Thankful to finally be doing something useful, Olivia followed her into the kitchen, hurried over to a cabinet and pulled out a large silver mixing bowl.
Ivy sprinkled the weird plant into the bowl, then began mashing it and stirring in lavender. Charles and Olivia watched her work.
‘What is that plant?’ asked Olivia, giving the mixture a sniff.
‘That’s Oxynamon.’ Ivy pushed the pestle harder into the leaves.
Olivia pinched a bit between her fingers. ‘Oxy-what-now?’
Ivy gently slapped her hand and Olivia dropped the plant back into the bowl. ‘Before I left, I ran Brendan’s symptoms by Helga. She’s working as the Herbal Science teacher at Wallachia now. This is what she recommended.’
‘For what?’ Olivia watched as Ivy sprinkled some more of the lavender into the bowlful of Oxynamon.
‘Apparently, Brendan’s symptoms are classic signs of a platelet disorder. He probably got it by eating something with too many artificial preservatives. It can be really serious for a vampire.’ Ivy shook the bowl, mixing up the ingredients.
‘Of course!’ Olivia smacked her head. ‘A few days ago Brendan said he had a stomach ache after he’d eaten that Taurus Bar.’ Olivia shuddered at the memory of the bar’s foul smell. How could anyone expect to put that in their mouth and not get sick?
Ivy nodded. ‘That sounds like the culprit. Energy products are processed and chock-full of artificial ingredients. Brendan’s system probably couldn’t digest them all properly. He should have known better.’
Olivia whistled. ‘Who are you and what did you do with my sister?’ she teased. ‘You’re a genius!’
Charles left the room for a moment and came back holding a Taurus Bar. ‘Is this what Brendan ate, Olivia?’ he asked.
‘Yes! Where’d you get that?’
‘I checked Brendan’s jacket pockets and saw that he had a spare one. Who knows how many of these he’s been eating.’ Charles read the label. ‘It contains oxymistine.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Olivia. Brendan had made it sound as if the bar would be good for both humans and vampires.
‘It’s a chemical that gives vampires energy, the same way humans get a boost from caffeine. It should be harmless enough, but judging by Brendan’s state, there must be a lot more in these bars than the 1.4 grams stated on the label.’ He unwrapped the bar and broke a piece off, studying it in the overhead light. ‘Hmm . . . very suspicious.’
‘Don’t worry about that right now, Detective Dad.’ Ivy winked. ‘The remedy will be ready any second.’ She took another pinch of lavender and added it to the mix, wafting some of the fragrance up to her nose and sniffing.
Olivia smiled. ‘I remember how you cured me when I was in . . . Wait a minute! We still haven’t talked about why you’re back here in Franklin Grove. You’re supposed to be . . .’ She pointed outside. ‘And now you’re . . .’ Olivia pointed down at her feet. ‘But how did . . .’ She shook her head and threw her hands in the air. ‘What’s going on?!’
‘I promise I’ll explain everything.’ Ivy scooped the bowl under her arm. ‘Right after I fix up my boyfriend.’
‘Did you know?’ Olivia demanded of Charles.
His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘I had to buy her a plane ticket, didn’t I? Ivy called me last night and said she wanted to come home. So here she is.’
Olivia stared dumbfounded at the swinging kitchen door. But it didn’t matter. I don’t care why she’s back, so long as she is back. My life gets crazy when she’s not around!
Ivy sat on the edge of the sofa, holding Brendan’s hand. She couldn’t believe how feverish he’d been before, but his skin was much cooler now. Ivy took in his marble face and the dark shaggy hair that brushed his cheek as he slept. The dimple on his chin was just as cute as she’d remembered it, though she wouldn’t admit that to anyone in a million years. Ivy was so glad to see him she could hardly understand how she’d managed to say goodbye in the first place.
It would be a few hours before he woke up, which was fine because she still had a lot to wrap her jet-lagged brain around. Fortunately, his parents had crashed out in a bedroom, so she didn’t have to worry about making polite conversation with anyone. ‘So you’re sure you’re OK?’ she asked Olivia, who was sitting cross-legged on the oriental rug with their dad.
Charles had brought in three steaming mugs full of rich hot chocolate. He blew across the tops of the cups to cool them down.
‘Yes!’ Olivia repeated. ‘I told you, the break-up really was mutual. Jackson . . .’ Olivia paused when she mentioned his name. ‘Jackson is a good guy. We’ll still be friends. And I know one thing: we made his thousands of adoring fans happy!’
Leave it to Olivia to find the positive spin. ‘But I wasn’t here to –’ Ivy protested.
‘I survived,’ Olivia reassured her. ‘And besides, what we should be focused on is Dad’s big day! Remember the whole wedding thing?’
‘It’s not just my big day.’ Charles patted Olivia on the head. ‘It will be a big day for all of us. We’re getting a new Vega.’ He jiggled open the thin drawer in the coffee table and pulled out a magazine called Vampire Bride, flipping it open to a page on which a slender female vampire was riding a camel next to the pyramids in a form-fitting wedding dress. ‘Now, what do you think of this, Ivy?’