by Amanda Byrd
“Really? Oh wow! Thanks, Doc! I promise not to wake you! I’m gonna go get to work now. Feel better!”
“Thanks, Billy!”
She closed the door as he turned his back to head down the driveway to start his work. It was close to five as it was, so Miranda did not expect too much work to be done and that she would see Billy bright and early in the morning. She turned and headed up the stairs, preferring to text Teddy what was going on because the thought of yelling made her head hurt even more. The pain was hard, all over her brain and behind her eyes and forehead. Teddy simply replied with an okay and he’ll see her when she wakes up. He knew how bad her migraines could get, just like his did, so the last thing he wanted was to bother her. He was considerate that way sometimes.
Before crawling into bed, Miranda hit the button on the wall to close all the blinds. While the blinds mechanically closed, she closed the bathroom and bedroom doors. She loved cuddling with the cats, but she needed the black of total darkness. When her head hit the pillow, she passed out as though she had just been hit in the face with a brick.
Then the dreams started again, more vivid now. Was is because Emperor was so very close now? The same images as before; the field of fire, the blood rain, the blurry figure that was no longer blurry. It was Elisonde’s chimera, with Elisonde on its back. The flames engulfed the entirety of the field and the ring of trees around it. Miranda rode King Nightmare while Emperor circled higher above the two circling beasts of Miranda and Elisonde. Emperor imparted visions of King, Miranda on his back, catching Elisonde off guard and ripping out the throat of her chimera. The flames burned long after the chimera crashed down onto the field. Even in the dream, Miranda heard the cracking and shattering of bones, chimera and Elisonde alike.
Somewhere over two hours later she awoke wondering what day it was and if those images were really a dream. Did all of that even happen? No. We’re pretty sure that was just a vision of what’s coming and Emperor knows because he can see the future. Oh. Well, looks like we have many preparations ahead of us. First being to find that field, which, I’m sure, Emperor will show me to. Second being finding that vile Elisonde and her gorgeous chimera. Miranda, how can you actually want to fight a chimera? It’s part freaking dragon! Um, because gargoyles are natural dragon slayers, duh. Besides, even if I didn’t want to fight this chimera, I’m sure I’d have to anyway. It seems I have no choice other than the battlefield. True enough. Now, let’s go snack on some blood packs since we won’t be hunting tonight. Sounds like a plan.
Miranda got out of bed to realize she was still fully dressed and shrugged it off. She went downstairs to the garage for her snacks and a straw. She wanted to feel at least a little civilized right now. Her head felt better but she could not help but think the migraine could have been brought on by bloodlust. You would be correct in your thinking. Also, Miranda, you’re getting low on blood supply, so you may want to hurry up vetting those patients. Meh, Teddy can access more Type O. I’m not terribly worried. She bit a hole big enough for her straw to fit in with her right canine and stuck the straw in. Sipping happily, she wandered out the still open garage door down the driveway to admire her new children. Her walk down the driveway way peaceful with a cool breeze, which was unusual for mid-October, but she was not about to complain; it felt good.
She was about five feet from the closed gate when it automatically opened.
“Damn, I love these things!”
She continued out and walked all the way to the street where she could look on both of her new boys with adoration. Ever since she could remember, she had wanted her own gargoyles and now she finally had them. The elation that filled her mind, body, and soul was enough to make her also shiver, caused by her inner beasts. Aww! How cute! Even my werepireism cowers in fear! Shut. Up. Nope! She could not contain the burst of laughter that came out and echoed across her property.
King Nightmare looked at Miranda plaintively, like a puppy who wanted to be petted, so she walked up to him first, as Emperor Bête Noir sat there staring off into the distance, appearing unaware of her presence, though she felt in her bones he knew she was there. No sooner than did Miranda’s hand graze King’s face than did he come to life animatedly. If he were really a puppy, he probably would have jumped directly into her arms. He drooled and slobbered, practically giving Miranda a full-out bath. He licked her, knocking her over. She laughed, wiped the dirt from her pants, and went right back to petting, even scratching his chin.
