Series 6/Chapter 7: ONCE BITTEN

The moon hung high in the brisk autumn sky above Collinsport. A soft wind blew through the skeleton trees devoid of all their summer leaves. A small blue car turned slowly on a rural road, careful of every winding curve that lead it to Ezrabette's small house hidden in the finger-like shadows of the trees.

It was Kat heading for her midnight rendezvous with the voodoo mystic, but she wasn't alone.

As Kat popped out of her car onto the frost bitten grass drive way at Ezrabette's home, headlights of another car suddenly blared blinding Kat as she turned to look and see who was there. She shaded her eyes and stared in the direction of the headlights as the silhouette of a tall person came closer and closer. Kat slowly backed away unsure of who might be there watching her and as she continued to squint in the person's direction the person stood in front of the lights blocking the brightness.

It was Kat's detective partner Loomis McGovern.


"Loo! Jesus, you scared me half to death, what are you doing here?" Kat said shoving Loomis in the chest.

"I should ask you the same thing. It's probably safe to say you'd agree that it's strange for a woman to be in the middle of no where in the middle of the night alone." Loomis answered.

"I can take care of myself, I don't need you watching over me like this." Kat said, the chilly air freezing her breath into a white steam as it exited her mouth.

"Does Caleb know you're out here? Does he know what you're doing?" Loomis questioned.

"No, and I don't have to tell him everything I do. Besides I don't know he would understand." She answered.

"Understand what?" Loomis questioned.

"Loo...get back in your car and go home, ok?" Kat answered with a brush off.

"You broke your promise to me." Loomis said. "You said you'd come to me as soon as you had more answers about where your baby went, and I have a feeling you already have an idea and have decided not to tell me. Our deal was that you'd let me know as soon as you knew Kat, what the hell is going on!! What are you doing here?" Loomis exclaimed.

"Listen I know what I told you but I have nothing to report back I can't..." Kat began before being interrupted.

"I don't believe you, and I'm your partner. You've put me in a really bad spot here with the prescient. How can we have this partnership if I can't trust you?" Loomis asked angrily. "I followed you here earlier too. Who lives here? Do they know where your kid is?" He continued his questioning.

Kat was furious that Loomis had followed her. She turned around in frustration and anger and looked off to Ezrabette's house only wanting to run off into the house to leave Loomis there in the cold. She knew the clock was ticking and that they only had a few more minutes before midnight. The window of time was closing.

"Loomis! Just shut up!! If you want to know what's going on come inside with me. I don't have much time to explain anything but once we're inside you'll understand." Kat said grabbing Loomis by the hand and dragging him off to the front porch.

As the two detectives walked up to the door, it was already open, but the screen door was closed and Kat and Loomis could see inside the house. It was dark and only lit by candles all over the front room floor. It was like the inside of a great cathedral lit from top to bottom by candle light.

Sitting in the back of the front room at a table drenched in lace was the Voodoo mystic Kat's mother trusted most: Her best friend Ezrabette Baptiste.

"Come in child." Ezrabette said from the dimmed room.

"What the hell?" Loomis whispered as he and Kat walked inside the house filled with candles.

"You've brought a friend. He does  not believe ma cher...this could be problematic." Ezrabette stated.

"You came to some...some...witch doctor? Kat, really??" Loomis said.

"Witch doctor? Child, your mouth talks loud but your heart speaks volumes, I aint no witch doctor. But you know that deep inside. You've seen this before too, haven't you mon petite." Ezrabette said through the muffle of her black veil.

"Ezrabette has promised me that she could get me to my child, and I believe her. The problem is now, you have to believe her. If you don't this wont work. The energy in the room must be of the realm of belief." Kat explained.

"Time is clicking away and we haven't much more, sit down. We must begin." Ezrabette said.

"What is she going to do?" Loomis said faintly confused by the woman in front of him.

Ezrabette had covered her hair with a lace veil of black to match her black dress. She was completely covered in black from the tips of her fingers to the bottoms of her shoes, like a widow at her husband's funeral.

"We're going to find my child. Ezrabette is a medium, not a witch doctor, and she is going to channel all of her energy so that we can find him." Kat explained as she sat down at the table.

"You're kidding?" Loomis said in doubt.

"Loomis shut the hell up and don't say another word. This is all I have at this point and if you ruin this for me..." Kat said leaving her sentence unfinished  as she was afraid of where her anger would take her.

"As the lights of the candles begin to melt the wax, so goes time and space; slow and steady away from the hot flame of life that burns. Kathryn...give me your hands." Ezrabette began, Kat complied. "Winds of time, light of life complete the story of this woman's strife. A child's will has been usurped, where has he been taken? Where has he gone?" Ezrabette continued.

A flow of air swirled through the room chilling every inch of anyone's exposed skin. Loomis looked around, his eyes wide as saucers watching each flicker of candle light. He then looked over at Ezrabette and began to see the lace veil blow in the breeze. The breeze began to intensify and the veil over Ezrabette lifted revealing her eyes as white as snow without irises.

"My god!!" Loomis screamed.

Kat kept her eyes closed and held on to Ezrabette's hands as the breeze inside the room turned in a wind. It blew and flowed over their bodies like a tiny tornado flushing the cold air around and around extinguishing the candles all over the room and as Loomis looked over at Kat she opened her eyes. Loomis jumped back at the sight of Kat, she was under a trance, her eyes had turned to completely white just like Ezrabette's. Kat had gone into a time warp. Her body was in 2016, but her mind and soul had flown out and gone in search of her baby in 1920.

****

As Kat and Loomis met with Ezrabette in the thick fog in the forests outside town, Christopher was quietly making his way back into Collinwood after staying out much of the evening. He knew that as the night progressed he would soon be able to sneak into Kimberly's files and make good on his promise to his half brother Caleb in retrieving what they needed to find out what was really bothering David.

The clock struck 1am, and the bell of the great grandfather clock sang through The Blue room just outside the main drawing room. Christopher walked slowly down the hallway towards Kim's lab and was careful to make the least amount of noise possible, hopefully keeping quiet enough so no one would know what he was up to.

He continued on his way past several other rooms in the great house. The electric candelabras were shining an orange light dimly throughout the hallway illuminating a shadowy glow on the faces of the portraits that hung on the wall. Christopher looked at each face as he passed the portraits, his eyes keeping focus on each of the painting's eyes...he swallowed a small gulp, a nervous tickle at the back of his throat.

It didn't take long, but he finally arrived at Kim's office. He took another gulp of air and swallowed hoping that no one was inside the office. As he turned the knob he slowly pushed the door open. Inside only darkness.

Christopher was aware of the history of the office. It had once belonged to Dr. Julia Hoffman who was also granted the small adjoining laboratory. Dr. Hoffman had practiced many experiments and tests when she worked on several of the families members in the past there, the walls were billowing with history, but Chris had a task, and standing around in the dark thinking of what had happened in the room would not get him anywhere. He reached into his pocked and pulled out a lighter that flickered a golden light once lit. With his own light source now, Chris pored over each of the corners of the room searching for something--anything--that might hold the secrets to why David's behavior had been so erratic and alien to Caleb. What had happened to David in his past at Windcliff Sanitarium under the care of Kim's evil sister Dr. Joanna Grayson that changed him so much?

 As all those thoughts filled Chris' head he looked over and there, in a small darkened corner was a green filing cabinet that he knew had to have the answers to those questions. Chris quickly made his way to the cabinet and opened the top drawer. He looked through the files and saw names he did not recognize. He continued to flip through the pages of notes and documents and finally came across the patient's surnames that ended with the letter C.

There it was: COLLINS, DAVID.

Chris thought for a second. Should he read through the file first before taking it to Caleb? Was it ironic that he was stealing a private medical document but was still thinking of having discretion enough to not read it himself?

Chris pulled the file from the cabinet and tossed it on top of Kim's desk over the dark green blotter. He flipped it open and came close to the white pages with his lighter. He looked over it but didn't really understand much of what was written. But as he continued to read through the pages he saw something shocking. The forms he was reading looked very similar to the forms he and Alex found on himself. Forms that told the story of DNA tests, and experiments with serums to alter that DNA. Then the words LIKEN and LIKEN DNA. It was all the same.

"Jesus." Chris quietly said to himself when he realized that the same tests that were performed on him as a baby were also performed on David.

"He's a werewolf too." Chris said again to himself as the papers continued to tell the story.

Chris grabbed the ends of the file and flipped it closed and grabbed it and headed out towards the open door to the hallway. In his haste rushing towards the door, his shoe snagged on Kimberly's throw carpet and tossed Chris to the floor causing him to drop his lighter and leaving him in complete darkness.

As he lay on the ground on his stomach, he blindly searched for the illusive lighter by patting his hands on the floor. He patted and patter but never found it. Then suddenly just above his head he heard a flicker then a small spark of light.

He looked up and saw nothing.

Chris then again patted the ground on while laying on his stomach struggling to find the lighter to brighten the completely dark room.

