Read Online Midnight's Choice by Kate Thompson - Free Book Online Page B

looked over at the lamp-post, and as she did so two of the boys there made a sudden dart across the road. She turned back to the vampire, still leering at her, showing his fangs. As a boy he had been a moderate sort of height, but now he seemed to tower above her, sneering down.
    Tess looked at her feet. There was a scuffle as the other boys raced across the road to join their friends and she felt suddenly alone. A few minutes ago those lads had been her enemies, but now that she was faced with this monstrous creature they seemed to be allies and she felt abandoned by them and desperately alone.
    â€˜Are you going to back out on me?’ said Martin.
    Tess looked up, trying to avoid the lure of those vacuous eyes but failing. ‘What do you mean, back out?’
    â€˜You promised to try my way, remember?’
    Tess shuddered with revulsion. ‘I ...’
    â€˜You what?’ The voice was like sleep, sucking at her mind, dragging her under. She struggled.
    â€˜I didn’t know,’ she shouted. ‘You didn’t tell me!’
    The vampire’s smile broadened. ‘You didn’t ask,’ said the creamy voice.
    Tess felt sick. What stood in front of her wasn’t Martin. It was something that was dead and yet lived on, undead. She understood now why he had said that he wouldn’t be cold for long. Vampires didn’t feel the cold. They didn’t feel anything at all, in any way. Tess knew beyond doubt as she looked into those dark eyes that there was no appeal under the sun that would release her from his power. She did not exist for him as an equal being at all. To him she was nothing more than an object, a victim, the source of his next meal.
    Behind her she heard the sound of a car drawing up close to the kerb. Martin closed his lips over his teeth and glanced up over her shoulder to see who was behind her. Tess closed her eyes, released for a moment from that dreadful gaze, and fear welled up within her. She began to turn towards the car, ready to scream out for help, but even as she did so the car started to draw away. The garda in the passenger seat nodded towards Martin as his partner drove off. Tess called out, but it was too late. Beside her, Martin was exuding charm again, and before she could tear herself away he slipped a strong arm around her and began to walk up the quiet street which led away from the main road, into the darkness.
    Tess tried to struggle but it was useless. The vampire was strong beyond imagining, and already his power was beginning to take over her mind again, drawing her in to the vacuum of his heart. At a corner beneath a tall sycamore tree, he stopped, and Tess leant against the wall, looking down at the ground. Leaves and sweet wrappers and crisp bags had gathered there during the last windy day. Martin leaned towards her. His voice was a harsh whisper in her ear.
    â€˜It’s up to you. You can join me if you want to, but if you don’t ...’
    He smiled again, that sinister smile that was as cold and distant as the moon. Tess knew what he meant. He was in front of her now, blocking any escape she might attempt. His breath was cold on her face and had a faint metallic scent.
    Her mind felt slow and cumbersome, numbed by her fear. She could think of no creature on earth that would be a sure protection against the power that confronted her now; certainly there was none that could kill him. How can you kill what is already dead?
    Slowly, inch by inch, his face was coming closer to hers, his head bowing, his teeth approaching her neck. The knowledge, when it came to her, seemed always to have been there, perfect in its logic. There was only one protection against a being like this, and that was to become like him. She resisted, waiting for the last moment, desperately searching her mind for an alternative.
    His breath, colder than the frosty air surrounding them, touched her neck, freezing the area where he planned to bite. She was in an