From: "10648" <10648@thegrid.net> To: Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 11:51:12 -0800 Here's the first of the "series" . Thanks again. Karen G. 10648@thegrid.net AFTER LAST KNIGHT ACT I "Damn you, Nicholas!" Lacroix muttered once again as he stood over his son, his friend, slumped over the deceased Natalie Lambert with a stake in his back. "Did you find the light, dear Nicholas? Did it appear to you with all its radiance and warmth? Did you have faith enough to find your Natalie? Was she there waiting with open arms to greet you? Or," he sneered, "did you find the burning flames of damnation that will keep you for all eternity?" He continued to stand over the bodies. "Oh, my child, my son. If I only could have found the right words to have kept you here with me. " He looked around the room. "They're all gone now . . . all my children. You, Nicholas, I will miss the most." For a fleeting moment, anyone seeing him would have sworn there were tears in the grief-stricken vampire's eyes. He would have denied it, of course, but they were there just the same. Regaining control of himself, he looked around Nick's apartment once more. “Looks as if I have some cleaning to do,” he said aloud to the room, then set upon the unpleasant task of tidying up the place. ------ The threat of snow hung in the air of the cold Toronto morning. There still was much time before the sun would rise as Lacroix landed in front of the Raven. It would be his last in this city. Lacroix let himself into the club. It was nothing but an empty shell. Crates and boxes were lined up, ready for the movers in the morning. He had left implicit instructions for their removal and storage with a trusted friend. He planned to spend the day in the basement of the Raven and then depart for places unknown at sundown. It was not unusual that he had no destination in mind. Often, he'd left it to chance as to where that place might be. It worked out better that way. He had considered Paris, but then, Paris wouldn't be the same without his Nicholas or Janette. Singapore? Sydney? San Francisco? It didn't matter. The possibilities were endless. He only knew he had overstayed his time here in Toronto, and the sooner he left the better. He searched through the crates for the one with Janette's private stock label. Locating the wooden box, he ripped off the lid as if it were paper and pulled out a green bottle. It was one of Janette's best. He popped the cork and poured himself a glass of the red liquid. He felt an exhaustion he hadn’t remembered feeling in a long time. The door to the Raven began to open, the squeak of the hinge audible only to the likes of Lacroix. He started for the door and called out, "We are no longer open for business." He was in no mood for company. The figure in the threshold staggered in a few steps and paused, letting the heavy door close silently behind him. Lacroix was a little more than annoyed. He neared the unknown intruder, who was clutching the wall. "I told you, we were closed." There was something familiar about this one. A barely perceptible moan came from the darkness just before its owner pitched forward toward Lacroix. Reflexively, Lacroix caught the body just before it hit the floor. In the dim light, Lacroix recognized the weak and dirty body in his arms as the young Spaniard, Javier Vachon. He was covered in dirt; mud caked in his hair and under his fingernails. "Well, well, what have we here?" Lacroix asked as he lifted Vachon to his feet and led him to a corner booth. "Hungry . . ., I need . . . " gasped the weakened vampire. His brown eyes pleaded with Lacroix, "Help me." Lacroix was already pulling bottles from the open crate. He opened one of the green containers as he crossed the room and offered it to Vachon. Realizing he was too weak even to attempt to drink from it, Lacroix tipped the bottle to the ashen lips and allowed the liquid to flow slowly into Vachon's waiting mouth. Vachon let the warm fluid run down his parched throat. After all he had been through, these last few minutes felt as if they truly were going to be his last. As he grew stronger, he began to greedily suck the sustenance he needed. The first bottle was empty, and Lacroix offered him the second. The bottle was the heaviest thing Vachon had ever lifted, but it grew lighter and lighter with each swallow. "I never thought I'd make it here before sunrise," he told Lacroix with a hoarse voice as he accepted the third bottle. His hunger was finally fading as he finished it. "Thanks," he said weakly and leaned his head against the bench wall. Lacroix stared at him in silence. ACT II A brilliant white light greeted Nicholas de Brabant as the pain of the stake in his back and heart was replaced by a sense of peace, safety and warmth he hadn't felt in over 800 years. As he lay there, trying to assess his surroundings, it became apparent he was not alone. Sitting up, he saw Natalie next to him. The quiet, rhythmic rise and fall of her chest reassured him she was only sleeping. Her soft brown hair was draped over her shoulders. She looked so peaceful. Gently, he brushed aside the locks covering her neck, expecting to find confirmation of hazy memories. The area of her neck he had "kissed" was uninjured. Somehow, he was not surprised. Natalie stirred and called his name as she began to waken. "Shh...Nat, It's ok. It's me, Nick. Natalie, wake up." He spoke in a soft, comforting voice. He stroked her face, and she reached for his hand as she opened her eyes. His ocean blue eyes were the first thing she saw as she awoke. She smiled in recognition and started to sit up. "Nick? What happened? Where are we?" She looked around. Everything was white. There was no end to the room they were in. There were no doors, no windows. Nick was excited. "It's exactly as you said it would be. I'm here with you, Nat. We're together." She closed her eyes in remembrance of the last moments in Nick's apartment. She could remember him holding her, kissing her, and then...nothing. "What happened?" she asked Nick. "How did we get here?" "I took too much, Nat. I couldn't stop myself. And I couldn't condemn you to the life I have despised for so long." "But…" she started. Nick cut her off. "I know, I know, but I couldn't bring myself to sentence you to the darkness I have lived with for over 800 years. You were willing to believe in me. You dared to take a chance on me with your life. At the moment I thought I lost you, everything you said about faith made sense. It all came together. Lacroix came in just as I laid you on the floor. He pushed me to decide to bring you across. I couldn't. Your voice kept ringing in my ears. 'You must have faith, Nick.' I wondered, could it be possible that I, a vampire for all these years, still have faith? Lacroix kept at me, telling me it was time to leave and start again. But I couldn't leave you behind. He kept telling me it was foolishness, this faith. But there you were on the floor in front of me, a product of your faith in me. I knew then I did have that faith, Natalie, to believe in you and your belief that we would be together, forever, no matter how it ended. I asked Lacroix to finish me once and for all. You took a chance on me; I had to take that chance on you." Natalie looked at him in disbelief. "You mean he…?" Nick beamed at her and nodded. "Uh, huh. And I can show you where my back is still sore." She stared at him, trying to comprehend what he had just told her. She could not imagine Lacroix taking his beloved son's life. But here they were, and the excitement and love in Nick's eyes told her it did happen. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. At that moment, it occurred to them that they were not alone. Standing before them was a figure clad in white and gold. He had the figure of a human, though later Natalie and Nick would not be able to agree on whether it was male or female, tall or short, thin or heavy. All they would agree on was that the strange entity’s presence was overpowering. "Neither of you belong here." The mysterious figure said, obviously upset. "This was a big mistake. The timing is all wrong." Nick stood, holding Natalie's hand. "Who are you? What is this place?" "I am who I am," was the cryptic reply. "This place is where it should be, but you are not." It stared at them shaking its head. "It is way too early for either of you to be here. You should be here much, much later. This is wrong." "What are you talking about?" Natalie questioned nervously as she rose to stand next to Nick. "Why should we be here later?" "Both of you belong here, yes, but not now. This is not right," the ghostly figure kept repeating. "You both have too much to do. Things haven't happened yet. People to care for. Family." "What are you saying?" Nick demanded, trying to make sense out of this creature in front of them. "Where should we be?" "Hush now! Must think. Must plan how to get you back to where you belong." It paused and looked upward. "How long have they been here?" The figure appeared to be listening to an answer. Then it nodded and smiled in understanding. "Yes, yes, I can do that. Yes, I can take you back." It looked at the very confused Nick and Natalie. "You need to come with me, now!" The being ordered. "Wait a minute," Natalie practically screamed at him. "We are not going anywhere until you explain a few things. Where are we? What do you mean, you're taking us back?" The strange figure motioned them through a door that appeared out of nowhere. "I will tell you what I can, but we must hurry. Time is short. GO!" ACT III Lacroix pulled a chair over to the booth where Vachon slumped. He watched the recovering vampire thirstily drain the third bottle. The fourth sat opened on the table before them. Vachon rested the almost empty bottle on the table and took the effort to sit up. "It took me a long time to dig myself out of the ground. It was a bit dry down there." Vachon lifted the bottle to Lacroix, "Thanks, again." He put it to his mouth and drained it dry. As he did, he became more aware of his surroundings, and it dawned on him the Raven was empty. "Moving?" Lacroix also looked around the Raven. So much had happened in the last few weeks. In the past, the time to move on came on more subtly, unlike his recent experiences. In spite of himself, he sighed with regret, then reached over to the last bottle on the table and poured himself a glass. "It seems that it was my daughter, Divia, who caused you to be placed in your earthen grave. It was Nicholas's partner, Tracy Vetter, I believe was her name, who took it upon herself to set you in your final resting place." Vachon watched the older vampire's expression as he related his tale. He took the bottle from Lacroix and drank from it. "Yes, Divia was my daughter. She was also my master. It's a long story, one that I would rather forget." Lacroix tried to read his listener's thoughts, but all he could detect was an understanding of what had happened to him. Vachon finally understood the "daughter, mother, lover refrain that haunted him the week before. "What about Tracy, is she ok?" Ignoring his question, Lacroix continued. "In her hatred of me, Divia set out to destroy all of those who had contact with me. Unfortunately, because she had seen you and your angel, Urs, here at the Raven, she assumed you two belonged to me and set out after you. I don't believe Urs was as fortunate as you." He took a long drink from the goblet. Lost in the words that were just spoken, Vachon mimicked Lacroix with the bottle. "Divia's mistake was that she didn't wait around to make sure Nicholas was gone, and it was he who destroyed her here in the Raven as she was attempting to destroy me. Perhaps it would have been better her way." He stared in the direction of where he had lost his daughter. Vachon broke the reverie. " Urs is gone. I thought it was strange that I couldn't contact her." "After Ms. Vetter committed your remains to the earth, I cremated Divia. Nicholas asked me to let his partner remember you, just not the circumstances around your demise. All she remembered was that you were a vampire whose time it was to leave." "But she was a resistor," Vachon began and stopped with a look from Lacroix. His thoughts went back to that night in the church. He would never forget the look on her face when he plunged himself onto the stake in her hands. Silently, he thanked Knight for his intervention. It was good she would not carry the memory of those final moments. "I, myself realized it was time to go. Nicholas and I had overstayed our welcome. It was then, when I went to his place to extend the invitation to accompany me that I found him with his dear Dr. Lambert. She had somehow managed to convince him that she had "faith" enough in the two of them to let him bring her across or kill them both." His tone was bitter. "Of course, he couldn't do what I have told him to do with her many times. Instead, he chose her "faith", and I was the instrument that sent him to his damnation. He convinced me to plunge a stake into his heart so he could be with her eternally." his voice was mixed with sarcasm and grief. "Too much time spent with his beloved mortals." Vachon winced at the picture of Lacroix destroying Nick. It must have taken a great deal of inner strength to actually carry out the action. He tried to change the subject. "What about Tracy, Lacroix? What's happened to her?" He sensed something had gone wrong when Lacroix had evaded the question earlier. He sat up in anticipation of an answer he somehow knew was coming. Coldly, Lacroix met Javier's eyes; "She' was killed in the line of duty while backing up Nicholas in some trivial thing at the precinct house. So, you see, I guess we are, what's the term?...in the same boat. All of our children are gone." Emotionally spent, Vachon leaned back against the bench seat once more. He took a long drink from the bottle he had clutched to his chest as Lacroix finished his tale. Tracy's death had not been something he bargained for. She had been one of the reasons he kept going, digging himself out of the grave next to Screed. He had known that was her handiwork. Memories of her whirled around in his mind. The way her eyes lit up when she smiled, her innocence in spite of her chosen line of work, the smell of callalillies. Tracy... "Now what?" he asked Lacroix. "Are you still going? There are others that still need you here. That need your direction and guidance." Sensing they had made some sort of connection this night, he said with sincerity, "I need you here, Lacroix." Lacroix sat stunned by this moment of frankness. He was aware that a number of the younger ones looked to him as a "father figure" and why not? It was right, but he never thought that this one who sat in front of him so sure of himself, accustomed to being on his own, leading his own group, would have felt that way. In a strange way, they were equals at that moment. Both had lost those very dear to them. A look of sadness swept his face once more as he considered Vachon's words. Very quickly a thoughtful look replaced it. "It seems that things have changed, now. Haven't they?" he began. At that moment, the doors of the Raven began to open, pouring