7/23/09: Edited for original upload errors caused by text editor.
Touched By An Angel was about angels helping people.
Forever Knight was about a vampire family--one of whom sought redemption.
I wrote the crossover, but don't own either property.
Chapter 10: Memories... (continued)
Adam frowned at the pair sprawled upon the varied weavings that covered the mattress. Between the alcohol and Janette's seductive act, his entreaties to Nicholas' spirit were not making any headway. The man was too wrapped up in bodily sensation to hear him. He looked inquiringly at the Angel of Death and the two Warrior Angels who had appeared in the room a moment after he and Andrew, but neither gave any indication of whether they knew which would be called to act.
So they waited.
And prayed.
"An endless parade of such nights could be yours, Nicola," the temptress promised her increasingly pliant victim. "Brave Crusader.... Strong conqueror... are you ready to be conquered? ..... Say goodbye to the light, Nicola..."
Nicholas looked a bit dazed as the beautiful woman who had been kissing him slowly extricated herself from his arms and got off the bed, her blue undergarment flowing about her.
"Where are you going?"
She gave him a demure little smile as she glanced back at him. Lounged against the backboard of the large bed and similarly clad only in his filmy white chemise, her would-be beau indicating his willingness to remain here for her return no matter where she was leaving to. He wasn't alone for long anyway. Only a few seconds later she returned with the richly dressed man Andrew had spotted before. As he moved inward, Janette stayed by the door as if to guard the only exit out.
"Hello, Nicholas..." the man's pleasant voice purred as he looked amusingly upon the dumbstruck knight who had clearly not expected this turn of events. Both he and Andrew gasped in dismay when the newcomer's mouth widened to display a set of upper fangs. "We're going to be friends for a long, long time."
Andrew shuddered at as the monster's chuckle filled the room.
"Who-- What are you?!" Nicholas asked, his heart racing with fear. This being was taller than even he, and a totally unknown threat. What did it want with him? He glanced at his lover and saw that she as well now sported elongated canine teeth peeking out from her upper lip.
"Oh," the very aristocratic monster nonchalantly replied, smirking down at the knight as he drew his attention back towards himself, "something very different from you."
"Different..." Nicholas breathed, his fear rapidly being replaced by a new-found wonder. Never in all his long travels---from the cold land of the Celts to the baking outreaches of the Holy Land---had he ever seen the like of this being. He wanted to know more. Had to know more!
"How different?"
Forgetting that he was clad only in the long chemise, Nicholas reached to up touch the fangs--tentatively at first, but then with greater confidence as the other allowed his touch. His fingers touched real enamel and flawless skin. This was not trickery. Not an illusion of one of the fakirs from the East.
Standing in shock betwixt the twin, red-headed, sword carrying, Warrior Angels and a grim faced Adam, Andrew could contain his anxiety no longer. Surely they weren't just going to stand here and watch this? One of God's children was about to be attacked.
"For the Father's sake," he cried, "isn't anybody going to do something?! Those demons--"
"Not demons," one of the Warriors corrected. "Believe me, little Singer, you will know a demon when you see one. These are merely vampires."
"Vampires?" Andrew blinked. He'd never heard of God creating such a thing.
"Vampires," affirmed the Angel of Death---who had the appearance of stout-figured black woman. Her arms crossed against her chest as they watched the ensuing drama; "They are a most pompous, annoying, interfering..." she took a deep breath, laden with exasperation, "and--unfortunately--protected species on God's Green Earth."
"Meaning," Adam sardonically clarified, "that all the Warriors have standing orders to leave them alone unless a human victim specifically asks the Father for protection from them."
"And only God knows the reason why," Sam, who had just winked in, added. "Hello, Adam, Tess, Marcus, Arion," he nodded to each of the others. Sam appeared more than a little ticked as his gazed rather pointedly settled on Andrew. "I leave you alone for a few minutes and look what happens."
