"Clawdeen!"
I wrapped my arms around the first monster I collided with. Then my arms fell limp in front of me, holding nothing but air. Clawdeen was to my left, golden eyes bright and lips pressed tight.
Spectra hovered a couple feet above when a green glow joined her. He was a ghost with verdant, windswept locks and the same bright blue eyes as Spectra, his sclera a deep green instead of purple.
He gave me a sheepish grin. "Sorry, but I'm taken."
My neck bolts sparked and my cheeks warmed. "Right. Ha. Didn't mean it like that. I just got..." I shared a glance with the werewolf beside me. "Excited."
She gave a fanged smile. "It's great to see you again, Frankie."
This time I got my hug with Clawdeen instead of the vaguely familiar ghost boy. Past the Wolf's mass of tawny hair, I saw the tiny, boney frame of Skelita, brown eyes sparkling on her painted face.
"It's really you?" she exclaimed softly.
I grinned over Clawdeen's shoulder and gently pulled away. "Yep. I'm so glad to see you." There was a light rattle of chains when Spectra drifted to my side. I beamed. "All of you. And I bet Invi—" One glance to the opened door and I cut myself short. Invisi Billy disappeared. But my elation faltered for only a moment. I started to lead them in. "Everyone else should be glad to see you, too.''
"Wait." Invisi Billy's dark blue, beanie-adorned head was first to materialize. He blocked the entrance. "How do we know we can trust them?"
My brows furrowed. "They're my friends," I deadpanned. "And didn't Romulus say that Skelita was with you when you escaped?"
Clawdeen's eyes lit up. "Romulus?"
"Skelita was with us, but they weren't," Invisi Billy said, gray eyes narrowing.
"But—" I was shoved aside. Clawdeen led the charge to hug Invisi Billy with Spectra and Skelita at her heels.
His eyes widened and he took a step back, but the smile on his easing face showed that he was giving in. "I can't speak for the others, but I'm happy to see you." He beckoned them into the foyer.
The green ghost floated at a distance. I waved. "Hi! I'm Frankie." I held out my hand.
He grinned and gave my hand a quick shake. "Porter."
I smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Porter." I pursed my lips when I noticed his outfit. It was gray like pavement and splattered with blotches of colorful paint. His chains holstered a couple of spray cans.
Porter caught my gaze. "You like the outfit?"
I found myself nodding vigorously. "It's very... creative." I internally scolded myself. He totally thought I was lying. "Sorry, I've never been an artsy kind of ghoul."
He laughed. "Yeah, I know. The ghouls had a lot to say about you."
"Have we met?" I asked. "You seem familiar."
Porter shrugged. "Not officially. There was a party at Monster High after what happened in the Ghost World few years back. I think I saw you and a couple others talking to Vandala, but I was with Spectra."
I giggled at the mention of the pirate ghost, then looked ahead to Spectra, her pale skin a sharp contrast with Invisi Billy's blue-tinted white. Porter was fixed on the willowy, violet-haired ghost, and I remembered his words from earlier. "You're Spectra's boyfriend?"
He looked at me and smirked. "Yeah. And she's my ghoulfriend." He sent me a wink before gliding over to Spectra, dragging her away from the conversation and leaving Clawdeen and Skelita to catch up with Invisi Billy. Spectra giggled and they hovered up to the tall ceiling.
I hastened my way to Clawdeen. "How did you know it was me and not the Queen? Not Nefera?"
Clawdeen's face fell. "Venus told me."
A spark flew off my bolts. "Venus? That's great! How is she?"
She paused. "She—"
"This is all your fault," a voice came from the left wing—the kitchen. A second later Holt rushed into the foyer, Jackson following close behind.
He sighed. "I didn't ask you to eat it."
A scowl formed on Holt's blue face. "Not my fault all you can choke down is normie food. Thanks to you, I'm gonna be hurling chunks any minute."
Skelita gasped. "¡Hijole! They... I thought they were one person."
Clawdeen's jaw was on the floor.
Spectra floated down and sighed. "This would've been a great story for my blog."
Porter glided to her side, bemused yet clearly indifferent about the situation altogether. "Uh, what's going on?"
"Jack got me sick is what," Holt retorted, specifically at his former alter ego.
"I have trouble with monster food!"
"Well, what're you gonna eat now, huh?"
I tuned out their bickering and focused. "Holt?"
He straightened at my call. "Yeah?"
