Kim fastened the top button that her black blouse and made her way to her bedroom door, as she opened it, there stood Carolyn awaiting her.
"Carolyn?" Kimberly said surprised to see her.
Carolyn's hands were clasped in front of her, her blue eyes focused and her face was stone cold, she was still not pleased to be sharing her home with the woman who cheated on her cousin David and had caused him to leave to parts unknown. Carolyn had a very bad feeling about Kim, but despite it, knew she needed that keep her enemies close.
"What was he doing here last night?" She asked straight away.
"What?" Kimberly said stalling.
"Don't play this game with me. Why was Victor Reed here last night? And why do I have this sickening feeling you're behind all of this. Why do I feel you know more about that --that--thing that I saw at my door than you're leading on." Carolyn accused.
"That's really typical of you, Carolyn, pointing the finger at someone else. I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know what Victor was doing here! For all I know he was here looking for Chris who was with your daughter last night!" Kimberly said with a bold faced lie as she pushed Carolyn aside to let pass her.
"Carolyn?" Kimberly said surprised to see her.
Carolyn's hands were clasped in front of her, her blue eyes focused and her face was stone cold, she was still not pleased to be sharing her home with the woman who cheated on her cousin David and had caused him to leave to parts unknown. Carolyn had a very bad feeling about Kim, but despite it, knew she needed that keep her enemies close.
"What was he doing here last night?" She asked straight away.
"What?" Kimberly said stalling.
"Don't play this game with me. Why was Victor Reed here last night? And why do I have this sickening feeling you're behind all of this. Why do I feel you know more about that --that--thing that I saw at my door than you're leading on." Carolyn accused.
"That's really typical of you, Carolyn, pointing the finger at someone else. I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know what Victor was doing here! For all I know he was here looking for Chris who was with your daughter last night!" Kimberly said with a bold faced lie as she pushed Carolyn aside to let pass her.
As Kimberly went past, Carolyn grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face her.
"If you have anything to do with any of this, I swear, you will regret the day you came back to Collinsport and set foot on Collinwood. I will make sure of it Kimberly, don't test me."
"You're so sure of yourself. What is it? What do you think I'm doing here? I have two sons who live here Carolyn, I'd do anything to be with them again. I've made mistakes... I get it. But I'm going to right them whether you like it or not." Kimberly said still caught in Carolyn's grasp.
"I feel sorry for Christopher, I really do. I don't know what kind of relationship he has with you, but I do know what you did to Caleb and how hurt he was when you left him as a child without even a goodbye. And then David left, Caleb's whole world was destroyed--because of you." Carolyn continued.
"You know, I have a feeling a lot of the things that have been happening around here lately didn't start when I came back to town. When did you come back again? When your husband disappeared?" Kimberly said with a veiled insinuation.
"Jack's disappearance had nothing to do with me." Carolyn argued back.
"Not you. This whole family. This whole cursed place. Do you think I don't know of all the curious and strange secrets that the Collins family hold? Everyone knows Carolyn! There's no sense in pretending that none of this isn't normal to you." Kim shot back.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Face it, no one is safe here. No one, and until we remove the darkness that haunts this place no one will ever be safe." Kim said.
"And just what exactly do you plan on doing?" Carolyn questioned.
Kimberly only looked at Carolyn with a fierce look in her eyes. She was determined to continue the cleansing of the horrible Collins curses no matter how hard Carolyn wanted to stop her. Their relationship was never good, but now it seemed that there was no turning back.
Carolyn huffed and released Kimberly from her grasp and marched down the hall to her own bedroom slamming the door behind her. Kimberly stood alone thinking of her next step now that she was working alone. Her only option was finding Christopher before anyone else did. By this time, he must already know what was going on and who was involved. She had to find him, and keep the secret.
* * * *
Amid the chaos in the main house, there was an even more interesting exchange in a patch of land behind the old house where Leopold was living. Christopher lay naked and shivering in the grass, the effects of the serum shot in his blood stream to change him into a werewolf wearing off. He had survived the night his own father Victor turned him into a werewolf, but Victor did not.
