MIRA

✨ Chapter Five ✨

"Mira, come with me," Rillan coaxed as he helped her stand up.

She left the lantern on the floor as she held onto Rillan. He led her through the darkness and set her in a large armchair. She could make out his shape in the darkness by the light of the lantern as he lit the fireplace that was near the chair. Light spilled into the room from the fireplace, forming an intimate circle of warmth around the hearth. Rillan stepped over to the lantern that was still sitting on the floor and picked it up, blew it out, then set it on the floor next to the chair he had placed Mira in. "You picked a bad time to look for company. I was sleeping." Rillan sat down on the edge of the chair across from Mira. He leaned forward, staring at her measuringly.

"Um, is it nighttime?" Mira was tentative. She felt as though she had forgotten how to have a conversation.

"No. I usually sleep during the day." Rillan's voice was resolute and almost harsh.

Mira wasn't sure what to say to him. She knew that he slept during day. She had been taught that. Why couldn't she think of anything intelligent to say? All she knew was that she didn't want him to go away and leave her right then. "I, I'm sorry to have awakened you. Um, do you need to go back to sleep?"

Rillan didn't answer right away. He had been up several days and wasn't overly interested in consoling his latest sacrifice. He couldn't see this one lasting very long. She may be resourceful and bright, but she was scared out of her mind. "I would prefer to go back to sleep."

"But you'll stay?" Mira was quick with the request.

Rillan sighed and sat back in the chair. "Alright. What do you want to talk about?"

Mira's mind raced. She didn't really know what she wanted to talk about. She just didn't want to stay alone in her room any longer.

Rillan cleared his throat impatiently. Mira panicked. "Um, this isn't what I expected when I came here," she said uncertainly.

He smiled wickedly at her. Mira's eyes widened as she saw his fangs. "What did you expect?"

"I guess, uh, I thought…"

"You thought that I would rape you, then suck your body dry and leave you to die."

Mira swallowed. "That's not what I meant."

"Isn't it?"

"What happened to the others then?" Mira couldn't help but ask.

Rillan's dark blue eyes seemed to look into her. "Do you really think you're ready for that?"

"I can't think of anything else right now," she whispered.

Rillan's eyes turned solid black and his voice dropped to a deadly soft tone. "I waited until they were lonely enough to come to me. Then I seduced them. I used them as long as they were willing. When they couldn't live with the idea of me any longer, regardless of how lonely they were, I offered them death. The ones who accepted what I am, lived longer. The ones who feared me died sooner."

"The ones who lived longer, why did they decide to die in the end," Mira asked softly.

"It's easy enough for you to pretend that you're happy and in love until the druids give me an assignment. Each of the ones who lived with me at length asked to die within days after I returned from an assassination. Most live until the first night I chose to feed." The emphasis he put on feed sounded like a threat.

"You mean you only have to to uh feed," she could barely say it, "when you choose to?"

He smiled at her again and his fangs seemed to be emphasized by the firelight. "Not quite as simple as that. I feed when I need to or when I choose to. Are you offering?"

Mira shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I don't know. That's what I was sent here for. Does it hurt?"

Rillan's smile fell. "The druids have failed me in this respect. They were supposed to send me companions. But their teachings seem, in recent years, to result in girls coming to me afraid of the hunger and unknowing of the rest of their duties."

Mira was overcome with pity for him. "You're angry because you're alone," she said softly.

"You are the clever one," he said sarcastically. "Did it never occur to your teachers that it seems I go through girls much more quickly of late."

Mira shifted uneasily again.

Rillan could hear the increase in her heart rate. "What?"

Mira jumped in her seat at his quick question. "What?"

He shook his head as if he didn't believe her response. "Yes, what. What exactly about my comment caused you to become nervous?"

Mira's eyes dropped. "Oh." She sat a moment in thought. She didn't want to insult him anymore than she already had. She felt so sorry for him at this point that she had almost forgotten she was frightened of him. Almost forgotten.

Rillan grew tired of waiting for her response. He stood up. "I'm tired. If you've had enough conversation for one night I'll take my leave."

"No!" Mira stood up. "Don't go yet."

"Then answer my question."

Mira looked away from him again and walked over to the fire. Haltingly she said, "I guess they think that the, uh, deaths have increased because you're growing more…"

Mira heard his footsteps behind her. "Bloodthirsty," he asked as he finished her sentence. Then she felt his breath on her neck. "Cruel? Vicious?"

Mira turned around to find herself face to face with him. "Yes," she said suddenly feeling brave. "Are you trying to frighten me?"

He backed her into the fire hearth and pinned her against it, placing his hands on the mantle on either side of her. "What advantage would I possibly have by frightening you?"

She tried to push her way out of his arms, but he countered her movements and smiled at her, baring his fangs again. Her eyes widened, and then she pushed the fear down again. "I suppose that you'd have the same advantage in frightening me this way as you had in frightening me by leaving me to wander alone in the dark or by leaving me alone in my room for weeks on end."

He was taken aback by her confrontation. "What if I were to tell you that I haven't eaten in weeks." The black of his pupils bled out through the blue again and his eyes bore into her. "How brave will you be when I decide to take you to my bed? Are you so lonely yet that you'll give in to that?"