Monster High: Season of the Witch

Monster Mash

The screamatorium doors loomed before Beatrix.

Her school board trial had escalated into a much larger affair than expected. It had turned into something like an emergency town hall, or a PTA meeting gone wild.

Once news broke about what happened at Draculaura's house, hell had broken loose at Monster High. Word of Beatrix's confrontation with the vamps and her surge of werewolf strength had spread like wildfire.

Plus, another student's death had officially been confirmed.

Now every monster imaginable was awaiting her in the screamatorium.

Beatrix would've done anything to avoid going in.

She'd be willing to trim a cyclops's toenails.

She'd be willing to dive headfirst into the Black Lagoon and let Levi—Lagoona's lake dweller "friend"—swallow her whole.

She'd even be willing to square off with Bram and Vilhelm again, assuming she had another dose of werewolf venom.

Anything to avoid this ordeal.

Except going back to my aunts' farm, Beatrix reminded herself.

That's why she had to walk through those doors. Otherwise, she'd be on a one-way train ride home to endure her aunts' squawking for the rest of her days. And then she'd have no choice but to sign her soul away.

Beatrix felt a touch on her shoulder.

She tilted her head to meet Grey's gaze. They were in a side hallway—a hidden entrance to the screamatorium that Beatrix hadn't been aware of until this evening. Grey had suggested taking this route to avoid attention before the meeting started.

She thanked the hells she wasn't going in there alone.

"Stay near me," Grey instructed, quietly opening one of the doors and stepping into the dimly lit screamtorium. Beatrix followed closely behind. His large frame shielded her from view as they found seats in a nearby row.

The giant screamatorium was packed, teeming with monsters on the main floor and the second-story balconies. Almost every Monster High student had family members in attendance. Beatrix already found the regular student body intimidating; their full-grown monster parents were even freakier.

A few rows ahead, Beatrix noticed Deuce among the crowd.

His mom, Medusa, flicked her thick serpent tail angrily between the seats, occasionally striking someone nearby. She sported a pair of chic sunglasses, ensuring she didn't turn the other screamatorium inhabitants to stone.

Cleo sat beside her boyfriend, their fingers intertwined. Earlier that morning, Beatrix had returned Cleo's wrappings. To Beatrix's astonishment, the nail marks from Vilhlem's choke hold had faded overnight thanks to the enchanted cloth. It also explained how Cleo, a centuries-old mummy, maintained her flawless looks so well.

Beatrix wondered why Cleo was sticking so close to Deuce, uncertain if Cleo's own family was in attendance. Was the rest of her family mummified? Or just Cleo?

Grey and Beatrix settled into their seats, their all-black outfits helping them blend into the shadows that concealed the far edges of the screamatorium. Beatrix listened to the angry voices directed at Headmistress Bloodgood on the stage.

"This is the second death this semester!"

"What is the administration doing to prevent these tragedies?"

"Get rid of the vampires!"

"If there's going to be such prejudice against our kind, we'll pull our children out of school ourselves!"

"Oh please! Vampires get so many special privileges here, you'd never leave!"

"The witch's accusations are baseless; Bram and Vilhelm aren't responsible for the deaths!"

"So two students just dropped dead out of nowhere?"

"Why was the school ban lifted? Students shouldn't have been allowed off-campus!"

"A bunch of bloodsuckers went after the fearleading squad!"

"What? They were just trying to talk to the witch!"

"That sorceress doesn't belong at Monster High! Bram and Vilhelm were getting rid of a threat!"

"The witch killed that student!"

"We don't even know if those students were murdered! The school doesn't tell us anything!"

"A werewolf must've helped the witch! How else could she have pulled off that transformation?"

"Why would the headmistress let this happen?"

"I'll tell you why! That devil-worshiper charmed Bloodgood to get access to our kids!"

Bloodgood tried to maintain her professionalism, yet she couldn't control the crowd.

One thing was certain: another student—a werewolf known as "Brocko"—had been found in the woods. With the limited amount of information about his cause of death, this was playing out eerily similar to the Gilda Goldstag situation.

The werewolf pack mourned in the front rows—even Orion, who was usually the odd wolf out.

Draculaura traced calming circles on Clawd's back. Beside them, Clawdeen concealed her face with taloned hands. It was clear the Wolf siblings had been close to Brocko.

Draculaura's appearance had taken a hit since the night she'd subdued Vilhelm. Dark bags had settled beneath her pink eyes and she looked paler than Beatrix had ever seen her.

Draculaura had shared that her "vegetarian" lifestyle had its drawbacks. Although she'd inherited the mind control ability from her father, her animal blood diet limited her power. Consequently, the ability came with a taxing physical cost, demanding days of recovery afterwards.

Beatrix spotted Autumn with Frankie in the center of the room. After the vampire encounter, Autumn had set aside their feud and was now focusing on the more important events unfolding. Autumn had informed Beatrix that she would sit with the other fearleaders to gather information during the meeting. However, Beatrix hated that the scarecrow wasn't by her side.

She'd never felt so alone.

Beatrix felt Grey place his hand over hers. His focus was on the stage where Bloodgood continued to be overpowered by the crowd, but his broad hand enclosed hers entirely. The simple gesture steadied Beatrix.

Monster shouts filled the room, debating her fate, until a commanding voice pierced the commotion.

"Be still!"

The immediate quiet that followed was startling. Even Beatrix felt her own tongue freeze in her mouth. All the monsters had fallen silent in unison.

Looking up, Beatrix saw someone standing on one of the second-floor balconies. This monster's eyes reflected the same intensity she'd seen in Draculaura's when the pink vamp had entranced Vilhelm.

Dracula.