Unnatural Predators (1/?)
Forever Knight/Dark Shadows Crossover
By Scarlett Burns (scarlet8@...)

Rated: T (17+) for some violence, graphic imagery and adult language.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters which appear in this
story, nor do I own Forever Knight or Dark Shadows. No copyright infringement
intended.

Author's Notes:
In the "Forever Knight" timeline this story takes place towards the end of
season 2, sometime after Bad Blood. Flashbacks take place in 1589. Although this
is a crossover with the original TV series "Dark Shadows", it's not necessary to
have seen Dark Shadows to understand this story. Any knowledge you'll need about
the DS characters that appear will be explained within the story.

Chapter 1



A heavy gust of wind whipped through the small cluster of trees to his left. The
dim light of the streetlamp a few yards away lightly touched the trees with a
diffused yellow light as the leaves and branches swayed in the wind. A
suspiciously crimson substance clung to the base of the nearest tree trunk, and
grass surrounding the victim, catching the light like some morbid morning dew.

`Leu garoul.' Nick Knight heaved a long suffering sigh at the heavy feeling of
dread.

He hated werewolves.

Sure, he could sympathize with their situation, but it was hard to reason with a
preternatural wolf.

It was possible that, as an eight hundred year old bloodsucking creature of the
night, he wasn't really one to talk, but he'd had enough encounters with the
beasts in the past to know how brutally lethal they could be. The proof of such
primal force was lying before him… in pieces.

Nick closed his eyes, momentarily shutting out the gory sight. He drew in a deep
breath, fighting down his own preternatural urges. `Am I any better?' The
thought entered his mind, unbidden, and with it came the hunger.

Blood.

The first scent that registered in Nick's mind. With a tight clench of his jaw
he ignored his instinctual desires and confirm his initial suspicion. The faint
odor of a werewolf still lingered on the corpse, and hung heavy in the air that
surrounded them.

"Man oh man, get a load of that!" Schanke said, pushing past Nick. "Reminds me
of the sicko who tore up that football player."

Nick opened his eyes, once again taking in the carnage. He'd seen werewolf
victims before, but had hoped to never see another. In this day in age,
werewolves were few and far between. The supernatural paranoia during the 1500s
that spawned mass witch hunts not only killed countless innocents, but a great
deal of the unnatural creatures who wore the guise of humans as well. Werewolves
were not spared from the hunts. Indeed, in Europe the pursuit of the feral
beasts outnumbered that of witch hunts for a time.

"You don't think we have some sort of copycat, do ya?" Schanke asked, referring
to their last eerily familiar case. That time a vampire had been the culprit.
Little did Schanke know that he'd helped stop non other than Jack the Ripper.

"I don't think so, Schank. Looks more like…" Pausing, he belatedly wondered if
he should tell Schanke what he knew or let Natalie explain it once she arrived
and had a good look at the body. At Schanke's impatient glare, Nick decided that
it really couldn't hurt to tell him, since his partner was bound to hear it
sooner or later. "Seems more like an animal attack. Maybe some sort of wild dog
or wolf."

Nick slowly circled the crime scene, and then stopped when he got a clear view
of the neck wound. Motioning Schanke over, he pointed to the deep gashes across
the neck. "Unless you know a guy who can nearly decapitate someone with his
fingernails, I'd say our suspect has large sharp claws."

Schanke grunted appreciatively at the observation. "Maybe someone forgot to feed
their cat."

Nick quirked an eyebrow at his partner, but didn't bother to comment. If the
werewolf was just passing through, then there may not be much problem. Everyone
would just chalk it up to another mysterious animal attack and be done with it.

On the other hand, if a werewolf who was unable to control his transformations
or urges had picked Toronto as a place of residence then they were in for a hell
of a case.

Outside of Bedbur, Germany
1589



The sound of something in the nearby foliage caused Nicolas to halt his horse so
that he could listen more closely and his keen senses picked up a heartbeat
ahead. His Arabian snorted in distaste and shifted its weight anxiously. Whether
this was caused by the nearby visitor or from the unwanted break in its stride,
he could not be sure.

Deciding that the sounds were distinctly animal in nature, Nicolas spurred his
horse onward, both toward the mysterious animal and his destination. He did not
have the luxury of time, and a wild animal was hardly a concern to one of his
special constitution.

