We were all in the back patio area of
the House, the home of True Blood Anonymous. Len was watching the
steaks and chicken as Minnie was bringing out the baked beans and slaw
and Barrister was lighting the torches around the area. Hopefully the
citronella oil burning in them would cut down on the mosquito
population. I brought out two bottles of wine and set them down in the
ice to keep chilled. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down in one
of the willow branch chairs from the Twig Company Eric bought for our
patio. I stretched my legs out on the ottoman and sipped my wine.
The sun was going down and I was happy. Bill and Eric were home and though we were going to have to sit down with them and discuss some stuff, I knew we could relax for a bit. I was wondering what was going to happen to our boys. Just then, one of them drove up. It was Alcide. He brought some deer to cook. I just hoped it had been hunted in the traditional way. He lumbered up and handed Renee the meat and took a cold beer from Aolani and sat down on the back retaining wall, watching Len turn over the steak.
“So, you heard from Bill and Eric?” asked Alcide to the general area.
“Yeah,” said Minnie. “I heard from Eric.” She had that dreamy look on her face that told me he had done more than give her a ring a ding on the telephone. Hard Viking does that to you.
“They are coming tonight, they will likely not have a chance after tonight to see us,” I said.
“We want to take look at those harness things,” said Len. Minnie frowned.
“I didn’t like seeing that thing strapped on Eric’s chest last night.” We all nodded our agreement.
We were well into our meal when the first Vampire showed up. Tara looked a sight better than the last time we had seen her at the house. “Hey Tara, want a Tru:Blood?” asked Renee. She hesitated a moment.
“Sure, yeah,” she said. She came over and sat down by Minnie. “Okay if I set by you?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said. Tara was quiet and watched us as we sat around and ate.
“You all don’t mind me being here?” she asked.
“So long as you aren’t perching on the countertops,” I said. “Of course you are welcome here. Pam is your maker, Eric is your grand sire, and you are a Vampire, so you are welcome.” Aolani came out and gave her a Tru:Blood. She made a face when she sipped it.
“Probably want to do some taste testing and mixing and matching, it helps,” said Aolani. “Jessica took a long time to get used to it, and we still have to sort of make her drink a couple when she comes to the house.”
Pam drove up a few minutes later. She was in a red blouse and blue jeans and white espadrilles. She came over and sat down next to Len. He pecked her cheek. She had had a rough Sunday, what with Eric releasing her and all.
“Eric is on his way, he had some things to do at Fangtasia,” said Pam. She looked real sad.
“Want a Tru:Blood Pam?” asked Renee.
“No, I ate before I came,” she said. Alcide looked a little uncomfortable. He should if my hunch was right. I heard the low purr of a car engine and the slow rubbing of tires onto the parking lot. I had to be Eric. Like any man, he was uber careful with his ride. He parked and zipped over to us. He looked around.
“Welcome home Eric,” said Barrister. Aolani went to him and hugged him and Eric buried his face into her neck and squeezed her tight. Len shook his hand when he let his sister wife go and kissed Minnie on the lips. He came over and sat in one of the other chairs.
“Sheriff, welcome home,” I said.
“I am happy to be home, for however long that is,” he said.
“We will get through this,” I said. Eric looked at me with a soft but skeptical look on his face.
Bill and Jessica made their appearance. They came over and sat down. Jessica looked a little worried. That was another member of our little party who should come clean, she knew something and was not telling Bill. He should know about Newlin and what he’d said to her and how he’d offered her money for Jason.
Renee brought Bill and Jessica a Tru:Blood. Jess noticed Tara watching her and she set a good example by drinking the warm bottle of blood without a grimace. “Want a Tru:Blood Eric?” I asked. My eyes glittered at Tara and he nodded. “B positive?” I asked. He nodded.
“So how are you guys?” asked Barrister.
“We are fine physically, we just have these things on our chests and we have the problem of Russell Edgington,” said Bill.
“So what is the deal with the Sanguinistas?” asked Aolani. “Do you all have any additional insight about it?”
