Эллен Шрайбер - Vampireville

"He's not just sneaking in," I said, and then turned to Alexander. "He's going there on a date."

"Who would take a date to the cemetery?" Ruby asked, horrified.

Then Ruby eyeballed me and the other gloom-and-doom diners dressed in black around her.

We all stared back.

"Not me," I burst out.

"I wouldn't be caught dead," Alexander admitted.

"Poor taste!" Jameson proclaimed.

We quickly returned to our meals.

"Miss Raven, maybe I should have asked if you discussed anything usual," Jameson said nervously.

I politely laughed. But I had more info I had to share.

"Did I mention he's planning to kiss his girlfriend next to a coffin?" I said to Alexander.

Ruby cleared her throat.

"More water?" Jameson asked, clearly worried we were upsetting his guest of honor.

"I'm fine," she answered.

Alexander stared off behind Ruby and started pointing.

"Now are you going to tell me you see a ghost behind me?" she asked.

Alexander shook his head. "It's worse."

"I'm not falling for your tricks again," she said with a grin.

"Don't move," Alexander said, putting his napkin on the table.

Ruby slowly turned around. Hanging from the red velvet curtain right above her was a bat.

She wasn't even fazed. "I bet it's made out of rubber," she said, and got up.

Jameson called out, "Miss Ruby!"

My eyes bulged. Alexander rose.

"I'll show you," she said confidently.

Just then Ruby reached for the bat. All at once, it spread its wings wide and took off.

Ruby let out a bloodcurdling scream so loud I had to cover my ears.

The disgruntled bat flew around the room as Ruby hid behind me, continuing to shriek.

"Does it have blue and green eyes?" I asked, shielding her.

"Who cares about its eye color!" she yelled.

Alexander tried to grab the bat, but it only flew higher.

"I'm going to faint!" she hollered. "I'm really going to faint."

Jameson and I helped a trembling Ruby away from the dining room and into the sitting room.

"Is it in my hair?" she asked, now sitting in a green Victorian chair.

"No," I reassured her.

"Where did it go?"

"It's in the other room. Alexander is going to catch him."

"Are there more?" she asked, her shaking hands covering her head.

"No, they live in the attic tower, far away from this room." Jameson tried to comfort his date with a glass of water. "I wonder how he got down here."

"I almost touched it!" she exclaimed. "I almost touched a rat with wings!"

Alexander came into the room holding a balled up linen napkin.

"He's completely harmless, see?" Alexander asked, innocently opening the napkin. Two beady black eyes stared back at us.

Ruby let out another bloodcurdling scream.

"Please take it away!" a haggard Jameson pleaded.

"Aww, he's cute," I said as Alexander walked out to the kitchen to set it free.

"I guess this means you're not staying for dessert," Jameson said.

"I'm stuffed, really," Ruby said, still in shock. "Besides, I have to open the office tomorrow." She rose from her seat.

"I understand," Jameson responded, his head hung low. He retrieved Ruby's purse and the flower from the hallway table and handed them to her.

"Thank you," she said quickly. "The orchid is beautiful. The dinner was delicious." Still shaken, Ruby headed for the door.

"The evening didn't go as I had planned," Jameson confessed sorrowfully, following her. "You are used to the finer things, Miss Ruby. I was wrong to think—" "That's okay," she said softly. "I understand."

I knew Jameson had invited Alexander and me to dinner to make Ruby more comfortable. Instead we spent the whole evening talking about cemeteries and coffins. I felt awful.

"Please don't blame Jameson," I begged. "It's my fault Alexander and I talked about creepy things and spooked you. Jameson is a perfect gentleman."

"It's nobody's fault," she reassured. "I guess we were all a bit nervous."

"Then how about dinner tomorrow night?" I suggested.

"Well…," Ruby began hesitantly.

"At a bright, trendy restaurant with upbeat music?" I continued.

"That might be nice," she relented.

"Just the two of you," I said.

"Just the two of us," Jameson eagerly agreed.

"And no mention of coffins, ghosts, or flying bats," I added.

"Well…it's a date," Ruby concurred with a smile.

Jameson opened the door for Ruby. He turned back to me and smiled a skinny-

toothed smile and winked.

"From now on," I overheard him say to Ruby as he walked her to her car, "the only bats you'll see is when I invite you to a baseball game."

16 The Grim Plan

Alexander and I grabbed the savory desserts Jameson had made—placinta, fried sweet dough filled with chocolate—and headed up to the privacy of his attic room.

"Trevor is taking Luna to the cemetery?" Alexander immediately asked, shutting the door.

"Jagger is planning a Graveyard Gala on Saturday night," I blurted out as we sat with our placintas on his mattress. "It's a gothic costume party with the highlight of the evening being a covenant ceremony. Instead of luring Trevor to sacred ground alone," I started, too excited to dive into my treat, "Jagger is inviting Dullsville High. Luna is going to bite Trevor in front of everyone—only no one will know what's going to happen, not even Trevor himself."

"How will he not know what's going on?"

"Trevor thinks he's going to be kissed by Luna, not bitten."

"They are going to be wearing costumes, right?" Alexander asked.

"Yes, Trevor is going as the Grim Reaper. It will be dark and all the partygoers will be wearing masks. While they drink, dance, and make out, Luna will finally have her long-awaited covenant ceremony. No one will know what is really happening."

"Then we have to stop Trevor from going," Alexander said, picking at his dessert.

"He wouldn't miss this for the world. He will be the star of the show."

"Then we have to tell him what the ceremony really is."

"He'll never believe me. Besides, they've already passed out flyers. With all of Dullsville High on sacred ground, Luna could easily take someone else."

"Then she'll have to believe she is with Trevor."

"Believe? Who will she really be with?"

"Me. I'll be dressed as the Grim Reaper, too. I'll be covered from head to toe.

Luna won't know the difference."

"But you told me if a vampire takes another on sacred ground, then they are theirs for eternity. I don't want her to bite you and then I lose you forever."

"I don't either," he said, and squeezed my hand. "But when I take off my hood, she'll know Trevor has gone."

"Where will he be?"

"Safe, off sacred ground. At some point you'll have to distract him and lead him out of the cemetery," Alexander explained.

"I'm used to distracting people, just not on purpose. I hope everything goes smoothly. The whole school will be on sacred ground with two vengeful vampires."

"Bring some garlic just in case, and I'll take my antidote."

"I don't want to give you another shot," I said.

"Hopefully, you won't have to."

17 Graveyard Gala

Shortly after sunset Alexander and I walked up the lonely road that led to Dullsville's cemetery. Although I wasn't actually a vampire, I felt like I was. I'd convinced twin vampires I was as undead as they were, I was on the arm of the most handsome of vampires, and I was going to party with a bunch of other ghouls. I was happy to be me—vampire or not.

I was dolled up as Elvira, in a long black dress with shredded spidery sleeves and a slit racing up my leg, exposing black mesh tights. Long black plastic fingernails flashed from my pale fingertips. My jet black hair was teased up like a fountain, the ends falling down over my shoulders. I revealed as much cleavage as I could manage to squeeze out in a recently purchased push-up bra. I'd also bought Alexander the last Grim Reaper costume left over from Halloween merch at Jack's department store. It was a black hooded costume with a skeleton mask and a plastic scythe.