Like a radio announcer, Alex began to outline the rules. ‘Each opponent must respect the rules of the duel,’ he began. ‘One: there will be three rounds. Two: in each round one vampire must try to push the other vampire out of the circle. Three: no punching or biting is allowed in the fight. Four: as referee, my word is law. My say is final. And five: if at the end of the third and final round there is no clear victor, we will return tomorrow at the same time for a rematch . . . with swords. Agreed?’
The crowd exploded into rowdy cheering as if their favourite team had just scored a goal. Vampire boys pumped their fists in the air while the girls who had stared at Ivy began a high-pitched chant: ‘Greg-or, Greg-or, Greg-or!’ The ringleader of the group lifted her palms in the air, trying to encourage more people to join in.
Gregor and Carlos bent low, fingers grazing the ground and muscles tense. Petra’s hand tightened around Ivy’s arm. We are not in this together, thought Ivy and she shrugged off Petra’s grip, pushing her way out of the crowd. She didn’t know where she was heading to; she just knew she didn’t want to stay here.
She stumbled out of the mass of vampires, winding up near the front gates of the school where her grandmother had dropped her off not too long ago. She had thought vampires were more advanced than bunnies. They were stronger and quicker and had super-senses, but that didn’t change the fact that they were so old-fashioned they were practically backwards! Of all the ways vampires could use their physical superiority, they chose to waste it on dumb things like this – a duel ! Ivy felt sick, like she’d swallowed a whole clove of garlic.
She climbed on to a cool stone bench, pulling her knees to her chest. The students were still whooping, though at least from here Ivy could no longer see Carlos and Gregor. It’s like the Middle Ages never ended for these people.
Ivy stared through the wrought-iron gate with its regal Wallachia crest. If this was the way young vampires were expected to behave at the Academy, Ivy wasn’t sure she could ever be proud to wear it.
Ivy’s head snapped up at the sound of a door opening behind her. Three teachers in long professorial robes sprinted out in the direction of the fight. The first of them – a thin, pointy-nosed teacher – noticed Ivy sitting on the bench. She skidded to a stop. ‘Come on!’ she said. ‘The duel might be over at any moment. You certainly don’t want to be the only one to miss it, now do you?’
Actually I do, she wanted to tell them. Ivy couldn’t believe it. Had she entered a parallel universe? She pinched herself to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. But when she blinked and saw that she was still seated in the middle of the pristine grounds, Ivy decided to smile and wave the teachers on. After all, challenging centuries of convention was a bit too much to take on during a simple school visit.
Even for Ivy Vega.
Chapter Seven
Olivia may not have had any vamp powers, but she had competed in the state cheerleading competition three times, and that meant she had a few special skills of her own. She stared up at the impossibly high oak tree. Its branches stretched over the Lazar family grounds. It was the perfect spot to scout for locations for shots of the wedding reception . . . just so long as she didn’t look down.
Olivia straddled the tree trunk and inched her way up until she reached one of the solid lower branches. From there, she caught hold of the next limb up, moving from bough to bough like she was climbing a rickety ladder. When she reached a branch near the top of the tree, she hiked her leg over and leaned her back against the knotted trunk.
Her feet dangled as she lifted the viewfinder to study the landscape. The first half of the wedding reception was to be held outside, beneath the sparkling Transylvania stars, before the guests went back into the ballroom to dance the night away. The whole day was going to be a fairytale come true – only this fairytale came with vampires. The tables had been draped with garlands of pink-and-cream flowers. A silk awning billowed over the table where Tessa and Alex would sit for the wedding dinner, and a band was setting up to one side, their gilt chairs decorated with huge cream satin bows. I’m so glad Lucia changed her plans, she thought. All it took was a nudge in the right direction.
Olivia snapped a few test shots, double-checking the digital screen after each one to see which angles were working best. She scooted further out along the branch, but then it dawned on her: I’ll hardly be able to climb up here in the fabulous gown I’ll be wearing! Not that she’d ever tested it, but Olivia didn’t think pink chiffon and rough tree bark would go together very well.
The branch swayed beneath her and she dug all ten fingernails into the tree until the bough stopped moving. Panting, Olivia smacked herself on the forehead. What was wrong with her lately? Was she so desperate to avoid thinking about Jackson that she would risk life and limb climbing a stupid tree? She needed to get it together. She clutched the trunk and lowered herself on to a branch below.
Crack!
Olivia felt rotting bark crumble beneath her feet, and she slipped down. She managed to grasp a sturdier branch above her, clutching it with her fingertips. Her feet swished wildly through thin air. She looked up at the branch she was holding for dear life.
Don’t panic, Olivia. Do not panic. She squeezed her eyes shut. Too late – she was totally panicking. Her arms started to shake and her fingers were aching with the strain of holding on. I could really use a dose of that super-strength about now! Where was her sister when she needed her? Olivia tried to adjust her grip, but her hand slipped and her stomach virtually jumped into her mouth. Down she plummeted.
‘Heeeeeeeelp! Ooof!’
She landed in a clumsy heap on the ground, cradling her camera to her chest. How utterly great, she thought. I try to stay busy and I wind up nearly killing myself! Olivia stretched her arms and then her legs, flexing her wrists and ankles. She’d had enough practice tumbling from the top of a cheer pyramid to manage not to break any bones. At least she could be thankful for that, and the camera was still in one piece.
Something in the grass prickled her shins, and Olivia scooted back. She looked down at the spot where she had landed. She was up to her ankles in exotic plants with green, ivy-like vines and furry white blossoms. Almost instantly, her skin started to itch. She leaned down to scratch, but the itching was getting worse by the second. She straightened up to get out of reach of the devilish plants, but then she noticed that she was bang in the middle of a crop; there was another metre’s worth of plants between her and the clear grass.