Page 60 of Bound By Blood

He slid a wary glance in her direction as they passed through the narrow doorway that led up to the tower.

“Don’t worry,” she said with a reassuring smile.

Right, he thought. What was there to worry about?

As they climbed the stairs, he caught the sound of excited conversation and laughter, and the scent of … buttered popcorn?

He couldn’t hide his amazement when they entered a room filled with not only vampires, but men, women, and children. The room itself was something to see. Three of the walls and most of the ceiling were made of glass, affording a splendid view of the valley below and the star-studded sky above. A long table held bottles of wine, cans of soda, a variety of candy bars, and an enormous tub of popcorn. Rows of chairs took up most of the floor.

Standing there, Zack overheard conversations in several languages, including English. It wasn’t surprising. Vampires lived a long time. Learning new languages was a good way to while away the hours. He, himself, spoke Spanish, French, and German.

When the lights dimmed, people quickly took their seats.

Kaitlyn guided Zack to a pair of chairs in the back row. “This whole movie thing is a new addition,” she whispered. “My mom’s idea.”

Zack nodded. The sound of so many beating hearts didn’t bother him. He was used to it from spending his nights at the casino. But he could have done without the combined smells of popcorn, candy and soda, not to mention the stink of urine that came from an infant girl sitting on her mother’s lap in the row ahead of him.

Someone hit a switch. Sliding doors opened on the room’s one solid wall, revealing a large movie screen. A projector descended from the ceiling. The lights went out. And the movie began.

It was all Zack could do to keep from laughing out loud when he read the title. It was the old black-and-white film,Dracula,starring Bela Lugosi as the infamous Transylvanian count.

When the movie was over, the humans hustled their children off to bed. The vampires clustered around the table, uncorking the wine bottles which, as it turned out, didn’t hold wine at all.

A few of the vampires went off with the humans, apparently in the mood for something straight from the source.

“You’ve got an odd look on your face,” Kaitlyn remarked. “What are you thinking about?”

“How bizarre this all is.”

She glanced around the room. “Is it?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to think so, seeing as how you grew up here,” Zack replied. “But believe me, this is like some kind of … I don’t know … a fever dream, maybe.” He shook his head. “It just isn’t natural.”

“No,” she said slowly. “I guess it isn’t.”

Zack took her arm and they moved to the side as a couple of male vampires quickly folded up the chairs and put them away. The doors closed over the screen, the projector slid back up into the ceiling.

A woman with long red hair took a seat at the piano and began to play a waltz.

Drake took his wife into his arms and swept her onto the dance floor. Several other couples followed their lead.

Zack looked at Kaitlyn. “Shall we?”

“I’d love to.”

It felt good to be in his arms, but it was hard to relax when her parents were nearby, surreptitiously watching her every move. Determined not to let it bother her, she smiled at Zack, her stomach doing a crazy flip-flop when he smiled back.

“It’s like dancing among the stars, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah. I thought the Skylight Room was pretty amazing, but this place beats everything I’ve ever seen.”

“You aren’t … you’re not going to leave, are you?”

“Not unless you go with me.”

“I love you, Zack.”

“I know, Katy darlin’.” Bending down, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you, too, although I don’t think your father will ever approve.”

---