The Stars Lie {Myrnin, Morganville Vampires}

Theatre of Blood

Chapter 23—Theatre of Blood

Claire

Claire was certain of only two things: The man holding her was not Myrnin; she knew it was not his chest she was pinned against. And the man running with her was a vampire - he moved so quickly that she could not make out any details; the world was lost in a blur. Fear and motion sickness created a ball of nausea in her stomach and she shut her eyes tightly; willing herself not to be sick.

Claire couldn't catch her breath around the hand still firmly planted against her mouth, and sucked in short ragged bursts of air through her nose; trying to force it down into her tightly constricted lungs. Passing out now, would do no good in endeavoring to stay alive.

What was happening? Dread swept through her when she remembered Myrnin's earlier words at the hotel - he revealed "He has inquired of you; commanding to be notified, if anyone bore knowledge of your identity." Could he possibly be crazy and bold enough to have her abducted?! Claire was certain the Myrnin of 1409 was likely to be much more volatile, unrestrained and impulsive, than he was now - but kidnapping?! She had no idea what to expect, and desperately hoped she could talk some sense into him.

Hope suddenly got a foothold in the middle of the panic, running rampant through her mind, as Claire realized her Myrnin would know where she was being taken - he would find her. He would know the instant the Myrnin of this time, changed their past. If the circumstances were not so dire, Claire might have enjoyed watching Myrnin, quite literally, argue with himself.

Claire felt a lessening in wind resistance against her body, as her captor began to slow down. Her senses were capable enough at the reduced speed to recognize they were no longer outside. With a lurch, he stopped, dropping her feet hard to the ground and stepped back quickly, as though revolted - or scared - at the very thought of touching her. The sudden deceleration caused Claire to heave forward; her reflexes not fast enough, for her brain to tell her feet to catch up to the ongoing momentum of her body; and she crashed to the floor, hands first, trying to break her fall. She landed on an unforgiving stone surface, causing jolts of pain to cascade through her arms and a scream to release from her lips. From her peripheral vision, she saw her captor startle, as the sound of her scream echoed; and then gather himself together again.

Claire was momentarily distracted from her pain, by the sound of the reverberation off the walls, and snapped her head up to identify her location. She recognized the huge cavernous building immediately - The Theatre of Blood! Claire drew in a sharp breath, at the significance of being taken here - why didn't he have me brought back to his castle? Claire's frayed nerves were rising steadily again, as she furiously worked to make sense of what was happening.

With stark determination, she pulled herself up and struggled to stand, fear causing her legs to shake tenuously, and looked fully at her captor for the first time. Disheveled hair fell into his face as he glared at her; his crimson eyes revealing no sign of compassion - or trace of humanity. He took a step toward her, his face twisted into a snarl, and Claire instinctually shied away from him, stumbling backwards. He pressed forward again, but never touched her - just kept invading her personal space to keep her moving backward. Claire glanced behind her, and her heart crashed into her chest as she realized where he was directing her to go - the center of the stage.

The sky was clear and the stars shown through the glass ceiling with bright clarity, lighting up the room around her; but she didn't see anyone else except for him. Claire stood shaking for a moment, until a voice spoke - from directly behind the back of her neck - a female voice. "Hmmm," she purred.

Claire knew this voice and spun around. "Anwyn..." she breathed. Anwyn's eyes narrowed, as she contemplated Claire's familiarity with her. Claire's fear was spiking out of control, as she realized it was not the Myrnin of this time, who had kidnapped her - and then devastation swept through her - that meant her Myrnin would not know where to look for her.