Chapter 11

Eric and Julia Lang's house

Seagull lane, Collinsport, Maine

Julia sat in her home office looking out the window; she could see that with the advent of summer also brought an advent of storms off of the African coastline. This night would be no exception considering they were entering the height of the spring storm season and according to the climatologists La Nina was forcing El Nino out of the Pacific Ocean. Looking down at her notes she frowned. Then glancing to the door and hearing the voice of Quentin and her niece in the parlor she was reminded why she had sequestered herself in her office. The baby kicked and she smiled.

Rubbing her hand over her swollen stomach she spoke softly. "Soon my little precious, soon enough you will be able to play outside for now Mommy needs you to settle down she needs to think about something." She reached forward lifted her headphones, backed up the tape deck and began to play back her session she had earlier. There was her voice. "Hypnosis of Daphne Harridge, April 10, 1969." There was a pause as she handed the crystal to Daphne so the background noise was somewhat annoying.

However, Julia identified her handing the crystal to Daphne and awkwardly taking her seat. Having the baby bump was making her ungainly in getting up and sitting down. "Now, Daphne, I want you to look at the crystal and see how the light is refracted and reflected back at you. See if you can find the center of the colorful rainbow."

She had watched Daphne hold the crystal and look at it intently searching the depths of the crystal. "I see it Aunt Julia, I see the center." Julia had smiled, she was a cooperative subject and had gone deep enough now that she was ready to release any reserves and speak freely but the hypnosis was not complete until she could get Daphne to close her eyes and sleep.

"Close your eyes Daphne and release your anxieties. Can you do that for me?" Julia's voice had taken on a soften coaxing tone.

"Yes, I can." Her words had become monotone. Daphne lowered her lashes with a soft flutter and Julia watched her subject fall into a deep sleep. Her head lolled forward, her shoulders slumped and she now sat totally lost in the sleep of a hypnotic affect.

"Can you hear me Daphne?" She watched the girl and noticed her head nodded. "No Daphne you need to tell me you understand do so by a yes or a no answer from this point on. Do you understand?"

The word was so soft but it was still audible. "Yes."

"Good, now search your mind to a period of time before the engagement party for Vicki and Barnabas do you remember what you were doing?" She watched her intently.

"Yes, I tried to kill the body of Victor Van Gibbon." She spoke softly. "I was ordered to make sure he would never speak again."

Julia was feeling a cause for concern. Daphne had never displayed any murderous tendencies before. The thought of her sweet niece made her frown hearing this. "Who ordered you to do that Daphne and why would you do it?"

Daphne looked up her eyes fluttered opened and blankly stared towards Julia but in her mind she saw him again touching her face. The sensation of the touch was mesmerizing. The tingling sensation of feeling her will leave her and the total surrender of her will to another. The feeling was not unpleasant, if anything it was sensual and seductive. She took her hand and laid it over where the hand had touched her. "He told me, he wanted me to make sure that body and the soul inside was to never speak again. My assignment was to make sure he was dead and could not reclaim his own body." Daphne shut her eyes again and a soft satisfied smile flittered across her lips. "I did as I was told to please him." Her words now had for the first time taken on a happy note.

Of course hearing this filled Julia with concern and a hint of fear edged the back of her mind. What kind of person could so totally take over another's will and order them to commit murder without hesitation? Had her Daphne been brainwashed before she met her? Pressing forward Julia began to question her with a more determined and in depth goal. "Daphne who is this 'he' that told you to kill your friend, Victor?"

Attempting to keep her voice in a professional tone, Julia could not hide a hint of anxiety of her emotions as she thought of a group or agency that might have conditioned moles to be activated and sent out as killing machines and she did not wish to have Daphne be one of those. So, once again calming her thoughts and focusing on what she was doing she tried to get Daphne to identify who was manipulating her by whatever means to go against her nature.

To that question she arched a brow when she saw the content happiness of completing her assignment of just coldly killing someone had made this sweet, innocent girl in front of her smile and sighed softly. "I can't tell you his name Aunt Julia." Her tone had taken on a little girl quality as she plucked at the tail of her shirt and looked up slyly. "If I told you I would be punished. The punishment would be horrible and very painful."

Julia chewed her bottom lip, sucking it in and thinking of a new approach. "What does he look like Daphne, this mysterious man that holds you in his thrall?" She was reminded of those victims that had come under Barnabas' influence while he was caught in the ways of his curse. Maggie Evans has been one such victim and how she had her suspicions confirmed when she discovered Barnabas. Could there be another supernatural creature that now held Daphne under his or her influence? She suspected it was a man since she was saying 'he or him.'

