Future Mortality
Part 18/?
By Christine Hantzopulos
Dinner that
night was silent. Natalie and Niki had both warned Richie not to mention
anything about Dimitri to Janette or LaCroix, so the one topic that was utmost on all of their minds was a forbidden subject.
Natalie could feel the underlying tension of things unsaid, but Niki was in
such a good mood now that her bright spirits seemed to wash over everyone. Only
once did a question by LaCroix make mother and daughter exchange a worried
glance.
“I couldn’t
help but overhear you crying, Nicolette,” he said with what seemed a mixture of
concern and curiosity. “Was there some kind of trouble while we slept?”
“Just
teenage things, LaCroix,” Nick broke in before his daughter’s pause could be
noted. “Nothing you need concern yourself with.”
LaCroix
seemed satisfied with that, although Janette was studying Niki carefully. She
was smiling now, and Natalie knew it was with happiness that her father had
upheld his promise to keep Dimitri a secret from the vampires. Niki simply
said, “I’m fine, now. Thanks.”
“How did
you find the nightlife in
“It
was…interesting. A few surprises,” LaCroix replied. “There is a community here,
though very small. With a bit of networking we were able to forge a connection
with a worker at the local blood bank.” He took a sip from his glass and said,
“While we do appreciate your efforts, Natalie, you needn’t bother arranging for
any more supplies. We’ll be picking up our own stock later tonight.”
“So there
are other vampires here,” Natalie commented, the more important bit of new
information. “Do you think any of them was the one Niki felt before you
arrived?”
LaCroix
shook his head in consternation. “No, unless there is someone older or of a
more powerful lineage than the few we met last night. It certainly wasn’t any
of them. Most were wanderers who had come here from bigger cities like
“I’m trying
to avoid vampires, not attract them,” he reminded LaCroix.
“Of
course,” LaCroix responded. “I only meant it in jest. You haven’t lost your
sense of humor, have you?”
“You were
always too serious, Nicolas,” Janette said, amusement on her face as she added
with mock innocence, “Did you at least get to relax while we were gone last
night?”
Nick’s face
turned red, and Natalie gave Janette a warning look.
Later, as
Natalie was washing the dishes, Nick came up behind her, almost making her jump
in surprise. He certainly hadn’t lost his stealth. He slipped his arms around
her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Now what exactly did
Janette mean when she asked if we got to relax while she was gone? Did you tell
her something--?”
“No, but
I’m sure she gathered a lot from the way your face turned bright red,” she
teased him. She shut the water and turned to face him. “Janette just offered to get LaCroix out of
the house for a while so we could have a little privacy. She figured we’d want
some, once you saw that new nightie I bought.”
He smiled
wickedly at her, thinking about what they’d done with their private time. “So,
Janette saw you buy that?”
“Saw me?
She picked it out,” Natalie replied. “Why, did you really like it?”
“What do you think?” he asked, kissing her lips
slowly, then roving down towards her neck. His hot
breath against her skin made her shiver with her desire for him. Couldn’t he
wait until she got Richie to bed?
He was
kissing her deeply when they heard a deliberate cough at the kitchen door. They
both looked up to see Niki, and Nick quickly stepped away from his wife. Niki
giggled, as usual pleased to see her parents so unabashedly in love. “As much as I hate to interrupt, considering
you two are so cute—“
“Cute?”
Nick asked, as if not understanding how Niki found “cute” something that would
probably freak out most teenagers.
“Like
newlyweds. Romantic,” she elaborated.
“Well,
technically, we are newlyweds,” Natalie pointed out. “What’s up, sweetie?”
Niki came
closer to speak in a whisper. “He called me again,” she said, then mouthed his
name—Dimitri—so that LaCroix and
Janette, who were in the living room, wouldn’t hear. “He’d really like to meet
you. I was thinking, since we can’t have him over, maybe we could invite him to
come out with us for lunch tomorrow?”
Natalie
looked at Nick for affirmation, and after a moment’s pause, he nodded. They had
already discussed this amongst themselves. Any further contact with Dimitri
could only take place after they had gotten to meet him face to face. “Sure.
Tell him to meet us at that nice Italian Restaurant on the Commons tomorrow at
noon.”
“Thank
you!” she said, trying to contain her excitement. She hugged them both, then
ran out of the kitchen, calling behind her, “Okay, you can go back to what you
were doing!”
Nick turned
to Natalie, ready to do just that. “I like to see her happy,” he said, his
expression content and fretful at once. “I just hope—“
“It’ll be
fine,” she told him, lacing her fingers around his neck. “Now kiss me, but save
the rest for after Richie is in bed. That wasn’t the only new thing I bought
last night.”
