17 Spooktacular - My Sister the Vampire

by Sienna Mercer

  She could hear her own heartbeat thumping in her ears as she stared at Jackson, waiting for his response.

  He just peered at her. ‘It didn’t bother you when The Groves was being filmed here.’

  ‘I know!’ Olivia replied. Excuses chased explanations in her brain. ‘But that was . . . different.’

  ‘How so?’ Jackson’s eyes narrowed.

  He’s totally suspecting something now, Olivia thought, wishing there was a button she could push that would divert the rushing blood away from her face.

  ‘Well,’ she said at last. ‘You were working on The Groves. If you were co-hosting the Ghost Grabber’s show, then I might be more excited!’

  Jackson stared at her a moment longer. Then he smiled. ‘O . . . K,’ he said.

  But she could sense his thoughtful frown even as she turned away.

  Anyone would think this was a military operation, Ivy thought, as she stood opposite the Meat and Greet, scowling at the chaos in front of her. A whole battalion of TV production trucks were lined up in front of the diner, surrounded by a swarm of busy-looking people yelling into handsets and cell phones.

  ‘Apparently, this is just the pre-production phase,’ Sophia said, reading the stream of updates on her slim black phone, ‘Gleka’s commandeering the whole diner for his show. It’s going to be the site of an impromptu “Ghost Chat”’ – she made finger-quotes as she read the words out loud – ‘in which he plans to “make contact” with the “Ghost of the Grove”.’

  ‘Seriously?’ Brendan snorted with laughter. ‘I’ve never seen a place less likely to attract a ghost! Come on, it’s full of bright lights, people, chatter . . . unless our Victorian ghost turns out to like cheeseburgers and fries, I’m pretty sure Gleka’ll be out of luck!’

  ‘Right . . .’ Ivy’s attempt at a laugh almost choked her.

  So far she hadn’t told anyone about the girl she’d seen outside her window last night. She wasn’t used to being creeped out by anything, but she couldn’t make herself talk about it calmly yet, either. And no matter how hard she wanted to think it had just been Garrick in a dress, she couldn’t convince herself.

  ‘The problem is,’ she said, ‘what if he really does uncover something? If that happens –’

  Reiko pinched her arm hard, cutting her off.

  ‘Shut it down!’ Sophia hissed at the same moment. She nodded her head meaningfully at the couple walking down the street towards them.

  Oops. Ivy nodded in agreement as she recognised Jackson walking hand-in-hand with Olivia. ‘Right,’ she whispered. ‘From now on, everyone talk in code.’

  The whole group fell into awkward silence as Olivia and Jackson joined them.

  ‘Hey,’ Jackson said. ‘You guys all look like you just got bad news. Seriously. Did this guy Gleka kick someone’s dog or something?’

  ‘Um . . .’ Ivy slid a nervous glance at Brendan, who gave a tight smile and a shrug in return. ‘We’d just like to get into the Meat and Greet early, to guarantee that we get a good seat in the audience,’ she said. ‘Just to make sure nothing too, uh, annoying happens.’

  ‘Like . . .?’ Jackson prompted. His million-dollar smile slipped into a serious discount zone when the vampires stayed silent. ‘OK, I don’t remember the Grovers being quite this secretive back when I was one of you guys. Is something up that you don’t want to tell me? You can trust me, of all people, not to go blabbing to the newspapers.’

  ‘Oh, we know,’ Ivy said. ‘It’s just . . .’ She trailed off, searching for an excuse.

  ‘Plus,’ Jackson added, ‘aren’t I supposed to be running interference on the crowds? So I should know what’s going on, right?’

  Ivy traded a desperate glance with Olivia, who looked pained.

  Jackson’s smile lost a few more dollars as he waited. Finally, he sighed and shrugged. ‘Fine. If it’s important to you guys, I’ll do what I can to help. I won’t even ask any more questions. Once this is all over, though, I’m serious – I’d really like to know what I’m helping you with. Got it?’

  ‘Got it,’ Ivy agreed with a smile of pure relief.

  Some day soon, she knew she’d start to panic about how to come up with a story that Jackson might actually buy as an explanation . . . but right now, she was just glad not to have to deal with that problem on top of all the rest.

  First things first!

