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“For a while,” Claudine said. “Sooner or later, I’ll go one way or another.” No one understood that, with the possible exception of the colonel.

“You are one mouthwatering woman,” said the young Were. To back up the fashion statement of the spiked hair, he wore jeans and a ragged Fallen Angel T-shirt; he was barefoot, though Merlotte’s was cool, since the thermostat was turned down for the rest of the night. He was wearing toe rings.

“Thanks!” Claudine smiled down at him. She snapped her fingers, and there was the same kind of haze around her that enveloped the Weres when they shifted. It was the haze of thick magic. When the air cleared, Claudine was wearing a spangled white evening gown.

“Sweet,” the boy repeated in a dazed way, and Claudine basked in his admiration. I noticed she was keeping a certain distance from the vampires.

“Claudine, now that you’ve shown off, could we please talk about something besides you?” Colonel Flood sounded as tired as I felt.

“Of course,” Claudine said in an appropriately chastened voice. “Just ask away.”

“First things first. Miss Stackhouse, how is Maria-Star?”

“She survived the ride to the hospital in Clarice. They’re airlifting her to Shreveport, to Schumpert hospital. She may already be on her way. The doctor sounded pretty positive about her chances.”

The Weres all looked at one another, and most of them let out gusty noises of relief. One woman, about thirty years old, actually did a little happy dance. The vampires, by now almost totally fixated on the fairy, didn’t react at all.

“What did you tell the emergency room doctor?” Colonel Flood asked. “I have to let her parents know what the official line is.” Maria-Star would be their first-born, and their only Were child.

“I told the police that I found her by the side of the road, that I didn’t see any signs of a car braking or anything. I told them she was lying on the gravel, so we won’t have to worry about grass that isn’t pressed down when it ought to be. . . . I hope she got it. She was pretty doped up when I talked to her.”

“Very good thinking,” Colonel Flood said. “Thanks, Miss Stackhouse. Our pack is indebted to you.”

I waved my hand to disclaim any debt. “How did you come to show up at Bill’s house at the right time?”

“Emilio and Sid tracked the witches to the right area.” Emilio must be the small, dark man with huge brown eyes. There was a growing immigrant Mexican population in our area, and Emilio was apparently a part of that community. The spike-haired boy gave me a little wave, and I assumed he must be Sid. “Anyway, after dark, we started keeping an eye on the building where Hallow and her coven are holed up. It’s hard to do; it’s a residential neighborhood that’s mostly black.” African-American twins, both girls, grinned at each other. They were young enough to find this exciting, like Sid. “When Hallow and her brother left for Bon Temps, we followed them in our cars. We called Sam, too, to warn him.”

I looked at Sam reproachfully. He hadn’t warned me, hadn’t mentioned the Weres were heading our way, too.

Colonel Flood went on, “Sam called me on my cell to tell me where he figured they were heading when they walked out of his bar. I decided an isolated place like the Compton house would be a good place to get them. We were able to park our cars in the cemetery and change, so we got there just in time. But they caught our scent early.” The colonel glared at Sid. Apparently, the younger Were had jumped the gun.

“So they got away,” I said, trying to sound neutral. “And now they know you’re on to them.”

“Yes, they got away. The murderers of Adabelle Yancy. The leaders of a group trying to take over not only the vamps’ territory, but ours.” Colonel Flood had been sweeping the assembled Weres with a cold gaze, and they wilted under his stare, even Alcide. “And now the witches’ll be on their guard, since they know we’re after them.”

Their attention momentarily pulled from the radiant fairy