Although the thick clouds and morning mist that normally hung low in the air
around the Rhine river and nearby villages of Collin and Bedbur would provide
him some protection to the morning light he didn't wish to stretch his luck, or
cause himself unwanted attention at his arrival in Bedbur.

The sounds of the animal only accompanied his travels for a short time before it
disappeared into the dense forest. The animal did not leave, however, without a
lengthy bay of adieu, and Nicolas' question of what had been in the dense
foliage was efficiently answered.

At least, that is what he believed at the time. He didn't give the unremarkable
event much thought until the next evening.

Nick shook himself out of his reverie when he heard Natalie approaching behind
him. "Hey Nat," Nick greeted without turning around, still preoccupied with the
thought of having to track down a werewolf in Toronto. He was going to have to
fill Natalie in once she got the body back to the morgue.



"A little late, aren't we Dr. Lambert?" Schanke chided playfully.

"Sorry guys. It's been a busy night," she said by way of explanation as she took
her first look at the body. After a moment, she shook her head and muttered,
"What is it about a full moon that makes the world go crazy?"

Pulling on a pair of latex gloves, Natalie quickly got down to the grisly task
of examining the body. Leaving her to her task as he felt the vampire stir
within him, he moved away from the body and toward the patch of trees nearby.

He really hated the bloody ones. It wasn't the sight that bothered him. He'd
witnessed far too much death, murder and war in his long life to be squeamish
about the harsh realities of life. What truly bothered him was his reaction to
such scenes. The most powerful reminder of his lost humanity was the hunger that
gnawed at him now. Hunger, and the urge to prey on the humans bustling hurriedly
around him, oblivious of his true nature, surfacing forcefully. It always did
when there was the heavy scent of blood in the air.

Heaven help his miserably damned soul, he missed the hunt. Even now, as he
fought to regain his humanity in whatever way he could, part of him longed for
the hunter's challenge… and worst of all, the kill. He loathed the thoughts that
stirred in his mind, and after a moment, was able to regain his control by
focusing on what was before him.

Studying the blood spattered trees, Nick looked for any evidence the leu garoul
may have left behind. It didn't take long. About four feet up from the ground,
scratched into the bark of the center tree, was a oddly familiar looking symbol.

As Nick leaned in for a closer look, he was able to decipher what was roughly
drawn into the bark. It had been so long since he'd seen it, it had taken a
moment for it to register.

It was an inverted labrys. An ancient symbol that he'd been familiar with even
before he was brought across, as a knight in the crusades.

Things had just gotten a whole lot stranger.

Frowning, Nick looked up from the symbol as Schanke called him over to hear
Natalie's preliminary report. Nick walked back over to joining his partner and
waiting M.E., stopping only to point out the newly discovered symbol to the
crime scene photographer. It was against his better judgement, but it was going
to be found either way, and he didn't want to explain why he hadn't told anyone
about a symbol he'd been standing in front of for several minutes.

"I'd say the time of death was between 10 and 11pm. At first glance, it looks
like a pretty brutal animal attack. I'll have to take her back to the lab to
pinpoint an exact cause of death, although I'd say blood loss would be a fairly
accurate guess at this point." Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that they
were beginning to bag the body. "Do we a positive ID?" she asked after a moment,
turning back towards Nick and Schanke.

"Not yet," Nick answered. "No ID found on the body. Looks like she was out for a
late night jog. No one saw what happened, although several people did hear her
screams."

"Yup, nothing much to go on there either. No one saw anyone or anything other
than the victim," Schanke finished, rubbing his palms together in a futile
attempt to thaw his frozen hands.

Natalie nodded. "Guess I better get started then. I'll let you two know as soon
as I have something."

"Let's roll, partner!" Schanke announced as Natalie walked away. "Nothing more
we can do here," he added, hurrying back towards Nick's caddy before Nick even
acknowledged his words.

"Yeah," Nick agreed distractedly as he watched forensics poor over every inch of
the crime scene. He slowly made his way back to the caddy, and a rather frozen
looking partner, with the image of the inverted labrys still fresh in his mind.

Terminology



Labrys – A double headed axe. Although it had meanings to different cultures, to
the Romans it was the symbol of Justice. Inverted, it was the sign of
anti-justice.

Leu garoul – Old French for werewolf.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]