The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

TUESDAY, JUNE 22–WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23. The police continue to question men from Bon Temps and the surrounding areas about Dawn. Detective Bellefleur visits Merlotte’s several times, sitting in Sookie’s section and trying to get her to react to his thoughts.

THURSDAY, JUNE 24. While eating lunch at Merlotte’s, Andy thinks an especially disturbing image at Sookie, so she pours a drink down his shirt and goes out the back door in tears. Sam is furious at Andy’s actions. When the detective attempts to apologize, Sam tells Andy to sit in another section if he ever returns. Sam later asks Sookie to accompany him to Bill’s speech to the Descendants of the Glorious Dead that evening and then go out for coffee. Sookie agrees, and they arrange for Sam to pick her up.

Bill’s speech goes well. When he is asked about a member’s great-grandfather, Bill remembers him as a friend and shares the story of his death. Afterward, Sookie and Sam go to the Crawdad Diner for coffee, and Sam suggests that he would like to be more than a friend. Sookie asks why he waited until someone else showed an interest, and they drive back to Sookie’s house in silence. Sookie enters the house and immediately senses that something is wrong. She finds her grandmother’s bloody body in the kitchen. Her screams bring Bill, who comforts her until Andy Bellefleur arrives. Sookie calls several places to find her brother, including Merlotte’s. When Sam hears that she is in trouble, he returns to her house. A distraught Jason arrives, and in his despair and anger, he first verbally assaults Sookie and then slaps her. Bill is about to attack Jason to keep him from hitting her again when Sam tackles Jason, taking him to the ground. Andy manages to calm Bill and tries to defuse the situation.

TUESDAY, JUNE 29. Sookie and Jason maintain a truce during Adele’s funeral, the largest ever held in the parish.

FRIDAY, JULY 2. While packing up her grandmother’s things, Sookie decides it would be better to move into Adele’s bedroom than lie across the hall knowing why it is empty. After that job is done, an exhausted Sookie showers and is combing out the tangles in her hair when Bill knocks on the door. Sookie allows him to comb her hair. As they talk and he soothes her with his touch, the mood between them changes, and Bill begins to make love to her. He is surprised to discover her virginity. The two begin a passionate affair.

SATURDAY, JULY 3. Jason comes into Merlotte’s for lunch and tells Sookie that the police have questioned him again about the murders. When her co-workers learn of her intensifying relationship with Bill, they all warn her away. But Sookie is happy to see Bill come into the bar. Malcolm and Diane arrive, and their behavior shocks and angers all the human patrons. The other vampires mock Bill for his devotion to Sookie as they leave for their home in Monroe. Bill waits outside for Sookie to make certain his former friends have left. Sookie follows him to his home, where they enjoy his hot tub together.

SUNDAY, JULY 4. Bill takes Sookie to the movies and out to eat—he abstains. As they lie in bed later, Bill makes a casual remark about his childhood that causes Sookie to tell him that her great-uncle sexually molested her as a child.

MONDAY, JULY 5. As she leaves Bill’s house in the morning, she is surprised to find Jason waiting for her with the news of her great-uncle Bartlett’s death during a robbery the night before. Jason’s shocked Sookie doesn’t mourn. Sookie tells her initially disbelieving brother what her uncle did to her and their aunt Linda, and how Adele protected her after she found out, kicking her brother out of their lives. It isn’t until Sookie arrives at work that day that she realizes Bill had him killed. She confronts Bill, who doesn’t deny it. Although they exchange “I love you”s for the first time, she tells him she can’t see him until she decides whether their love is worth the misery she might face by caring for him.

Sookie works hard to create a life without her grandmother and Bill. Adele’s lawyer works to wrap up her estate, and Sookie is surprised to receive twenty thousand dollars from Uncle Bartlett’s estate. She donates it to a local mental health center.

THURSDAY, JULY 8. During her separation from Bill, Sookie begins to realize the amount of resentment that the human bar patrons are feeling for the Monroe vampires, who have apparently been traveling around the surrounding area and behaving very badly. She catches thoughts of a plan to burn down their house with them in it.

TUESDAY, JULY 13. Bill comes into Merlotte’s with visiting vampire Harlen Ives, who was turned when he was a teenager. When Bill and Harlen announce that they are going to Monroe to visit Malcolm, Sookie gives Bill a vague warning, uncertain of what to do and how much to say. The level of anger and frenzy grows in the bar after they leave, and she calls Bill when she gets home to let him know.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14. Jason wakes Sookie with the news that the Monroe vampires’ house has been burned. She rushes to Monroe and sees four damaged coffins and one body bag with human remains. Unable to ascertain whether Bill was at the house, she realizes that Sam has arrived and allows him to take her home. Sam gets her to clean house the whole day to help her pass the time until the sun sets and she can find out if Bill was home and not in Monroe.

Sookie waits until dark and then heads out to the cemetery between their houses in the rain, calling Bill’s name. When Bill rises from the earth, she is overcome and falls to her knees. Sookie tells him of the death of the Monroe vampires, and he is lost for a moment in his anger and rage. Sookie deliberately changes his focus to sex, and they make love in the mud. When he comes to himself, Bill carries her to his home to bathe in his hot tub.

THURSDAY, JULY 15–SATURDAY, JULY 24. Sookie and Bill resume their relationship. They spend nighttime hours together, watching TV, going to movies, playing Scrabble, and making love. Sookie works while Bill sleeps; Bill reads, roams the woods, and does yard work at night while Sookie sleeps. They are uneasy because of the Monroe fire and the still-unsolved deaths of Maudette, Dawn, and Sookie’s grandmother.

Jason begins to come into the bar nearly every day to talk to Sookie. He tells his sister that the police have questioned him two more times and that he has spoken to a lawyer. Sookie asks why the police keep questioning him, and Jason confesses that he makes videos of his sexual encounters with women, including the two deceased, and that the police found copies. Jason asks Sookie to “listen” to see if she can find out if anyone who comes into the bar is the murderer.

Arlene asks Sookie if she can babysit for her the next night but angers Sookie when she decides that she cannot leave her children in the company of a vampire. To release her frustration, Sookie digs a hole in her backyard, telling a watchful Bill that she will plant a tree. After she calms down and they make love, he informs her that Eric has ordered him to bring her to Fangtasia. Sookie doesn’t want to go but realizes that she must obey for both her sake and Bill’s. Bill has her take his blood to strengthen her for the encounter.

SUNDAY, JULY 25. When Bill and Sookie arrive at Fangtasia, Eric reveals that someone has embezzled from the bar. He wants Sookie to use her gift to identify the thief. She promises to willingly help him now and in the future if he promises to go to the proper authorities rather than taking justice into his own hands. He agrees, and she interviews the human employees, discovering through one of them that the embezzler is the bartender, Long Shadow. Before she can inform Eric, Long Shadow attacks to keep her from speaking and is staked by Eric. As Long Shadow dies, his blood gushes out all over Sookie. Bloodlust begins to infect the vampires, so Sookie grabs Bill and flees for home. She has Bill drop her off at her house to spend the rest of the night alone.

MONDAY, JULY 26. Deciding to stay away from vampires for a while to remind herself that she is human, Sookie cannot help but notice that having Bill’s blood again has changed her, enhanced her. Her hair, eyes, and complexion are brighter; she is stronger and faster. When she gets to work, her fellow employees notice the difference in her as well. As the lunch crowd rolls in, she does as Jason asked and listens to the thoughts floating in the bar. She doesn’t pick up anything about the murders of Dawn and Maudette but does hear a group of men thinking about their involvement in the Monroe fire. Thinking that she might pick up more from the night crowd, she heads back to Merlotte’s in her casual clothes and sits at the bar next to an unusually alone Jason.

Bill enters Merlotte’s with a young woman in tow and informs Sookie that Eric sent her over as a reward and that Bill needs to send her back. Jason volunteers to drive her back to Monroe so that Sookie and Bill can talk, and Sookie takes Bill to the pond on Jason’s property, not wanting to go to either of their houses. She confesses her fear of Eric and the other vampires who could use her love for him and her family to control them. Bill ponders their situation and tells her that he may have a way to get around Eric’s dominion.

Bill goes to his own home to make phone calls, and a nervous Sookie cautiously scans her yard before hurrying into her house. Suddenly something hits her front door, and she immediately calls Bill, who rushes over to find Sookie’s cat Tina dead, strangled, on the front porch. Sookie bursts into tears but finally calms enough to bury her pet in the hole she previously dug in the backyard. Bill spends the night with a mourning Sookie.

TUESDAY, JULY 27. Sookie notifies Bud Dearborn about the death of her cat, and he tells her they may have to dig the pet up to check if the method of strangulation matches Dawn and Maudette. Arlene once again asks Sookie to babysit, this time not mentioning Bill, and Rene brings Arlene’s children, Lisa and Coby, over after work before getting ready for his date with Arlene. The children meet Bill, accepting him without many questions, although Lisa does suggest that he bring Sookie flowers occasionally, and the unusual foursome enjoy their evening. Another vampire arrives just as Arlene and Rene are packing up the kids, and Sookie is stunned to meet the Man from Memphis. Bill introduces him as Bubba and tells Sookie that Bubba will be watching over her while he goes to New Orleans for a few days. He warns her to never call Bubba by his real name, explaining that something went wrong with the turning and that Bubba is a few bricks shy of a load. He also likes pets, especially cats, and not in a healthy way. He is, however, loyal and obedient. Bubba strolls off into the woods as Bill says good-bye to Sookie.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28. Arlene and fellow waitress Charlsie Tooten are impressed that Bill got Sookie a bodyguard while he is out of town, and Arlene comments on Bubba’s resemblance to a certain musical icon. Sookie assures them that Bubba isn’t like him at all once you get to know him, an honest truth as Bubba is no longer of the same mind.

Sam tells them that he needs to hire a new waitress. He asks Sookie to go through the applications he has on file. She reads Maudette’s application and reluctantly becomes suspicious as she realizes that her brother isn’t the only man with a connection to the murdered women. Sam knew them both as well. Sookie remains uncomfortable with her boss for the rest of the day and finds herself nervous and restless once she gets home. Terry Bellefleur calls from the bar to let her know that Jason is there and wants to buy her a drink, so she drives back over to Merlotte’s, parking in the employee lot and taking a moment to pat a stray dog on the head. Terry denies having called her. Since the dog is still out back, Sookie decides to take him home for company for the night. She names him Dean, and he watches attentively as she gets ready for bed. She initially makes him sleep on the floor but doesn’t push him back off the bed when he climbs on as she is falling asleep.

THURSDAY, JULY 29. Awaking the next morning, Sookie is stunned to find a naked Sam in bed with her. He confesses that he is a shapeshifter and can turn into any animal he wants. He admits that he wanted to guard her overnight. He planned on being out of the house before she woke, but he overslept. Sookie realizes that shapeshifting is definitely supernatural and accepts that vampires are not suffering from a virus. She understands that Bill is really dead, but she loves him anyway.

Sam has to return to being a dog when Andy arrives to let her know that another woman has been murdered. She persuades the exhausted detective to rest in her old bedroom, and Sam shifts back to human form so that Sookie can sneak him back to the bar. They are stunned when they arrive to find Jason unconscious in his truck and covered in blood. Panicked that he is seriously hurt, Sookie has Sam call an ambulance for her brother. The police, believing that Jason killed the latest victim and then got drunk, arrest him at the hospital. Sookie leaves a message for Bill at his New Orleans hotel and then contacts lawyer Sid Matt Lancaster about representing her brother.

Later that night, Sookie hears Bubba shouting. When she calls out to him, he tells her that someone was in her yard.

FRIDAY, JULY 30. Jason makes bail. He is too ashamed to even speak to Sookie. She sits in the bar, doggedly listening into the thoughts of the patrons until Sam sends her home. She is washing her face when she hears something outside and goes to the door to yell for Bubba. He doesn’t answer. She calls 911, but her phone is dead. She decides to run to Bill’s house, figuring his phone will be working. She looks in the hall closet for an old gun Adele kept there but finds it missing. Sookie is horrified to realize that the killer has been in her house. She creeps out her back door and is stunned when she finally gets a peek into the killer’s mind. It is Rene Lenier, and she reads in his tangled thoughts that his first victim was his own sister, who was dating a vampire despite her brother’s protests. Rene catches Sookie and begins to beat her, but he is surprised by her strength when she fights back. She falls to the ground, and he straddles her, trying to hold her while he feels around for his rope to strangle her. Sookie’s left hand is free. She is able to get his work knife off his belt and stab him. When he falls to the ground, she stumbles to Bill’s house and calls 911 before losing consciousness.

SATURDAY, JULY 31. When Sookie wakes up in the hospital, she finds that Rene has confessed to everything. She has visitors and flowers from the Merlotte’s employees, from Sid Matt and his wife, and from Eric. She dozes and awakens to find Bill at her side. He considers killing Rene, but Sookie tells him to let the law deal with the killer. Bill promises to take care of her at night when she is released. She turns down his offer of blood and asks him what he accomplished in New Orleans. He announces that he is the new investigator for Area Five, Eric’s area. This puts Bill and, thereby, Sookie under Eric’s protection. As Bill looks forward to getting back to normal, a collie looks into the room before continuing down the hall, and a smiling Eric floats past the hospital window.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

To: Eric Northman,

Sheriff of Area Five, LA

Dear Eric,

With the permission of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Queen of Louisiana, I will be returning to claim my ancestral home in Bon Temps.

Sincerely,

William Compton

TO: WILLIAM COMPTON

DEAR BILL,

LONG TIME NO SEE. AS YOU KNOW, THE VAMPIRES IN MY AREA PAY THEIR FEALTY BY WORKING AT FANGTASIA. PLEASE CONTACT PAM TO SET UP YOUR SCHEDULE.

ERIC NORTHMAN

To: Eric Northman,

Sheriff of Area Five, LA

Dear Eric,

I understand that your vampires may offer a tithe as an alternative to working at Fangtasia. I have other obligations and fear I will not have the time to dedicate to your club.

Sincerely,

William Compton

TO: WILLIAM COMPTON

DEAR BILL,

A TITHE IS ACCEPTABLE, BUT I WOULD MUCH PREFER YOUR TIME AT FANGTASIA. AS A FORMER CONFEDERATE SOLDIER YOU WOULD BE QUITE A DRAW. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE WORK TO DO FOR THE QUEEN, BUT SURELY YOU CAN SPARE ME, YOUR SHERIFF, SOME OF YOUR VALUABLE TIME AS WELL.

ERIC NORTHMAN

To: Eric Northman,

Sheriff of Area Five, LA

Dear Eric,

Please find enclosed my certified check for six months’ tithe.

Sincerely,

William Compton

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill.”

BILL: “Eric.”

ERIC: “I need you to bring your human to Fangtasia tomorrow night.”

BILL: “Why?”

ERIC: “I need her services.”

BILL: “Eric, you know she is mine.”

ERIC: “Of course, Bill. There will be none of that.”

BILL: “Then why?”

ERIC: “It is enough that I am sheriff and I order you to bring her.”

BILL: “Eric . . .”

ERIC: “Bill, you know it will be much better if you bring her willingly. You wouldn’t want me to have to send someone to get her, would you?” (Silence.)

BILL: “We will be there.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL: “Eric.”

ERIC: “Bill.”

BILL: “I received your gift.”

ERIC: “And you’re calling to thank me. It was my pleasure, Bill.”

BILL: “I’ve sent her back unopened.”

ERIC: “You didn’t like her?”

BILL: “I have no need for her.”

ERIC: “I see. I’ll have to find some other way to show my appreciation to you and your human.”

BILL: “That’s not necessary. I’ll consider your absence in our lives reward enough.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Congratulations on your new position as Area Five Investigator, Bill. I had not realized you had such aspirations.”

BILL: “I thought it wise to secure a position.”

ERIC: “Technically, you now work for me.”

BILL: “Technically, I work for Sophie-Anne, as do you.”

ERIC: “Yes, I suppose you are right.” Pause. “I understand your human has captured a killer. She’s quite resilient.”

BILL: “Indeed she is. Don’t float around her windows anymore, Eric. It makes her uncomfortable.”

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2004. Sookie calls Portia Bellefleur to come to Merlotte’s and get her brother, Andy, who has gotten drunk after a particularly bad day at work. Leaving his car in the parking lot, Portia drives Andy home.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22. When she gets to work in the morning, Sookie notices that Andy’s car door is open. She discovers the body of the bar’s short-order cook, Lafayette Reynold, in the backseat. She blows her own car horn to get Sam’s attention, and he calls 911. The police arrive and question Sookie, who tells them that Lafayette bragged about attending a sex party a few days earlier. She and Sam privately discuss whether someone from the orgy could be responsible for Lafayette’s death. Terry Bellefleur, Andy’s cousin, comes in as a fill-in cook and informs them that Lafayette’s neck was broken and that there is evidence of sexual assault.

Summoned to Fangtasia by Eric, Bill and Sookie begin to argue in the car on the way to Shreveport. When the car suddenly dies, an angry Sookie gets out. Bill tells her he is going to get a mechanic and leaves the car unlocked for her, but she resolutely begins to trek back to Bon Temps. She hears movement in the woods beside her and calls out, figuring she might as well know what she is dealing with. Much to her surprise, a woman steps from the woods, a feral razorback hog by her side. She identifies herself as a maenad and tells Sookie that she needs a message taken to Eric Northman. Sookie is able to turn away just as the maenad slashes at her, catching her on her back instead of her face and chest. Sookie is in agony as she falls to the ground.

Bill returns and rushes a mortally wounded Sookie to Eric for help. Dr. Ludwig, a supe herself, is called in, and after cleaning Sookie’s wounds with her tongue, the doctor instructs the vampires to drain Sookie’s poisoned blood and replace it with transfusions of real and synthetic blood. Sookie passes out and wakes to find Pam watching over her. After cleaning up, Sookie waits in Eric’s office with Bill until Eric, Pam, and the new bartender, Chow, finish closing the bar. Eric informs them that he is sending Bill and Sookie to Dallas so that she can use her “gift” to help the vampire leader of Area Six solve a problem. Sookie has no choice but to consent, per her agreement with Eric. She brings the conversation to a stop when she asks why a maenad is in the woods, and the vampires explain that maenads feed off the violence associated with alcohol and, therefore, are very interested in bars. They expect tribute from those who profit from drink.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23. Sam agrees, albeit reluctantly, to give Sookie the time off to go to Dallas. He initially reacts with laughter when she solemnly warns that there is a maenad roaming the woods, but he quickly sobers when Sookie shows him her scars. He gently kisses her back, and then he kisses her more deeply on the lips. She briefly responds to his warmth but then pulls away, and they try to resume their conversation. Portia comes into the bar with a request from Andy for Sookie to “listen” for information because he is a suspect in the death. Sookie agrees, but for the sake of her friend Lafayette, not for the Bellefleurs.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. Arriving at the airport in Dallas, Sookie heads to the cargo plane Bill traveled on, waiting for his casket to be unloaded. She is accosted by a man dressed as a Catholic priest who attempts to pull her away with him; however, just then Bill’s coffin appears, and the lid opens as Bill wakes. The “priest” runs as Bill rushes to Sookie’s side, and they consider the meaning of the incident as they make their way to the Silent Shore Hotel, where Sookie is startled and delighted to realize that the hotel bellboy, Barry, is also a telepath, although very unschooled. They are met at the hotel by Dallas vampire Isabel Beaumont, who waits while they check in and freshen up before taking them to the home of the sheriff of Area Six, Stan Davis. Stan tells them that one of his nest mates, Farrell, is missing, and Stan wants him found. He brings in humans known to have been in the vampire bar where Farrell was last seen. By reading their memories, Sookie is able to tell that Farrell entered a bathroom with another vampire. She also realizes that the “priest” from the airport was in the bar as well. Bill steps away to use a computer and returns with the identity of the second vampire based on the description Sookie elicited. Stan is appalled to realize that Farrell was probably kidnapped by Godric, aka Godfrey, an ancient vampire who has become a renouncer and plans to meet the sun in a ceremony arranged by the anti-vampire Fellowship of the Sun.

Sookie asks how the “priest” could have known that she would be at the airport and suggests, in writing, that Stan’s house is bugged. She locates the bug under the table, and the vampires drop it into a bowl of water after acting out a little scenario for the listener’s benefit. Isabel’s human companion, Hugo Ayres, offers to escort Sookie to the Fellowship to gather information.

