Rayne awoke the next morning to the bright rays of sun peeking through the curtains in her room, feeling well-rested. She yawned, stretched, and stared up at the ceiling, her mind immediately going to work.
She found it odd that her sleep patterns had evened out and were not as fretful as before. Since she'd been staying with Camden in his home, the nightmare had not bothered her once. She couldn't explain it. Could it be because she wasn't lying in her own bed where she felt the most threatened?
No, that's not it.
If that were true, then she wouldn't have had it that night at the hotel. Was it the secure feeling of being around Camden? She was near him at the hotel, but still, it had presented itself. Of course, she hadn't really known him them. She hadn't known that he was a vampire and what he was capable of.
Maybe so.
Throwing the covers off, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched yet again. She didn't bother to look at the clock. They had no new leads as far as she knew and nowhere to go at this point, so there was no need worrying about the time.
Rayne went through the motions of showering and making herself presentable for the day. She dressed in a pair of jeans and a Washington State University T-shirt, with a little makeup and her long auburn hair pulled into a high, straight ponytail.
She ventured from her room and down to the kitchen where she grabbed a banana and stood at the counter wondering what the day would hold for her. She knew she had a lot of thinking to do after everything she'd learned last night.
Vampires and zombies. Who knew?
Finishing her fruit, she tossed the peel and pulled out her phone. She typed a quick message.
"You up?"
A few seconds passed before her phone sounded with a reply from Camden.
"Vampire, remember? No sleep required. Come on up."
She put her phone into her pocket and climbed to the second floor, followed the hall around to his dark corridor, and laughed as he opened the door before she could knock.
"You know, I can't decide if it's creepy or not that you can watch me on camera," she said jokingly.
He laughed and closed the door behind her. "It's not creepy. As adorable as you may be, it's for security purposes only. I assure you." He said almost mockingly.
Rayne rolled her eyes and fought against the blush that attempted to grace her cheeks. "Sure it is."
She looked around the room that she had seen for the first time yesterday, and her eyes landed on the bed. She inhaled sharply and quickly turned away to stomp down the embarrassment that flooded her system.
Camden crossed the room back to his computer and sat in the chair.
"Why don't you have shutters installed to keep the sun out during the day? It would beat staying cooped up in here."
A small smile played at the corner of his mouth. "I do."
She shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "Then why don't you use them?"
He shrugged. "I figured it would be more comfortable and easier for you to adapt to everything happening around you, if you could see outside."
She shook her head. Was he being serious? He was giving up his freedom during the day so she could feel more comfortable?
"That's ridiculous. Close the shutters and come out of this dungeon."
Camden laughed. "It's ok Rayne, I've already banned you from going outside. The least I can do is let you look at it."
She pressed her mouth into a thin line and gave him a skeptical look. "I appreciate your concern but close the damn shutters. I don't want to look outside today."
He laughed. She could be rather cute when she was frustrated. "Ok, ok," he said, and typed something into the computer.
Instantly, there was a grinding sound like a motor somewhere in the distance. The attic, maybe?
"Happy?"
Rayne gave a smug smile. "Yes."
Camden swiveled his chair around to face her. He was actually thankful that she'd insisted on closing the shutters. He was getting rather bored all by himself. He stood and walked to the door.
"Now that I can go out, I have something to show you," he said and led her down the hall and into the study.
He took a key from his pocket, opened the very bottom drawer of her grandfather's desk, and pulled out a very old, beaten-down, tattered book. Cradling the item in his hands, he leaned against the desk and motioned for Rayne to have a seat in the cushiony chair.
She furrowed her eyebrows in question as she moved around to take a better look.
"It's our history book."
A smile creased her face and excitement bubbled in her belly. She was fascinated just by the fact that vampires even existed, but to be able to read the history of the entire species, she couldn't wait!
She sat and pulled the chair closer, hovering over the ancient artifact as her fingers gently caressed the decrepit binding. No wording was decipherable on the cover, but there were faint traces that there had been some there at one time. The dark brown leather was dried and cracked in the places that it still clung to the book, but the rest was ripped or torn away.
She looked up at him, and he smiled. "I'm afraid to touch it."
Camden laughed. "You wouldn't be able to read this one, anyway. It's written in Latin and most of the pages are horribly damaged." He leaned down and pulled another book from the same drawer. This one was much newer, with a solid white cover and nothing but the words "A History" in the bottom right corner.
Camden removed the old book and replaced it in the drawer, giving Rayne the second one. "I had it translated."
She couldn't believe it. He'd thought of everything. She excitedly took the book. "This is incredible!"
He nodded and moved to stand in front of the desk. "I'll leave you to it. I have a few things that I need to do."
Rayne nodded and anxiously opened the cover as he disappeared into the hallway.
*****
Camden made his way back to his room and reached under his desk to a small, hidden mini fridge. Pulling out a clear bag full of crimson liquid, he ripped the corner off and took a few sips before sitting down at the computer. He had some research to do, but he wasn't sure where to start.
Staring at the keyboard, he willed the information to come to him. Finally, after coming up empty handed, he opened the Internet and typed in the name "Christophe."
He wasn't expecting anything to jump out at him, and it didn't. The results he received were more or less just people of the present day named Christophe, an actor or two, a few writers, but nothing of any use. There has to be somewhere to start.
He sat back in the chair and drained the rest of the blood from the bag. He did have a long list of vampires that he could contact, but he doubted that any of them would be of any help. He couldn't very well tell them everything that was happening, and it would be difficult to explain his inquiries otherwise.
