Vincent told his uncle, “We have all of Dr. Vlas’ journals of his work with the Tandins. We even have the one in which he explains what happened when our parents were killed.”
Tanimus smiled through his tears, “I would really enjoy seeing those after we get your Catherine healed.” Isaac expressed the curiosity everyone felt. “Elisia, we have all been told the brief history of the Tandins from Dr. Vlas’journal. I would love to hear the account from you.” Rebecca had been signing for Laura as everyone spoke. Now, as Elisia began telling the story verbally for everyone else, she also signed for Laura. “Well, the Tandins were refugees from Romania two centuries ago. They stowed away aboard vessels sailing from Europe, escaping from vampire and werewolf hunters, for which they were mistaken because of their appearance. You can see by our appearance why. Because our women have nearly hairless faces and only an upper set of canine fangs, it was the women who were most often mistaken for vampires. The men, with their extra body and facial hair and their double set of canine fangs in both jaws, were most often mistaken for werewolves. I said that our people stowed away on board those vessels, but in reality, their passage was paid for by their human friends. Those human friends simply kept them hidden in their cabins on board. The Tandins had made many wonderful human friends over the centuries, but the vast majority of humans were afraid of them, and would have destroyed
them altogether if they had stayed in Romania.
“Dr. Vlas’ ancestors were among the friends who protected the Tandins. Some members of his family were archaeologists. They had discovered the natural underground tunnels and caves under New York, and they had realized that the tunnels would be a safe sanctuary for the Tandins. It was then that the Tandins were hidden aboard the vessels by the Vlas family and other human friends who had paid for passage from Romania to New York. They found these tunnels to be a very safe refuge and began building up a civilization under the city.
“The Tandins are artisans, botanists, craftsmen, engineers, doctors, and scientists, with many who are also skilled in the fine arts. We still have descendents of some of our Romanian human friends living with us. We have also offered sanctuary to many human castoffs from the world above, like your people do. We live symbiotically with them, and it is an arrangement which has worked extremely well over the last two-hundred years. We have human community members who take the credit in the world above for scientific and medical discoveries, books, inventions, artwork, fashion clothing, and other products that we produce in our Tandin world. In exchange, they are provided with a safe home, either below or above, an education, medical care, and the sharing in common of the proceeds and products. The homes and businesses that we own in the world above are equipped with access doors to the tunnels below them. We also have electrical
lines from those homes and businesses which have been extended down into our tunnels.
“We have conquered the mystery of cold fusion, so we have unlimited power from sea water. We haven’t revealed that technology, among others, to the world above, because it would have devastating consequences to the world economy in its present form. It would also endanger anyone bold enough to reveal it prematurely. The world simply isn’t ready for some of the technology we have developed yet.”
When Elisia paused, Jerry asked, “Elisia, if you have cold fusion available as an unlimited power source, why do you also use electrical lines from above? It seems like that would be unnecessary.”
Elisia smiled at him. “That is a really excellent question, Jerry. We continue to need a conventional power source to manufacture electrical products that are sold in the world above. They have to operate using the power that is currently available there.” Everyone smiled and nodded as the logic of that became obvious. Then Elisia continued, “Our humans and Tandins often intermarry as Vincent’s and my parents did. Ours was a case where two Tandin brothers married two human identical twin sisters.”
Susan looked at Tanimus and asked, “Tanimus, were you and your brother also twins?”
Tanimus smiled at her and replied, “No, when we married, I was twenty-six, and Gaylin was thirty-one. My
Letha and their mother, Loren, were twenty. One year later, Gaylin and Loren had Vincent and Elisia.”
Everyone had been so engrossed in this fascinating story, that none of them had heard the elevator doors open and close down the hall. As Tanimus was speaking, Narcissa showed up at the door, and she immediately went to Tanimus. Diana took Little Jacob from him, and then Tanimus quickly stood up and grabbed both of Narcissa’s hands. Everyone was shocked that she had left her sanctuary and had come up here.
Narcissa exclaimed smiling, “You are the one who led me to our dear Vincent! I felt your powerful mind pulling me here. I have to thank you for allowing us to keep him. He has been the glue that has held us all together, and he is the only one who doesn’t think I’m crazy!” They all chuckled over the joy on both of their faces and at Narcissa’s unique way of expressing herself.
Tanimus then responded, “It is I who must thank you, Narcissa, for rescuing my brother’s child for us. I was desperate to save Vincent, and I was grateful for your receptive mind!” Diana and Joe squeezed over some more, and Tanimus seated Narcissa on the sofa beside him.
Vincent looked at Elisia and smiled. “I assume that Narcissa makes twenty?” She nodded and smiled back at him. Then he spoke to Narcissa. “Narcissa, do you feel up to a trip to the Tandin world?”
Narcissa lit up, “Why Vincent, child, what a very silly question! You know perfectly well that I love exploring
new places in the tunnels.”
