Disclaimers Here

Jerking awake, Nick scrambled into a sitting position on the bed, screaming, "No, don't..." He took several ragged breaths and sagged onto the bed, feeling nearly as exhausted as when he had initially lain down. Beads of bloodsweat spotted his body; he grimaced as he touched fingertips against his forehead. The exhausted detective hauled himself out of bed and headed for the shower.

After monitoring Nicholas for most of the day, LaCroix felt some of his child's tightly wound tension ease when his son began to prepare to leave for his mortal job. Sifting through all the dreams that Nick had experienced throughout the day, he knew what was happening within his son. The only problem was how to deal with it without Nicholas realizing it. LaCroix decided as he rose from the bed in Janette's room and wrapped his robe securely closed. Striding down the hall, he entered his room and approached the bed, sitting next to his sleeping elder child. "Janette, it's time you were up and about," he said, stroking her exposed shoulder gently.

"Oh, mon cher. Just a few more minutes," a feminine voice mumbled sleepily from amidst all the pillows and coverings.

"Janette, if you want to sleep in, I suggest you return to your own room. I have things to accomplish this evening, as I am sure you do," LaCroix stated, effectively drawing the response he wanted from his daughter. Murmuring something that he probably didn't want her to repeat, LaCroix watched Janette grumpily climb out of his bed and stalk from the room.

Nick was sitting at his kitchen table having breakfast. The cold, dead liquid he was drinking wasn't what he wanted, but it was all he was going to partake. As he sat there, downing the last of the bottle, Nick tried to remember more of the vague, disturbing images from the dreams that had disrupted his sleep, then sighed when he realized they were going to remain obscure.

Shaking off the day's sleep or lack thereof, Nick finished off the last few drops in the bottle and rose from the table. He had to go by the Raven and pick up the Caddy before heading on to the precinct. With the vampire sated for the time being, Nick prepared to face the world. He grabbed his keys and watch then, using the skylight, headed for the Raven.

With the sun barely down, there were no pedestrians near The Raven, so Nick landed in the shadows of the club's alleyway. He stepped onto the street in front of his car, then paused. Glancing over his shoulder at the silent building, the blond vampire considered going inside. "No, I don't think so. No yet." He continued round his car, slid in behind the wheel, and pulled out into the traffic, heading for the precinct.

Nick replayed what little of last night's dreams he could remember. A castle for sure... he recalled, though why and where said castle might have been he couldn't say. "It was summertime," he murmured as he let his subconscious drive him toward work. A sharp spear of anguish rushed through him as he struggled to pull more of the memories closer. A strong sense of the familiar woven tightly with a black cloud of despair started to course through him swiftly followed by another wave of depression when he attempted to force more of these 'dreams' closer to examine. The same sense of 'wrongness' that had prevented him from entering The Raven earlier thundered through him now, stopping his examination.

Out of habit, Nick turned on the radio, needing something to distract him from his disquiet thoughts during the drive into work. Instead of music however, he heard The Nightcrawler doing an early broadcast. Curiosity stayed him from snapping the radio off.

"Tonight, gentle listeners, we are talking about pain and confusion. Is there something causing you pain, though you know not why? Let the Nightcrawler aid you. Give me your pain and I will lessen your burden," the silky voice intoned through the radio speakers.

Nick gave the radio a swift, annoyed glare before he turned his gaze back to the street. What was LaCroix trying to accomplish now!

"I know you're listening," the smoothly accented voice continued. "You feel disturbed by the images in the night. You are confused by emotions you do not understand. Let the Nightcrawler take away your fears... your uncertainties.

It's true, LaCroix had always offered stability, protection. His father could help him deal with the feelings he was instinctively shying away from. The soothing speech washed over Nick as he steered through the evening traffic.

"I can ease away your fears if you will but let me." A warm feeling of support flowed over Nick, supporting him, embracing him. The feeling lapped at the frayed edges of his nerves, like the ocean kissing the beach. "Open yourself to me, gentle listeners. Let me in..." Gentle but constant, the feeling tried to insulate the raw spots inside, providing comfort and relief from the unknown.

