This Totally Bites! (10 page)

When she was finished, Great-aunt Margo lowered her arms. And suddenly, there was a shifting and a rustling among the fledglings.

One by one, they were transforming.

A thin, redheaded boy was the first to change. The crimson card in his hand fluttered to the floor as his arms became long, russet-colored wings. His legs and arms morphed into claws, his face shrunk, his ears grew, and just like that, he was a bat. A bat whose open mouth now revealed long, pointy, white fangs. Great-aunt Margo beamed.

My head spun and there was a ringing in my ears. Who was next? Me? Someone else? For the first
time that night, I looked at each fledgling carefully. And saw a girl with long, white-blond hair and baby-blue eyes, wearing a sparkling tiara on her head and a pouffy pink princess gown.

My heart stopped beating for a second.

It was Ashlee Lambert.

She was shivering, and I’d never seen her look so meek. My thoughts were tumbling. Was
this
why Ashlee had looked so frail at school over the past week? Was this why she hadn’t come to the gym to approve my dance decorations?

How could
she
be a vampire, too?

It seemed impossible that the blond, pastel-loving princess was truly a creature of the night. But as I watched in disbelief, the tiara slipped off Ashlee’s head and fell to the floor with a clatter. My classmate’s face had shrunk to bat size.

The scream that had been stuck in my throat ripped free. I dropped Gabby’s purse and my cell phone fell out, hitting the floor with a loud clang.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at me. In a flash, the vampires began closing in. Their glowing red eyes were curious and their white fangs grew larger as they came nearer.

My head started spinning so fast I felt like I was
on a roller coaster. Dark spots swam before my eyes, and my knees turned so wobbly I knew I would no longer be able to stand.

Was it happening? Was I becoming a bat?

I heard a familiar voice — Great-aunt Margo’s — call out my name sharply.

“Emma-Rose!”

And then everything went dark.

“Emma-Rose? Dah-link?”

I pried my eyes open. I was lying on my back, but there was something soft beneath my head. Great-aunt Margo was sitting beside me, her navy blue eyes worried.

Everything came rushing back: the Nocturne Ritual. Ashlee Lambert. The bats.

“Am — am I a bat?” I croaked. I tried to lift my head — it felt like my normal head — and look down at my arms, which felt like my normal arms.

“Of course not, dah-link,” Great-aunt Margo said gently.

She helped me to a sitting position. We were still in the room where the Nocturne Ritual had been held, but we were alone now.

“Where are — the others?” I asked, glancing around in panic.

“They had to … fly off,” Great-aunt Margo answered carefully. “You’ve been unconscious for a few minutes.”

“I
fainted?”
I shook my head in surprise. I had never passed out before. “So everyone saw me?”
Even Ashlee?
I wondered.

Great-aunt Margo nodded. “It’s a good thing I rushed over in time to catch you. Here, drink this.” She held out a paper cup full of bright red liquid.

“What is it?” I whispered, cowering.

“Cranberry juice,” Great-aunt Margo replied with a small smile. Her fangs were gone, replaced with regular white teeth. “Your mom told me it’s your favorite.”

“Is Mom here?” I gasped, turning around to inspect the room again.

“Shh, no,” Great-aunt Margo said, patting my shoulder. “Relax. Your parents do not know about anything that happened. They are still enjoying the gala.”

I stared at my great-aunt, my mind still foggy. “What
did
happen?” I asked, my voice cracking with fear and confusion.

“Drink up first, and then ve vill talk,” Great-aunt Margo said.

I was still suspicious of the crimson liquid. But when I took a sip, all I tasted was pure, tangy juice. I gulped it down and immediately felt better.

“Vonderful,” Great-aunt Margo said, taking the empty cup from me. “I am glad I told Edvard to run and fetch the juice from the cafeteria.”

“Who’s Edward?” I asked. “Was he one of the …” I shot a glance at my great-aunt, unsure if I could speak the word that had haunted me for the past two weeks. “Vampires?” I finished in a whisper.

Great-aunt Margo was silent for a moment, and then, very slowly, she nodded.

“So it’s true,” I gasped, my eyes glued to my great-aunt’s face. “Everything was real. You’re the Empress of Vampires?”

My great-aunt lowered her eyes modestly. “Indeed,” she murmured.

I’d known the answer, but it was startling to hear her confirm it.

“And the bats you brought to New York were just pretend stuffed bats,” I went on, my heartbeat picking up. “And every night you’ve all been flying out to
Central Park to suck the blood of squirrels and birds and raccoons, and — and …”

And you’re a dangerous monster!
I thought, inching away.

“Vait.” Great-aunt Margo held up one hand, her ruby ring flashing. “Yes, my colleagues are guilty of the hunting in Central Park. But
I
only vent vit them now and then to supervise, to make sure that they did not hunt in an overly cruel manner. As the Empress, I have evolved beyond sucking the blood of animals. I am able to get my nourishment from the same food humans consume, such as rare meat.”

“But do you ever consume — humans?” I whispered, hugging myself.

