Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 20:19:28 -0700 From: Shirley Davis Hi Everbody!! This is my first story and I hope everbody enjoys it. Let me know what you think. The Forever Knight characters belong to Jim Parriot, Tristar/Sony and whoever else I forgot to mention. I am only borrowing them for a short time. Never Cry Wolf Part 1 by Shirley Davis Friday 13th The moon is almost full on a clear, gentle breezy night. A young man comes out of his apartment dressed in a jogging outfit, and starts running up the street. As he gets to the corner, he turns and heads toward the park. He is unaware that something evil is following. It stays to the bushes and shrubs, keeping out of the moons light. As the jogger nears the city zoo he gets the feeling he's being watched. He turns around but sees nothing. He shrugs it off as his imagination and continues running. The thing, following him, starts salivating, anticipating the kill. The jogger enters the zoo and again gets the feeling of being watched. He turns around quickly, only to find no one there. He starts to get nervous and decides to cut his jog short tonight. The thing smells his fear and quickens its pace to cut him off. As the jogger reaches the wolf habitat, he hears something in the brush. He stops to listen. He turns around ,startled, to see one of the wolves in the habitat come out from behind a bush, snarling and growling. He laughs at himself for being so paranoid and chalks it up to the moon. As he turns back around, he comes face to face with a thing so horrifing, he forgets to scream. The things snarls at him and hits him with its massive hand. He falls and rolls several feet before stopping. He trys to get up but the thing is standing over him. He trys to scream this time but nothing happens. He reaches up to his throat to find that he doesn't have one. His hand comes away covered in blood. The thing standing over him bends down, and the man can smell its breath, as it bares its teeth and growls at him. The odor that hits him, bad meat perhaps, turns his stomach. He hears the wolves in the habitat whine and growl in anticipation. He starts feeling cold and sleepy and things are becoming fuzzy to see. He does not feel the claw that rips open his chest and abdomen, flinging debris everywhere. What little is tossed in the wolf habitat is quickly devoured. The thing raises its bloody muzzle and lets out a long powerful howl...... The man hears nothing but silence. Saturday 14th Nick had become on edge about the same time as the murders started. These murders Tracy and Nick were investigating, was getting to everbody in the precinct. People didn't feel safe on the streets, and it wasn't the gangs or muggers they were afraid of. In fact, most of the bad guys were hiding out to. There was something in the air that couldn't be described. The first victim, a shop owner, was found in the alley way behind his store. It was hard to tell how much damaged had been done, because the rats had been nibbling on him. The second victim was a lady of the night. Someone had decided to decorate the room they were in with her remains. The third victim was a jogger. They had found him inside the city zoo, or what was left of him. They had had a hard time picking up the pieces, what they could find. Nick has arrived at work and heads to the morgue to talk to Natalie. He finds her sitting at her desk looking exhausted. She looks up as he walks in. "Hi Nat. You look like you haven't gotten much sleep?" He walks over and sits on the edge of her desk. "I haven't. Every time I close my eyes, I keep seeing them." She points to the latest cadaver laying on the table. "Have you found out anything yet?" "We still haven't found all of his pieces. I can't say much until the lab reports are back, but there was a couple things I found. He had a bruise on the left hand. What it was from, we don't know. But on his jaw, we have what looks like a tooth mark." "So what do you think did this?" "Someone very sick and extremely strong." She gets up and walks over to put a blood sample in the refrigerator. "I would even go so far as to say," She turns around as she closes the refrigerator door. "Maybe a vampire." Nick looks shocked. "You're saying a vampire killed these people?" He shakes his head. "I can't believe that, Nat. I've never known a vampire to do something like this. I know everyones on edge, but to say a vampire did this....." She starts pacing waving her arms around. "I'm not sure what I'm saying, but how would you explain that their heads were almost torn from their bodies? That their chest cavities were ripped opened and all their enternal organs look like they've been through a shredder, not to mention nearly all the bones in their bodies broken." "Nat, do you hear what your saying?" "Only that who or whatever killed these people had the strength of 10 men." She stops pacing and raises her hand to her mouth. As she turns to Nick, he is there to embrace her. A few seconds pass before she says, "How could anyone do this.... how could someone be so evil?" Nick is stroking her hair, holding her close. "I don't know Nat, but we'll catch whoever is doing it. I promise." She pulls away from him as she wipes her tears away. "Well. We better get back to work so we can get this guy." He looks at her to make sure she's alright. Being satisfied he says, "Hang in there." and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Let me know if you find anything." "I will." she says with a small grin on her face. As Nick leaves the room, she walks back to her desk and sits down. Feeling fatigued, she folds her arms up on her desk and lays her head on them. "I'm only going to rest for ten minutes." she says to herself as she closed her eyes. Never Cry Wolf Part 2 by Shirley Davis Saturday 14th Tracy is sitting in the captain's office across from Reese. They are discussing the murders. As Nick passes by, Reese calls out for him to come into his office. "What is it Captain?" "Have you heard anything from Natalie yet?" "She's waiting for the lab report to come back. Have you come up with something?" Tracy hands Nick the file on the latest victim. As he opens it she says, "His name is Anthony Drakul, single, mid twenties. Came here three years ago, from Rumania. Doesn't have any relatives here. Worked as a grocery clerk at Safeway and had a part time job at a little herb store. Last time anyone saw him was Friday night. A neighbor said he saw him leave for his nightly jog, friday night about nine o'clock. Normally it took him about forty-five to an hour to finish his jog, but the neighbor went to bed at eleven and Anthony still hadn't come back." "What's this here about the neighbor heard howling?" Nick looks at Reese. Reese says,"Apparently the neighbor said he heard a bunch of howling coming from the zoo about nine-twenty or so. "That's about what time Natalie said he was killed." adds Tracy. "Ok. Until we get the report from Natalie, let's see if we can find anything else. Tracy, I want you to go back in the records and pull any files that have the same m.o." "I'll get right on it, Captain." Tracy gets up and leaves. "Nick, I want you to go check out this herb store he worked at, here's the address. See if you can find out anything. I want to nail