Cryptic Cravings (8 page)

“I’d like to help you with your club.”

“Real y . . . ,” he said in a tone that revealed he was clearly as surprised as he was suspicious.

“I’m great at decorating. I can help find fun things around town.”

I realized I might be treading on his ego. After al , he did run the Coffin Club. Who was I to tel him he needed help to design a successful club?

“Of course, I know you are real y good at it, too,” I continued.

Jagger sized me up. “I could use an extra hand,” he final y said. “But what about your boyfriend?”

“I’m not sure he’l want to help.”

“Yes, I guessed that. But wil he mind us working so closely together?” Jagger whisked back his white locks confidently. “What if you wind up preferring my company?” He grinned, his fangs catching the light of the flickering candelabra and his blue and green eyes piercing through me.

But I wasn’t interested in his romantic inferences. “I don’t think that wil happen, and he’s not the jealous type.”

“I imagine he knows about the Crypt?”

“Uh . . . yes.”

“And what does he think of the idea? He didn’t seem keen on it when I brought it up to him and Sebastian at his party.”

“I don’t think he likes it any more now than he did then.”

“But you do?”

“I love the Coffin Club,” I gushed. “And I want a place where I can hang out here in Dul svil e.”

Jagger beamed. His pale skin radiated with the glow of my compliments. He rose, taking in his surrounding as if he was imagining the new club.

“But there’s that whole thing about . . . vampires,” I said.

“That bothers you?” He leaned over me, his hair hanging sexily over his eyes.

“Yes.” I did my best to confront him. “I think this club should be for mortals only.”

“I thought that a vampire club would be up your al ey.”

I stood up. “Uh . . . it is,” I said sincerely.

“You want to be one,” he said, stepping in closer.

“I know,” I said, determined.

“You are in love with one,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“I know, but he’s different.”

“From me?” Jagger brushed my hair away from my neck.

I stepped back, bumping into my chair. “From the typical vampire,” I said sharply.

Jagger laughed, having fun with his little game. “Well . . . you seemed to blend in with the Dungeon,” he said, confronting me again. “And that Phoenix guy.”

I placed the chair between us, not saying anything. I didn’t like what he was insinuating, that I was attracted to Phoenix—someone other than my boyfriend—even though the reality was that Phoenix was Alexander.

“How can you be in love with a vampire and not want to have a club where he can attend?”

“You know I mean nefarious, unknown vampires.”

“Do I real y? You think Alexander is the only benevolent vampire?”

“Uh . . . no.”

“Or are you afraid that if he spends enough time around his kind, he might prefer their company?” he asked, putting his foot on the chair and leaning in. “He might be reminded of what he is missing.”

That was something I hadn’t imagined. I had only been thinking about two things—the potential danger of vampires mixing with unsuspecting mortals, and the risk of blowing the coffin lid off of the secret identity of my boyfriend, thus threatening his stay in Dul svil e.

“Aren’t you jealous of Luna?” Jagger asked coldly. “Don’t you think it’s weird—Sebastian meets her and within an hour takes the extra plunge, so to speak? And Alexander has known you for how long now?”

“It’s different, and you know that. I’m not a vampire. Luna is.”

“So she is,” he said. “Lucky Luna. So what kind of vampire would you be? The Sebastian kind? Or the Alexander kind?”

“I came here to help, not to discuss my boyfriend.”

“For which club? The mortal one, or the vampire one?” he asked. “I find it curious—perhaps more than a coincidence—that Scarlet, Onyx, and Sebastian have been suggesting a mortals-only club. You didn’t happen to talk to them as wel , did you?”

I wasn’t about to admit that I had. “But they’re right. This town is too smal for an increased vampire population.

Gossip spreads so quickly here. If the mortal patrons know it is safe, they wil want to come. But if they get wind of anything nefarious, then they wil want to shut down your club completely.”

“You don’t seem the type to worry about what others think.”

“I worry about what their actions can do to my friends. More vampires in this town—ones not so benign, such as yourself—” I said for good measure “—can undermine or even threaten the existence of the ones who already live here.”

“Alexander—”

“And now you, Luna, Sebastian, Onyx, and Scarlet.”

