Dead Reckoning (10 page)

Right now, there lay a frosty silence between that strong, intelligent, lusty man and me, and that silence lasted until we parked. It was hard to find a spot, which made Eric even more pissed off.
That
wasn’t hard to tell.

Since Eric had been summoned, it would have been polite to have reserved him a parking spot by the front door . . . or given him the green light to come in by the back entrance. There was also the unavoidable lesson in pictures that Vampire’s Kiss was so busy it was hard to find a parking spot.

Ouch.

I struggled to push aside my own worries. I needed to concentrate on the troubles we were about to face. Victor didn’t like or trust Eric, and the feeling was mutual. Since Victor had been put in charge of Louisiana, Eric’s position as the only holdover from the Sophie-Anne era had become increasingly precarious. I was pretty sure I’d gotten to continue my life unmolested only because Eric had hoodwinked me into marrying him in the eyes of the vampires.

Eric, his mouth pressed into a thin line, came around to open my door. I could tell he was using the maneuver as a way to scan the parking lot for danger. He stood in such a way that his body was between me and the club, and as I swung my legs out of the Town Car, he asked, “Who’s in the parking lot, lover?”

I stood, slowly and carefully, my eyes closed to concentrate. I put my hand over his where it rested on the door frame. In the warm night, with a light wind gently riffling my hair, I sent my extra sense out. “A couple having sex in a car two rows away,” I whispered. “A man throwing up behind the black pickup on the other side of the parking lot. Two couples just pulling in, in an Escalade. One vampire by the door to the club. Another vampire closing
fast
.”

When vamps go on alert, there’s no mistaking it. Eric’s fangs ran out, his body tensed, and he whirled to look outward.

Pam said, “Master.” She stepped out of the shadow of a big SUV. Eric relaxed; and so, gradually, did I. Whatever had made the two fight at my house, it had been put aside for the evening.

“I came ahead as you bid me,” she murmured, the night wind picking up her voice and tossing it. Her face looked oddly dark.

“Pam, step into the light,” I said.

She did, though certainly she was not obliged to obey me.

The darkness under Pam’s white skin was the result of a beating. Vampires don’t bruise exactly like we do, and they heal quickly—but when they’ve been hit hard, you can tell it for a little while. “What happened to you?” Eric asked. His voice was completely empty, which I knew was an awfully bad thing.

“I told the door guards that I needed to come in to make sure Victor knew you were arriving. An excuse to make sure that the interior was secure.”

“They prevented you.”

“Yes.”

A little breeze had sprung up, dancing the night air across the smelly parking lot. The breeze picked up my hair and blew it around my face. Eric had his tied at the nape of his neck, but Pam reached up to hold hers back. Eric had wished Victor dead for months, and I was sorry to say I felt the same. It wasn’t only Eric’s worry and anger that I was channeling; I myself understood how much better life would be for us if Victor was gone.

I’d come so far from what I’d been. At moments like this I was both sad and relieved that I could think about Victor’s death not only without qualms, but with positive zeal. My determination to survive, and to ensure the survival of those I loved, was stronger than the religion I’d always held so dear.

“We have to go in, or they’ll send someone after us,” Eric said finally, and we walked to the main door in silence. All we needed was a badass theme song playing in the background: something ominous and cool, with a lot of drums, to indicate “The Visiting Vampires and Their Human Sidekick Walk into a Trap.” However, the club’s music was out of synch with our little drama—“Hips Don’t Lie” was not exactly badass music.

We passed a bearded man hosing down the gravel close to the door. I could still spot dark patches of blood. Pam snorted. “Not mine,” she muttered.

The vampire on duty at the door was a sturdy brunette wearing a studded leather collar and a leather bustier, with a tutu (I swear to God) and motorcycle boots. Only the frilly skirt looked out of character.

“Sheriff Eric,” she said in heavily accented English. “I am Ana Lyudmila. I welcome you to Vampire’s Kiss.” She didn’t even glance at Pam, much less me. I pretty much expected her to ignore me, but her disregard of Pam was an insult, especially since Pam had already had an encounter with the club personnel. This behavior was the kind of trigger that could send Pam over the edge, which I figured might be the plan. If Pam went ballistic, the new vamps would have a legitimate reason to kill her. The target on Eric’s back would assume large proportions.

