A/N: Whoo!! Finished!!!
Last night I lost the entire file but still had a bit left for the epilogue! Inspired by loads of Evanescence and Lacuna Coil repeats on my ipod. Gonna go and put up the next installment plus a two branch stories
Thank you for all the reads and enjoy this last chapter!!
Horatio, Mac and their respective CSIs (c) CBS, Daikonran and Secondet (c) my sister, Marla Ruez and Archimedes Di Visage (c) mine
Epilogue
The Foretold Death of Horatio Caine
Rain drizzled upon the wet cemetery grass as Felicity Thompson's funeral proceeded on. It was a small affair, barely any family members left to mourn for the little girl. Her father was in custody for her second murder, closing the Henderson dollhouse in the process. But case specifics were irrelevant as the entire investigative crew showed up to pay their final respect to her. Calleigh Duquesne places a small bouquet on top of the upturned earth and withdrew back into the somber crowd besides Mac Taylor and Ryan Wolfe. The New Yorker's two weeks were almost up; he had to return to the Big Apple. He did miss the overall atmosphere the city had but Miami left him a renewed sense of duty.
Among the mourners, Horatio Caine coughed blood onto his black sleeves besides Daikonran Kino. He dared not look at Felicity for he had let Stuart Otis go. Tim Speedle waited in his car while the precession took place. The lieutenant's mind raced at the consequences of his brash actions and their effect on his team. Horatio was more than willing to go back into Archimedes' mansion to get the child murderer back, just for this little girl. As the mourners sat for the quick religious service, he decided to have a little detour and walked down the grave lanes.
His heart took a nosedive as he spotted a disheveled tombstone. His blue eyes glistened with the falling drops while he seized the thorny weeds from Marisol's grave. Using his palms and a few puffs of breath, Horatio cleared the writing and let the rain do its work. He would come here whenever he felt lost in his work and needed to clear his mind. He sat cross-legged on a small patch of grass and stared silently into the marble headstone. In the last two months, he had frequented the spot.
"'An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young, a dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young' " Horatio heard Mac Taylor's voice over his streaming thoughts.
"A queen she was. I'm just sorry she didn't get to see it." The lieutenant's eyes met with the detective's light green orbs. "And I mean it for both of them."
Mac sighed as thunder rolled on in the sky. "At least she's going back from where she came from. Poor girl probably never knew who her father was, even though he seized her."
Horatio stood up from the moist green and shook Mac's hand. A shock of power rolled along Taylor's skin, causing him to quickly withdraw his hand. During his visit to Miami-DADE, Kino told him that all the strange symptoms he had experienced were from counter-race interaction. In other words, the holy water that Secondet might have injected was reacting with Horatio, making him temporarily adverse to the detective's health.
"Thanks for the tour. I'll be sure to get everyone a piece of this place."
Caine grinned mischievously, "You think Stella's going to appreciate the string bikini number you bought her?"
"Either way, it's going to be hilarious."
Horatio looked into the sky before asking, "Your demon side, it's a contract, right? Not permanent."
Mac was caught off guard with the question; the lieutenant never brought the subject of his demon half during the remainder of his stay. "Yes, why?"
"What's the breach? How do go back to being a human?"
Taylor's head bobbed for a second. "Simple; I find Claire." Noticing Horatio's confusion in the way he took his sunglasses and unconsciously toyed with them, the detective continued. "The contract was that I wanted to live long enough to find Claire's body. I didn't know it right then but her body was incinerated; North Tower plane crash."
Horatio understood what Mac was going to say next; the man would be stuck in perpetual limbo for only God knows. "I was close though, when her biological son surfaced. But that's as far as I'll ever get until anything else develops." Mac finished while he spotted Caine's team head into their cars. "You should head out too."
Both men spotted Speed as he exited the car and headed to the burial. They assumed that he wanted to pay his own respects, or as Horatio would later find out, satisfy his overflowing curiosity. For the last few days, Speedle wanted to meet his former partners, to see what he had left behind. Horatio promised a day in which everyone was in one place and that day was now. Out of courtesy, Tim had bought flowers for the women he remembered in his dreams.
Alexx took off her glasses and nearly collapsed while Delko's eyes seemed to pop out of his face. Tim instinctively lowered his head, staring shamefully at the large bouquet as he continued his way towards the group. Calleigh did a double take while Ryan simply smiled, so this was the famous Tim Speedle he had replaced.
The blonde quickly turned around to see her boss, only to see him nod and smile. With this as her signal, Calleigh met Tim halfway, her eyes swelling up with tears.
"Are you miss Calleigh Duquesne?" Hearing those words out of her dead friend's mouth, the woman burst crying, her smile dampened by the running make-up. She wrapped her arms and buried herself in his suit.
"How's it been, Speed?"
As D.B. Cooper and Valera tried their best to resuscitate Alexx from her momentary collapse, Mac shot back with a question before calling a taxi.
"Holy water's still a bitch isn't it?"
With the smile still there, Horatio responded, "I've been off treatment for two weeks. Secondet said he wanted to observe my condition for a while."
It was Mac's turn to be stunned; if Caine had been off the blessed water for two weeks, there was no possible explanation to what happened in that handshake. Holy water usually lasted 168 hours, or a week at best; nothing more, nothing less. It was until the cab's motor revved up that Taylor fleetingly spotted two massive objects protrude from the lieutenant's back.
No freaking way…
Archimedes Di Viságe sat lazily against his lacquered chair. His infamous slaughter room lay decorated by 12 corpses, all suffering miserable deaths. His protégé Marla Ruez had taken too long with her dollhouse errands. Though she did promise a new addition to his staff. He raised his glass filled with scarlet to the display on the fireplace mantle; a wing spanning 9 feet hung dry; dried brown spots dotted the white feathers.