And again...the flicker and a spark just above his head. Chris looked up and there was nothing, but he recognized the sound he was hearing it was the sound of his lighter flickering and lightening but quickly going out.

Chris waited again and continued to look for the lighter and as he patted his hand over the carpet again in search of the lighter he hit what he knew was the top of someone's shoe. He looked up and the flicker again came but this time his lighter stayed lit and was in the hands of Joanna Grayson's ghost.

Joanna's face was illuminated with the light of Chris' lighter, he face was gaunt and grey her hair was disheveled, her eyes had dark circles underneath, and they twitched with anger.

"GET OUUUUUT!" Joanna screamed in a horrible murderous scream.

Christopher bounced up from the ground and looked at Joanna again, he was frozen in fear. Joanna screamed at him again.

"GET OUUUUT!"

Christopher reached down on the floor and found the file and grabbed hold, his mind was racing, his heart was pounding. He reached for the door knob and opened the door then looked back to see the ghost.

She was gone. As soon as the light from the hall way made its way into Kim's office, Joanna disappeared.

Chris shook his head and quickly closed the door behind him never looking back, he rushed down the hall and took the file to his room to await Caleb so that they could go over what he found.

Moments later Kimberly came out of her adjoining Lab where she was conducting very late secret tests on samples of David's DNA, she opened the door to her office and turned on the lamps on either side of her desk. The light from the lamps hit the mettle of Chris lighter on the floor in the middle of the room sparkling in Kim's eye.

She walked over and picked up the lighter. As she looked it over she noticed the inscribed initials on the metal cover. C.R.... Christopher Reed.

Kim instantly knew the truth was about to come out. And when it did, she could lose the two things she loved most in the world. Her two sons. 

****

COLLINWOOD, 1920

As the night progressed in the present, so it did in the past. Barnabas had made his way to a private room over the east wing where he knew there were secret passages in the walls that would allow him to sneak way before the sun rise, in the meantime he removed his dinner jacket and white bow tie and laid them out on the ruffled bed in front of him. He loosened the cuff-links and walked over to the window that looked over the great courtyard that lead to his beloved old house.

"That old thing is an eye sore isn't it?" A sultry voice said from behind Barnabas.

Barnabas turned and standing in his doorway was Jacqueleen in a long dress with her hair still slicked back in finger-waves, pearls dripping from her ears and a cigarette dangling from a long stick at the end of her mouth. 

"I find the house quiet beautiful actually. I thought you and the other ladies had retired for the night. What can I do for you Mrs. Walsh?" Barnabas quickly answered noticing Jacqueleen had dressed again for the evening.

"I just feel the night is so young, don't you? I couldn't possible go to bed now. Lets say you and I drive off somewhere Barnabas, just the two of us and have a night of it? What do you think?" Jacqueleen said puffing from her cigarette and removing her long opera gloves and tossing them over her shoulder.

"I'm afraid I have business to attend to tomorrow morning. I wouldn't be able to do anything of that, perhaps another time." Barnabas said as Jacqueleen walked into the room and got closer to Barnabas.

Jacqueleen scrunched her nose in disappointment. She tip-toed over to a the bed and sat on the edge dangling her legs over the back. 

"You don't seem the type that would pass over a good time, now, why don't you want to spend some time with me?" Jacqueleen said again in a sultry tone.

"I can see where this is going, Mrs. Walsh and..." Barnabas began.

"Please, call me Jacqueleen." She replied.

"Jacqueleen....that is such a beautiful name. First names will put us on a more informal level." Barnabas said as Jacqueleen got up from the bed and walked over to Barnabas and met him in the center of the room.

"That sound good to me." She replied with a twinkle in her eye.

"I don't know how my cousin Jamison would feel about ...us....becoming more informal. I don't plan on staying in town long and I would hate to ruin my welcome." Barnabas answered.

"Oh, come on! He doesn't even have to know. It's been such a long time since I've had such a handsome man around me, you see, and now that Catherine is so busy with her baby....well, I'm bored." Jacqueleen said with a grin.

"You wouldn't like me in the morning." Barnabas joked.

"Let me be the judge of that." Jacqueleen said as she leaned in to kiss Barnabas. 

Jacqueleen hoped that her seductive flirting would lead to something more with Barnabas, now that she was broke and a widow. Barnabas was the first handsome man with a bank account that she had come across in Collinsport and he may be the last, all she had to do was reel him in, just like she did all the other's she loved and married, but what she didn't know was that Barnabas came with a hefty amount of his own baggage. 

As they touched lips, Jacqueleen stroked the side of Barnabas's face with one hand the slowly slid it up so that her fingers began to make their way into his thick black hair. 

Barnabas had not been kissed like this in what felt like a century. Her lips her soft and plump, her skin was white like milk. Her neck....her neck was a perfect pale and just below the surface of that white skin was the pulsating heat of what Barnabas really desired. The crimson life force that drove his passions.

As Jacqueleen continued to knit her fingers through his hair Barnabas began to kiss her neck. Jacqueleen sighed with delight dropping her hand from his hair, the other hand with the long stick and the now extinguished cigarette fell to the floor. Jacqueleen's eyes began to water, a passion she had not felt in years.

But Barnabas could not control himself any longer. His eyes began to change. and his mind began to go blank. He pulled down on the neckline of her dress to expose more of her neck, she squealed with excitment not knowing what would come next. As his eyes turned to blackness, his fags peirced through. 

Barnabas opened his mouth and planted his sharp teeth deep into the white flesh of Jaqueleen's neck.

At first she froze and then as the blood began to seep from her neck and it started to become clear that the pinching at her neck was no longer the passionate feeling she expected she began to push him away. But it was too late, Barnabas, tried to control himself, but the urges were stronger than he had ever remembered. 

Jacqueleen started to struggle but Barnabas was too strong, she pushed and pushed but he held on, the blood was pouring into him like a river. She stared to feel faint and her eyes started to close. Jacqueleen tried to stay awake in Barnabas' arm and she had no idea just how far this would turn. As they struggled, he turned her slightly towards a mirror, and there she was in the reflection, alone without Barnabas; two holes in her neck pouring blood over her white dress.

The site of it terrified her. She closed her eyes and screamed but Barnabas covered her mouth and continued to drink the life force out of her until she fainted, and once she fainted he continued to drink until all the life in her was gone.

Barnabas put his hand on her heart and it was not beating. His tuxedo shirt was stained with blood, his mouth was covered too by the red liquid. He was almost in shock. Jacqueleen's body fell limp in his arms and he grabbed her and pulled her up. 

Without a second thought, he picked her up, with his foot he opened the door to his room that had been slightly left ajar and dashed down the hall as quietly as he could until he came to Victoria's room.

Vickie had been fast asleep, Barnabas pushed the door open ripping through her door startling Vickie so much she fell out of her own bed to the floor.

Barnabas said no words but looked at Vickie who slowly got up from the floor in sheer terror. 

What was she looking at? What had he he done? Thousands of questions filled her head.

"Help me, Victoria....help me." Barnabas simply said as Vickie looked on at Jacqueleen's lifeless bloody body in Barnabas arms. 

Series 6/Chapter 6: CONFRONTATIONS ABOUND

As the evening shade began to envelope the great house of Collinwood in the year 2016, a feeling of anxiety and uncertainty swept in just as the dusk sky began to blanked the heavens above. One woman haunted by her evil sister's death was attempted to exercise her from her life.

Kimberly, alone in her private lab that once belonged to Dr. Julia Hoffman, worked carefully on serums and DNA samples she had secretly collected over the years from the Collins family members. It was all by order of her dead sister Dr. Joanna Grayson. Joanna, in death, was still adamant at taking control of the Collins family and all their assets, nothing would stop her. The fear she instilled in her much weaker sister Kimberly held on tightly.

Kimberly, calmly and quietly did her DNA testing as Joanna watched from her ghostly perch in the reflection of a window.

"You work as if you want nothing to do with this. We had a deal Kim We planned this for so long, stop looking like someone died." Joanna's spirit said as she slowly moved out of the window's reflection and transcendentally placed herself on the green leather sofa's across from Kim's work area.

"I don't want anything to do with you anymore. All I want is to be normal again and begin practicing medicine like I did before all this happened." Kim muttered as she continued to work.

"You'd love that wouldn't you? You left me to DIE...you let Barnabas kill me when he came to search for Maggie at Windcliff that night and you left  me to DIE! No, you're not going to just let me go into the light and forget about me; leave me in some grave with no name and just forget you ever had a sister. No, no, this is what I've always deserved. You will continue this DNA program on David....and once he's killed off his entire family you'll get all the shares of the company, it'll be rightfully yours. Finally." Joanna explained as she sat calmly, the green sofa showing through Joanna's translucent body.

"What's in it for you? You're dead! You're not real anymore, you no longer exist!" Kim yelled back from her work station as she adjusted her seeing glasses.

"My satisfaction will be knowing that this whole satanic family is gone and all their money is placed in your hands. But it's up to you. You have to do all of this to make sure it happens. Do you understand?" Joanna further explained.

