Covert Maneuvers

"It's alright to make mistakes, you're only human

Inside everybody's hiding something

Take time to catch your breath and choose your moment

Don't slide..." -Dido, "Slide"

Hey folks, this is Bree. As we mentioned in our last entry, we've been wondering why Gia (apparently) tried to mislead us by pretending she didn't know anything about vampires. Ordinarily, we would have pursued that immediately, but Gia has been having a bad couple of days. She got bitten by a werewolf, and now she's a werewolf too - which is hard on the body, but she seems to be taking it even harder still emotionally. We decided it was best to give her space for a few days.

A few days have come and gone, though... and it's not just idle curiosity. If Gia had contact with vampires in the past, there's a good chance that would eventually become our problem if she becomes part of our family. If bad vampires were going to come try to murder her, that would be a good thing for us to know, so we could do our best to prevent it.

I decided to go for the direct approach this morning while we were all getting our breakfasts. I was pouring my cornflakes. (Gosh, I love cornflakes! I normally don't get excited about food, because I struggle with disordered eating patterns, but cornflakes make me happy. But anyway...) Without looking up from my bowl, I asked, "So Gia, how do you know about vampires, and how come you acted like you didn't?"

Gia looked pale, wrapped up in her fluffy blue bathrobe, and started to reply automatically without thinking, "Because..."

Our eyes met over the cereal bowls. The secret was blown. She hadn't answered me directly, but she also hadn't stated more convincingly than before that I was wrong and she really hadn't known. It was clear that she did. We all knew that. Apparently Gia decided it was time to come clean.

"I... haven't been entirely honest with you..." Gia admitted haltingly.

"I knew it!" Molly yelled. "She is a vampire!"

There was a lot of eye-rolling, and Felicity hastily shushed her. For various reasons, we knew that Gia couldn't be a vampire. We've seen her go out in the day with no ill-effects. As an elementary school teacher, she has a job where you can't arrange to avoid attending work on sunny days, even in Northern Canada, because night shifts and irregular scheduling aren't an option. We've also seen her eat regular food; the night she came over and she and Maia made us pasta alla carbonara, Gia ate it too, and she even had second helpings. Our resident vampires have also confirmed Gia isn't a vampire, which alone is proof because they can recognize each other, and combined with all the other evidence just makes it impossible.

We're fairly sure Gia was a human before the werewolf bit her last week. She was just a human who apparently knew about vampires.

Gia shook her head. "No, I am... I was... just a regular mortal."

She looked down, like this was going to be a horrible thing to admit, and I wondered what could be that bad. When she spoke again, I realized just what could be.

"I was working for The Elders," Gia said. "They sent me here to keep an eye on you and report back."

"How did you end up working for evil vampires?" I asked. My brain preferred to focus on that than to try to sort out the other part. The part where we trusted her, and she turned out to be a spy.

Kaya frowned, like something didn't make sense, but for the moment she didn't say anything.

Gia replied, "My family - my parents and my brother - were killed by rogue vampires."

With what was probably unnecessary sarcasm, Kirsten said, "I'm sorry for your loss, but... yeah, going to work for killer vampires yourself makes total sense as a response!"

No one shushed her, because we were all feeling pretty stung at that point.

Gia shook her head. "I didn't know they were killer vampires at the time. I thought they were the good guys. They avenged my family for me. I thought they would protect us humans from other vampires. By the time I figured out what they were really about... I was scared, and I didn't know how to get out. When they gave me this 'assignment,' I admit I jumped at it, because I could put some distance between me and them without them watching me all the time, and I could try to sort out my thoughts and decide what to do next."

Maia looked like she'd been stabbed. This probably hurt worse than a knife, I thought.

"So you just pretended all this?" Maia asked shakily. "You pretended... that you loved me?"

Gia shook her head, desperately, looking like she was about to cry. "No! The Elders only told me to make friends with you. The rest of it... those feelings were true. That part was really me. I didn't expect that to happen, and it made me feel horrible to deceive you about why I met you - but what has happened since wasn't fake. I promise!"

There was silence for an awkward span of time. Then I said quietly, "Well... she is still here."

"Hm?" Maia asked absently.

"We fought The Elders weeks ago," I clarified. "Gia's 'assignment' pretty much definitively ended then. But she's still been hanging out with us, even though she didn't have to anymore."

Maia looked a little hopeful, and Kaya nodded, like all this finally made sense. "Gia is telling the truth now," Kaya said.

I'm not sure if our readers remember what Kaya's power is - it's empathy. She can feel echoes of other people's emotions when she concentrates on them. That's why she was confused when Gia admitted why she became part of our lives; that didn't fit with what Kaya perceived of Gia's feelings since.

Gia looked fearfully at Maia, tensing like she expected rejection, but she said softly, "Is this something we can work through?"

Maia thought for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, I think it might be."

I can't report on their conversation beyond that point, because that was when the rest of us decided to make a strategic retreat. We took our cereal downstairs to eat so the two of them could talk in private. I don't know what will happen with Maia and Gia's relationship.

In spite of all this, though, I can honestly say I hope it works out. I believe that Gia is a good person who lost her way for awhile. If she stays with us, I think she'll find it again. She wouldn't be the only one who has found a new path with this family.

Love,
Bree

Not Human

Hi, this is Bree again. I had two conversations today that are kind of... blowing my mind. I'm going to share them with you, so you can help me think them through.

The first conversation was with Clare. She came to my room to bring back a book I lent her, and before she left, she said casually, "By the way, you know your new friends are vampires too, right?"

I'm pretty sure my jaw literally dropped. No, I did not know that, and I'm fairly sure Kaya and Fiona didn't either. "You mean Cécile and Marie-Grace?" I asked stupidly, although I'm not sure who else could fit the title of 'new friends' at this point.

