Double The Fun Read online

  Double The Fun

  Royal Vampire Kingdom

  Ivy Banks

  Copyright © 2019 by Ivy Banks

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For permission requests, email [email protected]

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events, businesses, companies, institutions, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Rub your eyes or you might find yourself seeing double.

  Contents

  Royal Vampire Kingdom Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Also By Ivy Banks

  About the Author

  Royal Vampire Kingdom Prologue

  Many eons ago, the first vampire came into existence when a great warrior named Atticus was given the gift of immortality from an almighty warlock. But with the gift of eternal life came great responsibility. As Atticus developed a thirst for blood, he knew he had to leverage his powers wisely.

  Over time, immortality became lonely, and Atticus embarked on a quest to form his own family. Choosing his “children” based on strength of character, fortitude and the ability to navigate an ever changing world for millennia upon millennia, Atticus created a clan that would be able to rule over all other vampires, creating order and hierarchy among them.

  The Vampire King gave sixteen worthy humans the gift of everlasting life. The chosen soon became the fifteen princes and sole princess of the vampire world. Together they became the Hanover family.

  From these original sixteen individuals, all vampires in the world were created. Though vampires now cover the Earth as rampantly as man and beast, the original Hanover clan remains the most powerful among them.

  This is the story of Andrew and Adam Hanover.

  Chapter 1

  She looked at the paper in her hands and Wynne scoffed openly. “Really?” she laughed.

  But Lisa’s deadpan face and expressionless eyes revealed she was not joking.

  “Oh…you’re serious,” Wynne said, a mixture of dubiousness and embarrassment coloring her face.

  “Yes,” Lisa replied. “You’ll enjoy it. Trust me.”

  Wynne swallowed what she wanted to say and tried to look enthusiastic. However, Lisa’s proposal did not look enjoyable.

  “Okay, sure. We can go. I mean you already got us tickets,” she reticently agreed, shooting Lisa a sidelong look.

  Is she drunk? It’s Friday night and she wants to go to the circus?

  A thought occurred to her and she jerked her head up, narrowing her hazel eyes suspiciously.

  “Are you pregnant?” she demanded and Lisa choked on the coffee she was sipping.

  Lisa laughed when she regained her bearings. “Of course not. You can mock this idea all you want, but you’ll see – it’s an amazing experience.”

  Again, Wynne nodded, not wanting to tell her best friend that they may have very different ideas of what an amazing experience entailed.

  Flying trapeze artists and clowns do not really appeal to me, Wynne thought dryly, but it was so rare for Lisa to make a request like this, she couldn’t say no… could she?

  Wynne stared at the tickets in her hand again hoping they would magically disappear.

  “Okay,” she finally answered. “I guess we’re going to the circus tonight.”

  They drove into the giant parking lot of NRG Arena off Interstate 610 and Wynne was shocked at how full the lot was, despite the fact they were almost an hour early.

  “Are we going to find parking?” she wondered aloud as Lisa steered the car toward the complex.

  “I always do,” Lisa replied quietly and Wynne glanced at her in surprise.

  “You always do?” Wynne asked. “How many times have you seen this show?”

  Lisa seemed to be concentrating on the road, but after a moment she answered. “Three times this year.”

  Wynne began to laugh, but there was something about Lisa’s stoic tone that troubled her.

  “What?”

  “I have been coming to this show for years. I try to come to as many shows as I can when the Hanover Circus is in town.”

  Wynne opened her mouth to respond but no words came out.

  Obviously there’s some underlying childhood connection I don’t understand. Daddy issues? Should I ask?

  Morbid curiosity got the best of her.

  “How come you never mentioned that you have a fetish for the circus?” Wynne asked, half-joking.

  Lisa pulled her Lexus into a parking spot four spots from the entrance. Wynne’s eyes widened in surprise at the proximity of the space.

  “Wow, that’s lucky,” she commented as Lisa removed the keys from the ignition.

  “I’m always lucky when I come to the circus,” Lisa said quietly.

  She’s acting weird, Wynne decided, hopping from the passenger seat and meeting her friend on the other side of the red car.

  They maintained a semi-strange silence as they approached the entrance. Lisa clutched the tickets so hard Wynne could see her knuckles turning white.

  The promotional posters promised a “mind-altering event” in turn of the century style lettering.

  I hope there’s booze here, Wynne thought, her jaw clenching slightly as they joined the line. No one had been admitted yet and Wynne sat back to watch the crowd.

  The crowd was filled with seemingly normal people, dressed in jeans and cowboy hats, chatting amongst themselves. They seemed like a typical Houston crowd, but something was off and it took Wynne several minutes to understand what troubled her.

  There was a stunning absence of children in the mix.

  “Where are all the kids?” Wynne asked but Lisa did not answer.

  Something is wrong, Wynne thought suddenly but she could not definitively place what was bothering her.

