Read The Taste of Night Online

Authors: R.L. Stine

The Taste of Night (10 page)

BOOK: The Taste of Night
4.35Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
chapter twenty-four
A DEATH IN THE VAMPIRE FAMILY

IS THAT DESTINY?

Yes, of course it is.

Livvy hid behind a trash Dumpster and watched her sister run from the apartment building. Destiny dropped her bag, picked it up, then fumbled inside it for her car key.

What is she doing here so early? Livvy wondered. The sun is just coming up. Did she come to see me? Does she still think if she begs hard enough, I'll come home?

She watched Destiny stumble over a pile of broken bricks, then run to the side of the building. Destiny had such a distressed look on her face, Livvy felt a pang of guilt.

I didn't want to cause you so much sadness, Dee. What I did wasn't about you at all. It was about me. But you can't accept that, can you? Because everything—
everything
—
always had to be about you.

Destiny pulled open her car door and plunged inside.

You must have sneaked out of the house before dawn, Livvy thought. Now why would you pay me a visit at this hour? Do you think I know something about Ari? Is that it?

Think I know something about how poor Ari died? Well, Dee, you've got that right.

I do know about Ari. It was my stupid friend Monica. I warned her to be careful, to go slowly, a few sips at a time. But Monica never knows when to stop. She always wants more more more.

Suzie and I both got on her case when she told us she'd killed Ari. “I couldn't help it,” Monica said. “I was so hungry, and I lost track. It was an accident. Really.”

Accidents happen, right?

No way.

Not when it gets the whole town excited and upset. And the police. Monica should know better. She risked all of us for one night of pleasure. She's my friend, but she's also a stupid cow.

And yes, I felt bad about Ari. I mean, he was a geeky guy, totally clueless. Spending all his time on horror movies and
Star Trek
websites. But he was smart and funny too. And I know you really liked him.

Whatever.

It's done, okay. He's history.

So why did you come to see me this morning? To hear about how Ari died? How would that help you? It won't
bring the poor guy back.

Livvy watched Destiny's car pull away, tires squealing. Again, she pictured the distressed look on her sister's face.

Sorry, Dee. I really am. But get over it.

Don't come here begging me to give up my new life.

Livvy licked her lips. Mmmm. A trace of the sweet blood lingered there.

That Alby is a good guy, she thought, shutting her eyes for a moment. Such sweet blood, almost like dessert. I'm going to bring him along slowly, so slowly he won't even notice.

The morning sun spread an orange glow around the apartment building. Livvy squinted at the brightening light.

I'd better get inside. The sun burns my eyes. I don't have my shades.

She started toward the front door—then stopped.

Whoa. Hold on. Maybe Dee didn't come to see me.

Livvy bit her bottom lip, new thoughts flashing through her mind.

Maybe Dee came to see Ross.

Maybe she came at dawn hoping to find him without me around.

Has she been seeing Ross all along? Destiny always had a thing for him. I think she was really jealous when Ross decided he liked me better.

When Ross decided he loved me…

But Ross is so eager to connect to his old life. He begged me to let him see his family in line at the movie the
ater. Has he also been trying to get together with my sister?

Livvy darted into the darkness of the building. As she climbed the stairs, she could hear the groans and sighs of the sleeping vampires.

But she didn't feel the least bit sleepy. She had to get to the bottom of this.

Her shoes thudded the concrete floor as she ran down the long, narrow hallway toward Ross's apartment. She edged past a stack of Sheetrock, then a pile of old newspapers.

Ross, please don't tell me you've been seeing Destiny. Please tell me she came to see
me
.

She stopped at the open doorway to Ross's apartment to catch her breath. Then she burst inside.

“Ross—?”

It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the bright light that washed into the room from the window. Then Livvy spotted Ross—and she opened her mouth and screamed in horror.

“Ross? Noooooo! Oh, no! Please—NOOOOOOOO!”

chapter twenty-five
“IT WON'T BE PRETTY”

LIVVY STAGGERED OVER TO ROSS'S BODY. SPRAWLED
on his back on the floor. Legs spread. Hands raised, still gripping the wooden stake pushed through his chest.

Wooden stake…

Livvy gaped at the stake, a plank of light wood. The kind of wood scattered all over this unfinished building.