the early morning sunlight into the nearly dark room. A figure of a woman was silhouetted in the threshold. "Shut the door!" they both shouted in unison. ACT IV Rushing through corridors of white light, the three of them hurried to a destination known only to one. Nick held Natalie's hand tightly as they worked to keep up with the strange figure that talked to them about as fast as they ran. "No, Nick will not return as a mortal." Their hearts both sank with that. "Yes, Natalie is on the right track with Nick's cure. He will be mortal someday if she keeps on the same regimen. It will take time and patience. You will likely remember being here, but only as a dream. You will return to approximately the same time as you left." Suddenly they stopped. The place looked the same as where they had started. As the figure turned to say something, a portal appeared. "The paths you have taken have brought you here. If you stay on those same paths, you will return here when the time is right." It looked from Natalie to Nick. "You two are destined to be together. Your future actions will lay the foundations for many yet to come. You both have faith enough to see it through." To Nicholas, it said, "Love her, Nicholas de Brabant like you have loved no other." The being looked at Natalie. "It's alright to show him how much you care. It will take a lot of patience and fortitude. Don't let the little things get in the way." Gesturing to the door, the white shape told them, "It is time. Remember to love and care for each other and the rest who follow." Nick thought he heard a whisper as he crossed the threshold: "Just a little at a time." Natalie had dozens of questions, things she wanted to know, to understand. The final words only added to those questions. Nick wanted to know more too, but at the quiet insistence of the strangely clad figure, he pulled Natalie through the portal and left the questions behind. Immediately upon crossing the threshold, the bright light dimmed. Natalie and Nick awoke in his bed, wrapped in each other's arms. Although a little groggy, they retained their sense of peace and tranquility. Natalie was the first to speak. "I had the strangest dream. There was a bright light and this thing dressed in white..." Nick raised himself on one elbow. "You too? It was real, Nat, we were both there." She swung her legs to the side of the bed to stand up, but, being lightheaded, she quickly sat down. "Boy, Nick, talk about near-death experiences!" Her face beamed with excitement. "He said there was a cure, Nick. He said we have a future." Natalie leaned over to kiss him and Nick pulled her into his arms, hungrily responded to her. 'Love her as no other,' the figure had said. “Just a little at a time…” And so he did, that cold winter morning in Toronto. _____________________________ "Shut the door!" they shouted in unison. Irritated, Lacroix rose from his chair and once more that morning strode in the direction of the door. "Didn't you see the closed sign on the door? What business do you have at this time of the day?" He strained to see the second trespasser of the night. Nearing the figure in the darkened corner of the room, he had a strong feeling of recognition. It stopped him in his steps. Vachon quickly picked up on the tension in the air. He was unsure from whom it was emanating, but it was almost palpable. Struggling to get out of the booth he was tangled in, he got up and crossed over to the bar to get a better look. A very feminine voice floated from the darkness; "I am looking for Detective Nicholas Knight. I was told that I might find him here." She stepped into the light and Lacroix gasped, "Fleur!" She looked at him blankly, "Who? I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else. My name is Katherine Collins and I have been assigned as Detective Knight's partner. I have been unable to locate him. He is not at home and he’s not answering his phone. The department can not locate his car. I was hoping he would be here." She looked at the dark male now standing at the bar and then at Lacroix. " Do either of you know where he is?" >From where she stood, she had a view of the entire room. She was acutely aware of the type of place this was and who, rather what, these two were. She showed no emotion as she met with the eyes of first Lacroix and then Vachon. She felt confident and strong. She had met with their kind before and knew exactly how to deal with them. Lacroix thought to himself as he recovered from the shock of seeing his long lost love, Nicholas's sister. Not moving, he introduced himself, "I am Lucien Lacroix, proprietor of this establishment. And this," he waved to the bar, "is Javier Vachon." She nodded in his direction. "You are the exact image of someone I knew, a long time ago." "I know no Fleur," she told him flatly in reference to the name he had mentioned a while ago. At his introduction, she recognized that she was standing before one of the oldest and most respected members of the vampire community. Keeping her gaze directly on him, she continued, "I know you are aware of Knight's whereabouts. It is imperative that I find him." She paused, waiting for a reply. Not getting one, she continued, "It’s now daylight. I know that you can do nothing until later." She looked again from one to the other. They were both staring at her with quiet surprise. "I can wait." Vachon smiled to himself as he leaned on the bar, grateful he had made it that far. He watched Lacroix try to make sense out of it all. He collected himself, " My dear woman, the man you speak of is no longer available to be seen by anyone. He's gone on..."he smiled at the thought, "to a brighter future." "No, Lacroix, you are mistaken... He IS here, somewhere and I need to find him as soon as possible. Please tell me where you saw him last!" With a sigh, Lacroix glanced at the watch on his wrist. Taking a drink from the goblet he still held, he scrutinized this new creature that so rudely walked into his life. He weighed the possibilities. "Alright, if you insist, meet me here at sundown, that is, if you are intent on leaving this place in the daylight." Katherine stared at Lacroix, then Vachon, and back to Lacroix again. They noted a sparkle in her eyes at the mention of daylight. She cocked her head and smiled engagingly, "Of course, I'm leaving in the daylight. I'll be back here at 6 p.m." She returned her gaze to the vampire at the bar. She held it for a short time before she turned to leave. "See you later," she told the two. The two men were speechless as they watched her walk to the doors and carefully close them behind her. Vachon was the first to break the silence. "Who was that?" Quietly, and sadly, Lacroix responded, "Fleur, the only mortal I have ever truly loved. She looks exactly like our recently departed Nicholas' sister. He insisted I spare her from his curse almost 800 years ago. I have despised him for that ever since. But now she's back and she knows about us. The question is...why?" ACT V Captain Reese stood before Nick's desk and watched his newest detective pace in front of hers. She was like those lions in cages at the circus. "You need to find your partner, Detective Collins. I don't suppose it's going to be any different from before. I couldn't convince either Knight or Vetter to check in once in awhile. Why should now be any different?" She realized he was speaking to her, and she stopped her pacing. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?" "You need to tell Knight IA dropped the charges they were considering against him regarding his partner's death. It was a clean shoot. Find him, Collins. It's very important that he knows this. He was really torn up about losing her." Reese shook his head with frustration and thought about his encounter with Vetter's father earlier that day. The funeral had been that morning and the hours after seemed endless. He had spent some time with Commissioner Vetter who was pretty shaken up over his daughter's death. The Commissioner had told him he understood Knight was not at fault for Tracy's death. "It was just one of those weird things," he had told Reese. "That's a cop's life. You wake up mornings not knowing if you'll be coming home that night. Tracy understood that. My ex-wife, on the other hand, never could come to terms with it." "Yeah, I know. It's been a sore spot with Denise and me. It's hard on the families, that's for sure." Reese told him then, " Look, Commissioner, I am very sorry about your daughter. She was a good cop, just coming into her own as a homicide detective. I was proud to have her part of my precinct." Impatient with the time it took the computer to pull up the requested information, she returned to her pacing, wearing a worn path in front of her computer. Reese stared at her. ' He crumpled the paper cup in his hand and tossed it into the wastebasket at the side of the desk. "Two points," Katherine told him. "What?" "You made the basket. Two points," she told him again with a smile. "I think I have a line on Knight. I'm going to check it out this evening. Is there anything else you want me to tell him?" He admired her confidence. She was coping very well with this difficult situation. "Well, when you do find him, let him know how short-handed we are around here, with that flu-bug or whatever it is going around. Tell him I need him badly and I am counting on him." He turned to answer the desk sergeant's question, then turned back to Katherine. "Oh, by the way, Collins. Welcome to the Toronto PD" She flashed a grin at him once more. "Thanks. I'll find him, Captain," she told him with conviction. "Now, what was that, Williams?" He left Katherine to the information that just came up on her computer. On screen was the departmental files on her partner, Nicholas Knight. It told her the usual stuff. Name. Birth date. < I wonder what the significance of that day is? > Place of birth. Work record. On the surface, it looked like the typical personnel file. She knew it had been doctored to avoid questions. She had been briefed about Nicholas de Brabant when she had accepted the assignment. The real story was longer and, in truth, more exciting. She chuckled at the thought. The alarm from her wristwatch beeped 5:45. "Ok, Detective Knight," she told his picture on her view screen. "It's about time we met." She pulled on her winter coat and gloves as she walked past the front desk. "I'll let you know what I find out, Captain," she called to Reese as she went through the doors. A very surprised Reese watched her leave. "Someone here is actually telling me they're leaving and will report back. Will wonders never cease?" he asked no one in particular. The desk sergeant gave him an amused look and went back to his work. -------------------- "I wouldn't miss this for the world," a considerably stronger Javier Vachon was telling Lacroix in the Raven. They were finishing their "dinner" before their expected guest arrived. Uncharacteristically nervous, Lacroix wasn't exactly sure he wanted his new companion to tag along. He had sensed more than casual interest in her from him and the last thing he want was a confrontation with Vachon. Finally, after many second thoughts, he agreed to let him accompany them. Vachon would have followed anyway and there was no need to create problems where there might be none. Precisely at 6 p.m., the Raven's doors opened and Katherine stepped through them once more. Lacroix was impressed with her promptness. He was anxious to get this over with. After putting the movers on hold this morning, he thought long and hard about how he would deal with her. He had concluded that she couldn't be his beloved Fluer, come back as this mortal woman. She had to be an illusion borne from his grief over Nicholas. But, seeing her here before him in the Raven, he knew she was no illusion. "Good evening, Detective Collins." Ever the proper host, Lacroix rose from his seat to greet her. "I trust you slept well today." Katherine kept her distance. A warm welcome was not what she had expected and she wasn't about to encourage it. She looked from Lacroix to Vachon and back to Lacroix again. He appeared to be slightly agitated. She stole another look at Vachon and noted he looked much healthier than earlier that morning. There was something about the way he stood there watching her that made her a little uncomfortable. Still, she kind of liked the way he was looking at her. "I slept well, thank-you. I trust you are rested also. Are you ready to go? It is dark now." She looked directly at Lacroix. "All in good time, my dear," he replied, almost menacingly. "Before we leave, I would like you to answer a question for me. How did you happen to come to the Raven in your search for your missing partner?" Vachon watched the two verbally dance with each other as he leaned back against the bar and sipped the rest of his "dinner". Javier had given her one of his dark smiles when she had looked his way. For a second, he knew he had gotten to her. Her heart rate rose briefly and then just as quickly, settled back into its original tempo. In the few short minutes of their encounter, his interest was piqued. Katherine gave Lacroix a look of annoyance as she considered her answer. She didn't fluster under his gaze, but took time to choose her words carefully. In an attempt to avoid his question, she repeated herself. "It is dark outside. Are you ready to go?" She almost glared at him. "The answer to my question first, and then I will take you to the place I last saw him." He stared at her, trying to reach her consciousness. "I really don't see the point of your knowing how it was I came here. It is immaterial to my finding my partner. The fact is that I am here and the sooner you take me to him, the sooner I'll be out of your hair." With a questioning look on her face, she gestured toward the door. He swirled his index around the rim of his glass as he watched Knight's former master attempt to regain control of the conversation. Clearly, Katherine was not about to answer his question. Vachon knew Lacroix was seething inside. This was one, who was accustomed to being obeyed, having his questions answered. Surely, she could tell Lacroix was not happy. But she was after something important to her. She didn't care whom she made unhappy. Javier smiled inwardly with amusement. Glaring at her, Lacroix took the stance of one who will not move until he heard what he wanted. He would have stood there all night. He had nothing to lose. she thought. "Ok. It's known that Knight has frequented here on more than one occasion. In fact, it could be said that you and he were friends." she shrugged. "I had a feeling, that's all." Satisfied? She asked with her eyes. Recognizing that was all he was going to get, he repeated her statement, mockingly. "You had a feeling." Katherine chose to ignore the mild taunt, stepped to her side and pointed once more toward the door. "Like I said, the sooner you take me to him, the sooner I'm out of here." She glanced at Vachon. "Are you coming too?" Vachon straightened from his slouch and set his empty glass on the counter. The two vampires followed her to the street in silence. She pressed the button on her key chain to