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Writer’s Note: This is my first piece of fanfic. It’s what happens when you have nothing
better to do than sit around all day and read hundreds of other fanfics, then decide to write
your own. None of these characters, with the exception of Satki, are mine, really. I thank
their creators for lending them to me. Oh, and thanks to my dear friend Q for the name.
On a lighter note- maybe the title should have been Mind over Matter? You decide.
And just so you can't say I didn't warn you: MARY SUE!!!! I always create characters with rediculous abilities, because it's what I'd love. So don't read this if you don't like those. Thank you.
The body came in a few hours after sunrise. Natalie Lambert had only been on shift for short time- she had come in early as a favor.
“What have we got?”
“Massive burns, second and third degree over most of the body, no obvious cause. If there’s any other damage, it’s too deeply hidden by scar tissue.”
Natalie felt her insides freeze. Could it be-
“Well, I’ll handle it from here. Put it in the back room.”
When the men had left Natalie took a deep breath. ‘Get a grip, Lambert. Every weird case that comes in doesn’t have to be a vampire. Maybe they were just trying to light a fire. It doesn’t have to mean they were caught by the sunrise.’ She peeked into the body-bag. ‘Still, can’t be too careful.’
With a sigh, she proceeded to prepare the supplies she would need to care for a critically injured vampire.
An hour later, Natalie and a rapidly healing fledgling were sitting across the morgue from each other. The girl had taken only one unit of stale blood and seemed quite calm, but Nat didn’t want to risk becoming dinner.
“So what happened?” she asked.
The girl grimaced. “I was caught in a gang fight. Someone decided they wanted to ‘own’ another six inches of turf, and that it was worth killing over. I got caught in the middle.”
Natalie was shocked. “What were they using, blowtorches?”
The girl couldn’t help but laugh at Natalie’s expression. “No, just enough ammunition to be the envy of some small countries. You dug around in my body- I would have set off every metal detector in the city. It was enough to put me out for the night. The burns are from sunrise catching me unconscious. I managed to crawl to shelter, but too late. I guess someone found me. I would like to know why you aren’t afraid, though. How did you know what I’d need?”
Natalie shifted nervously. The girl smiled.
“That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. Yet.”
“Thank you.”
They sat in silence for awhile, until Nat remembered she was supposed to be working.
“Oh shi-”
She jumped up, bumping into a nearby gurney and tipping it over. As she flailed for it desperately, there was a flicker of motion, and the girl stood beside the body, holding the tray upright, an amused look on her face.
“Don’t say a word,” Natalie warned. The girl’s grin grew, and she shook her head, containing her laughter by sheer willpower.
“Nat?”
Grace’s voice floated down the hall. The fledgling froze, then dove for a slab to play ‘dead.’ ‘She’s rather good at it,’ Natalie thought absently as she pulled a sheet up to cover the girl’s face.
“Yeah, Grace?” she asked as her friend walked in.
“You’ve been here all day. Aren’t you going home?”
Nat smiled to herself. ‘No, Grace, I can’t leave right now because there’s a baby vampire lying in the morgue listening to this conversation.’ “Nick’s picking me up, Grace. Get that smirk off your face, you little matchmaking fiend. What time is it?”
“Just about sundown. He should be here soon, huh?”
“Yeah. Say g’night, Gracie.”
“Cute, Lambert.”
Natalie listened as Grace disappeared down the hall, then announced, “Clear.”
The girl sat up. “I hope this isn’t becoming a habit.”
Natalie saw the girl look up, saw the strange expression on her face. She wondered what was going on, but before she could ask-
“Who’s this?”
“Nick!” Natalie jumped. The fledgling just looked confused. Then she spoke, hesitantly.
“You- you’re like me, aren’t you?”
Nick looked at Natalie questioningly.
“She was brought in about eight this morning, full body second and third degree burns.” She saw Nick wince as she figured out what must have caused that. The fledgling gazed at them quietly.
