Temptation

  His body shriveled. Slowly at first, then faster, his legs shrinking beneath his jeans. His arms dissolving. His skin flaking, blowing away in the wind.

  Until a skeleton lay sprawled on the sand in Eric’s clothes.

  Bones. White bones.

  Then dust.

  Diana stirred the dust around with her hand until it disappeared into the beach sand.

  “Good-bye, Eric,” she murmured. “I had a very nice time.”

  PART ONE PARTY TIME

  CHAPTER 1 VAMPIRE ISLAND

  “There’s the Pizza Cove,” Billy Naughton announced, pointing to a small restaurant across the street. “Excellent sausage and mushroom pizza.”

  Jay Windley nodded.

  “Best pizza in town,” Nate Stanton agreed as he ran a hand through his sandy hair. “I ate it every night last summer. Really. I mean, every night.”

  Jay nodded again.

  Billy glanced around for other Sandy Hollow landmarks to point out. He had decided to spend the first night showing his best friend around. After all, he had spent all of last summer here, and Jay had never been to Sandy Hollow before.

  Jay’s friend Nate seemed kind of boring. Nate and his family had been at Sandy Hollow last summer. But Billy didn’t remember much about them.

  Maybe I was too busy with Joelle to notice anyone else, Billy thought.

  “I don’t like the Pizza Cove,” announced Lynette, Nate’s little sister. Billy had a feeling Lynette would be tagging along all summer. It was only the first night, and already Mrs. Stanton had made Nate take her with them.

  “Who cares what you like?” Nate teased her. “You’d like Gummi Worms on your pizza!”

  Billy felt the salty dampness of the ocean breeze on his cheeks. The wind ruffled his long, black hair. He shook himself out of his daze. “It gets cold here at night,” he commented.

  “No kidding,” Jay muttered, shivering. The ocean breeze plastered his light brown hair against his cheek.

  “It’s fun even when it’s cold,” Nate declared. “This is going to be an awesome summer. Except for work.”

  Billy groaned. “Don’t remind me.” He turned to Jay. “What are you going to do while we’re at work, Jay? Hang out with your parents?”

  Jay laughed. “No way. I’m going to hang out at the beach and get a killer tan. But I’ll be thinking about you poor working guys all the time.”

  “Yeah, right.” Nate gave him a shove. Jay stumbled into a woman passing by.

  Billy laughed. Nate was a big guy. Big and strong. He was nearly twice Jay’s size.

  Jay’s taste in friends really changed while I was away this past year, Billy thought. He never used to hang out with jocks.

  “The only thing I want to do this summer is meet girls,” Jay said.

  “This is the place, man,” Nate told him. “I had three girlfriends last summer!”

  Jay grinned. “If there are so many girls, how come we haven’t met any yet?”

  “He said there were a lot of girls,” Billy replied. “He didn’t say they’d be interested in you, Jay.”

  Nate laughed loudly and slapped Billy a high five.

  “All my friends think Nate’s a jerk,” Lynette announced.

  Nate’s smile disappeared. “Why don’t you go play in the ocean, Lynette?”

  Lynette skipped happily along behind him. “My friends all think you’re a total jerk,” she repeated.

  “Who cares what your friends think?” Nate grumbled. “I’m talking about real girls—not little kids in elementary school.”

  Lynette stuck her tongue out.

  Billy rolled his eyes at Nate in sympathy.

  “Wow, look!” Lynette exclaimed. “An ice-cream place.”

  Billy followed the direction of her gaze. She had discovered Swanny’s, the ice-cream parlor and video arcade.

  “Ice cream!” Lynette demanded, tugging her brother’s sleeve. “Ice cream!”

  Nate snorted. “Maybe later.”

  They drifted down Main Street, then crossed to the other side and headed back the way they had come.

  Only a few shoppers at the Mini Market, Billy observed. The summer season had barely begun. In a few days the Mini Market and every other shop in Sandy Hollow would be crowded night and day with summer people.

  “This has got to be a great summer,” Billy declared. “I deserve it after the year I had.”

