Temptation

  “It’s so hard being a vampire,” Kylie began. “No one appreciates what we have to go through.” She moaned about how much she needed human blood.

  “Pretty good,” said a girl’s voice next to Billy. “But she’s overacting a little.”

  Billy couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t tell her that!” he said. He turned to see a pretty, black-haired girl standing next to him.

  She smiled at him. “I shouldn’t be mean. I’m probably just nervous,” she admitted. “I want the same part!”

  “Mae-Linn Walsh! You’re up!” called Ms. Aaronson.

  “Wish me luck,” whispered the black-haired girl. She ran lightly up the steps to the stage.

  Wow, she’s really cute, Billy thought.

  When she began to read, the auditorium fell silent. Mae-Linn paced back and forth, playing the part of someone faced with a major decision. She wrinkled her nose, cocked her head, smiled, frowned. Everyone watched.

  I know who’s going to be the star of this play, Billy decided.

  Mae-Linn finished her reading. She blushed when the kids began to applaud. Then she climbed down from the stage and walked over to Billy. “You were great,” he told her.

  “You really think I did okay?” she asked. “I hope I get the part. It would be fun.”

  He studied her sparkling brown eyes. She had such soft, old-fashioned looks.

  Billy felt his heart begin to beat faster.

  “You doing anything after the tryouts?” she asked.

  “Not really,” Billy replied.

  “Want to get a Coke or something?”

  “Hey, great. I’d love to.”

  “I came with two other girls,” Mae-Linn told him. “I’ve got to let them know.” She disappeared through the curtains at the back of the stage.

  This summer is looking better already, Billy decided.

  Shifting his gaze toward the seats, he spotted Jay and April leaving together.

  “Ms. Aaronson is supposed to announce who got the parts in a few minutes,” Kylie said, coming up behind him.

  “Think you’ll get the lead?” Billy asked.

  “Why? Do you think someone else did better than me?” Her expression darkened. Her green eyes narrowed.

  “Uh, no,” Billy answered, a little surprised by her reaction. “I was only asking how you thought it went.”

  “I got the part,” Kylie assured him. “No problem.”

  “Well, congratulations.” He wondered whether that was the right thing to say. “You were really excellent,” he added.

  “Want to take a walk around town, see what’s happening?” she asked brightly.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Kylie demanded.

  Her eyes met his. They seemed to grab him, pull him into another place. A strange, dreamlike place. He felt as though he were falling.

  He forced himself to look away.

  Kylie seemed surprised. And annoyed. “Why don’t you want to hang out with me?” she demanded.

  “I, uh, . . . I already told Mae-Linn I’d take her for a Coke.”

  Disappointment spread across Kylie’s face.

  “I’m—I’m sorry,” he stammered, surprised at how upset she seemed.

  Kylie turned and stalked off the stage.

  “May I have your attention,” Ms. Aaronson called. “Here are the names of the people I’ve selected for the play. Now, I want you to understand that everyone did a wonderful job. But there are only so many parts to go around . . .”

  Nate, Jay, and Billy all got parts. So did April, Kylie, and Irene. Billy wasn’t surprised when Mae-Linn got the lead role.

  But he saw that Kylie looked astonished.

  “Hey, we both got parts,” Mae-Linn called happily as she ran up to Billy.

  “There was never any doubt about you,” Billy replied.

  “You really think so?” Mae-Linn asked shyly.

  “You kidding?” Billy replied. “You were amazing.”

  She flashed him a dazzling smile. “Ready for that Coke?” she asked.

  “Let’s go,” Billy answered.

  He pushed open the theater door and gestured for Mae-Linn to walk ahead of him. As Billy followed her, he heard a strange sound.

  A hissing sound.

  Behind him.

  The hiss of a snake?

  “Look out!” he cried.

  CHAPTER 6 NATE’S LUCKY SUMMER

  Billy spun around, his heart pounding.

  The angry hiss had sounded so close.

