15 Secrets and Spies - My Sister the Vampire

by Sienna Mercer

  She wasn’t watching her step as she stumbled through the door . . . and almost walked straight into another student.

  ‘Hey!’ As Ivy blinked, her twin’s face swam into view. ‘Are you OK?’ Olivia asked.

  ‘Olivia?’ Ivy shook her head, stepping back. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Oh, I just need to have a quick chat with Ms Milligan.’ Olivia shrugged. ‘It looks like I’ll have to take another few days off just before Thanksgiving to wrap up filming on Eternal Sunset. I just heard from Jackson, who said that Mr Harker wants us in this town called Pine Wood for the final shoot, so I thought I’d better let her know. But what were you doing here?’

  ‘I’ll explain later,’ Ivy mumbled. ‘When I’ve figured it out myself.’ As tempting as it was to confide in her twin, there was no point involving Olivia until she knew things really were as weird as they felt. ‘I’ll catch up with you in the cafeteria . . . but, Olivia?’ She winced as she looked back at the closed door of the guidance office. ‘You might want to tread lightly with Ms Milligan today.’

  ‘Don’t worry.’ Olivia gave her usual confident smile. ‘Ms Milligan doesn’t scare me.’

  Wow. Ivy watched with awe as her twin walked happily into the office. Olivia really is brave.

  Shaking her head, she made her way through the crowded hallway towards the cafeteria for lunch. A beep sounded on her phone. It was a message from Brendan.

  See u after lunch, the message read. I’m in library – need to make start on epic history homework!

  Ivy winced in sympathy as she texted back: Good luck!

  With Olivia in the guidance office and Brendan in the library, it was going to be a quieter lunch than usual, but at least Sophia was waiting for her at their usual cafeteria table. Ivy’s best friend was easy to spot even across the crowded room. Now that her naturally black hair had grown out and pushed her dyed-blonde pixie-cut into a bob, she literally had a hairstyle of two halves. Ivy let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed into the chair next to her.

  ‘Hey, you should hurry if you want to beat the line.’ Sophia poked her arm. ‘Lunch hour’s almost over, didn’t you notice?’

  ‘Oh . . . I guess so.’ Sighing, Ivy looked over at the queue of students waiting for food. After her ordeal in Ms Milligan’s office, the last thing she felt like was fighting her way through the crowd for dry, over-cooked cafeteria burgers.

  As she watched the crowd gather near the front of the line, though, her lips twitched into a brief smile. The undeniable centre of attention was a laughing girl who wore a bright cornflower-blue dress paired with an elegant black shrug: Penny, a girl who’d pretended for ages to be a real goth just so she could fit in. With Ivy’s encouragement, Penny had finally come out as herself . . . and finally found the acceptance she’d always wanted.

  A girl’s voice floated through the air. ‘But Penny, what do you think we should do for the Halloween party?’

  ‘Well . . .’ Penny began.

  ‘Penny always has the best ideas!’ someone else chimed in.

  Penny’s smile lit her face.

  Turning away, Ivy sighed, her own smile slipping away. It was great to see Penny so happy, but it didn’t solve any of Ivy’s own problems – like the question of the mysterious New Girl. ‘I’m not hungry,’ she told Sophia. ‘I’ll just skip lunch today.’

  ‘Are you serious?’ Frowning, Sophia leaned forwards. ‘You’ve got a “preoccupied” look on your face. Is everything OK?’

  ‘Well . . .’ Ivy shrugged helplessly, not knowing where to begin.

  ‘Hmm.’ Sophia tapped one crimson-polished nail thoughtfully on the table. ‘I saw Brendan walking over to the science building just now, and he was wearing the exact same look. Is everything OK between you two?’

  Ivy’s breath shortened.

  The science building was in exactly the opposite direction from the library where Brendan had claimed he was going to be doing his ‘epic history homework’.

  ‘I thought it was,’ she said slowly. ‘But now . . . I’m not so sure.’

  There could be a totally reasonable explanation, Ivy told herself. But her heartbeat was suddenly thudding in her ears as she pulled her phone back out to type a new message.

  Hey, did you get lost trying to find the library?

  Her fingers trembled as she sent the message. Let’s hope the smiley face hides the fact I’m kind of freaking out!

