The Things of Nightmares Part 4
Title: The Things of Nightmares
Chapter: Part 4 of 5
Status: Completed
Author: Marie Wynn
Rated: PG 13 for violence, some language, and sexual innuendos
Pairing: Some Vicki/Henry moments
Summary: All around town, people are falling victim to their worst nightmares, and after experiencing their own, it's up to the team at Nelson Investigation to find-and stop-whatever is causing them. Is it a demon? Is it magic? Or is this completely new territory? More importantly, just because they don't dream, does that mean vampires don't have nightmares?
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Lifetime Series Blood Ties, the Blood Books by Tanya Huff, or unfortunately Kyle Schmid. No copyright infringement is intended, and this story is for entertainment purposes only.
Spoiler Alert: Storyline mentions or hints for everything from the premiere to Wrapped, so if you haven't watched, beware!
Coreen browsed through books as she waited on Dr. Sagara to arrive. To her chagrin, nothing looked remotely interesting to her, and she found herself very quickly bored. She tossed the book aside and plopped down on the couch, picking up the entertainment magazine they lay on the stand next to her.
After a few moments, Dr. Sagara finally arrived, struggling with a mound of new books from her private collection at home in her arms. "Coreen, dear, could you give me a hand with these? I think I might have found our culprit."
Coreen jumped to her feet and removed some of the books from Dr. Sagara's arms, who was now giving her a puzzling look.
"What?"
"Nothing...nothing," Dr. Sagara immediately answered. "It's just...well, you've certainly changed since the last time I saw you," she noted as she looked Coreen up and down.
Coreen merely shrugged and bounced back to the couch. "If you say so."
"Perhaps we'd better call Henry," Dr. Sagara suggested as she eyed Coreen with wonder.
"You think he'll come here? Oh my god, how's my hair?"
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After finding that the young girl's blood trail ended at the freshly disturbed grave, Henry decided it would be safe to return to Vicki's office. They changed direction after receiving a phone call from a very concerned Dr. Sagara, who refused to let them speak to Coreen.
Vicki rushed into the office, her fears building into panic on the way there. "Coreen?"
Coreen jumped to her feet. "What's up?"
Vicki's eyes grew wide, and Henry and Mike both stopped dead in their tracks as they eyed the gothette.
"Coreen," Vicki began gently, "What on earth are you wearing?"
"What, this?" Coreen pulled at the khaki pants, with pink butterflies embroidered up the side to match her pink and white blouse. "Just something I had lying around."
"You stopped to change your clothes on the way here?" Henry asked incredulously.
"Well, yea. Isn't a girl entitled to a wardrobe change every now and then?" She stood up and twisted her hair playfully around her finger as she approached Henry. "You don't like it?"
Henry's eyes ran up and down Coreen in her new makeover, still trying to take it all in. "No...the uh, the pink brings out your...something. Maybe you should sit down."
"Are you feeling alright, Coreen?" Mike asked.
"Yuppers, totally fine."
Vicki turned to Dr. Sagara. "Please tell me you found something. A perky goth is bad enough, but this" she gestured to the sorority version of Coreen, "is freaking me out."
Dr. Sagara nodded, watching in amazement as Coreen continued to try to cuddle up to Henry, and he attempted to paw her off as politely as possible.
"Bettie?" He asked after her pause.
Dr. Sagara shook her head. "Sorry, it's all very...disturbing. I think our culprit is the nightmare."
"Well, yea, we got that already," Mike interjected.
"No my dear, the actual Night Mare. It's a mythological creature, sometimes a demon, sometimes referred to as the Alp, or elf. It was said to creep into people's homes through cracks or wholes, lay on top of them as they sleep, and cause them to dream horrible things. In some versions, it drinks their blood, in others it chokes them. Usually the victim feels a weight upon them, and feels as though they can't breathe-"
"Like with an incubus," Vicki added.
"Yes, very similar to the incubus. Only there is usually nothing sexual in the nature of this creature's attacks."
"So this thing attacks you while you sleep?" Mike asked.
"According to the legends, yes."
"There's the problem though," Vicki began pacing. "This thing is attacking us while we're awake. I mean, Mike was very much so awake when his happened. And Coreen is definitely awake right now."
"I rather wish she weren't," Henry noted as he continued to try to fend her off. "How can we stop her? I mean, this?"
"Why don't you just make her stop, Henry? Don't let the poor girl suffer anymore embarrassment." Dr. Sagara shook her head in pity for Coreen.
"I can't," Henry explained. "My powers of persuasion don't work on anyone already under the influence of this thing."
"How did you snap me out of it?" Mike asked.
"I hit you," Vicki responded simply. When no one objected, she shrugged. "It's worth a shot."
Henry turned Coreen to face Vicki, who grinned with a bounce. "Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?"
Vicki shook her head. "You're gonna thank me for this later." With a sigh, Vicki swung, allowing her fist to connect with Coreen's face. Coreen slumped momentarily in Henry's arms, then shook her head as she awoke, looking around.
"Why's everyone looking at me like that?"
"She seems back to normal," Henry said as he helped her straighten.
"Why wouldn't I be-" Coreen turned to face him, but stopped as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror hanging by Dr. Sagara's door, then let out a shrill scream.
"It's okay, Coreen. Apparently this was your nightmare." Vicki explained as she shook her head in amusement.
"And it's still going on!" Coreen noticed their amusement and sat up, anger seething. "There is nothing funny about this situation!"
Vicki couldn't help but laugh. "Coreen, my nightmare was that I was blind. Mike's was...whatever it was. That guy thought he was burning alive, the girl killed by zombies....and you're horrified because you're wearing pink."
Coreen eyed the four others in the room. "Okay you have a point, but there's more to mine than just a wardrobe change."
"It's about losing who you are," Henry added for her. "I understand. Now, Bettie, how are we supposed to stop this Night Mare demon, or Alp?"
