I had never had to control my feelings this much in my life, but I had to be strong, and I had to pretend that everything was going to be alright. Truthfully, I just wanted to break down and cry, and not face it.
But I had to. I mean really had to, I'd die otherwise.
I put the little silver key in the lock and turned. The heavy oak door swung open with a squeak at the hinges, and I heard my mum call, "hey, kiddo!" Even something as normal as that nearly made me want to cry.
"Hey, mum," I called, and dumped my bag just inside the door. I kicked my shoes off, too, and took a deep breath.
I walked into the kitchen with my head tilted down, my hair covering my face. Mum was bustling around in there, having another attempt at an edible meal. The microwave whirred in the corner.
"How was your day, kiddo?" Mum asked cheerily.
"Well... Mum, we need to talk..." I said quietly, shakily.
Mum stopped what she was doing and looked up at me, concerned.
By this point, I had raised my head.
She gasped. Her eyes glazed over as her hand came to her mouth and she half-ran the short distance towards me. She scooped me up and held me tight for a long time. A hot tear fell on my head and I pulled away to look up at her.
"What am I gonna do?" she asked, her face utterly desperate. A tear fell from my eye.
She meant how would she cope alone? My dad had been an advanced CIA agent, and when I was seven, he went on a mission and never came back. Mum quit the CIA a year later. Her missions alone just weren't the same.
As for me, I'd been going to a specialised, CIA approved school for years now, since I was five. I'd been studying culture and assimilation, countries of the world, covert operations and other spy stuff for ever. As well as the national curriculum, of course, but I'd finished that ages ago.
But... his was going to be different. My mum couldn't cope without me. I still found her crying, even eight years on. It was going to be hard. But it had to happen.
I started to sob again, as I said "Mama, I love you," and held her to me as close as I could manage. I cried against her chest and she cried resting on my head.
The microwave stopped and the timer on the oven went. There was more to do, but Mum just turned it all off.
She silently took my hand and led me upstairs. She grabbed an old suitcase and together we sorted through my clothes, packing my best jeans, tops and jumpers, my two best, most comfy pairs of pyjamas, a load of underwear, some plimsolls and dressy shoes, my wash bag and Dad's old jumper and sweats – that Sunday wear. We packed my best dress, too, just in case, and my oldest and bestest friend, Cleo, an ancient little cat toy from my very first hospital cot. Half her fur was gone, and her whiskers were bent, but she was just... mine.
Mum held my hand the whole time.
We walked downstairs, hand in hand, and we donned our jackets and shoes. We opened the door and walked outside to find Bex and Liz sitting red-eyed on my VW Bug.
More tears came to me, and I looked down and mine and my Mum's intertwined hands. Bex and Liz came and hugged me, one either side of my head. Mum cried silently beside me, and smiled a sort of "you know" smile when I looked at her, concerned.
We all went in Mum's car, a red Audi A5 Sportback with comfy black seats. Mum drove and I sat in the front seat, Bex and Liz were in the back. We all cried the whole way.
When we reached the huge, black, wrought-iron gates, it suddenly dawned on me that Mum had me and I had Mum, and that was all we had. I started crying properly, gasping for breath and sniffing hard, my chest shaking. Mum squeezed my hand where it still rested.
We all got out the car slowly, robotically. Simultaneously, we looked up at the huge building facing us.
It was built from heavy, dark stone, and facing us was a pair of huge, wooden doors. Like church doors, or castle doors. There were iron holders on every free wall for fire sticks, or whatever. The windows were large and they appeared dark in the glowing sunset.
The courtyard was grey cobbles, and large oaks followed the thick, grey wall as it circled the grounds. Grass grew around the wall, and about four feet in till i reached the cobbles.
Over the far side of thr courtyard I could see a corner of the building the finished in a round room. There was a huged structure sanding alone on the far side of th compex, that looked like it could be a stable or a gymnasium or something.
