Subject: Ancient Circles (1/17) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 07:38:42 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Author's Notes: This is my very first piece of fan fiction and its even not in my native language. So if you stumble over strange sentences or something like that, just blame it on my German upbringing, ok? Many many thanks to my beta readers Jan, who alpha-readed the first nine parts, Emily, who commented the first nine and Jenieve who beta-readed the whole 17 parts, corrected spelling and grammar mistakes and suggested changes and additions. Thank you for you patience with me and for your comments about the story. It has helped me a lot and I have to admit that I was nervous as hell. Disclaimers: Forever Knight and all its character don't belong to me but to TBTB (although they don't deserve them). Rachel Allyson belong to me and if you want to play with her, please ask me first. Permission is given to achieve at Mel's FKfanfic achieve, the FTP site, and to the N&NPacker achive (if you want it) Anyone else please ask (I won't bite, I just want to know where it goes to.) Warning: This story got completely out of my hands, took some turns I never thought possible and kept surprising me while writing it. Sometimes it is really, really silly. I couldn't help it, but now you are warned. This story takes place somewhere at the beginning of the third season (early February 1995), but the plane crash never happened. Schanke moved to Calgary, Cohen is still Captain and Nick is short one emotional trauma. This story is dedicated to my grandfather, who died at the 15th of October, 1999. He had terminal cancer. Several people in this story carry bits and pieces of his personality. The dog, Nyko, really exists and belonged to him. BTW, the pinning incident did really happen (to me !). I appreciate any and all feedback Just be gentle, its my first attempt of writing fanfic. ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (1/17) part one Wolf The surroundings were strange, noisy and he didn't like the smell here. But he was needed here, he had a purpose in this unfamiliar terrain. It would hurt him, but he always survived and it would hurt HER, but it was necessary. A soft breeze caressed his fur as the wolf searched for his goal. *** He looked down at the man at his feet. He was a good choice, young, strong and healthy. The man struggled against his bonds but there was no way to escape, he had made sure of it. Yes, he was a good choice. He smiled. Tonight his children would have a feast. *** Natalie was exhausted. The number of her 'regular' customers had skyrocketed Now it looked like a bunch of wild animals had escaped from the zoo and were tearing people to shreds. It gave her the creeps. The worst thing was, it only looked like a bunch of wild animals. None had escaped, that would have been reported. No animal would dispose the bodies in the way they had been found. Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose. The killer was simply too clever to be an animal. It had to be human. She looked at the body on her table and her stomach lurched. How could a human being do such a thing ? And how was it done ? She looked again at the pitiful remains of a corpse and her professionalism kicked in. This body was in better shape than the others, maybe she could find her answers here. Three hours later she was on her way to Nick's and hopefully some nice videos. She really needed that now. She had been right. The body had given her some answers. Horrible answers. The victim had been tied up before he was killed, so there was a serial killer out there, but the victim was killed by animals. She had been able to detect some teeth marks which looked like they belonged to a carnivore of some sort, but she couldn't say which. She would need to do some comparison studies. A serial killer who used animals as murder weapons, how perverted! She drove, distracted mulling over her findings. She slammed on her breaks, but saw the dog too late, it never had a chance. There was a sickening sound as the car collided with the animal. "Oh my God !" Natalie leaped from the car and ran to the dog. The canine was gray, white and huge. It was lying in the street, but still alive. It growled when she reached out for it and then it jumped on it's feet, bit Natalie on her outstretched right hand and disappeared to a small alley. Natalie was shocked. She looked from the place where the dog had been lying to the alley and then to her bleeding hand. The bite was deep and clearly visible on her hand. It looked really ugly. That was when it started to hurt. And it hurt a lot. Where was her first aid kit ? Damn, she knew where it was: out of reach. The bleeding was heavy. She knew she should go to the hospital, but it was far too long to drive with an injured hand. What should she do ? Natalie fumbled in her pockets until she could reach her cellphone. She grit her teeth as she dialed his number. "Knight." "Hi Nick, I need your help." "Natalie? What happened ?" "I've had a little accident. I need you to take me to hospital." There was a small pause in the line. "I'm coming." And then the line went dead. Natalie wondered how he would find her, he didn't know, where she was and she didn't had a chance to tell him. A soft whoosh told her, that he had found her. "Natalie ?" He looked at her bleeding hand and suppressed his needs at once. His nostrils flared. "You were attacked by a wolf ?" "A wolf ?" Natalie was stunned. "I thought it was some kind of dog !" He shook his head no. "How do you know it was a wolf ?" She asked curious. He flashed her a small embarrassed smile. "I can smell it." She clenched her hand unconsciously and then winced at the pain. He looked at her, at her bleeding hand and decided that he could fill her in on details later. Now it was important to get Nat to the hospital. Fast. He took her car keys and locked the doors. Nat squealed in surprise as he gathered her into his arms and took to the air. The wind rushed through her hair, but she barely noticed. He was taking her flying ! He had never done that before ! Maybe the whole accident wasn't half bad. She snuggled closer to him, buried her face in his chest to hide her smile. Nick looked at her, watching her smile. He liked it when she was smiling. It made him feel whole. Far too soon the hospital came into sight. He landed out of sight of the people in the parking lot and walked with Nat to the entrance. *** It was done. His body still hurt from the impact, but he was healing already. He could go home now. Now others would do their deed and once again everything would be alright. The old mistake would be eradicated. *** Her hand hurt and Natalie made quite a face as the doctor examined it. It was a nasty bite wound that would require several stitches. The local anesthesia made her whole hand feel numb. She answered the doctor's questions, and distantly watched him place her stitches. After she had received the usual rabies and tetanus shots and her hand was securely wrapped in ace bandages, she finally was released form the hospital. It was nearly dawn by now. Nick was forced to fly at top speed to reach the loft before sunrise. *** Natalie agreed as Nick suggested to have her car towed to a garage, but she refused as he asked her to call a cab. She didn't want to go home. The whole incident had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. She didn't want to be alone right now, she wanted to snuggle to his chest, wanted him to hold her, make her feel safe and secure, until she would fall asleep. With a sigh she curled in his lap and was soon sound asleep. Nick sat absolutely still, embracing the lovely warm body in his arms. He looked at her and sighed. She was so beautiful, so breathtaking and he loved her. How often had he thought about telling her about his love ? So many times. How often had he stopped himself from doing so ? Way too often. The whole situation was impossible. He couldn't tell her the truth. It was too dangerous for her. A vampire couldn't make love to a mortal without killing her or him in the heat of passion. The only thing he could do now was admire her secretly. His thoughts were lost in her heartbeat. It's sweet gentle rhythm luring him. He wanted to drown in the smell of her blood. Oranges, vanilla and cinnamon it called to him. He wanted to taste it, longed to taste it. Just a drop, a small sip. He shook his head. His fangs were descending and his eyes had taken on the vampire's golden hue. He turned away thankful that Nat hadn't seen his moment of transgression. He had to move away from her now. Carefully he slipped out of the embrace and fetched a blanket to cover her. Then he fled to the relative safety his bedroom and willed himself into sleep. *** Nat woke with a start. She looked around, noticed that it was only noon by now. Something had woken her. Something wasn't right. Then she heard it. The small sound, a whimper really, was coming from Nick's bedroom. Curious she got up and moved to the staircase. Slowly she tiptoed upstairs and peeked in. Nick was in bed, curled in a fetal position. Her heart nearly broke as she listened to the small pitiful noises he made. He looked so lost, so helpless. And yet she couldn't help but notice the outline of his fangs against his lips. They had to be fully descended. Quietly she closed the door and went downstairs. She couldn't help him. Not when his vampire had so obviously emerged. He had warned her, never to startle a vampire, even if she only tried to help. The results would be rather deadly in case. So whatever he was facing in his dreams, he had to face it alone. Sadly she slumped on the couch, drawing the blanket tight around her, seeking some comfort. It was quite early and she was exhausted. She closed her eyes and before she even realized, she was fast asleep. *** Nick glanced down at Nat and shook his head. She was really out of it. He had expected her to be awake by the time he got up but she was still sleeping soundly. "Natalie." No reaction. He bent over her and shook her lightly. "Stop it, Syd. Mommy is really tired." She mumbled, still asleep. He couldn't suppress a grin. Automatically Nat reached out and started to pet what she believed was her cat. He was too stunned to react. No one has ever done this before but.. He closed his eyes, moved closer to her to allow her better access and then he started to purr. His purrs were much deeper than anything Sydney could produce. He knew she might notice, might wake up. But he couldn't stop himself. It felt so good. And as long as she didn't notice he might be able to enjoy it. He couldn't remember when he was this happy or this relaxed. Not only the human part, but the vampire as well. Especially the vampiric part of him. Did it really matter ? Suddenly the stroking stopped. Her increased heartbeat told him, that she was awake. He opened his eyes, meeting her astonished stare. She was redder than a beet and he knew that if he could blush, his color would match hers. What had he thought he was doing? Nat opened her mouth and shut it again. She couldn't believe it. First she awoke, wondering how deep Sydney's purrs had become, only to find out that it wasn't Sydney she was petting, wasn't Sydney who was purring, but Nick ! She blushed deeper. Stroking Nick like he was her cat. Well he had purred like some sort of cat. a small voice in her head said, but she didn't pay attention. Purring like a cat didn't make Nick a cat. She was such an idiot. What would he think of her now ? "I'm sorry." She was thrown back into reality. "What?" "I shouldn't have done that." He looked down at his hands. She was confused. "Done what? Purring when I...when I petted you?" "No, allowing myself to be stroked by you. I didn't think. I...it just felt so good and I... I'm sorry." She didn't understand. Why was he sorry when he had enjoyed it? She asked him. He looked at her perplexed. "Because I've embarrassed you. I..." She couldn't help herself but started to laugh. He looked at her in disbelieve, totally startled by her reaction. "Sorry Nick." She hiccuped. "It's just.. just.. I thought how embarrassed you must feel while you..." And she bursted out laughing again. She lost it, really lost it. Waves of laughter rolled through her body until she struggled for air. Tears of laughter rolled down her face. It took nearly twenty minutes until she was breathing normally except for the hiccups. "So, you liked it ?" She asked him lightly, when she found, she had breath enough. He avoided looking at her and a slight flush of color in his cheeks told her that he was trying hard to blush. "Well, yes. I..I ..nobody has ever done this to me before but...it felt good, really good." He wanted to tell her how good it had felt but he couldn't find the appropriate words. She reached out. "May I ?" He nodded, too stunned to speak. She wanted to do it again ! He gathered her in his lap and waited. Natalie started to pet him with deliberate slow strokes and was rewarded with deep rumbling purrs. She was thrilled. She could feel his chest vibrating with every stroke. This felt so right, so wonderful. She opened her eyes (when had she closed them?) to meet his. His wonderful, half closed, golden eyes. Golden? It was like getting hit with a bucket of ice water. She took a deep breath. "Nick ?" "Hmhmm ?" "Are your eyes supposed to be golden?" "Sorry," he purred, "I can't help it. My eyes have changed, because my beast is happy." With relief she noticed that his teeth were normal but she couldn't help asking "Happy ?" "Hmhmm, relaxed, content and very very happy." And he purred again as if to prove he was telling the truth. It was good to see him this happy, feel him relaxing under her ministrations. And it was definitely good to see him without his incessant guilt. Just happy and total at ease with himself. The phone started to ring evoking loud groans from both of them. Reluctantly Nick answered. Silently Natalie damned the phone and the caller. It had been so wonderful and now that #%!