Different Lives

pt. 16

Vlad gave Nick a cursory glance before returning to Alexander's side. He gently laid one hand on Alexander's head and the other on his hand, a comforting gesture Nick found oddly disquieting.. Vlad knew Alexander was prone to depression, had seen him retreat into himself after Edgar had killed his last human lover. But it had been a while since he had seen his friend in so dark a mood as this. His perfect vampire's memory replayed scenes from the previous year, parties at the families compound when Alice and Alexander had been the newest pair of lovers in the group. They had glowed with happiness in the way that only those who live on the edge of darkness can seem, sharing the light of their love with the whole family. Now, not even a spark of the brilliant light that had been in Alexander's eyes remained, shadowed by circumstances he believed he could not control.

"We were concerned for you, my old friend." Vlad murmured, ignoring the new arrival to concentrate on his friend.

Alexander looked up into Vlad's troubled eyes and tried to collect his thoughts. "There was no need for you to come, Vlad. We are fine."

"I am not concerned about Virginia, Alexander. You already know my thoughts on that subject. It is you I am fearful for. You have not spoken to any member of the household since this nonsense began..."

"It is not nonsense." Alexander protested, pulling away from his comrade's touch. "I made her a promise. We would be together forever. You teach your fledglings to honor their promises, to never go back on their word. Would you have me do any different?"

Nick cleared his throat, and stepped tentatively into the weak candle light. "I can see this isn't a good time to talk, Alexander. I'll come back..."

"No." The weary vampire motioned to the chair LaCroix had recently occupied. "Sit, Nicholas. Vlad is just annoyed with me about not calling the household. Actually, he is someone you should meet. He is very wise in the lore of our kind. Perhaps he can help you find an answer to your quest for mortality."

"Why?" Vlad looked at Nick again, noting the edge of hunger he fought to control and the resulting weakness he was ignoring. "When was the last time you fed, young one."

Alexander smiled at his dark friends words. "Vlad, this "young one" is older than you are."

"It's not the years that's important, it's the experience." Vlad's smile changed his face from forbidding to approachable. "Ignore him, he always brings up the fact that I'm one of the younger members of our ancient council. Mind you, he never mentions he's probably the oldest of our group."

"Kahn's the oldest." Alexander protested, aware that his friend was teasing him.

"Not according to him."

Nick smiled at the banter, glad that Alexander was feeling well enough to argue with his old friend. "I think I met your son this evening." He mentioned to Vlad, noting the fond look that crept into the vampire's eyes.

"If you had, you would remember. He is...unique, even among our kind. A golden hawk living among ravens and owls."

"He is your...biological son, not a convert?" Nick asked, hesitantly.

"I haven't brought anyone across in over a hundred years, boy. And yes, Damien is my biological son. His mother was a mix of Alice's race and a race of witches which have their roots in mankind's earliest, darkest memories. Damien has the power of the warlock and more." Vlad suddenly noticed the silence which had fallen over the house. "Alexander, where is Virginia?"

"In the basement. Why?"

"Because I fear she may not be there any longer." Vlad leapt up and tore down the hallway, Nick and Alexander at his heels. The door to the basement was wide open and so was the door leading to the garden. He dashed down the steps and scanned the room Virginia had called home for any trace of her presence. Then he started back up the steps.

"She's gone. We must alert Kahn and his Enforcers. She can bring disaster done upon all of us." Vlad gripped his friends arms tightly, trying to break past his shock. "Alexander, do you hear me?'

Alexander stared, unseeing, at the empty room. "Edgar. He found us again. He's taken her...again."

Pt. 17

Alice checked off the last name on her short list, noting with satisfaction it had shrunk from five to two. Five parolees with all the characteristics of the murder victims, all names found using the search David had found. She had been able to eliminate most of the names. People had moved, died, were in prison again. All things designed to make them unavailable to her Hunter. But these two names were still in town, still available, still vulnerable. Now she had a place to start.

"He's been stalking them, he knows them better than I do. Too much catching up to do. He can't do them both. Which one is his target? Which one...?"

"Alice, have you found what you seek?' Kahn walked confidently past the uniformed officers, Damien in his wake.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure. Two possibilities. He'll strike soon. The time period between killings has shrunk with each consecutive murder. He won't wait too long."

Damien's cellular phone rang sharply, causing the occupants of the room to look up at him. "Damien. What! Father, I told you we should have dealt with that toad when Alice first told us... Fine, I'm on it. But there will be no second chances with me. Tell the Enforcers to stay out of my way, or they'll be looking for new recruits." He snapped the phone shut with a vengeance.

"What has happened, Damien?" Kahn asked, worried. Damien rarely lost his temper, but when he did, nothing in his path lived to tell the tale.

"Edgar found Alexander. He's taken Virginia. Knowing that fool, he's going to feed her then set her loose. He's trying to lure Alex out but father and Det. Knight are with him. They should be able to control him."

