15 Secrets and Spies - My Sister the Vampire

by Sienna Mercer

  Olivia blinked. ‘OK.’ I can deal with this, she told herself. After all, she’d finally gotten Lillian to start talking. She could totally handle talking to someone while they lay down inside a coffin!

  As Lillian got comfortable, the lines of tension in her face eased away. For the first time all week, she actually looked genuinely peaceful. When she started to speak, her voice was quiet.

  ‘I wasn’t planning to leave,’ she said. ‘I was looking at travel guides because I was trying to find out how easy it would be to fly back and forth from the Wanderer location shoot to Franklin Grove.’

  ‘Wanderer? I’ve heard about that movie!’ Olivia grabbed the coffin edge in her excitement – then let go. Too weird! Backing away from the coffin, she continued: ‘Mr Harker asked Jackson if he wanted to act in it.’

  ‘Really?’ Lillian seemed to ponder that for a moment. ‘Well, Jackson would be excellent as the main character’s son. Is he going to do it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Olivia said, ‘but that’s not important. What matters right now is, why are you not doing it?’

  Lillian sighed, shifting her head against her crimson cushion. ‘It turns out that it wouldn’t be easy at all to fly back and forth from the shoot to Franklin Grove. It’s a post-apocalyptic movie, set largely in the desert. That means location work, mostly in Africa.’

  ‘Oh.’ Frowning, Olivia nibbled on her lower lip. ‘OK, so you wouldn’t be coming back every weekend. But it’s one shoot – four or five months at the most, right? So . . . if the director wants to help you make your own movie afterwards, it might be worth it.’

  Lillian sighed again and closed her eyes. This time, Olivia had to look away. Lying inside the coffin with her eyes shut, Olivia’s stepmom looked achingly beautiful and ethereal, but also quite . . . dead. Olivia swallowed hard. This is the hardest part of vampire culture to deal with!

  When Lillian spoke again, though, her words startled Olivia out of her discomfort. ‘It is just one movie shoot,’ Lillian said, ‘but Harker wants to film all three movies back-to-back . . . over a period of eighteen months.’

  Olivia gasped. Eighteen months? Taking that job really would mean Lillian effectively moving away!

  ‘Of course I can’t do it,’ Lillian said. ‘I couldn’t bear to spend that long away from my new family – and I would never want Charles to have to relocate Ivy and separate you two girls again.’

  ‘Nooo . . .’ Olivia trailed the word out unhappily.

  ‘Olivia?’ Ivy’s voice called up from downstairs. ‘I’ve destroyed my sweet potato, like, five times while waiting. Do you need help looking for my phone?’

  ‘No, I’m fine,’ Olivia called back. ‘I’ll be right down.’

  She bit her lip, turning back to her stepmom. The thought of losing Ivy for a year and a half was unbearable, but it was so unfair that Lillian’s ambitions couldn’t match up with her new life in Franklin Grove!

  Lillian suddenly sat up in the coffin, reaching out for Olivia. Olivia had to look away sharply. This is way too much of a horror movie moment!

  Her stepmom’s touch was gentle, though, as she took Olivia’s hand. ‘I promise,’ Lillian said, ‘that it’s not Franklin Grove making me unhappy.

  I can’t tell you how happy I am being married to Charles – and how thrilled I am that I get to be stepmother to the two coolest teenagers I’ve ever known.’ Olivia squeezed her stepmom’s hand, feeling the gentle sting of tears in her eyes. ‘We’re really thrilled about that, too,’ she said.

  Lillian’s expression turned wistful. ‘I just wish I could be creative here, that’s all. That’s the only reason I even considered taking the Wanderer job – because there’s not much creative outlet in Franklin Grove.’

  Olivia gave a hiccupy laugh. ‘I’ve heard that before,’ she said, ‘from Camilla.’

  Her friend had always said that Franklin Grove wasn’t cinematic. In fact, Camilla would probably tell Lillian that herself, if she ever worked up the nerve to speak to her. Maybe at the exhibit on Saturday . . .

  That’s it!

  Too excited to be creeped out, Olivia reached right into the coffin to give her stepmom a big hug.

  ‘Whoa! What was that for?’ Lillian asked, laughing.

