Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 17:09:17 -0500 (CDT) From: Charles S Randolph Forever Knight: Dare to be Human Julie Randolph Part I Nick lay there for a moment in utter disgust before turning to look at the clock on his bedside table. It glared the numbers 5:10 back at him in flourescent green. He moaned, rolled over and covered his head with a pillow. The knocking was incessant. A non-stop drudgery that seemed to pound inside his brain until he finally gave up and put on a robe to trudge downstairs. He looked disheveled, his blond hair mussed and flopping into his face. His eyes, that distant color of blue and gray, were clouded over with a combination of irritation and curiosity. Who would be dumb enough to knock on his door this early in the afternoon? He knew almost instinctively that it could not be Natalie, as she would simply walk in, not bothering with the courtesy of knocking. I wouldn't be Schanke, the only mortal on earth who slept longer than he did. He ran one hand through his hair, trying to smooth it back into it's regular formation, but the recalitrant mass of curls would not be tamed. "Yeah, yeah...hang on, I'm coming." the knocking had grown beyond irritating. As he reached the door, Nick came to a sudden and abrupt halt. Every nerv ending in his body was on full alert. The person on the other side of that door was a vampire. He was sure of it. He looked over at his clock again, thinking perhaps he had lost track of time and might very possibly be late for work. The downstairs clock indicated that only 5 minutes had passed, 5:15 in the afternoon. Now, the curiosity was almost overwhelming, but underneath he could feel a lingering fear. Fear, perhaps, of something he did not know, and did not care to understand. As he walked toward the door, the knocking stopped. Whatever it was that stood on the other side knew that he was present, and was waiting. Nick was not sure what he expected to find when he opened the door. A large, massive, hairy, monster from hell frothing at the mouth might have come close to the image he harbored in his mind. What he did not expect to find was the young woman who stood there. She was tall for a woman, perhaps 5'9, her long think brownish red hair hung down in her face in no particular style as if she were used to pulling it back but had decided against that onthis occasion. Her eyes, he found, did not reek of the manacial glow he had expected. They were soft, golden and accessed him with a mixture of amusement and delight. She looked as if she might have been 25, her face was not the pale he was accustomed to seeing within his own species, but gently brown, tanned by the rays of the sun. She wore jeans, sandals and a t-shirt from UCLA. She was suprisingly plain to look at. One thing, however, did catch his attention. It was a ring she wore on her right hand fore finger. It was the symbol of two dragon clows, clutching one another. Nick knew that rings such as that had been given from master to child a very long time ago. It was a way of establishing class stature and rank, before all vampires began to see themselves as equal based on age. the ring she wore spoke volumes to anyone who knew of the clan. Based out of Jeresulum, she wore the ring of perhaps the oldest and most powerful clan of Kindred on the planet. Nick began to feel uneasy. He could not tell by looking at her, just how old she was. He stood there for what seemed like hours, simply watching her. He had no idea what to say and somehow "What the hell do you want" seemed a little rude for his taste. He needn't have worried, her voice crackeled as it broke through the air. Nick realized that she was forcing air through her lungs to make the words. She hadno need to breath and apparently didnot unless it was needed. "Nicholas Knight." It was not a question, and Nick was unsure how to feel about that. The look on her face mirrored utter delight at this discovery. "You are an incredibally hard man to track down." At that he had to laugh. "No one else in my life seems to have that particular problem." She paused, and then to his amazement, blushed a beet red that would have challenged a lobster. "I am terribly sorry, how rude of me, I have not even introduced myself. I've been searching for you for quite some time...in my excitement I seem to have forgotten my manners. I am Arialantos of Athens." She bowed slightly at the waste and once again, Nick was awed. He stood in dead silence, his mind wandering quickly through the history courses he had taken over the years. If he remembered correctly, the designation of a city as a means of identification in Europe and Asia had been dropped and replaced with a last name around the year 20 A.D. that would make here at least 1700 years old, if not older. Arial smiled,"Oh, much older I assure you. Actually, I was brought across in 800 B.C." "800??? How can that be?" "Have you ever heard of Matheus of Jereselum?" Nick nodded,"Of course I have, but that is only legend...folklore." Arial shook her head,"Actually it's not. You see, Matheus is my master." Nick was stunned into silence. What could this creature, this being so far beyond humanity...what could she possibly want with him? he lookd down into her face and realized for perhaps the first time that she had the ability to kill him as if she were stepping on an ant. She shook her head, "YOu just don't trust anyone do you?" Nick was still blocking the door with his large frame, unwilling, or perhaps afraid to let herinto his home. "Why would you think that?" She sighed,"I am not here to kill you Nicholas. In fact, I am on vacation." He looked skeptical,"From what?" She smiled,"I just finished up the 3rd year out of 4 to recieve my 187th bachelor's degree. I enjoy learning, and being this young does have it's advantages. Look I don't mean to be rude, but do you thin you could let me in before I freeze to death out here. I swear it was 80 degrees when I left California this morning." He laughed, smiled geuninly for the first time, and moved aside to allow her access. Arial looked around and began to laugh. "What?" "Not much personality in this place. Don't you have any hobbies beyond collecting candles?" "Like what?" "You should see the stamp collection I have at home...one of every kind of stamp ever made in history. It's kinda cool." Nick stared at her in mock-horror,"How..ummmm...truly boring." She shrugged,"Well, have to pass the time somehow. What you need is some color other than black," she paused and looked once again aroudn the cavernous apartment, "and get some furniture for God's sake." Nick smiled," I'll take it under advisement. Have a seat and tell me what brings you to toronto for vacation." Arial smiled back and plopped down on his couch, removed her sandals and curled her feet up under her body," Two reasons actually." Nick stopped where he was, his body became still. Something electric was flowing through the air, it swept across his mind, into his soul and back out again. He could not pin it down, it moved like lightning, uncontrolable. "The sensation you're feeling is called maltuition, just ignore it for now. I can her first and foremost to take a vacation. I'll probably be here about two weeks or so, if I don't have any emergencies at home. The second reason is a bit more complicated." Nick watched her from where he stood, he did not move, his hand reached out involuentarily to grasp the bannister of his staircase, his mind, his heart, hiss throat all clogged with fear. "Oh do relax. I recieved a call from matheus yesterday. You probably don't know this, but Matheus chose to move back to Greece about 5 years ago, so I don't have the opportunity to see him much." "Must be nice." Nick mumbeled under his breath. Arial made it painfully obvious that she could hear him quite well, "Oh yes, Luciene LaCroix, well, you do not need to worry about him for a while. As far as I know, he was a pain in the ass before he came across, I have no idea how he managed to have a son as moral as you are. be that as it may, Matheus called me and has decided you are ready, he wants me to teach you." If Nick had been able to run from her at that moment he would have. He did not know much of Matheus, only the bits and pieces of story told to him by LaCroix. Matheus was supposed to be so old that he himself did not remember being brought across. He did not ever remember being a mortal of any kind. The legend of Matheus was passed down through the vampire community throughout the centuries. It was a subject of ultimate debate. Matheus was the God of vamprisim. Nick had no idea what a vampire as powerful as Matheus or Arialantos for that matter could possibly think he was ready for after 800 years. Finally, Nick said the words that had plauged him since the enigmatic woman had appeared at his door," What do you want?" She smiled," Ahhh...finally he gets to the point. Well, I'll tell you then. Matheus knows of your desire to become mortal again." Nick was about to say something, but a wave of Arial's hand stilled him,"He understands your desire Nick.When he first noticed you and your quest for humanity, you werer about 350. He was unsure wheter or not you would be able to stick by your convictions, as you have slipped and fallen many times. But now, after hundreds of years of sticking to your morals and denyig yourself the things that are in accordance with a vampratic lyfestyle, he is convinced. I have been sent to teach you. Don't get the wrong idea. There is no known cure for your condition, but there are techniques, things you can do that will allow you to more fully integrate yourself into humanity, and mortal life." What would you possibly teach me?" Nick's voice was resigned, "Don't you think I've already tried everything there is?" "I understand your skepticism, but I know things that you could not as you are not old enough and did not have Matheus to teach you. I can teach you to develop a taste for food, to go into the sunlight without harm, I can teach you to trade your addiction to blood for something else, although that is one condition under which you must always live. Now don't give me that look, my personal "addiction" is Diet Coke, but it can be something else for you. In essence, I can teach you to act human. I cannot make you into a human being, Nick, but I can give you the abilities you need to at least feel human and to incorporate yourself into a normal, human life." Nick watched her closely. Could she really give him this chance? the cance to live again? "Okay, let;s assume for a moment that I believe you. what would I have to do? trade blood with you, kill an unbabtised baby, kill LaCroix?" Arial shook her head, her face filled with pity, "You've been dealing with anger and guilt for far too long, Nicholas. You assume that every vampire that walks into your life is evil. Well, I assure I am neither evil nor burdened by the guilt that obviously wears you down. I do not cring at the cross of Christ, Nick. I have a reflection, I lead a normal life, I am for all means and purposes, a human being. My immortality is something I came toterms with a very long time ago, and you too must learn to deal with it, before I can help you. You have to understand that while their might be a cure for vamprism in the future, there is not one right now. I cannot cure you, but I cann offer you humanity, if you are willing to take it." Nick sat down on the bench of his piano, his fingers touched the keys absently as everything Arial has said filtered through his mind. She certainly look harmless enough, but he knew from experience that looks could be decieving. He started and looked up at her in suprise as he felt her voice speak gently within his mind *You are a kind hearted man, Nicholas, I am saddened that LaCroix's misadventures have so hardened your heart. The master/child relationship does not have to be that way. You can be happy, and lear things other than pain and death.* He turned, her heart was pure, her mind peaceful and unburdened. She looked relaxed and happy, all the power she controlled lying dormant inside her. She had offered to shar that power with him, to give him something he never believed possibly. His mind drifted for a moment and her heard Natalie saying that trust was a leap of faith...Nick lept. "What do I have to do?" Arial unfolded her body and smiled, "Just follow my lead and do exactly what I tell you." Part II One Week Later Nick rolled over in bed and smiled as he sleepily rubbed his bare chest. Light seeped in through the blinds he had forgotten to close all the way the night before. A week ago, that barest hint of light would have been enough to put him back into the trance like sleeping state he was so accustomed to at this time of day. Today, however, he was awake, his mind felt clear, he felt wonderful...perhaps for the first time in 800 years. Beside him, Arial groaned and turned over, hoping with all hope that her new student would forget the sun and go back to sleep. She lay there for a moment, her body tense with anticipation as she felt him beginning to stir beside her. She supposed it was expected that he be excited, as this was the first day in 800 years that hw would venture into the sun. She smiled, almost laughing as his weight shifted and his breath touched her ear. "Are you awake?" Arial lay still for a moment. She felt the tension inside his mind skyrocket to heights she had thought impossible. She laughed almost impercetibally, but her body shook and Nick sighed with disgust. "Come on, it's time." Arial finally gave up and turned over to lean across him and look at the clock. "Amazing," she said with sarcasm. "You actually slept until 7:30. I am duly impressed." Nick had finally had enough, "Arial..." She finally allowed herself to laugh with gusts of air as his voice took on that of a young child being momentairly deprived of his Christmas gifts. "Okay, okay...I'm up." The pair emerged from the bedroom, the shades in the apartment were still down and the almost damp aura the hovered over it made Arial shudder. "What do you do? hose this place down to get this effect?" Nick shrugged and looked around himself, "What?" Arial stalked to the refrigerator with mock disgust and pulled out a diet coke, drinking with obvious enthusiasm. Nick looked appalled. "Yeah, well..you'll understand eventually." She pulled out one of the large bottles of blood that he kept and tossed it to him. "What do you want me to do with this?" "You trust me don't you?" Nick did not even hesitate, "Yes." "Drink it, I know you don't like it, but I'm afraid that at this stage you really can't take any chances with your physical strength. everything you have, everything you are is going to be taken up with your mind...understand." Nick nodded, uncorked the bottle and drank heavily before recorking it. Arial shook her head. "What? More?" "Just carry it with you while you get ready to go...and make it snappy, I'm starving. Don't you have any food in this place?" "Never had any use for it." "No, but you keep moldy coffee under your sink..." Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Arial, so fast that even he didn't see her, moved to the edge of the staircase," Save that story for another time...I probably don't want to know anyway." Nick grinned to himself as he looked in the mirror. His reflection, he saw, was hazy and shimmering around the edges, but it was there. Funny, he looked exactly the same way he did the last time he looked at himself...and that would be about, he laughed, 800 years ago. Oh well, at least he had hair. Arial emerged from his bathroom and spoke directly into his mind *Ready?* Nick paused and Arial felt the tormenting fear of death rise up inside of him. "You cannot step out of this house with that attitude, Nick. Remember what you have learned, erase the fear from your mind, control it...do not let it control you." He stopped and mentally pushed the fear away into the farthest corners of his mind, to a place where he could control it. Slowly, a peaceful, serene electricity built up around his body. As he concentrated, the cocoon of safety, the one that would allow him to once again rejoin the human race, grew stronger. He heard her voice as if from a distance, she cooed at him gently as not to break the magnitude of the effort he was making,"Ready?" They open the large metal sliding door that served as an elevator and took it down to the ground floor. Arial moved ahead of him, as his doubts once again erupted inside him and he moved into the shadows. She stepped out of the elevator, and into the sunlight. Nick half expected her to turn to ash and melt before him, but she simply turned and smiled at him, hold ing out a hand. He moved foward, unsure of he was strong enough. had he learned enough to make this venture, or was he inviting death? On the other side of that door was a new hope, a new life, or incenerating flames that would burn him to cinders. We have gone through this before, Nicholas. This is one of the more elemental vampratic traits." Nick nodded. Arial only called him 'Nicholas' when he was getting on her nerves. He knew that she would never allow this if she didn't think he was ready. Nick sucked in a breath, and then followed Arial as she made a beeline for his car. the sensation was like none he had ever experienced before in his life. the warmth of the sun crackeled around his ears as the electric wall of protection wavered under the new feelings that were cascading over his body. he focused his mind, cleared it of all thought and then...nothing. He looked up into the sky. The sun was there, he could feel it on his face and hands, but it did not burn, the normal feeling of pain and agony that brought despair to his life was gone, for the first time, in a very long time, Nick felt human, he felt mortal. "Well, as mortal as you're every going to get anyway." Arial replied in response to his thoughts. Nick has become accustomed to his teacher hearing his thoughts and rarely had to speak in her presence anymore. he was learning, but was unable to do two things at once, so he simply chose to speak aloud instead. "Will I die?" Arial sighed with the exasperation of one long opressed, "I have told you this a hundred times. You are immortal. Unless you decide to take your own life, or someone takes it for you, you will live on endlessly as you have for the las 800 years. It is a burden you must learn to carry, Nicholas. If you choose to involve yourself in human lives and moral pleasures, like relationships and friendships, you must be prepared for these people to die on you. This is not something I can teach you...be that as it may, lets hit the road. Do you people have Circle K here in Canada?" 'Circle K?" "Okay, let me try again...a stop and go?" "Like a convinence store?" "Yes, oh thank you GOD, he understands at last. I need food." Nick pulls away from the curb and drives himself to the closest convinence store. Arial looks at him and smirks, "Got any money?" He shakes his head," You're impossible." Arial wanders in and proceeds to buy out the store while Nick waits in the car. When she returns, her arms are ladened with packages of sweetrolls, and the never missing Diet Coke that she seemed always to have somewhere on her person. Arial tossed Nick a bag,"Here, try this." He looked at her skeptically,"What is it?" "Just TRY it." He opened it with his teeth as he drove. Upon the first taste, a sweet sensation exploded on his tongue. he devoured it, and the a second one before looking at his companion, "What is it." "They call them Twinkies." "It's wonderful." There is an impercetible, "I guess so," as Arial began studding her mouth with sweet rolls. "So...where are we going on this bright and beautiful morning?" Nick grins, "The morgue." Laughter and then, "Okkkkay...not exactly what I had expected, but lead on. This is your day." *So you think she'll still be there?* Nick starts, "Probably, she usually stays until about 10 to clean up." "I assume that you are in love with this woman." Silence, and then he nods. "And you are aware of the pain that comes with a mortal relationship?" Again he nodded. He'd had a lot of time to think during the past week. Having been unable to sleep during the night from the vvery beginning of the training, he had taken to practiving and pacing the halls during the long night hours when Arial slept. he maintained high levels of blood in his body, as she had instructed, but had been unable to go to work and called i claiming a virus. Ariana had been right, the blood made him stronger. He could now understand the need to carefully screen the persons who where given the opportunity to utilize the power Arial was teaching him about. Obviously Matheus had believed her worthy, although her own epic adventure into the realm of the vampratic state was still a mystery to him. She now believed him worthy, and he was bound and determined to prove to her that he was. The kind of power he harnessed, even now in it's earliest stages, was stronger than any vampire he knew, including LaCroix. He had been given a gift. they arrived and Arial vaulted over the seat into the back to stretch out. "You go ahead." Nick stepped out of his car. Ariana had not allowed him any kind of connection with his friends during the week that had passed. Shielding his presence from even LaCroix, he had effectively put him into a state of utter secrecy. Nat had called his home everyday, sick with worry, and now he felt strangly nervous at approaching her like this. Would she still love him...he cut the thoughts off and shook his head. Lunacy. When he stepped into the darkness of the coroners office the cocoon of safety that had shielded him fell away, as if it knew it was no longer needed. His eyes began to burn and water. Not a painful feeling, but unpleasant. he stopped and focused his mind on the woman sitting out in his car. *My eyes burn* *You've not been in the sun for 800 years, what were you expecting? I would suggest you get some sunglasses until you are more accustomed to it* He nodded, more to himself than anyone else and looked into the room. Nat was moving about the room, not working, but simply tidying up befoer leaving for the day. He stepped into plain sight and plastered a smile of his face that belied the butterflies swarming through his stomach. "Nat?" Part III Natalie turned slightly at the sound of his voice, her mind dulled and then went blank. She had to be hallucinating. Her hand hovered over the sink where she had been cleaning off sugurical tools, she had not moved. Nick looked at her and smiled gently. "Nat? Are you okay?" The sound of his voice caused her to start, she paused, and then a slow smile of relief and joy spread across her face. Nick was taken aback at the depth of feeling he could sense pulsing out of here. All of her emotions, all of her thoughts, everything she was swept across his mind like a tidal wave. Her could see her life force as it radiated outward toward him, he could feel her heart beating and yet, he did not feel the nagging hunger that palgued him whenever he got this close to another person. He could feel the overwhelming love that she held for him, and for a moment he felt inadaquate. What could he possibly have done to have anyone love him that much? Underneath it all, however, Nick was aware of a silent, naked fear that he could not quite place. What did she have to be afraid of? The thought came to him in a rush of unpleasant memories, she was afraid of him, of what he was and he had never seen it before. Nat moved toward him, "Nick?" Her voice rose in pitch to that of someone who had been under way too much stress, "Where in the HELL have you..." she stopped, he felt the fear grow and reach out like a web of destruction to touch his mind, "Wait a minute...how in the hell did you get in here?" The relief he felt was sudden and completely assuming. It was not him that she feared, but rather the idea that she might lose him to drugs, or the sun or anything. She was afraid of anything that might keep them apart. He reached out to grasp her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes, " No...Nat, look at me...LOOK AT ME, do I look like I've been taking the Litovuterine?" Natalie stopped panicing long enough to get a good look at him. His face was gently flushed, his hair touseled from the drive over. The manic expression she expected to reflece out of his eyes was not there, they were the same eyes that had looked on her with love and understanding for so long. They gently sparkeled with a mixture of amusement and unfounded happiness. She reached out to touch his cheek in wonder, it was warm and soft, "How can this be?" Nick could contain himself no longer, and reached out to engulf her in his arms swinging her around in circles until she felt dizzy and nauseous. "The most amazing thing you could possibly imagine, Nat," he said as he put her back down on the ground. She looked at him skeptically. "If you let me take you to breakfast, I promise to explain everything." She smiled again, reached up to brush a lock of hair off of his forehead, and took the hand he had offered to her, "You're on." natalie gasped when Nick stepped out of the buliding into the light. He laughed and turned to face her as she paused just inside the door, prepared to pull him back inside sould circumstance warrent it. "I'm not going to melt, let's go." She followed him to the car and he half-laughed and half-sighed as he realized that Arial was gone. "What?" "Well, I had wanted you to meet someone, but she seems to be missing." "She?" Jealousy played softly in her voice and Nicke repressed a gust of laughter that probably would have pissed her off to no end. He opened the door for her, "Get in and I will explain everything...I promise." Over a lunch, of which Nick partook to Nat's great suprise, he related the event's that had so changed his life over the last week. She listened in fascination, a feeling of joy, of hope or endless possibilitees building inside her as he spoke. "She showed up on my doorstep exactly...well, one week ago today. Her name is Arialantos of Athens, shes a vampire Nat, a very old vampire. her master, or the guy who brought her across, is a vampire named Matheus. This is sort-of hard to explain. Matheus is from a clan of vampires out of Jeresulum, probably the most powerful clan that exists, if it still does. He is a legend in vampratic communities. Many believe that he does not exist. Apparently, he is so old that he himself cannot remember coming across and he never remembers being mortal. There has always been debate about the existance of such a creature, so even question whether or not he ever was mortal at all." "You mean he was a vampire from birth?" Nick nodded and stuffed his mouth with a piece of sweet bread, "Something like that. Anyway, as the years passed, Matheus discovered within himself a..well, like a psychic energy that he realized all creatures emit. You do, aminals do, and so do I. Over the span of centuries, he tought himself to use that energy, which he calls Maltuition, to control his body, control his mind and in turn control his life. Since the vampire is first and foremost an intellectual creature, capable of massive amounts of brain functions, something I might add I had forgotten until Arial reminded me of it, Matheus was able to basically block out his vampratic nature to the human world, and integrate himself back into society. He had a great love of art and literature, things he passed down to his children. Children he selected very carefully. to my knowledge, he has only two. Arial has severla children and the other one apparently grew evil over the centuries and Matheus was forced to destroy him." "That must have been hard for him." Nick nodded, "I'm sure that it was. But, unfortunately, many vampires, especially withi the kind of power that Matheus had to offer, become evil, partially out of their desire for power and partially because being and believing yourself to be evil is the only way to live without the gulit caused by killing. I still have trouble with what I used to be, Natalie, but I am trying to get past it." "Maybe one day you will feel comfortable enough to tell me those stories." Nick reached across the table and took her hand gently,"I believe I will, in