Cryptic Cravings Read online

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to do something. The Coffin Club was so successful, I can see why he’d want to open another one. But here? It’s too dangerous.”

  “That’s why we have to see those plans.”

  Alexander reluctantly agreed.

  “I want to party at the Crypt so badly,” I continued with a dreamy tone. “But we must stop this underground club and stop him from inviting more vampires to Dul svil e.”

  “Raven, we must return these immediately, before Jagger realizes they are missing. He and I have a truce. I don’t want anything to disrupt that.”

  I could see how important it was to Alexander to finally have the weight of the Maxwel s off his back. I didn’t mean to start trouble again. I was just trying to make sure that Jagger wasn’t up to anything nefarious. But maybe I was misjudging Jagger’s intentions, like people in Dul svil e misjudged mine.

  “And we have to examine the Covenant,” I said to Alexander as I careful y stuffed the Crypt blueprints in my backpack, “just to be sure. I think it holds the real key to Jagger’s plans.”

  Alexander shook his head again. He grabbed the keys to the Mercedes off the antique end table and we headed straight back to the factory.

  Chapter 5

  Sneaking In

  Alexander and I parked the Mercedes at a distance and traipsed through the darkness toward the factory. I would have felt like a scolded child, with Alexander dragging me back to return my stolen goods, but Alexander knew, too, that we had to double check Jagger’s intentions to make sure the club he was building was safe for Alexander’s life in town and for the mortal residents of Dul svil e.

  We had three options. One, we could boldly go into the factory and face Jagger and Luna with my questions and admit I had their plans. Two, we could hang out and act natural, and while Alexander was chatting with the guys I could return the blueprint. Or three, both Alexander and I could sneak in and, with Alexander’s nocturnal vampire vision, find our way to the office. The third was the riskiest, and thus, the most appealing to me. We both agreed that admitting that I’d taken the plans might be a cause for a broken truce, so we decided to attempt the ful sneakin.

  It was a cool, windy night, and the leaves rustled in the trees as we passed by them. When we reached the gravel road we both sighed with relief. The road was empty of al familiar vehicles.

  I showed Alexander the door I’d used to enter the factory and we quickly snuck in.

  The empty, hol ow factory rooms were just as I’d seen them a few hours earlier.

  I il uminated the way with my flashlight, though Alexander could make out objects better than I could in the dark depths of the factory.

  We descended the rickety staircase and I led the way down the narrow, dark, and dank hal way until we reached the last two opposing doors.

  “It’s this one,” I said. I reached for the doorknob, but like the last time, it fel off in my hand.

  Alexander’s face grew serious. “Hurry!”

  My hand shook as I stuck the knob back in its groove and tried to wind it so the latch would catch.

  Alexander anxiously tapped his monster boots on the cement floor. The sound echoed, causing me to be more nervous than I already was. Final y, the knob caught the latch and we were inside Jagger’s office.

  I raced to the desk. The rol ed-up blueprints were in the same position I’d left them. I quickly took off the rubber band and unrol ed them.

  “Here.” I showed Alexander the second set.

  Alexander peered at the plans. These drawings weren’t as big as the Crypt’s blueprints were.

  “It looks like another club,” I said, using what I’d learned by examining the Crypt’s plans with Alexander.

  “Yes . . .” he said. “Here’s a smal bar, a main stage, and a game room.”

  “The Covenant . . .” I said. “This room has to be the one Jagger’s planning as the vampire club. It’s underground and secluded, just like the Dungeon is at the Coffin Club. He said it himself— mortals above, vampires below.”

  Alexander shook his head, frustrated by what we’d just discovered.

  “What’s this?” I asked. I pointed to a smal unmarked box drawn opposite the main stage.

  Alexander and I froze when we heard noises coming from upstairs.

  I could barely breathe.

  “We’ve got to go,” he said, replacing the Crypt blueprints on top of the ones for the Covenant. While Alexander headed for the doorway, I rol ed them back up, being careful not to damage them in any way. I bound them with the rubber band and set them back into their original position.

