Awaken (23 page)

              “Blood.”

             
“Huh?” I turned to see Phoebe watching me from the doorway, a sly smile on her face.

             
“You need blood,” she repeated and came to stand beside me.  “Thankfully, I have some to spare.  But don’t think you’re drinking any.  Dead brides don’t drink blood.”

             
“And here I’d spent my whole life thinking they did,” I said dryly, making her chuckle.  Her sexy vampire costume looked incredible.  It was a black leather mini dress with tall black boots and a long red silk lined cloak.  She had a tiny vial of blood hanging from a necklace, and two fake fangs that popped onto her incisors.  She looked deadly and seductive all at once. 

             
“You look great Phoebs!” I looked her up and down, “Ian might even let you drink his blood,” I smiled darkly and raised an eyebrow at her.

             
“A girl can dream,” she snickered. “Now sit down so I can spray you.”

             
“Blood comes in a spray bottle?”

             
“If you want I could stab you and let it spray out naturally?” she asked in all seriousness.

             
“I think I’ll go with the spray bottle,” I frowned at her.

             
“I had a feeling you might.” She grinned at me and began to spray blood in specific places on my dress.  I had to admit, it looked pretty real. 

             
“What’s Ian going to be for Halloween?” I asked her as she worked.

             
“He and Ricker are going as something together, but Ian wouldn’t tell me what.” She smiled adoringly and a pang of jealousy hit me.  I pushed it away. “Okay, close your eyes so I can do your face.”

             
She pulled out a tube of blood this time and went to work.  When she was done, I looked in the mirror and laughed.

             
“That looks amazing, Phoebs!”  I had blood dripping out of my mouth and from the corners of my eyes. 

             
“We aren’t done,” she instructed. “Come with me.” I followed her out into the living room where Carmen waited with something in her hand.

             
“My god, Phoebe.  She looks like she took a blood bath!” Carmen exclaimed, and Phoebe and Willow died laughing. 

             
“You’ve been waiting to say that all night haven’t you?” I accused her.

             
“It’s possible,” she grinned, “Now come here so I can really make you look dead.”  She proceeded to cover my entire body with thick white powder.  Next, she attacked my lips with a light blue lipstick and then two shades of blue eye shadow to enhance the circles under my eyes.  Once half the compact was empty, she was happy with her work of art.   Fearful that I would resemble a dead Smurf, I was pleasantly surprised when I looked in the mirror and simply saw a dead bride; Carmen standing behind me grinning from ear to ear.  It was hard for me to look at her without laughing; her sexy nun outfit the definition of contradiction.  She had also lacquered her lips with bright red lipstick.  Willow looked like she was born to be Rapunzel. I had a feeling she was secretly wishing she could dress like that every day.  She looked like she belonged in a different century. 

             
Thirty minutes later we all stood in the kitchen, marveling over each other’s costumes and taking pictures on our phones. A vampire biting a nun.  A vampire biting Rapunzel.  A dead bride biting a vampire.  And last but not least, a nun strangling a vampire with Rapunzel’s hair.  If that wasn’t going on the front of the scrapbook, I don’t know what would. 

             
As we walked across campus, we passed by anything from Lady Gaga in her infamous meat dress (thankfully no hungry animals were trailing behind) to a walking IPhone.  Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation ran by, along with the Dumb and Dumber guys decked out in orange and blue tuxes.  A walking breathalyzer test with the words ‘Blow Me’ across the front was chasing two Playboy bunnies, and we were almost run over by three sexy crayons (pink, blue, and yellow in case you were wondering). By the time we made it to The Hole we were having trouble breathing from laughing so hard.  

             
We were greeted at the entrance by Kira (AKA Princess Leia) and one of her friends dressed up as Carmen Sandiego.  They gave us orange wristbands and ushered us into The Hole.  Or what used to be The Hole.  Our normal lunch destination had been cleared of all its tables for standing room only. The stone planters that normally overflowed with colorful flowers were now teeming with skulls, pumpkins, and tombstones.  Black lanterns had been strung up all over The Hole, producing an eerie light; dancing and casting an eerie glow over the entire place.  Cobwebs and dark purple string lights entrapped the branches of the trees; enhancing the haunted atmosphere.  Several fog machines had placed a thick layer of fog at our feet that swirled and danced with the movements of the party goers.  The massive amount of people had incited an air of excitement and fun that I could feel down to my bones. 

             
I grinned as the power of the music pumping out of the massive speakers wrapped around me and sent a rush of energy through me.  This was exactly what I needed to distract me from everything.  We soon merged with the throngs of witches, vampires, and sexy nurses and found a spot to dance and hangout. 

             
“You are the hottest vamp I’ve ever seen.”

             
We all turned to see Ricker and Ian grinning at us.  Ian planted a big kiss on Phoebe before she pretended to bite his neck.

             
“This is a Halloween party, not a funeral,” Carmen looked them up and down skeptically.  Standing before us in matching black suits adorned with black ties, I had no idea what they intended to dress up as until they reached into their coat pockets at the same time and pulled out black sunglasses.

Ricker looked over at Cage.

              “I make these look good,” he smirked, and they both crossed their arms dramatically.

             
“IRS guys?” Willow asked; completely clueless as to what they were.