Nick felt the gentle brush of his master against his mind and let that sultry voice calm him. He was relaxing, slipping further under LaCroix' control when a strong pulse of uneasiness flared brightly within Nick's mind. The effects were instantaneous as his edginess overshadowed the subtle, hypnotic efforts that his master was trying to weave.

Frowning slightly, Nick tried to remember why LaCroix' words sounded so familiar... He retreated from that line of thought when he felt a rising sense of dread and fear lurking behind those memories. He quickly reached over and switched the radio off.

LaCroix switched back to the planned musical broadcast then noticed the private phone line blinking, trying to attract his attention. Punching the button, he wasn't surprised when the alluring voice of his daughter asked, "Did it work, LaCroix?"

"No, Janette. He was listening, though only briefly. However, his mind was not receptive to my suggestion. I am afraid the memories are becoming stronger. It is only a matter of time now. We need to be prepared to deal with things when the block does break down."

"Oui, cher, if you think so," she replied, her voice small and worried.

Striding into the precinct, Nick glanced around the squad room, looking for his partner. With no Schanke in sight, the blond detective dropped into his chair and began work through all the paperwork that was sitting on his side of the two desks. "This stuff must reproduce when I'm not around," he grumbled and pulled out a form. He shoved some of the backed up work aside and began to write up the report concerning last night's murder scene.

While Nick was typing the report, his thought began to drift toward his past. He jerked back to the present, rising out of the compelling daydream of his life as an eager, happy squire. Nick shook his head, surprised at the time frame his wandering mind had called up. He surrendered to the pleasant memories briefly, enjoying the recollections of his first sanctioned joust and the big gray charger his father had given him as a present when he neared his knighting.

A tired smile ghosted across Nick's face at the enjoyable thoughts. Facing all the piled up work, he attempted to pull his attention back to the report in front of him, but his subconscious ducked out again. After pulling his mind back to the report for the third time, Nick sat back and exhaled in exasperation. You have got to get a handle on things! he scolded himself. Swiveling back to the keyboard, he focused on his notes and returned to typing.

Concentrating on conveying his notes and thoughts into the report, Nick let the squad room's distractions to fade into the background. Running through the sequence of events from last night's scene, Nick was just finishing the last remarks when he felt a hand drop on his shoulder. Jumping nearly a foot, the blond detective spun out of his chair and banged into his desk, only to see Schanke, looking at him in surprise.

"Damn it, Schanke! Don't *do* that!" Nick exclaimed, as he firmly suppressed the vampire within him, making sure it didn't surface in front of his partner.

"Jeez, Nick. I didn't mean to scare ya," Schanke drawled, grinning at Nick, who was still backed up against the desk. "So, what's the deal, you usually hear me coming a mile away," he asked, thoroughly enjoying having pulled one on his partner, even if it had been unintentional.

"It's nothing, Schank," Nick snapped, then quickly took a deep breath. "I was just trying to finish the crime scene report on that call last night," Nick added. Turning back to his desk, he wound the paper out of the machine and added his signature.

"What? *You*? Doing paperwork?" Schanke exclaimed, his mouth falling open in exaggerated shock. Suddenly a big grin appeared on his face as he retorted, "I can't believe it. First, I give you a scare, then you're doing paperwork." Raising his voice so everyone nearby could share in the teasing, he stated, "Someone pinch me, I MUST be dreaming!"

"Cut it out, Schank. I do paperwork...once in a while," Nick answered, relaxing, a slow smile creeping across his face.

Before Schanke could challenge that statement, the phone rang. He made a sarcastic face at Nick as he dropped into his chair and picked the receiver up. "Detective Schanke."

While Schanke answered the call, Nick report, picked up the report, walked into Captain Cohen's office, and placed it on her desk. Coming out, he heard his partner speaking into the receiver. "Um huh. Sure, Natalie, we can come right over." Don leaned his elbow on the desk and watched Nick as he wandered back to his desk. "Okay, we'll be over there in a few." Hanging up, he rose and started moving toward the door, Nick in tow.

