Temptation

  “Well . . . yeah,” Billy replied.

  “Have you talked with them about this vampire stuff?”

  “No,” Billy told him.

  “Maybe you should,” Jay urged. “Maybe you should tell them that you’re troubled by thoughts about vampires. They can help you, Billy. You really should give your parents a chance to help you.”

  He thinks I’m crazy, Billy realized.

  Here he is, in danger for his life—and he’s worrying about me.

  “I’ve got to go,” Jay said. “April is here. At the condo. Maybe I’ll see you later, Billy.”

  “No—!” Billy cried. “Don’t go! Don’t go with her, Jay! Please—!”

  Billy heard a click. The phone went dead.

  • • • • •

  A raindrop hit Billy’s cheek. The icy bead of water trickled down his neck, making his skin tingle.

  The fog seemed to be thickening. It blanketed the town, turning the street lamps into misty blurs of yellow light.

  Billy turned down Main Street. He searched for Jay and April in the Pizza Cove. Not there.

  Billy pushed open the door of Swanny’s ice cream parlor and arcade. The damp night disappeared immediately. Loud music blared around him. Kids were laughing and talking over the music. Bent over video games.

  Nate and Irene sat on a low bench near the jukebox, clinging together. Irene had her arms around Nate’s shoulders. She was kissing him.

  Billy walked quickly over to them. “Hey, do you guys know where Jay and April are?” he asked.

  Irene turned. She had lipstick smeared over her mouth. Nate shot Billy an annoyed look. He signaled with both hands, as if to say, “Get lost.”

  “Have you seen him?” Billy demanded.

  “Not since yesterday,” Nate replied impatiently.

  “I really need to find him,” Billy said. “He’s in danger.”

  That caught Irene’s attention. She pulled away from Nate and raised her eyes to Billy. “Danger?”

  “April is a vampire,” Billy blurted out. “I tried to warn Jay. But he won’t believe me. She’s a vampire and she’s—”

  “Give it a rest, man,” Nate said impatiently. He scowled at Billy.

  “No. Really—” Billy started.

  Nate narrowed his eyes menacingly. “I mean it. Give this vampire stuff a rest. You’re starting to sound weird, Billy. You’re starting to sound really messed up.”

  Nate turned back to Irene. She smiled at him and slid her hands behind his neck, pulling his face to hers.

  No help there. Billy glanced around the arcade. He searched the crowd for Jay and April.

  A familiar squeal of laughter caught his attention. Lynette. She was playing an old Ninja Turtles game at the back of the arcade, near the fire exit.

  A lanky, older boy, dressed entirely in black, leaned over the game as Lynette played.

  No! It’s impossible, Billy thought, recognizing the boy immediately.

  A face I’ll never forget. Never.

  The face of pure evil.

  “Nate!” Billy cried. He grabbed Nate by the shoulder and tried to pry him away from Irene.

  “Hey! Give me a break!” Nate protested angrily.

  “Nate—your sister!” Billy cried. “There’s a guy over there with your sister—that guy in black—”

  “Oh, that’s just Jon,” Nate told him. “I know him from last summer. He said he’d watch Lynette if I got him an early tee time tomorrow at the golf club.”

  “Nate, you can’t leave Lynette with that guy!” Billy shrieked. He tugged Nate’s arm again. “He’s a vampire, Nate. I know he is! He’s a vampire! He’ll—”

  “Whoa! Let go!” Nate jerked his arm away. He jumped to his feet, and loomed angrily over Billy, bumping him with his powerful chest. “Back off, Billy. I mean it.”

  “Listen to me—” Billy wailed.

  “You’re messed up, man,” Nate told him. “You’re seeing vampires everywhere you look. Get home, Billy. Get yourself home, okay? You’re really messed up.”

  “Maybe we should help him home,” Irene suggested. “Or maybe we should get him to a doctor or something.”

  “Nooo!” Billy cried. “I’m telling the truth! I’m not crazy!”

  He spun away from them—in time to see the tall boy pull Lynette out the fire door in back.

  CHAPTER 20 CHEST PAINS

  “No—stop!” Billy screamed.

