49

A FATHER'S RETURN

The cold water crashed over his skin, foaming past the lean muscles as he dragged his body along the length of the pool. Lap after lap, his feet hit the concrete wall, pushing off. Eventually he emerged, hauling his dripping body out onto the side of the university's pool.

"Mr Tesla..." an unamused voice drawled down at the scrawny young man. The Dean looked over the troublesome pupil – last of the missing five to return. A curious case, exceptional students vanish without a trace – especially this one. There had always been something odd about Mr Tesla. "I am honoured that you have decided to grace us with your presence."

Tesla's sharp-toothed grin was wide and full of trouble. He was brilliant and knew it. Unfortunately he was a lousy student.

"Hand everything in by next Wednesday and I am prepared to overlook -" the Dean made a general gesture in Tesla's direction. "Everything."

The Dean was a patient man – tall and elegant in and old-worldly manner that fit perfectly with the architecture. His robes dragged over the marble floor, fanning out as he turned and strolled out of the underground sports hall. In truth, he should have expelled them all long ago but the Dean had a fatal sense of curiosity and he didn't dare let another university rape these treasures from him.

A light rain fell over the university, passing quickly. The water froze leaving tiny outcrops of ice falling off the window sills like melted wax caught in gruesome freezes. Winter was leaving. This dusting of ice made the whole world sparkle, twinkling in the sudden sunlight like a sea of stars.

Nikola stood in the middle of his attic, gazing lovingly over his old room. Yes it was covered in a thick layer of skeletal-leaves and at least three inches of dust. There was broken glass from his window scattered over the floor and his darling pigeon had made a nest of his chair by pecking through the leather apholstery and pulling out the stuffing. It was his though, home however dismal it may appear to outsiders. He had been worried that the university would come back to claim it in his long absence but like him, it was easily forgotten.

A large pile of new books were stacked in the corner, no doubt a gift from the Dean. Nikola lofted his eyebrow at the unsolicited objects.

It had been months since he'd attended class but then a great deal had changed in that time. The Five had been torn apart by the most base of human emotions. He wished that he could say that he was above such behaviour but he wasn't... Vampires loved too, they hurt and they felt betrayal as keenly as anyone.

He rubbed his chest where John's blade had left a scar. Nikola saw a faint reflection of the memory in a fragment of glass – the young woman clutching at his hand as she...

A flutter of wings distracted him, tumbling in the open window to settle on his chair. Soft cooing filled the room and warmed Nikola's heart.

"Darling..." Nikola whispered, strolling over to the chair. His pigeon hopped along the leather back, cooing at him expectantly. "I promised I'd return." She simply nipped his finger sharply as if to say, 'It took you long enough!'

He held her gently to his chest, letting her settle as he gazed out over the horizon. At the very edge of the world he could sense a storm building.

Nigel, James, Helen and John sat together in the back row, copying notes quietly from the board. Their Cabal lecturer had been replaced after his sudden, violent death and now they had a very tall, very serious professor. Sometimes Helen thought that she preferred the Cabal lecturer that tried to kill them to this creature. it was like being taught by the Reaper...

"Pens down, books closed," he barked, "I want you lot to listen for a while." The Professor's long, bony fingers curled around the edges of his desk, white against the mahogany woodwork. He narrowed his cruel eyes at the room, surveying them like prey.

The class was obedient, closing their books in unison.

"This evening we will delve into knowledge before history," he continued, his eyes almost black as the remainder of light faded from the sky outside the arched windows. Another shower of rain chimed against the glass, its scattered drops almost musical.

A young woman came in, untied the drapes and pulled them closed. She was watched closely by Druitt's steady gaze and in turn, James's eyes settled on John. The room loomed higher as the candles were lit, a warm glow flickering up the columns onto the ornate details chiselled into the ceiling.

"Our ancestors, scattered across the continents of the world, were so much more than gatherers and spear-wielding savages. They were mathematicians, astronomers, artists and craftsmen – creatures whose primitive minds spun magic in the absence of knowledge and taught us how to dream." A small smirk twisted into his thin lips. He had seen those days, walked the earth when humanity was young.