&m$p;@^! thing was going to spoil the mood. It wasn't fair! Nick's face grew serious as he listened to the phone. "I'll come as soon as I can." He hung up the phone. "Nick ?" "That was Cohen. They have found *another* one." Natalie shuddered, thinking about the corpse she had autopsied just 18 hours before. "Our perp is increasing his tempo. The last one died nearly 27 hours ago." "I know. There is not much time until he loses it completely." A chill ran down her spine as she thought about the possible consequences and then cursed her vivid imagination. She didn't want to see one of the shredded ones again. Absentmindedly she scratched her itching hand. Her hand. Ooops. She had already forgotten about the incident. Natalie took a deep breath. "I think I better call in sick. I can't perform an autopsy using my left hand, it would look like a first year med. student had been at it. People would think there is more than one lunatic involved, and they would be right. Except the other one could be located at the morgue." She felt herself blush again and grinned sheepishly. He tried very hard to hide a smile at that picture, but he failed miserably. "I'll give you a ride home, OK ?" "Mmmm, will you stop by after your shift ?" "I'll come, tell you what has happened and tuck you in. Deal ?" She smiled. "Deal." She stood up and gathered her things. to be continued ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (2/17) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 07:40:09 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (2/17) part two Sorrows The crime scene was crawling with cops when he arrived. He searched the sea of uniforms for his partner. Curious, he still expected to see Schanke hanging around. But the Schankes had moved to Calgary two months ago. He spotted her. She was almost as pale as he was, but with a slight greenish tint. After spending some time with Nat in the morgue, these past few months, she wasn't normally that squeamish anymore. This body had to be worse than the others. "Tracy, you alright ?" She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. "Just give me a couple of minutes, OK ?" "OK." He walked over to take a look at the body. It was worse, in fact it was one of the worst things he had ever seen in his life. It didn't resemble a human being. Except for the occasional bone or body part, that could still be identified as such. This was human debris. Like a gigantic puzzle of blood, bone and tissue, what was left of it anyway. He searched for the coroner on duty and found him, retching in the gutter. Then he noticed the vans. he thought, as he spotted the TV logos . Tracy approached him. "Is it just me or is this the worst crime scene you have ever been too ?" "It isn't just you. Believe me, it is one of the worst things I've seen in my life" Tracy sighed. It didn't make it any better to know that it wasn't her imagination. No, it only made it worse. "Come on, let's start the show." She looked at the grim face of her partner. "And wipe that look off your face. You look like you want to bite someone." Nick flinched. he thought as he followed her. *** He watched the crime scene, well hidden, far enough away that the inhuman one couldn't hear his rapid heartbeat. It had been so easy. He had made his strike and it went well. Now all he could do was wait for the changes to happen. Soon, very soon the Empress would emerge from her bonds and be born anew. She had to be alright. She HAD to be sane. Otherwise he would need the mortal female. The inhuman one would follow her. He dejected to take advantage at a mere mortal woman to bait his trap. Only in emergencies. He had to wait. And he had to be prepared for the inhuman one, he was the key. *** Natalie sat on her couch, Sydney purring in her lap and munched popcorn. She stared at the TV-screen, at her favorite movie, but her mind was elsewhere. In her mind she played the scenes of the last twenty-four hours over and over again. The body, the bite, flying, falling asleep in his arms, watching him helplessly caught in a nightmare, waking up to his purrs. She couldn't help but smiled as she remembered how happy he had been. He was happy, the vampire part of him was happy. So happy and relaxed that he didn't push her away as his eyes changed. And it had felt so right. She counted the minutes until he would knock at her door. Only two hours left. 'Only', Ha, with each second like an eon it would be two very long hours. And she longed to see him again, longed to melt in his arms and hear his single one-every-ten-minute-heartbeat. One hour and fifty-nine minutes. She starred at the TV-screen. *** His children were hungry again. But tonight he couldn't give them what they wanted. Tonight they had to be content with some frightened animals. It wasn't the same, but it had to be enough, for awhile. He couldn't risk exposing himself, or his children, his beautiful children would die. They couldn't live without him. They were so wonderful, animalistic and strong. Yet, they had lost their human sanity. All, but one. And he now understood why. Just as he understood what must be done. At this moment, all he could do was wait. Wait for the Empress to made the changes. He heard the wails of his children. Time to feed. *** "Knight." He heard the tired tone in the captains voice. "Yes, captain?" "I want you and your partner to concentrate only on these 'beast-murders'. All the other cases are backlogged until... " she let the sentence trail off. He would know what she wanted to say. Until you catch him or the media started to forget. "Got it, captain." He tried to smile, but he was tired and he couldn't stop recalling the picture of the body. She noticed that his smile never reached his eyes. He was the picture of a man exhausted. The last few weeks had been hard for all of them, but nobody had earned as much overtime as Knight. He had worked form dusk 'til dawn, every day. She was pretty sure that he would have stayed through the dayshift as well if there wasn't that mysterious sun allergy of his. And now these brutal murders and the animal attack on Dr. Lambert. Any other man would be a wreck just now and even his legendary concentration had started to crumble. "Go home, Knight. It won't do us any good if you collapse from sheer work overload." She was right. He knew she was right and he yearned for sleep, but there was something he had to do first. A promise he had to keep. *** His children hadn't fed well this night. They were wailing for more. But he couldn't give them what they wanted. Soon they would start fighting again. Soon there would be another corpse for him to bury, another dead child for him to mourn. They needed help. His children needed help, more help than he could give them. It was all his fault. His children were dying and it was his own fault. He sat in the darkness, musing and waiting, alone. *** There was a soft knock at the door. Natalie sat up, startled. When had she fallen asleep? She looked at the TV-screen. Blank. Slowly she went to the door. Her body ached, she had to have been sleeping in the wrong position. She opened the door. Nick. He looked tired and weary, but he smiled as he saw her. A tired and sad smile. She let him in, closed the door. "Nick, what's wrong ?" He sat down on the couch. "It was a very bad night." She sat next to him. "How bad?" He looked her straight in the eyes. She saw the look of horror and utter revulsion in his eyes. It had to be bad. "I have seen so many horrible things in 800 years, Nat." He clasped his hands in his lap, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So many things..," he opened his eyes again, "but this, Nat, this was one of the most horrible things I have ever seen in my whole life." Natalie stuffed a hand in her mouth as she realized just how bad the scene must have been. Now she knew why he was so weary. She pulled him closer to her. Normally he was the one, who held her, comforted her, after a bad night in the morgue. But she hadn't seen the body, the scene tonight, but he had. "I don't understand, Nat. Why do mortals do such things? Why do they have to do it?" Despair tinged his voice. She had no answer for him, because there was no answer. He longed for a life as a mortal, to be free from the urge to hunt, to kill, only to see mortals kill mortals, without reason. Night after night. He couldn't understand. Raw emotion played in his eyes. Natalie watched him thoughtfully. Sometimes the ancient vampire seemed to her more innocent, more human, than humans themselves. Although he would sharply deny any human qualities in himself. All she could do now was hold him and let him feel that he wasn't alone. Nick needed to hold her, to be held by her, his rock, his anchor of trust in an insane world. He needed her, he didn't want to be alone anymore. A small warm body climbed on his lap and began to purr madly. *** Sydney wanted attention and he wanted it now! His mistress seemed to be too absorbed to pay attention and he couldn't reach her lap. But the lap of the male one, well that was a totally different story. His mistresses friend was a bit cold and he smelled funny, but that was no reason not to curl in his lap, at least not for him. Yes, he was right. As soon as he had made himself comfortable in his lap, the friend of his mistress started to pet him. Sydney purred with pleasure, he petted very well, very skillfully. Sydney mused, *** The weight of the cat was surprisingly comforting, Nick noticed. He felt so peaceful here. It seemed so absurd. All the peace here, the calm and quiet happiness against the horror and madness he had witnessed tonight. He didn't want it to end, but his internal clock told him that it was close to dawn. He was hungry. "Nat?" She looked up. The blue of his eyes were sprinkled with small whirling golden dots. "I have to go, Nat." Yes, he had to go. She knew that. He was tired and hungry and a quick glance at the clock told her that dawn wasn't far away. If he didn't go now, he would be trapped until dusk. And she knew how very difficult it was for him to control the vampire around her, especially when he was hungry and exhausted. Reluctantly she released him from her arms. He hesitated for a moment, then gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "Thank you." "For what?" "For being here, for understanding and for being you." She felt the rush of warmth as she blushed. Natalie sat there, speechless and watched him go. He turned at the door like he wanted to say something, but then he closed the door behind him and was gone. *** The minutes ticked by. Nat sat on her couch until the light of dawn hit her. She blinked in the sudden brightness, then she got up and went to the window. The warm sunlight seemed to embrace her and she watched the sun rising higher and higher, until the fiery ball lit the morning sky in a kaleidoscope of colors. She closed the shades. Automatically she went through the task of making herself ready for bed. Only after she was lying in bed, securely tucked in, did she allow herself to weep. *** His child was dead. Killed by her brothers and sisters. Killed. Torn. Like a rag doll. How long must he wait ? How many children must he bury until he could use the vampire to heal them ? How many ? He didn't know. He really didn't know. And it tore at him. They were HIS. His children and it was HIS fault. How many ? He didn't want to know. *** Her scent hung on his clothes. He noticed the sweet fragrance as he poured himself dinner. Hungry, he was so hungry. Her scent drove him wild, drove him over the edge. A low growl escaped his throat as he finished the bottle. He was still hungry. More! He needed more! So much more! He reached for another bottle and another and another. Only after the fifth bottle did he stop. Finally the hunger was gone. Empty bottles littered the floor and he noticed several bloodstains on his shirt and some blood sticking to his hands. He went to the bathroom. As he washed his hands he automatically glanced in the mirror. Feral red glowing eyes greeted him. Blood was smeared over his face and his lips were stretched over his fangs. There was not a single spark of humanity left in the reflection. The picture was that of an inhuman creature, of something evil. A torn whimper escaped him. Then he noticed her scent. Her scent still hung on his clothes. Natalie. What would she think about him if she could see him now? What would she do? Would she reject him, chase him away like the animal he was, like he dreamed in his nightmares every day? He couldn't stand his refection any longer. He curled himself into the darkest corner of the loft. Trying desperately to hide himself before the truth. But he couldn't escape her scent. He drifted into oblivion. Her scent heavy in his flaring nostrils. to be continued ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (3/17) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 07:41:07 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (3/17) part three realizations Tonight he would go out again. Call his companions to hunt. Satisfy his children. He wouldn't lose another one tonight. Wouldn't have to bury one tomorrow. *** Natalie slid the elevator door open and cautiously peeked into the loft. Everything was dark and quiet. She didn't like to intrude like this, but she really had to talk to him. "Nick ?" Nothing. "Nick, are you here ?" No answer. She switched on the lights. As soon as the lights went on, she noticed several empty green bottles scattered carelessly on the floor by the refrigerator. He had fed quite heavily, and he hadn't dispose of the bottles like he normally did. Why ? Usually he would hide the empties before she could see them. She scanned the loft. Something was different, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The silence was mocking her, annoying her. Then...a soft whisper filtered from somewhere. Where ? Again she looked around, trying to hear even the quietest of sounds. There ! She found it, found the source of the whispers. A shape in the darkest corner of the loft. Slowly she approached it. The closer she came the more she realized it looked like Nick. Nick, curled into a tight ball, muttering in his sleep and crying silently. Fascinated she watched the blood tears spill down his cheeks. She had never seen him cry before. Red stains marked the path of his tears. She also noticed the dried blood around his mouth and the bloody and rumpled clothes. She stifled a sob of herself. He looked something like an abused and terrified child, frightened, helpless and lonely. Her own eyes burned with unshed tears as she watched him. His whispers became clearer. "...don't...please don't ...I need you.. love you...please...please...don't chase me away...please.." he pleaded. Natalie backed off to watch him. "No, please....don't.." His voice became louder to the point of shouting. "Natalie, please !" And then he screamed. A long agonizing animalistic howl of loneliness, which echoed through the loft. Natalie was heart broken. His nightmare was to be chased away by her! She rushed to him. Maybe it was dangerous, but who cared? He was awake now, panting heavily and crying. "Nick ? Nick, it's OK. It's OK. I'm here. Shhh. I'm here. It's OK." He buried his head in the curve of her neck, she could feel his hot tears drenching her clothes. His body shuddered with sobs, nearly convulsing at times. He reached out for her, clung to her in desperate need. She let him hold her and he nearly crushed her bones with his tight grip. But she didn't protest. She knew he needed her. Her thoughts whirled. He needed her ! He loved her ! And his fear of losing her was overwhelming. His scream. God, she shivered as she remembered the haunting howl. Finally his sobs quieted and he became aware of his surroundings. "Natalie ?" "Shh, it's OK. I'm here. Everything is OK." She soothed him. Nick calmed down. Natalie was here. She was here in his arms. It hadn't been real. It had been a nightmare. A horrible, vivid nightmare. She hadn't chased him away, hadn't called him by dreadful names. She was here. He wasn't alone. New tears welled in his eyes, tears of joy. "Nick ?" "Natalie, you're here." The relief was clearly audible in his voice. "Yes, I'm here. I'm here." He took a deep breath, inhaling her delicious fragrance and shuddered. Hunger overwhelmed him. Although he had fed heavily the previous day, he had lost most of the blood due to his crying. And her scent, her body next to his, was more than he could take right now. The vampire begged to be released, begged to take her, possess her, know her completely. But