Cryptic Cravings

by Ellen Schreiber

  “But didn’t he like Luna, too? Now this al makes sense.”

  “He likes girls. That’s his thing. That’s why I didn’t want you to go out with him. He likes a lot of girls.”

  “No, with him it’s more.”

  “Maybe he likes goths.”

  “Yes, because they remind him of you!”

  “Stop!” I was close to covering my ears. I couldn’t stand the thought. I was so in love with Alexander, nothing else mattered. No one else mattered.

  “He’s in love with you. Trevor Mitchel loves you,” she teased.

  “Please. Do you want me to be sick?”

  “Sucks for me. I final y found a guy I’m crazy for and he only likes me back because he secretly wants to be with my friend.”

  “Enough, Scarlet. If you say any more, I’m going to jump out of this car!” I was only half-joking.

  “So you don’t mind if I continue to see him?”

  “No, I don’t,” I said. “And guess what? If you want, I’l come to your wedding.”

  My blood was boiling by the time we got back to the factory. I was trying to shake off our conversation and also trying to figure out how we’d be able to see if this key was bogus or real without Jagger finding out.

  “We need to have Onyx distract Jagger,” I said when we got inside.

  “Hopeful y she can like I did with Trevor. But she’s a lot shier than I am. So I’m not sure that is going to work.”

  “Hey, where were you guys?” Onyx asked.

  “We went to see Trevor. Didn’t you get my text?”

  “Yes, but I was hanging out with Jagger.” Onyx grinned.

  “Speaking of Jagger. I need to ask a favor,” Scarlet began.

  “Sure, anything,” Onyx said in a cheerful tone.

  “We need you to keep Jagger occupied while we check out a few things here.”

  “You can’t do that. This is his place. We are here to help, not snoop around.”

  “Not me,” I said. “That’s exactly why I’m here—to snoop around.” I let out a laugh, but Onyx wasn’t amused.

  “If he finds out that I am tricking him, he won’t want to see me anymore,” she argued.

  “You aren’t tricking him. We’re not going to steal anything. Besides, we’l take al the blame,” I said.

  “Trust me.” Scarlet put her hand on Onyx’s shoulder. “He’l stil want to see you. If I have my say.”

  Onyx paused for a moment.

  “Please?” Scarlet asked. Now she was just as curious as I was.

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “But be quick. He’s busy, and he doesn’t like anything taking his time away from this club. Not even romance.”

  I pul ed the string from around my neck and we raced to the door, monster boots slapping the Masonite floor.

  I took a deep breath. I pushed the key in and it went in al the way. We both looked at each other and smiled.

  Then I turned the key. And it clicked, unlatching the lock. We silently screamed in excitement. I turned the knob and opened the door.

  “It worked. It worked!”

  “What’s going on?” a male voice said from behind us.

  We both jumped and screamed.

  I pul ed the key back out and slunk it into my pocket.

  Sebastian was back, along with Alexander.

  “I missed you,” Alexander said. “Where have you been?”

  “With Trevor,” Scarlet said proudly.

  “Trevor?” he said. “That’s the last time I leave you alone.”

  “This is the door I’ve been tel ing you about,” I whispered to Alexander. “The key I have opens the door, and a workman was here building something down there. Jagger has been keeping this a secret. I have to get down there.”

  Just then Jagger and Onyx entered the main room.

  “So do you like it here so far?” he asked.

  “Yes, it looks great.” I exclaimed with a smile as bright as his white hair.

  “What about this?” Alexander said, pul ing on the unlocked door handle and opening the door. “Where does it go to?” Alexander said, peeking in.

  Jagger stepped in between and shut and locked the door. “Nothing now,” he said.

  Then Jagger turned on headbanging music and we al danced for a few hours. When we were al close to exhaustion, Jagger handed us some sodas from behind the bar.

  “Now,” he said. “I want everyone out. The Crypt is closed for the night.”

  “Where are we going to stay?” Scarlet asked.

