Free In the Face of Darkness (Lily Culpepper Book 1) by Sarah Dell

talk to someone who didn’t hate me because of what I was.
    “How did you become a vampire?” She asked.
    “A vampire named Endora saved me from a fire by turning me into a vampire” I told her.
    “But, if you can control water why couldn’t you just put out the fire?” she asked.
    “I didn’t know about my powers then” I told her.
    “But, they were still there so you would think it would have been a reflex or something” she said, and she had a good point.  I wondered why my powers didn’t work the night of the fire.  I tried to remember what had happened that night, but all I could remember was the heat and the screaming. The next thing I remembered was waking up with Endora standing over me.
    “I don’t remember much about that night” I told her.
    “Endora, the one who made you a vampire, do you like her?” She asked.
    “She has been nice to me” I said.
    “But you ran away from her” she said.
    “Matthias is taking me to the Island because I’m dangerous” I told her.
    “You don’t look dangerous” she said.
    “I am” I told her.
    “You just look like a teenage girl” she said.  “How old are you?” she asked
    “I was seventeen when I was turned” I said.
    “Do you ever wish that you weren’t a vampire?” she asked.
    “If I weren’t a vampire then I would be dead” I said.
    “Is there anything you like about being a vampire?” she asked.
    “The not having to sleep doesn’t suck, but you should get some sleep” I said.
    “Yes, I guess I should” she said.
     
    ***
     
    I smelled the sunrise and waited for the slow drain of strength and energy that always came, but this morning it didn’t come.  I didn’t think this could be real, but for some reason the sun wasn’t affecting me the way it used to.  I walked to the window and opened the curtain, letting the direct morning light land on my face, but it didn’t burn.  I didn’t feel the need to overt my eyes.
    I had not been able to withstand direct morning light since becoming a vampire.  I had never been a morning person as a human, and I had regretted every missed sunrise since.  I had to see how far I could take this.  I opened the front door and felt the sun's warm light.  I walked out onto the pouch and looked up at the roof.  I took a breath that I didn’t need and walked straight out into the light of the sun.  That’s when I felt the heat. 
    The heat threatened to burn me as I looked back at the pouch and wished I had never left its protective cover.  Then I felt a coldness that started in my core and traveled thru my limbs and out my hands.  Then my entire body changed to mist and became solid again, but now I didn’t feel the heat of the sun.  All I felt was cold water flowing thru me.  I opened my hands and watched the water gush from my palms like one of those small garden fountains.
    “Lily, what are you doing?” I heard Matthias yell from the pouch.
    “Her water powers negate the sun’s powers against her” I heard Nola say.
    “I can stand in full sunlight without it burning” I said more to myself than anyone else.  Ten years without a sunrise and now I could watch every sunrise for eternity.  I closed my eyes and tipped my head back to feel the full light of the sun on my face.
    “Since you can be in sunlight now we can leave after breakfast” Matthias said.
    “I can stand in full sunlight” I told him as if he should understand that was all I could think about.  For ten years I had lived without the sun.  I couldn’t explain how it felt to stand in the early morning sunlight.
    “I know” he said.
    “No, you don’t” I told him.
    “This means a lot to you” he said.
    “Ten years without a morning” I said.  A smile crossed his face.
    “You need to come in” he said.
    “Just a minute longer” I said.
    “You have eternity” he said, and he was right.  I never had to miss another sunrise.  I followed Matthias back into the house where I instantly smelled