Another Reality 

by Olivia Jean Ecklund 

Chapter 10 

Natalie decided that night that she had to go find LaCroix. She had to somehow 
convince him not to spoil this one. After parking her car in the garage, she 
went into her place, changed into casual clothes of jeans and T-shirt and a 
sweatshirt. She flew up through the skylight and out over the city. It wasn't 
long before she zeroed in on a penthouse atop a posh building. 

LaCroix always lived in style. She dropped down on an outdoor patio. A Small, 
beautifully lit pool glistened in the moonlight. She could see him sitting in a 
high wingback chair. There was opera music playing and a goblet of blood wine on 
a small table next to the chair. He had a book in his hands. 

He'd always had such a passion for the arts. That's how he'd found her. A woman 
of the 12 th century trying to be an artist in a mans world. He'd offered to 
sell her work. She'd had no choice. People just wouldn't accept her work knowing 
she was a woman. Yet being LaCroix he'd had an ulterior motive. He'd taken her 
work, selling it to the very rich and pocketed most of the money, barely giving 
her enough to live on. He was handsome and smooth and dangerous. She'd been 
attracted to him. 

She'd decided she would be his woman. He had her money. As his wife she would 
live in style. She'd given herself to him willingly. That night she discovered 
that he was a monster. When she pulled away, trying to escape, he threatened to 
kill her and her family. 

Because she made him rich he only fed on her occasionally. She started to see 
the power he possessed and she decided if she lived through time and the ages 
there would be a time she would be able to sell her own work, be recognized for 
her work. She convinced him to bring her across. He had insisted on a blood 
sacrifice and she hardened her heart and brought her sister Urs to him. She 
stood by and watched him drain the life from her beautiful sister and never shed 
a tear. 

He'd taken her that very same night and she'd awakened to the thirst. To endless 
nights of death and pleasure. She surrendered herself to the vampire and to 
LaCroix. They'd roamed the world taking what they wanted, reveling in the kill, 
until one day she had awaken from the feeding frenzy to find a beautiful baby 
stone cold in her arms. She'd felt an open pit engulf and swallow her and she 
fought to reach the light again. She hurt so bad. She'd had no feelings for 
centuries. She realized she still had a soul wounded but there. The atrocities 
piled on her and she ran leaving LaCroix for the first time. She'd nearly 
starved to death not, wanting to kill again. She started to feed on criminals, 
but it only made her soul blacker. She turned to mostly to animals for their 
blood for a hundred years. She was so weakened when LaCroix found her that she 
nearly died from the beating. He'd forced her to feed on him. After that her 
body craved human blood and discovering they bottled it now from donated blood, 
she was able accept it. Her body got strong again but her soul was dead. She'd 
allowed him to use her again, giving up on her hope of freedom. 

Only her sculpture had kept her sane and LaCroix had become wealthy beyond 
imagination. 

LaCroix stood now. He put his book down and came toward the glass door. She 
stepped back into the shadows. 

He opened the sliding door. "Are you going to stand out here peeping all Night?" 


Natasha took a deep breath and came forward. She side-stepped past him and into 
the warm glow of the lighted room. 

He laughed at her. "It's a bit late in our relationship to be so timid with me. 
I know you so well." He leered at her. "My dear, WE know each other so well." 

"I know you're a monster!" she hissed at him. 

He stepped closer to her and grabbed her wrist. His nails bit into her arm and 
her blood ran in thin rivers down the pale flesh. He brought her arm closer and 
his cool pale tongue lapped up the small blood offering. "You used to revel in 
this monster," he said. 

The wounds had healed. He dropped her arm disgustedly. "You fancy yourself in 
love with that weak, spineless doctor. Will you never learn? I've put up with 
this - whatever is is - for '50 years now." 

He reached out, grabbed her and pulled her against him. "You are mine and you 
always will be." He thrust her neck aside with the other hand and buried his 
fangs into her neck. Involuntarily her body arched against him, no matter how 
much she hated him. A daughter could only find extreme pleasure in the close 
connection with her master. No matter what she thought of him, no other blood 
made her feel so filled as that of her master's blood kiss. 