"Don't count on that." Kahn warned, glancing worriedly at Alice. "Alexander is more powerful than even your father gives him credit for. If he chooses to leave, they won't be able to stop him."

"I don't think its Alexander that Edgar is targeting." Alice replied, thoughtfully. "He may be after the household as well. I suspect he hates us for protecting Alex." She turned back to her list, submerging herself in the thought patterns of her killer. "Take care of this Damien. I must continue the search for this vigilante. When he is in my net, then I can help with your search."

"What if Edgar comes for you?" Kahn asked, concerned at her lack of emotion.

"Then mine will be the last face he sees before he meets his creator."

pt. 18

Natalie signed the last report with a sigh and tossed her pen across the desk. It had been a long night. Between the various autopsies, paperwork, and concern for Nick, she was genuinely tired. Her thoughts drifted back to the vibrant young man she had seen with Nick, this child of a vampire and another supernatural being. Everything in her told her it was scientifically impossible, yet there he had stood. Not a vampire, but powerful none the less. And totally unconcerned whether she believed in his existence or not. What had he said..."I owe my existence to a condition you consider a sickness to be cured." Had she ever reduced the vampire community to only a sickness? Natalie found she was too tired to ponder that too deeply.

"Excuse me, Doctor Lambert?

Natalie looked up, startled. David was leaning in the doorway, looking at her with inscrutable eyes." Yes, is there something I can do for you, David?"

"You can give me a ride back to the hotel, if you don't mind. Alice is checking out the two possible victims with Kahn and Damien's gone after a rogue vampire. So that kind of leave's me in the lurch." He tried his most winning "I'm just a kid" smile on her and was rewarded with a smile of her own.

"Sure, but I warn you. My trunk isn't terribly big."

"No problem. I've got a long coat with me and gloves. If you've got a towel or blanket to throw over my head, we'll do just fine."

It wasn't quite that easy to get the younger vampire back to his hotel, but they managed. Once inside, David tossed off his smoking coat and gloves and retrieved a bottle from the refrigerator, glancing back at Natalie before he poured a glass. She pretended not to notice his "meal" as she settled onto the sofa.

"How long have you been a vampire, David?"

"Oh, about fifty years. Something like that. Time has a way of getting lost for me. I only recently joined the Family, though. I was pretty messed up before that, you know. They tell me I was a stone-cold killer. Hell, I guess I was just doing what came naturally. My old man wasn't what you would call loving to us kids. Use to use me and my mom for punching bags. I guess I was still pretty angry when my master brought me across, determined to make everyone pay for not stopping my dad from abusing me. It's been different with the Family. Damien kind of made me his prot�g�, his "little brother" so to speak. First time in my life anyone gave a damn about me. Now, ... well, at least I don't jump every breathing human that crosses my path." He ran his hand through his ragged hair, pleased that she showed interest in his revelations. The phone rang, interrupting his train of thought.

"Hello? Oh, hello Vlad. What! Yes, okay, okay, I'll call them." He motioned towards a small, red book on the coffee table, which Natalie obligingly threw to him." But what if Edgar show up here?"

"Then I guess you'll have to grow up very fast." a soft voice purred from the bedroom. Both Natalie and David turned to face the two vampires standing at the bedroom door.

pt. 19

The male vampire whom Natalie assumed was the "Edgar" of David's aborted conversation reminded her of a favorite professor from college, with his tweed jacket and neatly clipped beard. But his eyes betrayed his madness, gleaming with a fanatical glee. The woman vampire at his side was even more alarming. She was a sight from a grade B horror movie. Her hair was long and lank and her face was sunken and pale. The nails on her one hand were broken and yellowed but more horrifying was the fact that she seemed to be missing the other hand. Her eyes were blood red and mad. She swayed in place, her eyes never leaving Natalie's throat.

"He's here, Vlad. We have a problem." David dropped the receiver and slid quickly in front of Natalie, positioning himself between her and Virginia.

"Let me talk to your mentor, boy. I'm sure we can settle this little misunderstanding with a minimum of trouble." Edgar was reaching for the phone when suddenly the room went icy cold.

"Hello Edgar. So nice of you to stop by. It makes this hunt so much simpler." Damien seemed to appear out of nowhere, a frightened Lilith stumbling in his wake. He wore a smile that David knew meant trouble. "How fortunate that I decided to come back to the hotel to check on David and Lilith. Don't you think it's fortunate, Edgar?"

Edgar's smile faltered slightly, but he held his ground. "We have no quarrel between us, Damien. I only wish to settle my debt to Alexander, nothing more."

"David, Lilith, take Dr. Lambert out to the hallway please. This is a private conversation, just between Edgar and myself." Damien settled himself into a chair, facing his opponent. The slight, amused smile on his face didn't reach his eyes.

"What about Virginia?" Lilith asked, gently taking Natalies arm.