  But he saw no snake on the ground.

  Who was that, standing in the theater doorway?

  He squinted into the light that flooded out from the theater. Was it Kylie?

  Yes, Kylie. Standing there, so still.

  Why was she staring at him like that?

  • • • • •

  Mae-Linn gazed up at Billy.

  She looks really cute in the moonlight, he thought.

  They drifted along the beach, not really going anywhere. Off to their right, waves crashed against the stone jetty.

  “Is that your friend?” Mae-Linn asked.

  Billy spotted a couple ahead of them on the beach. He recognized Jay and April, walking barefoot, letting the waves roll over their feet.

  The moon disappeared behind a cloud, and April and Jay faded into the darkness. When the cloud passed, Jay and April had vanished.

  Wow, Billy thought. Fast worker!

  Mae-Linn slipped her hand into his.

  I’m not doing too bad myself, Billy decided. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

  “I think it’s pretty late,” Mae-Linn declared. “Do you know what time it is?”

  Billy tried to focus on his watch, but it was too dark to see. “I can’t tell,” he replied.

  “I’d better get back to the condo, or my parents will be worried.”

  “Are you doing anything tomorrow?” he asked. “Do you want to do anything? With me, I mean?”

  Mae-Linn giggled at his awkwardness. “Okay,” she replied brightly.

  “I’ll walk you home,” he told her.

  “Oh, don’t bother,” she protested. “I live right over there. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She spun a complete circle, her shiny dark hair swinging out behind her. Then she dashed away, disappearing into the darkness.

  It is going to be a great summer, Billy decided. A really great summer.

  You didn’t come here to have a great summer, he scolded himself. Remember the real reason you’re here.

  Billy took a deep breath and thought about Joelle. He would never forget her pale face on the sand. Never forget the two red marks on her white throat.

  I will never forget what the vampires did to her, he swore.

  Never.

  He gazed down the beach. He wouldn’t forget why he was here.

  But Mae-Linn was certainly an added attraction.

  • • • • •

  “This is going to be a fun summer,” Irene murmured, between the kisses she was giving Nate.

  Fun for me, she thought. Not so much fun for you.

  They sat on the porch swing in front of Nate’s parents’ beach condo. Irene kissed him again. The swing rocked gently. Back and forth. Back and forth.

  I don’t even have to cloud his mind, Irene thought. He’s mine. All mine.

  “It will definitely be fun,” Nate agreed eagerly. “This is going to be the best summer of my life.”

  “I think so too,” Irene whispered in his ear. “This will be a very special summer for both of us.”

  He studied her in the moonlight, a gigantic smile on his face.

  Such a happy guy, Irene observed. He thinks he lucked out and found the girl of his dreams.

  She kissed him gently on the neck.

  Then slid her fangs down.

  She prepared to sink them into his throat.

  The need surged through her.

  Hungry, she thought. So very, very hungry.

 
And now for a sip.

  But only a sip. Don’t get greedy, she warned herself. A sip. That’s all.

  Her fangs touched the softness of Nate’s neck.

  I can taste the nectar, she thought.

  Taste it. Taste it. . . .

  CHAPTER 7 BURIED TREASURE

  Irene’s fangs brushed Nate’s throat.

  A shriek exploded in her ear.

  Irene jerked away from him, quickly closing her lips over the fangs.

  She heard a giggle from behind the swing. Irene twisted around—and found Nate’s little sister, Lynette.

  Did the brat see my fangs? Irene thought. Did I hide them quickly enough?

  “Lynette, what’s your problem?” Nate demanded angrily.

  “I gotcha!” Lynette cried happily.

  Rage bubbled up inside Irene. She wanted to grab the little girl and drink her dry in one gulp.

  But she had to stay calm.

  She couldn’t reveal herself. Couldn’t upset Nate.

  And couldn’t lose the bet with Kylie and April.

