She frowned. ‘Who’s Carla Daniels? I’ve never heard of her.’
‘She’s my mother,’ said a new voice, just behind them.
Ivy jumped almost high enough to graze her head on the ceiling. How could I have missed someone creeping up on us? But she knew the answer. The cemetery, then the shadowy underground crypt had so freaked her out she was distracted again.
I am the worst vampire in the world.
Gritting her teeth, she turned to face the block of shadows behind her. A slim figure shifted in the darkness. Out of the shadow stepped . . .
Maya!
Ivy gasped as she recognised the girl in front of her, and realised that the not-a-student had been wearing a disguise all along.
Maya no longer had auburn hair or pale blue eyes. Wigs and contact lenses must have covered both of those. Now, as she stepped forwards into the candlelight, Ivy saw jet-black hair falling around the girl’s shoulders, while her fluorescent green eyes gleamed.
Only a vampire could have eyes that bright and that unnatural.
‘Wait a minute.’ Ivy frowned. ‘Your mother is a Daniels?’ But that means . . .
Even as she started to form the thought, Brendan was already nodding. ‘This is my cousin Maya. Her mom is my dad’s sister.’
‘Ohhhh!’ Ivy’s sigh of relief was so huge, it left her sagging. Suddenly, everything made sense!
That was why the pets in Lincoln Vale hadn’t barked as Maya had gone past – they’d been frightened by her, just like they were by every vampire! And best of all . . .
‘Thank darkness,’ she said on a gasp, ‘you’re not seeing someone else!’
‘What?’ Brendan’s mouth dropped open as he stared at her. ‘You thought I was cheating on you? I would never, ever–!’
‘I know!’ Ivy said hastily. ‘I mean, I realise now that it was ridiculous. But come on, you’ve been acting so strange this week, and you kept on sneaking off to meet Maya in secret.’
Brendan flushed. ‘You knew about that?’
Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘I’m a vampire, remember? Did you really think I wouldn’t overhear you guys at some point?’
‘Um . . .’ Brendan looked to the ground.
Maya winced. ‘Ah, sorry about that. I probably should have mentioned on the phone. I caught Ivy and a couple of her friends trying to follow me this afternoon. They were obviously suspicious of something.’
‘Of course we were. All those secret phone calls, the hidden meetings . . .’ Ivy looked between the two of them, shaking her head. ‘What else was I supposed to think?’
‘Not that!’ Brendan muttered.
Ivy put her hands on her hips. ‘The point is, you’ve been keeping secrets with someone else – and you still are.’
‘OK.’ Brendan let out a tired sigh, his shoulders relaxing. ‘Maya’s my cousin on my dad’s side, but her mom – Carla – was banished from Franklin Grove a long time ago.’
‘Why?’ Ivy asked.
‘Oh . . .’ He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. ‘It was just this silly disagreement she had with my dad.’
Ivy frowned. ‘But what was it about?’
‘It happened a long time ago,’ Maya said quickly, ‘and it was no big deal, anyway. She only broke the Twenty-First Law of the Night – it wasn’t like it was even one of the major ones.’
‘The Twenty-First Law of the Night?’ Ivy stared at her. ‘I never even heard of that. How many Laws are there?’
‘Who knows?’ Brendan shook his head. ‘All I know is, after about the Eighth Law, they get a little too strict.’
‘Anyway,’ Maya took over the conversation. ‘That’s why I came to your school. I had to reach out to Brendan, to see what we could do together to get my family allowed back into Franklin Grove. Mom misses this town so much, it’s making her miserable.’
‘Aha.’ Ivy breathed a small sigh of relief as the last mystery was cleared up. ‘So that’s why the guidance counsellor didn’t know about you – because you were never actually registered.’
‘Right . . .’ Maya hesitated, looking uncomfortable. ‘Look, I knew it was a disaster when I bumped into you near that office.’
‘You two actually bumped into each other?’ Brendan groaned and pushed one hand through his hair. ‘Our school is, like, allergic to secrets.’
Maya ignored him. ‘But seriously, Ivy, I never meant to come between you and Brendan.’ She shot Brendan a teasing look. ‘Do you know that my cousin talks about you all . . . the . . . time?’
Oh, no. Don’t blush. Do NOT blush! Ivy ordered herself. Too late. She could feel her cheeks burning.
Luckily, neither Brendan nor Maya seemed to have noticed in the candlelight.
‘Unfortunately, our plan isn’t going all that well,’ Brendan said. ‘My dad’s going to need a lot more convincing before he backs down.’ He gave his cousin a guilty look. ‘Sorry, Maya.’
‘I almost don’t want to ask,’ Ivy said, ‘but what is the Twenty-First Law of the Night?’
Maya’s shoulders slumped. ‘I wish I knew,’ she whispered. ‘It’s caused so much trouble for my family but no one’s ever even told me what it is.’
‘What about you?’ Ivy turned to Brendan, but he was already shaking his head.
‘It all happened before I was born,’ he said. ‘Even when my dad told me the story, all he’d say about it was, “Rules are rules.”’