The Halfway Point

Imagine you are somewhere high above the tree tops and you can see for miles and miles. Below you can see an antebellum house newly repainted and roofed, the grounds clipped carefully and new rose bushes planted around the edge of the house. It is not quite dark and the house’s sole resident has not wakened from her day time slumbers. The child, woman and supernatural, is alone, her maker not so far away but he may as well be a thousand miles away for all the good he is to her. She knows he does the best he can, but his best is not good enough and she wonders if he will ever come back and what will she do if he doesn’t. Will she stay in the old house, nice as it is, or will she move on? Because she has already felt the pain of first love, that love that cuts you deep and the love that you wish you could have back but fear you may be too estranged to recapture.

You fly a little ways away and there is the old farm house. It is dark and looks abandoned, almost haunted. Terrible things came here and lived and messed here, defiling the old house like a vicious rape of a beloved person. It is torn and ugly. You wonder if it will ever be whole, like the young girl who lives there, the one who may be losing everything, her lover and her life in faraway place. Will she too lie in the grave yard just yonder, next to her mother and father and grandmother? Will her lover finally go on to the unknown, for we do not know where the undead go when they meet final death, the true death?

On further, a few miles, but a blink of an eye to one flying far above the tree tops. The bar is busy, music coming through the walls. A man burdened with many troubles, troubles since the day he was born into such a family. Will he ever be able to reconcile his fantasies about who his real parents are and find a normal, calmer life with his long lost brother or will he see it end in gnashing teeth and growls and blood on a concrete floor, fighting like gladiators of old while lesser men make bets on the winner.

See further in your flight and see a ‘strange plywood hut’ and the lonely man sitting there. He is lonely because he has never trusted and the world never gave him much reason to trust. His dark skin and his doe like eyes, enhanced with eye makeup, really a case of gilding the lily because his eyes reveal the beautiful soul he really has, takes a drink of vodka and waits for the drug to kick in. No one will ever love him, not even himself unless he can find God in the dazzle and glitter of gods he has long disavowed. He says just because he and Jesus decided to see other people don’t mean they don’t talk from time to time…but sometimes, it seems like he is talking to himself in the dark….

Go on until you see another house. A young man wonders what will become of his life. Will he ever be anything whose glory does not fade, whose record stands for all time, who is able to put aside the old “him” and be new and love. Can he trust anything for face value? Because people around him keep dying and truth seems to be as bright as the sun but everything that glitters is not gold and not everything is as it seems. Will he find love? Will he lose the last part of his family?

There is a row of houses now. A young woman full of doubts and fears and really not all her fears are unfounded, but her mind is closed to the truth: some people are bad and some are good and they come from all walks of life and unlife...she fears for her child. Is it the product of evil and false faces and assumed identities and strange accents? Or is it the product of a hand full of days and nights that are still dark to her, where she lost her vision and her children looked to others for answers?

On up and a little ways away, there is a large building. It is closed but usually people are lining up to go in and sample a little death at the cool hands and lips of the main attraction. And I don’t mean the hot dancers. I am talking about the ones without a pulse, the life impaired, the night walkers who sit sullenly as warm blooded breathers sit and stare and adore them, not because of who they are but what they are. The throne is empty, the crownless king away. Will he get his crown? Will he rescue the darling? Will he get his revenge? Will he save his own child? And what will the arrogant prince learn from all of this? That humanity is only a day away? And a thousand years is but a day unto the Lord.

Advancing out away from the heat of the Louisiana bayou, you can see people gathering. Another person is missing from the circle. You begin your descent and you hear their voices as they chat over their supper. A very tall dark haired man is hunched over his plate, drinking a beer, feeling out of place because right now he is the only one representing the world we are living in.

Finally the girl comes in, her red hair full of the night and the wildness in her and we can now begin to talk about what we have seen and what we think we know…..

“Where is Eric?” she asked. Scarlett brought Jessica a Tru:Blood and sat down with us.

“Eric is in New Orleans at the Queen’s,” said God Speed. “So it is just us.” We could feel the absence of our trusted Vampire friends. They had been with us from the start and we missed the absence brutally. We hoped they would all be back soon. I missed them all.

“I hope they come back soon,” said Butter, cuddling the bun. She was full of love for the baby and she could not stand to be parted from him yet.

“So do I,” said Scarlett. She was miserable without Pam and we were all worried about her and Bill.

Renee and I sat quietly. Barrister looked down at the ornate and expensive carpet. “Alcide, are you going to help Sookie?”

“Sure,” said Alcide. “I promised Eric I would take care of her. I ain’t crazy about doing anything for a Vamp, beg your pardon Jessica, but yeah. I will help Sookie.”

“Is Franklin dead?” asked Vi.

“I don’t think so. I think he was horribly injured and it will take him a while and many days and nights of sleep and deep feedings to heal him, but I think he will be back and crazier than ever,” said God Speed. “And then I hope Tara remembers to uninvited him from Sookie’s house.”

“Does she know to do that?” I asked. GS shrugged.

“So what is the deal with Jesus? Is he everything he pretends to be or is he more?” asked Minnie.

“I don’t know,” said Fairy.

“I think…See Lafayette is spiritual and he has a flirtation with the occult, you know, stuff about Ju Ju, reading tarot cards, his kitschy altars, but he is facing someone who really knows something about the world of the occult and magik… maybe black magik.”

“Do you think that will pull in the things we know about the adventures next summer?” asked Vi.

“I think so,” said Westexan. “There are many things that are being hinted at, and they point at the possibility.”

“Poor Bill,” said Jessica, shivering a little. “I mean, I know I have not been that close to him, but the things I saw him go through was terrible.” In response to her memories of the terrible torture Bill had endured, her fangs popped out and she looked around and cupped her hands over her mouth.

“Ah, honey, you don’t have to do that around us,” said Fairy. “We understand about you all, we are around Vampires usually, every day almost.” The girl nodded.

“That Arlene made me so mad but at the same time, my feelings were so hurt. I wouldn’t hurt her, well, at least not on purpose,” said Jessica. “And she is pregnant.”

“Well, she’s ignorant, you can’t read too much into her Jess,” said God Speed.

“Speaking of ignorant, what about those red necks who was tormenting Lafayette, busting up his car,” said Lina.

“Yeah, that is a part of that whole social context of the adventures..it makes everything swing into perspective,” said Barrister. “It makes it easy to understand bigotry in this world since we have been talking about it in the other world.”

“So is Eric really selling himself to the King of Mississippi?” asked Alcide.

“For a reason,” I said. “He needs the king to help him do two things…get Pam out of her trouble and get his crown.”

“What about Bill?” asked Renee.

“I think Alcide is the hero of that story,” I said. “A reluctant hero, for sure, but the hero of the hour. Alcide, I know you don’t like Vampires on principal, but we do like them, and we would be appreciative if you would help get Bill out.”

Alcide growled deep in his throat. “I will, but I will help humans first. That fair?” he asked.

“Fair enough,” said Renee, though she would have liked a more positive answer. “That was so terrible. And she watched those mad weres drinking from him, and she did not realize it was like the way she and Bill were when they were together. How can she not see that?”

“To her, what she was doing was in their nature, a part of what she was taught by Istivan, her maker,” said Barrister. “That whole master race thing like the King of Mississippi was talking about.”

“Then she should have been doubly horrified,” said Bluebell, crying miserably. “If she thinks so little of the weres, she should have staked Bill rather than let them do that.” Vi, still the queen of all things Kleenex, handed her a wad of tissues.

“She did it because it is horrific for a Vampire to be fed upon,” I said. I rubbed my eyes. I was tired. “Speaking of animals…what is going to happen to Sam?”

“This is why adoptees should not go looking for their biological parents,” said Fairy. “They could be great people who were just young or helpless or they could have be whiskey tangos and make your life hell. It is a chance I would not be willing to take much.”

“And Crystal?” said GS. “Do you get the feeling that she is in a bad place with that red neck?”

“I think so, yes,” said Raki. “This is a bad domestic situation for Jason go dumbassing into.”

“I think he has gone a little crazy,” said Lina. “Pulling that kid out of car and jacking him up…that is just crazy.”

“I don’t know what the hell is going on with kid,” I said. “This is the half way point to the adventure. Six more weeks to go. I always feel a little sad when we are half way through.”

“Me too,” said Scarlett.

