15 Secrets and Spies - My Sister the Vampire (8 page)

‘Nothing!’ Ivy clenched her hands into fists, fighting down her panic. ‘It’s just that, with us starting high school, I know everything can get thrown up into the air. I
don’t want things between us to . . . change.’ Her voice cracked on the last word, and she clenched her jaw as she went on: ‘And talking –
clear communication
–
is the way to keep our relationship from changing, right?’

Brendan held her gaze for a long, tense moment. Then he let out a sigh, nodding slowly. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I guess it’s time.’

Ivy’s pulse began beating hard against her skin. ‘Time for what?’

But Brendan was already walking down the street, and she had to hurry to catch up with him. He had taken out his phone to type out a rapid text message to someone. Then he looked at Ivy.
‘It’s time to go to my family’s crypt.’

Ivy stopped dead in her tracks. ‘Um . . .
What?!
’

Brendan didn’t even turn around as he mumbled, ‘There are some things that you need to know.’

Like what?
Ivy wanted to demand. But she bit back the question as she followed him down the street.
He’s finally ready to give some answers . . . so I’ll
wait
to let him do it.

It was only a ten-minute walk from Brendan’s house to the massive gates of Franklin Grove Memorial Cemetery, but with every passing moment, Ivy felt even more confused. When they walked
through the gates in the growing darkness, she had to fight back a shudder. Vampire or not, the idea of something she
needed to
know being in a crypt . . .
Well, that’s more than
a little creepy!

Less than five minutes later, they were deep in the centre of the cemetery, facing the low, stone crypt of the Daniels family. As usual, the ancient building seemed to be
sinking into the ground. Three looming arches, supported by ivy-entwined pillars, formed a darkened awning. A large stone door stood beneath the centre arch, surrounded by tarnished and scowling
bronze gargoyles on either side.

In the middle of the door, an ornate square plate was carved into the stone, inscribed with a single, glowing word:

DANIELS

Ivy took a deep breath, fighting down the goosebumps that wanted to prickle across her arms.

This is ridiculous
, she told herself.
I’ve been here plenty of times. There’s nothing to be scared of.

But she’d never been brought here to be told deep, dark family secrets before . . . and Brendan had never acted quite so
mysterious
before.

As she waited, Brendan ducked under the awning and reached out to the gargoyle on the right, turning one of its giant claws.

Dull clicks and thuds echoed through the ancient stone. Finally, the enormous door slid open . . . and a shudder rippled through Ivy’s body.

When Brendan had brought her here before, it had felt
fun-
creepy, but now . . . it just felt
creepy
-creepy.

Clenching her fists more tightly, she forced down the wave of panic.
Come on. A vampire scared inside a cemetery? How crazy is that?

Breathing deeply, she followed Brendan down the bumpy, uneven steps into the darkness. Brendan pulled out a matchbox from the corner of the stairway and lit one match after another with
practised ease to light their way. The tiny flames sent leaping shadows across his face.

When they stepped into the crypt’s vast antechamber, with its cathedral-like ceiling and grooved floor, he moved to light the tall candles all around the room . . . and Ivy finally ran out
of patience.

‘Are you
ever
going to tell me why you’ve brought me here?’

‘You’ll see.’ Looking completely unruffled by her outburst, Brendan pointed to the passage on the left, where the urns of his relatives were displayed. ‘It’s all in
here,’ he said.

Ivy followed him into the passage, where a collection of ornate stone containers sat, each on its own little shelf, rising from the floor to the ceiling. The musty smell was overpowering –
but that wasn’t what made Ivy gasp.

The urn in the centre read:

MARC DANIELS

. . . Brendan’s father!

Swallowing hard, Ivy backed away. ‘What’s going on?’ Her voice came out as a squeak.

‘It’s . . . kind of a family tradition.’ Brendan shrugged, looking embarrassed. ‘See, in our family, once you reach one hundred years old, one of these is made for you.
It’s supposed to be an honour.’

‘Really?’ Ivy blinked, taking deep, slow breaths and trying to see it that way. ‘I’d never heard of families doing that.’

‘Oh, well . . .’ Brendan gave her a wry, teasing grin. ‘I’m sure the “posh” vampires, like your family, do things differently.’

‘Shut up!’ Ivy almost laughed, but she forced herself to scowl instead. ‘You’re not going to charm your way out of this.’

‘I know.’ Looking grave, Brendan stepped closer to her. ‘Please,’ he said. ‘Look again at the urns. What do you see?’

Sighing, Ivy turned back to the ‘Marc Daniels’ urn. It stood just beside another urn engraved with the name ‘Carla Daniels’.

She frowned. ‘Who’s Carla Daniels? I’ve never heard of her.’

‘She’s my mother,’ said a new voice, just behind them.

Ivy jumped almost high enough to graze her head on the ceiling.
How could I have missed someone creeping up on us?
But she knew the answer. The cemetery, then the shadowy underground
crypt had so freaked her out she was distracted again.

I am the worst vampire in the world.

Gritting her teeth, she turned to face the block of shadows behind her. A slim figure shifted in the darkness. Out of the shadow stepped . . .

Maya!

Ivy gasped as she recognised the girl in front of her, and realised that the not-a-student had been wearing a disguise all along.

Maya no longer had auburn hair or pale blue eyes. Wigs and contact lenses must have covered both of those. Now, as she stepped forwards into the candlelight, Ivy saw jet-black hair falling
around the girl’s shoulders, while her fluorescent green eyes gleamed.

Only a vampire could have eyes that bright and that unnatural.

‘Wait a minute.’ Ivy frowned. ‘Your mother is a Daniels?’
But that means . . .

