Episode 109: All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes By April French Characters: Nick, others Author's Note: This story is going to be difficult for all involved, so please bear with me. All really familiar people belong to Sony Tri-Star. Oh, and the Vampire Express is the exclusive property of Nire the Evil. Praise, comments, criticisms and kudos will be rewarded with lemon-flavored air fresheners. All nasty flames will be punished by a wait at the DMV. Once completed, this story will be archived at my site with all the others. Permission to archive is given to FKFIC, FKFIC2 and the FTP site. Anyone else wishing to archive must first bribe me with peanut butter-flavored chewy bones. ~~~ All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (1/?) Toronto: November, 1997 Daniel crept softly forward, his feet making no noise on the wooden floor. He was almost there... his prey was almost within his grasp... He reached out his hands and prepared to pounce-- "Don't you dare." "Oof!" The boy-vampire suddenly found himself dangling in mid-air, suspended by the large hand that was holding him by the ankle. "Aww, Nicky!" "How many times do I have to tell you: Leave Sidney alone!" Nick set his little 'brother' upright and glared at him. "Anything happens to that cat, Natalie will have both our hides." With some regret, Daniel watched the fat grey-and-white cat scurry away. "But Nicky, it's not like I was going to eat him." "There are three things you are allowed to do to the cat. You can pet him, you can feed him, and you can let him scratch you. I don't think you had any of those options on your mind." Nick grinned. "Did you?" "Well..." So far, it had been an interesting night: Natalie was at work, while Nick was on-call but at home. So he had decided to make good on a promise he'd made to himself, and spend some time with his youngest brother. LaCroix had wondered if Nick had gone completely insane. Daniel was certainly calmer than he had been fifty years ago, but he while he may have matured in some ways--he enjoyed music and painting, just as many others in the Family--in many other ways he was still ten years old, and only half domesticated. So Nick had come up with the perfect pastime for them to share. When he had finished cordoning off a section of the loft with huge bunches of towels, Nick set up a massive painter's canvas inside the square. Daniel watched curiously. "Here." Nick tossed a smock over Daniel's head and handed him a paintbrush and a can of blue paint. Nick picked up a can of red paint and pointed at the giant canvas. "Have a blast." It was grand fun, especially because about ten minutes into the venture, the paint ceased to be aimed at the canvas. So by the time they ran out of paint, neither vampire had even an inch of color-free skin left. Laughing and a bit out of breath, they scrubbed themselves off at the kitchen sink. "There's no way I'm letting you into my bathroom," Nick said, ruffling Daniel's hair and pushing the boy's head under the faucet. "You're a mess." Daniel splashed at Nick. "You're no bed of roses yourself, Nicky," he laughed. Nick bared his fangs at Daniel in a mock snarl just as his answering machine picked up. "Nick, I know you're there. It's Tracy, pick up the phone." "Trace, this is my night off." "I know that! I just thought that maybe you'd like to meet me for a drink at the Corvina." Nick glanced over his shoulder. "I don't know. I've got Daniel tonight..." "Well, bring him along, what do I care? I'm gonna go badger Kai to tell me if Julian's back in the country yet." "Oh, and you need moral support, is that it?" He could feel Tracy's embarrassment. "Let's face it. He can be intimidating." "Who, Kai or Julian?" "Both of them." "Point taken. I'll see you there in... fifteen minutes?" "Right. Meet you in front." Five minutes later, Nick and Daniel were on their way to the bookstore and coffee shop, accompanied by the dulcet tones of the ever-present Nightcrawler. "Justice. Revenge. Punishment. Payment for a grievance or a bargain gone wrong. An eye for an eye... I've got a jar full. "Our topic for tonight is justice. They say justice is blind--but how is she blind? Does she judge all of us equally?" The Nightcrawler paused, and then laughed softly. "No, of course not. "The blindness of justice is two-fold. There is the incarnation with all her requisite moral notions, who gladly turns a sightless eye to many mighty scoundrels, provided they cross her palms with a little something first. "And then there is the justice that dons her blindfold for those with no voice. Those who cry in silence, and dare not speak their names. "Justice is indeed... blind. She is a mercenary woman, frighteningly Nietzschian in her dealings with... mere mortals. She only comes to those who take her for themselves." "Huh," said Daniel, tilting an incredulous look up at his older brother. "I wonder what brought that on." Nick just shrugged complacently. He was having a good night, and he was not about to let the Nightcrawler spoil it. All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (2/?) Nick inhaled the wonderful smell of blood, coffee and paper, and immediately felt himself begin to relax. Tracy looked sideways at him and grinned. "I think it's impossible to come in here and not feel better." Daniel, although hungry, was gaping at the shelves upon shelves of books. They bought "coffee" from the front counter and "hot chocolate" for Daniel, and spotted three familiar figures at a back table, so they went to join Kai, Étienne and Taliesin, Étienne's son. "Good to see you better, Knight," said Tal, holding out a hand. Étienne only grunted a hello--he was deeply engrossed in a biography of Lon Chaney. Kai gave them all a small smile, but he seemed distracted by the letter in his hand. "Something wrong?" Nick asked. "No, nothing wrong. Just... deuced odd, that's all. Someone I haven't heard from in..." Kai sighed. "No matter." He folded the letter and tucked it away in the breast pocket of his jacket. Daniel gulped down his "chocolate" with more speed than hunger and raced off into the stacks. "Hmm. Nicholas, check that boy's pockets before you leave, will you?" "Is Julian back from his trip yet?" Tracy asked. "Yes. He's upstairs, resting. Trips to Black Falls are always--you'll excuse the word--draining for him, but this time especially so." "How come?" Kai mumbled something. "The what?" "The Dark Town Ball," her master repeated, and even through his carefully built shields, the four members of his Family present felt him shiver. "It's not something I care to discuss." Tracy nodded, trying to conceal her hurt at her master's harsh words. "All right, no need to bite my head off," she retorted, as cheerfully as she could manage. Kai looked up sharply, as though just realizing what he had said. His already thin lips compressed together even more. he sent. Aloud, all he said was, "Tell me, Nicholas, how are you feeling lately?" "About the same as in the past few months. I am running low on painkillers, though. I was hoping Julian could get me more." Kai's thin, brittle hand tapped rapidly on the table. Finally, he said, "Nicholas, I think it would be better if you let Natalie take over care of your health." "Excuse me?" "She is your wife, after all, and she knows your body better than anyone--in more ways than one, I might add." Nick refused to blush. "But Julian knows more about vampire physiology." "He's really not the best choice for you. If not Natalie, I do know others--" "I don't know them. I know Julian; I trust him." "You shouldn't." "You do!" "I trust him with my life. Not with anyone else's." Kai eyed his stubborn father. "But I can see that I'm wasting my breath, and I can't afford that." He sighed. "Julian won't be up to seeing patients for another few days. But perhaps I have something to tide you over until he can get you more of your poison." "Thank you," said Nick, a bit stiffly. He inhaled deeply of the scent in his mug. "Blood and coffee. The stuff here is so good. Why can't I make it at home and get it to taste right?" "Lack of practice, I guess," Tal shrugged. He actually looked a good deal like Étienne, tall and thin with coal-black hair, although he had a forelock of pure white that he kept flipping off of his forehead. "This is a gourmet coffee shop, they know what they're doing. I'll tell you this, though: if some enterprising vampire were to bottle blood and coffee together--and still get it to taste good--they would be rolling in what ever currency they preferred." Nick chuckled. He took a sip of his coffee. And choked. He gagged violently, red-brown liquid spewing across the table. Tal, who was sitting next to him, shot up from his chair and threw an arm across Nick's back, steadying him. "Oh... God..." Nick gasped, eyes tearing. "Kai, I'm sorry--" "Don't worry about it. Are you all right?" "I... think so. Yeah." Kai didn't look convinced. The other members of his Family were eyeing Nick with varying degrees of disbelief. "Let me get you that medication I told you about," Kai suggested quietly. *** "'Rivendell'?" read Natalie. "Don't tell me you've taken up drinking Elvish blood." Nick rolled his eyes. "Who would've guessed that my wife is a closet Tolkien fan?" he teased. "It's an American winery; Kai recommended it. It's been specially prepared and enhanced." "How so?" Nick paused, tonguing his left canine. "It's medicated." "Ah," said Natalie. There was an awkward silence. "Wanna test it?" Nick quipped. Natalie gave him a very pretty scowl. "Sure," but the joke fell a bit flat. Inwardly, Natalie was kicking herself. Nick was sick and she knew that the best thing to do was to be pragmatic and realistic about it. "It's so much easier to be strong and objective when Julian's not here," she confided, as they sat on the couch with his arm draped over her shoulder. "When he's gone, I have to take care of you myself." >From behind, Nick nuzzled at her earlobe. "I like the way you take care of me," he said huskily. "Are you sure you don't want this ear repierced?" "I'm sure." Natalie leaned back into his embrace. "When he's here, he's Mr. Know-It-All, Dr. Vampire, and I'm reduced to the panicking wife." "He