Love's Labors Lost

I was sitting in Bill’s house with Fairy and Renee working on the data base and listening to the straight down rain when the phone rang. Fairy was up and down all evening as if there was a tack in her chair. I reached over and picked up the phone.

“Compton’s residence,” I said.
“Hey, is this Aslinn?” said a high panicky voice.
“Ginger? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“You better get over here to Fangtasia, Master Eric is throwing a fit,” she said. I could hear the Vampire screaming and the sounds of heavy things being thrown around the room.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said. I grabbed my smokes and put them in the pocket of my pajama bottoms and a tank top. “You girls wanna ride on out to Fangtasia with me?”
“In our PJ’s?” asked Renee, ogling my shapeless baggy pajama pants with the monopoly man on them and my bare feet. Renee was in a True Blood tee shirt and jogging pants and Fairy was in her Fangtasia tee shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. They were electric blue silky boxers I suspected had once clad the tightly packed rear end of the Viking now tearing up jack from hell to breakfast in Shreveport
“Yeah, I don’t think there is anyone there but a pissed off Viking and a hysterical waitress,” I said.
“What is wrong with Eric?” said Fairy. This must be why she was all up and down.
“I haven’t the foggiest but I thought I would go and get a gander at him, see what he has done to his place,” I said.
“What if it was Pam?” asked Renee.
“I don’t think so, Ginger would have shrieked it at me if something happened to Pam,” I said.

We traipsed out of Bill’s house, I in my bare feet and Fairy and Renee in flip flops. The freshly painted floor of Bill’s porch was cool and wet under my feet and I went down his stairs and my feet ruffled in the soft new sod grass in his front yard. I climbed into the back of Fairy’s SUV and we headed out.
About 45 minutes later, we were pulling into the rear parking lot of Fangtasia. I pounded on the door and I could hear the Viking shouting something in Swedish I suspected was not: Welcome beloved friends and my lover into my humble establishment and partake of wine and beer. No I suspected it was Eff Off.

“Come on Eric let us in, it’s raining and I am in my pajamas!” I yelled. I stamped my feet in place waiting for someone to come around. Finally I heard the lock click and Ginger opened the steel door. “What’s going on?”
“Master Eric is so mad!!!” she said quietly.
“Is it Pam?” asked Renee, as we all came in.
“No, Mistress Pam is still safe. It is Master Eric’s…other wives I think,” she barely said the words aloud as we followed her into the bar. I looked around at the room. Tables were over turned and chairs thrown about but there didn’t seem to be anything seriously damaged. The remains of a laptop computer were on the stage where it had been hurled. I looked at the throne where the Viking was sitting.

“Did you fry your modem Sheriff?” I asked.
“What do you want?” he asked. There was blood on his hands.
“Did you hurt yourself Eric?” I asked. “Or someone else?”
“I did not hurt anyone…yet,” he said.
“Someone piss in your Tru:Blood this evening?” I asked.
“No,” he said. I turned a table over and Renee and Fairy and I turned up chairs for us to sit in while we parlayed with the Viking.
“Doing some remodeling?” I asked. I took out a cigarette and Ginger appeared with three beers and a warm bottle of T:B and an ash tray. “Thirsty Viking…Have heap good fake blood for you.”
He looked at me and stood and stalked off his dais and grabbed an over turned chair and set it right and sat down. He picked up the bottle of Tru:Blood and sipped from it. He still said nothing. Finally he looked at all of us.

“Why aren’t you dressed?” asked Eric.
“Ginger said it was a come as you are party, so we came as we were,” I said.
“Are you finished with Compton’s house?” he asked. He really didn’t care, but I went along with him.
“Sure, and we appreciate the fresh flowers we get every day or so,” I said.
“Have you had something to eat? I can have something brought in,” he offered. This was a big deal for any Vampire because they didn’t eat food and often forgot people had to eat every day.
“We are fine,” I said. “Did you eat?”
“Just this,” he said. He lifted the bottle a little.

Fairy got up and went around the bar and got a clean bar towel and wet it with cool water and went over to clean the Viking’s hands. I knew it was his own blood and he was healed but Vampires just were indifferent about blood on their bodies. She came around, her flip flops making that soft flapping sound. She squatted down and wiped the blood off his hands. He watched her unblinking.

“Okay Eric, what is your problem?” I said. “You see something you didn’t like? I mean, come on man, your temple was so big we had to start a new thread for you.”
“I don’t understand them,” said the Viking.
“Who? The girls? Are they on about that mutt again?” I asked. He nodded.
“Spoiled rotten, I swear,” I said.
“I would rather they would go to Compton than that mutt,” he said.
“That is quite something to say,” I said. “I think you are getting heated up for nothing Eric.”
“Don’t they understand they are mine?” he said.
“Maybe you should sit down with them and explain what you think that whole mine thing means to you, then ask them what it means to them,” I said. “You know, if you keep getting all heated up over this, you are going to look a lot like Franklin Mott.”
“That is insulting,” said Eric.
“Sorry,” I said. “These are modern girls; they feel like they can care about you and still look at Alcide. You should not take it so personally.”
“Think of it this way,” said Renee. “They are getting their appetites outside, but they are eating at home.”

“Besides,” said Fairy. “They may feel entitled to look around since you get to play with others.”
“Yvetta is just food,” said Eric.
“Well, humans don’t have sex with their food, generally,” I said. “And if you do, they lock you up.” Eric looked at me with a hard look.
“I cannot be expected to behave like a human man, I am not human, my needs for total devotion are exquisite, faithfulness is paramount,” he said.
“You are sooooo a human man,” said Renee. “You think my human spouse likes the time I spend with Bill? He absolutely hates him.”
“And Barrister is not that pleased with my relationship with Bill, though I had it long before I had my relationship with him,” I said. “And I am sure there are other human spouses who do not appreciate the devotion some of the other members give to Pam or Jessica. Or you…do you know how many wives you have?”
“I do know I have a great many lovers,” he said.

“So many you do not always get to spend enough time with them. Too bad you were not twins Eric, he could have handled some of your …ah…overflow,” I said.
Eric smiled his lopsided smile. I liked to see him smile far more than I liked to see him mad. Eric angry was scary. I looked at him. “They love you Eric, they are crazy about your smile.”
“The way you stride into a room,” said Renee.
“Your flirty ways,” said Fairy.
“Your other assets,” I said. “You give that mutt too much of your attention. He is so not an alpha.”
“You are a red hot smoking Vampire…he needs a flea dip,” said Renee…which was a lot considering she was devoted to Bill. Eric winked at Renee.
“I may win you yet Renee,” he said.
“See that ruins it for me,” she said.

“So, do you have any Vampire erotica for me to peruse?” I asked. “I don’t think I have looked at any Vampire porn.”
“Vampire erotica is the art of our sexuality, it is not at all like human pornography,” he said, his voice all snotty. “Besides, human can’t do what Vampires do sexually. You aren’t strong enough.”
“Well, it would be fun trying, before you went into spasm and everything locked up,” I said. “Can you really do it for six hours Eric.”
“Would you like to find out?” he asked.
“Not shopping Eric, just looking for general information,” I said. “So, what makes Vampire erotica different from human porn?”
“Our focus is different,” he said. “The blood is very erotic.”
“See, I knew you were going to say that…” I said.
“All Vampires like it,” he said. “Even Bill.”
“Hello, I am a sister wife…wonder how weres do it,” I said.
“Canus,” said the Viking to no one in particular. I choked a bit on my beer.
“See Eric, they don’t love him, they just love his doggie style,” I said. Eric was the one to choke a little mid sip. He grinned his lopsided grin. “I knew I could get you to smile.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCU5G_AaJ2M&feature=related

“So…you got any of that Vampire erotica Eric?” asked Renee.

Eric stood up, walked across the room to his office. Fairy and I both leaned back to enjoy the view. Hey, I’m devoted, not dead. He was in there a moment and came back with a large soft bound book. He sat it on the table…Vampyre l’Amore…I looked up at him. He smiled. I opened it.

“Oh my God,” I said. “How in the hell can she get twisted around like that?” Fairy gasped and shook her head.
“Look at him…he looks…deformed…” said Renee of a male Vampire posing brazenly on red satin. “Do you know these Vampires?”
“Some of them,” said Eric.
“See, that would be…I would be crippled if I tried to do that,” said Fairy.
“Yeah, my leg would fall off,” I said. “Now, that is just nasty, even for Vampires.” I said, pointing at a picture.
“That is quite fun actually,” said Eric.
“Figures,” I said.
“And looky here,” said Fairy. I leaned over. It was a very naked picture of a very happy Vampire Sheriff.
“Good Lord Eric, you are so shameless,” said Renee, averting her eyes. “That is really TMI.”
“I never had you down for this sort of caper Eric,” I said. “Well, enough stroking your ego Viking, I am ready for bed.”
“I am too,” said Renee.
“How about you Fairy dearest?” asked Eric. “Ready for bed?”