this guy before he kills again." "Sure thing, Captain." Nick puts the file on the captains desk and turns around and leaves. (At the herbstore) A woman is in the back room looking through several jars on the shelves. The room is dark except for the single light bulb hanging over head. It gives the room and eerie look, casting shadows here and there. The aroma coming from the room is a mixture of herbs and what smells like flowers. The woman is mumbling to herself as she picks up one jar and then another. Butcher's Broom, Hawthorne berries, Horsetail, Dandelion, Basil, Eyebright,Foxglove. "Ah, there it was." she says to herself. She takes a small amount of Foxglove and puts it in a mortar.. As she continues to add herbs to the mortar she hears the bells ring on the front door. "Another customer." she says to herself. Ever since the murders had begun, people wanted herbs to calm their nerves or a potion to ward off evil spirits. Business was really booming. She stops what she's doing and heads out to the front of the store. As she gets to the counter she sees a tall, very attractive, well built,blonde haired man looking at her herbs. She wondered if he had a girlfriend. As she looks at him she senses something different about him. Something dark, mysterious, powerful. She gets the impression that he has been battling within himself for a long time. She could understand what that was like. She had her own demons to battle, but then again, didn't everyone? Nick turns around and is startled to see her standing there at the counter. He hadn't sensed her there. She appears to be about five nine, in her early to mid thirties, long, shiny black hair and black eyes that you could look into and be lost in a void forever. Her build is the athletic type, fairly muscular but still has that femine look. He likes what he sees and wonders what Natalie would say if she knew. He walks up to the counter and flashes his badge. "Hi. I'm Detective Nick Knight, homocide detective with the ninety-sixth precinct." He gives her a warm smile. "And you are?" "My name is Luna. I own the store. What can I do for you?' She leans against the counter, getting a little closer to him. "I'd like to ask you some questions about a man that worked for you?" She stands up straight. "Anthony? What's happened to him? Is he alright?" "I'm afraid he's been murdered. I was hoping you could tell us more about him." "I'll help in anyway I can, Detective." "Did he have any enemies or had any arguements with anyone lately?" "No. Of course, I can't speak for his other job, but while he was here he was friendly to everybody. If he had any enemies I didn't know about them." Although, I did hear him tell a few people here that he was from royality. Not that I think anyone believed him." "Maybe someone did. Do you remember who he said that too?" " No, I don't. I really didn't pay attention." "Did you believe him?" She pulls up a couple of stools. "Please sit down" "Thank you." "Oh yes. Our families know each other . We go back a long, long ways. About seven to eight hundred years." Nick looks shocked. "His ancestors ruled the land my ancestors lived on. My family's ways have always been with herbs and medicines. When the plague hit, it was all my family could do to help the people. When the kings' three sons became ill, we were sent for. The youngest son survived and the king was so grateful he rewarded my family by making them the royal doctors, so to speak. Some of my ancestors didn't like the idea and decided to move on. They came here to America, but after some time they found it was not to their liking and returned. Those that stayed kept practicing the herbal arts and passed that knowledge on to their children as well as their ancestory." (flashback) 14th century The Black Death LaCroix and Nicolas walking amoungst death and despair. People crying out with lesions and pustules all over their bodies. Others walking passed with their nose and mouth covered with a cloth, believing that would help them from catching it. "I think it's time to move on Nicolas. There is to much death here, even for myself." A little girl lays on the side of the street with an outstretch hand. Before their eyes they watch death claim her. "I agree. I can not stand to see these people suffer. Better for them to have a quick death and out of misery, than to live a life such as this." "Well then, where shall we go? Eygpt? Africa?" "I think I would like to go see America. Perhaps New Orleans?" "New Orleans......Yes, I rather like the idea. We could use a change of scenery. I will leave it to you to make arrangements." (Back to the present) " When was the last time you saw him?" "He left here Friday night......let's see that was about seven o'clock. He never showed up for work today. I sensed something was wrong, so I decided to go over to his place, but he wasn't there. It just wasn't like him. Has anyone contacted his family?" "No, Not yet." "You better let me do it. It wouldn't be right coming from a stranger." Nick smiled at her, "As you wish." Never Cry Wolf Part 3 By Shirley Davis (cont) "We understand he came here three years ago?" "Yes. Anthony came here to see if he could make a better life for himself. He wasn't very good with english so I helped tutor him. He picked it up fast. He had a hard time finding a job because everyone wanted someone that already had the training. So, I offered him a full time job, and he could stay here until he could find a job and a place of his own. After about a year he had enough money saved and had found a full time job at a grocery store, to get his own place. He still helped out here, working part time. That was his idea." "Was he also into herbs and medicines?" "Some. Most of what he knew came from my teachings. I never let him prepare any mixtures or potions. He wasn't ready for that. You must understand, it takes years of studing to know which herbs you can mix and which ones you can't, and how much to put in. A little to much of the wrong stuff and you can kill a person." "You can't be much older than he was, and yet you have this knowledge?" "I was taught from the time I could speak. My parents prepared me to continue in the family ways. One day, when I have a daughter or son, I will teach them the same way I was taught. Believe me. On the outside I look young, but on the inside." she reaches over and touches Nick on his chest with her finger. She feels like she is being sucked down a tunnel. She sees small flashes from Nick's past. She takes her finger away, reality returns. "I'm older." Nick knew something happened when she touched him, but he couldn't say for sure what it was. He stands up. "Well, I'd better be going. I've= taken up enough of your time." "Not at all. Here is my number in case you need help answering any more questions." "I'll keep it in mind. Thanks." He turns around and heads for the door. "Oh, by the way, Detective. The door is always open if you want to stop by and talk about what's troubling you." She points to her chest. "Inside." He turns around and looks at her. Could she really know anything about what was going on inside, with a touch of her finger? "Sure." He says and walks out. There was something about her that was mysterious and alluring. He was sure they would meet