The Little Vampire by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg Read Free Book Online Page A

then, pinching hold of Tony’s chin and forcing his eyes up to meet his own,he continued: “You think I’m stupid or something?”
    “Ow!” protested Tony, but Nigel pinched even harder.
    “You watch it,” he said menacingly. “Just tell me what’s going on here.”
    “Leave off first,” demanded Tony.
    “O.K.,” agreed Nigel, and took a step backwards. “So?”
    “I wasn’t lying,” said Tony. “I really am meeting a friend here.”
    “And what’s this friend called?”
    “Rudolph. Rudolph Sackville-Bagg.”
    Nigel’s expression became suspicious again. “And what are you both up to in the graveyard?”
    Tony’s mind worked feverishly. On no account must he mention the vault, for Nigel would surely blab, and then the whole vampire clan would be lost.
    “We – er, we were going to look for vampire graves!” he said finally.
    “Vampire graves,” scoffed Nigel, with a yawn. “Kids’ fairy tales!”
    “No, no,” protestedTony. “There were meant to be vampires in Rudolph’s family way back!”
    “Ha, ha!” said Nigel loudly but not sounding the least bit amused.
    “There’s something special about their graves,” went on Tony.
    That seemed to catch Nigel’s attention. “Something special?” he echoed.
    “Yeah. The gravestones.” Tony let his voice sink to a whisper. “They’re in the shape of a heart.”
    “A heart?” echoed Nigel.
    “Don’t you see?” explained Tony. “Hearts mean blood!”
    Nigel’s lips curved in a scornful smile. “What rubbish,” he said. “You’d never find even half a gravestone in the shape of a heart.”
    Tony had to make an effort not to laugh out loud. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he giggled. “And anyway, it doesn’t hurt to look.”
    “So why weren’t you looking?” asked Nigel unkindly.
    “Because I was waiting for myfriend,” said Tony patiently.
    One thing was good, anyway: he had turned Nigel’s interest to the gravestones. He could see that Nigel was intrigued, because he kept shifting from foot to foot.
    “Shall we bet on it?” said Nigel at last. “Fifty pence for you if we find the gravestones, and seventy-five pence for me if we don’t.”
    “Why do you get seventy-five and me only fifty?” asked Tony crossly.
    Nigel put on his lofty fifth-formel smile. “Because fifty for you is the same as seventy-five for me.”
    “That’s not fair,” said Tony. “I’d have to pay you seventy-five if I lost!”
    “Are you going to lose then?” mocked Nigel.
    “Well,” said Tony, unable to conceal a smug smile. “We’ll see ...”
    “So, fine – let’s get going!” said Nigel. “I’ll start here, and you go over there!”
    Tony had only takena few steps towards the chapel when he heard Nigel cry out, “Tony, come here, quick! I’ve found them!”
    Tony tried to look surprised. “Really?” he said.
    Nigel was beside himself. “God!” he said, again and again. “Gravestones in the shape of hearts! Look at this one: Frederick Sackville-Bagg, 1803–1850, and Thelma Sackville-Bagg, 1804–1849.” He looked at Tony with wide eyes. “Hey! Didn’t you sayyour friend was called Sackville-Bagg too?”
    Tony tried not to look too pleased. “Yep,” he said, with a nod.
    By now, Nigel had found the other gravestones, and his voice faltered as he listed the names. “Sabina, William, and here – Dorothy. What weird names they all had!” The two boys smiled. “But they’ve all been dead for years,” Nigel continued. “Or do you think they still fly?”
    “I thoughtyou didn’t believe in such fairy tales?” teased Tony.
    “Well, no, I don’t,” mumbled Nigel. “But this gravestone thing ...” He paused, then said: “Hey, didn’t you say your friend was a vampire too?”
    “Did I say that?”
    “Sure. Back outside the cemetery.”
    “Then I guess I meant it,” said Tony.
    Nigel took a step closer to Tony and looked at him warily. “Did you mean it?”
    Tony merely smiled. “I couldtell you many a