Out of Time Chapter 21-- We get Ourselves Captured

Every cell in my body regretted inviting Henry to come home with me over Thanksgiving Break. His parents were busy touring Europe, or something. I was just trying to be nice. Look where that got me.

 Naturally, my family adored Henry. He was perfect for them. I’m sure they all wished I was him. After all, who cared about a good for nothing Mikhail Constantine? No one. Not even the people who I thought cared about me.

My grandmother on my mom’s side settled next to me on the couch. She was one of the few people in this time period that liked me. Her long white hair was gathered up in a bun. She had the wrinkles of an exciting and well-loved life, but her blue eyes held a sort of unfathomable youth. “You okay, Honey?”

I shrugged. “I strongly dislike perfect people.”

She chuckled. “Me, too. He is something, though, isn’t he? Personally, I’ve always preferred people who look ordinary, but they’re something extraordinary on the inside.”

I squinted thoughtfully at her. She smiled back, and something pink crackled near her eyes. Without knowing how I knew, I knew I had just seen her aura.

“Uh, Grams, are you, well, uh…”

“A mage?” She asked, her eyes twinkling. “Oh, yes. You take after my side of the family, you know.”

“How long have you known?”

She laughed. “Darlin’, I’ve known since you were born! Only now do I know that you know, though.”

“I like her.”

I pushed Noddah’s head back inside my pocket, but it was too late. Grams smiled. “Well, would you look at that? Just like Celestine and Torin. Did the vampire heir give you your scaly friend?”

Noddah slinked out of my pocket and let my Grams pet him.

“No, one of my vampire friends gave Noddah to me. How do you know about Celestine and Torin?”

“Oh, Hon, Celestine is my ancestor on my mother’s side.”

I stared at her, the full significance of this statement sinking in. “So I am the mage heir?”

Eyes twinkling with a pink glow, my Grams nodded. “Yes, dear. An old friend of mine tells me you have been time traveling.”

“’An old friend?’”

“You know Sai.”

“I know I know Sai, but I didn’t know you know Sai!” I paused. “That sounded like something he would say just to confuse me.”

She laughed and gripped my hand. “He is a wonderful man. However, he tells me you’re having some trouble back in 1888.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah. I kind of yelled at a friend of mine then stormed off. I mean, I guess I went about it the wrong way, but she wasn’t listening to me. She is convinced of something, and she won’t let anyone else tell her otherwise.”

“Women are like that sometimes—even vampire women. I think the best thing you can do in this situation is to stick by her. If you turn out to be right, you will be justified, and you will be prepared. If you turn out to be wrong, she won’t fault you because you stuck by her.”

I considered this. “In other words, I shouldn’t have sulked around 2011 for two weeks. I should be there with her for when the worst happens.”

My Grams smiled. “Don’t worry too much about Tyren. She’s made of tough stuff. I know she’s missing you and wishing you would come back so she can rebuild your relationship.” Then, she got that odd look I had seen on Sai. It was like she wanted to warn me, but couldn’t. Gripping my shoulders, she said, “Love, when you go back, be strong. Something bad is about to happen. Once that happens, everything will go downhill. Unfortunately, those bad things must happen. When the time comes, protect the people you love, even if it means telling Melinda something she shouldn’t know.”

I stared at her, shocked. “But, how will I know what that is? And what if I’m not strong enough?”