"Natalie has the tests back on the first victim, plus more information concerning the second one you handled late last night," he told his partner as they walked out of the squad room. Exiting out the outer doors of the precinct, he continued as they walked toward the Caddie. "She wants us to stop by there pronto."

"Good. Maybe she found a clue...something that can give us a lead on this case," Nick stated as they climbed into the car. Heading out of the parking lot, he eased the Caddie into traffic, and headed for the Coroner's Office.

"Oh, come on Schank, give it a rest," was the warning Natalie received announcing the partners had arrived. She looked up from her computer as Nick pushed through the doors, an exasperated look on his face. Right behind him, Schanke entered, a happy smirk plastered across his.

Wondering what prank Schanke had pulled, she glanced over to him, and raised her eyebrows in a silent question. He noticed her look and broke into a big smile. "All I did was walk up behind him. Honest! Can I help it if he's a little jumpy tonight?" Schanke stated, glancing at his partner.

Looking at Nick, she asked, "Jumpy?"

Nick leaned against the wall near Natalie's desk and glared at his partner. Sighing in exasperation, he looked at Natalie and said," I was concentrating on a crime scene report that's all. I didn't hear him come in."

Raising her eyebrows again, Nat smiled, now that she understood what Schanke must have been teasing Nick about.

"Concentrating, hell. You must have been in Never-never Land, considering how high you jumped at that little tap I gave you," Schanke replied, trying to maintain a straight face. "Okay, okay. I'll lay off!" He gave in when Nick sent another scalding look his way. "Boy! Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or what?" Schanke retorted, though the smirk was still apparent.

Natalie smiled at the teasing and glanced down at her computer. She knew she had better sidetrack Schanke before he carried things too far. "I received the test results back on the Johnston case." Reading from the computer screen, she scanned through the information until she found the page she was looking for. "The tox screen came back clean on any drugs or alcohol. So, he was in complete control and fully capable of fighting back when he was attacked."

"Which we pretty much expected, considering the damage to his hands," Nick quietly interjected.

"True. The semen sample I took from the body was inconclusive," she said, looking up at the two detectives. At the pained expression from both men, she lightly grinned and replied, "Sorry. The trail that Nick found was definitely Johnston's blood. They found bits of his skin embedded in the asphalt and concrete wall, so I'd say that the alley was the murder scene."

"What about the second victim? Do you think he was killed at the scene or dumped for us to find?" Nick inquired.

"I don't know if they fought there, but Chapman was killed there. I found a small amount of blood that had dripped across his jacket before it ran onto the floor. No way he could have been placed anytime after the cut and get the same pooling around the body," Natalie asserted, looking at the two detectives.

"I assume you know about the matching hair samples found on both bodies?"

"Yes."

"A-huh," Schanke replied.

"Going by the test results, it looks like your killer has coarse, dark brown, shoulder length hair," Natalie said, looking back at her screen.

When both men remained quiet, Nat continued. "Johnston had a broken arm, as well as a couple of cracked ribs, all of which appears to have happened during the initial fight. Chapman had extensive damage done to his internal organs, resulting from the pounding he took. With the multitude of bruises, lacerations and internal damage they both suffered, I would say you were right, Nick, about the guy enjoying himself at the victims' expense."

Natalie looked up at Nick when he asked, "The second victim was also raped, then killed?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Typing in a few commands, Natalie pulled up the second victim's results.

"That's all we need, another serial killer roaming the streets. Cohen isn't going to like this one bit." Looking at Nat, Schanke asked, "Is the stiff on the table the second victim, Nat?"

"No. He's in the cooler, Schanke. It's the only one in there right now." With a wave of his hand, Don headed for the cooler.

While Don was busy looking over the second body, Nat turned back to Nick, who was still leaning against the wall. "I checked out that odor you detected, Nick. It appears to be a very exotic cologne: French, in fact."

"Both victims had it on them?" Nick queried.

"Yes, I found traces of it on both their jackets and on the skin around their necks," she replied, looking up from her screen.