"YOU'RE DEAD! You're Dead! You're' Dead!" Kim screamed pounding on the sides of her head, hoping Joanna's ghost would be gone when she opened her eyes. The madness she felt starting to peek through her calm veneer.

Joanna grinned an evil smile and waiting for Kim's tantrum to be over. "Boo!" She joked when Kim opened her yes. "I'm not going anywhere little sister, not until you do this for me." She added.

"And if I don't? What will happen if I don't do what you want me to do?" Kim said threatening her dead sister's plot.

"Watch it now baby sister. You don't want to go there with me. You know what I'm capable of. And death will not keep me from what I can do. Nothing can." Joanna said as she slowly got up and floated over to where Kim was working.

"You're not real." Kim said sternly.

"Aren't I?" Joanna said.

Joanna closed her eyes and lifted her hand slowly and as she did so all of Kim's petri dishes and glass vials began to lift on their own. Kim held her breath as she witnessed first hand 25, to 30 of her tools and dishes lifting and floating into the air. At one point there was so much glass suspended in air it looked like Kim was standing inside of a chandelier.

Joanna opened her eyes and looked Kim dead in the face:

"You'll do anything I ask. You OWE IT TO ME...my life was sacrificed...and if you don't I swear to you I will haunt and curse the lives of everyone you love for the rest of their lives Kimberly, mark my words. Inject David with the new batch f werewolf DNA by the next full moon and release him to his family so that he murders them. Then....Kill David. The Company will fall into your hands and you'll own everything." Joanna said again with a cold dark voice.

And as she dropped her floating hand all of the flying glass objects crashed to the ground and shattered all around Kimberly causing her to close her eyes and scream.

"I'm real enough." Joanna laughed as Kimberly trembled in the corner of her lab with her eyes closed.

When Kim was brave enough to open her eyes again to see the thousands of shattered pieces of glass on the floor, Joanna was gone.

****

Inside the main portion of the house, Carolyn quietly read by the fire in the drawing room. As she did, there was a knock on the door. Carolyn looked back into the foyer expecting to see the maid rush over and bring in whom ever was calling.

"Oh! She's gone for the night." Carolyn said to herself as she remembered the maid had already left for the night.

She calmly walked over through the drawing room and into the foyer and up to the great oak front doors and opened them. Standing at the door dressed bundled up in all black was Nicholas Blair JR.

Carolyn stepped back in fright and closed the door slightly.

"Mrs. Throne, Nicholas Blair, we met earlier today at one of the shops in town. Do you remember?" Nicholas politely asked.

"I remember. What can do I for you Mr. Blair?" Carolyn asked as she tried to conceal the worry in her voice.

"I was told to by someone down in town that you or someone in your family might have some answers for me about my family's past here in Collinsport. Do you think you'd have a moment to talk to me about that?" Nicholas asked not knowing Carolyn knew exactly who his evil father was.

"I don't think so. In fact I don't think you should come up to Collinwood anymore Mr. Blair. I know you were here earlier and spoke with my daughter Alexandra. I would appreciate it you..." Carolyn said before she was interrupted.

"Mrs. Throne, I'm afraid you're overreacting, with all do respect. You see all I want is just to know my family's past. And also, hopefully locate my mother." Nicholas partly hiding his true devious intentions.

"Your mother? How would I know who she is?" Carolyn asked snobbishly.

"Well I know that she was a friend of yours in the past. At least that's what I've been led to believe. I'm assuming by your reaction to me, that you may have some idea of who my father was. I am, after all, named after him." Nicholas asserted.

"I do know who your father was..or is...or.... which is why I would kind ask you to leave. Your mother, however, I don't know." Carolyn again said assertively.

"My mother, Mrs. Thorne, is Maggie Evans." Nicholas said to a shocked Carolyn.

"Maggie?? That's ridiculous. Maggie never had any children, certainly not with Nicholas --your father. What would you want with Maggie anyway? Maggie Evans was a good woman, a good friend to this family, and she suffered for years by the hands of many---one of which was your father. How dare you come to my door and try and connect yourself with  her. You should leave!" Carolyn argued as she slammed large oak door in Nicholas's face.

But when she turned around to back into the drawing room Nicholas was there blocking her way. Carolyn screamed.

"Get out right now!" Carolyn said backing away.

"Mrs. Throne, I know your mother did not raise you to be rude to a guest. All I want is answers to where my mother is. She is needed." Nicholas said slowly removing his black scarf,

"My mother raised me well enough to know that no man can tell me what to do. No man what-so-ever. And if you think you'll be the first, I have news for you Mr. Blair, I've survived much worse. So let's make this easy. You'll never be able to find Maggie Evans because she's dead." Carolyn said as she held on to a table behind her, her hands shaking with nerves.

"I don't believe you. I wouldn't have been sent here from where to search for someone who no longer walks this earth. Where is she?" Nicholas said walking slowly towards Carolyn.

"Excuse me, is there a problem?" David said as he walked down the main staircase noticing Carolyn's strained face and the tension in the stranger's shoulders. "Who are you?" he added.

"Nicholas Blair Jr. Pleasure to meet you." Nicholas said as he held out his hand.

"Blair huh? Sounds familiar. What are you doing here? Aare you ok?" David asked looking over at his cousin.

"He's..." Carolyn began before being interrupted.

"I'm looking for my mother. I was told that your family could possibly know here whereabouts, that's all." Nicholas said.

"So you're here because of what someone might have told you we know? Who's your mother?" David asked skeptically.

"Maggie." Carolyn calmly whispered knowing that David had been adamant that Maggie was the one who helped him escape Joanna's clutches at Windcliff.

"What? Maggie Evans? You're Maggie's son. That cant be." David answered.

"It is. And I'm here to find her." Nicholas said.

"Listen, I want you to leave right now. I know what you are Nicholas Blair. I've know your kind for many, many years and right now I don't want you anywhere near this house or my family. Especially my daughter Alexandra. If you'd like to find your mother you'll need to head over to Eagle Hill Cemetery. You'll find her in her grave there. Now leave." Carolyn said sternly as she walked over to the front door and opened it for Nicholas to leave.

Nicholas looked at David and then looked back at Carolyn who was standing at the door. He replaced his scarf and walked out to the front step and turned back to look at Carolyn and David.

"Well, it was nice seeing you both. I'm sure we'll meet again." Nicholas said cryptically as Carolyn slammed the door in his face.

Carolyn adjusted her sweater and took a deep breath, and turned back around toward the drawing room.

"Wait just one second there. How is that man Maggie Evan's son? What the hell is going on here now? David said grabbing his cousin Carolyn's arm. "You know something don't you!?" He exclaimed.

"We need to find Maggie before he does." Carolyn said.

"I thought you didn't believe me when I said she was alive and that she helped me escape that sanitarium. NOW you do?" David questioned.

"Hiding Maggie from Barnabas was one thing, but keeping her safe from Nicholas Blair is a whole other animal. We need to go back to Windcliff and find Maggie if she's still there and make sure she's safe before Nicholas does. Whatever he has planned will not be good. Not for Maggie and not for any of use." Carolyn warned.

****
COLLINSPORT, 1920

The late evening sun had set, and the fog had rolled in from the coast in thick layers that seeped onto the Collinwood land like a slow moving ooze of cool. The Collins family had placed the two babies, Elizabeth and Canan to bed and were preparing for a welcome dinner for Victoria. 

Up in their rooms Claudia and Vickie were getting ready, dressing in their finest dinner attire, long evening dresses that sparkled with all the glitz of 1920 fashion. Their hair perfectly coiffed like two high society mavens ready for a night on the town.

"What should I say if Jamison and Catherine ask me more about our past?" Vickie asked as she carefully clasped her droplet earrings. 

"Just follow my lead, everything will work out fine. Have you seen Barnabas? I went down into the basement and he wasn't there." Claudia responded.

"Don't worry about him, I've know him for a lot longer than you. I can tell you he can take care of himself." Vickie said with a sort of side grin.

"Can we trust him? This whole plan has changed so much since you've both arrived and now I don't know if we can trust him. Barnabas was not supposed to be here." Claudia said matter of factly.

Vickie turned from the gilded vanity that sat on the side of the room and looked over at Claudia. 

"It doesn't matter what was, Claudia, we've decided to abandon the plan in it's original form. We have to focus on not altering too much of the past and getting Canan back to 2016. It's the right thing to do." Vickie said sternly leaving Claudia fuming but in agreement. 

Downstairs, Catherine and her mother Jacqueleen put the final finishing touches on the dining room table. The room was lit by 3 tall glittering candelabras that crowned the center and each and of a 8 person table. Each place setting had been set per the most high society set of standards, fit for royalty. Collinsport Royalty. 

"This should be such a wonderful night." the always optimistic Catherine said in her lace gown.

Jacqueleen smiled and sipped from her sherry. 

As the two continued to toil in the dinning room that was just set off to the side of the main foyer and past the formal drawing room, there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Jacqueleen questioned from her seat and her sherry.

