Chapter Twenty Five: The Dangers We Hide

Thebes, Greece
1925

It was a month after Bates had turned him into a vampire. Aiden knew that Bates did it to save his life, however he couldn’t feel grateful with his current cursed existence. Bates had warned him repeatedly to forget about his family, not to step a foot close to them. He told him he no longer belonged with the living. While Aiden cared about no one from his previous life, there was one person he couldn’t stop thinking about. “Eternity is such a long time to spend alone.” He had told Bates in one of their many arguments.

“Marcus”. His brother’s name left his mouth with a nostalgic smile. He was standing in front of their small house, almost cottage-like. He had been lurking around waiting for his brother’s arrival.

“Aiden!” Marcus exclaimed with a wide grin and jumped in his brother’s arms. Aiden had disappeared off the face of earth for an entire month and they had assumed that the worst had happened. They had believed that Aiden was no more, that he had died.

The tightness of Aiden’s hug had taken Mark by surprise. His brother had never been exceptionally powerful. In fact, Aiden had always been weaker than most. “I missed you too, Mark”

Mark pulled away and was checking his brother, as if seeing him for the first time. “You look different”. And indeed, he was. Aiden looked like an enhanced version of himself. His green eyes seemed brighter in a way, his chiseled jaw was sharper than ever, and his features looked more defined.

Aiden gave a small smile, thinking that his brother had no idea how different he had become. “I will tell you all about it, let’s just leave here, I don’t wish to be seen by our parents.” He said then his eyes scanned the area, checking if someone was around. He didn’t wish to be seen by anyone; he should never be seen by anyone.

Mark knitted his eyebrows, “But why? They would be elated at the sight of you”

“I will explain everything. I promise I will”

Mark nodded his head, albeit hesitantly, and they both left together. There was a small meadow where they both used to play, and Mark knew that Aiden was taking them there. The night had fallen on their town, darker than most despite the full moon. . They had been warned several times by their parents to not wander around at night, especially on the nights of the full moon.

They arrived at their secret place, and they stood face to face. “You know it’s dangerous to come here at night, Aiden.” Mark fearfully looked around them, before turning to Aiden with wide scared eyes, “Especially not at nights like this.”

Aiden gave a tender smile, “But if you join me brother, we will have nothing to fear.” His smile grew bigger, “We can be together… forever. You will do all the things you have always wanted and see all the places you have wished to see.”

Mark shook his head slowly with knitted eyebrows, “Brother, I do not understand” He grabbed Aiden’s arm and tried to pull him towards the main road, but Aiden wouldn’t budge. A look of concern passed Mark’s eyes; for the first time he was afraid of Aiden. Something about him was unsettling to Mark, even though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly.

“Let me show you” With that, Aiden’s face morphed into his vampire visage. His eyes turned black and were surrounded by redness as if they were bruised, and two fangs appeared between his lips

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She wasn’t sure what made it sound like such a great idea for her to ride with Cedric, but he was the one who suggested it. *“Rather ordered it.”* She thought while sitting in the passenger seat, her eyes would glance at the unconscious form of her mother in the backseat. Cedric didn’t spare her a glance; his eyes remained focused on the road ahead, and she could notice his fists clenching and unclenching on the steering wheel. She fidgeted in her seat then without looking at him she said, “Thank you… for helping us.”

There was a long silence following her words that she thought he wouldn’t answer at all, but he surprised her, “It’s nothing. I just need to find that witch, Victoria.” His perilous tone caused a shiver to run down her spine. “SHe had the guts to fool me.” He scoffed, “Unbelievable.” She decided to not say anything. Lorraine had thought that perhaps they formed a sort of weak connection; the last time she saw him in her dream, he told her who he was, he told her about Darla. However, she still wasn’t sure what to expect from him.

When she saw they were in Sumter street she turned to him sharply, “Hey, we’re supposed to go to the hospital.”

