I do not own Ms. Huff's incredible 'Blood Ties' series nor the beloved characters we've all come to love. Therefore, no copyright infringement is intended so please don't sue: you wont get much
Feedback is much appreciated!
Henry gasped from his timely 'death' as the sun set at 7:12. He looked around his bedroom feeling a cold presence in the night. The past days, he felt something lurking in the city, a presence he knew but could not decipher exactly. He shook off the feeling and got dressed. He decided on a black slacks and a midnight blue silky shirt; Vicki liked that shirt and he knew it would bring a smile to her face. Henry finished his outfit with a black leather coat and headed out the door. He decided to feed before he went to Vicki Nelson's office. He picked out a club near his condo, Black Ice, and headed in the door. The music boomed throughout the club and many beating hearts pumped every so fast in his ears. He pasted a girl in the crowd, her heart beating frantically. She was young, he could tell; younger than she should have been to be allowed in this club. He turned around, spoke in his vampiric voice lowly in her ear: Go home now; you shouldn't be in here. He settled on a twenty-something red-haired girl; her blood sang to him, calling to his need.
He walked into the building of Vicki's office; she said she needed help wrapping up a case and needed his assistance. He was always up for helping Vicki on her cases, after all they were partners. Hopefully something more, Heny thoughtVicki Nelson was a woman who challenged him, she made things interesting. She was also stubborn, hard-headed and always dove first without asking questions. Yet, he loved her for it, all of it. He was attracted by the way she smiled, laughed, her stubbornness, and her humanity - her need to always do the right thing; his own warrior of the night. As he walked up the stairs, he picked up an all too familiar, haunting scent. It was the scent of hate and vengeance; he knew it all too well. It was her, the woman who should have died a hundred years ago. And now she in the office of the woman he cared too much for.
The vampire hurried into the building and into the office. Coreen, Vicki's perky goth assistant sat at her desk, preoccupied by her continual research of the supernatural. Coreen looked up and smiled at Henry, but quickly wiped her smile off once she saw his expression
"Henry, something wrong? Vicki's just in with a ne- "
Henry was not in the mood for chit-chat. He had to now if the woman nearly five inches from Vicki was her.
"Coreen, who is that in her office; you need to tell me now"
Well what's gotten into him? No 'Hi Coreen' or anything geez.
"Uh, yeah sure Henry. Her name is Mary Delacroix; she's looking for her d-"
The rest of Coreen's speech sounded like noise to Henry. He froze at the name; he hadn't heard that name since Paris, nearly two hundred years ago. Mary Delacroix. She was the woman that he turned in Paris and everything after that moment would go terribly wrong. He thought he killed her, but she wasn't dead. The memories too painful for him to imagine, the past started to come back - haunting him with a vengeance. His thoughts were soon shattered by the woman's voice as she opened the door.
"…Thank you Ms. Nelson for your assistance, I look forward to hearing of your progress." She turned and ran right into Henry, a look of terror, curiosity, and anger creeping up her spine and into her eyes, which now turned a midnight grey.
Within seconds, the two vampires grabbed each others throats, growling and throwing threatening glares at each other.
Shouts came from Vicki and Coreen (mostly from Vicki) urging Henry to let go, but he kept his ground. Mary should have died ages ago, and on this night, she would.
He froze at the name. He hadn't heard that name since Paris nearly, but not quite, two hundred years ago...Mary Delacroix…and everything after that moment would go terribly wrong.
The past started to come back - haunting him with vengeance.
Even with his hands at her throat, she threw the vampire a devilish smile, full of deception and disgust. He well intended to kill her now, to crush her larynx and trachea with one easy squeeze.
"Henry, dear, it's been a long time. It's good to see you."
"What the hell are YOU doing here Delacroix!" Henry shouted at her. He would show no mercy this time.
