ACT III
Lacroix pulled a chair over to the booth where Vachon slumped. He watched the recovering vampire thirstily drain the third bottle. The fourth sat opened on the table before them.
Vachon rested the almost empty bottle on the table and took the effort to sit up. "It took me a long time to dig myself out of the ground. It was a bit dry down there." Vachon lifted the bottle to Lacroix, "Thanks, again." He put it to his mouth and drained it dry. As he did, he became more aware of his surroundings, and it dawned on him the Raven was empty. "Moving?"
Lacroix also looked around the Raven. So much had happened in the last few weeks. In the past, the time to move on came on more subtly, unlike his recent experiences. In spite of himself, he sighed with regret, then reached over to the last bottle on the table and poured himself a glass.
"It seems that it was my daughter, Divia, who caused you to be placed in your earthen grave. It was Nicholas's partner, Tracy Vetter, I believe was her name, who took it upon herself to set you in your final resting place."
Vachon watched the older vampire's expression as he related his tale. *Is he actually saddened or tired? He somehow looks older, but that can't be.... Maybe I need another drink. * He took the bottle from Lacroix and drank from it.
"Yes, Divia was my daughter. She was also my master. It's a long story, one that I would rather forget." Lacroix tried to read his listener's thoughts, but all he could detect was an understanding of what had happened to him.
Vachon finally understood the "daughter, mother, lover refrain that haunted him the week before. "What about Tracy, is she ok?"
Ignoring his question, Lacroix continued. "In her hatred of me, Divia set out to destroy all of those who had contact with me. Unfortunately, because she had seen you and your angel, Urs, here at the Raven, she assumed you two belonged to me and set out after you. I don't believe Urs was as fortunate as you." He took a long drink from the goblet. Lost in the words that were just spoken, Vachon mimicked Lacroix with the bottle.
"Divia's mistake was that she didn't wait around to make sure Nicholas was gone, and it was he who destroyed her here in the Raven as she was attempting to destroy me. Perhaps it would have been better her way." He stared in the direction of where he had lost his daughter.
*Maybe this is the eternal damnation you referred to, my child.*
Vachon broke the reverie. " Urs is gone. I thought it was strange that I couldn't contact her."
"After Ms. Vetter committed your remains to the earth, I cremated Divia. Nicholas asked me to let his partner remember you, just not the circumstances around your demise. All she remembered was that you were a vampire whose time it was to leave."
"But she was a resistor," Vachon began and stopped with a look from Lacroix. His thoughts went back to that night in the church. He would never forget the look on her face when he plunged himself onto the stake in her hands. Silently, he thanked Knight for his intervention. It was good she would not carry the memory of those final moments.
"I, myself realized it was time to go. Nicholas and I had overstayed our welcome. It was then, when I went to his place to extend the invitation to accompany me that I found him with his dear Dr. Lambert. She had somehow managed to convince him that she had "faith" enough in the two of them to let him bring her across or kill them both." His tone was bitter. "Of course, he couldn't do what I have told him to do with her many times. Instead, he chose her "faith", and I was the instrument that sent him to his damnation. He convinced me to plunge a stake into his heart so he could be with her eternally." his voice was mixed with sarcasm and grief. "Too much time spent with his beloved mortals."
Vachon winced at the picture of Lacroix destroying Nick. It must have taken a great deal of inner strength to actually carry out the action. He tried to change the subject. "What about Tracy, Lacroix? What's happened to her?"
He had sensed that something had gone wrong when Lacroix had evaded the question earlier. He sat up in anticipation of an answer he somehow knew was coming.
Coldly, Lacroix met Javier's eyes; "She was killed in the line of duty while backing up Nicholas in some trivial thing at the precinct house. So, you see, I guess we are, what's the term?...in the same boat. All of our children are gone."
Emotionally spent, Vachon leaned back against the bench seat once more. He took a long drink from the bottle he had clutched to his chest as Lacroix finished his tale. Tracy's death had not been something he bargained for. She had been one of the reasons he kept going, digging himself out of the grave next to Screed. He had known that was her handiwork. Memories of her whirled around in his mind. The way her eyes lit up when she smiled, her innocence in spite of her chosen line of work, the smell of callalillies.
Tracy...
"Now what?" he asked Lacroix. "Are you still going? There are others that still need you here. That need your direction and guidance." Sensing they had made some sort of connection this night, he said with sincerity, "I need you here, Lacroix."
Lacroix sat stunned by this moment of frankness. He was aware that a number of the younger ones looked to him as a "father figure" and why not? It was right, but he never thought that this one who sat in front of him so sure of himself, accustomed to being on his own, leading his own group, would have felt that way. In a strange way, they were equals at that moment. Both had lost those very dear to them. A look of sadness swept his face once more as he considered Vachon's words. Very quickly a thoughtful look replaced it. "It seems that things have changed, now. Haven't they?" he began.
At that moment, the doors of the Raven began to open, pouring the early morning sunlight into the nearly dark room. A figure of a woman was silhouetted in the threshold. "Shut the door!" they both shouted in unison.
ACT IV
Rushing through corridors of white light, the three of them hurried to a destination known only to one. Nick held Natalie's hand tightly as they worked to keep up with the strange figure that talked to them about as fast as they ran.
"No, Nick will not return as a mortal." Their hearts both sank with that.
