I sighed, trying to make it discreet and silent. I hadn't realized things would go so far so fast. I asked Eric, Appius Livius, and Alexei if they wanted more TrueBlood, but they turned it down. Jason was looking bored. I glanced at the clock.
"I'm afraid I have only one spot that's suitable for a vampire. Where are you-all planning to sleep, come the dawn? I just want to know in case I need to call around and find a place."
"Sookie," said Eric gently, "I will take Ocella and his son back to my house. They can have the guest coffins there."
Eric ordinarily slept in his bed, because his bedroom was windowless. There were a couple of other coffins in the guest bedroom, sleek fiberglass things that looked sort of like kayaks, which he kept stowed under the beds. The most wrong thing about Alexei and Appius Livius staying with Eric was that if they were there, I was definitely staying here.
"I think your darling would love to come in during the day and sink a stake into our chests," Appius Livius said, as if that were a big joke. "If you think you can do it, young woman, you are welcome to try."
"Oh, not at all," I said, absolutely insincerely. "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing to Eric's dad." Not a bad idea, though.
Beside me, Eric twitched all over; it was a funny movement, like a dog running in its sleep. "Be polite," he told me, and there was no element of fun in his voice at all. He was giving me an order.
I took a deep breath. It was on the tip of my tongue to rescind Eric's invitation to my house. He'd have to leave, and presumably Appius Livius and Alexei would, too. It was that "presumably" that stopped me. The idea of being alone with Appius Livius even for a second trumped the pleasurable vision of the three vampires walking out backward.
It was probably lucky for all of us that the doorbell rang then. I was out of my seat as if a rocket had fired me. It would be good to have more breathers around.
Alcide was wearing a suit. He was flanked by Annabelle, who was wearing a dark green sheath and heeled pumps, and Jannalynn, Sam's new interest. Jannalynn had a sense of style, though it was a style that left me stunned. She had on a shiny silver dress that barely covered her assets and silver high-heeled sandals that laced up the front. The silver eye shadow over her heavily outlined eyes completed the look. In a scary kind of way, she looked great. Sam certainly dated women who were extraordinary in some way, and he wasn't afraid of strong characters, which was a thought I'd have to save for later. Maybe it was a two-natured thing? Alcide was the same way.
I gave the packleader a hug, and I said hello to Annabelle and to Jannalynn, who gave me a curt nod.
"What is this problem Eric called me about?" Alcide was saying as I stood aside to let them enter. When the Weres realized they were in a room with three vampires, all of them tensed. They'd expected only Eric. When I glanced back at the vampires, I saw they were all standing, too, and even Alexei was on the alert.
Jason said, "Alcide, good to see you. Ladies, looking mighty fine tonight."
I went into high gear. "Hi, you-all!" I said brightly. "It was so nice of you to come at such short notice. Eric, you know Alcide. Alcide, this is Eric's longtime friend Appius Livius Ocella, who's in town visiting with his, ah, protégé, Alexei. Eric, I don't know if you've met Alcide's friend Annabelle, a new pack member, and Jannalynn, who's been in the Long Tooth pack for ages. Jannalynn, we've never had a chance to talk much, but of course Sam talks about you all the time. And I think you all know my brother, Jason."
Whew. I felt like I'd run an introduction marathon. Since vamps don't shake hands, that concluded the opening ceremonies. Then I had to get them all to sit down while I offered them drinks, which no one accepted.
Eric fired the opening volley. "Alcide, one of my trackers went over Sookie's land after Basim al Saud warned her about the strangers he smelled in her woods. Our tracker has found a new body buried there."
Alcide looked at Eric as though he had begun speaking in tongues.
"We didn't kill anyone that night," Alcide said. "Basim said he told Sookie we smelled an old body, and a fairy or two, and a vampire. But he didn't mention a fresh body."
"Yet there's a new burial there now."
"Which we had nothing to do with." Alcide shrugged. "We were there three nights before your tracker smelled the scent of a fresh body."
"It seems quite a huge coincidence, doesn't it? A body on Sookie's land, right after your pack is there?" Eric was looking aggravatingly reasonable.
"Maybe it's more of a coincidence that there was already a body on Sookie's land."
Oh, boy, I really didn't want to go there.
Jannalynn was actually snarling at Eric. It was an interesting look, with the eye makeup and all. Annabelle was standing with her arms slightly away from her body, waiting to see which way she needed to jump.
Alexei was staring off into space, which seemed to be his fallback stance, and Appius Livius simply seemed bored.
"I say we should go see who it is," Jason said unexpectedly.
I looked at him with approval.
So out we went into the woods to dig up a corpse.
Chapter 9
Alcide changed to some boots he had in the truck, and he shed his tie and coat. Jannalynn wisely took off her spike-heeled sandals and Annabelle her own more modest heels. I gave them both some sneakers of mine, and I offered Jannalynn an old T-shirt to cover her shiny silver dress so it wouldn't snag in the woods. She pulled it over her head. She even said, "Thanks," though she didn't sound actually grateful. I retrieved two shovels from the toolshed. Alcide took one shovel, Eric the other. Jason carried one of those great big flashlights called a lantern that he'd fished out of the toolbox on his truck. The lantern was for my benefit. The vampires could see perfectly well in the dark, and the Weres could see very well, too. Since Jason was a werepanther, he had excellent night vision. I was the blind one in the group.
"Do we know where we're going?" Annabelle said.
"Heidi said it was due east, close to the stream, in a clearing," I said, and we slogged eastward. I kept running into stuff, and after a while Eric handed off his shovel to Jason and crouched so I could cling to his back. I kept my head tucked behind his so branches wouldn't hit me in the face. Our progress was smoother after that.
"I smell it," Jannalynn said suddenly. She was out ahead of us all, as if her job in the pack were to make the way clear for the packleader. She was a different woman out in the woods. Though I couldn't see very well, I could see that. She was quick, sure-footed, and decisive. She darted ahead, and after a moment she called back, "Here it is!"