The Return of Nicholas Collins

Five hundred Years Ago...

The night could not have been more perfect for a wedding. The breeze whispered through the leaves. The moon was full and not a single cloud dared to mar its light. The warm summer air in the clearing was heavy with the scent of dew and fresh cut grass, which took the men of the village most of the morning to cut.

Rachel Williams stood on the edge of the woods in her bare feet, a ring of wildflowers twined through her red curly hair, hidden in the shadows so that her betrothed, Dunn Alric, could not see her in the simple white gown her mother had sewn for her. Nerves made her palms clammy and sent trickles of sweat running between her breasts. Though her skin felt on fire she shivered as a bead of moisture ran down the length of her spine.

A wave of nausea rolled through her stomach and she said a silent prayer in hope that it would pass. She lay her hands flat against her belly, closing her eyes as she tried not to be sick. She bit back a moan when someone circled an arm around her waist, hugging her form tight. "That will soon pass once you're married to your young lad. I should know, I felt the same way the day I married your father."

Rachel glanced at her mother, but only gave her a weak smile in reply. Oh, mother, if you only knew the real reason why I was feeling sick, she thought, as she lightly patted her relatively flat belly. Truthfully, though, she knew her mother would accept that she was with child before she was wedded. It was her father who would kill not only her soon to be husband, but also her.

Time passed quickly and soon the moment arrived. Her mother kissed her cheek and pressed a small bouquet of wildflowers into her hand as she told her that she loved her and then left to take her place near the altar. Her father was very solemn as he stepped to her side. She loved him so, but wished that he smiled more.

He looked so handsome in his silver armor, his battered sword at his side. When he placed her hand in the crook of his arm, she said, "I love you, father."

He gazed into her upturned face and seemed to swallow with some difficulty before he simply nodded and began the walk that would give her to another.

Four small bonfires had been lit around the crowd, where every villager, young and old, stood in attendance. Torches lit the flower-laden path, leading the way to a new part of her life.

At the altar, Dunn stepped up to take her hand. She watched as her father glared at him and for one desperate moment she thought that he was going to refuse to give her to her intended. Finally he placed Rachel's hand into Dunn's and said, "She is now yours to care for and protect. Don't make me regret this decision." Then he went quietly to her mother's side and looked on.

The ceremony was over quickly and the celebration began. Toasts were made as the wine poured endlessly. Breads, cheeses and roasted meat fed the ravenous crowd as the men told boastful stories to the groom and the ladies told shocking details to the bride. But as the festivities reached a righteous roar, disaster struck.

From the surrounding woods came the battle cry of what sounded like hundreds of warriors, instilling fear in every woman and child, and raising a sense of impending doom in every man.

Then they were upon them. Like water filling a pail after it had been dropped into a well, the enemy poured into the clearing.

Mother's screamed for their children as chaos over took the once spirited celebration. For one night they let their young sons and daughters stray from their sides to play and take part in what was suppose to be a beautiful beginning for two people. Now fear had them all agonizing over their choice to let children be children.

To escape the surprise attack everyone knew that they needed to reach the woods. To let the shadows of the night swallow them and hide them from a death most certain.

Every male from the village who was strong enough to wield a sword began to fight for their family's life, for the survival of their village. Clashes of metal and piercing screams filled the air. The enemy spared no one the torment of their blades in their relentless attack, killing men and women, shamelessly taking the lives of babes without a drop of remorse.

Dunn protected Rachel with his body as he slashed his way through the enemy, cutting a bloody path toward the trees, toward safety. Freedom from the hellish nightmare was within reach when Dunn fell to his knees in front of her, clutching his belly. She raced to his side and couldn't stop the heart-wrenching scream that tore from her throat as she saw the blood spilling from beneath the chest plate of his armor and seeping through his fingers.

His lip quivered as it became painted with the crimson color of his life force. He groaned in agony and stared at her with his sorrowful green eyes. Lifting a blood soaked hand, he cupped her cheek and said weakly, "I'm, I'm sorry that I, I failed you, my, my love." His body began to convulse as he took one last strangled gasp and fell onto his side.

