Vampire Breath Read Online Free PDF Page A

told him. “Let us go—now.”
    He floated up over us. He moved his gaze from Cara to me. His silvery eyes
suddenly appeared cold, icy. “You will help me,” he said softly. “Both of you.
If you ever hope to return to your homes again.”
    I shivered. The tunnel suddenly felt so cold, as if a freezing wind was
blowing through it.
    I glanced at the door. So close, I thought. We’re so close to being safe and
sound in my house.
    On the other side of the door we would be out of danger. But we can’t get
there. We can’t. We could be a thousand miles away.
    I turned back to the icy stare of the old vampire.
    He’s evil, I realized. Even without his fangs, he is evil.
    “Wh-what do we have to do?” Cara stammered.
    “Yes. What can we do?” I repeated.
    He lowered himself to the floor. His expression softened.
    “The bottle of Vampire Breath, ” he said. “Did you see it?”
    “Yes,” I replied. “We found it. In your coffin.”
    “Do you have it?” he demanded eagerly. He reached out a hand. “Do you have
it? Give it to me.”
    “No,” Cara and I answered together.
    “We didn’t take it,” I told him. “I think I left it on the floor.”
    “We—we dropped it,” Cara stammered.
    The old vampire gasped. “You what ? Did you break it? Did you spill the Vampire Breath ?”
    “It—it poured out,” I replied. “The room filled with smoke. We put the cap
back on. But—”
    “We must find it!” Count Nightwing declared. “I must have that bottle. If
there is a little bit of Vampire Breath left in the bottle, it will take
me back to my time.”
    “Your time?” I asked.
    He squinted at me. “Your clothing. Your hair. You two are not of my time,” he
said. “What year is this?”
    I told him.
    His mouth dropped open. A startled squeak escaped his throat. “I have been
asleep for over a hundred years!” he exclaimed. “I must find the Vampire
Breath. It will take me back in time. Back to when I had my fangs.”
    I stared hard at him, trying to understand what he was telling us. “Does that
mean you will go away?” I asked. “If there is Vampire Breath left in the
bottle, you will go back a hundred years?”
    The old vampire nodded. “Yessss,” he hissed. “I will go back to my time.” But
then his eyes turned cold again, “ If there is any of the precious Vampire
Breath left,” he said bitterly. “If you didn’t spill it all.”
    “There’s got to be some left!” I cried.
    Cara and I followed Count Nightwing back through the tunnel. He floated
silently ahead of us, his cape fluttering behind him. “So thirsty…” he kept
muttering. “So terribly thirsty.”
    “I can’t believe we’re going back into that room,” I whispered to Cara as we
jogged over the smooth stone floor. “I can’t believe we’re going to help a
vampire!”
    “We have no choice,” she replied. “We want to get rid of him—don’t we?”
    My shoes splashed through a puddle on the floor. I felt cold water on my
ankles. The tunnel curved, and we followed it. Into the small, square room.
    Count Nightwing stepped up to his coffin, then turned back to us. “Where is
the bottle?” he demanded.
    I picked up my flashlight from the floor. I clicked it. Once. Twice. No
light. It must have broken when I dropped it. I set it back down on the floor.
    “The bottle,” the old vampire repeated. “I must have it.”
    “I think Freddy dropped it into the coffin,” Cara told him. She stepped to
the center of the room and flashed her light up and down the purple velvet of
the coffin.
    “No. It is not there,” Count Nightwing said impatiently. “Where is it? You
must find it. You have no idea how thirsty I am. It’s been at least one hundred
years!”
    He’s a good sleeper! I thought.
    “It must be somewhere on the floor,” Cara told him.
    “Well, find it! Find it!” the vampire shrieked.
    Cara and I began to search the floor. I walked beside her since she had the
only light.
    She swept the