“We shall see,” a cool voice intoned. Nearly jumping out of her sneakers, Olivia turned to see that Valencia Deborg had appeared in the doorway. “The time has come for the First Test,” she announced.
Olivia and Ivy exchanged nervous glances. Ms. Deborg gestured for them to follow her, and before Olivia knew it the vampire official was disappearing down the hall. On the main stairs, Olivia and Ivy had to take the steps two at a time to catch up.
Ms. Deborg led them to the same guest room that had the bathroom where they’d done their final shots for Vamp magazine. Against one wall was what looked like a dresser covered by a dark purple velvet sheet. Valencia Deborg pulled the sheet off with a flourish, revealing a black lacquered coffin.
“The Test of Darkness!” she announced dramatically. Olivia’s heart flooded with fear. Who’s in there? she thought. When she glanced at her sister, Ivy just shrugged nervously.
“You must spend the entire night in this coffin,” Ms. Deborg explained at last, “from dusk until dawn.”
“No way,” Olivia said under her breath.
“Way,” Ms. Deborg replied without a hint of humor. She glanced toward the window, where the sun had already begun setting. “There is not much time,” she said, and gestured for Olivia to go change.
A minute later, Olivia was standing alone in front of the same ornate mirror where she’d stood posing with her sister, except this time she was alone, wearing her sunflower pajamas, and brushing her teeth nervously.
I don’t want to be shut in a box all night, she thought, even if it does have a plush velvet interior . . . but I don’t want to lose my sister even more.
When she emerged from the bathroom, Ivy and Ms. Deborg were waiting beside the open coffin expectantly. A laugh escaped from Ivy’s mouth.
“What?” Olivia inquired.
“Killer pajamas,” Ivy teased.
“It is time,” Ms. Deborg interrupted. Olivia walked up to the coffin. There was a little step stool to help her up, and she climbed inside. She lay down on her back and tucked her clammy hands at her sides.
“Does this thing have a nightlight?” she tried to joke.
Instead of answering, Ms. Deborg pulled down the lid. The last thing Olivia saw was her sister’s worried face, and then . . . nothing but darkness.
Olivia strained to hear her sister’s or Ms. Deborg’s voice outside the coffin, but it was eerily silent. All she could hear was her own panicked breathing. She tried to make out the ruffles in the upholstery that she knew were inches from her face, but she couldn’t. She raised a shaking hand slowly to touch the lid.
You’re okay, she told herself. It’s just the dark. Nothing can hurt you. Her mind started to wander. You’re just in a coffin. Used by vampires. Who happen to drink blood. Suddenly she could hear the loud, quick thuds of her own heart beating, and she had the urge to throw open the coffin and run out of the house screaming.
Instead, Olivia decided to try not to focus on where she was and count sheep. At first, they were all white. Then, without even thinking about it, they became black sheep. And, pretty soon, they started flying.
By the time she got to thirty-four, Olivia realized she was counting bats—which, for some reason, gave her the worst case of the giggles ever.
In an effort to stop her mind from playing tricks on her, Olivia tried to think of nice people: Ivy, her parents, Camilla, Sophia. After a few seconds, she felt herself relaxing. Actually, the coffin was surprisingly comfortable. She even had enough room to turn on her side. She started worrying about what tomorrow’s tests were going to be, but then she thought, I thought this test was going to be a total nightmare, but it’s not so bad, and felt herself drifting off to sleep.
Chapter 11
Olivia was awakened suddenly by a flood of light. She covered her eyes with her hands, peeking out between her fingers.
Out of the corner of her eyes she registered that she was surrounded by purple velvet and absentmindedly started rubbing her toe against it. Then she saw a black-lacquered edge, which made her think of Mr. Vega’s decorating. She lazily turned her head from side to side. I slept pretty well, she thought with a yawn, considering I’m in a coffin.
The pale, gaunt face of Valencia Deborg appeared above her. The vampire’s lips were moving, but for a second Olivia couldn’t work out what she was saying. “Olivia Abbott,” she finally made out, “you have passed the First Test, the Test of Darkness.”
Olivia sat upright and clapped like she’d just finished a cheer. She looked around to catch her sister’s eye, but Ms. Deborg was the only person there.
“Once you have changed, report to the upstairs landing,” Ms. Deborg said sternly before sweeping out of the room.
Olivia rushed to wash her face, brush her teeth, and throw on her clothes. She raced down the hall to the stairs, expecting to see Ivy. Instead, Mr. Boros was standing there alone.
“Good morning,” he said. The few remaining hairs on his head were sticking out at all angles and he was wearing the same rumpled suit he’d worn yesterday. Olivia figured he must have slept in an extra coffin in the attic or something.
Olivia followed him down the stairs to the breakfast room, where Valencia Deborg was ready, wearing a fresh dark-red and purple kimono and holding a tall glass filled with pink frothy liquid. “Your breakfast.”
Olivia’s heart jumped. It’s the memory-erasure concoction! “But I thought I passed!” she sputtered.
Ms. Deborg frowned. “You would rather have Marshmallow Platelets?”
“No,” Olivia said, “but I don’t want to drink a memory-loss smoothie, either.”
Ms. Deborg and Mr. Boros both looked at her cluelessly.
“Oh!” Mr. Boros said finally. “She thinks . . . No, no, young lady, this is a real strawberry smoothie. Made especially for you.”
“Really?” Olivia peered into the glass.
“Cross my neck and hope to die,” Ms. Deborg pledged without smiling.
Sitting down, Olivia took a tentative sip. It was super delicious. All at once she realized she was ravenous and began gulping through the straw.
Halfway through, she started to get a brain freeze headache that made her take a break. “Where’s Ivy?” she wondered aloud.
Mr. Boros and Ms. Deborg exchanged glances. “She’s not here,” Mr. Boros said.
“Where’d she go?” Olivia asked.