“Okay, King. That’s enough for now. We don’t need Billy coming back tomorrow wondering why you’re covered in dirt and dried slobber.”
She smirked and kissed King on the cheek before heading to the other side of the driveway to give Emperor his fair share of love. When she stood directly in front of Emperor, he paid her no attention. She gingerly touched the side of his face and he roared to life, as if he did not expect it to be Miranda touching him. As soon as he realized it was her hand, the flames in his eyes dies down to embers. He smiled and imparted one simple thing to Miranda. It was a name. Interment.
Thirteen
Interment. What in the seven hells did Emperor mean by that? I mean, interment is basically . . . ohhhh. Oh shit. Elisonde’s chimera is named Interment. Shit shit shit! Guys! Why aren’t you piping up with some snide remark or . . . anything? Come on, you gotta have some input. That’s actually a genius name for a chimera. That Mona Lisa bitch will frown. Make no mistake. Now we know where the fire was coming from in the field, too. Emperor is amazing! Guys! Say SOMETHING! We’re at a loss. We are still scanning for her though. If she gets close, we’ll know and inform you. Does that mean we can’t have playtime soon? No, idiots. This makes me hungrier. And I will rip her throat out just like everyone else I’ve done it to, make no mistake about that. How do you two feel about roasted human? Miranda! We drink blood and eat hearts. Please don’t go cannibal on us. Well, you guys suck. It was just a thought anyway.
Miranda knew this was bad. Probably as bad as having a demonic doll in the house, but she also knew she would win—at any and all costs. To battle Miranda was a bad idea for those who had come before Elisonde. They had all lost and in some horrible ways. Miranda was sure Elisonde had her own tricks and torments, like the one Miranda was now experiencing of Elisonde watching her, but that was okay because Miranda now knew who and what she would face. The when would come in time and the where would be shown to her by Emperor Bête Noir soon enough. She would have enough time to prepare.
In the meantime, she needed to get back to vetting playthings, treating patients, and Shiloh was coming down with the family soon. There was so much fun to be had and Miranda was excited. She got out of bed, her head feeling much better, and noticed Teddy was not there. She went downstairs for coffee and still no Teddy. Not wanting to tempt another migraine, she walked the whole house looking for him. Much to her dismay, he was nowhere. When she got back upstairs, she looked at the clock.
“Seven hells! It’s almost nine! I have a patient in an hour! Great, I get to go in smelling like freaking dog.”
I resent every time you say that. I don’t care. You’re a damn DOG and you stink. She let out a string of expletives as she floundered her way through brushing, getting dressed, and the rest of her routine. She almost fell down the stairs in her rush to get to Night Chariot. When she got to her purse on the counter, she noticed the stack of notes with a sticky note on the top that read “Stickies are on all of the ones I like. Love you, T”. How sweet is he? Can it, you twit. I asked him for help and got it. Now, where did . . . office. She grabbed her things, ran to the office for the files, and continued running until she reached the garage. Knowing she only had a small handful of patients this day, she grabbed only one blood pack and stuffed it in the lunch tote. She forgot to open the garage and almost hit it. Jesus! Calm down, girl. You’re fine. Late again—possibly, but fine. Breathe. She hit the button to open the door, pulled out, pushed the button
again to close the door and sped off.
Again traffic was lighter than usual, which Miranda saw as a sign that things may just work out in her favor. When she got to the office, her receptionist informed her that the day’s first appointment canceled. Miranda instructed her to send the bill for failure to cancel within twenty-four hours of the appointment. That was a twenty-five dollar fee, which was standard practice in this field, or any medical field, really. Oh the joy of people signing paperwork without reading it. Guys, I feel her. She’s close. Too close. Just as she finished that thought, Elisonde walked through the door.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked, turning toward Elisonde.
