Dark Shadows: Revenge of the Vampires
Chapter 8
1
Ramon awaken to the purring sound of the plane's engines. He pushed the lid to his coffin up and got out. Since he was in the back of the plane, neither Julia Hoffman or Devlin were in the cargo department where he slept the sleep of the dead.
Ramon loved being a vampire. Nothing could possibly be better than living an immortal life. He never had to worry about wrinkles forming or hair turning gray. He was fortunate to have been turned while he was young. He would certainly not want to look like an old man for eternity. It infuriated him he had to hide in the shadows because of the vampire council. Why should the superior race of vampires stay hidden? They should take their place as the master race. The council was hindering vampires and most of them just sat back and allowed it.
His plan was in motion. Barnabas Collins would surely contact Dracula and the elder vampire would race off to Collinwood to help him locate Julia Hoffman. He smiled knowing neither of them would do so. His intention was to get Dracula out of the castle so he could get to Angelique. Dracula was weak just as Collins was. They both had women who could not stand up to a vampire. Dracula lived with a witch. Although powerful, Angelique was no match for a vampire. Barnabas was even more pathetic. He chose a mortal. A mortal woman! How could he be so stupid as to choose someone who could be constantly used against him?
Collins should have turn Julia Hoffman as his internal mate. Instead, he was depending on her to make him mortal again. Ramon wondered if he realized he would make himself vulnerable to vampires he had angered in the past, and there were many. Why would he want to be mortal to begin with? It was a miserable life compared to that of a vampire. If Julia Hoffman was successful in curing him of the vampire curse, he would age to an old man, that is if an angry vampire didn't kill him first. Why would he want to age and eventually die? Ramon just didn't understand. Even Dracula accepted his vampirism and had lived for centuries as one of the living dead.
That was such a stupid term as far as Ramon was concerned. Vampires were alive, just not in the same sense as a mortal human being.
None of this mattered anyway. He had a task to perform. Devlin had stepped over the line. He took a gun with silver bullets into the Old House. If he had been confronted by Barnabas Collins, Ramon hadn't any doubt he would have used the gun on him. He could have ruined his plans with the destruction of Collins. For that, he had to pay.
He left the cargo area of the plane and joined Devlin and Julia Hoffman in the passenger section. Glancing over at Hoffman, the stupid human slave had at least followed his instructions to tie her to the seat.
"Devlin!" he called sternly.
Startled, Devlin turned quickly towards the vampire. "Yes, Master."
"Were you intending to shoot Barnabas Collins with the gun loaded with silver bullets?"
Devlin was in trouble. He could tell from the tone of Ramon's voice. He would try to talk his way out of it, but he knew it would be futile. Ramon never listened. "Of course not, Master."
"Then why did you take a gun loaded with silver bullets?" he demanded.
"To protect myself. If he tried to attack me, I could have simply told him the gun was loaded with silver bullets. I figured he would not take the chance, so he would back off."
"Really? You expect me to believe that? Do you think I am an idiot?" Ramon shouted.
"No, Master. Of course I don't." Devlin tried not to show fear as he knew that is exactly what Ramon wanted. Despite not wanting to, he couldn't help it. He knew what Ramon was capable of.
Ramon approached him. "You could have taken a gun loaded with ordinary bullets and told him they were silver. Would it not have had the same effect?"
Devlin squirmed as Ramon came toward him. "I am sorry, Master. That never occurred to me."
"Wasn't it daylight when you took Miss Hoffman?" Devlin demanded.
"Yes, Master, but it was close to sunset," he lied.
Julia Hoffman watched the scene in front of her. She remembered in the beginning how Barnabas would beat Willie when he disobeyed. The beatings were savage. Despite being abducted by Devlin, she didn't want him to be beaten nearly to death at the hands of Ramon. "He's telling you the truth, Ramon," she told the vampire.
