All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris Page B

finally relaxed. But I had no idea how to respond.
    “I must say, Sookie, that you have caused a tremendous amount of trouble in our area.” Pam didn’t seem perturbed by that; she was just stating a fact. I hardly felt I could apologize. “These days Bill is full of anger, but he doesn’t know who to hate. He feels guilty, and no one likes that. Eric is frustrated that he can’t remember the time he was in hiding at your house, and he doesn’t know what he owes you. He’s angry that the queen has annexed you for her own purposes, through Bill, and thus poached on Eric’s territory, as he sees it. Felicia thinks you are the bogeyman, since so many of the Fangtasia bartenders have died while you were around. Longshadow, Chow.” She smiled. “Oh, and your friend, Charles Twining.”
    “None of that was my fault.” I’d listened to Pam with growing agitation. It’s so not good to have vampires angry with you. Even the current Fangtasia bartender, Felicia, was much stronger than I would ever be, and she was definitely the low vamp on the totem pole.
    “I don’t see that that makes any difference,” Pam said, her voice curiously gentle. “Now that we know you have fairy blood, thanks to Andre, it would be easy to write all this off. But I don’t think that’s it, do you? I’ve known many humans descended from the fae, and none of them have been telepathic. I think that’s just you, Sookie. Of course, knowing you have this streak of fairy makes one wonder how you would taste. I certainly enjoyed the sip I got when the maenad maimed you, though that was tainted with her poison. We love fairies, as you know.”
    “Love them to death,” I said under my breath, but of course Pam heard.
    “Sometimes,” she agreed with a little smile. That Pam.
    “So what’s the bottom line here?” I was ready to go home and just be human, all by myself.
    “When I say ‘we’ didn’t know about Bill’s agreement with the queen, that includes Eric,” Pam said simply.
    I looked down at my feet, struggling to keep my face under control.
    “Eric feels especially angry about this,” Pam said. She was picking her words now. “He is angry at Bill because Bill made an agreement with the queen that bypassed Eric. He is angry that he didn’t discern Bill’s plan. He is angry at you because you got under his skin. He is angry at the queen because she is more devious than he is. Of course, that’s why she’s the queen. Eric will never be a king, unless he can control himself better.”
    “You’re really worried about him?” I’d never known Pam to be seriously concerned about much of anything. When she nodded, I found myself saying, “When did you meet Eric?” I’d always been curious, and tonight Pam seemed to be in a sharing mood.
    “I met him in London the last night of my life.” Her voice was level, coming out of the shadowy darkness. I could see half her face in the overhead security light, and she looked quite calm. “I risked everything for love . You’ll laugh to hear this.”
    I wasn’t remotely close to laughing.
    “I was a very wild girl for my times. Young ladies weren’t supposed to be alone with gentlemen, or any males, for that matter. A far cry from now.” Pam’s lips curved upward in a brief smile. “But I was a romantic, and bold. I slipped out of my house late at night to meet the cousin of my dearest friend, the girl who lived right next door. The cousin was visiting from Bristol, and we were very attracted to each other. My parents didn’t consider him to be my equal in social class, so I knew they wouldn’t let him court me. And if I were caught alone with him at night, it would be the end of me. No marriage, unless my parents could force him to wed me. So, no future at all.” Pam shook her head. “Crazy to think of now. Those were the times women didn’t have choices. The ironic part is, our meeting was quite innocent. A few kisses, a lot of sentimental claptrap, undying love.