"What about her?" Damien replied. He waved his hand in her direction and a scream ripped through the room. The woman flew across the room, the force of the warlock's telekinetic power bouncing her off the far wall. She struggled to her knees, blood dripping from her fangs, and started to crawl towards her tormentor. Damien ignored the mad sounds coming from the injured creature, his eyes fixed on Edgar. "Really, old man, you would think that after all this time, near a hundred years or more, you would have learned not to annoy those above you. My father and the Council showed you mercy when they first judged you for your treatment of your wife/mother. Cutting her hand off, imprisoning her in a lead lined coffin and dropping her into a deep lake, doomed to starve for over a century and for what crime? For the crime of loving you well, but loving Alex more. Don't you think that was just a little overkill?."

Virginia stopped her slow advance and stared at the blond warlock, her eyes fixating on his throat. In her maddened state, she saw not a being of power, but a living vessel to dull her overwhelming hunger. She licked her lips in anticipation and slowly began to rise, preparing to strike.

Damien spared the creature at his feet no more than a glance. He gestured in the still air with one hand, his eyes still fixed on the man in front of him. Virginia crumpled to the floor, the stake Damien's magic had summoned impaling her to the carpet. In her famished state, it didn't take more than a few seconds for the unfortunate vampire to turn to dust.

Edgar stared at the remains of his tortured wife in disbelief. He had known that Alex's friends were vampires of great power. But this magic was beyond his ability to comprehend. "The Enforcers.." he muttered, dazed. "They must know..."

"They know enough to stay out of my way, old man. They don't want to end up like that pile of dust at your feet. How do you want to end up?" Damien leaned forward, a wolfish grin on his handsome face. "I'm feeling generous today. I give you the choice of how you will die. Stake, fire, or beheading. Roll the dice and decide." He made a gesture as though tossing a ball in the air. Two six sided dice landed at the feet of the doomed vampire. Damien's smile grew even more wolfish as he watched the blood sweat roll off the man's forehead.

Without another word, David and Lilith hustled Natalie out into the hallway, ignoring her protests. Lilith had no stomach for watching her own kind die and David had seen Damien at work before. Most vampire that he knew were violent in their anger. But Damien's magic made him cold in the moments of his greatest rage. And there were time's when that rage could spill over to anyone too close to it's intended target. It was best at those times to find some place else to be.

"How did he do those things? How did he cause that stake to appear, out of nowhere!" Natalie questioned, trying to break free of her reluctant rescuers.

"It's a talent he has, cherie. His dark gift. No one can explain it, it just...is!" Lilith released Natalies arm and leaned against the wall. Inside the room, her vampire hearing could detect Edgar's voice attempting to reason with Damien. She shook her head in annoyance. It was a waste of energy to argue with the Angel of Death.

A short scream caught there attention, the trio turning towards the door as one. Suddenly there was a sound, like a ball bouncing on the floor, then silence. The door opened and Damien exited, brushing at his jacket absently.

"Is it over?" David asked, nervously.

"For Edgar and Virginia, yes. I grew tired of his voice so I made the choice for him. I relieved him of his head. No loss, he wasn't using it for anything greater than keeping his ears apart. " Damien laid his hands on the door gently, the opened it again. "There, that should take care of the mess."

Natalie entered the room reluctantly, then stopped, stunned at what she saw. Or more appropriately didn't see. There was no trace of either of the two vampires left in the room. Virginia's remains and the stake which had ended her life were gone as was her maniac husband. All that remained was the faint smell of blood in the air, and even that was being dissipated by the hotel's air conditioning.

"I think I need a drink." David remarked to himself.

"Moi ausi, a tall one." Lilith replied.

"Make mine a double." Natalie agreed.

Pt. 20

Vlad kept one hand on Alex's arm as Nick drove them to the Hotel. He knew his friend would have preferred to fly, but in his emotional state, Vlad couldn't take the chance of his getting too far ahead of his companions. There was no telling what Alex's reaction would be when faced with Edgar and that horror that once was the lovely Virginia. "David can take care of himself." Vlad commented, more to himself than to his companions. "He grew up on the streets of New York. He knows when to fight and when to retreat to higher ground."

"Alice told me something about this." Nick replied, his eyes concerned. "Just how dangerous is this person?"

"Edgar? Not very." Vlad dismissed the absent vampire with a snort. "But Virginia is another matter. Her madness gives her strength and cunning that she did not normally posses, even after she was brought into the Community. Even the scent of blood is enough to sending her into a frenzy." Vlad looked briefly at Alex, then back at the detective. "She seemed catatonic when we first found her, not moving or reacting to any external stimulus. It was to be expected, of course, she had been entombed in that lead-lined coffin for over a century. Then, about a week later, David came home from a night on the town. He had gotten caught up in some sort of disturbance at a bar he frequents and there was blood on his jacket. Virginia caught the scent of it when he came in to say goodnight to Alex. She leaped across the room, driving the young one back against the wall. It took almost all of us, Alex, Kahn, Anton and I to pry her loose from him. She screamed for days until Alex arranged for her to feed."