time." "So, what is it tha t you can do now?" Nick waved around the room with his other hand, reluctant to release the one hand he had managed to capture, "Well, this for one thing, and eating normal foods." he paused and hailed the waitress, "Miss, do you have any twinkies?" He held out a 100.00 bill. The waitress simled and took it, "I believe I can find some somewhere, sir." "Thank you." Nat raised an eyebrow," twinkies?" "Long story...where was I? Oh right, eventually I will have a psychic link with most of the people I come into contact with, able to enter their mind, I can render mysefl invisible, even to other vampires...the list could go on forever." "And all this from that..energy." "Not exactly...it comes from a state of pease, a serenity that vampires and people alike must learn to control. What Arial taught me is that the body is not the slaveof the mind, rather the reverse. As long as I believed that I was entombed within my own soul, the worse off I became. I can eat and drink things other than blood, although that is one condition I cannot deny myself." The twinkies and Nick stuffed them into his mouth with obvious enjoyment. Natalie stifeled a laugh. "So you have to keep drinking the blood?" "Yes, it's the only way to keep the energy levels in my body up high enough to do these tings. At least for now. A problematic ideal at first, but eventually I realized that if I wanted this, "he gestured around again, " If I wanted...you...then I was going to have to be willing to make some compromises. this is perhaps as close to humanity as I will every get again." "And you trust this woman?" "Yes." Natalie coudl tell that his trust in her was total and colplete, without pause, without hesitation. Somewhere inside her, she felt a nawing doubt. Everything seemed to be fine, but what price would he have to pay for this? Would Arialantos want to take him away from her? Would this creature from this powerful clan seek to incorporate Nick into the clan and move him to Greece? Natalie looke at him again as he devoured the last twinking, dropped several bills on the table and rose, offering her a hand. What price was his soul worth? She wondered as they left and headed out to the car. "So where are we going now?" Nick raised the sunglasses he had bought to look at her,"You're not sleepy?" "So home then...onward James." If you want to go do something Nat, just yell out. "nNah, you're right, I need sleep. How much longer do you inted to take off?" "Probably another week or so." He pulled up next to the curb and she moved to get out. Nick caught her by the arm and swung her around in the seat to face him. "Are you alright?" She could feel his breath on her face as he moved closer. "Yes, just worried, as usual." "Is this the same woman who said trust was a leap of faith and that was just the way it was?" "Thisis different." "How?" "What if this woman..." her voice fades away. Nick presses her anyway, pulling her closer, into the warm haven of his arms, "What if she does what?" "This is so stupid, "Nat shakes her head, "I'm acting like a high school kid." Nick smiles, "Let me help you out then...are you afraid she's going to take me away from here, from this....from you?" Natalie looks down as she nods, trying to act as if there is something especially iteresting on Nick's shirt. He reaches out and tilts her chin up, placing his lips gently over hers. When finally they untangle themselves from their embrace, Nick smiles, "YOu are not ever going to lose me. Do you believe that?" "Yes." Nick leans foward, kisses her again and then simles, "Good. NOw go get some rest woman." Nat shakes her head, and then departs, turning back every so often to make sure she wasn't have a very pleasant dream. When she is gone, the voice speaks in Nicks head and he turns around with suprise. * Now, wasn't that just SPECIAL* "Have you been there the whole time?" "Of course I have. Would I send you out all alone on your very first day? I think not...I need a coke." "Woulnd't it just be easier to buy yourself a tanker?" "Keep up the sarcasm, Jr., and we'll just see how many Twinkies you intake over the next two days." Nick laughs and pulls away. The pair are chatting amicable about things of no real importance when they return to Nicks apartment. Both stop dead in their tracks and Arial moves in front of Nick, almost in a protective gesture. Nick shakes his head and looks at the man standing in the room. 'What do you want?" For his part, LaCroix simply ignores Nick and looks directly at Arial. "Arialantos, I should have known you were responsible for this." "I've no idea what you are talking about." "You are in my son's house, you are wearing one of his shirts...I know what you are capable of Arial." "You don't have a clue what you're talking about LaCroix." Nick stands there in awe, looking first from LaCroix, to Arial and then back again. they had obviously met before. "There is nothing for you to worry aobut La..." LaCroix cuts Nick off before he can finish his sentence, he is still looking directly at Arial," What have you done with my son Arial? If he is dead, so help me..." "What? You will destroy me? I believe we have benn through this before." Nick stares, his mouth hanging open. "Where is he Arial?" Arial simply smiles inncoently and winks out of the corner of her eye at Nick. Nick for his part is stunned into utter silence...how could this be? was it possible? Luciene LaCroix could not see him. Part IV LaCroix stood there, tense with disgust and worry as Nick watched him in fascination. He had not realized how much he meant to him until that moment, and perhaps too late to do anything about it. they had parted ways and gone their own directions long ago, and Nick didn't think it was possibly to reconcile centuries of pain and guilt. For her part, Arial remained utterly calm, facting the seething LaCroix without so much as a hint of fear or worry. "I assure you, Luciene, he is quite well." LaCroix took a threatening step foward, his patience was gone andhis eyes began to glow with that eerie light known only within the vampire community, "Do not make me ask you this again." Arial stepped further into the darkness of Nick's apartment, she moved toward the refrigerator, turning her back on him in the process. There was a blur and Arial turned instantly to grasp LaCroix by the throat, slowly, as if reluctant her anger took over her calm demenour and fangs gently slipped out from her upper jaw. Nick gasped from where he stood. Somehow, he had not been prepared for the transformation that took ahold of Arial as LaCroix hung in the air, lifted by the power of Arial's mind. Her voice dropped in tone and pitch, the golden softness that usually accessed the world dropped away and her eyes took on the look of what she truly was...a killer. "don't make me destroy you LaCroix, I have no desire to do so. I come here in peace." LaCroix struggled to speak, but a clamp seemed to have closed around his throat and he gagged. Nick closed his eyes, using his mind to penetrate out from inside the cocoon of saftey Arial had been providing. LaCroix continued to struggle, until Arial suddenly dropped him and he hit the floor with a loud thump. Her shoulders slumped, and she heard Nick's desperate words once again. *Please, Arial, don't kill him. Perhaps he was evil once, but he has changed.* "Well, it would seem that your son loves you more than he is willing to admit, as he just saved your worthless life." She grabbed a Diet Coke out of Nicks fridge and sat down on his couch, drinking sinlently as if consumed in her own thought. LaCroix recovered quickly from the incident and stood to watch the vampire seated on Nick's sofa. He wanted to say something, anything to remove the creature from his sons life, but she was there...and he was powerless to stop her, as he had always been. *************************************************************************** The past, 1806 AD Janette and LaCroix are seated at a table. Both of them look exhausted, but happy. Sitting around the are the corpses of several men, and there is a deck of cards in the middle of the table. Janette is busily counting what looks to be a great deal of money. Light is seeping in from underneath the door, though neither vampire notices it. the rest of the room is dark. Janette stands and walkes over to a bar, takes a drink from a long stem wine glass and turns to face LaCroix. "How wonderful. What a pleasant evening." LaCroix stretches and smiles, he nods toward the men as he speaks, "Some people should know when to quit, and when not to cheat." he laughs and moves to joi her at the bar. They have settled on stools facing one another, when the door is thrown open. Both vampires duck behind the bar to avoid the dangerous rays of the sun as it streams into the room. They can see only the shadow of a person, but from the looks of it, the person is dressed in the coveralls of a farmer, and probably hot and thirsty. "Be on your way," janette calls out from behind the bar. The figure does not move," Oh do cme out of hiding, I am not here to kill you, I'm simply thirsty." LaCroix and Janette exchange looks and he simply shrugs and wispers softly,"Her funeral." "Not any time in the near future." Janette stands up, shielding her eyes and trues to get a better look at what she has now identified as a young woman, "If you do not want to kill us, then come inside and shut the door." The young woman closes the door, and within in seconds finds herself face to face with Janette. "Is there some important reason for you to be this close to me?" Janette opens her mind and catches the womans eyes, "You want to leave now, don't you, before you get yourself in trouble?" The woman laughs and brushed her pitiful attempt at hypnosis aside like a bug, "No, I'll have a glass of water..."she pauses and then adds, "Please." Janette is momentairly caught off guard, but still has no sense of what this person might be. Every sense she has tells her that this is simply a stupid human, but able to avoid her hypnotic power...how is that possible? LaCroix has had quite enough and stands up, straightening his tunic, "And whom do I have the pleasure of greeting?" The woman smiles, "Finally...someone with manners. My name is Arial Lantos." LaCroix moves toward her, extends a hand and smiles, if not a bit maliciously, at her, "Luciene LaCroix, and I believe you have already met my daughter, Janette Du Champ." Arial takes his hand and simles, "A Pleasure. Could I possibly get some water, and then I will be on my way." LaCroix smiles," I'm afraid you do not understand. You have seen our place of rest, it would be simply foolish of us to allow you to leave under these circumstances." Arial backs toward the door and Janette is instantly behind her,"Going somewhere?" "Out. And either I'll be leaving alone or I will take you with me." LaCroix shakes his head, his eyes begin to glow,"You're miskaken." Arial does not show the least sign that she has any fear at all. Instead she turns, grabs janette by the throat and lifts her off the ground," Now, you tell him to back off or I will peel your mind away like the layers of an onion, am I making myself perfectly clear?" She nods and LaCroix retreats. Arial sets Janette back onto the floor and turns to face LaCroix," I will not hold this against you. You need manners, young man, but I am not the one to give them to you. Be warned, I will return, and when I do, I will take something from you that you value more than life itself." "I have nothing that i value so highly." ***************************************************************************** Present LaCroix sighed, yes he did have something that valuable...and now Arial had him. Part V LaCroix didn't dare approch her as she sat silently. Her mouth moved impercetibally, almost as if she were talking to someone else, yet no one seemed to be there. LaCroix knew from experience that with Arialantos anything was possible. He kept a distance, circling the couch like a wolf...waiting for her to make just the slightest indication that her focus and attention was slipping. She made no such gesture. Her body rocked back and forth gently as she sought to take control of her mind once again. LaCroix could feel the utter and consuming hatred that radiated from about her. She was a creature unlike any he had every known, born out beyond the realm of simply being a vampire, she contained power and strength that he could not even begin to fathom. She had been powerful over 2 centuries ago, when he had known her...the implication of what she had become since then was beyond him. Arial finally looked up for her place on the couch. Her eyes drifted for a moment and rested on Nick, and then returned to LaCroix. "I believe you know where the door is." He hesitated. He feared leaving without the knowledge he so desired. Where was Nicholas and what had she done to him? Her eyes slowly returned to their soft, gentle golden color...a color LaCroix knew belied what lie underneath. His voice remained soft, pleasant, but utterly devoid of emotion and a promise of certain pain hovered lightly underneath. It was an interesting trick, and one he had cultivated over the years. "Arial, so help me God...if I don't find Nicholas alive I will have your fucking head." She shook her head, the playful attitude once again returned,"Now, now there is not need for that kind of language." "WHERE IS HE GODDAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nick had finally had enough and moved to stand next to Arial. he knew that she could see him, "That's enough, remove this protective layer so he can see me." Arial looked at him innocently, "Oh, I see...you think I am blocking your presence. it's not me." LaCroix looked confused, and Nick looked similarly confused," I don't understand." "Close your eyes. concentrate, focus, be at peace. Can you see LaCroix?" Nick swayed as his body became relaxed, "Yes." "do you feel his presence?" "Yes." The sensation in Nick's mind was overwhelming. LaCroix's presence consumed him, and slowly, as if by some sort of magic, he could feel himself beginning to materlize. It had been him all along. LaCroix, for his part, maintained a fair degree of dignity," Nicholas?" "Yes?" "Have you been her this entire time?" "Yep, I have." Nick looked entirely too pleased with himself. