Chapter 25

Near the College in Portland

Moving through the woods with one location in mind, Sarah pushed Vicki's body, oft times catching her hair with low lying tree branches, the crunch of the decaying pine needles on the floor of the woods and the hint of an impending storm in the air, she trudged forward until she saw the object of her destination in sight, and then she paused and a slight smile played over her lips.

Professor Stokes' classroom

Dieter sat on the corner of the desk when Quentin entered pulling Bradford with him. Quentin withdrew with Bradford and placed him against the wall, "Not until we know where Julia and Vicki are."

Stokes stepped to Dieter, who said nothing just handed him the map to the location of the sacrifice. "There you must come there to get the doctor and the girl."

Dieter left the map on Elliott's desk and frowned watching the Professor reach for the map he glanced up to watch Dieter leave the room. Quentin entered further into the room and looked around then shoved Peter into a chair. "It is as Barnabas thought?" Stokes nodded.

"Well then I guess I go to the location. Come on Bradford we have a fate to determine." Quentin pulled him up and out of the door. When Quentin disappeared, Sarah in Vicki's body began her long walked towards the classroom.

Leviathan's Alter

Quentin followed the path and arrived as Barnabas silently stepped out from the darkening shadows next to Quentin. Turning he queried, "You ready?" Quentin had murmured his question under his breath. Watching Barnabas nod.

Barnabas stepped into the shaft of moonlight that perfectly outlined his figure. "ALEXNDRU MIRCEA! I BARNABAS COLLINS HAVE ARRIVED!" His words strong and loud he walked almost appearing to look like he had appeared out of the shadows to within five feet of the alter.

Alexandru and Klaus were both dressed in black robes with red sashes and they shifted into view to stand in front of the supine figure that lay draped in a pure white cheesecloth blanket. "I see you Collins, where is Bradford?"

Barnabas turned and nodded to Quentin. Seeing the signal Quentin pulled Bradford into view. Alexandru called to the shadows, "Judah Zachary! I have what you seek. Show yourself!" Dieter stepped into view with the now wide-eyed struggling Angelique.

From the blackness that was shadow and the smell of death a figure formed and Judah Zachary speared. The figure with glowing red eyes, eyes that almost gave the impression they could pierce the night to alight on the beautiful woman now struggling against her captor's hold. "Remove her gag." Judah's voice was as cold as the grave from which he must have materialized. He stepped forward to look from Angelique to Alexandru. His smile was far from one of delight, if anything it was a triumphant smile denoting he felt he would now be victorious.

Dieter removed the gag and then flung Angelique at Judah's feet. Judah bent and pulled Angelique up and peered into her wide eyes. She gasped out in fear ."I had no choice! I had to testify Judah! They lied and said they would not kill you that they would let you live!" Judah shoved Angelique to a Thornberry tree and pushed her into the tree still bound. Watching Angelique finally delivered her comeuppance both Barnabas and Peter hid their own delight at her agony. They watched and waited.

"Enough of your lies woman! Silence!" He stood back and smiled, his eyes glowing with an intensity of self-satisfaction. "Now Angelique confess your sins to this man, this man whom you said you loved, this man who has made you a part of your own curse, confess to him the full of what you have done!"

Angelique pleaded with her gaze she searched for the now bound Peter Bradford who had been handed over by Quentin. Upon the exchange to Dieter, Barnabas nodded to Quentin and he slipped from sight and headed back to the classroom where Elliott awaited them. Angelique's eyes were wide with fear and she continued to plead with her dark lord Judah. "Tell him so he truly understands what you have done for the name of love." Judah said the word love with as much mockery and disdain as he could muster.

Angelique's lip quivered and then she lowered her eyes, "I cast the curse on you Peter Bradford. I am the one that cursed you to never love or never know love that any that loved you would die. Then I sent you to Josette, knowing Barnabas would find out what you had done. Barnabas did not want to hurt Phyllis though he had every right to hate you he did not want to hurt his sister's governess, and then I took possession of him and made him take your precious Phyllis. I forced him to drain her life and throw her away in the surf. I knew you would find her and then you would feel the pain I had felt when you tossed me away. It was all me!"

