Part Six

The smell of the warehouse was somehow familiar, almost comforting in a weird sort of way. Natalie paused, trying to sort out why. The air was stale and dry, with enough dust on everything to make sneezing a distinct—and potentially disastrous--possibility. But under than was…

"Death." Jack was standing at the door of their small room, looking out into the darkness beyond. "I'd say we came to the right place."

Fresh air wafted in, carrying the smell she'd only faintly detected before. It was the smell of the recently dead. Familiar because of her career, evoking memories of her safe, brightly-lit offices.

And evoking something else, as well. With a painful gasp Natalie doubled over as a cramp seized her stomach. But not one born of nausea. This was hunger.

"I don't think I can do this, Jack." It was hard to get the words out, harder still to keep her eyes averted from an even tastier meal than that which scented the air: the creature walking toward her, his voice filled with false concern. It would be child's play to tear out his throat, releasing the sweet flood that would sooth all her pain and make her strong and whole.

"Natalie?" Cool hands on her shoulders, cool breath against her cheek. Her hands clenched into claws.

"Natalie, look at me." The monster was trying to use his powers against her. One hand touched her chin, drawing her face up toward his. Some traitorous part of herself sent her eyes upward to meet his. They were only blue eyes, after all, a color of the human it pretended to be. His voice in her head brushed against the force of her own will and was gone.

"Nat." Hands on her face, preventing her from looking away as the blue eyes began to change. They went from blue to gold, like the last traces of pre-dawn night fading before the onslaught of the sun. Her hunger redoubled and she snarled and snapped at the face just out of reach.

"Nat. Listen to me. Remember what I told you. No one can control you unless you let them. You're strong. Brave. You can beat this. You can beat it, Natalie." Now the voice inside her heard wasn't a whisper but a shout. It overwhelmed her, confused her. From somewhere in the back of her mind she heard a scream.

You are not me. It was her older, weaker self, crawling out of the rot and decay in which she'd been buried. My name is Natalie Lambert. And you…will…not…win! Green eyes blazed from that pale face. The light blazing from those eyes was painful, sending her staggering back. In a second the weaker one was upon her, and she was forced to flee before it. With the monster's voice still in her head and the blinding green light of the other burning her, she buried herself deep into the soothing rot. Her time would come. Very soon.

"Jack?" The word seemed to come from far away.

"I'm here." He was just Jack again, smiling at her tiredly, her face still held gently in his hands. "Welcome back."

"Thanks. That was—" Whatever brave words she'd been about to say faded away, replaced by horror at what she'd almost—and still could—become. Then last of her strength abandoned her and she collapsed against him, crying as if her heart would break.

###

It would have been nice to stand that way forever, held in arms that promised safety and comfort. But inch by inch the real world crept back in. The monsters who had done this to her were still out there. Still killing innocent monst—vampires, her mind hastily corrected. And maybe killing Nick while she stood there hiding.

"You know, we do keep ending up like this. If it keeps up people are going to start talking." Her voice sounded strained in her own ears, but stronger than it was before. Jack released her, and gently pushed her tangled hair out of her face.

"We'll plead good cause." Jack looked tired and wan, but grinned his now-familiar smile. "You ready to go teach these guys a lesson?"

"Let's do it."

###

The other offices in the warehouse were as empty as the one they'd entered through. Only the last one, which looked out into the main part of the warehouse, had been in use lately. Mason jars filled with odd-colored substances were stacked on a wooden shelf, and a sleeping bad had been thrown negligently against one wall. Filthy rags were strewn everywhere.

The only clean spot was in the far corner, where a computer hummed contentedly to itself. Ducking to avoid the window, Jack went immediately to the computer while she watched nervously for signs of movement outside. From somewhere in the echoing darkness she could hear a voice lifted in chant. Natalie couldn't make out the words, but they sent a creepy tingle down her spine just the same.