Stan, angry about the bug, asks if there are any strangers visiting the house, and Isabel brings in Leif, actually Eric, who came to Dallas to watch over Bill and Sookie. Leif/Eric denies planting the bug, and Sookie points out that the bug had to have been there for a few days in order for the listener to know when she and Bill would be flying in. Isabel takes Sookie and Bill back to their hotel, where they attempt a little romance but are interrupted by Eric.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25. Sookie is watching the news while waiting for the front desk to procure her clothing that will serve as an appropriate disguise during her visit to the Fellowship. She is dismayed to see a segment on the execution-style death of Bethany Rogers, whose mind Sookie read the evening before and whose body was later found in a Dumpster behind the Silent Shore. Pushing aside her tears, she gets ready for her assignment by donning a wig and frumpy clothes and meets Hugo in the lobby. They come up with a cover story as they drive to the Fellowship, where they meet the director, Steve Newlin; his wife, Sarah; and Polly Blythe, the ceremonies officer. The Newlins and Polly take Sookie and Hugo on a tour, leading them down to the basement. Sookie hesitantly follows Hugo, trying to be reassured by his casual acceptance of what is going on, but finally she tries to escape and is pulled back down the stairs by Gabe, another Fellowship member who is guarding the area. The couple is then locked into a small room. Injured and in pain, Sookie concentrates on reading Hugo’s thoughts and discovers that he is the traitor. She confronts him. He tells her that he betrayed the human race when he became enthralled with Isabel. Sookie pushes him to tell Gabe that the gig is up, that she knows of his betrayal of the vampires, to test whether they will let him go. As she already suspected, the Fellowship has no intention of allowing Hugo to live, and Gabe takes Hugo to the room where Farrell is chained. Gabe returns to torment Sookie, trying to rape her, but is stopped by Godfrey. Sookie begs Godfrey to let her out, challenging him when he tells her that Steve Newlin’s plan is to tie Sookie to Farrell and put them out for the dawn. Godfrey is reluctant to force others to do what he has willingly chosen, and he helps Sookie escape. Unable to use the phone, Sookie reaches out with her mind to the telepath Barry the Bellboy, frightening him with the contact. She pleads with him to let Bill know that she is in danger. A shapeshifter working undercover in the church, Luna Garza, manages to get Sookie out of the church and informs her that the shifters of Dallas have been monitoring the Fellowship. Sookie lets her know that the vampires will probably attack as soon as the sun sets to retrieve Farrell. Luna debates whether or not to leave but hops in her car when they hear an alarm raised in the building. Sookie jumps in, and they take off. Sarah and Polly follow by car, ramming them and causing Luna’s car to overturn. Sarah and Polly attempt to get to Sookie and Luna, but there are too many witnesses to the accident. The police and an ambulance are called. Once at the hospital, Luna has a shifter doctor examine Sookie, delete her records, and then spirit them both out to a waiting ride. Sookie is blindfolded, driven to the hotel by two Weres, and delivered to the front door. Eric, standing outside, is startled by her sudden appearance and calls Bill, then takes her up to their room to start cleaning her up.

Bill returns quickly and confirms that the vampires attacked the Fellowship and freed Farrell, but tells them that Godfrey managed to escape. Bill gently bathes Sookie and puts her to bed.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26. Sookie wakes just before dawn with the feeling that there is something that she needs to do. She dresses and takes a taxi to the now-deserted Fellowship grounds, where she waits for Godfrey. The vampire emerges from the shadow, and her tears begin to fall as she looks at his young face. He is touched that someone is there to cry for him as he meets the sun, hoping to see the face of God. Sookie returns to the hotel and falls deeply asleep until Bill rises.

She and Bill go to Stan’s mansion to tell him about Godfrey and discover what punishment Isabel and Hugo have earned. Sookie is relieved to find Hugo alive and forces herself to accept the punishment the vampires have devised for him. Invited to stay and celebrate Farrell’s return, Leif/ Eric and Sookie are talking when she “hears” the Fellowship followers preparing to attack the house. Sookie yells a warning and is protected from a bullet by Eric. Bill leaves to hunt the attackers without even checking to see if she survived the attack. Hurt, she walks out and takes the next plane back to Bon Temps.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27–WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20. Sookie keeps her distance from Bill.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21. Jason stops by the house for lunch and tells Sookie that Bill has been seen over in Monroe with Portia Bellefleur, and Sookie later sees them drive by in Bill’s car.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22. Sookie decides to attend a high school football game and meets up with her friend Tara Thornton, Tara’s date Benedict “Eggs” Tallie, and JB du Rone. Sookie encourages JB to pursue a woman he had been seeing, believing that the woman will be good for him. He kisses her cheek in thanks, and just as she gives him a quick peck on the lips in return, she spots Bill staring back at her from where he is sitting with Portia. When she gets home, Bill is waiting, and they engage in passionate make-up sex. Afterward, she questions him about Portia, and he tells Sookie that he thinks Portia is seeing him in hopes of being invited to the sex club to get information that will help Andy.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23. Bill and Sookie decide to keep their reunion quiet, and Sookie receives an invitation from parish coroner and funeral director Mike Spencer to Jan Fowler’s lake house to “get a little wild,” since he thinks she is a single woman now. Hoping to discover who killed Lafayette, Sookie accepts. She leaves a guarded message for Bill, who has been called back to Dallas, and she’s forced to ask Eric to go along to provide protection.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24. Eric arrives to take Sookie to the orgy up at Mimosa Lake, and she asks him to make certain nothing happens to her. Eric is surprised that she trusts him but tells her that she will be safe. They enter the cabin to find several Bon Temps residents in various states of undress. Jan Fowler, Mike Spencer, Tom and Cleo Hardaway, and Tara and Eggs are all in attendance, apparently regulars. Eggs is attempting to undo Sookie’s shorts, all the while thinking lewdly about Eric, when Eric comes up behind her, and Sookie turns into his kiss, letting her mind roam while he keeps her safe. She finds the memory of Lafayette’s murder in Mike’s mind and sees that Tom was also directly involved. Sickened, she whispers to Eric to get her out, and he slings her over his shoulder, telling the others that he is taking her outside to get her warmed up. He lays her on the hood of his Corvette, intent on his own desires, and tries to seduce her, but she reminds him that Bill is her boyfriend. Bill emerges from the woods, followed by a drunken Andy, who holds them all at gunpoint, demanding to know who was responsible for Lafayette’s murder. Sam, in collie form, joins the group, with the maenad not far behind. She introduces herself as Callisto, telling them she was called to the cabin by the lust and drunkenness of the orgy participants. She reminds them of her first visit. She claims that Lafayette was a fitting offering to her and thanks them for leaving his body at Merlotte’s. She names Mike and Tom as the killers, indicating Cleo as well. Tara hides under a table on the deck, and Eggs stands entranced in the yard. Sookie feels the madness of the maenad overwhelm the group on the deck, and she is almost caught up in it herself, but Bill and Eric hold her between them. When Sookie is able to look at Callisto again, the maenad is smiling and covered in blood. She bids a fond farewell to Sam and drifts off into the woods.

Sam shifts back to his human form as Eric and Bill examine the carnage on the deck. They find Tara alive, and after Eric erases her memory of the evening, Sam drives her and a still almost-catatonic Eggs home. The vampires then set fire to the cabin to burn the evidence of the slaughter. Portia Bellefleur pulls up, frantic about her brother, and Bill wakes him from his trance. Sookie tells him that Mike and the Hardaways killed Lafayette, but Andy bemoans the lack of proof. Eric searches the cars and finds blood, Lafayette’s wallet, and his clothing in the trunk of Mike Spencer’s Lincoln. Andy tells them to leave everything as it is so that the police can find it and clear his name.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25. Sookie sleeps through the day, and Bill wakes her when he rises. He finds a foil-wrapped chocolate cake on her front porch, a gift from Andy and Portia’s grandmother, who has left a message thanking Sookie for helping Andy. When Bill hears that she is named Caroline Holliday Bellefleur, he asks Sookie to get his family Bible from his house, and they look over his family tree together, realizing that Caroline is Bill’s great-granddaughter. After more than a century of hating the Bellefleurs for their ancestor’s responsibility for the death of one of his friends during the Civil War, Bill decides to secretly assist his struggling descendants financially and shares a warm moment with Sookie.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

TO: WILLIAM COMPTON,

AREA FIVE INVESTIGATOR

INVESTIGATOR COMPTON,

YOU ARE SUMMONED TO A MEETING WITH ME AT FANGTASIA TOMORROW NIGHT.

ERIC NORTHMAN

SHERIFF OF AREA FIVE

In person at the meeting:

BILL: “Why am I here, Eric?”

ERIC: “Area Six in Texas has need of your services.”

BILL: “For what purpose?”

ERIC: “A vampire is missing, a nest mate of the Area Six sheriff. You and Sookie will help locate him.”

BILL: “Sookie?”

ERIC: “Yes, per our agreement, Sookie will assist us.”

BILL: “I believe her agreement was that she would assist you.”

ERIC: “And so she shall. It will be of assistance to me to have the sheriff of Area Six in my debt. You will bring Sookie here tomorrow night, and I will inform her of the assignment.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric after Sookie’s escape from the Fellowship of the Sun.

BILL: “Eric, we have raided the Fellowship. Sookie has gone but there is a dead man with her scent. I believe she had help escaping. We came upon a car accident. Sookie and a shifter were in the car and they were taken to the hospital, but Sookie’s name disappeared from their computers even as I asked about her.”

ERIC: “I’ll go outside and check for her. Perhaps she is unwilling to enter by herself.”

BILL: “Or unable.”

ERIC: “She is strong, Bill. She will be found.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill later that same evening.

ERIC: “Bill, she is here. Some shapeshifters brought her in.”

BILL: “How is she? Is she badly injured?”

ERIC: “Battered but walking.”

BILL: “Can she get into our room? I will be right there.”

ERIC: “Bill, I’ll take her up and start doctoring.”

BILL: “Don’t try anything, Eric. She is mine.”

ERIC: “Bill.”

BILL: “I mean it, Eric. This is not the time for your games. I will be there shortly.”

ERIC: “All right then. Good-bye.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill, the shifters in Dallas have contacted Stan about compensation for their aid. He feels their demands are too much, and I agree. I need you to go back to Dallas and parley with them.”

BILL: “You made the original deal with them, Eric. Surely this is your responsibility.”

ERIC: “I have another, more important matter to attend to.”

BILL: “And that would be?”

ERIC: “The maenad was not satisfied with our tribute. While you are in Dallas negotiating with the shifters, I will be in the woods of Bon Temps negotiating with her.”

BILL: “Your tribute was substandard?”

ERIC: “Our tribute was a perfectly acceptable bull, a magnificent specimen, and I didn’t hear you making any better suggestions. She is just being difficult, as usual. I can only be grateful that she has remained in Bon Temps for whatever reason. There’s been no sign of her in Shreveport, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

BILL: “I’ll fly to Dallas this evening.”

ERIC: “I may ask Sookie to join me as a sign of good faith that I understood the importance of Callisto’s message to me.”

BILL: “I would prefer you didn’t.”

ERIC: “Ah, but nonetheless, I still may.”

BILL: “Eric, once again, I remind you that she is mine.”

ERIC: “For now.”

BILL: “And you will do nothing to change that.”

ERIC: “For now.”

BILL: “Eric, even you cannot so flout the rules.”

ERIC: “Of course not, Bill. I accept that Sookie is yours, by her own choice. But should she ever indicate that she is no longer interested in that status . . .”

BILL: “That won’t happen.”

ERIC: “But if it should?”

BILL: “Then you would be within the rules to pursue her yourself.”

ERIC: “Exactly.”

BILL: “But you agree that you will not make overtures?”

ERIC: “I agree.”

As this book was written prior to Definitely Dead and the inclusion of Hurricane Katrina into the series story line, which established a definite time frame for the events of the series, the events in Club Dead do not correspond with the actual full moon.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2004. Sookie goes to Bill’s house after work and is devastated that Bill has become so consumed with work that he rebuffs her attempts at intimacy. He tells her he is leaving for Seattle soon and that he has been working on a secret project for Sophie-Anne Leclerq, the vampire Queen of Louisiana. He also tells her that he is planning to hide his computer equipment in the hidey-hole in her closet while he is gone. If anything happens to him before he brings the computer, Bill asks Sookie to go to his house during the day and get it. Sookie is even more disturbed when she realizes he is lying to her about where he is going.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2. Sookie deliberately drives by Belle Rive, the Bellefleur home, and sees the work being done courtesy of the mysterious legacy left them by a relative who had “died mysteriously over in Europe somewhere.” She knows that the legacy actually came from Bill, whom the Bellefleurs despise, and Sookie tries not to be bitter though she herself struggles with money problems.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3. Bill calls to let Sookie know he has arrived safely in “Seattle.”

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6. Much to Sookie’s surprise, Bubba shows up at her door and tells her that Eric has sent him to guard her. When Sookie arrives at work with Bubba in tow, she is attacked by a Were wearing a gang vest, but Bubba saves the day. Pam soon arrives and explains that Bill is missing and that he has been in Jackson, Mississippi, not Seattle. Pam calls Eric and puts Sookie on the phone. Eric tells Sookie to be careful until he can get over to her house to explain. She goes home and cries herself to sleep.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7. A depressed Sookie spends the day in bed, rousing only long enough to confirm that Bill has left his computer equipment in the closet hidey-hole. When she awakens again, she finds Eric with her, and he forces her to get up and dressed. Eric tells her that humans who live in the kingdom of Mississippi have informed him that Bill has been kidnapped. He speaks of the work Bill was doing for the Queen of Louisiana and eventually reveals that Bill had actually gone to Mississippi to see a vampire that he had been involved with long ago. He had become enamored with her again but had planned to return to Bon Temps to make “financial arrangements” for Sookie’s care. Eric admits that he has not informed the queen of the kidnapping or Bill’s missing project because of fears she will punish him and Pam for Bill’s misadventure. He asks Sookie to go to Jackson with a Were who owes him a debt, and use her “gift” to try to discover where Bill is being held. Sookie agrees to try to find and rescue Bill.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8–THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9. Sookie prepares to leave for Jackson.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10. Alcide Herveaux arrives to take Sookie to Jackson. They are immediately at ease and realize they are attracted to each other.

Once in Jackson, Alcide suggests that Sookie visit his sister’s beauty salon while he takes care of some business, and she learns that his ex-girlfriend, Debbie Pelt, will be celebrating her engagement that evening. Later, Sookie and Alcide eat at the Mayflower Café before heading for Josephine’s, a supe club. Debbie is indeed at the club, and since Sookie is posing as Alcide’s new love, she immediately earns Debbie’s hatred. Alcide realizes Sookie’s talent, and they use it to put Debbie in her place.

Sookie casts about in Josephine’s to see if she can “hear” anything about Bill. Sookie zeros in on a human with a vampire at the bar and finds that Bill is being tortured for information about the work he has been doing. When Sookie is assaulted by Jerry Falcon, a Were gang member, she is rescued by the King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington, who insists that she and Alcide return to Josephine’s the next night as his guests. Sookie and Alcide return to Alcide’s apartment and are surprised by a visit from Eric, who has come to Mississippi himself to keep an eye on things.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11. Alcide runs errands in the morning, so Sookie finds herself back at Janice’s salon. Later that afternoon, she and Alcide sit down for a friendly game of Scrabble, and afterward, while putting the game away, Sookie discovers the source of an odor both had been noticing: the body of Jerry Falcon, his neck broken, has been stuffed in Alcide’s hall closet. They work together to dispose of the body, fearing they will be blamed for the murder. The moon is full as they return that evening to Club Dead, the locals’ name for Josephine’s. As they are chatting with the guests at Edgington’s table, Sookie “hears” the thoughts of a human assassin who plans to stake Edgington’s second-in-command, Betty Joe Pickard. While attempting to foil the attack, Sookie is staked and seriously injured. Compelled to shift by the full moon and the excitement of the blood, Alcide runs after the would-be killer’s accomplice. It is left to a thinly disguised Eric to assist Sookie. Edgington insists that they return to his compound, where one of his people can use his healing gift to save Sookie.

After the healing of her wound, Eric and Sookie are surprised when Bubba appears. Eric gives Sookie his blood to heal her quickly and orders Bubba to look for Bill. Bubba returns with the news that he has found Bill on the property, and Eric and Sookie make plans for his rescue.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12. Sookie sneaks out of Russell’s house at dawn and finds a tortured and starved Bill in the garage, but as she is trying to remove his bonds, Lorena Ball appears. Lorena is Bill’s maker, and she taunts Sookie and then attacks. Unfortunately for Lorena, Sookie is carrying with her the stake taken from her side at Club Dead. She kills Lorena. Sookie then gets Bill into the trunk of a car and cautiously drives out of the compound.

Arriving at the garage of Alcide’s apartment building, Sookie opens the trunk to check on Bill but is pushed inside. The lid slams shut. The worst comes to pass as the starved and uncontrolled Bill wakens and rapes and almost drains her. Coming to his senses just in time, Bill is horrified by his actions. Eric arrives, and he and Bill take an unconscious Sookie to Alcide’s apartment, where the three men work to revive her. To Alcide’s dismay, Sookie reveals that it was Debbie Pelt who pushed her into the trunk. While going over the day’s events, they realize from a comment made by one of Russell’s guards while Sookie was leaving that Bubba has been captured. The Mississippi vamps, not knowing he is the real deal, are planning to execute him. Sookie calls Russell’s mansion and is able to convince them of Bubba’s true identity, and Russell’s vamps are excited by the possibility that Bubba might sing for them. Debbie soon arrives at the building, and Alcide hides Sookie, Eric, and Bill next door, where they overhear Alcide tell Debbie that he and Sookie had engaged in an affair. Questioned by Bill, an angry and hurt Sookie denies the accusation but confronts him with the fact of his own betrayal. Disgusted with his perfidy, Sookie asks Eric to take her home.

Thugs hired by Jerry Falcon’s gang attack Eric and Sookie as they stop for gas. They escape but fall into an argument about the financial hardship that Sookie is experiencing because of Eric’s demands on her time. As they arrive at her home, an angry Sookie storms away from Eric and straight into the waiting fists of more of Falcon’s gang. Sookie is severely beaten before Eric and Bill arrive and kill her attackers.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 13. When Sookie wakes the next afternoon, she finds she has a newly graveled driveway, a gift from Eric. Alcide stops by with her suitcase, and they consider the possibility that they might explore their relationship after both recover from their present heartbreak. Pam arrives soon after dark, instructed by Eric to assist Sookie. Bubba follows, still well-groomed and flashily dressed after his performance for the Mississippi vamps, and it dawns on Sookie that he is the one who killed Jerry and stuffed him in the closet. He leaves shortly after Bill and Eric arrive, and Pam slips out as they begin to argue. An exasperated Sookie rescinds their invitations to her home, and they are forced to leave. Alone, she is amused to realize that she still has Bill’s computer and the work that started all the trouble.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill, Eric, and Pam

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL: “Eric.”

ERIC: “Bill.”

BILL: “Lorena has summoned me. I will be leaving the area for a short time to see what she wants.”

ERIC: “It’s been quite some time since you’ve seen her, hasn’t it?”

BILL: “Yes.”

ERIC: “Hmmm. Have you told Sookie?”

BILL: “I have told her that I am leaving on business.”

ERIC: “Tsk, tsk. Lying to her already?”

BILL: “What I tell Sookie is none of your concern, Eric. I am merely informing you that I am leaving your area. You would have known about Lorena soon enough.”

ERIC: “What of your work for Sophie-Anne?” BILL: “I’ll take care of it.”

Phone: Bill calling Fangtasia.

PAM: “Fangtasia.”

BILL: “Pam, it’s Bill.”

PAM: “Hi, Bill. Do you want to speak to Eric? He’s in his office.”

BILL: “No. I don’t need to speak to Eric. Pam, I am in Mississippi. Lorena has called me, and I . . . I am with her again. I need to make arrangements for Sookie.”

PAM: “Arrangements?”

BILL: “For her future.”

PAM: “One that does not include you?”

BILL: “Yes. I will be returning to set things up for her. It will have to be a short trip. I don’t want Lorena to know about Sookie. She’s not . . . She wouldn’t approve.”

PAM : “I see. Well, I don’t approve of this, Bill. I don’t usually care about keeping secrets from humans, but Sookie is valuable and keeping things from her will discourage her from working for us in the future. It would be much better to keep her cooperation.”

BILL : “This is how it must be, Pam. Please let Eric know that I will be staying with Lorena and that I will contact Sophie-Anne myself. I’ll speak to you again when I get back.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric after their return to Louisiana.

BILL : “Eric, I’ve spoken with Sophie-Anne. You have nothing to worry about.”

ERIC : “Good. I believe I’ll visit Sookie this evening, see how she is.” BILL: “I’ll probably see you at her house, then.”

