Mine, Bitten

Chapter Thirty-Four

 Lily

    She was laughing? Lily thought incredulously, unsure if she should be astounded or bewildered. If only her friend could see herself. She was the ever humorous and effervescent Ruby Carmichael but more advanced in her features, and baring a nasty set of sharpened fangs.

            "The joke's over." Ruby said, her laughter dying, "Let me out."

            Lily stiffened beneath her fixated, evergreen stare. "Ruby-"

            "No can do." Talon intervened, "You're not ready, Green Eyes."

            "Who asked you, guy-with-no-swag?"

            Talon chuckled, "Touché!"

            "Enough of this!" roared a heavy lilted tone.

            Lily turned to see Varian standing at the foot of the stairs and even more surprising was the ethereal Marguerite standing at his side. She felt a pang of jealousy at the mere sight of them standing so close to one another and quickly dismissed it.

            "Leave us." Varian directed, averting his heated stare to Talon.

            Talon's grin broadened as he winked at Ruby and sauntered upstairs.

            "What do you plan to do?" Lily asked almost in a panic.

            Marguerite released an exasperated sigh, "Don't worry your pretty little head about your not-so-human-friend."

            "My goodness, you've all lost your marbles!" Ruby exclaimed, "You actually believe all this nonsense about vampires, Lily?"
            Feeling her face going frighteningly pale, she turned slowly to peer at her friend. "I wanted to tell you-"

            "I don't have time for this." Marguerite hissed, "Why did you bring me down here?" she spat, turning to Varian.

            "You created her." Varian said in an icily calm. "Therefore she is your responsibility."

            "No." Marguerite snapped, her eyes flashing daggers. "My hands are clean of fledglings."

            A sudden thickness in the air warned Lily that Varian was teetering on a feeble tolerance for Marguerite's haughtiness. "You will do as decree of the vampyre demands you. I will see to justifying the wrong that has been done here."

            Marguerite opened her mouth to say something but the warning glint in Varian's eyes deterred her words. Instead, she clamped her mouth shut and turned a heated glare on Lily.

            Varian slowly turned to address Ruby, "Marguerite will show you all you need to know." He paused to level a hard glare on Marguerite, "If she fails in doing so, there will be repercussions."

            "You cannot be serious?" Ruby exclaimed, the first hint of tears hidden behind her eyes.

            Lily's chest tightened, "Ruby-"

Varian's hand around her arm stalled any words of comfort, drawing her attention, "We need to leave. There is nothing you can do for her."

"That's not up to you!" Lily cried.

"Get out! All of you!"

Lily's heart sank deeply in her chest as she turned to look at Ruby and for the first time in all the years she'd known her friend, she saw real pain in her green eyes.