by Pedita Finn
Luna gazed with wonder at the theater marquees. “Y’know I’ll always be a Boo Jersey ghoul at heart, but I’m a moth and the bright lights of Bloodway are my flame! I’ve been working really hard, and one day you’ll see me up onstage singing my heart out and my name will be up there on those signs!”
Luna fluttered into the air with excitement and bumped into a bored feline.
“Meow!” yowled the werecat.
Cleo whirled around. “Toralei!” she said with shock, recognizing their Monster High classmate. “What are you doing in Boo York City?”
“Whaaat?” asked Toralei. The stylish werecat smiled smugly at Cleo. “Your sister, Nefera, invited me.”
Nefera sidled up to Toralei, grinning. “Admit it, sister,” she said to Cleo. “Having Toralei around always makes things more exciting.”
Toralei purred. “I know I can make it here on Bloodway, and I can sing rings around you, little moth girl.” She began yowling at the top of her lungs in the middle of Times Scare. Tires screeched. A car crashed.
Luna covered her ears. “Wow, huh, no. Not so much.”
But Toralei didn’t care. “See you in show business. ’Course you’ll have to buy a ticket.” She laughed.
Toralei stepped into a waiting limo.
Frankie handed Luna her luggage. “Good luck on Bloodway, Luna.”
“Thanks,” said Luna. “But in theater we say break a leg.” A bright light caught Luna’s attention and with a moth’s perfect instincts, she flew toward it, mesmerized.
The ghouls linked arms and danced down the street together, taking in the energy and the dazzle of the city. Taxis honked, friends called out to one another, and music blasted from every street corner.
“There are so many talented performers everywhere!” gushed the ghouls.
A huge crowd was clustered around a robot DJ making electronic music right there on the sidewalk.
“Hey, look at that!” exclaimed Clawdeen.
In front of the robot was a holographic turntable, and she was spinning discs with wild abandon. The crowd cheered as one song ended with a flourish, and another song began. Lights pulsed and flashed around the DJ. Everyone started dancing. When she was done, the crowd cheered, and the robot DJ took a bow.
Frankie loved it. “That was amazing! Voltageously electric!” The bolts on her neck sparked.
The DJ’s turntable vanished, and she bowed to the ghouls. “Thanks! You ghouls from out of town?”
“Monster High, actually,” said Draculaura.
“Welcome to Boo York. My name’s Elle Eedee.” With a wave of her hand, she created a flourish of electronic notes.
Cleo stepped forward dramatically. “Well, I’m Cleo de Nile… of the De Niles.”
“Ah!” said Elle, recognizing the name. “You must be here for that gala I’m gonna DJ tomorrow night. That comet must be super important. I heard the Ptolemys are hosting that gala.”
Cleo gasped. In all the excitement, she had forgotten she was here with her family and not just her friends. She had obligations. She had important places to be. “Oh. My. Ra! I forgot. Nefera and I are supposed to be at Ptolemy Tower this afternoon for a meet and greet. We’ll have to catch up with you ghouls later. C’mon, Deuce.” She grabbed her boyfriend by the arm.
“You know,” gulped Deuce. “I could just skip the…” But Cleo was already dragging him down the street.
A slug monster passed, pushing a huge cart of comet souvenirs down the street. It was overflowing with comet bobble heads, comet baseball hats, comet jewelry, comet T-shirts, and even stuffed comets.
“Getcha comet shirts here!” shouted the slug. “Show ’em you saw da comet by wearing a T-shirt.” Boo Yorkers were crowding around the cart, handing him wads of cash.
“Whoa!” gushed Frankie. “Boo York is so exciting! There’s so much to do and see!”
Catty’s eyes were sparkling. “It’s overwhelming. It’s giving me ideas!”
“Ideas? Ideas for what?” asked Draculaura.
Catty blushed. Maybe it was time to confide in her friend. “I haven’t been able to write new songs,” she admitted. “I don’t know what to write about. I just can’t find my music.”
A guitar-playing beast strolled past them, strumming and singing.
“If you can’t find it in Boo York, it doesn’t exist!” Frankie giggled.
