March 31 Meeting

“They will not like me being in here,” said the Barrister in his proper London accent. I took his hand and pulled him into the parlor.
“C’mon you,” I said. “Everyone else is excited you are here.”
“But, I thought you and I agreed that I would not attend meetings til July,” he said
“You aren’t attending a meeting, you are visiting with me while I work on the forum and making some lasagna,” I said. The Barrister’s bright green eyes looked at the sumptuously appointed room and he noticed the wicker coffin.
“Is that…” he asked.
“It is,” I said.
“Is there anyone in there?” he asked. I looked at the latches and saw they were undone. “Yeah.”
“Who is in there?” he asked.
“Most of the time it is Eric, but sometimes it is Bill or Pam,” I said. “They go to bed here when they are caught out.”
“Can I peek?” he asked.
“Close the shutters, they won’t wake,” I said.

The Barrister leaned over the coffin and closed the heavy shutters, making the room go dark and he carefully lifted the lid. In it lay Eric, covered in Minnie’s quilt.

“Are they really dead?”
“Yeah, they are really dead when they go their rest…not like mortal death, but they are pretty much out,” I said, standing beside him looking down at the sleeping sheriff.
“Does he know we are standing over him, looking at him?” he asked.
“He might, if he does, he doesn’t seem inclined to let us know,” I said. “Jessica would not wake up at all but we could wake Eric or Bill if we had to.”
“And they could move around?” he asked, a bit nervously.
“If they had to, but it would be a chore to have to move them around,” I said. “They are really sluggish.”
“I suppose so,” he said. Finally he shut the lid on the coffin and left the Viking to sleep his sleep.

“Sit down,” I said. “Fancy a cup of Earl Grey?”
“Sure,” he said, sitting down on the couch. He reached over and picked up the copy of NY-Lon Fanged and began to peruse it, curious about the Vampire world in Europe. I put on the kettle and fixed a cup with tea bag and got the sugar and cream and set it out. I went over to the computer and looked at the screen. 9 ½ weeks into the hiatus and we were really feeling it, that and the lack of news and the painful bits of teasing AB was doing to us. Damn him, the old hell devil. There had been a few seconds of video of the aforementioned Sheriff of Area Five perhaps being shot and then there was a scene of Sam having a gun held on him by an uncertain young man who didn’t know whether Sam should not move or get out of the car.

And there were speculations about who was going to die this year. Hey this was True Blood, and there are always definitely dead people in True Blood (you never counted the Vampires among them) and there will always be blood, the Tru kind and the real kind. Hello??? Vampires and Werewolves.

Speaking of werewolves, I had a brood over what Eric was suggesting, there would be someone new joining us. Of course it confused me somewhat, why would he invite The Mutt (aka Alcide) to be a counselor? Especially since he knew that a couple of his ladies had cast their eyes long enough at the amazing wolfboy to make the Viking long for his blood. Could it be Sam? That would be cool. I liked Sam, and I sort of wished he would take Sookie off Bill’s hands so he could concentrate fully on his spirit wives. Perhaps it was Calvin or Colonel Flood? Maybe someone else.

The kettle whistled and I went and poured the Barrister a cup of tea and added a dollop of cream and two sugars and brought it to him. He accepted it. He took my hand and pulled me down to sit next him. “Will Bill be able to tell I was here? I really have no desire to have an angry Vampire after me.”

“He will know you have been here, but Bill won’t do anything, I have already spoken to him about you,” I said. Eric enjoyed that little bit of tension between me and Bill.
“And what did Bill say?” he asked, rubbing my hand with his fingers.
“That you better be nice to me,” I said.
“I think I can arrange something like that, though I will be very jealous of him,” he said.
“Well, Bill will be called away for a while. What about me though, you are a Jessica boy,” I said, brushing away a lock of his dark hair from his lovely Anglo-Irish face.
“Very true,” he said.
“Of course you may have more worries from Sal, Dude and GS, they are Jessica boys too,” I said.
“That could be tricky,” he nodded, kissing my hand.

Scarlett walked in, said something by way of a greeting and went to get a cup of coffee. She walked back to where I was and that is when she noticed my friend. “Oh, hey, you must be the Barrister!”
“I am,” he said.
“Barrister, this is Scarlett,” I said by way of introduction. “She is my very dear friend and one of my partners in crime.”
“Wonderful to meet you at last,” he said. Soon they were chatting like old friends, smoking Eric’s expensive imported cigarettes. Renee came in and the scene replayed itself with introductions and greetings. A few others wondered in and out and they all met the Barrister. Finally we were alone again and I was almost finished with what I was working on.

“Well, love, I am going to take off,” he said. “I will call you.”
“You better,” is said. Barrister planted a warm kiss on my mouth and left.

Later, as the members began to file in for supper, I cut up the lasagna and the bread and Raki poured the wine. Everyone was discussing the new posters, now proudly displayed in frames. One was a coffee pot with what appeared to blood with the legend “There’s nothing like a good cup of Joe” and one with a bright red background with the letters VILF in white. If you don’t know what that is, ask Renee, she will tell you.

As I was loading the dishwasher with Butter and Minnie, Eric decided it was time to crawl out of bed. With the sweep of his right hand, he opened the coffin and stood up to his impressive height and stepped out of the coffin, letting the lid drop carefully closed. Fairy was up and warming him a Tru:Bood and he stopped a moment to kiss Butter and rub her belly. He stopped in front of me, my hands wet.

“What?” I asked.
The Viking looked at me. “Did you peek at me today? I certainly sensed your voice as I rested.”
“Take it easy big fellah, I had my friend in the parlor and he was curious about the coffin so I let him look in on you,” I said.
“I was hoping you were perhaps checking on me,” he said, smiling that lopsided grin.
“Well, if I check on you Eric, I will be sure to have something pointy, heavy and medieval in my hand,” I said, with the ghost of a grin on my face. A smirk, really. Fairy came up to the Viking and he took the bottle and favored Fairy with a long soul kiss. Renee brought me a wine glass and I mouthed “get a room” and rolled my eyes at the Viking. When he sealed his kiss he licked his lips and looked at me.

“So you had your friend in here today,” he said. “Bill will not be pleased.”
“If you keep aggravating him, he will not be pleased,” I said. “But if you leave Bill alone, he will get over it.”
“Point taken. I will leave Bill alone, then,” said the Vampire.

About that time, Bill and Jessica came in. He kissed Renee and asked after Chris and then hugged and kissed Vi and shook hands with God Speed and pecked Jen on the cheek. Bill was a very friendly Vampire in his own way. Unless you have very close physical contact with him, you would not really know he was Vampire. Which is what Bill wanted. Acceptance was important to Bill, and all the Vampires at varying degrees. Jessica was chatting with Sal, who was a bit down in the dumps. GS gave the two a look, but let it go.

Vi was warming Bill a bottle of T:B and he came up to me and kissed me. “How are you today sweetheart?” he asked.
“Pretty good,” I said. “Getting anxious for the new adventures.”
“They will be here soon,” he said.
“My friend came to look at the parlor today,” I mentioned casually.
“Did he like the room?” he asked.
“He did, and he met most everyone,” I said.
“That is very good,” he said.
“I thought I should tell you before some other Vampire told you,” I said, looking over at Eric who was standing in front of the bright red poster. He was looking into Scarlett’s face as she explained to him what the letters meant and he broke out in his hearty laughter. Vi brought him his blood. God Speed came over and heated a bottle for Jessica and brought it to her. She accepted it and began sipping it, fighting not to make her disgusted face. Pam came in last, dressed in a black skirt and black and white horizontal stripe blouse and very high heels.

“Sorry I am so late,” she said. She looked at the poster and rolled her eyes and accepted the T:B Nicky brought her. “I hate that poster, really Eric, we should have Nan lodge a formal complaint.”
Eric sat down and looked at his child. “Why would she want to do that?” asked Eric.
“We are continually being objectified in the press, we are more than objects of sexual desire,” she said. “Besides, if a Vampire magazine had HILF in an advertisement, humans would come out of the woodwork to complain.”
I rolled my eyes at Bill and we went to join them, Bill sitting next to Renee and I sitting down next to him. Eric was laughing a little.
“You really should look at things with more of a sense of humor,” said Eric. “Besides, the other poster pretty much objectifies the humans.”

“But you have a peculiar sense of humor,” said Pam. “At any rate, what do you think of the search for the witch?” asked Pam.
“The search for Holly is pretty important. It suggests the continuing adventures,” I said. “It also means the witches are coming into place.”
“Apparently,” said Eric, looking a little less than happy. But only a fraction. No one really knew how that was going to play out and what it would mean.
“Eric, did you ever discover the identity of Lafayette’s V connection in Dallas?” I asked.
“No, I have not, and I do not know if I discover it this summer as well,” said Eric. “I would apply more pressure on the go-go dancer if I could do so without disturbing Sookie, but as it is, I must play this carefully.” He looked at Bill who tensed up with Eric’s words. I put my hand on his arm and he relaxed only a fraction.
“I think we will find it out,” said Fairy. “I have definite ideas of who it might be.”
“Who do you think it might be dearest?” asked Eric.
“I think it is Steve Newlin,” she said.

“That damned preacher,” said Eric. “It is only for Godric that he is alive, for I would have drained that man of every drop had it not been for my maker.”
“Hypocrites,” I said. “I hate people who use religion to prop up prejudice. Like that strange little man who protests military funerals and says that God killed them because America is Godless.”
“Yes, the one named Phelps,” said Pam. “The American Vampire League has a file on him.”
“You wait, he will get to you guys,” said Westexan. “He hates anyone who is not like him.”

“Is the American Vampire League going to be more active this year?” asked Linzy.
“Yeah, I joined a week or so ago,” said Lina. “I got my tee shirt today.”
“Very good dearest,” said Eric, winking at her.
“And Sam, he is going to have some real trouble,” said Dude. “Is that his brother?”
“We haven’t mentioned the little flicker of the future for our lead counselor,” mentioned God Speed.
“So, tell us,” said Bill. “What do you think and what do you know and what do you think you know.”

We began to talk at once and it sounded like a storm brewing. Brewing and about burst June 13.

