“B-but we just found each other,” Ivy stammered.
“Perhaps it is for the best that you and I are moving to Europe,” Ivy’s father said under his breath.
Ivy shot him a bitter look. “What if Olivia refuses to be initiated?” she asked Ms. Deborg.
“She will confront the same result as one who has failed,” Ms. Deborg said icily.
Olivia took a deep breath. “And if I pass the tests?”
“Then everything will continue as before,” Mr. Boros replied.
Olivia squeezed her sister’s hand. “I know I’m worthy,” she whispered bravely. “I’ll pass any test they throw at me. I’m not going to lose you.”
Of course, inside, Olivia was totally freaking out. Sure, she’d been nervous, but she hadn’t had a clue how serious this whole initiation thing was. She was only thirteen, and already she was facing senility.
“Any questions?” Mr. Boros asked.
When Olivia shook her head, Ms. Deborg announced, “The applicant will now have a few moments for solitary contemplation before the First Test begins.” She and Mr. Boros turned to leave the room.
“Can I stay with her?” Ivy blurted.
Ms. Deborg stopped abruptly. Without turning around, she said, “I suppose,” with a hint of disapproval. Then she and Mr. Boros disappeared down the hallway, while Ivy’s father silently bowed his head and climbed the stairs.
In the living room, Ivy wrapped Olivia in a hug. “I’m sorry I got you into this,” she said. “I don’t know how you could ever forgive me.”
Somehow, seeing Ivy so torn up made Olivia feel less dire. “Forgive you?” Olivia said. “You’re the coolest thing that ever happened to me.”
Ivy responded with a familiar eye roll.
“Are you kidding?” Olivia answered, straightening her pink sweatshirt. “What do you think—I find out I have a vampire twin all the time? Besides,” she went on, “if this is really about whether I’m worthy to know the vampire secret, then we don’t have anything to worry about. I have a right to know. After all, it’s where I came from, too.” Whoa, Olivia thought. That all actually makes sense. All of a sudden, she wasn’t so afraid of the tests.
“No matter what,” Ivy said in a determined voice, “I won’t let them do anything grim to you. Even if something happens, I’ll figure out a way to stop them from erasing your memory. I’m not leaving your side for a second.”
“Sounds good,” Olivia grinned.
Ivy got a mischievous look in her eye, and Olivia could almost hear the gears turning inside her sister’s head. “There’s a secret escape passageway in the back of the pantry, and we could always sneak you out that way.” She started waving her black-nailed hands in the air. “We could even switch if we had to. We could run down to my room right now and put on matching outfits!”
Olivia put her hand gently on her sister’s arm. “I’m not going to run, Ivy,” she said. “I’m going to do what it takes to pass. I’m going to prove I’m worthy of the Blood Secret once and for all.”
“We shall see,” a cool voice intoned. Nearly jumping out of her sneakers, Olivia turned to see that Valencia Deborg had appeared in the doorway. “The time has come for the First Test,” she announced.
Olivia and Ivy exchanged nervous glances. Ms. Deborg gestured for them to follow her, and before Olivia knew it the vampire official was disappearing down the hall. On the main stairs, Olivia and Ivy had to take the steps two at a time to catch up.
Ms. Deborg led them to the same guest room that had the bathroom where they’d done their final shots for Vamp magazine. Against one wall was what looked like a dresser covered by a dark purple velvet sheet. Valencia Deborg pulled the sheet off with a flourish, revealing a black lacquered coffin.
“The Test of Darkness!” she announced dramatically. Olivia’s heart flooded with fear. Who’s in there? she thought. When she glanced at her sister, Ivy just shrugged nervously.
“You must spend the entire night in this coffin,” Ms. Deborg explained at last, “from dusk until dawn.”
“No way,” Olivia said under her breath.
“Way,” Ms. Deborg replied without a hint of humor. She glanced toward the window, where the sun had already begun setting. “There is not much time,” she said, and gestured for Olivia to go change.
A minute later, Olivia was standing alone in front of the same ornate mirror where she’d stood posing with her sister, except this time she was alone, wearing her sunflower pajamas, and brushing her teeth nervously.
I don’t want to be shut in a box all night, she thought, even if it does have a plush velvet interior . . . but I don’t want to lose my sister even more.
When she emerged from the bathroom, Ivy and Ms. Deborg were waiting beside the open coffin expectantly. A laugh escaped from Ivy’s mouth.
“What?” Olivia inquired.
“Killer pajamas,” Ivy teased.
“It is time,” Ms. Deborg interrupted. Olivia walked up to the coffin. There was a little step stool to help her up, and she climbed inside. She lay down on her back and tucked her clammy hands at her sides.
“Does this thing have a nightlight?” she tried to joke.
Instead of answering, Ms. Deborg pulled down the lid. The last thing Olivia saw was her sister’s worried face, and then . . . nothing but darkness.
Olivia strained to hear her sister’s or Ms. Deborg’s voice outside the coffin, but it was eerily silent. All she could hear was her own panicked breathing. She tried to make out the ruffles in the upholstery that she knew were inches from her face, but she couldn’t. She raised a shaking hand slowly to touch the lid.