Standing only a few blocks from Covent Garden, Ryuu watched the blaze. He already knew his small coven was dead. They had brought it on themselves, it was true, but that did not make the beast within himself accept it. They were still his family and he had warned 'Le Coeur Noir' not to cross him ages ago. Stoically he watched as the smoke billowed towards the sky as he silently vowed to himself. Since 'The Dark Heart' had destroyed his family, so too would he eradicate him and his. An eye for an eye.
Arriving at the docks, Erik found himself at a loss as to which way he should go. He had no idea what ship Aidan was on. Was she still at the dock or had she already sailed out to sea? Dawn was only a few hours away so he didn't have time to search every vessel. He wanted to reach out with their telepathic bond and touch her so he would know where she was and where she was going, but he couldn't. In his frustration he pondered how easy it would be to set fire to every ship moored in the harbor and force her out of hiding, but it would only be a pointless act of destruction. Deep down inside himself he already suspected that she was no longer in port. He roared her name to the sky trying to relieve his heartache, but it was useless. He had to find her!
Movement out of the corner of his eye suddenly caught his attention and he turned to find a man staring at him. It was an older man with grey eyes, smooth bald head and salt and pepper goatee. He had no idea who this man was although something about him brought to Erik's mind the vague recollection of his own human father. That, he knew, was an impossibility and he immediately dismissed it. Believing the man to be of little importance the vampire started to turn back to the problem at hand, but suddenly he realized that he had seen the man before. He was the hunter Aidan had met at the church. He knew that face from when he had shared her thoughts.
"Where is she?" The vampire growled, taking a leap at the hunter. Alex immediately brandished a cross stopping Erik in his tracks and forcing him back with a hiss. "Your trinket won't hold me back forever."
"No, but I have other means at my disposal that will end you here and now if you continue to behave like an animal."
"You steal from me then call me an animal." He wanted to tear the old man's head off both for his audacity and his unwanted interference.
"I stole nothing. If Aidan has left you, then it is of her own free will and because she wanted to." Not convinced, Erik started to come at him again, but this time Alex brandished a vial of holy water and splashed the vampire with it. The liquid seared the skin on 'Le Coeur Noir's' face causing him to cry out and back down. He put his hands over the melted skin, but never took his eyes off the hunter. Alex never flinched and instead crossed his wrists and leaned back against the wall, the vial still in his hand at the ready. "Now we can fight or talk as men. Which do you prefer?"
"Why?!" Erik demanded. "Why did she leave?"
"Her reasons are hers alone and she can tell them to you on the day when the two of you meet again." He had chosen his words carefully, opting for 'when' rather than 'if' because something told him that the two could no more stay apart forever, then you could make a fish breathe air. Their souls were too tightly bound to each other.
This was not a satisfactory answer to the vampire and he gave a low snarl and took a step forward, Certain that he had gotten his point across Alex swept his coat back and slipped the bottle of holy water back into his pocket. As the hunter's waistcoat came into view so too did his watch chain and the ancient bracelet hanging from it. Erik's eyes returned to their normal grey color as he stared at the bracelet. He recognized the shape and stone and even from where he stood he could see the symbol of life that was carved into it. It was the piece of jewelry he had bought for Athanasia. All this time he had assumed that it had been stolen or that she had been buried with it.
"That bracelet," he began , pointing at the piece hanging from the watch chain. "How did you come by that?"
Alex looked down at the bauble then back at the vampire. How could he possibly know anything about this one piece of insignificant ancient jewelry? Erik stared at the aged hunter and thought again how this man's face had made him recall his own father's. The idea was impossible. Erastos was dead and probably had been since that attack on the road. This man probably came across the piece by chance in an antiquities market or stole it from a museum somewhere.
"This?" The hunter traced the gold circle with his finger. "This was found on me as a baby when I was discovered by my adopted parents. According to my mother I was chewing on it. I carry it now as a good luck piece." The vampire shook his head softly in disbelief. Whatever he was contemplating, wasn't true. This man was not his lost son and he could prove it with a singular question.
"Where and when were you born?"
"I couldn't tell you the year or the exact location, but I was raised in a small village not far from Delphi Greece more than two thousand years ago." Alex answered, not at all certain why 'Le Coeur Noir' would be interested in such trivial details. Erik could only stand there, his eyes wide in disbelief. He tried to speak but nothing came out. What could he say? A moment ago he had been ready to kill this man without even a moment's hesitation. This man who was quite possibly his own son. He stepped backward overcome by his emotions.