“I honestly do not know who they are,” said Bill. “Except they are some fundamentalist group as dangerous as the Fellowship of the Sun except their problem is with humans and mainstreamers like us.” By us he meant Vampires who were living out in the open, respectful to a degree of humans, looking to co-exist with humans.
“Alcide, any idea how Edgington got out?” asked Eric, turning a cold eye toward the werewolf. I handed Eric his Tru:Blood and took a seat by Jessica. If Eric was going to jump bad on Alcide like he did with Pam with less deference, I wanted to be out of the line of fire.
“I have no idea how he escaped. I got a call about damage to the structure and found the concrete dug up.” Alcide didn’t betray any nervousness. “I did tell Sookie he had escaped.” Bill and Eric both looked unsettled. They had decided to draft Sookie into helping them, whether she wanted to or not.
“That is a non-issue,” said Bill. “Did you tell anyone about burying Edgington in the foundation of the parking structure?” Alcide looked a little uncomfortable. Bill looked at Eric. Eric rolled his eyes slightly. “You will have to go with us.”
“Look, I did my part, I am not interested in being any deeper in trouble than I already am with you people,” he said.
“You don’t have a choice,” said Eric.
“I do have a choice,” he said. “I choose not to be involved. I got troubles of my own.”
“I don’t care what pack troubles you have,” said Eric.
“I got Sookie out of big trouble just a while ago, trouble you could have helped her with,” said Alcide. “I mean looked at what happened here, she had Tara turned into a Vampire.”
“Don’t talk to me about Sookie,” said Tara. “You need to get to the hell away from her, all of you. She brings death and destruction to everyone around her.”
“Ease back there Tara, you had a fucking maenad in her house, you let Franklin in her house, hell, her house was grand central for everyone but Mr. Clean all at your invitation,” I said. She gave me a bad look and Pam gave her a warning look. Oh boy, now Tara is going to be a contender in Who’s Mad at Aslinn, challenging Eric for the title. I ignored her.
“I think you fellahs should come into the house so we can look at those harnesses,” said Len. Bill nodded and we all trouped in. Eric and Bill took off their shirts and sat down on the stools in the kitchen where the light was best. Len began to look at the devices. Barrister looked at it too. “It looks like a simple charge but it is hard to tell how they intend to hit your heart.”
“There is a retractable stake of silver in the body of the cross. The charge blows and the stake is driven in with the same amount of energy as a jack hammer,” said Eric. “It would be painless.” Aolani swallowed hard and Eric put out his hand to her.
“Yeah, it would move so fast, we couldn’t block it,” said Len. “It never ceases to amaze me how many ways we think of killing each other.”
“How stable is this Roman?” asked Minnie. “He doesn’t seem so stable.”
“We have to be very careful,” said Bill.
“As Aslinn says, we are in it up to our noses,” said Eric.
“What about Nora?” asked Renee. “What can you do for her?”
“Hopefully we can get Russell Edgington and trade her for him, if she still lives,” said Eric. The Vampires put their shirts back on and we went into the parlor.
“Will releasing Pam really protect her Eric?” asked Aolani.
“It gives me the ability to say without question she is a free agent,” said Eric. “She has only personal loyalty to me, but she does not have the maker’s authority over her.”
“How do you feel about that Pam?” I asked.
“The bond between us is broken,” said Pam. “The intense connection I had with Eric is gone.”
“But you would feel him if he was in danger?” asked Minnie.
“I would,” said Pam. “And I would go to him still.”
“No, you will stay out of my problems Pam,” he said.
“You released me, you have no authority over me,” said Pam, a funny little triumphant smile on her face. I was sure she thought of that when he did it. Eric looked away a bit.
“So, Alcide, what happened to those shifters?” asked Barrister.
“What shifters?” he asked.
“Those shifters Sam was running around with,” said Renee. “Sam found them dead. Was that a thing with the pack?”
“I don’t have any idea about what is going on with the pack,” said Alcide.
