Cryptic Cravings

by Ellen Schreiber

  “Raven, I don’t live my life based on what everyone else is doing. I never have. And I thought you didn’t either.

  That’s one of the reasons I’m so attracted to you.”

  He was right. Why did I have to live my life differently—or expect things for Alexander and me because of anyone else? I’d been living according to my rules since I was born. And now, because Luna came to town, I was going to adjust my whole existence to keep up with hers? And worse, I was trying to do the same for Alexander.

  But I couldn’t get past her. She struck me to the core. It wasn’t rational but emotional.

  “It’s normal to be jealous sometimes,” Alexander said. “But what are you jealous of, real y? A guy who meets a girl and, without a thought, bites her at a party? What if Sebastian goes to another party? How wil she feel then?”

  I guess I was jealous that Luna was a vampire and I was stil a mortal. That she was bitten and I wasn’t. And that she thought she was getting married . . . and I stil wasn’t sure. But was I brave enough to say al those things to Alexander? To confront him out of fear and not out of love? And because of one impulsive person and another shifty one, to make him prove things to me he might not be ready to prove?

  Alexander pul ed me to him and took my face into his hands. “I hope that biting you isn’t the only way I can convince you of my love for you. It’s not that I don’t want to. And it’s not that I don’t think about it every day. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.”

  He stared so deeply into my eyes that I could see myself in them. For a moment, I was saddened, realizing he couldn’t see his own reflection in mine. And if I was turned, I wouldn’t be able to see myself in his anymore.

  But not seeing reflections didn’t seem to bother him. He wasn’t asking me to change. He loved me the way I was, and no guy had ever done that before.

  He drew my face to his and kissed me deeply, kissed the jealousy away, and I was flooded with a sense of love and an even deeper eternal desire.

  Chapter 11

  Buzz Kill

  Jagger asked us to meet the fol owing night not at the Crypt but at the soccer field. It was an odd sight, to say the least: a bunch of vampires hanging out on the bleachers at Trevor’s soccer game. I would have loved to have hung out at the Crypt, but it was Jagger’s plan for the girls to get out and drum up buzz for the club.

  Luna had her hand on Sebastian’s leg the entire time, but it was clear to me that she was staring at Alexander. I wondered deep down if she was involved with Sebastian to get back at or to get close to Alexander. But Alexander didn’t appear to care or even notice. He had his arm around me and was as captivated with the game as any one of Dul svil e’s students was.

  Becky seemed to be preoccupied with her phone and occasional y glanced at Sebastian.

  Scarlet beamed. Her face flushed to match her dyed hair. She honed in on Trevor and, as much as it turned my stomach to see her lust after my nemesis, I was moved that she was so happy to watch Trevor.

  “I’d like some popcorn and a drink,” Luna directed Sebastian with a flirty gaze. Back in Romania, Luna had grown up as a mortal, and a very popular one at that. Soccer games were nothing new to her.

  While I sat with Onyx and Scarlet, Becky stood at the edge of the bleachers holding her cel phone.

  “Who are you texting?” I asked her. “I’m here and Matt’s on the field.”

  “I’m not texting.”

  “Then what are you doing?”

  “I never got that picture of Sebastian. And since this isn’t the Crypt, I can take as many pics as I want. I’d like to add it to the scrapbook for Jagger.”

  I rose. I didn’t know what to do. She had her camera poised and aimed at Sebastian.

  “I don’t think—” I said. But it was too late. I heard the click click click and saw flashes as she snapped away.

  Onyx and Scarlet must have noticed, too, as they whispered together.

  Becky returned triumphant. “I made sure I saved them this time. Let’s take a look at them,” she said.

  “Hey—watch Matt,” I said. “He’s on his way to scoring! Maybe you should be paying attention to him and not Sebastian,” I hinted. “I think he’s working extra hard for you.”

  “Real y?” she asked. She watched her boyfriend as he ran down the field, kicking the soccer bal . “Go, Matt, go!”

