Prologue:
Undetected by the waking mortals, the scent of the coming sunrise settled in the air. It was time for all the damned boys and girls to find some shelter from the day and sleep, dreaming of their next kill. There would be no dreaming for Nicholas Knight though. After 800 years, he decided that today was the day to end it all.
For this vampire had had enough of his existence. All that followed him was death. During his short time in Toronto, he had lost his first partner and best friend, Don Schanke, and his boss, Amanda Cohen, to a bomb planted on their plane; his second partner, Tracy Vetter, to a gunman's wild shot; and now his love and confidant, Natalie Lambert, by his own fangs. How many more friends had he lost over the eight centuries he had inhabited the earth?
As he now looked down upon the body of his true love, Nick's eternal guilt shot through him with the pain of a burning ray of sunlight. Only the presence of his sire, Lucien LaCroix, stopped him from lashing out and destroying everything within reach. Nick knew he had to control himself in front of his master vampire.
Though they had fought in the past, Nick and LaCroix were now as a father and son should be. When LaCroix entered the loft earlier, so to find his Nicholas bent over the then-cold body of Dr. Lambert, his still heart went out to him. When his offer for a burial was refused, LaCroix watched as Nick proceeded to obtain a long wooden stake that he kept hidden. The old vampire knew what this meant.
Nicholas handed the sharp instrument to LaCroix and knelt back down next to the side of the still-beautiful Natalie. LaCroix held the stake and contemplated whether or not to comply to his "child's" wish.
**************
Outside, two figures stood in the darkness. Their faces hidden in the shadows, they looked warily as the sky lightened with the coming sun. As the older gazed up at the loft in front of them, the younger stared with impatience at the other. Finally, the older stepped forward, entered the security code, and opened the door for both of them.
**************
LaCroix had come to his decision. As Nick sat on his knees beside Nat, LaCroix stepped up beside him, stake still in hand. With both hands, he raised the weapon above his head and summed up his feelings with one phrase:
"Damn you Nicholas!"
Chapter 1
As LaCroix started to bring down the stake, a rare tear, one not even shed for his true daughter, Divia, welled up in his eye. This unusual occurrence blocked his senses so that he did not notice the door open until a familiar voice cried out:
"LaCroix, stop!"
Nick and LaCroix whipped around to face the door next to the service elevator. There stood two feminine figures, ready to enter the loft. The one who had spoken stepped forward, and Nick and LaCroix gasped as they recognized:
Janette.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she asked with her strong French accent. Then she noticed Natalie lying on the floor. Her eyes filled with sympathy for Nick.
"Nicola, I'm sorry."
Nick nodded solemnly then turned back to Natalie. LaCroix also turned away from Janette.
"I wish there was something I could do to help," Janette said in a low voice.
"Maybe I can help," piped in a young voice from behind Janette.
Out from the shadows stepped a young girl that looked about 18 years of age. But Nick got the idea that her appearance might be false, for the girl gave off the pulse that only immortals could detect. This girl was definitely a vampire, but she did not act like someone who knew she had great power. The young one was timid and almost cowardly, hiding in the darkness. With her head bowed downward, she walked toward Janette, as if hoping to hide behind her.
"This is an acquaintance of mine," Janette explained. "Her name is Jasper DeWhite." She then turned away from the two gentlemen and faced Jasper. "Do you think you could help with this?" she asked, a sliver of hope in her voice.
"I might," Jasper replied. "It's according to how long she's been gone." She slightly raised her head in the direction of Natalie's body.
Nick rose from his knees and faced the girl. His eyebrows rose in disbelief of what he was hearing. This young one thought she could accomplish what Nick knew was impossible: to raise the dead.
Even LaCroix doubted Janette's faith in the child. "How could she possibly help with this? Judging by her weak aura, I'd say she is no more than 5 years turned."
"3 years actually," Jasper interrupted, but she quickly stopped and looked at the floor again. "Sorry sir. I didn't mean to interrupt you."
LaCroix nodded to her, then continued: "My point is that this child does not even have the strength of an Elder, so what could she possibly do?"
As if to answer his question, Jasper slowly walked over to Natalie, knelt down beside her, and held her hands over Nat's chest. Nick and LaCroix turned to Janette, who just smiled and watched Jasper. When the men turned back around, they gasped at seeing a faint red glow surrounding Jasper's hands and Natalie's body. Jasper's face was twisted in pain, and, when she tumbled backwards, the glow disappeared. Janette fell to Jasper's side to help her up, and Nick and LaCroix moved to assist her. They stopped short when they heard a sharp intake of breath from the floor. Nick fainted when Natalie Lambert opened her eyes, sat up, and screamed.