His parents followed close behind cloaked in the shadows observing his movements. The close connection they shared as mates and family was strumming steadily as they silently conversed.
"So what do you think?"
"If Nicholas keeps his head about him he could actually retrieve his badge with time to spare." LaCroix admitted.
'A complete sentence. High praise indeed.' Magdalena silently noted knowing not to expect more from her husband.
"Thank you for taking the blame for me earlier. Though I am more than capable at handling Nicholas's displeasure." LaCroix muttered softly after heaving a reluctant sigh.
Magdalena simply shrugged, "It was nothing. Even you deserve a break sometimes."
"It was something and I insist on rewarding you for your generosity, ma cherie." LaCroix purred as he lightly traced his finger behind Magdalena's ear and down the back of her neck.
Magdalena seized his hand and playfully nipped his finger, "Plus tard, mon amour. Let's head back to the roof. Nicholas is almost to the main rotunda and I want a good view." she said quickly darting back towards the stairs.
The museum's main rotunda was a circular design framed by an ornate skylight, which allowed the full moon and twinkling stars to cast a heavenly glow on the immaculate marble floors and walls as well as the many exhibits on display.
Security guard, Jean Beaumont was absently strolling from exhibit to exhibit using his flashlight to read the information on the displays. There was a wealth of interesting things to behold especially since the museum was temporarily housing a collection of artifacts recovered from the ruins of Pompeii.
Among the artifacts was a white marble bust of a proud intimidating looking man at least he would've been intimidating if his nose and part of his face weren't smashed. The display card said that the bust had been discovered in the remains of an expansive villa, which most likely belonged to a noble or a senator, and the man the bust was carved in the likeness of had yet to be identified.
A history buff at heart Jean knew the story of Pompeii well and couldn't help but shake his head in sympathy for the fate of the inhabitants.
A sudden gust of air caused Jean to whirl around in alarm and aim his flashlight towards a strangely darkened area of the rotunda. The powerful beam easily penetrated the shadows and quickly found nothing.
Jean sighed and shrugged it off. He really needed to see if he could get transferred to day shift. This place after dark gave him the creeps.
'There is nothing there. Just the shadows. Nothing is there.' Jean found himself mentally repeating.
As a result he was calm once again and was randomly sweeping his flashlight across the rotunda when suddenly he felt a strange tugging sensation on the front of his shirt. Jean's eyes widened with horror as his badge tugged insistently at his shirt as if drawn to some invisible magnet.
Screaming Jean jerked away from what ever was pulling on his badge causing his shirt to tear as the badge broke free then darted away. Jean didn't bother to see where it had gone and took off running back towards the guard station.
Nick, badly startled by the guard's sudden reaction to his presence, escaped to the roof. As he was trying to subdue the adrenaline rush that surged through him Nick heard his parents land next to him.
Magdalena rushed to her son's side, "Are you all right, mon bebe?" she asked.
Nick nodded, "I'm fine, Maman. Well, that's never happened before." Nick commented too involved in trying to regain his composure to notice the expressions on both his parent's faces.
Magdalena's face wore an expression of both awe and pride though it paled in comparison to her husband. LaCroix's already pale face had taken on an even lighter pallor and his normally reserved features were now fixed into an expression of very unnatural surprise.
Nick quickly recovered and triumphantly held up his badge like a schoolboy's blue ribbon.
"I guess I wasn't concentrating properly, too much multitasking. Between the traveling, scrying, and hypnosis my power might've been stretched a bit too thin. With a scream like that who needs a security alarm?" Nick said chuckling lightly.
Magdalena and LaCroix exchanged looks of increased surprise.
"You don't know what happened, do you?" Magdalena asked softly.
Nick shrugged sheepishly, "I got careless. Too many new things at once, I guess."
"More than you can imagine," LaCroix intoned taking a step closer to Nick as he spoke, "Tell me, Nicholas, what do you imagine that foolish uniformed lackey saw that triggered such a visceral response?"
Nick sighed, "He saw me suddenly, taking the badge, when the hypnotic link broke. Why, LaCroix, what do you think he saw?" Nick demanded more than a little miffed that LaCroix was ruining his moment.
Lucien LaCroix didn't merely rain on people's parades; he blew up all the floats.
LaCroix didn't seem to notice Nick's tone, "Better to ask what he didn't see."
The younger vampire heaved an exasperated sigh, "Fine, then, experiment failed." Nick grumbled, covering his disappointment with a touch of sarcasm.
"But in spite of my unimpressive performance, I'm feeling a little drained and not in the mood for your usual word games, LaCroix." Nick snapped as he shoved his badge into LaCroix's hand.
Turning to his mother, always the more reasonable parent, Nick asked, "Why don't we go home now, Maman? We can work on this again tomorrow night."
Feeling the need to speak for LaCroix, who as usual was masking his deeper feelings with his usual display of dry cleverness Magdalena spoke.
"He is right, Nicholas. The guard screamed not at what he saw, but what he did not see."
Suddenly feeling very tired Nick groaned, "Not you, too, Maman."
Magdalena quickly shook her head, "What he did not see, Nicholas, was you. When you stepped out of the shadows, when you believed you had convinced his mind of your absence, you ceased to be seen. Tell him, Lucien. You saw it too." Magdalena said gesturing to LaCroix.
LaCroix nodded in agreement, "She is right, Nicholas. We saw what the guard did, a badge suddenly flying from the front of the man's uniform."
An amused smile tugged at the corners of the ancient's mouth, "Certainly more than enough to give a mere mortal a turn." LaCroix noted.
Nick was silent feeling too overwhelmed with this latest revelation to speak.
Magdalena gently put her hands on Nick's face and looked him straight in the eye, "Listen to me, mon bebe. We have made a great discovery tonight. We have been shown a glimpse of your truest nature. What is yet to be explored is not only the result of your rare combined heritage, but more than the sum of it. Perhaps far more."
As Magdalena took a step back from her son to gauge his reaction LaCroix took a step forward closing the triangle the three of them had unconsciously formed.
"Even I cannot imagine what powers await you, mon fils." LaCroix said softly.
Nick looked from parent to parent as if first seeing the richness of their combined natures as well as the difficulties that could result.
"I suppose revelations can't be planned, can they?" Nick asked.
LaCroix merely shrugged, "Perhaps that is their biggest appeal, mon fils."
Still smiling Magdalena fondly kissed her son on the cheek and then took hold of LaCroix's arm, "Allons-y, mes coeurs. The sun will rise soon and I have come to find that a journey of a thousand lifetimes best begins with a good day's rest."
As a faint glow began to appear on the horizon the family took flight.