SHORTLY AFTER CHRISTMAS, 2004. Bill leaves a note on Sookie’s door asking to see her. When she agrees, he tries to explain about Lorena. He tells her he is going to Peru to collect more information for his vampire database.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 2005. Sookie finishes working the Merlotte’s New Year’s Eve party at three a.m. and heads home. Stunned to see a nearly naked Eric running down the road to her house, she stops to ask what he is doing and realizes he doesn’t know her or his own identity. She gets Eric to come with her, calls Fangtasia when they get to her house, and finds that the vampires are under some kind of attack. Sookie reluctantly agrees to keep Eric until Pam can come for him. Jason comes to visit that evening and meets Eric. Afraid to leave Eric alone, Sookie asks Jason to buy clothes and synthetic blood for the vampire. Pam and Chow arrive and explain that the leader of a group of witches wants to take over Eric and his businesses. The witches had sent a representative to Fangtasia the night before with an offer: If Eric would spend seven nights with the coven leader, they would only demand one-fifth of his business. Eric refused, and Chow attacked the representative, causing a spell to activate that left Eric on Sookie’s road several hours later with amnesia. Jason returns from shopping with the news that the witches have posters all over town offering a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for information on Eric’s whereabouts. The vampires reason that the witches don’t know about Sookie, so Eric should be safe with her. Jason negotiates a deal, and a surprised Sookie finds herself responsible for Eric.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 2. Sookie is disturbed the next day when Jason’s boss, Catfish Hennessy, calls and tells her Jason didn’t show up for work. Sookie reports his disappearance to the police, but they discount it based on his reputation. Going to Jason’s home, she discovers Alcee Beck, a police detective, searching the area. A blood smear, later determined to be a panther print, is found on Jason’s deck. After leaving Jason’s house, Sookie pulls over on the side of the road to try to gather her thoughts. While she is sitting there, Tara Thornton pulls up behind her. Claudine Crane, who is helping Tara at her store, Tara’s Togs, is also in the car. Sookie tells Tara that Jason is missing and asks if there are any witches in the area. Sookie is surprised when Tara tells her that her fellow waitress at Merlotte’s, Holly Cleary, is Wiccan.

Sookie visits Holly at the Kingfisher Arms Apartments and learns that a group of Were witches, who use vampire blood, are trying to gain control of the witches in the area and that they have threatened Holly and her son.

Still seeking some clue about Jason, Sookie goes to Shreveport to speak to one of his old girlfriends, but the young woman hasn’t seen Jason. Hoping to get help from Pam, Sookie goes to Fangtasia to question the daytime employees and leave a message, but she is horrified to find that they have been attacked by the witches in a brutal attempt to find Eric. One woman is injured and another dead. Sookie decides to contact Alcide to learn if the Shreveport pack knows anything about the group. As soon as Alcide hears the story, he contacts his packmaster, Colonel Flood. The packmaster immediately suspects that a missing member of his pack, Adabelle, may have been contacted, and Alcide and Sookie go to Adabelle’s business to question her. They find her dismembered body, and the Weres realize they have a serious problem.

Upset by all the terrible events of the day, Sookie returns home that evening to a kind and compassionate Eric. They begin an affair, and she realizes that she cares for this gentle stranger.

MONDAY, JANUARY 3. Still determined to find Jason, Sookie travels to Hotshot, the secretive community where Jason’s date from New Year’s Eve, shifter Crystal Norris, lives. Sookie meets Calvin Norris, Crystal’s uncle and the packmaster of the Hotshot shifters, who helps her question the girl. Sookie discovers that something happened to Jason in the yard at his home while Crystal was waiting for him in the house. As Sookie is leaving Hotshot, Calvin makes her an unusual offer.

Sookie is appalled when the witch leader, Hallow, and her brother come into Merlotte’s seeking information about Eric. As the witches question Sookie and Sam, they learn that Bill Compton’s home is temporarily empty. Sookie realizes that they plan to search Bill’s home, so she rushes home to tell Eric to stay out of sight. To her horror, he wants to see what is going on, and they go over to the Compton home, finding the yard full of Weres: Alcide’s pack has arrived and is hoping a surprise attack will result in the witches’ defeat. The witches escape and seriously injure a Were woman, Maria-Star Cooper, whom Sookie rushes to the hospital. As an exhausted Sookie drives back toward Bon Temps, she falls asleep at the wheel but is startled awake when Claudine suddenly appears in her car. Sookie returns to Merlotte’s to find that the Weres and vampires have joined forces to fight Hallow and her followers. She is disturbed when Debbie Pelt arrives, obviously involved with Alcide again. Sookie and Eric return to her home after the meeting. He declares his feelings for her and tells her that when he is restored, she will share all he has. Sookie is touched but knows it is a fantasy.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 4. Jason’s friends organize a search around his house for clues to his disappearance. The fruitless search ends in disaster when a feral hog gores Crystal Norris. Sookie returns to her home to find a message from Pam, letting her know that the vampires and Weres will be attacking the coven that night and telling her to bring Eric for the battle. She falls asleep, exhausted by the events of the day, and awakens to find Eric in her bed. They share another intimate moment before leaving for Pam’s house.

When they arrive at the gathering at Pam’s, they are surprised when Bill appears, having returned from Peru. He questions why Debbie Pelt is present and reveals that she participated in his torture in Jackson. Finally confronted by irrefutable proof of Debbie’s true nature, Alcide shocks the gathering when he abjures her.

The coalition is able to defeat the witches, and Hallow is taken prisoner so that she can free Eric from the curse. Debbie attempts to kill Sookie during the confusion of the battle but is stopped by Eric and flees. Sookie is disappointed when Jason is not found with the witches.

Returning to her home, Sookie and Eric enter the kitchen and are surprised to find Debbie with a gun in her hand and murder in her eyes. Debbie fires to kill Sookie, but Eric steps between them and takes the bullet. Before a shocked Debbie can fire again, Sookie grabs her shotgun and kills the werefox. Sookie revives Eric with synthetic blood, and as she cleans the kitchen, Eric takes the body and Debbie’s car and hides them.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5–THE EARLY HOURS OF THURSDAY, JANUARY 6. When Eric rises the next evening, his memory is restored, and he has no recollection of the time he has spent with Sookie. She is relieved that he will not remember the killing of Debbie but is saddened that he doesn’t remember caring for her. Pam arrives to accompany him back to Fangtasia, and Sookie gets ready for work.

As Sookie tells Sam about the previous day’s unusual events, she learns for the first time that the shifters at Hotshot are not werewolves as she believed but werepanthers, and that Felton Norris is in love with Crystal. Sam and Sookie rush to Hotshot to confront Calvin with the evidence of the panther print, and he leads them to Felton’s home. Jason is found imprisoned and weak after being repeatedly bitten by his rival. As they leave with Sookie’s injured brother, Calvin assures them that Felton will be punished and that Calvin will help Jason during the next full moon, when Jason will find out if he’s been turned into a werepanther by Felton’s bites.

Sookie and Sam get Jason to her house, where she puts him in the shower, feeds him, and then sends him to bed. Sitting at the kitchen table to talk with Sam, she spots a check from Eric for fifty thousand dollars.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 6. After Sookie calls the police to let them know Jason has returned, Andy Bellefleur and Alcee Beck arrive to question him. She and Jason stick to the story that he was knocked out and taken from outside his home and then just dumped in Sookie’s yard with no memory of what had happened or where he had been. Sookie takes Jason to his own home to recuperate. Eric visits later that night and questions Sookie about their time together and why he found brain tissue on his sleeve. While he is still at her home, one of Alcide’s pack members, Amanda, arrives to question Sookie about the apparent disappearance of Debbie. While they talk, Eric explores the house. When Amanda leaves, he tells Sookie she should destroy her old coat and get another.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7. Sookie is not surprised to receive a cranberry red coat from Eric.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

TO: WILLIAM COMPTON,

AREA FIVE INVESTIGATOR

BILL,

PER SOPHIE-ANNE’S ORDERS I HAVE CONTACTED SEVERAL VAMPIRES I KNOW IN PERU AND ARRANGED YOUR SAFE PASSAGE. YOU WILL BE MET AT THE AIRPORT IN LIMA. AFTER THAT, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE MADE YOUR OWN ARRANGEMENTS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. I MUST SAY THAT I AM SURPRISED THAT YOU ARE NOT SPENDING THE HOLIDAYS WITH SOOKIE. HUMANS HOLD THIS TIME IN SUCH REGARD.

ERIC NORTHMAN,

SHERIFF OF AREA FIVE

To: Eric Northman,

Sheriff of Area Five

Thank you for your prompt attention. I’m certain our queen appreciates it. You’ve often said you enjoy having people in your debt, so perhaps you can use this to your advantage.

Since I imagine you’ve never celebrated Christian holidays, I’m surprised by your well wishes.

William Compton

TO: WILLIAM COMPTON

ONLY A FOOL WOULD USE AN ASSIGNMENT FROM THE QUEEN AS LEVERAGE, AND AS YOU KNOW, I AM NO FOOL. SHE SEEMS CONVINCED THAT YOUR DATABASE WILL BE NOT ONLY A VALUABLE TOOL IN HER BUSINESS DEALINGS BUT ALSO A PROFITABLE ENTERPRISE IN GENERAL. CONGRATULATIONS, BILL, YOU’RE NOW A BONA FIDE COMPUTER WHATEVER-YOU-ARE. GOOD TO SEE THOSE NIGHT CLASSES PAID OFF.

AS FOR MY HOLIDAY WISHES, NEVER LET IT BE SAID THAT I CANNOT ADAPT TO MY ENVIRONMENT. CHRISTIAN HOLIDAYS ARE IMPORTANT TO HUMANS—SUCH AS SOOKIE. I WONDER HOW SHE’LL BE CELEBRATING? RUMOR HAS IT YOU TWO ARE NO LONGER INVOLVED, SO PERHAPS I’LL DROP BY TO MAKE CERTAIN SHE’S NOT ALONE FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

ALL MY BEST,

ERIC

To: Eric Northman,

Dear Eric, Sheriff of Area Five

Dear Eric,

Fuck off.

Bill

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2005. Sookie drives her brother, Jason, who may be a werepanther as a result of being attacked by Felton Norris, out to Hotshot, leaving him with Calvin Norris, who will guide him through his first change. Sookie can tell his eyes are different before she leaves.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26. Jason returns to Sookie’s house the next morning, almost exhilarated by his new experience. Although at first he becomes ill at the sight of food, she is ultimately relieved that he seems able to handle the changes in his life. Working the late shift at Merlotte’s, Sookie is surprised to see her friend Tara sitting with an unfamiliar vampire named Mickey. Since Sam is out enjoying the moon, Terry is left in charge of the bar, and he and Sookie work together to relieve a Drainer of her cache of vampire blood and send her from the bar.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27. Claudine arrives at Merlotte’s with the upsetting news that Calvin Norris has been shot and seriously wounded, and that apparently a shooter is targeting shifters. As Sookie and Sam leave the bar after closing up, Sam is shot in the leg.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28. Laid low by his broken leg and fearing to expose any other shifters, Sam asks Sookie to visit Fangtasia to bargain with Eric for the loan of a bartender. Eric sends vampire Charles Twining back to Bon Temps with Sookie. Hearing that Mickey came into Merlotte’s, Eric warns her that Mickey is a rogue and to stay away from him.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29. The next day at Merlotte’s, Sookie is visited by private investigators Jack Leeds and Lily Bard Leeds, who want to question her about the disappearance of Debbie Pelt. Sookie agrees to talk with them at her home the next day.

Jason and Sookie go to the hospital in Grainger to visit the wounded Calvin. The werepanthers keeping guard over their packmaster keep Jason out but allow Sookie in the room. She is upset at the seriousness of his injuries but is horrified when Calvin tells her the Hotshot shifters suspect that Jason is the sniper. He reassures her that he has ordered that nothing be done to Jason, but Sookie realizes that to save her brother, she must find the shooter before the next full moon.

Alcide comes by Sookie’s house with the news of the death of Colonel Flood and invites her to attend his funeral the next day. She tells Alcide of the visit of the detectives, warning him that the Pelt family is looking into Debbie’s disappearance.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30. When the detectives arrive, Sookie is surprised at how much they know about her relationship with Debbie, but she is straightforward about her dislike of the shifter. They leave with no apparent reason to suspect her, and Alcide arrives to pick her up for the funeral.

Once at the church for the service, Sookie realizes that her attending with Alcide has a larger import within the pack. She learns from Christine Larrabee, wife of the former packmaster and escorted by Alcide’s father, Jackson Herveaux, that her appearance with Alcide signifies her support of his father in his bid for packmaster. An angry Sookie confronts Alcide with the deception but remains at the service to honor Colonel Flood. Sookie also comes to the notice of Patrick Furnan, the other candidate for packmaster. A tall, handsome bald man at the service catches Sookie’s eye.

That evening at work, Sam asks Sookie if Charles Twining can stay at her house, since the bar does not have an adequate light-tight space. Tara and Mickey arrive at the bar, and Sookie has an angry confrontation with Mickey.

Sookie is asleep when Charles awakens her with the news of a prowler and slips outside. She turns on the porch light to see that Charles has captured a furious Bill Compton. Returning to bed, she is awakened again by Claudine with the news that her house is on fire. Charles kills the man who apparently started the fire, and the fire department is able to save her house. It appears that the man is a member of the Fellowship of the Sun. With Sookie’s home seriously damaged, Sookie and Charles go home with Bill for the rest of the night.

MONDAY, JANUARY 31. Sookie’s insurance agent, Greg Aubert, arrives to assess the damage, the first of a steady stream of visitors, including Tray Dawson, who’s been sent by Calvin Norris with a message of support and an offer of his home while he is in the hospital. Sookie does not want to be obligated but worries where she will stay until her home is repaired.

Sookie is dismayed when the family of the dead arsonist comes to see her at work. They struggle with his guilt but leave when the evidence seems overwhelming. Sam comforts Sookie, and they have a passionate moment, which is interrupted by Bill, who fights with the injured Sam. When Sookie is harmed trying to stop the fight, an angry Bill leaves, and she decides to spend the night at Jason’s.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1. Terry Bellefleur has offered to help Sookie by demolishing the fire-damaged areas of her house and disposing of the refuse for a nominal fee. They are working at her house in the morning when Alcide arrives, anxious after hearing about the fire. Contractors Randall and Delia Shurtliff come by to arrange the repairs, and after they leave, Alcide asks Sookie to move in with him for the duration of the renovation. She refuses, admitting that she shot Debbie in self-defense, and although he claims it doesn’t matter, she tells him that now is not the time to consider starting a relationship.

Sookie is upset when Bill brings a date, Selah Pumphrey, to the bar that evening. She is further disturbed when Eric arrives, angry that Charles had not rescued Sookie from the burning house. Eric tries again to get Sookie to tell him what happened between them when he had amnesia, but she is able to distract him. Sookie agrees when Sam offers her one of his rental houses until her own is repaired. She is pleased to have to spend only one more night at her brother’s place. She is surprised to find Crystal at Jason’s but relieved that the female werepanther doesn’t believe Jason is involved in the shootings.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2. Sookie salvages enough linens and kitchenware to move into the duplex on Berry Street and makes her first meal in her temporary home. She visits Calvin at the Grainger hospital and decides to stop at the library on the way back. Out in the parking lot, Sookie feels another presence and ducks just as a shot rings out, creasing her shoulder. She wakes up in the hospital to her brother’s voice and later gets a visit from Detective Andy Bellefleur. Bill arrives to watch over her and spends the night.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3. Sookie is released from the hospital the next morning and is mystified to find that her bill has been paid. She is just realizing that she has no way to get home when Claudine’s brother, Claude, arrives to take her back to the duplex. Tara comes to visit, and Sookie is horrified when she learns how Mickey is controlling her terrified friend. Tara begs Sookie not to interfere. When Tara leaves, Sookie realizes that she has only one alternative, and she calls Eric, who comes over immediately. Sookie tells Eric the full story of Tara’s problem with Mickey. She is not surprised that the price for the favor is the truth of the time they spent together. Sookie tells him all they did and what he promised her while he had amnesia. After a few minutes of stunned silence while he processes the information, Eric calls Mickey’s maker, Salome, and asks her to deal with Mickey, since he is acting against their laws and without permission in Eric’s territory. Eric is beginning to get amorous when a furious Mickey arrives with a beaten Tara and attacks, striking Eric with a rock. Sookie is able to revive Eric but is forced to let Mickey into the house when he threatens to kill Tara. Mickey attacks Sookie, but she is able to rescind the invitation. He is forced to leave and answer his maker’s call. Eric calls Salome back to inform her of Mickey’s disobedience and then calls Bill to help repair the apartment.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4. Sookie and Sam realize that the shooter has to be a supernatural being of some kind. They decide to investigate the sites of the earlier shootings after work with Sam in bloodhound form. They are searching the alley across from the Sonic, where the first shooting took place, when they are interrupted by Andy Bellefleur. As Sookie is arguing with Andy, Sam barks to let them know someone else has arrived. Sweetie Des Arts, the new cook at Merlotte’s, is in the alley with a rifle pointed at them. She confesses to being the shooter, admitting that she has murdered many other shifters in retaliation for being attacked by a bitten Were, which causes her to partially shift each full moon. She plans to kill Sookie and the dog, but when Sweetie hears a noise and turns to fire, Andy is able to pull his gun and kill her. Sookie rushes over to see whom Sweetie shot and finds a seriously injured Dawson, whom Calvin had told to follow and protect her. Sookie is able to keep him alive until the ambulance arrives.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5. Alcide comes by the duplex in the morning to invite Sookie to the Shreveport packmaster contest, but she is too weary to appreciate his presence and sends him away, telling him to leave the invitation. After finding a note on her door from Sam telling her not to come in for her evening shift, she decides to visit Calvin, who has been released from the hospital.

Sookie prepares a chicken dish and biscuits to take to Calvin, and she is surprised to find a crowd already at his house to welcome him home. After being introduced around, she is led to his bedroom, where he is eating the food she prepared for him. As she is leaving, she finds Patrick Furnan—the other contestant for Shreveport packmaster, who has also been visiting Calvin—waiting for her with a strange warning about her being unprotected. Once in her temporary home and able to relax, Sookie considers the shifter shootings and calls Andy to question him as to whether all the bullets matched.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6. Alcide calls to tell Sookie that the packmaster contest is being held that afternoon in Shreveport. When she arrives at the deserted industrial park, she is relieved to see Claudine and Claude in attendance and stands with them. Before the contest begins, Sookie is surprised to see the handsome bald man she had noticed at the funeral and realizes he is the referee, finally “hearing” that his name is Quinn. As the contestants perform the second of three tests, Sookie realizes that Furnan is cheating. She calls out her accusation, and the contest is halted. When investigation proves her to be correct, the pack sends out the non-pack members, so they can vote on whether the contest will continue to the final test. As they wait, Quinn questions Sookie and learns from Claude that she is a telepath. The pack decides that the final test, one of battle, will continue but must be a decisive victory. Quinn asks Sookie to enter the cage where the final fight will occur to try to determine whether Furnan plans to somehow cheat again. He guarantees her safety, but Furnan lunges at her, and her leg is slightly injured as Quinn pulls her out of the cage. As he administers first aid, a definite attraction springs up between them, and he promises he will see her again at a better time. Furnan defeats and kills Herveaux in the final contest and is declared packmaster. A devastated Alcide rejects Sookie, and she leaves, realizing he somehow blames her for the outcome.

At work that evening, Sookie is surprised by a visit from Bubba with a cryptic message from Eric. As she is talking with Charles, she suddenly realizes that he has been lying about his past. He apologizes as he tries to kill her, but she is able to stuff her silver chain in his mouth, and the male patrons at the bar come to her aid, restraining him and staking him at his request. Charles’s body has already flaked away when Eric dashes into the bar to save Sookie. Eric explains that Charles was sent by a vampire named Hot Rain to kill Sookie in an effort to punish Eric for the death of Long Shadow, who was staked the previous summer for embezzling from Fangtasia. As Sookie recounts the events of the day, they both agree she is a lucky woman.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL : “Eric, I understand one of your vampires is staying at Sookie’s house.”

ERIC : “I loaned my new bartender to Sam Merlotte. So he’s staying at Sookie’s? Good. I want him to keep an eye on her.”

BILL: “Why?”

ERIC : “I have my reasons.”

BILL : “Well, he has not done a good job ‘keeping an eye on her.’ Her house was set on fire last night.”

ERIC: “Did she get out?”