does have that effect on people." Despite what he had told Kai, Nick's defense of Julian Gorey was based more on desperation than on actual trust. "Whenever he's got me at the clinic, I find myself asking infantile questions; sometimes I can barely string two words together. It's almost like being in his presence bludgeons you into what he considers acquiescent behavior." Natalie, considered this, and then pronounced sentence. "He's dangerous, Nick." "Yes, he is. But he's taken care of Kai." Nick refrained from mentioning that his son's condition might well be Julian's fault. "And he's the best you and I have, at the moment." All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (3/?) Trying his level best to remain unnoticed, Julian Gorey inched his way into the Raven, took a seat at the bar, and pulled his jacket up around his ears. Thanks to his precautions, he was immediately spotted. "What's your poison, stranger?" Miranda asked, poking him in the shoulder. "Please tell me you don't speak to your customers like that." Miranda eyed her old friend critically. "You look terrible," she pronounced. Julian sighed. "I believe it." "Where have you been?" "Home." "At this time of year?!" Miranda was aghast. "Julian, are you possessed?" "Joshua asked me to come home. He's still trying to find a way to make the Ball obsolete, and he asked for my help." Julian scrubbed a hand through his dark red hair. The circles under his eyes were nothing compared to the haunted expression in his deep brown gaze. "There was nothing I could do, of course. The Dark Town Ball was celebrated, as it has been since the Falls first flowed." Miranda chewed on her lower lip. It was a gruesome subject... but she had to know. "Who was it?" she asked. "Steven Tinsley." "Oh, gods... I think I need a drink." She poured something into a glass for herself and poured another for Julian. He toyed with his glass but didn't drink any of the contents. "I can't feed," he confided. "I've never been able to eat after the Ball, sometimes for weeks after. I've done nothing but sleep since I got back... Your father gave Nick a few medicinal bottles from his winery to tide him over until I can get back on my feet." "Julian, the drugs in that wine would be enough to anesthetize an elephant. Is Nicolas's condition truly that bad?" "It may be. But to tell you the truth, I've got no way of knowing. Nick's tolerance for pain is one of the highest I've ever seen. He may be an inch away from comatose from the agony of it all, but he'll just swallow it and never tell me." Julian yawned and rubbed the back of his neck. "By the way, I've got something for you." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of well-worn paper, sealed with a lump of red wax. Miranda's face lit up. "You forgot to tell him your change of address," Julian teased. "I already gave one to Kai." "I suppose that's a good sign, that he's still writing to Kai. They didn't part on the best of terms." "That does seem to be a bad habit of Kai's, doesn't it? How're the kids?" "Alexei spends most of his nights at the Eidolon. Étienne brought him back his little spaniel--actually put the dog on the payroll! He's got a heart of gold, that man." "Hmm. And Daniel?" "Still here, and fairly well-behaved. When he's not driving Lucien up the wall." They talked for a time of inconsequential things, mutual friends and the general horrid insanity of life in Black Falls, Julian nursing his drink, and Miranda all the time clutching the letter tightly in her hand. When Julian took his leave of the nightclub, her fingers finally relaxed. She signaled to Miklos and slipped upstairs to read her letter. *** Julian made his way slowly back to his home above the Corvina. He was still exhausted, but he had taken in a few drops of blood, so he was feeding after a fashion; that was a good start towards recovery. he thought as he mounted the stairs to his bedroom. "Dammit!" Notebooks and papers were strewn across his bedroom floor; his filing cabinet, bedside table and desk had all been forcibly opened and their contents spilled all over the place. And calmly sitting in the middle of the storm, thumbing casually through a notebook full of frenzied scribbling, was Kai. Julian let the door swing closed with a slam. "What the hell are you doing?" "Exercising my rights as a financial backer and property owner." Kai's eyes scanned quickly over the pages. "Oh, so because I live under your roof, that gives you the right to invade my privacy?" "That's right." Kai closed the notebook with a derisive thump. "I want you off Nicholas's case." "You want--what?" Julian tossed his jacket into a corner. "Are you mad?" "That's really not the issue here, is it?" Julian scrubbed a hand through his bone-straight red hair. "Okay," he huffed. "You can take me off your master's case if that's what you want; that's your perogative. After all, I'm pretty much your property at this point, aren't I?" Kai didn't move so much as a finger, but the air was instantly electric. "And you'll do damn well to remember that," he said quietly. He eyed the pile of journals and then laid his hand on one blue cloth-covered book. He said nothing, but Julian turned a whiter shade of pale, and swallowed. "Natalie can't treat him," he said through clenched teeth. "She doesn't have the knowledge, the training, or the experience to deal with a situation of this magnitude." "I think you'll find she's more capable than you give her credit for being. And if she can't treat him, I'll find someone who can." "Not that establishment prat--" "No, not him." Kai's snow-grey eyes froze through him. "Russell." "Russell?" Julian repeated. "Are you serious? Why--why would he help you?" he scoffed. Then he paused. "Unless he owes you a favor..." Julian raised an eyebrow. "He does not." Kai sighed. "But now I certainly owe him one." And as he walked out the door, Julian caught his arm. "You know what Russell is," he hissed. "And I can't give Nick the nerve suppressants. He won't tolerate them in his condition." "Then he will simply have to make do without them." Kai shrugged Julian off, and left him alone in the mess of papers. All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (4/?) "Nick? Nick." Tracy leaned across the desks and jabbed her partner. "Nick!" "Ungh?" Nick pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his forehead, and tried and failed to suppress a yawn. "Sorry, Trace, what?" " You're at work." Tracy's blue eyes were deeply concerned. "Nick, are you feeling okay?" Nick took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said, shrugging it off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Uh... what were we working on? Oh, the, ah, the Belarusse stuff." And he held out his hand for the report. Tracy looked closely at him. "Nick, you look exhausted." "I am a little tired. But I've been getting enough sleep." He lowered his voice a bit. "And the medications have got the headaches and the nausea pretty much under control. Tracy, I'm okay, really." But as Tracy handed over the paperwork, she noticed that Nick's left eye looked a little droopy, and that his trademark smile couldn't seem to make it up both sides of his mouth. *** Daniel Wells was bored. He flopped on his stomach on his bunk bed and kicked up his heels, and tried to decide what to do with his night. He could listen to his CD collection, or read one of the books he had brought from Paris... but he did that every night. He could go to the Eidolon to see Étienne and Lori and Tal; that was were Alexei had taken to hanging out. Daniel absently pounded his pillow. He missed his brother, but ever since they had come to live with LaCroix, the former Russian prince had become more and more distant and secretive. "Huh." He often heard LaCroix and Miranda talking, talking about him, about how they were certain it was only a matter of time before he went berserk or something, and got into all sorts of trouble. Even Étienne, who knew him better than anyone else, worried about that. But Daniel knew himself. "I might do some snooping, and get into scrapes now and again, but I'd never do anything stupid. Alexei might. He's been acting so funny lately..." Daniel shook his head vigorously. He hopped down from his bed and trotted into his "parents'" bedroom to do some of the aforementioned 'snooping.' He hummed 'Master of the House' under his breath as he rummaged fearlessly through Miranda's dresser, looking for trinkets, books, papers, jewelry, any one of the number of things that people are apt to hide between their layers of clothing. He was not a malicious boy, just insatiably curious, and as much as he liked Miranda, he really knew nothing about her. His hand closed around a thick packet of paper in the back of the top drawer, and he pulled it out. Letters, it seemed, and some of them very old. Shameless, he opened one, but as he was reading through it, he began to be confused. "Eli? Who's Eli?" Daniel felt suddenly shivery and suddenly wrong, and he closed the letter hurriedly. It would mean admitting that he had been prowling around in Miranda's belongings, but Daniel had to show these letters to his master. He shoved them into his pocket and made his way down to the club. *** LaCroix was intrigued by the letters, but not enough to make him desist from turning Daniel upside-down in mid-air and smacking his bottom hard, four times. "One for coming into the club during business hours; one for interrupting my broadcast; one for going through Miranda's things--something you will never do again and if I catch you in the act I will flay you alive; and one for being an infernal nuisance." He turned his son right-side up and set Daniel back on his feet. "Am I understood?" "Yes, sir." "And what did I tell you about calling me that?" "Not to." "Intelligent lad." LaCroix reached out and ruffled the 'child's' blond hair. "Be gone with you." With a mock salute, Daniel ran off. LaCroix shook his head, and began flipping through the letters that had down the tiny seeds of discord in the former street Arab. None of the letters were postmarked, he noted, or were even kept in envelopes. They were folded in the old way and fastened with old-fashioned sealing