  Now that we’d accomplished the sneaking in part, we’d have to accomplish the harder part—sneaking out.

  Alexander hung by the doorway as I grabbed my backpack and fumbled with my flashlight.

  I could hear noises above us getting closer, and I did my best not to panic.

  I tried to recover and tiptoed to the door, trying to avoid flashing the beam in Alexander’s face. The light shook as I made my way between the desk and the filing cabinets. Suddenly my face banged hard into something.

  “Are you okay?” Alexander whispered.

  I felt the large metal object in front of me. It was cool to the touch and felt smooth. I’d walked into one of the filing cabinets.

  “Are you okay?” Alexander asked again.

  I was too embarrassed and shocked to feel any pain. I shined the beam on the floor as I continued toward the doorway.

  “What’s that?” Alexander whispered.

  “What’s what?” I wondered. “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “That scent . . .”

  “I’m sure it’s just mold. This place hasn’t been cleaned in years.”

  “It’s not a bad smel . . . it’s the scent of—”

  It was then I felt the dewy drops on the side of my cheek. I must have broken open my wound when I ran into the cabinet.

  I stepped into the moonlight. Alexander’s eyes lit up, then he backed away.

  Alexander didn’t know what to do. If he got any closer to me, he might be attracted to my mouth, with lust and thirst.

  We didn’t have time for a romantic vampire moment between us.

  We heard the scuffling of footsteps coming down the staircase at the end of the hal way.

  “They won’t—” I said. “It’s not enough and they are too far away.”

  Alexander put his finger to his lips to direct me to be silent as they came down the corridor.

  “You must wipe it away. Before—”

  My cut was smal , but the scent of blood would be ripe on a breezy night in an empty factory. If the vampires were close, it wouldn’t take long until they’d know a mortal was near.

  “Do you smel that?” I heard someone say. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them shuffling around in their coffin room.

  “It’s blood,” I heard a voice say. I couldn’t tel if it was Sebastian or Jagger.

  “It must be from the bottle in your office. You left it there last night,” Onyx said.

  “I finished it,” Jagger said.

  “It’s human,” I heard a female voice say. “Definitely not an animal.”

  “Yes, it’s mortal. I could smel that a mile away.”

  “But why would anyone be here?” I recognized Sebastian’s voice.

  “It could be a homeless person,” Jagger said. “I can’t keep track of every nook and cranny of this vast place.”

  The voices were so close; I knew they had to be standing only a few feet away.

  I pul ed my sleeve over my fist and pressed it to the crease of my mouth.

  Alexander’s escape would be easy and painless and take only seconds. In bat form, he could easily fly through the sky-high ceiling and out the crack in the window. I, on the other hand, had only two legs and a very impatient nature. Without someone to guide me out, I had only the help of my flashlight.

  “I’m not leaving you here,” Alexander said as if he was readi
ng my thoughts.

  “That handle gets stuck,” I said. “Maybe that could ward them off for a few minutes. Push the door closed.”

  “There’s no other way to escape,” he said.

  I could only hope they would let me be—but with such a temptation as my blood looming before them, now wasn’t the time to find out. It was one thing for me to be in the company of Alexander. But it wasn’t a good idea to be in the company of other, more impulsive vampires.

  Alexander peered through the crack of the doorway. “They’re in their room. Now is our only chance!”

  He grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the room and toward the staircase. It was rickety and dangerous at best, but the elevator would be creaky and loud if it stil worked. Not only would it draw attention to us—it could trap us in a cryptic cage.

  We had just reached the stairs when the voices and footsteps emerged from the other end of the hal way. There was no time for a dash up and out. Alexander drew me behind the circular stairs and we stood close together in the shadows.

  “Maybe I should tel Alexander I’m stil here,” Sebastian said. “What if he stumbles upon us, dude? He’d be, like, double mad knowing I hadn’t told him I didn’t leave.”

