Fleur Di Lis

Chapter Twenty-Five

The dream began the same way as it had before; I was walking through a field of hay with a stormy sky overhead and my name being blown in the wind. When the scene changed, though, I wasn't in the stuffy comforts of Alexandria's living room. Instead, I was standing in the middle of an abandoned cargo wharf, staring at a hangar that looked as though it'd seen better days. The army-green paint was chipped beyond repair, and the black letters that were scrawled across the front of the building were so worn away that I could barely make it out. Even the steel runners, which would've been bright and metallic, were now green with mould and misuse. Like the previous dream, the skies above me swirled like an animated Van Gogh painting, this time in different shades of purple and blue like a night's sky.

Where the hell was I this time?

"Nicki?"

Turning away from the hypnotising skies, I saw Nate standing behind me, looking bewildered. Like me, he was wearing the same clothes as he had in reality, though his eyes weren't the same bright blue that I had grown so accustomed to; instead they were a beautiful golden colour. They looked better on him than the blue, if that was even possible.  They looked more...  Natural.

Even his pallor looked less... Dead. He looked alive.

As in human alive.

"Nate?" I echoed. "What the-- How-- What--?"

"My sentiments exactly," he let out a soft chuckle, staring at his hands in awe, turning them like it was the first time seeing them. In fact, he was looking around him like he was seeing everything for the first time. "My God. Everything's so..."

"Weird? Dreamy? Balls-to-the-wall, stark-raving nuts?"

"Beautiful," he finished, his eyes fixing on me. His lips parted, and he cocked his head to the side, studying me much like a sculptor studying his next piece of art.  A shiver, not entirely uncomfortable, trembled down my spine.  In that moment, I didn't entirely know whether he was talking about his surroundings or the person in front of him.  The little girl inside me, the girl  who still believed in fairy tales, hoped and prayed for the latter; the battered woman inside who knew there was no such thing as happy endings hoped it was the former. "More beautiful than I ever noticed before."

"Okay, Mr Romantic," I scoffed. "Why don't you tell me where this little piece of paradise is exactly?"

"Piety Street Wharf," he answered, the moment vanishing.  It was an effort to contain my disappointment.  "I haven't been here in years, since...  Well, since I moved away in the 20s."

"So, it's in New Orleans?"  That narrowed it down perfectly; it was by the water somewhere. Nothing a Google search wouldn't be able to pinpoint.  "Great. Perfect. What are we doing here?"

"That, I don't know."  He looked around him again, this time the awestruck expression on his features was replaced by one I was more affirmed with at this precise moment; confusion. "More to the point, where's the person who brought us here?"

"I'm glad it actually worked."

The familiar, crisp British voice behind me made me turn.  Alexandria stood behind us, hands clasped in front of her and smiling at us warmly like we were old friends.  She wore the same magnificent teal dress as before, and her perfect plait sat over her shoulder.  On closer inspection, however, the toil of the spell she was working for Bax -- as well as the spell she was concocting to forewarn us -- was taking a toll on her.  The bags under her eyes had deepened, and there was less of a spark.

She was dying; the clock was ticking.

Nate rushed and embraced his old friend tightly.  I stayed where I was, feeling very much like a spare prick at a wedding.  Jealousy, unnecessary and irrelevant, rose within me and I made a hasty effort to push it back down again.  Whatever Alexandria felt towards Nate, it certainly wasn't reciprocated.  She was Nate's oldest and closest friend; of course he'd care about her well being.

The fact that she was a captive to his psycho brother only enhanced that.

There was no need for me to be jealous.

"Thank God," Nate breathed, holding her out by the shoulders.  "Thank God you're still alive."

Alexandria scoffed. "God has nothing to do with it."  She turned to me, smiling. "Hello again, Nikita. It's nice to see you again."

"Alexandria," I greeted, unable to keep the ice from my voice. "Glad to see you're still alive."

"Thank you. But, I see you haven't heeded my warning," she turned to Nate, her smile fading. "You're in New Orleans?"

I frowned. "How did you--?"

"I'm a witch," she interjected.  "I have eyes and ears everywhere here, from the smallest ant to the biggest tree; I knew you were here from the moment you checked into Devon's hotel. That was a stupid move if I ever heard one. I thought I told you not to come here."

"If you thought that, once Nicki told me you were captured, that I would let you face my brother on your own then you don't know me as well as I thought you did."

"If Bax finds out where you are--"

"He won't," Nate assured her, giving her shoulders a tight squeeze. "Devon's loyalties are with the Fleur Di Lis, and therefore us. He won't betray us."

"He will if it keeps him alive," Alexandria retorted.  "Devon as a vampire is very much different to Devon as a human; the Devon that you knew.  He's learnt to fend for himself and throw those under the bus if it means he walks the earth another day.  His loyalties are with whoever keeps him alive.  If you're in his hotel, you better watch your back."

"We have Michaela and Luka," I piped up as Nate opened his mouth.  "And two of the best warriors that the white wolves had to offer watching over us whilst we're here, debating technicalities with you.  I think we're good.   So," I folded my arms across my chest.  "If you're done with this little reunion, I'd like to know why the fuck we're here."

"This is where he's keeping your human," Alexandria explained.  I froze, glancing at the old hangar over Alexandria's shoulder.  "Yes.  I heard about him taking your friend, Nikita, and I am so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner.  I simply did not know."

"What, your spies neglected to tell you about that little titbit?" I scoffed.  "Maybe you should invest in new ones." I paused, another thought entering my head. "Is it guarded?"

"Like a fortress," Alexandria turned to look at the abandoned hangar.  "Vampires, compelled humans... The works. They've been told to kill or be killed to protect whatever's in there.  Or whoever," she added, glancing meaningfully at Nate.

His jaw clenched.  Even in his human form, I couldn't help noticing that his body coiled the same way as in reality; like an animal ready to strike.  Old habits die hard, I guess.  "Anastasia."

"Anastasia?" I repeated, incredulous.  "You mean to tell me that my friend is roommates with a goddamned vampire corpse?"

"She's not a corpse," Alexandria corrected.  "She's Unwoken; cursed to sleep until a spell breaks it.  Dark magic put her there; dark magic will bring her back."

"Oh, that sounds so much better!" This situation was getting more fucked up by the minute. Bad enough that Baxter was trying to resurrect his old girlfriend with my blood -- and my soul; worse so that named girlfriend wasn't even dead to begin with! Rik would be freaking out right now. "Anything else we need to know?"

"Well, he still needs you for the spell to work," Alexandria shrugged.

"Oh, great!  Glad to know my assistance is still required!" I turned to Nate.  "What the fuck are we gonna do now?"

Nate opened his mouth to answer when Alexandria let out a rattling gasp, clutching her navel in agony and crumpled to the ground.  Nate and I fell to our knees in front of Alexandria, whose eyes turned bloodshot and her lips parted in a perfect 'o' shape as she struggled for breath.

"Alexandria?" Nate grabbed his shoulders, shaking her.  "Alexandria, what's happening?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she croaked a single word in an unfamiliar language and clicked her fingers, plunging me into a world of darkness.