A/N: Wow! 100 reviews! You guys rock! And welcome new readers! I'm glad you're enjoying this as I am writing this. Sorry this one is a little short, but whenever that happens I have a reason for stopping. ;)

And to respond to some of you…

Taria Robotnik- Sorry… I have a feeling you might not like how I end this here. *evil laughs*

SwearByTheStars- Thank you! I'm glad you like the song picks as well. In fact, they are part of my soundtrack to this story when I write it and so I had to include them.

TBD- That's right. Erik has amber eyes when Nadir saw one with red eyes… but remember Nadir hasn't actually come face to face with him. He only had a feeling. And that's all I'm going to say. : )

Clara D- Sorry there is no Erik in this one… well not directly. Hang tight though! We are heading for a bumpy ride!

Sexy- Yup, the demon will always be a part of Erik. The only way to be free from it completely is death. It sucks but don't worry. The demon likes Christine.

And to everyone else—emeraldphan, belleange48, PhantomFan01, RavenousNight, DanceDance, Christina (thank you for the 100th! Erik sends his thanks too!), VampiresRule, Reviewer, Ariovc, and to anyone I missed I'm sorry but thank you so much too for being loyal readers! Your comments make my day and it's something I look forward to.

Chapter 25

Once Christine threw her clothes on, she rushed to Meg's townhouse. Knocking urgently, she was all too happy to see Artie opening the door.

"Hey Christine," he greeted then frowned. "Oh my… what happened?"

"Is Meg here? I need to talk to her."

Artie nodded. "Yeah. Come in."

Christine thanked him and walked inside just as Meg came out of the kitchen. The blonde looked at her friend and gasped. Christine's curls were disarrayed, her eyes red and puffy, her mouth was still swollen, her face void of all color. She looked like she had gone to Hell and back and lost.

"Christine… Are you okay?"

"Meg, I need to talk to you. Alone."

Recognizing the need for privacy, Meg nodded and took her hand. "Artie? Can you make us some tea? I'll take Christine into the bedroom."

Her fiancé disappeared to do that and Meg led her best friend down the hall to her and Artie's room. Christine walked over to the bed and slowly lowered herself on the mattress. She pulled her legs up to her chin and stared out blankly.

"All right. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

"You were right Meg. You, Raoul, Nadir Khan. I've been so blind and skeptical and I didn't want to believe it was true…"

"Whoa. Slow down and back it up. Who the hell is Nadir Khan?"

"He's the expert the police called in to help them with the case. He warned me. You all did and I didn't want to listen. I didn't—" Christine broke down as the weight of all the past events crushed down upon her and she sobbed.

Meg hurried to her—first grabbing a box of tissues—and sat on the bed while her friend cried into her shoulder. "How could I be so blind?" Christine gasped. "How could I be so ignorant?"

"Take it easy. Breathe, breathe. Good. Now, start from the beginning."

Christine took a deep breath and told Meg everything. She told her about her kidnapping/meeting with the Persian hunter and what he told her about Erik. She left nothing out as she pulled her hair to the side to show the marks where Erik bit her and how he had compelled her to forget them and cover it up. Then she told her about the confrontation with Erik at Box Five and how he admitted to her about the murders and his compulsion.

"After everything, what do I do? He seduces me although I can't say rape because I wanted him and I went ahead and had sex with him! How could I do that? How could I let him? After everything? Meg, he was so angry… I never saw him like that before and he… he… I saw his face!"

"Without his mask?"

"I have seen his face before that, but that's not what I mean. I saw it. The demon. It was nothing I ever saw before and… oh Meg it was horrible! Way worse than any horror flick because this was real. It was a real demon in him! But you know what? And it sickens me to say this, but I have to say it aloud otherwise I'm not going to believe it, but… it excited me. To see Erik lose himself, to give up control, all because of me, and I liked it. What kind of person am I to enjoy that with someone who killed and who took advantage of me?"

Meg listened to every word, and to say it was all pretty shocking was the understatement of the year. How could she respond to that?

"I'm no better than a murderer myself," Christine spoke quietly.

"No you are not a murderer," Meg said firmly. Taking her friend's hands, the blonde looked her in the eye. "Christine just because you let him touch you like that does not make you a murderer. You didn't kill those women. All right? You didn't go up to them and torture them and drained their blood. That was him. You can't think like that."

"What else can I think? I'm pretty disgusted with myself and my weakness. How can you not do the same?"

"Because I'm your friend," Meg reminded her. "We all make mistakes."

"Like sleeping with a vampire?!"

