Angelique's Revenge, Part 16
Date: 2/7/98
From: AngeliqueBouchard

Angelique hovered in spirit form in the middle of the room. The many candles flickered, casting an eerie glow on the walls. She shot an angry look at Nicholas. She was infuriated at him for not only having the audacity to summon her, but also for choosing this moment to do so. It would be much harder for her to reclaim the body of her descendant and the thought of Barnabas gloating over his mistaken belief he had banished her, was more than enough to make her seethe with rage.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" Angelique spat.

"Now Angelique, hear me out," Nicholas said trying to calm Angelique's fury. "As a matter of fact, I do know what I have done because I have been watching you. I know this must seem like a terribly inopportune time..."

"That is an understatement," Angelique retorted. "What nerve you have interfering in my plans."

"I'm not trying to interfere Angelique. I have a proposition for you, straight from the master himself."

That allayed Angelique's fury a bit. "A proposition?"

"Yes," Nicholas said smoothly, clasping his hands. "But before I explain let me show you what will be yours should you wish to accept," Nicholas gestured towards a circle of candles on the floor with a pentagram drawn inside.

Angelique glided tentatively towards the black candles. Trust did not come easy for Angelique, especially not for someone as devious as Nicholas. He had no reason to cause her harm, they shared some impassioned nights when they first met back in the late 1700's. But what if the master had commanded him to send Angelique to hell? What if Diabolos was tired of her dwelling at Collinwood? Maybe he wanted to claim his servant's soul. She wondered if she would be drawn into the depths of the fiery pit the moment she entered the circle.

"Well," she reasoned to herself, "if Diabolos wants to reclaim me he will not relent if I happen to evade him now." Angelique moved into the circle of candles. Immediately she was transformed into a corporal being. She was given a body. Angelique touched her long blond hair which was pulled back away from her face in a becoming fashion. She gazed down at herself and smiled, pleased to have her own form back.

"A gift from the master," Nicholas pronounced. "Although I must take credit for the clothes."

Angelique ran her hand over the beautiful periwinkle blue outfit she wore. "Your taste is impeccable, as always."

"Come, let us talk," Nicholas smiled and gestured to a table and chairs. Once they sat down he began to talk. "Now let me explain, I've been quite busy since we were last together in the late seventeen hundreds. I am about to put a plan into full motion. A plot very important to the master. It's one I started around twenty years ago."

"Ahh yes," Angelique purred, in a much better mood since obtaining her own body. "I often wondered why you were at Collinwood that night." Angelique was never skilled at clairvoyant abilities, but being a spirit had given her certain advantages she was not privy to when she was alive. "I was surprised to sense you there after all these years, especially since it was Paul Stoddard you looked like. Tell me, were you possessing him or did you just give the illusion you were he?"

TO BE CONTINUED