Our Fairy..taking one for the team. I don’t think she minds really.

July 21

July 21, 2010

God Speed was sitting in the parlor when I stormed in. I threw my big bag of crazy on the couch as Barrister came in and closed the door behind him. God Speed had been working on some stuff for the forum when we came in and he watched me as I began a futile search for cigarettes. I searched my bag, then one of the boxes by the computer, then the box on the coffee table. Both boxes were empty and I spotted a box on the mantle and sighed with a sigh of relief when I found a nearly full box. I took out a cigarette and lit it, blowing out a great plume of smoke which God Speed waved away.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “Everything okay?”
“It was a set up,” I said. “GS, everything with Bill was a set up. It was too easy.”
“What is she talking about?” GS asked Barrister.
“Let her tell you,” he said.
“Bill’s escape. It was too damned easy,” I said. “Cooter told the king that Sookie was in Jackson and where she was. Debbie told him she was staying with Alcide. She probably even said Sookie mentioned Bill Compton.”
“So, why didn’t they just go and get her, why did they rile Bill up and let him escape?” asked God Speed.
“So the king could catch him at it,” I said. “He would catch Bill betraying him, an act of treason, and he would acquire Sookie, and perhaps even test Eric.”
“Do you think Eric is still in the game?” asked God Speed.

“Yes. Eric is still in play if he can keep his mind right. He needs Bill alive to get Pam out of the situation with the Magister with the king’s help. He has to make some sort of alliance with the King to get Pam out,” I said. “He will have to do this even though the king was the one who killed his family. Eric will simply have to let that go for the moment.”

“But what about Sophie Anne?” asked God Speed.
“Eric’s best chance of revenge without it all caving in on him is to pit the two monarchs against one another. It all hinges on Sookie,” I said.
“How?” asked GS.

“Sookie is the prize between Edgington and the queen. But Sookie has to be convinced that Eric has no feelings for her, though we all know he does. He has to be mean to her, brutal, “ I said. “She has to believe that Eric could care less about her. That way Edgington will trust Eric and will be willing to return to Louisiana with the intention of going forward with his plan to marry her. If Eric can get Edgington in his territory, he has better control.”
“The home court advantage,” said God Speed.
“You have to tell this in the meeting,” said Barrister.
“Oh, I intend to, there are some things we have to figure out,” I said.

I spent the rest of my time helping Barrister make a steak and kidney pie and mashed potatoes and a green salad and homemade bread. Westexan and Butter and Fairy were the first ones in the parlor, Fairy brought us a strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Westexan was laughing.

“Well, apparently you knew exactly what to get Eric for Halloween when you bought him the History of Pornography,” she said.
“Evidently,” I said. “But then he gave himself away with that first edition copy of Justine he gave me.”
Butter had brought the Bun, aka Cody in to his first True Blood Anonymous meeting. Eric was going to love having the baby here; he had been looking forward to him since he knew about the baby coming. Like with Westexan, he had been fascinated with the child as he grew inside his mother’s belly. Of course there was the added feature of her being one of his sister wives.

Eric and Jessica came in just as we were finishing supper. Scarlett and Fairy popped in Tru:Bloods for the Vampires and they waited patiently as we cleared away our dishes and set them washing in the dishwasher. We then took our places in the parlor to begin our discussion.

“Where is Alcide tonight?” asked Minnie.
“He is still in Jackson,” said the Viking. He watched Butter feeding the baby and his eyes looked hungry to touch the child. After seeing him with his baby sister (which I never knew he had and would make for interesting if sad conversation for later) I could see why Westexan and Butter would trust the Vampire with their babies. “So, what do you think?” he asked casually.

I immediately launched into my theory of Bill being set up. He listened carefully but there was a look in his eyes that told me he found this a little farfetched.
“Bill is not that stupid,” he said simply.
“Bill is in love Eric. He thinks Sookie is in danger and he wants to get to her, it’s in his nature. Lorena was right. Bill can’t help but love. Once again, his love is being used as a weapon against him to hurt him,” I said.

“What is Edgington anyway?” asked Minnie.
“He’s a collector. Talbot said Edgington was a greedy boy, that he sees a thing and he takes it, that collects objects and people. I bet Edgington has collected strange humans like Sookie for years. Weres, shifters, wi…” I stopped for a second. “Witches.”
Aolani looked at me behind the Viking’s back. He had not noticed my falter and I sighed a sigh of relief as my mind ran to a not so distant future about nine months away.
“Fairies,” said Eric absently.

“Vampires too, I imagine,” said Jen. Eric would make a fine addition to his Vampire cortege. Talbot certainly seemed enamored of him. I could see the way he was looking at you Eric.”
“It’s the same look you gave me last night, lover,” he said to his lovely red headed sister wife. Jen blushed.
“You can’t spend all of your time…” began Dude.
“I can try,” he said. The Bun was awake and Eric held his arms out for the baby. Butter handed him over to the Viking who began to make clucking and shushing noises at the baby. “I would do anything for my child and if I can save Sookie and your precious Bill, I will.”
“Even if it meant forgoing your revenge?” asked Barrister.
“Even that,” said Eric.
“You may have to,” I said.

“I’ve waited a thousand years, I can wait a little longer and do it right,” I could hear the unmistakable sounds of his fangs popping out. “Take my time.” Eric was smiling and his mouth was full of teeth and fangs but Cody could care less. Get used to it kid, you will see a lot of that around here. Cody’s little hand reached up for the Viking’s sizable nose and gave him a honk. Eric sneered at the baby in a comical way.
“Eric,” said Fairy gently.
“Pardon me,” said Eric, snicking his fangs back in place.

“So, what else?” said Sal.
“Jessica and Tommy…not a healthy situation for him,” said God Speed.
“I concur,” said Barrister.
“Think we should have a word?” asked Sal.
“Definitely,” said God Speed.
“Tommy is just a nice guy,” said Jessica. “You are making too much of it.”
“Boys, you can’t interfere with him,” said Vi.
“Not even a little bit?” asked God Speed.
“No,” said Jessica. “Not even a little bit.”
“So, is Tommy the bread winner of that family?” asked Scarlett. Scarlett was really feeling the absence of Pam, as she was bonded with Pam.
“You could say that,” said Body Guard.

“What is the deal with Col. Flood?” said Butter. “I expected more from him.”
“Don’t count Flood out,” said Body Guard. “Alcide, if they didn’t take him as well, will need to turn to someone. Perhaps Cooter has crossed a line.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “If something happens to Edgington someone will have to take control of that pack.”
“True,” said Lina. “The wolves will be out of control if their Vampire Master is made definitely dead.”

“What is going to happen to Tara?” asked Renee.
“She is in trouble. Franklin is a little…” said Eric.
“Bipolar?” offered Jessica.
“Yes, thank you Jessica,” said Eric.

“And Lorena…will you stake her for me Eric?” asked Renee.
“And what would be in it for me?” he asked.
“Well, I would be less likely to let something ugly fall on you in your sleep and impale you,” she said. “And why were you so surprised and strangely delighted with her presence?”
“Delighted? That’s overstating it my dear,” said Eric.
“So what is the deal with her?” I asked.
“Lorena is amusing to play with,” said Eric. “She might even be useful.”
“I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her,” said Dude. “Speaking of which, what about your top salesman?”

“What has Lafayette done now?” asked Eric.
“I sooo don’t trust Jesus,” said Fairy.
“I don’t either…there is something wrong with him I can’t put my finger on,” said Sugar. “And Jason…can you get any crazier? I swear that boy has lost his mind!”
Eric stood up, Cody in his arms, fast asleep. The Vampire leaned in and sniffed his sweet babyness and handed him back to Butter. “I have to return to Jackson. Jessica, can I see you home?”
“Barrister and I will take her home,” I said. “The nursery people are delivering some plants at Bill’s house in the morning.”
“Very well. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” said the Vampire.

And he was gone.

