Chapter 21

Nikola had tried to approach Samyaza after that but couldn’t. The angel had some strange aura of light around him that burned Nikola the closer he got to the now awaken angel. He had tried to scream for help to him, for surely angels knew how to help ghosts move on, but the angel couldn’t hear him.

Samyaza had exited the cave and found Nikola’s pyre. He hadn’t known what it was, judging by his expression and the mind reading Nikola did on him, so he stepped on the ashes on the way out. Nikola had stopped trying to call after him then.

A good thing about the whole situation was that Nikola still had his vampire powers, in a way. He could read minds, he could topple down trees. So the next logical step was to call for Vasilisa. But he was responded with only silence. He felt empty as he fell on his knees and began to tear out grass in frustration. He looked down to the ground and began in a broken whisper.

“Satan, its me, Nikola. Your prophet, remember? I can’t hear Vasilisa so you must have taken everyone home with you by now. I know you must be busy setting things to right back in the boiling cauldron after being away for so long but could you perhaps take a minute to send someone over to pick me up? Anyone will do but if it’s Vasilisa I promise I will be your best berserker from now on.”

No reply came. The ground didn’t open itself to swallow him up. He then turned his eyes towards the skies and just as saliently he begged for mercy from the one he had cursed not so long ago.

“Is Satan in time out, big boss? I’m sorry for cursing you out. I meant every word and I know it doesn’t help my case but I still beg for mercy, if not for forgiveness. Won’t you send me a sign? Smite me, maybe? Anything at all.”

The clouds kept moving gently. He was ignored yet again. Nikola bowed his head and got up. Sadik was right, he had the delusion that he was something special. Why should God or Satan answer him now that he was dead? Was this his punishment? He had power but couldn’t use it in the war of Heaven and Hell like he was promised to. No one could hurt him anymore. He now had everything he had kept crying about wanting all along.

He jumped in the air and found he stood there. With much effort, and much twirling around, he finally set his feet on the ground. Right, no stomping on the ground like a child anymore.

Nikola backtracked through the forest and reached the last town he had seen before he had gone off in the wild. He then got on a plane and let it take him where it was going. He had thought about going back home to Dimitri and Malkav but the very thought of seeing them with faces filled with sorrow made him reconsider. He was dead and even if no one came to sort him out he would at least act like it.

He began to haunt airports after that. Nikola the airport ghost had better ring to it than Nikola the haunted house ghost. It was original and he got to watch people from all across the world go by him. He found out that if he didn’t want to even if he touched things they won’t feel it, but if he did want them to they will. On a whim he had screamed “donkey butt” in the ear of a passenger on a plane to see the allure but the man didn’t hear him. So he was just mute and invisible. He wished he couldn’t interact with the world around him at all.

He spend Christmas in Oslo that year and sang carols together with the radio. He spend New Year’s in Berlin and made funny faces at babies while their mothers were waiting for their flights. He pretended that the babies would see him every time they would giggle.

Vasilisa had wanted to give them a child, once. He wondered where Vasilisa was now. Was he in Hell? Or had God decided to solely punish Nikola for all their combined sins and raise the angelic vampire into his own kingdom for all the suffering Vasilisa had endured? Nikola hoped it was the latter.

Months passed and he grew bored of airports. Maybe there was something to the haunted houses after all. He decided to go to Austria and wandered aimlessly until he found himself into a small town. He began treating it all as if he was watching a soap opera.

He knew for a fact that the man of the red house by the fountain was cheating on his wife with the lady three streets from there. There was a lady with five children who used her dog as a babysitter and the poor pouch would run off to the neighbor’s backyard to hide. And the way the children of the town’s kindergarten teacher would pull pranks on everyone was simply diabolical.

He was just about to hop to a different town when he heard music from one of the houses. Feeling bored Nikola walked in and saw a man on a piano. He sat down and listened to him for a time. Just as he was about to get up and leave he saw her.

