Chapter Twelve: A Dream Come True

Aiden told her they needed to talk, and asked her to go with him to his house. Lorraine was reluctant to say the least. She had even demanded to know what he was and how he could move that fast and who was the man who attacked her. However, Aiden promised to give her all the answers once they arrived at his house. He told her if he wanted to hurt, he could have done that earlier. *“His argument was solid.”* She decided to herself.

The ride was quiet, unlike Lorraine’s mind. It was still reeling with the events that had happened. She had always been slow in processing her feelings and thoughts, so she believed that her mind still hadn’t registered what had just happened, hence she was calm. Because she knew that once her mind put all the facts together, she would be screaming bloody murderer while running around town, *“probably naked.”* She thought to herself with a snort.

The car came to a stop in front of a house, a grand house. Lorraine exited the car and allowed her eyes to examine the building. It was a two-story house, an eighteenth-century splendid house. She blinked a couple of times, then turned to Aiden, “That’s where you live?”

“It’s not really my house”

“Mr. Bright’s?” She asked in a tone that indicated how she already knew the answer, so Aiden only gave a useless silent nod to her question.

They entered through the huge doors of the house, and she was guided to a room that has a fireplace. There was a big painting above the fireplace, in which stood a man dressed in a suit from the Victorian era; she could recognize it after having read about it. The man oddly resembled Bates, and she blinked a couple of times then snapped her head towards Aiden. “Is that…?”

Aiden was about to answer her when Mr. Bright entered the room. He directed a questioning look towards Aiden, then turned to Lorraine with a fake polite smile over his face. “Ms. Dawson, it’s an honor to have you in our humble house”

“Humble?” She said incredulously. “There’s nothing humble about your house Mr. Bright. It could pass as a manor from what I’m seeing”. She then turned to the paining then back to him and with an accusing tone, she said, “Great painting by the way”

Bates was taken aback by the girl’s attitude and then he noticed her unkempt look. His eyes drifted back to Aiden, and they seemed to be sharing some silent conversation which Lorraine couldn’t hear. She made a show of clearing her throat, “I believe we have matters to discuss.”

They sat down and Aiden was the one to do all the talking. He told Bates what happened in the woods. When Aiden called the thing that attacked Lorraine a vampire, she exclaimed, “Excuse me? A vampire?”

“He ran away, and I had to help her” Aiden finished telling his tale to Bates, ignoring Lorraine’s frantic question. However, Bates was contemplating his earlier suspicions regarding Lorraine.

*“She doesn’t look like she knows anything.”* Bates closed his eyes, let out a sigh, then looked at Lorraine dead in the eyes, “There are other creatures, other than humans, and they live and exist with them. Some keep to themselves, others try to co-exist with humans, but there are others who prey on humans. The man who attacked you today is apprently a vampire. A day walker.”

“Vampires are real? An honest-to-God vampire? Like Darcula sort of vampires or are we talking Twilight kind of vampires?” She asked with knitted eyebrows. “And why would a vampire attack me?”

“It could be…” Aiden trailed off, his eyes glancing at Bates, like he was asking for permission to reveal the rest of the information.

Bates rubbed his temples, “We think there is someone after you, a being who is immortal like vampires, but holds much more power. He’s what we call a Deathless. A deathless is usually stronger than your average vampire. They’re originally witches or warlocks, and when they turn they maintain some of their magic.”

“Wow! Magic exists too.” She mumbled with a dazed look. They gave her a moment to process what she had been told. She kept opening and closing her mouth, trying to say something, but the racing thoughts rendered her speechless. Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it. “So, that deathless person, uhm… why does he want to kill me?” She then blinked a couple of times, “And how are you connected to all of this?” Her eyes turned to Aiden, “Are you… a vampire?” She stuttered the question, thinking of how ridiculous her question was.

Aiden casted his eyes, almost looking shameful, before he gave a tight nod of his head. “I am, and so is Bates. I was turned in 1925 in Greece.” His eyes drifted to Bates, who only gave him a short nod, and got up to grab a drink. He felt like he needed it. “Bates was the one who turned me; he’s much older.”

“That makes you like, a century old?” Lorraine asked in a skeptical tone, wondering to herself how old was Bates, if he was much older as Aiden said.

Aiden gave a nod of his head, then his look changed to an apologetic one, “I thought about telling you, especially after what happened with Judy last night, but I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.” He let out a frustrated breath, “I really wanted you to know about all of this, but I thought I could protect you from this world, from us.”

She shook her head, unsure of what she should say or do at that point. Things were confusing to say the least. Lorraine wondered if Aiden had ulterior motives for wanting to be her friend, but she couldn’t figure out what they could be. “So, are you saying that the deathless was the one who attacked Judy and killed Jason? Wait, was Jason a vampire too?” She asked with wide eyes, the realization shocking her to the core.

“He was, and we think whoever killed him was very aware of what he was. That’s why he cut off his head; it’s one of the ways to kill a vampire.” Bates explained taking a sip of his drink. “I don’t know if Cedric knows of the vampire’s death or not or if he was the one who killed him, but…”

Lorraine interrupted him, “Hold on, did you say Cedric?”

Aiden snapped his head towards her, “Do you know him?” He saw the recognition in her tone and it scared him. Cedric wasn't one to just let his prey live.

“Oh my god! He was the one I saw in my dream, that’s how I know about the tombstone of Darla Octavius.” She turned to Bates, “He showed it to me, twice. He told me his name was Cedric.” She shook her head with her eyes closed, she tried to recall the details of the dream. “I asked him about her, if she was his lover, and he said something along the lines of her being everything.”

“Cedric Bloodworth was in your dreams?” Bates asked, surprise clear in his tone. *“This isn’t like him.”* He thought, and Lorraine nodded her head.

“But why does he want to kill me?”