July 19

Monday, July 19, 2010

The roofers were putting the brand new tin roof on Bill’s house. One thing I could say about Ante Bellum construction is that it was made to last. I was standing there with my eyes shaded looking up. The house was nearly all painted and it looked like new money. Now to get Bill back home where he belonged. Barrister came to stand next to me. He looked up at the house, getting better by the day and then at me.

“He will love it,” he said.
“I hope so,” I said. Fairy was helping with the weeds around Bill’s house with Raki and Minnie. We had tossed out the moth balls and were hopeful there were no more snakes, though with the Louisiana climate being what it is, we didn’t take anything for granted. Maybe we should call Billy the Exterminator, he did just live in Shreveport. I wondered if he knew what to do with Vampire pests. We had a plague of them.

There was the rumbling of a jeep and we turned to see Sam with our lunch orders. Tommy was with him and it was all we could do to keep GS and Dude from surrounding him. Tommy helped Sam carry the boxes into Bill’s house. We followed them in. Scarlett was sorting out the orders, each with our names on the stapled bags. We divvied up our money and made nice big tip on top for Sam and Tommy, though I think GS was all for taking a leaf out of the Jessica Hamby playbook and not tip Tommy, but we gave it all to Sam and figured what he did with it would be up to him.

“You guys have really done a great job with this house,” said Sam.
“Did you know Jessie Compton?” I asked, as Scarlett handed over my chicken strip dinner.
“I knew of him, but not really,” said the shifter. “But I always thought it was a shame this old house was in such sorry shape.”
“Well, it keeps us out of the bars at night,” I said, with a wink.
“Hey, you all should come to Merlotte’s Friday night,” said the bar keeper.
“We may do that,” I said.
“You all hear from Sookie?” he asked.
“Well, she is really busy Sam,” I said evasively.
“I am sure, but I worry for her,” he said.
“We all do, Sam,” I said. “So how is that family reunion thing working out?”
“I just don’t know,” he said softly. We turned away and walked to the edge of the crowd a bit where Body Guard and Aolani were talking to Tommy. “I guess I make the mistake a lot of adoptees make.”
“Not your fault, just…be careful, know what I mean?” I said.
“I do,” he said. “But you all stop by Merlotte’s and have a beer, now.”
“We will, thanks,” I said. Sam called for Tommy and the two brothers headed out the front door. I shook my head. There were troubles brewing for those two. I went into the parlor and settled at the coffee table and began to open my supper box and dive into some fried chicken. I could hear everyone talking and laughing in the house, having their burgers and chicken strips and what all else they could get from Merlotte’s.

After our lunches, we went back to work. Renee, Scarlett and Fairy and I were painting the wrought Iron gazebo and Barrister and Dude and God Speed were digging out the grass in the area we were going to put up the gazebo. They were going to level the sandy soil, put down a weed barrier and lay some prick down for a patio underneath for the lovely wicker furniture Eric had sent us. He was being generous to us, not Bill, and I appreciated it. When we finished with the painting, and it dried, the boys would carry it to the spot and then lay the bricks. Westexan came over and flopped down on the old blanket with Butter, who was tending to the bun.

“Ugh…I will never get the paint off me!!!” she whined. She had been painting at her own house and in between times had been working on Bill’s house with us. “I even have paint in my hair…How did I get paint in my hair?”
I looked over and grinned. “It’s water soluble chere, it will come out with warm water and soap,” I said back her. I lit a cigarette and it hung from between my lips as I worked on painting a rosette. This paint we were using on the gazebo was oil based and I could foresee the use of linseed oil to get it off. My poor manicure was a lost cause.

As the sun began to go down, we either took off for home or headed upstairs to have a shower. I went up for a shower and change and so did Barrister. Jessica came out of her room and padded down stairs.
“Hey Aslinn,” she said.
“Hey Jessica, how are you?” I asked.
“Fine,” she said. “Would you and Barrister give me a ride to Merlotte’s?”
“Sure,” I said. She headed back upstairs to get ready and I went to heat her a bottle of Tru:Blood. When it dinged off, I got it and set it on the counter.

“You have gotten a lot done,” said a voice. I whirled around.
“Eric,” I said. He stepped in the back door. “Wanna Blood?”
“Sure,” he said. He leaned against the counter in the small galley kitchen. He filled up the small room with his frame.
“Have you heard anything about Pam?” I asked.
“She is fine right now,” he said.
“I know you will do what you have to, Eric,” I said. “So, your father’s crown.”
“My father’s crown,” he said. He sipped the blood and stared at the floor.
“Gonna get it back?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“Well, it is yours,” I said. “You have his sword safe and sound in Sweden, and now you know where the crown is, all you have to do is snatch it away.”
“No word of worry or doubt?” he said. He looked up at me.
“You said for me to trust you right? So…I trust you,” I said. “You will do what is right. You will get Pam out, you will help Sookie, and you will help Bill, since you got him in this little predicament with the Magister. You may be a little underhanded in some of your dealings, but in most dealings, dealings of importance, you are honorable.”
“I appreciate your confidence in me,” said the Viking.

“Hey Eric,” said Jessica.
“Jessica,” he said. “All dressed for work I see.”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Do you need a ride to Merlotte’s?” he asked.
“Aslinn and Barrister are giving me a ride, thanks,” she said. She tipped the Tru:Blood bottle and took a long swig of it. She gulped that down and then took another.
“Slow down Jessica, there is more artificial blood where that came from,” said Eric. Eric tolerated the artificial blood as a gesture to mainstreaming but he really liked the little blood meals from this sister wives.
“If I drink it fast enough I don’t think about it,” she said.
“Eric be good,” I said.
“I am being good. I’m helping Jessica mainstream,” he said, smiling that lops sided grin.
“You are barely housebroken, “I said. “Admit it, you barely mainstream at all.”
“That is true,” he admitted.
“Are we ready?” asked Barrister.
“Sure, we are dropping Jessica off at Merlotte’s,” I said.
“And then I would like it very much if you followed me to Fangtasia for a quick meeting,” he said.
“All of us?” I asked.
“No, just you and my consigliere,” he said.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

We drove Jessica to work and let her out, reminding her to have another TB later and she promised. I sighed. I had a feeling that girl was not living strictly from a diet of artificial blood. She was feeding when she could, and I just hoped she was careful. Lafayette put his hand up and at first I thought he was waving at me but then I realized he was waving at Eric, who nodded at him. When we pulled out, he followed us. I could see out the rearview mirror, the pale face illuminated by the dash board lights.

“Eric troubles me,” I said more to myself than to Barrister.
“I know he does,” he said.
“I have a feeling I am going to end up saying something to him he is not going to like,” I said.
“Maybe you shouldn’t say it,” said Barrister.
“He did me a favor, he said things to me to get my ass in gear over Bill, now I got to say what I gotta say,” I said.
“Be gentle,” he said. “He says what he likes because unless you have a silver stake to drive through his hide, he has nothing to fear. He could swat you like Serena Williams swatting a tennis ball and turn you into a tomato spot on his office wall. “I made a squishy squelching sound. “That’s not funny dearest.”
“Yes it is…at least I won’t suffer,” I said. You had to develop a sick sense of humor else you couldn’t run around with Vampires. “I wonder…”
“What?” asked Barrister.
“Where was Chow the night the bar was raided? Why didn’t he help Pam that night?” I said.
“Well, maybe it was his night off,” said Barrister.
“Maybe…Wonder what Eric knows about him,” I said. “You know, in the second summer we knew him, I had the feeling he was jealous of Eric. Remember, they were about to feed on Lafayette, and he said, ‘I don’t understand why we have to wait for Eric’. Makes me wonder if he isn’t the one who bugged Eric’s office.”
“And maybe called the Magister in and told him where he could find the V?” suggested Barrister.
“Maybe….” I said. “That is so random, but…it makes sense.”
“Are you going to ask Eric about it?” he asked.
“Yeah, maybe,” I said. “We’ll see.”

We pulled behind Fangtasia and Eric pulled up beside us and we got out. Eric went to the rear door and unlocked it and opened the door for us to step in. The lights were on and there were a couple of waitresses there.

“Two Guinness please Chow,” said Barrister. The Vampire nodded and we went to sit down at the owner’s booth. Yvetta sidled up to Eric and he snubbed her by walking past without a word. She gave Eric an evil glare. He sat down.
“Eric, you won’t get Yvetta back in the basement if you treat her like that,” I said.
“I’m bored with her,” he said. “Pam was keeping her occupied for a while.”
“How nice for you, to have someone to take on your hand me downs,” I said. I opened my bag and took out my phone and wrote a text and texted it to Eric. He took out his phone and looked at the sender and then he looked at me. I winked at him. He read the text.