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into." Nick nodded toward Arial, "She is teaching me things that you never could...or never would...is it so hard to imagine that I might be more intelligent than you thought, LaCroix? That I might just have some potential?" LaCroix turned his eyes to Arial,"She is using you Nicholas. She is not a REAL vampire...she's just a creature, a half-breed turned vampire, turned evil. I don't think she has ever cared for anything in her life. You are blinded by this insane quest for humanity. But what price, Nicholas? Will you let her steal your soul? She dosen't want you to be mortal...she wants your power and she will have it." LaCroix was almost spitting in the womans face, she remained calm, but as he said he final words her demenour faded; anger and fury filled her features, "She is a killer, Nicholas, pure and simple...a killer and she always will be." LaCroix departed the way he had come in. Arial stood, her back turned to Nick, her entire body shook with fury and rage. It was a side of her that he had never seen. when she turned, he was taken aback. The pleasant young woman who had so often accompanied him was gone. he could not feel her, he could not sense here and he had no idea what now stood in her place. It's face was horribly disfigured, sharp deadly teeth curled up from the bottom jaw, and hung from the top. The animal...the creature showed no sign whatsoever that it recognized him. Long wavy hair hung down it's back like a mane. Nick tried to look into the eyes, tried desperately to find the woman he had entrusted with his life, but sheer, raw power lept out from them. Three thousand years of life went pounding through his brain like with the force of an oncoming freight train. that was the last thing Nick remembered...when he woke up, Arial was gone. *************************************************************************** Feliks Twist moved busily around his nursery. He did not hear the sound, not did he notice the long claw that reached into his window and gently eased away the lock. He patted one of his plants with geunine affection and turned off the light, headed back to his house, only a few yards away. The sound was unlike anything he had ever heard before. there was dead silence, and then something came ripping through the trees at him before he had the chance to move. A long claw like aparatus came at him through what was now rubble. It plowed into his brain tissue as if her were an egg, peeling his skull away. Feliks fell with a shudder, his body became limp and then stopped moving altogether. there was little blood. Something moved into the clearing, looked at the torn and broken man and latched onto the top of his head, which was already beginning to heal. Feliks screamed in agony as he felt his lifeforce slowly drain away into nothingness. There was a final moment, Feliks looked up into the eyes of his killer, and saw sadness, and pity reflected there. His eyes closed, and less that a second later, he was gone. ***************************************************************************** When Nick's phone rang, the answering machine picked up, as it usually did. He lay in bed, wondering where Arial had gone, trying desperately to seek her out with his mind and failing as he had all the times before.' "Yeah, Nick Knight...I'm either in bed or incommunicado...leave a message." The voice of a panicked and terrified Natalie met his ears, and he was on his feet almost before she got the words out," Nick...PICK UP DAMNIT! This is important. I don't give a shit what you're doing..." "Nat? Ahng on, let me turn off this machine." He reached out and clicked a button, the red glow of the "recording" message went out and he turned his attention back to the woman on the phone. "What is it?" "I need you on the scene of a murder, RIGHT NOW!" "Look Nat, let Schank handle it, I'm on vacation." He is about to hang up when he hears the desperation permeate her voice, "No...WAIT!" "Nat, what is it...you sound like you've seen a ghost. Was that a cliche?" "Look Nick...I'm sure this is hilarious, but we have a really big problem here." "What?" "We found a dead man, Nick. His entire brain is gone...like something just...just...my God..." "Okay, that is unusual...what aren't you telling me?" the comical look on his face changed to reflect the panic that was radiating out of Natalie's voice. "Nat...What is it?" "Nick...this man...is, or he was...a vampire." Part VI When Nick arrived at the crime scene the carnage that used to be Feliks' home caused him to start and turn away. What could possibly be the cause of this insanity? What could be the reason? He was as certain about Feliks Twists' morality was he was of Natalies. The man could have done nothing to constitute this vulgar display of hatred and violence. The flashing lights of the various police cars and spots that had been set up gave an eerie glow to the moment that made it seem to pause in suspended animation for Nick. It was strangely ordinary, ordinary that is for a homicide. He moved away from his car, half dazed with a thousand sensations that asauged his mind and spirit at once. Visions of strange beasts in the darkness, long silver claws, and sounds that forced him to cover his ears in an attempt to shit them out. Nick stopped, carefully opened his eyes to access what was happening. Nat had kneeled down beside what must have been a body, although Nick could not have been sure. Schanke was carefully carrying plastic bags laden with dirt, hair and other important forensic elements toward a black and white. Everything was normal, it was silent. As he finally moved closer, the stench that rose up from the ground defiled his senses and he gagged. The smell of a vampire that had been dead too long was something he would not soon forget. Natalie had on a surgical mask, and Nick decided it would be best to stop breathing altogether. Nat rose to stand next to him. "Anyone you know?" Her voice had the tone of someone professionally detatched as she gestured to the remains of what used to be Feliks Twist. Nick stood, trying desperately to think of some reason, any reason for this person not to be his friend, and could not come up with a single one. The "body" had shriveled up like a raisin, the only blood left was what had spilled out onto the ground, every bit of liquid in the mans body was gone. It had curled itself into a fetal position before dying and now reminded Nick of a sick child, wishing somehow that it's mother would come and save it from this desolation that was now death. What possible strength did it take to kill and drain a 6'2, 1,000 year old vampire? Nick looked around him. All of the plants that Feliks had so lovingly cared for were demolished, bits and pieces of them say about in intervals. he wandered around, through what was left of the greenhouse, and found one, small, tiny plant that had been left alive. Nick sighed...maybe the only thing left alive at this place. He picked it up and carried it back to where Natalie was standing. He didn't understnad the need to destroy to house, to destroy the plants, to destroy not only the man, but his dreams as well. What kind of evil was capable of this? "Nick?" "Yeah..yeah, I'm sorry..." he shook his head, "His name was Feliks Twist. He ws an accountant, and a botanist..." Nick noddes toward the small plant he carried tucked under his arm. "what...wht did this Nat?" She looked into his eyes, "I'm sorry Nick...I wish I could tell you. Look at this." She turned the head to sone side exposing a gaping hole. Nick expected to see something. His mind, his heart..his body, everything was ready for some grotesque display, but there was none. Everything was gone. The killer had taken his brain. "Clean as a whistle." Nick fidgited at Natalie's annoying habit of making murder seem strangly funny and held back the urge to laugh with great difficulty. He sighed, and if she wasen't bad enough...here came the prince of bad jokes himself. "So, got anything yet Nat?" Nick too that as a cue to move away, and began to systematically breathe again. Natalie looked up at Schanke," Well, the brain is gone along with the spinal cord. Except for the hole in the head, there don't seem to be any other marks on the body." "But every drop of blood is gone, huh?" "Yeah. The killer coulda used anything, Schank, even an ordinary water pump with a hole that size." She exchanged a quick look with Nick as they both silently prayed for Schanke to accept her reasoning and let the matter drop. Nick looked at her again and shook his head almost impercetibally. Not even Schanke would be that dumb. Nat shrugged as if to say she had to think of something...and fast. "What do _you_ think, Nick?" "I think we should probably wait for an autopsy...right?" he clapped Schanke on the back and gently led him away from the body that was being loaded into a body bag. "Yeah, you're right." Natalie and Nick moved away from the crime scene, and into the shadows near his car. "What is it Nick?" "What is what?" He attempted without much success to look innocent. "Oh cme on, I can feel worry radiating out of every pore in your body." "Feliks was my friend, Nat..." He snapped back, not answering her question. His mind was on overtime, being assulted over and over with the same image. It was a picture of a creature standing in his living room, a creature that was Arialantos. At that moment, when she was transforming, he could not even tell if she was there...he had no idea if she even knew who he was. He wanted, he needed totalk to her. He had to assure, at least himself, that she was not responsible for this. In the back of his mind there was a nawing doubt. Who else would have the power to kill with such efficiancy? Who else had the strength? Who else? Natalie stood watching him as he fought his demons alone. She knew that with this newfound power came a lot of responsibility. Things he could sense and feel that she could not, and that he was either unable or unwilling to tell her. She wanted to help, but instinctively knew that he and his community were the only ones capable of dealing with such a killer. The police wouldn't be able to do anything. They didn't stand a snowballs chance in hell and Nick knew it. Almost out of reflex, she reached up and put hre arms around him. He sighed, the eternal and endless aching weariness overcoming him with a vengance. he allowed himself, for that moemtn, to forget Arial and take comfort in Natalie's arms She did not speak, but then, she dodn't have to. the love she felt for him poured out over the hallways of his mind like a soothing balm, that gave him a strange sense of hope in this moment of tragedy. It calmed the demons in his spirit. Her sopf breath touch his ear in a whisper, " I'm sorry I had to break you out of your training." He looked down into her face with tenderness," No, you were right to call me, although you seemed to handle Schanke pretty well without me...a _water pump_ Nat?" He laughed. "Actually, I was telling him the truth, Nick." Nick's face became somber, "Do you really believe that a human being was responsible for this?" She paused and then, "No..I wish I did...but..." His voice was resigned,"What?" "Anything is possible." His soft eyes glazed over witha vision of Arial. "I know." he paused and then a smirk swept across this features," Aren't we just the eternal optomist tonight." He looked around them mischeviously and then swept her into his arms and kissed her tenderly, "I suppose our date for tonight is off, huh?" Nat smiled and her voice filled with a teasing anger, "I'm sorry...excuse me, Mr. Knight...what was that? A date? I was unaware that we had a date as I don't recall ever being asked on one." He smacked his forehead in horror, "A thousand apologies me lady," he said adopting a Scottish falsetto, "El...wha do ye tank? well ye go eut wif me?" Nat hit him playgully on the shoulder and laughed, "I don't suppose I have a choice?" Nick raised an eyeborw,"Certainly not." He started to move toward her again when Schanke's voice and presence broke the mood...he did have a tendency to do that. "Okay folks, let's wrap it up and get outta here." He looked at the close proximity of his partenr and the chief medical examiner and smiled almost evily, "Welllll.....don't you two just look cozy." Nick grinned from ear to ear, "It's warmer over here than where you're standing Schank." Schanke looked thoughtful,"You have a point." and he moved to stand with them, "So..can we blow this overgrow icebox or what?" Nick opened his car door for Natalie and moved around to get into the drivers seat. Schanke stood, surveying the crime scene one last time. "Hey, Schank...did you want to ride on the hood, or what?" SChanke realized he was standing alone, and climbed into the car. "You really hafta get a heater, Nick." **************************************************************************** the door to the Raven stood ajar and a tall, beefy lookeing bouncer with short spiked black hair stood just outside scanning each perso that entered with a practiced eye. He caught sight of the potential trouble maker before he had the opportunity to get near the door. The guy was wearing clothes that were torn and tattered. Almost a if he had been in a fight. The bouncer moved to block the guys path as he made a beeline for the door of the Raven. Janette would not want any panhandelers in her club, of that the bouncer was sure. He stepped foward and the guy came to a halt, as if sensing somehow that he was there. "What is it you want, boy?" The bouncer was suprised, the voice had the soft lilt of a young woman and not the man he had expected. He made an attempt to be polite,"I'm sorry...erm..Miss...but my boss would never allow..." It was at that moment that she removed her eyes from the ground and stared openly into his face. He stood frozen, unmoving, her voice was soft, and resigned...it hinted of some deep exhaustion that she was fighting from within and behind it, desperation, "Move aside." the bouncer abliged and Arial moved into the room past him. She immediatley south out the mind and presence of Janette du Champ, the young woman she knew owned this bar. She found her immediatley standing next to the bar catting with a handsome young man that Arial could not identify. Janette stiffened as the force of the ancient vampire swept over her. She said something to the young man and in irritation he turned away and stormed off. Arial approched with what seemed to Janette to be caution. She was uncertain why a vampire that could crush her with barely lifting a finger would be cautious of her. As she made her way across the room, janette felt this strange feeling crawl up her back and make a place for itself within her mind. It almost looked as if Arialantos was...well...dying, as if she had somehow aged over the past several centuries, or perhaps hours. The woman approached and wispered softly in Janette's ear, "Janette...please don't run away, I mean you no harm." Janette paused,"You're not serious." Arial's voice rose in pitch to that of someone on the brink of madness,"Oh spare me. I can feel your fear almost as clearly as if I would reach out and touch it. How many times will I have to tell you I am not a monster?" Janette sat down on a barstool and offered Arial a glass of "wine" which she accepted gratefully. 