"Gotcha." She looked over at Jack questioningly and his grin widened into a smile. "Somebody forgot to log out of his system." He hit a dozen keys in quick succession and she heard the hard drive start to whir and spin. "I'm going to download all his files onto one of my computers. If anything happens to me, tell Nick it's in the hot one. He'll know what that means." He moved back to her with the vampire speed she still couldn't get used to. "You see anything?"

"No, but I can hear someone. It sounds like it's coming from the south end, but with all the echoes I can't be sure."

"That's as good a place to start as any. Nat, I want you to stay—"

"What did you mean, if something happens to you?" Natalie overrode him. One thing she was used to was a vampire's over-protectiveness when it came to weak little humans. Well, this human, anyway. "You're not planning to do anything stupid, are you Jack?"

"Of course not." At her look he continued, looking away from her. "But I promised Nick I'd keep an eye on you. Keep you safe. And that means killing this Hunter before he can…can finish what he started."

"A Hunter who has killed elder vampires ten times your age." Natalie finished quietly. The idea of this shy, brave vampire dying on her behalf made her chest tighten.

"Yeah, but none of them had Toronto's own Queen of the Dead backing him up. And he's not expecting us, Nat. That gives us an advantage."

###

Just how much of an advantage remained to be seen. A brief, whispered conversation had convinced Jack that she wasn't just going to sit by the sidelines while he tried to save the day. So here she was, Natalie Lambert, Girl Wonder, padding as quietly as she could manage between wooden crates and over the occasional dead rat while keeping her eyes peeled for more revenants. They knew there was at least one around—the guard who has passed them by outside. Her job was to watch for him or any other uninvited guests while Jack came around behind the Hunter, hopefully killing him before the man knew he was there. She hadn't seen the Hunter yet, but she could feel him. His power battered at her mind, trying to find a way in. Between his beckoning and the thing inside her, it would be a miracle if she saw anything at all.

And then she did. The stack of wooden crates on her left abruptly ended, revealing a wide open space in the center of the warehouse. It was bound on three sides by stacks of crates like the one in front of her, the outer wall of the warehouse comprising the forth. The space itself was lit only by candles, which lent an ethereal glow to the spectacle inside.

The scene was set up like something out of an old Hammer film. A long, heavy wrought iron table was in the center of the makeshift room. Tall candelabra holding black candles stood at each corner of the table, casting shadows that seemed almost alive. The table was draped with a black silk sheet that fell all the way to the cement floor. Scattered around the edges of the room were bodies and parts of bodies, most of them still fresh enough to bleed. She didn't dare look at them any closer; while the thing inside her seemed to crave vampire most of all, it would readily settle for gnawing the dead flesh from the bones. The idea simultaneously made her sick and ravenous. She focused on the nauseous and let her gaze go to the most arresting thing in the room.

He was tall and thin, wearing a black hooded robe that was belted with something that looked too much like braided human skin to be anything else. He was carefully pouring grains of something red into an ornate pattern on the sheet, murmuring unintelligibly under his breath. An instant later he was looking straight at her. Biting back her gasp of surprise, Natalie stepped back farther into the shadows. Had he seen her?

A long three seconds later he resumed his work, pouring a thick amber liquid into a wooden bowl and lighting four small red candles. He carefully placed these along the edges of the table and ceremonially scattered gray ash over the entire thing. There was a flicker of movement behind him, and Natalie held her breath as Jack stepped out of the shadows.

He was holding a fire axe, the kind they'd passed by twice in their explorations. He lifted it and took a step forward. Then another. He was almost within arms' reach. Could it really be this easy?

The Hunter raised his head.

"How nice. I so rarely get visitors." One thin hand pushed back his hood, revealing a narrow face etched with years of hate and malice. A thin, unpleasant smile appeared, stretching his lips into a narrow line.

"Can't imagine why." Jack took another step forward and swung the axe. It whistled down in a steel blur. Nat closed her eyes.

