Kory said nothing for a long time. Dick kindly allowed her time to process this new information as he kept his eyes steadfastly to the road.
"Vampires aren't real." Kory said weakly. "This is all just a dream. A horrible, horrible dream."
Dick chuckled. "After everything you've seen in the last twenty-four hours what I just told you seems completely illogical?"
Kory got quiet again. They spent the next ten minutes in silence save for the rolling of the car and Dick wondering out loud if they should stop for gas soon.
"So," Kory braved after a while. "Is Raven a…"
"Vampire?" Dick finished. "Yes."
"And that thing that attacked me yesterday night?"
"Vampire." He said simply.
"And those things that were at my house?"
"Vampires, all of them."
It was silent again. Kory sat inconspicuously pinching her arm, trying to wake herself up from this horrible nightmare.
She was afraid of asking more questions. She decided to turn her mind of and pay attention to the rapidly passing highway signs and the speedometer. She could see that Dick and Raven had the same need for speed, or maybe it just a vampire thing. Kory shivered. It was a tiny motion, barely noticeable to most but Dick caught it out of the corner of his eye. He reached forward he turned the heat on low.
Kory grumbled, "Thanks."
Dick shrugged. He could sense that Kory had a lot of question, of course she did! But she didn't seem comfortable asking them. Maybe she was just feeling overwhelmed. It had been so long since he had interacted with a human that he had forgotten how to sense their emotions. He decided maybe he should make her feel more comfortable. What was it humans liked?
"So," he started slowly "how about that Taylor Swift."
"Where are you taking me?" Kory asked completely ignoring his attempts at small talk.
"We're going to see Raven at the compound. You'll get to meet other members of the order and she'll explain everything you need to know." He explained.
"And where is this base exactly?"
"It's hidden away." He said vaguely.
She groaned. Great, now she was going to be stuck in this car for God knows how long with this vampire. This is not the way she had planned to start her post graduate life.
"Dick?" Kory said turning towards him for the first time since they had gotten in the car. "How old are you."
He laughed slightly. "For all intents and purposes I'm twenty-two."
"How old are you in actuality?"
Dick's smile faded. "I'm very, very old."
"So how does that work, being a vampire? Are you like dead or… what's the deal with that?"
Dick sighed. "It's like having two lives. Your human life is your first life, and then if in that life if a vampire decides to turn you, you enter your second life. You don't age. You don't get sick. You don't eat food. You just…exist. I guess."
Kory played with the hem of her sweat jacket. It was fascinating, but she didn't know anything about vampire etiquette. She wasn't sure what was appropriate to ask and what wasn't. Screw it. She didn't ask to go on this little road trip. She didn't ask to get pulled into this world; she would ask whatever she damn well pleased.
"You said a vampire has to 'make you', what is that like? I thought that all you had to do was get bitten by a vampire and you would turn." She said.
Dick snorted. "Who told you that? Edward Cullen?"
"Well sorry." Kory snapped. "It's not like I had a vampire friend to consult with me on mythological stereotypes."
"I apologize" Dick said with a small laugh. "No, it's not like that, not exactly. Vampires are very conspicuous and our species is exceptionally small in numbers. For a vampire to turn a human they have to feel some sort of joining. If the joining is true and the bite is made then you become turned. If no joining is made and a human is bitten, they will die."
"So someone had to turn you?" Kory watched Dick slowly nodded his head. "What about the vampire that turned you? Who are they?"
Dick shrugged. "My maker," he said tightly "is still around."
"Oh." Kory could tell he didn't like that particular topic matter and decided to change the subject. "Do you guys drink blood or that another stereotype?"
If Dick were still alive his cheeks would have flushed. A look of absolute shame passed across his face and he winced visibly. "That one is true."
Kory's blood ran cold. Dick seemed to sense this and flashed her a reassuring smile.
"It's purely sustenance, just for survival. Most of us don't even kill humans in the process-"
"Most of you?" Kory interjected. "That's comforting."
"Kory, I'm not going to drink from you." Dick said bringing his attention back to the road.
Kory heard him mumble something under his breath but decided to let it go. In fact she was done with this conversation all together. She had acquired more than enough information for one hour thank you very much. Her head was swimming. She leaned her face against the cool glass, and dozed off. When she awoke it was dark outside. She couldn't see outside her window, only the road in front of the headlights.
The car bumped under the rocky and dry desert road. She could make out a few cactus plants and the outlines of large canyons in the distance. Eventually Dick made a turn and veered off the path. There were no street lights, road signs, or signs of life anywhere nearby. They continued down the remote desert road for a long while.