unlock the doors of her car. The highly polished surface gleamed in the streetlight. It was a small, fast, new American number whose backseat was not meant for full sized adults. Vachon squeezed into the small rear seat as Lacroix took the passenger front. He watched her face in the rear view mirror as she followed the directions Lacroix gave to Knight's apartment. Her look of determination was softened by shadows cast from the passing streetlights. Oncoming headlights gave her hair a golden glow as they whizzed by. Once, she glanced at him and he thought she smiled. "Pull in here." Lacroix told her to park behind a blue Taurus that Vachon recognized as Natalie's. , Vachon noted with surprise. Knowing what she was about to walk in on, Lacroix offered, "Would you like us to join you?" He smiled to himself as he envisioned her reaction and pointed toward the elevator. "You can get upstairs using the lift." As she got out of the car, Katherine observed the building. Her eyes rested on the windows above her. She already could sense Nick upstairs with a mortal, likely his Natalie. She gave Lacroix a knowing look. "Yes. That would be nice. You could introduce us." Lacroix returned her look with a small smile, eagerly anticipating the next few minutes. The elevator seemed to take forever. he thought with impatience. >From slightly behind, Vachon watched the two closely. Katherine was calmly watching the lights on the buttons move upward slowly. He glanced at Lacroix and realized he was not going to let her leave here alive. The elevator door finally opened, revealing the great room, softly lit by candlelight and the fire raging in the hearth across the room. Lacroix, Vachon and Katherine stepped out of the lift into the apartment as the two on the sofa facing the fireplace rose to greet them. ACT 6 The fire crackled and popped in the fireplace before them as Natalie and Nick nestled in each other's arms on the big leather sofa. The day had been spent sleeping and planning. The future held more for them than they could have ever imagined. Now, they were enjoying a drink before the fire, content with each other's company. Nick heard the familiar sound of the elevator bringing unannounced guests to his home long before Natalie did. He sensed two vampires, one was possibly Lacroix and the other was familiar, but one he could not identify. The elevator doors had opened before he could rise and face his visitors. The look of surprise and astonishment on Lacroix's face could never be described. The son he thought he had destroyed only twenty-four hours ago now stood before him with the woman he'd also thought dead. he thought briefly. After a few moments of uncertain silence, Vachon stepped out from behind Katherine and said to Nick, "You are looking very healthy this evening, Knight. You too, Dr. Lambert." He could sense the awkwardness between Knight and Lacroix. Neither of them knew what to say. He had never imagined either of them could be so speechless. Barely making sense out of Vachon's words, Nick finally responded, "Well, let's just say the rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated." He gave Natalie a reassuring hug as he stared at the woman who entered his world. he thought with a start. She was almost the exact image of his sister, long dead, yet, something was not right. He couldn't quite place it. Lacroix watched his newly resurrected son's reaction to his guest. Natalie could tell something was bothering Nick and this time it wasn't Lacroix. It wasn't seeing the presumed dead Vachon among the, ummm, living, either. It was definitely the woman who stood before them. Natalie wondered. Not one to be intimidated by any situation, Katherine walked across the room to Nick, extended her hand with a smile and said, "Hello, Detective Knight. My name is Katherine Collins. I am your new partner." She shook his hand and continued. "I am on a departmental transfer from the states. Captain Reese assigned me to you. He wanted me to find you, which wasn't easy by the way, to let you know that Internal Affairs dropped the charges they were considering against you regarding your late partner. He told me to tell you he is extremely short-handed and needs you back ASAP." She unclasped his hand and with deep sincerity, looked into his eyes. "I am very sorry about Detective Vetter. It must have been very difficult for you." Then, lowering her voice, she told him, "Nick, we need to talk." Letting go of her hold around Nick's back, Natalie extended her hand. There was something about this woman she liked already. She clearly had an effect on Lacroix, and that counted for something. She had never imagined Lacroix to be at a loss for words. "I am Natalie Lambert, the ME. Welcome to Toronto. Can I get you something to drink?" She prayed Nick had something more than his usual collection of green bottles in the fridge. "Coffee? Water?" Natalie looked from Katherine to Vachon, to Lacroix and then Nick and wondered what each was thinking. "Water would be nice, thanks," Katherine replied. She liked Natalie immediately. Natalie left Nick and Katherine staring at each other to get the water. On her way to the kitchen, she passed Lacroix, who was deep in thought. She shook her head once again in amazement over the silence of Nick's master. Natalie's movement returned Lacroix back to the present. Memories he thought buried long ago surfaced painfully. He had never allowed himself to love a mortal as deeply as he had Fleur. There could be no other to replace her. The sound of Natalie moving past him made him realize where he was and that his beloved son stood before him once more. He ached to find out how this was possible, but knew it was time to leave. He had lived up to his end of the bargain. Part of him was glad it wasn't necessary to carry out the original plan. The trade-off of having Nicholas back was worth the disappointment. "Well, Nicholas…" He broke the awkward silence. "We must find time to talk about last night. Soon." He gave Nick a look of urgency. "We..." He looked at Vachon as he emphasized the 'we'. "must be going. I'd like to talk to you about re-opening the Raven, Vachon. It seems as if my plans have been changed." Lacroix turned to Natalie who was returning to Katherine with a glass of water in hand. "Dr. Lambert,” he said coolly. "It was a pleasure to see you again." He nodded in Katherine's direction. "Detective Collins." "Thank-you," she told them "you have been so very helpful." With that, she returned Vachon's stare and held it for a moment. Tingles of electricity ran up and down her spine as she blushed ever so softly. Vachon smiled briefly at her before he left the apartment with Lacroix. From a short distance, Katherine heard the muted "whoosh" as the two took off to the sky on the return to the Raven. With her back to Nick and Natalie, Katherine closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and turned to face her very confused partner. "Would you mind telling us what this is all about?" Nick demanded, slightly unnerved by her resemblance to his sister. She gave Nick and Natalie an engaging smile and took a sip of water from the glass that had just been handed to her. "Why don't we have a seat?" ACT 7 Natalie and Nick returned to the sofa. Katherine took the chair across from them. She sensed a natural curiosity from Natalie, the kind one has when they've just met someone. Certainly, Natalie was aware of the air of surprise that permeated the room when the elevator doors opened. Nick was sizing her up, trying to understand why he was seeing traces of his long departed sister. Both of them looked very tired. Katherine thought. "So, you are on transfer from the states?" Natalie asked. "Whereabouts?" "Buffalo. Our PR people thought it would be a learning experience to find out how other departments function. Toronto was chosen because it was nearby and 'on the other side.' Your guys liked the idea and so I'm here. I'll be around six months to a year." "Why homicide? Are there any others that were chosen? Who left from here?" Nick wanted to know. "Your department has a pretty good case record. Arrests, prosecution, convictions. My guys hope we can learn something. Vice, bunco and patrol officers have been traded too, from here and other cities. It's been working out pretty nicely, and the PR hasn't hurt. I think a Stevenson from days went to my department." Nick nodded with recognition. "He's a good detective. Has about 10 years with us." "How were you picked to come here?" Natalie asked. "My partner retired and I was at loose ends. Our caseload had dropped too." Katherine saw a look of surprise from Nick. "Mostly voluntarily because George was preparing to retire. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in homicide or do something different. My captain thought this might be a good change of pace for awhile. So here I am." She shrugged and took another drink from her glass. "Look, I know this isn't easy for you, Nick. I've heard you would rather work alone, and under the circumstances, I can appreciate that," Katherine began. Nick stopped her, "No that's ok." The dark look on his face brightened. "It will work out. I can't help but feel I've met you. Have you ever been to Toronto before?" "No, this is my first time here. I grew up in Buffalo and never made it across the lake. Weird, huh? Ever been to Buffalo?" Nick and Natalie shook their heads no. "So, how long have you been a cop?" He had relaxed a little and was leaning back in the couch. Natalie remained on the edge of the seat next to him. "Ten years, six on the street and four in homicide. I liked the street. Got to know the people, you know how it goes, but after six years in a patrol car in the summer heat and winter's cold, it got old. I tested for detective and got it. How about you?" He gave her a brief sketch of his background, almost verbatim from the files she had scanned earlier. They talked shop for awhile, exchanging stories of cases they had worked on. Natalie stifled a yawn. "I'm sorry, you must be tired." Katherine eyed Natalie, who also leaned back against the couch. "You have had some busy days, are you two alright?" From the expressions on their faces, she could tell their thoughts raced to last night. "It's hard to lose a partner and a friend. I thought I lost a good friend a few years back. He got shot in the line of duty, too. Was on the critical list for a couple of days---very long days. They didn't think he'd make it. Then, all of a sudden, he woke up, like nothing ever happened." She waited. Now their thoughts were about Tracy. she thought. "He told me that while he was asleep, he went to a place full of white light. It was peaceful and comforting. He told me that there was a strange figure dressed in white who told him he was there too early. The figure helped him get back to the real world." Katherine paused and let her words sink in. If it were possible, Nick had gotten more pale. Natalie became alert and once again was sitting on the edge of the couch. Neither was sure of what to say. Nick wondered. A cold chill went down Natalie's back. "My friend told me the figure in white had told him there was a lot for him to do before it was his time. He was told there would be somebody, a friend, to help him adjust to the real world once again." She gave them each a knowing look. "Did he?" Natalie asked. "Adjust to the real world?" Katherine nodded. "It took some time. Some things were different for him. His priorities became clearer. He took stock of his relationships and took a long look at those he cared about and those that cared for him." "This friend was your partner, wasn't he?" Somehow, Natalie knew. She was beginning to understand what this woman was telling them. "Yes. It was George. He was a good cop before and even better after. He's a wonderful husband and a great dad." Katherine reflected a moment on the partner she left behind. "He was a very good friend." "You sound as if you were very close." Natalie told her. Then an awful thought crossed her mind. "He wasn't…?" She couldn't finish the question. "Oh, no! George and Judy are traveling across the country in their RV even as we speak. It was their dream. Now they have the time, they are getting to know each other again and enjoying the scenery. I miss him, very much, yes, but it was time to go." She watched them consider what she had told them. Her words were revolving through their minds, images of the night before mixing with those of the friends they lost. She suddenly felt very tired too. "Speaking of time to go." She stood up. "I really ought to get going. I'll let Reese know you'll be in tomorrow night. Get some sleep, both of you." She was walked to the elevator door. She turned before she left and offered, "Pleasant dreams. See you tomorrow." ACT 8 Back at her hotel, Katherine rinsed her face with cool water, hoping to wash away the night. Things were finally in motion. There was no turning back. Knight and his mortal love seemed nice enough. They were still a bit overwhelmed by the events that occurred in the last 24 hours, but they would handle it. Katherine was beginning to realize there was a lot more going on than she was first told. It was going to be a long assignment. She had been promised this would be her last for awhile. “I need a break,” she told them. “Some time off to regroup.” And then they gave her this one. They told her that she was the only one qualified for this special case. She alone could relate to what would happen to Knight and his lady. There was no one else. So she accepted it with reservation and here she was. “Sucker,” she told the face in the mirror. She bent down and rinsed her face once more. Straightening up from the basin, she reached for the towel that was no longer on the counter. “Here, ” a vaguely familiar voice echoed through the bathroom. She jumped at the sound of his voice, grabbed the towel and dried her face quickly as she tried to identify the face that belonged to that voice. It disturbed her that she didn’t feel him come into the room. That didn’t happen very often, if at all. She recognized the intruder as the young vampire from the Raven. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I got in?” he teased her. “Javier Vachon, isn’t it?” His chocolate brown eyes twinkled when he smiled and nodded in affirmation. “I think we both know HOW you got in.” She said irritably and threw the towel at him as she passed him to go into the living area. As he watched her walk past, Javier leaned against the doorjamb. He was already sure she knew what he, Knight and Lacroix were. It didn’t seem to bother her. She wasn’t afraid of them. In fact, she treated them as her equal. She had an air of mystery about her, something that left him wanting to know more. She took a couple of steps in front of the window, then turned and glared at him. “What do you want, Vachon?” He liked the way she said his name. She pronounced it in perfect old-Spanish tongue. He had not heard that in a very long time. “You’ve caused quite a stir tonight, Katherine Collins,” he replied casually and began to approach her slowly. “And?” She was trying desperately to keep her heartbeat in check with each step he took toward her. He kept his eyes on her, studying her from head to toe. At the same time, she felt his gaze go straight through her, attempting to read her intentions. He stopped an arm length in front of her. “You’ve caused quite a stir tonight,” he said again softly and brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes. “What’s really behind your wanting to find Knight? It’s more than IA clearing him, isn’t it?” He struggled to control the urge to take her right then and there. Perhaps he should have stopped by the Raven before making this visit. