carefully folded piece of dark fabric. She held it up, and let it fall to reveal its shape. It was a beautiful black dress, delicately decorated with silk lace at the neck- and hem-line. The bodice had an elaborate pattern of flowers and shapes sewn into it that curved around the back.
“It’s beautiful,” Laura breathed. “But why did you give it to me?”
“It’s your size, I think. You should put it on. It’ll help us significantly with the tracking if we leave your old clothes behind. It might be uncomfortable to run in, sure, but…” he shrugged uncertainly, “…but I think it’ll help us get away.”
“You really want me to wear this?” Laura had never seen a dress that looked as exquisite as this one, much less worn one.
Logan nodded.
“Ok,” she said. “But only because it’ll help us get away.”
“Of course,” Logan smiled.
Chapter Sixteen
~History Revealed~
Later that night, Laura sat in front of a small cookfire. Night had fallen, and all the sounds from the forest around her seemed amplified in the dark. Thankfully, Logan was with her.
He was diligently watching over a small hare that roasted over the fire. He had found and caught if for her, and was now preparing her meal. Laura watched as he meticulously rotated the branch the rabbit was speared on, watched as he kept it a perfect distance away from the fire to let the meat cook. She was absolutely ravenous, and aside from a few berries she found on the trip, hadn’t eaten all day.
“It’s ready,” Logan finally said, handing the branch to her. Laura took it, and was surprised at the weight of the animal. It was much heavier than it looked.
She took a bite – and was surprised again at the rich flavor the rabbit contained. Logan had cooked it perfectly, and all the juices flowed into her mouth deliciously. She was careful not to get any on the dress she was wearing, though.
“Hungry, huh?” Logan laughed. “I’ve forgotten what it’s like to eat a regular meal like that.”
“But apparently not how to cook,” Laura replied. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“I’ve been alive for a long time, remember?”
“Right.” Laura took another bite, and chewed it thoughtfully. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Now would be the best time.”
“Is it true what that other vampire said? About the punishment you’d face if they caught you?”
“I… I believe so,” Logan replied.
“It seems a little harsh, doesn’t it? When you think about it compared to the severity of the crime, I mean. From what little of it all I understand, it’s all because you took me into the dream world, isn’t it?”
Logan sighed. “It’s not that simple, Laura. What I did was prohibited by a doctrine sacred to our race. It’s a doctrine that has kept us alive and safe for all these years. It’s what keeps order in what we do, in who we are. It keeps us safe.
“Now, to be honest, I didn’t think anybody would notice if I showed that world to you. If we entered the dream world together. It was your dream, after all, and you have just as much a right to be there as anybody else. More, in fact. But typically humans only enter fleetingly, and not in full as we did.
“Usually, vampires stay away from human dreams, from human realms. The only time they would do so is in the hunt.”
“The hunt?”
“Yes. The dream world isn’t quite as wonderful as I made it seem. When it was discovered by vampires, they started taking full advantage. They would jump into humans’ dreams, haunt their dreams. It was used by hunters, to find and stalk their prey.”
“Wait, it was discovered? So you mean you didn’t always know you had the ability to enter that world?”
“No,” Logan admitted. “the first of our kind didn’t have the ability. It was only the first converts, the first vampires who were born human, who discovered it. A purebred vampire – one who is born a vampire, not converted – lacks the ability to dream. The ones who were converted, they knew of dreams from their previous lives. And with their new abilities, they learned to enter that world.”
“What abilities do you mean? Is it like the mind thing you showed me? Can every vampire do that?”
“No. I’m the only one I know of. Although, that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t others. You see, aside from the physical benefits of our race – speed, strength, vision, all that – each Vassiz has