Opposites - ReVamped (Highlander/ Kindred: The Embraced Crossover)

Chapter 8 - Unexpected

Frank had the feeling that something was very wrong, and that Luna was not going to approve. Ever since he had seen Richie in the café, something had been off, and there was something almost tangibly strange about the creature who was Immortal and Kindred, he could feel it. Richie seemed to have no clue what a Kindred was and yet he had to have been with one for several days.

Luna had scoured the city looking for the missing Immortal and no one hid that well unless they were being hidden by like minds. Half the time Richie looked so lost and helpless that Frank could almost overlook the fact that, some of the time, the Immortal was staring at him with orange eyes.

Frank had tried to explain all he knew about Kindred, which, he knew, wasn't the full picture, but it was a start. Then he had tried to convince Richie to go to Luna, after all this was definitely Kindred business now, but Richie had reacted badly to that idea. Considering the reservations Frank had about the way Kindred did business, he didn't blame Richie, and had dropped the subject pretty quickly. Instead he had offered to make coffee, and Richie had accepted, hence he was in the kitchen waiting for the machine to finish its cycle.

The fact was he knew he should take Richie straight to Luna, but he wasn't sure what Luna would do. There was something very not normal about Richie, and he was clearly having mental issues after the embrace. Frank was slightly afraid that Luna would decide to find out how to kill Richie and be done with it. The one thing he was sure of was that Luna cared more about the Masquerade than anything else and, if Richie threatened that, he was toast.

He couldn't help wondering if Richie really was Kindred, or if his guest was something else entirely, given his unusual physiological peculiarities. The only thing he did know was that Richie had been dicked around by a vampire, and he was going to help him.

The coffee machine finally made the familiar burble and he filled two mugs with the dark liquid before heading back into the other room. What he did not expect to find was the curtain partially open and Richie standing in the direct light. Richie was wearing the shades he had had sitting on the sideboard and didn't look as if he liked the brightness much, but Richie was still standing in full sunlight. Frank thought that when it came to Kindred, that should not have been possible and his suspicions began to solidify.

"I think," Richie said, turning and looking at him, "starting off Immortal has its advantages."

"I think," Frank replied in kind, "you might be right."

He walked over and handed Richie the mug of coffee.

"So," he said, glancing out the window at the clear blue sky, "did you feel like spontaneously combusting, after what I just told you, or was this a general suicidal tendency?"

For the first time since they had met in the café, Richie laughed and then pulled the curtains closed.

"Call it dangerous curiosity," Richie replied and pulled the shades off, putting them back on the table before sitting down. "Mac thinks I have a death wish half the time."

That reminded Frank of the other person who had been running around frantically for days trying to find his guest. He had been so wrapped up in Kindred affairs that he'd all but forgotten Duncan MacLeod.

"Maybe you should call MacLeod," he suggested, moving to sit down as well; "he's been looking for you as well."

Richie frowned at that and several different emotions skittered across his face. It was a little disconcerting because it almost looked as if Richie was having many different reactions to the same thing, and not in a good way.

"No," Richie said eventually, "I can't, not yet. I need to figure this out. I don't want Mac to end up in the middle of this as well; he's likely to go all hero on me and get himself killed."