again. He gets into his caddy and drives away. Inside the shop, she watches him. She knows he'll be back. Back at the precinct, Tracy sits at her desk going through a stack of files. Reese comes up to her. "Find out anything yet?" "Yea, Captain, I have. Seems there's been quite a few murders like the last three. They start about four days before a full moon and by the time the full moon is over five people are dead. They've never found the killer. Most of them reported it as a animal attack of some kind." She shivers. "Creepy." Nick walks in and up to Tracy's desk. "Find anything, Nick?" asks Reese. "Not much, other than he personally knew the shop owner......families go back a long ways. She said she would contact his family. He worked for her for the last two years and then one day, just didn't show up." Tracy says, "Well, this isn't the first time. Look at these." She hands Nick the information from the files. "All of these are the same?" He asks as he scans them over. "Yea. Scary isn't it?" Reese says, "Have we heard anyhting from Natalie?" "Right here, Captain." Natalie says as she walks up to the group. "What do we have Nat?" asks Nick. "Basically, what killed him was his throat being ripped out. Death accured shortly after. We did find a hair fiber that was caught in the trachea. The lab says, now get this, that it came from a wolf." "What! What do you mean a wolf.?!" he exclaims loudly. "Hold on there's more. The heart, lungs and liver were partially eaten and what was left was either shredded or ripped out of the body cavity. We did find saliva in a small portion of the pulmonary vessel of the heart. The lab reports said it could be from a wolf, but they're not sure because it didn't quite match. The bruise on his left hand was determined to be a dog bite, but it would have to of come from a dog bigger than say.... a great dane. The teeth scraped some of the ribs. The impression we got was a canine of about," she hold up her fingers, "two and a half to= three inches long." Nick says, "So what your telling us is a rather large wolf killed these people? I don't by that." Tracy looks at her. "It is pretty hard to believe, Nat." "I just go by what the report shows. Unless you find some other evidence, as hard as it sounds, it looks like a wolf killed these people." Tracy asks, "Could it be rapid?" "No signs of rabies in any of the victims." Everybody was silent, letting the information sink in. Finally Natalie says,"Well, I have to get back to work. Good luck." She tosses the lab report on the desk and walks off. "That's just great," says Reese, "Now we have to play dog catcher too. "There's got to be a logical explanation." Tracy remarks. "I mean it's ridiculous thinking a wolf is on the rampage and only kills when it's a full moon." She looks from Nick to Reese with a funny look on her face. "Right guys?" "I don't know what to believe." says Nick as he looks at her and then off into space. Reese shakes his head and walks back into his office and shuts the door behind him. Meanwhile at the Raven In the alley way behind the Raven, a female vampire feeds on her prey. She does not sense that she herself has become prey. As she finishes her meal and starts to turn around, she is grabbed and thrown into the wall on the other side of the alley. She shakes her head to clear the fog, and looks up with red eyes. She gives a snarl, showing her fangs, and lunges at her attacker. She pins the thing against the wall, but it hits her arms and breaks free. It swings its mighty arm, leaving behind four very deep gouges in the=7F vampires arm. She hisses out in pain. She realizes this thing is to powerful and decides to leave. She leaps into the air before the thing can grab her. The thing looks up in frustration. It notices the body the vampire has left. It is nothing but an empty shell. It will have to= satisfy its hunger elsewhere. It silently disappears into the shadows. Sunday 15th Luna opened her eyes and stared at the pattern on the ceiling. A tear rolls down her cheek as she starts thinking back to the night she last saw Anthony. They had argued all day. He was going to go to the police and tell them who was committing the murders. She had begged him not to get involved, that all she needed was a little more time, but he wouldn't listen. He was furious when he stormed out of the store. She got up off the bed and went into the bathroom to run the shower. As the water ran she came out and went over to check her messages. The bookstore called saying they had the book in that she had ordered. Good, she would pick that up today. The other messages were clients needing supplies. She went back into the bathroom, tested the water finding that it was perfect, disrobed and got in. As she stepped under the stream, letting it run over her shoulders, she felt the tension being to fade. Never Cry Wolf Part 4 by Shirley Davis Sunday 15th (cont) Nick wakes up as he senses the sun going down. He goes into the bathroom and comes out a few minutes later. As he starts toward the stairs he stops. He feels a presence. He walks to the banister and looks over into the downstairs area, to find Janette sitting on his couch. As he descends he asks, "What do I owe the honors of this visit?" She looks over her shoulder at him and props her chin on her arm. "Ah, Nicola, always so formal. What if I said I just wanted to say hello?" "That's not you, Janette. I know you to well." He goes to the refrigerator, opens it and pulls out a bottle. He takes a long swallow. Janette is silent as she watches him. Nick goes over and sits down next to her. "Yes, I guess you do. Very well. I came to let you know of a attack that took place last night behind the Raven." "What kind of attack?" He takes another swallow and looks at her. "Someone or should I say "something"decided to take on one of the members of the club." He looks at her, "Are you serious?" "Oh quite serious. She still has the gouges in her arm to prove it." "What do you mean, still. She hasn't healed?" "She is absolutely furious, but had enough sense to flee when she did." She shakes her head. "Some of the younger vampires today just do not think. LaCroix is also.....disturbed, shall we say." Nick raises the bottle to his lips and takes another sip. "When will you ever come to your senses and stop drinking that foul stuff. There are so many better vintages out there, especially at the club." She looks at him seductively. "This is what I prefer to drink." He starts to say something else, but Janette cuts him off. "I know, I know, your quest for humanity. When will you ever give up this fantasy?" He stares into the fireplace and says, "I will give it up when I have found what I'm looking for. Anyway, back to this attack. Did she see who attacked her?" "Well, from the description of the thing, it sounded like a loupe garou..... a werewolf." "Oh come on, there are no such things as werewolves here in Toronto." Janette caresses his face, and gives him the slightest kiss on the lips, as she stands up. "No stranger mon cher, than vampires." He looks at her dumbfounded as she takes her leave. He is left sitting on the couch staring into the fireplace. At Luna's store She has just finished ringing up a customer when she hears the bells jingle above the door. She looks up and smiles. She says goodbye to her customer as Nick walks up to the counter, with a grin on his face, "Hi" he says. "Hi, I'll just be a minute" she said. "No problem, I can wait." He leans against the counter. She picks up a package and takes it to the back room. She comes back through the curtain. "Ok. What can I do for you, Dectective?" "Please, call me Nick." "Alright, Nick, what can I help you with? Have you found out who killed Anthony?" "No. With what we've found out so far we're speculating it was a animal attack." She looks shocked. "What?! What kind of animal do you think it was?" "We're not sure yet, but we think it was a large wolf." She looks shocked. