‘I didn’t imagine it, I swear! It was so fast, it looked like a ghost, or . . .’ Olivia’s voice cut off into a squeak as the shape blurred past her again, this time moving in the opposite direction.
‘Hmm.’ Ivy’s eyes narrowed as she tracked the blurred figure with her gaze. ‘OK, you’re not imagining this one. But trust me, that’s no ghost . . . and you have nothing to worry about.’
‘Huh?’ Olivia blinked.
But before she could ask her twin for an explanation, the shape whizzed towards them again, superhumanly fast . . . then came to a sudden halt at the table.
Olivia let out a sigh of relief as the figure pulled up his black ninja hood, revealing the smiling face of Ivy’s boyfriend, Brendan Daniels. No wonder he’d been superhumanly fast – he had been using his vamp super-speed!
Ivy wasn’t smiling, though. ‘What were you thinking?’ she hissed to her boyfriend. ‘I know it’s Halloween and you’re dressed like a ninja, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like one. You can’t let anyone see you using your powers!’
Brendan gave her a cheeky grin. ‘I’ve got it covered, trust me. My cousin Maya’s here, and she’s dressed like a ninja, too. If any bunnies happen to see one of us cover too much ground too quickly, we can just explain it away by pointing out that there are two of us. Genius, huh?’
Ivy rolled her eyes even as she reached out to take his hand. ‘Yes, fine, but you should still be careful.’
‘Oof!’ Brendan winced and pulled his hand free. ‘You’re giving me super-strong hand squeezes now? OK, you’ve made your point!’ Laughing, he gave her a mock-salute. ‘But right now, the Ninja of Doom has more people to scare and more justice to serve. Beware the Ninja!’ Cackling, he pulled his hood up and dived back into the crowd.
Olivia tucked her hand into her sister’s arm as Ivy watched him go, a mixture of affection and exasperation on her face.
‘Some vamps do take advantage of Halloween,’ Ivy said. ‘I guess it’s the one day of the year when we’re not the strangest people in the room.’
Olivia grinned and nudged her. ‘Come on, admit it. You totally thought that was cute.’
‘I know!’ Ivy groaned. ‘It’s terrible!’ Shaking her head, she started walking again, arm-in-arm with Olivia. ‘I just wish I didn’t have vamp hearing tonight.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I can hear greasy Josh and his band out in the hallway,’ Ivy said glumly, ‘and they’re definitely plotting some kind of stunt. I just can’t tell exactly what . . .’
A sudden wave of piercing cold swept through the room. Ivy stopped speaking and Olivia shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. Goosebumps popped out all over her skin. Gasps and murmurs ran through the crowd.
Shivering, Olivia tucked herself closer to her sister . . . just as an eerie wind rushed over their heads, trailing a high, unearthly sound almost like a wail:
‘Aaahhhhhhh!’
All the doors and windows of the café suddenly flew open with a bang, curtains billowing in the October chill.
Whoa. All the air seemed to suck itself out of the room, leaving Olivia breathless, as she waited with the rest of the guests for the big reveal.
What was about to step through those open doors? And how had Camilla managed that incredible effect?
But the doorway was completely empty . . . and a moment later, the doors and windows slammed shut again, all at once.
‘Oooohhhhh!’ The crowd let out a joint sigh of wonder . . . and fear.
Nervous giggles broke out along with gasps and excited chatter. But a moment later, applause rang through the room as the air suddenly turned warm again.
‘Wow.’ Even Olivia joined in the applause, clapping just as enthusiastically as her twin. ‘Camilla really outdid herself with that one.’
Ivy nodded, beaming. ‘The sound that that wind made was so creepy!’
‘It actually wailed,’ Olivia said. ‘Just like . . .’ Her hands shot up with surprise as she remembered: ‘Just like that silly horoscope of Reiko’s. Remember what it said? “The wailing winds of memory”, or something like that.’
Ivy snorted. ‘I’d already forgotten that silly thing.’
Olivia smiled at her twin’s grumpy rejoinder, but inwardly, she wondered. Did the horoscope actually predict our future?
