Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin Read Online Free Page A

trip.”
    “You
don’t understand,” Elizabeth began. “This is my dream. To rough it by myself,
completely alone, has always seemed like it would be the ultimate test of
survival. I’ve never been totally alone before, because I’ve always had Austin
with me. And I love the wild. I want to commune with nature. I can see this
becoming one of the best things I have done in my whole life.”
    Arthur
nodded his head. This was goodbye. Elizabeth was going to head off into this
big wide world and leave him behind. Arthur decided he wanted to make the most
of what time they had left. That meant no more talking.
    "Let’s
go in and dance some more," he said.
    "No,
I want to get out of here."
    Oh
my God! Like a date, he thought. "Elizabeth," he said, "that
sounds like a great idea, where would you like to go?"
    Elizabeth
smiled wickedly and said, "Aaron Ayro's party is tonight. Just let me grab
my purse and we can be on our way."

 
    Chapter
5: Masquerade
    Elizabeth
led Arthur to Aaron's house. It was a winding, discordant route. She led him
down the driveway, straight down the street, down a short cut that included a
large dirt slope, made a left onto a paved road, a right, and then another
right up a small hill. There they reached the cul-de-sac with Aaron's
"almost mansion" on it.
    Elizabeth
and Arthur had never been invited to one of Aaron's parties. Elizabeth wanted
to see one before she left, because she found Aaron to be one of the most
intensely interesting men in wine country. Elizabeth loved long walks at night,
and so did Aaron. Aaron had been living in the area for the last year and a
half, and every time they passed each other they could not keep their eyes off
each other. Elizabeth could not explain why Aaron stared at her, but she could
tell anyone at any time exactly why she stared at him. He was the biggest, most
powerful man she had ever seen. They were the same height (5'7), but his broad
shoulders and huge chest astounded her. His brow ridges were very clearly
defined, and his deep set eyes created the illusion of his brows being more
pronounced than they actually were. He was an ugly, barbaric looking man. But
so long as he was comfortable staring at her, she didn't mind staring at him.
She doubted he even knew who she was. She only spent about twenty five percent
of the year in wine country. She was Miss Nobody, whereas Aaron was the
enigmatic rich guy no one knew anything about, who had one of the largest homes
in wine country, and held giant parties. She thought of him as the Great Gatsby
of Temecula.
    Arthur
just wanted to be with Elizabeth, and if that meant crashing a party then so be
it. Besides, Elizabeth told him she wanted to go to Aaron's for a reason that
he considered sensible: her own party hadn't been that great. This was a
sentiment Arthur shared, and he was fine leaving in favor of something possibly
more exciting. Though he wasn't sure how they were going to be able to enter.
He could see the bouncer at the door and it was common knowledge that Aaron's
parties were invitation only. No one in the neighborhood had ever been invited
or, so far as Arthur knew, been inside the house to see one. That's going to
change tonight, he thought.
    Aaron
had an open gate leading up to his driveway, and they saw a man and woman in
masks leaving. Must be a masquerade, Elizabeth observed.
    "These
people are wild!" the woman exclaimed.
    "Never
been to a party like that," the man said.
    "I
was told what it was going to be like beforehand, but I had no concept of the
reality of it all until I was actually in there."
    "Believe
me, I've been booked for some crazier things than what was going on in
there."
    Elizabeth
and Arthur listened to this exchange, their curiosity so aroused that now there
was surely no turning back from their mission, and they approached the two
strangers.
    "Excuse
me," Elizabeth said, "my friend and I would like to get into that
party. Can we buy your masks off of you?"
    "You
want to go