It's Only the Rain

My heart flew up my throat, and suddenly I was on all fours, retching blood. My back throbbed where my brother kicked me.

‘Kate,’ he whispered, still pushing me down, out of sight. ‘Sister. You’re not used to the outdoors…’ A finger ran along my lip, picking up scarlet. ‘You shouldn’t be here’

‘Where should I be?’ I countered. ‘Rotting in that old barn? I want to come with you.’

Taylor only hissed, running ahead through the trees. ‘Go back home!’ he called over his shoulder, but when I pursued him, he was forced to stop. We both stood panting, only one set of breaths audible between us. Then, I spotted it. There was a mound behind Taylor’s stretched shadow. He had puffed out his birdcage chest to hide them, but I could see. His tricks and shadow play were useless– they were impossible to conceal.

‘Taylor…’ I heard my voice quaver as I experienced a flash of doubt about my safety, even though my brother was there. ‘What are you hiding…?’

That was when I first laid eyes on them, huddled together in the dappled moonlight. The silver played off their skin, showing it to be almost pearlescent. The girl was a curious mixture of pale and autumnal, with auburn hair and eyes that shone in colours normally forbidden at nighttime. The boy was all charcoal. His ink-black hair matched the pits of his eyes and the loosely sketched rings underneath them.

They were Alastair and Daphne.