Wednesday March 24

Wednesday, March 24

The parlor was abuzz with chatter. Even with the virtual news blackout, there were things to discuss. The Source was teasing us with little clips at the end of the encore of the last summer’s adventures, little previews of the things that might happen and the first one featured Eric. It was exciting but we Bill girls were bereft without word of what might be happening to Bill. I was going to miss him at the meetings. When that time came, I was going to invite someone into the parlor with us. I wondered what the reaction would be.

Still, as I stirred the pot full of chicken chowder and checked the corn bread baking in the oven, I felt that antsy, itchy feeling that comes from my addiction. I sprinkled a little sea salt into the pot and tasted the broth and found it fine and turned down the gas a bit. I checked the corn bread. It was golden and ready so I took it out and set it on the trivet on the dark marble countertop and put a clean tea towel over it to keep it warm. I sat down at the computer and checked my mail and the forum.

Jen came in. She looked as though she resented the cold that had snuck back into our little preview of spring. She came over and stood in front of the fire, warming her bum. “Whatcha doing Aslinn?”

“Just eyeballing the lack of news,” I said.
“That Alan Ball, that was not a nice thing to do to us,” she said.
“Yeah, but he had it right, waiting sucks,” I said. “And not in that really cool, totally Vampire way.”
“How much longer do we have?” she asked.
“Well, only ten and a half weeks til June first, but add two weeks to that,” I said.
“Oh I don’t want to do that,” she said. “It is long enough without having to add two weeks to it. I will follow your count, it is more positive, affirming.”

Scarlett came in. She plopped down on the couch and grabbed the ashtray and sat back, putting it on her stomach and lighting a smoke.
“Hiding out?” I asked. Scarlett nodded. Scarlett liked working, but her boss and coworkers often got on her nerves, so throughout the day, she would pop in and have a smoke to get a grip on the situation her situation was in. Renee came in as well. She sat down opposite Scarlett and looked at her.
“Scarlett, would you please just blow your secondhand smoke at me,” she said.
“There are cigarettes in that box on the coffee table,” said Scarlett.
“Yeah, I know, but I quit smoking around ten years ago, and I really don’t want to start again,” she said. “What smells good?”
“Aslinn is cooking chicken chowder,” said Jen.
“Good, it is an ugly grey day,” said Renee. She looked at the wicker coffin. “Anyone at home?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “They must have made it home last night.”

“Aslinn, are you sure Bill said he would not be here for part of the adventures to counsel with us?” asked Renee.
“That is what he said,” I said miserably. “He said he would be back as quickly as possible but I don’t know when that will be.” Renee laid her head back on the couch and looked at the ceiling.
“Well that purely sucks,” she said.
“It does,” I agreed.

I worked steadily through the afternoon and members came and went checking in, checking out, sniffing the soup. Finally, as quitting times began to announce themselves, the room began to fill up. Westexan brought in some raisin and oatmeal cookies. Minnie came in with some rolls and some home churned butter. Renee had brought in some cloudberry jam she had made. GS and Jen brought in some chocolate chip muffins.

Everyone came in and began to settle down to eat. I poured wine and tea for everyone and passed bread around. We were still eating when Eric came in. Fairy went to get him a bottle of Tru:Blood and he came over and stood by Jen and Butter, giving each a little kiss.

“How are all of our friends this evening?” he asked.
“We are pretty frustrated, Eric,” I said simply.
“All you have to do is call me dearest, I could take care of that for you,” he said, that lopsided grin on his face.
“Not that kind of frustrated,” I said. “Frustrated with the lack of news.”
“Well, that I have no control over,” he said, accepting the bottle from Fairy with a kiss.

“Eric,” said Pam with no preamble as she walked into the room. “There was a call at the bar for you from the person you called yesterday.”
“Did he accept my invitation?” asked the Vampire.
“He said he would talk it over with his people but he wants assurances that nothing would happen to him,” said Pam.
“Tell that flea bitten son of a bitch that he has my word he will be fine,” said Eric.
“Wait, who are you talking about Eric?” asked GS.
“You shall have to wait and see. We are bringing in someone who may be able to help you,” said Eric.
“Is he a Vampire?” asked Renee.
“No, he is not a Vampire,” said Eric taking a drink of Tru:Blood.
“If he isn’t a Vampire, what is he?” asked Minnie. Eric smiled at her and kissed her cheek.
“I could care less about this person, but he is heavily involved with the adventures this summer and with Bill unable to join us,” he said. As if he had spoken of the devil, Bill and Jessica came into the room. Vi went to heat a couple of bottles of Blood. She made the offer silently to Pam and she nodded.
Bill came and stood by me at the counter where I had been eating my supper. “Do you know about this?” I asked him.
“About what?” he said.
“Eric has done some jack assing and said he is bringing someone in while you are away and now he is being obtuse by not telling us who it is, or what he is, or what we are supposed to do with him,” I said.
“And that is so uncool Eric,” said Sal. “You know how sensitive we are right now, with things being so quiet and we are so anxious.”
“All I can ask you to do is be patient. When the time comes, everything will be made clear. This person is not my first choice, but he will do for the time being,” said Eric. “As to how you interact with him, that is up to you.”
“Let’s begin our meeting, shall we?” suggested Pam.

Sal sat down and was joined on the couch by Jessica. “Are you hungry?” he asked her.
“No, Bill made me eat before we came,” she said, giving Bill an unloving look. Linzy sat down beside her and the Viking sat down next to her. Fairy took her place on the other side. Bill and Vi sat on an ottoman together and she leaned on him, her hand on his shoulder, her chin on her hand. Renee, Scarlett and I sat down next to Pam.

The rest ranged around us, casting glances at the Vampires. Something was afoot and it added to the tension already in the room.
“So, any new opinions about the review of the adventures?” asked Pam, trying to pull us into the discussion and distract us from the tension.

“Well, Sookie was a little reactionary, as usual,” said Lina.
“To be fair though, Bill should have told her about Jessica,” said Minnie.
“No rebuttal here,” I said. “I totally agree.”
“How should Bill have handled this situation?” asked Eric.
“Well, he may have dropped Jessica off for a day or so, but he should have told her what he was forced to do to make up for Long Shadow,” I said. “Sorry, Bill, you should have.”
“I concur,” he said.
“Why didn’t you?” asked GS.
“I thought that Jessica would remain in the care of Eric, but then Eric reneged on his deal,” said Bill.

“No, we get that,” said Dude. “Why not tell Sookie what you had to do?”
“Would you have told Sookie that your punishment was to turn a 17 year old girl into a Vampire?” asked Bill.
“It would have been better if you had,” said GS. “You had to know this little situation with Eric would not be permanent.”
“Vampires have a little trouble with trusting humans,” said Eric.
“No doubt,” I said, looking at the Viking. “Were you afraid that Sookie would judge you?”
“She tends to do that,” said Bill. “She sees me as more human than I can ever be.”
“Oh, well, I think you proved you are very human,” said Sal. “Humans have a great facility for hiding the truth.”

“Hey wait,” said Renee. “Wait a minute. Bill did a bad thing, I won’t deny that, but it wasn’t just to lie to her for the sake of lying to her. He hides things from her because she sees the world one way and Vampires see it another, their sense of justice is very different. Now, he was wrong about Jessica, he should have told her that evening that he had to make her. But Uncle Bartlett, I will not hold against Bill.”

“I don’t either,” I said. “Eric what would you have done if one of your humans told you that story, that some evil person had abused them?”
“Nothing for just any human, but for one of you? I would take my time. What I did to Royce in the basement would be a slap on the hand compared to what I would do to someone who would harm or had harmed one of you,” said the Viking.

“Jessica, how did you feel about what happened to you?” asked Minnie.
“Well, “she began. “I didn’t have a great family life, as you all know. But I was terrified when I was brought to that place and I met Bill. He tried not to hurt me, I guess, I got that much from him. But then I clawed myself out of the ground he was so mean. I mean, I guess he had to be to wake me up to my situation. But I did hate him for a long time.”
“And now?” asked GS.
“Well, I am getting sort of used to this whole Vampire thing,” she said, looking a bit sad. She seemed to be thinking about what was on all of our minds, but had difficulty speaking about in front of her and the Jessica Boys. Jessica was perhaps in big trouble and I worried about the redheaded girl as she laid her head on Sal’s shoulder.

“We will have to wait to see what happens,” said Dude sadly.
“And waiting sucks,” said Fairy.

March 10 Meeting

Twelve and a half weeks. My God but the time is a confusing mixture of fast and slow. It seems like yesterday we were at 40 weeks and now we had only a matter of three months. We had been through news droughts and revolutions and now a visit from the Fellowship of the Sun and we were still anxiously, painfully waiting for the new adventures. We were starved for news but we found some comfort in our open relationship with our counselors.

In the beginning, things were cloaked, couched in terms that hid their real faces, separated by the walls that kept us from them and them from us. Now it was a comfort to know that there were some days, like today, when there was a counselor sleeping in the cozy wicker coffin I had found, or some evenings they just came to be quiet, like Eric, who sat on the couch in the quiet of the parlor, listening to the Celtic music CD in the hard drive as I worked on things for the forum, a small fire popping in the fireplace. It would be spring soon, but I would never forget the way his eyes stared into the fire and seemed to be somewhere else.

We were waiting for a time when we would feel the heat of the bayou, and hear the humming of living things and know that there were creatures hunting. We never feared for ourselves, Eric had promised me that he would take care of us all as we followed them on their adventures, and that is something I trusted implicitly. And there was nothing for me like the comfort of Bill on our Tuesday night visits and the way he was gentle and sweet and passionate. I am sure it was like that for all of us when we got to be alone with our counselors.

It was still strange when I would come into the meeting room, our parlor, and see Renee, Aolani, and Lina sitting around the computer with Pam, looking at shoes, and picking things out they would like to have. Or find Jessica and Kid there, head to head looking at their ipods and phones and laughing. Or Eric, hunched over a hand of poker with GS and Dude and Sal and Mikeylikesit. Or Bill, reading something from the shelves of just talking quietly with Vi or Renee or smiling his sweet closed lip smile at something Scarlett had said to him.

Vi and Lina was making some good Spanish food, using peppers and cilantro and other spices that co-marry and create the smells that made your stomach rumble. I knew there would be enchiladas and quesadillas and other treats set out before us for our supper. I sat down on the couch and tried to imagine who might be in the coffin. It was like a surprise, a Vampire jack-in-the-box. More often than not it was Eric. Sometimes his little missions (whatever they were) caught him out late with dawn looming. But sometimes, I think he liked going to his daytime rest here because he was lonely in his nice house in Northern Louisiana and liked knowing that though he was asleep, he was surrounded by humans who cared about him and would keep him safe to the best of their ability.

