Prologue

Prologue

I drove my rental car down Hummingbird Lane, singing along to the radio. Who would have thought that I, Sookie Stackhouse, would be moving down to Bon Temps, Louisiana? Well, my family was originally from that tiny little town settled somewhere between Shreveport and Monroe, but apart from spending some of my summer holiday, I hadn’t really spent that much time there. Sure my Gran still lived in the ancestral home, my brother Jason had moved to Shreveport after finishing Law School 3 years ago and our firm’s clients were all living within 200 miles. And ever since daddy passed away earlier this year I’ve been feeling quite lonely up in Boston.

So when I finally finished Law School I made the decision to follow into my brother’s footsteps. Honestly it was for the best. Ever since the Great Revelation our firm’s need for secrecy was outdated. You see our firm, Auditore & Stackhouse, is not a typical law firm. Ever since its founding, back as a private bank in Florence, Italy in the late 14th century, it has cater to a specific type of clients. Vampires, to be exact. Up until 1905, the then Auditore Law Firm only had two clients, the same two clients since it was founded by Lorenzo Auditore. It was a family business, passed from father to son until the late 1970s when Vito Auditore, already in his late 60s and childless, asked a young law graduate, Corbett Stackhouse – my father, to join him and become his protégé. Of course he didn’t tell my daddy right away about what his clients really were. Can you imagine? My daddy would have thought old Vito was bat crazy! But my dad did agree to work for Vito, went back to Bon Temps to marry his high school sweetheart and brought her to Boston to start their lives together. My brother Jason was born soon after, followed by me three years later.

We had a great life in Boston, up until mama died when I was 7. She was visiting my Gran and my Aunt Linda when she was caught in a flash flood… Daddy did his best to raised Jason and I… And it wasn’t always easy. Between an overactive 10 year-old little boy and a 7 year-old telepathic little girl… Oh yes, did I forgot to mention it. I’m a telepath. Quite useful when you’re a lawyer, can always tell when someone’s lying, you know.

So here I am now. Moving in with my Gran, in Bon Temps, Louisiana. I’m bracing myself for the worst. I might not have spent alot of time in my ancestral hometown, but I know that people here are not as open-minded as people in the North. I’m not being judgmental, but people in the Deep South are known for being narrow-minded, the proof being how the Fellowship of the Sun, an anti-vampire church based in Dallas, is quite popular.

I pulled the car down the driveway and smile at the view of my family’s house. There had been a lot of improvement since I was down here in February to bury my father. The roof and paint looked brand new and the wraparound porch had been redone. Jason and Gran never said a thing on the phone… My thoughts were quickly invaded by those of the occupants of the house, meaning my Gran’s and Jason’s.

”I hope my Sookie likes the improvement he made to the house…”

”Where the hell is she? I should have picked her up from the airport…”

I smiled and cut the ignition, grabbing my purse and walking up the stairs. Opening the door I took a deep breath.

”I’m home!”

TBC

NEXT