"Yeah." Clare raised an eyebrow. "You can't tell?"

I shook my head, still trying to take in this information. I was about to ask her why she hadn't said something before, and then I realized she hadn't actually met them before last night. The first time Marie-Grace and Cécile came to our house, Clare was out hunting. Then the day they went sledding with the younger girls, Clare had gone to the snowball fight with the rest of us older ones. The tree lighting at the park was the first time Clare had been introduced to them in person, so she hadn't really been holding out.

If it was a vampires-recognize-vampires thing, why hadn't Tabitha...? Oh, wait. Tabitha totally freaked out when they were over here. At the time, we thought it was the strangers with unfamiliar human blood issue. But what if it was really some kind of territorial thing, or something? Tabitha still hasn't talked about that night. Maybe she assumed we already knew.

We didn't, though. All of us were totally surprised. I mean, we haven't seen them during the daytime... but in Newfoundland in the winter, "daytime" is over by around the end of the school day. There are a lot of regular people we haven't seen in daytime either. Plus there's the way they dress. We figured it was just personal taste - but what if they dress in older styles because they really are old? Which they must be, because they have no reaction to being around humans at all, even at ballet where the occasional bleeding injury is inevitable. They must have been practicing self-control for a long time to get that good.

I talked it over with my sisters, to decide what to do, and we decided... we're not really going to do anything. They aren't a danger to us. Kaya and Fiona are going to tell them we know, just so they won't have to worry about it anymore, but there's no reason for it to affect our friendship.

This new news was something to get used to. Mainly just because it was weird that we didn't figure it out on our own, and Clare had to tell us. Vampires aren't really very surprising to us anymore, which is an odd thing to realize.

Then came... the other thing. Which for me was even more mind blowing.

I decided to talk to Inna about the possible fairy incident over the weekend. I figured if she knew about vampires, maybe she knew about fairies too. Worth a try, right?

It may seem like a weird thing to have a conversation about, but talking about fairies was in some ways easier than vampires. Here in Newfoundland, a lot of people believe in fairies. For some people, it's even seen as sort of... disloyal... to say you don't, because it's part of the local culture. I'm not originally from here, and neither is Inna, but somehow it makes a difference.

When I asked Inna about fairies, she kind of sighed, and leaned on the kitchen counter. "I thought you might ask," she said, and she sounded kind of tired. "Bree, there's something I think you should know. I don't think you're entirely human."

I just kind of blinked. Of course I am! What else would I be?

Inna went on, "I think the reason they showed themselves to you is that you have fairy blood, yourself. I've wondered about it since I met you and Fiona, but I wasn't sure till now."

I suddenly flashed back to the earlier conversation. (Now you see why I wrote all that down for you? It was so you could follow my flashback. :-P) Clare had said she could just tell Marie-Grace and Cécile are vampires because she's a vampire herself. And that might mean...

"You know because you're one too?" I suggested tentatively.

Inna smiled, and said, "Yes. Very good, Bree."

Tomorrow, Inna is going to tell me some things I need to know about fairies. I just couldn't handle more information today. I'm still kind of in shock. Cécile and Marie-Grace aren't human. Inna isn't human. And if she's right, my little sister isn't human... and I'm not human either.

I might not be human.

This is crazy.

But it feels...

True.

Love,
Bree

The Truth About Inna

Hi, this is Kiwi! Like Summer said in the last post, I'm feeling a lot better, so I'm going to be writing today's post because I found out something interesting about my big sister Inna.

It may seem weird that there's anything left to find out... but Inna hasn't been my sister for very long. Me and Summer used to live with just Maia. We met Inna in Toronto, where we were living at the time, a couple of months before we moved here. At first, me and Summer thought she was Maia's new girlfriend - but it turns out they were just friends. Inna didn't have a nice place to stay, and we had an extra bedroom, so Maia talked to us and asked if it was okay if Inna came and lived with us. Of course we said it was fine. So Inna became our second older sister, even though we didn't meet her till this year. When Inna was in some kind of danger in Toronto and decided to move here to try to be safe, we came with her, because we're family.

Inna has always been really nice to us, and really goes out of her way to take care of us and protect us. She's always been kind of secretive, though, and won't talk much about her background. Usually she says it doesn't matter - but sometimes she admits the real reason, which is because she thinks we wouldn't be safe if we knew. I get the feeling some parts of her past are pretty bad, because of that and because a lot of times she makes sarcastic little comments about herself that she's not a nice person... even though she really is.

The doctor said I can't go back to school till next week because I had surgery, so Maia took time off work to take care of me. While we were eating lunch today, and I asked her, "How come Inna knows so much about vampires?"

I didn't expect that she would answer me, because she usually doesn't talk about stuff people don't want her to talk about - but Maia surprised me. She said, looking at my still kind-of-bruised face, "We agreed to protect you from this... but I guess we can't." Then she told me the basics of the story.

A few years ago, Inna made some vampires mad - I don't know what she did, Maia didn't say. These were big bad scary vampires, not nice ones like Clare and Tabitha. And older, more powerful ones, like we were wondering about before. They decided to kill her, but not all of them agreed, and when some of them tried to murder her, the other ones secretly saved her life... but she didn't know at the time that there would be a catch. The ones who saved her bound her to them as their servant. 

Inna was with them for awhile, but she finally got away. She's been on the run ever since - from vampires who think she's dead, and from vampires who think she betrayed them by escaping instead of spending the rest of her life serving them. No wonder she's so scared! And no wonder she felt so sorry for Clare. Good thing Inna has us to protect her now!

