As Claire left the University, a movement in the edge of her vision caught her attention. Before she could react, a heavy arm was resting on her shoulders. "Hey, Claire," the person whispered in her ear and her heart skipped beat.
Claire turned her head and came face to face with Eve's evil brother, Jason. He was wearing the same clothes he was always wearing, and smelled like him and the clothes could use a good wash. The grin planted on his face was wider than it should have been.
"What do you want, Jason?" she asked, and hoped her voiced sounded calmer than she felt. She added an over-the-top eye-roll for good measure. "Is that a polite way to greet a person, Claire? I thought your manners were much better!" "Yeah, well blame Morganville for that. Oh, and all the freak'n vampires, too." Jason shook his head slowly. "You'll get used to it. I've been living here for a long time now, and look how well I turned out!" Claire looked him up and down, and the eye-roll was not forced this time.
"Can I help you, Jason? 'Cause I have lots of homework to do." It was a lie, Claire was ahead in all her subject's, and in Morganville homework was the least of her worries. But homework was better than standing here making pointless conversation with an idiot.
"Well," Jason began, "I think homework can take a backseat, for now. Especially considering that we have our first date planned for tonight." Claire had started walking again, but came to a sudden stop when the word 'date' escaped his lips. "Excuse me?" she asked.
"You heard me, Claire. Don't play dumb." He smiled. "And where would we be going on this date?" she asked. "The one and only, Common Grounds!" "Hell, no." His smile only got bigger. "I knew it would take more convincing than that. So here's the deal," she felt the cold metal of a knife being pushed against her arm. "You come to Common Grounds with me tonight and I'll ditch all my plans to hurt Eve." Claire knew that going out with him would not make him ditch his plans, but could she really afford to take that risk? Eve was already so fragile; she didn't need her brother making things a whole lot worse.
Claire nodded. "Fine, Jason, one date and that's all." The pressure of the knife-point against her arm slowly decreased, but she was smart enough to know not to run. "I'll meet you outside the Common Grounds in an hour. If you're not there, or don't come alone…" The threat didn't need to be finished. …I'll hurt Eve, and it will be because of you. And just as quick as he had come, Jason was gone, melting into the shadows of the slowly setting sun.
Claire ran the rest of the way home.
An hour later, Claire had showered, changed, had a chilli dog for tea and was driving in the direction of Common Grounds. She had pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a dark blue tee-shirt. She finished it off with a black cardigan and some canvas shoes which were excellent for running.
Getting out of the house had been easier than she had expected. Eve was up in her room listening to music on her iPod; Michael was deep in concentration, writing another song on the guitar and Shane, well, Claire didn't know where the hell he was. It didn't bother her, though. Shane always went off randomly but ended up home unhurt. That was all that mattered.
The car was borrowed off Eve. In other words; Claire had snagged the keys and hoped that no-one would notice. Now all that was left was to turn up to Common Grounds, have this stupid date and go home to bed, where she could curl up with the biggest, fluffiest teddy she could find and sleep forever.
As she pulled up to Common Grounds, Claire noticed a lot of cars. Bonus, she thought, Jason wouldn't dare try something in front of all these people. Would he? She certainly hoped not. Claire grabbed her handbag from the passenger seat, opened the car-door and walked in the direction of Common Grounds. As promised, Jason was waiting outside the door, and smiled when he saw her. "Why, Claire, I never said you had to dress up for me!" Jason taunted. "Come on, Jason. Let's get this over with." He pouted. "Someone's in a bad mood." Claire rolled her eyes and walked through the door, Jason close behind her.
Inside, she marched up to the bar and ordered a mocha she didn't really want, without looking at who was serving her. "Claire," his voice pretty much dripped with sarcasm, "how lovely to see you here." The second badass vampire in town, Oliver, pushed the money she had placed on the counter back towards her and smiled. "This one's on the house, as a welcome back present. I'll even throw in a chocolate shot, to make it worth your while."
