Angelique's Revenge, Part 14

Date: 2/1/98
From: AngeliqueBouchard

Inhabiting the body of Angelique Collins, Angelique Bouchard strolled the long, dark halls of Collinwood. She relished the pleasure of dwelling in a body again. Granted, it was not the same as when she was living and had her own body, but it was so much better than being an incorporeal being unable to enjoy those things which the living very rarely took the time to appreciate. Angelique ran her hand along the wall, delighting in the simple feeling of the thick paneling under her fingertips.

As she approached the end of the hallway she noticed light spilling from an open door. She heard voices speaking in low tones, discussing Laura, a topic which always peaked Angelique's interest.

In the room sat Quentin, Tom, and Quentin's father, who had recently recovered from the illness the family feared would rob his life. Quentin was grateful to have his father in good health again and to receive his input on the mystery that had bewildered the preceding generations of his family.

Angelique listened to them hatching out various theories regarding Laura's involvement in the Collins' family. "What harm would it do for them to know some truth about Laura?" Angelique thought. "As a matter of fact, it may work to my advantage for them to make Laura's life difficult."

"Excuse me," Angelique said as she revealed herself in the doorway. "I couldn't help but overhear you conversation."

"Yes, we were discussing the strange similarities between the Laura Collins from the late 1700's, 1800's, and today," said Quentin's father, who was an older version of his son and still very handsome.

"Well, it so happens that my grandmother is very involved in the paranormal and I have a theory I wanted to share."

"Then please do so," Tom said. "We would certainly welcome any insight you could offer."

Angelique entered the room and sat down on a nearby chair. "I've heard about the strange things you learned from Barnabas and other members of the family. I remember hearing about a myth when I was growing up. It had to do with a woman who was immortal. She would return to earth every so many years to have children and then take those children to the netherworld with her. The woman was called a Phoenix."

The room was silent for a moment then Quentin spoke up, "Before last night I would have called your story nothing more than a fairy tale, but after what happened to Roxanne I'm not so quick to discount this."

"The journal of Beth Chavez did accuse Laura of being a supernatural creature," Tom said.

"Not only that, I remember she wrote that she returned for her children," Quentin's father added.

"I want to ask the Stokes to research this for us," Quentin said. "It can't hurt."

"I don't know if any of this will be true in Laura's case," Angelique said, "but I just found it curious that the myth fit what facts you have found in your searching." She rose and headed for the door. "I have some things to do. I hope you make some progress."

Angelique sauntered back down the hall with a pleased smile on her face. "Laura is going to pay tenfold for what she has done to me." She headed back to her bedroom with thoughts of spending a night with a man who so resembled the Barnabas Collins she once loved.

She opened the door to find Barnabas sitting on the bed reading a large book. "Angelique, I'm so glad you're here. The Stokes would like you to participate in a ceremony when the remains are buried. This is the Collins Family Bible. Would you look through it and find a Psalm to read?" Barnabas held out the Bible, but Angelique would not take it from him.

TO BE CONTINUED