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  10

  THE INVITATION

  I coasted my way home and was parking my bike in the garage when I heard the sound of something hovering a few feet away from me. Cautiously I tiptoed toward the door, my flashlight primed for any maverick vampires.

  I saw nothing. Just my dad's parked SUV. I was sure it was a hungry raccoon foraging for leftovers in our garbage can.

  Then I heard a twig snap.And footsteps.

  I decided to make a run for it. Our back door was only ten yards away from the garage. All I could think of was Freddy Krueger. Michael Myers.Or hockey-masked Jason. Crazy horror movie stalkers haunted my thoughts. I'd seen far too many scary movies to shake them from my mind,Think kids shows

  , I thought.Barney . Teletubbies.Dora . Those images frightened me more.

  If I had my keys ready, I'd make it safely inside before anything could cause me bodily harm. I took a deep breath and geared up to charge forth. But before I took my first step, I was caught in a surprising trap. It wasn't Trevor blocking my escape in the shadow from the garage, or even the most nefarious vampire of all-Alexander's enemy, Jagger Maxwell. It was Alexander.

  "Oh… It's just you. Thank goodness!" I made my way to hug him, but he kept his arms folded.

  "Where were you?" he asked. He stood stern as my father had many times when I'd broken curfew.

  "I just went out for a ride," I said truthfully.

  "By yourself?At night?"

  "It's still early. My bike has a light on it." All true.

  "Then what's that for?" he asked, pointing to my flashlight. "Were you searching for something?Or rather someone?"

  "It's always good to have extra light. I'm not like you: I can't see in the dark." I grimaced, hoping he'd grin back. His stony expression remained fixed.

  "I went to your house," I confessed. "Everyone in Dullsville, including Matt, Becky, and Trevor, has spotted your parents. All I had was a vague memory of a portrait you'd painted of them. I wanted to see them for myself."

  I felt awful. My impatience had gotten the best of me once again. I'm not sure how I'd feel if Alexander was sneaking around my house, trying to ogle my parents as if they were subjects in a sideshow. I was no better than the local gossipmongers.

  I waited what seemed like an eternity for Alexander's response. I was so ashamed of myself I barely made eye contact.

  My boyfriend took my wrist and gently drew me to him.

  "I think I might have to place you under arrest for trespassing. But I always go easy on pretty girls who confess," he said ominously.

  "You knew, didn't you? I'm that predictable?"

  "It was just a matter of time before I spotted you hiding in our bushes."

  "So you're not mad?"

  "I'm not through with you yet. Are you prepared to accept your punishment?"

  I nodded reluctantly. I wasn't sure what a vampire's punishment might be. But I was ready to find out.

  "I sentence you to a thousand kisses," he said.

  "Can I begin now?"

  He finally smiled. I pressed my lips to his and snuggled against him.

  When we broke away, I apologized again.

  "It's okay. It's time that you meet them. But for tonight, you'll have to settle for me." Alexander winked.

  And for the next hour I continued to fulfill my sentence.

  Another letter arrived mysteriously-only this time it was at my house.

  "You have mail," my mom said when I got home the following day. "It's on the kitchen table."

  I wasn't used to receiving cards when it wasn't my birthday or a holiday. Even if it was a college brochure, I was excited something was addressed to me.

  A deep purple envelope lay next to our pastel blue salt and pepper shakers.

  In beautiful black calligraphy it read: Miss Raven Madison. Like Alexander's mail it was devoid of postmarks or stamps. On the back it had a candle-waxed pressed seal of an S.

  I almost tore into it when I remembered how Alexander opened his mail.

  "Mom," I called. "Do we have a letter opener?"

  "I think there's one in your dad's desk."

  I opened the French doors to my dad's office. He had a dark oak desk topped with family pictures. I scanned the desk for any sharp objects but didn't find anything other than a few pens and a golf tee. I was growing antsy and rifled through his desk drawer.

  Finally, underneath a file folder, I found a gold letter opener, the end in the shape of a tennis racket. I carefully slit open the envelope.

