Natalie nodded and they headed out into the wet spring
night. Janette still had her keys, and Natalie
gratefully slid into the passenger side. She leaned
her head back on the headrest, and realized that there
was a definite tingle coming from the back of her
head, from her link to Nick. She sighed.

“What is it, Natalie?”

Janette knew the mortal was exhausted, not only from
the ordeal with Andropov but also from the adrenaline
that had been coursing through her in the club. Even
though she was under a protected status, Janette was
aware that being around so many vampires had put
Natalie on edge.

“My link to Nick is starting to…vibrate? I guess
that’s as good a word as any. It’s getting stronger,
and it’s distracting.”

Janette nodded. “Hmmm. Once we get to your house let
me see if I can impose some dampers on you, at least
until tomorrow night. You need to get some rest.”

“That would be very helpful. Thank you.”

Janette heard Natalie’s heart slow down and her
breathing deepened as she drifted into a light doze.
She let the mortal woman sleep until they reached her
home in the suburbs. Janette stopped the car, leaned
over and shook Natalie gently.

“Natalie, wake up. We are here.”
Natalie woke up, shook her head and looked around. She
smiled and got out of the car. Janette followed her,
handing the keys back to Natalie as they reached the
front stoop. Once the door opened, both women walked
in and Natalie went straight to the refrigerator for
some juice and the fixings for a sandwich. Janette sat
at the small dinette in the kitchen nook and just
observed.

After a few minutes, Natalie brought her sandwich and
juice over and sat down. She hadn’t realized how tired
she really was, as well as famished. The loss of sleep
was affecting her energy level and her body was
demanding food to replenish her dwindling reserves.

Finishing, Natalie turned to Janette. “So, what did
you have in mind for helping get this under control?
What do I need to do?”

“I know you are a resistor, so I will not be able to
hypnotize you as I normally would. And, given the
situation it is probably better that I teach you how
to impose your own internal controls. Close your
eyes.” She paused while Natalie complied. “Now, can
you sense your link to Nicholas as separate from your
other connections?” Natalie nodded. “Very well. What I
would like you to do is isolate your connection to
Nicholas, and in your mind imagine it as a bright
ribbon or beam of light leading from you to him. Nod
when you have achieved it.”

The clock ticked on the wall for almost two minutes
before Natalie finally nodded.

“Good. Now, I want you to narrow, or ‘tie a knot’ in
that connection. Basically I want you to allow less of
the energy between you to flow into you.” Again, she
waited. Suddenly Natalie gasped and her eyes flew
open.

“It worked! Wow. It’s still there, but now it is
almost as faint as my connection to you and LaCroix.
Thank you so much!” She smiled at Janette, then
glanced at the clock. “Shouldn’t you get going? It’ll
be dawn in a just over twenty minutes.”

Janette shook her head. “No, LaCroix and I both agree
that one of us should be here with you at all times,
especially with Nicholas approaching. Since LaCroix
will be able to exert much more control over Nicholas
than I will, he will meet Nicholas at the airport
tonight.”

A tautness in Natalie relaxed, something she hadn’t
even been aware of. “Thank you Janette. I really
appreciate it.”

Janette inclined her head, then stood up. “I think
both of us should retire. We will have a long night
ahead of us. Will you be able to sleep?” Natalie
nodded. “Bien. I shall see you after the sun sets.
LaCroix will call me when Nicholas has arrived.” She
left to go to the basement. Natalie stayed at the
table a bit longer, and reached out with her link to
Nikki, who was still asleep. Smiling, she got up and
sought her own bed.

Natalie woke up as the last rays of the sun were
painting an ochre glow on her bedroom walls. She
sighed, and realized that her head was tingling,
again. Repeating the exercise Janette had taught her
the night before, she managed to dim it a bit. But she
knew that Nick was very close. Feelings of both dread
and anticipation warred within her. It had been so
long since she had seen him, yet doing so might leave
Nikki without a mother, assuming they both survived
this nightmare.

Swinging her legs out of the bed, Natalie got up and
went to take a shower. When she got downstairs,
Janette was sitting in the darkened kitchen, a glass
of blood wine in front of her. She was wearing a man’s
dressing robe, and Natalie smiled, realizing it must
belong to LaCroix.

“Good evening, Janette. Would you like to take a
shower?”