And opened them as the blade bit deep into cement. The Hunter was now facing Jack, ugly smile still in place. Jack tugged at the axe, pulling it free with some difficulty. He wore a look of surprise that might have been funny in other circumstances.

"I'm a necromancer, whelp. Master of death. Did you really think that a weak little undead leech like you could sneak up on me?" His calm detachment was far scarier than any threat could have been.

"Fine by me. You've killed your last vampire, monster." The mild-mannered computer hacker was gone, leaving behind the face of the vampire. "Let's dance. Just you and me."

"And leave the lady to sit this one out? How rude." He gestured to where she was, hidden deep in the shadows. "Come out, Doctor Lambert. It's time you joined the party."

At the first stirrings Natalie gritted her mental teeth. She could resist. She would. The burning in her veins was just a result of the infection. She was stronger than this. She was—

walking out into the light.

###

The light was bright against her eyes. The sensation was familiar, somehow. Had she done this before? She shoved the thought away. It didn't matter. What did matter was the smell of fresh death in the air, sweeter than any perfume. The cool, dark cloak over her mind, eliminating doubt, eliminating fear. The clamoring hunger that was about to be assuaged. She felt stronger, more alive than she'd ever been.

"Leave her alone." The creature's voice was full of bravado, but she could taste his fear on her tongue. "I'm the one you should be worried about." It took a step forward, raising the axe. Hatred flared inside her. He was threatening The Master. The blade slashed out and she screamed in fury and dismay.

"You still don't get it, do you?" The Master stood just out of reach, not a scratch on him. How had the creature missed? "I'm afraid I'm a little pressed for time. Otherwise, I'd really enjoy teaching you that particular lesson. But rest assured, you won't go to waste. Will he, Natalie?"

"No." She walked the rest of the way to them, basking in The Master's approval. "But he tried to harm you, Master. Let me have him. I'll teach him." And fill the empty ache inside her with what she needed. What she had to have.

"Natalie—" It thought the weak human was still inside. Good. The Master nodded permission, and she made her voice weak, soft.

"Jack? What's happening?"

It worked perfectly. The vampire reached out for her, The Master forgotten. She let him put cold, dead hands on her shoulders, bringing him closer while her own hands clenched and unclenched, ready to rend and tear.

"It's going to be okay, N—" He stopped abruptly as her hunger boiled over. Her face contracted into a laughing snarl as she lashed out, tearing through his thin shirt and into the cold flesh that covered his sweet, undying heart. He staggered back in surprise and they tumbled to the ground, her hands still digging for her prize.

"Natalie!" Hands that were still—for the moment—stronger than hers grasped her wrists, pulling her hands free of his flesh. Blood was flowing freely now, the smell threatening to drive her mad. "Natalie, you don't want to do this."

She laughed. "What I want is to shut your babbling mouth." She licked her lips, savoring the droplets of his blood to be found there. "And I know just how to do it." Pretending to struggle against his grip on her wrists, she slid off him just enough to bring her knee up. He gasped in pain and surprise and her hands were free. Natalie leapt, her mouth going for his throat as her hands once again sought his heart.

The next instant she was airborne, tossed across the room to hit the wooden crates and land gracelessly on the cement floor. The vampire was getting to its feet and walking unsteadily toward her.

"Natalie, I don't want to hurt you."

"How sweet," she sneered. "Too bad I can't say the same, vampire. But don't worry. It won't hurt for long." The Master's voice a soothing presence in her head, Natalie launched herself at the vampire. She was to keep it occupied while he completed some preparations. If she could kill it, all the better.

And again she hit a crate with teeth-rattling force. Natalie lay on the floor, blinking, then slowly struggled to her feet.

"I'm not much of a fighter, Nat, but I'm betting that I've done a lot more of it than you have. You can't win." There was no threat to his words, just a quiet compassion that made her teeth ache for his flesh. Didn't he know that she was his mortal enemy? Her eyes locked on his, she slowly licked the blood and bits of flesh from her fingers.

