Re-Vamped! (13 page)

Ms.
Deborg stopped abruptly. Without turning around, she said, “I suppose,” with a
hint of disapproval. Then she and Mr. Boros disappeared down the hallway, while
Ivy’s father silently bowed his head and climbed the stairs.

In the
living room, Ivy wrapped Olivia in a hug. “I’m sorry I got you into this,” she
said. “I don’t know how you could ever forgive me.”

Somehow,
seeing Ivy so torn up made Olivia feel less dire. “Forgive you?” Olivia said.
“You’re the coolest thing that ever happened to me.”

Ivy
responded with a familiar eye roll.

“Are
you kidding?” Olivia answered, straightening her pink sweatshirt. “What do you
think—I find out I have a vampire twin all the time? Besides,” she went on, “if
this is really about whether I’m worthy to know the vampire secret, then we
don’t have anything to worry about. I have a right to know. After all, it’s
where I came from, too.”
Whoa,
Olivia thought.
That all actually
makes sense.
All of a sudden, she wasn’t so afraid of the tests.

“No
matter what,” Ivy said in a determined voice, “I won’t let them do anything
grim to you. Even if something happens, I’ll figure out a way to stop them from
erasing your memory. I’m not leaving your side for a second.”

“Sounds
good,” Olivia grinned.

Ivy
got a mischievous look in her eye, and Olivia could almost hear the gears
turning inside her sister’s head. “There’s a secret escape passageway in the
back of the pantry, and we could always sneak you out that way.” She started
waving her black-nailed hands in the air. “We could even switch if we had to.
We could run down to my room right now and put on matching outfits!”

Olivia
put her hand gently on her sister’s arm. “I’m not going to run, Ivy,” she said.
“I’m going to do what it takes to pass. I’m going to prove I’m worthy of the
Blood Secret once and for all.”

“We
shall see,” a cool voice intoned. Nearly jumping out of her sneakers, Olivia
turned to see that Valencia Deborg had appeared in the doorway. “The time has
come for the First Test,” she announced.

Olivia
and Ivy exchanged nervous glances. Ms. Deborg gestured for them to follow her,
and before Olivia knew it the vampire official was disappearing down the hall.
On the main stairs, Olivia and Ivy had to take the steps two at a time to catch
up.

Ms.
Deborg led them to the same guest room that had the bathroom where they’d done
their final shots for
Vamp
magazine. Against one wall was what looked
like a dresser covered by a dark purple velvet sheet. Valencia Deborg pulled
the sheet off with a flourish, revealing a black lacquered coffin.

“The
Test of Darkness!” she announced dramatically. Olivia’s heart flooded with
fear.
Who’s in there?
she thought. When she glanced at her sister, Ivy
just shrugged nervously.

“You
must spend the entire night in this coffin,” Ms. Deborg explained at last,
“from dusk until dawn.”

“No
way,” Olivia said under her breath.

“Way,”
Ms. Deborg replied without a hint of humor. She glanced toward the window,
where the sun had already begun setting. “There is not much time,” she said,
and gestured for Olivia to go change.

A
minute later, Olivia was standing alone in front of the same ornate mirror
where she’d stood posing with her sister, except this time she was alone,
wearing her sunflower pajamas, and brushing her teeth nervously.

I
don’t want to be shut in a box all night,
she thought,
even if it does have a plush velvet
interior . . . but I don’t want to lose my sister even more.

When
she emerged from the bathroom, Ivy and Ms. Deborg were waiting beside the open
coffin expectantly. A laugh escaped from Ivy’s mouth.

“What?”
Olivia inquired.

“Killer
pajamas,” Ivy teased.

“It is
time,” Ms. Deborg interrupted. Olivia walked up to the coffin. There was a
little step stool to help her up, and she climbed inside. She lay down on her
back and tucked her clammy hands at her sides.

“Does
this thing have a nightlight?” she tried to joke.

Instead
of answering, Ms. Deborg pulled down the lid. The last thing Olivia saw was her
sister’s worried face, and then . . . nothing but darkness.

