The Cure
by LeoniaKat
I wrote this as a kind of "what if" story. I got to thinking, "What if Lacroix became mortal?" and this story was born. Love it, hate it, please send me some comments!
She had seen the police car pull up outside St. Mary's Homeless Shelter. As she was the only one working the night shift, she moved to open the door as one of the officers helped a very cold-looking man inside. The wind blew into the entryway and she shivered and brushed the few snowflakes from her curly auburn hair. This was one of the coldest winters on record. Closing the door, she moved to lead the officer to one of the last available beds.
The officer helped his charge to the bed before turning to her, "We found him out in the park." With that useless piece of information given, he apparently felt that his job was complete as he turned and left. She could hear the car pulling away as she moved to speak to their newest guest.
The man was sitting where the officer had left him, his close-cropped blond head cradled in his hands. Quickly appraising him, she guessed that he was in his mid-forties. He was stylishly dressed in a black suit which looked a little too big for him and his shoes were scuffed. She carefully approached and sat down next to him. His head lifted and he turned glacial-blue eyes on her.
"Hello, my name's Eve. What is yours?"
He looked like he wasn't going to answer her when he finally spoke. "Lucien Lacroix." It was said with such an air of defeat that she wondered what he had really been doing out in that park.
"Well, Lucien, welcome to St. Mary's. Since this is your first time here," she said, knowing the names and faces of every man, woman, and child who had passed through her doors since she'd begun the shelter, "You can stay for eight weeks before we have to turn you out. Hopefully, by then, we can help you get back on your feet."
He silently appraised the woman sitting next to him, "You don't look like a nun."
"Goodness no!" she said, laughing. "Although most of my staff does consist of nuns, I am most definitely not. I'm not even catholic," she said with a smile.
At one time the contradiction would have intrigued him. Now, though, he was too exhausted to care.
"You're probably tired," she said sympathetically. "Let me just explain the rules to you and then you will be free to sleep. First, we have a strict no alcohol, no drugs policy. If you need help with either we can arrange that you get it. Second, there is no fighting. I already mentioned the eight week habitation period. Our goal is to get you back on your feet in half that time. We have job counselors who come in on Fridays and we work with some temp agencies. We can also help you find affordable housing." She smiled, "In the five years I've operated this shelter, I've only had to kick out three people for breaking the rules and none for overstaying their welcome." She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Also, no one who works here will ever ask you what brought you here. We consider the past to be irrelevant and we're only concerned with your future. Of course, if you ever want to talk, we're always here to listen."
He listened to her silently, only half paying attention. He hadn't intended to survive the night, how could he think about his future? As for talking about what brought him here, how do you tell someone you used to be a powerful immortal vampire whose child had reduced him to a helpless mortal?
She rose, "Breakfast is at 8, lunch is at noon, and dinner is at 6 – all in the common room. The bathrooms and showers are down the hall opposite where you came in. In the bureau are some donated clothes which you may use during your stay here. Is there anything you need?"
He silently shook his head.
"Good night, Lucien."
He considered rising from where he sat and leaving this place. Remembering how bitterly cold it was, he decided to sleep and consider his alternatives in the morning.
Eve left her newest guest and went to the office to fill out some paperwork. She wondered, as she did with all who entered, what had brought him to her doorstep. He didn't look like he had a substance abuse problem. He did appear to be depressed and she made a notation for Sister Catherine to direct their visiting counselor to him. Once she'd finished the papers on him, she returned to filing away her latest success. A woman whose husband had thrown her onto the street with nothing had turned her cooking talents to the service of one of the nicer restaurants in town. Within three weeks, the woman had an apartment and was on her way to independence. She added the woman's photo to her wall, realizing she was almost out of wall space.
Once that was finished, her thoughts turned to those still in her care. She had a mound of paperwork to complete still. Requests for donations had to be sent, thank you letters needed to be written, tax forms were due soon. She sighed, sometimes wondering why she'd ever gotten into this line of work. Her own finances were beginning to dwindle and she knew she would have to pass it on to someone else soon.
She had started the shelter using the inheritance money she'd gotten when her husband had died in a plane crash. They'd only been married for two years when the commercial flight he'd been on had been bombed, killing all aboard. Most of the money had been spent on buying and renovating the building itself.
Eve sighed and started in on the paperwork, wanting to finish it before the day shift came. She had tomorrow off and then she was back on the day shift until her next night shift came. They rotated the night shift between all of them. Tomorrow would probably be spent begging for donations from the community. She wondered if her job was consuming her…
Lucien bolted upright, the nightmare flashing through his mind as it had every night for the past two weeks. It was made even worse by the fact that it wasn't so much a nightmare as his memory of events rising up to haunt him.
Two weeks ago…
Lucien looked up and smiled slightly as his son entered the Raven and moved towards him. His son had been visiting him more and more often lately. They'd even broken out the chess set and managed an entire game without an argument. He believed his son was coming back to him and there was nothing in his son's demeanor to suggest otherwise.
Tonight, Nicholas carried an unmarked wine bottle in hand and Lacroix wondered if that could actually be human blood. "Good evening, Nicholas. Shall we retire to somewhere more private?"
Nick silently nodded and followed his sire through the throngs of people and into the private apartment above the club. Once there, he finally spoke, "Why don't you have a seat and I'll go open this?"
"Is that actually human blood, Nicholas?" he asked quietly, in awe that his son seemed to be returning to him.
"Yes, it is, father," Nicholas replied from the kitchen where he poured one glass from his bottle and one from one of his father's. He brought both drinks into the living room, handing Lacroix the glass from Nick's bottle. Nick remained standing. He raised his glass a little as in a toast before downing the contents quickly. He watched Lacroix carefully as the elder man also downed his.
"Oh, Nicholas, that was a marvelous-" his words suddenly cut off as a stabbing pain cut through his abdomen. He dropped the glass and slid to the floor, the pain spreading to his chest.
Nick dropped to his father's side. He held the other man's hand as the pain began to ease, "I'm sorry, father."
Gasping, Lacroix had to catch his breath before he could speak. "What… what have you done… to me?"
Nick moved his hand from his father's hand to the elder man's wrist, feeling the steady human pulse there. He pulled away, standing up, knowing his father had every right to be angry. He didn't back away, though, knowing that his father was mortal now. "You're mortal, Lucien."
"How dare you!" he rose angrily and somewhat stiffly to his feet. The world spun for a minute and it was all he could do to remain standing. "You will fix this!"
"No, I won't," Nicholas replied calmly. "I knew you would never let me go so I knew I had to make it so you couldn't follow me."
Lacroix advanced on him and Nicholas simply flew from the apartment and out into the night, leaving his father behind to rage at an empty apartment.
It wasn't long before Lacroix realized that everything which gave him power in his life was tied to the vampire. Now, his enemies could easily kill him. If the Enforcers ever caught wind of it they would hunt him. His money and finances were also tied up into that world, only a small fraction of it was quickly and easily accessible.
He packed a single bag and left, knowing that the money he could access with his ATM card should last a while. He had no destination in mind; he simply knew he had to flee Toronto. As he sat in the bus station, he realized that it would be difficult to go somewhere where no one from the Community recognized him. Looking at the bus schedule, he randomly picked a city name he didn't recognize. Glancing at the map, he saw that it was a small town outside of Ontario.
He had to wait three hours for his bus. He was feeling all of the aches and pains of his 44 year old mortal body. He cursed his son colorfully in languages long dead. He had friends who he could turn to in the hope that they would restore his immortality. The thought of having a master and starting over as a helpless fledgling stopped him.
Arriving in the town, he took a taxi to the only hotel there. He checked in and slept at night for the first time in almost 2,000 years. Upon waking, he realized he was hungry and although it wasn't nearly as insistent as the vampire's hunger, it was still annoying. He randomly ordered a handful of things from the limited selection of room service. He ended up trying French toast, a ham and cheese omelet, scrambled eggs, and toast with strawberry jelly. He washed it down with a glass of orange juice.