“I’m hungry.”
Nat gasped as the girl’s eyes glowed scarlet, then dimmed to their usual icy blue.
“I’m so sorry, I’ve kept you hear all day and didn’t offer you anything-”
The girl held up her hand to stop her. “Please, don’t. It’s ok. Really.” She gave a wan smile. “It’s just that I haven’t fed much before now, either.”
Nick frowned. The power he had sensed from the girl had confused him at first, but now it seemed that that strength had been sheer force of will.
“You’re only a youngling. How long has it been?”
She looked at him nervously. Quietly, she murmured, “Three days.”
His jaw dropped. Three days? The sunlight should have killed her. If that hadn’t, then Natalie should be dead- fledglings weren’t known for their appetite control. She was still badly injured. This girl was impossible. She couldn’t be-
He shook himself from his reverie. “Nat, do you have anything-”
“Sorry Nick, all I had was the one pack I gave her earlier.”
Nick sighed. He looked at the burns that still covered her body, grimaced, and loosed his shirt sleeve. “Drink,” he said, offering his wrist. He saw her hesitation. “It’ll help you heal. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt me. It’s just so you won’t scare anyone when we leave.”
The girl nodded, and gently took his wrist to her mouth. He barely felt it when her fangs broke the skin. The gentle sucking was almost imperceptible, but the girl’s wounds healed visibly as she drank hungrily. He pulled away before she could take too much. She looked at him in askance.
“It wouldn’t do for you to make me need to feed, would it?” he asked with a wry grin. She smiled sheepishly. He turned to Natalie. “I’m going to take her to the Raven.”
Satki watched the two carefully as she stifled her hunger. ‘They make a good couple,’ she thought, ‘whether they know it or not. Gods, I’m still hungry. His blood-wow. All that power-but he’s so sad. I wonder if I could help him. He’s looking for mortality...’ Her thoughts broke off as a wave of hunger struck her. It seemed that by feeding the beast she had merely whetted its appetite.
Natalie saw the fire in the girl’s eyes, saw her fangs appear briefly as she eyed Nat hungrily, and watched her pull her eyes away. She shuddered, realizing that she probably looked pretty appetizing right now. Suddenly going to the Raven seemed like a really good idea.
“All right Nick. But I’m coming with you. No arguments.”
“A bar?”
Nick looked in the rearview mirror at the girl in the backseat and grinned. “What did you expect, McDonalds?”
"You know , if they carded me, I couldn't get in. I'm only 18."
"Yeah, well, if anyone was raiding this bar, the age of the customers would be the least of the problems," Natalie replied as she took Nick’s arm. He led them past the line of people outside the bar. The bouncer grinned as he opened the door, much to the annoyance of those on line.
Janette knew Nick was outside the moment he arrived, and had moved to greet him. She was only halfway across the floor when the door opened and he stepped in. She pouted a little when she saw his mortal doctor on his arm, then froze- as did every vampire in the room- at what followed him.
The girl who walked in behind Nick was physically young for a vampire. She looked so innocent. But that had not turned two dozen bloodsuckers to icicles.
She exuded power. To their senses, she Felt like a powerful vampire- not an Elder, not exactly, but something to be reckoned with....
The moment passed, and movement resumed. If it was a bit more subdued, and the mortals a bit confused, well, the vampires were hardly going to explain. Every vamp kept one on the girl as she made her way across the crowded floor in Nicholas’ wake.
Satki noticed the attention and- fear? Why be afraid of her? But Nick kept walking, so she followed closely. He was met in the middle of the floor by a beautiful woman- no, vampire- who felt- familiar. Like Nick had. The other vampires didn’t feel like that.
She was brought down to earth by a glass being shoved into her hand. The smell went straight to her head and she looked at Nick, startled.
He laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s donated.” She looked at his glass, curious at the strange smell. He followed her gaze. “It’s cow. It won’t sustain you, even if you wanted to drink it. You're too young.” Curious she grabbed his glass and took a small sip. It wasn’t bad, really. She drained the for glass as he looked on in bemusement.
“Can I have some more?”
He signaled the bartender, but the one who had served them before was busy. A new man came over. Nick explained what he wanted- she assumed it was some sort of code.
“We don’ serve carouches ‘ere,” the barman grumbled menacingly, turning his back to walk away. Nick leaned across the bar and grabbed the man by the shoulder.
“You are new here, so I’ll assume you don’t know this. I choose to drink this. I am a special guest of the owner. You serve what is requested.” Satki watched, amused, as Nick allowed some of his vampiric strength to show through his mortal barriers, and the bartender went paler than usual.
“Yessir, I gotcha sir.” He hastily poured another glass of the bovine bloodwine and left the bottle on the counter before heading for the other end of the bar.
Satki let out the laugh she had been holding in as she picked up the glass. “You really are very intimidating, Nick.” She drained that glass, and another, before putting the empty glass on the bar.
“Nick, I feel bad about asking, but- would it be alright if I switched to human for now? I- I mean, this just isn’t cutting it.”
Nick smiled. “You’re still a baby, by our standards. Human blood is like mother’s milk. Of course you can drink it. Miklos,” he called, “bring me a bottle of the house special, for my guest. Private stock.” A low whistle from nearby made him grin wider. “Private stock is special- savor this. It’s usually reserved for Lucroix and his guests. Which means me, Janette, and very few others. But since I don’t drink it, why should it go to waste?”
“Why indeed?” Satki asked merrily as Miklos placed a new bottle between them on the bar. Nick poured a glass for her, and handed it to her, with instructions to try to savor it- or at least, to savor one of the glasses in the bottle. She sniffed the vintage, then sipped cautiously.
The blood sped through her body, replenishing her. She drained the glass, and another, and another, in rapid succession, before calming enough to savor the next. Nick was looking at her in tolerant amusement.
“Will you be all right alone for awhile?” He was eyeing Natalie with a look that she recognized from her parents. With a twinge at the memory, she signaled assent, and watched as he captured the doctor for a dance. The music had changed. It was slower, seductive. She drifted on it, sipping her drink, until a sharp twang assaulted her senses. She looked up and froze. There was something familiar- yes.
*Him.*
Her movement was punctuated by gasps and shattered glass as she pinned him to the wall. Her maker. Her savior. Her destroyer.
Janette rushed over, anxiety written on her beautiful face. Nicholas would not be pleased if she allowed this little one to get herself killed by Lucroix so soon after being fledged.
“Now now, cherie...”
Janette stopped short. The girl’s eyes were not vampiric yet- there was no trace of fire in them- but the ice was enough to freeze even her already dead heart.
Nick pulled his eyes away from Natalie to look at the confusion in the corner, then rushed towards them. The youngling had Lucroix by the throat, pinned against the door and edging him into the other room. ‘For once, someone has the sense to take a fight out of the main room,’ thought part of his brain, the part not worrying about how to placate his sire.
He rushed into the storage room, following Janette, with Natalie close on his heels. The girl had not released her grip on Lucroix, nor did that seem likely.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Lucroix asked. He seemed amused.
“Hello, daddy dearest,” she hissed acidly. Lucien gazed down at her in disdain, then froze as their eyes met. Across their link Nick felt shadows of what she was sending him: the emotions she had felt from the attack and its aftermath- the pain, rage, confusion, hunger- and watched her grin ferally as Lucroix’s eyes rolled back, he screamed once, and collapsed in pain, just before Nick too fell into blackness.
“What have you done?” Janette demanded as she rushed to her master’s side, ignoring the pain that she, too, was feeling.
“Only returned what he gave me. What I never asked for.”
Janette shivered at the ice in the girl’s tone, then gasped as she put together the final pieces of the puzzle. This newborn (shecan’tbethispowerfulohmyword) was Lucroix’s. A sister.