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? A wolf running at large in the city. Did it escape from the zoo?" "No, we checked with the zoos and all their animals are accounted for. We don't know where it came from, but don't worry, we haven't given up. We'll find it." She puts her arms up on the counter as she leans against it. She is very quite as she plays with her fingernails. She thinks over what he has told her. She is quiet for so long Nick finally asks, "Are you ok?" "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I just can't believe it's happened. So tell me, Nick, why did you come here if it wasn't about Anthony?" It's his turn to look at his hands. "I'm not really sure." He looks up at her. "This may sound strange but yesterday when I was in here you touched me and I felt.....something." She laughs. "That's not a bad pick up line." She grins. "I like it." He shakes his head. "I don't mean like that, something....mental?" "Oh, you must mean you felt my gift." He gives her a puzzling look. "Yes, I did glimpse a small piece of your past. It was puzzling and I was hoping to talk to you about it. I saw you in a dungeon with someone else, a tall dark person but yet very pale, like he was sick, and the people standing in front of you, looked like they were from ...I'm guessing...the Spanish Inquisition." Nick is shocked but hides it fast. "You must of seen a scene from a play I did a long time ago." She shakes her head. "No, I don't think so. It feels old, like centuries. And the puzzling part is you look the same then as you do now. I also felt sadness, regret and something mysteriously dark. Something that has been hidden a very long time. If you don't mind, I'd like to read your cards." Nick gets a little antsy. "My cards? You mean like Tarot cards?" She shakes her head yes. "Well, I have to tell you I don't believe in them." She hunts behind the counter and pulls out a deck of rather large cards. "That's ok. Most people don't at first, but once I'm done most have changed their minds. I've even been able to help find cures for what ails them." She looks up at him into his eyes and says, "Just like I want to help cure whatever it is inside of you." They stare at each other for a moment. Nick says, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea." He has the feeling of a caged animal. "Please, I know something has been troubling you for a long, long time and I really would like to help you solve it." About that time Nick's phone rings. "Excuse me." He turns around and walks off a few paces. She wonders why he is trying to avoid her help. Maybe he is already being helped, but if so why not just come out and say so. This was not going to be as easy as she thought. He finished his phone conversation and walks back to the counter. "I'm sorry, but I need to go." "I mean what I say about helping you. Think about it and let me know, my door is always open." "Yea, sure." He stops a moment. "You really think you can help me don't you?" She looks right into his eyes. "Yes, I do, if you'll let me. Remember, you came to me." "Well I'd better be going. I'll let you know." He walks to the door and turns around. "Goodnight." he says and opens the door and walks out into the night. She stares out after him. She closes her eyes and meditates for a moment. When she opens them she begins to shuffle the cards and lays them out in a diamond formation. "Let's see what the cards hold for Nick Knight." she says to herself. Never Cry Wolf Part 5 by Shirley Davis Sunday 15th (cont) LaCroix had just left his lair and decided to have a early dinner before taking care of some business. He took to the air and headed toward the park. There was always a delicious dish or two there. He landed at the edge of the park and started to walk through it. Of course with all the killings, people were staying inside more, but there was always a few that liked to take their chances. Those were the ones that deep down inside welcomed death, and he was more than obliged to help them, providing it served his purpose. He was pondering this when he heard a noise slightly up ahead. In the blink of an eye, he was at the site he had heard the noise come from, but there was nothing there. He heard it again farther ahead. and when he got to the spot again there was nothing. He was becoming annoyed. He stretched his senses only to find nothing. If someone was playing a cat and mouse game with him, they would be very sorry when he caught them. He did not enjoy being the mouse. All at once something fell out of the tree branches above him, landing right on top of him. He hit the ground and came up hissing. His eyes were burning red and his fangs were down. He was ready for a fight and it would seem this night, he would get one. For standing in front of him was Nicolas's werewolf. The thing snarled at him, showing off all of its teeth. It felt the power in this one and knew it would not run off. This one would stand and fight. That's what it wanted. It started taking a few steps foward with its huge paws up in front of it, ready to grab him. "All right you hairy bastard. You want a fight, I shall give you one and when I'm done, I'll rip your heart out while it's still beating and feed it to you." The werewolf made a noise almost like a laugh. LaCroix moved in a blink of an eye behind it, and grabbed its arms. The thing was just as strong as him. This would indeed be a good fight. The werewolf fell back against the tree with its full weight, jarring LaCroix loose. It sped around, bringing up a mighty paw, only to rake the tree bark where LaCroix had once stood. It left deep gouges where the claws had connected with the bark. LaCroix picked it up, from behind, and threw it through the bushes and into a tree forty feet away. He heard it hit and was there instantly. The beast was just getting up from the base of the tree, shaking its head. Before it could recover LaCroix had ahold of its hairy arm and swung the beast around into another tree. LaCroix heard a snap as the werewolf's arm broke when it hit the tree. It threw its muzzle up in the air and howled in pain. LaCroix moved towards it, to strike the final blow, but was surprised when the beast lashed out and grabbed LaCroix by the front of his shirt. The beast pulled him off his feet and towards him. At the last moment the beast lowered its head and head buts LaCroix. LaCroix sank to his knees, dazed, as the beast lets go of him and runs off. LaCroix recovered quickly but the werewolf was already gone. He takes to the air searching for it, but can not sense it and after ten minutes gives up. He