  She couldn’t stop drumming her fingers on the table as she waited for a reply. Five minutes later, she was still waiting. It never usually took Brendan more than two minutes to respond to a text.

  That’s it.

  She shoved herself up from the table. ‘Gotta go,’ she blurted to Sophia.

  Ignoring Sophia’s worried questions, she almost ran across the cafeteria and through the outer doors. Outside, the sun was shining brightly and students were sprawled across the steps and the field – it was a kind of perfect day, but Ivy barely noticed. She was too busy scanning with her eyes and training her sensitive vampire ears. It only took a moment for her to pick out Brendan’s voice from the crowd.

  ‘You have to stop coming here!’

  Definitely Brendan . . . and he sounded almost as freaked-out as Ivy felt. From the sound of his voice, he had to be under the fire escape by the rear of the school, behind the Administration building. Flattening herself against the wall, she placed her palms against the brick as she walk-crawled to the edge of the building.

  Halfway along, she passed a window, and a flicker of movement caught her eye. Peering through the glass, she found herself looking in on Olivia’s meeting with Ms Milligan. Both of them stared back at her open-mouthed.

  Ivy just shrugged. There was no way to explain this! She moved on, walk-crawling to the corner.

  By now, Brendan was sounding more upset than ever on the other side of the building. ‘You’re going to cause trouble if you keep doing this – a lot of trouble.’

  Ivy hesitated at the corner. Did she dare peek around? Or would she be seen? Before she could make up her mind, she heard a girl’s voice.

  ‘Do you hate me now?’

  Brendan sighed. ‘Of course I don’t.’ His voice softened, and Ivy’s hands clenched as she listened. ‘I could never hate you. You know that. But this . . . is just not the right thing to do.’

  What? Ivy wanted to scream. What isn’t right? What aren’t you telling me, Brendan?

  Abruptly, his footsteps moved towards her. ‘I’ve got to go,’ he muttered.

  Ivy dived behind a trash can. From her hiding place, she watched her boyfriend walk, head down, across the school grounds. He still hadn’t even touched the cellphone in his pocket, where her message was sitting, totally ignored.

  Edging around the corner, Ivy risked one quick look . . . and saw exactly what she’d feared.

  Maya stood directly under the fire escape, looking ready to cry.

  Ivy lurched back, shrinking behind the trash can until she was completely hidden. Her legs gave out underneath her, and she found herself crumpling to the ground, her stomach churning as if she’d guzzled a week-old garlic smoothie!

  She took a deep breath, trying to fight down the nausea that wanted to overcome her. So this is what real dread and panic feels like. She’d never felt them before when it came to Brendan . . . because she’d always, always been able to trust him.

  Until now.

  Chapter Four

  ‘There’s no other explanation,’ Ivy insisted.

  Olivia had seen Ivy make some serious faces before – death-squints aimed at Garrick Stephens, for example – but nothing quite like her expression now. Ivy looked brittle enough to snap at the wrong word or even the gentlest touch.

  Ivy ticked off the points on her fingers. ‘Brendan’s been acting weird, he’s been keeping secrets and now he’s sneaking around meeting some student-who-isn’t-really-a-student. What reasonable explanation could there be?’

  Olivia glanced helplessly at Sophia beside her. The
ir school bus was due to leave at any moment, but the three of them were still huddled in the sheltered spot in the school courtyard where Ivy had dragged them immediately after their last class finished. Sophia looked as disturbed as Olivia felt, but she only shrugged hopelessly.

  It was up to Olivia to make an attempt.

  ‘Well,’ she began, ‘it’s true that what’s going on doesn’t make any sense, but . . . there’s just no way that Brendan would be . . .’ She broke off. ‘I can’t even say it – that’s how ridiculous the whole idea is!’

  ‘She’s right.’ Sophia moved closer to Ivy, her expression brightening. ‘Boys can be stupid sometimes, but not that stupid. Imagine the death-squint you’d give him!’

  ‘Exactly,’ Olivia laughed, finally daring to wrap one arm around her sister’s waist. ‘I’m sure there’s a perfectly normal explanation for what’s going on. We’re just having trouble thinking of it right now, that’s all.’

  ‘Well . . .’ Sighing, Ivy started to lean into Olivia’s embrace. Then she suddenly stiffened.

  Olivia followed her sister’s furious gaze and saw – Uh-oh – Maya the new girl walking briskly down the street in front of the school, heading in the direction of Lincoln Vale.