"Ooh we're on last name basis, are we? Well then FITZROY, is this how you greet an old friend, your hands at my throat? You weren't this physically when we had", she bit her lip in seduction as she finished her statement "our fun." With a smirk creeping around the curves of her mouth, she released her grasp on Henry's throat, lightly pushing him back; he reluctantly loosened his grip beforehand.
Mary Delacroix was a woman of poise, beauty, and perfection. She stood at roughly five foot seven, a Russian woman with the body of a goddess. Her golden hair flowed to the middle of her back, caressing her smooth apricot skin, and mesmerizing periwinkle eyes made her seem lovely, yet dangerously lustful. The Russian beauty standing before them had the face of a goddess, but a heart of ice, and the soul of the devil. Henry loathed looking at her. Her stench seeped through the office and filled it with hatred, deceit, and deadly lust that even he wanted to resist. Henry looked at Mary and saw nothing but a hideous traitor and a deceitful, well, bitch that she was. His instincts told him to kill her, but curiosity made him wonder how she survived and what was she seeking from Vicki, his Vicki.
"I see we have much to discuss Henry. I'm not here on your territory to kill you, so do not give me a reason to. You may be nearly five hundred years old, but don't think you can easily get rid of me; you found that out the hard way." Mary Delacroix may have been younger than Henry, an experienced vampire, but knocking her own experiences and training would be foolish. She was evil, he knew that. She was a witch before he turned her, trying to use her magic to keep him with her forever, tamed like a caged animal. Before Henry could speak, Vicki stood her ground between the vampires demanding answers.
"I hate to interrupt this lovely reunion, but will someone tell me what the hell is going on here? I want to know RIGHT NOW, so start talkin!"
Frustration took over Vicki Nelson. Minutes before, she was discussing a case with Mary, whose evident Russian background had no influence on her dialect, wanted to pay Vicki a fine amount to find her missing daughter. Now that she discovered that her client was a vampire, she knew the 'daughter story' was false. The four of them moved into Vicki's office: Henry chose to stand the farthest away in the room, afraid his patience would run thin. Coreen stood next to their client, eager to hear her story, and Vicki sat at her desk.
"Forgive me Ms. Nelson. I should have trusted you with my identity, after smelling Henry's scent all through this office. You've probably discovered that my case- "
"That it's a load of crap?"
Mary held back her tongue, wanting that very instance to rip Vicki's throat out for her tone of voice. She instead became calm, ready to continue her speech, but Henry interpreted; his patience ran its course.
"You should be dead."
Mary turned around slowly, with an I-cannot-believe-he-said-that kind of laugh escaping her mouth before speaking. Coreen knew there would be tension by the anger that formed on Mary's face, and found her self moving toward her boss.
Her Russian accent came out, loud and clear, as she spoke, angrier by the minute. "How dare you say that to me, after ALL we've been through, what I sacrificed for you, all I did for you, for us, and then you repay me by trying to kill me? Just who the hell do you think you are Henry Fitzroy?! Damn you to Hell!"
"All we've been through? Sacrificed for me? If I recall correctly, it was YOU who wanted to be turned. It was YOU who used magic on me, and," he stepped closer to her, his anger getting the best of him, "it was YOU who killed everyone close to me-"
"It was for your own good," she responded coldly. "You would have killed them anyway, so I just saved you the trouble."
"You're just as bad as Christina," retorted Henry. Mary sucked her teeth, becoming angrier than ever as Henry proceeded. "Trying to control me like I'm some kind of an -"
"Do not compare me to that brunette bitch of a woman or any woman for that matter! I used my gift to protect you!" Mary lost control, her temper flaring as her eyes darkened. She could take all of his angry words and wishes of death, but the comparison to another woman sent her over the edge.
"You broke the ONLY code that mattered, the one that keeps order Mary. You destroyed towns all through Europe, and I cleaned it up your mess time after time. You used your 'magic' to toy with humans, use them as puppets while…while you tortured them slowly. You are full of evil and hatred Mary. You used magic on me to keep me tamed like some animal! You forgot who I a-"
Mary was fed up. She thought after smelling his scent, she could try and patch things up between them, bringing a sense of order to a brutal past that haunted them both. She swallowed her pride and proceeded to answer Henry in a non-threatening manner, but to cut him with her words.