  “Yeah, it was so weird with you being in that hospital,” Jay replied. “I couldn’t even visit you.”

  “So what?” Nate put in. “Look on the bright side, Billy. You got to miss a whole year of school!”

  “Well, I’m better now,” Billy declared. “And ready to party—big time!”

  Nate stuck his hand in the air and Billy high-fived him.

  “How are your jobs starting out?” Jay asked.

  Billy and Nate groaned in unison.

  “Mine’s not too bad,” Billy replied. “At least I’m outside all day on the boat. My boss says sometimes rich guys charter it to go deep-sea fishing. Maybe I’ll get some big tips.”

  “At least you wanted a job,” Nate complained. “When my dad found out the golf course needed help, he said I’d do it—without even asking me! I wanted to party this summer, not kill weeds and replace divots.”

  “Daddy says it will be good for you,” Lynette chimed in. “Because you’re a lazy bum.”

  Nate glared at her.

  “Well, I’m not going to let work keep me from having a good time,” Billy declared. “I can work all day and party all night. Who needs to sleep?”

  “I can party all night, too,” Nate agreed. “Bring on the girls.”

  Jay laughed. “Get serious. In two days you’ll both be totally wiped.”

  “Not me,” Nate insisted. “No way!”

  Billy was only half listening to his friends. The sound of surf in the distance had caught his attention. “Hey, let’s check out the beach!” he suggested.

  He led the way off Main Street to locate a boardwalk that ran to the beach. The old wooden steps leading down from the dunes groaned and sagged under their weight.

  They had the beach to themselves. Billy knew it wouldn’t last. By the end of the week, the beach would be jammed with sunbathers and swimmers and kids making sand castles. And at night there would be clambakes and bonfires and parties.

  I can’t wait, Billy thought. I can’t wait to get started.

  “You’re right, man, this is awesome,” Jay agreed.

  Billy glanced around. The crests of the waves glowed white in the silvery moonlight. Billy could see a stone jetty in the distance, stretching out from the shore until it disappeared into the sea.

  “What’s that?” Jay cried.

  Billy jumped. He heard Lynette gasp.

  The sky suddenly filled with noise. Flapping. Fluttering. Above them. In front of them. Behind them.

  “Look!” Nate shouted, pointing toward the jetty.

  Billy saw them. Bats. Dozens of them, flying low over the stone jetty.

  A chill slid down Billy’s spine. He stared at the bats. So many of them, he thought. How can there be so many?

  “Awesome,” Jay whispered.

  Lynette squeezed past Billy and hid behind Nate.

  The bats fluttered up, blocking the moonlight, darkening the beach. Then they flew out to sea and disappeared.

  “Where did they go?” Lynette asked in a tiny voice.

  “To the island,” Billy answered. “There’s an island close to shore. Nobody lives there anymore. The bats use the abandoned houses.”

  “Bat island,” Jay said. “Sounds like a place in a horror movie.”

  “The local people call it Vampire Island,” Nate corrected him. “It’s covered with burned-out houses. That’s why no one lives there.”

  Jay laughed. “Vampire Island? Give me a break!”

  “Some people say vampires lived there—in the abandoned houses,” Billy explained. “Some high school kids went out there after
a graduation party. They dared one another to find the vampires and destroy them. Two kids found a coffin and set it on fire.”

  Lynette shivered. She moved closer to Nate.

  “The fire killed the vampire,” Billy continued. “But when the kids tried to leave the island, other vampires followed them. The kids tried to set them on fire, too. All the houses burned, and none of the kids ever came back from the island.

  “Some people say they died in the fire with the vampires. But other people believe that the vampires got them. So now nobody ever goes there.”

  “How many kids were there?” Lynette asked.

  “Six. I heard that three of them tried to row away. But the vampires changed into bats and flew to the boat and killed them.”

  Nate laughed. “What a dumb story. Does anyone really believe it?”

  “A lot of people do,” Billy replied softly.

  They stood silently, staring at the rock jetty.

  Finally Billy turned away from the rolling, dark ocean. “Let’s go back to town,” he suggested, shivering.

