Vampire's Runaway

The Magic Mirror pt 1

After a long and tedious day of school, the last bell of the day couldn't come soon enough. Sarah and I stopped off at my place first, where I double-checked my suitcase to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and wrote a note to my mom who was at work. Our next stop was Sarah's where I helped her throw almost every outfit she could ever possibly need for two weeks, which was overkill for the four-day trip. When I reminded her that we only had Monday off, and Tuesday was our senior skip day, she just scoffed at me.

While driving on our first stretch of the road trip we talked about everything, about work, our plans, and stupid stuff. The road cut through the jagged rock of the mountain, layers of multicolored rock were remnants of sand and slate which were perfect for fossils and coal. Outside the window, I watched as the rocky mountain landscape slowly turn into desert with each passing mile.

For the first eight-plus hours we only stopped at gas stations to load up on junk food and caffeine, and to pee. Our first stop was going to be Vegas, and then we were going to the Grand Canyon, over the hover dam, and then maybe to Hollywood if we had enough time.

Wake up sleepy head. I swear you'd sleep through a hurricane.

I looked outside just in time to see the Vegas sign. We were on the famous strip. There was Cesar's Palace, the Venetian, the Bellagio, and a few others I didn't recognize. But what stood out to me, above all the glitz and glam and flashing light was a tall, domineering replica of a medieval gothic castle that loomed over us as we approached. Several tall turrets towered over the base of the main building which was lined with battlements and decorative windows. Intricate carvings of winged gargoyle-like beasts stood out against the main roof, as though they were stone sentries standing guard.

Of course, it was the ominous-looking casino slightly off the strip that my friend was driving towards. As we headed for the parking garage, I saw a bright red neon sign that said Dracula's Castle.

"You've got to be kidding, Sarah."

"I'm not. Every other casino on the strip has rooms that are hundreds of dollars a night, but this one has a discount for first-timers. Fifty bucks a night, and I booked us for three nights. It's a bargain."

"What? This is a road trip. That's the whole trip! We can't gamble, we aren't 21 we can't do anything fun."

"That's why I got these," she said as she pulled out some fake IDs and handed them to me.

Mine wasn't half bad. She had used an actual picture of me, but the name was a complete fake: Candi Apple. It's a name I used once upon a time when we were playing as kids and I guess it stuck. Hers said Peachy Kween, which suited her perfectly. I rolled my eyes at the names. "Who in the world is going to believe these?"

"These guys don't care, they just want our money," Sarah said as she parked the car on one of the many levels of the parking garage.

"Fine," I said with a groan. After all, they say what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas, I would just have to be especially careful not to get caught. "But we're going on another road trip after graduation and I'm picking the hotels next."

After checking into our room on the second floor, we both put down our luggage and inspected the modest bedroom with a spacious bathroom and a spectacular view.

There were two queen-sized beds, so I moved quickly to claim my bed near the exit. After I flopped down in my bed and almost fell asleep, Sarah shook me more violently than necessary and showed me a brochure that was left on the table. "Let's go clubbing! There's a fancy, dress-up-only club on the first floor called the Magic Mirror. Let's hurry up and get our freak on."

I was still tired from the car trip, but I humored her and got up from the comfy bed. After rummaging through my luggage, I pulled out the only dress I had for the trip, which was a small white sundress. I put on the short-sleeved dress with a scooping neckline and then inspected my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I didn't put too much effort into my makeup and just put my hair up in a messy bun. I wasn't there to slay, but Sarah was.

She was wearing a strapless black and plumb dress, and her makeup was perfection. She had thick eyeliner with an exaggerated outer flare, plumb eyeshadow that was striking compared to her pale skin and blonde hair, and dark purple lipstick that almost looked black.

The club was on the first level of the casino. The line to get in went around the corner of the extremely long hallway, and my introverted psyche was already looking for the exits, but Sarah seemed excited so I tried to stick it out.

The halls were lavishly decorated as if we were in an actual castle or palace. The floors and walls were lined with marble and the hallway furnished intricate wood pieces that might be centuries old. There was a broad set of clear doors that led to the floor of the casino, and the ceilings were all lined with crystal chandeliers.

The line moved fast because not all people in the line made it, in fact, quite a few were turned away. After a few minutes of waiting the bouncer said we could go in.

On the far wall was what looked like a mirror, except no one there had any reflections. The tables still had drinks and items on them, and cups were mysteriously held up in the air by no one. It must be done using cameras and some kind of picture filter technology.

"Lol funny. I get it because vampires don't have reflections," I said when I remembered that the theme of the casino was Dracula.

"I thought I was the blonde one," Sarah rolled her eyes at me like it was totally obvious from the start.

For a couple of songs we danced our asses off and I allowed myself to temporarily forget about my worries with school and life and I actually had some fun. But when the music changed to a slow song, I had to pull Sarah away to a table. "Hey, let's sit down. My feet are killing me."

"Fine," Sarah agreed with an exaggerated huff and then sat down next to me.

After sitting down for only a few minutes a waitress came over with a tray with two green drinks. "These are from that gentleman. He also said you can order any other drink on his tab."

She indicated a table where two insanely gorgeous people were sitting. The man had dark hair and piercing blue eyes that stood out even from a distance. He wore a fitted dark blue, button-up shirt, and a designer jacket. He sat next to a blonde woman that was dressed in a red dress.

"Oh look Sar... I mean Peachy, you've got an admirer," I said as I almost forgot about our fake IDs and fake names.

"He's been looking at you," She said as she took a long draft of the drink. At that, I shot a quick glance over there and saw that he was indeed staring at me.

He gave me a smile as he continued to drink. I looked away quickly as felt a blush crawl up the back of my neck. I wasn't experienced in this sort of thing so I quirked an eyebrow as I looked at Sarah questioningly.

"Ok, bring us two AMFs, some jager shots, and a few jello shots if you have them," Sarah said. The waitress wrote it down.

I glared at her because I wasn't even sure I wanted to accept the first drink, given that I wasn't sure what he wanted from me. "Why did you do that? He's with a blonde..."

"Hey you don't know, they could be friends, or related."

Took another look at the blonde. She was beautiful. She had high, elegant cheekbones, a perfect upturned nose, and large bee-stung lips. Her eyes were an almond brown.

If they were just friends, or related, then why would she be glaring at me?

I took a sip of the drink. It was something like a Sour Apple Jolly Rancher with a bit of a kick. I cautiously drank a few sips, because I'd never drank before and I didn't want to do something stupid.

I was just starting to relax when he got up out of his seat and then approached me, and I sat there frozen like a deer in headlights.

"Can I sit here?" He asked, and his voice was deep and smooth.

"You can take my seat," Sarah said before taking a few shots and then grabbing the rest of the drinks the waitress brought. I glared at her as she got up and sat down at the bar, but she was totally oblivious to my one-person staring match.

"You have a name, beautiful?" He asked, drawing my attention back to him and his beautiful blue eyes.