Эллен Шрайбер - Kissing Coffins

"What, are you spying on me? He came to a night game and told me his sister was coming to town. He asked me if I'd want to meet her. The coach wouldn't let him on the field, though. That dude has more metal on his face than a pair of cleats."

"Jagger's not a replacement for Matt, you know," I tried to tell Trevor. "He's nothing like Matt. Jagger's just trying to play you."

"Sounds like someone is jealous."

"He's not what you think he is," Alexander urgently cautioned.

"Listen, it was wonderful talking to you, but I have a date. Besides, you better get back to your cage. I think the zoo has reported you missing."

He took off into the crowd. We began to follow but were stopped when a burly man holding a toddler stepped in our way. I could see Trevor and Luna racing up the red, tongued ramp of the fun house.

"The end of the line is back there!" the burly man ordered, pointing behind us.

"It's urgent," I said.

I peered past the disgruntled fun house customer and saw Trevor handing his tickets to the clerk. They stepped into the clown's mouth and disappeared.

I grabbed Alexander's hand, and we raced around the man as he wiped ice cream off his child's mouth.

We hurried up the plank and around the patrons in line. "Hey, no cutting!" a few kids started shouting.

When we reached the entrance, the clerk blocked our way. "Tickets, please."

"I don't…" I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of change and put it into his palm.

"That's only enough for one."

Alexander pulled out a wad of dollars, stuck it into the clerk's hand, and placed the bear at his feet. "I'll be back for him," Alexander said. He grabbed my hand, and we raced through the clown's mouth.

We stepped into a room filled with multicolored plastic balls up to our knees. We waded through the balls, trying to move as quickly as possible.

"At this rate, we'll never find her," I said.

When we finally reached the end of the room, we saw that to the right of us was a red door, to the left a black-and-white tunnel.

"Oh no! It's a maze!" I groaned. "Should we flip a coin?"

"We don't have time," Alexander said.

I followed him through a huge black-and-white tunnel that twisted around us as we walked. I got dizzy, stumbling, holding on to the railing and Alexander for support. We had to walk over a glass bridge. I could see Trevor below. I banged on the glass, but he didn't look up.

At the end of the bridge, there was a red slide. I went down first, with Alexander following behind. When we rose to our feet, I saw Trevor's blond hair ten feet ahead of me.

"Trevor—" I called.

But he turned the corner, heading into the next room. I pushed past a family of three and opened a polka dotted door.

Alexander and I were alone.

"Trevor?" I called.

The lights went out. I stood frozen. We could hear the maniacal laughter of a clown as soft lights slowly dimmed. And then Luna appeared before us.

She was beautiful. Ocean blue eyes, puffy pink lips, brilliant baby-doll black eyelashes. Her pale bubblegum-colored cotton dress outlined in fuchsia lace hung on her. Her skinny alabaster white legs poked out of her chunky black knee-high boots, a plastic pink Scare Bear dangling from the zipper. On her upper arm was a tattoo of a black rose.

Before we could speak, it went totally dark.

Alexander grabbed my hand just as the room slowly began to brighten, the black walls now glass. Luna was still standing before us.

I caught my reflection. The wall wasn't glass after all, but a hall of mirrors.

Dozens of Ravens reflected on and on. Alexander, still standing beside me, didn't reflect back. There was one other reflection that was missing.

I was breathless.

"What have you come for?" Alexander challenged her.

"Luna!" I could hear Trevor call from another room. "Where are you?"

Luna smiled a wicked pale smile, two sparkling fangs glistening. I gasped.

"Well, if you've gotten your wish—to become a vampire," Alexander said, "then why are you here?"

"Jagger sent for me. Now I want to live the life I was never able to before. Jagger gave me an opportunity to get out of Romania."

"What about the vampire who bit you? Shouldn't you be with him?" Alexander argued.

"He was just a fling, on unsacred ground. After you left me, I realized I could find someone else—anyone else—to transform me and find true love later."

"You can find that in Romania," Alexander disputed.

"You didn't," she said with an evil glare. "Besides, Jagger told me he met a guy who he thought might be perfect for me."

"Trevor?" I asked. "You've got to be kidding."

"But you can't trust Jagger," Alexander argued. "He's not looking out for your best interest, only his own. He's motivated by revenge."

"Now that I'm in your world, I see things differently. I saw it in your eyes at the cemetery, Alexander. We both want the same thing," she said. "Vampire or human. I just want a relationship I can sink my teeth into."

The lights went out. I squeezed Alexander's hand tightly. I reached out blindly. I had to find Trevor before Luna did.

"Trevor!" I called. "Don't—"

The light flashed on again.

Luna was gone.

Reading Order

1. Vampire Kisses

2. Kissing Coffins

3. Vampireville

4. Dance with a Vampire

5. The Coffin Club

6. Royal Blood

7. Love Bites ( coming May 2010)