  His friends immediately agreed. Billy knew they had been spooked by the bats—and by his story. Lynette grabbed Nate’s sleeve and wouldn’t let go.

  “How am I going to meet any girls with my little sister always tagging along?” Nate grumbled.

  “If you don’t want me here, go home,” Lynette declared.

  “No!” Nate cried. “No way.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Mom will kill me.”

  “Buy me an ice cream, or I’ll tell Mom you tried to lose me!”

  “But that’s blackmail!” Nate protested.

  Billy chuckled. “She’s got you, Nate.”

  “I’d buy her the ice-cream cone if I were you,” Jay told him.

  Nate gave in. “Okay. Okay. Ice cream.”

  Billy had to laugh. Nate was a big, tough-looking guy. And his little sister knew exactly how to push him around.

  They walked along the beach in silence. But as Billy stepped onto the stairs leading up to the boardwalk, Lynette let out a piercing scream.

  “No!” she wailed. “Let him go! Let him go! Nooo!”

  CHAPTER 2 DOGGIE GOES FLYING

  Billy gasped as he saw why Lynette was screaming.

  Down the beach, two enormous bats attacked a small black dog. Terrified, the dog spun in circles, snapping at them.

  But the bats attacked viciously. Swooping from the sky, screeching and snapping their jaws.

  One flapping bat landed on the dog’s back. It sank its teeth into the little dog’s flesh.

  The dog let out a yelp of pain.

  The other bat swooped onto the dog’s neck, biting deeply.

  Billy watched, stunned, as the bats gripped the dog in their jaws and began flapping their wings frantically.

  The dog twisted helplessly, letting out cry after cry.

  This is impossible, Billy thought. Bats can’t do this.

  Their wings beat the air furiously. They lifted the yelping dog off the ground.

  The animal struggled, twisting one way, then the other. But the bats held on.

  Slowly they lifted the dog.

  A foot off the beach.

  Two feet.

  Still higher.

  Flapping hard, they moved toward the ocean.

  Billy felt rooted to the sand, unable to move. Unable to take his eyes off the horrifying sight.

  He heard Lynette’s sobs. Saw her run after the squirming, howling dog.

  “Lynette—come back!” Billy cried. He sprinted after her. Over the sound of his own breathing, Billy heard Nate and Jay running close behind him. Their footsteps sounded hollow on the damp sand.

  Billy quickly overtook Lynette. He was gaining on the bats. They seemed to be having trouble carrying such a heavy load. Flapping furiously, they moved slowly along the shore.

  The dog kicked its legs and howled.

  Billy ran harder. Nate and Jay beside him now.

  “Stop them!” Lynette screamed.

  From the corner of his eye, Billy saw Jay stumble. Jay toppled facefirst into the sand.

  Billy didn’t slow down. Nate still ran beside him. They were close to the bats.

  The dog wailed in fright. Blood poured from where the bats had ripped its throat.

  The bats beat the air with their wings.

  Billy ran until he was directly underneath them. He reached up. Tried to grab the dog. Missed by a couple of inches.

  Nate jumped too. And missed.

  Got to jump higher, Billy thought.

  He leaped again. Missed again.

  The bats flapped furiously.

  Flying faster now.

  Pulling away from Billy.

  Billy ran as fast as he could. Nate chugged along beside him.

  Something cold and wet grabbed Billy’s legs. Swept him off balance.

  Billy glanced down. He had run into the ocean. A tall wave splashed over him, pushing him back, startling him with its cold.

  Billy saw Nate splashing in knee-deep water, still chasing the bats. A moment later, Nate began bobbing with the waves as they rolled in to shore. Nate’s feet, Billy realized, were no longer touching bottom.

  “Nate!” Billy shouted. “Come back! There’s nothing we can do!”

  Nate swam to Billy’s side. They watched as the bats and dog became a ghastly silhouette against the moon. Growing smaller and smaller. Until they disappeared.

  They’re taking the dog to the island, Billy thought. Taking it home to feed on it. Sickened, he stared out toward the island. Feelings of horror and disgust filled him.