"Maybe it's Jamie." Catherine answered.

"Why would Jamie knock on his own door?" Jacqueleen questioned.

The two women left the dining room and headed to the front door, both feeling a tad bit apprehensive at who might be on the other side, and as they did, Jamison was coming down the satires in his tuxedo ready for dinner to answer the door himself. 

"Has the butler left for the night?" He asked the two ladies as they met at the foot of the satires.

"Yes, maybe it's him, maybe he forgot something." Catherine said.

Catherine and Jacqueleen stood back as Jamison moved closer to the door, his hand reached out for the thick knob, he pressed the lever to release the lock and he pulled the door open.

Standing their in the crisp air and frothy fog in his trademark  thick wool coat was Barnabas Collins.

Jamison's eyes  locked on Barnabas like a bullseye. That face. That body. He knew who it was. He knew it with every fiber of his soul and suddenly a flashes began to appear in Jamison's mind of images he did not recognize. A face flashed screaming a blood curdling scream. Then blood splashed across that face. Jamison then saw a mouth open with fangs dripping with blood, then another flash of white room and inside that room was a coffin and in that coffin a skull laying on a pillow, its jaw gaping open.

They were all images, disjointed and confusing, but frightening to Jamison none the less. And just as the flashes came they disappeared. Jamison stood there shaking his head as if he were shaking the images he had just seen out of his mind like sand from a shoe.

"Hello. I hope I am not intruding this evening." Barnabas said politely.

"Barnabas. Barnabas Collins?" Jamison said softy and in shock as he recovered from the frightening images he saw flash in his mind. 

"The second, yes, Barnabas Collins II. I sincerely apologize for the late visit, but I just had to come see you." Barnabas said using his fake identity as his own long lost grandson.

"Oh my goodness! He looks just like the man in this painting, come in! Come in!" Catherine said pushing Jamison aside and bringing Barnabas into the foyer.

"Ahh, my grandfather." Barnabas said pointing out his fraudulent relationship to the man in the painting. "I really do hate to barge in but I've just arrived from England and felt I needed to greet that family as soon as possible. I see by your attire you were heading out. I hope I'm not keeping you." Barnabas continued.

"Of course not, we were just going to have dinner! My goodness the likeness to your grandfather is remarkable. Why didn't you telegram us that you'd be visiting." Catherine said jubilantly. "Jamison, he must stay for dinner, don't you agree?" She added as Jamison looked on with a sense of dread.

"Well, I believe I did send a telegram. Perhaps it got lost. You know those things don't always make it to their destinations on time." Barnabas stated.

From the corner of his eye, Barnabas could see Jamison still in a rather shocked state and Catherine's mother Jacqueleen ogling him. 

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Collins. Jacqueleen Walsh, Catherine's mother. You should feel very welcome here, after all Collinwood is your family's home as well. I'm sure Jamison would agree. We were just about to sit for dinner, of course you must stay." Jacqueleen said extending her hand to Barnabas.

Barnabas looked over at the stunning brunette and kissed her hand. She smiled back, clearly intrigued by the new face.

"I wouldn't want to impose." He answered her.

As they continued their polite and somewhat awkward conversation, Victoria and Claudia started to make their way down the stairs. They looked at each other, Vickie took a gulp of air, surprised to see Barnabas. It was all deja vu. Barnabas had used the exact same method to introduce himself with this family as he had the day he met Elizabeth in 1966. 

"Victoria, Claudia! We have a new house guest! Let's all meet in the dining room and catch up!" The jubilant Catherine said locking her arm with Barnabas' and leading them all into the dining room Claudia and Vickie followed behind in a weary silence.

Jamison straggled behind in a daze. The images of blood and fangs still haunting his thoughts. What did they mean? And why did they come to him as soon as Barnabas waked through the door. Jamison could feel there was something about Barnabas that just didn't sit well with him. He knew all about this family legend, much more than he ever told Catherine and it frightened him.

The dinner went off without a hitch. They all chatted and had well enough small talk to get them through, Vickie and Claudia played along perfectly pretending they knew nothing about Barnabas Collins. Barnabas, for his part, was the consummate actor. He played the part of his own long lost grandson with such skill that it was as if he believed it himself. His charm and grace was intoxicating.

Catherine had been raised the only child of the well off Walsh family of Boston who sheltered her a great deal from the world. For her the world was this giant place filled with stories and adventures that she was not privy to. For Catherine, Barnabas was beyond reproach, she could not find a single problem with him, the same could be said for her mother, the widow Jacqueleen.

"Mr. Collins you are simply divine!" Jacqueleen said to Barnabas, her eyes glistening in the light as he finished one of his made up anecdotes.

Barnabas was also entranced by Jacqueleen's bright blue eyes.

"Charm comes with my English heritage. But of course, we can all say the same for Jamison. We share so much of the same history and family." Barnabas said sipping his own wine and looking at the still skeptical Jamison.

Jamison managed to crack a wedge of a smile back but continued to stay silent over the dinner.

"Well I should be getting up to my room now. It's late and the children will most likely be up early. Thank you for a lovely dinner." Claudia said excusing herself followed by Catherine who reluctantly agreed, the night had drawn on long enough for her.

"I think we'll leave you gentleman to yourselves. Victoria shall we retire?" Jacqueleen said also agreeing that the night had worn on too long.

"Barnabas! I hope our accommodations will suit you. We'll see you in the morning." Catherine said.

"Actually, I have a few business deals to take care of in the morning, but will be back in the evening. If you wouldn't mind, I can come back then." Barnabas answered excusing himself for his absence in the morning.

Catherine smiled in agreement and followed Claudia, Victoria and Jacqueleen leaving Jamison alone with Barnabas.

"Good night." Vickie said, glancing over at Barnabas as she past him with a look in her eyes, hoping he could keep on the charade.

Once the four women moved on to their rooms for the night, Jamison and Barnabas walked over to the drawing room for cigars. As they smoked and talked about the family business and how well it was doing, the room's air swirled with the grey of cigar exhaust.

Jamison's skepticism had not diminished, he knew there was something strange about Barnabas and his sudden arrival. His stories too felt rehearsed.

"Tell me cousin, what do you do? What is your business here in Collinsport?" Jamison asked, the tone of his voice like an seasoned detecting prodding for answers.

"I dabble in jewel trade. I have inherited a great many pieces of jewelry from my mother's side that I have used to sustain my way of life. It's actually a very intriguing way to make a living. I meet the most fascinating people around the world." Barnabas answered.

"You don't have to pretend." Jamison said standing up and looking over at the lit fireplace. "I know who you are."

Barnabas looked over at his distant cousin and lifted an eye brow.

"What exactly do you know?" Barnabas asked puffing on his own cigar.

As Barnabas questioned Jamison's apprehension he remembered the images that flashed in his mind of death and pain. He knew that it had to be connect to Barnabas and he knew that the rumors that Barnabas was one of the undead had to be true, as far fetched as it could be, he knew that the strange feelings he had been having and the images he was seeing were about Barnabas.

"I know Barnabas Collins never had children. I know the stories. I know the rumors. I know everything there is to know," Jamison said taking a puff from his cigar.

"You're mistaken. He did, it's not widely known." Barnabas continued to press but interrupted by Jamison.

"No. You're lying. This house has the most comprehensive history book on every member of this family for the last 300 years. No where in it does it say the original Barnabas Collins had a child, much less a grand child that looks exactly like him." Jamison said.

"Well I..." Barnabas started before being cut off.

"I don't know how you really got here Barnabas Collins...the second..." Jamison said sarcastically, "..or what you really want with us, but let me just say if you cause any harm to my wife or my child I promise you, you will not live to see another day. Don't plan on staying long, cousin, there is only room in this house for one Master. Keep that in mind." Jamison continued as he extinguished the cigar and got up to leave the room.

Barnabas was left in the smokey room alone to contemplate his next move. He was definitely surprised by Jamison's reaction. In fact Jamison's suspicions could derail Barnabas' plans to get back to 2016 with Canan, Vickie, and Claudia if he continued to be hostile towards him.

Time was of the essence, Barnabas needed to get back to the present without disturbing the past anymore than they already had.

****

Up in her room Jacqueleen brushed her auburn hair in her vanity mirror. She then opened a silver box that had scented oil that she rubbed over her elbows and hands. All she could think about was the new house guest. He was charming, elegant and much more handsome than the painting that hung on the wall in the foyer lead her to believe.  She was instantly enamored by him.

Jacqueleen's late husband Walter Walsh, to her shock, left her in great amounts of debt that her son-in-law Jamison had paid off, forcing Jacqueleen into a the roll of a social pariah in all the fancy Boston circles. Walter's matter of death too didn't help matters. He was murdered in the middle of the night in their Boston mansion, the murderer was never caught.

Jacqueleen was penniless stranded in Boston and under a cloud of mystery surrounding Walter's death.

She had no choice but to move to Collinsport to escape the torment of all the well-to-do Boston stares.

