The Immortal Rules

Story 11

There was a couch in Myrnin’s lab, but it was this old, lumpy thing that was a bit uncomfortable to sit on, much less sleep on. The lab wasn’t a good place to sleep in, since it was only made of one.

Which, considering the apparently admitted relationship between Lady Grey and Myrnin, Sam found a little hard to understand. Lady Grey, Jesse, whatever she was calling herself explained it once in passing, seeming amused as he raised his eyebrows at her laying a blanket over one of the high-backed chairs.

“I’m an invading queen in another woman’s country, Samuel.” She seemed to like calling him Samuel, even though the three days in this place had already loosed up his name with Myrnin (when he remembered it) to Sam.

He didn’t understand Lady Grey’s answer to his silent question, since it made no sense. She leaned her back against the chair and said, “Amelie. She runs Morganville. And doesn’t like me. So, I can’t stay here. That’s why it’s more ships in the night type of visiting. I used to be a queen of a very different country and even though there are several centuries between us there is no way that animosity will just disappear. So, I never move in here in any way, just come in for visits and write to Myrnin.” She rubbed a hand over the back of her head. “Which brings up something to discuss with you.”

She moved the chair, scooting it around so it was completely facing Samuel and she clasped her hands in front of her as she thought about what she was going to say.

“What are you plans?” she finally asked. It hadn’t been that long ago that Sam had started to speak to either of the vampires. He’d followed Lady Grey, but he hadn’t exactly been calm. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t … well … he didn’t have any plans. He didn’t know what he was going to do or where he was going to go. Was that what this was? Her throwing him out?

His shoulder tensed and he shook his head a bit. “I don’t know,” he said. “What I’m going to do.” He had mostly just been sitting on this couch, shoulders about the same amount of tense that they were now. He couldn’t say that everything was easy to talk about. One hand rested across his lap, in that position because the slight pressure it was offering to his chest was keeping the hunger under control. Lady Grey continued to ask him if he was hungry, but each and every time he’d shook his head when he was offered anything. 

“Well,” said Lady Grey after a long pause. She searched his face. “I think that Myrnin would let you stay here.”

Sam blinked at her, a bit surprised. He didn’t know these people. He’d just … had no were else to go. And when you had no other options you weren’t really finding your own safety or logic as a priority. And now he was here and Myrnin was awkward but generally nice. It wasn’t like he could go home.

“It’s not like you’d be staying here forever,” Lady Grey confirmed, like she was reading his mind. “Just until …” She waved a hand around a bit, but let the sentence trail off. It was easy for Sam to guess what the ending was anyway. She was saying until he figured things out. Until he stopped rebelling against his own body.

He didn’t think that was ever going to happen.

“Either way,” said the older vampire, tucking a strand of red hair behind his ear and using another hand to smooth out the wrinkles in the knee of her jeans. “I’ll have to be leaving soon. Again. And there isn’t any way that I can take you with me.” It was a statement and there was no way that Sam could take that option. He didn’t know where Lady Grey went, but even if Amelie … the Founder of Morganville apparently, had wanted her around, Sam didn’t think she would have stayed. Lady Grey was a traveler. Someone who didn’t stay in the same place for any length of time. Myrnin struck Sam as someone who would have locked all the doors and windows and never come out of the house again if he could. They were an odd couple.

“I see,” he said. What else could he say?

Lady Grey seemed a bit amused at that and just nodded her head. She stood up, ruining all her attempts to have wrinkle free jeans, and walked in the direction of the kitchen. “Enjoy your day, Samuel.” And that was all.