It's Sky Morgan's 22nd birthday. He's unemployed and just had an awkward dinner with his dad. There wasn't even any cake, and Sky loves cake. Angry and morose, he decides to go out for a drink and randomly chooses the Grotto, a nearby gay bar.<br><br>The Grotto's clientele is different from the rest of society in more ways than one. However, they are very kind to Sky. He has a most comforting chat with Everest, an old drag queen, who is the first person ever to understand how awkward family can be. And then she introduces Sky to Slade, a mysterious and attractive young man. The chemistry between them is instant.<br><br>But is Slade a young man? He's more different than just being gay. Just how different, Sky finds out during daylight hours far below ground. As Sky's feelings towards his new friend mount, he learns they have more in common than he could possibly imagine.

Blue Sky

“And then there’s the Academy of Ancient Music in the present, I mean your present, time. Is that based in London? Oh, it’s in Cambridge, okay. We’d have to travel but that’s all right—no wait, it’s not all right. Hmm.”


“I honestly don’t care as long as I’m with you,” Sky said. Tears were in his eyes. “How in hell can this ever be made to work?”


Slade got thoughtful, almost sadly so, but when he looked up again all he said was, “How old are you now?”


Slade nodded. “You know how the kids today are always expecting to get sent their Hogwarts admission letter on their eleventh birthday? Well, when I turned twenty-two, I got a hand-written, registered letter from an agency named Morgan and Abernathy, Limited, telling me about—all this, the immortality, the vampirism, such as it is, and all that. It said I wouldn’t be alone, but it never said for how long. Now I have you…and I’m wondering…” But then he shut his mouth abruptly and changed the subject.


Chapter 11