Myrnin ascended the stairs to the exit of his laboratory with Sam following behind him, talking as he climbed.

"You will be forced to remain hidden as we survey the… climate of Morganville," Myrnin explained. "Obviously, because you are supposed to be dead." He unlocked and pushed open the shabby door where they emerged from the hole in the ground. Sam followed Myrnin to the mouth of the alleyway where the sun was shining brightly.

The scientist took a deep breath in and smelled blood. It was faint, but it was there, there was no mistaking such a familiar scent. He was quiet as his ears picked up the sound of shoes slapping against concrete. He spun around and saw a girl no older than seventeen sprinting toward them. Behind her, a vampire was running after her without putting the effort into overbearing her yet. He looked on the verge of laughing as he chased her.

Myrnin recognized the vampire. His name was Isaacson, no first name. The two of them had been acquainted a century or two ago when Morganville was still a very small town. Isaacson saw Myrnin and smiled widely. Myrnin's lip twitched as he sneered with disgust at the other vampire.

He lunged out of the protective shadows of the alley and put himself between Isaacson and the human girl, crouching low. She ran into the alleyway and Sam stood in front of her. She hid behind him as she sobbed, out of breath.

"Myrnin," Isaacson greeted, looking as taken aback as Myrnin felt by his own actions.

A snarl worked its way from the back of his throat. "Don't touch the girl," he warned.

"How nice to see you out and about," Isaacson continued pleasantly. "It's been many years. But you're being quite ridiculous. I spied the girl first—she's mine."

"I have no desire to challenge you, Isaacson. Let her go."

"'Let her go'?" he repeated, incredulous. "So you can enjoy her after I got her heart racing? Absolutely not. I've tenderized her, I deserve to drink from her." He was losing his laughing tone and was beginning to bend low, matching Myrnin's predatory pose.

"Go home," Myrnin warned. "Do not do something you will regret once Amelie returns to power."

Isaacson laughed heartily. "Oliver declared the Founder dead. You really take this hermit business seriously, don't you?"

Myrnin's face twitched. "The Founder isn't dead, you moron. She is—incapacitated at the moment. But I assure you she will be well enough to overthrow that dimwitted, sociopathic liar who sits on the throne now."

His foe rolled his eyes. "You and Amelie have always been very close. My apologies to you for your loss. But out of my way, madman. Let me lunch in peace."

Myrnin attacked Isaacson so suddenly the man had no time to react. Myrnin grabbed his throat and his fangs slid into place as his eyes flashed red. He collided into him with so much force that the vampire underneath him slammed into the street on his back and broke the tar around him. Isaacson was shocked by Myrnin's sudden show of strength. His fangs retracted in a sign of submission and Myrnin tightened his grip on his throat.

"Have you anything else to say?" Myrnin growled.

Isaacson shook his head furiously, throwing up his arms in surrender. Myrnin released him and the vampire got up, scrambling away. He sickened Myrnin.

Myrnin turned around and the girl was backing out of the alley, her eyes glued to Myrnin. She reminded him of Claire with her brown eyes and hair. She was small, too. When Myrnin made no move to advance, she ran away in the opposite direction of Isaacson.

He looked at Samuel who was in the alley with his mouth hanging open. "Come. We need to go to Town Hall."

Claire felt as if she were serving Bishop again after the Welcome Feast, when she had been slave to his every whim. Now, she was standing beside Oliver as he sat with his feet on Amelie's desk. Morganville, in the few hours under Oliver's rule, had quickly dissolved into a tyrannical state and Claire hated him.

"I can't believe you," Claire seethed, staring straight ahead with her eyes glued to the wall.

Oliver chuckled. "Someday, little Claire, you will learn to not be so naïve."

"But Amelie—she believed you were working with her."

"Not with her," Oliver corrected. "For her. And yes, she did. What a terrible mistake that was."

"You don't care for her one bit?" she asked.

Oliver's smile fell slightly. "I admire her. She is a strong woman." There was a pause before his evil grin returned. "But strength is not always the strongest tactic. Strength can blind you."

Claire ground her teeth. She was thinking of a retort when a heavy knock came from the door of the office. Oliver's head jerked up.

"The fool," Oliver said, looking as if he wanted to roll his eyes though his fist was clenched tightly on the wooden surface of the desk.

"Oliver, open this door immediately!" That was Myrnin.

"No," Oliver replied simply.