God Speed came in and sniffed the air and made what can only be construed as a yummy noise. He sat down at the computer. “Did you see the new smilies?” he said to the room in general. We had, of course. The humpy smilies and the monkey peeing smilie was great, though I had warned everyone that we could not have

Bill Pee or Eric Pee . That would simply be nastiness for nastiness sake.

Plus we were just proud that our forum had celebrated its first month. Tonight we had a few things to discuss, but we would also be celebrating. Lina picked up a big bottle of Mescal.
“Good Lord, where did we get that?” I asked.
“Eric left it,” she said. “Isn’t he sweet!”
“Oh yeah, a real darling,” I said. I suspected he liked to serve mescal. The drunk was smooth and it rarely made you sick and it would come back if you drank anything cold the day after. I suspected that of all the alcoholic drinks, this was the one Eric enjoyed being in the blood the most. The great rogue.

Westexan came in, the Kaiser in her arms. I suspect this was a show of solidarity since the meeting with the Fellowship of the Sun. It made Westexan mad they would accuse our Vampires of wanting to harm a child, particularly because the two men had been parents at one time themselves. Right now he was asleep. I arraigned some pillows around the couch and Westexan laid the baby in his blankets and he continued his own version of the daytime rest. I think all babies look like little drunks sleeping off a milk bender.

Linzy and Fairy and Bella came in, laden with sweets. Jebus, I was glad that we somehow managed to keep up the nervous energy enough to burn off our calories because we really enjoyed some food around here. I sniffed the goodies they had brought in. Minnie came in armed with more goodness and I felt like I could faint from the treats.

Soon though, we were all eating and laughing and talking, leaning against counters, sitting at the bar and the table and did not notice which of the Vampires woke from their rest till we heard the Kaiser snuffling and I saw Bill cuddling the baby against his silent chest. He cooed to the baby and rubbed his back. Westexan looked up.

“Is he wet Bill?” she asked.
“I think he is hungry,” said the dark haired Vampire. He looked down at the baby and stood with him and brought him over to Westexan, who had heated a bottle for him. Westexan took him and Bill kissed her on the cheek and gently stroked the Kaiser’s hair with his long fingers.

“Are you hungry Bill?” I said. He nodded and kissed me gently on the mouth. I got up and picked out four bottles of Tru:blood and heated them in the microwave. Fairy and GS and Nicky came and stood nearby to fetch their favorites their drinks when they came in. And it was not long. They came in and Tru:Blood bottles were whisked away promptly to the incoming Vampires. I took Bill’s his. “Bon Appetite,” I said.
“Well, it isn’t as nice as the wonderful little meal you gave me last night, but it will do,” he said, giving me another little kiss. Aw shucks….

“They have found Calvin,” said Eric, putting the Kaiser on his towel covered shoulder. He began to pat the baby gently on the back as he sat down and sipped his Blood. “We are nearly ready for the adventures to begin.
“Do you think they will start Jason’s story this soon?” asked Vi, sitting down by Bill.
“I don’t know, but perhaps the Source is pulling that story in quicker,” said the Viking. “It will be quite entertaining.”
“Poor Jason,” said Bella. “He never gets an even break.”
“You pay for the life you lead,” said the Viking.

“And as you know, we will be meeting Eric’s father,” said Fairy. We were pleased to be able to see Eric and his life before, but we all suspected, what with rumors of the ancient grudge Eric was bearing, that this was going to be another enlightening but painful look into Eric’s life. I felt sorry for him, despite my desire to see it.

But I still worried about Bill and Jessica. They were out of the frying pan and into the fire, the both of them. Was the episode with the trucker just a onetime thing, never to be repeated? Or was she some sort of weird bulimic, binging then starving herself. It did not escape my attention that GS and Sal and Scarlett often had to coax her into finishing a whole bottle of Tru:Blood. And Bill, he was kidnapped and being held though we were not sure as to how things would come out for him, would Lorena finally get down to torturing him (Which would be painful for me and my sister wives to watch).

There was of course the spot of bother about Alcide, tramping about in areas he had no business tramping about in. I wondered how far that would go and how angry would Eric be and how his wives would be busy keeping him in check while they may or may not appreciate the “mutt” as Eric called him.

“What are you thinking about Aslinn?” asked Bill. I looked at him.
“Oh I was thinking about the adventures. I can hardly wait for them to begin,” I said.
“You are like a Viking before battle dearest,” said the Viking, holding the baby now in his arms, snoozing against the creature I heard a woman call demonic. “You can’t wait to get into the fight.”
“She’s Irish Eric, and Cherokee,” said Bill. “She has her own savage spirit.”
“That is what I like about Americans, you all carry the spirits of all cultures inside you,” he said, looking down at the Kaiser. “Even the boy here has all the spirit of his people.” Westexan laughed.
“You act as though you are the father of this baby Eric,” she said, teasing the Viking.
“Well, I am his strange godfather,” he said.

“Imagine some crazy woman saying you would eat our children,” said Butter, rubbing her honey bun.
“But there are Vampires who would, our friend Franklin Mott for example. He is a very backward thinking Vampire. He will do things that other Vampires won’t,” said Pam.
“So I don’t suppose he will be invited to be a counselor, will he?” asked Scarlett.
“No, but if you are approached by him, or if you ever go to Merlotte’s do not get around him,” said Pam, her voice stern. We nodded. We knew that there were some Vampires we could not ever trust. We remembered Liam, Diane and Malcolm very well.

“How will you all deal with him?” I asked.
“By the most harsh means at out disposal,” said Eric.
“How about at Fangtasia, will he be there?” asked Bella.
“You do not have to worry about him misbehaving at Fangtasia, I will not allow it,” said Eric. The Kaiser cried a little and the Viking looked at him.
“Give him Eric, he probably needs a change,” said Westexan. The Sheriff handed the little tea cup over to his momma. West went off to the loo to change him.

“Aslinn, Aolani, what do we know about werewolves?” said Minnie.
“Well, the first rule of thumb is never to assume you know everything about any of the supernatural beings we have encountered or have yet to encounter,” said Aolani.
“What we do know is that wereanimal stories are as far flung as Vampire stories. The lore becomes pretty exotic, but there are kernels of truth in them,” I said.
“We shall probably learn a lot about the weres from Alcide,” said Linzy.
“Not too much though chere,” said the Viking, stroking her shoulder. Linzy had a brief flirtation with the “mutt” as Eric had called him.
“How do they differ from Sam?” asked Minnie.
“Sam is a shifter. He is a were animal, but unlike werewolves, he can imprint on an animal and become that animal. Werewolves only shift into wolves,” I explained.
“The Connection was not very clear on her explanation,” said God Speed.
“Well, that is why we have our girls here,” said Bill.

“Besides Sookie, will we be seeing any other faeries?” asked Fairy.
“Hum, I wished,” said Pam. “They are very yummy.”
“Oh yeah, I can imagine,” I said. She grinned at me with her toothy grin.
“I think we will be. The Source is looking for Claudine,” said Linzy.
“Of course Sookie will be looking for her other family, trying to understand what she may be,” said Bill.
“As Aslinn has said before, this season’s theme is family, the way the family works or interacts or finds each other,” said Eric.
“Well, family can mean a lot of things to a lot of people,” said Renee. “And we have a tight knit little family here.”
“Very true, you will need to support each other as the adventure begins, these may be very difficult days for you,” said Bill.

Difficult days. Twelve and half weeks before the new adventures begin. We humans took a collective breath. And held it.

Alive like Me

I came in early this evening, hoping to get some work done, and found the parlor empty except for the Sheriff of Area Five. He was sitting on one of the couches, his head back, his hands passive between his thighs, his eyes shut.

"Eric?" I said softly. "Are you okay?"
"Do you really care Aslinn?" he asked, his eyes still closed.
"Of course I care," I said. I sat my purse down on the chair and sat down beside him and put my feet up on the edge of the coffee table.
"How did you spend your day Aslinn?" he asked softly. He'd never asked me that.
"Oh, I went to a flea market with my dad. Do you know what a flea market is?" I asked.
"That is where humans go and sell things they can no longer use," he said.
"That is what I did today," I said.

"Tell me about your father," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Just tell me," he said.
"Well, he is Vietnam Veteran, he was born and raised in West Virginia, like me. He has done many things, but mostly, I like to remember that he was the town barber," I said.
"Barber?" he asked.
"He cut people's hair, gave shaves," I explained. I looked at him and he nodded. "To me and my sister, he was the best barber in the world. We would turn our little pug noses up at all the other barber and beauty shops because we thought he was the best."
"And then he built that beautiful monument," said the Vampire.
"Yeah, he built the monument," I said.
"Does he still barber? Is that the correct way to say it?" he asked softly. There was that soft accent I sometimes caught in his voice.
"Yes, that is how you say it. No, he's retired, he cuts my hair, and my mom's," I said. "But now he makes furniture and plays on the computer and works in the yard and grows things in the summer."
"What does he grow?" he asked.
"Tomatoes, peppers, snow peas, lettuce, onions, cabbage, carrots," I said.

Eric opened his eyes and looked far away.
"Are you okay Eric?" I asked.
"My father had a farm too," he said. "Everyone farmed, whether you were a king or a commoner. He grew grain and barley and other things I don't remember. We had goats and cows and sheep and we hunted and fished. In the summers though, my father would go off with the other men and go to war. But I remember when I was still a boy and I would go out with my mother and help bring in the harvest. It was very hard work, but then my father would come home and he would see the harvest and we would celebrate the harvest and drink and dance."
"I look forward to meeting your father in the adventures this summer," I said. "Do you miss him?"
"I was not what he hoped for, I think I disappointed him because I was too interested in women and mead and having a good time," said the Viking.