As the guests began to file out, Olivia went in hunt of Camilla, along with Ivy and Reiko, to give her the congratulations she deserved. When they found her, she was surrounded by a group of admirers, while Lillian smiled proudly in the background at her young protégé. Dressed as a Parisian film director, complete with clipboard and sunglasses, Camilla beamed at them all, her blonde curls springing out from underneath her beret.
‘Did you really like it?’
‘It was awesome!’ Reiko said, bouncing on her toes with excitement. ‘The best Halloween party ever!’
‘It really was amazing,’ Olivia said. ‘Especially that last effect, with the wind and the doors and windows. How did you pull that off?’
‘A true artist never gives away her secrets, Olivia. Surely you know that!’
Olivia frowned at her friend – Camilla had half-turned when she spoke, as if she was addressing the guests filing out of Café Creative, rather than her.
Hmm. Olivia frowned. Is Camilla hiding something?
But it wasn’t until the rest of the crowd had dispersed and the four girls were the only ones left in the café that Camilla’s bright smile finally slipped. She turned back and fixed Olivia with a stare that was not freaked out as much as it was confused.
‘What’s wrong?’ Olivia asked.
Moaning, Camilla slumped into an abandoned chair and buried her face in her hands. ‘That last effect totally freaked me out,’ she groaned. ‘Because the truth is, it had nothing to do with me!’
Olivia felt goosebumps rising along her arms. ‘But if you didn’t do it . . . who did?’
Chapter Four
Olivia was still yawning as she left her house the next morning. Every time she’d fallen asleep last night, she’d been woken by memories of the spooky events at Café Creative. The strange girl in the red Victorian costume, the wind that had wailed through the room, slamming doors and giving everyone chills.
If the Halloween party’s big finish hadn’t been one of Camilla’s planned effects, then who – or what – could have caused it?
When Camilla had admitted the truth, Olivia’s first thought had been: Ghost!
It was the first thing she’d asked Ivy about as they’d left the museum last night.
‘Who knows if ghosts exist?’ Ivy had shrugged, not looking nearly as freaked out as Olivia felt. ‘Vampires have been debating for a long time whether there might be any other “paranormal” creatures. There have always been stories, but no proof. And besides . . .’ She’d given Olivia a mischievous look, shadows falling over her face as they stepped outside. ‘What we felt in there seemed more like a poltergeist to me!’
‘A what?’ Olivia had squeaked.
But their different family cars had been waiting for them, and she hadn’t had time to get more out of her twin.
The moment she’d gotten home, though, she’d Googled the word “poltergeist” . . . and this morning, she was seriously regretting it! A ghost was alarming enough to think about, but an invisible ghost, intent on causing trouble, was a truly terrible thought!
No more late-night Internet searches for scary things, she ordered herself now, as she made her way up Undertaker Hill towards Ivy’s house. She had made sure to get there earlier than usual.
Ivy wore a serious frown as she let Olivia inside. Glancing down the hallway, Olivia saw that, for the first time ever, the kitchen door was firmly shut.
‘What’s going on?’ Olivia whispered. She couldn’t stop staring at the closed kitchen door. Normally so inviting, it looked weirdly ominous now . . . especially since she could hear the faint sound of adult voices arguing behind it.
‘Dad’s convened a meeting,’ Ivy
said glumly. ‘All the adult vamps in the neighbourhood were invited . . . but only the adults.’ She sighed. ‘Can you believe it? The whole community’s on edge about what happened last night, like it was some really big deal. I’m almost sure – they think it was a ghost.’
‘Whoa . . .’ Olivia’s eyes widened as she shut the front door behind her. ‘This is all very hard to get my head around.’
Ivy snorted, sweeping her long, dark hair back over her shoulder. ‘Tell me about it!’
‘Ahem.’ The kitchen door opened, and their bio-dad stepped outside, giving them both a stern look.
Olivia winced. Even Ivy made a face.
‘Whoops,’ Ivy mumbled. ‘I guess, of all people, I should really know better than to whisper about anybody in our family when they’re within a mile of me!’
‘That would be very sensible,’ Charles said. ‘But since you two are standing around talking about us . . .’ Eyebrows raised, he waved them into the kitchen. ‘You might as well join us.’
Trading an uncertain look, the twins followed after him.
