Fall of Night The Morganville Vampires - By Rachel Caine Page 0,84

here, Claire. I sent you to Irene, for safety. And I was afraid … I was afraid that she might have betrayed us. Perhaps even accidentally. If word of vampires was out, and taken seriously, then it would only be a matter of time before word of Morganville would be circulated as well. We control these kinds of events; we must, or be wiped from the earth. Normally Oliver would have dispatched agents to see to it, but Oliver was, ah, indisposed …’

‘Exiled, you mean.’

‘Yes, yes, but I couldn’t wait for Amelie to decide who best was ready to deal with this crisis. I know Irene, and I had a good sense of where to locate Oliver. I thought the two of us together could easily handle things.’

‘And how did that go?’

He snapped one of the rubber bands in a convulsive movement, and dropped it to the floor. The second one was tougher, but he was pulling on it way too hard. ‘Not … very well,’ he admitted. ‘I still haven’t been able to locate this doctor that Google found so easily. The human world is much more confusing than I recall. And Oliver was not terribly cooperative. Then Amelie tried to recall me to Morganville. It’s all been very stressful.’

Claire sighed and resisted the almost impossibly attractive impulse to shake him. ‘Tell me what happened today.’

He blinked at her and restlessly snapped the rubber band around his wrist. ‘Oliver and I attempted to track down this doctor at his offices, but he was not there. Oliver got into a dispute with someone who called us homeless bums and attempted to spit upon us. I managed to prevent him from doing anything too foolish, but it wasn’t a very good few moments for our tormentor, I’m afraid. And then we went to the doctor’s home, but again, he wasn’t there. I was somewhat at a loss how to proceed. I’m not generally used to putting out so much effort.’ He went to the faucet and turned the taps on and off. Claire had a faint hope that he might use the opportunity to wash up, but evidently it didn’t occur to him. ‘Michael found us just as we were trying to see Irene; we were again barred entrance to the university because of our clothing and general dishevelment, and he promised to help us get a motel room where we could wash. Eve said she would secure us new things to wear.’

That would have been interesting. Claire would have paid money to see what Eve would have bought for Oliver, much less Myrnin. It would have, at the very least, been crazy amazing.

‘I’m guessing things didn’t get that far,’ Claire said, ‘since you’re still stinky and wearing rags.’

Myrnin looked down at himself and sighed. ‘My apologies. Life can be harsh. Yes, we were followed as we left the university by men in some sort of large vehicle. When we stopped at the motel and obtained our room key, we were attacked without warning. Michael managed to put himself in the way when the one with the stake came for Oliver, who was busy fighting another; we did not immediately know that the stake was anything but wood. But Oliver had seen something like it before, and stopped me before I tried to pull it out. I remembered that Lady Grey was here, watching over Irene, and I begged her help. And she brought us here.’

‘And did they follow you?’

‘No.’ Myrnin seemed very certain of it, and Claire wondered why for a moment, until she knew. They wouldn’t have left anybody behind capable of following. ‘But we didn’t think it wise to wait for the police to arrive. Jesse thought this would be the safest place. I did not expect to find you here.’

‘It’s been an eventful morning for us, too,’ Claire said. ‘My friend’s been abducted, and the police think Shane and I might have had something to do with it.’

‘Really? Did you?’

‘No! Why would I?’

Myrnin shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but it had to be asked. This friend of yours, does she have any knowledge of vampires?’

‘Not a bit. She doesn’t believe in them. Not even in that “maybe it’s real” way that a lot of college kids seem to have.’

‘Hmmm. Then her vanishing might have nothing to do with us, and therefore, it’s of no concern.’

‘Excuse me? No concern? She’s my friend!’

That seemed to surprise Myrnin, who frowned at her and stopped stretching the rubber band as if she’d