“No,” I said. And I was proud that my voice was firm. “No matter how we suffer, we have an obligation to others. We have to be unselfish enough to try to live in the right way, so others can get through their own lives without us fouling them up.”

Alexei looked rebellious. “That’s what Master says, too,” he muttered. “More or less.”

“Master is right,” I said, though the words tasted bad in my mouth.

“Master” waved for the bartender to come over. Felicia slunk up to the table. She was tall and pretty and as gentle as a vampire can be. She had some fresh scars on her neck. “What can I get you-all?” she said. “Sookie, can I bring you a beer or . . . ?”

“Some iced tea would be great, Felicia,” I said.

“And some TrueBlood for all of you?” she asked the vampires. “Or, we do have a bottle of Royalty.”

Eric’s eyes closed, and Felicia realized her blunder. “Okay,” she said briskly. “TrueBlood for Eric, tea for Sookie.”

“Thank you!” I said, smiling up at the bartender.

Pam strode up to the table. She was trailing the gauzy black costume she wore at Fangtasia, and she was as close to panic as I’d ever seen her. “Excuse me,” she said, bowing in the direction of the guests. “Eric, Katherine Boudreaux is visiting Fangtasia tonight. She’s with Sallie and a small party.”

Eric looked as if he were going to explode. “Tonight,” he said, and one word spoke volumes. “With much regret, Ocella, I must ask you and Alexei to go back to my office.”

Appius Livius got up without asking for further explanation, and Alexei, to my surprise, followed him without any questions. If Eric had been in the habit of breathing, I would say that he exhaled with relief when his visitors had left his sight. He said a few things in an ancient tongue, but I didn’t know which one.

Then a stout, attractive blonde in her forties was standing by the table, another woman right behind her.

“You must be Katherine Boudreaux,” I said pleasantly. “I’m Sookie Stackhouse; I’m Eric’s girlfriend.”

“Hi, honey. I’m Katherine,” she said. “This is my partner, Sallie. We’re here with some friends who were curious about my job. I try to visit all the vampire workplaces during the year, and we hadn’t been to Fangtasia in months. Since I’m based right here in Shreveport, I ought to make it in more often.”

“We’re so glad you’re here,” Eric said smoothly. He sounded like his normal self. “Sallie, always good to see you. How’s the tax business?”

Sallie, a slim brunette whose hair was just beginning to gray, laughed. “Taxes are booming, as always,” she said. “You ought to know, Eric, you pay enough of them.”