The Last knight and Beyond 

by Olivia Jean Ecklund 
Chapter 10 


A shadow fell over them. "Hey, there!" a deep voice said, "No public displays of 
affection allowed..." 

Nick and Natalie shaded their eyes from the glaring sun. There stood Capt. 
Reese, with a big smile covering his face. 

"Pop!" they shouted with happiness, dragging him down to the blanket with them. 
"What are you doing here?" 

He explained, "Burns came running into the Bullpen swearing he saw Officer 
Knight and Dr. Lambert flying a kite in the park. Since this was such an unusual 
occurrence," he said, with a twinkle in his eye. "I had to come see for 
myself... Sorry I missed it," he added, nodding at the great kite laying on the 
grass. 

Natalie was curious. "Joe, what did you tell them in the bullpen, about last 
night?" 

Reese laughed, "I told them you had given Nick a potion to get rid of the 
allergy he has for the sun, and it made him get sick so he passed out. You just 
freaked out, being a newlywed and all. They had a good laugh. Tracy seemed more 
subdued." 

Natalie looked embarrassed, "I guess that's as good a reason as any. I'm sure 
I'll get teased about poisoning my husband on our honeymoon. At least now 
they'll think it worked." 

Joe commented, "Well, I could have said Nick got drunk and passed out, but I 
didn't want to have that rumor started. This was closer to the truth." 

Nick replied, "I'm glad you came to help. Natalie told me all about it. Joe, you 
have no idea how wonderful this gift of life is." 

Joe said, "Son, it's wonderful to see you in the light." 

The newlyweds got up, and Nick said, "Come on, Nat, lets see if we can get this 
kite up once more for Pop." 

With a bit of effort they got the kite into the air and laughed as Reese 
struggled to keep it there. Natalie noticed that the people in the park had 
stopped what they were doing and were all looking toward the street pointing. 
She looked in that direction and discovered that the whole street was lined with 
police cars, and the officers were standing, laughing and pointing toward the 
three kite flyers. 

"Pop, Nick, look!" she called out. 

Reese came to a dead stop and stared at men from his precinct and some other 
local precincts. All of a sudden, there was string looping and cascading all 
around him, and he was nearly knocked over as the kite crashed into him. There 
he stood with the giant red kite pinning his arms to his sides, part of the red 
paper hanging over his eyes. 

Nick was stunned, and Natalie's body was shaking with silent laughter. Reese 
shouted, "What are you men and women doing here! Get back to work!" 

There was a scramble for the cars as officers bumped into each other. Within 
moments, the cars all sped away leaving two of the three in the park screaming 
with laughter. Nick went to Joe and tried to lift the kite up and over his head, 
but he was shaking with laughter so much he couldn't free it so Natalie came to 
help him. 

Joe was practically blowing steam from his ears. Then his face crumbled and he 
started to laugh. They all fell in a heap on the grass holding their sides. The 
people in the park were still staring, but when the kids started to laugh, the 
rest soon joined in. 

Joe gasped for breath, "I will never live this down. They probably think We've 
all gone mad." Nick noticed that a familiar car was still there and a young 
blond woman was heading their way...Tracy. 

He stood and headed for her. She was looking at him with wonder and confusion. 
"Nick, what's going on? How is this possible?" 

Nick grabbed her up and swung her around. "What are you doing here?" he asked. 

"Police scanner at home," she stated, staring at him. She reached out to touch 
his sweating brow. 

"I'm cured, Trace! I'm human," he whispered into her ear. 

"What!" She said, fear touching her eyes. "But the community? Nick, this is 
dangerous." 

Nick pulled her down to sit on the grass with him. He noted, with relief, that 
the people in the park were going about their own business now and Natalie was 
keeping Joe away so that he could talk to her alone. 

"I was cured through Natalie's love. Love that cleansed her blood... love she 
has from the Lord our God." Emotion was thick in his voice. "I can walk in the 
sun again." 

"Nick, you gave up what you were and all that power to walk in the sun?" she 
asked, floored. 

Nick realized she was serious. "Trace?" He saw disappointment in her eyes. "This 
is what I've always wanted, Trace... to be able to love Natalie without 
endangering her... to have babies... to have a soul... to serve the Lord." 

She had tears in her eyes now. "But you could fly! You could hypnotize! You 
could bend people to your will! You would have lived forever, never aging... 
bullets didn't hurt you. It was what made you a hero... a great cop, Nick." She 
pulled away from him, got up and ran back toward her waiting partner and the 
car. 

Nick stared after her and then felt Natalie grab his arm. "Let her go. She needs 
time to think this through." 

"Yeah, Nick," Joe said, "She's going to have to accept it. I think maybe your 
partner was a bit enamored by what you were. She probably has romanticized it so 
much because of her love for Vachone. We will have to pray for her." 

Nick suddenly realized that there were shadows lengthening all around them. 
"Natalie, let's go home." He grabbed up their things and headed toward the car. 

Natalie looked at Reese and shrugged. "I'll call you. It was fun, Pop," she 
called as she ran to catch up with Nick. The two headed back to his car. They 
got into the loft just as the sun went down. 

Natalie could see that Nick had a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. She put her 
hand against his chest and found that his heart was beating rapidly. "What1s 
wrong, Nick?" she queried. 

He wiped the sweat off with his hand and peered at it to make sure it was 
colorless. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just found myself getting scared to death, 
wondering if we would meet any vampires I knew." 