"Do you remember your mother?" I asked.
"No, not really, not the way I remember him. When a boy is of a certain age, he is taken from his mother and trained to be a Norse man. We learn to fight and hunt and we learn religion," he said.
"Did you learn to read and write?" I asked.
"No, we did not write a lot of things down and very little has survived," he said. "I learned to read and write later."
"Did Godric teach you?" I asked.
"No, but he said it was important to learn," he said. "Were you very old when you could read and write?"
"I don't remember ever being unable to read and write," I said. "I do remember actually reading when I was in my first year of school. We call it Kindergarten."
"You were very young then," he said. "I like the things you write. They make me remember."
"They make you sad and I am sorry for it," I said.
"So you do not hate me?" he asked. Had he asked another way or smiled at me with that lopsided smart assed grin on his face I would have been upset.
"I don't hate you Eric," I said.
"It was never important for me to have human friends, but I find that I like having them very much," he said. He closed his eyes again and put his head back. I patted him on the leg and got up and started up the computer.

And that is how I spent my evening this evening, alone in the parlor, save a lost Viking Vampire, out of his homeland and way out of his time, sitting quietly, his eyes shut, remembering a time when he was alive like me and had friends and lovers and family around him.

March 17

Wednesday, March 17

11 ½ weeks from June and 2 weeks after that, we will be returning to Bon Temps. We had been waiting for this moment that blessed moment when we would be pulled back into the world we thought about constantly. Would things be drastically different? Or would they simply be the same people, the same places. I don’t think any of us will be the same when we returned to the adventures. The experience with Maryann, the bombing of the Dallas Lair, the death of Godric and his child’s pain, the blood bond with Sookie and the bravery of Sam had changed us. Then the kidnapping of Bill and Jessica’s apparent madness and anger over the fact that she was Vampire and could not even experience the one thing that would keep her linked to her humanity a moment longer, her ability to love and be loved.

I know I was not the same. I began being irritated with Sookie that she would be upset over her uncle’s death and Bill’s possible duplicity. Of course I understood her anger with him over Jessica. Not telling her what he had to do to get out of trouble for killing Long Shadow was not just being dishonest but not being forward thinking. Where it has to do with Vampire law and Sookie’s place in his world she needs to be in the know. Bill really knew better.

But the continuing romance between Sookie and Bill kept me riveted and I know that my heart will be broken very likely at the end of this season. It simply has to. I have come to grips with it. I accept it. And really it has very little to do with Eric. I would be the same way with any man who is the interloper between them. The wonderful thing about Sookie is that in the first and second world, we can be her. That is why there is so much consternation over Bill and Eric.

But in this world, where I sit typing in our parlor, we are all Sookie, wiser perhaps, more tolerant, but we are all Sookie. We know who we like, whether it is Bill or Eric. Here we can be in the same position as her, loved and loving the objects of our desire. We know what we would do as the love mates of these men, how to treat them and move with them in both their world and ours.

I wonder though, if we could really accept them? We have seen most all of our Vampires act savagely. Eric was the first to show his most savage nature, tearing Royce apart and torturing Lafayette. Perhaps he was justified, especially in the case of Royce, but is he justified with Lafayette? Need he be so brutal when he knows he is powerful and could have simply leaned in and scared the shit out of the short order cook? I credit Eric with many things, but seeing the future is not one of them. He simply saw the opportunity to get Sookie to work for him to find Godric. I wonder if Godric would have approved of Eric’s deal with Sookie, his holding of Lafayette hostage to get Sookie to work for him. Money would have been enough. I doubt it, really.

Godric was the ultimate good guy Vampire, the Vampire Gandhi who wanted peace for his people and the humans, who sacrificed himself, though I think in vain, to try and help humans to see Vampires as former breathers with love and compassion still in them. He was not always this way. He was a Vampire when the world was a savage place and he taught Eric everything he knew. He did not have his moment of enlightenment while teaching Eric, and Eric, a good student, learned his lessons well. If there was such a thing as the “lucky” Vampire, Eric was surely that. He was lucky to have learned how to be Vampire under the tutelage of the ancient boy who found him on his pyre and gave him his eternal life.

Not like Bill, who was a good man just trying to get home to his wife and family after the war. Lorena was looking for a certain type of man, a good man she could corrupt. She is like all predators. Part of the hunt is the anticipation of the corruption, the pollution. Lorena is one of those predators who play with her food and she taught Bill the same thing, to enjoy the tang of fear on the breaths and in the blood of their victims. I think she even enjoyed Bill’s pain later, when his conscience is piqued and he feels remorse for his evil life with her, the murders and bloody beds.

There was of course Maryann. She was a strange character and really no different from the religious zealotry of the Newlins. True, she did not care a wit whether Vampires had civil rights or not, but they both believed that if they did this, have this extreme sacrifice, they would have the favor of their god. The blood of supernaturals sacrificed in the name of their god would have brought them the blessings they so desperately desired. And Maryann and Steve Newlin both wanted to die for the love of their god. Steve Newlin bared his throat to Eric and told him to kill him that God would embrace him in heaven and Maryann is not sad when she is gored by the bull, she is ecstatic to be dying at the pleasure of her god. It is only when Eric walks away and the Bull becomes Sam that both are disappointed. They are forsaken by their god, their sacrifice in vain.

So what will happen? We are starting to be teased now, with dangled bits of images to whet our appetites and we are suckers for it. The little tids or things spark our attention. Where is Bill? Is Sookie in Eric’s basement, perhaps looking for her Vampire? And why does Eric look so good in that black outfit, is there something special going on? Or is this all a part of Sookie’s link to him? And who is Jessica dragging into Bill’s house? What will the Werewolves like? What is going to happen to Tara? What will happen next? That is what we are wondering, these are the questions we want the answers to.

Will we be able to make it? I don’t know. The DVDs of the previous season come out in May, along with the book, HBO is replaying the second season with minisodes between them, which may further confuse us. And then the teasers and spoilers that will be floating around in the weeks to come. Will they only frustrate us? I don’t know.

But I know this, I will be there every Sunday night, watching the epis, taping them carefully so I can enjoy them over and over again and analyze them for each Wednesday’s session. I will worry about all of them and feel sad when it is over and be excited all over again when we wait that long wait for the next season.

I am a junkie….
11 ½ weeks……The road seems so long.

And it was during these musings that I was startled from my reveries.

“My Aslinn, you have grown so philosophical,” said a woman’s voice.
“Jesus Christ, Pam, don’t scare me like that,” I said, pressing my hand to my chest in surprise at the Vampire’s greeting. She laughed. I think she liked scaring me.
“Do you really think all those things about us?” she asked, sitting down by me in the second desk chair.
“I do,” I said. “I hadn’t noticed the sun was down already.”
“Yes, it is the end of the day,” she said, smiling her odd smile.
“Do you miss it? The sun?” I asked.
“Eric is right, you do ask strange questions,” she said. “Not at all, when I was as you are, women shielded themselves from the sun. We wore large brimmed hats and veils and shawls and covered up our bosoms to keep from the sun, so, when I became Vampire, I was pleased I would no longer have to bother with that anymore.”
“So how long did you travel with Eric when you first became Vampire?” I asked.
“Many years,” she said, sitting back in the desk chair, crossing her legs and resting her arms on the rests of the chair, much like a queen on a throne. “He was a very good maker, a very good lover, though my tastes awaked to others.”
“If there is anything I like about the idea of Vampire, it is the liberation you must feel,” I said.
“It is liberating to women,” she said.

About that time, the other members of the group began to file in. It was St. Patrick’s Day, and I was very excited. It was my favorite holiday. I felt my heritage strongly. I selected a number of traditional Irish Gaelic cds and put them in the stereo. It did not take long til we were eating stew and drinking beer, both of the black and the golden variety. I was talking to Bill and Renee and sipping a perfect pint when Eric called the meeting to order. We began to settle on the couches and chairs and wide ottomans and in the floor to begin our meeting.

“As you know, there are many things to speak of, as we now know when the adventures will begin,” said the Viking. We all looked at each other. How often had we jonesed in the chat box over our addictions, our hopes and dreams about the new adventures. We were merely observers, we would have no say in how things played out and we were anxious. Would we live through them without too many scars? I squeezed Bill’s hand, I knew he would be gone from us for a while during the adventures, held against his will, and perhaps evil done to him. If he was afraid, he did not show it as he looked at me and squeezed my hand back. Vi laid her head on his shoulder.

“Who is Jessica dragging into Bill’s house?” asked Sal. “Is is Hoyt?”
“Or is it the trucker?” which was who Fairy thought it could be.
“If it is Hoyt, is he okay? Or is he dead?” asked God Speed.
“And how much trouble is she going to be in?” asked Scarlett. “And who will take care of her with Bill away?” She put her arm around Jessica and hugged her to her. Jessica patted her arm.
“Will you be taking care of her Sheriff?” asked Dude.
“Jessica is Bill’s responsibility,” said Eric.
Sal and Dude and God Speed sent the dark haired Vampire a glare and Jessica was on the verge of tears. Vi handed her tissues.
“It isn’t Bill’s fault,” said Renee. “Hey, he may not have wanted to make her Vampire, but he certainly does not want anything bad to happen to her!”
“Again, she is Bill’s responsibility, “said Eric.
“It is your responsibility too, Eric, you are the Sheriff of Area Five, and she is one of your subjects,” I said, quietly, keeping my voice even.
“I stand corrected,” said the Sheriff. He looked at me a second, and it was not exactly a loving look but I met his gaze. Bill squeezed my hand slightly. I looked away to see Bill’s silent warning.

“And where is Bill and why is he running?” asked Linzy. “Is he running away from something after him? Or is he just trying to figure out where he is?”
“And Lorena,” said Fairy, “Is she there to be mean to him and brutalize him?” She muttered something that sounded like “evil SOC”
“What dearest?” asked Eric, pulling her hand to his chest.
“Nothing, just a rude expression we figured out for her in Tuesday Chat,” she said.
“You were in Tuesday Chat?” asked Eric, looking amused.
“Yes I was,” she said.
“And what does that mean dearest?” he asked. She leaned toward him and whispered in his ear. You have heard that something made their face crack? The stoic Vampire’s face cracked and he laughed out loud. “That is filthy, lover,” he said, delighted at the very crude words. “But it fits her well.” Pam was smiling broadly, Jessica was laughing behind her hand and whispering it to Scarlett and the Kid and even Bill had a smirk on his face. His bright blue eyes rolled slightly in his head and he shook his head a bit. Vampire hearing.

“And where did you hear that expression lover?” he asked.
“Aslinn’s friend suggested it,” she said. Bill must have sustained whiplash he turned to me so fast. Uh oh. He still held my hand but his face was blank.

We chatted for a long while over what we might be seeing and we broke up and went on to begin the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Bill pulled me to the side.

