Breeding true is all the more important because the two-natured have a high mortality rate. So the leader of a pack is required to have children with as many of the pureblood women in his group as possible. I found this out from Calvin Norris when we were semiromantically involved for a while. As much as I thought I might care for him, this secret breeding program was something I couldn’t handle. I’m the sort of woman who wants her husband home in bed with her, not out having kids with the nice lady down the street.
The two-natured young start manifesting their abilities when they hit puberty, as if teenagers don’t have enough problems already. According to what I’ve been told, the kids are mentored and taught how to handle both the physical and emotional changes that their condition entails.
Sometimes, though, shapeshifters will find that they have to mentor a nonchild. That’s what happened with my brother, Jason, though there are times when (with the way he acts) you’d think he was a prepubescent kid. After he got involved with Calvin’s niece Crystal, one of her werepanther ex-boyfriends took it into his head that the only thing that attracted her to Jason was that he was a full human. So he decided to turn Jason into a werepanther and win Crystal back that way—which, by the way, didn’t work. This transformation is not an easy thing to go through, but my big brother survived. In fact, after the first time he changed, Jason described it as “the most incredible experience” of his life.
Go figure.
THE FAIRIES
Just when I thought I had things figured out, with the vampires and the shapeshifters and all, I ended up having everything turned upside down again.
I found out that fairies are real; and no, I’m not talking trash about gay guys. I am talking about fairies—you know, those guys with the pointed ears? They’re actually a lot like the elves in The Lord of the Rings. I’m sorry, but Tolkien got them wrong. You don’t want to meet a real elf. They can take off your hand with one bite.
Unlike vampires and shapeshifters, fairies aren’t actually from the world we know. They come from a world that is pretty darn close to ours but is separated by some kind of magical barrier; at least, that’s the way I understand it. This world is called Faery, and all the . . . well, the creatures that live in it are the fae. Fairies are only one branch of the fae, but they’re the most populous and the most humanlike in form.
I’ve met elves, demons, and goblins. You don’t want to know them, though Mr. Cataliades, the mostly demon lawyer, is an okay guy.
Why am I interested in the fairies? I found out that my brother and I are part fairy. Out of nowhere my great-grandfather Niall Brigant invited me to dinner in Shreveport. He explained that his half-human son had been my grandfather and that he wanted to get to know me better; after all, we were family. Now I’m pretty sure that explains my being able to read minds.
He wasn’t the first fairy I met. That was Claudine Crane, six feet tall and drop-dead gorgeous, who turned out to be my fairy godmother. She definitely was not one of those fairies in a kid’s story; you know the kind I’m talking about, small, winged things that giggle and dart around like a demented firefly? No, Claudine wasn’t one of those; she knew magic, but she knew sex appeal as well and didn’t hesitate to use it. There wasn’t an eye, male or female, that didn’t look up and notice her when she walked into the room. Though she didn’t tell me so, Niall had sent her. Claudine was a full fairy, and she was also my cousin.
Magic is part of the very nature of the fae, and although they might all have the ability, it can manifest differently in each branch. Kind of like the way we humans have the same basic bodies but wildly different talents and capacities. I wonder if I should even be saying “we” anymore. Can I include myself with humans, since I’m part fairy? That’s something I’ve got to give some thought to.
Claudine said that the fae live a very long time, but they’re not immortal; they just don’t age at the same rate that humans do. I don’t think that fact really sank in until I met my great-grandfather. He doesn’t look much older than late fifties or early sixties, and he’s been alive for centuries, maybe even millennia. The fairies don’t keep track of time very well.
Not all that many of the fae actually live in our world for any extended period. Most of them prefer to stay away because of iron. That stuff is to them like Kryptonite is to Superman; oddly enough, so is lemon juice. I’m not a scientist, but that allergy seems a little weird to me. However, I went to school with people who were allergic to things like eggs and peanuts, so why not? Of course, that also means that a squirt gun full of lemon juice is an effective weapon against them.
I wonder if I could go to the world of the fae for a visit? I doubt I would be very well received. Most of those who reside in Faery look at humans as if we were an insult to their own wonderfulness. But a few fae choose to live on earth because humans are full of energy and emotions of a type that they can’t enjoy anywhere else. Claudine’s twin Claude lives among us, and Claudine did until her death.
Some fairies enjoy finding humans to mate with. Though these unions seldom result in a pregnancy, some do. The resultant kids have a compelling quality and sometimes strange abilities. Though it makes me squeamish to think of Gran and a fairy, I’m glad she was able to have my father and my aunt Linda.
The gateways, or portals, into Faery are hidden away in a number of places around the world, and those locations are guarded jealously. I can take a few guesses on general locations based on things that my great-grandfather and Claudine have said. The fae don’t like extremes in temperature, so I doubt that there will be any portals off in Siberia or down in Central America somewhere.
I know there’s a portal in the woods in back of my house.
The biggest danger for fairies who choose to reside in the human world—beyond even iron or lemon juice—is vampires. They find the very presence of a fairy intoxicating, and if they have the chance to drink the blood of a fairy, it’s an orgy of sensation for the vamp. So it’s not always fun to see them in the same room together. Thankfully, I’ve never been pushed into having to choose between the vampires I know and my cousins who are fae.
God willing, I never will be.
SOOKIE’S FAMILY TREE
As Sookie herself might say, “The devil’s in the details.” We’ve assembled a whole host of trivia questions to test your knowledge about Sookie and the people, places, and things in her world. The first set is pretty easy, and then we’ve thrown in some stumpers later on. Turn to pages 236–44 for the answers. Have at it, and have fun!
Part One: The Easy Stuff
Dead Until Dark:
1. What are the names of the couple who attempt to drain Bill?
2. What is Gran’s full name?
3. What are Gran’s two favorite organizations in Bon Temps?
4. What is Rene Lenier’s sister’s first name?
5. What is the name of Sookie’s uncle whom Bill arranges to have killed?
Living Dead in Dallas:
1. What is the name of the Bellefleur mansion in Bon Temps?