Morganville Vampires- Epilogue.
(This story may not fit in with the events of Morganville Vampires book 10 and 11)
Myrnin put one ash white hand into a small cardboard box, pulling out a gargantuan spider called Bob. He murmured softly to it, in some strange language, and put it back in its little prison. "Little Bob, me and you are alike. We are both trapped here." He gazed into the spiders beady eyes, whispering "I miss dear little Claire, I know you do too. But she's gone now." Myrnin felt a huge stab of guilt, it tore into him wrenching his insides and making him look down in shame. He dashed away, afraid he would hurt Bob. That seemed like all he was capable of doing these days…hurting. Why did he hurt her? Poor, fragile, Claire. Myrnin caught a glimpse of something red on the counter, the bitter sweet strawberry crystals that kept him sane. He hadn't taken them in months, not since Claire…. He didn't deserve to be sane.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, a light little tapping sound which meant Amelie was here for her daily visit. She had come a lot since Myrnin gave up, he didn't know she cared about him. Myrnin's bunny slippers scuffed along the floor at lightning speed and the metal door swung open in a flash.
"Myrnin what in the world are you up to!" Amelie cried, taking in the scenery of metal bars and deadly sharp stakes. She stared into Myrnin's eyes and found intense shame. "NO MYRNIN! You can't it would be a precious waste of immortality." Amelie dashed over to Myrnin, and took off his old Victorian shirt. Around his stomach was a silver chain and thick dark red blood. "This is because of Claire. You want to punish yourself." Amelie realised. Myrnin looked ashamed and in the blink of an eye he tore from Amelie's grip and charged to corner of the old stone lab. "I am a monster, Ada she died because of me. Claire, sweet innocent little Claire, I drained her sweet blood in a second before I knew what I was doing. She trusted me! I am trusted by no-one. And dangerous to everyone, even you Amelie. Get OUT!" he started whimpering and his pale skin was covered in thick miserable tears. "I have destroyed everything that I love; I could destroy you in a second. I am a lunatic!"
He charged madly around the room as if looking for something to hurt himself with. Amelie looked on like a statue, in beautiful ice blue with tumbling blonde hair. She felt for him, she really did. But there was nothing that she could do. She felt tears trickling down her cheeks. "Myrnin!" she simply whispered. "You have to go now, before the Glass House residents find out. They will hurt you my dear, I cannot let this happen. Come with me, we will keep you safe until the death is announced and the funeral takes place." She took his arm and gently dragged him away from the area surrounded by silver tipped stakes.
Myrnin looked confused than ravenous. "IF THEY WANT TO KILL ME THEN LET THEM." he screamed red rage clouding his eyes. "Bring them here right now, let them kill me or I'll do it myself!" Once again Myrnin broke free of Amelie's strong grip, grabbed a lethal oak stake and sprinted down into the cold chamber where the machine was kept. Claire's body lay there wrapped in a grey blood spattered sheet. Myrnin couldn't even bear to look at it. "Dear, sweet Claire. I am sorry, I've never been so sorry in my whole existence." He gulped and plunged the razor sharp stake straight through his heart.
Within another second Amelie was behind him, pleading with him to let her take the stake out of his chest. "Myrnin!" she cried. Myrnin staggered towards the wall and with a stomach-turning crunch he broke through and raced into the sunlight. All Myrnin had on was a pair of denim jeans and bunny slippers, so his skin burned up like oil was poured on it.
The stake in his chest made him weak, so unlike other old vampires he started to scorch in the brilliant sunlight. Amelie cried in despair and followed him. "Myrnin, NO! I've lost Sam, not you too!" Myrnin staggered onto the lawn of old Lady Day's house. The white wooden swing swayed in the breeze.
Oliver, in his middle aged hippy disguise of a Hawaiian shirt, kayak shorts and flip flops, kept and alert eye on the window. What Oliver saw was startling; a vampire with shaggy black hair, boiling in the sunlight with a stake in his heart, and Amelie crouched by him, crying.
Oliver recognised Myrnin at once, leaving a tall jock at the till, he raced towards them. "Stop being an Idiot ,Get out of the sun now." He screeched flinging a long leather trench coat over Myrnin's face. "Has the disease come back Amelie, Bishops long gone?" he asked slowly looking into Amelie's eyes for signs of truth. "He... suicide… I couldn't …. HELP!" she whimpered in despair. Oliver understood at once, and lounged at Myrnin pulling the stake out in one sweep. "Stand up!" he commanded.
"No, Oliver he's too weak. I know how I felt after, Sam. Its heart wrenching. Just grab him." begged Amelie. Oliver slung one hand over Myrnin and flung him with force into Grandma Day's porch. Amelie grabbed a blanket from the side and slung it over Myrnin's face for extra protection from the sun beams.