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Vachon. Do you usually make it your business to pry into the personal affairs of others?” She knew he was still trying to read her. She stared back into his probing eyes with defiance and blocked his attempt to penetrate her mind. He took one final long look into her eyes and thought, He took a step closer and ran his fingers down her arm and took her hand. His voice became deep and commanding. “Do you realize with whom you are dealing?” Her heart skipped a beat or two, her mouth went dry and for the first time in years, she felt a stirring of emotion in a vampire’s presence. Her voice betrayed her when she whispered to him, “Yes. Yes, Javier Vachon, I know what you are.” Faint drops of perspiration appeared at her temples. Amused with her anxiety, he smiled reassuringly as he played with her fingers. He studied them as if seeing fingers for the first time. Impulsively, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, at the same time looking deeply into her green eyes once more. “I’m not the one you should be so anxious about. You looked as if you might be in need of a friend earlier. Someone to talk to.” He struggled with great difficulty to keep the vampire in check. “I’ve got the feeling you’ve been through a lot lately.” He paused and looked past her. “We all have.” She caught a hint of sadness in his voice. Returning his stare, she didn’t sense the familiar animal hunger she usually felt from the others of his kind but she was aware of his intense effort to keep that animal in check. She recognized his pain. He had lost someone he had cared for very much, and she felt his loneliness, his need for a friend. she thought. >From somewhere deep inside her mind, she heard a very familiar voice tell her this vampire could be trusted. It was a voice that had guided her from a time she could barely remember, but one she trusted unconditionally. It was her father’s voice. ----- For an instant she was a little girl again, walking through the woods with her beloved father. They had taken many walks together in the woods on their property. Moments spent sharing with each other, making plans, dreaming. The father preparing the daughter for adulthood. The daughter teaching the father how to be a child once more. She could remember how his hand felt around her tiny one the day he told her to always follow her instincts. They had come to a fork in the road in an area she did not remember. He told her it was up to her to get them home. “Listen to the voice inside you, Katerina. When life becomes difficult, trust it. It will be your only friend.” He smiled at her but she caught an uneasy look in his brown eyes. He was worried for her well being. More than that, he was scared, and trying ever so hard to keep it from her. ---- Deep down, she knew dad was right, that day and on almost any given day. More than once, that little voice inside directed her from danger and led her to safety. Right now, that voice was giving her a green light. This wonderfully handsome newcomer in her life was not a threat at all. She could trust him. It would be all right. Sighing, Katherine gently squeezed Vachon’s hand and led him to the sofa. The coolness of his touch against her warm hand gave her the courage to tell him, “I know you are a vampire.” Her words hung in the air like the hint of rain before a summer storm. She watched his face for a reaction. “Lacroix and Knight, too.” He stared silently at her, trying to find his next words. , he thought. Slowly, he nodded in quiet confirmation. “Are you this Fleur Lacroix spoke of?” She shook her head. “No, I’m not Fleur. I believe she was Knight’s sister?” She raised her eyebrows in question and Javier nodded. “ I’m not her. From time to time, I have been confused with loved ones from others’ past. Lacroix and Knight are seeing what they wish to see. I don’t know why it happens. I guess I have one of those faces. Sometimes I get flashbacks of those people I have been confused with. It can get pretty scary, but it’s not often. Thank goodness.” “Who are you, then? Why are you here?” he asked once more. A thought crossed his mind. “You’re not an enforcer, are you?” Thinking she had relaxed some, he tried to read her mind once more, but once again was met with a blank wall. It disturbed him. Even though Tracy was a resister, he could occasionally get a glimpse of what she was thinking. Now, all he could pick up was a big black wall. Again, she felt his gentle probing. It felt like a warm buzz around her head. She tried to distract him. “No, I am not an enforcer. They and I...well, let’s just say we don’t mix very well. Right now, Vachon, I can’t tell you much more, but I promise you, my purpose is to help, not do any harm.” Her face softened and her tired eyes sparkled with her smile. “You must trust me.” He believed her when she told him she was not an enforcer. Someone this beautiful could never be one of them. Still, he was not happy with the vagueness of her answer and frustrated he couldn’t pull it from her mind. “You haven’t given me much to trust you with, Katerina.” Startled at the name he called her; she pulled away from him. “Why did you call me that?” Vachon attempted to reach for the hand that had quickly been pulled from his, but she held back. He saw a look of surprise and a hint of pain on her face. “Why did you call me that?” she demanded. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It just felt like the right thing to call you.” He gave her one of his most engaging smiles, and reached again for her hand. “I am sorry.” Understanding the innocence behind his words, she timidly gave her hand to him. “Only two other people have ever called me Katerina. I haven’t heard it in a long time.” A sad, far away look came over her face. Images of the two who called her Katerina refused to be held back in her memory. She closed her eyes to shut them out. He repositioned himself to put a sympathetic arm around her shoulders. “I really am sorry. I didn’t know it would hurt you. It really did seem the right thing to call you.” This was the first time in a long while she’d let someone come this close to her. It felt good to let him hold her. Her inner voice was giving no danger signals. Instead, the voice was telling her it was ok to let him near. “Of course you couldn’t have known. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” She flashed him a smile. “It actually sounded nice from you.” They sat quietly together on the sofa in her hotel room for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts. The sounds of the hotel staff beginning their day came from the hall. The wind whistled and howled from the window. Vachon wanted to know more about this woman who had so easily slipped into his life. There were so many things he wanted to know about her, so many questions he wanted to ask. He knew the answers would come in time, if he were patient. And time was something he had in abundance. Katherine wondered how to respond to the myriad of feelings that were surfacing. She had confided her secret to only one other in her lifetime, and he was ripped from her existence. She wasn’t sure she wanted a repeat of the same disaster so soon. Yet, for some reason, she knew that one day in the near future, she would be revealing those same secrets and more to this man holding her. She could only pray the results would not be the same. “Vachon?” Katherine broke the silence. “You said there was something more than just telling Knight about IA earlier. You are right. I will tell you this much. I’m here because of Natalie Lambert and Nicholas Knight and what ’s happened here in the last few weeks. Certain members of a group I’d rather not name have become very much aware of what’s been going on. They’ ve been keeping an eye on your community. Lacroix included. Even you.” His eyes shot up at the mention of certain members. “No, I said I wasn’t with them, and I was telling you the truth. There are others who have sat up and taken notice about a lot of things here in Toronto. Some aren’t very happy with the way things have gone. Others think they are going on very nicely. I’m here to sort of get things balanced, so to speak.” He raised his eyebrows with surprise. “For the good guys or the bad guys?” She chuckled. “I guess that depends on how one looks at it, doesn’t it?” Then she became serious. “That’s it. That’s all I can say right now. To say anything more would endanger too many people.” Act 9 Nick stared at the doors as they closed behind Katherine. He was lost in the memories of the last time he had seen his sister. Fleur begged him to let Lacroix bring her across. He could not allow his master to do it. “It is the beauty of her innocence that you love and that you will kill with the first taste of her blood,” he had told Lacroix. His master then asked him if he would rather see her beauty wither and fade with age. Even then, with the freshness of his condition still upon him, Nick knew the life of darkness Lacroix offered Fleur was not the life she was destined to live. And yes, if that meant growing old and dying, then, so be it. He knew Lacroix had never gotten over his love of Fleur or his resentment of Nick for his part in making him agree to let her go. Nick had almost lost Natalie because of that resentment last Valentine’s Day. He had tried to convince Lacroix he was only using her to find a cure, that he really didn’t love her. The words pained him deeply to say, and he was glad that Natalie was under his master’s spell at the time, so that she didn’t hear them. Lacroix backed off that night, but Nick suspected that the elder vampire didn’t quite believe him. Nick mused. Natalie had seen that look in Nick’s eyes often enough to know to keep quiet and wait for him to come back to the real world. She’d long ago decided vampires must have little video players in their heads that they rewound periodically so they could review parts of their past. If Nick wanted to share this episode, he would. If not, he’d skirt the issue. A blink of his eyes returned him to the present. He grinned at her. “Sorry. I was just thinking.” “About?” “How much my new partner looks like my sister.” “You had a sister?” Natalie looked at him with surprise. “Katherine’s not…” “No,” Nick interrupted her. “The resemblance is uncanny. Lacroix certainly saw it. But after talking with her, no, no Nat, she’s not my Fleur.” “How does Lacroix figure in this? Did he know your sister?” Natalie dared to ask. In all the years she’d known Nick, he never told her about his mortal family. Once or twice she’d considered asking about them but the opportunity just never came up. She sensed now was the time he’d talk about them. “My sister’s name was Fleur. She was younger than I and more beautiful than the morning sun or a field of flowers.” Nick stared across the room envisioning his sister the last time he had been with her. He told Natalie about his family, how it was that he had returned to his home to see his mother and sister one last time. Lacroix and Janette had accompanied him. He told her about how Lacroix and Fleur had fallen in love and how he stepped in to intercede. “I couldn’t do it, Nat. I couldn’t let him destroy her light, to condemn her to the life I was only beginning to regret I had accepted.” Natalie watched him with deep fascination as he told his story. She couldn’t agree with him about what he had done, but decided it wasn’t the time to argue. There were far too many things before them that were more important. “So, Lacroix thinks she’s Fleur?” “You saw the way he looked at her. He should have had a million questions for us, but he hardly spoke a word. His eyes were always on her.” the voice inside her head responded. she told herself. Then an awful thought ran through her mind. “You don’t think Lacroix would try to bring her across, do you?” Natalie’s eyes widened with concern. From his expression, she could tell Nick hadn’t considered that scenario. “I… I don’t think…” his mind raced with the possibilities. “He might try,” Nick finally conceded. “But I don’t think he would succeed. You heard the way she spoke to him. She’s not afraid of him. For some reason, I think she can handle herself.” Natalie nodded in agreement. “What DO you think of your new partner?” A thoughtful look fell across his face. “She seems pretty confident. Intuitive. Ok, what?” Nick asked Natalie as she made a face at him. “Oh, I don’t know.” She squinted at him. “The story about her last partner hit a little close to home, don’t you think? Did you get the feeling she was trying to tell us something?” Nick stared past her, replaying Katherine’s story to himself. He nodded without thinking as he heard her final words again. “You’re right. I wonder why she couldn’t come right out and say it, but I think she’s that friend the figure in white told the partner about.” “So she’s our friend now?” Natalie stifled another yawn. “Maybe that’s why she looks so much like Fleur. It could be “their” way of making us comfortable with her. There is still so much we don’t understand. I’m willing to bet she’s the one who will give us the answers to our questions.” This time, Natalie couldn’t suppress the yawn. He smiled at her. “Why don’t we sleep on all this?” he suggested. “I’ll try to find out more about my new partner tomorrow. “Nick placed an arm around Natalie’s waist and began to lead her to the staircase. She leaned her head against his shoulder. “It’s been a long two days. I think you might be right, Nick. She just might have the answers we are looking for. Anyway, I think I like her.” Hand in hand, they ascended the stairs. “Anyone that can put Lacroix at a loss for words makes points in my book.” Natalie smiled at the site of Lacroix speechless earlier. Nick chuckled. “She sure had him quiet, didn’t she?” They were at the foot of the bed. Nick stopped and pulled Natalie closer to him. “Sleep well,” he whispered in her ear, then he tenderly kissed her on the lips. ACT 10 Lacroix took his time returning to the Raven. After leaving Katherine with Nicholas, he told Vachon he would meet him there later. He needed time to himself to think. And as always, when he needed time alone, he took to the skies. He flew over parks, listened to the hollow voices of the homeless, shivering in the cold. Witnessed a drug deal, heard a prostitute pick up a john. Ordinarily, he’d stop and watch the insignificant mortals walk through yet another act of the play they called life. Sometimes, he’d indulge himself and toy with them. Not tonight. He had other things on his mind. The sound of Katherine’s voice was the melodic tones he remembered from so