'Very well then, what do you want?" Arial drained the glass and sat it back down on the bar. For a moment she stood in contentment, and then it started. Like lava, a burning fire that consumed her frmom inside. It began down in her feet, fose up through her stomach and finally reached her brain. Arial dropped to her knees and began to vomit violently, it was a pain that only a vampire could know, but not a pain that generally came with the intake of blood. Janette watched half in horror and half in fascination, unsure what she should do. Call a doctor? "Yes, doctor, a very old vampire is dying on the floor of my club because she drank some blood." Janette dismissed that and then gasped as a voice so loud as to be deafening rang out within her mind. *Janette, something horrible is happening...DEAR GOD-please help me.* Arial tried to get up, but the pain overcame her, and she passed out in a pool of blood. Part VII The ceiling was swirling, and the room had leaned off to one side, making her feel nauseous once again. Somewhere in the darkness, her failing eyes could make out the worried faces of Nick and Janette. Janette sat at the edge of the bed, shaking her head slowly every few minutes as she watched Arial writh in neverending pain on the bed. Nick stood stoically, his eyes fixated on the small, almost impercetable beam of light that was seeping in under the curtain that he and Janette had put up the night before. He found it strange that light always seemed to nfind it's way into any place, no matter how small. Arial shivered, it was unreasonably cold in the room and the turned trying to pull the blankes more fully over her body. The small beam of light touched her for barely an instant, she screamed in agony, and turned away once again. the coveres were now completely twisted, encasing her in them as if she were a mummy. "We have to do something, Janette, we can't just let her die." Janette sighed and stood, turning to face him. She moved around the bed, keeping a watchful eye on the vampire that lay upon it. She knew what Arialantos was capable of, and somehow this display of unending helplessness seemed...felt...wrong. She leaned over to click on the lamp that sat of a table at the bedside. Arial groaned and turned once again, trying to keep herself away from the light. As she turned, Janette and Nick were given a full look at her face and body. There had been complete darkness all night long after Janette had brought the unconscious woman to Nick's apartment. They had not wanted to disturb her, but now, looking upon her, Nick realized that this had been a grave mistake. The eyes are liable to play tricks on you in the darkness, letting you see what you wish, but light has a way of casting away those shadows and forcing you to see truth. And now, as he turned more fully to look on her, his heart stopped. She did not look like the vibrant young woman had stepped into his life only days before. Over the las several hours, between the fever and the shakes, she had begun to age. Her hair hung down past her shoulderin in thin tendrils of gray. It was starting to fall out, and patches of her bone white scalp shown through. It looked brittle, almost as if it would break upon a touch. Her fingernails had grown so much that they were browning and peeling away at the edges. Fingers that had been long and slender were curled up with the look of years of arthritis. The softness of her face was beginning to wrinkle, the agless beauty withering and dying away. Nick could look at her no more and turned his eyes away. He took comfort in the beauty of Janette's eyes, her smile, her soft laugh,"What can we do?" "I'm sorry Nicholas, I simply don't know. Her history makes it impossible for me to even begin to tell you what is wrong with her." One look into Janettes face was enough to tell him that she spoke the truth, he sighed in frustration," What HISTORY? Why does everyone keep saying that?" n "LaCroix didn't tell you?" Nick shook his head and picked up the phone. They were getting no where with the simple medical knowledge that each of them possessed. It was time to call in someone who knew more about this than either of them. His frustration at not being able to help her, at not being able to heal her pain consumed him as the phone rang on the other end, "Yes..Nat? Listen can you come over here? Well, it's kind of an emergency," his eyes flicked to the bed...emergency was an understatement,"What? Oh, no..I'm fine..yes, really. You will? Wonderful, thanks." He hung up the phone and shrugged at the look he was recieving from Janette,"She knows more about this kind of thing than we do...maybe she can help?" "Perhaps...but..." "what?" "Don't get your hopes up Nicholas." "Okay...that is enough...tell me." Janette motioned to a large chair that sat at the opposite end of the room,"I don't really know the _whole_ story...bits and pieces, rumours, legend, folklore." "How much of it is true?" "I honestly don't know Nicholas, perhaps none of it." Nick sat down and thought through everything that had happened during the past week. everything she had tought him, everything he now knew. He could face this...no matter what it was. "tell me." "It happened a long time ago, in a town outside of Athens, called Gioai, it dosent even exist anymore. She was born in 825 BC...from the very first her village knew that she was strange, different somehow." "I don't understand." "Well, she was a shapeshifter, Nicholas." "A shapeshifter? Like a lycanthrope?" Janette shook her head, "No, it was something she could control. Apparently the power of her mind was beyond anything anyone had ever seen. She could change into anything, a beast, a bird...like a socreress, she was absolutely uncatchable. Apparently in her childhood, she became heady with the power, ran amok in the village and was eventually cast out to live in the woods." "So she's not a vampire?" Janette shot him a look that said he had better be silent, or this story was coming to an abrupt halt. Nick fell silent. "She lived in and out of Athens for about 15 years, alone, no friends, no one she trusted..." "And she met Matheus..."Nick finished the sentence for her. "No, she didn't. Legend has it that she was in the forest and that her power had grown so strong that Matheus had become frightened of what she might be able to do if she lived to the age of assencion. he sent an assassin after her...someone who was to kill her and bring her body to Matheus." "So Matheus isnot her master?" Nick looked shocked...had she lied to him? "Matheus is her master, Nick...he taught her everything she knows, including how to harness the power she possesses in multitudes, but he is not her sire. There was a vampire, I forget his name, sent to track and kill her. He did just that, from what I know he practically too her head off, ripped her throat away like raw meat and then put her in a bag to take back to Matheus. Unfortunately, her power was something Matheus had not anticipated and when he opened the bag, she was alive, and rather pissed if I remember the story correctly." Nick laughed,"I can imagine she would be." The doorbell rang (a first for Nat) and Nick wandered down to answer it. Nat looked frazelled with worry,"Nat..I told you I was fine." She leaned foward and killed him with relief,"I know, but I don't often get phone calls like that one in the middle of the night. What's going on?" "It's Arial." "Your new teacher?" "Yes...see if you can help her," Nat starts to move away toward the stairs and Nick grabs her arm," Please..." She pats his hand in reassurance,"I'll do what I can." When they reach the room, Nat stands half in and half out of the doorway,"Is THAT her?" Nick nods. "I thought you said she was about 25ish looking?" Janette moves foward out of the shadows, causing Natalie to jump," That is correct Dr. Lambert, she was 25ish looking...about 2 hours ago." Nat moves in to start taking samples from the woman on the bed and Nick asks Janette to continue her story," What about her?" Her voice is barely a wisper? "She alreayd knows everything there is to know about us, Janette, what would she possibly do?" Janette realizes that this is true and continues,"When Matheus realized he had created what was perhaps the most powerful being on this planet, he took her under his wing...under the stipulation that she never find out why she had been brought there to begin with." "But she found out?" "Yes, she fell in love with and married a young man named Laustus Arielas, who still lives in Greece from what I know. He loved her to no end, eternally, and told her the entire story of her entry into vamprism, which she did not remeber very well." "Who was Laustus? Her sire?" "No, her husband. Arial went to Matheus, intent upon killing him, but could not, a morality she had never even known she possessed permeated her being, and she could not destroy the one man who had brought her from the brink of insanity, to the blessing of life. In exchange for his life, Matheus gave her the name ofher sire...a man whom she tracks to this day." "She dosen't know who it is?" "I believe she does...and I think that she believes there are people in this city who know where he is?" Nick's face bacame pale (it thatis possible) and for the first time he was geuninly afraid of his teacher," Could she be after LaCroix?" Nick realized with a start that he could read janette's mind, andin it he saw a lingering doubt...so, Arial was not after LaCroix, then whom> felkis Twist perhaps? "Nicholas, I must leave you. I will be at the Raven if you need me, do call, mon ami." They kissed softly, Nat's back stiffened, and Nick quelched a snicker." I will." After janette had gone, Nick rejoined Nat in the bedroom," So? Anything?" "Well...she's getting older, her cells are regenerating at a rate the likes of shihc I have never seen." "And we can't stop it." Natalie took Nicks arm, "No, I'm sorry, there's just nothing I can do for her." Nick looked deep into her eyes, he felt her heartbeat, he wanted the truth,"Is she going to die, Nat?" Natalie stood motionless under the hypnosis and responded,"Yes." Almost at that exact same moment, a wave of pain wracked Arials frail body, she jerked upright and then lay down once again. "N...i...ck?" Even her voice was raspy, the age holding her vocal chords as captive as it did everything else,"I'm here." He finally allowed himself to look at her once again, adn to his suprise, h=found the same shining, golden eyes accessin ghim with that half mixture of amustment and frustration," Do not fear for me...take what you have learned,"she laughed and a fit of coughing overcame her,"Use the force, Luck...use the force." Nick couldnot help but laugh,"What can I do for you?" "Promise me you will never abuse what I have given to you." Nick nodded," I promise." Arial smiled, and then slowly in ahazy fog of light and darkness intermingeled, she body withered away and dissappeared. Nick stared for a few moments at the empty bed...Arialantos was gone...she was dead. Part VIII Nick stared at the empty bed for what could have been moments or hours, his head felt as if it were about to burst, his heart, mind and soul in an uproarious turmoil. She was gone. No ashes, no song and dance, simply gone as if she had never existed. But she had existed, hadn't she? His shock covered him like a blanket, washed through his body...he stood rigid with pain and remorse, and fear. The person who finally pulled him back to reality was Natalie, as she lay a hand gently on his shoulder. Finally, he turned away from the bed, a bed where they had lain together, laughed together, where she had taught him that life, in all it's splendor and majesty was something he could once again experience. How could he possibly repay her that debt? "Nick?" Nat pulled gently on his arm, gently ushering him out of the darkened room into a more well lit hallway. "What have I done, Nat?" Natalie stood motionless for a moment, and then anger and fury erupted from her, Nick was taken aback by the force of the fire he felt pouring out of her. "Don't you even _THINK_ about blaming yourself for this. We have no idea what killed that woman, but one thing I can assure you...I was not you, or anything she chose to teach you." He nodded and engulfed her in his arms, "I'm sorry, you're right." The kisses and for that moment, in the silence of the hallway, as the dawn began to rise up into the windows, Nick finally felt at peace. tears slowly dripped down his face and into Nat's hair and even in the midst of the pain, she smiled. They walked down stairs, trying to talk of something, anything besides Arialantos, and Natalie finally settled on the body of Felik's Twist. "I did an autoposy...I don't want to rule out the possibility of a vampire completely, but it