Light and Dar

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I made this one a bit longer and have typed most of the next one as well so it won't be so long between submission. Thanks again for the comments and if you have any suggestions, hit me with those too! :-)

*****

I remember being lowered to a bed and hearing voices. Dreaming, I must be dreaming. I tried to focus on them. One of the voices was Nicklas, "This is going to have to be dealt with soon. I had absolutely no power over them."

His voice sounded slightly muffled, then the other voice chimed in and I recognized it as Charles. "She let you feed on her?"

Nicklas answered him. "Yes."

Charles continued, "This has to change things for you. Mona is going to be upset."

Nicklas laughed, "She has known how I felt about Alexis since the beginning. She will respect my wishes."

Charles voice was softer this time; "A Master has never chosen a mortal over another clan member. I am worried about the consequences to the clan. You remembered what happened when they found out you were dating her? Mona would have helped to strengthen you, does Alexis have enough power to stand next to you?"

There was a long pause, and then Nicklas answered. "A union with Mona and I would have been enough, but with Alexis it is different. She has so much power that she doesn't use. When she is around I actually feel weak. I don't feel that around the other Masters. You have to feel her power too."

Charles laughed this time, "Of course I do. She could have ripped Mona's throat out earlier and it wouldn't have surprised me. I was, however, surprised that you let it carry on as far as it did."

Charles was getting bolder, but Nicklas didn't mind. "I was curious. I wanted to know what she would do."

Charles voice was a little bolder this time, "I really think you should reconsider choosing her. The other Masters won't agree, plus the Council..."

"I've already made my decision. I am the Master of this continent and I will chose my own mate." His voice had lowered and was rumbling the whole room.

Charles voice showed his scolding. "Do you think she will agree?"

Again Nicklas paused before he spoke, "I don't know. I've been trying to read her for the past couple of months, but I can't get past her turmoil. Something has been bothering her and it is blocking me out."

Charles laughed, "Have you thought of the consequences for her? The other side won't sit back and let one of their own join with a Master? I am worried that you are clinging to her humanity for some way to reconstitute yours and it is going to be our downfall!"

Nicklas was quick to respond, "I will respect what ever decision Alexis makes. She will not take it lightly and I know she will turn to her coven."

Charles had been scolded again and his voice showed it, "I will return to the house and call for a meeting tomorrow night." He paused and then continued, "Will you be telling anyone of your decision?"

Nicklas answered right away, "No. Not yet. We have a few months till the Sabbath. Have the clan leaders bring their two strongest men tomorrow. If Alexis doesn't figure out how to defeat these things, we are going to need all the strength we can get. As an addition, send out invitations to the Demon, lycanthrope and warlock leaders. I am sure they've felt what is going on and it affects them also. See if they have anything to add."

"As you wish. Will you be back tonight?" Charles was ready to leave.

"No. I am going to watch her. I've never taken that much blood from a human before with out killing them. I don't know what is going to happen."

Charles spoke one last time, "If she is as strong as you think, she will find her way back. Let me know if you want anything else."

The voices stopped and I felt like I was falling into a void. I had used almost all of the strength I had left into listening to them. I still wasn't sure if I was making them up, but I was happy that he chosen me over Mona. What the hell was I talking about? We weren't together anymore. Plus from the way it sounded he was after my power... or something like that. Damn you Freud, had to be a dream. So tired. I couldn't let myself slip into the void. I concentrated on the room I was in and I pulled myself out of the void and opened my eyes. I was in my room and in my bed. So groggy... and there was a burning sensation in my neck. I put my hand to my neck and found a thin scab forming.

All of a sudden I remembered why the scar was there. I sat up as fast as I could and instantly regretted it. The rush to my head made me feel nauseous and I thought I was going to pass out again.

"Whoa there." Nicklas's arms were on mine. I looked up. His eyes were there. Blue perfection.

I smiled. "You're okay." I wanted to hug him, but I couldn't move. I fell forward into his arms. This would do.

He held me to him. "You need to rest. You'll get your strength back."