Natalie reached out and wrapped her arms around him. She felt his body tremble 
against her. "Nick, let's leave here. There should be some mountain cabin we 
could buy that would give us distance from here, and some peace. You could have 
a trainer come to teach you the art of combat and self defense, and hone the 
abilities your human body is capable of. I know you feel a loss of your powers. 
With survival and other training you can be master of yourself again... get your 
confidence back. You're a good cop, and if you want to come back later, I would 
support you, but please, not yet." 

"You can afford it. We could call it an extended honeymoon." She held herself, 
lovingly, against him. Nick had opened his mouth to reply to her ideas when a 
coldness enveloped him and he turned to see a figure sitting in the living room. 


Nick knew instantly who it was. His blood ran cold, and he moved quickly, 
thrusting Natalie behind him. 

Natalie also recognized him. "Nick," she cried in fear. "LaCroix!" 

LaCroix stood, "Nicholas!" His eyes were amber, his fangs exposed. "I see you 
have achieved your goal. I did not believe it was possible." 

Nick accused him, 'You never left did you?" 

LaCroix came closer. "On the contrary, Nicholas. I only arrived from Rome an 
hour ago. I felt your pain last night... horrible pain. I thought perhaps you 
were injured or even dead. I came to take revenge, but now I see that I will 
have the pleasure of bring you back across" He breathed into Nick's face, 
chilling the young man. 

"Back off, LaCroix," Nick warned. "I will never be yours again. Never! I have 
another father now." 

"Your Captain Reese cannot save you now. He can not possibly parent you the way 
I can... forever!" "I'm not talking, about Joe. I speak of my Lord, Jesus 
Christ." 

A cry of anguish, turned anger, ripped from the vampire. "No!" he backed away. 
"Nicholas... do not speak those words! You know how much I love you. You are my 
life!" 

"Life?" Nick spat at him. "You doled out affection, in selfish tiny drops. You 
beat me and abused me in every possible way for centuries. You have been my hell 
for 800 years. I thought I loved you, but I have only been like your pup. One 
that always came back to lick the hand of the master who beat it. I know that 
you have been the only reason I have survived in the community so long, but I do 
not need you anymore." 

LaCroix lunged at him. Natalie was knocked away and collided with the wall. She 
cried out, "Jesus, protect us from this evil!" 

LaCroix grabbed Nick by the arm and punched him in the face. Nick felt LaCroix1s 
hand close around his throat. He was sure he was going to die, and he prayed for 
Natalie1s safety. 

LaCroix suddenly roared in pain. He jerked his hand back. It was blistered and 
nearly blazing. He stared at his injuries with confusion and amazement. 

Natalie struggled to her feet. She blinked. There, in front of Nick, stood the 
large black woman she knew to be her Angel. There was a golden glow around her. 

"You must go lest you be consumed," the Angel warned LaCroix. 

Both Nick and LaCroix looked at her, stunned. Then Nick's face changed to awe, 
while LaCroix's went from rage to fear. 

The Angel continued, "This one will never belong to you again. The Father will 
not allow you to touch either of them or harm them physically. You must go, or 
you will be consumed by fire." 

LaCroix looked at Nick. He snarled, "You have won." 

"You may never see me again, but perhaps your children will..." he threatened, 
with an ugly sneer. 

The Angel warned, "If you want what Nick has, send an ambassador to talk with 
Nick... otherwise DO NOT approach this family again. You will not survive. The 
God of all, makes this promise." 

LaCroix turned his eyes to Nick again. "Nicholas!" he cried, in anguish. These 
were not the amber or red eyes of the vampire, but the eyes of LaCroix, pleading 
with him. 

The light around the angel brightened. The old vampire threw his hands up over 
his eyes. His skin began to smoke. He rose, with a roar of defeat, and flew 
toward the open skylight. 

Nick called after him, "Believe, LaCroix. You, too, can be saved!" 

Nick turned and gathered Natalie in his arms and they both cried. Their bodies 
shook. Warm, gentle hands took them by the arms and lead them to the couch. Nick 
and Natalie looked into wise, ageless eyes. "Who are you?" Nick asked, already 
knowing what she was. 

"I am called Tess." she replied, simply. "That monster is gone for good, if that 
is what you wish. Live your life...have your babies. Love the Lord with all your 
heart. That's all He asks. Nick, He waited 800 years for you to come back." She 
touched his face tenderly. 

A peace flowed over Nick. 

Natalie stammered, "B...b...babies?" 

Tess took her by the chin. "Yes, babies, Baby. The Lord knows how much you want 
children. Nick, He's well pleased with you. You've carried Him in a corner of 
your heart all these years. He's always been with you, child. You were just 
hiding your face from Him." 

Natalie noticed the blood running down his face from were LaCroix had punched 
him. She pulled the scarf from her neck and dabbed at it. 

Tess reached out a finger, ran it over the injury and it vanished. Then she 
rubbed Natalie's shoulder, and the pain disappeared. "That evil being can never 
again harm your family physically. You are wise to consider leaving here. Take 
Joe, and find a place, at least for a season, to rest, regroup and allow 
yourselves to heal. Allow yourselves to live, love and raise that family. Take 
the Lord with you, and nothing un-human will ever harm you again." 

Nick and Natalie looked at each other, renewed hope and amazement shining in 
their eyes. They turned, as one, to say, "Thank y..." and realized she was gone. 



End Chapter 10 


By Jeannie Ecklund Gersknightlady@cs.com