The stake had been driven through Ross's T-shirt, through the center of his chest. Through his heart.

And now he lay with his eyes wide open, blank, glassy…wide open…wide open as if still staring up at his attacker.

His head tilted to one side. His mouth hung open in a silent scream. Hands still gripping the stake.

“Ross—” Livvy uttered his name as she dropped down beside his lifeless body. “Oh, no, Ross. Oh, no.”

Murdered.

She cradled his head in her arms.

Murdered. His body still warm.

And yes, she knew…

Holding onto the boy who had cared enough about her to follow her…the boy who had loved her so much, he became a vampire just to be with her. Holding onto Ross's lifeless head, Livvy knew who had murdered him.

Destiny.

She had seen Destiny running from the building. In such a hurry to get away.

Destiny came at dawn, sneaked into the building to kill Ross.

And why?

Cradling Ross's head, Livvy shut her eyes and thought hard.

Why?

To pay me back for deserting the family.

No.

Oh, wait. I get it. I totally get it. That was Destiny's way of paying me back for Ari.

Destiny thinks I killed Ari. So she paid me back by killing Ross.

Poor, sweet, innocent Ross.

Could Destiny really do this? Is she angry enough? Desperate enough? Crazy enough?

Yes. I saw her face as she ran from the building.

I saw the tears running down her cheeks. Saw the wild
look in her eyes. The fear mixed with anger. Mixed with hatred.

She hates me so much, she murdered the boy who loved me.

With a long howl of sorrow, Livvy hugged Ross's lifeless head, pressed it to her, ran her hands through his hair one last time.

“You can't get away with this, Destiny,” she said out loud in a cold, hard voice. “I'll find a way to pay you back. Yes, I will. And it won't be pretty.”

chapter twenty-six
“I'D LIKE TO TEAR DESTINY TO BITS”

SOBBING NOW, LIVVY GENTLY LOWERED ROSS'S HEAD
to the floor. She climbed unsteadily to her feet, pulled a blanket off his narrow cot, and covered his body with it, tugging the ends of the blanket around the wooden stake.

Livvy's whole body shuddered.

What must that feel like? To have a sharpened wooden stake shoved through your chest into your heart?

She couldn't imagine the agony Ross must have felt. The pain from the puncture. Waves of pain shooting through his body like electric currents…as he realized…realized he was about to lose his life.

She grabbed her own chest. She suddenly felt as if she couldn't take another breath.

I have to get out of here.

Still holding her chest, she turned away from Ross and stumbled to the door. She started to breathe again out in the hall. And then she climbed the stairs and ran to her room, shoes thudding noisily…How wonderful to be able to make a noise, to be alive, to run…Ross will never run again…never.

Sunshine poured in through the open window. She fumbled on her dresser top until she found her sunglasses. Slipped them on, blinking, heart thudding, two pictures remaining in her mind.

Two pictures refusing to fade…

Ross dead on the floor, his hands—his beautiful hands—gripping the wooden stake that killed him.

And Destiny running from the apartment building, tears running down her cheeks, her expression so angry, so upset.

Livvy paced back and forth in the small, nearly bare living room, her hands balled into tight fists. The anger boiled up in her until she felt ready to explode.

I'd like to follow Dee home right now, she thought. Burst in at breakfast and drag her away. Slash her, tear her to bits with my own hands.

Oh, wow. Could I do that? Could I do that to Dad and Mikey?

Maybe. It's not like I was ever appreciated at home. Or like anyone tried to understand me. Destiny was always the princess. And I was always…trouble.

Well, I tried to escape all that. I tried to escape my
family. I tried to do them a favor. Go away so I wouldn't be trouble anymore.

So why couldn't my sister leave things alone?

Stay home and be the good twin, Dee. Stay with Dad and Mikey and be the princess.

Don't come here and kill someone I really care about.

She could feel the anger rising again, feel all her muscles tensing. And then suddenly, she felt as if she weighed a thousand pounds.

So weary.

Out all night, and then come home to such horror.

She yawned. I need to sleep. Sleep will help me think more clearly. I can make a plan. I can—

She heard a scraping sound from the other room. Footsteps.

“Monica? Suzie? Are you in here?”

No answer.