"He fed her?" Nick asked, afraid to know more.

"Nothing human, boy. We don't sacrifice the living quite that cavalierly. He arranged for her to feed on animal blood. Her attack on David made us realize how unpredictable she was, but feeding her only seemed to make it worse. When she wasn't famished, she was cunning. Several times she almost managed to make it out of the family compound. Goddess only knows what horrors she might have committed if she had found access to human blood."

"Is that why Alex took her away?"

"No. She attacked Alice one night. She tried to push her down a staircase in the main hall. Luckily, Alice is a lot stronger than she looks and was able to break free long enough for Kahn and the others to come to her aid. Alex was caught between trying to soothe Virginia and rushing to Alice's side. It was a choice that tore at him so that he could not face either his love or the rest of the family in good conscience So he took Virginia away, trying to put distance between himself and the world he had begun to love. Why he made the choice to come here is beyond me. But all of that is moot now. Edgar has reclaimed his bride and I fear what he will do with his treasure now that he has her again."

Alex sat silently beside his dark friend, his eyes fixed on some point just above Nick's head. He could hear the deep, soothing tones of Vlad's voice, droning on about nothing. But somehow it wasn't making much of an impression. He was cold, so very cold, as though the blood had frozen in his veins. *Virginia,* he thought to himself, *I've failed you again.* A scream echoed his mind and with it the last trace of his connection with his child went silent. He gasped in pain and clutched the back of the seat, his nails tearing gauges in the upholstery.

Nick slid the car into a dark alley behind the hotel and parked. He glanced in the Caddy's rear view mirror, trying to catch Vlad's eyes. "We're here. Maybe I should go up first?"

"No." Alex replied, sliding out of the rear seat. "This is my fight." . He sprang into the air, his companions at his heels. "Virginia?" he cried, flying through the open window into the expensive suite.

"I'm afraid she's no longer with us." Damien replied, stretching his long legs on the table in front of him. Behind him, Lilith, David and Natalie were huddled around the bar, each holding their glasses with feigned calmness.

"Where is she, boy?" Alex asked, his voice cold and impersonal.

"Gone to Heaven, I expect. Or where ever our kind goes when we reach true death." Damien stared back at the ancient one in front of him indifferently. "Hello, Knight. Fancy meeting you here."

"Natalie, what happened?" Nick asked, his eyes concerned.

"Something impossible, Nick. I'll tell you about it later." She handed the glass back to David, who filled it with another shot of Scotch.

Alex advanced on the young man in the chair, his eyes changing from blue to golden with each step. "Tell me what you did here." He demanded, his hands clenched at his side.

"What you could not." Damien replied grimly, rising from his seat. "I set her free."

"He killed Edgar as well." Lilith added, looking up from her drink.

"Edgar was mine to deal with." Alex's voice had changed as well as his eyes. There was a rumble deep in his throat, like the sound of a lion about to roar.

"Then you should have dealt with him." Vlad slid between his son and his friend, positioning his body between the two men.

"It's all right, Father." Damien laid one well-manicured hand on his father's arm. His eyes were icy blue and expressionless. "Alex, you're grief has driven you mad. Edgar and his creature were a danger to us all. You couldn't deal with the situation. I could. It is as simple as that."

"I was dealing with it." Alex replied, tensing in preparation for an attack.

"You weren't." Damien retorted. "You couldn't even protect the woman you claimed to love from that horror. You were so wrapped up in a vow made to a woman long dead you failed to see what was happening right in front of you."

Nick moved to Alex's side, reaching tentatively for his shoulder. "Alex, whatever happened here, don't make this worse. Your child is at peace at last. Isn't that what you would have wanted for her?" The ring of Nick's cellular phone cut through the tense atmosphere, startling all but the two main combatants. He flipped it open with one hand, the other hand still on his old acquaintance. "Knight here. Where? Okay, I'll roll on it. I'm not too far away." The detective looked grimly at his handset before he tossed it on the chair.

"Is there a problem, Detective Knight?" David asked, his vampire hearing picking up Alice's name in the conversation. "I heard your caller mention Agent Morgan."

Nick glanced back at the ill-at-ease young vampire. "Do you know what she was working on?"

"She had some names of potential targets for this serial killer she was tracking. I think she was going to try to locate them and see if her quarry was already stalking one of them. Why?"

"She called in a few moments ago. Something about having a hunch about the killer's next victim." Nick released his hold on Alex's arm and started for the door, motioning David to follow. "What were the names and addresses she was checking on?"

"She will probably approach the potential victim as they leave work." David replied, fishing the list of names from his pocket. "There were only a few that she thought were possible targets. There were only five names on her list and this one , Jane Ellison, works just a few blocks from here. That would be my guess as to where to start looking for Alice."