Claire nodded her thanks and moved along the bench to wait for her drink. "Sweet," Jason smiled. "In that case I'll have a spiced chai latte with Chocolate Flakes and those little marshmallow things." Oliver frowned at him. "You," he said, "have to pay." Jason's smile faded. Claire couldn't help but laugh. Oliver winked at her. "This is so not cool," he muttered, and chucked the five dollars owed onto the counter. Even those Oliver was a vampire, there was times when he was hilarious!
When the drinks were ready, Claire and Jason took them to a table in the corner close to the bar. She knew Oliver was obliged to help her if Jason tried anything. Slowly she sipped her mocha, and the warmth of it filled her. Jason was sipping his chai latte, and noticed her eyes darting towards the bar, back at him, then towards the bar again.
That's when Claire felt the cold, sharp edge of a knife press up against her leg. All warmth drained out of her and she nearly dropped her cup. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Oliver spare them a quick glance, then turn back to his next customer. "Stop looking around so often," Jason hissed, "people might think you weren't having a good time." "Well, then they would be thinking right, wouldn't they," she returned, quick as fire. He glared at her but said nothing. The knife point stayed where it was. She had to choose her next words carefully. "Why am I here, Jason? I know you didn't bring me down here to have a coffee and a nice little chat." He shrugged. "I like people to remember I am the one in charge around here. What I say goes, and if I say you come to Common Grounds or I'll hurt Eve, then that's what you do. Any other questions?" Claire nodded. "Can I go home now?" He glared at her but didn't reply. I'll take that as a no, Claire thought, and continued to sip her mocha.
Twenty minutes later, Claire had finished her mocha, Jason had finished his chai latte, and they were both sitting there in silence. Before she had gotten into the car, she had made sure her phone was in her pocket, so she'd know if it vibrated. But not once had it gone off. They must know I'm gone by now. "Ok, Claire," Jason finally said, "you can go now." Claire didn't hesitate to grab her handbag, push her chair back and stand. As she walked past the bar, a cold hand wrapped around her wrist. Oliver pulled her close and when Jason paused, he signalled him on. Jason frowned but didn't argue. "See you outside, Claire," he said and walked towards the door.
When he was out of ear-shot, Oliver whispered into her ear. "Be careful, Claire, if he looks like he's about to make a move, don't hesitate to run. I don't care what threat he fed you, I'll personally make sure he doesn't go through with it. Understand?" Claire nodded and he released his grip on her wrist. "Good," he said, and turned to his next customer. When Claire stepped out into the cool night, she was immediately being questioned by Jason. "What did he want, Claire?" There was no way she was going to repeat what Oliver had just told her. "That next time, I pay for my drink." He looked doubtful but didn't question her further.
"So I can go now," she asked. He slowly nodded and Claire made her way towards Eve's car. She opened the door, but before she could get in, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and spun her round. Shane, she thought, he came to get me. But when she looked around, she came face to face, again, with Jason. Before she could so much as ask was he was doing, he pulled her to him and crushed his lips to hers.
She expected it to be wet and disgusting, but, surprisingly, it wasn't. It was sweet and perfect, hot and sexy, and oh, so full of love. She felt her eyes slowly close and she folded herself into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. Her hate for him slowly grew to love, then lust. She had never felt this way about anyone before, not even Shane. Claire felt safe and secure in Jason's arms, and she wanted to stay like this forever.
Suddenly in-human strength was ripping them apart, sending Jason hurtling towards the ground and Claire against the side of the car. When Jason tried to get up the strength pushed him back down and punched him, hard. And then Oliver was there, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Claire? Claire, are you ok?" He yelled at her. She shook her head. Behind him, she could see Jason looking at her intently. "You're hurting him," she whispered. "You're hurting him!" This time she screamed it. Claire tried to push past Oliver. She struggled and kicked but she was not strong enough. Oliver was a vampire, and he was much, much stronger. He slammed her back against the car and her vision blurred for a second, and then came back into focus. She was looking straight into Oliver's cold eyes. He was shaking his head. "Claire, you don't feel this way about Jason, he's making you feel it." "No!" she screamed, "No! I love him! And he loves me!"
