The Taste of Night

  Destiny heard a cracking sound. She raised her eyes in time to see a high branch of the tree come crashing down.

  “Mikey—look out!” she screamed.

  chapter nine

  THE VAMPIRE IN THE TREE

  MIKEY’S EYES WENT WIDE.

  Destiny heard the crack of branches as the falling limb smashed through them.

  Mikey let out a scream, dropped to the ground, and rolled away.

  The limb hit the ground a foot or so from Mikey, bounced once, and came to a rest on the grass.

  Destiny had her hands pressed to the sides of her face. “Are you okay?” she screamed.

  Mikey didn’t answer. He jumped to his feet and pointed up to the tree. “Vampire!” he cried. “It’s a vampire! In the tree!”

  “No, wait—” Ari shouted. He made a grab for Mikey. But Mikey took off, running to the house.

  “Mikey, it was just a tree branch,” Destiny called. She chased after her brother and caught him at the kitchen door.

  “Let go!” he screamed. “It’s a vampire. In the tree! Didn’t you see it? Didn’t you?”

  “No. There’s nothing up there,” Destiny insisted, holding him by the arm. “Listen to me—”

  But he jerked his arm free and dove into the house. She heard him sobbing loudly as he scrambled up the stairs to his room.

  “Mikey, wait. Please—” Destiny darted up the stairs after him.

  He slammed the door in her face. She heard the lock click. She could hear him still sobbing on the other side of the door.

  Destiny turned and saw Ari and Ana-Li at the bottom of the stairs. They gazed up at her, their faces tight with concern.

  She made her way down the stairs slowly, feeling shaky and upset. “I’d better call Dr. Fishman,” she said. “He’s Mikey’s shrink. He keeps telling us it will just take time. But I’ve never seen Mikey this bad.”

  “The poor guy is scared to death,” Ari said, shaking his head.

  “He sees vampires everywhere,” Destiny whispered. “And then sometimes he pretends he’s a vampire.” She led them into the living room. She motioned to the couches, but no one sat down. They stood tensely near the wall.

  “I know the only thing that will help him,” Destiny said. “Bring Livvy back. He knows the truth about her. Maybe it was a mistake to tell him. He’s so scared now. If I could just bring her back here—”

  “Hey, I’m scared too,” Ana-Li said, hugging herself tightly. She shuddered. “I mean, Livvy and Ross are out there somewhere, right?”

  Destiny nodded.

  “And they’re full vampires now. I mean, real ones. Needy…thirsty.” She shuddered again.

  Ari raised his eyes toward the ceiling. “Shhh. Not so loud. We don’t need to be talking about this in front of Mikey.”

  “But what if they come back here?” Ana-Li whispered. “What if they’re out flying around one night, and they’re real thirsty? I mean, so thirsty they can’t control themselves. And they fly back here and find us? I mean, they could attack us, right? Aren’t we obvious victims here?”

  “No way,” Destiny replied, shaking her head. “She’s still my sister. No way she’d come back here and attack my friends.” She frowned at Ana-Li. “Do you honestly think Livvy would come back here and drink your blood?”

  “I…don’t know,” Ana-Li replied, her voice cracking. “I really don’t.”

  Destiny opened her mouth to reply, but a sudden noise above her head made her stop.

  A flapping sound. Like a window shade flapping in a strong wind.

  Destiny raised her eyes to the sound and saw a darting, black shadow.

  “Hey—!” Ari let out a cry, his mouth open in surprise.

  The shadow swooped low.

  Destiny felt a cold whoosh of air sweep past the back of her neck.

  It took her a while to recognize the sound—the flapping of wings.

  And then she saw the bat. Eyes glowing, it soared beneath the dark wood ceiling beams. Then low over their heads, flapping up to the mirror, turning and shooting over them to the other wall. Then flying over them again, lower each time, raising its talons as if preparing to attack.

  Ana-Li covered her head. Ari ducked. Destiny opened her mouth in a scream of horror.

  chapter ten

  IS LIVVY IN THE HOUSE?

  THE BAT LET OUT A SCREECH AND SOARED UP TO THE ceiling. Destiny watched it cling to a beam, wings flapping hard. Its glowing eyes locked on Destiny.