is outraged that the thing had dared to make him its prey and that he had let it get away. The one small bit of satisfaction was knowing he had injured it. He decided to head to the Raven to cool off. He landed outside the back door and entered. He headed to Janettes private room and opened the door. He finds her reclining on the couch. She looked at him and could see he was in a bad mood. She walked out of the room as he went and sat down at her desk. She returned carrying two bottles, and sat them down in front of him. She knew not to get to close when he was like this. "What has happened to put you in this foul a mood?" she asked quitely. "I had a run in with someone, but I don't wish to discuss it. Please leave now and make sure I'm not disturbed." She didn't push the matter. It had been a very long time since she had seen him this mad. "As you wish." she said and headed for the door. She walked out and closed the door behind her and put the do not disturb sign up. Everybody knew not to go in when the sign was up. She headed for the bar for a drink. Nick was happy to get out of there. He got into his car, started it up and pulled away from the curb. Should he tell her his dark secret on the chance that she could cure him, and if so what about Natalie? She had been trying all these years to help him without any luck. What if this was his only chance? Deep down there was something inside telling him she could do it, but it was just to risky. He kept going over it in his mind and finally realized he had pulled up in front of the Raven. He sat for a moment debating wether or not to go in. He could see if there was any more news on the attack and if not maybe he could talk to Janette for awhile. He got out of his car and walked up to the front door. The people hanging out in front looked like punk rockers. "What ever happend to Bach and Beethoven?" he asked himself. He walked in the front door and headed down the stairs into the loud music and lights. People are milling all around, talking, dancing, drinking. The place looked pretty packed. A younger female vampire came up to him and started caressing his chest and played with his ear. He looked at her lustful face and smiled while he pushed her away. She pouted until she saw someone else that caught her eye and moved off across the room. Nick walked up to the bar where Janette was. "Well, well, well. Did you finally come to your senses and come to try my vintages?" "No. I came to see if you have heard anything more about the attack?" "It has been quite, but everyone is looking for it now. Did you want to talk to Lita about the attack? She is over there." She pointed to the far wall where a couple of women were sitting and talking. "Where is LaCroix?" "I don't know if you should bother him.....he is in a bad mood." He gave her a look that sayed he would find him anyway. "Very well, it's your head. He's in the back room." "Thanks Janette." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. As he pulled away she said, "Why not come by at closing?" "I'll think about it." he said. He turned around and headed for the far wall. He walked up to the women, who stop talking and looked up at him. One woman had flaming red hair and was shorter than the other sitting next to her. She had on a red spandex dress. The taller one had jet black hair, that even in the dimly lit club, shined. She was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. "I'd like to speak to Lita." The redhead looked at her and Lita nods that its ok. As the redhead leaves Nick sat down next to her. "Sorry to interupt you, but I understand you were attacked last night." He motioned to the bandage on her arm. He waited for a answer, but received none. "I'm trying to find the person who did this to you." "A human did not do this. It was a werewolf. Big ugly thing, about seven feet tall, long arms, bad breath and in a bad mood. Just your typical werewolf." She slid up next to him and looked at him seductively. "I'd rather get to know you, I'm sure we could find a quite spot." She raised her hand and started caressing his face.. He took her hand away from his face and placed it on her knee. She looked at him. "I don't think so. Sorry." "You're no fun." she pouted. She leaned back against her seat. "There's really not much else to tell. I left while I had the chance." "Well if you think of anything else, let Janette know." He stood up and she said. "Sorry I couldn't be more help, but if you ever feel "adventurous" come look me up." He smiled as he walked off, heading for Janettes private room. He saw the do not disturb sign on the door, and is tempted not to go in, but he needed to talk to LaCroix. He opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind him. He finds LaCroix laying on the couch with his eyes closed. "I see you ignored the sign. I'm really not in any mood to talk to you, Nicolas, so if you don't mind please depart." "I have to talk to you LaCroix." "Can't it wait until later." Nick got a funny look on his face. "Something has happened, what is it?" LaCroix opened his eyes, raised up on one elbow and looked at Nick A moment goes by. He sighs, "If you really must know, I had an encounter tonight with your werewolf.and I'm trying to forget it." Nick got a excited look on his face, and took a couple of steps towards the couch. He forgot why he had come in here in the first place. "What happened?" "I went out for a meal and the filthy beast ambushed me from a tree. We had a brief scuffle and the beast ran off after I broke its arm. I looked for it but couldn't sense it. Now if you don't mind I'd like to be left alone. Please leave." There was a coldness in LaCroix's voice, that said the meeting was over, as he laid back down and ignored Nick. Nick was so shocked he didn't argue. He was to busy trying to figure everything out. He walked to the door, opened it and shut it on his way out. Janette comes up to him. "I see you still have your head. He must be cooling off." "What? Yea, I guess so. I've got to go." He started to walk past her as she grabbed his arm. "Remember to stop by tonight after work." she said with a twinkle in her eye. "Sure, if I can." He gives her a kiss and headed for the door. He had a feeling he knew who the killer was, but he wanted to talk to Natalie first. Never Cry Wolf Part 6 by Shirley Davis Nick walked in to find Natalie doing an autopsy. She looked up and said through her mask. "Find your killer yet?" "No, but I think I know who it is. He turned his head away as she disected a piece of liver and sticks it in a formaldahyde jar. "Nat. I need to talk to you." "Ok. I'm pretty much done here." She took her gloves and mask off and threw them in the contaminated waste container, and covered up the cadaver. She called over her shoulder. "Kelly, could you finish up for me?" "Sure." yelled a voice from the other room. "Thanks." She turned and faced Nick. "Ok. What did you want to talk about?" He motions to go into the other room. As they walked in Nick began talking. "The owner at the herbal store says she can cure me." Nat looked suprised. She walked over to her desk and leaned against it "Do you believe her?" "I'm not sure. When she touched me, she said she saw me in a place long ago, and described it to a tee." "That doesn't