long ago. Fleur was the only mortal that had ever made him regret, even slightly, the thing he was. “Damn you, Nicholas.” But there WAS something about this doppelganger that was different. Yes, the face and the voice were the same, but the attitude and demeanor were wrong. There was a power in her that was intent on business. She had a sense of purpose and appeared confident that things would go her way. There was an air about her he had never felt from a mortal before. He thought as he floated on a Toronto breeze. His mind raced as quickly as he flew and then it came to him. He knew what she was. He had heard about her kind. There were only a few of them as far as he knew. Most worked with the Enforcers and they were a questionable lot. The others were outcasts or renegades. To which faction she belonged was the big question. She had her sights set on Nicholas. She made that very clear. What was her interest in him was the other question. The familiar pinks and purples of a new day beginning lit the eastern sky as Lacroix set down in front of the Raven. He hadn’t realized how long he had been flying. The street lamp above him began to flicker in the early morning light as he let himself into the building. With mixed feelings, he looked about the darkened, empty space and sighed. Once again he had a sense of purpose. He knew he had to stay, if only for a little longer. He had to find out what she was up to. He needed to make sure Nicholas was safe. ----- “You’ve stayed out late.” Vachon’s voice floated from the dark recesses of the room. “I haven’t had to report my whereabouts to anyone for quite some time.” The tone in Lacroix’s voice was meant to let Vachon know he was more than annoyed. “You have some purpose here, perhaps?” “I thought so. You’re the one who said we’d meet here later, remember?” Lacroix responded with a noise Vachon ignored. “Anyway, it’s getting light now, and I think I’ll spend the day here.” He filled two glasses and handed one to the seething vampire. “I went and saw her tonight.” Vachon met Lacroix’s gaze, hoping for a reaction. “And?” Lacroix asked without emotion. “We had an interesting conversation. She’s quite a piece of work. Very complicated. Very, ah…nice.” He smiled at the memory of holding her. The scent of heather remained on his clothes. Lacroix’s expression changed from indifference to suspicious when the young vampire said “nice”. He suspected Vachon had more than casual interest in the girl. It disturbed him that Vachon could be caught in her spell so easily, so quickly. Vachon saw a reaction from Lacroix after he spoke. He knew very Lacroix let very little bother him, but Vachon could tell he triggered something with his words. Was it jealousy? The centuries that separated Lacroix and the younger vampire necessitated a certain amount of respect from Vachon. Age was important in the world of vampires. Not the earthly time counted by mortals, but the amount of time passed since one was brought across. The older the vampire, the wiser and stronger he was. It was the way things were. One look at Lacroix told Vachon he’d better play it straight. The expression on the elder vampire’s face said he was in no mood for anything else. Still, the thought of a fight over this woman was…enticing? There were possibilities. Another glance at Lacroix told Vachon he’d better back off. “She knows about us. All about us.” He gave Lacroix a knowing look. “She knows what’s been going on the last few weeks. Everything.” Tracy’s face flashed before him. Vachon looked away and shut his eyes. he thought. He looked back at Lacroix. “I don’t believe she’s out to destroy us.” “You’ve had some kind of revelation?” “No.” Vachon stared at Lacroix. “It’s just that I spent some time talking with her. She denies she’s an enforcer and she’s not coming across as one. She’s up to something, I’ll grant you that, but I can’t place what. Yet.” He thought a minute before he spoke. “She did tell me she’s not your Fleur.” He took a long drink from his glass and took his time swallowing. “I believe her,” he said flatly. Lacroix remained quiet for awhile, thinking about what Vachon told him. Finally, he spoke, “You were able to read her mind?” Vachon shook his head. “No. She was able to resist me, but I don’t think she is truly a resister. Every time I tried to enter her mind, there was a wall. It was different from anything I’ve come across.” Lacroix thought about this. “That would be the case with her kind.” Another long silence as he considered telling the young vampire more. “I’ve heard her kind can block the strongest of vampires.” “ ‘Her kind,’ Lacroix? What do you mean, ‘her kind?’ ” ------ “All I am saying is that we should give her a chance Nat. She said that someone was helping her partner. We both thought that was why she was here last night. I still do. Let’s see where this is going. It’s worth a try.” Natalie sat at the table with her chin in the palm of her hand. A half a cup of black coffee rested on the table in front of her. It had taken her some time to locate the coffeemaker. Nick had the habit of putting small appliances in the strangest places. She announced earlier that afternoon that if she was to be a frequent visitor here, that the pot stayed on the counter. It seemed a small concession to Nick, so he agreed. To Natalie, it meant a lot. “You’re right, Nick. It’s just becoming confusing. I was so sure that my faith in you would be the end all. Maybe it was just the means to the end. “ She rubbed her forehead. “I couldn’t get the image of that white figure and Katherine out of my head all day. They kept merging into one.” “You too?” Nick put on his jacket in preparation for work. “I kept hearing ‘it wasn’t our time,’ and then I’d hear we had to adjust to the real world again. It was weird.” He watched Natalie rinse her coffee cup in the sink. “Are you ready?” She nodded and made sure the coffeepot was off. “Do you think she knows about you?” Nick helped her on with her coat. “That’s probably the only thing I felt from her last night. She knows what I am, Natalie. Lacroix and Vachon too. I’m certain of that. But then, if she’s in league with our friend in white, she would, wouldn’t she?” Natalie considered his question. “You’re probably right. This sure is going to be very interesting for awhile.” She picked up her black bag and glanced over her shoulder at Nick as they headed for the elevator. “We’re going to have to come up with a good story.” “About what?” “What are people going to think about us at work?” Nick laughed out loud. “The same thing they’ve been thinking the last few years, Nat. Let’s go. I’ve got a new partner to break in.” He kept the elevator door open for her. “At least she won’t be surprised when you fly off somewhere in the middle of things.” She told him as the door closed and the elevator descended to the street. ACT 11 “Listen Knight, I’m sorry I have to put you with another female partner so soon after Vetter.” Nick was watching Reese unsuccessfully search for a paper cup. Deciding it was futile he stood up. “I have no choice here, Nick. After IA cleared you, the commissioner figured you were the perfect cop to match with this officer trade thing. It shouldn’t be that bad. I hear she’s a good cop. Been in homicide five years or so.” “Four,” Nick interjected as he handed Reese a mug with “JOE” on it. “Huh? Yeah, whatever. Can’t remember where she’s from…Buffalo, I think. Anyway, this is a good will thing, so go easy on her. OK?” Reese paused to drink from the mug now filled with water. A look of concern covered his face. “How are you doing, Knight? We missed you at the funeral.” Nick looked embarrassed. “I’m ok. With IA on my back and her father at the funeral, I just couldn’t bring myself to be there. I suppose it will haunt me later, but,” Nick shrugged, “that’s the way it was.” Reese nodded with understanding as Katherine passed through the glass doors to the division room. Dressed in a navy blue suit, modest heels and her light brown hair pulled back in a clip, she very much looked the part of the experienced detective. Reese and Nick watched her wind her way through the maze of desks and people on her way to them. She smiled at Reese. “Hi Captain.” “Collins, have you two met yet?” Reese asked. “Yes, Captain. She caught up with me last night.” Nick returned Katherine’s smile. “Ready for a night on the town?” “As ready as I’ll ever be. Captain, did those papers you were looking for get to you? I talked with my people at the station and they said they would fax them this morning.” “On my desk. Everything’s in order, thanks.” He looked from her to Nick. “The first thing you two need to do is tie up the loose ends on that case you and Vetter were working on before… Sorry, this isn’t easy for me either.” He gave Nick a look of apology. “Hell, I know this isn’t easy for any of us. Let’s try to make the best of it, ok?” Nick and Katherine exchanged glances. “It’ll work out, Cap’n,” Nick tried to reassure him. Reese turned and headed toward his office to answer the phone. Nick looked at Katherine, “Let’s go over some of the paperwork first, then I ’ll drive you around.” As he led Katherine over to their desks, it occurred to him that Tracy’s desk would now be Katherine’s. he thought with a twinge of guilt. Katherine picked up on his thought immediately. “I took the liberty of cleaning out your partner’s desk this morning. I took her things over to her father’s office. I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would be easier.” For a moment, Nick didn’t know what to say. All he could do was mumble, “Thanks.” “I read your notes on the murders in the park from last week. It was the latest case in your files. Is that the current one?” She was typing something on the computer’s keyboard as she spoke. Nick watched over her shoulder as the information she requested appeared on the terminal before them. “Yes, that’s it.” He said. “We closed the case just before…” Nick stopped. He would always remember the look on Tracy’s face as she spoke her last words to him; “You could have trusted me.” He heard Katherine clear her throat. “Sorry. Neither one of us liked doing the paperwork. Finishing the file was the last thing to do on this case, I guess.” He straightened up. “Look, this can wait. Why don’t I show you around the streets, and we can get to know each other.” He stepped back as she pushed her chair out from under her desk. Katherine stood and put on her winter trench coat. “Ok, that’s a good idea. Let’s go.” “This is your car?” Katherine was a bit surprised by the caddy. “A convertible in Canada? This is a good one, year round air conditioning!” Nick laughed. “I’ve never heard that one before! Get in. I’ll show you the hot spots and we’ll talk.” Nick opened the door for her. “About what?” She asked him as he settled in the driver’s seat. “Oh, you, me. Things.” Nick said casually as he backed the mint green Cadillac out of its spot with ease. “Let’s start with you.” “What about me? I told you last night, I’m from Buffalo on a…” “Yeah, yeah, cop transfer,” Nick interrupted. He was trying to be friendly, but she was starting to make things difficult. “You know a little bit more than you’re letting on about the last two nights.” Katherine began to protest, but Nick continued, “Your little story about your partner and his after-death experience was more than just talk.” He glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead. “It was a little too accurate for my taste.” “I have no idea what you are talking about.” She tried to plead innocent one last time as she weighed her options. “Oh, but Detective Collins, you do. You know what I’m referring to and more. And just between you and me, you ARE going to tell me what it is you know. Especially because it concerns me and Natalie.” He stopped for a red light. Knowing he would badger her all night, Katherine sighed in surrender. “All right. Here it is. What happened between you and Natalie the other night set the Old Ones’ heads spinning. You acted on faith, something you are not supposed to have, you know. No one expected that you or Natalie would go that far. It was quite a surprise.” “The Old Ones?” Nick asked as the light turned green and he continued down the street. “Surely you’ve heard about them somewhere along the line.” Nick shook his head though somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered Lacroix mentioning them a long time ago. “The Old Ones know about everything, everyone. They keep track of who is supposed to do what and when. They are the guardians of time, if you will.” It sounded familiar to him, but he didn’t understand why. “Who are they? Where did they come from?” “I am not quite sure of those answers. I do know they have a long history, almost extending back to the beginning of time itself. They are made up of all races, all kinds of people.” She stopped and turned to look directly at Nick. “Some of them were your kind once.” Nick swerved to miss the car in front of them. He ignored the honking and shouting directed at them. “My kind?” he asked cautiously. He had a death grip on the steering wheel. “Let’s not pretend here any longer, Nick. Obviously, I know what you are, just by virtue of knowing what happened two nights ago. Your secret is safe with me. I’m here to help you and Natalie.” “OK.” he relaxed a little. She made it so easy to accept her words. “So what do THEY have to do with Natalie and me?” “By trying to bring Natalie across, you were changing the timeline in a major way. The Old Ones couldn’t allow that to happen. So they stepped in and you met Jasper.” “The figure in white?” “Uh huh.” She paused, trying to decide how much to tell him without getting herself in to a lot of trouble. “He’s the gatekeeper, if you will.” “You mean Saint Peter?” “Well, sort of, in a way I guess. I never looked at it that way. He’s been doing this as long as I can remember. He doesn’t decide if someone should come in or go the other way, if that’s what you’re thinking.” “He told us it wasn’t our time. That there were things we had to do. He spoke of family,” Nick’s voice trailed off. Katherine nodded. Her mind was whirling as she tried to keep the streets in order and make some sense out of where they were. Finally, she realized they were going in circles! “Do you intend to drive in circles all night or are we going to do something to earn our keep?” Nick chuckled to himself. “I wanted to see if you could walk and chew gum at the same time.” He stole a look at her at another red light. He could tell she wasn’t happy. “Look, if I promise to tell you what I know, will you quit these games and orient me, here? I might need to know this layout someday and I’d rather not be reading a map while I’m running with lights and sirens. Unlike you, I can’t fly.” Her last statement caught Nick’s attention. “That brings me to another question.” “I know, I know.” Katherine held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I promised, ok? You keep your end of the bargain and I’ll tell you what I know later.” “OK.” Nick was still chuckling with amusement at her indignation. He reached for the mike of the police radio. With Reese’s permission, they spent most of the shift off the radio as he