Read Sookie 04 Dead to the World for Free Online Page B

are tense,” Eric said from the doorway, and I yipped.
    “Sorry, sorry!” he said hastily.
    I glared at him, full of suspicion, but he seemed sincerely contrite. When he was himself, Eric would have laughed. But darn if I didn’t miss Real Eric. You knew where you were with him.
    I heard a knock on the front door.
    “You stay in here,” I said. He seemed pretty worried, and he sat on the chair in the corner of the room, like a good little fella. I was glad I’d picked up my discarded clothes the night before, so my room didn’t seem so personal. I went through the living room to the front door, hoping for no more surprises.
    “Who is it?” I asked, putting my ear to the door.
    “We are here,” said Pam.
    I began to turn the knob, stopped, then remembered they couldn’t come in anyway, and opened the door.
    Pam has pale straight hair and is as white as a magnolia petal. Other than that, she looks like a young suburban housewife who has a part-time job at a preschool.
    Though I don’t think you’d really ever want Pam to take care of your toddlers, I’ve never seen her do anything extraordinarily cruel or vicious. But she’s definitely convinced that vampires are better than humans, and she’s very direct and doesn’t mince words. I’m sure if Pam saw that some dire action was necessary for her well-being, she’d do it without missing any sleep. She seems to be an excellent second-in-command, and not overly ambitious. If she wants to have her own bailiwick, she keeps that desire very well concealed.
    Chow is a whole different kettle of fish. I don’t want to know Chow any better than I already do. I don’t trust him, and I’ve never felt comfortable around him. Chow is Asian, a small-built but powerful vampire with longish black hair. He is no more than five foot seven, but every inch of visible skin (except his face) is covered with those intricate tattoos that are true art dyed into human skin. Pam says they are yakuza tattoos. Chow acts as Fangtasia’s bartender some evenings, and on other nights he just sits around to let patrons approach him. (That’s the whole purpose of vampire bars, to let regular humans feel they’re walking on the wild side by being in the same room with the in-the-flesh undead. It’s very lucrative, Bill told me.)
    Pam was wearing a fluffy cream sweater and golden-brown knit pants, and Chow was in his usual vest and slacks. He seldom wore a shirt, so the Fangtasia patrons could get the full benefit of his body art.
    I called Eric, and he came into the room slowly. He was visibly wary.
    “Eric,” Pam said, when she saw him. Her voice was full of relief. “You’re well?” Her eyes were fixed on Eric anxiously. She didn’t bow, but she sort of gave a deep nod.
    “Master,” Chow said, and bowed.
    I tried not to overinterpret what I was seeing and hearing, but I assumed that the different greetings signified the relationships among the three.
    Eric looked uncertain. “I know you,” he said, trying to make it sound more statement than question.
    The two other vampires exchanged a glance. “We work for you,” Pam said. “We owe you fealty.”
    I began to ease out of the room, because they’d want to talk about secret vampire stuff, I was sure. And if there was anything I didn’t want to know, it was more secrets.
    “Please don’t go,” Eric said to me. His voice was frightened. I froze and looked behind me. Pam and Chow were staring over Eric’s shoulders at me, and they had quite different expressions. Pam looked almost amused. Chow looked openly disapproving.
    I tried not to look in Eric’s eyes, so I could leave him with a clear conscience, but it just didn’t work. He didn’t want to be left alone with his two sidekicks. I blew lots of air out, puffing up my cheeks. Well,dammit.I trudged back to Eric’s side, glaring at Pam the whole way.
    There was another knock at the door, and Pam and Chow reacted in a dramatic way. They were both ready to fight in an