wax, and had been much handled. Clearly, these had been delivered through the 'Vampire Express'. So much for the exteriors. But the contents of the letters... Who was this man Eli, LaCroix wondered. A former suitor, perhaps? A quick glance at the oldest of the letters put that thought firmly out of the General's possessive mind; Miranda would have only been eight years old. And the writing seemed to indicate a man of some years. Whoever he was, he had a lot on his chest. But at least he was eloquent about it. LaCroix picked out a passage and flipped on the microphone. "'Into this forest of shadows was I born, naked and alone and unarmed. I am the hunter--and the hunted. I serve them all and yet... I answer to no man. What I do and what I am cannot be sanctioned, nor condemned, and I ask pardon of no one. "'The wind buffets me, the Beast mauls me, but I will go on, your memory at my back. And on I go. And on I go. "I crave no love, nor do I desire fear, but both am I granted, as I seek for my prize, my coveted omega. Though it be the end of me, claim it.'" LaCroix frowned thoughtfully at the sheaf of letters. "Truly, mes amis, a soul in pain." *** Tracy's shift was ending, and she was ready to leave the precinct, go home, and sleep off the boredom of paperwork and the stress of worrying about her partner and 'grandfather.' She was just shrugging on her jacket when someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Captain?" "Mind if I talk to you for a minute, Tracy?" A little apprehensive, Tracy followed Reese into his office. He closed the door and said without preamble, "Have you noticed anything with your partner?" "Umm..." "I was watching him earlier tonight. He had to walk from his desk to that file cabinet on the other wall. He's done it a million times before. But tonight, he got up--and he looked like he had to think about where he was going. And then he wobbled when he walked." "Wobbled?" "Yes, wobbled. Like he was drunk or something. Look, has he said anything to you?" "About what?" "About--I don't know. About... being sick? I tried talking to Natalie about it, but she insists that he's fine. And you know Nick; try asking him about anything personal and he'll turn that 'Knightmare' look at you." Tracy did indeed know. "He hasn't said anything about it to me. Maybe he's just been working too hard. He has been putting in more hours lately than he has in a while." Reese did not look even remotely convinced. Tracy wondered fleetingly if she should try and whammy him. But before she could try, a strong sense of disapproval flooded her bond with her master. she thought wryly. "Captain, I'm sure it's nothing. If it was anything really serious, Natalie would tell you, even if Nick wouldn't." Reese sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He pursed his lips, thinking. "Have a good night, Trace." "Night, Cap'n." *** Kai signed the letter he was writing with a slight flourish, and folded it. He held a stick of sealing wax to a lit candle and allowed a few drops of red to drip onto the fold. He sealed the letter with the battered old signet ring he had dug out of storage, wrote a name on the front, and held it out to the man standing in front of his desk. "Find him, Raiford," Kai instructed. Raiford Clay nodded, slipping the letter into an inside pocket of his coat. Then Kai held out another envelope--a thick one. Raiford took this as well, and tucked it away into a different pocket. "Find him quickly. We're running out of time." All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (5/?) When Natalie went into work a few nights later, she found Julian dissecting a corpse with mechanical, jerky movements. "Evening, Julian," she tried. He didn't answer. Grace caught Natalie's eye. "Beats me," she shrugged. He was like that all night. she thought towards the end of their shift. Natalie put down her pen and moved to stand beside him. "Julian, does this have something to do with Nick?" Julian growled, and with a flick of his wrist, sent his surgical knife flying. It hit the wall and embedded itself two inches into the plaster. "Kai has... removed me from your husband's medical case," he said deliberately. "He doesn't think I have the knowledge to deal with a brain tumor." And he pounded his thigh. Though she would never tell him so, inwardly, Natalie breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's um... I'm sorry." "Don't be. Even if I'm massively insulted by the whole thing, Kai's right in saying that I'm not experienced in this area. Nick needs to be treated by someone who's actually dealt with vampiric brain tumors before--well," he amended. "With vampiric tumors, at least." "Then... what's the problem?" Julian licked his lips nervously. "Give me a lift home," he offered. "And I'll tell you on the way." "I'm listening," Natalie prodded as she drove. "His name is Jonathan Russell," Julian said slowly. "He's about three hundred and fifty--originally British, I think..." "And he's qualified?" "Oh, yeah. Very qualified. It's just--" Natalie was getting annoyed. " Julian?" "Russell is a lilim." A shiver shot down Natalie's spine at the sound of the word, but for a moment, she was at a loss to know why. "Kai told us about them once," she remembered. "The sons of Lilith." "Right. Russell is from that bloodline, the same as Sperling and Garek." Julian's lip curled minutely. "They're not that bad... just most of them." He massaged his forehead with the tips of his fingers. "A lilim will make a mortal feel extremely uneasy, but for one of us--for a vampire from any other bloodline--it's like putting a string of firecrackers under our skin, just to be near one. And Russell is... well..." Natalie pulled up to the curb outside the Corvina. Julian got out, walked around the car, and leaned in the driver's side window. "He'll be here in a day or two. Bring Nick by on Saturday so he can get the once-over." He thought for a moment. "LaCroix can be a bit of a bastard at times," he said, the apparent change of subject catching Natalie off-guard. "But for all his Roman stubbornness and vanities and indulgences, he's not cold. No matter what he says, it's not immortality that makes a vampire's heart cold. How can we be cold, when we are ruled by our passions? Except Russell. He'll smother you with his superiority and nail your butt to the wall with a look--and then go back to whatever he was doing." Julian nodded his thanks for the ride, and went inside. Natalie sat for a moment with her car idling before she put the vehicle in gear and drove the rest of the way home. *** Kai noted Julian's return absently, saw out of the corner of his eye that his doctor and... friend... lingered on the threshold of the living room where Kai sat for a moment before continuing on to his own bedroom, but he made no attempt to turn round and confront him. Instead, Kai sat silently in his favorite leather chair in front of the fireplace. "There is something timeless about staring into a fire," he murmured to Tracy, who was seated at his feet. "Perhaps that is why so many vampires adore it so... Even though we fear it. We have no need of the flames to light our way, nor cook our food nor eat our flesh. Yet wherever we go, we always take fire with us." There was something else he felt needed to be said on the subject, but for some reason the proper words would not come to mind. Tracy's voice startled him out of his reverie. "Fire took animals and turned them into humans. Maybe it keeps vampires from becoming animals again." She looked up at her master, whose snow-grey eyes were gazing at her with such a strange expression that for a moment she thought she had said something profoundly stupid. Then his thin lips smiled. "Exactly." He reached out and laid his slight, brittle hand on her bright yellow hair and stroked it fondly. "It might be better for you to stay away from here for a few days." Tracy's face fell. "I'm going to have a... rather objectionable guest, and I don't think his company would be... pleasant to you." "Who?" Kai's fingers worked methodically against her scalp. "A doctor. Vampire doctors are rare enough in this world, let alone vampire doctors who specialize in treating vampires. This fellow Russell is one of the best. Only--" His touch was becoming increasingly agitated, and it was all Tracy could do not to squirm. "Those of the general vampire population who are also members of the medical profession are not always the most... ah..." He searched for a delicate word. "They are not always the most 'scrupulous' of individuals. Which is why I am willing to deal with someone like Jonathan Russell. He is someone I hope will have just enough morals for our purposes." His long fingers stilled. Then he drew Tracy forward and kissed the crown of her head. His lips lingered there for a protracted moment. Kai got up so abruptly Tracy's forehead hit the cushion of the chair. "Go home, child. Get some rest. I very much fear that the next several weeks are going to be trying to us all, and we shall all need a great deal of rest." At the longing emphasis Kai put on that last word, 'rest,' Tracy's already chill blood ran cold. All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (6/?) Alexei returned from the Eidolon just a half-hour short of sunrise. LaCroix would probably reprimand him for cutting his time so close... best to just confront the Old General and get it out of the way. He hung up his jacket in the hall closet and went to find his master. LaCroix would never take the place of the father he had lost, but he was a decent fellow in his own way, and highly interesting. They shared a love of military matters and had been known to spend hours conversing on the subject. He was hoping that after LaCroix was done scolding him, they could talk about the Persian, Xerxes, and his attempted invasion of Greece. Étienne had mentioned it to Alexei only recently, but couldn't tell him all that much about it. Miranda was at the kitchen table, studying chemistry. "Still at it?" he asked. "Still at it," she replied ruefully, not looking up from her book. "How's your dog?" The Russian boy-vampire brushed his hair out of his eyes and grinned. "Joy's fine. Where's LaCroix?" "In