"Poor little thing. They don't understand you do they? They don't really know what to do with you. I saw everything there was to see, and I can be the one to help you. I can be the one to save you! Just listen to my voice." said a breathy female voice that stood above Chris' naked body, now covered by the bottom of a thick red cloak.
Chris opened his eyes slight and squinted, standing above him, in the same blood red cloak he was wrapped in was the beautiful sorceress Claudia Bouchard, freshly released from her sarcophagus prison Leopold had subjected her to.
"Who are you?" Chris said faintly, covering himself with with her cloak.
"I'm here to protect you." Claudia's voice said in a soothing tone.
"What---" Christopher said confused and cold as he was interrupted.
"I'm the only one who can protect you Christopher. I'm the only one who understands." Claudia cooed over Chris' body.
"What do you want from me?" Chris asked.
Claudia knelt down close to Chris. She combed his wet hair back as he shivered and shyly tried to cover his exposed body.
"Don't be scared. There's nothing to be scared of." She whispered. Her eyes meeting his.
There was a connection that she felt with him, a kinship. They both had mother's who at various times were up to no good. They both had father's who were trapped between good and evil. She felt like together they could be something, together they could take control of everything around them. The kiss they shared when she was in Alexandra's body was like a lightening bolt zooming through her body like nothing she had ever felt.
Claudia slowly bent down, closer and closer her lips got to his and just before they touched, a vocal interruption just outside their circle.
"Enough Claudia!!!" Leopold exclaimed appearing out of thin air and walking up to the two.
Claudia quickly stood up and with wave of her mystical hand froze time all around them, only allowing Leopold and herself to move within it.
"Step away or I'll kill him." She hissed, her voice now menacing and evil.
"I should have known you'd some how figure your way out of that cemetery. Of all the years we were together, you could always connive your way out of anything." Leopold quipped, the memories of the real Leopold flowing into his mind of his life with Claudia and her previous indiscretions.
"Do you think you know me? Haven't you figured anything out by now?" Claudia said a sarcastic laugh. "I created you, you fool! Every memory you have belongs to my one time love Leopold. They're not yours! You're just a toy....a creation that I can destroy at anytime I want to, so don't start getting brave with me Leopold. You're not real. You're a twisted hybrid of two men meant to destroy Carolyn, that's all." Claudia said ripping into Leopold.
"What is your obsession with her? Why are you at Collinwood haunting this family?" Leopold questioned.
Claudia paused to weigh her options: tell the truth of her Collins family connection which she had just discovered herself or keep it all a secret until the right moment?
"The unfinished business I have goes further then I actually knew, Leopold. And I have you to thank for that." Claudia said now circling Leopold like a shark sizing up its prey.
"The unfinished business I have goes further then I actually knew, Leopold. And I have you to thank for that." Claudia said now circling Leopold like a shark sizing up its prey.
"How?" He asked as she stepped over Christopher's frozen in time body.
"While you trapped me away, I was still able to release my soul and enter the body of your Alexandra Thorne." Claudia said condescendingly referring to Jack's beloved daughter knowing Leopold still had a soft spot for her. "She's the most innocent soul I've seen in decades! Through her I discovered who I really was, and you'll be very pleased to know that Collinwood, just so happens to be the home where I was always meant to be. Barnabas Collins, in fact, is my father. This home, is mine!"
And just as quick as Claudia dropped the bomb of her true paternity to a gobsmacked Leopold she snap of her fingers and flung her blood red cloak wrapping it around her entire body. As the cloak covered and swirled around her body it caved into itself, and Claudia was gone.
Time then began again, the frosty air blew over Christopher's shivering body. Leopold picked him up and swung him over his shoulder and carried him into the old Collinwood home where he was staying away from the main house with the rest of the family.
With the revelation that Claudia was a Collins too, and not just any Collins, the daughter of the greatest vampire that had ever lived, Leopold felt deep in his dark soul that there would much more to come from the wicked witch Claudia Bouchard. And for The first time in a long time he felt a human emotion...fear.
Time then began again, the frosty air blew over Christopher's shivering body. Leopold picked him up and swung him over his shoulder and carried him into the old Collinwood home where he was staying away from the main house with the rest of the family.
