The Stars Lie {Myrnin, Morganville Vampires}

Through Glass

Chapter 11—Through Glass

Claire

Claire's heart was breaking as she ran out of Myrnin's lab. She barely made it to the campus before her legs gave out from violent shaking she couldn't seem to control, and settled on a bench. She realized it wasn't just her legs. Her whole body seemed to be convulsing in pain.

She had NEVER expected to feel this level of grief – this agonizing loss over not seeing him again. She had gone to the lab to tell him she was with Shane, so why was she so completely falling apart?

He had yelled at her, but that wasn't what upset her so deeply. She knew how he reacted when he was in pain. She had just never seen him in this much pain before. And she saw the full force of it in the moment before she left. He had turned quickly, but she saw it and the agony on his face cut her to the core.

The screaming in her head was getting louder when she finally understood it, I CAN'T LOSE HIM!

She couldn't let him leave like this. She felt like she would break apart if she didn't get back to him. Then another horror occurred to her. He said he was leaving NOW. What if he was already gone?! Claire realized she was running before she even finished the thought.

She made it back to the lab screaming his name as she ran, "MYRNIN!"

As she rounded the corner, she saw her worst nightmare come true. He had just stepped through the time portal. Claire didn't think. She ran – and flung herself through the portal after him.

Her heart was pounding so loudly, she could feel it throbbing in her head as she jumped through the portal and was stunned when she materialized out the other side into – fabric?!

What the hell?

Claire thrashed, stifling the scream that wanted to rip from her chest and finally found an opening from the – curtains?! Really large curtains. "Who the hell needs curtains this large?" she muttered as she finally broke free, stumbling forward slightly before righting herself. Claire quickly forgot her disagreement with the curtains, as she was distracted in amazement at the beauty that confronted her.

She had never seen such splendor in a...bedroom? Yes, the huge ornately carved four poster bed confirmed it must be a bedroom. The bed sat much higher off of the ground than any bed she had ever seen, with a little footstool perched next to it on the floor. As Claire was able to drag her attention away from the exquisite bed decorated with lush fabrics and pillows in deep blues and greens; she began to realize the enormity of the room. Well, the size of the bed and the curtains were starting to make more sense now.

The walls papered in shimmering blue reached at least twenty feet tall and met gracefully with a sculptured gold and white curved ceiling creating a striking contrast against the dark walls. The ceiling was even more ornately carved than the bed with intricate gold braided ropes in serpentine and filigree patterns – she briefly wondered if it was real gold and was pretty sure the answer was yes. The crowning glory of the room was the most beautiful chandelier she had ever seen with hundreds of tiny candles. How did they even get up there to light all of those?

The panicked and scared-out-of-her-mind side was slowing pushing its way to her consciousness again. Claire shook her head to clear her thoughts. She could tell it was nighttime by the deep blacks and greys out of the windows; but she ran to them anyway hoping to get some indication of where – and when – she was. The night was too profound to see the landscape, but she was startled to realize she was in a castle; and from the looks of things, fairly high off the ground.