Ramon turned his attention to Hoffman. Staring at the mortal, he tried to read her. Under normal circumstances, he would bite her and find out if she was telling the truth, but he didn't want to do so. Unfortunately, having lived with a vampire for so long she was able to hide her feelings from him. Devlin was unsure whether she was telling the truth or not. Then again, why would she protect Devlin when he was the one that abducted her and brought her to him.
Looking back at Devlin as he stood in front of him shaking, he said disgustedly, "Stop the infernal shivering! He lifted Devlin by the throat and threw him up against the wall of the airplane. "Think next time! You shouldn't have take a gun loaded with silver bullets. You could have shot him if he decided to attack you. Collins is needed for my plan to be successful."
Ramon looked at his servant and then at Julia Hoffman. He couldn't stand to be in the same area with them. Unable to stand the sight of them, he left the section and went back to the cargo area. He'd rather wait out the flight there than have to gaze upon those two pathetic individuals.
After he left, Julia watched Devlin who was still on the floor of the plane. She was afraid he might be seriously injured. Doctor Hoffman was well aware of the strength of a vampire. "Devlin, are you all right?"
He looked up at her, his breath labored. "What the hell do you care?"
"I'm a doctor, Devlin. I took an oath to treat anyone who needs it. You look like you might be in need of medical care," Julia said.
"I know what you are trying to do, Hoffman, and it won't work. Do you really think I would untie you with Ramon on this plane? What makes you think I would help you in any way? I must serve the Master."
"Why? Why must you serve him? Remember, I live with a vampire. I know the only reason you must serve him is because he places his venom in you. You can fight it. I have seen those that could."
"You'd like me to believe that, wouldn't you? Well, forget it. I must serve him. I don't know why. I only know I must."
"Suit yourself, but always remember, I will help you if you want to free yourself of him."
Devlin snickered. "Yeah, sure you would. What's your game, Doctor? Even if I was willing to betray my master, which I am not, where in the hell do you think we could go thirty-thousand feet in the air? Do you really think I am that dumb?"
"I didn't intend for us to go anywhere. I only thought as a doctor that I should examine you. I know the power of a vampire. You hit the wall of the plane very hard. You could have broken bones."
"So what if I do? There is nothing you can do for me. Stop with the I care bullshit. You don't care about me. You only care about your own hide. So just sit there and shut up or I will stick a gag in your mouth."
Julia did all she could to help him. He was right about one thing; even if he had broken bones, there wasn't much she could do about it. She had nothing to treat the young man with. She wasn't trying to do anything but help him. Julia supposed she might as well forget it. Obviously, he couldn't fight the venom in his system. Then few could defy a vampire. She had seen it first-hand.
2
Barnabas and Dracula awaken about the same time. Neither of them wasted any time as they met on the stairs that ascended up into the foyer of the Old House. Dracula followed his host into the drawing room. Willie was there lighting the candles. There was a fire glowing in the fireplace. Dracula and Barnabas didn't feel the cold, but Willie did. He made it a habit to light a fire every night.
Barnabas sat down in the chair to the right of the fireplace as Dracula took the opposite one. "Where shall we start looking, Barnabas?" Dracula asked. "You know this area far better than I do."
"There are many cottages just outside of Collinsport," Barnabas said. "They are empty this time of the year. He could have taken her to any one of them. It will take some time to check all of them."
"What about the tunnels?" Dracula wondered. "Could he have gone back to them?"
"It is a possibility, but I doubt it. The servant probably realizes we can easily check them again. I don't think he will take a chance of attempting to hide Julia there."
Willie finished lighting the candles. He had been listening to their conversation. "Barnabas, I can check the tunnels again. It wouldn't hurt to check them. He might just think we wouldn't bother with them because he knows we found out he'd been resting there."
"I think Willie is right. He could check the tunnels for us, but he would have to be very careful. Do you think you could do it without being detected?" Dracula asked Willie.