With the revelation that Claudia was a Collins too, and not just any Collins, the daughter of the greatest vampire that had ever lived, Leopold felt deep in his dark soul that there would much more to come from the wicked witch Claudia Bouchard. And for The first time in a long time he felt a human emotion...fear.
* * * *
Alexandra, with her knew powers knew exactly what was on the paper before it was unfolded and stood up quickly to intercept it.
"Is this police business?" Alex said stalling Caleb from opening the paper to read it.
"In a way it is, yes." Kat said surprised at Alex's outburst.
"All that matters is that it worked." Alex replied
Leopold true identity was safe; Alex had thwarted off Kat's continuous questioningfor now. But Alex, being a novice when it came to the strength of her newly found powers didn't know how just long any of it would last.
Claudia slid away unnoticed in the room where Leopold and Christopher sat by candle light. She made her way to an even darker, empty room where she removed her red cloak.
Back inside the main house Caleb and Alexandra sat in the half re-constructed main sitting room, where the walls were painted a deep red. Alex was still unsure of where Christopher was and if he was even still alive. Her fear was that someone would notice he was missing and start to put two and two together and figure out he was the monster from the night before.
Indeed, Alexandra had changed since her possession by Claudia. She saw things clearer, she felt things before they happened. She knew things before anyone else knew them. As she and Caleb spoke, it was as if she could hear their conversation in her head before it even happened. She knew this must have been a residual effect left by Claudia.
Her abilities seemed to be getting stronger by the day. She had a deep connection now to Claudia and could feel her. They were now tied together by a single mind, everything Claudia knew Alex now knew, and everything Alex knew, Claudia took possession of when she entered her body.
As Alex kept her new abilities secretly hidden she and Caleb made small talk about the night before and as they did, Kat walked in with the missing person's form she was given at the police station with the man who Leopold killed to cover up his transformation from Jack to his new identity.
"You're hear early." Caleb said, pouring her a cup of coffee.
"I actually had something I needed to show you last night before everything happened and I feel like if I don't get to this now something even worse will happened and I never will." Kat explained going into her inside jacked pocket and pulling out the paper.
Alexandra, with her knew powers knew exactly what was on the paper before it was unfolded and stood up quickly to intercept it.
"Is this police business?" Alex said stalling Caleb from opening the paper to read it.
"In a way it is, yes." Kat said surprised at Alex's outburst.
"Don't you think then we should have some sort of representation?" Alex said now taking the paper away from Caleb's hand.
Caleb looked at Alex confused.
Alex's only objective was to stall Kat so that she could tell Caleb what Kat had with her. They needed time to come up with a different story as soon as they could.
"All I want is for you to look at this paper, that's all. And once you do, maybe you --or anyone--can shed some light on it." Kat said hinting that she knew more then they knew she did.
Caleb grabbed the paper back from Alex and suddenly, as if by instinct, Alex lifted her hand in front of Kat's face and closed her eyes and said out loud:
"A window into the mind I go,
Fazing out everything you know,
Let lies be truths within our walls
Listen to my voice as it calls"
Caleb looked over at Alex shocked, even Alex seemed surprised at her actions. Kat closed her eyes and shook her head. All of a sudden she felt dizzy and the room went into a haze. She opened her eyes and everything was different. Kat's mind seem to be blank. She had the feeling that she was forgetting her thought mid sentence.
"Are you ok?" Alex cautiously tested.
"Ummm...yeah, I just...that was weird. I got dizzy for a second." She replyed.
"Here! Why don't you have some water instead of coffee. Have a seat." Caleb said ushering Kat over to a sofa, totally confused of what had just happened.
Kat mentioned nothing other paper she had just handed him. She then went over and sat down on one of the new sofa's that had come in to replace the one's that burned in the fire.
"Are you ok?" Alex cautiously tested.
"Ummm...yeah, I just...that was weird. I got dizzy for a second." She replyed.
"Here! Why don't you have some water instead of coffee. Have a seat." Caleb said ushering Kat over to a sofa, totally confused of what had just happened.