  Olivia grinned with delight as she bounced back up and headed for the door. ‘I can’t explain right now, but I’m getting an idea!’

  ‘What kind of idea?’ Lillian called after her.

  But Olivia was already hurrying out of the room. ‘If it’s a good one,’ she called back over her shoulder, ‘you’ll find out all about it . . . on Saturday!’

  Chapter Nine

  Ivy felt Brendan’s hand tighten around hers as the Lincoln Vale mall rose before them, glass-walled and impressive.

  Ivy pointed at Maya, standing just by the entrance. ‘There she is.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Maya, hurrying towards them. ‘Let’s not go inside. There’s someone I want you to meet.’

  Ivy and Brendan followed her down the street to a small, family-style diner half a block away. The décor was quiet, cosy and completely unsuited to the glamorous woman who sat at a table near the back. Her long black hair rippled down the back of her stylish black trouser suit, an elegant gold choker surrounded her slim neck . . . and even with contact lenses disguising her real eye colour, her resemblance to Maya was unmistakable.

  She might look just the right age to have a daughter in high school, but she had to be at least one hundred years old . . . and she was Brendan’s aunt.

  ‘Oh!’ She gasped, raising one hand to her throat as she rose to greet them. Her gaze went straight to Brendan. ‘Are you really my nephew?’

  ‘This is Brendan, Mom,’ Maya said.

  ‘I can’t believe it!’ Carla wrapped her arms around him. ‘It is so amazing to finally meet you!’

  Brendan patted her back awkwardly. ‘Um . . . you, too.’

  Carla’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she pulled him down to sit with her at the table. ‘This is awful,’ she said. ‘I don’t know anything about you – what you like, what you don’t . . .’ She swiped at her eyes and smiled brilliantly. ‘But I promise: if you write out a list, I will buy you gifts for every missed birthday and Christmas!’

  Brendan laughed, visibly relaxing. ‘That’s really not necessary. Getting long-lost family is enough of a gift.’

  Carla pressed her lips together for a moment, obviously filled with emotion. ‘It’s like looking at my brother a hundred years ago,’ she whispered at last.

  ‘Whoa.’ Brendan whipped his head around, his eyes darting around the room. ‘We need to be careful about saying things like that in public.’

  ‘Of course.’ Carla gave a guilty smile. ‘It’s funny – since I haven’t had any of our kind around day after day, I’ve found it much easier not to let anything slip, because I don’t normally have these conversations any more!’ She sighed, sitting back in her chair as Maya and Ivy took their own places at the table. ‘That’s something our community doesn’t really take into account – that maybe, we get too comfortable among our own company.

  ‘Not that I don’t miss it.’ Her smile drooped. ‘I really, really do.’

  Ivy felt a wave of sympathy as she saw the loneliness in Carla’s eyes. She couldn’t even imagine being parted from Olivia for so long.

  Then she tuned back into the conversation and stiffened.

  ‘. . . but of course there’s no point talking to those hoity-toity Transylvanians who only care about the “rules”!’ She scowled. ‘Trust me, I could do without their kind forever!’

  Ivy took a deep breath, forcing herself not to take offence. As she looked down at the table, Maya cleared her throat.

  ‘Um, Mom?’ she whispered. ‘Ivy’s family are actually from a highborn Transylvanian bloodline.’

  ‘Really?’ For the first time, Carla looked directly at Ivy. Recognition passed over her face. ‘Oh, of course! I can see it in your bone structure now. You’re a Lazar, aren�
�t you?’

  Ivy shrugged awkwardly. ‘Yup.’

  ‘Ohhhh . . .’ Carla’s face lit up with interest. ‘You must be one of the twins who were profiled in VAMP magazine! I still have my subscription – it’s about the only part of my identity that wasn’t taken away from me.’

  The bitterness disappeared from her voice, though, as she leaned forwards. ‘Yes, of course. You’re the daughter of a vampire father . . . who broke an older, far more serious rule than I ever did.’

  ‘That’s right.’ Taking Carla’s hand, Ivy met her gaze full-on. ‘I know it’s not fair,’ she said, ‘and I’m here to help in any way I can.’

  She opened her mouth to say more, then stopped, biting her lip. If she mentioned that her dad was planning to talk to his royal connections, she might get Carla’s hopes up . . . and if anything went wrong, Brendan’s aunt would be crushed.

