‘No, no. She didn’t see you. I’m positive. But it is on camera.’
Ivy tugged at her hair, starting to pace. ‘We have to get rid of it. We absolutely have to.’
‘I know.’ Olivia rested her chin on her fist. ‘But how?’
Ivy walked the length of the room, hands in pockets. ‘Good question. I mean, we can’t just take it. Charlotte’s actually been nice lately.’
‘Right.’ It was a mystery why, but the Queen of Mean had been unexpectedly pleasant over the past few days. ‘We can’t give her any reason to turn nasty again. I need all the allies I can get at school.’
‘Exactly, which means this will have to be a covert op!’ Ivy got on her knees and started digging through the DVDs inside the television stand.
‘Does that mean I have to wear black?’ Olivia examined her matching pink flannel pyjamas. Black was so not her colour.
‘No,’ said Ivy, still digging. ‘We need to act natural.’ She waved a couple of movies above her head. ‘Found them!’
‘Found what?’
‘Our bedtime inspiration.’ Ivy handed her sister the DVDs.
Spy movies! Three separate instalments of James Bond. ‘I’ll just call you Double-O-Ivy!’ Olivia smiled.
‘But first we need a strategy.’
Olivia grabbed a notepad and her fuzzy-topped pen, ready to jot down the plan.
‘OK,’ Ivy started. ‘At the next committee meeting, you need to distract Charlotte.’
Distract Charlotte, wrote Olivia. ‘Got it!’
‘Right, then I’ll get the camera,’ continued Ivy, ‘so that I can delete the footage.’
Olivia jotted it down. ‘Um, Ivy?’ She gave her sister a mischievous grin. ‘You know that means you’ll have to attend a committee meeting, then?’
Ivy scrunched up her face. ‘A necessary evil.’
Olivia giggled, reviewing the plan she had written in her notebook. ‘It’s sort of exciting, don’t you think? I feel like we’re in a heist movie!’
Ivy didn’t laugh. She climbed into her coffin and crossed her arms across her chest. ‘Let’s just make sure we get the footage back.’ Her sister’s expression was dark. Olivia couldn’t be sure whether it was Ivy’s mood or a shadow cast by her coffin, but she was certain something was going on with her vampire twin.
What can it be?
Chapter Six
Ivy’s mouth watered at the tantalizing smell of juicy T-bone steak cooking on Aunt Rebecca’s outdoor grill. Thank goodness her dad had brought plenty of meat this trip. Aunt Rebecca was a vegetarian like Olivia and the Abbotts, and Ivy had just about died when she had last stayed at the ranch, with nothing but bunny food around. If she’d had to eat one more Vita Vamp bar in Aunt Rebecca’s bathroom, she was sure she’d have been sick.
Outside, the sun was trickling through green leaves, spattering bright polka dots of light across her family’s faces. Acorns littered the ground and the distant mooing of cows could be heard in the background. Even Ivy could appreciate the peacefulness of Aunt Rebecca’s farm. She enjoyed the sweet scent of the hay scattered under their feet. She was just thinking how lucky she was to have everyone gathered in one place when she felt her stomach turn. She sniffed the air. Is that garlic?
Aunt Rebecca appeared out of the kitchen, carrying a tray. ‘Four loaves of my famous garlic bread coming right up!’
Ivy could feel her face going pink. She wanted to faint at the idea of garlic-smeared bread. That was ten times worse than any bunny food. But what could she do? She couldn’t tell Aunt Rebecca that almost every single person at the ranch was allergic to garlic. What were the odds of that?
Mrs Abbott licked her lips, taking a big whiff of the freshly baked bread. ‘My favourite!’
Olivia’s eyes bugged and she squeezed Ivy’s hand underneath the table. ‘Our grandparents!’ said Olivia through gritted teeth. ‘If they get anywhere near the garlic they’ll pass out. There’s not a speck of garlic to be found in all of Transylvania – they’re not used to this. We have to keep the evil globes away from them!’
The Lazars’ smiles were starting to look a little stretched and Brendan’s sister Bethany was turning the colour of cooked shrimp. They needed a plan – and fast!
Ivy headed straight for the kitchen, signalling for Olivia and Brendan to follow. The fierce scent of garlic nearly bowled her over. She blinked hard, trying to focus.