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

approval, and their creaking footfalls headed for the door we were standing behind.
    Darting one way and then the other, I basically freaked out, bumping into Janice but not even enjoying it in my panic. Finally I dove for a piece of furniture and scurried behind it, hoping Janice had been fast enough. The door burst open and flooded the hall with light from the kitchen.
    “ Where’s that damned cat?” one of them said.
    “ Probably behind the chair. He always hides back there.”
    Shit. I hoped I was behind the sofa instead of the chair. But that might mean Janice was in trouble.
    There was only one thing to do. Actually, there were three: run like hell, surrender, or create a distraction.
    I fumbled in my pocket and drew out a prized possession.
    It was a skateboard wheel personally used by Corey Haim, which I’d bought during the Startifacts online auction that had paid for Corey’s funeral expenses. Buddy had occasionally joked about the bulge in my pants, but some things are serious.
    Now, I had to let the rubber meet the road.
    I rolled the wheel along the hall, hopefully fast enough so that the oversized goons couldn’t see what it was. It bounced and thudded along, sounding like it hit a few little statues and potted plants on the way.
    “ There he goes,” one of them said. “Get him.”
    They ran down the hall, and I never did figure out why they were so hot for the cat. Maybe they were still hungry. At any rate, I crawled out from behind the furniture and hurried into the kitchen, hoping Janice had sense enough to follow.
    I found her already inside. “What took you so long?” she said.
    Empty sardine cans and cracker crumbs were scattered across the counter, as well as some garlic husks and vinegar. The goons must have been having a stinky late-night snack. No wonder the cat had been so wired.
    “ We have to stop meeting like this,” I said.
    “ Uh, except we don’t meet,” she said.
    “ The club,” I said, trying to cover my tracks. “The club has to stop meeting in creepy old mansions.”
    “ Well, we’re not going to learn much in here except that the alleged VVV has terrible dietary habits.”
    “ The library,” I said. “Books, information, maps, and most importantly....”
    I let the suspense play out. I’d take her attention any way I could get it.
    “ Yeah?” she said, beautiful brown eyes wide in anticipation.
    “ Grandmaster’s chair. If he’s the Grand Wizard of the VVV, then he calls the shots.”
    “ And our late-night-snackers were headed that way.”
    “ Ah, brains as well as beauty.”
    “ Don’t push your luck. I’ve got some sardine juice and I’m not afraid to use it.”
    We crept back into the hall after listening closely to be sure it was abandoned. Then we tiptoed, and this time Janice took my hand of her own free will. I grinned in the dark, although I was mourning the loss of my Corey Wheel. You just don’t get a chance at many celebrity-death memorabilia auctions.
    If the Lost Boys could see me now.
     
     
     
    Chapter Twelve
     
     
    We slid stealthily up to the closed double doors of the library, where the two “cousins” had disappeared after apparently giving up their futile search for the cat.
    I heard the rumble of many voices from behind the door, and then, above all else, a cackling cough that cut through the clutter of conversations, quieting everyone instantly.
    Pressing my ear against the door, I fully utilized all my surveillance abilities. Someone began speaking and I could only make-out a smattering of words. Here’s what I heard, or thought I heard: “God... shitty... damned... asshole”—believe me, I was offended also —“ Vampire... bloodsucking... stop... son-of-a-bitching club... show... not... mess... us—”
    Janice’s ear was also against the door, and she winced with each expletive. Such virgin ears should not suffer thus.
    I pulled away from the door when I heard footsteps running up the stairs and I tried to find the