>>How well do you know Chow?<<
>>Y?<<
>>Where was he when Fangtasia was raided?<<

Eric closed his phone and I did the same. He looked at me for a long time and then shrugged his shoulders. I nodded. It was something for him to think about. Ginger brought us our drinks and we gave her the cost of them. I sipped my perfect pint.

“So, what did you want to see me about?” asked Barrister.
“I need your counsel, about Edgington, what do you know about him?” asked Eric. “From the things you have collected from the books you took away from Markingham’s estate.”
“Virtually nothing Eric,” I said. “He is older than Godric, which fascinates me. I thought you said there was none above Godric?”
“And there wasn’t. I was speaking of his character and his abilities as a Vampire,” said Eric. I nodded.
“Eric, you have to pull it together,” I said. “You can’t let the discovery of the crown deter you from your main goal and that is get Pam out from the Magister.”
“I know,” he said.
“This Edgington is a backward thinking Vampire for all of his talk about being civilized,” said Barrister. “Can Nan Flanagan help us?”
“I don’t think I make her short list of friends, so I don’t think we can count on her much,” said Eric.
“A dangerous coupe attempt on the life of your queen will be a media disaster greater than Godric being taken by the Fellowship,” said Barrister.
“This is true,” said Eric.

“You worried about how Bill will react?” I asked.
“I want him to cooperate with me,” said Eric.
“Cooperate with him and he will cooperate with you. You boys need to trust one another. I know that isn’t a big thing with your kind, but you really have to do it,” I said. “Sookie has to be able to trust you both. You all got her in the middle of this, you all have to get her out.”
“How is it my fault?” asked Eric.
“It’s not just one of you at fault,” I said. “Bill should have kept her secret just that, a secret. And you should have left Lorena out of the picture. That was poorly played on your part. Sookie would have helped you without bringing Lorena in to keep him from going to her. And who do you think got Bill Compton taken? Lorena, of course, and this led to Edgington wanting to acquire Sookie.”
“Sookie is becoming something of a commodity,” said Eric.
“Well, you guys have been exploiting humans for a long time,” I said. “But be careful, be safe, and be clever. I don’t need to tell you those things, because I know you are those things. But I think sometimes you need to hear someone say that to you.”
“Thank you Aslinn,” he said.
“If I find anything of use to you, I will let you know,” I said.
“Thank you,” he said. “I have to go.”
“Take care,” I said.

The Visit

The Visit
The hospital was dark and quiet when the tall blond walked in. If anyone saw him, they would not remember it, but if they had ever known him, they would never forget him. He walked like a king, his stride one of a proud man. He looked thirty but was so much older and he looked human, but it had been 1000 years since he was that. His grey green eyes scanned the hallway and the dim lights did not do justice to the gold in his hair.

He could scent the smells of hospitals and traces of blood and medicine but he could smell her too, his spirit wife and he could smell the child, somewhere nearby because he smelled like her. A nurse approached him and before she could protest, he cupped her cheek in the palm of his huge hand and looked at her and he whispered his woman’s name and the name of the child and she told him where they were and as he swept by, she blinked and shook her head as though trying to clear away a foggy feeling. Tired, the nurse thought in her mind as the tall figure dressed in black turned down the hall unseen.

He walked first into Butter’s room. He could see she was tired, but she seemed fine to him, her heart beat was strong and she was resting. He leaned over her and kissed her temple. Her eyes fluttered at the touch of his cool lips on her skin. She opened her eyes.

“Eric,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“Aslinn phoned me and told me the baby was born,” he said softly, pushing back a wisp of hair from her face. “I came to see you on my way to Mississippi.”
“Have you seen him yet?” she asked.
“I came to see you first,” said the Vampire.
“Stand behind the drape and I will ask for the baby,” she said. Eric did as he was told and Butter rang for the nurse. When the nurse responded, she asked for the baby. It was almost time to feed him anyway. About ten minutes later, the nurse wheeled in the bassinette and the warmed bottle. She took the baby out and brought him to Butter. She handed her a cloth diaper and the bottle and when the nurse left, Eric stepped out from behind the curtain. He looked down at the little boy.

“He is so small,” he said. His cool finger tips rubbed his warm head, feeling the down of hair there. He watched the baby drinking the warm milk. His eyes devoured the pink skin, he could smell his sweet perfume. When the baby was finished Butter burped him and the baby sort of went to sleep. Eric leaned down and put his ear on the baby’s back and could hear the faster beat of his heart, thump thump, thump. He had listened to it so often from inside Butter’s belly but it had a strange echoey underwater sound then. This sounded like a little clock ticking steady and fast.

“Would you like to hold him?” she asked. Eric nodded. She wrapped him in the blanket in a tight little bundle and handed him to the Viking.

He held the baby up, his hand cupping the back of his head, his other under his bottom. The baby squinted at him with the rheumy unfocused eyes of an infant. “Hello little human man. At last we meet.” The baby snuffled as though to cry but Eric made a shushing noise and he quieted. “I felt you kick your mother hard when you were growing. You will be a strong little man someday.” The baby yawned unconcerned with the man’s observations.

He turned to Butter and laid the baby back in her arms. “You two should rest. I will be away for a while, but I will be back.”
“Wednesday?” she asked.
“Wednesday,” he confirmed. He leaned down and kissed Butter on the mouth, softly. “Take care of our boy now.”

And then, he was gone.

July 14

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The fever broke this morning and the day had been warm but not so stifling that you felt as though you were breathing underwater. Violet, Renee, Westexan and I were on the upper balcony, painting the scraped and repaired parts of Bill’s house. We patiently scraped around the windows and recaulked the lead poured windows and while we waited for them to dry, we began to paint the porch. The inside of the house was complete and we were pretty proud of the way it had come out.

Barrister and God Speed were on the scaffolding around the side of the house. Sweat glistened on them as they scraped and pied away rotten areas and replaced them with new clean wood. I went into the house and down stairs. Fairy and Minnie were hemming the drapes in the dining room and Linzy and Lina were polishing some old silver frames we found hidden away. There were some pictures Bill had which had no frames and we were happy to have found the wonderful collection of brass and silver frames. Bella and Scarlett were putting together a green salad for dinner with baked and seasoned chicken to sprinkle on it.

Aolani was hanging multi colored sun catchers. They were pretty to look at but they were also magikal as she had charmed each and every one to protect the house. She even did Jessica a favor and did some wards around the house to keep unfriendly people out of the house. It may not keep the oldest or strongest Vampires out, but they would have to fight with the magik to get in and that would give Jessica time to get out or down the rabbit hole to the guest area where she might be able to hide.

“Hey,” I said.
“Hey Aslinn,” said Scarlett. “How goes the painting?”
“Pretty good,” I said. “This old house looks great.”
“We still have the landscaping yet,” said Bella. She sniffed loudly. Poor Bella, the most sensitive of Bill girls, she felt Bill’s absence the strongest.
“We still have plenty of work to do, plenty enough to see us busy til Bill comes back,” I said. “I got a six pack of cold water and put another in to chill. “Have we heard from Butter yet?”
“Not yet, hope she is ok,” said Scarlett.
“Me too,” I said. Butter was busy having the Honey Bun, the little lump of a boy the Viking loved rubbing. Since Butter was his spirit wife, he felt free to put his hands on her belly and rub it as it grew larger and larger. “Hopefully, we will know real soon.”

I took the cold water up and gave everyone cold water and then reached around the side of the house to the men on the scaffolding and handed them water. I could hear Body Guard, Jen and Sweet and Wild and Raki on the main porch, painting and laughing and talking. We worked for three hours more and then, one at a time, we tipped off for a shower and put on clean cool clothes.

We took our dinner outside to eat in the back garden. It was freshly mowed but there were still a lot of things to be done. The wild Irish rose needed to be trimmed back to get it to bloom again and there was horse grass and nettles and vegetable garden, long gone to seed, to be dug and plowed out and sown with grass seed. Dude had uncovered an old ornamental pond which had been put in some thirty years ago that could be refilled and stocked with koi. But that was weeks down the road.