  Wynne reasoned it was the way Lisa was acting, but there seemed to be an energy coursing all around her, flowing from person to person. She was grateful when the line finally began to move and the two shuffled toward the front.

  As they approached the entrance of arena the din of the crowd faded into complete silence by the time they reached the front of the line. Nobody made a sound. Wynne felt her skin tingle as her hair stood on end. Something was definitely bizarre about the event.

  The woman who took their tickets and did so without a word, allowing them through while avoiding eye contact. Wynne was about to make a flip remark about customer service. Before she could, however, a feeling of controlled peace stole over her.

  Like she was floating, Wynne followed Lisa into the main stage room, each step more dreamlike than the last.

  She had been to many events at the NRG Arena, but nothing like this one. Never had she walked into a room of shocking silence, enveloped by people fixated on the center despite the stage being void of people or activity.

  It had been years since Wynne, had been to a circus but it appeared to be set up the same way as she remembered.

  A trapeze net hung halfway suspended between the ceiling and ground. Wynne was grateful she didn’t see any props for animals. She never liked seeing an animal confined against its will.

  Vibrant golds, reds and greens flashed from each clown car. The green and silver Hanover logo was emblazoned on each item as if the space was alive, even though there was not one soul in place.


  Yet the quiet was something she had never experienced.

  She had no desire to speak, only watch, just as the remainder of the arena seemed content in doing as well.

  Wynne lost track of time. She was vaguely aware of Lisa sitting at her side, the two of them only a few rows from the stage. But they said nothing to each other. Lisa was equally focussed on nothing but the inanimate objects before them.

  The arena went black.

  A collective gasp echoed through the crowd, the first sound to resonate since their arrival.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” a sonorous voice emanated through the arena. Wynne could feel the words in the base of her spine. “Welcome to the Hanover Circus. For the next few hours, we ask that you leave your worries behind and submit yourselves into our very capable hands. Sit back, relax and enjoy our performance. We hope you will not be disappointed.”

  Abruptly, dim light flooded onto the stage and Wynne felt her breath catch as she laid eyes upon the emcee.

  His black hair seemed to shine blindingly from where she sat, small gleams of light bouncing toward her from all angles.

  Despite the distance between them, she could see the prism-like quality of his eyes and as he began to stalk about the stage. Wynne could not tear her eyes from his. She willed him to look at her but he was attention was everywhere at once.

  “Tonight, we will do our best to entertain you with the magic we have acquired through generations of study. Some of us have been born into this, while others have practiced for years. The result is the same, however; a show that you will never forget for the remainder of your existence!”

  Again, the stage went dark, but in less than two seconds, a blinding spotlight lit the arena and dozens of people streamed on stage in a myriad of colorful costumes.

  Wynne was hypnotized by the display, her senses nearly overloaded as she tried to take it all in: the half-naked women, the muscular men on stilts, the old men on unicycles, and the beautiful young contortionists.

  Everyone moved to their own rhythm, smiling, frowning, hissing and playing. She could not see everything fast enough and regretted losing sight of one figure to feast her eyes on another.

  A dizzying array of emotions coursed through her; ups and downs, highs and lows, none of which she could contain. Never had Wynne been so entranced by a show, but it seemed no matter which performer she watched, she inevitably found herself returning her gaze to the emcee.

  “Who is that?” She murmured to Lisa, who seemed just as transfixed by the scene as her.

  Lisa knew instinctively to whom Wynne was referring. Without turning her head, she answered, “Andrew Hanover. He’s owned the circus for years.”

  Wynne nodded slowly, watching as the people began to group themselves into blocks and Andrew Hanover took center stage once more.

  “We will begin the festivities with a feast for your eyes. I am Andrew Hanover, master of illusions and keeper of eternal secrets. But I will need a volunteer to assist me. Who will be brave enough to step to my side?”

  Hundreds of hands shot into the air, the arena filling with pleading murmurs but Andrew looked to no one in the audience.

  Instead, he turned to a woman who did cartwheels and backflips across the stage until she arrived at his side.

  “Artemis, what say you?” Andrew asked the woman.

  A nervous giggle tittered through the audience but Wynne watched in fascination as the goddess-like woman slowly lifted her head to stare at Andrew to acknowledge the question.

  Their eyes clashed, and as a ray of light bounced off the woman’s distinctive face, Wynne could see that the woman’s eyes were yellowish-green with a black slit, just like a cat.

  That’s impossible, she thought. It’s a trick of the light.

  Artemis’ majestic head rose and Wynne’s heart stopped as the woman looked directly at her.

  “It appears as though Artemis has found our volunteer,” Andrew smiled, pivoting to see where the woman stared.

  A current shot through Wynne as they stared into her shocked face.

  A slow smile formed on Andrew’s face and he nodded.

  “Yes,” he said, happily. “She will do wonderfully. Thank you, Artemis.”

  “You, miss,” Andrew Hanover called, stepping away from center stage toward the audience.