mean she can cure you. Look at how long it has taken us to get as far as we've have." "And where has it gotten me." he snapped. He saw the hurt look on Natalie's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. Forgive me." Natalie acts= =20 like it didn't happen. "Did she say how she was going to cure you? "No. I left before discussing it further. I wanted to talk to you first." "Well, you want to become mortal again. This might be your chance." He waited a moment. "I also have reason to believe she is the murderer." "Really? What made you come to that conclusion?" "Well for one, I can't sense her. It's like she's not there." Nat gets a quizzical look on her face. "What do you mean you can't sense her?" "With humans, I can feel their presense, hear their heartbeat. With her I can't." "Oh come on. You want me to believe she's a vampire?" "No." He waited a moment before answering. "I think she's a werewolf." Utter shock is on Nat's face. She let out a false laugh, got off the desk and walked over to Nick. "This is a joke right?" "No joke, Nat." "Your saying a werewolf is running around the city killing people." "Nat, this thing attacked two vampires in the last two nights. LaCroix=7F was one of them. He said he broke its arm and when it ran off he went searching for it, but couldn't sense it." "Well between the two, I'm not sure who I would want to win." she said jokingly. Nick gave her a serious look. "Alright, I'm sorry. But you certainly can't take that kind of evidence to the captain. Besides, how are you going to catch this werewolf?" "I don't know. I was hoping you might have some ideas." She held her hands up in front of her. "Oh no. I'm still trying to deal= with vampires, and now you want me to believe in werewolves? That's a little to much for me. Your going to have to work this one out on your own. Sorry." She headed for the doorway, leaving him standing there with a helpless look on his face. As she reached the doorway she turned around and says with a smile. "You might try silver bullets. It always worked in the movies." Then she was gone. He felt helpless and decided to go home early. All the way home he tried to figure out how to deal with his dilema. Standing in the elevator he felt someone in his home. The elevator stopped and he opened the door to find Vachon looking out the window. Vachon turned around. "Hey, nice place you got here." Nick walked in slowly and headed for the refrigerator. He opened it and= takes a bottle out. "Isn't it a little late for you to be here?" "Ah, don't worry. I can get home in plenty of time from here." Nick headed for the couch and sat down. He picked up the remote and pushes a button. The shields on the windows began to close. Vachon pointed to the windows."Neat. I should get some of these for my= place." Nick took a sip from the bottle. "What did you come here for? It wasn't just to annoy me was it?" "No." He walked over to the mantel and leaned against it. "I was just talking to Janette, and she said you were investigating these murders caused by the werewolf." He took another sip. "Yea, so?" "Well, I thought I could help you out and tell you how to kill it." "You're telling me you've had experience in this sort of thing?" "Yea, I have." "Then why haven't you killed it yet?" "I'm not quite strong enough, but with you and LaCroix helping me, we can do it. A moment of silence goes by as Nick took another sip. Vachon watched him. Finally Vachon said, "Well, is it a deal?" Nick looked at him. "I have to talk to LaCroix first. Meet me at the Raven tonight, after it opens. I'll give you my answer then." "Ok. Fine. See you then." Vachon left in the blink of an eye. Nick will be glad when this thing is over. He slowly got up and headed upstairs as he took another sip from the bottle. Never Cry Wolf Part 7 by Shirley Davis Monday 16th As the sun sets at the end of yet another day, and most people are heading home from a hard days work, Nick has just awakened. He got out of bed, went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He saw his hair sticking out in all directions. "Bad hair day," he thought to himself. He washed up, got dressed and headed downstairs. He knew what he had to do. He picked up the phone and called Tracy. The phone rang twice before being answered. "Vetter here." "Hi Tracy, it's Nick. Listen, I'm not feeling well, must be a flu or some- thing coming on, so I can't make it in tonight." "No problem. I'll let the captain know. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids. That always helps me." He gave a faint smile and said, "I will. Thanks." "OK, see ya, bye." Nick hung up the phone and headed for the elevator. Once inside he pushed the down button and the elevator began moving. A few moments later the elevator stops and the doors opened inside the garage. Nick walked over to his car and got into the car. He pushed the button to open the garage door and as soon as it had opened far enough he took off for the Raven. He pulled up in front and parked. He walked in and saw that not very many people were here yet. He noticed Vachon and LaCroix at the bar, and headed in that direction. As he walked up, LaCroix said, "Ah Nicolas, so glad you could join us. We were just talking about a mutual problem and how to rid ourselves of it." Nick looked at Vachon with irritation. "I said I wanted to talk to him about it." Vachon gave Nick a innocent look and said, "He arrived after I did so I took the liberty of asking him." "Really, Nicolas. I'm more than willing to help on this one. I even have the enforcers approval." Nick looked shocked that the enforcers would be involved, but then sighs and said, "What must we do?" "I've already explained to LaCroix what we need to do. He can fill you in. All I need you to do is call the person up and tell them to meet you at this address." He handed Nick a piece of paper. Nick took the paper and looked at it, then looked at Vachon and LaCroix. He had an uncertain look on his face. LaCroix said, "Don't tell me your having second thoughts about this? This beast has been named a rogue, and is a threat to all of us, not to mention your precious humans." "So what if I am?" Nick said with irritation. Vachon tried to explain. "Every time the werewolf kills it takes in the power or essence of that person. Just like we take in the memories of the people we drink from. They have rules to follow just as we do. But sometimes you'll get a werewolf, that as they get more powerful their lust for power becomes obsessive. They turn into a rogue. We've got one here that has crossed the line and is coming after us. Can you imagine how much power we would give it? We must stop it at all costs, because pretty soon we may not be able to." "What makes you think it hasn't already reached that point?" asked Nick as he looked at Vachon. LaCroix buts in. "I broke its arm, remember? It will take energy to heal itself, so it will need to feed again to replenish the energy it has lost. We couldn't ask for a better time." LaCroix realized they had Nick in a corner and smiled with satisfaction. Nick looked at LaCroix for a moment and finally said, "Very well. I'll go make the phone call." Vachon says, "Have them meet you in two hours at that address. That should give us enough time to get ready." Nick