Olivia
strained to hear her sister’s or Ms. Deborg’s voice outside the coffin, but it
was eerily silent. All she could hear was her own panicked breathing. She tried
to make out the ruffles in the upholstery that she knew were inches from her
face, but she couldn’t. She raised a shaking hand slowly to touch the lid.

You’re
okay,
she told
herself.
It’s just the dark. Nothing can hurt you.
Her mind started to
wander.
You’re just in a coffin. Used by vampires. Who happen to drink
blood.
Suddenly she could hear the loud, quick thuds of her own heart
beating, and she had the urge to throw open the coffin and run out of the house
screaming.

Instead,
Olivia decided to try not to focus on where she was and count sheep. At first,
they were all white. Then, without even thinking about it, they became black
sheep. And, pretty soon, they started flying.

By the
time she got to thirty-four, Olivia realized she was counting bats—which, for
some reason, gave her the worst case of the giggles ever.

In an
effort to stop her mind from playing tricks on her, Olivia tried to think of
nice people: Ivy, her parents, Camilla, Sophia. After a few seconds, she felt
herself relaxing. Actually, the coffin was surprisingly comfortable. She even
had enough room to turn on her side. She started worrying about what tomorrow’s
tests were going to be, but then she thought,
I thought this test was going
to be a total nightmare, but it’s not so bad,
and felt herself drifting off
to sleep.

Olivia
was awakened suddenly by a flood of light. She covered her eyes with her hands,
peeking out between her fingers.

Out of
the corner of her eyes she registered that she was surrounded by purple velvet
and absentmindedly started rubbing her toe against it. Then she saw a
black-lacquered edge, which made her think of Mr. Vega’s decorating. She lazily
turned her head from side to side.
I slept pretty well,
she thought with
a yawn,
considering I’m in a coffin.

The
pale, gaunt face of Valencia Deborg appeared above her. The vampire’s lips were
moving, but for a second Olivia couldn’t work out what she was saying. “Olivia
Abbott,” she finally made out, “you have passed the First Test, the Test of
Darkness.”

Olivia
sat upright and clapped like she’d just finished a cheer. She looked around to
catch her sister’s eye, but Ms. Deborg was the only person there.

“Once
you have changed, report to the upstairs landing,” Ms. Deborg said sternly
before sweeping out of the room.

Olivia
rushed to wash her face, brush her teeth, and throw on her clothes. She raced
down the hall to the stairs, expecting to see Ivy. Instead, Mr. Boros was
standing there alone.

“Good
morning,” he said. The few remaining hairs on his head were sticking out at all
angles and he was wearing the same rumpled suit he’d worn yesterday. Olivia
figured he must have slept in an extra coffin in the attic or something.

Olivia
followed him down the stairs to the breakfast room, where Valencia Deborg was
ready, wearing a fresh dark-red and purple kimono and holding a tall glass
filled with pink frothy liquid. “Your breakfast.”

Olivia’s
heart jumped.
It’s the memory-erasure concoction!
“But I thought I
passed!” she sputtered.

Ms.
Deborg frowned. “You would rather have Marshmallow Platelets?”

“No,”
Olivia said, “but I don’t want to drink a memory-loss smoothie, either.”

Ms.
Deborg and Mr. Boros both looked at her cluelessly.

“Oh!”
Mr. Boros said finally. “She thinks . . . No, no, young lady, this is a
real
strawberry smoothie. Made especially for you.”

“Really?”
Olivia peered into the glass.

“Cross
my neck and hope to die,” Ms. Deborg pledged without smiling.

Sitting
down, Olivia took a tentative sip. It was super delicious. All at once she
realized she was ravenous and began gulping through the straw.

Halfway
through, she started to get a brain freeze headache that made her take a break.
“Where’s Ivy?” she wondered aloud.

Mr.
Boros and Ms. Deborg exchanged glances. “She’s not here,” Mr. Boros said.

“Where’d
she go?” Olivia asked.

“How
should we know?” Ms. Deborg answered blankly.