Oliver continued to shake his head. "Think, Claire! He's in your head! Get him out! You hate him, Claire. He threatened to kill Eve more than once, and he has killed innocent lives in the past. Get him out of your head!" Slowly, Claire came to understand what Oliver was saying. She could feel Jason in her head and see him frowning behind Oliver. "He can't," she stammered, "he's not… vampire." She suddenly felt sick. "Is he?" Oliver shook his head again. "No, Claire. He's not. But it's taken him years to learn how to get inside people's heads like that. You need to fight it Claire." And so she fought. She brought to the front of her mind all the hate and loathsome feelings she felt towards Jason. She brought to mind all the innocent lives he had taken, and all the times he had threatened Eve, Michael and Shane. And slowly he was pushed out of her head, and her mind was Jason-free.
Oliver nodded and gave a small smile. "Well done," he said, "Now go home, get some rest, skip classes tomorrow and don't go out again at night. I'll take care of Jason." He pushed her into the car, shut the door, and turned on Jason. He tried to escape but was Oliver was faster. The last thing Claire saw in the rear-view mirror as she drove away was Oliver dragging Jason towards Common Grounds. She hoped he got what was coming to him.
As Claire got into bed, she felt all her muscles start to relax. She sunk down into the pillows and pulled the blanket up to her chin. When Claire had gotten home, no-one had noticed she had been missing. Eve was still listening to her iPod; Michael was still writing the song. The only thing that had changed was the Shane was now in the kitchen, cooking the only thing he knew how to cook; Chilli. He offered her some but she politely refused and made an excuse to go to bed.
Claire's eye's slowly closed. She was defiantly going to follow Oliver's advice. Go home, rest and don't go out again at night. But, she thought as she slowly dozed off, there is no way in hell I'm skipping classes tomorrow…
When Claire woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was the headache, right between her eyes. The second was the bruising she had received from being pushed against the car by a vampire and the third was the fact that Jason had kissed her! And she had liked it! He was making me think I liked it, she reasoned with herself. Even so, the thought of kissing him still grossed her out.
Claire groaned and rolled over, trying to make sense of the numbers on the alarm clock, which were swimming in and out of focus. 10:45. Despite all the pain it caused her, Claire sat straight up. She was late for school by 2 hours! Claire threw off the blankets and jumped out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans under her long tee-shirt which served as pyjamas, flung open her bedroom door and clattered down the stairs. "Eve!" she yelled. "Michael! Shane!" No-one replied.
Claire forced herself to pause and think clearly, even though it made the headache worse. Eve, she thought, Eve would be… at work! One down, two to go. Shane. Next, Michael. She deliberately didn't think were Shane would be. It was daylight, so she knew he wouldn't be having his blood sucked out of him. That was good enough for her. Michael would be… come on, think! Playing his guitar! At Common Grounds, most likely. So that solved the problem of her missing friends. Claire suddenly realised how hungry she was, and she stumbled into the kitchen to make some toast and coffee. Grabbing the bread out of the cupboard, she put two bits into the toaster, and then turned to make the coffee. There was already a cup of hot coffee ready, and a note attached to it.
Don't leave the house today, whatever you do. Oliver told me about what happened last night and also that Jason got away. We have all underestimated him. I've gone with Oliver and some other vampires to help find him. Shane and Eve are at the university. It's you he's after Claire, and he can't get to you if you stay inside the house. We'll be back around sun-down.
Michael
Claire grabbed the cup of coffee and took the longest sip known to man. She looked back at the note, hoping that the words were different, and she had imagined it all. No such luck. Jason had gotten away and he was after her. The still hot coffee stated that they had left not five minutes ago. After running to the garage, Claire only confirmed what she knew was true. Michael's car was gone and so was Eve's. She was alone.