“Yes, please. LaCroix called me about ten minutes ago;
Nicholas is at the club.”

Natalie’s knees started shaking and she closed her
eyes as she grabbed the back of a chair. She fumbled
her way into the seat.

“Natalie, are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine. I guess I’m just realizing this is
really happening.”

Janette reached a hand across to squeeze one of
Natalie’s. “We will keep you safe. Remember that
although he craves your blood, Nicholas loves you more
than his own life. Never make the mistake of
underestimating love.”

A tear leaked down Natalie’s cheek as she nodded and
tried to smile. Not trusting herself to say anything,
she wiped the tear and beckoned for Janette to follow
her to the bathroom. She left the beautiful vampire to
go make some breakfast for herself and decide the best
way to face the coming ordeal.

An hour later both Natalie and Janette were showered
and dressed, waiting for LaCroix to call. Suddenly,
the front doorbell rang. Startled, Natalie looked up.
Who could it be? Janette was already on her feet,
putting a finger to her lips to make sure Natalie
didn’t say anything. She walked to the door and opened
it, already knowing who was on the other side. Arthur
stood there, looking uncomfortable. Janette quirked
an eyebrow at him and gestured for him to come in.

“So, Arthur, I will assume that LaCroix asked you to
come here?” Janette broke the silence.

“Yes. Nicholas arrived, and LaCroix felt that since I
wouldn’t be much help in the control efforts, that I
should at least make myself useful here.” He looked at
Natalie. “I’m very sorry I’m not comfortable taking
part in the blood circle.”

”That’s quite all right, I understand. I appreciate
any help you are willing and able to give me. Did you
meet Nick?” He nodded. “How did he…seem?”

“A bit tired, but he was very courteous. I think he
was surprised to find out about Cecile and me.” He
cast an amused glance at Janette. “He and LaCroix
sequestered themselves in Janette’s office for about
an hour, then Nick went to get some sleep in one of
the spare rooms. LaCroix, Cecile, Landon and Jillian
are keeping a watch over him. Janette, they asked you
to come as soon as you could to see if the blood
augmentation is effective. The Seattle Elders should
be by the club around ten tonight.”

Janette stood. “Bien. I shall go right now. Natalie,
if you should hear from Andropov before midnight, call
me immediately with the location. Arthur, please make
sure that Natalie is well guarded.” With those parting
words, she exited through a pair of sliding glass
doors leading to the patio, then took to the air.

Natalie turned back to Arthur, at a loss for small
talk subject matter; it seemed the younger vampire was
experiencing the same dilemma.

“So, Arthur, would you like some blood wine?”

He shook his head. “No thanks, I had plenty over at
the club. Um, why don’t you tell me about how you met
my family, and I’d like to see pictures of your
daughter.”

Natalie, more than happy to comply, started relating
her side of the meeting with Nick and his family,
their relationship in Toronto, his moving on, meeting
Tony, Nikki, and her move to Portland. Arthur proved
to be a good audience, and was enthusiastic about
anything to do not only with Janette and Nick, but
also with Nikki. The time passed quickly for them, and
Natalie felt completely at ease with the young
vampire, more so than with any other of the immortals
except Nick.

Finally glancing up at the clock, Natalie was
surprised to find that it was almost ten. She recalled
that the Seattle elders were going to stop by the
Elysium around that time. And only two hours until
Andropov called, and not long until she saw Nick.
Nervousness and anticipation warred with her.

Suddenly feeling a tickle at the back of her head, she
realized that Nick must be awake. She practiced the
exercise Janette had suggested, and it worked to dull
the awareness of Nick, but not as much as it had the
previous night. She got up and started to pace, trying
to think of something to do that would distract her
from the buzzing in her head.

Arthur was just watching her, familiar with the
sensation of an active blood link. It was one of the
effects of coming across that Janette had tried to
explain, but for which he had been wholly unprepared.
It still unnerved him anytime he felt Janette or
Cecile in the back of his head. His link to Landon was
much weaker, and he wondered if it was because of the
duality of Janette’s masters.

“Natalie, try putting on some music, something with a
strong beat. Rock, industrial, electronica, synth,
something with a really heavy bass or percussion. That
sometimes seems to help me tune out the emanations
from other people.”