I couldn't sleep right now. I needed to do more research and try a different potion. "I need to..." Yeah, my body wasn't going to let me do anything other than sleep. He laid me back down on the bed and pulled the covers up. He went to stand.

"Nicklas?"

He sat back beside me. "Yeah?" I pulled my hand out from under the covers and held his. "Please stay."

He smiled, "I will." He was going to sit in my chair and watch me and that wasn't what I wanted. I figure since I was near unconsciousness I could at least have him in the same bed as me. What am I thinking? I squeezed his hand, "Will you lie with me?"

He almost smiled again, but tried to keep his face serious and it wasn't working. I took a breath and just blurted it out, "Just get in the damn bed with me."

He laughed as he stood and took off his jacket, boots and climbed into bed. Did I take a blow to the head as well? What was going on with me? He lay on his back and I rolled over, put my arm over his chest and pulled myself to him as he wrapped one of his arms over my shoulder blades and put his other hand on top of mine on his chest. I felt his power wrap me in warmth and I laid my head on his chest. God I missed this.

Well this was defiantly not good. I could feel myself getting comfortable with him again. Although I did save him when I could have let him die. That was defiantly a lie, I did still care for him, a lot, and maybe in saving him I was trying to see if we could be together. Right. I felt like I was going to burst. Somewhere in the rambling voices of my head had to be the one I wanted to hear, but I couldn't. Oh well.

He sighed and spoke, very slowly and low. "Alexis, I am very grateful for what you did. I want you to know that I am in your debt."

I was half unconscious now, but still was able to find my voice. "You don't owe me anything." I curled into his chest, held him tighter and let myself bask in his scent, his warmth. Well that was odd.

He was stroking my hair. "You will be back to normal in the morning." His voice was light and I realized that I was slipping into sleep. Normal. Right. Normal is such a funny word, if I was back to normal in the morning, he wouldn't be there. I closed my eyes and let the darkness wash over me.

I woke to the sounds of laughter floating through my house. I sat up slowly and looked around. Nicklas's warmth was still here. I loved when he did this. When we had been together before and I would wake up with out him in the bed with me, he would let his warmth remain here. It was hard to explain how, but it was like he was still here. I hugged myself and let his strength fill me. I felt completely recharged. I listened for the laughter and heard it coming from the kitchen. Mrs. Cooper was here and it sounded like she and Nicklas were bonding downstairs. Great, he was going to make friends with my house keeper. That would definitely make it harder for me to kick him out. She had only met Nicklas on one other occasion about seven months ago. I was surprised she had warmed up to him already. I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and stood. The scar. I put my hand to my neck and walked to a mirror on the far wall. There wasn't a scar, not even a red line. Good!

A small flashing red light caught my eye. My cell phone had a voice mail. I walked over to my nightstand, picked it up and checked the messages. Three in all and they were all from Madison. She wanted to know how the night went. Boy would the night have been a disappointment for her. I called her back.

"SO! What happened?"

I walked into my closet. In my dresser, picked out a stretchy cotton nightgown, consisting of dark green pants and a matching tank top. "Not much really. We argued, then I got a vision and almost died, then he almost died but I think that I grounded the elements."

There was a long pause on her end so I changed quickly and then assessed my hair. Poofy. I brushed it quickly and twisted it into a knot at the back of my head.

"How did you guys almost die?"

I laughed. "Well I was stabbed in the abdomen and Nicklas was set on fire."

She sounded worried when she continued, "Are you okay?"

I looked at myself in the mirror, decently presentable. "Yeah I healed myself." I pulled up my shirt to expose my abdomen, no scar.

She jumped right back in, "Is he okay?"

Ah the moment of truth. Do I tell her I let him drink from me or not. "He is. I had to let him drink from me though."

She took a deep breath and I knew that I had made the right decision in telling her. I told her everything, so what would make me think differently?

"This has to change things for the both of you."

I shook my head at the thought. "I know. I just don't know how it will. I do have feelings for him, but you know what goes on in my head. All of this rambling and I...I just don't know."

She laughed. "Well I'm sure the both of you will be able to tell how you want to handle it."

"Yeah I suppose we will."