He stood up and thought for a moment as he put the chair back by the table. “But it seems to me that you would want this to be a place for you—to hang out with the ones you real y want to be with,” he said. “Real y want to be.”

I fantasized for a moment, imagined myself immersed in a world of vampires, dancing and sipping blood-fil ed drinks. It was an eye into the Underworld that I wouldn’t get by attending Dul svil e High but only by partying with vampires and being accepted as one of their own.

“I know . . . but a club ful of and attracting more vampires is not good for everyone else. My parents—my brother.

The townspeople.”

“They’l never know we’re here. Unless you tel them.”

“I’m not going to tel anyone.” I was miffed that he’d even insinuate that I’d be a blabbermouth after I’d kept the biggest secret from anyone—that my boyfriend was a vampire.

“I think it’s risky enough as it is—with al of you hiding out in this factory it raises suspicion and fuels gossip. I don’t think it’s a good idea to add to the mix by inviting new vampires.”

“Then what’s the point of the club? What kind of business would I be running? Besides, I have a few things planned for this club to make it even more special.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’l find out soon enough.”

“A mortal club would be special al on its own. I don’t think you truly understand how amazing it would be for us to have a place to dance,” I said. “There isn’t one here. Nothing for anyone to do. And you’d stil make a fortune.

There’s a lot of extra money these kids in town are willing to spend. Why would you want anything to get in the way of that?”

“I’m not sure I like people tel ing me what to do,” he said, getting in my face. “Especial y people who want to be a member of this club—for eternity.”

I’d pushed Jagger too far.

“Does Alexander know you’re here?” he asked.

“Yes, I do,” he said from behind me.

I was as startled as Jagger was. I whipped around to find Alexander standing next to me.

“You wouldn’t want anything to jeopardize our truce, would you?” Jagger asked.

“And I’m sure you wouldn’t as wel ,” Alexander shot back.

The tension was thick. I wasn’t sure which vampire was going to budge first.

Jagger softened. “Your girlfriend was just convincing me how she could help me out.”

I turned to Alexander, awaiting his reaction. I wasn’t about to let on to Jagger that I hadn’t told Alexander yet about assisting him in fixing up the club.

“Yes, I think it’s a good idea for her to help decorate,” he said.

Jagger was pleased. He had two antagonists al at once interested in his endeavor.

“Here, let me show you around,” he said proudly. “With the girls pitching in and cooperation from my suppliers for the Coffin Club, this club wil be up and running in a few weeks. It doesn’t take any time to set up a rave—all you need is music and a place to invite people. But I want this to be more than a simple place to party. I want it to be a place to belong.

“We’l have a stage, a dance floor, a bar, and as the club expands, so wil we,” Jagger said, giving us a tour of the factory and his vision of the Crypt.

“What is this door to?” I asked, moving to a door on the far side of the room and twisting the knob. I’d seen on the blueprints that it led to the Covenant. It was locked.

“Nothing,” he said, guiding me away.

Perhaps Jagger had had a change of heart. With Sebastian, me, and now Alexander on board and tel ing him not to invite more vampires to Dul svil e, he might not want anything to jeopardize his success.

“So you aren’t planning on spreading word about the club to vampires?” Alexander asked.

“I think Raven’s right,” Jagger replied. “Why shouldn’t I fil the club with mortals?” he said with a wicked grin.

I wasn’t sure if I’d real y convinced him or not. But especial y now that Jagger had explained the plans for the Crypt, I real y couldn’t wait until it opened.

“I’m glad you’l be part of the club,” Jagger said. “You wil be the first on the invitation list, Raven. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

As soon as the torture of another dreadful y monotonous Dul svil e High day was over, I raced to the Sinclair Mil .

Nothing was going to stop me from helping Jagger and his cryptic clique from decorating the decadent dance club. When I made my way inside the decaying building I saw that Jagger had already marked the floor with glow tape where the stage, dance floor, and bar would be. While the vampires slept, I swept, removed empty cardboard boxes, and cleared away any debris that would get in the way of the quick renovations. By the time the sun set and the vampires awoke, I was exhausted.