  I pulled out the note card and read: Mr. and Mrs. Constantine Sterling request the pleasure of jour company for dinner this Friday at sunset The Sterling Mansion Benson Hill It was official. I was finally going to meet Alexander's parents, and I had the invitation to prove it!

  11

  DRESS CODE

  What do I wear to meet parents?" I asked Becky in my bedroom later that day. "I don't have a thing!

  It's way different than trying to impress a guy. It has to be something striking yet appropriate."

  "Hello! You have a whole wardrobe that screams mansionwear !"

  "Really?You say the kindest things!" I exclaimed.

  Becky was stretched out on my bed reading one of her teen mags while I mixed and matched several outfits and modeled them.

  "They all look good to me."

  "But I have to look great! This one is too sexy," I said, holding a black bodice. "And this one is too casual," I said, holding up a HIM T-shirt. "How am I going to pull it off? This could make or break my relationship with Alexander."

  "This mag is full of great styles." Becky opened to a spread.

  "For me?Are the girls modeling tattoos and tongue piercings?"

  "I don't think so. But that doesn't mean it can't help inspire you."

  "Alexander would drop dead if I showed up in a polka-dotted dress."

  "Just give it your spin. If they're showing striped Keds sneakers-then choose skull and crossbones Vans " It was great to have a best friend who understood me.

  But the models were beautiful and glowing in their candy-colored outfits. I guess I couldn't hide my slight jealousy of their perfect bodies.

  "Hey, everyone can be gorgeous with airbrushing," Becky remarked. "And we are fabulous without it!"

  "You really expect me to put my hair in a ponytail with plaid ribbon?"

  "No. You'd wear pigtails with an uneven part and black lace bows. Or better yet, Wednesday Addams braids."

  "You are onto something. Maybe we could start our own magazine.Something where the models dress like me. Gothicgirl !"

  "I'd buy it, I'd totally not wear anything in it, but I'd buy it," Becky assured me.

  "I'll be the editor, and we could have articles about music and fashion and we'd interview Criss Angel," I said excitedly. "And in every issue I could be on the cover-like Oprah, but wearing all black."

  "And Alexander, too," Becky added. "I bet every girl across the country would buy a copy."

  "But he couldn't be on the cover."

  "Why?"

  "Uh…" I almost blurted out the true reason, but I caught myself."Because it's my magazine. Not his.

  He'll have to get his own.How about GQ. Gothic Quarterly" I said, covering my tracks.

  "Awesome! Now that we've decided on your career, we need to pick your outfit."

  We matched a few outfits together and voted on them until only one was left.A black mini lace dress, black tights with knee-high boots, and a lace bodice.

  "A marriage made in heaven-or in my case, hell."

  We both laughed.

  "Well, what do you think?" I asked.

  "Drop- dead gorgeous!"

  The first time I had a dinner date with Alexander I was nervous. Would he like me? Would he ask me out again? Would it end in a passionate kiss?

  This dinner would be different. I brushed my hair a thousand times and reapplied my makeup. Was I too pale or not pale enough?

  On this date I'd be judged by Alexander's parents.
Would the Sterlings think I was a good fit for their son? I knew they had approved of Luna-but I wasn't Luna. I didn't come fromRomania or have vampire blood or a vampire family. My whole relationship was riding on this one meal.

  I was getting ready when my mom poked her head into my room.

  "So, are you excited about your big night?" my mom asked.

  I tried to downplay its importance and hide the panic attack I was having. "Sure, it's no big deal."

  "Of course it is. You are going to meet your boyfriend's parents!"

  "You are supposed to make me feel better-not worse!" I whined.

  "That's not what I meant. I meant it is exciting."

  I felt tears welling. Any minute my eyeliner was going to bleed down to my shoes.

  "No- it's a make-it-or-break-it night. I'm not like them."

  "Why do you have to be like them? You are you." My mom smiled.

  "The Sterlings have royal blood. Alexander's grandmother was a baroness. I'm sure they've dined with kings, queens, and noblemen. They live in mansions! They are fromRomania . I'm from Dullsville." I plopped down on my bed.

