******************************************

"No!"  Natalie rushed forward, but LaCroix was
faster.  He bit down, killing the woman in seconds.  She
stopped, glaring at him in disbelief.  "Oh my god, why?"

He let her body drop to the pavement.  "Because, this
is what we are!  The sooner you learn that, the better.
Nicholas, you were told to guard her, you failed.  Clean up
the mess, then meet us in Florence.  Natalie, come."

"I...no."  She backed away from the body, from her
creator, and from her friend.  "No."  Shaking her head, she
turned and ran, straight into LaCroix's waiting arms.  She
beat her fists against his chest.

"You killed her!"

"Mortals die!  Hold still, damn you."  He moved just
in time to avoid a knee shot to his groin.

"No!"

"You owe me forty years, Doctor.  Cease, or I'll kill
you myself."

"Do it, Nat."  Nick didn't lift his gaze from the body
on the ground.

She glared at him as well.  "How can you let him do
this, Nick?"

He didn't answer, instead he turned away to do his
master's bidding.

LaCroix tilted her head aside, holding it there with
bruising force.  "What will it be, Doctor?  Obedience, or
death?"

She'd never seen him this angry, not even with Jamie.
It terrified and infuriated her.

"Answer me!"

She stilled her struggles, fighting back the tears of
defeat.  "Why?  Why did you kill her?  Don't tell me it's
because it's who you are.  Was it to punish me?   To punish
Nick?  Why?!"

"She is nothing, a petty criminal...a mortal.  She is
dinner!"

"No!  I refuse to believe that.  You have bottled at
home, that is dinner.  No, this is revenge."  Natalie replied.
"You couldn't have Miller, so you took her instead."

LaCroix loosed his hold on her neck, thrusting her
away.  "You knew we killed when you made your choice.
Don't plead innocence now, Doctor."

"Nick hasn't killed in a century."

"Is that what he told you?  And you believed him?
Ha!  Oh no, Natalie, let me tell you about what an angel your
dear Nicholas has been this century.  In Vietnam he lost
control, killing twenty, half of them american soldiers.  One
night in Paris, we enjoyed the comforts of three prostitutes.
I'm afraid the petit morte overtook us all.  At last count,
he's killed about thirty, and those are just the ones I was
there for.  So, don't let this paragon of virtue fool you."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Nat, she had a gun."  Nick held up the .38 with a
homemade silencer.  "It's been fired recently.  For once, I
think LaCroix may be in the clear."

"What?"  Natalie asked.

"You'll find the bullet beside the charming officer
Vetter, buried in the upholstery.  Now, may I suggest we
leave before the rest of your coworkers come out to
investigate?"
 
"Wait, why was she carrying a gun?"  She was still
suspicious.

"She wanted to shoot something?" LaCroix asked.

Natalie glared at him,  "Really, ya think so?  Give the
man a prize."

He frowned at that, his humor gone.  "She mugged a
person in the alley.  Quite the criminal if you ask me.  But,
what does it matter?  She's dead, and we need to leave."

Nick nodded to them, letting them know he'd handle
it from here.  "I'll meet you in Italy.  This shouldn't
take long, Vetter will confirm your story when she snaps
out of it. Go."
 

LaCroix flew them to the Raven.  She wished she had
the strength to fly on her own, but her stamina lasted a few
blocks at most.

"I owe you an apology."  She pushed her clothes into
the suitcase he set out on the bed.

"Do go on."

Oh, he couldn't make this easy, could he?  She fumed.
"I'm sorry."

"For what?  For disobeying me?  For questioning me?
Or maybe for aiming at my genitalia?"

She huffed.  "Uh, more the last one.  I thought...
anyway I was wrong. It doesn't matter."

"I know what you thought, Natalie.  You made it
quite clear.  Do you really think me so stupid?  Killing right
in front of a police officer, with another hundred of them
meters away?  No, don't bother answering, I can see it in
your eyes."  LaCroix pulled his suits from the closet, folding
them into his own luggage.  "You have much to learn.  The
trip to Rome will help."

She stopped folding, watching his abrupt movements.
"I am sorry, Lucien."

"Yes, amans.  I know."   He straightened, looking
down at her.  "But, what happens next time your morals are
offended?"

An hour ago, he'd wiped a woman's dying blood from
those full lips, licking off the last drops.  He loomed over
her, the white blond hair and equally beautiful skin, gave no
indication of his recent deeds.  Meeting his pale eyes, she
didn't have an answer.  "I don't know."

"When Nicholas came across, he was a soldier, used
to taking orders from his superiors.  With Janette, as a
woman of the dark ages, she trained from early to childhood
to do as she was told.  Both of their lives depended on swift
obedience.  But, what about you?"  He traced her lips,
watching them part under his touch.  "You, who have never
felt the sting of a whip, or watched a legion cut down
because they chose not to follow the general's orders,
plunging head first into an enemy camp.  You've lived
through no wars, no major turmoil,  how can you have any
idea about the necessity of instant obedience?"

He carressed her hair, rubbing the silken strands
between his thumb and index finger.  "So soft.  Your
training starts in Rome, prepare yourself, mon fils."

A horrible suspicion wormed its way into her mind.
He wouldn't.  Okay, maybe he would.  He'd beaten Nick
often enough, why not her?  Good one, Nat, you blew it this
time.  She backed away from him, bumping into the bed with
her thighs.  "Oh no, I don't think so.  If you think I'll
let you beat me, you've lost your mind."

"Beat you?  Ha!  Is that what you think?  No, dear, if I
wished to crush your spirit, I wouldn't bother taking you to
my home.  No, you will read, you will work, and you will
observe.  That is all you will do.   If you refuse, THEN you
will starve."

"You owe me, Natalie.  Do you deny it?  I've given
you the greatest gift, life.  What is a few years when you
have eternity?  Don't refuse me."

Lovely.  She understood him well enough, med school
all over again.  Only this time, more than her grade or career
would be at stake.  She knew when she came across that
he'd be teaching her.  Honestly, she dreamed of sitting at his
knee while he told her of ancient history.

"I won't."

"Good.  While I am your teacher, you will not share
my bed.  So learn quickly, I am not a patient man."  LaCroix
pushed her backwards onto the comforter.

The bed dimpled under his braced arms, his weight
suspended centimeters above her.  The look on his face
contradicted his words.  Sex lurked below those pools of
gold.  He nuzzled her neck, growling low in his throat.

"I thought you said..." The arguement forgotten, she
arched into him.

"Mmm."  He rolled over next to her. "We're not in
Rome yet."
 

End Valentine's Lair
****2001-2002****

      I hope you enjoyed the journey, long though it was.
Thanks everyone for you gracious feedback, trust me when I
say I couldn't do it without you!  After bootcamp I'll write
more stories, and I promise to finish febris.