The huge wooden doors in front of me appeared to lead into a hall or something, and some large, grey stone steps led up to the doors. There were much the same leading up to a few other visible doors, which were also thick, dark wood, but they were lights were on over the doors.
I looked over at the sunset and found that the glow hurt my eyes, despite the light's dullness. I looked away with newly wet eyes, not from tears.
The complex was made up of a few different buildings, but aside from the stable/gym they were all pretty close together. Built with thick stone, the hall in front of me was the biggest, and rectabgle buildings were dotted around. I saw a door not too ar away labelled "girls dorm", but I couldn't see the boys. I saw a building labelled "library" and when I looked up I saw a stack of shelves chock-a-block with books, but it was dimly lit only by the sunset.
There were no lights at all, and as the sun slipped away, the world became black.
The change was sudden. It schocked me and I took in a sharp breath.
Fear sliced through me instantaneously and violently and I did something I'd only ever done once before in my life.
I fainted.
The ground beneath me was soft and featherlight. In contrast, my head was thick and heavy, and there was a sickening throb at the crown.
I tried to get away, and shifted suddenly, freezing again in a second. There was a warm pressure on my right hand, and I blearily opened my eyes. My left hand reached out and found a cold, stone wall.
I raised my knees, the muscles tired of resting in the same position. For a long time.
I tried to ask someone how long I'd been out, but I could hardly see yet, and the words came out in a small, quiet moan.
Then I heard my mothes voice, sweet and soothing, conforting me like I was a little girl again. "Shhh, shh-shh, it's okay, baby, I'm here," she said to me.
I tried to curve towards the sound, and my vision finally cleared to see the beautiful face of my mum.
My mum had always been pretty. She was often asked if she was my sister. She had curling, caramel hair just past her shoulders, and sweet, warm, caramel eyes – just a little lighter than my own. She had an amazing figure, curves in all the right places, a perfect size ten. She could pull off any heels, and she had these amazing glasses (for appearence purposes only) that were black, thick frames, with hot pink, lime green and bright white strips down the side of the arms. She looked really smart in them.
It was nice to wake up to her pretty face, I smiled, but then I saw her red-rimmed eyes and started to worry about the situation.
"How..." I started, but my voice was so hoarse I couldn't continue. Mum brought a glass of water to my lips without speaking and I smiled my thanks at her. I tried again, "How long have I been..."-I wasn't sure how to phrase it-"unconcious?" That seemed technical enough, but my voice sounded like I'd had laryngitis for a month.
"About thirty-six hours, sweetie," she said, and she sounded tired.
"Did you sleep here?" I asked, concerned.
She gave a little 'mmm' as if to toss it off, then said "couple hours, I..."
"Oh, Mama," I whispered, leaning into her. She hugged my head to her chest as if she never wanted to let go, and I wrapped my arms around her back, because I wanted to hold on for ever. "Oh, Mama, I'm gonna miss you,"
"I'm going to miss you too, baby," she whispered as she buried her face into my neck.
At that moment, an incredibly beautiful woman chose to grace us with her presense. She floated through like a door in a way that would make any ballerina stare daggers at her, and her hair was a silky ash blonde, long and voluminous, with a rainbow scarf threaded around at the top. Her eyes were sparkling like ice, they gave her a mysterious presence and drew attention to themselves, grey-green and... just beautiful. Everything about her was breathtaking.
"Hello, Cameron, welcome to the House of Night," she said musically, her smile lighting up the small, dark room.
I realised that the candle burning by the bedside was the only light in the room. The windows revealed it was dark. "What time is it?" I asked hoarsely. Mum offered me the water again and I took a grateful gulp.
"It is six o'clock in the morning, my dear," the beautiful woman said.
She knew my name, I presumed my mother had shared with her my information. "What's your name?" I asked as politely as I could.
