At the Raven, Nick sat in LaCroix's study staring at
the flames in the fireplace. Loneliness and pain were
constants, when suddenly he felt the ripping tear of
Natalie's grief. He cried out loud in anguish, just as
LaCroix entered the room. The ancient vampire strode
quickly over to him.

"Nicholas...what is it?" Concern tinged his voice; he
felt the pain emanating from his son like a physical
presence.

Nick fell into LaCroix's arms, blood tears streaming
down his face. "Natalie..." he whispered in anguish.

"Is she in danger?" LaCroix tried to discern the
nature of the pain.

"No...she's in agony. And it's all my fault. Why? Why
Nat? She never hurt anyone?" The sheer emotion in both
Nick's voice and their shared bond spurred LaCroix to
action.

Catching Nick's eyes with his own and exerting his
powerful will, he locked on to Nick. "Nicholas, listen
to me. You are going to sleep. You will sleep deeply
and without dreams until I awaken you." He blanketed
Nick with his will, and slowly Nick fell forward into
a stupor in his arms. LaCroix picked him up gently and
laid him on the chaise next to the fireplace. He
tenderly covered Nick with a blanket.

"Oh mon fils, I know what you feel. I miss your sweet
sister even now." He leaned down and tenderly laid a
kiss on Nick's forehead before turning to go out the
door. Although the sun had barely traveled below the
horizon, LaCroix took to the air.

He landed lightly on Natalie's balcony and peered in.
Natalie was still on the floor in front of the door,
sobbing. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her
arms hugging them to her body. Her head rested on her
knees, and her auburn hair spilled over her legs.
LaCroix silently opened the French doors to the
balcony and entered. He looked at the mortal before
him, and felt sympathy, an emotion he never expected
to feel for her. Through her actions, and Nicholas,
his son was returned to him, their old debt paid. He
thought he would feel triumph, but all he felt was
compassion for the two lovers.

"Doctor Lambert. Please, I need to speak with you."
His voice was not loud, but it carried and pierced her
misery.

Natalie looked up and saw him. All her previous fear
and hatred of LaCroix was gone, replaced by the
knowledge that he knew what had happened to Nick.
She stood up on shaky legs and approached him, her
face stained with the tracks of her tears, her eyes
filled with a haunted sorrow. He noted her paleness
and the bandage on her neck.

"LaCroix, where is he? Is he all right? Please, I need
to see him. Please..." Her voice trailed off as she
begged the master vampire to take her to Nick.

He held his arms open and she moved into them, the
tears starting yet again. She sobbed, but her strength
was rapidly failing her. LaCroix picked her up and
carried her over to the sofa. She was as light as a
doll in his arms, and her sorrow was pounding against
his mind. The strength of her feelings shocked him.
Through their shared links with Nick, he was able to
feel her. If his son was feeling even a portion of
what HE was, it was no wonder Nicholas was crippled.

"Shhh. I know it hurts. Let it out." He crooned to her
as he stroked her hair. Finally, after almost an hour,
Natalie's physical strength spent itself. She was
incapable of any more weeping. She looked at him, and
her soulful blue eyes were mirrors to Nick's own.

"Natalie, my dear, he is physically fine, but his
sanity is slipping. He can feel you through your blood
link, and your pain is his but magnified tenfold. He
feels extreme guilt over what he did to you."

"But, it wasn't his fault. It was mine...I begged him
to..."

"I know that, but Nicholas will never accept that. Do
you understand what happened between you? What the two
of you have wrought?"

She started to speak, then stopped and shook her head.

"Let me tell you. By taking your blood, Nicholas has
reawakened his nature, and he hungers for you. The
vampire will not give him any peace until he has
drained all of you, all that you are, all that you
have ever been. Do you understand? He can barely
control the hunger right now. If he were to see you,
you WOULD die. At his hands. And THAT would be a death
sentence for him. I can feel it. And if you try, so
can you." He stopped and watched as she concentrated.

Natalie recognized a...presence...in the back of her
head. She gasped as she realized it was Nick. When she
probed the link, the overwhelming guilt overcame her,
coupled by an anguish that matched her own. "Oh
Nick..." she whispered.

LaCroix watched her carefully, as she tested the link
she had with Nick. He studied her face as she found
the overwhelming guilt and anguish that poured out of
Nick, even as he lay unconscious.

"Natalie, Nicholas must leave. If he stays, one or
both of you WILL die. I can help him with his
struggle, but YOU must let him go. You MUST control
your sorrow, for his sake. Can you do this?"

She looked at him, panic written clearly on her face.
"How can I live without him? How?" Her plaintive plea
touched the ancient's heart.

"If you DO want to live, and you want HIM to live, you
MUST be strong enough. There is no other way. He would
not even be able to control himself enough to bring
you across at this point, and he extracted my oath
that I would not do it, either at your request or
against your will. Do you understand? There IS no
other way. And, my dear, believe it or not, I AM
sorry." His ice blue eyes filled with a compassion
rarely ever present.

