I know its been so much longer than normal for an update (so sorry), but I had a little inspiration for another Clyrnin story and had to write out the outline of the plot whilst the details swirled in my head. Its not a sequel; just different, but I think you are going to really, really like it. I will release the first chapter of the new story on the same night as I release the last chapter of The Stars Lie. :) :)
Chapter 54 –Her Myrnin's POV– Scary Bitch
Stepping out of the lab and into the night air, changed us. I felt the transformation. I know Rhysian did as well, because his behavior mimicked mine. He slunk into a lower posture. Deadly intent whispered violent promises through his crimson eyes, as he scanned the horizon for threats. He murmured, "My vehicle or on foot?"
"On foot," I answered grimly. "We need to intercept him – preferably before he gets us both killed – and he will be traveling away from the roads, using as much cover as the landscape can provide."
Rhysian grunted his agreement, a small rumble in the back of his throat. We broke into a flat out sprint. Rhysian hung back a step so that he could follow my direction. Our volatile speed did not hinder him from quietly asking, "Where are we headed?"
"If she is still there, it is a run-down house in an even more run-down district on the outskirts of town. If we travel quickly enough, I expect we will connect with him about ten blocks away from the house, giving us the opportunity to coordinate an attack out of listening range."
We careened through the terrain of trees, well-manicured grass and shrubs, as we navigated around small obstacles – houses and such – cutting as straight a path as possible to our intended destination.
The residential neighborhood gave way. We quickly advanced on a small strip mall, devoid of lights, the doors locked tight for the night. The buildings were compacted together with shared walls, making it impossible to do anything other than follow the sidewalk for the length of them.
"Claire said he killed one of them?" Rhysian interrupted the silence. "So that just leaves Scary Bitch and the Slim One? Shouldn't be that bad, right?" His hardened expression disagreed with his casual words. He had faced Anwyn before and understood what he was running towards.
I didn't answer and gave him a look.
He sighed heavily, "I was afraid you might say that."
We jutted harshly to the right, down an alley, and back on course toward our destination. My attention kept drifting between the path we were on and the route my alter-ego was taking; making automatic course corrections as he changed directions.
Rhysian murmured, "What happened at Michael's? Amelie advised he wasn't dead, which I found surprising, but she did not elaborate."
"I spoke with Amelie, while Claire was…gone," I lapsed into a short growl at the end. The words came out a little too harshly, my irritation over Claire's jail visit still present in my voice. "It was clear they didn't intend to kill him. They disappeared after leaving a souvenir stake in his chest, but not a lethal wound, which they could have easily inflicted while he was unconscious."
"Oh, she does intend to kill him," Rhysian disagreed quietly. "She was just waiting for Claire to become hyperaware of her little cat-mouse, crazy-as-a-loon jealous, punishment scheme first."
My gut twisted; all irritation over Claire's stubbornness drained out of me, as I faced the truth again.
This was my fault.
I had put her life in danger. Again. And not just from the monster that I can be. No, this time, I had to make her vulnerable to a monster ten times my equivalent – a creatively vengeful female vampire, with a penchant for theatrics.
My step faltered as the weight of that knowledge bore down on me. Rhysian must have recognized my silence and broken gait, because he grabbed my arm and yanked us both faster. "We don't have time for that now," he spoke harshly.
No we didn't. He was right. But if we made it; if we live through this terror, I would spend a lifetime – Claire's lifetime – trying to make it up to her.
If she would let me.
As much as I wanted to be certain she would choose me, I knew her decision was far from made and could go either way.
She had saved me.
But he had saved her.
Yes, Rhysian physically kept her from plunging that dagger into her chest. But, how long would it have been before she tried again? Would he have been there the next time? I cringed away from the picture of Claire trying to hurt herself. But I knew her and I had felt it in her emotions when she broke down, screaming at me over the vodka. There would have been a next time. I was certain of it.