BILL : “Yes. But she was not rescued by your ‘Charles.’ She was rescued by a fairy. She was able to wake Sookie and get her out of the house.” ERIC : “She?” Pause. “A female fairy. Sookie certainly has interesting friends.”

BILL : “Charles did manage to kill the culprit. He was carrying a Fellowship membership card.”

ERIC : “I see. I’ll need to have a talk with Charles.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, I understand that Sookie is no longer staying at your house.” BILL : “True. We had a little . . . misunderstanding.”

ERIC : “So you brought a date into Merlotte’s.”

BILL: “I am free to see whomever I please.”

ERIC : “And who is it you are pleasing, Bill? She was attractive in her own way.”

BILL : “No one you know.”

ERIC : “It’s no matter. She was not my type. Where is Sookie staying?” BILL : “Her brother’s.”

ERIC : “I doubt that will last very long. Please keep me informed as to where she winds up while her house is being repaired. Charles remains at your house?”

BILL: “Yes. I have a place for him to sleep.”

ERIC: “Good. Have you seen Mickey?”

BILL: “I’ve heard he’s in town.”

ERIC: “He’s involved with Sookie’s friend Tara.”

BILL: “That won’t end well.” ERIC: “No, I’m quite certain it won’t.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL : “Eric, Sookie has been shot.”

ERIC : “Is she all right?”

BILL : “She will recover. I spent the night with her in the hospital.”

ERIC : “Just to keep her safe, I suppose.”

BILL : “Sookie is staying at one of Sam Merlotte’s rental houses. I believe that a fairy picked her up from the hospital.”

ERIC : “The same fairy who rescued her from the fire?”

BILL : “I don’t believe so. From all reports, this one was very much a male.” ERIC : “Very much a male?”

BILL: “Apparently a quite attractive male.” ERIC : “So yet another fairy. Interesting.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, I’m at Merlotte’s rental with Sookie. Mickey broke in. He was angry because I called Salome.”

BILL : “Is Sookie all right?”

ERIC : “We ask each other that a lot, don’t we? Yes, Sookie is fine. She had to invite him in because he had her friend, but once they were both inside she rescinded his invitation. I’ve already let Salome know that he is on the run.”

BILL : “She’ll have him soon.”

ERIC : “Undoubtedly. Right now, we need supplies to repair the window for the night.”

BILL : “I’ll be there shortly.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, have you heard anything about Sookie in an alley with a naked man?”

BILL : “Yes.”

ERIC: “And?”

BILL : “And what? Sookie was in an alley with a naked man. And the woman who was shooting the shifters. I assume the naked man was a shifter as well. There was also a dog, so Sam was there, too.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill, are you in Bon Temps?”

BILL: “No, I’m with Selah in Clarice.”

ERIC: “I need information from your database.”

BILL: “I have my laptop. Give me a few minutes.”

ERIC: “Look up Charles Twining.”

BILL: “Charles? Didn’t you . . . ?”

ERIC: “Now, Bill.”

BILL: “Charles Twining. His sire was . . . Eric, his sire is dead, but he is pledged to Hot Rain.”

ERIC : “Goddammit!”

BILL : “How could you have sent him to Sookie without checking him out?”

ERIC : “I did. I called Russell. He thought Charles had been at his home. Fucking idiot!”

BILL : “You or Russell?”

ERIC : “I’m sending Bubba to Merlotte’s to warn Sookie.”

BILL : “I’ll return to Merlotte’s immediately.”

ERIC : “No. She just needs to stay clear of Charles until I deal with Hot Rain. Killing Charles after Long Shadow’s death would not go well for either of us. I’m calling his ruler now to advise them that he has gone against the ruling and sought revenge.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005. Sookie is out in her yard at midnight raking up bush clippings with Bubba when a black limousine pulls into her drive. Bubba immediately vanishes into the woods, and Sookie can only hope that he has left to find Bill, her nearest neighbor, as she faces the large man who emerges from the limo. From his brain pattern Sookie can tell that the man is some sort of supernatural creature. The stranger, Mr. Cataliades, informs her that she is the beneficiary of a legacy from her cousin Hadley, who had not only become a vampire—and personal favorite of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Queen of Louisiana—but met her final death a month prior. Mr. Cataliades summons his driver, a vampire named Waldo, from the car at Sookie’s request. Bubba returns with Bill, who joins Sookie in questioning Mr. Cataliades and Waldo as to the circumstances of Hadley’s death. Waldo claims that he witnessed Hadley’s murder at the hands of members of the Fellowship of the Sun, but Sookie soon suspects him of doing the deed himself, an accusation confirmed by Mr. Cataliades. He reveals that Sophie-Anne has realized Waldo’s duplicity and sent him on the trip to Bon Temps so that Sookie can stake him. She refuses, telling him she will send Waldo back to the queen instead. Heartbroken that his queen knows of his betrayal, certain her torture will make him wish for death, Waldo attacks Sookie, knowing that Bill and Bubba will stop him and put an end to his existence. As Waldo flakes away in Sookie’s yard, the queen herself steps from the limo. She questions Sookie as to the events of the night, wondering if Sookie set it all up to play out just as it did. Sookie carefully responds with enigmatic one-word answers, and the queen and Mr. Cataliades are soon on their way back to New Orleans.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, Bubba has told me that Sophie-Anne was at Sookie’s house, and the two of you killed a wrinkled, red-eyed vampire. What the hell is he talking about?”

BILL : “Sophie-Anne was at Sookie’s house, and Bubba and I killed a wrinkled, red-eyed vampire.”

ERIC: “Bill . . .”

BILL: “Cataliades arrived to inform Sookie of her cousin Hadley’s death.” ERIC: “The queen’s favorite was Sookie’s cousin?”

BILL: “Yes.”

ERIC: “Why wasn’t this information in your vaunted database?”

BILL: “Including information about the queen’s favorite didn’t seem like a good idea, Eric.”

ERIC : “I see your point. A red-eyed, wrinkly . . . Wait, you and Bubba killed Waldo?”

BILL : “Yes.”

ERIC : “May I ask why?”

BILL : “He killed Hadley. The queen brought him here so that Sookie could exact vengeance.”

ERIC : “But you did it instead.”

BILL : “Sookie could not bring herself to do it and was sending him back to the queen. He attacked her, and I took care of it for her.”

ERIC : “I thought Sophie-Anne was there.”

BILL: “She was. She remained in the car until after we staked Waldo.” ERIC : “Interesting.”

BILL : “Indeed. Sookie knew she was in the car. I cannot help but feel that Sookie was actually in control of the situation more than we realized at the time.”

ERIC : “It wouldn’t surprise me. She has unexpected depths.” BILL: “Indeed.”

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2005. Sookie spends the early part of the day at Alfred Cumberland’s studio in Shreveport, posing for photographs with Claude, who is building his portfolio for the Mr. Romance contest. She is pleasantly surprised to see Maria-Star Cooper, the Were she took to the hospital after the skirmish with the witches at Bill’s house, fully recovered and working as Al’s assistant, although Sookie experiences a flicker of pain when she realizes that Maria-Star and Alcide Herveaux are now dating.

After the photo shoot, Sookie hurries home to work the evening shift at Merlotte’s, where she speaks briefly with Bill Compton, who asks if he can accompany her to New Orleans when she travels there to wrap up the estate of her late cousin, Hadley. Catholic priest Dan Riordan and Episcopal priest Kempton Littrell are also in the bar for their biweekly dinner, and Sookie is disconcerted when the priests call her away from Bill’s table, telling her that they were concerned that she was consorting with an “imp of hell.” Before leaving the bar, Father Riordan informs her that he has been contacted by the Pelts, who are searching for information about Debbie and want to meet with Sookie. She denies their request.

TUESDAY, MARCH 15. Quinn walks into Merlotte’s shortly before last call and tells Sookie he’d like to speak with her about both business and pleasure, and she agrees to let him follow her home after closing. He tells her that he’s wanted to see her again and asks her on a date. She happily agrees. He then tells her that the vampire Queen of Louisiana has asked him to request Sookie’s services for her own use at the upcoming vampire regional summit. The queen outranks Eric, who has also requested Sookie’s presence. She unhappily acknowledges to herself that she will have to deliver the bad news to Eric. She and Quinn end their meeting by planning their date for the following Friday.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16. Pam calls Sookie at Merlotte’s and informs her that Eric wants to see her on Friday night. Sookie declines, telling Pam that she already has plans. Pam is gleeful that she gets to let Eric know that not only has Sookie refused his summons but she has a date. Andy Bellefleur stops Sookie on her way back from the phone call to ask a favor: He is proposing to his girlfriend, Halleigh Robinson, and wants Sookie to hide the ring box in Halleigh’s food order. Sookie unabashedly eavesdrops as Halleigh finds the box and eagerly accepts Andy’s proposal.

As Sookie is washing dishes at home after work, she realizes that there is something out in her woods when all the night cries from the insects and frogs come to an abrupt stop. She locks her doors but holds her ground, refusing to panic. Only when the sounds resume outside does she relax enough to sleep.

THURSDAY, MARCH 17. Sookie leaves the house early to go to the grocery store and to Tara’s Togs to get a new outfit for her date. Once at Tara’s shop, she waits while Portia Bellefleur makes plans with Tara to outfit a double wedding. Not only are Andy and Halleigh getting married; so are Portia and her fiancé, Glen. After an excited Portia leaves with a catalog, Tara happily helps Sookie pick out an outfit. Sookie then heads to the store and back home in time to fix lunch for Jason. Her brother arrives and tells her that Crystal has suffered a miscarriage. Crystal refuses to go to the hospital because she is afraid of the personnel noticing the advanced healing abilities of the shifters. Sookie calls Dr. Ludwig, the physician who treated her for the maenad poisoning and who attended the packmaster contest, and arranges to have the doctor meet with Jason and head over to his house.

Sookie is dismayed to find Father Riordan waiting for her with the Pelts in Sam’s office when she gets to work. She is once again forced to deny being involved with Debbie’s disappearance. Sam gets a phone call letting him know Holly’s son is missing from his school, and Sookie hurries over to see if she can help with her special ability. She finally locates the injured child in a trash bin, where he was hidden by the custodian after she thought she had accidentally killed him. Returning to the bar, Sookie is suspicious of the new barmaid, Tanya Grissom, whom Sam has called in to cover for Holly.

Sookie gets another visitor that night in the person of Calvin Norris, Crystal’s uncle and the leader of the Hotshot panthers. They discuss Calvin’s interest in Sookie, and he reluctantly acknowledges that they are not meant to be.

FRIDAY, MARCH 18. Dressed and ready for her date with Quinn, Sookie is surprised when Eric arrives on her doorstep. He is not pleased to see her looking beautiful for another man, and they are arguing when Quinn arrives. He not only establishes his interest in Sookie but calmly informs Eric that the queen intends for Sookie to be in her retinue at the vampire summit. They leave a fuming Eric and head for the theater in Shreveport. Sookie and Quinn enjoy each other’s company, and Sookie is pleased that she can read only admiration from Quinn, who apparently has no fear of her gift. As they are leaving the theater after the show, two young half-changed werewolves attack them in the parking lot. Sookie is slightly injured as Quinn fights them off. The police arrive. They are questioned by the police, who are somewhat uneasy about the power that Quinn has displayed. After their questioning, Quinn takes Sookie to a werewolf bar, the Hair of the Dog, where he challenges the local pack over the attack on Sookie, who has been named a friend of the pack. As they return to the car, the attraction between them explodes, and Sookie decides that she needs to go more carefully with Quinn.

SATURDAY, MARCH 19. Sookie doesn’t hear from Quinn the next day but does read in the newspaper that two juveniles were found strangled in the Shreveport holding cells—Sookie and Quinn’s attackers had been silenced. A lovely female vampire comes into Merlotte’s that night and introduces herself as Felicia, the new bartender at Fangtasia. She informs Sookie that Pam has told her to beg for her mercy, as Fangtasia bartenders don’t last long around Sookie.

SUNDAY, MARCH 20. Sookie is suspicious and displeased when Tanya Grissom arrives at her house uninvited and makes obvious overtures of friendship. Sookie’s inhospitable attitude soon sends the shifter away, but her negative feelings are soothed when Quinn calls and they set up another date for the following night. Much to her surprise, Mr. Cataliades soon arrives, expecting her to be ready to accompany him back to New Orleans to settle her late cousin Hadley’s estate. He is equally surprised that his niece Gladiola did not deliver his message and sets out with his other niece, Diantha, to find Glad’s body, knowing that only death would have kept her from her task. Diantha locates Gladiola, cloven in two, at the edge of the woods, and Diantha and her uncle burn the body in Sookie’s driveway. Sookie goes to Sam’s trailer to arrange the time off and leaves the two supes to their solemn pyre. Remembering that Bill has asked if he can join her when she travels to New Orleans, Sookie calls him to let him know they will be leaving soon. As they travel, Sookie tells her companions about the Were attack in Shreveport and about the visit she and Quinn paid to Hair of the Dog. Bill is unhappy because it’s clear Quinn is becoming a part of Sookie’s life. When Sookie asks Mr. Cataliades’s opinion, he suggests that Quinn knows that the Shreveport pack may already be planning a challenge to the new packmaster.

Arriving at Hadley’s apartment in New Orleans, Bill again offers to help. Exhausted, Sookie just wants to be left alone to rest.

MONDAY, MARCH 21. The landlady and apartment owner, Amelia Broadway, who is also a practicing witch, startles Sookie awake. She assures Sookie that wards and a stasis spell (which has kept the place just as it was on the day Hadley died) have protected the apartment. After Amelia returns to her own apartment downstairs, Sookie begins to explore and is disturbed when she finds bloodstained towels in the bathroom hamper. She opens the hall closet and discovers a man’s body. Realizing the body must have been there since Hadley died, she goes in search of Amelia to tell her they have a problem. They have just decided that the stasis spell has kept the body from decomposing when Sookie notices the man’s fingers moving. She realizes they have a rising vampire to deal with. Amelia just has time to call for help before they are attacked and must fight for their lives against the hungry new vampire, Jake Purifoy, a Were. Both are seriously wounded before they are rescued by the vampire police.

While she is awaiting treatment at the hospital, Sookie is surprised by Eric’s arrival. She accuses him of following her. He reminds her of the bond that exists between them because he has given her his blood. He also tells her that he has met with the queen to negotiate for Sookie’s services at the vampire summit. As they are talking, Bill suddenly appears, much to Eric’s displeasure. When Bill accuses Eric of tiring Sookie and asks him to leave, an angry Eric retaliates by forcing Bill to disclose what Eric discovered when he met with Sophie-Anne. Bill confesses that he was sent to Bon Temps by the queen to attract Sookie’s notice and even to seduce her in an effort to gain the use of her gift. Her heart broken by Bill’s betrayal, a physically and emotionally devastated Sookie stumbles back to the apartment.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22. Claudine and Amelia are at Sookie’s bedside when she awakes in deep emotional pain. Claudine reveals that she is Sookie’s fairy godmother, sworn to protect her, and tells Amelia the reason for Sookie’s unhappiness. They decide they need to determine how Jake was killed and turned, so Amelia suggests an ectoplasmic reconstruction of the events on the day of Hadley’s death. Amelia leaves to make preparations, and Claudine explains to Sookie that she must keep her appointment with the queen that evening. They leave to shop for the perfect dress and accessories.

Sookie, correctly clad, arrives at Sophie-Anne’s headquarters and is admitted to the queen’s presence by her twin bodyguards, Sigebert and Wybert. The queen introduces her new husband, the King of Arkansas, Peter Threadgill. His personal bodyguard, Jade Flower, stands guard behind her king with a long sword strapped to her back. Sophie-Anne’s personal bodyguard, Andre Paul, armed with a saber and a gun, stands guard behind his queen as well. As Sookie and the queen discuss the conversion of Jake Purifoy, Sookie tells Sophie-Anne about the planned ectoplasmic reconstruction. The queen agrees to pay the expenses of the ritual and declares that she wishes to witness it. She inquires briefly after Bill, and Sookie rather sharply informs her that they are no longer a couple. As they ready themselves to go, the king insists that Jade Flower accompany Sookie and Sophie-Anne.

Amelia is waiting at the apartment with three other witches, who will help her with the ectoplasmic reconstruction. The spectators watch in amazement as the ghostly events of the day Hadley died appear before them. They see the attack on Jake but are not able to identify the attacker. They do, however, witness Hadley’s desperate attempt to save him by making him a vampire. It is apparent that someone wanted Hadley accused of his death, and the atmosphere is getting tense when Quinn suddenly arrives. When alone in Hadley’s apartment with Sookie and Andre, Sophie-Anne tells Sookie that a jealous Hadley stole a valuable bracelet, a gift to the queen from her new husband. The queen will face political and personal disaster if the bracelet is not restored to her before the ball scheduled in two days’ time. Sophie-Anne tells Sookie that they must pretend that she and Andre had sex as Sophie-Anne watched, to justify this private meeting to Jade Flower. As they exchange an uncomfortable embrace to add evidence to the illusion, Andre reveals to Sookie that she has a trace of fairy blood. Although Sophie-Anne has instructed Sookie not to reveal any details, Sookie carefully tells Quinn that she did not have sex with Andre, and they have a romantic moment together.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23. Sookie begins to pack up Hadley’s possessions and is delighted when Quinn reappears to help. They make love that afternoon, but while they are relaxing afterward, Sookie suddenly senses danger. They are attacked and kidnapped by a group of werewolves who subdue the powerful Quinn with a stun gun.

The kidnappers force Sookie and Quinn into a van but do not seem to consider her a threat. She is able to locate Quinn’s cell phone and call for help. The kidnappers quickly pull over and search them, binding Quinn’s legs before starting off again. Because Quinn has undergone a partial change during the fight, Sookie encourages him to bite through the duct tape binding her wrists. She is able to get free and to unbind his hands and feet. As Sookie stabs the Were in the passenger seat with a screwdriver, Quinn opens the door of the van, and they escape into the swamp. They only stop to rest when they are certain they have lost their kidnappers. Sookie suddenly realizes who is behind the abduction and explains to Quinn, who shifts fully into his tiger persona and leads her through the swamp to a house where they find the kidnappers’ van. Looking through the window, Sookie realizes that her feelings were correct when she sees the Pelt family. Sookie and Quinn attack the house and are soon joined by Eric and the queen’s guard, Rasul. Sookie confronts the furious family and tells them the truth about the death of their daughter Debbie. Reluctantly recognizing that Sookie was acting in self-defense, Gordon and Barbara Pelt, much to their daughter Sandra’s dismay, promise not to harass Sookie further. Sookie also learns from them that Tanya Grissom is a relative who was sent to spy on her and find out more about Debbie’s death.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24. Mr. Cataliades accompanies Sookie to Hadley’s bank to receive the contents of her cousin’s safe-deposit box, but the missing bracelet is not there, as he obviously hoped. Sookie returns to the apartment to find a message on the answering machine: The queen expects to see Sookie that night at the spring ball. She debates whether or not she should go. Continuing to pack, she hears a strange noise when she shakes a can of coffee and realizes she has found the queen’s bracelet. Sookie knows she must attend the ball after all and goes down to Amelia’s to borrow a dress and shoes.

Quinn and Sookie arrive at the queen’s party house, a former monastery. Both are immediately uneasy as they observe the extreme security and the unusual outfits of the king’s guards. As Sookie and Quinn greet Mr. Cataliades, she tells him she has heard that someone with a long sword was seen on her way to Bon Temps, letting him draw his own conclusions about who killed his niece Gladiola. Sookie is able to secretly pass the missing bracelet to the queen, much to her relief. As Sophie-Anne joins her new husband in a dance, he notices the bracelet and is obviously furious. Sookie learns from Quinn that the bracelet had been a part of the king’s marriage gift to the queen. If he’d been able to prove she’d given it toto a lover, he could have taken her kingdom and everything in it for his own.

Thwarted, Peter Threadgill and his people resort to violence. Sookie and Quinn are enjoying a dance when a severed head flies by them. Violent chaos erupts, and Sookie and Quinn become separated during the melee. As she struggles to flee the room, Sookie is forced to fight for her life when she is attacked by an enraged Jade Flower, mysteriously missing one leg. Sookie is rescued by Bill, who beheads the Asian vampire. Fleeing through the queen’s bedroom, Sookie flips on the lights and sees a seriously injured Sophie-Anne lying on the bed, with Andre and Peter facing each other across it. Andre immediately shoots Peter twice in the face and then receives permission from his queen to finish the job. Sookie continues out the door before seeing how he does the deed. Once she is out on the lawn, Quinn joins her in tiger form, and they escape over the wall of the monastery. Andre follows them, carrying the injured queen, and they all pile into the queen’s limo.

