Sookie 04 Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

that unswerving attention. I didn’t find it flattering, as Jason had. I found it deadly. Jason opened his mouth to speak-I could feel the anger building in him, and the impulse to confront-but my hand clamped down on his wrist, and he grunted, and I said, “Don’t say a word.” For a miracle, he didn’t. He seemed to sense that events were moving forward too rapidly and in a grave direction.
    “You’ll have to kill me, too,” I said.
    Chow shrugged. “Big threat.”
    Pam didn’t say anything. If it came to a choice between upholding vamp interests and being my buddy . . . well, I guessed we were just going to have to cancel our sleepover, and here I’d been planning on French-braiding her hair.
    “What is this about?” Eric asked. His voice was considerably stronger. “Explain . . . Pam.”
    A minute went by while things hung in the balance. Then Pam turned to Eric, and she may have been slightly relieved that she didn’t have to kill me right at the moment. “Sookie and this man, her brother, have seen you,” she explained. “They’re human. They need the money. They will turn you in to the witches.”
    “What witches?” Jason and I said simultaneously.
    “Thank you, Eric, for getting us into this shit,” Jason muttered unfairly. “And could you let go of my wrist, Sook? You’re stronger than you look.”
    I was stronger than I should be because I’d had vampire blood-most recently, Eric’s. The effects would last around three more weeks, maybe longer. I knew this from past experience.
    Unfortunately, I’d needed that extra strength at a low point in my life. The very vampire who was now draped in my former boyfriend’s bathrobe had donated that blood when I was grievously wounded but had to keep going.
    “Jason,” I said in a level voice-as though the vampires couldn’t hear me-“please watch yourself.” That was as close as I could come to telling Jason to be smart for once in his life. He was way too fond of walking on the wild side.
    Very slowly and cautiously, as if an uncaged lion were in the room, Jason and I went to sit on the old couch to one side of the fireplace. That notched the situation down a couple of degrees. After a brief hesitation, Eric sat on the floor and pressed himself into my legs. Pam settled on the edge of the recliner, closest to the fireplace, but Chow chose to remain standing (within what I calculated was lunging distance) near Jason. The atmosphere became less tense, though not by any means relaxed-but still, this was an improvement over the moments before.
    “Your brother must stay and hear this,” Pam said. “No matter how much you don’t want him to know. He needs to learn why he mustn’t try to earn that money.”
    Jason and I gave quick nods. I was hardly in a position to throw them out. Wait, I could! I could tell them all that their invitation to come in was rescinded, and whoosh, out the door they’d go, walking backward. I found myself smiling. Rescinding an invitation was extremely satisfying. I’d done it once before; I’d sent both Bill and Eric zooming out of my living room, and it had felt so good I’d rescinded the entrance invite of every vampire I knew. I could feel my smile fading as I thought more carefully.
    If I gave way to this impulse, I’d have to stay in my house every night for the rest of my life, because they’d return at dusk the next day and the day after that and so on, until they got me, because I had their boss. I glowered at Chow. I was willing to blame this whole thing on him.
    “Several night ago, we heard-at Fangtasia,” Pam explained for Jason’s benefit, “that a group of witches had arrived in Shreveport. A human told us, one who wants Chow. She didn’t know why we were so interested in that information.”
    That didn’t sound too threatening to me. Jason shrugged. “So?” he said. “Geez, you all are vampires. What can a bunch of girls in black do to you?”
    “Real witches can do plenty to