the bedroom," and Miranda motioned absently with her pencil. Alexei walked down the hallway to his 'parent's' bedroom. "LaCroix?" he called softly. "I'm here, Alexei." Alexei closed the door behind him and stood in his master's presence. LaCroix was seated at his desk, and papers were spilled everywhere. "Something, mon fils?" "I was late getting home." LaCroix raised a dark eyebrow. He glanced over at the clock. "So you were." Alexei had the sudden sneaking suspicion that his master had lost track of the time. "Where you seen?" "No, sir." "Did you kill anyone? Steal anything?" "No, sir." "Are you planning on asking me if you can keep whatever you may have brought home?" Alexei fought down a grin. "No, sir." "Then I don't see that there is a problem. Now go to bed. And stop calling me sir!" "Yes, LaCroix." "Alexei." Alexei stopped in his tracks and waited expectantly. "Has Miranda ever mentioned anyone by the name of 'Eli,' or perhaps 'Elijah,' to you?" "No," replied Alexei after a moment of thought. "No, never." "Ah." LaCroix's pale forehead was furrowed in thought. Then he seemed to shrug it off. "Good day, Alexei." *** Nick pulled the Caddy to a stop in front of the Corvina. His hands refused to unclench from around the steering wheel. Natalie put her hand on his arm. He could not meet her eyes, but she knew what he was feeling, and thinking. All she could do for him at this point was to convey support and love, and give him a few more minutes. At last, slowly, Nick turned off the car, unbuckled, and got out of the car. Natalie quickly came around the front of the car. Nick took her arm, and together, they walked into the coffee shop. The tables were all full with caffeine addicts and bookaholics, so Nick had to walk the gauntlet of stares from the front door to the counter. There was a strange girl behind the counter, not Rebecca, and Nick wondered briefly what had happened to her. "I'm here to see Kai," he said quietly. "I'm--" "Family," she finished. Her pronunciation left no doubt as to the capital 'F'. Nick glanced at Natalie, surprised. "Yes," he said. "How did you--?" "You the reason why that creepy English guy is hiding upstairs?" She shook her curly brown head in disgust. "Hey, listen, get better fast, okay? The sooner you do, the sooner he can get the hell out of here." A little bemused, Nick and Natalie made their way up the stairs behind the counter, past the landing leading to Kai's apartment, and up a second flight of stairs to the clinic. Natalie watched her husband chewing on his lower lip before he could muster up the courage to push the door open. It was the waiting room that they stepped into, and Kai was waiting for them there. He shoved a piece of paper into his pocket as he stood up to meet them; it seemed to Nick's eyes that it was the same letter he had been reading in the Corvina a few nights before. His black jacket and trousers stood out starkly against the soft white of the waiting room. Natalie shivered; black on Nick looked dashing, and on LaCroix it looked menacing and dangerous. But on Kai's wasted frame, black clothes made him look more like an undertaker, or even the corpse. "I didn't want you to meet Russell for the first time by yourselves," he explained. "He is... rather bracing." "Ah. Well, um... who's the new girl?" "Behind the counter? Oh, that's Nire," he answered airily. "Interesting girl, loves Cadbury Cream Eggs. Knows all about vampires. Fits in perfectly." "What happened to Rebecca?" "We had a conflict of interests," Kai said, shrugging. "I sent her on to greener pastures." He raised a pale eyebrow at the couple to be certain they understood each other, and Natalie was abruptly reminded that this quiet, intense, young-looking man was a vampire. He smiled sadly. "I do tend to have that effect on people," he said apologetically. "Even on those who know me well." That was something else Natalie tended to forget about Kai, she reflected as she and Nick followed him slowly into the clinic proper. That he had been born with powerful mental abilities that being brought across had only amplified. Kai knocked on the closed door of a room neither Nick nor Natalie had ever been in; Julian tended to conduct his business in the oversized space at the back of the building, that doubled as both examining room and office, and where he kept his desk and all his papers. "Russell?" Kai called. "They're here." "Well, then send them in, if you're finished dawdling, Thorn, so we can get on with this." The voice was a high, clipped tenor with an educated British accent, and brooked no argument. Nick glanced at Natalie, who nodded encouragingly, and at Kai, who returned his look steadily. Then he grasped the doorknob firmly, turned it, and went in. Nick had a brief impression of dark hair and cold eyes before twin lines of heat seared their way down the left side of his face and blinded him. He felt two pairs of hands grab his arms and guide him to a chair. Someone sighed. "I told you this would happen," said the British voice impersonally. "Natalie," Kai said, "move." Nick felt Kai's thin, brittle hands on his face, the talon-like fingers griping his cheekbones, probing his temples, stroking his clenched eyelids. "Listen to me, Nicholas," said Kai's light baritone in a soothing, hypnotic whisper. "You must subdue this pain. You have to ignore it. Russell can do nothing for you, otherwise. Do you understand?" "Yes," Nick whispered. "Yes, I understand." "Good man." Gently, Kai traced his fingers down Nick's scars, bleeding away the pain. "Now. Open your eyes. Slowly, slowly. That's it." Nick looked steadily into Kai's clear grey eyes. The mysterious pain was still there, but only as a dull, throbbing presence in the back of his consciousness. "If you're finished coddling him, Thorn, may we get on with it?" Nick looked past Kai to the short, black-haired doctor--this lilim whose hands he was about to put his life into. "Dr. Jonathan Russell, I presume." "And you are Nicholas de Brabant Knight, whose foolhardy search for mortality has caused the rarest of vampiric ailments and brought you to the brink of true death." Russell smiled, but there was neither humor nor compassion nor even friendliness in the expression. "I am overjoyed to make your acquaintance." He patted the examining table. "If you would come and sit here, please." All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (7/?) Julian scribbled petulantly into his notebook. "Kicked out of my own clinic," he muttered, highlighting a synapse in Nick's brain. A stack of drawings lay next to him on the bed, all of them of various layers of Nick's brain, culled from the scans Julian had done with his own mind and eyes; the vampire version of magnetic resonance imaging. He hated the very idea of Russell, but the lilim did not have the ability to scan inside bodies as Julian did--to his own knowledge, only he had that ability--and unless Julian coughed up what he knew, Kai would get rather... annoyed. There was a cold chill on the back of Julian's neck. Julian jumped. His papers went all over his bed and the floor. "Son of a..." "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," he swore, getting down on his knees to pick up his drawings. "Whoever you are, cut that out!" He reached for a drawing. A black-booted foot stepped down on the paper. And two of Julian's fingers. "Odd," said a mildly forceful voice. "You don't seem to mind so much when Nikaila invades your mind." Julian looked up. An Enforcer was standing on his hand. A tall, dark-haired, Enforcer, wrapped in a long black coat. Julian swallowed a scream. "You're not Kai. And I'm a citizen of Black Falls, U.S.A; the Enforcers have no jurisdiction there." "In case you hadn't noticed, infant, we are not in Black Falls." He tried again. "I'm under Kai's protection." The Enforcer bared his fangs at the name, and Julian felt his heart start and begin to race--until he realized that the ancient one was smiling. "So he's told me. Many times. You don't know how lucky you are to have such a protector." "I'm lucky," said Julian shortly, keeping his voice as steady as possible. It really would not do to pass out... "Now, if you don't mind... Would you please get off Nick's brain?" The Enforcer raised an eyebrow, but removed his foot. Julian awkwardly gathered up his papers with one hand and threw them onto the bed. Fumbling, he pulled a bottle from his mini-fridge, bit out the cork, and drank the contents down. He sighed in relief as his broken fingers knitted themselves back together. All the while, the Enforcer looked on, his sulfurous eyes following Julian's every move. "My name is Tenebres Tel-Amarna." Julian's face was neutral, but the Enforcer was satisfied that his name was not recognized. "It is fortunate for you that I do know Kai very well. Otherwise, you would not be permitted to speak to me in that manner." "I doubt I'd be able to speak at all..." "True enough. However, my age provides me with certain... leeway of character." "Yeah, you're just a ray of moonshine. Y'know, for an Enforcer, you're a lot more talkative than I thought you would be. I thought you were all 'walk softly and carry a big stake.' And aren't you supposed to have your own language of grunts and growls? I didn't know any of you could even articulate." Tenebres eyed him blandly. "I'm here because I'd appreciate your help with a certain matter, but I certainly don't need you badly." "I, ah... I can help you?" "Yes, Dr. Gorey, I think you can." Tenebres pulled a single sheet of paper from inside his coat. "David Mankowitz. You attended on him in his last hours." "I took care of Manx," Julian confirmed warily, "yes. Although," he hastened to say, "there wasn't much that I could do for him at that point. He was too badly hurt." "I am not accusing you of anything--yet. Did you dispose of his body?" Julian didn't answer right away. A growl entered Tenebres's voice. "Did you?" "No. It's--He's--I put him in cold storage." Tenebres nodded at his piece of paper as though he had just had a suspicion verified, but to Julian's immense relief, he did not ask for reasons. "Why--er... why?" Tenebres handed him the paper. Julian scanned it. "" "Manx was one of my best