Archibald's Revenge
Some lawyer stuff to discuss: First of all, I give my permission to post on Mel's Forever Knight Fan Fiction Page, FTP site, and Anita at fkfanfic2. Second, I do not own most of the characters. Jim Parriott owns Nick, Natalie, Donald Schanke (who is mentioned but does not make an appearance), LaCroix and Janette. These characters I am borrowing for my enjoyment, and hopefully yours too. I, myself, do own Nichole Ann de Brabant Knight and Archibald, thou. So please ask before using them. Any resemblance to anyone mortal, dead, dhampir, or vampire is purely coincidental. If this story sounds like another story, it most likely is. I got the idea from Valerie Meachum's 'Further to Fall' after I read the story. :-&
Everything that is in apostrophes '…' are the characters' thoughts. :-
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Archibald's Revenge
Part 1/4
Nick Knight pulled into the loft's driveway after a surprisingly light night at work and was looking forwarded to speeding sometime with someone special. For once he finished the paperwork on the previous case instead of shoving it off to Donald Schanke to complete. He was humming a lullaby from his childhood as he pulled the caddie into the garage, and called for the lift and waited. When it arrived, he entered and went up to the third floor. He was so preoccupied in thought, he didn't smell the blood scent coming from the loft before it was to late.
When the door opened, Nick could not ignore it any longer. The kiwi and pine scent he knew so well was overwhelming as he walked into the loft. He immediately stopped in his tracks, and started to look for the object of his concern. When he could not find the person, he used his vampiric hearing to locate their heartbeat and found nothing to listen to. He tried once more and failed again. Looking around the room, he spotted whom he was looking for sprawled out in front of the couch in a small pool of blood.
Nick immediately crossed the room to the body and felt its pulse. He found none. "Nichole, I swear I will find who ever did this and make them wish they had never met their master after I get through with them!" He slammed his fist into the concrete floor and heard a couple of his bones break in his hand from the impact. He then began to cradle the sixteen-year-old in his lap and started to shed blood tears all over her face.
Once Nick had calmed down to do what he had to do, he was able to get up and walk over to the phone to call the cops. As he takes one last second to make sure he could do this, he hears the girl whimper behind him. He turned around to look at her just in time to see her curl up into a fetal position and rock side to side, he immediately picks up the phone and dialed the Raven. He talked briefly on the phone to the bartender and ordered 3 crates of uncut, non-alcoholic human blood and 4 crates of the 'house special' for himself. After that was done, he then called Natalie at the morgue to warn her of Nichole's changed condition.
"Natalie's Bed and Breakfast." Dr. Lambert answered cheerfully.
"Nat, it's me, Nick. I'm going to have to cancel tonight's video party. I'm sorry, but something came up and needs my attention immediately."
"Sure, no problem Nick. How about we reschedule for next week?"
"No can do, Nat." Nick replied back.
"How about the week after next?" Nat answered back, trying not to be dissuaded from her goal.
"Not good either." Nick shot back into the phone. He was trying desperately to come up with a good date to reschedule.
"Well, Nick, if that is 'not' a good enough time, then do tell me when is it a good time." Nat replied agitated.
"How about two months from now?" Nick replied seriously to her.
"Two months! Are you crazy...wait don't answer that. What could possibly require your attention for two months!" Nat exclaimed rather loudly into Nick's ear.
"Remember your brother Richard, Nat?"
"Yeah."
"Well, replace Richard with Nichole."
"You mean, Nichole was fatally wounded and you brought her across. Hoping to save her from a guilty, killing consciousness, you fed her bovine. It back fired and drove her insane, you had to kill her before she went on a killing spree?" Nat summed up what happened to her brother, but replaced him with Nichole.
"No, Nat, not quite. Although I did come home and found her sprawled in front of the couch, dead. I was just about to call the precinct, when she whimpered and curled up into a protective, fetal position. Someone else brought her across, Nat." Nick explained to her, but excluded the part about not using cow but regular human blood to feed her. He also purposely 'did not' mention himself going back to human also.
From behind him, Nick heard a quiet, terrified scream from the girl. Turning around with the phone still to his ear, he watched as she thrashes out trying to fight off an unknown attacker. "Daddy!" Nichole quietly screams again.