“You have a friend?” he asked. I nodded. “Do you like him?” I nodded. “Well look at me sweetheart,” he said. I looked up into his eyes. “It is okay, you are warm and alive and you will need someone to be with you while I am gone.”
“So, you will be gone?” I said. He nodded slightly. “I will miss you.”
“I will miss you and all your sister wives,” he said. “Is he good to you?”
“He is very good to me,” I said. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me gently.
“He better be,” he said.

Part Four

Part Four

Before we left last night, Aolani worked the charm on us to shield us from Sookie. I was quite sure the telepath would be able to feel the magik around us, blocking her from reading our thoughts, but I didn’t care. I did like Sookie, really I did, but she didn’t have to know everything. Westexan, Scarlett and I were the only ones in the parlor when Sam and Sookie came in.

Sam was very cute in real life. His strawberry blond hair was streaked with a little grey at the temples and he was warm and friendly. He shook hands with all of us and smiled at us. Sookie was just as I imagined her to be, sweet as a beignet in powdered sugar and very pretty, her hair in a ponytail. I could see one of Bill’s fang marks on her neck and I sighed a little.

“I see you date a Vampire too,” she said, pointing at my little love note.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “I think all of us date Vampires here except for Chris, Renee’s daughter.”
“Doesn’t Renee like Vampires?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said. (She likes your Vampire, I thought. No reaction, the spell must be working) “But Chris is a little young and she wants her to date human boys before she gets all wrapped up with a Vampire.”
“I don’t blame her,” said Sookie. “What a lovely table.”
We had made various and sundry sweets and cookies and sandwiches.
“Are you guys hungry?” I asked. “You have some time, you could have a treat.”

“Sure,” said Sam. My phone was ringing so I stepped away. “What do you think Sookie?”
“I get a whiff of magik in the room,” she said. “And I can’t get a read on any of them, their minds are blank.”
“Are they supes?” asked Sam, looking at us.
“No, but they are carefully shielded from me,” she said. “They must know things Eric doesn’t want me to know.”
“Probably for the best then,” said Sam. Sookie didn’t look so sure.

I turned back to them. “That was God Speed, he is on his way,” I informed them.
“What time are our friends supposed to be here?” asked Sam
“Noon, so sit, relax, we have time to relax,” I said. They followed me back to the couches and we sat down. I sipped my coffee. Sam was looking at the basket.
“It’s a coffin,” I said. “They sometimes get caught out far from home and they have to go to their rest here.”
“Has Bill ever slept here?” she asked.
“No, but Eric has a couple of times and Pam has. This room is light tight when you close the shutters,” I explained. “They haven’t used the coffin yet.” Fairy came into the room. She looked at Sam and Sookie.

“Fairy, this is Sam Merlotte and Sookie Stackhouse,” I said by way of introduction. She smiled and shook hands with them.
“You aren’t a real Fairy,” said Sookie.
“No,” she said. “That is just my forum name.”
“I have to know, why are you all blocked from me?” she asked. “I can’t read you all at all.”
“It’s a spell, we know stuff you shouldn’t know,” I said. “Eric thought it would better if we were shielded.”

“How well, do you know Eric? And Bill?” she asked.
“We know them pretty well,” said Scarlett. “They have been our counselors for a long time now.”
“Oh yes, Bill told me about the meetings,” she said. “A kind of pro-Vampire support group?”
“Yeah, you know how it is, society is still so closed minded about Vampire/human relationships,” I said.
“That is so true,” said Sookie.
“Do you know any shifters?” asked Sam.
“Not yet,” I said carefully. “Except for meeting you , we have only been reading about your community.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Sam. “But you like shifters?”
“Oh yeah, we don’t harbor a bit of prejudice,” I said. (Though I know one werewolf Eric would love to skin and wear his hide like a cape, I thought) “We figure that we should find out the deal with these Fellowship people. They will be trouble for your kind as well.”
“Yeah, that is my thought too,” he said.
“How do you plan to deal with them?” asked Sookie.
“We are going to listen and then we are going to basically accuse them of being Nazi’s,” I said. “I imagine there will be a loud confrontation and then a hurried retreat.”

God Speed came in shortly afterwards with Jen in tow. They made their introductions and GS went to work setting up the TV and getting it ready. Jen chatted with Sookie and Sam and snacked on the stuff at the table. I finished setting up the rest of the goodies and Sookie helped me set up the big coffee pot.
Soon other members began to file in. Lina and Linzy in Fangtasia teeshirts. Aloani and Sweet and Wild. A few minutes later, Sugar and Tiff and Imagine came in. Val and Belle and Night Rose came in with Renee and Chris, who had battled with her mom to be here. I walked up to Renee.

“She wouldn’t stay home but she promised to keep quiet no matter what they said,” she said.
“Well, I just hope her guardian angel has big hands so she can cover my mouth too,” I said. She laughed at my candor. She knew I was liable to be a big mouth.

Dude and Sal came in and sat down, watching everything. Sam and Sookie took their positions near the snack table and the bar. We suspected there was going to be a lot of coffee with Irish Nevermind being served.

All of us were there, waiting, when the Fellowship arrived.

They were just as we imagined. They all looked like advertisements for wholesome living and good health. They were dressed up like they were getting ready to go to Sunday school. They looked around at the room. The man, who introduced himself as Jerry asked if we could open the shutters.

“Let a little cleansing sunlight into the room,” he said.
“Sure,” said GS. He went over and opened the heavy sun proof shutters. One of the members, a lady named Lucy was looking at our library.
“I don’t see a copy of the Good Book here,” she said.
“We keep the Bible on the coffee table,” I said.
“Really? And what do your demonic friends say to that?” she asked, showing me a smile that I had often seen on Vampires. You know, that smile shows you all their teeth, that insincere smile of barely checked dislike.
“You should have been here when Eric read from the Song of Solomon,” I said. He had too. He loved the romantic imagery.
“Eric is one of your Vampire friends?” she asked.
“Yes, he is a very good friend of ours,” I said, casually. (I knew him very well to my chagrin, I added ruefully in my head)
“Well, even the Devil can quote scripture to his own advantage,” she said.
“Ah, so true,” I agreed. (And you do it all the time, don’t you lady? I thought)

A big guy named Jack came over. “So tell me sister, do you have any faith?” he asked me.
(Call me sister one more time and I have faith I will choke the living shit out of you.) “Yes, I do, I am a Christian,” I said.
“Well, that is good to hear, maybe we have some friends in this room after all,” he said. “I want to give you one these tracts.” He reached in his pockets and gave me a small tract. It was one of those Jack Chick tracts. I took it.



“Any relation to Jack Chick?” I asked.
“No, I hate to say, I am not,” he said. “But he tells little nuggets of truth with these books.” I looked at the tract. There was a gruesome devilish picture of a Vampire and the title said ‘Hell Bound’.
“I am familiar with Jack Chick’s work,” I said.

If you have ever been to a fundamentalist church or to a teen lock in or church camp, you have seen a Jack Chick tract. These little books, about the size of a pack of cigarettes were about twenty pages long. Subjects included Why Catholics are Pagans, Hell, Satanism, Drugs, and anti-Homosexual leaflets. They had gory and gruesome pictures and they were full of hate and misinformation. It did not surprise me that Vampires had been included on the list of Chick topics.

“It is such a shame that such a wholesome girl like yourself has those nasty little bite marks on your neck,” he said, almost leering at me. There was something of the leach in him. But I touched the marks and remembered the lovely Tuesday night I had spent in Bill’s arms and his sharp little kiss.
“If you will excuse me,” I said. “I have to check on the food.” I strolled by Aolani and pressed the tract into her hand. She looked at it and laughed. I walked over to Sookie.

“Do you get anything out of them?” I asked.
“Jack wants to shag the devil right out of you,” she said quietly. “The girl knows who Eric is, or at least that he is a big Vampire Honcho. She is wondering why he is connected to you guys.”
“And the other guy?” I asked.
“He is new to the cause, very fervent, mainly because a woman left him to be with a Vampire lover,” she said. “He just thought that he would like to burn this place down with all of you and our Vampires in it.”

It was funny that she would say “Our Vampires”. Of course they were, but still, there was share and share alike, to a point in Sookie’s mind. “How can you stand to be around them?” she asked.
“I can’t, but I would do anything for our Vampires,” I said.
“Shall we begin our presentation?” asked Jerry. GS got up and shut the shutters again so we could see the screen. There he was, Mr. Fellowship of the Sun himself, Steve Newlin. I knew peacock pastors like him, all smiles but a mouth full of hate. He began his spiel about the dark world of Vampires and their evil, souless condition. He talked about how their blood was addictive and they hypnotized people and they killed people.

I was not ignorant. Vampires did kill people and they still do. But they were outlaws then. And we had all been glamoured by our Vampires, but that was when we were cloaked from who they are. They were out in the open with us and we hadn’t been glamoured since…..well, I honestly couldn’t say. We could remember most of everything after the last adventure. And souless? I think we covered that in the last meeting.

We sat quietly through the hour and a half long video where there were even testimonials from former “Blood Slaves” as the Fellowship liked to call them. These were wretched people who had unfortunately fallen victim to backward thinking Vampires or just assholes with fangs. Hey there’s an asshole in every crowd!! Fanged or fangless, human or otherwise, the truth was, there was always an asshole in the crowd. And I was looking at three assholes right here, looking smug and righteous.

“So, as you can see by our little presentation, the world of the Vampire is a dark world of blood and greed and sexual perversion and the distortion of all that is wholesome,” said Lucy in her little girl at Sunday School voice.

“You know, you may be right,” said Dude. We all looked at Dude for clarification. “I mean look at us, we spend every waking hour here, talking about them, reading about them, writing about them, dating them.”

“And we have been guilty of sins of the flesh with them,” said Fairy, looking less like a confessor and more like someone bragging.

“And they are very rich,” observed God Speed. “They have taken us on expensive trips and bought us all expensive things and they did create this parlor we are occupying.”

“They do suck our blood,” I said…I looked at Renee and I nodded. “Yeah, they do do that. But I can tell you what they don’t do: They don’t judge us.”

“They like us all for who we are,” said Scarlett.

“They don’t expect anything from us,” said Kid.

“But, how can you enjoy the company of creatures who would gladly suck the blood out of your children?” said Jerry.