“You need to get control of the pack,” said Len. “You know it is not good to have a pack without an alpha. You know the rules Alcide, you killed the alpha, you may have no choice but to step up.” Alcide did not seem happy with that suggestion. Jessica looked a little cloudy.
“What’s the matter Jess?” I asked.
“Jason,” she said. Tara looked at Jessica. “He seems to be troubled.”
“Um..yeah he is,” said Barrister. “For more than one reason.”
“I just don’t know what to do about him,” she said.
“Don’t be surprised if he is a little closed off with you,” said Renee.
“Why?” she asked.
“He found out some stuff, but I don’t know if I believe it,” said Renee.
“What sort of stuff?” she asked.
“Don’t know if I should say,” said Renee.
“Just, try not to take him personally,” I suggested.
“What happened to Terry?” asked Aolani.
“I am not sure, but when they shot those civilians in Iraq, which was bad enough, they came under fire from a sniper. I don’t know, I get the feeling they may have fragged one of their own in the confusion and under the drugs. If they did, I think maybe they burned the body, maybe that is why there is fire connected with the things that have been happening with their outfit,” I said.
“That would make sense,” said Len.
I leaned over and laid my head on Bill’s shoulder and sighed. “Everyone is in such deep trouble.”
“Bill and I have to go, we don’t know if we will be back anytime soon,” said Eric.
“This sucks too, not being able to help,” said Minnie.
“Well, there is only one world we can be involved with,” said Aolani.
When Alcide and the Vampires left, we sat down with the human contingent. “I think I know who got Russell out, well, made it possible and I think he knows as well,” said Aolani.
“Who?” asked Minnie.
“Alcide. I think he told Debbie about Edginton being buried in the parking structure and she told some of the old pack. Then they told the Vampires. Maybe they even knew about the sanguinstas,” said Aolani. “If Eric knew that, he would kill Alcide instead of using him. Mutt boy should have kept his mouth shut.”
“So how does Eric like being a grand sire?” I asked.
“He hasn’t said, of course, he has had a lot on his plate. I think saving Nora is going to be impossible, but it will be a big motivator, especially if he thinks he could meet the true death,” said Minnie. “That would be the end of Godric’s blood.”
“It would,” I said. “Poor Eric…Poor Bill…”
The sun was going down and I was happy. Bill and Eric were home and though we were going to have to sit down with them and discuss some stuff, I knew we could relax for a bit. I was wondering what was going to happen to our boys. Just then, one of them drove up. It was Alcide. He brought some deer to cook. I just hoped it had been hunted in the traditional way. He lumbered up and handed Renee the meat and took a cold beer from Aolani and sat down on the back retaining wall, watching Len turn over the steak.
“So, you heard from Bill and Eric?” asked Alcide to the general area.
“Yeah,” said Minnie. “I heard from Eric.” She had that dreamy look on her face that told me he had done more than give her a ring a ding on the telephone. Hard Viking does that to you.
“They are coming tonight, they will likely not have a chance after tonight to see us,” I said.
“We want to take look at those harness things,” said Len. Minnie frowned.
“I didn’t like seeing that thing strapped on Eric’s chest last night.” We all nodded our agreement.
We were well into our meal when the first Vampire showed up. Tara looked a sight better than the last time we had seen her at the house. “Hey Tara, want a Tru:Blood?” asked Renee. She hesitated a moment.
“Sure, yeah,” she said. She came over and sat down by Minnie. “Okay if I set by you?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said. Tara was quiet and watched us as we sat around and ate.
“You all don’t mind me being here?” she asked.
“So long as you aren’t perching on the countertops,” I said. “Of course you are welcome here. Pam is your maker, Eric is your grand sire, and you are a Vampire, so you are welcome.” Aolani came out and gave her a Tru:Blood. She made a face when she sipped it.
“Probably want to do some taste testing and mixing and matching, it helps,” said Aolani. “Jessica took a long time to get used to it, and we still have to sort of make her drink a couple when she comes to the house.”
