Mixed Offspring Eats Self to Death
Monstrous Hybrid Stalks Sewers
Bat Baby Terrorizes Hospital! “W-what is all this?” Olivia stammered. “Tabloid headlines,” Ivy answered wearily. “Vamp rags are full of over-the-top stories about what happens when a human and a vamp try to have a baby.”
“They have bat babies?” Olivia said in disbelief.
“Of course not,” Ivy dismissed. “Here’s something that doesn’t sound insane,” she went on, running her cursor over a link near the bottom of the screen: “Genetic Barriers to Crossbreeding: A Scientific Study.” Ivy clicked and ended up on the Web site for something called the Vampiric Journal of Biomedical Sciences.
Olivia read the summary of the article aloud. “ ‘This V-Gen-sponsored study compares the genetic makeup of vampires and humans in order to objectively assess the possibility of successfully bearing healthy crossbreed offspring. Findings suggest that the significant differences between vampire and human DNA amount to an insurmountable obstacle of a magnitude similar to that found between canines and felines.’ ” Olivia looked at her sister. “Is it just me, or does this say that you and me are about as likely as puppies born to a cat and dog?”
Ivy sighed. “That’s what it says,” she agreed. “But we’re obviously not impossible,” she went on. “I mean, we exist and we’re sisters!” She scanned the screen and then gasped suddenly. “No way!”
“What?” Olivia asked.
“This article was written by Marc Daniels. That’s Brendan’s father’s name!”
“Are you sure?” Olivia asked, peering at the screen. She pointed to a line at the end of the research report. “Is Brendan’s dad head researcher of V-Gen?”
Ivy shrugged. She quickly went back to the main search page and typed in V-Gen. The top result said, V-GEN—a leading vampire pharmaceutical company based in Franklin Grove.
Olivia and Ivy both stared at the screen for a long moment, taking in the indisputable fact that Brendan’s father was the same Marc Daniels who had written the article.
“We have to talk to him,” Olivia said at last.
Ivy bit her lip. “Judging from his research, he’s not really on our side,” she said.
“Maybe we can change his mind,” Olivia proposed.
“Even if we could, Olivia,” responded Ivy, “I can’t talk to my boyfriend’s father about how babies are made.”
“Sure you can!” Olivia laughed. “He’ll understand. Come on, Ivy. We have to get answers! Ask Brendan tomorrow if he’ll introduce us to his dad. Please.”
“I am not going to bring this up at school,” Ivy declared decisively, and Olivia’s heart sank. Then Ivy added quietly, “I have a date with Brendan on Friday. I’ll ask him then.”
Olivia clapped her hands. “Talking to a vampire geneticist about how we’re twins is going to be way more interesting than cheek cells!”
At school on Thursday, the whole twin frenzy was even more intense than it had been the day before. After fourth period, Ivy saw a sixth-grader wearing a baby tee that said, I WANNA GOTH TWIN.
I’m a fad! Ivy thought, horrified. If she could have dug a hole, climbed into her coffin, and lowered herself into the ground, she would have. She felt so ill by the end of the day that she canceled after-school plans with Olivia—they had been going to make a list of questions for Mr. Daniels—and went straight home.
That night, Ivy was in her pajamas, reading before bed, when she heard footsteps descending the basement stairs. She watched as her father came slowly into view.
“You cleaned your room,” he said approvingly.
That’s when Ivy knew something was wrong, because, if anything, the basement was an even bigger mess than usual. She sat up and closed her book.
“Ivy,” he said when he reached the bottom of the stairs, “I need to speak with you.
“Do you recall the hotel job I mentioned several weeks ago?” he asked.
“You mean the one in Europe?” Ivy said. Her father nodded in confirmation. A chain of vampire-funded hotels had wanted to hire him to be their interior designer. It was a really good job, but he had said he didn’t want to leave Franklin Grove.
“I’ve accepted the job,” Mr. Vega announced.
Ivy blinked. “I thought you already said no.”
“I did.” He cleared his throat. “But now they have made me an offer that I cannot refuse.”