his desire was too strong and her scent too alluring. With a sob he pushed her away. He couldn't stop his fangs from dropping. Every fiber in his body cried out for her blood, cried out to take her. He used every ounce of self control, every bit of strength to keep himself from attacking her. His body trembled as he fought to control himself. Natalie was taken by surprise when he pushed her away, but then she noticed the tremor and the tension. His eyes were shut tightly, but she knew the reddish light, that illuminated his lashes, came from anger or bloodlust. She saw his hands, clenched in fists, his nails digging in his palms so deeply that they bled. He was fighting to regain control, not to attack her. And he needed blood right now. She ran to the refrigerator, opened it and scanned its contents. There were several bottles of cow's blood left, but she ignored them and went for his emergency stock of donated human blood. He would need it now. She rushed back and pressed a blood bag in his hands. Without hesitation he plunged his fangs in the bag and drained it in a seconds time. He let the empty bag fall and Nat gave him another one. It was gone as quickly as the first one. And still there was no sign of him slowing down. He ravished one pack after another. Finally he stopped. His eyes remained closed, his tension still evident. The reddish glow had disappeared from his eyes, but his fangs were still down. He rocked slightly on his heels, still unable to regain full control of the beast inside him. Slowly, very slowly, the human blood coursed through his body. Taming the raging hunger, but not for the overwhelming need to taste her sweet blood. Anyway with the amount of human blood in his system, she was safe now. Safe enough for a talk. He owed her at least an explanation for his rather strange behavior of the last two days. "Nat?" Her name. So hesitant, so soft. His voice still deep and alluring with the vampire's edge, but with gentleness that was uniquely his own. She wanted to reach out for him, but his look stopped her. His look and the fangs. He had to be really on the edge, when he was unable to retract them. "Please, don't come any closer Nat. It is so hard to resist already." What was so hard to resist ? What was he talking about ? Her eyes were full of unspoken questions and he answered them all. One by one. She deserved to know the truth, the whole truth. Nick didn't spare a thing. He told her everything. The never-ending hunger, the temptations, the kills he had made to quench his burning need and about the way a vampire loved. How he felt love, what he needed to satisfy THIS burning. Then he told her about his nightmares. How she would find him, cowered over the body of his still warm kill. How she would shame him, shout at him, leave him forever. His voice nearly broke at this point. His fangs had retracted and she wanted so to be near him, she snuggled against him. Then he told her the end of his dream. "You know, I normally didn't wake up at that point. After you leave me, I come *home*. But this place means nothing to me anymore. Its dark and empty and I'm alone. So alone. I go up to the roof and wait for the sun. Its rising and I start to smoke and then to burn. Its agony. But the pain in my heart hurts far worse. I want to see it, see the sun one last time, but the first rays sear my eyes, leave me blind. I am blind, burning and so.. I die." She sat there, stunned, holding him in a death grip. Stunned with how she could affect him. He loved her and yet he fought against his own desires, because they would kill her, he would kill her if he succumbed. He had opened her his heart, his very soul, trusted in her, shown her all his vulnerabilities. If she ever wished to crush him, she could do it, because he supplied her with the ammunition. And he would not hold it against her. But there was more. For the first time he had revealed everything, all of his secrets, things he had never told anyone before. She had to admit that there was more to his life as a vampire than she had ever imagined. More than the legends and stories she had read, much more than the multitude of Hollywood movies she remembered. For the first time he had shown her the whole picture and God, it was vast. She tried to assimilate the pieces of information he had given her, but there were so many and it was so overwhelming. The blood. It was more than a mere addiction like she had first believed. It was his food, his substance and the way he sampled life, emotions, everything. And she had tried to cut him from his lifeline, had chastised him, when he was backsliding. She had made him feel guilty about drinking blood, had treated him like an stubborn addict. Yeah, she could try to give up mortal food with the same effects, she needed it, like he needed blood. She did a little mental calculating, counting the bags he had emptied, the bottles of the former day, his tales of killing *every* night to quench the hunger. She compared it to his normally strict intake of cows blood. There was only one conclusion. He had been starving. For years. But a vampire couldn't die from starvation. His body healed itself so rapidly, that there were no signs of starvation. You couldn't see it, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. He had been starving for a long long time now and only his incredible self control had kept him from breaking. But everyone, mortal or vampire, had their own breaking point and from the look of it, Nick had just reached his. He simply couldn't go on like this. She had said nothing, she simply held him tightly, while feeling her own heart race. Maybe he had told her too much, maybe she was just realizing what he really was, maybe.. . He didn't know what she was thinking about now, but he was afraid. Afraid, that she would leave him, afraid that she would urge him to go on with their relationship, simply afraid. All he could do now was wait and hope she wouldn't cast him out of her life. He needed her, loved her, he would even walk into the sun for her if she asked him to. "Nick?" He closed his eyes, afraid of what she might say. "I'm so sorry, so very sorry." Her warm hand caressed his face slowly. He leaned into the touch. "What could you possibly be sorry for ?" "The way I've treated you. I mean I've seen the proof, I've seen the genetic changes in your DNA and I was still after you to cut down your blood intake even more. And then I was mad at you for not having control. God you have been starving for years and I expected you to suppress your survival instincts." He knew the tone she used. She felt guilty. Guilty, because she had made mistakes. But didn't she see ? No matter what treatment she used on him, he would love her no less, because he knew that she cared, that she was trying to help him. Nat was still rambling over her mistakes, but he didn't listen. It didn't matter. Only she mattered. He took her warm hand in his cold ones. "Nat?" She stopped. "Yes?" "Don't be sorry, Nat. You didn't know, how could you, I never told you. It doesn't matter now. It's OK, I forgive you." He was forgiving her. All the stupid, cruel and mean things she had done to him. He forgave her. How could he forgive her so easily ? "How ?" "How what ?" "How could you forgive me so easily ?" He gazed at her like he had never seen her before. "Because I love you Natalie Lambert. I can't live without you. I'll walk into the sun before I'd let you go." And then he kissed her. Hesitant at first, but with growing passion, as she responded to his kiss. She had waited so long for that kiss. It felt so good. And it was better than she had ever imagined it. Their tongues danced. That was it. He loved her and it was enough for now. They would find a way to be together. They had to because she would never let him go. *** LaCroix cursed silently under his breath as he watched the two lovers through the skylight. This time his son had won and he didn't even know it. Anger boiled in him. He had waited so long, nearly 800 years to take revenge for his beloved Fleur. But now that he knew his son loved this woman, he couldn't rip her away from him. Nicholas had spoken the truth, he had felt it in their link. Should there ever come a time when Dr. Lambert stepped from his son's life, he knew with all certainty that Nicholas would take his own. Losing his son was unacceptable. He had lost Fleur, he would not lose Nicholas. If he killed this woman that his son was so hopelessly in love with, Nicholas would die. There was no way he could reach his goal without sacrificing his son. He lowered his head in defeat. His son had won this battle. A sly smile played on his lips. Nicholas may have won this battle, but he was far from winning the war. And as silently as LaCroix had come, he vanished into the night again. *** She never wanted it to end, but eventually she broke the kiss to catch some air. It wasn't fair. He didn't need to breath, he could kiss her as long as he wanted to, but she had nearly passed out due to the lack of oxygen. "Nat?" "Hmmmhmmm ?" "I don't want to spoil the mood, but I need a shower and I have to go to work in two hours." She groaned and released him from her embrace. Well, he was quite a mess and did need a shower, but work ? No work, Nat decided. "Don't go. Call in sick." She pleaded. He considered it for several minutes, then an impish smile lit his face. "Well, Dr Lambert, you are my physician. And who am I not to follow my doctors orders ?" He said lightly as he reached for the phone. to be continued ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (4/17) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 06:48:04 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (4/17) part four waiting in the middle of nowhere Cohen hung up the phone. So, Knight was taking the night off. 'Mental health day' she assumed. It was time. Hell, it was far past time. Ok, one less to worry about. Now all she had to do was get Detective Vetter to do the same thing and catch Toronto's newest serial killer and she could call it a night as well. She tried to think about a way to convince Tracy Vetter to take the night off, when she got another call. Vetter was taking the night off. Cohen smiled. Sometimes life was good. *** He had returned home to find the Empress. She had shed her old skin and been reborn. Then she had slashed her own throat. Suicide. She had been like his other children, insane, but not so demented as to not notice, that she was insane. And so it had ended. That changed everything. Now he needed the mortal female, the doctor. It would be risky to take her, but it had to be done. He needed the vampire. It was his only hope. It was their only hope. *** They had talked the entire evening. About him, about her, about them. The difficulties they would face, when they went forward with their relationship. And they would go forward with it, there was no doubt about that. But dawn was coming and Nick was tired. Very tired. So she sent him to bed (not that he complained) and braced herself for the mess one small hungry, angry ball of fur was sure to have made in her apartment. Poor Sydney, she had forgotten all about him. Well, now she would face the consequences. She was about to slide the key in her look, when she heard a voice behind her. "Miss Lambert ?" "Yes ?" She asked and turned toward the speaker only to face complete darkness. *** She was his now. His bait. He would lure the vampire into his trap and then his children could be healed. The vampire would come. Would surrender to his wishes. Would do what HE demanded of him. Of this he was certain. He loved the mortal woman too much for his own good. *** The precinct was buzzing like an angry hornet's nest as he walked through the door. Something had happened. Nick felt it, emotion so thick you could touch it. "Knight, Vetter, my office!" bellowed Cohen's voice. Tracy looked at him but he merely shrugged. He simply had no clue what the captain wanted. Amanda Cohen didn't waste any time. "Dr Lambert was kidnapped this morning." Tracy gasped for air while he just stared at her. It had to be a joke. But it wasn't. His gut tightened. If he were human he was sure he would be sick. "This note and parcel was sent to the precinct around noon today." Tracy read the note aloud. "I have your medical examiner. Do what I ask and she will remain unharmed." "We sent a squad car to Dr. Lambert's apartment. After prying her door open they found that her apartment had been searched. Then there's the parcel." Cohen pulled the package from her bottom drawer and handed it to Nick. "We haven't opened it though Forensics went over it for prints and found nothing." But Nick didn't hear what she said. He was starring at the package and the name on it. His name. "Detective!" "Captain?" "I asked, if you know anyone who would do such a thing? Any personal enemies?" Nick's mind wandered to LaCroix, but no, this was not his style. "No, captain." Cohen heaved a sigh. "I suppose that would have been too easy. Well, then. Open it!" He ripped at the package until it popped open. Inside was a letter, and a blouse. Natalie had worn this blouse the previous night. He could still smell her scent on it, and his as well and then he noticed several bloodstains, his bloodstains, where he had cried on her shoulder. But he wasn't the only one who noticed the stains. The captain and Tracy saw them as well. "Oh my god! Look at this." Tracy exclaimed. "Don't worry. They are mine." Nick tried to reassure her. He thought as both the women stared at him. "Well, she spent the night with me and I had a little accident and bled on her blouse." Cohen only raised an eyebrow, but Tracy's face nearly burst with curiosity. She would ask him questions until he would consider draining her, he knew that. But not now, not yet. Now they had to find out what the kidnapper's demands were. Nick took the envelope. His name again. He tore it open and read aloud: Knight I know who you are and what you are. Your 'little' friend is in my custody. If you want her to remain unharmed, meet me at midnight. Until then stay at home. I'll contact you. Bring your female partner with you but don't use a car. If I see anyone but the two of you, you can collect your 'friends' pieces. Silence. He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. The letter. Someone knew he was a vampire and now the captain and his partner would suspect there was something about him that warranted investigation. Some secrets he kept. Great, just great. Think fast. He had to give them a reason why somebody would kidnap Nat and write such a letter. "Detective ? What does he have on you?" He cringed inwardly at the captains question. Then he got an idea. It would work but it would made his life much more difficult if he couldn't swear them to secrecy. It was better than telling them the truth. He should just get it over with. "Do you know my whole name ?" Cohen's eyebrows met the hairline. "Nicholas B. Knight. But what has that to do with the letter ?" "Do you know what that B. stands for ?" Both women shook their heads. He took a deep breath. "It stands for deBrabant." Tracy's mouth formed a neat little 'o' while Cohen started to frown. "I think I've heard the name somewhere before." "It is the foundation, captain." Tracy bubbled. "The DeBrabant foundation. They are