A Tale of Two Vampires Read Online Free PDF Page A

“You were so distraught last night, insisting on returning home early…. If Imogen’s brother said something to upset you—”
    Like he was a three-hundred-year-old vampire? Oh yeah, that would do the job, but I would never admit to Gretl that her friends were wack jobs, since they obviously acted perfectly normal around her. I rubbed my bare arms against the chill of the memory of the previous evening. “I told you that he didn’t do anything. I was just having low biorhythms or something. I needed some rest, and as you can see, I’m peachy keen today.”
    “Mmm.” She glanced over my shoulder to the woods beyond, shivering a little at the sight. “Why you wish to come here to photograph when you know the area is said to be haunted…and it is where Imogen said her father was killed. I think maybe you should find somewhere else to take your photos.”
    “Imogen may not want to be here—not that I blame her if it has such a bad connotation for her family—but there’s no reason I can’t take some pictures of the woods.”
    I turned to consider the dense growth of trees. I knew from perusing Gretl’s map of the area that the forest was fairly small, probably under ten acres, and shaped roughly like an oval, lying between the town of St. Andras to the south, the castle to the north, and, to the east, a mountainous rise that curved to the neighboring town. To the west, the trees petered out, the land sloping down into the valley where the GothFaire was currently camped.
    “I suppose not,” Gretl said slowly, doubt evident on her face. “Although it’s so spooky. I would never go in there.”
    I had to admit, there was something about the woods that raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck, a sense of a place that wasn’t quite in sync with the rest of the world. “I think it’s beautiful. I love fir and pine trees so densely packed together that you can see the sunlight streaming through their branches. That’s an awesome look. See over there, just past that boulder shaped like a sleeping cat—see how the sunlight pours through the tree like honey? And those vines, whatever they are, are like streamers of green and brown tangled through the lower branches of the trees, wafting down to the ground where they gently wave.” I took a couple of steps forward, intrigued by the woods, studying the scene with a critical eye for composition, and finding nothing at fault. “It’s the breeze that moves the vines, but honestly, Gretl, can’t you imagine them as some form of sentient life, beckoning the unwary traveler into their midst, pulling you deeper and deeper into the cool, dark, mysterious heart of the woods until you find—”
    “Find what?” Gretl’s voice was at the same time hushed and high-pitched, but it was enough to break the spell that had gripped me.
    A little shiver ran down my back at the thought of what lay in the heart of the forest. Then with a mental shake of my head at such fanciful thoughts I turned back to my cousin with an apologetic smile. “More woods, no doubt. I’m sorry if I spooked you. I’m normally a very feet-on-the-ground sort of person, but there’s just something about those woods that makes me go emo.”
    “Emo?” She shivered and rubbed her arms again. “Emotional?”
    “Yes.”
    “I don’t blame you. I don’t like the woods, Io. They are bad, and I do not like you spending the day there. It is unnatural.”
    “Ah, but don’t you see, Gretl—it’s just that unnatural sense of an otherworld that I’m seeking for my photos. Can’t you envision a shot of Imogen set against it as a background? A little Photoshop magic, and voilà, I’ll have a killer series of pictures that I just bet I can sell. Or at the very least, add to my portfolio.”
    “But you’ll be all alone in there.” Her brows were pulled together in worry as I collected my bag from the rock, removing from it my camera, which I slung around my neck on its strap. “Aren’t you