Kat mentioned nothing other paper she had just handed him. She then went over and sat down on one of the new sofa's that had come in to replace the one's that burned in the fire.
"The room is coming along nicely isn't it?" Kat said sipping the water. "Anyway, the coroner looked at Victor's body, just before I came here I got a call from him. They're saying some sort of mountain lion must have got to him."
Caleb stepped aside and opened the paper and saw the missing person's form with the face of the man Leopold killed and passed off as Jack. A sense of relief washed over him, and then he looked over at his cousin Alex, who herself felt a bit of relief her spell had worked.
"What the hell is going on here?" Caleb whispered to Alex as Kat continued to sip her coffee and look over some of the repairs on the other side of the room. "Did you know what she was bringing here?" He continued carefully folding the missing persons and hiding in his pocket.
"I don't know exactly whats happening to me anymore, but Caleb, I've changed some how. I can see things, I can hear things. It was that woman, that Claudia being. She entered me and...I don't know she's changed me." She said in a similar hushed tone.
"But how did you make her forget what was on this paper?" He asked again making sure Kat still didnt hear him.
"All that matters is that it worked." Alex replied
Leopold true identity was safe; Alex had thwarted off Kat's continuous questioningfor now. But Alex, being a novice when it came to the strength of her newly found powers didn't know how just long any of it would last.
* * * *
Inside the old Collinwood mansion where Leopold was living, sat a vampire and his mortal enemy the werewolf surrounded in darkness and only the light of candles was allowed to touch their faces. Leopold had no idea what he was going to do with Christopher but he knew he had to keep here there before anyone could find him. He had to know how he was created without a full moon.
Christopher however was knocked out cold from the night before and had only woken for a minute outside while with Claudia.
Leopold paced back and fourth while Christopher slept trying to figure out what was happening around him and if the werewolf was really sent for him and not Victor.
As Leopold contemplated and Christopher slept, he suddenly sensed the same peculiar sensation he felt from Kat that he felt from the night at the Blue Wale pub. He leaned over and made sure Christopher was out cold then grabbed his jacket to make his way over to the main house...Kat and her constant prodding needed to be dealt with before she got too close.
As Leopold dashed off, Claudia watched from a darkened corner of the room where no one could see her.
As Leopold contemplated and Christopher slept, he suddenly sensed the same peculiar sensation he felt from Kat that he felt from the night at the Blue Wale pub. He leaned over and made sure Christopher was out cold then grabbed his jacket to make his way over to the main house...Kat and her constant prodding needed to be dealt with before she got too close.
As Leopold dashed off, Claudia watched from a darkened corner of the room where no one could see her.
She knew that her life was at stake now that Leopold was aware that she had escaped the sarcophagus in the cemetery.
Her plot to seek revenge on the Collins family for Barnabas' sins was beginning to feel misguided. Barnabas was the one who killed her mother Angelique. Barnabas was the one who took Claudia away as a baby and placed her in an orphanage so far back in time that no one would find her even if they tried.
It was clear now that Barnabas was the one person who could pay for what he did, and not the rest of the family. He was the cause of all her suffering, so he would be the one to deal with.
Her plot to seek revenge on the Collins family for Barnabas' sins was beginning to feel misguided. Barnabas was the one who killed her mother Angelique. Barnabas was the one who took Claudia away as a baby and placed her in an orphanage so far back in time that no one would find her even if they tried.
It was clear now that Barnabas was the one person who could pay for what he did, and not the rest of the family. He was the cause of all her suffering, so he would be the one to deal with.
Claudia slid away unnoticed in the room where Leopold and Christopher sat by candle light. She made her way to an even darker, empty room where she removed her red cloak.
Claudia made a circle in the center of the room on the wooden floor and stood transfixed inside of it.
She closed her eyes and whispered a spell:
"To another time I go forth and find
The man I call father: time rewind
For he is the one I seek answers of
Let me find him left, right, down, and above"
Claudia's body began to glow so bright it lit up the entire room. She started to feel herself lift and spin in the circle, faster and faster and faster until she was completely filled by the light. Then as the ball of light expanded and she went in, she was gone. Leaving only the red cloak on the floor.