agents. He was carrying vital information at the time of his death and I need to know what it was." "And you think I can--what? Extract it from him? He's been dead for two months now." "Do whatever you have to. Get it from his blood or his brain, I don't care. Just get it." "What am I looking for?" Tenebres took a step towards him. One step. Julian took a step back. "Just it." His tone of voice made it very clear that Kai's protection would not count for very much otherwise. "Yes, sir." Tenebres's answering smile was very pointy, and not especially friendly, and Julian felt a sudden impulse to get out of the room immediately. *** "Have you experienced unusual bouts of vomiting?" Dr. Jonathan Russell was pacing up and down the small examining room, bombarding Nick with questions, and Natalie and Kai, who had refused to leave, were doing their best to stay out from underfoot. "Yes." "Headache?" "Yes." "At the same time? Just after awakening and lessening as the night wears on?" "Yes." "Have you had difficulty in swallowing?" "Yes." "Have you experienced abnormal drowsiness?" "Yes?" "Clumsy or uncoordinated movement?" "I..." Nick hesitated. Russell turned to Natalie and repeated the question. "He's had some trouble walking, yes," Natalie said, resenting being addressed like a brain-damaged three-year-old. Kai touched her wrist reassuringly. Russell nodded. He stepped up to the examining table, and studied Nick's face minutely. Under the scrutiny of those cold, dark eyes, Nick squirmed and looked away. The doctor's hand shot out and grasped his chin. "Hold still," he ordered. Nick began to tremble. Kai sat up. "Russell." "Oh, fine." He let go. Russell picked up a clipboard. "Ataxic gait," he muttered to himself, writing. "Hemiparesis... dysphagia..." "I speak medical," Nick muttered, "but not that much." Natalie felt her hopes rise. If he could keep his sense of humor... She translated for him, "Clumsy walk, one-sided muscle weakness and difficulty in swallowing." Then she and Kai watched in silence as Russell put Nick through a battery of tests. He tested his eye movement, pupil reaction, hearing, reflexes, balance and coordination, senses of touch and smell. He made Nick smile and grimace and move his head, and checked his gag reflex. "I am going to recite a list of ten objects to you," Russell instructed. "I want you to listen and when I'm finished, repeat them back to me. Understand?" Nick could not remember three of the objects Russell named. And Russell asked him questions, random, abstract questions. "What is the current date and time?" "What is the name of the Prime Minister?" "What is the meaning of 'a stitch in time saves nine?'" Russell wrote down all Nick's reactions and answers meticulously. "Are you currently on any medication?" "Quadrocaine. And some medicinal bloodwine." "Quadrocaine. That is a very strong compound, unheard of outside our medical community. Did Dr. Gorey prescribe that?" Nick nodded. "But I'm all out of it." Russell arched an eyebrow at him. "Detective Knight, if that is a hint for me to give you more..." Nick shut up. The doctor continued to watch at him, his bottomless eyes probing. A knock on the door broke their staring contest. "I'm finished for now. Well? Get down, get down. Yes?" The door opened wide enough to allow in a hand clutching a sheaf of papers. "That's everything," said Julian's voice. "Oh, and you've got some visitors out here. Kai'll know them, and Nick, too, I think." All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (8/?) With one sudden motion, LaCroix in his booth and Miranda behind the bar both bolted for the stairs. Alexei and Daniel were in the apartment--and they had just screamed in wordless panic. Being the vampire of the pair, LaCroix made it upstairs first. The two boys were huddled together on the couch, and the dark-coated intruder was standing over them. LaCroix snarled a warning, preparing to defend his children, and then the man turned. LaCroix gasped. "You!" "Good evening, Lucius," said Tenebres. The boys took advantage of the lull to run to their master's side. He put his hands protectively on their shoulders. "What do you want?" "Tenebres!" Miranda pushed her way past LaCroix. The Enforcer's dour expression actually lightened. "Miranda," he said politely. "A joy, as always." She ran a hand through her blond hair, thoroughly perplexed. "What are you doing here?" "I have a nephew who lives in this area, so I just thought I'd drop in." "Wait, wait." LaCroix stared at his wife. "You him?" " know him?" LaCroix grumbled wrathfully. "He's been twisting my arm for the past fifteen hundred years. He used to be an officer of the Enforcer's so-called 'Youth Welfare Division,' before he found his true calling as a master of Hunters. But he likes to make certain I'm treating my fledglings well. But how do you know him?" Tenebres chuckled. "Lucius, I've known your mate since she was six years old." Miranda looked distinctly uncomfortable. "My father used to... do some work for him. Before he became too ill." LaCroix considered his wife carefully. "Alexei, Daniel. Go down to the club. Tell Miklos to give you each a glass--uncut only, mind!--and then go down to the basement. Find an empty room and stay there until I come for you." Alexei nodded and ran off, glad to get away from the forbidding Enforcer, but Daniel clung to LaCroix's hand for a moment before following. The Enforcer gave the parting Daniel a sharp, appraising glance. "I give him perhaps another six months, Lucius. You would be wise to prepare yourself." "Yes," said LaCroix carefully. "I have been. He is the worry of us both. And of Étienne," he added, "who had care of him." "Oh, yes, I know of Étienne," Tenebres replied. He did not seem to be a great believer in emphatic gestures, and stood still and straight as a ramrod in the middle of the living room, his hands tucked behind his back. But he followed LaCroix with his eyes. "But of the two, Daniel should not be your chief concern." LaCroix was clearly confused. "Did you really think that Étienne would have told Alexei how his family died?" "He knows how they died. He was there!" "But does he know who was responsible?" LaCroix and Miranda were silent. LaCroix, for his part, was remembering. <> <> "Tread with caution, Lucius, where the Romanov boy is concerned. A great deal of caution. His wounds are deep." "I will do as you say," said LaCroix with thinly disguised ingratitude. His eyes narrowed. "Tell me. What kind of 'work' would St. Kai have done for the Division of Tracking and Control?" "Nikaila was one of the best trainers I have ever employed," replied Tenebres brusquely. "My Bloodhounds would not be what they are without him." He moved for the first time; with an unadorned swiftness, Tenebres seated himself on the couch. He crossed one leg over the other and steepled his fingers before his lips. LaCroix was too agitated to notice, but Miranda was struck by the familiarity of the gesture. "And now. On to the business at hand. Nicholas." "What of him?" "He is dying." "I am aware of that." "I was surprised when your father contacted the lilim," Tenebres commented, addressing Miranda. "Knowing as I do his... aversion to their breed." Miranda answered with a slight tilt of her head. "The ends do justify the means, I suppose. Does Kai trust him?" "His morals, what he has of them, yes. But the man himself? I don't think so, no." "Has he seen aught of the man's intentions?" "He sees nothing anymore. Not since Lake Champlain." Tenebres grunted. "And that has been a great loss to me, I can assure you." "But I believe he... suspects. He plans not to allow Russell to examine Nicolas outside of his presence." The Enforcer nodded. "That tallies with my own instincts." He smiled his tight, tooth-baring grin. "Which is fortunate. Kai will give no objections to my precautions." "'Precautions'?" LaCroix repeated, mildly alarmed. "I've assigned two bodyguards to keep a very close eye on both Russell and your son. Ease your minds, Lucius, Miranda. I chose one of my best single agents for this assignment, and one of my most promising students. Russell will not be allowed to harm Nicholas." "Kai might not mind, but I think Nicolas might have some objections..." Miranda began. "Perhaps. And perhaps not. These two are known to him, after all." *** Nick walked into the waiting room, and for a minute or two, he didn't know who he was looking at. He heard Natalie swear under her breath, but all he saw were two people sitting in the somewhat comfortable seats, a young dark woman and an older, grey-haired man, both dressed in dark, non-descript clothing. The gentleman had a cloth cap resting on his knee, and was reading what looked like a comic book. 