Draculaura agreed. “Perhaps you can end your frighter’s block. You’ll find your music!”
Catty looked around her. It wasn’t just music she needed. It was love. “A ghoul can dream,” she whispered. “A ghoul can dream.”
CHAPTER 6
The Mummy in the Golden Mask
Cleo held up her hand to hail a cab, but the yellow cars streamed past without stopping.
“Yo! Taxi,” called out Deuce to no avail.
“Stop, please!” commanded Nefera, but none of them did. “What does it take to get a taxi in this town? Ugh! Don’t they know who I am?”
A polished rat, chatting into her iCoffin, stepped in front of Cleo. “So I told the manager, ‘Listen guy, I may be lactose intolerant, but I know cheesy when I smell it.’” She laughed as she raised her hand. A cab immediately screeched to a halt in front of her.
“How’d you do that?” asked Deuce, stepping forward.
The elegant rat waved her hat. “Go ahead. I’ll get the next one.”
“Thanks!” said Cleo, relieved.
Cleo, Nefera, and Deuce slid into the backseat.
“Do you know how to get to Ptolemy Tower?” asked Nefera. “We’re in a hurry.”
The cab driver, a grumpy werewolf, grumbled. “Sure. We’ll take Howlston Street.”
The rat, who had been watching, leaned in through the open window. “At this time of day? Are you crazy?” She slid into the backseat. “Scooch.”
“You’re gonna take Spectral Park West to Hexington Avenue,” she ordered the cab driver.
Cleo was impressed. “You know a lot about Boo York.”
“Upper Beast Side, born and raised,” she said. “My family helped build this crazy maze of a city. The name’s Mouscedes.”
Nefera extended her hand across the squished backseat. “I’m Nefera.”
“The name’s Mouscedes. Mouscedes King.”
Having a friend so familiar with the city could prove useful, thought Nefera.
With a jolt, the cabby peeled out into the street and wove in and out traffic until he pulled up in front of a magnificent golden tower. Cleo and Nefera raced toward the revolving doors of the building, and Deuce followed reluctantly.
Ramses was standing in the lobby, checking his watch. He was annoyed.
“Sorry we’re late!”
“Hi, Daddy!”
Deuce bobbed his head. “Yo, Mr. D.…”
Without a word, Ramses ushered them in to a waiting express elevator. As soon as the door was shut, Ramses exploded. “Late?! We have a meeting with the Ptolemys, the most powerful mummy family in all of Boo York, and you are late? If you weren’t my daughters, I’d place a curse on you!”
The elevator doors opened to reveal a grand penthouse office that sat like a glass pyramid on top of the building. It was decorated in full Egyptian style. Ramses pulled himself together. Standing right in front of him was Amuncommon Ptolemy, the queen of Boo York and one of the most powerful mummies in the whole world. She was draped in gems and gold jewelry, and beside her was her son, Seth Ptolemy, wearing a golden mask that covered his entire face and made him look exactly like King Tut. It was all very fashionable.
With an elegant flourish of his robes, Ramses bent down on one knee and bowed his head. The ghouls barely recognized their furious father from a moment ago.
“Madame Ptolemy,” said Ramses in his most ceremonial voice, “forgive me, please, my daughters are—”
“Late?” interrupted Madame Ptolemy. She clicked her tongue. “A pity you don’t seem to have control over your children. My Seth would never be tardy for an appointment, would
you, Seth?”
The gold-masked boy stepped forward. “No, Mother.”
Deuce wondered how he could stand wearing that mask. That golden beard Cleo had put on him had been awful enough.
Cleo rolled her eyes. “Oh boy,” she muttered.
Ramses was shaking Seth’s hand vigorously. “A pleasure and an honor to meet you, Seth Ptolemy. They call you the prince of Boo York…” Ramses glared at his daughters. “Ahem,” he coughed.
“Hello,” said Nefera politely.
“Hey,” said Cleo.
Madame Ptolemy, however, was staring at Deuce. “And you’ve brought a… friend?” she said, turning up her nose.