Pam drove up a few minutes later. She was in a red blouse and blue jeans and white espadrilles. She came over and sat down next to Len. He pecked her cheek. She had had a rough Sunday, what with Eric releasing her and all.
“Eric is on his way, he had some things to do at Fangtasia,” said Pam. She looked real sad.
“Want a Tru:Blood Pam?” asked Renee.
“No, I ate before I came,” she said. Alcide looked a little uncomfortable. He should if my hunch was right. I heard the low purr of a car engine and the slow rubbing of tires onto the parking lot. I had to be Eric. Like any man, he was uber careful with his ride. He parked and zipped over to us. He looked around.
“Welcome home Eric,” said Barrister. Aolani went to him and hugged him and Eric buried his face into her neck and squeezed her tight. Len shook his hand when he let his sister wife go and kissed Minnie on the lips. He came over and sat in one of the other chairs.
“Sheriff, welcome home,” I said.
“I am happy to be home, for however long that is,” he said.
“We will get through this,” I said. Eric looked at me with a soft but skeptical look on his face.
Bill and Jessica made their appearance. They came over and sat down. Jessica looked a little worried. That was another member of our little party who should come clean, she knew something and was not telling Bill. He should know about Newlin and what he’d said to her and how he’d offered her money for Jason.
Renee brought Bill and Jessica a Tru:Blood. Jess noticed Tara watching her and she set a good example by drinking the warm bottle of blood without a grimace. “Want a Tru:Blood Eric?” I asked. My eyes glittered at Tara and he nodded. “B positive?” I asked. He nodded.
“So how are you guys?” asked Barrister.
“We are fine physically, we just have these things on our chests and we have the problem of Russell Edgington,” said Bill.
“So what is the deal with the Sanguinistas?” asked Aolani. “Do you all have any additional insight about it?”
“I honestly do not know who they are,” said Bill. “Except they are some fundamentalist group as dangerous as the Fellowship of the Sun except their problem is with humans and mainstreamers like us.” By us he meant Vampires who were living out in the open, respectful to a degree of humans, looking to co-exist with humans.
“Alcide, any idea how Edgington got out?” asked Eric, turning a cold eye toward the werewolf. I handed Eric his Tru:Blood and took a seat by Jessica. If Eric was going to jump bad on Alcide like he did with Pam with less deference, I wanted to be out of the line of fire.
“I have no idea how he escaped. I got a call about damage to the structure and found the concrete dug up.” Alcide didn’t betray any nervousness. “I did tell Sookie he had escaped.” Bill and Eric both looked unsettled. They had decided to draft Sookie into helping them, whether she wanted to or not.
“That is a non-issue,” said Bill. “Did you tell anyone about burying Edgington in the foundation of the parking structure?” Alcide looked a little uncomfortable. Bill looked at Eric. Eric rolled his eyes slightly. “You will have to go with us.”
“Look, I did my part, I am not interested in being any deeper in trouble than I already am with you people,” he said.
“You don’t have a choice,” said Eric.
“I do have a choice,” he said. “I choose not to be involved. I got troubles of my own.”
“I don’t care what pack troubles you have,” said Eric.
“I got Sookie out of big trouble just a while ago, trouble you could have helped her with,” said Alcide. “I mean looked at what happened here, she had Tara turned into a Vampire.”
“Don’t talk to me about Sookie,” said Tara. “You need to get to the hell away from her, all of you. She brings death and destruction to everyone around her.”
“Ease back there Tara, you had a fucking maenad in her house, you let Franklin in her house, hell, her house was grand central for everyone but Mr. Clean all at your invitation,” I said. She gave me a bad look and Pam gave her a warning look. Oh boy, now Tara is going to be a contender in Who’s Mad at Aslinn, challenging Eric for the title. I ignored her.
“I think you fellahs should come into the house so we can look at those harnesses,” said Len. Bill nodded and we all trouped in. Eric and Bill took off their shirts and sat down on the stools in the kitchen where the light was best. Len began to look at the devices. Barrister looked at it too. “It looks like a simple charge but it is hard to tell how they intend to hit your heart.”
