Dark Shadows Among Us
Chapter 14
14.1
They arrived at the Old House. It would not be long before the sun would rise. Barnabas Collins tried to contain his frustration and anger. Although he had not known Eve Whitfield that long, because of his link with her he felt an overwhelming obligation and desire to protect her. Damn the dawn! Although he knew that confronting Nicholas Blair was the wrong thing to do, it was exactly what he wanted to do. He could not allow anything to happen to Eve.
As the group entered the drawing room, Ironside looked around at them. Suddenly, Sarah and Josette appeared in the room with them. "Fear not, dear brother. Nicholas Blair does not plan on doing anything until you rise this evening. You may rest peacefully. We will all watch over you," Sarah comforted the vampire.
"Is there anything we can do until your rise?" Ed asked Barnabas.
"Yes, you and Chief Ironside should keep an eye on Nicholas Blair. I believe he will begin taking control of the members of the family at Collinwood. You must make sure that he is unable to do so. Remember, he will use the box. Do not fall prey to that box. I am not sure if you will be able to resist it. Watch out for Angelique. Blair may decide to use her against you. Be careful and be back here at the Old House at dusk. We must plan a strategy against Mr. Blair."
"Right now, everyone needs to go back and get some sleep," Julia Hoffman suggested. "Every one of us will need all our strength and wit to defeat Nicholas Blair."
"Julia is right. We must all get some rest," Professor Stokes agreed. He got up and headed toward the door.
Ever the host, Barnabas escorted him to the door. After the professor had gone, Barnabas returned to the drawing room. "Chief Ironside, I believe it would be best if you and your sergeant stayed here until this is over. Willie will see to your comfort while I am resting. Please keep your aide under your supervision at all times. If he is to break the hold the Leviathans have begun over him, he must not be allowed to come in contact with them. It will be much easier for him to fight them if you are with him. Your people seem to be able to resist somewhat due to their loyalty to you."
"We will have to go to the Inn and pick up our belongings," Ironside said.
Barnabas shook his head. "That will not be necessary. Just give the keys to your rooms and I will send Willie to handle the task. It is best that you do not have a confrontation with Blair until we are prepared to do so."
Robert Ironside was not used to taking orders from anyone. He barely took them from Commissioner Dennis Randall. Yet, he felt compelled to listen to Barnabas Collins. "As you wish, Mr. Collins."
"Please, Chief, call me Barnabas. Now if you will excuse me, the sun is about to come up. Julia, will you join me for a moment?"
"Of course, Barnabas." Dr. Hoffman followed Barnabas out of the drawing room and into the basement where his coffin awaited for his return.
14.2
The vampire lifted the lid to his coffin. He stopped when Julia put her hand on his arm. "Are you sure you know what you are doing, Barnabas?"
He placed his hand over hers and smiled. "Would you rather I had killed Ironside and his sergeant?"
She shook her head. "Of course not, Barnabas. But joining forces with him? How can we be sure he will not betray you?"
"Ironside will not betray me. He needs my help and he knows it. He is not familiar with the area. He would never find Miss Whitfield alone."
"I would not be too sure of that. I don't think you are giving the man credit for the talents he possesses. He found out about you, didn't he?"
Barnabas looked down at the coffin he was about to climb into. "Yes, he found out about me so I would have to say you are probably right. He would likely find Miss Whitfield eventually. The problem would be...would he do it before the Leviathans took control of him and the rest of his people?"
Julia saw the pain in the vampire's eyes. "What is it, Barnabas?"
"When will I stop paying for the mistake I made with Angelique? When will my family stop paying for my mistake?"
"You will stop paying. We know that I will find the cure for your condition. With that the curse on you and your family should end." Julia looked into the vampire's eyes adoringly.
"Julia, dear friend. What would I ever do without you? You have been a true friend. Only Ben Stokes has been as true a friend." Barnabas took her hand in his. She looked away from him, hoping he would not notice her embarrassment... but he did. "I know you feel more than friendship for me..." He stopped. "I have depended on you for so much and you have never waived. I can't promise you anything but..."