"There are tales of trapping it as it sneaks into your home, nailing it to the floor before it can reach your bed."
"But again, this thing is getting to us while we are awake." Vicki shoved her hands in her pocket, trying to make sense of it all. "Maybe we're missing something."
"Maybe it just plants the nightmares while we're asleep. Uses that time when we're most vulnerable and unsuspecting to get into our heads," Coreen offered.
Vicki nodded. "Coreen, I think you just redeemed yourself for that outfit. So now we need to find a way to lure it to one of us."
"That might not be necessary," Henry stated. "This thing can apparently reach more than one target at a time. If it is getting to people while they sleep, then it would make sense that their nightmares are realized after they awake that day."
Mike nodded, "Which means it was able to get to Vicki, the zombie victim, and the firefighter at the same time the night before last, and Coreen and myself last night."
"I wonder if it's setting a trend..." Vicki crossed the room to look out the window. "I mean, the thing gave myself and the firefighter a pretty vivid vision of our nightmare, but that girl got the real deal."
"Do you think someone else might be getting the real live version tonight?" Henry inquired.
Mike jumped as his phone vibrated. He eyed the message then sighed. "I think someone already did."
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Mike arrived at the crime scene shortly after Kate, being that Dave was out of town. "What have we got here?"
"Male, mid forties, no identification, no signs of struggle," Kate explained as she peeled off her gloves.
"Cause of death?"
"It looks to be suffocation, but whoever did it was good. No signs of strangulation, no bruising of the mouth. Medical examiner is gonna have to go over this one with a microscope."
Mike leaned down to take a better look at the body, which was drenched. "Could he of drowned?"
"He's wet enough to have been in water, but there's no sign that the body was moved at all. No dragging marks, no tire marks. And as you can see," Kate gestured around the backyard where the man's body lay, "No water deep enough for him to drown in."
"Huh..." Usually Mike would dismiss drowning just as Kate was, but as of late he had been more and more accepting of the new world he had found himself in.
"That's gotta be a horrible way to die," Kate said as she shook her head.
"Yup, it's the stuff of nightmares," Mike concurred with a sigh.
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"That was Mike," Vicki said as she lowered the phone to the receiver. "Looks like the guy drowned."
"Nothing odd about that," Henry noted.
"There is if there's no body of water to drown in, and no sign of the body being moved."
Henry nodded, then opened his pocket watch. "I've got to go." He walked up to Vicki and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Maybe you should come stay at my place, until we figure this out."
"Henry, if this thing wants to get to me, it's going to find me there too."
"Maybe, maybe not. It could feel threatened by my presence. If it's a demon, it should be able to sense me."
"I'll be fine, Henry. We have to find this thing, whatever it is. And I can't do that from your place." She smiled up at him. "I promise I'll think happy thoughts before I go to sleep."
A familiar gleam filled Henry's eyes as he moved closer. "I could help you with that, too, you know."
"Yea, I bet you could." His unrelenting advances always made her smile. It brought a sense of normalcy to their current situation, chased away her fears of what was to come.
"Vicki, I'm serious. The things you've seen, the things that are attracted to you because of these marks...the nightmares of others can't compare to yours, after all you've been through."
Vicki knew he had a point, but she couldn't cave in. Running and hiding were never her style. "The only thing I can do is promise that we won't make a move until you're here."
"As many times as you've made that promise before, you expect it to comfort me now?"
Vicki shrugged. "Worth a shot. Look, Henry. You know how I work. I can't just hide until this is over. I have to find it."
Henry nodded solemnly. "It was worth a shot, as you say. I'll be here as soon as I wake." With that, he kissed her forehead and was gone.
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Vicki spent the day surfing the net, trying to find some answers to all the gaps in this demon's story. She lowered her head in frustration to the desk and tried to figure out what they were missing. She woke up hours later, the moonlight peering in through her blinds. She stifled a yawn as she heard footsteps approaching, and turned as Henry entered the room.
"Did you find anything yet?" He asked.
"Nope," Vicki stood and stretched her now stiff neck. She stopped as she noticed Henry watching her with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he responded, moving closer.
There was something in his look and the way he moved that made Vicki shift uncomfortably. She could feel her heart speed up, and noticed the hunger that flared in his eyes as a result of it. "Henry, when was the last time you fed?"
"It's been days," he replied calmly as he traced the vein in her neck with his finger.
"Maybe you should go do that."
"Or maybe I should eat in tonight."
Vicki shook her head. His timing was usually not this poor. "I don't think so, Henry. I think you should come back after you've fed." He had her pinned against the desk now, sniffing her neck. "Henry-" Her words were interrupted by the feel of fangs tearing into her flesh in a not so gentle manner. "HENRY! STOP IT! Henry you're hurting me!"
He made no move of backing away through her screams, he only seemed to tear down harder.
"HENRY!" Panic was overwhelming her as she felt the blood loss start to take it's toll.
The real Henry stood holding her up with the grip he had on her shoulders, trying to shake her into consciousness. "Vicki! Vicki, I'm here! You have to wake up!" He really didn't want to have to hit her.
Vicki's hands searched frantically for the drawer in her desk where the Illuminicion De Sol still lay. She managed to open it and frantically felt for it as she felt her body growing weaker. Finally, her fingers wrapped around the cool metal. Without hesitating she slammed it into his chest.
Henry stumbled backwards, gasping in pain as he felt the metal points stab into his heart. He was unaware that she still had it, or as to why she used it on him.
Vicki was sobbing uncontrollably. She was sure he had taken too much blood, and was fearing for her life. She lowered herself to the ground as far away from him as she could manage. Why had he attacked her? She felt betrayed, but mostly, she felt weak. The room faded into blackness as she slumped over, finally losing consciousness.
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After knocking continuously for what felt like forever, Mike finally used his key to enter the office. She could yell at him later. "Vicki?" he called into the darkness.
"Mike..." he heard a hoarse male voice call back.