"Interesting..." he muttered, then sighed.

"Nick, are you all right?" Natalie whispered. "You look really pale. When did you last eat?" she asked, walking around her desk to stand in front of him.

"I had a bottle before coming into work tonight," he replied, then sighed before continuing. "I haven't been sleeping very well," he stated, looking her in the eyes.

"Nat, did you notice that both the victims are young and blond?" Schanke yelled from the cooler, drawing both vampire and coroner's attention for a moment.

"Yes, Schanke, I did notice that," she yelled back before returning her focus back to Nick.

"Nick?" Natalie whispered when she noticed that his coloring had paled even more. When he didn't respond, she grabbed his arm and shook him gently, trying to pull him back to the here and now.

Nick felt the current world fading away, but couldn't seem to prevent it. The brightness of a midsummer's day filled his senses, causing the confused vampire to attempt to pull away from the light. The shock of feeling the sun warming him with its rays was breathtaking. However, it was overshadowed by what he beheld when his vision cleared. Nick saw the gray ears and the black mane of his charger in front of him and felt the massive Iberian stallion between his legs. he thought as he faced the course before him and the charger shifted beneath him. He heard the flags snapping in the wind and the trumpets blazoning out their music.

Looking down the field, he watched his armored opponent struggle with his blood bay, finally forcing the charger into position through brute force.

As the two horses began their charge toward one another, the scene misted over leaving Nick disoriented. Gradually, he could hear faint sounds, which became clearer as a dimly lit room slowly solidified. Nick couldn't see anyone, but he could hear the sounds of someone crying as if from the absolute depths of despair. The tone was so mournful; he felt tears beginning to form in his eyes, triggered by the sound alone.

The touch of someone pulling on his arm and his name being spoken as if from a great distance broke the spell. The melancholy melody dissolved as he slowly returned to the present, with Natalie's hands on his arms. Focusing on her, Nick felt a great weariness creeping through his limbs. Feeling the cold, hard wall supporting him was a comforting thing, since he wasn't sure he could have stood otherwise.

Nat watched as Nick blinked his eyes, then slowly focused on her. When she felt him sag back against the wall, she pulled the chair near her desk over for him to sit on. "Nick, what's going on?" she whispered urgently.

"I don't know, Nat." Raising his hand to rub his forehead, he whispered, "I'm beginning to think I'm losing my mind."

As he dropped into the chair, Schanke emerged from the cooler. Noticing his partner's extreme paleness, he hurried over to find out what was wrong.

"Nick?" Schanke asked, gently gripping his partner's shoulder.

"I'm all right, Schanke. I just felt tired all of a sudden."

"Maybe you need to book off for the rest of the night. I can cover things if you need."

The telephone ringing in the quiet room interrupted the conversation. Natalie moved to answer it, as Schanke looked from Nick to her. "Dr. Lambert. Yes, just a minute," she replied. Holding the receiver out to Schanke, she said, "Here Schanke, Captain Cohen is on the line." Handing him the phone, she moved back to Nick's side.

"Yes, Captain.... There has...? That's great. Okay, we'll be there as soon as possible," he finished and hung up.

"Well, the rapist struck again, but this time the victim survived the attack. Luckily the guy was interrupted or we'd probably have another body to deal with. He's en route to Toronto General Hospital. Cohen wants us over there to get a statement." Schanke eyed Nick, who was looking better. "Maybe you should eat something, Nick. It might make you feel better. We can pick something up on the way to the hospital," he suggested as Nick slowly rose to his feet.

"No, that's all right, Schank. I'm really not very hungry right now." The partners headed toward the exit.

"What you need is a good, long sleep," Nat yelled after them as she watched them head out the door.

Pausing by the door, Nick turned back to reassure Nat. "I'll try and comply with my doctor's orders, just as soon as I can," he lightly teased and flashed a tired smile before he disappeared through the swinging doors after his partner.

Natalie shook her head and smiled at his reply, then returned to the boring part of her job -- the paperwork.

To Chapter 6

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments to: [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]

HOME