“I do, but I’m really early. I was hoping to be able to talk to you before our appointment,” Elisonde responded in such a sweet tone it could rot teeth.
Miranda picked up the new patient folders for the day and walked toward her office door, replying, “I’m sorry, I’ve got paperwork to review before anyone . . . Well, sorry, I just can’t. Feel free to have a seat here in the waiting room or come back in time for your appointment.”
Elisonde frowned, a little bit sad, but chose to sit in the waiting room, taking a seat with a view of Miranda’s office door. Miranda opened the door, apologized again, and closed it behind her, almost dropping the stack of folders. This woman! Oh my GOD! WHAT is with her? First, she follows me all around England, then she follows me here, and now . . . NOW SHE’S IN MY OFFICE! What the hell! Maybe we’ll find out, Miranda. Maybe, just maybe, we can pry out of her why she’s after you. Like I didn’t think of that the second she said she has an appointment. And, oh, look, here’s her file, right on top. Let’s have a look, shall we?
Miranda opened the file and flipped past all the normal paperwork to the questionnaire that answers why a patient has chosen to come in. Scanning the questionnaire, Miranda recognized immediately the insomnia diagnosis, along with narcissistic personality disorder, and depression. Great. She’s nuttier than I am. This will be a fun conversation. Narcissist. I should have picked up on that, but, well, the castle was too exciting and I let my guard down. Oh well, live and learn. I’ll get her and her pretty chimera, too. She flipped through the other files, noting down initial diagnoses for each, dropped the stack of new patients on the desk beside her, careful to keep the playmate stack separate, and went to the door.
“Elisonde, I’ll see you now.”
Elisonde looked at her watch, noting it had only been twenty or so minutes since she first sat down, smiled at Miranda, and got out of her chair, walking happily toward the door to Miranda’s office. Elisonde walked with an air of cockiness, as if she was telling everyone in the world she was better than them, past Miranda, who stood holding the door open, and sat in the chair across from Miranda’s. This woman is the official bane of my existence, next to you two fools. Okay, you’ve done a lot to help, but I wouldn’t need a cure that doesn’t kill my human self if it wasn’t for you. I also wouldn’t need to worry so much about the possibility of jail because of this hunger. Shit.
Miranda closed the door, not turning her back on Elisonde. She trusted her like she would trust a rattlesnake and already knew better than to turn her back to this werewolf; Elisonde would attempt to jump her, regardless of who was watching. Keeping Elisonde in her peripheral, she made her way to her chair and sat.
“Elisonde, what brings you in, especially to talk to me before our scheduled time?”
“Well, it’s a little embarrassing, but I chose you as my therapist for a reason; I know I can trust you. I also know what you are.”
“I’m sorry, you know what I am? And what, exactly, am I?”
“You’re part werewolf, as am I.”
“I should have known you’d sense that the second we met. Why did you want time with me before our scheduled time, Elisonde? To threaten me? To intimidate me? What?”
“Oh no, none of that. I just wanted to let you know I understand you and why you fell in love with that castle and why I held it for you. And maybe to get to know each other on a more personal level. There’s so few of us left around the world and I just wanted a friend.”
“Cut the shit, Elisonde. I know you’re a manipulative bitch and you will not get by me this time. There is more to this than just that, but we can get to that during your actual session. And know I’ll be billing you for any extra time after this. This is a one-time courtesy because I’ve wanted to talk to you anyway, though, I must admit how slick you are, making an appointment with me. Back to what you were saying. How do you know there are so few werewolves like us left?”
“I’ve traveled the world in search of them, only to find a small handful. It appears they’ve either died by some human-contracted disease or have been killed.”
“That’s because people believe in urban legends and silver bullets, you twit. This is on a personal level for us,” Miranda said, glancing at her watch to make sure she was keeping the personal and professional apart, “You have ten more minutes before your appointment starts.”
“Okay. But would you be interested in being friends, maybe? We could start by meeting in public places, say maybe a nice bar for drinks or something?”
