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  Suddenly the vampires had a chance. Growler glared at Bella as she stepped up for the free throw. She jogged into the scoring zone, leaped—and neatly dumped the ball into the Chaney Street casket. Five more points to the vampires!

  Then, amid the cheers of the vampires, Mr. Tut blew the final whistle.

  The score was St. Orlok’s 6, Chaney Street 5. St. Orlok’s had won!

  POP! POP! POP! POP! Within seconds dozens of joyful vampires were turning into bats and flying over the field in glee.

  “I’m glad we didn’t win,” said Ollie Talbot as the two teams left the field. “We didn’t deserve to after all of Growler’s cheating.”

  “Yeah,” said Billy. “But where did that bat come from?”

  Lee swished open his cape. Inside, hanging upside down, was Boris.

  “Meet my new friend, Boris,” said Lee.

  “Hi, Boris,” said Billy. “Thanks for helping,” said Bella.

  “Well, I do hate cheating,” said Boris. “That’s something a real bat would never do.”

  “Or a vampire,” said Lee. “It’s just not fair.”

  Boris grinned. “I suppose you vampires are all right, really,” he chuckled. “Even if you aren’t real bats.”

  “Not real bats, huh?” laughed Lee. “We’ll soon see about that.”

  Lee gave Billy and Bella a funny look. They nodded. Then, with a POP! POP! POP! they all turned into bats.

  “Right, Boris,” cried Lee. “We’ll race you to the clock tower. Last one there’s a zombie!”

  And the four bats zoomed off, laughing and giggling high above the roofs of St. Orlok’s Elementary School.

  Hungry for more?

  Sink your teeth into the next

  Vampire School adventure.

  Here’s a sneak peek!

  Chapter 1

  A Night at the Fair

  BEEP! BEEP!

  Miss Gargoyle looked around at her class of young vampires. “Okay, everyone!” she said. “The school bus is here. Let’s all make our way out in an orderly line!”

  Lee Price stuck his hand up.

  “Miss Gargoyle,” he asked eagerly. “Why do we have to take the bus to the county fair? Why don’t we just fly?”

  With a sudden POP! Lee turned into a bat and fluttered around the room.

  “Yes, Miss Gargoyle, flying would be much quicker than the bus,” chimed in Bella Williams.

  “And better for the environment,” added Billy Pratt. “Bats don’t make smelly fumes.”

  “Except when they’ve had beans for dinner,” quipped Lee.

  The class burst out laughing. Even Miss Gargoyle couldn’t help grinning. She was looking forward to tonight’s school trip to the county fair just as much as the children. When she was a little girl, her dad had worked on the ghost train. She used to ride for free until her dad got fired for being too scary.

  “We’re taking the bus because it’s dark and I don’t want anyone to get lost on the way,” she said. “Besides, I don’t think it’s a great idea if twenty-five bats land in the middle of the fair and suddenly turn into a bunch of little vampires, do you? You know what Fangless folk are like. Now come along, the bus is waiting.”

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Based on an original idea by Chris Harrison

  Text copyright © 2010 by Peter Bently

  Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Chris Harrison

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