  Just wait, he thought bitterly. I know you’re not really bats. I know what you are. And I’ll destroy you. I promise, before summer is over, I’ll destroy you all.

  CHAPTER 3 DINNERTIME

  Lynette no longer felt like having ice cream. She just wanted to go home.

  Billy, Jay, and Nate led the way along the path that led to the summer condos their families had rented. They talked quietly among themselves. They didn’t want to frighten Lynette more.

  “Those were vampires,” Billy murmured.

  “Vampire bats?” Jay asked. “I never knew they were so strong.”

  “Not vampire bats,” Billy corrected him. “Vampires who turn into bats.”

  Jay snorted.

  “Yeah, right,” Nate muttered. “And Frankenstein rents the beach house next to mine.”

  “You saw what they did,” Billy whispered. “You really think ordinary bats could do that?”

  Lynette began to bawl again. “Are they going to kill the dog?” she wailed. She had been listening after all.

  “Nice job, Billy,” Nate muttered. He tried to comfort his sister.

  “Look, I’m sorry, but it’s true,” Billy replied. “You have to believe me. Those were not ordinary bats.”

  “I don’t believe in vampires,” Jay declared. “Because they’re a pain in the neck!” He roared at his own joke.

  “It’s not funny,” Lynette cried. “It’s scary!”

  “She’s right,” Billy said. “And if you don’t listen to me, you could be in a lot of danger.”

  “From vampires?” Jay rolled his eyes.

  “From vampires,” Billy repeated. He stared hard at Jay, trying to convince his best friend that he was serious.

  Jay frowned. “Umm, Billy, it’s kind of hard to believe that vampires really exist.”

  He thinks I’m messed up, Billy realized. He gazed at the troubled faces of his friends. Noticed the glances they exchanged.

  They both think I’m crazy, he thought. But I can’t blame them. I would have thought the same thing . . . before last summer.

  The memory tortured Billy even now.

  But he was here to put an end to the evil in Sandy Hollow. If his friends were going to help him, they had to know the truth about last summer.

  The truth about Sandy Hollow.

  “I had a girlfriend last summer,” Billy explained. “
Her name was Joelle. I met her the first week I was here, and we spent the whole summer together.”

  “What happened?” Jay asked. His eyes shone with interest.

  Billy took a deep breath. “The vampires killed her. They flew from the vampire island as bats. Then they returned to their human form and killed Joelle. They drank her blood until she died.”

  His friends stared at him. Billy could see that they didn’t believe him.

  “I know it sounds insane,” Billy admitted. “But that’s what happened. I saw the bite marks on Joelle’s neck.”

  “Maybe they were mosquito bites?” Jay asked.

  “I know what a mosquito bite looks like,” Billy snapped. “These were different. Bigger and deeper.”

  Nate rubbed his chin. “Was Joelle the girl they found on the beach?”

  Billy nodded.

  “They said she drowned,” Nate argued. “Nobody mentioned vampires.”

  Billy could tell from the three faces staring at him that, no matter what he said, none of them would believe him. Nate wore a smug grin that seemed to say, You don’t really think I’m going to fall for this, do you? Jay revealed no emotion at all.

  Billy felt his anger rising. He forced himself to stay calm. “Jay, I didn’t tell you the whole story about why I missed a year of school,” he continued. “The reason you couldn’t visit me is because I wasn’t in a regular hospital. It was a mental hospital.”

  Billy lowered his eyes to the ground. Now they’ll think I’m totally nuts, he thought.

  He pressed on. “I was pretty messed up by what happened to Joelle. Shock trauma, they called it. I guess I—”

  “Then I don’t get it,” Jay interrupted. “Why did you come back here? If something like that happened to me, I’d never want to see this place again.”

  Billy took a deep breath. “I came back to find the vampires who killed Joelle—to hunt them down and destroy them.”

  “Are there really vampires?” Lynette asked in a small voice.

  “Yes,” Billy replied.

  “No,” Nate declared.

  “What about the dog?” Billy demanded.

  “That was weird,” Jay admitted. “But all we know about bats is what we learned in biology. Maybe the bats they’ve got here are different. Maybe they fly off with dogs all the time.”