The Louisiana sun was hot and it was only 10:30 in the morning. Vampires had been asleep for hours and Aolani and I were doing reconnaissance at the Moon Goddess Emporium. Going to a witch shoppe was standard operating procedure for a couple of witches like us but King Bill had sent us to go and scope it out on his behalf. As Aolani and I were empaths (though she had a better handle on it than me) we were there to sniff around and see what was going on. Besides, we needed some black candles and asofetida.
Eric was already in trouble, his memories swept away like you would sweep a floor with a broom. We didn't know the extent of his memory loss yet, but we knew he was in trouble, the poor thing. He looked so confused and sweet, sort of like a fluffy lamb with fangs. But this could get him into more trouble, and in more than one way. I hated to think what Bill was thinking about our Viking...But Vampires are pretty treacherous with one another and neither were likely to be besties. Sometimes I was of the opinion I should get out of this sort of fandom, get into Hollie Hobby or Carebears, or those smart assed rabbits that look cute but say I hate you.
We walked in together and the little bell over the door signaled our entrance into the shoppe. I grabbed a basket and began to stroll around the store. The first think I noticed was the statue of St. Death. Now, this is primarily a Mexican thing and has connections with Aztec religion and was even called Catrina. This image was wearing gold cloth so the witch in question was trying to lure money.
The proprietor was nervous little witch. She looked more like a large rabbit than a person, all was needed was the long ears pinned back, and the twitchy nose and whiskers. "Good morning sisters," she said in her soft moany voice. "Is there something I can do for you today?" Aolani smiled at her, but I knew she was "scanning" her emotional self. It must have been a doozy because Aolani sort of psychically shivered. I turned and looked at her and got a sense that the crowded house that was Marnie Stonebrook was about to get even more crowded.
All that took far longer to tell than it actually was because Aolani immediately answered, "We are just looking around, we needed some candles and decided to stop here instead of going all the way to Shreveport." Marnie looked at me and I looked back and then went on to loading my basket with a dozen six inch black pillar candles and about a dozen red ones and then to the herb rack where I examined bags of herbs. I began to pick a few more than the asofetida I had originally planned to get. We were gonna need them.
"Do you sisters have a circle, a coven?" she asked nervously. Don't let that humble nervous sort of look fool you, this lady was dangerous.
"We are not from here," said Aolani. "We just do business here from time to time and needed a few things."
"Well, if you ever are in town and you want to be a part of the circle, you are more than welcome," she said. I walked up to the counter and sat my basket down and she began to tally things up. The total came to $75 and I put down the c-note Bill had given me. "How about you sister, you looking for a circle?"
"Nope, just candles," I said, looking at her. "Thanks."
Aolani and I thought it was odd she would just invite two random witches to join her circle. But then, look at the collection of people she had in her circle. The weak links of course were Lafayette and Holly. Holly was respectful and obviously awed but she was a little scared of her too, because she was pushing them into stuff they had not studied and into darker things that were dangerous. Lafayette was a victim of circumstance and I didn't trust Hey Soos because of it. He was obviously someone who was looking for answers and he wasn't gonna get them here, all he was gonna get was more questions, like: How in the Hell did I get here? Why did I let it get so far? How do I get out of this now? Good luck with those questions Hey Soos.
No, attending a coven is fairly serious matter and you make your decisions carefully and you sit on the fringes out of the way so you can get the vibe...If the vibe ain't right, you get the hell away...The vibe is sorts of effed up in here. Because as I walked around I felt a lot of things: I felt anger, hatred, fear, and confusion and most of all, I felt a woman and a man. The woman I didn't know, the man was easy. He was that smart assed Vampire Renee beat at poker. The one who better break out his hip waders because he was in some serious shit.
Aolani and I talked about the shoppe as we made our way back to the parlor. When we came in, Fairy was already there, VNN on the TV and she was pacing. "What are you doing? You should be home resting?" said Aolani.
"I can't rest, what did you find out at the shoppe?" asked Fairy.
"Sit down, let me make you some camomile tea," said Aolani.
"Why can't I feel him!!!!" said Fairy.
"Because he is not himself," said Aolani. "He can feel us, but we can't feel him. But he is okay, at least, he is gonna be." Aolani went to work making a kettle and I was unloading the black and red candles and the herbs and put them away in a cabinet we used to store our herbs and the like and then I began to unload the groceries. I was making Veal Parmesan and angel hair pasta.
"Aslinn, aren't you worried?" asked Fairy.
"I am," I said. "We aren't going to let anything happen to Eric."
"Bill would," she said. "This is a set up to get rid of Eric because of Sookie."
"No, Fairy, he would not send Eric out to get cursed. If she can curse someone like Eric, as old as he is, she could curse a baby Vampire like Bill." It sounds funny to call Bill a baby Vampire, but compared to Eric, he was. "Just try to relax."
"Is Bill going to bring him tonight?" she asked.
"No, he said he would bring him next time, so we can look at him, all the witches. Maybe see what she has done to him," I said. "But you have to be calm. Eric needs your calm more than anything."
"This isn't fair!!!" said Fairy.
"Fairy, he is fine," said Aolani. "Here, drink some of this tea and stretch out on the couch." Fairy sat down and Aolani gave her the cup and Fairy fluffed her pillows up. I knew what would calm her down. I went to the wicker coffin and grabbed the coffin quilt. Minnie made it for our Vampires to use but Eric was the one who slept there more often and the blanket smelled of Viking. I unfolded it and spread it over her and she sipped her tea. Soon though she was quiet and I looked over and she was curled up under the blanket, smelling her Vampire, asleep.
