12 Stake Out - My Sister the Vampire Read online

  Ivy shook her head. It was time to focus. ‘How does this blogger know the truth about vampires?’

  ‘And why does he or she want to expose them?’ Olivia asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Ivy said. ‘But I know one thing for sure.’ She folded her arms, glaring at the blog on her computer screen as if she could laser it with her eyes. ‘It’s lucky I came back when I did.’

  My Sister the Vampire: Stake Out first published in Great Britain 2012

  by Egmont UK Limited

  239 Kensington High Street

  London W8 6SA

  Copyright © Working Partners Ltd 2012

  Created by Working Partners Limited, London WC1X 9HH

  ISBN 978 1 4052 5988 0

  eISBN 978 1 7803 1123 4

  www.egmont.co.uk

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  With special thanks to Stephanie Burgis

  For Jade. Oldest and best friends forever!

  Sink your fangs into these:

  Switched

  Fangtastic!

  Revamped!

  Vampalicious

  Take Two

  Love Bites

  Lucky Break

  Star Style

  Twin Spins!

  Date with Destiny

  Flying Solo

  Contents

  Cover

  Title page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Sink your fangs into these

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Twin Talk!

  Chapter One

  ‘Strawberry cupcake with pink glitter frosting?’

  Ivy Vega had to resist the urge to curl her lips in disgust as Holly thrust an absurdly colourful cake in her face.

  ‘Er, thanks, but no,’ Ivy muttered. There’s only so much pink I can be near without coming out in hives.

  Holly’s smile didn’t falter. It never did. ‘Maybe later!’ she chirruped, before moving on round the group with her platter. It looked like a rainbow that had fallen to earth and shattered on to the plate in the form of colourful cakes.

  Sunshine streamed on to the bright green grass of Franklin Grove’s park but, for once, vampire Ivy didn’t mind it one bit. She was just glad to be back in her home town in time to enjoy the last of the summer before school started again. With her twin sister Olivia, her boyfriend Brendan and all their friends happily picnicking around her, Ivy couldn’t have felt further from the dark, ancient Transylvanian halls of the super-snooty Wallachia Academy for Vampires. And she couldn’t have been happier about that, especially now that Brendan had recovered from the illness that had brought her racing back to Franklin Grove.

  He’d had a seriously bad reaction to the oxymistine in his Taurus Bars – the energy snacks he’d been eating – with dire consequences. It was only because of Ivy’s skills with essential herbs – learnt from the Transylvanian gardener, Helga – that she’d been able to save his life.

  There was just one thing that could have made their celebration picnic even better: if Ivy had been allowed to talk about everything she was celebrating! Unfortunately, Olivia’s new friend Holly was sharing the picnic and, as a certified ‘bunny’ who knew nothing of vampires, she couldn’t be allowed to know the secret.

  It’s called the First Law of the Night for a reason, Ivy thought.

  ‘Come on, everyone! Try them!’ Holly had arrived back in front of Ivy and pressed a fairy cake into her hands. ‘Olivia is such an amazing baker!’

  Ivy blinked as she accepted the same pastel cupcake she’d turned down only a moment earlier. ‘When you said “Maybe later”, I didn’t think . . .’ She trailed off, feeling a mean sentence forming. Then she frowned. ‘Did Olivia really make these?’ For almost as long as Ivy had known her, Olivia had been a total klutz in the kitchen.

  Ivy’s twin shook her head, laughing. ‘Trust me, I’m not that good,’ she said. ‘I actually got a lot of help from –’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Holly said. ‘These cakes are all you!’ She turned to the rest of the group, flipping her long blonde hair back and setting one hand on the hip of her jeans. Embroidered flowers swirled down her legs like a walking garden, stitched in such bright colours they made Ivy’s eyes hurt. ‘Don’t listen to her, you guys! You know how she’s always so modest.’

  Brendan smiled politely, and their vampire friend Sophia was barely bothering to pretend that she was listening. Olivia’s bunny friend Camilla gave a distracted ‘Hmm’. Her blue eyes were unfocused beneath her artistic beret, and she was clearly too busy mentally storyboarding her next movie to care about the finer points of cupcake baking.

