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.