From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse #8)(57)
Author: Charlaine Harris

"Embarrassing?" He looked puzzled. "You’re far more interesting than most humans."

"Thank you for not thinking I’m defective," I said.

"Other humans think you’re defective?" Niall sounded genuinely outraged.

"They can’t be comfortable sometimes," Sam said unexpectedly. "Knowing she can read their minds."

"But you, shapeshifter?"

"I think she’s great," Sam said. And I could tell he was absolutely sincere.

My back straightened. I felt a flush of pride. In the emotional warmth of the moment, I almost told my great-grandfather about the big problem I’d uncovered today, to prove I could share. But I had a pretty good feeling that his solution to the Sandra Pelt-Tanya Grissom Axis of Evil would be to cause their deaths in a macabre way. My sort-of cousin Claudine might be trying to become an angel, a being I associated with Christianity, but Niall Brigant was definitely from another ethos entirely. I suspected his outlook was, "I’ll take your eye ahead of time, just in case you want mine." Well, maybe not that preemptive, but close.

"There is nothing I can do for you?" He sounded almost plaintive.

"I’d really like it if you’d just come spend some time with me at the house, when you have some to spare. I’d like to cook you supper. If you want to do that?" It made me feel shy, offering him something I wasn’t sure he’d value.

He looked at me with glowing eyes. I could not read his face, and though his body was shaped like a human body, he was not. He was a complete puzzle to me. Maybe he was exasperated or bored or repulsed by my suggestion.

Finally Niall said, "Yes. I’ll do that. I’ll tell you ahead of time, of course. In the meantime, if you need anything of me, call the number. Don’t let anyone dissuade you if you think I can be of help. I will have words with Eric. He’s been useful to me in the past, but he can’t second-guess me with you."

"Has he known I was your kin for very long?" I held my breath, waiting for the answer.

Niall had turned to go. Now he turned back a little, so I saw his face in profile. "No," he said. "I had to know him better, first. I told him only before he brought you to meet me. He wouldn’t help me until I told him why I wanted you."

And then he was gone. It was like he’d walked through a door we couldn’t see, and for all I knew, that was exactly what he’d done.

"Okay," Sam said after a long moment. "Okay, that was really… different."

"Are you all right with all this?" I waved a hand toward the spot where Niall had been standing. Probably. Unless what we’d seen had been some astral projection or something.

"It’s not my place to be okay with it. It’s your thing," Sam said.

"I want to love him," I said. "He’s so beautiful and he seems to care so much, but he’s really, really…"

"Scary," Sam finished.

"Yeah."

"And he approached you through Eric?"

Since apparently my great-grandfather thought it was okay if Sam knew about him, I told Sam about my first meeting with Niall.

"Hmmm. Well, I don’t know what to make of that. Vampires and fairies don’t interact, because of the vampire tendency to eat fairies."

"Niall can mask his scent," I explained proudly.

Sam looked overloaded with information. "That’s another thing I’ve never heard of. I hope Jason doesn’t know about this?"

"Oh, God, no."

"You know he’d be jealous and that would make him mad at you."

"Since I know Niall and he doesn’t?"

"Yep. Envy would just eat Jason up."

"I know Jason’s not the world’s most generous person," I began, to be cut off when Sam snorted. "Okay," I said, "he’s selfish. But he’s still my brother anyway, and I have to stick by him. But maybe it’s better if I never tell him. Still, Niall didn’t have any problem showing himself to you, after telling me to keep him a secret."

"I’m guessing he did some checking up," Sam said mildly. He hugged me, which was a welcome surprise. I felt like I needed a hug after Niall’s drop-in. I hugged Sam back. He felt warm, and comforting, and human.

But neither of us was 100 percent human.

In the next instant, I thought, We are, too. We had more in common with humans than with the other part of us. We lived like humans; we would die like humans. Since I knew Sam pretty well, I knew he wanted a family and someone to love and a future that contained all the things plain humans want: prosperity, good health, descendants, laughter. Sam didn’t want to be a leader of any pack, and I didn’t want to be princess of anybody – not that any pureblood fairy would ever think I was anything other than a lowly by-product of their own wonder-fulness. That was one of the big differences between Jason and me. Jason would spend his life wishing he was more supernatural than he was; I had spent mine wishing I was less, if my telepathy was indeed supernatural.

Sam kissed me on the cheek, and then after a moment’s hesitation, he turned to go into his trailer, walking through the gate in the carefully trimmed hedge and up the steps to the little deck he’d built outside his door. When he’d inserted the key, he turned to smile at me.

"Some night, huh?"

"Yeah," I said. "Some night."

Sam watched while I got in my car, made a pressing gesture to remind me to lock my car doors, waited while I complied, and then went into his trailer. I drove home preoccupied with deep questions and shallow ones, and it was lucky there wasn’t any traffic on the road.

Chapter 17

Amelia and Octavia were sitting at the kitchen table the next day when I shambled out. Amelia had used up all the coffee, but at least she’d washed the pot and it took only a few minutes to make myself a much-needed cup. Amelia and her mentor kept a tactful conversation going while I bumbled around getting some cereal, adding some sweetener, pouring milk over it. I hunched over the bowl because I didn’t want to dribble milk down my tank top. And by the way, it was getting too cold to wear a tank top around the house. I pulled on a cheap jacket made of sweats material and was able to finish my coffee and cereal in comfort.

"What’s up, you two?" I asked, signaling I was ready to interact with the rest of the world.

"Amelia told me about your problem," Octavia said. "And about your very kind offer."

Ah-oh. What offer?

I nodded wisely, as if I had a clue.

"I’ll be so glad to be out of my niece’s house, you have no idea," the older woman said earnestly. "Janesha has three little ones, including one toddler, and a boyfriend that comes and goes. I’m sleeping on the living room couch, and when the kids get up in the morning, they come in and turn on the cartoons. Whether or not I’m up. It’s their house, of course, and I’ve been there for weeks, so they’ve lost the sense that I’m company."