looks sincerely like something else killed him." Nick looked up from his position on the couch as Natalie moved about his kitchen. His eyes caught hers and he smiled. She looked as if she were his wife, moving about, getting a cool rag and a glass of blood for her darling husband who had had a really crappy day. She handed him the glass," Here drink this...yeah, yeah, I know what I said...but I'm changing it for this moment, you look paler than usual, probably too much stress." He leaned back and sipped gently at the glass, "I do feel pretty damn bad." She sat next to him and put the rag on his forehead. She held it there for approximately 4 seconds before it burned her palm and she shrieked and dropped it. Nick's eyes had glazed over,"What?" He almost took another swig of blood, but Natalie grabbed it away from him and threw it as close to the fireplace as she could manage. Nick stared, first at the blood splattered along the wall of his nice clean apartment, and then at the psychotic woman who was sitting next to him,"What is wrong with you?" Natalie wasen't quite sure how to put this,"Use those gifts that Arial taught you, look inside yourself, how do you feel? Hot?" Nick gave her a skeptical look and then sighed, closing his eyes in concentration, the fire spread over him slowly, not painful, really, but barely noticable, slightly uncomfortable. His voice took on that of someone in a deep trance, "Yeah, I do feel hot...fire...burning...under the surface, like a volcano." "Nick?" her voice protruded into the world he had created for himself, as his eyes opened he knew, both the feeling, and the look on Natalies face was enough to tell him that he was reverting, the glowing golden hue that accompanied him when he fed had returned. His right hand, which was sitting directly in the sunlight, was beginning to turn red with burns and smoke gently in the room. Nat jumped into action, picked up his remote and closed the shades that had served him as protection during the last 8 centuries of his life. "What is happening to me, Nat?" "Perhaps Arial's death has somehow stripped you of the power?" Nick sat for a moment, and then stood. He paced the large room, from one end to another as his mind fought down the evidence that was being presented to him. Could LaCroix have been right, was she simply using his power, feeding of of him because she knew him to be strong? What did she have to gain? Her own death? Certainly not, if this vampire was the horrifying creature LaCroix had led him to think. "nick, what is it?" He shook his head, 'I don't know...God, Nat...I am so tired." He staggered, lost his balance and fell onto the couch. "You're exhausted, you need to sleep, I'll help you upstairs." He grabbed her arm, exhaustion overcoming him with a vengence,"No...no..not up there...I...I can't." Natalie nodded in understanding and pulled him over to the couch. She sat down, and before she knew it, Nick had curled his body into a fetal position and say his head in her lap. She stroked his head gently, sighed, and picked up a magazine...could be a while before she was going to be moving again...she just hoped she didn't have to go to the restroom. It was probably the most sweet and touching scene that Schanke had every had the prividelage to witness. He smirked and walked around the couch for a better look, trying not to disturb them as he did so. Nick's had was lain gently in Natalie's lap, her arms and gone around him in the protective gesture of lovers, her head had fallen on his, and together, they e=slept like that, undisturbed, and untouched by the outside world. Schanke sighed...if only love could stay that way, simple, pure, innocent. OH, well...this was not his day to wonder about how he managed to miss the fact that Nick and Nat were...that they had...he shook his head. He'd probably missed a lot more obvious things than this in his lifetime, he'd bet on that. His grin widened as Nick stirred, sensing the presence of someone else in the room. "Hope you got a good day's sleep, pardner, you're gonna need it." the sound of Schanke's voice was enough to start them both awake and into a bolt upright position. Nick's hair was still mussed from sleep, Natalies had fallen out of the bun she usually kept it in and slipped down to gently rest around her shoulders. They looked painfully guilty. "Schank..." "Don't bother, I've known about you two for...erm...months now." Nick gave his that lopsided smile and nodded his head softly as if in silent agreement with Natalie...Schanke didn't know a damn thing. "So, what brings you to my humble abode?" Nick changed the subject abruptly and Schanke took some good advice that his dad had once given him "When they don't want to talk about it, you can always force them later." Schanke grabbed Nick and Nat's coats off the wrack, threw Nick his keys and stuffed the last part of what probably used to be a hamburger into his mouth, "We gotta roll, buddy, theres been another murder." Nick looked appropriately flabbergasted, "Another one?" Schanke's voice took on that tone of fatherly patience,"Yes...you know..killer on the loose, murders? They seem to go hand in hand generally." "What? You didn't get your fill of sarcasm before you left home?" Schanke smirked,"Myra made me leave home without it, lets go, huh?" "Fine, where are we going?" Schanke reached into his pocket and somewhere among the lint and dustballs, found the address. "Some club over on Broadmore." Nick came to a stop, "A club?" "Yeah...called ..oh I forget, a bird or something." Nicks voice was a whisper,"Raven." "Yeah, thats the one...lets go...you go there all the time so I thought I'd let you drive." Nick simply nodded, let Natalie in the front seat and began to drive mechanically to a place he had gone a hundred times before, but never under these circumstances, and never fearing the worst, that his lover, his friend, would be gone. It was simply not something that had occured to him, losing her...for him she would always be there, rock solid, someone to turn to the strength that he sometimes did not manage to have. As they pulled up to the curb, the police cars and other "normal" homicide paraphanelia made his veiguly nauseous. he reached out with his new found senses, a bond born over centuries could not be so easily broken...but she was not there, he could not feel her. As they walked inside, police moved away to let them pass. He caught only half sight of it, a red dress, glittering in the light of the room, soft brown hair that was clinging to the floor, so drenched with blood that it was almost impossible to tell what color it had been...Nick's breath left him in a gust, his body refused to move any closer,"Dear God...no, please..." Part IX A whirlwind wrapped around his soul, a tight clamp took a hold of his heart, his mind and body were unwilling to assimilate the suggesting evidence that lay before him on the floor. He reached out again, his mind trying to travel distances that he did not think himself possible, and still a bod formed over eight centuries turned up nothing. Nat looked at him carefully, and then moved in to do "her job." Her detachment toward the entire situation made Nick's teeth grind in utter and consuming fury. How could she possibly be acting so...so...so unconcerned? Yet, Nat had always wanted her out of the way, hadn't she? She had always wanted his former lover dead. He winced...he couldn't even bring himself to think her name. Janette. There, he had done it. Janette, Janette, Janette...what did it really matter? The anger was blinding, the fury consuming...he looked down at Nat, he could feel the Hunger as it rose in his throat like a bile. He would have her, and he would have her RIGHT NOW. He took a step forward, but was stilled by a hand that grabbed his shoulder. Strong...strong enough to hold back an advancing vampire. He stilled, knowing that his senses were of no use to him. "Nicholas?" Nick turned around so fast that not even Janette saw him move...his mind exploded in tirades of color and light...she was there, she was standing before him, she was alive. He pulled her into his arms, relief washing over him. Janette smiled tersely. However pleased she was by this sudden outburst of love, it was frightening her. "What is wrong with you?" He gestured toward the body, still holding her close,"I thought...I saw the dress..and the hair and I thought..." Her eyes squinted, as if trying to see him from quite a distance,"You could not feel me." Nick shook his head,"I can't feel a thing. Somehow..." his voice softened,"When Arial died, she took my powers...or any gifts I had with her." "So everything that you have learned?" Nick shrugged,"Gone." Janette's eyes softened,"I am truly sorry, Nicholas." He laughed stiffly,"I believe that you are." Nat stood up from where she had been working and walked over to them. Nick's remorse and guilt flooded him...he had, only moments before been ready to take Natalie's life. What was he liable to do if it truly came down to it? Had Arial somehow managed to drive him crazy? "What do we have, Nat?" She looked at him quizzically,"Are you okay?" The anger built again,"I'm fine...do we have _ANYTHING_new?" He knew it was unreasonable to feel this way, he knew that ultimately he might hurt the one woman in the world he loved more than life itself, yet he did not know from where it came, and he did not know how to control it. Could he explain it to her? Make her understand? Nat looked mildly surprised by his tone, and then dismissed it to stress and continued,"Same MO, but the cause of death is different." Nick moved forward, his attention finally where it belonged, on the body,"What's different." Nat turned the head to one side to expose the gaping hole where the brain and spinal column had been removed, it looked as before, clean, polished...but bloody, very, very bloody,"There's a lot of blood this time. I can't find any evidence of _ANY_ of the brain tissue at all, almost as if something removed it through...and this is going to sound weird, through something like telekinesis. There is, however, an identifiable cause of death." Nick paced back and forth, looking at the blood that was spilt on the floor with half disgust and half lust,"And that would be...?" Nat turned the head over, and Nick could see that most of the other side had been battered, smashed in like a pumpkin. Nick turned to Janette, who hovered quietly behind them," You didn't see anything?" She shook her head and lowered her voice to the point where Schanke could not hear her speaking,"There were a lot of vampires in here Nicholas, any one of them could have caused a blow of that nature." Nick paused...something wasn't right,"But no screaming, you didn't hear anything?" Janette thought about that for a moment and then shook her head,"No...is that strange?" "Well, from the looks of that," he gestured to the battered corpse,"There was more than one blow to the head...but with no scream, death would have had to be instantaneous...in fact, all of these things would have to happen simultaneously." Schanke approached,"What are you talking about?" "Look at the facts, Schank...a dead person in a club filled with people, yet no one notices either the blood, or hears this woman scream. We get here and her brain is gone? Either someone came in after the killing, or the death was instantaneous along with the removal of the brain." "Okay, super detective...how did someone manage this?" Nick looked first to Janette, and then to Natalie, both of them shook their heads...he looked back to Schanke,"I have absolutely no idea whatsoever, Schank...but it's a start." "A start that gets us nowhere." "No, a start that tells me I need some expert advice." Nick nodded and walked toward the door, he knew who would be able to help...if he was willing to help after what Nick had done to him. "The land sees us as the never-ending tirade of flesh eating monsters, walking amongst the night, feeding off the innocent, pulling forth the fury that eats through us like a withering, ageless stone...so embedded in our psyche that all we can do is release it and force ourselves to go on..." LaCroix paused as he sensed the presence of his son, who was standing quietly outside the room as not to disturb him. He reached out and turned off the button that put him "on the air" and motioned for Nick to enter. "Nicholas, and to what do I own this pleasure?" Nick was unsure how to approach him...he had been rehearsing all the way over in his car 'LaCroix I'm really sorry I treated you like shit, I'm going crazy, and I need your help' or ' LaCroix, I know I acted badly, I need help.' Neither seemed to fit the mood now that he stood face to face with his master. Stripped of his power, Nick felt as he had 800 years ago, facing the powerful vampire for the very first time. Weak, exhausted, fatigued with life in general, and ready to confess all and live another life. Yet, he had choose to give up, hadn't he, he had chosen suicide rather than facing his problems....he sighed, that was the past, and so it should remain. "I need your help LaCroix." there, that was direct and to the point. The older vampire, sat back down near his microphone and looked up at Nicholas,"She took them from you, didn't she?" "What," "Don't lie to me Nicholas, lie to anyone else under the sun, but don't lie to me. She took your strength, you power...everything that you were." Nick nodded,"But that's not the worst part?" LaCroix smiled, as if he knew what was coming and finished Nick's sentence for him,"The rage?" Nick looked up at him in astonishment,"Yes...how did you..." LaCroix sat back in his chair, and smiled at his son,"Let me tell you a story, Nicholas." ***************************************************************************** The Past 142AD "Lucius, come and eat your dinner." "really, I assure you, I am not hungry." "Very well then, I will leave you to your own thoughts." LaCroix reached out to grab the woman's arm, he was lying in bed, pretending to be sick for the villagers,"I do appreciate your kindness." She looked at him with brilliant golden eyes,"You do need to eat Lucius, or you will not get better." "I