I am. Despite the fact that this could go wrong in so many ways, I’m ready.
‘I’m coming out.’ Opening the door, I slide through the smallest gap possible, though the hallway is still dark. I make sure the door is shut, then follow Ruth into her living room.
Where the shutters are open.
My hand goes up involuntarily, my eyes dazzled. I’ve seen the sun rise, but this is different. This is the blazing light of morning. I resist the urge to hide, to retreat to the shadows. I am not my mother.
‘Here, try these.’ Something hard is thrust into my hand. I squint to see a pair of glasses, the lenses tinted dark. I put them on and the relief is instant.
‘Thanks.’
Ruth is regarding me curiously. ‘You never seen this before?’
I shake my head, careful not to dislodge the glasses. ‘No. I er… I live in the night.’
‘With Kyle? You been together long?’
‘A little while.’ For a second I want to be back with Kyle in the darkness of the safe room. It feels as if the brilliant white light is laying me bare, that Ruth, kind as she is, can see to the heart of me. ‘He looks after me.’
Ruth’s face crinkles up. ‘Just be careful.’ She lays a gentle hand on my arm. ‘If he tires of you, come here. Be safe.’
I frown. ‘Uh, thank you.’
She stares at me a moment longer, then her face splits in a grin. ‘Shall we go? There’s a lot to see, if you’ve never been here.’
I follow her back into the hallway. She opens her front door, standing silhouetted in the frame. I canfeelthe light now, warm on my skin despite the November cold. For the first time in my life, I can’t smell violets.
Outside, on the small veranda, the flowers on the potted plants are open, soft purple and yellow petals bright. Light is everywhere, turning the red bricks a glowing orange, sparking off the windows, the silver buckles on my jacket. My skin is blinding white, gleaming, almost how my mother looks. Despite how I feel about her there’s a pang, that she’s never known, will never know, what this looks like or how it feels. I slide the glasses down, but it’s too bright and I hastily poke them back up to the bridge of my nose.
‘You have pretty eyes, Emily.’ Ruth is smiling. ‘Shimmery. Quite unusual.’
I go cold. Perhaps there’s enough vampire in me that my eyes are different. Perhaps I smell different. I start to panic, then realise that there’s no chance any other vampire will see me, not until I’m back with Kyle and under his protection.
So I shrug one shoulder and half smile. ‘Thanks.’
We walk along a street with houses either side, some with pretty gardens edged with small hedges, others with smooth paving. There aren’t many cars, and the ones I do see look old and weathered – some with rust or paint peeling, nothing like my family’s sleek black Mercedes. One goes past, moving slowly, the engine rumbling and coughing. I watch it pass.
‘Emily?’
‘Oh! Sorry. It’s just…’ I don’t know how to finish. Ruth’s head is slightly tilted, her arms folded. ‘Oh, well, the cars. They’re… a bit different.’
‘To what you’re used to?’
I take in a short breath. How can she know what I’m used to? ‘Uh, well, we don’t really drive much.’
‘Neither do we, anymore. You know how it is. Petrol is in such short supply, and the vamps tend to keep what there is for their own use. And of course, we’re not really making much of it anymore.’
‘Right.’ I fold my lips tight over my other questions, trying not to stare at everything. But the sky! It’s wide and high and blue, but not the dark navy of night. This blue is brilliant, shading to white gold where the sun shines. And the sun is another wonder – far brighter than the moon, so bright I can’t really look at it, even with glasses on. White clouds drift like puffs of smoke and it feels limitless, as though I could push off from the ground and float up, surrounded by blue light, spinning in the bright fresh air.
‘You’re really not used to this, are you?’
‘Er, no, I guess not.’ I pause. ‘Is that weird?’ I’m glad of the dark glasses covering my eyes.
Ruth shrugs. ‘Well, it’s unusual, to meet someone who lives in darkness all the time. Though I suppose there must be other humans like you. We need sunlight, you know? Didn’t your parents ever take you out during the day?’
‘No.’ I try to think of a plausible lie. ‘They, um, they were blood dancers. So, they were up mostly at night. And I guess I was, too. Then I met Kyle and it seemed easier, to just keep going with that.’
Ruth nods, the sun glinting gold off her mousy hair. ‘So your parents aren’t around anymore?’