I cooked and had everything ready by the time the others came in. Minnie and Violet and Renee and Shannon and Westexan, Lelama and Barrister and Body Guard and Damien, Lina and Linzy, Sweet and Wild and Sugar Mags and Raki and Butter and Barrister came into the parlor. The last one was Alcide. Alcide was always in time for supper, but that was the way it was for werewolves.
The Vampires came in after we'd eaten and we were cleaning up, putting the dishes in the dish washer. Pam was dressed for work in her Fangtasia clothes and Jessica looked miserable and Bill looked worried. I was still not over my mad spell with him, despite the two visits I had had with him, once at my house and once at his. He came over and pecked my cheek. "How was your trip?" he asked.
"Well, we have a few things to tell you guys, but we should call the meeting to order," I said. "How is the big fellah?"
"He is fine thus far, though it remains to be seen what he is going to be like," said Bill.
"Well, be nice, Fairy is very upset," I said. "She can't feel him in the bond."
"It is probably better she doesn't if Eric is inhabited by something dangerous," he said.
"Well, keep that under your hat as well, I don't want her to know my suspicions, they are just suspicions after all," I said.
The meeting was called to order. We were all settled in the parlor. Bill addressed us.
"Let's leave Eric for the final discussion, I know we have a lot of questions and a lot of concerns, but let's get through the other details so we don't have to move on from him to cover another topic," said Bill.
"What other topics could there be that are more important, Bill?" asked Fairy.
"Please, Fairy, let's deal with the smaller things so we can devote more time and energy to the problem with Eric," he said. Fairy settled but I could tell she was not happy, and you didn't have to be an empath to feel that. You could see it on her face. Raki was rubbing her forehead. Yeah, that empath thing, til you get a handle on it, really sucks.
"Okay, Jason," said Body Guard. "Do you think they are really going to make him a panther. And will he be a full blooded panther or will he be a panther man?"
"I don't know," I said. "I mean the old stories said you changed into a man-beast if you were bitten, but you guys were born weres." I looked at Alcide and Body Guard. "And even if he does go panther, a man-beast, would he be able to procreate another panther?"
"I have no idea," said Alcide. "It has never been tried before, and panthers and other large weres are becoming really rare."
"They may just be desperate," said Lina.
"Could be," said Violet. "All I know is, that bunch of shifters Sam is involved with, I think he should be careful."
"Yes, particularly if there is a Skin Walker among them," said Body Guard. Body Guard had given me scads of information, explaining the difference between a shifter and Skin Walker.
"Do you think she might have anything to do with Marnie?" asked Shannon. "I mean, if she is a Skin Walker, she would be a witch too."
"I don't know," said Aolani. "Why would a Skin Walker be interested in a witch?"
"Well, she said her mother had died, and she got to be her, maybe she wants to resurrect her? Maybe, she thinks this Marnie can do it," said Shannon.
"We have not seen a connection yet," said Renee. "But anything is possible."
"All I know is, I don't trust Hey Soos and I am worried about Lafayette," said Minnie. "Bill, can you and Pam protect Lafayette. I mean you can see he is reluctant. He only joined in on the spell to protect Tara."
"Or Toni, whatever the hell her name is," said Lina.
"Yeah, and he did it and look what happened to Eric," said Linzy.
"Okay, let's stay on track now," said Pam. "We said we would discuss Eric last."
"Do you guys think Arlene's baby is the devil?" asked Butter.
"You know, I just don't think so," said Barrister. "I think that whatever it is, she is doing this to herself and blaming it on the baby because she is so scared. Couldn't Sookie and Bill go into her mind like they did Tara?"
"Do you think Arlene would hold still and let Sookie and Bill get in her head like that? She hates Vampires and she doesn't trust Sookie much either," said Sugar.
"I tell you who else I don;t trust is that Tommy," said Sweet and Wild. "I think he is up to no effing good."
"I concur," said Renee. "That boy isn't right."
"Yeah, he just didn't have the right upbringing," said Raki.
"But I think we should wait before we really judge him," said Minnie. "If Sam gets in trouble with this group of shifters, especially Luna, he may actually be able to save him."
"I don't know what it is, but I can't get Luna out of my head," said Shannon. "You know, when Marnie was cursing Eric, she kept turning into something else, someone else, don't you think she looked a little bit like Luna?"
"And they do call it Moon Goddess, isn't that what Luna means? Moon?" said Fairy.
"And if she is a skin walker, she is a witch as well," said Jessica.
I looked at Aolani...."It's something to think about," she said.
"So, Bill, you screwing the help around your place?" said Barrister, non-chalantly. I rolled my eyes.
"Ignore him Bill, he don't know the difference between love and food," I said. Barrister had taken upon himself to be angry on my behalf because Bill was giving the head of his security a little debriefing though I knew I and my other sister wives were totally unconcerned with Bill's dining habits, just as Eric's sister wives were totally unconcerned with Eric's little snacks in his basement. Bill looked at me apologetically and I shook my head and smiled a little ruefully.
"Could we please talk about Eric now?" asked Fairy. "Do any of you all feel him?"
"No," said Raki. "The moment his memory got zapped, I stopped feeling him."
"Is the blood bond gone, Bill?" asked Minnie.
"No, no it isn't. He can still feel you, though he may not understand it," said Bill. "Pam and I are trying to decide whether we should bring him here next meeting."
"He would not hurt us would he, Bill?" asked Violet.
"I don't know," said Bill. "I don't think he would, voluntarily." Fairy began to cry.
"Don't cry Fairy," said Jessica. "You will make me cry and you know how I hate to do that." She reached over and patted Fairy on the shoulder.
"This is just so hard," said Fairy. "Not knowing, not feeling him."
Damn, this was going to be harder than I thought.....
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