Damien turned as well, dismissing Alex from his mind. "Chances are that Kahn will be with her, Detective Knight. He's hunted with Alice before. And he's possessive of his friends. I doubt there is a creature alive who could take her from him in a fight, not even your Master. Alice will be safe enough, at least until she's tracked her prey to his lair."

"What happens then?" Nick asked, a sudden coldness creeping down his spine.

"Then it's anyone's guess." Vlad replied, glad of the distraction. "She will either bring the killer to justice or ..."

"Or Kahn will feed well tonight." Damien finished his father's statement with a grim smile.

Pt. 21

Alice stood in the shadows across from the office building, her blue eyes coldly watching the stream of workers as they exited to waiting vehicles. She observed the throng of humanity with the stillness of a predator. Her prey would be coming out very soon.

"And when she does, then what?" Khan's deep baritone rumbled in her ear, hearing her unspoken thoughts. He stood slouched against the wall behind her, watching her carefully.

"Then I follow, watching, waiting for the moment to strike. I must make an example of her. I must make sure that the others see the wages of sin, of neglect, are death." Alice's spoke in an eerie monotone, her face never changing expression.

"She seems quite different from the last time we met." LaCroix's voice had a tinge of amusement. He stepped from the deep shadows of the alleyway, his own icy blue eyes sweeping over the beautiful blond and her ancient associate. He had not planned on speaking to the elder vampire again, at least not the presence of another. But when he had felt his ageless aura emanating from the alley his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Neither Kahn nor his prot�g� had looked back when LaCroix had landed.

Kahn did not bother to turn around. "It's her way of tracking these human vermin. For a while, she becomes them, seeing the world through their eyes. Feeling what they feel, planning as they would plan."

"Sounds fascinating." LaCroix remarked, a slight smile on his face. "I wonder that you do not bring her across. She would make an efficient Enforcer."

"My dear old friend, what makes you think she isn't one of my Enforcers?" Kahn allowed himself a wolfish smile. It was tempting to bait the Roman. LaCroix's arrogance made him too predictable for the game to be interesting for long. But the occasional jab kept them both on their toes. "As for bringing her across, she's more effective as she is. No human hunter is likely to sneak up on her unawares when the sun is up. Holy objects and garlic are of no importance to her. Of course, they are not of much importance to me either."

"You always did claim to be able to stand the shadow of the cross." LaCroix replied, lifting one eyebrow.

"I don't claim any such thing, old friend. It happens to be a fact. But then, I always was more stubborn than you." Kahn looked over at his prot�g�, noticing a sudden change of expression in her eyes. He watched as she moved forward, oblivious of his presence.

Alice slid from her place in the shadows and made her way across the street, her hands tucked in the pockets of her coat. Her eyes scanned the area, on the watch for the other predator she knew had to be in the area. Ahead of her was her stalking goat, the woman she knew in her heart was the killers next prey. Alice had read her packet several times, memorizing the details as she knew the killer had. This woman, Jane Ellison, had been arrested after a drunk driving accident, when she had blindly smashed into a car containing a man and his two children. The man had survived, but the children had been killed instantly. Ellison had walked away without a scratch. She had been tried for vehicular manslaughter, but her lawyers had taken advantage of every loophole in the system to have save her from herself. Alice had grimly read over the details of the trial, mentally cursing the bungling of the prosecutors and the police for allowing this case to be lost, as she was sure the killer had. Now the woman was here, free and on the streets once more.

Kahn straightened suddenly. A stranger had fallen into step behind the two woman, his eyes fixed on the first female and ignoring Alice. "Looks like the game has begun. Want to tag along?" He zipped up his jacket and fell in behind the man, keeping to the shadows. LaCroix watched for a moment then with a thin smile, launched himself into the air, keeping the hunters and their prey in sight.

Pt. 22

The killer had watched from the newspaper stand beside the office building, waiting for his quarry's inevitable exit. She had left her place of employment at 5:00 every day for weeks, never earlier and never later. Always at 5:00. He knew from his surveillance that she would go the few blocks to a local bar and have a few drinks before she began her trek home. Just as she had done the night she had murdered the innocent family which had the misfortune to find themselves in her path. The thought of those innocents dead brought other memories to the forefront, memories of another family dead because of the leniency of the judicial system. His family, now walking ghost-like beside him, urging him on. He took no notice of the blond in front of him, instead fixating on his prey. Neither noticed the man in the leather jacket who ambled along behind them or the shadow which followed from above.

*Soon.* the killer thought, watching the woman quicken her pace in anticipation of her evening drink. *Soon, she will be judged and the proper sentence will finally be carried out. Soon, innocent blood will rest in peace.*

The object of his obsession, Ms. Ellison, was oblivious to the small group of people who were covertly or not so covertly following in her wake. It had been a lousy day, like so many days had been since the accident. Her lawyer had called to inform her that the family of the people she had killed were suing her in civil court. He had also read her the riot act because someone had told him she had been seen drinking in a bar. The last straw had been her employer warning her she would be out on the street if she didn't stop using so much of the company's time to deal with her personal business. *Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.* she thought sullenly. Ahead of her she could hear the comforting sounds of her favorite bar, where Happy Hour had just begun. She could feel her mouth go dry in anticipation of that first martini.

