Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
AIDAN
For the rest of the week, I throw myself into Bones.
There are a few housekeeping items that still need to be checked off my list, and most of the repairs I planned for are going to take weeks to schedule, but for now, I think I can keep the place open as long as I have cash flow.
But that means bringing in new customers.
I reached out to a local billboard company about running an ad on the interstate that would lead people to the Shadow Hills exit. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought, and from what I hear, they’re pretty effective at stirring up business.
Though I’m grateful for the distraction my new job has provided, it’s not enough to completely erase Jo from my mind.
Each time I pass a mirror, I see the gray hairs now sprouting from my head.
Every aspect of my physical appearance has remained the same for one hundred and four years, down to every pore on my face and the one freckle on my stomach.
Vampires aren’t frozen in time, we do age eventually, but by my calculations, I shouldn’t start graying for another hundred years, give or take.
I’ve wracked my brain considering every possibility as to why my body might be changing, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion.
It’s ludacris, but it would explain a lot of what’s changed over the past few weeks—especially this insane desire I have for Joanna.
If I’m correct, it would explain why I’ve suddenly begun aging quicker, but I will have to do more research to be sure.
I mentioned the existence of vampire mates briefly to Jo, but truthfully, I know very little about the subject.
I’ve attempted an internet search, but the only results I get are listicles and recommendations for those vampire romance books Jamie and Raegan mentioned—which reminds me, I still need to ask Joanna about the one she was reading.
There’s one place I know for sure that will have authentic records of true vampire history, so on Thursday evening, I lock up the bar and head straight for a haunted house.
Theodore’s house sits deep within the forest outside of town, not far from the wolf pack territory.
It’s an old, Victorian era mansion with a wrap-around porch and white spindles, a large turret with bay windows, and a multi-gabled roof.
It belonged to his mother’s side of the family and, believe it or not, was given to his father, as a dowry for his mother’s hand.
The practice might sound ancient, but that’s only because Theodore was born in 1890 and died twenty-seven years later.
I did not know him when he was alive but knowing him as a ghost has been a highlight in my undying life.
I pull my car onto a gravel road that breaks through the forest for another mile.
Then between the canopy of barren trees, I see the top of the house.
It’s been many years since my last visit, but given Theo’s tendency to slip into a ghost-like hibernation when there’s no activity in the house, I don’t think he’ll mind.
For him, it will be as if I was just here yesterday, with no time having passed at all.
The house has fallen into disrepair over the years. Several of the shutters are falling from their hinges, and I sink slightly into a noticeable dip as I step across the floorboards of the porch. They creak precariously under my boots.
It used to be Shadow Hills’s responsibility to maintain the property, but since the passing of the Paranormal Protection Act fifty years ago, other more important things have taken precedent.
Mayor Musthaven claims to be a distant cousin of the family, but even that isn’t enough to convince him to set aside a budget for repairs.
I’ve thought about buying the place myself, but Theodore wouldn’t have it.
Ever since an incident that occurred about sixty years ago, he refuses to allow any changes to the property.
Not even a single screw to fix the shutters.
He’s never told me why he was suddenly so desperate to cling to the current state of the house, but I’m certain it has to do with the family that moved in around that time.
They only lived here for a year, but their presence made a huge impact on Theo.
I enter the front room and wrap my knuckles against the wood paneling, waiting for any sound or flutter of movement, but nothing happens.
I knock again, this time taking loud steps across the creaking floor as I do.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blows through the house and disturbs the dust, then a figment appears.
At first, it’s little more than a mirage—a shimmering disturbance in the air.
Then, as features appear, I can start to make out the familiar face of my longtime friend.
His eyes are still closed, as if his phantom body woke before he did. I cough and bat away the dust flying around my face. Then, Theo’s eyes shoot open.
He’s on guard, seconds away from dissipating with the dust, but when he realizes it’s me, he relaxes. “You’re back,” he grumbles, sounding only semi-conscious. “I thought you decided to let things lie with the boy.”
I clear my throat and cross my arms. He’s referring to my long-ago scat with the only other vampire in Shadow Hills. “That was twenty-five years ago, Theo,” I correct him gently. “But since you brought it up, Alexander has since renounced killing humans and sticks to forest creatures.”
“Ah.” Theo tuts and his face falls. “It seems I’ve lost track of time again.” His body is still not quite corporealized, but he’s able to shift himself closer to the floor where he decides to sit. “Good thing I have you to experience this never-ending existence with.”
I chuckle, but not as whole-heartedly as I used to.
Aging slowly has a price. I’ve seen far too many people die, yet I feel as if I’ve experienced very little.
My extended lifespan has been wasted on vying for blood and throwing money at whatever will soothe my conscience.
I realize now how it must have felt for Joanna to see me flaunting my wealth without proper explanation.
I thought showing her the empty theater would be fun, something new, but I went about it all wrong.
I should have told her up front about what I do and why, regardless of our no-strings pact.
Theodore is the only one who knows the details of my darkest time, because he was there. In my first decade as a vampire, when things became especially hard to handle, I would visit this home for comfort, because it was where I lived with my mother and father before they died.
Before Shadow Hills became the haven for paranormals that it is today, this area was nothing but trees for miles.
After I turned, I kept to the city. In hindsight that was probably not the best thing to do given the proximity of people, but at the time, I wanted quick and easy access to victims. Back then, I killed whoever I wanted, and I thought nothing of it, except for when I was in bed alone at night.
I relived each murder over and over until they gave me nightmares.
That’s when I started coming back to the house in the woods.
I missed my old life and wanted it back desperately.
Theo moved freely back then, and he’d come back to the house he loved in search of guidance, just like me.
It was he who helped me see the error of my ways.
Theo’s body finally appears in full, and I watch as he stretches out his legs and crosses them at the ankles while leaning against the wall behind him. “What is it you need to talk about this time, old friend?”
I hate to admit it, but I do tend to show up when I have a problem. He’s the best listener I know, and the only person who knows my entire life story. It’s hard to confide in a stranger about your problems, especially when they don’t know all you’ve gone through to get to where you are now.
“I actually wanted to look at a few books in your library,” I tell him. “It’s a vampire thing.”
Theo’s house holds a small library stuffed with books on paranormals.
His father was one of the first warlocks who recorded their life and history, which started a chain of record keeping passed down through the ages.
It’s because of him and his research on other paranormal beings that we know so much today.
His records were donated to the Library of Congress, but they remain inaccessible to the public.
Luckily, I still have access to the originals.
“What is it you don’t already know about yourself?” Theo asks, knowing I spent a long time studying everything I could about vampires after my turn.
“It’s more like I need to brush up on some knowledge about a particular subject.” I pause. “Vampire mating bonds.”
Theo’s ghostly features light up. His smile has always been the same, reaching to the corners of his eyes even when he’s barely grinning. It gives him the constant appearance of being amused, but I know he’s truly delighted to hear that I’m researching such a subject. It means—
“Does that mean you’ve found your mate then?” he asks, finishing my own thought.
I’m not ready to answer that question just yet. I’m not sure what’s happening between me and Joanna, but before things become more serious than we agreed, I need to know what I’m dealing with.
“Let’s just say there’s been a new development,” I say vaguely.
Theo’s body literally glitches as he smirks. “Alright. I’ll take that as a yes.” He gestures widely to the stairs leading up to the second floor. “Have your fun.”