But Deuce wasn’t exactly paying attention. He was wearing his earbuds and listening to rap music so loudly that it filtered into the penthouse. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he gave them the thumbs-up. But he could tell Ramses was furious. “Um… sup, Ms. P.… Ms. T.… um, Ms. Ptolemy.” He stepped forward to give Madame Ptolemy a fist bump, and the queen glared at him.
Ramses’s lip quivered with fury. A black cat sauntered out from behind a desk and hissed at Deuce. Deuce knew he was messing up, but he just didn’t know how to make things better.
Madame Ptolemy shook her head. “Is that what the kids today are calling music, then? Dreadful. Am I right, Seth?” she asked, turning to her son.
“Terrorific noise, Mother,” he said snobbishly.
Deuce coughed, aware he’d made a fool of himself.
Ramses sneered at him. “I’m sorry we are late, terribly…”
“No matter,” said Madame Ptolemy. She waved her hand dismissively. “Unfortunately, I must make my next appointment, but I expect our families will become quite close at tomorrow night’s gala.” She eyed Nefera and raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Until tomorrow night, the night of the comet.”
She took a final glance around the room and noticed Deuce kneeling next to a remarkably lifelike statue of a cat. Now where had that come from? She didn’t remember it being in the room before.
Cleo, realizing what had happened, glared at Deuce.
Deuce adjusted his sunglasses. Being able to turn everything you looked at into stone could really be a problem sometimes. This was one of those times.
CHAPTER 7
Spectral Science
High above Monster High, the comet glowed and pulsed. Ghoulia was studying it from her iCoffin while she ate lunch in the Creepateria. Satellites were hovering around it. Suddenly, one of the satellites collided with the comet, and the bright orb spun and spiraled in a completely different direction.
Ghoulia groaned, putting down her drink. She picked up her laptop and raced out of the room. She dashed toward the elevator, pushed the button to head down to the catacombs, and quickly reapplied her lipstick.
The elevator door slid open to the laboratory. Ghoulia had an entire system of computers rigged up at a worktable. She put her laptop down near them and clicked on the power button. The large screen on the computer glowed. The image of the comet appeared.
Ghoulia gasped. It was just as bad as she thought. It was headed right toward Earth!
Abbey Bominable, the confident yeti daughter of the Abominable Snowman, peeked into the lab. “Hello, Ghoulia. What is happening on computer?”
Ghoulia was typing furiously on her laptop. Abbey studied the screen. The comet was zooming closer and closer to Earth.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “So comet knocked out of orbit is now heading toward Earth. Hmm, is that bad?”
Ghoulia nodded her head, trying to control her panic. She threw up her hands as if a giant bomb was exploding.
“Blow up the world?” Abbey’s pale face was paler than ever. “But you can fix it, right?”
Ghoulia gulped and looked at the screen. That was the question. Could she stop the comet before it was too late?
CHAPTER 8
The Reluctant Mummy
Nefera exited her hotel and got inside of a waiting limo. Sitting in the dark, waiting for her, was her father. One of his clawlike hands rested on a bejeweled cane.
“You wanted to see me?” Nefera asked.
Ramses cleared his throat. “Nefera, what do you know about the great comet that will pass over us tomorrow? Do you understand its importance to our Egyptian scaritage?”
Nefera glanced up through the skylight in the roof at the glowing orb poised over the Boo York skyline. It seemed to follow them as they drove. Nefera shrugged and reapplied her lipstick. “I understand it got me a free trip to Boo York.”
Ramses shook his head. “Centuries ago, a small piece of that comet broke away and landed in the Sa-horror Desert. Our people found it. They found the comet crystal.”
“Right,” said Nefera impatiently. She knew this story already. “That rock thing we’re gonna see tomorrow night at the gala.”
“That rock thing,” growled Ramses, “has a magic inside of it. Any promise made in the presence of the crystal when the comet is above becomes a real and unbreakable truth. Once made, it cannot be undone.”
“So,” said Nefera, barely interested, “no take-backsies.”
She looked out the window at all the boo-tiques she wanted to visit. It was late at night, and the city was quiet and dark. The Ptolemy logo was everywhere, on buildings and billboards and advertisements of all kinds. A neon logo was reflected in a puddle and the limo drove through it, sending splashing water up over the curb.