Julia looked up at him hopefully. "Can't promise me what?"
Barnabas smiled. "We will talk about this later. I must retire." Barnabas patted her hand and climbed into his coffin. Julia watched as he pulled the lid down and closed it. For the first time since she had met him, Julia was hopeful that someday Barnabas would return her feelings.
14.3
Willie Loomis pulled his beat-up truck in front of the Collinsport Inn. He walked through the front door and went up to the desk. "I would like to check out Chief Ironside's party. He will be staying with Barnabas Collins fort the rest of his stay in Collinsport."
"Yes, Mr. Loomis, Chief Ironside called a few minutes ago. He said you would be checking him out. As he requested, I will send his bill to the sheriff's office."
Willie shook his head. "No, Mr. Collins would like you to send the bill to him. He will be taking care of the Chief's bill."
"Oh... well, I guess that would be alright. Do you have keys to the rooms?" the clerk asked.
"Yes, Chief Ironside provided me with them." Loomis pulled the keys out of his pocket and showed them to the clerk.
He smiled back at Willie and said, "You can leave the keys here when you have cleared the room."
Willie thanked him and headed for Ironside's room. He unlocked the door, entered the room and closed the door. The vampire's servant began collecting Ironside's personal belongings and placing them into his suitcase. There was a knock on the door. Willie stopped abruptly, turned toward the door and stared. Who could possibly know he was here? Willie walked toward the door. Again, there was a knock on the door, this time much louder.
"Open the door, Willie," Sheriff Patterson called out.
Relieved at the sound of Patterson's voice, Willie opened the door and Sheriff Patterson walked in. "What's this about Chief Ironside staying at the Old House?"
"Barnabas... offered to ... let him stay there," Willie stuttered.
Patterson stared at Willie. "Then I take it he is convinced that neither you nor Barnabas is a suspect in the kidnapping of Maggie Evans."
Without looking at Patterson, Willie answered, "That's right. Barnabas was trying to protect Maggie not kidnap her."
Patterson's eyes bore into Loomis. "What are you doing here?"
"Picking up Chief Ironside's belongings."
"Tell Chief Ironside I want to talk to him," Patterson said as he left the room.
Willie returned to collecting Ironside's possessions. When he finished with his room, he carried his suitcases out and put them in his truck. Loomis returned and collected Sanger and Brown's things and put them in the truck.
He made one last trip to Eve Whitfield's room. Unlocking the door, Willie entered and turned on the light. He turned around to see Angelique sitting in a chair across the room. "Good morning, Willie."
"What are you doin' here, Angelique?" Willie began fidgeting and pacing. "You should not be here. You have to leave."
"Relax, Willie. I can't believe Barnabas ever selected you as his slave." She shook her head in disgust. "I want to talk to you."
"I am not talkin' to you. You have to leave now." Willie stepped back from Angelique who had gotten up and started walking toward him.
"Oh, for cripes sake, Willie. Stand still. I am not here to harm you. I am here to help Barnabas."
Loomis looked at her a bit wide-eyed. "You help Barnabas? That'll be the day."
"Listen, Willie. I admit I wanted Barnabas to continue to suffer his curse but I have no desire to see the Leviathans take over either. We have to slow it down until I can convince the master that these are not the people that should rule the earth. They are so... so... boring."
Staring at Willie, she continued, "I can't believe the master allows Barnabas to continue to defy him. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that Nicholas has an ulterior motive I don't think that Barnabas is aware of.
"First of all, I am sure you are aware he took Eve Whitfield last night." Willie said nothing. He just stood there and watched Angelique. "He intends to make a trade with Chief Ironside."
Willie perked up. "A trade? What kind of trade?"
"Eve Whitfield for Maggie Evans. You see Nicholas is obsessed with Maggie Evans. He wants her to become his bride."