Vincent chuckled at the elderly woman. Then he looked at Tanimus. “Uncle Tanimus, we know what happened to our parents from Dr. Vlas’journal and from Narcissa’s account. Even though it is painful, I would really like to know what happened from your perspective.” Tanimus then began to explain everything that happened when Loren and Vincent were nearly kidnapped. “I was still in the tunnels on my way to your maternal grandparents’ home when I received the telepathic message from Gaylin that Loren and Vincent had been attacked. Gaylin showed me that he was being shot in the solarium, and he showed me the door out of which Loren had escaped with Vincent. The last thing he was able to do before he died was to help Loren to connect with me telepathically, so I could track her in the city and try to get to her and rescue her and Vincent. My wife, Letha, was carrying Elisia, and my parents-in-law were with her, as I passed them running through the tunnels. They were terrified and in shock, but I was relieved that they were safely headed for our world. When I arrived at the solarium, Gaylin had already bled to death.
“I couldn’t even get a third of the way to Loren before she had already put Vincent’s clothes on a discarded baby doll, had wrapped Vincent in trashed linen, and had laid him in the window-well behind St. Vincent’s hospital.
Then she decoyed the men who were chasing them. I knew that I couldn’t get to both of them in time, and the
weather was severely cold, which made me worry that Vincent would die of exposure if I didn’t find someone closer to rescue him. Our people have known about your world from the time Father first organized it, and we knew that you had high ideals and also took care of people lost by the world above, so I began searching among your people for a receptive mind. Narcissa’s mind was very open and receptive, and she followed my promptings flawlessly.
“While I was prompting Narcissa, I was also tracking Loren. It broke my heart when the men caught up with her before I could. She absolutely refused to reveal where she had put Vincent. The last thing I saw was what she did, Adrian’s cruel and furious expression as he strangled the life out of her. Then he just left her body lying in the alley. My brother and I could always tell the difference between our wives, but it was severely heart-wrenching to carry Loren, who looked so much like my Letha, back home to our grieving family. Of course, we closed that home down immediately, sealed up the tunnel access, and sold the property.”
&nb
sp; Vincent was sober as he told his uncle, “Thank you Uncle Tanimus. That now gives us a complete picture of exactly what happened.”
Elisia then asked Vincent, “Vincent, you have now spent about a week participating with awareness in Catherine’s dreams since you found her. Before that, you didn’t realize that she was alive, so you couldn’t really make sense out of what you were seeing in the visions. What have you learned now about the fears she is facing?” Everyone’s eyes turned to Vincent, and he felt their concern for Catherine as he answered Elisia. “Catherine’s fears are fueled by an overwhelming combination of emotions stemming from the events that occurred following my illness. Part of her problem is a sense of guilt. Catherine blames herself for not telling me that she was pregnant and not staying below with me. She was trying to protect me from burdens that she thought I was still too weak to trouble me with. Catherine knew that I was already distressed that our connection was severed. She just wanted to wait until I was stronger and more emotionally stable to tell me we were expecting a child, especially when I didn’t even remember that we had married, let alone conceived a child together.
“Her nightmares are a strange combination of symbolic terrors and straightforward frightening memories. There have been recurring images of various venomous snakes.
I am convinced that they represent Gabriel with his shots of first truth serum and then the nearly fatal dose of morphine. Catherine endured an horrifying ordeal during the time that she was missing. With the time I have spent participating in her nightmares, I think that I have finally pieced together most of what happened to her.”
Elisia said softly, “Go ahead and tell us, Vincent. The more we know about what has trapped her in this state, the easier it will be for us to help you to free her from it.”
Vincent then went on with the account. “The last time I saw Catherine before she was kidnapped, she had wanted to tell me something. When she saw how distressed I was over not being able to feel her need to talk to me, because I had to wait to actually see it on her face, she just hugged me and told me not to worry about it. I now know that she had wanted to tell me then that she was pregnant. Later, she decided to go ahead and tell me, and she sent a note down with Bennie asking me to meet her at the tunnel access in the basement of her apartment building. When she left work and walked down into the parking garage to go home, so she could come down to me, she was betrayed by the corrupt District Attorney, John Moreno, and he handed her over to Gabriel’s men.
“Catherine had given Gabriel’s crime notebook to Elliott Burch for his cryptographers to decipher, and that was what Gabriel wanted to know. Gabriel imprisoned Catherine in an abandoned warehouse, and he had his doctor injecting truth serum into her, trying to get her to tell him where the notebook was. She refused to tell him. Catherine was emotionally spent from dealing with my illness. She was pregnant and suffering with morning sickness. She was cut off from me empathically, and she was being drugged and subjected to psychological torture. At that warehouse, Catherine found some pipes that she was able to tap out an S.O.S. on, and our Helpers relayed the message to Pascal. I tried to rescue her then, but Gabriel’s men managed to get her moved to the old Battery
Arms building before I could reach her. Since I still couldn’t feel her, I didn’t know where she was being held after that failed rescue attempt.