And now a new prospect. The new house guest offered her somewhat of a reprise, and Jacqueleen knew it. Barnabas was rich, very rich. And that was enticing. He could be the key to her way back on top of the social heap. All she needed to do was get him to believe that too.

"Barnabas Collins......." she said with a grin. "Mrs. Jacqueleen Walsh-Collins. It has a nice ring to it."

Series 6/Chapter 5: BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

COLLINSPORT, PRESENT TIME

Evening was coming swiftly, and as the chilly fall air swished across the brittle waves of the Atlantic sea, two half-brothers met just a few blocks away from the seaside docs where the Collins family had a large 8 story  building belonging to Collins Fishing Industries and where Caleb had an office. He had recently gone back to work and knew that no one else would be there to listen in on their emergency meeting.

After Caleb left The Blue Whale pub where he had an altercation with his father David over the role Barnabas was playing in retrieving baby Canan, Caleb could tell his father was having some sort of mental break. He needed to tell Chris, who was recently adopted by David, so that they could hatch a plan to stop David from doing anything to sabotage Barnabas in returning the baby safely. 

Christopher arrived at the office building, a modest looking glass and steel structure that over looked the cannery on the docs and the beautiful Collinsport Bay and rode the elevator to the family's personal office space on the 8th floor. It was the first time Chris had been in the building, but had always seen and known about it, it was the tallest building in town, in fact it was the only building over 5 stories high. Chris was impressed and slightly nervous.

As the elevator doors opened, he walked over to a sectary sitting inside a half moon shaped desk feverishly answering phones while filing away the day's paperwork. The secretary, slowly turned to see Christopher.

She looked annoyed.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked in a monotone voice.

"I'm here to see my brother. Caleb." Chris answered nonchalantly. 

"Oh! Uhhh...right right, Mr. Collins mentioned you'd be...um, his brother, would be in to see him. Just down the hall there, and turn to the left. He's waiting for you." The annoyed secretary answered once she knew she was talking to a family member.

Chris made his way down the freshly painted white hall adorned with photos of Collins Fishing Industries former CEOs leading back all the way to Jeremiah Collins, the first man to place a Collins Fishing liner into the Atlantic. He was the man who created the dynasty and the town they all called home.

"Chris! Come in, come in!" Caleb said motioning from the large glass window over looking the bay.

"What's going on? Why did we have to meet here and not at home?" Chris asked.

"I needed a place where we could talk alone, and much of the family stays away from here now at days. I'm usually the only one that comes up to the offices, I knew no one would be here. but anyway, listen, I just met with my dad and we were talking about everything that's going on. He's not himself at all, in fact, I don't really know what's going on with him. Have you noticed anything different?" Caleb questioned.

"No, I don't know what you mean.  I haven't really had a lot of time with him but he's under a lot of stress. Could be the stress you know, of being back around mom, and having me around more. I mean ...I'm the product of an affair mom had, that can't exactly make him feel good." Chris said taking the bullet for David's behavior.

"No, no, I don't think it's you at all. I think he's really fond of you. Especially when he sees how much Alex loves you. He loves Alex. I think it's something else. Every since he came back from the Sanitarium he just hasn't been the same. Something has been off. He's definitely not the father I remember." Caleb answered.

"Oh?" Chris said, with a facial expression that led Caleb to believe he was intrigued.

"I'll just be honest. He's not a big fan of Barnabas, and now that Barnabas is back for good, I don't think its sitting well with my dad and a lot of these childhood memories are messing with  him. I think he really needs help." Caleb explained.

"Like what kind of help? From who?" Chris responded.

"The kind of help he was getting at Windcliff. I think we need to find out what they were really doing to him there and see if we can...I don't know...start that again. Maybe refresh his mind. Sort of like a restart button." Caleb answered.

"I guess I can talk to mom about it. Maybe she can ask around. Aunt Joanna was your dad's doctor at Windcliff, and since mom was left her belongs when Joanna died, there might be something in her notes about his treatment." Chris said.

"I just don't want him to regress and go back into the person he was when mom left him for your dad. When he was taken to Windcliff, right before he left I just remember him going into these violent rages. Rages I never saw before. They were very unlike him. I actually believed that's why mom left him. Before I even knew of you or your the affair she had." Caleb responded.

Caleb was right. 20 years ago David was behaving in a strange manner. Late at night he would often become furiously angry and fight with his then wife Kimberly who was secretly having an affair with Christopher's late father Victor. The problem was, and what a young Caleb did not see, was the real reason behind David's mood swings.

Kimberly had been secretly injecting David for years with the same serum she had infused into Christopher's DNA. It was a serum she and Victor had worked on in the name of "The Organization". The same Organization Vickie believed she was the leader of that was meant destroy every member of the Collins family: Kim's job back then? To destroy David.

The truth was dark and twisted, and Caleb and Chris had only scratched the surface, especially considering "The Organization" Vickie believed she ruled was all made up by Father Joseph and the experiments Victor, Kimberly and later Joanna were doing on Christopher when he was a baby and later David were all for nothing. 

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the consequences of Father Joseph's lie reached far and wide and were starting to bubble up in the most hideous of fashions.

"Do you think you can get mom to get you files from Windcliff so that we can ...I don't know, see whats going on with him and maybe get him help?" Caleb asked.

"How far do you want to take this Caleb? I mean what if he's really sick, are you willing to lock him away again? Is that what we're really saying?" Christopher asked.

Caleb paused and look out of his big office building window and watched the boats creep out of the  bay and into the wider Atlantic set to fish for the cannery. He turned back around and looked at his brother with a solumn face.

"I think so. If he's going to sabotage the return of my child because Barnabas is the one bringing him back, then he's lost his mind again. Windcliff would be the best place for him." Caleb answered.

"Mom will never give me the files, you know. She's a doctor, she knows how important keeping a client's privacy is." Chris explained.

"Can you get them on your own?" Caleb asked sternly. 

Christopher looked at his half brother and could see the seriousness in his eyes. Whatever he thought his father was going through was troubling him, and Christopher, who only wanted to be part of this family and be accepted by his brother knew what he had to do: he had to steal the files of Dr. Joanna Grayson that Kimberly was in possession of. 

But what Chris and Caleb didn't know was that whatever was in those files would unlock the truth to many, many things. A truth that perhaps, the family may not be prepared for. 

"I'll do it. I'll get you the files." Christopher said in an equally stern voice.

****

As the day progresses, Alexandra sat alone in the courtyard between the old house and the new house thinking of the the events that had occurred in the last few months. It had been a whirl-wind and she had been through so much. Even though there were still issues plaguing the family, she felt that things were starting to look up. Including her relationship with Christopher.

She thought about how the magical powers she had inherited from Claudia when she possessed her had finally subsided, and the remnants of those powers, her shape-shifting ability, seemed to also go away. She hand't had an occurrence since the scuffle with Vickie over the baby.

The truth was, this was the calm before the storm. Alex's confidence in the direction her life was leading was about to receive a new test.

Just beyond the courtyard, in a shaded area closest to the Old House, Nicholas watched Alex as she sat alone lost in her thoughts. He watched how the late afternoon sun glistened in her golden hair. He watched how bright and beautiful her eyes were and how beautiful she looked when the reflection from the water in the fountain shined over her heart-shaped face. His fascination for her was swiftly turning into obsession. Much like the obsession his own father, Nicholas Blair SR. had for Maggie Evans.

Nicholas slowly crept into the court yard from behind Alex. As she looked of into the distance he continued to marvel at how beautiful she was. He reached out and touched the ends of her long flowing blond hair and closed his eyes. Alex walked forward, her hair slowly slipping from his fingers breaking Nicholas from his trans.

"Good afternoon." He said startling Alex in her quiet moment.

"Oh my god! You scared me. What on earth are you doing here?" Alex said grabbing at her heart that seemed to be beating out of her chest.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Are you ok?" Nicholas asked with real concern.

"I'm fine, " Alex responded still weary of the stranger. "What are you doing here? How did you even..." she continued trying to piece together what was happening.

 "I know this must seem bizarre, and a bit forward,  but I couldn't stop thinking of you since we met at the shop earlier, and as soon as I got the courage I went back to the shop, but you were already gone. I asked the woman working there and she told me who you were and where you lived." Nicholas said, lying through his teeth.

Alex's face switched from confusion to flattered, this handsome worldly man had come all that way from town just to see her. What kind of young lady would she be if she didn't feel a little flattered by it. Nicholas looked like a Renaissance painting come to life. His flawless alabaster skin and dark features we welcoming to her eye.

"I was hoping I could ask you to dinner. Or maybe, for a walk." Nicholas continued.

"Oh, uh, Mr. Blair, thank you but I have to politely decline, you see I am seeing someone already. But thank you!" Alex responded awkwardly when she noticed Nicholas' face deflate.

"I would hate to impose on that of course." Nicholas replied disappointed but undeterred to get what he wanted. "It was very nice seeing you again Miss Thorne." He said reaching for her hand to shake.

