Another Reality
by Olivia Jean Ecklund
Chapter 5
Nick sat in a comfortable chair before his TV. Beast was sleeping on
His lap. He was staring at the TV, but saw nothing. He idly stroked the
dog's back and head and ran the soft ears through his fingers. He finally
couldn't sit still any more. Nick picked Beast off his lap, gave the
dog a kiss on the top of the head and set him gently on the floor. Grabbing
his coat, he headed for the door.
Beast ran at his heels expecting to go, too. Nick smiled down at his
friend. "No boy, you stay here. I'll be back soon."
He took a small dog bone from the pocket of his coat and set it before
Beast. He opened the door and stepped out closing the door in the eager
dog's little face. Beast stood looking at the door for a minute. Then
picking up the bone, he carried it to Nick's chair, jumped up and
settled down. He set the bone close by and watched the door with his warm
brown eyes.
Nick stepped into the street. It was a breezy late September evening.
He pulled his collar up around his neck. He went to the Apartment parking
lot, got in his Ford Escort and headed down town. His drive took him to a
posh dance spot and restaurant called The Raven. He parked and walked to the
door.
The bouncer at the door smiled. "Hi, Nick," he said and opened the door
wide for him. "She's by the bar."
"Thanks Jim," Nick said, as he entered the dimly lit establishment and
headed through the tables of patrons. A beautiful raven-haired woman
stood at the bar chatting with a customer. She was radiant, dressed in black
silk, elegant and low cut.
"Hi, sis." he said, right behind her. "Nicky!" she cried. Turning, she
threw her arms around his neck. "How's my favorite little brother?"
Nick smiled into her beautiful face. After losing his mother at a young
age, Nick's father had married Janette's mother. Janette was 5 years
old and though she could have resented Nick who was 10 months old, she'd
taken to him, mothering and loving him with all her heart. Richard had been
born a few years later, but their relationship had always been the strongest.
Because of her black hair, he'd nick-named her "Raven" as a child, thus
The name of the club she owned. He regarded her with a somber look.
"What's wrong?" she asked, planting a kiss on his cheek.
He sighed and took a barstool next to her. "Oh nothing, just wanted to
See you."
"Yes, and horses fly Nicky, what's wrong? You can tell me anything."
She ran a finger over his forehead, tucking an errant curl away from his
face.
He smiled. "I met a woman."
"Really," she said. "You don't look too happy about it."
"She's very special and different," he said vaguely.
"How different?"
"Very old world and eccentric. Foreign. She has a sun allergy and can
only come out at night. She's a cop on the homicide detective team here in
Toronto."
"Really? She does sound different. What are the good things?" She
watched his face light up.
"She's so beautiful and exotic and - exciting! I can't concentrate on
anything but her."
The bartender came and set a small glass of white wine before him, a
favorite of his. He took it and sipped the cool liquid. He seldom
drank and it burned his throat, warming him.
"My, you have it bad, brother. I was beginning to think you would never
be smitten. What does she think of you? You have let her know you're
interested, haven't you?"
"Oh yes, she knows. She's sort of after me," he said, his eyes
unfocused and he could feel Natalie's cool finger caress his face.
Janette studied her brother's face. She felt a bit jealous that some
Other woman had captured his attention and yet she knew that was silly. She
wanted him to find someone and be happy. He was already 30. She
enjoyed having Nick come to her with his problems and she knew if he fell in
love and married that could change. She grabbed his hand. "Come dance with
me, brother."
Nick let her drag him onto the dance floor and he slipped his arms
Around her. They'd learned to dance together, so their movements were in sync.
The music was slow and Janette laid her cheek against his shoulder.
"Nick, go slow. Make sure this is what you really want. Find out more about
her, her friends and family. This would be a big change for you. You'd have
to make some changes in your life."
"Not too many, Janette. I've been on the night shift for two years
already. I can't explain, but I feel something for her... something very profound
and amazing."