“Heavens, no,” Great-aunt Margo assured me with a shudder. “The majority of vampires no longer attack humans. Those who do give the rest of us a bad name. The more intellectual of our breed stopped that boorish practice centuries ago.”

“Wow.” I let my arms fall limply to my sides. “I never knew.”

“Vell, how vould you be expected to know that?” Great-aunt Margo chuckled.

I shrugged, my heart now pounding. “Because I’m like you. I’m a — I was a fledgling — a —”

“You,” Great-aunt Margo cut in softly, reaching out and smoothing my hair, “are a lovely young lady who is much too curious for her own good.”

I felt my brow furrow. “What do you mean?” I demanded.

There was a laugh in Great-aunt Margo’s voice as she replied, “I am sorry to disappoint you, my dah-link, but you are not a vampire.”

Her words were like a bucket of ice water. I blinked, hoping I wouldn’t pass out again.

“But … no!” I exclaimed, getting unsteadily to my feet. Great-aunt Margo looked up at me calmly. “I
know
I am,” I protested. “You don’t have to lie to me to make me feel better. Look.” I began to count on my fingers. “First of all, we look exactly alike. Second, I love rare meat, and I can’t stand garlic. Third, I don’t sleep at night, and I hate sunshine. Fourth, I have, like, these miniature fangs” — I pointed to my incisors — “and, fifth,
you
summoned me to the Nocturne Ritual!”

I caught my breath, glaring down at my great-aunt. Was she lying to me because I had fainted?
Because she thought I wasn’t tough enough to make it as a vampire?

“If you vould sit down again, dah-link, I can explain everything,” Great-aunt Margo replied, reaching up to take my hands.

Reluctantly, I let my great-aunt pull me back down to sit on her shawl.

“Ve look alike because ve are related,” Great-aunt Margo began with a smile. “And it is something you should be happy about, my dear, because I vas quite attractive in my youth, if I do say so myself.” She batted her lashes and patted her bun.

“But I thought vampirism is inherited,” I pressed. “It’s passed on through the maternal line! If I inherited your looks, why not your …”

“Difference?”
Great-aunt Margo gave a wry laugh. “Vampirism is hereditary, but many generations can pass between vampires. For instance, after I became full-fledged, I discovered that my great-grandmother had been a vampire. And though you do not possess those genes yourself, there is a chance that vun of your children …” She trailed off, smiling mysteriously. “But only time vill tell.”

My children?
I twisted my mouth. The idea
seemed so, so far in the distant future I couldn’t begin to imagine it.

“So the fact that we’re Transylvanian has nothing to do with it?” I asked.

Great-aunt Margo shook her head. “No, all the vampires who vere here tonight have some Transylvanian blood in them. There are vampires all over the vorld, but vhat you saw here tonight is a purely Transylvanian custom.”

I nodded, digesting this. It was weird to think that Ashlee Lambert’s family was Transylvanian, too.

“Now, let’s return to your list,” Great-aunt Margo went on. “I am sure you know that countless people happen to enjoy a delicious rare steak, and even more people dislike garlic. Other people, especially those vit big imaginations like yours, often have trouble sleeping. Too many thoughts in here,” she explained, lightly tapping my forehead with her cold fingers. “Especially as you get older, and life begins to get more complicated.”

“Oh,” I said softly. I had to admit that my great-aunt
was
making sense.

“It is true that vampires can be hurt by sunlight,” she continued. “Ve tend to stay indoors during the daylight hours, and catch some catnaps in the
afternoon. However, some vampires love sunshine, and are very sad that their condition does not allow them to spend a day at the beach. So your disliking sunny veather, my Emma-Rose, is simply part of who you are.” She smiled, and added, “Just like your … vhat do they call them in English … in-scissors?” She pointed to my teeth.

“Incisors,” I said, smiling. I felt them with the tip of my tongue. They were sharp as ever, but not as sharp as the vampires’ fangs had looked.

“And finally, you vere
not
summoned to the Nocturne Ritual,” Great-aunt Margo declared. “How you learned about it at all surprises me a great deal, but then again, you are a very surprising girl. To be summoned, vun must receive a crimson-colored note vun veek prior to the ritual. The note includes plane or train tickets, as necessary. The fledglings are instructed to keep the ritual an absolute secret. Ve have vays of learning if they have betrayed us.” Great-aunt Margo ducked her eyes again.

I shivered. “I didn’t receive a note,” I admitted. “But I did have a dream. I dreamed about walking into the exhibit and seeing the bats’ red eyes.”

“Oh?” Great-aunt Margo raised an eyebrow at
me. “I vill say that many vampires are psychic. Perhaps this is the vun trait that vas passed down to you through the generations. Very interesting.”

“So then maybe I’m a
little
bit vampire?” I felt a funny mix of hope and fear.

Great-aunt Margo shook her head. “If you vere, you vould have turned into a bat after I said the incantation. But you can see for yourself …” She gestured to me.