Alex smiled politely and extended her hand to shake Nicholas' and once they touched a sudden burst of energy swirled through Alex's hand from Nicholas'. It twisted and turned up her arm and spilled into her heart and up into her brain. The energy Nicholas produced allowed him into her mind, opening doors that no one could do without the power of magic, a power Nicholas inherited from his warlock father. The same type of magic his father used to bewitch and control Maggie Evans.

Nicholas' eyes turned to white. He wanted to know, to see, to feel every thing Alexandra was feeling. He saw deep into her thoughts and dreams and pulled them like files from a cabinet, absorbing every piece of personality he could.  He saw the fears she had, the sorrow she felt for her father's death, he saw the loved she had for her mother and for Christopher. He even saw that she harbored a secret: the power to shape-shift.

As Nicholas began to release his grip, his spell had temporarily hypnotized Alex, and quickly, Nicholas pulled out a medallion on a chain from his jacket pocket and placed it in front of Alex's closed eyes.

"Alexandra. Sweet Alexandra. You're power is something I did not expect, an added intensive." Nicholas said as he swung the medallion back and forth in front of Alex. "When I snap my fingers, you will open your eyes and realize that your love shall be for me and only me. We will connect together, and bridge the alliance between the living and the beyond as it should have been many years ago between my father and my mother. We, together, You and I, will finally finish the path my father once started." He added.

Alex slowly swayed back and fourth, her eyes still closed, the sun still beaming its glow upon her golden hair. Nicholas looked at his watch and slowly counted backwards from 10, enough time for his trans to take effect.

" three, two..." He counted.

"Alex!! Are you out here?" A voice came from just beyond the courtyard.

It was Carolyn searching for her daughter.

Nicholas in a panic swiftly replaced the hypnotic medallion back into his jacket pocked and sat Alexandra carefully on a stone bench facing the fountain in the center of the garden. Her eyes remained closed. But time was of the essence, and Nicholas had to think quick and abort his plan until he could get Alex totally alone.

"Alexandra, listen to me here, when I snap my fingers, you'll awaken and remember nothing of this. You'll only remember the minute we touched hands and believe that I left. Nothing more. Nothing less." And as soon as Nicholas snapped his fingers he disappeared into a bright light that dimmed once Alex's eyes were open. She looked around and felt somewhat confused, she hadn't remembered sitting down after Nicholas left.

"There you are, honey, I was looking for you. Would you like to have some tea? Kat went out and Kim is working late in the lab so I don't really have any company." Carolyn asked before noticing Alex seemed strange. "Darling? Are you ok?"

"I just had the strangest visit." Alex said remembering only the Nicholas came to ask her on a date.

"Really? From who?" Carolyn asked.

"That man we met at the shop, the one you felt like you recognized. Nicholas something....he was just here. And now he's gone." Alex said confused.

Carolyn's discomfort from the shop quickly returned. The man's name felt oddly familiar to her and not in a good way.

"Darling, what did he want?" Carolyn asked sitting down next to Alex on the stone bench with deep concern.

"Oddly enough, a date. He literally asked me for a date. Of course, I declined, but it was so strange. I don't even know where he came from. Just appeared and now he's gone, like magic." Alex answered.

"Magic." Carolyn whispered as if it were the key to unlocked a mysterious box, finally she had remembered where she heard the name Nicholas Blair before.

Nicholas Blair SR. was the brother of Roger Collins' ex wife Cassandra, who just happened to be the witch Angelique in disguise. Nicholas and Cassandra attempted to destroy the family through witch craft, mind games and curses.  The two had been the devil's apprentices and used every trick at their disposal to cause havoc in the household. Nicholas SR. had a distorted sense of love himself, and became obsessed with Maggie Evans, using mind control to kidnap her and  place her in direct danger with the darkest of all forces:  The Devil himself.

"Alexandra, I want you to listen to me, if that man ever comes back here again, run from him, do you understand. You need to never talk to him again." Carolyn pleaded.

"Why? Who is he?" Alex questioned, seeing the terror on Carolyn's face and in her voice.

Carolyn took a moment to think of what to say. How could she explain who this man was, or who he belonged to. There was no easy way, the only way to make sure Alex knew just how dangerous this man could be and to warn her of his possible connections she just blurted out the answer.

"He's the devil!"

****

A small blue car drove slowly around winding streets in a rural part of Collinsport. The roads that led this small car into the area were all covered by canapes of large trees shading the path. The leaves were all orange and yellow and falling to the ground creating a carpet of foliage that the car trampled over.

Inside the car was Detective Kat Banning. She was on her way to visit her late mother's old friend and her godmother, Ezrabette Baptiste who lived in a solitary house just outside of Collinsport.

Kat hadn't seen her godmother Ezrabette since her mother died 15 years ago, but she always had fond memories of her. Ezrabette, a statuesque woman with deep dark eyes moved to America from Haiti in the late 80s and became good friends with Kat's mother. The main thing Kat remembered about the relationship her mother had with Ezrabette was how often she would seek Ezrabette's advice and council...but there was a different more mystical level to Ezrabette's words.

And Kat needed that more than ever.

As Kat's car pulled up in front of the small gray house in the wooded area, Ezrabette came to the screen door and looked out. She opened the door and saw the girl she had loved as her godchild, a girl she had not seen in almost 20 years.

"God is good!" Ezrabette said, recognizing Kat and running down the porch steps as Kat got out of the car. "Kat! Ma petite! You've finally come. It's so good to see you child! Come in! Come in!" She added as if she had been expecting Kat all along.

Ezrabette, bundled up in a thick gray shall and a rust red dress grabbed Kat's hand and pulled her inside to hide from the chill of the New England Autumn air. Inside the dimly lit house, a warming fire in the fire roared. The main room was decorated in a rustic and old fashioned way with old wooden chairs and tweed upholstered couches surrounding what seemed like hundreds of family photos covering the various oak-wood tables around the front room. 

"I've been thinking about you all day today. I should have figured you'd come to me sooner or later. Sit down, rest yourself. I have tea brewing." Ezrabette said to a compliant Kat.

"I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch. After my mother died, all I wanted to do was get back on my feet and start my life over. I hope you're not too angry at me." Kat said as she nervously looked around the dim room.

"Not at all child! You and your brother Sebastian are like my own. We're family. And your mama's death ...well, I know how horrible it was for you. No person alive today could be the same after what happened to your mama. I know you have a lot on your mind. Where would you like to begin?" Ezrabette asked as she sat across from Kat and pulled a bundle of tarot cards from her waist band.

"How did you know I needed a reading?" Kat asked as she sat across from Ezrabette at a table covered in a lace.

"Oh, now, come....you know I see the world through a different set of eyes. Nothing gets past me amour, nothing. There are a lot of things that I know." Ezrabette explained.

"What do you know?" Kat asked as Ezrabette started to shuffle and place the cards on the table face down.

"I know your brother has gone... and no one knows whats become of him. I know you've become a mama yourself. I know a lot of things my sweet. But I'm not one to interfere with someone's life until they need me to. And since you're here. I can say...you need me to." 

"I do. I don't even know where to begin." Kat answered.

"The darkness that surrounds you, love, is darkness you've brought upon yourself. But it is fixable. The child you seek, your baby, is alive. I can sense his life upon the world. But strangely I don't feel him in this time. How can that be?" Ezrabette asked.

"If I told you, I don't know if you'd believe me. It's all so ....incomprehensible to be honest. When I'm at work I deal with facts. Proof, tangible things that I can see and feel and right now, Ezrabette, I'm living in a world that is...it feels invisible to me." Kat explained.

"Sometimes the things we cannot see are the things that are the most real." Ezrabette explained as she looked down at the Tarot cards in front of her placed on the table between Kat and herself in two rows, three cards in each row. Ezrabette flipped over the first card.

"What does it mean?" Kat said looking down at the first flipped card.

"Le Roi...." Ezrabette said in her Haitian creole French. "The King. He is lost. He is lost inside a dark place and no one seems to know how to get him back from where he is. He was taken there without his consent. Sebastian." Ezrabette said tapping her finger on the card. "C'est Sebastian." She whispered to herself again in French.

She flipped a second card, the last card on the far right.

"The 8 daggers." the mystic spoke. "You've been betrayed by a person you may not even know. They've taken something from you, and you cannot seem to get it back. But there is a way. There is a way!" Ezrabette said.

"How? How can I get it back? It's my child!" Kat explained. "Did Sebastian help?" Kat continued as she sought more information from on her missing child and brother.

Ezrabette flipped another card.

"Non." She replied in French. "Sebastian has another lot in life he must crawl out from under. He  has nothing to with your missing boy. This third card, The three sisters, represents Past-Present-Future. Where you'll find all the answers is to see go from one to another." Ezrabette said.

"The past, yes, how can I get to the past. That is where my child is. He was taken from me and taken to a different place and time. But I can't get to him, how do I get to him?" Kat asked desperately.

Ezrabette flipped another card.