"Barnabas is never going to allow that," Willie said.
"I am counting on it. That is why I am telling you. Tell Barnabas I am willing to help him with Nicholas in return for..."
"In return for what?" Willie asked.
"In return for Sgt. Brown," Angelique said.
"What? You can't have someone just because you want them, Angelique. I would think you would have learned that from Barnabas."
"I want Sergeant Brown. He's handsome, intelligent and I want him. He is not Barnabas but he is a rather decent replacement. No one will ever replace Barnabas. He stole my heart and then threw it away. Well, someone has to take his place and that someone is Sgt. Brown. That is my price. It is a small price to pay after all, don't you think? For everything Barnabas has done to me?" She smiled and stepped towards Willie.
Willie backed away again. "Stay away from me. You know that I am off limits, Angelique. If you touch me, Barnabas will retaliate."
Angelique laughed uncontrollably. "I have no intention of touching you, Willie. I am your ally in this little... adventure. You tell Barnabas I want to talk to him alone. I will be willing to give him his freedom. I will lift his curse if he delivers Sgt. Brown to me."
"And what about Chief Ironside? Do you really think he is going to stand by and allow that?" Willie asked, incredulously.
"What does it matter what Ironside wants? As soon as he finds out Barnabas is a vampire, he will desert him. In fact, Barnabas will have to kill him to prevent him from revealing the truth about him to Sheriff Patterson. Ironside is not the ally Barnabas needs. I am. You tell him, Willie. There is more. Tell Barnabas to meet me tonight at midnight in Eagle Hill Cemetery." Angelique walked over to Willie and caressed his cheek. "Do it, Willie and you could very well have your freedom soon... very soon." She walked past him and left the room.
Willie stood there for a moment not knowing what to do. Ironside would never allow any kind of swap and neither would Barnabas. Barnabas had changed. He was not the same vampire that Willie had freed that fateful night. What Angelique did not understand was he felt a loyalty to the vampire that was more than just the vampire's hold on him. Barnabas had become protective of the Collins family and the town of Collinsport. He was trying to save them right now. Willie knew that Barnabas would also protect him. He was different. He loathed being a vampire.
Willie wondered exactly what part Julia played in the change in Barnabas. She had stopped Barnabas from just killing as a reaction from the discovery of his affliction. Willie thought about Julia. He knew that the good doctor was in love with Barnabas. She was frantically trying to cure him and of course she would. They knew that. Willie did not think that even Barnabas realized the depth of his feelings for her. He hoped for her sake that some day he would.
Right now, all he wanted to do was finish collecting the rest of Ironside's staff's belongings and get the heck out of here before anyone else showed up. Standing there for a moment, he slowly looked around the room. Relieved that no one else was making an unscheduled visit, he worked as fast as he could to collect Eve's belongings.
Willie went into the bathroom and collected what he was sure belonged to Eve and packed it in her suitcase. He was about to head for the door when he spotted a box. He stood there staring at the box. Could that be the box? The one that took one's will away and turned it over to the Leviathans? Willie set the suitcases down and walked toward the box. He knew he shouldn't but he was drawn toward the box. Something was telling him to go to the box.
Willie walked over to the box and picked it up. He turned it around in his hands. It was a simple brown box. Beautifully carved, he was fascinated by the delicate work someone had done. Willie had no idea what the symbols on the box meant. He didn't care. He only knew it was the most beautiful box he had ever seen.
Willie placed his fingers on the sides of the box and prepared to open it.
14.4
Mark pulled the borrowed van in front of Professor Stokes' cottage. Ironside moved his chair into the lift and pushed the button lowering his chair to the ground. Mark stepped behind his wheelchair and began pushing his boss towards Stokes' home. Ed walked beside them. When they got to the door, Ed knocked on the door. Within a matter of a couple minutes, the door opened and Professor Elliot Stokes appeared.
"Chief Ironside, I thought you would be sleeping by now." Stokes stepped back allowing his guests entrance into his home.