"OH! I almost forgot!" When she yelled it into the phone I was sure she blew out my eardrums. "I have a book for you. It is an, well it is a history book. But I think you might find its contents pertain to your current demon troubles."

I was instantly interested. "Really? What is it?"

"I'm not quite sure, but we received it this morning in part of a shipment for our Etruscan collection." She was very excited about her find. As well she should be. Working at the Portland Natural History Museum has been a great catch for her. She loved it and they loved her. Plus I benefited from time to time with these little finds. "Do you want me to bring it over?" She was really excited about this.

"Sure! How about around four or five?" I should be alone by then.

"Great I'll bring it over as soon as I get off! See you then!" She hung up with out waiting for my salutation.

I put my cell phone back on the nightstand, left my room and headed down the backstairs leading to the kitchen. I paused at the landing and sat atop the remaining six stairs. Nicklas and Mrs. Cooper were standing in front of the stove. He had changed and was now wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He must have gone home again, which means he talked to Charles again. I don't know why he irritated me, but he always seemed to have ulterior motives. My attention went back to Nicklas; he had pulled only the top of his lightly curly hair back, leaving the rest to fall down his back. His tucked in t-shirt was dark blue and it was just clingy enough for him. His belt, black leather with a silver buckle fit nicely with the light denim jeans. He was a very attractive man, even when he wasn't trying. I smiled and brought my knees to my chest. He was so engrossed in what Mrs. Cooper was saying that neither of them noticed my watching them from this perch. He pulled a pan of potatoes out of the oven and she tossed them with some seasonings and he put them back in.

"Now the perfect scrambled eggs." Mrs. Cooper headed toward the refrigerator and came back with her choice of ingredients: eggs, cream, a few mushrooms, a bunch of spinach and an onion. "Mr. McManus, if you wouldn't mind chopping these very finely." She handed him the mushrooms.

"Certainly Mrs. Cooper." He took the mushrooms and placed them on the cutting board and started to chop.

I almost exploded laughing. They were both trying to be so proper with one another.

"The secrets to these eggs are in the size of the cut of vegetables. It must be very fine. So it will melt into the eggs." She was working on the onion.

When they were finished with their respective vegetables she motioned for him to toss them into a huge wok she had started to heat on the stove.

"Just toss them into the wok with a little olive oil."

He scraped the mushrooms into the wok and swirled a little olive oil in. She followed with her onions and she grabbed a wooden spoon from a drawer. She stirred for a moment and then covered the wok with a glass lid.

"Now let's move onto the spinach. It needs to be chiffonade." She started stacking the leaves of spinach on top of themselves and rolled them like a cigar. She showed him how to cut them producing little strips of spinach in uniform size. He was really enjoying this lesson. I could see the light in his eyes and the smile that had graced his face was very enjoyable. I missed seeing him happy.

She motioned for him to get the eggs. "Now there are two of you eating, so you will need to crack four eggs." She handed him a bowl and he started on the eggs. She grabbed the cream and put a splash into the eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper and handed Nicklas a whisk. He whisked the eggs together and handed her the bowl. She removed the glass lid from the wok and stirred the vegetables. "If you would kindly see if Miss Dominick would be joining us soon."

Nicklas turned toward the stairs and saw me sitting there. Busted. I smiled at him and he smiled back. "I believe she has already joined us."

He laughed as I stood and finished descending the final stairs. "Good morning Mrs. Cooper."

She looked up at me. "Good morning dear. Would you care for coffee or tea this morning?"

"Tea would be wonderful." I stood in front of the island where their little class was being held.

"Mr. McManus, if you would escort her to the dining room I believe breakfast will be out shortly."

He hopped to and walked around the island toward me, motioning for me to walk toward the dining room door. He came up behind me and put one of his hands over my eyes. "Close your eyes."

I did as I was told and he led me through the door.

"Okay."

I opened my eyes. The dining room table had been set for two and adorned with lilies and daffodils. It was such a beautiful arrangement of whites and yellows. He had always been romantic and I loved it. "It's just lovely."

He turned me to face him, keeping his hands on my waist. He had something to say and I could feel it."Good morning." That was not it at all. His voice was low and sexy and it was focused on me and if 'good morning' was all he was going to give me, that was all I would give him.