She was pregnant and if it wasn’t for how light her hair was she could pass for his sister. The woman sat by him unknowingly and placed her hand right over his ghostly one. Nikola concentrated on not having her feel his presence very hard and went back to listening music with her.

He remained with the family after that. He didn’t know what kept him with them but he didn’t want to leave them. He made sure he wouldn’t be noticed and talked to them all the time. He would spy for Elizabeta’s smiles to crack his jokes. He would pretend to tease Roderich at the same time as Elizabeta, always agreeing with the woman.

He was sitting on the backseat and talking to them when it happened. It was winter again and Elizabeta’s delivery time was almost due. Her waters broke and Roderich was happily driving them to the hospital. The road was slippery and it was dark. Nikola should have seen it coming and prevented it somehow.

A truck flew at them with breakneck speed. Roderich hadn’t had a chance. As Nikola was dragging Elizabeta out of the crushed car he saw that Roderich had been thrown out of the car at some point and now laid broken on the road. Depositing Elizabeta far away that if the car or truck blew up the explosion wouldn’t harm her he went to check on the truck driver.

The man was still alive and he didn’t smell of alcohol. Another overworked individual. He got him to Elizabeta’s side and slapped his face until the man woke up. He immediately took out his phone and called an ambulance. Good man.

Then Nikola felt what he hadn’t felt ever since he died. Human contact. He turned his head back and saw Roderich holding a naked baby in his arms. They both looked even more see through than Nikola. Roderich nodded his head towards Elizabeta and his voice sounded as if it was passing through running water.

“Who are you? Did you cause this? And how come I am here talking to you when I saw that I died and why is this man not paying you any attention?”  

Nikola was suddenly grateful for the three years of German back in high school as he could understand everything. Now if only he could answer properly. Still he tried.

“My name is Nikola. I am a ghost. I’ve been watching over your family for some time now. No, I didn’t cause the car crash. And I am not sure about how I am felt but not seen myself. What’s with the child?”

“I don’t know. I found it next to my corpse. Could it be…? Is it my baby? You are the ghost with the more experience here. Give me an answer!”

Nikola went back to Elizabeta’s side and found that blood was pooling bellow her legs. He looked back at the child and it opened up it’s eyes and gave a loud whimper that grew into wailing. The eyes were green like Elizabeta’s. Roderich too must have seen this as he bowed his head and began to gently rock the soul of his long awaited infant. It calmed down slowly and Nikola saw that it would have been a boy had it lived. Roderich looked at him for answers yet again.

“What now? I can’t just leave her. I can’t leave my son to move on by himself either. He is just a baby. Would you…would you perhaps agree to stay by Elizabeta’s side? There is a talking light just over your head that told me you can’t see it but it is offering me a chance to go to heaven with my boy. And he also says that since you didn’t harm anyone, either sinners or the good, as you fell, God has decided to grand you mercy. The light says you can take the place of my son’s soul into the already formed child and that if you do his heart will beat again. I know what I am asking of you is selfish, and foolish seeing as I don’t know you, but would you perhaps agree to take care of my wife as a son should? Her parents are long dead and so are mine. She will be left all alone in the world if you refuse. So, please.”

Roderich had fallen to his knees with the baby still in his hands. Nikola raised him up and began to think. This was his way out. He would be reborn, forget about everything and have a mother. A good one that talked to her belly every day and played with the toys of her unborn child.

And he wouldn’t be a vampire anymore. He could eat food again and he wouldn’t need to kill any more. To hell with Flavius’ Jihad. To hell with Hell. He will do this better. Sure God had punished him but God was now offering him a way out just like he had offered it to Caine. And Nikola, whose soul wasn’t even his but Vasilisa’s, wasn’t as prideful as to not take it.

“Tell the light that I accept, Roderich. And thank you for the chance you are giving me. You don’t know how much it means to me. I will be the best son ever for Elizabeta.”

