Chapter 8
Paris
Nick signed the roster at the morgue and, taking Val by the hand as if he were her guardian and protector, led the child into the cold room. The attendant nodded at the name Nick gave him and expertly opened one of the units to pull a shelf out. He glanced down at the child.
"Are you certain, monsieur, that the petite one need be here?"
Nick nodded, "I'm afraid so... she's the only one who can identify the body."
The attendant gestured his compliance and unzipped the body bag slightly, exposing only the face and head.
Nick stood behind Val, who rose up on tiptoe to gaze sadly into the partially decomposed face of a young woman. She reached out and gently straightened strands of brown hair so that they did not cover the young woman's face. Val sighed deeply and nodded. "That's Rosalie Binot. She was my... governess." Val stood flatfoot once more and turned to Nick. "We need to make burial arrangements, Nick." Then she walked slowly out of the cold room.
Nick finished up the paperwork with the attendant and reclaimed Val, who was sitting in a chair, looking for all the world like a little, lost child. He no longer saw about her that air of maternal wisdom she so often exuded. Once they were out into the early evening air once more, Val shrugged off his hand and let out a determined hiss. "If Kenny did this... he will pay! I for one do not see him as some child... even if all of you do so!" She stalked off a distance and then turned. "Are you coming? I have an immortal to hunt!" Nick nodded slowly... already regretting that he had not killed the boy when he'd had the chance... but it had just not seemed sporting to kill a child... even if he wasn't truly a child.
"I need to swing by my place and get my sword."
"You really need to carry it on you, Nick... Many of us are not so honorable as to give you the chance to get it." Val tossed her pale blonde braids and looked down at her schoolgirl's outfit. "I may need to get some other clothes, too. Perhaps it is time I stopped looking so small and helpless. Are there any thrift stores still open?"
Val climbed into Nick's SUV and pulled the door shut behind her with a forceful slam. But Nick saw a haunted expression in her blue eyes. She hadn't said much about her mortal companion... but Nick thought she might later... she just might...
A few hours later, Val had purchased some clothes to change into. She'd undone her braids, swept her long blonde hair into a ponytail and secured it. Her stretch jeans and V-neck long sleeve navy blue top fitted her tiny child's body snugly. As she stared into the full-length mirror at Nick's apartment... her expression was set into one of determination. Between the set of her jaw and the change of clothes... she had lost the innocent waif-like air and seemed merely a small immortal set on vengeance.
Nick secured his own sword into the long black leather coat he'd bought last year for just this purpose and waited. When Val was ready... she picked up her small sword that hardly seemed like it could do the job and placed it within her own dark coat. She pulled a dark knit cap over her blonde hair and turned to face him. "You don't have to go with me, Nick... I can handle Kenny... if and when I find him."
"Indulge me..."
"You must not interfere... no matter what!"
Nick nodded. "I already interfered once on his behalf... I'll not make that mistake again."
Val smiled, once more she seemed maternal. "Well... at least he didn't get you... too." She headed to the door. "Let's hunt!"
"What if he isn't the one who killed her." Nick observed as they headed down the stairs.
Val paused at a landing and looked at him evenly and then shrugged. "Doesn't matter... Kenny has been preying on the unsuspecting long enough. I know that it is said that 'in the end there can be only one' and that he is playing the game the only way he knows how... but that doesn't mean killing our mortal companions. Even if he didn't kill Rosalie... he has killed others. It's payback time!"
"Paris is a big city... this could take a while... and we don't even know if he is still around."
Val smiled as she once more climbed in to the SUV. "Oh... he's still here... he tends to hunt out a place before he moves on. He'll be looking for someone new and un-experienced. Someone he can fool into taking him in."
Nick slid behind the driver's seat and started the ignition, "And you have someone in mind?"
"Mmm... hmmm." Val nodded. "Do you know the Rue St. Dominique"
Nick nodded.
"Well... there once was someone over there who knew almost everything about the immortals who came to Paris. I suggest we check with him. He might know the whereabouts of any young ones."
An hour later Nick parked the SUV outside a small maison that was surrounded by an ornamental walled garden and secured by an ironwork gate. He could sense nothing here.