  ‘OK then. Let’s see what we can do.’ Reaching into his pocket, Jackson pulled out a pair of Hollywood-worthy sunglasses. He slipped them on and his whole posture shifted, turning aloof and untouchable. ‘Follow my lead,’ he muttered out of the side of the mouth. Then he started across the street, heading for the throng of busy-looking TV crew members in front of the line of trucks.

  ‘Dude!’ He slapped the closest man on the back, startling him into lowering his cell phone. ‘Jackson Caulfield,’ he drawled, and gave a smirk. ‘You might have heard of me?’

  ‘Uh . . . wow . . . Wow! Jackson!’ The man shut down his phone, as other crew members flocked towards them, drawn by Jackson’s familiar face. ‘What are you doing here, man? Shouldn’t you be partying in LA right now?’

  ‘Nah. LA’s so tired this time of year,’ Jackson said, in a weary tone of voice Ivy had never heard from him before. ‘I mean, the whole place is so totally last season, isn’t it? No, I like gathering up my buddies’ – he nodded to Ivy and the others – ‘and spending my free time somewhere new. Unspoiled. Looks like your boss feels the same!’ He pointed at the diner. ‘Word on the street is, you guys are shooting in there today. I’m a huge fan of the Ghost Grabber, man. Any chance I could watch the master at work?’

  ‘Well . . .’ The man in front of him traded a wary look with the other crew members around him. ‘I’m not sure. I mean . . .’

  The woman behind him pushed forwards, holding a clipboard tightly against her chest as if to keep its contents secret. ‘You aren’t thinking of, like, playing Gregor in some TV movie or something about his life, are you?’

  Is she serious? Ivy had to turn her head to hide her laughter. Like Jackson Caulfield is going to do a TV movie any time soon . . .much less about Gregor Gleka!

  Jackson only smiled enigmatically, his blue eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. ‘Obviously, I can’t talk about any projects I might or might not have in the pipeline. My agent would have a fit if I shared any secrets. But . . .’ He gestured towards Olivia and the others. ‘Y’know, my entourage and I . . .’

  Did he just call us his entourage? Ivy narrowed her eyes at her sister’s boyfriend. Oh, he is enjoying this way too much!

  ‘ . . . would see it as a personal favour,’ Jackson continued smoothly, ‘if we could be on-set for Gregor’s special. To, like, soak up the vibe.’

  ‘Oh, wow,’ the man breathed. ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Got it,’ said the woman briskly. ‘No promises, but we’ll see what we can do.’ Spinning on one heel, she pulled out her walkie-talkie and started barking orders into it. ‘We need a special favour here . . .’

  Up and down the line of trucks, whispers and excited chatter broke out as the news spread.

  ‘Jackson Caulfield!’ Ivy heard someone gasp.

  Gotcha. Ivy wanted to crow with triumph, but settled for a satisfied smirk.

  Stepping away from the trucks, Jackson grinned at the group of vamps and Olivia. ‘I’ll be happy to accept my fee in video games, gratitude, smoothies and worship, thank you.’

  ‘Yeah, right. I’m warning you, Caulfield . . .’ Ivy gave him a mock-death-squint. ‘You get away with calling me part of your “entourage” once. But not twice!’

  Laughing, Jackson gave her a sharp salute. ‘Got it, General Vega!’

  As the female crew member hurried towards them, a broad smile on her face, Ivy’s shoulders relaxed. This is really going to happen.

  Thank darkness that Olivia had such an unquestioningly loyal boyfriend! But all the same . . .

  She slid him a sidelong glance as they walked into the crowded diner.
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  How long are we going to be able to keep our secret from Jackson, now that he’s finally asking questions?

  Ten minutes later, though, Ivy had bigger worries on her mind. ‘Ugh!’ She nudged Olivia as they stood in a group by the counter, watching the preparations for the shoot. ‘Seriously, how do you not go batty sitting through this kind of thing every day when you’re working?’ she whispered. ‘I’ve only been on the set of The Ghost Grabber Special for, like, four minutes, and I’m ready to die of boredom!’

  Olivia sniffed. ‘At least on my sets,’ she whispered back, ‘I know I’m making something good! Plus, the people are a whole lot nicer. Just look at him!’ Surreptitiously, she pointed at Gregor Gleka himself, who was in the middle of shouting at a cowering assistant.