"Mmm. Tasty. How long has it been since you fed, vampire? You look so pale. Nobly refraining from taking what you need from the woman who's going to kill you. Your weakness is going to be the death of you."

"I like to think it's my strength. You want me? Come and get me." He spread his hands invitingly. "What are you waiting for? The tug of your Master's leash?"

It was more than she could stand. Natalie launched herself at him with a wordless cry. He didn't duck or step aside, and her leading hand cut a deep swath down one pale cheek. Then he did move, and suddenly she was pinned against him, squirming against the arms that held her at waist and neck.

"I'm sorry." The words were whispered into her ear, and for one paralyzing instant she knew fear. She was helpless. He could snap her neck, or drain her in an instant. Part of her knew that the latter was no longer possible, but the fear remained.

He did neither. For several long seconds she thought he'd lost his nerve, smitten as he was with her weaker human self. Then her ears began to ring and her vision grow dim. She looked through human memories that were already fading, and realized that he had cut off the flow of blood to her brain. The doctor she had been predicted swift unconsciousness, followed by death.

"No!" The titanic scream she'd intended came out as a whisper. She couldn't seem to get enough air. She began to struggle wildly, scratching at the arms that pinned her own arms to her sides, kicking at exposed shins. But the ringing in her ears kept growing stronger, even as her movements grew weaker.

"I'm sorry, Natalie," the voice whispered again. This time it came from far, far away. She wanted to fight. The Master screamed at her. She must fight. She must, must…sleep. Rest, just for a moment. Natalie's eyelids drooped, then closed completely as a warm red blanket swept down over her thoughts.

Darkness.

###

An eternity seemed to have passed, but some obscure sense told her that it had been only a few minutes since she had last closed her eyes. A throbbing pain had started in her temples, and the taste of copper was sour in her mouth. Voices echoed around her, but Natalie's fogged brain could make little sense of them.

"You see? You can't touch me, vampire."

"Really? Then why do I smell blood?"

Tension was in the voices, stirring something similar in her own mind. She had the nagging feeling that she should recognize them, but it just didn't seem important. Better to lie here and let her head throb. Her eyes were open, and with some effort she managed to focus on the scene in front of her.

There were two of them, one tall, one shorter, both thin and the worse for much wear. The taller of the two was wearing a black nightshirt or something like that, which was an odd choice in clothing, if you thought about it. It wasn't even clean; red smears ran down the front from an opening over one shoulder. Red liquid glinted brightly there. His face was thin and harsh, and she looked away quickly. She didn't like him.

The smaller man was slowly circling the taller one. He looked like he'd been in a fight, and was limping noticeably. Looking at him didn't cause fear but a rush of other emotions that she couldn't begin to identify. His face was, was, he was a—

Jack. With that it all came rushing back. The fear. The horror. Tearing at his flesh and—And that wasn't copper in her mouth. Rolling over, Natalie retched weakly. Oh God. What did I do? She wanted desperately to shove the memories away, but they were mercilessly bright and clear.

"What's the matter?" Jack's voice, full of a hate she wouldn't have thought him capable of. "I thought you wanted a fight. Oh, that's right. You let your pet revenants fight for you. But it looks like you're fresh out." He gestured, and now she saw the revenant guard they'd seen earlier. Or bits of him, anyway. He'd been torn apart. Her stomach did a slow roll while another part of her exulted.

"A lucky blow, nothing more." Natalie closed her eyes and lay perfectly still. If he looked at her… A throaty chuckle caused them to open a moment later. "But I think I've had enough fun for one night." The Hunter—she would never, ever think of him as The Master again, never—was smiling, revealing blood-stained teeth. He opened his mouth again, but instead of words something far worse came tumbling out. She retched again, her body trembling.

When she could see again Jack had taken several steps away from the Hunter, and looked nearly as sick as she felt. The Hunter, on the other hand, seemed to glow with power.

"Nice show. Ever thought about Vegas?" Jack asked with a calm he damn well didn't feel.