  “Here, but I have some things I need to finish—alone.”

  It made me wonder what he was doing that he wouldn’t let us be involved in. And did it have to do with what was behind the locked door and down the stairs?

  “Sure. I’l just get my things,” I said. I’d put my backpack in the massive room fil ed with coffins when I arrived a few hours ago.

  I had one chance to check the plans again. While Jagger tended to the last touches of the main dance floor, I tiptoed from the coffin room across the dank hal way into his office. The blueprints weren’t lying out on his desk as they had been the last time.

  I opened a metal filing case and in the drawer were the blueprints.

  I unraveled them as quickly as I could and peeked at the ones marked “Covenant.” I wanted to see what might have been if he had opened the vampire club.

  I scanned it for any hidden clues. There was a rectangular box in the middle of the western wal . “Stage” was scrol ed on it in pencil, and at the opposite end was another box marked “Covenant Altar.”

  Jagger was a master of cryptic design, and I knew that this underground club would be different but just as exciting as the Coffin Club’s Dungeon.

  Just like the coffins, tombstones, and skeleton decorations in the Crypt, Jagger intended to have a covenant altar for decoration in the Covenant. How awesome! I imagined dead vines around a cast-iron trestle. A coffin with goblets of juice on it to give the underground club the spice the torture chamber gave the Coffin Club. Spooky and cool at the same time.

  The night we confronted Jagger about the crop circles, he had insisted the Crypt would be mortal only. But with that workman I spotted and the sounds of hammering that were coming from behind the locked door, I was stil skeptical that the Covenant part of the club was going to remain closed on opening night.

  Chapter 13

  Midnight Madness

  Alexander and I had a midnight date at the cemetery. We hadn’t seen each other alone in days and were both missing each other incredibly.

  When I final y reached the back of the cemetery, Alexander hadn’t arrived. Then I saw a figure lurking in the shadows. I raced to him, until I noticed blonde hair.

  Trevor took my arm.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “No one wil notice.”

  “But I’m in love with Alexander,” I told him firmly.

  “And I’m in love with . . . you.”

  “You are not.”

  His stare was riveting. “But you know that I am.”

  He was right. I’d felt it for years.

  Trevor stepped even closer to me. “Are you going to punish me for the rest of my life? Because I wear khakis and don’t listen to that rancid music?” His green eyes bore through me to the bottom of my combat boots.

  “I’m not punishing you. I don’t love you. I love Alex—” I tried to step back, but he stil held my arm.

  Then he leaned in so close I thought our lips would touch. “But what if you hadn’t met him?” he whispered. “And I came to you, like I did tonight. Just us. No one ever knowing.”

  I didn’t turn away. “I don’t know . . . I’d probably feel the same way I do now.”

  “But maybe you wouldn’t,” he urged in his sexy, almost breathless tone. “Are you real y being true to yourself?

  We’ve known each other since we were kids. Not even Alexander can say that.”

  His fingers slid down my sleeve so they reached my hand. “We’re not al t
hat different. I’ve been saying that for years.” He paused.

  I was slightly afraid of what he’d do next.

  His fingers slid down between mine. Trevor Mitchel was holding my hand. His grip was powerful, like that of a handsome athlete. He’d crossed a line. I was holding someone else’s hand. This hand wasn’t Alexander’s, but it felt good, too. Like I was supposed to have held his hand and touched him. As if I’d been waiting al my life.

  Trevor had grabbed me before but this was different. It didn’t feel like he was trying to get back at me or put a notch on his headboard. It felt as if he was doing it because he wanted to more than anything else.

  “It’s okay,” he said. He drew my hair back from my face. “This is about you and me now. Not anyone else. They can’t keep us apart any longer. You can’t keep us apart. This is meant to be.” His movements were tender and his voice soft and sincere.

  He pul ed me to him so our chests were touching and he wrapped his arms around my waist. We stood face-to-face. He smiled his gorgeous smile.

