“I like your ‘costume,’” I said sincerely as I approached them.
“Yours, too,” they said nicely.
“I love that skirt,” I said, gesturing to Courtney’s ripped indigo-colored mini.
“Yours is very pretty, too,” she replied, referring to my pleated plaid one.
For a moment we pleasantly eyed each other’s outfits, not knowing what else to say. We were still different people deep down inside, but for one night, we both got to see how the other half lived.
I caught up to my friends and we headed straight over to Romeo, who was coolly dressed as Frankenstein’s monster, to get some drinks and ref {rinienuel.
Matt, Becky, and I ordered sodas, but Alexander was particularly thirsty.
“I’d like a Dracula’s Curse,” he said to Romeo.
“That’s not on the menu,” Becky said.
“It is for some people,” Jagger said from behind us. “Would you like to try one?”
We turned around. Jagger was creepy in a skeleton costume. His white hair with blood-red tips flopped over his bony face.
“How do you like the Haunted Happening?” he asked.
“I love it!” I exclaimed.
Becky quaked in his presence as Romeo slid the blood-filled drink to Alexander.
She and Matt watched, stupefied, as Alexander drank the dark red drink.
As soon as my friends regained their composure, we headed over to the dance floor, where we found a soccer-uniform-clad Scarlet and Onyx as Cleopatra already bopping to the killer music, along with Sebastian, who was dressed as a cowboy in a ten-gallon hat and cowboy boots.
“Having fun?” I asked.
“Yes—just us girls,” Scarlet shouted. “Trevor is working the crowd in his costume.”
“Yes, I bumped into him,” I said.
“And Jagger is overseeing everything,” she continued.
“Where’s Stormy?” Scarlet asked, hot and sweaty from dancing.
“She’s out trick-or-treating with Billy.”
“Well, there is someone here who wants to see her,” Scarlet said as if it was a warning.
“Who?” Alexander asked.
Just then pink hair popped out from the crowd. Luna was fabulously amazing as the Bride of Frankenstein with a pink monster-do. And following close behind was a familiar boy with white hair, dressed as Beetlejuice. It was Valentine Maxwell—the Maxwell twins’ younger vampire sibling.
“Where’s Stormy?” Luna asked, pulling at her long white gown.
“Trick-or-treating with Billy.”
“Who’s Billy?” Luna asked.
“He’s my brother,” I said emphatically.
“Well, we thought she’d be with you,” she said in a huff. “Valentine would love to see her.”
“Hey, Valentine,” Alexander said. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Hi, Alexander.” Valentine smiled, his green eyes shining brightly. “Do you like my brother’s club?”
“Yes, it’s awesome,” Alexander raved. “And so was the haunted house. It seems to be doing pretty well, too. I didn’t know you were coming to town.”
“I came in for Halloween. I was hoping I could see Stormy—and Billy and Henry.”
“They aren’t coming here tonight. They are out trick-or-treating,” Alexander said.
Valentine’s disappointment was palpable. “They are all hanging out together?”
“We didn’t know you’d be here,” Alexander said. “Otherwise—”
“I know. But Stormy loves Beetlejuice. I wore it for her.”
I felt sorry for the youngest Maxwell. He was bummed out not to be among his peers. I couldn’t blame him, but I wasn’t so sure that I wanted him hanging out with my brother. Last time Valentine met Billy, he took him to a cave where he tried to bite him. I wasn’t so sure my brother should be in his company again. In fact, I knew it wasn’t a good idea.
“He’s been really busy,” I said. “Tons of science fairs coming up.”
“Well, we’ll still have to get together soon. And at least I’ll get to see Stormy now that she’s in town, too,” he said. “We can hang out here at the Crypt.”
“Yes, we’ll see what we have planned,” Alexander said. He didn’t seem so eager for his sibling to be hanging around the younger Maxwell, either.
When Alexander and I arrived at my house, we found the sugared-up space invaders in the family room watching Friday the 13th.