  Ivy felt herself frown. I know my own sister. Olivia definitely got some help from someone else. Perhaps their bio-dad’s fiancée, Lillian?

  It didn’t really matter who had helped – that wasn’t what made Ivy narrow her eyes as she watched Holly going round the group with the platter like a door-to-door saleswoman. No, the real problem was . . .

  Why is Holly talking about Olivia as if she’s known her forever ? When Ivy had left for Transylvania, Holly hadn’t even lived in Franklin Grove.

  ‘Hey! Earth to Ivy.’ Brendan scooted closer, pulling a Tupperware box out of his backpack. ‘Olivia’s not the only one who’s been baking.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’ve turned into a master chef too.’ Ivy took the box and started to peel back the lid as Holly started an enthusiastic conversation with the rest of the group about pastries. ‘I wasn’t gone that long – Oh !’ Ivy’s mouth dropped open. Inside were the most perfect, smooth orbs of sugary almond goodness. ‘Macaroons! For me?’

  Brendan grinned, his dark hair flopping over his forehead. ‘Don’t you think I know what you like?’

  Ivy shook her head, amazed. Instead of the usual pinks and greens, these macaroons were blood red. Gorgeous. Ivy sighed in wonder – each macaroon was wrapped in its own ribbon, and each ribbon had bats printed on it. Brendan knows me so well, she thought. These are perfect.

  ‘I just wanted to do something really special to welcome you back from Transylvania,’ said Brendan. Then he smiled. ‘I kinda missed you, you know.’

  ‘Me too,’ Ivy said, her throat suddenly tight.

  She’d gone to Wallachia Academy to keep her grandparents happy and have a ‘proper’ vampire education, but it hadn’t taken long for her to realise that it had been a big mistake. Her uber-traditional grandparents might never understand, but Ivy knew that a boarding school thousands of miles from her twin and her boyfriend could never be the right place for her.

  She wanted to tell Brendan this, but she knew she was skating on the thin ice of Lake Mushy. Quickly, she unwrapped a macaroon. As Brendan watched, grinning, she took a big bite. Her teeth caught on something cold and sharp.

  ‘Ow!’ She spat whatever it was out on to a napkin – then stared. It was a bat-shaped ring. Brendan had hidden it in the macaroon! The writing inscribed across its wings read: I’m batty for you.

  ‘Oh, ouch,’ Ivy groaned. She couldn’t help wincing, even as she saw her boyfriend’s grin widen. ‘Since when are you so pun-ny?’

  He shrugged. ‘I guess something came over me while you were gone.’

  Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘Like a fungus?’

  ‘Or a pun-gus.’ Brendan smirked shamelessly.

  ‘Hmm.’ She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Tell me the truth. Were you really sick? Or was it just a bad case of a-pun-dicitis?’

  Brendan snorted. ‘If it was, it must have been contagious.’

  Ivy shook her head. ‘That’s it,’ she said, in between giggles. ‘I’m stopping now before the contagion spreads any further.’

  ‘Just don’t go away again,’ Brendan said, placing an arm around her shoulders. ‘Then we should all stay safe.’

  ‘Got it.’ Ivy slipped the ring on the ring finger of her right hand. A perfect fit.

  Brendan bumped shoulders with her. ‘I know,’ he said, ‘you don’t like loads of mush and romance.’

  ‘To say the least,’ Ivy said firmly. Still, she couldn’t help stroking one finger over the little face of the bat on her ring. She looked up into Brendan’s eyes and found him grinning at her.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I thought your return home was important enough to mark, but from now on –’ Brendan crossed his heart – ‘I promise, you’re going to be totally ignored and overlooked. Just the way you like it.’

  ‘You better,’ said Ivy, biting the insides of her cheeks to keep a dumb smile off her face. ‘I have something for you too.’

  Nearby, Camilla jumped up, breaking into the Great Pastry Debate. ‘Come on, guys! Split into two groups, and pretend those sticks over there are swords. I need to figure out the choreography for my fight scene! Ivy, are you two on-board?’

