Stormy was rail thin and stood about five feet two. She had straight bangs and shoulder-length jet-black hair. Her nails were bitten and chipped; charcoal-colored nail polish remained. Midnight-colored lipstick stained her small lips. She had rubber bracelets and a black-and-white headband. Tiny silver studs and hoops ran up the sides of her tiny earlobes. Her shirt was lacy, and her tights were ripped in all the trendy and cool places. She wore mini-monster boots and black fingerless lace gloves.
She was everything I dreamed she’d be.
“Alexander!” she called in a sweet voice.
Stormy raced over to him, and he enveloped her in his arms.
“It’s great to see you!” she squealed.
“It’s great to see you, too!” It was obvious how much he had missed his sister as he continued to hug her.
They eventually let go. Stormy giggled. “We have full reign without parents! We are going to have the time of our lives!”
I hung back until she noticed me.
Alexander swooped in with gentlemanly introductions. “This is Raven. Raven, this is my sister, Athena,” he said. “But her friends call her Stormy.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you.” She extended her hand. Stormy was precious.
“I’m so excited you’re here!” I gushed, just like I hoped I wouldn’t.
I wanted to run up and hug Stormy—the sister I’d always wanted. Only I knew when I was her age—and even now—how awkward it was when an older person acted all gooey on me when we had barely even been introduced. It always felt fake, though in this case it would have been genuine. Instead of squeezing her to bits, I kept my distance.
She smiled a polite smile, exposing white plastic braces adorned with purple and black rubber bands, with small vampire fangs peeking out below them.
But then her smile soured. “Oh no! I forgot Phantom!”
We turned to the car, and Jameson held in his stick-pin arms a ghost-white cat with pink eyes.
“Jameson! Thank you!” Stormy rushed over and held her cat.
“You are quite welcome, Miss Athena.”
“She’s cute,” I whispered to Alexander. “Just like you.”
< Ceig want/div>
“You’ll love it here, Phantom,” she cooed to her cat. “Just like I will.”
Alexander noticed Jameson grabbing Stormy’s suitcase and backpack from the trunk.
“I can get that, Jameson,” Alexander offered.
“Thank you, but no need,” the Creepy Man said. “You greet your sister.”
“Let’s go inside,” Alexander said. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“Awesome! I can’t wait for a smoothie with cherries and a purple sword!” Stormy exclaimed.
“Of course, Miss Athena,” the Creepy Man said with a toothy smile.
Stormy raced into the Mansion. “Here I am!” she declared to the empty foyer.
Alexander beamed again.
“This is so awesome,” she continued to Alexander. “I’m going to have so much fun here with you!”
He tousled her hair like only a big brother could.
“I do remember—it’s all the same,” she said, smoothing out her hair. “This isn’t fair!” she exclaimed. “You get full reign of this place without Mother and Father looking over your shoulder.”
Jameson placed her bags by the staircase. “Dinner won’t be long. Then I’ll unpack your things, Miss Athena, as you settle in.” He creeped slowly toward the kitchen.
“Which room is mine?” she asked.
“You’ll have to guess,” Alexander said. “But I think you’ll know it when you see it. Raven helped me decorate.”
“She did?” Her eyes squinted, and her voice couldn’t hide her skepticism. I knew there was a chance she’d resent me decorating parts of the Mansion, and here it was before me. She pushed a smile out as hard as she could. “That was very kind of you,” she said, overly polite.
Alexander put his arm around her bony shoulder as the two walked up the staircase. I knew it was important to let the two siblings have their time together.
“I can help Jameson,” I said from the bottom of the staircase.
“You have to come up, too,” Alexander directed.
I was anxious when we reached the top of the stairs. My heart thrummed the way it Ced h="2 might if I was throwing a surprise party and hoping that the recipient was indeed surprised.
