A River In Time
Aura Thundera
deonii@yahoo.com


All Forever Knight characters are not my property, and I am making no profit off this.  The original characters of Kim, Iella, Mauvilla, Chalmette, and Ginjer are my own invention.  Apologies to David Cassidy for using him as a minor character without his permission.

Thanks to:
Randy for some help with historical fact-checking for the 1904-1905 flashbacks
Derick for beta-reading despite knowing nothing (at the outset) of Forever Knight
Gail for providing tapes of Dreams are Nuthin' More Than Wishes and some of Romance

Also, thanks go to Christi Smith Hayden for her story "Deep in the Heart", which while not a FK story, inspired me to get up off my duff and actually write something of this kind of magnitude.

Please no flames over my French skills, as I only speak English and Spanish.  All dialogue in French was done at http://translation.lycos.com/, which as we all know, is not perfect.  The original lines that I intended in English are provided as the translation, denoted by bold text in parenthesis after the quote.  As for buying crossbows, I am utterly clueless as to what's involved, so leave that alone too.

Historical fact-checking for the 1970 flashbacks to the Steel Pier (references to the behavior of concert security, etc) was done with the handy-dandy resource on all things Cassidy, David Cassidy's autobiography: C'mon Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus.  The 1911 flashbacks were actually inspired by a historical article from this site: http://naid.sppsr.ucla.edu/coneyisland/index.html on the Dreamland fire.

Songs quoted in this story include (in order of appearance):
One True Love, David Cassidy, from Didn't You Used To Be
Hold On Me, David Cassidy, from Dreams are Nuthin' More Than Wishes
The Sound of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel, from Greatest Hits
Sing Me, David Cassidy, from Dreams are Nuthin' More Than Wishes
The Last Kiss, David Cassidy, from Then And Now
Gypsies in the Palace, Jimmy Buffet, from Feeding Frenzy
Romance (Let Your Heart Go), David Cassidy, from Romance
Could It Be Forever, David Cassidy, from Cherish
A River In Time, from the EFX soundtrack

The album titles provided are the ones from which I transcribed the lyrics.  Lyrics are provided in the text of the story for the benefit of those readers who might not be familiar enough with the songs to know what's going on.  (I'm not worried about the David Cassidy fans--you guys can whip out the albums and play the songs themselves, except for the two odd ones out that aren't DC's.  It's the FK fans out there who never experienced the joy of being a DC fan whom I believe will need lyrics.)

The house is based on one that a friend rented once for a week.  She shared pictures with me after her vacation and it looked like the sort of house that Janette would appreciate.  The real house, however, is in Margate, I believe.  I set it in Ocean City partially because I am more familiar with the layout of the town and its history, and partially because I liked the irony of vampires hiding out in a religious town.  Chronologically within the FK universe, this story should be set sometime around 1996, however then the description of David Cassidy's career is NOT accurate.  For reasons of plot, I have pushed most of his career in the nineties back in time.  I needed him on his current tour.  The concert described actually took place on 3/9/02.  And yes, I was there.


    The bell on the door at Margate Sporting Goods clanged, and Joe Riviera looked up from his hunting magazine to keep an eye on the customer.  First-time hunters were often embarrassed to ask for help when selecting the products that they would need.  He had learned long ago that the quickest way to a large sale was to supply the help that they needed without being asked.  His respect for their dignity often led to a relationship of mutual respect, and also led to good word-of-mouth PR for his store.

    The customer, on the other hand, was a total shock.  Riviera had seen girlfriends who went hunting or fishing with their significant others before, but this one was not the usual type.  Tall and beautiful, with long blond hair, she looked as though she was barely out of her teens and belonged in a modeling agency in New York.

    She probably wants to start hunting to impress a boyfriend and has no clue what it involves.  As soon as she finds out that you have to kill Bambi with that rifle, I'm going to have the freaking waterworks on my hands.  Riviera thought and sighed.  This was going to be a long night.

    Riviera kept an eye on the blond as she wandered right past the gun case without giving them a second glance.  Her face had a rather set expression that suggested that she knew exactly what she was looking for.  He was surprised, however, when she stopped at the case displaying crossbows.  He hurried over to her, ready to explain the ins and outs of crossbow hunting.  It made sense, after all.  Crossbow season was coming up, and she was probably in the market to buy herself a crossbow to join her boyfriend on the hunt.

    And, judging by the rocks in those rings she's wearing, he thought, a top-of-the-line model.  Visions of profit danced before Riviera's eyes.

    "Can I help you, miss?"  Riviera asked, doing his best to act like a kindly old uncle and ingratiate himself with the blond.

    "I'm looking for a crossbow," she said, biting her lip nervously.  "I'm going to go hunting for the first time soon, and I want one that can fire quickly.  And I'd prefer a small one."

    "That won't give you a lot of power," Riviera said.  "The crossbow is about marksmanship, miss.  I can give you what you want, but I don't think it will work very well for what you have in mind."

    "I think that one will serve my purposes admirably."  She pointed.

    Riviera took down one of the smaller models which she had pointed at.  "Here, see if you can draw this."

    She cocked the crossbow easily.  "Excellent."

    "I think you could handle a larger one,"  Riviera said.  "Are you sure that you don't want to try?"  One glare from the blond gave him the idea that he had better move off that topic fast.  "You'll be needing bolts."

    "I  will be needing wood ones."

    "I would recommend aluminum or titanium, miss,"  Riviera said, trying not to let her see his irritation at her cluelessness.  It was as if she was living in some sort of medieval fantasy.  "They are much stronger and they are far more accurate.  Quite simply, they don't break.  Wood ones do."

    "Strength is irrelevant for what I want them for.  They must be wood."

    Strange fires burned behind her gray eyes.  Riviera was beginning to feel mildly freaked out.  This woman was acting like a character out of an Anne Rice novel, not that he would ever admit to reading such a thing.

    "I'll see what I can do.  I'll have to special-order them for you.  If you give me your name and address, I'll have them shipped to you when they arrive."  Riviera offered.  "They will be expensive, however, because they are handmade in Montana.  There isn't much demand for them anymore."

    "Expense is not an obstacle for me."  She said.  "Iella Donovan, 3140 Oceanside Circle in Asbury Park.  I will be eagerly awaiting their arrival, and I will be glad to pay for rush delivery."

    "What's the hurry for?" Riviera said as he took down the information.  "Crossbow season doesn't start for a few months yet."

    "It's for... a gift,"  Iella said.  "An anniversary."

*

    "Natalie, that's the second autopsy that you've botched in less than a month!"  Grace said, waving the papers that she had received in front of Nat's face.  "Something is wrong with you, woman.  You never used to do things like this.  I'd say that you need a break."

    "I have a vacation planned for later this summer,"  Natalie replied.

    "You need one NOW."  Grace replied.  "I know you too well.  You're upset over something and it's eating you alive, in addition to being overworked.  You've got a lot of vacation time saved up.  Go somewhere and do something unusual.  You need it."

    "Well, I do have a cousin who lives in New Jersey, near the ocean.  She's invited me to visit her several times, but I never went."

    "I think that it's high time for you to go see her."  Grace said, hands on hips.

    "You win,"  Natalie said.  "I've never been to the beach in New Jersey before.  Kim claims that it's a fairly easy drive from here to there, so I won't be taking a plane."

    "I'll take care of Sidney."  Grace said, with an air of finality.  "Just call me before you leave."

    Natalie looked up at the ceiling with a sigh.  Grace was right --she needed a break.  The thought of exploring the Jersey shore towns sounded better by the moment.  Especially since a certain blond vampire wouldn't be around to irritate her.  Maybe with some peace and quiet, she could finally sort out her feelings for Nick.

*

    "What do you mean 'she just left'?"  Nick snarled at the ME who greeted him during his unscheduled arrival at the morgue.  On the spur of the moment, he had decided to pick Natalie up after her shift ended and try to rebuild their crumbling friendship.  Natalie was gone, and her replacement was a rather surly man who clearly was not fond of detectives who visited the morgue for reasons other than business.

    "She took her vacation time, Detective Knight.  I will be handling her cases while she is away."  The sour-faced ME spat at Nick.  "Now would you please go home and leave me do my job properly?"

    Nick stalked out, feeling decidedly thwarted.  Grace Balthazar was bustling about with her usual efficiency.  Nick knew that Natalie had often confided in Grace, and that Grace usually fed Natalie's cat while she was away.

    "Grace, did Nat tell you where she was going before she left?"  Nick asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

    Grace shook her head almost imperceptibly.  She had a gut feeling that Nick was responsible for Natalie's funk.  Typical man.  He sensed that he had caused some sort of disaster and now desperately wanted to try to fix it.  Over the last several years, Grace had noticed that Nick had a talent for breaking hearts and being totally unaware.  Several of the young female aides who had worked in the morgue had fallen hard for the tall, blond detective with the heart-melting blue eyes.  Knight had been totally unaware of the whispers behind his back, and he ignored the open flirtations.  She had also noticed the depth of Nick's relationship with Natalie, a depth that neither was willing to admit to.

    "Grace, I need to know,"  The desperation that he felt began to creep into Nick's voice.  He locked onto her heartbeat.  Nick felt bad about using hypnosis on someone who Natalie counted as a friend, but he had to know.  He needed to apologize and explain himself to Nat, and she was running away.

    "Grace, tell me where Natalie went,"  Nick commanded.

    "Her cousin's house...she was going to drive..."  Grace's unfocused voice replied.

    "Where does her cousin live?"

    "In the United States... somewhere on the New Jersey coast..."

    "Did she tell you an address?"

    "Address..."  Grace could not answer, even under the compunction of vampire hypnosis.  She didn't know.  Nick growled a select few curses and broke the hypnosis before dashing out the door of the morgue to arrange to take some of his accumulated vacation time.

*

    Natalie looked up at the enormous Victorian house that loomed over her.  It was set up on stilts, leaving a low space just high enough to park a car underneath.  Somehow, she had envisioned her cousin owning a condo, or one of the chic new houses being built further down the island.  Kim had never been into historical preservation, and Natalie couldn't understand why her cousin would buy and live in such a monstrosity.  The house was at least a hundred years old, and a bit crumbly about the eaves.  There was a broad porch that looked over the dunes toward the ocean, and even a turret.  The driveway and the path leading to the stairs up to the porch were made of crushed clamshells.

    The boards of the porch squeaked as Natalie walked up to the front door.  The sun was setting, and gloom was rapidly descending over the northern end of the island.  The northern end of Ocean City was mostly populated by residents and was therefore quieter than the sections of the city inhabited by the loud and party-prone summer people.  Natalie knocked, but got no response as the bronze knocker thudded dully against the door.  She walked over to one of the large windows, where a light was casting colored gleams through the ornamental tracery of stained glass above the window.

    Inside, she could clearly see Kim sitting at a computer, tweaking one of her freelance graphics projects in Photoshop.  Natalie knocked on the window, hoping to knock Kim out of her creative trance.  Kimberly Antilles had always been hard to distract once she had started on a project.    Nat rapped on the loose glass again as she studied the furniture of the rooms that she could see through the window.  A comfortable-looking mix of modern and traditional furniture was scattered through rooms painted in restful pastel colors.

    Kim stretched and turned to face the window, finally noticing Natalie rapping on the windowpanes.  Her face lit up and she ran toward the front door.  Natalie walked down the porch as Kim pulled the door open with some difficulty.

    "Sorry Nat.  I didn't hear you knocking.  You should have pulled the car into the carport under the house.  There's a back door down there and a doorbell that works.  This door creaks and groans so much I never notice anyone knocking at it.  I should've warned you."

    "I'm just glad to see you,"  Nat said.  "You haven't visited me in years, not since you took off to work in New York City.  Why did you ever buy this house?"

    Kim shrugged.  "I didn't want it, especially.  But one of my older clients, a guy by the name of Nathan Klivian, owned it and wanted to unload it.  I always wanted to live by the beach, and he offered me this place for a reasonable price so long as I promised not to tear down the house.  It really isn't so bad as it looks."

    Nat hugged her cousin.  "It doesn't matter.  We have a lot of catching up to do."

    "And a lot of girl talk.  You still unlucky in your love life?"

    Natalie mutely turned away from Kim's concerned face and looked out toward where the waves broke on a stone jetty, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.

    "That bad, huh?"  Kim said, her words more of a statement than a question.  "You can stay here as long as you want, Nat.  Let's get you settled in.  Go pull your car next to mine, and I'll unlock the back door and help you bring your stuff up."

    Twenty minutes later, Natalie's bags rested in a heap in the front foyer of the house.  A broad oak staircase wound up to the second floor.  Natalie sat on the bottom step, waiting for Kim to return from locking the back door.

    "Where do you want to stay?  I sleep in a bedroom on the second floor, and there are two extra ones up there too.  There's also a guest suite that I just had renovated on the third floor that you can use.  It has air conditioning."  Kim said.  "I haven't had time to have a central air system installed yet, but there are two window units up there."

    "Third floor, definitely,"  Nat replied, pushing back hair that had begun to cling to her skin in the sticky August humidity.

    Kim led Natalie up the broad steps to the second floor and then pushed open what looked like a closet door in the second-floor hallway.  A spiral staircase wound upward to emerge in the space beneath the three high gables of the roof.  The ceiling of the large room was slanted, following the peaks of the roof.

    Kim pointed to a door in a wall that enclosed one end of the attic.  "Bathroom is in there."  She led Natalie through a small sitting area, complete with a small television, toward a glass door, topped by an arch of intricate stained glass.  "And there's a balcony out here.  It looks toward the ocean.  Oh, and I'm sorry about the bed.  It came with the house and I didn't want to part with it.  I don't know if you'll like it."

    Natalie looked over into the corner of the room where Kim pointed.  The bed was obviously an antique, with intricately carved posts ending in fantastic gryphon finials.  It had a canopy and curtains of gauzy white cloth.  It looked like something out of a romance novel.

    "As long as the mattress isn't original, it'll be fine,"  Natalie said.

    "Good.  I've already had people tell me that sleeping in that bed would give them nightmares, but I didn't want to sell it."  Kim said.  "It's rather late, so I'll let you get ready for bed.  If you're interested, there is a television and a stereo up here.  I do some of my painting up here."

    As Kim vacated the room, Natalie decided to investigate the stereo system.  A CD had been left in the tray, and some of Kim's extensive collection of old records and cassettes were piled in and around the low bookshelf on which it rested.  Natalie turned it on and dug through her bags, searching for a nightgown.

"Some roads are long, some roads are hard
And sometimes I can't find my way
Just like tonight, I'm in the dark
There's really nothing left to say
I could get crazy, I could get mad
But right now baby, I just feel sad
I don't know how, I don't know when
I lost the one true love I had."

    Natalie sat down, unable to fight the tears that gathered in her eyes.  The mournful tone of the song called her relationship with Nick to mind.  She had wanted Nick's love, but something had happened to split them apart on that fateful night in Nick's loft.  Whatever it was, it had prompted Nick to let her die rather than bring her across to be with him. She closed her eyes and began to cry, wrapped up in the smooth voice of the singer and the slow melody of the song that spoke to her feelings.

"I'll turn around and face the wind
Somehow I've got to fly again
No broken wings will keep me down
What I have lost can still be found
I think that maybe, come lose or win
This road is gonna take me to love again
I don't know how, I don't know when
But I am going to love again
I don't know how, I don't know when
But I will find true love again
Can't let myself think about the rain
Or the cold empty night staring at me again
I close my eyes, somehow I've got to forget
Once you kiss that love goodbye
You can never go home again
And I think that maybe, come lose or win
This road's gonna take me to love again
I don't know how, I don't know when
But I am going to love again
I don't know how, I don't know when
But I will find true love again."

    Natalie reached out and turned the stereo off, wiping away her tears as she watched the light from the rising moon dancing on the waves in the ocean.  "Damn you Nicholas Knight!"  She whispered, pressing her face against the cool windowpane.  "I came here to get away from you and what you do to me."

*

    Iella pulled her car into the driveway alongside the dilapidated old cottage that overlooked the inlet.  The roar of the big engine under the hood of the orange 1970 Terino that her parents had bought for her so long ago died away, leaving only stillness broken by the cries of seagulls.  After the bustle of vacationers in Margate, Asbury Park seemed dead quiet.  Very few people vacationed there, and the locals were content to leave her alone.  The few people who did pass through were often the sort who were not missed when they disappeared, making for excellent hunting.  All told, Iella enjoyed the solitude.

    After her last life as a model in New York had nearly ended in disaster, Iella decided that she needed a break from the city.  Through her last six years at the modeling agency, she had been considered one of their top models, commanding astronomical fees for a shoot or show.  She had been a star of the modeling world, despite her strange skin disorder that caused her to sunburn so severely that she could only work at night.  The development of chemical tanners had been a boon for her career, as they enabled her to be as bronzed as any mortal woman who basked in the sun.

    Throughout the years she had stashed a large sum of money in an account in the Cayman Islands and had still more invested in the stock market and tied to the same anonymous account.  Now all she had to worry about was the anniversary.

    Iella entered through the screen porch and unlocked the front door, revealing a room last redecorated sometime around 1970.  The faux wood paneling and avocado carpet reminded her of the past, when her parents had brought her to the New Jersey coast, and her trips later, with her friends.  Standing on the mantel above the small fireplace was a picture of her at the Steel Pier on that fateful evening.  Shortly after that, she had faked her own suicide and left her family behind forever.  It had been an attempt to rejoin her master, only to be rejected by him.

    Iella turned on the stereo.  She had left a tape that she had copied from one of her cherished old David Cassidy albums in the cassette deck.  The music made her feel as though she had drifted back in time.

"Although life is a serious game
Was it I who played wrong
Or do I belong
To the small few
Who get lost in the race
Still seem to pretend
But their daydream ends
It seems you've still got that old hold on me
I just can't seem to somehow set myself free
I'm in this crazy turn around circle
Closin' in on me
Ooh, honey till I can't seem to see..."

    She could hardly believe that so much time had passed since that day.  That security guard had been right when he had spoken to her, luring her away from the crowd.  The decades did pass in the blink of an eye now.  She had attained her dreams of being a model, and in still another past life, an actress.  She had wealth and strength, but she had lost the first thing that had tempted her into his embrace, twenty-five years earlier.

*

Flashback: Atlantic City, 1972

    Iella Corvath ran across the boardwalk toward the growing crowd around the entrance to the Steel Pier.  Her friend Michelle followed behind at a more leisurely pace.  She had decided to wait outside and let Iella go alone.  Iella was glad that Michelle had been unable to get tickets to this one crucial concert.  Having Michelle hanging around inhibited Iella when she really wanted to scream out her desires to the handsome young idol, since Michelle had no interest in David at all.

     For the fourth time that evening, she checked to make sure that the precious ticket was still in her pocket.  At last she had achieved her dream--David Cassidy, the most gorgeous man ever to walk the earth, was performing live at the Steel Pier while she was at the shore on vacation with Michelle and her friends.  All of her friends back in New York were fiercely jealous of her good fortune, especially since most of them had been unable to get tickets to his Madison Square Garden concert.

    At twenty-one, Iella and her friends knew that they were too old for teen idols like David Cassidy.  She had adored Davy Jones years before, along with all of her friends of the same age.  That had been the innocent puppy love of a pre-teen girl.  But then David Cassidy had come along, and she had known that every moment of her prior crushes was just a trial run.  David was the ultimate boy, the handsomest male that she had ever seen.  And she wanted him.  Not the platonic affection sold in Tiger Beat, but rather with a fierce sexual passion.  Her friends had felt the same attraction.  They were supposed to be too old to love him, but they watched the Partridge Family eagerly, listened to the records, and fantasized in a way that would have scandalized the young fans anyway.  They just pretended as though they didn't.

    In the crowd, someone screamed that they had seen David.  The girls around her promptly surged forward toward the stage door.  Iella ran, hoping to finally live out her fantasies as she caught a glimpse of David dashing desperately through the door.  Iella found herself pressed up against a tall, blond, man.  He wore a T-shirt that identified him as concert security.  He was trying to control the crowd and not doing very well, but his co-worker was having even less success.  The other guard was practically overcome by the girls who crowded over him.

*

    "What was she thinking?"  Nick snarled to himself, as he packed hastily, throwing clothes into a duffel bag.  "New Jersey is at least eight hours from Toronto by car!"  He briefly debated flying to New Jersey, but knew that although it would be fast, it would also be difficult to bring any kind of luggage along with him.  While that was not ordinarily a problem, since Nick could easily afford to purchase new clothes upon his arrival, explaining his lack of luggage to Natalie's cousin could be difficult.

    Nick was not looking forward to spending at least two nights in the Caddy, driving across the northeastern United States and looking for motel rooms with shades that would block most of the light.  But he was going to find Natalie and attempt to make peace with her, and she was NOT going to run away from him.   Two cases of cow blood and a few bottles of human blood were already in the trunk of the Caddy.  All he had to do was finish packing and he would leave as soon as the sun went down.

    On a whim, Nick packed his paints into the trunk as well.  It had been nearly a century since he had last walked the beaches of New Jersey...

*

Flashback: Ocean City, 1904

    "Nicolas!"  Janette called out to him as he walked up the path covered in broken clamshells.  Janette stood on the porch of the house.  "How do you like my home?"

    "It's lovely, my lady," Nick replied as he climbed the stairs and joined Janette on the porch.  "But isn't it a trifle larger than is necessary for a woman living alone?  And how do you stand living among all of this holiness?  There is a religious camp and a tabernacle near here."

    "All the more reason for us to be safe here,"  Lacroix said, emerging from the shadows at the other end of the porch.  "A town of revival meetings and holy sea air.  The last place anyone will think to look for a group of vampires.  Janette has generously offered me her hospitality, as she has offered it to you."

    Janette smiled.  "The house is necessary, Nicolas.  I wanted us to be together again.  And the locals merely dismiss me as an eccentric spinster heiress with skin especially sensitive to the sun and wind.  They certainly consider me to be harmless."

    "So this is to be our summer house," Nick said.

    "For the next few years at least," Janette said.  "I intend to live here all year.  You have business to attend to in Philadelphia, so for you it will be a summer home, I suppose."

*

    The Caddy pulled out of the garage and roared away in the direction of the highway.  No one had been able to tell him the exact location of Natalie's cousin's home, beyond that it was somewhere on the coast of New Jersey.  Sentimentally, Nick decided to head for Ocean City, where he had made his home with Janette for a time.  He decided that he would start looking for Natalie's car once he reached Ocean City.  He would fly over the islands until he sighted Nat's car.  He still wasn't sure what exactly he would do once he confronted her, but he would think of something.

    To tell the truth, Nick was also eager to see the ocean again.  The New Jersey shore held so many bittersweet memories of those years that he had spent there with Janette, Lacroix coming and going from New York as it suited his whim.  It seemed that again the Ocean City seaside had intertwined itself with the affairs of his heart.  Nick sighed deeply, remembering how the salt smell of the ocean had mixed with Janette's scent...

*

Flashback: Ocean City, 1905

    "Is the view not beautiful, Nicolas?"  Janette said, leading Nick out onto the balcony.  The light from the full moon danced on the waves.

    "It is.  I would love to paint it on another night."  Nick replied, savoring the cool salt breeze as it ruffled his hair.

    "You have all of tonight to work on your painting,"  Janette said.

    "I have other things on my mind besides painting,"  Nick replied, slipping his arm around Janette's waist.  Janette played with one of the buttons of his coat and gave him a wicked smile.  Nick looked down at Janette next to him and finished his thought.  "Because tonight, I see a view far more captivating than the sea."

    Nick leaned in and kissed Janette gently on the lips until Janette gently pulled away from him.  "The locals have begun to talk about us.  They are beginning to believe that we are not truly brother and sister.  There have been rumblings about our sinful lives."

    "What do such silly mortal follies as sin matter to us?"  Nick growled.  "Isn't that what you and Lacroix are always trying to tell me?"

    "As always, Nicolas, you miss the point of it.  Their rules do not apply to us.  In that you are correct.  But we live among them and so we must appear to abide by their rules of conduct.  I like it here, but this is, as you pointed out upon your arrival, a religious community.  They take a very stringent view of such things.  I do not wish to have to leave.  As far as any of them can see, we must always appear to be brother and sister."

    Nick pouted.  "So I cannot be your lover here?"

    Janette grabbed his shirtfront and pulled him back in through the door.  "Just close the draperies first, would you, Nicolas?"

*

    The next morning, Natalie awoke to a glorious sunrise streaming in through the French doors that led to the balcony.  Natalie put on a robe and walked out onto the balcony.  The sea air was cool, and she could hear the seagulls crying below from the jetty where the congregated.  A lifeguard boat was upturned on the sand below.  The whole scene would have made a perfect painting.  Not for the first time in her life, Natalie wished that she could capture the beauty of the scene before her on canvas.  The thought of painting brought back memories of Nick, and she winced.  No matter what she did, she could not escape from him.  She had to think of what she planned on doing about their ruined relationship, and do it soon.

    She stretched and walked into the bathroom to change, determinedly forcing Nick from her mind.  Toronto seemed a million miles away, and she already felt better.  Just the change of scene had done her good, and made it easier to distance herself from Nick.  As she walked toward the stairs to the first floor, Natalie looked for Kim.  The door to Kim's bedroom on the second floor was open, and her friend was not inside.

    Natalie walked into the living room where she had spoken with Kim the night before.  Kim was there again, tinkering with her computer.  The night before, Natalie had been too tired to give the rooms more than a quick scan.  Now, she looked around.  There was a fireplace in the one wall, and hanging above it was a gilt-framed portrait that appeared to date to the early twentieth century.

    Natalie's gasp startled Kim, and she dropped the serial cable that she had been holding.  "What is it, Nat?"  Kim asked, as she walked over to Natalie's side.

    "Who is that?"  Natalie asked, pointing to the portrait.

    "She sold the house to Klivian's father,"  Kim said.  "That's all that I know about her.  She left the portrait behind, and it was never thrown away.  I found it in the attic room, which the Klivians had used for storage."

    Natalie looked up at the face in shock.  It was Janette, she was certain.

*

    Nick paced the motel bathroom.  He was somewhere in Pennsylvania, trapped for the day in a motel with blinds that didn't block out the sun at all.  They had looked effective when he had arrived, but with the dawn they proved to be totally ineffective at blocking the sunlight.  Consequently, Nick had taken refuge in the bathroom with a bottle of cow blood.

    I need to get to Natalie and confess that I love her,  Nick thought.  I need to tell her that I did not bring her across because I love her, and I refuse to damn her into joining my twilight existence.  To me, Natalie has always been a creature of the light, and I refuse to take that light away.  I know that Natalie enjoyed the sun on her vacations to the beach or the lakes.  I will not take that pleasure away from her just so that she could be with me.  She needs to move on--my love can only destroy her.  I will continue to be her friend, but I cannot be more.

    Nick rested back against the cool tiled wall as he sat on the floor.  A trickle of the cow blood ran from the corner of his mouth and over his chin.  He rested his forehead on his arm.  Janette was gone, lost to him forever now after drifting in and out of his life for centuries.  He refused to just let Natalie drift out of his life in the same way that Janette had.

*

    Iella awoke with the setting sun.  Something was wrong with the bond she still could feel to her master.  He had cut off all contact from his end of the bond years ago, but she could still sense his presence and proximity.  Of late he had been far away, the bond distant and difficult to trace.  It had taken her years of following the thin trail of the bond to determine his location in time for the anniversary, which she planned on spending with him.  Now the bond was strengthening again, as though he was coming to her.

    Iella's heart leapt in her chest and it beat twice in quick succession with her excitement.  Perhaps the crossbow would not be necessary after all.  She entertained the thought of returning the crossbow and canceling the bolts that she had ordered, but decided against it.  It was better to be prepared for any eventuality.  The crossbow might prove necessary and she didn't want to regret not having it if she needed it.

    She had let her master wander out of her life in her innocence, and she had never had any success at getting close enough to David Cassidy to get him into her life.  Both of the men that she had truly loved in her short life had never loved her in return.  This was the summer that those errors would be remedied.

*

Flashback:  Atlantic City, 1972

    "Aren't you a bit old for this?" the guard with the curly blond hair said as he looked down at her.

    "How I choose to spend my time is none of your business,"  Iella said snippily.

    "It is if I invite you to spend some of the time with me," Nick purred.  He checked to make sure that the stage door was locked.  "Come with me around to the main entrance."  He gave her a smile that made her heart leap in a way that only David had been able to make it do before.

    "What's your name?"  he asked as he led her through the crowd.  The younger girls seemed to part easily before him and some shot her envious or interested looks as they wondered what she had done to warrant personalized attention from concert security.

    "Iella Corvath.  How about you?" Iella said.  "If you can get me to see David, I promise that I'll make it worth your while."

    "Nick Tristan," he growled.  "I won't do that, Iella.  He'll use you.  He's a good man, but you don't want to come to him like a loose woman."

    "That's my business,"  Iella said, jerking on his hand.  "What about you?  You're handsome enough."

    Nick growled low in his throat and hoped that she didn't hear, or notice that he had ignored her question.  "Here we are,"  he said, leading her through the main entrance and close to the stage.  "You'll have a great view from here."

    "Where are you going?"  Iella said, calling out to the handsome guard as he tried to slip away.

    "To do my job,"  Nick said, pulling out of her grasp.  "I won't use you."

    "You aren't bad to look at,"  Iella purred.

    Another security guard strolled up beside Nick, elbowed him companionably in the ribs, and leered at Iella.  His conversation with Nick was conducted in whispers too low for Iella to hear over the growing noise of the crowd.  Nick turned back toward her, his face bearing a pained and dutiful expression.  He pushed the other guard away, the expression on his face clearly contemptuous.

    "Meet me,"  Nick whispered, pressing a scrap of paper into her hand.  He disappeared into a stage door and reappeared a few minutes later on the other side of the auditorium.

*

    "Come on, Natalie, I've got bikes in the shed.  We're going to ride down to Oves for breakfast,"  Kim said as she fought the rusty padlock that secured the shed.  "They have decent food and the view is great."

    Natalie eyed the rusty ten-speed warily.  "How about breakfast first, before the exercise?"

    "Come on, it's only a few blocks to the end of the boardwalk, and then we can ride on the boardwalk down to Oves.  It's an easy ride.  People on vacation bike up to Oves for breakfast from 34th Street and further down the island."

    Natalie sighed and conceded, straddling the bike.

    Kim took off like a mountain biker, standing up and pedaling for all that she was worth.  The crushed clamshells of the driveway scattered under the tires of her bike.  Natalie followed, determined not to let Kim get the better of her.

    "Follow me!"  Kim yelled over her shoulder as she led Nat down the twisting roads of the north end of the island.

    Natalie pedaled frantically, and she started to gain on her cousin.  For the first time in a long time, she felt a genuine, carefree laugh bubble up from deep within her chest.   Kim had the advantage, however, in that she knew the streets far better than Natalie.

    Nat's bike hit a patch of loose sand on the road and skidded.  Her balance gone, Natalie tumbled off the bike, landing luckily on the soft lawn in front of an older cottage.  Kim came to a screeching halt as she realized that something had happened to Natalie.  She walked her bike back to where Natalie lay on the grass.

    "Are you okay?"  Kim asked.  "What happened?"

    Natalie sat up.  "I'm fine, Kim.  I hit a patch of sand on the road and lost control.  I was going too fast."

    "Well, that's partially my fault.  I taunted you."

    "And I loved every moment of it.  Let's get back on the road.  I could use some food."

    Natalie enjoyed the rest of the bike ride.  Kim was right, Natalie decided.  The view from the boardwalk as she rode her bike was spectacular.  The early morning sun glittered on the water, and the vibration from riding across the rough boards was an easily dismissed distraction.  Further down, Natalie could see where the boardwalk widened and a small amusement park stood at the beginning of a row of shops.

    Before they reached the amusement park, Kim pulled off to the side and began chaining her bicycle to the railing.  Natalie joined her, and Kim led her into a small open-air restaurant.  After they ordered, Natalie sat quietly watching the ocean and the constant stream of people out for morning bike rides or walks.

    "Okay, spill it!" Kim demanded.  "Something happened back in Toronto that you're upset about.  You came here to get away from it.  I want to know what it was."

    Natalie sighed.  "I don't want to talk about it."

    "Look, Nat, we grew up almost like sisters.  You can tell me what it is."

    "How do you do it, Kim?  Live by yourself, and be completely happy?"

    "I'm not, Natalie, and you know it.  Mister Right hasn't chosen to stroll into my life for keeps yet, and I simply refuse to waste my time moaning for him.  I have better things to do."  Kim said.  "I've been dating a security man at one of the casinos in Vegas off and on for a year now, whenever I go.  But until we decide that we are really right for each other, I refuse to grovel for male companionship.  Now tell me what's eating you!"

    "Nick,"  Natalie sighed, like that was all the explanation needed.

    "What?"  Kim asked.  "Explain, please."

    "Detective Nicholas Knight.  We were friends, but I thought that we might be able to become more than that.  It ended rather badly.  Now I don't know what he wants."

    "Your friend with the skin condition that he can't go out during the day?"  Kim asked.  "What happened between the two of you?"

    "Our date, if you can call it that, went rather badly, and I got hurt in an accident that was partially his fault.  And he refuses to act on his feelings, he always has, but it's been worse since the accident.  I know that it won't happen again if things go right, but he's convinced that all he can do is hurt me."  Natalie could feel tears hovering in her eyes.  "Please don't pry anymore, Kim.  I need to decide what to do about him."

    "He hasn't been..."  Kim looked shocked, and then angry.

    "No, Kim.  Nick would never abuse me.  He has too much honor.  Everything that happened to me was an accident, but he blames himself.  I just need to think."

    "I won't pry if you don't want to share.  Just remember that you're free to stay here and think as long as you would like.  However, you do need some recreation and some sun.  You've gotten entirely too pale from working the night shift, Nat."

    Breakfast arrived and Natalie turned her contemplations to her cheese omelet and homefries.  After breakfast, Kim led Natalie down the boardwalk to a bookstore where Kim set about stocking Natalie with mushy romance novels.

    "For reading on the beach,"  Kim said as she paid for the books.  "You can borrow one of my beach chairs and go down and sit in the sun for a few hours and read some trash.  It'll be good for you."

*

    As soon as darkness fell, Nick was back on the road.  He made good time through Philadelphia and New Jersey.  He stopped in Somers Point to put the top down on the Caddy and buy a bottle of champagne for Nat.  He paused in the Circle Liquor parking lot, looking out toward the lights of Ocean City.  He could see both Ferris wheels brilliantly lit in the distance and the lights of the casinos in Atlantic City to the north.

    Nick climbed back into the car and turned on the radio.  He fiddled with the dial until he tuned in a local radio station that played classic hits and found a song that he liked.  He started the car and headed toward the bridge that led into Ocean City.

"Hello darkness my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
Beneath the light of a streetlamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were speared
By the flash of a neon light
Split the night and touch the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared disturb the sound of silence."

    Silence.  The damned barrier that separated him from Natalie.  She had effectively shut him out of her life.  At every crime scene that they went to she had treated him with nothing but cold professionalism.  He  had visited her a few times in the hospital, but each time had been difficult for him.  It was hard for him to see his Nat attached to all of the machines and the medicines that were necessary to save her life.  The life that he had nearly destroyed.

"Fools say I do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear the words that I might teach you
Take my arm that I might reach you
But my words like silent raindrops fell
Echo the wills of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
The words of the prophets are written
On subway walls and tenement halls
Whisper the sounds of silence."

    Nick sighed and rested back against the seat, enjoying the feel of the salty breezes in his hair.  Once in Ocean City, he began looking for a motel with a vacant room.  Every street that he turned down, he was greeted by a constant parade of "No Vacancy" signs.  Finally, he found an older motel, painted a shocking shade of pink and with a small fountain in front of the office had a neon sign advertising vacancies.  Nick looked up at the sign on the roof that advertised the Sifting Sands Motel.  The 'T' in 'Motel' was out, as was the whole word "Sifting".  It certainly wasn't what he would have liked but it would do.  Tomorrow night he would commence his search for Natalie.  Tonight, he was tired and wanted nothing more than a bottle out of the trunk, a shower, and some rest.

*

    Janette landed in front of the small bar called the Iron Dragon near the Somers Point waterfront.  It was a small, hole-in-the wall place, shabby next to the fancier nightclubs that crowded the stretch.  She punched open the door and entered, knowing that Ginjer would be inside.

    The club was decorated in an Asian motif.  Janette smiled at the touch.  Ginjer was fiercely proud of her heritage, and the decor of her bar was clearly intended to make her feel at home.

    Janette scanned the small room for Ginjer and found her, leaning against the bar and watching the crowds while sipping from an intricate jade cup.  She was tall for her time, five and a half feet tall, and possessed of a stunning beauty.  The same beauty that had won the eye of both the Emperor of China--and the vampire who had brought her across.