He'd been there for almost two weeks when he'd gotten robbed. He'd been taking money out of the ATM when a hooded thief assaulted him and cleaned out his account, what little was left anyways. Broke, he returned to the hotel to get his clothes. The hotel manager took this moment to request payment for the last couple of days. He tried to explain that he'd just been robbed when he was turned out of the hotel, unable to even retrieve his belongings. "When you pay up your tab," the manager had said.
So – with empty pockets, an empty stomach, and no where to stay – he wandered through the cold winter streets. Finally, he had decided that life was not worth living like this. He gave his coat to another homeless man before settling down in the park, fully intending to die. That's when the officer had bodily dragged him to the homeless shelter.
Present…
Lucien swung his legs out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He had no idea what time it was and he mourned the loss of that vampiric sense along with all of the others. He rose and left the tiny room to find the bathroom. As he passed the common room, he glanced in and saw a clock on the near wall. It was 7:49. That would explain all of the people milling around in there. He finally found the bathroom and took care of his business before returning to the common room. He found an empty seat at the table and silently watched as four nuns brought in plates filled with toast, rolls, and fruits.
He helped himself and when he had his fill, he left the room, looking for one of the people working here. He finally found himself at the open door of the shelter's office. As he waited for the nun sitting at the desk to notice him, he noticed the walls were covered in the pictures of men and women of all ages and colors.
"You must be Mr. Lacroix," a soft voice said from before him. "I'm Sister Catherine. Is there something I can do for you?"
He wasn't sure why he had even come to the office until he found himself speaking, "Is Eve here today?"
"No, today is her day off. She will be here tomorrow." She had seen him looking at the office's walls, "Those are all of her successes. She may tell you she's not making a difference, but don't you believe her. Not a single one of those people has stepped foot back in this shelter except to make a donation." She smiled up at him, "Was there something you needed?"
"No, nothing, thank you," he responded quietly. Even though he no longer experienced the vampire's aversion to religious things, habit made him uncomfortable in her presence. He aimlessly returned to his room. As he sat down on the side of his bed, he wondered where Nicholas was and what he was doing. He contemplated how badly he wanted to break every one of his son's bones.
He was sitting there, trying to remember his mortal life, when a light knock came at his door. "Mr. Lacroix?" a man's voice enquired.
"Yes?" he asked as he rose and opened his room's door.
"Hello, my name is John Gustavo and Sister Catherine asked me to see if you would like to talk. I'm a psychologist and I lend some of my time here."
"I'm really not in the mood to talk," he said quietly.
"That's okay. If you change your mind, I'll be here most of today."
"Shouldn't you have a practice somewhere making $100 an hour on pathetic fools?" he asked sarcastically.
"I do have a practice, Mr. Lacroix, but Eve is a close friend and when I asked her how I could help her, this is what she asked me to do."
"Eve seems to inspire loyalty in those around her."
"She certainly does. That's something my brother said when he married her."
"So she's married?" he asked, blaming his curiosity on his boredom.
John's eyes darkened slightly, "She was. My brother died five years ago. It was his life insurance money which started this shelter. Unfortunately, I think Eve is working herself to death here. Lately though, she's begun dating again so that's a good sign." He shook his head, not meaning to talk so much about Eve, "If you'll excuse me, I have some other people to go talk to."
Lacroix nodded and closed the door behind him, returning to his contemplations.
He fell asleep at some point and missed lunch but Sister Catherine woke him for dinner. As he entered the common room, he paid more attention to those around him. There were 11 other men and 7 women. They looked to range in age from 20 to 60. Dinner was chicken with vegetables. Everyone got their own plate.
Once he finished his dinner, he returned to his room, not wishing to socialize with the others here. He passed out the moment his head hit the pillow.
Sitting bolt upright, his breathing came in gasps. Damn this nightmare! He ran his hands over his face, feeling the sweat there. He decided to take a shower instead of trying to return to sleep. He grabbed a towel from the bureau and headed for the bathroom. Passing the common room he saw that it was only 5 in the morning.
Emerging from the bathroom feeling much better, he headed back to his room. He found the least distasteful clothes in the bureau and dressed, feeling a little better. He realized he needed to plan his near future. He couldn't live like this, a poor man relying on handouts. As he left his room, he heard the front door open and he saw Eve entering the shelter. Her curly auburn hair was snow-flecked, her eyes were a vivid green and her complexion was rosy from the cold. He watched her remove her coat and shake it out by the door. He cursed his body's involuntary reactions to her as he eyed the tight-cut, blood red, turtleneck shirt she was wearing. The fitted jeans she wore did nothing to stem his arousal. He quickly turned away and continued his way to the common room.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, he thought. Two weeks ago he would have wanted to take his pleasure from her blood. Now, he wanted his pleasure from her body. He shook his head and forced his mind to more practical issues. Like not looking like he was uncomfortable in these clothes. He was alone in the room, thankfully, and he moved to the chair by the window. His first day as a mortal had been overcast, as had most of the days since. This was the first mostly clear morning, and his first sunrise in almost 2,000 years.
"Good morning," the voice came from behind him.
He didn't have to turn to know who it was, "Good morning, Eve."
"I'm glad to see you still here this morning. I was afraid you wouldn't be…"
He could tell from her voice that she had approached him. He still didn't turn, watching the sunlight turning the sky gold and the snow became a rainbow of colors. He finally turned to face her, standing as he did so. "As you can see, I'm still here."
She smiled slightly as she looked him up and down, "Those clothes really don't fit you." She laughed, "Honestly, though, I think that you'd only look right in a suit. Were you a businessman?"
"Sometimes," he replied with a small smile.
"And the other times?" she asked in such a gentle way that it didn't feel like she was prodding into his personal affairs.
"I have been many different things in many different places."
"Well, that will come in handy when looking for a job for you." She was all business again. She scratched at the side of her neck and yawned. "I'd better go and get a start on my paperwork."
He didn't reply, silently watching her leave the room. He again wondered at his interest in her, though he didn't have much time to wonder before everyone was again gathering in the room for breakfast.
Eve entered her office, collapsing wearily into her chair. She'd spent the previous day soliciting donations. Last night she'd gone out for a drink and met a guy. He was handsome and charming and she'd spent some time dancing with him. The rest of the night was a bit foggy but she'd woken up alone in her own home. Waking she had found a pair of strange marks on her neck. She figured they were probably just spider bites, not too uncommon in her old home, but she wore the turtleneck to cover them anyways.
She picked up the papers left by Sister Hannah who had worked the night shift. No new guests – thank goodness for small miracles – and no losses. The financial reports were compiled yesterday by Sister Catherine who actually held a college degree in accounting. She looked at the numbers, put the paper down, and ran a hand over her eyes. They were still in the red and according to these estimates she had maybe four months left before the money would run out. Then the doors would have to close.
She put the paper aside and unconsciously scratched at her neck again. She glanced through the mail received by the shelter yesterday and found nothing of any importance. Yawning, she went to the kitchen to get some coffee. She needed to stay awake so she could tackle the pile of paperwork. She also needed to work on placing three people in jobs. There was food that needed to be purchased, clothes which needed to be washed and sorted, and rooms which needed to be cleaned.
She picked up her cup of coffee, knowing that it would be the first of many today.
Lacroix had returned to his room after breakfast and had napped for a while for lack of anything else to do. Waking, he headed for the bathroom. He passed the office and paused. Eve was sound asleep with her head on a pile of papers. He stopped and gently woke her. "Eve?"
She lifted her head, her eyes blinking. One hand rose to scratch her neck as she sat up. "Hmm?"
For some reason, he remembered her scratching her neck before. "Is your neck okay? You've been scratching at it."
"Oh, yes." She pulled down the neck of her shirt to show him the area, "I think they're spider bites."
Lucien paled as he glanced at the marks on her neck. Those were no spider bites. That was a vampire bite. Someone had sipped from her, marking her as theirs. He'd done it enough times himself in the past to recognize it now. The vampire would sip from her for awhile until he decided to kill her. He nodded silently to her, lost in contemplation.