Mike readied his gun and flipped the light switch. Henry lay slumped against the opposite wall, a familiar metal object clinging to his chest. Vicki was on the opposite side of the room from Henry, slumped against the wall and covered in blood.
"Help..." Henry pleaded.
Mike rushed to Vicki's side and felt for a pulse, then turned to Henry. "What did you do to her??"
"I didn't..." He tried to explain weakly. "Her nightmare..."
Mike lifted Vicki's head and tried to wake her. "Vicki?"
Vicki stirred in his arms, trying to grasp consciousness.
"Vicki! Are you alright?" She had lost so much blood, but it seemed to be covering her rather than filling Henry. Mike took note of this, then made his way to the vampire to search for the key. Once he found it, he released him as Henry gasped. "You want to tell me what the hell happened here?" Mike demanded as the vampire rubbed his chest.
"I came in, Vicki was asleep. She woke up, we had a conversation, and then she started saying things that made no sense."
"Like what?"
Henry pulled himself up and leaned against the wall, keeping his distance from Vicki. "Like telling me to stop when I was five feet away from her. She started screaming and I grabbed her shoulders, trying to wake her up. Then she used that...that THING on me."
"You can sense her heartbeat right? Is she going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine. She didn't lose enough blood. But clearly the thing was trying to drain her."
"In the form of you," Mike added.
Henry glared at Celucci, then pushed past him, making his way towards the door as he still clung to his heart.
Mike sighed and turned. "It was a nightmare, Henry. It doesn't mean-"
"Yes it does. And that's as far as this conversation goes. You think you are the better man for the job, so I'll leave you to it, since obviously she agrees." With that, he disappeared.
Mike shook his head, trying to shake off the pity he now felt for the vampire. He lifted Vicki into his arms, and carried her into the bedroom. Her eyes fluttered open as he used a wet cloth to wipe the blood from her neck.
"Mike? What happened?"
"Looks like this demon thing tried to make you victim number 3."
"How?"
"Henry."
Vicki shot up as she remembered the events of the past few hours. "Is he-"
"He's fine, but I think you should give him some space. He was pretty....upset."
Vicki lowered her head into her hands. "You took the...the thing off of him?"
"Yes."
Vicki looked up with surprise. "Why?"
"I'm a cop, Vicki. You were covered in blood. He drinks blood. It didn't add up."
"God, I'm such an idiot!"
"Vicki, it's not your fault." Mike knew his words held little comfort for her, but he had to try.
"Not the nightmare, Mike. The Illuminicion Del Sol. I never told him I had it."
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Under Vicki's instructions, Coreen had continued her investigating with Dr. Sagara, but they were still unable to find a way to trap the Night Mare. There were several versions of the demon spread throughout various cultures, and romantic tales of men who had trapped the creature only to wake and find it was a beautiful woman that they decided to wed. So far none of the tales they had read seemed to hold much truth to them. Dr. Sagara sent Coreen to the university library to see what she could find there while she contacted other sources.
Coreen hugged her jacket closer to her as she walked to her destination. The sorts of nightmares she had weren't always so trivial as the one that had come to play, and she found herself sighing with relief. Making note of the footsteps quickening their pace behind her, she gripped the mace in her bag tighter. A hand gripped her shoulder and she swung around, aiming it at her attacker's face. She lowered it slowly, amazement and shock filling her every motion. "Ian?"
"Who else would it be?" He asked as he gently brushed the hair out of her face.
"But how-"
"Shhh..." he said as he placed a finger over her lips. "I wanna show you something." He took her hand and she felt her knees go weak over this touch. She had missed him so much. She grinned as he led her away in the opposite direction of the library.
Coreen hadn't been able to take her eyes off of him, but when she did, she recognized the building in front of them. 52 Lonagan Ave. "Ian, what are we doing here?"
"I said I want to show you something."
"I'm not so sure this is a good idea..." she protested.
He turned her to face him and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "Don't you trust me?"
"Of course, it's just that-"
Ian interrupted her by placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Then let's go."
Reluctantly, Coreen followed. It was just a coincidence that he wanted to come here. They reached the elevator and he covered her eyes coyly. "Ian-"
"It's a surprise. I promise, you are going to love it," he said as they exited the elevator onto the ninth floor. After walking a few yards and through a door, he kissed her neck. "Close your eyes."
Coreen did as he requested and allowed him to guide her further. She could feel a strong wind blowing through her hair. Perhaps he had taken her to the rooftop. He always loved stargazing with her.
"Okay," he said as he slipped behind her, one arm around her waste. "Open your eyes."
Coreen screamed at the scene lay before her. She was back at Norman Bridewell's loft, the same pentacle lit up around them, the same whirling black hole before her. "Ian! What are you doing!"
"This is where I am, Coreen. The demon took me here, and now you can come with me."
"NO!" She screamed, but it was too late as she felt the knife plunge into her abdomen.
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Vicki sat at her desk, watching the phone as if willing it to ring. It had been hours since a worrisome Dr. Sagara had called, explaining that she had sent Coreen to the library, but that she had never showed up there or returned to the office. After calling her cell phone continuously, Vicki had reluctantly made the call to Mike to see if he could help track her down. She was terrified of what he might find. She jumped as the phone rang, snatching it off the receiver. "Mike?"
"We found her, Vick."
"Is she okay? Talk to me Mike, what happened?"
"A student found her in his home, a knife wound to the abdomen. She's still in surgery now, so there's no way to know..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish with 'if the wound was fatal'.
"Oh god..."
"There's more, Vick. She was in Norman Bridewell's old apartment."
Vicki closed her eyes as she hung up the phone, unable to imagine the kind of horrors Coreen must have experienced. Anger flared through her. "I'm going to get you, you son of a bitch." She hoped the demon could hear her. She hoped it would see her statement for what it was-not a threat, but a promise.