  Wynne was suddenly aware of all eyes on her as she felt herself rising, as if guided by an unseen hand.

  “What is your name, darlin’?” he asked with a fake Texan drawl and another bout of whispery laughter flowed through the overflowing arena.

  “Wynne,” she whispered.

  There was no explanation as to how he could have heard her response, not from the distance between them and yet his smile broadened.

  “Wynne,” he repeated, holding up a long, slender hand. “Please. Come and join us.”

  Wynne stood frozen…or so she thought. In fact, she was gliding toward Andrew Hanover, her own hand extended. If she had paused to look to her left, she would have seen unadulterated envy painted across Lisa’s face.

  But Wynne could see nothing, feel nothing; nothing but the overwhelming power with which the black-haired Hanover drew her to him.

  He met her halfway, extending his hand. An electricity she had never experienced coursed through her body as she allowed him to lead her to the center of the massive arena.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Andrew called through his headpiece, turning toward the crowd. “Allow me to present, Wynne.”

  A scattering of applause could be heard, but Wynne was vaguely aware of it, her golden-green eyes captivated by the enticing stranger.

  Even when Andrew wasn’t looking at her, she felt as though she possessed his undivided attention.

  What is wrong with you? Wynne wondered as she was brought toward a box. She could see Andrew’s ripe, red lips moving, but the words fell through her.

  Wynne was in a trance, a daze. She followed Andrew, not knowing or caring what he intended; she inherently trusted him, though she had no idea why.

  Do not fight it. A voice in her head encouraged. You must not question it. Not everything can be explained with logic.

  Slowly, Andrew laid her into the pine container and began to close the lid.

  It was in that moment that Wynne realized that the voice in her head did not belong to her and that she was being sealed in a coffin.

  Chapter 2

  It was three-thirty in the morning when Wynne woke, soaked in sweat.

  Trembling madly, she rolled over in her bed, thrashing out and exhaled sharply. She could extend her arms, so she didn’t need to panic.

  It was a dream, she told herself. Everything was a dream. You are not in a coffin and you did not go to a magic show.

  The words should have reassured and comforted her, but instead, she was filled with a sense of loss so great, it caused her to gasp.

  What is wrong with you? Wynne asked herself and she was immediately brought back to the center of the stage where Andrew Hanover stared at her with his ethereal eyes.

  It didn’t happen. There was no circus. Of course there was no circus. Lisa would never ask you to go to the circus.

  But Wynne could not shake the dream. It had been much too real… and surreal simultaneously. Moreover, Wynne herself could not stop wishing it had been real.

  Swinging her legs from the side of the bed, she tossed her red hair over her shoulder and padded into the kitchen for a glass of water.

  Sensibility was beginning to set back in, but Wynne could not let the dream go. It was not that she was one to put much stock into the validity of dreams, but there was something about it…

  You’re being stupid, she reasoned. You can’t make sense of things in the middle of the night.

  And yet, she poured herself a cold glass of water and made her way to the laptop open on the dining room table of her condo.

  In minutes, she learned that the Hanover Circus was, in fact, in Houston. The information sent chills through her, but Wynne
shook her head.

  So, you saw a commercial or heard an ad on the radio. It seeped into your subconscious and now you’re having dreams about it, she told herself, shaking her head. Go back to sleep. You have a data analysis paper due tomorrow afternoon.

  The logic did not stop Wynne’s fingers from continuing to seek the information she wanted.

  In another two seconds, she had pulled up an image and her blood turned to ice.

  She found a picture of Andrew Hanover. It was the man from her dream.

  Did I see him somewhere too? Is it possible or did I have a vision of sorts?

  “I’m sorry, Wynne, but seriously? It’s Friday night. It’s happy hour at Chappy’s and we’re twenty-two, not twelve. What the hell is this?” Lisa demanded angrily as she looked around NRG Arena.

  Wynne had never noticed how bitchy a southern accent could be when misused.

  “We’ll go to happy hour at Pomegranate tomorrow,” Wynne promised. “I really want to see this show.”

  “Jesus. I knew you took your break-up with Jason harder than you said,” Lisa muttered, glancing down at the program in her hand. “But I didn’t realize you went completely off the deep end. The circus?! I hope you know I will be tweeting about this all night.”

  “Duly noted,” Wynne sighed, wishing that she had not asked Lisa to accompany her.

  But Lisa was in the dream too. Maybe she has to be here for… for what? Oh, God, you’re losing your mind. It’s not too late to hit happy hour at—

  The arena went black.

  A collective gasp fell through the crowd and Wynne was filled with the stark sense of déjà vu.

  This is it, she thought, goosebumps prickling her arms. This is just like my dream.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” a sonorous voice emanated through the arena. Wynne could feel the words in the base of her spine. “Welcome to the Hanover Circus. For the next few hours, we ask that you leave your worries behind and submit yourselves into our very capable hands. Sit back, relax and enjoy our performance. We hope you will not be disappointed.”