Seated on the far side of the bench, Nigel kept his distance from John. It had taken hours for Helen to settle the scuffle when Nigel had found out about the arrangement between them. The murderer, to be more precise. If it hadn't been for James holding Nigel against the wall while he screamed and cursed, he might have tried to kill the Ripper. People like John didn't change – it was inside them. There was an evil aura around the man like a shadow.

Helen was adamant. John was under her protection and he appeared to be keeping in line. London's streets were free of blood.

For the moment, Nigel added darkly in his mind, flicking the feather quill sharply. He was startled when James nudged his shoulder, passing him a small, folded note.

'Tonight – usual place?'

Nigel's gaze lifted to Helen, meandered darkly to John and then settled on James. The older man nodded and Nigel finally agreed, nodding back.

The Professor, leering at his terrified audience, was interrupted mid-story by the closed door at the end of the room rattling. It was common practice for the door to be locked so that late arrivals were forced to forfeit their attendance record. Everyone turned, watching and listening as the lock finally slipped and the door flung opened with a gush of cool air.

Nikola Tesla was not one to be beaten by a lock.

The Professor fixed his attention upon offending pupil, about to growl something untoward when he paused, tightening his grip on the lectern. Nikola wasn't aware of the Professor's unusual interest, instead Tesla ran a hand through his wet, spiked hair and searched the room, finding the beautiful hue of Helen's hair gleaming in the candlelight. She wasn't looking at him – which he thought was odd – but it warmed his heart to see her.

Nikola paled.

Nigel and James were beside her, casting him anxious glances and now he knew why. On the other side of Helen, half hidden be her golden hair, was John sitting all too close. That murderer, that bastard with his hand settled on Helen's back.

James lifted his hand, silently begging Nikola to be still. This wasn't the place for an angry vampire and serial murderer to have-at each other.

So Nikola sat there, hatred burning in his gaze.

"You mother fucking piece of -"

"Woah..." Nigel and James leapt forward, their arms wrapping around Nikola's slender frame as he launched himself violently towards John.

Nikola's eyes were black, his claws extended in long, tapered curves ready to rip John apart. Worst of all, there was Helen standing beside him, her hand in his. Nikola growled, a strange animal sound coming from his throat. The men could feel it vibrating in his chest.

John was reclined against the wall, sporting the same dark, wavy hair that he'd had in the beginning. It was long enough to hide part of the scar Nikola had etched into his cheek that night.

"What is he doing here?" Nikola snapped, the other two holding onto him firmly.

"Tesla, calm down," James whispered, dragging him back a few feet. "And for heaven's sake, put those claws away. You've been gone a long time."

They managed to wrestle him down onto James's bed. Once again, his and Nigel's room was being used as a meeting place for the Five. The benches of glassware lay unused around the edges – only the oil lamps were burning, creating dreary trails of black. Now, there were claw marks in the plaster.

"Helen..." Nikola growled, almost pleading with her. There had to be an explanation.

She nodded to James and Nigel to release Nikola, who straightened up at once, transforming back to human form. He'd mastered that, at least.

"John is here at my invitation," her voice was soft, slipping under the perfumed air. It arrived as venom in Nikola's ears. "The blood made him ill but I've found a way to treat him."

Nikola was trembling. Run or fight his body hissed. Kill it.

"Helen – are you insane - do you want to wake up in pieces?" Nikola bit back, angry at her stupidity as much as the danger she was in. She was supposed to be fiercely smart so how could she be so foolish? There was something very wrong, the soft looks that Helen bled in John's direction, the way her hair wasn't quite put up with as much care as normal. She looked too relaxed, too comfortable in John's presence. Too close.

Nikola worked it out, his stomach sinking with disgust. The vampire shook James and Nigel off him entirely. He turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard one of the hinges slipped off and clattered to the ground.

"That went well..." James whispered, shaking his head. For once, he tended to side with Tesla on this issue – as did a very unsettled Nigel. "It'll be another four months before we see that vampire again."