  ‘You’re supposed to take out all the purple Skittles before you hand me the bag!’ Gleka bellowed. ‘Not the green ones! I love the green Skittles!’

  ‘Whoa.’ Ivy raised her eyebrows. ‘Talk about someone who’s scarier than real ghosts!’

  Olivia snickered and turned to whisper something in Jackson’s ear.

  Ivy looked around the diner, shaking her head in disbelief. It looked so different, she could barely even recognise it. All the usual tables had been cleared out, leaving only a wide, heavy-looking circular one, brought in by Gleka’s crew and placed in the centre of the room. As she watched, two assistants wrestled with a heavy, blood-red tablecloth. Around the room, other crew members were busy setting up lights and debating loudly about what might be the “eeriest angles”.

  Ivy rolled her eyes.

  As Jackson was lured away to sign autographs for various crew members’ children, Reiko turned to Ivy. Today, her hair was a deep crimson that perfectly matched the rest of the set, but her expression was blatantly sceptical. ‘Not to raise the obvious question,’ she muttered, ‘but do we even have a plan?’

  Ivy winced. ‘Not really. I was sort of hoping that something would come to me once I was in here.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Sophia huddled in to share the whispered consultation. ‘Are you thinking sabotage?’

  ‘I was considering finding the fuse box and causing a power shortage,’ Ivy admitted, ‘but the problem is, that would ruin any food in the diner’s freezers. I don’t want to shut down one of my favourite places!’

  ‘Definitely not,’ Brendan agreed. ‘I don’t want to live in a world without the Meat and Greet!’ He frowned as he looked over Ivy’s head at Gregor Gleka. ‘What if we just take advantage of being on-screen as an audience? When no ghosts show up, we could point and laugh – make it really clear that Gregor’s crazy. He’d be way too embarrassed to use that footage for his special!’

  ‘I’m not sure that would be enough.’ Ivy sighed. ‘I just wish we could offer him an obvious explanation for why a ghost in an old-timey dress has been wandering around everywhere. If we could only . . . oh. Oh!’

  Before she could think twice, Ivy grabbed Olivia, pulling her sister into their group huddle. ‘I think I’ve finally got a plan!’ she hissed. ‘It’s totally insane, and if it doesn’t work this could turn into the most embarrassing day of our entire lives – but honestly, I think that it’s our only shot!’

  Olivia didn’t miss a beat. ‘OK . . . I’m listening.’

  Ivy looked to Sophia, pointing to the stylish white leather handbag over her shoulder. ‘You don’t happen to have any pale foundation in there, do you?’

  Twenty minutes later, Ivy watched from the sidelines as filming began on Gregor’s Ghost Chat. Black drapes had been placed over all the windows to make it look as if Gregor were working at night as he sat at the heavy, round table in the centre of the room, surrounded by locals Ivy vaguely recognised from the streets of Franklin Grove.

  All the audience members’ faces were shadowed, though, as a spotlight shone straight on Gregor. The “Ghost Grabber” leaned towards the camera, his eyes haunted and his fake-Eastern-European accent clinging thickly to his words.

  ‘I, Gregor Gleka, have been summoned to this place by the terror of ordinary people forced to confront the reality of the dark . . . People who can no longer deny the possibility of spectral phenomena in their own small-town lives, after the unsettling paranormal incidents that they have witnessed. These brave townsfolk sitting around me now have seen the ghostly girl who brought me here. She has haunted this town for years, but her recent appearance this past Halloween has really put the town on edge . . .’

  Lights panned over the excited-looking locals at his table, and Ivy stifled a snort. Yeah, right. She hadn’t seen a single one of those guys at Camilla’s party. In other words, they’re liars who just want to get on TV!

  Or at least . . . She swallowed hard. She hoped they were liars. If there’d been another ghostly incident on Halloween that she didn’t know about, the vamps might be in real trouble!

  ‘Clearly,’ Gregor intoned, ‘this ghost must have desperately important unfinished business, to keep her here.’

  Well, there’s a revelation. Ivy rolled her eyes. All ghosts had unfinished business! Otherwise, what was the point of being a ghost? She’d bet anything that Gregor didn’t even know about the obsidian bracelet that Patience still carried around for Hope. He was such a faker, he probably had no idea what it would really feel like to lose a twin, or . . .