  “How did it get in?” Ana-Li cried, clinging to Ari’s arm. “What’s it doing in here?”

  Trembling, Destiny stared up at it. “Livvy? Is that you?” she called, but she could only manage a whisper. “Livvy—?”

  And then without warning, the creature let go of the wooden beam and came swooping down.

  Destiny saw the eyes glow brighter. Saw the creature raise its talons and arch its wings high behind its ratlike head.

  She tried to duck away, bumping hard into Ari and Ana-Li, sending them tumbling against the couch.

  Then with another whistling shriek, the bat latched onto Destiny. Wings flapping loudly, it dug its talons into her hair. She heard its ugly cry as she struggled to slap it off.

  “Eeeeeee eeeeeeee!” Like a car alarm going off in her head.

  “No! Get off! Get OFF me!”

  The talons dug into her scalp. Sharp, stabbing pain swept through her head.

  “NO!”

  Her heart pounding, Destiny ducked low again, swung her hand, hit the creature hard. She felt its furry warmth. Felt the breeze from its flapping wings, felt the bat’s hot breath prickle the back of her neck.

  “Get OFF!”

  Another hard slap sent the creature sailing to the floor.

  Ari raised his foot to stomp on it.

  “No—don’t!” Destiny screamed, shoving him back.

  The bat recovered quickly. It let out a low buzz, then shot back up into the air. Destiny covered her hair with both arms as it swooped low over her again. Then the creature made a sharp turn and flew into the back hallway.

  Holding her head, Destiny lurched after it. “Livvy—?” she called. “Is that you?”

  The bat darted out the open kitchen window, leaving the yellow window curtains fluttering behind it.

  “Oh, wow.” Destiny sank onto a white bench at the kitchen table. She brushed back her hair, waiting for her heartbeats to slow.

  “Are you okay?” Ari put a hand on her shoulder. “Dee, you’re shaking.”

  “It…attacked me,” she stammered. “Why did it attack me?”

  Ana-Li opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She spun off the top and handed it to Destiny. “Here. Drink something. Try to calm down. You’re okay, right?”

  Destiny nodded. She took a long drink of the cold water.

  Then she turned back to her friends. “Why would a bat fly into the house in the middle of the day? And why did it attack me?”

  Ari shrugged. Ana-Li stared back at Destiny without an answer.

  Destiny took another drink. “How can we live our whole lives scared to death?” she asked. She pounded a fist on the table, making the ceramic fruit bowl shake. An apple rolled onto the floor. “I have to do something. I have to find Livvy. I have to talk to her…convince her to come back.”

  “Maybe she was back,” Ana-Li said softly. “Maybe she was that bat. Maybe she came back to warn you.”

  “To warn me of what?”

  “To stay away from her. To leave her alone.”

  Destiny grabbed her friend’s arm. “That’s crazy, Ana-Li. She’s my sister. My twin sister. We belong together. She must know that. Even the way she is now…she must know that I’ll do anything to bring her back to us.”

  “I have to go,” Ana-Li said, moving quickly to the front door. “I have to get out of here. I mean, out of Dark Springs. It’s too terrifying here. Bats and vampires and people dying. I’m so glad I’m going to New Haven in a few weeks.”

  She
turned at the door. Destiny could see tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Dee,” she said in a voice trembling with emotion. “I didn’t mean to sound so cold. I know you’ve lost your sister. I didn’t mean to sound selfish. I just…I…”

  She spun away and disappeared out the door.

  Ari stepped over to Destiny and wrapped her in a hug. “That was so horrible,” he said softly. “That bat…when it attacked you, I—”

  She silenced him with a kiss. The kiss lasted a long time. She wrapped her hands around his neck and held onto him, and they pressed together tightly as they kissed.

  “You…you’re going away, too,” she whispered, finally pulling her lips away. She pressed her cheek against his. “You’re going away too.”

  “Not until August. We have five weeks,” he said.

  She sighed. They kissed again. She shut her eyes and tried not to think about Ari leaving.

  “About tonight,” he said, holding her in his arms. “I know we have dinners with our parents tonight. But we can go out later. It’s graduation, Dee. Let’s go to that dance club that just opened. You know, Rip. Let’s go there tonight, and pretend everything is okay…just for one night.”

