garbage disposal unit. We haven't used it lately, though, so he must be getting hungry. His name's Dimitri.’
Caught off guard, Solace blinked. ‘Really?’
Jess frowned. ‘No, you moron – someone's at the door! Who is it, Lex?’ This last to Electra.
‘Me!’ sang out a familiar voice.
It was Paige. Waving, she followed Electra back through the kitchen and into the lounge, where she proceeded to drape herself comfortably over a broken-down armchair, flipping threads of purple hair out of her eyes.
‘Hey, Jess. Hey, Solace. Where're the guys? Out?’
‘Upstairs. Drawing on Glide.’
‘Cool.’ Paige stretched luxuriously, wiggling her fingers. She was wearing a pale yellow T-shirt bearing the legend dancing pandas! directly above a cavorting cartoon conga-line of the promised species. ‘They going to be long? Only we're having a kind of impromptu picnic-party-thing down in Hyde Park. You know: rugs, cheap wine, a little music, a little mockery of the corporate set trying to reconnect with nature during their half-hour lunch. Also, we're going to chip in five bucks apiece if Tryst can catch an ibis. Fun for the whole family.’
‘Ibis? We're catching an ibis?’ From upstairs, Evan poked his head over the banister nearest Glide's room. ‘Awesome!’
Despite having welcomed a nocturnal life with open arms, Solace was shocked to realise how little sunlight she'd seen in the past two weeks. Normally, her dizziness didn't kick in for at least forty minutes, but now the effect was like being hit with a sledgehammer, blurring her vision from almost the moment Paige led them outside. Her thoughts were veering in an uncomfortable direction: that if an aversion to daylight really was integral to her vampire nature, then being – for lack of a better term – less vampiric was something she'd have to work at. Actively. Assuming that's what you really want, muttered the Vampire Cynic, but for once Solace felt treacherously disinclined to agree. Bleached skin or not, she liked the sun – or, more importantly, the freedom to walk about under it without bursting into flames.
‘Note to self,’ she mumbled, ‘get more vitamin D.’
‘You okay?’ asked Evan with indecent cheerfulness. He was, it seemed, still flush with the novelty of having drawn on Glide, who had managed to remain asleep throughout the entire process and was subsequently now covered in intricate illustrations of pheasants, if Manx was to be believed. ‘You're swaying a bit.’
Solace shook her head. ‘I'm fine. It's just the sun. I get dizzy easily.’
‘Oh.’ He shrugged, accepting it, and changed the subject. ‘Nice outfit, by the way. My sister help?’
‘Yes,’ said Solace, blushing only a little. After her first night at the Gadfly, Electra and Jess had banded together to find her some new clothes amongst their old ones. With their help, she'd selected mostly blacks and reds, the kind of things Mrs Plumber and Miss Daisy would have frowned upon. She was hardly on par with Laine, but nonetheless secretly thrilled to be choosing her own things. Today, she'd dressed in her old boots, a reddish satin skirt fringed in burgundy lace and a fitted black singlet beneath an ageing leather jacket so large that her hands were lost in the sleeves. This last was merited despite the sun: for all the sky was periwinkle blue, the air was verging on chill, even more so in the shade.
‘Cool,’ said Evan. Then he paused, studying her with an expression of unusually appreciative clarity. ‘Anyway, it suits you.’ And before she could answer, he tipped her a wink and sauntered ahead again.
‘Flattering wretch,’ Solace muttered, but her eyes sparkled.
By the time they reached Hyde Park, she was finding it difficult to put one foot in front of the other, despite having shrugged off further offers of help from both Manx and Electra. Just as she was on the brink of giving in, she spotted Harper waving them over to the shade of a particularly
Caught off guard, Solace blinked. ‘Really?’
Jess frowned. ‘No, you moron – someone's at the door! Who is it, Lex?’ This last to Electra.
‘Me!’ sang out a familiar voice.
It was Paige. Waving, she followed Electra back through the kitchen and into the lounge, where she proceeded to drape herself comfortably over a broken-down armchair, flipping threads of purple hair out of her eyes.
‘Hey, Jess. Hey, Solace. Where're the guys? Out?’
‘Upstairs. Drawing on Glide.’
‘Cool.’ Paige stretched luxuriously, wiggling her fingers. She was wearing a pale yellow T-shirt bearing the legend dancing pandas! directly above a cavorting cartoon conga-line of the promised species. ‘They going to be long? Only we're having a kind of impromptu picnic-party-thing down in Hyde Park. You know: rugs, cheap wine, a little music, a little mockery of the corporate set trying to reconnect with nature during their half-hour lunch. Also, we're going to chip in five bucks apiece if Tryst can catch an ibis. Fun for the whole family.’
‘Ibis? We're catching an ibis?’ From upstairs, Evan poked his head over the banister nearest Glide's room. ‘Awesome!’
Despite having welcomed a nocturnal life with open arms, Solace was shocked to realise how little sunlight she'd seen in the past two weeks. Normally, her dizziness didn't kick in for at least forty minutes, but now the effect was like being hit with a sledgehammer, blurring her vision from almost the moment Paige led them outside. Her thoughts were veering in an uncomfortable direction: that if an aversion to daylight really was integral to her vampire nature, then being – for lack of a better term – less vampiric was something she'd have to work at. Actively. Assuming that's what you really want, muttered the Vampire Cynic, but for once Solace felt treacherously disinclined to agree. Bleached skin or not, she liked the sun – or, more importantly, the freedom to walk about under it without bursting into flames.
‘Note to self,’ she mumbled, ‘get more vitamin D.’
‘You okay?’ asked Evan with indecent cheerfulness. He was, it seemed, still flush with the novelty of having drawn on Glide, who had managed to remain asleep throughout the entire process and was subsequently now covered in intricate illustrations of pheasants, if Manx was to be believed. ‘You're swaying a bit.’
Solace shook her head. ‘I'm fine. It's just the sun. I get dizzy easily.’
‘Oh.’ He shrugged, accepting it, and changed the subject. ‘Nice outfit, by the way. My sister help?’
‘Yes,’ said Solace, blushing only a little. After her first night at the Gadfly, Electra and Jess had banded together to find her some new clothes amongst their old ones. With their help, she'd selected mostly blacks and reds, the kind of things Mrs Plumber and Miss Daisy would have frowned upon. She was hardly on par with Laine, but nonetheless secretly thrilled to be choosing her own things. Today, she'd dressed in her old boots, a reddish satin skirt fringed in burgundy lace and a fitted black singlet beneath an ageing leather jacket so large that her hands were lost in the sleeves. This last was merited despite the sun: for all the sky was periwinkle blue, the air was verging on chill, even more so in the shade.
‘Cool,’ said Evan. Then he paused, studying her with an expression of unusually appreciative clarity. ‘Anyway, it suits you.’ And before she could answer, he tipped her a wink and sauntered ahead again.
‘Flattering wretch,’ Solace muttered, but her eyes sparkled.
By the time they reached Hyde Park, she was finding it difficult to put one foot in front of the other, despite having shrugged off further offers of help from both Manx and Electra. Just as she was on the brink of giving in, she spotted Harper waving them over to the shade of a particularly
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