Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 15:13:56 -0700 From: dar Subject: adult:Pets To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Finally, here is my sequel to Sipping. Its adult mostly for violence and some sexually related content. Hope it doesnt offend anybody. Permission for Mel to archive this story on fkfanfic site. Anyone else, please send me a request. If you missed my first story, Sipping, it is available on my web page at homestead.com/eternalquest/index.html Pets (01/07) by Dar Hutson Scally (Chapter Two of Safe Consequence series) Nick pulled up at the crime scene. It was a college dorm building. The activity had drawn a crowd. As he walked around to the rear of the building he sensed Natalie s disgust at the wasted life she was now examining. She looked up as he approached, pushing the ugly thoughts from her mind and instead sending him a wisp of love as she said, Hi. He smiled back at her, who could resist, Hi, Nat. What do we have? Tearing his eyes away from her to look down at the cold corpse on the ground. She had just finished bagging his hands, he noticed as he studied the position the body had been found in. It was a young man, only a boy really, about 18 or 19 years old. His clothes had been ripped away from his lower body and there was blood covering his buttocks and upper legs. He had been left laying on his stomach, his arms stretched out to the sides. A feeling of sadness and despair washed over Nick as he realized he was looking at a rape victim. He pushed away the overwhelming thoughts and memories before Natalie could feel them. This new bond they had did have its drawbacks. She always knew now whenever he was feeling depressed or guilty and she wouldn t leave him alone until she got him snapped out of it. Well, maybe it wasn t a drawback at all, he thought. But, there were still some things in his past that he wanted to keep from her, memories from his past that he would choose to forget himself if he could, that he certainly didn t want to share with her. Natalie searched Nicks face as she stood and turned away from the body. She had thought for a moment that she felt something from him, fear maybe, but it was gone now and his face and thoughts reflected only the sadness and touch of guilt he usually felt when confronted with murder. He stared a moment too long at the bloodied body in front of him and then turned away, a touch of anger flaring up in him. Nick , Natalie began, touching his hand softly. He broke out of his thoughts and smiled, looking into her caring eyes. I ll check in with you later, Nat. He grasped her hand for a moment and then let go, walking toward Tracy who was questioning a group of students at the side of the building. Natalie watched him walk away, then signaled to her attendants that they could take the body now. She needed to get back and perform the autopsy. It was obvious the boy had been raped, but she hadn t as yet noticed anything that she could pinpoint as the cause of death. She thought perhaps asphyxiation. It saddened her to see the young life wasted to satisfy someone else s sick sexual desires. Nick glanced over toward Natalie as she drove away. She was so beautiful and loving. He had only marked her two weeks ago, forging a special bond between them, but already he couldn t imagine being without that sense of her within himself. It was like carrying around a bit of sunshine in his heart. He knew he would adjust to it eventually and not notice it so much, but right now, the connection he felt with her was always in the front of his consciousness and it was distracting him just a little. He wondered if she was having any better success keeping her mind on her work. Nick!! Tracy called again. Slowly her voice seeped in and he startled out of his thoughts and looked at her. I m sorry, Tracy. What were you saying? he asked. The witnesses had apparently all gone home. Only Tracy and himself were standing there. As he looked up, he realized even the last of the police cars was pulling away. I said, shouldn t we be going? Tracy said. Where has your mind been lately? Nick smiled and looked at his partner. Maybe it was time to share his personal life with her, at least the part that he could share. I guess being in love makes me a little spacey. He said suddenly. It took a moment for his words to filter through to her, then she grinned. Natalie? She asked. Nick nodded. Come on. He said, leading her back toward the car. I always felt there was something between you two. Tracy said. So, you finally decided to admit it? I think we just decided to give into it. Nick said. But, Trace, it s kind of new, so I don t want the whole world to know just yet, okay? Sure, don t worry about it. I m the picture of discretion. Tracy assured him. For just a moment Nick was consumed with an image of Schanke running about the station telling everyone that him and Natalie were finally together. He missed Schanke terribly but he knew that if he was here, he wouldn t have said anything about Natalie to him, not just yet anyway. Schanke was just too much of an open book. He knew Tracy knew how to keep a secret. After all, she was keeping one already, even from him. Maybe sometime soon he would tell her that he knew all about the existence of vampires. Maybe he would even tell her how he knew. Natalie looked again at the torn skin of the thigh in front of her. It couldn t be her imagination. She had examined it from every angle and now she had to come to a conclusion. She covered the body back up and went to her desk to sit down, wondering what she was going to put down as the cause of death. Nick and Tracy chose that moment to walk in. Right away Nick sensed something disturbing Natalie. Nat. He said, walking over to her. She looked at him and managed a weak smile, then got up and walked over to the body. It only took her a moment to decide. Well, it is what it looks like. He was raped and suffocated. " Natalie said in her professional voice. "Find anything else, Nat?" Tracy asked. Natalie glanced at Nick before answering. "No, I was hoping to get some skin samples from under the fingernails but there was only dirt. Apparently he clawed in the dirt while he was being attacked." She looked back at Tracy. "Of course, I haven't done the internal yet but I don't expect it to reveal anything more in the way of evidence." Tracy looked at Natalie and then at Nick. She was definitely in the way here, she realized. "Nick, do you mind if I go have a cup of coffee before we leave?" Nick nodded. "Sure, Trace, take your time." Tracy made a quick exit, leaving Natalie looking questioningly at Nick. Nick pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently. "Yes, I told her about us. " He said. "Exactly what did you tell her?" She asked. "I told her I was in love with you." Nick answered firmly. "I couldn't lie to my partner." Natalie remembered the body and her expression became serious. "We have a little problem here, Nick." She pulled the cover back off the body and exposed the mangled leg. "Teeth marks." She said. Nick looked intently at the wound. It did look like teeth marks, chewed skin and a definite fang imprint. "I checked it carefully. " She said. "Have you known a vampire to rape his victim?" Nick turned away from her abruptly and pushed away the thoughts that came to his mind, shielding himself from her. He looked at her just as she stumbled back and caught herself on the table. He put his arms around her and supported her. "Nat." "Don't do that!" She said. "What?" "Don't block me out! I just felt like a brick wall came up between us." She said. "I don't like that feeling." She looked into his eyes. "Why did you do that?" Nick fidgeted. "I was just thinking about something unpleasant and I didn t want it to bother you" Natalie kissed him. "Stop trying to protect me. " "You're right. "Nick said. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking. I have known some vampires who got off on physical abuse. Not lately though, but then every vampire is a bit more discreet these days than they ever were before. Even so, whoever did this must be stopped before they bring down the enforcers on us all." "Don't they stop to find out who's responsible?" "Sometimes, if it suits them. They have been known to destroy a whole community over the actions of one member. It kind of tends to make us try to deal with any problems before they go too far." "That's a comforting thought." Natalie said. Nick nodded. "I'll check into it." He said as he started out the door. "See you in a few hours." Natalie said. Shortly after they got back to the station, Nick got a phone call. "Hello, Knight." He answered. "Detective Knight." The hesitant young voice said. "I need to talk to you." "I'm listening." Nick said. "No, not on the phone and I can't come in there. Can you meet me somewhere?" "Okay, where?" Nick asked. "You know the phone booth at the corner behind the police station?" "Yes." "Go to the phone booth and I'll tell you where to meet me. Please hurry. I need your help." Nick hung up the phone and looked for Tracy. She was over at the coffee pot filling her cup. He got up and silently slipped out before she noticed him leaving. She d be upset with him later, but he was afraid this kid would be scared off if she came along with him. At the phone booth Nick found a note saying he should walk a block further behind the station to the rear of the warehouse there. He opened all of his senses as he walked, making sure he wasn't walking into some kind of trap. As he approached the warehouse he sensed the presence of a vampire, a very young one. He looked about carefully as he continued walking. The boy stepped out from the stairwell as Nick walked up. He was only a few years brought across and had been made a vampire at a young age, maybe 16 or 17. Nick briefly wondered if he could be responsible for the murder, but he didn't think so. He seemed too fearful, too timid. "You're very old. "The boy started out. Nick nodded. "And you're very young." "My name is Andrew. I was brought across three years ago. I was only 16." He looked around fearfully as he spoke. "And you have something you need to tell me?" Nick asked. Andrew nodded and backed up further into the shadows. "What are you afraid of?" Nick asked, taking a step toward him. "My master. " Andrew answered. "He has a way of sneaking up on me." "I have the same problem." Nick said. "But you're afraid of him?" Andrew nodded. "He killed that student at the college because of me. It was a message." "Are you sure?" Nick asked. Andrew nodded, tears forming in his eyes. "I ran away. I moved into the dorm and started college. When he caught up with me, I refused to leave. I just wanted to be a normal college student, just for awhile. But he got mad cause I wouldn't leave with him. Jerry was my friend. That's why he picked him out and killed him. He'll never leave me alone. " "Who is your master? What's his name?" Nick asked. "Mallock. Oscar Mallock. He's