After supper, as the sun began to go down, we lit the torches. Fairy and Scarlett went to heat bottles of Tru:Blood for Eric, Pam, and Jessica when they finally rose. I could hear Fairy’s voice say ‘Hey Jessica!’ and I knew the young Vampire was moving around in the darker interior of the house. She would wait til the sun was completely down to come out of the house. Last night, she had come out when the sun was still a little over the horizon and got the bleeds and felt sort of bad, so she would be careful from now on. Eric took her into the house with Godspeed and showed her how to have a quick healing sip in case she would ever need it.

Eric had been nice to us since I talked to him on Monday. He had sent some fresh flowers to the house. I doubted the florist would come very often after Bill returned, but while we were here, we had fresh flowers sent to the house to cheer us up. Flowers and a good kick in the ass from the Viking had straightened me out. Sure, I still felt bad when I thought about Bill’s predicament, but I felt stronger after my little pep talk with the Sheriff. We would have a lot to discuss tonight. Sunday’s adventure had been exciting and next Sunday promised to be equally intriguing and I was eager to talk about it.

There were loud shouts and yells from the garden and Jessica came to the screen door of the back of the house. There was a loud boom and God Speed called out that everything was okay. He had shot the rattlesnake with his shotgun. Jessica’s eyes, so much stronger and clearer than our own human ones were glued on the dark reptile with the ragged end where the head once was.

“We have to get some moth balls to spread around out here,” he said, throwing the snake out into the high weeds of the forest. Alcide drove up, flooding the back garden with the splash of his truck lights. Body Guard went to greet Alcide. They walked up into yard.
“Hungry Alcide?” asked Lina. Lina had better be careful being nice to the were in front of the Sheriff.
“I ain’t hungry but I could do with a cold beer,” he said. Barrister went over to the steel wash tub and fished out an ice cold Bud and brought it over to the were. “Thanks man.”
“No worries, mate,” he said in his London accent. The appearance of the Sheriff signaled to Jessica it was safe to come out and she did, a warm Tru:Blood in her hand. Fairy came out and gave the Viking his bottle, he rewarding her with a kiss.

“Where is Pam?” I asked.
“She will not be here tonight,” he answered.
“Is she in ….custody?” I asked.
Eric said nothing but the cold look of his eyes and the even set of his mouth was answer enough.
“She is…in jail?” asked the Barrister.
“Yes,” he said. “So I am heading to Jackson after our meeting.”
“Why didn’t you tell us she was being held?” asked God Speed.
“Because there is nothing any of us can do for her,” said Eric. “Except get Bill back to Bon Temps.”
Vi took a breath. Renee looked coldly at Eric as he walked around and took a seat. Kellie sat down on the parched grass by her mom’s chair and Jessica joined her. We all began to putt our chairs around and form our circle, as we had in other times and other places.

Pam usually began the meeting and our discussion so I was surprised when Jessica sat up straight.
“We should get our meeting started,” said the young Vampire. Jessica stepped into the breach; she was a fledged Vampire, feeling her difference and the need for her to step in to do her duty. God Speed looked proud of her.

“Everything you see Bill do that seems negative is what he has to do,” said Eric. “He has to play his role and try to get out of his situation and for Pam’s sake, I have to help him. I have to have Bill Compton alive.”
“Eric, since Bill has forsworn his fealty to Queen Sophie Anne, can he help you?” asked Dude.
“Yes, he can,” said Eric. “I cannot say anything disloyal about Sophie Anne because I am one of her subjects. Bill can. He can testify to the fact that he knows about the V and this will drive the stake in her heart.”

“What about Russell Edgington? Will you be able to charge him to the Magister for giving his own blood, his royal blood, his ancient royal blood, to werewolves?” asked Barrister.
“If Bill and I can come together and get our stories straight, we can thwart both the king and queen. We in effect can kill our own monarchs and get what we both want,” said Eric.
“If Queen Sophie Anne is deposed, who will take her place? And if King Russell Edging is deposed, who will take control of Mississippi? Can we guarantee there will be a good monarch here and there?” asked Renee.
“We don’t know who would be the ones to take their place,” said Eric.

“Nan Flanagan?” said Scarlett.
“Perhaps,” said Eric. “She would consolidate her power as the public face of our kind, the head of the American Vampire League and if she is so inclined, she might be the queen of either states.”
“But that would not be good for you,” said Sweet and Wild. “She does not care much for you; she even threatened you with the loss of your area.”

“Would you want to be the King of Louisiana?” asked Kellie.
“No dearest, I have no desire to be the king ,” said the Vampire.

“Alcide, what would the Vampires do to that pack using V?” asked Linzy. “Would they be abjured?”
“I do not know, we would have to refer the matter to the pack master,” he said.
“Colonel Flood.” I said. “When do we meet him?”
“Very soon,” said Eric. Suddenly the Sheriff of Area Five looked tired, worried. He looked decades older than his human age of something like 27 or 28 (even Eric was not sure of how old he was when he was made Vampire).

“Eric, you look tired,” I said. I reached out and patted his hand.
“I am fine,” he said.
“Is Lafayette to continue selling V?” asked Westexan.
“That is something I have not given much thought about,” he said. “Whatever he is has is all there is.”
“Where was Sophie getting that Vampire blood?” asked Lina. “Was she draining Vampires, or setting drainers on Vampires to get that much blood?”
“I don’t know,” said Eric.

“How is Sookie Alcide?” asked Dude.
“She is okay, Bill breaking up with her was rough, but she is determined to get to the bottom of things,” said Alcide. “I wished I could have talked her into coming back to Bon Temps.”
“As do I,” said Eric. “We could have put her in your protection.” He nodded toward us to indicate we were the ones he would trust with Sookie’s safety. “As it is, I will have to help her.”
“What about Tara?” asked Fairy. “And that Franklin?”
“Franklin is working for the King of Mississippi,” said Barrister. “That much is clear and he was sent to procure Sookie. That means he wants her there in Mississippi. Does that mean he intends to give her to Lorena or does wish to have her for himself, as an asset, like Sophie Anne?”
“Perhaps as a tool to control both Bill and have something Sophie Anne wanted and keep Lorena off his back. Did you notice Lorena looked a little worried when Edgington left the limo that night?” asked Fairy.
We all nodded. “She knows the King is up to something, and the King knows Bill is holding back, that is why they wanted Bill to join them at supper,” said Renee. “They want to make sure his hands are dirty.”

“He is in the Heart of Darkness,” said Barrister. “Bill is on his own journey back down a long violent path he longed to put behind him. It makes his enmity with Lorena that much more complete. The king distracts Bill with his hate for her while he plans to acquire the thing Sophie Anne wants. Be careful, he may distract you as well.”
“How do you mean?” asked Eric
“You have a vendetta with those weres, do you not?” asked Barrister. “If you lose sight of your most immediate goal, to get Bill out to help you with the Magister, to get Pam out of trouble, and help Sookie get home safe you will fail. You have far more responsibilities than your own vengeance. I think that is what Godric meant; you have to master your rage to get to the next place in your mission of vengeance.”

Eric looked uncomfortable under Barrister’s words. “If I am to get to Jackson, I have to leave.” The Viking stood up and looked at us. “Take care and call me when you know about Butter.”
“Be careful Eric and good luck,” said God Speed. The Viking kissed his spirit wives and patted the Bill girls with his cool smooth hand. We all wished him luck and he headed into the shadows, taking Alcide with him. He went to his truck and Eric slid into his corvette and they roared away.

We were quiet for moment. Finally Scarlett said, “So, what do you think will happen with Sam and his family?”
“I think Sam is going to find out just how white trash his family really is,” said Westexan. “And I think they used Tommy, used a bused him, that is why they don’t really want him out of their grips and he really hates them.”
“But he is of age, isn’t he?” asked Sweet and Wild.
“He is of age, but he is a shifter. They have probably ingrained in him the fact that he is not a normal human. They have probably played up the idea that because he is white trash and a weird human, he is all alone. A life time of teaching cannot be undone in a matter of minutes,” I said.

“Very true,” said Renee. “I am very worried about Tara. She is in a terrible spot. I felt sorry for her when she asked Bill to help her and he refused.”
“He can’t help her right now though Renee,” said Jessica. “Hopefully he will be able to help her but for now, Tara has to rely on her wits.”
“How did it feel to start the meeting this evening, Jessica?” I asked her.
“I miss Pam,” she said. “I even miss Bill, though he was so gloomy and serious all the time.”
“Do you like working for Sam?” asked Kellie.
“He’s okay…and pretty cute too, but I hate being 17 forever. I wished I could at least be 21,” she complained. God Speed smiled at her and winked. Obviously he did not mind she was 17 forever. Neither did Barrister.

