Hello dutiful fans, here is the long awaited 10th chapter of For the Better Good. Hopefully it was worth the wait.

Also, just want to state that I do not own any of the characters, I just own the stories and situations that I have placed them in. All other rights go to Rachel Caine.

Chapter 10

I can feel the tension in Myrnin as he holds my hand gently, but with a commanding presence to show his claim he is trying to set. Amelie looks between Myrnin and I before saying to Myrnin, "Myrnin, I need to talk to you alone."

Myrnin's grasp on my hand tightens slightly and then he gets down into a slight crouch before he growls, "You can say whatever you need to say to me in front of Claire. I am not leaving her alone."

I watch as Amelie looks over Myrnin's response and then she looks towards Oliver. She takes an unnecessary breath before saying, "I will be talking with you alone and if you are so concerned about your pet, I will leave Oliver here with her. He won't let anything happen to her."

The last part of her statement seems almost menacing like she knows what has been going on and why. I look at Myrnin to try and see what his reaction is going to be to that statement and see him straighten up. He lets go of my hand before looking at Amelie and saying, "Fine, I will come with you now and have this discussion alone. If anything happens to Claire when we are gone, I will kill Oliver for letting her get hurt though."

Amelie nods her head and looks to Oliver. Oliver nods his head in acknowledgment of the threat. Amelie then reopens the portal and she and Myrnin walk through it. I assume they are going to her office to have their private talk. I watch Oliver carefully and I walk around the lab straightening a couple things that are out of place. I walk towards Bob's cage and look down into it to see that the spider has escaped. I mutter quietly under my breath, "Shit," before I turn back around and face Oliver. I scan the room to see if I can identify where that elusive spider could of gotten to. Before I have a chance to look for him though, Oliver clears his throat. I look at him and say, "Yes, Oliver?"

Oliver looks at me carefully and says, "Why Claire, I am just wondering if you could explain to me why Myrnin is acting more protective of you today then normal? I can remember a time not very long ago where he would have nearly eaten you over protecting you."

I scan the room again and see Bob on top of a book in the corner. I walk towards him as I ponder Oliver's question. I finally respond with, "Myrnin is just protecting me because we have become friends throughout our time working together. Recently, my life was put in danger and so he is just making sure that his friend is not lost from him."

I step closer to Bob and am about to pick him up as Oliver says, "I feel like it is more then a friendship that I see. It seems that Myrnin has grown fond of you, young Claire."

As I process a response to his statement I reach towards Bob to try and take him back to his cage, but as I place one hand under him Bob bites down and I swear at the spider. I drop him on the ground and rush over to the first aid kit I had Myrnin install in the lab. I grab it and rush into the bathroom without a second thought for what Oliver is up to. I thankfully don't have to worry about Bob being poisonous, but in an earlier run in with him Myrnin and I had learned that I was allergic to his venom. If not treated quickly, the portion of my body that was beaten could balloon up to 3 times its regular size. I grab the treatment from the first aid kit and start applying it to the spider bite on my hand.


Myrnin's Perspective

I follow Amelie through the portal to her office. I am not 100% sure how safe I feel leaving Claire alone with Oliver, but my queen would not let me bring Claire with me so it is best to utilize the only solution I have. Amelie ushers for me to sit down in one of the chairs across from her desk as she sits down in her chair. As I sit down, I question, "What is this all about, my queen?"

Amelie looks towards me and says, "I do not think that you are only questioning why I have brought you to my office today. I think in your head you are also considering all of the things that happened of recently in your life. Today I have brought you here to hear about a new threat to my town that I need your help defeating. I will not discuss anything else with you at this time, but if you succeed in defeating this threat I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability."

I look her over and take a deep unnecessary breath knowing that as she stated she will not divulge any more information until she is ready. A part of me wants to question her on the things I should not, but I also realize that if I do that I may anger her and I do not want Claire to get caught up in my queen's anger. I finally respond with one question, "What is this threat, my queen?"

She smiles at me and nods her head to acknowledge that I have done well in staying on the topic at hand. She says questioningly, "Have you heard of the Wendigo legend?"

I think back to all the different legends I had learned about after I became a vampire so that I could know of all the vast possibilities of what could be out there. I look at her and say, "Yes. The Wendigo legend is a legend derived by Native American tribes about a creature that can control humans and turn them to eating humans."

Amelie nods her head and says, "That is correct. There is also a lesser known legend very similar to the Wendigo legend about a creature that can possess a human and turn it to crave human flesh, but also to crave flesh of vampires more. I have heard that the creature from this legend is coming to Morganville or possibly already in Morganville. I need you to see if you can defeat this creature and be able to detect which humans are being controlled by it. Unfortunately, this legend has no name and is very hardly known so it maybe a hard task to find."

I try to think through all the research I had done to see if I had any knowledge of this second legend and I can't come up with anything. This maybe a hard task to do for Amelie, but I also am sure that if I don't successfully complete it she will be sure to destroy my life. I nod and say, "Yes, my queen. I will look into this creature and determine how to best them. Is there anything else you need or may we head back to the lab?"

Amelie stands up from her desk and says, "That is all I need of you currently Myrnin. Let's return to your lab now."

I watch as she opens the portal to my lab and follow her through it. As I emerge from the portal I see Oliver sitting on the couch with Claire nowhere in sight. I look at him and say, "Where is Claire, Oliver?"

Oliver looks at me and says, "She is in the bathroom. She was bitten my that spider of yours and rushed in their with a first aid kit."

I shake my head and look towards Bob's cage to see it empty. I know that Claire normally would not try to handle Bob because of how allergic we had discovered she was, but she also would have tried to capture him if she noticed him missing. I look back at Oliver and say, "Where was Bob when she tried to pick him up?"

Oliver looks at me and then points in the general direction of a corner. I walk towards it and see Bob climbing a stack of books. I pick him and quietly mutter, "You naughty little spider."

I then carry him back to his cage and make sure it is adequately covered so he can't escape again. I then walk back towards Amelie and Oliver to say, "I will work on that project for you, my queen."

She looks at me and says, "Thank you. Let me know as soon as you have an answer or even an inkling of answer. Also, keep this between us. I don't need Claire and her friends interfering in our project."

I hate the idea of hiding something from Claire, but I also know that if I tell her she might be in more danger then she already is. I look at Amelie and say, "Of course, my queen."

Oliver stands up from my couch and walks over toward the portal. Amelie and he then walk through the portal. I wait until it closes and I am sure they are gone before I head towards the bathroom door. I knock on it lightly and call out, "Claire, are you okay?"

I hear no verbal response, but I hear a light crying noise. I carefully twist the door knob to see if it is unlocked and find that it is. I slowly open the door and walk in to find Claire on the ground crying holding an ice pack to her hand. From what I can see, she has already applied the treatment to the spider bite and is just ensuring that it doesn't swell. I walk up slowly to her and then sit down next to her and ask, "Are you okay, Claire?"

Alright guys, that was the 10th chapter. The Wendigo legend I mentioned I learned about when googling mythical creatures. The unnamed legend similar to it is all my own, I just wanted to avoid taking the Wendigo legend and changing it. Anyways, have a good Monday and we shall see when the next chapter is posted (hopefully sooner then this one was). As always, feel free to leave a review as they light up my day.