Roderich patted Nikola’s hair in a fatherly manner before speaking.

“You better be! I expect you to be good at math and play the piano by the time you turn 8 at the latest. Also if I ever see you from above giving fuzz to Liz about eating your veggies I will come down from Heaven and give you a good spanking! Understood?”

“I understand.”

“I understand, father!”

Nikola chucked at that and extended his hand towards Roderich for a handshake. The Austrian took it with his free one and gave it a firm shake.

“I understand, father.”  

Roderich disappeared after that together with his child. Now what? He touched Elizabeta’s hand but wasn’t sucked into her womb or anything. Was he going to witness his own birth?

His answer was given when the ambulance finally arrived. Elizabeta was deemed too weak to be transported and she was taken inside and brought back to consciousness to deliver her baby. Which was him. It felt weird thinking of it all this way.

He reached out and held Elizabeta’s hand in his and she must have been too shocked to notice she was clutching empty air because she didn’t feel spooked at all. Just like always, even though he knew that it was pointless, he began to talk to her.

“Liz…no, mother. I have something to tell you. Roderich and your son are both dead. I know that the nurses…”

Elizabeta gave a heartbroken wail and then asked the nurse about both Roderich and her baby. The nurse confirmed Roderich’s death but said she didn’t know anything about the child itself. She gave Elizabeta something weak sounding about hope and told her to keep pushing. Elizabeta was crying now and couldn’t bring herself to.

Had she heard him? But it was impossible! Or maybe it wasn’t anymore now that his punishment was over? If Elizabeta didn’t push him out she would die! He lowered his head towards her ear and began to whisper in it just in case if the nurse could hear him too.

“Mother, don’t cry! It’s me, your son. Well, not quite and not yet but still. Your original son got send to Heaven with father. So please calm down and start pushing or else you will die. I don’t want you to die, Liz! I know I wasn’t the one you spoke to and played with all these months but I can still be a son to you. You won’t be alone. Now please fight for your life. Don’t go to Roderich just yet, mother. It’s too soon.”

Elizabeta’s wailing was reduced to quiet hiccups and she got a determined expression on her face. She placed a hand on her stomach and started to push. She gave a couple of pushes before collapsing into the stretcher and whispering weakly.

“Keep talking. I want to get to know the son I have now in case I can’t make it and go to the one I know of. But believe me you will see the light of day and I will fight tooth and nail for it to happen.”

The nurse asked Elizabeta what she was whispering about but Elizabeta forced herself to push again and the nurse got back to working. Nikola was oddly touched at what Elizabeta had said. To tell a stranger she will fight for him she must be a strong woman indeed. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and this time she felt it but didn’t panic.

“Where to begin, mother? My name is Nikola Asenov. Well there is a Popescu with a dash in there too since I am married but that came later on and I am still not used to it. I am a ghost now but was a vampire before. I…am not a good person, mother. But I drew the line at harming children and eating from demons. Although everyone keeps saying about the latter that it was just because I’ve never seen any demons.”

He said the last part with a pout that could be heard in his voice and Elizabeta laughed gently. Then she turned her face towards him and blinked a couple of times at him. She could see him!

“You look like me. I have a handsome son. I will need to beat the girls away from you with a stick when you grow up again.”

She whispered the last part and the nurse gave her a fearful glance. Nikola decided to remedy the situation.

“Mother, you can think what you want to tell me instead of whispering. And stare at the nurse instead of at me. She might tell the doctors you are crazy when you go to the hospital.”

Elizabeta did as he asked and he entered her mind. As soon as he did so he felt intense pain, mixed with happiness and hope. A sentence formed before he knew it.

“So, my vampire ghostly son, have you spoken with Rody? Did he tell you he wants you to be an architect just like him?”

“I did speak with father but he only said I need to be a math whiz and play the piano while I am still a toddler. But I’ve never played the piano in my previous life. You will have to teach me, mother.”