I asked Maia if I was supposed to keep this a secret, and she said no. That it's better for everyone to know the truth now. I'm glad, because it would have been really hard to be the only kid who knows, and not be able to talk to my sisters.

When Inna got home, Maia told her that she'd told me. Inna didn't seem upset with Maia - but she was worried. She asked me if I still liked her. I said of course I do, I love her, because she's my sister! Then I gave her a big hug. Everything was alright after that.

I'm sure this isn't the whole truth about Inna. I typed up everything Maia told me so I won't forget, but it's just the bare bones of the story. Maybe in time, we'll learn more. For now, I feel like I know my big sister a little better.

Love,

Kiwi

Inna the Vampire Slayer

Hi, this is Clare, with more Crazy Vampire News.

As you may recall, ever since I've been here, I've had other vampires after me. That's why I came here, actually. I was running from them. I changed my name so it would be harder for them to find me; on the way here I passed a place called St. Clare's Hospital, so I decided to be Clare. They still found me... but I like my new name. I think it suits me.

There were four vampires in their hunting group. They're the ones who kidnapped me off the streets of Denver and turned me into a vampire too. They planned to keep me, and make me a part of their group. Like their trainee, or their little sister. I didn't want to be there, though, because they kill people, so I ran away. They weren't okay with that. They thought I belonged to them. They were afraid I would expose them to the humans because I'd gone rogue. Plus I think they just saw me as their property, with no right to get away. They were going to punish me for not doing what they wanted and not being a killer like them.

I ran from them for a long time... I guess I was always headed to Nova Scotia, without realizing it, because that's where I lived with my grandmother, and I was happy there. Well, they found me in Nova Scotia, so I stowed away on the ferry and went north again. That's how I ended up here. That's how I finally found a home.

Since then, the vampires have been skulking around from time to time. They would occasionally strike - like when they cornered me at the park, or when they kidnapped Kiwi - and then when they didn't win, they'd disappear again. We know they're monsters, but they're monsters who are good at hiding. You can't call the police about problem vampires, because the vampires would just eat the police. We knew we had to find some way of getting rid of them once and for all, before they killed more people. None of us knew where to look, though.

Tonight, they made a move. One of them was sniffing around the house, scouting us out, and he bumped into Inna. Who is not afraid of vampires. And who is capable of being really scary. I'm glad I'm on her side, not the other side. Inna didn't tell us all the details of how she defeated the vampire guy, but I know it involved a wooden stake and firing up the gas barbecue - so I can guess the rest. I'm glad that isn't how I ended up - and I definitely would have if my new family hadn't protected me!

Inna was able to follow the guy's trail back to where the other vampires were hiding. They had built a kind of nest in an unused downtown building, and had killed at least one homeless person to feed on. I'm glad I didn't see that. It would have been sad, and... I might not have acted human around the blood. I don't like that thought.

When Inna went further into their little makeshift lair, she found the other three vampires already dead. From the look of the scene - which wasn't much, since going with traditional lore they were burned - she said it looked like they'd been killed by other vampires.

I'm not sure whether I feel safer, or less safe. The ones who wanted me dead are gone now, but I don't think I can really say I'm safer without knowing why they were killed. 

Grudge? That probably wouldn't involve me. I haven't crossed paths with any other vampires besides the ones who turned me, plus Tabitha, so I don't see how I could have made anyone mad. 

Turf war? Depends. I'm not interested in being territorial, but if someone else wants this to be their territory without other vampires, Tabitha and I are probably also on the hit list. 

Or... something else? And if something else, then what? Why would vampires want to kill other vampires? Would whoever did it want to kill me and Tabitha, too?

Could it be that the vampires who got rid of the dangerous ones were trying to protect the humans? So maybe they're good vampires. Maybe there are nice and heroic vampires who go around making sure bad vampires don't hurt people? Inna didn't think this was too likely, but it would be a happy and optimistic possibility. She said most vampires are more about the self-preservation or at best protecting close family and allies... and in some cases protecting the secrets of vampirism... than about altruism to strangers. Too bad my wishful thinking vampire superhero theory is probably not true.

Maybe I don't want it to be true, anyway. I've done bad things. Tabitha has done bad things. Not that we had much choice, but it happened. Do we count as bad vampires because of that? If someone is "cleaning house" so to speak, are we in danger too?

In a way, it's a relief not to be scared of the vampires that made me into one anymore. I still have nightmares about when they kidnapped me and turned me. I'm glad they won't take anyone else's mortal life like that. Now I may have more things to be scared of, though. I'm glad I have my family to protect me and reassure me that it'll all be okay. No matter how things turn out with this, letting them adopt me was the smartest thing I ever did.

Love,

Clare

Recovery

Hi, this is Kaya.

Well, life goes on. Even after something really scary, like the accident with Kiwi and Tabitha.

Kiwi is feeling better today. She's still really sore, and her cheek and nose are really swollen. She's still having trouble with her eye. Surgery is looking like a certainty. Kiwi is taking pain meds, though, and using ice, so she seems pretty cheerful. Especially when we watched Labyrinth with her.

Tabitha feels really, really awful. We all feel bad when we see her, because she looks so dejected. She keeps apologizing to Kiwi - even though Kiwi forgave her - and seems surprised Kiwi even still wants to see her. All day, Tabitha has been doing her best to make Kiwi feel better. Once the sun set she even went in the kitchen and baked cookies for her, even though she couldn't taste any of it herself. We didn't even know Tabitha could cook; we've never seen her do anything around the house. I think she's really trying to turn over a new leaf... and find some humanity. We all wish her well.

For the rest of us, things are kind of back to normal again.

Felicity and Josefina are preparing for the French language oral exams they have every semester. They spend a lot of time chatting away to each other, and the rest of us sort of understand.