"DUNN!" She wailed, the sound of anguish coming from the very depths of her soul.

She moved to kiss his blood stained lips when suddenly from behind someone grabbed her by the hair and began to pull her up from the ground. In that instant, something deep inside her, triggered by fear, by the pain of loss, and the need for vengeance, came to life.

Her hand shot out and wrapped around the hilt of Dunn's sword. She never thought of how normally she would not have been strong enough to pick it up, or how she feared the weapon and the feelings of disgust she felt at the death that always clung to its metal blade.

Her cry ripped through the air as she jerked her hair out of her capture's hand, tears streaming down her face as the roots pulled from her scalp. Wielding the sword with both hands and swinging blindly, she caught the enemy off guard as the blade slashed across his body, cutting clean through his chain mail and deep into his flesh.

Miraculously she gutted five of the enemy's men before a vicious coward ran her through with his sword. She fell to the hard blood soaked ground without a sound. Into the canvas of the night sky she stared, fought to block out the sounds of the dying that surrounded her, but her heart would not let her. She knew that within those cries of pain, those pleas for salvation and for death, were her mother and father, friends and neighbors that she had known all her life. Praying to the heavens, she asked that death be swift and end their misery.

A shadow fell over her, but she did not care as to who or what it was that stood there. "If you are the enemy, know that I will haunt you till the day that death comes for you." She took a deep shuddering breath, coughing as pain surged through her chest. Tears blurred the stars above as she whispered, "If you are death, I ask that you be merciful to all who lay suffering and end their torture swiftly."

"Child, I am not the enemy and I am not death," said a deep resonating male voice, "but I am someone who can offer you a choice."

Confused and unsure of his meaning she said through a haze of pain, "Explain yourself, sir."

A face appeared before her and blocked out the starry sky above. He's beautiful, she thought, staring up into the handsome face of the man who looked down at her. His eyes remind her of the violets in the meadow where Dunn and her had first loved. His black hair was pulled back from his face and shined blue in the moonlight. A dark mustache lay across his upper lip and his beard nearly hid a scar that ran along the length of his left jaw.

"I am Nicholas, one of the many creature of the night that live off the blood of humans." He lifted his head and looked around slowly. "Sometimes I kill those that are deserving of death." His violet gaze returned to her, "Sometimes I turn them into creatures like me, so that they to may walk the night for eternity."

As he touched her face with a cold hand, his eyes took on an eerie glow. "Such beauty and softness," his thumb caressed her cheek, "so full of hate for what these warriors have done to your family, your husband. I know of your want for revenge, of your wish that you could have taken out more of those men before you were impaled by that sword, but I also know that you long for death to take you away from this misery."

Rachel couldn't look away from his eyes, as the light within them became brighter, pulling her into their depths. His sweet breath brushed across her face as he leaned down, filling her with yearning, but for what she did not know. "I offer you a choice, I can take your life, end your suffering and let the warriors believe they killed you, or I can turn you into a creature like me. I can teach you how to feed and fight, how to extract the revenge that you hunger for on the enemy, but it has a price."

She tried to turn away from those compelling eyes, but she could not do it. Inside her mind she struggled to gather her thoughts and her questions, then finally through gritted teeth she said, "And that price is?"

"All humans will damn you," he replied, no emotions in his voice, no expression on his face. "Religions of this world will try to harm you, will try to tell you that they only want to help, to set you free so that you may go to heaven, but child, it is all a lie. If you become a creature like me, there is no heaven or hell for you. There is only nothingness."

Sharp pain ripped through her body. Muscles tightened and bones ached as the wound in her back throbbed in anger. Her curses filled the air as she began to think of all that she had lost already, then she remembered that she was carrying Dunn's child and grabbed his wrist. "Please, please tell me that my child will live if I become the creature that you are?"

The glow quickly died in his eyes and his jaw twitched as he stared back at her. He placed his hand gently upon her belly and sadly whispered, "Your child is already dead."