Ramses continued speaking. “After the comet’s power was discovered, it became customary for the most important royal betrothal ceremonies to be performed under the light of that comet. Its power would make the couple’s promise permanent.”
Nefera was barely listening. She pulled out her compact to reapply her lip gloss. “This is all very interesting, Daddy,” she yawned, “but what does any of it have to do with me?”
The limo slid into a parking place in front of the Ptolemy Tower. A black-suited, dog-headed Anubis guard rushed over to open the door. Ramses extended his hand to help Nefera out of the limo. He looked up at the tower, eyeing its gold magnificence.
“Do you see all of this? The money? The power?” he asked in a hushed voice so only Nefera could hear. “What if I told you that all this power could be ours? It’s as simple as making a promise. The Ptolemys and the De Niles will be as one.”
Ramses guided Nefera through the revolving doors, and when the guards were distracted, he pulled out a tiny amulet that sent a magic spark into the control panel of the executive elevator. It almost seemed as though he and Nefera were doing something top secret and undercover.
Quietly, when the elevator doors slid open, Ramses led Nefera into the empty penthouse. The eyes of the cat statue followed them. It hissed at them through gritted teeth. In the center of the room was a glowing replica of the whole city of Boo York made out of magical sand. With his cane, Ramses traced the path the comet would follow over the city. “Tomorrow night under the light of the comet, you and Seth Ptolemy will make a promise to each other. A promise of betrothal. A promise to become the prince of Boo York’s queen. A promise that will join our families together and create a dynasty!”
The more her dad spoke, the more horrified Nefera felt. As the eldest daughter, she was already destined to inherit the De Nile throne. Wasn’t that enough? There was no way she could hide her disgust at marrying the gold-masked Seth Ptolemy.
“A dynasty!” continued Ramses, moving his hands over the glowing city. “Just think what we have to gain. Oceans of money, monuments, buildings, the De Nile cartouche inscribed everywhere just like the Ptolemy logo. Just promise to be with Seth, and all of your dreams will come true.”
It’s true that money and power were tempting to Nefera. She was a De Nile after all.
Ramses could tell that his daughter was considering it. “It’s that simple,” he said softly. “You and Seth promise to be with each other for all time, and the De Nile family will achieve true power.”
At the mention of Seth’s name,
Nefera shook her head. “But… I don’t want to be with that Seth kid. He’s weird.”
“All right,” agreed Ramses. “He is a little weird. But you are a De Nile. You will obey; you have no choice.” He leaned in close. “And think about all the power you will have if you just go through with the ceremony.”
Nefera was torn. It was hard to give up a dynasty, but it was even harder to think about marrying Seth. But then it hit her. “What if there was another way?”
“I’m listening,” said Ramses.
Light from the surrounding skyscrapers cast an enormous shadow of Nefera across the floor of the penthouse. “I want the wealth and power,” she told her father. “The De Niles and the Ptolemys should join together and form a dynasty. But why should I have to do all the betrothal and promising?” She smiled sweetly at her father. “Isn’t that what younger sisters are for?”
Ramses stroked his chin, intrigued.
Nefera continued. “Make Cleo promise to be with Seth Ptolemy. She’d be a real ghoul of the people. She could be a great ruler… with our guidance.”
Nefera began crooning a sultry song describing the power she and her father could wield over Cleo. They would sit on thrones; they would reign over a great empire. “We’ll take over the world, you and I together. Nobody can stop us!”
Ramses’s eyes glittered. “Empire, empire,” he sang along. “Building us an empire!”
“All I want is everything,” trilled Nefera, “’cause we’re kings and queens, why pretend to be anything less. I’m a goddess.”
“Don’t be modest,” Ramses joined in. “When we run this kingdom, it’s gonna be monstrous.”
They were going to reign over everything! They were going to take over everything! No one could stop them from building a mighty empire.
Except for Cleo.
“What if Cleo doesn’t cooperate?” asked Ramses.
Nefera smirked. “Oh, you’re right. I’ve just got to get Deuce out of the picture first.”
Ramses clapped his hands. Not only would he rule the world through his daughter—but he’d get Deuce out of their lives too. What could be better?