"I tried. I slept for a bit but I am worried about Eve."
Stokes studied Ironside for a moment. "You are not going to try to confront Nicholas Blair, are you?"
"No. I realize I need Barnabas Collins to do that. I will not endanger Eve's life. No, Professor. I came here because I wanted to talk to you about Collins."
Stokes gestured to his comfortable living room furniture and said, "Please make yourself at home, Chief."
Mark pushed Ironside into the living room and took a seat on one side of him as Ed sat on the other side. Once they were seated, Professor Stokes sat down with them. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"Can Collins be trusted?" Ironside asked point blank.
Professor Stokes smiled. "He can. Even if he couldn't, his vampire senses would force him to protect Eve Whitfield. But you have nothing to worry about, Chief. Barnabas is who he seems to be. He is a good man who has been cursed. He will fight to the death to protect his family and that includes your Officer Whitfield."
Satisfied that his fears were actually baseless, Ironside changed the subject. "Warlocks... how powerful are they?"
"That depends. If we are talking about Nicholas Blair... very powerful. He is working directly for the master. It is his job to help the Leviathans get a foothold here. The master would not send someone who can't do anything more than voodoo or cast a few spells. No, Chief, Nicholas Blair will be a force that will not be able to be defeated easily. You must have another being from the underworld to defeat him."
"Just exactly how are we supposed to do that?" Ed asked. "And if we can, how do we control this being from the underworld?"
Stokes smiled. "You are forgetting, Sergeant, we have our being from the underworld. Barnabas Collins is a vampire. A vampire is a product of the underworld. And he is one the master has been unable to control. You see, Barnabas hates evil and wrong doing. Oh, I know he forgot that for a while but discovering you are a vampire could do that to anyone. Yet, he was, in life, a very good man. That is the part the master has never been able to suppress in Barnabas Collins. Even after being imprisoned in that coffin for two hundred years, the evilness of his vampiric condition only controlled him for so long. His real nature began to take over when Julia Hoffman came into his life. Believe me, Barnabas is also a force that will not be easy for Nicholas Blair to defeat.
"That is why he took your Eve Whitfield. He figures that you will do just about anything to get her back. If he can control you then he figures you will control Barnabas."
"I don't understand. How will taking Eve force the Chief to control Barnabas?" Ed said.
"Barnabas will eventually find Eve. Blair knows that. The bond is there between them. Blair figures Barnabas will not make a move unless you allow it."
"Why wouldn't I allow it?" Ironside asked.
"Because as long as he has your officer, you will not allow Barnabas to interfere with Blair's plans. If you do, he will kill Eve Whitfield." The professor got up and walked over to his library of books. He searched for a moment and then selected a book.
"I suggest you read this book, Chief Ironside. It will help you to understand what a warlock can do and how they operate," Professor Stokes said as he handed the book to the detective.
"You still are not making sense, Professor. If Blair thinks he can control both the chief and Barnabas Collins by using Eve, then that is all the more reason for the Chief to allow Barnabas Collins to find her," Ed reasoned.
"To what cost? As soon as Barnabas finds her and attempts to rescue her, Blair will kill her," Stokes explained.
"Are you saying the situation is hopeless, Professor? That I should do nothing?" Ironside demanded.
"No, not at all. But you will have to defer this problem to Barnabas. He has that bond with your officer. He is probably going to propose that Miss Whitfield stay where she is until such time we can safely remove her."
Ironside did not like leaving Eve in the hands of a man as dangerous as Nicholas Blair. He was not sure that he could, yet what choice did he have? "Alright, Professor. We are going to make a trip to Collinwood. Would you like to come with us?"
"By all means, Chief Ironside. Barnabas did say that we were to make sure that Nicholas does not take control of the family while he is resting. Let me get my coat."
14.5
"Willie!"
Loomis stopped and turned sharply to see the ghost of Josette stand there. "Oh, Josette, you startled me."