             
“We are…” Ricker started. Ian finished, “The Men in Black.”

             
“If I get abducted by aliens, you two are the last ones I’ll call,” Carmen snickered.

             
“If you get abducted by aliens, we’re throwing a party,” Ricker countered. 

             
“Whatever. You know you’d miss me,” she declared, hands on her hips.

             
“Doubtful,” Ricker grabbed her arm and pulled her close, “but tell yourself whatever you want to get through the day.”

             
“You make me sick,” she smiled at him.

             
“Good,” he retorted with a sexy grin.  They definitely got the ‘Most Dysfunctional Relationship’ award.

             
“This hot vamp wants to dance,” Phoebe announced, taking Ian’s hand and leading him away.

             
“So does this hot nun,” Carmen looked expectantly at Ricker.

             
“What are you looking at me for?” he asked, trying to sound surprised.

             
“Dance,” she said simply; venom lining her eyes.

             
“Nah.” He turned his attention to the crowd, but couldn’t hide the amused grin.

             
“Do you really want all these people to see you get beat up by a nun?” she threatened.

             
“Hmm…Maybe you’re right,” he commented in all seriousness, “I’d hate to get this suit dirty while I’m kicking ass.”  He grinned at her almost coyly and she dragged him out to the dance floor with a laugh.  I looked at Willow.

             
“You want to go find something to drink…“ I trailed off as I followed her eyes to a tall, blonde headed guy in khaki pants, a light blue button up shirt and a brown jacket.  A brimmed hat adorned his head and a brown leather satchel was strapped around his body.  His right hand clutched a leather whip; rolled up and menacing.

             
He must have noticed us staring, because he turned and grinned crookedly.  He sauntered across the Hole to where we stood.

             
“Ladies,” Liam greeted us with a tip of his hat.

             
“Out chasing down crystal skulls on this lovely Halloween night?” I joked with him.

              “The much
younger
version of Indiana Jones at your service,” he corrected me, “I haven’t yet discovered the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls.  Currently, I’m on a quest to find the Holy Grail.” He stood tall and struck an Indiana Jones-esque pose, then removed his hat and bowed formally to Willow.

             
“You look amazing,” he cooed as her cheeks flushed and her blue eyes lit up.  Feeling like a third wheel all of the sudden, I stepped back to give them some privacy.

             
“We’re gonna go dance,” Willow told me, clearly brimming with joy. “I’ll be back.”

             
As I watched Willow and Liam walk away, I felt a crushing loneliness darken my heart and rip open my soul; allowing the contents to spill carelessly onto the stones beneath my feet.  My thoughts inevitably drifted to Finn; eliciting an immediate onslaught of burning tears.  Instead of pushing them down, I reveled in the pain; reveled in the sadness.  To feel nothing at all would be my heart’s true demise.  He brightened my world in such a way so that his absence had created a massive black hole; sucking out any and all light into its infinite depths. What was he doing right now?  What was he thinking about?  Could he feel my entire being reaching out and craving his presence?  Had he found a way around Persephone’s decision?  No. I couldn’t allow my thoughts to travel down that hope laden road.  The stakes were too high.

             
“Don’t cry, Stasia.”

             
I let out a yelp as Bianca materialized right in front of me.

             
“Don’t do that! You’re gonna give me a heart attack!” I grinned at her through the tears.  Her presence swept away a portion of my loneliness.  Several people around me looked over and stared at me like I had lost my mind.

             
“Am I the only one who can see you?”

             
“Right now, yes.”

             
“You can control who sees you?” I said a little too loudly; causing more people to look over.

             
“Yes.”

             
“Think you can teach me how to do that?” I said under my breath with a grin.             

             
“I think you’d have to be a ghost,” she looked at the ground, “and you don’t want to be a ghost.”

             
“It might be better than the alternative right now.” I wiped at a tear that had escaped down my cheek.

             
“Do you have a dagger?” she said randomly, glancing around guiltily.

             
“I have one that my mother gave me,” I told her, confused by the sudden change in subject.  She scooted closer to me and spoke softly.

             
“A divine dagger is the only thing that can kill an immortal.  You must promise to take it on your journey.” She glanced around again, “You will be at a disadvantage in her river.”

             
“Her…river?”

             
“Nadia’s river,” she explained.  It took a moment before I realized what she was talking about.  Nadia was a nymph.  She was attached to a certain body of water.  Was that body of water in the Underworld?  I guess that would make sense.  A shadow of dread washed over me.

             
“Which river is hers?” 

             
“The River Styx,” she answered ominously.  Of course.  Why would it be any other river?  I put my head in my hands.  Things were going from bad to worse.

             
“She already has what she wants.  Why doesn’t she just leave me alone?”  I asked; desperation evident in my tone as well as in the frustrated tears that were once again rolling down my cheeks.

             
“She doesn’t want you to figure it out.”

             
“Figure what out?” She jerked her head to the left and her features turned to stone.

             
“I have to go.” She began to fade.

             
“Bianca, wait!  Figure what out?” But she was already gone.

             
“Stasia?” I looked up into the eyes of Willow and Liam.  I quickly wiped some rogue tears off my chin.  Willow sat down beside me and put her arm around me.