Olivia
ducked her head to finish her smoothie.
That’s strange,
she thought
.
Ivy promised she’d stay close by. Maybe she’s working on one of those
contingency plans of hers, like preparing an escape route out a second-floor
window.

After
her smoothie, Ms. Deborg presented Olivia with a piece of toast with red jam.
As Olivia ate it, she started to get nervous for her next test.
Don’t worry,
she told herself.
Ivy will definitely be back for that.
She ate her
toast more and more slowly until just a few bites were left. She didn’t want to
finish it until her sister showed up. Finally, Ms. Deborg took the plate away
and gestured for Olivia to follow her and Mr. Boros. They led her back up to
the second floor and down the hall to Mr. Vega’s study.

As the
vampire officials proceeded into the room ahead of her, Olivia could see Mr.
Vega waiting in the corner next to the enormous globe. She froze in the doorway
and scanned the rest of the room. Ivy wasn’t there. She planted her feet. “I
want to know where Ivy is,” she demanded.

Ms.
Deborg glared down at her. “I told you; we don’t know where she is.”

“I
don’t believe you,” Olivia said. Everybody just stared at her.

Ivy’s
father cleared his throat. “Ivy mentioned that she was going out with Brendan
for the morning. She said she’d be back in time for the Third Test.” He looked
away.

Ms.
Deborg ruffled an enormous kimono sleeve and a sleek black watch appeared on
her slender wrist. She looked at it impatiently. “We must proceed with the
Second Test at once.”

Olivia
shook her head. “Ivy promised she’d stay with me. She wouldn’t break a promise
like that.”

“Are
you saying you are unwilling to proceed?” Mr. Boros asked sternly.

Olivia
hesitated.
Ivy swore she’d be here,
she thought,
and she’s not. What
if they’ve done something to her?

“I
guess I am.” Olivia gulped. “At least, I am until Ivy shows up.”

There
was silence. Then Olivia thought she saw the slightest hint of a smile appear
on Mr. Vega’s face.

“Olivia
Abbott,” Ms. Deborg announced, “you have passed the Second Test, the Test of
Faith.”

“Huh?”
Olivia said. Mr. Boros slipped out of the room and returned with Ivy, who
looked more frustrated than a cheerleader who had fallen during a tumbling
routine.

“They
wouldn’t let me in!” Ivy shook Mr. Boros off and ran up to Olivia. “Are you
okay?”

“I’m
okay,” Olivia said. “Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh,”
Ivy answered.

“I was
so worried!” Olivia told her.

Ivy
nodded in agreement. “What happened?”

“I
passed the Second Test.” Olivia shrugged.

“The
Test of Faith,” Mr. Boros said in his nasal voice, “is passed when the
applicant shows complete faith in the vampire who vouched for her.”

“I
knew something was wrong,” Olivia began, “because you said—”

“I
wouldn’t leave your side for a second.” Ivy grinned. She and Olivia high-fived.
“Only one more nail to seal this coffin!” Ivy said excitedly.

“The
Third, and final, Test,” Ms. Deborg said solemnly, “is the Test of Blood.”

Olivia
clutched her stomach. The thought of drinking blood totally made her want to
puke. “You mean I have to drink ...?” She couldn’t even bring herself to finish
the question.

“That
would be a Test of Fortitude, wouldn’t it?” Ms. Deborg deadpanned.

“Of
course we’d never make a human drink blood,” assured Mr. Boros. “No, no, the
Test of Blood merely refers to
your
blood, Olivia.”

“What?”
Olivia croaked.

Valencia
ruffled a sleeve, revealing a huge ruby ring that glinted on her finger. She
approached Olivia and pressed the sides of the enormous ring. The ruby popped
open to reveal what looked like the sharp point of a thumbtack. Ms. Deborg
extended her other hand, palm up, expectantly.

Olivia
took a step backward. “What do I have to do?”

Instead
of answering, Ms. Deborg curled the tips of her fingers invitingly.

Olivia
reached behind her back and gripped Ivy’s hand for moral support. Then she shut
her eyes tight and reached out with her free hand. She felt Valencia Deborg’s
cool fingers close around her index finger.