"I don't think you'll like this next part." He seemed bigger, stronger somehow. He stretched out one hand. "Kneel."

Jack gave a strangled gasp and seemed to stumble as something hot and dry baked her skin. Jack spit out a mouthful of blood.

"To you? Never." And took a single step forward.

"Are you really that stupid? I'm a necromancer. I control the dead. And you, my boy, are nowhere near strong enough to defy me. I said kneel."

Jack gave a cry and fell to one knee, his hair hanging in his face.

"You ought to be honored. You've been given the opportunity to help save humanity from monsters like yourself."

"I'm touched." He coughed more blood out onto the floor.

"You be more than touched. Once Doctor Lambert has fed from you she'll be one of us, body and soul. And what's left of you will help create a dozen more servants of God." You'll go to hell having served Him best with your own final death."

Incredibly, Jack laughed. "I have a feeling you don't know Him as well as you think." He forced himself back to his feet and stood swaying before taking a step forward.

"Stop." Was there fear in the Hunter's voice now?

Time to get up, Nat. A cajoling voice that sounded remarkable like Nick's urged her to her feet. You've still got work to do. Her feet felt dipped in cement. It was a struggle to take that first step, even harder to take the second.

"Make me. If you can." Jack spat the words through gritted teeth. He crossed half the distance between him and the Hunter before staggering to a halt. Blood was flowing freely from his ears.

Tearing her gaze away, Natalie forced her own feet back into action, focusing all of her concentration on the fire axe, used and discarded during Jack's fight with the revenant. There was a long silence, filled only by the sound of ragged breathing. The axe was only three feet away, and miles out of reach.

"I…will not…be defeated…by the likes of you." The Hunter (or necromancer; that was how he'd described himself) held himself erect, eyes narrowed in concentration. A trick of the light made them flicker madly. "That's not the deal I was offered. Kneel…and die, vampire."

Another gust of heat slapped against her skin, blurring her vision and making Natalie bite her lip to keep from crying out. Had she every thought this Hunter was in the right? One of the good guys? He was a thousand times worse than any vampire she'd ever met. So why would he--? Her train of thought was cut off by a cry of pain.

"Jack!" He was on his knees, coughing up blood. Too much blood. The necromancer stood over him, smiling. At her cry he looked in her direction, blinking away thick tears of blood.

"Natalie?" The word was barely a whisper. "Get out of here. Run."

"But the axe is really what you want, isn't it, Natalie?" Those terrible eyes were focused on her now, and her breath turned to ice in her throat. "Pick it up." She did. "Bring it to me, Natalie. We can finish him together. It's what we both want, isn't it?" His words were tender, seductive. And the axe really was what she wanted. Natalie bent and picked it up.

"Nat, no. Find Nick. Or LaCroix. Tell him—uhhh." Jack shuddered, his eyes closing

"Come, Natalie. Join us." The necromancer's eyes beckoned. She walked toward him, axe held loosely in one hand.

"No." Somehow Jack was standing again. "You won't have her. You won't do this. Ever. Again." With every painful word her took a step forward, the necromancer retreating before him.

help me natalie i am your master help me NOW

The refrain built in her head, going round and round like a Mobius strip. There was only one way to end it. Natalie lifted the axe and brought it swinging down.

"NO!" Her raw cry of desperation mixed with his cry of surprise and pain. The axe had buried itself deep in his shoulder, crushing bone and severing arteries. Blood spattered to the floor in rapidly increasing rivers.

"Why?" Blood bubbled on the necromancer's lips. Natalie watched in disbelieving horror as he staggered toward her, one arm reaching out. "How could you betray me?"

"Why won't you just die?!" Her scream tore at her throat, but she didn't feel the pain until much later. "Get out of my head and DIE!"

The blood flow was slowing. "I can't do that, Natalie. The job's not done." His voice was growing stronger, as was the force hammering at her mind. "But you can still help me. Come to me, Natalie."