'X-Men,' Nick thought. "Hello?" The gentleman looked up. "Ah, Detective Knight," he said in a brisk Irish brogue. "'Tis a pleasure to see you again." Nick could have kicked himself in the head. "O'Neal." All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (9/?) "Miranda, will you give us a moment? I would speak with Lucius. Privately." Miranda went down to the basement to see to the Prince and the Pauper. LaCroix took a deep draught of bloodwine, and grimaced. With any other Enforcer, his knees-- knees--would have been reduced to jelly. But this was only Tenebres, after all. "So much for destiny." "You seem very sure of yourself to throw that word back in my face." "I've found that people who are fond of my wife generally leave me alone for her sake. It's quite convenient." "I'll bet." Tenebres contemplated the younger man over the tips of his fingers. "Destiny, Lucius, is all well and good, but fate does not always attend to itself." "That is what you told me," LaCroix pointed out. "There have been numerous occasions throughout the years when I think your promise was the only thing that kept me from hanging, drawing and quartering my pig-headed fledgling." "Perhaps in the beginning... but I strongly suspect that it was your own feelings for the pup that ultimately kept him safe. He is a light in the darkness, that one." "Why?" asked LaCroix suddenly. His ice-blue eyes fastened on Tenebres with a suspicion unnatural even to him. "Why is it that everyone believes Nicholas to be some sort of vampire messiah or some such rubbish? You've been telling me since that he was special, that it was fate that I should bring him across, that if I ever let anything happen to him, I would be the one with a tree through my chest." "Insolent brat!" snarled the Enforcer. "I have told you before: you and he share a destiny, and it must be both of you that survive or neither." "Then why has fate allowed Nicholas to be afflicted in this way? He has survived Hunters and the Fever and his own idiocy and--" "And you." "--and me!" "One would almost think you cared for him." LaCroix stopped short. "That," he said quietly, after a pregnant pause, "was unnecessary." Tenebres sat up slightly. "All I have ever asked of you, Lucius, was that you trust in me. And you have. Now," he warned, "I am asking you not to betray my trust in you. This conversation must be mentioned to no one, not even Miranda. I know for certain that you and yours hold the key to something grand for our people. This is especially true of Nicholas. But very few of my colleagues share this opinion. The mere fact that you are Divia's child should have guaranteed your death centuries ago. I have stood before both the Councils for you and your children--and believe me, it's cost me many a promotion over the years." "You have done--for me? What things?" "More than you can possibly conceive of," returned Tenebres, rising from his seat and advancing on LaCroix. "Everything you have done for Nicholas, I have done for you ten thousand times over. Because you and Nicholas and your are. Our. Future. I have no great love for you, Lucius son of Marcus, child of Divia. I think you are vain, and caustic, and indulgent and cruel. But I believe in you." "Then I thank you," returned LaCroix after a tight moment. "Considering that the first time we encountered each other, you were planning to kill me, that is an intriguing attitude." Tenebres ignored him in favor of changing the subject. "Think not that fate is punishing Nicholas. Think rather that he is being purged of the last remnants of his mortal flesh. He developed this affliction as a mortal, you will recall. His dalliances with science only reactivated them. Russell is a brilliant--if untrustworthy--scientist, and I have no doubt that with his efforts, and a little more time and patience, your golden Nicholas will recover." He rose with customary swiftness and was gone. A few seconds passed. Then, without the rush of air common to other vampires' comings and goings, he was back. "One more thing." "Never have I been so glad not to have a beating heart." " to me," Tenebres growled, knocking the glass from LaCroix's lips. "You've been rummaging around in Miranda's papers--" "How on--" "And it's got to stop. Right now. You have no right to be reading those letters. Her relationship with Eli is her business." "You--you know who he is?" Tenebres didn't answer; he only glared at LaCroix. "Who is this man, Eli?" "Haven't you asked her?" "No, I--" "Then her, boy. She may tell you, she may not, but I will tell you, her anger at your prying will be nothing compared to her fury if she finds out from any source other than your lips. I know her of old, Lucius--she is not to be trifled with." LaCroix remembered Teal Ramsey, and closed his mouth. All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (10/?) O'Neal set aside his comic book and stood, holding out his hand to Nick, but Nick was too surprised to respond. O'Neal raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and instead shook Natalie's hand. "I know I told yeh I hoped we'd never meet again," he said by way of greeting. "But for once, I'm pleased to see my hopes haven't come to pass." He passed his eyes over her and smiled. "Ah, yeh've not changed a bit. Still lovely as ever." "You can skip the Irish charm, O'Neal," retorted Natalie, smiling in spite of herself. "I'm still immune." "Bad luck for me, then. Oh," he said, gesturing to his companion, "I think yeh'll remember Detective Helman." "Just 'Bridget,'" she corrected him, giving him a bit of a glare. "I've given up the 'detective.' She offered her hand as well, but Natalie hesitated. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Natalie asked uncertainly. Bridget rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I get that a lot." She smiled just enough to expose a bit of sharp white fang. O'Neal chuckled. "That's become a bit of a fireside joke in our crowd." "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Liam, but: What are you doing here?" Kai asked. "Tenebres sent us." "Ah." Nick, waking up, recognized the name. "The Enforcer?" "The same." O'Neal sighed. "And when the Enforcer in charge of Tracking and Control gives yeh a direct order, believe me, yeh . I speak from experience," he added, making a sour face. Nick actually blanched. He took Natalie by the shoulders and moved them several steps away. "You're a Bloodhound?" he whispered. "No, I'm a Hunter," corrected O'Neal. "And not even a very well-respected one." "Bloodhound?" Natalie asked, trying to get out of Nick's tight grip. "They're a specially trained group of Hunters. The best the Enforcers have. They're--" "And you work for the Enforcers?" O'Neal sighed. Kai and Bridget gave him sympathetic smiles; they knew how many times he'd gone through this. O'Neal began to recite a short autobiography for the benefit of those who hadn't heard it yet. "They tracked me down when I was about twenty-two. Gave me a choice, if yeh can call it that. Said they could either kill me and have done with it, or they could bring me across, train me up a bit and turn me loose--in which case I'd probably be dead in a year anyway. Or, I could go and work for them. I could keep my identity and most of my autonomy, provided that I do things the way I was told they were to be done. I didn't much care for the idea of dyin' just yet. And what little vampire there was in me gave me a powerful need to hunt . So I went to work for them." "And it was all fine," Kai interjected. O'Neal was looking decidedly uncomfortable, so Kai took over the telling. "Until the Ripper came to town. The story I got when I took over Liam's 'case'--" He grinned sardonically. "--was that Chief Inspector O'Neal's... well, the _expression Tenebres used was that 'his blood overwhelmed his brain,' blood being a good euphemism for another vital bodily component. "When Tenebres got word that the Ripper--they never referred to him as 'The Barber'--when he heard that the Ripper was in Toronto, he sent O'Neal here, who is one of his best single-operating agents, to take care of it. His instructions were to make contact with two vampires and gain their assistance in tracking down and killing the Ripper. One was the leader of the local Community. The other was a man masquerading--Tenebres's word!--as a homicide detective. But for his own reasons, Liam decided not to follow his order." He broke off. "I take it Tenebres wasn't too pleased?" "Not too pleased a'tall," Liam groaned. "I'm still missin' a few chucks out of meself here and there. And," he added, "I did make the attempt to bring Nick into the loop. But... Well, God, he was so slow on the uptake! I kept givin' him hints, he kept ignorin' them--I was sure my information was faulty. I thought Tenebres had sent me to the wrong man. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past him." *** When LaCroix reentered the dark, pulsing crush of the Raven, Miranda was on the other side of the club, by the front door. The bar was fun, but sometimes she did enjoy a change of pace, and working with the bouncers was generally a good substitute. He watched her for several moments, ignoring the dancing bodies that surrounded him. And he wondered what was so direly important about that packet of letters from 'Eli' to his wife that would make a high-ranking Enforcer take notice. As the tone of the music changed, his train of thought drifted from the letters to his own... destiny... and what was so important about himself and his disturbed golden child that the same Enforcer would take so much trouble over them? *** "So you're my bodyguards. So... you two are going to be hanging on me every moment?" "Don't worry, Nick, you'll still have your privacy," Bridget assured him. "All we're supposed to do is make sure Dr. Russell doesn't do anymore than he was hired to do. Oh, and I'm going to be following you to and from work and to the scenes of any homicides that you may be called out to." Nick was indignant. "Is that really necessary?" he implored his fledgling. "Do I have to put them up in the guest room, too?" But Kai could only shrug. "They'll stay in the dormitory during the day. Look, I had nothing to do with this. Tenebres ordered them here and here they will stay. It is out of my hands, Nicholas." Nick grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. "Kai," he hissed softly, low enough that only Kai would be able to hear, "how am I supposed to trust them? I know what O'Neal is. And Bridget, she's--!" "I know what they are, Nicholas. I've worked for Tenebres. I worked with them both." Struggling to put his feelings into words--never one of his strong points--Nick chose to save that startling information for another night. "Tenebres was at the wedding. I saw him--just a glimpse--but he made me... He made me feel the same way that Russell does." "I know. He's old enough to have that effect on a lot of people. But that's not why he causes you pain." Kai drew Nick even further into their corner and offered Nick his hand. When Nick hesitated, "Don't worry," he assured his master, "you'll only see what I want you to see." So Nick bit down, and drank a few swallows of his fledgling's blood--and was nearly floored by what he saw. "You be serious!" "LaCroix doesn't know," Kai said seriously, "and Tenebres doesn't want him to know. It could make things far more complicated for him with his colleagues in the Councils. But I trust him. And I trust those two out there." "How far?" Kai shot them a glance. "Bridget, I don't know well. But Liam? Nicholas, when I was working with Liam, Miranda was with me. If I could trust him with her, I can certainly trust him with you." *** Nick rubbed fretfully at his temple. Four days of this... He knew Bridget was somewhere in the building, on the roof or at a window, watching his every move. His head hurt. The holy water was no longer making any kind of difference. And every night he went to Russell, and every night the lilim still refused to give him any kind of medication. 