Alexander greeted me with a kiss and Javalicious coffee, and I sat on a box sipping it and watching as Onyx and Scarlet and the vampires worked. Scarlet drank her own piping hot latte. But instead of cocoa beans, hers was brewed with blood.

I rested my weary head against Alexander’s shoulder. In this environment, unlike any other in Dul svil e, I was accepted as one of the “in” crowd—and I was in my element—hanging out with vampires and helping decorate a nocturnal dance club. I looked on as a truck backed into a loading dock and a few guys that looked more dead than alive loaded chairs, lighting equipment, and a pool table into the factory.

Alexander kept a watchful eye on the incoming boxes, making sure that there were no nefarious items or clues about whether Jagger stil planned on opening the Covenant. Sebastian did his best to help, but Luna clung to him, keeping his hands busy. He often got caught up in talking to Alexander and had to be nudged back to work by Jagger.

As the evening wore on, it was clear that there was only one person who didn’t contribute to the transformation: Luna. The wispy fairy girl draped herself on a chair like a princess and, when breaks were taken, canoodled with Sebastian or asked him to fetch her bloody lattes. Several times I caught her fingering Sebastian’s dreadlocks but staring at Alexander. I felt she was up to something, but what, I wasn’t sure.

The fol owing day at school, Becky and I were having lunch by the flagpole while waiting for Matt to join us. She was biting into a sandwich and I was picking at my organic peanut butter one.

“Have you heard any more about that club?” Becky asked out of the blue. “I hear rumblings al the time, but no one has any concrete information. I was wondering where it’s going to be and when it’s going to open.”

I had to tel Becky what I knew about the club—leaving out, of course, the vampire element. The rumors about the club echoed off the wal s of Dul svil e High, and it wasn’t right to keep her in the dark any longer.

“You have to swear to secrecy.”

“Of course. You know something?”

“I know a lot.”

Becky put her sandwich aside. “Tel me everything.”

“It’s Jagger—he’s going to open a club here. And it’s going to be in the vacant Sinclair Mil .”

“Wow—that sounds cool.”

“But you can’t tel anyone because Alexander and I have to find out a bit more about it.”

“Like what?”

“Like who he’s opening it to.”

“I thought I heard it was for everyone.”

“Yes. But I want to confirm it first. And I have bigger news,” I said, bursting to tel her more.

“What’s bigger than that?”

“He told me I can help him!”

“That is awesome!”

“I went there yesterday and helped clean up.”

“I’d love to help, too,” Becky said.

I hadn’t anticipated her reaction and wil ingness to be involved. I couldn’t imagine Becky being on the inside of the factory, setting up the club with the vampires. It was one thing for me to be there—it was another for her.

“I’m not sure you’d enjoy it. It’s real y messy work.”

“And working on a farm isn’t?”

She had a point. “It’s just that—”

“I usual y have al my homework done by the end of the day,” she said. “So I could use the time after school to help you guys.”

“Wel , they real y don’t start working until the evening. And they go al night, since they don’t have school.”

“I can help then, too. Matt is so busy with his scrimmages. It would be good for me to have something to do besides always waiting on the sidelines.” Becky flashed her soft baby face and sweet pleading eyes.

“Fine,” I said. “But this is our secret. I’m going over there tonight with Alexander. We’l pick you up on the way.”

Just then Matt bolted out of the main entrance and headed over to us.

“My lips are sealed,” Becky said with a wink.

Becky dug her powder blue nails into my arm as I led her down the dark gravel road toward the factory.

“This mil is so creepy,” she said. Her teeth were chattering, not from the cold but from fear. “I can’t imagine anyone would want to come here wil ingly. I’m glad I’m not meeting you here.”

“I’d never do that to you,” I said.

“Why don’t they have lights inside?” she asked, looking at the darkened building as we walked to the door of the factory. “I only see flickering candles.”

“I guess the electricity doesn’t work yet.”

To me this was like a dream place; to my best friend it was a nightmare. She cowered, several times covering her hair as if at any moment a swarm of bats would fly over her head. She might have been right.

Alexander opened the unwieldy door.