Mortified, Andrew scrutinized the general vicinity of his feet. Having mucked up all of his fellow angel's work he couldn't blame them for being upset with him. "I'm sorry. I thought---I really only..." he stammered. "But everything will be okay....won't it? I mean...Nicholas is a Christian still, isn't he? He'll ask for the Father's help?"
For long moments nobody answered him.
Seeing how crestfallen the formerly ebullient Choir Angel had become, Tess took pity on him and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. (Outwardly hard as nails, the journeyman Angel of Death had a marshmallow heart when in came to the hurting.)
"Very few people of this time are 'Christian' like the apostles you are thinking of, Baby," she explained. "They have the concept of God, but not the knowledge of who God is."
Adam's grimacing expression was in place as he was still miffed at the Choir Angel for interfering at the worst possible time in what had been a promising assignment. "And Nicholas has been under a crisis of even that quality of faith for several years. He has...issues."
"He's angry at the Father---or his image of the Father," Sam bluntly agreed. "Not to mention seeing so much horrible carnage and torture in his life while yet retaining a nature of curiosity..." His shoulders slumped a bit. "So it is very possible that he will accept Lacroix's offer---especially since vampire masters tend to leave out the 'fine print' when they make it. It will be a great temptation for Nicholas to be brought across."
"Brought across where?"
Taking the Singer aside, Sam explained to the younger angel about the differences between 'The Night People' and humans. Andrew listened half-heartedly as the caseworker relayed all that he knew about vampires to his temporary charge. The singer wondered if he would ever again be allowed back on Earth after this. Assuming he would even want to come down again.
The man's tawny eyes filled with covetousness as he took the exploring fingers and lightly kissed the tips.
"See, Janette---how bold and fearless he is already. Have I not chosen this one well?"
The lady eagerly agreed. "Yes, Lacroix; but...he is mine mon pere? He is for me, remember?"
"Did I not promise you a brother?" Lacroix corrected her, never taking his eyes off of de Brabant's. The lady bowed her head in acknowledgment. "Oui."
"Then still your avarice and let me admire my prospective protégé."
De Brabant's eyes clouded with uncertainty as they flickered from one to the other.
"Chosen?"
"Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself,"---slight incline of his head---"you may call me Lucien Lacroix." He smirked. "I believe you have already made the acquaintance of my daughter."
Janette preened for the knight, making her father raise an amused eyebrow at her attempt to seduce the already smitten man.
"To be chosen, monsieur de Brabant, is to become one like your eager lover; one of the 'family'---my family. Would you like that, chevalier?" the silken voice asked. "It is a rare thing I offer: my eternal protection would be yours." The voice shifted to its own form of seduction. "To never know betrayal by another man and never fear captivity by lesser beings. To have power that surpasses that of mere kings and emperors." A ringed hand cupped a chin just starting to show a golden peach-fuzz of a beard. It slid smoothly to the throat over to where the main artery, pulsing with warm blood, stroking the skin. "Oui, Nicholas de Brabant, so sorely abused by his fellow mortals...I can make you as a god. You will be glorious to behold, my only true son, blood to blood, brother and lover to my daughter. And all that is required is that you come to me."
The crusader pulled out of the hand, "Brother and lover?" he backed away, shaking his head at the thought of entering what to him was an incestuous relationship. God in Heaven-- he was surrounded by perversion!
Lacroix's features hardened as the knight stumbled back a step. He stalked forward.
Seeing his chance, Adam spoke to de Brabant's unconscious again:
"Nicholas, what they offer is not what you want. Call upon God to protect you and he will!"
The other angels offered their encouragement as well, as de Brabant glanced about the room. Spotting his discarded outer tunic with its embroidered cross and other gear by the floor, Nicholas snatched it up along with a short knife used for close fighting. He held the grey-fabric cross against his chest, the knife pointed at the vampire, reciting: "God... I am a soldier for God. The Lord is my Shepherd...I shall--"
The observing angels looked hopeful, one of the Warriors going so far as to put his hand on his sword hilt in preparation to drawing it out.