"He looks so different in the new body, he has the most penetrating eyes just like Quentin's only not Quentin's." she sounded like she was caught up in a dreamy state of remembering. "Before he was old and infirmed and rather pitiful which is why I did not mind so much taking care of him. He was kind to me and paid me well."

That would have been Victor, to the best of Julia's knowledge and apparently something happened and she believed that man whom she had put under a protective new identity at Wyndcliff was in Daphne's mind no longer her charge but possessed, would that be the right word? Was it possible that he had become possessed by another form? Pressing forward Julia using her softest voice pressed for more information.

Julia took a deep breath and asked with a hint of frustration as she asked once again, "Who Daphne?" When Julia got frustrated she compressed her lips and clinched her hand tightly. Julia knew that to loose her objective would be detrimental to what she was attempting to accomplish. So, she took a deep breath let it out threw her puckered lips and tried again to gain the important information she needed to solve this mystery. "Daphne, tell me the name of the man that told you to kill Victor."

Daphne looked at her Aunt Julia and shook her head. "If I do he will punish me. I don't like to be punished." Daphne's words were becoming child like and her eyes began to tear up and she shivered. Shaking her head back and forth in a form of her defensive denial she spoke softly leaning forward trying to show she wanted to be confidential with what she was about to impart. "He is very evil Aunt Julia he means to harm all of us in the end to get what he wants. He is very determined to never face fear again so he wants to make sure those that could harm him will be dead or gone or his slave. "

Finally with the more Daphne divulged the more Julia had to work with and now she could approach this in a new way. Presented to her by the very words of her charge. There it was another way to discover who this mysterious person was. " You said he wanted something? What does he want?"

She smiled again "Why Vicki of course. He sees her as the means to protect himself from King Johnny." She said the words like it was common knowledge. For Julia it only meant that poor Vicki was once again at the center of someone's unwanted or unasked attention and for what purpose? Daphne nodded in an ascent of what she was tying to get across to her Aunt. For Julia this tangled web was becoming more confusing and a bit erratic. For once again, there it was another cryptic name that held no meaning for Julia.

"Who is King Johnny and where is he? Will he try to hurt Vicki?" Trying a new approach by not asking directly who was her manipulator she attempted a back door to the information she really wanted. Breaking down Daphne's psyche was taking her time with getting a little bit of fact and probing further. It was not a surprise that another evil force was looking at Victoria Winters as a means for corruption or corrupting her purity.

Julia knew that most darkness was attracted to those that carried this invisible light of goodness within them. That coupled with the simple fact the 'he' created in Daphne's deep subconscious mind had wanted Vicki was obvious. Victoria represented all that was pure and sweet. That coupled with the fact she was youthful, beautiful and untouched by this days madness or soiled way of thinking. It had seemed that Vicki always attracted the darkness to the light she must have within. Looking intently to her charge Julia waited for the next answer.

Daphne chuckled. " Oh my goodness no Aunt Julia King Johnny is dead Aunt Julia, he can't be of any help to anyone. He was a great King of the gypsies and was a hero and he was the reason that they never had to fear Count Petofi again. He would never hurt his own Granddaughter. Vicki is one of his descendants." She looked slyly at her Aunt and then once more began to adopt a sing- song voice had finally said the name she needed to hear. "Count Petofi does not like King Johnny he is afraid of him. He needs Vicki's heart to keep King Johnny away forever!" She sighed softly. "Poor Vicki will die. He will take a sharp knife and on her wedding night will cut her heart out and put it in a box and keep it hostage to make King Johnny leave him alone!" "

Julia did not wish to blanche but with the attitude that Daphne just spoke of this Count and how Vicki would have to die by giving up her heart, Julia had what she needed and knew exactly with whom she needed to consult. Sitting back she watched Daphne yawn, smile and close her eyes and slump forward in her chair to return to her deep hypnotic sleep.

Julia rewound the tape and listened to the two names that she needed. Hearing this name again, Julia had leaned forward and made a note on her legal pad, adding the name to her notes she had taken in their session earlier. She wrote out Petofi's name and King Johnny, which she circled that name and then wrote down Count Petofi. Reaching for her phone she pulled it forward and dialed.

"Stokes." The voice on the other end sounded distracted and then she knew why. "No Adam the next page and solve the problems I have written out for you. I also wish you to continue with your thesis and have it competed before tomorrow." There was a pause then he was back on the line. "Sorry I was tutoring a student. This is Stokes how may I help you?"

Julia chuckled softly, "Sounds like Adam is trying to jump ahead of his lessons again?"

"Julia, how delightful to hear your voice. Adam said you came home and went right to your office and seemed to be distracted. I can see you are not so distracted that you grace my line with your voice. How may I assist you."

