Dead to the World

he be here? Nothing happens in Bon Temps.”
    “This town has a vampire in residence, doesn’t it?” Mark Stonebrook said suddenly. His voice was almost a twin of his sister’s. He was so buff you expected to hear a bass, and even an alto as deep as Marnie’s sounded strange coming from his throat. Actually, from Mark Stonebrook’s appearance, you’d think he’d just grunt and growl to communicate.
    “Yeah, Bill Compton lives here,” Sam said. “But he’s out of town.”
    “Gone to Peru, I heard,” I said.
    “Oh, yes, I’d heard of Bill Compton. Where does he live?” Hallow asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.
    “Well, he lives out across the cemetery from my place,” I said, because I had no choice. If the two asked someone else and got a different answer than the one I gave them, they’d know I had something (or in this case, someone) to conceal. “Out off Hummingbird Road.” I gave them directions, not very clear directions, and hoped they got lost out in somewhere like Hotshot.
    “Well, we might drop by Compton’s house, just in case Eric went to visit him,” Hallow said. Her eyes cut to her brother Mark, and they nodded at us and left the bar. They didn’t care whether this made sense or not.
    “They’re sending witches to visit all the vamps,” Sam said softly. Of course. The Stonebrooks were going to the residences of all vampires who owed allegiance to Eric—the vamps of Area Five. They suspected that one of these vamps might be hiding Eric. Since Eric hadn’t turned up, he was being hidden. Hallow had to be confident that her spell had worked, but she might not know exactly how it had worked.
    I let the smile fade off my face, and I leaned against the bar on my elbows, trying to think real hard.
    Sam said, “This is big trouble, right?” His face was serious.
    “Yes, this is big trouble.”
    “Do you need to leave? There’s not too much happening here. Holly can come out of the kitchen now that they’re gone, and I can always see to the tables myself, if you need to get home. . . .” Sam wasn’t sure where Eric was, but he suspected, and he’d noticed Holly’s abrupt bolt into the kitchen.
    Sam had earned my loyalty and respect a hundred times over.
    “I’ll give them five minutes to get out of the parking lot.”
    “Do you think they might have something to do with Jason’s disappearance?”
    “Sam, I just don’t know.” I automatically dialed the sheriff’s department and got the same answer I’d gotten all day—“No news, we’ll call you when we know something.” But after she said that, the dispatcher told me that the pond was going to be searched the next day; the police had managed to get hold of two search-and-rescue divers. I didn’t know how to feel about this information. Mostly, I was relieved that Jason’s disappearance was being taken seriously.
    When I hung up the phone, I told Sam the news. After a second, I said, “It seems too much to believe that two men could disappear in the Bon Temps area at the same time. At least, the Stonebrooks seem to think Eric’s around here. I have to think that there’s a connection.”
    “Those Stonebrooks are Weres,” Sam muttered.
    “ And witches. You be careful, Sam. She’s a killer. The Weres of Shreveport are out after her, and the vamps, too. Watch your step.”
    “Why is she so scary? Why would the Shreveport pack have any trouble handling her?”
    “She’s drinking vampire blood,” I said, as close to his ear as I could get without kissing him. I glanced around the room, to see that Kevin was watching our exchange with a lot of interest.
    “What does she want with Eric?”
    “His business. All his businesses. And him.”
    Sam’s eyes widened. “So it’s business, and personal.”
    “Yep.”
    “Do you know where Eric is?” He’d avoided asking me directly until now.
    I smiled at him. “Why would I know that? But I confess, I’m worried about those two being right down the road from my house. I have a feeling they’re going to break into Bill’s place. They might figure Eric’s hiding with Bill, or in Bill’s house. I’m sure he’s got a safe hole for Eric to sleep in and blood on hand.” That was pretty much all a vampire required, blood and a dark place.
    “So you’re going over to guard Bill’s property? Not a good idea, Sookie. Let Bill’s homeowners insurance take care of whatever damage they do searching. I think he told me he went with State