The burnt eggs had not exactly been a great first day back in the Glass house.
The smoldering breakfast had jumpstarted the fire alarms that Claire didn't even know still worked, and sent Shane hurdling over the couch into the kitchen. He made his way over to Claire as she coughed and halfheartedly fanned the scrambled corpses in the frying pan, a cloud of smoke expanding across the ceiling and spreading through the house.
"Jesus, Claire… You okay?" he was in between laughing and coughing, an amused expression pinned on his weary face.
She nodded, coughing and smiling back. After she had scraped the egg remains into the trashcan and opened the window, Shane had wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her upstairs.
…
She woke up in the warm, rumpled sheets, alarmed to see that it was after noon. She slid out of Shane's heavy arms and sat upright in his bed, lifting her head in an attempt to make out the source of the ominous buzzing in the cold air of the house.
Exiting her room and leaning over the banister, she could see it; the swelling of a portal, filling the blank space of a splintered closet door. She backed up in surprise as a man tumbled through the dark entrance, lifting a gleeful and maniacal face up to her, a grin spreading through his excited expression as Claire leaned, relieved, against the destroyed wall behind her. He seemed to have stepped right out of a Jane Austen novel; a billowing coat over his shoulder, high leather boots completing the peculiar ensemble.
Myrnin.
He opened his mouth, raising a hand to his chest.
"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"
He was up the stairs in a literal flash, brandishing a metal object in Claire's face as if it were greeting enough. She tentatively raised her hand to examine it, half expecting him to jump up and yell, "EXTERMINATE!"
"Myrnin….. What is this?" She was almost afraid to ask, and still bewildered as to how the insane vampire had even managed to open the portals. The entire Morganville system had been down, as far as Claire was concerned, anyways.
"Look downstairs, foolish child. What on earth does that look like to you?"
Shane appeared in the hallway, tugging on a shirt and staring warily at Myrnin. He placed a hand protectively on Claire's arm, but Myrnin only wrapped his fingers around her wrist, pulling her down the staircase. Shane tumbled after them, grasping Myrnin's shoulder firmly.
"Whoa, man. Hold up, and get your hands off of her. She's not going anywhere with-" Myrnin cut off his protests with a wave of his hand, not bothering to stop his descent down the stairs.
"My dear boy, I do not very well care much of your own concerns. I do require Claire's assistance most immediately, but I suppose you could be of good use, as well…" They neared the gaping portal, which was flickering with more energy than Claire had ever remembered.
"Myrnin-"she didn't have time to protest. Myrnin pushed her into the wall, and through the portal.
…
She stepped into the dark lab, shaking confusion from her face. The contraption humming in the corner of the room caught her attention, and she heard Myrnin and Shane tumble through behind her as she made her way to it.
It strongly resembled an oversized light bulb; the pulsating dome ebbed in thinly lit strands of electricity. As she reached out to touch the control pad, Myrnin's firm, cold hand grasped her arm, stopping her and moving her back.
"Now, Claire. Does that seem at all wise?" he murmured softly, taking the instrument from her fingers and pointing it at the machine. Almost as soon as he did, the thing seemed to shut down into a quiet state, darkening the dimly lit room. Claire immediately felt the portal behind them close shut, and she turned to face Myrnin.
"Myrnin, do you know what this means? Full control of the portals can now be procured through its own power, without a-"
"Brain." Shane finished for her, stepping out of the shadows, approaching Myrnin.
" Congrats, Dracumania. You did it. I guess you don't need the brain of the next human you can get your teeth into, right? Like her?" Fury was building up behind his steady voice, and Claire took a step toward him before Myrnin spoke.
"Precisely. Frank was too….. incompetent. With this, infinite boundaries and systematic functions can be created. The town can run itself, quite literally."
Claire quickly grabbed the metal hand held device from him, looking at it closely and pacing around the machine.
"Myrnin… self-generating energy? This generator.. It's meant for some sort of power input. This miniature thing is nothing more than a remote. How do we run this, exactly?"
She heard the shatter of an Erlenmeyer flask, and the sharp, pained intake of breath from behind her. She spun to face her boyfriend and her boss; only to see Shane on his knees, Myrnin's hands tight around his throat. She felt a scream building up, but she didn't dare move.
Myrnin's face was contorted with apology as he spoke.
"Not one, of all the crowd, to pry
Into thine hour of secrecy." He whispered it softly, almost like a song.
Shane's eyes were wide with fear, and his attempts to loosen Myrnin's grip was to no avail.
Claire managed to speak shakily, walking slowly towards Myrnin, hand outstretched.
"Myrnin. Let him go."
"Claire, I assure you this is necessary. Do you not see? This has to happen!" He almost yelled at her, his eyes brazen with fury and insanity.
Claire parted her lips in horror, shaking her head slowly.
"No, I don't understand…. Myrnin, please, let him go!"
Myrnin's eyes flashed red, reflecting her horrified figure. He raised a hand, slashing it across Shane's throat before Claire had time to let loose a scream.