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

Nowhere To Go

Chapter 37 - Nowhere to Go

"It's too dangerous... No," Myrnin insisted angrily.

"I can handle myself just fine," I snarled.

We had been arguing for the last hour. Gwion's party was in twenty minutes and Myrnin had decided at the last moment, that I should not attend.

"Just fine?" he repeated cynically. "Have you completely forgotten what happened in Conwy?! One moment of pressure was all it took for you to snap - and that was just with my power. You have no idea what is running through your body right now, from Amelie! The whole point is to keep Amelie's power out of his hands. I'm not going to walk in there and serve you up on a platter. He is cunning and smart; it will take all of Amelie's skill to be able to convince him of the lie that her power was stolen as a side effect of the poison. Do you really think you will be able to play his games and win? Because he will most assuredly play games...And you will not win," he growled.

Fury surged through me and I snapped sarcastically, "Well, thank you for the vote of confidence in my ability. How quickly you have forgotten that I did win the last game I played with Gwion."

"You may have won once, but there are different elements in play now; the stakes are higher," he retorted.

My eyes flashed; even without a mirror to confirm it, I knew they were completely crimson as I seethed slowly, "The stakes are higher now? So, gambling my freedom and my body before, wasn't a big enough risk for you?!"

"Of course it was, but that is not what I mean. I was merely suggesting that now our actions affect more than just us. You are holding Amelie's identity in your body... She has no idea who she is without it," he tried to explain.

"And you don't think my absence would cause a red flag? If he is so damned smart, he will know you are hiding something," I fired back.

His lips were set in a thin hard line. He knew I had a legitimate point. "I will be able to make him believe that you are not feeling well," he spoke determinedly.

I huffed and spun away from him. He clearly wasn't going to change his mind and I was done listening to his nonsense. "Fine! Do what you have to do!" I hissed as I snatched one of the alchemy books off of the table and planted myself in the nearby upholstered chair.

He knelt down next to the chair. His tone was softer as he pleaded with me to understand, "Cariad, I do not want to go without you. I know I said the dress was too revealing, but I will admit that I would give anything to be able to walk in, with you on my arm, in that dress, and see the looks of astonishment and envy on their faces. When Gwion is gone, I swear to you, we will find an occasion for you to wear it."

I felt tears prick at my eyes and refused to look at him, snapping my mental defenses in place, shutting him out from my emotions. I was bound-and-damned determined not to let him see me cry.

He sighed deeply at my lack of response and murmured, "I will only stay for as long as is required of me. When I returned, I promise I will make this up to you. I only want to keep you safe." He kissed me on the cheek and then walked through the open portal.

The empty room seemed to suck all of the air out of me as I deflated and curled into a ball. I missed him already and hated it when we argued. I felt my lip quiver and bit down on it, still determined not to cry; if for no other reason than to avoid ruining the professionally-applied makeup that I was currently wearing. Well that was a waste of three hours of my time, I thought bitterly. The only thing I had not finished was putting on the dress. Other than that, my nails, hair and makeup were completed to perfection. The least he could have done was told me before I went through all of that hassle; irritation flowed through me again. I was the perfect poster girl for the phrase, 'All dressed up and nowhere to go'.

I tried to read, but the words just seemed to swim on the pages. Finally, I angrily hurled the book across the room, and watched it gouge a chunk out of the cement wall. I randomly wondered if Myrnin would be unhappy with me for destroying an 800-year-old one-of-a-kind manuscript - and then I decided I didn't care. I sprung to my feet and began to pace restlessly. How long has it been since he left? It felt like hours. The clock on the wall seemed to mock me as it revealed only forty-five minutes had gone by. I growled in frustration. My muscles were coiled so tightly with tension that it was almost painful. My head started to feel a little fuzzy and I kept experiencing a low humming vibration in my core. I knew it was just anxiety and breathed deeply, fighting to stay in control.

I snatched my phone and stared at it intently, my finger itching to call Myrnin. No! I told myself firmly. If I called him now, all I would be doing was prove his point that I couldn't handle myself.

"Argh!" I growled again.

Suddenly, the shrill ring of my phone caused me to jump in surprise. I eagerly looked at it, hoping it would be Myrnin. Eve's name came up. Disappointment filled me for a moment that it wasn't Myrnin, but I was excited to at least have someone to talk to and answered it quickly, "Hello?"

"Clairebear!" she chimed.

Warmth flooded through me as I heard her happiness. I knew she adored being a mother and frequently called to share all of her fun stories. I smiled and settled into the chair, as I listened. After rambling on for a few moments, she stopped and asked suspiciously, "Wait a minute. Gwion's party is tonight. How come you are not there?"

I was startled to realize how much had occurred in the last day and a half, and I had not yet had the opportunity to tell her any of it. I wasn't sure if now was the right time; it was a lot of information to take in and I preferred to tell her in person. Instead, I deflected her question with another question, "I could ask you the same thing. It sounded like all of the vampires in town invited. Surely, Michael and you would have received an invitation."

"Oh, we did, but it is still too soon to leave Faeryn," she explained. I smiled; being a new mother must be consuming all of her attention, because there was no way she normally would have let me steer the conversation, without giving her an answer. She chattered on, "Besides, I could care less about spending an evening surrounded by the pomp and circumstance of vampires. Although, I believe some humans were attending as well. Even Shane got an invitation."

I sat straight up in the chair. There was no way I could have heard her correctly. Gwion would never send an invitation to Shane. I interrupted her, "I'm sorry, did you say Shane?"

"Yeah, I know...Crazy, right? I was shocked as hell when he left earlier, that he had actually decided to attend. Come to think of it, he's been acting a little secretive lately, but I didn't want to pry, so I haven't asked a lot of questions."

My hands trembled as adrenaline shot through my system. Myrnin had been explicitly clear that Gwion liked to play games - and somehow, I was absolutely certain, sending an invitation to Shane, was one of them.

"What do you mean by he's been acting 'a little secretive' lately?" I interrupted Eve urgently.

Eve stopped for a moment. I knew she heard the anxiety in my voice. She replied carefully, "Honey, I think that he might be seeing someone."

"I'm okay with that," I assured her swiftly. "What I don't understand is why he would take his date to a vampire ball. Have you met her?"

"No... But we just assumed he wasn't ready to bring her by the house yet. He has been less anti-vampire lately; even more noticeably relaxed around Michael. Obviously, the vampires aren't going anywhere, so we hoped his attendance tonight was a good sign that maybe he was adjusting to his circumstances better. Why... Do you think there is a problem?" She asked.

I didn't have time to get into it with her; I just knew I needed to reach Shane, so I assured her quickly, "No... I just think it's a little weird. Hey, I need to let you go now."

"Okay..." she replied hesitantly. I bit my lip, praying she would let me off of the phone without more questions. Suddenly, I heard Faeryn in the background. Eve's attention was immediately diverted as she replied quickly, "Bye!"