“You’ll never guess who we saw tonight,” I said.
“Frankenstein?” Stormy asked.
“No.”
“Freddy Krueger?” Henry asked.
“No, Valentine Maxwell,” I replied.
“Who would dress up as him?” Billy asked.
“No one,” I said. “He was at the Crypt.”
“Valentine?” Billy and Stormy said in unison.
“He’s here?” Henry asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “He came in for Halloween.”
“When can we see him?” Stormy asked.
“We’ll have to go to the Crypt tomorrow,” Billy insisted.
There was one person I didn’t want to go to the Crypt and that was my little brother. Not only didn’t I want the responsibility of bringing him to a club filled with young adults, many of whom were vampires, but the Crypt was my place, not his, and I was territorial over it. “We’ll see. Besides, it’s getting late,” I said.
“Here, Raven, I saved these for you,” Stormy said, handing me spooky spider tattoos.
“I love these! Thanks so much, Stormy,” I said.
“And I’m saving this for Luna,” she said. She held out a pink plastic skeleton ring.
“I’m sure she’ll love it,” I said sincerely.
“I had a blast,” Stormy said.
“How was the haunted house?” Billy asked.
“It was really cool,” I said. “You would have loved it.”
“Well, it’s getting late,” Alexander said. “We really should be getting home.”
“But we just got back!” Stormy whined. “We were just going to watch Halloween!”
“It’s okay,” Billy said. “You guys can watch, too.”
Stormy looked at Alexander with puppy-dog eyes.
“I love Halloween, too,” I said. “Can we all just watch?” I nuzzled up to my swashbuckler.
“Sure,” Alexander said. “How can I say no to such pretty girls?”
“Thanks, Alexander,” Stormy said, and hopped on the couch with Billy and Henry.
I scooted close to Alexander on the loveseat. “I’m going to be scared,” I said. “You’ll have to protect me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
We dimmed the lights and pigged out on candy as Michael Myers hunted Laurie Strode.
After the movie was over, Stormy grabbed her candy and she and Alexander headed for the front door.
“I had the best time ever!” Stormy squealed to Billy and Henry.
“We’ll have to hang out again soon. I have tons of scary movies to show you,” Billy said.
“I do, too,” Henry chimed in.
“I can’t wait!” she said.
I was pleased that Stormy had had such a good time with my brother.
When it came to them saying good-bye, there was an awkward pause between Stormy and the two other trick-or-treaters. She extended her hand to Henry. He looked at her formality oddly but reached out to accept her hand. When he did, she instead reached in and hugged him
. By Henry’s reaction, I’m not sure if he’d ever been hugged by a girl before. It was too cute for words.
Then she leaned in and hugged my brother. They held on for a little bit too long, until Alexander cleared his throat and said, “It’s time to go.”
I walked Alexander to his car, and he gave me a long good-bye kiss.
I really liked Stormy being in town. As much as I didn’t want to hang out with my brother, it was bringing out a sweet side to him, and I was impressed at how m
uch of a gentleman he was becoming. And most important, Alexander seemed so happy having a family member at the Mansion. One who couldn’t boss him around, even if she tried.
13 House Calls
A few days later, Alexander thought it would be a good idea to let Stormy spend time again with her friends. She was so excited at the prospect of being with Valentine, Billy, and Henry that she was glowing. Alexander thought it would be okay for them to all be together, but I wasn’t convinced that this particular mixture wouldn’t be too dicey.
We dropped Stormy and Billy off at Henry’s and headed back to the Mansion. It was too risky to have them hang out at the Mansion, with coffin beds in the Sterlings’ rooms and a cellar full of blood, and my house was so small it felt like neither group would have any room to breathe. Alexander thought it would be safe for them all since Henry’s parents were hom ~ liked Ste. I wasn’t sure what I was afraid of exactly. Billy getting bitten by Valentine? Stormy screaming about mirrors? I feared Alexander and I were being like her parents and not letting her spread her bat wings among mortals. It was time to give Stormy a chance again to develop friendships with her peers and truly have some fun.