"Lucien?"
"Sorry," he said, realizing he'd zoned out. "I think you're right," he said, knowing he couldn't tell her that those marks heralded her death. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."
"It's no bother. Thank you for waking me. That's the first time I've ever fallen asleep at my desk."
He took his leave from her, continuing to the bathroom. On returning to his room, after seeing that she was still awake in the office, his mind kept returning to what he had discovered today. He knew he could potentially be in danger if any of her thoughts had been on him at the time that the vampire had bitten her. Strangely, though, his concern for his own well-being paled in comparison to his concern for her.
He sat on his bed and contemplated what he could possibly do to save her life. He couldn't tell her the truth. She would think him insane and maybe even kick him out of the shelter. No, that option was definitely out. He had to find some way to stop her from wanting to see the vampire again, and she would want to, that was part of the bite. The victims were drawn back to the vampire time and time again until their deaths. He had to break the cycle somehow.
He paced as he thought through his options. He kept returning to one which he kept discarding for one reason or another. He could make her fall in love with him. Hah, that would be the day, he thought as he looked into the mirror in his room. He looked at himself critically, noting every line and wrinkle – some of which he swore were not there before. He was older than her, even just in mortal terms. He was also flat broke and homeless. He had nothing to offer her.
He paced a while longer, trying to find any other option but finding none. Once he exhausted himself thinking, he decided to court her to distract her from the vampire. Once he set his mind to his task, he had a good idea where to start.
Leaving his tiny room, he headed directly for the office where he saw Eve plugging away. "Can I help you?" he asked quietly, gesturing to the pile of papers in front of her.
"Oh, hello, Lucien. Well, how are you at stuffing envelopes?"
"Quite good," he replied immodestly.
She stood and gestured to the office's other chair, "Have a seat."
He moved in and did as she directed. As he sat he caught sight of the financial paper she'd been looking at earlier. He picked it up and studied it for a moment.
Eve realized what he was looking at and made a grab for it, "You shouldn't be looking at that."
"How long has the shelter been in the red?" he asked, keeping the paper in hand.
"A long time," she sighed. "It doesn't seem to matter how much money is raised, we always seem to dip back down again."
Something was bothering him about the paper and he did some mental math, glad that that ability didn't leave with the vampire. "Something's wrong here," he said quietly, reaching for the calculator on her desk.
"What?" she asked, leaning closer to look over his shoulder.
He silently plugged numbers into the calculator, checking them against what was on the paper. He took a pencil and scratched the correct number – a number putting them in the black – next to the wrong number. "Do you have last week's numbers?"
"Of course. I've kept those records all the way back to when I opened here."
"Let me see last week's then."
She pulled the copy from the filing cabinet behind him and placed it on the desk. She watched in silence as he tallied those numbers, too. "Someone's been stealing from you," he said angrily.
"What?"
He showed her the correct numbers on both pages, "Both of these weeks you've been in the black, not by much, but by enough."
She sat heavily in her chair, glancing at both pages. This week she was less than $100 above deficit and last week it was only $50 but it was still above. The figures on the paper had her down by almost equal amounts. "Who would do this to me?"
"At a guess, I would say whoever is doing these papers."
"But Sister Catherine does my papers and has been doing them for the last six months."
"Can I see your records from just before she started?"
"Of course," she said quietly, devastated to think one of her nuns could swindle her like this. She handed him a stack of files, "the one on top is from the week before she started for me."
"Do you ever bother charting out your finances?"
"No. No one here knows how to use the software on that computer to do so."
He glanced over at the old computer in the corner and silently wondered if it even ran. He hit the power button and cursed as Windows 3.1 booted up. He found the icon for the very old version of Excel and loaded it. "I'll begin here," he said, gesturing to the stack of files, "and then I'll work all the way backwards to when the shelter opened."
"That's going to be a lot of work and I can't pay you for it," she said quietly.
"I know you can't. In exchange for my work on this, you allow me one five-minute long-distance phone call."
"One phone call? That seems like so little for what you are doing for me."
He smiled, "Trust me, it's not." He'd decided to risk calling Felix Twist. He could only hope that their friendship would hold enough for Felix to send him the money he wanted without turning him over to the Enforcers.
"Ok, then it's a deal. Once you finish you get your phone call. Just don't kill yourself trying to get this done tonight." She glanced at the clock. "I hope you'll excuse me, but I have a date this evening."
He wanted to say something, anything to keep her from leaving. Instead, he stood up as she did, "Of course. Be careful."
She smiled sweetly at him, "You're such a gentleman. I'll see you in the morning."
He watched her leave the office and he sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do at the moment. Instead, he turned his attention to finishing this stack of files. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could make that phone call and maybe get his hands on some of his money. First, though, he headed for the kitchen. As much as he hated the taste of coffee, he knew it would help him get through this tonight.
Eve entered the shelter feeling even more worn-out than the day before. Her neck still itched and the marks looked as bad as they had yesterday. Maybe she was coming down with the flu. She entered the office and found Lucien in front of the computer. "You weren't here all night, were you?"
"Most of it," he replied, grabbing the last file to be entered. "This is the last of it here."
"Let me get a cup of coffee and I'll be right back."
He held his empty mug up to her, "Please fill this?"
"Of course," she replied, going to the kitchen. She exchanged greetings with all of the nuns working there, including Catherine. She decided to reserve judgment until it was proven necessary. She took both mugs back to the office and placed his next to him. "So, you have everything entered?"
"Yes." He pulled up a chart with all of the information in it and pointed with a pencil to a certain point where she suddenly went from being mostly in the black, to being mainly in the red. "This point here is about six months ago. All of the forms from that point on were balanced incorrectly with varying amounts missing."
"So, if the sheets were done correctly…"
"You are well into the black. In fact, if things were kept at comparable levels, the shelter could run indefinitely."
She put her mug down on the table in shock. Her shelter shouldn't be in danger of closing! The shock quickly and unexpectedly turned to anger and she began shaking.
"Eve?" he asked, standing and closing the distance between them.
"I could kill her," she hissed between her teeth, her own vehemence startling her.
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Let's just call the police and let them handle her." He watched her pick up the phone and explain to the sheriff what the problem was.
Once she hung up she began to cry, "How could she? Why would she do this?" she whispered.
He pulled her towards him, holding her close as he rubbed her back with one hand, "It's okay, Eve." His own anger grew as he held her – anger at himself for this weakness, anger at Eve for making him feel this way, and anger at the nun for hurting Eve like this. He took a deep calming breath.
She slowly pulled herself together and pulled away, confused at her own actions – and in front of a virtual stranger no less! "Thank you for saving my shelter," she said quietly.
"You're welcome. May I make my phone call now?"
"Of course," she responded, gesturing to the phone.
He picked it up and quickly dialed Felix' number, knowing his friend would be perturbed at being woken during the day. He impatiently waited as it rang. Finally a familiar, angry voice answered, "This had better be good."
"It is good, Felix."
"Lacroix!" Felix sounded wide awake now. "You're taking a hell of a risk calling me. The Enforcers are after you."
"I figured," he replied, conscious that Eve was still in the room. "It's important, though."
"Is it true that Nicholas found his cure and fed it to you first?"
"Yes, now will you help me or not?"
"What is it you need? Certainly you're not going to ask me to cr-"
"No! Of course not. What I need is for you to get me access to my funds. I couldn't take much with me when I left there and then I was robbed."
"You realize the Enforcers probably have them tapped and will know when they've been accessed," Felix said slowly.
"I have little choice, Felix. You're not going to turn me in to them are you?"
"Of course not, Lucien. No matter what, I still consider you my friend. Now, where do you need these funds sent to?"
Lacroix gave him specific details on where he wanted the money.
"You want me to dump it into a Swiss bank account? You will trust the mortals with your money?"
"What else can I do?"