Fiona and I are thinking a lot about Nutcracker for ballet - we find out our roles on Monday. I'm pretty sure I'll get something because pretty much all the pointe students are in it. There aren't as many of us, and we have more experience, so I'll probably get cast. I hope it's something good! Fiona isn't sure if she'll get a role, because there are a lot more kids in her age group, and most of her class has studied longer than she has. She also thinks her teacher doesn't like her. She's not sure she'll even be in the show. I think she will, though. She's a good dancer and she works hard. Day after tomorrow, we'll find out!

And yet as always lately, our life is a balance between the mundane and the weird. Day-to-day, it's pretty normal for us. We live just like many other kids our age.  There are some shadows hanging over us. Some scary things still unresolved.

1.) We don't know where the bad feral vampires that kidnapped Kiwi and are trying to kill Clare are. After the last incident, Inna tried to track them down, but couldn't find them. They're still out there. That is worrisome.

2.) The vampire hunters who also wanted Clare dead got kicked out of Canada and aren't supposed to come back. They were after Tabitha when we found her in Pennsylvania, though, so they have even more reason to want to get to us if they figure out where she is. What if they hear about what happened to Kiwi and think Tabitha is an urgent danger? What if they sneak across the border and come back?

3.) The people who keep threatening Inna. We don't know who the are. Whether they're more vampires, or humans, or what. We do know Inna is scared of them... and Inna isn't scared of much, not even ordinary bad vampires. Whatever has her spooked has to be really bad.

So that's life. Kiwi is recovering. I guess we're all recovering - Kiwi was the only one who got hurt, but it was really scary and upsetting for all of us. Tabitha is still trying to get over her guilt. Yeah, we're all still getting better. But I think we're going to be okay.

Love,
Kaya

Together

"What can't we face if we're together?

What's in this place that we can't weather?"

-Buffy, the musical episode

Hello, blog world! This is Bree.

Well, as it turns out, we were right to be worried about what the weird guy who followed us said. We got home, and told the adults - and Inna totally flipped out. We knew she'd probably be upset that someone had threatened her (and us, too, really) but we didn't expect the level of fear we saw when we broke the news.

Inna immediately announced that she was leaving. That it was too dangerous us if she stayed with us. That was something we weren't okay with, though. We couldn't just send Inna off on her own. We'd miss her - and besides, we're safer together than any single one of us would be alone. Inna was skeptical, so we took a vote. No one voted she should go. We're a family, and she's part of that family. No matter what. 

She continued arguing, but I pointed out that she'd do the same thing for any of us. Inna couldn't really refute that, because we all knew it was true, so she conceded the point. 

There was brief talk of just the Roses going - but again, safety in numbers, and neither Inna nor Maia wanted to put Summer and Kiwi in danger. That's why they came here in the first place. To be safe. Thankfully, we decided the best way to make that happen is for us all to stay together. I'm glad. I don't want to lose anyone from my family.

Speaking of that, Tabitha - our new vampire - is doing a little better. She's been drinking the blood Clare brings her, and she seems maybe a little less crazy now? 

Tabitha actually managed to have a reasonably coherent conversation with me on one of my visits. She told me she liked my shirt (the first time she'd expressed any kind of preference.) Since she seemed to be conversing better than usual, I asked if she had any family we could contact for her. Tabitha said no, and asked where she was. She seemed surprised when I said Canada - I don't think she remembers the trip at all - but she seemed relieved to be far away from the place where things went so badly wrong for her. And, probably more importantly, at least for now she's gotten away from the people who were chasing her there. She asked if we were really going to protect her, and I promised we would... because family doesn't leave each other, and we're stronger when we're together.

Love,

Bree

Cars, Cat, and Dangerous Stranger

Three things happened in the last two days. And I, Kaya, am going to tell you about it.

The first thing that happened was, Kirsten and Bree took their test for their learner's permits yesterday afternoon. They both passed, but Bree got all the questions right, and Kirsten missed two, so of course Kirsten is jealous. Molly told Kirsten not to feel bad because Bree is a better driver anyway so it doesn't matter... which so did not help. Kirsten didn't talk to either Molly or Bree (even though Bree didn't brag at all) for about three hours. Now they've made up, though, and Inna's car has a "Novice Driver" sign in the rear window so the girls can legally use it to practice. Fun times!

The second thing is, Kiwi found a cat yesterday. He was a little grey stray who has been hanging around their school for a few days, and she decided to bring him home. After some major wheedling, and Summer and Kiwi promising up and down to take care of him, Maia said they could keep him if Inna agreed when she got home from work - which she did. So now the Roses have a pet, too! We're so happy for them!

They gave their new kitty some food, which he liked, and a bath, which he didn't... but needed because he was really muddy from living outside. They brushed him and petted him for awhile. Then he curled up on their sofa and fell asleep, having decided to his satisfaction that their house was home. They've decided to name him Gandalf the Grey, which we approve of because we all love Lord of the Rings.

The third thing is not so fun. This evening I was walking April (our dog; probably you all know that by now, but we clarify sometimes because her name is human-like enough that she could be another sister or a friend) with Kirsten, Bree, and Felicity. Kirsten and Bree had settled their earlier driving-related differences, and Felicity and I were prepared to calm them down if there was another flare-up of hostilities, but they were getting along again. I will say this for them, they yell at each other like crazed wolverines at the time, but it blows over fast afterward and they're fine again, which is kind of weird to me.