    "I came as soon as I could.  Your call was rather a surprise."  Janette said.  "I knew that the Community thrives here, from when I helped you get this place started.  But I never thought that Nicolas would return here."

    Ginjer poured a glass of the house special and held it out to Janette.  "It isn't quite that simple.  Your onetime master, Lacroix, has followed Nicholas here.  I have not seen Nicholas, but I did have an encounter with Lacroix.  He is still as obsessed as ever with his 'wayward son' as he calls your Nicholas.  It seems that Nicholas is here in pursuit of some mortal lover of his."

    "Did he say anything else about why Nicolas is here?"  Janette asked.  "Or have you heard anything else about Nicolas from the others here?"

    "I know he is here.  He hasn't shown any interest in entering the life of the Community, I can tell you that.  If he had, he would have been in here.  There was one other one who has been in here talking about Nicholas.  She goes by the name of Iella Donovan and she lives in Asbury Park.  I don't know much about her beyond that."

    Janette's eyes widened in shock.  "Iella?  Did she seem like she knew anything about why Nicolas is here?"  she asked.

    "You know her, then?"  Ginjer asked.

    "Of course I do.  Nicolas brought her across in 1972," Janette said.  "She wanted eternal youth, and in a moment of weakness, he gave it to her.  I remember that she was always very jealous of me, and she had a major infatuation with Nicolas.  He tired of her obsessive behavior, and told her to leave him alone.  I haven't seen her since."

    Ginjer sighed.  "From what I heard her tell over her bloodwine in here, that infatuation of hers hasn't gone away.  She's actually rather scary to talk to.  If I were Nicholas, I would worry about her.  She is convinced that he's her one true love--when she isn't talking about David Cassidy."

    "I'm not so worried about Nicolas," Janette said.  "I think he may be following a mortal friend of his, especially if Lacroix has followed him."

    "She's more than a friend to Nicholas," Ginjer said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Janette.  "If you're worried about what Iella might do to her.  And you're jealous."

    Janette's hand tightened around her glass.  "She is a pathologist who has been helping Nicolas in his quest to regain his mortality."

    Ginjer raised an eyebrow.  "And the Enforcers have not paid her a visit?"

    "No," Janette said.  "She has performed too many valuable services for the Community.  She covered up the kills of the occasional indiscriminate fledgelings, and from what I heard, she also devised a cure for a disease that was killing our kind.  She is more valuable alive, with her knowledge and her trustworthiness."

    "Indeed.  I should think that she is indeed a valuable asset to the Community."  Ginjer said.  "So then you fear that she will succeed in making him mortal again, and you will lose Nicholas to her."

    "He has tasted her blood,"  Janette said.  "I sensed his distress though our link, now that he is my master.  It nearly ended in disaster, as he nearly drained her, or so Lacroix told me on the last time that I saw him, several weeks ago."

    "Then you worry that he will bring her across," Ginjer said.  "I have met your Nicholas, remember?  He does not have enough control to stay near her and not drain her or bring her across.  That must have been what Lacroix meant when he mentioned that he might need enough human to satiate the first hunger of a new fledgeling."

    Janette ground her teeth.  "Why did it have to be here?"  she spat.   "This place belongs to Nicolas and me.  We were happy here, once, until Nicolas was accused of a murder that he didn't commit."

    "Janette, he came here to make his choice," Ginjer said.  "You are his daughter now, so you will sense if he chooses to return to you.  Don't try to influence his choice, Janette.  It could backfire on you."

    Janette sighed.  "I won't.  I know Nicolas better than that.  He will come back to me, as he always does.  But Iella doesn't know that.  I have to speak to her.  You said that she lived in Asbury Park."

    Ginjer nodded.  "Somewhere along the coast, in an old cottage that she bought because it reminded her of when she wasn't one of us." She watched Janette set her glass down on the bar and leave the building.

*

    The growing strength of Iella's bond with her master left no doubt in her mind.  For whatever reason, he was nearby.  Very near.  The emotions that trickled through the all-but-ruined bond came through strong and clear.  He was near, and he was occupied with thoughts of love.  Frustration and irritability, along with an iron determination, came through to Iella.  He had never wanted her, for all that she had loved him with every ounce of fiery passion not invested in her adoration of David Cassidy.

    She had been forced upon her master, his ironclad sense of honor forcing him to 'protect' her from the lifestyle of a groupie.  The lifestyle that she had adored.  He had offered her power, strength, and eternal beauty, on the condition that she never degrade herself with the rest of the groupies who had followed, eager to adore David.  He had trained her, until his fledgeling could stand on her own, and then he had left her.  He had never given a thought to the desires of his fledgeling, only to his own soul.

    Iella walked out onto the patio on the roof of the screen porch.  Fantastic colors painted the sky over the water, the remnants of the sunset that she was doomed never to see more of.  She left the bottle on the small table and leaned on the railing.  The peaceful sounds of the ocean waves washed over her, and the peace of her environment allowed Iella to focus on the tenuous bond to her master that she still cherished.

    "Nicholas," Iella whispered, imbuing the name with a mystical sound, as she leaned into the wind.

    The more she concentrated, the stronger the sensations grew that filtered through to her.  Iella opened her eyes, allowing her true nature to assert itself.  She could almost see the bond, trailing southward like a wisp of smoke.  He was somewhere to the south, somewhere below Atlantic City.  Too many mortal lives interspersed between Iella and her master buffeted the bond for him to be any closer.

    The enhanced vision of her now-golden eyes allowed her to pick out the exact shapes of the buildings of Atlantic City where they loomed over the horizon to the south.  Memories boiled up at the sight, crystal-clear and still a mix of pain and wonderful pleasure to recall.

*

Flashback:  Atlantic City, 1972

    After she had left the concert, Iella opened up the paper that Nick Tristan had handed her.  She was certain that it was an invitation to David Cassidy's suite.  David surely told his security men to allow the groupies to join him for the evenings after the concerts, and she had managed to finagle one out of his very handsome guard.  She was correct, as the paper bore the name of a smaller hotel and a room number.

    Her fellow groupies had warned her and Michelle not to expect deluxe accommodations if they actually got to David.  All the rumors said that David stayed in smaller hotels to avoid the mad crowds of fans and the possibility of a riot.  Smiling wickedly, Iella pocketed the precious scrap of paper and headed back to her own hotel to pick up her car and brag to Michelle.

    Michelle, Iella reflected, was not going to be highly impressed.  She has her sights set on John Lennon, or Mick Jagger, someone 'serious'.  She'll just tell me that I'm childish, just like she tells all my friends who want David too.

    "Well, did you enjoy the show?"  Michelle asked, leaning over the railing of the motel.  "I see you didn't score.  I told you that this was a waste of time and money."

    "Of course I enjoyed it!"  Iella shouted back.  "His butt is fantastic in those spandex pants of his.  And he did a really good job on CC Rider.  And, I did manage to score.  I just need my car to drive out to his hotel.  One of the security guards gave me the room number."

*

    Natalie settled on the couch, her face turned away from the haunting portrait of Janette that hung over the fireplace.  Kim had gone to the all-night market down the street to get popcorn, and then they planned on watching a mushy historical romance and having a good cry.  Natalie fully intended to enjoy the movie this time, without Nick making distracting remarks about the historical inaccuracies.

    Kim returned, and Natalie could hear her micro waving the popcorn in the kitchen.  Natalie cursed the weakness that made her think of Nick at every turn of events as she remembered how Nick would wrinkle up his nose at the scent of popcorn permeating his loft on their movie nights.

    Natalie pressed the play button on the remote as Kim set the bowl of popcorn down on the table, along with a large sack of M&Ms and a bottle of wine.  Natalie sighed with relief as Kim poured the wine and she noticed that it was white wine, not red.  Red would only have been another painful reminder of Nick.

    "I figured that if this Nick had gotten you so emotionally messed up that you came here to get away from him, you were in dire need of chocolate."  Kim said, gesturing to the M&Ms.  "I thought about getting you some chocolate ice cream , but I figured that I'd take you to Tory's for sundaes tomorrow instead."

    "Thanks, Kim.  Chocolate and mush, what more could a woman ask?"

    "Maybe for decent behavior on the part of the opposite sex, and David Cassidy in the movie,"  Kim said.

    "Well, I can empathize with the first part of that statement," Natalie said.  "What do you see in that washed-up teen idol anyway?"

    Kim puffed up indignantly.  "He's not washed up.  I saw him in 'At The Copa' in Las Vegas when I went on vacation last year.  He looks spectacular.  Besides, you were just a baby; you don't even remember when the Partridge Family was on TV.  He was dreamy."

    "It's been 25 years since then, Kim.  I would have thought that you would have given up on a silly preteen crush by now."

    Kim shook her head.  "It's not silly, Nat.  I still find him attractive, after all he is still a very handsome man whose talent and looks Hollywood refuses to recognize.  But mostly today I just admire his strength and talent.  The crush I had back in 1972 is long gone."

    "I don't know.  I still think of him as that airhead on the Partridge Family."

    "He's so much more than that, Nat.  Give him a chance.  He was spectacular in 'At The Copa', but that show has closed.  Next year you should come with me on vacation to see him in whatever he's doing then.  Besides, I know that you were listening to David last night.  That was his Didn't You Used To Be CD that you were listening to."

    "It was?"  Natalie said, shocked.  She remembered the velvety, incredible voice that had sung the incredibly powerful song that seemed to speak about her relationship with Nick.  She hadn't looked at the CD that had been left in the player and was amazed to discover the identity of the singer.

    "Let me guess.  You were just testing the stereo, otherwise you wouldn't have listened to it."  Kim said dryly.  "What did you think of it?"

    "He was pretty good.  I liked the song--it made me think of me and Nick.  Like he was singing about me."

    "David has always been good at that.  There's something about his voice that makes you believe that he's singing just for you.  It's part of the reason why his fans love him so much.  I'll have to introduce you to more of his music.  I'll make a convert of you before you go back to Toronto."

    Natalie grinned.  "I'd like to see you try."  She returned her attention to the movie.  The hero's garb was ridiculously historically inaccurate, and she laughed.  "If Nick was here, he would have a field day with this movie."

    "Let me guess.  Mister Practical Detective makes fun of romantic movies."  Kim shook her head disdainfully.

    "Not so much that.  He does watch them to humor me, and he keeps those comments to himself.  But he would pick out every single historical inaccuracy.  He's a...um... history buff.  The outfits that these people are wearing would drive Nick bananas.  He's a historical purist."

    Kim laughed.  "You've got it bad, Nat.  Everything makes you think of Nick!  When you return to Toronto, either you need to decide to get him out of your life, or get him all the way into your life."

    "He has a fear of commitment, Kim."

    "So?  Most men do.  Take a page from their book.  If you really like what you see in him, club him over the head and drag him back to your cave by the hair."

    "With Nick, that could be difficult.  He's so hard to read, Kim.  I've got no clue if he even does want me at all.  There was one thing that I asked him to do, and he refused to do it.  Sometimes I think all the he sees in me is the cure to his condition.  I've been working on trying to cure him, and I've started to think that that's all he wants.  I'll cure him, and he'll move on and leave me behind with a few words of thanks.  And then he'll take up a new life with a bimbo in the suburbs and raise a whole brood of kids.  Without me."

    "Ahhh, damn,"  Kim said.  "You think he's been using you, Nat?"

    "I don't know what to think anymore, Kim.  He runs all hot and cold.  One day he's all over me, showering me with kisses and affection and the next day he's practically an icebox on legs."

    "So he's flawed.  It just makes him mortal like the rest of us, Nat.  Maybe his flaws are a bit bigger than some men have, but the question isn't about that.  The question is, can you live with his flaws?"

    Mortal.  The word reverberated in Nat's brain.  Flawed as a mortal man.  Lacroix believes that vampires are godlike beings.  Nick doesn't.  Does that knowledge of his own flaws bring Nick that much closer to being human?

    "Hello!  Earth to Nat... you just zoned out completely,"  Kim said.  "I asked you, can you live with Nick's flaws?  You're never going to find a completely perfect man."

    "I guess that's what I came here to decide.  Ever since I've come here, I've felt close to him, as if I could figure out my feelings for him if I just think hard enough."

    "Then you should sit and think.  Though it sounds like you've already done a fair amount of that."

    "I have.  And ever since I've been here, all the bad things that happened between us have almost faded.  Like they aren't important at all.  The memories that come back to me are all good ones.  This morning, out on the balcony, it was almost as though I could feel him standing beside me.  It irritated me then, that he could intrude on my solitude even while he's hundreds of miles away."

    "And what do you feel about it now?"

    "Now... I'm not so sure.  I know that we had beautiful moments together, but we've also had some rotten ones.  I still don't know if he really loves me or not.  Or even if what love we might have can survive if we get together."

    "Well, you need to think about that.  You need to either invite him in, or kick him out of your life for good.  Where you are now isn't healthy.  Now, let's watch the movie and forget about Nick The Irritating."

*

    Nick climbed the chipped concrete steps to the second floor of the motel, carrying his duffel bag under one arm and two bottles under the other.  He set the bottles of blood down on the doorstep as he fumbled with the key.  The door swung open with a creak, revealing a small and fairly bleak room.  Nick deposited his bag on the shelf right inside the door, and set the bottles down next to it.

    Nick investigated the room.  Both beds were unfortunately lined up with the window, but the curtains looked thick enough.    The television rested on a shelf in the corner of the room.  The bathroom had only a narrow shower stall.  Nick turned the lamp on, only to discover that it held a low-wattage energy saving bulb that cast a wan glow over the bleak surroundings.  Nick made an inarticulate grumble that trailed off into a growl and fished his soap and shampoo out of the bag.  He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.  While the water warmed, Nick dropped his clammy and rumpled clothes.  The night air had been still and humid on the streets while he had cruised looking for a room.

    The shower proved to be tight quarters for him, and Nick wasn't even an especially large man.  The hot water felt good, however, and Nick eagerly soaped himself down.  As he turned to rinse his hair, his thigh bumped the shower door, which popped open.  A cold draft caressed Nick's lower body.  While not as chilling as it would have been to a mortal, it was still an irritation.  Nick's already foul mood darkened and he released a crabby snarl.  He jerked the door closed and finished his shower, appreciating the warmth of the water as it flowed over his lean body.

    Nick closed his eyes and ran his hands over his body, imagining that Natalie had joined him in the cramped space.  His body immediately responded, as both man and vampire.  In the same moment that he felt himself harden, he felt his fangs descend and his eyes go golden.  He ran his tongue over his fangs as his hands traveled down his body to discover that he had become hard.  Nick began stroking fiercely.  He ached for Natalie, not just for the bite but to touch her as a man.  It was a need that he had not felt in a long, long time.  Janette had been with him in the mortal way, but it had not been especially satisfying for either of them.  It had been pleasant, certainly, but never this burning need...

*

Flashback:  Ocean City, 1905

    "Nicolas?  Are you going to join me?"  Janette called out to him from where she lay in the big bed, with the gryphon finials that seemed to glower down at him.  The bed had a canopy, curtains, and cover of deep blue velvet.  It served to accentuate the deep blue of her eyes.

    Janette always does know how to appear to her best advantage, Nick mused.  Not that I mind at all. He looked out the window and across the sand to the distant waves of the ocean.  The sky was turning purple and pink with the approaching dawn.  I wonder what would have happened if I would have remained a mortal.  I would have married after my return from the Crusades, I know.  I would have spent my life with a woman like Alyssa, not with Janette.

    "Nicolas?  Is something wrong?"  Janette said, a bit of worry edging her tone.

    Nick shook his head, and ran his fingers through his hair.  His severely back-combed hair had grown uncomfortable in the humidity.  "No.  Just thinking."

    "You do look so handsome when you are brooding."

    "Was I so obvious as that?"  Nick pulled the heavy velvet draperies closed over the window.  They would keep out the light after the sun had risen.  He walked over to the side of the bed.

    "Transparent."  Janette's pale, bare shoulders and arms emerged from under the covers as she sat up.  "Dreaming of what your life would have been like as a mortal again?"

    "You always have been able to read me better than anyone else."  He ran a gloved finger along her chin.  Janette smiled and leaned into the caress.

    "Ah, but Nicolas, you make it so very easy,"  she said, caressing the bulge that had formed in his trousers.  "You want to spend the day with me, and we both know it."

    Nick smiled, baring his fangs and showing her the gold of his eyes.

    "You make a beautiful vampire.  Why do you insist on fighting it?"

    "I do not fight it when I have you,"  Nick said.  He whispered several terms of endearment in French to her and kissed her hand.

    Janette smiled again and tugged on his glove, eventually freeing it from his hand.  "Then I shall consider it my mission to keep you from thinking about your foolish quest for mortality.  You did rinse your mouth after feeding, I trust.  I despise cow breath."

    Nick slid his bare hand into her dark hair and brought her mouth up to his.  He bestowed a long, passionate kiss on her lips and allowed Janette to caress his fangs with her tongue.

    "Does my breath pass inspection?"  Nick asked, his speech slurred slightly by his fangs.  He seated himself on the edge of the bed, his eyes now streaked with the red of full-blown vampiric passion.

    "Of course, Nicolas,"  Janette said.  Her voice on his name was like a breathy caress.  She reached out and began undoing his cravat.  "You know, all you would have to do is stop drinking that infernal cow blood and that wouldn't be a problem any longer."

    "I swore I would not kill mortals again, Janette,"  Nick said and stood up.  His clothes were disarranged by her questing hands, and his hair was settling back into its natural riot of curls.

    "Stop sulking and come to bed."  Janette said.  "The sun is up and now is not the time to be discussing this.  There are better things that we could be doing."

    "On that count, I wholeheartedly agree,"  Nick said, fumbling at the buttons of his vest.  "Give me a moment to get these infernal clothes off and I will join you.  I still miss my tunics."

*

    Nick snapped out of his reverie as thoughts of Natalie flooded his mind again.  He wanted her with a passion that he had never felt for Janette.  One hand released his hardness and he brought his wrist to his mouth and sank his throbbing fangs into the vein.  Blood flooded his mouth.  It was not the sweetness of Natalie's that he could still remember coursing over his tongue, but it brought him release.  Nick licked the wound closed and began to wash away the bloody mess that he had left on the wall of the shower.

    Nick turned off the shower and stepped out and dried himself vigorously.  Shamelessly nude, he walked into the main room where he had ditched his bag.  He stretched, taking an animal pleasure in the sensations of his naked skin, before digging a blue silk shirt and jeans out of his bag.  The soft cloth felt good as he got dressed.

    The television was on, and Nick stretched out on the bed and idly watched as he drank from the bottle of cow blood.  His earlier irritable mood was beginning to dissipate as he was clean, comfortable and fed.  As he finished the bottle, Nick began to fidget.  His earlier exhaustion had been replaced by a nervous energy.  He knew that he would need to conserve his strength for the flying that he would have to do the next night when he embarked on his search for Natalie.  However, his body did not want to rest.  He ached to see the ocean.

    Nick turned the television off, and walked of the room, locking the door behind himself.  He walked purposefully down the few short blocks to the boardwalk.  The boardwalk was crowded, as Nick had fully expected.  It had changed drastically from how he remembered, but it was still the same place, and still charged with memory.  Nick fought his way through the crowds until he reached the railing on the other side of the boardwalk.  He leaned his forearms on the railing and looked out across the water.

    Waves crashed against the sand, as they had since the dawn of time.  Moonlight sparkled across the water, just the same as it had so many years ago, when he and Janette had strolled this same promenade in evening wear.  Now it was inhabited by clusters of families in T-shirts and shorts, and the landward side of the boardwalk was lined with small shops.  Nick turned  around and watched the parade of humanity pass by.  Things had certainly changed since the last time that he had been here.

    Nick contemplated briefly and realized that despite all the tantalizing heartbeats that surrounded him, the beast was quiet within him.  It craved only one thing--the deep, unconditional love that it had received when he had drunk from Natalie.  He could walk among the crowd without a pang of hunger for the beautiful young women who trailed past him.  Nick joined the crowds walking down the boardwalk.  Maybe if things went well, he could find something for Natalie in one of the stores.  A peace offering was always a good idea in dealing with the opposite sex.  Nick had learned that long ago.

    A nauseating wave of garlic fumes emanated from a pizza parlor that Nick passed.  He gagged and lurched to lean against the wall nearby, thankfully out of the wave of fumes.  Certain things had not changed for the better.  Nick felt a brief, burning regret that he had not been in a position to drain dry the Italian pest who had invented pizza.

    On the other hand, with the amount of garlic that would probably have been in his system, his blood would probably have been fatal, Nick mused.

    As soon as he had collected himself, Nick proceeded down the boardwalk.  He stopped at a small jewelry store, hoping to find a small gift for Natalie.  He had contemplated bringing one of the necklaces that he had stored in a safe deposit box in Toronto, but he knew that the fabulous pearls and diamonds would have been difficult to explain to Nat's cousin on his detective's pay.  He could always have lied and said that they were family heirlooms, but he knew that would only be misinterpreted as being more serious than he intended.

    Besides, Nick liked the idea of giving Natalie something that he had picked out specifically for her.  The jewels that he had in his deposit box had merely been part of the wealth that he had amassed through his centuries of living.  Some of the jewels had even been selected with Janette in mind as the recipient.  He looked over the cases, but nothing seemed to quite suit his tastes or Natalie's.  Most of the jewelry was modernistic in style and made of titanium rather than silver or gold.  He hated to admit it, but Nick felt terribly old-fashioned.  After centuries of viewing silver and gold as the only metals of value for jewelry, it was hard for him to get used to the newer fashions.

    "May I help you, sir?"  A young female clerk asked.

    Nick looked up abruptly.  "I'm looking for something for my lady,"  he said, belatedly realizing how medieval he sounded.  "I've made some mistakes, and I'm trying to make up for them.  I came here to find her.  She's visiting a friend, and I want to apologize.  I realized how inconsiderate I've been."

    She led Nick to a different case.  "I have a feeling that you're looking for something a bit more traditional.  We don't carry much in the way of traditional designs, but these are what we have."  She pointed to several gold coins mounted in pendant and pin settings.  "These are Spanish doubloons, from the galleon Atocha.  And we have some things from a local silversmith."

    "What's that one?"  Nick asked, pointing to a pendant in the shape of a sword.  It looked almost like a miniature version of the one that he had carried into the Crusades, so many centuries ago.

    "It's a replica of a Crusader's sword,"  the clerk responded.  "Sterling silver, and it has been coated with a special finish that should prevent it from tarnishing."

    "It's perfect,"  Nick said.  "I'll buy it."

    After he had paid, the clerk was putting the pendant and chain into a box.  "If you don't mind me saying so, your girlfriend is a lucky lady.  Not many men would go to all the effort of tracking their girlfriends down on vacation just to apologize for something that they've done."

    Nick smiled as he gathered up the bag.  "Thank you, but it also took a special woman to make me do this."  He strolled out of the store and back into the crowds of the boardwalk, ignoring the whispered comments from the clerk and her companions.

    A special woman indeed.  No other woman in all the centuries that I've lived has made me feel this way, Nick thought, as he walked up toward the end of the boardwalk.  The wanderlust in his blood had been cooled by the stroll, almost as though fate had intended him to find the pendant for Natalie.  On the return trip, Nick was careful to give the pizza parlor a broad berth.  Most of the stores were beginning to close for the night, and Nick continued his leisurely stroll.

    As the boardwalk emptied, Nick enjoyed the quiet.  A few people still wandered about, but the crowds of families that had filled the area earlier had dissipated.  The cool salty air felt good on his skin, and he began to allow a small seed of hope to flower in his cold heart.  He would find Natalie.

*

    Iella let her concentration on the bond fade and returned her attention to the bottle that rested on the nearby table.  The sweet taste of human blood washed across her tongue.  The emotions in the blood almost made it burn in Iella's mouth.  A young man had donated the blood.  A young man, engaged to a woman he loved and soon to be married.  His joy only served to make Iella's sense of rejection grow blacker.  The blood fed not only her body, but also the strange, boiling mixture of hatred, obsession, and love that she harbored for her master.

    Eyes pressed closed and fangs gritted against her teeth, Iella drained the bottle.  In her brief rage, she threw it against the side of the house, taking pleasure in the shattering glass.

    No one, Iella mentally roared, should be able to feel those things in a universe that denied them to me.  I loved my master, more than the sun and the world I had known.  I should drain that mortal for presuming to have such things when I, a superior being, am denied them!

    There was a whoosh of disturbed air, and a feminine hand clamped down over Iella's wrist.  Long, blood-red nails dug into the soft flesh on the underside of her arm.

    "Calm down, little one," said a heavily French-accented voice.  "Nicolas is near, is he not?"

*

    Nick turned down the side street that led back to his motel.  He began humming softly as he walked up the stairs that led to the second level.  For a moment he paused and looked around.  For some indescribable reason, the scene gave him an incredible sense of peace.  The blue lights strung around the fence of the pool area reflected wavery and broken on the surface of the water.  In the distance, Nick could hear someone give a yell and call out to a friend, and softer yet, he could hear the waves of the ocean breaking on the beach.  For the first time in a long time, Nick felt that he was in the right place at exactly the right time.

    Nick pushed open the door, only to be greeted by the smug face of Lacroix.

    "Ah, Nicholas.  You do so love digging yourself into holes,"  Lacroix said, his tone vaguely taunting.

    "I thought you said that you were moving on,"  Nick snapped, irritable at having one of his few peaceful moments disrupted by his master.

    "Oh, I have left Toronto.  The Nightcrawler no longer stalks the airwaves there.  But just because I have abandoned my life in Toronto does not mean that I have abandoned my favorite son."

    "What are you after, Lacroix?"

    "Oh, I have no agenda here, besides watching you.  You and your coroner friend simply prove to be excellent entertainment."

    "Don't you have anything better to do than try to ruin my life?"  Nick was in no mood for his master's games, and the thought of him watching his reunion with Natalie made Nick's skin crawl.  He had no intentions of being Lacroix's entertainment.

    "Au contraire, my son.  I am here to help you."

    "Help me.  By dictating what my actions should be, using your concepts of what a vampire should and should not be?"

    "Her blood... It calls to you, Nicholas, does it not?"

    Nick looked away from Lacroix, unwilling to face the logical progression of his master's statement, or the truth in it.

    "Of course it does!" Lacroix spat.  "Don't try to deny it.  The beast demands its due.  And yours, I would imagine, is quite insistent."  He picked up one of Nick's abandoned bottles and wrinkled his nose at the thought of the cow blood that it had contained.  "After years of feeding on this swill, her blood must have tasted all that much sweeter."

    "She trusted me!  I betrayed her trust the moment I took one mouthful too much!"

    "And why could you not stop in time to save her?"  Lacroix said, his tone oily and nearly triumphant.  "I had to save her, Nicholas.  It was I who called for the emergency medics who saved her with transfusions."

    "I didn't have enough control to stop in time.  Her blood was sweet.  So sweet..."  Blood tears hovered in the corners of Nick's eyes.

    "You expected to have enough control to let her live, while you were feeding on cow blood."  Lacroix thrust the bottle accusingly at Nick.  "It cannot be done, Nicholas!  You are a vampire.  Vampires are meant to feed on human blood.  A diet of cow allows you to live, but it will not give you the control that you need.  And now that you have tasted her blood you have two choices.  You will be drawn to her until one of two things happens: you will either drain her or bring her across."

    "It's not a choice. I chose to let her die because I could not make her like me.  She is a creature of the sun.  I could not take that away from her."

    "No matter what you do, Nicholas, the choice is ultimately hers, remember that.  All you can do is offer the choice to come back as a vampire.  And shouldn't it have been her choice to make?  If she was so much of a creature of the light as you believe, she would not have returned to you.  She would walk into the light."

    "And I would have lost her anyway."

    "You would have condemned her to death, without even giving her that choice.  I should think that the guilt of that would be far worse.  You have it within your power to give your beloved eternal life, without disease or decay, and you withhold it.  It is always within her power to refuse it if it is offered.  But if you do not offer it, she can never accept.  You cannot give her that gift when you are fed on cow.  All you have to do is tell me you want it and I will see to it that you are provided with plenty of human blood."

    "Since when do you care so much?  Have you forgotten the bargain we made over Fleur?  I am here only to explain myself to her and beg her forgiveness for my lack of control."

    "I have forgotten nothing." Lacroix said, a smirk forming on his face.  "But it will be so much more entertaining to watch you destroy your mortal lover than to do it myself.  And if you do succeed in bringing her across, she will make an excellent addition to the family."

    In a flash, Lacroix took to the sky, leaving a thoroughly irritated Nicholas standing on the walkway in front of his room, clutching a bloody bottle.  Nick stomped into the room and slammed the door behind himself.  He had a lot to think about.  He had brought along a few bottles of human blood, in case of an emergency.  And Lacroix had promised him more if he needed it.

    Nick sighed and pulled the curtains closed against the daylight that was still several hours away.  As a second measure of defense, he draped a blanket over the window.  With that done, Nick swapped his clothes for a pair of pajamas and climbed into bed, ready to give in to his exhaustion.

*

    Iella turned around and looked at the elder female vampire.  "Of course he's near.  He is my master, and a master should care for his fledgelings.  Instead, all you ever did was steal my master's affections from me."

    Janette smiled in a way that made Iella uncomfortable.  "Ah, Iella, who did Nicolas become a vampire for?  Certainly not for you.  We had seven hundred years together before he brought you across.  Did you honestly think that you could come between us?"

    "Well, something certainly did come between you and Nick!"  Iella snapped.  "If your love was as immortal as you would have me believe, why aren't you with him now?"

    "Little one, I tasted mortality again," Janette said.  "I had attained the one thing that he wants above all else."

    "How?"

    "Love."  Janette said, her tone making it clear that she did not wish to answer any more questions about her regained mortality.  She leaned against the railing and looked down at the sand dunes in front of the small cottage.  The night wind blew her hair back, away from her thin face.

    "Nick is angry at you for becoming mortal?" Iella said.   "How could that be?  He was forever pressuring you to join him in his quest during the time that I was with him."

    "Not angry at me, " Janette sighed.  "Angry at himself.  It was Nicolas who brought me back across, though I begged him to allow me to die.  I would have done the same thing, had it been he who lay mortal and dying before me.  I am grateful to him for giving me the choice to come back.  But Nicolas--it will just add more guilt to the load of it that he carries around with him already.  He will believe that he did it out of jealousy, and he will flagellate himself with that belief."

    "Why don't you tell him that you are grateful?" Iella said.  "He would probably take you back.  He has always loved you best."  Her voice became bitter.

    "He no longer listens to me.  He has been beyond my control for nearly a century now," Janette blinked back tears.  "I wish that it wasn't so.  But if I return to him, his guilt will destroy him.  As it is now, he has changed forever from the man I fell in love with in 1228.  We've grown apart.  I was meant to be a vampire, as were you.  For him, it is a struggle."

    "You want him to become mortal again?"  Iella said, disbelief coloring her tone.  "You and I both know that he wouldn't last a day as a mortal!"

    "Heavens, no!"  Janette laughed.  "He would get himself blown up, or shot very quickly.  And then I would have to bring him back across.  No, he needs to come to terms with the fact that he is a vampire and if he feels the need to be one of the  'good guys' yet, to do so as a vampire.  I cannot persuade him of that.  But there is another who might."

    "Who has stolen his affections now?" Iella said, her eyes glowing yellow and angry.

    "Calm down," Janette said.  "Natalie Lambert is the mortal doctor who is trying to cure him.  I must also warn you that she is well thought of throughout most of the Community for her work on the behalf of our kind.  Nicolas loves her, in his own way, but the one time that she begged him to make love to her, he nearly drained her and refused to bring her across.  He viewed her as too pure to enter our world and preferred that she should die.   But through the timely interference of Lucien, she did not die.  She too must now sort out her feelings for him."

    "What about Nick?" Iella said.  "Who does he love?"

    "He too has come here to sort out his feelings.  He originally came to track down his mortal friend and explain his actions on that night.  But before he leaves, he will have to make his decisions.  Do not interfere, Iella.  When he chooses, you will know, just as I shall now that he is my master also."  Janette took flight, abandoning the rooftop to Iella.

    "So, Natalie Lambert, it is you now who is in his embrace," Iella muttered.  "May he bring you every ounce of the misery and heartbreak that he brought me."

*

Flashback: Atlantic City, 1972

    Iella climbed the stairs to the third floor of the small hotel, nearly running.  The elevator had been in use near one of the upper floors, and she had been unwilling to wait for the ancient contraption to return to the ground floor.  The scrap of paper in her hands grew more tattered by the moment.  Soon enough, she would join the group of girls who could casually brag about their sexual escapades with celebrities.  Sure, she had gone to the drive-in with her boyfriend, but that was entirely different.  David Cassidy was a star.

    "305," Iella muttered, looking at the door number.  "This is it.  This room probably belongs to that guard, and he will take me to David Cassidy."  She knocked.

    Nick pulled the door open.  "Iella.  Glad to see that you could make it.  Come in."

    Iella smiled.  Maybe he is going to take me up on the offer that I made.  I certainly wouldn't mind doing him to get to David-- he's really handsome.

    "Why were you trying so hard to get to David Cassidy?"  Nick asked.

    "For the same reason that all those other women were trying.  I adore him.  He's the handsomest thing that I've ever seen," Iella said.

    "And your self-worth is entirely absorbed in whether you can climb into bed with celebrities you consider to be handsome,"  Nick shook his head.  "You look too intelligent to be so foolish."

    "Who are you to judge me as being foolish for loving David Cassidy?  I'm sure that you have fallen in love at some point in your life!" Iella said, pointing an accusing finger at his chest.

    Nick grabbed Iella around her upper arms and shook her.  "I can't just let him use you.  Can't you see that there is so much more to life than conquests?"

    Iella glared.  "I hardly keep score.  Some women do, but I am not one of them.  I would give myself freely to him, because I desire him.  All I want from you is to take me to his room!"

    "I just can't do that," Nick said, and looked away from her as he let go.  "David won't fall in love with you the moment he sees you.  I don't want to see him use such innocent devotion for his own pleasure."

    Iella snorted.  "I'm hardly an innocent!  Don't you see, he's the closest that I will ever be to fame.  I adored him, and I want to know what his world is like."

    "Is that what you want?"  Nick asked her.  "To be beautiful, forever, and accumulate all the wealth that you have ever dreamed of?"

    "Yes," Iella said.  "I wanted to be a model, but I was told that I would soon be too old to seriously enter the business.  I should have started around fifteen, but my mother wouldn't allow it.  She said I could at eighteen, but when I went to the agencies they told me that I was too old to be getting started and that my looks would go too soon."

    "Fifteen," Nick breathed, incredulous.  "That's still a child!"

    "Twenty-one is considered the prime age for a model's career," Iella said.  "But if you don't have experience and a portfolio before then, you can kiss the real money goodbye.  I also thought about acting, but again, if you don't have experience, you can't get anywhere."  A tear escaped from Iella's eye and she hastily wiped it away.

    "You don't need David to accomplish any of that," Nick said.  "I can give you entry into a world where you will never have to give your body to a man for any reason other than your free will.  A world where you are loved for your own merits.  A world where you will be young and beautiful forever and you can have the career of which you have dreamed."

    "How?"

    "I can make you into one of my own kind," Nick said, as he sat down on the bed and gestured for her to sit beside him.  His face was deadly serious.

    "What do you mean?"  Iella moved slowly toward the bed.  Nick's eyes seemed to bore holes through her from the intensity of his gaze.  He was beautiful, despite the rather mournful expression that always lingered on his face.  She had a feeling that when he loved, his devotion would be incredible.  If he was offering to make her whatever he was, did that also mean that he was offering her his love?

    "I am not human,"  Nick said, his face looking rather tortured.  "I am a vampire."

    Iella backed up rapidly until her back was against the wall.  He had given no signs that he was insane, but here he was, saying that he was a vampire like it was a solid fact.  The guard was beginning to scare her, and she began to think that her parents had been right when they had said that getting mixed up with groupies was a mistake.  It had sounded exciting, to sleep with whatever celebrities she wanted.  Now she was seeing the crazies that went along with the territory, and it was proving more frightening than she had thought.

    "Vampires don't exist," she said flatly, edging toward the door.

    "Don't they?"  Nick said, turning to look straight at her.  His blue eyes had turned amber and seemed to glow.  His lips were parted, revealing the tips of long, sharp fangs.  "I can offer you eternal life.  You will never age.  You can have career after career in modeling and acting, though I would not advise consecutive lives in that business.  People might grow suspicious."