"Ok, he's ok for now." Oliver said simply. Catching a glimpse of Amelie's hysterical face. "He's ancient Amelie, older than me. Yes, the stake weakened him but he'll be fine in a minute. I'll call the bloodmobile." He answered trying to say something to comfort and relax Amelie. But Amelie shook her head, to little graceful flicks. "No Oliver. He had a silver chain on. He put it on the day Claire died. Myrnin was close to death." She moaned. Oliver pulled the check blanket of Myrnin's face the snowy skin was covered in thick oozing scorches and blisters. "He needs Blood." Oliver decided.
Faster than the speed of light, Amelie had dashed back to Myrnin's lab grabbed a sealed blood packet, ripped it open, and held it up to Myrnin. Myrnin stirred at the metallic smell of the blood, and turned away from it. "No blood." He demanded like a spoilt child. "No Blood. NO BLOOD. Not after Claire. Blood kills people." Amelie looked at Oliver in despair. Oliver swiped the packet out of her hand "Stop! Drink now or I will shove it down your throat. You ungrateful, spineless explanation for a Vampire. I have killed, do you see me running around getting myself killed."
"Myrnin, I have to tell you this. I wouldn't usually do it but I see that you won't forgive yourself. There is a way we can get Claire back. The Founder's Spell." Amelie announced. "The Founder's what?" Oliver asked, and Myrnin's guilt-stricken face transformed to a puzzled one.
"The Founder's Spell, it's something that has been hidden for a long while. Bishop…invented it along with the disease; I stole the instructions from him. It is, in the rare case, if a human killed by a vampire wants to be spared. Oliver inhaled and Myrnin looked up. Amelie continued. "You mix the blood of the founder, the newest vampire, and the vampire and the human in question and add it to the elixir of life."
Myrnin , who up to know had been lying still on the grass, sprung up and danced with joy on the spot. "Of course!" and with a flash burnt skin and bunny slippers he was back, holding 5 beakers. Two beakers were empty, one beaker was filled with human blood, another beaker was filled with blood, but thicker and darker but the last beaker was unexplainable. It was filled with a translucent substance that looked like gas but was wet like liquid. It appeared to sparkle in the light, but with sharp vampire senses you could see that is was dangerous particles rubbing together. Myrnin gazed at it admiringly "Lamia's Venom."
Oliver's angelic face was astounded. "YOU! You went to the world's first vampire and got her venom!" Lamia was such a well-guarded secret, which only the most ancient vampires of the world even know of her existence. Lamia was supposed to be human, but when she was born she was a creature never seen before. Pale marble skin, piercing red eyes and fangs like a tigers. Her parents thought she was a demon and drowned her, being a vampire the water had no effect. Through decades she was thought to be the devil, a monster, and an evil spirit. Lamia was still out there somewhere, in hiding with millions of her vampire offspring protecting her.
Myrnin smiled slightly. "I met her once, in Sweden, dreadfully disfigured. The vampire's appearance has improved so much through generations." Sounding like old Myrnin again. Amelie giggled a high piercing sound that you wouldn't expect to come from such a strict figure. Then dripped a small amount gloopy burgundy blood into the empty beaker.
"I hadn't drained all of Claire's…. I left…" began Myrnin looking mortified and remorseful. Oliver put one hand on Myrnin's burnt forearm for a split second, "It's in our instinct. Nothing to be ashamed. So, we have the human and the vampire in question blood, Myrnin and Claire. We have the founders blood. We have this elixir of life as you call it. The most recently created vampire?"
"Frank Collins" questioned Myrnin. "Michael Glass." Muttered Amelie. "Could be anyone." Suggested Oliver. Myrnin shoot a frustrated expression to Oliver. "As one of the originals, I have a keen sense of new creations. The last alert sign I got was when Frank Collins was turned." Announced Amelie, "As Frank Collins is dead and his brain is in the machine, it is Michael Glass."
This meant there would be a problem. To get blood from Michael they would have to explain what had happened in Myrnin's lab, which meant that Myrnin would have to confess to the dreadful thing he did, and that would lead to a violent vampire seeking revenge. Before Amelie had time to develop a plan, Myrnin had sprinted into his lab changed clothes (flip flops, a long bedraggled lace shirt and what looked like pyjama pants) , gripping a glass beaker and accelerated in the direction of Glass House. Myrnin didn't care if young Michael hurt him and even put another stake through his heart, he deserved it for hurting sweet little Claire. It was the only hope to get Claire back, and hopefully Michael would see that through all of the fury and give a tiny bit of blood.