Anyway, we noticed someone was behind us, keeping pace. It was early evening, but getting dark, because our days are starting to get short. We were pretty sure it was a male, in dark clothes and a hoodie. That may sound foreboding, but it's really not all that unusual. We live in the city, so it's not odd to see other people out walking when we take April out, and lots of people have the same urban-travel walking pace because we're used to going places on foot, so you naturally keep a steady distance between you. Nor was his clothing odd - dark colours are popular here, and practically everyone wears hoodies at least sometimes. At first, we weren't concerned about him - but then he got close enough that I could sense his emotions using my power.

He wasn't feeling hostile. He wasn't feeling violent. But he was feeling very determined and intent... and perceiving himself as intimidating. That was not necessarily a good thing. When April stopped to sniff something, I stopped too, hoping we could let him pass. Suddenly he was very focused on examining the house numbers, even though before he was just walking, not looking for an address. Clearly taking an excuse to stop when we stopped. I pulled on April's leash, and she followed - and then he was moving again, too. I started to get really alarmed, and communicated this to my sisters with my eyes. They'd already figured it out, though.

"I need to get something at the corner store," Bree said.

"Okay," I replied, knowing where she was going with this. The corner store is open late, and whenever we've gone there, there have always been at least a few customers. It's well-lighted. They'd probably give us a hard time about April, but on the plus side they don't let people wear their hoods up in the store (there's a sign on the door indicating that,) so he'd have to show his face on the security camera... making it less likely he'd do something to us afterward.

I thought Bree had the right idea. Apparently the guy following us figured out that we were onto him, too, because suddenly I sensed frustration and hurry from him. We picked up our pace. So did he. We exchanged another look. This one said that if something bad happened, Bree should run for help because she's so fast. She nodded a little, just enough for us to see.

In sight of the store, the guy picked up his pace, passed us, and blocked our way. I saw Bree tense, ready to bolt, and he said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Darn right," Kirsten replied. "So we're just going to be going..."

He continued like she hadn't said anything. "But I do have a message for you. You girls have been making some dangerous enemies lately. You've displeased people who really ought not to be displeased, if you value your lives."

Bree tried to dart past him, but he moved in front of her. She's faster, but he was bigger and stronger, so it was like she had hit a wall. She glowered at him, which he seemed to find funny.

"Let us go," Felicity told him steadily, her power active behind the words.

For a moment, it seemed like it was going to work, and he looked uncertain and started to move out of our way... but then he shook it off. "Wow, you girls are pulling out all your tricks tonight, aren't you?" he said with a laugh. "Don't worry. We're almost done here. One last part of the message. The woman next door to you, Inna. Don't believe her, don't trust her, and don't get too attached to her. She's made worse enemies than you have - and you don't want to be caught in the line of fire when her time comes. I'm warning you about this because you're just dumb kids, but one warning is all you get. If you're interested in your longevity, cut your ties with her before it's too late."

He turned away and left. April belatedly barked at him. I realized I was shaking. We walked home in silence.

In some ways, this is not big news. We know that we have a gang of vampires after us, as well as some mean vampire hunters back in the United States who dislike us, and those definitely count as dangerous enemies. We also know someone has been following/bothering the Roses, and that their efforts and the secrecy seemed focused on Inna. Somehow it all seemed more real, though, hearing it from a stranger in such stark terms.

I can't help feeling worried...

Love,
Kaya

An Extra Vampire

Multiple choice quiz:

The Greens and the Roses are...

A.) Suicidally insane
B.) Never going to have normal lives
C.) Probably eventually going to need to learn that not everything can be our problem to deal with
D.) Never going to run out of vampires

or

E.) All of the above!

Hi, this is Bree. Summer, Blakeney, and I are back home now, after a fun trip. I can't say it was uneventful, though. Especially not at the end.

The last weekend of our trip, we went down to Pennsylvania to spend time by the creek where our relatives have a little vacation place. We kayaked, went for walks, went wading, and read our books outside. It was a lot of fun.

A day or so in, though, we got a call from Inna, saying she'd heard rumours that the mean vampire hunters we (unfortunately) met here in Canada were hanging around nearby where we were. That was, of course, worrisome news. One thing we weren't quite sure of, though, was whether it had anything to do with us. Were they looking for us? Were they looking for me because I lied to them about where Clare was? But how would they even know where we were? How could they have found us? And yet, it seemed like too much to be just a coincidence.

So of course, we did the only thing we could: we spied on them. What we found out was at first reassuring. They didn't seem to be looking for us. They didn't seem to know we were around. We still didn't know why they were there, though... or why they built a big fire by their camp, like they were issuing a threat to someone rather than lying low. That had to be something we wouldn't like.

Inna called us again; she had figured out why they were there. It wasn't about us, but it wasn't entirely a coincidence either. They were hunting someone. It just wasn't us. Inna had heard from her "contacts" that there was vampire activity nearby. More specifically, a vampire, a red-haired girl... and from the reports of the chaos, Clare and Inna thought this vampire was newly-turned and confused. And now, to further add to her confusion, she had hunters after her, hunters that so far she'd managed to evade successfully. Eventually, though, her luck would run out.

Vampire problems tend to multiply very quickly, or so we're told. But it makes sense, because they can just bite people instead of killing them, and make more vampires. You want to get a lid on this kind of situation while it's still just a small number, if you can. That's what the hunters seemed to be trying to do.

Clare was in the background of the telephone conversation, and said she wanted to talk to Blakeney. It sounded like she was crying. I could only hear one end of the conversation, but Blakeney said, "I know," and then, "We'll take care of it." At the time, I wasn't sure I was going to like what that entailed. Then she got off the phone, and told us we were going to have to deal with the situation. (Actually she sang "I've got a theory we should work this fast/Because it clearly could get serious before it's passed," because if you can quote Buffy, you should quote Buffy. My sisters and I have decided that sometime we're going to try going a whole day speaking entirely in pop culture quotations. But anyway, what she meant was that we were going to deal with the situation.)

