Angelique's Revenge, Part 23
Date: 3/10/98
From: AngeliqueBouchard

Moments before dawn at a cave near the beach Gerard entered seeking the sanctuary of his coffin. He had avoided returning to Laura's room after leaving Daphne outside Collinwood. She would no doubt be wondering why Gerard did not come back to report he had followed her orders. Gerard hoped that Quentin would be convinced of Laura's true nature and arrange for her demise.

Upon entering the cave, Gerard froze in horror. His coffin had been reduced to a pile of ashes. It had been burnt to the ground.

"Good morning, Gerard," a familiar voice said. Laura stepped out of the shadows. Her face wore a grim expression, her eyes as cold as ice.

Gerard stood speechless. He never dreamed the day would come where Laura would be his enemy. If he wasn't at such a disadvantage he might have had a better chance of fighting her. As it was the dawn was seconds away and his only resting place was destroyed. His only hope was to escape, but where?

"How disappointed I am Gerard. To think you betrayed me for a frail, mortal girl," Laura said with venom in her voice.

Gerard feigned innocence, "What are you talking about? I would never betray you. I can't believe you'd want to kill me just because I haven't followed your instructions yet."

"Did you really think I would trust you to follow out my orders? Just because you didn't see me at Collinwood you actually assumed I wouldn't know what you did to me? Did you forget that my son lives there and that I can see everything through his eyes and hear every word that is spoken through his ears?"

Gerard involuntarily gasped as he realized he had indeed forgotten about the link between Laura and David. "Laura, please don't do this. Give me another chance and I will proved to be more useful to you than ever." Gerard had to talk her out of this. His only chance for survival would be to retreat to the inner part of the cave.

Laura held out a cross and moved toward Gerard. He turned away and began stepping backward. "Laura I beg you not to do this!"

"Good bye, Gerard," Laura replied flatly. She shoved the cross in his face and he backed toward the cave's entrance.

"Laura, stop this! You've proven your point," Gerard pleaded. At that moment the sun appeared over the horizon and cast its brightness on the cave's entrance. Gerard felt a burning sensation on his back which quickly turned into a searing pain throughout his whole body. He writhed in pain as Laura stood expressionless, cross still held in her outstretched arm. Gerard faded away, leaving a black burn mark on the ground. Laura placed the cross on the darkened spot.

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Collinwood

Daphne sat in the drawing room along with Chris, Tom, Quentin, Roxanne, and the Stokes. They were preparing to search the area Gerard had pinpointed as the grave of Quentin Collins from 1897. Daphne suddenly jolted forward, "He's been destroyed."

"What?" Quentin asked. "Who's been destroyed?"

"Gerard," Daphne replied while looking straight ahead. This was the first time she uttered the vampire's name. "He was the one who gave me the information on Laura and your great grandfather. Gerard was the vampire, but now he's gone."

"Look!" Elliot exclaimed as he pointed at Daphne. "The bite marks are gone!"

Daphne raised her hand to her neck. They were indeed gone. Chris looked at Roxanne's neck. "Roxanne's marks are gone too!"

TO BE CONTINUED