"Okay. This is an unusual circumstance, I grant you that. But Christine, let's look at it this way. He's a vampire so can you blame him?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're the freaking expert when it comes to these guys," Meg said with a roll of her eyes. "He has to survive, doesn't he? You can't fault him for doing what comes natural."

"Wait, huh?" Christine looked at her friend tearfully. "Do you want to run that by me again? Because I'm sure the last time we talked… you were pretty much against him."

"I know," Meg said, shifting her weight. "And I gave it some thought. I was wrong to make judgments because of his mask. And yes… he's a vampire, which is hard to digest, but I'm getting there. The point is Christine you were happy. For the first time ever, you were truly happy with Erik. More so than when you were with Raoul and I thought you were pretty happy then too."

Christine rubbed her eyes and used a tissue to wipe her nose. "Are you saying I'm making a big deal out of this?"

"Well, you have a right. He did murder those women and that's not something that can easily be forgiven or forgotten; however, those women were the only ones that were publicized. That's probably why you feel so much guilt. They're everywhere in the news and you can't get away from their pictures."

Christine thought about it. "I… guess."

"And has Erik honestly hurt you? Besides the accidental biting and compulsion."

"No but…"

"Then what's the problem? Does he make you happy?" Meg interrupted.

"The problem is this Meg… what if the compulsion wasn't the first time? What if he compelled my feelings? I don't know if what I feel is really me or if it was him pulling the strings."

Meg stood up and began to walk around the room. "You have a point. And that is hard to prove."

"Which brings me back to square one. What am I doing?" Christine sighed and looked down at her hands. "I have a great track record so far when it comes to men, don't I?" She bitterly chuckled.

"Christine." Meg plopped herself back down on the mattress. "The best advice I can offer right now is this… listen to your heart. If Erik did control your feelings, then your mind will be trying to convince you that he's the best choice for you. And if it doesn't then…" She left the rest of that sentence hang in the air between them as the words sunk in.

Her friend had a point, but the other part was the one Christine was terrified to admit. What if it was her? What if, despite it all, she really did love Erik? Could she be with someone who murdered others and will more than likely kill again to feed? Could she ignore that there will always be victims? And what if he couldn't control himself around her? What if one day the demon inside of him snapped?

Remember what Nadir said. Erik can't love without a soul.

What did that mean? If you don't possess a soul, then you can't feel anything? A lot of people argued that animals do not have souls, yet they love unconditionally. Of course, that was something Christine would argue saying it was preposterous. She believed they did have souls, but Erik was not an animal. He was once a man, now an undead one. Could a person still retain their soul?

She thought back to the music Erik wrote. How he could not have one with all those beautiful songs? A soulless being couldn't have written something that would bring tears to her eyes. There had to be some kind of feeling or emotion behind the inspiration.

None of this was making sense and it made Christine confused even more than before she came to Meg's home. Yet, her friend advised her to listen to her heart. If she did… what would she learn? And could she handle the truth if it was what she suspected?

Seeing the conflicted emotions on her friend's face, Meg said reassuringly, "If it helps, I think Erik will be good for you. Think about it. Look how romantic it is to have someone who has been around for centuries and they chose you as the one they want to be with. Face it Christine. That's a love that most women would be envious to have."

"You really think so?" Christine asked.

Meg nodded. "I want you to be happy. And seeing how Erik makes you happy, then why not give it a shot? What do you have to lose?"

Perhaps too much. Even my life. As Christine thought that, she couldn't deny that something wasn't sitting right with her. Forcing herself to hide her misgivings, Christine stood up.

"Thanks Meg. I needed to get that out. Well, I should head back home. I'm sure Van Helsing is clawing my cabinets as we speak."

Meg stood as well and smiled. "Okay. And Christine, you know you can talk to me anytime."

The brunette nodded slowly. "Right. I will see you later Meg."

Christine showed herself out and waved goodbye to Artie as she left the townhouse. Meg and Artie exchanged a look and she went over to the phone and dialed.

Clearing her throat, Meg waited for the line to be picked up. "Hello? It's me. Yes, yes. It's what you thought. That's exactly what I said… All right. I will. Thank you. Master."

TBC…

Dun dun dun! And also… before I get anyone to mention this… I'm not downplaying the importance of the victims. Trust me, a lot of this was something I would say and think about if I was in a situation where the man I'm in love with is a murderer. And if he's a vampire. I think Christine would be just as conflicted because you know what is right and wrong, and you want to say this is wrong and goodbye, but you can't for some reason. You want to think about the people who were killed and at the same time how the person could have done what he did. Hence the turmoil. Hopefully it makes sense. It does to me, lol.