The Vampire and the Ink of Doom (Dreadful Vampire Mysteries Book 1)
Page 10
“Hi,” I said, awkwardly.
“Hi,” Jet said, smiling. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
Jet’s eyes dropped down to my cleavage and a creepy smile formed on his face. “Yes, you most definitely are.”
Yeah. Nothing awkward about this at all. “I’m Penny, by the way.”
Jet continued to stare at my chest, nodding absently. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a cameraman recording our whole awkward encounter.
“Well,” I said, tired of being leered at, “I guess I’ll just go inside now.”
Jet nodded, his eyes never rising up to my face. “Sounds like a plan, Peggy. I’m looking forward to seeing more of you.”
“It’s Penny,” I corrected.
Jet nodded. “Of course it is. Have some wine, loosen up, and maybe we can have a little fun later.” He winked at my chest.
I had already decided I couldn’t stand Jet but he had a great idea. A drink sounded marvelous. Two – maybe three or four – sounded even better.
Without saying another word to the supposed prince, I quickly made my way up the steps and into the Inn. As I turned to close the door, I saw the next girl crossing the road, appearing out of the fog like a specter in white, a gentle breeze blowing her hair and dress.
Okay, it was a cool visual. But the dresses were still ugly.
Chapter 5
As I sipped my second glass of wine, I decided being on a reality television show was like watching a reality television show – it’s more fun when alcohol is involved.
Most of the girls had made their way over and were now pairing off into their little cliques, eyeing the competition over their glasses of wine.
Peter Vincent flew down and landed on my shoulder. “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.”
“I thought you weren’t thrilled about all these people being around,” I said.
“Oh, I’m not but I think it might be fate sending a message.”
“Oh yeah,” I said, intrigued. “What’s the message?”
Peter Vincent stood tall – all six inches of him – and puffed out his chest. “I believe I’m destined to be a star.”
I laughed in the middle of taking a sip, shooting wine out my nose. FYI. Don’t do that. It doesn’t feel good. One of the girls looked over at me, her lip curling in disgust when she saw the little fruit bat on my shoulder. I let my eyes flash a little red as I stared her down. She quickly lost interest.
“And why do you think you’re destined to be a star?” I asked.
“It’s new uncharted territory,” Peter Vincent said excitedly. “Flipper satisfied the dolphin demographic, Mr. Ed satisfied the horse lovers, and of course Lassie is the ultimate canine hero… but there’s been no bat star. I believe the world is ready for one now.”
While I tried to figure out a way to gently let Peter Vincent know the world probably wasn’t ready for a bat-centered TV show, Paige, Pita, Anthony, and Broomhilda made their way through the crowd towards me. None of them looked happy.
“We have a problem,” Pita said softly.
“What?”
“Remember the mouthy redhead from the cemetery?”
I nodded. “Kind of hard to forget someone so sweet and friendly,” I said, unable to keep the sarcastic tone out of my voice.
Pita sighed. “Well, she’s standing next to me right now.”
I looked at the empty air next to Pita.
Crap.
A loud scream pierced the night, coming from across the street.
Double crap.
The Vampire and the Prince of Roses, Dreadful Vampire Mysteries #2, will be available December 15, 2016 but it can be pre-ordered now at Amazon by clicking here.
About the Author
Piper Alexander isn’t a New York Times bestselling author yet, but she’s working on it, writing action-packed paranormal stories that are filled with mystery, romance, and plenty of laughs.
Piper loves cats, donuts, and Doctor Who, but doesn’t like spiders, snakes, or that weird thing known as camping. She lives in Texas with a household of cats that graciously let her share their living space as long as she feeds them and changes their cat litter on a regular basis.
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Copyright
Copyright 2016 by Piper Alexander
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any informational storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.
THE VAMPIRE AND THE INK OF DOOM
Second Edition