There were four adults sitting at the table: Lillian, Albert from the museum, and Brendan’s dad, Marc, and aunt, Carla. Their normally pale faces were all flushed, a sign of stress in vampires, and their red drinks all sat untouched in front of them.
Lillian gave the girls a quick, strained smile and patted the empty seats on either side of her. Olivia slid in gratefully beside her stepmother as Charles closed the kitchen door behind him.
‘You’re right,’ he said to Ivy, ‘this isn’t the usual way we handle things here in Franklin Grove. But the truth is, we’re all concerned. If what you’ve reported is true . . .’
‘And it is,’ Lillian cut in firmly. ‘I was there, Charles. I saw and felt it all.’
Charles sighed. ‘. . . then that means that one of the vampire community’s long-held and most-feared theories might be a reality.’ He collapsed into a hard-backed chair, his usually straight shoulders slumping, as he finished: ‘It’s possible ghosts and spirits do exist!’
A chill seemed to fall over the whole room at his words. The other adults looked grimmer than ever.
Olivia looked from one vamp to another. No one spoke.
Olivia swallowed hard, seeing the strain on all the vamps’ faces and feeling the urge to lighten the mood – somehow. Using all of her acting skills, she forced a grin. ‘So,’ she said. ‘Does this mean I’m about to find out that Ivy and I have a secret ghost triplet?’
But not a single vampire laughed at her joke.
Ivy looked from one uber-serious face to the next. She rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, come on!’ she said. ‘You guys all look like you’ve accidentally swallowed raw vegetables. Even if there are ghosts, what’s the big deal? We’re vampires, why should we be scared of them? Shouldn’t we be, like, rejoicing? We might not be the Weirdest Weirdoes in Franklin Grove after all!’
‘It’s complicated,’ Charles said heavily, as the other adults shifted in their seats. ‘Of course, it’s long been theorised that ghosts might exist, but no one has ever known for sure. Vampire research into spirits has been just as inconclusive as bunny research.’
‘I know,’ Ivy said impatiently, ‘but I’m looking at a tableful of scaredy-bats, and I’m confused. If the worst a ghost can do is rattle a few windows and make it a bit draughty . . .’ She shrugged. ‘What do we have to worry about?’
Charles looked deadly serious. ‘Humans,’ he said. ‘That’s what we have to worry about.’
Across the table, Marc nodded. ‘You must have noticed by now, Ivy,’ he said. ‘Any time something inexplicable happens, the bunny community starts asking questions.’
‘Looking closer at things,’ Carla added unhappily.
‘And if that happens,’ Charles finished for them, ‘then our community will be at risk of exposure . . . which is why we have to get to the bottom of this before anyone else does!’
Ivy sighed. ‘OK,’ she admitted, ‘that does make sense . . . except that no one except us even thinks it was a ghost. Or a poltergeist,’ she added, and glimpsed Olivia’s shudder in the corner of her eye.
Still, her twin backed her up. ‘It’s true,’ Olivia said. ‘They all assume that it was just a part of Camilla’s show.’
‘Ah, but you’re forgetting one very important person.’ Lillian grimaced. ‘Camilla knows it wasn’t a part of the entertainment, and not only is she a smart girl, she’s stubborn, too –when she puts on a show, she expects to be in charge of it! She’ll think and think about what could have caused last night’s incident until she drives herself crazy. Then she’ll start investigating.’
‘And once she does . . .’ Charles shook his head, thin-lipped. ‘As a whole, the vampire community does a good job of staying under the radar, but the fact is, we are living out in the open in Franklin Grove – more open than we were ever meant to be. The bunnies here have become accustomed to the fact that weird things happen in this town, but if they’re ever given a reason to think about things . . .’ He sighed. ‘They’ll realise that there was always something different about this place. And that will be the beginning of the end for us.’
Albert nodded vigorously. ‘It’s happened before, believe me! Why, I remember Prague, in 1908 . . .’
Uh-oh. Ivy propped her chin in her hand, sighing, as the old vampire got started. I can tell this is the beginning of a very long story!
Ivy wasn’t wrong. Twenty minutes later, Albert was still talking. She fixed her dad with a pleading look. Obligingly, Charles gave a pointed cough, interrupting Albert mid-monologue. ‘I’m afraid the girls are going to miss their bus if they don’t hurry.’