  But I was so close, she thought. So close to the nectar. She stared hungrily at Nate. If she stayed for one more minute she would lose control. She would kill Nate and his sister.

  With a groan, Irene stood up. She muttered a quick goodnight, and hurried off into the darkness.

  At least I don’t think the little sister saw my fangs, Irene thought.

  Behind her, she could hear Nate angrily scolding Lynette: “Thanks for chasing Irene away. You’re dead meat!”

  • • • • •

  Thump! Thump! Thump!

  Billy wandered through the dungeons of a big castle. The place was filthy. Empty and damp. Moisture glistened on the gray stone walls.

  Thump-thump-thump-thump!

  The noise came from above him. Someone was up there!

  No one will stop me, Billy thought. No one will keep me from my revenge. Slipping the wooden stake from his bag, he started up the stone steps that led to the next level.

  He reached the first landing—and stopped. An iron gate blocked his way. He tugged on it. Securely locked.

  He spotted a door hidden in the shadows. Stained, splintery wood with rusty iron hinges. He pulled on the door. It creaked as it swung open.

  The room was dark and damp. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped.

  Billy smiled grimly. This was exactly the kind of place they liked to sleep.

  He stepped through the doorway. Spotted them instantly. Four coffins lined up against the wall.

  Billy lowered his hands to the lid of the closest one. Be ready, he thought. Be ready for anything.

  He slowly raised the coffin lid.

  The vampire lay inside. A handsome young man with black hair. A square face.

  Billy raised the wooden stake.

  No hammer. Can I do it without a hammer?

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The noise again. Someone else in the castle.

  Thud-thud-thud-thud!

  The vampire’s eyes opened. He snarled.

  And lunged for Billy.

  Billy jerked awake.

  Bang-bang-bang-bang.

  He stared around the small bedroom, breathing hard.

  Someone knocking on the door. Billy shook his head, chasing away the last bits of the frightening dream. Yes. Someone was at the front door to the condo. Grabbing his robe, he stumbled to the door.

  Two police officers stood on the doorstep.

  “What’s your name?” asked one.

  “Billy.”

  “Your whole name.”

  “Billy Naughton.”

  “Were you out with Mae-Linn Walsh tonight?”

  “Yeah,” Billy replied, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “What time did you last see her?”

  “Uh . . . about eleven-thirty, I guess.”

  “Are your parents here?”

  “N-no,” Billy stammered. “They only come up on weekends.”

  The two officers stared at him. One was a big tall guy. A walking pile of muscles. The other was a stern-looking woman. Both wore serious expressions.

  “Did something happen to Mae-Linn?” Billy asked.

  “She’s missing,” the policeman declared.

  “Where did you last see her?” his partner asked.

  “Uh, on the beach.”

  “Where on the beach?” she demanded.

  “Near the edge of town. Coming from the community theater.”

  “Can you show us the spot?” the policeman asked.

  Billy nodded.

  “Get dressed and come with us.”

  Billy peered out from the backseat of the patrol car, watching the deserted town float by. Voices crackled over the two-way radio, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  Mae-Linn, he thought. What happened to her? He pictured her shiny black hair, her bright smile.

  Where is she?

  “Slow down,” he told the officers as they reached the edge of town. “It’s only a little farther.”

  He stared at the smooth, silvery beach. “Right about here,” he said. “Stop.”

  Billy climbed out of the patrol car. He slid down a small dune, cold sand spilling into his shoes. The police officers were right behind him, the beams from their powerful flashlights making wide yellow circles on the sand.

  Billy glanced along the shoreline in both directions. “I think we walked over here.”

  The ocean breeze brushed back Billy’s black hair. He could smell the sea. Salt air, decaying seaweed.

  Mae-Linn, he thought, where did you go?

  The two police officers spread out behind him, casting their lights in every direction.

  Billy scanned the beach. Shadows hid within shadows.

  Dangerous, he thought. The beach is dangerous at night.

  A dark mound rose in front of him.

