It was after hours when Lafayette and Sam finally arrived at Fangtasia.

"Dammit!" Sam said, staring at his cell phone for the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. "Tara's still not answering her phone. Where the hell is she?"

"If anybody knows, it's probably Eric, especially if he's had her blood," Lafayette said.

Looking out at the nearly-deserted parking lot, Sam's heart sank. "It's only a few more hours 'til dawn. "It doesn't look like anybody's here. Maybe Eric's already left."

Lafayette stared intently at the entrance of the club. "Nah, that motherfucka's here alright."

"How do you know?"

Lafayette closed his eyes as if he were meditating. "I can feel 'im. The closer he is, the stronger the connection."

"What connection?" Sam asked. He hoped it wasn't anything like the blood bond he'd once shared with Bill Compton. He had been unable to sleep for weeks after ingesting Bill's blood. He cringed, thinking of the sexually explicit dreams—or what he considered nightmares.

"It's a long, fucked up story," Lafayette said. "The less you know about it, the better. C'mon, let's go 'round back."

Sam got out the car and followed Lafayette to the back of the club. A few cars were parked in the designated employee parking area. Lafayette pounded twice on the steel door then three more times in quick succession, using some type of Morris code.

The door opened slowly. A large, stern-looking Asian vampire with short cropped hair, wearing a black suit stared out at them.

"Wassup, Chow," said Lafayette. "I need to speak to Eric."

The vampire's steely dark eyes skipped from Lafayette to Sam.

"This is Sam," Lafayette explained. "We both got business with Eric."

Chow's frown deepened, then without a word he shut the door in their stunned faces.

"Do you believe that shit?" Lafayette exclaimed. "I can't stand that ugly motherf-."

Before, he could finish his sentence the door opened again.

This time Pam appeared, dressed in her work uniform, a black leather corset with red lace and a long skirt made of black chiffon.

Startled, Lafayette jumped backwards away from the door.

"If it isn't Sam Merlotte and my favorite pathetic drag-queen, Lafayette. What? No pint-size humans or crazy maenads on your tail this time?"

"Where the fuck is Eric?" Sam asked, getting right to the point. He was quickly losing his patience and didn't have time to deal with Pam's snarky attitude.

"Busy," she said.

"I want to talk to him right now, and I'm not leaving 'til I do."

"Oh my, let me just rush right in and get him for you" she said, looking bored. "Not!"

"Look, a woman came here last night named Tara Thornton. She's my …" Sam hesitated, wondering about the real nature of his relationship with Tara. Was she his friend, girlfriend, sometime lover, employee? "She's important to me," he said finally. "And I don't appreciate that fucker feeding on her against her will."

Pam rolled her eyes. "Believe me, Eric has a smorgasbord of fangbangers lining up to be his next meal. If he fed from your female, she volunteered willingly and undoubtedly loved every minute of it."

"Hooka, my cousin wouldn't volunteer to be no happy meal unless Eric put a whammy on her," Lafayette said. "Eric can do whatever he wants to me, but that's my family y'all fucking with."

Suddenly, Eric was standing beside Pam, filling up the doorway with his impressive stature.

"Lafayette," Eric said with a hard edge in his voice.

Seeing the blond vampire, Lafayette stood quietly, casting his eyes downward like a frightened child who'd just been chastised.

What the hell is going on here? Sam thought. Eric obviously held some kind of power over Lafayette. He'd never seen the man cowed down so easily by anyone.

Lafayette raised his head to meet Eric's gaze. "M-my cousin, Tara, was here the other night. I think she came here asking you for help getting rid of cop named Andy Bellefleur."

"Ooh, I remember now," Pam crooned. "The chocolate cherry in the red dress." She licked her lips suggestively and turned to smile at her sire. "Did she taste as good as she looked? If I'd known you were feeding, I would've asked for a sample. I like the feisty ones. Their blood is so spicy."

Lafayette's eyes narrowed. "Fuck you, bitch," he mumbled under his breath.