Alexandru narrowed his eyes on Barnabas, this was nothing he knew or had heard before now. His own plans were made to hurt Barnabas and teach him a lesson for being such an upstart and a general pain in his ass. Now he was going to enjoy watching the man die. His slid his gaze to Peter Bradford to see what his reaction to this news was going to show him.

Peter looked at her with shear disgust while she cried, screamed and then pleaded her confession. This did give him pause and made him believe this time she was not just taunting him as he had thought when she had told him this earlier. He now had to believe she was responsible and that Barnabas had no control over what he had done just as he knew in his heart he had not wanted to take Josette for his eternal bride.

Judah's face twisted into a smile and then he nodded, "Now you become a victim of your own curse, you are now banished to the void with no beginning and no end. Be gone and from my sight." With a wave of his hand, her gown, and the tree she had been bound was engulfed in flames but the only thing that seemed to burn was Angelique. She screamed out in pain while the flames licked up and around her body to engulf her and she was gone from sight with the last echoing scream that filled this night.

Alexandru postured himself next to Klaus who stood with the silver knife in his hand, "Now full fill your bargain!" Judah turned those red glowing eyes upon the self-imposed dictator on the make shift alter and his lip curled into a sneer.

"It is you that should bow to me mortal. You do not dictate to me I make my own decision, have your sacrifice and see what happens." Judah faded from view with a wisp of wind and the sound of low thunder vibrating the ground they stood on.

Professor Stokes classroom

Vicki watched Quentin enter the Professors classroom and then she followed staggering into the room behind Quentin, her eyes filled with confusion she spoke softly "Julia is in the supply closet." Then Vicki's eyes fluttered and she collapsed to the floor. Quentin and Professor Stokes were both astonished to see the young woman enter and then collapse after making such a dramatic announcement. Quentin stooped down to scoop up Vicki and carry her to the nearest table and carefully laid her on the table.

Elliott had turned to the supply closet and opened it to find an unconscious Julia bound and gagged lying on the floor. "Quentin dear boy come help me hurry. I cannot tell if she is breathing."

Quentin brushed the hair from Vicki's face and hurried to help Professor Stokes by lifting Julia from the closet floor and carrying her to another table. "Is she breathing?" Professor Stokes asked with a degree of anxiety. He watched Quentin untie her hands and saw he was having trouble freeing her hands. While Professor Stokes worked on the bonds that held her hands, Quentin shifted his hands to her gag,

"I think so lets get her gag off and untie her." Both men worked feverishly to free Julia while they were occupied with the bonds and gag, the figure of Sarah sat up from Vicki's body and then floated to the center of the room. She stood and watched them for a moment then she spoke,

"She is ok just been given some drugs. Hello I am Sarah." She smiled her innocent smile and crawled up on one of the tables and sat then began to swing her legs. With the practicality that was Sarah she spoke all knowingly, "She will be waking up soon. Just let her be for now while we wait."

Professor Stokes smiled seeing the little girl and turned more fully to peer at her, "So you were the one in Vicki that was manipulating her to come here?"

"Yes."

"And who is or what is pretending to be Vicki?"

"Josette."

Stokes chuckled and shook his head. "Brilliant."

Quentin laughed, "Barnabas had it set right from the very beginning."

Leviathan Alter

In the glade on the sacrificial alter; Klaus to torment Barnabas removed the cheesecloth to show him Vicki's features. Barnabas never let his gaze go from Klaus or the knife he had laid at Vicki's head. Alexandru was the first to gloat and disclose his plan. "Tonight Barnabas Collins, you will see your beloved Victoria succumb to the curse that the witch placed on you both so long ago. The woman that you love, will die and in her death she will bring me the woman that you, Bradford loved. The very same woman that I loved and will now have and hold as my own eternal mate" He had turned to stare with hatred towards Peter who was being held by Dieter.

