From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse #8)(63)
Author: Charlaine Harris

"Hey, you know I’m here if you need me." His face was serious. He patted my shoulder.

I was so lucky to have him for a boss.

His gesture reminded me that I had lots of friends who would not dishonor themselves as Crystal had done. Jason had dishonored himself, too, by forcing Calvin and me to witness her cheap betrayal. I had so many friends who would not do such a thing! It was a trick of fate that the one who would was my own brother.

This thought made me feel better and stronger.

I actually had a backbone by the time I got home. No one else was there. I hesitated, wondering whether I could call Tara or beg Sam to take an hour off, or even call Bill to go with me to Hotshot… but that was just weakness talking. This was something I had to do by myself. Calvin had warned me to wear something comfortable and not to dress up, and my Merlotte’s outfit was certainly both those things. But it seemed wrong to wear my work clothes to an event like this. There might be blood. I didn’t know what to anticipate. I pulled on yoga pants and an old gray sweatshirt. I made sure my hair was pulled back. I looked like I was dressed to clean out my closets.

On the drive to Hotshot, I turned up the radio and sang at the top of my lungs to keep myself from thinking. I harmonized with Evanescence and agreed with the Dixie Chicks that I wasn’t going to back down… a good spine-stiffening song to listen to.

I reached Hotshot well before seven. I’d last been out here at Jason and Crystal’s wedding, where I’d danced with Quinn. That visit of Quinn’s had been the only time he and I had been intimate. In hindsight, I regretted having taken that step. It had been a mistake. I’d been banking on a future that never came to pass. I’d jumped the gun. I hoped I’d never make that mistake again.

I parked, as I had the night of Jason’s wedding, by the side of the road. There weren’t nearly as many cars here tonight as there had been then, when many plain human people had been guests. But there were a few extra vehicles. I recognized Jason’s truck. The others belonged to the few werepanthers who didn’t live in Hotshot.

A little crowd had already assembled in the backyard of Calvin’s house. People made way for me until I’d gotten to the center of the gathering and found Crystal, Jason, and Calvin. I saw some familiar faces. A middle-aged panther named Maryelizabeth nodded to me. I saw her daughter nearby. The girl, whose name I couldn’t remember, was by no means the only underage observer. I got that creepy feeling that raised the hairs on my arms, the way I did every time I tried to picture everyday life in Hotshot.

Calvin was staring down at his boots, and he didn’t look up. Jason didn’t meet my eyes, either. Only Crystal was upright and defiant, her dark eyes catching mine, daring me to stare her down. I did dare, and after a moment she dropped her gaze to somewhere in the middle distance.

Maryelizabeth had a tattered old book in her hand, and she opened it to a page she’d marked with a torn piece of newspaper. The community seemed to still and settle. This was the purpose for which they’d assembled.

"We people of the fang and claw are here because one of us broke her vows," Maryelizabeth read. "At the marriage of Crystal and Jason, werepanthers of this community, they each promised to remain true to their marriage vows, both in the way of the cat and the way of the human. Crystal’s surrogate was her uncle Calvin, and Jason’s was his sister, Sookie."

I was aware of the eyes of all the assembled community moving from Calvin to me. A lot of those eyes were golden yellow. Inbreeding in Hotshot had produced some slightly alarming results.

"Now that Crystal has broken her vows, a fact witnessed by the surrogates, her uncle has offered to take the punishment since Crystal is pregnant."

This was going to be even nastier than I’d suspected.

"Since Calvin takes Crystal’s place, Sookie, do you choose to take Jason’s place?"

Oh, crap. I looked at Calvin and I knew my whole face was asking him if there was any way out of this. And his whole face told me no. He actually looked sorry for me.

I would never forgive my brother – or Crystal – for this.

"Sookie," Maryelizabeth prompted.

"What would I have to do?" I said, and if I sounded sullen and grudging and angry, I thought I had a good reason.

Maryelizabeth opened the book again and read the answer. "We exist by our wits and our claws, and if faith is broken, a claw is broken," she said.

I stared at her, trying to make sense of that.

"Either you or Jason has to break Calvin’s finger," she said simply. "In fact, since Crystal broke the faith completely, you have to break two, at least. More would be better. Jason gets to pick, I guess."

More would be better. Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea. I tried to be dispassionate. Who could cause the most damage to my friend Calvin? My brother, no doubt about it. If I was a true friend to Calvin, I would do this. Could I bring myself to? And then it was taken out of my hands.

Jason said, "I didn’t think it would happen this way, Sookie." He sounded simultaneously angry, confused, and defensive. "If Calvin stands in for Crystal, I want Sookie to stand in for me," he told Maryelizabeth. I never thought I could hate my own brother, but at that moment I found out it was possible.

"So be it," said Maryelizabeth.

I tried to boost myself up mentally. After all, this wasn’t maybe quite as bad as I’d anticipated. I’d pictured Calvin being whipped or having to whip Crystal. Or we might have had to do some awful thing involving knives; that would have been way worse.

I tried to believe this might not be so bad right up until the time two of the males carried out a pair of concrete blocks and put them on top of the picnic table.

And then Maryelizabeth produced a brick. She held it out to me.

I began to shake my head involuntarily because I felt a heavy twinge in my stomach. Nausea did flip-flops in my belly. Looking at the common red brick, I began to have an idea what this was going to cost me.

Calvin stepped forward and took my hand. He leaned over to talk very close to my ear. "Darlin’," he said, "you have to do this. I accepted this, when I stood up for her when she married. And I knew what she was. And you know Jason. This might easily have been the other way ’round. I might be about to do this to you. And you don’t heal as well. This is better. And it has to be. Our people require this." He straightened and looked me right in the eyes. His own were golden, utterly strange, and quite steady.

I pinched my lips together, and I made myself nod. Calvin gave me a bracing look and took his place by the table. He put his hand on the concrete blocks. With no further ado, Maryelizabeth handed me the brick. The rest of the panthers waited patiently for me to perform the punishment. The vampires would have dressed this all up with a special wardrobe and probably an extraspecial fancy brick from an old temple or something, but not the panthers. It was just a damn brick. I held it with both hands gripping one long side.