"He'll come around," Helen replied defiantly.

"Jealously really suits him," a voice drawled from the end of the room, John smiling to himself. "Adds a bit of spark..."

Helen came home that afternoon to find John and her father having tea. Gregory had been removed from the news for months and remained blissfully unaware of the London killings – and John's part in them. He simply knew Mr Druitt as the lawyer-to-be, studying companion of his daughter and overall an amicable companion.

"You are staying here then, it is – rather odd, if you do not mind me saying, Mr Druitt." A gentleman staying with an unaccompanied lady was simply not the done thing. "As you may have noticed, my daughter does as she pleases but – ah, there you Helen."

Both gentlemen looked up as Helen entered the room looking ruffled from her walk. The wind had picked up and was now howling through the locks and windows.

"Father..." she whispered, happy shock in her eyes. Nikola hadn't mentioned him – not that any of them had given him the chance.

Gregory stood and opened his arms as Helen fell into them, embracing her warmly. John bowed politely and left them to it.

"Your Mr Tesla brought me back," he whispered, then added carefully. "I think he is quite in love with you."

Helen stilled in his arms, her fingertips playing with a large tear in his jacket.

"We are friends," she corrected.

"I've been gone a long time," Gregory whispered tiredly, sitting back down in the large leather arch chair, is daughter on his lap. "Tell me all that I have missed."

Nikola was descending into madness, at least, that was the impression that his attic gave as James slowly paced around its walls. The stone was graffitied with incredible sketches. Spheres and coils, the isomeric drawings of caverns and their approximate measurements, languages that James had never seen before and a small detail of a city.

Tesla was over by the window, perched in its empty sill scrawling something on the sandstone there. He was completely focused, detached from the world around him as he puzzled something out. He looked skinny and pale, unsurprising considering no one had seen him eat in the week since he'd returned.

James walked over to the tray of coffee he'd brought, pouring a cup for Tesla. He took it over, standing beside the window, waiting for Tesla to acknowledge him.

"I'm busy," was all Nikola said, eyes focussed on the wall.

"Even vampires need to eat," James replied, nudging the coffee closer, it was a start. "Indulge me."

Nikola – who'd been using one of his claws to scratch the wall, sat back against the stone work, shifting into human form as he took the delicate coffee cup and saucer.

"People are starting to think you're fiction, Tesla," James leaned back against the wall too. "You submit papers, pay your bills but nobody sees you."

Nikola was silent, sipping his coffee.

"Forgive her, Nikola..."

Nikola's gaze flicked up to James, his pale blue eyes broken by anger, sadness and loss. There was a darker force there too, one that was twisted around his heart. Jealousy.

"Are they lovers?" the words caught in Nikola's throat, the very thought of it disgusted him.

"Yes Nikola, I believe so."

Nikola threw his coffee cup out the window, watching it shatter on the pavement beneath. A few students leapt out of the way, avoiding the shards of porcelain.

James lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "He killed the woman I love – you know that," he paused, resisting the urge to reach out to Nikola – he wasn't the kind of man to appreciate it. "You're the only one that can save Helen but you can not do it locked away up here."

Nikola grew his claws back and resumed scratching at the stone work.

"She never even asked," he whispered, gaze focused on the stone. "I brought her father back, found the original Cabal – and the ancient ruins of the vampire city. I did all that she asked of me."

"Nikola, focus..." James hushed the vampire. "John has a way with people – women especially. He spins them up in charm and affection and our dear friend is ensnared. I have no wish to find her body rearranged for us on the floor – because that's what he'll do, Nikola. Even if he honestly loves her, his mind is unstable."

"Tell Gregory..." Nikola folded his arms, claws still out.

James shook his head. "And rob her of a father? No."

"All right genius," Nikola mocked lightly. "What do you propose – I go in there and drag her out? Helen is not a woman to be played."

"Win her heart," James replied simply, this time daring to rest his hand on Nikola's arm.

Nikola sulked back against the stone. He may as well have asked him to re-arrange the stars.