  Carla sighed, sliding her hand away. ‘I’m sorry for what I said before,’ she said. ‘This whole situation has just made me really emotional. Being so close to Franklin Grove, after so long away . . . well, I’m homesick.’

  ‘That’s OK.’ Ivy smiled reassuringly. ‘I know a little bit about how that feels.’ Just the memory of her time at the snooty Wallachia Academy, so far away from her family and friends, made her wince.

  Carla caught the movement. ‘Oh?’ She cocked her head. ‘When were you sent away?’

  ‘It’s . . . a long story, for another time.’ Ivy looked over Carla’s head at the service door of the diner, which was just swinging open. ‘And look, here comes the waitress.’

  All four vampires went silent as the smiling waitress approached. ‘How can I help you folks today?’

  ‘Ah,’ Carla picked up a menu. ‘I’ll have a steak, please. Extra rare.’

  ‘Sounds good, ma’am. Now, would you prefer that with potatoes or artichokes?’ The waitress waited expectantly, her pen hovering above her notepad.

  As everyone else turned to look at her, Carla gave a tight smile. ‘Potatoes,’ she said. ‘Trust me. I’m allergic to artichokes.’

  An hour and a half later, Ivy was walking hand-in-hand with Brendan down his street, heading towards the Daniels house without any hurry. As Brendan swung her hand in his, he looked more relaxed than she’d seen him in days.

  ‘Well, that went a lot better than I was expecting.’ He grinned, his dark hair falling over his forehead. ‘Although, I could definitely see in Aunt Carla the same stubbornness that I’ve seen in my dad this week. They are so related!’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Ivy sighed. ‘I hope we can figure things out for them soon. Ever since I got a sister of my own, I’ve never been able to understand how siblings could ever fall out. It must be miserable for both of them.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Brendan echoed her sigh as they came to a halt in front of his house. ‘Well . . . here goes.’

  Ivy squeezed his hand. ‘Do you want me to come in with you? If your dad’s still angry, it might be good for you guys to have company, to give him some time to cool off.’

  ‘Ivy Vega, you are the best.’ Brendan pulled her in for a warm hug. ‘I would love for you to hang out for a bit,’ he whispered into her hair, ‘but you don’t have to worry about my dad. He seemed pretty calm this morning.’

  But when they stepped inside a moment later, the house looked as if it had been turned inside-out. Uh-oh, Ivy thought, as she looked at the books and papers scattered around the living room. What’s going on?

  Loud clattering noises sounded in the next room, along with the sound of a busy printer in the office. Brendan’s dad swept into the living room a minute later, his arms full of maps and guidebooks. ‘Brendan! Ivy!’ he said warmly. ‘What do you two know about a town called Pine Wood?’

  ‘Um . . .?’ Ivy shrugged. It rang a vague bell, but –

  Brendan frowned. ‘Wasn’t there a girl from Franklin Grove who moved there over the summer? Debi something?’

  ‘That’s right!’ Ivy said. ‘She was a cheerleader – Olivia would know.’ Aha! Now she remembered. ‘Actually, Olivia’s going to do some filming there just before Thanksgiving!’

  Brendan frowned. ‘But, Dad, why are you asking?’ As he looked at his dad, suspicion gathered on his face.

  Before Marc Daniels could say a word, a loud ringing sounded from the computer in the study.

  ‘Here, take these!’ Mr Daniels bundled the maps and guidebooks into Brendan’s hands. ‘I have to answer this call!’

  Juggling his armful, Brendan followed straight after his dad. Ivy followed Brendan into the small study, where even more maps were being printed as they entered.

  A video-messaging programme was blinking in alert on the computer screen, and the ID on the caller read: Boss-Man.

  Ivy raised her eyebrows at Brendan as the two of them stepped back, out of sight.

  ‘Dad’s boss,’ Brendan whispered.

  Then they both went silent as the call clicked on.

  On the screen, a hearty-looking, silver-haired man nearly bellowed his words. ‘Daniels! Have you thought any more about my suggestion? You know I need an answer soon!’

  Mr Daniels smiled broadly. ‘I’m thinking about it,’ he said, ‘and in fact, I’m doing a bit of research about Pine Wood right now.’