old, maybe even older than you. But he's mean. He likes to hurt me. I don't sense that in you. You seem nice. Or am I wrong? Will you help me?" Nick took a step toward him and put his hand on Andrews shoulder. "I'll help you." He said. "I understand. I've spent most of my life running from my own master." "Do you have any idea where I can hide? He knows where I was. He'll only keep coming back until I go with him and I just don't think I can take any more. I feel like walking into the sun when I'm with him." "You can come home with me." Nick said. "At least for now, until we figure something else out." Andrew smiled. "Really?" Nick nodded. "Come on." They walked back to the station together and Nick led Andrew to his car. "You sit in the car. I have to go book off and I'll be right back." Natalie sensed something as she rode up in the elevator. It seemed to her that Nick wasn't alone. But she had so far only been able to sense him, not anyone else, even other vampires. Still, she was almost positive there was someone else here. She stepped into the loft and walked right to the couch where Nick was sitting with a young man. She looked at him and was confused, feeling that he was a vampire but also feeling that he was quite young. "Nat, this is Andrew." Nick said. "Andrew, Natalie Lambert." "Hi" Natalie said, hesitantly as she took a seat by Nick. "Hello." Andrew said. He examined her closely, then turned quizically to Nick. "What did you do to her?" Nick took Natalie s hand in his before looking at Andrew. "I marked her to keep her safe. What you feel is my signature on her , warning others that she belongs to me and not to touch her." Andrew looked at Nick with respect. "You can do that and it works? When I look at her I feel a power coming from her." Nick nodded. "That's the power of our love." Andrew fought the tears that tried to escape him. "That s cool." Nick got up and walked to the kitchen, getting a bottle out. He poured himself and Andrew a glass and came back with it, handing Andrew his. Andrew drank quickly, as if afraid it would disappear before he could finish it. Nick hugged Natalie. "Andrew is going to stay here until I clear up this case. He says his master is responsible for the Jerry Spaniar murder. He's afraid of him." Natalie nodded. "I guess you know how that feels. " "Why don't we go on up to bed and let Andrew get some sleep?" Nick suggested. They got up and stepped toward the stairs. "You'll be okay on the couch, won't you Andrew?" Andrew nodded and smiled. "I'll be fine, Nick. I really appreciate you helping me." "It's okay. Now try to get a good days sleep and we'll figure out our next step tonight." Pets by Dar Hutson Scally Sequel to Sipping Comments to Dartechie@yahoo.com Permission for Mel to archive on fkfanfic page. This is sequel to my last story Sipping, which can be found on my web page at homestead.com/eternalquest/index.html for anyone who missed it.comments can be sent to Dartechie@yahoo.com. Pets (02/07) by Dar Hutson Scally Safe Consequence Chapter Two Natalie felt like she was looking through a mist. She was watching Nick but it was dark and foggy. She could feel his fear. It covered him like a thick blanket and tried to suffocate him. He was hiding. She felt him trying to quiet his breathing, trying to shrink himself into a corner. In front of him was a door. She heard his silent scream as the door slowly opened and light seeped in. She couldn t see who was there but suddenly his arm was grabbed and he was pulled from his hiding place, wrenched so hard that his arm sent sharp pains into his shoulder. He struggled to get loose and was struck hard across the face and thrown across the room. She still couldn t see his attacker through the mist. She tried calling out to him but he couldn t hear her. She wasn t really there. She was only a spectator and she suddenly realized that she wasn t dreaming. He was. And she was seeing his dream. She tried to pull out of it. She needed to wake him up, to stop this nightmare, but she seemed riveted to the bed and couldn t break herself free of the dream. She seemed to be standing behind his attacker and couldn t move to change her view. She was curious now and wanted to see who it was. But she could only sense that it was someone very powerful, very dangerous, someone who could make Nick tremble in fear. She could only watch as the attack went on. Nick was beaten and kicked repeatedly until he slumped face down on the floor. Then she saw thick pale hands tearing at his clothes, ripping the fragile material of his pants until they fell away in ruins. Then her vision was obscured by darkness, by the back of whoever this evil creature was and distantly she could feel Nicks pain, first a ripping and then a fire spreading from his rectum to the rest of his body. Gradually the pain faded and she could hear his sobs. A new pain started tearing at his stomach and she realized she was feeling his hunger, the hunger of a vampire needing to feed. She tried to tear herself out of the dream again but found herself still caught. She heard him cry out and could suddenly see him again. He was curled into a ball in a corner, what was left of his clothing hanging in shreds, streaks of blood covering his face. She could see bite marks and scratches all over his neck and chest and bloody tears sliding down his cheeks. Then she saw LaCroix move in by his side and speak quiet words of comfort. She couldn t hear what he was saying, but could sense the comforting tones of his words. Slowly, he slid an arm behind Nick, cradling his head and put his wrist up to his mouth. Nick opened his eyes to reveal an amber glow and sank his fangs into the offered wrist and Natalie could feel the satisfaction in the blood as it healed him. Finally, she felt herself free to move and opened her eyes, looking immediately toward Nick. He was curled up in a ball in the bed next to her, great tears of blood flowing onto the pillow. Already it was soaked. She slid quietly out of the bed and went to get a bottle from the refrigerator. She could feel his hunger and knew enough not to wake him without being prepared. He had lost blood through his tears and sweat and suffered stress during his dream. He needed to feed. Nick struggled out of his nightmare and slowly opened his eyes. He felt himself shaking and the hunger roared up in him. He knew his eyes must be going red as he felt his fangs itching to feed. Suddenly he found a bottle shoved into his hands and without a thought he put it to his lips and gulped the cold blood. It was human. She must have known he needed it. When the bottle was half empty, he was finally able to clear his vision and look at her. She was sitting patiently at the foot of the bed waiting for him. He looked at her with calm blue eyes and smiled a weak smile. "Sorry." He said. "I guess I woke you up." He glanced down at the blood soaked pillow and then focused on the bottle in his hands as he sat up and put the bottle on the table. Natalie moved closer and put her hand on his face, brushing his check, gently turning his face to look at her. "Are you okay?" She asked. Nick nodded. "I was just dreaming." He said. "Were you?" Natalie asked. "Or were you remembering?" Nick reached up and took her hand in his, holding it tightly. He looked into her eyes and saw only love and concern. The depth of her feeling for him engulfed him and he knew he couldn't lie to her. "Nat, you know a vampire tends to live a life of violence." He said, trying to find the words to tell her the one thing he didnt want to tell her. She held his hand tightly and nodded, waiting. "I have left a trail of victims behind me. " He said quietly. "So, you think you deserved to be hurt?" She asked, knowing he thought he deserved much worse. Nick nodded. "You would think I would have learned how it felt to be on the other side." "What really happened Nick?" Natalie asked. "I felt like I was in your dream, watching , but some of it was obscured. I couldn't see who was attacking you." Nick looked away for a moment and tensed up, shaking his head. If she hadn't seen all of it, maybe he could keep it at that. She moved closer and put her arm around his neck, pulling him to her for a kiss. "Nick, I love you. I only want to help you. You'll feel better if you talk about this." He smirked. "Will I?" "Have you ever talked about this to anybody?" He shook his head. "Who did I have to talk to?" "You have me now" She answered. "And it will make you feel better. I know this case stirred old memories, opened old wounds. Let me help you heal them. " Nick smiled and hugged her, then pulled away, grabbing his bottle for another drink. "It was a long time ago. I thought I had almost been able to forget it. I need to be able to forget it, to put it in the past and leave it there where it belongs." He drank some more and sat the bottle down, standing up to pace across the floor. She waited patiently for him to speak. He stood with his back to her. "When you become a vampire you give up any rights you have to protection under the law. You become the property of the one who brings you over, your master. Even among vampires a master has total rights of ownership, at least for the first hundred years or so. You have nothing to say and no way to get out of it. In exchange for eternal life, some are given eternal hell. " "So, it was Lacroix who beat you?" Natalie asked. Nick nodded. "And raped you?" She asked. Nick looked at her and nodded. "He wanted me to act a certain way, be like him. When I didn't perform up to his expectations, well, he has always had a really bad temper. He would come after me. Sometimes I didn't even know why he was mad. But I could feel his anger before he even got anywhere close to me. At first I used to try to stand up to him. I still had my human pride. But he was always stronger than me. After the first few times, I started to hide whenever I felt his anger building. Sometimes it turned out he wasn't even mad at me so I spent the whole day hiding from him. But whenever he was mad at me, he could always find me. There was really never any way for me to hide from him. A vampire can always sense the whereabouts of his own fledglings. He would pull me out of my hiding place and beat me and drain me until I passed out. Then he would wake me up and feed me and comfort me and tell me how he hated having to hurt me but it was the only way I would learn. He could be so caring, almost like a real father. I just couldn't seem to please him for very long. No matter what I did, I always seemed to disappoint him eventually." He paused, staring off into the past and she sensed his feelings of guilt creeping over him. She went up and hugged him, laying her head against his chest. "So, you think it was your own fault that he beat you. You deserved it?" He pulled out of his thoughts and looked at her, smiling. Here she was, correcting his perspective again. "No." He said. "I didn't deserve to be beaten up because I couldn't be a perfect vampire. Maybe I deserved much worse because, for awhile , I tried to be a perfect vampire. I tried to be everything that LaCroix wanted me to be. I was almost successful for a long time. I was even almost successful in convincing myself that I was doing what I wanted to do, being who I wanted to be." Natalie pulled her head up and took his face between her hands, looking into his eyes. "Now, tell me about the rape." She said. Nick put his hands over hers and pulled them away from his face. He held her hands in his and led her back over to sit on the bed. There, he let go of her hands and picked up his bottle, drinking down a few swallows before sitting it back down on the table and facing her. "It was a long time ago. It was my punishment. I took something from him." Nick said. He took a deep breath and thought about not telling her the whole story, but then he realized that with the link they had now, she would probably know if he lied to her. "There's a lot about vampires I haven't told you. I've kept a lot of the violence from you. I think you know that." Natalie nodded. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything." She said. "I will love you no matter what you tell me. The past is the past. " "It's hard to talk to you about this. I was a very different person a few hundred years ago. You wouldn't have loved me then. In fact, if I had met you then, you probably wouldn't have lived long enough to know what you felt for me. Or, I might have let the vampire in me seduce you to the point that you would have been convinced that the only thing that could make you happy would be to have me drain your life and die in my arms." He could feel that she knew he was speaking from experience, that he had done this same thing so many times. After having had it almost happen to her, she knew how easy it was for them, how natural. "LaCroix had taken sipping to an even higher stage. He lured a victim to leave her home and live with him. He'd take her far away where she wouldn't know anyone and over time he would slowly convince her that she was everything to him, that she was greatly loved and cherished. He would keep one woman for sometimes months, gradually building up to it. He would control her diet, to flavor her blood. Honeyed cider and the sweetest wines. She would spend her last weeks half intoxicated, being catered to, feeling totally loved. This feeling would carry over into the blood. Along with the wine and honey, it would make her blood so compelling. When he would finally take her, his ecstacy would carry over into our connection and I would feel it. It was so powerful, it made me crave it, made me want to do it myself. But I never had the patience. I could never wait long enough to do it right. And I always felt guilty for betraying them. They were so innocent. I just couldn't keep doing it. Then a time came when LaCroix brought one of his victims to the castle we were both living in. I usually didn't hang around when he had a woman there. But this one, I don't know, I met her and she was beautiful. Her blood called to me right away, but she was a pleasure to be around, to spend time with. And LaCroix didn't really care that I spent time with her. She liked to read and we talked for hours about books and poetry. A month went by and I knew LaCroix was almost ready to take her. I didn't want to lose her. But I knew that if she stayed with us and Lacroix didn't take her soon, the day would come when I would lose control and take her myself. Her blood smelled like paradise. It was very hard to resist. So, one night after LaCroix left her room, I went to her. I tried to convince her that she was in danger and needed to leave us. But she wouldn't listen. We hadn't done anything to make her think she wasn't safe here. She wanted to stay. She thought LaCroix loved her. Maybe he did, in his own way. I don't know what happened. I was just talking to her and suddenly I found myself kissing her. And then I was taking her blood. It was so good. Even as she died in my arms, I felt LaCroix's anger. He sensed what I was doing but was too far away to get back in time to stop me. I knew he was coming back. The anger I felt from him was enough to make me think that he would kill me. I had known him to kill other vampires who got between him and his prey. I was sure he was not only going to kill me, but hurt me as much as he could first. I hid. It was a stupid hiding place, but by the time he came back it was almost daylight and I couldnt leave the castle, so I hid in the crypt under the castle. He had no trouble finding me. He said that since I deprived him of the ecstacy of taking her himself that I would have to take her place. " Nick took his bottle again and finished the contents, looking at Natalie. He had expected to sense feelings of revulsion in her by now, but she seemed entranced by his story. She looked at him tenderly and spoke gently. "So, he raped you because you deprived him of her. So, What he was building up to with her was more than just taking her blood. It was a sexual experience." Nick fidgeted nervously. "Nat, you know how hard it has been for the past few years for me not to take your blood. If a vampire is attracted to someone, another vampire or a human, it always involves a craving for their blood. I've told you before that blood is how we experience life. When you feel attraction or love for someone, you want to be close to them. How can you be closer than to taste them, to feel all that they are by taking their blood. " "So LaCroix raped you and he took your blood?" She asked. Nick nodded. "He was very violent. He wanted to hurt me, to let me know how mad he was. He drained me. I thought he intended to kill me. I think he was just so full of anger that he got carried away. He could still taste her blood in mine though and that calmed him down a little. But he left me lying there almost dead. I was totally helpless. There was no way I could heal without blood and no way I could get blood without healing enough to move. He could have left me there. But he came back after awhile. I was so hungry. And I felt betrayed. LaCroix had taken my blood before but never in a fit of anger and he had always let me drink from him at the same time. I think the taking of my blood by force bothered me more than the rape. That hurt but I knew I would heal quickly enough. But to a vampire, especially a young one, blood is everything. To lose it is very scary. And to have the one you owe your existence to, the one who has been your protector, turn against you and steal your blood away from you, is terrifying. When he came back to feed me I was so relieved. He had calmed down and he was gentle and took care of me. I felt like he was sorry he had hurt me, although he never said it. But he wouldn't." "What happened after that?" Natalie asked, wondering if that had been the only time. Nick looked at her. "No, he didn't keep doing it. That was the only time and in fact, he didn't beat me so much after that either. I was kind of depressed for a while and even contemplated suicide. I think he knew that if he did it again I might walk into the sun. " "So,do you feel a little better now that you've told me about it?" Natalie asked. " I feel better now that I've told you and you haven't changed the way you feel about me." He kissed her, a small delicate kiss, then another one, a little less delicate. Then he pulled back. "I guess I should go check on our guest." He said. "Nick, just one more question." Natalie said, hesitantly. He looked at her and waited, feeling her nervousness about asking. "Taking blood is always........tied up with sex? I mean they sort of go together?" Nick nodded. "We can take blood without sex, but it's almost impossible to have sex without taking blood." Natalie looked shyly down at the floor. "So, that's why you haven't...." "Wanted to make love to you since the first time?" Nick finished the thought for her. "I hope you know that I have wanted to. I'm just afraid. I want your blood so badly. I'm afraid I might lose control and hurt you." "I thought you said when you marked me that would help." Natalie said. Nick smiled and stood, pulling her up into his embrace. "It did help." He said. "If not for that I would have drained you the first time. Our link takes the edge off, makes it more controllable. " "What will it take to make you try again?" Natalie asked. "Don't worry. " Nick said, kissing her gently on the forehead. "I will work up to trying it again, soon. I just need to feed heavily first and I think you have to understand that I will need to take some blood. I just have to stay in control so I don't hurt you." "I know, Nick. I trust you. And I will wait for you to feel ready. But, please don't make me wait too long." Pets by Dar Hutson Scally Comments to Dartechie@yahoo.com Permission to post on Mels fkfanfic site. Sequel to Sipping. if you missed it, you can find it at homestead.com/eternalquest/index.html comments to Dartechie@yahoo.com thanks for reading. Pets (03/07) by Dar Hutson Scally Chapter Two of Safe Consequence Andrew was awake and pacing when Nick and Natalie went downstairs. He seemed very agitated. "Nick." He said when he saw them. "He's nearby. I can feel him coming closer. " Nick walked to the refrigerator and got out a bottle, handing it to Andrew. "First, you feed. Then we'll talk." Nick said. Andrew guzzled the bottle down in a few moments. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. "Being tense makes you need to feed more. " Nick pointed out. "Now sit down and try to relax." Andrew sat on one end of the couch and Nick took the other end. Natalie went to the kitchen and started fixing herself some coffee. "Tell me about your master." Nick said. "How did you meet him?" Andrew laughed a bitter laugh. "Meet him...." He repeated. "I didn't really meet him." He looked over at Natalie and then back at Nick. "I was in high school. I had a pretty normal life. You know, a family, parents, a brother, a sister, a girlfriend. I was on the track team and I had a paper route. I didn't have a drivers license yet, so I did my paper route on my bike. So, one night I was late with my route. I had been at my girlfriends house. Actually her parents were out of town and we sort of got carried away on the couch in her living room. When I left there, I was flying. I felt so great. I was in love. It was my first experience with sex. Anyway, I was out kind of late delivering the last of my papers and I was on my way home when suddenly I wasn't on my bike anymore. He liked to do that, I found out later. It was his thing. Swooping down out of nowhere to carry you off." Andrew laughed. "It was my first flight, I guess you would say. He carried me off somewhere. I don't even know where. I guess I got scared when I realized how high off the ground I was and I closed my eyes. Maybe I passed out for a few minutes. I just remember opening my eyes when I was pushed through a doorway into a cabin. " Natalie came in and sat with her coffee on the chair. She had been listening from the kitchen. Andrew looked at the windows and back at Nick. "I can feel him getting closer. He's really mad. Maybe I should leave." "It'll be okay." Nick said. "He won't hurt you." Andrew smiled. "He always hurts me. I was thinking of you and Natalie. I think maybe he's stronger than you. Maybe he'll hurt you." Nick smiled. "Don't worry about that. Just tell me what happened." Andrew nodded. "He threw me across the room. I tried to fight him but he was way too strong for me. The next thing I knew I was having my second experience with sex. Only this one was bad, really bad. I knew he was going to kill me. But I still hadn't realized what he was. I mean, as far as I knew, vampires didn't really exist. So, it surprised me when he bit me. I just didn't expect it. I was really surprised when I woke up. It must have been the next morning. I was still in the cabin. I was gagged and tied to the bed post. There was no sign of him. I hadn't even really gotten a good look at him. If he had just let me go, I wouldn't have been able to identify him. But it wasn't in his plans to let anybody go." "So, he didn't bring you over then?" Nick asked. "No." Andrew said. "That night, he came in with another boy. He left me tied and gagged and I watched him rape and kill the other boy. I don't know why he killed him and not me. But he just sucked the life right out of him. I watched him die and I waited for it to be my turn. But, when he was done with the other boy, he just threw the body on the floor and came after me again. I fought him and he beat me. I figured he was going to kill me anyway so I finally just gave in and stopped fighting. I just wanted him to get it over with." Andrew rubbed at his eyes. He wasn't going to allow himself to cry. "He kept me in this cabin for about a week, coming back every night, sometimes with another boy and sometimes he just had me. But he didn't kill me. I kept hoping he would, but he was having too much fun with me. I don't know why he picked me, but all the others ended up dead. Then he would take the body and disappear with it and I wouldn't see him again till the next night. After a couple of days he must have realized that I would need food and water, cause he started bringing me fast food meals and letting me loose long enough to eat. Then one night he came and took me away from the cabin. He had a van. It was all closed in the back and he threw me in there and drove away. He must have driven most of the night before he stopped. He left me in the van all day and then drove again almost another whole night. Then he took me out and put me in a cage in the basement of a house. Later I found out it was his house and we were in a small town in Maine. I lived in Virginia. He kept me prisoner for weeks I think. He fed me and beat me and raped me almost every night. Once we were at his house, he didn't bring any other boys in. Maybe he couldn't take any so close to home. Finally, one night he took too much of my blood. I think he didn't mean to. He just couldn't stop and I was dying. But I guess he wasn't ready to let me go so he gave me his blood to bring me across. And I guess, as much as I thought all I wanted was to die and get away from him, I didn't really want to die yet, so when I heard him calling me back, I turned away from the light and accepted what he offered." "So, how was he after that. I guess he let you out of the cage then?" Nick asked. Andrew nodded. "He let me come upstairs and gave me a bedroom. But he still hid me. I mean, I was still a missing person. I guess my picture was out and if somebody had seen me...." "And he kept forcing you..." Nick asked. Andrew nodded. "He pointed out how I don't have any right to refuse since I belong to him." "You don't have to belong to him anymore." Natalie said firmly. Andrew smiled at her. "It's nice of you to care, but I think I will always belong to him. I don't have any choice. I never wanted to leave my life but he took me. He's never going to let me get away." Nick suddenly looked up at the skylight at the same time as Andrew stiffened and looked up. Natalie looked up and saw what she assumed was Andrews master. Suddenly he was thru the skylight and standing in front of Nick. Nick stood and faced him. He was tall, about a foot taller than Nick. He had graying black hair and black eyes and a stern looking thin face with a sharp jutting chin. He smiled a sinister smile at Andrew and then looked at Nick. "It appears that you have something that belongs to me." He said with an oily voice. "I'll have it back now." "There is nothing here that belongs to you." Nick said firmly. Mallock looked at Natalie and then back at Nick. "I think you fail to realize the consequences of your interference. My business does not concern you." "You're wrong." Nick said. " When you leave bodies out to be found by the police, it concerns the whole community. You know the rules we must live by." "You, I don't know ,but there is a feeling about you." He seemed to think a moment and then smiled. "Yes, I recognize it now. You are one of LaCroix's." Nick nodded. "If you know that, then you know that you would be wise to go on your way and forget this one." Mallock smiled again. "I would think your master would have taught you not to interfere in the business of others. It can cause you damage." Nick took a step toward Mallock and glared at him. "I would suggest that you go now. And don't leave anymore bodies out to be found around here. This community is under LaCroix's control. He won't allow behavior that will bring down the enforcers on us. You would do well to just move on." Mallock stepped back, a bit intimidated by this slightly older vampire who it seemed had the support of the local community. He decided a temporary withdrawal was in order. "I will leave for now, but I WILL NOT move on without my Andrew." Mallock announced. "I will have him or he will be destroyed. " Suddenly, he was gone in a blur. Andrew sat down suddenly in relief. Nick looked at him and then at Natalie. He knew she could sense his worry. She was looking at him, wondering what he would do now. This Mallock had backed down for the moment but she didn't have the impression that he would just go off on his merry way. He would be back. Nick pulled Natalie into his arms and kissed her forehead. Then he turned to Andrew. "I think it's time you meet my master." Pets by Dar Hutson Scally Sequel to Sipping Comments to Dartechie@yahoo.com this is adult due to violence mostly. hope it doesnt offend anybody. permission given for Mel to archive on fkfanfic site. this is a sequel to Sipping which can be found at my web site at http:/www.homestead.com/eternalquest/index.html if you missed it. comments please to dartechie@yahoo.com thanx for reading. Pets (04/07) by Dar Hutson Scally The Raven was quiet when they entered. Most of the dozen or so patrons were human, it being a little early yet for most vampires to be out. Nick led Natalie and Andrew to the back room, where he could sense LaCroix. The old master smiled indulgently as they walked in. "Nicholas, I see you've taken my advice and finally claimed your mortal pet." Nick felt his anger rise up. "She's not my pet and you know it. I only did what I had to do to protect her." "Of course." LaCroix said, examining them both carefully. "And the experience has done wonders for you." "What do you mean?" Nick asked. "Why Nicholas, you're absolutely radiating strength and your Dr. Lambert here is reflecting your newfound power. Have you given up your cow blood?" "No." Nick protested angrily. "Anyway, that's not why we're here." "Of course." LaCroix said, eyeing Andrew, standing meekly behind Nick and Natalie. "You've brought someone to meet me." Nick nodded and turned to Andrew, motioning him to step closer. Andrew looked hesitantly at the oldest vampire he had ever met and stepped a bit closer. "This is Andrew." Nick said to LaCroix. "He's having some problems with his master." LaCroix looked at Andrew. "A young one indeed. And who is your master, Andrew?" "Mallock" Andrew said. LaCroix looked at him appraisingly. "Ah, then you do have a problem." "You know him?" Nick asked. LaCroix nodded. "He should never have been brought across in the first place. I tried to tell Johann that, but he wasn't one to take advise. And see where it got him, dead at the hands of his own creation. I told him that one would turn on him at some point." "Mallock killed his master?" Nick asked, surprise evident in his voice. LaCroix looked at Nick. "As if the idea is so very foreign to you. " Nick looked away, remembering the moment he had once impaled his own master with a wooden stake, how he had thought he had killed him, and how guilty he had felt about it. Natalie took Nicks hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze. "The past is behind us." LaCroix said quietly. Turning his attention to Andrew, he asked. "What is your current problem?" "Mallock wants me to go with him. He killed a friend of mine and left the body out to be found as a message to me that I"d better cooperate and go with him. I just can't take any more from him." Andrew looked at his feet, hoping Nicks master wouldn't insist on hearing details. It had been hard enough telling Nick and Natalie. This LaCroix made him nervous just by being in the same room. "Mallock kidnapped him from his family and has kept him a slave. He only brought him across when he accidentally took too much blood from him. Andrew never wanted to be one of us." LaCroix picked up a bottle from the table and poured a glass of bloodwine. "Will anyone join me in a drink?" Nick shook his head, although the scent was tempting. He saw Andrew look away. "I know enough about Mallock to know that what you say is true. Before he was brought across he was known to be abusive. He had already killed several boys. Johann thought he would make a perfect vampire. He failed to realize that Mallock would not be controlled. But still, he is your master. Why should I interfere in such a relationship?" Andrew looked dismayed. Mallock was right. The vampire community did consider him to be the property of his master to do whatever he wanted with. He had no rights. "LaCroix." Nick began, gaining full attention of his master. "You know I have tried to leave you many times. I needed to be independent. I thought I needed to get away from you but I know now that I was trying to escape myself. You didn't bring me across so that you could always have someone to use and abuse. We have not always communicated well, but I think we have gotten to be friends now. This relationship between Andrew and Mallock can never be anything like ours. Andrew was brought across solely to satisfy Mallocks sexual perversions, never to be a son. Mallock only cares for him as a piece of property. Andrew has had enough of that. And Mallock doesnt seem to care anything about the code. He will have the enforcers down on us without a thought." LaCroix sipped