"I doubt you're as sick as you think." I walked over to him and Jackson and briefly pointed at Holt's stomach. "Besides running to the nearest toilet, you'd be clutching your stomach or have some discoloration in your face." I looked at Jackson. "I'm surprised you couldn't tell."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I was just scared. You know how he gets."
"I'm right here, ya know," Holt ran a hand through his hair. "And I don't flare up that bad."
Jackson let out a huff, clearly knowing more about Holt's temper than I did—which was just about nothing.
I glanced over my shoulder. "Is there any medicine here, Invisi Billy?"
He sent me a swift nod and gestured past us. "Kitchen. Cupboard above the sink."
I turned to Holt. "Let's get you some medicine."
He raised an eyebrow and curled his lips. "Alright."
Holt shot Jackson a smug grin as I looked back at Clawdeen. "Sorry, but we'll have to talk later."
The werewolf nodded slowly, eyes still wide at the befuddling scene before her. "Just..." She grimaced. "Don't be too long."
I nodded and ushered Holt down the left wing until we reached the gourmet kitchen. The stainless steel sink was bright against the black granite, but the cupboard above was a little over my limit.
"Need help?" Holt asked.
My anxiety swiftly morphed into confidence. "No, thanks. I got it."
I tugged at my wrist and freed my right hand from stitches. It leaped onto the counter. Palm arched, it scuttled to the sink and scrambled up the faucet. But it wasn't enough. No matter how much it jumped, my rogue hand couldn't make the cupboard. My hand had done more outrageous tasks and now it couldn't leap less than a foot high?
I had half a mind to throw it until Holt raised his arm and opened the cupboard with ease. Instead of searching for the medicine, he brought his attention to my flailing hand.
"Now do you need help?"
I hesitated. "Thank you but—"
He took my hand off the faucet and held it in front of the opened cupboard, where it scurried off his palm and fell amongst the array of medicine. Thuds sounded before my loose hand reappeared clutching a small plastic bottle.
It held the bottle outward, offering it to Holt. He gingerly peeled it from my fingers, and my hand leaped from the ledge and onto the counter, where I reattached it to my wrist with a pop.
Holt set the medicine down and circled the island, opening and closing drawers until he returned with a spoon.
He put it in his mouth when he twisted the bottle open. His fiery eyes flicked to my newly reattached hand. "Thanks," he managed to get out.
"Oh." I looked at my hand. "You're welcome. Thanks for helping me out. I don't know what went wrong earlier..."
"Out of practice?" Holt hopped up on the island.
"Probably," I sighed. "I guess that's what happens when your body isn't yours."
He paused. "Yeah, I get that."
I stuttered. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that."
Holt shrugged and poured the pink liquid into the spoon. "S'fine. It's over now."
The silence was sure to reign if I hadn't spoken up a second later. "Shouldn't you read the directions?"
The spoon stopped less than an inch away from his mouth. Holt smirked and drank it regardless.
"Holt..."
"Relax," he sang with a grin.
The way he responded caught me off guard, and he laughed—confusing me even more but for the better, really. He had been nothing but doleful ever since I came to this new time, so it was refreshing to see him happy and singing, even if it was one word.
Holt placed the bottle back into the cupboard and hopped back onto the island. He tossed the spoon and it clattered in the sink right when a bright glow barged in. Spectra yelped and my bolts sparked. Holt nearly slid off the island.
I had my hand on my chest. "Spectra!"
She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm trying to hide from Porter."
Spectra's gaze rested on me for a second too long. She looked down at her hands. "Has Clawdeen told you?"
"About what? Venus?"
She shook her head. "About Valentine."
"Valentine?" The vampire's blazing red gaze stung within my memory. "What about him?"
"Well—" She froze. "Never mind. Clawdeen will explain. I'll see you later." Spectra phased through the ceiling before I could say anything more.
Porter suddenly appeared from below. "Have you guys seen Spectra?"
Holt and I shook our heads, and Porter let out a heavy sigh. "Thanks anyway!" He phased through the ceiling.
I glanced over at Holt, who let out a quick laugh. "Anyway," he drawled, "you know I could've gotten it myself, right?"
"What?"
He gave me a lopsided smile. "The medicine."
I blanked. My thoughts swirled until I finally latched onto a reasonable excuse.
"I thought maybe I could see how you were doing. We haven't talked since we left Monster High and Ghoulia and what happened when the vampires showed up at Bloodgood's..."
I looked down and willed away buried emotions. The ruins of the school and my old friend flashed in my mind. Dull blue eyes in a dangerously gaunt face. Ghoulia was a zombie, but even I was astonished she survived as long as she did. Why did she have to stay?