The queen expresses her gratitude to Sookie for the return of the bracelet. The limo drops Sookie and Quinn off at Hadley’s apartment, where Amelia waits with a large black-and-white cat. She sheepishly admits that she and Bob, one of the witches who helped with the reconstruction, got a little carried away during sex and that he is now the cat. She needs to get away from New Orleans for a time.

An exhausted Sookie has just finished her shower, and Quinn is taking his turn, when there is a soft knock at the door. Bill is there and asks to talk with her. Sookie listens as he explains that although the queen sent him, when he came to know Sookie he began to truly love her. However, she no longer feels she can trust Bill and tells him that just saying the words will not restore her feelings for him. She leaves him to return to Quinn, and as they lie in bed together, she puts her head on his chest as he sleeps and listens to his heart beating.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25. Quinn departs early the next morning for his next job, leaving behind a spicy note. Sookie and Amelia pack up for Bon Temps, and as she heads home, Sookie is optimistic about the future.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, is Sookie going to New Orleans to see about her cousin’s estate?” BILL : “Why don’t you ask her yourself ?”

ERIC : “Since you are such a good neighbor and keep such a close eye on her, I thought you might know.”

BILL : “I don’t.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “I thought you’d want to know that Sookie finally arrived back at Hadley’s apartment safely.”

BILL : “I am aware, although safely is a relative term. Why have you done this, Eric?”

ERIC : “She deserved to know.”

BILL: “So you told her the moment you found out. If you wanted to destroy whatever chance I had with Sookie, couldn’t you have at least waited until she was not bleeding in a hospital?”

ERIC : “I did not do it to—”

BILL : “Bullshit. You did it to make her hate me so that you could proceed with her without my interference. Unfortunately for you, there is already another man interested in Sookie, one who is not constrained by vampire politics as I am.”

ERIC : “Quinn.”

BILL : “Yes, Quinn. He should give you a run for your money, and at this moment, I can only wish him well.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, you may be interested in knowing that an ectoplasmic reconstruction was performed at Hadley’s apartment last night to try to discover who turned the Were, Jake Purifoy.”

BILL: “I know.”

ERIC : “You seem to know a lot, Bill.”

BILL : “Does that bother you, Eric?”

ERIC : “It bothers me that you entered my territory on an assignment from the queen that I was not made aware of.”

BILL: “You’ll have to take that up with Sophie-Anne.”

Though it would seem from the text that All Together Dead begins around the third week in September, accurate continuity would have it start earlier—more like the second week.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2005. Sookie arrives at Fangtasia and is met by a happy Pam as they join the planning meeting for those who will attend the vampire summit in Rhodes. The death of the King of Arkansas, Peter Threadgill, and the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina have had a profound financial effect on the empire of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Queen of Louisiana. Eric, now one of the most powerful sheriffs in the state, is hosting the queen’s representative, Andre Paul, as they plan the trip. Sookie learns that the queen will be facing a criminal suit filed by the former king’s second-in-command, Jennifer Cater, who alleges that Sophie-Anne lured Peter to Louisiana to assassinate him. If she is found guilty, the queen could lose all she has. Bill Compton will be attending to promote the sale of his database in the hopes of replenishing the coffers of the cash-strapped queen. Jake Purifoy, the Were who was turned by Hadley, is also at the meeting and will be attending, much to Sookie’s discomfort.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11. When she returns from attending a wedding shower for Halleigh Robinson, Sookie is delighted to find Quinn on her doorstep. Her understanding roommate, Amelia, leaves them alone, and Sookie and Quinn discuss their relationship and their need to spend more time together. Quinn tells her he has taken a month off after the summit and wants to spend it with Sookie in Bon Temps. That afternoon Sookie receives a call from her brother, Jason, inviting her to his wedding. He is marrying his shifter girlfriend, Crystal Norris. Sookie is apprehensive about the marriage, especially as it is taking place that same night. When Sookie, Quinn, and Amelia arrive at the wedding celebration, Sookie is surprised at the excited reaction of the shifters to the presence of Quinn. To her dismay, she discovers that as Jason’s only relative she must vouch for him in the marriage ceremony, just as Calvin vouches for Crystal. With many reservations, Sookie witnesses the wedding between the selfish Jason and the wayward, determined shifter he is marrying.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12. Quinn leaves in the morning, and Sookie yawns her way through work after their late night at the wedding and later night together. Bill’s girlfriend, Selah Pumphrey, comes in for lunch and accosts Sookie, accusing her of planning the trip to the summit with Bill so that she can get him back. Sookie’s fairy godmother, Claudine, comes to Sookie’s house that evening to express her misgivings about Sookie attending the summit.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. In the morning, Sookie shops at Tara’s Togs, where Eric has arranged a line of credit for her to buy suitable clothing for the trip. Later, she is surprised when Pam comes into Merlotte’s to challenge her about her relationship with Eric. As Sookie readies to leave, Arlene expresses her distaste at Sookie’s choice of company, and Sookie snaps at Arlene and stalks out, crying. Pam follows Sookie into the parking lot to continue their conversation, and a relieved Sookie learns that Pam and Eric had not known why the queen sent Bill to Bon Temps. Pam shares her history with Sookie and tells her how she was turned by Eric. Sookie is astonished when Pam pleads with her to have mercy on Eric. Pam believes he has deep feelings for Sookie. Both are startled when he unexpectedly appears. Eric abruptly dismisses Pam and begins to question Sookie about her relationship with Quinn. Sookie replies that since Eric had shown no interest in her over the past few months, she felt free to pursue a relationship with Quinn. Frustrated, Eric leaves.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22. Sookie boards the Anubis airplane and is greeted by the queen’s lawyer, Mr. Cataliades, and his niece, Diantha. He introduces Sookie to the rude lawyer Johan Glassport, who will represent the queen in the murder case brought against her. Realizing that Sookie is a witness to the killing of Peter Threadgill, Glassport begins to question her intensely about the events of that night. Afterward, Sookie explores the plane and examines the coffins of the vampire contingent. Mr. Cataliades joins her and begins to brief her on what to expect at the summit in Rhodes. They arrive at the Pyramid of Gizeh hotel in the afternoon. Sookie is delighted when she telepathically locates Barry the Bellboy, who is attending as a member of the King of Texas’s entourage. That evening, Sookie reports to the queen’s room for instructions. Sophie-Anne is surprised and pleased when they are interrupted by a visit from Stan Davis, now King of Texas. As the queen and Stan converse, Barry and Sookie begin a wordless conversation that catches the attention of their employers. Sookie apologizes and asks if they can leave, since they are not needed during the visit. Barry and Sookie go to the lobby to practice combining their gifts to read the thoughts of those in the room. Sookie is suddenly confronted by a belligerent and threatening Jennifer Cater, who vows to take down Sophie-Anne and drain Sookie dry.

Quinn arrives and is greeted with delight by Sookie, much to Barry’s dismay. Barry, who knows Quinn by reputation, pushes him to tell a mystified Sookie about his past. As they talk, they are joined by one of the most frightening women Sookie has ever seen. The woman identifies herself as Batanya and tells them she is the bodyguard hired to protect the King of Kentucky. She begins to complain to Quinn about the dangerous lack of security at the summit, but Quinn explains that he is not involved in that aspect of the meeting and tells her whom to see. When she leaves to return to her employer, Quinn explains that she is a Britlingen, an elite bodyguard brought at great expense from another dimension. Quinn leaves to set up an impromptu wedding, and Sookie and Barry are called back to serve their respective employers.

Sookie waits for the visitors to leave Sophie-Anne’s suite before recounting the confrontation with Jennifer and the encounter with the Britlingen. The queen decides to call Jennifer and offers to negotiate with her. Jennifer agrees to see the queen, and after some dawdling, the party leaves to visit the room of the Arkansas contingent. Upon arriving at Jennifer’s door, they realize that something is wrong. A quick reconnoiter shows that Jennifer and her companions have been brutally murdered. Hotel security is called, and as the queen and her entourage answer questions, a distraught man suddenly appears and identifies himself as Henrik Feith, the only survivor of the Arkansas contingent. He escaped the massacre because he went downstairs to make a complaint to the management. Sophie-Anne immediately offers the terrified man a place with the Louisiana party, and he leaves with Sigebert to go to the queen’s suite to rest.

As the queen and her party continue downstairs, Mr. Cataliades recommends that Sophie-Anne marry immediately to form an alliance. Sookie suggests that the queen name Andre as King of Arkansas and marry him. Both vampires are pleased with the idea. They locate the booth in the convention hall where Bill is selling the database CDs, and Sookie gets to say a nervous hello to Russell Edgington, the King of Mississippi, who is getting married that evening to the King of Indiana, Bartlett Crowe. After Russell and Bart exchange vows—and blood—in a ceremony that Eric conducts, Sookie persuades Jake Purifoy to fill her in on Quinn’s past and learns he became famous as a pit fighter. Forced to go to the vampires for help when his mother was brutally attacked and raped, he was contracted to fight for them for three years and was known as a most ferocious and successful fighter. Jake also tells her that the event employee who passed out potpourri bags for the wedding is Quinn’s younger sister, Francine, a result of the rape. Disturbed by the story, Sookie leaves Jake to return to work for the queen. When Isaiah, the King of Kentucky, realizes that Sookie can sense his visually camouflaged Britlingens, he asks Sophie-Anne to dismiss her, so Sookie is sent to retrieve luggage that apparently belongs to the Louisiana party from down in the loading bay.

As Sookie turns to leave, she is approached by Andre and led into an isolated service corridor, where he informs her that she needs to be bound more tightly to either him or Sophie-Anne. He orders her to take his blood. She resists, and he is about to force her when Eric suddenly appears. Eric reminds Andre that he himself is pledged to Sophie-Anne and suggests that since he and Sookie already share a bond, it would be better for her to take his blood. Then he will be able to control her for Andre and the queen. Realizing that Eric is trying to protect her, Sookie is nevertheless furious when she is forced into a significant blood exchange with Eric in front of the watching Andre. Just as it is finished, an infuriated Quinn appears and demands an explanation. Sookie leaves, devastated, wondering what changes she will now face in her relationships with both Eric and Quinn. She locates the errant luggage and is taking it to Sophie-Anne’s room when she notices a soda can sitting discarded in a planter and decides to throw it away. The can is heavier than it should be. Sookie looks more closely. She realizes that it is a fake, probably some sort of bomb. The police are notified, and she stands frozen, afraid to put it down, until they arrive. Quinn demands she hand it to him, as he will heal better should it go off. Eric appears as well, called through the new blood bond by Sookie’s panic.

The bomb is finally taken by a vampire bomb-disposal expert, and Sookie and Quinn breathe a sigh of relief as they hug, while Eric slips quietly away. After being questioned by hotel security, Sookie returns to her room to find Quinn waiting for her in the hallway. After checking to see that her roommate is out, Sookie invites Quinn in, and they spend a quiet night sleeping in each other’s arms.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23. Sookie is dressed and waiting for Quinn to escort her to the ball when he calls with the news that the lawsuit against the queen is going to be heard immediately. She is escorted into the proceedings by Andre, who sits beside her. Sookie learns that the judge (a vampire) is the Ancient Pythoness, the blind oracle that Alexander the Great consulted. Henrik Feith has continued the case against Sophie-Anne. Sookie reads the mind of Henrik’s lawyer—and quite possibly that of Henrik—and learns that Henrik has been told the queen plans to kill him. He is pursuing the case in the hopes of saving his own life. Sookie stands and reassures the terrified man of the queen’s sincerity in offering him a place. The Ancient Pythoness eventually finds Sophie-Anne not guilty, and by the terms of her contract with her deceased husband, the queen inherits the entire kingdom he formerly controlled. Henrik is then asked to name the person who lied to him. Just as the terrified man is about to obey, he is struck in the heart by a wooden arrow thrown by a vampire in the audience. Quinn leaps across the stage to protect Sookie and takes a second arrow in his shoulder. Batanya decapitates the assassin with a throwing star as Sookie tries to aid Quinn.

Quinn is taken to the infirmary by Were paramedics for further treatment. Since the trial is over, the ball begins. Sookie enjoys dancing with Eric, but when she begins to dance with Barry, Eric steps in, disapproving of the way that she is shaking her assets on the dance floor. Barry slips away, and she and Eric have a confrontation that is only alleviated when two professional dancers, both vampires, step in to dance with the angry couple.

Sookie decides to find Quinn. She heads to Jake’s room to track Quinn’s whereabouts. Jake says he doesn’t know where Quinn is, and Sookie is disquieted when he tries to conceal that he has guests in his room. After finally locating Quinn in the infirmary, Sookie has an intense conversation with him about their relationship. As she leaves, Sookie finds Batanya’s second-in-command, Clovache, waiting for her. Clovache reveals that the King of Kentucky hired the Britlingens after discovering a Fellowship of the Sun spy in his entourage. She also discloses that the spy revealed under torture that a splinter group of the Fellowship is planning a strike of some kind against the vampires during the summit, and that she and Batanya feel that security is lax at the hotel.

Back in the ballroom, Sophie-Anne, now cleared of all charges, is enjoying her success at the ball. She releases Sookie from further duties. Sookie goes to her room to ponder what she has learned.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. Sookie joins Barry in the hotel restaurant for a late breakfast, and they look over their itineraries together. Later that evening there will be interstate vampire trials to attend, where they are to surreptitiously read the human witnesses, and they both wonder at the purpose of a four-hour block of time labeled “Commerce.” The waiter gives Sookie a packet from Bill with information on the four area archery ranges. Sookie asks Barry to accompany her as she investigates at Eric’s behest, looking for information on the vampire who threw the arrows the previous night. They hit pay dirt at the third range, and Barry takes over the questioning as a flirtatious employee offers to let them review the security tapes later. When they return, they find the door ripped off its hinges, two dead employees, and a smoldering pile of security tapes. They hurry back to the hotel, and Sookie reports to Eric, then goes to her room to dress for the vampire trials. She is astonished to find that vampire justice is swift and permanent; a vampire is staked when the judgment goes against him.

The commerce part of the evening consists of business deals between the various vampires. Sophie-Anne negotiates for goods and services to help her rebuild Louisiana, while Sookie assists by reading the minds of the human vendors. After they retire to the queen’s suite for drinks, Sookie realizes that Christian Baruch, the vampire hotelier in charge of the Pyramid, has his own agenda and is likely responsible for planting the soda-can bomb in an effort to alarm the queen, so she would blindly accept his protection and courtship. To Sookie’s surprise, Jake approaches her and strongly suggests she get Quinn to take her out the next day. He seems pleased when she agrees to consider his suggestion. As she is leaving for the night, Sookie alerts Andre to her suspicions about Baruch.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25. A panicked Barry speaking in her mind awakens Sookie. Pulling on her clothes, she hurries down the corridor to meet him and finds the unconscious body of Jake, apparently felled by the sun as he tried to reach her room. Barry joins her just as Sookie puts all the pieces together and realizes that Jake has taken part in the plot against the vampires. Calling Mr. Cataliades and Diantha while Barry gets his human roommate, Cecile, Sookie tells them she fears that bombs have been placed all over the hotel and will soon be detonated. Sookie calls Quinn to warn him and his sister, Frannie. Cecile pulls the fire alarm in the hopes that the human occupants will evacuate before the bombs destroy the building. They all run to try to save the vampires in their groups, and Sookie feels the first explosion just as she reaches the room Eric is sharing with Pam. She is barely able to rouse Eric, and together they place an unconscious Pam in her coffin and close the lid. More bombs are rocking the collapsing building as they push the coffin out the ninth-floor window. Wrapped in the ceremonial cloak he wore to officiate at the wedding, Eric is barely able to fly them both safely to the ground, and Pam’s coffin lands hard. Both vampires are burned, but they are taken to a nearby basement for treatment and protection. Sookie saves a seriously injured Bill and is greatly relieved when she locates Quinn. As she climbs over the destroyed building to reach Quinn, she discovers an unconscious Andre nearby. Quinn is terribly wounded, both his legs broken by fallen beams, and his sister, Frannie, is lying near him with a head injury, but when Sookie tells him an unconscious Andre is nearby, Quinn encourages her to leave them. Surprised, Sookie reluctantly goes to help others, but as she walks away, she hears Quinn begin to move and knows she will never have to fear that Andre will force her to take his blood again. Sookie locates Barry, and they begin to use their gifts to help rescue workers find those still alive but trapped in the rubble. They work all day to find survivors, but as evening begins to fall, they know they have to leave before they are forced to account for themselves with the authorities. Sookie is able to call Mr. Cataliades, who is in the basement with the vampires, and he calls a cab to take the two telepaths to a hotel for the night.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26. Mr. Cataliades arrives at the hotel with the news that a plane will be leaving in three hours, stopping first in Dallas and then in Shreveport, and that if they want a ride home, they need to be at the terminal. As they part, Sookie discovers that Quinn has been taken to a nearby hospital. She elects to visit him rather than catch the plane. Sookie finds Quinn unconscious with a weary, hungry, filthy Frannie at his bedside. She gives the younger girl money for a change of clothes and a meal, and Frannie offers Sookie the use of her car to drive home, since she will have to take Quinn home in his van.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28. After two days of driving, a relieved Sookie returns home to an ecstatic welcome by Amelia. Tara soon arrives with the news that she and JB du Rone have gotten married. Sookie tries to be happy for her friends and tells herself that if she just stays away from vampires and Weres for a while, she’ll be okay.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

TO: WILLIAM COMPTON

BY THE ORDER OF OUR QUEEN, YOU ARE SUMMONED TO A MEETING WITH ANDRE PAUL TOMORROW NIGHT AT FANGTASIA.

ERIC NORTHMAN,

SHERIFF OF AREA FIVE

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill.”

BILL: “Eric.”

ERIC: “Quinn is in town.”

BILL: “Yes.”

ERIC: “Is he with Sookie?”

BILL: “Is that any of your business, Eric?”

ERIC: “I like to know who my employees are associating with.”

BILL: “Your employee? I believe that Sookie is in the employ of the queen, not you. If Sophie-Anne calls to ask me who Sookie is spending time with, then I’ll see what I can find out. Not until then.”

ERIC : “As if you don’t already know.” (Silence.)

ERIC : “Need I remind you that you are still a resident in my territory?” BILL: “I remember that quite well, Eric. I am also in the employment of the queen and am too busy performing my duties in preparation for the summit to spy for you. And as you well know, Sophie-Anne trumps you every time.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “Bill, did you go upstairs? What has happened?”

BILL : “There has been trouble on Jennifer Cater’s floor. I believe the Arkansas vampires are all dead, except perhaps one.”

ERIC : “Well. That’s certainly convenient.” BILL : “My thoughts exactly.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC : “The trial is going forward. Meet us in the exhibit room where the wedding was held.”

BILL : “Has Sookie been contacted?”

ERIC : “Yes, Andre sent her a message. He’ll wait for her and escort her in. We will kneel before our queen to show our support.”

In person:

ERIC : “Please get a picture of Kyle Perkins to Sookie. Tomorrow she will be looking for the place where Kyle learned to throw the arrows with such accuracy.”

BILL : “I’ll provide the locations of the local archery ranges as well.” ERIC: “Good thinking. You can leave them for her at the front desk.”

In person:

ERIC : “Sookie and Barry found the archery range, but the employees have been killed and the security tapes destroyed.”

BILL : “Who else knew you were sending Sookie out to look?”

ERIC : “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

BILL : “I’m a judge for the first judicial sessions, so I must go. Think this over carefully, Eric: Who is the enemy here?”

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2005. While working at the Bellefleur double wedding with Sam, Sookie is surprised when she is asked by a tearful Halleigh to be a fill-in bridesmaid after one of the original bridesmaids has an appendicitis attack. Sookie participates in the ceremony and requisite pictures, then changes back into her work clothes to tend bar. Portia’s new husband, Glen, has invited several of his vampire clients and honors them with a bottle of Royalty Blended, a premium mixture of real and synthetic blood, so that they can toast the happy newlyweds. Jonathan, a Nevada vampire, introduces himself as he gets another drink at the bar, and Sookie is a little concerned at his interest in her. She notices a tall, slim man observing the proceedings from a distance, a man whom the vampires all acknowledge with nods of respect.

Jonathan startles her as she is getting into her car and claims to have spoken to Pam about her, but Sookie knows he is lying. As they speak, she again sees the slender stranger watching them.