“That is a damned lie,” said Westexan. “I brought my baby, just new born to a meeting and Eric ignored us the whole time practically to hold him and play with him. He even had my baby’s fingers in his mouth and he didn’t even so much as break the skin on his little finger. He could have, but he didn’t.”

“And I am pregnant,” said Butter. “And they do nothing but treat me with absolute care.”

I picked up the big book of lies and opened to a page I had marked. I began to read aloud.
“Their blood is infectious, they desire nothing more than to destroy good Christian people, they are like fleas, feeding from the very souls of the righteous. They accumulate wealth and horde it for their own designs to turn us into slaves. They are damned by God, lost to salvation. They crave even the flesh and blood of our children for satanic ritual. They are not even human,” I read.
“And you have that sort of wisdom lying around and you still have these creatures in your midst?” asked Jack.
“Hey, Jack, do you know who wrote this?” I asked.
“No, but they had the right idea,” he said.
“A crazy man wrote it. His name was Adolph Hitler and he killed 6 million people, Jews, and another five million for just disagreeing with him. This is the man you think is on the right track. This is the man who you say is wise. Get out, I don’t want you stinking up our parlor another second,” I said. I felt a presence at my back. Sookie and Sam were standing behind the couch. I looked up at Sam who smiled a little at me.

“Wretched fangbangers,” said Jerry.
“And take your shit with you,” said Chris. She grabbed the neat stack of brochures and threw them in Lucy’s face.
“God will never forgive you,” she said.
“She won’t forgive you either lady,” said Aolani.
“Pagans and witches and perverts and Vampire lovers,” muttered Jack. They slammed the door of our parlor.
“Oh my,” said God Speed in mock horror.

Sookie came and sat down. We all looked at her. Her face told us she was relieved she could not hear our heads. She rubbed her forehead. Sam put his hand on her shoulder. We let her relax a minute with her eyes closed.

“So, what did you find out?” asked GS.
“They were so confident that when they showed you the film that you would be willing to turn your backs on the Vampires. They were so full of hate,” she said. “They have done this before. They travel from place to place and stir up dissent.”
“Eric suspected something like that,” said Renee.
“There was something else, something about revenge for Dallas,” said Sookie. We nodded. We all know what happened in Dallas. And we knew what was likely to happen this summer. “They hated all of you, but they really hated you Aslinn, when you read that stuff to them.”
“I don’t care, I have been hated before,” I said.
“I am so glad I can’t read your minds, I don’t think I could stand it,” she said.
“Why don’t you just try to relax,” I suggested. “They will be here at dark.”
“No, we have to get back to Bon Temps, it is Lafayette’s day off and Terry is doing the lunch crowd,” explained Sam.
“Thanks for the offer though,” she said.
We chatted for a minute and as they began to leave, Sookie turned to me.
“Is Bill okay?” she asked.
“Sure, he’s okay,” I said, perplexed. Then it dawned on me….he was gone in her world. “He’ll be just fine Sookie, we won’t let anything happen to him.”
“I absolutely believe that,” she said.

We ate some of the snack food and cleaned up. I stretched out on the couch opposite Renee. Vi was curled up in one of the big leather chairs, asleep. “That was rough,” said Renee.
I lit a cigarette and turned on my side, pulling the heavy Connemara marble ash tray to me. “It was rough,” I agreed. “Sookie hasn’t seen Bill since the end of the adventure.”
“He has been away from Bon Temps?” she asked.
“Apparently,” I said. “She asked me if Bill was okay.”
“What did you tell her?” she asked.
“I said that we would do what we could to keep him safe,” I answered.

Later, the Vampires came in to see us. Pam was the first one there. She listened to our account of the meeting carefully and asked questions.
“Have you not spoken to Sookie?” asked Nicky.
“Eric is meeting with her now,” she said. “He will be here as soon as he is finished.” Jessica came in and sat down at the table. She watched Pam chatting with us. Whether she realized it or not, Jessica was changing into a fledged Vampire. She was learning when to listen and when to speak, there was a subtle sort of dignity about her that was the hallmark of most Vampires. Of course when she saw Chris, she was more animated, but even that was changing. Mastering her Vampire nature was now a part of her. The little girl human was nearly gone.

Bill came in and sat down at the table as well. “Eric is on his way, so I will hold my questions until he has arrived,” he said. “I am sure that he has talked with Sookie and will be able to tell us what she knows as well.”
“Are you hungry?” asked Vi.
“I could have a bottle of Tru:Blood,” he said. Vi got up to warm him one.
“I see you are all in one piece,” said Eric by way of announcing his arrival. Vi held up a bottle of blood and he nodded. He pulled out a chair at the end of the table and stretched his legs out before him. “Tell me about your lunch.” He looked at us.

“Well, they started out really nice and friendly, like I suppose they all do. They looked around the place, asked for the shutters to be opened, eyeballed the set up,” began God Speed. “I don’t think they had anything to eat or drink.”
“Sam gave that Lucy person a bottled water,” said Linzy. “But I don’t think they ate any of the buffet.”
“They were afraid you had contaminated it with Vampire blood,” said Eric lazily. “Who was there?”
“Two men and a woman. The two men were Jack and Jerry, and as Linzy said, the woman’s name was Lucy,” said Fairy. Vi brought around the Bloods, giving Bill his first and Eric’s second.
“What was their presentation like?” asked Eric.
“They left the disk in the DVD player,” said GS. “I have it if you want to take a look at it.”
“Thank you God Speed,” he said.
“And one of them gave Aslinn this tract,” said Aolani, giving him the little book.
“What is this supposed to do?” he asked, picking up the little book.
“Well, it warns you about the evils of Vampires and then it has a spot in there where they tell you how to get saved and a place to sign your name,” said Aolani.
“Like a contract?” asked Eric, his left eyebrow raised.
“Yeah,” I said. “The little story is supposed to inspire you to be a Christian, but if this is what inspires you to be a Christian, I worry about what kind of Christian you turn out to be.”

“And after the presentation, how did you respond,” asked Eric.
“Well, we started as if we were convinced. I said something like, ‘Well, we know that is the way they are, that we are obsessed with your kind,’” said Dude.
“And then we said something about how we were all having relations with Vampires,” said Fairy. Eric smiled at her.
“I said that it was true you guys were very rich, that you spent a lot of money on us and even provided us with this little room and all the things in it,” said God Speed.
“And I mentioned that you all sucked our blood,” I said. “And you all do.”

“But then we said that you all don’t judge us and you all accept us for who we are,” said Scarlett.
“And then they said the most hateful thing,” said Westexan.
“What did they say?” asked Bill.
“That you guys would eat our children,” she said. Bill looked at Eric and Eric suddenly broke out in laughter.
“And what did you say dearest, to that remark?” asked Eric.
“I told them about bringing the baby to his first meeting and how you were with him,” she said. “I would not have let you have my baby if I thought you would hurt him.”
‘I would never harm a child,” said Eric. “Many of us had children before we became Vampire.”
“And I pointed out that I was pregnant and you all were very nice to me,” said Butter.
“And then Aslinn read them something that really pissed them off,” said Renee. I got up and got the book and turned to the passage and gave Eric the book. He read the bit aloud.

“And what was their reaction?” asked Eric.
“Well they were flabbergasted that we had such “truth” in our midst and we were still friends with you,” I said.
“And then she told them who said that quote,” said Sal. “You should have seen their faces.”
“I am sure they were shocked,” said Bill.

“What did they do after that?” asked Eric.
“We didn’t give them much of a chance to say anything because we ran them off and threw their shit at them,” said the Kid.
“Yes, Sookie said you threw their propaganda in their faces,” said Eric, a bit proudly.
“What I found that was interesting,” said Minnie, the quietest of our group, “was that Sookie confirmed your suspicions, they are going from forum to forum.”
Eric looked at Pam, a satisfied ‘I told you so’ look on his face.

“So what do we do now?” asked Sweet and Wild.
“We wait and see what happens next,” said Eric.

Part Three

Part Three
It was Friday, the day before the meeting with the Fellowship of the Sun representatives. We dusted and fluffed pillows and watered the Boston ferns and set out the fresh flowers Eric and Bill had sent to the parlor. I didn’t care what they thought personally, but I wanted them to see what Vampires were capable of for their friends. Renee looked down at the stack of Vampire magazines and newspapers we had stacked neatly.

“What should we do with these?” she asked.
“Leave them where they are. I mean, they will be eyeballing the library as well. No way to hide all our books on Vampires and Werewolves and Faeries and Witchcraft,” I said. “Besides, isn’t this what they expect to see from a bunch of fangbangers and their damned friends?”
“True,” she said.

Just as in the world of Charlaine Harris, Fang Banger was defined as someone who goes indiscriminately with any Vampire, but we also used it as a member designation, though mostly as a joke. We were not indiscriminate Vampire lovers, we just liked certain ones. Though I was irritated with one at the moment, I did like him. I wouldn’t let anything happen to him if I could help it and I know the Eric girls would do the same for Bill. None of us would allow our four Vampires to be harmed.

That led me to wonder about Eric’s grudge. I still felt that this was something of a key to Eric and why he was the way he was. As a Vampire, he knew his family would eventually die, along with his people and culture. But to see them perhaps meet their end by other Vampires was tough for him. It made me wonder at his Vampire pride. But Eric was a proud person anyway. He had been royalty in his own time and his people. Being a Vampire just forced him to transfer that pride to his new sense of being.

The Fellowship had asked for access to a large flat screen and dvd player. We were all set up. Bill had ordered us both machines and GS had hooked them up for us and mounted the TV and equipment on a stand we could move around. This would be great for the award show and for the replays of the adventures this summer.

I could not wait for the new adventures. I was practically champing at the bit. Any bit of news, regardless of how inconsequential, was posted, so desperate we were for word. The Vampires of our acquaintance had said nothing of the Connection and her book tour.

“How many of you are going to try to see the Connection?” I asked to the room. Some hands came up and I was pleased by how many would at least try to be there.
“Think Eric will mind us going?” asked Fairy.
“You know him better than I do,” I said.

I went to the library and got my nice leather bound copy of the Bible and sat it on the coffee table on one end, the latest copy of VQ and Fang (the Vampire version of People) and American Vampire on the other end. That would make steam come out of their ears.

“Aslinn, I think you want to start a war here,” said Scarlett, looking at the table, sipping a cup of coffee.
“Think I care what those bigots think?” I said.
“Right on sista, let’s kick some Vamp-Hater ass!!!!” she said.