"NO!" Her scream echoed around the clearing, bounced off the trees that surrounded them. Her sob came from the center of her heart, of her soul. Not even her innocent baby, hidden within the comfort of her womb survived the madness of the night.

Something finally snapped inside her and her sobs quieted instantly. No more tears fell from her eyes as her mind began to close off the pain of her losses. The only emotions she felt now was the need to seek vengeance, to destroy those who had changed her life forever and to return upon their house the same amount of death that they had brought upon hers.

Her words were empty and cold as ice as she stared blankly up into his face, "Do it, teach me how to live in the night so that I may exist to see that those who wrought such death and destruction here may die their own terrible death."

"You will not regret this, child," he said, tenderly stroking the side of her neck. "You will feel more alive then you ever have in your entire life."

He softly kissed her lips as he cupped the back of her head. His cool lips then slid into place on the side of her neck, sucking her skin into his mouth. The edge of his teeth scratched against her flesh and then his jaws snapped together, forcing his fangs into the throbbing vein.

She lay there motionless except for the blink of her eyelids as he pierced her skin and drank from her body. She felt the life that she once knew slowly draining away from her, but instead of crying over her losses, she smiled. She smiled because she would get to do what her family, her husband and her unborn child could not. She would get to kill those who had taken their life.

*

Chapter 1

The Present...

"Are you sure about this, Rachel?" Kelly Ward asked, concerned for her friend, knowing that the outdoor wedding must remind her of another night centuries ago.

Rachel parted the silk material that blocked the guest's view into the bride's dressing tent and felt a sense of deja vu. Granted the decorations were made of finer quality and electricity powered the lights that lit the grounds and not bonfires, but still it held an eerie resemblance to her own distant wedding. "I'm sure, Kelly. I should be thanking you for holding your wedding to John here, instead of in a church."

"I couldn't have done this without you being here to support me on a night that means so much. There is no one else that I would rather have walk me down the aisle or stand as my maid of honor," she sniffled and tried to keep her tears at bay, "than my best friend."

Rachel felt her face begin to crumble. "Oh, honey, don't cry. If you start, then I'm going to start and then we'll both end up looking like raccoons by the time we stop."

Kelly busted out in laughter. "Good thing we're not taking photographs tonight. By the time the ceremony is over, I think both of us will be looking like those raccoons you're talking about."

Rachel leaned in and whispered, "Now that is a scary image. Think about it a moment, two vampire raccoons on film." She shuddered dramatically, "perish the thought of being caught like that."

Their mirth filled the white tent drawing the attention of Sarah and her grandmother, who shook her head at them and grinned.

"Okay, lets get serious here," she pulled the silky curtain aside and pointed with her index finger. "Who is the blond hunk standing beside your hubby to be?"

Kelly glanced toward the altar. "That's his brother in-law, Eric." She saw Rachel's eyebrow lift. "Yeah, shocked me to, but John's in-laws seem happy for him. I'm just glad that they accept me as his future wife and Sarah's new mother."

"Everything seems to be falling into place for you, Kelly," she said honestly, a trace of envy lacing her words.

"I've been lucky so far, but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop," she said dreadfully.

"We'll always have that impending sense of doom with us," Rachel said, speaking from experience. "We've done too many terrible things in our long and destructive past not to have retribution dished out to us by either our bad karma or our enemies."

Looking at Rachel, If Kelly went by appearance alone, she seemed the exact same age as the first time they met a hundred and twenty-five years ago. On closer inspection, though, she saw the signs of time. Every year that passed brought more bleakness to her green eyes and the grim set of her mouth became harder, but only another vampire would notice such changes.

Rachel took Kelly's chilled hand, "Think of it this way, now you have someone to stand beside you, to support you and to love you through whatever may come. That will make all the difference in the world to you."

"He has already made a difference in my life, Sarah too." She stared into her friend's ageless face, "But don't you dare think that my marriage to John lets you off the hook. I still need you in my life just as much, if not more than ever."