  His eyes burned into hers. “Okay? Please say yes.”

  “Yes,” Destiny agreed in a whisper.

  “Hey, all right!” Ari pumped his fists in the air in victory.

  Destiny started to kiss him again, but they were interrupted by a shout from upstairs.

  Mikey, at the top of the stairs.

  “Dee—hurry! Livvy’s back! She’s back! Hurry!”

  chapter eleven

  RIP

  DESTINY RAN UP THE STAIRS, PULLING HERSELF UP two steps at a time. At the top, Mikey grabbed her hand and pulled her to his room.

  Destiny blinked in the darkness. Mikey kept the blinds closed, curtains pulled, and the lights off. “Where is she?” Destiny cried. “I can’t see anything.”

  She fumbled for the light switch and clicked on the ceiling light.

  “No—don’t!” Mikey grabbed her hand and pulled it away from the light switch. “Turn it off. Turn it off.”

  Destiny obediently shut off the light.

  “I was only pretending,” Mikey said.

  “You mean—?”

  “I was pretending Livvy was back. That’s all.”

  Destiny let out a long sigh. “Not again, Mikey.” She hugged him tightly. “Not again. You have to stop this. Do you understand?”

  Mikey didn’t reply.

  Rip was a tall, barnlike building on the edge of North Town, the old section of Dark Springs. The club had previously been called Trixx, and before that Wild Weasel. Every year a new owner painted the outside a different color and put up new signs. But the inside was always pretty much the same.

  As Destiny followed Ari inside, she saw a tall DJ wearing a white cowboy hat hunched over two turntables on a small stage in the center of the room. Red and blue neon lightning bolts flashed over the high ceiling, the light flickered off the dancers, dozens of them jammed together on the dance floor, moving to the throbbing rhythm, the music so loud the concrete floor vibrated.

  A long, mirrored bar curved the length of the back wall. Low couches and fat armchairs formed a lounge on one side. Destiny looked up and saw people gazing down onto the dance floor from the narrow balcony that circled the room.

  “I’ll get us some beers,” Ari said, leading her through the crowd. He opened his wallet and flashed a driver’s license. “I have great fake I.D.A guy sold me this for fifty dollars, and it always works.”

  Eyes on the dancers, she followed him to the bar. Half the graduating class from Dark Springs High is here tonight, Destiny realized. She waved to some girls she knew. She spotted Ana-Li sitting in a big armchair in the lounge, leaning forward to talk to two guys Destiny had never seen before.

  In a corner by the lounge, a girl in a sparkly red mini-dress was lip-locked with a guy in black jeans and a muscle shirt. He had a tattoo of a motorcycle on his bicep. As they kissed, he ran his big hands through her blond hair.

  Blond hair…

  No, Destiny thought. Not tonight. I’m not going to think about Livvy tonight.

  But she stared at the girl kissing the big, tattooed guy so passionately, and she couldn’t help but picture her sister there.

  “Here you go.” Ari bumped her shoulder. She turned and reached for the beer bottle in his hand. “The guy carded me,” Ari said, grinning. “The Delaware driver’s license always works. Want me to get you one?”

  She frowned at him. “Ari, you don’t even like beer that much. What’s the big deal?”

  He shrugged. “Come on. We’re at a club, right? We gotta drink beer. Besides, I’ve got a lot of time to make up for. All those years, sitting in my room at the computer, going to dorky UFO websites or watching Star Trek reruns. I didn’t know what I was missing!”

  Ari has changed a lot, Destiny thought. I guess all the terrible things that have happened snapped him out of his fantasy world.

  Ari started to raise the beer bottle to his mouth—and Fletch Green grabbed it out of his hand. “Thanks, dawg.” Fletch emptied the bottle in less than five seconds and handed it back to Ari, a big smile on his face.

  Ari stared at the empty beer bottle.

  “Sorry you guys missed my party last night,” Fletch said, sliding an arm around Destiny. “Hey, Dee, you look hot tonight.”

  Destiny wore a short, pleated black skirt, a tight, white midriff top, and her favorite red strappy sandals.