"The Queen." She said.

"What does she mean?" Kat questioned.

"The answer, Ma petite, is through the queen." Ezrabette grabbed Kat by the hands from across the table and closed her eyes. She began to hum loudly over and over again. A slight chill filled the room and crossed over the room extinguishing the candles that were lit on large crystal candelabras. Kat looked around her heart began to race, her mind started to go into wild thoughts of what Ezrabette meant by the queen as the humming continued.

Then Ezrabette's humming suddenly stopped and the temperature of the room warmed. The candles reignited on their own. 

"Catherine." Ezrabette said in a soft voice.

"Kathryn. Me?" Kat asked.

"No. Another Catherine. She is the queen. We must get you to Catherine Collins. Come back tomorrow around midnight. We will unlock time and space together and I will get your son back. Catherine, She holds the key to your child, ma petite. You must trust me." Ezrabette asked.

Kat's nerves were on edge but this was the first sense of real news about where her baby was. She had no choice but to trust Ezrabette, in fact, Kat's mother always did.

"Why can't we do this now? Why do I have to come back at midnight?" Kat asked as she still held hands with Ezrabette.

"Go home child, and come back, I must prepare for what we have ahead of us. At midnight the half moon will appear in the sky opening all chains of time. That is when we can connect you. That is when we can move you to the closet place. Inside Catherine." Ezrabette explained in a confusing way.

Kat had no choice, she had to do what Ezrabette said. She grabbed her purse and gave Ezrabette a quick hug and dashed out of the small gray house in the woods just outside of Collinsport.

As Kat got back into her car and drove off another car had been outside hidden from her view waiting. Inside this car was Kat's partner at the Police Department: Loomis McGovern who had been trailing Kat all day. His suspicions that she knew more about the kidnapping of baby Canan and the disappearance of Sebastian were growing especially now that Kat was seen leaving the house of the known mystic and VooDoo priestess: Ezrabette Baptiste.

Loomis started his car and drove off after Kat...he was going to have to confront her. The deal her made with her, on waiting to see if anything would turn up  was off. She now would have to answer for the secrets She and the Collins family were hiding.

Series 6/Chapter 4: A FAMILIAR ANXIETY

COLLINSPORT 1920

It was late morning and Claudia was in the kitchen with baby Elizabeth feeding her a healthy fruit breakfast. Claudia had grown very fond of the baby over the last month and a half that she had been her new governess. They were distantly related and Claudia could feel the connection when Little Elizabeth looked at with those bright eyes and big smile lighting up any room she was in. 

As the baby played with her food, Vickie waked in dressed in her 1920's out fit, a mid-length blue dress with her hair straightened and slick. Pearls dangled from her neck all the way down to her waste. In her hands another darling baby that belonged to Caleb and Kat from 2016.

"Has he a name?" Claudia asked as she noticed the two walk in from behind.

"No, not yet. I'm not sure if I should name him." Vickie said as she sat him in a sold wood high-chair.

Claudia looked over at the boy who was now mashing his own banana in his high-chair with his hands. He had big blue eyes that seemed to look right through her, his olive skin was perfect and soft. He was beautiful.

"Everyone deserves a strong name. Even if it's just for a while." Claudia said noting that perhaps Caleb and Kat already had a name picked out for him in 2016, and anything they'd pick could be temporary.

"What do you think he looks like?" Vickie said smiling as she played with the baby boy and his food.

"Canan. I think we should call him Canan." Claudia said with a smile.

"Canan Collins..." Vickie replayed. "That's lovely. Does it have a meaning?"

"It means beloved, something we've all wanted, something we've all desired to be to someone else: " Claudia responded.

Vickie smiled and looked at the baby boy, then turned her attention to the little baby girl sitting across from her. Baby Elizabeth, who in 25 years would become her mother. Vickie was overcome with emotion at looking at her mother in her most innocent form. Knowing what she knew now, Vickie would never have done all the things she did. 

"I can't believe what I'm looking at." Vickie said as she walked over to baby Elizabeth after acknowledging Claudia's name choice . "All the years Elizabeth and I were together and I didn't even know she was my mother. Such a waist of time. I could have become so much closer to her had I know."

"Then why don't you stay Victoria. You can get close to your mother another way and watch her grow. You can help me be here and raise her and at least try and fix the things that went wrong in her life. From an outside perspective." Claudia said.

"But don't you see? One of her biggest things that went wrong was me, my conception...whatever we do here can alter the future; I never thought of that before we came. This whole situation was a mistake." Vickie said noting that her own existence could become null if she altered anything Elizabeth did throughout her life. 

Claudia digressed and sat back down with baby Elizabeth to feed her when in walked Catherine Collins, the lady of the house.

"Good morning! I can't believe how late I slept. It's almost 10:30...oh!  Hello!" The beautiful Catherine said noting Vickie and baby Canan in the room.

"Mrs. Collins, this is my mother Victoria, and my baby. This is my son Canan. I hope you don't mind, they arrived earlier then expected late last night and I put them up in the guest quarters in the south/east wing." Claudia said as reciting the story they all devised as a cover.

"Of course not! Welcome Victoria, its so nice to finally have you here. Claudia has told us so much about you and the baby. Oh....He's just such an angel! And what an interesting name. Canan." Catherine said with a wide smile. "Tell me, how was your trip?" 

"It went well, thank you for asking." A nervous Victoria said sitting down and turning back around to feed baby Canan.

"Busy morning in the kitchen, isn't it! Good morning ladies." Catherine's dashing husband Jamison said as he walked into the kitchen for his morning tea.

"Oh darling! Good morning, this is..." Catherine said before being interrupted by Jamison.

"Victoria and Claudia's son, yes, yes, I overheard as I was walking in. How do you do, Victoria?" Jamison said extending his hand.

"How do you do?" Victoria responded, still nervous they'd some how be discovered. 

"Victoria and the baby had a lovely trip to Collinsport, I for one am just very happy to have more people in this big house. It's such a beautiful property and now there's so much more life in it, don't you think Jamie?" The glowing Catherine said as she handed Jamison his tea.

"Yes, I do. Tell me, Mrs....?" He asked Vickie.

"Uhhh, Winters. Victoria Winters." Vickie responded.

"Winters? That's odd, that's not what Claudia said your last name was." Catherine interjected.

"It's her maiden name, she goes by that now that she's widowed." Claudia covered.

"Well, Mrs. Winters, how is that you came to Collinsport? We didn't hear you come up the drive last night. I usually wake quiet easily but not last night. Not a sound." Jamison suddenly questioned.

"Well we..." Vickie stammered as she looked over at Claudia.

They both felt a the adrenaline quickly rise, they hadn't expected any of the Collins members to ask such detailed questions, time travel isn't something on the daily agenda in 1920s Collinsport.

"Darling, it does't really matter, if anything I'm just glad you didn't wake up. He's such a sour puss when he's been up too late, you know how big boys can be. Come on now, Jamie you'll be late. I have the driver just out front waiting for you to get to the office, come on, come on!" Catherine said ushering Jamison out of the kitchen leaving Vickie and Claudia to take a deep sigh of relief. 

Out by the front entrance, Catherine gathered Jamison's large black jacket and placed it around his shoulders. She then went around him and dusted off the shoulders and tightened his bow tie.

"Smashing." She said of her handsome husband.

"Something seems off, don't you think?" Jamison asked Catherine.

"Off? What do you mean?" She questioned.

"Claudia's mother and that boy. She just told us about them a week ago, and out of no where they arrive, and in the middle of the night no less. Doesn't that strike you as odd?" Jamison questioned.

"Well I don't know. I haven't exactly read up on the speed of which one travels now at days, now darling, besides what does it matter? Claudia now has her own family here and we can feel comfortable that our baby will have a governess who feels more at home. And we have plenty of room." Catherine said as she kissed her husband on the lips. "Now, go on, go on, the office awaits!" She followed up with Jamison as he smiled at his wife who dashed back into the kitchen.

As Jamison made his way through the front foyer he passed the portrait of Barnabas Collins that clung to the wall as it always had. A strange chill sprung up his spine, like an icy wind from the arctic curling up inch by inch and bone by bone.

 He instantly turned to the painting that hung on the wall and stared at the face looking back at him. The face of his ancestral cousin Barnabas Collins. This feeling made Jamison extremely uneasy. There was suddenly something very strange in the air but he couldn't quite pin point it.

The hairs on the back of his neck lifted, Jamison shuttered as if to knock the strange vibe he was getting from the painting on the wall from his body. What ever he was sensing he could not pin point, but the threat of something great, something very big was afoot. He could feel it in his veins.

The familiar Collinwood fog crept over the front steps and the feeling of instant dread continued to wash all over Jamison.  He took another deep breath and wrapped his jacket around his shoulders a little tighter right before leaving the house and off to Collins Fishing Industries.

