Chapter 4 [Somewhere Else]

Arid winds burned across Desert sands. Patterns formed and vanished within blinks of an eye. Scorching heat shimmered just above the surface. None seemed to venture across its trackless wastes. Nothing save a single wooden platform stood out against it.

That platform and the being lying upon it….

Nick grimaced. His fingers and toes twitched. Pain no longer seared through his chest and heart. Memoria reminded him of the previous events. Tracy's regret over his lack of trust. Reese and the review board sharpening Discipline's knives. Natalie's request for him to take of her a little at a time. LaCroix's urge for reconsideration.

Faith…

Reasoning…

Consistency…

Wait. Consistency…what?

His eyes snapped open. He sat up on the platform. Thoughts rabbited through his mind. The stake no longer impaled him. On the contrary, his robes held not a tear in them. Rouge color and Blood's stench greeted his senses. He looked about the sandy sea. "I'm…back? But the door?"

There is no door, Nicholas! How I wish there was!

His ears snapped to attention. The hairs rose on his neck and arms. "Divia?" His eyes looked into the haze once more. He spied a cloaked figure standing there. "Divia."

She pulled her hood down freeing her shoulder-length blonde hair. Malice mixed with Begrudging Respect danced in her eyes. A taunting smirk spread across her face. "So, this is where your defiance gets you? Poor Nicholas! Really? If I'd known you'd drive Lucius to that point, I'd never have tried to kill you. And you were so close!"

"But you killed Vachon and Urs. You almost killed me. You would've killed LaCroix." He set his jaw. "I don't have time for this. Where's the doorway? This time…." He slid onto the sand. Heat seared his feet. He jumped back up onto the platform.

Amusement elicited a chuckle from her. "Really, Nicholas! Why the rush? Didn't Lucius tell you that we have all eternity together?" She tsked to herself. "I know how this is eating at him. Oh, how I enjoy it!"

Disgust soured his stomach. He could see LaCroix's inability to accept her as Mistress once more. "Yes. He told me that he betrayed you. Divia, for what it's worth, you have my apologies for that." He shook his head. "I don't agree with the murders."

"You…apologize?" She scoffed off Apology's salve. "Nicholas, you are as bad as he is! Still, unlike him and the others in your Community, I am forced to respect you. Yes, you rebelled against Lucius as he did against me. Still, you did clean up his weakness at several points. You showed strength in our encounter. Your faith enabled you to kill me. Pity! Had I known the coroner would make you weak, I would've taken her first."

Anger surged through him. His eyes narrowed. "Natalie? Where? What have you done?"

"What I…?" Divia rolled her eyes. "Why, Nicholas! I think that was you! Poor Natalie!" A mock-sweet expression painted itself across her face. "She asked you to have faith. She even laid herself across the altar like a love-stricken cow. You, as always, can't stop yourself." Long Sigh punctuated her act. "Oh well…And there's poor Alyssa too." Cruelty's star now sparkled in her eyes and grin. "You do have so many victims. Even your partners…tsk…such issues with loyalty and trust! You want to be mortal but you can't let them in!"

"You know why I can't!" Resentment flared in his gut. He glared at her. "I have to protect them! If I tell them, the Enforcers will target them!"

"Mmm…yes. I do believe you are right on that, Nicholas. What is the expression? Ah…I heard this quite recently from a fat slob up here. You want your cake and to eat it too." She rubbed her chin. "You get that from Lucius, I think."

"He got that from you. Didn't you kill the Ancient One…your master? You wanted to be free as well! Seems you're as guilty as LaCroix and I are." He set his jaw. His head only betrayed the slightest shake. "Your influence, I suppose?"

She scowled. Verbal Judo, it seemed, turned her point around on her. Admiration, however, allowed for a smile. She assessed him yet again. "You'd have made a fine sacredote. No wonder Lucius holds you in such regard! It is most unfortunate we did not have more encounters, Nicholas. I would have enjoyed getting to know you."

"You mean trying to kill me." Her compliment didn't earn a dinar of belief from him.

"Oh not right away. We would have our game first. At least with you, there would be a challenge. Father is so predictable." She shrugged adding an eye roll for effect. "How disappointing that we shall not have that opportunity. Alas! There are others waiting." She pulled her hood back over her head. "I do hope we can meet again, Nicholas. One never knows." The sands swept her away.

He frowned. LaCroix criticizes me. Divia praises me? What next? He blinked away Illogic's conundrum in front of himself. Tracy? Natalie? Where are they? Did they pass into the Light?

Somethings aren't so hard, Pardner. You think too much. You know that, Nick?

Nick's head raised. He recognized the next voice. "Schanke?" He watched the next hooded figure meander into view.

"Yeah, Nick. It's me." Schanke lowered his hood. He nodded at his ex-partner. "Gotta say. I knew you were holding back on me. I suspected it. I almost put the pieces together. Remember?"

Nick shook his head. "If LaCroix didn't convince you otherwise, Schank, the Enforcers would've killed you." Seeing his friend's confusion, he clarified, "Those guys at the TV station? Remember Emily Weiss and her books?"

