behind Olivia, with its skull almost propped on her shoulder.
‘What?’ Olivia blinked, seemingly noticing the leftover Halloween decoration for the first time. Normally it would have grossed her out completely, but now she just sighed. ‘Shouldn’t that have been taken down by now?’
‘It has been almost a week since Halloween,’ Ivy agreed.
Olivia’s shoulders hunched. ‘I know. And tomorrow . . .’ Her green eyes filled with despair. ‘Oh, Ivy. What am I going to do?’
Ivy reached across the table to take Olivia’s hand, sympathy welling up inside her.
Tomorrow was the day that Jackson Caulfield, Hollywood megastar, was due to arrive in Franklin Grove – and since he was Olivia’s boyfriend, that would normally be a cause for celebration. But this was to be no ordinary visit . . . not after what had happened at Halloween.
Jackson had been a crucial part of the twins’ plan to chase away Gregor Gleka, TV’s infamous ‘Ghost Grabber’, from their hometown. But Jackson was too smart not to wonder why they’d been so worried about Gleka’s visit in the first place . . . He knew there was something fishy going on and had sent Olivia an email soon afterwards to ask her for an explanation. Ivy watched as her twin scrolled through Jackson’s message on her phone for, like, the nineteenth time that day. By now, even Ivy knew it by heart:
PS: I won’t ask you to do this by email, but next time I see you, I hope you’ll be ready to fill me in on all the weirdness that was going on last week. I really want to understand it. XXX
‘Do you think you can put him off again?’ Ivy asked. ‘Maybe if you say that a few of Gleka’s fans are still hanging around . . .’
‘I can’t just keep putting him off forever.’ Olivia squeezed Ivy’s hand tightly in hers. ‘But if I don’t . . .’ She dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘I’ll have to tell him the Blood Secret.’
It was the secret that Olivia herself had solemnly sworn to protect: that vampires were real and lived among humans.
And Ivy was one of them.
‘If you tell him,’ Ivy whispered back, ‘you know he’ll have to go through . . .’ She slid her glance around the busy diner and chose her words carefully. ‘. . . a certain . . . process.’
She and Olivia gave identical shudders, and Ivy knew they were both remembering the Three Tests that Olivia had been forced to go through last year – to prove that, even though she was a human, she could be trusted to keep the vampires’ secret.
‘I’m sure . . .’ Olivia paused, biting her lip. ‘I think I’m sure Jackson could handle it. But I don’t even know how to start that process.’
The papier-mâché skull shifted as someone moved further down the row of booths, until it seemed to be peering down at Olivia with hollow-eyed interest. Ivy reached out and pushed it away. ‘Look,’ she said quietly to her twin, ‘you’re going to have to take this to Dad. He’ll know what to do.’
Olivia blinked rapidly, looking close to tears. ‘He’s going to be so angry at me!’
‘Oh, Olivia.’ Ivy let go of her twin’s hand for just long enough to wriggle off her seat and hurry around the table. Sitting down next to Olivia, she wrapped one arm around her sister’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘You must know Dad well enough by now to know that he won’t blame you for this. He fell in love with a human, too, remember?’ She tipped her head against her human sister’s as she thought of the mom they’d never known. ‘I don’t know exactly how he’ll react when he finds out about this,’ she said honestly, ‘but no matter what, he won’t be angry. I promise.’
‘I guess . . .’ Olivia’s shoulders rose and fell. ‘But what if he demands that I stop seeing Jackson? I don’t know if I can do that.’
‘Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves,’ Ivy told her. ‘We’re just going to get some advice, for now. Right?’
‘Right.’ Olivia leaned back and closed her eyes.
Ivy’s chest clenched when she saw the look on her twin’s face. ‘You want to tell Jackson, no matter what,’ Ivy said. ‘Don’t you?’
Olivia opened her eyes and sat forwards again. ‘I really do.’ She picked up her fork as if she were finally going to eat, only to let it drop to the table straight away. ‘But Ivy, even if Jackson can get his head around the Blood Secret . . . do you think he’d ever forgive me for lying to him about it for almost a year?’ She looked miserable. ‘He might break up with me.’
‘Because you’re being loyal to your family?’ Ivy scowled. ‘If he can’t understand why you kept our secret, then he’s not right for you.’
And that’s no lie, Ivy thought.
Half an hour later Olivia was standing with Ivy outside their bio-dad’s house on Undertaker Hill, shivering in the cold November wind. But it wasn’t only the snow-kissed air that was sending chills through her. The big mansion at the top of Undertaker Hill had never seemed so big, so ominous, and so downright scary before.
Come on, Olivia coached herself. This is no time to be a coward!
Ivy put a reassuring arm around her. ‘It’s going to be OK. I promise.’
‘Right.’ Olivia took a deep breath. I can do this!
Squaring her shoulders, she followed Ivy through the front door and down the strangely quiet front hallway. All that Olivia could hear were the creaks and sighs of the old house’s walls, with no one in sight, until Ivy pushed open the door to the kitchen.
‘Hi, guys!’ Their stepmom stood at the kitchen counter, smiling cheerfully as she lifted one hand to wave at the twins . . . with red, gooey liquid dripping from her fingers.
‘Oh, ew . . . gross!’ Olivia’s head spun as she stumbled to a halt. ‘Is that blood? ’
‘What?’ Lillian blinked, then looked down at her crimson hands. ‘Oh!’ She laughed and grabbed a paper towel to wipe off her fingers. ‘Don’t worry! I’m just making raspberry jam. I’ve been trying out cake recipes for the big charity bake sale at Café Creative. Remember? You guys promised to give me your opinions today.’
‘Oh . . . sure! Of course.’ Olivia tried to sound like her usual perky self, even though she was feeling so sick with nerves that she got a little queasy at the thought of scarfing down any sugary treats – especially blood-coloured ones! But a promise was a promise, so she forced herself to nod, even as she braced herself for something that she wanted even less. ‘Is . . . is Dad around?’
‘I’m right here.’ Charles spoke just behind her, and Olivia jumped. He stood in the kitchen doorway, looking as elegant and formal as usual in a well-tailored black suit and tie. But as she spun around to face him, his eyebrows lowered into a concerned frown. ‘Olivia, what’s wrong?’
‘I . . .’ She swallowed hard. She knew she had to tell him the truth. She knew it! But now that the moment had actually come her chest felt so tight she