"Good point. Ok, I'll wire the majority of the funds there and the rest to an account at the bank there. You'll have to go and withdraw it as needed, though."
"What other news is there? Where is Nicholas?"
"Who knows where your son has run off to? Apparently, he decided to not only remain as he was but he also changed that Doctor friend of his."
"Are you joking!"
"I wish I was, Lucien. I guess he decided he just wanted his freedom from you and he did it without killing you. I guess you should be grateful."
"Grateful! I'll kill him, I swear it." He felt Eve tap him on the shoulder and hold up one finger. Apparently his time was almost up. "Felix, I have to go."
"Do you have a number I can reach you at?"
"Not yet but I'll call you again as soon as I get that money and settle down."
"Ok. Be careful, my friend. Your old friendships will only go so far now."
"Thank you, Felix." He hung up the phone and turned back to Eve.
"Just who is that you want to kill?" she asked with a small smile.
"My son. It's his fault that I'm here right now."
She laughed, "I must say I'm glad you're here. If you weren't I would have lost my shelter."
"Yes, well, I won't be here any longer. I've managed to get my funds wired to me here so I'll be able to pay you and I'll be off."
She frowned, "I must say, you are the first who left in this manner."
"Are you disappointed that I'm leaving?" he asked her with a small smile.
"Yes," she said quickly, followed by, "No, of course I'm not disappointed."
"Can you give me a ride to the bank?"
"Of course. Is there anything else you will need?"
"New clothes are my first priority. I expect to spend a night or two in a hotel until I can buy a place to live."
"I need to wait until the sheriff arrives which should be any minute now. Then I'll take you wherever you need to go." The second she stopped talking she heard a knock on the shelter's door. She hurried to the door, wanting to open it before anyone else did.
"Hello, Eve."
"Sheriff Gustavo."
"How many times have I asked you to call me Ted?"
"A hundred, I know."
"How are you holding up, sweetie?"
"I've been better. We just discovered that I've been continuously robbed over the last six months."
"We?"
"Oh, one of my guests discovered the problem and spent the night graphing the shelter's finances. Ted, I thought I was going to have to shut down in four months or so. With Lucien's figures, my shelter could run indefinitely."
"Well, that's mixed news, to be sure. You know who's been doing the swindling?"
"The only person it could be is Sister Catherine who has been doing my finances for the past six months. That's when the decrease began and she's the only new person on my staff. Everyone else's been with me since I opened my doors." She led him to her office.
"I'm telling you, Eve, you are the saintliest atheist I've ever met," he was saying as they reached the office.
"Knock that off, Ted, you'll ruin my good reputation around here." She gestured to Lucien, "Ted Gustavo, I'd like you to meet Lucien Lacroix."
"Are you any relation to John Gustavo?" Lucien asked as he shook the other man's hand.
"He's my son," Ted replied, sizing up the taller man across from him. "Eve was married to my Robert."
Eve broke the growing tension, "Ted, you haven't been here in a while. Take a look at my walls."
"Kid, you're going to need to start covering another room soon."
"I still feel like there's so much more I could be doing," she said quietly.
Ted turned to the other man, "Don't you listen to her. She is the most modest person I know! Most of this town would go to the ends of the earth for this girl and she doesn't even realize it."
"Ted! You're embarrassing me!"
"Sorry, Eve. Now, let's get down to business. Show me what you've found."
Lucien pulled up the charts he had made as well as showing him the newly calculated sheets from the last six months.
"I'd say that's pretty conclusive." He went and arrested Sister Catherine in the kitchen where she tearfully confessed, claiming her mother was sick and needed an operation she couldn't afford.
Once they had left, Eve took Lucien out to the bank to get his money. It only took him fifteen minutes to collect a sizable amount. He handed Eve three hundred dollars, a hundred for every night he'd spent in her shelter, he explained.
She tried to refuse his money but he insisted. Finally she gave in, knowing she couldn't really refuse it.
He next asked to be brought to a tailor. She did as he asked and he asked her to wait with him. It didn't take him long to select a couple of suits and more casual slacks and shirts. He waited while one suit was altered to fit him correctly. The rest he said he would pick up tomorrow. Wearing that suit from the store, he carefully folded and returned to Eve his borrowed clothing.
Smiling up at him as they exited the store she commented, "I was right, you do look better in a suit."
"Let me take you out tonight?" he asked her.
"I'm sorry, but I have a date tonight," she softly demurred.
"Cancel it."
"I… I beg your pardon?"
"I said cancel it. Go out with me instead. Let me take you to dinner," he said softly, persuasively.
"I don't know…"
"Give me one chance," he asked her softly, taking her hand and kissing her palm.
She blushed, "Ok."
"Can you take me to the hotel now? Then you can go home and change…"
She nodded and silently led him to her car. She wondered why she was so reluctant to break her standing date. For some reason she couldn't even seem to remember the other man's name. She dropped him off in front of the Maplewood Hotel.
"Pick me up at 6 and wear something nice…"
"Ok," she replied quietly, still slightly stunned that she was going to have dinner with him.
He entered the hotel as she drove off and immediately settled his outstanding bill. He also changed his reservation from a normal room to their two room suite. He retrieved his bag from the manager and retired to his room. Emerging a short time later after having showered, he asked the clerk to call him a cab and to direct him to the nicest jewelry store in town.
A short time later he was entering Henson's Jewelers. He doubted he could win her over with expensive presents but he had considered persuading her to wear some protection. He scanned the available necklaces until he found a medium sized, tasteful gold cross. He immediately purchased it, though he wondered how he could convince an atheist to wear a cross.
Leaving the store, he entered a florist's shop across the street, buying a dozen white roses. He hailed a taxi back to the hotel where he scheduled a wake up call before taking a nap.
Eve returned to the shelter where she answered the nervous questions from the staff about what had happened to Sister Catherine. She was finally able to retreat to her office where she considered how wise it was to be going on a date with someone who had been living in her shelter. A handful of times she had picked up the phone intending to cancel but she'd hung up before dialing a single number.
She left early at 4:30 so she would have time to shower and dress before she was supposed to meet him. She put on her one nice dress – the one she wore to charity functions – and did up her hair. Looking at herself critically in the mirror, she saw the marks on her neck and realized she would need to wear a scarf to hide them. As she tied the scarf, she remembered the date she was breaking to see Lucien and she felt bad about it, like that should be of the utmost importance in her life right now. She shook her head, dislodging the strange thought and slipped her shoes on.
Arriving at the hotel, she parked in the side parking lot and entered the lobby. She glanced at her watch and realized she was ten minutes early. She recognized the clerk working the desk as one of the women she had helped and she went to speak with her as she waited for Lucien.
Lacroix left his room five minutes early, wanting to be waiting for her when she arrived. Instead, as he entered the lobby, he saw her standing at the desk, speaking animatedly with the clerk. He walked slowly up to her, the roses in one arm and the jewelry box in his pants pocket. "Eve?" he said softly when the clerk had broken off abruptly upon noticing him approaching.
She turned and smiled at him. "Good evening, Lucien."
For a moment he forgot to speak. She was even more stunningly beautiful now than he'd ever seen her. Her hair was clipped up and skillfully teased so a couple of loose curls framed her face. She was wearing just enough makeup to emphasize her natural beauty. Her coat was open and he could see the short, low cut, fitted red dress she wore. When he remembered himself, he bowed his head to her, presenting the roses to her, "These are for you."
"They're beautiful," she said quietly, her eyes never leaving his.
"They are a mere fraction of your beauty," he replied, enjoying her blush as she turned her eyes down. "Shall we go?"
She turned to leave with him and caught the desk clerk's smirk. Eve gave her a smile as she followed Lucien outside.
"I took the liberty of calling a limo," he said as he led her to the black stretch limo sitting before the hotel's doors.
She stopped short, "You don't have to impress me with your money, Lucien."
He stopped with her, "I'm not trying to. I simply wanted to give you a nice evening out." He tried to read her eyes to see if she was angry but the emotions behind them were indecipherable. "I can dismiss him and we can take your car if you prefer."