She felt compelled to bit him back, unable to reach his neck she pulled the robe 
away from his shoulder and plunged her fangs in. She knew that his blood would 
calm the vampire more than any other and she would have more control around 
Nick. 

She felt him press against her as he released her with a sigh of pleasure. She 
was trembling as he released her. He'd been so intent on the blood and the fact 
that she'd been willing to complete the circle that he'd not read many of her 
thoughts. He was reveling in the fact that he still pleasured her. 

"You see, you do still find pleasure with me." He kissed her, his tongue 
demanding entrance into her mouth. 

She pulled away and stumbled back, "Lucien, why can't you let me go? Find 
another who really wants your love. I cannot deny your blood fills me as no 
other, but that's our nature. It is inherent in our relationship. It has little 
emotional satisfaction for me." 

He came close. "Wouldn't your life be simpler if you could still love me?" 

She could see real hope in his face. "Perhaps simpler, but I need to caress 
warmth. I need this man, LaCroix. Forty-five, fifty years to you is a blink of 
an eye. Let me have this one. I promise you if this one rejects me, I will never 
ask again." 

His eyes became piercingly blue and she felt him touch the promise in her mind. 
"So be it," he said. He had touched upon the incident with Nick and saw how he'd 
fled her vampire visage. Perhaps this spineless human would not be able to 
adjust to what she was. In that case she would be back soon, and if the mortal 
did stay with her, it would only be as she said...45-50 years or less. He could 
wait. 

"If he does reject you, you must come to me forever. I also make the same 
request after this one dies. That is my terms." 

His words chilled Natasha to the bone. Nick had sent her flowers and he had 
begged to return to the loft the minute he'd fled into the sun. If she refused 
LaCroix this request she knew despite any promises he might give he would never 
let Nick live long enough for her to find out if he was the one. In her heart 
she felt he was. It was worth the gamble. 

She looked her master in the eye, "All right. If he rejects me, then I will come 
to you forever." 

LaCroix thought, then said, "I will destroy him for all eternity, agreed?" She 
took a deep breath, "Agreed." 

She tried to move past him to leave but he was fast and grabbed her wrist and 
placed cold lips on it. She forced a smile then fled through the open glass 
doors and took to the air. 

His terrible laugh rang in her ears. 

Natasha stayed away for two more nights with hope that she would be more in 
control of the vampire. LaCroix's blood had pacified the vampire in her. That 
third night she wasn't called to any crime scenes that required a coroner, so 
when she was off duty she headed for the coroners office. She parked and then 
went up the steps and into Nick's lab. He was there just putting his coat on. 

"Nick," she said softly. 

He turned and saw her, smiling as he came forward. 

It relived her fears and she reached out for him when he did for her. He held 
her hand gently. "Natasha," he said. "It's really good to see you." He leaned 
forward and kissed her. Then he let his cheek linger against her's for a moment 
before drawing back. "I'm sorry. It was foolish to run." 

She reached up with her cool fingers to caress his face. He turned his face to 
kiss the tips of her fingers. "I understand," she said, pleased with his 
boldness. 

"Can we walk a bit?" she asked. "Its a beautiful clear night." 

Nick nodded looking forward to spending time with her. They left the building 
arm in arm and walked through the lighted city streets in silence. 

Natalie took pleasure in the warmth that radiated from him. It warmed her 
fingers in the crook of his arm. 

Finally he asked, "What did I say the other night that made the vampire so 
angry?" 

She looked a bit embarrassed. "The vampire. It's afraid of tests. I've had so 
many that included blood letting, electric therapy, leeches... many things to 
horrible to talk about. I've taken potions, read spells, and tried so many 
magical type things they would make your eyebrows curl." Nick smiled at that, 
then sobered. "It must have been horrible. Medicine is still so primitive, yet 
it's much more advanced than a century ago." 

Natalie shuddered thinking about it. "When I finally left LaCroix it was the 
first time I sought out legends and magical type cures. Nothing worked and a few 
times LaCroix beat me to the item of my search and destroyed it. It makes me 
believe that those things would have worked and he must have believed it would 
or he wouldn't have troubled himself." 