his drink and looked again at Andrew. "I will give you shelter, Andrew. You will stay here under my protection until something can be done about your master. I think you will need guidance. Nicholas can provide that." Natalie felt Nick relax and looked at him. He seemed relieved like he had been holding his breath. "I'll come back and check on you later." Nick said to Andrew. He turned to LaCroix. "Thankyou." LaCroix nodded. "Nicholas, Be aware, be careful. If I remember correctly, Mallock is not the type to let this pass without protest. He cannot match your strength at the moment but he is known to cheat. Don't let him catch you off guard." Nick nodded. "I'll be careful." Nick and Natalie left Andrew to get better acquainted with LaCroix. A week passed by quickly. Andrew got used to being at the Raven and began helping out with record keeping and ordering supplies. LaCroix found him to be not only friendly and eager to please but also quite useful. He was beginning to enjoy having a young one around again. It had been a long time since he had made any new fledglings himself. He had made many vampires over the years for many different reasons, most often for companionship, but never for the purpose of having a slave that could be physically abused over and over without suffering permanent damage. Even he had his limits. Nick and Natalie sat quietly on the couch watching an old movie. Natalie had picked it, an old black and white movie called The Mummy with Boris Karloff. They were both finding it quite amusing. Nick had put his arm around Natalie and was trying to pay attention to the movie instead of the scent of the beautiful mortal by his side. He was finding it harder and harder lately to keep from taking her to bed, but the thought of what could happen if he lost control always seemed to sober him before he went too far. Tonight he could sense her desire. She was cuddling up close to him and he could feel the love and warmth radiating from her. It was so hard to resist. She sighed and pushed a little closer to him and he knew then that this would be the night. She had been very patient with him, waiting for him to feel that it was safe for them to be together again. The first time had been such a wonderful experience. It had been difficult to give him space and wait for him to be ready to try it again. He knew it had been hard for her. It had been hard for him as well. But he was ready, or he was not, either way he couldn't wait another night. He reached for his bottle from the table and drank it down. As soon as she saw him drinking his bottle, she realized what he had in mind. This connection between them almost made them not need speech at times. She looked at him and he nodded and smiled a crooked little smile. Then he got up and got another bottle and started drinking. It was very hard to watch the rest of the movie. Natalie was just stirring in the bed when she heard the phone ringing. She turned in bed intending to get up to answer it but Nick put his arm around her and pulled her close. "That's what the answering machine is for." He said, kissing her gently on the shoulder. She turned to face him and smiled. "So, how do you feel?" She asked. "I feel great. How about you?" He touched the side of her neck where two little punture marks slowly healed. "Are you okay with this?" Natalie put her hand over his. "I am more than okay. " He sensed her feeling of fulfillment and he knew he felt the same way. They seemed to fit together perfectly like pieces of the same puzzle. He had been so afraid that he would lose control but she hadn't let him. She had projected such feelings of love and trust that he couldn't have hurt her even if he had been trying. The phone rang again. Nick laughed. "I guess I should get up and see who that is. At that moment Natalies beeper went off. She pulled it off the night table and looked at it. "Work." She said. Nick nodded and together they started climbing out of bed. The body was left in pretty much the same position as the one before. As soon as Nick and Natalie saw it, they realized it was meant to be a message from Mallock. This boy had barely been sixteen years old. His bicycle was laying by his side, his bag of undelivered newspapers spilled over into the mud. "Hi guys, what do we have?" Tracy walked up, looking toward the boys body. Natalie began bagging the hands. "Looks like the same killer as the last one." She said, glancing toward Tracy. "But I won't know for sure until I get him back to the lab." "He was raped?" Tracy asked. "Looks that way." Natalie said. Tracy looked at Nick, suddenly noticing that he seemed oblivious to their conversation. He was just standing there staring off into the woods, almost as if he could see something within the darkness of the trees. "Nick." She called. "Nick, are you with us here?" Natalie stood up and stepped toward him. "Nick." She reached out and touched his arm. He pulled his attention back to Natalie and Tracy. "Yeah, I was just thinking." He said. "Thinking, huh?" Tracy said. "Well, I guess I'll start questioning people, see if anyone saw anything." She walked toward a group of people standing about twenty feet from the body. Several uniformed officers were talking to them. Natalie waited until Tracy was occupied, then turned to Nick. "Was he there, in the woods?" She asked, thinking she had sensed a presence there herself. "Yeah, but he's gone now." Nick answered. "He wanted me to know that it was him. He knows Andrew told us his story. That's why he picked a paperboy. " Natalie nodded. "I kind of figured that." Natalie opened her car door and slid into the seat, pulling the door shut behind her. It had been a long night and she was tired. She wondered if Nick was already home waiting for her. She had agreed to come back to the loft after work this morning to sleep. They had both enjoyed the comforting feeling of sleeping together in the same bed, just knowing the other was so close. Nick had given her credit for bringing him the best days sleep he had had in a long time. He didn't have any nightmares and he was sure it was because he had felt so secure and happy with her in his arms. She turned the key in the ignition just as she felt a sharp jab in the back of her neck. She maintained consciousness just long enough to turn her head back to see Mallock smiling in the back seat of her car, a needle in his hand. The last sound she heard was his laughter. Nick was just standing up from his desk, getting ready to leave for the night, when a sickening feeling of dread came over him. He felt like his brain was falling out of his head. Suddenly the room went dark and he fell back in his chair. "Nick!" Tracy called, jumping up to go to him. "Nick!" He heard her calling him, but couldn't focus. Something was wrong, something terrible was happening. He just didn't know what. He put his hands to his head and then rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear his vision. He saw Tracys worried face leaning over him and felt her shaking his shoulder and he realizes he could see again. But he felt so strange, so empty and lost. "Nick, are you okay?" Tracy asked. He nodded. "I m okay." He said in a shaky voice. But something was wrong. He just couldn't place what it was. So empty. He felt so empty. "Natalie!" He jumped up, realizing suddenly why he felt so empty. Natalie was missing. He had gotten so used to their connection, to feeling her presence with him constantly. What he was feeling was the loss of that connection. Something was wrong with Natalie. Even during sleep he could still feel the connection. So, that meant that she was unconscious, or worse. He didn't want to think about what worse could mean. "What about Natalie?" Tracy asked. Nick charged out of the office. "Nick, what is it?" She called after him. "Something's happened to Natalie." Nick said, storming out. Tracy followed out the precinct door, but by the time she got outside there was no sign of her partner. He couldn't have driven away that fast. Where did he go? She looked on the lot where his car had been parked and saw that it was still there. So, where had he gone? And what could have happened to Natalie. She went back into the office and called the morgue. Natalie had already left. comments to dartechie@yahoo.com Pets by dar hutson scally permission to archive on fkfanfic web site. comments can be sent to dartechie@yahoo.com. thanks for reading... Pets (05/07) by Dar Hutson Scally Nick had flown to the parking lot where Natalie usually parked her car. It was still there, but the door was standing open. He landed beside it and looked inside, finding a needle on the front seat and a note. He picked up the note and read. "You'll be hearing from me soon." was all it said. He shoved the note into his pocket and picked up the needle. There were remnants of a drug left in the needle. He closed the door and flew off. He needed to know what was in that needle. He needed to know if Natalie would be okay, if she would wake up. He flew to the hospital and walked in. Just as he was walking in, he felt a sudden fear rise up in him. He stopped walking and closed his eyes, allowing himself to analyse his feelings. In a moment, he knew he was feeling Natalie. She was waking up and she was afraid. She didn't know where she was but it was dark and she was cold. He opened his eyes and walked out of the hospital. He didn't need to know what the drug was anymore. Natalie was awake now and apparently physically okay. All he needed to do now was find her. As he stepped out the door of the hospital he realized that wasn't going to be too easy at the moment. The dark night sky was giving way to the amber of the morning sunrise. He had barely enough time to get home before he could burn. Finding Natalie would have to wait until night. She'd better be all right when he found her. He would kill anyone who took her away from him. Ten minutes later, Nick stormed into the loft, face and hands red and blistered, soft wisps of smoke radiating from his body. He charged directly to the refrigerator and gulped the first bottle he grabbed. The cold blood sat like a knot in his stomach but within a few moments the burns were healed. He reached out with his senses and called to Natalie. She was there. He could feel her realizing that he was trying to communicate and it calmed her down. He sensed her conquering her fear and sending him feelings of love and trust. She knew he would find her. At the moment he had no clue where to look, but he knew he would find her. Even if he had to play Mallocks little game and pretend to cooperate, he would find her. He sent her back feelings of reassurance. It would be okay. He would come and get her as soon as it was dark again. Tracy spent most of the day looking for Nick and Natalie. She had looked at Natalie s apartment and discovered that Natalie had never gone home. Then she had found her car still parked at the lot at work. She had tried calling Nicks cell phone and his phone at home