"Good morning Nicklas."

He leaned in and kissed me, soft and gently. Well this was better than a 'good morning' but I was feeling very confused as I melted in his arms and grabbed onto him to keep myself up. He hadn't kissed me in almost a month and this was almost like my body was remembering how good it was. His kiss was both strong and soft and with just his lips I swear he claimed my soul. This was no good. I couldn't think clearly around him. I wanted to tell him about the book that Madison had found, but I had nothing.

He pulled back slowly, "How do you feel?" He took my hand a led me to one of the place settings as he waited for me to answer.

"I feel wonderful, thank you."

I sat, he pushed in my bench and then sat next to me at the head of the table. He took my hands in his. He was about to speak, when Mrs. Cooper came through the door with breakfast. "All right. Here you two go."

She was carrying a large tray that contained two plates, already dished up, a teapot and an assortment of loose-leaf teas. She walked around the table and sat the tray down across from us. She placed one plate in front of each of us and then placed the teapot in front of me. I reached over and grabbed one of the teas off of the tray and slid it in the pot. It was a beautiful blend that left a sweet taste on the palette. I picked it up the last time I was in India.

"Now you two enjoy! Don't be afraid to leave the dishes when you're finished. I'll be around to get them later." She paused by the door.

"Thank you Mrs. Cooper." I smiled at her and she headed out the door.

I looked over at Nicklas. "So she taught you how to make scrambled eggs."

He looked up at me, "Do you think it is a skill I should not possess?"

He started to smile and I started to laugh. We ate slowly, each of us savoring the breakfast for our own reasons. I suddenly had a strong assurance that everything was going to be okay. I smiled and continued to eat my eggs. I had spoken too soon. A chill ran down my spine. Another vision. Why did they always have to happen when I was with Nicklas? I felt the fire start in my feet and run up my body. This one was going to be painful. I grabbed the table. Nicklas was already at my side. Oh god, I felt like I was on fire. I looked down at my hands. They were glowing red.

"Get back!" I shoved him off to my left just in time. My whole body was encased in flames and I was lifted into the air as the vision started to flash in front of me. I could feel the cold air around me and hear voices in the distance. I wasn't sure were I was, but it was a time long past. There were little huts off to my right. I turned and started to walk toward the village. A small child walked up to me and tugged at my clothes. I looked down and found myself clad in animal skins, my arms covered with metal bands and my hands were painted red. Well this was getting interesting and the Powers that Be better be putting me back in my pajamas, those were my favorite pair.

The child spoke, " Have you come to help us?"

I knelt in front of her. "What is it that you need my help with?"

The child started to cry. "They are abusing their powers. They are killing all of us." She paused for a second as if she were contemplating how bad it really was and then the flood gates opened and she started to sob, "I can't find my mommy!"

I picked up the little one and held her to me. "Shh. It will be okay. I will help you find her."

I started to walk toward the huts I had noticed just a bit earlier. Even before we reached the first hut, I could smell the stench. Burning flesh. I tried to hold my gag back but that smell just sunk into my nose and then my soul. I wanted to run, run as far away as I could and take this child with me but try as I might, I couldn't turn. I couldn't deviate from the path I was on. We reached the huts and as the smoke billowed around them all I found myself transfixed on the huts themselves. As I looked closer the huts were covered in what I was assuming was blood. Why all of the death and destruction?

The child pointed to a clearing. "That is where they came from! They..."

I looked to the child, but there was no one in my arms. Looking around for her I found the huts were gone and I was in the clearing. Two large stone pillars rose to either side of me, covered in a lite moss and gouged with carvings. I walked over to the one on the left where I could read the symbols. "Here lie the watchtowers of the elements. In the night we banished them here." How I knew what it said, not one clue but the words had come out of my mouth regardless.

I walked over to the other pillar and found a Wiccan protection spell carved on this one. "Lord and Lady we return to you, that which was made of you. Only in light and dark combined may they be banished. This is our will so mote it be!" An odd spell and one that I wasn't at all familiar with, which meant I should probably talk to Barbara again.