Later, Minnie had fried us some chicken and I made mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuits and Westexan brought a green bean casserole. Bill came into the parlor first.

“Eric says he will be here a little later, he is, as Pam told me ‘enthralling the vermin’,” he announced.
“She has such a way with words,” said Westexan, sipping her water. Bill came over and sniffed the air, smelling the food.
“Bringing back memories?” I asked. He nodded.
“Don’t actually remember the taste, but I remember the smells,” he said. He smooched Westexan. “How are your children darling?” he asked.
“In excellent health,” she said.
“Good,” he said. I felt his hand on my throat as he tilted my head up. He kissed me warmly on the mouth. “How are you Sweetheart?”
“Pretty good,” I said. I always felt better around Bill.
“How is our Renee?” he asked.
“You better go and have a chat with her. She has had to deal with Eric again over those two girls,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “I spoke to Renee, and then to Jessica. She will not be here tonight for punishment.” I nodded. The same thing was happening with Chris. I would bet Bill’s libido they were texting away to each other or in the AIM chat.

Lina and Linzy came in with matching tee-shirts reading Alskvard Overflod. I rolled my eyes. Like that Viking didn’t need his ego…or anything else stroked..any more than it already was. Bill simply kissed my head and went to speak to Vi.

Soon we were all cozy, watching ‘Dracula: Dead and Loving It’, me and Vi on either side of Bill, Renee on the floor between his feet so Bill could play with her hair. GS was passing around a bowl of popcorn like hippies passing a joint. Pam finally came in. She came over and leaned on the back of the couch.

“Hey Pam, want a Tru:Blood?” I asked.
“No, I have eaten,” she said and winked. She went over and sat by Scarlett to watch the rest of the movie. When the movie was over and we were putting away the TV, the Sheriff came in. He came and stood by Fairy and Val and Linzy got up to get Eric a blood. Scarlett got up and picked up a stack of papers and began to pass them around. She had made copies of some stuff about the Fellowship. Eric sat down between Aolani and Fairy and they leaned against Eric to read the paper he was looking at.

“We all know basically what they do from the books and the adventures,” explained Scarlett. “But I did some research on my own. Bill, you should give Jessica a copy of this stuff, so she knows exactly what they think of your kind.”
“I shall,” he said, looking at the print out. “Thank you Scarlett.”
“Basically it is propaganda of the worst sort: Vampires are no damned good, they carry blood borne diseases, they seek to enslave us to meet their needs, their blood is addictive, they are basically zombies,” she said. “And, oh, you guys don’t have a soul, so you are damned.”

“Errrgghhhh,” said Lina.
“Bull shit,” said Sweet and Wild. “Godric had a soul; he had a very beautiful soul.”
“Eric, can I ask you a question?” asked Westexan.
“Certainly,” he said, looking at her.
“Why did he end his existence?” asked Westexan. “I mean, why did he quit?”
“I think he saw the task before him and it was too big,” said the Viking.
“I wished he’d waited. He seemed to understand that we cared about him and liked him,” said Bella.
“I think he did,” said Eric. “It simply was not enough.”

“I think that whole thing that you guys have no souls is crap, I know you have souls,” said Renee.
“How do you know?” asked Bill.
“Because you cry, it is the simplest thing. If you had no souls, you would feel nothing,” she said. “But you cry. Bill, you cried, poor Eddie cried, and you cried Eric. Maybe you didn’t want to, especially in front of a human, but you cried.”
“Jessica cried,” reminded God Speed.
“Yes, Jessica cried,” said Renee. “So you guys aren’t zombies and you guys aren’t demons.”

“I like this bit: Sexual relations with Vampires is sex with the devil. In the Malleus Malficarum, it says that that sex with the devil is cold and painful. Reports from ex-fang bangers say that the penis of her Vampire lover was ice cold and it was pointed at the end. People who have sex with Vampires enjoy sadio-masochistic sex, so in addition to being necrophiles and devil worshippers, they are sexual deviants who enjoy pain,” I quoted from the paper. “That is so not true.”
“Which isn’t the truth Aslinn? The Masochist part or the Necrophile part or the Pervert part?” asked the Viking.
“None of it,” I said. “You guys are a little cool to the touch but you warm up considerably after a bit,” I looked at the embarrassed grins on some of the member’s faces. “Well, come on, we aren’t virgins here, we are having relations with the Vampires in this room.”
“The only thing they could perhaps accuse us of was some form of polygamy,” said Scarlett. “We all share you guys.”
“Despicable perverts,” said Eric, but he was grinning his lopsided grin.

“So, when we have them here, are we to argue with them or at least counter what they say?” asked God Speed.
“I would counter them,” said Pam. “Counter them with my left hook just before I drained them dry.”
“Always a lady, Pam,” said Nicky, squeezing her shoulder and laying her head on the Vampire.

There was a loud entrance as Jessica and Kid came through the door. Eric was up before we could even see it and Bill a half second slower. They relaxed their posture when they saw who it was.

“What are you doing here?” asked Bill.
“We wanted to be here, it isn’t fair Bill, they hate us too, we should be here to listen to what you guys are saying,” said Jessica. Chris was nodding her head in agreement.

Bill nodded and Jessica went to sit with Scarlett and the Kid went to sit near the Viking. Scarlett passed Jessica a copy of the papers we were looking at and Eric passed the Kid a copy, winking at her slyly.

“This all sounds like that anti Jewish propaganda the Nazi’s used to put out during the war,” said the Dude. “If anything, we always accuse them being of Nazi’s”
I got up and got a big book out of the shelves. It was a book I called ‘The Book of Lies’ but was really called ‘Propaganda of WWII’ . In it were photos of the worst kind of racially disgusting crap I had ever seen. I passed the opened book around to the room.

“I think we should by pass the religious clap trap and go right for the jugular. They call their group a church, well I say we don’t give them the satisfaction of that. We should call them what they are, a hate group,” I said. “No dilly dallying with words, just look them straight in their apple pie faces and tell them what they are, that they may as well put swastikas on their lapels.”

“They won’t like it,” said Sal, sitting down by Scarlett and Jessica.
“No, they won’t,” said Linzy.

Part Two

Part Two

“WHAT!!!” I said. We had never had anyone else beyond the Queen and the Late Great Godric in our midst.

“The telepath and the shifter can be here. Sookie should be here to listen anyway,” said Eric.
I didn’t know how I felt about that. I knew Bill loved us immensely, but she was the love of his afterlife. We may be his sister wives in this world, but this was the one he wanted to spend the rest of her life loving. Could I stand being in the same room with her? I mean, I liked her on principle, but, would I be able to hold my jealousy inside.

“Your mind is running a mile a minute Aslinn, it makes me dizzy,” said Eric.

I got up with the sound of the dishwasher going off. I busily began to unload the dishwasher while everyone relaxed and ignored me and Bill, who had joined me. He watched me taking out the dishes and putting them in the cabinet. I sorted the silverware and cooking utensils. I closed the dishwasher and turned to look at him. I poured myself a glass of Eric Northman’s wine and sipped it. I hated the handsome blond and wished for a stake to plant between his beautiful shoulder blades. Bill came over and leaned against the counter.

“Are you angry darling?” he asked.
“No….yes….,” I said.
“You know I care about you and all your sister wives,” he said softly. “I love you, all my spirit wives.”
“In here, you do, but out there, you love her, and I always felt in my head, that what was out there was something else,” I said.
“But you like Sookie don’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, I like Sookie, but…” I said.
“You don’t want her in this world?” he asked. “With us?”
“Does she even know about us?” I asked.
“She does,” he said. “But like you, she sees this as some other world that she has no part in.”
“Now she will be in this world with us,” I said.
“I think you need her for this,” said Bill. “She and Sam can set up the buffet and run the drinks and coffee. Of course the Fellowship people will not drink, but you guys could have drinks.”
“I wish you could glamour her so she would forget,” I said.
“She will be okay, and so will you,” he said. “Eric will pose the assignment as just another Vampire job for him and I know you and the rest of my spirit wives can handle it. Especially if you can handle it, the others can handle it.”
“Okay,” I said.

We joined the group and Eric was closing his phone. “It has been arranged. Bill, Sookie wants more and more money from me. She wanted five thousand just for this little chore.”
“Did you agree?” asked Bill, sitting down. I sat down, glowering a little at the Viking.
“Of course, she has to repair her home,” said Eric. Bill just looked at him.
“So she and Sam will be our caterers and she will listen and Sam is just muscle?” asked Renee.
“Basically, yes,” said Eric.
“So what sort of information are we to get?” I asked.
“You will get only as much information as they will give you. Sookie however will pick up other things from them,” said Eric.

“Will Sookie be reading our minds too?” asked Fairy.
“Presumably, she will be able to read your minds, so Aslinn, you and all your little sister wives should keep themselves in check, so she will not be upset with you,” said the Viking.
“I can help with that,” said Aolani. “I know just what to do.”
“Thank you dearest,” said Eric.

After our meeting, I stayed behind and cleaned up. Kid and Jessica and Scarlett were on the computer. “Jess, when you finish that bottle, rinse it out and recycle it please.”
“Okay,” she said. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to it,” I looked over at Eric, playing bourre with Pam and Dude and GS and Nicky. Bill was playing chess with Renee. I went over and leaned against Bill, my hand on his shoulder. He leaned over kissed it. I gave him a smile. For this man, I would screw up my courage to face anyone.
I patted his shoulder and went over to Aolani, who was knee deep in Judika Illes Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells.
“Whatcha looking at?” I said.
“I found a spell that will do what we need for us to sit with Sookie and she not be able to read our minds,” she said. “There are other things we don’t want her to read either from our minds, as well,” she explained.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Like what happens in the first world, we know a lot by way of the books what the adventure will be like. It would be dangerous for her to know too much about the adventures, she may try to change the way things are supposed to play out,” she said.
“Tear a hole in the space time continuum?” I asked, a smile on my face.
“Sorta,” she said. “But this will work for us and I don’t need anything, I have everything we need to work the charm.”

“Very cool,” I said. I wondered over to the dining table. I sat down at the table across from the sheriff.
“Eric, you have to stop telling The Kid how wonderful it is to be a Vampire,” I said.