Even as she started to form the thought, Brendan was already nodding. ‘This is my cousin Maya. Her mom is my dad’s sister.’

‘Ohhhh!’ Ivy’s sigh of relief was so huge, it left her sagging. Suddenly, everything made
sense
!

That
was why the pets in Lincoln Vale hadn’t barked as Maya had gone past – they’d been frightened by her, just like they were by every vampire! And best of all . .
.

‘Thank darkness,’ she said on a gasp, ‘you’re not seeing someone else!’

‘
What?
’ Brendan’s mouth dropped open as he stared at her. ‘You thought I was
cheating
on you? I would never,
ever–
!’

‘I know!’ Ivy said hastily. ‘I mean, I realise now that it was ridiculous. But come on, you’ve been acting so strange this week, and you kept on sneaking off to meet Maya
in secret.’

Brendan flushed. ‘You knew about that?’

Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘I’m a vampire, remember? Did you really think I wouldn’t overhear you guys at some point?’

‘Um . . .’ Brendan looked to the ground.

Maya winced. ‘Ah, sorry about that. I probably should have mentioned on the phone. I caught Ivy and a couple of her friends trying to follow me this afternoon. They were obviously
suspicious of something.’

‘Of course we were. All those secret phone calls, the hidden meetings . . .’ Ivy looked between the two of them, shaking her head. ‘What else was I supposed to
think?’

‘Not
that
!’ Brendan muttered.

Ivy put her hands on her hips. ‘The point is, you’ve been keeping secrets with someone else – and you
still are
.’

‘OK.’ Brendan let out a tired sigh, his shoulders relaxing. ‘Maya’s my cousin on my dad’s side, but her mom – Carla – was banished from Franklin Grove a
long time ago.’

‘Why?’ Ivy asked.

‘Oh . . .’ He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. ‘It was just this silly disagreement she had with my dad.’

Ivy frowned. ‘But what was it about?’

‘It happened a
long
time ago,’ Maya said quickly, ‘and it was no big deal, anyway. She only broke the Twenty-First Law of the Night – it wasn’t like it was
even one of the major ones.’

‘The
Twenty-First Law
of the Night?’ Ivy stared at her. ‘I never even heard of that. How many Laws
are
there?’

‘Who knows?’ Brendan shook his head. ‘All I know is, after about the Eighth Law, they get a little
too
strict.’

‘Anyway,’ Maya took over the conversation. ‘That’s why I came to your school. I had to reach out to Brendan, to see what we could do together to get my family allowed
back into Franklin Grove. Mom misses this town so much, it’s making her miserable.’

‘Aha.’ Ivy breathed a small sigh of relief as the last mystery was cleared up. ‘So that’s why the guidance counsellor didn’t know about you – because you were
never actually registered.’

‘Right . . .’ Maya hesitated, looking uncomfortable. ‘Look, I knew it was a disaster when I bumped into you near that office.’

‘You two actually bumped into each other?’ Brendan groaned and pushed one hand through his hair. ‘Our school is, like,
allergic
to secrets.’

Maya ignored him. ‘But seriously, Ivy, I never meant to come between you and Brendan.’ She shot Brendan a teasing look. ‘Do you know that my cousin talks about you all . . .
the . . . time?’

Oh, no. Don’t blush. Do NOT blush!
Ivy ordered herself.
Too late.
She could feel her cheeks burning.

Luckily, neither Brendan nor Maya seemed to have noticed in the candlelight.

‘Unfortunately, our plan isn’t going all that well,’ Brendan said. ‘My dad’s going to need a lot more convincing before he backs down.’ He gave his cousin a
guilty look. ‘Sorry, Maya.’

‘I almost don’t want to ask,’ Ivy said, ‘but what
is
the Twenty-First Law of the Night?’

Maya’s shoulders slumped. ‘I wish I knew,’ she whispered. ‘It’s caused so much trouble for my family but no one’s ever even told me what it is.’

‘What about you?’ Ivy turned to Brendan, but he was already shaking his head.

‘It all happened before I was born,’ he said. ‘Even when my dad told me the story, all he’d say about it was, “Rules are rules.”’

Ouch.
Ivy glanced between Maya’s forlorn expression and Brendan’s look of deep frustration.

‘Well, you know me,’ she said, trying to sound bright and breezy for their benefit. ‘I can never leave a good mystery alone – what kind of investigative reporter would I
be if I could?’

‘What can you do?’ Maya asked, looking doubtful.

‘I don’t know yet,’ Ivy replied, honestly.

Brendan grinned at them both. ‘If anyone can figure this out,’ he said, ‘it’s Ivy.’

Ivy felt a swell of determination at her boyfriend’s words. She
had
to put the Daniels family back together – for the sake of Marc and Carla just as much as Brendan and
Maya. If there was one thing Ivy knew from experience, it was that it was
never good
for siblings to be estranged!

As Maya started out of the tomb ahead of them, Ivy turned to Brendan, feeling a tingle of sudden nerves race through her. She’d started out this night so confused and angry, ready to end
their whole relationship if her suspicions were realised. Now they were alone again for the first time since the whole truth had come out – even the fact that she’d followed Maya to the
mall that afternoon.

He just has to understand.
She took a deep breath . . .

And Brendan’s arms closed tightly around her, warm and strong and familiar, pulling her into his hug. ‘How could you ever think I would cheat on you?’

Ivy’s eyes stung as she hugged him back. ‘I thought I’d lost you,’ she whispered into his hair.

Brendan’s reply was muffled, but she heard it clearly: ‘You could never lose me, Ivy Vega. I’m yours.’