believe I will recover." She nodded, and then walked out. LaCroix shivered. Whatever that had been, it was neither woman, nor vampire, nor animal, but perhaps a peculiar mixture of all three. She called her self Arilias, tough, LaCroix could not be sure that was her real name. His new found power, given him by his daughter, Divia, was strange, but compelling. He had come to terms with the fact that he was forced to kill in order to eat, but this woman...she was amazing, beautiful, alluring and magnetic and a strange sort of way. It was then that the "other" had arrived. In the vampire world they were called "Enforcers" or "Exterminators", the woman grilled him for perhaps 2 hours before setting out after Arilias. LaCroix was, however, bespelled by the beautiful woman and could not simply sit by and watch as the vampire they called only "T", which was short for "Takaiealos," killed her. He followed them into the woods, where Arilias apparently lived and saved her life. T advanced upon Arilias, forcing her to take cover among the trees as a bird. LaCroix advanced on T, and although strong in his own way, he was no match for an enforcer. T explained that her orders were to kill the creature Arialantos and return her to Matheus. LaCroix felt helpless to save her. Arial suddenly dropped from a tree and grabbed T by the throat. T reached into a pocket, obviously unconcerned by the grasp Arial had on her, and sliced her throat on one quick and easy gesture. Arial gasped, stopped breathing and passed out on the ground. LaCroix watched in horror as T loaded her into a bag. T turned back to LaCroix,"I mean you no harm boy, go home." As T turned and moved away out of sight, LaCroix's body doubled over in pain, and he fell onto the ground moaning with agony. It was only the darkness that finally consumed him that brought him any peace at all. Part X ***************************************************************************** Still the past 142AD When LaCroix woke he felt the painful burning that always seemed to accompany the rising of the sun, yet how could that possibly be? he had been here only moments...or had he. His eyes looked up from the ground, watching as the sky turned from black to gray, and the sun began to split the clouds across the horizon. In horror, LaCroix turned and ran from the forest. His face and hands were badly burned by the time he reached the village. His cloak was beginning to smoke and the working villagers looked on him with terror. "They know" he thought, and realized that after 52 years, it was time for him to move on. People had a suspicious nature, and in Rome, superstition died hard. He lay in bed for hours upon end, no longer acting the part of a sick man. It was then that Arilias had returned. After 50 years of being a vampire, LaCroix was certain he could tell when one walked into his life...yet when the being stepped inside his hut, out of what was a brightly lit noonday sun, he knew that she was beyond anything he had ever before experienced. Something had happened between she and T, something Arilias was unwilling to talk about. She cared for his wounds, moving around the small hut with efficiency. LaCroix lay watching her, he could feel nothing emanating out of her, no sense of her presence, no sense of her being, no sense of her at all. Slowly, light began to turn into darkness, and LaCroix's wounds healed. As the day passed away, Arilias looked at him, his soft blue eyes had turned golden, and glowed brilliantly in the utter blackness. He rose from the bed, finally willing himself to approach her, and inspect the wound he knew must have been there. "You can look all you want, young Lucius, and you will not find it." His mind filled with anger, rage, the likes of which he had never before experienced," Then what the hell happened to you? I saw you die." He was practically screaming at her, but did not know how to control it. "You saw me pass out...there is a difference," she shrugged matter-of-factly,"In fact, you are responsible, in part, for saving my life." His face held a look of incredulity,"What are you talking about?" Arilias smiled, and somehow, the look was not comforting. LaCroix felt the evil emanate from her like a slippery skin as it moved over him, consuming his mind,"I was not a vampire. I was not a human. I wan not an animal...now, because of that...that creature who attacked me, and another, I am all three. Powerful beyond your wildest dreams, and capable of using anything or anyone I want to my own ends." "Then you used me?" For some reason, LaCroix had a feeling that this was probably not a good thing. Whatever it was that stood before him, opened its mouth to show large jowls of strong, sharp teeth,"that's right. Does that piss you off, Lucius?" Coming between the teeth, her s made a hissing noise that reminded LaCroix of a snake, a serpent, the devil...pure evil. His fury began to rise again," yes it does." Arilias looked into his eyes, easily taking control of his young mind,"I'm going to do something for you." She touched the side of his head and LaCroix was given the barest hint of the kind of power she harnessed, suddenly he could feel her presence as it assaulted him from all sides, rushing in like a flowing river he was unable to stop. He grabbed the sides of his head and screamed in agony as the anger, pain and fury tore through him,"It is their fault," his voice dropped almost a complete octave as his fangs slowly emerged over his lip, his eyes turned a hideous red. The sound of Arilias' hissing voice could be heard in the background,"Yesssss...and you want to kill them don't you?" Never in his life had he wanted anything more than he wanted this. Arilias opened the covering of the doorway and turned the enraged vampire loose on the village. **************************************************************************** The present Nick stared at LaCroix with a look up horror, was it possible that he had killed all those people. LaCroix finally rose out of his chair and nodded,"Yes, I did, Nicholas. There were 102 people in that village and I killed every one of them. EVERY SINGLE ONE...do you understand what I am telling you? It is not a day I remember with fondness, it is not something I am proud of, I killed those people for no reason at all, for nothing. Arialantos clouded my mind, she gave me back the power too fast and the rage just became overwhelming to the point where I couldn't think. She is evil Nicholas, and she is using you as well." "She's dead LaCroix?" LaCroix shook his head, how could his son be so blind," Look inside yourself. If she was dead your powers would have returned, they would be a part of you again...she has them Nicholas. I don't know where she is, or what she has done, but if she was sick, she took your energy to heal herself." The evidence stared him in the face. He was a good detective, and yet part of him was still unwilling to admit that Arialantos was responsible for everything that was happening. she was dead, he had watched her die. Nick sighed,"Could she be coming after you LaCroix? could she be tracking down the people who know about T?" LaCroix looked quizzical,"Why would she do that?" "Janette said that she knew the name of the vampire who brought her across, but not where that vampire was. Do you know where T is, LaCroix?" LaCroix now looked stumped, he had no idea what Nick was talking about,"T? I have no idea, Nicholas, probably in Greece or Rome. Why would Arialantos care where T was or what t was doing?" "Arial isn't searching for the vampire that brought her across...seeking revenge somehow?" "I believe you have gotten a very choppy version of this story. Why would Arial want revenge for something she, herself asked for?" Now it was Nick's turn to look stunned,"I thought that T brought her across by accident." LaCroix shook his head,"T almost sliced her head off with a knife, there was no exchange of blood. I believe that T honestly thought Arialantos was dead." "But she wasn't?" "She may have been, Nicholas, but she used my energy to heal herself." "I don't understand." LaCroix reached out to touch his sons shoulder in almost a loving gesture,"It is probably better that you don't." "Then who is her master?" "Although there is no way to know for sure, I believe that Arialantos used her power to force Matheus to bring her across." "And it's not possible that T was the sire?" "I doubt very seriously that T had the power or strength to bring across something as strange and strong as Arialantos." "So only Matheus was strong enough?" "Yes." "Is Arial capable of stripping a person of their brain without creating any sort of sound at all, or leaving any evidence behind?" LaCroix looked at Nick like he thought he was crazy,"Why?" "I didn't want to have to tell you this, but Feliks Twist is dead. did Arial have any reason to hold something against him?" "She took his brain?" "yes the brain was missing..." Nick paused, "In both occasions." "Both?" "Another vampire was killed earlier tonight at the Raven, Janette does not know who she was. Do you think it could be T?" LaCroix shook his head,"No, no...why would T be here?" "Perhaps she is after Arial." "Arial is not the 'good-guy' in this scenario Nicholas, the sooner you accept that, the better off you will be." "It is not possible that she changed when Matheus took over her training?" "No." "Why?" "You didn't _KNOW_ her Nicholas, all heady with power, wanting more and more until there was no one on the planet that even came close. No one changes that much," LaCroix walked toward the door of the station, "Shall we go see if I can identify this body for you?" Nick stiffened,"I wish there was a way around this." When they arrived at the morgue, Natalie was already there doing a post-mortem. She looked up with mild surprise to see LaCroix trailing behind Nick," And to what do I own this pleasure, gentlemen?" Nick smiled at her and motioned to LaCroix who was standing back by the wall, as far away from the covered body as he could get,"LaCroix might be able to ID this woman for you." Natalie looked over at LaCroix,"I would be eternally grateful for any help you could give us." Her kind words seemed to snap him out of a trance and he blinked and moved forward. LaCroix reached out and grasped the sheet by the edges. It was so drenched in blood that it stuck to the body and made a sucking sound as he peeled it away like a banana. He took one look, replaced the sheet with a fair amount of decorum, nodded once at Nick and then walked out into the night. Nick followed, but by the time he got there, LaCroix had disappeared. He stepped back inside to face a perplexed Natalie,"Well? What in heavens name did that mean?" Nick paused, lifted the sheet, looked into the young looking face and sighed,"It means that this vampire is a woman called "T." She is an enforcer, and extremely powerful." "Okay...what does that mean." Nick turned away, looking at the floor, trying to ignore what was painfully obvious,"It means that Arialantos is not dead." Part XI Nick stood sullenly, unable to take his eyes off the bloody sheet as Natalie assimilated his last words. "What do you mean, shes not dead?" He looked up at the sound of her voice and sighed, his voice was resigned,"Exactly what I said. Arial is alive." "But..we watched her die." Nick shook his head as the horror of what was happening washed over him,"No Nat, we watched her disappear. She is using me to recuperate..or regenerate, or whatever she need to do to recover." Surprise crossed Natalie's face,"Using you? How?" Nick paused, he was unsure whether he should tell Natalie about Arial, would it put her in danger if she knew? Would she understand the utter fury that even now boiled just under the surface of his decorum? "Nick?" He took her hand and led her away from the corpse on the examining table,"Maybe you better sit down." "What is going on? Are you in danger?" "I honestly don't know if _I_ am in any danger, but you very well could be." "Why? Do you think she might come after me?" Hesitation, and then,"No...but I might." A quirky smile crossed Natalie's face,"I have nothing to fear from you." She stood and wrapped her arms around his torso. He did not respond. Nick took a deep breath. He could feel her heart beating up against his own, he could hear the sound of her blood moving in her veins. He wanted her, dear God, how he wanted her. His eyes began to glow, fangs pushed their way over his lip as saliva built in his mouth. he leaned forward, touched her neck with his lips. Natalie made a vague moaning noise at the intimacy with which he was kissing her. His lips made a trail up her neck and then back down to rest on her jugular. Nick was lost, his mind overcome with need, want and passion. He had to have her. The tips of his fangs pricked her skin gently, a small pool of blood appeared, and Nick tasted it. It was as sweet as he had always known it would be, his head reared back, intent on taking more, and more, and more until he was satisfied...Nick caught himself only inches above her neck. What was he doing? He pushed her back, away from him. Natalie stood for a moment, drugged on the desire, before she could look at him. She almost screamed. His eyes were red, beyond the light golden she had seen in the past, they were red, the color of blood. His teeth had formed and he looked at her with the hunger, not of a man, but of an animal. "Nick?" Her voice held just enough terror to snap Nick out of whatever had taken hold of him. "Nat?" He made a move to step forward, but she backed away, afraid of him for perhaps the first time in years. "What is wrong with you, Nick?" It was a clinical detachment, one she had adopted when they had first met, trying to be bold in the face of inevitable death. Nick shook his head, trying to rid it of the cobwebs,"It's Arial." "How?" She still kept a fair distance between them. "When my power disappeared...I thought that I had, somehow, been careless and allowed my search for humanity to overcome my better judgement. I couldn't feel my family anymore, I couldn't sense LaCroix who has a bond to me that has developed over 8 centuries. You don't, you can't understand