Chapter 19

"Barnabas!"

"What?" He looked up and saw Angelique standing before him with a tray in her hands. It had some small bottles and a glass of water sitting on top.

"Are you ok, darling?" she asked as she placed her tray on a small table next to the chair Barnabas sat in. Barnabas jumped to his feet, in total shock searching for his voice.

"Wha . . . what you are doing here?" he said angrily, as he looked around his surroundings. Where was he? This room, it looked so familiar to him.

"What is wrong with you, I live here?" The beautiful blonde woman took her hand and touched his forehead. "Are you feeling sick again?" He quickly jerked his head away from her hand.

"What?" He found it hard to concentrate on the conversation as he walked around the drawing room of the Old House. Looking down at his clothes, he saw he was wearing his old 18th century attire and that the room was exactly as he remembered it in 1795. He quickly walked over to the pillar where he remembered shooting and killing Angelique on that terrifying night. There was no blood stain on the rug so he grabbed his neck where he remembered the bat biting him.

"Barnabas!" Angelique shouted. "What is the matter, darling?"

Barnabas ignored her plea of concern. He looked in the mirror next to the main entrance door, saw his reflection and gasped. He was not a vampire. Am I dreaming, he wondered, yes, that had to be it, I must be dreaming! No, maybe I dreamt I was bitten by the bat and . . . NO! My whole life was NOT a dream, he thought in frustration.
Walking back into the drawing room, he walked up to Angelique, grabbed her and looked her in the eyes. They were beautiful blue eyes. Her entire beingness titillated his whole body. He could remember always being entranced by her beauty and loosing control over his morality. He did marry her long ago, before he found out she was a witch and responsible for all the tragedy that fell upon his family. She was the one that cursed him, he thought gritting his teeth in remembrance.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked furiously.

"Barnabas, you are hurting me!" she squirmed to get out of his hold. He let go of her and waited. "What is the matter? Do not you recognize your own wife?"

"My wife? HA more like the witch from hell! You turned me into a vampire." He was in the verge of grabbing her again when she slapped him across the face. As his head flew to the side, he closed his eyes, feeling the stinging sensation spread throughout his cheek. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a door way about to step out into a sun-light street. He jerked back into the dark shadow behind him and found Maeve holding his arm. Totally disoriented and confused once again, he looked around and noticed the lobby of his hotel.

"What's the matter, Barnabas? I asked you to trust me since I know what I am doing," Maeve said gently.

"What?" He had no idea what she was talking about. He looked into her eyes and saw the familiar calming light sparkling back at him. He felt calm in her presence.

"Are you ok?" she asked concerned. "I told you I could get you from the hotel to the car in the daylight without any harm coming to you. Don't you remember?"

"UH?" He couldn't think straight. All he could remember was being in the Old House with Angelique in 1795. He had just learned he was not a vampire but now he was here, in the present, with Maeve. NO! He couldn't be a vampire again. This had to be a dream too. "Maeve, I don't know if I can go with you. I'm really not feeling well." He was starting to feel very sick to his stomach. He didn't know if he could trust her to lead him into the light. If he was a vampire, that would surely kill him.

"Barnabas, we talked about this already. I told you I had a solution to the sun problem and our meeting with Willie and Alondra. Have you forgotten?" She was very concerned about his behavior. So was he.

"Yes, I've forgotten and I feel very disoriented." He tried to get his thoughts together, tried to remember waking up, but he couldn't. Maybe this was also a dream. That had to be it, still dreaming, that was the only explanation, he thought.

"Please trust me, Barnabas, you will be ok." Maeve started to gently lead him back to the door way. It seemed like slow motion until they stood in the same place he found himself moments ago.

"I'm afraid, Maeve. I don't remember what you told me your solution to the sun problem. I know I need to trust you, but my instincts forbid me to follow." He was telling her the truth and surprisingly it felt good. At that moment, he saw his cloak draped over his head and he was entirely covered from head to toe. He felt himself be gently pulled outside and down the stairs. Everything moved very fast and before he knew it, he was in a car with tinted windows. He looked over into the driver's seat and Maeve was smiling at him.

"You see, Barnabas, it's all about trust." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. As she drove the car, he continued to look at her with greater respect and love.

"Maeve, I love you." She heard his sincerity and saw the radiate smile on her face. He sighed and closed his eyes for the rest of the trip.

"Barnabas?"

"What?" A little disoriented from his short nap, Barnabas opened his eyes and noticed he was no longer in the car. He looked around and saw he was standing in an unfamiliar living room and several people were looking at him. He looked at the person who spoke to him and saw Maeve. Then as his vision cleared, he looked around and saw Willie and Alondra looking at him with great concern in their eyes. Where am I? He thought, confused at another change in his environment. NO, not again. Was he still dreaming? He has never had three dreams in a row before ever waking up. Wait a minute, he thought, Julia's warning. Is this it? He looked around again and saw the three people still staring at him. If this was still a dream, maybe the 'game' was still playing in his head.

"Are you ok?" asked Alondra, very concerned.

"Barnabas, you were about to tell Willie and Alondra our little secret," Maeve reminded him.

Barnabas snapped his head around and glared at Maeve. What was the 'game' trying to tell him? That he HAD to trust these people? No, he shook his head. As a migraine started to flare at his temple, he looked at all three people, searching for some sort of reality. Willie was standing with a glass of champagne in his hand smiling at him. Looking at Alondra, Barnabas saw the look of wonderment at learning the truth about her husband's past. Then he looked at Maeve and deep into her eyes he saw total commitment and encouragement. He had to be dreaming, he thought. This was the weirdest experience he ever had. He looked down at the rug and noticed the minute details of the patterns.

"Barnabas? BARNABAS?" He heard Maeve yell at him.

"Barnabas, wake up, it's time to get ready!" He shot up out of bed and looked around. He saw the drapes tightly shut and the room was still dark. The light went on and he saw Maeve standing next to the door with her hand on the light switch. He was in a motel room. "Finally," she said. "I have been trying to wake you up for thirty minutes. You have to get ready because we have a dinner party at Willie's at 7 p.m." She was almost dressed and encouraging him to get up.

"What happened?" he asked confused.

"Well, as far as I can tell, you have been sleeping very soundly because I couldn't wake you up until now," she replied.

"No, that's not what I mean. I just had the most peculiar dream, more like three dreams!" He got out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash up. He didn't know what he was doing, otherwise he would have been arguing about going out tonight. Looking up at the mirror before him, he saw no reflection.

"Three dreams? What were they about?" she asked curiously. She knew that dreams right after playing the 'game' could have great significance. So while Barnabas got cleaned and dressed, he relayed his dreams to her. "That is very fascinating. Do you know what they mean?" She knew she could not help him with this. He had to figure it out himself.

"Not yet, but I will, I promise you that." He walked over to her side, kissed her passionately and concluded that he was awake. Finally!