Page 84 of The Neighborhood Ghost

“How much further?” Hugo asked.

“I don’t see the light yet. It was a long way down.”

Hugo focused his mind elsewhere. He thought of Max and her rambunctiousness. No doubt she would jump all over him, showering him in endless kisses. Or she would jump and tackle him to the ground to roll all over him. He missed his dog, his friend, his good buddy.

His thoughts drifted to the Raskins. How much they must have hurt, suffering with grief like he had when Elizabeth died. He cut off communication with them once he became a vampire. He couldn’t tell them about his condition. How his life would change. He couldn’t imagine how they took the news. How devastated they would have been to lose yet another close friendso young. No. Not a friend. A family member. After all, to Hugo, they were his family.

He pressed his tongue against his incisors. They were still there—the sharp, pointy teeth used to drink blood. His cravings had returned. All the bodily urges of being a vampire had disappeared while he was dead. The bloodlust cravings. The heightened surge of emotions. However, they might have been useful. A frenzying vampire could have taken out the banshee’s entire army on bloodlust alone.

“The teeth are still there,” Hugo said.

“So you’re still a vampire?” Alice asked.

“Yep. Nothing but fun filled nights from here on out.”

“After all of this, I could use a weekend of nothing but fun filled nights.”

Hugo laughed. “Funny, I told your reflection the same thing.”

“How did you communicate with her?”

“The house looked like ours, but it was slightly off. Small details. Like your wine cellar wasn’t there and things were out of place. I hid in our bathroom a couple of times, and I heard her through the mirror on my side. I was talking to her up until Thaddeus found me and smashed the mirror.”

“She’ll be glad to see you.”

Hugo thought of Alice’s reflection. How he made a promise to her. He would get his reflection back for her.

“What about her? I’m still a vampire. My reflection won’t return.”

Alice was silent. “We’ll figure it out next.”

“Damn right we will. No one gets left behind,” Hugo said.

“No one.”

They circled and circled up the steps. A light appeared in the darkness.

“Up there. I can see the light from the hole,” Alice said.

High above them was the brilliant, bright light of their escape from the underworld. The light leading to home. The closer and closer they came to the light, the clearer it became. A sunny light. A daytime light.

“Alice, where did you say the hole was?”

“In a clearing of trees in the Oaken King’s realm.”

“Who’s the Oaken King?”

“The fairy king of eternal sum—” Alice paused. “Oh, no. No. No. No. You’re still a?—”

“A vampire,” Hugo finished. “Alice, I’m still a vampire, and we’re heading right for the sun. What do we do?”

“We can’t stay here. The Oaken King is only going to hold it open for so long.”

Hugo’s breathing quickened as the source of the light grew bigger and brighter. He had escaped the land of lost souls, and he had no intention of returning. His heart pumped and pumped. A surge of energy flowed through him. Sweat trickled down his back. A heat surged through him. He was racing toward an unknown fate.

“I have an idea. As soon as we exit, hit the ground and curl up into a ball. I’ll throw my coat over your exposed skin. It’s not perfect, but it’s something,” Alice explained.

“I’ll take something over nothing.”

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