Chapter 7 – Poison

Myrnin's POV

Claire.

The memory of her lying in a pool of blood – unconscious, cold, alone – haunted me from the very moment Morley left the Crypt. I did not know which was worse, being stuck in such a dark place for three days with people to keep you company, or being stuck in your own body and not being able to control it, having nobody there to speak too; just like Amelie and I.

Morley was on his way to obtain Sam, and then we were headed back to the Crypt. Every time I cross paths with the person wearing Amelie's face, I try as hard as I can to get through to her (whether telepathically or conversationally, it would not matter). And the chances of that have just gone from slim to possible, as I just did so myself. The secret ingredient is emotion, a strong emotion like pain, or hurt, or sorrow that helped me once again take control.

So there was still a chance, I would not give up hope.

"Sam?" Morley asked, tapping Amelie's shoulder once and then stepping back.

Amelie turned around, looking behind me as if to say 'where are the prisoners' – because that's what they were; prisoners.

"The girl is injured, Sam. There is blood everywhere, she in completely unconscious. They told me that there is absolutely no chance she would be able to make the journey."

Sam glared at me, annoyance and rage filling his eyes. "What would it matter? She is unconscious; she would not hear a word anyway." He turned and sauntered away. "Bring them to me. I will not ask again."

I filled with rage, and the temptation to scream, "Stop!" was so strong that I actually did. It had happened again, I had broken through.

Sam stopped in surprise and turned to face me. "You manage to break through, how so?"

"How so is unimportant, nor is the fact that your friend has possessed my body, and soon he will be back. You must go into the Crypt yourself and help the girl."

"I do have reason to believe that you care for her. Am I correct?"

"Go to them, for I will not take them myself. Not while I can control my own body."

"Oh, the Crypt... I remember all of the horrifying days we spent in there – Amelie, myself, our people. The hope that one day we would be free to leave – which we were, after our desiring fathers turned us into the monsters that we are today."

"I apologise, but I do not know what you are talking about, nor do I care."

"Amelie did not tell you? I must say, I am surprised. After the research that I did before planning this... event, I was positive that she would have told you how she became the oldest vampire." Amelie's face looked genuinely bemused, though it turned passive again and Sam spoke.

"Very well. I cannot trust you to bring them to me, so I suppose I should go to them," and Amelie passed swiftly passed me. I was glad to have taken back charge of my own body, even if for a short period of time.

Amelie's POV

He had been away to say it. He had been away to tell Myrnin about the horrific beginning of my long, long life. Fortunately, I had managed to break through slightly and change what Sam had been planning to say. When I had seen Myrnin, the real Myrnin, he had given me the hope I most terribly needed. Somehow he had managed to break through, and I would too.

Sam was on his way to the Crypt, and travelling there brought back memories that I had hoped would be gone for good. My father had done this to me, the almighty Bishop. Everything that happened from now was his doing; his and his scientist friends.

The dark staircase was as familiar as the sunlight, though it had been such a long period of time since I'd walked down these stairs, felt the darkness surround me until the light grew and offered me safety.

Though I could not feel him or hear his thoughts, I knew Sam felt the same way. Oh, the explaining I would have to do once this was over – if this was ever over. Oliver... I missed him, and I knew that he was on the other side of the passage, him and four children.

When we reached the passage, Myrnin's eyes closed, and when they opened there was a cloudiness that had not been there before.

"Morley? You decide to join us?" As always it was my voice, but not me speaking. It was terrifying, having somebody aside from you control your actions and speech.

"What happened?"

"These two are going to be hard to contain, though no worries, we will manage." I stepped forward and whispered the words of the Passageway. The next step was to enter.

"Shall you go first, or shall I?" Morley asked.

"I shall go. Wait here unless I call you down," Sam replied.

"Of course," Morley said. He bowed his head and took a step to the side, and I took two steps forward before jumping into the darkness below.

The landing was a blur. First, I saw the group of children that I knew so very well seated on the floor, and then Oliver rose to my arrival. And then I saw Claire lying on the floor with blood surrounding her.

I gasped, and it was me – not Sam.

The others looked at me and I knew that I would not have long.

"Morley!" I called. "May you leave us, I have something I wish to discuss and you need not stand up there until I leave." While I was calling up to Morley I kept my eyes focused on the floor where Claire lay.

"Are you sure?"

Annoyance flickered in my eyes.

"I am certain, Morley. Now leave." I heard the sound of the passage open and close and then hurried over to Claire.

"Amelie? Is it you?" It was Oliver. And his voice was so painfully familiar that tears threatened to fall.

"Yes, Oliver. But first I must do something."

Kneeling on the floor, I started my work of eliminating the poison that had Claire had been injected with.

"What are you doing?" Shane asked. His voice was filled with distrust and hope.

"Boy, will you please sit down. I need to do this before the intruder returns."

He fell silent.

Rolling Claire onto her back, I gathered all of her hair into my hands and placed it to one side. And as I moved her hair, I saw the almost invisible dot that I had watched being pierced into her skin just two days before. Allowing my fangs to slide out, I bent over Claire and bit into her neck.

The foul taste of poison was the first thing I noticed, but until she was rid of the poison, both she and her friends would suffer.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Shane repeated, this time much more annoyed and much louder. He pulled me off of Claire and threw me to the ground.

I was off of the ground and holding Shane against the wall in an instant, and I watched as he stared into the eyes that only half belonged to me at this moment.

"If you want me to save Claire, you will allow me to do what I have to do to succeed in the task." Letting go of the boy, I glided back toward Claire and continued until I could no longer taste poison.

Patting my face to ensure that no blood was visible, I turned around to see the disgusted faces of my audience.

"It was the only way to rid her of the poison that was unfairly injected into her."

"Poison!" Eve screamed. "What the hell went on when we were unconscious?"

"I assure you, you do not wish to know." This gained many horrified stares that I chose to ignore as I could feel the poison travelling through my body, and I had to cough to overcome the feeling. "The poison that was once in Claire is now travelling through my blood stream. For as long as it is there, Sam cannot return."

"Who is this Sam guy?" Eve questioned.

"I shall explain, I promise you. But first we must get Myrnin back, and to do that, we must get out of here."