Naturally, I wouldn’t even be a factor in their thinking, because they couldn’t imagine what a human could do against their vampire strength and speed. And since I wasn’t Superwoman, they might be right. I wasn’t sure how many of the vampires knew I wasn’t wholly human, or how much they’d care even if they knew I was a fraction fairy. It wasn’t like I’d ever exhibited any fairy powers. My value lay in my telepathic talent and my connection to Niall. Since Niall had left this world for the world of the fae, I had expected that value to decrease accordingly. But Niall might choose to return to the human world any moment, and I was Eric’s wife by vampire rite. So Niall would side with Eric in an open conflict. At least that was my best bet. With fairies, who knew? It was time to assert myself.

I laid my hand on Pam’s shoulder and patted her. It was like patting a rock. I smiled at Ana Lyudmila. “Hi,” I said, perky as a cheerleader on uppers. “I’m Sookie. I’m married to Eric. I guess you didn’t know that? And this is Pam, Eric’s child and his strong right arm. I guess you didn’t know that, either? Cause otherwise, not greeting us appropriately is just plain rude.” I beamed at her.

Looking as though I were forcing her to swallow a live frog, Ana Lyudmila said, “Welcome, human wife of Eric and revered fighter Pam. I apologize for failing to offer you a suitable greeting.”

Pam was staring at Ana Lyudmila as if she were wondering how long it would take to pull Ana’s eyelashes out one by one. I bumped Pam’s shoulder with my fist, buddy-buddy. “We’re cool, Ana Lyudmila,” I said. “It’s all good here.” Pam switched her stare to me, and it was all I could do not to flinch. To add to the tension, Eric was doing a good imitation of a big white rock. I gave him a very laden look.

Ana Lyudmila couldn’t have beaten Pam up. She didn’t have the juice. Besides, she looked okay, and I was completely sure that if someone had laid a hand on Pam, that vampire would show the aftereffect.

After a second, Eric said, “I think your master is waiting for us.” His tone was one of gentle chiding. He made sure his massive self-control was evident.

If Ana Lyudmila could have blushed, I think she would have. “Yes, of course,” she said. “Luis! Antonio!” Two young men, dark-headed and brawny, materialized out of the crowd. They were wearing leather shorts and boots. Period. Okay, a different look for Vampire’s Kiss workers. I’d assumed Ana Lyudmila was following her own fashion genie, but apparently all the vamps on duty had to wear sort of caveman��sex slave outfits. At least, I assumed that was the look they were going for.

Luis, the taller of the two, said, “Follow us, please,” in accented English. His nipples were pierced, which was something I’d never seen before, and naturally I found myself wanting to take a closer look. But in my book, it was basically bad taste to stare at someone’s assets, no matter how much on display they were.

Antonio couldn’t hide the fact that Pam had made an impression on him, but that wouldn’t stop him from killing us if Victor ordered him to do so. We followed the bondage Bobbsey Twins across the crowded dance floor. Those leather shorts were an adventure from behind, let me tell you. And the pictures of Elvis decorating the walls were an education, too. It wasn’t often you ran into a bondage/Elvis/ whorehouse-themed vampire club.

Pam was admiring the decor, too, but not with her normal sardonic amusement. There seemed to be a lot going on in Pam’s head.

“How are your three friends?” she asked Antonio. “The ones who prevented me from entering.”

He smiled in a tight sort of way, and I had the feeling the injured vampires hadn’t been his favorites. “They’re taking blood from donors in the back,” he said. “I think Pearl’s arm has healed.”

As he preceded me through the noisy room, Eric was evaluating the club in a series of casual glances. It was important to him that he seem at ease, as if he were quite sure that his boss meant him no harm. I could tell that through our bond. Since no one cared about me, I was free to look where I wished . . . though I hoped I was doing it with a suitably careless air.

There were at least twenty bloodsuckers in Vampire’s Kiss, more than Eric ever had in Fangtasia at one time. There were also a lot of humans. I didn’t know what the capacity of the building was, but I was pretty sure it had been exceeded. Eric reached behind him, and I took his cool hand. He tugged me forward, wrapped his left arm around my shoulders, and Pam closed in from the rear. We were at DEFCON Four, Orange Alert, or whatever came right before the blowup. The tension vibrated through Eric like a plucked guitar string.

