Dracul Read Online Free

so sick of dealing with them all alone. In some ways it’s a relief that he knows about them. He said he studies them. Maybe he could help me get rid of them. Then I wouldn’t have to call an exterminator.
    “May I take a look?” Constantine asks, a note of uncertainty in his words, that same not-sure-she’ll-care tone he used this morning when I opened the door.
    But I care. I care very much about getting rid of the bats. At the same time, however, I can’t shake the words of the older man who helped me get my backpack back. You should be careful.
    That’s right. I should be careful. I don’t know anything about Constantine, other than that he studies bats, which is weird enough. And he watched one fly into my house, which could just be due to a coincidence of timing, or it could be because he’s been stalking me.
    I am not cool with stalkers.
    Not even cute ones.
    “Why do you want to look at my bats?”
    “They should not be active this time of year. Something must be wrong with them.”
    “Rabies?”
    “No. Bats are very small. Their bodies are quickly ravaged by rabies. You would not be hearing them for long if they had the disease. Besides, this time of year rabies tends to hibernate along with its hosts.” Constantine’s words, I realize, are not the usual Montana flavor. He’s got an accent—well-buried—but distinct. Something sort of Eastern European.
    Who is this guy, and what’s he doing studying bats in Montana in February?
    “What are you going to do with the bats, if you find them?” I, for one, have not poked my head up into the attic to see the bats for myself. I’ve heard them fluttering and shrieking up there, and I’ve seen enough of them in places like my kitchen to guess with near certainty bats are causing the noise.
    For a moment, Constantine is silent. Then he offers, “I could get rid of them for you.”
    Be careful.
    Right. There are a lot of things I don’t know about this guy. But one thing I do know is that I want rid of the bats. My mom doesn’t want me calling an exterminator, or even letting on to anyone else that there may be bats around. I don’t want to go anywhere near the bats myself.
    Besides, what the guy who helped me get my backpack back doesn’t realize is that I’m a dragon. I can take care of myself against Constantine.
    And Constantine can take care of my bats for me. It’s perfect.
    “When can you come over?”
    “Later this evening. They may be most active then. Does eight o’clock work for you?”
    “Eight’s great. See you then. Thanks.”
    *
    Constantine is two minutes early, which is super because by then I’m pacing the house, roving from the upstairs hallway to the front door and back again, stopping to listen now and then, and wondering what’s up with my crazy bats, anyway.
    “This way.” I lead him upstairs and stop in the hallway beneath the wood-trimmed rectangle on the ceiling that marks the entrance to the attic. I point to the dangling pull-string. “It’s one of those ladder things—you pull the string, the hatch opens, and the ladder drops down. You kind of have to watch your head. There’s another string at the top for the light. One bulb in the middle of the room.”
    “Got it.” Constantine nods solemnly. “You will need to stay back out of the way.”
    “No problem.” It’s what I’d planned on doing.
    Constantine hesitates, his eyes searching my face. “Before I open the hatch, I want you to go behind a closed door. Bats fly quickly. Stay out of the way.”
    “I have no problem staying hidden,” I reassure him.
    “Even if you hear…noises. Sounds of struggle. I do not need you to come to my aid. You would endanger yourself. Stay behind a closed door.”
    “Right.” I head for the door to what used to be my mom’s room. Technically it still is her room, it’s just that she doesn’t stay here much anymore. “I’ll be in here. You…do whatever you have to do. I won’t come out until you tell me the