    Nick stood and walked toward her, his walk the confident gait of a practiced predator.  He exuded a power and sensuality that stunned Iella.  While David's handsome face still captured her heart, this creature before her awakened every sensual desire that lay dormant within her.

    "If you choose to reject what I am offering you, I will be forced to erase your memory of me,"  Nick said.  "If you resist, I will have to either bring you across against your will, or kill you.  What is your decision?"

    "Yes," Iella said, stepping away from the wall and within Nick's reach.  "I want to be what you are."

    Nick pulled Iella against him.  "Don't tense," he whispered, his voice low and sensuous as he brushed her hair aside and began kissing her neck.  "It will make it hurt worse."

    Iella relaxed into Nick's arms as he continued to use his nimble lips to pleasure her.  His strong, cool hands caressed her neck, pulling her hair aside.  In an instant, Nick reared his head back and sank his fangs into her soft flesh, drinking her warm blood greedily.  He released her, carefully mindful of how much he had taken.  Her body rested limp in his arms and he laid her on the bed before tearing his wrist open and offering it to her.

    Only when he felt her begin to suck eagerly at his wrist did Nick think of what he had done.  In a moment's thoughtless impulse, he had seduced another innocent mortal into his hell.  She had chosen to come back and become a creature of the darkness.  Because of him.  He had seen her desire for him in her blood--it had hit him like a ton of bricks to realize that he too was the object of her sexual fantasies since their meeting at the Steel Pier.  Nick buried his face in his free hand.

*

    By midafternoon, Natalie had finally begun to unwind.  She had slept in that morning, had a decent breakfast with Kim and watched television all morning.  Now she had retired to the sitting area in her room with one of the romance novels that Kim had set her up with on the previous day.  It was a beautiful afternoon with a cool breeze, and Natalie decided to turn off the air conditioner and simply leave the French doors to the balcony open.

    Natalie put on one of Kim's old records.  She still remembered some of the songs from her childhood, remembered Kim listening to them for hours on end.  The memories were wonderful, and for the first time in months, Natalie began to feel the turmoil of her emotions fade away.

"I've got some pictures of us
We're all at the shore
I must have been four then
I couldn't be more
My father was holding me up
Just for show
My mother was posing
Like Marilyn Monroe
They taught me a song
I never forgot
It went, little things mean a lot
Play me one of the songs
And you take me
Over the fields and the farms
When I was a boy
And life was a joy
I never got over
Sing me one of the songs
And you've got me
Rock me to sleep in your arms
The way that you did
When I was a kid
In the summers of clover..."

    It was David Cassidy again, but Natalie didn't care.  Kim was right about some things, she always had been.  His voice seemed to sing just for her, bringing her a sense of peace.  Perhaps it was just her yearning for a simpler time in her life that the gentle words brought back, but peace was something that had been lacking in Natalie's soul since that night at Nick's loft.

    Grace was right, Natalie mused.  I really did need a break.  I was starting to get so burned out and frustrated with the tension between Nick and myself that I lost sight of the important things in life.  Not that Nick isn't important, but that it's important that I decide what to do about him.  He has me up on some damnable pedestal and views me as a creature of all goodness and light and I'm not.

    "Nat!"  Kim's voice rang out from the second floor, interrupting Natalie's thoughts.  "Come on down, Natalie! I've got a surprise for you!"

    Natalie came down the stairs, curious as to what could have gotten Kim so excited.  She knew that Kim had gone into Atlantic City on business of some kind.  Evidently, she had found something that she thought Natalie would like in a store up there.  Instead, she found Kim in the foyer, exultantly waving a pair of tickets.

    "Nat!"  Kim exclaimed.  "How long were you planning on staying here with me?  I hope that it was at least two weeks because look what I got!"

    Natalie sighed.  "I requested three weeks off from my job.  I wasn't sure I would need to stay that long, but Nick is proving to be a more difficult problem to puzzle out than I thought.  What did you get?"

    "I was driving past the Tropicana and I saw their posters for their coming entertainers.  When I saw the poster for this one I couldn't pass it up.  I parked and paid the box office a visit,"  Kim said.  "David Cassidy is on tour now that his show in Vegas has closed.  I got front row tickets to see David Cassidy live in concert next Friday.  I told you that I would make a convert of you before you went back to Toronto."

    Natalie looked up at Kim, not sure of how to respond.  "Thanks."

    "I figure that David should be able to take your mind off that detective for a few hours at least.  And maybe you'll stop mocking me if you see him live once.  I'll even take pictures of you salivating over David.  You could use them to get some jealousy out of Nick.  My fellow fans who are married say that their husbands have been known to get jealous of David from time to time."

    Natalie sighed.  "I suppose a little jealousy won't hurt Nick."

    "The second order of business now is to go to Tory's for dinner.  They make killer sundaes and every kind of milkshake that mankind has ever dreamed up."  Kim said.

*

    Nick paced the motel room like a caged tiger, waiting for the sun to sink below the horizon.  He had to find Natalie and explain the extent of his devotion to her.  Nick pushed Lacroix's warnings to the back of his mind.

    I will find a way to be Natalie's lover without killing her or bringing her over, Nick thought.  I will prove, once and for all, that I am more than my master gives me credit for.

    "There have always been fools who underestimate my determination," Nick muttered, as he waited for the last of the daylight to fade from the cracks around the blinds and blanket that covered the window.  He allowed his memories to wash over him and take him back to the last time he had been in this place.

*

Flashback: Ocean City, 1905

    "Another invitation from a mindless socialite,"  Janette fumed.  "Inviting us to her summer cottage for a party.  As if that pretentious pile could be called a cottage by anyone."

    "So?  Just refuse the invitation."  Nick said, and leered at Janette, his intentions obvious in his look.  "There are other things we could do with the time."

    "Oh, Nicolas, think with your head for once,"  Janette said.  "We can't refuse this and not be suspect.  This party is the social event of the summer here.  If we refuse, it will invite scrutiny that we don't need."

    Nick sighed.  "Another boring evening filled with young women without a thought in their heads besides the latest fashions and the weather."

    "You are one of the most eligible men on the island for the summer," Janette commented.  "It is well-known that the Audun siblings are very wealthy.  Most of the mothers on this island would gladly see their socialite daughters married off to you, despite the skin condition that makes you burn severely if you go out in the sun."

    "They just teach their daughters to be as superficial as they are,"  Nick said stiffly.

    "What does it matter?  You are Nicholas Audun for the time being, and you have to keep up the pretense of being an eligible bachelor.  Even if we both know that your heart is already given."  Janette got up from her writing desk and walked over to join Nick where he stood by the fireplace.

    Nick cursed.  "I do not like this identity.  Why could I not have been your husband?"

    "You agreed to take the identity of a brother when I offered to let you come here and join me.  I had already established my past in this place, and the townsfolk believed me to be an eccentric spinster.  I could not have a husband mysteriously appear when I had already told the townsfolk that I was unmarried."

    "I am glad that you invited me here to share this life with you," Nick said, smiling at her and laying a gloved hand on her arm.  "It seems like old times again, with you at my side again."

    "That it does, Nicolas.  For the first time in a long time, I have remembered why it was that I asked Lacroix to bring you across, so long ago.  You are truly special."

    Nick's arm wound around Janette's waist.  He raised her hand to her lips and kissed it.  Janette smiled at him and stroked her hand in its delicate dark blue glove along his chin.  Nick smiled.

    "You were worth every mortal pleasure that I gave up, Janette.  And I've learned what you need from me.  Maybe this time, in this life, we can truly be happy together."

*

    Nick returned to reality, abandoning the bittersweet memory of his time with Janette.  He was leaning against the wall, near the door to the bathroom.  Janette was gone.  The woman that he wanted was his Natalie.  But memories of Janette's touch and her love still haunted him.

    Nick turned around and pressed his forehead against the wall.  His pajamas were rumpled from a day of unrestful sleep.  Janette hated him for bringing her back across, Nick was sure.  She had begged him to let her die as a mortal, and he had denied it to her.  Guilt gnawed at him.  She had attained the one thing that he had wanted more than anything else, and he had taken it away.  Nick tried to push the guilt away as he struggled with the fact that his own jealousy of Janet's regained mortality had prompted his actions, not just the desire to save her life.

    He had been unable to let Janette, his vampire love, go.  She still haunted his relationship with Natalie, in many ways.  The memory of the love that he had shared with her and the memory of her regained mortality both overshadowed anything that he could share with Nat.

    Tonight.  He had to return to the house, or the place where it had been, and come to terms with the fact that those days were past.  He had to return to the place that he and Janette had called home and exorcise her from his life, once and for all.  Nick set about getting ready for the night.

*

    Iella flew over Ventnor Avenue, attempting to trace her bond with her master.  He had said that he created her in a moment of weakness, almost as if she was a shameful indiscretion.  He was certainly not proud of her, that much she had gleaned from his conversations with his master.  She had traveled with Nick for almost a year, and during that time he had taught her how to use her new powers.  But he had also ignored or rebutted every advance that she made toward him.  The sensual creature that had brought her across had disappeared from her life to be replaced by a rather cold parental figure.

    How many times, Iella thought, did I proclaim how much I loved him?  And every time, he pushed me away in favor of chasing Janette.  He even apologized to me for bringing me across.  As if he hadn't given me a choice!  All he ever was interested in was himself and insuring that he wouldn't be damned because of what he was.  He never really cared about me.  Twenty-five years ago, and he still refuses to love his own fledgeling who came across not just for the powers but also for him!

    As Iella flew past the Tropicana, she saw something out of the corner of her eye that snapped her out of her fuming funk.  One of the posters for the live entertainment coming to the showroom bore a picture that looked like a recent photograph of David Cassidy.  A love from her mortal life stirred again, warming her cold heart.  Keen vampire sight notwithstanding, Iella decided to take a closer look.

    Iella landed lightly in a shadowy alleyway nearby, well out of mortal sight.  She strolled over to the lighted case that held the posters.  She rested her hand on the glass over the backlit poster of David's larger-than-life face.

    "David Cassidy Live in Concert," Iella read off the poster, her voice barely more than a whisper.

    Bloody tears pooled in the corners of her eyes as she looked at the photograph.  Twenty-five years.  She traced the laugh lines that time had etched into David's face.  He was still beautiful, but he had aged.  Her David, who had once been as young and fresh-faced as she was now an aging man.  She had remained the same, but the world had changed around her.  Somewhere out there was her master, who should have remained a constant anchor in her life.   Instead he had cut her loose and sent her out alone into the maelstrom of a world that she no longer belonged to.

    Iella blinked several times and turned to head for the box office, hoping that they would still be open.  She still cherished her memories of David's performances from her youth.  Perhaps for the hour or two of his concert, she would be able to escape from her current existence and remember what it was like to be mortal.

*

    "That sundae was incredible," Natalie said, leaning back on the couch with her hand on her stomach.  "Absolutely enormous."

    "I can't believe you ate that,"  Kim replied from where she had sprawled across the overstuffed armchair in the corner of the room.  "Five scoops of chocolate ice cream, with peanuts and fudge."

    "You were supposed to help me eat it,"  Natalie said.  "That way half the calories would go to you.  It's going to go straight to my butt and I'm going to have to diet for a month to get rid of it."

    "I had plenty with my own stuff,"  Kim said.  "I warned you about the sundaes at Tory's but you didn't listen to me."

    "As I recall, you're the one who said 'Go for it!'," Natalie responded.  "And you wussed out after just the milkshake that you had with your dinner."

    "I don't remember anything in our agreement about me helping you eat your sundae.  Besides, you didn't have to finish the thing if you knew that it was going to make you sick."

    "Yeah, and if I hadn't finished it, you would never have let me forget it.  Every time you met someone that I wanted to impress, the third thing out of your mouth after the introduction and small talk would have been 'Hey, do you want to hear about the time that Nat tried to eat too much ice cream...'  No thanks!"

    "Hey, you're not out of the woods, you could still toss your cookies and I would still have an embarrassing story to tell."

     Natalie swallowed hard.  "Further incentive for me to keep it all down, then, no matter how uncomfortable it gets."

    "How about a movie to watch while we lay like beached whales and digest?"  Kim said.  "I've got Jaws somewhere about."

    "Not on your life, Kim!"

    "Afraid of a rubber shark, Nat?  Or how about...Braveheart!"

    Natalie turned green.  "Do you have a nice comedy somewhere that we could watch?  Preferably one without blood."  She nearly gagged on the word 'blood'.   "And NO cop movies.  Nick has made me watch every one ever made."

    "One would think that he would get enough of that at work,"  Kim said with a snort.  She got up and headed for the cabinet that held the television, VCR, and videotapes when she abruptly paused.

    "What's wrong?"  Natalie asked, lifting her arm from where she had flung it over her eyes and looked at her cousin.

    "I heard something."

    The sound came again, the unmistakable sound of a car's wheels crunching over the broken shells of the driveway.

*

    As soon as the sun set, Nick made sure that he had the box that held the sword necklace in his pocket.  The moment that he had seen the place that he had called home almost a century before and came to terms with the fact that he and Janette would never reconcile, he intended to begin his search for Nat.  He had dressed handsomely for her, in a dark blue shirt and black trousers, the colors dark to camouflage him against the sky as he flew.  As a last thought he pulled on his black overcoat to protect him against the cold ocean wind while flying.  He didn't want his skin to be unnaturally chilled when he met with Nat and her cousin.  The champagne that he had bought for her was still in the trunk.  He practically flew down the stairs to the Caddy.

    On a whim, Nick decided to take his car rather than fly to the house.  It was a nice night for a drive with the top down anyway, and Nick wanted to take advantage of it.  He'd be windblown from flying when he finally found Natalie anyway.

    Nick enjoyed the feel of the cool night air rushing through his hair.  The weather had changed since the previous night.  The oppressive humidity of the shore, while not gone, had abated considerably.  It was a clear night, and the moon cast an opal glow over the island.  Again, Nick had the marvelous peaceful feeling settle over him.

    Nick turned down the Asbury Avenue, heading for the north end of the island.  The houses had changed greatly over time.  He could see where the small cottages and older houses were being torn down to make way for the new, multi-unit summer homes being constantly built.  He was fairly sure that when he reached the plot of beachfront land where Janette's house had stood all those years ago, a new building would inhabit the space.

    In a certain way, the thought was reassuring. Seeing that the house where he and Janette had lived was gone would give him a sense of desperately needed closure.  Nick knew that the love that he and Janette had shared was gone, but a certain part of him still longed for the closeness and intimacy that they had shared.  He needed to see that the life was gone and that he couldn't return to it.

    Nick made the turn down the side street that twisted in the familiar way toward the ocean.  He passed a few older structures obviously inhabited by year-round residents.  He  was humming along with the radio, his mood light as he indulged in a brief fantasy of presenting his gift to an overjoyed Nat.

    A gasp ripped itself from his throat.  Silhouetted against the moonlight sky was the unmistakable shape of the turret and the dragon weathervane that topped it.  His hands clutched the steering wheel with a ferocious strength.  His universe seemed to come to a crashing halt as though he had been struck by lightning.

    "It's still here!"  Nick hissed.  The garden was weedy and somewhat overgrown, and the house was in need of paint, but it was still standing.  It had not been replaced with a newer structure.

    As though drawn by an invisible hand, Nick pulled the Caddy into the driveway.  It was made of the same crushed seashells as it had been all those years ago when carriages rolled along it.  He knew that he was trespassing and that the owners wouldn't appreciate him snooping around, but he had to see who was living in the house that he had lived in.  Common sense told him that it wouldn't be Janette, but he had to see.

    He slammed the door of the car behind him and began to walk along the path.  Memories clamored at him with the familiar crunching of the shells beneath his feet.  Nick looked at the pilings that supported the house well aboveground in case of a flood.  The area had been converted into a carport.  He looked at the tan car.  It looked like Nat's and he began to consider returning the Caddy to the motel parking lot and getting his search for her underway.

    Nick gave the license plate a closer look.  It was blue and white, like a Canadian plate.  He felt foolish for looking closer, but he read the number.  It was Natalie's car.  Nick was dumbstruck.

    How did Nat's cousin end up with Janette's house?  Nick thought.  He felt as though Fate was playing some strange game with him.  The dark silhouette of the house suddenly looked frightening.  One window in what had been Janette's parlor on the first floor glowed.

    Nick returned to the Caddy, his search over before it had begun, and retrieved the champagne from the trunk.

*

    "I wasn't expecting anyone," Kim said, and walked over to the window that overlooked the driveway.  "I don't recognize the car, and it's rather odd."

    "Why?"  Nat asked, her attention still mostly on her unsettled stomach.  The nausea was fading, replaced by a sensation that she was fairly sure would develop into heartburn.

    "It's an old green convertible with tailfins.  A real classic."  Kim said.  "In perfect condition too."

    Natalie groaned.

    "If you're going to puke, go into the bathroom,"  Kim said.  "The owner isn't bad to look at either.  He's got curly blond hair and he's wearing a long black coat that's open and it almost flows like a cape."

    Natalie groaned again and covered her face with her hands.

    "What is with you, woman?"  Kim said, looking at her cousin.

    "I know him."

    "How?  I thought you didn't know anyone from around here besides me."

    "It's Nick.  He must have followed me somehow."

    Nick chose that moment to knock on the front door.  With vampiric strength behind it, the knocker made three resounding booms.  The combination of her nerves at confronting Nick and too much ice cream made her nausea choose to reassert itself at that moment, and Natalie took off for the bathroom in the back of the house.

    Kim rolled her eyes and went to answer the door.

*

    For an instant, Nick thought that Janette had opened the door.  The woman who had opened the door had long black hair, but her eyes were green and full of a mortal fire that Janette had never possessed.

    "Hello.  I'm Nick Knight.  Is Natalie Lambert here?"  Nick asked.

    "So you're the reason why Natalie turned up on my doorstep, with her emotions in a total tangle,"  she said coolly.  "I'm her cousin, Kimberly Antilles."

    Nick felt like a heel.  He remained silent.  He hadn't realized the depth of the strain that had formed between them as a result of that night.

    "The fact that you have tracked Nat down and driven all the way here has increased my opinion of you, however."  Kim continued, as she figured that Nick deserved to know exactly what she thought of him.  "That is, if you intend to change your behavior towards her.  She needs you to show some affection, Nick.  She doesn't know if you care, and she needs to know.  She came here to decide whether to give you another chance or to write you out of her life."

    Nick fidgeted.  "I came here to tell her how I feel.  I didn't know how badly she was hurt until she left without telling me.  I went to see her at the morgue, and I learned that she was gone from the medical examiner who was filling in for her.  I had to tell her the truth."

    Kim heard the distant flush from the back of the house, and knew that Natalie would soon be returning.  "Follow me."  She led him into the living room and pointed to the couch.  "Wait here.  I'll go get her, if she wants to face you, that is."

    Nick watched Kim disappear into the recesses of the house that he remembered so well.  The dark, ornate woodwork had remained intact, and had been recently refinished--it gleamed in the dim light.  Kim led him into the parlor, now a comfortable living room and home office area.  He was shocked to see the portrait of Janette that he had commissioned hanging above the fireplace.

*

Flashback:  Ocean City, 1905

    "I don't want to go," Nick whined at Janette and tugged at the uncomfortable collar and cravat of his formal evening wear.

    "Oh, Nicolas!"  Janette sighed.  "Just get in the buggy, would you?  You might actually discover that you are enjoying yourself once you get there and stop sulking."

    "You know that it would be so much more fun to get there if we got one of the new automobiles," Nick said.

    Janette sniffed.  "For you, perhaps.  As for me, I like my horses far better than those smelly contraptions.  You have always been fond of mechanical toys."

    "I enjoy the fruits of mortal technology.  Is there any reason why I should not, just because I am not mortal?"

    "You and your toys, Nicolas, like a little boy," Janette said, with a soft smile.  "C'est partie juste de ce que j'aime au sujet de vous."(It is just part of what I love about you.)

    Nick flushed, as much as a vampire could, and settled himself beside Janette on the seat of the buggy.  He was careful to hold his head high and avoid bestowing less-than-brotherly glances upon Janette.  Nick looked out at the sandy streets lined with cottages and large summer houses, owned by the wealthy of New York and Philadelphia.

    Upon their arrival at the Salton house, Nick and Janette were promptly ushered into the parlor.  Nick was promptly surrounded by a cluster of young women, giggling and flirting with the handsome and very wealthy bachelor.  He murmured polite compliments about their dresses to them and attempted to appear uninterested.

    Nora Salton pulled Janette aside.  Nick looked over at them as they retreated to the entrance hall of the house.  He focused his attention on that area and used his sensitive hearing to listen in on the conversation.  He knew that Nora Salton had been considering him to be a prime match for her daughter Mary.

    "Miss Audun, I am delighted that you and your brother could come to my party," Nora said.

    "We are grateful for the invitation," Janette said, her face impassive.  "Ordinarily, Nicholas does not especially enjoy social events, but I convinced him to join me for the evening."

    "Is Nicholas your only sibling?" Nora asked.

    In the parlor, Nick winced.  She might as well have asked him to his face if he was the heir to the full Audun fortune.  Mrs. Salton's greed and financial ambitions for her daughter had been painfully obvious to him from the moment that he had met her.  The instant that she had been told that he was the same Nicholas Audun who owned several print shops in Philadelphia and was consequently quite wealthy, her whole demeanor had changed.  From that moment on, Nora had been constantly pushing Mary into his arms.

    "Of course," Janette replied.  "He was the only person I had to love for a good many years of my life.  That was why I invited him to join me for the summers at my home here."

    "Indeed," Nora's eyebrows rose.

    "Nicholas?"  A soft voice spoke from behind him, and Nicholas abandoned his concentration on Janette's conversation.  He turned to see Mary Salton standing behind him, and he smiled.

    "What is it?" Nick said, being careful to be polite to the girl.  After all, he had no particular grudge against Mary, only her mother.  Actually, Mary was one of the more intelligent of the young women vacationing with their wealthy families in Ocean City.  If he was going to be stuck at this party in the company of the young women interested only in snaring themselves mates, he might as well spend his time with a girl that he could carry on a decent conversation with.

    "I have heard that you enjoy painting," Mary said.  "Mama invited a portrait-painter after several of her friends showed an interest in having their portraits painted.  I thought that you might like to speak to him."

    "Thank you for your courtesy in thinking of what would please me," Nick said, genuinely grateful to the girl for her memory of what pleased him.

    "It was not a difficult thing," Mary said, giving him a shy smile.  "I should love to learn to paint like that myself someday."  Her eyes clearly radiated the hope that it would be Nick who taught her to paint.

    "But it was a gesture that warms the heart," Nick said.  "Will you lead me to him?  I should like to have a portrait of my sister painted, in addition to discussing techniques with him."

*

    "Shit, woman!  You never told me that he was absolutely gorgeous." Kim said from her perch on the closed toilet as she watched Natalie clean up.

    "That sounded suspiciously shallow, Kim."  Natalie said after she had spat out her mouthwash.

    "Well, you do have to admit that good looks never hurt.  You never described him, and I imagined him as more of your average donut-munching cop.  It does help explain why you have it for him so bad.  And he must really love you if he followed you all the way here.  Did you tell him you were coming?"

    "No," Natalie confessed.  "I just left."

    "So for all he knew, you were abandoning him.  He has to love you if he's gone to all this trouble just to make sure that you're okay."

    "Nick knows when he's made a mess of things,"  Nat said, running a comb through her messy hair.  "But he's going to try to explain himself.  He won't actually make any kind of commitment to me."

    "Well, we will just have to make sure that he gets the message that explanations aren't going to patch things up then," Kim said.

    "Right," Natalie said, leaning on the sink and inspecting her reflection in the mirror of the medicine cabinet.  Abruptly, Nat closed her eyes and banged her head lightly on the mirror in front of her.  "I can't face him, Kim.  He can melt my heart with one look from those blue eyes of his and scramble up all of my best intentions."

    "Which is why you have me,"  Kim said.  "I know that this is going to sound like something out of the Dark Ages, but you two are going to be chaperoned tonight.  I am staying with you to make sure that your Knight in rusty armor doesn't try to finagle his way out of committing to you."

    "Knight in rusty armor," Nat repeated, with a giggle.  "Nice shot, Kim."

    "I try to keep in practice.  It comes in handy when one works in a male-dominated field."

    "Tell me about it.  Nick was one of the few men who really respected me at work.  The others relied on my work and didn't outright do anything...but I could tell that most of them viewed me as a sex object," Natalie said.  "He was special."

    "Don't tell him that," Kim said.  "He'll get a swelled head.  I already had a chat with him when I brought him into the living room to wait for you.  He certainly seems contrite enough, but I don't think that he came here with a commitment in mind."

    "Then why on earth does he think that I will want to talk to him?  He's going to say that he just wants to be friends again," Natalie said.  "I am so sick of his excuses.  Kim, if I ask you to leave the room so that Nick and I can discuss our problems in private, don't be offended."

    "Maybe the two of you should have your discussion on the porch," Kim said.  "I can intervene if I see anything get out of hand, but you'll still have privacy."

    "Good idea," Natalie said.  "There's enough property around this house that no one will be able to hear us unless they are deliberately snooping."

    "Are you ready to face him?"  Kim asked.

    Nat nodded.

*

    Nick sat on the couch and fidgeted.  It was taking Kim a terribly long time to get Natalie.  He had been snapped out of his thoughts by a loud creaking sound that had turned out to be nothing more than a loose floorboard that he remembered from his time in the house.  The board in the floor of the room above the parlor would creak and groan to itself whenever the weather was about to change.

    Kim meant it when she said that Natalie was angry with me, Nick thought.  She warned me that Nat might not be ready to speak to me yet.  Maybe Nat doesn't want to see me until she returns to Toronto.  Maybe I shouldn't have come.  It's only putting more pressure on her to--

    The sharp sound of someone clearing their throat broke into Nick's thoughts.  Kim stood in the arched doorway that led to the foyer.  Nat was behind her, looking rather pale, but still lovely.

    "Natalie!"  Nick cried, rushing toward her.  Kim took a step back, allowing Nick to give Natalie a chaste hug.  "I was worried about you when you didn't tell me that you were leaving.  I had to get where you went out of Grace and then come here and search for you.  We need to talk."

    Natalie took a deep breath.  "You're right about that.  Come on, let's go out onto the porch.  We'll have some privacy there."

    "Remember, I'm going to be watching from the window in case things get out of control between the two of you," Kim said.

    Her warning only served to make Nick nervous, and his thoughts began to trickle into paranoid waters.  Just how mad is Natalie, anyway?  Or does Kim think that she is protecting Nat from me?

    "So your cousin thinks that we're going to get into some kind of enormous fight," Nick said, as soon as they were out on the porch with the door safely shut behind them.

    "Basically, yes she does.  And I'd have to say that she's pretty perceptive today," Natalie said.  She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against one of the columns that supported the porch roof, her hip against the railing.  She deliberately looked away from Nick and out toward the water.   "I can't believe that you hypnotized Grace into telling you where I went.   Did it ever occur to you that I didn't tell you where I was going for a reason?"

    Nick looked at the porch floor and said nothing.  At length, he finally responded, his honor preventing him from telling her anything less than the truth.

    "I knew that you were running away from me," Nick said.  "But I had to get to you before you made any kind of rash decision.  I need to explain myself to you."

    "What happened that night is over and done,"  Natalie said.  "We have to live with it, but how we live with it is our choice.  Our choice, Nick, not yours."

    "I couldn't bring you across," Nick said, his voice tortured.  "I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else.  You were the sunlight in my life for the last six years in Toronto."

    "Uh huh." Natalie said flatly.  "And how many times did you say those same words to Janette?"

    Nick staggered back a step.  "What does Janette have to do with this?  She and I have drifted apart.  Over the last few years I finally realized that the gulf between us was just too great to ever be bridged again."

    "I think Janette has everything to do with what I'm feeling right now.  You loved her once, and yet you brought her back across.  Why was it so easy for you to give Janette the choice to come back to you as one of your own, but not me?"

    "You don't understand."  Nick gripped the rail fiercely and looked out across the dunes, his glittering blue eyes seeing something distant and visible only to him.  "Janette has always been a vampire, as long as I have known her.  She knew what was involved in coming back across."

    "And I don't?" Natalie said, raging at Nick's blindness.  "I have been your friend for years now.  I know far more about what it is to be a vampire than most mortals do when they are seduced into it.  I certainly know enough not to regret that decision when I asked you to bring me across."

    A tear formed at the corner of Nick's eye.  "How could I condemn you to the darkness that I live in?  I want to share a life with you, Natalie, but as a mortal."

    "So no life together is preferable to living together as vampires?" Natalie said. "I'm tired of dancing around our feelings, Nick.  I thought that we had finally resolved our feelings on that night.  The only way that I can see for us to be together in the near future is if you bring me across.  It could take my entire lifetime to find a cure, and then what would be the point?"

    Nick remained silent.  The tear escaped from his eye and trailed down his cheek.  The wind was picking up, and the beach grass on the dunes rippled in the invisible currents.  Natalie's hair swirled about her face as her own tears began to escape down her cheek.

    "I value your love above my mortality, Nick,"  Natalie said.  "I can't believe that vampires are inherently damned creatures.  Not since I've seen how much good you are capable of.  I've also seen the good that you have done with your powers.  Every murder that you have prevented through the use of your powers has proved to me that you are not as evil as you believe yourself to be."

    Nick carefully turned his back to the window where Kim was watching and allowed the vampire to surface.  He gripped Natalie's face in his hands and forced her to look into his face.  Nick allowed his eyes to glow red and drew back his lips to reveal his fully extended fangs.

    "Look at me, Nat.  Do you love this?  Are you willing to become this?"

    "You can't frighten me, Nick.  It's just another part of you, and I love all of you."  She pressed the back of her hand tenderly against his cheek.  Nick closed his eyes and leaned into the soft caress, an animal sound of pleasure akin to a purr escaping his throat.

    She is truly unafraid, Nick thought as he leaned into her touch.  He fought to bring himself back under control, burying the instincts of the vampire beneath the gentler instincts of the man.  In an instant, he understood why Janette had fled from such devotion when he had been willing to do anything to remain by her side.  It was truly rather frightening to Nick to be at the center of a love of such intensity.  He had given such love, but never received it. She loves all of me.  She will never flinch away from the more revolting aspects of being a vampire.  Nat will endure them gladly to remain by my side.

    "Do you really mean that?"  Nick said, opening his once-more blue eyes.  "Do you love me enough to spend eternity with me?"

    "I wouldn't have said so otherwise.  I tried to date other men, Nick, but no matter what happened, I would always end up comparing them to you.  Not in physical appearance--because you beat most of them on that count anyway--" Natalie reached out and twined one of Nick's curls around her finger, "but who they were.  I never met another man as strong, gentle and noble as you."

    Natalie was rewarded with a soft smile from Nick.  "Some of that's just my upbringing, Nat.  Remember, I was raised when chivalry was a very real concept."

    "That doesn't matter.  All that matters is that I love you, Nick.  I love you enough to stay with you forever, in spite of and sometimes because of all your flaws."

    Natalie had only an instant to see tears flowing down Nick's cheeks before she found herself wrapped tightly in Nick's strong embrace.  Nick rested his cheek against the top of her head as he swayed slowly.  Pressed against his chest, Natalie could feel his cold heart beat three times in quick succession.  She realized with a heartbreaking suddenness that in his long life, it was very likely that Nick had never been told that he was loved.

    "Mon amour, pouvez-vous le sentir? Mes battements de coeur seulement pour vous, " (My love, can you feel it?  My heart beats only for you.) Nick whispered in soft French.

    Natalie frantically rummaged through the remnants of her high school French classes that she still remembered.  It was only natural that Nick would revert to his mother tongue in the emotion of the moment.  She eventually pieced together Nick's meaning as she enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her.  Overcome with emotion, she could only whisper his name into his chest as he held her.

    Nick slowly released her.  "I came here to apologize to you and explain myself before you made a decision that you would regret.  This has been far better than I planned."

    Natalie fished a tissue out of her pocket.  "Let's get you cleaned up before Kim can see you,"  she said and began wiping at the tear trails on Nick's cheeks.  "I know you're going to hate this Nick, but I have to."  She spat into the tissue and returned to scrubbing at the dry marks.

    Nick began to chuckle, making Natalie's job more difficult.  "My mother did that to me when I was small and I got my face dirty."

    "I guess it really is the universal mother thing," Natalie said.

    "I'm just glad that you thought of it," Nick said.  "I don't know how I would have explained it to your cousin if I went in like that.  I really don't want to have to hypnotize your cousin."

    "We could have always explained it as scratch marks," Natalie said, wickedly enjoying how Nick's eyes widened in shock at her suggestion.  "I'm just kidding, Nick."

    Nick gathered her back into her arms and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.  "My knight,"  Natalie whispered against his lips.  "My Crusader... my love."

    Nick broke the kiss and gently took a step back.  "I have something for you.  I brought it as a sort of peace offering.  I found it in one of the stores on the boardwalk."  He fished the jewelry box out of his coat pocket and handed it to Nat.

    Natalie opened the small box, wondering what it contained.  She was certain that it did not contain an engagement ring, since Nick hadn't come here with that on his mind.  She hoped that it might be a ring, but knew that it almost certainly was not.  The delicate silver sword pendant came as a bit of a surprise.  It sparkled in the moonlight, elegant and dramatic.

    "It's beautiful,"  she said, looking up into Nick's beautiful blue eyes.

    "It's very much like the sword that I carried into the Crusades," Nick said.  He took the necklace from the box and reached to fasten it around her neck.

    "It's perfect," Nat said.  "The perfect symbol of your love."

    "Nat, I need some time to prepare to bring you across," Nick said.  "Lacroix and I had a discussion last night.  He's somewhere nearby, keeping an eye on me.  Lacroix said that I wouldn't have enough control to bring you across unless I began feeding on human blood.  I refuse to gamble your life on him being wrong.   I'll need to start feeding on human blood for the next few weeks.  I won't be ready to bring you across until we're back in Toronto."

    "I understand," Natalie said.  "We'd better go back in and reassure Kim that we aren't going to stay out here all night.  Besides, it will make her feel better to hear that we've patched up our differences."

    A bolt of bluish-purple lightning crackled across the sky, arcing between the clouds that were blowing in off the ocean.  The sharp crack of the thunder trailed off into menacing rumbles that promised a genuine, full-blown summer thunderstorm.  It was still fairly distant, but would make landfall soon.

    Nick's nostrils twitched as he scented the ozone from the storm.  He looked up at the threatening clouds that had come in, obscuring the moon.  "I think we need to get inside for another reason.  It's just going to thunder for awhile yet, and then we're going to get some really heavy rain."

*

    Iella walked out of the Tropicana, smiling happily to herself.  She had managed to secure third-row seats for the David Cassidy concert.  Although David had aged, Iella was sure that he would still sing some of the same songs that she remembered from her mortal days.

    My master can wait for a few days, Iella thought. David led me to my master, and I loved David before I was brought across.  I need to make sure that David knows of my devotion.  I am forever young for him--and he is the only person in this universe that I would forsake my master for.  Heaven only knows why I still care for my master--it is HE who rejected ME!

    Iella took to the air from the small alleyway where she had landed, returning to her home in Asbury Park.  The concert was next week, so she had barely a week to prepare to see David.  She was going to have to make a trip to the mall to get a new outfit and she needed to choose makeup.  It was going to be an important night, when she finally would get to confess her love to David himself.

    "So what if he's married," Iella muttered, a fiendish smile spreading across her face.  "How could she ever compete with me--I can give him eternal youth!  It would be a crime if that voice was to be allowed to rot away in a mortal body that will grow old and die."

    Iella pretended not to notice the dark figure above her, pacing her and listening to every word she said with hypersensitive vampire hearing.  Iella put on some extra speed as she felt the electrical charge building in the air.  She didn't want to get caught flying in the storm, and she needed to get home.  Or at least, that was what she wanted her company to believe   The dark one shook her head slowly, having heard all that she needed and veered toward the mainland, soaring over the bay toward Somers Point.

*

    Nick pulled the stubborn front door easily open, and held it open for Natalie.

    "Well?"  Kim said from her perch on the overstuffed chair.

    "Nat and I have made our peace.  We've come to terms with our feelings for each other," Nick said, leaning in to place a kiss on Natalie's lips.

    "I'm glad.  You have decided to give in to what you're feeling, right?  You've got it bad for each other."  Kim said.

    "It was that obvious?"  Nick said.

    "Nat admitted it to me.  Over the last few days she's hardly been able to stop thinking about you," Kim said.  "Everything that she saw or did reminded her of you.  And as for you, the crestfallen look on your face when I said that she might not want to talk to you told me everything."

    "Nick, I think our feelings were obvious to everyone but you.  Mostly because you were trying so hard to push them away.  You DO know that Schanke started a betting pool on when we would get together, and it's still going strong." Natalie said.