big in charity, incredibly wealthy and no one has ever met the owner." At this point both looked at Nick, who felt like he could melt into the floor. "Nobody except the financial headmaster knows about it and I prefer it remained that way. I like my life here just the way it is." Cohen nodded. Wealth could be a burden. And at least now she understood why he had been so agitated about the bombing of Charles DuChamps. "We won't make it a matter of public report." Tracy looked a little bit disappointed, she had wanted to grill her partner for all the gory details. "Captain, the letter says that I should wait at home until he or she contacts me." he stated. "That's exactly what I plan to do. I'll take Tracy with me. I won't take any chances with Natalie's life." Cohen understood his fears and she promised him that they would play by the perp's rules. *** Tracy bounced into his loft. She had never been here before and she was curious. Especially after she had learned that her partner was not just an enigma but head of the biggest charity foundation of the western hemisphere. Nick followed her. It would have been funny to watch her peek in every hole of his loft if.. if the situation weren't so serious. He struggled how to tell her that her partner was a bloodsucking creature of the night. He sighed. This morning life had seemed so promising, and now it was a mess. "Calm down, Tracy. I need to tell you something." She turned towards him and he could see the big quotation marks gleaming in her eyes. "Something I couldn't tell the captain." He definitely had her attention now. He gestured for her to take a seat and for once she didn't protest. She looked at him expectantly and he started to pace. "I don't know how to tell you this. I've only known you for a little more than two months, but on the other side you do know we exist." He trailed off. "What are you talking about, I'm not following?" He decided the shock method was the best. "Vampires." She was stunned. "You're a vampire?" Tracy couldn't believe it. She tried, but she just couldn't picture her straight as an arrow, Mr. do-gooder partner with glowing eyes and fangs. "You must be joking!" He looked at her with a mixture of dread and resignation. "Look, Tracy!" And then he began the change letting it sweep him slowly so that Tracy could watch it all. She watched in fascination as Nick's eyeteeth elongated into sharp inch-long fangs and the blue of his eyes disappeared to be replaced by glowing gold. "Do you believe me now?" He asked with the sensual timbre of the vampire. Tracy sat stunned into silence. He decided that she'd had enough. As slow as he had changed into his vampire mode he now quickly changed back. Then there was only the very human weary looking Nicholas Knight, who slumped into the chair next to her. Tracy jumped to her feet. "I don't get it! Why didn't you trust me? You knew that I knew about vampires and you never told me!" Her voice became louder and louder until she yelled. "Tracy." She nearly didn't hear him, but he stopped her with that single quiet word. "I am 800 years old Tracy. I've lived through the Spanish Inquisition and the witch hunt. I've been hunted quite a few times throughout my life and it wasn't pleasant. Even now, in these modern times there are people who hunt us. The more people that know what I am, the more my life is in danger. And the same applies for the people that guard our secrets." That gave her something to digest for a while. He was eight hundred years old. Eight hundred! He was older than Vachon or Urs or Screed. And he was her partner. A vampire homicide cop. God, just how much control did he have to remain unchanged at a crime scene? She could remember a few times when he acted a little funny at the bloodier crime scenes and during those times he usually disappeared pretty fast for a while and... Mentally she slapped herself. All the time, the pieces of information had been right here, under her nose, but she never put them together. Somehow it all seemed wrong. Even after she had seen him change, after he had admitted it himself, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was just an ordinary human being. He was so normal! And he was gentle and kind and he really cared about people. It just doesn't fit! "Tracy? Are you ok?" Here again! He was concerned about her, cared about her and sounded a bit scared? She was curious and her mind sizzled with questions. Where to begin? "Are you really eight hundred years old?" He leaned back in his chair, a little smile playing round his lips. She wanted to play Twenty Questions. Just like a cop. Well it was better than her screaming at him or searching for the nearest stake. "Well, I was born on the eleventh of march, 1195, so I'll be eight hundred in a little over a month. But vampires generally tend to round up decades or even centuries, so a month more or less doesn't matter. Next question?" Next question, God she had hundreds of questions! "Where do you come from? What is your real name and how did you become a.. well.." "A vampire?" Nick finished her sentence. "Well that is an awful long story, Tracy. But to begin with your other questions, my real name is Nicholas de Brabant. As my name says I'm from Brabant. When I was born it belonged to France but nowadays most of it is part of Belgium. I was raised to become a knight and I fought in the sixth Crusade. I was wounded, captured, tortured and *generously* released after half a year. The church sent me home and on that journey I visited Paris, a woman offered me immortality, eternal youth and freedom from king and church. After spending half a year in a Moslem dungeon that offer was too tempting. She took me to her 'father' and he brought me across. They didn't tell me about the negative sides of their, of our existence until I had finished the transformation and by then it was too late to go back. Does that answer your question?" Boy, did it answer her question! Not only the one she'd asked but the next half dozen others she'd wanted to ask him next. Suddenly something else flashed through her mind. "Why did you tell me about this? I have never suspected a thing. Why? Why now?" "I think the one who has Nat knows what I am. Look at the letter. How do you think we get to the meeting place without a car? I don't think this indicates we should come by bus." "You mean whoever wrote this letter wants you to *fly* there?" He nodded. "But what about me, I definitely can't fly!" "But I can carry you." He answered dryly. Tracy opened her mouth to question his sanity but the phone stopped her. Before she could even blink he was at the phone. A male voice told him the location of a warehouse on the outskirts of Toronto. Before Tracy knew what was happening she was wrapped in his arms and moving through the skylight as he took on speed. to be continued ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (5/17) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 06:49:32 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Thank you for all the nice feedback. Just be warned that it will get a lot of weireder Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (5/17) part five What would you do out of love ? She woke with a throbbing headache. She was cold and it was dark. "Where the hell am I? And how did I get here?" Light, she needed some light to see where she was. She wanted to get up, but couldn't. Whoever brought her here had chained her feet to the bed. Her panic rose as the door opened and her unknown assailant stepped into the barley lit room. "I see you are awake." *** Nick burst into the warehouse like an angry whirlwind, dragging a disheveled Tracy with him. He stopped and listened. The warehouse was empty. No human heartbeat, no tingling sensation which would indicate the presence of one of his kind. Nothing. They began their search of the warehouse. In a small room on the North side they found a cot, table and a parcel. He stared at it. This one was addressed to Tracy, and it had a bonus. Glued to the package was a large magnificent crucifix. "Its for you, Tracy." He said with some trepidation. Tracy ripped the wrapping away. On top was a letter. She picked it up and started to read. I'm not here, but the entire building is under surveillance. I'm watching you right at this very moment. Miss Vetter the contents of the package are for you to use on your partner. If he does not comply Natalie Lambert will die a slow and painful death. Use the items on him and then leave. Don't try any tricks. Remember I'm watching you. Nick took the package and looked in it. The only items in the bag were a liquid filled syringe and a set of mean looking handcuffs. *** "What do you want with me?" "To use you as bait." "Bait ?" Natalie's thoughts started to race. "For whom ?" She slid her hand through her hair, nervous as hell. "For your vampire lover." He stated casually. "I need to study the genetic irregularities and unusual qualities of his vampire and", the man gazed her like a priced specimen, "he will do anything I want to keep you alive." After these words he left her alone in the dark room. *** "Nick, I can't use that stuff on you. He's after you and..." "Tracy, please ! It's the only way to keep Natalie alive." Desperation had filled his voice. "You love her, do you?" "Yes." "But what if he wants to kill you, Nick? Did you ever consider that, or would you die for her?" "Yes." His voice was brief and firm. For a brief moment Tracy was envious of Natalie. To have someone love her so much, even if he was a vampire. But the envy didn't last very long, as she remembered they could never have a sexual relationship without him draining her. She was in the same boat with Vachon. She looked into Nick's pleading eyes and surrendered. "Ok, ok, I'll do it." She took the syringe and the handcuffs and followed Nick to the cot. He sat down on the narrow bed and stared to the ground. Without looking at her he offered her his wrist and she locked the cuff. He closed his eyes almost violently, clenched his hands into fists and offered her his other wrist. *** Her thoughts raced. He knew about vampires, knew about Nick, their relationship and he wanted to use her to keep Nick submissive. This couldn't be happening! It had to be a bad dream and she would wake up soon. But somehow she knew that it was real. And if they couldn't find a way to escape, Nick would be imprisoned by this man just as she was. The man might be crazy but he was right about one thing. Nick would do anything to keep her safe. *** Tracy took his hand and felt his muscles tense. A quick click and it was done. He opened his eyes staring at the metal bond which kept his wrists together. Cautiously he tugged at the restrain, but the cuffs wouldn't give. "Titanium", he murmured. "Titanium and curare. He really knows our weaknesses." "This is curare?" Tracy looked at the syringe like it was a poisonous viper. "Nick, that stuff is lethal! It will kill you!" "It won't." His voice was tired. "You can't kill vampires with curare. But it will paralyze me. I won't be able to move or even talk for several hours." He tried to roll up his sleeve but he failed because of the cuffs. "You're serious, aren't you? You really want to go on with this?" "No, I don't *want* to do this. But for Nat's sake I have too." He awkwardly pushed up his sleeve and took a deep breath. "Do it!" She felt like a traitor as she emptied the syringe into his arm. Almost immediately he went limp. This wasn't right! He sat there on the edge of the cot looking like a ragdoll. At least she could change that. She struggled to move his body to a normal position on the bed. Damn, she wished Nat was here. The coroner would know how to move a body to a prone position. But if Nat were here he wouldn't be in this situation. She cursed under her breath and walked around the cot. She became aware that his eyes were tracking her movements. "Nick? Are you awake?" She asked. He blinked in reply. God, he was awake, and aware of what was happening around him! But he wasn't able to react. That had to be living hell for him! It had been quite some time since his last 'contact' with curare. He had ingested it unknowingly with a great amount of alcohol. He had been more intoxicated and lethargic than paralyzed. But this felt different. This time the curare was injected directly into his bloodstream and he would bet a months salary that this was stronger and purer than the stuff the bounty hunter had slipped him in the whiskey. He wasn't able to move his limbs. His brain delivered the commands, but his muscles weren't listening. The only thing he had control of were his eyes. He could see what was happening around him. Right now he was watching three men closing in on Tracy. He tried to warn her but she didn't understand his furious blinking. Tracy went out like a light. If looks could kill the three men would have been dead after the first glance as he stared at them with golden hued eyes. But they merely smiled as they blindfolded him and took him away. *** Tired, he was so tired. They were driving him through the city, changing roads apparently every second like they had no destination. At least it appeared that way to him. He was sure they had injected him with another dose of curare. He was so tired and he wouldn't be able to do anything for the next few hours. He fought against his fatigue. He had to stay awake or he would never discover their destination. His eyelids felt so heavy. He was just so very tired. Perhaps five minutes to rest his eyes. Before he realized it he was asleep. *** Streetlights shown over the body of Tracy Vetter. As she started to come too. Every muscle in her body screamed for attention, even a few she hadn't heard from before. Her brain kicked in, but was begging for one or two quarts of coffee. Her mind was groggy but she *knew* something was wrong. Suddenly she was wide awake, as adrenaline surged through her system. She remembered the kidnapping, the letter, Nick helpless on that cot and then...she touched the back of her throbbing head and discovered several bumps that didn't belong there. Ohhh God that hurts, she groaned as that part of her brain responsible for pain suddenly flared to the forefront. Her partner was missing, kidnapped by some unknown nutcase. It would also be a safe bet to assume that Nat hadn't shown up either. She had a terrible headache, wasn't sure of her location and she didn't know what to tell the Captain. A phone would be nice, right about now. She reached out for her cell phone. It was gone. So she set out in search of one. *** How long had he been gone? She was really hungry so she had been left alone for hours. Not that she would complain but she was still chained to the bed and she needed to go to the bathroom. The door opened and two new men came in. One released her from the chains and the other pressed the cold metal of a gun against her lumbar spine. "May I use the bathroom please?" The men said nothing, but complied with her request, taking her to small bathroom while they waited outside. Then they escorted her to a well furnished study and indicated that she take a seat before exiting the room. She heard the door lock from the outside. After some time one of the men returned with a tray of food. He set it on the table and left. Again the door was bolted. The