The only thing that had truly kept her alive was his return – a part of me, which had broken off centuries ago, evolving into his own separate consciousness, but irrevocably linked to my mind. I almost wished we could trade places. That I did not have to bear the knowledge of both timelines. If it were the other way around; if I only saw my history, not both, I think there would be a certain measure of bliss in that ignorance.
As quickly as that notion came though, I suppressed it, because I knew the truth. As crushingly painful as it had been – to watch her fall in love with him, make love to him – I would rather have lived a thousand life-times with that tortured bliss, than the horror of never seeing her again.
"Hey!" Rhysian hissed at me. "Get your shit together and your head back in the game!"
I nodded hard. He was right. I couldn't allow emotion – any kind of emotion – to take over me now. He was surprisingly perceptive. As much as I hated it, I was glad that Claire had him.
And we were close now, one more turn…
Now that we were within such close proximity of each other, I sensed a tangible thread of connection. Of course, I had always felt connected to him, but this was different. This was a strange energy that ebbed and breathed. I didn't know if it radiated from him or from me, or both.
He stopped and spoke with his back to us, "Must you always show up uninvited?"
"You should be thankful we're here, before you find out the hard way how suicidal, confronting Anwyn, can be."
He looked back at me scornfully, "I've got this."
"No. You don't got this. You have no idea what you are headed to."
He hissed, mockingly, "I know exactly where I am headed – to clean up your mess."
"You may have dispatched one of her little minions, but she is a completely different animal."
"I am well acquainted with who she is. I defeated her once before. If I recall, Claire was in danger, again, by your doing, not mine."
"No, I was nowhere around when you decided you would seduce Claire, knowing Anwyn was in close proximity, in the castle."
He smirked. "—saw that too, did you? We really need to discuss this nasty voyeur habit you have – always watching and staring at me. Ew…" 1409 Myrnin extended the last word with exaggerated distaste.
I rolled my eyes, "Believe me. You aren't much to look at."
A steely glint sparked in his gaze as he purred, "—but Claire is. Is that why you watch?" he taunted.
My hands clenched into fists. I knew Claire expected us not to kill each other, but that didn't mean I couldn't inflict a little pain.
I saw his eyes acknowledge my shift in position, but he continued as though I wasn't less than a second away from attacking him. "Of course, the things you must have seen her do – to me – it really does make me blush."
I launched into the air and spun in the opposite direction of what I knew he would expect. Before he could compensate for my surprise maneuver, I landed a jab to the side of his throat, effectively cutting off his sound.
He coughed and spit, rubbing his throat while it knit back together. "Hmmm…not bad, Grandpa," he appraised.
"I have moves you haven't even begun to think of yet – boy," I fired back at him and smirked. "I guess it's a good thing that you couldn't see the memories of Claire with me. I would hate for you to be…embarrassed."
1409 Myrnin growled and lowered his stance.
I reached my hand out and eagerly beckoned him forward with two fingers.
Rhysian was in between us in a second, shoving 1409 Myrnin in the chest, hard. I was surprised at his aggressiveness. He had to know that one or both of us could easily kill him by accident, if he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Okay boys," Rhysian hissed, looking from 1409 Myrnin back to me. "I think we can all agree both dicks are the same size."
"It's not about size – but the way you use it," I scoffed, causing my alter-ego to step to the side, around Rhysian.
Rhysian counter-shifted to match his movement, and said disgustedly, "Well, when you get done talking dirty to each other, can we get on with the plan here?"
He was right. Again. Reluctantly, I straightened. "We need a plan."
1409 Myrnin looked impatient. "I already have a plan. Go. Kill. Return. Easy."
"Not…easy," I disagreed but with the three of us, we definitely had the upper-hand. I nodded and we were in motion again.
The outside of the small boxy house looked like it had been forgotten to better days. The paint was peeling haphazardly. More shutters had fallen, and left ignored on the ground, than remained nailed to the windows.