It would have been nice if we'd had the whole "team" there. It's easier to handle stuff like crazy vampires as a family. We'd just have to do our best, with Inna and Clare to give consultation on vampires over the phone. It was better than nothing.

I was still nervous, though... especially when we finally found her, after combing the creek and woods for several hours. It's not like I haven't hung around vampires, but I'm used to Clare, and she doesn't really act much different from the rest of us, except in the dietary sense. This girl looked totally out of it. She was crouched like an animal, her hair was tangled, her clothes were filthy and bloody... and she'd obviously already been attacked by something. She was badly hurt. One of her legs looked like it was just about torn off. I think if she'd been human, that alone would have killed her - but she was hanging on, just not very pleasantly. I was kind of scared of her. But I also felt really bad for her. I hoped she was going to be okay. Somehow...

We called for advice. The first suggestion Inna gave us was to try to reason with the vampire girl, and get her to stand down. It didn't work. At all. Summer optimistically refers to this attempt as "the time that at least we didn't get eaten." It ultimately involved a lot of running away. Fortunately she couldn't move fast with that leg.

We got out of range of the teeth - it was a close call, especially for poor Summer - and phoned Inna back. Her next suggestion was to drug the vampire with animal tranquilizers set up in a trap. That... actually worked pretty well. Pretty soon we had a drugged, sleeping vampire. For the first time, she actually looked peaceful, and I realized she had a sweet face when she wasn't snarling. I think she's about the same age as Felicity and Clare.

Shipping a drugged, tied up vampire back to Canada was easier than you might think. We couldn't leave her there. As soon as we left, she'd just break free and start going crazy again, maybe kill someone - and definitely get herself killed, with vampire hunters around. We needed to get her as far away from the scene of the craziness as possible so they wouldn't be able to track her, and someone needs to look after her. We didn't have much choice but to bring her back with us.

While we were sitting in the Toronto airport waiting for our plane, I asked Blakeney if this was what she had in mind when she told Clare we'd take care of it. Blakeney gave me a raised-eyebrow look and said I'd misheard her - she'd said we'd take care of her. Because Clare remembered what it was like to be scared and freshly vampiric, and she was worried. This was the plan all along. Well, not the drugging part - they'd hoped to just buy her a seat - but the general idea of bringing her back. I felt a lot better about that than what I had thought we were going to have to do.

Now she's in the Roses' basement, sleeping it off. She'll still be restrained when she wakes up. Inna said not to expect her to be too coherent. So far we don't even know her name. It may take time before she'll be normal like Clare. We'll just have to take care of her in the meantime, and try to help her.

So we're home... and we have an extra vampire.

Love,
Bree

How We Rescued Kiwi

"What you've got to do is finish what you have begun.

I don't know just how, but it's not over till you've won..." 

- The Secret Garden Musical, "Hold On"

Hey, this is Bree, yet again. My sisters figured I should be the one to finish the story, since I was the one who filled you in on the beginning and the middle. I'm glad to report, so you don't need to worry anymore - it had a happy ending! Kiwi is home safely.

After we got the last letter, all we could do was wait. I read a few blogs and commented on them, because I was trying to be as normal as possible, but it was never far from any of our minds where Kiwi was, and how much danger she was in.

As it got closer to nightfall, we started trying to prepare ourselves. At first, Blakeney said none of us kids could go, but then eventually she considered our chances and relented a little and said no one under age fifteen could. Inna sharpened some stakes, and the rest of us thought about how we could use our individual powers and skills to help Kiwi.

The plan went like this: Maia would change into cat form, and scout the area. Once she figured out they where they were holding Kiwi, the others would create a diversion and/or actually fight off the vampires if necessary, while I dashed in with my awesome speed (which is apparently my special gift,) grab Kiwi and run. Once I signaled that I had her, we'd all get out of there as fast as we could.

Of course, there was one obvious downside to that. The vampires would come back, eventually, and try again, even if we got away. I'm not big on killing people or anything, but I very cautiously asked about a more permanent solution.

Inna got a very steely look in her eyes, and said that once Kiwi was safe, she would go take care of it. I wasn't scared of her, because you know... it's Inna. She's basically my sister. At that moment, though? I was glad I wasn't on the other side.

As we got ready to go, we tried to work up our morale. Blakeney gave us all a pep talk. Then Kirsten started singing rousing songs from Les Miserables to try to get us in the mood... till I kind of put a damper on things by reminding her how that story turned out. Les Mis is not a plotline I hoped to emulate! Kirsten pouted a little, but she got the point and switched to The Scarlet Pimpernel, a much better example of heroism that actually paid off.

We got to the park as the sun was setting. Maia went behind a tree (the clothes thing) and turned into her cat form, then she came out and we all petted her for good luck. She took off into the night. Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. Inna and Blakeney started to get ansty. The park isn't that big. Was something wrong? At the twenty minute mark, Maia came back. She turned back into human form, and told us the vampires were in the brick gazebo at the centre of the park.

This was not entirely surprising. If I was going to pick a place to defend in the park, it would be there. The shelter is solid, the sides are steep, and it's surrounded by a wide grassy space with no trees, so it would be difficult for us to sneak up. We were definitely going to need that diversion.

Luckily, three of my sisters have pretty flashy powers. Josefina lit a pile of leaves on fire. Molly started making sheets of ice, then Kirsten would concentrate and shatter them. I'm not sure what the vampires thought was going on, but from where I was standing, it sounded like a huge battle. I was sure they would go investigate.

