CHAPTER 9 ANOTHER SURPRISE ATTACK

“I have no nectar!” April cried. “You know I’m one of you!”

To her surprise, Irene and Kylie both tossed back their heads in laughter.

“You should’ve seen the look on your face, April!” Kylie declared.

“April Fools’!” Irene declared. “Get it? It’s April Fools’ Day in June!”

They both laughed again, enjoying their joke.

April snarled and raised her long fingernails. “I’ll s-s-slash you both to pieces!” she hissed furiously.

“Hey—it was just a joke,” Kylie replied. “Put your claws back in. You don’t have to totally lose it!”

“We’re all losing it,” Irene moaned. “Because we’re so hungry.” She sighed. “Last night I was so desperate, I had to kill another dog.”

Kylie and April shook their heads grimly.

Then Kylie turned to April. “Speaking of helpless creatures,” she said, “how did it go with Jay last night?”

April couldn’t hide her smile. “You two don’t stand a chance,” she replied coyly. “I’ll win the bet before you even get started.”

• • • • •

The next evening, Billy grabbed the phone as soon as he got home from work. He hadn’t been able to reach Jay all day.

Jay’s mom answered the phone.

“He’s in his room,” she told Billy. “He’s been a little under the weather all day. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. Just a sec. I’ll get him.”

Billy heard the clink of the phone being put down. A few moments later, Jay came on the line.

“Hi. You hear about Mae-Linn?” Jay asked.

“Yeah, I heard.” I didn’t just hear, Billy thought. I saw her, too. “She was okay when we said goodnight on the beach. That’s the last time I saw her. The police questioned me for hours. Like I’m some kind of killer. It was unreal.”

“It’s so weird,” Jay said. “I mean, she was alive last night. And now . . .”

Jay’s words trailed off. They both fell silent.

Billy wondered whether he should tell Jay about the bite marks on Mae-Linn’s neck. Would his friend believe him?

“Uh—your mom says you’re sick or something,” Billy said.

“Yeah, I’ve been tired all day,” Jay replied. “Really tired. Like I haven’t slept for a week and a half.”

“You sick?”

“I don’t know. I’m just wrecked. And weak, like I can’t even move.”

Billy drew in a breath. “Hope it isn’t the flu. Are you going to make it to play rehearsal?”

“I’ll try to get there. I want to see April again.”

“You two got a thing going?”

“Maybe,” Jay replied. “Sort of, I guess. I hope.”

“Then I’ll see you at the theater,” Billy said. He hung up and stared out the window. I don’t like this, he thought. No way do I like this. It sounds too familiar.

Joelle had always been tired last summer. Really tired. It got worse and worse as the summer went on. She walked around like a zombie. Pale. Dazed. Lost.

Until the vampire got greedy and drank too much.

And killed her.

Billy sighed. Maybe Joelle had been lucky. If she hadn’t died, she would have become one of them. Death had to be better than that.

Abruptly he slammed his fist down on the table. “I won’t let them have Jay,” he growled through clenched teeth. “I won’t let them kill another friend.”

He paced up and down the room. If he was right, if a vampire was sipping Jay’s blood, the vampire had to be someone close to Jay, close enough to bite his neck.

April.

Billy tried to picture April. Her long blond hair. Her pale skin. I’ll watch April, he thought. I’ll look for the signs. And if she’s a vampire, I’ll do what I came here to do.

I’ll destroy her.

Billy grabbed his script and banged out the door. He decided to stop by Nate’s place on the way to the theater. If Nate was still there, they could walk to play rehearsal together.

Really dark tonight, Billy thought. Clouds filled the night sky, blocking out the moon and stars. Shadows seemed to seep out of the spaces between cottages.

Spooky, he thought. A good night for vampires to hunt.

He was glad when he reached Nate’s place.

The condo was a new two-story brick building that looked as if it had been put in Sandy Hollow by mistake. Everything else in town was wood or stone. Nate’s condo building didn’t look as if it belonged on a beach at all!

The condo had a little park out front, with trees, a couple of swings, and a love seat. It was so dark Billy could hardly tell where he was going.

A loud snapping sound came from the trees.

Billy stopped. Listened. Silence now.

But he had heard something. Like a person hiding in the trees. Or a vampire.

Billy started for the condo, then hesitated. Someone . . . something was here. Watching him. He was sure of it. He could feel it.

Vampires.

Could they know why I’m here? Do they realize someone is hunting them? Will they try to kill me before I kill them?

He heard the snapping sound again. Billy whirled to face it. Nothing in the trees. Only darkness.

It’s nothing, he told himself. Your imagination, that’s all.

Black shadows lurked along the side of the condo. As he passed the spot where the darkness seemed deepest, he heard a scrape. Like a foot moving. Only a few feet away.

“It’s nothing,” Billy whispered.

Nothing.

He kept moving, eager to get to Nate’s front door.

Another noise.

Scratching.

Like claws.

Tiny claws. Like a bat’s claws.

An animal, Billy decided. An ordinary animal. A dog or a cat. A raccoon. Just an animal . . .

He cried out when it jumped him from behind.

Hands slid over his shoulders.

Closed on his neck.

Billy whirled to defend himself.

He saw the black shape.

Terrified, he cried out again.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 568