We silently approached the front entrance, when suddenly the door swung open and a voice called out excitedly, "Come in boys!"
Shit. Something wasn't right. I knew it in my gut. Anwyn shouldn't be so thrilled to see us. Not when she was alone with only one other vampire in the house. 1409 Myrnin was having his own reaction to her apparent glee. Anger radiated from his chest in a steady vibration of snarling. I scrolled back in my mind, looking again at the images he had forcefully taken from Baldy Vampire's mind, before casually plucking his heart from his chest. There were only Anwyn and the small vampire that had bitten Eve; no one else. It didn't make any sense.
"What is that skinny bitch up to now?" he hissed next to me, verbalizing my thoughts. I nodded hard once and we walked together through the door. We immediately shifted apart from each other, naturally positioning ourselves to attack, or defend, more square feet. I felt it again. Our unspoken bond as we moved fluidly in tandem – two halves of the same mind.
Anwyn sat perched on the back of the couch, perfectly at ease. Her eyes lit up like she'd just woken up on Christmas morning. Anticipation glowed from her. "I've been waiting for you," she purred in my direction. "—and you." She turned toward my other half with a sly smile. "You are so predictable…"
While Anwyn was the picture of ease, her little lackey was another matter entirely. Wave after wave of trepidation rolled off of him as he took in our murderous expressions. Whatever her plan was, she hadn't let him in on the secret, because he clearly did not share her confidence. His eyes darted back and forth to 1409 Myrnin and then back to me. "Looking for a way out?" I snarled.
Anwyn giggled, the pitch not quite right, the tone too fast, "My, my…always so serious." Her eyes glittered excitedly. I wondered if she had finally lost it. Lost her grip on reality and either didn't accept that we could possibly be here to kill her or maybe wanted us to. Somehow, I didn't think we would be that lucky. She had never struck me as suicidal – irrational and crazy, without a doubt every way from Sunday – but not suicidal.
An ominous electrical current traveled down my spine as I felt the familiar stirring of air behind me – a time portal was opening. My alter-ego recognized the shift as well and was immediately at my back, facing the portal and growling fiercely. I watched through his eyes, with horror, as six savage looking vampires, all in military gear poured from the portal, the air erupting with the sound of hissing daggers being unleashed from their crossbows.
Suddenly, the world seemed to slow down to a snail's pace around me as every nerve ending in my body heightened like they had been lit on fire. I clutched at my chest and realized the fire wasn't coming from my heightened senses; it was coming from the two daggers implanted between in my ribcage. The air rushed out of me as I dropped to my knees, my body paralyzed. Damn it! This wasn't good. I had told Claire I would be home soon. I had known we faced a fight, and I cursed for once again underestimating Anwyn.
My body crumbled to rest of the way to the floor. My alter-ego and Rhysian were both on the ground, along with a beheaded vampire, one of them must have killed, before being staked.
Anwyn stepped over 1409 Myrnin on her way to kneel down next to Rhysian's head. "We have to stop meeting like this," she smiled cruelly as she bit into his neck, draining him of any remaining strength the dagger had not already stolen.
1409 Myrnin and I were gathered up by her vampires, as she continued with Rhysian. I was shocked to see her pull out the dagger from his chest, but then I heard her words and my heart sank.
"We really must be going." Anwyn turned her attention to Rhysian, "Now be a dear and give this message to our little pet. Tell her I shall be overjoyed to see her again, but know this - she has just one week. Either she finds me, without Queen Bee, mind you; or one – maybe both – of them dies!"
.
The tempo will go quite fast now as we head toward the finish. Do you like it so far?
Darling Bob loves to hear your thoughts...little box, there, down below...review, review, review. :) :)
Much love!
PS - Oh and if you have any 'things' you would love to see play out in the new story, definitely leave a review to let me know, since that story still has a lot of 'open spaces' to play with. :) :)
