The Halloween Collection (8 page)

“I will take you. I believe you crossed
paths with my daughter for this reason. Take my hand.” As the two
women joined hands, they suddenly disappeared.

“That was crazy cool.” Anna jumped up. “I’m
so glad we could help her. Can you imagine being stuck in a house
for generations? That would really suck.”

“Let’s get out of here.” Keegan reached for
the door and pulled. “You have to be kidding me! We are still
locked in.” Keegan slammed her hand on the door.

“Calm down Keegan. We have our phones,
remember?” Lauren shook her head.

“Who should we call?” Keegan turned to stare
at them.

“Who do we always call when we are in
trouble?” Anna grinned.

“Oh yeah, I’ll call my Aunt Katrina. She’ll
love to be part of this.” Keegan dialed her aunt’s number. “Hey
Kat, we’re in a bind.”

“Have you girls been drinking?” Katrina
asked wearily.

“No, we haven’t been drinking.” Keegan
chuckled. “We’re locked in a room at a haunted house.”

“Do I dare ask how that happened? You don’t
sound very scared so I take it you are ok?”

“Yes, we’re fine. We’ll fill you in when you
get here. It was actually pretty cool. You know the old Wilson’s
house they set up every year? That’s where we are.”

“Keegan, I really don’t know about you guys
sometimes.” She sighed.

“Just come in through the front door and go
straight up the stairs. You’ll see a door at the end of the
hallway.”

They heard scratching on the door about
fifteen minutes later. They huddled closer together again.
“Bahahahaha I’m coming to get you my pretties.”

They relaxed and laughed. Katrina was such a
dork at times.

The door swung open. “It wasn’t even locked.
What is wrong with you girls?” Katrina put her flashlight under her
chin and attempted to make a scary face.

“I always have to bail you three out of
trouble.”

“We know you love it.” Keegan grinned. “Wait
till you hear what happened…”

* * *

Read more about Keegan and her friends in
Coexist
.

Look for Book 2 Conflicted coming in September
2011

Julia Crane writes young adult novels of elves, love,
and destiny and the struggle between light and dark. She can most
often be found at her home in Dubai hunched over her laptop with a
two year old clinging upside down to her head.

http://coexistjuliacrane.blogspot.com/

England 1611

Castle of the King

The King’s daughter. Madrial. Her name was a
lilting music on my vampiric tongue. I had longed to taste her
pure, blue blood since her birth and now, at a time when my power
seemed to know no bounds, I would have her.

“Come to me my sweet. Have me. Drink of me.”
Madrial’s sweet whisper entreated me to partake. The time had
arrived…my destiny. From the branches of the tree I would devour
the royal lineage until there was nothing left of the crown or
throne. My hatred for the king was an intense fire ignited by his
refusal to allow Madrial to be my bride. And when the King
sequestered his daughter from me, I knew she had to die. The King
would suffer as I suffered; only I would feel Madrial live on in my
blood.

The nearer I drew to Madrial, the more
enthralled I became. Her scent was that of life and sex itself.
Beauty had been completely redefined upon her birth…and she would
be mine.

Her soft, frail neck tilted just enough such
that it gave me access to her sweetest of meats. I could see, hear,
feel her pulse racing; her blood burning to be drawn.

“I am yours.”

This was a moment I would remember for all
eternity. My teeth dropped and I gently bit into the supple,
virginal flesh of the young maiden. Madrial’s blood rushed into my
mouth, like a river of lust and passion. I immediately knew
something was amiss. There was a hidden taste to the life-giving
liquid. Madrial’s blood held something not human…something not
right.

In the distance, a low, haunting laughter
could be heard. The sound mingled with Madrial’s beating heart. As
the sounds blended together, I could feel myself falling into the
black abyss of sleep. The laugh belonged to the King’s Mage.
Madrial had been a trap.

“Vampire, you shall sleep in the earth
forever.” The raspy voice of the King’s Mage proclaimed my fate
with a sickening pride.

United States, 2011

Los Angeles, California

“I have returned!”

