How to Be a Vampire by R. L. Stine

Author:R. L. Stine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

11

A vampire stood in front of Andrew.

A real vampire!

Andrew still hung upside down. But he could tell the vampire was old. Really old. And sort of hunched over. What hair he had was slicked back on his narrow head. He wore a long, black cape. In the moonlight Andrew saw his pale skin. His red lips. His burning red eyes.

Andrew tried to scream again. But he was too frightened.

“Get down,” the vampire said, his voice now high and scratchy.

But Andrew couldn’t move. His blood had frozen in his veins.

“Come on, kid!” the vampire urged. “Don’t take all night.”

Andrew let go. He fell off the hanging rod. Then he scrambled to his feet.

“Step out here,” the vampire ordered. “Let me take a look.”

Andrew tried to walk to the middle of his room. But he was shaking so much. He didn’t know if he could make it.

The vampire circled Andrew, examining him in the moonlight. He put his face close to Andrew’s. Andrew saw his red-veined eyes. His dark, stained teeth. Andrew felt his stomach lurch as he breathed in. The vampire smelled like old, spoiled meat.

The vampire stopped circling. “You are so small,” he observed. “So puny.” He shook his head, clearly disappointed. “I’ll have to work overtime to make you worthy of the Dark Gift.”

“The what?” Andrew asked.

“The Dark Gift.” The vampire gave Andrew a grave look. “The honor of becoming one of us. A vampire.”

“I don’t want to be a vampire!” Andrew cried. “You better give the gift to somebody else.”

“I never make mistakes in choosing my victims. Never! Not once in six hundred years!” The vampire sighed. “I have my work cut out for me here. I can see that. But in the end . . .” He smiled. “In the end, kid, you’ll be a vampire I can be proud of!”

“But I don’t . . .” Andrew began.

The vampire’s eyes flashed angrily. “Stand up straight!” he commanded. “No more chitchat.”

Andrew straightened up. It wasn’t easy. His legs shook under him. His heart thundered in his chest.

The vampire circled him, checking him out.

Dozens more questions popped into Andrew’s mind. Did he dare ask them? The vampire said no talking.

Andrew couldn’t help himself. “Excuse me, sir?” he said.

“What?” the vampire snapped.

“D-d-did you leave that book under my bed?” Andrew asked. “The one called How to Be a Vampire?”

“You figured that out all by yourself?” The vampire rolled his red eyes.

Andrew felt foolish. But he had another question. He put his hand to his neck. “And you bit me too. Right?”

“What are you, a genius?” The vampire shook his head. “Of course I left you the book. Of course I bit you.” He raised a fist and knocked on Andrew’s head. “Hello? Anybody in there?”

Andrew ducked away from the vampire. “What do I call you?”

The vampire sniffed. “I am Count Ved,” he said. “Count Humphrey Ved.”

“Humphrey?” Andrew said, surprised.

“Why not?” The vampire shrugged. “But you keep on calling me sir. Now, show me your teeth.”

Andrew’s lips trembled as he drew them back from his teeth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.