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

Gwion's Lair

The walls were paneled in rich wood with intricately carved wood accents. A grand desk sat to one side with two elegant chairs facing it. The chairs were covered in plush red velvet and had ornate carvings of duck heads at the end of each arm. It was an odd combination given the back of the chairs had a carving of a skull. The desk was equally ordained in meticulous craftsmanship with carvings of a sleek cat on each side.

There were several mounted animal heads on the walls - an antelope, bison and even a zebra. Clearly Gwion enjoyed more than one type of hunt. I shivered. Myrnin squeezed my hand in response.

Opposite from the desk, a plush red couch and two more chairs, not quite as ornate as the others, completed a sitting area. And at the far side of the room, a large round atrium filled the expanse of the wall, jutting out into the night sky. Its walls were comprised completely of glass, framed luxuriously with ornately detailed wood borders. The moon and stars shone brightly through the glass onto a grand piano in the center.

I took in a slow deep breath, fascinated by the uniqueness of the room. When my eyes glanced down, I inhaled sharply to find books scattered in various somewhat haphazard piles. It wasn't their mess that astounded me; it was their age. Even from a distance, I could tell they were ancient. I was certain many were likely more than a thousand years old. My heartbeat increased while my free hand twitched, eager to touch and read them.

So absorbed as I was in the books, I hadn't noticed Myrnin's posture stiffen slightly. And I jumped when a deep male voice said, "Myrnin, my old friend."

I spun around to face the direction of the sound, throwing my balance off. Myrnin tightened his hold, steadying me.

Gwion stared at me with an amused smile. His hair was dark, almost black and hung down to his shoulders like Myrnin's. He had strong features and his face was framed with a mustache and goatee. But it was his eyes that were most striking. They whispered untold secrets and knowledge in their unfathomable depths. And was that eyeliner?! Yes, it was definitely eyeliner. Eve would have loved him, I thought in amusement.

Gwion nodded toward the stack of books on the floor, I had been staring at. "Would you like a closer look?" he inquired smoothly.

I wondered how long he had been standing there. Long enough to have seen me gawking at his collection, I realized with a small blush. But my thrill for knowledge pushed out my embarrassment as I breathed excitedly, "Yes."

Myrnin released my hand and I knelt down to gently pick up the closest volume. As I opened the pages, Gwion must have motioned for Myrnin to sit, because I saw him in my peripheral vision, settle into the chair nearest me. As I skimmed, I couldn't read the language, but gasped softly when I came upon several pages of alchemy symbols - it was a science text!

I was thrilled to find I recognized many of the drawings and could almost piece together some of the concepts, just based on the images. But there were still quite a few that I was dying to ask Myrnin about. I turned to Myrnin, just about bursting at the seams with giddiness. His eyes softened as he met mine, and he nodded to me, answering my unspoken excitement. He could feel my emotions, but even if he couldn't, he knew me like no other. He knew I wanted to share this with him, and he nodded to let me know he felt the same.

I was suddenly distracted away from Myrnin when my attention flickered to Gwion, who was watching me intently. I realized he hadn't missed my silent conversation with Myrnin. I wondered what he was thinking. I didn't have to wonder for long as he asked, "Pray, what is your name?"

"Claire," I replied softly and then continued quickly, "thank you...for letting me..."

"Of course." His smile widened as he inquired, "You have an extraordinary passion...is it for the sciences exclusively or learning, in general?"