Rylie Cruz 2 - How to Date a Vampire by Rose Pressey

I knew it was a ghost because the
stone behind him was visible through his body. He looked straight
at us, saw the soul collector, then zipped to the left following
the same path as the woman spirit.
    “See, there goes one now. They've been here
entirely too long. You’re wasting my time.”
    “We didn’t mean to waste your time.” Why was
I being scolded by this thing? He was wasting my time just as much
and he didn’t hear me complaining.
    “I have got to get them all out of here.
It's taking me too long. Now you mustn't interrupt me again. Do you
understand?” he asked.
    He shook his head, guiding us to do the same
and give the correct answer. We nodded. I didn’t want to find out
what would happen if we didn’t.
    “We won't bother you again. We're terribly
sorry,” Jack said.
    If Jack’s open mouth and widened eyes were
any indication, he was stunned by this being and probably in
disbelief.
    “Let's go, Rylie.” Jack placed his hand on
the small of my back and helped me get my feet moving. I wasn’t
sure how long I would have stood there in disbelief staring at the
creature.
    I kept my eyes on this being as we walked
past. I had to be prepared in case he made any sudden movements
toward us.
    “Am I dreaming?” Jack whispered. “Can you
pinch me? Surely, none of this is happening. We didn’t just see a
creature who looked like something out of a bizarre horror
movie.”
    “I'm afraid you're fully awake,” I said. I
hated being the bearer of bad news. Especially to Jack. But this
was reality. His reality now. Paranormal creatures were all around
us, all the time. He just hadn’t known it until now. “Now that I
think about it, I’ve heard about those creatures, but I kind of
thought it was just a myth. I guess I was wrong.”
    “Apparently you were.”
    Getting us out of there before anything else
popped up was my number one priority at the moment.

Chapter Fifteen
    How to Date a Vampire, Rule #15:
    Let your date know you think fangs are
sexy.
     
    Without notice Jack stopped. He stood frozen
to the pavement. He turned around with lightning speed and that was
when the shadowy figure came into view again. The shadow was dark,
moving swiftly with a swoosh noise as a long black cape cascaded
out behind it. I watched in shock. Was this one of those vampire
wannabes who hung around graveyards for kicks? It was like the Night of The Living Dead . The place was crawling with
vampires.
    I grabbed Jack by the arm and steered him to
our left. In his current slight catatonic state, I wasn’t sure he’d
noticed the mysterious figure, but I didn’t want to take a chance.
When I looked at him, I knew he’d sensed it though. The panicked
look in his eyes said as much. He had enough to worry about at the
moment without some fake vampire taunting him—only a fake vampire
would wear a cape, right? But if this was a wannabe would Jack have
sensed him? What if this was the real deal? I knew it. We’d been
lured here somehow.
    As we turned a corner, the figure darted
behind another stone. How the heck had it made it over there so
quickly? Was this thing playing games with us? I knew the figure
wasn’t a human because it moved too quickly. Why had Jack been so
drawn to this cemetery? It had to be because of his new vampire
status. This was too weird and something for only a movie. We
needed to get out of there. Maybe the walk hadn’t been such a good
idea. I was guiding a half-dead man around a graveyard? What had
happened to my life? And I thought things were getting back to
normal. Did I even know what normal was anymore?
    “Where are we going? I’m really thirsty. I
need a drink,” Jack said.
    “Come on, I’ll get you some water. How about
some lemonade?”
    You know that feeling you get when someone
is staring at you? Yeah, well, my neck had that feeling. I needed
to find Jack blood so he wouldn’t want mine. What would happen if
he accidentally turned me into a vampire? A vampire/werewolf
hybrid? That