Act 1
"Damn you, Nicholas!" Lacroix muttered once again as he stood over his son, his friend, slumped over the deceased Natalie Lambert with a stake in his back. "Did you find the light, dear Nicholas? Did it appear to you with all its radiance and warmth? Did you have faith enough to find your Natalie? Was she there waiting with open arms to greet you? Or," he sneered, "did you find the burning flames of damnation that will keep you for all eternity?"
He continued to stand over the bodies. "Oh, my child, my son. If I only could have found the right words to have kept you here with me. " He looked around the room. "They're all gone now . . . all my children. You, Nicholas, I will miss the most."
For a fleeting moment, anyone seeing him would have sworn there were tears in the grief-stricken vampire's eyes. He would have denied it, of course, but they were there just the same. Regaining control of himself, he looked around Nick's apartment once more. "Looks as if I have some cleaning to do," he said aloud to the room, then set upon the unpleasant task of tidying up the place.
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The threat of snow hung in the air of the cold Toronto morning. There still was much time before the sun would rise as Lacroix landed in front of the Raven. It would be his last in this city. Lacroix let himself into the club. It was nothing but an empty shell.
Crates and boxes were lined up, ready for the movers in the morning. He had left implicit instructions for their removal and storage with a trusted friend. He planned to spend the day in the basement of the Raven and then depart for places unknown at sundown. It was not unusual that he had no destination in mind. Often, he'd left it to chance as to where that place might be. It worked out better that way. He had considered Paris, but then, Paris wouldn't be the same without his Nicholas or Janette. Singapore? Sydney? San Francisco? It didn't matter. The possibilities were endless. He only knew he had overstayed his time here in Toronto, and the sooner he left the better.
He searched through the crates for the one with Janette's private stock label. Locating the wooden box, he ripped off the lid as if it were paper and pulled out a green bottle. It was one of Janette's best. *She always had good taste.* He popped the cork and poured himself a glass of the red liquid. He felt an exhaustion he hadn't remembered feeling in a long time.
The door to the Raven began to open, the squeak of the hinge audible only to the likes of Lacroix. He started for the door and called out, "We are no longer open for business." He was in no mood for company.
The figure in the threshold staggered in a few steps and paused, letting the heavy door close silently behind him. Lacroix was a little more than annoyed. He neared the unknown intruder, who was clutching the wall. "I told you, we were closed." There was something familiar about this one. A barely perceptible moan came from the darkness just before its owner pitched forward toward Lacroix. Reflexively, Lacroix caught the body just before it hit the floor.
In the dim light, Lacroix recognized the weak and dirty body in his arms as the young Spaniard, Javier Vachon. He was covered in dirt; mud caked in his hair and under his fingernails. "Well, well, what have we here?" Lacroix asked as he lifted Vachon to his feet and led him to a corner booth.
"Hungry . . ., I need . . . " gasped the weakened vampire. His brown eyes pleaded with Lacroix, "Help me." Lacroix was already pulling bottles from the open crate. He opened one of the green containers as he crossed the room and offered it to Vachon. Realizing he was too weak even to attempt to drink from it, Lacroix tipped the bottle to the ashen lips and allowed the liquid to flow slowly into Vachon's waiting mouth.
Vachon let the warm fluid run down his parched throat. After all he had been through, these last few minutes felt as if they truly were going to be his last. As he grew stronger, he began to greedily suck the sustenance he needed. The first bottle was empty, and Lacroix offered him the second. The bottle was the heaviest thing Vachon had ever lifted, but it grew lighter and lighter with each swallow.
"I never thought I'd make it here before sunrise," he told Lacroix with a hoarse voice as he accepted the third bottle. His hunger was finally fading as he finished it. "Thanks," he said weakly and leaned his head against the bench wall.
Lacroix stared at him in silence.
Act 2
A brilliant white light greeted Nicholas de Brabant as the pain of the stake in his back and heart was replaced by a sense of peace, safety and warmth he hadn't felt in over 800 years. As he lay there, trying to assess his surroundings, it became apparent he was not alone. Sitting up, he saw Natalie next to him. The quiet, rhythmic rise and fall of her chest reassured him she was only sleeping.