“There is a retractable stake of silver in the body of the cross. The charge blows and the stake is driven in with the same amount of energy as a jack hammer,” said Eric. “It would be painless.” Aolani swallowed hard and Eric put out his hand to her.
“Yeah, it would move so fast, we couldn’t block it,” said Len. “It never ceases to amaze me how many ways we think of killing each other.”
“How stable is this Roman?” asked Minnie. “He doesn’t seem so stable.”
“We have to be very careful,” said Bill.
“As Aslinn says, we are in it up to our noses,” said Eric.
“What about Nora?” asked Renee. “What can you do for her?”
“Hopefully we can get Russell Edgington and trade her for him, if she still lives,” said Eric. The Vampires put their shirts back on and we went into the parlor.
“Will releasing Pam really protect her Eric?” asked Aolani.
“It gives me the ability to say without question she is a free agent,” said Eric. “She has only personal loyalty to me, but she does not have the maker’s authority over her.”
“How do you feel about that Pam?” I asked.
“The bond between us is broken,” said Pam. “The intense connection I had with Eric is gone.”
“But you would feel him if he was in danger?” asked Minnie.
“I would,” said Pam. “And I would go to him still.”
“No, you will stay out of my problems Pam,” he said.
“You released me, you have no authority over me,” said Pam, a funny little triumphant smile on her face. I was sure she thought of that when he did it. Eric looked away a bit.
“So, Alcide, what happened to those shifters?” asked Barrister.
“What shifters?” he asked.
“Those shifters Sam was running around with,” said Renee. “Sam found them dead. Was that a thing with the pack?”
“I don’t have any idea about what is going on with the pack,” said Alcide.
“You need to get control of the pack,” said Len. “You know it is not good to have a pack without an alpha. You know the rules Alcide, you killed the alpha, you may have no choice but to step up.” Alcide did not seem happy with that suggestion. Jessica looked a little cloudy.
“What’s the matter Jess?” I asked.
“Jason,” she said. Tara looked at Jessica. “He seems to be troubled.”
“Um..yeah he is,” said Barrister. “For more than one reason.”
“I just don’t know what to do about him,” she said.
“Don’t be surprised if he is a little closed off with you,” said Renee.
“Why?” she asked.
“He found out some stuff, but I don’t know if I believe it,” said Renee.
“What sort of stuff?” she asked.
“Don’t know if I should say,” said Renee.
“Just, try not to take him personally,” I suggested.
“What happened to Terry?” asked Aolani.
“I am not sure, but when they shot those civilians in Iraq, which was bad enough, they came under fire from a sniper. I don’t know, I get the feeling they may have fragged one of their own in the confusion and under the drugs. If they did, I think maybe they burned the body, maybe that is why there is fire connected with the things that have been happening with their outfit,” I said.
“That would make sense,” said Len.
I leaned over and laid my head on Bill’s shoulder and sighed. “Everyone is in such deep trouble.”
“Bill and I have to go, we don’t know if we will be back anytime soon,” said Eric.
“This sucks too, not being able to help,” said Minnie.
“Well, there is only one world we can be involved with,” said Aolani.
When Alcide and the Vampires left, we sat down with the human contingent. “I think I know who got Russell out, well, made it possible and I think he knows as well,” said Aolani.
“Who?” asked Minnie.
“Alcide. I think he told Debbie about Edginton being buried in the parking structure and she told some of the old pack. Then they told the Vampires. Maybe they even knew about the sanguinstas,” said Aolani. “If Eric knew that, he would kill Alcide instead of using him. Mutt boy should have kept his mouth shut.”
“So how does Eric like being a grand sire?” I asked.
“He hasn’t said, of course, he has had a lot on his plate. I think saving Nora is going to be impossible, but it will be a big motivator, especially if he thinks he could meet the true death,” said Minnie. “That would be the end of Godric’s blood.”
“It would,” I said. “Poor Eric…Poor Bill…”
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