As soon as they left the house, they caught a taxi and headed straight for the bus stand. They arrived just ten minutes before the bus was due to depart.If they were a second late, they might have missed it. Fortunately, they were ahead of schedule.The bus sped down the highway, its engine humming steadily. They sat side by side, with Jack by the window, gazing out at the passing scenery—though there wasn’t much to see.“Did you let Uncle Daniel know we’re coming?” Max asked.Jack shook his head. “No, I forgot. Hold on, I’ll call him now.” He reached into his pocket to grab his phone—but it wasn’t there. Then he remembered—he’d left it on the dressing table back home.Max raised an eyebrow. “I forgot mine, too. Now what? How are we going to contact Uncle Daniel?”“It’s fine,” Jack reassured him. “Uncle knows we’re coming. And I’m familiar with Mariner’s Bay.”“Let’s hope that’s enough,” Max muttered.They sat in silence for a while. An hour later, they arrived at the Mariner bus sta

Now, only the morning remained. The mystery of what happened in that hotel might be solved by daybreak. They spent the night on edge, nervously anticipating what was to come.Throughout the night, there were numerous knocks on the door. The doorbell chimed several times, too.Sometimes it was Mr. Parker, other times the hotel manager, and occasionally a staff member calling for them. But they never answered.Somehow, the hours passed, and dawn broke. The sun peeked over the eastern sky, bringing with it a sigh of relief from them. After freshening up in the bathroom, they were ready. Now, all that was left was to wait.Soon, Mr. Parker would bring breakfast. And that’s when everything would be explained—at least, they hoped it would. The mystery of the hotel might finally have an answer.A few moments later, the doorbell rang with a soft chime. They thought it might be Mr. Parker. Jack jumped out of bed and rushed to open the door.When he did, a young man—about twenty or twenty-one—

“That meant you guys were planning to go to that island?” Luna said, looking at the boys. They were talking in the living room. Luna was seated on a sofa in front of the boys. She was around their age, with ash-colored hair and light blue eyes—a pretty girl. They already told her everything.“Yep,” Jack nodded.“Did you know you could die from this?”“I told them,” Tulip replied on the boys’ behalf. “But they didn’t listen. By the way, I didn’t see Auntie around.” She looked around. “Was she not home?”“Nope, she wasn’t.”“Where did she go?”“New York. She’ll be back in a week.”“Oh! Anyway, did you have the exorcism water with you?”“Yes, I kept some from my dad. You guys sit tight; I’ll go get it.” Saying this, Luna left. She came back shortly, holding a glass jar with a kind of liquid inside—sacred exorcism water. “Let’s go,” Luna said.“Go Where?” Tulip asked in surprise. “Where were you planning to go?”“Why?” Luna looked equally surprised. “I’m going with you guys.”“To that is

“The hotel manager was here! How was that possible? No, that couldn’t be. Why would he be here? So, was there no connection between the hotel manager and the vampire?”Max and Paul already spotted the hotel manager. Like Jack, the same questions were racing through their minds.Suddenly, the manager started moving toward them. They decided it was best to hide and slipped into a nearby bush. From their hiding spot, they watched as the manager slowly transformed into a vampire. They understood everything in an instant: this villain was the one committing all those awful deeds at the hotel. But one thing puzzled the boys. As far as they knew, vampires couldn’t stand sunlight. If sunlight touched them, they’d die. Yet this vampire-manager seemed fine in both daylight and darkness; nothing bothered him. This guy could walk around freely in broad daylight. How was that possible?Luna provided the answer. She explained, “Some vampires can tolerate sunlight.”Thanks to the vampire manager, t

Someone had just come by and left food a moment ago, so who was there now? While they wondered, Van Evangeline opened the door and walked in. Seeing her, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.“Evangeline, it’s you?” Paul exclaimed.“Yes, it’s me.” Evangeline nodded. “What, are you annoyed that I came?”“Oh, no!” Paul quickly waved his hand. “Why would we be annoyed?”“No...I mean…” Evangeline hesitated. “You all looked a little strange, that’s all.”“You know we’re trapped here,” Jack said. “Who knows when some vampire might come to snap our necks and drink our blood? So, we’re constantly on edge.”“That’s true,” Evangeline replied, adding a note of sympathy to her voice. “But as long as I’m here, no one can harm you.”“We’ve been imprisoned here to be killed.”“I already told you—no one can harm you as long as I’m here.” Evangeline repeated firmly, then added in a pleading tone, “Will you all do me a favor?”“Tell us. We’ll try,” they all said in unison.“I want to be your friend. Will