Kory began to get nervous. She was about to ask where they were when the car suddenly approached a large cast-iron fence. Dick pulled up to an intercom box
"Who is it?" An unknown male voice asked.
"Garfield, you know who it is. Open the gate." Dick said wearily.
"Do you know the password?" This Garfield character replied unable to stifle his amusement.
Dick sighed. "This is really stupid. Let me in."
"I'm afraid if you can't provide the password I cannot allow you to enter the premises. It would be a safety violation." He mocked.
Dick glanced at Kory and then back at the intercom box. "You are so immature." He heaved a deep breath. "Fine. Beautiful dirty dirty rich rich dirty dirty beautiful dirty rich."
A loud buzz noise erupted and the gates pulled open. Dick quickly pulled behind the gates. He drove a ways down a long, smooth driveway until the house came into view. Kory had seen a lot of mansions and a few palaces in her days, but even she let forth a gasp at the sight of the compound. It was a large, Spanish mansion. The compound was completely lighted indicating activity from within. Kory's mouth stood agape even as Dick parked right in front, exited the vehicle, and moved to open the passenger side door.
Kory felt herself having a hard time moving and her entire body was shaking. Dick steered her into the front hall. The inside was even more impressive than the outside. It was completely modernized and the upper level balcony overlooked the entire first floor.
"This is your house?" Kory's voice said in wonder.
"Well technically it's Raven house, but I do live here." He said. "We all do."
Dick asked Kory if she was thirsty and didn't wait for a response before leading her into the kitchen. Kory stopped short when she saw another person already seated at the granite island reading a book. It was that strange boy from the mall yesterday. He glanced up at Kory and returned to his book without giving much notice.
"Gabriel, don't be rude. Please say hello to Kory." Dick said as he searched the nearly completely empty refrigerator for a water bottle.
The boy, Gabriel, closed his book and placed it carefully on the table. "Hello, Kory Anders." His small voice said. "It's nice to see you again."
He stuck out his hand for a shake, which Kory accepted hesitantly. She noted his skin wasn't nearly as cold as Dick's. Under further examination she noted that his face held more color as well.
Kory took a seat at the table while Dick went to find Raven. She took a timid sip of her water and nervously glanced around the kitchen. She couldn't shake the distinct feeling that she was being watched. Gabriel's attention had returned to his book and Dick was nowhere in sight. Kory twisted around in her seat and kept a steadied eye on the door. Nothing. She took a deep breath before turning around.
Standing right in front of her across from the table was a pale, beautiful blonde haired young man. Kory yelped in surprise. She involuntarily threw herself backwards and fell out of her chair. She felt another pair of strong arms catch her before she hit the ground. She opened her previously closed eyes to face her savior.
"Well hi there little lady." His voice was friendly.
Kory felt instantly relaxed. His skin was the color a dusty dark brown. Were all vampires gorgeous?! He set Kory onto her feet.
"H…hi." Kory squeaked.
"The name's Victor, but you can call me Vic." He said forcing his powerful hand into hers. "And this green monster," He said directing her towards the blonde haired one that had sent her to the floor in the first place "Is Garfield."
"Hey, what's up." She said coming out of her latest state of shock.
"Nothing but the ceiling baby." Garfield replied.
She now recognized his voice as the one from intercom outside. Kory laughed politely.
His goofy smiled widened. "You laughed." He said incredulously. "See Gabriel she thinks I'm funny."
"Statistically speaking somebody has to." Gabriel said closing his book and disappearing up a flight of stairs.
"Ignore him." Garfield said without missing a beat. "He's just mad because he inherited his sense of humor from his mother. " Garfield suddenly sniffed the air. "Is-is that you?"
"What?" Kory said suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"You smell delicious." He added.
Kory tensed. She was actually glad when Dick reappeared in the doorway. His eyes were intense and his face was serious.
"The grand tour of the compound will have to wait." His said. "Raven would like to see you immediately."
Kory slowly moved from her chair. She noted the sudden seriousness of everyone's faces. Kory silently followed Dick down a long hallway. They stopped at the end of the hallway in front of large painting of beautiful, dark haired woman. Dick slid the portrait to the side which revealed and keypad. He tapped in a code quicker than Kory could see his fingers move. The keypad lit up, then the wall opened up. Dick led Kory inside. The wall closed behind her leaving her and Dick in complete darkness. Suddenly the space in front of them illuminated. It was another long hallway, except it was lit by rows of candles. Kory followed him until the finally reached a large red door.