  Becky forgot about her pictures and for the rest of the game was entranced by Matt’s athletic abilities.

  After the game, Prada-bees inched away from us, and we got a ton of stares. But when Trevor, sweaty and charged up from a win, came and talked to Jagger, and he hung out for a few minutes with the soccer team, the onlookers gawked even more. But when they noticed that Trevor liked these goths, then they looked at them like there must have been something worthwhile about them—like a new purse from an up-and-coming designer.

  It was the first time in my existence in Dul svil e that I wasn’t the only outsider. I was in a crowd of girls and guys and it looked like I belonged to their club.

  The next day, after last bel , I headed to my locker to find Trevor leaning against it.

  “I bet it breaks your heart to have two of your friends pine for me the way they do,” he said proudly. “Luna . . . and now Scarlet. They can’t keep their hands off of me.”

  “It’s just because you are foreign to them. It’s like if they went to the zoo and stared at the monkeys. You are the monkey.”

  Trevor broke a smile.

  The more I pushed his buttons, the more he loved it. He stepped aside, but not without brushing against me. He peered over me as I unlocked my locker and opened its door.

  “So what about that key?” I asked.

  “I knew you’d be asking me about it sooner or later.” He pul ed the cord out from underneath his shirt and dangled the key in front of me.

  “What do you want for it?” I sneered. “Five dol ars?”

  “I don’t want money,” he said with a wicked grin.

  “What does it go to?”

  “A kiss wil unlock more than this key wil ,” he whispered in my ear.

  Steam burned inside me. Maybe the key didn’t even go to anything. Maybe it was just something Trevor made up.

  And I would be the fool once again.

  But what if I was wrong, and perhaps it was important. Maybe it was the key to unlocking something magical in the factory that held the answers Jagger was keeping secret.

  “What’s going on?” Becky asked, puzzled by Trevor’s proximity to me.

  “Raven and I were just having a chat. But it’s time to go. You know where you can find me,” Trevor said. “You have my number.”

  “The hazmat crew removed it for me.”

  Becky looked at me as Trevor walked away. “What was that al about?”

  “Same bul y, different bul ying,” I said. Then I changed the topic to something more exciting. “I’ve been so busy but I wanted to talk about something with you. I want to get a present for Alexander’s birthday. Something real y special.

  But I don’t live in New York or L.A. What can I get him here that he’l like?”

  “He loves art,” she said.

  “Yes . . . but I can’t draw or paint. And I can’t afford anything worth having.”

  “And you.”

  “Aww. That’s so sweet!” I beamed at my best friend’s compliment. “But guys are so hard to buy for. We always get my dad golf or tennis stuff. But Alexander doesn’t play sports. And I don’t know what kind of supplies he needs.

  Besides, that doesn’t seem fun.”

  “I get Matt computer sports games. But I suppose Alexander’s not into that.”

  “I was thinking about surprising him with a nice intimate dinner. Just us in his backyard. Or at the cemetery.”

  “That sounds very romantic!”

  But I wanted to give him something unique—after al , he was one of a kind. But what does one give to someone of the Underworld?

 
It was then I knew. My blood. In a vial. For a vampire, it was the ultimate gift.

  “I have it!” But I couldn’t tel her. She’d freak, just as she should, if I told her I was going to give my boyfriend a vial of my blood. But in this case it wasn’t creepy. My boyfriend was a vampire.

  “So what is it? What are you so excited about?”

  “Uh . . . a gargoyle!”

  Becky’s eyes lit up. “That is the best gift for him! He wil so love it! Wish I’d thought of it!”

  “I’l go to Annie’s Antiques to shop.”

  “I’l go with you. I might find a gargoyle for Matt, too.”

  I shot her a puzzled expression. “Fine. I’d love to have the company.”

  We headed to the antique store that I frequented and I immediately scanned the glass case for a vial. There were many crystals and gems, but at first glance I didn’t see a vial.

