Fleur Di Lis

Epilogue

One Month Later 

New York at night was simply magnificent. 

Skyscrapers reached desperately for the stars in the night sky, hoping to escape from the sirens of emergency vehicles and the impatient horns of cab drivers attempting to drive their load from one destination to the next.  Alleyways homing vagabonds and criminals lurking under the night's cloak, hoping to catch a glimpse of their next victim. 

Perching on the window sill in my bedroom, I watched intently.  Mulhaney had signed me off on sick leave for twelve weeks, hoping that in that time he'd build a strong enough case to the precinct commissioner in order for me to return to full duty alongside Rik.  

I wasn't optimistic about that; I'd let the perp get away. 

Well, who they thought was the perp, anyway. 

Michaela and Luka hadn't left my side since the ordeal in New Orleans; whether it be Michaela bringing trays of food to Luka giving me updates on my security -- he'd had a couple of wolf friends check in on me, making sure nobody was following me.  Every so often, I caught a glimpse of an over-sized dog in the alleyways below, staring up at my apartment window before disappearing into the darkness. 

I was never truly alone.  

At least, not during the day, anyway. 

At night, though, the silence was almost deafening.  The isolation crushing.  My mind raced with the events of New Orleans; the blood, the near-death experience...  Bax.  Alexandria.  The hangar.  Everything.  Every time I closed my eyes, it was like a play-by-play of what happened, replaying itself behind my eyelids.

The window sill in my bedroom had become my new refuge from sleep.

The shrill ring of the telephone reverberated throughout the darkened apartment, startling me.

Checking the red digits flashing on the alarm clock, I rolled my eyes.  What is it with people phoning me at times where the world is supposed to be asleep?  I wasn't destined for sleep. 

A peaceful one, anyway. 

"Armstrong," I greeted.

"Jesus, you're still awake?"  Rik's voice was a welcome sound to my ears, and I could feel my shoulders sagging.  Once patched up from his injuries, Rik was placed back on active duty immediately; hailed as the hero of the precinct.  He saved his partner; that's a job well-done in any cop's book.

Didn't stop him from checking on me, either. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was bitten myself," I let out a small chuckle.

Air sucked through Rik's teeth.  Clearly, he didn't see my joke as particularly funny.  "Nikki..."

"I'm joking," I rolled my eyes.  "Is there a reason you're calling or you just checking in on me?"

"Well, checking in as per," he began.  Something told me there was a 'but' coming, and my back straightened.  Fatigue, or any that remained, was completely obliterated.  Something had happened; the only reason Rik would call me whilst on duty is if something had occurred. 

Something paranormal. 

"What is it?"  I pressed. 

I could hear the leaves rustling as Rik moved away from wherever he was.  Trying to stay out of earshot, I'm guessing.  "Well," he began, his voice lowered.  "You don't need to worry about Nate anymore."

My heart lifted.  Ever since New Orleans, I had worried about what happened to Nate.  Had he become a ripper, just like Bax wanted?  Is he now Bax's prisoner?  A plaything for him to torment?  Or, has he embraced being reunited with his bloodthirsty brother, and began his bloodlust once again, like he did all those years ago? 

Nobody knew.

Until now.

"What is it?"  I repeated, hope making my voice seem fiercer than what I had intended. 

"I'm sending an image," he said.  "Whatever you do, delete it straightaway.  Mulhaney will kill me if he knew I was getting you involved."

I grabbed my cell phone and opened up the message that Rik had sent me.  It was of a pale, limestone wall from what looked like Central Park -- Upper East Side entrance, I assumed -- and on the wall, there were words written in a beautiful, calligraphed hand that I recognised immediately as Nate's handwriting, in what I hoped wasn't blood.  Seeing the words on the pale wall made my heart bounce, and a sense of renewed determination filled me.

Vivre la Fleur Di Lis - Long Live the Fleur Di Lis