Elizabeta’s body shook from a mighty push and Nikola began to fade away. He forced all of his power and concentration on Elizabeta in order not to miss her words to him.

“I will, Niki. I will keep your name and teach you the piano just like Rody wanted. And I will teach you Hungarian since it is my mother language. And I will dress you up in the prettiest dresses while you are little. The same ones I was dressed up in when I was a baby. And I will love you. I promise you that, son.”

Nikola sputtered at the dress part as Elizabeta gave him an evil grin. Darn it, wasn’t it bad enough his first mother had dressed him up in cute Disney animal onesies when he was little that now his second was going to give him a confusion about his own gender? He faded away completely just as he was about to plead with Elizabeta not to do such a thing to him.

And then he knew pain. He was held upside down by the stupid nurse and she was slapping his small behind and he was hungry and wanted comfort and darn it why did babies have to be so small and helpless? The pain got too much for him and he was suddenly crying. The nurse put him in her arms and gave a happy dance. The truck driver was finally seen to as Elizabeta hugged him to her and began to hum at him.

He stared at her and he saw himself reflected in her warm green orbs. Then her thoughts began to flood his mind. He tried to stop it but couldn’t and he was crying again with his eyes closed because of a headache. Elizabeta was rocking him back and forth gently and then something soft was pressed to his mouth.

On a whim he stopped his crying and parted his lips and a nipple was suddenly in his mouth. Now he was mentally a fully grown man and he had been calling Liz mother throughout his own birth and this disturbed him greatly. He tried to move his head away but Elizabeta scolded him gently.

“Be a man, Niki, and eat! Mother’s milk has plenty of vitamins and bacteria in it that have to get into a baby’s body ASAP! So start suckling, sonny!”

Nikola did his best angry look but Elizabeta was cooing at him and petting his bald head. She had a point though so he began to suckle. His reluctant attempts turned into hungry gulps and soon his tummy was full. Elizabeta put him to lean on her shoulders and patted his back gently until he gave a burping sound. She really was a good mother. He was happy that he talked her into living, even if it was for a lowlife like him.

He looked into her eyes again and tried to tell her not to put him in dresses when once again he was flooded with her emotions. He needed practice with this but it was good to know that he could still do it. On a whim he reached out a hand towards the baby blanket that the nurse still hadn’t gotten to giving them, being distracted with the truck driver and all.

It flew towards them and Elizabeta pretended that she had taken it. She poked his tiny nose and frowned at him for about a split second before her face lit up again.

“Yes, yes, you are still special. But from now on show it only at home! Or you will be wearing only dresses until you learn the piano!”

The piano was freaking hard! His new mother was evil incarnate! He began to cry yet again. Stupid baby emotions and evil mothers and godforsaken dresses. At least he still had his powers and memories. He could use them to protect his new mother from the things that crawled in the night.

The ambulance drove them to the hospital and the truck driver made funny faces at him all the time. Nikola tried to show him the middle finger for being babied but he ended up waving his whole hand at him instead and the man increased his efforts. His mother must have noticed the desired intend because she tugged his ear in warning. Right, Elizabeta was a historian and freakishly smart. So now he had to watch his steps around her even as a baby. He gave a sob and the truck driver began tickling him.

The two of them missed Roderich’s funeral as they were in the hospital for three weeks so that Elizabeta could have time to heal from all of her internal damages. The doctors had looked at her weirdly when she gave the name Nikola for him but she stood her ground, saying she had a Russian great-grandfather with the same name.

His first days as Nikola Edelstein were fuzzy. His eyes hurt if he kept them open too long. People would come and pinch any uncovered patch of skin they could get their grabby hands on. Elizabeta, now knowing that he had retained his grown up mind, had made good on her threat and forced him in dresses.