Her head snapped in his direction, her fangs fully distended. "Mind your mouth, breather!"

Eric placed a hand on his progeny's shoulder. "Pam. Go help Chow close up."

She continued to glare at Lafayette. "Your insolence won't be forgotten. When Eric's through with you, I'll take pleasure making you scream in pain."

She turned and stalked away, leaving Lafayette staring after her. Eric turned his attention to Sam.

"I assure you that I have not tasted the one you speak of nor do I know anything about this Andy Bellefleur person, which in my opinion is a ridiculous name for a cop."

Sam was skeptical. "If you didn't feed from her, then who did?"

"Do I come to your establishment and question you about every patron who drinks a beer?"

Sam gritted his teeth. His temper was on the verge of exploding. "How dare you compare Tara to a fucking beer."

Eric gave him a taunting grin.

Lafayette stepped forward in an attempt to calm the situation. "Look, man, here's the bottom line. I love my cousin, but she's one fucking step away from the looney bin right now. She's hell bent on gettin' revenge on this detective and don't care how she do it, even if it means gettin' in league with a bunch of vampires."

"Your cousin's mental state means nothing to me," Eric answered coolly. "As long as my interests are protected." He gave Lafayette a meaningful look.

"A whole lot of drama's gonna end up at your doorstep if the cops find out you helped her."

"And how would they find that out?" Eric asked with an unwavering stare.

"I have to protect my cousin from herself, by any means possible. If you don't tell us where she is, I ain't got no choice but to -"

Within a blink of an eye, Eric was standing over him, so close that Lafayette had to lean back slightly to see the hairs on the vampire's chin.

"You'll do what?" the former Viking sneered. "I don't appreciate idle threats, Lafayette, even if you are a valuable asset to me."

Sam stepped closer, staring up at the two men. "Do you know where she is or not, Eric?"

"No," he answered, his eyes still focused on Lafayette. He slowly backed away, turning to face Sam. "However, my associate may know. He seemed quite taken by her. I spoke with him earlier. They're probably together as we speak."

"Is he the one who bit her?" Sam asked, jealousy and worry creasing his forehead.

"Most likely."

"We have to find them before it's too late," Sam said.

Eric looked thoughtful. "There is a place where Franklin likes to … work. It's very secluded. It would be easy to get to if we fly."

Lafayette held up his hands. "My name's not Peter Pan and I ain't that type of fairy. These pretty feet are staying on the ground."

Sam knew Eric was right. They could cover a lot more distance in the air, but he wasn't ready to reveal his true nature to Lafayette. He hadn't even revealed himself to Tara yet. He wondered what her reaction would be if he did.

"Lafayette, why don't you go back to Bon Temps and check to see if Tara's at Sookie's house," Sam suggested. "Keep your cell phone on so I can get in touch with you."

Lafayette nodded. "Be careful, Sam. Let me know as soon as you find her."

"I will."

As soon as Lafayette drove off, Eric turned to Sam. "So are you going to change, or do I have to carry you?"

Sam got an image of Eric flying him through the air like Superman carrying Lois Lane, and it made his skin crawl. "I'll change," he said.

He quickly stripped out of his clothes. His arms disappeared, forming into wings while his legs shortened, bringing him closer to the ground. He was now completely transformed into an owl.

"Impressive," Eric said with a look of approval. "Though I would have chosen a more majestic bird, like an eagle or a Peregrine falcon.

Sam twisted his head around nearly 180 degrees to stare up at the vampire. He could see him as clearly as if it were daytime.

Eric grinned. "Try to keep up, shifter," he said before taking off into the air. Sam hooted, spreading his wings as he followed in hot pursuit.

"Wake him up," ordered Tara. Franklin picked up a bucket filled to the rim with cold water and doused the unconscious detective's face. Andy coughed and sputtered as his body jerked against his restraints.

He blinked several times and tried to catch his breath. He looked disoriented. "Where am I? Why I am tied to this chair?" He struggled against the ropes binding his arms and legs, but it was no use.