“Oh,
really?” he said with a lusty glint in his eyes, then
did as he was told.
Dimitri
hung up the phone with a smile on his face. Nicolette had that effect on him.
She was so much more than he had ever imagined, or hoped for. Nothing he had planned or intended would come
to pass now. For she had shown him a brighter side to an existence he had long
considered his curse. She'd made him see differently the actions of his father,
and the possibilities of a relationship with him that could hopefully be as
fulfilling as the one she shared with Nicholas De Brabant. And now she had
invited him to meet her parents, an indication that his growing
feelings for her were reciprocated. The world seemed to take on new meaning and
new possibilities.
The figure that came down the
stairs was a sobering reminder of the intentions he had abandoned. For his
vampire companion had not wavered in his obsession with revenge and the
reclaiming of what he considered to be his. Dimitri's smile faded as Steven stared at
him intently, clearly aware of the conversation that had just taken place. "So, I was right. Niki couldn't help but
tell her mother about you."
"She
told both her parents,"
Dimitri pointed out, noting Steven's annoyance at his reference
to Nicholas. "and I told you they wouldn't allow
her to come over my house. They want to meet me—a family lunch at a restaurant
tomorrow on the Ithaca Commons. At noon,” he added, reminding Steven it would
be impossible for him to surprise them there.
Steven
seemed to consider this a moment, then said, “Good. Get to know them, and you
can ask for a ride back home. Invite them in to meet the friend you’re staying
with—“
“They’ll
have Richie with them,” Dimitri reminded him.
“Good. It
will save me the trouble of sending for my son,” Steven responded quickly.
“And
Nicholas,” Dimitri added.
Steven’s
face darkened. “I told you what I would do. My plans haven’t changed.”
“But mine
have,” Dimitri said boldly. “I no longer wish to be brought across. I’m
returning to my father as soon as possible—“
His words
were cut off as Steven clutched at his throat, making him gasp for air. He
could feel Steven’s cold hands constricting his airways even as he raised
Dimitri’s body up as if he were a rag doll. “Let…go!” he wheezed, his feet
dangling helplessly in the air.
Steven
threw him down carelessly on the floor, the pain excruciating as the hard wood
smacked against his temple. He raised himself dizzily. “Do you think my father
will let you get away with that?” Dimitri spat at him.
“If you end
up dead, I’ll tell your father you were attacked by some random vampire when
you were out of my sight—not an unlikely story considering what I’ve been told
vampires will do when they come across a dhampir,” Steven told him coldly. “And
even if you do as you are told, don’t expect that you’ll tell Stavros what I’ve
done when you get back to his little island. I’ll wipe your memory clean of
anything I don’t want you to remember, and tell him how you were the one who
lured me here with the information on how I could find Natalie.”
“So I’m
screwed either way,” Dimitri said grimly. “Kill me then, Steven. But I won’t
let you hurt Niki or her family.”
“They’re my family!” Steven reminded him, his
fangs bared. Dimitri flinched, thinking for sure Steven would take him up on
his challenge to kill him. But instead, Steven seemed to will himself to calm
down, knowing that he still needed the connection to Niki and her family that Dimitri
had forged.
He stepped
away, his fangs retracted. “It’s night. I need to feed. I suggest you get some
rest. Tomorrow is a big day.” With that,
he was gone.
For a long
moment Dimitri just watched the door, reaching out with his senses until he was
sure that Steven was really gone. He pulled the cell phone from his pants
pocket, knowing this would be his only chance, dialing the number he never
imagined he would.
The
familiar voice on the other end made him breath a sigh of relief.
“Father,”
he said shakily.
“Dimitri?”
Stavros’ voice was filled with relief. “Pou eisai, paidi
mou?” Where are you, my child?
Had the tenderness always been there, or was he only just now recognizing it?
“I’m in
“Dimitri,
just listen to me. By nightfall tomorrow I will be there. Play along with him
for now, and I promise, at dusk I will be there…”
“Okay,” he
said in a frightened voice. “Father, I’m sorry. Forgive me—I’ve met Nicolette.
She’s made me see things differently. I know—you just want to protect me.” He
had to take this opportunity to say it. Just in case he never got another
chance.
“And I
will, my son. Mi fovase. Don’t be afraid. In no time at all, we’ll be together again.”
“If
something happens to Nicholas---Niki will never forgive me,” he whispered.
Stavros
paused. “You like her, don’t you?” he asked knowingly.
“Yes. A lot.” Perhaps he hadn’t even realized how much until now.
“I thought
you would,” his father told him. He didn’t seem in the least surprised. “I
thought you would.”
End part 18