Re-Vamped! by Sienna Mercer Page A

and one link appeared. Ivy held her breath as
the screen filled with a black-and-white newspaper photo of a woman in a
patterned, V-necked blouse framed by lustrous, shoulder-length hair, laughing
warmly at something off to the side. Her eyes sparkled. At the top of the page
was a newspaper headline: LOCAL, SUSANNAH KENDALL, 34, DIES IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT.
It was the same as the one they’d found in the ASHH files—except at ASHH, the
article had been clipped without the photograph.
    “There
she is,” Olivia whispered.
    “She
has our nose,” noted Ivy.
    “And
our eyebrows,” Olivia agreed. “I’m going to pay to print out two copies, one
for each of us. Okay?”
    “Thanks,”
Ivy said simply, and then she was alone in front of the screen. Susannah
Kendall of Andover died suddenly in a tragic accident yesterday , the
article began. She was 34.
    Ivy
was still thinking about that when her sister returned. Olivia sat down and
quietly read aloud from one of the printouts in her hand.
    “‘Susannah
was a warm, fun, and generous soul, always opening her heart to others. Blessed
with a sharp wit and a keen mind, she made an impression on all who met her.’ ”
    Olivia
struggled to read the last line of the article. “‘Susannah will be sorely
missed.’ ” She dragged her eyes away from the paper at last. “That’s it.” She
shrugged. “No mention of a husband. No mention of us.”
    “They
were in hiding,” Ivy said simply. For a moment, neither she nor her sister said
anything. I never knew I lost my real mom, Ivy was thinking. I only
knew my dad found me, and that made everything okay.
    “I
feel so lucky my parents adopted me,” Olivia echoed aloud.
    “I
guess,” Ivy said slowly, “we both ended up right where we belonged.”
    “It’s
nice to know where we came from, though,” admitted Olivia, a small smile
breaking across her face.
    Ivy
nodded. “And, now that we know Susannah was our mom and Karl Lazar was our dad,
we know you definitely had a vampire parent,” she pointed out. “All the Veras
of the world won’t be able to complain about you knowing the secret.”
    Olivia
glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Does that
mean I have to start shopping at BloodMart?” she joked.
    A few
minutes later, they were just leaving school when Ivy saw her father pacing
ominously at the bottom of the deserted steps. He was clearly waiting for them.
    When
he saw them coming, he charged up, meeting them halfway. “Is it true that the
two of you broke into the offices of ASHH?” he demanded angrily.
    Ivy
and Olivia exchanged panicked looks, which immediately gave them away.
    “How
could you, Ivy?” her father said, his voice filled with disappointment.
    “How
could I what?” Ivy snapped. “How could I want to know about my real parents?
Olivia and I have a right to know!”
    “You
took a human into a restricted area!” her father said. “Did it fail to occur to
you that there would be security cameras capturing your every move?” His voice
dropped to an urgent whisper. “The Vampire Round Table came to our house today.
Olivia is being called for an initiation!”
    Ivy
froze. “A what?”
    “A
ritual,” he explained, “to test whether she is worthy of the Blood Secret.”
    “Uh-oh,”
Olivia said under her breath.
    “But
why?” Ivy gasped.
    “Why?” her father repeated in
exasperation. “Because, between the article in Vamp  and the footage of
Olivia at ASHH, they have deduced that there has been a violation of the First
Law of the Night!”
    “Is
she going to be hurt?” Ivy asked.
    “Hurt?”
cried Olivia.
    “I
don’t know exactly,” Ivy’s father answered with a shake of his head, his anger
suddenly faltering.
    “But
what does she have to do?” Ivy pressed.
    “I
know that there are three trials she must pass,” her dad answered. “Olivia,” he
asked, “do you think your parents will allow you to sleep at our house on
Friday night?”
    “I
think