what it is like. When a vampire is unable to feel his master, something is terribly wrong. And then the rage started." Natalie's "doctor" persona got the better of her and she moved forward to examine him more closely,"Rage?" "Hard to explain, Nat. It is inside of me, eating away at my mind. I want to kill everyone I see. I want to take their blood and leave them to rot in the street...My God Nat, I was just about to kill you. Don't you understand how dangerous I am? Look at me." She nodded. He was not sure whether she was agreeing that he was a danger to her, or that his rage was certainly unusual. She picked up on some unspoken message,"LaCroix knows what's going on." Nick nodded, the rage inside him began to grow dormant once again, and his eyes and face returned to the normal handsome man that Natalie loved," Yes. Apparently Arial did this to him once." "I take it this was a long time ago?" "Yes, she used his energy to heal herself after..." he gestured to the body," that vampire killed her." "And now she is using you?" "I think so." Natalie was confused," Why, Nick. Why would she teach you all those things only to take them away from you again." "Oh come on, Nat, there are a lot of reasons. Maybe I wasn't powerful enough and she wanted me to be more powerful. Maybe she did come to teach me at Matheus' request and did not know her life was in danger. Maybe she wants me dead." "Nick, she didn't even know you before this happened, why would she want you dead?" "She told LaCroix once that one day she would take from him something he valued more than life itself." Natalie thought about this for a moment,"I was not under the impression that LaCroix valued you so highly. No offence." "None taken. Look, Nat, LaCroix and I, we have our differences, but he is my master...we are family, and as much as he hates to see me try to regain my mortality, he also watches over me." Natalie nodded, this time in understanding,"What are you going to do?" He shrugged,"I have to find Arial...I have to find her and kill her." "Are you strong enough for that." Nick's answer left no room for discussion,"No." "I won't let you do this. Call in the enforcers. For God's sake Nick, call in Matheus to deal with her, after all, he is her master." "She has taken something from me that I didn't even know I appreciated until now. She has already killed two people. This is between Arial and myself...no one else." "You're right. She has already killed two people...why must you be the third?" Nick reached out and pulled her into his arms. They stared at one another for several moments, and then he leaned over and kissed her. Natalie's eyes began to water as she felt the hidden message in his kiss. Nick pulled away, smiled his lopsided smile and then walked out of the room into the darkness. Natalie let him go, knowing there was nothing she could do to save him. Her voice was a gentle whisper, too soft for even Nick to hear her," Goodbye, Nick. I love you." Nick stood in the cold blackness, unsure where to go, or what to do. Sure, he wanted to find Arial, but how did he go about doing this. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered LaCroix saying that she was cast out of her village to live in the forest. Well, they didn't have much of a forest in the large city...but they had parks. Nick shrugged, better to have a place to begin than no clue at all. He looked around himself and then took off into the sky. The park was cold, and damp when he landed. Without his senses, he could not immediately tell if she was there. He would have to lower himself to the human level and actually search for her. He headed for the place that was the most dense with trees. Picking his way through the darkness, he suddenly wished he had thought to bring a flashlight. He could barely see anything, as the trees covered even the barest hint of light that was provided by the moon. Nick stumbled and ran into a tree. "Damnit!" He kept moving, knowing that little pieces of shrub and plant life were clinging to his clothes and hair. Didn't these park managers ever hear of a path, he wondered silently to himself. The voice came from a distance,"Yes, Nick, I'm sure they did, you've just missed it." Nick froze. The soft, musical voice could belong to only one person that he knew. Arial moved like a bolt of lightening, and the next moment she was standing before him,"How did you find me?" "I am a cop, Arial. I took the most logical choice." With Arial standing this close to him, his vision suddenly returned, waves of light flashed before his eyes before he had a chance to focus. She smiled slightly,"Better?" She looked as she had when he had first met her. For some insane reason, it seemed like a lifetime ago to Nick. Her soft hair was pulled back as it should be, and she looked none the worse for wear. Nick erupted in anger and rage,"Why are you doing this to me?" "You must control that anger or you will end up like LaCroix." "You didn't answer my question." She stepped backwards and sat down on a tree stump. When she looked up at him, Nick couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of sorrow. He saw pain reflect out of the beautiful golden eyes. "Nick...I am so sorry..." she began, but he cut her off. "Sorry? Sorry? You've killed two people and used me to make yourself more powerful. Who are you lying in wait for Arial? You got T, now what, LaCroix? Me? Matheus?" Arial actually looked dumbfounded,"Killed? I have killed no one." Nick's voice filled with venom,"Oh, don't try to play that with me. I know, I know everything." Her tone was that of a teacher,"And what is it that you propose to know?" "You used me to heal yourself. You killed Feliks and T. You're just power hungry." "You're wrong. I have killed no one. I regret having to use you to heal, but I was not ready to die." "What happened then?" Arial shook her head,"I wish I knew." She reached out a hand and touched the side of his head before he had the chance to pull back. the rage was like LaCroix had described it, consuming...the power she had returned overwhelmed him and he turned, his eyes began to glow...he wanted to kill. He could barely hear her voice through the seething anger that had finally erupted inside him,"I made a mistake once. I did not realize the magnitude of what I had done until it was too late." Nick did not acknowledge. his hearing returned to him, he could hear voices coming from the other side of the park. His body tensed, but as he was about to take off, Arial grabbed him and pulled him to the ground,"I will not allow this again. You must control the hatred. If you must kill, if you must take blood..." she paused,"then take mine." Somehow the words penetrated and Nick realized that she was offering herself to him. This was indeed what he had intended when he came here...to kill her," Do it!" His head moved for her throat, but stopped, a vision of Natalie materialized in his mind and exhausted, he stopped and fell limp in Arial's arms,"I can't." "Control it, Nick. You can control it, you have the power." For what seemed like centuries, Nick wrestled with the animal inside him. he clung to Arial as if she were a buoy in the midst of a vast ocean. Slowly, the anger abated and he sat up on his own, facing her. "Why?" "I used to be evil, Nick. LaCroix was right, I was a killer, but that changed. I couldn't live that life anymore." "So you left?" "Yes. Is that so hard for you to understand? I love Matheus, I own him everything, but he is as he always was...a killer." "What happened Arial? Why did you leave your master?" "I met and fell in love with a man, a vampire. Matheus was enraged when I decided to get married. He said it would never last." "but it didn't...did it?" "For a very long time, everything was fine. I loved Laustus, I still love him...enough to leave him when his life was put in danger. I can protect myself against anyone single handed, but Matheus was eaten up with jealousy. He sent his entire force of enforcers after me, including T." Nick stood up, his senses seemed to be double what they had been, but perhaps that was simply the effect of having to do without them,"So you came here, to Canada, for safety?" Arial laughed and stood to stand beside him,"Actually, no. I moved to America, I came here to teach you, as I had promised before." "And what a wonderful teacher you have turned out to be," Neither of them had spoken, the new voice was deep, husky and full of venom and hatred. Arial spun around, looking into the trees and seeing nothing. Slowly, the man materialized out of nothing right in front of her,"getting sloppy in your old age, Arial?" Arial looked up to meet his eyes, her one word was enough to send a chill up Nick's spine,"Matheus." Part XII Matheus stepped into the clearing where Nick could get a better look at him. He was tall, taller perhaps than Lacroix. His jet black hair hung down in wavy locks past his shoulders. He had startlingly blue eyes the color of the sky that made Nick's look beyond pitiful in comparison. Arial looked, needless to say, unamused by his arrival. His lips were pulled back into a sinister grin, and somewhere on the wind, a soft growl could be heard at the back of his throat. Nick paused a moment to wonder if the man even remembered what it was like to be mortal, if he had, in fact, ever been mortal at all. For all the fear that now coursed renewed through his body, Nick was stunned into fascination. He was standing face to face with the oldest and most powerful being on this planet, and while that probably didn't say much for his sanity, it was incredible. On the other hand, Arial managed to look disgusted that he had the nerve to follow her there. "What do you want?" "Oh come now, agasi moni atuste (my sweet love), I want what I have always wanted. I want you to come back to me." Arial sighed in frustration and tried another course of questioning, "How did you find me?" Matheus laughed, and Nick was surprised to hear a sweet melodic tone emerge from his throat. His deep husky voice probably served him well with any woman he took a fancy to. He didn't look a day over 35, and Nick managed somehow to stand there and feel inferior. Arial turned and shot him a look that said 'get over it and go to hell.' Matheus' attention remained on Arial, "I will always find you." "That sounds familiar, " Nick mumbled under his breath. Probably, that was a mistake because the old vampire finally realized he was there and turned his attention on Nick. "And who might you be?" Nick thought of several responses, not one of which would win him any gratification awards, so he stuck with cordial, "Nick Knight." Matheus nodded, "Nicholas...ummmm, Lucien LaCroix's son, yes?" Nick nodded, "Yes...how did you..." "Oh come now, you don't seriously think I came here blind do you. I had to know what I was up against if I came after Arial. Fortunately, I didn't have anything to worry about." His voice reminded Nick of someone who had felt way to important for a bit too long. the tome was slightly insulting, and for only God knows why, Nick felt insulted that Matheus did not believe LaCroix posed him any kind of threat. Arial stepped in and broke off the conversation, "Look I hate to be the one to break up this little shin-dig, but may I remind you that the sun is coming up." Matheus' look was cruel, "I thought you were beyond the sun, Arial." "I was actually speaking in reference to you, Matheus." "But I thought..." Arial cut him off as the older vampire started to turn purple with anger. Nick didn't know what to do. What do you do with an infuriated 5,000 year old vampire? Nick decided that _RUN_ was probably the best answer anyone would care to think of. "You have no idea what you're talking about Arial." "Don't I? I think I do. Look at you, Matheus. You used to be so full of life, so happy, so joyous. You wanted me to learn and understand everything. what happened to you after I left? Did you weigh yourself down in your own agony? Did you hate me for what I had done, and let that hate eat you up inside? What?" His voice edged on a whisper, "Yes i did, for a very long time, Arial." Nick looked up, his eyes fell on the old vampire, his mind flashed back to a time when Janette had said almost the exact same words to him. He understood his pain, and he felt sorry for him. Arial turned to look in Nick's face. he stood motionless, his eyes pinned to Matheus. "Okay...let him go." Matheus' face lit up with the light of a mischievous child, "Oh, but he was feeling sorry for me....do I have to." "Yes, you have to, "she paused, 'please." "Fine." Nick suddenly gasped and looked around himself. where was he? Why was he standing in the park alone? He felt around with his mind and still, nothing was there. That was beyond strange. He shrugged and headed back toward his car. Maybe he had been on a case. Whatever it was, he had almost stood there until sunup. He could just see himself calling from his cellular phone, "Ummm..yeah...Nat? I somehow got stranded in the forest and I'm hiding in the stump of a tree, can you come and get me?" He wandered off, shaking his head. Arial looked up at Matheus, "Will he remember nothing?" "Nothing." She sighed, "I tried to control it, Matheus, I really did." He reached out and touched her shoulder gently, "I know you did, but there is something inside of you, something that we cannot reach. I am sorry about Laustus." She shook her head, "He loved me...and I killed him. what if I had killed Nick? What if I had killed LaCroix....oh dear God, T..." Her voice faltered and Matheus pulled her into his strong arms, "This is not your fault, Arial." "No, you're wrong...it is my fault. I should have known that I couldn't control it without your help... I should have known." His eyes softened and he grinned at her, "Well, we have taken care of it, haven't we?" "Can we go home now?" Matheus grabbed her by the arm and together they shot into the sky. From a distance her voice could be heard, "You didn't have to poison me you know..." "If you had behaved and stayed with me like I told you, none of this would have happened. I had to do something fast...you understand that don't you?" "Yes." the end