Chapter 18

"Julia," Barnabas whispered, as they saw her appear in their inner vision. She was dressed in a white medical coat that Barnabas had seen many times. A doctor by trade, Julia was administering shots to him to reverse his vampirism. It started to work until Barnabas impatiently forced Julia to speed up the injections. Loosing the argument against waiting, Julia gave him the shots. Due to the overdose of injections, Barnabas started to age rapidly. Only by attacking his cousin, Carolyn, did Barnabas reverse back to his youthful state. He was furious with Julia and blamed her for his troubles. He then proceeded to torment and threaten to kill her. It took the intervention of Sarah's ghost, Barnabas' dead sister, to stop him. The love of his sister softened his heart enough for him to allow Julia to help him again.

Maeve took a closer look at the woman in the white coat, remembering something from her own past. She could also feel a deep sense of lose in Barnabas when the visions stopped and they were aware of the motel room again. "She was a remarkable woman, Barnabas. In the end, she was the one woman you trusted with your life but not your love." Maeve could tell those words cut deep into his heart. Unfathomed sorrow lasted for some time. Barnabas did not even have the energy to rebut her observation.

"Are we quite finished?" He asked at last. The 'game' gave him his answer. He looked at Maeve and a feeling, not his own, told him that it was his turn to ask a question. His energy perked up and he started to think about the rules of the 'game'. This 'game' had a mind of its own and he must figure it out, he thought calculating his question.

"Yes, Barnabas, you can ask me anything and I can't lie to you." She knew he was pondering the question very careful. The joining between their psyches permitted the 'game' to know when a lie was committed, Barnabas thought. Did it matter how he asked the question? He had to think of a vague question, he thought. The 'game' would know what he meant however she would not be so sure. If the answer did not match what the 'game' knew was true, it would send them on a trip into her past. That had to be it, Barnabas thought. Barnabas looked into Maeve's eyes and wondered if she knew what he was thinking. No, he did not know what she was going to ask until she did. At least the 'game' kept some thoughts private. He was ready to ask his question.

"Why are you here, my dear?" He knew this was vague and she could answer it a number of ways.

Maeve was watching Barnabas very closely. Although the 'game' did not permit her to know his thoughts while formulating a question, she could tell he had discovered the true makings of the 'game'. She thought about his question and wondered how much to say. If she did not reveal all, the 'game' wouldn't let them proceed to the next question. She wanted Barnabas to know the truth about her, to see and feel, not just hear it from her.

"Barnabas!" she acted shocked. Truthfully, she said, "I am here because I fell in love with you over the last few days. I think I am the perfect match for you, knowing all about your condition. I can make your life complete." She smiled devilishly.

"Go on, I know there is more to it then that!" He was pleased to know she loved him because he shared the same feelings. At least this time he didn't have to doubt a woman's claim to loving him, only to find out later she didn't.

"I have known about you for a very long time. I didn't know your name or where you were exactly, but I have been searching for you ever since I became a vampire slayer."

"What! And how long has that been?" Barnabas could not believe his ears. She can't be more than 30. Remembering all the powers she had in her possession, he wondered just how old she could be. But the 'game' had proven she didn't lie, he realized.

"A very long time!" she exclaimed.

"You must answer the question!" Barnabas was feeling his impatience flare. He craved more and the craving turned into lust. He could feel his blood-lust symptoms starting up again. He wondered if the 'game' was causing his desires to flare, but would he be permitted to bite her? He could get the whole truth then. Maeve knew his thoughts and smiled. Some unknown force was stimulating his blood-lust. He had had enough blood tonight, thanks to Willie, so he shouldn't need more. Maybe the 'game' was telling him the answers could only be reached in this matter. What would that do to her? The feeling was too strong and he couldn't hold back. She smiled at him and he surrendered to the demands of the 'game'. As he closed his eyes, he felt a slight spin.

No longer resisting, he pulled her easily into his chest, tilted his head to one side and sunk his fangs into her neck. She didn't or couldn't resist him, he wasn't sure. He felt her mouth on his neck as he tasted the sweetest fluid in all his life. His veins and heart pulsated rhythmically with hers. He felt their life forces melt together, with complete and total surrender of wills. Something past between them, neither were aware of and soon all awareness of the present slipped into the past as the years flew by. Standing on a foggy harbor pier, Barnabas saw a woman waiting for someone on the dock. She was looking away, unaware of a shadowy figure approaching her from behind. When the shadow was right behind her, the woman turned around and saw her attacker.

"Who are you? What to you want?" The woman spoke in an ole' New English accent, stepped back but was grabbed by her attacker. Her screams fell of deaf ears.