  A pile of sand?

  Billy started toward it. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the beams of the police officers’ flashlights. They moved down the beach, away from him.

  “I found something!” he called to the police officers. He heard their footfalls as they hurried toward him.

  Billy scooped away some of the sand with his hands, the cool, wet clumps spilling out between his fingers.

  He touched something.

  Something hard and smooth.

  He brushed away the sand.

  Something square.

  Leather. A purse.

  A purse?

  “What did you find?” the policeman asked, shining his flashlight on Billy.

  Billy gasped. “Mae-Linn?”

  He shoveled the sand away, working frantically with both hands.

  He stopped when his hand touched something cold. Cold and soft.

  Billy leaned closer. Peered down.

  “No—!”

  He turned away. Felt his stomach lurch. And started to vomit.

  CHAPTER 8 A SURPRISE ATTACK

  Soft skin glowed white in the moonlight.

  Billy recognized an arm. Mae-Linn’s arm.

  The officers helped to comfort Billy. Then they worked to uncover the rest of her body.

  Her arms stretched out to the sides as if she were trying to make a snow angel in the sand. Strands of her shimmery dark hair covered one side of her face.

  “Mae-Linn! Mae-Linn!” Billy choked out.

  The officers pulled him back, away from Mae-Linn’s body. “Don’t touch anything,” the policewoman warned.

  Trembling, Billy stared at Mae-Linn. Her eyes were open, staring up at the night sky. So empty. So vacant.

  Her mouth was wide open, and filled with sand. Her nostrils were filled with sand, too.

  I have to know, Billy thought. I have to find out how she died.

  He gazed at the police officers. They stood above Mae-Linn, speaking quietly. They weren’t watching Billy.

  In one quick movement, he threw himself onto the sand next t
o Mae-Linn. He heard the officers cry out as he reached for her shiny black hair. Pushed it away from her face. Away from her neck.

  Billy studied her white throat.

  In the moonlight he saw them. Two small puncture marks.

  And a tiny drop of dried blood.

  “No!” Billy cried, backing away from the body. “I don’t believe it! Just like Joelle!”

  The policeman pulled Billy back as his partner rushed to examine Mae-Linn’s body. Billy barely noticed the weight of the man’s hand on his arm. The two puncture marks lingered in his mind.

  Vampires! The vampires did this, he thought. Mae-Linn would be alive right now if it weren’t for them!

  First Joelle, and now Mae-Linn. They have to be stopped! I swear I’ll destroy them, Billy pledged to himself once again. I’ll find them. And I’ll kill them. Every last one of them.

  • • • • •

  Still feeling dazed, Billy sat in the cold sand. Other police officers arrived. They staked off the beach around Mae-Linn’s body and strung yellow police lines around her. Finally one of them called Billy over to a cruiser.

  Billy remained silent on the drive to police headquarters. The dark town whirred by as if in a dream.

  The police station stood at the intersection of Main Street and Ocean Avenue. An old stone building. Bars covered the upstairs windows.

  That’s where the jail is, Billy thought.

  He shuddered.

  I’m the last one to see Mae-Linn alive, he realized. Does that make me a suspect?

  Inside, a detective named Mullins grilled him, asking the same questions over and over. Where had he met Mae-Linn? When had he last seen her? Finally, about an hour before dawn, the detective let him go.

  Billy walked along Main Street, passing the closed shops. No one out at that hour. Except him.

  He walked faster, eager to get away from the police station, eager to get home. He wondered whether he had convinced the police of his innocence.

  No way, he concluded. Detective Mullins considers me the prime suspect.

  Billy thought about the barred windows on the second floor of the police station. And about Mae-Linn. And Joelle.

  He shivered.

  I’m going to find the vampires, he vowed. These aren’t empty words. I’m going to destroy them.

  He knew how to do it. He had spent a lot of time reading about vampires this past year. A lot of time preparing to kill them. He planned his revenge as he walked.