"Those guys?" Schanke rolled his eyes. "Man o' Man, Nick! I guess you had your reasons, Buddy. You know what? I would've liked to have known anyhow. Yeah maybe those creeps might've got me. Hey! When our time's up, it's up." He shrugged. "Still, it's like that gal, Tracy, told you. You could have trusted her and me. Maybe not at first. I'd seen enough. Hell, I heard enough to know something was different about you. Thanks for looking in on Myra and Jenny by the way."

"No problem. They're good people. Myra deserves a medal for putting up with certain people. I think you know who I mean?" Mischief accented Nick's reply and offered a slight smile.

"Just like Natalie and Alyssa deserve a medal for dealing with you." Schanke smirked in 'back at ya' style. "I know you like to get under folks' skin and all that. The stake though…really?" Grimace contorted his face. "Nick, that really ain't the way to go. If ya know what I mean?" He motioned over his shoulder. "There's someone waitin' after me. She's got a few things…" His eyes widened. "Yeah. I'll leave it there."

"Schank? You okay?" Nick picked up on Schanke's heartbeat.

Schanke sucked in a deep breath. "I'm good, Nick. Just sayin' that you might want to think about things. There's still stuff waiting for you back there. Keep your eye on the prize." He put his arms out.

"All right." Nick grabbed onto him in a tight embrace. He endured Garlic's odor and Souvlaki smell for a last experience. Despite those factors, his heart warmed for that moment….

…just don't ask either of them to admit it….

Nick raised an eyebrow. His finger wiped away a few tears. "You really need to deal with that garlic."

"Hey! It's the best! I still want to see you try it sometime!" Schanke grinned at him. "Anything else?"

Nick rolled his eyes for effect. "Just don't play so much polka. Okay, Schank?"

A wry cough escaped Schanke's mouth. "Yeah. I won't." He slapped Nick's arm. "Take care, Buddy." He pulled up his hood. He backed away into the sands and disappeared from view.

What's got Schanke so worried? I dealt with Divia and his garlic. Maybe de la Barre? Another lecture on trust from Tracy or Natalie? That Burgundian Enforcer from 500 years ago? He'd be all I need! Nick squirmed at that particular thought. He rubbed the back of his neck.

Dijon is the least of your worries, Nicolas. Look inside. Did I not tell you to have faith? Jeanne d'Arc strode into view. Her eyes smoldered. Her mouth remained set in a firm line. "Here you are again. What did I tell you before?"

Exasperation pushed a troubled sigh from Nick's lips. "Courage" had pressed him on certain points during her mercurial career and trials. "To have faith. I have tried."

She arched an eyebrow. "I know. You struggle to emerge from the darkness. Your fellow vampires pull you back toward them. The one known as LaCroix…we heard his words earlier tonight. Nicolas, he holds you back. We know of the good you are doing. You sacrifice. You seek a greater good. You must try harder."

"Harder?" His mouth curled into a hard frown. "Jeanne, I don't murder to survive! I save lives as a detective and police officer! I try to be an example of restraint."

"Oui." She rubbed her chin. "But there is more. You do the works. Faith, however, is more than works. Tu dois croire, Nicolas!" She raised a gloved fist. "Look to Clarise! She is still angry with you. She is helping you. There is another…" Consideration rattled details about in her head. "Ah! Alyce Hunter?"

"Alyce?" Incredulity widened his eyes. "She's dead and buried. LaCroix killed her."

Jeanne shook her head. "Non, Nicolas. Alyce became one of your kind. She wanted your assistance. You did not detect her. Bien dommage! Clarise helped her into her new life. She waits for you, Nicolas." She shrugged. "Natalie has passed into the Light. She forgave you."

"Nat?" Nick bowed his head. "I failed her."

Jeanne cleared her throat. "You secured Natalie's salvation, Nicolas. Love blinded her to the vampire's trap. Your sacrifice allowed her to take her place in Paradise! You understood love finally! Your triumph over Divia showed Faith's power over darkness. Still, however, there is more for you to do."

"Still?" Nick grimaced.

"Still." Jeanne set her hand on his right forearm. "You have resolved some matters. There are those of us who pray for you. As the Guide told you before, you cannot return to us yet. You would be damned. There are those who still need you. Alyce needs your patience and guidance. You ensnared her heart, Chevalier. Guide yourself and her back to the Light. That is your task now."

"Guide…?" Nick pondered that notion. "I'm hardly the one for that."

"You are exactly the one. He knows your heart, Nicolas. Have faith. We give you aid as well. Look to Clarise. You never know who else will be there. Be watchful. God will be watching. He has not forgotten you. Bonne chance, Nicolas! Ayez toujours la foi!" Jeanne kneeled. She raised her eyes skyward. Then, she vanished as well.

Nick exhaled a deep breath. "Alyce…a vampire?" A frown cut across his face. How did I not feel her? We're both the children of LaCroix! Surely, Janette must've known! How did I not feel her even when I was with Nat? Questions peppered his mind. I wish Natalie was still around. At least, I made sure she could be in the Light. Hopefully, Tracy made it as well. And Clarise? He rolled his eyes. I'm sure I'm the last person she wants to see!

Light brightened his surroundings. Then he felt himself being swept away….