Beauty and the Beast (25 page)

Vincent was swept away instantly into another waking vision. Little Jacob was still in his arms, and the baby was also with him in this vision. They were in a beautiful meadow, and Catherine stood before him only a few yards away. She looked ecstatic to see him.

“Vincent, you have him! You have our baby! He’s safe!” Catherine’s voice was filled with pure joy as she began to run to Vincent.

Vincent had Little Jacob in his left arm, and he reached his right arm out to receive Catherine. However, before she could get to him, a dark faceless figure sprang out of the ground behind her and threw a black cover over her. She screamed in terror as she was snatched off her feet, and then the figure disappeared back into the ground with her. Vincent roared with anger and frustration, and then he was back in the rocker with Little Jacob looking up at his father with huge, frightened eyes. He quickly comforted the baby and began feeding him his bottle.

It was no more than a few minutes after Vincent’s vision that Mary appeared in his doorway with her usual look of concern for him. “You had another vision, didn’t you?” She asked him.

Vincent answered with sadness in his voice. “Yes, Mary. I’m sorry that I alarmed you. I’m afraid I scared poor Little Jacob too.”

Mary smiled at him. “He doesn’t look much worse for the wear! Do you want me to take him for you? You do look worse for the wear!”

Vincent looked at her for a moment, and then he said. “You know, Mary that would actually be very helpful. I need to go see Narcissa about these dreams and visions. She is the only one of us who truly understands that world. Father and Diana are busy working on translating Gabriel’s notebook, so I don’t want to disturb them. Will you please let them know where I have gone? I should be back late tonight.”

Mary took Little Jacob when Vincent stood up. “Don’t worry, Vincent, 111 let them know. Just take your time.”

Vincent never knew where he was going to find

Narcissa. This time, he was surprised to actually find her in her own large chamber, not far from the Chamber of the Winds. He used to love to play as a child on the stone staircase there and to explore all of the mysterious caverns surrounding the bottom floor of that chamber.

One of those caverns was Narcissa’s, and she was at home.

Narcissa called out to Vincent before he even entered her chamber. “Come in, child! I have been expecting you. Your mind is troubled, is it not?” When Vincent entered Narcissa’s chamber, it was filled with the light of many beautiful candles. Sea shells of all sizes and shapes were everywhere, and brightly colored cloths and tapestries adorned the entire chamber.

Vincent smiled at her perception as he replied. “You are right, as always. Something very strange is happening, Narcissa. I am having dreams and visions that are as real to me as standing here talking to you is real. They all involve Catherine being lost and trapped in some sort of continuous nightmare. I can’t understand why I would constantly dream such a thing.”

Narcissa shook her head at Vincent. “You know what Father would say about my advice! ‘She lives in a make-believe world of nonsense.’ If you want it though, dreams should never be ignored. Follow your heart, Vincent, and find your woman! She needs you! Your connection to her is healing, and love is holding her in this world still.”

Vincent’s expression was dubious. “I have always

trusted your wisdom, Narcissa, but this cannot be. I was with her when she died, and I carried her body to her home. She can only be reaching out to me from beyond the grave. I just don’t know why yet.”

Narcissa looked intently into Vincent’s eyes with her nearly sightless ones, and she said gently, “Vincent, child, you of all people should know that things are not always as they appear!”

Vincent was taken aback by this shocking statement. “Narcissa, you have knowledge! Please share it with me!” Narcissa put her hand on Vincent’s arm. “It is not what I know that is important, Vincent. It is what you already know that is! Search your heart, child! Follow your connection with your Catherine. She is lost, and she needs for you to find her. Whether she is here or beyond the grave is for you to figure out, so that you can help her.”

Vincent patted Narcissa’s hand. “Thank you,

Narcissa. I will figure it out, and I will help her. I know what I need to do now.”

Narcissa smiled at Vincent. “You knew what you needed to do before you ever came looking for me, child. Don’t worry, you will find your Catherine and save her from her nightmares. I have seen it!”