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Vicki had left messages on Henry's cell, hoping that he would be willing to listen to them. She could understand why he was angry, but she really needed his help, and she knew he would want to be there for Coreen. She sat holding Coreen's hand, who had just come from surgery not long ago, and waited for the sun to set.
"How is she?" his voice asked from behind her.
Vicki breathed with relief at the sight of him. The pain of last night's events still lay in his eyes. "Henry..."
"How is she?" He asked again.
"Better. She still hasn't woken up, but then again they've still got her heavily medicated, and she's been through a lot."
"What happened?"
"The same thing that happened last night. Our nightmare demon tried to take another victim." Vicki turned to look at Coreen. "They found her at Norman Bridewell's place."
Henry took point on the other side of Coreen's bed, still maintaining his distance from Vicki. He watched Coreen as she slept, and leaned down to her ear. "You are peaceful," he whispered in his vampiric voice. "Your dreams are happy and light. You feel safe."
"Do you think that will work?" Vicki asked as he leaned back.
"I can only hope it brings her some solace."
"Henry, I'm sorry...I don't know what else to say."
"It was a nightmare, Vicki. You can't control the fact that you fear me." There was sadness in his eyes, and she realized quickly that it had nothing to do with the Illuminicion Del Sol.
She walked around to meet him, but he pulled away at her touch. "Henry, I don't fear you."
He met her gaze, clearly saying that he believed otherwise.
"Henry, I don't. I trust you with my life."
"As much as you trust me to take it from you."
His words stung. "That's not what my nightmare was about."
"I was there, Vicki. I saw the terror you felt. And clearly I was the cause of that terror. You needn't say more." He turned to leave.
"It was about you losing yourself." She called after him, which halted his exit. "It was about...seeing what that man did to you, you couldn't control it. And you fought so hard to try, even till the end. And you won, this time."
"I hardly see it that way. I could have killed you. I nearly killed Mike. I was a feral animal."
"You didn't kill him, Henry. You stopped. No feral animal would do that." She bit her lip, trying to put her feelings into words. "My nightmare was you losing. You losing who you really are. I don't know how else to get you to understand...."
"I'm not sure I can, Vicki. Not right now." He turned his head slightly to look at her, then left.
Vicki closed her eyes, feeling that her nightmare couldn't compare to the reality she felt now. The reality of losing Henry. She groaned as her cell phone rang from it's home in her pocket. "Nelson Investigations."
"I have some information for you," a voice whispered from the other end.
"Concerning a case?"
"Concerning the unofficial case you're working on."
Vicki straightened. "How do you know about that? Who is this?"
"Someone who...who might be responsible. I didn't mean to-"
"Didn't mean to what?" Vicki pressed.
"I need you to meet me. You need to see for yourself. There's a warehouse, just off of Hamilton, near the park. Be there in an hour."
Vicki lowered the phone after the click sounding the disconnection. She quickly dialed Henry's number, and left a message saying where she would be. Then she dialed Mike and asked him to come keep an eye on Coreen.
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Henry sighed as he ignored Vicki's call. He needed time to sort through the things he was feeling now. He had decided to take this time to hunt for the demon wreaking havoc on everyone, hoping he could some how find it's scent.
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By the time Mike got to the hospital, Coreen was awake and arguing with the doctors.
"I said I'm fine!" She protested as she tried to get up.
"Woh there, Coreen," Mike said as he tried to guide her back down to the bed. "You just took a major stab wound to the gut. It could have killed you."
"Everyone keeps saying that but here I stand. I'm pretty sure I'm not a ghost."
The doctor nodded at Mike as he left the room, silently pleading him to talk some sanity into the girl.
"Mike, I'm fine. We need to get back to the office. This thing...we've got to stop it. It nearly killed me."
"Yea, it nearly got Vicki too, and Henry in the process. If I hadn't showed up when I did, he probably would've gone up in flames."
"You saved Henry?"
"Yea," Mike huffed. "Imagine that."
"They're okay, right?"
"Yea, they're fine, all things considered."
"Then we have to help them. Which means you have to help me get out of here."
"I'm a cop, Coreen. Not a doctor. I can't tell them it's okay for you to leave."
"I know, but you are a cop. Tell them you want to take me in for a lineup, and that you'll bring me back after."
Mike pondered the idea for a moment. "You watch too many cop shows, you know that?"
"Please Mike!"
"Alright, alright. I'll try. But you better be prepared to sign out against the doctors orders otherwise."
"I'll be here for hours arguing with him, I already tried that. The lineup way is quicker."
Mike sighed and made his way to talk to the doctor.
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Vicki couldn't shake the ominous feeling the warehouse gave her. Meeting at places like this in the middle of the night were usually not a good sign. "Hello?" she called as she shone her flashlight through the entrance. "Anybody here? Anybody who like to call demons here..." She added. She could hear creaking from the floor above her. "Hello?"
She walked around the trash riddled first floor, looking for the proof her informant had promised her. Maybe he had gotten cold feet. She was yards away from the only way out by the time she smelled the smoke. "Crap," she muttered as she took notice that there were no signs of fire around her, yet plenty of noises above her. She ran for the door, but the roof caving was quicker than her, and she was knocked to the ground as the roof came down around her.
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Henry groaned with frustration as the phone vibrating in his pocket broke his concentration. It was Vicki's office. Her persistence was starting to wear on him, so he decided to answer. "Look, Vicki-"
"Henry, it's Coreen."
"Why are you calling from the office and not your hospital bed?"
"Because we have work to do. I'm taking it Vicki isn't with you?"
"No, but I can see she is starting to rub off on you. What's happened?"
"I think I found a way to trap the demon with some protection spells, but I can't get in touch with her. I've been trying her cell, but she isn't answering. Mike said she was going to some warehouse with you to meet an informant."
"Mike was misled, though I'm sure not on accident. I'll see if I can track her down and call you back." Henry hung up and quickly checked the message she had left earlier. The message he had so stupidly ignored. "Idiot," he muttered to himself as he took off after her.