Val smiled and climbed out. "Coming?" Nick nodded as he followed her over the wall and through the garden. By the time they reached the house... he could feel the immortal who apparently lived there. Val came to a halt just outside the glassed doors that led to the garden. She folded her arms one across the other and waited. Nick stood at her side... filled with curiosity.
From within the darkened room he heard an oddly accented voice call out, "It's late! I don't like visitors who come this late!"
"Cassius... it's Valeraine. I need some help."
An old man with a balding head of short white wispy hair finally opened the door and came out into the moonlight. Dressed in comfortable dress slacks and a dark turtleneck, he held in his right hand a Roman gladius. The old immortal glanced at the child and then at Nick. After grunting in greeting... he glanced around his garden as if he felt someone else in the darkness... Finally he shook his head and stepped aside for them to enter.
As Nick passed the old man... he kept a close eye on his host... not certain if it was at all safe to be entering this old house. Once in... Nick took quick note of the classical and very authentic furnishings in the room... obviously a study of some sort. Dust particles ladened the air and Nick could detect the odor of mold and age in all he saw and smelled. Even the man's computer was dusty. Papers were stacked about it in high piles.
Cassius closed the door drawing the heavy drapes across the glass once more.
"And what brings you to my home?" he asked Valeraine switching off the monitor as if to hide what he was working on.
"I'm hunting." Val said clearly.
"So I gather... not for me I hope." He paused and then looked at Nick. "And you are...?"
"Nick Wolfe... I'm with Val... for the moment."
Cassius nodded, "Yes... David Maillot mentioned you to me. Said you showed some promise... although you were a bit reluctant."
"You know David."
"Ahh... young one... I know almost everyone who comes to Paris. I've been studying them and watching them for generations."
"Who are you?" Nick wanted to know.
"I am Cassius Marcellus... soldier of Rome and historian." The old man bowed. "But for the kindness of a few others... I would have been dead centuries ago. Like you... I am not eager for the fighting. I keep the histories of our kind. I collect information on us all so that once we are gone... something will remain." The old man placed his gladius on his desk as he sat in his chair... motioning for his guests to do likewise.
"You work with the Watchers?" Nick asked.
Val looked at him sharply and drew in a breath. "How is it you who are so young know of them?"
Nick shrugged, "Amanda knew them... I crossed paths with a few."
Cassius nodded. "I don't work with them... but I have kept their secret for centuries as they have kept ours. I seldom go out so if any of them are on me... they do not come so close, nor watch so closely. Besides... they serve a purpose." He smiled as he poured wine from a crystal decanter into three small wineglasses. "Now then... Valeraine... child of the Crusade... tell me for whom you search."
Nick glanced at the girl, "Crusade?"
Val smiled as she reached for one glass of the wine, "Later Nick... another time." She focused on Cassius as she explained the death of Rosalie and her desire to locate Kenny.
Cassius nodded as he sipped his wine. Finally he spoke up as Val finished. "A new one... besides your young friend here..." He winked at Nick. He wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to Val. "You might try here... I began hearing of this one a few years ago. He's said to be very inexperienced and I have yet to hear of any teacher who has worked with him."
"Thank you Cassius." Val took the slip of paper, and glanced at it as she placed it within her pocket. She stood to leave.
"I grieve with you for the loss of Rosalie." Cassius offered.
Val nodded. "I always knew she would die one day and leave me... I just never thought it would be so soon. When I first found her... she was smaller than I was... just a wee slip of a thing tossed aside like so much garbage in an uncaring world." Tears brimmed in her blue eyes. "I had hoped to see her marry and have children some day... she was still so very young." Val bit her lips and then shook her head. "Thank you again Cassius. Stay safe... " Her voice trailed off and she headed out the door.
"Come back to see me sometime young Nick... perhaps I can fill in some blanks for you," Cassius said to Nick as he followed Val out the door.
Once Nick had exited the house... he heard the door close solidly behind him... and the sound of a lock and bolt. Thoughtfully the young immortal followed Val out into the garden and back to his vehicle. Climbing in, once more he started the ignition. "Where to next?"