  A few kids turned from their games to stare at him.

  Billy pushed his way through the crowded aisle to the fire door.

  Jon is a vampire, he told himself. Jon is the vampire who murdered Joelle.

  Now where is he taking Lynette?

  He pushed the heavy fire door open with his shoulder, stepped outside, and let the heavy door slam behind him. The rain had stopped, but the air remained cool and wet.

  He stood in a small alley behind the arcade. Where are they? he thought frantically. Where did Jon take her?

  He let his eyes search up and down the alley. No vampire.

  Would he really hurt a little kid? Billy thought.

  “Help me!”

  Lynette’s cry. From nearby.

  Which way? Billy wondered. He spun around. Tried to tell where the cry came from.

  “Help me!” He heard it again.

  He’s taking her to the beach, Billy realized. The deserted beach.

  Billy sprinted from the alley. The beach was a short distance away. But it seemed to take forever, even running full speed. Finally, he clambered down the wooden steps that led to the sand.

  His sneakers dug into the rain-wet sand as he started to run.

  “Lynette? Lynette?”

  No reply.

  He stopped short.

  A dying fire still smoldered near the shore. Drenched by the rain. The last sparks of somebody’s interrupted beach party.

  And in the dim orange light of the low fire, Billy saw Lynette, sprawled on her back on the sand. Arms straight out. Head tilted at an angle. Not moving.

  “Hey—!” Jon stepped forward to meet Billy. “Stay away from here!” he shouted, his voice deep and menacing over the steady rush of ocean waves behind him.

  “I—I know you,” Billy stammered.

  The closer Jon came, the taller he appeared. His eyes flashed as he narrowed them on Billy. A dark orange flash, the same color as the dying fire.

  You’re dead, Billy thought. You’re dead, Jon. I killed you last summer. After you killed Joelle.

  But no.

  Billy had obviously failed.

  “I know you,” Billy repeated. “You killed my girlfriend. You killed Joelle.”

  The vampire sneered. “Was that her name?”

  “You—you—” Billy couldn’t choke out any words.

  The vampire snorted. “Bad break, kid. But that’s the way it goes sometimes,” he said with a smirk.

  “You killed her—and you didn’t even know her name,” Billy managed to say.

  “Sometimes I like fast food,” the vampire said, snickering at his own joke. “I don’t always have time for introductions.”

  Billy turned his gaze to the fire, thinking hard, the rage burning in his chest. “How can you joke about it?” he cried. “How can you joke about taking human lives?”

  The vampire shrugged. “You’re interrupting my dinner.” He motioned to Lynette, sprawled motionless on the sand. “Maybe I’ll save the little girl for a late-night snack. You can be the main course.” He let his fangs slide down over his lower lip.

  His orange eyes flashed brightly. He began to rise up over Billy, floating off the ground.

  “No—!” Billy uttered a sharp cry and dove past him.

  Stumbling, sliding on the wet sand, Billy hurtled to the dying embers. A weathered piece of driftwood had just caught fire. It burned dully, purple-red flames licking up from the charred log.

  Billy grabbed the burning log off the sand—and whirled around.

  As Jon dove for him, Billy swun
g the flaming log at the vampire’s chest.

  “Die!” Billy screamed. “Die! Die! Die!”

  But to Billy’s shock, the vampire grabbed the burning log with both hands.

  He tugged it easily from Billy’s grasp. Held it by one end.

  Billy’s arms flew up to protect himself.

  Too late.

  With a howl of triumph, the vampire thrust the log forward—and shoved it through Billy’s chest.

  CHAPTER 21 DEAD ON THE SAND

  Billy gasped and staggered back.

  His legs collapsed, and he dropped to his knees on the sand.

  He waited for the pain, for the crushing pain to sweep over his body. He waited for the darkness . . .

  He glanced down at his chest, expecting to see the gaping wound. To his surprise, he saw no wound staining his shirt.

  Instead he saw that the driftwood had crumbled. The log, soft and decayed, had fallen to pieces when it struck his chest. Tiny, burning chunks glowed on the sand in front of him.

  Billy sucked in a deep breath of fresh ocean air. I’m alive, he thought. I’m alive—and I’m not giving this vampire another chance.