Dick knocked quickly three times but didn't wait for a response to enter. The inside was much more modern than the outside. It was a large room with tall columns that looked entirely made out of marble. The low lights lit over a granite conference table surrounded by cushy desk chairs. Raven was seated at the head of the table. Her face looked completely blank.
"Kory Anders," she started. "You are very bad at following directions."
"Ugh…"
"Have a seat."
Both Dick and Kory took seats near the head of the table across from each other. It was then that Kory noticed the large, leather bound book in Raven's lap. It appeared to be ancient and although she only caught a glimpse of what was written on the pages she could see that it was written entirely in Latin. Raven shut the book and placed it in front of her. She was eerily silent for a moment.
"I had a vision of you Kory Anders." She said finally.
"Uh," Kory started unsure how she should respond to that. "O…kay? What does that mean?"
"Raven is the high priestess." Dick said lowly. "The only one of our kind."
"Oh." Kory said, still not sure what any of that was supposed to mean. "O…kay?"
"She has visions of the past, the present, and the future" he further explained.
"I have been practicing the art of divination for over a century now." Raven continued. "Shortly after I was turned I had a vision that coincided with a millennium old prophecy as written by the last high priestess. It said that the false prophet would rise and destroy us all."
"False prophet?" Kory said. "You mean like in the-"
"Book of Revelations?" Raven interjected. "Yes, it is very similar."
Raven and Dick exchanged a dark look. Kory looked between the two of them.
"I'm not sure I understand any of this." She said, shifting uncomfortably.
Dick attempted to reassure her with a half-smile. "Our apologies. We realize this is a lot for you to take in all at once. Let's go back to the beginning."
"The vampire race began over a four-thousand years ago." Raven said her voice sounding mystic underneath the mood lighting and thick air. "It is believed that Akasha of modern day Somalia is the progenitor or the first vampire. Legend has it that she infected her tribe with the vampire gene which spread across the continent and later the world."
"The blood of the original tribe is especially powerful, but exceedingly rare." He glanced at Raven. "The bloodline may not even exist today-"
"Anyways-" Raven interrupted. "A descendent of Queen Akasha, Sophie-Anne became the first High Priestess. Over a thousand years ago she had a vision of the end of days, that said the beast will rise and destroy the vampire race and the false prophet will be its agent."
She paused to give Kory a moment to process this information. Kory remained silent and her face stone. Raven took that as an implication that she understood, or at least was listening.
"After I was turned I had a vision, a vision of that the false prophet would arrive. We have spent the past nearly hundred years searching for him."
It was at that moment that Kory became acutely aware that Dick and Raven's penetrating eyes were glued intensely on her. Her spine shot up straight and her blood ran cold.
"What, you think I'm the false prophet?" She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.
"No." Dick assured her quickly. "That's not it at all."
"Then what?" Suddenly Kory was standing and her voice raised. "What does any of this have to do with me? Why did you bring here? Three days ago I didn't even know you people existed and here I am in a…in a…in a dungeon and you're going on and on about vampire prophecies and end of days! What do you want with me! Tell me!"
Raven and Dick remained silent after Kory's outburst. While Raven looked completely expressionless, Dick's face flashed with concern or maybe skepticism. Kory felt Dick's cold hand rest on her shoulder and gently push her back into her seat. Without a word she allowed herself to be pulled into her chair.
"Kory," his voice came barely above a whisper.
Kory raised her head in time to make eye contact with Dick. Between being attacked by vampires and being whisked away to the desert in the middle of the night she hadn't really realized how deep and blue his eyes were. Their light shone in contrast to his pale skin and she thought they were really quite beautiful. Her heart suddenly sped up. Unbeknownst to Kory at that exact moment Dick felt the same way.
Their brief moment of understanding was interrupted by the sound of Raven clearing her throat. The small smile on Dick's face fell and his head immediately snapped in her direction. Raven's scowl was directed at Dick and she had a scolding look on her face. Whatever she was thinking or feeling at that moment she temporarily ignored while she continued her prognostication.
"I brought you here Kory," she said slowly turning her eyes from Dick back to Kory "because recently I had a vision of you that said you might be our savior."
With that Kory was out of her seat again. "W-what!"
Raven stood up as well, she reached over and put her hand on top of Kory's. A sudden warmth spread within her. Raven's violet eyes pierced right through her and suddenly she felt much more relaxed. She slowly lowered herself back into her seat. Raven removed her hand and just as quickly as the warmth came it vanished. It was a surreal sensation.