You will thank me one day, Horatio…the day you open your real wings.
The vampire mused for a second as he drank his fill. Maybe it is why you rejected the ones I gave you; your body knew mine were cheap imitations of the actual thing.
A knock on the door and Marla showed her deformed face, carrying a black corpse bag over her shoulder. After dropping the package besides her master, she knelt down and kissed his limp hand.
"I brought you a gift, Archimedes."
The lovely parasite chuckled, "Keeping your alliance in check, dearest? You know I'd never deface you unless you'd earn it." Patting the package made its contents moan in pain. "I take it this is our newest provider?"
Marla's perfectly crafted eyebrows cocked. "Didn't take much to convince him. He desperately needed a new playmate, cold or not. Plus he took a bite out of Horatio and the cocky gun bitch."
Archimedes's interest peaked, "Did he now? Well then, we can proceed with our own little play without recurring to outside forces." He then yelled for a servant to come while he unzipped the bag. Otis was semiconscious and coming in and out of himself; Marla had conveniently depraved him of any more blood until her arrival at the mansion. She, like Archimedes, valued whatever was in Stuart's stomach.
Madame Oretha, Horatio's caretaker during his stay at the Di Viságe manor, arrived with a powerful stride. Her legs were riddled with whipping scars; her incompetence was not to be repeated. In her hands was a most peculiar and sinister device. It was basically a discarded medical pump with five different tubes attached to it. Three fresh intravenous syringes shone against the dim lighting while two household hoses dangled along the floor. The motor itself was made of different mechanical parts already splattered with body fluids.
Archimedes relished at his newest torture device; many a zombie guard had his innards sucked out from their mouths just for his pleasure. The vampire looked giddily at Otis, watching him writhe. Without warning, Di Viságe jammed the IV into both of the man's forearm and into the neck aorta. With a malicious grin, Archimedes caressed Stuart's now frightened face before stuffing the hoses down his throat.
"Now, now; this won't hurt if you just stay still."
Revitalized, the bloodsucker stood up and exited the room. "I want him dry."
The screams filled with unimaginable pain charged Archimedes' sexual drive. His memories wondered to when he first bit Horatio's wrists, his first kick since his beloved Elizabeth died. That very night, he had arranged for a Covenant meeting that would be most special.
Once again, the manor lit up in the slowly rebuilding New Orleans skyline. A commotion reigned in the carefully maintained gazebo lawn of the Di Viságe manor. Opulence was a given as everyone invited had a connection to the 600 year old vampire; he was an extremely persuasive businessman and held a strong voice in Southern politics. All except Florida, the only state in the region not directly influenced by the Covenant. Archimedes wanted to make sure that this would change. Human allies partied outside whilst the undead communed inside.
The head of the Covenant, a thousand year old hag that had the ironic name of Mary sat with her mate while the rest sat in their respective chairs. The maids served fresh blood into their cups as Archimedes made his entrance, Marla on his right arm.
"Exquisite falls short to what you are pleasing us, Di Viságe. A fine rendition to your power." Mary complimented pompously.
"Please credit my dearest Marla; she, like all women, is very much capable of exalting greatness." Archimedes replied. Just as soon as the last glass was filled with crimson, the younger vampire stood up.
"My friends, my allies; I have brought you here two months to the day when I presented you to Elizabeth's replacement. Though I am sad to say that he has left us, I do propose a new beginning for us."
A rowdy Brazilian bloodsucker, looking to be 300, exclaimed, "Just like last time?"
Archimedes chuckled, "No, Paolo. This time, it is different." Again he redirected himself to the rest of the fifty and more guests. "For you see, we are those who cannot look into the Firmament again. I do not plan to block the Sun with my hand. I want to dominate those who are weak to desire, those still vulnerable to the Original temptation" He raised his glass proudly.
"I want to dominate Adam and Eve."
A crowd of "Hear, hear!" rang true and all the vampires took a hearty swig of their drinks. Archimedes's grin grew as he set down his drink. "Of course, there will be sacrifices."
Mary giggled, the drink was most intoxicating. "Like what? All must be run through us!"
"Well, for one thing…" Di Viságe said, weaving his fingers together. "You won't be there to see it."
Immediately after being said this, Paolo dropped to the floor and convulsed violently. Then it became a domino effect as the rest of the Covenant fell prey. Mary's outmost horror was replaced with fury. "How did you do this?!"
"Simple, Mary La Fey…" Archimedes once more held his glass. "Blood from the heavens."
Marla took the chance, hopped onto the tabletop. She drew a long blade from her dress and in one foul swoop; Mary's body fell limp and headless to the ground. Ruez then stepped off the top and drove the sword into the dead vampire's lover, shutting him up. She handed the object forever frozen in horror to her master, who waited until the last member of the organization deceased.
Commissioner O' Shay had been invited by a business partner in Miami to the lavish party. He had been enjoying the company and the festivities, just like a party in the sun-baked city. Suddenly the party stopped as two doors opened from the high balcony. A man with platinum blonde hair and gray eyes stepped majestically for all the guests to see his next move.
The young-looking man then rose what appeared to be a prop but turned to be a disembodied head. His grin was evident and accentuated by the low lights as he held the victim high. Disgust and nausea invaded O' Shay; never had he seen a grotesque display.
"To all of my blood bag guests, there has been a change of administration." He paused then continued. "This head is Mary's head; the Covenant is dead!"
A wave of gasps and horrified whispers took over the atmosphere. Had their business partners just been eliminated? Archimedes Di Viságe showed the head once more before yelling proudly into the night, "I AM THE COVENANT."
A/N: So how was it? Reviews are welcome