LaCroix realized than in her exhausted state, he would
be able to make her sleep, resistor or not. As he had
done with Nick, he captured her eyes with his own,
locked on to her heartbeat, and imposed his will upon
her to sleep. She fought him, but soon was
unconscious. As he had done with his son, he gently
covered Natalie with a blanket, kissed her brow, and
went back to comfort his son.

Natalie awoke the next morning, dazed and disoriented.
She was in her apartment, asleep on the sofa. Suddenly
the events of the previous evening came crashing back
and a tear coursed its way down her cheek. "Oh Nick,
what have we done?" Her whisper went unanswered in the
emptiness of her apartment.

She concentrated and felt Nick's presence in her mind,
apparently still asleep. She sent a pulse of love to
him, then decided that she needed something to eat and
drink. Her energy was amazingly low. She wearily
trudged into the kitchen and poured a glass of water.
She gulped it down, then followed it with a more
leisurely glass of orange juice. She sighed and went
into her bedroom, intending to take a shower and try
to get some more rest.

As she walked into her bedroom, she noticed a box and
an envelope on her pillow. Puzzled, she walked over to
them. With a trembling hand, she opened the box. It
couldn't be...but it was. Joan's cross. And lying atop
it was a gold chain, with a sapphire and diamond ring
strung on it, next to a pendant of a sunburst. She
pulled the necklace out, and opened the catch. She
pulled the ring off and put the necklace on. She
slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, knowing it
would fit her exactly. The bright blue stone was the
exact color of her own eyes, a large pear-shaped stone
surrounded by scintillating diamonds. Fighting more
tears, she opened the envelope. There was a letter, a
document, and a business card. She put the document
and the card down and opened the letter.


My Dearest Natalie,
Words cannot express to you how difficult this is for
me. I need you to know that I am not leaving you
because I don't care for you; on the contrary, you
mean more to me than I ever thought possible for any
one person in my life. I have waited centuries to find
you, and now I must let you go.

Please know that I am doing this only to save your
life. After what happened between us, the vampire
inside of me has developed an insatiable craving for
you...and this is something I cannot control. I cannot
tell you how very sorry I am that I endangered you.

Natalie Lambert, I want you to know that I love you
with all that I am, all that I have. If you ever need
anything please call the number listed and I will get
the message. I am also leaving the deed to the loft
for you. You may keep it or sell it, as you see fit.
Nick Knight will soon no longer exist, but Nicholas de
Brabant will always carry your face and every precious
memory we have made together in his heart and whatever
soul may still exist. I am leaving you the only symbol
of faith I have ever had until I met you. Keep it, and
remember me. Know, also, that I pledge my heart to you
now and forever.

This is not the ending I wanted for us, but I will not
endanger you any more.

All my love eternally,
Nick

The tears started afresh, but she struggled to keep
her grief contained, to erect a mental barrier against
the bond she could feel with Nick. She knew that for
both their sakes she needed to wait until he was far
enough away that she could no longer feel his presence
in her mind before she gave in to the breakdown she
could feel pending.

Sniffling, she pulled out a phonebook and found the
number for the Raven. She dialed and heard it ring
several times until she got an answering machine
message.

“Um, this message is for LaCroix. This is Natalie
Lambert. Please call me when you get a chance at
555-2410. Thanks.”

Sighing, she went to the kitchen and listlessly made
herself a sandwich. As she worked, her eye was drawn
to the ring on her finger. She wondered when Nick had
gotten it, and whether he had ever planned on giving
it to her. Regardless, she knew she would always wear
it as a symbol of their love.

Finishing her lunch, she went to take a shower,
covering up the bandage on her neck. When she got out
of the shower, it was to the ringing of her phone.
Running to grab it, she answered.

“Hello, Natalie Lambert speaking.”

“Doctor Lambert, this is Lucien LaCroix. I was
returning your call.” The cool tones emitted made
Natalie wonder if she had imagined his compassion the
evening before.

“Thank you for calling me back. Can you please…please
tell Nick that I received his letter, and that I
understand? And will you somehow let me know when he
has left Toronto?” The last sentence caught in her
throat. She was still trying to block the presence of
Nick in the back of her mind.

“Yes, I will give him your message. And he will be
leaving Toronto tonight, as will I. Is there anything
else?” A hint of warmth crept into his voice.
“No. There isn’t anything more to say. Thank you for
everything.”

“You are very welcome. And for what it is worth, I am
sorry for the wasted time between us, and I do wish
you the very best. If you ever need anything you can
contact me. I will leave you a means to get hold of
me. Best of luck to you, my dear. Goodbye.” With that
he hung up the phone, and Natalie realized that the
chapter of her life that included vampires ---and
Nick---was almost over.

“Goodbye my love…one day I have faith that we will
meet again.” She whispered as she gently set the phone
back in the cradle and went into her room to cry fresh
tears, knowing that the loneliness in her life was
only just beginning.