Sookie returns home and recounts her extraordinary evening to her roommate, Amelia. Amelia has her own news. Her father, Copley Carmichael, a wealthy building contractor from New Orleans, is visiting the next evening.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9. Sookie attends church in the morning, stopping at the grocery store before heading home to help Amelia, who has been on a cleaning spree. Her father arrives. He is a clear broadcaster like Amelia. Since Sookie has no trouble picking thoughts out of his head, she is able to control her reaction when Copley deliberately brings up Sookie’s cousin Hadley. He tells Sookie that he knows Hadley’s ex-husband and child. Copley also tells Amelia that a woman named Octavia Fant has called his house, looking for her. After he leaves, Amelia reveals to Sookie that Octavia is her mentor and the head of her coven. Octavia is the reason she left New Orleans after her magical mishap with Bob, convinced there would be a terrible punishment for turning her lover into a cat. Resigned, Amelia knows that she will soon have to deal with Octavia. She also confesses that Eric called the previous evening but that she had forgotten to tell Sookie. Anxious to ask him about the strange incident with Jonathan, Sookie calls Eric at Fangtasia. To her surprise, Eric invites her out to dinner and informs her that he will be introducing her to someone who has asked to meet her. Intrigued, she agrees to go to dinner with him in Shreveport the next evening.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10. When Sookie and Eric arrive at Les Deux Poissons restaurant, she discovers that the man she is to meet is the beautiful stranger she saw at the wedding. He shows her his ears, and she realizes he is a member of the fae. Eric introduces the man as Niall Brigant, then leaves after reassuring Sookie that he will be nearby if she needs him. To her astonishment, Niall tells her he is her great-grandfather. As the evening progresses, Sookie learns the story of her grandmother Adele’s involvement with Niall’s son Fintan, who is revealed as her true grandfather. She shares part of her own life. By the time they part, she is pleased, albeit disconcerted, to have found a loving new member of her family. Eric and Sookie are speeding back toward Bon Temps when they are pulled over by a police car. As the officer approaches, Sookie realizes something is wrong and that the man is a Were just as he reaches the open window with gun drawn. When he tries to shoot Sookie, Eric takes the bullet but is still able to disarm the Were by breaking his arm. As a bleeding Eric gets caught in bloodlust and begins to pull the assassin in through the window, Sookie gets out of the suddenly crowded Corvette and checks the attacker’s car to see if she can discover who sent him and why. Eric’s car is empty when she returns, but Eric appears beside her and kisses her, still caught up in the lust of feeding. They quickly get back on the road, and Sookie doesn’t question what Eric has done with the body. When she arrives home, Amelia tells her that Alcide called.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11. Octavia Fant appears on Sookie’s doorstep, informing Sookie that she is there to see Amelia. Sookie leaves them to talk and goes in to make herself some coffee and read the paper. She is shocked and saddened to read of the death of Maria-Star Cooper, Alcide Herveaux’s girlfriend, and her grief is compounded when Alcide calls to tell her that Maria-Star was murdered, warning Sookie that she may be in danger herself. She tells him about the attack the night before by the Were, and he immediately offers protection. However, Sookie declines. Alcide asks Sookie to tell Amanda, a member of his pack, the entire story. Amanda inquires if Amelia can do some sort of reading to try to ascertain who was involved in Maria-Star’s death. Amelia agrees, but Octavia questions her decision, pointing out the previous failure that led to Bob’s transformation. Sookie challenges Octavia to turn Bob back herself, but she fails in her attempt. Amelia, Sookie, and Octavia then go to Maria-Star’s home, where they meet up with Tray Dawson, a Bon Temps lone wolf, who is guarding the apartment. The two witches are able to perform an ectoplasmic reconstruction, and they all witness Maria-Star’s murder by the Were Cal Myers and a half-wolf, half-man accomplice. Amelia and Octavia leave for home, and Sookie accompanies Tray to Amanda’s house, where Alcide is lying low. Sookie and Tray report what they have learned about Maria-Star’s death. The Weres involved in her murder as well as in the attack on Sookie all work for the current packmaster, Patrick Furnan. When Alcide reacts angrily to the information that Sookie had dinner with Eric, she loses her temper with him and storms out. Tray drives her home.

Already weary from the events of the day, Sookie goes to work and is disheartened to see members of the Fellowship of the Sun in the bar. To her surprise, Pam comes in, followed shortly by Amelia, and the two have drinks and then leave on a date. The Fellowship members are indignant about a vampire being in the bar, but after they leave, Sam tells Sookie she must suck it up and treat them as she would any other customers. She knows he is right, but the admonishment stings. She leaves quickly after closing and finds Tray waiting for her in the parking lot. The Were tells her that he is following her home to check out her house. Once he makes certain the house is clear, they sit down, and he informs her that Alcide found Christine Larrabee, the widow of a previous packmaster, dead that afternoon. Patrick Furnan is suspected in both Christine’s and Maria-Star’s deaths.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12. Sookie visits the local library and greets the librarian, Barbara Beck, wife of Detective Alcee Beck, before checking out the new book arrivals. Sookie hears a sound from Barbara and looks up to see her being held by a huge Were with a knife to her throat. Sookie senses Alcee coming quietly in the back door and warns the attacker in a loud voice what Barbara’s husband will do to him if he hurts Barbara. Alcee is able to silently come up behind them and put his gun to the assailant’s neck, but the quick-thinking attacker pushes Barbara toward her husband and rushes, knife raised, at Sookie. She flings a hardback in his face, tripping him, and he falls to his death on his own knife.

A fed-up Sookie finally decides to confront Furnan, and she calls him and demands to know why he has ordered the attacks upon her and the murders of the Were females. An angry and frightened Furnan denies any involvement and claims that his own wife, Libby, has been kidnapped. Sookie convinces him to call Alcide and set up a meeting, but his one condition is that she attend as a friend of the pack to read both sides for honesty.

Later that night Sookie, accompanied by a concerned Sam, travels to the same industrial park where the packmaster contest was held. She grasps Alcide’s and Furnan’s hands as they question each other. Just as they realize that neither of them is responsible for the attacks and murders, a voice calls from the roof of a nearby building. Priscilla Hebert, the widow of a packmaster from another part of the state and Cal Myers’s half sister, announces that she committed the murders of Maria-Star, Christine, and Libby in a plot to set Alcide and Furnan against each other so that she could more easily take over their pack. Both Alcide and Furnan strike with suddenly clawed hands, Furnan eviscerating Cal as Alcide takes off the back of his head. Howling with fury, Priscilla leads her wolves in attack, and Sam and Sookie find themselves in the middle of the warring Weres. Sam tells her he is going to change, and a surprised Sookie turns to find that Sam has shifted into a lion. Taking down the enemy with a swipe of his huge paws, Sam draws the attention of Priscilla, now a wolf. Amanda, also in wolf form, attempts to distract Priscilla as she works her way over to Sam, but Priscilla manages to break Amanda’s neck and leaps on the lion, sinking her teeth into his neck. Seeing Sam attacked, Sookie launches herself onto Priscilla’s back and begins to strangle her. Priscilla must release Sam, who then turns and kills her. When Sookie falls to the pavement, vulnerable, Claudine suddenly appears standing over her to protect her through the remaining battle. When the action finally ends, Priscilla and most of her wolves, as well as Furnan and Amanda, are dead, and Alcide declares himself the new packmaster.

Claudine helps Sookie to her feet and reveals that Niall is also Claudine’s grandfather. She urges Sookie to leave before the wolves celebrate the ascension of Alcide, and Sam marches Sookie out to his truck.

When she gets home, Sookie finds Pam sitting in the kitchen with Amelia, and Sookie knows that the vampire will report the events of the evening back to Eric.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13. Sookie works the day shift and is not pleased when Tanya Grissom shows up to speak with Sam. Her fellow waitress Holly tells her that Tanya has been living out at Hotshot with the panthers, and Sookie is surprised to find that Holly believes that the shifters will come out someday. Sookie again finds Pam at her house with Amelia when she returns home from work that evening and questions Pam about whether Eric has heard anything more about Jonathan. Pam suggests Sookie call Eric to find out, so she calls Fangtasia. During the conversation, Sookie learns to her dismay that Eric believes that the queen’s weakened state has left Louisiana open to a hostile takeover.

Uneasy and unable to sleep, Sookie is startled when Bill suddenly appears in her bedroom. He reports that Pam called him to come guard Sookie when she herself left for Fangtasia after becoming concerned because she couldn’t reach either Eric or Cleo Babbitt, the sheriff of Area Three. A terrified Frannie Quinn appears suddenly at the door with a warning from her brother. The vampires of Las Vegas are on their way to take over Louisiana. As a shocked Sookie, Amelia, and Bill hear Frannie’s story and are preparing for the worst, Eric arrives with the news that his people have gathered at Fangtasia, but he was cut off from the club.

The Vegas vampires arrive in Sookie’s yard, and the king’s representative, Victor Madden, asks to enter the house to negotiate with Eric. Sookie is distressed to learn that Quinn is with the Vegas vampires, who have used his mother and sister to blackmail him into their service. Victor reports that Sophie-Anne and the other sheriffs have been killed, but they feel Eric can be useful to them if he will swear allegiance to the King of Nevada, Felipe de Castro. Sookie attempts to call Niall, but Eric prevents her from making contact. Victor finally asks Eric whether he intends to fight to the death or accept the takeover, informing him that Fangtasia is surrounded and that he is prepared to burn it down with the Area Five vampires inside. Knowing that his people will die for nothing, Eric accepts the sovereignty of the king. Eric wanders off to have some privacy as he calls Fangtasia to tell his people to surrender and swear fealty to the new king. Bill comforts a shaken Sookie and then goes out to speak with the new leadership.

Sookie escapes to her bedroom only to find Eric sitting on her bed, his head in his hands. When she sees his face, Sookie believes that the shock on it is because of the takeover, but he tells her he has suddenly remembered everything that happened between them during the time he spent with her when he had amnesia. Overwhelmed by the events of the evening, Sookie tells him they will talk about it another time. Eric agrees but warns there will one day be a reckoning between them.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14. Sookie wakes to find Quinn sitting in her bedroom. Realizing she can never be first in his life because of the needs of his mother and sister, Sookie breaks off their relationship and sends the man she had hoped to love away. She gathers herself and goes to work, buying Crystal lunch when her pregnant sister-in-law comes in with Jason, who is fed up with his wife’s spendthrift ways and now refuses to give her any money. Sookie and Sam later read in the newspaper about several people missing in Shreveport who actually perished in the Were war. Sookie then sees the obituary of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, which lists the cause of death as Sino-AIDS, but Sookie knows the weakened queen was assassinated by order of Felipe de Castro. Sookie arrives home after work to face even more unwelcome visitors: Frannie Quinn and her mother. Frannie is furious with Sookie for her treatment of Quinn, and although Mrs. Quinn is generally confused, she identifies Sookie as the woman her son loved.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15. Copley Carmichael stops by Sookie’s house to ask her to arrange an introduction to members of the new vampire leadership so that he can do business with them. She reluctantly agrees to call Fangtasia to see what she can find out. Sookie leaves the house to run errands—and get away from Copley as he visits with his daughter—and comes across Arlene and Tanya having a conversation in Tanya’s car in the Sonic parking lot. Sookie deliberately tries to tune them in, first picking up Arlene’s thoughts about her new boyfriend’s conviction that the world should be free of vampires. She zeros in on Tanya, discovering that she is still in the pay of Sandra Pelt, who continues to be determined to make Sookie’s life miserable. Sookie decides to consult Amelia and confesses the entire story of Debbie Pelt’s death. They decide to bring in Octavia to try to find a long-term fix without hurting Tanya.

Sookie remembers her promise to Copley, and right before she goes into work she calls Fangtasia to ask Eric whom Copley should contact. During the conversation Eric tells her more of his memories of their time together. Claudine and Claude come into Merlotte’s to bring greetings from Niall, who is concerned about his great-granddaughter. Copley has obviously jumped on the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the new vampires and arrives for a meeting with Sandy Sechrest, Felipe de Castro’s area rep.

Sam and Sookie talk a bit after closing, and he tells her about his family, inviting her to his brother’s upcoming wedding. As they leave the bar, they come across Niall standing in the moonlight, and Sookie introduces him to Sam. Niall is worried that Sookie has been in danger the previous two nights and is not at all happy that she was prevented from calling him for protection during the takeover. He expresses his love for his great-granddaughter and his desire to do something for her, but Sookie tells him she just wants him in her life. After he leaves, she tells Sam that she wants to love Niall but finds him a little frightening.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16. Sookie awakens to find Octavia and Amelia in the kitchen discussing how to deal with Tanya. Much to Sookie’s surprise, she realizes that Amelia has already invited Octavia to move in, based on a casual offer of Sookie’s. The two witches have Sookie ask Calvin Norris, who is currently seeing Tanya, to stop by at lunchtime. The leader of the Hotshot werepanthers immediately knows to whom Sookie is referring when she tells him that they have a problem. When Sookie tells Calvin the whole story of her involvement with the Pelts, he promises to bring Tanya there that night for the witches to work on if they promise that Tanya won’t be harmed. Bob the cat strolls in, and Calvin recognizes straightaway that Amelia’s magic doesn’t always work.

True to his word, Calvin arrives shortly after seven that evening with Tanya carefully trussed up and slung over his shoulder. After the struggling young woman inhales smoke from a potion lit in a bowl, she is placed on a chair surrounded by chalk drawings, and Octavia begins to chant, pulling Tanya out from under Sandra’s sway. When the spell is over, Tanya doesn’t remember why she has been causing the mischief she has and is rid of Sandra’s influence. A relieved Calvin takes Tanya back to Hotshot.

Sookie takes a break outside while the witches clean up. She sits in a lawn chair out in the chill night air. Bill soon steps from the woods and sits with her. After a few moments of silence, Bill tells Sookie that Selah Pumphrey has moved to Little Rock to work for a firm that specializes in vampire properties and that he always knew that Selah was more interested in him as a vampire than as a man. After telling Sookie that there have been many like Selah, he informs Sookie that there is only one her and leaves.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 17. After the turmoil of the previous week, Sookie enjoys a quiet and peaceful day off.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18. Sookie works the day shift, serving lunch to Jason and several of his co-workers. Jason tells her that he needs to ride over to Clarice to pick up some fencing after work and asks her to check on Crystal after her shift. Sookie stops by his house, calling out to Crystal as she opens the front door. She hears a muffled moan and, worried that Crystal is miscarrying again, rushes into the bedroom, only to find her pregnant sister-in-law having sex with one of Jason’s co-workers. As Sookie marches out of the house, furious and disgusted, Calvin pulls up, having also been asked by Jason to check in on Crystal. Jason knew that both Calvin and Sookie would catch his wife being unfaithful. Calvin shares Sookie’s anger and disgust, informing her that they will need to have the ceremony to punish Crystal. Sookie remembers that at the couple’s wedding, she agreed to stand in for Jason just as Calvin agreed to stand in for Crystal under certain circumstances. Calvin calls Sookie later that evening to tell her to come to Hotshot the following night.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19. Sookie drives out to Hotshot alone after work, determined to face whatever may come. As Calvin stood for Crystal at her wedding, promising to take the punishment for her actions should she violate the covenant and be unable to face the penalty herself, Jason declares that Sookie will administer the punishment to Calvin in his stead as well. The sentence for the breaking of the wedding vows is the breaking of the symbolic panther claw, and Sookie is forced to break Calvin’s fingers with a brick.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20–FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21. Sookie struggles with her actions as she tries to go about her life. She knows that she was only following the laws of Hotshot, but she feels guilty for hurting a man she respects and considers a friend. Unwilling to even speak to Jason, she turns her back on him when he comes into the bar. She hears through the grapevine that Calvin has passed his injury off as the result of an accident that occurred while he was working on his truck.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22. Sam finally calls Eric in to speak to Sookie, hoping to find out what is wrong. She is angered by Eric’s lack of compassion and stomps out of Sam’s office, but she eventually manages to shake her black mood. When she leaves work, she finds Eric waiting for her in the parking lot. She asks him about the visiting Nevada king, Felipe de Castro, and they are both startled when Castro suddenly appears to talk with Eric. After introducing herself to the dramatic King of Nevada, Louisiana, and Arkansas, Sookie gets in her car to go home, but she has to pull over when she suffers a panic attack caused by her worry over Eric. She heads back to Merlotte’s, parking in the front lot and sneaking around to the back, uncertain of what she will find. To her shock, she sees that Sigebert, Sophie-Anne’s loyal bodyguard, didn’t die with his queen and has come seeking vengeance. Both Eric and Felipe are bound with silver chains, obviously having already suffered at Sigebert’s hands. Sam, an innocent bystander, is tied to the bumper of his own truck. Sookie decides that her best weapon is her car, and she creeps back to it, trying to figure out the best way to charge Sigebert without hitting anyone else. Pulling around to the back, she accelerates and is able to hit him from the front and then back over him. She jumps from the car to free Eric but is unable to unwrap the chains. She frees Sam first so he can help. The moment Eric is able he leaps on Sigebert and decapitates him, sending him to join his beloved maker. Felipe proclaims himself in Sookie’s debt, but he and Eric both wonder how it is Sigebert survived the takeover. Sam takes Sookie home, questioning her about whether the price she has paid to know more about the supernatural world has been worth it.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23. Having been contacted by Felipe, Tray Dawson has repaired Sookie’s car and returns it to her in the morning before she is due for her shift at Merlotte’s. The big Were asks her to put in a good word for him with Amelia.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24. Running errands in town, Sookie sees Alcide, who thanks her for her help. When she returns home, Amelia and Octavia are working in the yard, and as they talk, Bob strolls over. Octavia proves her power by turning Bob back into his human form, later admitting that she faked her initial failure so that Amelia and Sookie would need her. Bob’s initial anger turns to devastation as he learns about Hurricane Katrina.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25. Sookie takes Bob to Wal-Mart to buy clothing and shoes, and she fixes an early supper of his favorite foods for them all before leaving for work. She says good-bye to Bob, knowing he will be gone by the time she comes home. He is heading back to New Orleans to find his family. Sookie contemplates getting a real cat on her way to work.

Alcide stops by Merlotte’s to thank both Sam and Sookie for their help in the Were war, and Eric and Pam soon arrive to announce that Felipe has given them leave to offer Sookie their formal protection. Sam, Sookie, and Arlene decorate the bar for Halloween after closing.

Sookie finds Niall waiting for her on her front porch when she gets home, and he again asks if he can do any favor for her. After a bit of thought, she asks if he can find a man named Remy Savoy. He leaves, happy to have some way to please his new great-granddaughter.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26. Sookie wakes to find a magical message with an address. Sookie drives out to Red Ditch to introduce herself to Hadley’s former husband, Remy, and his four-year-old son, Hunter. She finds that the child shares her telepathic gift. When she leaves, she promises his father that she will be there to help the boy when the time comes.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill, did you see a strange vampire at the Bellefleur wedding?”

BILL: “I saw several who were not familiar to me. They were mainly business associates of Portia’s groom. Is there one in particular you are asking about?”

ERIC: “Sookie has told me of an Asian vampire called Jonathan who claimed he had heard a lot about her and is staying in the area. He told her that he had checked in with me, but he has not. I’m concerned that he would bother to lie.”

BILL: “I’ll see what I can find in the database, but Asian and the first name Jonathan are not much to go on. If that even really is his name.”

ERIC: “I’m seeing Sookie tomorrow night. I’ll see if she can remember anything more about him.”

BILL: “You’re seeing Sookie? I thought she was still with Quinn.”

ERIC: “She hasn’t heard from him since Rhodes, but this is not that kind of seeing. I’m introducing her to someone who wishes to meet her.”

BILL: “Someone who wants to meet her? Is this someone you trust?”

ERIC: “Yes.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill, have you discovered anything?

BILL: “I’m still working on it. I’ve eliminated several possibilities and am pursuing several others.”

ERIC: “Something is definitely going on.”

BILL: “Did something else happen?”

ERIC: “Yes. We were attacked on the way home.”

BILL: “Vampire?”

ERIC: “Were.”

BILL: “But you still think there is some connection?”

ERIC: “I don’t know.”

BILL: “Was the assailant after you or Sookie?”

ERIC: “I took the bullet, but I believe he was after Sookie.”

BILL: “Do you still trust this person you took her to meet?”

ERIC: “Yes. He would do nothing to harm her.”

BILL: “I’ll continue my research and call you as soon as I find anything definite.”

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill, the Shreveport pack is divided and going to war. I believe the attack on the way home the other night was part of that, an attempt to kill a friend of the pack, because Sookie is Alcide’s friend, not Furnan’s, although I’m not certain she considers Alcide a friend.”

BILL: “That makes sense, but it doesn’t explain the vampire Jonathan at the wedding. Is Sookie being attacked on two fronts? The last time she was stalked by a vampire, it was because of the death of Long Shadow. Has your disagreement with Hot Rain been resolved? Or is he even more determined now that his child and his acquired child have met their final death?”