His only option at this point was to hope that Christophe showed back up at Madam Laurie's tonight and have him followed. It was very risky, and more than likely, this guy would figure them out before they got any real information, but it was all they had. There was nowhere else to go. Camden reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing Connor's number.
The vampire answered on the first ring. "Yeah boss?"
Camden smiled at his friend's greeting. "Feel like going on a run tonight?" he asked and laughed when his companion replied.
"Do fish swim?"
*****
Rayne sat back in the chair, her back cramping from having hunched over the book for several hours and her stomach growled loudly, breaking the staunch silence of the room. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that she had immersed herself in the book for more than four hours and it was now bordering on two PM.
Her mind was reeling. She'd taken in so much information since she'd began that she was afraid her brain was going to burst at the seams. She pushed away from the desk and moved toward the door when something in the straight-backed chair caught her eye, and a smile creased her lips. It was the book she'd left the day before, "The Iliad."
She grabbed it and made her way down to the kitchen. She needed to get something in her system before she did anymore digging. She went through the motions of making a sandwich, but her mind wasn't really paying attention.
From what she'd learned from the book, in essence, the first vampire appeared around the third century when a man sold his soul to the devil in exchange for power and immortality. It wasn't until after a ferocious, demonic beast appeared and bit him, that he learned the true, dire consequences of his deal. Because of his bargain with the lord of pure evil, he himself became as evil as his new master and was transformed into, "the dark one." He was forced to collect souls for the underworld as his payment for the gifts that he was given, in the form of turning others into soul collectors as well. Because light banishes darkness, representing all that is good in the world, he would forever roam the night, never feeling the sun on his skin, lest it purify him and take away his evil gifts in death.
It was so hard to believe. It all sounded like a horrible fairy tale, and she just wanted to get to the end of it.
Rayne pulled out a stool and sat at the counter, eating her sandwich as she thumbed through, "The Iliad." She needed something to change the subject and occupy her mind for a while so it could process all the information being crammed into it at once.
She searched for the section of the book that told of the Trojan Horse. It was and always would be her favorite. Taking a bite of her sandwich, she found the part she was looking for and furrowed her eyebrows in question at a small envelope tucked between the pages.
"What?" she asked herself out loud as she opened it and pulled out a note and a small, unmarked key.
Dearest Rayne,
I knew that you would find this letter. There was a never a doubt in my mind. It proves that you are still that little girl at heart that I lost so long ago, and even now, my chest swells with pride.
I want you to know that it was never my intention for any of this to happen. I do not regret saving your life all those years ago, and I only hope that I can do so again now.
Pay very close attention to what you are about to read. There are some things that you must know, but I cannot tell you in a single letter. I cannot take the risk of someone else finding it, so I have divided everything and hid them in separate locations. Only you can understand the clues that I have left.
Always stay near Camden. He will protect you. You are the most precious thing in my world, and THE DAY YOU WERE BORN was the best day of my life.
I love you, Rayne. Always remember that.
With Love,
Grandpa
P.S. – You will find these numbers very helpful.
Rayne could only stare in amazement. What more could there possibly be to learn? Had he known more than he led Camden and the others to believe? Why didn't he tell them?
Scribbled at the bottom of the page was a combination of letters and number.
WK44872. What does that mean?
She couldn't recall ever having seen or heard it before. Racking her brain was leading her nowhere. She thought of asking Camden.
But should I tell him? If Grandpa didn't, then there must be a reason.
Letting the paper fall to the counter, her mind ran over all the possibilities.
He did say to stay close to Camden.
How could he protect her if she didn't tell him what was going on? She nodded to herself and pulled out her cell phone. She typed in a quick message and hit send.
Within seconds, Camden walked through the door into the kitchen. "What's up?"
Rayne held out the paper to him and watched as he took it and read.
He gave a questioning look. "Where did this come from?"
She pointed to the book on the counter.
He shook his head and stared at the paper.
"I don't recognize those numbers. Do you?"
Camden studied it a while longer. "No." He paused. "We might could do an Internet search on them, though. That might tell us something."
Rayne nodded and jumped down from the stool, leaving her half-eaten sandwich behind. With all the excitement, she was no longer worried about food.
He led her upstairs to his room and sat at the computer. Typing the phrase into the search engine, they both seemed to hold their breath as they waited for the results.
The first page that appeared was for a bank, Winston-Klein Bank and Trust.
Rayne fondled the key in her hand. "A safe deposit box, maybe?"
Camden shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know what else it could be."
He looked through the website, found a phone number and address, jotted it down, and handed the paper to Rayne. "It's on the other side of the city. They'll likely be closed by the time we get there. We'll go first thing in the morning."
She nodded and watched as he stood.
Camden took a few steps closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
What was he doing?
Comforting her. Everywhere she turned there were more pieces to the puzzle being thrown at her. It was all so surreal. As if everything else hadn't been enough, obviously there was more. She wasn't sure how much more she could take. His embrace seemed to last forever, but she found that it was extremely comforting, and she didn't want it to end.
"We'll figure this out," he said quietly and pulled away.
Rayne nodded. She knew they would. One way or another, they would get to the bottom of it all.
"We'll take it easy tonight, relax a little, and give ourselves time to process," he said with a smile. "We'll pick up again tomorrow."
"Good plan," she replied with a smile matching his own as she turned to leave his room.
"Hey," he said, before she made it out the door. "How about a movie?" He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a DVD case. "I've got just about every movie you can think of."
He was well aware of what she was going through and knew that she could probably use an excuse to get her mind off of the situation at hand, and he wanted to give that to her.
She smiled. A movie definitely sounded like a good idea. "Meet you downstairs at six?"
He winked. "It's a date."