Nick moved his arm from her hand to slip it around her shoulders and drew her 
close. "Explain to me about the blood. What were you trying to say when I bolted 
like a scared rabbit?" 

They came to a small street park and Nick led her to a bench. When they sat 
down, he still held her close. She was silent for a bit trying to find the 
words. Nick waited for her. He studied her beautiful face in the moon light. He 
wanted nothing more than to pull her close and kiss her till she gasped for 
breath. Hummm... he corrected himself, he would do the gasping not her. 

She took his warm hand in her cold ones and began to speak, softly, slowly." 
About 50 years ago I came across an ancient text. It stated that a vampire could 
be human again if they found their one true love. Their soul mate." 

"Really?" he said carefully, with interest. "..and the blood?" 

"We would have to make love and I would have to feed from you on numerous 
occasions." She looked deep into his eyes for his feelings. 

"That doesn't sound to unpleasant," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. 

She took a deep breath. "It's a bit trickier than that, Nick. I have thought 
I've found the man before. They have all died in my arms." 

"What!" he gasped. His fingers tightened on her painfully. 

"The blood is intoxicating. It is almost impossible to stop once you start. If 
it's someone you love, it is like the sweetest nectar..." 

"Then how would it be possible?" he asked, trying to keep his fear bottled in. 

"The text did mention that if that if the partner is truly your soul mate found 
across the ages of time, you will want to preserve that person and you will know 
when to stop. It will be that person's protection you want more than the blood. 
In time I would need to feed less and less and I would become a woman able to 
bare children, and love you with out endangering you." 

"You think I could be your soul mate. Why?" His voice was strong, but he felt 
the panic well upon him. With effort he was able to push it down inside of him. 

"You saw what I was that night we met and you still came forward and reached out 
to touch me. That touch filled me with such warmth. I felt the vampire shrink 
back even though it was ravenous, Nick. It gave me the advantage and I was able 
to look for an alternative source of blood in your lab to feed on instead of 
you. You do not know what danger you were in that night. Something changed 
inside me then. I think I still have a soul. I've not felt it so strongly in 
hundreds of years. 

"Nick, I know this is a lot to take in. This can't happen for me unless you can 
love me with all your heart and soul. Do you think that is possible?" 

"It is a lot to think about. I do know the moment I saw you, even though I 
thought you dead, I believed you had been something very special. I would have 
to love the vampire wouldn't I?" 

"Yes," she said looking away. " That's the hardest part. Love can Destroy it, 
Nick. Your love can make it vanish. We could have a life together. If you truly 
love me and the vampire, you will lose part of what you love. Its a sacrifice 
for both of us." 

"The reward?" he asked. 

"It's living in the sun, of course. Maybe marriage and children. Growing old 
together and not being forced to live in the endless nights," she said. 

Nick saw something he'd not seen before - a deep sadness so profound he felt 
tears in his eyes. He drew her close and she laid her check against his chest. 

"I would like very much to get to know you, Natasha. Let's see if what I feel 
will grow into that all consuming love you need." 

She drew back and searched his eyes in the dim moonlight. "Really, Nick? You'll 
try?" He cupped her cheek with his hand. "Oh, yes." 

He leaned and kissed her. When he drew back he saw a bit of amber flash in her 
eyes. Instead of pulling back, Nick stood and drew her to her feet. He placed 
his arm around her waist turned back toward the direction their cars were 
parked. 

Nick got home at dawn. Beast met him, wiggling and doing his strange little 
excited gurgle/wine he did when Nick was gone longer than usual. Nick loved the 
sound almost like a purr. He gathered the little dog up and took him outside for 
a short walk and watched the sunrise. He watched the colors of orange, yellow, 
reds, blues and pinks. He found he had tears on his cheeks thinking of Natasha 
unable to see this beauty and feel the warmth caress her face. She was holed up 
in that huge warehouse alone with her pain. 

"Lord," he prayed. "If this is what I was created to be... Give me the strength 
to face the monster in her and destroy it." 

End Chapter 10 


By Jeannie Ecklund Gersknightlady@cs.com