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 Jeanette found him immersed, once again, in a book.  How like
the old curmugeon.  "LaCroix!  Come,  put that dusty thing down.
Your new daughter is about to make her first kill!"

      "She's what?" He bit out the quiet words.  Janette could have
told him martians were landing on the roof, and he'd believe it
easier than believing Dr. Lambert was making her first kill without
his permission.

      "She's about to send a mortal to his maker, now come on!"

      So, he had heard right.  He put the book gently back on the
table.  His movements measured, exact.  "Where is she?"

      Janette's smile disappeared when she realized her sire wasn't
reacting as expected.

      The club slowly stilled around her.  Every vampiric eye in
the club was on her, seeing what LaCroix's new fledgling planned on
doing about this huge breach of the code.  Nothing like skipping the
pop quizzes and going straight for the final exam, Natalie smiled at
the scumbag in front of her.

      "Well, what are we waiting for, let's go."  She grabbed his
arm and hauled him through the exit.

      He led her straight to the caddy, big surprise there.  Boy,
was Nick going to be pissed.  "My brother gave it to me, runs like a
champ.  Do you like it?"

      "I love it, sixty-two caddy, right?  I hear they have great
trunk space." The better to hide your body with, you little creep.

      "Yeah, yeah.  Hold on a second."  He leaned over the drivers
door, and pulled out a squirt gun.  Aiming at her face, he
grinned.  "Now, we do things my way."

      A squirt gun?  "Your way huh? Or, what, you'll hose me down?"
Laughing, Natalie stalked towards him, ready to put an end to his
miserable existance.

      "It's holy water.  That's far enough, I know what this does
to your kind."  Assured by the water laden toy in his hands, he
nodded to the passenger seat of the caddy.  "Get in."

      Held at bay, by a cheap plastic toy, how humiliating.  She
coughed in disbelief.  This just could not be happening.  "Fine, have
it your way.  This is your show for the moment."  At least until you
turn your back for half a second and I break your neck, she thought
grimly.

      She climbed into the passenger seat and watched for her
opening.  There!  When his hand reached for the handle, his aim
wavered just enough. She dove, praying her vampiric speed would
assert itself.  It did, right into the steering wheel.  She felt the
metal sheer off the column, and her arm immediately went numb.

      With more than enough warning of her attack, he aim, and
fired.  The arching spray hitting her square between the eyes.  Agony
shot through her,  she was melting!  Blind and panicked, she lunged
for the sky, anywhere, to escape this.  Memories of Pompeii
resounding in her head, she screamed.

      He fired again, this time hitting her in the mouth.

Reflexively she  swallowed.  A thousand bees stung her on the way
down, eating away at the lining of her throat and stomach.

      "That is ENOUGH!" LaCroix roared, unable to watch further as
Natalie writhed in pain.  Flying into the fray faster than mortal
eyes could follow,  he disarmed the murderer and pushed the still
fighting suspect to his knees.  "You have harmed what is mine,  your
sentence is death."  Just as he turned the man's neck for the kill, a
shout interupted him.  Eyes glowing in warning, he growled.

      "No!"  Groping, blindly for the door, Natalie tried to
concentrate beyond the pain.  "He's mine."  She gasped the last out,
the poison still burning into her.  How much longer until the pain
became too much to endure?

      "Yours, Doctor?  Then come and get him."  LaCroix sounded
pissed, but damned if she'd back down now.  One precarious step after
the other, she made her way, blind,  towards the frantically beating
heart.  Stumbling to her knees, when the pain became too much, she
crawled the rest of the way.

      By now, the man had lost it, screaming for help,  begging
LaCroix for mercy.  If she wasn't in so much pain, she'd laugh at
that.

      Jamie kicked frantically at her, as she went for his throat.
Blind and unable to dodge, she felt the metal sole of his shoe
connect with her temple, and something caved.  After that, there was
no control.  She dove head first into the man neck, not caring if she
tore his head off in the process.

      Power swept through her, she inhaled the bastard, killing
him, and glad she was able to do it.  Pain still tore through her
body, but this made it worth everything.

      LaCroix said nothing, holding her victim down while she
drained him.  In truth, he was surprised.  With the injuries she had,
she shouldn't be able to do this.  Pure bullheaded stubborness had
dragged her over here at his challenge, and an iron will let her
complete it.  She should have been a Roman, he thought in admiration.

      "Natalie, stop.  He's dead."  He pulled her away from the
bite, concerned when she failed to respond.  "Natalie?"

      She stared up at him, with those charred sightless eyes, then
went into convulsions.  He held her throughout, a horrible suspicion
niggling in his mind.  She'd swallowed the holy water.  He'd had her
for three hours, and now she was going to be taken from him?

      No.  Not this time.  He shoved his fingers down her throat,
inducing the gag reflex.  She would not die.  The blood came up,
burning like acid against his hand.  Not daring to stop, he did it
again, praying he got enough of the poison out to make a difference.

      Back in control, he ripped the clothes from her body, before
the water soaked any further and did additional damage.   He rubbed
his wrist against her lips, testing to see if she retained the bite
reflex.  She did.  The agony of the holy water stained teeth made him
clench his jaw, but he forced himself endure the pain.

      Nick landed a few feet away and took in the
scene.  "Natalie?"  He squatted down next to his sire.  "Is she okay?"

      LaCroix shook his head. "No.  She is not `okay.'  Her
eyes..." He gazed down into her still open, but sightless eyes, and
flinched.  Bloodtears still flowed, pooling in the pitted and
blistered flesh.  "they're not healing."

      Nick dropped his head into his hands, swearing.

      "You know what must be done."

      "Let's try bandaging them first,  give her a little time to
heal.  If that doesn't work,"  Nick took Natalie's hand in his
own. "I'll hold her down for you."  He jumped when she squeezed it,
proving that she was still in there; somewhere.

      LaCroix pulled his wrist away and lifted her into his
arms.  "Nicholas, the mess, if you don't mind."  He kicked the dead
man with distaste, wishing his death had been longer, and a great
deal more painful.  Slowly roasting alive on a chicked rotisserie,
came to mind.
 

 End Chapter 10a