  ‘Not this time.’ Ivy waved Camilla off. As the others took up formations under Camilla’s direction, laughing and fencing with the sticks they’d picked up from the grass, Ivy and Brendan scooted to a more sheltered spot. As soon as they were safely out of cupcake range – and, she hoped, out of sight as well – Ivy reached into her black rucksack and pulled out the gift she’d felt almost too embarrassed to bring along. She didn’t want any observers for this one.

  ‘The Dead Travel Fast ?’ Brendan said. Now he was the one gaping in amazement. ‘This is my favourite book!’

  ‘I know that, dummy.’ Ivy rolled her eyes as she dropped it in his lap, glad she had her back turned to the others. ‘Do you think I would have got it otherwise? It’s a first edition copy.’

  ‘A first edition, huh?’ Brendan raised his eyebrows in mock outrage. ‘Ivy Vega, you are a total fraud. You may pretend to be tough, but inside you are as soft as Holly’s cupcakes.’

  ‘Whatever!’ Ivy groaned. But she didn’t resist when he pulled her into a quick hug.

  Wow. Olivia hid a grin as she quickly looked away from Ivy and Brendan. I’ve never seen Ivy so loved-up ! Usually her sister put on such a front of carelessness; sometimes it could be hard even for Olivia to guess at her feelings. Right now, though, Ivy and Brendan were smiling into each other’s faces with pure delight.

  It must be true love, Olivia thought. Of course, true love is easy. Not like me and Jackson, with all the distance and . . .

  ‘Excellent!’ Camilla said, and waved for everyone to set down their ‘swords’. ‘That’ll definitely work on-screen.’

  Olivia hid a smile. That was Camilla – she might have spent the last half hour in a world of her own, caught up by the new movie idea in her head, but now that she was wide awake, she was back in full director-mode. Olivia didn’t mind being bossed about a bit to make her friend happy, though. Camilla had been partly responsible for Olivia meeting her ex-boyfriend, Jackson, when they’d got jobs on a film set in Franklin Grove.

  Jackson . . . Don’t think about him !

  ‘Let’s play Frisbee!’ Olivia called, looking for any distraction she could find.

  As the group arranged themselves to play the new game, she caught Ivy’s eye and the two of them smiled. Ivy’s back where she belongs, Olivia thought. Camilla’s in boss-mode. Brendan’s healthy. Everything’s back to normal.

  Almost . . .

  ‘Catch!’ Brendan called, as he threw the Frisbee. It arced over Holly’s head. The new girl jumped into the air, but she missed it by at least three metres. The Frisbee landed just short of the park gates, and Holly’s shoulders slumped.

  Olivia shook her head. That’s a really short throw, for Brendan ! Normally, Brendan would have been able to throw that Frisbee way out of the park with his vampire super-strength. Not that any of them could let on about this in front of Holly – vampire secrets needed to stay just that. Olivia was lucky to be in on the secret, but she had to keep it, just like the vampires did.

  Some of the group couldn’t resist a bit of teasing, though. ‘Not back up to your usual strength yet, Brendan?’ Ivy teased.

  ‘Maybe you need a bit more rest, huh?’ their friend Sophia added, laughing as Brendan flushed.

  Holly’s voice cut through all the teasing: ‘What are you guys talking about?’

  Uh-oh, Olivia thought. She turned and saw her new friend staring at the rest of them as if they were speaking gibberish.

  ‘That went really fast and really far,’ Holly said, looking over her shoulder. ‘How could he ever throw further than that ?’

  ‘Oh, that was just . . .’ Olivia said, her words falling away into a long, drawn-out ‘uuhhhh’ sound, ‘ . . . an inside joke!’

  Holly smiled uncertainly back at her. ‘Oh, OK. Um, yeah, funny . . . I’ll just go get the Frisbee.’

  Guilt tightened Olivia’s chest as Holly walked away, the embroidered flowers on her jeans glinting in the sunlight. Olivia knew all too well what it was like to feel an outsider in Franklin Grove. The last thing she wanted was to make her new friend feel that way.

  As she turned back to the others, she saw the vampires in their group – Ivy, Brendan and Sophia – exchanging warning glances. The First Law of the Night said their existence must never be revealed to outsiders. Holly wasn’t like Camilla, who’d lived around vampires for years and no longer noticed or questioned the fact that her classmates could run super-fast. Holly was new to Franklin Grove. She was a true outsider.