  With a cry of rage, he rushed at Jon.

  The vampire opened his fanged mouth in an angry hiss.

  Billy leapt at him. Dug his fingers into the vampire’s bony shoulders. Pushed him. Pushed him back.

  Back.

  The vampire hissed again and lowered his fangs to Billy’s throat.

  Driven by a rage he had never felt before, Billy pushed him. Back. Back.

  And with a burst of strength, he heaved the startled vampire onto the purple, burning embers of the fire.

  Jon landed hard on his back. The fire sizzled beneath him.

  The vampire’s eyes flared red. He shot his hands up to the sky as if reaching for something to pull himself up.

  His mouth opened in a silent cry as the flames leapt around him.

  And then, as Billy gaped in amazement, black smoke rose up from the sand. Billows of black smoke surrounded the thrashing vampire.

  Billy took a step back, his heart pounding, his legs weak.

  The smoke billowed into a thick curtain. It darkened the sky and the beach.

  Behind the black curtain, Billy heard a fluttering sound. The fluttering became louder. Billy recognized the flap of wings.

  Bat wings.

  A red-eyed bat flapped up from behind the smoke. It rose over Billy, its tiny, round eyes glaring angrily. Dripping yellow saliva, the mouth opened in a shrill, menacing hiss.

  And then the bat flapped away, swooping rapidly out over the sand, out to the ocean.

  Billy stood watching it, swallowing hard, choking back his fear, his face drenched with sweat despite the coolness of the night.

  Breathing hard, his chest heaving, he turned to Lynette. She hadn’t moved, he saw to his horror. She lay lifelessly, sprawled on her back in the cold, wet sand.

  “Hey!” A familiar voice made Billy jump.

  He turned to see Nate and Irene running toward him across the sand. Nate, so big and powerful, came charging over the sand like an angry bull.

  “What are you doing here? Where’s Lynette?” he called to Billy.

  Nate stopped a few feet from Billy. His mouth opened in a startled cry when he saw his sister on the sand.

  “No—!” Nate cried, turning accusingly to Billy. “Oh no! What did you do to her?”

  “Nothing!” Billy screamed. “I didn’t—”

  Nate dropped down beside Lynette on the sand. “No!” he cried. “No! Oh no! She’s dead!”

  CHAPTER 22 IS BILLY CRAZY?

  Nate jumped to his feet, his features twisted in a rage. With a frightening roar, he grabbed Billy by the shoulders.

  “No—stop!” Irene pleaded.

  “What did you do to her?” Nate shrieked, spitting in Billy’s face in his fury. “Are you sick? Are you sick?”

  A low groan from the sand made everyone freeze.

  Billy turned and saw Lynette’s eyelids flutter. She turned her head and groaned again.

  “She’s alive!” Nate cried happily. He let go of Billy and dropped down beside her again. “Lynette? Are you okay? Did Billy hurt you?”

  She gazed up, dazed, still unable to speak.

  “I didn’t do anything!” Billy insisted shrilly. “It was that vampire. I tried to save her from that vampire!”

  Nate glared up at him. “I’m warning you, Billy. Get away from here,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “I warned you that Jon was a vampire,” Billy told Nate. “He dragged Lynette here. But I fought him off. I didn’t hurt her, Nate. I saved her life. You’ve got to believe me!”

  Billy heard Irene utter a “tsk-tsk” behind him.

  “You’re crazy, Billy,” Nate cried, still on his knees beside his sister. “All this vampire talk is crazy. And sick. You left the mental hospital too soon. You’re still sick. Now, get away from here. Go get help. Get yourself some help. Or I’ll pound you. I really will.”

  “You’ve got to believe me!” Billy pleaded. “You’ve—”

  Lynette opened her eyes wide. She sat up groggily, staring around. “Where am I?”

  “Lynette will tell you the whole thing,” Billy insisted desperately. “Lynette will tell you about Jon, about how he dragged her out here to the beach.”

  Nate leaned over his sister. “Is it true?”

  “Tell him,” Billy pleaded. “Tell him, Lynette. Tell him about the vampire.”