'I can't give you anything until I know exactly what's wrong with you.' The only thing Nick could do in the meantime was take Kai's advice and simply try to ignore the pain. Someone touched his shoulder. "What?" Nick groaned impatiently. Bleary-eyed, he looked up at his captain. "You okay?" "I wish to God people would stop asking me that. I'm getting my work done, I'm doing a good job--what more do you want?!" The office went quiet. "Christ, Captain, I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry," he said for the third time. "Please don't bust me down to traffic," he added, smiling placatingly. Reese glared at his star detective. "Maybe later," he grumbled, eyeing Nick keenly. "Your partner wants you in interrogation." "What for?" "Nick, she brought in Belarusse an hour ago." "Oh..." Nick had a vague memory of Tracy mentioning that their suspect had been captured. "Right. Thanks, Cap'n." Reese watched him go. "Okay, my foot..." All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (11/?) "One of the advantages to having vampires for patients is the fact that biopsies become almost obsolete." Natalie was in the clinic again, this time without Nick, to await his final diagnosis. Kai waited with her. "In the same manner that Dr. Gorey has the ability to act like a walking MRI, I can tell from merely sampling his blood what the state of your husband's tumor is." Russell pulled a vial out of his pocket; it had been labeled in Julian's handwriting. "Detective Knight is suffering from severe brain stem glioma. A malignant tumor," he added unnecessarily. "According to Dr. Gorey's brain scans, the tumor has invaded almost the entire brain stem, including the reticular formation, the midbrain, the pons region and the medulla oblongata, and has compromised cranial nerves five through twelve." To Natalie, it was like the doctor was speaking through a long, hollow tube, or through a thick layer of cotton. Far away, unable to reach her ears accurately. "Do you recommend chemotherapy, or radiation? If I remember correctly, that kind of tumor isn't operable." "Most brain stem tumors are inoperable," Russell confirmed. Then he added, "In mortals. But because of vampiric regeneration, surgery in this case is a very viable option." "But the damage to the brain stem--" "Will repair itself." Russell's smile was condescending. "We need our brains as much as any mortal. But the focus of the vampire nervous system is the heart. As long as that is intact, we can survive almost anything." He turned away from her, rearranging his paperwork. "Let me know when Detective Knight wishes to go under the knife. Anytime within the next two months, although I strongly recommend as soon as possible. He has an incredibly high tolerance for pain, the highest I've ever encountered, but it's an ability I don't want to strain. Besides, the sooner he does, the sooner we can absolve ourselves of one another's company." Kai touched her shoulder. "Natalie," he said quietly, "why don't you go downstairs and hide in the stacks for a while? I'll join you soon." He watched her go, and then glared at the lilim. "You have no tact." *** LaCroix sat silently in his booth, staring at the broadcast equipment. Miklos couldn't see him, of course, not through the one-way mirror, but he knew he was there. And he'd worked for this Family long enough to know when his employer was in an off-kilter mood. "What's wrong with your husband?" he asked Miranda in his deep, accented voice. The beautiful blond mortal mixed a drink, shoved it to her customer, and shrugged. "Miklos, old man, I've stopped asking. It's something different every night." The dark vampire grinned. "Nick again?" Miranda's face was solemn. "Partly. But I don't think that's the problem tonight." *** Miranda had no way of knowing, since LaCroix had blocked his bond with her, but she was right. It was not Nick on the ancient Roman's mind. It was Tenebres. The idea that the all-seeing eye over his shoulder had exerted any kind of influence in his favor... rankled him. He was fiercely proud of the fact that he had survived nearly two thousand years without a master and without assistance from anyone except those whom he had occasionally asked it of. Winter... Vincent... Shosha... Shosha had been there the first time they had encountered each other. She would not forget that first meeting, he was certain. No more than he would... @}----- Scandinavia: 479 A.D. Lucius stormed back into the longhouse, half-blinded by rage and disappointment. How he this infernal country and its stupid, savage inhabitants! "It is done," he snarled to his sister, dropping his fur cloak on the dirt floor of the longhouse. She was sitting by the fire, and appeared to have company, so he did not elaborate. He had no real need to tell her--she was his constant companion and had free access to his mind. Shosha gifted him with a nod and a mental admonishment to be quiet. There was a note of fear in her broadcast--something Lucius had not felt from his sister since their master had died. He approached her, and the visitor stood up. He was a tall man, and broad-shouldered, handsome enough, and with hair of a medium brown, and eyes that might have been the same color had they not been glowing saffron. But it was his expression that froze Lucius in his tracks: haughty, cold, accustomed to being obeyed. Years rippled off the vampire like a waterfall, his dark garb mingled his body with the shadows, and when he opened his mouth, what came out was not speech, but a reverberating and convoluted growl. The figure took a long stake from inside his cloak. "Enforcer..." Lucius whispered, momentarily petrified. "You would kill me for that?" he sneered, his courage returning. "Perhaps I was not adequately instructed in the ways of the Code." "My master died when I was but twenty." The Enforcer snarled, his nostrils flaring. There were no words to his emission, but the message was clear enough: no excuse. Lucius was about to die. He braced himself, either to withstand the pain of the stake without screaming or to fly for his life. "Divia," said Lucius, with no little difficulty. To his surprise, the stake was lowered a fraction. "Thorald was... wild, unpredictable. He was a native of this country," Lucius added, thinking that this explanation would be enough. But the Enforcer waited for more. "I could not take care of him properly," Lucius finally admitted. "And he would not hear of being given to another master. He loved me," he finished quietly. But he put the stake back under his cloak. He was by Lucius's side with frightening, unadorned swiftness, his long, brutal fangs hovering dangerously close to the carotid artery. "Who are you?" Lucius managed to ask. "I am Tenebres Tel-Amarna," rumbled the Enforcer, speaking aloud for the first time. His harsh voice was enough to make Lucius wish the man had stayed silent. "One thousand years old, Lucius, before you try again. And believe me: I know if you defy this decree." A silent breath of wind, and he was gone. Lucius let out an explosive breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "You might have lent your support," he said reprovingly. Shosha said nothing. In fact, she did not even move. Concerned, Lucius went to her. Shosha was trembling. There was a welling red slash across her cheek, and to Lucius's horror, two vicious wooden spikes had been driven through her hands into the arms of the crude chair. @}----- With practiced force, LaCroix dashed the meeting from his mind. Tenebres Tel-Amarna was so old that LaCroix had no choice but to fear and obey him. Did it mean he also had to take favors from him? *** The interrogation was not going well. Tracy thought irritably, Martin Belarusse was quite possibly one of the most uncooperative suspects she had encountered yet. The man was a slime ball if ever she saw one, and he was clearly beginning to get on her partner's nerves. "All right," said Nick, very deliberately, "we're gonna try this one more time. Where were you when Caroline Starr was murdered?" "I already tol' you. I was home wi' my ol' lady. She'll back me up on that." "Oh, I'm sure she will," Tracy interjected. "Right," said Reese, "once she recovers from the coma she was mysteriously beaten into." "Now you listen to me, you disgusting embarrassment to nature," Nick snarled, in a tone that made Tracy sit up and take notice. "We've played it straight with you up til now, but don't expect me to be this nice tomorrow night. Gonna talk?" *** "'The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea, and the destructive sword, are portions of eternity, too great for the eye of man.' William Blake." The Nightcrawler smiled into the microphone. "There's no knowing what Blake truly meant when he etched that; unraveling Blake is a bit like trying to comprehend the poetry of Ginsburg or the artwork of Pollack: Think about it too hard and you're liable to develop a... well. "But, if I may be permitted to engage in a little speculation, the way I see it... when man is given eternity, he should not question it. Not try to understand it. Not reject it. Just... give in, and accept what he has been given. Time... youth... power... the world." The Nightcrawler paused, gazing thoughtfully at an old gold pocket watch, engraved with a single word. "Forever... For always... Power is an interesting commodity." *** "You can't bully me, Knight, I've got my rights." Belarusse grinned sardonically. "It's the law." "Well, maybe I haven't read that law. And we've got fingerprints, a gun, and a hotel security camera that say you have absolutely no right to any kind of consideration from us." Nick's hand shot out so fast, Reese barely registered the movement until Belarusse was flat on the table with Nick's hand buried in his collar. "Either you come clean with me , or in five seconds your worthless intestines