  Ivy started forwards.

  ‘Hang on.’ Sophia’s own eyes narrowed as she pulled Ivy back. ‘Before you go chasing after her . . . do you see what’s up ahead?’ She pointed at a sign a block ahead of Maya, so far away that Olivia could barely make it out. Neither of the two vampires seemed to have any difficulty reading the far-off words, though. ‘That’s where Franklin Grove becomes Lincoln Vale – the point where we are no longer in our hometown.’ Sophia emphasised the last words solemnly, crossing her arms. ‘Do you remember all the misadventures we’ve already had in Lincoln Vale this month?’

  Ivy grimaced, stepping away from Olivia. ‘How could I forget? Skate park disasters . . . the mall where you got that skater-girl haircut –’

  ‘Which turned out surprisingly well,’ Sophia pointed out, fluffing her black-and-blonde hair.

  ‘It’s true,’ Olivia reassured her. ‘You look really striking.’

  But Ivy’s face was grimmer than ever as she glared after Maya. ‘If you guys are too scared to go to Lincoln Vale, it’s fine,’ she said. ‘I’ll just go it alone.’

  ‘Ivy . . .’ Olivia began.

  Her twin jerked around to scowl at her. ‘Look, this isn’t just a potential disaster with my boyfriend. It’s also the most mysterious, well, mystery I’ve been able to investigate in ages! I can’t back down now!’

  Olivia gently placed a hand on Ivy’s shoulder. ‘This isn’t “investigating”,’ she said. ‘You’re thinking about stalking a stranger. That’s pretty much “spying”.’

  ‘Cool,’ Sophia said, then gasped as she realised she wasn’t helping.

  Ivy didn’t seem to notice. ‘If I have to spy, I will spy,’ she insisted. ‘I need to get to the bottom of this.’

  Olivia sighed. There was no talking to Ivy when she was in this mood, but maybe if Olivia went along she could keep things from escalating too badly. She gave her twin’s shoulder a squeeze. ‘Of course I won’t let you go it alone. We’ll be spies together, investigating the Curious Case of the Not-a-Student!’

  ‘More like, the Bafflement of the Boyfriend Brendan,’ Ivy grumbled. But her lips twitched into half a smile. ‘So, you guys are in?’

  Olivia linked arms with her twin. ‘If you’re determined to do something crazy then we’ll be crazy with you. Just like always!’

  But even as the three girls formed a chain of linked arms, Olivia had to admit to herself that it felt more than a little bit weird to march down the street, away from Franklin Grove . . . And away from their school bus, which was now leaving the bus stop.

  Sophia groaned. ‘It’s going to take us ages to walk home from Lincoln Vale.’

  ‘I don’t care if I have to walk for hours.’ Ivy’s stony gaze was fixed on Maya’s distant figure. ‘There’s something garlicky going on here, and I need to find out what it is.’

  ‘Um . . . Ivy?’ Olivia began tentatively. ‘Have you considered asking Brendan directly? It might be easier –’

  ‘– than stalking Maya, or whatever her real name is, down the street,’ Sophia finished for her. ‘And have you even considered how we’re going to explain to our parents why we didn’t come home on the school bus today?’

  But Ivy didn’t answer. Instead, pulling free of the other two girls’ arms, she sped up, passing the ‘Welcome to Lincoln Vale’ sign without a moment’s hesitation.

  Olivia shared a worried look with Sophia. She could see the same fear in her friend’s eyes that she felt herself. If Ivy caught up with Maya in this mood, the results could be disastrous.

  I can’t let that happen. Taking a deep breath, Olivia hurried to catch up with her twin.

  Together, they turned a corner and stepped into a small cul-de-sac of large white houses. Every car parked in a driveway was gleamingly clean and new, and the pets in the fenced front yards all looked like very well-behaved purebreds.

  ‘This place is too perfect,’ Sophia muttered.

  ‘Pick up the pace!’ Ivy hissed. She pointed ahead to where Maya was slipping through a narrow walkway between two houses. ‘We can’t lose her now.’

  Sophia followed Ivy, while Olivia hurried after them.

  Funny how none of the dogs have been barking, Olivia realised, as she looked at all the pets staring as they passed. Most of the dogs hunkered down submissively as Ivy and Sophia walked by.