By the looks of Stormy’s style, I thought maybe she’d like how I decorated her room, but there was a huge chance I could have missed the mark on her taste and she’d see the room as a big disaster. I held my breath as Alexander lit several candles, illuminating her room. Though the vampires could see in the dark, the soft light helped us all see the room’s interior even better.
She paused and glanced around.
“This … is…”
“Yes?” Alexander asked, waiting for her reaction.
“Gorgeous! It’s just fabulous!” she exclaimed.
Even Phantom examined her new surroundings by jumping on the chaise longue and sniffing at the stuffed animals.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and it appeared that Alexander had been anxious, too, as his sigh was audible.
She raced over to the chaise longue, hopped on it, and hugged a few of the pillows.
“And this Hello Batty plush!” she said, holding it up. “Do I get to keep it?”
“Everything is yours,” Alexander said.
“We can put your coffin right here,” Alexander said, pointing to the only empty area.
His words sent goose bumps over my flesh. A coffin. For a girl to sleep in. It was so awesome!
Stormy buzzed around the room, touching everything she saw. “I love these candles!” she said, sniffing the lavender scent. “And these picture frames—with your paintings of us, Alexander! These look exactly like Mother and Father. And these curtains! They are so long and luscious!” She draped them over herself as if they were a ball gown. “How do I look?”
“Like a movie star!” Alexander said.
“I can’t believe you did all this for me.”
“Well, actually,” he said, “Raven did. You know that I don’t have a clue about buying frilly pillows,” Alexander said.
“But I thought you did it with her,” she began.
“Well, Alexander put everything together,” I said.
“Not really. Raven picked out everything and designed it.”
“You did?” she asked. “How did you know what I liked?”
“Alexander told me.”
“But Raven found everything,” Alexander said proudly. “She did a great job, didn’t she?”
“Yes.” She nodded enthusiastically. Then she asked, “Did Luna help?”
Luna? There was that name.
“No,” Alexander said. “Why would Luna help? This was all Raven. You have her to thank for your room.”
Alexander genuinely meant that the work I’d done was a sincere gesture from me to Stormy, but I was afraid she’d be upset that someone other than her own family—a stranger to her—had decorated her room. I couldn’t blame her if those were her true feelings.
“Thank you so much, Raven. I love it!” she said, twisting her jet-black locks. It was as if she thought about hugging me but didn’t know what to do. Instead, she flashed me a smile and hopped again on the chaise longue with Phantom.
“You don’t have to thank me,” I said. “I had a great time doing it.”
Jameson came into the room and placed Stormy’s luggage by the dresser. “I’ll bring her coffin up, too.”
The Creepy Man was frail, and I couldn’t imagine him bringing a casket up the Mansion staircase or even assembling one on his own. Fortunately, neither could Alexander.
“No,” Alexander said. “I’ll get that.”
“Thank you. Dinner will be ready in a few moments,” the butler said.
Stormy hopped off the chaise longue and straightened her skirt. Jameson left, and Alexander and I watc
hed as Stormy surveyed all the trinkets I’d placed on her bookshelf.
She grinned slightly, and I could tell by her expression that she was really pleased with her new digs.
“So where is Raven’s room?” she asked suddenly.
Alexander was taken aback by her direct question and chuckled nervously. “At her house,” Alexander replied.
“You don’t live here, too?” she asked me as if she was expecting I did.
“No,” I said. “I live with my family. And they are not as exciting as yours. Believe me.”
Stormy seemed slightly relieved knowing I hadn’t taken physical custody of the Mansion and she had power over her rightful territory.
“You must be hungry,” Alexander said. “Let’s hit the kitchen.”
Alexander blew out the candles, and we followed Stormy out of her room until she paused at the top of the stairs and turned to look at us.
“Are you two getting married?” she suddenly blurted out like a typical younger sibling.
I laughed, and Alexander cracked a crooked smile.
Stormy and I waited to hear Alexander’s response. I wasn’t sure how she wanted him to respond, but I knew how I did.