Faster than an eye blink, Lacroix was sending the knife skittering across the floor, a harsh tug ripping the tunic from de Brabant's grip. It quickly joined the knife now resting on the other side of the room.. "A dying soldier of your God," he sneered "Just. Like. D'tienne."
Nicholas shrank back at the sudden transformation from lordly gentleman to angry...he wasn't sure just what yet. But that had sounded like a threat. Did they intend to murder him, then? Mind full of fear, he did not hear the promptings of the angels telling him to call on God for protection so they could act on his behalf.
With forced calm, de Brabant tried to edge towards the door, but Janette was there blocking him, and---to his utmost surprise---held fast when he tried to bodily move her away from his only escape route. Seeing that he was well and truly trapped until they had their say, he spun around, demanding of the one named 'Lacroix': "What do you mean?"
Silent as a cat, the vampire had come up right next to him. Now he made a show of delicately sniffing around the crusader's form.
"You smell like you're friend, "Lacroix smarmily asserted. "Right about...here." His hand reached out and lightly gripped the chemise where it covered the area that the Saracen blade laid open over two years ago. "The rot is small yet: a mere patch. But eventually it will consume you as it did him." Nicholas jerked in response to the pain, the unwanted handhold just above and to the side of his knee making the area of his old wound begin what had become a recurring dull throb. He had been unconsciously favoring that leg since the first stirrings of wrongness there. The added pressure only made it worse.
Much worse.
The sibilant voice mused aloud, "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"Y-yes!" the knight gasped.
Lacroix nodded his smile like a shark's. "Internal rot---nasty thing, slowly being devoured alive. But... part of being human. It will hurt even more as the decay spreads. You know it will. You saw the agony D'tienne endured, though he tried to hide it from you and the others. No doctor could aid him."
(Sam huffed and muttered at that: "Like he was there.")
"Do you want to die as he did, Nicholas...?" Lacroix went on, ignorant of their invisible audience and their opinions of him. "...to have spent your life in service to others only to be left gasping in agony--shunned."
"N-no." Nicholas sobbed in relief as the hand released him.
"Then don't." The shark smile gleamed. "Follow me, heed my call, and you will live forever: eternally young, stronger than a lion, swifter than any horse. I can grant you these gifts that only the gods can grant, Nicholas. Give your life to me...and I will give to you 10,000 lifetimes in return. Your existence will be transformed in ways that mere mortals cannot imagine."---He moved closer to the crusader's neck--"Come to me."
Breathing heavily, Nicholas closed his eyes...
..and six invisible heavenly angels groaned.
Triumphant, Lucien Lacroix embraced Nicholas in a firm grip, sinking his fangs into the vulnerable neck. Within seconds, Nicholas de Brabant was nearly drained, his failing heart laboring to keep him alive.
"He killed him!" Andrew gasped in disbelief. How could they have all just stood there while that vampire killed that poor man!
"Myyy...the young are ssso much more excssitable thessse daysss."
Andrew felt the other angels tense as a sense of unexplainable dread made him shiver. The Warrior Angels quickly drew their swords and took positions between the blackness and the others.
"Demons!" they warned.
A dark patch of midnight black oozed up from the 'floor' until it took the form of an iridescent-skinned humanoid, followed by several more human-looking beings. Each held malevolence in their eyes. Piercing orbs of deep scarlet in the leader's head scanned the angels.
"Now, now," it snickered at the two with a thick hissing accent. "You make a fffellow ssseem unwelcome." It turned its 'head' to the Angel of Death. "Don't get yourrr ssspiel warrrmed up yet, Tesss. De Brrrabant isssn't going to need it."
Sam's eyes narrowed to slits as he regarded the talking, bipedal oil slick.
"J'ranor," he spat out. "What caused you to slither your way out of your lair--- as if I didn't know?"
"Ssssoo ffflatered you rrememberred meee, Sssam. Asss to meee...I'm hearr on persssonel busssinesss: A fffamileee matterrr."