The two men laughed then Klaus opened the book to the pages that had been marked with a ribbon. Alexandru reached to the ground lifted the urn and looked at Barnabas. "The ankh?" Barnabas frowned.

"Why should I give you something when you break your word and give me nothing in return. You are a man of little honor, you send your assassin to kill me and then you expect me to give you what you want and have me watch you kill Miss Winters?"

Dieter shoved Peter to stand next to Barnabas. "Give him the ankh Barnabas." Peter said through clenched teeth the silver chains becoming unbearable against his skin.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, give him the ankh."

Barnabas reached into his cloak and pulled out the symbol and handed it to Dieter. Both men watched when Dieter left Peter next to Barnabas and turned to hand the ankh to Alexandru. When the moon shifted to the zenith and the night was illuminated by an errant streak of lightening, Klaus began to chant in dark tones of mystical magic he raised the knife and shouted, "I give you this sacrifice!"

Barnabas screamed out "NO!" watching the knife plummeted into the form that appeared to be Vicki. Then to the surprise of both men, the draped figure was formless and flat as the tip of the blade struck the granite alter and chipped the tip off. It was happening so quickly.

The discovery they did not have the sacrificial virgin nor did they expect Barnabas to shout. "NOW WILLIE!" Willie Loomis stepped out from behind the boulders with his shotgun aimed right at Klaus.

"Drop the knife you piece of shit!" His eyes had narrowed and he had taken on a demonic look with his eyebrows knitted together his eyes narrowed and his face screwed into a maniacal grin.

Alexandru moaned out, "Judah you promised! You promised!"

Professor Stokes classroom

Back in the classroom both men worked on freeing Julia. Sarah watched Judah Zachary appeared and spoke, "What was taken shall be returned!"

Vicki's body shimmered from view and appeared now lying helpless and in plain view on the Alter. With the appearance of Vicki's body, Alexandru put the urn next to her feet, Klaus had laid the knife on the alter and then lunged at Willie trying to wrestle the gun away. The barrel was twisted from Willie's grasp and with the tug of war on the gun Willie pulled the trigger and Dieter was hit by the shot and collapsed, Klaus wrestled the rifle away from Willie and hit him with the butt end, before throwing the gun into the bushes.

Barnabas seeing that his plan was suddenly going to hell in a handmaid's basket, harshly shouted, "Nooo!" He rushed forward with such quickness that neither Klaus nor Alexandru saw from where he had come; with a swing of his cane he had knocked Klaus back against the large boulder to land with a sickening thud on the ground and the flow of blood from his open wound the cane had caused on his forehead. Alexandru had grabbed the knife and was preparing to drive it into the unconscious form of Vicki, when Willie seeing what he was going to do, threw himself over her body and prepared closing his eyes he tensed waiting for the feel of the blade as it descended into his back.

Barnabas was now aware of what Alexandru was trying to do, and he swung his cane back catching the urn with the head and shattering it sending the dust into a shower around the alter. Barnabas seeing the distraction did not work, then began to summon and control the weather.

"WIND! WIND! BRING ME THE WIND!" The area round them began to howl with the summoning of the wind and the dust that was in the urn began to blow away from the make shift alter. Alexandru watching his love blow away turned, grabbed the knife and drove it towards Vicki and Willie, Barnabas threw himself in the way of the blade so that the blade struck him with a hiss and was buried deep into his scapula.

Barnabas stood up and smiled, the pain nearly forgotten he pulled the knife from his back and glared at Alexandru. "YOU MISSED!"

Willie seeing that Barnabas now had Alexandru occupied, scooped Vicki up and took off at a run with her. Peter smelling the scent of blood from Dieter and Klaus licked his lips and his eyes glowed. "Now Bradford, do what you will."