I needed to wait till they were out of the way... but not too long, in case they came back. I counted to ten, then dashed in. The gazebo was mostly empty. There was one of those pet carriers, which I figured Kiwi must be in. Poor thing! Unfortunately, there was also a vampire still standing guard - and the difference between one vampire and none is fairly significant.

I took a deep breath and psyched myself up. Be brave, Bree. Be fast! Before I had time to think about how suicidally insane what I was about to do was, I took off at a run toward the gazebo and pounded up the steps, keeping my eyes on the the pet carrier. Luckily for me, the vampire was startled. I think he would have expected someone to run away from him, not toward him. He didn't react fast enough. I didn't stop running; I grabbed the carrier and vaulted over the low rear wall. I said a quick "Oof!" as I took the impact in my knees, but there was no time to stop, and thank goodness I didn't fall. 

I ran all the way to the park entrance, still holding onto cat-form Kiwi in the carrier. Luckily she's the size of a normal cat. I didn't have time to stop and let her out, and I'm not sure she could have kept up with me. When I was close to the boundary of the park, I started whistling "Into the Fire," the song from The Scarlet Pimpernel that we'd used to psyche ourselves up. That was the signal.

It wasn't long before I heard running feet. The others looked pretty tense and exhausted, but they were all still okay. Inna and Clare were the last; they were holding off the vampires. Unfortunately, one of the vampires was still following them, and gaining on them.

At that moment, we discovered Felicity's power. She later told us she didn't know why, but she yelled, "Just settle down!" at the vampire... and he stopped, confused. So that is how she stops our arguments all the time! She knows how to make us calm down!

There was no time to stop and talk. We ran to Inna's station wagon, let Kiwi out of the carrier, and piled in. Inna drove like a crazy person - but she always does that, even when we aren't running from anything. 

Once we were on our way, I turned to Felicity. "That's really cool!" I told her, still kind of panting from my run.

Felicity looked very proud of herself. "You guys helped me figure it out, with all your bickering," she joked.

"You're welcome!" I replied, and stuck out my tongue.

It didn't take us long to get home. Kiwi hadn't cried the whole time she was being held captive, but when she was safe she finally did. She was really really scared, both for herself and for Clare, and she was tired of being in a tiny cage. She's okay, though, and happy to be home.

So that was our "adventure." Everyone is safe. For now, at least...

School starts next week. It would be okay for life to be boring for awhile. :-)

Love, 

Bree

Update: More Bad News

Hey everyone. This is Bree again.

This is an update on our last post about Kiwi being missing. She still hasn't come home, and we haven't found her. The police haven't found her either. We checked the animal shelter and Humane Services in case she's stuck there in her cat form, but we didn't find her there. We were worried all along - she's only ten - but now we're getting really scared.

Late last night (or early this morning, really...) we temporarily returned to the house from searching, and found another note on the door. We all sort of drew in our breath, knowing what it was but hoping it was just an advertising flyer or something. It wasn't. It was a note from the evil vampires, of course:


"Time is up. We have the girl. We will trade her for Clare, tonight, at the park. If you cause trouble, you lose both. You can't win this. Do the smart thing."




We stood in silence for a moment, then Inna turned to Maia and said a little too calmly, "You know, I have really had enough of them."

Maia agreed with her.

Clare was looking terrified, but she said very bravely, "It'll be okay. I'll go. Make the exchange and get Kiwi back. I'm ready."

Inna shook her head. "It doesn't work that way," she told Clare. "We're not losing anyone. Including you."

Clare looked around at the rest of us, and saw that we all agreed. She still seemed worried, but she smiled a little. It can take time to realize some people keep their promises; believe me, I know it takes time. I think Clare gets that she's part of the family - but she's starting to realize she's as important as anyone else.

How Inna intends to pull this rescue off, I do not know. I guess we'll find out tonight...

Love,
Bree

Missing

Kiwi, Charissa, Evelyn, and Fiona were playing hide and seek in the neighbourhood this afternoon, even though it was cold, rainy, and the sky was full of clouds. (Sometimes you just have to seize the day and play anyway. Waiting for good weather can mean waiting awhile, here.) They had fun for awhile, but then they couldn't find Kiwi at all. Finally they had to give up. They figured she'd get bored of hiding and come inside... but she never came home.

We thought she was just joking around, but it's dark now. That would be taking a practical joke too far, especially given some of the stuff we've dealt with the last few months. She's never done this before.

We told the police, and we're going out looking for her ourselves. Hopefully Kiwi just isn't thinking or got mad at us or something. But we can't help thinking about the "last warning" note we got from the vampires demanding Clare. What if they kidnapped Kiwi to try for a trade?

We're really worried! Hopefully Kiwi will come home soon...

Love,
The Greens and the Roses

Kiwi's World!

Hi there! My name's Kiwi! This is my very first blog post.

I am ten years old, and I'm in Grade Five. My favourite colours are pink and purple. My favourite subject at school is recess... just kidding! My real favourites are science and art. I take gymnastics and acrobatics classes after school. It's really fun! When we saw Cirque du Soleil, I decided I wanted to do that someday. (Or maybe I'll be a scuba diver, or a paleontologist. I'm still deciding.)

My full name is Caroline. When I was little I was called Carrie, but I pronounced it like "Kiwi," so that name stuck. I was adopted from China when I was a toddler, but it didn't work out and I was a foster kid in Canada. That's how I met Summer and Maia. I'd like to go back and visit China someday, to see what it was like. There are a lot of other places I'd like to see, too.

Oh, and I'm a cat sometimes! Like Summer. I look like a tiger when I turn into a cat, though, and she's more like a small lion.

I went to camp this summer with Evelyn and Charissa and it was so fun! My group at camp wrote a little musical, and I got to be the star. It was also fun to sleep in a cabin, go hiking, make crafts, and have campfires. Me and Evelyn taught Fiona how to swim in the lake, because Fiona was a really bad swimmer before.