walked off towards the phone. LaCroix watched him leave. "I do worry about him. That stupid quest of his to be mortal again and his love for humans may one day get him killed." Vachon looked at Nick talking on the phone. "He'll come around sooner or later. They usually do. I did." LaCroix took a sip of his drink and held the glass up, looking at the light shining through it. "I hope for his sake, it's soon. I'm becoming tired of his attitude." They both looked at each other. About that time Nick walked up and said, "It's done. Now what?" Vachon downed what's left in his glass and sat it on the counter. "Now, we prepare." Luna got off the phone with Nick. She wondered why he wanted to meet her. Maybe he'd finally decided to let her help him. She became excited thinking of how she would help him. She moved her arm back and forth, the pain was almost gone. She went to her shelves of herbs and pulled down a few jars. She measured a teaspoon from each jar, and placed the measured amounts in a bowl where she mixed them together with a blue liquid. She placed it on the stove and brought it to a boil. She removed it, and let it cooled before pouring it into the small vial. Now that that was out of the way, she would go in and get ready for her meeting with Nick. Never Cry Wolf Part 8 by Shirley Davis Monday 16th cont. It is a beautifully clear night. A slight breeze is blowing. Vachon, Nick and LaCroix stand in the alley way behind the museum. Vachon is going over some last minute things with Nick. "Now make sure Nick, under no circumstances is she to leave your sight. Stay with her at all times." Vachon clapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly. "Shall we get started?" LaCroix is looking at Nick with concern on his face. "Don't worry, LaCroix. I may not like this, but I'll do what has to be= done." "Let's hope you do, Nicolas, because your life depends on it as well as our own." LaCroix lets his words sink in and took to the air. Vachon said, "Good luck." before he to disappeared into the night. Nick walked around to the front of the museum to wait. He paced back and forth, going over and over in his mind if he was doing the right thing and if he had the right person. He is so lost in though he doesn't see the shadowy figure cross the street. She had arrived a few minutes ago to find Nick pacing back and forth. He looked nervous, but that could be him wondering how she was going to help him. She laughed to herself. They could all be played one way or another. She is almost upon him before he noticed her. "Hi. I hope I'm not late. I didn't mean to keep you waiting." she said in an apologetic voice. "Not at all. I've only been here a few minutes myself. Shall we go in?" They walked up the stairs to the front door. She waited while he opened the door for her and followed her inside. She turned to Nick and asked. "So how are you able to get in after hours?" "A friend of a friend works here. He was kind enough to leave the door unlocked for us." "I see. What about the guard?" Nick gave her a half hearted smile, "He's the friend of a friend." "I guess it does pay to have friends in high places." she said jokingly. They talked as they passed through several rooms, mostly about different artifacts. Luna started to become warm. She felt the power starting to coarse through her veins as the moon started to rise higher in the night sky. She concentrated on slowing it down. Nick noticed she is distracted. "Are you alright? You look a little flushed." "Huh?" Yes I'm fine. Just a little warm. Would you mind helping me with my coat?" "Sure." He walked behind her and lifted it off her shoulders. As he came back around he noticed her arms. Neither one of them looked like they had been broken to him. LaCroix had said he had broken the beast's arm. They turned the corner and came into a room that is filled with all kinds of armor and iron and bronze weapons. He scaned the room and saw in the corner, a two-handed great axe, a large powerful weapon.He had seen such weapons in battle before, but had never used it. The warrior that used such a weapon usually left a mass of destruction behind. He saw other weapons that he himself had used at one time or another. Long and short swords, maces, pikes, and halberd, just to name a few. They walked over to a bench and Luna sat down. She looked up at Nick and said, "This is a very nice tour, but I don't think this is why you wanted to= meet." "No, your right." He sat down next to her "I'd like you to tell me how you plan to cure me of my problem." "That's easy. I fix up a special mixture for you to drink. Within twenty minutes you'll get a little sleepy and relaxed. Once your resting well, I= do some meditating to prepare myself, and then I start the healing process on you. When you wake up your problem is gone. In fact, I brought the potion with me." She started rummaging through her purse. "I had a feeling you would want to try it tonight." "I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like this. Other people have tried to help me in the past and failed. What makes you so sure you can do it?" She stopped looking in her purse and looked at him. She pulled her hand out of her purse and placed it in her lap. "I know I can because I've done it before. Your problem is no different than any other. Trust me." She gave him a big huge smile and held her hand out to him. It held the elixir in it. "Go ahead. Take it." she said. Nick takes it out of her hand. "Now drink the whole thing and when you get sleepy, lay here on the bench. I'll be over here, by the armor, meditating." She didn't wait for his answer as she got up, and walked over to the armor. While her back was turned, he looked at the liquid. It was in a small clear vial. It looked like blood and had a slight thickness to it. He took the top off and smelled it. He maked a face and held it away from him. Could this be the answer he had been looking for? She seemed so confident of what she was doing. Nick thought a moment before pouring the stuff into the planter that sat next to the bench. If he was wrong, he may of just said goodbye to the only chance he would ever get to becoming mortal again. He sensed LaCroix and Vachon close by. He wondered if she could sense them as well. He acted sleepy and laid down on the bench, keeping her in= sight. A few seconds later she was by his side. She looked down at him and he saw a fire in her eyes that wasn't there earlier. "What a weakling." she thought to herself, but his power would be enough to bring her to the next level of her transformation. In a soothing voice she said, "OK, Nick. We're going to begin now. Just relax and let your body go.....your feeling as light as a feather. Your arms and legs are weightless. You feel as if your body is floating. Do you feel like your floating, Nick?" He answered in a whisper, "Yes." "Good. keep floating." Her voice started to get a little rougher. "Your as light as a feather." Nick chanced a peek and saw that she had her arms over her head and her head thrown back, and eyes closed. Hair started sprouting on her arms and face. He had never seen a werewolf before. In the blink of an eye, Vachon and LaCroix are on her. Vachon grabbed her right arm while LaCroix grabbed her around the neck and her left