Old Loves, Old Lies

-by Baron Karza von Karnstein

-dedicated to Diane Neal

N.B. I do not own any of these characters. Dan Curtis owns all the Dark Shadows Characters. Joel Soissons and Patrick Lußier own all the Dracula II: Ascension Characters

III

"Can you hear me?" the figure asked the three of them. "Can you understand me?"

"Y-yes…we understand you…" responded a suddenly sheet-white Liz.

The figure securely fastened to the Saint Andrew's Cross fixed Liz in his glare, looking deep into her eyes, examining her in detail as if he were a crime scene investigator looking at a minute hair. Slowly, a spark of recognition took.

"Abigail…Blaine…You are still alive…but in these clothes…what year is this?"

"This…is 2002…"

There was a silence as the figure slowly digested this information.

"But what are you doing here, Abigail?" The figure asked, the eye muscles contracting in perplexity. "You died over fifty years ago."

"This shit is getting WAY TOO WEIRD!" wailed Kenny, as he grabbed both Liz and Tanya's upper arms, and began to drag them away. Liz wrenched free of Kenny's grasp. Tanya, at first, let herself get pulled away by Kenny. Once she saw that Liz was not moving, she too broke free, and approached her friend, eyes staring at the newly-speaking figure on the Saint Andrew's Cross.

"Abigail…Blaine…was my grandfather's sister." declared Liz "She died thirty years before I was born."

The figure's eyes widened in sudden comprehension.

"The resemblance is striking!" the figure commented after a few seconds.

"Yes, I saw the pictures…It seems you know a lot about me…Sir…but I don't know much about you."

"Is that why you…have me restrained like this?"

There was an awkward silence.

"It's just that…when we found you…and when we looked into you mouth…"

"WHERE did you find me?" asked the figure, a sudden look of uncertainty and anxiety upon his gaunt face and his baggy eyes.

"Over in New Orleans Ea…"

"NEW ORLEANS!" exclaimed the figure. A moment of silence passed. "Yes, yes, I can understand where…"

The figure turned his head back, until he was staring straight ahead, not at anyone or anything, but intently, though, as if lost in a trance. He seemed to be talking to himself.

"But why this time?"

"I don't…understand…" said a bewildered Liz."

The figure turned back to Liz. The face was calm.

"You mustn't fear me, Ms. Blaine." the figure said in a gentle voice. "I am a friend of your family."

The figure saw that Liz still did not believe, or did not accept what he said.

"Barnabas Collins is my name."

"Oh my God!" Liz cried out. "Then all those stories the Senator told me when I was a kid…they were TRUE!"

"The Senator?"

"Y-yes…my cousin, Senator David Collins."

"Senator…David…Collins?" Barnabas repeated with disbelief.

"Liz…" began Tanya "This is starting to creep me out! Do you wanna tell us what's going on here? Please, honey?"

Liz was still looking directly at Barnabas, whose eyes were locked on hers. Or was it the other way around? Liz still felt a high degree of apprehension. Yet…there was something in those eyes that seemed quite human…quite familiar. Liz almost had the feeling that the man bound on the Saint Andrew's Cross would be her protector, that he would never harm her even if it meant his own peril…

"My cousin, David…he's about twenty years older than I am…he comes from this very old, very rich family…the Collinses. They own this big shipping, fishing and canning corporation. They have this big mansion on the Maine coastline called Collinwood. My parents used to visit their relatives there with me in the summer when I was little. David was on his break from college—on and off—at the time. He used to play with me…and tell me stories."

"Liz?...Elizabeth? That is your name?" asked Barnabas.

"Yes, Elizabeth Blaine. I was named after my aunt, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard."

"And how are you related to Mrs. Stoddard, Ms. Blaine?"

"Well, my grandfather's sister…the one you seem to have known, Abigail, she married one of Aunt Liz's ancestors…a man by the name of Quentin Collins."

"Quentin!" The name had a palpable impact on Barnabas. "Do you know when this…marriage took place?"

"1907. My great-aunt Abigail was twenty-five…"

"Yes…"interrupted Barnabas. "She would have been."

"How…how did you know my great-aunt, Mr. Collins?"

There was a renewed confidence, a determination in Liz's voice.

Barnabas remained silent for a moment.

"What did David—Senator Collins tell you about me?"

"He said that…that…Oh, I almost can't believe it! But then, your teeth…"

"QUIT TORTURING US, LIZ!" screamed Kenny, arms impotently flailing up and down, an unconscious sign of his immense distress. "Just SPIT IT OUT!"

"Be quiet!" Barnabas' voice was not nearly as loud as Kenny's. But his eyes, now fixed on Kenny's, had a ferocious look more powerful than anything in his voice. Kenny now stood as still as a stone.

"Please, Ms. Blaine, continue." prompted Barnabas.

Liz took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

"He told me you were a vampire, Mr. Collins."

"Did he, now?"

Barnabas' chin thrust forward, as if to assert his natural authority.

Suddenly, the floodlights positioned on either side of the Saint Andrew's Cross burst into life as brightly as the sun. Liz, Tanya and Kenny instinctively shut their eyes and covered them with their forearms. For Barnabas, there was no escape, and he screamed in agony.