Romeo & Juliet & Vampires Read Online Free PDF

pig’s blood. “You will see soon enough.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    R omeo peeled back the hood of his gray cloak and gazed up at the foreboding mass of stone and brick that was Capulet Castle. Protected by a gigantic iron gate that seemed to reach into the clouds, the building stretched out for at least seven hundred yards and had four enormous towers from which a handful of guards with crossbows stood watch. Romeo was dumbstruck by its imperviousness. He could hardly believe that any Montague had ever breached these grounds, let alone launched a full-fledged attack on the vampires inside.
    A fierce wind roared through the heavy brush outside the castle’s perimeter, where Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio lay in wait, crouched down behind a swath of shrubbery under the light of a half-moon. Even though the fabric of his cloak was thick wool, a frigid chillravaged his body and he shuddered. Then again, perhaps his nerves were just getting the best of him.
    For over an hour, he had been waiting for a sign from Rosaline’s servant maid, Maribel. She would turn on a gaslight in the last room to the left on the ground floor, once the secret door in the servants’ quarters was unlocked. Romeo was deeply concerned that something was wrong. Although Mercutio was quite intelligent, he was known for getting involved with women who were pretty yet dim-witted—perhaps she had forgotten all about them. Romeo felt his hands beginning to shake. He had to distract himself.
    â€œDid I tell either of you about the dream I had last night?” he asked in a soft voice.
    Mercutio scratched at his neck with the handle of his parrying knife. “No, you did not.”
    â€œIf it is about Rosaline and her half-breed bosoms, we are not interested,” Benvolio said as he canvassed the area with a studious gaze.
    â€œSpeak for yourself.” Mercutio nudged Benvolio.
    Benvolio rolled his eyes and shoved Mercutio back with his elbow so hard that Mercutio fell into a pile of sticky moss.
    â€œTake cover, Romeo. I’m about to punch Benvolio’s lights out,” Mercutio growled.
    â€œWill you be quiet?” Romeo whispered. “You know how sensitive the vampires’ hearing is.”
    Benvolio took a dagger that was hidden beneath hissleeve and stabbed the ground near Romeo’s feet, turning and twisting it until a mound of dirt and worms was wrought up from the topsoil.
    â€œWe could take them all on if we had to,” he said.
    Romeo shoved his hands into the pockets of his cloak. “Remind me to have a doctor take a look at you, Cousin. You’re obviously delusional.”
    â€œMaybe he’ll be committed to a sanitarium,” Mercutio said snidely. “We’d all be better off.”
    â€œActually, I could use some sanity right now,” Romeo said. “That dream of mine was terrifying.”
    Benvolio’s eyes widened. “Really? Go on.”
    Romeo glanced at Benvolio and Mercutio skeptically, knowing that they’d probably laugh at his story. But when he looked at the window again and saw nothing but pitch-blackness, he continued.
    â€œI dreamed that my lady came and found me dead, impaled by Vladimir himself. Then I was brought back to life by her kisses on my lips.”
    â€œThat does not sound so awful,” Mercutio said.
    â€œI agree, you survived in the end,” Benvolio added.
    â€œYou do not understand. I was alive again, but…as one of them.” Romeo nodded at the castle ominously.
    â€œDon’t worry, Romeo.” Benvolio picked up a worm and let it crawl around in his open palm, then suddenly flicked it off with his finger. “If this dream came true and you were turned by one of those filthy monsters, I would put you out of your misery. I could not promiseyou that it would be painless, but rest assured, it would be quick.”
    Romeo crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “That is very thoughtful of you,