"My name is Reveka," she said, like 'Raveeka'. I gave her a questioning look, and she continued with, "it means 'Captivate' where I am from," she said with a slight accent. It bore no evidence of location, but rather a clue that she was ancient, from an old world.
I nodded sleepily, sadly. My hand was still intertwined with my mothers. I had the feeling they had been like that for a whole forty-eight hours.
"Reveka, are you sure she will be okay?" Mum asked, sounding worried. "What if she can't cope, or she gets homesick? What if it's too hard? What if she needs me?" She sounded almost desperate. I think that she needed me, too.
"Mrs. Morgan, I assure you Cammie will cope here. She has the full capability, she would not have been Marked otherwise. We will take care of her, I promise," Reveka answered comfortingly.
"But..." Mum started again, looking for more ways to take me away.
"Mum," I whispered, and she looked at me. " Mama, I will always need you. But right now it's your support I need, okay? Okay, mama?" I tacked on the last bit because she started to cry again, and I needed her assurance.
"Okay," she said finally, gripping my hand. She looked up at Reveka, I couldn't see her expression.
"Mrs. Morgan, Cammie is perfect for this life," Reveka soothed, than she said "Mr.s Morga, I myself will be Cammie's mentor, and I will prepare her for what lies ahead... Okay?" She asked when Mum didn't reply.
"Okay," Mum whispered and turned to me, resigned. "I love you," she said earnestly. "baby, I love you so much," she continued, cupping my face in her hands.
I wrapped my own hands around her wrists, smiling at her comfortingly. "Mama, I'll never stop needing you," I said, and then I whispered, "and I'll never stop loving you, either." I felt a bit silly to say it, it was a little corny, but it was true.
"We brought all your stuff here, kay?" she asked, though she didn't really need an answer. "And I'll visit whenever I can, and if you go on trips I can meet you in town and I'll write or email and I'll get you a better mobile and put it on contract, and we can speak every night, okay?" by the end we were both sobbing.
My mum was the life I'd know since I was seven, since I lost my dad. I had no family besides Mum's sister, Abby, but she still worked for the CIA, and she'd become a ghost. It was sad, really.
"Okay, kiddo," Mum said, using my pet name. She pulled herself together and told me, "Bex and Liz have been waiting, they went home yesterday. They got here about five."
That piqued my interest. Yes, my two best friends in all history of existance were outside, but... it was ten past six in the morning...
"Why is everyone here so early?" I asked quizzically.
"Well, my dear," Reveka answered, "here at the House of Night we find that sunlight is painful for us, did you not find that before you got here? Well, we work by night here to protect you. Also, I am sure you know of what the humans think of us."
I thought for a moment. Yes I did know, humans treated the vampires terribly, but... was it them and us now? Them and me? Mum and me? Were we on different sides now?
I stood up shakily and called, "Bex, Liz!" And the door burst open rather suddenly, my two best friends tumbling out like it was a portal from another world.
"Cammie!" They cried in unison, rushing up to hug me, nearly crushing me. Mum tried to reach out with one hand, but Reveka pushed it back, smiling reassuringly.
Bex and Liz looked at me, and burst into floods of tears. I heard many cries of, "oh, Cammie, we love you!" and "It won't be the same without you, Cammie!" and "Don't leave, Cam!" and at the end, both girls cried in unison, "I'll miss you, Cammie!"
"Shh, shh-shh," I soothed them, rubbing their backs as they hugged me, one on each side. "We'll see each other loads, and Mum said she'd get me a better mobile," I said winking and they smiled. "We won't lose touch, I promise," I continued as I hugged them close.
I stood shakily from the bed that I had been sitting on the edge of since Bex and Liz's graceful entrance.
Mum took my hand again and took my bag from me as I was about to sling it over my shoulder.
I looked up at her, feeling a little rude, and she smiled down at me as though she didn't want to waste a minute.
At least I think that's how she looked, because her expression mirrored mine, and I didn't want to waste time, either.