but got no answer at either number. Then she went to Nicks loft and rang the buzzer but didn't get an answer. He must be out looking for Natalie. She wondered how he could have known that something was wrong. Maybe he was a little bit psychic. Maybe that had been his secret all along, how he seemed to always be one jump ahead of everybody, why he had such a good case record. But sometimes he seemed so disconnected with reality. Oh, well, she'd never get any answers until she found him. Finally, late in the afternoon, she gave up for the day and went home to get some sleep. Nick had better show up for work and then she'd get some answers. Nick woke up too early. He had slept fitfully thru the morning hours and into the early afternoon but it was only 1:00 and he was suddenly wide awake. He got up and attacked the refrigerator. The cold blood soothed his nerves and he reached out to Natalie to see if she was awake. He could feel that she was in darkness. She didn't know where she was and couldn't see anything that could give her a clue. She seemed to think she was somewhere underground, in a basement maybe. There was no light from windows or even a crack under a doorway showing. He felt her sending him a reassuring thought. She was okay and she knew he was reaching for her. She had been sleeping but was awake now. She had no sense of time sitting in the dark. Nick tried to send her an image of sunlight so she'd know it was still daytime. She seemed to get the message. When the sun was barely out of the sky, Nick braved the final rays and took off after Natalie. He felt like he could follow the thread of their connection almost as easily as he could follow LaCroix's or Janette's. He had paused for a moment in an alley when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered. "Knight." "Nick, Where are you? Is Natalie all right?" It was Tracy, sounding worried. "I'm looking for her now. " Nick said. "I'll explain it all later, Trace. I need to keep looking." "Nick, let me help. Who took her, do you know?" "I have to go Tracy. I'll call you when I can." Nick said. "Oh, and Tracy, can you make an excuse for me at work tonight? I don't think I'll make it in. " "Nick!" Tracy began, but the phone was disconnected. She didn't know if she should be angry or afraid for him. Natalie sat patiently in the dark. She still hadn t seen any sign of her kidnapper since he had drugged her in the car. He had apparently dumped her in this room wherever it was and left her there. She figured it was Mallock and he was going to use her as a hostage to get Nick to give Andrew to him. She only wished he could have left her some light. She would have liked to see where she was. Maybe if she could see anything it would help Nick to find her. She decided to try to explore by touch. She felt like she was in a room about the size of a large basement. Hopefully, if she walked around very slowly and felt her way along the wall she wouldn t accidentally come upon anything dangerous. Maybe she d even find a light switch. She got up and stretched and feeling for the wall, began slowly taking a step. Nick followed his connection to Natalie. He had flown to the other end of the city and now found himself walking slowly up and down several roads in a small residential community. He could feel that she was nearby but he was having trouble narrowing it down. He tried sending her a thought that she should concentrate on him. Maybe she could help him find her. Natalie had inched her way only a few feet, finding nothing so far, when she suddenly sensed Nicks frustration. He was close by but he was having trouble finding her. She stood still and closed her eyes, concentrating only on Nick, sending him deep feelings of love and desire. That should help him to find her. Mallock had seen Nick walk by several times. He knew he was getting close. He kept himself concealed and waited. He would be ready. As soon as Nick Knight came in the door, he would be his. Then he would get his Andrew back. He knew LaCroix would give him up easily to get his own treasured son back. And he could see why that one was such a treasure to the old vampire. Perhaps, he would have a little fun with him while he had him. He could hardly be blamed for sampling such a tempting specimen. This Nick reminded him somewhat of an older version of Andrew. Even though he usually went for the younger ones, he thought he would really enjoy experimenting with an older one for a change. And as long as he had the sweet human pet, he knew he could make Nick do whatever he wanted him to. Nick narrowed it down. The feelings Natalie was sending to him were reaching out and pulling him almost as if she had him by the hand and was leading him. He was so caught up in it that he forgot LaCroix s warning to be cautious, to expect Mallock to be sneaky. He went to the back of the house where he now knew she was and found a basement door. He tried the doorknob and found it to be locked, but a little vampiric strength took care of that. He pushed it slowly open and listened, reaching out with all of his senses. He couldn t feel the presence of anyone else besides Natalie, so he stepped inside into the dark basement. He suddenly felt a pinprick on the side of his neck and turned to see Mallock, grinning malevolently. He reached out to grab Mallock around the throat but just as his fingers touched, he felt a weakness spread over him and a darkness envelop his brain. Natalie could feel that Nick had found her. He was very close. She started to relax. Mallock was probably out right this minute leaving a note for Nick to give Andrew up in exchange for her. He would really be surprised to come back and find her gone. He probably didn t realize they had this connection that would allow Nick to track her. Suddenly, Nick was gone. Natalie staggered from the shock of it. One moment he had been there in her thoughts, almost right beside her it had seemed. The next moment, he was replaced by an icy darkness. There was no vibration left from him. At that moment, she realized that it had been a trap. Mallock had somehow been able to shield his presence so that neither one of them could sense him. When Nick had come for her, Mallock had attacked him, maybe even killed him. Natalie tried to reach out for Nick but found nothing where he should have been. Was he unconscious or had Mallock killed him? She sat back down on the floor in frustration and tried not to cry. The door opened with a loud bang and Natalie cringed from the sudden light flooding the room. Mallock stepped in pointing a gun in her direction. He laughed at her as she tensed. "You will move over to that chair and you will sit in it until I tell you to move. Do you understand?" He said. She looked over to the corner of the room where an old dilapidated armchair sat. She got up and went to the chair and sat down. He went back through the door leaving it open. Within a few moments, he walked back in carrying Nick over his shoulder. In his other hand he still held the gun. Natalie forced herself to stay seated. She wondered why he felt he needed a gun. He was a vampire after all. Didn't he think she knew what that made him capable of ? Mallock dropped Nick's unconscious body on the floor. Then he turned to look at her. "I'll be back in a little while." He said. When I return I want you to be sitting in that chair. He walked out, closing the door behind him. Natalie jumped up as soon as the door closed, running to Nick. He was lying on his side, his neck twisted awkwardly. She layed him out on his back in a more comfortable position. " Nick." She called to him, patting the sides of his face gently. "Nick, wake up. " She looked him over. There didn't seem to be any injuries. He must have been drugged with something. She sat with him and waited. Pets (05/07) by dar hutson scally comments please to dartechie@yahoo.com I keep forgetting im supposed to say stuff like i obviously dont own these characters, although i m having fun borrowing them. i certainly appreciate their inventors and hope they wouldnt mind my alternate development of their characters. i try to write them as i feel they would react. but, of course, we all see things in our own way. i hope no one finds any of my story offensive. its a little on the violent side, but then lets be real, these are vampires we're dealing with, and they arent all struggling to regain their humanity. anyway, i don't have any beta readers so that actually makes you all my beta readers, so please feel free to send comments, good or bad, to dartechie@yahoo.com. thanks for reading and i appreciate your feedback. permission is given for Mel to archive this on fkfanfic site. Pets (06/07) by Dar Hutson Scally LaCroix had been about to take a sip of his drink when he felt the sudden absence of Nick. He knew Nick was still alive, but he was definitely unconscious for some reason. There wasn't much that could cause such sudden unconsciousness in a vampire. It would have to involve extreme damage to the head or one of the few drugs that could affect their kind. Since he hadn't sensed any pain from Nick he assumed it was a drug. Andrew had just come into the room. Seeing the look of concentration on LaCroix's face, he asked, "What is it? Is something happening?" LaCroix looked at him. "I believe your master has finally made his move. Something has happened to Nicholas." "What?" Andrew demanded excitedly. "Is he okay? I didn't want anyone to get hurt." "Do not worry, Andrew. I will handle the matter. Nicholas will be fine." LaCroix said, getting up. "You must promise to stay here. You will be safe here." "But if Mallock has hurt Nick, it's my fault." "Andrew, Nicholas brought you to me for protection because he wants to get you away from Mallock. If you put yourself in Mallocks hands, then whatever Nicholas has gone through to ensure your safety will have been wasted. I will handle it. You will stay here." Andrew nodded. "Okay, but I'll be ready to come if you call me." LaCroix nodded and left. As he walked out into the bar, the phone rang. His bartender answered it, then handed it to LaCroix. "It's for you boss." Lacroix took the phone and answered. "What is it?" "I guess you know by now that I have taken your son." Mallock said. "And you know what I want in return for him." "Oscar Mallock, I presume." LaCroix said. "You know who it is and I have your Nick and his mortal pet. If you want them back you will give me the boy." Mallock said gruffly. "And where might I find you in order to make this exchange?" LaCroix asked. "First I want to have a little fun and I want you to understand what will happen if you try any tricks." "I have no use for your pathetic fledgling." LaCroix said. "There really was no need for this display. All you needed to do was ask." "Then you don't mind giving him up?" Mallock seemed surprised. He had thought LaCroix would refuse. "Of course not. After all, you did make him. He's yours, isn't he?" "Yes, he is." Mallock said. "But your Nick didn't