Her soft brown hair was draped over her shoulders. She looked so peaceful. Gently, he brushed aside the locks covering her neck, expecting to find confirmation of hazy memories. The area of her neck he had "kissed" was uninjured. Somehow, he was not surprised.
Natalie stirred and called his name as she began to waken. "Shh...Nat, It's ok. It's me, Nick. Natalie, wake up." He spoke in a soft, comforting voice. He stroked her face, and she reached for his hand as she opened her eyes.
His ocean blue eyes were the first thing she saw as she awoke. She smiled in recognition and started to sit up. "Nick? What happened? Where are we?" She looked around. Everything was white. There was no end to the room they were in. There were no doors, no windows.
Nick was excited. "It's exactly as you said it would be. I'm here with you, Nat. We're together."
She closed her eyes in remembrance of the last moments in Nick's apartment.
She could remember him holding her, kissing her, and then...nothing. "What happened?" she asked Nick. "How did we get here?"
"I took too much, Nat. I couldn't stop myself. And I couldn't condemn you to the life I have despised for so long."
"But?" she started.
Nick cut her off. "I know, I know, but I couldn't bring myself to sentence you to the darkness I have lived with for over 800 years. You were willing to believe in me. You dared to take a chance on me with your life. At the moment I thought I lost you, everything you said about faith made sense. It all came together. Lacroix came in just as I laid you on the floor. He pushed me to decide to bring you across. I couldn't. Your voice kept ringing in my ears. 'You must have faith, Nick.' I wondered, could it be possible that I, a vampire for all these years, still have faith? Lacroix kept at me, telling me it was time to leave and start again. But I couldn't leave you behind. He kept telling me it was foolishness, this faith. But there you were on the floor in front of me, a product of your faith in me. I knew then I did have that faith, Natalie, to believe in you and your belief that we would be together, forever, no matter how it ended. I asked Lacroix to finish me once and for all. You took a chance on me; I had to take that chance on you."
Natalie looked at him in disbelief. "You mean he??"
Nick beamed at her and nodded. "Uh, huh. And I can show you where my back is still sore."
She stared at him, trying to comprehend what he had just told her. She could not imagine Lacroix taking his beloved son's life. But here they were, and the excitement and love in Nick's eyes told her it did happen.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
At that moment, it occurred to them that they were not alone. Standing before them was a figure clad in white and gold. He had the figure of a human, though later Natalie and Nick would not be able to agree on whether it was male or female, tall or short, thin or heavy. All they would agree on was that the strange entity's presence was overpowering.
"Neither of you belong here." The mysterious figure said, obviously upset. "This was a big mistake. The timing is all wrong."
Nick stood, holding Natalie's hand. "Who are you? What is this place?"
"I am who I am," was the cryptic reply. "This place is where it should be, but you are not." It stared at them shaking its head. "It is way too early for either of you to be here. You should be here much, much later. This is wrong."
"What are you talking about?" Natalie questioned nervously as she rose to stand next to Nick. "Why should we be here later?"
"Both of you belong here, yes, but not now. This is not right," the ghostly figure kept repeating. "You both have too much to do. Things haven't happened yet. People to care for. Family."
"What are you saying?" Nick demanded, trying to make sense out of this creature in front of them. "Where should we be?"
"Hush now! Must think. Must plan how to get you back to where you belong."
It paused and looked upward. "How long have they been here?" The figure appeared to be listening to an answer. Then it nodded and smiled in understanding. "Yes, yes, I can do that. Yes, I can take you back." It looked at the very confused Nick and Natalie. "You need to come with me, now!" The being ordered.
"Wait a minute," Natalie practically screamed at him. "We are not going anywhere until you explain a few things. Where are we? What do you mean, you're taking us back?"
The strange figure motioned them through a door that appeared out of nowhere. "I will tell you what I can, but we must hurry. Time is short. GO!"