"You're not royalty anymore Henry, YOU gave up that title. Stop with the 'who I am' crap and STOP acting like you're better than us just because of that! I came here to look for my child, she's run loose in Canada and I followed her scent here, but I need help finding her. I guess I'm the only one who wants to stop her. Now if you'll excuse me. Ms. Nelson you have my information. If you do not want to work this case, I would appreciate an answer by tomorrow night."
Mary left, slamming the door behind her. Her anger got the best of her and Henry Fitzroy was to blame. Oh he'll pay for the past; I'll make sure of it. He's MINE, and if I can't have him, no one will.
Henry sat on the couch, silent. No one had spoke for nearly ten minutes after Mary left. Vicki let Coreen go home early. Coreen gathered her stuff ready to go home, but found that there was nothing she would rather do than to hear the story behind Henry and Mary's strange encounter. Vicki sat at her desk speechless. I hate that somehow all his exes are involved in my cases. He sure knows how to pick them. Nevertheless, she never backed down on a case, no matter how…complicated it became.Vicki stood up and went around facing Henry, leaning on her desk finding. She found herself helpless as a small chuckle came out of her mouth.
"You really do have the best breakup stories Henry"
However, Henry did not seem amused, only angry. Angry that out of ALL the women in his life to meet again, Mary was the one who came back.
"Vicki, this is not the time to joke. I'm leaving; I need to feed. After that, I'm going to find Mary and kill her, something I should have made sure of a long time ago. Then, I'll find her child and kill her too."
"Oh no you won't, I have a case to solve and she's a paying customer Henry." Henry raised an eyebrow at Vicki. Vicki saw his frustration and responded quickly. "Oh Henry I'm joking, goodness. How bad can she be? How can a damn near five-hundred year old vampire be scared of her?"
"You have NO IDEA what kind of woman she is!" snapped Henry. He did not mean to become so irritated with Vicki, but Mary in his presence made his blood boil. "How manipulative and evil she is; I'm not even sure if she is a woman, more like Satan himself. What…what she put me through Vicki, what she's done is…unforgivable. Y-you could never understand…"
Henry rose up off the couch and headed for the door before Vicki lightly put her hand on his chest to stop him, looking into his eyes, searching the man who was always her voice of reason. Instead, she saw a man full of worry.
"Then make me understand Henry."
Henry sighed, knowing he would have to tell Vicki before the return of Mary Delacroix brought devastation and pure hell to Toronto.
"It all started in 1810. I wandered into Marseilles before heading to Paris. I entered a little inn on the outskirts of the city, in a secluded and much wooded area. I hunted in the city, mainly at the Opera House and that's where I met her. She was very beautiful and mesmerizing, almost more than Christina." Henry laughed for a second, remembering the memory of the woman in the opera theater, whose scent beckoned for him to drink…
Flashback:
The streets filled with men and women elegant attire going to the Opera House, anxious to see the opera. La vestale was being performed again at The Opera House by popular demand, and Henry lavished in the hundreds of beating hearts in the theater, their blood calling him. Before he went into the double doors, he stopped as one heart beat with lust, their blood screaming his name. He turned to see a beautiful goddess, a woman dressed in a Venetian red dress that clung tightly to her bosom, and her golden hair wrapped up in an elegant bun. She was obviously not from Marseilles, as stares and whispers escaped when she glided seductively through the crowd. She had no shame and cared not for the whispered that filled the Opera House. She looked forward to see Henry, staring him straight in his blue eyes. Henry nearly drowned in her scent of lust, his body tensing as she neared. He never sensed her knowledge of him, something he should have done.
She nearly passed into the theater until Henry whispered lowly in her ear.
"I've never seen you around here, who are you?" His voice was like velvet in Mary's ears.
