The Immortal Rules

Story 2

The boy had taken about six of the bound books and had laid them out on the floor. They surrounded him in a half oval and he was looking through them with squinting eyes, one book held in one hand as he tried to decipher some of the spikier script. The older vampire, Myrnin, had stopped in the door as soon as he saw Sam, frozen as he watched the boy pick through what might as well have been his diaries. Briefly, he was thankful most weren’t in English. The ones Samuel had picked out, however, were some of those few.

The boy looked up, unabashed with what he was doing and met the green eyes that were a cross between angry and interested, gaze of brown returning the look that the green had given. What did Samuel think of Myrnin now he’d read some of those journals?

“Who’s Arthur?” The question caught him off guard. He hadn’t known what parts Sam had been reading.

“He was a friend. And you shouldn’t be reading those.”

Completely ignoring him, Sam pointed to some of the spidery writing that was across the pages of the slim book. “That isn’t how this sounds. ‘He invited me to his house again. I hardly heard him, honestly, I was too focused on his face. **** it all, why did I say yes? But … I do want to see him tomorrow.’ Or that’s the translation I’m getting out of it. And you go on to write – “ 

Here, Myrnin held up a hand. What was Sam doing, writing a paper on him? “You are asking a personal question after reading something that wasn’t yours to rea- “

Only here, Sam cut him off, “I found them on one of the shelves. They weren’t even hidden. Of course, I am going to look at them.”

Myrnin continued like he hadn’t said anything. “And what were you inferring?” His voice was easy, normal in tone, but he seemed almost sad in his posture. Like he didn’t want to go down this particular branch of memory lane.

Samuel spelled it out. “You loved him, didn’t you?”

Myrnin seemed almost to hesitate. But he answered honestly and straightforwardly, wondering why the boy was asking a question he already knew the answer to. “Yes. Yes, I did. And?”

Sam shook his head. “I was just curious. What happened to him?” It was like probing a wound. He could see the hurt in Myrnin’s eyes, but continued anyway.

“He found someone else, grew old, and died,” Myrnin said in a clipped voice. “Is that all?”

It didn’t seem like it, since Sam tapped at another of the books he had taken off the shelf but didn’t actually look away from Myrnin. He seemed to be curious, but rushing ahead with that curiosity instead of understanding that these were painful subjects. “Ada –“ 

The hand Myrnin held up here was far more forceful. “No. I am not talking about this. It is my private life and it is in the past. I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget. I would prefer that you did not read them, but if you already have I see no reason why I need to answer your questions as well as allow you to see that far into my life.”

And from there, the conversation ended and Myrnin left, leaving Sam to continue whatever he wanted to do.