A Killer First Date: A Drake Chronicles Novella by Harvey Alyxandra

Author:Harvey, Alyxandra [Harvey, Alyxandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2012-02-14T06:00:00+00:00

Lucy

I steadied myself against a unicorn with garish lime-green eyes, his golden horn painted with glitter. It was difficult to focus on the carnival. We were moving too fast and everyone else seemed to be moving too slowly. The lights trailed, like smeared paint. They made me dizzy. Nicholas put his hand on my lower back, steadying me.

“They’re frozen,” he said tightly.

“Who is?”

“Everyone.”

I stared at him, then at the fair speeding past. I had to concentrate really hard, trying to pick out certain people and booths, like a ballet dancer spotting during pirouettes. I chose the Whac-A-Mole booth because of the hideous red-and-yellow glowing gopher on the roof. After a few rotations I noticed that none of the people in front of the game had moved. A little girl crying over dropped ice cream was in the exact same position, her mother leaning down toward her. The Ferris wheel had stopped, as had the spinning cups and the flying swings. One of the swings was still in midair, one girl’s hair tangling around her laughing face.

“Okay, this is seriously freaky,” I said. “Even for Violet Hill. We need Isabeau for this kind of magic.”

“She’s at the caves. Not exactly good cell reception there.”

Even the pigeons eating popcorn off the boardwalk were still as statues. “Everyone’s stuck.” I goggled at Nicholas. “Except for us.”

“And her.” He nodded grimly toward the fairground. I followed his gaze but it took another dizzying turn before I saw her. She looked about our age, had long brown hair, and stood in front of Brent as if she’d been kissing him. When she stepped back, letting go of his shoulders, Brent’s knees buckled and he dropped bonelessly to the ground.

“Okay, that can’t be good,” I muttered.

“She’s draining them,” Nicholas said softly.

“Is she a vampire?” I asked.

“No.” Nicholas frowned. “I don’t think so.”

The carousel creaked alarmingly, turning too fast for its engine. “I thought this thing was broken,” I said, momentarily distracted. “Also, it’s making me want to throw up.”

Nicholas slipped his arms around me. He didn’t give me a warning. It was probably for the best, since I’m pretty sure I would have screamed my head off. One moment we were spinning with the horses and the next we were in midair, still spinning. We landed in the dirt, Nicholas rolling so that he took the brunt of the fall. Dust billowed up around us.

“You can open your eyes now,” he murmured.

They were scrunched so tightly my face hurt. I opened one eye cautiously, then the other. “Am I broken?”

“No.”

“Good. I guess I’m the bait. Let’s go save the day.” I kissed him quickly. “Again.”

His fangs gleamed in the carnival lights. “Last time I checked, you don’t so much save the day as throw a whole lot of chaos at it.”

I pinched him. “Hey.” I scrambled off him, reaching for a stake and my Hypnos powder. We didn’t really have a plan. We had a vampire, and a girl with a wicked right hook. And whatever the hell that other girl was.

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