Chapter 3_ Gate Crashers

“How many secrets can you handle in one night?” Nic hissed in Amethyst’s ear. His warm breath sent chills down her spine, giving her nerves voltages of excitement. Her gasp for air was made challenging by his weight while atop her. Her knees and arms wobbled like soggy noodles from energy loss.

She couldn’t help but cry in her hopeless situation. But she couldn’t resist the new and stimulating sensation Nic caused.

“Please, I can’t breathe.”

Nic continued to suck in her scent, despite her appeal. He inhaled the cocktail of jasmine and roses from her hair to her neck. He caressed her face like they were so precious to him in a way that he would kill anyone who would dare to scratch or even touch it. Although his own pain continued to torture him, Amethyst’s presence made it even more difficult in a pleasing manner.

“Let’s just stay like this until the uninvited leave,” Nic murmured. He held Amethyst’s face and looked at her straight in the eyes. His face was an inch away from hers. “I must mask your scent with mine, so they can’t find you.”

***

Happy conversations kept the night going for those at the party. They were laughing at each other’s jokes while some maintained stern faces with serious and brain-stimulating topics. The Quin family’s garden was spacious, with lots of vacant areas to stay in. The light inside lampshades of various shapes produced comfort and protection dedicated to coziness. LED icicle string lights hanging on trees released the vibe of being one with nature, literally because they were outside.

They were a picture of bliss no one can interrupt, except the moment two figures came out of thin air.

“Are we disrupting this wonderful picture, Salazar?” The woman in the pink Peau de soi silk dress asked the man in a black tuxedo while caressing his gaunt face down his pointy chin.

“I think so,” he replied, followed by an ouch when the woman intentionally stepped on his suede boots, displeased with his response. “What is wrong with you?”

“We are not here to ruin their party. We’re here to join them if they will allow us.” She glared at Salazar, but her expression automatically changed to a face with a sweet smile and puppy eyes when she looked in Lucia’s direction.

Lucia got the hint. The dweebs would stay longer if invited. Rinari’s face distorted in annoyance at the entrance of the two.

“I’m sorry, Tiffney,” Lucia said. “We’re not really having a party. It’s just a get-together with FRIENDS,” she added, reaching for Rinari’s hand that was cold and shaking.

“Oh,” Tiffney gasped, a hand on her mouth in a pretense of shock. “What a polite manner of saying get lost!” She moved forward to where Lucia and Rinari sat and circled them in slow motion. The pack was on their feet, ready to jump into action in case there would be. “I’m quite sad our outfits would go to waste. We even dressed for the occasion.”

She moved behind Rinari, twisting some of the latter’s chestnut-feather-colored locks, which turned black with her touch. “I wonder where I smelled that strong jasmine and rose,” she whispered to Rinari, whose face turned white. “I hope the owner of that fragrance is still a virgin. Hope she’s not making out with a mutt,” she paused and looked at Artemian “… somewhere in here.”

“We already have an agreement. I won’t break it.”

“Good!” Salazar butted in, fixing his posture to look authoritative despite the signs of being a battered husband. “Because the moment you don’t abide by the deal, you know what’s gonna happen,” he added. His deep cheeks showed no sign of proper nutrition for a vampire. He was literally a skeleton covered in skin and some muscle. He even choked on his last few words. His hoarse voice, like a rusty metal pipe, clogged with algae, was a sore on the eardrums.

“A deal is a deal.”

“We’re just reminding you. Let’s go dear.” Tiffany reached for her husband, who stumbled his way to her. “Send our regards to your daughter,” she said to Rinari. “Happy eighteenth birthday to your son,” she added, sending an annoyed look to the Quin couple. “We’ll be watching.”

Salazar turned into a bat as Tiffney snapped her fingers to call her broom.

“So long!” She mounted her broom like a pro and off they went away.

 All of them breathed well when the two unsightly guests left. The absence of trouble-makers showed peace, but the pressure and tension in the atmosphere their appearance had left felt heavy like boulders on their chests. For them, the sudden appearance of a witch and a vampire from a nefarious clan showed a bad omen.

“Where is she?” Rinari turned to Thea, who closed her eyes. And when she opened them, flashes of lights escaped from her eyeballs, projecting a TV-like screen in front of everyone. They all released a relieved sigh when an image of Amethyst beneath Nic came into view.

“What’re they doing?”

“Not too obvious, auntie?” Thea replied teasingly. “I could only absorb Amethyst’s sense of sight last night. But my hearing ability hasn’t developed yet, so we can’t spy on what they’re talking about.”

They were all watching the two when Artemian spoke, making Thea blink in surprise. Then the image she projected disappeared.

“Your clan really looks down on us, huh?”

“Art, it’s not that.” Rinari took a deep breath, trying to think of the words how to console him. As she looked at him, she saw a formidable man with a broken ego. His face was a lopsided grin. It was the same expression he had when they broke up. Her heart was torn seeing a loving man being emotionally beaten twice.

Rinari’s shoulders shivered heavily as tears flooded her cheeks, hurt by his accusation. Lucia hugged her while Thea held both of her hands.

“Art,” Lucia called her husband’s attention, looking somber. “You know she can’t be this emotional. Please, stop blaming her. She has nothing to do with her clan’s stupid ideology.”