  “Why are we talking about this now?” Jagger said. “We might have an intruder.”

  “Because this is just as important.”

  “Why don’t you wait until the club is up and running?” Jagger asked. “Then you can invite him. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

  “So, I just wait for months?” Sebastian said. “That’s not cool, dude. Not cool at al . I have to face him again.”

  Just then Sebastian stepped away from Jagger. He was standing in plain view of me. I held my breath. My combat boot was sticking out clearly in his sight line. Sebastian eyed it for what seemed like forever. Our cover was blown. I was unsure what he was going to do next.

  “That’s it—” Sebastian declared. He turned his attention away from my boot and stared in Jagger’s direction. “I’m going to the Mansion.”

  “Now?” Jagger asked. “But we have to find out who—”

  “You said it yourself. It could be anyone. We can make a clean sweep of this place later tonight. But right now I have to talk to Alexander.”

  Sebastian started to go.

  “Hey, hold on,” Jagger said, grabbing his arm.

  I continued to breathe as shal owly as possible.

  “If you go—we’l al go,” Jagger said. “I don’t want you to be the only good guy in this situation.”

  “A trip to the Mansion?” I heard Scarlet say.

  I heard more giggles and voices as they went up the steps and out of the factory, then car doors shutting and two engines starting. When we heard the cars drive out over gravel, Alexander and I tiptoed up the steps and peered out of a window to make sure they had real y left and this wasn’t a prank. The hearse was driving down the bumpy road, fol owed by Sebastian’s Mustang. For a moment it stopped. Sebastian glanced back at the window where I was standing. He stared right up at me, sending horror-film-like shivers through my flesh. Then he turned away and drove off.

  “Did you see that?” I said to Alexander. He nodded and put his arm around me, relieved. I tried to catch my breath, stil nervous by our potential y dangerous vampire encounter. I began to soak in the gesture of Sebastian’s good deed.

  “Sebastian may be many things,” I said. “But your best friend has stil got your back.”

  Alexander and I went to the cemetery, where he cuddled me in his arms, trying to calm me down from our harrowing encounter, and we debated our next move. We sat together in front of his grandmother’s monument, Alexander gently stroking my hair. It was stil sinking in that he was so drawn to me in ways that most boyfriends aren’t. He needed and craved me, thirsted for things about me that were only attractive to a vampire. Most girls at Dul svil e High would be running away, but I was more attracted to him than ever.

  Alexander had his arm around me but his thoughts were far away. I could sense the ache he felt for the strain on his and Sebastian’s relationship. If Becky and I were fighting—which hardly ever happened—we’d apologize within minutes. But they were guys. I was happy that Sebastian had the strength to talk to Alexander. Alexander was relieved to know that Sebastian made the attempt.

  And we figured this much: Jagger planned to open a dance club for mortals and vampires in Dul svil e, and Sebastian was going to be his partner.

  “Do you think Sebastian knows about the Covenant?”

  Alexander shook his head. “He wouldn’t be game for that.”

  “Even under their seducing powers?” I asked.

  “Wel , maybe . . .”

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  “I guess we have to stop them from making a Coffin Club here in town.”

  “Do we real y have to?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding? Why the sudden change of heart? Weren’t you the one trying to convince me that this could be dangerous?”

  I sat up. “I love the Coffin Club.”

  “But it is ful of underground vampires.”

  “What if this one wasn’t? What if it was just ful of the vampires we know?” I suggested. “Jagger could stil have a club and you and Sebastian would have a place to drink your Romanian smoothies.”

  “The vampires we know? You saw how my best friend acted. How are they going to be partying with a bunch of mortals?”

  I wasn’t sure. I only knew I wanted the Crypt—a place I could dance in.

  Closing the Crypt before it even opened meant I’d never even be able to experience the club at al . However, I didn’t want the students of Dul svil e to be in harm’s way for my needs. There had to be a way to compromise.

  “Maybe we can convince him to open the club just to mortals,” I suggested.