  “A gargoyle isn’t going to be in the case, sil y,” Becky said, standing by the outdoor figurines. “They’l be over here.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  I glanced back at the case and saw a shiny vial. It was smal , with a sterling silver serpent winding around it and a smal hook. I could string some cord through it and it would be the ultimate gift for my vampire boyfriend.

  I checked the price tag and I had enough money to buy it.

  “Here’s one.” Becky pul ed me away from the case and toward the gargoyle.

  “That is cool,” I said. “But it’s out of my price range.”

  I didn’t have enough for both the gargoyle and the present I most wanted to get. I wasn’t sure how to conceal that I wanted to get a vial.

  “Oh, yes,” Becky said. “It is kind of steep.”

  Instead I decided to make my gift choice known—but not the reason. “I want to buy this,” I said, returning to the case and pointing out the vial. “It’s real y cool.”

  “I thought you wanted a gargoyle,” she said, peering in the case. “What’s he going to do with a vial?”

  “I could put something special in it.”

  “A potion?” she teased.

  “Yes, exactly. A love potion.”

  “But he doesn’t need that—he already loves you. I think he’d like a gargoyle much better. But he’s your boyfriend.”

  Annie placed the vial in a smal gift box. “Would you like me to wrap it?”

  “No, thank you,” I said. “I’l do that at home.” I couldn’t tel her I stil had to fil it with my blood.

  Now I was just going to have to figure out how to fil it.

  That evening I was rushing through dinner and scarfing down my food.

  “Where are you off to in such a hurry?” my mom asked. “You’ve been MIA for the last several weeks.”

  “I’m helping some friends with a project.”

  “Friends? You have friends?” my brother teased.

  “Yes, who are these people?” my dad asked.

  “They’re some new kids. I’m just helping them out.”

  “With a school project?” my brother asked. They al looked at me as if the situation was ridiculous.

  “I’m so proud of you,” my mom gushed. “See, Alexander has been good for you. You get out more, go to dances, and now are helping new students with school projects.”

  I couldn’t break their parental hearts at this point. They were so happy with the child they thought they had. It would have been cruel to reveal the truth—that I was actual y helping vampires open a club.

  “Did you hear about the crop circles?” Bil y asked.

  “What?” I put my dinner down. Crop circles could be a bad thing.

  “They were discovered this morning. They showed up on Mr. Bateman’s farm.”

  “Are you kidding?” I asked with interrogating eyes.

  “Henry and I are going to see them after dinner.”

  “Crop circles, here in town?” I pressed.

  “Yes, aliens have arrived to take you home,” he said with an obnoxious laugh only a younger brother could make.

  “Bil y,” my dad warned in his authoritative voice.

  “They’re just a prank,” my brother went on. “I saw how to do it on TV. It’s actual y real y simple. Al it takes is a long board and a lot of rope.”

  “Then maybe it was one of your nerdmates. A math club experiment,” I said. “Working with diameters and circumferences. You guys are total y into that stuff.”

  “Me? Sneak onto someone else’s property?” he said. “You think I’d do that—or any one of my friends?

  Trespassing—that’s your expertise, not mine. Maybe you did it.”

  “Yes, I’m al about spending my evenings running around on a farm with a board and rope.”

  “Now, if they showed up at the cemetery, maybe Raven would have done it,” my dad said with a chuckle. “I couldn’t resist,” he said, patting my hand.

  I wasn’t as mad at being the butt of my family’s jokes as I was at Jagger’s actions. When I was in Hipstervil e, Jagger used crop circles to signal to vampires that it was a safe haven for them in that town, thus publicizing the invite to the Coffin Club. He was warned not to invite vampires to Dul svil e, and here he was signaling them. Soon the club would open and dozens of vampires could infiltrate the town.

  I gulped down the rest of my dinner and headed for the Mansion. As soon as Alexander awoke I told him about the crop circles. It only took a few minutes for Alexander to get ready, and then he drove us over to Mr. Bateman’s farm.

  There was already a smal crowd of students and townspeople there when we arrived.

