Free 17 Spooktacular - My Sister the Vampire by Sienna Mercer Page A

our secret at risk. They didn’t understand . .
.’ He broke off, shaking his head.
    Ivy felt a twist of sympathy. Her own bunny twin was already reaching out to take Albert’s hand, and – astonishingly – Albert didn’t pull it away.
    Ivy tried to make her voice gentle as she asked the question she couldn’t avoid: ‘Do you really think Patience’s ghost is haunting Franklin Grove? Camilla’s done some
research, and there’s a pattern of strange things happening at Halloween. And now with what went on at the party . . .’
    Albert nodded. ‘Clearly, your sister met Patience – she never got over losing her twin. Her spirit must ache with the loss . . .’
    Instinctively, Ivy looked to her own twin. Olivia was still clasping Albert’s hand in both of hers, but she was gazing at Ivy, her face stricken.
    How would either of them keep going if they lost each other? Ivy couldn’t bear to imagine it.
    Gradually, though, the sound of Albert’s voice trickled back into her awareness.
    ‘. . . and as for the timing, Hope was supposed to return home at the end of October that year. The girls planned to celebrate their delayed fourteenth birthday party on the day of
Halloween itself. It was their tradition that they always took tea in the grounds of their house together on their birthday, just the two of them. Patience had already chosen Hope’s birthday
present, months ahead of time. She couldn’t wait to give it to her. But of course Hope never arrived for her birthday tea that year – and Patience never celebrated another birthday
again.’

Chapter Six

    ‘I ’m sorry,’ Olivia said, as her vamp friends took in Albert’s story. ‘I really have to go.
Now
.’ She
turned and hurried away from the table, leaving the vampires to debate their theories. She felt terrible for leaving, but her thoughts were making her heart heavy.
    How would I feel if Ivy went away, but never came home?
    Taking a deep breath, Olivia stepped back into the long, echoing hallway that led out of the museum. She pulled out her cell phone and hit the button to call Camilla.
There. Keeping an eye
on my best friend for the vamps’ sake has to be a lot less sad than going ghost-hunting with Ivy and the others! Maybe I can talk Camilla into just watching old romantic comedies with me for
a while.
    When Camilla answered her phone, though, she sounded out of breath, and the sounds of honking car horns blared in the background. ‘Olivia! I was just heading out.’
    So much for a quiet movie afternoon.
Olivia frowned as she stepped through the museum’s big front door, blinking against the bright autumn sunlight. ‘Where are you
going?’
    ‘The park,’ Camilla said.
    Whew.
Olivia’s shoulders relaxed.
That sounds safe.
‘Are you filming something new there?’ she asked brightly.
    ‘Nope. I’m
investigating.
’ Camilla lowered her voice to an intense whisper. ‘Believe it or not, our local park is exactly where the old Calhoun house was once
located!’
    Oh, no. More ghost-hunting!
Olivia bit back a sigh, her steps slowing down. ‘Camilla, it’s just a park. The house isn’t even there any more. What exactly do you think
you’re going to find?’
    ‘I have no idea! But I have a really strong feeling.’ Camilla let out a muffled grunt of frustration. ‘I know it sounds crazy. But, who knows? Maybe when I’m actually
standing on the grounds where Patience Calhoun once lived, I’ll
experience
something.’
    Uh-oh
. The last thing any of the Franklin Grove vamps needed was for Camilla to have a face-to-face meeting with a ghost – especially if she was armed with a camera. ‘I
really think . . .’ Olivia began.
    ‘Sorry, I’ve gotta go. I’ll let you know later how it went!’ The phone clicked off as Camilla hung up.
    Drat.
Stomping her foot, Olivia typed in a quick, warning text message to Ivy. Then she started to run, cursing her beloved kitten-heeled ankle boots.
    She had to head Camilla off before her