ERIC: “The judgment was upheld, and I have heard nothing more from Hot Rain since Twining’s death. After losing two I don’t think he will send any more after us.”

BILL: “Then who?”

ERIC: “That’s what we need to find out.”

BILL: “What of the pack war?”

ERIC: “Despite the bullet I took, it is none of our affair. We will intercede only for vampire interests or to protect Sookie.”

BILL: “Understood.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL: “Eric, the Were situation has been resolved. Alcide Herveaux is now packmaster of the Shreveport pack.”

ERIC: “I assume Sookie is fine.”

BILL: “Yes. Merlotte was there to protect her, and I understand Claudine stepped in as well.”

ERIC: “Claudine. Of course she would.”

BILL: “I’m told the vampire Jonathan has been seen in other places.”

ERIC: “He has. He had even come to Fangtasia, coincidentally enough on a rare night I was not there. I’m very suspicious. We are not in a strong position with Sophie-Anne disabled and Andre dead.”

BILL: “You are the strongest sheriff of the four of you.”

ERIC: “Yes.”

BILL: “Yet you do not wish to lead.”

ERIC: “No.”

BILL: “Then we can only do what we can with what we have.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

ERIC’S VOICE MAIL: “It is Eric. Leave a message.”

BILL: “Eric, Pam was unable to contact Cleo. She has gone to Fangtasia. Call us as soon as you get this message.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

ERIC’S VOICE MAIL: “It is Eric. Leave a message.”

BILL: “Eric, the Las Vegas vamps are attempting a takeover. They have already attacked some of the other sheriffs and are surrounding Fangtasia as we speak. I’m here at Sookie’s. Call me!”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL: “Do you have time to speak with me, Eric?”

ERIC: “You phrased that so well, Bill. Yes, I am alone. In my car, in fact. Hosting Felipe and his entourage has been rather stressful, so I decided to take a drive.”

BILL: “Who was Sookie trying to call?”

ERIC: “When?”

BILL: “Don’t be evasive, Eric. When you knocked her phone from her hand.”

ERIC: “Ah, well, perhaps it’s better that you know. You are closest to her if she needs help. She was calling her great-grandfather.”

BILL: “Sookie has no living great-grandparents.”

ERIC: “Actually, she does. His name is Niall Brigant.”

BILL: “Niall Brigant, as in Prince of the Fairies?”

ERIC: “I didn’t know you knew him.”

BILL: “I don’t, but I’ve heard of him. Well, that explains some things, doesn’t it?”

ERIC: “Yes. So now there is yet another player in the game.”

BILL: “Yes, but is he friend or foe?”

ERIC: “I get the distinct impression that he will be friend to Sookie’s friends and enemy to her enemies. But I could not involve him in our battle. That would have been the end for too many of us. On both sides.”

BILL: “I agree.”

ERIC: “While I have you, I did want to give you a heads-up that Felipe wants to meet with you to discuss your database business.”

BILL: “When?”

ERIC: “Within the next week. I’d advise you to drive a hard bargain. He is enterprising, and I’m certain he will want you to branch out into other computer endeavors. And for the time being, at least, I believe he is willing to be more generous than Sophie-Anne to keep you content.”

BILL: “I’ll await his call. Thank you.”

ERIC: “You’re welcome.”

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2006. When Sookie arrives for her evening shift, Sam tells her that the shifters are ready to reveal themselves on TV and in various public locations. Her brother, Jason, and some friends are in the bar, as are Bill and fellow vampire Clancy, and Tray and Amelia soon enter. Sam comes out of the office just as the bar television flashes a “Special Report,” and everyone at Merlotte’s watches as the shifters announce their existence to the world. To the amazement of the bar patrons, Sam and Tray step forward and change. Sam in collie form takes his place beside a smiling Sookie, while werewolf Tray is hugged by his girlfriend, Amelia. Although most of the patrons begin to accept the shifters, Arlene reacts with anger and hate, quitting and storming out of the bar with her Fellowship of the Sun friends. A happy Sam has just changed back to his human form when he receives a call from his stepfather, who did not know about his wife’s other nature. He tells Sam that he shot her (though not fatally) when she shifted in front of him. Sookie agrees to watch the bar as a distraught Sam leaves to be with his family.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11. Sookie goes into Merlotte’s early to work on finding a replacement for Arlene. When none of her first choices are available, she reluctantly contacts Tanya Grissom, tracking her down at Calvin Norris’s house in Hotshot. Tanya agrees to pick up a few shifts in the evenings, and they arrange for her to start the next night. Terry Bellefleur handles bar duty while Sookie works a double shift in Arlene’s absence. Sam calls at closing to let Sookie know that his mom is expected to make a full recovery and that his stepfather is in jail.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12. Duff, Merlotte’s beer-delivery driver, calls Sookie at home when no one is at the bar to accept a shipment, so she rushes to the bar, nervously signing the invoice on Sam’s behalf. She remains at Merlotte’s and is on the phone with Amelia when Bobby Burnham, Eric’s daytime guy, arrives. Amelia tells her that Eric called the night before and that Octavia finally told Bobby this morning where Sookie could be found. Bobby tells Sookie that Eric has requested that she come to Fangtasia that evening to meet with Victor Madden, the lieutenant of Felipe de Castro, the new king of Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as Nevada. Sookie agrees, and Bobby hands her a black velvet bundle, telling her to present it to Eric in front of Victor. After Bobby leaves, Sookie goes about her day. The customers and employees at Merlotte’s continue to adjust to the news about the existence of shifters. Tanya arrives early for a little brushup training before her shift, and Sookie is able to head to Shreveport in time for the meeting.

Pam greets Sookie as she enters and instructs her to go into Eric’s office and respectfully present the velvet package to Eric. Victor watches as Eric receives the velvet bundle from Sookie, dramatically opening it to reveal the shining ceremonial knife that he used to officiate the vampire marriage in Rhodes and later used to cut himself during the blood bond. As Eric kisses the knife, she becomes uncomfortably aware that she does not understand the ramifications of all that is happening. She is stunned when Victor states that Quinn had requested a private meeting with her that will now be denied and that Felipe will acknowledge Eric’s prior claim on Sookie. Her discomfort gives way to anger as the vampires explain that shifters who do business with the vampires must get Eric’s permission to enter Area Five, a stipulation he specifically negotiated when he allied with the new regime. She becomes even more furious when Victor explains that because she and Eric used the ceremonial knife in a blood ritual, they are now effectively wed under vampire law. Her outrage is not assuaged when Eric tries to appease her by claiming that his actions were taken for her own good, and she leaves, promising him that they will discuss this later.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13. Sam calls with a quick update about his mom’s condition. Sookie is shocked when she is visited by Agent Sara Weiss from the New Orleans office of the FBI and Special Agent Tom Lattesta from the Rhodes branch. After showing Sookie a photograph of herself and Barry the Bellboy in the ruins of the bombed hotel, they begin to question her about Barry and the events of that terrible day. The phone rings, and a shaken Amelia interrupts them to tell Sookie that she is needed at Merlotte’s because a woman has been crucified in the parking lot.

Sookie arrives at the bar with the FBI agents in tow. Sookie is devastated to see that the woman is her pregnant sister-in-law, Crystal. She calls Sam as the police begin to gather evidence. A stunned Jason, notified of the death, arrives first, followed shortly thereafter by a grief-stricken Calvin Norris, who is accompanied by Tanya Grissom. Sookie escorts the Hotshot leader back to the scene, where he hopes to get a scent of his niece’s killer. He tries to force his way through to her body but is stopped by the law-enforcement agents present, and Sookie is moved by Sheriff Bud Dearborn’s careful treatment of Calvin, realizing that the old sheriff was aware of the panthers long before the Great Reveal. Jason’s friend Mel Hart arrives and persuades the dazed Jason to go home while Calvin waits for Crystal’s body to be taken down from the cross. Sookie decides to leave when the police tell her that Merlotte’s will remain closed for several more hours at least. When she doesn’t get word that it is okay to reopen by the time darkness falls, Sookie heads to Fangtasia to see Eric.

Sookie is comforted by Eric’s presence and listens quietly when he begins to tell her of his early life and how he was turned by Appius Livius Ocella. She then shares her concern about the FBI’s interest in her and Barry, and her fears that they want her to work for them. Eric explains that he wed her in the vampire way to protect her from King Felipe who, even though he owes her a debt, wants to take her to Las Vegas to use her gift to help him in his business dealings. Sookie wants details about their pledge but is too weary from the day’s events to pursue the conversation and goes home.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14. Andy Bellefleur gives the okay to open the bar, and Sookie is relieved when Sam walks in as she is setting up for the day. His mother is healing, but the situation with his stepfather is very tense. When Sookie reveals her marriage to Eric, Sam’s reaction causes her to leave Merlotte’s in a fury. She turns to her best friend, Tara, for advice, telling her the whole story. Tara says that while Sookie could have been smarter about the situation, only the vampires will know about the pledge and she has time to figure things out. Despite her own bad past with vampires, Tara concedes that there are benefits to Sookie’s relationship with Eric. Tara then shares her own news: She is pregnant, and she is fiercely determined to give her baby the childhood she never had.

Returning to her own house for lunch, Sookie takes a phone message for Octavia from Louis Chambers. When she hands Octavia the note with Louis’s phone number, it is obvious that the gentleman means a great deal to Octavia, and she promptly returns his call.

Sookie enters Merlotte’s to work her shift that evening to find Sam arguing with Bobby Burnham, who hands her an envelope and tells her that Eric has instructed him to always be at her disposal, much to his humiliation. Sookie enters the dining area and sees agents Weiss and Lattesta at one table and her great-grandfather, Niall, at another. Niall informs Sookie that the agents have been discussing her, and she tells him her fears about being forced to work for the FBI. She asks if he knows about Crystal, and although he has shown no interest in Jason, he tells Sookie that he is always concerned when someone connected to him dies and will look into it. He then makes a vague comment about there being trouble and assures her that he will take care of it, but advises her to be wary of fairies she does not know. She and Sam remain on the outs for the evening.

Louis Chambers has arrived to take Octavia back to New Orleans by the time Sookie gets off work. After they leave, Amelia tells Sookie that he is a sorcerer, and the two agree that the older couple has little to fear in the Big Easy.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15. Andy and Agent Lattesta come by in the morning to discuss Crystal’s death, and after they leave, a slightly chilly Sookie is sunbathing in her yard when she is surprised by a visit from Diantha, who brings a message from Mr. Cataliades. The lawyer has sent his niece to warn Sookie that fairies are moving about in this world and that they will try to hurt her if they can. Sookie learns from Diantha that Niall has many enemies, the most important one being the other fairy prince, his nephew Breandan. When Diantha leaves, Sookie calls her fae cousins Claudine and Claude to meet her for a talk, during which she learns about her fae lineage and why her great-grandfather has enemies. She is told that Breandan hates all humans with fairy blood and believes they should be eliminated because they dilute the fae magic. He wants to close off Faery from the contamination of humans. Claude and Claudine also warn her that her great-uncle Dermot is the spitting image of her brother, Jason, and that she should be very careful because he was involved in her parents’ deaths.

Disturbed by the warnings, a restless Sookie returns home and decides to work off her disquiet by weeding the flower beds. She is busy with her old trowel when she suddenly hears someone say, “I’ll enjoy killing you for my lord,” and she instinctively lunges upward, shoving the trowel into the speaker’s stomach. As he falls to the ground, she retreats into her house, locks the doors, and calls Niall. Her great-grandfather arrives with his son Dillon, the father of Claudine and Claude, and is pleased that she has killed one of his enemies. As the body disintegrates into a fine glittery dust, Niall warns her again and then leaves.

A troubled Sookie is pondering the events of the day when Quinn unexpectedly pulls up. Feeling Eric’s rage at Quinn’s presence through the blood bond, Sookie becomes upset as Quinn questions why she is harder on him than on anyone else and voices his fear that Eric is trying to cut her off from the others who care about her. Alerted by Eric, Bill arrives, and the two men begin to fight. When an angry Quinn throws Bill with all his strength, he cannons into the helpless Sookie, knocking her unconscious. She wakes in her darkened bedroom with Eric. The taste of his blood is on her tongue. The passion between them ignites. After lovemaking, Eric and Sookie talk, and she tells him of the events of the day. Eric invites a stunned Sookie to move in with him but is surprised when she gently declines. They discuss their feelings for each other, and Eric regretfully leaves for his home. As Sookie looks out her kitchen window, she sees Bill silently watching over her from the woods.

MONDAY, JANUARY 16. A forlorn Jason visits, waiting for Sookie out in the backyard. While she believes she will be able to forgive him for his past actions, their relationship remains strained. He asks her to attend Crystal’s funeral and tells her that if she hears who killed his wife, either she can tell the police or she can simply tell him and Calvin, and they will take care of it.

Sookie is surprised to have a message from Arlene asking her to come over to her house to talk. When she learns from Sam that Arlene has tried to get her job back and that he is planning to refuse, Sookie decides to visit her former friend to try making peace with her. She calls Arlene and tells her she will come over, but Sookie senses something is not right and leaves immediately to scope out the situation before she is expected at Arlene’s trailer.

Sookie watches from the burned-out house next to Arlene’s as she sends her children away with a friend and then talks with two men from the Fellowship of the Sun. Sookie is able to discern that they are going to do to her what was done to Crystal. She calls Andy Bellefleur, who is with the FBI agents, and they tell her they will come if she would be willing to go in and try to trap the men in the act. As she is waiting for the law, Sookie sees Arlene leaving and comes out of hiding to confront her. Just as the police arrive, Arlene begins to scream, and the men come out of the trailer with their rifles in their hands. Special Agent Lattesta calls a warning for them to lay down their arms, but one fires at Sookie, who flings herself to the ground. The bullet slightly grazes Arlene but hits Agent Weiss in the upper chest. The men all open fire, and one of the attackers is killed, the other wounded. As a stunned Sookie sits on the ground, she realizes the two men did not kill Crystal but were planning a copycat murder. While the wounded are taken away, Sookie looks over to see a fairy watching from the woods. After she is questioned, Bud Dearborn sends her home.

Sookie goes into work and is relieved when nothing else happens and she is able to go about her shift just like any other waitress at Merlotte’s.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17. Amelia tells Sookie of a hot new guy named Drake who has been asking her and Tray about Sookie, but Sookie passes on the opportunity to meet him. Remy Savoy calls with a request for Sookie’s help with Hunter, who will be starting kindergarten soon, but she has to put him off. Because of the threat of the fairies, she is unwilling to possibly jeopardize the little boy or his father. She promises to contact him when things have settled down, hoping that she survives whatever it is that is coming. While Amelia gets ready for a date with Tray, she again mentions Drake and his desire to meet Sookie. When Amelia says that the man looks a lot like Jason, a panicked Sookie warns her friend to stay away from him. Sookie calls Eric to ask for the protection of the vampires, and he tells her he will present her request to Victor, who is there at Fangtasia. Once at work, Sookie struggles to function normally while trying to listen for information about Crystal’s murder, but Sookie hears little but the usual mundane thoughts of the people surrounding her. She gets one text message from Eric, assuring her that the protection she requested is coming, and another from Alcide, who has learned of her problems from Tray and offers pack protection as well. Before leaving Merlotte’s, Sookie fills two water pistols with pure lemon juice as a defense against the fairies.

She finds Bubba waiting beside her car in the parking lot as the protection promised by Eric, and when she arrives home, Tray is at her house as the protection from the Weres.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18. Sookie awakens to hear Tray being desperately ill. He tells her of meeting a woman in the woods who compelled him to drink poisoned vampire blood. A worried Sookie sends him home, promising to contact Jason to guard her. Niall appears in her living room, looking as if he has been in a battle, to let her know that Breandan has retaliated for the death of his follower. Niall warns her to be even more careful. Sookie calls Jason to come protect her and is horrified to hear that he has had a visit from Dermot, who attacked Jason’s friend Mel. Mel accompanies Jason but briefly leaves to get an ice bag for his injured shoulder, and Sookie tells Jason of their family fairy connection, warning him of the danger they face from Dermot. Jason tells Sookie that he wants to go home for his rifle and that she should come pick him up there so he can be with her for the day, and he and Mel leave. As she drives to her brother’s house, she begins to think of some things she has learned and starts to suspect that she knows who killed Crystal, so she calls Calvin.

When she arrives, she finds Jason and Mel sighting Jason’s rifle behind his house. She begins to question Mel, and when her brother realizes what the questions mean, he holds Mel as she examines his thoughts. Sookie tells her horrified brother that his friend killed Crystal, just as Calvin arrives with two of Crystal’s other relatives. Mel confesses that he is gay and in love with Jason and that he hated Crystal for her treatment of him. Crystal knew of Mel’s love for Jason, taunting him when she saw him alone at Jason’s house one day, and he struck her down in anger. Mel tells them that he did not crucify her but left the body in the back of his truck, from where it was stolen. Sookie leaves as the werepanthers administer their justice.

Sookie manages to get through her shift at the bar, but she remembers on the drive home that she promised to meet Amelia at Tray’s house to check on him. When she arrives, she is alarmed when no one answers the door and there is no sign of her roommate. Fearing the worst, she calls Bill to come and check the house for her. As she waits outside, she is relieved when Amelia calls to tell her that she was unable to get an answer at Tray’s, so she went home. Bill returns from the house with the unwelcome news that there has obviously been a fight and that Tray is gone. Frightened and worried that the fairies have done something to Bubba as well, Sookie heads home in her car with Bill following. As she walks to her door, Sookie is abducted.

Sookie awakens in what appears to be an abandoned house, a captive of two fairies, Lochlan and his sister Neave. She learns that they are the ones who crucified Crystal and that Breandan has given them permission to do what they want with Sookie, short of killing her. As the two gleefully torture her, Sookie soon realizes that they will not be able to control themselves and simply waits for death. Barely conscious, she believes she is hallucinating when she sees Bill and Niall stealing up behind her tormentors. She manages a smile as Niall beheads Lochlan and Bill tears out Neave’s throat. Finally, Sookie succumbs to the unbearable pain and slips into darkness.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19. Coming to, Sookie finds herself clean and bandaged in a strange bed, with Dr. Ludwig and Claudine by her side. Dr. Ludwig tells Sookie that her kidnappers are dead but that Bill was badly injured during the rescue. Claudine informs Sookie that the war has begun between Niall and Breandan and that Claudine’s own disheveled appearance is due to being ambushed. She is knitting and shares that she is pregnant by a fae lover. Eric arrives and begins examining Sookie’s wounds, giving her his blood to strengthen her for the coming battle with the fae. As Sookie begins to weep, Eric comforts her, praising her for remaining strong and intact under the terrible torture. She pulls her makeshift weapons from her bag before Eric carries her to the room where Bill and Tray lie. Bill is gravely ill from silver poisoning, and Tray’s wounds will be mortal. As Clancy gives Bill blood, he explains to Sookie that he saw her taken but knew he could not defeat the twins alone, so he called Eric to notify Niall. Bill and Niall were then able to track Sookie and her captors through the fae and human worlds to where she was held captive.

Eric receives a call that Breandan’s forces have arrived and the attack is imminent. Eric, Bill, and Clancy, armed with iron swords and long knives, face the door as it splinters under the force of the attacking fae. Clancy decapitates the first fae as he enters, and Bill steps in front of Sookie, throwing his knife into the throat of the second fairy and then reaching back to take Sookie’s trowel. Breandan enters, already bloodied and with a knitting needle protruding from his shoulder, followed by a female swinging a mace. Eric is able to avoid it, but Clancy is hit and then beheaded by Breandan as he moves to confront Bill. Tray, knowing he is dying, makes a superhuman effort to distract Breandan, gripping the enemy fairy’s shirt. As Breandan plunges his sword into Tray, Bill stabs the fairy under the arm with Sookie’s trowel, and he falls. The female fairy moves in on an unsteady Bill and Sookie, who squirts the fairy with her lemon juice–filled squirt gun. The fairy screams in pain, and Eric has the chance to kill her. Niall arrives to find all his enemies dead. Niall takes his great-granddaughter into his arms, and Sookie weeps for her fallen friends but is able to smile when she realizes that at least Bill survived—though Claudine did not. Eric calls Pam to come pick up the living and the dead.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20–SATURDAY, JANUARY 21. Amelia mourns Tray, whose death is attributed to a case of mistaken identity. Sookie publicly explains her own injuries as a pedestrian hit-and-run but tells Sam the entire truth when he comes to visit.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22. Niall comes to tell Sookie that he has decided to close all the portals to the fae world to protect humans, but that they have not located Dermot and that the rest of the fae who have lived in the human world will have to choose whether to stay or return to Faery permanently. Jason arrives, startling Niall, who for a moment believes he is Dermot. Jason expresses hurt and resentment that his great-grandfather didn’t deem him worthy of attention or acknowledgment, and tells Niall that he hopes the fairies are gone for good.

