Olivia hesitated. Ivy swore she’d be here, she thought, and she’s not. What if they’ve done something to her?
“I guess I am.” Olivia gulped. “At least, I am until Ivy shows up.”
There was silence. Then Olivia thought she saw the slightest hint of a smile appear on Mr. Vega’s face.
“Olivia Abbott,” Ms. Deborg announced, “you have passed the Second Test, the Test of Faith.”
“Huh?” Olivia said. Mr. Boros slipped out of the room and returned with Ivy, who looked more frustrated than a cheerleader who had fallen during a tumbling routine.
“They wouldn’t let me in!” Ivy shook Mr. Boros off and ran up to Olivia. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” Olivia said. “Are you okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Ivy answered.
“I was so worried!” Olivia told her.
Ivy nodded in agreement. “What happened?”
“I passed the Second Test.” Olivia shrugged.
“The Test of Faith,” Mr. Boros said in his nasal voice, “is passed when the applicant shows complete faith in the vampire who vouched for her.”
“I knew something was wrong,” Olivia began, “because you said—”
“I wouldn’t leave your side for a second.” Ivy grinned. She and Olivia high-fived. “Only one more nail to seal this coffin!” Ivy said excitedly.
“The Third, and final, Test,” Ms. Deborg said solemnly, “is the Test of Blood.”
Olivia clutched her stomach. The thought of drinking blood totally made her want to puke. “You mean I have to drink ...?” She couldn’t even bring herself to finish the question.
“That would be a Test of Fortitude, wouldn’t it?” Ms. Deborg deadpanned.
“Of course we’d never make a human drink blood,” assured Mr. Boros. “No, no, the Test of Blood merely refers to your blood, Olivia.”
“What?” Olivia croaked.
Valencia ruffled a sleeve, revealing a huge ruby ring that glinted on her finger. She approached Olivia and pressed the sides of the enormous ring. The ruby popped open to reveal what looked like the sharp point of a thumbtack. Ms. Deborg extended her other hand, palm up, expectantly.
Olivia took a step backward. “What do I have to do?”
Instead of answering, Ms. Deborg curled the tips of her fingers invitingly.
Olivia reached behind her back and gripped Ivy’s hand for moral support. Then she shut her eyes tight and reached out with her free hand. She felt Valencia Deborg’s cool fingers close around her index finger.
“What’s happening?” she whispered, terrified.
“Don’t hurt her!” Ivy cried.
But then nothing happened. Mr. Boros cleared his throat meaningfully a few times, and eventually Olivia realized that he was trying to get her attention. She forced herself to open her eyes and saw that he was holding up a yellowed piece of parchment inches from her face. Its borders were filled with elaborate, spiky designs, and in the center was a poem written in fancy black script.
“The applicant will read the Blood Oath,” he declared.
Olivia took a deep breath before starting to read aloud.
“‘Their Night is my Night. Their Blood is my Blood. Their Secret is my Secret. This Oath is my Coffin.’”
Underneath the words, where a line for her signature might be, was a small blank circle. Valencia Deborg looked at her meaningfully, still grasping Olivia’s index finger in one hand as she held up her needle-tipped ring in the other.
Olivia saw that Ivy was smiling proudly. Sort of surprisingly, so was Ivy’s father. Olivia nodded bravely at Ms. Deborg as Mr. Boros positioned the paper underneath her hand.
The vampire touched her ring to the tip of Olivia’s finger. Olivia winced, and a drop of blood bloomed like a tiny rose. She let it drip off her finger, and it landed with a tiny splatter in the middle of the parchment circle.
“Olivia Abbott has passed all three tests in her initiation,” Ms. Deborg pronounced. “The Blood Secret is hers to keep.”
Olivia and Ivy shared the biggest hug ever, and everybody started clapping—even Ivy’s father and Valencia Deborg. Then the vampire officials led them all downstairs to the living room, where Olivia was shocked to find Sophia, Brendan, Bethany, and Mr. and Mrs. Daniels. They all erupted into applause the moment Olivia walked into the room.
“Bravo!” Brendan shouted. “A-positive, Olivia!” Bethany hooted like a crazed owl.
Olivia just stood there, beaming.
“Everyone who knows you know the secret is
in this room,” Ivy whispered in her ear. Sophia started snapping pictures like crazy. Ivy tried to step away, but Sophia begged her to stay there and try to act natural. “I’m hoping Vamp magazine will want these pictures for their ‘Stalking the Undead’ celebrity candid column!” she said excitedly.
Valencia Deborg stepped into the center of the room and held up her slender hands. “As you’ve guessed, Olivia Abbott has successfully completed the sacred rites of initiation. She is officially sanctioned into our community by the Vampire Round Table.”
“And by ASHH as well,” Mr. Boros piped up from near the door.
Everybody started clapping again, and then they all sang this bizarre song in some weird language that sounded like “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow” played backward. Olivia swayed to the music, feeling simultaneously awed and bemused by the whole display.
Ivy was so happy and relieved that her sister had passed the tests, she almost felt like wearing pink! Everyone was milling around Olivia, congratulating her and joking around. Meanwhile, Ivy’s father appeared, holding a silver tray loaded with crystal flutes of deep red A neg. He handed them out, until the only one left had a pink-and-white polka-dotted cocktail umbrella sticking out of it.