Chapter 26
When Barnabas opened his eyes again, he was no longer at the Blue Whale. He was lying down on a bed looking up at the ceiling. Someone held his hand so he squeezed it to see if it was real. Feeling the warm, soft skin and steady pulse of the person next to him, Barnabas turned his head and saw the face of Maeve. Then he looked around for Julia. He tried to release this woman's hand but couldn't. Was he still in 1971 or 2003? He had to be cautious.
"Where is Julia?" he asked feeling dazed. Looking at the figure on the bed, he noticed she looked the same as the woman at the Blue Whale? "Where is Julia," he repeated, "the woman I was with?" He sat up and started to snarl at her as he slightly bared his fangs. He watched her whip out a foot-long stake and lift it just inches from his heart. "You have me at a disadvantage, my dear." She still didn't say anything. "What are you waiting for? Do it!" he growled.
"I won't, I can't. I just want you to calm down and realize where you are," the woman said in a calm soothing voice.
"You are not the woman from the Blue Whale, are you?" he sighed, relieved.
"Yes and no, Barnabas, you are back in the year 2003." Maeve smiled as she lowered the stake. It always irritated him when he got cryptic messages.
In almost a whisper he questioned her, "So you were there, in 1971, weren't you? What happened to me?" Sitting on the edge of the bed with Maeve, he noticed they were still holding hands. Were they playing the 'game'? "How long have I been gone?" he inquired, still disoriented.
Knowing Barnabas would want a complete explanation, Maeve started at the beginning, "When you collapsed, Willie and I brought you in here so I could take care of your body. It has been about an hour since your consciousness left our present time." She squeezed his hand. Guessing what he was thinking, she said, "Yes, the 'game' has been controlling your experiences."
"What?" Barnabas was confused. "You mean none of that was real?"
"Oh yes, quite real, except," she hesitated.
"Except what Maeve, was I or was I not in 1971?" Barnabas looked at her suspiciously. "What happened to me? Was I poisoned?"
"No! you were not poisoned. Before coming to Willie's while you were sleeping, I snuck out to the liquor store and purchased four wine bottles. I emptied two and replaced them with my blood." Barnabas' face showed utter shock so she explained further. "Because of my 'condition', my body has the ability to replenish itself with an unlimited amount of blood, if needed. That's why when you bit me during the 'game', you didn't hurt me and while we made love that first night, you got what you wanted without harming me. The 'Powers-to-be' instructed me to add some special herbs to the blood so your consciousness would relax enough so you could be send back to 1971," Maeve explained. "'They wanted me to be able to monitor you during your trip so when it was time for you to return, you could."
"So it was all real, I did go to 1971, and I was reliving my time with Julia," he said almost to himself. "But why did the 'Powers-to-be' want me back in 1971? Everything was the same as before and I couldn't change Julia's fate." He was confused and hoped he would get a direct answer.
"You didn't go back to change anything. You went back to learn. Did you learn anything while you were there, especially about Julia?"
"The trip brought back memories I had long forgotten," Barnabas reminisced. "I was reminded of how much pain I inflicted on my dearest friend and how much she loved me in spite of it all. I recalled how much she meant to me. Something unusual did happen that didn't occur originally. I found a photograph of a woman and baby in Julia's room. The woman looked just like you, Maeve." Barnabas intimated as he looked at her. Unshaken by this news, Maeve waited for him to continue. "Julia said it was a photo of her as a baby and her mother. Then she told me a story about an ancestor. I don't remember her ever telling me this story before." Barnabas couldn't remember ever asking Julia about her personal life. Because of this experience, he felt much closer to Julia.
"What was the story, Barnabas?" Maeve asked encouraging him to continue.
"Julia's mother told her a story of an ancestor by the name of Maeve." Barnabas watched Maeve carefully but saw no change in her expression. He continued to tell her what he remembered. "Julia's mother told her daughter about a tale that her grandmother passed down to her mother when she was a child too. The story was passed down over the ages and it started in the late 18th or early 19th century when a young unwed woman got pregnant. For unknown reasons, this young woman left her child at a church with two notes. The first note said she could not take care of her baby girl so she had to leave her in the care of the church. The name of the baby was Maeve." Barnabas gave Maeve a questionable look. "It seemed the name Maeve ran in Julia's family." Continuing with the story, he said, "The second note was written for the baby when she got older to understand. The note told the offspring that because of her mother's circumstances, she couldn't take care of her. If the child knew the circumstances, she would understand. The mother's name was also Maeve and wanted her child to know that she had the blood of a warrior."
"Interesting," Maeve finally said, looking away from Barnabas' penetrating eyes.
"YOU were that unwed mother, Maeve!" Barnabas accused.
"Yes," she said sadly still not looking at him. "Because I couldn't take care of her, I had to give her away. I did what I thought was best, at the time, for my child." Maeve looked down at the floor remembering that painful decision. "You do understand, Barnabas, don't you? Now that you know about me, you must see why I had to give up my child." Maeve held back her sorrowful tears, remembering that day like it was yesterday.
"Maeve, you could have told me all this without sending me back to 1971," Barnabas said with a compassionate tone. He knew what it was like to make painful decisions.
