Cryptic Cravings (13 page)

The mysterious locked door, on the other hand, was worth addressing.

“So what do you think it is?” I asked. “The underground club he said he wasn’t going to have?”

“I have no idea,” Scarlet said. “But I’d love to find out.”

“We need a key,” I said. “We can’t break down this door. I know; I tried,” I said with a smile.

“The only one with a key is Jagger,” Scarlet said. “And I don’t know how to get it from him.”

We both turned to Onyx, who turned a paler shade of ghost white.

“I can’t do it,” she said. “He keeps his keys locked away. Besides, I don’t want to do anything against him.”

I was ready to continue putting pressure on her, but Scarlet let her off the hook.

“Do we know anyone else with a key?” Scarlet asked.

“That workman I just saw,” I said. “But I don’t know how to get it from him.”

Then it hit me. Trevor. “Trevor wears a key around his neck and always shows it off to me like it’s something I’d want.”

“Do you think it goes to this door?” Scarlet asked.

“He and Jagger are friends, and apparently Trevor’s dad was part of sealing the deal for the club,” I said. “Trevor may not even have a clue what it goes to, but I think he holds the key to this door.”

Scarlet’s expression brightened. “I could always use an excuse to see him.”

My stomach almost turned. My friend was excited about seeing the one person I loathed. But this time I’d be excited to see him, too.

Alexander and Sebastian were taking a break from the Crypt and hanging out at the Mansion. Normal y I’d happily join them in their fun, not wanting to spend one nightly hour away from my true love, but curiosity was getting the best of me and, thankful y, of my new friend as wel .

Scarlet picked me up in the Beetle. She cranked up the music and we sang at the top of our lungs until we got to the soccer field. We walked down the hil to the woods behind the field, recal ing our music fest and laughing from the bottoms of our bel ies. My cheeks hurt so bad I was afraid I’d split open my lip again. But what I didn’t know was I already had.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. Suddenly Scarlet was staring at my mouth.

“Oh no,” I said.

Her eyes were a weird shade of red. Something had come over her. It was the scent and presence of blood. I backed away.

Scarlet took my arm. I was moments from a struggle. She was my friend and I knew she was fighting her internal impulse. I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

My mind raced. Instead of being turned by Alexander, I was going to be mauled by Scarlet. There was no one to defend me. She was a little bit bigger than me, and with her underworldly powers, I wasn’t sure how I’d fare.

“You aren’t going to attack me, are you?” I asked.

“No—why would you think so?” She did her best to close her eyes. She turned away from me and covered her face. “Could you please just fix it?”

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and pressed a tissue to it.

Trevor was suddenly standing in the woods.

“What’s going on in here?” he asked as I held the tissue to my lips. “I thought you’d at least wait for me!” he said.

“Don’t be gross,” I said.

Scarlet lit up in Trevor’s presence.

“Why are you covering your mouth?” he asked me. “Grrr,” he growled like a tiger. “Catfight? Don’t stop on account of me.”

“Cut it out,” Scarlet said. “We were just in the neighborhood.”

“In the high school’s woods?” he asked suspiciously. “You shouldn’t hang out here. Without me, of course.”

“We wanted to see you,” Scarlet said. “I wanted to see you.”

She gave him a hug, her hands fiddling with his back pocket.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Scarlet turned to me and held out her empty hand. Then she fiddled with the string around his neck. “What’s this?”

“A necklace,” he said.

She brought it out from his shirt. The key dangled below her hand.

“What’s this key for?” she asked playful y.

“Nothing.”

She pul ed him tightly to her and planted a major kiss on his lips. As she did, his hands wrapped around her waist.

She folded her arms around his neck and within a moment had unlaced the cord.

Trevor turned to me. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Red lipstick was smeared across his skin.

For some reason I was resentful, but I didn’t have time to think of that now. “We have to go,” I said, pul ing Scarlet away. She slipped the necklace into my hand.

“Jealous?” he asked. “Can’t stand the sight of it?”

“Yes,” I said. “I can’t stand the sight.”

I headed up the hil as Scarlet continued to say good night to my nemesis. Trevor’s key hidden in my hand, I wondered what it led to and why it bothered me to see him kiss another girl.

* * *

“That was fun!” she said. “Let’s do that again.”

“Yeah . . . fun.”

“He didn’t even know I took his necklace.”

We hopped into the car. The tunes were stil blasting and she sang, but I was silent. She turned down the music.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I was staring out the window, watching the trees as we passed them by.

“You seem weird. I shouldn’t have been so PDA, sorry. I’m not into that, real y. It was just that I had to get the key.”

“I know.”

“So what’s up?”

“Nothing.” I continued my zombielike staring.

“Do you . . . like Trevor?” she asked suddenly.

“No—are you crazy?” I was stunned by her accusation.

“Of course, you have a thing for him,” she prodded.

“No, I don’t!” I said with a laugh.

“I didn’t know. You guys used to date?”

“No! Yuck! Are you kidding?”

“There’s something between you two. I could feel it. Like a magnet.”

“I’m in love with Alexander, if you haven’t noticed.”

“I didn’t say you were going out with Trevor. I just thought you might have dated. There’s that sexual tension between you two.”

“I can’t believe you just said that. He’s such a creep! I mean—not to offend you or anything, but me and him?”

“Opposites attract in a big way. Why do you think he likes me?”

“Because you are gorgeous and fun. What’s not to like?” I asked.

“Thanks,” she said sincerely. “But I’m not at al like those girls he normal y goes after. Pink nails and luscious blonde hair. And now that I think of it . . . I’m like . . .”

“Yes?”

“You!”

“Me?”

“Duh! Why didn’t I get it sooner!” Scarlet laughed.

“He likes you because of you,” I said.

“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.

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.”