Dead on New Years Chapter 22

I repeated the chant, “Blessed be the fairy Kings - the Earth, the wind the water.
Mask my scent, but hold my heart, protect your loving daughter,” and opened my eyes. Luc was standing there pursing his eyebrows and I knew, rather I felt, that he couldn’t smell fairy anymore. He looked a little like Alcide, but you can never be too sure, Eric had taught me that. I cracked the door, but left the chain hooked and asked to see his ID. It read “Lucien Herveux” and gave his address as Oil City, Louisiana. Before I could ask, he handed me a note from Alcide.

In his chicken scratch handwriting he explained that he had been arrested under suspicion of involvement in the attack on Fangtasia last week. The police had seen him around the building the day after the attack and had flagged his license plate. They had seen his car outside or driving near the bar several times in the next few days and since he did not have any jobs on record that were anywhere near Fangtasia, they were suspicious. They were also just generally suspicious of Alcide these days based on his history – remember the dead body he and I were found with a couple of years ago? Yeah, it doesn’t give you a good reputation. Barry had told the police that he was a friend to the bar, but since they had not been able to speak with Eric yet they were holding Alcide for questioning. I had a feeling Eric would want to make him suffer…but hoped I could convince him to contact the police immediately. He would be waking shortly, and I knew he would want to hear the story from Luc himself. I smiled as I read the last line of the note, “Don’t let that Bastard make me wait too long.” I shook my head a little and invited Luc in.

We sat at the dining table drinking sweet tea and waiting for Eric. I felt him wake up and stretch his mind to figure out why I wasn’t in bed with him, naked. Horny vampire. I made sure he understood that we had company, but was not shocked to see him come out of the bedroom in nothing but a pair of unbuttoned jeans.

He grabbed a True Blood from the refrigerator and put it in the microwave before acknowledging our guest. “Were…I smelled you from the other room. What can I do for you?”

Eric sat with his beverage as Luc began to explain Alcide’s situation. When he finished Eric was angry, but still amused by the thought of Packmaster Hervuex behind bars. “So let me get this straight,” he asked, “Barry explained to the police that he was speaking on my behalf and they still arrested your cousin?”

“Yeah. Apparently, no one felt that they could risk believing Barry. They felt that if he wasn’t really speaking for you that they would all be dead, or wish they were.”

Eric grinned a little at that, but continued, “Do you know if Barry showed them documentation of his status as my daytime man?”

“No sir. I’m not privy to that kind of information. I just know that they spoke to Barry more than once.”

“Stupid bloodbags,” he thought. “Sookie, it is a miracle your human police ever solve a crime.”

“Yes, well,” I said, “what are you going to do for Alcide?”

He was shaking his head and flipping open his cell phone as he said, “I’m calling the local vamp detective to see where he’s buried his sense.” After a few seconds he began speaking in super-fast vampire voice and I had no idea what he was saying. He would pause occasionally and I would hear maybe the first word as he started into another tirade. There were a lot of “No’s,” and a few, “Never’s” throughout the conversation. Then suddenly he closed his phone and it was over.

He didn’t look like he was going to explain, so I had to ask, “OK, what did you find out?”

He sighed, “Eben, the vamp detective that consults with Shreveport P.D. was out of town over the weekend. By the time he got back to town the police had decided that Alcide was a good suspect no matter how many times he explained to them that they needed to listen to Barry before Alcide or I sued them.”

“Will they release him now?” Luc asked.

“He’ll be out first thing in the morning. All charges will be dropped and nothing will appear on his record. Eben asked me to have Barry fax over the document indicating that he is my daytime man so that it can kept on file for Fangtasia.”

Luc was relieved, but I knew that Eric had not even asked to get him out any sooner. Ah, well, we had enough going on around her tonight dealing with the David debacle (word of the day – how fitting?). Luc thanked Eric several times and left quickly. I’d never met him before, but Were’s and vamps are not the best of friends on any occasion, so I’m sure he just wanted to get out of there. Eric chuckled at his hasty retreat, but didn’t do anything to encourage him to stay.

I stood and went to sit on Eric’s lap. He sighed and held me in his arms. “Lover,” he said quietly, “I swear our lives will not always be this complicated.”