are going to be decorating the walls and ceiling!" All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (12/?) "We may think we hold power within ourselves..." <> <> <> The Nightcrawler's voice was husky and very, very soft. "But what if we're wrong?" *** Miranda had only run up to the apartment to grab a fresh change of clothes. The only thing harder to get out of clothing than red wine is blood, and when it was mixed together it was even more impossible to get rid of. Miranda was resigned to the fact that all the clothing above her waist was irretrievably lost, so she pulled off her vest, blouse and bra and threw them into the kitchen trash on her way to the bedroom. She was rummaging around in her dresser for fresh clothes, grumbling about how she or, rather, how 'someone' really needed to do laundry, when she found that several of her most treasured mementoes were missing. Her packet of letters was gone. "What the hell," she muttered, as she was dressing. Her first thought was Daniel. He had been in her underwear drawer more than once--disturbing thought, that--but he'd never taken anything before. As she was pulling on a clean blouse, she saw the corner of a piece of battered parchment sticking out from under the lid of her husband's desk. The desk lid was locked. With a sharp jerk, Miranda broke it open. All her letters from Elijah were scattered over the surface of Lucien's desk. A terrible hard shell began forming around Miranda's heart. "Roman paterfamilias bastard," she whispered. *** "What if the power you thought was yours is just an illusion, put there for someone else's purposes? Mephistopheles's authority went only so far as Lucifer decided it would go..." Two thousand years of influence was not simply given away. And it made LaCroix's blood turn to sand to think of what Tenebres was going to want in return. *** "All right, Nick!" Reese bellowed, trying to wrench his detective away from Belarusse's throat. "That's enough! Tracy, help me!" Together, they got him away from the suspect and out of the interrogation room. "What the goddamn hell was that?" the captain asked when they had dragged him into the anteroom. Nick was taking in very deep breaths through his nose and didn't answer. The backs of his eyelids were burning, his canines were burning, his head was burning... "I'm waiting, Knight." "Book off for me, Tracy," said Nick hoarsely. "I'm going home." "Don't you walk out of here, Nick. Nick!" "Let 'im go, Captain." Tracy followed Nick's retreating back with her eyes. *** Nick seethed as he drove to the loft. He was furious; with himself, with Tracy, with Reese--with the Caddy because he needed gas--his head hurt so badly... and his chest was beginning to ache. He couldn't concentrate, and his hands were shaking... *** "'Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears, and make me tremble lest a saying learnt, in days far-off, on that dark earth, be true?'" The Nightcrawler's hand clenched around an old gold pocket watch. "'"The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts."'" *** Nick's agitated hands froze on the steering wheel. He could sense something wrong within himself... a split second before the world imploded and collapsed on his chest. The last thing Nick remembered thinking before he blacked out was Natalie's name. The last thing he heard was the crash. All I Was in Ashes: Unto Ashes (13/13) Throughout Toronto and across Europe, vampires fell to their knees in agony. Anyone with even a tenuous blood connection to Nicolas de Brabant felt the exact moment of impact, felt their bones crunching and their skins begin to melt. In Paris, Alain Barbour and his niece Serena huddled together on the living room floor of his flat, trembling, and Shosha Le Mort held her young son very close. On the Côte de Rhône, at the estate of Montagne, a woman once known as Alyce Hunter struggled to catch her breath. Somewhere in Germany, another woman, called Alexandra, cursed Nick's name. Somewhere hidden, the Enforcer called Tenebres stopped in his tracks, shook his head three times to clear it, and disappeared back into the darkness. And in Toronto, as soon as the pain had subsided, both Lucien LaCroix and Kai Thorn were on the phone and barking orders to nameless people who owed the two of them a great many favors. *** Tracy gasped and doubled over, clutching at her heart. "Oh, my G..." "Tracy? Tracy. What's wrong?" Reese tried to help her up. She was gasping for air. She lurched forward blindly. "Tracy!" Angrily, she threw off her captain's arm and bolted out of the station. Reese could only watch in disbelief. *** The turquoise Cadillac was a burning mess. It had careened head on into another car, igniting them both. Horrified onlookers quickly gathered to watch, but there was nothing they could do to help; the fire was too powerful. The flames were shooting twenty and thirty feet into the air, and the heat drove any would-be rescuers back to a safe but helpless distance. So no one noticed the shadow that dove down from the sky and into the heart of the flames. Bridget was in and out of the conflagration in less than a minute, but the fire had licked at her as well, and she could only carry him as far as a nearby alley. She covered him with her own body as best she could. She was trembling so badly from the pain that she could barely move, let alone steady her mind enough to call for help. "Hang on, Nick," she managed to whisper, hoping that his bond with his master would be strong enough to let someone know where they were... Through her burned eyes, Bridget saw a two pairs of boots three inches from her nose, but she could not lift her head to see whom the boots belonged to. Instinctively she hissed in warning, then realized what she was doing and sheathed her fangs. "Hello?" she croaked weakly. "Steady now, Bridget, lass," came a very welcome voice. "Leif," she gasped. "What took you?" "Never mind that. You're in a bad way. Ach! And he's the worse off of the two of you. Leila, help me get her off him." Carefully, their black coats protecting them from the heat and blending them out of sight of onlookers, Leif and Leila lifted Bridget from Nick's badly injured body. "Leila, send me two of those lads over with stretchers. And make sure those good-for-nothing's take care of those cars!" While Nick and Bridget were removed, the other victims were disposed of, the cars were hauled away, and any and all witnesses to the accident were immediately given 'a stern talking to.' *** Since she still had no knowledge of flight, Tracy reached the Corvina just as Leif and three other Enforcers were bringing the patients in. She found Natalie crumpled on the floor of the bookshop. "Nick," she gasped when Tracy lifted her. "Nick, he's--Oh, my God, Nick--Tracy, I've got to--" She reached her hands around to the back of her head and tried to claw at it. Tracy held her wrists. "Nat, Natalie. Nick's had a seizure, he was in a car accident. They're bringing him upstairs to the clinic, we've got to go now." She half-supported, half-dragged her through the bookstore and up the stairs. It took the combined strengths of Kai, Tracy, and LaCroix to keep Natalie from rushing into the make-shift emergency room. "She's incoherent," Kai said, trying to hold her struggling body. "LaCroix--" "Natalie. Natalie!" With difficult, LaCroix managed to grab hold of Natalie's chin. He focused on her heart, which was beating like a trip hammer. " to me. You need to be calm. You need to be strong. For Nicholas!" "For Nick..." Hypnotized or not, she could think of nothing else. "Yes, for Nick. Now, you're going to go with Tracy, and sit in the waiting room. You will remain awake, alert, and reasonably lucid." "Nick..." A single word, said with such helplessness... LaCroix held her close for an instant, and kissed her forehead before disappearing with Kai into a vacant room. Tracy tugged on Natalie's sleeve. Her own head was throbbing, and her eyes ached from unshed tears. "Come on, Nat," she said. "Let's go sit down, okay?" "Nick..." *** As the only other doctor present and rational, Julian had been rousted out of his bed to help Russell and the Enforcer-doctor, Leif. While Leif and Russell pumped drugs into Nick's system, Julian striped Nick of the remains of his clothes and did a deep scan of his entire frame. "First-degree burns over sixty percent of his body. A broken nose, crushed left eye socket, burnt left cornea. Four broken ribs, a shattered arm, a broken leg--the one I fixed, too--and a collapsed lung." "Cranial status?" asked Russell briskly. "Increased intracranial pressure... blockage of cerebral spinal fluid... a severe edema..." "Administering steroids to control swelling." "That's not going to buy him much time." "Time enoough for us to prep," countered Leif. "You--you can't! He still has holy water in his system. He'll never recover with that in his blood; we'll need at least another hour to flush it out--" "I can't wait any longer, Gorey," Russell said coldly. "Tell his wife, we've got to operate now." ~~~ "The woods decay, the woods decay and fall, The vapours weep their burthen to the ground, Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath, And after many a summer dies the swan. Me only cruel immortality Consumes... "Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man-- So glorious in his beauty and thy choice, Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem'd To his great heart none other than a God! I asked thee, 'Give me immortality...' "But thy strong Hours indignant work'd thy wills, And beat me down and marr'd and wasted me, And tho' they could not end me, left me maim'd To dwell in presence of immortal youth, Immortal age beside immortal youth, And all I was in ashes." --Alfred, Lord Tennyson ~To Be Continued... -- July 24th, 2003~ April French daomir_darkfell@yahoo.com ===== ~Forever Knight: The Sons of Lilith~ http://www.geocities.com/runeshard/fkficindex.html ~The Corvina~ http://www.geocities.com/runeshard/index.html "And we shall exist by amusing ourselves, by dreaming of monstrous loves and fantastic universes, by complaining and quarreling with the pretenses of the world..." --"The Flash of Lightning" by Arthur Rimbaud