Janette pulled back and searched his face. She had never seen him so
sure of anything in his life. She hugged him close. "I will pray that you will
find all that you want from this, Nicky." She fought the tears that were
brimming her eyes. Maybe one day she would be so lucky as to find that
perfect man to compliment her.
Chapter 6
The next evening at work, Nick sighed as he was just covering a body. It
had been a long autopsy. He pushed the gurney into the cooler room and
closed the door. Stripping off his gloves, he went to get a cup of
coffee. He still had four hours of duty left. He had just sat down to
enjoy the coffee when his beeper went off.
"Damn," he groaned, reaching for the phone to call the dispatch. Another
homicide. He would have loved to work on the stacks of paper
work on his desk. He wrote the address on a piece of paper, grabbed his bag
and headed for his car.
The drive was easy and there was very little traffic at 2:00 am. He
could see the flashing lights from the crime scene two blocks away. He
noted that the sky blue caddie was parked near the ambulance and he felt
excited that he would see Natalie tonight.
He came up behind her. "Hi Natalie, what's up?"
She turned and her eyes flashed what Nick thought was pain, but it
lasted a fraction of a second and was gone. "Young woman, stabbed. She
appears to have been out jogging.
Nick knelt down and stared into the face of the girl probably in her
early thirties. Beautiful, long blond hair like corn silk. There was a
large knife wound in her chest and lots of blood.
Natalie came and knelt down beside him. He saw her reach out and dip
her finger into the puddle of blood. She glanced around and then slipped
the finger into her mouth.
"What are you doing!?" he gasped in a whisper. His stomach lurched.
"It was her boyfriend," she said, ignoring him. "She wasn't afraid
until she saw the knife."
Nick wasn't even listening. He stood and grabbed her arm and dragged
her quietly away from the crowd into the trees close by.
Her eyes turned amber with anger and she jerked her arm away from him.
He saw her fangs descend and she moved suddenly closer. He felt her icy
breath on his neck.
Then she cried a strangled cry and backed up. Her fists were tight
balls. She closed her eyes and stood silently taking deep breaths.
When she opened her eyes they were blue again. She looked back at him.
"Do not ever threaten me again, Nick. I could easily lose control and
kill you."
He opened his mouth to apologize, but she had continued, "I WAS doing my
job."
"You snack on your victims?" he asked, obviously disgusted.
"Nick," she said softly, hurt flashing in her eyes at his disgust. "I
can tell a lot by one taste of their blood. I can see who killed them
if they themselves saw the killer. I can feel what kind of person they
were."
"Just by tasting their blood," he asked, unbelievingly.
"Yes," she said, glaring at him. "This girl was killed by her
boyfriend. He'd found out she'd had a one night stand with his best
friend. The knife was from a set of hunting knives she gave him for
Christmas. This girl was in love with him. He's away for work a lot
and she often spends time with his friends. One night it ended being
just her and his best friend John. One thing led to another and they
had sex. She was devastated that she'd cheated on him. She loved this
man more than her life and she made a mistake."
She looked at him, closely. "You find the murder weapon and it will
prove who did this. The boyfriend had a set of eight with matching designs
on the handles."
Nick was impressed, but he said, "I'm not sure what you do is right."
"It saves time," she said in her own defense. "Why look at five
suspects when you can concentrate on the guilty party. Do your job Nick.
Find out the height of the killer and the angle of the wound. Get any
samples you can find. This will help me to prove what I already know." She
turned at walked away.
Nick stood open-mouthed. He would have to find out more about her
abilities soon. She could make a valuable investigator. What if
someone were to see what she had done? She was 800 years old. She knew how
to take care of herself. She must have wanted him to see or he
wouldn't have. He turned back to the crime scene to gather and catalog
the samples and evidence.
End Chapter 6
By Jeannie Ecklund Gersknightlady@cs.com
Another Reality 7-8
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