But you’re always sleeping.” Polly said, in a rush. “I’ve been waiting forever for you to wake up!”
Caitlin didn’t know which part of her speech to respond to first. She immediately liked her, and she reached out and shook her icy cold hand, slowly waking, trying to process it all. Polly spoke so fast, and so excitedly, and with her Irish accent, it was hard to take it all in. But it certainly brought Caitlin out of herself, made her completely forget what she’d been thinking.
“And who is this?” Polly asked, as Rose ran over and jumped on her. Polly kneeled and gave Rose a hug. Rose was squealing like crazy as she leaned up and licked her face. “Wow! They hadn’t told me about this! A new pet on the island, then!? Double the excitement! I had no idea. Is this a real wolf pup? And what is your name, darling?”
“Rose,” Caitlin said.
“Rose! How delightful. Yes, perfect. You are quite the Rose, aren’t you?”
Caitlin didn’t quite know what to say. She still didn’t really know who this person was, or how she should respond to any of it. It was all happening so fast.
“I’m sorry…” Caitlin began, “who are you again?”
“You’re not the only one on this island, dear,” Polly began with a smile, “there are scores of us you know. All down below. We’re one big, happy family as they say. But no point sitting here and talking about it. Let’s go see for ourselves. I’ve been assigned to give you the tour. To tell the truth, I volunteered. I was dying and dying to meet you, and I wanted to be first,” Polly said, and without hesitating grabbed Caitlin’s hand, and led her happily out the open door.
As they entered the open air, Caitlin felt stabs of pain and recoiled at the harsh sunlight; she immediately lowered her head and covered her eyes.
“Oh dear, you haven’t been out in the sunlight yet, have you?” Polly asked.
The pain was so intense, it was unlike anything Caitlin had ever felt. It was her first experience as a true, full vampire in the sun, and it was oppressive. She tried, but couldn’t open her eyes.
She felt a soft hand on her forehead. “Lean back, dear. This won’t take but a minute.”
Caitlin leaned back, and Polly reached over and put two drops from a small canister into each of Caitlin’s eyes. Caitlin felt the burning sensation, as she clutched her eyes again. She waited several seconds, then she was able to open them.
She breathed deeply, the pain gone.
“You’re one of us now,” Polly said. “You can’t get away with prancing about wherever you please, like a human. The sunlight is a real thing for you now. No joke. You must take these drops every morning,” she said, thrusting a canister into Caitlin’s hand, “and use your skin wraps, too.”
Polly inspected Caitlin’s skin. “I see you’ve already been wrapped, so that will do for now. But you have to replace them, you know, at least every few days.”
Polly took Caitlin’s arm and led her across the terrace, and down a narrow, winding stone staircase. “Come on Rose, we can’t wait all day!” Polly said.
Rose hesitated at the top, looking down at the steep staircase, then suddenly bounded to life, following close behind.
Polly laughed. “Poor thing, she’s probably famished. How long has it been since you fed her?”
Caitlin tried to think. She couldn’t even remember.
“We’ll take care of you, too,” Polly said to Rose, petting her.
As they descended the steps, Caitlin began to feel better, more like herself. She took an instant liking to Polly, and already felt as if she knew her forever. She already had a new friend, someone who clearly cared about her, and she had Rose. She also realized that she hadn’t seen daylight in days, and seeing the sun and sky lifted her spirits.
Not to mention, Polly was right. Rose needed to be fed. Things needed to happen in the real world. Life needed to go on. Yes, she would have to snap out of it, to function again. Life could indeed go on without Caleb, she realized, as painful as that felt.
As they descended the steps, Caitlin thought of all the new friends she was about to meet, and, if they were anything like Polly, she actually looked forward to it. Yes, she needed to meet new people.
Anything to get the thought of Caleb out of her mind.
As they descended the stairs, twisting again and again, Caitlin was afforded a bird’s-eye view of the entire island, in every direction. It was beautiful. The stone castle and its ramparts spread out in every direction, some taller, some lower, most of it crumbling, but some of it, especially inside the courtyard, beautifully intact. There were plenty of open courtyards in every direction, planted with vibrant grass and gardens, and there were acres of land beyond the castle walls, all filled with a dense forest. The island seemed to be in a state of ruin, yet at the same time, it felt very comfortable, lived in. And everywhere, in every direction, she could see the river, sunlight glistening off the water.
Fresh breezes came from every direction, and cooled her as she descended.
“Where are we?” Caitlin asked. “I mean, this island. What country are we in?”
Polly laughed playfully.
“My dear, you are disoriented, aren’t you? We are still in the good old US of A. In fact, we are still in New York. That water you see all around you, as big as it is, is not an ocean. It’s just a river.
The Hudson, actually. You’re right smack in the middle of it. And not even that far from Manhattan.
Just 70 miles. Or, in our mode of transportation, a twenty minute flight,” she said with a wink.
A million questions raced through Caitlin’s mind, but before she could ask, Polly began again, in her chipper tone, “This island is named Pollepel. The humans like to call it Bannerman’s Island, just because they don’t know what it’s really called, but Pollepel is the name. It’s been here since ancient times, and it’s always been a sacred place for our kind. For thousands of years, we used this place exclusively, no humans allowed. Even the Indians were scared of it: it was practically the only place in America they wouldn’t dare come. They knew that it was ours.
“Then the Dutch came along, in the 1600s, with their tall sailing ships. That’s when it got its proper name. Pollepel is Dutch for “Polly.” They named it after a young girl who got stuck on the ice and came ashore here, rescued by the man who married her. In case you’re wondering,” she said with a grin, “that’s how I got my name, too. Polly. Hope you like it. I was dropped off here as an infant. Abandoned by my parents, you might say. This coven, they took me in. In fact, this island is the only place I’ve ever known. When they dropped me here, our fellow vampires didn’t know what to name me. So they named me after this place. Some people say I am this place. Like I said, I’ve never known any place else. Not that I’d want to.