  Oh, no!

  Ivy and Brendan shared a look of equal horror. So much for trying to fix things between Mr Daniels and his sister!

  Was he actually thinking of following through on his threat to move away, just in case Carla ever moved back to town?

  Dread tingled in Ivy’s chest as she looked into her boyfriend’s face.

  Too many people threaten to leave Franklin Grove. It needs to stop – right now!

  Chapter Ten

  As Olivia walked towards the Franklin Grove Museum that Saturday, she shook her head in wonder.

  Wow. Dad really pulled it off!

  A long, snaking line of visitors stretched all the way out to the street, waiting their turn to come in. The small groups of people who’d already seen the exhibit looked almost giddy as they walked back out of the building.

  One man stopped to yell back to the whole line of waiting visitors. ‘Don’t give up. That display is magical. Those artefacts . . .’ He shook his head, looking almost tearful. ‘I’ve never seen anything like them. Charles Vega is a genius!’

  Oh, really? Olivia raised her eyebrows as she walked around the museum to the side-entrance reserved for special guests – or in other words, for vampires (and their bunny relatives!). The brisk October air rustled through her gauzy pink cashmere shrug and the darker rose-pink silk wrap dress she wore underneath. Olivia sighed as she thought back to the museum visitor’s words. She was proud of her bio-dad, but she had to admit, he really hadn’t been acting all that smart this week. Would a real genius completely fail to notice the problems his new wife was having?

  She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost walked straight into the girl heading towards her. ‘Oh!’ She caught herself just in time. ‘I’m so s– oh, Camilla!’ Olivia felt her face break into a beaming smile as she took in the sight of her best friend. ‘I’m so glad you’re here!’

  ‘Do I look OK?’ Camilla fingered one bouncy blonde curl, fidgeting nervously. ‘I wanted to look artistic – but not full of myself, you know? And it had to be fancy, but –’

  ‘You look perfect,’ Olivia assured her.

  It was true. From the garnet brooch pinned to her velvet black beret to the black-and-white silk Charlie Chaplin outfit she wore, Camilla had definitely dressed up. But she was just as definitely still her artistic self.

  ‘Now, come on.’ Olivia took her friend’s arm. ‘I promise, I’ll answer all your questions about last week’s block of filming – but first, we have a mission.’

  ‘Really?’ Camilla brightened. ‘Hey, do you think you could get me in through the secret “family entrance”? That bouncer looks pretty scary.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Olivia looked at the side-entrance, where Albert – wearing a tux
edo, rather than his paint-stained jogging outfit – stood with his arms crossed, looking as if he’d swallowed a lemon. ‘It’s worth a try,’ she decided. ‘Let’s do it!’

  . . . And let’s hope I don’t get into trouble for this! she added silently.

  As they neared the door, Olivia pasted on a big smile. She was already preparing her rationalisation as she opened her mouth . . .

  . . . but she didn’t have time to deliver it. Albert was already stepping back and opening the door. ‘This Camilla?’ he grunted.

  ‘Um, yes,’ Camilla said, and traded a wide-eyed glance with Olivia.

  Albert nodded. ‘Lillian told me to expect her as well.’

  Phew. Olivia beamed at him as they swept past into the museum. How perfect! She’d gotten out of this one without having to lie or put the vampire secret at risk. And best of all, she’d gotten Camilla inside, exactly where she needed her.

  Whether Camilla knew it or not, she was essential to Olivia’s plan to fix everything that was wrong with her family!

  Ivy traded a nervous look with Brendan behind Marc Daniels’s back as they led him around the museum exhibit.

  ‘Let’s hope this works!’ Brendan mouthed silently to her.

  Ivy could only nod . . . then fix a quick smile on her face as Mr Daniels turned around. ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ she asked.

  ‘It really is.’ Brendan’s dad had been in a dark mood for days, but the exhibit was working its magic on him. At last, some of the scowl lines were easing from his forehead. ‘Your father has done an amazing job, Ivy. This whole exhibit is gorgeous.’ He sighed. ‘It’s such a rich history that our kind has. I forget that sometimes.’

  ‘You have to see this next piece.’ Forcing herself to move as if this really were nothing more than a casual wander, Ivy led him to a velvet cushion around the next corner.