arm. Their eyes glow yellow as she screamed in madness. Nick is up and goes for the axe. He is back in a flash and froze. He stared in fasination at the thing being held. Her nose was stretching into a muzzle, and it's ears started poking up though coarse black hair. And when he looked into the beasts eyes, they looked back at him with killing hatred. As the minutes went by she became stronger and= stronger. "Nicolas!" LaCroix yelled. "Would you be so kind as to finish the job." he said through clenched teeth, while struggling with the beast. LaCroix's voice brought him out of his trance. He looked at LaCroix and started to raise the axe. The beast became frantic. It started carrying the two vampires around like rag dolls. Vachon hit his head on the wall and became dazed, but still had a firm grip on her arm. Another vampire suddenly appeared in the door way. He had overheard their conversation at the Raven, and being a newly made vampire needed to prove himself. Nick saw him and yelled, "Get out of here!" "No! I came to help. Watch me!" the boy yelled back. Before Nick could stop him, the young vampire sped over to where the three struggle and tackled the werewolf. Vachon is caught off guard. His grip is torn loose as he is thrown backwards into the wall. He slided down the wall stunned. Nick dropped the axe and ran over to grab the werewolf's arm. Instead, the beast grabbed him and threw him across the room. LaCroix was still pinned underneath the werewolf, hanging on for dear life. His eyes were blazing. The boy climbed up the front of the beast but was stopped by a hand around his throat. He struggled as he tried to break the hold, but he was no match for her. She slowly squeezed the life out of him. Vachon regained his senses and rushed over to grab her arm again. As she held on to his throat, she tossed him away from her. His throat was completely ripped out and the body fell to the floor. The red substance that gave him eternal life, poured out onto the floor. Vachon grabbed her arm and pinned it down with his body. LaCroix had worked his way out from under the beast, and did the same thing to the arm he was hanging onto. The werewolf sensed something above and behind her. She looked up to see Nicolas, his eyes a golden yellow, holding the axe over his head. She howled a pitiful "Nooooo!" before the blade fell and silenced her. Her body spasmed, shooting jets of blood all over the wall. It only last for a few moments before the body laid still. LaCroix and Vachon climb off the beast and watched as it transformed back into what once was Luna. Nick dropped the axe and walked away to the other side of the room. LaCroix and Vachon mumble something to each other, as they brush themselves off. LaCroix walked over to where Nick was standing. "Well, I hope I don't have to do that again any time soon," he said. Nick remained silent and stared at the floor. "Vachon said he would take care of the remains." LaCroix looked over his shoulder as Vachon picked up the head and body and took off. "I say good riddance." "That was a brutal way to die," Nick whisperd as he looked at LaCroix. "Better her than me. Your problem Nicolas, is that between your mingling with humans and your quest to become mortal again, you've become to soft-hearted for mortals." He gave Nick a nonchalant look.=7F "It's the only thing that keeps me going. I don't want to live like you. Killing humans to survive. There are other ways." "Oh, yes. I agree. But none can give you as much pleasure as feeling their warmth, their essence flowing into you, chasing out the coldness. Tell me Nicolas, how much pleasure do you get out of drinking animals blood?" Nick shot LaCroix a dirty look. "Think about it. All your doing is tor- turing yourself. These mortals can not help you in your foolish quest, because there IS NO CURE. Once you have become a vampire, you will remain a vampire, until someone or something kills you. Eventually you will come back to our ways." Nick was silent. He was thinking over their arguement that he was right and LaCroix was wrong. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to refresh myself. Care to join me?" Nick shook his head no. "Very well, au-revoir." LaCroix left in a flash, leaving Nick standing there alone with nothing but his thoughts. Tuesday 17th Nick walked in the front door of the Raven. The place was empty and quite. He was feeling really down and needed some one to talk to. Besides he had agreed to come see Janette. About that time she came out of the back storage room, carrying a few bottles, heading for the bar. He headed down the stairs and towards the bar. Janette had just finished putting away the bottles and turned around, when Nick walked up to the counter. "I heard what happened to Andre. He was young and to eager. He=7F thought he could take on the world." She shook her head. "They are so foolish nowadays." Nick said, "I can't help but wonder how many more werewolves are out there." Janette gave him a funny look. Nick's phone rang. He took it out of his jacket, and answered it. "Knight here." "Hi. It's Tracy. Listen, I'm down here at that herbal store you checked out. We just found the shop owner. She's been murdered. Decapitated." "Do they have any clues as to who did it?" He gets a worried look on his= face. "Yea. We found another body here next to her. The guy's m.o. matches that of a psychopath that was released from the hospital about a week ago. Looks like she stabbed him before he got the final blow in. Nat's here now, but it looks like a open and shut case to me." "Ok. Thanks for letting me know." "How you feeling? You getting plenty of rest and drinking fluids?" "I still feel pretty lousy. Maybe I'll feel better by tonight." "Well, give me a call if you need anything. Gotta go. Bye." "Bye," Nick said and hung up. He put the phone back in his jacket, and stared at the counter. "I wouldn't worry about it to much." Janette said as she caressed his face. "You did what you had to do." Nick looked up at her. "But what if I could of saved her, Janette. We= might of been able to help each other." Janette put her finger under his chin and lifted it ever so slightly. "You did what was necessary. If you hadn't of stopped her, she would of killed you and who know how many others. She didn't want to help you. All she wanted was what is inside of you. Your power, your strength, your essence. That's what they thrive on." She took her hand away. He looked off into space. "I still can't help but wonder if she could of cured me." Janette walked around the bar and dragged her hand over his shoulders. She kissed him on the lips and they looked into each others eyes. "You know the sun is already up. You'll have to stay here." "I don't want to impose on you." he whispered. "Nonsense. My door is always opened to you. Let me show you to your room." She took his hand and leaded him through a door to her private bedroom. She opened the door and walked in, moving to the side to let him in. He= walked passed her and as she closed the door to lock it, she had a smile on her= face. The end I hope everybody who has read this story has enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Nowhere To Hide the sequel will be coming out soon. watch for it. Any and all comments are appreciated.