He landed on the porch of the Glass house and knocked on the door before he had time to change his mind. A smiling Halloween mask answered the door, with rice powder make up ink black lipstick and massive rings of grey eyeliner. At first she looked behind him, probably expecting to see Claire, Myrnin thought in shame. "Ok crazy vampire boss, where's Claire? She was supposed to be back this morning and it's her turn for the laundry…" She gasped as the Amelie and Oliver shaped blurs landed on the porch. Her racoon eyes became wide and scared. "Michael! MICHEAL!" she screamed urgently. Michael charged down the stairs at vampire speed. "Come in," he said politely. Hastily trying to cover up the mess in the living room. Shane crept downstairs, once he saw Myrnin he shouted. "If you've made her do overtime in some crazy blood-sucker experiment, you better be paying her."
Oliver put a hand around Shane's wrist and one on Eve's, "Upstairs, we don't want more human blood spilt." Shane and Eve tugged hard but failed to break free from the vampire grip. "If you don't let go of me. I'll stake you so hard…" began Eve. But Michael interrupted her by pulling her and Shane out of Oliver's grip.
"Anything you can say to me, you can say to Shane and Eve. Is It about Claire right?" At this point Myrnin collapsed in a heap on the floor. "Shane Collins, Eve Rosser, Michael Glass I am truly sorry for what I did. I lost control… I was thirsty, I didn't….! Claire is dead because of me. I killed her and drained her blood. " The whole room erupted at once, Michael lunged for Myrnin's throat and was held back by Oliver, Shane screamed out and dived at Myrnin but was blocked by Amelie and Eve who had exploded into thick streams of tears and looked around desperately for a way to hurt Myrnin. Myrnin was reduced to a crying wreck on the floor, quivering with the realisation of what he had done.
"I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't even forgive myself. However there is a small chance that I can save Claire, I need all of your permission especially yours… Shane." Myrnin whispered.
"You have to understand the consequences. It has never been tested before, and there is a massive chance that it will go wrong. Even if it works Claire will be a vampire. Maybe not even a Vampire like Michael, she might not be tame." Amelie explained. Shane looked up, his face was smeared with tear tracks and he had burning anger in his eyes. "I love Claire more than anything, if there is a small chance to get her back. I would!" Eve erupted in the corner, "Shane, you don't make deals with them, they killed Claire and now they wanna make her a freaky leech girl" she sobbed.
Myrnin joined in, sobbing and weeping, "Michael, we need your blood. Give it to me or kill me." Michael finally looked up, "You don't deserve to live. But Claire does!" he whimpered, slashing his wrist with a butter knife from the kitchen counter. Amelie held out the spare glass beaker and Michael's blood splashed in.
Myrnin whipped the beaker out of Amelie's hand and with a blinding flash he was back in the lab. By the time Amelie and Oliver had caught up, he had mixed all of the solutions together. The various bloods mixed with the flawless elixir of life, sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight.
Amelie snatched the beaker off the table top and within seconds, was pouring it in to the tiny holes in Claire's neck. Claire's body was lifeless and still, she had dark circles around her eyes, and her hair lay lifeless around her sallow skin. Her old jeans and sweatshirt were splashed with blood.
As soon as the glowing liquid trickled into Claire's empty veins it worked. Her skin lost the entire yellowy colour and dropped to a vampire shade of white. Claire's appearance, remarkably beautiful anyway, was even more breath taking. Her lips went from purple to a peachy colour that opened to reveal pearly-white fangs. Then Claire's eyes flickered open the deep, thick black eye-lashes fanned out exposing red eyes. Once she saw no sign of threat, her pupils regained the normal burnt coffee colour, and her fangs shot back up like a snake. Then she looked like regular sweet but pale Claire that was until she opened her mouth.
"Myrnin! What did you do to me! Am I….. Did you…. No!" She thrashed out, hands and legs flailing. Then she sprung up onto her feet, like a graceful predator. "I'm going to kill you, Myrnin!" Myrnin just laughed, so did Amelie and Oliver. Myrnin continued to laugh, even when Claire darted after him, fangs exposed and blood red eyes.
"Should we stop her, she doesn't know the rules yet?" Amelie asked concerned. Oliver chuckled, "No, I'm enjoying this!" Amelie giggled, Claire just pinned down Myrnin. "She's taking immortality in her stride. I wouldn't be surprised if she won." Oliver strained his neck, "Claire's come to her senses." Out of the corner of his eye he could see Claire, back to normal vampire mode, crying uncontrollably. Screaming, 'I'm one of you.' Or 'I don't want to kill' and 'Shane!'. Amelie looked alarmed once again, and ran over to Claire, took her hand and muttered something reassuring.