Barnabas noticed she was pregnant but the assailant took no pity on her. She was engulfed by the attacker's embraced. When released, she dropped to the pier. She laid there bleeding by two wounds on her neck, near death. Barnabas got a closer look at the woman's face which looked like Maeve.

Next, the headlines of a newspaper appeared. "Child Lives, Mother Near Death" and the article read:

"Unidentified woman attacked on Pier 3 last night about midnight. Doctors could not determine what caused the wounds on her neck but she lost a great deal of blood. Doctors do not believe she will survive the night. Luckily, the baby was born untouched and healthy. Authorities investigating this attack believe a large wild animal was responsible so the authorities have started a search. Until it is found, the magistrate is placing the township under marshal law."

Years run ahead and a young girl, it was Maeve, appeared before them. Working in a seaport town, she was dressed in 19th century barmaid's clothes, waiting on drunken sailors and being manhandled.

"Hey, ya sweet lit' thang, ya come over her' and sit rite on Papa's knee," said a drunken seaman, laughing with his buddies as they taunted young Maeve during her shift. Every time she passed their table, the rude seaman smacked her on the rump. She was loosing her temper quickly and right before closing time, the seaman got what he deserved. She slapped the sailor so hard that he was knocked out of the salon right before she was fired. The young Maeve stormed angrily out of the bar, down the street and into her boarding house room. She packed her bags, changed into male attire and left town. On the road out of town, she had a vision of a cloaked man walking the docks in a seaport village. A passionate feeling aroused her but she didn't understand why. She would have these visions off and on for many years unaware of its meaning until the white light appeared to her.

For years, the young Maeve traveled across the country, trying to make a living but everywhere she turned, she was mistreated or abused. When she reached young adulthood, she stopped aging. She wondered why she could do things others could not. Once while working for a farmer, she was cutting wheat in the field. Someone walked by her, unaware of her presence, and cut her arm with their scythe. The pain shot up her arm and her screams were deafening as the doctors tried desperately to bandage her wound. The doctor returned in a few days to redress her arm and discovered the arm was completely mended. The townsfolk thought she was a witch and wanted to hang her. It was time for her to flee again.

One night while traveling, Maeve woke up and thought she was still dreaming when she witnessed a large white light approach her. Its presence was soothing and it communicated telepathically with her. It told her of her destiny.

"Who are you," she asked the light.

"We are your way-showers, the ones who will guide you on the path you were destined to follow," she heard it tell her.

"What is my path?" she asked.

"The path of Light, you must follow the light and destroy the dark. The dark kills and the light restores."

Young Maeve was confused. The being was speaking in riddles she did not understand. "Am I human or are the people right about me. Am I a witch?" she asked afraid of the answer.

"Townsfolk are blinded by fear and superstition. You must ignore them and follow the Light."

"How?" she asked, listening intently. "What am I?" she asked again.

"You were conceived by human parents but it was in '73 when your mother was attacked by a creature of the dark. While still in the womb, your body received its poisonous venom and mixed with your blood. Changes occurred and you became immune to the curse that plagued the dark. When necessary, your body produces an unlimited amount of blood and the healing properties within make you almost immortal."

"What is this darkness called?" She needed to know what she was fighting against.

"It goes by many names. People call them creatures of the dark, blood suckers, vampires, the walking dead that prey on the living."

"NO!" screamed the young Maeve. "Then I will hunt down this vermin and I will kill IT! I will kill all of its kind as long as I live." The white light illuminated around her with love and from that day forth, she became the slayer of darkness.

The visions stopped abruptly and Barnabas' hold on Maeve's neck snapped loose. She also let go of him as their hands separated. They sat on the bed, gazing into each others eyes. Barnabas noticed she didn't have any holes in her neck.

"You don't have any either," she said in response to his puzzled look. "So now you know why I am here."

"You are here to kill me," he said sadly.

"You saw a young immature angry woman, bent on revenge, with a noble excuse to rid the world of darkness. Yes, I wanted to find the creature that put me through hell, stripped me of my mortality and lash out on all like it."

"I am sorry about your mother," said Barnabas still feeling the effects of the 'game'.

"Do you think you killed her?" Maeve asked him.

"I could have." Barnabas replied remorsefully.

"Barnabas, you were not responsible for my condition. Don't you think I would know after our joining?"

"I don't know anything right now," Barnabas said remembering the scene on the dock.

"No, it was impossible because it happened in 1773." She was smiling at him when he gazed into her eyes. "Now you know about me. We must get some sleep so we can be ready for Willie's dinner engagement Friday night." Barnabas shook his head but gave no reply.

Sleep did not come immediately. As Barnabas had hoped, Maeve was more than amenable to please his passionate desires. In fact, they were at it all night and into the next morning.