The fault of it was his alone as he had kept pulling teddy bears to himself in the hospital. He wanted something to cuddle, darn it. Defeated he kept pointed at the piano until Elizabeta started teaching him notes one day. He might as well be learning ancient hieroglyphs for all the progress he was making. It seemed that he would be going in dresses until he was 18 and out of the house.

Nikola kept trying to talk but his vocal cords weren’t developed. But he got the hang of controlling his mind powers just past his first birthday so he now made his displeasure at the dresses known to Elizabeta. She, evil demon that she was, didn’t care.

It was on his third birthday that he couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his eyes. He was doing laps in the front yard and trying to do little jumps around toys he was using as obstacles when his dear mother giggled from the door.

A tall, dark skinned man, opened the door for her as she carried his cake with her and he was piled to the brim with brightly wrapped presents. He took a closer look at the man and fell on his butt. It was Sadik! In broad daylight!

And the moldy geezer was winking at his mother suggestively! He picked up a rubber ducky and threw it at Sadik. It bounced off of his back and the Turk turned towards him.

“Maraba, chibi! I’ll come play with you when I’m done helping your mother set everything for your birthday. Oh, and happy birthday!”

Sadik entered their house like it was the most normal thing in the world and Nikola picked up his stuffed baseball bat and gave it a couple of swings. His mother wasn’t going to get lied to by a slimy vampire who was probably buying Malkavian blood off the black market to be with her.

Nikola swung the bat over his shoulder and went inside. As soon as he saw Sadik he tried to hit him on the knees with it but he sidestepped. Stupid assassin reflexes. Elizabeta went to tug at his ear.

“Nikola Edelstein just where is this coming from? Sadik is very dear to me and you keep trying to harm him. Now say you are sorry or it’s a dress tomorrow and no cake for you tonight.”

Sadik ruffled Nikola’s hair as the boy said a grumpy “sorry”. Then he picked him up, threw him a couple of times in the air, catching him with ease each and every time much to his mother’s delight, and put him on his shoulders.

“It’s ok, Liz. Little chibi here is too used to being the man of the house and can’t stand a little competition. He’ll outgrow it when you give him the happy news.”

Nikola looked at his mother in horror as she twisted a ring on her finger. The lying geezer had her smitten. But a wedding hadn’t happened yet. There was no way that Elizabeta wouldn’t have dragged him to it. Or put him in a dress for it.

“Niki, it’s been long enough and you need a father. So I went on a dating site and met Sadik. We have been dating in secret since I didn’t want to bring him into your life until I was sure I loved him. We are getting married in a week and if I hear even a peep from you against him I am having a small replica of my wedding dress made for you!”

Nikola fisted his hands into Sadik’s hair and pulled until some of it came out. The vampire winced but the hair regrew instantly. Git. His mother must have seen it because she looked surprised. With an evil grin on his face Nikola happily waved the clusters of hair to her while he kicked his feet with as much strength as they had. Sadik gave a slight groan at a particularly sharp one. In his mother’s mind he spoke one word: vampire.

“Little shi…sunshine doesn’t know his strength, Liz. You should be proud having such a strong boy for his age. I’d like to talk to him on my own, if it’s ok with you?”

Elizabeta looked positively worried and was about to say no and demand answers when Nikola once again spoke in her mind.

“It’s ok, mama. I know the geezer. He was the one to kill me, even. I can pay him back with the worst headache he has ever had. Just act normal and take out your frying pan so you can hit him over the head a couple of times on his way out of the house.”

His mother responded with an evil grin and nodded. Sadik carried Nikola on his shoulders and took his kicking in silence. He then went and opened Nikola’s room, just where did he know it was his room from anyway? And he put him on the bed. Nikola got up and took a teddy bear and placed it next to Sadik as the Turk looked to him in question. He did the same with a toy bunny and ended up using all of his toys until Sadik was surrounded by a circle made out of them. Next Nikola got up on the bed and gave it a couple of bounces.

“Begin talking, geezer. Why are you here? Why are you sniffing around my mother? And why have you been in my house before?” He said in perfect English.

