The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

absence. Sam calls at closing to let Sookie know that his mom is expected to make a full recovery and that his stepfather is in jail.
    THURSDAY, JANUARY 12. Duff, Merlotte’s beer-delivery driver, calls Sookie at home when no one is at the bar to accept a shipment, so she rushes to the bar, nervously signing the invoice on Sam’s behalf. She remains at Merlotte’s and is on the phone with Amelia when Bobby Burnham, Eric’s daytime guy, arrives. Amelia tells her that Eric called the night before and that Octavia finally told Bobby this morning where Sookie could be found. Bobby tells Sookie that Eric has requested that she come to Fangtasia that evening to meet with Victor Madden, the lieutenant of Felipe de Castro, the new king of Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as Nevada. Sookie agrees, and Bobby hands her a black velvet bundle, telling her to present it to Eric in front of Victor. After Bobby leaves, Sookie goes about her day. The customers and employees at Merlotte’s continue to adjust to the news about the existence of shifters. Tanya arrives early for a little brushup training before her shift, and Sookie is able to head to Shreveport in time for the meeting.
    Pam greets Sookie as she enters and instructs her to go into Eric’s office and respectfully present the velvet package to Eric. Victor watches as Eric receives the velvet bundle from Sookie, dramatically opening it to reveal the shining ceremonial knife that he used to officiate the vampire marriage in Rhodes and later used to cut himself during the blood bond. As Eric kisses the knife, she becomes uncomfortably aware that she does not understand the ramifications of all that is happening. She is stunned when Victor states that Quinn had requested a private meeting with her that will now be denied and that Felipe will acknowledge Eric’s prior claim on Sookie. Her discomfort gives way to anger as the vampires explain that shifters who do business with the vampires must get Eric’s permission to enter Area Five, a stipulation he specifically negotiated when he allied with the new regime. She becomes even more furious when Victor explains that because she and Eric used the ceremonial knife in a blood ritual, they are now effectively wed under vampire law. Her outrage is not assuaged when Eric tries to appease her by claiming that his actions were taken for her own good, and she leaves, promising him that they will discuss this later.
    FRIDAY, JANUARY 13. Sam calls with a quick update about his mom’s condition. Sookie is shocked when she is visited by Agent Sara Weiss from the New Orleans office of the FBI and Special Agent Tom Lattesta from the Rhodes branch. After showing Sookie a photograph of herself and Barry the Bellboy in the ruins of the bombed hotel, they begin to question her about Barry and the events of that terrible day. The phone rings, and a shaken Amelia interrupts them to tell Sookie that she is needed at Merlotte’s because a woman has been crucified in the parking lot.
    Sookie arrives at the bar with the FBI agents in tow. Sookie is devastated to see that the woman is her pregnant sister-in-law, Crystal. She calls Sam as the police begin to gather evidence. A stunned Jason, notified of the death, arrives first, followed shortly thereafter by a grief-stricken Calvin Norris, who is accompanied by Tanya Grissom. Sookie escorts the Hotshot leader back to the scene, where he hopes to get a scent of his niece’s killer. He tries to force his way through to her body but is stopped by the law-enforcement agents present, and Sookie is moved by Sheriff Bud Dearborn’s careful treatment of Calvin, realizing that the old sheriff was aware of the panthers long before the Great Reveal. Jason’s friend Mel Hart arrives and persuades the dazed Jason to go home while Calvin waits for Crystal’s body to be taken down from the cross. Sookie decides to leave when the police tell her that Merlotte’s will remain closed for several more hours at least. When she doesn’t get word that it is okay to reopen by the time darkness falls, Sookie heads to Fangtasia to see Eric.
    Sookie is comforted by Eric’s presence and listens quietly when he begins to tell her of his early life and how he was turned by Appius Livius Ocella. She then shares her concern about the FBI’s interest in her and Barry, and her fears that they want her to work for them. Eric explains that he wed her in the vampire way to protect her from King Felipe who, even though he