When Vincent finally arrived back near his own chamber, he chuckled as he heard Tony doing voice impressions as he read Snow White and the Seven

Dwarves to Little Jacob. The baby was giggling. When he walked into his chamber, Tony was holding the book of children’s stories he was reading from, dancing around Little Jacob’s bassinet, and making funny faces to go along with the voice impressions of the seven dwarves as he read. Tony looked up from his antics and grinned at Vincent.

Vincent sat down on the edge of his bed. “Don’t let me stop you, Tony. I’m enjoying the story too!”

Tony laughed, “OK, Vincent.” Then Tony resumed the story while Little Jacob continued giggling at him.

Vincent reached over to his nightstand and picked up the last journal Catherine had given to him following his illness when his memory was left severely impaired. She had told Vincent that it seemed appropriate for him to get a fresh start with a new journal. He opened the cover and fingered her written words to him, “With love all things are possible. Forever, Catherine.” Vincent hadn’t been able to face reading his previous journals because of the pain it would cause him to know how much he had forgotten. Now, though, it was time to do just that. The answers he was seeking had to be in them. He laid this last gift of Catherine’s down, stood up, walked to one of his book shelves, and collected his journals from the previous two years.

He put the journals into his backpack, and then he turned to Tony, who had now finished reading the story. “Tony, I need to go on a journey to the Crystal Cavern in

the morning. Would you please see to Little Jacob’s care while I am gone? I also need for you to let everyone know where I will be. I’m not sure when I will be back. Tell Father that I am doing what I should have done some time ago to figure out what these dreams about Catherine mean.”

Tony was very serious as he replied. “Ill let everyone know and talk to Father for you. Don’t worry about Little Jacob. Everyone loves babysitting him. Ill come back here early in the morning and take care of everything.”

Vincent smiled at him. “Thank you, Tony.”

The next morning, Vincent stopped by William’s kitchen. William was very happy to pack up provisions for his journey. Then Vincent started the day-long trek to the Crystal Cavern. He knew that only there would he have the tranquil quiet, without distractions, that he needed to figure out how to help his restless and distressed Catherine to find peace.

When Vincent finally arrived at the Crystal Cavern, he laid his lantern on the ground at the edge of the threshold. Then he climbed down the eight foot drop at the mouth of the cave onto the floor of the cavern. He picked the lantern back up and put it into a crevice in the wall.

Every time he visited this cave, the spectacular beauty of the sparkling crystals in the cavern walls always took his breath away. This time was no different, and he stood still for a moment enjoying the prism colors that bounced around the walls from the flickering lantern light. Father had been convinced that Narcissa’s story of the Crystal Cavern was just another one of her fantastic tales of the imagination until Vincent finally found it, and he brought back the crystal from which Mouse created his anniversary gift for Catherine.

Vincent took off his cloak and went to the large, flat-topped boulder that served as a chair when he visited the Crystal Cavern. He spread his cloak over the boulder and sat down on it. Vincent opened his backpack and took out some of the food and drink that William had prepared for him. As he bowed his head and asked for a blessing on his meal, he also prayed for the strength he needed to face whatever he would find in his journals. Vincent wanted to be able to put his dear Catherine finally to rest.

When Vincent was finished eating, he took one of the journals out of his backpack. This was the one that included dates immediately preceding the one on which, according to his marriage certificate, he had married Catherine. Vincent settled back on the boulder and, with his back against the concave surface of the cavern wall behind him, took a deep breath, and opened the journal. He started to read, and a seemingly magical doorway to his lost memories swung open. Vincent stepped through it as the vision opened.

As Vincent’s memories were unlocked, he was taken back in time to nearly a year-and-a-half earlier:

When the justice system in the world above released Cameron Benson and Dale Mercer to continue their coldblooded murdering spree, Vincent took it upon himself to protect the young prostitutes they were hunting. Instead, the two men became the hunted, and Vincent frustrated each subsequent attempt they made to lure those young girls to their deaths. After watching them slash the throat of their fourth victim in Central Park, and seeing the gleeful pleasure they took in killing her, Vincent had been sickened. The murder had taken place so quickly that Vincent had been helpless to stop it. Their wealthy families had seen to it that Catherine’s efforts to get them off the streets, after they killed their fifth victim, had failed.