"Maybe you haven't looked hard enough. And I have not had the honor to meet a fine man like yourself Mr.?"
"Fitzroy, Henry Fitzroy Mrs.-"
"Miss Delacroix. Mary Delacroix."
"Very well Miss Delacroix, will you do me the honor of being my escort"
"I would be honored, Mr. Fitzroy. First let's chat a bit, away from these people; they seem to be staring at me."
The two began to walk, her arm wrapped around Henry's walking to tour the theater. Mary was not married, a taboo for a woman of twenty-two, and she already had the reputation of being a scandalous woman. She seemed like a vivacious woman, who was not afraid to try new things or fall into what 'society' wanted from her.
"They are just taken aback, to see such a fine woman as yourself here tonight. I see your name is French, but you sound as if you are fro-"
"From Russia, Mr. Fitzroy yes; my father was born in Paris. We lived in Moscow for a several years, and then I moved to Paris as young girl after my father passed away."
The two were so caught up in conversation that neither noticed the music, the opera had started. Neither cared, enthralled by each other's presence; the lust calling Mary, and the blood calling Henry. Somehow, they ended up in the secluded part of the Opera House, their lust nearly overpowering one another. Henry never met such a spontaneous woman whose urgency overpowered her. Something seemed different about her, now that their bodies touched greedily in want. Mary drew out a small knife from her corset, looking Henry intently in the eyes.
"Henry," she panted to get his name from her mouth, "drink, drink my love; make me yours." She slowly cut across her breast, blood flowing from the wound. Henry was not sure what to do. Had she known the whole time of what he was? If so, what was she, a witch or some sort? He could not sense her as a threat or as something evil, but the pounding of blood screaming for him to drink was too much. He quickly licked the dripping blood. His eyes flashed to black and his fangs lengthened. Mary went into pure oblivion as Henry bit down onto her breast in their throws of their passion. Henry fell in love with her blood by the second, an elixir of orgasmic pleasures flowing into his mouth and down his throat like syrupy.
End of Flashback
Henry cursed himself; he never realized the mistake he made that night, no matter how pleasurable it was. He never stopped to question exactly how she knew of him, or to see if she was trustworthy, only craving her body in the night. His voice of reason left, and his body betrayed him all those years ago.
- - -
On the other side of town, a mysterious woman entered an abandoned warehouse. The empty small, once a hospital facility years ago, now was home only to lobe cobwebs, insects, and the hiding lace for the homeless. Once she entered the building, bugs fled from her sight like a plague. The homeless man didn't have a chance to flee her sight, as the woman whispered several words in an unknown language, causing him to metamorphose into a grey stone-like figure before dissolving into pure ash.
She continued to her destination in the warehouse. She'd been here before to hide her most precious item. As she entered the back room, she set her eyes on the prize: a Mahogany coffin embroidered with crimson lettering, words of magical enchantment on the tomb. She could not hear a steady sound of blood pumping or a heartbeat near. She smiled at her conquest.
Nearly fifty years ago, she stalked and tortured the young woman, turning her into a vampire against her will, and then forcing her to do her dirty work. When the young girl tried to flee, her sire drained her of nearly all her blood, leaving only a few drops to keep her alive; under her control. She safely disposed of the body into the same deep brown coffin, using her enchantments to keep the undead girl locked in the tomb, and alive. When she needed her evil to be brought upon others, she used her dark magic to bring the young girl back, using her as a puppet in her own twisted game.
She opened the coffin to reveal a very undead girl. The inside of the coffin was stained with dried blood scratches. The woman seemed amused that her puppet tried to free herself from her solid tomb, and then proceeded to look at her child. Her chocolate skin still looked alive and smooth and her hands lay crisscrossed on her chest. She wore a thin champagne gown, a delicate piece that made her look like a sleeping beauty.
The woman bent down to pick up her child, using her vampire speed to carry her to a secluded place, careful that she was unnoticed. She paced the young girl in a gutter, setting her plan in motion.