  The Batemans’ farm was close to Becky’s. Pete Bateman Senior had inherited it from his father when he retired. It stretched out at least three hundred and fifty acres and was one of the leading corn growers in Dul svil e. They had a few children close to Bil y Boy’s age.

  Pete Bateman Junior was attending to the crowd and had a metal box open on a table and his hand sticking out as each person approached the fence.

  “Five dol ars?” I bel owed.

  “It’s a deal,” he said.

  Pete Bateman Junior wasn’t any bigger than Bil y. I’d have attempted to push past him if he were my smarmy brother, but on someone else’s property I’d be arrested for trespassing.

  “You’re charging people to see this thing?” I said in a huff. “You real y can only see them from the sky,” I said. “How do we know you didn’t make it just as a scam?”

  “You don’t,” he said. “Please step aside. Others are waiting.”

  “Don’t you need a license for something like this?”

  “Let the kid have his fun,” Alexander said. “We’d like two, please.”

  “That wil be ten dol ars,” he said.

  Alexander kindly opened his wal et and handed the boy a ten-dol ar bil .

  “I don’t know who I’m madder at now, Jagger or that Bateman kid,” I said as I stormed through the cornfield.

  “Calm down. Once we see it we might know better if Jagger is behind this.”

  As we drew near the middle of the field, we found Matt and Becky already gawking at the circle.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said.

  “My dad told us al about it,” Becky said. “We had to come.”

  There wasn’t much to do in Dul svil e, so the popping up of a crop circle was a big event.

  “Who or what do you think did this?” I asked.

  “Maybe little Pete Bateman did it,” Matt said. “He’s making a kil ing.”

  “I thought so, too!” I said.

  “It does seem bizarre,” Becky said, squeezing Matt’s hand. “I’m so weirded out.”

  “It’s not real,” I said. “I mean that an alien made it.”

  “What if it is?” Becky asked.

  “I don’t think—” I began.

  “Wel , you believe in vampires,” she said. “Why can’t I believe in aliens?”

  “Because vampires don’t exist,” Matt said. “So you both are wron
g.”

  But I was real y right about vampires. So if I was right, did that mean maybe Becky was, too? This was one time it would have been better for the explanation to have been a landing extraterrestrial spaceship. At least it wouldn’t have been caused by Jagger and his nefarious plans.

  We examined the markings. “Do they look like the ones Jagger built in Hipstervil e?” Alexander whispered.

  “I don’t know,” I said in a hushed tone. “It was dark that night—like now.”

  “Do you remember the size?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Do al crop circles look alike? Or are they like snowflakes?”

  We stood in the middle of the field, dozens of townspeople mil ing about. I gazed up overhead, the stars twinkling above me. I was wondering if this was Jagger’s doing when I swore I saw a bat fly past me.

  “Did you see that?” I asked Alexander.

  “See what?”

  “It was a bat!”

  He squinted but by the time I pointed in the direction, the creature was gone.

  He took my hand. “I think we’ve seen enough. We’l have to talk to Jagger now. We have to stop him from opening the Crypt.”

  “Do we real y?” I asked, my breath leaving my body in frustration as Alexander led me out of the cornfield.

  This was one time I didn’t want to fol ow Alexander to where he was going.

  * * *

  “He was with me the whole time,” Onyx defended when we confronted Jagger back at the Crypt with our discovery.

  “The whole time?” Alexander pressed.

  “Wel , most of the time,” she said, resigned. “He went to Javalicious to get me coffee.”

  “And how long did that take?” Alexander asked.

  This time Onyx didn’t answer.

  “But he made one of those crop circles in a cornfield near the Coffin Club,” I said. “Now one shows up here, too? It can’t be just coincidence.”

  “Yes, it can,” Jagger said.

  “I real y don’t think it was him,” Onyx said.

  “If she said it wasn’t, then it wasn’t,” Scarlet said, defending her friend like I would have defended Becky.

  “Were you here?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t want to get into a catfight with Scarlet.