    Nick groaned and put his face in his hand.  Natalie and Kim laughed at his discomfiture, even as Natalie noticed the dancing glints of laughter that sparkled in his blue eyes.

    "Look, I need to go out and put the top up on the Caddy before it starts to rain," Nick said.  "I figure that we've got about thirty minutes before the rain hits and I'd like to make sure it's tight."

    "Typical male, worries more about the welfare of his car than his girlfriend,"  Kim said, her tone lighthearted and clearly meant to tease Nick.

    "Oh, I got used to that a long time ago," Natalie said.  "It's not just any car, you know.  It's THE CADDY.  Nick has a very special bond with it."

    "Well, you could always pull it under the house and stay here with us for a bit, if it's that special to you," Kim said.  "On the condition that I get a ride later."

    "If Nick is going to stay here, we could watch that movie," Natalie said.  "And if we've got time before the storm breaks, then we should probably go get snacks.  Then you can get your ride in his car, since it has more trunk space than yours or mine."

    Nick sighed.  "All right, you two.  And Kim..."

    Kim looked at Nick eagerly.

    "I'm driving."  At the crestfallen look on Kim's face, Nick knew that he had been right in assuming that she had wanted to drive his car.  He rewarded the women with the grin that made Nat's knees weak.

*

    Janette landed in the small patch of scrubby land behind the Econo Lodge in Somers Point.  The stunted trees and tall grass camouflaged her landing from prying mortal eyes.  She slowly fished her room key out of a pocket and began walking around to enter her room for another night of mindlessly staring at the television and trying to decide what to do about her shattered relationship with Nicholas.  She had stopped at one of the nightclubs that crowded the shoreline that was run by a vampire that she had known for several decades and picked up a few bottles before returning to the motel.

    I should never have let him go, Janette thought. I really did love him, although the depth of the love that he felt was something foreign to me.  I didn't want to be a slave to Nicolas, even if it was only through love.  My desire for independence cost me the most precious thing I ever had.  I have never met another vampire who gave himself with such depth of emotion.

    The key clicked in the door, and it opened to reveal the small room.  Janette's heart twisted at the sight of the double bed, wishing that Nick waited there for her.  She could almost see his creamy shoulders, emerging from beneath the sheets as he called out her name in his rich voice.  Janette knew that in recent years, Nick had only been using her for his own pleasure.  Sometimes he dreamed of another woman, but mostly he did it out of the simple need for release.

    And every time, after he had left, Janette had cried herself to sleep.  She dreamed of the days she had spent, locked in his arms and doing nothing more than talking with him.  When she had left him, those long hours had seemed smothering and confining.  Now they seemed precious, more precious than the diamonds that he had given her.  Slowly, Janette dug into the bottom of her bag, where she kept her jewelry.  She had not brought much along, only a cameo that Nick had given her in Italy in 1730.  The cameo itself was a small one, of little value, but she cherished it.  Nick had commissioned a master artisan to carve his portrait into the shell for her.

    Janette began to dig frantically as she could not find the pendant.  It had been in the bag earlier that evening.  Although the elegant Art Noveau brooch that she wore in her wrap was also a gift of Nick's, she wanted the cameo that bore his portrait.

    "I swear I'll never take it off again if I could just find it!"  Janette cried as she searched frantically.

    "Looking for something?"  said a voice from behind her.

    Janette whirled around.  Iella was leaning against the rear wall, the cameo with the portrait of Nick dangling from her fingers by its heavy gold chain.

    "Give me that!" Janette hissed, her eyes glowing.

    "I don't think so.  You always won Nick's affections, because you were the senior vampire.  I stood no chance.  But if you became mortal and Nick brought you back across, you're nothing more than a fledgeling again," Iella said.  "Nick is MINE now."

    "He had the pendant made for me," Janette replied.    "We were together for seven hundred years, and he believes that you are a blot on his soul.  And I heard you contemplating taking another man earlier this night and bringing him across.  What makes you think that he would ever have anything to do with you?"

    "He knows that I have loved David Cassidy since I was a mortal," Iella snapped.  "I met him through Cassidy!  And I merely intend to offer David the same choice that Nick offered me.  Besides, who is there besides you who knows of my intentions toward David?"

    "I am certainly capable of telling Nick what kind of monster he has created," Janette said.

    "Not for much longer," Iella said.  She dropped the cameo on the bed and picked up something that had been resting against the walls in the shadows.  "I just received something that I had special-ordered today."

    Janette gasped as Iella leveled the crossbow and aimed it squarely at her heart.

    "You will never come between Nicholas and myself again!"  Iella released the bolt, anticipating Janette's dodge and catching her full in the chest.

    "Nicolas!" Janette cried with the last of her breath as she fell across the bed, blood running from the corners of her mouth. "Aidez-moi, Nicolas!" (Help me, Nicholas!)

    Iella picked the cameo up and walked out of the motel room, leaving the curtains wide open to the coming dawn.

*

    "You don't know how to get to the Acme," Kim said.

    Nick raised his eyebrows and gave her a cute look that reminded Kim of a mischievous little boy.  "I have you to give me directions from the back seat."

    "The back seat?"  Kim said.  "Can't I at least sit up front?"

    "Nope," Nick bent over to kiss Natalie on the cheek.  "That's Nat's seat.  Let's get going before we get caught in the storm."

    "Can we at least drive to the Acme before we put the top up?"  Kim asked.

    "I suppose we could.  The storm is still pretty far out."

    "Good.  I always wanted to ride in a car like this, but I never had the money to get one," Kim said as she climbed into the backseat.  "Of course, I also usually imagined the car being red, but hey, this will do."

    "I like this color," Nick said, as he pulled the car out onto Asbury Avenue and began driving down the island.  "It reminds me of the water of a lake near my home when I was a boy.  Hey, Kim, isn't there a grocery store around 9th street?"

    "Yes, but I'm not that fond of their service, and they don't carry my favorite brand of chips," Kim said, as though everyone made their shopping decisions based on the availability of one brand of chips.  "Anyway, the Acme is far enough away for me to get a decent ride.  You picked a good one, Natalie.  Not only is he sexy, but his car is too."

    Nick rolled his eyes as he stopped at a traffic light. "Tell me, Kim.  I want to know: what is it with women and this car?"

    "It's the tailfins." Kim said, wicked lights gleamed in her eyes as she teased Nick.  "You know what they say about the size of a man's hands... The same thing goes for the size of the tailfins on his car."

    Nick leaned his head back and looked skyward, doing the vampire's best approximation of a blush.  Natalie giggled at his discomfiture.

    "I think I like your Nick," Kim said.

    Nick parked the car in the lot at the Acme and began putting the top up.  Natalie sent Kim on ahead.  "You're a saint."  she whispered as she embraced Nick.  "Kim has always had a wicked wit."

    Nick smiled.  "It's okay, Nat.  I'm eight hundred years old, I think I can handle a little teasing.  Besides, it wouldn't look good if I tore my future cousin-in-law's throat out with my fangs."

    "Does that mean..." Natalie trailed off, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.  Nick had referred to Kim as a future in-law, which could only lead to one conclusion--he wanted to marry her.

    "Shh," Nick said, pressing a finger to her lips.  "Of course I want to marry you, before I bring you across.  Give me some time to get ready, and I'll propose formally."

    "Are you two coming?"  Kim called out from the end of the parking lot.  "I thought you were hungry, but I guess it wasn't for food!"

    "Okay, maybe I will have to rip her throat out," Nat said and started walking toward her cousin.  Nick chuckled and followed in her wake.

   "You've been in a marvelous mood," Natalie said as Kim shoved a basket into Nick's hands.  "You're putting up with Kim tormenting you, and you haven't brooded or zoned out."

    "Maybe you should say that you love me more often," Nick replied.  Natalie sighed and shook her head.  A little love did such wonders for Nick's personality.  If she had ever doubted that Nick was good inside, underneath all the layers of sadness and angst, this night was proving it to her.

    "Come on, you two.  You can cuddle all you want when we get back to the house.  Right now, we need snacks."  Kim said.  "Aisle Seven, march!"

    "I don't think I need any," Natalie said, turning green at the thought of more food.

    "Spoilsport," Kim said, tossing a two-liter bottle of Storm and a bag of Doritos into Nick's basket.  "What about you, Knight?  I'm sure you like junk food."

    Nick sighed.  "Allergies.  I can't eat most of it."

    "I'll find some stuff to make something that Nick can eat," Natalie said, dashing off and returning with a block of tofu.

    "Tofu," Kim muttered incredulously to herself.  "He has a body like that and he eats tofu for snacks."

    "So that's what you've been putting in those shakes," Nick said, giving Natalie a look that said that they would have a long chat later about the dietary needs of vampires.

    "It's protein and you can keep it down, so stop complaining,"  Natalie said, then whispered for his ears alone.  "I was thinking that we could add some blood to it and say that it's raspberry.  Or maybe even a shot of something."

    "Now that doesn't sound too bad," Nick said.

    "I've never seen you get drunk, but I know that Janette used to sell bloodwine at the Raven.  Can you get drunk?" Natalie whispered.

    "It's usually rather difficult," Nick said.  "My body would remove it from the bloodstream fairly quickly, usually through sweating."

    "Hurry up you guys," Kim called.  "Don't forget we're racing a storm here!"  She was waiting up by the cash register.

    Nick brought up the basket, now full of chocolate, chips, soda, and one brick of tofu, and dumped it out onto the conveyor belt.  The cashier began scanning the order, but paused when she reached the tofu.  She looked up at him, one eyebrow raised in an efficient Spock imitation, before scanning it and continuing with the order.

    Natalie and her cousin both giggled at Nick.  Nick sighed and fished out his wallet to pay for the snacks.  Natalie deserves that much, he figured.

    Nick began picking up the bags of groceries as Kim and Nat abandoned him and began walking out to the parking lot.  Nick just shook his head, glad enough to be bringing up the rear.  Natalie and her cousin were a bad team, with their wicked senses of humor.  He had only seen Nat's fun-loving side on a few occasions, but her cousin seemed to bring it out and then egg her on.  He had been on the butt end of Kim's jokes several times, and Nat hadn't defended him.

    Just as Nick began to think that there was no justice in the universe, Kim slipped and landed flat on her back.  Natalie did the same thing seconds later.  Every time they tried to get up, they would lose their footing and land on their butts again.  Nick couldn't help it--he started to laugh.  It surprised him to rediscover how good it felt.

    "Todd broke a container of vegetable oil down there about half an hour ago," the cashier said.  "He and Mike have been trying to clean it up, but I think they're only succeeding in spreading it around.  I should've warned you."

    Natalie had managed to crawl on hands and knees out of the slick spot.  Kim was right behind her.  The wicked grin on Natalie's face startled Nick.  He was definitely in trouble.  She loved him, but he was pretty sure that she would have no qualms about pulling some sort of practical joke on him in revenge.  Her grin left no doubt in his mind that she wasn't angry at him, but he almost thought that an angry lecture would be preferable to a practical joke concocted by Nat and Kim.

    "I hope you realize," Natalie said, poking her finger into Nick's chest. "that this means war."

*

    Nick pulled the Caddy under Kim's house.  "Stop twitching," Nat said, looking over at Nick.  "I'm not going to get my revenge for how you laughed at me tonight.  I need time to prepare."

    "I've created a monster," Nick said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.  "I'm sorry I laughed at you, but you had been making fun of my tofu."

    "Oh, Nick, you have no idea how great it is to have fun with you," Nat said.  "You're usually so serious."

    "Nat, you have no idea the weight of the burden you lifted off my shoulders tonight," Nick said, wrapping Natalie in his arms.  "Just to know that you want to spend eternity with me..."

    "On second thought, maybe the two of you should take that back to his motel room."  Kim said.  "I don't need you screwing around in my living room."

    Nick gave Kim puppy eyes.

    "Forget it, Knight," Kim said.  "You expect me to believe that you're so innocent that you would never dream of such a thing when you and Nat haven't been able to keep your hands off each other all night?"

    "Busted," Natalie said softly to Nick as they followed Kim in through the back door.

    Kim gathered up her chips and soda before leaving for the living room to find a movie.  Nick and Natalie remained behind in the kitchen.  Natalie dug out her cousin's blender and began dumping in the tofu along with several other ingredients.

    "I can't believe that you are trying to make me drink tofu," Nick muttered.

    "It's solid plant protein," Natalie replied, then rested her hand gently against his cheek.  "I know.  We agreed that you were going to drink blood again to regain your strength and control.  But it would get a little difficult explaining your choice of snack to Kim."

    "Tofu is a whole lot easier to explain than blood, I suppose." Nick said, nuzzling at Natalie's cheek.

    "Do you want to go back down to the Caddy and get a bottle out of the trunk?" Natalie asked.  "We can spike the shake with some blood, which should make it more palatable to you."

    Nick nodded.  "It shouldn't be too hard to convince Kim that she doesn't want to try it anyway."  He turned and walked  back out through the back door.  As Nick rummaged in the trunk of the Caddy, pulling out one of the bottles of human blood, the wind was clearly indicating the beginning of the storm.  It was taking on an eerie howl.  He quickly took a few gulps as he went back into the house, draining a fair amount of the bottle's contents.  The blood flowed smooth and sweet over his tongue, sending a sense of contentment coursing through his body.

    Natalie took the bottle from him and dumped the remaining contents into the blender.  She poured the now-pinkish concoction out into a tumbler and held it out for Nick to sample.  Nick obligingly knelt and bent his head to drink from the glass without taking it from her hand.  He looked up at her, his blue eyes reflecting a mischief-laden sparkle.

    "It isn't much of an improvement over your other shakes, although the blood does make it taste a bit better." Nick said.  "And I can think of things that taste even better."

    In an instant, Natalie found herself pushed against the counter as Nick wrapped her in a passionate embrace, molding the length of his body to hers, and kissed her.  He had blood breath, but she didn't care.  It was Nick, and he was really kissing her.  The glass of blood-and-tofu mixture stood forgotten on the counter.

    "Is Star Wars all right with the two of you?"  Kim asked as she walked around the corner from the living room.  She stopped in the doorway that led out into the foyer, her hands on her hips.   "Not like you would even notice what's on the TV screen."

    Nick sheepishly released Natalie.   Natalie went upstairs, dodging Kim in the doorway while muttering something about needing Tums.  Nick gathered up his shake and followed Kim into the living room.  The rumblings of thunder were becoming louder and closer together outside.  Lightning formed spidery tendrils of electric blue across the sky.

    "Nick, maybe you can enlighten me about something," Kim said.  "Nat seemed a bit freaked out by the portrait over the fireplace.  She wouldn't say why."

    Nick shrugged, careful to make sure that his face remained casual.  He knew that he would have to tell Natalie all about what had happened here ninety years ago now.  "She bears a strong resemblance to an old friend of mine.  I would imagine that it would be enough to disconcert her."

*

Flashback: Ocean City, 1905

    Nick sat in a wingback chair in the parlor, looking out the window and brooding.  Janette entered the room from the foyer.  Nick ignored her presence.

    "I hear that Mary Salton would like to learn how to paint," Janette said, her voice teasing, but with a sharp note of controlled jealousy.

    "Her parents can afford to hire a tutor who can teach her that skill," Nick said.  His hands clenched on the arms of his chair.  "I suggested it to her mother.  She has shown me her sketches--she has talent.  It would be a shame if her mother did not hire the best teacher that money can buy."

    Janette leaned on the back of Nick's chair.  "Oh, Nicolas, but the tutor that she desires is the best there is.  Who else has been taught by Leonardo, by Raphael, by Giotto?  And he is within her grasp."

    "He is willing to teach you to paint." Nick said.  "As for Mary Salton, I am not inclined to teach her anything."

    "But you have thought about bringing her across," Janette said, her voice suddenly cutting.  "Admit it."

    Nick shook his head.  "No, Janette.  It would destroy her.  She would never be happy as one of our kind.  Her family would attempt to prosecute me for her murder."

    "If you have come up with all those reasons, then you have thought about it.  Do you see her face when we make love, Nicolas?  Am I just a tool to be used because you cannot bring yourself to bring her across?"

    "No!  Janette, I would never, could never use you like that," Nick said, his face contorted in anguish.

    "Why should I believe it?"  Janette said bitterly.  "A mortal woman would suit you better than I do, with your insane quest to recover your mortality."

    "Janette, I came across for you," Nick said, standing and pulling her into his arms.  "I love you.  You rejected me, but I will love you until the end of time.  I would never use you and dream of another.  You are my every fantasy.  Mary Salton cannot compare to you."

    "Make me believe you, Nicolas," Janette said, leaning back against Nick and baring her throat to him.  "Make me believe you."

    Nick bit.

*

    Nick made a face.  I swore to Janette that she was my one true love, that I would never use her for pleasure while dreaming of another.  And then I did just that, Nick thought. I betrayed her, though it was with Natalie and not Mary Salton.

    Old friend indeed, Kim thought as she watched Nick's face contort.  Old flame, more likely.  Jealousy would explain why she reacted so oddly to the portrait.

    "Hello, Nick?  What sort of friend was she?"  Kim asked, treading carefully around what she was sure was a delicate subject for both Nick and Natalie.

    "One of my best friends.  And even more, or so I thought once.  Anyway, now she is only a friend."  Nick said softly, conceding the fact that his love for Janette was finally and truly gone.  "Where did you get that portrait?"

    "It was left behind in the attic of the house.  The man who sold me the house said that his father had purchased the house from her, sometime around 1910.  She built this house and was the first owner.  I wonder if she might be related to your friend."

    "It is possible," Nick conceded.  In a way, Kim was right.

    Natalie chose that moment to make her entrance, ending Kim's conversation with Nick..  Kim started the video and they began to make themselves comfortable.  Kim sprawled in her overstuffed chair.  Natalie rested her head on Nick's shoulder and he put his arm around her.  The thunder was distinctly overhead now, and blue and purple flashes could be seen through the windows that rattled in the wind.  The old house developed a voice of its own in the onslaught of the wind and the sudden lash of the rain.

    Natalie watched the television intently.  No matter how many times she saw it, she never really tired of watching Star Wars.  Nick was slowly sipping his shake, evidently not finding it too disgusting.  Obi-Wan Kenobi was dueling with Darth Vader.  Obi-Wan shut off his saber, and Vader raised his.  The scene was so incredible...the sadness...the power...

    CrackkkBOOOM!  The thunderclap was practically deafening.  The television screen flickered and went out, along with the lights.

    The power was out.

    "Stay put, you two.  I've got a couple of old kerosene lanterns in the kitchen that I keep for emergencies."  Kim said.

    Natalie shivered.  The room was lit with strobelike flashes of lightning from the storm outside.  The livid purple and green light would cast the room into stark lights and shadows for a fraction of a second before leaving it pitch black again.  Suddenly the old house seemed much more threatening.  The cat's head carved in the woodwork over the archway that led to the foyer looked almost alive in those flares of light.  Its mouth seemed almost to move in a vicious, predatory way.

    Nick pulled Natalie close as he felt her shake.  Her distress cut through him like a knife.  "Nat, there is nothing here to fear," he whispered.  "Nothing will hurt you as long as I am here."

    "The cat over the door," Natalie whispered.  "I thought I saw it move."

    "It's just a carving," Nick said.  "There is nothing to fear.  Janette always rather liked cats."

    "Then Janette did live here," Natalie whispered in reply.

    "Yes, long ago," Nick said.  "As did I.  It was the summer of 1904 and 1905.  It ended in disaster rather than the romance that we had hoped for, and Janette and I parted company once more in September of 1905.  Janette went back to Paris.  I chose to move to New York."

    "And what do you feel for Janette now that you have returned to the house that the two of you shared?" Natalie asked, her voice trembling.

    "Friendship, nothing more," Nick said.  "You are my true love, Natalie.  The love that Janette and I shared was never meant to last.  I have caused myself, and Janette, a lot of pain by refusing to let it go.  I will finally be able to move forward with my life with you by my side, and Janette can go on with hers."

    Flickering orange light spread across the room as Kim entered with the lanterns.  The warm light made the room seem familiar and friendly again.  Kim bent down in front of the fireplace and began trying to open the damper to start a fire.  She cursed as the lever refused to budge.  A loud crash followed by a thump on one of the upper levels of the house got Kim's attention away from the stuck damper.

    "What was that?"  Natalie said, her voice frightened.  Nick gently put his arm around her and pulled her close.

    "I've got no clue," Kim said, "But it sounded like it came from the turret."  Her face was distinctly worried.

    "What's the matter?"  Nick asked, very aware of the fact that Natalie was shaking slightly from fear.

    "The turret is sealed off from the rest of the house.  The first level of it is part of this room, but the upper floors of it are inaccessible.  It must have happened when the Klivians remodeled at some point."  Kim said.  "I can't get in to see what's happened, and it might be bad."

    Nick shook his head.  "Let's go up to the second floor.  Are you sure that the door was removed?"

    "Fairly sure.  I never found any evidence of a door that led into the second or third level of the turret."

    Nick grabbed one of the lanterns and began to walk up the stairs.  "Maybe you didn't look in the right place.  If I have to, I can knock out a section of the wall to get into the turret.  If it's been hit, it could be on fire."

    Natalie shuddered.

    "I know, Nat, I know.  Fire is one of your worst fears.  I promise that nothing will hurt you while I am with you."  Nick said, reassuring her by gently stroking her cheek.

    Kim and Natalie followed Nick up to the second floor.  Nick walked down the hall, gently tracing the woodwork with his fingers.  The door to the bedroom on the end of the house nearest the turret was flanked by a pair of intricate wood panels.  Nick pressed the coat of arms in the center of one.  It clicked, and the panel swung inward.  It was a hidden door.

    "I've read about such 'secret' passages that are really just corridors with doors that blend into the woodwork." Nick said.  "You must admit that this solution is far more pleasing to the eye than an ordinary narrow door would have been here."

    Kim bolted up a dusty wooden staircase that twisted upward inside the confined space.  Narrow, filthy windows looked out onto the storm outside.  Natalie was getting a thorough case of the willies, and Nick hung back and held her hand.

    "I never have been good with things that go bump in the night," Natalie said.

    "Most people would classify me as one of those things that go bump in the night," Nick said.

    "Yes, but you're friendly.  This looks like something out of a horror movie." Natalie said.  "The kind where the monster is waiting at the top of the stairs to attack."

    "Come on," Nick said, leading her up the dusty staircase.  "Janette used to sit up here and think.  The view is stupendous, though I would imagine tonight it will seem like you are in the middle of the storm."

    Natalie followed Nick up the stairs that spiraled upwards for two stories in a self-supported spiral inside the tight quarter-circle shaped space.  Something that looked eerily like a ninety-year-old spatter of blood ran down one wall.  Thunder crashed outside, and Natalie nearly crushed Nick's hand.  He grunted.

    "Nick..." Natalie hissed.  "There is blood on the wall!"

    "Janette and I had a disagreement over my diet.  It was a bottle of cow that I was enjoying in the tower room, and she threw it down the stairs.  That's all."  Nick said, a small smile playing across his face.  "I suppose that the Klivians never discovered the door that leads into the turret or they would have painted over it."

    Nick and Natalie emerged into the small room at the top of the turret.  The roof soared high overhead, up to its conical peak.   The walls of the room were arch-topped windows through which the underbellies of the clouds looked close indeed.  A windowseat of faded red velvet ran around the room under the windows, except for the six-foot section where the stairs interrupted it.  Beneath the dust on the floor, Natalie could see that someone had inlaid a compass rose design into the wooden floor.

    Kim stared at the broken window and the very large and very dead seagull laying on the windowseat.  She picked it up by the tip of one wing, with a distinct look of disgust on her face.

    "I'll go get a piece of that plywood you had under the house," Nick volunteered.  "It's sheltered enough down there that the storm won't hurt me."  He disappeared quickly down the stairs at a speed just short of betraying his vampiric powers.

    "This place is creepy," Natalie said.

    Kim nodded.  "Did you see that stain on the wall?  It gave me chills.  It looked like blood.  Nathan Klivian said that there was no way into the turret.  I wonder how Nick discovered the catch so quickly?"

    Natalie bit her tongue.  She knew that Nick had surely known how to get into the turret all along.  "Well, like I told you, he is a history buff.  He's into all those secret passages and stuff.  He knows about this kind of architecture, and probably expected to find something like this."

    "I just wonder about the woman who owned the house before Klivian's father," Kim said.  "He didn't know anything about her.  But I have always had this feeling about the house, a sense of evil.  It's not very strong, and it's overshadowed by a peaceful, benign energy that always made me feel safe.  Now I wonder if something bad happened to her."

    "I know what you mean," Natalie said.  Kim had perfectly described the atmosphere that Natalie had always sensed in Nick's loft.  The sense of the evil that was such a part of Nick, but also a sense of safety and peace.  The sensation could only be a lingering aftereffect of Nick's habitation.

*

    Nick ran down the stairs.  He was sure that Natalie probably wouldn't want to stay with her cousin after tonight.  It had nearly torn his heart in two to see her so frightened.  Even he was forced to admit that the rooms in the turret looked like something out of a horror movie after ninety years of disuse, especially with the bloodstain on the wall.  Even though its origin was perfectly ordinary and explainable, it still added the final touch to the atmosphere.

    I can offer to let her share my motel room, if she doesn't want to go home, Nick thought.  But Kim will probably misinterpret that completely.  She already tried to encourage Natalie to do that with me back at the motel.  I can't afford to try to bring her across now.  I'm not strong enough yet.  I've had some human blood, but not enough.  Besides, if I'm going to bring her across, I'm going to do it right and make it as romantic as I can.

    Nick dashed through the kitchen.  He set the lantern down on the table and blew it out.  He didn't need it to see, and didn't want to run the risk of having it fall, break, and likely set something on fire when he went out into the storm.  Nick slipped back into the heavy black overcoat that he had abandoned earlier.  It would at least help keep him dry.  The moment Nick opened the back door, the wind attacked him.  The howling gusts seemed ten times as vicious as they had appeared from inside the house.  One violent blast caught him full in the chest.  His coat billowed out like a sail and Nick landed on his back on the stairs.  He uttered an Arabic curse that would have burned the hair off a camel, had there been one on hand.  The fall would have severely stunned a mortal, but Nick struggled upright and continued down the stairs.

    When he reached the ground, his foot caught on a small but heavy cardboard box that was disintegrating under the steady onslaught of the rain.  It nearly sent him sprawling again, but Nick regained his balance before he could land on his face.

    "The nails!" Nick muttered.  "Of all the bloody stupid places to leave them..."  He grabbed a handful and dumped them into his pocket before picking up one of the pieces of plywood and attempting to wrestle it into position to carry back up the stairs.  One wrong gust of wind would send him flying with the board.  Nick had a nightmare vision of the board carrying him off the side of the stairs in the wind, landing on him, and breaking into sharp and potentially fatal pieces.

    Gritting his teeth, Nick began to haul the board up the stairs.  The wind slammed him against the board and into the house.  Nick felt something snap in the hand that was trapped between the plywood and the siding of the house.  His head knocked hard against the edge of the board.  He snarled and felt his eyes glow red and fangs descend in his building rage.  In one brief spurt of vampire strength, Nick threw the board up the stairs.  It landed against the railing at the top.

    Nick pulled the board through the door and closed it behind himself.  The house seemed incredibly silent after the incessant roar of the wind and the waves outside.  He sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table and attempted to get himself back under control.  Once he was sure that his outward appearance no longer bore the face of a beast, Nick re-lit the lantern and began hunting through the toolbox that Kim had left on the kitchen table for a hammer.  Judging by the state of the toolbox and the fact that it took him several minutes to find a hammer, Kim was by no means an organized person.

    As Nick hauled all his paraphernalia back up the stairs to the turret room, he sank back into his thoughts.  Soon enough, Natalie.  Soon enough, we will have all eternity, for you to live out your every dream.

*

    Footsteps and a muttered curse turned Natalie and Kim's attention away from the broken window to the stairs.  Nick emerged, carrying a piece of plywood.  The handsome detective looked a bit worse for the wear--his clothes and hair were windblown and wet.  A sizable splinter was stuck in his forehead and was dripping blood down the side of his face.

    "Nick!"  Natalie cried.  "You're bleeding!"  She ran forward and gently touched the splinter, her face reflecting her concern and worry.  He had never looked quite so good to her as in that moment, even if he was hurt.   He was strong, secure, and above all else, hers.

    Nick hissed softly and turned away from her touch.  "You can treat it later," he whispered.  "For now, let me get this window boarded up before we go back downstairs."  He turned to the window, placed the plywood, and began to nail through the board and into the frame.

    Kim winced.  "Won't that damage the woodwork?"

    Nick shrugged.  "You can always putty the holes later, after you've called a glazier to fix the window.  Besides, you don't want a broken window in a storm like this.  It can do a lot of damage."

    "I suppose you're right," Kim responded.

    As soon as Nick finished nailing the board into place, they returned to the living room with the lanterns.  Natalie took one of the lanterns and went into the kitchen to wrap the dead seagull in a plastic bag and put it in the trash.  Kim lit a taper and began lighting the candles that stood in wall sconces to either side of the fireplace.  Nick managed to get the damper on the fireplace to open and began to light a fire.

    Natalie returned just in time to see Nick jerk his hand back as the kindling caught, the reaction instinctive and stronger than average in a vampire.  She had brought a tweezer and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, intending to remove the splinter that was embedded in Nick's forehead.   She knew that Nick would not appreciate the peroxide, but it would be necessary to preserve appearances in front of Kim.

    Nick and Kim were sitting on the rug in front of the fire, looking into the flames.  Natalie knelt down next to Nick and gently stroked his hair out of the wound before pulling the splinter out in one quick movement.  Nick grunted, stifling his growl of discomfort.  Natalie continued, plucking several smaller splinters that had been left behind.  Nick closed his eyes and allowed her to work.  Natalie wet a cottonball with the peroxide and cleaned the wound.  Nick's eyes flew open and he shot her a dirty look.

    Kim carefully avoided commenting on Nick's situation and instead turned her attention to the fire.  She used the poker to push back a log that was threatening to fall.  He could tell that Kim didn't want to seem ungrateful after he had gotten hurt while trying to help her around the house.

    "Well, Nick, it seems that you're stuck with us and the power is out," Natalie said.  "What are we going to do now?"

    Nick stretched his legs out in front of him and pulled Natalie down to sit next to him.  "For right now, I intend to enjoy the fact that it's a rotten night outside and I'm inside with a nice fire and you."

    "That sounds just fine to me," Natalie said, leaning her head against his broad shoulder.

    Nick smiled and leaned back against the front of the couch and held her a little tighter.

   Kim returned the poker to its place with the rest of the fireplace tools.  "They will probably get the power on again once the storm dies down.  It shouldn't be too long--the storm seems to be moving pretty quickly."

    Thunder rumbled, but it was beginning to sound more distant again.  The wind was losing the eerie note that had permeated its howling earlier in the night.

    Nick looked out the window that faced the ocean.  It was pitch black, with no hint of the brilliant moonlight that had illuminated his discussion with Nat earlier.  "I should be going back to the motel as soon as the storm dies down and the power is back on.  Then you two ladies can get some sleep."

    "You're welcome to stay here, if you would like," Kim said.

    Natalie looked at Nick.  She desperately wanted Nick to stay with her and Kim in the house, but she also knew that it would be difficult to explain his eating habits, especially if Nick was going to start drinking human blood again.

    "It would probably be best if I stayed at the motel, but I thank you for your hospitality," Nick said.  "I already have things set up at the motel.  Because of my skin condition, I can't risk any exposure to sunlight.  I know that my setup there works perfectly and I'll be fine."

    "Well, then, why don't you come and visit us tomorrow night again?"  Kim offered.  "Since you and Natalie seem to have worked out whatever your problems were, I imagine that the two of you would like to spend more time together."

    "I'll be here around eight then," Nick said.

    "Good.  You can come along with us.  We're going to the boardwalk for the evening tomorrow to do some shopping," Kim said.  "You look strong enough to carry some bags."

    "Guess you can add 'packhorse experience' to your resume, Nick."  Natalie said.  "If it makes you feel any better, you won't have to carry any of Kim's stuff if you don't want to.  I give you permission to leave it behind wherever you feel like it."

    "Hey!"  Kim said, mock-indignantly.

    Nick gave her an innocent grin that implied that he would never dream of taking Natalie's suggestion.   "A knight would never do any of his lady's relatives such a disservice," he said.

    "I like being your lady," Natalie said, leaning against him.

    "I like having a lady again," Nick said softly.  He raised Natalie's hand to his lips and kissed it.

    "You two are acting like a romance novel brought to life," Kim said.  "I think I'm getting nauseous."

    Natalie picked up one of the throw pillows from the couch and threw it at her cousin.  Kim promptly retaliated, and soon the two women were engaged in a full-blown pillow fight as if they were twelve years old again.  Nick moved away and settled himself in the overstuffed chair.  He watched them beat at each other with the small pillows before giving up and collapsing into laughter with a small smile on his face.

    The combination of Kim and the sea air seem to be good for Natalie, Nick mused.  It's good for me too.  I haven't felt this good in centuries.  On the other hand, that might just be because Natalie and I will finally be together.  I've dreamed of bringing her across, and each time it was a guilty fantasy because I thought that Nat would never give up her mortality.  I would end up frustrated and upset, and then I'd find myself at the Raven looking for Janette.  And then...Janette was gone...

*

Flashback: Ocean City, 1905

    Nick knocked on the door of the Salton house, bearing a bouquet of white roses for Mary.  He had come to tell Mary that he was not in love with her and intended to return to his lady friend in Philadelphia.  He knew that Mary had been telling stories about how he had promised her a lavish honeymoon in the tropics after their marriage.  It was all girlish fantasy, but it could get him in trouble if her parents believed too much of the story.  Trouble of the marriage kind.

    "Why, Mr. Audun, it is a pleasure," Mrs. Salton said, as she gestured for Nick to come in.  "If you're here to see Mary, I'm afraid that she went for a walk with two other young ladies on the boardwalk.  She will be back soon, though.  Why don't you sit down and we can talk."

    Nick took a seat on the incredibly hard and ugly green chair that sat nearest the door.  Nora Salton seated herself on an elegant swan design lounge, after fetching a vase from the sideboard for the flowers and placing them on a table.

    "Mary tells me that you have been speaking of marriage, Mr. Audun."

    Nick's eyes widened in shock.  Mary was clearly more infatuated with him than he had thought.  He only hoped that he could somehow evade being bulldozed into marriage with the girl.

    "This surprises you, that she would confide your words of love to her mother, Nicholas?"  Nora said.  "May I call you Nicholas?"

    Nick nodded curtly.  "I have spoken no such words of love to your daughter.  She is a beautiful girl, and she will make an excellent husband for a lucky man, but I am not that man. I have always made it clear to her that I love a lady who remained in Philadelphia for the summer.  Mary is a dear friend to me, and I am sorry if I have misled her in any way."

    "But...but...she has told me all the things that you whispered in her ear, and you kissed her once, during a party..."

    Nick clenched his teeth  as he realized that things were far, far worse than he had thought.  He allowed the vampire to surface and concentrated on Nora Salton's heartbeat with all of his powers.  "The things that your daughter said about me were certainly flights of fancy.  Besides, I am far too old for your daughter."  Nick released Nora and relaxed into his chair.

    "You were saying, that you daughter confided in you?"  Nick said, his voice pleasant.

    "Oh, it was nothing," Nora said lightly.  "Just some small flights of fancy on her part, I'm sure.  You are a very handsome man, Nicholas, but you are too old for her.  It is just as well that you are courting another lady."

    A young woman who Nick recognized as Sarah Maline, dashed through the front door, her face clearly terrified almost beyond reason.  Nick stood up, the girl's expression sending chills through his already cold body.

    "What has happened?"  Nick asked, his voice rough with worry.

    "Mary!"  Sarah cried.  "We left the boardwalk and were walking on the beach.  Mary stopped to pick up a shell, and we didn't notice and walked ahead.  By the time that we noticed that she wasn't with us, we had gone quite a distance.  We turned back and started looking for her, but we were too late.  We found her under the boardwalk.  She was... she was naked, and her throat was cut!"

    Mrs. Salton looked at Nick, her eyes full of grief and fear.  As she gazed at him, her eyes slowly grew suspicious.  A distinct sinking feeling began to form in Nick's gut, and he knew that it was time to move on again.

*

    Iella looked out the bedroom window and watched the lightning play across the sky.  Candles burned in a wrought-iron candelabra that stood in one corner of the small room with its sloping ceiling and peeling wallpaper.  An oil lamp on the dresser sent flickering light across the chipped finish of the brass bed that rested against the rear wall.  She raised one hand to the cameo pendant that hung around her neck.

