Swimming to the Light (Southern Vampire Mystery)

Chapter 28 - Drifting to a Lee Shore

En route - Owatonna, Minnesota:

Isaiah leaned back against the banquette seating in the main cabin of the jet. The flight from Louisville to Minneapolis was so short that he never really settled. Taking away time for traffic and loading, the pure air time was under two hours. Still, it gave him time to watch the woman who was chattering with his guards in the back of the plane. He watched the way her face became animated in the telling of some story and how she lit from within when the group erupted into laughter. It had been a long time since any creature had engaged his interest, but Isaiah found himself admitting that engaged he was.

The king had misgivings when he found that he was Sookie Stackhouse's first assignment under the new contract. Isaiah had a series of negotiations he needed to finalize so that contract ratification could take place in Nashville at the upcoming Summit. Having a telepath at the table seemed a prudent move. On Bartlett and Russell's recommendation he'd signed on and within 24 hours had risen to find her in his compound along with Thalia. Of course he knew Thalia – who didn't? He also knew that she was playing bodyguard to the Stackhouse woman. What he hadn't anticipated was the woman herself.

He remembered Sookie Stackhouse from Rhodes. He had found the telepath to be irritating and crass. She had been a member of the Louisiana queen's retinue. She had also somehow ended up bonded to Eric Northman who was one of Queen Sofie-Ann's sheriffs. Isaiah had been aware that the telepath was being used by the Queen and her child Andre to run interference when he had hinted at a marriage. That interference hadn't sat well with him. He had the distinct impression that she was nothing more than a human pawn who was being used by Louisiana but by the end of the Summit he realized there was something wrong with his theory. For one thing his Britlingen guards had developed an odd respect for the woman. He also found out that she had had a hand in sounding the alarm that got him out of the hotel before the explosion.

He had heard stories that made her out to be some kind of vampire killer. Her name was linked to a handful of assassinations and another dozen killings involving supernaturals. There was some larger than life story claiming she killed a fairy with an improvised dagger in her own backyard. Based on what he'd seen and heard from her he wondered how rumors like that could have been believed by anyone. But then again he came from a time when news was carried up and down the frontier by word of mouth. Creating tall tales was a way of life. Isaiah never underestimated the ability of people to take a small truth and spin it into a large lie.

When Sookie had bowed before him in his throne room he had felt certain that all his initial impressions were right. She was wearing ridiculous shoes with heels that caused her to walk like a cripple. Her clothes were too tight and she was flashing the cleavage of her breasts like some hussy barmaid. She looked like every other gold-digging human whore who had come to his front door hoping to snag a vampire and the riches that came with him. He couldn't see any way that this foolish looking creature could be the smart, cunning woman that others described.

He might have dismissed her and made sure that his time with her was limited. But it was Thalia's devotion to watching over her that had given him pause. He could see no clear reason that a vampire of her stature would spend any amount of time with someone who looked so disposable. Yet, there the legendary fighter stood, bowing to him and deferring to her. As a man with a long history of watching for signs along the trail he found he couldn't discount the idea that there might be something about this; something more.

When it had come time to sit down and prepare for the upcoming negotiations Isaiah had purposely delegated the task to his second, Thomas. This would allow the king to sit to the side and observe the telepath.

Sookie had listened carefully to everything that was said. Then she started asking questions. She asked about the ultimate goal for the talks (long term relationship and not a short term transaction), how well the parties knew each other (it was their first business dealings), what possible concerns might the other party have aside from the predictable nervousness about interacting with vampires. With each question Isaiah found his initial impression became harder and harder to hold.