food smelled delicious and she was half starved so she didn't wait for an invitation. She started to eat. She didn't hear the first man slip into the room. He waited until she was finished before he spoke "We have captured your vampire lover, Miss Lambert." Natalie started at the sudden voice and flinched as she heard what he was saying. They had Nick! Because they had used her as bait. How dare they! "If you behave, we will let you see him. He should be waking soon." Natalie nearly exploded at his impudence, but she forced herself to stay calm. She really wanted to, no she needed to see him! The man watched her battle her emotions and as she calmed down he opened the door and guided her through a corridor. At the end of the hall he unlocked a heavy metal door and opened it for her. She entered and gasped. The room was big. Divided evenly into two areas. One side of the room was a lab the other side.. was a cage! Nick lay spread-eagled on a heavy metal table on the lab's side of the room. She didn't need any explanations to know who the cage was for. It was for Nick. The men came forward and pushed her toward the cage door. She realized that she had been wrong. The cage was for both of them. After they had locked her up, the three men set about working on their captive vampire. Natalie watched with rising fear. "What are you doing to him?" she cried recognizing the IV tubing at Nick's throat. "We are taking his blood for analysis." The man stated calmly. "You can't do that! You'll will kill him!" "I seriously doubt that it will kill him, Dr. Lambert, but even if it should we shall still proceed. After all, he isn't even human." Without further discussion he made a few last minute adjustments and Natalie heard the mechanism hum to life. Her worst fears were realized at the sound of motor. She didn't have a clear view, but she didn't need one either, she could recognize the sound of a suction pump when she heard one. Holding on to the bars of her cell, she slid to her knees. They were going to drain him of every last drop of blood. *** Nick awoke from his sleep due to pain. Intense pain! He had tried to move but couldn't. Maybe the curare was still working but he didn't think so, as he could scream. Even as he knew they were his own screams that echoed throughout the room, his mind refused to grasp it. The agony was too great to accept sight or sound, even those sounds that issued from his own throat. And with these thoughts Nick fell into the light. *** LaCroix woke with a start. Nicholas was being tortured, his son was in agony! His mental screams were almost more than the ancient could endure. The sun was up but that wouldn't stop him from going to help him. He concentrated on the link to find Nicholas' location, his son didn't know where he was, but it didn't matter, he would follow the pain to its source. Nicholas was becoming weaker and his pitiful mental pleas for help hurt him even more than he would ever admit. He had to find him! He raced to the sewer tunnels blindly following the continuing pain that echoed in their link. Suddenly the link vanished. He tried to push into the eight century old connection but there was nothing. An empty void. This could mean only one thing. Nicholas was dead, his son was dead. LaCroix closed feral red eyes and released his own scream of agony. *** Nick's screams had ended long ago. Natalie knelt next to his limp form. Her face wet with tears. After the three 'scientists' were done with him, they had tossed him into the cage with her. He was so silent, so still. His wounds weren't healing and he felt ice cold, even for a vampire. " Nick, I love you. Please, don't leave me", she sobbed into his unhearing ears. to be continued ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (6/17) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 06:50:38 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (6/17) part six stairways He stood on a stairway. A stairway so gleaming white that it hurt his eyes. Several steps ahead was a door made out of warm polished wood. Where was he ? How did he get here ? Then he remembered. The shock, the pain of being drained forcefully, his screams and then the light. He was dead. He had to be. What else did he know about this situation? He was standing on a vast stairway in front of a door. A door he suddenly had the feeling he should know. Yes, he knew it, knew what was behind it. Home, his home. He started toward the door, but doubt stopped him. Was he worthy? Was he forgiven? Could he enter the afterlife or did he have to stay outside? Slowly he went closer to the door. The polished surface acted like a mirror. He could see himself very clearly. The glowing eyes, the fangs, they were still there and quite obvious. He tried to change back, to hide behind his human facade, but he couldn't. The signs of his vampirism were permanently embedded on his face. His soul wasn't human, he wasn't human, even in death. He looked at the door longingly, then turned around and started back to the stairs. He wasn't human, he didn't belong here. There was no peace here for creatures like himself. "Nicholas, my son, where are you going?" Nick stopped at the sound of the voice, but didn't turn around. He knew the voice. He hadn't heard it in 775 years but he would always recognize it! "Father?" "My son, where are you going?" He hung his head in shame. How could he tell his own father what he had become? That there was no place for him here because of what he was? Suddenly strong, warm arms encircled him and turned him around. A hand placed under his chin gently tilted his face upwards. Nick wanted to run, he wanted to hide, but his father's arms wouldn't let him go. The only thing he could do was close his eyes so he didn't have to see the look of disgust on his father's face, when he realized what he had become. "Nicholas." The voice was soft and gentle, not the accusing harsh tone he had expected. "Nicholas, open your eyes." He opened his eyes and hesitantly looked in the eyes of his father. There was no ire, no hate, no disgust in his eyes, only love and understanding....and compassion. "It wasn't suppose to be this way my son," he heard his father say before he was embraced by him. "But..I..I... don't understand," Nick stammered. He could remember his father's lessons about unholy creatures quite well. In his father's eyes he had to be some sort of monster. A monster of his own making. Why was his father not repulsed by his appearance? "Come, sit down my son. We have a lot to talk about." *** She had closed his eyes because she couldn't endure his unseeing stare. Like a corpse, he had stared into nothing. His skin was pasty white and she hadn't registered a heartbeat in over thirty minutes. There had been nothing. As a coroner she knew all the signs of death. But he couldn't be dead. He had to be alive she had too much to tell him. All the things she had thought there would be time enough for.... He is a vampire, he is immortal, so she had thought, but now... She had cried until she had no more tears. Soaked his face with the salty drops. It had been a long time since her last real prayer but the words poured effortlessly from her lips. She prayed for him to be alive, to stay with her. She had never really told him about the depth of her love for him. *** He sat down on the stairs next to his father. His father seemed nervous, like the time when he had questioned him about Adam and Eve. But that was a long time ago, he had been three or four years old then. Why should his father be nervous now? "You must know my son, when you were born something happened that never should have happened." Nick looked at him questionably. "My son, you were never meant to be... human." He stared at his father in disbelief as the message hit home. Never meant to be human! How was this possible? Was it possible? How..? Why..? What did it mean? Maybe this wasn't the passage to afterlife. Maybe he was in hell already... . "I know it sounds unbelievable for you, but it is the truth. You should have been a vampire right from the beginning." "But that's impossible!" His fathers eyes told him different. "Why? How..?" "What do you remember from before?" "Before I became a vampire?" "No, before you were born." *** It had been an hour now. A full hour of waiting, praying and hoping against all odds. There had been no sign that there was still life in his unmoving form. She had curled up beside him, laying her head on his cold and too silent chest. Maybe he was really dead, but she couldn't allow herself to think like that. A fresh crop of tears began. She didn't think she had anymore left. She was wrong. Not a single heartbeat had resonated through his chest. She knew that, she had waited for it. Maybe she should wait a little while longer. Maybe with such a great blood loss it slowed his system down to almost nothing. It was a single thread of hope, and she clung to it beyond all reason. *** "Before I was born? But I didn't exist before I was born." "That's not true. This life is not your first one. You had a very long life before. You just don't remember." A life before! He tried to understand it, but his imagination failed him. His father's hand brushed against his forehead. "Maybe its time for you to remember," he heard his father say before his world exploded. *** How long had he been floating, caressed by memories? He didn't know. Didn't care. There had been so much. So many memories pushing at his mind which wanted to be remembered, so much knowledge that needed to be noticed, which would be known. Eight hundred years had seemed a long life before. But now.... He remembered it all. And in remembering knew he couldn't stay here. He glanced to his father. His father, not in the traditional mortal way of thinking but his father nonetheless. "What happens now?" he asked. The Father smiled. "At the moment you go back and right the things that went wrong." "But Father, I'm not the same as I once was. I'm only eight hundred years old. No one will listen to me. And even if they do they won't believe me. We have been too influenced by the stories the world has made of us." The smile never left the face of the Father as he heard his son's worries. He waited patiently until his son was finished. "Nicholas, you worry too much," he chided softly. "You will be sent back to your *new* body but it will be like you've never died. Not the first time and not the second. You are still the first and you will always be it. And I'll give you a sign, proof that what you are telling them is true. They will believe you." He stood up and reached down to help his son up. "Father?" There was one thing Nick needed to know before he could go back. "Yes, my son?" "Will I.. will I ever be able to see the sun again?" "You really miss it, don't you?" the Father asked but he didn't need an answer, the longing look in Nicholas' eyes was all he needed to see. Nick simply nodded. "Then I'll give it to you and to your future children." The Father smiled broadly and patted his shoulder. "Take it as my wedding present." And with these words Nick fell through the light. *** Three hours. He had been gone for three hours now. There had been no improvement in his situation. Slowly she started to lose hope. Even he wasn't indestructible like she had first believed. Suddenly his body was surrounded by a faint blue glow. . The last time she had seen that particular glow had been before her brother turned into ashes. She pushed herself away from him and clenched her eyes shut. A small sob escaped her. She couldn't do it, couldn't watch his body dissolving into ash. Silence. It was far too silent. And then she heard a cough. A weak little cough, but a cough nonetheless. Hesitantly she opened her eyes and met Nicks. He was alive! He was awake! She rushed to him. "Nick?" "Nat." Weak, he was so weak, he barely could move his lids at all and he needed blood very badly. "Nat, I need ..." He didn't finished the sentence. She knew what he needed. Natalie looked around, but there was no blood for him in the cell. The only available blood was her own. She made her decision. She had nearly lost him today and she would never let that happen again! Natalie helped him to a sitting position and then guided his mouth toward her neck. He noticed what she was doing. If she had offered this before he had learned everything today he would have denied himself the much needed substance. But now...now all he needed was Nat's permission to go on. "Nat, are you sure?" She didn't answer, she just pressed his face tighter into her neck. And softly, almost like a caress, he slipped his fangs in her jugluar vein. *** It was much more than she had ever expected, ever imagined. He had told her about the emotional aspect of drinking blood but she had never thought it would be like this. His whole life exploded in her mind. What he had done, what he had felt, everything. His pain and his joy and his feelings for her. It was wonderful. She could fell his love for her, it was so strong and warm, so right. Surrounding her like a cocoon. The pictures slowed and then the world around her went black. *** Her blood exploded on his tongue, a cornucopia of flavors. So much more than her blood scent had implied and even that had driven him half mad at times. Her life opened up before him. Her childhood, her family, her brother, Richard, she felt responsible for his wrong doings and his death. Her betrayal still hurt. Then he saw himself so prominent in her memories. From their first meeting in the morgue to the developing friendship and then their love, her love. It was washing through him, filling his veins with joy, singing in his mind. Her love for him made her blood so sweet, so unforgettable he had never tasted anything like it before. It had made it hard for him to stop, but he did. Now she was at the brink between life and death. He tore his wrist open and let his blood drip into her mouth. "Nat, I love you. I need you. Please come back to me." *** Natalie blinked at the sudden brightness. The desert. She was standing in the desert by the lake. Just like Nick had described it. And there was the door. The door into the light and the guide. She walked towards it. The guide, he looked like.. "Grandfather, is that really you?" The guide smiled. "It's me and it's not me. You have to accept the answer. It is the only one I can give you." For a brief moment she felt like she was three years again and he was explaining her the multitude of miracles around her. "I have a choice here, right?" "Not really. Deep in your heart you've already chosen your path. I'm just here to wish you luck." She could hear Nick's voice calling to her. Her grandpa was right. She had already made her choice. Out of reflex she hugged her grandfather one last time. "Thank you, Grandfather," she smiled as she waved him goodbye and then walked back to the darkness and into her new life. *** He was a bit worried that she would choose the path into the light instead of coming back to him. Yes, he had tasted her love for him and there was his father's cryptic message but he couldn't stop himself from worrying. A gentle and then a more insistent tugging at his wrist told him that Nat was back and that she was swallowing his blood into her half starved system. He let her drink until she reached her limit then he watched her as she fell into a deep sleep. She would sleep the whole day now, finishing the changes that had already begun to take place in her. And she would need lots of blood when she awoke this evening. Lots of blood that he didn't have. A door was opened and he looked up to see a man entering the room. The man crossed the room and stopped in front of the cage. Nick waited. "You have brought her across," the man stated. "Yes. It's not like you left me with much of a choice. It was that or kill her." Why deny it, his captors had known enough about vampires in general and him specifically to keep him caged here, he should know the signs of a newly converted vampire. "How much blood will you both need?" Nick absentmindedly stroked Nat's hair. "She will need at least ten to twelve pints to come through first hunger without going mad. I don't need that much. Six to seven pints should be sufficient for me." The man left without any further words. A short time later a small door was opened and a cold box was shoved into the cell. He opened the box and eyed it's contents. The box was filled to the top with units of whole blood. More then he or Nat would need for today. He closed the lid of the box. The implied message was clear. His captors didn't plan on releasing them soon. to be continued Simone Nicole Dornecker a.k.a. Silvercat Simone_Dornecker@Yahoo.com or Moonwing@Hotmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (7/17) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 06:34:05 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (7/17) part seven The sign of the Father It was sometime around noon and Nick was so restless that he couldn't even think about sleeping. First he had checked the cage for a way to escape, but he didn't find one. This cage was designed specially for vampires. He paced restlessly inside cell, careful not to disturb Natalie's transition. He felt strange, like something was wrong but he couldn't put his finger on it. His pacing grew faster and then suddenly a vibration struck him. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation. More like a tickling where none should have been. He fell to his knees as he lost his balance. He heard his shirt ripping and instantly an intense itching began on his back. And his scalp was crawling too. The vibrations were very unsettling. It was driving him mad! As suddenly as it had begun it stopped again, only to be replaced by the feeling of raw energy pulsing through every fiber of his body. It felt strange, but good, like something was returning to him, something he hadn't even realized was missing. Memories, knowledge and links were woven into his mind, layer after layer until he couldn't stand the emotional onslaught anymore and blacked out. *** The day had passed and he had sat, contemplating and remembering. He hadn't slept or fed, he had done nothing since he had felt the death of his son. Nothing, except remember Nicholas and all their times together. The good and the bad. He had sired many others over his 2000 years, but he had only recognized Janette and Nicholas as his true children. Janette was still there but.. without her stubborn fiery brother it wouldn't be the same anymore. LaCroix was so consumed by grief that he didn't notice the link reforming somewhere at the back of his mind. *** Nick drifted back to consciousness. The sun was still up so he allowed himself the luxury of keeping his eyes closed. He felt good, strange but good. His mind felt whole again and he hadn't even known that anything was missing. Then he noticed that something *was* gone, but he wouldn't miss it at all. His bloodlust, the gnawing hunger, the urge to kill, had all vanished like they had never been. The vampire was still there but more centered, focused. His powers all submitted to his will. No, that wasn't true. After what he had learned today he knew that the vampire wasn't part of him but he was the vampire. Pure and simple. Complete with a human facade so not to scare the humans. He nearly drifted back to sleep, but fought back the fatigue. After several minutes he opened his eyes but saw nothing. He did see something but couldn't believe what he was seeing. Hair. A veil of blond hair was blocking his vision. It had to be his own hair but it had never been this long before. So that was what the itching feeling on his scalp had been. His hair growing at an unusual speed. He jumped on his feet. Or tried to but stumbled because his center of balance had been shifted. Seriously shifted. He fought with his hair and his lack of balance and finally got to his feet. He had to know what had happened. If his scalp had been itching because of the rapid hair growth, then what had happened to his back? The itching there had been longer and more severe than on his head. He barely noticed the shreds that once had been his shirt as he craned his head to look his back. This was obviously Father's promised proof. A very obvious proof indeed. He glanced over at Nat. She had them too, only her sweater thankfully stayed half intact. He sighed. Now their lives would become really complicated. Next to impossible in fact. How could they explain *this*? This was far too obvious to hide. How could he tell LaCroix or Tracy or the Captain? What would become of their lives? He slumped back to the floor. With sundown about two hours away he had some time to think of some really good explanations as to why he and Nat suddenly had wings. Come to think of it, what was he going to tell Nat? to be continued Simone Nicole Dornecker a.k.a. Silvercat Simone_Dornecker@Yahoo.com or Moonwing@Hotmail.com ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (8/17) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 06:36:09 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (8/17) part eight rescue The sun went down and Natalie woke with a burning hunger. It hurt! It felt like her gut was on fire! She gasped for air. Something was thrust into her field of vision. It smelled good, tasty. Hunger! Blindly she grabbed for it and sunk her teeth into it. Cold liquid burst into her mouth. Good, it was so good. She swallowed. It soothed the burning ache, but it wasn't enough. The bag was empty. Too soon! She needed more! The empty bag was replaced by a full one. Happily she started to drink again. She didn't count how many bags she emptied, but finally the burning need was sated. She licked her lips savoring the last drops and recorded fragments of information from another life. Only bits and pieces of that life registered but it had only been one or two drops after all. It was the second time she had felt into another's soul, before she had been too hungry, too greedy to notice. Slowly she drifted back to reality. Nick was hovering over her smiling *that* smile that always melted her inside. "Welcome back, Nat." Something was different. She berated herself, but the tiny voice telling her that something was different that shouldn't *be* wouldn't quiet. Nick moved his head and the artificial light picked up the headlights of liquid gold in his hair. His hair. Mentally Nat smacked herself. His hair was so *long*, floating around his hips and it had been short before... "Nick, how long have I been out?" "A day, why?" Natalie stared at him. He followed her stare and realized what she was looking at. "This happened sometime around noon. I've yet to get use to it myself. And Nat...that's is not the...only thing that's changed." He sounded so hesitant, it worried her. She fingered a strand of her own hair. It felt so alive and it reached down all her back. She eyed him. He looked pretty much the same... except... Something caught her eye. There was something unusual on his back. It almost looked like... "Turn around." He gave her an apologetic smile and turned. If she had still been a mortal, her heart would have skipped a beat, or two or maybe it would have stopped beating altogether. But now... She stared at him in shocked silence. Ok, just knowing Nick had opened her eyes to a whole new world of wonder. Everyday she was forced into believing pretty incredible things but this was simply too much. He craned his head and gave her that little boy lost look. She burst into laughter. "What?" He tried to look hurt. "Mr. I-have-no-soul-and-if-I-had-one-it-would-be-damned, you look like you've just escaped from some angelic painting. I should paint you white and arrange you on a little pedestal and you would make a terrific church statue." He grinned mischievously. "And what about you?" *That* silenced her. Wildly she jumped to her feet, stumbled like he had the first few times and finally found her balance. There was something on her back as well but it couldn't be.. she craned her head to look at her back.... "Oh, my....! This isn't happening. It can't be!" *** He began the process as soon as possible. Soon everything would be OK again. He had watched the vampire bring across the mortal doctor, had recorded it with hidden cameras, he knew exactly what must be done. The struggling of his insane child fighting against bonds she couldn't break persisted. Her growls and the hissing saddened his heart. But she would be sane again. He would bring her to the brink of death and take her back with the vampire's blood. The blood would heal the damage in her brain, repairing her mind and changing her forever. Making her immortal. Then he would repeat the process with his other children. Everything would be alright again. *** They had searched the entire day for even the subtlest clues but found nothing. Cohen had sent Tracy home. She was driving them crazy. Although Cohen could understand her worry, they didn't need her hyper attitude right now. It didn't look good. The warehouse had been almost squeaky clean and the area around it was nearly deserted. Nobody had seen a thing. "Captain?" She returned from her thoughts. "Yes, Miller?" "There is a man who says that he might possibly have seen something." A witness! That would help. "Where is he?" "Outside." Miller pointed towards the bullpen. "And I should w..." Cohen didn't listened to her anymore. She left her office and...was immediately pinned to the ground by a huge Bernese Mountain dog slobbering over her face. "..warn you, Captain, he has this huge playful dog." Miller finished her sentence. "Nyko, come here." The man said and the dog released her. She stood up, wiped the drool from her face and tried to regain her dignity. She eyed the man. He was old, with traces of white hair left, his age made him appear fragile. But although he looked worn he was quite agile and very talkative. He told them about his wife and how she had died suddenly four years ago, shortly before their 51st wedding anniversary. His children bought the dog for him, because they didn't want him to feel lonely. But he missed her nonetheless and often when he couldn't sleep, he would go out for a walk with Nyko. Like last night. It had been such a clear and beautiful night and he wasn't afraid in the dark, Nyko was always with him, so he had walked through the warehouse area. He had noticed the van and grown suspicious because it was around midnight. Three men had dumped something in the back of the van and drove away. "I suddenly became so tired, you know sometimes these things happen to me but the doctor said I'm eighty-one and things like that are to be expected. So I went home and barely made it to bed. When I woke up I called you folks." This was good. The man was a witness that every policeman dream of. Not only did he give them a description of the men, but also the license number. He even knew the make, model and year of the van. "You know your vans", the man had commented dryly, "with nine children we always had one as our family car." Now they would track them down quickly. Cohen started to shout orders, trying to ignore the faithful tail-wagging shadow following her. "He likes you", the old man shrugged when she stared at it, "He considers you family, he wants to play with you." Well, that had to wait. Until they would find Dr. Lambert and Detective Knight. *** After the initial shock passed, they seated themselves comfortably on the floor and he began to tell her what had transpired this day. He was just telling her how Father had revealed to him, that he never should have been a mortal. That he had had a long life as a vampire before he had been killed and was reborn as a human mortal when a soft tugging in his mind interrupted him. He concentrated. "NO!" "What happened?" "He's using my blood to bring someone across. And that person's mind is damaged. She's insane, Nat! I must stop him!" He started to shake a the bars of their cage in a frenzy but it was useless. "Nat, I have to stop him." But there was no way out. *** "Got him!" The plates of the van gave the name and address of Dr. Marcus Dasken, Doctor of Genetics, who had lost his medical license and was forced to leave his teaching position at the University of California due to unethical research methods, four years ago. He lived on the other side of Toronto in a sparely populated area. Cohen phoned Detective Vetter. Knight was her partner. If Dasken had him in his custody she had a right to be there when they freed him. *** A little red alert light started to blink. The police had accessed his computer data. Somehow the cops had found him. How? He had been so careful. Nervous he scratched his balding head. How long before they got here? He needed to gather his children and the precious blood needed to repair their sanity. He needed somewhere safe. He reached for the phone. *** He rested his head against the bars, his eyes feral red, growling in anger. This man had used his blood to create an insane vampire! And he was helpless. "Nick?" He nearly snarled at her in anger as he turned around. But this wasn't Nat's fault, she was just as helpless as he was, he tried to calm down. "Nick, what can we do?" "Nothing", he growled, "we can do nothing." Her shoulders slumped. She hated to be forced into waiting as much as he did, but that was all they could do now. Wait for someone to let them out, so that they could stop this insanity. And hope that someone would come quickly. *** The wheels were in motion. They had a search and arrest warrant for Dr. Dasken. Now they could go and find out if he was the man that had kidnapped Nick and Natalie. *** They were on their way here! Too soon! He had to leave now, while there was still a chance to escape. He looked back as he entered the van. His assistants had changed the plate numbers. It had to be enough to escape. His emotions were raw. He was leaving his children behind. He could only take the changing one with him, his faithful helpers and the blood of the vampire. He could create new children, but he felt such turmoil in leaving these. The door slammed shut. He started the motor. He wished he had time to check on the vampires. He had left them unobserved after delivering their nourishment. His child would need someone to teach her in their ways but he couldn't risk taking the vampires when there wasn't even sufficient time to rescue his children. He sighed as they drove away. *** Tracy gasped as she got out of the car. "God, looks like someone had been watching 'Frankenstein' one time too often." Cohen agreed. It was a really disturbing house. They knocked at the door. No