Sadik looked around at the circle of toys, then back at the child that should have been too young to know another language, then back at the toys. He sat down on the floor in the Turkish stile and looked up at Nikola.

“Niki, may I call you Niki?”

Nikola stopped bouncing on the bed and started to kick his feet instead.

“You may not. It’s Mister Edelstein to you.”

“Right…” Sadik reached out and tried to poke Nikola’s nose. Nikola used one of his small pillows to hit him over the head.

“You little bast…buttercup. You little buttercup. Anyway you are really smart to know a language at such a young age. Do you mind telling me the ABC?”

Nikola awarded Sadik an evil grin before clearing his throat. In a singsong voice he began.

A Is For Amber Who Drowned In A Pool

B Is For Billy Who Was Eaten By Ghouls

C Is For Curt With Disease Of The Brain

D Is For Daniel Derailed On A Train

E Is For Erik Who Was Buried Alive

Sadik raised his hands in front of him and made Nikola stop just as he was saying the name Heather. Nikola pouted at him and then showed him his tongue. Sadik tried to call him bastard again but he turned it to butterfly at the last second.

“I haven’t’ reached Z yet, geezer. And you didn’t find out what happens to Heather. She got sealed in a tomb. It is very tragic but could happen to anyone. Especially to old geezer that lie to people’s mothers about themselves.”

Sadik pointed an accusing finger at Nikola and the boy hit him with the pillow again. It was good to have some payback for being killed and as long as Sadik wasn’t fighting back it was a ton of fun.

“You little sack of rub…radishes! Adorable radishes! Quit hitting me or I will go down and tell your mother you tried to sacrifice me to Satan using your toys and won’t stop being annoying. And then it’s a mini wedding dress for you and you will be bride’s maid instead of a ring bearer!”

Nikola placed the pillow in his lap for future use and showed Sadik the middle finger. Sadik got up and sputtered at him. Nikola managed to catch him in the face with the pillow.

“Let’s stop this game, geezer. Are there any other Nikolas you know of? Bulgarian vampire ones perhaps?”

Sadik looked at him like he saw a ghost and in a barely audible whisper he spoke.

“Say something in Bulgarian, Nikola.”

“Star perverznik, stoi dalech ot moiata maika!“

„Now translate it. “

„Old pervert stay away from my mother!”

Sadik teared up and sprang up and hugged Nikola. Nikola was pouting as he was being thrown in the air. This was what he got for throwing away his only weapon. Sadik was hugging him again when Nikola felt dizzy and the toddler just knew that Sadik had been counting each throw for that purpose alone.

Then Sadik’s joyful expression changed suddenly and he put Nikola down on the bed but not before kissing his nose.

“Pet, how is this possible? You died. I saw you burn. Fuck I smelled it too. But by Allah am I happy you are back, pet! He is truly great if he forgave even you. Ya, I heard you sold your ass to Satan in the end. But, pet, there is so much I need to tell you. I’ve missed you! And I have to tell you that I still can’t stop thinking about you. I love you, pet.”

Nikola hit Sadik over the head with his small fist and gave him a headache that forced the Turk to the ground. Elizabeta chose this moment to enter and start hitting Sadik with a frying pan.

“Wretch! Filth! Pedophile! I can’t believe you killed my son and you are now confessing to him even though you know full well he is only a toddler! I will break your fangs and shove them in your eyes! I can’t believe you got me to marry you, you lying piece of shit!”

“You tell him, Mama!”

Little fists were being pumped in a victory dance as Nikola increased the headache. Sadik managed to get on his shaky legs and took the pan out of Elizabeta’s hands before setting her on the bed. She calmed down immediately. The bastard had the gall to use his powers on his mother! Nikola increased the headache’s intensity. Sadik roared and broke the pan in two. Elizabeta trembled in fear but Nikola got into her lap and let himself be hugged like a plushy. That did the trick as Elizabeta got her bravado back.

