The Síochán Ch. 06

"I disagree," Kincaid remarked thoughtfully. "He is clearly lonely but very dedicated to the task he set out to achieve. If he didn't need us then he wouldn't have fought so hard for us. He has always taken a back seat, only commenting when he really needed to. He has allowed us a free hand in the hopes that we would learn from our mistakes. I suggest it is time that we do so otherwise he may very well give up on humanity completely and none of us want that. Whether or not we went about things in the wrong way, our goal has always been ingrained in us, to protect humanity, to keep the balance."

Harlan snorted softly and ran a hand over his bald head. "I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact Nathaniel is Lucas' son and we never knew about it. Or about the fact that Anton was a demigod."

"I don't want to talk about it," Lucas growled softly piercing Harlan with a steely gaze, his expression hard.

"Maybe that's where we've all been going wrong," Marcus mused quietly. "We've never really spoken to each other. Not about anything important like our lives before we came here, how we feel about what we do. Maybe if we had then things would not have deteriorated to this point?"

Another long silence greeted Marcus' words as they all silently thought over the implications of the day.

"First we need to discuss what to do about Summer," Lucas broke the silence. "We can evaluate just what our goals are going to be after that."

"She's one of us," Harlan said quietly. "Her place is here with us. The issue isn't Summer, it's Nathaniel." He kept a wary eye on Lucas as he spoke. The truth of the relationship between the two Síochán changed everything.

Lucas met his gaze and frowned slightly as he correctly interpreted the expression on the dark skinned Síochán's face. This had been the reason they had never revealed their family connection. It would have hampered the work of the Síochán if the others had known, made them less free with their arguments and opinions if they conflicted with either Lucas or Nathaniel's.

He stifled down a deep sigh. Now the truth was out, there was no way Nathaniel could return to the Síochán, even if he wanted to. That really left only one decision to be made. He looked at each other them individually, saw understanding blossom in their eyes as they silently acknowledged to themselves that Nathaniel could no longer return to them.

"It's going to become boring around here again," Marcus finally said quietly, a slight frown on his face. "I was enjoying having our little bundle of chaos stirring things up." Silence greeted his words for a long time.

"Then the decision has been made?" Lucas answered, waiting for everyone to agree quietly. His heart felt heavy at the prospect of losing Summer and yet knowing that Nathaniel would no longer be wandering alone, that they would no longer be suffering from their separation made up for his own loss.

"She shouldn't have to remember this," he sighed deeply. "It is my judgement we return to the beginning and right the wrong that was done not only to Summer but to Nathaniel too."

There was no disagreement when he finished speaking.

_____

The night was still dark, though the first signs of dawn were slowly starting to break through the star filled sky. They didn't have a lot of time. The four beautiful men stood behind shields of invisibility, staring silently at the house before them. Each one smiled as they thought of the occupant of the house, of how her eyes shone with such laughter or flared with such anger depending on her mood. How she'd invaded their hearts and turned their lives upside down forever. Sometimes Chaos was the most wonderful thing, even if it hurt to let it go.

"Harlan, the lodger," Lucas said quietly, his expression pensive. His companion nodded without a word, taking off into the night away from the house. Lucas took a step forward but Kincaid halted him with a hand to his arm.

"I'll do it," he said quietly. "This is too much to ask of you. You have suffered enough even if you will never truly believe that."

Lucas hesitated. It was his place to do this, his actions which had set all of this in motion all those millennia ago.

"Listen to him," Marcus growled. "Nathaniel will not stop to listen to either Kincaid or myself. He will stop for you. We are all responsible, Lucas. We all need to atone for our roles in this."

Lucas nodded slowly, feeling weak for being relieved that he wouldn't be the one responsible for what was to happen. He didn't think he could do it. Not to Summer. He peeled away and disappeared to the right, vanishing into the darkness.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Marcus asked quietly. He knew that despite his aloofness, Kincaid was probably the one who felt the most for the pretty little blonde inside, after Nathaniel and Lucas. "You can monitor the family and I can do it."

