He led me up the spiral staircase to the balcony. A shadowy figure sat on a coffin-shaped couch, a large goblet and a candelabra before him on a round coffee table.
The mysterious figure glared up at me. I felt a sudden chill. I could barely whisper, "Alexander--"
The lone figure pulled the candelabra close, illuminating his features.
It wasn't Alexander.
Instead, sitting in front of me was a cryptic-looking teen, his cadaverous yet attractive face almost hidden beneath dripping white hair with red ends, as if they had been dipped in blood. Three silver rings pierced his eyebrow, and a pewter skeleton hung from his left ear. His seductive eyes pierced through me, one metallic green, the other ice blue. The whites were filled with spiderwebbed veins, as if he'd been awake for days. His skin was the color of death. His fingernails were painted black, like mine, and he wore a tattoo on his arm, which read POSSESS.
It took all my strength to turn away from his intoxicating gaze, as if I were trying to break an unearthly spell.
"You look disappointed," he said in a seductive voice, forcing me to gaze back at him. "You were expecting to meet someone else?"
"Yes. I mean...no."
"Hoping for someone to bond with for eternity? Someone who won't run away from you?"
"Aren't we all?" I snapped back.
"Well, I just may be your man." "I think Romeo was confused," I said. "I was looking for someone who made a phone call from here. An older, bald man."
"Really? He doesn't seem your type."
"I was obviously mistaken--"
"One person's mistake is another man's destiny. I'm Jagger," he said with a piercing glare that made my blood boil. He stood and offered a pale hand.
"I'm Raven, but--"
"You are looking for someone who can help you fulfill your darkest desires."
"No, I was looking for...," I began naively.
"Yes?" Jagger asked, with a cunning smile.
Something didn't feel right. Hadn't Romeo already told him who I was looking for? Intuition overcame me. Jagger seemed too eager to hear me name someone.
"I've really got to go," I said, clutching my purse close like a shield.
"Please, join me." He grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the couch. "I believe we have a lot in common."
"Maybe next time...I really have to go--"
"Romeo, get the lady a drink," Jagger commanded. "How about a Death Sentence? It's the club special."
Jagger inched toward me and gently stroked my hair away from my shoulder.
"You're quite beautiful," he said. I avoided his gaze and clutched my purse in my lap while he continued to eye me. I sensed that this seductive good-looking goth was no more my friend than Trevor.
"Listen, you have been--" I began, trying to stand up, when Romeo returned with two goblets.
"Here's to new blood," said Jagger with a laugh.
I hesitantly clinked my goblet with his. He took a long gulp, then waited for me to do the same. With a guy this nefarious, I could only imagine what the drink might have been laced with.
"I've gotta go," I said, standing up.
"He's not like you think he is," he said.
I paused, almost frozen. "I don't know who you are talking about," I replied, and turned to leave.
"We'll find him together," Jagger said, and rose from the couch to block my path.
He winked at me, and then grinned, revealing sharp vampire fangs that glistened in the candlelight. I stepped back, and then realized that in the Coffin Club everyone had fangs.
There was only one way to confirm who or what Jagger was.
"Okay. I'll give you my number," I said, turning away from him. I reached into my purse and sheltered the compact from his view. "Just let me find my pen."
My fingers shook as I opened Ruby's compact and angled it in his direction. I closed my eyes and hesitated. I took a deep breath and opened them.
But Jagger had already disappeared.