drove around the precinct, pointing out landmarks, street names, and things to know in a hurry. Later, he let Katherine take the wheel and locate some of the “lowlights” of the city he had shown her. She was a quick study, and he was impressed with how much she remembered. They returned to the station with an hour left in the shift during which they reviewed forms, forms and more forms. “By the time you’ll have learned all the paperwork, we’re going to be on line with the central computer,” Nick told her. Her face painted with fatigue, Katherine leaned back in her chair and shook her head ruefully. “Murphy’s Law, right?” “Sort of.” Nick shrugged. The shift was nearly over and he was anxious to resume their earlier conversation. He idly rearranged some papers then looked across his desk at Katherine. “I kept my part of the bargain. Now it ’s your turn.” Glancing up at him, Katherine closed the top drawer of her desk and reached over to the computer to shut it down. “You’re right. I’ve learned a lot tonight. Thanks.” She looked around the office. “Where do you want to do this?” “How’s my place?” Nick asked as he rose from his chair. “Sounds as good as any. Better than my dreary hotel room anyway.” She fumbled with the last button on her wool coat. “I’ll follow you in my car, though. It’s got a heater.” She flashed a smile at him. Nick laughed. Schanke complained all the time about the lack of a heater in the caddy. He still hadn’t gotten around to fixing it. ACT 12 It took just a few minutes to drive the empty streets to Nick’s building. In that short space of time, Katherine thought about what she was going to say to him. The Old Ones had given her permission to tell him as much as she thought necessary, but they cautioned her not to reveal too much. She wasn’t sure exactly how much was too much. Nick punched in the security code to summon the elevator, then watched Katherine exit her car and cross over to the old factory building he’d turned into his home. She was nearly running in his direction. “I didn’t think it could get much colder than Buffalo,” she commented as she passed through the opening door. Clouds of vapor billowed upward from her mouth as she spoke. Rubbing her gloved hands together as she bounced up and down to keep warm, she glanced around the little box taking them to Nick’s apartment and asked, “This thing isn’t heated, either?” “I never saw the need to. Is it that cold?” He smiled sympathetically. No billows of vapor were seen as he spoke in the cold night air. She blew into her hands once more as she gave him an irritated look. < Someone, tell me again why I’m doing this? > Nick slid the heavy metal door to the side as soon as the elevator stopped. Stepping in first, he headed for the fireplace. “Let me start a fire for you,” he offered and set about lighting the logs already in the fireplace. “You can warm up here.” She stepped out into the great room and took a long look. She had not been able to the other night. A baby grand piano stood regally in the corner to her right. A silver candelabrum, which appeared priceless, took its place on the piano next to the music stand. A Harley was parked in the back corner. A beautifully crafted wooden armoire took its position in the corner to the right of the fireplace. Its fine workmanship dated the piece at least several hundred years. She wondered what secrets it guarded. Two huge windows flanked the fireplace, revealing the city’s skyline silhouetted by the night lights against the midnight blue sky. Heavy window coverings hung to the sides, ready to darken the room at the beginning of the new day. To her left, Katherine saw a brown leather sofa set facing a large screen TV and the latest in audio equipment. An antique wooden box dressed with gold filigree rested on the table behind the couch. A staircase just beyond the TV floated to the loft above the room. Behind her and to the left was the dining area and kitchenette. A microwave that looked brand new sat on the counter. There was a coffee mug that had been left to dry in the stainless steel sink. Nick’s apartment was a study in contrasts, a mixture of the old with the new. The fire was now blazing in spectacular yellows and oranges as Nick got up from his task. “Here you go,” he told her. “This should warm you.” “Thanks.” She gave him a grateful look as she held her hands to the raging fire. “Quite an interesting place you’ve got.” “Thanks, I like it.” Nick watched her as she stood in front of the fire. She seemed mesmerized by the flames, almost as if she were communicating with them. “Natalie found the coffee pot,” he told her. “ I could try to make you some if you’d like.” The thought of Nick Knight, vampire of 800 or so years, trying to make coffee made her giggle. She slipped off her coat and draped it over the chair. “I can’t imagine you ever making coffee, Nick, but if you point me in the right direction, I’ll do it myself.” “That’s probably a good idea, if you don’t mind,” he agreed and headed toward the kitchen. “I did try to make some once and I caught Natalie trying to hide the fact she poured it down the sink.” They both laughed at the thought. Before long, the coffee was made and they were sitting on the sofa making small talk. They chatted about Toronto and Buffalo, the hotel she was staying in. Unimportant things, especially to Nick. Sensing his impatience, Katherine leaned over to set her cup down on the saucer resting on the coffee table before her. “Ok, my turn, right?” Nick nodded his head with relief and leaned back into the sofa. “Where did I leave off?” She thought quickly. “Oh, yes, Jasper. He’s the gatekeeper. He keeps track of who should really be dead and who shouldn’t. If someone dies before their time, it really throws wrinkles in the timeline and prevents them from being let in.” “You’re talking about heaven, aren’t you?” “That could be one interpretation. When mortals die, their souls go to a central receiving place—to Jasper, if you will. If those souls still had work to do, they’re recycled in an attempt to finish what they were trying to accomplish. Sometimes, it takes a lot of recycling before that soul is retired. Sometimes, the original plan just doesn’t work out because of the amount of time that’s passed or other circumstances. Then that soul is pulled out of the cycle either temporarily or permanently. The souls that are retired have been evaluated on the work they’ve done here, the good weighed with the bad. The positive ones go into door #1, and the not so positive go to door #2.” He looked at her quizzically. “Ok, it’s not “Let’s Make a Deal”, but it’s the best explanation I can give you.” “You said something about it being their time or not. Jasper said it wasn’t our time, so what happened?” “If Jasper is quick enough, and he usually is, he can evaluate and turn them around in a hurry. He usually can get them back to their real time, right on the second, if not pretty close to it. Often, the person will talk about a bright light or some calming affect. Usually, they don’t meet up with Jasper, much less remember him. I suppose you spent more time with him than most.” Nick nodded as he listened, remembering his and Natalie’s experience the other night. It had been peaceful. He also recalled stories he had heard through the years of near death experiences. “You vampires tend to throw wrenches into the clockworks. You guys have this annoying tendency to interrupt lifelines before the work is done. The souls get confused and lost. That’s something Jasper can’t fix.” Nick nearly jumped off the sofa when she said “THE word”. She had made some reference earlier about knowing what he was, but it hadn’t really clicked. Did she really know? Did she really understand? She was so natural sitting there talking with him, like Natalie would but somehow, she was different. “Are you listening?” Katherine was asking, bringing him out of his fog. “Sorry.” A boyish grin of apology quickly spread over his face and just as quickly disappeared, replaced by a menacing look. He had not fed since last night and suddenly became hungry. Her nonchalance about what he was must have triggered the hunger. “You know what I am,” he said without emotion. Her expression became almost sad. “Yes, Nick, I know.” She searched for the right words. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not what you want to be.” Nick was surprised. “You know that?” Quickly, he put two and two together. “You mean to tell me they KNEW that I don’t want to be this… this thing and they still returned me like THIS?” He got up and paced the room with agitation. Katherine was reminded of a caged animal. “Nick, look…” she began. He interrupted her as he realized what she had been telling him. Stopping his pacing directly in front of her, he glared down at her. “You mean that I was supposed to be a vampire all these years? Take all those lives, interrupt all those precious souls you so calmly talk about? Is that it?” He suppressed the urge to reach down, grab her by the neck and shake her. Instead, he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a green bottle, popped the cork and took a long drink. He drank again. Katherine sat calmly on the sofa and rode out the storm. She had seen this reaction before, the vampire trying to shock her with his true nature. Usually, she didn’t react to the show. It was easy for her to do. She knew she wasn’t in any danger. “Yes, I know there are such things as vampires and worse. You weren’t preordained to be a vampire. 800 years later, I don’t believe anyone remembers what you were slated to do. Lacroix changed all that. In doing so, while he thought he was giving you the gift of immortality, he made a mistake and left your soul. He left it buried deep inside your subconscious, never realizing it still remained, until one day, it dug itself out. And now, you find yourself in this current predicament.” She paused as he took one more drink. The blood substitute was easing the anger. Somehow, she was making sense. “They know, Nick. They’ve been watching you for a long time. The years you’ ve spent searching for a cure haven’t been in vain. Jasper just couldn’t return you as a mortal. You had to come back as you left. I’m sorry.” “Why didn’t they intercede in the beginning? Why did they let it all happen?” “There are some things beyond the control of even the Old Ones, natural disasters, wars, vampires. When Lacroix brought you across, you became answerable to him. The Old Ones backed off. They could not interfere. It just can’t be done.” Anguish painted his face. Images of those he had brought across, those he killed in moments of jealousy, lust, anger, and hunger rose before him in defiance. He closed his eyes tight to try to keep them out. Katherine’s voice floated back to him. “While you have interrupted a number of lifelines, Nick, the Old Ones have noticed that in your desire to become mortal again, you have interceded on the behalf of a great number of people and saved some of them. You haven’t taken many lives in a long time with the same purpose and need as you did when you first were brought across. They have kept this in mind.” Katherine hoped her words gave him some comfort. “So, I’ve been forgiven?” Nick’s tone dripped with sarcasm. Katherine thought as she stared at the handsome blond vampire clutching a green bottle to his chest the way a child would a teddy bear. She thought about the files she had read, noting the countless lives he had spared over the years. She knew that his actions the other night were based on faith that he would be with Natalie in the end. Vampires weren’t supposed to have that kind of faith. Or any kind for that matter. She took a deep breath as she stood to look directly into his denim blue eyes. “In a way, yes.” She held up her hands to silence him. “Natalie has been on the right track toward a cure. It will take a little while, though, before it all becomes clear to her. There are cures out there, Nick. You’ ve actually come close once or twice, but the Enforcers have stepped in to block it.” She gave him a look of conviction and promise. “This time is different, Nick. You’ve got to believe me.” “Why? Why is it different?” “Because of your expression of faith to Natalie the other night. Although, it would have been the vampire in you that would have killed her, she believed in you enough to take that chance to be with you forever. She knew there was a faith buried deep inside you, yet close enough to the surface to let her risk everything to be with you. And you, you believed in her enough to let your faith rise to the surface and risk losing everything too. Even Natalie.” She watched him relive that night, almost seeing his vision herself. “Vampires aren’t supposed to have faith, Nick. It was something you should have abandoned a long time ago.” He laughed ruefully at her words that mirrored Lacroix’s that night. “So there is a cure,” he said quietly. Katherine had joined him in the kitchen. “Yes, Nick, someday, you will be cured. For now, you must be patient.” It was his turn to stare at her. In a few short minutes he had gone from anger to despair to hope. He was definitely encouraged. “Natalie and I….” he started. “Should be together. The bond you two have created will make you both strong. You will need each other’s strength and love to see this through. It isn’t going to be easy, Nick.” She smiled at him. “ Don’t worry, you’ll have some help along the way.” Still clutching the near-empty bottle, he looked at Katherine as if seeing her for the first time. “How do you figure in all this?” ACT 13 “Good question,” she replied. “Like I told you and Natalie last night. Someone is placed on this side waiting to help those sent back with their adjustment. I’m that person for both of you.” “We seem to be handling everything ok. We aren’t any different than two days ago.” “But you are. Neither of you realizes it yet, but there are some changes. There’s going to be some obstacles ahead of both of you, and I can help with them. That’s my job.” “I thought you were a cop.” He almost sneered. “I am. I’ve always been a cop. My history with the B.P.D. is verifiable. I’ve spent the last ten years there.” “Helping others get through things like this?” Nick was frustrated. He wanted some tangible answers, but she wasn’t giving him any. Katherine nodded. “I need another cup of coffee,” she told him. Nick took his seat on the sofa while she poured another cup. His detective’ s mind was spewing out questions in rapid order. There was so much he wanted to know. She began to speak before he had the chance to question her. “There is a lot more going on here than you are aware of, Nick. The things that have been happening around here in the last few weeks have been no accident. Most of them involved you personally, but some did not. Other forces, in a world not known by the average person, have been playing with the timeline. They are trying to get ready for a major upheaval of some sort. My people are not sure exactly what that’s going to involve, but we know that specific lives and unlives will be affected. We are trying to prevent as much damage as possible.” “Which things?” Nick immediately though of Linda Wyatt’s virus that