Chapter: Part 4 of 5
Status: Completed
Author: Marie Wynn
Rated: PG 13 for violence, some language, and sexual innuendos
Pairing: Some Vicki/Henry moments
Summary: All around town, people are falling victim to their worst nightmares, and after experiencing their own, it's up to the team at Nelson Investigation to find-and stop-whatever is causing them. Is it a demon? Is it magic? Or is this completely new territory? More importantly, just because they don't dream, does that mean vampires don't have nightmares?
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Lifetime Series Blood Ties, the Blood Books by Tanya Huff, or unfortunately Kyle Schmid. No copyright infringement is intended, and this story is for entertainment purposes only.
Spoiler Alert: Storyline mentions or hints for everything from the premiere to Wrapped, so if you haven't watched, beware!
Coreen browsed through books as she waited on Dr. Sagara to arrive. To her chagrin, nothing looked remotely interesting to her, and she found herself very quickly bored. She tossed the book aside and plopped down on the couch, picking up the entertainment magazine they lay on the stand next to her.
After a few moments, Dr. Sagara finally arrived, struggling with a mound of new books from her private collection at home in her arms. "Coreen, dear, could you give me a hand with these? I think I might have found our culprit."
Coreen jumped to her feet and removed some of the books from Dr. Sagara's arms, who was now giving her a puzzling look.
"What?"
"Nothing...nothing," Dr. Sagara immediately answered. "It's just...well, you've certainly changed since the last time I saw you," she noted as she looked Coreen up and down.
Coreen merely shrugged and bounced back to the couch. "If you say so."
"Perhaps we'd better call Henry," Dr. Sagara suggested as she eyed Coreen with wonder.
"You think he'll come here? Oh my god, how's my hair?"
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After finding that the young girl's blood trail ended at the freshly disturbed grave, Henry decided it would be safe to return to Vicki's office. They changed direction after receiving a phone call from a very concerned Dr. Sagara, who refused to let them speak to Coreen.
Vicki rushed into the office, her fears building into panic on the way there. "Coreen?"
Coreen jumped to her feet. "What's up?"
Vicki's eyes grew wide, and Henry and Mike both stopped dead in their tracks as they eyed the gothette.
"Coreen," Vicki began gently, "What on earth are you wearing?"
"What, this?" Coreen pulled at the khaki pants, with pink butterflies embroidered up the side to match her pink and white blouse. "Just something I had lying around."
"You stopped to change your clothes on the way here?" Henry asked incredulously.
"Well, yea. Isn't a girl entitled to a wardrobe change every now and then?" She stood up and twisted her hair playfully around her finger as she approached Henry. "You don't like it?"
Henry's eyes ran up and down Coreen in her new makeover, still trying to take it all in. "No...the uh, the pink brings out your...something. Maybe you should sit down."
"Are you feeling alright, Coreen?" Mike asked.
"Yuppers, totally fine."
Vicki turned to Dr. Sagara. "Please tell me you found something. A perky goth is bad enough, but this" she gestured to the sorority version of Coreen, "is freaking me out."
Dr. Sagara nodded, watching in amazement as Coreen continued to try to cuddle up to Henry, and he attempted to paw her off as politely as possible.
"Bettie?" He asked after her pause.
Dr. Sagara shook her head. "Sorry, it's all very...disturbing. I think our culprit is the nightmare."
"Well, yea, we got that already," Mike interjected.
"No my dear, the actual Night Mare. It's a mythological creature, sometimes a demon, sometimes referred to as the Alp, or elf. It was said to creep into people's homes through cracks or wholes, lay on top of them as they sleep, and cause them to dream horrible things. In some versions, it drinks their blood, in others it chokes them. Usually the victim feels a weight upon them, and feels as though they can't breathe-"
"Like with an incubus," Vicki added.
"Yes, very similar to the incubus. Only there is usually nothing sexual in the nature of this creature's attacks."
"So this thing attacks you while you sleep?" Mike asked.
"According to the legends, yes."
"There's the problem though," Vicki began pacing. "This thing is attacking us while we're awake. I mean, Mike was very much so awake when his happened. And Coreen is definitely awake right now."
"I rather wish she weren't," Henry noted as he continued to try to fend her off. "How can we stop her? I mean, this?"
"Why don't you just make her stop, Henry? Don't let the poor girl suffer anymore embarrassment." Dr. Sagara shook her head in pity for Coreen.
"I can't," Henry explained. "My powers of persuasion don't work on anyone already under the influence of this thing."
"How did you snap me out of it?" Mike asked.
"I hit you," Vicki responded simply. When no one objected, she shrugged. "It's worth a shot."
Henry turned Coreen to face Vicki, who grinned with a bounce. "Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?"
Vicki shook her head. "You're gonna thank me for this later." With a sigh, Vicki swung, allowing her fist to connect with Coreen's face. Coreen slumped momentarily in Henry's arms, then shook her head as she awoke, looking around.
"Why's everyone looking at me like that?"
"She seems back to normal," Henry said as he helped her straighten.
"Why wouldn't I be-" Coreen turned to face him, but stopped as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror hanging by Dr. Sagara's door, then let out a shrill scream.
"It's okay, Coreen. Apparently this was your nightmare." Vicki explained as she shook her head in amusement.
"And it's still going on!" Coreen noticed their amusement and sat up, anger seething. "There is nothing funny about this situation!"
Vicki couldn't help but laugh. "Coreen, my nightmare was that I was blind. Mike's was...whatever it was. That guy thought he was burning alive, the girl killed by zombies....and you're horrified because you're wearing pink."
Coreen eyed the four others in the room. "Okay you have a point, but there's more to mine than just a wardrobe change."
"It's about losing who you are," Henry added for her. "I understand. Now, Bettie, how are we supposed to stop this Night Mare demon, or Alp?"