  "Just relax."

  "How can I relax? You have no idea what it's like."

  "You don't think I do?" she asked, sitting down next to me. "Your father and I were both hippies, remember? Our parents were ultraconservative. When I first met Grandma Madison, I was in a tank top and cutoffs. I'm surprised she ever let me in her house again."

  "Really?"

  "It's normal to be nervous. Think of how Alexander feels. He wants you to like them, too," "You think he's anxious, too?"

  "Of course he is. He probably thinks his parents will embarrass him, just like you think we will."

  I felt relieved knowing that I wasn't carrying the entire burden of our meeting.

  "I'm sure as soon as the Sterlings meet you," my mom continued, "they'lllove you like I do."

  "You have to love me; you're my mother," I rolled my eyes.

  "Let's see what you chose to wear."

  "Are you kidding? Becky and I already decided on it. I can't go back now."

  "I'm sure you chose something appropriate. I'll go downstairs until you're ready," I retouched, rebrushed , and fussed until my Edward Scissorhands clock flashed, "You're late!"

  I flew down the stairs to find my family hanging out in front of the TV. I modeled my outfit.

  "Shouldn't you wear somethingmore.,.conservative ?" my mother asked. "How about a pretty knit sweater?"

  I ignored my mother's remarks.

  "You look wonderful," my dad said.

  "I think she looks awesome," I heard Henry say to Billy Boy.

  "I think I'm going to hurl," my brother retorted.

  I hugged my parents exceptionally hard. I was going to be dining with adult vampires. Who knows-I might lever come back.

  A few minutes later our doorbell rang.

  I was too nervous to answer, so Billy Boy opened the door.

  "One moment," he said in his politest voice. "Raven- it's for you."

  I took a deep breath and started for the door. Jameson stood before me, complete in his butler's uniform and gloves. "Miss Raven, your car awaits you."

  My mom winked and my dad gave me a thumbs-up.

  As Jameson and I walked down the driveway, I glanced back. Billy Boy and Henry were spying through the front window. Then two more heads popped into view-former hippies Paul and Sarah Madison.

  Jameson led me to the parked Mercedes and kindly opened the back door.

  My parents were impressed with my chauffeur and gothic limo service, even if the chauffeur was unusually creepy.

  12

  ROYAL BLOOD

  It seemed as if it took an hour for Jameson to drive me to the Mansion. I was afraid by the time we reached its gates, dinner would be stone cold.

  We parked in front of theMansion, It was quite the celestial sight. Candles flickered inside the house like a festive holiday party.

  Jameson opened the car door for me.

  I reached the top of the crumbling stairs, and, as if on cue, the front door creaked open. On the other side were the first adult vampires I would ever meet. At first I didn't see anyone.Then out stepped Alexander, stunning in an oversized blue silk shirt and black jeans.

  "Wow! You are beautiful." He offered his hand to me and kissed me on the cheek.

  Somber violin music faintly filled the Mansion.A pewter umbrella stand containing at least half a dozen parasols sat by the front door.

  "Miss Raven is here," Jameson called to the second floor, and retreated to the kitchen.

  "My mom takes forever."

  The Mansion's air was unusually chilly, and I was shivering.

  "Are you nervous?"

  "Petrified.And cold."

  "My mom likes the thermostat set to freezing. I'll fix that."

  "That's okay-," I started to say.

  But Alexander had already taken off.

  A ghoulish and magnetically morbid woman descended the red velvet staircase like an apparition. Her perfectly straight jet black hair, streaked with a vivid violet, cascaded over her bony and beautiful shoulders.

  She continued to come down the stairs, with the confidence of Cleopatra but the attire of Elvira. Deep eggplant-hued lipstick and nails were ghastly and gorgeous against her corpse-white skin.

  Strong black eyeliner intensified her blue catlike eyes, and her long, purple, flirty eyelashes sparkled.

  A tattoo of a black rose crept out from her dark velvet corset, which shaped her chest like a heart. Her small cinched-in waist was accentuated with a fabric belt and a long, flowing black mermaid skirt. Her frame was petite but curvy in all the important places.