“But it is wonderful to be a Vampire Aslinn,” he said, smiling at me.
“Let me rephrase that,” I said. “Renee does not want her daughter to be a Vampire. She wants her to be a human and have all wonderful human experiences first then make an informed decision about being a Vampire.”

“Chris is very intelligent,” said Eric, pulling the cards to himself. He spread the hand in his large fingers and looked at his hand.
“Chris is still too young,” I said.
“Chris would have been counted a woman in my human time,” he said.
“Yeah, when the average age for human mortality was 20,” I said. “Chris is a young woman of this time.”
“You know Aslinn,” he said, folding his hand for a moment to look at me. “I think you are prejudiced against Vampires, though you say you like them.”
“Funny Eric,” I said. “That is why I hang out here 24-7.”
“Oh you like us enough to hang out, but you don’t really like Vampires,” he said, spreading his hand again.
“Maybe I just like some Vampires better than others,” I said. He had a lot of nerve.
“Ouch, that hurts,” he said, insincerely, beginning to play. “So, you have never really thought of being one of us?”
“Of course I have,” I said.
“Then why would you block Chris’s decision. If she wants to be Vampire, it should be her choice,” said the Vampire.
“Chris is 17. I am 42 and have seen a little of the world and had a few human experiences,” I said. “If I made this choice, I would be well informed and would know what I am giving up.” Eric looked at me, his mouth open a little, flabbergasted. He had no counter argument.

I liked it when I could get one up on a thousand year old Vampire.

March 3

Thirteen and a half weeks til our new adventures and we were restless. I often found myself pacing the length of the parlor, feeling the ache of my addiction. The Source was teasing us, mainly by not speaking at all of the adventures and then being blasé about it and not telling us what we might expect when he did. Not to mention the fact that the last summers adventures were being enjoyed by our friends overseas. I should really stop drinking coffee after 11:00 am, it does nothing for my nerves. Maybe I should start drinking wine. It was a breakfast drink somewhere, right?

God Speed came in and sat down at the computer. He sniffed and looked around the computer. “Damn it, I wished they would clean up their Tru:Blood bottles when they finish, that crap stinks to high heaven,” he grumbled.

“That was Jessica and the Kid, I am sorry to say,” I said, lighting another Turkish blend cigarette. Eric had planted several boxes around with cigarettes in them, all of them the sweet Turkish blend I enjoyed so much. “They were downloading some music last night.”

GS simply frowned, took the bottle to the sink, gave it a rinse and threw it in the glass recycling container. He came back and sat down. “How does Renee like that relationship?”

“Don’t get her started. Bill and Renee are trying to co-parent but I don’t think that is working out. Bill is many things, a good parent, though, he is not,” I said. I sat down and looked at the thing I had bought for the visiting night creatures. The late 1800’s wicker coroner’s coffin, lined in heavy wool filler felt and Chinese silk, was a beautiful thing. My dad had repaired and lined it, making it light tight and cozy. The trick was finding one for a 6 ½ foot tall Viking. When I found a seven footer in an antique shop in Kentucky, I knew I had to have it. Folded inside was Minnie’s quilt and there was a pillow in the same Chinese silk. I picked up a magazine, VQ, and began to leaf through it. One of the nice things about having Vampires in your social circle is that you get to look at all the Vampire stuff. We had a sizable stack of magazines and newspapers and catalogs that appealed to the fanged set.

Scarlett Harlot came in and flopped down beside me and laid her head on my shoulder. “What’s the matter chere?” I said, handing her my cigarette.
“I am hiding out,” she said. “Is there coffee?”
“Yes there is,” I said. “And there are sausage and biscuits in the oven if you are peckish.”
“Yum,” she said. “What is that?” she pointed at the large wicker basket.
“Coffin,” I said.
“Nah uh, no way,” she said. She opened it and looked down. “Well, what do you know, it is a coffin.”
“Told you,” I said. “I figured this would be better than having a real wooden coffin in here.”



“Is it true what I heard?” asked Scarlett.
“About what?” asked GS.
“The Fellowship of the Sun wants a meeting with us?” she asked.
“That is what Pam said. Apparently, they are trying to visit all the forums, try to get into our heads, convert us, I guess,” said GS.
“Are we going to let them?” asked Scarlett.
“Pam says we should,” I said. “I guess they want us to dig into them and see what they are up to, maybe give us a clue about the next adventures.”
“Can we get them to come at night?” asked GS. “Then one of our Vampires could be in the coffin and listening.”
“That is something I have Raki trying to work out with them, I am too much of a hot head to deal with them,” I said.

Fairy came in, looked around and was a little disappointed there was no Sheriff napping on the couch and went to the kitchen. She began to unload the fixings for roasted rosemary chicken. Having a kitchen assured us of a great meal each Wednesday.

Renee came in in a bad mood. “Aslinn, will you please speak to Bill about Jessica?” she began.
“This is your problem chere, you and Bill have to work this out,” I said.
“But Jessica had the Kid out all night, they glamoured some poor old guy out of his car and took it joy riding, then they maxed out my credit cards on some clothes the Kid can’t wear til her father goes through menopause, and she wants…she is saying….” she hesitated.
“Let me guess, she wants to be Vampire?” I said.
“Yes,” she said.
“I thought Bill explained all that to her, about how sad and lonely it is and how it really is a painful process,” I said.
“Well, that would be okay, I think but then, Jessica and Kid were at Joe’s having a hot dog and a soda and a Tru:Blood and Eric just happened to appear out of nowhere and extolled the virtues of the Vampire life and she came home absolutely stoked!!!” she said miserably. Joe’s was a local joint catering to the human/Vampire set.
“I thought you had a pact with Eric,” said Scarlett.
“I do, and he hasn’t put his toe across that line, but it is so hard to say, ‘No, you may not become a Vampire,’” she finished.
“Okay, I will chat, but the person I think I need to chat with is Eric,” I said.
“I can’t do this again with him,” said Renee.” He stands directly on my last nerve.”

Raki came in. She looked frazzled. “Is it too early to hit the bottle?”
“Tough day at the office dear?” I asked.
“Those Fellowship people said they would not meet us at dark. They are smarter than we thought,” she said.
“When do we meet them?” I asked.
“Here on Saturday,” she said.
“Good, racists for lunch,” I said.

That was the sub-theme of True Blood and the Books, the hardships faced by the supernatural communities while they try to mainstream. I was usually impatient with the prejudice I saw in both the world we lived in and the “real” world. And this season, we were going to see both, making the underlying themes more obvious. Tara was going to experience it both as a black woman and as a human who was in a relationship with a backward thinking Vampire and Sookie was going to bear the brunt (presumably) of anti-Vampire attitudes in the tale. I sighed. I doubted my ability to stay calm in the presence of these people.

I worked on the computer for a while, and I posted some mythology. The members began to filter in. Sal was staying out of GS’s way (probably to keep from having to hold GS’s hand) Aolani, Linzy and Lina, Vi and Bella, Minnie and Butter and her honey bun, Jen and our Val, Westexan and Dude were all there, eating dinner and chatting.

We just managed to have our dinner cleared away and the dishes chugging merrily in the dish washer when Bill and Jessica came in. GS jumped up to get the Tru:Blood I was warming in the microwave. He grabbed a bottle and took it to Jessica who favored him with a kiss. I gave Bill his bottle and he kissed me gently on the mouth, his fangs run out a little. “See you on Tuesday?” I said.

“Of course Sweetheart,” he said, kissing me again. He turned with a sweet smile and sat down beside Vi, my sister wife.

Nicky came in holding hands with Pam. She came up to claim a T:B for her Vampire Sweetie and returned, sitting next her. The last one to come in was the Sheriff. Eric met Butter at the door and hugged her closely to him. The bun must have kicked him because he put his hand briefly on her belly and rubbed it and smiled at her. Fairy brought him a bottle. He sat down by Val and gave her a tender kiss, because she looked as though she needed it. He looked over at the object lying there along the wall under the window.

“What is that?” asked the Viking.
“I know what it is, if you don’t Northman,” said Bill.
“Why don’t you enlighten me,” said Eric.
“It is a coroner’s coffin, if I am correct, late 19th century,” he said.
“Give that man a Tru:Blood,” I said. “I found it and my dad lined it to make it light tight.” I opened it and revealed the beautiful red silk lining. All of the Vampires leaned forward to look at it.
“That is wonderful and long enough for Eric to rest in,” said Pam.
“Of course, and yourself, you aren’t exactly short you know,” I said to the blonde vampire.
“Thank you dearest,” said Eric.
“You are welcome Eric…at least you won’t be taking up couch space when you come here to sleep,” I said.

“So, have our friends negotiated a time to visit you?” asked Pam.
“Yeah, 12 noon here on Saturday. They simply would not do it at night,” said Raki.
“We knew that was likely the case,” said Bill. “Just be careful with them.”
“What do you think they want?” asked Westexan.

“I have been thinking about this, and at first, I thought it was just my suspicious mind about technology,” said Eric. “But what would you say if I were to suggest there are some forums dedicated to us to create dissent in the Vampire/Human coexistence community.”
“Eric, I swear, you sound like a paranoid human,” said Pam.
“Perhaps,” said the Viking, unhappily. “But you have all been banned from a forum which had been successful til now, even innocent ones like my Minnie and Westexan and Aolani. They have done nothing wrong and still they were banned.”
“So, you think that what they do is get people strung out on the forums, then cause some sort of dissent and they all walk away…for what reason?” I said. “It isn’t logical.”
“They were very confident that theirs was the only place you would want to be, that if you lost that haven, you would simply walk away. They never banked on you being so clever and as strong willed to create this wonderful place,” said Bill.
“I think it is funny that all of a sudden you get contacted by the FoTS when you are about to celebrate your month anniversary,” said Jessica. “Bill, I could stay here, I could lay in the basket and just listen.”

“You are too young a Vampire. You could not defend yourself if they opened the casket and decided to stake you. Pam, Eric and I could defend ourselves to some extent, but you could not, the grips of day time sleep would be too heavy upon you,” he said.

“I will lie down here dawn Saturday, “said Eric. “I will be able to listen.”

“Nope, I can’t let you,” I said. “There is nothing you can do here, and we can hear as well as you, what they have to say.”

“Sweetheart,” said Bill.

“They are not going to do anything,” I said.

“Then allow me to send someone else,” said Eric.

“Who?” I asked.

“Sookie Stackhouse and Sam Merlotte,” he said.