Alexander put his hand on his sister’s shoulder and guided her down the staircase. “Jameson!” he called. “We’re coming down to dinner!”
I think we were both disappointed not to get an answer.
We sat down to eat in the formal dining room, which was dressed with gleaming silver, fine china, and linen napkins. Several candelabras lit the room, and the red candle wax dripped like a bleeding wound. Alexander pulled out Stormy’s chair, seating her to the left of him, and I followed suit at his right. Stormy and I faced each other across the table, with Alexander in the middle at the head of the table. Stormy, so cool and stylish in her lacy black fingerless gloves, placed her linen napkin gingerly on her lap.
Jameson pushed the dining cart in from the kitchen and served us a nice dinner of rare filets (medium well for me), twice-baked potatoes, and peas. Stormy had a blood-filled glass goblet garnished with a cherry and a purple sword, while Alexander also had a blood-filled goblet. Mine was filled with boring old soda.
When Stormy lowered her goblet after her first sip, red liquid dotted the corners of her lips. Alexander gestured to her, and she rolled her eyes at him. When she wiped it off, the dark liquid smeared the light napkin. I was shocked. I’d seen wine-stained napkins before, but this was the first time I’d seen a bloodstained one.
“So, what have you been up to?” Alexander asked as he cut his juicy steak.
“Nothing much,” she said. “Home isn’t the same without you there.” Stormy cut her steak into tiny little pieces. She savored each bite.
“Oh, come on,” Alexander challenged. “You are always busy with something.”
She rolled her chocolate-brown eyes. “Well, you’ve been gone a long time. How can I tell you everything?”
“What do you mean?” Alexander took a bite of his meal.< Cmeaed it/font>
“You were only supposed to be gone until the Maxwell feud was over,” she said, pushing her peas around with her fork. “And it is. Once you took Valentine back to Jagger, it was over. But you didn’t come home. You stayed here.” She didn’t look at me. She didn’t have to. I could feel the tension from the younger Sterling as if she blamed me for his absence.
“I know,” he said. “But I have a life here now, too. So what is so different without me?”
“The house is so big. I have no one to talk to.”
“We didn’t talk all the time,” he said.
“I know. But it was nice having you there. That’s where you live, remember?”
“Well, I live here. For now. Mom and Dad told you that.”
“I know. But it’s so far away. You get to have all the fun. It’s not fair.”
“I’m sure you have fun, too.”
“I do not. Not like you. You get to meet a lot of people. You get to do what you want.”
“I’m eighteen,” he said. “When I was twelve, I didn’t get to do everything that I wanted. Besides, I could be going to college soon, anyway. You have to get used to my being away.”
“But this is different,” she said.
“Why?”
“You know why....” she hinted.
“Maybe we should talk about this later? You just got here.”
I thought it best to divert the conversation. “Are you homeschooled like Alexander?” I asked Stormy.
“Yes.”
“Do you like that?” I wondered.
“I guess so,” she said. I was surprised she wasn’t more excited.
“I’m jealous of that. I think it would be so cool. Hanging out at home. Getting to watch TV.”
“I don’t get to watch TV.”
“You don’t?”
“It’s like jail.”
“It is not,” Alexander said with a laugh.
“Not to you,” she said. “You are here.”
“I call this town Dullsville,” I said, “and I say that for a reason.”
“C’mon. You have a great time,” Alexander said. “You study, you travel. You have a lot of friends.”
“I do not!” she said. “I don’t even have a boyfriend.”
“Well, you have plenty of time for that.” Alexander was emphatic.
“I’m twelve! I get just as thirsty as you do.”
Alexander cleared his throat.
“I can’t believe you don’t have friends,” I said. “I bet you have tons.”
“Yes, a few. But I don’t have a boyfriend, and the only guy I get to hang out with is Valentine.”