My voice echoed out over a vastly changed
landscape. What was once a thick forest of evergreen and
moss-covered stone was now nothing more than a panorama of filthy
industry and humanity. What had happened? The last waking moment I
remembered was locking my fangs onto the fragile neck of the king’s
most precious of daughters.

Madrial’s blood was as intoxicating as her
scent and she gave herself to me willingly. Almost too
willingly.

Images of that moment flooded my system;
Madrial tilting her head to me to offer her flesh, my fangs
piercing the virgin skin…and a laugh…of the King’s Mage. In a cold
flash of rage it all hit me; the blood of the King’s daughter had
been enchanted and I, the most feared and hated Vampire since Vlad
Tepes, had been tricked into torpor.

How long had I been asleep? What was the
year? Where was I?

And how would I exact my revenge on the
King?

These questions would all be answered in due
time. And along with those answers would come a revenge that would
be whispered in fear for all eternity. The land would tremble at
the very mention of the name Vlad…Vlad…

Oh Hell, I couldn’t even remember my
name!

“Creatures of the night, answer my call.” I
yelled out into the darkness for my darling children to join me at
my side. Certainly the years would have brought to life more of my
kind. Extinction is no beast to best the vampire. With their
assistance, I would feed and then I would rain down chaos across
the country side until I had the answers I sought.

“Dude, what’s your deal?” The strange young
man approached me with a brevity I had never witnessed.

“You dare confront a creature as
feared…”

“Holy shit! Can you do that again? I want to
catch that on my phone. You’re fucking hilarious man.” The stranger
laughed.

The insignificant whelp reached into the
pocket of his pants. Certainly he was about to dash me with holy
water. In my weakened state, I would be no match for the blessed
liquid. The weapon he revealed was nothing I had ever seen. I might
have misjudged the man.

“Okay, dude, say exactly what you said
again. This will go on Youtube and bring me fame and bitches!
Ready. One, two…”

“Come to me.” The scent of the young man was
overwhelming. My blood lust was beginning to boil from deep within.
I had to feed. I had to take this stranger and devour him skin to
soul. Reflexes overtook me and my fangs dropped. The young man had
no idea the candle of his life was about to be snuffed.

“Holy shit! That’s awesome! How did you do
that? Where did you get that grill?” Joy issued from the mouth of
the babe.

“Insolent mortal, you will bow before me.”
My voice carried my wrath, but hid my curiosity as to how the human
sapling hadn’t dropped to his knees in dread fear. It must be my
weakened state. Time had sapped me of my powers. Soon they would
return and my triumph would be glorious.

“Oh my God, this is too much. Dude, you must
be lost. Oh fuck, wait—it’s Halloween. The premier of
Nightfall
is like ten
miles north of us. How in the hell did you get this far off? Come
on, let me drive you…it’s the least I can do in exchange for the
fucking entertainment.”

The young man’s aura was twirling with the
colors of honesty and joy. He was completely unaware of who and
what I was—an advantage I would certainly use. I had no idea what
premiere he was referring to, but if he was willing to aid me in my
time of need…I would allow for the assistance until the moment came
for me to finally sate my ravenous hunger.

“Name’s Alex by the way.” He smiled the grin
of ignorance I’d seen so many times over the years.

In the name of Vlad Dracula I wanted so
desperately to tear into the insolent flesh of this boy, end my
suffering, and snuff out his dim-witted light. Instead, I allowed
myself to step into his odd machine, unsure of what was to
happen.

“Don’t worry, I’m a good driver.” Alex
grinned.

As soon as the heavy door was shut, the
metal box shot forward as if it were propelled by the machines of
Hell. The speed of the machine was incredible. I had only ever
travelled this quickly when in bat form, flitting through the
darkened night sky. The feeling was exhilarating. We would arrive
as instantaneously as thought.

“Damn, chicks dig the whole vampire shit
now. You dress up like this to get laid? Does it work?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer Alex. The
colloquialism
get
laid
escaped my comprehension. Instead of making an absolute
fool of myself, and arousing any suspicions, I joined the man in
his odd celebration of
vampire shit getting laid
. Our combined laughter
echoed off the metallic beast carrying us into the night.