    Her fingers traced the delicate relief portrait of her master.  At long last she had gained one small trinket of her master's love that she had been denied for so many years.  He had never given her such a thing, no matter how much love she showed him.

    It was always Janette. Iella thought. Janette, Janette, Janette!  He couldn't seem to imagine being able to love anyone else.  No matter how she pushed him away and abused him, it was always Janette who received all of the trinkets of affection that he gave.  Now it's my turn.  I will teach him, and Cassidy, that I am worthy of being loved!

    Iella turned to the candelabra and began to snuff the candles.  She began humming to herself, then actually began to sing as she worked.

"...If you ever meet another
He's not what you're looking for
Then don't surrender
Because you might discover
That somebody, somewhere
Is waiting for you to
Remember the last kiss
Just remember the last touch
Remember the last time
I will ever be holding you
Just remember the last embrace
I can never forget your face
If this is the last kiss
Can't get used to it
Won't get used to it
Nohow, no way
No, I'll never get used to it
Never get used to it..."

    "I'll never get used to being abandoned, Nick," Iella whispered, as she lifted the hurricane on the oil lamp.  "Soon, I'll have you and David back.  Soon."  She blew out the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

*

    The lights flickered on, snapping Nick out of the past.  Natalie and Kim were still laughing, though they had moved to the couch, and Kim was in the midst of telling a joke that would never appear in a Disney film unless hidden in the scenery by a disgruntled employee.

    Nick stood.  "If you two ladies would excuse me, I'd like to be heading back to my motel.  I'm sure that you two have a big day planned for tomorrow, and I should let you get some sleep."

    Natalie walked over to Nick.  "I'll walk you out to the Caddy."

    They walked together in companionable silence.  Without thinking about it, Natalie's hand found Nick's, and their fingers interlaced.  Nick turned and gave her a gentle smile.

    "Nick, I think Kim is scared."  Natalie said, as soon as they were outside.  "She saw the bloodstain on the wall too.  And I can't explain it to her.  I mean, I know how it got there now--" Her mouth curved into a grin.  "--and I actually find it rather amusing.  But she doesn't and she worries.  I know she's a believer, Nick.  She believes in ghosts and the paranormal."

    "Natalie, you've seen ghosts firsthand, including some of the ones that were after me.  Did you feel anything like that in the house?"  Nick said, his voice gentle and reasonable.

    "No.  Just a sort of aura of peace."  Natalie said.  "It reminded me a bit of your loft, but... happier, somehow."

    "When I came here, Janette and I attempted to reconcile and start over in our relationship.  Things didn't quite go as planned, and I was forced to leave, but the summers that I spent here are full of a lot of good memories for me."  Nick said as he climbed into the Caddy.  "Ask Kim what she senses about the house, and ask her if she feels safe.  As long as she feels safe, there is no evil of the magnitude that she is fearing."

    "I understand.  Neither of us has actually seen anything to fear.  The only thing that we are afraid of is our own imaginations."  Natalie said.

    "Precisely,"  Nick said, leaning out the window and giving Natalie a gentle kiss.  He sucked briefly on her lips before starting the Caddy.  "Besides, if there actually was anything to be afraid of, I wouldn't let you stay here, you know that.  See you tomorrow!"

    Natalie stood by the stairs that led up to the back door and watched the Caddy disappear down the street.  She suddenly felt very alone.

*

    Nick parked the Caddy back in the motel parking lot.  A young couple wandered past him.  Nick's nostrils twitched as he detected an offensive odor of alcohol emanating from their bodies.  Sand gritted under the soles of his shoes and he smiled.  The light rain did nothing to dampen his spirits.  He had found Natalie more easily than he had dreamed possible, and she loved him enough to want to come across and join him.

    "I assume you found your mortal lady."  The door to Nick's room was open, and Lacroix was inside, seated in one of the chairs.

    "I did." Nick said, unable to contain his smile.

    "Well?"  Lacroix asked. A small smile that Nick did not like crept across his features.  "I see that you are pleased by whatever has transpired between the two of you."

    "She loves me, as much as I love her.  She told me that she wants to be brought across so that we can be together."

    "Indeed."  Lacroix folded his hands.  "I suppose that I should be grateful to the good doctor for bringing you back into the fold, my son."

    "It's only temporary.  We're going to continue searching for a cure.  This will give us all the time we need to find one."

    "Did you ever consider that she might enjoy being a vampire, Nicholas?"  Lacroix said.  He stood and slowly walked around Nick.  "Did you consider that she enjoyed your lovemaking that night in your loft?  What if she doesn't want to become mortal again?"

    "She values mortality as much as I do!"  Nick spat.  "I know that she wants to be mortal with me one day.  That way we can have the family that she has dreamed of, that I have dreamed of!"

    "Does she?"  Lacroix asked.  "Are you so sure that she shares that dream with you?"

    Nick stared at Lacroix, his eyes full of fury.  "You don't know Natalie!"

    Lacroix tipped his head to the side and looked thoughtful.  "Oh, certainly not as well as you do.  I'm sure that if you go through your memory of the last time you made love to her as a vampire, you will find your answers.  You knew her dreams in that moment.  It should be no problem for you, unless the clarity of your memory is clouded by the swill you insist on drinking."

    Nick glared at Lacroix.  Lacroix sniffed deeply and smiled.

    "Why, Nicholas, I believe that I smell human blood on you," he said, his voice gloating.

    "It is only to allow me to bring Natalie across without risking her life!  She is the only reason that I have returned to drinking human blood."

    Lacroix walked toward the door.  "You'll need to be drinking it for at least a year, I should imagine.  You will need all of your strength if you intend to be teaching a new fledgeling.  I'm sure that by the end of her infancy, you will have come to your senses.  She'll see to that."

    Nick slammed the door behind his master.  He knew that a locked door posed only a momentary challenge rather than a barrier, but the image was important.  He wanted to make it clear that Lacroix's help was very much unwanted while he was on his current mission.

    Natalie and I will continue to search for a cure, Nick thought.  If he thinks that bringing Natalie across will make me accept my vampirism, then he is mistaken.  Now, it is a means to an end.  If Natalie and I cannot be together as mortals now, at least we can be vampires together.  And someday, we will be able to be mortals again.  Nat is all that matters now.  He was right about my control, that I would need to drink human blood to have enough control to avoid draining Nat.  Even now, with just one bottle, I was able to be near her for most of the evening without the vampire intruding on my instincts.

    "Damn you, Lacroix."  Nick muttered at the closed door, hoping that his master had heard.

*

    Natalie woke late the next morning.  She felt wonderful, despite the fact that the air-conditioner had died sometime during the night.  For the first time in months, she had awakened happy, and she knew that it was because she had finally sorted out her problems with Nick.  Soon enough, Nick would be by her side, for a very literal forever.  No matter how frightened she had been during the storm, she had always felt safe when Nick was nearby.  She showered and dressed before heading downstairs to scrounge a bowl of cereal before it was lunchtime.

    "Good morning, sleepyhead," Kim said from her seat at the kitchen table.  Her cereal bowl was in the sink, and a mysterious red bottle stood on the table.

    "What's in the bottle?"  Natalie asked as she poured milk over her cornflakes.

    "I made a trip to the automotive supply store earlier today.  How do you feel about pulling a prank on Detective Knight for laughing at us last night?"

    "I was the one who told him that that meant war.  I probably sounded like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon."

    Kim smirked. "It's red wax, designed to hide scratches in the finish of a red car.  But I figured that we could use it on a car of another color."

    Natalie laughed as she sat down opposite Kim.  "Well, it will get a reaction out of him.  And he did give me a bunch of keys a few years ago, and there's a set for the Caddy on the ring.  Let's go for it."

    "As soon as you're done, we can go cruise the downtown.  It shouldn't be hard to find that car."  Kim said.  "He did say that he was staying in Ocean City, didn't he?  If we have to search Margate, Sea Isle City and Somers Point, it could take all day."

    "No, he did say that he was staying in Ocean City."  Natalie said.  "So we're going to bring the car back here and turn it red?"

    "Well, I don't think that this will actually turn the car red, but it will give it a reddish tint, I think.  If we bring it back here, we can work uninterrupted, but if he wakes up and reports the car stolen, we could get in trouble."

    "First, I know Nick--he usually doesn't like to wake up until sunset and we'll have the Caddy back by then.  Second, how can he complain?  After all, we are waxing it for him."  Natalie said.

    Kim smirked.  "I never even thought of that.  He can't really complain if we're doing him a favor, can he?"

    "Knowing Nick, he'll feel honor-bound to thank us, even though he will know that we intentionally botched it.  I do want to see his face when he finds what we've done, though."

    "If he really loves that car as much as I think he does, this will be good."

    "He's going to come charging in here accusing us of vandalism, even though it's not permanent."

    "It'll be a bitch to get off though," Kim said.  "That's the beauty of it.  It's not permanent and it won't hurt the car, but it will also be a pain in his butt to get it fixed."

    "By the way, your air-conditioner died last night."  Natalie said.  "It was really stuffy this morning, and it wouldn't switch on again."

    Kim sighed.  "I knew that thing was on its last legs.  I'll have to see about buying a new one the next time that Sears has them on sale.  I'm afraid that you'll have to live with it being hot up there for the rest of your visit, though.  The prices for window units are astronomical.  Whenever you're ready, we can go track down Nick's car."

    Natalie spooned up the last few frosted flakes from the bottom of her bowl.  "Let's go," she suggested with a mischievous smirk.

    Kim grabbed the bottle off the table and led the way out the kitchen door to her car.  Natalie followed, piling into the passenger seat as she dug through her purse after the ring that held the keys Nick had given her.  Kim took off,  choosing to drive parallel to the boardwalk where she knew that there were rows of motels.

    Natalie glued her face to the window, looking for the distinctive tailfins of the Caddy in the parking lots of the motels they passed.  The Pavilion and The Forum were strikeouts, as was the Coral Sands.  All she saw were cars of more recent make, most of which were clearly family vehicles judging by their states of disrepair.

    They struck gold when Kim turned down Ocean Avenue.  Blending perfectly with the 1950's architecture of the Sifting Sands Motel was the teal 1962 Cadillac convertible.  It looked at home in its setting, unlike the other cars in the parking lot.  Kim pulled into the lot.

    "Bingo,"  Kim hissed, her eyes glowing with mischief.

    Natalie got out, keys in hand, and walked past the row of other cars.  One white Neon showed traces of what appeared to be the aftermath of carsickness below the passenger window.  Natalie grimaced and hurried toward the Caddy.

    "Can't I drive it back to the house?"  Kim yelled.

    "No offense, Kim, but this lot is pretty tight, and if we ding Nick's car there really will be hell to pay.  I've driven it before and I know I can get it out without damaging it."  Natalie said.  "You can drive it back.  That way you won't have to do much tight maneuvering with it."

    "All right."  Kim said, getting back into her car,  "But you had better let me drive it back, understand?  No bull crap excuses about dents then!"

    Natalie smiled and climbed into the driver's seat of the Caddy.  The big engine roared to life under the hood, and Natalie smiled.  This was going to be fun.  Nick had only let her drive the car once before.  While she had to admit that the Caddy had all the fine handling of a barge, the car had style.  It cruised smoothly down the street, attracting stares from vacationers lounging on balconies and porches.

    Natalie parked the Caddy on the driveway behind Kim's house and got out, making sure that the windows were up.  Kim had already arrived and had hauled out the hose and a few buckets, preparing to wash the car.  The bottle of red wax rested on the bottom stair of the steps that led up to the porch.

    Kim abruptly disappeared back into the house, reappearing quickly with a boombox that she put on the porch, well out of the spray from the hose.  She sat down on the porch and fumbled with the CD player, inserting a Jimmy Buffet CD.

    "You have really strange musical taste," Natalie remarked as strains of Cheeseburger in Paradise drifted across the small yard.  "First you reveal that you love David Cassidy yet, and now you produce a live recording of Jimmy Buffet."

    Kim shrugged.  "What's the point of being boring?  Besides, it suits my mood."  She danced a bit and began spraying down the car as Natalie soaped up a sponge and began attacking the tailfin.

    The two women worked intently on their chosen project, bopping absently along with the music.  A reddish tint began to spread across the front of the Caddy under their industrious hands.  A rather appropriate song came on, as Nat and Kim had their fun with Nick's prized possession.

"...but the good stuff's in his closet
I swear he wouldn't mind
Hell, we'll just shoot the lock off
I do it all the time
We're gypsies in the palace
He's left us here alone
The order of sleepless nights
Will now serve till dawn
We ain't got no money
We ain't got no right
We're gypsies in the palace
We've got it all tonight... "

    "Well, I think we did a good job," Kim said, leaning against one of the porch columns as she sipped at a can of Diet Coke.

    Natalie set her own can down on the top of the rail and looked down at their handiwork.  The Cadillac still showed its original teal color underneath, but it now had a distinct and bright overtone that transformed the color to a hue somewhere between purple and brown.  The color was now purely putrid and utterly indescribable.  She felt a brief pang of remorse for what she had done, but it was quickly squelched by the imminently practical observation that the wax wasn't really permanent.

    "Oh yeah," Natalie said.  She tossed the keys to Kim.  "We'll take it back now, so we'll be long gone by the time that he wakes up.  And Kim, don't dent the car.  Nick didn't get the nickname 'Knightmare' by being sweet-tempered."

    "Gotcha.  I dent the car and he rips my throat out with his teeth,"  Kim cracked.

    "Something like that."

*

    Nick awoke before the sun set completely.  He didn't intend to waste a moment of his night with Natalie, and he would need to feed well to keep his less-than-human urges under control.  And since past experience had taught him that blood breath and body odor from dried blood-sweat were not conductive to romance, he was going to need to bathe and brush his teeth.

    He drank from a bottle of human blood as he dug around in the pile of clothes that he had brought along.  Nick tossed a pair of jeans onto the bed before pawing through his shirts, looking for something suitable for romancing Natalie.  He selected a black shirt, knowing that it would set off his pale skin and blond hair.

    Nick drained the bottle before entering the bathroom to shower.  He hummed a waltz under his breath as he prepared for the night.  As soon as the sun sank below the horizon, Nick flung the door to his motel room open.

    And stopped dead in shock.

    Nick's jaw dropped as he looked down at his faithful Caddy.  He bolted down the stairs at a speed that was just barely human.

    "What did they do to you?"  Nick murmured to the car as he ran a trembling hand over a tailfin.  The once-beautiful blue-green color had somehow become a purple-tinged brown under the orangish outdoor lights of the motel.  As he looked carefully at the car, he ascertained that the original finish was intact, under some sort of translucent red coating.  The combination of the red coating with the original teal color produced the vile brownish-purple hue.

    Nick's first thought was that the color reminded him of the time that Lacroix had fed on a druggie and the combination of illicit chemicals in the man's bloodstream had made his master vomit his dinner.

    Nick's second thought was to ascertain whether the color change was permanent.  He sniffed deeply, using his vampire senses to see if he could determine what the coating was.  Filtering out the scents of dead fish, salt, chlorine, human sweat and sunscreen, he could smell fresh wax.  Nick scratched at the side of the Caddy with a fingernail and was rewarded with the exposure of the original paint color.

    "Wax," Nick muttered.  "They used red wax!"  There was never a doubt in his mind as to the guilty parties.  The parking lot of the motel showed no signs of the wax being applied there--no wet spots or spilled wax.  And the only person in Ocean City with keys to the Caddy was Natalie.

    "After all," he muttered as he slipped into the driver's seat, a small smile tugging at the corners of his full lips, "she did say that it meant war when I laughed at her."

*

    Natalie and Kim were relaxing in the living room, watching the television while waiting for Nick to arrive.  From time to time Kim giggled in anticipation of Nick's reaction to the transformation that his classic car had undergone while he was asleep.

    The moment Kim heard car tires crunching across the crushed clamshells of the driveway, she was hit with another fit of hysterical giggles.

    "Quiet!"  Natalie hissed.  "We have to play it cool!"

    Nick strode quickly across the porch toward the front door.  To a certain extent he was angry and upset about what they had done to the Caddy, but he had calmed considerably upon discovering that the automotive makeover wasn't permanent.  However, he fully intended to play the part to the hilt for their benefit.  If it would have been just Natalie, he would have done it with fangs extended and eyes glowing.  However, Kim's presence limited him to mere mortal anger.  He lifted the knocker and slammed it fiercely down, careful not to dent the metal with his preternatural strength.

    Natalie answered the door, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

    "What did you do to the Caddy?"  Nick demanded.

    Natalie caught the teasing twinkle in his blue eyes and she was sure that Nick knew that it was only wax.  Still, she continued the charade.  "Me?  I didn't damage your car!  What happened?"

    "It's BROWN!"  Nick growled.

    Kim dissolved into hysterical giggles again.  "Actually, I thought that it was closer to purple."

    Nick did his best to look as menacing as he could without his fangs.  "So you two did have something to do with this!  You think vandalism of valuable property is funny!"

    Natalie giggled, and decided to give up the game. "It was only wax, Nick.  Red wax.  We didn't actually hurt the Caddy.  It'll come off, eventually."

    "I would have thought that you'd be grateful to us," Kim said.

    Nick tried to glare at her.

    "After all, we did wax your car for you.  You seem like too much of a gentleman to make such ungracious accusations against us."  Kim finished.

    "I'll thank you for waxing my car," Nick said, his blue eyes dancing with mischief as he stalked over to Kim, "once you two scrub the red off and redo it correctly.  With regular wax.  If you do that, not only will I thank you, I won't call the cops and accuse you of vandalism."

    "So we're forgiven for vandalizing the Caddy?" Natalie said.  "We promise not to do it again, as long as you don't laugh at us."

    "Forgiven."  Nick said, kissing her on the forehead.  "At least you didn't paint it pink."

    "We were going to have dinner on the boardwalk tonight," Natalie said.  "I know that you won't be able to eat anything, but would you like to come along?"

    Nick nodded.  "I ate dinner before I came here tonight.  But I'll never say no to spending some time with you."

    Kim rolled her eyes.  "Are we done being sappy now?  I'm hungry and I want to have some fun.  I spend today working hard--I spent the morning waxing a car, for which I have neither been paid nor thanked, and I spent the afternoon working on a commission."

    "We're coming," Nick said, taking Natalie's hand and following Kim out the back door.

*

    Nick parked the Caddy in one of the municipal lots, grumbling about having to pay eight dollars to park.

    Kim shrugged.  "I tried to tell you that we should have walked."

    "You were the one who claimed to be tired," Nick retorted, enjoying the teasing banter of friends for the first time in a long time.

    Natalie smiled.  "Nick, I know you can afford eight bucks to park the car.  And I appreciate you driving us here."

    "I'm in the mood for a Taylor Burger," Kim said, before taking off up the ramp that led to the boardwalk.  "Meet me at the Hamburger Construction Company if you decide to have something else."

    Nick watched Natalie's cousin disappear into the crowds of people before he asked.  "What is a 'Taylor Burger'?"

    "You're going to find out,"  Natalie said.  "Because I'm going to have dinner there too.  Kim probably figures that we're going to neck in the parking lot all night."

    "Necking doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," Nick said, turning up the charm.

    "Well, I intend to prove that we can keep our hands off each other," Natalie said.  She trotted in Kim's wake, leaving Nick standing in the middle of the parking lot.

    He promptly decided to follow Natalie, as a car honked and the lot attendant hollered at him to move.  He quickly found Kim and Natalie in a small restaurant.  Kim was munching at a sandwich that appeared to be made of a hamburger, onions, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and some greasy-looking sausage.  The aromas of meat and hot fat in the small space made him rather nauseous and he excused himself.

    After their meal, Kim and Natalie found Nick on a bench, looking at the moonlight on the ocean.  Natalie looked at him.  August in New Jersey, and he was still buttoned up to the collar, long sleeves and long pants.  Something needed to be done about his wardrobe, and quickly.

    Kim whispered to Natalie.  "How can he be comfortable dressed like that?  He may be trying to impress you, but he needs to loosen up."

    "I don't think he has any clothing that's more appropriate," Natalie replied.  "His wardrobe has always been like that.  Very formal, and usually very dark."

    Nick turned around as he heard their low voices.  He overheard the contents of their discussion, but a mortal would not have been able to understand their whispers.  "What are you two whispering about?"  His slightly wicked grin let Natalie know that he had heard every word.

    "Your wardrobe," Natalie said.  "You can't be comfortable like that, Nick.  I know you like your silk shirts, but I'm sure that it would feel good to wear something different."

    "You look completely out of place," Kim said.  "This is a summer town.  Nobody wears clothes like that here during August.  You stick out like a sore thumb."

    "What do you propose doing about that?"  Nick said, crossing his arms.  "Besides, I like this shirt."

    "It's fine for work, but you're on vacation."  Natalie said.  "As for the first part of that, there are plenty of places to fix your wardrobe right here on the boardwalk."  She tugged on Nick's hand.  He stood and allowed her to guide him toward a nearby T-shirt shop.

    Natalie held up a T-shirt for Nick's approval.  The vampire detective gulped and backed up several paces upon reading the printing.

"The person wearing this shirt is a:
genuine
badge-carrying
cop
who knows how to
HANDLE HIS GUN!"

    "Nat, you can't be serious,"  Nick croaked, his eyes wide.  "I can't wear that!"

    "Why not?  It's the truth, isn't it?"  Natalie said, teasing Nick.

    Nick squirmed.  "Isn't there something here that has less..." His voice trailed off and he made a vague hand gesture.

    "...innuendo?"  Kim put in, with a pointed look at Nick's crotch.

    Nick closed his eyes and attempted to bury his growing mixture of arousal and embarrassment that their conversation roused in him.

    "How about this one?"  Natalie's tone had changed to a more serious note, implying that she was not going to tease him this time.

    He opened his eyes and saw Natalie holding up a white T-shirt with an abstract fishlike design embroidered on the chest.  If he was going to be forced to wear a T-shirt, at least this one had a little class.  But the shirt looked rather smaller than Nick expected.

    "It's nice, Nat,"  Nick said, moving to stand beside her.  "But I think I need it a size larger."

    "It's supposed to fit you, not hang like a sack,"  Natalie said

    "I thought that it was supposed to be comfortable," Nick said, crossing his arms across his chest.  His lower lip stuck out in an expression that was as close to a pout as possible without actually being one.

    "Trust me," Natalie said.  "Do you have an old pair of jeans with you that we could cut off, or do we need to find you a pair of shorts too?"

    Nick looked at her out of the corner of his eye.  "You are not cutting up any of my pants."

    "Then we're going to have to go to another store and get you a pair of shorts,"  Natalie said as she paid for two T-shirts for Nick.

    "Can't I just wear my jeans?" Nick asked plaintively.

    "No!"  Kim and Natalie replied to his pleading in vehement harmony.

    "I thought that the two of you were going shopping," Nick said.

    "We are shopping,"  Natalie responded. "We're just doing your shopping for you.  Any way you slice it, we're still doing exactly what we said we were going to do tonight."

    Natalie dragged Nick into another clothing store, ignoring his protests.  Nick simply allowed himself to be dragged.  He knew that he could successfully resist her and avoid going shopping for clothing that he didn't want.  However, he knew that if he denied Natalie now, she would get upset with him and it would possibly spoil their developing romance.

    Kim called out to Nick and Natalie as she left them in the store.  "Meet me at the Louisiana Snowball stand when you're done!"

    "Where's that?"  Natalie yelled back to her cousin.

    "Near the theater further down!"  Kim replied without turning around.  "Look for the Strand 5 marquee."  She walked out and left the lovebirds to their own devices.

*

    Ginjer leaned back against the bar, waiting for Janette.  Perhaps Janette's meeting with Iella has revealed something about what exactly was going on in the younger vampire's mind.  Whatever was going on in Ocean City at the moment, it didn't bode well for Nicholas.

    She swirled the blood in her white jade cup.  The delicate stemmed vessel was carved in the shape of a lotus rising up on its stem.  It was a goblet fit for an emperor, but had graced the table of the concubine who had given the emperor his first son.  It was the only treasure that she had taken from her mortal life.

    Whatever was happening, Ginjer could feel the winds of change blowing through the cities, searching out the lives of others of her kind.  Janette's Nicholas was at the center of the happenings, of that Ginjer was sure.  She was sure of only one other thing.

    Janette, her friend of three centuries, still loved Nicholas.

    If Janette was to be believed, there were two contenders for Nicholas' love, and one person who would do anything to throw a wrench in the works for both of them.  Above all else, there was also Lacroix to be considered.  The elder vampire, however, seemed to be content to do nothing more than watch.

    "Mauvilla!  Chalmette!" Ginjer called out to her bartenders, a pair of identical twin sisters.  With their unique psychic bond as both twins and vampire siblings, they could communicate silently and often moved in such perfect synchronization that they seemed like two halves of a single being.

    They turned toward their boss in unison.  "You're going out," one commented.  "We'll watch the place for you,"  the other spoke, finishing the thought.

    Ginjer nodded.  "Just make sure that there aren't any brawls while I'm gone."

    They both crossed their arms, the gesture identical, although not simultaneous.  "When was the last time we let anyone fight in here?"  Chalmette asked rhetorically.  Her posture was slightly indignant.

    Ginjer smiled.  Chalmette was always the more vocal of the two, sometimes even speaking for her twin, whereas Mauvilla always seemed to do most of the thinking for the pair.  "Never, to the extent of my knowledge, which is why I'm leaving you two in charge here while I'm gone.  Don't let it become the first time."

    Mauvilla nodded curtly, and they both returned to their bartending duties, although Ginjer noticed that they were now scanning the crowds that packed the Iron Dragon a bit more frequently, looking for any sign of trouble.  Ginjer walked out, knowing that the duo of Mauvilla and Chalmette were enough to intimidate all but  the most foolhardy fledgelings and stupid humans with their strength, and those stupid enough not to respect them were usually unnerved by their psychic link.

    The air was clear after the thunderstorm of the previous night, and Ginjer decided to walk to Janette's room at the motel near the circle.  Flying for such a short distance on a clear night presented too many dangers of being seen by mortals.  She set off at a rapid pace.  Hopefully, Janette was still there in her room and had not yet left to search for Nicholas.

    Ginjer sensed that something was wrong as she approached the motel.  The parking lot was far emptier than it should have been during August, and it was too quiet.  As she drew closer, she could see the yellow tape that mortal law enforcement used to demarcate crime scenes marking off the porch in front of one of the rooms.  Ginjer quickly ran back through her memory of the telephone call that she had received from Janette upon her arrival.  Janette had said that she was staying in room 105.

    A small trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth as Ginjer gnawed her lip and looked for room 105.  Her fears were confirmed as she noticed that 105 was the number above the open door through which police officers and investigators tramped in and out.  As she looked more closely at the scene, her keen vampire eyesight allowed her to see some of the scene inside the room.  One of the beds bore a large charred spot and a pile of ashes, but nothing else had been touched by the fire.  Only a few pieces of bone and jewelry remained in the ashes to suggest that they were the remains of a human being.  Or as the case might have been, a vampire.

    Ginjer turned her face away from the sight.  The brooch in the ashes had been Janette's--a gift from her Nicholas in the Twenties.  It seemed that somehow Janette's planned meeting with Iella had gone awry--or had it?  Janette's brief venture into the mortal world had reduced her to an infant again in terms of sun tolerance and strength.  If she had forgotten and skirted the daylight too closely, it could have been an accident.

    No, Ginjer thought.  Janette isn't--wasn't--stupid enough to get caught by the sun.  She knew that her powers were reduced after Nicholas brought her back across.  She wouldn't have taken chances with the sun.  Iella must have done this to her--staked her and left her to the sun!  And all in the name of a love that she doesn't even truly possess.  Someone must warn Nick and his mortal love that Iella is near and dangerous.

*

    Natalie scanned the crowds of people below the green neon letters of the Strand 5 marquee.  Beside the old box office was a storefront that sold Louisiana Snowballs--glorified snowcones that came in 150 flavors.  She saw Kim at the counter, ordering one of the frozen creations.

    Nick, still irritable from shopping for beachwear, especially the swim trunks that Natalie had forced him to buy, ignored his companion and began reading the board that listed the flavors.  He found it difficult to imagine that mortals had really come up with 150 different flavors for an overpriced dessert that consisted of syrup poured over shaved ice.

    Natalie turned around as she heard Nick gasp and mutter under his breath, something about 'where mortals can see it'.  Before she could ask any questions, Kim rejoined them.  She was scooping up and savoring spoonfuls of a brilliant red Louisiana Snowball.

    "What flavor is it?"  Natalie asked.

    "Tiger's blood," Kim replied calmly, and stuck another spoonful into her mouth.

    Nick's eyes went wide.  He used his index finger to scoop up a chunk of Kim's frozen dessert.

   "I don't remember you asking if you could pillage my dessert,"  Kim said indignantly, accompanying her words with a poisonous glare.  Nick gave her an impish look and stuck his fingerful of rapidly melting flavored ice into his mouth.

    And immediately winced as the flavor flowed across his tongue.  He wanted to spit out the foul substance that contaminated his sensitive tongue, but he didn't dare do it in the middle of the boardwalk.  Instead, he forced himself to swallow the unpleasant mouthful.

    Natalie burst out laughing.  As soon as she recovered, she stuck out her finger and took a glob of Kim's dessert and popped it into her own mouth.

    "Mmmm..."  She murmured, just to torment Nick.  "Strawberries and coconut.  Oh, that's right, Nick, you hate coconut, don't you?"

    Kim humphed.  "I'm going to sit on that bench over there and enjoy my snowball in peace.  Since neither of you are capable of respecting other people's food, you can go for a moonlit walk on the beach while I finish."

    Natalie and Nick strolled across the quiet sand under the moonlight.  They held hands for several companionable minutes, just watching the gentle surf, before Natalie spoke.

    "You didn't actually think that they would serve a blood-flavored snowball?"  Natalie asked.

    "Well, Janette owns the Raven and she serves blood to her vampire patrons," Nick said.  "I thought..."

    "That the people running the stand might be vampires too?  But Janette isn't stupid enough to put the blood on the wine list.  Besides, even if they did make blood-flavored snowballs for their vampire patrons, Kim isn't exactly a vampire.  What made you ever think that it would taste like blood?"

    Nick shrugged and gave Natalie puppy eyes.

    "I think it's time to walk back," Natalie said.  "If Kim isn't done with her snowball by now, it's melted."

    As they approached the stairs up to the boardwalk, Nick's eyes focused on the dark space that yawned beneath the boardwalk.  He shuddered.  Natalie could feel the shudder through their linked hands.

    "What's wrong?"  Natalie asked.

    "Bad memories," Nick murmured softly.  "But it doesn't matter now."  He shook off his memories of the fight that he had had with Janette upon informing her that it would be necessary for them to be moving on again.

    "Wait," Natalie whispered, stopping him.  "You've been here before?"

    Nick nodded sharply.  "With Janette.  It was in 1904."

    "Then that was..."

    "Yes.  The woman in the portrait was Janette.  She owned Kim's house before we were forced to move on after an ...unfortunate occurrence."

    "What happened?" Natalie asked.  The anguished look in Nick's eyes nearly broke her heart.

    "A young woman fell in love with me.  She was determined to marry me.  When I went to see her mother and tell her that I could not marry her daughter, she was found murdered under the boardwalk.  It looked to all the world like I had killed her when she became too insistent on marriage."

    "Who killed her?"  Natalie asked.

    "I accused Janette of doing it--she had been jealous of the girl's intrusion into our relationship."  Nick turned and looked across the ocean.  "As it turned out, one of her father's business partners confessed to the murder a few years later.  He'd been harboring carnal intentions toward the poor girl for years and finally caught her off guard during a stroll along the seashore."

    "So you had a fight with Janette over this,"  Natalie said.

    Nick gave her a half-smile.  "Understatement of the year.  I spent the next few years avoiding Janette.  She went back to Paris, I spent some time in New York and London."

    Natalie leaned in and kissed Nick on the cheek.  Nick wound his arms around her and held her tight, cuddling her against his broad chest.

    "I promise, Nick, I won't ever leave you,"  Natalie said.  "You'll never be alone again."

    Nick kissed her forehead and looked out at the horizon over the top of her head.  I'll never let anyone harm you Natalie.  I've failed too many others whom I should have protected over the centuries.  I can't fail you.  Without you, I will walk into the sun.  His blue eyes sparkled fiercely in the silver moonlight as he mentally pledged to guard Natalie with his immortal life.

    Kim cleared her throat, breaking the spell of the moment.

    Nick fixed her with a glare of pure ice.  Kim put a fist on her hip and easily shrugged it off.  Natalie's cousin was not easily intimidated, Nick was rapidly learning.

    "Come on," Natalie said, walking slowly back toward the stairs that led up to the boardwalk.  "Kim is getting even more impatient."

    "She can wait."  Nick pulled Natalie around to face himself and kissed her on the lips, ignoring his audience.

    "Nick, even though Kim is glad that we got together, she's also decided that it's fun to tease you.  Do you really want to give her more ammunition?"

    Nick released Natalie and they walked up the stairs hand in hand.  The trio strolled along the boardwalk, taking in the ocean air and the sights.  Kim and Natalie stopped to investigate the occasional shop, but Nick remained out on the boardwalk after the first one.  He hoped that neither of them would get any more ideas about stuffing him into a T-shirt that promoted Corona beer or one of Jimmy Buffet's songs.

    "Hey, why don't we play a round of miniature golf?"  Kim said.  "Can Nick play?"

    Natalie shrugged and looked up at him.  "Well, Nick?"

    Nick looked at the immense fiberglass gorilla that loomed over the shipwreck and waterfalls that adorned the mini-golf course that advertised itself as the 'Congo Falls' on the sign above the cashier's booth.  The place was overrun by families with fairly small children, and almost everyone on the course was demonstrating terrible putting skills as they attempted to sink the brilliantly colored balls into the holes.

    Nick shrugged.  "I can putt.  If you two want to do it, I'll play."  He smiled softly as Natalie's face lit up.

    "Oh, I loved this when I was little!"  Natalie said.  "I always used to win."

    "Unless I was playing."  Kim shot back as she paid for three adult admissions.

    Nick's smile turned to a bit of a smirk as Kim and Nat turned their backs on him.  He had played more than a few rounds of golf in his eight hundred years.  It wasn't one of his favorite pastimes, but it was one of Lacroix's.  He played an occasional round with his master just so that Lacroix wouldn't become too irritable about being unable to find a partner willing to play at night.  As a result he had become quite good over the years.  It was his chance to torment Kim for once.

    He selected a putter long enough for his six-foot height, and turned to see Kim and Natalie choose the last blue and red balls from the bin on the counter, leaving him with a choice of pastel pink, Day-Glo pink, or lavender.  With a soft grumble, Nick selected one of the screaming pink golf balls.

    Unfortunately, Nick quickly learned that putting at the country club was nothing like playing miniature golf.  The designers were firm believers in making the greens lumpy in insane ways that he had never planned on.  Still, he managed to stay at least one stroke ahead of Kim for the first few holes, much to Kim's consternation.

    The next hole that confronted Nick left him convinced that the miniature golf course was designed by a sadist.  A narrow strip of green angled sharply downward, littered with rocks.  It was bordered on one side by stairs leading to the lower part of the green.  The other side was a rushing torrent of water, with no divider to stop his ball from falling in.

    Kim nudged him, grinning as she noticed his discomfited expression.  "Get on with it, Hotshot."

    Goaded by Kim's friendly barb, Nick was determined to prove that he could do it.  He aimed for the mostly-clear space along the stairs.  The Day-Glo pink ball rolled along nicely for a few feet before it picked up momentum, glanced off one of the rocks and bounced straight into the water.

    Nick watched his ball bounce along in the currents of the water.  Behind him, he heard something that sounded distinctly like a muffled snort from Kim.  The blue ball soon went tidily down the green and came to rest a few feet from the hole, while the pink ball was still bobbing along and heading under a rock that stretched across the water.  He turned and began walking down the stairs to fish the ball out of the pool near the bottom of the green.

    Kim walked down the stairs and began lining up her shot into the hole.  Nick waited for his ball to emerge from under the rock when it suddenly shot out of a hole in the side of the rock and straight into the hole in front of Kim's ball.

    Natalie burst out laughing at the looks on Nick and Kim's faces.  Nick's eyes were wide in shock at his unexpected hole in one, and Kim's jaw had dropped at the unexpected entrance of the pink ball.

    "Hotshot,"  Kim muttered at Nick, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

    Thirty minutes later, they were gathered in front of the miniature golf course, laughing together.  Nick had temporarily forgotten his brooding and had become cheerful and playful with Kim and Natalie.  As they walked back toward the lot where Nick had parked the Caddy, they chatted companionably.

    "Let's take a walk through  Playland," Natalie said.  "I haven't been in an amusement park since I was a kid, and I love to see it at night with all the lights on."

