New Start (Morganville Vampires)

Chapter 10

Claire was in the lab with Myrnin when I walked in. They were working on the cure again. 

I dumped my suitcase to the side of the lab and walked up to them. 

'Dammit.' Myrnin said under his breath. 

'What's wrong?' I asked, standing at the opposite side of the lab desk. 

'We got close, then it didn't work.' Claire said. 'Again.' 

I sighed and walked over to sit on the piano stool. I lifted up the lid to reveal the keys to the piano, and started to play 'Somewhere Only We Know' by Keane.

Some time, just before I finished, Myrnin sat on the stool next to me. I turned and faced him when I finished playing. 

'It's not working.' He said. 'The cure.' 

'Take some time off.' I said, and turned around to see Claire had gone. 

'We could always sort out the wedding.' He said. 'It's not like we can get married in the church, because that would annoy everyone.' 

I nodded. 'But where else could we have it?' I asked. It wasn't as if Morganville was full of venues to get married. 

'The Elders' Council Building.' He said. 'So many things have happened there, so why not our wedding?' He asked.

I stood up off of the piano stool. Myrnin must have been joking. Or completely mad - Well, I already knew he was mad. 'Yes, lots has happened there. Exactly why I shouldn't get married there.' I said.

Myrnin stood up with me. 'You have only been there once.' He said.

'When I was dying.' I said bluntly. 

Myrnin looked at me in the way that he did all of the time - it was as if he could see right trough my eyes, and he was going through all of my thoughts. 'Change the bad memories.' He said after a while. 'Make the place give you good memories.'

Maybe I should. I didn't want to keep all of the bad memories I had locked away. In my head I had this thing that I did if I thought of a bad memory - I would imagine a box, and I would place that memory into that box and imagine locking it away, and throwing the key away. But sometimes, when I thought about putting a memory into that box, I would think of all of the bad memories I had put in there and I would screw my eyes up tight, trying to get them out of my head. Maybe getting married at the Elders' Council building would help me get rid of that one bad memory. It could be replaced by the memory of my wedding. Maybe Myrnin was right - maybe it would change the memories from that place. 

'Okay.' I said after a while of thinking. 

'Okay.' Myrnin said. He tapped his feet - which were obviously in vampire bunny slippers - on the floor. 'What should we do now?' Myrnin asked. 

I stared at him. I tried not to laugh. Myrnin was so -

The door upstairs flung open, and a ray of moonlight stretched downstairs, illuminating the dust in the air. Neither of us moved.

Someone was walking down the stairs - heavy steps. Whoever it was, they weren't hesitating as they went down the stairs, which meant they must have known Myrnin. They didn't have to be cautious of where the book stacks were. 

A man looking slightly like a hippie appeared at the bottom of the stairs - Oliver. He was wearing normal clothes - the sort he wore to Common Grounds. He must have just finished his shift. He had his grey hair tied back into a pony-tail. 

'What do you want?' I said to Oliver and sighed. He obviously couldn't get it into his head that I hated him after he tried to kill Myrnin and me. 

Oliver walked up to me. He stood right in front of me, between me and Myrnin. 'Do I always have to need something to come and see you?' He said, and smiled, showing his fangs. He moved away from me and stood to the side of me and Myrnin. 'I just wanted to say congratulations.' Oliver said.

Like he had. Oliver would never want anything good for both of us. He wanted Morganville, and he was set on getting it. I wasn't fully sure that he wouldn't. He had already shown me how easily he could kill me, so what would stop him from killing me when I was in power? He was always going to be older and stronger than me. 'So you did want something,' I said smugly and smiled. It was too fun to annoy Oliver.

Oliver looked at Myrnin. 'You really need to learn to keep your pet under control.' He said.

'You need to stop getting your pets to try to kill me.' I said to Oliver, not giving Myrnin a chance to get annoyed with Oliver.

Oliver smiled. 'Touché, my dear.' He said. He stepped back. 

Oliver began walking to the stairs when he quickly turned around. 'I hope the wedding goes okay.' He said. 'I wouldn't want anything to happen to the happy couple.' Oliver smiled, and then vamped up the stairs and out of Myrnin's.

Oh great. So Oliver basically just said that something will go wrong. That was just great. If Oliver did anything at our wedding I would go mad. I hated that vampire.