Chapter Thirty One: Our Last Hope

Aiden called Bates, who put the call on speaker, and told him he had captured a vampire lurking outside Lorraine’s house. “It’s the same vampire who attacked Lorraine in the woods. He told me that Victoria isn’t the instigator, she’s following The Brotherhood.”

“Well, did it cross your mind to ask him why The Brotherhood wants her?” Cedric inquired with a bite in his tone. Despite not having any tangible evidence, he was growing more suspicious of Aiden by the minute. Bates gave him a scalding look, he didn’t understand why Cedric was against Aiden like that. Or perhaps he had a theory, but his maker wasn’t willing to discuss it. Before the call ended, they had agreed to meet Aiden at Bates’ and question the vampire together.

“What about Raymond?” His name left her mouth hesitantly when she asked about him. “Shouldn’t we go and see how he’s connected to Victoria?” She turned to Cedric, “Do you think my mom knows anything about this whole supernatural thing?”

Cedric shook his head and leaned back on his armchair. “She had no idea what was going on. She was afraid and confused. So, no. It’s highly improbable.” Cedric and Bates decided to see the vampire first, then head to check on Raymond. Lorraine told them she’d try and talk to her mother, maybe she could convince her to tell her more about Raymond.

Bates and Cedric were in the car when Bates decided to talk about his theory. “You know, Aiden cares a great deal about Lorraine. I told you he wouldn’t have just left if it wasn’t important.” Cedric didn’t degnify his words with a reply and remained silent. Bates let out a sigh, “I see the subtle looks you give her, Cedric.” The deathless only turned to him with a questioning raised eyebrow, so Bates decided to elaborate. “You look at her like she’s a woman… like you find her beautiful.”

Cedric remained silent; he did find her beautiful. Who could fault him because of that? She wasn’t the normal type he would go for in women. He had a preference for women with screaming beauty, ones that other men would fear approaching. He liked his women close to perfection, with a special preference towards blondes and redheads. However, Lorraine wasn’t like that. Her fair porcelain skin had certain flaws, ones that might not be seen by the naked eyes. Her long black hair wasn’t silky smooth, but he found himself thinking about holding it in his hand, in a totally inappropriate scenario he saw himself grabbing her by it and her plump full lips, biting down on them.
“She’s a woman.” He resorted to saying. Bates didn’t need to know all the thoughts he had about her looks and her tiny body that, on occasions, would taunt his mind and haunt him.

“A young one, very young. She’s seventeen in highschool. She doesn’t even come close to how you like your women. So, I'm driven to think that there’s more to these looks you give her than just physical attraction.” Bates said with a knowing side look.

“Your interest in my love life is slightly disconcerting.” Cedric retorted with sarcasm, “Do you have a crush on me or something?” Bates only shook his head, and looked out of the window, trying to contain a smile. It was one of Cedric’s powers, diverting then successfully ending a deep conversation.

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Lorraine had tried to talk to Suzan, but she only shot her down. “Lorraine, I don’t want to talk about it now.” Suzan turned away from her. It had always been the same whenever she wanted to talk about her father. It was like a taboo in their house.

“You never want to talk about it, about him.” Lorraine took a step closer and her hand hovered over her mother’s shoulder, “I need to know, mom. Is Raymond Brown really my father?” Lorraine pulled her hand away when she found that her mother had no intention of answering. Somehow, the lack of answer sounded like an answer itself.

She heard a knock on her door, so she left the room abruptly with frustration in her strides. She didn’t wish to push her mother, but she also believed that she had the right to know who her father was. When she arrived at the door she took in a calming breath, then opened the door. She found a tall man standing in front of her. His bony face looked familiar, but she couldn’t place where she had seen him before. She furrowed her eyebrows, and became more confused when she found a girl walking from behind him.

“Who are you?” She was never one to beat around the bush, nor could she muser being polite at that moment.

“My name is John Jonas.” Her eyes widened in recognition of the name, then the man turned to the girl next to him, “This is Sally Smith.” His eyes held a look of desperation, “Ms. Dawson, you're the only one who could help us. You're our last hope.” Lorraine blinked a couple of times, thoroughly confused with the two.

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Bates, Cedric, and Aiden were in the basement of Bates’ house. Cedric had his arms crossed over his chest, with relaxed shoulders, and a nonchalant but equally intimidating look on his face. “So, you want to talk, or would you rather I show you all the ways I can torture the information out of you?” The smirk plastered on his face and the look on his eyes made the vampire slightly fidgety. “Why don’t we start with an easy question, what’s your name?”

“Go to hell!” The vampire spat his words.

Cedric gave a chuckle that sounded menacing enough to unsettle even Bates. “Suit yourself.” He then moved closer and looked the vampire straight in the eyes, “This is going to be fun.” Cedric concentrated enough to get inside his head; the process was always with humans, especially that some vampires build some resistance or sometimes have their minds protected with spells and charms.

He couldn’t see much, but Cedric managed to know his name. Dave. He could see that Dave hadn’t been a vampire for long, how he turned was a blocked memory. However, he could see a memory of Dave hiding in the shadows, behind a tree in front of Lorraine’s house. He had been watching her for some time since the day she had arrived at the town. Cedric pulled away from his mind, with gritted teeth he stared at the vampire. “Dave, you’ve been around us for a while. What do you want with Lorraine?”

Cedric was angry. No, he was furious. He couldn’t believe that Dave had been watching Lorraine from the beginning, yet he failed to notice him. However, that wasn’t the only reason. There was this feeling in him, a thought at the back of his mind that Dave had no right to be watching Lorraine, to be that close to her. That simple thought was enough to make his blood boil.

Protectiveness…
Possessiveness…

Those feelings were not foreign to him. He knew them all too well. Perhaps the latter was more prominent in him. He wasn’t willing to dwell over them at that moment. especially not after the argument he had with her. Dave seemed taken aback by Cedric’s ability to see into his mind. Victoria had assured him that no one could see into his mind. His confidence, or rather arrogance from before, began dispersing. “There are so many of us, we will get what we want.” Despite the underlying threat, it came out with a shaky voice. “You don’t even know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Cedric tilted his head to the side, “We’ll just have to see about that”. His grin widened then he turned to Bates, “Open that cell.” The order was met with slight doubt from Aiden, however Bates complied. “Dave and I need to have a serious talk.” He said, stepping into the cell and closing the door after him.