She kissed my forehead in that grandmotherly fashion. “Oh, I have complete faith in you, Mikhail Constantine.”

~~~~~

 “Mikhail!”

As the blue lights faded away, I turned to see Tyren. We stood in what I guiltily guessed were her personal chambers. I couldn’t control where the magic took me, but I still felt like I was intruding.

She grinned at me. “I, uh, we have missed you! How have you been?”

“Pretty good. I missed you guys, too—a lot, actually. How long have I been gone?”

“Only a week, though I was beginning to worry…” her voice trailed off, and we stood awkwardly for a few seconds. “Look, M.C., I know you were just doing what you thought was right. I should not have—“

I waved my hand. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry, too.” Since she didn’t seem the hugging type, I stuck out my hand. “Friends again?”

She gripped my forearm. “Of course.” Releasing me, she said, “So, a little dog told me you need a tour of London. It is daylight outside, and I am not busy. Would you like to take a walk about town?”

I squinted at her. “Alright, but only if you promise not to burn up in the sun.”

Laughing, she quickly agreed and sent me to get Victorian-appropriate clothing.

When we met up again, I pointed at her pants. “I’m pretty sure women still wear skirts.”

“They do not usually carry swords, either. Do not worry. People will see a proper young lady—“

“Not a sword-toting vampire?”

“Correct. We vampires use spells to hide in the midst of humans all the time.”

As we stepped into the hall, we crossed paths with Gordon. He smiled cheerfully at us. “Where are you two going so dressed up? You are a vision of loveliness, Tyren.”

Tyren rolled her eyes and quickly answered, “M.C. and I are touring London.”

As we passed him, I cheerfully gave him the three fingers that meant, “Word, dude.” This made me happy, because he was left to try to figure out what my gangsta hand signal meant, and whether or not he should be insulted.

We took the catwalk over the part of the Thames that flowed by the base and left through the door on the far side. After wondering through the catacombs for about fifteen minutes, we stepped out into a dark tunnel.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“The underground.”

I thought back to my history books. If I remembered correctly, London had a train that went through this part of town. “We’re not going to get run over by a train, are we?”

She chuckled. “Not unless they have suddenly discovered how to make trains move soundlessly. Do trains move soundlessly in 2011?”

I shook my head as we ascended the steps leading up to fresh air. “Nope.”

We spent the next couple of hours roaming the city. We chatted cheerfully about nothing that really mattered. My vampire friend seemed to be much more cheerful when she was not as stressed. She took me to all London’s important landmarks. I stood outside of Buckingham Palace, the House of Parliament, on the bridge over the Thames, and looked up at Big Ben. Lastly, we stood outside of the Tower of London.

“Can we go inside it?” I asked.

Tyren inquired this of one of the guards, and he let us by. I didn’t know what her magic caused him to see, but it must have been pretty. He turned his head to look at us as we passed. I glared at him. Clearly, I was with her, not him.

As she led me through the entrance, she pointed at the crows that congregated there. “There are many legends about these crows. Some think they are the ghosts of the many people who have died here.”

“I think they think it’s just a cool crow hang out.”

She chuckled. “Could be.”

As we stepped through the door to the inside of the tower, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Something about this place was unsettling. I didn’t know what it was, but I put a shield around Tyren.

“This is a creepy place,” Noddah commented from under my hat.

“Yeah,” I said, remembering my Gram’s warning. “Maybe we should leave.”

Tyren waved her hand. “You are sensing all the past evil that was performed here. This place unnerves everyone. Do not concern yourself.”

As we wondered through the different rooms, Tyren explained that some areas were still in use, and therefore blocked off. She gave me a little of the Tower’s bloody history. Apparently, a lot of royalty ended up imprisoned or dead here. For someone who had been born somewhere else, Tyren knew a lot of English history. But then, I kind of figured she knew just about everything.

Suddenly, someone clapped a cold hand over my mouth, and stuck a knife at my stomach. I wanted to scream, but I hoped that Tyren would just keep walking. She needed to stay safe.

