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
IX
"Yeah, that's the last of our two friends!" affirmed Quentin as he approached Lowell's remains. "They won't bother anyone anytime soon."
"Your neck, man!" exclaimed Kenny. "Eric bit you. I saw him sink his fangs into you. But…there's not a mark on you!"
"Yeah, you can thank my curse for that." answered Quentin. "Somewhere there's this painting of me. It has nasty gashes on the left side of the neck, where Eric bit me. The painting is bleeding—or WAS bleeding I should say, it must have stopped by now. As for me, I feel the pain, but I don't bear the scars. Been like that for over a century now."
"So you're…not a vampire." concluded Liz.
Quentin looked at her, fresh pain forming in his eyes. "No, Liz, I am not. But, it doesn't take a silver bullet or a cross, or even a vampire's bite to make me feel pain."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
Quentin held up his hand "That's quite alright, Ma'am! You just look so much like Abigail…"
"You knew her, didn't you? You began to say you did marry her…"
"I did indeed, before our friends interrupted us."
"But…how?"
"It's a long story."
"But Senator Collins never told me anything. Yet, he told me all about Barnabas…"
"Senator Collins wouldn't tell you about me, Liz. We were friends—we're still friends, only, I rarely get to see him these days. So, he would want to protect me. But, Barnabas, over here…well, I wouldn't exactly call their relationship 'friendly.'"
"Regrettably, so." commented Barnabas, I only knew Dav—the Senator when he was just a boy. There were times…"
Barnabas hesitated and looked away.
"There were times I had to make decisions for him…decisions which were necessary, but painful."
"You knew the Senator too, Barnabas?"
"Yes, Liz, I did…although, to me he was just David Collins. I imagine I'll have to get used to calling him 'Senator' Collins."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Can somebody explain to me what's going on here?" interjected Luke.
"Barnabas and Quentin are distant relatives of Liz, Luke…" answered Tanya.
"Yeah, Luke, remember I told you how, when I was I kid, I used to visit my relatives who had this big mansion in Maine?"
Luke stared at Liz in astonishment.
"You mean…you knew you were related…to a VAMPIRE?"
"No, Luke, I'm related to Senator David Collins of Maine. I told you about him, remember? He was the Governor before he ran for Senate?"
"Yeah, you said something about that!" said Luke hurriedly. "But what does that have to do…"
"Let me finish, Luke, please!" pleaded Liz. "My cousin, the Senator, he was in his twenties when I was six or seven. And he told me all sorts of stories about the great Barnabas Collins, the vampire who still haunted this old, run down house on the estate. I didn't believe him. In fact, I didn't know he was telling the truth until Barnabas here woke up, and we started talking…"
Luke closed his eyes and began to rapidly shake his head.
"I…I can't believe this! We're standing here talking about you talking to a vampire. Hell, we're standing here talking about you talking to a vampire WITH the vampire, AND his—weird immortal cousin...right here listening to us! It just makes no sense! I mean…"
Luke looked at Barnabas, then at Quentin.
"I mean, I'm thankful that you helped us out of this mess with Lowell and Eric, don't get me wrong! I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful or anything! But…but…it just doesn't make sense! I'm wondering if this isn't all just a funky trip!"
"A trip?" asked Barnabas.
"Ah yes, a trip!" explained Quentin. "That's what the kids about thirty-five years ago started calling it when they were enjoying the euphoric effects of some hallucinogenic drugs."
"Ah…I see!" declared Barnabas, "Well, Luke, I don't know if you have recently partaken of any hallucinogenic substances, but let me assure you, what you see and what you saw here tonight is all very real indeed!"
"Well, don't take this the wrong way, Barnabas, but you vampires don't exactly have a good rep, you know?"
"A good what?"
"Rep…reputation."
"Oh…is that so?"
"I can see where you're coming from, Luke." interjected Quentin. "I saw some of the movies…Nosferatu…Dracula…in fact, I saw them when they first came out in the '20's and '30's. Those are just stories. Barnabas is nothing like those characters..."
"Nosfer—Dracula?" enquired Barnabas, his eye muscles contracted in confusion.
"Figments of some writer's imagination, Barnabas. Pretty one-dimensional too, and generated just to scare people. Believe it or not, in this century and the last, there are people who pay great sums of money just to be frightened...
"But, as I was saying, Luke, Barnabas is nothing like that. He didn't seek out the devil or choose to become what he is. He became a vampire because of a curse placed upon him by a jealous and vengeful witch. He can't control his urges—which is why he fed on poor Eric over there—but when he's satiated, he actually uses his powers to try to help people. In fact, when I first met him, he tried to help me escape my curse…"
"The curse…of immortality?" asked Liz.
