put on hold as Hadley and the twins followed. "Why does everyone call Sookie Susannah Brigant?"
"Because your actual grandfather is Fintan Brigant, son of the Fiary prince Niall Brigant. Your grandmother had an affair." Sophie-Anne explained.
Hadley looked appropriately shocked. "Our real granddad, is he still alive?"
"He is," Sophie-Anne said softly, padding Hadley on the cheek.
"They are never going to forgive me, are they." Sophie-Anne wished she could tell Hadley differently, but Sookie hadn't acknowledged her cousin while in the suite.
"Well, time is on your side." She soothed.
"I'm going for a walk," Hadley whispered, leaving the room.
"What was that?" Andre pointed to the remnants of the ashes in the fireplace.
"A three-page letter detailing the future. Who will attempt a takeover? Measures to ensure it falls. List of current spies in Louisiana and a host of other things. Starting with being front and center on the rebuilding of New Orleans."
"You burnt it without my reading it."
"I did because where Sookie is concerned, you are incapable of thinking clearly. Case in point, that foolish plan to abduct a member of her team." Sophie-Anne barked.
"I was wrong about her; I see it now. It's just that the brother hates you. They could care less about Hadley. She made it clear she would support a takeover if it were in the state's best interest. I just..."
Bring enemies to her," Weybert mumbled.
"Somehow, he can see that, and you can't. That goes to prove your lack of clear thinking." Sophie-Anne scoffed.
"The conversation with the brother was a ruse." How had he not seen it? Anyone interested in Louisiana would present themselves on a platter to the telepath.
The hearing was over when Eric finally made it to the room. Freyda was smiling widely as she spoke to her people. His focus quickly moved to Sookie, who was in conversation with the A.P, a conversation none of them could hear as Sookie had her hand on the A.P's. He didn't like the look on the bonded face. "You could have told me all this before I went through all that trouble," Sookie whispered angrily.
Whatever the response, none of them heard it.
"For what?" Sookie barked, little caring about the audience the cryptic conversation was attracting. "This is your idea of not interfering?" Sookie attempted to snatch her hand away to no avail.
Again, the response was for Sookie's ears only.
Eric knew his bonded well; the dropped shoulders said it all. Sookie had acquiesced to whatever the A.P said.
Despite that, she still looked infuriated. She stormed past everybody and out the door. "Northman, go after your charge." The A.P. mumbled as Eric glared at her.