And then we spotted its source.

Victor was sitting at the back in a kind of corral for VIPs. It was lined with a huge, square red velvet banquette, before which was centered the usual low table. It was littered with little evening purses and half-empty drinks and dollar bills. Victor was definitely the centerpiece of the grouping, his arms around the young man and woman flanking him. The tableau was a poster of what conservative humans feared most: the corrupt vampire seducing the youth of America, inducting them into orgies of bisexuality and bloodsucking. I looked from one breather to the other. Though one was male and one female, they were otherwise startlingly the same. Dipping into their heads, I quickly learned both were using drugs, both were over twenty-one, and both were experienced sexually. I felt a little sad for them, but I knew I couldn’t be responsible. Though they had yet to realize it, they were only props for Victor. Their position suited their vanity.

There was another human in the corral, a young woman seated by herself. She was wearing a white dress with a full skirt, and her brown eyes fixed on Pam with desperation. The woman was clearly horrified at the company she was keeping. A minute before I would have bet that Pam couldn’t get any more angry or miserable than she’d been, but I would have been wrong.

“Miriam,” Pam whispered.

Oh, Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea. This was the woman Pam wanted to turn, the woman she wanted to become her child. Miriam had to be the sickest woman I’d ever seen who wasn’t in a hospital. But her light brown hair was puffed out in a party style, and she’d been made up, though the cosmetics stood out on a face so pale even her lips looked white.

Eric’s face didn’t show anything, but I could feel him scrambling, struggling to keep his face still and his thoughts clear.

Several points to Victor for an amazing ambush.

Luis and Antonio, having delivered us, positioned themselves at the opening to the VIP corral. I didn’t know if they were there to keep us in or to keep other people out. We were further protected by stand-up cardboard figures of Elvis, at least life-size. I wasn’t impressed. I’d met the real thing.

Victor greeted us with a wonderful smile, white and toothy, as brilliant as a game show host’s. “Eric, how good to see you in my new enterprise! Do you like the decor?” He made his hand flow to indicate the whole crowded club. Though Victor was not a tall man, he was clearly the king of the castle, and he was devouring every minute of it. He leaned forward to pick up his drink from the low table.

Even the glass was dramatic—dark, smoky, fluted. It fit in with the “decor” that made Victor so proud. I would have called it (if I ever got a chance to describe it to someone else, which at this point seemed pretty unlikely) early bordello: lots of dark wood, flocked wallpaper, leather, and red velvet. It looked heavy and florid to me; possibly I was prejudiced. The people gyrating on the dance floor seemed to be enjoying Vampire’s Kiss no matter how it was decorated. The band was a vampire band, so they were great. They’d play a current song, then they’d do a more bluesy rock number. Since the band members could have played with Robert Johnson and Memphis Minnie, they’d had several decades to practice.

“I’m amazed,” Eric said in a completely uninflected voice.

“Pardon my bad manners! Please have a seat,” Victor said. “My companions are . . . Your name, sweetness?” he asked the girl.

“I’m Mindy Simpson,” she said with a coquettish smile. “This is my husband, Mark Simpson.”

Eric acknowledged them with a flick of the eye. Pam and I hadn’t even entered into the conversational game yet, so we didn’t have to respond.

Victor didn’t introduce the pale young woman. He was clearly saving the best for last.

“I see you have your dear wife with you,” Victor said as we newcomers moved to sit on the long banquette to Victor’s right. It wasn’t as comfortable as I’d hoped it would be, and the depth of the seat didn’t agree with the length of my legs. The life-size cutout of Elvis to my right was wearing the famous white jumpsuit. Classy.

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said dismally.

“And your famous second, Pam Ravenscroft,” Victor continued, as if he were identifying us for a hidden microphone.

I squeezed Eric’s hand. He couldn’t read my mind, which (just at this moment) I felt was a pity. There was a lot going on here we didn’t know about. In vampire eyes, as Eric’s human wife I pretty much ranked as his number one designated concubine. The “wife” title gave me status and protection, theoretically rendering me untouchable by other vampires and their servants. I wasn’t exactly proud of being a second-class citizen, but once I’d understood why Eric had tricked me into the relationship, I’d gradually reconciled myself to the title. Now it was time to offer Eric a little support in return.