“Why would you bring me here if you knew that about me?”
“If I believed you posed any threat to my family, you would never have woken up. While there is always a risk in bringing a new member into any situation, I thought you worth it.”
“Ok…I still don’t understand?”
“What was the last thing you remember of that night? The invasion attempt.”
Nick racked his brain, “I remember…the battle. We…we won. And then the mansion caught fire. No, exploded. I leapt in through one of the top windows. And then…” Nick shook his head. “I woke up in this mad rush at the hospital. My head was swimming. I felt angry. Furious but no idea why. And it’s been pretty shitty ever since.”
“You say you remember jumping into the burning building. Why?”
“I don’t know. It was just instinct.”
“People often mistake passion for instinct. There was a reason you leapt into the jaws of death that night, Nicholas. Please tell me.”
“I guess because someone I loved was in danger.”
“And that person would be Alex Hensley, would it not?”
Nick didn’t answer. He didn’t want to be giving names away. If the Night Mother knew about him, that was one thing. He would never put Alex in harm’s way by giving her name out.
If Nick didn’t know any better, he could’ve sworn the sound from the Night Mother was a laugh. “Oh Nicholas. You wonderfully brave, loyal soul, by not answering you say all I need. That explosion was a momentous occasion for this city in so many ways. The beginning of a chain reaction with far reaching consequences. The root of a tree and the branches are expanding even now. Your act of pure selflessness in the face of such destruction, such evil, speaks volumes for the man you are. That is why you are here. I could use someone like you.”
“I’m not too keen on being used.”
“A turn of phrase not meant to be taken literally.”
“Be that as it may, while I thank you for helping me, there are things I have to do. People I have to see.”
“I fear you do not yet understand the environment you have returned to. You are blamed for the destructive wake of Dream State. All its chaos has been placed squarely on your shoulders because the human authorities needed someone to blame. A face for the evil. Should they discover you are alive, you will be hunted, forced to answer for a crime you did not commit. Is that what you want?”
“No. But with all due respect to your, well, group, I do not want to live in hiding either.”
“Do you perhaps not understand what I have told you?”
“I understand the gravity of the words, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now.”
“Such an indifferent attitude usually accompanies a greater direction for one’s focus. What is it you will do?”
“I have to find someone.”
“Oh yes? And this is proving difficult?”
“Well yes, considering I just woke up from a nap of unknown time…”
“Months, Nicholas. You’ve been asleep for roughly seven months.” Nick looked down as the words washed over him. Seven months. This meant Nicole had likely moved on with her life. She wasn’t expecting or waiting for him. “Does this help you with your search?”
“No, well…yes. It’s just…I didn’t realise how long it had been. This is a problem. I thought I could find her. Be with her. But after so long, she wouldn’t need me. I’d be in her way.”
“Do you love her, Nicholas?”
Nick looked up, gave the slightest sniff as his emotions almost came to a head. “Yes.”
“Then why on Earth wouldn’t you go to her?”
“Because, for one, I don’t know where she is. I haven’t got her scent. Two, she might be happy and away from all of this now. Going to see her, like this, would be for my benefit. My selfishness to put this all on her again. You said it yourself, I’m a wanted man, so she’s better off if I leave her alone. Who the hell am I to drag her down with me?”
The Night Mother adjusted her position and leaned forward, speaking calmly. “Listen to me, boy. One does not get to my age without learning one or two home truths. You survived a fire that should’ve killed an Alpha Wolf, even one as strong as you. The first thing you wanted to do was find her again when you woke. Governments neglect the people, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. I have seen these things over and over. What I have also seen is that if you find someone that touches your heart in that way, you had best believe it isn’t selfish to find them and hold them. Most people are content with their partners. But love, Nicholas, true love, transcends anything. Only recently, a vampire put the love of a human woman over his own happiness. Saving her life in the process, yet making it impossible for them to be together. If you have found that connection with this girl, you owe it to yourself to find her and to put her soul at ease if nothing else.”
“I guess that would be the right thing to do. Tell her I’m okay, at least.”
“I would start with the last place she resided…”
The Night Mother was going in and out of focus. The torches were being blown out. “What’s happening?”
“Your body is being moved. You are waking up. Have no fear. You will wake up well outside the Hollow, free to pursue your chosen course. Farewell Nicholas. I wish you had reconsidered my offer.”
“Why?”
“For we will never see each other again.”
Nick woke, sitting up against a cold brick wall, in a dark alleyway