Any love she might have felt for her new sibling was dampened by the waves of agony traveling down the link from her family. The fledgling shuttered her features and stared impassively as Lucroix convulsed.
“Please-” Natalie’s voice caught the girl. She looked to her, startled, and seemed shocked to see Nick unconscious on the floor, his head cradled in her lap.
Suddenly the backlash pain stopped. Surprised, Janette looked over to her sire, who was still in pain, then to the girl.
Satki hadn’t realized how strong the blood bonds were. She wanted her master to know what he had done to her, to experience it in vivid detail, but she hadn’t expected the backlash. She hadn’t meant to hurt the others, and when she realized what was happening, she closed off those channels.
Janette looked at her, disturbed. “Why are you doing this?”
Satki ignored her for the moment. She went to where Nicholas lay, unmoving, in Natalie’s lap. ‘His bond must be much stronger than Janette’s,’ she thought absently. She knelt beside them. Natalie shrank back, terrified.
Satki stopped, hurt. “I just want to help him. I didn’t mean for him to get caught in the crossfire, as it were.”
Natalie relaxed a little, her heartbeat subsiding. Satki took Nick’s head in her hands and listened for his faint heartbeat- there. Capturing it, she called to him.
“Nicholas- wake up. Come back, Nicholas. Come BACK.”
Nick felt someone searching for him, calling him back from pain-filled memories of a car accident on a deserted highway, a dark angel answering his pleas for help and bringing only pain...
“...BACK.”
Nick woke suddenly. For a moment he was completely disoriented.
“J-Janette?”
The figure laughed softly, and he felt his body trying to flush as he realized his mistake. But she had ‘felt’ like Janette.
“It seems, Nicolah, that we have a new sister.”
The noise levels in the Raven had risen to near usual levels when the scuffle had departed. At Lucroix’s cry the vampire patrons had perked their undead ears, hoping for some interesting tidbits. When nothing more was forecoming, conversation continued, in hushed tones, speculating.
Lucroix’s pathetic cries had ceased. He lay still now, his face lined with pain, curled fetally in the corner. Janette stroked his hair gently. Nick looked reproachfully at the fledgling.
“Is this neccessary?”
“He’ll be fine. I was. Well, mostly. Not a puddle on the floor, anyway.”
Janette frowned. “What is he feeling?” she asked curiously. “It is- painful of the heart. I know that is bad English, but-”
“Actually, that’s probably the best way you could have put it. He’s feeling my death. My family’s death. And the aftermath. Along with all the emotions.”
“How touching.”
The cold voice from the doorway drew the attention of the entire room. Two vampires strode in. They obviously weren’t here to enjoy themselves- in fact, Janette thought crazily, their pressed suits would probably give the bar a bad name, if people thought these were the kind of people that normally came here.
Enforcers. They had to be. But how could they have known...
The second turned to the door and spoke to a sallow vampire who was peering nervously into the room. “Good call. You will be properly thanked for this. Now go.”
The young vampire fled.
The Enforcers looked at the group in the room and shut the door behind them. The first looked over to where Lucroix was just opening pain-filled eyes. Janette helped him to his feet as he glared at his newest child. She looked back defiantly, then turned her attention to the Enforcers.
“So what’s going on?”
Satki could feel that her new family was afraid of these men, but she wasn’t sure why. They were obviously vampires, but they didn’t seem all that imposing. Just stiff.
She heard Janette’s swift intake of breath at her words. ‘What’d I do, insult someone? Probably. So what.’
The vampires in the doorway looked at her disdainfully. “You are obviously wanting for manners, whelp. Your sire would have done well to teach you.
“We will do so instead.”
His movements were swifter than even the vampires could follow. When he stopped, he had the girl pinned against the wall with a stake in his hand, prepared to strike.
To her credit, the girl showed no fear. Her eyes were like twin chips of ice boring into the firey vampiric orbs of the Enforcer.
