Before the mortal Second Born crossed the Azure Expanse and came to settle in Whyt’Hallen, they had an established civilisation of their own back on the continent of Mey.
For a thousand years the native Meytarans thrived, raising kingdoms and cities and culture. Their growth seemed limitless … until the Sickness came.
Blood splashed on the white sheet I’d thrown over my head in a last minute costume. A few drops, nothing major, but I’d still need to find a way to bleach it out before putting it back on the bed at Grandma’s.
My little sister stared at me, mouth agape in comical disbelief. She was fourteen now, and I half-expected her to be ‘too cool’ to go trick-or-treating this year, but the annual outing was something we enjoyed religiously with our parents and apparently she wasn’t ready to give that up yet.
I blinked, unmoving, as I regarded the middle-aged man clutching his bloodied nose. My sister’s boyfriend promptly dropped her hand to go check on his father.
‘Jesus, Merlinda!‘ My sister shrieked. Guess I ruined her date.
‘He was touching my arse!’ I shouted back.
‘I was brushing dirt off your costume!’ The man whimpered in defence.
I looked over my shoulder. Several dried autumn leaves clung to the sheet over my bum where I’d sat in the garden waiting for my sister to finish collecting her treats from a friend’s house.
‘Sorry,’ I mumbled. The shrug was half-hearted—I’d been groped by far too many Casper the Pervy Ghosts at uni Halloween parties to feel truly apologetic.
It smelt like every other library, though it was certainly different after dark. The perfume from the books was stronger at night, sweeter and more pungent, made all the more noticeable by the lingering whiff of coffee.
Mila stumbled behind the others, torch in hand. Andrik led their little group through the shelves, all the while whispering in Tao’s ear. Tao let out a muffled laugh and Mila scoffed; her brother wasn’t that funny.
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Sebastian set himself down on the window ledge and started to clean his face. His black hair had been preened to a lustrous sheen, his nails trimmed and tidy.
“The time?” He asked, looking towards Stephanie, where she reclined on the bed.
“11:56pm,” she said, a slight tremble in her voice.
“Almost time.” Sebastian glanced back out the window, at the moon partially hidden behind the clouds. His tail swished. “You know I’m naked when I turn, right?”
Stephanie’s grin was coy. “As if you have need for clothes!”
Sebastian purred. “Well, with only 24 hours to be human, we had best make the most of it.”
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