"There are tales of trapping it as it sneaks into your home, nailing it to the floor before it can reach your bed."
"But again, this thing is getting to us while we are awake." Vicki shoved her hands in her pocket, trying to make sense of it all. "Maybe we're missing something."
"Maybe it just plants the nightmares while we're asleep. Uses that time when we're most vulnerable and unsuspecting to get into our heads," Coreen offered.
Vicki nodded. "Coreen, I think you just redeemed yourself for that outfit. So now we need to find a way to lure it to one of us."
"That might not be necessary," Henry stated. "This thing can apparently reach more than one target at a time. If it is getting to people while they sleep, then it would make sense that their nightmares are realized after they awake that day."
Mike nodded, "Which means it was able to get to Vicki, the zombie victim, and the firefighter at the same time the night before last, and Coreen and myself last night."
"I wonder if it's setting a trend..." Vicki crossed the room to look out the window. "I mean, the thing gave myself and the firefighter a pretty vivid vision of our nightmare, but that girl got the real deal."
"Do you think someone else might be getting the real live version tonight?" Henry inquired.
Mike jumped as his phone vibrated. He eyed the message then sighed. "I think someone already did."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike arrived at the crime scene shortly after Kate, being that Dave was out of town. "What have we got here?"
"Male, mid forties, no identification, no signs of struggle," Kate explained as she peeled off her gloves.
"Cause of death?"
"It looks to be suffocation, but whoever did it was good. No signs of strangulation, no bruising of the mouth. Medical examiner is gonna have to go over this one with a microscope."
Mike leaned down to take a better look at the body, which was drenched. "Could he of drowned?"
"He's wet enough to have been in water, but there's no sign that the body was moved at all. No dragging marks, no tire marks. And as you can see," Kate gestured around the backyard where the man's body lay, "No water deep enough for him to drown in."
"Huh..." Usually Mike would dismiss drowning just as Kate was, but as of late he had been more and more accepting of the new world he had found himself in.
"That's gotta be a horrible way to die," Kate said as she shook her head.
"Yup, it's the stuff of nightmares," Mike concurred with a sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was Mike," Vicki said as she lowered the phone to the receiver. "Looks like the guy drowned."
"Nothing odd about that," Henry noted.
"There is if there's no body of water to drown in, and no sign of the body being moved."
Henry nodded, then opened his pocket watch. "I've got to go." He walked up to Vicki and placed both hands on her shoulders. "Maybe you should come stay at my place, until we figure this out."
"Henry, if this thing wants to get to me, it's going to find me there too."
"Maybe, maybe not. It could feel threatened by my presence. If it's a demon, it should be able to sense me."
"I'll be fine, Henry. We have to find this thing, whatever it is. And I can't do that from your place." She smiled up at him. "I promise I'll think happy thoughts before I go to sleep."
A familiar gleam filled Henry's eyes as he moved closer. "I could help you with that, too, you know."
"Yea, I bet you could." His unrelenting advances always made her smile. It brought a sense of normalcy to their current situation, chased away her fears of what was to come.
"Vicki, I'm serious. The things you've seen, the things that are attracted to you because of these marks...the nightmares of others can't compare to yours, after all you've been through."
Vicki knew he had a point, but she couldn't cave in. Running and hiding were never her style. "The only thing I can do is promise that we won't make a move until you're here."
"As many times as you've made that promise before, you expect it to comfort me now?"
Vicki shrugged. "Worth a shot. Look, Henry. You know how I work. I can't just hide until this is over. I have to find it."
Henry nodded solemnly. "It was worth a shot, as you say. I'll be here as soon as I wake." With that, he kissed her forehead and was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki spent the day surfing the net, trying to find some answers to all the gaps in this demon's story. She lowered her head in frustration to the desk and tried to figure out what they were missing. She woke up hours later, the moonlight peering in through her blinds. She stifled a yawn as she heard footsteps approaching, and turned as Henry entered the room.
"Did you find anything yet?" He asked.
"Nope," Vicki stood and stretched her now stiff neck. She stopped as she noticed Henry watching her with an unfamiliar look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he responded, moving closer.
There was something in his look and the way he moved that made Vicki shift uncomfortably. She could feel her heart speed up, and noticed the hunger that flared in his eyes as a result of it. "Henry, when was the last time you fed?"
"It's been days," he replied calmly as he traced the vein in her neck with his finger.
"Maybe you should go do that."
"Or maybe I should eat in tonight."
Vicki shook her head. His timing was usually not this poor. "I don't think so, Henry. I think you should come back after you've fed." He had her pinned against the desk now, sniffing her neck. "Henry-" Her words were interrupted by the feel of fangs tearing into her flesh in a not so gentle manner. "HENRY! STOP IT! Henry you're hurting me!"
He made no move of backing away through her screams, he only seemed to tear down harder.
"HENRY!" Panic was overwhelming her as she felt the blood loss start to take it's toll.
The real Henry stood holding her up with the grip he had on her shoulders, trying to shake her into consciousness. "Vicki! Vicki, I'm here! You have to wake up!" He really didn't want to have to hit her.
Vicki's hands searched frantically for the drawer in her desk where the Illuminicion De Sol still lay. She managed to open it and frantically felt for it as she felt her body growing weaker. Finally, her fingers wrapped around the cool metal. Without hesitating she slammed it into his chest.
Henry stumbled backwards, gasping in pain as he felt the metal points stab into his heart. He was unaware that she still had it, or as to why she used it on him.
Vicki was sobbing uncontrollably. She was sure he had taken too much blood, and was fearing for her life. She lowered herself to the ground as far away from him as she could manage. Why had he attacked her? She felt betrayed, but mostly, she felt weak. The room faded into blackness as she slumped over, finally losing consciousness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After knocking continuously for what felt like forever, Mike finally used his key to enter the office. She could yell at him later. "Vicki?" he called into the darkness.
"Mike..." he heard a hoarse male voice call back.
