When the Hunter Becomes the Hunted Part 13 by Elise This section contains a warning. Parts of it delve into Judaic-Christian religious background. I do not wish to offend anyone. Please overlook technical/mechanical/grammar mistakes. Characters, ETC do not belong to me, ad infinitum, ad nauseum Archive away! Nick sped through the streets of Toronto. He could feel the thing still following them, and he had no idea of what to do about it. Schanke and Nat were now at risk as well. Their only hope was LaCroix. Lucien LaCroix, General, Nick's and Janette's master would be at the Raven, and he would know what to do. At least Nick hoped so since he was basically leading the beast to the Raven, to the whole Community. Maybe together, they could all take on this beast and destroy it - or they would all be destroyed. He cut a surreptitious glance at Nat where she sat beside him in the Caddy. A peek in the rearview mirror showed him Schanke's nervous face. What was he going to do about them? Nat knew about his kind. He'd broken the Code long ago by allowing her to retain her life as well as knowledge of their kind. The Community knew he had done this, but they all seemed to look the other way. They knew what Nick had refused to admit to himself for a very long time - that he and Nat were in love. They all simply thought he would bring her over when the time was right so no one considered it a "real" breach of the Code. But Scahnke! If he remained with them, where it was safe, he would soon come to possess such knowledge too. Of course, Schanke could be hypnotize and easily, too, assuming they all lived. If they lived! How he wanted to live, now especially that he and Nat had finally stopped dodging the issue of their mutual feelings. He had to take a chance and do it now before it was too late. "Nat," Nick said with clenched teeth, "I've got something important to tell you." "What?" She looked at him incredulously. They were all about to become mince meat, and he wanted to talk. Well aware that Schanke sat in the back seat listening, Nick blew out a noisy sigh. He looked at Nat, a melancholy smile on his sad features. "I'm deeply in love with you." Schanke rolled his eyes. "No, duh!" he muttered under his breath. " 'bout time you told her." Natalie, misty eyed, asked softly. "You do?" There was no time for Nick to answer. They had reached the Raven, a strangely silent Raven. Nick parked the Caddy, rushed around to help Natalie out, and urged his two mortal companions inside. For once the inside of the club was bright with lights. Some things, it seemed, frightened even vampires, and there were many vampires there. The whole Community was massed inside. No doubt they felt the intense hatred emanating from this mysterious creature and had sought shelter, protection here. "It follows you," LaCroix stated softly. "Yes," Nick answered. "Do you know what it is?" Shaking his head slightly, LaCroix frowned. "It seems familiar but old, very old, and I..." The doors to the Raven burst open, slamming into the walls and echoing repeatedly. This new creature, surrounded by an aura of abomination, strode softly into the room. Many vampires dropped their jaws in utter bewilderment at a sight so unlike anything they were expecting. This creature, this male vampire, stood maybe five and a half feet high. His dark swarthy skin was apparent even with the vampire's parlor. He wore faded Levis, a flannel shirt, and rugged hiking boots, belonging, no doubt, to a recent victim. His head was shaved and his eyes were blacker than any Stygian swamp. "That's it?" Schanke snorted rudely. "You mean we've all been scared shitless by Yul Brynner there?" The whole assemblage turned to stare at the mortal detective. Schanke held out his hands in an appealing gesture. "What?" he asked. Nick reached out with lightning fast reflexes, snagging Schanke by the tie, and stared into his chocolate brown eyes. "Sleep!" he commanded. And before Nick could scoop him up, Schanke had sunk to the floor where he snored ferociously. Refusing to acknowledge the mortal or his silly speech, the ancient one stalked forward, sniffing the air. Nostrils quivering, he stopped in front of Nick. "You are of her line. I seek her. Where is she?" he demanded. Nick pushed Natalie behind him and stepped over Schanke's slumbering form. "I do not know of whom you speak, Sir," Nick spoke respectfully. His voice was soft, and he dipped his head submissively. The ancient one ignored Nick as his nostrils detected a stronger scent. Wrinkling his nose fervently, he turned to stand accusingly in front of LaCroix. "You! The scent is strongest with you. You are of her line. You are of my line. Where is she?" For a moment LaCroix's face was blank with bafflement, then he blinked rapidly, a horror of comprehension slowly dawning within him. Divia! He was asking for Divia. Hesitantly, the General asked a question whose answer he really did not wish to know. "Are you her master?" "Yes, and you?" came the swift reply. LaCroix inhaled deeply. "Her mortal father and her immortal son." He bowed deeply from the waist. When he arose, he gestured towards the back. "Allow me to grant you my hospitality. We may more comfortably discuss such family matters in private." "I am Neferhotep," the being stated. "I will speak with you." He turned to include Nick. "You are family. You will attend." * * * "I was a priest of Osiris," Neferhotep stated with pride. "I became what I am long ago in Egypt. As was the custom of our religion, we drank from the holy Nile. Its waters were the source of our life. It sustained us, gave us immortality in the world beyond this one." He smiled at that, but his face soon darkened with rage. "Moses!" he spat the name out. "It was he who polluted our beautiful Nile by changing her replenishing waters to blood. I drank from its sacred waters anyway. What had I to fear from the god of slaves?" He stared at LaCroix as if daring him to speak. "The waters changed me into this, what you would call a vampire. For two thousand years I wandered alone, meeting others of my kind, learning from them. Then I met that golden child who captivated my heart and decide to bring her across, but she beheaded me while I slept and sealed me away inside a crypt in Pompei. When recent excavations unearthed me, I flew forth to find my child and punish her for her disrespect." He grinned evilly at LaCroix and Nick. "Now, I ask you for the last time, where is she?" Next!