"Of course I can. I know those tunnels like the back of my hand," Loomis said proudly.
Dracula shook his head. "Mortals have the strangest expressions."
"You'll get use to it, Count," Barnabas told him.
"Have you?"
Collins smiled. "Actually, no."
"That's what I thought."
"We better get started. It will take much of the day," Barnabas said. Then remembering Willie was going to search during the day, he turned his attention to his servant. "Willie, you obviously had no luck in locating Julia?"
"I am afraid not, Barnabas. I asked around at the Blue Whale to see if anyone had seen her. I thought it might help if I knew what area she was spotted, but no one had seen her. Julia doesn't frequent the Blue Whale, but the people that go in there know her by sight. I thought I would take a chance. I questioned as many people as I could. Everyone of them said they would call me if they saw her. I checked the voice mail, but there weren't any messages.
"Voice mail?" Dracula said with puzzlement.
"Modern day inventions, Count." Barnabas was surprised Dracula didn't know about them. Then, he didn't know about a lot of things in this modern age, so why would Vlad?
There was a knock on the door. Barnabas went into the foyer and opened the door. Professor Stokes entered. "Good evening, Barnabas. I came to offer my help in finding Julia. Willie told me you had gone to get Dracula."
Dracula joined them in the foyer. "Your help would be much appreciated. I will need someone to go with me as I do not know the area."
Barnabas agreed with a nod of his head. "The professor knows the area as well as anyone in Collinsport. He can guide you. I will check the cottages in Collinsport first. You and the professor can start at the far north. When I finish the cottages in Collinsport, I'll check the ones to the south. We'll meet up as soon as we are done."
The professor was concerned about his vampire friend. "Barnabas, if you have a confrontation with Ramon, what are the chances you will be successful."
"I wouldn't worry about that professor," Dracula said. "Despite being a younger vampire than Ramon, he is actually stronger. He will prevail in a confrontation with him."
"How long do we have to find her?" Stokes asked.
"He gave us forty-eight hours," Barnabas answered.
"And if we don't find her?" Dracula asked.
"Then I don't see that we have any choice but to agree with his demands," Barnabas said.
"I didn't want to bring this up, but you know we can't agree to his demands," Dracula said.
The younger vampire lowered his troubled eyes. "I know that, Vlad. We can't destroy the Vampire Council. What we can do is destroy Ramon and any vampires that align with him."
"Yes, that is exactly what I had in mind. Shall we get started? It is already 7:30." Professor Stokes left with Dracula.
"Willie, you check the tunnels, and I'll start checking the cottages in the area."
Loomis walked out of the Old House with Barnabas. After he watched him turn into a bat and fly away, he started walking through the woods, heading for the cave at Widow's Hill.
3
Julia Hoffman looked out the window of the plane. It tipped one way and then the other. It had been a long plane ride, and she knew they were about to land in Romania. She worried about what Ramon had planned for Barnabas. It had taken so long for Barnabas to realized that he loved her; she couldn't bear the thought of losing him now. Yet, that possibility was surely on the horizon.
She needed to find some way to get a message to Dracula at his castle. He would help her and Barnabas. The two vampires kept in rather close contact. Their friendship had cemented when Dracula joined forces with him to defeat the army of vampires that descended on San Francisco. Since then, Dracula helped him with his problem with Count Petofi in the past and present. Julia knew if she could only find a way to contact him, he would certainly come to their aid once again.
She studied Devlin. Her only hope was to get the young man to turn on Ramon. That wasn't going to be easy. She had more experience with vampires than any other living mortal with the exception of Willie Loomis. She had become rather fond of Willie over the past few years. He protected Barnabas, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. They had become friends; something that was rare between vampire and servant. Even Dracula hadn't developed any kind of friendship with his servants. Barnabas was truly the exception to the rule. He didn't fit the vampire mold. She knew that and so did he. The man simply had not lost his humanity, despite having forgot it for a while.
