All The Queen's Horses {Myrnin, Morganville Vampires}

Come. Now. Urgent!

Chapter 6 – Come. Now. Urgent!

I touched his cheek tentatively, stunned at how right it felt. Suddenly, his hand gripped my wrist, pulling it away from his cheek. His face contorted in pain as he said harshly, "I am not good for you...You need to leave."

"What are you talking about? You are my best friend," I argued, "Of course, you are good for me."

His jaw clenched. "I told you to go. You are barely functioning as it is and I don't need a half-ass assistant. Go home and get some sleep," his words cut me, but his eyes looked as though they cut him too.

"Myrnin..." I whispered, unsure what to say.

"Do not push me," he warned. His tone dropped to the one he only used when he had lethal intent. "You need to leave while I am still willing to let you."

A shiver of fear – and pain – went through me. I spun quickly, so he wouldn't see the tears that sprang to my eyes at his rejection, and practically ran through the portal. I felt the portal shut behind me and stifled the small sob that came to my throat. Shane was no longer on the couch. He must have gone to bed. I felt relief wash over me. I wasn't sure if I could hide how upset I was and there was no way I wanted to explain to him why.

I trudged wearily to my bedroom, knowing the first thing I needed to do was take a shower. I blushed again, at the memory that Myrnin could smell Shane on me. Once I was scrubbed clean, I sat on my bed and looked at the clock: 3:30am. I cringed, knowing I was going to have to get up in a few hours.

I was startled by a soft knock on my bedroom door and panicked, thinking it was Shane, when Eve nudged the door open and whispered, "Are you decent?"

I smiled as she continued into my room without waiting for my response. She held two mugs of hot cocoa. I flashed an appreciative smile as she sat on my bed. "Couldn't sleep?" I asked her.

"No. Michael is out somewhere, doing something. I don't like sleeping alone."

Eve's bottom lip poked out in a small pout, but I could see the anxiety and stress in her eyes. I reached my hand to touch her arm. "How is Michael doing with all of this?"

"He's pretending he's fine, but I know he isn't. He taught one the sick vampires how to play the guitar last year. I can tell it is tearing him up to know he is suffering right now," Eve answered as a tear slipped down her cheek.

My heart lurched. I needed to get back to Myrnin. There had to be a way to solve this. I softly brushed the tear from her cheek and tried to get her mind on something else. "Do you know how young you look without your war-paint on?" I teased her quietly.

Eve gave me a not so gentle push. I caught her wrist to keep myself from falling backward. She winced. I let go, looking at her with concern in my eyes. "What is it?" I asked, worried.

She gave me a chagrinned smile and pulled up her sleeves. I saw that both of her wrists were bandaged. "What the hell?" I hissed, grabbing her arms, careful not to touch the wounds.

"It's nothing. I just won't let Michael...drink from...anyone else," she said, her eyes tight with tension.

"Oh. I understand," I tried to comfort her. "I'm doing the same thing with Myrnin."

"What?!" Her eyes were huge as she grabbed my hands and neck, quickly frisking me, looking for bite marks.

"No," I explained hurriedly, "We use blood draw equipment to take my blood at regular intervals. For now, it is working. I just have to make sure he doesn't forget to drink it on schedule."

I blushed a little under Eve's intense stare. "What?"

She seemed to gather herself back together and smiled, "Nothing. I was just surprised that you are willing to go to that extent for him."

I didn't know what to say and was distracted by the yawns that I couldn't seem to stop coming out of me. Again, I was frustrated by my frail human body; more and more of me wanting what I knew could be mine whenever I was ready. But was I ready? I knew I could never make that decision while still dating Shane, so it would have to wait until later. Then, with a shock, I realized how certain I was that there would be a 'later'; that Shane and I wouldn't be together forever. When had I started thinking that?

Eve saw the exhaustion on my features and hugged me quickly, whispering, "Get some sleep."

I lay down after she left, falling into a fitful sleep, restless from my tumultuous emotions, stress and anxiety.

I don't know how long I was asleep before I heard the recognizable ping of my cell phone, letting me know I had a text message. I flipped over, disoriented and sleepy, to find the phone. I wasn't sure if I had dreamed hearing the text come in or if I was still dreaming now.

Three things occurred to me almost simultaneously. First, it was pitch black outside, meaning it was still the middle of the night. Second, I did indeed have a text message and third, it was from Myrnin – who never sent me texts.

My heart began to pound in my chest and my fingers fumbled to open the message. It only had three words: Come. Now. Urgent!

.

I know, its a crazy short chapter, but I hope you like it anyway. :) :) Thoughts? Comments? The little VOTE button is screaming your name, you know you want to...