  No one was around. I wasn’t scared. His hands were strong, and I felt a power from him. He smel ed sweet, and his muscular body was warm. His eyes shined like the moonlight.

  Before I could pul away, he leaned in and kissed me. His lips were magnetic and tender. I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t mad. For a moment, I was lost in his kiss.

  I could feel his hands on my back pockets as he pul ed me closer to him.

  It took al my strength to turn away from him. For some reason I found his lips as riveting as his gaze.

  “I can’t,” I said. “I came here for Alexander, not you.”

  “But you stayed for me.” His tone was as sincere as his kiss.

  It was then that he stepped back.

  He held out the necklace he must have gotten from my pocket when he kissed me. The key swung back and forth like a medal.

  “Monster Girl,” he whispered.

  “No—” I said. “No!!!”

  I awoke with a jolt to find Nightmare pawing at my shirt.

  I sat up. I could barely breathe. Nightmare jumped back, startled. Stunned, I reached out and grabbed my cat.

  “It’s just you pawing at me. Not that monster.”

  I cuddled my cat. Both our hearts were racing.

  “I had a horrible nightmare, Nightmare. And not the good kind.”

  I got up, went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face, and tried to calm myself with a cup of water.

  I switched the light on and hopped back into bed, put Nightmare on the pil ow next to me, and pul ed the covers over my head.

  It was the first time I ever remember sleeping with the light on.

  The fol owing morning, when Becky and I were walking to our lockers, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Do you ever have weird dreams?” I asked.

  “Al the time.”

  “Do they mean anything?”

  “Some people say they do. But others don’t. What did you dream?”

  “That I . . . I can’t even say it.” I sunk my head.

  “It was that bad?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I wouldn’t worry about it. What did you eat before you went to bed?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “It might have interfered with your sleep. That’s al .”

  “I dreamed Trevor was in love with me.” I spit it out like it was bad food.

  “You’ve just now figured that out?” she asked.

  “Why does everyone say that?”

  “Because he’s obsessed with you.”

  I shook off her comment. “But it gets worse, if you can imagine.”

  “Tel me.”

  “In the dream . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “I was in love with him, too.”

  She paused. “That’s it?”

  “I was in love with him. Don’t you see why it was a nightmare?”

  “It’s just a dream, Raven. If dreams were real, then I’d be a bal erina.”

  “Real y? I thought you’d say that I was secretly passionately in love with Trevor Mitchel .”

  “Gross! Besides, you are already in love with Alexander. There is no room for anyone else.”

  Relieved, I hugged Becky with the force of a mil ion best friends. I was almost afraid I’d squash the life out of her.

  Just before the sun set, I headed for the bathroom to get ready to go to the Crypt. Alexander’s birthday was coming up and I stil hadn’t fil ed the vial. It wouldn’t be too hard to prick my finger with a sterilized pin, but I’d been putting it off while being consumed with the Crypt. I was standing in front of the mirror, applying corpse white foundation, when I inadvertently broke the scab on the corner of my lip. The wound on my face reopened.

  “Darn it!” I grumbled. I was so embarrassed by my crazy face. I reached for more cover-up as a little spot of blood arose. But then I remembered, I needed it this time.

  I grabbed a Dixie Cup and let a few drops fal into it. I pushed my tongue against the inside of my cheek, forcing more blood to drip. I didn’t need much to fil the smal vial. Within a few minutes, I had enough. I washed my wound and pressed it with a wet tissue, holding it for a few minutes. It was then my mom opened the door.

  I quickly stepped in front of the cup and stuck the vial in my pocket.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “This is a private area.”

  “I didn’t realize anyone was in here!”

  “Wel , I am! And I’m busy.”

  “I just needed your flat iron,” she said. She opened the top drawer and grabbed the flat iron. I leaned over and pushed the cup behind a towel with my fingers, afraid that she’d notice the bloody cup in the mirror.

  “What’s that on your face?” she asked. “Tissue?”

  “Mom, please.”

