From Dead to Worse

either.”
    “Yeah, I got that.” Did I even know any other great-grandfathers? Among friends my own age, even grandfathers were not a sure thing, much less great-grandfathers. But the ones I’d met were all 100 percent human. “I hope I’m not a disappointment,” I said.
    “No,” he said slowly. “A surprise. Not a disappointment. I’m as poor at predicting your actions and reactions as you are at predicting mine. We’ll have to work through this slowly.” I found myself wondering again why he wasn’t more interested in Jason, whose name activated an ache deep inside me. Someday soon I was going to have to talk to my brother, but I couldn’t face the idea now. I almost asked Niall to check on Jason, but then I changed my mind and kept silent. Niall eyed my face.
    “You don’t want to tell me something, Sookie. I worry when you do that. But my love is sincere and deep, and I’ll find Remy Savoy for you.” He kissed me on the cheek. “You smell like my kin,” he said approvingly.
    And he poofed.
    So, another mysterious conversation with my mysterious great-grandfather had been concluded by him on his own terms. Again. I sighed, fished my keys out of my purse, and unlocked the front door. The house was quiet and dark, and I made my way through the living room and into the hall with as little noise as I could make. I turned on my bedside lamp and performed my nightly routine, curtains closed against the morning sun that would try to wake me in a few short hours.
    Had I been an ungrateful bitch to my great-grandfather? When I reviewed what I’d said, I wondered if I’d sounded demanding and whiney. In a more optimistic interpretation, I thought I might have sounded like a stand-up woman, the kind people shouldn’t mess with, the kind of woman who speaks her mind.
    I turned on the heat before I got into bed. Octavia and Amelia hadn’t complained, but it had definitely been chilly the past few mornings. The stale smell that always comes when the heat is used the first time filled the air, and I wrinkled my nose as I snuggled under the sheet and the blanket. Then the whoosh noise lulled me into sleep.
    I’d been hearing voices for some time before I realized they were outside my door. I blinked, saw it was day, and shut my eyes again. Back to sleep. The voices continued, and I could tell they were arguing. I cracked open one eye to peer at the digital clock on the bedside table. It was nine thirty. Gack. Since the voices wouldn’t shut up or go away, I reluctantly opened both eyes at one time, absorbed the fact that the day was not bright, and sat up, pushing the covers back. I moved to the window to the left of the bed and looked out. Gray and rainy. As I stood there, drops began to hit the glass; it was going to be that kind of day.
    I went to the bathroom and heard the voices outside hush now that I was clearly up and stirring. I threw open the door to find my two housemates standing right outside, which was no big surprise.
    “We didn’t know if we should wake you,” Octavia said. She looked anxious.
    “But I thought we ought to, because a message from a magical source is clearly important,” Amelia said. She appeared to have said it many times in the past few minutes, from the expression on Octavia’s face.
    “What message?” I asked, deciding to ignore the argument part of this conversation.
    “This one,” Octavia said, handing me a large buff envelope. It was made of heavy paper, like a super-fancy wedding invitation. My name was on the outside. No address, just my name. Furthermore, it was sealed with wax. The imprint in the wax was the head of a unicorn.
    “Okey-dokey,” I said. This was going to be an unusual letter.
    I walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and a knife, in that order, both the witches trailing behind me like a Greek chorus. Having poured the coffee and pulled out a chair to sit at the table, I slid the knife under the seal and detached it gently. I opened the flap and pulled out a card. On the card was a handwritten address: 1245 Bienville, Red Ditch, Louisiana. That was all.
    “What does it mean?” Octavia said. She and Amelia were naturally standing right behind me so they could get a good view.
    “It’s the location of someone I’ve been searching for,” I said, which was not exactly the truth but close enough.
    “Where’s Red Ditch?” Octavia said. “I’ve never heard of it.” Amelia was already fetching the Louisiana map from the