"Riiight..." Tess scornfully mimicked. Sam shushed her. This was a powerful demon they were dealing with-- one of the higher echelons. It was best to be prudent.
"Luccciusss owesss meee."
"Oh, yes...that's right. You failed on that one, didn't you? Please pardon, my memory, J'ranor. It's just that with you, there have been so many failures."
"Don't beee sssso sssure, angel." the demon hissed.
"Lacroix rejected you, killing his own daughter in the process. I'd say that makes you even."
"Haaardly. Divvviia held sssoo much promisssse."
"You can't have them, J'ranor," Sam asserted. "You know the rules regarding that race."
"Rrulesss? Have I brroken any of Hisss prrecciousss rrulessss?" It gestured at its followers. "Wee arre only herre to ssseee that Nicholasss hasss a choicccce."
"What choice, serpent?" Adam asked. This was news to him.
The inky 'head' chuckled. "The choiccce we offferrr alll Divvia'sss childrrren. It hisss my rrriiight. By agrrreement."
Sam glowered, "That 'agreement' was gained thru trickery. Lucius had no way of knowing that you were not what you professed to be."
"Ssso? That isss a minorr technicality. The agrrreeement ssstandssss."
Looking unhappily at the Warriors, Sam sighed. The protecting angels moved aside---but only by a few steps.
"Your agreement is unethical...but valid. However, we will supervise your actions, J'ranor. Force him into anything, and another War shall be between us."
"Parrranoid," the hissing voice pronounced. It bunched itself up, preparing for something as in the mortal realm, Lacroix and Janette stood close beside the failing body of de Brabant lying on the bed.
Andrew froze in terror as the demon's inky 'arm' shot past him to brush de Brabant's head...
...and the spiritual world changed location.
Limbo:
It was a dry place with grayish sand dunes next to a dead sea. Andrew gave a little gasp of startlement as a solitary figure stepped right through him.
Nicholas?!
But the knight did not seem to see or hear him as he strode purposely ahead, clad only in the same flimsy full-length chemise that he had been wearing when Lacroix had interrupted his tryst with Janette.
"It's all right, Andrew," Sam's voice said near his ear.
"Sam?" He spun around but still saw only the receding form of de Brabant, sand, sky, and water. "Where are you?"
"The same place I was before. Nothing has changed, Andrew, except we now perceive this illusion J'ranor has created instead of the room."
"Oh." Andrew looked around. It felt like a real place. "Why?"
"I don't know yet. But this scene reminds me of the place of rest and reflection the Father made for those in turmoil. Only this one is more...depressing."
Paris:
"He's dying," Lacroix stated unnecessarily.
Janette looked concerned. "He has gone to the light, hasn't he...as I did? What will you do if he decides to step into the light...to die as a mortal?"
Lacroix frowned. "He will return to me."
Janette--with a look of intense longing--knelt down by the bed and kissed the dying knight's neck. "Oooh... I want him..." Smiling indulgently, Lacroix pulled her aside so as to whisper in deBrabant's ear.
"I hear your heart, Nicholas, growing weaker with each beat. I have drained all but the last of the life from you..." (Lacroix took his own wrist and viciously bit into it.)
Limbo:
A wooden doorway appeared on a ridge, the heavy door swinging open to reveal the silhouette of a cloaked figure standing in front of a brilliant light. Squinting against the golden glare, de Brabant headed for it, hesitating when he got within a few yards of the figure.
Paris:
Lacroix: "...it has become a part of my own. This is the day of your death, Nicholas. And rebirth with me."
Limbo:
A kind, feminine voice welcomed the unsure knight.
"You may come to us, Nicholas."
"Who are you? What is this place?" Nicholas looked bewildered.
"Come to us, de Brabant," the angel entreated. "Choose to return to the evil that awaits you, and you will be lost..."
"What the--" Adam's voice demanded. "That's no Angel of Death!"
Andrew heard Tess' equally angry voice agree, "You got that right, honey."