"What do you think you are doing?" Josette demanded.
"I was just about to open this pretty box." He held it up for her to see. "Don't you think it is pretty, Josette?"
"You must not open that box. Nicholas Blair left it here for Chief Ironside to open. He wants to gain control of him. And you... were about to give him the next best thing. Control of Barnabas' servant. He would have used you to spy on Barnabas. Don't you understand what you almost did?" Josette scolded him.
"I ... am sorry... Josette. I did not mean..."
"You must be more careful, Willie. Nicholas will take control of all of you one by one if you are not ready for him."
"But it was as if the box was calling to me. It was drawing me to it," Willie told her.
"You must resist. Now, take the box to Chief Ironside. I will go with you."
14.6
As Professor Stokes returned with his coat, there was frantic knocking at the door. Stokes looked at the door and said, "Were you expecting someone to join you, Chief?"
"No, I was not," Ironside answered.
Stokes walked over to the door and opened it. A very nervous Willie Loomis came in. The ghost of Josette floated in behind him. "What is it, Willie?"
Before Loomis got a chance to speak, Josette said, "Willie almost opened the box."
"What box?" Ironside asked.
Willie pulled the box from behind his back. Professor Stokes' eyes became as big as saucers. "That is the box of the Leviathans!"
Ironside wheeled over to Stokes and Loomis. "Where did you get that box?"
"Nicholas Blair left it in Eve Whitfield's room in hopes that Chief Ironside would open it. He is beginning his move to take control of each of you one at a time. Chief Ironside would have been a major prize."
Ed became excited. "Now that we have the box, why don't we destroy it? If he can't take control of people, his plan dies."
"No, Sergeant, we can't do that," Professor Stokes shouted.
"Why not?" Ed questioned.
"Because, anyone that is already under their control or partially under their control would remain that way forever," Ironside said looking over at Mark.
"Your Chief is correct, Sergeant. But now that we have the box, we can put it to good use."
"Wait, Professor, there is more," Josette interrupted. "Tell them, Willie."
Willie Loomis told them of Angelique's visit and her proposal.
"It is out of the question. Sergeant Brown is not an object to be sold or traded," Ironside said.
"Just a minute, Chief. If I could get a foothold, I could report back to you," Brown offered.
"No, Ed. You were barely able to resist her before," Ironside pointed out. "What makes you think you could resist her?"
"I won't have to. She will think I have come to her willingly."
"Angelique is not a stupid woman, Sergeant Brown. She knows that you would never come willingly unless you are helping your chief," Josette disagreed.
"Just a minute, everyone," Professor Stokes interrupted. "I think Barnabas needs to be in on this since there is something you are forgetting. Something that just might be Nicholas Blair's weakness."
"Maggie Evans," Ironside said. "It has not escaped me, Professor. But I am not about to turn her over to Blair either. Besides if I read this man correctly, he would continue his plan with the Leviathans after he got Maggie Evans. He is just using Eve to get the Evans girl. No, we are not going to do that and we will wait until Barnabas rises to make a decision. In the meantime, I think we should start pushing Nicholas Blair a bit. I think we should make that trip to Collinwood. Professor, if you please?"
Stokes grinned. "Very much so, Chief Ironside. Would you like to bring the box along?"
Ironside grinned back at him. "That was the plan."
14.7
Nicholas Blair walked around the drawing room at Collinwood. The room was certainly grand. The fireplace was the central focal point. The room had not changed much in two hundred years. It was a very large room with furnishing that had changed with the times but the actual design and elegance had not. One could imagine and almost see the Collins family of the past.
Blair's lips turned up into an evil smile. He would be master of this house with the long history before too long. He was sure that Ironside would, once told of the trade, turn Maggie Evans over to him for his precious police officer. He did not know why but he could sense that Ironside had a special feeling for the young woman. It really didn't matter to him what was between the police detective and Officer Whitfield as long as that relationship bared the fruit that he intended on picking... Maggie Evans.