Now you know all about me, just like you know about my sister Summer. It's nice to meet you! If there's anything you want to know about me that I forgot to say, you can ask! :-)

Love,
Kiwi

Summer's Birthday

Hey, everyone! This is Summer. :-)

I know I've been lazy and said "I'm twelve" on the blog, but I was actually almost twelve. I have a summer birthday - thus my name - and my special day was today.

As one would expect for a birthday, I got presents! I got money to put toward my horse fund (still going to be saving for awhile...) and also some cool stuff to open. I got a yoga mat, and a yoga jacket and pants outfit; that's really cool because I never had a real outfit for it before, I just wore sweats. I also got a new tank top, some purple capris, and purple shoes with bows - can you tell purple is my favourite colour? Plus I got a cool watch with a white band and flowers on it. What a great birthday! :-)

It's raining really hard today, so I had an indoor celebration. I had a few friends over in the early afternoon and we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One. Then my friends went home and we had family time. We ordered pizza for supper and ate with The Greens. It's been really fun.

Since it's my birthday, I've been kind of thinking about something. I've been thinking it would be kind of interesting to find out about my biological family, and maybe meet some of them. I wouldn't go live with them or anything - I already have a home, and my family is my family now - but it would still be cool to know them, or at least know about them. It's still just a thought, though. I'm not sure how Inna and Maia would react... or Kiwi. Even if Kiwi wanted to, and I don't know if she does because I haven't really asked, she would probably never be able to find her biological family because she was originally adopted from China before she got sent to Canadian foster care. Would she feel bad if I did and she couldn't? I'd still really like to know, though...

I haven't made any decisions yet, and I'm not sure if it would even be possible to find anything out, but I'm still thinking about it. Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my birthday! ;-)

Love,
Summer

Summer Fun ;-)

Hey, this is Summer. You know, the were-cat next door. ;-) I couldn't resist the stupid pun title.

This is my first time writing for the blog, but the Greens are trying to get me and Kiwi to start contributing. I really like to write, so I'm going to give it a try. (I normally write poetry and short stories, but blogging can't be that different, right?) Maybe I'll start writing regularly, too.

So let's see, what should I say about myself? I'm twelve years old, and I go to the same school as Molly, although she's one grade higher than me so we don't have classes together. Like I said before, I love to write and read. My favourite class is Language Arts. I really like math and science too, though.

I also really love riding horses! I don't have a horse of my own, but I've taken riding lessons for two years. I like to do horse shows, and I've won a bunch of ribbons. Since I don't have my own horse, I show the school horse I ride in my lessons.

Some of you may know this already, but most horses have a "stable name" and a "show name." The stable name is what the horse is called normally, and it's usually something pretty simple. It doesn't have to be unique, although usually there wouldn't be two horses with the same stable name at the same barn because it would be confusing. The show name is usually longer and more complicated and fancy, and it's more unique to that horse; usually it's made of the show names of that horse's dam and sire (that means its mom and dad.)

The horse I show is called Blossom. That's her stable name, so it's what I normally call her. She's a mare (an adult female) and she is twelve years old. She likes to jump and go fast, and she doesn't always listen very well, but we're used to each other now. Her show name is Tea Rose Garden.

Besides writing and riding horses, I also really love yoga! It's very relaxing. I practice almost every day, and if I'm feeling stressed there's nothing I like more than pulling out my yoga mat and doing a few poses. It keeps me sane sometimes.

The Greens have talked about my background a little in other posts, but here's a recap with a few more details:

I was born in Toronto. I'm biracial; my father was black and my mother was white. I say "was" because they had a lot of problems and couldn't take care of me, so I ended up in foster care when I was a baby, and I'm not really sure who my biological parents are or if they're still alive. I hope they're doing well and got their lives together. I think about them sometimes. Because of my dual heritage I have curls and amber eyes, which is kind of different and cool.

I was adopted when I was about a year old. It wasn't long before they realized I have a little "problem" though... I periodically turn into a cat. Not joking. I'm a were-cat. Or something. I knew I was different, and I sometimes didn't behave very well because I had trouble dealing with that. Anyway, it was too much for my adoptive family, and they decided to dissolve the adoption and stop being my parents when I was seven years old. So I went back to foster care. Again.

That turned out to be pretty good for me, though, because I ended up in a foster home with Kiwi and Maia, back before Maia was an adult. Maia aged out of foster care and got custody of me and Kiwi, because by then we were all really close.

It's nice to have a family that really loves me and understands me. And I include the Greens in that. We're all one big family now. That has been really cool, suddenly having so many surrogate sisters!

So, that's me. Summer. Wow, that was a long post! You probably know more about me than you want to, now. You'll probably see me blogging more in the future, too. ;-)

Love,
Summer

The Birthday of the Blakeney

Sorry we weren't around pretty much at all yesterday - we were celebrating our guardian's birthday. She turned 28, ancient!

All of us - including the girls next door, who we consider family too - piled in cars, and headed to a little town about half an hour from the city, where one of Blakeney's friends lives, and we played in an outdoor swimming pool (Inna tried on her new bikini,) had a picnic barbecue, and then took a walk along the harbour after we ate. It was a lot of fun! The temperature was only in probably the high 70's or low 80's, and the sun wasn't high in the sky, so Clare even managed to join in some of the fun, with sunscreen and a lot of clothing on. The younger girls couldn't be there because they're still at camp, but the rest of us had a great time! It's fun to be one big family!

Love,
The Green Girls

P.S. We still need to think of something to call our neighbours besides "our neighbours" on the blog. We're trying to think of a pseudonym!