  Lynette blinked several times. She shook her head hard as if trying to see clearly. “I . . . can’t remember,” she said finally in a tiny voice.

  “Tell him what happened. Please!” Billy insisted.

  “I was in Swanny’s,” Lynette said, thinking hard. “I was playing a Ninja Turtles game. And . . . that’s all I remember.”

  “You don’t remember Jon?” Billy demanded weakly. “Tell him about Jon, Lynette. About the tall boy dressed in black. He pulled you out here to the beach—remember?”

  Lynette shook her head. “I remember seeing him in Swanny’s. But I don’t remember anything else.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t remember coming out here.”

  Nate turned accusingly to Billy.

  “She doesn’t remember because Jon clouded her mind,” Billy told him. “He clouded her mind. That’s why she was lying unconscious on the beach. The vampire—”

  “I’m going to cloud your mind!” Nate cried, jumping to his feet.

  “It was the vampire!” Billy screamed. “You’ve got to believe—”

  He didn’t finish his frantic cry—because Nate’s fist came crashing into his jaw.

  CHAPTER 23 A PAIN IN THE NECK

  Billy walked alone through town the next evening.

  Fog floated low and thick over the street, hiding Sandy Hollow behind a misty white curtain. It pressed in on Billy, closing him inside his own private cloud.

  He rubbed his sore jaw. His thoughts were bitter.

  No one believes me, he told himself. Everyone thinks I’m crazy. I’m totally alone.

  Something cool and damp grabbed his foot.

  It oozed around the straps of his thongs.

  Billy glanced down in surprise. Wet sand. He had reached the beach without realizing it.

  Pulling off his thongs, he went barefoot, enjoying the feel of the sand as it squished up between his toes. The waves crashed against the stone jetty somewhere off to his left.

  Flapping.

  From behind him.

  Billy spun around. This time he would be ready for the bats. But he saw only one. It swooped past him and continued on its way, a black speck in the fog.

  Lost in his own thoughts, Billy drifted along the beach.

  Now he heard another sound.

  Behind him.

  Someone following him!

  He spun around.

  No one there.

  I’m letting myself get spooked, he concluded. There’s no one here but me.

/>   Billy took another step. Stopped.

  A shape stood in front of him.

  Shimmering in the fog.

  “Who’s there?” he asked.

  “Just me,” Kylie replied, stepping into focus.

  “I—I didn’t see you come up. What are you doing out here?” he asked.

  “I didn’t feel like being home alone. Mind if I walk with you?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  They strolled along the beach, surrounded on all sides by a misty white wall of fog.

  Kylie grabbed his arm. “Listen. Hear that?”

  “A foghorn.”

  “I love that sound, don’t you?”

  “It’s sort of mysterious,” Billy replied.

  Kylie stepped in front of him. She reached out and slipped her arms around his neck. “I love the fog,” she whispered. “No one can see us.”

  Billy gazed into her eyes, thinking how beautiful Kylie was. Beautiful Kylie. Her perfect face framed by all that red hair. Her eyes seeming to shimmer even in the fog.

  She kissed him. Long and slow.

  I have no time for this, Billy thought. I have to find April. I have to save Jay.

  CHAPTER 24 KISSES FOR JAY

  “Ouch!” Billy pulled away. “What was that?” He rubbed his neck.

  “Probably a mosquito,” Kylie said. “They always come out when it’s so wet.”

  “Sorry I jumped like that,” Billy told her.

  “I hate mosquitoes,” she said. “Such miserable little bloodsuckers.”

  Billy rubbed the spot. “I have to get home,” he told Kylie.

  “You’re always running off,” she complained.

  “I’m sorry. But I really have to call Jay. I’m kind of worried about him.”

  She leaned against him. “Maybe we can get together tomorrow night?”

  “Sure,” Billy replied. “Or the night after. Where are you headed? I’ll walk part of the way with you.”

  “Thanks, but I think I’m going to walk on the beach for a while.”

  Billy started toward his house. Glancing behind him, he saw that Kylie had already disappeared in the fog. A moment later a loud sound startled him.

  A hissing screech.

  Full of rage.

  A cat?