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We swept around the sandy drive, rounding a fountain and stopping outside the impressive entrance.
‘So where’s the drawbridge?’ I breathed to myself. But instead of a drawbridge, wide steps led up to a set of marble double doors, which in turn were covered by the stone balcony.
My door was flung open and somebody grabbed me by the shoulders, yanking me off the seat.
‘Get off me!’ I snapped. He kept pulling, but I wriggled free and got out myself, despite the gravel that made my toes curl as I crossed it. He shrugged, walking off. Kaspar flicked the car keys at a boy, about my age. My eyes followed him, dressed in a black suit lined with emerald, as he jumped into one of the cars and started it, heading towards the garages.
I tore my eyes away as Kaspar grabbed my wrist and darted up the steps, the other five following behind. The double doors swung inward and my jaw dropped as we entered. A grand staircase circled the wall, made entirely of white marble. It led up to a large balcony and a passage, lit up by torch-like lamps fixed high up on the wall. Directly in front of me were a set of double doors, identical to the ones we had just passed through, but we were headed for a smaller door to my left. We passed a butler, who bowed.
‘Your Highnesses. Lords. Sir … and Madam,’ he added, clearly surprised at my appearance. I eyed him, unsure if what I had heard him just say was correct. He composed himself. ‘A guest, Your Highness?’
Kaspar chuckled darkly. ‘No, just fun.’
‘Very good, Your Highness.’
Your Highness? Kaspar had mentioned before about being a Prince. But Britain had royalty already, unless he was some distant relative of the Queen. But I would know about that if he was. Everyone would know about a royal like him.
Kaspar made a vague sound of acknowledgement, before chuckling again. Suddenly, his attention left me and with one hard push, I found myself stumbling through the smaller door into a lavishly decorated living room. The walls were wood-panelled and the carpet a worn deep red; the same torches used in the entrance clung to brackets on the wall between huge oil portraits framed with silver. But the room held all the same modern trappings as any other: a plasma television was mounted on the wall and below it was an array of games consoles; remotes were scattered across a glass coffee table, which the boy with the dark hair and glasses slung his jacket over as he flopped down onto one of the leather sofas.
Kaspar walked over to the windows, where heavy drapes framed the glass, stretching from the high ceiling down to the window seats tucked behind the shutters. He yanked the material across and shut off the light, save for one thin strip that divided the room in two.
‘Do you want me to take your coat?’ a voice said from behind me and I drew in a sharp breath, startled. Glancing behind me, I saw it was Fabian. I shook my head. ‘Sure?’ he added, smiling, and I couldn’t help but notice that with barely any light in the room, his eyes seemed to be just two pinpricks of brilliant blue framed by shadows, gaunt and hollow. I shirked away but took it off and handed it to him. A small, sympathetic smile crossed his lips and he gestured towards the sofas. I edged towards them, but decided to go no further. Instead, I continued to absorb the room and its occupants. There were six of them in total – Kaspar and his younger brother Cain, the blue-eyed boy Fabian and three others: the one with the flaming hair, another with what looked like fake glasses and the tall blond-haired guy who had pulled me from the car.
All of a sudden, Kaspar sprung forward and reached down into one of the pockets of my coat that Fabian was now holding. He pulled away and I realized that he held my phone.
‘I’ll keep that,’ he said, smirking. He pressed unlock and began searching through.
‘Don’t!’ I said, making a lunge for his hand. He side-stepped me, letting me stumble a few paces forward.
‘Why, do you have something to hide?’ he sneered. His fingers darted over the keyboard. ‘Dirty messages from your boyfriend, perhaps?’
‘No!’ I dived at him, making a second attempt at grabbing it back. But he held it out of my reach. ‘Give it back!’ I yelled, jumping, trying to snatch it from his hand. He smirked, holding it higher.
‘Who’s Joel then?’
I went to grab his wrist but he snatched mine instead and twisted sharply, leaving me screeching. He let go, but I backed away, rubbing my wrists. With a chuckle he began reading, his voice becoming high-pitched and mocking.
‘Hey, I was just wondering if we could meet up sometime? Just you and me. We need to talk about what I did. I miss you, babe. Text back, Joel.’ He stopped and pouted. ‘And aww, look, he even put a kiss at the end.’ He was clearly enjoying himself. I scowled at him.
‘Touched a nerve, did I?’
‘Fuck off,’ I muttered under my breath, not intending for him to hear.
‘Happily, Girly, happily.’
‘Kaspar,’ Fabian hissed. He was glaring at Kaspar, his eyebrows lowered and eyes shooting daggers at the other man. They said nothing for a full minute until Kaspar tossed the phone at Fabian, who caught it, slipping it into his pocket. With a shrug, Kaspar leaned against the sofa and drummed his fingers, staring down at me with an amused expression.
‘You saw too much and that is a problem for us. So you have a choice, Girly. You can become one of us or we can keep you here, indefinitely.’
I didn’t stop to think: my mind was made up before he had even finished his sentence. ‘I’m not a murderer and never will be.’
Kaspar shrugged his shoulders. ‘Then you will stay here until you agree to change. And don’t get your hopes up of rescue. Nobody human can enter here without us knowing.’
I frowned. ‘Human?’
‘Yes. Human.’ He turned to the others, smirking. ‘So much better when they have no idea, don’t you think?’ There was a general murmur of agreement in all but Fabian.
‘No idea about what?’ I asked, cautious, glancing from one face to another.
‘How old do you think I am?’ Kaspar asked.
It seemed irrelevant but I answered, not wanting to shorten his temper. ‘About nineteen?’
They turned to each other, chuckling. But this time they seemed to decide on something.
‘Wrong. I’m one hundred and ninety-seven.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘Nobody lives that long—’
‘My kind lives that long, and longer,’ Kaspar interjected. ‘Vampires, Girly.’
I shook my head as a chill passed down my spine. They were mad. I took a couple of steps back and laughed nervously, partly at the ludicrousness of what he had just said and partly because I was wondering what sort of mind game they were playing, and what response would keep me alive the longest. ‘Is this some sick joke?’
Kaspar’s smirk vanished. ‘Am I laughing?’ he answered, parting his mouth and allowing his lips to roll back over his gums. Resting on the plumpness of his bottom lip were two sharpened teeth, inconspicuous enough to pass in the dark, but now, in the light, it was clear as day that they were fangs.
‘They’re fake,’ I said, staring at them. I sounded more defiant than I felt.
‘Want to test?’ Kaspar replied.
‘Vampires don’t exist,’ I breathed, still shaking my head. ‘You’re just madmen.’
Before I could say another word, I was pressed up against the wall and Kaspar’s lips were brushing against my neck. His chest