wiped out a number of the vampire community. “The re-incarnation of Francesca, Divia’s appearance a few weeks ago, your partner’s death to name a few.” She took a sip from her cup. “I can see some relationship between Francesca and Divia, but how does Tracy fit in? “She was getting too close to Javier Vachon and the community. Tracy was a mortal who knew about you guys, and she had no history to prove she wasn’t a threat to any of you.” “But she was ok, she wouldn’t have done anything to hurt us.” “I know that Nick. But the Enforcers weren’t very happy about the situation. And she was so innocent, she might have inadvertently done something to expose everyone.” “Natalie knows. No one’s gone after her.” He got worried. The thought of the Enforcers taking Natalie was almost too much. “But she has a history time and again of protecting you. She’s the one who developed the cure for that virus. She’s pulled you through some questionable situations. As far as everyone is concerned, she’s proven her intentions. Tracy was a wild card. They couldn’t be sure.” They sat in silence for a while. Nick was trying to understand what was going on. Katherine wondered if she was telling him too much. “Vachon was destroyed. I saw him myself. Now he’s ok. What happened?” He asked her. “He did take a stake to his heart, that’s true. In his delirium caused by Divia’s attack on him, he managed to have Tracy destroy him. In her innocence in these matters, however, she removed the stake and buried him in a shallow grave near the port.” Nick nodded his head. “It took him awhile, but he managed to dig himself out. I personally admire Tracy’s strength of character. Most mortals would have turned and run. She did love him very much. I felt bad when I learned she was killed.” Nick stared off into the distance as he remembered the night she was shot and killed. “It was all my fault,” he said quietly. “No, Nick. It wasn’t your fault. I just finished explaining to you that it was taken care of by someone else. On the surface it may appear your fault, but it really was a set up. It would have happened whether or not you were there. Really.” “Who are these other guys? Aren’t they the Enforcers?” She looked away from him. “I am not at liberty to say.” She took another drink, but the coffee was bitter and cold. She pushed the cup to the middle of the table. “Ok then, what are you? Obviously, you aren’t mortal. You’re not a vampire. So what else is there?” Instead of answering him, Katherine got up and looked out the window. The sky was beginning to lighten, giving the buildings an eerie look of being there, yet not. The traffic below was beginning to pick up. Little cars with people going nowhere, oblivious to what was happening around them. Sometimes she wished she didn’t know as much as she did. She looked at the grey blue sky once more, wishing she knew how to answer that one. Slowly, the sky blended into a light blue with fluffy white clouds. It was the afternoon she discovered the secret about her father. “But Mother, Father said you are never to hit me like that again.” The little girl rubbed her cheek. It was still stinging from the slap she received from her angry mother. “Your father!” The tall blonde woman towered over her daughter. Her piercing blue eyes flamed with derision. “Your beloved father is not here to protect you now, you impudent little brat! How many times have I told you not to go into this room?” She grabbed Katherine by the arm and shook her. “How many times, Katherine?” Katherine just stared at her mother in silence. Any answer would have inflicted another beating and she was probably going to get one anyway. She was almost right. “What am I going to do with you?” Thoughts of locking her in her room all-day or better yet in the cellar came to mind. But it had been done before and no lesson was learned from it. Then an idea occurred to her. “All right, Katherine. Since you are so interested what is behind this door, maybe it’s time you found out.” She tightened her grip on her daughter’s arm that would later be seen as bruises and turned to unlock the door. The key squealed in protest as it released the lock. The door opened slowly, revealing a darkened room. Katherine resisted going in. “Oh, so now you’re not too sure about this? Well, it’s too late now.” She pulled Katherine across the threshold into the blackness. Mother’s keen eyes found a chair in the seemingly empty room and forced her daughter into it. Katherine was too scared to move. “You think your father is a wonderful man, don’t you? You think he would never do anything to hurt you? Well, we shall see my sweet. We shall see.” With those words her mother finished tying her into the chair. “Just wait,” She told her as she closed the door behind her. The room became pitch black, but as her eyes acclimated to the darkness, Katherine saw to her relief, a single candle burned across the room, shedding a small amount of light. The black became grey to Katherine and she was able to make out a long wooden box alongside the candle. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it did look familiar. At first she struggled with her bonds, but each movement only made them tighter. She was smart enough to figure out that she was going to be there awhile and made herself relax. The closed room in the summer heat made her sleepy. In spite of her apprehension, she dozed off. The sound of the lid on the wooden box moving woke her. She should have been terrified, but something told her not to be frightened. Before she saw him, she knew the figure rising from the box was her father. Had she always known? Maybe. All she knew was he would not hurt her. “Daddy,” she cried out softly. Her father, now standing at the side of the coffin stiffened in response to her voice. Inherently, he knew that it was his precious daughter who was sitting in the room with him. Instinctively, he was hungry. He hadn’t fed in two days. The sound of her beating heart and the smell of her blood was too much for him. Without a word, he approached her. “Daddy! It’s me, Katherine. It’s ok. I know. I mean, I understand.” She saw him through loving eyes, this monster who claimed to be her father was almost upon her. She saw his glowing eyes fixate on her neck and she knew what he wanted. What he needed. With much love and trust, she turned her head to the side and submitted to him. Her neck stung bitterly as his teeth broke the tender skin. She wanted to cry out, but couldn’t. She felt her blood flow into him, and felt the strength he gained from it. She thought she should have fainted but didn’t. Even now, she felt safe in his arms. As was his custom, he took very little. He hated the very act that sustained him. His victims would wake weakened, and without memory of the moment, but no worse for the wear. This one, though, did not pass out. He could not shut her memory down. The blood had a familiar taste. A taste of innocence blended with knowledge beyond its years. His mind cried out with the comprehension of what he’d just done. He released her as if she were poisoned, stepped back and screamed in shame. “No!” The entire house shook with his rage. Mother smiled to herself. “Daddy,” Katherine whispered to him. “It’s ok. I’m ok. Daddy, look at me,” she begged. Stunned to hear her speak to him, he forced the vampire back to its secret sanctuary and knelt down before her. “Katerina, my dear little Katerina.” Tears flowed from her green eyes. “It’s ok,” she told him between sobs. “Untie me”. She was more concerned about him than herself. She was afraid this would kill him. The bonds disintegrated in his grip. He was torn between raw anger and the need to console his daughter. Once free, he cradled her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, Katerina. I’m so sorry.” She freed herself from him to look at him. She ran her hand down his face, pausing at his mouth. She looked at him with the innocence of a child, but the voice of an adult told him, “I know. I think I’ve always known.” She hugged him. “I love you daddy.” Nick turned from her, his own eyes glowing from the power of her words. He got up, went to the refrigerator, pulled out a second bottle and took a long, long, drink. From across the room he whispered in awe, “Did he drink from you again?” Katherine nodded her head slowly as if in a trance. “Yes. My blood seemed to have some affect on his condition. He started drinking daily, but only a little and then that slowly tapered off to weekly. He hardly ever spoke to mother after that. The house was very cold. At the same time, though, the attacks in the village and surrounding area had practically ended, and along with it the investigations, so that brought him some comfort. “From that day on, I avoided mother as much as possible. I would rise early, get my own breakfast and leave the house before she woke, staying out until sunset when I would meet my father. He was my only comfort. She would make my life miserable if she caught me alone in the house.” Nick took another drink from the bottle. “Your mother knew about your father?” Once again, she nodded. “She’s the one that made him what he was. She was a witch from the islands.” Katherine looked at Nick through a different light. “He didn’t want to be a vampire, either.” Nick looked uncomfortable. “How did you survive?” “I really don’t know. The Old Ones think it has to do with my parentage, Dad being a vampire when I was conceived, his blood in my veins. From the moment that coffin opened, I knew that was what I was meant to do.” She met his eyes, with out embarrassment or apology, just an acceptance of who and what she was. “Is your father still alive? What about your mother?” More memories of her parents flooded back to her. Things she put out of her mind long ago. She wished her mind were an erasable board that she could shake and be rid of the painful memories permanently, just like an Etch-a-Sketch. But it wasn’t and she’d have to deal with the pain again and again. A log slid to the side in the fireplace, producing a brand new array of colorful flames. Katherine watched the sparks dance and swirl. Just like that night… “Daddy!” Katherine screamed in heavy sobs as she burst through the doors of the old mansion. “Daddy!” She ran up the stairs into his arms, shaking with grief and fear. >From his room upstairs, he heard her crying hysterically as she ran through the woods to the house. Quickly, he made his way to the stairway. Something was seriously wrong. “He’s dead, Daddy. He’s dead. I found him. I found him.” She buried her face in his chest. “Who is dead, Katerina, who?” He asked her gently. “David. She killed him. I know it.” “It’s all right, my little one. Come, let’s go where we can talk.” He carefully led her down the stairs to the drawing room. He closed the doors behind them. “Ok, take a deep breath and start from the beginning. “ “I went into town today to see Mr. Thornbill. He had some questions about the wedding and I offered to help straighten them out. David wasn’t there. We both thought it strange, because he’s always been there to discuss the details with his father. Well, I did the best I could and we got some of the issues out of the way. On the way home, I decided to stop at the house to see how the building was going. I thought that maybe David had gone there because he likes to keep an eye on things. It was strangely quiet. No one was working, but I thought I felt someone there. I called out. There was no answer. I started to walk around to the front of the house when I found him.” Her voice cracked. “I found him Daddy. He was hanging by a rope from the bedroom window. Oh, daddy, he had to have been there a long time!” She broke into tears at the memory of it. When she recovered, she looked at her father and told him. “I heard laughing in the distance. A taunting laugh. A familiar laugh. It was Mother’s, I know it.” “Katherine! How can you be sure?” His wife had done some abominable things in the past, but he found this difficult to believe. Fearing he wasn’t going to believe her, Katherine began to cry again. “I know it Daddy! She killed him because I loved him. I saw him. I heard her! I hate her! I hate her!” Her sobs became uncontrollable. She felt scared, alone and empty. The fear was enveloping her like a blanket. Her father saw the panic in her face. The sense of loss and shock was overwhelming her. There had to be a way to calm her down. There had to be a way for him to reach her. He did the only thing that seemed reasonable at the time. He gathered her into him arms, held her head gently to the side and sank his teeth into her neck. Her heaving sobs gave way to whimpers. At that moment, Mother swung open the doors to the drawing room. The look of amazement and shock on her face told Father instantly that she had never considered this a possibility. A look of disbelief quickly faded into recognition of the thing limp in her husband’s arms. She knew then what it was she had borne seventeen years ago. She knew then that she could never let her leave this house again. “How dare you?” she cried out in disgust. The vampire bared his fangs in anger at the intrusion. He threw his unconscious daughter onto the love seat and flew after his wife. “How dare I?” he growled. “You did this. You are the one who started this seven years ago. What were you thinking then? What were you thinking now?” “Your own daughter. You attacked your own daughter. What kind of person are you?” He bared his teeth once more and his eyes glowed with anger. “The kind you made.” The mother had entered the room completely now, fired up with hatred of many years. She flew at him, hitting and clawing at him. He threw her aside like a doll. She landed on the marble floor in front of the fireplace. As she pulled herself up to go after him again, she grabbed the poker hanging to the side of the mantel. No one noticed the bottom of her skirt had dragged into the hearth and caught fire. She ran toward her husband, her creation, with the poker in her hand poised for attack. She was fully engulfed in flame by the time she struck him in the chest. Surprised by the sight of her in flames and the iron poker flying through the air at him, the vampire was unable to defend himself. He slumped forward into his burning wife after the metal stake pierced his heart. Together, they fell into a heap and went up in flames. Katherine regained consciousness quickly, but not soon enough to help her father. In stunned silence, she sat and watched the two of them go up in flames before her. There was nothing she could do. The Old Ones found her in the room, now burning quite nicely, staring at the flames. She sat mesmerized by the colors and shapes that floated from the blaze before her. Gently, they led her from the house and took her to their home. They both sat in silence a few minutes as they each dealt with the picture she had painted. It was an awful way to end a life. An unusual way to he thought, and finished the bottle. Then he remembered the old man’s words from the other night. “Jasper said something about a family. Could this be true?” Nick was excited. Katherine yawned. It had been an exhausting night. “Nick, I’m tired. Can’ t we finish this