Sookie Stackhouse Boxed Set (Books 1-8) - Charlaine Harris [664]
“They knew I was a human, and they knew he had abused me,” she said. “So they didn’t tie me up. The headman’s family discussed taking me as a slave, since they had lost a woman to the vampire. I knew what that would be like.”
The expression on her face was both heartbreaking and absolutely chilling. I held very still.
“That night, I pulled out some weak planks from the rear of the hut and crawled in. I told Alain that when he’d brought me over, I’d free him. We bargained for quite a time, and then he agreed. I dug a hole in the floor, big enough for my body. We planned that Alain would drain me and bury me under the pallet he lay on, smoothing the dirt floor over as best he could. He could move enough for that. On the third night, I would rise. I would break his chain and toss away the garlic, though it would burn my hands. We would flee into the darkness.” She laughed out loud. “But the priest returned before three days were up. By the time I clawed my way out of the dirt, Alain was blackened ash in the wind. It was the priest’s hut they’d stored Alain in. The old priest was the one who told me what had happened.”
I had a feeling I knew the punch line to this story. “Okay,” I said quickly, “I guess the priest was your first meal.” I smiled brightly.
“Oh, no,” said Sophie-Anne, formerly Judith. “I told him I was the angel of death, and that I was passing him over since he had been so virtuous.”
Considering the state Jake Purifoy had been in when he’d risen for the first time, I could appreciate what a gut-wrenching effort that must have been for the new vampire.
“What did you do next?” I asked.
“After a few years, I found an orphan like me; roaming in the woods, like me,” she said, and turned to look at her bodyguard. “We’ve been together ever since.”
And I finally saw an expression in Andre’s unlined face: utter devotion.
“He was being forced, like I had been,” she said gently. “And I took care of that.”
I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. I couldn’t have picked something to say if you had paid me.
“The reason I’ve bored you with my ancient history,” the queen said, shaking herself and sitting up even straighter, “is to tell you why I took Hadley under my wing. She, too, had been molested, by her great-uncle. Did he molest you, too?”
I nodded. I’d had no idea he’d gotten to Hadley. He hadn’t progressed to actual penetration, only because my parents had died and I’d gone to live with my grandmother. My parents hadn’t believed me, but I’d convinced my grandmother I was telling the truth by the time he would have felt I was ripe, when I was about nine. Of course, Hadley had been older. We’d had much more in common than I’d ever thought. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I said. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Hadley talked about you often,” the queen said.
Yeah, thanks, Hadley. Thanks for setting me up for the worst . . . no, wait, that was unfair. Finding out about Bill’s massive deception was not the worst thing that had ever happened to me. But it wasn’t too far down on my personal list, either.
“That’s what I’ve found out,” I said, my voice as cold and crisp as a celery stick.
“You are upset that I sent Bill to investigate you, to find out if you could be of use to me,” the queen said.
I took a deep breath, forced my teeth to unclench. “No, I’m not upset with you. You can’t help being the way you are. And you didn’t even know me.” Another deep breath. “I’m upset with Bill, who did know me and went ahead with your whole program in a very thorough and calculated way.” I had to drive away the pain. “Besides, why would you care?” My tone was bordering on insolent, which was not wise when you’re dealing with a powerful vampire. She’d touched me in a very sore spot.
“Because you were dear to Hadley,” Sophie-Anne said unexpectedly.