Hearing his wife’s words, he walked away. He didn’t want to argue. Some of the pack members, who were very aware of their past, followed their Alpha for security. They knew he might go on a rampage like a drunkard pulling out trees and casting them anywhere he liked.

Salazar and Tiffney, on a tall tree close to the dramatic view, watched the scene like a movie with popcorn and cola, except the former had a pack of RBC.

“Look at them being torn by their past.” Tiffany patted her husband’s almost bald head as if she was playing with a sphinx cat. “Poor Lucia, the forever martyr. She’s in great pain but still is friends with her husband’s ex-girlfriend.”

“An ex who that dog loves the most. Tsk! Tsk!” Salazar added, munching on some popcorn and spitting them after tasting salt. “You trying to kill me?”

“Relax, dear. You’re already dead. A pinch of salt won’t double kill you.” She glanced at the greenhouse, hitting Salazar’s frontal head with her pointy index finger. “Witches are for vampires, not werewolves or mere humans. Like mother, like daughter. A disgrace to our clan.” 

“Shall we send them our present? I’m bored? I’m not a fan of drama.” He stood and punched some leaves with his bony fist. “I prefer action.”

***

While the gate crashers were busy plotting their scheme, and the hosts of the party were being emotional, Amethyst and Nicolai remained motionless on the same spot.

“Hey, do you have any plan to get up?”

“I can’t move. My body feels covered with concrete.”

Amethyst touched the arms of the man above her, only to find out that he was telling the truth. His body was stiff like steel. No wonder his weight squeezed her air passage. She exerted effort to at least lift him, but he wouldn’t budge.

As she struggled to mobilize, the building they were in grumbled. Dust and tiny particles from the hanging plants scattered in the air as the roof and the foundation of the greenhouse slowly tore apart. Amethyst hugged Nicolai in the attempt to save him from the falling debris when the quaking stopped, and everything that was about to crush them froze mid-air.

A chuckle vibrated like a broken violin string. A tiny, creepy female voice hissed in their ears. Teasing. But they saw nothing, even though the light from the moon penetrated the glass walls.

“You and me, lying on the greens. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Amethyst’s throat turned into the desert as fear crept throughout her body. Tears wet her face as her sweat glands made her perspire.

“Shhh… Don’t cry. It won’t help us.” Nicolai was forced to move his arm to wipe her tears.

“What do we do?” She sobbed, still hugging him.

“Mom’s coming. We’ll be okay.”

But as he uttered those words, the soil cracked. And soon, snake-like roots emerged from the huge crevices, snatching them from each other, throwing them at opposite ends of the greenhouse. The cacti uprooted themselves and walked in their direction. The orchids grew fangs and suckers on the petals, ready to drain the last drop of blood from them.

***

As Rinari’s emotion stabilized, Thea’s vision activated for the second time. She collapsed but was instantly caught by one man. Her eyes brighten, and again, a projection of Amethyst’s location came into view. There, the image of frightened Amethyst and beaten Nicolai worried their parents. Upon seeing the danger about to befall their children, Rinari and Lucia teleported to the greenhouse, wasting no time. Thea was left blacked out because of power over-usage.

A loud thud echoed, followed by the shattering glass wall when the roots tossed Nicolai. He was crippled in pain as he tried to stand to fight the group of spiky succulents gliding on their roots. One of the star cacti paused, and the rest did the same, like armies, when their commander gave orders.

Some thorns from the cacti’s body loosened to aim at Nicolai. But just as some spikes came flying towards him, a transparent, smoky purple shield blocked the attack. Lucia rushed to her son to examine his inflexible limbs.

The cacti aimed again and fired. But with a hand gesture, Lucia countered the attack, sending the thorns back to the arid plants. Upon healing and making sure Nicolai was doing fine, she walked towards the attackers, chanting inaudible words. As she kept her lips moving, the cacti went back to where they were planted, one troop after another.

Meanwhile, shaking, Amethyst covered her face with her arm when the monstrous orchid advanced in her direction. Mom! Help!

Rinari’s figure gradually appeared in front of her daughter like a summoned genie. “Frysa!” she uttered. As she did so, the flower halted midway. Its pointed teeth detracted until the petals were back to normal. “Aka hem,” Rinari said again. And the orchids in the pot shook their flowers like humans getting back to their senses after being hypnotized. It jumped back to where it used to be and was followed by the other flowers that were about to devour Amethyst.

"Are you okay?"

Amethyst just looked at her, baffled by what she saw.

"What just happened? Did you order those plants? How did they grow fangs?"

"Honey, look at me." Amethyst obeyed, and her eyelids became heavy.

***

When they returned to the house, One of the teenage girls handed Lucia a card. And upon opening it, letters of the alphabet levitated, forming the words: Hope you liked our present.

She crumpled the card, threw it upwards, and lit it with a snap of her fingers until ashes fell on the floor.

"Those hideous creeps," Lucia said with a long face. "How dare they ruin my son's special day?" She glanced at Nicolai and the other two unconscious teenagers. "They should've picked someone their own size, not teenagers. Cowards!"

Rinari hugged her friend, who was trembling with anger.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault."

"No, it wasn't. It's theirs. You still have a problem. Amethyst saw everything."