Free Re-Vamped! by Sienna Mercer

corner. “Do you
have any idea how to cook one of these veggie burgers?” he asked in a low
voice.
    Ivy
shrugged apologetically.
    “The
things humans find appetizing,” Mr. Daniels murmured. “Inconceivable!” The
smoke rising around his head made his wild mane of gray hair appear even
larger.
    “Olivia
and I read your research online,” Ivy said. “Do you really think it’s
impossible for a vamp and a human to have babies?”
    Mr.
Daniels’s glasses flickered with the reflection of the barbecue’s flames. “That
is exactly why I find you and Olivia so extraordinary,” he said.
“Science is the study of empirical evidence. It is about what we can prove
physically. And the existence of twin sisters, one vampire and one human, is
nothing if not physical proof. I’m not certain what the two of you prove
exactly. But we shall find out!”
    He
grabbed a fork from beside the barbecue and speared the veggie burger. “Imagine
this is human DNA, the fundamental building block of human life,” he said. In
his other hand, he picked up a huge steak with his tongs. “While this is
vampire DNA, the essence of our existence. My research says they are
incompatible.” He flung them both back on the barbecue, and the flames flared
wildly. “But perhaps there is something we are missing.”
    He
sighed thoughtfully. “Perhaps,” he continued, “the helical structure of human
DNA can be made to intermingle with the helical structure of our DNA.”
He began spouting hypotheses. Ivy had no clue what he was talking about, but
the cloud of smoke around his head was getting larger.
    “Marc,”
Mrs. Daniels called from the kitchen, “is something burning?”
    Ivy
and Mr. Daniels looked down at the barbecue. He quickly flipped everything
over.
    “I’d
like you and Olivia to come down to V-Gen,” he said. “My colleagues would be
very excited to meet you. Of course,” he went on in a low voice, “you should
probably pretend Olivia doesn’t know about vampires. Who knows how ASHH might
feel about that.”
    “What’s
ASHH?” Ivy asked, waving Olivia over from where she and Brendan were playing
death tag with Bethany.
    “The
Agency for the Security of Human Hybrids,” Mr. Daniels explained.
    “That
sounds ominous,” Ivy remarked.
    “There
have always been legends in the vampire community about the horrific results
that ensue when a human and a vampire mate,” Brendan’s father said.
    “Like
how I used to have four heads?” Olivia interrupted.
    Brendan’s
dad did a double take.
    “She’s
joking,” Ivy clarified.
    “Of
course,” Mr. Daniels said sheepishly. “In any case, it’s been a source of great
paranoia. Vampires are terribly worried that a human and a vampire will produce
some sort of monster, which might cause our existence to be revealed. For this
reason, ASHH was set up by the Vampire Round Table to investigate reports of
vampire human relationships. It’s all nonsense, of course,” he said, “but ASHH
checks into each and every tabloid headline about a deformed offspring. They’re
kept quite busy, as you might imagine.”
    “Have
they ever discovered any actual hybrids?” asked Ivy. Maybe that’s what
Olivia and I are, she thought with a shiver.
    “Not a
single one,” Mr. Daniels answered. “I personally believe ASHH isn’t worth what
it costs to run, but unfortunately I’m in the minority. And in any case they do
do some good work—including funding a few projects for V-Gen.” He leaned
close to the girls. “It helps that the agency’s office is in our building, but
they do tend to poke their noses into our business more than I’d like.”
    “Do
you think they have files about us?” Ivy asked apprehensively. Olivia nodded
like she’d been about to ask the same question.
    “If
they don’t already,” Brendan’s father said, “I expect they soon will. But don’t
worry,” he added upon seeing Ivy and Olivia’s reaction. “Since you two being
twins has become so public,