seem to understand that." "Well, you bring me Nicholas and I will have a talk with him about interfering in others business." LaCroix said. Mallock hesitated. "I think I'll have my own talk with him first. I'll let you know when I'm done." "Realize one thing first, Mallock. " LaCroix said, sternly. "You will not do damage to my Nicholas. I will not tolerate it." "He will be in one piece." Mallock said smugly. "I'll let you know when and where to bring Andrew." He hung up. LaCroix talked to his staff, advising them not to let Andrew out of their sight. Then he left to begin tracking Nicholas. Mallock had said he also had Natalie. LaCroix was counting on her connection with Nicholas to help lead him to them both. Even if Nicholas was unconscious, he felt that he'd be able to sense her through him somehow. He flew into the night sky and reached out with his mind. Nick groaned and stirred against Natalie and she realized she had started to fall asleep. "Nick." She called to him. He pushed his eyes open but the room was spinning so he closed them again. "Nat?" His voice came out weak and scratchy. "Nick, are you okay?" Natalie asked him. "Where are we? Where's Mallock?" He asked, opening his eyes again. The room was still spinning but at least he could see Natalie, all six of her, looking down at him. "What did he do to you?" She asked him. "Some drug." He said. "I'm really out of it. " "I can tell." She said. "It'll be okay. It has to wear off sometime." "How long has it been?" He asked. "About an hour, I think." She said. "He said he'd be back and when he comes back in I'd better be sitting in the chair on the other side of the room. " "Whatever he tells you to do, just do it. He would think nothing of killing you. All we have to do is hold out until LaCroix finds us. I can already feel him looking for us." Nick said. They heard a noise near the door and knew Mallock was coming back. "Go." Nick said. "Sit in the chair and stay there. It'll be okay." Natalie was just sitting down when the door opened and Mallock walked in. He looked first to see if she was in the chair, then to see if Nick was awake. "I see you've done as you were told. That's very good. I really didn't want to have to hurt you." Mallock said to Natalie. He walked over to her and touched her face, pulling her chin up so that she was looking at him. "I want you to understand something now. I'm going to go over and have a little talk with Nicholas. You will stay here in this chair, no matter what happens over there. If you move from this chair, I will not only kill you but I will also kill him. If you stay here in this chair, and remain quiet, I promise you that neither of you will be killed and you will be allowed to leave here very soon. Do you understand?" Natalie nodded. "What are you going to do?" She asked. Mallock smiled. "Nothing that concerns you, unless you decide to get out of this chair and join in and then I'm afraid it will concern you greatly." Nick was trying to sit up. The drug had worn off somewhat but he still felt weak and off balance and the room was still spinning just a little bit. He wasn't seeing very clearly or he would have seen Mallock as he came over and pushed him back down. He layed there trying to clear his vision. "I've spoken to your master Nick and he informs me that he will happily hand over Andrew in exchange for you. I wonder why that is. Perhaps you are more valuable than you look. Of course, I can't taste your blood with that drug running through your system, but there are other ways that I can enjoy you while you are my guest. " "LaCroix will kill you if you do anything to me. I'm sure you know that." Nick said. "Ah, but you're wrong about that. I told him I was going to let you know how displeased I am with your interference and he agreed that you needed to learn that lesson. I think what I have planned is most appropriate." Mallock said. "And what is that?" Nick asked. "Well, I think you know that I have a preference for young boys." He laughed. "I've decided that there must be some reason that your master is so fond of you. So, even though you're not my usual type, not being all that young, I think you'll cooperate with me in a little sexual experiment." "go to hell." Nick said, trying to sound imposing. He could feel the drug wearing off but not nearly fast enough. "I see you're a bit hesitant. Perhaps it will help with your enthusiasm if I tell you that if you refuse me, I will have to sample of your pet instead. And I'm afraid she might not enjoy the experience. In fact, she might not survive it either." Nick looked toward Natalie. He could see that she was looking this way but couldn't see her clearly enough to know if she could hear what was being said. He was still seeing three of everything. "I won't let you hurt her." Nick said, reaching to grab Mallocks neck but missing. "Then you'll cooperate. Because those are your only choices." Mallock said, shoving Nick flat on the floor and pinning his arms down easily. Nick struggled to pull his arms free but he was too weak. Fear rose up in him. He didn't want Natalie to see this. He could live with being raped, but not if Natalie was forced to watch. "Mallock." Nick said. "Wouldn't you rather have a willing participant?" "What do you mean?" Mallock asked. "I mean take me out of here, somewhere else, and I'll do whatever you want. I'll be an active participant, anything you order me to do, I'll do. Just take me somewhere away from Natalie to do it." Nick proposed. Mallock smiled. " Interesting idea." He said. "Unfortunately, you don't understand my motivation very well. I like having an audience and I like having to use force. I don't want an active participant. I rather enjoy inflicting pain while I have my pleasure." Nick kicked up at Mallock again, trying to get free but Mallock puched him in the face for his efforts. "Now that we have an understanding, I think it's time I get started." He took one more glance over at the mortal pet to make sure she was still in the chair and watching. He smiled as he noticed that she was digging her nails into the chair arms trying to restrain herself. Then he looked back at Nick. Nick was just recovering from the punch to his face when he felt Mallocks hands touching his face. Then he was leaning over him and sharp nails ripped his shirt and scratched down his chest, drawing blood. On smelling the blood, Mallock forgot about the drug and started licking the scratches. Nick hoped maybe he would ingest enough blood to allow the drug to affect him and even the odds. But, so far, it wasn't helping. Mallock had moved down to unhook his pants and was pulling them down. Nick closed his eyes trying to block it out. If he wasn't afraid to pray, he would have been praying about now. Then he thought of Natalie and hoped she would be okay and that she wouldn't be disappointed with him, that he hadn't fought harder. He couldnt take any chances that she would be hurt. He hoped that at least he would provide enough distraction that LaCroix would find them before Mallock had a chance to do anything to Natalie. Suddenly Mallock flipped Nick over onto his stomach and he felt his underwear being ripped away. A tear came to his eye and his anger came to the surface. He wouldn't let this happen. He had to fight it. The drug was wearing off more and more every minute. Maybe he could fight now. He turned and threw a punch at Mallock, missing entirely and falling back down again. Then he heard Mallock laugh at him and felt his hands touching his buttocks to spread them. He wasn't going to let this happen. He pulled away and looked for something to use as a weapon, but there was nothing there. Then Mallock tackled him and he fell back down, hitting his head against the wall with a cracking sound. If he hadn't already been dizzy that would have made him dizzy all over again. He felt Mallock lifting his lower torso and his hands on him again and braced himself for the attack. Natalie couldn't stay in the chair any longer. When Nick started to fight, she knew she had to do something. She couldn't let this monster add to Nicks nightmares. He was still dealing with LaCroix 's assault hundreds of years past. How long would it take him to deal with this one. She had to take her chances and try to help him. She looked around for a weapon. What she found was not made of wood like she would have liked but it was a sharp tent stake and she felt sure she could do some damage with it, at least enough to provide a distraction to maybe give her and Nick together a chance to get away or at least incapacitate Mallock. As she picked up the tent stake, she heard a hoarse scream, and turned to see that Mallock was on top of Nick and was pumping furiously, totally oblivious to anything she might be doing. She hurried to his back and raised the tent stake to strike. She would aim for the back of his neck. That should hurt him enough to stop him. But before she had a chance to strike, the door slammed open and a blur went by her pulling Mallock with it. When it stopped moving she saw that it was LaCroix and he had snapped the other vampires neck and was proceeding to twist it almost off in his rage. Natalie dropped the stake and went to Nick. He was just lying there, seemingly unaware of what was happening. She shook his shoulder. "Nick." His eyes were half open but unfocused and he wouldn't respond. She cradled his head in her lap and spoke soothingly to him, hoping he would respond. Tears flowed freely down her face. "Nicholas." LaCroix called, touching Nicks face. "Nicholas, you must come back now. Your Natalie needs you." Nick didn't respond. He just layed there as if unconcious. LaCroix pulled his pants back up and hooked them, then lifted Nick up. "The sun will be up soon. We must get him home. He will feel better there." Natalie followed him outside. There was no car. LaCroix must have flown here, and Nick had arrived the same way. "Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight. " LaCroix said. "It is the only way." Natalie nodded and nervously put her arms around Lacroix's neck. "You may want to close your eyes, my dear. It's going to be a quick trip." Pets (06/07) by dar hutson scally comments to dartechie@yahoo.com Permission for Mel to archive on fkfic site. this is the end of the second chapter in what i think might be a long series. i've been calling it Safe Consequence. the first story was Sipping, which if you missed it is on my web page at homestead.com/eternalquest/index.html it kind of sets the stage for this story. this one is a little bit violent, i hope not offensive to anyone. i guess a little bit of my dark side is coming out. anyway, i would appreciate any comments, good or bad, please; constructive comments. and of course virtual chocolate is my favorite food, no calories but just as sweet. thanks for reading, dar. Pets (07/07) by Dar Hutson Scally She was glad she had followed his advice and kept her eyes tightly shut the whole time they were in the air. She