From Dead to Worse

house.”
    Amelia pumped her arm and said, “Yes!” She grinned at me.
    Nothing wrong with a little deserved self-congratulation, though the timing of it might be a bit off. I smiled back at her, though I felt my cheeks would crack.
    Eric seemed to gather himself, and after one long last look at each other, he and Bill relaxed. Eric turned to me, kissed me on the lips very lightly, and looked at my face for a long moment. “He’ll spare you,” Eric said, and I understood he wasn’t really talking to me but to himself. “You’re too unique to waste.”
    And then he opened the door.

Chapter 12
    Since the lights were still off in the living room and the secu rity light was on outside, from inside the house we could see pretty well. The vampire standing by himself in the front yard was not particularly tall, but he was a striking man. He was wearing a business suit. His hair was short and curly, and though the light wasn’t good for making such a determination, I thought it was black. He stood with an attitude, like a GQ model.
    Eric was pretty much blocking the doorway, so that was all I could tell. It seemed tacky to go to the window and stare.
    “Eric Northman,” said Victor Madden. “I haven’t seen you in a few decades.”
    “You’ve been working hard in the desert,” Eric said neutrally.
    “Yes, business has been booming. There are some things I want to discuss with you—rather urgent things, I’m afraid. May I come in?”
    “How many are with you?” Eric asked.
    “Ten,” I whispered at Eric’s back. “Nine vamps and Quinn.” If a human brain left a buzzing hole in my inner consciousness, a vampire brain left an empty one. All I had to do was count the holes.
    “Four companions are with me,” Victor said, sounding absolutely truthful and frank.
    “I think you’ve lost your counting ability,” Eric said. “I believe there are nine vampires there, and one shifter.”
    Victor’s silhouette realigned as his hand twitched. “No use trying to pull the wool over your eyes, old sport.”
    “Old sport?” muttered Amelia.
    “Let them step out of the woods so I can see,” Eric called.
    Amelia and Bill and I abandoned being discreet and went to the windows to watch. One by one, the vampires of Las Vegas came out of the trees. Since they were at the edges of the darkness I couldn’t see most of them very well, but I noticed a statuesque woman with lots of brown hair and a man no taller than me who sported a neat beard and an earring.
    The last to emerge from the woods was the tiger. I was sure Quinn had shifted into his animal form because he didn’t want to look at me face-to-face. I felt horribly sorry for him. I figured that however ripped up inside I was, his insides had to be like hamburger meat.
    “I see a few familiar faces,” Eric said. “Are they all under your charge?”
    This had a meaning that I didn’t understand.
    “Yes,” Victor said very firmly.
    This meant something to Eric. He stood back from the doorway, and the the rest of us turned to look at him. “Sookie,” Eric said, “it’s not for me to invite him in. This is your house.” Eric turned to Amelia. “Is your ward specific?” he asked. “Will the ward let in him only?”
    “Yes,” she said. I wished she sounded more certain. “He has to be invited in by someone the ward accepts, like Sookie.”
    Bob the cat strolled to the open doorway. He sat in the exact middle of the threshold, his tail wrapped around his paws, and surveyed the newcomer steadily. Victor laughed a little when Bob first appeared, but that died away after a second.
    “This is not just a cat,” Victor said.
    “No,” I said, loud enough for Victor to hear me. “Neither is the one out there.” The tiger made a chuffing sound, which I’d read was supposed to be friendly. I guess it was as close as Quinn could come to telling me he was sorry about the whole damn thing. Or maybe not. I came to stand right behind Bob. He raised his head to look at me, and then strolled off with as much indifference as he’d arrived. Cats.
    Victor Madden approached the front porch. Evidently the wards would not let him cross the boards, and he waited at the foot of the steps. Amelia flipped on the front porch lights, and Victor blinked in the sudden glare. He was a very attractive man, if not exactly handsome. His eyes were big and brown, and his jaw was decided. He had beautiful teeth displayed in a jaw-cracking smile. He looked at me very