She shook her head, "No, that's okay. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he said smoothly as he led her to the limo. The chauffer moved and opened the door for them. He'd already given the driver their destination so he silently followed her into the limo.
Sitting next to her, he glanced at the sidebar and was gratified to see the bottle of champagne he'd requested chilling in a bucket of ice. As they pulled away from the curb, he uncorked the bottle and poured two glasses. He handed her a glass and raised his in a toast, "To the continued success of your shelter." She smiled in response and he knew he'd chosen the correct thing to say.
She sipped at her champagne before speaking, "Do you always know the right thing to say?"
"Yes," he said quietly.
Her eyes drifted out the tinted windows and her mind drifted to the date she was breaking. She frowned slightly and scratched at her neck. Suddenly she found Lucien's fingers gently turning her chin so she was again facing him.
"Is something wrong?"
"What? Oh, no, I was just thinking of the date I was breaking tonight…"
"Now I feel somewhat hurt," he said calmly, knowing that she was feeling drawn to the vampire.
She took his hand in hers, "I promise I won't mention it again. It was just a random thought." She smiled, "I intend to enjoy myself tonight. I so rarely have time to do so anymore."
"Good," he replied, knowing she might not mention the other man, but she would be thinking of him. So be it. He knew he would need to keep her from the vampire for a couple more nights before the faint bond would break. He doubted that would be a problem.
They spent the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence. As the limo stopped before the restaurant, the chauffer opened the passenger side door, allowing Eve to exit. Lucien followed her out of the limo and gently took her arm as he led her inside.
Eve had driven by this place, Pierre's, many times in the past and never had she thought she would be dining inside. This was the most expensive restaurant in the county. It was rumored that a person could not eat here for less than $100. She allowed herself to be led inside the doors. Immediately, a man came to help her remove her coat. She watched Lucien approach the maitre d'.
"I have a reservation for two."
"Your name, sir?"
"Lucien Lacroix."
"Very good, sir. If you'll follow me?"
He again took Eve's arm and they followed the maitre d' to a secluded table in the back.
"I hope this meets with your approval?" the maitre d' asked Lucien.
"Very much so, thank you," Lucien replied, moving to pull out a seat for Eve. The maitre d' left as he sat across from her. The table was designed for two people and it was surrounded by three privacy walls, allowing them to see no one else in the restaurant. He had specifically requested a private table when he'd made the reservation.
They perused the wine list and when Eve shyly admitted she had no clue when it came to wines, he smiled and selected the most expensive one available. Picking up the menu, she blinked in disbelief as she saw the prices. "Lucien I-"
Having expected such a reaction, he raised a hand to stop her, "Don't even look at the prices, my dear. Order whatever you would like." He saw the hesitation in her eyes still. "Eve," he said, drawing her eyes up to meet his own, "don't argue with me, you'll never win."
Her eyes flashed angrily for a second before she saw the laughter in his. She laughed, "Don't tempt me to try." She turned her eyes back to the menu and grudgingly chose the wild boar medallions with a wild berry sauce.
Lucien, still new to eating, decided to play it safe by ordering something he recognized. He ended up ordering a 12 ounce sirloin steak.
Their waiter came up shortly and took their order, bringing their bottle of wine almost immediately. He opened the bottle and offered it for Lucien's approval. Receiving it, he poured two glasses and left them alone.
As they waited for their food, Lucien asked a question which had been bothering him for a while. "If you are an atheist, why did you start up a catholic shelter?"
She laughed, "I was wondering if you were going to ask me that. It was the first question my in-laws asked... well, after they all said 'Are you serious!' The reason is simple, it's good for donations. You see, people would be a whole lot less likely to donate to Joe Smith's homeless shelter than to one which they identify with a religion." She frowned, "Religion does strange things to people I guess. I think that my donors feel like they've secured themselves another tiny piece of heaven by giving money to my shelter." She blushed, "I'm sorry, I hope I'm not insulting you…"
He waved her apology off, "No need to apologize. I'm not Christian either. May I ask you another question?"
"Ask away," she said lightly.
"Why did you start the shelter in the first place?"
"That's the most frequent question I hear." She took a sip of the wine, "When I was in school, my friends called me the 'eternal optimist'. No matter what happened or how bad things got, I always said they'd get better." She could see him getting ready to ask what this had to do with anything. "Hold on, I'm getting there, I promise. Anyways, I've always believed that every person has some good in them. I was always looking for people's hidden potential. I did that with my husband, too. When I married Robert, we both moved out of here and into New York City. We were married for only two years before he got on that plane. A week before the bombing, he handed me the divorce papers before flying out to a business meeting. He said he'd been cheating on me for most of our marriage and he finally wanted to marry the other woman.
"I hadn't yet filed the papers when the plane he was coming home on was destroyed. When the insurance was claimed, his mistress stepped forward with her lawyer to try to claim it. She dragged me into a messy legal battle which lasted three weeks. Well, as the divorce had never been filed and my name was still on the policy, she had no legal claim to it. By the time everything was said and done, I was so disgusted that I decided to use the money to do something good.
"And so St. Mary's shelter was born. At first, I had trouble finding people to help staff it. Then Father Patrick stepped forward with his convent."
He silently contemplated her words, "Do you still believe that every person has some good in them? Even after what your husband did?"
"Yes," she replied unhesitatingly.
He frowned and chose his next words carefully, "Even someone who has killed people?"
"Well, yes, I believe that there is something redeemable there."
He huffed, "You have no idea what you are talking about."
"And you do?" she asked hotly. "How many killers have you met?"
He knew it was a rhetorical question, but damn it amused him to consider the answer to that. "Let me offer you a hypothetical situation," he began, knowing full well he was about to do something dangerous.
"Ok," she replied, cooling down somewhat.
"Now, let's say that there are such things as vampires."
"You don't believe there are, do you?"
"Of course not," he lied smoothly, realizing this might be harder than he'd thought. "Anyways, hypothetically, there are vampires and some of them are thousands of years old. They've killed hundreds of thousands of people to survive. Where is the redeemable factor in that?"
"Ok," she began, "First of all, if they are indeed thousands of years old, they would hold a treasure trove of human history."
He shrugged, "Ok, I'll grant you that one, but what if they're unwilling to share it?"
"I guess it depends. Are these all mindless killers we're talking about? And do they only kill for survival or are they killing for the fun of it?"
"Does that really matter?"
"Of course. If they are all different as people are, then not all of them would necessarily be evil, just as not every human is good."
He gave her a toothy grin, "And would you be willing to risk your neck to find that out? Hypothetically speaking still."
She shrugged slightly, "I don't know. I think that, if they did exist, it would be interesting to meet one. Assuming of course I could talk to them without losing my life."
He nodded slightly, enjoying the irony of the situation, even if he was the only one aware of it. "I heard your discussion with the sheriff about him ruining your reputation."
"Hmm?" she said, confused slightly by his change of topics.
"He called you 'the saintliest atheist' he knew…"
"Oh yeah, that. I have to be careful or I'll have the nuns praying for my soul every time I turn around. They all think I'm a nice catholic girl."
He reached into his pocket and extracted the flat, rectangular jewelry box. He handed it to her, "I thought this might help."
Curious, she accepted the box and carefully opened it. "Lucien," she said, looking up at him, "It's beautiful but I can't accept this. It's too expensive."
"Nonsense!" he replied. "Here, let me put it on you." He gently took the box from her and rose to stand behind her. He leaned down to clasp it around her neck. He caught a whiff of her shampoo – peaches – and he wondered what her blood smelled like. As he released the necklace, he gently kissed her ear, his hands on her shoulders.
Eve felt a shiver travel down her spine when he kissed her ear. She wondered what his lips would feel like on hers. Unfortunately, the moment was broken as their waiter entered with their food.
