The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks Read Free Book Online Page A

Casimir for any purpose whatsoever – let alone a friendly chat about his daily activities.
    Sanford appeared to be racking his brain.
    ‘Casimir hasn’t had his computer for long,’ was Dave’s comment, after an extended pause. ‘Maybe we should be looking online.’
    I have to admit, I was impressed. And I couldn’t believe that the same thought hadn’t occurred to me. It was so
obvious
.
    ‘God, yes.’ I rounded on Horace. ‘What’s Casimir been up to? You must have some idea – you gave him your computer!’
    Horace squirmed in his seat, looking unbelievably shifty. At the sight of his discomfort, Dave and Sanford both stiffened, their eyes widening with alarm.
    ‘Oh, man,’ said Dave. Then he appealed to the rest of us. ‘You don’t reckon Casimir’s been logging onto that bloody website, do you?’
    It was an appalling prospect, which made us all gasp. Two weeks previously, Horace had mentioned stumbling upon a vampire website. The Net is full of vampire blogs and websites, which cater to fans of horror movies and fantasy novels. Sometimes these blogs are frequented by slightly disturbed people who dress like Horace and have an unhealthy obsession with gore. Never once have I sensed the presence of a genuine vampire amongst all the deluded online chat about tissue regeneration and the covens of
Underworld
. On the contrary, it’s all the most outrageousnonsense – and though it can be useful for someone who writes vampire fiction (like me), it’s also dreadfully misleading. I have to admit, I was always interested in Dracula movies. In fact I used to think vampires were pretty glamorous, until I met my first one. But since then I’ve become more and more disillusioned, as I’ve discovered that glamorous vampires just don’t exist – except in books like the Bloodstone Chronicles.
    That’s why I hadn’t been very interested in Horace’s discovery. Not at first. (Why look for fantasy online when you can produce it out of your own head?) But after hearing about the anonymous user who wanted to become a vampire, I’d changed my mind. Apparently, at least one crazy person somewhere in the world was looking for a vampire to bite him (or her). Nicknamed ‘Fangseeker’, this mentally unbalanced individual had provided an email address, and an assurance of complete confidentiality.
    Horace had wanted to know if infecting Fangseeker could possibly be regarded as wrong, given the circumstances. He had seemed very disappointed when informed by Father Ramon that on no account should such a perverse desire be indulged. According to the priest, Fangseeker was clearly unhinged, and to take advantage of someone with a psychiatric illness would be inexcusable. There could be no question of reduced culpability, just because Fangseeker claimed to be a willing victim.
    I could remember being quite interested in the discussion that followed. I could also remember being disgusted by Horace Whittaker’s ill-concealed regret. But I couldn’t remember a thing about Casimir’s reaction – perhaps because I had always tried to avoid even looking at Casimir, if I could possibly help it.
    ‘You didn’t give him that web address, did you, Horace?’ Father Ramon inquired anxiously. And when Horace gave a sulky nod, the priest covered his face with one hand.
    ‘Oh, boy,’ Dave moaned. Even Gladys was scandalised.
    ‘
Horace!
How could you be so
stupid?
’ she screeched, with such venom that Horace bared his canines at her.
    ‘Are you calling
me
stupid?’ he hissed. ‘That’s a laugh!’
    ‘It was probably a set-up,’ I interposed, having refused to be distracted by this pointless bickering. ‘Someone’s trying to lure vampires into exposing themselves. Don’t you think?’ I turned to Dave for support. ‘We have to check Casimir’s computer. We have to check his email.’
    ‘How can we do that if we don’t have his password?’ Horace sneered, then addressed the room at large. ‘Does
anyone
know