I glanced down at my ordinary arms and legs, at my slightly wrinkled black skirt. I ran my fingers over my ears. I was human, through and through.

“Do not look so glum, dah-link,” Great-aunt Margo said, giving me a hug. “Be grateful that you are not flying outside now, learning how to hunt from the older vampires. Yes, it is possible to maintain something of a normal life as a vampire. You can, as I do, hold a job. You can travel and relax and go to a spa, like the vun I visited in Pennsylvania. You can have friends, and fall in love, and even have a family. But vun is, of course, never the same. It is a burden to be carried vit you, alvays.”

There was a note of sadness in my great-aunt’s
voice and I returned her embrace, touching her cold cheek with my warm one.

I thought of Ashlee in bat form, baring her fangs for the first time, somewhere out there in the dead of the night. Was she scared? I remembered how, one time last week, she’d wanted the school bathroom all to herself. Was it because she was already losing her reflection in the mirror? Or going through other frightening changes?

I had so many more questions for Great-aunt Margo. Questions about her own life, about Ashlee, about me. But at the moment, one question stood out from all the rest.

“So if I wasn’t summoned, then what did you mean, last Friday, when you told me that
this
Friday would be a big night for me?” I asked. “I was sure you were talking about the Nocturne Ritual.”

Great-aunt Margo tilted her head to one side, thinking, and then her eyes widened. “Ah!” she said, chuckling. “Your mother and I spent a lot of time together last veek, and she mentioned that you had your school dance tonight! I recall from my own girlhood how much fun a school dance can be. So I vas referring to the dance, my dah-link. That vas all.”

I sat silently for a minute, letting everything sink in. After all that drama, I wasn’t a vampire. I’d been so sure. So sure, in fact, that I’d become a new version of myself. A stronger, braver version. And maybe that hadn’t been such a bad thing. Maybe I hadn’t needed magic or horror or full-on fangs to change. Maybe I had just needed a little confidence and a little faith in myself.

I mean, who knew I’d ever be good at volleyball?

“Speaking of this dance,” Great-aunt Margo said, glancing at her wristwatch. “You must have friends who are expecting you there, no? Perhaps you vould still like to go, if there is time. There may even be a handsome boy vaiting for you.” Her eyes twinkled, and I couldn’t help but blush.

“I guess I could still make it, if I hurried,” I said, grabbing Gabby’s black purse. I took out my cell phone and saw I had about twenty missed calls and double the amount of texts from Gabby. She must have been beyond worried.

“Come, I vill valk you,” Great-aunt Margo offered, helping me to my feet. As I straightened out my skirt, she lifted up her shawl. “Ve can go out the secret entrance, so your parents do not see us.”

Her arm around me, Great-aunt Margo led me through a hidden back door, into an alley that led onto 79th Street.

“When will you be going back to Romania?” I asked my great-aunt as we hurried toward West Side Prep.

“Tomorrow,” Great-aunt Margo sighed. “And I am taking all my bats vit me. I vill be replacing them vit real stuffed bats for the exhibit before I go. But no vorries, dah-link,” she added. “I have e-mail. You can write me vhenever you vant. Especially vhen you cannot sleep at night,” she added, winking at me.

“I will,” I promised. I knew I would always keep Great-aunt Margo’s secret from my parents. But now that she and I could discuss it freely, I was looking forward to being in touch with her. Plus, since my genealogy project was due in two weeks, I’d have some facts to run by her.

With a quick kiss on the cheek, Great-aunt Margo dropped me off at school. Then she fluttered back into the night, back to the gala, or to wherever her vampires might be.

My thoughts still whirling, I ducked back inside the school. The hallways were deserted, but I heard
loud music coming from the gym. Eager to see Gabby and Henry and all my friends, I broke into a run, pushing open the gym doors.

“Welcome to Hollywood Halloween! Smile for the camera!” someone cried, snapping my picture. Flashes blinded me, but I posed good-naturedly for the paparazzi. “What’s your costume?” someone else called out.

I realized that I was no longer wearing my fangs or fake blood. I smiled and shrugged. “I’m me,” I replied simply. “Emma-Rose Paley.”

“Cool,” one of the paparazzi said, and another one whispered to her friend, “She designed the whole dance!”

Just then, the gym doors opened behind me, and I spun around to see Ashlee Lambert. Her pink gown was a little crumpled, her tiara was askew, and her expression was small and scared. The hunt must have been over. She was back to her human form.

I couldn’t begin to guess what she had been through tonight. But as she watched the cameras with terror in her eyes, I could guess what she was thinking.

“No photos! No photos, please!” I yelled, dashing forward and grabbing Ashlee’s arm. Carefully, I
steered her off the red carpet and away from the paparazzi.

“I — I saw you,” she whispered to me, her eyes enormous. “Why were you there? You’re not … You didn’t become …”

“I’m not,” I replied, still shocked by this fact myself. “But I … I know the Empress. I know all about it. And I won’t tell a soul,” I added before Ashlee could say anything else. “I swear. It will be our secret.”