Claire started forward but Oliver's bracelet tightened so suddenly around her wrist that she fell to the ground in pain, clutching the Protection bracelet and trying to create slack. The skin underneath the band was already raw from her disobediences earlier that day and blood began seeping out from beneath the bracelet.

A flash of energy coursed through the room and the pain stopped. Oliver was on his feet faster than she thought was possible even for a vampire when she saw Myrnin step out of a portal. Claire had only seen the murderous look he was wearing on his face once before—earlier that day when she caught him looking at the possessed Amelie back in the lab. Behind him followed Sam who helped her up and led her to the edge of the room. Claire's whole body tensed and she braced herself for the impact of whatever debris would be flying her way as the fight commenced between the two vampires.

But it didn't.

Myrnin, in all of his cold rage, clasped his hands behind his back and gestured to Amelie's chair behind her desk for Oliver. "Sit," he said, and took the seat in front of the desk himself.

Oliver eyed the man sitting down before him.

"Oliver," Myrnin began wearily, "I do not have time for this conflict with you. You know what a dire position Amelie is in. I finally see what your endgame with Morganville was. I accept your betrayal. But I am asking that you hold off on your attack until the third day. Wait until this is all over with Amelie— I am not asking that you retreat until she is better, just until it is over. Maybe by then she will be dead. If that is so, then I will leave. There would be nothing left for me in Morganville if that is the case."

Claire's mouth fell open. Myrnin would just leave Morganville? After all the time they had spent together, he would just leave her on her own to fight off Oliver? That couldn't be what he was saying. But the cool, calculated way in which he was saying it made her doubt the friendship they had formed over the years. Claire acted on instinct and tried to fling herself at Myrnin, but Sam caught her before she could even take a step forward. Even though he wasn't a vampire anymore, he was still significantly stronger than she was.

"Are you kidding me?" she hissed at him from across the room. "You're kidding me, right?"

Neither vampire acknowledged her. They just continued staring at each other, each one sizing up the other.

"No," Oliver said. "I have spent years working toward this moment. I deserve this. I won't have some foolhardy scientist dictating when I take over the town I have sought after just because his beloved Founder was idiotic enough to raise someone from the dead."

Myrnin's steady gaze met Oliver's. Claire had never seen Myrnin look more dangerous. Not even when the machine containing everyone's memories broke and he only knew her as an intruder in his lair who was a free meal.

In a tone that held neither a question or a statement, but a challenge, Myrnin said, "You never loved her. You're telling me after all this time, after standing by her side and taking her as your partner, you have no feelings for her whatsoever?" Oliver made to answer, but Myrnin stopped him. "Ah, ah. Before you speak, remember: I saw your face when I shared with you the news of her fall. I saw you in the laboratory when you were pacing back and forth, worrying over her. I do not know much about this pitiful existence, but I do know some things about love. You would be a complete blockhead if you were to deny this in front of me."

They had him. Claire could see by the look in his eyes, Oliver was at a loss for words. He was still staring at Myrnin looking slightly indignant.

"Get out," Oliver said, enunciating every consonant with a cutting finality. "Get out of this office immediately. Take your stupid girl with you and go. I will not hold off on my purge of Amelie's followers, nor will I cease the hunting of humans. I can afford this one final mercy on your behalf, fool, and it is to let you walk free while you still can." He straightened up, finally regaining his confidence. "You have thirty seconds."

Claire braced herself for it. For the fight… for anything. But nothing came. Myrnin merely stood up and nodded for Sam and Claire to follow him. He conjured a portal and stepped through. Sam ushered Claire toward the portal and as she was leaving, she turned to look behind her at Oliver who was watching them go with a dark expression on his face. Then, she felt the familiar sensation of falling.

The lab was a wreck. An absolute wreck.

"Myrnin," Claire gasped as she took in the sight before her. "What happened in here?"

Myrnin shook his head and waved his hands about, wildly dismissing her question. "An experiment."

The scientist sat down in his favorite chair and left Sam and Claire standing, not knowing what to do. She stared at him a moment.

"So—"

"Shh."

Claire was about to become indignant before he elaborated.

"I need silence. Let me think. You two preoccupy yourselves—do something useful." He steepled his fingers together and stared over them to lose himself in thought.

She hated it when he did this, but he did it so rarely that she usually accommodated him. Now was not the time.

"Myrnin. We need to talk. What's been happening? What are we going to—?"

He shushed her again, this time more harshly.

"Unbelievable," she muttered under her breath. Claire turned around and set to cleaning up the mess.