Inside, the bar was crowded and noisy, everyone taking advantage of the bar's special after-work drink prices to tide them over till the traffic had subsided and they could make their way home in peace. Ms. Ellison was pleased to find that her favorite place at the bar was unoccupied and quickly ordered her drink, looking furtively around her to make sure there was no one in sight that she knew. The bartender slid her martini in front of her with a smile.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice from behind her asked. Ellison looked up into a pair of expressionless blue eyes. A fashionably dressed blond was standing beside her, one hand on the seat beside her.

"Not at the moment." She replied, turning back to her drink.

Alice positioned herself on the edge of the seat and glanced backward. Her eyes scanned the crowded bar, looking for a sign of the predator who must be tracking this woman. She saw Kahn enter the bar, the collar of his leather jacket flipped up and tinted glasses on the bridge of his nose. Behind him she could see the other ancient vampire he had introduced her to, LaCroix, picking his way through the throng of humanity with a look of disdain on his face. For a moment, she lost the killer's mindset as she admired the two different and deadly vampires. Then she saw him. A face in the crowd with nothing to distinguish him from any other face, except his eyes. His were the eyes of a hunter, just like hers.

Across the room, the killer watched his prey order yet another drink. He knew from experience she would have at least two more, not counting the ones that various males at the bar would buy for her. Then she would make a quick trip to the ladies room and stagger out of the bar to the parking garage to reclaim her vehicle. That was where he would strike, in the relative privacy of the almost empty garage. The criminal would finally face her judge, jury and executioner. He settled in to wait for her to leave.

Kahn and LaCroix settled themselves at a table in a dark corner opposite the bar. The waitress assigned to the table approached only to be waved off. No one else dared approach the strange duo. "So, now what happens?" LaCroix asked, absently fingering the stickpin on his lapel.

"Haven't you ever staked a goat out and waited for the tiger to approach?" Kahn asked, amused. "That's what we're doing here now. That human female is our stalking goat. She will draw out our killer and then the trophy will be ours."

"As I recall, the goat had a tendency to get eaten before the tiger was killed."

"No great loss." Kahn smiled thinly and flexed his long fingers.

"Why do I have the feeling that you are not here to see mortal justice done, old friend?" LaCroix asked sarcastically.

"The only reason I am here "old friend" is to make sure some human vermin doesn't take what is mine. And make no mistake, Roman, that girl is mine. I have taught her our ways, trained her to hunt, to enforce our Code. She is my creation and no one will take her from me, not even you."

LaCroix smiled at his compatriot, one eyebrow raised. "Indeed, I suspect the lady might disagree with that."

"In the same way that your son disagrees with your possessiveness?" Kahn countered, leaning back in his chair.

"That is a totally different situation. Nicholas is mine, my blood, my child. He is stubbornly determined to continue this hopeless quest for humanity but ultimately he must return to me. I am his family."

"As I am Alice's." Kahn looked back at the bar, watching the two women studiously ignore one another. "I am all the family she can claim, save her sister. And she, poor child, is married to my blood brother Vlad. Personally, I never did see the attraction that crazy Romanian had for her, but there's no accounting for taste. After all, for some unfathomable reason, I think Alice has taken a fancy to you."

"And that annoys you?" LaCroix replied, his eyes on the women across the room. "Good!"

"It makes me think I need to take her on a long vacation. She's obviously not thinking clearly if she finds you interesting."

"Enough! It looks as though our game is progressing to the next stage." LaCroix watched as the woman they had followed stood up and made her way unsteadily to the ladies room in the rear of the bar, with Alice following discreetly behind her. "Now what happens?"

"If I know my student only one of them will leave that room. That drunken sot of a female she's trying to protect won't be a problem for too much longer. " Kahn rose gracefully to his feet and started back towards the entrance, with LaCroix at his side. As they reached to door, he turned and looked carefully at a man seated alone at a table. Kahn smiled grimly and looked back at his companion. "Well, it seems our pseudo-wolf is laying in wait for his sheep."

LaCroix looked the man over carefully before walking out of the door, the ancient Enforcer at his heels. "Not terribly impressive. His kind are no sport at all."

"Don't underestimate his kind, Roman. The mad are more dangerous then the average sheep for they are far more unpredictable." Kahn stepped into the shadows of the nearby alleyway and slumped down, looking for all the world like a heap of rags thrown down and forgotten. LaCroix scowled and rose again into the air, coming to rest on a fire-escape landing just above his friend. Together they waited, each wrapped in his own thoughts.

