Sebastian was tinkering with the sound system, making sure his favorite hits were loaded onto his iPod. The three of us talked for a while, but our monsterfest wasn’t going as planned. There was no sign of Onyx and
Scarlet.
Alexander stoked the fire. Sebastian fixed some of the skeleton lights, and I adjusted my suffocating boots.
“It’s been nightfall for over an hour,” I finally commented, glancing at my watch. “Where are they?”
“Maybe they got lost,” Alexander said. “Did you give them directions?”
“Several times.”
“Then I bet something else came up,” Sebastian lamented.
“I know these girls,” I said defiantly. “If they said they’d be here—”
“It’s okay, Raven,” Sebastian said. “It’s really the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. But we don’t have to wait all night. Besides, this is as good a time as any to tell you that I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
“What?” I asked.
Even Alexander was surprised by his comment. “We were having a blast.”
“I know…but I’ve worn out my welcome here.”
“No, you haven’t,” I told him. I’d gotten used to Sebastian’s presence, and I knew it was good for Alexander to have the company.
“Why don’t we go inside,” he suggested. “We can have a little band session to take it off my mind. I think you’re on your way to being a lead singer.”
“We can’t give up on our party yet,” I tried.
Even Alexander was getting a bit fidgety. “We haven’t eaten yet and I’m feeling hungry. We’ll have Jameson make us some drinks.”
“But you have a bottle out here,” I told them.
“We’ll save it for something special,” Alexander said.
“Fine.” My first party, and it was a disaster.
They headed inside. I remained at the table and sulked for a few moments until I heard a car in the distance. I took off around the side of the grassy Mansion lawn, doing my best to avoid uneven patches of soil. When I reached the driveway, I saw two headlights shining on the street. The streetlamp illuminated a car. When I got closer I noticed a bright white Beetle, the headlights highlighted with black paint, the hood with a dark circle, and vertical white stripes adorning the bumper. It looked like a giant human skull.
“They’re here!” I exclaimed. “They’re here.”
I raced down the long driveway as if I were competing for a gold medal.
When I reached the Mansion’s gate, exiting the cryptic car were two amazingly stellar party girls—Scarlet and Onyx.
Scarlet wore her curly red hair long with a black bow; she had on a cream-colored velvet dress, black lace gloves, and stilettos. Onyx, with her jet black, blade-straight hair, wore a corset top, knee-length skirt, ripped stockings, and wicked witchy boots.
We all screamed like children, and they engulfed me in a tight embrace.
“We thought we’d never see you again,” Scarlet said.
“I thought so, too,” I said.
“When we saw your message, we knew we had to come,” Onyx said. “No matter what.”
“I love your car!” I proclaimed. I could only dream of driving that up to my house in the burbs. I thought I was lucky to have a black bike.
“I just got it. Isn’t it ghoulish?” Scarlet grinned.
The two girls linked arms with me and we ascended the steep and winding drive. It was as if we were miniature dolls in comparison to the stately Mansion that loomed above us.
“Is this where you live?” Onyx asked, aghast.
“No, my boyfriend does,” I replied.
“Are his parents out for the weekend?” Scarlet wondered, assessing the situation.
“Well—for a while longer,” I said. “They live in Romania.”
“He lives here by himself?” Onyx asked. “How lonely.”
“He has a butler.”
“You go, girl!” Scarlet said.
“He must be a millionaire,” Onyx stated.
“Almost,” I said.
“Is he…a V?” Onyx asked.
“A what?” I wondered aloud.
“A Coffin Club member,” Scarlet whispered. “You know—one of us…”
“Oh…a V.” I nodded proudly. “And more important, so is his friend.”
“He has a friend?” Scarlet hinted.
“Yes, and he’s single and very hot,” I replied.
“Love it!” the two girls shrieked.
“We never see that Phoenix guy anymore,” Scarlet said. “We thought maybe you’d have hooked up with him.”
“Really?” I asked. “Well…I haven’t either. But I think you’ll like Alexander, too.”
“Judging from that Mansion? I like him already,” Scarlet declared.
Alexander didn’t realize that the girls had arrived. The backyard was empty of male vampires. I was slightly miffed at the pair for giving up so easily.
“Where is everyone?” Scarlet said.
“They went inside.”
I felt awful. Should I leave my guests alone? Or take them inside? I had never hosted a party before and wasn’t sure of the etiquette. I knew my mother would know exactly what to do, so I did my best impression of her.
“Why don’t you two wait here while I get you something to drink,” I asked.
“No—stay with us,” Onyx said, grasping my wrist. “We traveled all this way to see you, so we’re not letting you out of our sight.”
“Yes,” Scarlet said. “This way we can have some girl time.”
I wanted the girls to feel the full effects of our haunting happening, but without Alexander and Sebastian it wasn’t happening at all.
Maybe Alexander would get worried and come find me.
We sat at the tomb-shaped table. A Romanian bottle was chilling on ice, and the twinkling candelabra was still dripping hot wax.
“So how’s the Coffin Club?” I asked. “I miss it.”
“It’s the best,” Onyx said.
“There isn’t anywhere we’ve found that’s like it,” Scarlet added. “And since Phoenix usurped Jagger’s authority and made the club about us and not him, it’s been running smoothly. But we haven’t seen Phoenix at all. It’s quite odd.”
“We thought you might have seen him,” Onyx began, “since you got on so well with him.”
“I haven’t seen anybody.”
“Not even Jagger?” Onyx asked.
“No—and for that I’m grateful.”
“Really? I think he’s kind of hot,” Onyx confessed.
Scarlet and I were surprised by her admission of admiration for the alluring, but menacing, vampire.
“I mean in a lonely sort of way,” Onyx continued. “I think he might just be misunderstood….”
“So…,” Scarlet said. “You’re dating a vampire. Then you’ll become a vampire, too!” Scarlet was beside herself with glee.
“Uh…we’re waiting for the right time,” I answered.
“But don’t you want to be like us?” Scarlet asked.
“Of course,” I replied. “It’s been my life’s dream.”
“Then what are you waiting for—”
“It’s a big decision,” Onyx defended. “I don’t know that I’d turn someone. It is a lot of responsibility.”
“I would!” Scarlet said. “It’s in our blood.”
“To change someone’s life forever?” Onxy proposed. “We were born into this. We didn’t have a choice. And for Raven, it would be changing everything about her life as she knows it. It is something that should be thought through really carefully. Not so casual or in the moment,” Onyx argued, reassuring me. “It’s okay, Raven, to take your time.”
“There is nothing wrong with being a vampire,” Scarlet said.
“I didn’t say there was,” Onyx retorted. “But would you want to be mortal—if you found your true love?”
Scarlet thought for a moment. “I guess you’re right. It is a big decision.”
I smiled in agreement. It was hard—these two girls took for granted a lifestyle I wanted so badly. They weren’t becoming vampires because of someone they loved or something they wanted to be—they were vampires because they were born vampires.