“When Gabriel saw that I was the one coming for her, his goal changed. He was no longer interested in the notebook. Instead, he was obsessed with taking our child. The torture for Catherine then became excruciating as she was imprisoned in a small room, isolated and alone, with the knowledge that our child would be taken from her as soon as he was born. Gabriel lied to me when he locked me in the electrified cage in the basement of his mansion. He claimed that he had allowed Catherine to hold Little Jacob after he was born before he killed her. Catherine was never allowed to even touch her baby after he was born. Gabriel immediately ordered his doctor to administer what should have been a fatal dose of morphine, and then they took our baby out of the door and left Catherine to die alone.
“Catherine used the last bit of strength she had to break out of the restraints they had left her in on the delivery table. She had heard me tearing through Gabriel’s barriers trying to get to her. So, she used her failing strength to come to me by climbing up the stairs to the roof. My little Catherine is so very courageous! Most women would have given up and died from that kind of brutal treatment. It sent her spinning into this traumatic nightmare, but she is bravely hanging on.”
Father spoke to Elisia at that point. “Elisia, I am really intrigued by the treatment that you spoke of. I don’t care if it can’t be explained if it will help Catherine. We definitely believe in miracles in our world.”
Peter added to Father’s comments. “Did I understand correctly that we will get to help with this treatment?”
Tanimus answered them. “Yes, you will see first hand how it works, because you will be part of the treatment. It will be easier for you to understand when we get there.
You will be joining in the combined mental strength of other powerful Tandin minds as we support Vincent, so he can go into Catherine’s mind and retrieve her. There isn’t an adequate way to describe it. You really have to experience it to fully comprehend how healing the process can be.”
Father spoke up with a question. “Tanimus, obviously yours and Elisia’s mental powers are quite advanced. Can the two of you not simply wake Catherine up yourselves now?”
Tanimus smiled as everyone looked expectantly at him for his explanation. “Father, let me ask you a question first. What is Vincent’s physical condition?”
Father had concern in his voice as he replied.
“Actually, Vincent is still not fully recovered from the ordeals he has endured. He has had two serious illnesses in his life, both of which severely taxed his heart. I have also had to remove bullets from his chest on a few occasions. Vincent still hasn’t caught up on the sleep he needs for his body to repair itself. Peter and I are both very worried about him.”
Tanimus nodded his head as he continued. “We have felt both Vincent’s impaired condition and your community’s concern for him. To answer your question, yes, it is possible that Elisia and I could just wake Catherine up ourselves, but her condition is not simply physical impairment. Catherine’s psychological health is also compromised. Her mind and spirit need healing, and Vincent is the one best qualified to accomplish that by rescuing her from the nightmare she is trapped in. She has convinced herself that she failed both Vincent and her baby, and she desperately needs Vincent to pull her out of this and wake her up.
“Given Vincent’s current physical condition, it would be best to perform this procedure in our world, where we have an advanced monitoring system to scan both Vincent’s body and Catherine’s when he attempts to enter her nightmare and wake her up. The chamber there has been prepared to enhance this process and make it more conducive to relaxation and faith. Over the centuries, we have also found that this method works far more effectively when family members participate with their added love and support. This is especially important in this case, because Vincent himself is not completely well and strong. We have family members in our world with far stronger spirits than bodies who want to help wake Catherine up. They weren’t physically able to make the trip here, but they are waiting to help us there. The trip to our world will give us the greatest chance for success, and it will help to heal two worlds. Our world has been in pain ever since we lost Vincent, and if we are successful in waking Catherine up, your world will be healed by her restoration.”
Peter looked at Father and grinned. “I guess we’re going to Tandin medical school!”
Father chuckled at him and nodded, and then he said, “Well, I suppose we had better get packed up and get a good night’s sleep, so we can be well rested and ready for tomorrow’s trip.”
Elisia made a final comment before everyone left.
“Bear in mind that it to
ok us about three days to get here. With a larger group, as well as the necessity of taking time to nurse and change Little Jacob along the way, it will probably take about four days to get back to our world.
So, pack accordingly.”
Susan approached Elisia. “I have rooms for you and your uncle, if you would like to stay with us here tonight.” Elisia smiled at her. “That would be wonderful! Please take Uncle Tanimus to his room. He is a lot more tired than he would ever admit. I’m going down to our Tandin replacements for Father’s people, who are waiting in the tunnels to go on to Father’s world. Ill get our bags from them, and 111 be back up shortly.” Susan smiled and escorted Tanimus from the room.
Elisia looked at Jamie and said, “Be sure to pack your bow and arrows, little Huntress. The way may be treacherous, because we must pass through tunnels and passageways which have not been used and secured for many years in order to reach our world. Have everyone bring whatever weapon they can safely handle for protection.”
Jamie smiled at her and said, “Mouse made a new crossbow for me, which is much more powerful than my bow.”
Beauty and the Beast Page 29