The Vampire Club by Scott Nicholson, J.R. Rain Read Free Book Online Page A

loved him as only fellow vampire lovers could love another vampire lover.”
    And, apparently, Janice had been ready to do some loving on that fellow vampire lover. Hopefully my story would change her mind.
    But she shook her head. “He’s not like that. He’s nice.”
    “ Look, Janice. You’ve read the books and seen the movies. The bad boy always has this rough charm that seems to sway the ladies, but first chance he gets, pow . Betrayal.”
    “ It’s so hard to believe.”
    “ And so is the existence of vampires, for most people. But we’ve learned to embrace the dark side, Janice. Now, we need to find out for sure, one way or another. The professor wants us to search the house for clues”
    “ Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it. But only to prove that you’re wrong.”
    “ Cool.”
    “ Let me get dressed.”
    “ Cool.”
    Five seconds passed. She looked at me. I looked at Speed Racer.
    “ Outside,” she said.
     
    * * *
     
    She joined me a minute later and we crept down the hall. The stairs were like steps into hell itself. I looked down the dark, twisting steps, wondering what foul beasts might lurk below.
    I’ve been told I have an overactive imagination.
    We descended slowly and entered utter darkness. The living room below me, as far as my other four senses could tell, was void of life. Even the potted plants seemed to be holding their breath. But somewhere in the gloomy mansion I heard the mutter of voices.
    The coolness felt like a damp sock. I shuddered and reached back, grabbing Janice’s hand. “For safety,” I whispered.
    She played along. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, my eyes had somewhat adjusted to the dark, and what I couldn’t see, I used my memory to piece together the black spots. Now I had a choice to make.
    To my right, where the voices seemed to be coming from, was the most light. I believed that was the great library with the map. Ahead, through the living room, was the exit, but at that point you could go two ways, out the back door or into the cellar. To our left was blackness, but if I remembered correctly there was a long hall, with only the slightest hint of light from the kitchen. Maybe one of Dial’s cousins was serving up some milk and cookies for the bloodthirsty bunch.
    As far as I could tell, the most obvious choice was to go where the most voices were coming from. After all, as I always said, where there are voices, you’ll find someone talking.
    “ Eavesdropping is rude,” Janice said, but she didn’t let go of my hand.
    “ So is keeping vampires in a state of suspended animation,” I whispered. “They’re the ones with blood on their hands.”
    I went right, towards the voices in the kitchen, like a moth attracted to the sun. I stumbled a few times in the dark, and once I hit a cat, or at least I think it was a cat. It screeched and took off into the blackness. A voice somewhere told it to shut the hell up, and because it scared the shit out of me, I seconded the command.
    I led the way as I stumbled and fumbled my way down the hall, bumping into a couple of doorjambs, and, now bruised from head to toe, we came to the closed kitchen door.
    I made out two different voices, but I hadn’t the slightest idea what they were talking about. In between exchanges, I heard long slurps and the smacking of lips. There were a few belches, and the sound of eating would have made me hungry if they hadn’t been so disgusting.
    Janice drew close behind me, and then she was up against me, trying to hear through the door. I kind of lost my concentration. Rather, my concentration was fixed on two firm and warm mounds of flesh against my back.
    “ Shh,” Janice whispered. “I’m trying to hear.”
    I realized my heart had been pounding too loudly, so I reluctantly eased away from her.
    Then, with a belch to end all belches, someone began creaking across the wooden floor. “We’re going to be late, Dagger.”
    Then Dagger, apparently, let loose a final belch of