"No. I was cursed as a werewolf by a gypsy woman who was, unbeknownst to me at the time, my first sister-in-law. She put the curse of the werewolf on me."
"You…first sister-in-law?" There was a hard edge to Liz's voice now "And why did she turn you into a werewolf?"
Some of the energy ebbed out of Quentin when he heard Liz's second two questions.
"This was eight years before I met Abigail, Liz, and ten years before I married her. I was a foolish, careless and callous young man in my youth. I did many heartless things and hurt many people. I realize now, that I probably had that coming."
"But, with Abigail…" began Liz "…I remember my grandfather telling me she died of a broken heart…did you break her heart, Quentin? Or did you kill her when you turned into a werewolf."
"I did break her heart, yes, Liz. But I didn't kill her when I turned into a werewolf, simply because by the time I met Abigail, I had ceased changing every time the full moon came out…"
"That…painting you mentioned?"
"Yes, that painting. It's a long story, but Barnabas helped me find this artist who painted a portrait of me that would turn into a werewolf in my stead every full moon."
"Sounds so…Dorian Greyish…" commented Tanya.
"Indeed it does." responded Quentin. In fact, the artist who painted my portrait had known Oscar Wilde before he wrote his book in 1890.
"But, to get back to your question, Liz, yes, I did break Abigail's heart. You see, before I was afflicted with this curse, my first wife had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The boy died in infancy, but the girl lived on. And the curse of the werewolf would live on with all of her—and my—male descendants. I felt an obligation to her, but, because of the circumstances of her birth and her mother's death, I could not reveal myself. I had to send her money in private…
"One day, Abigail found out. She thought my daughter was another woman. She was humiliated. She confronted me. I told her the truth about my daughter. It was as if I had given Abigail the best gift in the world. She had wanted children so badly, but she was never able to conceive with me. She wanted to adopt my daughter and help raise her as her own.
"But I could not, and I could not explain to Abigail why this was, at least not at first. But she kept at it. Then, one day, she broke me down, and I told her everything…about the curse, about the painting…about how she would grow old and die, yet I would remain unchanged since the day we first met.
"It was a great shock to Abigail at first. But she recovered quickly. She pledged to stay loyally by my side as long as she could. And she carried out her promise. I tell you, Liz, a man could not have asked for a better wife! Those thirty years I remember with her were among the best of my life"
"Then…how did you break her heart?"
Quentin looked down. After a moment or two, he began again.
"Thirty years after we were married, I began to lose my mind. I could no longer deal with the fact that I was cursed to outlive all of those I loved. I had gotten so unhinged, that I lost my memory for many years. I only found it when I saw Barnabas again. By that time, Abigail had been dead for some twenty years."
"Did you ever find out how she died?" asked Liz.
"One day, Quentin, in a state of fugue, disappeared from Collinwood." answered Barnabas. "His disappearance shattered Abigail. She went on living for another twenty years, but she was never the same. But…relatives of mine who knew her during that era recall that she was still an incredibly sweet, profoundly kind person. In fact, it was only much later…decades after she died…that we found out about her heartbreak."
"Thank you…for sharing that with me…both of you…I never knew much about Great-Aunt Abigail, so I appreciate what you just told me.
"But, Barnabas, you're from Maine…what are you doing all the way down here in New Orleans…I mean, we found you in the basement a bar in New Orleans East…you said something about being able to understand where"
"How did you find me? And do you remember exactly where you found me?"
"Uh…I found you, actually…" Luke volunteered. "And yeah, I still have the run slip, so it should have the address on it."
"The…run…slip?"
"Yeah…Lizzie and I work for the Coroner's office. It helps to pay the bills. I drive around in with the Coroner in his wagon…"
"A WAGON! You still use wagons in this time?
"That's what we call it. It's really a modified ambulance. So, we drive around, and, when we get a call from the police, pick up bodies of people who died in accidents, or in suspicious deaths. For each body, we have to fill out lotsa paperwork, saying where we found it, how we found it…one of the copies of that is called the run slip. We keep it in our records."
"I see…this run slip…do you have it on your person?"
"It's at the office. I can get it if you want…"
"Yes, I would like that very much."
Lizzie's eyes narrowed, as if to focus. There was a dawning understanding in them.
"You think that information will help you figure out why you're here? But you said you could understand where…"
"Where is no mystery, Liz" responded Barnabas. "I am looking for a woman I love. I have reason to believe that she lived in this city when it was still under French suzerainty. But that was years ago…"
"Yeah, like centuries ago, man!" quipped Kenny. "Somehow you ended up in the wrong time."
"But how did Quentin know to find you here?" asked Tanya "And in the nick of time, too?"