It was too much. Natalie felt the last of her strength fade away. Better to let it end.

"No." Jack's voice. The battering ram in her head faltered. "Not this time." A wet, meaty sound like a watermelon breaking on cement and a torrent of blood exploded from the necromancer's mouth. He stumbled backward, eyes wide. Now she could see Jack, his left hand and arm covered nearly to the elbow in red. A wet splat, and the necromancer's still-beating heart was resting between the man's feet. Jack grinned at her and she smiled back. It was over. Any second now the necromancer's muscles would relax and his already dead body would tumble to the floor.

Any second now.

"Jack? What's going on?"

Jack looked at her and shrugged. "Got me. Usually when you tear someone's heart out, he falls down."

They edged away from the twitching necromancer. The heart at his feet was no longer beating, but his body continued to jerk as if connected to an electric current. A bass rumble came up from his chest and his eyes flicked open. They were dead black. Natalie moved closer to Jack and grabbed his hand.

"I've seen a lot of dead bodies in my time. Trust me, this isn't normal," she replied through ice-cold lips.

"Nope." Jack sounded as freaked out as she was. "This is just a guess, but I'd say that we're not dealing with the tenant any more. This is the landlord. And he's really pissed about the damage."

The thing in front of them chuckled as it pulled the axe from its shoulder. Natalie felt her heart stutter in her chest. The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees in an instant.

"In a manner of speaking, Mr. Cohen. You and the young lady have destroyed a very useful tool. You must be…chastised. Thoroughly." His eyes glowed red.

"If you're who I think you are, we don't belong to you. You can't touch us." It was a shot in the dark, but it felt true enough. Her grandmother had always told her that you had to invite the devil in. She wished fervently that she'd worn her cross.

"I beg to differ. The vampire is mine as a matter of course. And you, my dear, are tainted. Revenant blood runs through your veins. That makes you evil. That makes you mine." He smiled, and she was a little girl, cowering from the monster in her closet. Jack's hand tightened on hers and some of the fear went away.

"Maybe that's true." Jack's voice was shaking, but he met the thing's eyes unflinchingly. "But I think you're stalling. I don't think that body you're wearing can stand up to what you've got planned."

Jack was trying to push her behind him while he spoke, but Natalie wasn't having any of that. Instead, a crazy, suicidal bravery filled her. She looked beyond the thing's enormous presence and saw the thin, fragile body it inhabited. Whatever had been healing the necromancer's wounds had stopped with his death, and what was left was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Without letting her conscious mind know what she was up to, she snatched up the axe and buried it in the thing's abdomen.

The agony she'd been half-expecting didn't come, and the screams tearing at her ears weren't her own. She only realized that she'd closed her eyes in anticipation when she opened them again. The beast was still in front of her, screaming in rage and frustration as the body it inhabited spilled its internal organs onto the cold cement. Blazing, hate-filled eyes met hers and she heard herself whimper. She was nothing before the strength of The Beast. The axe slipped from numb fingers and fell to the floor. He would crisp her soul like a—

And then the moment was broken. Stepping in front of her, Jack shoved at the thing. He cried out in pain as his hands made contact, but pushed ahead anyway, sending the frail body sailing backward. It landed on the ceremonial table, knocking over candles and spilling whatever had been in the bowl. The liquid spilled across the table and an instant later the entire table was ablaze.

Too exhausted both emotionally and physically to react, Natalie just stood and watched as the fire spread across the body of the necromancer. The thing screamed and flailed its arms madly but did little else as the fire remorselessly consumed it. At last the body lie still. There was one last blast of heat, this one seeming to blow right through her soul, taking the slimy feel of the thing inside her with it as it left. Then, nothing. The fire crackled as it did its work, filled the warehouse with the sweet smell of cooking flesh. Jack's arm went around her shoulders, and she slid one arm around his waist. She closed her eyes, her head resting against his shoulder. She was falling asleep when she heard him chuckle softly.

"Got any marshmallows?"

End of Part Six