Pt. 23

The ladies room in the bar was almost deserted, a rare occurrence during Happy Hour. Alice looked into the mirror in front of her as she waited for her quarry to leave the stall. The next move would have to be hers. As the other woman approached the sink, she breathed deeply and turned towards her.

"Jane Ellison? My name is Alice Morgan and I work with the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Washington, D.C." Alice reached into her jacket and showed the startled woman her badge and ID. "My superior's have assigned me to assist the Crown Prosecutors office on a case we are both very interested in closing. I have reason to believe that you are being stalked by the person responsible for multiple homicides, both here and in the States."

Jane looked at the blond, slightly befuddled. "What? What did you say?"

Alice sighed in irritation and repeated her statement. "I'm with the F.B.I. in the United States. We are working in conjunction with the Crown Prosecutor's office and the local Toronto police to locate a serial murderer targeting woman such as yourself, women who are on parole for crimes involving the endangerment of children. You were tried for vehicular manslaughter but were convicted of a lesser offense and are presently now on probation, are you not?"

"I don't have to talk to you." Jane replied belligerently.

"And I don't have to save your worthless life." Alice retorted coldly. "But I will. Give me your coat."

"What!"

"You heard me. You're not that drunk, not yet. The man I believe responsible for the murders of several women over the past few weeks here in Toronto is in this bar and has been stalking you. I really haven't got the time to explain it all to you. Now, give me your coat. We're about the same height, weight and hair-color. With the collar up and a little luck, I'll be able to get out of here before my quarry gets a good look at my face and realizes it's not you. He'll try to take me and I'll stop him. I want you to wait ten minutes before you leave this room then call the police and ask for Detective Nick Knight. Tell him Agent Morgan needs backup and give him this address. He'll take it from there."

"I don't know who you think you are, but if you don't leave me alone I scream!"

"Fine. Go right ahead. Better yet, walk out that door and leave this bar. I'm sure the man in the corner who followed you from you office will be pleased to help a woman in distress. For you sake, though, I hope you have some identification on your person. The last of this madman's victims that we found was so severely beaten her own family couldn't be sure it was her." Alice knew her tactics were so far over the line that she would probably be looking for another job after this case was over. But there was no time for all the "proper" speeches and other niceties. This fool in front of her would be the killer's last victim in Toronto. Alice was certain of that. The publicity surrounding his other kills had grown too hot for him. Soon, he would go to ground and it would be months before he surfaced again. More blood would be spilled by the vigilante.

Jane Ellison looked at the icy blond in front of her in confusion. "I read about some killings in the newspaper." She whispered hoarsely. "The story said that they were related but didn't say how."

Alice sighed in exasperation. "The reasons behind the killings isn't important right now. What is important is getting you out of here in one piece and keeping this hunter from moving on to kill somewhere else." She slid out of her jacket and handed both it and her badge to the trembling woman in front of her. "Here, take my badge and jacket. There's a phone in the corner just beside this washroom. You can reach it without being seen from the bar. Call the police and ask for Detective Nick Knight in Homicide. Tell him who and where you are and give him my name. Tell him I've found our man and need backup. He'll send someone for you." She gently took the other woman's coat from her and put it on, turning the collar up to obscure her face.

Jane's eyes grew wide at the sight of the shoulder holster the other woman wore. "What's going to happen to me?" she asked in terror.

"I haven't a clue." Alice responded diffidently, her mind already on the role she was about to play. "But if I were you, I wouldn't leave the room for at least five minutes. By then, my quarry should have taken the bait." She turned and stepped quickly through the doorway, leaving the terrified woman behind her.

Alice quickly made her way across the bar and to the exit, not daring to look around for her ancient friend and his unlikely companion. Kahn had hunted with her before. He would hang back just far enough not to be seen but close enough to keep her in sight. Alice had no way of judging LaCroix's hunting skills but from what Kahn had told her about him in the past, she reasoned he probably would not be thrown off the trail easily. She knew the killer was close behind her, having seen him rise to follow her out of the bar. If she was right, he would move to strike in the alley between the parking complex and the building where Jane Ellison had been employed. She deliberately stumbled slightly as she walked, playing the part of an inebriated individual.

The killer watched his prey weave slightly as she walked toward her car, calculating where and when he would strike. So far, everything was going according to plan. Justice would be served tonight. He quickened his pace as they approached the alley, preparing to strike.

"Alice!" a voice rang out from out of the shadows. Several figures appeared out of nowhere, landing in front of the startled woman.

"Damn!" Alice exclaimed, turning back to her quarry, her gun in her hand. The man was gone. And so were the two ancient vampires who had been behind him.

pt. 24

"Alice, are you all right?" Alex asked anxiously, reaching out to touch her golden hair.

She shrugged him off angrily. "I was just fine until you decided to drop out of the sky and scare off suspect."

Nick scanned the alley behind the annoyed agent, looking for signs of a human presence. "We thought you might need some backup."

"I didn't. Kahn was here as was your master. That should have been all the help I needed. Damn!" She moved back down the alley, dropping the borrowed coat behind her.