Elizabeth Stoddard walked into the drawing room. "Mr. Blair, how nice of you to drop by. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing, Mrs. Stoddard! Absolutely, nothing. I only thought it was time we got acquainted. You have a lovely home!"
Liz looked around the drawing room and smiled. "It has been in my family since it was built. As you probably know the Old House that Barnabas now resides in is the original home of the Collins family. This one was built and became the main stay of each generation since. We are very proud of our heritage."
"As you should be," Blair said, giving her a small nod. "I was hoping to see more of your home. Tell me, you would not be willing to give a tour of the house, now would you?"
"I would be more than happy to," Liz said with pride.
Blair stood in the archway of the large double doors made of solid wood and said, "That picture of the original Barnabas Collins could be the same man that lives in the Old House now."
Liz chuckled. "Except that would make Barnabas over two hundred years old."
"Indeed it would," Nicholas said.
The door knocker on the main door sounded. Elizabeth Stoddard stood up. "Excuse me, Nicholas." She left the drawing room to the foyer and opened the door. "Chief Ironside! Welcome! Please come in."
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Stoddard. I hope we are not intruding," Ironside said. Mark Sanger wheeled the California detective into the mansion. He was followed in by Sgt. Brown and Professor Stokes.
"Professor, it is so nice of you to join us," Liz said with a smile.
"Actually, we heard that Mr. Blair was here," Ironside told her. "I was wondering whether he still is."
"Oh yes, he's in the drawing room." She led them through the double doors where Nicholas Blair causiously waited.
"Mr. Blair," Ironside said, nodding toward the warlock.
"Chief Ironside, so nice to see you again. How is the investigation coming?" Blair asked.
"We are making tremendous progress," Ironside answered. "We are poised to break this case wide open." He looked at Blair straight in the eye.
Nicholas did not like what he saw in Ironside's eyes. He was not prepared to show his hand quite yet. There was something there. What had Ironside been able to learn? He sure did not act like a man who was worried about his law officer. In fact, he did not act as though he knew about her yet. Nicholas did not think that was possible. Obviously, leaving the box in Eve's hotel room had not worked. Ironside had apparently not been curious enough to open it.
Angelique had informed him that Willie Loomis had shown up at the Inn and checked Ironside and his party out of the Inn. Nicholas had sent her over there to learn what she could and to pick up the Leviathans' box. Ironside was proving to be a worthy adversary. He was next to impossible to read. What was Ironside actually doing here?
"Chief, what was it you wanted to see me about?" Nicholas asked.
"In the course of my investigations, I have come upon an object that I need some advice on. It has nothing to do with the investigation but since I have come into possession of the item, the detective in me can't let it go until I understand everything about the item. I took it to Professor Stokes and he suggested that you might know more about it than he."
"Yes, Nicholas. It has some symbolism that I think you might be able to help Chief Ironside with. I have seen it somewhere before and since both you and I have an interest in the supernatural...," Professor Stokes said.
"Indeed we do, Professor," Nicholas said with a fake smile.
"Yes, we do. I told Chief Ironside I could not identify the symbols but that you might be able to."
Nicholas warily turned to Ironside and said, "I would be happy to help you if I can, Chief."
Ironside grinned. "Great! I was hoping you would say that. I just can't stand a mystery. I must solve it." Ironside reached behind him and pulled out the Leviathans' box and held it up for Nicholas to see.
A wide-eyed Nicholas stared at the box and then composed himself. He looked up at Robert Ironside who stared directly into his eyes.
"So, Mr. Blair, what do the symbols mean and just what do you think the worth of the box is or shall I destroy it?" Ironside raised his voice and continued to stare into Nicholas Blair's eyes.
Blair had no doubt that Ironside already knew the answer to his own questions. He would have to rethink his strategy in handling Ironside. He stared back at the detective with pure hatred while scenarios of how to retrieve the box ran through his mind.
To Be Continued...