Mike readied his gun and flipped the light switch. Henry lay slumped against the opposite wall, a familiar metal object clinging to his chest. Vicki was on the opposite side of the room from Henry, slumped against the wall and covered in blood.
"Help..." Henry pleaded.
Mike rushed to Vicki's side and felt for a pulse, then turned to Henry. "What did you do to her??"
"I didn't..." He tried to explain weakly. "Her nightmare..."
Mike lifted Vicki's head and tried to wake her. "Vicki?"
Vicki stirred in his arms, trying to grasp consciousness.
"Vicki! Are you alright?" She had lost so much blood, but it seemed to be covering her rather than filling Henry. Mike took note of this, then made his way to the vampire to search for the key. Once he found it, he released him as Henry gasped. "You want to tell me what the hell happened here?" Mike demanded as the vampire rubbed his chest.
"I came in, Vicki was asleep. She woke up, we had a conversation, and then she started saying things that made no sense."
"Like what?"
Henry pulled himself up and leaned against the wall, keeping his distance from Vicki. "Like telling me to stop when I was five feet away from her. She started screaming and I grabbed her shoulders, trying to wake her up. Then she used that...that THING on me."
"You can sense her heartbeat right? Is she going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine. She didn't lose enough blood. But clearly the thing was trying to drain her."
"In the form of you," Mike added.
Henry glared at Celucci, then pushed past him, making his way towards the door as he still clung to his heart.
Mike sighed and turned. "It was a nightmare, Henry. It doesn't mean-"
"Yes it does. And that's as far as this conversation goes. You think you are the better man for the job, so I'll leave you to it, since obviously she agrees." With that, he disappeared.
Mike shook his head, trying to shake off the pity he now felt for the vampire. He lifted Vicki into his arms, and carried her into the bedroom. Her eyes fluttered open as he used a wet cloth to wipe the blood from her neck.
"Mike? What happened?"
"Looks like this demon thing tried to make you victim number 3."
"How?"
"Henry."
Vicki shot up as she remembered the events of the past few hours. "Is he-"
"He's fine, but I think you should give him some space. He was pretty....upset."
Vicki lowered her head into her hands. "You took the...the thing off of him?"
"Yes."
Vicki looked up with surprise. "Why?"
"I'm a cop, Vicki. You were covered in blood. He drinks blood. It didn't add up."
"God, I'm such an idiot!"
"Vicki, it's not your fault." Mike knew his words held little comfort for her, but he had to try.
"Not the nightmare, Mike. The Illuminicion Del Sol. I never told him I had it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Vicki's instructions, Coreen had continued her investigating with Dr. Sagara, but they were still unable to find a way to trap the Night Mare. There were several versions of the demon spread throughout various cultures, and romantic tales of men who had trapped the creature only to wake and find it was a beautiful woman that they decided to wed. So far none of the tales they had read seemed to hold much truth to them. Dr. Sagara sent Coreen to the university library to see what she could find there while she contacted other sources.
Coreen hugged her jacket closer to her as she walked to her destination. The sorts of nightmares she had weren't always so trivial as the one that had come to play, and she found herself sighing with relief. Making note of the footsteps quickening their pace behind her, she gripped the mace in her bag tighter. A hand gripped her shoulder and she swung around, aiming it at her attacker's face. She lowered it slowly, amazement and shock filling her every motion. "Ian?"
"Who else would it be?" He asked as he gently brushed the hair out of her face.
"But how-"
"Shhh..." he said as he placed a finger over her lips. "I wanna show you something." He took her hand and she felt her knees go weak over this touch. She had missed him so much. She grinned as he led her away in the opposite direction of the library.
Coreen hadn't been able to take her eyes off of him, but when she did, she recognized the building in front of them. 52 Lonagan Ave. "Ian, what are we doing here?"
"I said I want to show you something."
"I'm not so sure this is a good idea..." she protested.
He turned her to face him and tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "Don't you trust me?"
"Of course, it's just that-"
Ian interrupted her by placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Then let's go."
Reluctantly, Coreen followed. It was just a coincidence that he wanted to come here. They reached the elevator and he covered her eyes coyly. "Ian-"
"It's a surprise. I promise, you are going to love it," he said as they exited the elevator onto the ninth floor. After walking a few yards and through a door, he kissed her neck. "Close your eyes."
Coreen did as he requested and allowed him to guide her further. She could feel a strong wind blowing through her hair. Perhaps he had taken her to the rooftop. He always loved stargazing with her.
"Okay," he said as he slipped behind her, one arm around her waste. "Open your eyes."
Coreen screamed at the scene lay before her. She was back at Norman Bridewell's loft, the same pentacle lit up around them, the same whirling black hole before her. "Ian! What are you doing!"
"This is where I am, Coreen. The demon took me here, and now you can come with me."
"NO!" She screamed, but it was too late as she felt the knife plunge into her abdomen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki sat at her desk, watching the phone as if willing it to ring. It had been hours since a worrisome Dr. Sagara had called, explaining that she had sent Coreen to the library, but that she had never showed up there or returned to the office. After calling her cell phone continuously, Vicki had reluctantly made the call to Mike to see if he could help track her down. She was terrified of what he might find. She jumped as the phone rang, snatching it off the receiver. "Mike?"
"We found her, Vick."
"Is she okay? Talk to me Mike, what happened?"
"A student found her in his home, a knife wound to the abdomen. She's still in surgery now, so there's no way to know..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish with 'if the wound was fatal'.
"Oh god..."
"There's more, Vick. She was in Norman Bridewell's old apartment."
Vicki closed her eyes as she hung up the phone, unable to imagine the kind of horrors Coreen must have experienced. Anger flared through her. "I'm going to get you, you son of a bitch." She hoped the demon could hear her. She hoped it would see her statement for what it was-not a threat, but a promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki had left messages on Henry's cell, hoping that he would be willing to listen to them. She could understand why he was angry, but she really needed his help, and she knew he would want to be there for Coreen. She sat holding Coreen's hand, who had just come from surgery not long ago, and waited for the sun to set.