Lucien felt her shiver before he pulled away. He gracefully sat again, eying the gold cross. The chain was short and it landed just below the base of her throat. The damn thing still made him uneasy even though he knew such things could no longer hurt him.
The waiter refilled their wine glasses before he departed. As Lucien watched Eve tentatively pick at her dinner, he realized he wasn't very hungry. He took a couple bites of his own dinner but found himself content to simply sit and watch her eat. As he did so, he wondered what his feelings towards her were. At first, he had been curious about her, though he'd been physically attracted to her from the start. Then, when he'd discovered the other vampire's bites he'd become not only afraid for her but also… jealous? That would imply that he had feelings for her. It would be damn inconvenient if he'd developed mortal feelings while losing the vampire.
Eve looked up and saw Lucien staring at her. She glanced back down, taking another bite of her meal. Looking up again she saw him still staring. She put her fork and knife down, "Lucien, stop staring at me. It's unnerving the way you stare, barely blinking. You've hardly touched your meal," she observed. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong," he said softly. "I'm just not very hungry tonight."
"Thank you for the necklace," she said quietly, realizing she hadn't had a chance to thank him.
He smiled a crooked smile, "Consider it protection from all of those hypothetical vampires."
That got a laugh from her and effectively broke the tension. They finished their meal in quiet, each contemplating their feelings for the other. When the waiter came with the check, Lucien made sure she couldn't see its total. He knew she would again protest. He paid in cash before leading her to the door where a man was waiting with their coats. They donned their coats and he brought her outside to where the limo was waiting.
They entered the limo and Lucien asked her to give the driver her address so he could drop her off at home. She hid her disappointment that he didn't ask her back to his hotel room but then she realized it was probably best this way. She barely knew him after all.
When they pulled up to her small house, he followed her out of the limo and brought her to the door. He leaned close to her and gently kissed her. It was barely a brush of skin against skin before he was pulling away. "Will you do me the honor of joining me for dinner again tomorrow night?"
"Only if we go somewhere a little less expensive," she said quietly. She was painfully aware that she was currently wearing her only nice dress.
"I think that can be arranged," he replied. "I'll call you at the shelter tomorrow."
"Ok," she said quietly, wishing he'd kiss her again.
"Good night, Eve."
"Good night, Lucien. I had a very nice time."
He didn't respond further, simply turning and heading back to the waiting limo. She watched the limo disappear before entering the house, her thoughts focused on Lucien Lacroix.
The next day, Lucien picked up the rest of his suits from the tailor before returning to the hotel and calling Eve. She picked up on the first ring and he wondered if she was hovering over the phone waiting for his call. "Can you meet me for lunch?" he asked, without even saying hello.
"Lucien? I guess so. Where?"
"How about at the diner across the street? Say in half an hour?"
"Ok," she said before hanging up the phone.
He smiled and dressed in the more casual clothing he'd just picked up. A corner of his mind wondered what he would do when he had solved the problem of saving Eve's life. He had remained distracted from his own circumstances by working on this problem. What then, once he'd finished? Another stray thought crossed his mind; he wondered who the vampire was that he was crossing. Was it one of his friends who was toying with Eve? He knew the vampire had to be pretty old to be sipping without killing her. Then he realized he hoped he never found out because it would likely mean his own death.
Glancing at the clock, he pushed all of these thoughts aside. He had to get going if he was to meet her on time. He left the hotel and grabbed the cab which was like a permanent accessory in front of the hotel. Getting to the diner he wondered if she was there already.
He went inside of Cheryl's Diner – wondering why everything in this town seemed to be named after someone – and glanced around. He spotted her in a back booth. She looked pale and tired and he wondered if she was sick. As he approached, he saw her reach up and scratch her neck. He did see the cross there so he ruled out his first concern – that she'd seen the vampire after all.
Eve watched him enter and sit across from her. She gave him a small smile. She didn't really feel like eating – all she wanted to do was sleep – but she had found herself wanting to see him again.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked quietly.
She simply nodded as a waitress in a striped uniform came up and casually dumped the menus before them. "Watcha want to drink?" she drawled.
"I'll take a Coke," Eve said. "Make it a large," she added as she yawned.
"I'll have the same."
The waitress slowly sauntered off and Eve said, "As I was about to say, I just didn't sleep well. I had a really strange dream and I tossed and turned all night."
"A strange dream?"
"Yeah. It was probably just due to our dinner conversation," she said with a small laugh.
He gave her a small smile, feeling fear in the pit of his stomach which was a new and highly unwelcome feeling. "What was it about?"
"You're going to laugh at me, but it was such a vivid dream that it almost feels real, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah," he replied, having no idea what that felt like as he didn't dream as a vampire. "So, what was it about?" he prodded.
She was about to speak when the waitress came back, slapping two full glasses on the table. "You ready to order?"
"I'll have the vegetable lasagna," Eve said. She was something of a regular here when she was too lazy to cook her own lunch.
"That sounds good, make it two," Lucien said, not really knowing if it sounded good or not but he figured he'd try it anyways.
The waitress picked up the menus and again disappeared.
"Ok, the dream began a little while after you dropped me off at home. I had just changed for bed when I heard one of the living room windows open. Thinking it was the wind, I went to close it. When I entered the living room, the man I was supposed to see last night was standing there. Normally I would be afraid in that situation but it was strange. I felt really calm – I guess it was one of those strange dream things. Anyways, he approached and he seemed angry. He came closer and then he was tipping my head to the side and I could feel him biting me. Only it didn't hurt… It actually felt good. He pulled away and I heard him mutter your name which I thought was strange, and then I woke up in bed."
"Did you have your necklace on in the dream?" he asked, knowing it was no dream and that she had unwittingly revealed his presence here.
"No, but I'd taken it off for bed so I must have subconsciously remembered that." She laughed but to him it sounded a bit forced, "Isn't that a weird dream?"
He was trying to formulate a reply to that when the waitress returned bearing two heaping plates of food. She dumped them before them and without asking if they needed anything else, sauntered away.
Eve was still looking at him expectantly and he glanced down at his food. He was no longer hungry. "How are the marks on your neck?" he asked instead.
"It's strange but they're not getting any better."
"Is that where he bit you in your dream?" he asked quietly, finally looking back up at her.
She blinked a couple of times, "Yeah, I guess so…"
"Eve," he whispered, "What if it isn't a dream?"
She laughed, sincerely this time, "That's ridiculous!"
"Of course it is," he replied. "I was just joking."
"Maybe we should just eat before it gets cold."
He nodded and forced himself to choke some down. It was good but he really wasn't in the mood to eat. He settled the check at the end, to Eve's protests, before walking her back to work. "Can I see you tonight?"
"Sure," she said with a genuine smile.
"How about you pick me up and you can choose the place? Though I'm still going to pay," he added quickly.
"How can I argue with you?"
"You can't so don't bother trying." He stood fingering the gold cross at the door to the shelter. "Maybe you shouldn't take it off. Perhaps it will protect you from your dream vampires," he said smoothly. Before she could say anything in response, he leaned down and kissed her. It began as it had the night before, though it quickly turned into something more passionate as she responded by wrapping her arms around him.
They both pulled away, needing air. They were both breathing heavily and she had felt his arousal as he'd held her close. "I'll… pick you up… at 6?" she asked shakily.
"Make it 5," he replied, wanting her out of her house before sunset and knowing that it would still be light at 5.
"Ok," she responded before ducking into the shelter.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. He now knew that along with the other emotions that had arisen after the vampire left, there was that seldom-felt one of love. That was one hell of an emotion to discover on what would probably be his last day of life. He strode away, deciding to walk back to the diner to have them hail a cab. He didn't want to step foot back in the shelter.
He was standing in the lobby when she entered at ten minutes to five. He'd been there since four thirty. She told him she was taking him to her favorite restaurant. Ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the Golden Bamboo – finally a place not named after a person. She led him inside for a change and a waiter led them over to a table near three giant buffet tables. "I hope you like Chinese," she'd said to him in the car.
