Vampireville (Vampire Kisses 3)

As Alexander, Jameson, and I began to eat our dinners, Ruby intently watched Alexander eat his juicy steak like she was watching a juggler swallow fire.

"That's how they eat steak in Romania," I whispered.

"I've been to Romania," she quietly responded. "I guess I must have visited a different region."

I glanced at Alexander, who was eating quickly. A nervous Jameson barely touched his food. Ruby ate slowly, savoring her dinner.

We made unbearable small talk and complimented our chef on the meal.

The candles flickered. Shadows danced about the room. The wind howled through the trees. With the four of us sitting around the table, I felt at any moment we were going to hold hands and perform a s�ance. All that was missing was the Ouija board. The wax slowly dripped from the candlesticks. Drip. Drip. Drip. Like the ticking of a grandfather clock. This evening could go on forever.

"This Mansion is very...historic," Ruby said, trying to find a polite word. "Have you seen any ghosts?"

"Just my grandmother," Alexander said.

Ruby choked on her wine. "Excuse me?"

"This house used to belong to Alexander's grandmother," Jameson tried to explain. "But we never--"

"So you've really seen her?" I asked eagerly.

"She wanders through the halls at night," Alexander said in a low voice. "In fact...she's standing right behind you!"

I laughed, but Ruby jumped up from her seat as if she'd just seen the ghost herself.

Alexander and Jameson immediately rose from their chairs.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," Alexander apologized.

"Are you all right?" Jameson asked, offering her water. "Alexander gets these ideas..."

Ruby was embarrassed. "I'm just not used to being in a house that's--"

"Haunted?" I asked.

"Large," she corrected. "And dark; I usually have all the lights on," she said with a forced laugh.

"We can light more candles," Alexander offered.

"Please. Sit, sit. And not another word," she said. Jameson slowly returned to his seat and we continued eating our dinners. "So, Miss Raven, anything unusual happen at school?" he asked, politely trying to redirect the conversation.

"Other than that I showed up?"

My dinner mates laughed as if grateful for some comic relief.

"Well, a guy at school was talking about sneaking into the cemetery."

"The cemetery? That sounds like something you'd do," Ruby said with a laugh.

"He's not just sneaking in," I said, and then turned to Alexander. "He's going there on a date."

"Who would take a date to the cemetery?" Ruby asked, horrified.

Then Ruby eyeballed me and the other gloom-and-doom diners dressed in black around her.

We all stared back.

"Not me," I burst out.

"I wouldn't be caught dead," Alexander admitted.

"Poor taste!" Jameson proclaimed.

We quickly returned to our meals.

"Miss Raven, maybe I should have asked if you discussed anything usual," Jameson said nervously.

I politely laughed. But I had more info I had to share.

"Did I mention he's planning to kiss his girlfriend next to a coffin?" I said to Alexander. Ruby cleared her throat.

"More water?" Jameson asked, clearly worried we were upsetting his guest of honor.

"I'm fine," she answered.

Alexander stared off behind Ruby and started pointing.

"Now are you going to tell me you see a ghost behind me?" she asked.

Alexander shook his head. "It's worse."

"I'm not falling for your tricks again," she said with a grin.

"Don't move," Alexander said, putting his napkin on the table.

Ruby slowly turned around. Hanging from the red velvet curtain right above her was a bat.

She wasn't even fazed. "I bet it's made out of rubber," she said, and got up.

Jameson called out, "Miss Ruby!"

My eyes bulged. Alexander rose.

"I'll show you," she said confidently.

Just then Ruby reached for the bat. All at once, it spread its wings wide and took off.

Ruby let out a bloodcurdling scream so loud I had to cover my ears.

The disgruntled bat flew around the room as Ruby hid behind me, continuing to shriek.

"Does it have blue and green eyes?" I asked, shielding her. "Who cares about its eye color!" she yelled.

Alexander tried to grab the bat, but it only flew higher.

"I'm going to faint!" she hollered. "I'm really going to faint."

Jameson and I helped a trembling Ruby away from the dining room and into the sitting room.

"Is it in my hair?" she asked, now sitting in a green Victorian chair.

"No," I reassured her.

"Where did it go?"

"It's in the other room. Alexander is going to catch him."

"Are there more?" she asked, her shaking hands covering her head.

"No, they live in the attic tower, far away from this room." Jameson tried to comfort his date with a glass of water. "I wonder how he got down here."

"I almost touched it!" she exclaimed. "I almost touched a rat with wings!"

Alexander came into the room holding a balled up linen napkin.

"He's completely harmless, see?" Alexander asked, innocently opening the napkin. Two beady black eyes stared back at us.

Ruby let out another bloodcurdling scream.

"Please take it away!" a haggard Jameson pleaded.

"Aww, he's cute," I said as Alexander walked out to the kitchen to set it free. "I guess this means you're not staying for dessert," Jameson said.

"I'm stuffed, really," Ruby said, still in shock. "Besides, I have to open the office tomorrow." She rose from her seat.

"I understand," Jameson responded, his head hung low. He retrieved Ruby's purse and the flower from the hallway table and handed them to her.

"Thank you," she said quickly. "The orchid is beautiful. The dinner was delicious." Still shaken, Ruby headed for the door.

"The evening didn't go as I had planned," Jameson confessed sorrowfully, following her. "You are used to the finer things, Miss Ruby. I was wrong to think--"

"That's okay," she said softly. "I understand."

I knew Jameson had invited Alexander and me to dinner to make Ruby more comfortable. Instead we spent the whole evening talking about cemeteries and coffins. I felt awful.