    "Sure," Kim said.  "Playland is always neat after dark with the lights on all the rides lit."

    Nick winced as they walked through the high-ceilinged arcade into Playland itself.  The sounds that were merely loud to mortals were painful to his sensitive vampiric hearing.  The hiss of pneumatics from the rides and the screams of the riders built into a piercing din that bothered even mortals.  He took Natalie's hand and slowly tuned out the sounds that assaulted his sensitive ears.  Nick watched the joy on Natalie's face as she took in the lights and softly smiled.  If she could enjoy the sights and ignore the noise, so could he.

    Kim followed the couple a few feet behind, a soft smile on her face.  She was honestly glad for Natalie.  Her cousin had finally found happiness with the handsome detective. Soon enough, Kim thought, he'll pop the question and I'll get invited to a wedding in Toronto.

    Nick looked up at the Wild Mouse ride that towered overhead, and became lost in memory of a time gone by, and another amusement park...

*

Flashback: Coney Island, 1911

    Constable Nicholas Smith was walking his beat through Coney Island.  It was early summer, and the night breezes rolling in off the water were pleasantly cool.  For now, the streets were mostly uncrowded, though the summer season would begin in a few weeks, bringing along the teeming crowds seeking refuge from the heat.

    A few drunks scattered before him as he walked down Surf Avenue, where the gates to the great amusement parks stood.  Right now, the carnival-like atmosphere was quieted as the parks prepared for the summer crowds.  The hundreds of thousands of lightbulbs that lined their otherworldly structures were dark, save for the few that lighted the way for workers repairing and readying rides and shows.

    The quiet was shattered as Nick walked past the main gate of Dreamland.  Two workers dashed out of the main gate at a full run, their faces panicked.  Nick stepped into their path and stopped them.

    "Where are you two running off to?"  Nick questioned.

    "Get the fire department!" one yelled.  "There's a fire!"

    "All right, but first tell me what exactly is going on."  Nick said

    "We were working in the Hell Gate ride,"  one of the men put in, in between heaving gasps.  "It hasn't been holding water, so the boss sent us in with some tar to seal up the seams in the channel."

    "The only light in there is from a few electric lights,"  the other said.  "I heard a little pop and breaking glass, and it went dark.  The heat from the melting tar must have broken the lightbulbs."

    "The next thing we knew, it was dark and there was fire on the ceiling.  We got out of there as fast as we could run."

    "You two come with me,"  Nick said as he walked toward the call box.  "We're going to need you to help direct the firemen when they get here."

*
 

    "Hello?  Nick?"  Kim's voice cut through his memories as she waved a hand in front of his face.  "You just made a trip into the Twilight Zone."

    "He does that a lot," Natalie said.  "You get used to it.  He gets lost in thought.  Actually I always find the look on your face when you do that quite endearing."

    Nick turned to look at her with a smile.  "Really?"  he asked.  The hope in his voice was enough to almost break her heart.

    Natalie embraced him, a hand creeping into his golden curls.  "Of course.  You always look handsome, Nick, but that faraway look on your face is so innocent."  It still amazed her the infinite damage that Lacroix had wrought on Nick's psyche, leaving him so emotionally scarred as to believe himself unworthy of love.  And yet Nick's gentle soul healed from every abuse heaped upon it without breaking.

    Nick bent down and gave Natalie a gentle kiss on the forehead, pressing his cool, velvety lips against her.

    "Nick?"  Natalie said, pushing gently at his arms.  "Um, Nick, I think Kim is heading back to the car."

    "So?"  Nick said, kissing her nose.

    "So we should probably follow her and go back to the house.  We've had dinner and done our shopping.  It's eleven, Nick.  I know that's early by your standards, but Kim has had me up all day.  And besides, Kim will be wanting to call Keith."

    Nick reluctantly released Natalie and began walking back toward the boardwalk.  "Who is Keith?"  he asked.

    "Keith is Kim's long-distance boyfriend.  He's a security guard in Las Vegas.  That's why Kim talks about going there all the time.  She isn't a big gambler--she likes the shows, and she has had a thing going on with Keith for two years now."  Natalie said.  "They're really serious.  But they have problems because of the distance.  I wish I could tell her about our problems that we had."

    "To make her feel like her problem with the distance look easier to overcome?" Nick asked.  "Or just to have a sympathetic ear to listen to your problems with me?"

    "Well, actually both,"  Natalie said.  "I mean, we lived in the same city, but we couldn't make love without risking my life.  That's a pretty big obstacle for any relationship.  It makes the two-day drive to Vegas seem a whole lot easier to overcome.  And it would be nice, just once, to actually be able to stand up and say that my boyfriend is a vampire who doesn't want to bite me."

    Nick laughed.  "In some ways, I almost think that becoming a vampire was the greatest of good luck."

    "How?"  Natalie asked, puzzled at the sudden about-face in Nick's views on his vampirism.

    Nick smiled and tilted his head to the side to look at her.  "Had Lacroix not bitten me, I would have died as a mortal in the thirteenth century.  I would probably have gone back to the Crusades and died in battle, but if I hadn't, I would have ended up married to a young noblewoman I chose on the basis of her bloodline, rather than here with you."

    "You make it sound like breeding racehorses."  Natalie scrunched up her face at the thought of Nick's passionless medieval marriage.

    Nick shrugged.  "That's a pretty accurate analogy, actually.  I was the second son of the lord of Brabant.  I was never in the direct line of succession, but if something happened to the heir, I was available.  I would have found a wife whose family held a title of some sort."

    "So your father viewed you as... a backup?"

    "It wasn't as bad as it sounds.  I was considered a whole lot more expendable than my brother, which enabled me to swear allegiance to Lord Delabarre and travel.  I saw far more than my brother ever would.  Second sons always got to have all the fun."

    "What happened to your brother?"  Natalie asked.

    "He died of a fever.  He was forty--an old man, in those days.  He sired two children, both of which died before he did."  Nick looked up at the sky as he spoke, but Natalie could tell by the distant look in his eyes that he was seeing his long-dead family.

    "I'm sorry.  It must have been so sad to see your nieces and nephews die before you."

    Nick shrugged.  "That was just how things were.  We mourned them, yes, but it was accepted as part of life.  The real reason that my nephews were mourned was because they were the last of the de Brabant line.  By that time, I was a vampire, and dead to my family."

    "What about Fleur, your sister?  Wouldn't the title pass to her husband?"

    "It would have, if she hadn't married against my brother's wishes.  She became outcast from the de Brabant family.  I still stayed in contact with her, which is why she called upon me to raise her son.  If I had been there..."

    "It would have been a moot point.  You would have become the lord of Brabant after your brother."  Natalie said.  "Actually, if Fleur and he had no surviving descendants, you're the rightful heir now, aren't you?"

    "Yes.  But it doesn't matter.  To the rest of the world, the title is dead.  I did manage to purchase the family castle about a century ago, but it's just a ruin."

    "Why don't you live there?"  Natalie asked, curious as to why Nick divorced himself from his mortal past when he wanted so badly to be human again.

    "Too many memories,"  Nick said softly.  "If I restored the castle and lived there alone, I would remember my childhood there, remember my family and the servants bustling about.  I remember it as a place of life, Natalie.  If I lived there now, it would only remind me that I've lost my very humanity."

    "But if you remember the time that you were human, it might help you cross back,"  Natalie said.  'We've seen plenty of evidence that the mind plays a significant role in what makes a vampire what it is."

    "Natalie, no man should live long enough to see the ruins of his home," Nick said, his voice haunted.  "And this is not all in my mind!  You've seen evidence of how physical it is.  The only time we had any success with a cure was with the lytovuterine, and that was because it treated the physical cause of my condition."

    "I don't know what else to try, Nick.  I've tried every drug I could think of to neutralize the vampire element in your cells, and none have worked.  I had to try another way."

    "It's all right, Nat,"  Nick said, giving her hand a squeeze.  "They are making new drugs all the time.  Once I bring you across, we'll have all the time in the world to find a cure."

    "Someday, Nick, we'll be mortal together," Natalie promised.  "Someday.  And then you can buy me a nice big house somewhere sunny, and we'll fill the house with children.  Little blond children."  She reached up to stroke Nick's silky, unruly curls.

    Nick made a sound almost like a purr and leaned into her touch.  Natalie smiled up at him and Nick had to resist the temptation to bend down and give her the most thorough kiss of her life, right there in the middle of the boardwalk for all the world to see.  Instead, he gave her hand another squeeze and continued walking toward the lot where they had parked the Caddy.

    When Nick and Natalie returned to the car, they found Kim leaning against one of the tailfins, waiting for them.  She was lazily picking at a hangnail on her right index finger and ignoring an attendant who wanted her to move the car.

    "I thought that you two were following me to the car,"  Kim said.

    "We were talking, Kim,"  Natalie said.  "After all, weren't you the one who told me that communication was important to a successful relationship?"

    "Go ahead.  Twist my words."

    Nick unlocked the car door.  Kim climbed ungracefully into the backseat as Nick tossed the keys to Natalie so that she could open the passenger door.

    "We were only discussing some things from Nick's past,"  Natalie said.  "Nick wanted to confide in me, so that I might understand more about him."

    "You know, you could have walked here a little faster," Kim said, "and finished your conversation in the car on the way home, instead of leaving me here with that freak of a parking lot attendant.  I told him ten times that I didn't have the keys to the car and that I was waiting for my friend who did.  He just kept complaining about me taking up space in his lot."

    "You could have stopped in to browse in one of the stores along the way back to the lot," Nick said.  "That way you wouldn't have had to wait so long for us to catch up with you."

    "Besides, maybe we didn't want you listening in on every word we said."  Natalie put in.

    "I would hardly consider the boardwalk the place for a private conversation,"  Kim said.  "The car is a whole lot more private."

    "When was the last time that you really listened to a conversation that someone else was having on the boardwalk?"  Nick asked.

    "Well, never.  I usually just ignore what the other people are saying."

    "Whereas you would listen in on our conversation if we talked in the car,"  Nick said as he delicately backed the large car out of the tight parking space.  "Hence why the boardwalk is more private than the car."

    "Oh, Nick, I hope that you won't mind, but Natalie and I will be busy tomorrow night,"  Kim said.  "We have tickets to see David Cassidy's concert at the Tropicana on Friday night, and we need to go shopping for new outfits to wear to the show."

    "Kim, I don't need..."  Natalie said.

    "Did you bring anything fit to wear in the presence of the most gorgeous man on the face of the earth?"  Kim asked.  "Anything decently dressy?"

    "Well, no.  Most of what I brought was just casual clothing.  Does it really matter?  It's just a casino.  They aren't going to care what we wear."

    "Of course it matters.  I got tickets for the front row.  David is going to be able to see you.  I want him to notice me."  Kim said.  "I am going to go shopping for a new outfit, and I don't think you want to look like a beachcomber in front of him, do you?"

    "David Cassidy?"  Nick asked as he turned onto Ocean Avenue.  "You're going to see David Cassidy?"

    "Why not?  He's doing a concert at the Tropicana up in Atlantic City."  Kim said defensively.  "I thought that David would be just the thing to get Natalie's mind off you for a couple of hours at least."

    "I'm just surprised that he's still performing live.  I thought that he was going to quit touring and concentrate on writing and recording his own albums."  Nick said, trying to placate Kim.

    "For your information, he is still a very handsome man.  Why is it that everyone still perceives him as a washed-up teen idol when he is really a very talented performer who loves to entertain?"  Kim said.

    "I didn't say anything against him,"  Nick said, realizing that he had unintentionally dug himself a nice deep hole to get out of.  "I'm just surprised that you're a big fan, and that you got Natalie to go along with it."

    "What the heck did you mean by that, you big lug?"  Natalie said, and socked Nick lightly in his convenient shoulder.  " I can remember when the Partridge Family was on the air.  I'm not that young.  Or did you think that I had too much sense to ever engage in a little drooling over a cute teen idol?"

    "All right, you win.  There's nothing wrong with going to a David Cassidy concert.  If you would like, I can give you a ride there on Friday night.  If the show is at eight, it should be dark enough for me to be able to be out and about for an hour before."

    "That's all right, you don't have to do that for me,"  Natalie said.

    "No problem.  Besides, if I can't see you tomorrow night because you're shopping, and if I don't give you a ride to the Tropicana, I won't get to see you again until Saturday."  Nick said.  "I'm glad to do it for you."

    Kim leaned forward from the backseat and tapped Nick on the shoulder.  "You're acting like a lovesick puppy."

    Nick glared at the windshield.  "Besides, I'm going into the casino while you two are in the show.  It's not like I'm going to sit out in the car and just wait for you."

    "Ah, so you do have more ulterior motives besides just spending time in my company,"  Natalie said.

    "Driving you to the Tropicana involves more than just spending time with you.  It involves spending time with her,"  Nick said, pointedly referring to Kim.

    "It's so wonderful to be appreciated,"  Kim drawled.  "You bring out the best in me, Detective Knight."

    "If this is her best, I'd hate to see her worst,"  Nick muttered, intending for only Natalie to hear.

    Nat shook her head, suppressing a grin.  "Kim only teases people that she considers to be friends.  Consider yourself lucky, Nick, that you're considered a friend."

    "I can hear you,"  Kim said as she leaned back against the seat.

*

    Nick stretched out on his bed in the motel.  He wasn't sure what had triggered his flashback at Playland.  He supposed that it had been the proximity to the carnival-style rides, some of which hadn't changed all that much from the days of the great Coney Island amusement parks.

    He turned on the television.  A special on rollercoasters and theme parks was on the Discovery Channel.  Last night, it had been documentaries on European historical sites.  Irritably, he punched the off button on the remote, silencing the television.  There were few things that could stir emotions for a vampire quite as deeply as a large fire.  It was the one thing that Nick feared above all else.  Fire could destroy a vampire.  And the deeper the emotions surrounding the event, the stronger the memory was.  In Nick's case, the memory of the Dreamland fire was scorched so deeply in his mind that he could literally relive it.  He remembered not only the sights and sounds, but also the smells and the textures of everything that he touched.

*

Flashback:  Coney Island, 1911

    By the time that Nick returned to the main gate of Dreamland, the fire had spread.  The fire crews had arrived as quickly as possible, but were having difficulty fighting the fire due to the wind and the lack of pressure in the pipes.  The tower was burning now, and attracting attention for miles around.

    Nicholas was forced to return his attention to the mob of people gawking at the sight.  He was helping his fellow officers hold back the crowd so that the firemen could work unimpeded.  As the crowd looked on, the tower collapsed, landing on nearby buildings.

    A nearby man moaned in dismay.  "That's the animal arena!  There are still animals in there!"  Nick looked over at him.  The man had several caged leopards near him, and was clearly one one of the animal trainers.

    Several minutes later, something bounded out of one of the gates of the park.  A lion had escaped from the burning arena.  Bits of fire dripped from its mane and it roared in agony as it leaped out from beneath the wings of the angel that overarched the door to the Creation cyclorama.

    "Black Prince!"  The animal trainer cried, recognizing the big cat.

    The animal ran past the firefighters, even as Nick and the other policemen drew their guns and fired at it, trying to put the beast out of its misery.  Instead, it ran up into the entrance to the 'Rocky Road to Dublin' rollercoaster and climbed the track.  Bits of fire fell from its mane.

    Several policemen followed the lion up into the dark recesses of the partially enclosed rollercoaster, afraid that the fire might spread.  Nick remained behind, trying desperately to control the crowd.  In a few moments, Black Prince emerged on top of one of the hills in the coaster.  The wind fanned the embers in his mane, turning them into flames for a moment.

    There was a strange light in the majestic animal's eyes.  Desperation and adrenaline filled it, and it roared defiance at the heavens for a moment.  Nick felt a chill run down his spine.  Moments later, still more shots rang out, and at last Black Prince collapsed.  The body was carried down, and one of the other officers called for an ax.  He split open the lion's skull, revealing that it had been riddled with bullets before the animal had died.

    Nick turned away in disgust.

*

    Nick sat upright, eyes wide.  Bloody beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.  Even by vampire standards, they were icy cold.  He shook his head to clear the memories that still rang against his skull.  He inhaled deeply, taking in the faintly dusty aroma of the wind and the tang of salt on the air.  The scents cleared away the remembered smells of smoke and charred hair.  In the rooms around him, a few people were talking quietly.

    The black silk his pajamas stuck to his sweaty skin.  Nick pulled the garments off, and threw them into a plastic bag that had been left on the floor.  He stalked into the bathroom, soaked a washcloth in warm water and sponged himself down.  As his skin dried, Nick began to feel better.  He rinsed the pink tint out of the washcloth and left it on the towel bar to dry before digging into his bag and pulling out his robe.  He fished out the book that he had been reading  before he left Toronto and did his best to keep his mind off of Natalie and his disturbing flashback.

*

    "It was rather rude of you to tell Nick that he couldn't come along with us to the mall,"  Natalie said, as Kim pulled the car out of the parking lot at the Clam Bar.

    "It wasn't rude.  He physically can't.  You were the one who told me that he was phototropic."  Kim gestured at the still-sunny sky.  "He can't exactly go outside now, can he?"

    "We could have waited for the sun to go down," Natalie said.

    "You actually wanted to bring him along to the mall?"  Kim said.  "Men and malls do not mix well.  You've got it bad for him.  It will do you some good to get away from him for a bit, even if the two of you have kissed and made up now."

    "He's going to miss me.  He only came to Ocean City to try to find me."

    "Natalie, you turn into a pile of quivering mush around that man when he gives you puppydog eyes.  You need to assert your independence a bit!"  Kim said.  "If he was here, you would judge every outfit by whether or not he likes it.  And might I remind you that you will not be choosing this outfit for the benefit of Nicholas Knight!"

    "Why not?  The only male that I really want to impress is Nick.  I'm only going to one David Cassidy concert, and besides, David is married.  It's not like he's just going to turn to me in the middle of the show and say, 'Hey baby, forget my wife.  Let me take you away from your dull life.'  He loves his wife, or so you keep telling me."

    "Nick?"  Kim said, rolling her eyes.  "That man would be impressed even if you were wearing a sack.  He won't mind, as long as it's an attractive outfit."

    Natalie gave a small smile.  She had a pretty good idea of what turned Nick on, ever since that murder at the Renaissance Fair.

*

Flashback: Toronto, June 1993

    "Cohen has been doing nothing but treat us like rookies since we transferred."  Schanke complained.

    Natalie could hear the partners easily from where she stood, carefully examining the wounds on the corpse near the small shop that sold swords and knives.  It was a warm summer night, and Nick had left the top down on the Caddy.  Schanke was clearly worked up about not receiving enough professional challenges, and his voice carried very well.

    Nick parked the Caddy on the rough gravel of the lot.  "Schank, as I recall, you were the one who volunteered us to be transferred after Jacobson and Farrell got shot in that gang bust."

    "The 96th is closer to my house,"  Schanke said.  "Man-oh-man... we had the best solve percentage in the 27th, and Cohen gives us cases that a baby could solve.  They have at least ten witnesses who saw this guy do it!"

    "Relax,"  Nick said.  "We're homicide cops.  This was a homicide.  It's our job to investigate what happened."

    "We're just here to rubber-stamp this deal,"  Schanke muttered.  "The uniforms could take care of this, and we could be investigating a serial killer instead of wasting our time."

    "Why don't you go talk to the witnesses,"  Nick said.  "Make sure that this really is an open-and-shut case."

    "Yeah, sure."  Schanke muttered.  "Guy decides that his new knife isn't sharp enough for his liking, so he goes back and sticks it in the guy who sold it to him."

    Nick strolled off toward where Natalie was overseeing a number of assistants loading up the swordsmith for his trip to the morgue.  She held up a plastic bag containing a serpentine knife, liberally smeared with blood.

    "That would be the murder weapon?"  Nick asked.

    Natalie nodded, rolling her eyes.  "Just pulled it out of the poor guy.  He was stabbed twice--the first wound penetrated the heart.  He didn't have a chance."

    "Let me guess," Nick said, standing by her side with a gentle smile curving his lips.  "Another case of  'what is this world coming to' nausea?"

    "No, actually it reminds me of feudal Japan, where the samurai were allowed to test their swords on the peasants..." Natalie said.

    "Well, this isn't Japan.  He's going to go to jail for this one,"  Nick said.

    "Nick!  Hey Nick!"  Schanke yelled.  His tone of voice was clearly disgruntled.  Evidently one of the witnesses had handed him a statement that messed up their nice, tidy case.

    Nick trotted over to the small cluster of people where Schanke was speaking to witnesses.  Natalie followed along behind him, eager to find out what was up.

    A slender young man who had been working as a strolling entertainer was speaking.  "Everyone knows that Mike Richards hated Joe."

    "Why?"  Nick asked.

    "Well, it was Joe who told the people in charge of the fair that Mike wasn't following sanitary procedures.  Mike runs the skewered chicken stand, you know.  Mike had to face a really hefty fine from the province, and money has been tight for him ever since.  And earlier today, I saw Mike talking to that guy who stabbed Joe.  They were acting really secretive.  And that class ring that he was wearing, that was Mike's."

    "You're accusing Mike Richards of hiring a hit man to kill Joseph Rica?"  Nick said.

    The witness nodded.  "And then Mike left for the afternoon, which was really unusual for him.  He took off and went to that bar just before you turn onto the festival grounds."

    "You know that you are accusing this Mike Richards of a very serious crime?"  Nick asked severely.

    "I'm not accusing anyone.  I'm just saying that he's been acting really weird today, and he didn't like Joe."  He was becoming defensive.  "Your partner asked if I had seen anything unusual, and I'm just telling you what I saw."

    "You'll have to come downtown and give us a statement,"  Nick said.  "Go with Detective Schanke."

    Natalie walked beside Nick as they left the festival grounds, strolling slowly past a shop that rented and sold period costumes.  A fanciful gown in the window caught Natalie's eye.  It was a deep red color, with a bodice that seemed designed to display its wearer's figure without being overly revealing.

    "You like it?" Nick asked softly.

    Natalie nodded.

    "It would look lovely on you,"  Nick said softly.  "Sometime we'll have to come back, under more pleasant circumstances."

*

    Natalie smiled softly, remembering.  Her birthday had been only a few weeks afterward, and she had found a bouquet of roses waiting on her desk, with a note from Nick asking her to meet him at the loft after work to celebrate her birthday.  Nick had met her at the lift door--in the garb of a 13th century knight, complete with a sword at his belt.  And then he had presented her with the red gown.  She had agreed to model it for him, and Nick had been just short of drooling when she emerged from the bathroom.  He had swept her up into an impromptu dance that reached an abrupt conclusion when Nick absently tripped on his own cape and landed on the floor in a heap.  Every year since then, she and Nick had worn their costumes to the precinct Halloween parties.  And every year, Nick looked at her with those melting, love-filled eyes...

    "Hello?  Earth to Natalie!  You're picking up that space-out thing from Nick.  We're at the mall."

    "Sorry, Kim.  It does seem to be contagious.  I never used to do that before I met him."

    "And where did your brain wander off to?  Let me guess: Nick."

    "I was just thinking about the kind of things that he likes.  I'm afraid that his favorite isn't very practical, though."

    Kim made a face.  "Do I want to know?"

    "Medieval gowns, Kim.  He practically drools when I get out my Halloween costume, even back when we weren't willing to admit how we felt about each other.  And he looks good when he dresses up as a knight too.  I'm sure we were a pretty pair at the precinct Halloween parties.  We kept insisting that we were just good friends to everybody, and then we would go and ogle each other in our costumes."

    "Medieval gowns,"  Kim said, a note of disbelief in her voice.  "Isn't he taking that whole Knight thing a bit too far?"

    Natalie shrugged.  "He's unusual.  Complex.."

    "Come on,"  Kim said.  "I think you need some modern supplements for your wardrobe.  I'm sure that he'll appreciate the same kind of things that David would.  After all, he is a male, even if he does have some odd fetishes that you seem to like to feed."

    Three hours later, Kim and Natalie were back in the central atrium of the mall.  Natalie had purchased an outfit that she never would have worn under ordinary circumstances.  Kim had only purchased a pair of formfitting jeans to wear and a new set of underwear from Victoria's Secret, since she planned to wear a shirt that she already had in her possession.  Natalie would never have considered herself daring enough to wear the low-necked tank top under ordinary circumstances, especially not with the tight shorts.  But Kim had encouraged her to try new outfits and she had been surprised to discover that she did look good in the outfits that Kim chose.

    Kim fished in her purse for her car keys.  "Ready to go, Nat?  Did you get everything that you need?"

    Natalie nodded.  "I've got my outfit, which will match the sandals that I brought along, and I don't need to pay a visit to the makeup counter."

    "I still say that you could do with a makeover, but if you don't want to, that's fine,"  Kim said.  "If your makeup needs spicing up before we leave for the Tropicana, I can take care of it."

    "Kim, my makeup doesn't need any of your 'spicing up'.  I like it the way it is."

    "Just remember, you aren't going to work, you're going to a concert."  Kim opened the door of the car.

    "Trust me, Kim, I do remember how to do makeup in ways other than subdued and neutral."

*

    Later that night, Natalie stretched out on her bed in a new nightgown that Kim had persuaded her to buy.  She felt silly wearing it instead of her usual cotton nightshirt, but she did have to admit that it felt lovely in the sticky heat and humidity.  It was made of white silk, only knee-length, with spaghetti straps and a low neckline.  Natalie felt ridiculous as she looked in the full-length mirror near the bed.  It was a nightgown clearly designed to gain the approval of a member of the opposite sex, even if it was cool and comfortable.

    A tap at the French doors to the balcony startled Natalie and she jumped, before turning slowly to see what was tapping at the windows.  Nick stood on the balcony, looking worried.

    Natalie walked over to the doors and opened them.  "You could have rung the doorbell,"  she said, folding her arms over her breasts, suddenly self-conscious to have Nick looking at her in the nightgown.

    Nick smiled softly and reached out to return her arms to her sides.  "You look lovely,"  he said in a husky voice, as his eyes traveled over her body.

    Natalie flushed and grabbed for her robe that she had left draped over one of the chairs.  "You still haven't answered me.  Why didn't you go to the back door?"  She wrapped the robe around herself, embarrassed that Nick had caught her in the tiny nightgown.

    "I didn't want to disturb Kim,"  Nick said softly.  "I just wanted to talk to you.  Please, Nat, don't wear that robe.  You looked lovely, though I'm sorry that I embarrassed you by turning up on your windowsill when you weren't expecting me."

    "I'm sorry.  I wasn't quite ready to wear this for you yet."

    Nick leaned in, his eyes the deep blue of storm clouds, and he kissed her.  His hands guided the robe off her shoulders as he pulled her close.  Natalie was having a hard time objecting as Nick released her lips and nibbled down her neck.  Natalie finally gathered her wits, planted her hands on his chest and shoved.  Nick stumbled back a step, with a hurt look on his face.

    "I assume that you came here for a reason other than making out,"  Natalie said, as she rearranged her robe.  "You looked upset when you came in."

    "Well, I did want to see you tonight,"  Nick said, and sat down on one of the chairs.  "But I also saw something disturbing in the newspaper."  Nick held up a local paper.

    "What's happened?"  Natalie said.  She took the paper from Nick's hand and seated herself in the other chair.  Nick had the paper folded open to show a picture and a short news blurb.  The article below the photo requested that anyone with information about the owner of the pictured brooch come to the police station.

    "Most police departments never put out a statement like this for a minor crime.  The only time we ever had to do that back in Toronto was on one occasion when we fished that body out of the lake.  You remember that, right Nat?  The woman who had been hit in the face with an iron skillet and then spent a month in the lake?  The only clue that we had to her identity was an inscribed ring."

    "So someone got mangled pretty well,"  Natalie said.  "I've never seen you get this upset over a murder before, even if it is out of your jurisdiction."

    "Nat, I had that brooch made for Janette in 1922."  Nick said softly.

    "Oh, dear.  You think that Janette is dead?"  Natalie asked.

    Nick shook his head.  "I'm not sure.  It could be that she had to leave it behind somewhere and she's being investigated as a missing person, but it's not very likely.  It's sad, but no one puts this much effort into a missing persons search.  If she was staked and left for the sun, it would look like someone killed her and torched the body.  And yesterday, I felt a wave of fear come from her.  And I haven't been able to sense her since then.  I thought that she was just blocking me out, but now I think she's dead."

    "I'm sorry, Nick.  I know that you loved her."  Natalie said.

    "I just wonder what happened.  Janette's not stupid.  She knows... knew that her tolerance for sunlight was returning to its former strength, but wasn't fully restored.  Natalie, I think there might be a hunter in the area, but I haven't felt the presence of the Enforcers."

    "Be careful, Nick."  Natalie said.  "I don't need to have you get shot down with a crossbow."

    Nick sighed.  "At least you know... if anyone is asking odd questions around town."

    Natalie nodded.  "Act ordinary and mortal."

    Nick looked through the pile of records, compact discs and tapes that surrounded the stereo.  "Kim has quite the collection,"  he said, picking up a record of Romance.  "This was never even released in this country.  I remember being in Britain when it was released."  He put it on the turntable. "I think this song describes what I'm feeling right now pretty well."

"Romance...
She danced into my life one night
Romance...
Across a crowded room she looked so right
And suddenly the whole world just stood still
I knew I had to move or I'd blow my chance
To make sweet romance...
She had the spark to set my heart on fire
Romance...
I knew she felt me burning with desire
And as I reached to ask her for her hand
She offered me a look I'll never forget
For tonight, you're mine
Darling we can take our time
Tonight I feel like letting go
And make sweet romance..."

    Nick swung Natalie into his arms and began swaying to the music.

    "Nick!"  Natalie said.  "It's a lovely song, but this isn't the best time or place."

    "Sorry,"  Nick said.  "I didn't think.  I was too absorbed in you."

    "You'd better get out of here before Kim hears us."  Natalie said.  "She's downstairs watching television, but she should be going to bed soon.  If she comes up to investigate who I'm talking to or why I'm playing with the stereo, it could be difficult to explain how you got in.  We can continue this at another time, when we have a bit more privacy."  She planted a quick kiss on Nick's cheek.

    "I could always say that I climbed the drainpipe."

    "Well, it's flattering that you would do that for me, but you haven't looked at the downspouts on this house.  Those that haven't fallen down on their own would never hold your weight."

    Nick leaned in and kissed her.  "I'll see you tomorrow,"  he said softly, before slipping out the French doors to the balcony and disappearing into the night.

*

    Ginjer landed lightly on the roof of the morgue.  She had been lucky enough to overhear two officers complaining about having to deliver the ashes from the 'Econo Lodge Murder' to the morgue.  She also knew from prior experience that the Ocean County medical examiner usually had a backlog.  If she was lucky, she could get in, collect the ashes from the storage room, and get out before anyone noticed her or decided to run tests on the ashes.  She pulled out a pair of heavy leather gloves, which would serve to prevent her from getting any splinters or leaving fingerprints.

    I owe it to Janette.  Ginjer thought. She's helped me out of tight spots several times.  This time I can repay her.  After all, a vampire is never truly dead until her ashes are spread to the four winds and returned to the earth.  Only then can her spirit leave this plane.  They appear dead, but that is only because they cannot restore themselves without careful help from someone with the proper knowledge.

    Ginjer remembered her master as she grabbed the heavy wooden sash and forced the window open and ducked into the hall.  He had been an ancient, elegant creature, one of the first of his kind.  During his centuries in China, he had spent much of his time among the herbalists and scientists of the Emperor's court.  Their knowledge and experiments had led to the discovery of herbs that could heal vampires scorched by the sun.  Experience had taught her that the herbs could even revive a vampire who had been reduced to ashes, but only in conjunction with the blood of an ancient vampire.

    I must find Lacroix.  I am old, but not old enough.  He is the only ancient immortal who would care enough about Janette to give the amount of blood that I require.

    A door labeled 'Evidence Room' loomed up before her.  Ginjer easily snapped the lock and pulled it open.  A bag of ashes labeled with the address of the Econo Lodge, a case number, and a large biohazard symbol was plainly what she was seeking.  Ginjer grabbed it and dashed back down the hallway.  She flew straight out the window and headed directly for the Iron Dragon.  From there, she could search out Lacroix.

    "He's probably feeding that Roman ego of his and staying in the high-roller suite at Caesar's Palace,"  Ginjer muttered as she flew over the marshes behind Somers Point.  As soon as she dropped her precious burden off at the Iron Dragon, she intended to head for Atlantic City.  It would be simple enough to find him--human minds were so weak.

    Ginjer touched down in a small stand of scrubby trees near the Somers Mansion and began walking toward the Iron Dragon.  The ashes were safely stowed in a canvas tote bag, with a few crumpled beach towels over the plastic bag.  She pulled the door to the club open, only to see Lacroix sitting on one of the stools at the bar, sipping a glass of bloodwine.

    "I was just going to look for you," Ginjer said.

    "Indeed."  Lacroix raised a eyebrow.  "I must say, that bag is a most interesting fashion accessory."

    "I'd rather not discuss this out here,"  Ginjer said.  "It's of a private nature.  About your family."

    "Has Nicholas been in?"  Lacroix asked.  "Buying a few cases of your finest vintage, by any chance?"  The corners of his mouth turned up in a faint smirk.

    Ginjer began walking toward the door that led to the back room and her apartments and gestured for Lacroix to follow.  "Your favorite son has not been in here.  This is about your daughter."

    "Which one?"  Lacroix asked.  "I had not thought any of them were near."

    "I suppose that she is now your grand-daughter."  Ginjer said, flipping on the lights in her chamber.  Soft lighting accentuated the Zenlike simplicity of the decor, so different from the club below, which was Goth with an Asian flair.  A small fountain trickled in the corner, and the walls bore simple Chinese ink paintings.  She seated herself on the low, padded platform that served as a bed and gestured for Lacroix to take one of the floor pillows.

    "Janette."  Lacroix said as he settled onto a cushion.

    Ginjer nodded and dumped out the contents of the canvas bag onto a low, lacquered table.  "Iella did this to her."

    Lacroix hesitantly touched the bag.  "Staked and burned?"

    Ginjer shook her head.  "I think Iella used a crossbow, and left her for the sun, but the result is the same.  The police found this among the ashes.  I managed to liberate it from their evidence locker last night.  The less reason that they have to investigate this, the better."  She dropped a small metal object on the table alongside the bag of ashes.

    "The tip of a bolt,"  Lacroix picked it up and turned it over in his hand.  "A metal head from a wooden bolt for a crossbow.  You're sure that it was Iella?"

    Ginjer nodded.  "She's been living here for nearly two years now.  The whole time she has been going on about how Nicolas de Brabant is her one true love, or about how handsome David Cassidy is."

    Lacroix made a faint snort.  "Nicholas always has had strange taste in fledgelings.  All told I thought that she came out rather well, even if she is a bit obsessive.  She fit into the Community right away and survived, which is more than can be said for most of his children.  His other fledgelings were never particularly stable."

    Ginjer narrowed her eyes.  "Obsessive is right.  She's infatuated with Nicholas, and I believe that she may have become dangerous.  Janette went to talk to her about Nicholas, and then this happened.  She probably decided to reduce the competition."

    "Are you certain?"

    "As certain as I can be.  If Iella was ever sane, she isn't anymore.  And this wasn't the work of a hunter.  I would know if there was one in town."

    "I will see to warning Nicholas,"  Lacroix said.  "What about Janette?"

    "I believe I can revive her, but only with your help,"  Ginjer said.  She took out a battered rice-paper book, filled with blocky Chinese writing.  "This is a recipe developed by my master and several Chinese herbalists.  These herbs, when steeped in blood, will heal a vampire burned by the sun.  If the blood of an ancient one is used in the recipe, it can even restore a vampire that has been reduced to ash.  You are an ancient, and also of the same line of descent as Janette."

    Lacroix nodded.  "Send someone you can trust to the high-roller suite at the Showboat in approximately an hour.  I will see to preparing a pint of my blood for you.  Will that be sufficient?"

    "That should be more than enough,"  Ginjer said.  "Once the healing has begun, human blood will suffice to complete Janette's restoration.  Mauvilla will meet you there at four.  She is my bartender, and friend to both myself and Janette."

    "I am entrusting my family to you,"  Lacroix said, his tone clearly dangerous.  "Do not fail me."

    "You have known me for half a millennium, Lacroix.  Have you ever known me to break my word?"  Ginjer said.

    "That is why I am leaving this to you now, instead of staying to observe it myself."  Lacroix said, as he left the room.

*

    "Kim, aren't you ready yet?"  Natalie yelled through the door to the second-floor bathroom.