As he'd never had Chinese food before, he'd simply shrugged, "I've never had it before." That earned him a surprised look.
"Well, I'm taking you to a buffet so you can pick and choose what you want to try. I'm sure you'll find something you like."
Standing in front of the buffet tables now and glancing down at the strange assortment there, he tried to decide what to try first.
Eve came up beside him. "Try a little of everything," she whispered in his ear, sending a shiver down his back.
He turned and leered at her, "I know what I'd like to try," he said seductively.
She playfully slapped his arm, "Eat now, play later."
"Is that a promise?"
She laughed lightly, moving to fill her own plate, "We'll see."
He followed her, taking small portions of a handful of dishes before going back to their table. He realized quite quickly that he really liked Chinese food.
Eve laughed as she watched him practically inhale the contents of his plate. "That's the most food I've seen you eat in one sitting!"
He finished chewing the bite of egg roll in his mouth before responding, "It's really good."
They both ate more than they probably should have and they left the restaurant feeling happily full. Eve turned to him as they reached her car, "So… Am I dropping you off at the hotel?"
"That depends… Would you like to go up to my room for a drink?"
She smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that." They drove to the hotel in silence, though they exchanged some heated glances as she drove. She parked and he wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her through the hotel lobby and to the elevators. He pushed the button and they both impatiently waited for the elevator to arrive.
The doors opened and a young couple stepped out, their eyes only on each other. Eve and Lucien entered the elevator and as the doors closed she moved closer and initiated a passionate kiss which only stopped when the doors opened again on his floor. He led her to his room and unlocked the door. He hit the lights and gestured her to enter. He closed the door and removed his coat and took hers from her.
"Where were we?" she asked, her voice husky.
"Right here," he answered, pulling her into another deep kiss. He broke away and stared into her eyes. He wasn't sure what emotion he saw hiding behind her eyes. "I don't want to rush things…" he said, his body proclaiming the opposite.
She sighed, "You're probably going to think this is too fast, but I have to tell you… I love you."
He blinked a couple of times, not having expected her to say that. "And I you, ma coeur." The words were out of his mouth before his conscious mind could stop them and then he realized it didn't matter. He wanted her to know it.
"Your bedroom's back there, right?"
"Yes, it is," he replied before scooping her up into his arms.
She giggled, raising a hand to stroke his cheek as he carried her into the bedroom. From the point where he set her down on her feet to the point where they were lying together in bed naked passed as in a dream. Their clothes were discarded at some point, though neither of them could say just when that happened.
Now, they were lying, stroking each other, preparing to cross a line they didn't even know would exist a week ago. "Are you sure?" he asked her, needing her permission now, when in the past he wouldn't have cared.
"Yes. Are you?"
"More sure than I've been about anything in a long time," he responded.
"Then what are you waiting for?" she asked with a smile.
He rolled on top of her and kissed her again, "Nothing." He gently and carefully slid into her. He felt her wrap her legs around him as he filled her completely. He held still a minute, letting her adjust while he enjoyed the sensations. It had been a long time since he'd made love to anyone. Rough, violent sex he'd had plenty of, but tender lovemaking was something he'd only experienced a handful of times in the distant past.
He took it slow and gentle, enjoying watching the pleasure build on her face. As they both approached their climaxes, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Eve."
"I love you too," she replied as her nails dug into his back and she called out his name.
He joined her as he released himself within her. He collapsed shivering onto her. The peace lasted maybe half a minute before a shooting pain lanced through his chest and he rolled off her, gasping for air. The pain spread out to his extremities before settling into his stomach and teeth. His eyes burned and he closed them tightly.
Eve had closed her eyes and was enjoying his weight being on her when she'd felt him tense before rolling off her. She heard him gasp and she quickly sat up, seeing that his eyes were tightly shut. "Lucien!"
The pain in his jaw increased and he could feel his fangs descending as though it were the first time. This hunger, though, overshadowed the first hunger in every way. He could feel his two millennia of control and he knew he hadn't lost any of his power. He could hear a mortal heartbeat within reach and his conscious mind was only a single step ahead of his beast. He kept his eyes closed, "Eve," he rasped out. "Grab your coat and run. Now!"
"What?" she asked, totally confused and fearful that he was having a heart attack or something.
His eyes shot open and two scarlet orbs stared out at her. She jumped backwards off the bed. "What…"
He flashed his fangs at her, "No time… Run! Now!"
This time she didn't try to question him. She dashed out of the bedroom, ripped her coat from the hanger in the entryway, and barely took the time to wrap it around her before leaving the room. As she opened the door she could hear movement behind her but she didn't pause to see what he was doing. She slammed the door behind her and ran for the stairs. She was terrified. What had happened to him? She opened the door to the stairwell and froze as she was confronted with the man she'd met recently, the one in her dream. Only now, staring at him, she didn't think it was a dream.
"Ah, sugar cakes, were you looking for me?"
She backed up a step as she saw him glance behind her.
"Oh shucks, and here I was hoping to cross the great Lucien Lacroix." Then he glanced at her again, as if just realizing that she was naked beneath the coat. "Ah, so you two are lovers." He quickly appraised the level of hunger in the other's eyes and realized he wanted the mortal. "She's mine, Lucien. She bares my mark."
Lacroix had forced himself to don his pants before giving chase to the mortal. Only his immense control allowed him to hold back as long as he had. When he'd found her stopped before the stairwell his beast had rejoiced at the nearness of its prey. Then he'd seen the other vampire. He could barely comprehend what the other was saying with the beast raging so loudly in his head and its claws tearing at his empty stomach.
He flew at the mortal, only to find himself tackled by the other vampire. He grabbed an arm and bit down, releasing a sluggish flow of blood which wasn't as satisfying as he knew the hot mortal blood would be.
The other vampire, Davis by name, realized he was being drained by a hungry vampire four times his age. He ripped himself away, realizing he would lose his mortal one way or another. He flew angrily up the stairwell and out of sight.
Eve had frozen as the two men had fought on the floor. Then the stranger had up and… flown? Now she was alone with Lucien and his eyes were still scarlet and they were focused on her neck. She reached her hand up for her necklace and found it gone. Then she remembered that she'd removed it and placed it on the night stand, claiming that Lucien would protect her from her nightmare vampires.
Now she wondered who would protect her from this real-life vampire. As he advanced and her back hit the wall, she realized she was going to die. This thought didn't frighten her, it angered her and as Lucien came within arm's reach, she slapped him with all her strength.
Lucien laughed as the mortal slapped him. His conscious mind was gone now under the overwhelming hunger of the vampire. He roughly pulled her into his arms and turned her. Biting into the unmarked side of her throat, he drank deeply of the calming nectar.
Eve continued struggling in his grasp until her strength waned and her world began going black. "Lucien," she managed to whisper one final time before sinking into oblivion.
He felt the struggles of his prey lessen as he drained her life away. As he began coming back in control of the beast, he heard the prey whisper his name and he released her in shock. Eve! He slid to the floor with her cooling body in his arms. He listened for a heartbeat and at first didn't catch it. There it was but it was fading quickly, maybe too quickly his mind told him as he slit his wrist open on his fangs. "Drink, damn it Eve, drink!"
Eve suddenly woke and found herself standing in front of her ex-husband. "Robert? I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked, looking around but seeing only empty fields and a single, very out of place, closed door.
"Not quite," he said as he approached. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, Eve. I'm also proud of you."
"What do you mean I'm not quite dead? Lucien killed me, didn't he?" she was so confused.
"Ah yes, Lucien… your lover who was stuck as a mortal for some time. He almost killed you. As I said, you're not quite dead."
"I still don't understand, Robert."
He gestured to the closed door, "If you want to end it, you can go through that door and you will be dead. Or…"
"Or what? What other choice do I have?"
Robert paused a moment as though listening, "Ah, there it is. Or, you can follow Lucien's voice and become like he is."
"I don't know what I should do," she said.