"How is she?" his voice asked from behind her.
Vicki breathed with relief at the sight of him. The pain of last night's events still lay in his eyes. "Henry..."
"How is she?" He asked again.
"Better. She still hasn't woken up, but then again they've still got her heavily medicated, and she's been through a lot."
"What happened?"
"The same thing that happened last night. Our nightmare demon tried to take another victim." Vicki turned to look at Coreen. "They found her at Norman Bridewell's place."
Henry took point on the other side of Coreen's bed, still maintaining his distance from Vicki. He watched Coreen as she slept, and leaned down to her ear. "You are peaceful," he whispered in his vampiric voice. "Your dreams are happy and light. You feel safe."
"Do you think that will work?" Vicki asked as he leaned back.
"I can only hope it brings her some solace."
"Henry, I'm sorry...I don't know what else to say."
"It was a nightmare, Vicki. You can't control the fact that you fear me." There was sadness in his eyes, and she realized quickly that it had nothing to do with the Illuminicion Del Sol.
She walked around to meet him, but he pulled away at her touch. "Henry, I don't fear you."
He met her gaze, clearly saying that he believed otherwise.
"Henry, I don't. I trust you with my life."
"As much as you trust me to take it from you."
His words stung. "That's not what my nightmare was about."
"I was there, Vicki. I saw the terror you felt. And clearly I was the cause of that terror. You needn't say more." He turned to leave.
"It was about you losing yourself." She called after him, which halted his exit. "It was about...seeing what that man did to you, you couldn't control it. And you fought so hard to try, even till the end. And you won, this time."
"I hardly see it that way. I could have killed you. I nearly killed Mike. I was a feral animal."
"You didn't kill him, Henry. You stopped. No feral animal would do that." She bit her lip, trying to put her feelings into words. "My nightmare was you losing. You losing who you really are. I don't know how else to get you to understand...."
"I'm not sure I can, Vicki. Not right now." He turned his head slightly to look at her, then left.
Vicki closed her eyes, feeling that her nightmare couldn't compare to the reality she felt now. The reality of losing Henry. She groaned as her cell phone rang from it's home in her pocket. "Nelson Investigations."
"I have some information for you," a voice whispered from the other end.
"Concerning a case?"
"Concerning the unofficial case you're working on."
Vicki straightened. "How do you know about that? Who is this?"
"Someone who...who might be responsible. I didn't mean to-"
"Didn't mean to what?" Vicki pressed.
"I need you to meet me. You need to see for yourself. There's a warehouse, just off of Hamilton, near the park. Be there in an hour."
Vicki lowered the phone after the click sounding the disconnection. She quickly dialed Henry's number, and left a message saying where she would be. Then she dialed Mike and asked him to come keep an eye on Coreen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry sighed as he ignored Vicki's call. He needed time to sort through the things he was feeling now. He had decided to take this time to hunt for the demon wreaking havoc on everyone, hoping he could some how find it's scent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time Mike got to the hospital, Coreen was awake and arguing with the doctors.
"I said I'm fine!" She protested as she tried to get up.
"Woh there, Coreen," Mike said as he tried to guide her back down to the bed. "You just took a major stab wound to the gut. It could have killed you."
"Everyone keeps saying that but here I stand. I'm pretty sure I'm not a ghost."
The doctor nodded at Mike as he left the room, silently pleading him to talk some sanity into the girl.
"Mike, I'm fine. We need to get back to the office. This thing...we've got to stop it. It nearly killed me."
"Yea, it nearly got Vicki too, and Henry in the process. If I hadn't showed up when I did, he probably would've gone up in flames."
"You saved Henry?"
"Yea," Mike huffed. "Imagine that."
"They're okay, right?"
"Yea, they're fine, all things considered."
"Then we have to help them. Which means you have to help me get out of here."
"I'm a cop, Coreen. Not a doctor. I can't tell them it's okay for you to leave."
"I know, but you are a cop. Tell them you want to take me in for a lineup, and that you'll bring me back after."
Mike pondered the idea for a moment. "You watch too many cop shows, you know that?"
"Please Mike!"
"Alright, alright. I'll try. But you better be prepared to sign out against the doctors orders otherwise."
"I'll be here for hours arguing with him, I already tried that. The lineup way is quicker."
Mike sighed and made his way to talk to the doctor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki couldn't shake the ominous feeling the warehouse gave her. Meeting at places like this in the middle of the night were usually not a good sign. "Hello?" she called as she shone her flashlight through the entrance. "Anybody here? Anybody who like to call demons here..." She added. She could hear creaking from the floor above her. "Hello?"
She walked around the trash riddled first floor, looking for the proof her informant had promised her. Maybe he had gotten cold feet. She was yards away from the only way out by the time she smelled the smoke. "Crap," she muttered as she took notice that there were no signs of fire around her, yet plenty of noises above her. She ran for the door, but the roof caving was quicker than her, and she was knocked to the ground as the roof came down around her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry groaned with frustration as the phone vibrating in his pocket broke his concentration. It was Vicki's office. Her persistence was starting to wear on him, so he decided to answer. "Look, Vicki-"
"Henry, it's Coreen."
"Why are you calling from the office and not your hospital bed?"
"Because we have work to do. I'm taking it Vicki isn't with you?"
"No, but I can see she is starting to rub off on you. What's happened?"
"I think I found a way to trap the demon with some protection spells, but I can't get in touch with her. I've been trying her cell, but she isn't answering. Mike said she was going to some warehouse with you to meet an informant."
"Mike was misled, though I'm sure not on accident. I'll see if I can track her down and call you back." Henry hung up and quickly checked the message she had left earlier. The message he had so stupidly ignored. "Idiot," he muttered to himself as he took off after her.