Peter smiled and rushed pell-mell towards Barnabas, who took his cane and slammed it into the chains breaking the lock and the chains fell away to leave him free. Alexandru reached into his pocket and pulled out a small caliber weapon. "You will interfere no more! You will die!" Alexandru emptied the clip into Barnabas and as a last ditch effort threw the gun at Barnabas who batted it away with his cane. "Why won't you die?"

Old House library

Barnabas smiled and his fangs were visible. "Because you insufferable ass, I am already dead!" Barnabas reached over and grabbed the man by the collar and threw him on the make shift alter and Barnabas shouted for his voice to carry over the miles to a room in the old house where Josette stood with a rolled canvass portrait in her hands. "NOW JOSETTE!" Hearing his voice she smiled, and laid the portrait in the burning fireplace.

Leviathan alter

The flames began to lick around Alexandru's body until it was like the portrait totally engulfed in flames. The flames were ripping at the very center of his soul and he saw no more his eyes fixed and went blank and then he was gone his ashes mixed with the dust from his castle. Barnabas looked around at the area and saw that Peter was busy draining the life from Klaus he had already taken Dieter down to a husk. It would be a matter of time before he had Klaus as nothing more than a husk.

"You are free Bradford, leave this state and never return as long as I live, you are not welcome here." Barnabas said turning his back he walked away leaving the vampire to his meal. The smell of blood had been strong in the air and it was all he could do not to fight Bradford for the rights of the meal. However his attention was more fixed to the problem at hand. That would be the return of Vicki to their lives.

Barnabas walked away from the scene of the carnage with a light footstep and the feel of the night now lightened by the burden he had held for so long. Barnabas strolled towards the main campus and to Elliott's classroom. Entering the building, he walked with self-confidence and relief towards the classroom and opened the door. Barnabas paused at the top of the stairs to watched an exhausted Willie collapsed in a chair, a now awakening Vicki, and a half sitting Julia speaking with the Professor.

"Well we appear to be one happy united family again." Barnabas observed from the top of the stairs. All heads turned and a smile lit up Vicki's face.

"Barnabas!" she tried to stand and found her body would not react to her demands so she sat quickly.

Quentin sauntered up the stairs. "Well cousin, you are right I was a knight this night." He chuckled at his double use of the word Knight in two different connotations.

"Yes, you all were heroes tonight. You Quentin for going against your nature to stay and see to the safety of our women, you Willie for unselfishly wanting to sacrifice yourself to protect Vicki. You Professor Stokes for allowing us to use your classroom."

"And you cousin for thinking up this plan to see to the end of a very evil sick man that will never harm us again." Quentin chimed in.

"Yes I suppose."

"You suppose?" Quentin chuckled. "You had anticipated the treachery that these devils were devising from the very beginning. I am amazed at how you were able to locate his portrait and to end his miserable life this night."

Barnabas sat next to Vicki and glanced at her dark eyes and noted she was pitifully thin. "I did not anticipate Judah Zachary interfering." He spoke with some degree of annoyance.

"Yes dear boy we all were very upset when Vicki disappeared as she had. Quentin nearly ran after the man but he too just disappeared."

"He was no man, he was a powerful dark power that had control over Angelique which was something else I had no thought of or concerns until I saw her with Alexandru's man." Barnabas had spoken dryly he laid the cane down and lifted Vicki's pale slender hand into his own and cover it.

"My dear how are you feeling?"

"Sick, I am not sure how I am going to react to the drugs they gave me but it's different this time."

Barnabas looked at Julia for some explanation.

"I think our friends had something to do with absorbing the drugs from her body to keep her from relapsing back into her addiction.

Barnabas smiled. "Yes we had a lot of help from many of our friends."

"Speaking of where is Bradford?" Quentin asked he looked around and then turned his attention back to his cousin.

"I let him go, he is to leave this state and never return."

"Oh dear Julia!" Lang rushed into the room from above and down the steps towards Julia. He hurried to her side and lifted her into his arms. "My dearest Julia. You are safe and home!" He kissed her deeply but to the chagrin of Julia demonstrating his affection for her in front of so many people.