"Hey." Holt's sharp tone snapped me out of my trance. I looked up. His expression was unrecognizably grim and steady. "Ghoulia's decision and Valentine biting Lagoona have nothing to do with you, so don't beat yourself up about it."
I couldn't find it in me to respond. I couldn't help but feel like I could've done more.
Holt's voice was soft, "Slo-Mo went back for Ghoulia. She'll be okay. And Lagoona?" He chuckled. "She's one of the toughest ghouls I know. I wouldn't be surprised to see her rocking that neck scar at the party like a badass."
I relaxed. "You know about the party?"
He nodded. "A certain mummy princess may have mentioned it."
I giggled. "She was really excited about the gowns."
His brows furrowed. "Gowns?"
"Yeah. Dresses."
"You mean long, fancy dresses?"
"Uh huh," I said slowly.
Holt groaned and muttered something under his breath.
"What? I thought you liked parties. You of all monsters."
"Yeah, yeah I do." He fumbled with his hands. "But the dresses—the gowns—they mean formal."
"Isn't that another opportunity to show off?" I joked.
A smile teased his lips. "Yeah but... Even if I got hot threads and they let me DJ... It's still formal."
"So..?"
"So formal parties always mean less rocking songs and more slow ones. How lively is the party gonna be then?"'
"What does it matter?" I prompted. "If you're the DJ then you get to choose the songs, right?"
He gave an adamant shake of his head. "Nah, formal parties mean lots of slow songs no matter what. It's like a code."
I huffed out a laugh. A few days ago and he was completely against resuming his DJ position. Now he was so eager to get back to it, even with his "code".
"There you go." A wide smile spread across Holt's face, eyes gleaming. He hopped off the counter and faced me. "It's good seein' you smile again, Frankie Fine."
A shock spurred from my neck bolts, and sparks flew off my skin. I almost couldn't hear him laugh past the crackling electricity. Maybe it was the distance or the look on his face, but I didn't know hearing the old nickname he gave me could cause such a reaction.
Holt was already walking out the kitchen, a comical grin plastered on his face. "See you tomorrow. And thanks for making sure I didn't puke my guts out."
"You weren't that sick..." I called out, but he was already gone.
-.-.-.-
After they had finished eating dinner, I took it upon myself to lead Clawdeen, Spectra, and Skelita to their rooms. Clawdeen was the least indifferent about her room choice, so she decided on her room last. I had followed her into the animal-print themed room and, once she had gotten everything from her car parked outside, the first thing she said to me was:
"That nightgown reeks."
I looked down. How did I survive the day wearing nothing but a stinky, skimpy nightgown? It was the last thing Nefera wore as me. I groaned, frustrated that I hadn't even thought to change my outfit when I had the chance.
"It smells like the palace," Clawdeen said. "Is it Nefera's?"
She didn't have to hear my response with the look I gave her. "I should change out of it."
Clawdeen nodded fiercely. "Here—" she tossed me a bundle of clothes from the opened dresser, "—wear this. I'm not into orange."
Neither was I, but I wasn't about to argue—Anything to get me out of this slinky nightgown. "Thanks."
"Do you mind coming back when you're done?" she asked, ears drawn. "Elissabat said she wanted to talk to us after dinner. That and..." Her pointed ears fell flat on her head. "I still haven't told you about Venus."
"Sure." I strolled out into the hall. I had never seen Clawdeen nervous like that. Where was her usual big bad wolf persona?
Once I made it to my room, I changed as quickly as possible. The clothing Clawdeen gave me consisted of cotton shorts and a loose t-shirt, which was a nice, airy change. The orange was firey on my pale green skin. I sighed, then made my way back to Clawdeen.
She anxiously fidgeted on the edge of her bed and rose to her feet the instant she saw me. Her expression softened. "You might wanna sit down for this."
I made my way to the bed, stopping short. I feared for the worse. "Clawdeen—"
"Venus is dead," she burst out. Her gaze fell to the floor instantly, regretting having spoken so abruptly.
I froze, my body going numb. Dead? No.
The next second, I was on the floor and when I opened my mouth to speak, another voice sounded.
"What?"
I couldn't tell who was behind me, but suddenly they were at my side, rubbing my back.
I looked over my shoulder to see Operetta, her eyes round and glassy. Lagoona stood in the doorway.
"She's dead?" Lagoona rasped. Disbelief was scrawled across her face.
"She sacrificed herself," Clawdeen said steadily. "She tried to kill Valentine with poison and he got hurt bad but Venus..."