"I was wondering when Adam was done with his lesson would you join me? I have a problem to set before you and need your advice."

"I am always at your disposal my dear. Although I did promise dear Mrs. Johnson I would join her for a movie later."

Julia had seen them engaged in a lively conversation during the party the other evening and was delighted to see him coax Mrs. Johnson onto the dance floor. "I promise it won't take more than a half an hour at the most. I just need some research and ask you some questions regarding the dark arts of soul transference."

"Now my dear you have my rapt attention. Adam is nearly complete with his lesson for today and I have loaded him down with a couple of hours of home work so we shall be joining you shortly and I hope you have some of that lovely sherry that Eric offered me the other evening."

Julia chuckled, "Of course, Quentin even brought us another bottle from the Collins' stores. I look forward to seeing you soon." She hung up and sat back and looked at the streak of lightening that danced across the night sky. Loosing her thoughts in how she could insulate Daphne against this outside influence she glanced to the mirror on the wall and blinked. There she saw an image that appeared to want to form.

It flickered once then disappeared. Sighing deeply she looked down at her belly and laughed. "Mommy must be getting tired. I could have sworn I just saw the image of a man in that mirror." Hearing the front door open and close Julia pushed her burgeoning body from the chair and waddled to the door. Daphne was sitting alone in the living room watching Quentin walk to his car.

"I really love him Aunt Julia and he loves me. I think I could truly be happy with him." She had not turned she had just spoken knowing she was standing there observing her. Julia watched her turn around and the look of euphoria on her face and the love she held for him shining from her eyes she was complete with him. Julia recognized it because it was just as Eric had completed her. Daphne peered down at Julia's stomach and smiled. "Someday perhaps I shall have Quentin's child and when I do," she sighed softly and looked down at her flat stomach.

Julia smiled and folded her arms over her stomach resting them on top. "Finish your thought Daphne, when you have Quentin's child what?" Julia tilted her head and watched the soft flush spread over her face. Julia thought she might say she and Quentin would then be a real family and she would have an identity.

Daphne's eyes went distant, "He will have another body to call his own." Her words had grown so soft that for a moment Julia had to cock her head and listen closely she was not sure what she had heard, she was sure that Daphne was still being controlled and even from this distance it was frightening to hear her speak of allowing her innocent child to be taken by another.

"What did you just say?" Julia had stepped towards Daphne her concern was written in the look in her eyes and on her face. "Daphne?" Julia stepped to Daphne, lifted her chin to peered into those glazed over eyes.

"I said what happened to Victor's body his family may wish to claim it?" Daphne's blank gaze was peering through Julia and this truly frightened her. "He has a nephew you know and he went looking for the body and it was gone."

Another part of this puzzle was now coming into play and Julia would be damned if some man claiming to be his nephew came to that sanatorium to try and claim a body that she strongly suspected was occupied by an innocent soul. Reaching forward she shook Daphne and watched her head bobble and then her eyes fluttered and the old Daphne was back. "What?" She looked embarrassed seeing the way her Aunt Julia was holding tightly to her arm.

Their moment was interrupted by the front door opening again and Adam, Hallie, and Professor stokes entered the room. Hallie held an arm full of books and carried them to the dining room table. Laying the books down she smiled picked up two books and walked to her Uncle, kissing him on the cheek she spoke softly, "I will be home after 10 tonight Uncle Elliott, we have two new projects in the hydroponics garden we are finishing. I really will be careful." She cringed hearing the rumble of thunder as it crashed close to the ground and shaking the house and causing the windows to rattle slightly. "Gotta go, later Uncle E!" She was gone with the next flash of lightening.

Dashing out the door Elliott chuckled softly, "Oh to have that much energy. I miss youth!" He chuckled again and turned to accept the glass of sherry that Julia had just poured for him. "Oh bless you dear Julia you have no idea how much I appreciate this. Between the questions from Adam and being concerned for Hallie driving in this rainstorm I am about frayed."

Julia nodded and turned to watch Daphne follow Adam into the dining room. Turning back to Elliott she nodded to her office door. "Where is Eric?" He had peered around thinking he might see him there. Elliott thoroughly enjoyed his sherry sipping it lightly and looking about. If life afforded him a good brain it certainly gave him a discriminating pallet to enjoy the finer things in life and that was one reason he had not retired. He had to pay for what he enjoyed and currently he was enjoying this sherry.

"Eric had business in Boston so he drove to Bangor earlier today to catch a flight and should be home around midnight. He does not like to stay away with me growing closer to my due date. The baby has been restless and he thinks . . . " She chuckled softly shaking her head. " . . . that I might go into early labor. So he does not want to be too far." She had turned and walked to her office with Elliott following behind. Julia waited for him to enter and take a seat before she closed the door.