"It's simple." replied Quentin "Ever hear of I Ching?"
"The little Chinese wands that are supposed to help you change yourself?" tried Luke.
"Yeah, those. I first came across them years ago in the Orient—or, in East Asia, we would say in this era. I could never get much out of them. But Barnabas, here, he figured out a way to use them to travel to different times. In fact, that's how we first met. But this is the first time they took him to the future instead of the past."
"But how did you know he had gone to the future?"
"Simple. When you master I Ching enough to use it effectively, your body goes into a trance while, in Barnabas' case at least, your soul travels back in time. Well, this time his body disappeared in the present—or OUR present at the time. This had happened before, so we held a séance to try to communicate with Barnabas' spirit so we could find out what had happened. But, the spirits that talked to us told us that Barnabas wasn't among them, which meant that he was still alive.
"Before he used the I Ching, Barnabas had told me that he believed this woman had lived in New Orleans, and I had a feeling I would find Barnabas here eventually. So, I moved here. About a year and a half ago I heard our friend Lowell over there on one of those new TV channels, talking about vampires..."
"Examining Dracula!" exclaimed Liz "I remember…I helped him film his part in that show. He was explaining the hematopathology of historical cases involving what were thought to be 'vampires.'"
"Yes, Examining Dracula!" confirmed Quentin. "The way he talked, I sensed that he had an unhealthy curiosity in the subject of vampirism. It was something he said about "indulging in the conceit that you will live forever…"
"Yeah!" snorted Liz. "That was his standard line!"
"So," continued Quentin, "I tracked him down. I found out that he was a Professor at the local medical school. I also found out that he had frequent contacts with this Eric character. I found a way of listening into their conversations. Almost all they talked about—WHEN they were talking, that is—"
Quentin's last qualification brought a wince to Liz.
"Please, Quentin spare us the details!" begged Barnabas "Lowell had deceived Liz into thinking he loved her, and he was just using her to get what he want the way I once used Maggie…"
"I overheard that, earlier." stated Quentin. "I am sorry Liz, I didn't mean to—"
"It's alright, Quentin! I'm just still so angry with myself for having been suckered…"
"That's quite natural, my dear. It slowly dissipates with time. But, as I was saying, all they could talk about was how the profit potential of marketing a vampire's blood to a pharmaceutical concern. I had a feeling that they would eventually come across Barnabas…so I watched them closely until yesterday. Then, they almost completely dropped off the grid…"
"Almost?" asked Luke
"Eric's car has online tracking. It was no great trick to track him down to here."
"It was a good thing you found us when you did!" exclaimed Tanya.
"Oh, I didn't do much really…and I found you a little earlier than when I actually intervened. You see these windows over there?"
Quentin pointed to the windows at the sides of the pool.
"I saw the lights from there. I found one panel that was already broken. I got in, and I saw Barnabas. I was ready to call out his name, but he spoke to me first."
"How come we didn't hear anything?" Kenny wanted to know.
"All that yelling going on in that room you were all in, you wouldn't have heard a herd of elephants. Besides, that's one of Barnabas' powers. He can talk to you without his throat uttering a sound, and without anyone else hearing a word of it. He told me what was going on…"
"And then, you came down and freed him…" Liz attempted to complete Quentin's sentence.
"No, he actually freed himself. That's another one of his powers. He can disappear like Houdini, just so long as there are no crosses or sunlight to stop him. Those little iron restraints can't hold him. In fact, he just slipped out of them to scare the devil out of Eric and Lowell when they clapped eyes on them."
"Well, thank God you did!" commented Tanya. "I'm scared to even think of what they would have done to us if you hadn't intervened"
"It is a fate to be avoided, Tanya." advised Barnabas. "Do you remember when I told you the bullets in Eric's pistol were silver? You asked what that meant, but I rudely cut you off."
"Oh, no offence taken, Barnabas!" said Tanya "After you saved our lives, you have all the right in the world to be rude to us for putting you in this position in the first place."
"Well, you didn't really have as say in, as you put it, 'putting me in this position.' And I deplore rudeness just as much as I deplore violence. If I will not tolerate it in others, I can hardly allow myself to be rude without at least apologizing for it."
"Why, thank you, Barnabas! You're a very sweet man." Tanya placed a hand on Barnabas' forearm.
"You're too kind, my dear!" observed Barnabas with a smile. Then his face grew sombre.
"But, after hearing Lowell brag about his plans for self-aggrandisement, I realised that my blood alone would not suffice for his scheme. No, he would have forced those of you he didn't kill right away to partake of my blood. Then, after he had somehow immobilized you, and after you had turned just as he did, he would have drawn your blood into his tubes, and then murdered you—and me—with all those silver bullets. THAT was the plan of the fiend!"