"Yes, but you learned more from being there and experiencing it. Barnabas, you and I have something very special between us. I hope you will figure it out in time. Because of the 'Powers-to-be', you experienced something unique with Julia also. The two of you created something very special during your time together and you must find it before it's too late," Maeve added. She wasn't sure he understood but she would make sure he did later. "You saw what Julia went through on that night in the cemetery and in the Collins' . . . "
"Wait a minute, Maeve," Barnabas interrupted. "How do you know what I experienced while I was in the past?" Barnabas asked puzzled. He hoped she didn't known everything. He treasured his privacy.
"We have been connected all the time," she replied holding up their hands. "The 'game' allowed me to observe your visions while you were experiencing them. It also protected your privacy when you needed it," she smiled. "Don't forget, I already knew of your relationship with Julia since we played the 'game' before.
Barnabas thought for a moment. "You were really there, Maeve. I saw you in the Blue Whale just before I came back here."
"Yes, you recognized me because you already knew me from this time period. But neither of you knew of me originally. Since you were not a vampire in 1971, I didn't know who you were except Julia's friend. At that time, I was only observing my descendant as I had done over the ages. During this visit to the past, Julia sensed you were about to leave for the present. Your future and past selves were merging and her anxiety of loosing you triggered your future self to crave blood. Since the vampire essence merged with your past self, that set off a response so that the slayer from 1971 knew a vampire was nearby. Seeing this happen, I knew I had to bring you back to 2003 immediately so everything would continue as it had previously."
Since the 'Powers-to-be' used the 'game' to control events in the past and that it was still playing as they held hands, Barnabas took a chance and asked her another question. He knew the 'game' would not allow her to lie. "How long have you been following me and how long have you known about Julia being your descendant?"
"I wasn't following you personally. Over the centuries, I traveled around the country detecting and destroying vampires. In 1795, I was new at being a slayer but I sensed a vampire in the northeast. As I followed the trail to Maine, I was too late. I could no longer feel its presence so I assumed the vampire was killed or moved on. Then in 1967, I sensed another vampire in the same location and traveled back to Maine. Although I picked up its trail, it kept eluding me. I couldn't get close enough to identify and destroy it. It was well protected by the great estate of Collinwood. I stayed in Collinsport for a while and suspected it was the same vampire I was hunting in that area over a century ago. Then I found out my descendant was in the area. I stayed to observe her activities. When she went to live in Collinwood, I decided to stay longer to see if I could get closer to the vampire. I discovered she was on its trail also. I even witnessed the vampire and her together, on friendly terms. So I left the vampire alone."
"Why?" Barnabas interrupted.
"Because of Julia," Maeve smiled. "I knew she was my descendant because I kept track of my 'family' over the centuries. Even though I never made contact with them, I watched over them and always knew when another was born. When I observed Julia's attraction for the vampire, I decided to just observe from then on. Being interested in my descendant's happiness, I let her make her own decisions. It was not until I connected with you in the beginning of this week that I knew you were the same vampire from 1795 and the 1960's. When I saw Julia in your memories, I knew you were 'her' vampire."
"Why did you decide not to take your revenge and kill me?" Barnabas asked, fascinated by the many possibilities of them meeting long ago. "You saw all the pain I inflicted on her through these visions and from my journey to 1971." They looked into each others eyes, and then Maeve bent over and kissed him. What was the attraction he had for this woman, Barnabas wondered. They kissed again and then embraced. Their hearts beat in unison, their blood boiled hot in their veins and their thoughts fused together.
"Do you not feel it, Barnabas?" Maeve studied his face and felt his heart racing with excitement. "I have longed for a partner who would understand and accept me. A long time ago, the 'Powers-to-be' told me that such a person existed but wasn't ready to receive me as I was. It had to be the right time and place for me to meet that special someone. I believe that person is you, and that we are 'kindred spirits'. Only you have to want and accept it too, only then will it become a reality." Their hands finally separated and Barnabas stood up. He paced around the room thinking about the last week and their encounters. He felt the blood rush to his heart as it beat faster with each step. The energy surged through his veins, something was happening to him, changing him. Then he thought of previous women he 'loved' over the years and could never have because of his curse. Ravenous desires to have a bride of his own, to make them live by night and sleep by day, consumed his thoughts for more than a century. He never wanted to change the women into vampires but he was obsessed with having a mate and thought it was his own recourse. Now after all those years, this woman walked into his life. First she appeared as a threat to his existence, now he wondered if it was possible to become her partner. Barnabas looked at Maeve still sitting on the bed. Can this woman be his mate? Will he be able to TRUST her?
He heard a ringing in his head and he covered his ears with his hands. Where is that sound coming from? He can still hear it. With the thought of trusting her, the ringing got louder. "Stop!" Barnabas cried aloud.
"What's wrong, Barnabas? Stop what?" Maeve had been watching him very carefully, pacing and lost in thought.
"I haven't been able to trust anyone until Julia. Now you want me to trust you. You are a slayer, destined to destroy my kind and you want me to trust you. How?" Barnabas' hands were clinched in a fist against his chest. He wanted to grab her and sink his fangs into her neck. He thought that might be the only way to trust her completely but he knew he couldn't control her that way. She had proven that to him.
"When did you begin to trust Julia?" Maeve asked him point-blank. Watching him stare at her, she offered the answer, "Over time she proved to you that she was trustworthy because she loved you. I will have to prove to you that I love you too. That's the best I can do. You know my feelings and now it's up to you." Maeve stood up, held his hand for a moment and then left the room, closing the door behind her so he could decide.