Albert nodded wearily. ‘Well, just don’t forget what happened,’ he said. ‘I had to flee Prague in the middle of the night! I couldn’t even bring along half of my painting supplies. And all because the locals realised I had violet eyes.’ He sighed. ‘Contact lenses were so hard to come by back then . . . and made of glass!’
‘Ouch.’ Olivia winced.
‘But things have changed now!’ Ivy rattled her fingers against the dining room table, almost desperate with impatience. ‘We have real contact lenses, for one thing. We’re not about to be chased out of town!’
‘That’s not actually what I’m worried about at the moment,’ Charles said tensely. ‘The truth is, I’m most worried about who will come in to Franklin Grove if word of this ghost gets out. If tourists start flooding in to investigate, the locals will have a very compelling reason to start looking closer. And if that happens . . .’
When Ivy boarded the school bus ten minutes later, her head was swimming with all the older vamps’ dire warnings and with Albert’s tale of woe. She slid into the seat behind Brendan, with Olivia close behind her . . . then let out a huff of frustration.
‘What’s up?’ Brendan turned around, looping his arm over the top of the seat to grin down at her. ‘C’mon, Vega. It’s too early to be grumpy.’
‘Not in our house.’ Ivy tried to ignore the clawing sensation in her stomach, but at that very moment it gave a great grumble. ‘Oh! I was so busy with the Conference of Doom, I completely forgot to grab any breakfast!’ She slumped lower in her seat. ‘Now I’m starving!’
‘Here.’ Brendan rummaged through his ragged black backpack and pulled out a snack-sized box of Marshmallow Platelets. ‘It’s not exactly a hearty meal, but at least it might keep you from getting too crabby. And that’s good for all of us.’ Winking, he passed the box to her.
‘You’re a life-saver!’ Ivy ripped the box open.
‘So how was the Conference of Doom?’ asked Brendan curiously. ‘My dad seemed pretty worried when he left for your house this morning.’
Ivy groaned and quickly filled him in on what had happened.
‘This is the worst part of being a . . . being one of us,’ she whispered to Brendan and Olivia once she’d finished. ‘You know, if anyone else at school knew about vamps, they’d probably think it’d be super-cool to have our
abilities and everything else – but that’s because they don’t know just how much stress it all comes with!’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘We’re only fourteen. Just think: when we’re older, we’re not only going to have all these same crazy worries, but we’re going to be expected to, like, do things about them!’
Olivia grinned and gave her a nudge. ‘Aren’t you forgetting? Doing things about things is kind of our . . . thing!’
Despite herself, Ivy laughed. ‘Good point, sis.’
Brendan reached over to cup his hand around her face, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb. ‘How many mysteries have you solved so far, Ivy Holmes?’
‘OK, OK.’ Still laughing, Ivy scooped out a handful of Marshmallow Platelets and bit down happily. ‘We’ll do something about this one, too, if we can . . . just as soon as we think of a good way to approach it.’
Brendan shrugged, snagging a Marshmallow Platelet. His voice muffled, he said, ‘You know, it felt more like a poltergeist than a ghost to me.’
‘Aagh!’ Olivia jumped up and grabbed him by the shoulders. ‘Will everyone please stop saying that word? Otherwise I’ll have to turn into a you-know-what and haunt you both!’
Ivy laughed so hard that she accidentally spat out her Marshmallow Platelets. ‘Look out,’ she finally gasped to Brendan. ‘Or it’ll be the Mystery of the Perky Pink Poltergeist next!’
Olivia cringed. ‘What did I just say?’
After school Olivia followed her sister down the street towards the Franklin Grove Museum.
‘We need to start at the beginning,’ Ivy was saying. ‘Whether it was an actual ghost, or there’s some rational explanation, I’m sure that we’ll find a real clue at Café Creative!’
‘A clue, hmm?’ Olivia gave her a gently chiding look. ‘You do remember you’re not wearing the deerstalker any more, right?’
‘I know. Don’t you miss it?’ Ivy heaved a mock sigh as she pushed open the big front door of the museum. ‘I kind of liked that hat, actually. Now if only I could find a black one, with bat-shaped ear flaps. I could be Goth Holmes! The latest style!’
17 Spooktacular - My Sister the Vampire Page 4