There was a fury in Liz's eyes now.
"I wish I made him suffer more!"
"Oh, you needn't worry about that!" assured Barnabas, with a knowing smile "Where what's left of his soul is going, he will be rewarded for his deeds in full measure!"
"But…there were nine bullets in that pistol…"observed Luke "and I don't know HOW many in that machine gun…"
"Two hundred." answered Quentin "less the ones that were shot in that other room and the ten or fifteen or so Eric shot at what he thought was Barnabas."
"Well, yeah, man, but the point is that they were all silver." emphasized Kenny. How does anyone get that much silver in such a short time?"
"Friend Eric over there has been living in New Orleans about five years now, just about as long as Lowell has taught at that school of yours. In those five years, there were periodic burglaries—and some robberies—wherein many a decent citizen of this fair city was deprived of his silver…"
"How do you know so much about what Lowell and Eric were doing?" asked Liz.
"Ah, that's simple, my dear. You see, after I had lost my memory in the 1930's, I began looking for clues to who I was. I ended up in New York, working for this detective. I had nary a penny to my name at the time, but the detective found that I had a sharp mind and what he called 'a disposition towards inquisitiveness.' I worked for him for a salary, while he would, in his spare time, try to help me figure out who I was. Then the war came. He was drafted, I volunteered. He was killed in a secret mission in Europe. I took over the agency after the war. So, you can say that detective work has become almost second nature to me."
"For example, I noticed that Liz has a band-aid on her right forefinger, and that she keeps trying to hide it, but after a few minutes she forgets about it, and lets her right hand out in plain sight. Then, she remembers again, and either crosses her arms or folds the fingers of her right hand, so the rest of us don't see the band-aid."
"Yeaahh!" remembered Luke "You cut yourself on the—on Barnabas' fang when you looked at his teeth for me!"
Liz looked down, pulling her right hand behind her.
"You have…a…good gift for observation…Quentin!"
"Liz…" began Barnabas with a gentle, soothing voice, "what are you afraid of?"
"It's just…I felt something changing in me ever since I cut myself on your—on you! It's like there's this…thing inside of me that wants to take over…something scary!"
"Perhaps some of my saliva entered your bloodstream when my fang cut your finger," offered Barnabas, "But don't be afraid. This…has happened before…you are a strong young lady. Your body and soul will fight this infection, and you will triumph."
"You say that…with such certainty…" tentatively replied Liz. "I don't feel so certain…"
"How long ago did you cut yourself?" asked Barnabas.
"Just this morning."
"Then these are your first hours. This is new and frightening to you. It will pass. Trust me."
Liz was looking into Barnabas' eyes now. She found some comfort in them. It was just like when they first looked into each other's eyes. Liz knew this man would never harm her.
"I do trust you, Barnabas…But…"
Liz looked down at her watch.
"It's two-forty-five! The sun is going to start coming up around five-thirty. We have less than three hours to find you a coffin."
A look of fear and concern swept across Barnabas' face.
"Or someplace where the light of the sun will never penetrate." he added.
"I know just the place." declared Quentin. "It's about half-an hour's drive from here."
"Well, you'd better get moving then!" suggested Liz "And don't tell us where it is. The less we know about that, the better."
"You wish to be rid of us so soon?" asked Barnabas.
"No, not at all! I'm sorry if it came out like that. I didn't mean that at all! I DON'T want to be rid of you two. You're family to me. In fact, I would very much like to see you again. But, the less I, or any of us, know about where you're holed up, the less we can be forced to give away if someone interrogates us."
"A very thoughtful—and far-thinking young lady!" noted Quentin "And one with a gentle heart. You're very much like Abigail in that way, Liz."
"From what you've told me of her, Quentin, I take that as a compliment!"
Liz approached Quentin, embraced him, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then she turned to Barnabas, hugged him, stroked his back, and gave him a similar peck on the cheek.
"Yeah…man, thanks for saving our butts!" said Kenny as he stepped forward and took Quentin's hand.
"Yeah, thanks you guys!" chimed in Tanya, embracing Barnabas after Liz let him go, and then embracing Quentin.
"We all owe you one!" declared Luke, as he took Barnabas' hand.
"Oh, you owe us nothing!" responded Barnabas. "I—we would have done the same for any people of good will who were so monstrously deceived and set up for betrayal."
"Yeah," commented Liz, as Quentin stepped back, making to head towards the steps of the empty pool, "I can't believe I was sooo STUPID to believe Lowell loved me!"
"Ah, but you must not blame yourself, my dear!" retorted Barnabas. "Old loves, they die hard. But old lies, they die harder."