“Sadik Adnan are you even an archeologist like you said? You liar! Call off the wedding, take your stupid ring back and leave now or I will let Niki do this diablerie he keeps talking about on you!”

Nikola got stars in his eyes and hugged Elizabeta’s arms.

“Mother you are my hero!”

“You bet I am!” She responded and kissed the top of his head. Meanwhile Sadik had stopped clutching his head as Nikola had stopped his attack to compliment Elizabeta. Seeing it was his chance he took it.

“Liz, it’s not like it sounds! Chibi here is not your son! He is an old friend and potential lover of mine. He…”

Nikola flipped the bird at Sadik again and Elizabeta tugged his ear gently for the rude gesture.

“Potential lover, my ass! You don’t hold a candle to any of my spouses! And my mother knows everything, you cradle robber!”

Elizabeta got a thoughtful look and then made a soft Oh and then her expression was angry again as she tugged at Nikola’s ear mercilessly.

“Spouses? You cheated on your wife while alive? Nikola Edelstein how could you!”

“Mama, I can explain! The four of us were very happy together, well not in the start but…”

“FOUR?!”

It was Sadik’s turn to chuckle as he watched Nikola being chewed out for not keeping it in his pants and warned that something like this won’t be tolerated while he lived under Elizabeta’s roof.

“Guess Mama doesn’t know everything, does she? Have you told her you are THE dark prophet of Satan? He’s been searching for your soul under rock and tree, by the way. Him and Vasilisa the Beautiful both.”

“NIKOLA EDELSTEIN YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL TO SATAN? After the pedophile gets out of here we are going to church and you are going straight to the confessional!”

“Ok, mother. The priest is a vampire too so he will understand me.”

Sadik was clutching his sides as he laughed. Then Elizabeta’s rage turned towards him and he was dodging pillows left and right. When Elizabeta ran out of pillows she was about to throw Nikola too but then Sadik spread his arms at it and she hugged her child close to herself instead. Nikola was shuddering at the almost betrayal and whimpered. It was Sadik’s turn to defend himself at last.

“Liz, and chibi pet, it’s not what you two think. I’ll wait for him to turn at least 18! There is no need to call off the wedding! Harems do well with diversity! And it’s not like he is my son or anything so Allah won’t judge me!”

Nikola send Sadik another headache as Elizabeta stood gaping like a fish. She pulled them as far away from Sadik as she could and wrapped them with Nikola’s fluffy pink comforter. Sadik had an expression full of adoration at that.

“Ok, that came out wrong. I mean, Liz, I love you woman! But your son looks so much like he is going to grow up to the way he was but he would look even nicer since his hair is a lighter shade now and his nose is all aristocratic. But I don’t touch children, I swear! Liz, be reasonable! Ok, fine, I know. You want me to choose? Fine, I choose you! I will even try to treat chibi pet like a son for your sake and won’t have any affairs while you are alive! I will be faithful until death does us apart and I’ll even stop your glutton of a son from eating things he shouldn’t! So what do you say, Liz? Walk with me to the altar?”

Elizabeta got up, rolled a still whimpering Nikola securely in the comforter, and slapped each of Sadik’s cheeks.

“I want you to get out of my house and I want to never see you again! I swear to God from now on I am dating only with Niki by my side so he can sort the vampires from normal people!”

Sadik stomped on the ground but Elizabeta stood her ground.

“Liz I even agreed to have a Christian wedding with you! You can’t do this to me! The past two years were a dream for me. I even took time off of assassin work for a whole 200 years to be with you! Let me make it up to you! My feelings for chibi pet will wear off. He is a thing of the past and I never had a chance with him to begin with anyway.”

Elizabeta was having none of it and pointed the door to the Turk. He bowed his head and dragged his feet to the front door and the mother and son duo watched as he got in his car and drove off. Elizabeta then went and hugged Nikola who still looked disturbed at the “I’ll wait for him to grow up” comment.

