Sookie Stackhouse Boxed Set (Books 1-8) - Charlaine Harris [704]
Tonight there were two visitors in Fangtasia, one of whom outranked Eric.
Andre was the personal bodyguard of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, the Queen of Louisiana. The queen, at present, was an evacuee in Baton Rouge. Andre looked very young, maybe sixteen; his face was baby smooth, his pale hair was thick and heavy. Andre had lived a long existence caring only for Sophie-Anne, his maker and savior. He was not wearing his saber tonight, because he wasn’t acting as her bodyguard, but I was sure Andre was armed with something—knife or gun. Andre himself was a lethal weapon, with or without an aid.
Just as Andre was about to speak to me, from beyond his chair a deep voice said, “Hey, Sookie.” Our second visitor, Jake Purifoy. I made myself hold still when every impulse I had was telling me to get out of the office. I was being an idiot. If I hadn’t run screaming at the sight of Andre, Jake shouldn’t make me think of bolting. I forced myself to nod to the nice-looking young man who still looked alive. But I knew my greeting didn’t look natural. He filled me with a terrible blend of pity and fear.
Jake, born a Were, had been attacked by a vampire and bled to the point of death. In what had been perhaps a mistaken gesture of mercy, my cousin Hadley (another vampire) had discovered Jake’s nearly lifeless body and brought Jake over. This might have been considered a good deed; but as it turned out, no one had really appreciated Hadley’s kindness . . . not even Jake himself. No one had ever heard of a turned Were before: Weres disliked and distrusted vampires, and the feeling was heartily reciprocated. The going was very rough for Jake, who occupied a lonely noman’s-land. The queen had given him a place in her service, since no one else had stepped forward.
Jake, blind with bloodlust, had gone after me as his first vampire snack. I had a still-red scar on my arm as a result.
What a wonderful evening this was turning out to be.
“Miss Stackhouse,” said Andre, rising from Eric’s second guest chair. He bowed. This was a true tribute, and it lifted my spirits a bit.
“Mr. Andre,” I said, bowing back. Andre swept his hand to indicate his politely vacated seat, and since that solved my placement problem, I accepted.
Clancy looked chagrined. He should have given me his chair, since he was the lower-ranked vampire. Andre’s action had pointed that out as clearly as a blinking neon arrow. I tried hard not to smile.
“How is Her Majesty?” I asked, trying to be just as courteous as Andre had been. It would be stretching it to say I liked Sophie-Anne, but I sure respected her.
“That’s part of the reason I am here tonight,” he said. “Eric, can we get started now?” A gentle chiding for Eric’s time-wasting tactics, I thought. Pam folded to the floor beside my chair, crouched on the balls of her feet.
“Yes, we’re all here. Go ahead, Andre. You have the floor,” Eric said with a little smile at his own modern terminology. He slumped back down into his chair, extending his long legs to rest his feet on the corner of his desk.
“Your queen is living in the Area Four sheriff ’s house in Baton Rouge,” Andre said to the little assemblage. “Gervaise was very gracious in extending his hospitality.”
Pam cocked an eyebrow at me. Gervaise would have lost his head if he hadn’t extended his hospitality.
“But staying at Gervaise’s place can only be a temporary solution,” Andre continued. “We’ve been down to New Orleans several times since the disaster. Here’s a report of our property’s condition.”
Though none of the vampires moved, I felt their attention had heightened.
“The queen’s headquarters lost most of its roof, so there was extensive water damage on the second floor and in the attic area. Furthermore, a large piece of someone else’s roof landed inside the building,