Lagoona breaths came in shallow, and she walked toward Operetta and I. She knelt beside us and closed her eyes.
Clawdeen knelt to put a hand on Lagoona's shoulder.
Operetta looked at me. Her mouth opened like she was going to say something, but instead, she closed it tightly and shut her eyes. Then she got up and walked out of the room.
I was shaking. Venus tried to kill Valentine. We didn't want to leave her behind but she had an ulterior motive all along. Nefera couldn't do anything without him since he was the one running things.
"What's going on?"
Whisp looked in from the hallway. She took a cautious step into the room. "Ghouls..?"
Clawdeen rose to her feet. She sighed. "Whisp, it's... It's kind of a long story but Venus tried to kill Valentine. She's dead."
"Is Valentine okay?" Whisp blurted out.
I noticed Lagoona clench her fists, but she remained where she was.
Clawdeen looked down. "Yes. Just a little banged up from the poison."
"Poison?"
"Whisp," Lagoona said through her teeth. "Could you talk about this later?" She turned to face her, shaking and her face wet with tears. The scar from Valentine's bite was still red on her neck.
Whisp took a step back, and her expression darkened. "I need to fix this."
"What?" I tried reaching out to her, but she was swept into her own world. "How? You can't fix this."
"I'm a genie!" There was something wild in her eyes. "I have magic! I can fix this! I just need to find Kieran and then I can, I can..." Whisp slumped onto her knees. Her quickened, ragged breaths came out as choking sobs. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be like this..."
Clawdeen and I shared a look before slowly approaching her. Whisp looked at her hands, her face wrenching into a hate-filled grimace.
"What's the point of having magic if I can never do any good with it?"
-.-.-.-
The talk with Elissabat was postponed, to say the least. Whisp had been nearly impossible to calm down. I don't think we fully succeeded, but we got her into her room remarkably.
I didn't expect her to be so shocked at Lagoona's reaction. It was another load on the crushing guilt she kept piling atop herself. The dreams of Whisp's memories showed me firsthand, but I couldn't bring myself to blame her. It was Nefera who made her do this.
Elissabat was waiting in the dining room. When we finally arrived, she let out an exasperated sigh then dove straight into questioning the newcomers. Spectra had the most to say next to Clawdeen; sometimes Skelita would add in her opinion, while Porter floated aimlessly, occasionally whining about how they wouldn't let him leave.
Then came the topic of Venus and Valentine.
Elissabat perked up at the news. "Valentine? He was the one that stole hearts." Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Emo vampires... Such a troublesome sub-species. It's a shame Venus didn't succeed." Her gaze shifted, staring into nothing and lost in her thoughts.
Clawdeen waved a clawed hand in front of her. "Elissabat?"
The vampire blinked. "Right." She leaped to her feet and clapped her hands. "Thank you, everyone. You can be on your way."
"Finally," Porter groaned. He glided over to Spectra and grabbed her hand. Porter tugged her away before she had a chance to protest.
"Wait," Clawdeen said, rising from her seat. "Why all the questions, Elissabat?"
"Because you're from the Queen's palace. How can I make sure I trust you without asking you questions?"
"And you believe us?" Skelita asked.
"I'm a vampire. I can tell by your pulse when you're lying. Well," Elissabat gestured at Clawdeen, "I could tell when she was lying. And if she trusts you, that's good enough for me."
The Wolf shook her head. "That's not what I meant. What are you doing? You have everything. Why are you hiding like this?"
She frowned. "I was thought to be dead when Monster High fell. The others and I are using it to our advantage."
"But for how long?" Clawdeen pushed. "You don't plan on staying in the shadows forever, do you?"
Elissabat scoffed. "No. Not anymore at least."
"Not anymore?" I echoed, speaking up for the first time.
She whirled on me with a fierce, eager look. Excitement radiated off her small form. "Don't you see? Nefera is helpless now that she doesn't have your face to hide behind. And I, the vampire queen, can finally have the throne I was destined for. "
I was at a loss for words, and Clawdeen was the one to speak up.
"Anything but a poser sounds good to me," she said dryly. "When are you planning on making your move?"
"I don't know," Elissabat snapped. She shook her head dismissively. "I'll see you ghouls later."
Clawdeen, Skelita, and I left the dining room together until we made it to the stairs, where I started lagging behind them. Elissabat's frighteningly restless face wouldn't leave my mind. Clawdeen and Skelita didn't seem fazed in the slightest, but I saw the look in her eyes.
This wasn't something Elissabat had thought up out of the blue, this was something she had planned.