****

COLLINSPORT PRESENT TIME

At the Blue Whale, David met his son Caleb for an afternoon drink to unwind after a long morning. They kept to themselves in a corner booth and sipped on some local brewed ale. Caleb seemed jittery and nervous, and kept staring at the clock above David's head as if he were counting the seconds until they would be home again. After his ordeal with Victoria brain washing him, Caleb's nerves were constantly on edge.

"Take it easy son, just take it easy." David said as  he took a drink.

"I just feel the longer we're out here the less I know about whats happening with the baby. What if Barnabas comes back? I want to be there as soon as he does." Caleb answered.

"Son, we don't know if Barnabas is coming back. From what Joseph told us, if he actually did dip into some time vortex, anything can happen. We just don't know." David explained.

"But he has to come back Dad, he has to. If he doesn't come back then that means our baby wont come back. I don't know how Kat will go on without the baby. We've got to find a way. I'll do anything." Caleb replied.

"You know  how I feel about this kind of stuff. Dabbling in anything supernatural has gotten our family in some very deep waters. Whatever you have in mind, think again. I don't want you or Kat getting close to that." David ordered.

"So you just want us to sit back and do nothing? Dad, that doesn't sound like you. You would do anything to get to the bottom of situations like this, I know you would. What's going on?" David said taking a sip of his ale.

"All I want is for us to have some kind of normalcy. All throughout my childhood and adolescence, there was always something...some kind of attack or danger or whatever, and to be honest it had a lot to do with Barnabas. Caleb, I don't trust him. And I hope he never comes back." David said out right. 

"If he doesn't come back, then our  baby doesn't come back. Your grandchild--is that what you want to?" David questioned.

"Son, that's a risk I unfortunately am willing to take." David said in a huff as drank his ale.

"Well I don't think we're willing to take that risk. I'll do anything to find my kid, anything. If I have to go to Seaview House where Vickie was staying and try and re-create this time vortex I'll do it. I'll do anything." Caleb exclaimed.

"You're not listening to me at all." David said frustratingly.

"I'm listening, and frankly I can't believe what I'm hearing. What if this was you? Would you just leave me out there not know where I was? This is your flesh and blood we're talking about here Dad." Caleb reiterated.

"The dangers that Barnabas brings with him are beyond your comprehension. Trust me, from you haven't seen what Barnabas is capable. What he did to Vickie and our friend Maggie...God! What he did to me? I can't trust him! You shouldn't either. None of us should. This is what you need to understand." David said trying to keep his voice down in the bar.

"All of that was in the past---" Caleb responded as David interrupted

"Enough! Listen, son, I love you. You can do what you want. But I'm just going to warn you, whatever you get involved in, whatever happens count me out. I won't help you. " David said as he got up from the table leaving his drink half empty and his son in shock.

Caleb got up quickly too and followed his father out side of the bar as he walked back to his car. 

"Wait! Dad! Stop!" Caleb called as David turned around. "What's going on with you?" the son questioned.

David looked at Caleb, his son was standing there pleading with him to have some kind of empathy for the situation he was going through. His child was missing and in another dimension, but David couldn't feel anything. He was just blank and void, cold and hollow; and harboring the secret message Barnabas sent in the book, a message that could put the family at ease if they knew Barnabas had reached out.

"Look, I think it's better if we just let this go. We don't even know if Barnabas and Vickie made it to where ever they were going. If you just let it go, so many doors will open Son. You can start anew with Kat...you can!" David said in an oddly.

"You want us to just forget that we have a son somewhere out there? Dad we can't do that!" Caleb said, closing his jacket around his tight body as the autumn wind swam by rustling the leaves around their feet. 

"Just remember what I said, will you? Leave all the supernatural stuff out of your lives. Or else..." David said cryptically as he got into his car closed the door and drove off back to Collinwood leaving a shocked Caleb on the side of the street just out side of The Blue Whale. 

Caleb grabbed his phone and quickly dialed a number and sent a message:

"We need to talk. Now." The message read. 

****

As the day wore on, the members of the Collins family tried to live their daily lives as normal as they could as they awaited for news from Barnabas. Alex and Carolyn for their parts, took the day to relax with each other and take time to be together in town shopping.

They walked along the quaint streets of Collinsport, Carolyn dressed elegantly in a full length black coat and Alex in a peach pea-coat and matching peach beret. They laughed and giggled, allowing all the nightmarish moments of the past few months to fade away like the morning fog drifting further and further into the distance.

As the mother daughter duo window shopped in the town square, the felt like they were the only two women in the world. Mother and daughter, reconnecting it was a lovely moment for both, and as they entered a shop just off Main Street, it would become clear that that was all just a fantasy.

Following close behind was the stranger in town who broke into the old house. He had seen Carolyn and Alexandra leave that afternoon, and they sparked an interest in him. Especially the beautiful Alexandra.

The stranger followed most of the day, easily mixing in with the regular town's people, with this chiseled good looks and thick head of dark hair. He was sure to keep an eye on the Collins women all the while keeping a safe distance, but as they got to Main street and went into the latest shop, he wanted to get closer. He wanted to see just how close he could get. He wanted to be able to feel their energy and sense their life force, so he entered the shop just seconds after they did.

Carolyn and Alex were too busy enjoying their day together to even notice the shop girl much less the stranger following them. As they bounced around the various wracks of fine clothes and teased each other to buy silly top after silly top, the stranger was able to get close enough to actually say a few words, it was a risk he was taking, to open himself up to them so soon, but it was a risk he was willing to take just to hear Alex's voice for the very first time.

"Turquoise is not your color mother, I don't care what anyone tells you!" Alex laughed as she vetoed Carolyn's choice of blouse.

"Oh fine! But if you think anyone will take you seriously in florescent green, you're kidding yourself." Carolyn joked back.

"I think it looks quite nice on you." The stranger responded as he pretended to browse on a men's clothing wrack directly across from Alex and Carolyn.

Alex turned to her mother surprised at the stranger's take on the shirt and blushed.

"Thank you. But really it's  not something I would ware....well...ware out of the house at least." Alex joked.

"I can't imagine anything looking bad on you at all." the stranger said as he walked over to Alexandra. "I apologize, I don't mean to be so forward, I just feel like I haven't spoken a word to anyone in days. I'm new to town, so..." he added.

"Oh! Well, welcome to Collinsport. Where are you from?" Carolyn interjected walking close to Alex as the stranger also got close.

"Berlin. I worked there for many many years, and someone told me that there was a wonderful town I needed to visit, a town that was quite interesting. Historical too. I'm very interested in history and the back stories of towns like this. Anyway, Collinsport, seems just perfect for that sort of thing." The stranger responded.

"Berlin, but you don't have an accent. You sound American." Carolyn questioned.

"Mother." Alex said, embarrassed that her mother was giving a strange man the third degree.

"No,  no, she's right. I'm American, yes, but as I said I was in Berlin working. Have you two ladies lived in here all your lives?" The stranger asked, even though he was somewhat aware of who he was talking to.

"I was born and raised here, my daughter, Alexandra, was born in England. We just returned about a year ago. There was a death in the family." Carolyn explained.

"I'm very sorry to hear that. Who died?" The stranger continued.

"My husband, Jack. He was back in town on business and ....well, he passed on." Carolyn said skipping over the "whole turned into a vampire by a witch detail".

"Well, I am very sorry for your loss." The stranger said, grabbing Carolyn by the hand and kissing it. "I should be off. It was very nice to meet you both. I should hope this ins't our last interaction. He added.

"Surly." Carolyn said in a sort of daze.

Carolyn felt a bit stranger after he kissed her hand. There was something about the stranger's eyes that she felt was familiar. There was something about his smile, like she had seen it before. Was he someone that she had met, was he someone she had seen before somewhere. She couldn't tell for sure, but there familiarity was strong, it was bubbling up in her.

As he walked towards the door of the shop, Carolyn leaned into the clothing isle and called out to him.

"What did you say your name was?" Carolyn asked right before the stranger turned.

"I didn't. Nicholas. My name is Nicholas Blair." he said just before walking out the door.

Carolyn stood in the shop stiff as a board. Her eyes seemed to gloss over. That name, why did it make her feel this way? Why did is give her such anxiety so suddenly. Were had she heard that name before?

"Mother? Mother, are you ok?" What is is?" Alex said noting her mother's quick change in demeanor after Nicholas said his name.

"That man. There's something about that him. You haven't seen him before have you? I mean, does he seem familiar to you at all?" Carolyn asked in a confused state.

"Not at all, no. Do you recognize him?" Alex said, strumming through the wrack of clothes.

"I ....I don't know." Carolyn said in a whisper, still feeling a strange sensation from her interaction with Nicholas.

Across the street, Nicholas turned back and looked at the store, he lit a cigarette and smiled and evil grin. The smoke from the cigarette swirled around him and billowed into the chilly autumn air and disappeared after each puff. Now he knew exactly what he was meant to do back in Collinsport.

"Alexandra. How exquisite." Nicholas whispered to himself. "She will do just fine, just fine indeed." Nicholas added as he puffed away in the chill of the Collinsport air and continued to walk down Main street and dispersing into the distance.