  Alexander thought. “I think it’s a great idea. But I don’t think he’l go for that. He wants the Crypt to be like the Coffin Club. To be the king of both worlds.”

  “Listen, Trevor’s great at soccer. You are great at painting. And Jagger? He’s great at making clubs. He can do it.”

  “Yes, I know. But does he want to?”

  “He’s so misguided. He wants to be loved like you and Trevor. He real y does. He just doesn’t see it because he was too busy trying to get revenge. But now that he’s not? He could just be a success and popular owning and running this club for mortals.”

  “Again, I think that’s a good idea—but you are talking about Jagger here.”

  “Alexander, I want this club. The Coffin Club is too far away for me to go to. My parents have the country club. Bil y has Math Club. I don’t have anything.”

  “What about me? The Mansion?”

  “I love hanging out with you at the Mansion! Don’t misunderstand me. But I’m pretty close to having my kind of club.

  A place for me to go to and have fun. I’ve never had a place like that anywhere.”

  “Wel , you like Hatsy’s Diner,” he encouraged playful y.

  “I do, if I want a burger. But I want to dance. I want to move and be in the darkness.”

  Alexander had traveled to cities and clubs around the world. Although he was a vampire, he’d been able to go to fun places that didn’t see the light of day. I’d spent my life miserable in places where I didn’t belong.

  “But if we can convince Jagger to keep the vampires out and just let mortals in,” I began, “then it can be a club like any other. And there isn’t a club anywhere near here for teens to party. I’m sure he’d get a crowd. It would be a win-win situation for him.”

  Alexander wasn’t convinced.

  “We’l have to persuade him that it’s in his best interest to keep the club,” I pressed.

  “Are you going to tel him?” he asked with a coy grin.

  “He’s not going to listen to me,” I said. “But he’l listen to you. He’d have to.”

  “Would he?” Alexander wondered. “Jagger and I have a truce. But further
than that? I’m not sure that I could convince him to open his club any way but the way he wants to.”

  I sighed. “But I fantasize about the Coffin Club. It was awesome—the music of the Skeletons blasting against the wal s. Those freaky mannequins hanging from the ceiling. The coffin lid doors. And the secret dungeon.”

  “And Phoenix . . .” Alexander laughed.

  “Yes, Phoenix,” I said, recal ing Alexander’s purple-haired alter ego who convinced Jagger to keep the Dungeon a secret. “I was crazy about him as wel . Not like you, I mean. But like you.”

  Then it hit me.

  “What if he came back?” I wondered aloud. “What if Phoenix made sure that the club remained only mortal?

  Except for you, Sebastian, and the others, of course. But the Covenant would remain closed.”

  Alexander thought for a moment.

  I was sure this was a great idea. “Phoenix was able to keep peace when Jagger was trying to make the Coffin Club nefarious and bring in more vampires,” I said. “Phoenix stood up against Jagger, with the club members by his side, and forced him to keep the clubsters happy by keeping it a secret and civil club. He can do the same here by keeping it mortal.”

  “I’m not so sure . . .”

  “And if Jagger doesn’t want to listen, Phoenix could threaten to go back to the Coffin Club. He could shut down that club—Jagger’s flagship location. Jagger wouldn’t let anything jeopardize the Coffin Club again. Phoenix is ultimately the only one with real power over Jagger.”

  Alexander fiddled with a dandelion in the grass.

  “I’d love to see him again,” I said, taking another approach. “That sexy purple hair. That hot rod motorcycle. Those tight black pants. And now that I know it’s you,” I said, sidling up to Alexander, “I might even be able to give him that kiss he was looking for.”

  “Hey, don’t be cheating on me with me,” he teased.

  “Oh, it would be so cool. The Crypt. Dancing together and hanging out with Scarlet and Onyx. Dul svil e has come alive since I met you.”

  I rested my head on his shoulder as I fantasized about the Crypt; Alexander was lost in thought, too. I’d put a lot of ideas in his head. I decided to change the subject.