answer. "The van isn't here." Officer Hansen had checked the garage. They forced the door open. As disturbing as the house was on the outside, it was worse on the inside. "How twisted do you have to be to live here." Tracy mumbled under her breath. That was before they found the creatures. Buried deep within the house they found a room with soundproof walls. And within the room a cage full of snarling, fighting wailing creatures. They stared at the horror before them. Was this some genetic experiment of Dasken's? This belonged in a horror movie. "Oh God, what has he done?" Cohen heard one of the officers whisper. Something stuck her. What did he want with Knight and Lambert? She looked at the madness before her and prayed they were ok. *** Nick was pacing restlessly, emitting low frustrated growls now and then. He wanted desperately to do something. He concentrated on the new link. The insane woman was changing too rapidly. Soon she would wake, mad and hungry, somewhere in the city. Lives would end because of her and in doing so she would endanger the discovery of their entire community. He stopped. What about him and Nat? They didn't appear entirely human anymore. Were they breaking the code? Somehow he doubted it. They may not look completely human anymore but the last thing someone would assume was that they were vampires. Fathers gift of the sun would be a bonus as well. Suddenly the door to the lab burst open and Cohen, Tracy and several police officers poured into the room. He retracted his fangs and let his eyes turn blue. They had found them. Now they would be freed and could hunt down this woman before the damage was done. *** They came farther into the room and stopped short. The sight was too fantastic. Tracy's jaw nearly hit the ground. "Nick? Nat? That you?" "Tracy, what took you so long?" Nick forced himself to ask lightly. "We expected you sooner." God, how could he make jokes about this? Tracy asked herself. She hadn't recovered from his first surprise, hadn't digested the knowledge that he was a vampire yet and *boom* he came with another one. And Natalie, too. She eyed her suspiciously. Was she a vampire, too? She suspected it. "What happened?" "That's a long story Captain and we have not much time. He used us to create an insane creature. We must get to her before he lets her loose in the city." His voice was urgent. Tracy recalled the sight of the other creatures they had found and shivered. If he could cross the vampire gene with one of these mad beings, anything could happen. to be continued Simone Nicole Dornecker a.k.a. Silvercat Simone_Dornecker@Yahoo.com or Moonwing@Hotmail.com Your mouse cursor has been moved. Please restart Windows to adappt changes. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (9/17) Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 06:37:19 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (9/17) part nine outsider It had taken some time to find the releasing mechanism for the cage door, precious time, while the van that contained the changeling raced deeper and deeper into the heart of the city. The news about the insane creature, on the verge of setting loose somewhere in the city had spread fast around the officers. Some had seen the insane creatures and could imagine what danger potential was being released if they didn't stop them. *** Nick almost shot out of the cage. He was half way out of the room when the Captain called. "Where are you going, Knight?" Reluctantly he stopped. "I've got to stop her Captain!" "And how will you find her?" Natalie joined Nick's side. "He's mentally linked to her, Captain." Cohen raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. Too many weird things had happened tonight. When this was over she would take a long and hopefully boring vacation. She followed the two outside. *** The icy temperature of early February hit them as they exited the house. For the first time in many centuries Nick felt the cold. He shivered. Maybe it was not such a good idea to go out in the cold without a coat or even a shirt. "Nick, here, before you freeze." Tracy handed him his coat. She had found it discarded in the lab and was now grateful that she had taken it with her. Her partner looked chilled to the bone, she wasn't sure if vampires could catch a cold. "Thanks, Tracy." He took the coat and tried to get it on. But he couldn't. The wings were stopping him. He couldn't pretend they weren't there. It dawned on him that he would have lots of trouble and complications because of them. He forced himself to concentrate. He needed some sort of openings or slits... With some fast rips he tore two slits into his coat. Finally he was able to put it on. At least now he was warmer. He could concentrate on the changeling again. He closed his eyes and listened...demising darkness and hunger, so much hunger, rattling sounds and sudden movements, street lamps passing through, casting shadows, hunger...prey,...nearby..... hunger.. He had found her! She was waking, preparing to feed, to kill, to do anything to quench the terrible hunger. He had to get to her! Fast! Thoughtfully he eyed the wings. Could he really fly with these? Well, there was only one way to find out. "Nick, where are you going?" "I have to get to her, Nat!" "I'll come with you." "No. It is too dangerous for you. You're too young. You need to learn so much. If I take you with me now, you could get caught in the hunt and then...then I'll lose you." He thought but he didn't say it aloud, she understood him just the same. Reluctantly she let him go. *** It was different to actually fly with wings, but he could get used to it. With his senses stretched to maximum he found the signature of the woman quickly. But not fast enough. He landed next to the crashed van and opened the backdoor. She was feeding on the man who had captured him, ripping him to shreds, while she feasted on the warm spurting blood. Two other men were half slumped in the front seat of the van, their throats torn out. The woman, no, he corrected himself as he eyed her, the young female was a mixture of human and leopard, down to the spots of her fur. She was feeding and the waves of madness she had emitted earlier where gone, there was only satisfaction that the hunger was quenched and a growing awareness. With a sudden insight he understood what the man had done and why he had done it. The child was regaining her sanity and he hoped that she was strong enough to get through the realization of what she had become...and what she had done. He stepped closer to the van and the girl stopped feeding and looked up. Her eyes were golden hues but they changed back to an emerald shade of green. "What happened? Where am I and who are you?" She was sane. Sane and scared because she didn't know what had happened while she had been insane. "Calm down, child. What's your name?" "Rachel", she murmured, "Rachel Allyson." "Rachel listen to me, what is the last thing you can remember?" "I..I ran away from home. I had to. And then I was alone and it was cold and I was hungry. A man came and asked me if I would like a warm place to stay. I thought he was a priest, he had that collar you know. He took me with him, gave me something to eat and then he hit me with a syringe. That's all. What happened? Who are you?" He took a step closer, stepping into the light of a street lamp. "My name is Nick. Nick Knight. I'm a police officer." She stared at him. "What are you?" He followed her stare. "That is a long, long story, Rachel. And I'll tell you in time, but not at the moment." He closed his eyes. How could he tell her? "Rachel there is something you should know. The man, who took you with him, he.. used you... in some kind of experiments..." She stared at him. "What do you mean? How..?" She gestured with her hands and then she stopped, looking at her hands, arms, the soft fur growing everywhere. Then she noticed the blood. The blood on her hands. Rachel looked down at the mutilated corpses at her feet, at the front of the van, stared back at her hands, at the blood slowly dripping from her claws. Her eyes were wide in shock. "I've done this." She whispered. "I did this, didn't I? I killed them!" She cried. "God, I killed them!" She broke down and sobbed. He took her, holding her against his chest and let her cry. She needed the release. "Its OK, little one. You couldn't stop it. You didn't know what was happening to you. Do you hear me?" She simply nodded. "Then listen to me Rachel, what you experienced is called 'first hunger'. I've lived through that, too." She looked at him questionably and he answered her silent question with a nod. "It is hard to explain, Rachel. The treatment the man gave you made you insane and he needed something to make you sane again. He kidnapped me and my girlfriend.." That thought made him smile inwardly, what would Nat say if she knew he was referring to her as his girlfriend? "..and he stole my blood and used it on you. It turned you into a vampire...just like me." Rachel gasped. "No, that's not true! It can't be true! You aren't a vampire! There are no such things. There can't be..." "Rachel.." She looked up into the face of a vampire. "Believe me Rachel." He managed a smile, an odd smile, interrupted by his fangs. "It is true. I'm a vampire and so are you." She whimpered. "Rachel...its ok, it will be ok." "How..?" She wailed. "I look like a monster, you told me that I'm a monster and I've killed. How can life ever be OK again?" He flinched slightly at the word monster. He had believed the same thing just several days before. At least he had the human facade to hide behind. This girl had nothing. "Little one I don't know how to make it OK again, but I know something else. You're not a monster, understand? Vampires aren't monsters, just another race." He rubbed her back soothingly, feeling her nod against his shoulder. "We are a small race, little one, and humans fear us, they make horror stories about us, because they don't understand us. They fear what they don't understand, little one, and they would hunt us down if they knew that we existed. So our existence is a secret. You can never tell a human that you're a vampire, that we exist, understood?" Another nod. "Then come with me, Rachel. You've a lot to learn now. And I want to introduce you to my girlfriend." "You're taking me with you? Why?" "The man who turned you, used my blood. That makes me your father in the vampiric way of thinking. And even if I weren't bound to you in that way, I know what you are going through Rachel, and I won't cast you out." She was silent but clutched to him like she feared he would vanish into thin air the next moment. "Ready to go?" Rachel nodded. "Then hold on tight." And he took to the air again. *** Natalie was pacing. Nick was gone for only half an hour, but it seemed like eternity to her. Damn, she wished she could use that link-thing, but she didn't know how. Distantly she watched forensics covering the scene. Her hand itched. Absentmindedly she removed the ace bandage. The wound was completely healed and the now useless stitches were making her itch. She borrowed a scissors and a pair of tweezers from one of the forensics team. It wasn't a suture removal set, but it would do in a pinch. She started to remove the stitches. She was so absorbed in removing them, it took her some time before she noticed the stares. People were staring at her. She could feel their glares on her. Suddenly she felt alone. It was ridiculous. She was surrounded by people, people she knew, worked with, her friends even, but she felt like she didn't belong here, belong to them. A shiver ran down her spine. They were staring at her and she wanted to hide. She didn't like this feeling. Tracy approached her. "Nat? You OK?" Tracy looked at her thoughtfully. Nat was very pale and she had that look in her eyes. The look she had noticed sometimes when Nick let his guard down. "Natalie, please, don't shut me out." "I'm not shutting you out, Tracy. But I've the feeling everyone is shutting *me* out! Look Tracy, they are all staring at me!" "Of course they are all staring at you, Nat. For goodness sake, you grew wings! That isn't supposed to be possible! But it happened and now they are trying to believe in something unbelievable." Natalie was dazzled. She hadn't thought of that. "Thank you, Trace." "Hey Nat, that's what friends are for. To knock some sense in each other." They laughed. "But", she lowered her voice, "I want to know. I mean.. I know what Nick is. Are you one, too?" "Yes", Nat's voice was equally quiet, "he brought me across today. It was the only way. Otherwise he would have died the true death." Tracy gasped at the indication. "Trace", Natalie closed her eyes at the memories, "Nick was dead for over three hours this morning." "No!" "Yes, he was. They had drained his body of every last drop of blood. He.. he died, walked into the light. But he was sent back. He was so weak and needed blood desperately. I had only mine to offer him. So I gave him my blood and he brought me across in exchange. And then, while I was sleeping, this happened." She gestured at her back. "Must have been a real shock." "Tell me about it." Tracy wanted to answer something, but a soft whoosh of displaced air told them both that Nick was back. He approached them, carrying a small figure in his arms. "Nat, Tracy, this is Rachel." to be continued Simone Nicole Dornecker a.k.a. Silvercat Simone_Dornecker@Yahoo.com or Moonwing@Hotmail.com Your mouse cursor has been moved. Please restart Windows to adappt changes. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circles (10/17) Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 05:43:37 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (10/17) part ten: So what happens now ? She rubbed her forehead and sighed. Her head was killing her. Too many questions tumbling through her mind. Too many and they wouldn't keep quiet. Couldn't keep quiet until she had her answers. Cohen looked through her office window. They were still here. A crowd had been gathering around them. There were others who wanted answers, too. But she couldn't wait. She needed her answers right now. "Nick, Natalie..." She hesitated first but then... "Can I talk to you? In private?" They nodded and made their way through the crowd. Cohen closed the office door behind them, eyed them. They were tired, after the ordeal of the last days she could expect that. Knight was still carrying the changed girl. Rachel had refused to let go of him. She had hidden herself even more when somebody wanted to touch her. Cohen could understand that. Missing persons had wound up with a match. Rachel Allyson had been reported missing three years ago. She had been seven and a half years old when she disappeared. So young, too young. Knight had told them Rachel's last coherent memories. She couldn't begin to imagine what it felt like to wake up to find that three years were gone. Simply gone without memories. To find that her body had changed into something different, something strange and that she had killed at least three men while she had been insane. No, that was something she didn't even wanted to imagine. Rachel had been dangerously near the edge. And then Knight had come to her aid. He hadn't judged her but comforted her, treated her like a normal person, no she realized, like his own child. He understand her. And why not, he had been changed too. She looked at the small form in Knight's arms. Rachel had curled in a cat like fashion and seemed to be sound asleep but she knew that wasn't true. Every time somebody tried to take her out of his arms she woke up wailing and wouldn't stop until she felt safe in his arms again. He was the only person she trusted. Rachel was afraid, scared about the strange new situation, but at least she was sane. She was more lucky than the others. Cohen shivered. Forensics weren't finished with the house yet, but she had seen enough. Dasken had been a sick mind. The other creatures were changed children like Rachel, but hopelessly insane. Maybe they would never find out who they were. But they had been children, normal human children once upon a time and he had ripped that away from them. That was truly sickening. And the worst thing had been that he had feed them humans, living humans, had let them tear them into shreds. They had found a sort of cold room with two more shredded corpses. The case of the "beast murders" was solved at least. Yes, the name did fit. Dasken had truly been a beast. Her thoughts returned to the present. They were waiting for her to begin. "Sorry my mind was elsewhere. Please take a seat." It took some awkward moments until they decided to stand during the conversation. Back-rests, they discovered, didn't go well with wings. "I don't think I even want to know how this," she indicated their changed forms, "happened, but I need to know why he had kidnapped you. And what he had wanted from you." Natalie glanced at Nick. <> <> Natalie started to tell how she had been kidnapped while opening her apartment and about the conversation she had with Dasken (well, most of it). Then Nick told how he had been forced to decide between Nat's life or captivity. He couldn't say that much about his kidnappers because he had been sedated most of the time. Natalie chimed in. "Dasken wanted Nick. He told me that he took me as bait for him." "And why did he want you? I don't think it is connected with your foundation." Nick sighed. Cohen was too perspective. Now he had to give her another tiny bit of truth or she would start digging. He couldn't have her digging right now. "I...have some.. uh...genetic anomalies. I don't know how he found out, but he knew about them." "Anomalies ?" "Yes, they spread in my family. My allergies are genetically based disadvantages." "He wanted you, because you have genetic disabilities? Why do I have trouble believing this?" The question made him uncomfortable, but he had to answer her. "We also have several positive abilities like nightvision, enhanced hearing and a mental link with other family members." Cohen was surprised as he revealed just an other secret. How many secrets did that man have? How could she ever trust him without fearing he would hide something else before her? "There was nothing about it in your personal file." She objected. "No. It's a family secret. We never talk about it or admit it. There are too many bad memories. My family is very old and those anomalies are old, too. We have lost many family members because of curious or hysteric people in the past. Sadly our anomaly fit in many legends of the undead, so the people treat us like the undead. Even today there are too many who would want to dissect us. The events of the last day have shown that it was right to conceal those anomalies." He turned and looked out of the office window, unconsciously tightening his grip around Rachel. Cohen eyed her detective. He had been silent about many things, was carrying so many secrets. She should be angry with him, more than angry, but she wasn't. She could understand him. He had kept those things secret because he wanted to live a normal life. But now his and Natalie's normal lives would be over. The changes seemed to be permanent and they were very very obvious. "I can't say that I agree with you but I can understand why you've done it. But I don't think that you can conceal the changes that happened to you. What will you do now?" The two looked at each other, like they were communicating mentally and with a start Cohen realized that this was a true possibility. Didn't Knight mention that he was mentally linked to his family? And Natalie had said Nick was mentally linked to Rachel, but Rachel didn't belong to his family. So Dasken had played with their DNA, obviously even with Natalie's. Her suspicion grew as they seemed to finish their silent discussion. "Captain, we don't know what to do now. This all, it took us by surprise and we don't know what was affected by this change. We need some time for us to figure this out." She nodded. This was understandable. "How much time do you need?" Nick's thoughts raced. They would need all the time they could get. He had to train Natalie and Rachel and they had to work out how to live with the sudden and permanent changes in their lives. He summed up vacation time and all the accumulated overtime he could think about. "Uhh.. a month maybe ?" That should be enough to teach them the very basics and to discover the biggest changes in their lives. Cohen nodded. She would have approved even if he had asked for a year. This was turning their lives upside down and if that wasn't an excuse for some private time, nothing was. "What about Rachel?" Rachel looked up as soon as she heard her name. Yes, what about her? "I think it is for the best if she stays with us." Yes, it would be for the best of the child. Social service would never find a foster home for her in her state of being and Rachel didn't trust any adult except Knight. The pressing headache seemed to ease a little as some things simply fell in place. Cohen promised to send Tracy around with some of Natalie's stuff. The two of them had decided to stay at Knight's loft and while she wanted some of her stuff, she didn't want to be seen by one of her neighbors. Their story would be all over town in half an hour. "Oh God! Sydney! I've totally forgotten him! He hadn't had food or water for more than 44 hours! He must be starving! And he will be absolutely mad at me!" A smile washed over Cohen's face. If Natalie Lambert started to worry over her cat it seemed to get back to normal after a long weird time. "Actually one of the patrol officers took him with her. Laurie Travens, I think you know her. Has three or four cats of her own. Figured that he needed some attention and brought him with her. Sydney has been here the whole time and my officers have spent their spare time by spoiling him." By now the smile had turned into a full fledged grin. It had been an interesting thing to witness. Natalie released a sigh. She was happy that Sydney was safe and sated but.. she knew the guys at the precinct. It was a safe bet that they had spoiled him rotten. And now she would have to deal with the aftermath. Syd would be impossible for at least a week! Another part of her wondered how she could be so upset about that little thing but she somehow knew, that she would cope with the big changes easier than with the project of a spoiled Sydney. *** The elevator door slid open. The loft was dark and the air was slightly stuffed from the lack of circulation. Minor problems which could be dealt with easily. They opened the blinds to an starry clear night and the chilly frozen air of winter carried away the stuffed smell. Natalie released a slightly miffed Sydney from the pet carrier to look around at his new accommodation. Rachel looked around with eyes the size of saucers. That was Nick's home? Wow. She didn't know what she had expected, but she did know that she hadn't expected this. This was sooo cool. Nick's home was was so huge and strange and .... it was sooo different from her home. There were so many unknown things catching her eye that she didn't know where to look first. They settled in front of the fireplace. Nick started the fire with a flick of the remote and then succumbed to Nat's thousands of questions. He told them about what happened when he was dead and how that would affect them, their lives and they started to plan their future. The changes they would have to make. They even started to plan the renovation of the loft. It was obvious to them that they would stay together. Like a family. Strangely how fast they had gotten used to each other, like they had been waiting for each other. They cuddled in front of the fire and a deep feeling of happiness blossomed in them. They were happy. Simply mind-blowing happy and their happiness didn't stay undetected. *** A tidal wave of joy crashed over him. Who's happiness? He wasn't happy and not in the mood to feel the joy of one of his children. Who was so awfully happy? The link felt strangely unknown but familiar at the same time. He reached out through the link and found.... no, no that couldn't be.... he had felt his agony, had felt him dying, unable to reach him in time. It was impossible that he should feel his son's happiness right now. It had to be an illusion, an echo created by his own mind. And the link felt different. Maybe his grieving mind was playing tricks on him. Another wave of joy washed over him. It felt too real to be an illusion. Another wave. No, he couldn't stand it any longer. He had to find out what was happening, who was sending those feelings. And he would stop that sending, even if he had to stake the sender. to be continued Simone Nicole Dornecker a.k.a. Silvercat Simone_Dornecker@Yahoo.com or Moonwing@Hotmail.com Your mouse cursor has been moved. Please restart Windows to adappt to changes. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Subject: Ancient Circle (11/17) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 04:46:47 CEST From: Simone Nicole Dornecker To: FKFIC-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU I posted a bit to early yesterday so part 11 and part 12 got bounched back. :( So today you get the parts you shhould have gotten yesterday and tomorrow the posts of today (I like my post in order) Disclaimers in part one ANCIENT CIRCLES by Simone Nicole Dornecker (11/17) part eleven: The truth is sometimes rather hard to believe He had followed the feelings to his son's loft. Nicholas. But he was dead. He had felt it. He couldn't be the one who was projecting those feelings. Or... could he? Had he been rescued at the last moment? No, he would have felt that. His senses had never failed him before. Voices were coming from the loft. He was curious, opened the skylight and entered in his usual fashion. The loft was in the same conditions like ever, like nothing had changed, but that was a lie. He knew that. But also the loft wasn't empty. The fire was crackling in the fireplace, and there were three people cuddling in a heap before the fireplace. They had covered themselves in big fuzzy blankets and they were laughing, a lot. They were vampires, he could feel that, but they didn't feel right. Something was different about them, something rather strange. And one of them was sending the waves of happiness. He wished they would disentangle themselves a bit and just at this moment the head of one of them appeared from under the blankets, gasping for air and trying rather unsuccessfully not to laugh. It was... "Nicholas ?" The head turned around and yes, it was his son, it was Nicholas. He was alive, but he had felt his death! What was happening here? *** Nick, Nat and Rachel had tangled in front of the fire in such a heap, that neither was sure which limb was which (except for Rachel, hers were the furry ones.), their wings securely wrapped around them like big warm blankets. They were having a good time. He had just found out that Natalie, in spite of her changed nature, was very ticklish. And now she was repaying him in kind. He had thought himself safe, nobody had succeeded in tickling him for, he even didn't know how long now, but obviously Nat knew some spots where everyone was ticklish. Nick was gasping for air. God, if she didn't stop soon, he would have to beg her for mercy soon. True, he was a vampire, he didn't need to breath, but laughing was only possible when he did breath. And right now he had quite some reason to laugh. He captured her merciless hands and raised his head to gasp for air when.... "Nicholas ?" he heard a confused voice behind him. His head spun around, LaCroix was standing beyond the skylight, his face unreadable. What was he doing here? Nick chided himself. Next to him Natalie's giggles stopped. She felt that something bothered him and appeared next to him. *** He drew in a sharp breath. The doctor was with Nicholas. She was vampire now and she was family. He could feel his son's doing. He had brought her across. Who would have expected this? After his little performance at Valentine's day he had been pretty sure that Nicholas would never bring her across. And then there was this third person, but that wouldn't come out of her (was it a her ? He listened with his senses. The feeling was very strange, but yes, it was a her) comfortable nest and she was his son's as well. He had brought two mortals across in one single day. Just what had happened this day? What had made him change his mind? *** He deserved to know the truth, Nick decided and slowly scrambled to his feet. Natalie felt his decision and got to her feet as well. There was no reason to hide what she was if he was showing him his changes. "What are you doing ?" Rachel murmured half asleep, as she felt them disentangle. "It's Ok, Rachel. Nothing that should concern you." "Ok, then." She heard the sleepy reply as Rachel went back to sleep. *** LaCroix watched his son standing up, stretching like a jungle cat and then straightening his attire. Next to him his no longer mortal love got to her feet. He saw... but he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Maybe his last snack had been tainted. Maybe he was suffering the effects of drug laced blood or maybe, maybe he simply had gone crazy. But he couldn't accept any of the self offered explanations. Specially the last one made him uncomfortable. His son seemed to feel his uneasiness and approached him. *** Never he had felt such a mix of feelings from his father (Father ? Was he still his father ? Oh stop that now ! It is not the time to get philosophical.), not at all. But then, he had never made such a radical change before and his quest for becoming mortal did not count, because he had been unsuccessful. He took a step toward his father and then another. LaCroix stood like he was cemented to the floor, watching him get closer and closer. *** He was standing in front of him now. He could stretch out his hand and touch him if he wanted, but he wasn't sure. What if it was only a figment of his imagination? What if this being in front of him turned to mist, to nothing if he dared to touch it? On the other side, what had he to loose? he thought wryly. And then he touched him. Nicholas felt solid, not like an ethereal being or an illusion. His son was really here. And these changes? Were they there or just something his mind had made up? Only one way to find out. He grabbed and then a sharp tug..."Oww, stop that! It hurts and I don't want to look like a plucked goose!" It was this moment, when he starred at his son in disbelieve, his hand full of feathers, exactly this moment when Nat