Alex moved to intercept her. "Alice! We must speak."

"Not now." She replied coldly, shaking him off. "Knight, go back to the bar and locate our potential victim, Jane Ellison. Make sure she gets out of here in one piece."

"Do you think our murder would go back for her?" Nick asked.

"Not bloody likely. Too much heat. He'll likely go to ground until everything has calmed down. Then he'll be on the trail again. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Nick questioned, stopping under a street light to look at her.

"Unless Kahn and LaCroix get to him first." Damien responded, appearing out of the mist which had formed in the alleyway.

"Well, that would be one way to get the creep off the street." Alice replied, tucking her gun back in its holster. "Can you track them, Damien?"

"They're not far away. Maybe only a few blocks over. And they're enjoying themselves immensely."

"That means the perp is still in their line of sight. How fast can you get me there?" Alice asked.

"We are there already." Damien replied, gesturing behind them.

Nick felt a queasiness in his stomach for a second as the world blurred and dimmed. Then just as suddenly, the shapes around him became fixed again. In front of him were the two ancient vampires with a human pinned between them. They seemed to be having a long discussion over the man's head.

"Heads he's yours, tails he's mine." Kahn offered, fishing a golden drachma from his pocket.

"I think not, old friend. I've seen you try that little trick before. It always lands on tails when you want it to." LaCroix responded, tightening his grip on the struggling human.

"Oh, very well, let's just throw him then. If he lands on his head, he's yours, if he lands on any other portion of his anatomy he's mine." Kahn's angular face was looking more and more skull-like as he let his beast start to appear.

"I don't suppose it would do any good to tell you two that we want to take him in for questioning, would it?" Alice asked, walking up to the two old adversaries.

"No." both men responded tersely, each settling in for the battle.

"Didn't think so." Alice replied, walking away nonchalantly.

"Are you going to just let them kill him?" Nick demanded, horrified.

"You want to tell them they can't?" Alice retorted, a grim smile playing on her delicate face. "Go right ahead and try. But let me warn you, Knight. The last fool of an adolescent vampire who told Kahn he couldn't have what he wanted was deprived of his appendages. And that was before the old man got mad."

Nick started across the block angrily, moving with vampire speed to intercept the other vampires. Damien moved with equal speed, knocking the detective off his feet with a shove.

"She wasn't kidding." He commented, lifting the stunned detective off the ground. He dusted the other man's jacket off with one hand while firmly holding him with the other. Behind them the two ancient vampires had taken their quarry to the top of a nearby building. The sudden scream which filled the darkness told Damien that they had decided on a messier solution to their problem.

"Well, that's one way to solve the problem." Alice remarked, walking over to view the corpse. "Suspect jumped to his death when faced with arrest. Nice and neat. Or at least it will be when we've finessed a few of the awkward questions. You're cool with this, right Knight?"

"Do I have a choice?" he choked, futile clutching at Damien's hand.

"Damien let the boy go." Kahn commanded, landing just a few feet behind the group.

"Very well." Damien replied, releasing his hold on the detective's shirt.

Nick staggered back a few steps, then caught his himself. "We could have taken him in. You didn't have to kill him."

"Maybe. But then again, maybe not. Maybe this is the way it was suppose to be." Kahn walked over and nudged the rapidly cooling corpse with his toe. "We probably did the poor fool a kindness, releasing him from his madness. As Damien did for Virginia."

"Virginia is dead?" Alice asked in surprise, looking over at her former paramour.

"Yes. She's free. And now, I suppose, I am as well." Alex looked up at the full moon, shining brightly above their heads. In an instant he was gone, a soft breeze the only indication he had moved.

"Where's he going?" Nick asked, looking down the street at the approaching sirens.

"To brood somewhere. He always was too melodramatic for his own good." Kahn replied, looking up at the night sky. "Will you follow him, child?"

"I expect I will." Alice also looked up at the stars, watching the clouds cover their cold light. "But not right now. He needs time to grieve alone. Then ... well, fate has a funny way of bringing us together."

"While you're waiting, may I offer to show you the sights of Toronto?" Lacroix crooned, edging close to the icy blond. "I'm sure you will need a rest after this strenuous case and I've been told I can be quite entertaining."

"Who told you that, Roman, Caligula?" Kahn snorted, reaching out to snag his lady friend's arm. "She's coming with me."

"Actually, I kind of did want to see more of the city." Alice commented, taking LaCroix's arm. "Why don't we make it a threesome?"

"Sounds kinky." Kahn replied, a wolfish grin on his face. "I love it." The three rose in the air, the two vampires supporting the object of their affection between them. Soon they too had disappeared.

"Can you explain this to everyone's satisfaction, Detective Knight?" Damien asked, a grin on his face.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Everyone has a choice, Knight." Damien disappeared into the fog, leaving Nick to cope with the arriving police units. It had been a very good night's work indeed.