Dead and Gone

Sam. This took a lot of courage, since he had a business that depended to some extent on his likability.
    In another minute, it was all over. Sam, a rare pure shapeshifter, turned into his most familiar form, that of a collie. He went to sit in front of me and gave a happy yip. I bent over to pat his head. His tongue lolled out, and he grinned at me. Tray’s animal manifestation was much more dramatic. Huge wolves are not often seen in rural northern Louisiana; let’s face it, they’re scary. People shifted uneasily and might have gotten up to flee from the building if Amelia hadn’t squatted by Tray and put her arm around his neck.
    “He knows what you’re saying,” she told the people at the nearest table encouragingly. Amelia had a great smile, big and genuine. “Hey, Tray, take them this coaster.” She handed him one of the bar coasters, and Tray Dawson, one of the most implacable fighters both in and out of his wolf form, trotted over to lay the coaster on the lap of the female customer. She blinked, wavered, and finally came down on the side of laughing.
    Sam licked my hand.
    “Oh, my lord Jesus,” Arlene exclaimed loudly. Whit Spradlin and his buddy were on their feet. But though a few other patrons looked nervous, none of them had such a violent reaction.
    Bill and Clancy watched with expressionless faces. They were obviously ready to handle trouble, but all seemed to be going well at the Great Reveal. The vampires’ Great Revelation night hadn’t gone so smoothly, because it was the first in the series of shocks mainstream society would feel in the years to come. Gradually vampires had come to be a recognized part of America, though their citizenship still had certain limitations.
    Sam and Tray wandered among the regulars, allowing themselves to be petted as if they were regular tame animals. While they were doing that, the newscaster on television was visibly trembling as he faced the beautiful white wolf Patricia had become.
    “Look, he so scared, he shaking!” D’Eriq, the busboy and kitchen helper, said. He laughed out loud. The drinkers in Mer lotte’s relaxed enough to feel superior. After all, they’d handled this with aplomb.
    Jason’s new buddy Mel said, “Ain’t nobody got to be scared of a lady that pretty, even if she does shed some,” and the laughter and relaxation in the bar spread. I was relieved, though I thought it was a little ironic that people might not be so quick to laugh if Jason and Mel had changed; they were werepanthers, though Jason couldn’t change completely.
    But after the laughter, I felt that everything was going to be all right. Bill and Clancy, after a careful look around, went back to their table.
    Whit and Arlene, surrounded by citizens taking a huge chunk of knowledge in their stride, looked stunned. I could hear Arlene being extra confused about how to react. After all, Sam had been our boss for a good many years. Unless she wanted to lose her job, she couldn’t cut up. But I could also read her fear and the mounting anger that followed close behind. Whit had one reaction, always, to anything he didn’t understand. He hated it, and hate is infectious. He looked at his drinking companion, and they exchanged dark looks.
    Thoughts were churning around in Arlene’s brain like lottery balls in the popper. It was hard to tell which one would surface first.
    “Jesus, strike him dead!” said Arlene, boiling over. The hate ball had landed on top.
    A few people said, “Oh, Arlene!” . . . but they were all listening.
    “This goes against God and nature,” Arlene said in a loud, angry voice. Her dyed red hair shook with her vehemence. “You-all want your kids around this kind of thing?”
    “Our kids have always been around this kind of thing,” Holly said equally loudly. “We just didn’t know it. And they ain’t come to any harm.” She rose to her feet, too.
    “God will get us if we don’t strike them down,” Arlene said, pointing to Tray dramatically. By now, her face was almost as red as her hair. Whit was looking at her approvingly. “You don’t understand! We’re all going to hell if we don’t take the world back from them! Look who they got standing there to keep us humans in line!” Her finger swung around to indicate Bill and Clancy, though since they’d resumed their chairs she lost a few points.
    I set my tray on the bar and took a step away, my hands clenched in fists. “We all get along here in Bon Temps,” I said,