“What in the seven hells would make you think I’d want to have drinks with you? You’ve followed me halfway across the world without saying anything! You said you know why I fell in love with the castle and wanted to tell me why you held it for me. Elaborate and make it quick, you’re down to eight minutes.”
“How could a werewolf not love that castle? Think about it. It’s beautiful, cozy, damp . . . like our ancestral homes of the deep woods. I held it because I had a sense when we initially spoke over the phone you and I were the same.”
“I am not the same but that is none of your business. I don’t trust you, and I hope you can understand why. After our initial session, if you still want to be ‘friends’, Elisonde, I’ll have to refer you to another therapist. You do realize that, right?”
“I do. I have decided that if I like you as a therapist, I will stop trying to be your friend and keep our doctor/patient relationship. I’ve researched you extensively and am beginning to think that you may just be the perfect fit, anyway.”
“If you say so. Anyway, our session starts now. What brings you in, Elisonde? I see your forms state you’re not sleeping very well and you feel jealous of others, that others are jealous of you, and you believe you have a lot of power. Am I correct?”
“Yes. I do have a lot of power and everyone is jealous of me.”
“Okay. Well, I can see you’re also manipulative. Do you ever recognize another’s emotions?”
“No . . . I mean, I don’t think so. Like, I can tell when someone looks happy or sad, but I don’t really recognize them.”
“And have people called you conceited and/or pretentious?”
“All the time.”
Miranda took some notes and looked up at Elisonde, no emotion on her face or in her eyes.
“Elisonde, look at my face and tell me what emotions you can recognize.”
“I see sad, angry, and happy.”
“Mmhmm . . .” Miranda took more notes.
“Elisonde, I’m going to give you a referral to a psychiatrist. He will be able to give you the medications you need. If you’d like to continue sessions with me, I’ll have a plan of attack, I mean therapy, for your next appointment. If you choose to see someone else-”
Elisonde held up a hand, stopping Miranda mid-sentence.
“I do not want to go through this with another therapist. You come highly recommended. I will continue with you. There goes my hopes of us being friends, but I’d much rather have you help me be more . . . normal.”
“First thing’s first, Elisonde. There is no such thing as normal. Keep that in the front of your mind until our next appointment. Call and schedule the psychiatrist. Here’s his card. I’ll call as soon as yo
u leave so they know you’re calling. I’ve got a bit of pull with him, so he will see you sooner than usual. After you’ve scheduled your appointment with him, call and schedule with me. I’m thinking an every other week session would be a good start, and if you feel you need to come more, we can do that, too.”
“So what’s my diagnosis, doc?’
“Insomnia, a touch of OCD, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and depression. The psychiatrist will figure out the level and we can tag team the treatments for all of this. Don’t worry, Elisonde, we’ll get you to a mental state you’re more comfortable with. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today?”
“Well, umm, yes?”
“That sounded more like a question. Do you or not?”
“I do.”
“Okay, I’m all ears for another seven minutes. Get it all out.”
“If you say so. You’re a werewolf because of my bloodline.”
“Get out. We’re done. Call me after you call the psychiatrist.”
Fourteen
You JERKS! You were supposed to tell me when she got close! SHE WAS IN MY OFFICE AND IS NOW A PATIENT! What the shit? You seriously suck! Not a word, I don’t want to hear from you right now. Ugh! If I could rip you both out here and now . . . Miranda let out a string of expletives so loud her receptionist knocked on her door to ask if she was alright.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Sorry about that.”
She grabbed her phone, called Shiloh to fill her in, and Teddy to let him know what had transpired, as well. Neither Shiloh nor Teddy were happy about it. Teddy had even said something about killing Elisonde himself and it took a lot for Miranda to calm him down.
“Did you get my stickies on your notes?”
“I did. Thank you for that. I’m about to flip through them now.”
“Okay, there’s one I marked that I would like you to see again soon because I want to help and your notes on that one pissed me off.”
