LaCroix touched down along the banks of Lake Ontario. He had followed Nicholas long enough and was tiring of this cat-and-mouse game they were playing. If Nicholas wanted to speak with LaCroix so badly, then he would now have to come to him.
Nicholas was nearby-- he could feel the aura of hate that surrounded his son. LaCroix looked thoughtfully out at the moon shining on Ontario's dark water. There had been a time-- plenty of times, actually--when he had wanted Nicholas to give in to his darker emotions. Now was not one of these times. He had actually hoped that they might someday make peace. Before Natalie had come to him, wanting to be taken back, LaCroix had looked upon their mutual concern for her as the stepping stone to good will. If he could only have convinced Nicholas that he had not been the mastermind behind Natalie's disappearance in Montreal. He hadn't been able to, however, and Nicholas now hated him more than ever.
A whoosh of air and a sharp tug at their blood bond announced Nick's arrival behind him. As LaCroix began to turn, Nick hurled himself upon his master with all his vampiric strength. They both went sprawling on the ground.
"How dare you!" Nick growled as he once again assaulted LaCroix, pummeling with clenched fists. Nick's blows became more violent as his rage drove him further. "I'll kill you for this!"
Having been taken by surprise by Nick's aggression, LaCroix had been, at first, unable to ward off the blows. Now he shoved Nicholas aside with a force that sent him flying. Nick landed nearby with a thud. When he flew at LaCroix again, LaCroix easily grabbed him and sent him sprawling once more. "Nicholas! Stop this foolishness!" he commanded as his son came at him yet again, this time with the post from a nearby "No Trespassing" sign. When Nick raised his arm to deliver the blow, LaCroix's fist connected with his jaw. Nick went down in a heap. LaCroix wrenched the make-shift stake from his hand and held it menacingly over his heart.
"Go ahead," Nick spat out. "Kill me if you're going to. If you don't, I *will* kill you!"
"I have no desire to kill you Nicholas," LaCroix told him, tossing the stake aside. "I merely wish for you to listen to reason. Will you do that?"
"I don't need to hear your lies. I know what you've done."
"Do you now? And what, pray tell, have I done *this* time?"
"You've used your powers to make
Natalie think she is in love with you. You're controlling her mind in order
to take her away from me." Nick looked up at his master. The moment he
spoke the words, his anger subsided and grief welled up inside him. "You
knew that I loved her, and for that you decided I shouldn't have her."
The ancient vampire turned away as his son's sorrow washed over him. Nicholas had never been any good at controlling his emotions when they went wild. Moving away from Nick, he allowed him to stand. His back turned towards Nick, he began to speak. "What would you say if I told you that Natalie came to me of her own free will?"
"I'd call you a liar. How can you possibly expect me to believe you?" Nick shot back, his anger returning. "I will never accept that."
"Not even if it is the truth?"
"The truth? You wouldn't know the *truth* if it bit you!" Nick spat at him. "Nat would never go to you willingly. I told her all about you. She loathed you as much as I do. The only way she would ever have gone to you was if you blinded her with mind control."
"Blinded her? My dear Nicholas, you
are the only one who has ever been blind. You fail to see what is before
your very eyes. Natalie tires of your childish ways, and quite frankly,
so do I. All you ever think about is yourself, Nicholas. Well, I have news
for you. The entire world does not revolve around you. Natalie has finally
realized this. She has at last quit doting upon you and begun to explore
her life. That decision was hers to make, sans influences."
LaCroix's words were said with a cruelty that stung Nick. He was taken by surprise by a thought that came to him suddenly and painfully. Had he somehow overlooked Nat's feelings? She had been distant ever since Montreal, but he'd chalked that up to the shock of having to regain her memory. In confusion, he flew off-- leaving LaCroix alone.
*****
Nick sat on the stairs leading to the upper level of the loft looking for all the world like the little boy whose best friend has moved away. Except his best friend had not moved away. She'd just decided not to be his friend anymore.
His mind replayed everything that had happened since he'd brought Natalie back from Montreal on the family jet. He'd thought things had gone back to normal. Nat was home and had gone back to work. She still came over to the loft to hang out with him. But had things really been normal? LaCroix's words had planted seeds of self-doubt in his head. Now he couldn't remember if Nat had ever snuggled in to his arms while they watched videos. She used to, but had that all been before Montreal?
A vision came to him from the recent past. He and Natalie standing before her door, saying good night. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead as he had done a thousand times since he met her. She stopped him, turning away before his lips could touch her skin. The memory faded, leaving Nick empty inside. She hadn't been very receptive to his attempts at closeness. In fact, the more Nick thought about it, the more it seemed to him that Nat had constantly avoided intimacy. Since Montreal, she'd been keeping him at a distance. How could I have missed it? he thought. Stupid, Nick. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
But what had happened to Natalie in Montreal? What had made her change her feelings for him? Nick's eyes narrowed. LaCroix. LaCroix happened to Natalie in Montreal. Somehow he'd managed to get inside her brain and make her hate him. Janette, of course, had been his accomplice. And LaCroix acted so concerned about her, as if her safety and my happiness meant something to him. He was just waiting for her to leave me, probably laughing at me the whole time. Nick's self-pity was leaving him, being replaced by a new bout of anger. How could I not have seen it? Nick thought.
He stood suddenly, a resolution in his
eyes. "I'll fix him," he said aloud to no one. "I'll get even with LaCroix
if it's the last thing I do. I'll get Natalie back and make him suffer
as I have suffered." His voice had raised to a shout. "You'll pay for this,
LaCroix! You'll pay for trying to take Natalie away from me!"