“Valentine Maxwell?” I asked, referring to the Maxwell twins’ younger sibling. He was my brother Billy’s age. Billy, his friend Henry, and Valentine had hung out together when Valentine came to Dullsville in search of his older siblings. Instead he found a friendly clique with Billy and Henry and tried to become blood brothers with them. But soon Valentine grew thirsty, and without another to feed on or a bottled-blood-filled cellar like the Mansion’s, Valentine grew weak. Alexander returned Valentine to a thankful Jagger in Hipsterville, and the feud with the Maxwells was over.
“Ooh, do you like him?” I pried.
“He’s cute.”
“He is?” Alexander asked, surprised. “I’ve never heard you talk about him that way.”
“But I want to meet new guys. And Mother and Father keep me studying too much of the time.”
“Well, your education is very important,” Alexander said.
“Ugh,” she said. “You would say that. You all want me locked up forever.”
“You are not locked up,” he said. “Quit being so dramatic.”
“I am; you don’t even know. You don’t mind painting in your room for hours. But I want to be out and seeing the world.”
“Well, you are here, now,” he said. “This is getting out into the world.”
< />She made a face at her brother. “I know. I’m glad I’m here.”
“So what do you like to do for fun?” I asked.
“Uh… I read and write poems.”
“And try to sneak out of the house?” Alexander teased.
“Just sometimes,” she said with an impish smile.
“I do that, too,” I said.
“You do?” She gazed at me skeptically.
“Well, I really sneak in more places than I sneak out of. In fact, that’s the first time I saw Alexander face-to-face. Right there—” I said, pointing to the bottom of the staircase.
Alexander cleared his throat again.
“It’s no secret,” I said.
“Secret?” she asked eagerly. “Tell me!”
I leaned forward. “I snuck into the Mansion.”
“You did?” Again she was skeptical.
“Yes,” I answered proudly. “And it wasn’t the first time.”
“Maybe she shouldn’t hear all this,” Alexander said.
“No, tel
l me.” Stormy was keen to hear more. “I must know.”
“I used to sneak in here when I was younger.”
“Why would you want to sneak in?” she wondered.
“I wanted to see what was on the inside.”
“Funny, I’ve always wanted to see what is on the outside,” she said.
“Well, we will get to that tomorrow,” Alexander said as we finished our desserts.
It wasn’t long before Alexander was preparing to take me home. I was grabbing my coat in the foyer when I overheard the two siblings talking in the kitchen. I knew I should let the two of them talk privately, but I couldn’t help myself. It wasn’t like me not to eavesdrop.
I tiptoed over to the kitchen’s entryway and hung outside of view.
“So what Can> hear mor are we going to do here?” I heard Stormy ask. “I want to see the town. And Luna.”
“We’ll see her sometime.”
“But when? I’ve missed her so much.”
“I don’t know.”
“I can’t wait to see her.”
“But don’t you think Raven’s cool?”
“Yes, she is very pretty. Mother and Father raved about her when they came home.”
“They did?” His voice was bright.
“All they talked about for a week straight was Raven.” Her voice grew dark.
“Well, I know you guys will be fast friends.”
There was a pause.
“Why haven’t you come home?” Stormy asked softly. “Is it because of me?”
“You know I had to leave. For the family. There was too much turmoil if I stayed. Why would it be because of you?”
“I wasn’t sure if you were mad at me—from the night of the covenant ceremony.”
“I couldn’t be mad at you. It was my decision.”
“But I was so angry.”
“I understood. Everyone was upset.”
“But it’s been a year. You weren’t supposed to stay this long.”
“I like it here,” he said.
“And you like Raven.”
“Yes, I do.”
“But why … why didn’t you turn Luna? She’s beautiful and so much fun! All you had to do was turn her. Then we all could be together in Romania. And she could have been a vampire—a Sterling vampire.”
“She wasn’t the right girl for me. I’m sorry to have disappointed you. But Luna is doing fine. She doesn’t need me to get along in this world.”