The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills Read Online Free PDF Page A

himself, shook his head. He couldn’t tell Nelly about his dad. She couldn’t know what he thought he saw until he’d confronted the crazy demons himself and proved to himself that his father wasn’t really alive, and that he really was just as nuts as Dorian had been. “Never mind. I must have imagined it. I could use some fresh air, actually. I’ll meet you guys outside when you’re ready to go.”
    As he passed by the door of the family waiting room, Vlad glanced inside. Grumpy cop took notice, nodding toward him and nudging Friendly cop. Apparently, he was still on their radar, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.
    He stepped out a side door and into the night, to the alley where a coolness greeted him that promised that while summer was here officially, spring had not yet loosened its grip entirely. At the end of the alley were two cops, dressed in uniform, standing by a Toyota Prius. Vlad figured they were discussing giving the absent owner a ticket. That is, until one cop opened the door and dropped a pile of paperwork on the front seat.
    Weird. Very weird that two uniformed police officers would be driving a Prius and not an official police cruiser.
    Vlad slowed his steps to a quiet halt. He was considering going back inside, but couldn’t put his finger on exactly why the scene seemed so wrong to him. It was just an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach—probably brought on by the sight of more cops, when he’d just been questioned by two.
    Guilt. Plain and simple.
    One of the cops turned toward Vlad. He had a thin scar running from the corner of his left eye to the corner of his mouth. When he saw Vlad, he nudged his friend and both turned toward him. “Excuse me, son, but are you Vladimir Tod? We have a few questions to ask you.”
    Vlad frowned and shrugged. “Talk to your friends inside. They already asked me questions.”
    The cops exchanged glances and moved down the alley toward Vlad.
    Vlad cursed himself for not keeping his mouth shut and waited.
    The scarred cop smiled as they approached. “You have a mouth on you, son. Better watch that. It’ll get you in trouble some day.”
    The other cop, the slightly bald one, grunted.
    Vlad sighed. “You have questions for me?”
    “Just one. I’m just curios.” Scar looked Vlad in the eye and held his gaze. “Why didn’t you finish him off? I mean, your buddies wouldn’t have stopped until they got the job done. So why did you let Joss live?”
    Vlad’s heart picked up its pace in confusion. He furrowed his brow and shook his head slightly. “What are you talking about?”
    Baldy reached for his nightstick, and Vlad’s eyes shot to its tip as it left its holster.
    Its sharp, silver tip.
    It wasn’t a nightstick. It was a stake. The cops standing in front of him were Slayers.
    Vlad held up his hands and stepped back slowly. “Listen, guys, we don’t want to do this.”
    His back met with something fleshy behind him. Friendly cop—who wasn’t looking so friendly anymore. “We do. We really do.”
    Grumpy cop was standing beside Friendly, still looking peeved. Now Vlad knew exactly why.
    They were here to finish the job that Joss had started. That was why Vlad wasn’t going to jail. Because they’d been waiting until this moment to put him somewhere far worse.
    In his grave.
    Vlad watched Friendly from the corner of his eye, his heart racing when Friendly’s hand dropped to his night stake. With a deep breath and a set jaw, Vlad realized what he had to do. He had no way out of this situation but through it.
    Before the Slayers could act, Vlad jammed his elbow back into Friendly’s ribs. Friendly bent forward, making an oof sound, but Vlad didn’t hesitate. He spun around with vampiric speed, whipping quickly around Friendly. He was thankful—thankful that he’d worked so hard with Vikas to train himself in how to move, how to defend himself if necessary. All of those hours in the old barn had been worth it. He knew