  And she was smart.

  As Holly picked up the Frisbee, Ivy walked quickly over to Olivia. Something sparkled on her hand, catching Olivia’s attention.

  ‘Oh, wow. Ivy, did Brendan just give you a –’

  ‘Why did you invite her along?’ Ivy interrupted. ‘I thought we were supposed to be relaxing with the gang today. Now I have to be super-cautious so that Holly doesn’t guess anything. One little bit of teasing and she’s already starting in with the awkward questions.’

  Olivia suddenly didn’t feel like complimenting her sister on her gift any more. ‘You know, Ivy, you didn’t have to tease Brendan in front of her . . .’

  ‘I just wanted to have a bit of fun with my boyfriend!’ Ivy protested. ‘Is that off-limits now, with her around?’

  ‘Oh, come on!’ Olivia crossed her arms over her pale pink minidress, her guilt turning into irritation. ‘I’m not going to just dump Holly now that you’re back. She was really supportive when you were away. You should try to be nice to her.’

  ‘I don’t mind being nice,’ Ivy said. ‘But I’ve only just come home. Can’t I take one day to relax and be myself?’

  ‘You are in the middle of a public park,’ Olivia said, as a jogger ran past them, and a pair of dogs barked madly from the other end of the field. ‘You guys couldn’t show off your super-skills that much here anyway.’

  ‘But – oh, never mind. Here she comes.’ Ivy went back to her place in the park, her scowl just as black as her Shadowtown T-shirt and combat trousers.

  Brendan threw Olivia a questioning glance. She shook her head as if to say all was good, which it was – the twins never truly fell out. Olivia wasn’t sure they were capable!

  The group carried on playing, but the atmosphere had definitely changed. When Holly threw the Frisbee to Sophia, Sophia made a hopelessly pathetic attempt to run for it and then gave up, mournfully shaking her head. Even a human could have run faster than that. Olivia saw Ivy grimace at Sophia’s play, but even Ivy knew the rules. When Brendan threw her the Frisbee overhand, she barely even tried to reach for it. And when Camilla yelled that she had to be getting home soon, all the vampires in the group slumped with obvious relief.

  ‘Oh, do we have to stop?’ Holly said. She was panting with effort, the sleeves of her peasant-style blouse rolled up above her elbows, but she waved the Frisbee enticingly. ‘Come on, we were just getting warmed up!’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Sophia, collapsing gracefully to the ground. ‘I’m, erm . . . winded.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Ivy dropped to the ground, groaning. ‘I couldn’t take any more exercise.’

  ‘Well, OK then.’ Holly sighed and set down the Frisbee.

  Thank goodness, Olivia thought, as they all sank back down on to the picnic blanket and the grass around it. Now we can be normal again. And maybe, she thought, as she saw Holly give Ivy a hopeful smile, Ivy and Holly can finally have a real conversation.

  Olivia knew Ivy would like Holly if she only gave her a chance. After all, the first time Olivia and Holly had met, Holly had reminded her of her sister! They were both so strong and smart, and both completely determined to launch their writing careers. While Ivy wanted to be an investigative journalist, Holly wanted to become a travel journalist. In fact, Holly had been really keen to interview Ivy about her time in Transylvania. It was almost as though Holly had Ivy on a pedestal!

  And now all Ivy can do is ignore her, Olivia thought. Wrapped up in Brendan, Ivy hadn’t even noticed Holly’s smile, much less returned it.

  Maybe once a real conversation started, though, they would finally connect.

  ‘That was just like a scene in that hot new vampire book, Bare Throats at Sunset, wasn’t it?’ Holly said, as she knelt back down on the picnic blanket. ‘You know, when all the friends play a game of touch football, just before one of them –’ she lowered her voice dramatically – ‘succumbs to the vampire’s bite!’

  ‘Oh my gosh, you’re totally right!’ Camilla exclaimed. She had been lying down, but now she popped up again, her blonde curls springing in all directions. ‘Do you remember that book, Ivy? It’s the one I found through that cult reading group I joined – it picks out books no one else has ever heard of. It would make a fantastic movie!’