  Wait a minute! Ivy sucked in a breath. Suddenly, it was all so clear. She knew exactly what needed to be done to help Patience!

  But not yet. She forced herself to contain her excitement. First, we have to debunk this whole story, and turn all the suspicious eyes away from Franklin Grove.

  ‘My friends . . .’ Gregor nodded solemnly to the locals around him. ‘Please place your palms flat on the table, while I see if I can communicate with the spirits.’ As the others pressed their hands against the table, he closed his eyes and tipped his face back – to help the camera catch every angle, Ivy was certain.

  ‘Spirits!’ Gleka’s voice boomed out. ‘I beseech you! Show pity on this frightened town. Commune with me now, and let me ease your pain. Spirits! Do you hear me? Spirits –’

  But before he could ask another question, an eerie knocking echoed through the room.

  Gregor’s eyes flew open. The locals around him rustled with sudden panic.

  Go, Olivia! Ivy let out a silent cheer. Her twin was doing exactly what they’d planned, even sooner than she’d expected. Time for the sabotage to begin!

  But then a voice spoke, powerful but muffled as if it were coming through a wall, or from a different dimension – and much, much too deep to belong to Ivy’s sister.

  ‘We are here, Gregor Gleka!’ the deep male voice intoned. ‘But why have you disturbed our immortal slumber?’

  Oh my darkness! Ivy exchanged panicked looks with her friends.

  If that wasn’t Olivia . . . who was it?

  Chapter Nine

  The guests around Gregor’s table broke out in a sudden babble of panic, their chairs scraping back as they started up as if to run.

  ‘My friends!’ Gregor held out one hand to stop them. By the glare of the bright stage spotlight, Ivy could see sudden beads of perspiration on his forehead, but his voice was commanding. ‘You don’t need to flee. Ghosts cannot harm the living. They are only a presence –’

  The deep, ominous voice cut him off before he could finish. ‘Oh, we have presents for you, Gregor Gleka . . .’

  Wait a minute. Ivy’s eyebrows lowered into a frown. Is that the sound of snickering in the distance?

  Thinking past her first panic, she closed her eyes and focused all of her hyper-alert vampire senses on the space around her. A moment later, her nose twitched.

  I know that stink!

  She narrowed her eyes at the kitchen door. The smell was definitely coming from behind there.

  That’s no ghost. It’s Josh and his greasy gang!

  ‘I – I would be happy to accept any gifts that you have to offer, spirits!’ Gregor said. His voice was trembling now, his cheeks flushing
with what looked like a mixture of excitement and fear.

  I bet he thinks this is the first time he’s really spoken to a ghost! Ivy shook her head despairingly. If only he knew . . .

  That’s it. Thinking fast, she grabbed Sophia’s arm. Now that she knew that Josh and his gang were involved, her plan needed updating. ‘Head for the kitchen door,’ she whispered, ‘and wait for my nod.’

  ‘Got it.’ Sophia started sidling along the edges of the room. Before anyone could notice her, Ivy ran forwards – straight for the round table where filming was taking place.

  ‘Gregor!’ she yelled. Cameras swung around to face her, and she tried her hardest to channel any acting power she might have learned from her sister. Look like a damsel in distress, she ordered herself, not a tough girl! Blinking hard, as if she were trying not to cry, she forced her voice to wobble. ‘I can’t take this any more! It’s all too much!’

  ‘Now, young lady . . .’ Gregor began.

  Ivy stomped one booted foot and brushed a hand over her eyes as she pretended to wipe away tears. ‘You don’t understand how frightening it is to live like this!’ she wailed. ‘Can’t you do something? Like, maybe, drive it out of town?’ She sniffed loudly. She regretted it, though, when she caught a whiff of Josh and his cronies. They’re still lurking . . .

  She shook her head, trying to stay focused on her performance. ‘Everyone here is so scared, whether they want to admit it or not! Won’t you save us? Please?’

  ‘I – well, I suppose I could. Yes, why not?’ Obviously, the desire for fame and glory had overcome Gregor’s momentary fear. Eyes wild, he pointed at one of his assistants. ‘Get me my notebooks,’ he hissed. ‘Now! And as for you . . .’ He gave the camera crew a venomous look. ‘I’m warning you, your batteries had better be fully charged this time. If anything goes wrong and it’s your fault, you’ll be out on the street before you can say the word “ghost”!’