thought that if she had opened her eyes at the speed they must have been moving, she might very well have panicked and lost her hold on LaCroix. It seemed the trip had taken only moments. When she found herself on her feet again, she opened her eyes. They were in an alley. LaCroix was opening a door, still holding Nick easily with one arm. He pushed the door open and she followed him in. They were in the back rooms of the Raven. Natalie had been in this room once before, years ago, when Nick had suffered a great disappointment with humanity and drank too much. She glanced briefly at the window through which he had flown at the end of their conversation then. Of course the window had been repaired, but the room looked pretty much the same. Natalie followed LaCroix through another door and down a hallway into a bedroom. There, he layed Nick gently on th bed, arranging him in a comfortable looking position and gently pushing his hair back. Nick still seemed to be unconscious, although Natalie knew of no reason that he should be. He didn't appear to have been physically hurt. Maybe it was still the effect of the drug working on him. "Stay with him." LaCroix said to her. "I will return momentarily." He left the room, closing the door behind him. Natalie sat down on the bed beside Nick and put her hand on his cheek. "Nick." She called gently. "Please wake up now, Nick. I need you. I need to see that you're all right." Nick stirred and mumbled something, moving his face away from her touch. "Nick, it's okay. It's me, Natalie." She said. She tried reaching for him with their link but he seemed to have shut himself off from her. She could feel his presence, but it was like he was all closed up. LaCroix came back in with several bottles. He moved to Nicks side, sitting the bottles on the table. Then he looked up at Natalie, as if he expected her to protest, and he bit himself in the wrist, ripping his teeth in deeply so that his blood was flowing freely. He pulled Nicks lips apart and put his bleeding wirst up to his mouth. With his free hand he stroked Nicks face and spoke to him in a soothing calm voice. "Nicholas, my son. Drink now. You're safe now. Drink and you'll feel better. Nothing can hurt you now." Natalie watched closely, waiting. She felt like she was witnessing a scene from Nicks nightmares, from his past that she had told him about. Only this time, it hadn't been LaCroix who had hurt him. The blood dripped into Nicks mouth but he didn't swallow. He turned away and cried out. "No." LaCroix put his wrist back to Nicks mouth. "You must drink Nicholas. You need my blood to heal you. It will make you feel better." Still Nick pulled away. "Talk to him, Doctor." LaCroix said. "He is hiding from us within himself. We must pull him back to reality." Natalie took Nicks hand in hers and squeezed it gently, trying to let him feel that she was there waiting for him. "Nick, come back to me now. I need you. " She bent down and kissed him on the forehead. "Nick." Somewhere deep inside himself, Nick was hiding. He had found a warm dark place where he was safe and he wanted to stay. Around him he heard voices. They were looking for him, he knew, but he felt safe where he was and he didn't want to move. First he heard LaCroix calling him. He remembered LaCroix hurting him. He stayed hidden. LaCroix wanted him to come to him for comfort. Well, that might have happened in the past ,but this time, he didn't want comfort. He was fine right where he was. Then he heard Natalie calling him. He wanted to respond to her. He wanted to hug her and kiss her. But she seemed too far away. Natalie looked up as LaCroix took his still bleeding arm away from Nicks mouth. "There is only one thing left to try." LaCroix said. "You must trust me and do what I say." He looked at her waiting for a response. She nodded. "What are you going to do?" "I am going to break into his mind and bring him back." He answered. She didn't like the sound of that. "You must leave the room and wait. You may be in danger in here." He explained. "I will come out and get you when it is done." She looked at him and back at Nicks still form. "Are you sure about this?" She saw a hint of worry flash across his face. "It is the only option left. He will not come out on his own. I will go in and get him. He will be fine." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than trying to convince her. She nodded and walked out, closing the door behind her. There was a chair in the hallway just down from the door. She sat down to wait. LaCroix leaned over Nick, turning his head to the side, and reared back with his fangs bared. As soon as he tasted Nicks blood, he felt the turmoil. It was as if he had walked into a tornado. The winds raged around him and he could see no sign of Nick. He moved about, calling his name. Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard someone crying. It sounded like a child. He followed the sound. He was in a crypt. He remembered it now. It was the crypt in the castle where they had lived once many years ago. Now he knew what he must do. This new trauma had thrown Nicholas back into the past, to the first time he had been raped, when he had been betrayed by his master. LaCroix had wished many times after , that he could take it back. He had done it in a fit of anger. It had seemed a just punishment at the time. He had never considered that it would cause Nicholas so much anguish. And now, this Mallock had brought it all back and Nick couldn't face it. LaCroix listened again through the raging storm. The soft cry of a child echoed beyond the noise. LaCroix tried to follow the sound but it was only a thread and it was hard to follow. Then he remembered. There should be a door to a mausoleum. He looked for the door and found it. And, upon listening, he could hear the crying coming from behind the door. He pulled the door slowly open. It was as if he had stepped back in time. Nicholas was huddled behind the door, crying in a childs voice. When the door opened, he looked up in terror. "No, leave me alone." LaCroix knelt on the floor in front of Nick and gently put his hand on his shoulder. At first he flinched, expecting to be hurt, but after a few tries, he allowed LaCroix's hand to remain. "Nicholas, it's okay now. I've come to help you." LaCroix said softly. "You've been hurt. I want to help you. I want to make you feel better." Nick looked at him. "No, you want to hurt me again. " "No. Listen to me Nicholas. I am sorry that I hurt you before. I know I should have said that a long time ago. I am sorry. But think now. Remember, it wasn't me who hurt you this time. It was someone else. Someone named Mallock. Remember him? " Nick looked at him suspisciously. Then he remembered Mallock and Andrew. He had helped Andrew to get away from Mallock. Mallock was evil and liked to hurt boys. He remembered now. Mallock had raped him and he had done it in front of Natalie. Natalie. Was she okay? Had Mallock hurt her? "LaCroix?" Nick asked. "Yes, Nicholas. I'm here." "What's happening? Where's Natalie? Is she okay?" Nick asked, sitting up and wiping tears from his face. "She's fine. She's waiting for you. Are you ready to come back with me now?" LaCroix reached his hand down to help Nick up. Nick stood shakily and looked at LaCroix. Then he smiled. "You came to get me." LaCroix nodded. Natalie stood listening by the door. She had tried sitting in the chair down the hall but ended up pacing the floor and now she had heard some whimpering noises and had stopped, pressing her ear to the door. She reached out with her connection to Nick, expecting to run into the wall again like she had last time. But, this time she could feel him getting closer. He was coming back. She could almost see him walking through a storm, getting closer to her. LaCroix pulled away from Nicholas and looking down at his weakened son, he ripped into his wrist and put it to Nicks mouth. This time, Nick sucked furiously at the gushing blood. He was so very hungry and needed the soothing relief that only his masters blood could give him. As he drank, he kept remembering what LaCroix had said. For the first time in their long history together his master had told him that he was sorry. Nick knew how hard that had been for LaCroix to say. The fact that he had forced himself to say it meant a lot to Nick. LaCroix let Nick drink as much as he safely could. Then he pulled his wrist away and replaced it with a bottle from the night table. Nick guzzled down a whole bottle before taking a breath. "Feeling better?" LaCroix asked. Nick nodded. "Where's Natalie?" LaCroix smiled. "You're sure your under control?" "Yes. I'm fine." Nick said. "Very well, then. I will send her in." He walked to the door and called through it. "Be careful, my dear. I'm opening the door now." Natalie jumped back from the door and tried not to look embarassed as LaCroix stepped through. "He's waiting for you." He said, walking off down the hall. Natalie rushed in, finding Nick just sitting up in bed. He smiled when he saw her. "Nick, are you okay?" She asked, looking him over as she sat down next to him. "I'm fine." Nick said. "Are you okay?" She nodded as she pulled him close in a hug. He smiled, thinking how lucky he was to have her. The airport was crowded and noisy. Andrew had never flown before, at least not in an airplane, so he was a little nervous. Nick and Natalie walked him up to the gate. LaCroix had already said goodbye back at the Raven. "Are you sure about this, Andrew?" Natalie asked. Andrew smiled. "Yes, I'm sure. At least I can spend a few years with my family. And this way, they don't have to be left wondering what happened to me." He was actually very excited about seeing his family again. He just hoped they didn't notice how little he had aged since his disappearance. "LaCroix talked to his friend. Jason will be expecting to see you." Nick said. Andrew nodded. "I know where to find him. I really appreciate all that you've done for me." "It's okay. We're just happy that it worked out all right."Nick said. Andrew turned to Natalie. "Natalie, thanks." He hugged her. "Take care of yourself, Andrew." Andrew nodded. "Hey, I'll be fine. I'll get to go to college now." "If you need anything just call. " Nick said. "Okay. Thanks Nick." Andrew turned to board the plane, waving one last time. Nick put his arm around Natalie as they stood watching him leave. "Why do I feel like we're sending our son off to college?" Nick asked, smiling. Natalie looked into his eyes. "Maybe, if we're lucky, someday we'll be standing here doing just that." Nick smiled and kissed her. "I hope you're right." She pulled out of his embrace and grabbing his hand, pulled him and started to walk away. "Come on." "Where are we going?" Nick asked, letting her drag him along. "Home. That son has to start somewhere." He put his arm around her and they walked out of the airport. Pets by Dar Hutson Scally Chapter Two of Safe Consequences Series email comments to Dartechie@yahoo.com