“Have you ever been more disgusted with Jason?” said Aolani. “I mean really, black mailing Andy to get a cop job?”
“I have a feeling the deeper he gets into Hot Shot, the worse it is going to be for him. Karma is a bitch,” said Renee.
“And sometimes, she has puppies,” said Aolani. “Do you think we will meet the packmaster?”
“I think they will meet him very soon,” said Body Guard. “Sookie and Alcide will have to know what to do with that pack.”

“The Vampires really should have stayed in the coffin,” said Barrister. “They will be sucked dry by the true drainers…the human government.”
“Very true,” we said.

July 12

July 12, 2010

Hold On!!! Hold on to yourself cuz this is gonna hurt like hell- Sarah McLaughlan

The parlor was quiet. I sat there, smoking a cigarette and having a cup of coffee. Had anyone been there you would have called me a dark study, there were certainly clouds over my face as I contemplated the things I had seen. A Viking was in the coffin next to me. I would have loved to have had a chat with him, but he was already in his daytime rest when I got in. He did leave a note on the refrigerator door.

I will speak to you soon. Eric

I was hoping I could chat with him alone. I don’t know why. Maybe I was looking for assurances from the Vampire. What assurances I did not know, but I knew I needed them. We all needed something from the Viking, but I knew there would be little he could say to us, and even less he could do. Maybe it was simply because he was a Vampire. I missed the peace and quiet I felt with Bill. He was always so calm to me. I wondered if I would feel that calm again, or would I feel the static of his anger? At any rate, I wanted to just sit beside him and feel that intangible something that was a part of who he was as a Vampire. That calm.

I decided to get up and clean the parlor. We would be back at the Compton place later but today, I just didn’t have the heart to work on Bill’s house. I always knew this summer would be brutal, but I didn’t know it would make me feel this bad. The fracturing of the fragile humanity Bill had struggled to build for himself was too much for us.

Eric of course was struggling too, and I felt soft toward the Viking. He was going to get a taste of what it felt like for Bill, to rediscover the soul that can love, even without reason, and love someone who was not Vampire. Perhaps that is what I wanted too. To feel that gentleness that was there as he contemplated himself as being more than Vampire. Because that is what I felt about Bill. He was Vampire and I never thought he had any other sort of Vampire life. I knew he had been violent and scary and remote. I knew all those things about all the Vampires we were friends and lovers with. They had all lived Vampire lives, which included acts of savagery. But now they were more than Vampire. They were something so close to us, it was a little scary. For them and us.

I worked through the day, interrupted only periodically as Renee and Scarlett and Fairy wandered in and out of the parlor. I dusted and picked away the brown leaves of the Boston ferns and gave them a drink of water. They were giants, growing under the warm light of the room’s lamps. I dusted and ran a vacuum and mopped the slate floors of the kitchen and washed the dishes by hand though I knew I could just pop them into the dishwasher.

Finally, the room smelled pleasantly of Mr. Clean, lemon oil and dish soap. The day was waning. I felt like Sookie felt when Sam made her clean her house when she thought Bill had been burned up in the Monroe nest. I had even gone through the thick files I had stacked up by the computer and tossed things that I no longer needed. I was sitting on the couch and sipping a cold ice tea when the sun went down. I got up and heated a Tru:Blood to give to Eric when he woke. When the bottle was warmed, I sat it on a coaster and sat back down and lit a cigarette. Finally, I was rewarded and Eric came out of the casket. He looked over at me and stood up and stepped out of the wicker casket and let the lid down. He came and sat down beside me. He picked up the warm bottle and sipped it. He watched me smoke the cigarette and when I stubbed it out, he put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. He said nothing, nor did he make any other overture to touch me beyond his arm around my shoulders. I could smell him. I don’t know what Sookie was talking about: Bill didn’t smell like anything. They all smell like Vampires, that dry, clean smell, but they also had a personal smell with that scent. It took no super human ability either to smell it. I could walk into a room with Renee and she could scent the air and tell who was in the parlor.

Eric smelled like nature, the smell of spices and salt and the good clean earth. I nestled a little closer to him. He said nothing, just sipped his Tru:Blood, passive.

“Eric?” I said.
“Yes Aslinn?” he said.
“Will Bill be okay?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Will you and Pam be okay?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Why don’t you know?” I asked.
“Being Vampire is not being all seeing, all knowing,” he said.
“I hate this. I don’t want bad things to happen to you or Pam or Bill,” I said.

“All of this has gone for centuries, the political maneuvering, the using humans as pawns, the intrigues and jealousies. They have always been this way. Even your Bram Stoker knew this when he wrote that ridiculous novel,” he said. “I thought you understood all of this.”
“I understand it with my brain, but not in my heart,” I said.
“You should not like us so much,” he said. “Any of you. You think you know us, and I suppose you do understand us more than most humans, but you really don’t know us, and you make us how you want us to be, You say to us, ‘Yes, we know you did things before the Great Revelation, and we accept it.’ But really you don’t. You like to use examples of the family cat who kills and maims for sport or for survival or food, and say: “That is what Vampires are like.’ But that is not the truth. They are pleasant lies you tell yourselves. We are far more than the murderers of songbirds. And perhaps we like it that you do because you can accept us more readily.”

“But we do Eric,” I protested.
“Why do you think so? Because you warm a bottle of Tru:Blood and sleep with us and say ‘I love you’? Because you research our world and learn as much as you can and you ask us about our lives?” he said.
“We try our best to know about your world,” I said.
“And that I appreciate. I am not unaware there are humans who want to know Vampires just to fuck Vampires,” he said. “But all of you are interested in more than that. And that has its own allure, its own attractiveness. Perhaps to your detriment. You and all of you should never forget that we are Vampires and we can hurt you, intentionally, unintentionally, I imagine it won’t feel any differently when we do.”

“So, that is all you can say? ‘We will hurt you because it is in our nature regardless of whether we mean it or not?’ That isn’t fair Eric,” I said. “You told me to trust you. You told all of us to trust you.”
“I think perhaps I was wrong,” he said. “I should have told you not to trust us. Perhaps now you would not be in such pain. All of you.”
“It’s too late for that,” I said. “We do trust you all, else we would not allow you to be here, to come and go, to coexist with us. We know so much about you, even from your own lips, we have known all these things about you.” I raised up. “Maybe it is you who should not have trusted us. Did it ever occur to you that I liked the solace of the shadows I kept you in for so long because it protected you as well as us?”
Eric looked away. His grey green eyes looked far away. He leaned back and closed his eyes for a second. “You confuse me Aslinn. I don’t like being confused. You make me remember and there is a part of me that likes it and yet another part of me that hates it. Sometimes I look at you and I hate you, but I like you, too.”
“Would it surprise you to know I feel the same way? You all remind me that death is not the end, yet there are people who have come and gone out of my life with true death I could never bring back and I feel bitter about it. I like to hear your stories but they just remind me how brief my own history will be and there are some days I know you are in that god-damned basket and I want to stake you but at the same time, I would fight to keep you safe while you sleep. Bill and the others included,” I said.

“So complex, so like us, the Vampires,” said Eric. “Only a human with the spirit strong enough to be a Vampire could feel that way.”
“I wouldn’t be a Vampire if my mortal existence depended on it,” I said. “Not after all the bull shit I have seen you all go through.” I sat back. “Maybe that is what is wrong with Bill. He should never been a Vampire, he doesn’t have the spirit required to be a Vampire, though he is.”

“Bill is strong enough to be a Vampire, but too human to stay that way,” said Eric. “So, I say give up on him. Write him off. He is worm food. Stop mooning over him because he is a dead man twice over. Cut your emotional ties to him. He was bad investment, cut your losses. You had a few laughs, had a couple of good lays and the sun came up.”
“What are you talking about?” I raised up again. “What the fuck are you saying? Just give him up?”
“You practically have,” said Eric. “You think he has thrown it all away, you think he is too much of a pussy to get out of his current situation; you think he is scorched flesh. You did not work on his house today; you moped around in this parlor. You may as well sit down and write his epitaph right now, go out to that bone yard by his house and clear off that empty grave and get ready for me to return a bucket of whatever remains of him to you and his sister wives so you will have a place to visit him. He is a worthless Vampire, a worthless man who hates himself and who he is. He should be in the grave.”