Alexander and I returned to the Mansion for a little private time. I walked into his attic room and spotted a new painting he was working on displayed on his easel. It was smaller than many of his portraits that I’d seen before. This was an eight by ten.
I examined it closely. “That looks like Billy and Stormy!” Our siblings were dressed as they were the night of the dance.
“I thought since his picture wasn’t going to turn out,” my boyfriend said, “that I could paint him one.”
“That is so thoughtful of you,” I remarked sweetly. “I know he’ll love it. Normally I wouldn’t want a picture of my brother, but this time I think I want one, too.”
“Well, this is for him,” he said protectively. “By the way, has he mentioned that Stormy wasn’t in the photo?”
“No, come to think of it, he hasn’t,” I recalled. “Maybe he hasn’t checked yet or maybe we’re off the hook.”
“What are you going to say if he brings it up?” Alexander was seriously concerned.
“I guess the same thing I said to Becky about Sebastian not showing up in her pictures,” I said, referring to the time Becky snapped a few of Alexander’s best friend at a soccer game. “That she must have moved when it was taken.”
“Will you be able to find a frame for this painting?” he asked. “You’re good at shopping for those things.”
“An excuse to shop? I’m your girl!”
Alexander kissed me long. But the picture of Billy and Stormy was staring at me. It was hard for me to concentrate when my brother was looking over my shoulder.
“You seem distracted,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to leave them alone. Do you?”
“How much trouble can they get in at Henry’s?” Alexander asked.
Just then I heard my text beeping.
I let go of our embrace and grabbed my phone. It was from Billy.
STORMY FREAKED OUT. HENRY DARED HER TO EAT A CLOVE OF GARLIC. SHE’S LOCKEDSHEe go IN HENRY’S ROOM.
“Oh no!” I said.
“What is it?” Alexander asked, concerned.
I showed him Billy’s text.
“I hope she’s okay,” I said.
“We have to get there now!” Alexander was alarmed. “Call Billy. I’ll get the antidote.”
I called and texted my brother but it went right to voice mail.
“He’s not picking up!” I shouted.
Alexander stuck the antidote into a plastic bag and we raced down the stairs past Jameson, who was coming out from the kitchen.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” he asked.
Alexander didn’t even answer his butler and instead rushed out the front door and into the Mercedes. I did my best to keep up with him, but I was huffing and puffing. This time Alexander didn’t stop to open the door for me. He had one thing on his mind, and that was the safety of his sister.
Alexander peeled out of the driveway and raced toward Henry’s house.
I kept calling Billy, but he didn’t answer.
“Should we call the doctor?” I asked.
“I think we’ll get there before he does,” Alexander said.
Alexander pulled the Mercedes into Henry’s long driveway. We hopped out. Alexander didn’t even pause to shut his driver’s side door. He raced up to the house and rang the bell relentlessly.
Henry opened the door, surprised to see us.
“Where is she?” Alexander demanded.
“Stormy?” Henry was still bewildered by our sudden presence at his house.
“Yes!”
“Uh … upstairs in my room.”
Alexander took off up the stairs, and I followed close behind.
“Stormy?” Alexander called.
We passed several normal-looking bedrooms and a bathroom. At the endom.v h of the hallway was a movie poster of Lord of the Rings hanging on the door.
“That must be it,” Alexander said.
Alexander pushed open the now-unlocked door.
We were both afraid of what we might find. Stormy was lying on the bed, pale and still. Valentine was holding her wrist as if he were looking for a pulse. Billy was standing next to them both.
Alexander rushed to his sister’s side. “Are you okay?” Alexander shouted.
Stormy sat up. “What are you doing here?”
Alexander had the antidote in his hand.
“Can you breathe?” he asked her, himself breathless.