  I was mesmerized by her beauty.

  At the end of the staircase a man appeared out of the shadows. He was tall, with broad shoulders and blazing black and gray shoulder-length hair. He was utterly handsome, as striking as any fifties film star.

  His dark eyebrows were in sharp contrast to his frost-toned skin. He wore a dark silk suit with a bloodred tie and a matching cape. He had a sharp antique wood walking stick, capped with an ivory skull. Alexander's father formally took his wife's hand and led her toward me.

  I froze. I was standing in front of Alexander's parents. I didn't know if I should bow or salute. To me, they were the most normal-looking parents I'd ever seen.

  Mrs. Sterling extended her hand to me. In the most lyrical Romanian accent, she said, "It is our pleasure to meet you, Raven."

  I couldn't help but notice the two purple bite marks on her neck.

  I tried to speak, but I was so in awe. My words stuck in my throat.

  Just then Alexander returned.

  "This is Raven," he said proudly, "We were just introducing ourselves," his mother stated.

  "I'm so happy to meet you, Mrs. Sterling," I finally said.

  Her hand was cold but firm. "Call me Cassandra."

  "And this is my father, Constantine," Alexander said.

  Mr. Sterling extended his hand to me. "It is lovely to meet you, Raven." His voice was deep, causing shivers to flow through my body. His dark eyes were intense and hypnotic.

  "You are just as beautiful as Alexander described," the dashing seniorSterling complimented. "And he has exquisite taste." He grinned, and the candlelight caught the edge of his icicle-sharp fangs.

  I wasn't sure if he meant "taste" literally. I was, after all, being greeted by a vampire.

  "Alexander has told us so much about you," Mrs. Sterling said.

  "He has?"

  "Come, we'll be dining outside tonight. I'm bloodthirsty and starved to the bone."

  We walked to a side door, where an umbrella was leaning against the wall.

  "The moonlight can be so strong." Mrs. Sterling opened her umbrella and went down the back stairs.

  The violin music grew louder.

  The backyard was grimly festive. Awaiting us was a grand gothic affair. A long black runner ran along the grass from the bottom of the
steps to a morbid dinner party under the stars. Four torches burned, presumably to repel insects (but in this case, more likely, to attract them) several yards away from a long, dark wooden table. On closer inspection, I could see that a coffin lid had been transformed into a dining-room table. Several floor-length candelabras surrounded the table, wax dripping like trickling blood. Alexander offered me a chair and gently pushed it in for me as Mr. Sterling did the same for his wife. Mrs. Sterling sat at the head of the casket and Alexander's father at the end, while Alexander and I sat at the other sides.

  I was surprised to see a string trio in the gazebo-two men dressed in tuxedos and a woman in an evening dress- playing ina minor key unmelodious funeral-type music. I didn't recognize the musicians as being from Dullsville. I had assumed the music was coming from an entertainment center, I had no idea it was being played live.Or rather» undead.

  This was unbelievable. It was as if they had transformed the backyard into a cryptic dining hall- All that was missing was a china cabinet.

  If Becky and my parents could see me now, they'd never believe I was at the center of this macabre dinner celebration. If only I could immortalize it with a photograph-but then again, most of the diners wouldn't come out, Jameson quickly tended to Mrs. Sterling. He poured her a glass that appeared to be champagne mixed with blood.

  "I like mine bubbly," she said with a laugh.

  Jameson approached me with his Underworldly concoction. "I'll have a Coke," I said.

  "Of course, Miss Raven."

  Then Jameson attempted to serve Alexander, but my boyfriend covered his glass with his hand. "I'll have what Raven is having."

  He finished by pouring Mr. Sterling a tall glass and, from a neighboring chest, retrieved two sodas.

  "Let's toast," Mrs. Sterling said, raising her drink. "To Raven and Alexander-may your friendship last an eternity."

  Friendship?I wondered. Hadn't Alexander told them we were dating? Or was she just being polite? I gazed at myboyfriend, who seemed distracted. Our glasses clinked underneath the twinkling stars.