"Uhh, Nat." Nick said into the phone.
"Yeah, Nick?"
"I've gotta go. Nichole needs me to guide her back. She's terrified and calling for me." Nick explained back. He waited until he heard Nat's understanding before hanging up the phone. He walked over to her and picked her up to place her on the couch. Gently, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her awake. "Nichole, Princess, come on wake up. That's it follow my voice. It's all right, Daddy's here." He gently coaxed her awake.
"Daddy? It that really you? I don't feel so good. I'm hungry and so thirsty, it ain't funny." Nichole whispered to Nick, who was cradling his daughter against his side and rocking back and forth.
"Yes, Princess. It's me it's okay. I know you're thirsty and hungry, we can remedy that very quick." Nick replied to her. He reached over the couch and picked up a bottle from the crate that he placed there earlier. He opened it and pressed it into her hands. "Here, drink this. It should help."
Nichole took the offered bottle and emptied it in three seconds flat. Nick had another bottled uncorked and ready for her by the time she was finished with the first. She finished that one a little slower than the previous one, but was still in the throws of the hunger. The third bottle he handed her was half way gone before she stopped to think. "Daddy, what happened? Why am I drinking human blood instead of eating my hamburger?" She asked of her vampiric father.
Nick looked at his daughter for a while. 'She has no idea that she was brought across. Damn him! His ass is mine!' Knowing he could not keep anything from her, he decided to tell Nichole what he knew. "I came home early hoping to spend some time with you, and I did not hear your heartbeat. I looked all over the loft for you, and found you lying in a small pool of blood in front of us here. I checked your pulse and found none. Next, I started to pick up the phone to dial the precinct to report your murder but you whimpered instead. I watched you curl yourself into a fetal position, and rocked on your side. I called in an order to the Raven for supplies for the both of us, and then called Nat to tell her what had happened. So here we are. You were attacked and brought across when I was at work." He waited for her to digest this information before asking,
"Princess, what do you remember of last night after I left for work?"
"After you told me to lock up after you left and then went to work, I started to get ready for bed. I came downstairs to lock up and grab a glass of water, and there was a strange man waiting for me. Funny thing is that I don't remember what he looked like. He mentioned that I looked a lot like you, and said that it was a shame he was going to bleed me dry. Then he tried to play mind games with me, making me doubt my faith in you. He had me backed into the wall before he attacked me, aiming for the side of my neck. Next thing I know, you're calling to me to tell me to wake up and follow the sound of your voice. You know better than me what happened next." Nichole answered her father's question. As she was explaining what she remembered of the night's activities, she watched his face for the anger that she knew was there. What she did observe was the twitching muscle in his jaw, the only thing she knew she was going to get. "Daddy? He will be back for me, won't he? He'll try to take me away, right?" She asked to break the silence in her vampiric father.
Nick did not want to think about that just yet, but he did answer his daughter's question. "Yes, Princess. He will 'TRY' to take you from me. The operative word being 'try'. You are not leaving my sight until then. Now come on, it's almost sunrise. You're sleeping with me, I purposely left your windows uncovered so you can get some natural light when you studied. Now, it is too dangerous for you in the daytime and my room is more secure for you right now. The second that sun peaks above the horizon, you're going to be fast asleep. Understand?" He explained to Nichole. Also if her attacker should show up after sunset but before she awakens, he wanted to be able to defend her while she sleeps.
All ready yawning, Nichole nodded her head into Nick's chest. "I think you're right, Daddy." She replied sleepily. Sunlight began to stream into the room, and he watched it for a while. As it crept closer to them, he thought for a split second that they could commit suicide together but thought better of it. He reached for the remote and closed the shutters, blocking out the deadly rays. When the room became pitch black, he got up with his daughter and walked to his room.
Once there, Nick laid his precious cargo down on one side of the bed and crawled in next to her. "I know I'm right, Princess. I've been doing this for almost 800 years. Tonight we're going to see if we can shed some light on this mysterious bastard who tore my world apart." He whispered to his sleeping daughter. Nichole's response was to scoot back against her father, who in turned threw a protective arm over her and hugged her to him.