"I'll never desert you," she whispered as they embraced, the memories of their friendship flowing between them, both the good and the bad. "No matter where I am in the world I'll always be here for you."

"Ladies it's time," said the quiet voice of John's mother, Reva. Rachel became uncomfortable every time she was around the woman. Looking into her eyes, she got the impression that the older woman knew a lot more about things then what she let on.

The tent cleared quickly, leaving only Kelly, Sarah and Rachel behind. Rachel became somber as she stared at the small girl. She couldn't help but wonder if her baby had been a girl, would she have looked as beautiful as Sarah.

And Sarah was a beauty. Her satin flower girl dress was floor length. The skirt was dark purple with tiny flowers made of pearls embroidered around the hem and the top was white with puffy, short sleeves.

Then there was Kelly. She always thought of her as attractive, but she was positively stunning in the body hugging, white satin wedding dress she chose. Thin spaghetti straps held it up on her shoulders and the scooped neck showed off perfectly the tear shaped amethyst pendant that John had given her after they became engaged.

The music started and Sarah stepped from the tent, her flower basket in hand. They watched as she flung small handfuls of purple and white rose petals on the ground as she moved toward the altar where John and his best man Eric stood waiting.

Side by side and arm in arm, Rachel and Kelly walked up the aisle. Every step that took them to the altar made Rachel's heart ache. The look on John's face reminded her of how Dunn's handsome, young face had appeared the night she had walked toward him.

Unable to stand the pain that swamped her from the past, she went to that place inside herself that she knew all to well. A place where hurt never touched her. Soon the vows were said and rings were exchanged. When it came time for John to kiss Kelly, she closed her eyes and counted the seconds till the justice of the peace announced them as Mr. and Mrs. John Michaels.

A short walk across the property, under a huge party tent, family and friends watched as the bride and groom cut the cake and accepted congratulations. The love was evident on their faces as they danced to the first song as husband and wife.

Rachel was on her way to get herself something stronger to drink than champagne when Eric stopped her and asked if she would like to dance. She smiled into his ocean blue eyes then let him lead her to the floor. His arms were strong and his grin addictive as he moved them among the other couples. She was about to ask him if he had plans after the reception when a large male hand settled on his shoulder, its owner asking, "May I cut in?"

She stiffened within the circle of Eric's arms. Surprised wasn't the word to describe what she felt as she recognized the European accent. Stifling her groan she turned and looked at the man who interrupted her chance at some late night entertainment. "What the hell brings you out of hiding, Nicholas?"

She watched as an old memory, Nicholas Collins, stared at Eric with a look that stopped just short of disgust. He was tailored to perfection. The cut of his charcoal gray suit showed off the broad width of his shoulders and his trim waist. His dark hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, which made her sigh. She loved his hair especially when it hung loose and brushed his shoulders.

She reached up and turned Eric's head away from him before he fell under his spell. "Thank you for the wonderful dance." Then knowing it would make the vampire jerk standing beside them mad, she kissed Eric slowly and deeply, moaning into his mouth before their lips parted.

As she watched him walk away she heard Kelly's voice in her head, Whose the wedding crashing vampire, Rachel?

That would be the vampire who turned me, who I haven't seen or heard from in a hundred and fifty years or so, the anger and hurt that she felt from being deserted for so long heavy in her answer.

Anything I need to worry about or that you need help with? She asked.

I can handle it, so go and enjoy your special night, she replied gently.

Wedding day or not, Rachel, don't be stupid, if you need help call for me, she said forcefully.

She turned and instantly felt Nicholas's fury hit her mind when she met his violet color eyes. Through gritted teeth she growled, "Get the fuck out of my head."

The seconds passed slowly, but her teeth had lengthened completely by the time he removed his power from her mind. If not for all the people surrounding them she would have lashed out at him and to hell with the consequences.

He reached out and snagged her hand with his and tugged her roughly to him. His arm felt like a band of steel as he wrapped it around her and pulled her tighter against his body.