“Mama, you won’t let the geezer stalk me until I’m 18, right? You’ll call the police if you ever see him here again, won’t you?”

“Of course, Niki. Now why don’t you take your baseball bat and come down to protect me as I finish setting things for your birthday. You are the man of the house and nothing will ever change that, after all.”

“Ok, Mama.”

Nikola took his toy baseball bat and followed his mother down the stairs. They were soon laughing at it all and Nikola was giving his mother his preferences on how his dream father was like so she knew who to date.

That night as Nikola cocooned himself in his comforter and hugged his favorite bunny plushy his window creaked open. Sadik was on his bed and holding a hand on his mouth before he could scream.

“Listen here, chibi pet, you are in the way of my love. And I love your mother and I already mourned you once and won’t mind mourning you again. You screwed this up by exposing me. You will fix it and you have until Sunday at 8 am sharp to do so. Now I will remove my hand and if you scream it will be the last time you do so. And I will search high and low for your next reincarnation. And kidnap you from your parents and wait for you to grow up.”

Nikola gulped as the hand was removed from his mouth but still held his ground.

“I’ll tell mother you came back and you threatened me and she will move us. And I transferred all of my old assets as Nikola Asenov-Popescu to Nikola Edelstein so we have plenty of money. You will never find us!”

Sadik took out a knife and placed it to Nikola’s Adam’s apple. He then smiled at Nikola’s naivety.

“Chibi pet, I have hackers who own me favors. I can get your little real estate kingdom for myself. I did it with Flavius’ assets after I killed him so don’t think I am above it. Unless you want your mother to suffer for you best do what your new dear old dad tells you to, son.”

“It would be a shotgun wedding! A hostage situation! How could you claim to love my mother when you threaten both her and her son, geezer? Isn’t it bad enough you killed me that you are now ruining my life? I am mortal now, even though I have my powers from both my vampire and ghost days! If you care about me at all you will leave and you will let me live out my days in peace!”

Sadik barked a laugh and actually cut him. Nikola whimpered. The small paper cut didn’t close itself.

“This was a warning to see I am serious, chibi pet. There are no good vampires, and that includes you too by the way, and there will never be any. We are creatures of jealousy, passion and obsession. And when we fall love we roll over anything that stands in the way of it. Your spouses would have done the same as me if someone that didn’t want to share you fell in love with you. Which is why I never did any more than flirt with you. I don’t share, chibi pet. And that is true for little greedy brats that don’t allow father figures in their life. Now I am going to leave and tomorrow I will come back bright and early with breakfast for you and Liz and you will convince her that what I said about loving you was a big prank among old friends because I made my choice today. You will sing my prizes and I will play the part of the kind forgiving father. Understood, son?”

Nikola was scared out of his mind again. What if Sadik actually killed him again? Who was going to protect Elizabeta from the vampires that he had to kill every so often for her sake? His mother was a beautiful woman and they stalked her all the time! Not to mention the regular creeps who tried to butter him up to get in her bedroom!

So what does he choose? Sadik had been genuine when he had mourned him. He was still a bastard, thou. Still he had put up with a bad treatment from him today without much of a fuss. He stared in the Turk’s eyes and looked through his memories of his time with Elizabeta.

The two looked happy together. Nikola hadn’t seen his mother so much ever since Roderich had died. And the jokes Sadik was cracking weren’t even all that funny! Well, Sadik hadn’t gone into a torpor from the headache he had given the man even though it was so strong that even Nikola got a slight one from the effort. If you can’t beat them…

“Fine, geezer. You win. Prepare your suit for the wedding and I will convince mother you are a necessary evil in our lives.”

Sadik kissed his forehead, pulled away, and gave his nose a poke. Then he was suddenly gone and the window was closed without a word. Nikola, plushy and comforter in tow, went to sleep in Elizabeta’s room that night.