"I called you because of something that happened yesterday. It has me concerned and I was curious about something." Julia leaned against the door then pushed herself forward to waddle back to her chair.

"Are you speaking of the unfortunate incident that brought Daphne here to your house? Poor woman throwing herself from her window and Daphne saw her do it and was unable to stop her?" Elliott regretfully sipped the last of his sherry and sighed with disappointment. Turning to sit the empty glass on a doily he looked to Julia with rapt attention.

Julia shook her head. "No, what I believe and this is between us Elliott I believe that Daphne's will has been taken from her by another and that this person is capable of doing body transference. Not like Adam but physically moving the consciousness from one body and placing it in another body."

Elliott was riveted, "Yes it is possible. It is a dark arts practice and it has consequences unless you know exactly what you are doing. For the one whose body is taken it is a life of hell locked usually in a body they know nothing about or is debilitated. There was only one such practitioner that I know of that has successfully lived for over what was rumored six hundred years by exchanging bodies. The last he was reported to being seen or heard from was about one hundred fifty years ago."

Julia looked at her notes. "Would that be King Johnny or Count Petofi?" She saw the look on Elliott's face and knew she had struck a nerve. She raised her eye brows and studied the look of concern that now etched Elliott's face.

"Wherever did you find those two names Julia? You just spoke the two names that were never meant to be in sentence with one another. King Johnny Romano was the king of the gypsy tribes in Transylvania during the late sixteen hundreds. The story of his climb to the leadership of his tribe began with an evil warlock by the name of Count Andréas Petofi." Elliott stood and walked to the window in Julia's office. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

His arches were high and his feet were always feeling pinched, he suppose that a little weight loss would cure most his aches and pains from his joints and his feet. Lately, he had taken to given his lessons from sitting behind his desk; he did not have the energy to stand for an hour for a study lecture. Now he shifted his weight and he thought about Petofi, only once in his career had he thought he had brushed close to actually meeting the man. It was frightening to think he might have actually had to deal with a man of his caliber.

Elliott?" Julia had never seen him this unsettled and now he looked as distant as Daphne had when she was under the control of another. "Elliott why are you so upset?" Julia waited for him to acknowledge her question.

"Julia, where did you find those two names?" Elliott had not looked at her he was watching the storm take its fury out on the earth and the waves of the ocean crash with a vengeance to the shore with the rush of the storm's force.

"Because I have a man at my sanatorium that said his name and Daphne said his name." Julia leaned forward, taking the head phones out of the recorder, she pressed play. She watched Elliott turn and sit back down as he intently listened to the recording that Julia had played for him. He leaned forward and his face shifted to concern hearing that someone called Count Petofi was now controlling Daphne and that King Johnny had a role in this drama.

Elliott sighed deeply and closed his eyes rubbing his fingertips over his eyes. "I am afraid we have our work cut out for us on this one my dearest Julia. If in deed Daphne is now under the control of Count Petofi, it will take someone from King Johnny's tribe to break the hold, and the last I heard his last remaining granddaughter was over a thousand miles from here. Her name was Julianka."

Julia frowned, "We have to find a way to break his hold I fear if we do not, then that poor man in my sanatorium will be harmed."

Elliott glanced at Julia and leaned forward. "What is his name Julia and do tell me what you can about him?"

Julia pulled her desk drawer open and reached inside and pulled out a file. Laying the file on the desk she nodded to it. "His name is Victor Von Gibbon, he is very wealthy and even paid for a whole wing of my clinic to be placed at his disposal, he wanted no others around him while he was there and was cognitive and alert to his surroundings. Then one night he had a visitor and shortly thereafter he was discovered in a catatonic shape and unable to communicate."

Julia opened the file folder and looked at the top page, "He had been that way for about a month. I was checking on him yesterday when Daphne just showed up. I noticed that Daphne was not aware of my being in the room so I observed her approach a man that had hired her and paid her well to care for him. I thought she was just doing what I was doing and then she tried to inject him with an air bubble from a syringe attempting to kill him. I stopped her and we struggled somewhat, before she fainted to the floor."

Elliott had been transfixed to her story. He watched Julia grow concern and upset over what had occurred and closed his eyes, he knew what had happened. "Julia, what happened next?" Elliott leaned forward to take the file from the desk.

"It was odd the old gentleman started to struggle to communicate with me and he just kept saying Count Petofi was trying to kill him, to help him." Julia watched Elliott nod and the look on his face was grim.

"The reason for that is simple, Petofi is here and he has exchanged bodies with this poor wretch and the man is quite right he is in serious danger. I hope you have him protected well because if Petofi gets to him, he will die."