  “I can help you. That happens al the time. You just have to press it for a while and then use some cover-up. But don’t pick at it.”

  “Mom, I know what to do.” I leaned against the sink’s counter, blocking the cup from her view, and tried to urge her out. “Please, just give me some private time.”

  “Wel , if you need me, let me know,” she said, closing the door behind her.

  This time, I locked it.

  I took the vial out of my pocket and careful y poured the Dixie Cup’s contents into it. When I was finished, I crumpled the cup and threw it in the garbage can. I secured the vial and wrapped several tissues around it. I was exhausted, having come within seconds of being caught and having to explain to my mother why I was trying to fil a vial with blood. But ultimately I was pleased with my present for Alexander. I glanced at myself in the mirror.

  Dating a vampire wasn’t as easy as I had always dreamed it would be.

  Though the Crypt’s opening was only a few days away, I turned my attention to Alexander’s birthday. We had said we’d have a joint celebration at the Crypt, but I couldn’t let this special day go by without a separate celebration.

  I’d spent the afternoon decorating the outside of the Mansion, and Jameson was kind enough to let me in to decorate Alexander’s room with a few bal oons. Now I was waiting impatiently in the gazebo for the sun to set.

  This was nothing new. My whole life, I was always waiting for the bright sun to disappear from view. But tonight I was ultra-impatient. It was my boyfriend’s eighteenth birthday.

  When the sun was out of view, I raced into the Mansion and up the grand staircase. I burst into Alexander’s room and yel ed, “Surprise!”

  He stood, sleepy and dreamy. His hair was tousled and his shirtless chest was lean and pale against his dark boxer shorts.

  Alexander crept out of his closet room into his regular attic room. He fought his way through a few dozen black bal oons.

  “I thought we were going to celebrate together,” he said, “at the Crypt.”

  “We are. But not now. Get dressed.”

  “I mean both our b
irthdays. We were going to plan a joint party.”

  “I couldn’t let yours go by without a private celebration.” I gave him a big squeeze and an even bigger kiss, then anxiously danced around while he put on a T-shirt, jeans, and boots. Then I took him by the hand and led him to the Mansion’s backyard.

  I’d decorated the gazebo with black and purple streamers and bat, spider, and pumpkin bal oons. Two floor-length candelabras lit the outdoor room.

  “Wow—you went al out,” he said. “But you always do.”

  “Happy eighteenth birthday, Alexander!” I said as he took in the decorations. “Wow—I’m dating a man.”

  “Weren’t you always?”

  “Yes, but there is something sexy about you being official. You are also two years older than me right now. I love an older man.” I gave him a coy kiss.

  “This is real y cool how you decorated the backyard,” he said. “You real y are great at design.”

  “Thanks!” I said, beaming as bright as the moon. “Now I want to give you your gift.”

  “Isn’t this party enough?”

  “I don’t think so.” I handed him the smal box.

  He took his time unwrapping it.

  “Hurry,” I said.

  “I’m trying to guess what it is.”

  “You’re not supposed to guess. You are supposed to open it.”

  “Wow, Raven, this is real y cool. He held it up to the candlelight. The snake is real y awesome.”

  “There’s something inside it.”

  He was surprised at first but shook it and noticed the movement of liquid.

  “Me,” I said.

  He held the vial in his hands and pul ed me toward him so intently. “Wow—I don’t know what to say,” Alexander murmured. “This is the best birthday ever,” he raved.

  He put the necklace on, and it looked amazing hanging around his neck.

  “I’m never going to take it off,” he said, giving me a juicy kiss.

  Jameson arrived with a chocolate cake in the shape of a black palette with candles looking like smal paintbrushes. As he and I began singing to Alexander, a third voice joined in.

  Sebastian stepped out of the shadows as the song came to an end.

  “Happy birthday, dude!” he said.

  I couldn’t help but invite one guest. I knew it would be romantic to have an intimate dinner with Alexander, but with his best friend in town, it wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t included.