"You don't have much time to choose," he remarked, gesturing to the door which was slowly opening. "If it opens fully, your mortal body will be dead and you will have no choice."
She listened to the wind which now carried Lucien's voice to her. "How do I go back?"
"Turn your back to the door and walk. I'm supposed to tell you that if you choose that route, you won't come back here."
"Is that heaven?" she asked, preparing to turn and leave.
"It is what you make of it. Goodbye, Eve."
"Goodbye, Robert." With that she turned and kept walking until everything faded away.
Lucien begged and pleaded with her to return. He was about to give up hope when her eyes fluttered open. He lowered his wrist to her mouth where she drank feverishly. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "Sleep," he whispered, watching her eyes fluttering closed. "I'm so sorry, Eve." He gently lifted her and brought her back to his room. He placed her on the bed and unhesitatingly picked up the phone and dialed Felix.
"Yes?"
"Felix."
"Lucien? You're taking a risk-"
"There's no risk, my friend," he cut him off and explained the night's events.
"So you're really back, and at full strength. Amazing. I wonder if this is what caused Nicholas to cross Natalie. And the girl you were with, you said her name is Eve, how is she?"
"Asleep. She crossed, though I'd feared I'd lost her at first. That's why I'm calling. I need a supply of blood, definitely human and as soon as you can manage it."
"Lucien, you're in the middle of nowhere! It will cost me a fortune to find someone willing to tear out there right this instant."
"Pull it from my account. Speaking of which…"
"Already done."
"I owe you for your earlier help, Felix."
"I'll remember you said that. Someone should be there in an hour with a large supply of blood for you. Good luck with your new childe, Lucien."
"Thank you, Felix." He hung up the phone and moved to the bedroom. He wanted to watch her sleep. He could feel his bond with her forming. He could also feel the renewal of his bonds with his other offspring. He knew he could now hunt down his traitorous son and break every bone in his body. He was contemplating this when there was a knock on the room's door. He rose and went to answer it. There stood a young vampire who was barely out of his first century. He had a pair of crates in his arms and he carefully put these in the center of the suite.
"I have more. I'll be right back, sir."
"Good," Lucien replied, moving to open one of the crates.
The fledgling hurried in with the other crates, nodded respectively, and left like a bat out of hell. Lucien closed the door and laughed to himself. It was good to be back to his old self! He carried the open crate into the bedroom and looked around. There was a single window in here which was covered by a rather thin curtain. He reinforced this with the duvet before returning to Eve's side.
It was another ten minutes before she began to wake. He was ready with the bottles he knew her body would demand. He'd already fed while waiting for her so he was strong enough to keep her from feeding from him, though the thought of being able to her allow her that later shot straight to his teeth and groin.
Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the world through a scarlet haze. Pain racked her stomach and her upper jaw. She could smell food and she desperately reached for it, feeling a bottle being shoved into her hands followed by four more. When she finally was able to stop, the red cleared away, the pain in her stomach was gone, and her teeth felt normal to her quick check.
"Eve?" a voice inquired and it sounded both like Lucien's voice and unlike it.
She turned her head and faced him. She saw his familiar face but it was also like seeing him for the first time. Her vision seemed different, as did everything else. Her hearing was much sharper as was her sense of smell. She closed her eyes for a second and she imagined she could still see Lucien. Opening them she focused on his eyes.
"Are you all right?" he asked in a whisper.
"I'm not sure," she replied, hearing her voice for the first time and noting how strange it sounded.
He smiled softly as he listened to the melodic tones of her voice. They had changed only slightly. "Are you hungry?"
"I don't think so." She frowned, "Why didn't you tell me you were a vampire?"
He poured her a glass of blood, "I didn't tell you because I wasn't when we met. Even if I was, I wouldn't have told you." He watched her eye the contents of the glass before drinking. "I'll explain," he said. He went all of the way back to his mortal life and skimmed his way forward, jumping over large portions of his past, ending with how he'd gotten from Toronto to here.
"And that other vampire? What did he want?"
"He was going to kill you. He was sipping from you and eventually he would have drained you."
She still felt so confused, like the threads of the story were still in knots. "That was blood, wasn't it? Was it human blood?"
"Yes, it was human blood. No one was killed for this blood," he added, seeing the look on her face. "Nor will I ever force you to kill, though you will learn to hunt."
"And my shelter? Can I go back to work there?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder, knowing this news would probably be the hardest, "I'm sorry, but no." He raised a hand to stave off her argument, "It's not because I don't want you to but because you'd be more likely to feed on your guests than help them."
"Why would I feed on them?" she asked in horror.
"You, my dearest, are not even a child in my world. You have no idea how loud a human heartbeat can sound or how suddenly your hunger can strike." He stroked her hair gently, "Let me put it another way. Have you ever not eaten for a long time and then you smell food? Now imagine feeling like you haven't eaten in weeks and then you smell Chinese food. That is what it is like to be around mortals at your age."
"Oh," she said quietly. Her mind caught on a phrase in his statement, "Where does this leave us?"
He misunderstood her question, "I'll be your teacher."
"That isn't what I meant. I meant… you just called me your dearest. Did you mean it or was it just an expression?"
"My feelings for you haven't changed, if that's what you are asking."
"That was what I wanted to know, yes." She smiled, "I know you probably won't ask so I'll just tell you, I do still love you." Her smile turned into a sudden smirk, "I was right, by the way."
"About what?"
"That vampires can be redeemable." She frowned, "Lucien, what will I do about the shelter?"
"You have someone else who knows how to run it?" She nodded. "You will step back and take over behind the scenes. You will deal more with financial matters."
"You don't mind?"
He shrugged, "It will pass time and time is something you now have an abundance of. If this is what you want to do now, who am I to say no?"
She yawned, suddenly having trouble staying awake.
"The sun is rising," he explained. "Don't try to fight it, you're too young. Sleep, I will be here with you." He watched her drift off as he felt the pull himself. He was old enough to ignore it if he chose but today he let it take him under.
She woke suddenly, for a moment disorientated. She felt strong arms wrapped around her waist and she had Lucien's chest at her back. She sighed contentedly and settled in closer to him. The hunger flared quickly and unexpectedly and she tried to fight it until her vision went gold. She tried to pull from Lucien's grasp to find something to assuage her hunger, but he was too strong. "Lucien." He didn't even stir. Her instincts began to kick in and she panicked. "Lucien!" Still nothing. She couldn't even reach any part of him to bite. She began to sob in pain and fear.
Lacroix woke slowly, aware that something was very wrong. He took one look at Eve and immediately offered his wrist to her, releasing his restraining grasp on her. She flinched away and it was only then that he realized how much pain she was in. He rolled her into his arms facing him and he tilted his head to the side, "Bite me! It will ease your hunger."
Her fangs clumsily entered his throat and she began pulling at his blood. He gently completed the circle; using the little blood he took from her to comfort her. The little he took combined with the action of being bitten was enough to drive an orgasm through his blood. He shuddered as he held her and he felt her body responding as well. He removed his fangs from her neck and let her continue drinking a minute more from him. He gently stroked her hair as she fed. He was angry at himself for having slept so deeply that it took him over ten minutes to wake up. "I'm sorry," he whispered. She was the only person he had ever apologized to.
He gently pulled her away and stroked her hair some more as though she were a cat. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.
"I am now," she said quietly, still shaking slightly from the experience. "What… what was that?"
"Your sudden hunger is comparable to a human infant's. It will pass in time."
"Not that…"
"Ah, that." He raised a hand to stroke the side of her neck and he felt her shiver below him. "That is one of our main erogenous zones. Our fangs are another. Biting and being bitten is an erotic action. In fact, the exchange of blood is how we define sex. Everything else is just foreplay."
She would have blushed if she could, he knew. "Hmm, maybe you should begin with this subject, teacher…"
"In a hurry to learn, are you?"
"Well, you did say we have eternity, and we do need something to pass the time…"
He kissed her gently, "Somehow I don't think eternity will be long enough to be with you, ma coeur."
The End