As the plane ran down the runway, Julia had thoughts of trying to run from Ramon. She knew they were futile and silly. There wasn't any way she could outrun a vampire. She'd likely be punished for trying. However, if Ramon thought she was just going to roll over and play dead, he was sadly mistaken. She intended to fight him every step of the way - even if it meant her death.
Julia was fairly certain he wouldn't bite her, at least she didn't think so. Whatever he had planned for Barnabas, he wouldn't want her to be under his thrall. It wouldn't be as satisfying, since she would want to please the vampire. Woman were much more vulnerable to pleasing than men. Ramon would want Barnabas to know she was fully aware of what he was doing to her. She only wished she knew what he was up to.
When they got off the plane, there was a vehicle waiting for them. Ramon grabbed Julia roughly and pushed her toward the vehicle. Her hands were still bound. He opened the door in the back of the vehicle and commanded, "Get in, Doctor Hoffman."
"No, I will not. I demand you let me go," she said with more confidence than she was feeling.
Ramon shoved her into the vehicle. Julia hit her head on the door frame. She saw stars and passed out. "Stupid human. Did she really think I couldn't force her into the vehicle?" he said to no one in particular. He turned his attention to his servant. "Devlin, take Hoffman to Tristan's castle. Remind him I do not want her touched by any of the vampires residing there. I have plans for her, and they do not include them."
"Yes, Master." Devlin then tried to slip in beside Julia Hoffman, but Ramon grabbed him by the throat pulling him away from the vehicle. Squeezing slightly, he made sure he limited the servant's air intake. "I heard the conversation between you and Hoffman on the plane. It is a good thing you didn't listen. Had you done so, you would be dead right now. Don't ever consider betraying me. There is no where on this planet you could hide. I would find you. Then I would torture you to death. Do you understand me?"
With his hands on the vampire's fingers, Devlin tried to loosen his grip, but to no avail. He croaked out, "I . . . understand . . . you perfectly."
"Good. I will not warn you again. Keep your distance from Hoffman." Letting go of him, Ramon was confident he got his point across. Devlin was a coward. He would never betray him. Still, it was always a good idea to remind him what he would do to him if he did. "Now, go to Tristan's castle and secure her in a room she cannot escape from. For if she does, it will mean your death. Servants are a dime a dozen. Remember that."
"Yes, Master." Devlin slipped into the seat beside the unconscious doctor. He didn't dare question Ramon about what he planned to do. Ramon just expected him to follow his orders without question, which is exactly what he intended to do. It was the only way to avoid another beating. He watched as his master turned into a bat and flew away. He couldn't help but wonder where he was going and what he was up to.
"Take us to Tristan's castle," he told the driver. The car was pulled into the street and they were headed to their destination.
4
Julia Hoffman began to stir. Devlin was sitting beside her in the vehicle. She couldn't believe it. She was in Romania, thousands of miles from Collinsport. There was no escaping a vampire. She was aware of that, then again she was aware her life would not be spared for long. She had no choice but to attempt an escape at every opportunity.
The car she was riding in pulled to a stop in front of a very large castle. What was it with vampires and castles. She'd never been to Dracula's castle, and now another vampire was living in one somewhere in the same vacinity.
"Doctor Hoffman, wake up," Devlin said. "We have arrived."
She looked around the vehicle. Ramon was no where in sight. She stepped out of the vehicle and thought, There's no time like the present. Julia made a break for it. She ran as fast as she could from Devlin. She had no idea where to go. All she could think of was getting away from Ramon until Barnabas could find her. She glanced over her shoulder and could see Devlin was right behind her and gaining. Julia realized she could never outrun him; he was much faster than she was. If she was to have any chance at all, she would have to find a way to outsmart him; hide from him. It was the only way. Unfortunately, when Ramon abducted her, she was in the Old House and not wearing a coat. Julia would never last in the elements. Although it was not winter in Romania, it was still quite cold. She had to find some shelter and get off the mountain she found herself on. There had to be someone, somewhere who would be willing to help her.