The tall brown haired Síochán shook his head. "No, I will do this for her," he answered quietly. "It is the least I can do." He walked forward towards the house, his step heavy with dread even though he knew what he was about to do was the right thing.

The sound of the front door opening surprised Summer and she turned with a thumping heart wondering if Nathaniel had returned. She stared mutely at the beautiful man who came to stand in the doorway to the parlour. He was breathtaking to look at. He reminded her of Nathaniel in a way only his eyes seemed to be full of a deep sadness.

"Who are you?" she managed to get out, her hand clutching at the neck of her nightgown as she gazed at her second visitor for the night. She had not known this one was coming, unlike Nathaniel whose visit had been a certainty.

"Kincaid," he breathed softly stepping into the room and slowly walking towards her. She felt fear begin to build inside her and she stepped away from him.

"What do you want?" her voice shook as she spoke and she was perplexed by the sad expression on his beautiful face.

"To apologise," he whispered, suddenly standing right before her without seeming to have moved at all.

She let out a startled squeak as a hand circled the nape of her neck and tilted her head up to look at him. "For what?" she heard herself asking, her voice barely above a whisper.

"For this, sweet Summer," he groaned softly an instant before she felt a deep stabbing pain in her abdomen. She screamed as waves of agony engulfed her body and her knees buckled.

He caught her easily, a tear sliding down his cheek as he carried her over to the sofa and laid her down gently. "Forgive me," he whispered placing a gentle kiss on her brow before he turned and left.

Summer clutched at her stomach, feeling the stickiness of her blood seeping out of the gaping wound in her body. The pain was an agony that brought tears to her eyes. She was dying and she knew it. Why had he done this? Who was he and how did he know her name? Why had a beautiful angel come down from the Heavens and ended her life?

_____

Nathaniel slipped out of the house casting a last look behind him. He was overcome with the urge to return to her, to gather her into his arms and steal her away into the night. He had never felt such a deep, utter need for a woman before but something about the ethereal little beauty he was walking away from called to his very soul.

Dawn would be here soon. He had to get home safely before the sunlight broke. He moved swiftly, hurrying through the darkness. The scent of a Síochán suddenly assaulted his nostrils and he stopped instantly, his pressing need quickly forgotten.

"Nathaniel," Lucas said from the darkness and he whirled around to stare into the eyes of the man he hadn't seen in a millennia and hoped never to have seen again.

"You have to go back, Nathaniel," Lucas urged softly. "Summer needs you."

The sound of Summer's name on the Síochán's lips seemed to break down some invisible block in his mind and Nathaniel howled in pain and dropped to his knees with his head in his hands. Memories long buried surfaced, Summer, his love for her, his inability to end her life, the Síochán's punishment of him for not doing so.

"What have you done!" he hissed furiously glaring up at Lucas through a haze of pain. "Have you done it? Have you hurt her? Please, God, tell me you haven't hurt her!"

"She needs you, Nathaniel," Lucas urged hauling him up from the ground. "She has little time left but if you go fast enough you can save her."

"The dawn!" Nathaniel groaned his tortured gaze turning to the heavens which were already much too light for his comfort. There would be little point in saving Summer if the dawn came.

Lucas gripped his head between his hands and brought his gaze level with his. His eyes shone with all the love he felt for his son. "Trust me, Nathaniel," he whispered. "Just once, that's all I ask. Trust that despite everything I would never let you die."

They stared mutely at each other for a brief moment and then Nathaniel broke free turning around and blurring back towards the house, to his Summer who needed him.

He was through the door and beside the sofa in an instant, rage flaring through him at the blood soaking her nightgown, her pale, pain filled face.

"Nathaniel," she whispered weakly. "I hurt." Her voice trailed off into tortured sobs as the agony consumed her and she felt herself begin to weaken more. It would not be long now before so much blood had left her body there would be nothing left for her heart to pump around. Then it would stop beating.

Nathaniel growled softly, pushing up her nightgown, searching for the wound which was slowly killing her. So much blood had been lost but she still retained enough. He had never done this before but he knew the theory of it. It was the only way to save her. He buried his mouth against her wound, licking at her blood as he coated her liberally with his saliva. The wound was blessedly small enough that it closed quickly, sealing it what little blood she still retained.