Livvy stared at the doorway to the bedroom. She took a few steps. “Who's in there?”

And as she stared, a figure stepped out of the shadows. He smiled at her.

“You?” Livvy cried. “What are
you
doing in here?”

chapter twenty-seven
BLOOD ON HER LIPS

PATRICK CAME TOWARD HER SLOWLY, HANDS IN THE
pockets of his black denim jeans. His dark eyes locked on hers. As his grin widened, she saw the dimples in his cheeks—and remembered the way he smiled at her at the dance club.

“How long have you been here? What are you doing here?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Just waiting for you.”

Livvy rushed to him. “Oh, Patrick. I'm so glad to see you. Something…something
terrible
has happened.”

His smile faded quickly. “What is it? Are you okay?”

“No. No, I'm not. I…I…” She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the apartment. “You've got to see. I…I'm so upset.”

She pulled him through the hall, then down the stairs to Ross's apartment. They stepped through a square of bright sunlight on the floor, to the back of the apartment, to the body covered by a purple blanket, wooden stake poking straight up into the air.

“Here,” Livvy said, trembling. She tugged away the blanket.

Patrick gasped and bent to examine Ross's body closer. “Oh, no,” he murmured. “I don't believe this.”

Angrily, he grabbed the stake in both hands and ripped it from Ross's chest. Then he flung it against the bedroom wall, where it hit and clattered to the bare floor.

He turned to Livvy, his features tight with anger. “Who did this? We can't let them get away with this.”

“He…was my friend,” Livvy said in a whisper. “He was a good guy. He…”

Patrick leaned his back against the wall and brushed a hand through his long, brown hair. “Murdered in his own apartment,” he murmured. “He was your friend?”

Livvy nodded, tears running down her cheeks.

He raised his eyes to her and studied her. “When did this happen? Do you have any idea who did it?”

Livvy hesitated.

Yes, I have an idea who did it.

But I can't tell him.

I can't turn my sister over to him so easily. I want to handle her myself. I want to make Destiny pay for what she did. I don't want someone else to get the revenge
for
me.

“No. I don't have a clue,” Livvy said, lowering her eyes to the floor. “It probably happened this morning. I'm sure Ross was out all night. His body…his face…it was still warm when I came in here.”

Patrick narrowed his eyes at her. “Do you always come in to see him early in the morning?”

“Uh…no,” Livvy replied. “Not usually.”

“Well then, why did you come to his apartment this morning?” Patrick asked.

He sounded suspicious. Livvy didn't like the question.

“I wanted to ask him something. I wanted to ask Ross if he knew a guy I met last night.” A total lie. Was Patrick buying it?

He seemed to. He scratched his head. “And you can't think of anyone who had a grudge against Ross? Who might've wanted revenge or something? No enemies? You were his friend, Livvy. No one comes to mind?”

She shook her head. “No. No one.” She glanced down at the body and let out a sob. “I…I'm really going to miss him.”

Patrick crossed the room quickly and wrapped Livvy in a hug. She pressed her hot, damp cheek against his. He tightened his arms around her waist.

It felt good to be held by someone, someone solid and strong.

Livvy raised her face to his and kissed him. She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and held his head as they kissed.

“Mm.” She let out a sound as she felt his teeth bite into her lips. He pressed his mouth against hers, and she felt a shock of pain.

Suddenly, he ended the kiss. He pulled his face away, then lowered it to hers again—and licked the blood off her lips.

Livvy realized she was breathing hard, her heart racing. For the first time in her life, she felt dizzy from a kiss.

Patrick held her tightly, licking the top lip clean, then the bottom. When he backed away, he had her blood on his lips.

“I'll see you later,” he said, and vanished from the room.

“Yeah. Later,” she repeated. She stood unsteadily, eyes clamped shut, waiting for her heart to stop racing. And then…she thought about Destiny.

Destiny, who had murdered Ross.

BOOK: The Taste of Night
4.35Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Nipples Jubilee by Matt Nicholson
One-Night Pregnancy by Lindsay Armstrong
Velvet by Temple West
The Missing World by Margot Livesey
Die a Little by Megan Abbott
Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson
Door to Kandalaura by Louise Klodt
Maine by Sullivan, J. Courtney
Fortnight of Fear by Graham Masterton