Taint (Formerly Claimed) Dark Midnight 1

Chapter 25

Her cropped black hair was a frizzy mess around her shoulders, but she looked utterly cool and content as she eyed the back of her pale hand.   

“It’s about damn time you showed up,” she muttered, raising her cool gray eyes as they entered the room.

Which made Miriam realize two very glaring details;

One, this girl had to be Lizzie, even though she wore a pair of plain gray sweats instead of a hospital gown.

She was the only one in the room; behind her, the bed was empty with the sheets neatly made.

Two, her first observation had been wrong, because this girl really couldn’t actually see anything at all.

She was blind.

“Do you know how bored I’ve been?  Locked in this horrible place!”  The girl pouted, crossing her wiry arms over her chest. “You better have a good reason, my darling Eliot, for—”

She froze, coking her head to the side. 

“Who’s this?”  She demanded in that wispy voice.

Eliot scowled as he barged into the room and took the seat in the far corner. 

“Who do you think?”

The girl’s eyes narrowed slightly, but a split second later they widened into eerie gray pools. 

That mouth split into a soft smile, and the next moment, she was across the room with her slender arms thrown around Miriam’s waist.

“Oh, Miriam!”

            Miriam blinked, but before she could react Lizzie stood back, clasping her small fingers in front of her.

            “I’ve been dying to meet you in person,” Lizzie gushed.  Her voice was soft, with a slight musical edge that somehow sounded familiar….

            “Eliot has told me all about you,” she added on a delicate laugh.  “Thank you for keeping me company.”

            “Y-you’re awake,” was all Miriam could blurt in reply.

            Lizzie giggled.  “Why of course I am."

            As if she’d only been napping instead of in a full blown coma. 

            Without meaning to, Miriam found her gaze straying over to Eliot’s. 

            Those red eyes were dark and unreadable as always—but when he caught her staring, he turned away. 

            “What the hell are you doing?”  He growled at his sister.   

            Lizzie shrugged, her gray eyes innocently wide. 

“I've had a spontaneous recovery, darling,” she explained, reaching up to smooth back a piece of her wild black hair.  “The doctors called it a…miracle.”

            The edges of her mouth curled up into a mischievous grin.  “Can you imagine?  Mortals these days seem think that everything is a damn miracle—”

            “Watch your mouth,” Eliot snarled.

            Miriam blinked. She tried to picture what Lizzie had said that could possibly make him look so angry. 

            He didn’t seem like a prude to sniff at cussing.  Maybe it was her odd phrasing; it wasn't everyday that someone referred to other people as mortals...