“She doesn’t need to go to the hospital. She sustained no injuries whatsoever, just a bit of blood loss, which you can handle at home.” When Cedric felt Lorraine was about to argue, “Are you sure you want to take her to the hospital? Do you want the sheriff and the mayor to ask questions and know about your little inheritance? I’m not sure whether they’ll kill you or burn you at the stake.” He turned to her, “Fear can drive humans to do unspeakable things, believe me I’d know.”

Cedric pulled in her driveway with Bates right after him. Bates offered to carry suzan to her room, while Bates kept giving guilty looks towards Lorraine. When they got inside, Lorraine guided Bates to Suzan’s room. She kept fussing over her, but Bates said, “Lorraine, I think it’s better if you let her rest. She’s been through a lot.” She hesitantly nodded her head, and left the room with him, closing the door with a soft click.

She went downstairs to find Cedric eyes Aiden condescendingly, “You couldn’t even do a simple task; it was really simple Aetos.”

Lorraine and Bates shared a look, “I think you guys need to chill. Aiden was taken by surprise; it happens to the best of us.” She said joining the two.

“I’m sorry.” Aiden said to her with apologotc eyes. “Seeing him like that, it’s…”

Lorraine interrupted him, “I understand.” She gave him a reassuring smile; he had told her about Mark and what happened between them, despite briefly. “We won today, that’s all that matters.” She looked at the other two, “Make yourself at home.” She looked down at the dried blood on her chest, then with a scrunched nose she continued, “I’m in a desperate need of a shower.”

When Lorraine came back, freshly showered, with puffy red eyes, it wasn’t hard to guess that she was crying. “Now that she’s back.” Bates started, then turned to her. “Cedric thinks this isn’t the end of it. He thinks others will come after you.” When she gave him a questioning look, he explained, “Aiden didn’t see the vampire who attacked you, and Victoria is still out there.”

Lorraine nodded her head, “So, you guys get Victoria and then we’re done. I mean cut off the head of the snake, right?” Cedric and Bates shared a look that clearly showed they didn’t believe it. “Right?” She asked again.

“Vampires don’t usually follow witches. It’s not unheard of, but it’s rare. We’re not enemies, we’re not friends, but we keep away from each other.” Bates explained, then tried to give a smile, “But she could be a good lead.”

There was a long moment of silence, Aiden sat next to Lorraine and held her hand. She gave him a small smile, then her eyes widened. “You know, I’m not sure if this is important, but one of the vampires holding me had a tattoo on his wrist.” She told them how it looked, although she didn’t understand why she thought it could be important.

“Oh hell no!” Cedric said, jolting up from his seat.

Lorraine began to feel more worried, “A Deathless shouldn’t say hell no.” She turned to Bates, “It’s bad if he said hell no, like majorly bad, right?” Bates seemed just as confused at Cedric’s reaction so he looked at him with inquiring eyes.

“I have to go. Stay here, don’t leave the house.” Cedric turned to Bates, “Don’t leave her alone.”

Once he left, Lorraine turned to Bates, “You have no idea what’s going on, right?” He only nodded and she let out a sigh. “This sucks.”

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Cedric was in the middle of the cemetery kneeling next to one of the bodies. He had checked them one by one and just like he had suspected; they all had the same tattoo in the same place. He cursed under his breath, stood up, and fished for his phone. “Sheriff Fisher.” Cedric heard the voice of the man after the second ring. “I found your missing nurse. She’s at home and she remembers nothing.”

“Do you know what happened to her?” The sheriff.

“Vampires. She’s at home with no memory of what had happened. Bring your men to clear the area.” Cedric said hurriedly. He was hitting two birds with one stone. He would earn the trust of the town’s sheriff and mayor; at the same time, he would not need to clean that mess on his own. The sheriff told him they would be there as soon as possible and got the location from him. Cedric decided that it was time that he focused on them; he knew quite well that if one of them was in town then the others would not take long to follow. However, one question remained unanswered, *“Why would they follow Victoria Delvaux?”*

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