"I-" Kory started attempting to remain calm. "I'm not sure I understand. I'm not a vampire. Up until last night I didn't even know vampires existed, how can I be the savior?"
Raven sighed. "I'm not sure. The visions they aren't always clear."
Kory took a deep breath. "And is it possible that maybe you misinterpreted this vision?"
Raven hesitated. "It's possible."
"But Raven is very rarely wrong about these types of things." Dick added. "Regardless we think that the false prophet is aware of your existence and has sent his army to destroy you."
"That's probably why you've been attacked." Raven said.
"But how?" Kory said exasperated. "How can you possibly know all of this? And you said it yourself it might not even be me, and you don't know who this false prophet is."
"Yes, but we are very close to uncovering his identity." Dick said.
"Kory, I wish I had all the answers." Raven said sincerely. "I wish I had the answers to all these questions which my kind has been asking for hundreds of years. I had vision. All I have left now is my faith. You'll have to have some too."
Kory was beyond words. After everything she had just been told, there wasn't much she could say. This had been without a doubt the most overwhelming two days of her life.
"It isn't safe for you to return home tonight." Raven explained.
"But we'll do everything in our power to protect you." Dick supplemented. "Tomorrow we'll install the charm on your property and that should keep you safe. We'll all do patrols in your neighborhood. You will be safe. In the meantime you'll spend the night here."
"No." Kory said. "I don't want to spend the night here. I want to go home."
"I promise you there is no safer place in the world right now, trust me."
Kory pulled her suddenly heavy body out of her chair and dragged herself into the hallway, Dick right behind her.
"Richard," Raven's voice stopped him. "Can I have a word with you?"
Dick stiffened quiet visibly. He told Kory to meet him back in the main house and promised this would only take a second. He dreaded the moment the heavy doors to the conference hall closed behind her.
"Richard." She said again.
"Yes?" He turned around an innocent smile played on his lips. Raven did not seem amused.
"From now on I want to Victor to be Kory's primary guardian." She said.
"What! Why?"
Her eyes narrowed. "I know you Dick and I saw the way you looked at her. You have a bleeding heart for humans."
"I am perfectly capable of doing my job." He snapped.
"I know you are." She countered unaffected by the sudden malice in his tone. "But you have a weakness. It has not been forgotten what happened the last time.
A ripple of anger flowed through him. How dare she bring that up! He inhaled deeply before continuing struggling to keep his voice even. "Raven, with all due respect, that was a long time ago."
"Not long enough." She challenged.
"Don't tell me what's long enough!" His hands slammed down on the table. "I can't un-do what happened." His said calmer. "No matter how much I wish I could."
Raven remained unflinching, her eyes never leaving Dick's face.
Raven was still a relatively young vampire, and unlike many others she could remember her human emotions. She empathized with Dick she could sense his loneliness as long as they had known each other.
She sighed deeply. "Fine. You may remain with her for now. But if I feel like you are getting to close…"
"Thank you, Raven. I appreciate it." He grumbled moving back towards the door.
Dick had known Raven for many years and was almost immune to her mysterious and enigmatic ways. He had learned not to question it, even trusted in it, but still every now and again he couldn't help but wonder about the method of her madness. He shook the thought from his mind, deciding to let it drop as he entered the long hallway the door closing behind him.
His mind was driven forcefully back to not too long ago when he felt himself connecting with Kory. There was an unfamiliar swelling in his chest. He was painfully reminded of how long it had been since he had made such a supernatural connection with anyone.
It was then that Raven's words echoed tauntingly in his mind. You have a bleeding heart for humans. You have a weakness.
He became somewhat angry all over again. He understood that Raven held an immense responsibility to the vampire race, and was just doing what was best for them. It wasn't really fair for him to be mad at her for that. Over a hundred years since it had happened, still his greatest humiliation. No. His greatest shame.
The memories flooded him. He shook them from his mind.
"Stop it." He whispered to himself as the emotions began to overwhelm him.
He stopped short of the entrance of the main house. He was completely unnerved by Raven's warning, and terrified by the validity of it. He denied Raven's folly. The event had happened before she was even born, how could she possibly know the true extent of what he had done? It startled him. The connection with Kory, it was unquestionably similar to how it started the last time.
No.
Things would be different this time. He was worrying over nothing. The brief moment he shared with Kory had been nothing more the fulfillment of the companionship he had been missing for so long.
Dick continued on towards the house where Kory was waiting for him. Yes, it had been a long time ago. But not so long that he had forgotten or even forgiven himself. It had been a deadly mistake one he vowed to never make ever again.