  ‘I guess they know vampires when they see them,’ she mumbled to Ivy and Sophia. Huh. There was something about that realisation that niggled at her . . . but she didn’t have time to puzzle it out now. It was everything she could do just to keep up with the two vampires ahead of her. The walkway emerged on to a vast town square, dominated at the far end by the massive, glass-walled Lincoln Vale Mall. As Olivia watched, Maya walked straight through the wide front doors.

  Squaring her shoulders, Ivy headed for the mall.

  Olivia’s eyes widened as she followed her sister and Sophia inside. It was her first time at the Lincoln Vale shopping mall, and now that she was here, she could see why Ivy had rated it a solid ‘not bad’ when Olivia had asked her about it before.

  The wide main corridor was lined with goth-themed music stores, and Pall Bearers posters took pride of place in almost every window. It’s like this place was made for Ivy and . . .

  Olivia froze when Maya began to turn away from the CD rack she was inspecting. Then she grabbed Ivy and Sophia’s hands, pulling them through the nearest doorway into an indie clothing shop just across from the music store.

  ‘Come on!’ she whispered, as the three girls huddled by the display window. Olivia could read the name Blue Skye’s in backwards lettering on the window. ‘This is perfect,’ she hissed. ‘We can pretend to inspect the clothing . . . while we really keep an eye on Maya.’

  Trying to maintain their cover, Olivia picked up a pair of hemp gloves. She held them up against her hands, while Sophia fingered the fabric of a white cotton peasant-style blouse – but Ivy kept her gaze off the clothes, and on the back of Maya’s head.

  Olivia sneezed at the overpowering aroma of incense as someone swept up behind them. ‘My dears! You’ve come to me just in time!’

  ‘Um . . . excuse me?’ Olivia blinked, turned around . . . and blinked even harder, as she took in the sight in front of her.

  At least six feet tall and dressed in a floating blue kaftan, the shop owner swept out her arms in exuberant welcome, sending a dozen colourful bracelets and bangles jangling with the movement. Each of her hands was covered with an intricate, looping henna design. Her fizzy red dreadlocks were contained by a pink and black bandana – barely.

  The shop owner smiled kindly as she looked from one girl to another. ‘If you’re looking to broaden your fashion palettes, you have absolutely come to the rightest place. Perhaps you were guided here!�
�� She held out one strong hennaed hand to shake each of their hands warmly. ‘I’m Blue Skye.’

  Olivia smiled weakly as she pulled her hand free. Somehow I’m guessing she wasn’t born with that name!

  ‘Now, let me really look at you.’ Blue Skye pulled and nudged until she’d arranged all three girls in a row. As they craned their necks to try to keep Maya in sight, she worked her way down the row, sighing. ‘It’s obvious to me that each of you is stifling yourselves.’

  Ivy was fidgeting with impatience, but Blue Skye didn’t seem to notice. Making a face, she looked the two vampires up and down, from Ivy’s long black skirt and bat-patterned top to Sophia’s elegant black wrap dress and black suit-coat.

  ‘I can sense just from looking at you girls that you walk with a great burden on your shoulders . . .’ Her voice deepened, sounding dramatic. ‘The burden of things that go unsaid!’

  Olivia had to stifle a giggle. Blue Skye doesn’t know just how right she is!

  ‘But luckily, I’m here for you now.’ Beaming, Blue Skye clasped her hands before her. ‘Now, I’m not the type of pushy-pusher who would demand a person unleash themselves every day. Not everyone is comfortable putting themselves out there all the time, and I get that. That doesn’t mean you can’t communicate in other ways, though. That’s where style comes in. You dig?’

  Olivia hoped she would never be stuck in a room with both Blue Skye and film studio boss Jacob Harker. That much mellowness in one room might be more than she could handle!

  ‘Now, I would be thrilled to show you girls my selection,’ Blue Skye continued. ‘And don’t worry, I won’t try to force you to buy anything, or lie to you about how something looks just because I want a sale. That’s not my way.’

  ‘Um . . . thank you?’ Olivia wanted to be polite, but it was hard to know what to say. Beside her, Sophia had turned to the closest rack of clothes . . . but Olivia was pretty sure that was only to hide her broad grin.

  ‘Oh, I have complete faith that once you really start to look around, the rightest threads will sing to you. They always do.’ Blue Skye’s smile somehow got wider.