"What are they playing at?" Sam wondered.
"Whatever it is," the real Angel of Death testily replied, "you can bet it isn't for the side of Good, Babies."
Lacroix's voice could be heard as from a distance, urgent as it demanded the human's attention.
("Turn away from the Light, Nicholas. It is not your salvation. It is only for the weak; the defeated. Come back to me, Nicholas.")
"Well, how about that?" Tess snorted. "For once I actually agree with the old crud. On the first part anyway."
"It's a trap!" Sam exclaimed in realization.
J'ranor's evil chuckle sounded from nowhere. "Yessss. A nnneat deccception, don't you agreee, Ssam?"
Sam sounded furious. "It's a gateway to Hell, not Heaven. If he freely enters..."
"I get hisss ssssoul." J'ranor agreed.
"And if he chooses Lacroix?" Adam's voice pondered.
"Hisss humanity will be sssswallowed by the needsss of the vampirrrre. Deliccioussss to have one onccce ssso trrrue to yoursss in my ssserviccce." Evil laughter filled their ears. "A powerfulll ssslave hossst for a demon--Dearrr Legion hasss already petitionned me forrr him." The laughter died down back down to a chuckle. "And I have thisss lovely Ssssingerrr to thank forrr thisss opporrrtunity. My thannks, Andrrrew."
Feeling himself go lightheaded as the accusation hit home, Andrew gave a despairing wail, ignoring the entreaties of his fellow angels, falling to his knees and curling into a ball on the course sand. WhathaveIdone! WhathaveIdone! WhathaveIdone! WhathaveIdone! WhathaveIdone!
Nicholas: "He has offered me a thousand lifetimes. Everything I desire and covet. Can you do the same? Why should I go with you?"
Guide: "You must choose."
Nicholas: "What can you offer me?"
Guide: "The choice."
(Lacroix) "Come back to me, Nicholas."
Nicholas pondered for a moment before making his choice. The next, the desert had disappeared and he was back on the bed, feverishly sucking from the bleeding wound on Lacroix's wrist. The vampire allowed it before breaking free so that his daughter might join her new lover/sibling. The ancient licked close his self-inflicted bite, smiling in the knowledge that by taking his blood as his first meal, de Brabant had unknowingly chosen to be more closely bonded with his new master Lucien rather than with Janette---a bond that neither one could break.
Chevalier Nicholas de Brabant had become not just another uncaringly made fledgling, but his 'son'for all eternity--his forever knight.
"Andrew."
Andrew whimpered from his place within the warm cocoon of God's Love where the others had brought him. He had refused to answer or change from his fetal position since J'ranor had 'thanked' him.
"Andrew," the Father repeated in a soothing voice.
"Father---I'm so sorry!" the distraught Singer sobbed. "I'm not worthy to be in your Heaven."
"Andrew..." the warm voice sounded amused. "If I kicked out everyone who had ever made a mistake, Heaven would be a lonely place for Me. I forgive you, my angel."
"But... But I caused one of your children to fall." The Choir Angel felt compelled to remind Him. "Because of me, he won't be coming Home to You. I-I've condemned him. I'm responsible." Fresh tears poured out like a torrent. My fault! My fault! My fault! My fault! My fault! My fault!
The warmth just wrapped tighter around him.
"De Brabant freely made his choice. But you did have a part to play in it, my angel. And because of this, you will have to ask for his forgiveness."
Andrew groaned and trembled at the thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to apologize; it was simply that he didn't think he'd be able to face de Brabant. It hurt so much. What he had done was surely unforgivable! He didn't want to see the hate the lost one's eyes would throw at him.
"I-I d-d-don't think I'm r-r-ready. I c-can't face him. I'm s-s-s-sorry..."
"I know. And neither will he be ready to face you yet. Not for a long while."
"O-oh", Andrew's voice cracked with both relief and consternation.