As she continued to chatter on about how Queen Elizabeth had been in the tower, her stance changed. I knew immediately she was drawing her sword. I tried to get free, but my captor only pressed the knife into my stomach. A trickle of blood worked its way down my abdomen.

In the middle of a sentence, Tyren spun, sword raised. To my horror, she froze, shock in her eyes. At that moment I knew who was threatening the livelihood of my stomach with his knife. 

I bit him.

Vampires never expect you to bite them. Always remember that. It could come in useful.

He jerked his hand back, cursing in my ear.

“Run, Tyren!” I screamed.

My assailant regained his control over me by wrapping his arm rather tightly around my neck.

“Let go of him, Gordon.”

“Drop your sword or I will kill him.”

“You will not kill him. You need him alive. Release him before I send a knife through your heart.”

“Let go of me, weirdo. I don’t know you like that.” Naturally, the insult to his straightness was lost on him.

“I have nothing against causing him as much pain as possible without killing him.”

I have to admit, I made a little scared squeak when he poked me harder with the knife. More blood trickled down my stomach, staining my shirt. I pitied whoever got the task of washing my clothes. 

“Yes, Tyren, drop your sword before Gordon carves out his stomach.” I recognized that voice. It was the creepy blonde chick from my dreams. I made a mental note not to say that particular phrase out loud. It could be misunderstood. About ten zombies materialized out of the shadows.

With a “shhhk,” Tyren sheathed her sword. Two zombies immediately flanked her. “Your quarrel is with me, Melinda, not the boy. Let him go.”

So the blonde woman of my dreams was Melinda, the leader of the zombie forces. I suppose I had sort of guessed that. However, I had never put those two things together.

The woman laughed. It was awful. I wanted to cry. Her laugh was worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. “Let the mage heir out of our grasp? Honestly, Tyren. We have been after him for weeks. You were so kind to waltz right into my headquarters. How could I pass up the opportunity that you gave to me on a silver platter?” She covered her mouth. “Oops, sorry. I know you do not like silver very much.”

She strode around Gordon and looked into my eyes. Hers were blood red. Black blood pulsed in veins under her pale skin. Melinda was only about an inch shorter than me. “So, the mage heir. Gordon tells me that you are the only one who suspected him. Where’s your dragon?”

“At home,” I lied.

“Pity. He could have been some use to Tyren. Oh well.”

Noddah thumped my head with his tail to show his support of my decision to hide him. I was secretly glad my scaly friend and I seemed to think on the same wavelength. Tyren was clever enough to go along with it.

Melinda stalked past me. She moved like a panther. Her steps were graceful yet powerful. Stopping in front of Tyren, she said, “You only have yourself to blame, you know. The boy tried to warn you, but you did not listen to him. How does it feel to know you are responsible for the resurrection of our king?”

Melinda was clever. She knew Tyren’s weaknesses. She also knew that if she played on them, she could cripple the vampire’s brilliant mind with doubt about her abilities. She couldn’t win. I needed Tyren’s mind right then.

I bucked, trying to get Gordon off me. “Don’t listen to her Tyren! It’s not your fault! It’s her fault and Gordon’s fault!”

Gordon gripped my neck so tightly, I choked. Tyren’s eyes grew wide, and Melinda’s narrowed. “Careful with him, Gordon.” She crossed the space between us and ran a finger along my jaw line. “We need him.”

Spinning back to face Tyren, she said, “I will make a deal with you, vampire. Let me see if I can convert M.C. to my way of thinking. After all, being one of us is so much better than sulking in the ground. If I can, you die. If I cannot, I will let you both go free.”

“Overconfident, are we not?”

Melinda smirked, and I shuddered. I had to be strong. I had to. Tyren’s life depended on it.

“Is it a deal, vampire?”

Tyren’s black eyes flicked to my blue ones. I nodded. I would save her life. I would keep her alive. The vampire looked back at Melinda, her confidence in me only fueling my resolve. “Deal. Bring him back to me unharmed. You have one hour.”

-------

Cough.

Sorry about the two week hiatus. 

I have no good excuses.

So, we finally meet Melinda. And M.C.'s "Grams." I love that woman--the latter, not the former. 

And who totally knew Gordon was evil? Yeah, even my siblings caught that one. 

WARNING: The next chapter is a bit dramatic. What can I say? M.C. is a dramatic storyteller. I'm just penning his words, haha. 

See you next week!