Without Any Authority

Pam was still troubled and sullen. I did appreciate the fact Tara was no longer here, and it was unlikely she was going to be here for a while. Somehow, I didn’t know what was going to be worse, having Pam here the way she is, or having Tara here, which really, didn’t surprise me how she was when she was turned. I sat down next to the Vampire. I didn’t offer to touch her. She wouldn’t like it and the last thing I wanted to do was die at her hands.

Renee and Aolani were talking to Alcide in low voices. “What are they saying Pam?” I asked.
“Alcide is in some sort of trouble with that pack here in Shreveport,” she said.
“Yeah, he’s got heavy duty troubles,” I said. “Still no word from Eric?” She shook her head.
“I don’t want to talk about it if you please,” she said, sniffing. It was such an odd thing for her to do since she did not breathe and I was unaware it would do anything for impending tears in the Vampire race. I nodded.

I missed those boys. I hated to see the Authority torturing them and man handling them. I hated the pained look on Eric’s face when he thought Nora was dead, and I hated the way Bill’s face twisted in agony when they shot the colloidal silver into his veins.

Minnie came over and brought Pam a Tru:Blood. She took it and thanked her. Minnie sat down and waited. Jessica was on her way. Jesus, that was going to become an absolute mess. In a hurry. Diantha came over. The little demon was sleeping in Bill’s room. I would rather she slept on the couch, but I reckoned she would soon be doing that very thing when Bill got back. If he got back. I had nasty dreams of Bill and Eric being staked. It was a close thing. Renee and Aolani and Alcide and Len and Barrister came and sat down.

“What are we waiting for?” asked Pam.
“Jessica,” said Barrister. “I just phoned and she says she is on the way.”
Jessica finally breezed in and sat down. She looked worried.
“Pam, who are the Sanguinista’s?” asked Aolani.
“They are the backward thinking Vampires who think you people are cattle,” said Pam.
“Anything else more specific?” asked Renee.
“And they take the Vampire Bible, the Original Testament, literally” she said.
“Vampire Bible?” asked Len.
“Yes, it’s pretty strange and I don’t believe in it, but it says God is a Vampire and Lilith is the first creation and she is a Vampire, it’s supposed to be our origin story,” she said. “But like all religions you have the more relaxed interpretation and then you have the more fundie believers. They are crazy.”
“Man, I hate religion stuff,” said Jessica.

“What do you think of Steve Newlin?” asked Barrister. “Do you have a feeling of him?”
“He’s a dick,” said Jessica. “He said Bill wasn’t the king anymore, what the fuck does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” lied Renee. “But you better be real careful with him.”
“So, what are you going to do with Tara, Pam?” asked Minnie. “Can’t you help her?”
“Fucking Sookie,” she spat.
“Hey, you didn’t have to turn her,” said Alcide. “You could have left her be and Sookie and Lafayette would have gotten over it.”
“Now what the hell are you going to do Alcide?” asked Diantha. “Are you gonna take these weres to task?”
“I am having nothing to do with the pack,” said Alcide.
“I don’t think you have a choice,” said Len. “It isn’t ever good to have a group of wolves without an alpha.”
“Then you take it over, Len, don’t give a fuck,” he growled.
“Hey, settle down, don’t raise your hackles at Len,” said Aolani tersely.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Yeah, well what about Luna?” asked Renee. “Looks as though Emma is a werewolf.”
“Then nothing will stop Martha and the pack from claiming her,” said Alcide.
“You have to help her,” said Renee.
“There is not a lot I can do,” he said. “It would take me getting involved with the pack and I don’t want to be involved with the pack.”
“Wantin’ ain’t gettin’,” I said. “You are involved in this whether you want to be or not.”

“Boy, Jason is feeling the wages of sin,” said Diantha.
“Yeah, he’s getting karma back in spades,” said Aolani. “Andy was funny…’Stackhouse, I had sex,’ “
“Yeah, ‘Join the club’,” I said. “Kudos to you though Jess for not selling Jason to Steve Newlin. Smarmy little thing. Jessica, I recommend you drive a stake into him.”

“I would, but I need to know what he meant by Bill not being the King. Is he not the King?” she asked.
“He may not be, but right now, we need Bill and Eric focused on helping each other, though I think they are doing an admirable job of it,” said Minnie. “What about Nora, what do you think will happen to her?”
“I don’t know, hopefully she will be able to get out, but I don’t know,” I said.
“Pam, what do you think, what are her odds?” asked Aolani.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t care except it effects Eric’s survival.”
“Pam, things will get better,” said Minnie.
“I have never been so…estranged from Eric. It is like I have lost a part of my body. It’s a deep pain I can’t soothe,” said Pam.
“Oh Pam,” I said.
“Don’t you fucking dare, don’t you fucking pity me,” she said. I opened my mouth to deny it and then I stopped, that is exactly what I was doing.
“Well, if I can’t pity you, then I will get mad with you,” I said. “Find out everything you can about the Sanguinistas for us. I mean even Bill doesn’t seem to know who they are.”
“I’ll see what I can discover,” she said. “Anything for Eric.”

“I felt sorry for Lafayette,” said Barrister. “Poor bloke, losing his family that way, and now having his cousin Tara that way.”
“Yeah, that is terrible,” I said. “I wonder why Jesus has not made an appearance, or some other helpful ghost?”
“Lafayette is really operating on automatic, he can do what he does, but he doesn’t know how he has this gift or how to access that world,” said Aolani.
“Yeah, he needs some intervention,” said Minnie. Pam stood up.

“I have to go, I can’t stand to just sit here, I have to go to Fangtasia,” and she was gone.

“Poor thing,” said Len. “We need to put Eric and Pam in the same room together and let them work it out.”
“It’ll be the cage match of the year,” I said. “Eric and Pam duking it out, both being stubborn and hard headed and strong willed. We humans are always astounded with the connections we see them make to one another. Look at Eric and Godric, he had not seen Godric in a very long time and he still loved Godric. Even when he had amnesia, he still felt connected with him.”
“I miss Bill,” said Jessica.
“We do too,” said Renee, hugging the little Vampire.
“I even miss Eric,” she said.
“We do too, kinda,” said Renee.

Later that night, me and Aolani went outside in the back patio area where we had our grill and picnic table. We looked around and then began calling them: Here Ishee, come on buddy, Baby, bring your little fuzzy ass over here. Lafayette needs you.