Her best bet was to head off the mountain and find help. She would rather die than be held by vampires. She knew what they were capable of, and she had no intention of being their captive. Barnabas would come when he realized she was missing. As she descended, she headed for a patch of trees. Fortunately, there wasn't any snow on the ground yet. If there had been, it would've been a dead give-away to where she was headed.
Julia glanced over her shoulder. Devlin was no where in sight. She spotted a tree with thick heavy branches. There weren't any leaves left on it, but she was sure she would be able to conceal herself in them. Julia began climbing the tree. When she reached a section where the branches were rather thick, she climbed into it, praying it would provide enough cover that Devlin would not see her.
Julia watched as Devlin passed underneath her. She remained silent as he disappeared into the woods. Shivering, she didn't know what she was going to do. She wouldn't last long in these conditions. Winter had not set in, but that made no difference in these mountains. It was just plain cold. Without a coat to protect her, she would succumb to the elements. She had to find shelter, and somewhere that had heat; in other words, she had to find someone to help her. She kept telling herself that she's simply couldn't last very long in her present condition.
Not really wanting to get out of the tree, but knowing she didn't have a choice, Julia Hoffman began descending back down to the ground. She stood there looking around, not having the slightest idea which way to go. Instincts told her the only thing she could do was to find an area that sloped downward. Going upward would only take her further into the mountains. She would have to find somebody shortly, or she would be in real trouble. All she knew was that she had to go in the opposite direction that Devlin was headed.
And that is exactly what she did. It would take her past the very castle in which they intended to hold her hostage. She had no choice as it was the only way that she knew would lead her down off the mountain. If she knew where Count Dracula's castle was, she would head there. She didn't, so she had no choice but to try to get off the mountain. It was the only way to get away from Ramon and Devlin. At this point, she didn't give a damn what happened to Devlin. She gave him the opportunity to defy Ramon, and he chose to be beaten and tortured by the vampire. It was his problem; she didn't intend to allow him to make it her problem.
Dr Hoffman hurried away from Devlin. Sooner or later, he would give up and would come back in this direction. She wasn't about to wait around till he did. She hoped to be long gone by the time he realized she had slipped past him.
Julia was already feeling the bitter cold. She was beginning to wonder if trying to escape was a mistake. Maybe she should have waited till later when she had time to figure out a way to keep warm. Then again, if Devlin got her inside that castle, how would she ever get out?
She continued to hurry along. Julia was beginning to shiver violently. Her teeth were chattering. She knew this was insane. Not knowing how long it would take her to get down the side of the mountain, she would more than likely develop hypothermia long before she found someone to help her.
Making a decision, Julia decided her only option was to find Dracula's castle. She had no idea how she was going to do that since she didn't know the area, had never been in Romania, and she certainly couldn't ask vampires in the area where his castle was located. She began to think her situation was hopeless. She simply didn't have a clue which way to go, or more importantly, how long it would take her. Julia didn't have a lot of time and she knew it. Was Dracula's Castle further into the mountains? She really didn't know. If she headed that way, obviously the weather would become even colder.
Why didn't she take the proper precautions? She knew fully well what vampires could do. Just not looking into their eyes was not enough. She should have had the gun with the silver bullets on hand. Then she would have been able to end this immediately. Julia wouldn't be here in Romania with the threat of freezing to death. How could someone with her experience with vampires ever be caught off guard? All of this was her own fault. She had to stop feeling sorry for herself and find Dracula's castle before it was too late.