"Eric, please wait until we are alone."

Professor Stokes began to chuckle. "Yes we do so frown on PDA in our classrooms."

Julia blushed and turned into the hold of her lover. "I suppose we can head back to Collinwood. I am sure everyone will be happy to see Vicki."

"I know I am happy to be back. I was so afraid I would never see you all again. I even got to a point that I wondered if I wanted to live." Her voice had grown so soft and quiet she had spoken with so much emotion it had become contagious and was washing over the room and affecting everyone.

"Well my dear you are home with those that love you and are glad you found your self reliance to want to live and be with us once again." Professor Stokes spoke with an engaging kind look over Vicki now leaning her head to rest it on Barnabas' shoulder. He listened to Barnabas speak to her in his tender sweet manner, "Yes, we are all happy to have you back my dear. Glad you are in one piece and a part of our big happy family once again."

Elliott was reminded of his own family and his new responsibility to protect his niece. Had this been her he was not so sure he would have been as adept to bring her home in one piece.

Vicki smiled tiredly and then yawned. "I am so tired, I did not realize how tired until now."

"Come my dear time to get you home." Barnabas turned and took her hand in his and tugged her up into his supporting arms. Their eyes met and for a moment she was so close to his lips that they nearly touched. Blinking she smiled and leaned into Barnabas for support.

"Yes I want to go home."

Prolog

Old House

Barnabas stood at the fireplace and stirred the ashes and smiled, a tiny slip of the corner of the canvass with a seared name of Tate appeared. Barnabas knew it was the signature part of the canvass. The only part of the portrait's signature that now remained. Barnabas considered keeping that sliver of the portrait but thought better and rebuilt the fire and watched as the flames licked are the scrap of material and then consumed the last of the painting and he smiled. Alexandru Mircea was gone and never would he haunt them again. Gone was his life with his dreams of resurrecting the woman that had held his thoughts for nearly two centuries, he watched the last of the painting go up in ashes. Turning with a deliberate slowness he walked back to his desk and sat. He would not worry about Alexandru or Klaus again. They no longer were a part of his world.

A soft knock on the door and Barnabas lifted his head and peered at the door. "Come."

The door opened and Willie stepped in shifting from one foot to another. "Um Barnabas Vicki is here and so are the doctors they wanted to know when you wanted your next injection?"

Barnabas smiled at the thought of spending his evening with Vicki but the smile faded at the thought of the doctors requiring him in the cellar. "Make Miss Winters comfortable in the drawing room, I shall go down and see the doctors."

Willie hesitated and looked as if he wanted to say something. "Yes Willie what is it?"

"Um if you get normal what will happen to me?"

Barnabas smiled the word normal giving him a glimmer of hope and renewal. "Well I suppose you will continue here with me if you wish Willie. But let us wait and see what happens shall we?"

Lookout Pointe

In a room at Lookout Point, Nicholas Blair sat in front of his own gas operated fireplace, feet up, wearing a comfortable smoking jacket, and holding a fine grade of brandy in his hand he looked into the fire and frowned, there is was again, distant and pleading the voice of Angelique, "Nicholas! Find me! Help me! Please Nicholas find me!"

"Well, well, well, my dear it seems you have gotten yourself in quiet a pickle. We must see what this will bring won't we?" He smiled sipped his brandy and sighed deeply. "What will I do with you once I find you hmmm?"

Nicholas smiled and then he thought of the saucy redhead that had caught his attention. "Oh yes Maggie Evans, my dear what a treat you will be." He sipped again and closed his eyes. "All in time all in good time."

The End

So ends this chapter of Paths Taken. The next installment will be Hell on Earth. What new challenges will face the Collins family as David is drawn deeper into the darkness with a tempting call from the past, and will Vicki find happiness with a man that lives his life in the past or will both find new paths to take that will ultimately bring them happiness hell on earth..