later?” By the time she finished her question, her head was down on the pillow on the couch, and she was fast asleep. Nick found a blanket and covered her. He sat back on the chair across from her and watched her sleep. Act 14 “Oh my god, Nick," Natalie exclaimed from the top of the stairs. Startled, Nick looked up to see Natalie staring down at him from the upper floor of the loft. He had been so caught up with Katherine, he never sensed her home. "How long have you been here?" “ I booked off early,” Natalie told him when she reached his side, never taking her eyes off the sleeping figure on the couch, “I heard everything she said.” She looked from Nick to Katherine to Nick again, trying to comprehend what she had heard the past few hours. Nick bent over, adjusted the blanket on Katherine, then straightened up. “Nat…” He stopped, at a loss for words. He searched her face hoping to find them. “I believe her now,” was all Natalie could say as she found safety and comfort in Nick’s arms. Nick was exhausted. He had brought Katherine here in search of answers. He never anticipated these. He nestled his face in Natalie’s hair and whispered, “ A vampire’s daughter, the Old Ones, cures. Natalie, I need time to sort this all out.” As she nodded against his shoulder, she closed her eyes, trying to make some sense out of the last hours. “Nick?” she began with apprehension in her voice. “I know, Nat. I know.” As he stood there comforting Natalie, he was bombarded by the awareness of her confusion, fears and hopes that had been awakened by his discussion with Katherine. The memory of a dream he had a few months ago still lingered. Arm in arm, they stood silently watching Katherine sleep. She looked so peaceful and innocent lying there on the couch. The sleeping figure changed positions as Natalie whispered to Nick, “ You’d never know it to look at her, would you?” She took a closer look at him. Natalie had never seen him that tired. “Nick, get to bed. Even you need some rest.” The sound of her voice brought him back from convoluted thoughts. “You booked off early? Are you ok?” “I got very tired. Guess this all caught up with me, and since there wasn’t a whole lot to do, I put myself on the beeper and came here. I slept for a little while until I heard you two come in. Neither of you noticed me up there and I thought it was best to keep quiet. I hope you don’t mind.” “It’s ok. Somehow, I don’t think she’ll mind, either.” Nick gave her a quick hug. “I AM tired. I think I’ll go and lie down for awhile. You’re sure you’re ok?” She gave him her most encouraging smile. “I’m tough. Actually, I don’t think I could sleep a wink right now. I think I’ll go work on my laptop.” She gave him a kiss. “Sleep well.” Nick sighed as he looked down upon the sleeping Katherine. She had given him so much to think about. Natalie watched him climb the stairs to the loft, and then she turned and gazed upon their guest. < You must have seen quite a lot Katherine, and yet you look so untouched by it all. What other secrets are you keeping? What other secrets?” ACT 15 Music blared loudly in the Raven, teeming with its usual nightlife once again. Lacroix stood in the darkness of a corner, sipping from a goblet, surveying the room. Catching the antics of two in the darkened booth with his acute vision, he smiled to himself. Sitting at the bar, Vachon absent-mindedly whirled his index finger over the rim of his empty glass, lost in thought. "Why such a long face, my good man? We're back in business!" Lacroix filled the empty goblet. He didn't answer. "You need to go out and find some real action, Vachon. Sitting in mourning is not healthy for a vampire. Or becoming." A young, dark-haired beauty slithered by Lacroix, eyeing him with hunger. He leaned in closer to Vachon. " You need to snap out of this.” His gaze followed the woman to the corner of the Raven “You're going to bring this place down with your mood.” In a flash, Vachon was once again alone. Vachon barely glanced up as Lacroix trailed off after the young woman. Taking a long drink from the glass, his thoughts went to those of the dark blonde who waltzed into the Raven and instantly altered their world. In a final gesture to those he left behind, he silently held his glass in a toast, set it down and went off into the night. ------- Rolling over on the couch for the millionth time, Katherine took a look at her watch. She stretched, trying to get the kinks out of muscle she'd forgotten she had. She got up from the couch and looked around, finally locating some paper and a pen and she left a note: Nick, I know all of your questions weren't answered. You’ve probably come up with a few more. Sorry about that. We've got time. I promise you’ ll get those answers soon. Thanks for the couch and your ear. Tell Natalie it's ok she heard. See you later. Kath. Room service had delivered a pot of coffee and she sat perusing the classifieds for a reasonable place to rent. Can't stay in this hotel room forever. Besides, she missed her baby. She glanced at the clock. Time enough for a long shower. She let the water pound her tired limbs for a while. Humming to herself, she dried off, dressed and leaned over the sink to look into the mirror. "What did I do with that brush," she asked herself. "This one?” that now familiar voice came from the corner. She spun around, surprised and angry that he could get in without her sensing it. "Will you *please * stop doing that?" Grabbing the brush, she returned to the mirror, ran the brush through her hair a few strokes and then turned to him. "Just how long have you been standing there?" He smiled, as if he were keeping a secret, "Long enough. Long enough." He watched her finish her make-up. She was determined not to let him bother her. Or at least she didn’t want him to know he was bothering her. She sighed involuntarily. Realizing she'd been staring back at him, she turned her attention back her image in the mirror and readjusted some hair. "You look just fine," he whispered into her ear. He took the hairbrush from her hand and set it on the counter. Something made him spin her around to look at him. They were face to face. In that moment of weakness, she caught her breath, started to say something stupid and stopped. The moment passed. " Do you want to stay in this bathroom all night or can we step into the other room?" She led him into the sitting area of her room. He leaned against the wall and watched her. "Vachon, why are you doing this? And don't tell me ‘Because you can,’ because I've heard that one before." That was exactly what he was going to say. He continued to stare at her, trying to figure her out. He wanted to ask her all these things and more. Instead he said, "You didn't come home this morning." It wasn't a question; he stated it as fact. "Oh good, now you're watching me. What are you, my guardian angel?" She'd crossed over the room and sat on the side chair. He took the chair across from her and watched her with intent brown-black eyes. She felt her heart speed up and hoped he didn't notice, but the smug amusement in his eyes told her he was aware of the effect he was having on her. "So, are you going to tell me why you're here? I have to be at work soon." "In two hours, Katerina; we've got time." He tipped the chair back and waited, toying with her. "I'm not in the mood for games, Vachon. If you want something, then get on with it. I've got things to do." She was irritated now and was making mental pictures of her planner to try to erase that face looking at her. "You still haven't told me why you're here. Lacroix has an idea, but I want to hear your version." Knowing he was trying very hard to get to her, she chose to ignore ‘Katerina ’. “Why are you so interested in what I am doing? You’re not my keeper, you know.” He continued to tip back on the chair’s hind legs. “This is a very big and bad city.” He glanced around indifferently, but still very aware of her just a few feet in front of him. “I just wanted to make sure you made it home okay. That’s it.” He brought the chair down and tried very hard to penetrate the shield she seemed to have around her. “I made it back all right. Thanks for your concern.” There was a touch of sarcasm in her voice and she didn’t care. He leaned forward to hold her hands, and looking into her eyes he softly replied, “You’re welcome.” He held her gaze for what seemed like an eternity, and he noted she was returning the clasp he had on her hands. Her mind was racing, and her heart skipping beats like a schoolgirl. She knew he heard every heartbeat. She was disquieted by his ability to sense everything about her. He moved closer to her. Her eyes betrayed confusion and her heart told him he was getting through. He was getting the response he half-hoped for. She closed her eyes to break his gaze, his spell. She continued to hold his cold hands. An all too familiar touch with another face attached. She opened her eyes to find him still trying to read her. She drew in a breath. “Because I’m here and I want to know so much.” His voice broke her into her thoughts like dozens of canons echoing through her mind. Startled, she pulled back from him. “How did you do that?” His eyes lit with amusement and satisfaction. “ So, it can be done.” She was worried. It had been many years since she let a vampire into her mind, and it had a disastrous ending. This was clearly something she hadn’t bargained for. She wouldn’t be the cause of another vampire’s death. Flashes of hysterical screams, dark brown hair and blue eyes enveloped in a swirl of flames made their way through her mind. Disturbed by this picture, Vachon pulled away from her. It was her turn now. She hadn’t done it in awhile, let her defenses down long enough to probe a mind. It would be more difficult without his blood in her, but instinctively she knew she must try. Vampires do not routinely share their innermost thoughts with anyone. Not other vampires, and certainly not mortals. The few intimate moments between Natalie and Nick and Tracy and Javier were just that. Short pieces of a long life shared only to make a point. Through their victim’s blood, a vampire will absorb the thoughts and secrets of that short life. In passing, the victim will glimpse his attacker. It is a short revelation, then it’s gone forever. Some psychics have seen parts of the vampire life, not understanding what they are dealing with. When the vision is clear, it takes a lot out of both involved. Katherine used all her experience to reach the edges of this vampire’s mind. He immediately sensed her probing into his psyche and stiffened. He had never felt this sensation without the exchange of blood. He felt his eyes glow and his fangs start to emerge in self defense, but just as quickly, he relaxed. She was not a threat and the gentle probing was more comforting than anything he’d experienced. It actually was beginning to feel good. As strong as she was, he was able to let her see only what he wanted her to see. “Are you about done?” he asked, almost wishing she’d go on forever. “You were in love with Tracy Vetter,” she said softly, gently. There was no surprise in her voice, no derision of a vampire in love with a mortal. It happens all the time. He was trying so hard to forget. He was angry that she had been able to sense something that only until now he had been able to admit. That she could probe that far. His expression changed from relaxed and caring to animalistic anger. His eyes glowed green and his fangs dropped, threatening. “That is none of your business. I do not want to talk about that ever again,” he hissed threateningly. Most would have become frightened at that display of power. Even Urs would have backed off, but Katherine held her ground. All at once, she understood the creature in front of her. Through the years he developed enormous power to the extent even he was not aware. At the same time, he still had the capacity to love. He was becoming more attractive with each moment. The tension in the air melted as she reached out for him, her voice soft, nurturing, “It’s ok, Javier, I know. I’ve known since before I got here. I won’t ever mention it again, I promise.” She stopped and looked once more into his brown eyes, her own eyes full of trust and acceptance. “I understand how it was. I’ve been there too.” He pulled her in closer to him and buried his face in her hair, devouring all of her. She let her guard down and held him to her, allowing feelings she buried a long time ago to flood over her. It had been many years since she allowed herself to care for someone. It had hurt too much when she lost, but this felt so good. They stood in each other’s arms for minutes and then reality checked in. They pulled away from each other, both uncomfortable with what just transpired. Katherine looked away from his eyes and walked to the dresser, poured herself a glass of water and took a long drink. Lake blue eyes and flames haunted her. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she stammered. “It can’t happen again, Javier. It can’t.” She pretended to be absorbed by the pattern in the carpeting. She didn’t want to meet those eyes again. Those eyes that could see right through her; the only ones that had in ages. “It did happen Katherine. We were both in each other’s minds. We can’t change what we saw.” He came closer to her again. she begged silently. His face was serious as he heard her mind. “Talk to me, Katherine, talk to me.” “Talk to me.” His voice rang in her ears. She knew she had given up pieces of her mind to him. Not enough to clear his questions yet just enough to create more. < The Old Ones are going to have my hide when this is over. First Knight and now you. I’m tired of fighting. Resisting. Javier Vachon, I’m going to trust you. With my life. > She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, then glanced at her watch. Only twenty minutes passed since they had sat down. An eternity had spun its way through them. “What do you think you know?” “Lacroix thinks you are a mixed breed. Vampire, yet not. Mortal, but not. There’s a term for that kind; even Lacroix won’t speak it. He said it would be dangerous to know you.” “He said that, huh? Does he still think I’m his long lost love, Fleur?” “No, I think he got over that once he was convinced his theory was true.” Vachon glanced at the door as he heard a clang of trays coming from the hallway. Then there was a knock at the door. “Can I turn down your bed, ma’am?” “No, thanks, I’ll take care of it myself. Goodnight.” The maid looked in long enough to see a very handsome young man sitting on the edge of the bed. She glanced from him to the young blond woman at the door, gave her a knowing smile and toddled off down the hall to the next room. “So, you’re here, wanting to know more than he told you. Don’t you believe your kind leader?” He smiled at her and shook his head. The light from the bedside danced on his hair. “I want to hear it from you. I want to hear your story.” Once more she sat across from him, bringing the chair closer to the bed. “You can’t resist playing with fire, can you?” She asked him. He chuckled. “Let’s say I like to make life interesting.” He smiled at her, his voice softened. “M