17 Spooktacular - My Sister the Vampire by Sienna Mercer Read Free Book Online

laughed at her joke.

    Ivy looked from one uber-serious face to the next. She rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, come on!’ she said. ‘You guys all look like you’ve accidentally swallowed
raw vegetables. Even if there
are
ghosts, what’s the big deal? We’re vampires, why should we be scared of them? Shouldn’t we be, like, rejoicing? We might not be the
Weirdest Weirdoes in Franklin Grove after all!’
    ‘It’s complicated,’ Charles said heavily, as the other adults shifted in their seats. ‘Of course, it’s long been theorised that ghosts might exist, but no one has
ever known for sure. Vampire research into spirits has been just as inconclusive as bunny research.’
    ‘I know,’ Ivy said impatiently, ‘but I’m looking at a tableful of scaredy-bats, and I’m confused. If the worst a ghost can do is rattle a few windows and make it a
bit draughty . . .’ She shrugged. ‘What do we have to worry about?’
    Charles looked deadly serious. ‘Humans,’ he said. ‘That’s what we have to worry about.’
    Across the table, Marc nodded. ‘You must have noticed by now, Ivy,’ he said. ‘Any time something inexplicable happens, the bunny community starts asking questions.’
    ‘Looking closer at things,’ Carla added unhappily.
    ‘And if
that
happens,’ Charles finished for them, ‘then our community will be at risk of exposure . . . which is why
we
have to get to the bottom of this
before anyone else does!’
    Ivy sighed. ‘OK,’ she admitted, ‘that does make sense . . . except that no one except us even thinks it was a ghost.
Or
a poltergeist,’ she added, and glimpsed
Olivia’s shudder in the corner of her eye.
    Still, her twin backed her up. ‘It’s true,’ Olivia said. ‘They all assume that it was just a part of Camilla’s show.’
    ‘Ah, but you’re forgetting one very important person.’ Lillian grimaced. ‘
Camilla
knows it wasn’t a part of the entertainment, and not only is she a smart
girl, she’s stubborn, too –when she puts on a show, she expects to be in charge of it! She’ll think and think about what could have caused last night’s incident until she
drives herself crazy. Then she’ll start investigating.’
    ‘And once she does . . .’ Charles shook his head, thin-lipped. ‘As a whole, the vampire community does a good job of staying under the radar, but the fact is, we are living out
in the open in Franklin Grove – more open than we were ever meant to be. The bunnies here have become accustomed to the fact that weird things happen in this town, but if they’re ever
given a reason to
think
about things . . .’ He sighed. ‘They’ll realise that there was
always
something different about this place. And that will be the
beginning of the end for us.’
    Albert nodded vigorously. ‘It’s happened before, believe me! Why, I remember Prague, in 1908 . . .’
    Uh-oh.
Ivy propped her chin in her hand, sighing, as the old vampire got started.
I can tell this is the beginning of a very long story!

    Ivy wasn’t wrong. Twenty minutes later, Albert was still talking. She fixed her dad with a pleading look. Obligingly, Charles gave a pointed cough, interrupting Albert
mid-monologue. ‘I’m afraid the girls are going to miss their bus if they don’t hurry.’
    Albert nodded wearily. ‘Well, just don’t forget what happened,’ he said. ‘I had to flee Prague in the middle of the night! I couldn’t even bring along half of my
painting supplies. And all because the locals realised I had violet eyes.’ He sighed. ‘Contact lenses were so hard to come by back then . . . and made of
glass
!’
    ‘Ouch.’ Olivia winced.
    ‘But things have changed now!’ Ivy rattled her fingers against the dining room table, almost desperate with impatience. ‘We have real contact lenses, for one thing. We’re
not about to be chased out of town!’
    ‘That’s not actually what I’m worried about at the moment,’ Charles said tensely. ‘The truth is, I’m most