"Yes, Natalie is on the right track with Nick's cure. He will be mortal someday if she keeps on the same regimen. It will take time and patience. You will likely remember being here, but only as a dream. You will return to approximately the same time as you left."
Suddenly they stopped. The place looked the same as where they had started. As the figure turned to say something, a portal appeared. "The paths you have taken have brought you here. If you stay on those same paths, you will return here when the time is right." It looked from Natalie to Nick. "You two are destined to be together. Your future actions will lay the foundations for many yet to come. You both have faith enough to see it through."
To Nicholas, it said, "Love her, Nicholas de Brabant like you have loved no other."
The being looked at Natalie. "It's alright to show him how much you care. It will take a lot of patience and fortitude. Don't let the little things get in the way."
Gesturing to the door, the white shape told them, "It is time. Remember to love and care for each other and the rest who follow."
Nick thought he heard a whisper as he crossed the threshold: "Just a little at a time."
Natalie had dozens of questions, things she wanted to know, to understand. The final words only added to those questions.
Nick wanted to know more too, but at the quiet insistence of the strangely clad figure, he pulled Natalie through the portal and left the questions behind.
Immediately upon crossing the threshold, the bright light dimmed. Natalie and Nick awoke in his bed, wrapped in each other's arms. Although a little groggy, they retained their sense of peace and tranquility. Natalie was the first to speak. "I had the strangest dream. There was a bright light and this thing dressed in white..."
Nick raised himself on one elbow. "You too? It was real, Nat, we were both there."
She swung her legs to the side of the bed to stand up, but, being lightheaded, she quickly sat down. "Boy, Nick, talk about near-death experiences!" Her face beamed with excitement. "He said there was a cure, Nick. He said we have a future." Natalie leaned over to kiss him and Nick pulled her into his arms, hungrily responded to her. 'Love her as no other,' the figure had said. "Just a little at a time?" And so he did, that cold winter morning in Toronto.
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"Shut the door!" they shouted in unison.
Irritated, Lacroix rose from his chair and once more that morning strode in the direction of the door. "Didn't you see the closed sign on the door? What business do you have at this time of the day?" He strained to see the second trespasser of the night. Nearing the figure in the darkened corner of the room, he had a strong feeling of recognition. It stopped him in his steps.
Vachon quickly picked up on the tension in the air. He was unsure from whom it was emanating, but it was almost palpable. Struggling to get out of the booth he was tangled in, he got up and crossed over to the bar to get a better look.
A very feminine voice floated from the darkness; "I am looking for Detective Nicholas Knight. I was told that I might find him here." She stepped into the light and Lacroix gasped, "Fleur!"
She looked at him blankly, "Who? I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else. My name is Katherine Collins and I have been assigned as Detective Knight's partner. I have been unable to locate him. He is not at home and he's not answering his phone. The department can not locate his car. I was hoping he would be here." She looked at the dark male now standing at the bar and then at Lacroix. " Do either of you know where he is?"
From where she stood, she had a view of the entire room. She was acutely aware of the type of place this was and who, rather what, these two were. She showed no emotion as she met with the eyes of first Lacroix and then Vachon. She felt confident and strong. She had met with their kind before and knew exactly how to deal with them.
*Wouldn't you like to see him now? * Lacroix thought to himself as he recovered from the shock of seeing his long lost love, Nicholas's sister. Not moving, he introduced himself, "I am Lucien Lacroix, proprietor of this establishment. And this," he waved to the bar, "is Javier Vachon." She nodded in his direction. "You are the exact image of someone I knew, a long time ago."
"I know no Fleur," she told him flatly in reference to the name he had mentioned a while ago. At his introduction, she recognized that she was standing before one of the oldest and most respected members of the vampire community. Keeping her gaze directly on him, she continued, "I know you are aware of Knight's whereabouts. It is imperative that I find him." She paused, waiting for a reply. Not getting one, she continued, "It's now daylight. I know that you can do nothing until later." She looked again from one to the other. They were both staring at her with quiet surprise.
"I can wait."
Vachon smiled to himself as he leaned on the bar, grateful he had made it that far. He watched Lacroix try to make sense out of it all. *This is going to be very interesting. *
*Is this really her? If not, what is she? * He collected himself, " My dear woman, the man you speak of is no longer available to be seen by anyone. He's gone on..."he smiled at the thought, "to a brighter future."
"No, Lacroix, you are mistaken... He IS here, somewhere and I need to find him as soon as possible. Please tell me where you saw him last!"
With a sigh, Lacroix glanced at the watch on his wrist. Taking a drink from the goblet he still held, he scrutinized this new creature that so rudely walked into his life. He weighed the possibilities. "Alright, if you insist, meet me here at sundown, that is, if you are intent on leaving this place in the daylight."
Katherine stared at Lacroix, then Vachon, and back to Lacroix again. They noted a sparkle in her eyes at the mention of daylight. She cocked her head and smiled engagingly, "Of course, I'm leaving in the daylight. I'll be back here at 6 p.m." She returned her gaze to the vampire at the bar. She held it for a short time before she turned to leave. "See you later," she told the two.
The two men were speechless as they watched her walk to the doors and carefully close them behind her. Vachon was the first to break the silence. "Who was that?"
Quietly, and sadly, Lacroix responded, "Fleur, the only mortal I have ever truly loved. She looks exactly like our recently departed Nicholas' sister. He insisted I spare her from his curse almost 800 years ago. I have despised him for that ever since. But now she's back and she knows about us. The question is...why?"