Subj: Consequences of Falling ch. 47
Date: 8/4/01 9:04:30 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Nicole

A year later, Spring 1977

Barnabas flipped through the paper, his eyes stopping immediately on a provocative headline:

"CONSTANCE DUVANE FOUND DEAD IN APARTMENT AT AGE OF 29"

"Julia!" he wailed. "Come now. You must see this."

Julia ran into the drawing room. She examined the headline silently before saying, "You know she's not dead."

"I realize this, but why has she done this?"

"I was getting too old to be 'Constance.'" Barnabas turned to see Constance DuVane standing only feet away. She walked to Julia and hugged her, their embrace reminding him of that of old friends. "Guess what? Avery has been imprisoned for impregnating the Princess of Mokwai."

"How could they prove it?" asked Julia.

"A run of the mill paternity test."

"How?" asked Barnabas. "I was under the impression that an incubus could not impregnate a woman with it's own seed. How was Avery's material proven positive?"

"Well, that's what happens when an angry succubus pays to have the samples switched." Constance laughed as she pulled away, choosing to take a seat across from Barnabas. "He will be imprisoned for life. It means so much more than it seems to. You see, once the notice that Avery does not age, they will want to test him. Once this happens, my kind will take over. Avery is responsible for the death of my child, who would have been part of our kind and would have been protected. He will be tortured until I say his torture will end. I have this by the word of Daniel Colbert, who's mistress was burned as a witch because of Avery's testimony. Daniel was lucky to save her son from a past relationship. The boy had only known Daniel as a father. Daniel now plays guardian angel to the boy's descendents. It's really rather lovely."

Barnabas could see the heartache in her eyes, noticing the broken dreams passing through as she looked away. "What about Josef?"

"I can't find him," sighed Constance, "but he will pay. He placed Quentin into Petofi's hands by setting up a way to make direct contact with him."

"The note?"

"Yeah. Once Quentin touched the note, Petofi could always see where he was."

"Have you had any luck in actually finding Quentin's body?" asked Julia.

"No. Angelique is following up a lead now, but it will probably prove as fruitless as the others." Constance turned to Julia and asked, "Have you found Chris?"

"I've had no luck with that," answered Julia. "It seems like he's fallen from the face of the earth."

Constance nodded. "What about Sabrina?"

"She refuses to speak with us...particularly me," answered Barnabas.

"Why?"

Barnabas was not about to tell Constance how he had bitten the woman in question. "It's a long story."

Constance did not press him further. "We have to save them."

"How?" asked Julia.

"I'm not sure, but I think I can tie it to what happened to Quentin. If I can figure out what went wrong with him, maybe I can correct it and save them all."

"That's quite ambitious," said Barnabas.

"Maybe but I'm up to the challenge. I will find Quentin. If I cannot have our child, I will have him," stated Constance. "He is the only thing I want anymore and nothing will stop me from finding him!"

Barnabas could only stare at her. He had never seen anyone so determined in his life. If she could pull it off, it would be amazing. Only time would tell if she actually could.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.