    "No!  Natalie, we've had dinner.  Nick won't be here to pick us up until seven.  It's only six-thirty now, it isn't even dark out yet."  Kim said.  "Now let me concentrate!  I don't need to put my eyeliner on crooked because you can't be patient!"

    "My makeup is already done."  Natalie said.  "What on earth is taking you so long?"

    "Perfection is not easily attained,"  Kim replied.  "If you're done, then you didn't do a thorough enough job."

    "It's good enough,"  Natalie replied.

    "Good enough is not going to cut it, "  Kim said, pulling the door open to inspect Natalie's handiwork.

    "I feel ridiculous,"  Natalie said, gesturing at the formfitting jeans and low-necked tank top.

    "Well, you look great.  Here,"  Kim pressed a small plastic container of iridescent glitter gel into Natalie's hand before turning back to the mirror.  "Put this on.  I need to finish doing my lipstick."

    "What am I supposed to do with this?"  Natalie asked.

    "For your cleavage.  It draws attention to the important things,"  Kim said.

    "That's fine for you to say!  Your shirt doesn't even show yours.  This looks like something for teenyboppers, not women like us."  Natalie said, looking at the small container in her hand.

    "Trust me, it'll look fine.  It's nowhere near as gaudy as it looks in the container."  Kim said.  "Besides, even if you don't care about David, you do care about Nick and he's going to be giving us a ride tonight.  It should get his attention, and you should like that, at least."

    Natalie gingerly began to apply the gel to the skin revealed by her top.  "Why couldn't I have worn an ordinary T-shirt instead of this?  You're wearing a T-shirt, but you insisted that I find something sexier to wear."

    "This isn't an ordinary T-shirt, Natalie.  I got this in Las Vegas, almost two years ago."  Kim set down the lipstick and pulled at the shirt, displaying the printing on the front for Natalie.  "See?  It's from his 'At The Copa' show.  If I would have had another David Cassidy shirt that you could borrow, I would have let you wear that, but I didn't."

    Natalie sighed and returned to daubing at the glitter.

    "Nat, you have to actually put some on to get any sparkle,"  Kim said.

    Natalie reluctantly scooped up a larger blob of the gel and began rubbing it in.  "Kim, I might as well put a neon sign on my chest!"

    "There!  See, it does look good, if you put it on right,"  Kim said.  The glitter itself was transparent, and turned the color of her skin.  It looked like a light dusting of sparkles that shifted in color with the light around them.

    "Okay, you were right, it does look fine,"  Natalie admitted reluctantly.  "Now can we go downstairs and wait for Nick?"

    "Yes, I'm done,"  Kim said.  She picked up the lipstick and slipped it into her pocket.  "Did you bring your lipstick, Natalie?  We should touch it up in the ladies' room before we go into the show."

    "Kim, how on earth do you plan on smudging your lipstick in the car between here and Atlantic City?"

    "Well, you never know.  I might sneeze or something," Kim said.  "Besides, you're the one who should be worrying about smudging your lipstick before the show.  I'm sure that you will find a way to get a kiss out of Knight before we go in."

    "Point taken,"  Natalie said.  "I did put it in my bag already, though.  It's a habit--I'm used to taking my lipstick along when I go to work."

    "Uh huh,"  Kim said, with a teasing grin.  "I'll take your word for it, but I suspect that you were planning on sneaking a smooch."

    "Tell me, does that long-distance boyfriend of yours have any objections to the way that you fantasize about David Cassidy?"  Natalie asked as they walked down the broad oak staircase to the foyer.

    "Not in the least,"  Kim replied.  "He's already worked security for David on several occasions when he was promoting the Rio, and he says that David was a decent guy.  Besides, he knows that I'm never going to get more than an autograph and maybe a friendly kiss on the cheek from David."

    "That's it?  No objections at all?"  Natalie said, amazed.

    Kim shrugged.  "He drools over half the female celebrities that go through the casino anyway.  He doesn't care about David and I don't care about them."

    Natalie looked out the side window.  The other houses on the street were silhouetted against the vivid colors that sunset painted across the sky.  The power plant on the other side of the bay stood out in stark black against the electric pinks, oranges and purples of the sky.  All down the road, the shadows were deepening in the recesses of the porches and decks.  Soon, Nick would be able to leave the dark safety of his motel room.

    Kim dug out a portable CD player from somewhere and began bopping along to something with a heavy dance beat.  Natalie knew better than to ask.  It had to be David Cassidy, just singing something that Natalie had never heard before.

    A few stars had begun to peek through the darkening sky when the majestic green Cadillac pulled up on the broken shells of the driveway.  Natalie took off through the kitchen toward the back door, eager to see Nick again.  She hoped that the specter of Janette's demise would not spoil their fun on the drive to Atlantic City.  Kim followed at a more leisurely pace.

    "Hi, Nick," Kim greeted him.

    Nick gave her a quick grin before turning to Natalie and planting a big kiss on her lips by way of greeting.  "I went shopping on the boardwalk last night, and I brought you a present,"  Nick said.  "Close your eyes."

    Natalie obligingly closed her eyes.  She could hear the crunch of Nick's footsteps on the driveway as he shifted his weight.  Nick draped something cold around her neck--a necklace of some sort.

    Human or vampire, males all try to impress women with jewelry,  Natalie thought, although a stifled hoot of laughter from Kim made her very suspicious about just what Nick had brought her.

    "Open your eyes,"  Nick said.  Mischief shone in his eyes, and Kim was standing behind him, with her hand over her mouth and a similar glint in her eye.

    Natalie fished out her compact and looked in the mirror.  The sight that greeted her was not what she had expected.  Nick's taste usually ran toward traditional jewelry, and this was not the fine jewels that she had expected from him.  A string of small tan shells had been hung around her throat.

    "It's pretty, Nick,"  she said.  "But why did you pick this?"

    Kim released a hoot.  "They're puka shells!  Nick bought you a string of puka shells!"

    "Puka shells?"  Natalie said warily.

    "Yeah, like David Cassidy used to wear when he was on The Partridge Family,"  Kim said, a grin forming on her face.  "You'll blend right in with the other fans."

    "Please don't tell me you suggested this,"  Natalie said.

    "No, she didn't,"  Nick said, a soft smile on his features.  "Remember, I was around back then too, and I can remember things like that.  I thought that it would be a fun gift for you on the evening of your concert."

    Natalie put her arms around Nick's neck.  "That was sweet of you."

    "Come on, climb in,"  Nick said.  "I don't want to be blamed for it if the two of you end up late for your show.  I left the top up because I figured that you wouldn't want the wind to mess up your hair."

    "Thanks,"  Natalie said, bestowing a kiss upon Nick's cheek before climbing in after Kim.

*

    As soon as the sun sank below the horizon, Lacroix was up and about.  He opened the door leading to the balcony.  Nicholas had to be warned about Iella.  She was a threat to Nicholas' life, if Ginjer was to be believed.  And he trusted Ginjer's judgment on that matter; after all, she owned the local club and had plenty of opportunity to observe Iella's behavior.  There was no way to judge what the insane vampiress' reaction might be if she were to discover Nicholas consorting with his mortal love.

    Lacroix took to the sky with a fluid motion.  If Nicholas lost Natalie Lambert to Iella's jealousy, he would be come insufferable in his depression. His wayward son might well return to the fold, but he would be battered beyond healing, his spirit destroyed.  That was, if he didn't walk into the sun.  Lacroix knew that the death of Natalie Lambert would spur a homicidal rage in Nicholas, but it would not last.  He had been in a position to overhear Natalie's wish to be brought across, and he tolerated no threats to his children and grandchildren, even if the threats came from within the family.

    He landed easily on the second-floor walkway of the motel where Nicholas had been residing.  He could not quite fathom why his Nicholas, whose wealth was more than enough to buy several small eastern European nations, would stay in such an inelegant place.  Lacroix supposed it had something to do with his son's folly of playing at being an officer of the mortals' law enforcement.

    Upon inspection, however, it quickly became evident that Nicholas was not in his temporary place of residence.  Something had compelled him to leave immediately upon the sunset.  He had no doubt that it was the attentions of Doctor Lambert that had his Nicholas up and about so early.  Lacroix returned to the sky, flying swiftly toward the house that had once sheltered his two favorite children and now belonged to Natalie's cousin.

    The porch provided an easy landing spot for the ancient vampire.  He was startled to discover that the house was almost completely dark.  A small lamp had been left on by the rear door, probably so that the returning women would not have to fumble to get the key in the lock, but the house was clearly uninhabited.  Natalie Lambert and Kimberly Antilles had gone out for the evening, and Nicholas most likely was with them.  No mortal heartbeats could be heard from the old house.

    Lacroix flew up to a second-floor window that had been left partially open for ventilation.  It was in a site that would be inaccessible to a mortal intent upon breaking and entering, but was ridiculously easy to enter for a creature that could fly.  He quickly entered a room that turned out to be the second-floor bathroom.  When Nicholas and Natalie found out about his actions, he was sure that they would be incensed, but he hoped that they would understand the urgency of the situation.

    Iella must be found.  Natalie must stay somewhere safe--Ginjer and her two Amazon bartenders are more than capable of protecting her from Iella.  While Nicholas' mortal love is under their protection, Nicholas and I must deal with this upstart fledgeling.  Her foolish actions put us all at risk, Lacroix thought.  I have no wish to deal with the Enforcers right now.

    Lacroix sorted through a pile of papers on the kitchen counter, hoping for some clue as to where they might have gone.  Most were of no interest, just utility bills and receipts from purchases at the grocery store.  One, though, stood out.  It was a receipt for the sale of two tickets to David Cassidy's concert at the Tropicana.  The date and time of the show was printed on the receipt alongside of the cost of the tickets--it was tonight.

    A very cold, very mortal sensation whose name he could barely remember coiled around Lacroix's heart.  Nicholas had discovered Iella at a David Cassidy concert, had brought her across after the show.  Iella had been a groupie.  Ginjer said that she had never given up her obsession with the teen idol.  Without a doubt, Iella would be there.  If she encountered Natalie and sensed the taint of Nicholas' prior disastrous lovemaking on Natalie...

    For the first time in centuries, Lacroix felt fear.  A disaster was brewing on the New Jersey coast, one that could destroy his child and bring the Enforcers in to exercise their ruthless form of justice, not only upon those who violated the Code, but also upon those unfortunate enough to be found close by.  He would be held accountable if Iella lost control of her rage in a crowded showroom, in the presence of a mortal entertainer popular enough to be missed.

*

    Iella preened in front of the full-length mirror that rested in the corner of the small bedroom.  She had awakened two hours before sunset to ensure that she would have enough time to bathe and dress properly to do this most special of occasions justice.  The small boombox on the nightstand played back a taped copy of David's solo debut album, one that Iella had treasured for most of her life.  She had known that he was a spectacular singer from his work on the Partridge Family albums, but it had been Cherish that had secured his place in her heart for all time.

    Humming along with the music, Iella began to apply her makeup.  Every trick that she had learned from the best makeup artists in New York and Los Angeles was put to use.  Tonight, nothing short of her absolute best would do, if she was to succeed in rendering eternal the talent and beauty of David Cassidy.

"Could it be forever
Or is my mind just ramblin' on
I touched you once and I kissed you once
Now I feel like you're mine
Well, I feel like you're mine
And I see in your face
I'm not wrong to have these feelings
Well, I feel like you're mine
And I've never known a time before
That's had so many meanings.
Could it be forever
Or am I just wasting time
Well, I don't think so
'Cause you let me know
You make me feel like you're mine
Well, I can't remember
When the feelings have been stronger
And all I know is I can't let go
I want to be with you
I want to be with you
Just a little while longer
All my feelings come together
All of me is here
Never known when I felt better
Because I know this won't disappear..."

    Iella sang along, softly, careful not to move her lips too much and smudge her lipstick as she applied it.  The words called out to her, begging her for the gift that only she could give.  It had taken her twenty-five years to work up her courage to give David Cassidy the gift that he cried out for.

    "Oh, yes, David, this truly will be forever."  Iella said as she returned her lipstick to the box on the dresser.

    She inspected her appearance one last time in the mirror.  Any flaws in her face had been covered by the careful perfection of her makeup.  The tiny shorts and satin blouse with its low neckline showed off her eternally young figure to its best advantage.  After all, long ago David had given an interview to 16 Magazine, in which he had stated that hot pants were one of his all-time favorite fashions for women.  There was no way that she would not catch his eye.

    Flying would be the fastest way to get to the Tropicana, but it's still early, and this showroom has reserved seating.  It won't be worth it for me to get there much earlier than is absolutely necessary for me to case the showroom and find out where the dressing rooms are.  Iella thought.  I'm going to take the car.  That way, the wind from flying won't mess up my hair after I spent forty-five minutes doing it.

    Iella turned to face the boombox on the table.  "I'll have the real thing soon enough,"  she whispered, almost reverently, as she turned it off and flipped the light switch off.

    A warm wind was blowing in from the bays and marshes and it gently tugged at Iella's hair as she climbed into her car.  In her eagerness, she backed out of the driveway at a speed that was certainly less than advisable, sending the loose gravel of the driveway clattering against the body of the car and the foundation of the cottage.

    Tonight, at last, she would have David Cassidy, not only in body, but in soul.  The thought excited Iella.  And after David, her true beloved, was hers, that unfaithful Nicholas would soon follow.  The two most gorgeous men on the face of the earth, her master and her idol, would soon bow at her feet.

*

    Nick drove down Ventnor Avenue, hoping that the concert would allow Kim to burn off some of the nervous energy that seemed to have filled her.  Kim had even forgotten to tease him, and was now fidgeting with such energy that she was actually bouncing the back of the Caddy.

    Natalie could practically feel the nervous energy radiating off her cousin as they passed the knot of unsavory-looking characters hovering around outside one of Margate's 24-hour liquor emporiums.  The endless procession of streetlights down Ventnor Avenue seemed to stretch off into infinity, and the city had an almost hypnotic effect.  Not to mention, Kim's excitement was becoming contagious.  The thought of actually seeing David Cassidy strut his stuff in the flesh was becoming more and more exciting by the moment.

    I thought that Kim and Natalie were old enough to have outgrown this kind of hysteria, Nick thought.  He stole a glance over at Natalie, who was staring out the windshield with a dreamy look in her eyes.  I could understand this kind of behavior coming from those preteen girls all those years ago, but I suppose they never do grow completely out of it.  It must be some strange effect that David Cassidy has on women.

    Fortunately for Nick, the Tropicana was on the southern edge of Atlantic City.  With a sigh of relief, he parked the Caddy in a small lot near the section of the building that housed the casino and showroom.

    Nick looked up at the marquee on the outside of the building. "David Cassidy, live in concert,"  he read.  Natalie cheered and Kim made a squeaky noise.

    "I can't wait!"  Kim said, looking at her watch.  "Thirty minutes until showtime, Nat!  And you're going to love it!"

    "I hope this wears off soon," Nick muttered.  "I've never seen Natalie act like this before..."  He strode off in the direction of the door and beckoned for Natalie and Kim to follow him.

    Once inside, Nick asked directions from a nearby security guard, who instructed him to take an elevator up to the third floor for the showroom.  When they reached the third floor, Kim and Natalie vanished into the ladies' room to touch up their makeup.  Nick leaned against the wall and waited for them to re-emerge.  Other women lined up to enter the showroom, filling the hallway.  Their voices were hitting pitches very similar to what he had been hearing from Natalie and Kim all evening.  Evidently, it was a universal effect that David Cassidy seemed to have upon women over thirty years old.

    And also upon several younger members of the sex, Nick mused, as he watched a red-haired young woman no more than nineteen years old drag her mother along behind her.  It's pretty obvious who the fan is there, and it's not who I expected it to be.  His sex appeal must still be really strong.  That girl looks like a deer in the headlights, she's so excited about seeing David Cassidy!

    Natalie and Kim emerged from the ladies' room, their hair fixed and makeup touched up.  Nick pointed toward the crowd gathering around the doors to the showroom.

    "Looks like that's where you need to go."  Nick said.  "I'll meet you back here, in front of the elevators, at 9:30.  Oh, and I noticed that they were selling T-shirts over there.  I'll give you enough to get one for each of you.  Nat, you deserve a momento of this night, and I can't leave you out, Kim."

    Nick pressed a small roll of bills into Natalie's hand and kissed her forehead.

    "See ya!" Kim called out as they dashed over to join the crowds entering the showroom.

    Nick smiled softly at the bounce in Nat's step as she followed her cousin.  This trip has been good for her.  She had been so sad and depressed since that night.  I suppose that I should thank Lacroix for his actions on our behalf.  It was he who carried Natalie's body outside and called the paramedics, and it was he who stayed with me until I knew that she would survive.  Nick shook off his musings and headed down the escalator to the casino on the floor below.  Eight centuries of experience had left him wise to most of the tricks of the casinos, and he was more than capable of ending up with a tidy profit by the end of the night.

*

    Kim dragged Natalie over to the table where the T-shirts and souvenir programs were being sold.  One had been hung on the wall behind the table, displaying the screen print on the back of the shirt.  Around an image of David playing his guitar, the words "David Cassidy Rocked My World" were printed.

    "Two shirts, please,"  Natalie said, not trusting that her cousin wouldn't say something completely loopy, although she seemed to have gone mute.  Natalie was beginning to wonder how Kim ever managed by herself on her trips to Las Vegas to see David Cassidy, although she supposed that Kim probably hooked up with a group of fellow fans and they kept each other on track.  Natalie handed over the money that Nick had given her and received two rolled-up shirts.

    Kim seemed to have forgotten how to walk and was developing a dreamy look in her eyes.  Natalie grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the door, showing her tickets to the usher, who directed them to go up to the front row.  Once seated, Natalie and Kim found themselves in between a nervous-looking nineteen-year-old fan and a large group of older fans.

    Natalie could hear the sounds of the band and stage crew getting ready behind the curtain.  Her own excitement came bubbling back.  Like most of the others who had managed to get front-row seats, she was having a hard time sitting still.  When the house lights lowered, she was more than ready for David to come out and start the show.  However, before David began the show--and it was already five after eight--they ran a short film about several performers who would be coming to the showroom in the near future on a screen off to one side of the stage.  Natalie could hear the women behind her in the cavernous showroom fidgeting from impatience.

    At last Natalie and Kim could hear the band begin to play, as the curtain was opened.  Natalie sneaked a quick look at Kim's face.  Her cousin looked completely awestruck and as David bounded out onto the stage singing 'I Can Feel Your Heartbeat', she released a scream that practically deafened Natalie.

    Despite all of her complaints about going to see David Cassidy with her cousin, Natalie had to admit that Kim had been right all along.  He did look damn good in those skintight black jeans.

*

    Lacroix soared above the parking lots around the Tropicana.  The hotel and casino was an absolutely enormous complex, and he hoped that he was right that Nicholas and his mortal lover were here.  Otherwise, he would end up searching a lot of ground with no results.

    A quick look at one of the nearby parking lots confirmed the clue that he had gotten from the receipt that Natalie and Kim had left behind.  Nicholas' car was parked in the lot, although its paint seemed to have undergone a most interesting transformation to a color somewhere between purple and brown.  Lacroix smiled.  While he did believe that the car was a ridiculous piece of mortal folly, it did make it much easier to locate Nicholas, especially in places like this, where the sheer volume of mortals around made it difficult to trace him with the bond.  A second car parked nearby only confirmed his suspicions.  Like her master, Iella clung to her car.  The vibrant orange Terino stood out like a beacon.

    On foot now, Lacroix turned to the entrance to the casino.  Nicholas would most likely be inside the casino while waiting for his lady to return from the show.  A quick check to his bond with Nicholas confirmed that Nicholas was inside the building.

    He could have gone into the concert with Doctor Lambert and her cousin, but I doubt it, Lacroix thought.  Nicholas almost certainly got his fill of that saccharine music a lifetime ago, when he insisted upon being a security guard.  He'll be in the casino.

    Lacroix wandered the casino floor, looking for Nicholas.  A few other vampires were in the casino, including one female working as a cocktail waitress, but they paid him no attention.  He finally found Nicholas, in a crowd gathered around the roulette wheel.  Lacroix tapped Nicholas on the shoulder.

    Nick whirled around, and  shock flitted across his features at the sight of his master.  "Lacroix!"  Nick breathed.  "Why are you here?"

    "I came looking for you, my son,"  Lacroix said.  "I've received some disturbing news about Janette, and it will affect you as well."  Lacroix delved into his bond with Nicholas, and through it he could sense the fluctuations of Iella's presence.  She was inside the same building, otherwise he would not have been able to sense her at all.  Iella had to be in the showroom.

    Nick turned away from the table and followed his master.  "Janette is dead, then?"  Nick said, his voice too low for anyone without vampiric hearing to detect.

    Lacroix shook his head.  "Janette's friend Ginjer is attempting to revive her.  But Ginjer warned me about something else.  She has reason to believe that Janette was murdered because of her connection to you."

    "Who would do something like that to Janette?"  Nick said.  "She has always been well-respected within the community, and there isn't anyone carrying a grudge against me right now."

    "Iella,"  Lacroix said grimly.  "Janette was shot through the heart with a crossbow and left before an open window.  I discovered that her jewelry was rifled--a necklace bearing a cameo portrait of you was taken from her bags that Ginjer had taken from the motel room.  Only that token, and none of the more valuable jewels."

    "Iella,"  Nick breathed.  "But I forced her to move on and leave us!  She was jealous of Janette years ago, and she especially coveted that pendant.  She thought that I had pledged my love to her when I brought her across when I was only trying to do her a kindness and give her the ability to reach her dreams.  I thought that I had finally convinced her that I was not interested.  I had no idea that she had returned to New Jersey."

    "According to Ginjer, she has been living in Asbury Park for several years now, along with a number of other members of the Community.  The town is deserted enough that their activities go unremarked.  The mortals who do live there often keep hours and habits that are still farther removed from mortal norms than ours.  In short, a near paradise for our kind."

    "But Iella never hurt anyone.  I knew that she had a tendency to become obsessed, and that she fixated on me for a time.  But I thought that once I told her that I was not interested, she would move on.  Why would she attack Janette now?"

    Lacroix nodded.  "It is Ginjer's belief that Iella's mind has twisted enough to become dangerous.  She suspects that Iella attempted to kill Janette to reduce the competition for your affections."

    "Natalie..." Nick breathed, and looked upwards, toward the location of the showroom.  "Natalie is in danger!  If Iella is in the area, then she must have known about the concert!"

    "Calm yourself,"  Lacroix said, placing his hand on Nick's arm.  "Iella cannot do anything during the concert, while she is surrounded by mortals.  As long as you meet Doctor Lambert immediately after it is over, she will be safe."

    "But what about Iella?  If she has gone as crazy as you say, Natalie will be in danger whenever she is alone at night!"  Nick said.

    "Ginjer can protect your Natalie while you deal with Iella.  As long as Ginjer protects your mortal lady, Iella will not be able to harm her."  Lacroix said.

    "I had better get upstairs and wait for them,"  Nick said.  "But how do you propose that I get Natalie to the Iron Dragon?"

    "It's a nightclub, Nicholas,"  Lacroix said, his tone slightly mocking.  "I'm sure you can think of some reason to take a woman there."

    Nick nodded.  "Do you know where Iella has been living?"

    "I do not, but Ginjer does.  You'll see her when you stop at the Iron Dragon."  Lacroix looked toward the escalator that led up to the showroom.  "I suggest that you get upstairs.  I believe that the concert will be over in a few minutes."

    Nick bolted for the escalator.

*

    Natalie and Kim were in the midst of a mob of women crowded around the stage.  Every woman in the showroom had been up and dancing from the moment that David Cassidy had begun to sing 'I Think I Love You'.  Most of them had ended up crowded as closely as possible around the stage.  Many of them were trying to reach up and catch his attention so that they could touch his hand.

    Natalie's toes were getting stepped on, but she barely noticed.  She was still amazed by the hysteria that David Cassidy could still create among his fans.  She watched with amazement as Kim joined the throng of women striving to touch his hand.  The security guards were almost totally overwhelmed by the crowd.

    Just for a moment, a strange sensation tingled at the back of her mind.  It was the strange sixth sense that she had developed after being bitten by Nick, the same sense that warned her when Nick was approaching.  She supposed that it was a consequence of nearly being drained.  She had picked up the vampiric ability to sense others of their own kind from Nick's bite.  Although so far it was a weak sense; it only seemed to register when Nick or Lacroix were nearby.  The tingle from Lacroix was weak, so she had assumed that the extra sense could only detect vampires in Nick's immediate bloodline.

    Natalie shook her head.  Nick was close by.  He had probably just left the casino and come upstairs to wait outside the showroom.  The change in his proximity was certainly what was triggering the sense of his presence.  David left the stage, but the two backing singers began encouraging the audience to chant for David to return.  Kim was alongside Natalie now, chanting David's name along with the women all around them.

    A tall blond, just to Natalie's right suddenly turned and looked her in the eye.  She was another of the young fans, who looked to be in her early twenties.  Just as quickly, her face went impassive and she returned her attention to the stage.  David returned and began to sing 'Cry', to loud cheers.

    There was something disturbing in her eyes, Natalie decided.  She looked almost like she was taking some sort of drugs before the show, but her gaze was too sober for that.  She looked distant, almost like she was looking straight through me.  Those eyes were hard, and older than they should have been.

    David swung into his final encore, 'Hollywood Nights' to thunderous applause and cheers from the fans filling the showroom.  Kim reappeared at Natalie's side and pulled her forward into the crush of women vying for David's attention.  Before Natalie could protest, Kim had grabbed her hand and thrust it up into the air.

    In an instant, Natalie's eyes locked with the rich hazel of David Cassidy's.  The singer's steady gaze sent a shiver straight through Natalie, knocking all thoughts about the strange young blond woman out of her head.  Sweaty fingers brushed against Natalie's hand, and David was gone.  Natalie was left breathless and rather weak in the knees.  David finished the song and then disappeared offstage.

    As the house lights came up, Kim leaned in close to Natalie.  "Do you understand now?"  She asked.

    Natalie nodded.  She had a feeling that she was wearing the same shell-shocked expression as the teenage fan who had been sitting next to her during the show.  Her nod got a knowing smile from Kim, who seemed to understand how David had melted her insides by simply looking at her.  What she felt when Nick looked at her with those love-filled eyes was a gentle heat that turned her to mush; David's gaze had been like a bolt of lightning.

    Suddenly, Natalie noticed the blond woman who had looked at her so strangely during 'Cry'.  She was speaking to a security guard by a door that had to lead backstage.  It probably didn't look extraordinary to Kim, since fans tried to get backstage all the time.  But Natalie noticed that the woman held a strange posture that was almost imperious, and Natalie began dragging Kim over to the stage door.

    "Oh no,"  Kim said, trying to put the brakes on.  "I don't think we're going to get to meet David at this show, Nat.  I know you just discovered how great he was, but they aren't going to let her in, and they won't let you in either..."

    Kim's voice trailed off as the guard moved toward the door and opened it, allowing the blond to enter.  Natalie noted the glazed look to the man's eyes, recognizing it as the aftereffect of vampire hypnosis.  She redoubled her efforts to reach the door.

    So she is a vampire after all!  Natalie thought.  I wonder why she was looking at me.  Maybe she mistook me for one of her friends and was checking to see if I really was a vampire.

    Natalie easily walked around the still-hypnotized guard and pulled open the stage door.  It opened onto a corridor with white-painted concrete block walls and harsh fluorescent lights.  Kim was following in her wake, evidently still amazed that Natalie had gained access to the backstage area so easily.

    There were a few dressing rooms, the doors of which stood open.  Stage crew also roamed the hall, but seemed to be ignoring outsiders.  Natalie was amazed that they had yet to be detected and stopped, but she supposed that the crew and band had other things on their minds.  Like maybe a touch of vampire mind-whammy.

*

    Nick was leaning against the wall outside the showroom.  He had a clear view of the doors to the showroom.  As he waited he delved into the blood bond that had formed between himself and Natalie after his disastrous attempt at vampire lovemaking.  Since their reconciliation a few days earlier, the bond had deepened considerably, allowing him to sense emotions and occasional images from her.

    The groups of women leaving the showroom had thinned considerably, but there was still no sign of Natalie or Kim.  Nick blocked out the noises and closed his eyes, sending himself into a meditative state where he could sink deeply into the bond and pick up images.  He caught a flash of white walls and harsh fluorescent lights, and Kim's puzzled face darted through the vision.  Worried, Nick no longer focused on the images and instead traced Natalie's location.  She was moving quickly, somewhere on the other side of the showroom.  He was receiving no sense of danger or fear, but excitement and a tinge of curiosity.

    Nick's eyes snapped open.  If Iella has somehow gotten herself into David Cassidy's entourage, she would have access to the backstage area.  All that she would have to do is offer Natalie and Kim the opportunity to meet Cassidy and it would be easy enough for her to lure them away from the safety of the crowd.  From there, it would be easy enough to get them alone.

    Nick ran over to the door and stuck his head into the showroom.  A quick (and false) explanation backed by a little bit of hypnotic suggestion got him past the ushers and into the showroom.  A few of the slower-moving groups of women still milled about, drifting slowly toward the doors and chatting about David Cassidy.  Off to one side of the stage was a door that had to lead to the backstage area, and it was slightly ajar as though it hadn't closed properly.  The security guard who had been watching the door, which should have been locked, bore a distinctly glazed look.

    I was wrong, Nick thought.  Iella must have been the audience, and she 'whammied' her way backstage.  She always did seem to be especially strong in that particular ability.  A month after being brought across, she had the hypnotic control of a vampire a century old.  Getting to Cassidy will be easy as pie for her.  Natalie is smart enough to know how to recognize and use the hypnotic state--they must have followed Iella backstage, trying to meet with Cassidy as well.  But she doesn't know the truth about Iella.

    Nick pulled the door open and stepped through.  Natalie and Kim were looking in a dressing room toward the end of the hallway.  Several members of the stage crew were roaming idly around, showing the aftereffects of Iella's hypnotic power.  She always had the talent of controlling a number of mortal minds, just enough to prevent them from noticing anything out of the ordinary for a short time.

    A shriek from Natalie spurred Nick into action and he tore down the hall at his full vampiric speed.  He stopped behind Natalie and Kim and looked through the door into the dressing room.  The room was small, holding nothing more than a couch and a well-lit vanity.  It was a basic theatrical dressing room that might be in any theater or showroom.

    Except for the scene playing out on the couch.

    A youthful-looking blond vampiress was laying on the couch, her arms around David Cassidy, who lay still.  His eyes stared straight up into the golden eyes and extended fangs of the vampire who held him.  Iella was hissing, her fangs bared and ready to sink into the vein in Cassidy's neck.  From his unresisting posture, Nick at first thought that Iella had hypnotized her intended victim.  But then Cassidy moved, his eyes flicking over the intruders.

    A sick feeling welled up in Nick's stomach.  "Iella, no!"  Nick shouted as he realized that Iella had seduced David Cassidy with the promise to bring him across.

    Iella looked up, her eyes turning from golden to enraged red.  "You!"  she hissed.  "How do you plan to stop me from taking what I've always wanted."

    "I'm going to distract her.  You try to get Cassidy away from her."  Nick whispered to Natalie as he took to the air in a quick burst of flight and vaulted over both Natalie and Kim.  Kim was staring at the unfolding events, eyes wide in shock.

    "By forcing you to do what is right!"  Nick shouted back, his own eyes golden and his fangs extended.  "Release him, Iella.  He is an important mortal.  He would be missed if you made him one of us.  And he has a family."

    Iella laughed as she flew over Cassidy's body to stand and face Nick..  "Right now, he is considered a C-list star, a failure.  Only his fans would miss him.  His family isn't worthy of the gifts that he has given them.  I could give him a new career with a fresh name, and allow him to have the career that his talent should have given him.  I can give him the love that he deserves."

    Natalie darted around behind Iella to reach the sofa where the singer lay.  Cassidy's eyes were widened, and clearly afraid of the events transpiring in his dressing room.

    "You want to control him,"  Nick said flatly, as he sensed the hypnotic suggestion that Iella had woven over the singer, one which would weaken his mind.  "Why not let him choose for himself?  Let your persuasion fade, and then ask him once he has a clear mind.  Let him choose whether to return home to his family, or become a vampire."

    "She offered me youth..." David muttered.  "...never knew...never knew I'd have to leave...  I want to go home... to Sue and Beau..."

    Iella whirled around, snarling.  The auburn-haired woman that she had noticed in the showroom was bending over Cassidy and helping the singer sit up. In the small dressing room with few other mortals about, the sensation that she had gotten from the woman was stronger.  The sense that this woman was somehow part of her family, just not a full vampire yet.  There was a tinge of Nick's scent on the woman, as though Nick had bitten her.

    David Cassidy retreated from Iella's presence, clearly afraid.  "No,"  he said, his voice clear and low, the practiced voice of the performer that was steady no matter what emotions raged within the speaker.  "Get away from me!"

    Iella keened in rejection and betrayal.  Her master was taking a new lover from the mortal world.  Cassidy pushed her away, throwing away eternity with her love.  She took to the air, and flew over Kim and Nick before fleeing down the hall on foot.

    "Thank God, "  Nick muttered, sitting heavily on the couch.   "That could have been really nasty."

    "Um, it's not over yet,"  Natalie said, gesturing to David Cassidy where he sat.  "He saw it all."

    Nick sighed and moved to squat in front of where Cassidy was sitting so he could make eye contact.  "Listen to me," Nick said, concentrating on David's heartbeat.  "You must forget..."

    "How can I forget?"  David burst out.  "I saw you and that woman turn into monsters!"

    Nick stared into David's eyes, blue meeting hazel.  "Knowledge of us is dangerous for any human to hold, especially one of your prominence in human society. For your own sake, you must forget what you have seen here tonight.  You never saw any vampires.  You fell asleep on the couch and it was all a dream.  Now, go to sleep."

    David Cassidy's head fell back against the couch, and he began to snore.

    Nick stood up and moved toward Kim.

    "Oh no you don't,"  Kim said.  "Keep your hypno-thing to yourself, buster!  I can handle knowing about vampires."

    "Guys, now really isn't the time to discuss this,"  Natalie said.  "We can resolve this back at the house.  Iella's hypnosis on the guards and crew should be wearing off by now.  I don't think we want to answer any questions about what happened or why  he is unconscious."

    "You're right.  Come on,"  Nick said, pulling them down the hallway and out a door at the other end that led into a hallway near the showroom.  They did their best to look casual and walked slowly back out into the casino.

    Kim remained quiet the whole way out to the car.  The numb look on her face appeared to be the result not only of discovering that Nick was a vampire but also was probably a lingering aftereffect from the concert.

    Natalie and Kim were waiting on the passenger side as Nick unlocked his door.  Natalie felt wrung out, like an old washcloth.  The concert itself had been tiring and the confrontation with the mysterious Iella--whom Nick appeared to know--had taken whatever energy she had left.

    Nick had just finished putting the top down on the Caddy when he heard the distinct sound of a vampire swooping down from above.  In the same instant, Kim screamed.  Nick looked toward the passenger side, expecting to see Lacroix standing nearby.

    "NATALIE!"  Nick roared.  She was gone.  He looked up into the sky, where a fading dot had to be Iella--and her burden.

*

    Natalie woke up, laying in a room that smelled like dust and mold had been let run rampant.  The last thing that she could remember was standing in the parking lot outside the Tropicana.  Something had hit her in the head, that she was sure of.  Natalie was laying on her back, looking up at a white plaster ceiling.  Cracks of varying sizes lined the plaster, which was yellowed with water stains in one spot.  She tried to turn her head to see more of the room, but the action sent pain jolting through her head.  She groaned.

    "You're awake,"  said a female voice.  The tone was rather cold, neither friendly nor overtly hostile.

    Natalie forced herself to sit up.  She found herself leaning against the headboard of an iron bed, the mattress and sheets of which had a strong, musty scent.  The room had only one window, which had been covered with a sheet of plywood.  The only illumination in the room came from a small oil lamp resting a warped wooden dresser.  The walls were covered in strange, dark wallpaper that had peeled away from the plaster in places.  The tall, young-looking blond woman who sat in a rocking chair near the oil lamp could only be Iella, although her face was in shadow.

    "Where am I?"  Natalie croaked.

    "Somewhere in Asbury Park," was the crisp reply that she received.  The woman stood up and lifted the oil lamp.  "This house has been abandoned for several decades now.  If you feel you can stand up, we should probably go downstairs."

    Natalie stood up, getting the idea that going downstairs wasn't optional.  She had been allowed to recover in the most comfortable facilities available and now Iella was going to want to go to a location more comfortable for her.

    "You go first,"  Iella said.  "I'll carry the lamp.  Don't get any ideas about doing anything funny.  We're going downstairs and then into the parlor."