“What did you think of the first film?
Personally I thought it was gay. Seriously, when did vampires
sparkle? I wasn’t sure if it was the casting of all those pretty
boys, but the vampires were lame. If I had the power of mother
fuckin’ Dracula, I wouldn’t let some grade-B piece of ass mesmerize
me with her stoner eyes and promise of nothing in the sack. Stupid
Hollywood fucks.”

The ice cold heart in my chest caught fire
at the sound of the farcical troll invoking the name ‘Dracula.’
This simply would not do. No human ever spoke the name of the King
of Kings and lived without consequences. Rage and reflex took hold
and my hand shot over so that my fingers could wrap around the neck
of Alex. I could feel some of my powers returning…enough to control
the yammering insect.

“What the hell! Dude, let go. Seriously.”
One of the mortal boy’s hands grabbed at mine, but to no avail.
Even in my weakened state a human was no match for my strength.

“Stop the vehicle.” My voice carried with it
the ability to hypnotize by mere suggestion. My powers were gaining
strength. They would become endless once again.

The car came to a squealing halt. Alex was
motionless in my grip, save the tears of fear flowing freely down
his cheeks. The intoxicating stench of urine tickled my nostrils,
giving me a much needed boost. All that was left was the first
blood. After such a long slumber, first blood could prove a shock
the system. The trick was not to take in too much at once, lest the
ecstasy of the moment drive me to the ground, a helpless, paralyzed
victim awaiting final death in the morning sun. But this was my
third time coming out of torpor, so I was more than familiar with
the ways of torporial recovery.

“Alex, I am about to drink from you. But
before I do, I have a few questions you must answer.”

“Yes.”

Alex was safely in trance. The power I
exerted over mankind often had me giddy with delight. Even a
vampire of my age and status could be giddy. There was no shame in
joy.

“Alex, what year is it?”

“Two thousand eleven.”

The date hit me like thousand rays of
sunshine. I had been under for nearly four hundred years. And with
the King’s Mage most certainly gone, my revenge would have to take
on a different form.

Not realizing my grip had tightened, bones
began to snap in Alex’s neck.

“What is this
Nightfall
?”

“Vampire movie. Sequel to
Dawn’s Breaking
.”

“Alex, I am going to feed on you now. I want
you to begin counting out loud as I do. When I am done with you,
you will take me to this
Nightfall
. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

Alex’s voice was soft, transfixed on some
point in time that either never had or ever would exist. He was
lost and would remain so until I broke the tether to his mortal
life.

I twisted the young man’s neck to reveal his
pulsing artery. It had been so long, this feast would be like none
I ever had. When my fangs dropped and broke the sweaty skin of his
neck, the rush of a thousand joys washed over me. My body spasmed
as the flood poured into me, giving me life.

“1, 2, 3, 4…” Alex’s voice was a distant
drone, but the numbers were clear enough for me to know. To avoid
disaster I had until the count of sixty. Beyond that, I would die
the final death as the drunkenness of too much first blood rendered
me unconscious, ready for sun to have its holy way with my
flesh.

“…15, 16, 17…”

Alex’s memories overcame me in glimpses. A
fragment of his first awkward sexual encounter, the death of his
younger sister, our fateful meeting…everything from his short,
insignificant life came to me in bits and pieces.

“…39, 40, 41…”

Souls began to intermingle, I was getting
lost in Alex, he in me; where I ended and he began was becoming
ever more indistinguishable.

“…45, 46, 47…”

There was no need to tempt the fates any
longer, so I pulled out of the embrace. Alex’s head fell forward,
his body temporarily without the will to continue on. He would
survive.

“Now, my friend, take me to the premier of
Nightfall
.”

“Yes…master.”

Ah the endearing
Master
. The word carried such
loyalty, spoke of power and ownership. Over the years I had
possessed many whose servitude was always repaid in kind with a
life longer than their humanity would normally allow. Granted this
life was spent serving me and my whims…whims often leaning toward
the sadistic.