When Niall kisses his great-granddaughter on the cheek, Sookie senses his power and immediately feels a bit better. She watches Jason’s tension relax as Niall kisses his great-grandson on the forehead before leaving.

The Secret Dialogues of Bill and Eric

To: WCompton@vmail.com

From: Eric@Fangtasia.com

02:15 am

Bill,

I’ve gotten word that the shifters will reveal live on TV in three nights while local shifters simultaneously change at several public venues. I will be sending as many vampires as I can to keep an eye on the situation and lend aid if needed. I will personally watch as Alcide Herveaux shifts at the Shamrock Casino. I’ll send Clancy to you to watch over Merlotte’s as Sam and Tray Dawson shift.

Eric

To: Eric@Fangtasia.com

From: WCompton@vmail.com

02:35 am

Eric,

So we are going with the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” philosophy? Allying ourselves not so much as with the shifters as possibly against the humans? I do see the reasoning behind it, and I’ll be at Merlotte’s with Clancy watching the reveal.

BTW, glad to see you’ve finally moved communication into the twenty-first century.

Bill

To: WCompton@vmail.com

From: Eric@Fangtasia.com

02:40 am

Pam insisted I start using e-mail. What the hell is BTW?

To: Eric@Fangtasia.com

From: WCompton@vmail.com

02:42 am

By The Way.

To: WCompton@vmail.com

From: Eric@Fangtasia.com

02:44 am

So why don’t you just type “by the way”?

To: Eric@Fangtasia.com

From: WCompton@vmail.com

02:47 am

It’s faster to abbreviate.

To: WCompton@vmail.com

From: Eric@Fangtasia.com

02:48 am

Obviously not, if one has to ask what the meanings are.

To: Eric@Fangtasia.com

From: WCompton@vmail.com

02:50 am

Get a list of them from Pam.

To: WCompton@vmail.com

From: Eric@Fangtasia.com

02:51 am

I hate computers.

To: WCompton@vmail.com

From: Eric@Fangtasia.com

06:01 pm

Bill,

I assume by now you’ve heard that Merlotte’s mother was injured by her husband when she revealed her second self. He has gone to her, leaving Sookie to mind the bar, and now her brother’s wife, Christy, has been found nailed to a cross in the parking lot. I don’t know what to make of all this, but, needless to say, keep your eyes and ears open.

Eric

To: Eric@Fangtasia.com

From: WCompton@vmail.com

06:13 pm

Her name was Crystal. I will keep watch over Sookie.

Bill

Phone: Eric calling Bill.

ERIC: “Bill, get to Sookie’s immediately. Quinn has entered the area without permission, and you are to make certain he does not harass Sookie in any way. Keep him from her if you can.”

BILL: “I’m on my way to her house.”

Phone: Bill calling Eric.

BILL: “Eric, Sookie has been taken by fairies. I believe it was the ones called Lochlan and Neave. You must contact Niall, tell him to come to her house so we can track her. Now, Eric, NOW.”

ERIC: “I’ll call him and then come find you.”

THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH 2006. Grieving the death of her lover, Tray Dawson, Amelia decides to return to New Orleans and pick up her life there. Sookie, too, is struggling with the emotional and physical aftermath of the torture she endured at the hands of the fairies. Amelia questions Sookie about her feelings for Eric as they pack up the car, and Amelia offers to help Sookie find a way to free herself of the blood bond. Sookie accepts, and she and Amelia say an emotional good-bye. As Sookie thinks over the events and losses of the past few months, she acknowledges that there are people she wants dead for the pain they caused and wonders if her own life is worth the cost.

THE END OF THAT WEEK. Sookie wakes one morning to find her cousin Claude sitting on her front porch. He asks how his sister died, and Sookie tells him that while she didn’t witness Claudine’s death, she believes Breandan was responsible. Claude sits silently, and Sookie waits for him to strike and kill her. He finally leaves, walking toward the road. Sookie enters her house and falls to her knees, trembling; she realizes that she wants to live, after all.

THE SECOND WEEK OF MARCH. Sookie works out with her friend JB du Rone at the health club in Clarice, where he is a personal trainer, and then she talks with his wife, her best friend Tara, about the upcoming birth of the couple’s child. When Tara tells Sookie the baby will call her Aunt Sookie, she begins to plan a future.

THAT SAME WEEK. Spending the night with Eric, Sookie wakes in a panic, an event that has been occurring far too often. Eric weeps with her, but as he explains why he did not come to her aid during her torture, she is at first skeptical. Eric says that Victor Madden chained him to a wall with silver so that he could not rescue her. Victor alleged that Eric’s actions would force the vampires into the Fae War. Although Pam was also held, she was not chained, and vampires loyal to King Felipe allowed her to call him to remind him of his personal pledge to protect Sookie. Felipe then demanded that Victor free both Eric and Pam. Hearing the pain and rage in Eric’s voice, Sookie accepts his explanation but tells a surprised Eric that Victor must die.

THE THIRD WEEK OF MARCH. Jason invites Sookie over to enjoy a barbecue with him and Michele, and she is happy to see that not only is he recovering from the losses he has suffered but he seems to be maturing as well. Jason admits that he hasn’t come out as a werepanther yet and still wants to keep his status private, but he has told Michele, who accepts him as he is, including his fairy heritage.

THE FOURTH WEEK OF MARCH. Watching Sookie at work, Sam lets her know that he is pleased to see her smile again. They talk, and he asks if she has seen Bill. When she admits that she believes Bill has been avoiding her, Sam encourages her to visit her former lover.

THE END OF THAT WEEK. Sookie goes over to see Bill and is alarmed when she sees his condition. Although he has been taking blood from his fellow vampires, he still has not recovered from the silver poisoning he suffered during the Fae War, and he admits that he no longer has any interest in his computer or in anything else. When Sookie asks what will help him, he tells her that he would have completely healed already if he could have taken blood from his maker, Lorena. Sookie asks if Lorena had created other children, and Bill tells her that Lorena turned a woman but he cannot reach out to his only sibling for help. Sookie leaves, determined to find a way to help her friend.

Having seen Bill and decided to help him, Sookie finds a level of peace and is able to sleep through the following nights. She finally relaxes enough to fully enjoy making love with Eric again.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12. Alcide calls, asking if the Long Tooth pack can use Sookie’s land for their full-moon run the next night. She agrees, telling him to also contact Bill, whose land shares a property line with hers. She is curious about why Alcide can’t use his own land as usual. He tells her that fishermen who claim that his late father allowed them to camp on the land are staying there. Both Alcide and Sookie are a bit uneasy at the sudden arrival of strangers on the Herveaux land so close to the full moon. When she gets to work, Sookie tells Sam about Alcide’s call and suggests that he join the Weres for the evening. Sam casually mentions that he is dating someone from the pack and that while it might be fun, since he could shift into a wolf if he chose, he ultimately feels that it wouldn’t be right. He confirms that Sookie will still attend his brother’s wedding with him when it is rescheduled, admitting that he doesn’t think that he should take a shifter to the event.

THURSDAY, APRIL 13. The Weres arrive for their run, and Sookie meets Alcide’s new girlfriend, Annabelle Bannister, and his new second, Basim al Saud. She recognizes Alcide’s friend Hamilton Bond as well as the slender young woman she met at the Hair of the Dog and two women from Priscilla Hebert’s pack who surrendered to Alcide after the Were war. Sookie settles into her home for the evening with the doors locked and curtains drawn as the pack leaves for the hunt.

FRIDAY, APRIL 14. Basim comes to the door as the Weres are leaving to report to her that they have discovered signs of a vampire and at least one fairy on her land as well as a buried body. Sookie immediately realizes that the body must be that of Debbie Pelt and thanks him, considering the implications as the last of the Weres drive away.

Hearing a knock at the back door, Sookie is surprised to find Claude standing on her doorstep, a large tote bag in hand. He confesses that he is lonely in the house he once shared with his sisters and asks if he can stay with her for a while. He feels as if he is starving without the company of his own kind, and Sookie has enough fae blood to help him. Claude also delivers a letter from her great-grandfather, Niall Brigant, written on the skin of the water sprites that murdered her parents. The letter informs her that before leaving the human realm, Niall used profits from the sale of his pharmaceutical company to ensure that the FBI would no longer bother her. Niall’s letter also states that Claudine had left Sookie all the money in her personal bank accounts and that Mr. Cataliades, who is handling the estate, will be sending Sookie a check. She calls Amelia to see if she plans to return to Bon Temps, and when her friend tells her she must stay in New Orleans, Sookie tells Claude he can have the room upstairs. She asks Claude if he had been in her woods recently, and when he denies visiting, she tells him of the scent of fairy that the Weres reported. After asking him why the news doesn’t make him want to rush out to find whomever of his kind has remained on this side, Claude tells her that he fears it is her great-uncle Dermot and that Dermot would not be happy to see him. Sookie comes to the conclusion that Claude is realizing that he needs others, especially family, after the loss of both his sisters.

At work at Merlotte’s, Sookie is thrilled when Holly shows off her new ring and announces her engagement to Hoyt Fortenberry. Sookie continues thinking about matrimony, and Tara, her pregnancy showing, comes in to satisfy one of her cravings. Sookie later decides that since Eric is her boyfriend—she is resolutely determined not to use the word “spouse”—she will seek his advice about the events of late.

Eric sends Pam to pick up Sookie after Merlotte’s closes, and Pam immediately scents fairy in Sookie’s house. Sookie explains that Claude has come to stay with her, but Pam doesn’t buy Claude’s loneliness and offends Sookie by telling her that she is foolish to be taken in by the fairy. They discuss Victor Madden on the drive to Shreveport, a discussion that continues at Eric’s house. Sookie informs them that the Weres used her land and tells Eric that not only is there an unidentified fairy but there is a body buried on her property. Eric asks Pam to leave and then verifies that the body is Debbie’s. They enjoy some passionate sex before Sookie leaves. As Pam is driving Sookie home, Pam reminds Sookie that she didn’t tell Eric that Claude is living with her. She also expresses her reservations about Sookie and Eric’s relationship, telling Sookie that in his position in Felipe’s new regime, Eric cannot afford to be distracted by anything or anyone. Pam sees a car on the side of the interstate and identifies Bruno Brazell, Victor’s second, standing beside it in the rain, waving them down. Realizing that Bruno has another vampire, Corinna, with him and that the obvious intention is to kill Eric’s second and his lover, Pam hands Sookie a silver dagger, telling her that she cannot take them both on, so Sookie will have to help fight for their lives. Pam slips out the driver’s side door, and Sookie steps out to approach Bruno. Corinna is standing to Bruno’s right, looking around warily for Pam. Bruno admits that Victor has someone watching Eric’s house, and the decision was made to attack Pam and Sookie when they were spotted leaving together. Sookie wonders aloud why Victor cannot simply enjoy having Eric on the payroll, but Bruno tells her that Victor fears Eric’s power and his access to Sookie’s ability. Bruno suddenly grabs Sookie by the neck. She is able to pull the knife out as she and Bruno struggle, falling and rolling down the embankment, and she stabs him up under his ribs, killing him. Pam makes her move at the same time, sending Corinna to her final sleep as well.

Pam immediately calls a panicked Eric to tell him that they are all right and that he is not to come to them in case Victor still has him under surveillance. She and Sookie decide to move Bruno’s car to a location far away from the two disintegrating vampire bodies. When Pam and an exhausted Sookie finally reach her home, Sookie is surprised when her vampire friend hugs her and tells her she did well.

SATURDAY, APRIL 15. Sam notices that Sookie looks tired when she gets to work in the morning. When he asks about the Were run, she tells him that it seemed to go okay, leaving out the news of trespassers and the buried body. Sam reveals that he is dating Jannalynn Hopper, the young woman Sookie first met at the Hair of the Dog and who later participated in the Were war, dispatching the wounded enemy Weres with great efficiency. Their discussion is interrupted by Tanya Grissom, who announces that she and Calvin got married, so she needs to change her paperwork at Merlotte’s to reflect her new last name. Claude comes in to tell Sookie that her water heater isn’t working, and Terry Bellefleur, overhearing Claude’s complaint, offers to take a look at it. Claude flirts with Terry, who bluntly states that he isn’t gay. Sookie takes Claude aside before they leave and warns him that Terry is fragile because of his wartime experiences. She is relieved when Terry returns an hour later, seemingly none the worse for his time with Claude. She pays him for the part he needed, but he lets her know that Claude took care of the labor.

Kennedy Keyes, Merlotte’s new bartender, arrives for her evening shift. Worried that someone will take advantage of Kennedy or see her as a challenge because she served time for manslaughter, Sam has also hired former serviceman Danny Prideaux to watch the bar when Kennedy works if Sam is not there.

After work, Sam and Sookie go to dinner at the Crawdad Diner to catch each other up on their lives. As they leave the restaurant, Pam calls to let Sookie know that Bruno and Corinna have not shown up for work in New Orleans, but no one suspects Pam and Sookie. As she closes her phone, Sookie finds a troubled Sam standing behind her. He tells her to remember that he is always there for her if she needs help and, touched, she promises him the same.

FRIDAY, APRIL 21. Sookie is startled when a nude Claude hands her a towel and the phone as she steps out of the shower. Remy Savoy is calling to ask Sookie if she can babysit his son, Hunter, overnight while Remy attends a family funeral, feeling that the grief-filled situation would be hard for the telepathic five-year-old to manage. Sookie agrees, and they set a time for Remy to drop Hunter off. When the two arrive that evening, she is delighted when Hunter remembers her. Remy is nonplussed that his son, whom he’s never left for so long before, seems totally unconcerned as he leaves. As Sookie and Hunter communicate, Hunter reveals his worry that he will never be a regular man like his dad and the other men he admires, and Sookie is able to reassure him that she knows another telepathic man who has been able to make his telepathy work for him. As they are talking, Heidi, a vampire tracker sent by Eric, arrives to check out Sookie’s woods. Hunter is fascinated by the vampire, who tells Sookie that she was turned when her son was the same age as Hunter and that her son is now a drug addict. As Heidi leaves to scout through the woods, Sookie reflects on the heartbreaking story.

After dinner, Sookie and Hunter talk about their telepathy a bit, and she tries to explain to the little boy why most people will not understand his gift and how he must learn to be respectful of the privacy of others. She soon realizes that not only is Hunter very adept at picking up thoughts but he can also feel when she is listening to him.

Heidi returns to report that two fae have recently been in her woods and that neither of them is the fairy she smells in Sookie’s house. Heidi also identifies the vampire who wanders the woods at night as Bill Compton. She confirms that there is an old grave back in the woods but startles Sookie with news of a brand-new grave in a clearing near the stream.

SATURDAY, APRIL 22. Hunter wakes Sookie early, telling her of his dream of a tall man with yellow hair who came into his room, smiled at him, and then walked into the closet. Her suspicion that Eric is in the house is confirmed when she finds a note from him on the coffeepot, telling her he will see her that evening. Claude joins Sookie and Hunter as they are preparing pancakes and bacon, and Sookie is surprised that he seems to genuinely enjoy being with the child.

Their pleasant morning is disturbed by Agent Tom Lattesta, who is in town for a hearing on the shootings in January. He informs Sookie that the FBI is no longer investigating her. Lattesta is resentful that someone pulled strings for Sookie, and he vows to restart the investigation if he gets any new information on her.

Sookie, Hunter, and Claude decide to go to Magnolia Creek Park. When Tara stops by, Sookie introduces Hunter and Claude and is dismayed when Claude asks Tara if she would like to know the sex of her child. Tara agrees that she would like to know, so Claude informs her that she is carrying twins and will have a boy and a girl. Tara tells him her doctor has reported only one heartbeat, and Claude cheerfully insists she is carrying two healthy babies. As Hunter and Claude wander off to play ball, Sookie tells her stunned friend that Hunter is Hadley’s son and that Claude is a cousin from the wrong side of the blanket. They enjoy a visit until Tara has to leave for work, and Sookie goes in search of Claude and her charge. Claude also has to leave to open his club in Monroe, so Sookie and Hunter go to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal. When Hunter reads the mind of a playmate’s weary mother at the restaurant, Sookie tries to use the unfortunate incident as a teaching moment, then she takes the tired and overexcited child home for a nap.

Remy arrives shortly after Hunter wakes, and father and son greet each other ecstatically. Hunter tells his attentive dad all about his visit, and as the child leaves to gather his possessions, Sookie tells Remy that all has gone well. As they leave, Sookie is pleased when Hunter unexpectedly gives her a hug. Eric rises as the sun sets, and before she can tell him about the second body Heidi scented on her land, he begins to explain the vampire hierarchy to her. Not pleased by her initial lack of interest, he insists that there are things she needs to know to ensure her safety. Afterward, they make love, but Sookie suddenly begins to feel strange and chatters randomly while braiding Eric’s hair, finally sinking to the floor, certain that someone with Eric’s blood is near.

Eric turns to the window and sees his maker, Appius Livius Ocella. Struggling to maintain cordiality, Eric asks his sire what is wrong with Sookie, and Appius informs him that he has another of his children with him and that the proximity of so many with his blood is confusing Sookie’s thoughts and feelings. Sookie regains her senses and invites the two vampires to enter her home, even though she guesses correctly that her invitation is not necessary since Eric has permission and they are of the same blood. She is disturbed that Appius’s other child is barely a teenager and then appalled when he is introduced as Alexei Romanov, a member of the Russian royal family.

Jason meets Appius and Alexei when he drops by to pick up an unused end table he wants. After some conversation about the past, Sookie asks if the newcomers are responsible for the fresh body on her land. She explains Heidi’s discovery to Eric, who immediately blames the Weres who had been hunting and calls Alcide for a meeting. Fortunately, Alcide is nearby and soon arrives with Annabelle and Jannalynn. When Alcide denies any wrongdoing, the decision is made to identify the body. They all troop through the woods to the spot, and Alcide and Jason start digging. To the horror of the Weres, the body is that of Alcide’s second, Basim. As they are trying to determine what could have befallen the werewolf, Annabelle admits to being with him the day after the hunt and reveals that he received a call from someone who was paying him, a call he didn’t want her to hear. When Basim made an excuse to get her out of his apartment and then left, she followed him but lost him before she could find out where he was going. Jannalynn strikes Annabelle for her betrayal of Alcide and the pack, knocking her to the ground. Alcide names Jannalynn his new second and states that the pack will call a meeting to deal with the situation. As the Weres turn to leave, Sookie questions why the body was left on her land and demands that it be moved, fearing that the murderer is trying to get her involved. Eric says that he and Sookie should attend the meeting. Alcide tells Eric that vampires are not allowed but that Sookie can bring Jason. Jannalynn assures her that someone will come for the body that night as Alcide, his now former lover, and new second take their leave. Sookie wants the corpse off her land now, so Eric flies the wrapped body of Basim to the woods across the road. She, Jason, and Alexei then fill in the grave, disguising it to blend into the surrounding area.

As soon as the vampires depart for Eric’s house in Shreveport, Sookie calls Pam, who is stunned at the arrival of her grand-sire. She then reluctantly notifies Bobby Burnham, warning him to be extra careful when he goes for his nightly briefing with Eric.

SUNDAY, APRIL 23. Sookie wakens to the smell of cooking and stumbles into the kitchen to share breakfast with Claude. He breaks their comfortable silence to tell her that Dermot came to his club the night before, seeking the company of another fae, and states that the Dermot he used to know would never have done that. Claude doesn’t know why his uncle went crazy. Claude goes up to his room, and Sookie washes up, then decides to try to relax and read for a while. Her heart sinks when she sees two police cars coming down her drive, and she calls up to let Claude know, prompting him to join her as Sheriff Dearborn, accompanied by Andy Bellefleur and Alcee Beck, tells her that they received an anonymous tip about a body buried on her land in the woods, confirming her suspicions that someone is trying to tie her to the murder. Once again, Claude is introduced as a relative born on the wrong side of the blanket. While the men search her woods, Sookie decides to check her e-mail and reads a message from Andy’s pregnant wife, Halleigh, letting Sookie know matriarch Caroline Bellefleur’s health is fading fast and that Caroline is determined to locate the family Bible. Knowing that the Bible is on Bill’s coffee table, Sookie forwards the e-mail to him so that he can decide what to do. The lawmen return to report that nothing was found.