If Claire knew one thing, it was this. There was no way in hell that she was staying home all day. She had to be doing something to keep her mind off Jason. She would visit Myrnin. Claire drank the last of her coffee and ate her cold toast, then went upstairs to have a shower. The hot water ran over her body, and she imagined it was washing away all her problems and worries, washing them down the plughole and out into Morganville, where they would attach themselves to another unlucky soul. Maybe Monica Morrell.
Claire got dressed, grabbed her schoolbag and emptied it of all her textbooks. She put in some old books including Treasure Island and Dracula. She knew Myrnin would want to read them, especially Dracula, considering he was a vampire too. She also threw in some red liquid, which gave Myrnin 5 hours of being sane. Facing the blank wall downstairs, Claire concentrated on the images of his lab, the stacks of books lying around and the many old, wooden bookcases and drawers. When she opened her eyes, Claire could see Myrnin's lab on the other side of the portal and she stepped through, leaving behind the glass house and as she left, she felt the pull of the house telling her to stay.
A few minutes later, Claire found herself facing the blank wall in Myrnin's lab. On her back was her backpack and in her right hand was the dart gun, and each dart was filled with the red liquid. There was no way she would get close enough to the insane Myrnin to give him a proper injection, so this would have to do. Conjuring up the images of the cell, Claire saw the portal open and stepped through. On the other side she was greeted by the moans of other crazed vampires. And she may her way over to the fridge, were all the blood packets were kept. She grabbed some and, as she was walking towards Myrnin's cell, threw one to each vampire in turn. When she reached his cell, Myrnin was reading a book, upside down. Claire rolled her eyes and dragged the chair in the corner over, so she could sit down and face him.
"Hello, Claire," he said without looking up. "I find that my intelligence is increasing ever since I started taking the liquid form of the drug." "Myrnin," she struggled to find the right words, "without a very recent dose you aren't any more intelligent than you were before we started with the liquid form. You just think you are." This time Myrnin did look up, and he didn't look happy. A crimson haze began forming from his pupils out, until it filled his entire eye. "What do you mean Claire? I am reading this book and understanding it well and I haven't had a recent dose! Is that not proof enough that I'm being cured?"
She looked at Myrnin. "Well, no," she looked him straight in the eye. She knew breaking eye contact was a sure sign of weakness to him, and she wasn't about to appear weak. "It's not proof enough. For one, you have read that book many times before and for two, well, you're reading it upside down." And with that, she aimed the dart gun and fired. It hit him in the stomach and he fingered the red feathers, before collapsing backward onto the ground.
It only took a moment and then Myrnin's eyes snapped open. He sat up and pulled out the dart. It took him a moment to recognise Claire, but when he did, his eyes grew wide. "What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly afraid she had over or under-dosed him on the liquid. "Claire," he whispered, "Claire!" this time he yelled and Claire nearly fell off her chair. "You shouldn't be here! He's after you." Claire was puzzled, then realisation hit. "Oh, you mean Jason! Yeah, well I figured that I was safe here." She now realised how stupid that sounded. "You need to leave! He's… here." Claire felt her stomach twist. "Please. Go," Myrnin whispered. Too late. Claire felt a cold hand wrap around her waist and pull her backward off the chair. She landed of the cold, hard floor and cried out in pain, before being yanked up against the wall. "Hello again. Miss me?" Jason whispered into her ear. The last thing Claire felt was the sharp point of a needle poke through her skin and a liquid being injected into her veins. The edges of her vision began to blur, until she blacked out altogether.
When Claire woke up she tried to open her eyes, but the sudden bright light changed her mind. "Good Evening, Claire," Jason asked, his voice dripped with sarcasm. "Sleep well, did you?" As Claire's eyes slowly adjusted to the light, she managed to open them and take in her surroundings. She was in a windowless room, with one door on the wall opposite her. She was lying on what she could only assume was a couch and sitting in chairs across from her was Jason and… Myrnin.