“Let- me- go.”
Nicholas felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. The rage in her voice was carefully controlled- which only served to make it more frightening. He shivered, although he hadn’t felt particularly cold in over seven hundred years.
Natalie couldn’t believe her eyes. The Enforcer was slowly lowering the stake, releasing his grip on the girl. It was familiar behaviour, but she’d never seen it affect a vampire.
She was hypnotizing him.
“Drop the stake.”
The sharpened wood hit the floor with a hollow clunk. The girl kicked it aside and Natalie dove and picked it up, ignoring the glare of the other Enforcer, who strode forward and pulled his partner away from the girl.
Satki grimaced. ‘*Now* I’m in trouble. Damn, these guys are annoying.’
The second stranger looked at her, angry, but also- curious?
“How did you do that?” he demanded.
She looked at him, astonished. “Do what?”
His face grew angry. “Don’t play games. How did you control him? You’re too young, you shouldn’t be able to.”
Satki stared at him for a moment, then gave a short, bitter laugh.
Lucroix looked up at the bark of laughter that emitted from his recent offspring. It was true, she shouldn’t be so strong, even if she was his child....
“How?” Her voice cracked wildly. She swallowed visibly, controlled herself. “You learn a lot of control when you have to control your first hunger for-” she stopped herself suddenly and sent a pang of starvation-hunger at Lucroix.
Lucien was suddenly overwhelmed by what he had left his child to. He covered his face and turned away as she continued.
“My family and I were in a car accident. I was the only survivor. Barely. It was in the middle of nowhere. Dad fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the road. I guess I blacked out.
“When I woke up, I couldn’t see too well. I couldn’t tell if my family was dead or not. I couldn’t move. I screamed for help.
“I saw something flying and heard it land. I thought my prayers had been answered. I thought it was an angel. Ha.” Her laugh was caustic. It could have melted steel.
“He brought me across. And left me there among the bloody bodies of my family as the sun rose.
“The blood of my family was the only blood I could have reached. I couldn’t-” her voice broke. Lucien risked a glance and saw tears in her eyes.
She swallowed and her voice steadied. “I wouldn’t feed from them. I couldn’t hurt them. Even though they were already dead, I couldn’t bear to desecrate their bodies.
“The sun was up, though, so I couldn’t get away. I had to burrough into them. The smell almost drove me insane. Finally, though, night fell. I remembered seeing him the dark angel fly, but I was too hungry, too weak, so I started walking. I managed to hitch a ride. His heartbeat- gods.” The other four vampires flinched.
“Please-” Janette smiled weakly. “Don’t say that.”
“Oh. Sorry.” The fledgling looked genuinely surprised.
“What happened next?”
She looked at the Enforcer. “We got to a town. I called the cops anonomously and told them about a car accident. I didn’t want them to stay there too long...” She trailed off into her thoughts.
Natalie spoke up then. “All that time- when did you first feed?”
The girl looked abashed. If she could have, she would have blushed. She mumbled something that even the vampires couldn’t hear.
“When?” demanded Lucroix.
“Tonight.”
Lucien’s stomach ached with an entirely phantom pain at the thought of three days of first hunger.
Nick’s first reaction was pain. Three days of first hunger? It was unheard of, unbearable! Then he realized the true problems they were facing-
Her first meal had been tonight. She had first fed in the morgue. True, she had had blood before he fed her, but not nearly enough to slake the hunger. Her first meal had been vampire. Partially. And partially cow. And then part human. To make things better, the vampire who made her was also the creator of the one who fed her. The bonds holding her were twice as tight as ever, now.
The first meal determined what type of blood the vampire would drink for the rest of their unlife. She would be in serious danger if her blood of choice became vampire.
If any of this ever got out, she could become a dangerous pawn...
Janette and Nick grimaced, and even the passive Enforcers flinched. Natalie gaped openly.