  “So do you, Fletch,” Destiny shot back. He was wearing baggy cargo pants and a black T-shirt with a martini glass on the front.

  “It was a great party,” Fletch said. “The cops came out three times. We have totally obnoxious neighbors. They call the cops if I sneeze too loud. But it was awesome. Gil Marx threw up in the fishpond. That was kinda gross. But no one else got too sick.”

  He took Destiny’s beer from her hand and finished that one too. He handed the bottle to Ari. “Thanks again, dawg. You know, you’re too young to drink.” He gave the back of Destiny’s hair a playful tug. Then he spun away and shambled off.

  “Is he here with someone?” Ari asked, watching Fletch push his way through the dance floor.

  Destiny shrugged. “Beats me. I heard he’s been drinking a lot. I mean, a lot.” She sighed. “The poor guy. He and Ross were like this.” She held two fingers together. “I think he’s a little lost without him.”

  “Hey, I thought we weren’t going to talk about that tonight,” Ari snapped. He clinked the empty bottles together. “I’ll get another round.”

  “Not now.” Destiny grabbed his arm. “Let’s dance, okay?”

  But he was already pushing his way to the bar.

  What’s he trying to prove? Destiny wondered. I thought we came here to dance.

  Ari returned a few minutes later with two more beers. He downed his quickly and went back for another.

  Destiny sipped hers slowly. She talked with three girls from her class, shouting over the throbbing dance music. They talked about how boring the graduation speaker was, their summer jobs, and what they planned to do in the fall.

  Destiny could see the girls were a little uncomfortable. They were trying hard not to mention Livvy. Finally, one of them said, “Have you heard from your sister?”

  “No,” Destiny replied. “We don’t know where she and Ross went.”

  She saw Ari at the bar, talking to a short, red-haired girl, tossing back another beer. Was he flirting with her?

  Destiny made her way through the crowd and grabbed him by the elbow. “Are we going to dance or what?” She pulled him onto the dance floor.

  They danced for a while under the flashing lightning bolts. Destiny shut her eyes and tried to lose herself to the music, the soaring voices, the insistent beat.

  When she opened her eyes she saw Ana-Li nearby, dancing with one of the guys from the lounge. Ana-Li looked great in low-riding, black denims and a green tub
e top that showed a lot of skin. They waved to each other. Ana-Li pointed to Ari. They both laughed.

  Yes, he was a terrible dancer. He had no sense of rhythm at all. Thrashing his arms around, bending his knees, Destiny thought he looked like a puppet that had lost his strings.

  Destiny put her hands on Ari’s shoulders and tried to guide him. He gave her a lopsided smile. His eyes were cloudy. How many beers had he drunk?

  They danced for a long while. Destiny loved the feel of the floor vibrating beneath her, the lights pulsing, the constant beat of the dance music shutting out all other sound.

  Ari had a good idea, she decided. I’m actually enjoying myself.

  Then she saw the blond again, the one who reminded her so much of Livvy. She was dancing with her back to Destiny, swaying to the music with her arms above her head, her blond hair swinging from side to side.

  With a sigh, Destiny stopped dancing. She stumbled into Ari. Her eyes were locked on the blond in the red mini-dress.

  The kind of sexy outfit Livvy would wear. Her hair swinging like Livvy’s.

  “I…can’t do this,” she told Ari, holding onto him with both hands.

  She pulled him off the dance floor. They found a small, round table near the bar and sat down. “What happened?” Ari asked, holding her hand.

  “I can’t do this,” Destiny repeated. “I can’t be here dancing and pretending.”

  “Hey, we came here to have fun, right?” Ari said, rolling his eyes. “Just for once, can’t we forget about what’s happening?”

  “I tried,” Destiny said. She found a tissue in her bag and wiped the sweat off her forehead. “But Livvy is out there somewhere.” She pointed to the door. “Out in the night. My sister alone in the night. How can I—”

  “It’s not your fault,” Ari shouted. “She made a stupid choice. She made a totally selfish choice. She didn’t think about you, Dee. Or your father. Or your brother. She only thought about herself. So why are you thinking about her all the time? Why can’t you lighten up for just one night?”