She didn't have enough to keep her alive. He knew it and the only available option open to her. He cradled her gently in his arms, giving her a little shake to open her eyes. "Summer," he breathed softly. "Stay with me. Please. I don't think I could bear walking this world without you in it. Stay with me forever. Just say the words and we can be together for eternity." He didn't want to take the decision away from her. Choice had been taken away from him long ago and he wouldn't do that to Summer. It was her choice to make.

Her green eyes clouded with pain as she looked up at him. "Forever?" she breathed softly. Forever with this beautiful man who had stolen her chastity and then her heart in the space of a handful of hours? A chance for a life lived by his side for eternity? She would be like him, a vampire. She knew it because she knew she was past the point of surviving as a human. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed.

Nathaniel expelled the breath he was holding so tightly. He sliced into the side of his neck and brought her mouth to the wound. He didn't need to drain any of her blood, she had lost enough from the knife wound in her abdomen. "Drink, Summer," he groaned softly, forcing his blood down her throat until she began to suckle softly and then more firmly.

It took only moments for the transfer of blood to be achieved, for her heart to suddenly start pounding more strongly and her body to begin the change to her new vampire state as she slipped slowly into unconsciousness as her body sought to heal itself. Nathaniel breathed a sigh of relief that he had been in time but it was short lived as he saw the lightness of the sky.

With a muffled curse he stripped off his cloak and wrapped Summer securely in it as he turned to head out into the approaching dawn. He wasn't afraid that his life was about to end but he was afraid for Summer. She deserved so much better than this. He prayed his Síochán strength would hold strong enough to allow him to get her safely back to his dark room. If he succumbed to the burns then that was a price he was willing to pay to ensure her safety.

Lucas was waiting just outside the house, Marcus, Kincaid and Harlan standing a slight distance away.

"Wait, Nathaniel," Lucas said, stepping forward and placing one hand on his head and the other on Summer's. He held his hands briefly against them and then smiled slowly as he peeled back the cloak to look down at Summer.

"The sunlight!" Nathaniel hissed furiously.

"Will not harm her," Lucas said gently, stroking an errant curl from the unconscious woman's face. "She was never meant to walk in darkness, Nathaniel. She is Summer by name and summer by nature. She should never be denied the light."

The sun was breaking the horizon, casting the first rays on all of them. Nathaniel stared in amazement as his skin didn't begin to blister, as Summer's beautiful face remained unblemished as the light hit her. "What did you do?" he asked, his voice full of awe as he greeted his first dawn in over a thousand years.

"I told you to trust me," Lucas sighed softly. "I know that's not always an easy thing between us but you will always be my son, Nathaniel. I will never let you die if it is in my power to stop it."

Nathaniel stared at Lucas his thoughts in turmoil. He knew this was Síochán doing, that something had occurred in the future which had caused all of the Síochán to come back into his past to change it. What it was he had no idea but it appeared to be something crucial.

"Do you want to know?" Lucas asked quietly correctly guessing his son's thoughts.

Nathaniel nodded slowly, tensing when the Síochán's hands once more touched him, a wealth of images flooding his mind. What might have been rocked him to his very core, the revelations about Anton stunning him completely, the tentative beginnings of the Síochán to question their actions the most surprising thing of all. All because of his Summer.

He gave Lucas a level look, raising an eyebrow at the one part of the story he was most definitely not impressed with.

"You think you are the only one who could love her?" Lucas asked with a sad smile. "She reminds me so much of your mother at times. She has her same joy of life and fiery temper when riled. Being with her will be one of my most treasured memories even if it is something you never forgive me for, Nathaniel."

Nathaniel considered how he felt about it, staring into Summer's beautiful face as he did so. All of the Síochán had come to love his woman in their own way. If Lucas' love was the same as his then it was only natural that he would want to be with her. Nathaniel couldn't imagine anyone denying him loving Summer when he felt so strongly about her.