    Natalie walked out into a corridor that was in even worse shape than the room they had just exited.  Dark wainscoting covered the bottom half of the walls.  The plastered wall above that bore water stains and plenty of places where the blue paint had peeled away to reveal the plaster beneath.

    The stairway was broad and sweeping, leading down into a grand two-story entrance hall.  The door and its sidelights and fanlight had been boarded up.  A chandelier had fallen from the ceiling to land in a mass of metal bits and smashed crystal on top of the chunks of broken plaster on the floor.  Natalie looked up at the ceiling only to discover why the chandelier had fallen.  A leak from the roof had clearly weakened the whole ceiling, causing it to fall at some point in the past.  She picked her way over the mess and into a parlor that was still in fairly good condition.

    Iella placed the lamp on a small table.  Natalie settled warily onto a threadbare red velvet divan that faced an ornate sculptured plaster fireplace.  Iella lit a match from the lamp and tossed it onto a pile of wood and kindling in the fireplace.  A bright blaze sprang up, illuminating the room still further.  The walls were painted a deep shade of maroon, and the intricate plastering around the fireplace and ceiling were still white.  Much to Natalie's dismay, she noticed a crossbow resting against the wall near the fireplace.

    I'm BAIT!  Natalie realized abruptly. Iella is using me to lure Nick here!  She thought of the tingling sensation that she could feel in the back of her head when Nick was nearby.  If that was a forerunner of the master/child bond, she might be able to warn Nick.  She began to cry out mentally, hoping that Nick might somehow understand.  Nick!  Nick, Iella has me.  I'm in an abandoned house in Asbury Park!

    "I want you to tell me something,"  Iella said.

    Natalie's eyes flew open.  The blond vampiress was staring into her eyes, her gaze angry.

    "What do you want from me?  A way that you can get revenge on Nick for ruining your fun with David Cassidy?"

    "No, nothing like that.  That will be taken care of in its own season."  Iella said.  She began to pace slowly in front of the fireplace.

    That silly mortal bitch thinks that I want revenge on Nick!  Iella thought as she paced.  She should understand better than anyone else what I want!  She has had everything that I wanted handed to her on a silver platter--he lusts after her, desires her in the way that he should have desired me.  She followed me and managed to take David Cassidy away from me as well!  She has done nothing but take away the men who should have been MINE through eternity.

    "Tell me, Natalie--that is your name, correct?"  Iella said.  "What was it like to make love to my master?"

    "Your master?"  Natalie said, in shock.  Her mind was churning.  This insane woman was one of Nick's fledgelings?

    "Oh yes, Natalie, Nicolas de Brabant was my master.  It was 1972, and he was working as a security guard for David Cassidy then.  He brought me across the night after the Steel Pier concert, when I was trying to get to David.  And that night, he pledged his love for me in the bite."  Iella's face twisted.  "But ever since then, he has only been concerned with that bitch Janette.  They both tried to control me.  Nick never gave me the love that he promised.  It was always Janette.  And now it's you.  Janette's death drove Nicholas into your arms instead of mine!"

    "You were the one who killed Janette!"  Natalie shouted.  "He thought it was a hunter!"

    "As he was supposed to,"  Iella said.  "He'll think that the same hunter did you in too.  He will arrive here to find your dead body, burning in the fireplace, with a crossbow bolt through the heart.  I'll be laying on that divan, with a bolt through my shoulder.  I should imagine that he will look at me fondly once he hears how I tried to stop the hunter from killing you and was shot and left for dead for my trouble."

    "Nick will never believe that!"  Natalie said.  "He'll know you better than that!"

    "I can be quite persuasive, even with Nick once he no longer has you and Janette alive to distract him.  Given the right tools..."  Iella trailed a hand over her breasts, "males are ridiculously easy to control.  Now, you haven't answered my question."

    "I haven't made love to Nicholas!"  Natalie burst out.

    "No?"  Iella said as she walked over to stand near the divan.  Abruptly she shoved Natalie's head to the side and fingered the twin scars that Nick had left where her neck met her shoulder.  "Then explain these... and explain why his scent intertwines with yours.  Tell me about your nights of pleasure...for if I know Nicholas, he has created a love nest for you and he uses it."

    "We were both desperate... it was a difficult night,"  Natalie said.  "None of what happened to us was anything that would happen in a romance novel!  It was cold and brutal and painful, and I was only saved by Nick's master!"

    "What?"  Iella demanded.  "He sent none of his love to you?"

    Natalie shook her head.  "I saw only images of him as the vampire, tainted by his hatred of that part of his nature, images of him in the Crusades."

    "What have you DONE TO HIM?"  Iella cried, grabbing Natalie's arm.

    Natalie wrenched away from the distraught vampire.  "I didn't do anything to him!  I felt like my life was going nowhere.  We loved each other, and I wanted him to make love to me.  Something went wrong and he lost control."

    "You made him lose control in his passion?"  Iella said,  pressing her lips together.

    In that instant, there was a screech of nails as the board over the door was pulled free.

*

    Lacroix landed beside the car.  "Nicholas, didn't I warn you?"

    "Now is NOT the time for this, Lacroix!"  Nick snarled, completely frantic.  "Either help me or get yourself lost!  I'm going after Iella."

    "Not without me, you aren't!"  Kim said, grabbing Nick's arm.

    "NO.  Kim, you are staying here.  You will only get hurt if you come along,"  Nick said, turning to Kim with his eyes glowing.

    "Nick, you don't need to protect me," Kim said, as she reached inside her collar and pulled out a small pewter crucifix on a leather string.  "I have this.  And--"  Kim reached into her bag and pulled out a gun.  "I have this.  I know it won't kill a vampire, but I'm sure that it will do some damage if I shoot in the right place."

    Nick scowled at the gun.

    "Look, I don't feel real safe walking around Atlantic City without it, okay?"  Kim said.  "I bought it to keep at home in case of a burglar or whatever, and I carry it whenever I'm in an area I don't like.  Stop scowling.  I am fully licensed to carry it, and for your information, I can hit a target at 200 yards."

    "All right,"  Nick said.  "Get in the car.  I'm not carrying you all the way to Asbury Park while I look for any sign of Iella."

    "I will be following along,"  Lacroix said, "But there is no way you are getting me into that mechanical monstrosity."  He promptly took to the air.

    Nick started the car and pulled out of his parking space.  He waited impatiently in the line at the exit, and then peeled rubber down Brighton as soon as he got out of the gate.  He had a vague idea that Asbury Park was north, but knew that to get much further north, he had to go inland.

    Kim hung on desperately.  "Nick?  Do you know where you're going?"

    "Asbury Park, Kim.  Any advice?"  Nick asked tersely.

    "We're close to the Atlantic City Expressway.  Take that to the Garden State Parkway and go north."  Kim said.  "I don't remember the exit number, but there should be signs for Asbury Park."

    Nick turned onto the bridge leading to the Atlantic City Expressway, tires squealing.  Kim had to yell now to be heard above the roar of the wind.  "Nick, how do you know Natalie's been taken to Asbury Park?"

    "I was told that Iella had a cottage there.  She probably took Natalie there to gloat before killing her.  That's why we have to hurry, Kim.  If we drive fast enough, we can save Nat."  Nick dropped the change for the toll into the collection bin and accelerated rapidly away from the tollbooth.

    Kim shook her head.  "I just hope we don't run into any of the state cops.  I don't think they'd believe that you're tearing around at ten at night because a vampire kidnapped your girlfriend."

    Nick growled something unintelligible and accelerated further.

    "Um, Nick?  I wouldn't speed up too much.  The exit for the New Jersey Turnpike is coming up."

    Nick stepped on the brakes and took the curving ramp that led to the northbound side of the New Jersey Turnpike.  As soon as he had gotten on the road, with only a few taillights visible in the distance, he accelerated again.  The big engine under the hood of the Cadillac roared and easily put out the necessary power.

    Kim reached for the radio and turned it on.  "Nick, it's going to take us awhile to get there, even if you break the speed limit into itty bitty pieces."

    "Which is precisely what worries me,"  Nick said.  "I don't know how long Iella will keep Nat alive."

    "Secondarily, how do you know Iella?"  Kim asked.

    "Iella is my daughter,"  Nick said.  "I met her in 1972, and she was disillusioned and looking for anything to fill an empty void in her life.  I found her when she was trying to get in to see David Cassidy in his motel room."

    "Your daughter?"  Kim said in disbelief.

    "Vampire daughter.  I was the one who bit her and made her into a vampire.  Iella desperately wanted a career as a model, but it fell through because she was too old when she tried to get started.  I gave her eternal youth so that she could achieve her dreams.  I knew that she thought that I had pledged my love to her when I made her into a vampire, but up until tonight I did not know how insane she had become."

    "Well, she certainly didn't seem to be thinking too logically,"  Kim said.  "Has she always been like that?"

    Nick nodded.  "She is a good planner and quite intelligent, actually.  Unfortunately, she's also very good at deluding herself into believing that outlandish schemes can work because she believes in them.  When I first met her, she was harmless enough, but that seems to have changed."

    Kim stared up at the sky.  A mixture of wispy clouds and light pollution from the shore towns obscured the stars as Nick kept pushing the Caddy.  Minutes flowed by, as Nick and Kim sunk into their respective silent thoughts.  Both were mentally preparing for the battle that they knew was coming as soon as they found Iella.

    "Nick, I know you aren't going to like this idea, but there is a gas station coming up.  It should be about halfway between Atlantic City and Asbury Park.  This old beast can't keep going at this speed forever.  I know that you can't carry me and make the same kind of speed flying as you can in the car.  If we put some gas in it and let it cool for a few minutes, it can only help.  Remember, if it breaks down, we'll only lose more time."

    Nick gave a curt nod.  "You're right.  We should let the car cool down, and a little extra gas can't hurt.  How far ahead is that gas station?"

    "Probably about five minutes,"  Kim estimated.

    Nick moved into the right-hand lane and began slowing down in anticipation of stopping at the small rest stop.  The teal Cadillac sailed easily into the gas station where Nick stopped the car next to a pump.  He released the hood and propped it up, allowing the cool night breeze to help in cooling down the engine.  A quick glance at the gas gauge on the dash made him grateful for Kim's quick thinking.  The needle indicated less than a quarter of a tank, which wasn't going to be enough to get them the rest of the way to Asbury Park.

    The attendant at the gas station slowly moseyed over to them.  "Looks like you're having some trouble with your car there."

    "Nothing we can't handle," Nick said, trying to keep the growl out of his voice.  "I just need to get it filled up with gas.  The premium."  His thoughts raged against the attendant, who was, after all, a total bystander in Iella's little game.  Damn!  I forgot that you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey.  Now I've got to deal with this well-meaning twit.

    "She's a real classic,"  the attendant said as he engaged the pump and began filling the tank.  "Shouldn't run her so hard."

    Kim got out and began gently fanning the engine with a wad of papers that Nick had left on the floor of the car.  It probably wasn't helping a whole lot, but at least it made her feel useful.

    Nick gritted his teeth.  "It overheats sometimes, when it's been on the road for awhile.  She figured that we should stop and let it cool off for a bit before it actually overheated."  He loved the Caddy, but it was only a car.  Parts could always be replaced, if one was wealthy enough, and Nick certainly was.  He'd already had to have parts fabricated for the car.  Tonight, all that mattered was that it got him there in time to save Natalie.

    "Well, that'll be all,"  the attendant said.

    Nick pressed a few bills into his hand and turned back to the car.  Kim was already lowering the hood.  She quickly latched the hood and returned to her place on the passenger side.  Nick got in and quickly accelerated down the ramp and onto the highway, once more making time toward Asbury Park.

    Kim returned to her stargazing.  They had finally gotten far enough away from the large shore towns that the light pollution decreased drastically.  The wispy clouds that had veiled the sky were also starting to disperse.  The moon was riding high in the sky, full and white, and a few of the brighter stars were beginning to become visible.  A strong breeze was blowing the clouds inland, and as it did, Kim began to be able to identify constellations.  Taurus and Orion  were low on the horizon, harbingers of the coming autumn.  Lyra, Cygnus, and Leo rode high in the sky.  Her only disappointment was that there was still too much light, from the moon and nearby towns, for her to be able to see Draco.  She took comfort from the familiar stars that she had known from childhood.

    Out of the corner of her eye, Kim noticed an upcoming exit sign.  It marked an exit still several miles away.  "Exit 100A!  Kim yelled.  "The next exit will take us to Asbury Park!"

    Nick nodded, hunched over the wheel like a frantic racecar driver.  "I'll be able to trace my bond with Iella from there."  He maneuvered the car into the right-hand lane.

    Kim hung on as Nick negotiated the curves of the off-ramp at a speed considerably greater than the recommended one.  The off-ramp led onto a deserted local highway, which took them quickly into the heart of Asbury Park.  Nick parked the car and closed his eyes, sinking into himself and trying to find Iella through the bond.  Kim suddenly felt very alone as she looked around.  The street was cracked and most of the houses and businesses were dark.  Kim felt a chill run down her spine.  Asbury Park was not one of her favorite places.

    Suddenly, Nick sprang back to life.  "That way!"  He said, pointing, as he started the car again and took off down the side streets, following the golden thread of his bond with Iella.  He could sense Iella, but she was so wrapped up in whatever she was doing that she didn't notice the contact from his end of the bond.  Nick gritted his teeth at the thought of what could have Iella so interested.  Thoughts of Iella torturing Natalie only deepened the animal rage building within him.  The possessive instincts of his vampire nature only fanned the flames higher.

    Kim looked over at her companion.  She remembered how Iella's eyes had turned red in anger when Nick had thwarted her back at the Tropicana.  The concert seemed a century ago now.  As she looked over at Nick, his eyes were glowing with the same unearthly hue, but somehow, Nick's eyes made her feel safer.  And very glad that she was not Iella.

    Nick looks like he's going to open up a can of vampire whoop-ass, Kim thought.  And while I'm sure that will be something to see, an angry vampire is not someone I would want on my tail.  He seems to be wary of Iella, though.  I wonder why.  He seemed to be able to get her to stand down before, but this is going to be on her turf this time.

*

    Nick stopped the car in front of a towering old house, clearly almost as old as Kim's house, but this one looked forbidding.   It was clearly abandoned, the windows and doors boarded up.  Flickers of light could be seen around the boards over certain windows.  Someone was inside, and Nick seemed to think that it was Iella.

    There was a loud fwoosh of disturbed air, and Lacroix landed on the sidewalk near the car.  He looked up at the towering house, the very picture of a haunted house, and sniffed disdainfully.  "Iella always did have such a flair for the dramatic."

    Nick quickly made introductions.  "Kim, this is Lucien Lacroix, my master.  Lacroix, this is Kimberly Antilles, Natalie's cousin."

    "Are you sure that it is wise to bring her along?"  Lacroix asked Nick, one eyebrow raised.

    Nick shrugged carelessly.  "She knows about us, for now--" He broke off as Kim trod viciously on his toe.  "And she's capable of taking care of herself.  We need all the allies we can get."

    "Very well,"  Lacroix said and inclined his head toward the house.  "I suggest that we go introduce ourselves to Iella Corvath and her guest."

*

    The door itself banged back on its hinges as though it had been kicked in with the full force of an angry vampire.  One of the already-broken glass panes in the window shattered completely and the pieces landed on the floor with a soft tinkle.

    Iella lunged forward, snarling at the intruders, her thoughts racing.  Nick traced me too quickly.  I left the address of this place out on the table in my cottage, but that's at the other end of town.  He couldn't have gotten there and back, especially carrying that irksome mortal's cousin.  He must have used the bond, and I was too busy with Natalie to notice.  Now he has ruined my plans again, and I'll have to use force in bringing him to his knees.

    "Nick!"  Natalie screamed.  "Nick, I'm so glad to see you!"

    "Let Natalie go, Iella."   Nick stood in the center of the arch that led into the parlor.  Lacroix and Kim flanking him.  Wisely, Kim was keeping the gun concealed in its holster beneath her loose shirt.

    Iella snatched up the crossbow from where it rested against the wall.  "Back off,"  she snapped, aiming the crossbow at Nick and Lacroix at first and then turning it down to point squarely at Natalie.  "If any of you so much as twitches, I'm going to shoot your mortal lover.  You were in the Crusades, Nick.  You've seen firsthand what a crossbow bolt can do to a human skull."

    Natalie shivered.  She'd seen crossbows demonstrated on the Discovery Channel.  The bolts went straight through armor.  If a crossbow bolt was aimed in the right place, it would scramble her brain.  She had no doubts that Iella was ruthless enough to put the bolt straight through her eye.  At point-blank range, it would be deadly.

    Nick twitched involuntarily as the bloody memories overwhelmed him.  Kim and Lacroix reached out and touched him, trying to reassure him.

    "So much guilt, but none for the other things you've done,"  Iella said, her singsong tone sounding almost like a child's chant.  "No guilt for what you did to me.  No guilt for abandoning me."

    Natalie saw the opportunity.  As Iella taunted Nick, her grip on the crossbow grew looser, and the weapon dipped.  Natalie grabbed it and wrenched at it, trying to pull it from Iella's grip.

    "Natalie, NO!"  Nick screamed.

    Before either Nick or Lacroix could react, the scene around them burst into chaos.  Natalie jerked the crossbow out of Iella's hands, throwing the distracted vampiress off balance.  Iella fell hard, knocking over the small table that had held the oil lamp.  In the same instant in which the lamp broke, spilling oil and fire across the floor, Natalie's unwary hand closed on the trigger of the crossbow.  With a meaty thwap, the bolt released, piercing Natalie's chest just above the heart.

    Nick could feel his whole world tremble and fall apart.  He saw the bolt pierce Natalie's chest, the spadelike tip emerging from her back.  Blood welled up around the wound, and Nick knew that his Natalie had taken a fatal hit.  The bolt had pierced a lung, tearing up the tissues inside.  That type of bolt was designed to to maximum damage to whatever flesh it hit.  Unless something was done very quickly, she would die as her lungs filled with blood.  The realization hit in the speed of a lightning strike, before Natalie's body could hit the floor.

    Nick fell to his knees.  In that same instant, Iella rose from the spreading fire like a demonic angel and flew toward him.  Her hair had caught fire and one of her hands was burned.  Her eyes bore a wild light that he had seen only once before.  Memories assaulted him, fire and smoke and death...

    Images began to flash before Nick's eyes.  The flashback was returning, against his will.  The fire, and the strange light in Iella's eyes brought it roaring back, fragmented into pieces.

    ...Black Prince, roaring in pain against the smoke-obscured moon...

    ...Iella, flying toward him, the eyes of Black Prince burning in her face...

    ....the Coney Island police aiming their guns at the pain-maddened lion....

    ...the ululating wail of an animal in pain that tore itself from Iella's throat as the flames in her hair bit into her head...

    ...Black Prince falling, falling, the seconds stretching into hours...

    ...his daughter, his Iella, his creation, reduced to an animal by pain...

    ...Black Prince's body laying in the street,  as the fire consumed the buildings behind...

    Two shots rang out, off to Nick's right, snapping him out of his daze.  Iella went down hard, a mess of bloody pulp where her face should have been.  Kim had acted in time to save Iella from claiming him, but it was too late.  His Natalie was dying.

    Natalie lay on her back on the floor.  She could feel the hole where the crossbow bolt had torn straight through her shoulder.  She could feel the heat from the fire, and the vibration as Iella's body struck the floor, but it all seemed distant.  She slipped into a half-dream state, and felt her vision begin to darken.  Her body coughed weakly, sending sticky blood cascading over her chin.  In that instant, Natalie knew that she was dying.

    Goodbye, Nick,  Natalie thought. Someday, we'll meet again on the far side of life.  I guess Iella won this round, but we'll be together again someday.

    "No!"  Nick cried and he rushed forth and dragged Natalie away from the spreading fire.  "Natalie!"

    Kim looked at him, eyes wide, as the fire began to engulf the room.  "Nick, we'll worry about her later!  We have to get out of here now!"

    Nick nodded and threw Natalie over his shoulder.  He looked around and suddenly noticed that Lacroix had disappeared, along with Iella's body.

    "Worry about it later!"  Kim yelled again, grabbing his hand.  "Escape NOW!"

    Nick and Kim ran out the door and down the stone stairs to the street level.  Nick unfolded an old blanket and threw it over the backseat before tenderly laying Natalie down and covering her legs with the end of it.

    "...so cold..."  Natalie murmured.

    Nick felt tears in his eyes.  There was only one way to save her now.  He had agreed to drinking human blood so that he and Natalie could be together.  He had hoped that the human blood would give him control enough that he need never bring Natalie across, no matter what she had said.  Lacroix had left a half-case of human blood in the trunk for him. He could only hope that it would be enough to satisfy the first hunger.

    Nick gave a keening wail of anguish.  He had to save Natalie.  He couldn't live without her.  But the only way to do that was to bring her across, into his darkness.  He felt his fangs descend, and hoped that in despair and pain, this time he would not get lost in the blood.  This time, he had to be successful.  She had wanted him to bring her across, but he was sure that eventually she would see the wisdom in not taking that path.  Now, he had no choice.

    Nick bit, sinking his fangs into Natalie's soft neck.  Blood tears wound their way down his face.  All of his dreams were dashed, the dreams of regaining his mortality and raising a family with Natalie.

    Kim stepped back, away from the car.  Tears welled up in her eyes.  Nick truly does love Nat, Kim realized. He is willing to do anything to save her life, including show his true nature in front of me.  Even, to make her a vampire like he is, and he so clearly hates that side of himself.

    Nick drank deeply from Natalie's neck.  Her pain coursed through him, becoming his own.  He saw the images of Iella tormenting Natalie while holding her prisoner.  Images of fear and relief at his image crashed over him like the waves on the beach.  Underneath all of the trauma that Iella had inflicted on Natalie, Nick could still sense the immense love and trust that Natalie had for him.

    Slowly, Nick forced himself away from Natalie's neck.  This time, when he was acting to save Natalie in the only way left to him, it was easy for him to stop in time.  And now, there was no way that he could even consider leaving her to die.    Nick sliced his wrist open with his fangs and held it to Natalie's lips.

    "Come back, Nat,"  Nick whispered.  His bloody tears began to flow again.  "Come back to me.  I'm not ready for our time together on Earth to be over yet."

    Natalie began to suck at the blood that ran from Nick's wrist, weakly at first, then stronger.  Nick abruptly turned to face Kim, his face worried.  He threw his keyring to her.

    "Kim, there should be twelve labeled bottles in the trunk.  Get them out and leave them on the sidewalk.  When Natalie wakes up, she will be like me, and she will be hungry.  It isn't safe for you to stay with us.  You can take the Caddy back to your house.  Besides, we need to get out of here before someone notices the fire."

    Kim nodded.  Even if the vampire involved was her cousin, she had no wish to become a snack.  She promptly removed the bottles from the trunk, as Nick pulled his wrist from Natalie's lips and lifted her from the backseat of the car.  Nick gently laid Natalie down on the sidewalk.

    "What about you?"  Kim asked.

    "We'll be fine,"  Nick replied with a grin.  "We'll don't need a car to get back to the motel."

    Kim smiled and drove away, heading back toward the Garden State Parkway.

    Natalie moaned, and Nick rushed back toward her side.  With the healing abilities of a new vampire, the hole left by the bolt had healed completely.  Along the way, Nick picked up one of the bottles of blood that Kim had left on the sidewalk.

    "...so thirsty, Nick,"  Natalie moaned.

    "Drink this, love,"  Nick said.  He uncorked the bottle, lifted her head and held it to her lips.  "I'm so sorry, Natalie.  I thought that if I went back to drinking human blood, we could be together without having to bring you across.  I never wanted to condemn you to my hell, and now I've done it anyway."

    Natalie gulped frantically from the bottle, draining it before the hunger was appeased enough for her to talk to Nick.  "Nick, I wanted this.  I wanted to be with you until a cure could be found, and then we could grow old together."  Another wave of hunger hit her, and Natalie curled into a fetal position, right hand groping blindly for another bottle.

    "Natalie, I know you loved the sunlight,"  Nick said, uncorking the second bottle and handing it to her, now that Natalie was strong enough to hold a bottle.  "I thought that if I proved that we could make love without taking too much blood, then we would be happy, without forcing you to give up the daylight."

    Natalie finished the bottle, this time at a more civilized pace.  She reached out and uncorked a third bottle.  "Nick, it doesn't matter to me.  We'll be mortal again someday, I promise.  All I care about is that I have you."  She uncorked another bottle and handed it to Nick.

    Nick took it and took a few gulps.  The excitement of the evening had taken more out of him than he had realized.  Almost before he could think about it, the bottle was empty.  Natalie was already finished with her third and opening her fourth.

    Abruptly, Natalie raised her bottle.  "I propose a toast, to my first night as a vampire!"

    Nick chuckled and picked up another bottle.  "And many more nights, I hope."  He clinked his bottle against hers.  "Finish up that bottle.  You'll need the strength if we're going to make it back to Ocean City before dawn."

    Natalie drained the bottle.  "Does this mean that I'm going to get a flying lesson?"

    Nick nodded, and gathered up the empty bottles.  One by one, he threw them into the blazing inferno that had been the front of the house.  "If anyone finds them, they'll just assume that a few homeless people got in and started the fire."  He loaded the remaining full bottles into the blanket and knotted it into a bag.

    Natalie walked over to stand by his side.  "We had better get out of here before anyone decides to investigate the fire."

    "Come on, then,"  Nick said.  "Just think about soaring up into the sky.  You no longer must obey gravity."

    Natalie floated about a foot up off the ground.  "I can't get any further up!"  Her voice was slightly panicked.

    "Hold my hand,"  Nick said.  He reached out and grabbed her hand.  "If you're afraid of it, you can't fly.  You know that I will never let you fall.  Besides, you're immortal now."

    Nick slowly began to levitate, and this time Natalie followed his lead.  "Let's try moving faster,"  Nick suggested.  "That might help with the fear."

    "Like a rollercoaster?"  Natalie asked.

    A shudder traveled down Nick's back, but he squelched the rising memories.  "Yes, like that.  Only there isn't a car or a track any longer.  This rollercoaster goes wherever you want to go, and it's far safer."

    Natalie laughed and shot up into the sky.  Nick was dragged along behind her for a moment before he caught up.  Together, they began to fly south.  Soon enough, Nick knew, Natalie's new powers would tire her, forcing them to travel at a slower pace.  For now, though, they were racing the dawn, heading for Nick's motel room.

*

    Nick and Natalie touched down on the walkway in front of the motel room.  Nick opened the door, only to discover Lacroix waiting for them inside.  Next to him, on the floor, rested a case of wine bottles.

    Lacroix bowed slightly.  "Greetings, grand-daughter.  I know that this is not the easiest environment for a new fledgeling, surrounded by mortals.  I decided to bring you a bit of refreshment."

    "Thank you,"  Natalie said softly.

    "No,"  Lacroix said.  "Thank you, for saving my son from his own self-destructiveness."

    "Thank you,"  Nick said.  "For releasing me from my debt."

    Lacroix looked at him, his expression coming closer to paternal than Natalie could have imagined,  "That debt would have destroyed you.  It would have done me no good to collect it."

    Nick nodded, looking away from his master.

    "Now,"  Lacroix said, all business.  "What are you two going to do about Miss Antilles?  Her knowledge of tonight's events is a threat to our kind.  Nicholas, you must alter her memory."

    Nick shook his head.  "I'm pretty sure that she's a resistor too.  It tends to run in families, and it's especially strong among cynical people.  Kim is far more cynical than Natalie ever was, and she's a blood relative."

    Lacroix looked out the window for a moment.  "That could be difficult.  I hate to see such strength as hers wasted.  I shall have to speak to her."

    Natalie looked at Nick, her expression faintly panicked.

    "My dear, I will never harm a member of my own family,"  Lacroix said.  "She is family, even if it is a rather indirect tie.  There are ways to work around the minds of resistors.  I will merely see to it that she remembers that you suffered an accident and went home to recover.  I will be back, with your things, before dawn."

    "Thank you.... Father,"  Nick said, reaching out to gently touch Lacroix's hand.

    A rare smile graced the ancient vampire's face, before he disappeared out the door.

*

    Natalie cuddled up alongside Nick.  They had both showered, removing the grime deposited by their encounter with Iella.  Natalie had fed again, downing another two bottles of blood.  Now, Natalie was alongside Nick in the double bed farthest from the window.  Nick had given her one of his pajama tops to wear, and he had donned the bottoms.

    Natalie pressed kisses to Nick's collarbone.  Nick gently lifted her head away from his chest and gave her a rueful smile.

    "Lacroix is going to be back soon.  I don't want to give him a free peep show,"  Nick said.  "And it's getting close to dawn.  Since you're a new fledgeling, you will fall asleep almost as soon as the sun comes up.  It will be very difficult for you to stay awake during the day, even if you are in a completely dark environment."

    "Not even for this?"  Natalie asked, running a hand down his chest and kissing him hard.

    "Nope."  Nick replied.  "We'll have all of tomorrow night to get acquainted."

    There was a knock on the door, and Nick got up to open it.  Lacroix walked into the room, depositing Natalie's bags on the floor.

    "Is it done?"  Nick asked.

    Lacroix nodded.  "Kim remembers only that her cousin has had an accident and will be returning home.  I have arranged for Natalie's car to be returned to Toronto.  I would also suggest that you two leave as soon as the sun sets tomorrow.  Natalie will need to be taught the use of her powers and control, and that is perhaps best done at Nicholas' loft.  Also, Iella's.... ah... disappearance has caused some repercussions in the local community."

    "We'll leave as soon as Natalie is awake and fed tomorrow,"  Nick said.  "I've been getting kind of homesick anyway.  though I wouldn't mind coming back here on a vacation someday."

    "Very well,"  Lacroix said.  "I shall be in New York.  I think that perhaps it is time that the two of you learn some of the tricks that I have picked up over the centuries.  Sometime after you have gotten yourselves settled into your new lifestyle, you both should come for a visit."

    Nick smiled a bit at his father.  "Thank you, for finally giving me your trust."

    Lacroix nodded wordlessly, and left the room.  They could hear the fwoosh of his takeoff as he returned to his sanctuary.  Nick adjusted the blanket that covered the window to make sure that no light would enter to harm Natalie as she slept.  As a fledgeling, she was sensitive to the sun.

    Slowly, Nick laid back down alongside Natalie and wrapped her in his arms.  Suddenly, all was right with the world again. Correction, Nick thought.  The world is more than just right tonight.  This is the closest that my world has ever come to being perfect.

*

    As soon as the sun went down, Nick and Natalie fed from the bottles that Lacroix had left and packed up their possessions.  The Caddy was loaded down with their baggage and the bottles in the trunk.  Natalie reclaimed the passenger seat, while Nick checked out of the motel.  As soon as he returned from the office, Nick climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

    As they pulled away from the motel, Natalie looked behind.  Someday, I want to come back here, she thought. Somehow, I don't think it'll ever quite compare to this one, but I'd love to come back.  This place is full of happy memories now.  I may never be able to go into Asbury Park again without getting flashbacks to Iella's attack, but this place has brought me nothing but joy with Nick.  And I might even be tempted to go see another David Cassidy concert.  Maybe he'll be coming to Toronto soon, or back here next summer.... I'm starting to sound like Kim!  She did say that she would make a convert of me before I went back to Toronto, and she was right.

    "Nat?"  Nick's voice snapped her out of her reverie.  Suddenly, she understood what Nick felt like when she interrupted his musings.

    "What did you want, Nick?"

    Nick guided the Caddy onto the New Jersey Turnpike.  "I thought that maybe we could discuss wedding plans on the way home."

    "Sounds good to me,"  Natalie replied.

*

Epilogue:

    "Where were you?"  Natalie asked, turning to face Nick as he entered the turret room.

    "At the hardware store, buying some brass letters.  I remember staying in a beach town several years ago where it was customary for the owners to give their houses names that they would then put on a sign of some kid.  I always rather liked the idea."  Nick said.

    "Don't you think it was a little early to be up and about?"

    "The sun was below the horizon."  Nick said.  "Besides, I didn't want to have to make them stay open late.  It's inconsiderate.  I just left as soon as it was safe."

    "So you obviously had a name in mind..." Natalie said, changing the subject.  Nick wasn't going to budge on his consideration of the hours of the hardware store.

    Nick nodded. "Avalon.  An island of magic, where wishes can come true.  And that is what this place has been to me."

    "It was wonderful of Kim to give the house to us when she decided to get married," Natalie said.  "I know that her husband owns a house in Florida, but I would have thought that she would want to sell it."

    "Well, maybe he has enough money that she doesn't need it," Nick replied, as he looked out of the windows of the turret room toward the bay, where the brilliant colors of sunset were fading from the sky.  "After all, Kim did meet him on one of her Vegas trips."

    Natalie shrugged.  "I don't know.  She did leave a cassette tape downstairs, on the kitchen counter, along with a note that said to play it when we were together.  It might tell us more."

    Nick bent down to the boom box that rested on the windowseat and punched the play button.  "Let's find out.  I want to know why she left a tape and not a note."

    "Hi Nat, Nick."  Kim's disembodied voice came from the speakers.  "I figured that you would want to know more about why I chose to give you the house for a wedding present.  I knew that the two of you would be wanting to move on after your wedding, and this seemed as good a place as any for you to start over.  You have a history together in this place, and most of your memories of the house are good ones.  I'll come to see you sometime, as soon as I'm settled in with Keith.  And in the meantime, this made me think of you."  There was a click, and Kim's voice cut off to be replaced by a song.

"Now I'm flying with the wind
The spirit's running free
The mountains have turned to dust
And the desert is a raging sea
I'm a prisoner no more
If I just believe my eyes
Now I've opened up this door
And my future waits inside
Love is a river in time
Now and forever
A bridge between lifetimes
Here, there are no sad goodbyes
And your dreams never die
Love is a river in time
A million years from now
War will be obsolete
Will man live on the moon?
Will flowers smell as sweet?
Take this magic carpet ride
Go into the promised land
We shall need the human touch
Every woman, child and man
Love is a river in time
Now and forever
A bridge between lifetimes
Here, there's no future, no past
Love is all that we have
Love is a river in time
A river in time."

    "Do you think she remembers?"  Natalie asked, as the music wound down to silence, leaving only the hiss of blank tape.

    Nick made a thoughtful sound and pulled Natalie into his embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder.  "At a guess, I'd have to say that if she doesn't, she's been told."

    "But Lacroix..."  Natalie said, in consternation that Nick's master would break his word.

    "...didn't do the telling."  Nick said, a wicked grin crossing his handsome face.  "I'm willing to bet that Keith did."

    "How would a security guard from a casino in Vegas know?"  Natalie asked, before catching on.  "Oh no... he isn't!"

    Nick chuckled.  "Well, it would explain why her significant other who showed up at our wedding reception was 800 years old and looked 28."

    "You're kidding, right Nick?"  Natalie said, disbelief written all over her features.  "If he was, why didn't you say something then?"

    "I had other things on my mind at the time," Nick said, running his hand over Natalie's waist and hip. "He was a fellow Crusader.  I never knew him until the fifteenth century, though.  Keith and I have been friends ever since.  And I know that he stays in regular contact with Lacroix, if not with me."

    "So Lacroix told him everything that happened."  Natalie said.

    "I'm willing to bet that he did."

    "And Keith spilled the beans to Kim."

    "It sounds that way."

    "I wonder how long Kim has known about vampires.  I know she was in a long-distance relationship with Keith for a year at least."

    "I think she had me pegged as a vampire from the moment that I walked in her front door."  Nick said.  "She was pretending to be ignorant for your sake.  Think about it, Nat... no matter how strangely I behaved, she just accepted it.  And I know that she took a good sniff and probably a taste of one of those blood-and-tofu shakes of yours when we weren't paying attention.  She knew what was in it, and she wasn't bothered in the least."

    "So Kim is one of us now," Natalie said.

    "She will be soon.  As soon as Keith decides to consummate the relationship."  Nick rolled his eyes. "Traveling through eternity with Kim could be harmful to my sanity.  And to the Caddy."

    "Oh, I don't know.  Personally, I think we make a great team.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for us."  Natalie said.  "Besides, Kim is all the family that I have left.  It's rather nice to know that I'm not going to lose her anytime soon."

    "You're right." Nick said, kissing her cheek softly.  "We should invite them up for a visit sometime soon.  Once the honeymoon is over."

    "I think it will be fun.  You and Keith are old friends, even if you didn't bother telling me that my cousin was engaged to one of your buddies, and Kim and I are friends.  Imagine the havoc that we could cause."

    "Keith will be in for one hell of a surprise.  He's never seen the two of you operate in tandem.  I'll have to warn him to keep an eye on his Harley.  It might end up a sick shade of purple if he doesn't."