I stood up and looked at him. “How dare you say that to me!!!!” He stood up and looked at me.
“Why are you and your sister wives so willing to give up on Bill? You despair for him and moan and groan over him and his precious soul. You don’t think he is very strong, and perhaps he isn’t. He would be no loss to me. He is worthless. I should stake him myself.”
“You son of a bitch, you stake him and you won’t have a safe place to sleep. I’ll put you in the ground and sow salt over the grave so nothing will grow over it,” I slapped him hard and regretted it because it felt like I broke my hand. He grabbed me and I struggled against him.

“That’s it Aslinn, fight me, fight those feelings you have because you will need all of that to get through what will happen next, all of you. Feel that anger? Fight for him against all comers, and when you are tired, keep fighting. Don’t ever give up hope. It is all you have left. It is all any of your have. It is all we have. You think I like this situation? You think I like it Pam is in the situation she is in? It is intolerable. I have to get to Bill and I have to have him alive and I will do whatever I have to get him out of his situation because I have to keep Pam safe,” said Eric. I calmed.

“But you are betraying each other,” I said.
“Don’t believe everything you see,” said Eric, looking at me intently. I felt the fire of hope blaze up. Eric let me go and stood back away from me. “I will bring Bill back safe and keep him that way if I can. Bill and I have common interests, keeping someone we care about alive: Bill is keeping Sookie alive and I am keeping Pam alive. Hopefully, somewhere in between, we can keep each other alive. I think between the two of us, we can figure out how to do this. But remember, you are all bonded to each of us.”

“With whom am I bonded?” I asked.
“Both of us. We both can feel you. So you have to have the courage for both of us,” said Eric, he grinned his lopsided grin. “I don’t like your sadness Aslinn, but I love your anger and passion and since you won’t sleep with me, the least you can do is be angry with me. It will give me energy. Bill, too.” He moved to the door. “Get good and mad Aslinn, and tell the others to get ready to get that way as well. We are going to need it.”

And he was gone.
Again, Mr. Last Word.

July 11

There was a hard glittery edge to my eyes as I gazed into Eric’s grey green eyes before me. There was a light sheen of sweat on my face and I licked my lips. He smiled at me, that slow, boyish, lopsided grin that captivated many a woman. My breath came out uneven and I could feel the heat on my skin.

“Are you in?” I said.
“Oh, you would know if I were in Aslinn,” he said softly.
“Be careful, Eric,” I said speaking with confidence I really did not have because I knew, in the end the Viking would win.
“It will hurt only for a second,” he said.
“Will you two shut the hell up and play cards!” said God Speed. I looked over at God Speed as he closed his hand and took a sip of his cold beer. We were playing cards with Eric and Pam and Kellie at Bill’s house. “Why couldn’t we put air conditioning in Bill’s house again?”
“Because we would have to run the air ducts outside, and Vampires don’t need air conditioning,” I said, sipping my own cold beer. “Are we all in?”

“I call,” said Pam. She slid her chips into the pile and laid her cards on the table. Eric showed his hand. He held his favorite hand, the Vampire’s hand, aces and eights.
“Damn,” I said, throwing down my two pair and getting up from the table. I got up and dug out my money and put it on the pot. Vampires never played just for chips, they always played for money and Eric had won my last $100.
“I told you it would hurt only for a second,” said Eric, smirking at me. I showed him my favorite finger and he smiled even wider. “You need a manicure Aslinn, you have been working your hands to stubs on Bill’s house.”
“Yeah, and next week will see the last of it,” I said. “On the inside at least. We have the outside to paint and the tin roof to put on and the landscaping to do.” I stretched and Barrister came behind me for a snuggle and a kiss.

“Eric, maybe you should arrange to be kidnapped and they would redecorate your house in Shreveport,” said Pam, busily restacking the playing cards while Kellie put the chips away. Jessica was playing Wii with Raki and Dude.
“I don’t need to have my home redecorated,” said Eric, leaning back in his chair. He folded the paper money and handed it to Chris who took it with a smile, looking to see if her mother had noticed. She hadn’t. Renee was working on the data base, her headset on.
“I like your house Eric,” I said. “I like your artwork.”
“Do you like my bed?” he asked.
“I do,” I said. “Does it sleep well?”
“Very well,” he said, carelessly. “Come see for yourself.”
“The only way I would sleep in your bed is if you will it to me,” I said.
“You heard her Barrister, when you make the changes I asked you to make, add that to it,” he said.
“Of course,” said the Barrister.

The Wii gamers finally wore themselves out, well, the human ones. Jessica was still roaring to go. Scarlett came in from the kitchen with a warm Tru:Blood and a cold beer and sat down next to her. I guess all of those new wave gurus were right…it does take a village…to raise a Vampire at least. I wandered onto the wide porch. It was only slightly cooler outside and I listened to the frogs. It was even too hot for the mosquitoes. The insect ones at least. Eric and Pam came out to stretch their legs. Eric took long strides on the boards of the porch. He was holding hands with Kellie, being the courtly Vampire I knew he really wasn’t for the sake of the young woman’s mother who was not that crazy about his careful courtship of her.

I looked at the different cars parked in front of Bill’s antebellum home. There was Barrister’s black Ford truck, extend cab, Fairy’s SUV, Scarlett’s champagne colored car, Eric’s red Corvette, Pam’s forest green Mercedes, Dude’s classic aqua and cream Ford truck, and God Speed and Jen’s electric blue Mustang. Jen came outside. She stretched her back and sighed.

“It is really hot in there,” she said.
“Umm, it is,” I said. “I envy you guys Pam, the heat doesn’t trouble you.”
“That can be remedied,” said Pam. “It would be virtually painless.”
“Virtually, huh?” said Barrister.
“Why wouldn’t you want to be Vampires?” asked Pam. Pam could not imagine why anyone would not want to be a Vampire. To her, being a Vampire was the greatest thing ever, even if she and her kind were a minority, often put upon by bigots.
“Well, there is that whole night for day thing,” I said. I love the night, but I loved to see pretty days, especially the fall. “I do like the daytime.”
“Is that all?” she asked.
“And the whole blood for food thing,” said Barrister. I knew he had been craving a steak and kidney pie.
“But you forget about food,” said Pam.
“You don’t remember food at all?” I asked.
“Some smells are interesting, but we forget about food and what it tasted like,” she said.
“How sad, not to remember things like cake with icing,” I said.
“Or ice cream,” said Jen. “Is that pint of Cherries Garcia still in the fridge?”
“You bet,” I said. Jen turned on her heels to go and get a bowl of ice cream.

“So what else is nice about being a Vampire,” said Barrister.
“Well, of course there is the strength. Even as a new Vampire, you are very strong compared to a human,” she said. “And you don’t get sick, normally.”
“Ummm, that would be nice, unless you got stuck with a silver blade or got a terminal sun burn or a case of yew wood heart break,” I said.
“Well, that is a hazard, but none of the human diseases would plague you,” she said. “Then there is the sex. Magnificent sex.”
But only if you do it with another Vampire, I imagine,” I said. “I mean, humans like having sex with Vampires because they are so…good at it…but are we really good at it for you guys?”
“I can’t speak for you personally Aslinn, but I like sex with humans,” she said. “You are all so warm and yummy.”
“How nice for you,” I said. “Okay, what else?”

“You have all of the time in the world, if you take care of your existence,” said Pam.
“Do you ever get bored?” I asked.
“Oh no, I am always doing something that keeps me busy,” said Pam. “I doubt you would get bored Aslinn, you are always looking for something to do. If you were to become Vampire, you could write books for the enjoyment of Vampires.”
“I do that now,” I said.
“Oh no, you write stories for humans who like Vampires. But if you become Vampire, you would write stories for us,” she said.
“Are there many Vampire authors?” I asked.
“Not many,” she said.
“Pam, it about an hour before dawn,” said Eric.
“Stay,” I said.
“I want to go and sleep in my own bed,” said the Viking.

“Good night Aslinn,” said Pam. She leaned over and pecked my cheek, then kissed Barrister briefly on the lips. “I think I could like you Barrister.” I rolled my eyes at Pam who smiled.
“You will excuse me Barrister, if I don’t kiss you,” said the Viking. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “My offer still stands, Aslinn, if you ever want to sleep in my bed, you are more than welcome.”
“Get out of here Eric,” I said. “Drive safely.”
“I will,” he said.