He weighed up what was taken from him and what had been given back to him. The Síochán were trying to atone, they were making the first steps towards becoming what they were truly meant to be. As long as he had Summer at his side it was something he could come to terms with in time.

"Thank you, Father," he said softly, a small smile tugging at his lips as he saw the brief flash of joy that crossed Lucas' face. He was still angry with the other man but he offered the first tentative olive branch to him. He was sure that Summer wouldn't allow him to continue to hold his grudge against the Síochán.

A sudden thought struck him. "Will she remember?" Technically none of it had happened for Summer yet and never would now the timeline had been changed.

"No, son, though I have left her with the same abilities as you. She will instinctually remember her training so she will be able to take care of herself. But she will not remember anything of us."

Nathaniel frowned and pursed his lips, his thoughts racing. She had lived that life, known the joy and the pain of it. She had been instrumental in so much. It seemed wrong that she wouldn't remember it. "She deserves to know, Lucas," he said.

Lucas regarded him intently for a long moment and then nodded slowly. Nathaniel was right. Summer did deserve to know. "I can moderate what she remembers," he answered quietly but Nathaniel was shaking his head instantly.

"She deserves to know everything, Lucas," he said firmly. "She loved you, a part of her may always love you. I will not deny her anything even if it isn't to my liking." It was probably one of the hardest decisions he had ever had to make but he knew it was the right decision. For a brief moment he almost understood what Lucas must have felt like when he had made all the hard decisions in his life. Another icy block thawed from his heart as he looked at his father. Perhaps all hope was not lost for them given a little more time.

"You shame me, Nathaniel," Lucas whispered quietly before he laid his hands on Summer's face and gave her the memories of the life she had almost been forced to live forever.

He stepped back and smiled. "The Síochán will no longer invade your lives, Nathaniel. But if either of you should ever need us then all you have to do is call one of our names. It will flag a red warning in the Scrying Fountains and one of us will be with you in an instant."

Nathaniel looked over at the Síochán pinning Kincaid with a hard glare, his eyes letting the other man know that he knew whose hand had placed the knife in Summer's body.

Kincaid merely smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgement. They had never been friends but Nathaniel knew that despite that, the Síochán had not acted in malice. He had merely been doing what he was tasked to do.

"Remember, just call if you should need us," Lucas said, his voice bringing Nathaniel's gaze back to his father. "And tell Summer...well tell her that we all hope in time she will forgive us and think kindly of us once again."

Nathaniel smiled softly as he looked down at his precious woman. "I don't think you'll have to worry about her forgiveness, Lucas. She has a generous soul."

He nodded to the Síochán and then turned away, staring up at the sun as if fascinated by its very existence. It had been so long since he had seen it. It was almost as breathtaking as Summer. He turned to look back and found the street empty, the Síochán once more the elusive body known now to two people walking the mortal world.

_____

Summer sighed softly and cuddled into the warm, hard body pressed against her. Nathaniel's musky scent tickled her nostrils and she snuggled a little closer to him, her arms gripping him tightly.

Her eyes suddenly shot open and she tilted her head back in shock. Memories flooded through her startled mind, both old and new ones crashing together in a confusing kaleidoscope of different timelines and staggering revelations.

She was a vampire? Lucas was Nathaniel's father? Anton a demigod? Was any of it possible or was it all a dream? Nathaniel was definitely real. He was lying sleeping beside her with his arms wrapped protectively around her body as if afraid she would vanish if he let go.

Summer tried to filter all the information but it was so staggering. If she was understanding everything correctly she had never lived the life of a Síochán because they were technically back at the time when she had first met Nathaniel. But she felt as if she had lived that life.

Despite all the misery and heartache she wanted to retain her memories of that life. It had shaped her and made her stronger. Nathaniel was a part of those memories, their chaotic relationship growing tentatively in that timeline. She needed to have lived that with him. She didn't ever want to give up one precious second with her beautiful vampire.

She felt Nathaniel wake, his body tensing for an instant as he realised she was awake. His eyes slowly opened to stare down intently into hers.

"Summer?" he breathed tentatively, trepidation crossing his beautiful face as he waited to see what her reaction to everything was going to be.