Chapter 14

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them were all in the living room. Miranda was sitting on the couch with Eve beside her, holding her hand. Michael was sitting in a chair that he had brought in from the kitchen, and Shane was behind him, leaning against the wall opposite the couch. All of them held mugs of coffee, but Eve's and Miranda's were on the table, and Michael and Shane were holding theirs just because there was nothing else to do. Miranda had just finished telling them all about how she walked to their house and how she'd picked the lock to get in, never once mentioning why. Shane was drumming his fingers against his coffee mug, anxiously waiting for Miranda to say what she had to say and get gone. He had a phone call to make, and he didn't like having to put it off any longer than was necessary.

"Miranda?" Eve ventured. "Why are you here?" Eve always the most understanding when it came to Miranda. Shane already wanted to leave the room.

"I had a vision." That was it. She didn't say anything. Shane rolled his eyes. Eve tried to keep Miranda talking.

"And you had to come immediately?"

"Yes. It is very important."

"Well, you want to tell us what it is, or are you just gonna sit there?" Miranda glared at Shane, obviously upset with him. He smiled sweetly in response.

"Watch your words Shane. I have vital information. Information that could save a life, a life you want very much to be saved, if I remember correctly."

Claire, he thought. She knows something about Claire. Suddenly, Shane's smile disappeared completely, and his face became apologetic. Miranda smiled at that. "So now do you want to know, dear Shane? I can just as easily keep it to myself."

Shane said nothing. "I thought so." said Miranda triumphantly. Then she took a deep breath, and told them of the future. "Your housemate—what's her name again?"

"Claire." Shane whispered, his throat getting tight.

Miranda nodded in thanks. "Claire. She's a prisoner of the vampires, is she not?"

The three of them nodded all looking down. "And she's going to be put to death for the murder of the vampire Samuel Glass, right?"

"Yes," Michael croaked out, his voice hoarse and strained.

"She can be saved." Shane's head bobbed up immediately. It was too good to be true. "It was Amelie's decision to execute Claire," Miranda explained, "but there are many vampires who do not agree with this sentence. They believe she is valuable. They are planning to rebel against Amelie's rule in Morganville as soon as Claire is executed. It could very well turn into a large war for which Amelie would not be prepared. Oliver and Myrnin, the leaders of the rebellion, have more followers than you would believe. Myrnin is very persuasive, and he believes that it is absolutely vital for Claire to survive, so he's been giving speeches and delivering messages on her behalf. Why she's so important, I don't know." She stopped and beamed, seeming very proud of herself. The three Glass house residents just stared. Shane was beyond disappointed. He'd let himself believe there was some way. He should have known better.

"So what?" Michael asked.

Miranda looked insulted. "So what? So take that to Amelie. No way is she going to want a war on her doorstep. Not to mention one that might destroy Morganville, which is everything she's always worked for." Miranda was trying to help, Shane saw. But—

"Miranda…do you really think that Amelie would believe us? I mean, it's not like we have any proof or anything." Eve voiced his worry for him.

"Hello? You have me. She knows about my powers, right?"

"Yeah…" Eve was trying to be nice. "But you could be lying. She knows that you're our friend. She'd probably think we bribed you or something."

"No." Everyone turned to look at Michael, who had surprised them all. "Vampires—well, the older ones anyway—can tell when someone's lying. Grandpa Sam was able to do it. I'm sure a vampire as old as Amelie will be like a pro lie detector. As long as you're not lying," he said to Miranda, who shook her head vigorously, "and if we can get Myrnin and Oliver to tell Amelie the truth about them not wanting Claire to be executed, then this should work."

"Oh my God," Eve said. "Michael, are you serious?"

He nodded. They both looked at Shane, who hadn't spoken yet. But Shane wasn't there anymore. "Shane?" Eve called. She started to get up, but Miranda had started jerking and thrashing. She was having another vision.

"Stay with her." Michael said. "I'll go find Shane." She nodded and sat down to wait until Miranda returned to the present. Michael didn't have to walk far. He found Shane in the kitchen just as he was hanging up the phone. His back was to him, so it took Shane awhile to realize Michael was behind him. When he did, Michael saw panic flit across his face, and then disappear. "Hey dude." He said casually.

Michael raised an eyebrow. "Who was that?"

Shane forced a laugh and shook his hair out of his eyes. "Oh, I was just gonna order pizza." He nodded guiltily.

"And?" Michael asked.

"Oh, it was just way expensive. Taxes, you know. What are you gonna do?"He laughed and then walked out of the room. Michael raised both eyebrows, totally confused, and was about to follow when he caught sight of a pizza coupon on the corner of the counter. In big, bold letters it stated "ANY EXTRA LARGE PIZZA NOW ONLY $5" Obviously Shane hadn't seen it. He picked it up and walked into the room with the rest of them.

"Shane, dude, pizzas are only—" he stopped when he noticed the unnatural silence in the room. He looked up from the coupon and saw that Miranda was boring into Shane with a look that would kill any human. Shane stood in front of her, tensed from head to toe, glaring back at her with a stare that was nowhere near as intense. It was like watching a kiwi bird face off against a cheetah.

Eve looked as confused as he felt, but before either of them could ask anything, Miranda asked Shane a question of her own, her voice oozing poison.

"What have you done?"