Myrnin's eyes were dark red and he looked like the crazed vampire everyone knew him as. He was looking at her and a huge grin was making its way across his face. "Where am I?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound braver than she felt. "That, I'm afraid, that is classified," Jason said and they both continued looking at her. Claire tried again. "Why am I here?" Jason smiled. "You're here because you can't exactly go missing when people might know where you are." "What do you want with me?" she asked. Jason threw back his head and laughed. When he looked at her again he had tears running down his cheeks. "My God, girl, you haven't figured that out yet?" To Myrnin he said, "I thought you said this girl is smart." Myrnin just ignored him.
"You are Amelie's pet. If I have you spot, then she'll do anything to get you back. Even…" the rest of it was unsaid, but Claire knew exactly what he meant. Jason knew that she knew. Even give me complete control over Morganville. "Why would you want something like that?" she asked. "Why not ask for money?" Jason just shrugged. "Because, what can you buy in Morganville? Nothing. And like hell they'd let me leave. Anyway, controlling a town has a much better ring to it, don't you think?" Claire just glared at him. "Why is he in this? What's in it for him?" She nodded at Myrnin. "Claire, he's sick. The dosage wore off 2 hours ago. He doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Preferably, I'd like to keep it that way. In his state of mind he'll do anything I say." Myrnin just continued looking at her.
After another 10 minutes of silence, Jason looked at his watch and said "time to go. The sun should be well and truly down, by now." Myrnin stood up and started advancing towards her. She tried to run but then, logically, where would she run to? Jason wasn't totally stupid, he would lock the door. Myrnin grabbed her round her waist and hauled her to her feet. Jason pulled a strip of material out from his pocket and put it over her eyes and tied a knot at the back. "Sorry about this," he said, "You just can't know where my hideout is."
Claire felt herself being dragged across the floor, and then heard keys being shoved into a lock. The lock clicked and she heard the creak of the door being opened. Again she felt herself being dragged and, when she apparently wasn't going fast enough, felt her feet leave the ground and then she was being carried by who she assumed was Myrnin. Next thing she knew she heard a car being turned on and she was being thrown into the backseat. She knew it was the backseat because her head hit the door on the other side. And then the car pulled into motion and she was thrown back against the seat. She would have tried to take her blindfold off but she was too preoccupied with trying not to get a concussion.
A couple of minutes later they came to a sudden stop and Claire was thrown into the seat in front of her. Before she had time to react strong arms were pulling her out of the car and carrying her. Once again, they obviously didn't think she would go fast enough to match their pace. In a matter of seconds Myrnin (an assumption of who was carrying her) stopped and dropped her onto her feet. "Where are we?" she asked. "You'll find out soon enough," Jason's harsh voice said and she heard him walking away. Soon, the sound of knocking against wood sounded. We are at a house, she realised. Her blindfold was ripped off and Myrnin placed his hand over her mouth. We're at the Glass House. Claire was standing in such a way that she couldn't see who answered the door, and assumed they couldn't see her either.
"We don't have time for you Jason," Shane said. "Why ever not? What could be more important than me?" Jason laughed. "Leave," Michael said, "Before we call the cops." "I'd much rather you called Amelie. I have something important to tell her," was Jason's reply. "I'm here." Claire heard the shuffle of footsteps. "What is it?"
Jason smiled. "I would like full control of Morganville and all the residents in it." Amelie laughed. "And what would make you think I would give you that?" Claire could practically hear Jason smile. "You'll regret it if you don't." Claire felt Myrnin tilt her head to the side with her other hand. Oh God! "Last chance, Amelie." "Never." Jason nodded and stepped aside. She heard Eve scream and Michael and Shane advanced towards her. Before they could reach her, she felt sharp points pierce her throat and sink in. Agonising pain filled her body and she let out a scream, along with Eve. "No!" Shane and Michael yelled in unison. But it was too late.
Claire felt her body fall to the ground and Myrnin crouched over her. She wasn't aware of anything but the pain and when that got too much, Claire felt herself slipping away, and she gladly let the darkness swallow her up.