"Did you have a good nap, Andy?" Tara asked in a teasing voice.

"Fuck you!"

Franklin slapped him hard across the face. "That is no way to speak to the woman I love. I suggest you mind your manners." He stood up, throwing an adoring smile in Tara's direction. "Carry on, my sweet."

She stood up from the only other chair in the room. They were in a dilapidated shack so deep in the bayou swamp that not even the alligators knew where they were.

Tara glared down at the man responsible for taking her lover's life. Her heart burned with rage. "Tell me why you did it, Andy?"

"I'm not tellin' you shit! You two are in enough trouble as it is. Kidnapping, assault -" He gave Franklin a pointed look. "- attempted murder. They're gonna throw the book at the both of ya."

Franklin's hands moved so fast that Tara didn't realize he had struck Andy until she saw the detective bent over, spitting out blood through his teeth.

"She asked you a fucking question, NOW ANSWER IT!" he screamed.

"I-I was defending myself," Andy stammered. "What was I supposed to do? He was a murderer."

"Eggs wasn't no fucking murderer," she snapped. "Even if he did kill somebody, it wasn't his fault. It was that bitch Maryann who made him do it."

She walked towards him with her gun pointed at the detective's heart. "I want to know how it happened, every last damn detail."

"It happened the way I told Sheriff Dearborn. I was standing outside about to get in my car. Eggs came out of nowhere wielding a knife. He was acting erratic and saying he killed people. He tried to attack me, so I shot him."

Tara leaned forward so she could look him directly in the eyes. "Then explain this to me, Mister Detective; how come he was shot in the back of the head? If he was comin' at you, wouldn't you have shot him in the chest?"

Franklin nodded. "Good question."

She saw something flash in his eyes. Fear? Guilt? His face turned to stone. "I already told you what happened, you stupid cow, I ain't gonna keep repeating myself. So you might as well let me go."

Tara felt her lips curve into a smile. "You know, Andy, my vampire friend really seemed to like your blood … a lot."

Franklin leaned down and smiled. His long, pink tongue slowly licked the blood from Andy's temple where Tara had struck the detective earlier with her gun.

"Mmmm. Yes, you're very tangy," he said. "The stubborn liars usually are."

Andy visibly cringed.

"Here's the deal, Andy," Tara continued. "Either you're gonna tell me what really happened that night, or Franklin's going to drain you dryer than a fucking raisin."

Franklin's fangs extended. "I could feast on you for days. Then when I'm nearly done, I'll toss your bloodless remains to alligators."

Andy's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. His face was drenched with sweat. "I already told you, I killed him in self-defense."

Tara looked at Franklin who shook his head from side to side.

"Franklin says you're lying."

"How the hell would he know? He wasn't there."

Tara walked back to her chair and sat down. "All vampires have a unique gift," she explained. "Franklin here can sense when anyone is lying just by the sound of their voice. He's like a vampire lie detector."

"But I am telling you the truth. I swear it," Andy said forcefully.

"No, you're not," said Franklin, "but by the time I'm done, you will."

Franklin walked over to the wooden table in the corner. He opened the slender brown briefcase on top of it. When he turned around he was holding what looked like a large scalpel.

He walked back towards the detective with an evil grin on his face. Tara felt a sliver of fear rise in her throat. Was she really ready to become a murderer? She wasn't a religious person like her mother but that didn't stop the doubt from clouding her mind. If there was a God, was revenge worth the risk of losing her soul and going to hell? She pushed her conflicting thoughts away and swallowed her fear. No, this was justice. Andy deserved to die, she told herself.

Franklin walked over and kissed her lovingly on the cheek. "This is my wedding present to you."

Tara said nothing as she watched the vampire approach Andy's chair. The detective's eyes grew as big as saucers. "No, no," he pleaded.

"Time to play truth or die," said Franklin in an ominous tone.

Tara closed her eyes as Andy's screams filled the room.

TO BE CONTINUED...