Immune to death and indebted to life he stood, slowly. Sometimes it felt as if those eyes saw right through him with their sharp gaze. He never felt entirely at ease when those eyes were directed at him with anger clearly within them. When filled with mirth they put him on edge, it was an emotion that didn't quite seem to fit in those cold blue depths that could prove expressive beyond the capacity of words. Lowering his own eyes in submission he took a few steps forward towards the man sitting watching him from a chair that was maintained perfectly. For many years it had belonged to his sister, it remained where it had always done, in her bedroom; a place untouchable by unwelcome hands. Parting his lips slightly he let out a slight exhalation of air, he still wanted to pursue the point he had been trying to pin down before the altercation with his father but he was almost afraid of suffering more violence. Once he had made up his mind and gathered enough courage to raise his eyes he did so, they were greeted with an expectant expression as if he were being urged to continue. This had proved a trick so many times in the past but he had to know, he had to know now.

"Did you sleep with her?" The words left him before he'd even processed them in his mind.

LaCroix raised an eyebrow, "It's obvious, Nicholas, that like any other bone you pick up you won't stop chewing it. If you must know, our encounter was intimate but not fully so. I did nothing with her that would endanger her life or my reputation."

"How can I be sure you're telling the truth?"

"Perhaps you ought to ask Robyn. That is if you can find her."

Nick nodded, this was a definite sign that their previous conversation was well and truly over. It was now time for him to turn his mind to finding Robyn; sparing a last look at LaCroix he left the room. He walked over to the fire exit and closed it before going in search of Schanke. Dawn wasn't far away and so their time was short.

Traversing the corridor he came towards Nat and her patient who was looking a lot more awake than before. She smiled when she saw him but it was a weak smile, a smile of foreboding, a smile that told him that this was Robyn's fiancé. Coming to a stop beside her he placed a gentle hand on her elbow before kneeling down in front of the man sitting on the floor.

"You're Kit I presume," Nick said when the man looked at him.

The man nodded, "Yeah. You don't need to tell me Robyn isn't here; I kind of guessed she'd be gone when I saw her Muppet brother coming in here."

"You know him?"

"We've met. I don't suppose you know where he is."

Nick shook his head, "We've got officers out all over the place looking for him. We've had no luck so far I'm afraid."

"Damn it!" Kit exclaimed, "If you knew who he was, what he can do…"

"I think he's already done it. Look, can you think of anywhere he might have gone? What sort of places does he like?"

"Places that are dank, dark and miserable; somewhere quiet, where he won't be disturbed. That's all I can tell you."

"That's ok. I know a few places that would match that description. I'm going to head out to one or two of them, uniforms can take the rest."

Nick stood up and was about to walk away when he heard Kit call him back. Looking down he watched Kit trying to get up, after a few minutes Nat helped him and he was on his feet.

Kit looked at Nick with sheer determination in his eyes, "If you're going to find Robyn I'm coming with you. You also can't take Cain out on your own."

This was a suggestion Nick didn't like but he had no choice. Time was running ever shorter and he couldn't help but admit that he would need help. He wasn't sure who exactly he was dealing with. At least with Kit he would have some idea of what to expect, it seemed that he and Cain had met before and his advice would be extremely useful. Turning back to Kit, he nodded. It was time to go.

With blood chilling slowness he opened the door. Before the rest of his body emerged through the doorway he snaked a hand round it to the light switch on the wall. With a deft flick of his fingers darkness plunged into the room extinguishing the light. Star bursts flickered behind her lids as she closed her eyes once more. Darkness brought mercy, it hid the look of desire that leant a bloom to his cheeks and his lips twisted into a lustful smile. It concealed his arousal in a blanket of blindness but she still knew it was there. She could still feel it pressed against her leg as he leant over her to claim her lips or brush his hand up her leg. It was there every second, with every breath, with every caress and it would never be satisfied until it had taken her and destroyed her.

His footsteps echoed around the room making it seem as if he was stamping his way over to her. Each step made her heart pound faster until she thought it would burst from her body. Her palms grew sweaty the more anxious she became and couldn't stop the tears that stung her eyes from falling. She felt his hand brush her cheek gently, more gently than he had ever touched her. Dropping his hand he worked to loosen the bonds that bound her. All the while he kept his cheek pressed against hers with his wordless lips scathing her ear. For a short while he dropped back from her while he released her legs. Now she was free her thoughts turned to escape but there was no way of her succeeding, even if she could run she wouldn't know where she was going and he would soon find her.

They had searched through two buildings but had found no sign. Nick began to grow weary as his eyes flicked across the skyline. They would just make it to the third building but from then on he could go no further. He knew that Kit was growing impatient, that he wanted answers that couldn't be given easily. Despite the man's injury he wasn't lagging behind in the least, Nick could tell that nothing but sheer determination mingled with bitter determination drove him to carry on. Feeling a strange determination of his own he revved up the Caddie and headed off to their next destination in silence.

"It might seem strange but I'm sure we've met before somewhere," Kit's words broke the stillness around them.

Nick turned his head slightly to look at Kit, "I doubt that's possible."

"It's very possible, I have seen you before. You gave me a loaf of bread once, twelve years ago. It was definitely you; before you try denying it again, when someone saves you from starving to death you never forget their face. It's odd that in eleven years you haven't changed a bit."

"Some people don't, some people change slowly."

Kit shook his head, "Not that slowly. I heard stories once, about people that never change in appearance from one year to another, people that are immune to time. I've seen how the sun worries you. I know what you are."

"And what is that?"

"You're a vampire."