Vincent was returning above for another night of patrolling when Mouse ran up to him completely out of breath. “Vincent! Caught you! Good! Going above again to protect the girls?”

Vincent gave Mouse a grim look. “Yes, Mouse, I am. I must until Catherine’s world can stop those murderers permanently.”

Mouse nodded at Vincent. “Got something for you.”

He held out an huge Kevlar vest, and Vincent took it from him.

Vincent looked at Mouse with a questioning expression. “Where did you get a Kevlar vest, Mouse?”

Mouse was firm. “Found it! Didn’t steal it! You needed. Mouse found!”

Vincent raised his eyebrows and tried to look stern. “You just found a really big Kevlar vest?” Mouse nodded.

Vincent smiled at him. “Thank you, Mouse. This will come in really handy. Why don’t you help me get it on?” He gave Mouse the vest, took off his cloak and outer shirt, and handed them to Mouse to hold. Then Vincent put the Kevlar vest on under everything.

“Well, Mouse, thanks to you, I’m all set to stop those madmen.” Vincent suddenly stopped talking to Mouse, and his head flew up as he felt the danger Catherine was in. Cameron Benson and Dale Mercer were hunting his Catherine, and she was terrified. He left Mouse without another word, and raced out of the tunnels and into the night air above.

Vincent ran across the rooftops to get to the old movie theater the men had lured Catherine to. They knew that Catherine wasn’t going to give up her case against them, and they were sure she was behind the mysterious cloaked figure who kept interfering with their murder attempts, so they had paid a young black prostitute to call

Catherine with a promise of information about the killings. When Vincent went through an upper story window and found Catherine in the movie theater, Dale Mercer was holding her helpless, and Cameron Benson had a gun pointed at her. Vincent quickly intervened by leaping down out of the balcony with an angry roar, distracting both of them. He quickly slashed Dale Mercer, freeing Catherine, and then planted himself between her and Cameron Benson with his gun. Cameron Benson shot Vincent in the chest, and Catherine screamed Vincent’s name in fearful panic, as she saw him stagger from the impact. Then Vincent charged at Cameron Benson and killed him.

Catherine ran to Vincent and grabbed his arm as she said with desperation in her voice, “We’ve got to get out of here!” As Vincent and Catherine ran out of the theater, she couldn’t keep up with him and called after him, “Vincent! Vincent! Are you all right?”

When he finally stopped in an alley, and she caught up with him, she searched frantically for the wound in his chest. Vincent leaned against a building, looked heavenward, and cried out in the anguish of his soul, “Nothing! Nothing but madness! Nothing but blood!

When will it stop?” Catherine was silent as she hugged him, trying to comfort him, as he struggled to recover from the necessity of killing again in this violent world to save her from death.

Vincent finally looked down at her. Catherine had a

stricken expression on her face and had begun searching again for the wound she knew he had to have from the gun shot. Vincent put one giant hand over both of hers against his chest. Then he put his other hand under her chin, and he lifted her face so he could see into her eyes. Next came his impassioned plea, “Catherine, marry me before this world kills you, and I lose you forever!” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Catherine watched in wonder as a myriad of emotions passed over his face ending with an expression of shock that he had actually voiced what he had always dreamed of, but he had never dared to utter.

Catherine’s reply was equally fervent. “Don’t you dare take that back! Yes, Vincent, I will marry you!”

Vincent smiled tenderly at her. “How could I ever take back what has burned in my heart unspoken for such a long time?”

Catherine’s expression then changed back to fear again. “Vincent, are you hurt? I saw you take a bullet!”

Vincent replied, “No, Catherine, I’m not hurt, and 111 show you why as soon as we get out of here. We need to get your car away from here, so no one comes looking for you when they find those dead men. Ill take you back to your car, and 111 meet you at the Central Park tunnel secret entrance. Then we can talk where it is quiet and safe.”

When Catherine arrived in the Central Park tunnel, she opened the gate and tapped on the door. It slid open. Vincent took her hand as she stepped over the threshold, and he shut both the gate and the sliding door again. He laid his cloak on the tunnel floor, and they sat down together against the wall. They had often spent time with one another here, because it was far enough away from both worlds and from the nearest sentry on duty to be private.