Call of the Vampire Read Free Page A

squares, several top hats, and a few men even carrying walking canes. The women were dripping with jewels and clad in gowns that seemed to move like rippling water. The whole scene reminded me of the song Puttin’ on the Ritz . It was like we’d snuck onto the set of a high budget movie.
    “Is it you?” a low voice said very close to my ear, practically making me leap out of my skin. “Colette?”
    I gave a startled gasp and jumped back an inch, nearly spilling my champagne. It was him. The beautiful boy from the library. And he was peering into my face with such a serious, penetrating look that it made my heart skip a beat.
    “Happy birthday!” I blurted, raising my glass of champagne and hoping it wasn’t actually a graduation party or something like that.
    “It is you,” he said, stepping even closer, his cheeks flushing with happiness. A smile broke across his face that made his eyes twinkle. “I knew it. I knew you’d come back to me,” he said, sweeping me up in his arms and crushing me to his chest.
     

Chapter 2
    My world was spinning. I knew this boy had the wrong idea and had mistaken me for someone else, but for that frozen moment in time, I didn’t care. I just wanted to be in his arms, feeling the strength of them as they lifted me from the floor as if I was as light as a doll.
    “Easy there, Tiger,” Blossom said, tugging on the guy’s shoulder until he set me gently down. “I’m Blossom, by the way. And this is Aurora.”
    He frowned, taking a half step back to look me over more closely. “Aurora?”
    “Yeah, her mom’s nice, but she’s got a bit of that stink of hippie,” Blossom said, making me want to strangle her. She had a lot of room to talk with a name like Blossom.
    “I’m sorry,” he said to me, his face returning to a look of brooding. “For a moment there, I thought... The way you...” he vaguely gestured with his hand toward my face. “Sorry, I mistook you for somebody else.”
    “That’s okay,” I said. “I wish I was somebody else.”
    This made him laugh. Just a short breath of laugh with bitterness behind it. Then remembering his manners, he said, “My name is Jessie Vanderlind.” He searched my eyes for a moment before adding, “I apologize. I guess we don’t know each other after all.”
    “Don’t apologize,” I said. “We’re the ones who should be apologizing to you.”
    That’s when Blossom gave me a little pinch and said between gritted teeth, “Shut up, Aurora.”
    Ignoring her, I continued. “We weren’t actually invited. I’m afraid we snuck in, and I’m sorry. We just wanted to see what it was like in your beautiful home. It was really rude of us.” He just kept staring at me with his fathomless gray eyes, so I added, “We can leave now, there’s no reason to call security or anything.”
    “You must leave,” he said in a low, urgent voice as if he was afraid of being overheard. “Immediately. Come.” He extended his hand toward me. “I’ll find a way to get you out.”
    He grabbed me by the hand and was turning to lead us somewhere when his movements were blocked by the man he’d been standing next to in the receiving line. “Don’t hurry your friends away so soon, Jessie,” the guy said. “Introduce us.”
    “The girls were just leaving, Daniel,” Jessie replied in a tight voice.
    “Nonsense, they should stay,” the older guy said, beaming. “What’s a party without a few gate crashers?”
    The newcomer looked a lot like Jessie in the way that brothers can. They were about the same height and had the same dark, silky hair, but where Jessie was full lipped and handsome, Daniel had a sharp face and thin lips. I guess he would have been considered handsome by most people, but he didn’t have a kind face. He looked a bit too much like a hungry hawk for me to feel at ease.
    “No, that’s all right,” I said, blushing. I was feeling so embarrassed, I wished there was a moat so I could jump into it. “We should