Deadlocked: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel

you?”
    “Happy to be out of that building in Monroe,” he said. “I see you are not busy. Can we sit and talk?”
    “Yes,” I said. “Let me clear this table.” I was sorry that didn’t take longer to do. By the time I sat down with the elf warrior, I was nocloser to having a good idea about how to handle this visit than I had been the moment Bellenos walked in. I pulled out a chair to his right. I wanted to talk in a low voice, because I certainly didn’t want anyone to overhear our conversation, but I also wanted to keep an eye on the few people in the room.
    In the fae way, Bellenos took my hand. I wanted to snatch it back, but there wasn’t any point in offending him. The bones stood out so much that his hand hardly looked human—which, of course, it wasn’t. It was pale, freckled, and very strong.
    Past his shoulder, I saw Kennedy glance our way. She shook a playful finger at me. She thought I was flirting with someone besides Eric. I gave her a stiff smile. Ha. Ha.
    “There are too many of us crowded under one roof at Hooligans,” Bellenos said.
    I nodded.
    “Claude is a leader. Dermot is not.”
    I nodded again, just to show I was following his conversation. He wasn’t voicing any new ideas, so far.
    “If you have any means of reaching Niall, now is the time to make use of it.”
    “I would if I could. I don’t have any such secret.” His slanting eyes were a bit disturbing close up.
    “Is that the truth?” An auburn eyebrow rose.
    “The truthful answer is that I really don’t have any certain means of contacting Niall,” I said flatly. “I’m not completely sure I would get in touch with him, if I had the ability.”
    Bellenos nodded thoughtfully. “The fairy prince is capricious,” he said.
    “That’s for damn sure.” Finally, we were in agreement.
    “I’m sorry that you can’t help,” Bellenos said. “I hope nothing worse happens.”
    “Like what?” Did I really want to know?
    “Like more fights breaking out.” He shrugged. “Like one of us leaving the bar to have some fun amongst the humans.”
    That sounded like a threat.
    I suddenly remembered that Claude had brought me a letter from Niall, one he said he’d received through the portal in the woods. That was what he’d told me when he’d delivered the letter, if I was remembering correctly. “I could write a letter,” I offered. “I don’t know if it would reach him, but I can try.”
    I was sure Bellenos would press me for details, but to my relief he said, “You had better try anything you can think of. You don’t know me well, but I’m telling the truth in this matter.”
    “I don’t doubt you,” I said. “I’ll do my best. And I have a question to ask you.”
    He looked politely attentive.
    “A young woman, a woman at least part Were, came to my boyfriend’s home a few nights ago,” I said. “She was irresistible to him.”
    “Did he kill her?”
    “No, but he drank from her, though normally he has very good self-control. I think this young woman was carrying a vial of fairy blood. She opened it when she got close to Eric to make herself attractive to him. She may even have drunk it herself so the blood would permeate her. Do you have any ideas about where the blood might have come from?” I regarded him steadily.
    “You want to know if she got the blood from one of us?”
    “I do.”
    Bellenos said, “It’s possible a fairy sold blood without knowing what it would be used for.”
    I thought that was bullshit, but in the interests of getting an answer, I said, “Certainly.”
    “I’ll inquire,” he said. “And you send the letter.”
    Without further ado, he rose and glided out of the bar, receiving only a casual glance or two. I went back to the calendar to check, the one posted behind the bar. Danny had finally left to return to work, and Kennedy was actually singing to herself as she aimlessly shifted bottles and glasses around. She grinned at me as she “worked.”
    I was just bending closer to look at the June page when my cell rang. I whipped it out of my pocket. JB!
    “What happened?” I asked.
    “We got a boy and a girl!” he yelled. “They’re fine! Tara’s fine! They got all their fingers and toes! They’re big enough! They’re perfect!”
    “Oh, I’m so happy! You give Tara a hug for me. I’ll try to get over to the hospital to see those little ones. The minute you’re home I’ll bring supper over, you hear?”
    “I’ll tell her,” he said, but he