“But my ring’s there,” Olivia mumbled, nodding toward the study.
Ivy glanced down at her sister’s hand and was relieved to see that her emerald ring was still securely on her finger. “It’s right here,” she said quietly. Sophia got on the other side of Olivia, and together they started guiding her slowly back down the hallway. Ivy didn’t even look at her father as they passed his study again.
They were finally making their way down the main staircase when Ivy saw Mr. Daniels charging up the steps toward them. For a split second, Ivy considered trying to make a three-legged run for it. Instead she just shot a resigned look over Olivia’s shoulder at Sophia.
“Bethany told me what happened,” Mr. Daniels said, reaching up to Olivia’s face and pulling open one of her eyelids with his thumb.
“You have hair like Einstein.” Olivia giggled.
“Let’s get her to the kitchen,” Mr. Daniels said professionally. “Ivy, if you’ll help me find the ingredients, we should be able to create an antidote.”
Now why can’t my dad be more like Brendan’s? Ivy thought gratefully.
In Ivy’s front foyer, Olivia was saying good-bye to the last of the guests. Except for the half hour or so when apparently she’d been completely embarrassing, it had been a super party. Valencia Deborg solemnly produced a tiny V-shaped pin from one of her sleeves and pinned it to Olivia’s sweatshirt before sweeping out the door. Mr. Boros pumped her hand proudly. As for the Danielses, she felt like she’d known them forever. Mrs. Daniels hoped she’d agree to babysit for Bethany and promised to be in charge of the veggie burgers in future.
Still, something kept niggling at the back of Olivia’s mind. It felt like there was something she’d been meaning to say since the moment she’d returned to her senses, but she just couldn’t remember what it was.
Sophia came up and gave her a hug. “Remind me to bring VitaVamp to your next party,” she teased. “You can be the entertainment.”
“Thanks,” Olivia said sheepishly.
Soon it was just Olivia and Ivy, plus Ivy’s dad, who was looming back by the staircase. Olivia glanced at her watch; her parents were expecting her home in twenty minutes.
“I guess I’d better get going, too,” she said to her sister.
Ivy nodded. Olivia turned toward the stairs. “Thank you for everything, Mr. Vega.”
“You’re welcome, Olivia,” he said expressionlessly. For a split second, Olivia caught his dark eyes, and in a flash, she remembered what it was that she had seen when she was under the influence of Bethany’s pill.
He turned to ascend the stairs, and the moment he was out of sight, Olivia pulled her sister close.
“Your father was looking at a wooden box in his study.”
Ivy shrugged. “My dad has lots of wooden boxes.”
“But this one had our symbol on it,” Olivia said, raising her hand to show Ivy her ring.
“Olivia,” Ivy said, rolling her eyes, “you were imagining things. You were out of it.”
“I saw it, Ivy,” Olivia said firmly. “I know I did. I walked past the study, and he was sitting at his desk with this box open in front of him. He was reading something. And I saw—I remember it totally—our symbol was carved on the box’s lid!”
Ivy bit her lip. “But why would my dad have something with our symbol on it?”
Olivia shook her head after a moment. “I don’t know,” she admitted.
Ivy sighed. “He did seem freaked out when he realized we were up there,” she recalled.
“Something strange is going on,” Olivia decided, and she could tell that her sister didn’t need any convincing. “We need to find that box, Ivy.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do with my dad around,” Ivy said thoughtfully. “But he’s going out tomorrow morning. Can you come back first thing?”
Olivia nodded. She hugged her sister tight before setting off for home. Ivy’s long driveway descended toward the street like a giant question mark—and Olivia couldn’t help feeling that tomorrow, when she walked back up it the other way, she’d arrive at some answers at last.
Chapter 12
Olivia crept up to her sister’s house early Sunday morning, the shadows of willow branches reaching out at her eerily. Even though Mr. Vega’s car was already gone from its spot beside the house, she hesitated beside the porch. Somehow it didn’t seem right to just walk up in broad daylight and ring the doorbell when she and Ivy were about to snoop around inside. She decided to go around back.
Kneeling beside her sister’s bedroom window, she saw Ivy pacing the floor of her room below. Olivia rapped on the glass with her knuckles, and Ivy jumped, clearly startled. Then she rushed up the stairs and opened the window.
Olivia clambered through onto the basement stair landing.
“You scared me to death!” said Ivy.
“I thought vampires were already dead,” Olivia joked.
“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Ivy replied.
Two seconds later, Olivia was following Ivy up to Mr. Vega’s study. Her sister immediately began rummaging through the enormous mahogany desk, Olivia started with a shelf in the corner filled with tiny drawers. She felt a little awkward about snooping through Mr. Vega’s things, but she was certain she’d seen the Lazar symbol yesterday and she needed to know why Mr. Vega had something with that symbol on it.
The first drawer was packed with gray fabric swatches. The second had nothing but little metal plates—none of them with the Lazar symbol on them. The third drawer was filled with mini-gargoyles.