I laughed and kissed his neck, “Sure thing Sheriff.”

He laughed back and was pulling my shirt over my head when the doorbell rang. I had finally realized that some people didn’t have to use the intercom at the gate about a week ago and Eric explained that Bill and Pam and Barry had the combination, as well as a few others, like Chan and Seamus and Bran. They could get on the property, but not into his home without his permission. So with the doorbell ringing, I knew it was a friend. Eric was muttering and trying to hide his erection as I answered the door. Bill was outside, giving me a nasty look because I’m sure he could smell my desire for Eric. But he came in and kept his mouth shut and went straight to Eric.

He gave a report on Gill’s business holdings and his key employees and guards. But the biggest news was that he discovered who David’s maker was and that he was on his way to Shreveport. Apparently he was living in northern Michigan and had no idea that David was still alive. He had called for him twice, but when he didn’t come, he figured that the bad feeling he had in his blood confirmed that his child was dead. He had found someone to supervise his 24 hour coffee and doughnut shop in Manistique and was on his way. Bill said he talked funny, saying, “Yah,” and “You betcha,” a lot, but was expected by tomorrow. Apparently Gordy was pretty fired up. He told Bill that David was his “Kin” and that Gill was a dirty city slicker that had earned what was coming to him.

Eric was grinning and I was trying hard not to laugh. Eric had told me about a secret Supe getaway island up that way in Michigan and we had watched “Escanaba in da Moonlight” so that I could see how much snow they get. I had been most amazed however, by the Yoopers, that’s what they call people who live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, who are oddly similar to Cajuns. They are an amazingly hearty bunch who hunt, fish, camp, drink beer, live and breathe hockey - and they are a breed apart. Yoopers look out for their own and don’t take well to trolls (people from below the Mackinac bridge) interfering. I could only imagine that a Yooper-vamp was super territorial and Gill was about as big of a troll as you’d find.

David was heading in from the backyard and Eric explained that Bill would be staying at the house with him while Eric went to the bar to check on progress. They were planning to open tomorrow and wanted to be sure everything was ready.

I was debating what to do when Amelia called to say she was coming to take me for dinner. I changed clothes wondering if there was a problem, or if Amelia was just lonely. She hadn’t stayed on the phone long enough for me to read her – but I’d know as soon as I got in the car – her mind was an open book.
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I rode with Amelia to a restaurant owned by a witch she knew in Shreveport. Many of her friends had scattered after Katrina, and she hadn’t seen Saturnalia in quite a while. (No I didn’t make that up, it’s really her name.) The restaurant specialized in organic and vegetarian foods, but I was sure I could find something I liked. Amelia was trying to small talk about absolutely nothing and finally I just told her to stop.

”Fine – I’ll just tell you, because I don’t want you peeking around in my head like you do,” she harrumphed. “It’s Sam. I’ve been working at the bar a lot and I think he has a new girlfriend.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Yes, but…Sookie, there’s something not right about her.”

Oh, Lord. I want Sam to be happy. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“It is NOT nothing. She has the strangest aura I’ve ever encountered. I mean, Sam’s is kind of more animalistic than most, but I’ve seen that before. But this girl- she is off the charts weird.”

I grinned, “Ok, so she’s not right because she has a strange aura?”

“Yes. And I want you to come to Bon Temps and try to read her.”

With everything else I had going on there was really no time for a trip to Merlotte’s. Not to mention I apparently wasn’t going unchaperoned any time soon. Maybe I could get Pam to come along. I had a feeling that Sam was dating a new shifter and that she just wasn’t reading right. Maybe she was purebread. Sam was going to be pissed too if I went out there to listen to her. I was going to have to call him first and warn him so he didn’t think I was spying on him. I sighed, “Amelia, if you’re really worried about it I’ll come out one night this week and give her a listen.”

“Oh Sookie! You would do that?”

“Of course,” I said. Of course I will go and sift through one of my best friends new girlfriends’ minds… What are friends for? If I’ve learned nothing in the past few years, it’s that friends are some of the most important people in your life and you have to do what you can to help them out.