“Of course I can breathe!” She looked at her brother, bewildered.
“Did you eat garlic?” Alexander asked firmly.
“Uh … no,” she said, confused.
“Did it touch you?”
“No.”
“Did it come close to you?”
“No, I didn’t even see any garlic,” she answered, now frustrated.
“How about you?” my boyfriend asked Valentine.
“I’m fine,” Valentine said.
“What are you talking about?” Stormy finally asked her brother.
“Billy said you ate garlic,” Alexander told her.
“No—” she said. “And that was ages ago.”
“What’s that?” Billy asked, seeing Alexander’s syringe in a plastic bag.
“Then what are you doing?” Alexander asked Stormy.
“Valentine’s reading my blood,” Stormy answered brightly. This was a power the youngest Maxwell possessed. By pressing on someone’s vein, he was able to read their soul and innermost thoughts and feelings.
“I’m next,” Billy offered.
“Billy spaou?”sent us a text,” Alexander said. “I thought you were eating garlic.”
“I told you I didn’t. We were playing a game,” Stormy said.
“We were playing truth or dare,” Billy said. “And Henry dared Stormy to eat a clove of garlic. Then she freaked out and ran up here.”
“Don’t you know you are supposed to take the ‘truth’ and not the ‘dare’?” I asked Stormy.
“She locked herself inside until we promised we weren’t going to make her,” he continued.
“So what’s so wrong?” Henry asked. “She dared me to eat a jalapeño. My eyes are still tearing.”
Stormy grinned mischievously.
“Stormy is allergic to garlic,” I said.
“I knew Alexander was,” Billy said. “But Stormy, too?”
They nodded.
“I didn’t know that,” Henry said apologetically.
“I know,” Alexander said. “She could have just told you without freaking out.”
“And so is Valentine?” Henry said.
“Yes,” Alexander answered.
“That’s odd. They aren’t even related.”
I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“You didn’t have to come over,” Stormy sai
d, embarrassed. “I handled this myself.”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” I yelled at my brother.
“It was on vibrate. I didn’t hear it. It’s downstairs.”
I stared at him with daggers. “You are grounded.”
“You can’t ground me!”
“I can try,” I said. “Where are your parents?” I asked Henry.
“They went out for dinner.”
“Well, I think the party is over,” Alexander said. “You should get off Henry’s bed now.” He was glaring at Stormy.
“I don’t want to go!” she said defiantly. “We were just having fun. Valentine was reading my blood.”
“Well, he can read it another time.”
“I don’t want to leave.” Stormy stayed on the bed. “I want to find out what my reading is. Then Billy’s and Henry’s.”
“I’ll tell you what your reading is,” Alexander announced. “And it’s not pretty.”
“I’m not going,” she said stubbornly. “It isn’t sunrise for another eight hours.”
“Shall I have Jameson come and get you?” Alexander asked. “Or I can pick you up in front of everyone and carry you down to the car.”
“You aren’t the boss of me!” she declared angrily. “You spoil everything.”
She hopped off the bed and stormed out of the room.
Alexander shook his head. “I knew she’d be a handful.”
Valentine caught up to her in the hallway, and I overheard them talking.
“You like Billy—” Valentine said.
“What?” she asked.
“I read it in your blood. You like Billy. I thought you liked me.”
“Stormy likes you,” Henry said to my brother.
“Who told you that?” Billy asked.
“I heard Valentine,” Henry answered. Then Henry whis
pered to me, “I was hoping she’d like me.”
“I thought we were friends,” Valentine said to Stormy.
Then we peeked our heads out of Henry’s room.
“We are,” she said. “But I have lots of friends now.” She was as proud as she was sincere.
Valentine crossed his arms as Stormy headed down the staircase and out to the car.
“I don’t understand a girl who doesn’t like mirrors and is allergic to garlic,” I heard Henry say to Billy. “I think I’m glad she likes you and not me.”