“Th-three days?!” She turned to Nick, confused. “But- I thought-”
Nick shook himself awake to answer Natalie, even as he realized the danger she had been in earlier.
“Usually first hunger will cause you to feed on the closest blood source. I don’t know why- or how- she didn’t.”
“Neither do we,” came the frosty voice of the first Enforcer, “and you will never find out. She is dangerous, and that is why she must die.”
Unnoticed, the second Enforcer had slipped to the side of the room. He now held a loaded crossbow with a clear shot to the girl’s heart. Her eye’s widened with contempt, resuming their icy chill.
“I have done nothing.” Lucroix could swear the room temperature dropped a few degrees.
“You are a danger. You are tried and condemned.” He tightened his finger on the trigger.
Just as Nick realized it was nearly dawn, the girl bolted.
There hadn’t been anything to hear since Lucroix’s scream. The patrons of the bar wondered nervously what was going on. Had Nick finally gone over the edge and killed his sire? Unlikely. Still, gossip spread, carefully shrouded in vague terms to confuse any mortal eavesdroppers. When the Enforcers arrived, silence dropped like a stone- until they vanished into the back room. The previous volume quadrupled as hopes and fears flew, in closely guarded phrases, until the door flew open.
The custom had been dawdling, despite the proximity of dawn, in desire to see what was happening. They weren’t disappointed.
The fledgling practically flew out the door. Her feet were still making contact with the floor, but only close observation could attest to the fact. One of the Enforcers appeared in the just vacated doorway, crossbow in hand. Shrieks filled the air as the vampire patrons hit the ground. He took aim and fired.
She must have had some sixth sense, pure luck, or was just planning on it anyway, but ducked just in time and dove for the door as the wooden arrow buried itself in the wall.
Nick appeared in the doorway as her hand reached the latch. His eyes widened in fear as she shoved it open.
"No!"
Nick stood in the doorway, horrified. The girl's momentum had carried her out the door into the daylight. The sun had risen during the chase.
The sun had risen.
The door swung shut behind her, locking with a quiet click that was deafening in the sudden silence.
Natalie heard Nick's anguished cry and rushed to him. She stared at the bar, at twenty-four vampires getting to their feet among spilled blood and shattered glass. 'Janette's gonna have to find somewhere to keep them,' she though irrelevantly. Then she realized...
"Nick-" she whispered fearfully. "Wh- where is she?"
Nick stood frozen, clutching the doorway for support, unable to reply. She followed his eyes...
The door.
"Oh no. Oh, I'm sorry, Nick."
The day passed in a daze. Nick, Janette and Lucroix retreated to the apartments above, to mourn a sister and daughter they had only just met. Natalie returned home, knowing she was not a part of it. The others, Enforcers included, had been left to clean up the bar and find sleeping space wherever they could.
“Nick? NICK!”
Tracy’s voice pierced Nick’s mindfog. It had been a month since that day in the Raven. ‘I never even knew her name,’ he mused.
“Yo, Nick,” Tracy said, waving a hand in front of his face. “Anybody in there?”
“Sorry Trace. I was just thinking about someone.” He shook his head to clear it, then managed a wan smile. “What’s up?”
“The captain wants to see us in his office. Come on, you’re late already, anyway.”
“I had family affairs,” Nick said as she knocked on Reese’s door. The conversation ended as the captain called them in. He smiled.
“Sit down, detectives. You’re not in trouble. For once,” he added as Tracy grinned cheekily. “I just wanted to congratulate you. You two just got Partners of the Month.”
Nick felt his already slow heart beat slow as he remembered the last partner he’d had, the last time he’d received that honor. Shanke...
“Nick? Nick!”
“Huh? Oh, that’s great, Cap. Really.”
“You sure he’s ok Trace?” Reese asked suspiciously.
“He says he’s fine, Cap. Family troubles, that’s all.”