5
Ramon couldn't believe how easy this all had been. He expected much more resistance from Barnabas Collins. Instead, it had been like handling a baby. Collins fell for his plan every step of the way. Now, he was about to get the ultimate price. Ramon didn't really care about Julia Hoffman. She was expendable. The real prize was residing in Dracula's castle. He knew he didn't have much time. He had to go after her now. Sooner or later Dracula and Collins would realize that he was no longer in Collinsport. Ramon wasn't kidding himself. Neither vampire was stupid. Both of them would figure out that he had brought her back to Romania. The only place he could take her that Dracula could not enter was Tristan's Castle. If doing so, he would start a war with the other vampires. Dracula wouldn't do that, not even for Angelique. At least, that was what he believed, or was he just hoping?
As the vampire spotted the count's castle below him, he flew downward until he reached the doors. He never had a more satisfying feeling than he had right now. He fooled both Count Dracula and Barnabas Collins. He was about to implement the most important part of his plan.
The doors to the castle opened. A woman stood there. Her eyes widened as she realized the man in front of her was a vampire. Frightened by the knowledge that Dracula was not in the castle, every human servant was at risk with this new stranger. "What do you want? You should know that the count doesn't see anybody in his castle. If you want to see him, you will have to send him a message. From there, he will decide whether or not he wants to see you. Now go away." She attempted to close the castle doors, but Ramon pushed his way inside.
"Entering this castle without the permission of the count will result in serious consequences. I suggest you leave immediately."
Ramon picked her up by the throat. Slamming her against the side of the castle wall, he snarled as his fangs elongated. "Dracula is not even in the castle. Don't bother to try lying to me because I know it for a fact. Now, where is Angelique?"
Barely able to breathe, the servant asked, "What? What do you want with Angelique?"
"That isn't any of your concern. Where is she?"
"Let me go and I will go in and announce you to her," the servant said.
"No. I'm not going to give her the time to arm herself. You will take me to her. If you do not, you will die right here and now." Ramon tighten the grip on her throat.
"All right, I will take you to her," she barely croaked out. "Just let go of me."
The vampire let go and smiled. "There you are. Was that so hard?" He shook her down the corridor of the castle. She led him to Angelique's bed chambers where she was resting.
When they arrived, she knocked on the door.
"Yes, what is it?" Angelique said from the other side of the door.
Not giving the servant time to tell the witch who he was, he turned the knob and pushed it open. When Angelique saw who it was, she ran toward her vanity. Unfortunately, the vampire was much faster. Using his vampiric speed, he was there before she was.
Ramon look down at the beautiful witch. "I can will understand Dracula's fascination with you. You certainly are a very beautiful woman. That will not make any difference to me. You see, mortals are nothing but food as they should be to any vampire."
"I am not a mortal. I am a witch, and I am immortal. You must be out of your mind. Do you know what the count will do to you when he finds out that you came here? He will end your very existence."
Ramon began laughing. "He will do nothing. Because if he does, you will be killed. Now, let's go. Time is of the essence. You have already stated what he will do to me if he finds me here. So, I think it is best that we get out of here right now."
"What are you talking about? I am not going anywhere with you," Angelique said, knowing fully well he wouldn't give her a choice.
Ramon grabbed her by the arm. "We don't have time to argue. That was not an invitation. I am not giving you any choice. Unless you are fond of the cold, I suggest you put on a coat because we are leaving this castle."
Ramon shoved her out of her bed chambers and down the corridor of the castle. Angelique began running avenues of escape in her mind. As a witch, she was a powerful being, she knew that. Unfortunately, vampires were just as powerful, in fact, even more so. Angelique only was able to stand toe to toe with Barnabas Collins by using her wit. She had no choice but to be careful how she dealt with Ramon. Right now, the only thing she could do was to go with him. Her abduction would infuriate Dracula.
It now became obvious why Ramon had taken Julia Hoffman. It was just a distraction. Angelique realized she was Ramon's real target. He would regret the day he made the decision to abduct her. He had no idea the the wrath this would bring about from Vlad.
Servants lined the corridors of Dracula's castle as they watched Ramon roughly lead Angelique out of the castle.