"I will mute your pain until that time, Andrew; it is too much for you to bear now. I will remove the memory of Nicholas to ease your conscious and let you heal. But not for always---just for now. In a time coming, you will remember and have to face your responsibility to him---just as he will have to face his own 'demons'."
And a cozy blanket of forgetfulness came over Andrew as he was released back into the care of the Choir Supervisor.
----------End of 1228 Flashback------ (finally!)---
A/N: I haven't forgotten about the other main TBAA characters. Tess and Monica still have their part to play in this and not just in the end credits.
Review Answers:
Alynna Lis Eachann: Obviously, Andrew was my favorite as well. :-P The first episode I saw with him was the one where he was auctioned off. The actor really looked good back then. Woo!
I shouldn't answer that as it will require a bit of a spoiler, but yeah... vampires here have perfect memories, so Nick will remember Andrew once he's lucid. Glad you like that bit at the inn table. It was fun to come up with the necessary major misunderstanding between the two. –laughs--
Louis Pastiche: Honestly? I don't know. Personally, I only got to watch a handful of shows. When I was reading the fanfic over at the TBAA Forums, angels like Adam and Sam seemed to pop up a lot so I figured they were part of the show. It could be they were in earlier episodes only.
It's not really so much a 'time filler' as a history of preceding events that lead up to the present. If you were familiar with Forever Knight (in which is the home territory of this fanfic, you'd be familiar with the fastbacks (memories) that were an integral part of each episode. They explained why the characters were behaving as they were in the present. And sometimes they were more interesting to watch then the modern-day crime plot! Hopefully, that won't be the case here. But, yes, there will be more action and angst later when time reverts to the present. Right now you are finding out how and why Nicholas became a vampire as well as how Andrew knew of their existence and has a responsibility towards Nicholas.
Superfan: I think I was picturing one of the thugs from a James Bond movie there. Needed a big, bad, burly character, but one with some brains—which is probably more than the JB goons had. (grins)
Elendil: It's sad how TV big wigs tend to ignore a show except for its ratings numbers, yet then if it suddenly does well—they feel compelled to stick their two cents in. More good shows have been ruined by exec idiots getting their fingerprints all over a show or just plain having a death wish for it. Classic Star Trek was an early example of this.
No, the vampires of FK were under no such restrictions. They did tend to shy away from stuff like holy water, crosses, garlic, beheadings, wooden stakes... and definitely sunlight would burn them to ashes--- but no invitation by a victim was needed. Neither could they turn into mist or become lupine or bat. Oh, and Natalie was only joking when she talked about Nick being able to finally see himself in a mirror. Though the metaphysical realm did exist in the FK universe, vampirism was considered to be more like a transferable disease than a demonic curse. Some fan even came up with an eggnoodled 'scientific' explanation for their being able to fly... but I forgot what it was.
That's why I write fantasy fiction rather than fact--- it's a lot more fun to be able to tweak the universe around a bit. –winks—
Heheheh... Well, Nicholas's mentor calls himself Lacroix which means The Cross in Latin. In the show, the vampires' reactions to holy objects ranged anywhere from discomfort to hideous agony depending on the proximity to the object or how holy it was--- and how tolerant the vampire was due to his age. But words were another matter entirely. For example, scripture could be quoted freely. So Janette would have no qualms about invoking the Lord's name in vain or even saying his name if she was of a mind. Besides, because she said Sacred Blood does not necessarily mean that she was thinking of the Christian god. There are heathen rites that deal with blood. Plus, how many people actually mean they want someone to have sex when they curse with the F word? Curses are just that—exclamations.
Mary Rose: In that case I hope you have a high tolerance for angst and melodrama. -grins- Nick was a highly psychologically tormented character and I write him as such---with my own developed sense of Good VS Evil—Live & In Stereo!---thrown in for the heck of it. Andrew I think would also be a wonderful worrywart if he didn't have the assurance of his contact with God to back him up.. I really should have left him more adrift in this; however, at the time I was under too severe a time restraint to have Andrew discover everything on his lonesome: God made a nice fast-forward for background information. Oh well.