“I’ll thank you not to talk about me like I’m not here,” Nick said, annoyed. “Anyway, thanks, I couldn’t have done it without...”
*the vampire.*
“...Tracy here. She’s been a great partner.”
Tracy squirmed under the unexpected praise. The three chatted amaibly for a moment more, then Reese ushered them out of the office. Nick walked slowly to his desk, lost in thought.
‘How many of those arrests would we have lost if I were mortal? How many times would I have died? Well,’ his morbid sense of humor spoke up, ‘only one. But still- I’ve been trying to give up the vampire for a century now, but is it really what I want? I want to be human- but do I want to die?’
Reeses’s voice broke through his thoughts.
“Nick, go home. You’re not really here anyway. Whatever happened, it’s got you distracted. Book off.”
He jumped and looked up into Joe’s concerned face.
“I’m sorry, I guess I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Go home, Nick. Toronto can do without Wondercop for a night.”
Nick threw his keys on the table and turned to the fridge. Retrieving a green bottle, he turned to get a glass and nearly dropped both when he sensed the presence in the corner.
“How-”
“I’ve been observing you. I know you, through your blood and the blood of our sire. You don’t want mortality. You want freedom from the bloodlust and to walk in the sun. You want to be with Natalie. If you have the first, you can get the second.” She came out of the shadows. “I can give them to you, if you allow.”
Nick sat heavily in a kitchen chair. “You should be dead. You walked in the sun. I saw it. You-”
“I didn’t want it to hurt. I wouldn’t let it.” She sat down across from him. “I think it might also have something to do with my- how shall we say, strange diet?” She smiled at him. “Your blood was the first substantial meal I had, but it wasn’t enough to fulfil the need of the first hunger. The cow’s blood didn’t quite finish it either. I needed the human blood to complete it. Now- well, any and all of the above will satisfy me. But if those men find me, they’ll kill me, won’t they.” It wasn’t a question.
Satki saw her answer in his eyes. She nodded. “Of course. They fear what they cannot control. So, I’ll disappear. I can go into the sun- they can’t. I can still eat food- I just need blood for the vampire stuff- healing, flying and such. It shouldn’t be too hard to hide. You didn’t even sense me at first, did you?
“But that’s not why I’m here. I can let you do this too. Will you let me?”
Nick was in shock. His sister, thought dead- but then, he had never felt her die. He should have been in agony as she ran out the door. He should have realized she was still alive, but logic got in the way...
Suddenly the enormity of what she was offering hit him. “I- could-”
She grinned like a child at his surprise, then immediately sobered. “Yes, I can hypnotize you so your will would be as strong as mine. But there is a catch.”
‘A catch.’ Nick’s spirits, flying so recently in a sunlit sky, plummeted to the ground. “What?”
"You would also have to disappear. Or else, we would have to make enough of us, that the Enforcers no longer mattered. And I will *not* do that. You are the only vampire I have met that seems worthy of that blessing." She looked puzzled as Nick cringed, then seemed to catch on. "Ah, the little religion thing. Nick, listen to me." She caught his hand and forced him to look at her. There was no suggestion, no 'whammy,' just the persuasive tone of a friend.
"You are a good man. The lives you took, you cannot change that. You save lives now. You atone for your sins of the past.
"When Lucroix brought you across, you didn't give up your salvation. You merely delayed it. Had you died back in 1228, many more would be dead now- because you would be here to prevent it.
"Nicholas de Brabant is not a monster. He is a kind, gentle man by any name, in any century."
Blood tears trickled down from beneath closed eyelids. For the first time in almost eight hundred years, he felt his icy soul begin to thaw, and he began to believe.
Fin
Writer’s Note: I didn’t want to go any farther and risk messing up, so: yes, she does hypnotize him. Natalie comes across too, and joins them. I’m not sure where they go from here, but I’m certain they’re happy. I plan to do another story with Satki, to see just what kind of trouble she can get into with her strange diet, once I figure out just what kind of trouble that will be.