That was what had been on the other VIT’s necklace: garlic! That must be why the VITs were here today: to root out vampires, using garlic like a dowsing rod. Oh no ! Olivia paled as she finally made the connection. That was why the VIT in the food court had waved his necklace right at Ivy – and why he’d sounded so hopeful when he’d asked if she was ill.
And now they’ll all know that it worked.
Suddenly, Olivia felt ill too. The mall was full of garlic-carrying vampire hunters, who’d already managed to target her twin sister . . .
. . . and the vampires of Franklin Grove were in even more danger than she’d realised.
Chapter Six
It took another few minutes before Ivy started to get her breath back. As soon as she did, though, she said: ‘We have to stay in the mall.’
Olivia stared at her. ‘Are you crazy? This place is full of garlic. Those VITs already saw you get ill from the smell –’
‘And that’s exactly why I can’t run away.’ Ivy squared her shoulders. ‘If I leave now, it’ll prove to them that they were right. I have to stay and act normal, so they’ll think that they just made a mistake.’
‘But how can you?’ Olivia shook her head. ‘With all this garlic –’
‘Come on,’ Ivy said. She grinned ruefully. ‘Just this once, you can drag me to the perfume counters. By the time I let those saleswomen spritz me with all their stinky samples, I won’t be able to smell a thing.’
‘If you’re sure . . .’ Biting her lip, Olivia stepped out of the alcove, heading with Ivy towards the closest department store. When they passed a crowd of VITs with their coats open over their garlic necklaces, she gave Ivy’s arm a supportive squeeze. Ivy smiled as though everything was normal, and the VITs looked away, disappointed.
Olivia had never been so proud of her twin before. Ivy really is the strongest person I know.
She was so proud, she barely even let herself smile at the sight of Ivy grimacing as she allowed herself to be sprayed with samples of almost every perfume the department store had in stock. By the time the store assistants were finished, even Olivia’s nose was feeling numb!
But it was worth it. When they passed another crowd of VITs on their way out of the department store, Ivy sailed past them without a twinge. ‘It should not just be vamps that hate garlic,’ Ivy mumbled. ‘How can anyone actually enjoy something that smells like that ?’
Ivy continued ranting, but Olivia was distracted by the sight of a book-signing going on in the bookstore ahead of them. Wistfulness pricked her. The last time she’d been here for a signing, it had been when Jackson was autographing copies of Jackson’s Journal. If she half closed her eyes, she could still see him sitting there at the front table, his blond hair gleaming in the store lights as he smiled straight at her . . .
No, Olivia told herself firmly. She was over Jackson. Over, over, over. And – she checked out the poster – this was definitely not Jackson’s signing. No, this author was called S. K. Reardon, and . . .
. . . No way ! S. K. Reardon was the author of Bare Throats at Sunset. Holly would love this!
Olivia reached into her bag to grab her cell phone. ‘I’ve got to let Holly know who’s here,’ she said, cutting across Ivy’s garlic rant. She pointed in the direction of the bookstore. ‘Look – it’s that author Holly’s always going on about. I can’t wait to hear her reaction!’
‘Wait a minute!’ Ivy put out a hand to stop her before she could press a single key on the phone. ‘What are you doing? We’re on a mission. We can’t have any old bunny tagging along for the ride!’
‘Come on, Ivy.’ Olivia sighed. ‘We can at least let Holly know her favourite author is in Franklin Grove. Don’t you even want to make amends for the pizza incident?’
Ivy scowled. ‘If this is Holly’s favourite author, she’d already know where he’s appearing. Otherwise, what sort of fan is she?’
‘Oh, not this again.’ Olivia gritted her teeth.
‘All I’m saying –’
‘Don’t,’ Olivia pleaded. ‘Just don’t say anything mean about her, OK? She’s the one person who stopped me from feeling completely lonely and miserable after you went off to the Academy. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’
Ivy’s shoulders hunched. ‘I couldn’t help going to the Academy.’
‘I know, but that doesn’t change what happened, for either of us.’ Olivia pulled her hand free. ‘Now, come on. We can at least let Holly know about the signing, so she and I can take some photos together. It’ll be really nice for her.’
‘But what am I supposed to do while you’re off playing fan-girl with Holly?’ Ivy asked. ‘Considering that I hate the book and I don’t have a camera with me?’
Olivia shrugged, scrolling through her cell phone’s address book to find Holly’s number. ‘Maybe you can . . . erm . . . look for more clues?’
‘Oh, great.’ Ivy rolled her eyes, but Olivia could see the amusement in her face. ‘Good excuse, sis. I see what’s happening. You’re off to have fun while I do all the real work, huh?’
‘It’s not like that!’ Olivia said. ‘I just want to do something nice for Holly, since she’s been feeling so left out. You’d be so good, with your flair for investigation.’
‘All right, all right,’ said Ivy, and nudged Olivia teasingly. ‘You know flattery always works on me. Call Holly.’