She turned to look at him. “Really? Huh. OK.” She
wandered over to her stereo and looked through her
CD’s. She decided on some REO Speedwagon, holding up
the CD for Arthur to look at. He shrugged, so she put
the CD in the carousel and turned it on. Soon the
rhythmic drums, bass and lyrics started filling the
room, and Natalie found that the percussive beat
against her breastbone DID help dull the buzzing in
the back of her head. She smiled in thanks.

Janette entered the club moments before the Seattle
Elders Gwyn and Vassili did. She turned to greet
them, motioning them to follow her up to her office.
As she expected, LaCroix was in the office, a glass of
bloodwine in one hand, reading from one of the books
she had loaned him. He looked up when the other three
vampires entered, stood and bowed.

Janette went to sit behind her desk, the other
vampires finding seats for themselves in the elegantly
appointed room. When all were seated, LaCroix began to
speak.

“Nicholas has arrived and is currently sleeping, and
Janette’s fledglings are upstairs waiting for us. I
have discussed our theory with Nicholas and he is
quite amenable to trying it. He asked us to give him
until eleven to get some rest, then wake him.”

The Seattle vampires nodded, then Gwyn spoke up.
“Lucien, do you want us to link with you or Janette
and her children?”

“I have been pondering that thought, and I was hoping
that you would link to Janette and that Vassili would
lend me his strength.” Vassili nodded in acquiescence,
his dark eyes solemn.

“Yes, I can see the advantages. I believe you and
Gwyn already share a link, Lucien?” Both Gwyn and
LaCroix nodded. “Very well, that is one more tie to
add to the net. So, Lucien, it appears you and I
should form our own link?” A wolfish grin crossed the
ancient Greek face.

LaCroix laughed. “Indeed. Ladies, will you excuse
us?”

Gwyn and Janette got up and left the room, opting to
go upstairs to Janette’s spacious apartment. When they
entered her living room, Cecile and Landon looked up
from a game of chess. Jillian was in a corner
listening to music with headphones on. She took them
off when the two women entered and stood up.

“Cecile, this is Gwyneth from Seattle. She is going to
help us in our experiment.” Landon and Jillian already
knew the acting Seattle council leader and they nodded
a greeting.

"Have all of you linked before, either with others or
with each other?" Gwyneth asked. Cecile shook her
head, while Landon, Jillian and Janette nodded. Gwyn
turned to Janette. "Janette, could you initiate a
link with Cecile, then bring Landon and Jillian in? I
will monitor from outside the link, then we will
observe where I would be able to fit into the mesh."

Janette nodded then went to sit beside Cecile, taking
her hand. Soon both women’s eyes had turned amber and
their fangs extended. Janette looked to Landon and
Jillian in turn and linked to each of them to complete
the circle.

Gwyn nodded in satisfaction. “Very good. Your circle
is very strong. I think I shall slide in…here.” That
said she sent a tenuous mental link to Jillian and
another to Janette, and all five vampires could feel
the surge of power the Ancient brought to the circle.

Cecile gasped at the amount of psychic energy that was
humming in the room. Since sharing blood with LaCroix,
her perceptions of the metaphysical aspects of
vampirism had deepened. In her altered state she could
actually see a huge cone of energy that flowed between
the five of them. It scintillated with various colors,
almost sparkling. She could feel the immense power
that the Ancient added. It almost doubled the strength
of the blood-linked family.

Gwyn smiled, then withdrew from the link, motioning
for the rest of the vampires to do the same.

“Excellent. Janette, you try and direct the energy
into your link with Nicholas when we are together. If
that proves unworkable, transfer the control to me and
I’ll impose it externally. With controls applied from
both sides, we should be able to control his hunger
and direct it toward the kidnapper instead of at
Natalie.” She stood up. “I suggest we all adjourn
downstairs and have some of your finest reserve,
Janette. All of us will be expending a tremendous
amount of energy tonight.”

The vampires went back to the bar, and shortly LaCroix
and Vassili joined them. Gwyn relayed the success of
their experiment and LaCroix smiled in satisfaction.
After Janette had procured two bottles of Reserve and
enough glasses for the contingent of vampires, they
gathered at one of the larger tables in the back of
the club. Janette poured and all the vampires consumed
the blood, enjoying the sensations of the professional
athlete that had donated it. LaCroix glanced at his
watch and saw that it was approaching eleven. He left
the table to go upstairs and wake up Nicholas.
===============
Kristen Fife 2004, All Rights Reserved