Mira

by Leighann Phoenix

  Mira’s stomach churned. She hadn’t eaten breakfast, and she could feel bile rise in her throat. She wished that the clanging would start again. The silence was dreadful. Finally she reached out and turned the well worn handle on the door. It released easily, and the door swung silently in, letting light fill the hallway from the multitude of candles in the wrought iron chandelier that hung from the high ceiling.

  Mira didn’t really see him at first. She was looking for a monster; some pale, gaunt, angry beast that would fall upon her and drain the life from her body. What she saw was much different. Rillan ap Tiernay was tall, muscular, clean shaven, and well dressed. The stories described him as noble and brave, before he was made into a vampire. Mira, like those who came before her, believed that the man of legend changed when he was turned into a bloodsucking assassin. Obviously she was wrong. His dark blue eyes were set in a handsome, tanned, angular face which was framed with black hair. He wore leather armor, brown breeches, and boots. He could have been any man from one of the nomadic hunter tribes to the north. A sword leaned against a dummy standing next to him. It was dressed in armor as well and held a severely battered shield.

  Rillan was larger than most of the men in her village. Legend told that he wasn’t originally a druid, nor was he from her village. He was one of the warrior classes in the druid nations before the militant civilizations to the south had assimilated them. He came to the druid’s inner sanctum seeking a way of vengeance against the onslaught of would be conquerors.

  Although Mira committed the legends to memory, she always questioned them to some extent. Her people, being a logical culture, had long held the belief that stories often changed or were exaggerated over time. Heroes became more heroic, and villains became more evil with each retelling. It was hard to say how much of the original stories were true. Only in recent decades had her people begun writing the histories down. Lord Tiernay’s story was centuries old. He was probably the only one who still knew the truth of it.

  Just as she was measuring him, he stood measuring her. She knew what he would see. She never thought of herself as anything special. Worse, she had been wandering around in the dark and had fallen on the ground. Her hand and knees were scraped, dirty, and bloody. She had no hair brush, and hadn’t washed in days.

  “Come in girl.” His accent was heavy, guttural, and strong, as if he barely spoke the language. “You’ve been more resourceful than most of the others. I believe you are the first to actually find a lantern and get here without being lost in the labyrinth for a few days.”

  Mira found herself annoyed by the comment and almost forgot she was afraid. “Do you find it amusing to let us grope about in the dark, frightened and lost for several days?”

  Rillan walked toward her. His purposeful strides made her wonder if this was it. He was going to bite her. She let out a yelp and fell back against the door, dropping the lantern on the floor with a clatter. His ice blue eyes bore into her.

  “No,” he replied low and warning. “I don’t find it amusing. However, I do find that after a few days, even my company is looked upon as a welcome alternative to being alone, hungry, and thirsty in the labyrinth. Usually when they see me after the darkness they don’t jump in fear.” He stepped back from her, giving her enough space to relax a bit. “Like you did.”

  Mira felt a little ashamed. “I didn’t— I mean I’m not—“ She stammered, trying to find the words to explain why her lessons hadn’t properly prepared her to take on her duties with more strength.

  He cut her off. “I’m used to it.” As he spoke he stepped toward her again, this time as a person would approach a frightened animal. Cautiously, he leaned in and breathed heavily. Mira got the impression that he was smelling her. When he pulled away, his pupils bled into the rest of his eyes until they were solid black. Then he blinked, and it was like she had been seeing things.

  “I’ll show you where your room is,” he said. Turning from her, he went back to the dummy, picked up the sword, and strode from the room. Mira took a moment to collect herself before following him. She almost forgot the lantern. As he disappeared into the darkness, she grabbed it and hurried to catch up.

  She followed him back down the hallway she came from. He opened one of the doors toward the very beginning of the hall. It led into another hallway which was lined with more tapestries and doors.

  As he guided her down the hall, Mira tentatively asked, “Is it always this dark in here?”

  Rillan abruptly stopped, turned around to look at her, and grabbed a candle off a sconce on the wall. He tossed it to her. “These are your quarters. This hall and these rooms. There are candles. You can light them if you wish, but the rest of the chamber is mine. There it is always dark.” With that, he turned around and led her to the door at the far end of the hall. Pushing the door open, he walked into the room and crossed the floor to a fireplace set into the far wall. Rillan picked up a match, struck it on the floor, and tossed it into the fireplace.

  As the fire spread light and warmth through the room Mira realized how cold she had been to this point. “Explore the rooms in this hall. You’ll find a small store room. There should be everything you need to feed yourself or make clothes. It’ll probably take you a while to bore yourself with what’s there. If you decide you need something I can be found usually where you found me tonight.” He stood and appeared to be leaving.

  “Lord Tiernay,” Mira started and almost didn’t finish the question when he turned to look at her. “Um, what about you?” She spoke slowly and trembled.

  “You’re not ready yet,” he said and left, leaving her staring after him dumbfounded.

  * * * *

  I’ve never seen such a beautiful room, Mira thought, looking around the room. As she lit candles set on woven metal sconces, light fell on a large canopy bed covered with silken blankets.

  A carved mahogany wardrobe stood against one stone wall, and she opened it to find that it was full of dresses. A morbid feeling went through her body, as she realized that these were the clothes of women who were previously Lord Tiernay’s companions. She sighed. They’re still beautiful clothes. The women who made them must have had a great deal of time and talent.

  A matching carved mahogany dressing table with a large mirror graced another wall. Silver hair combs and several brushes lay scattered across the table. A jewelry box stood open with a number of necklaces dangling over the sides. Inside were quite a few silver and gold bracelets and broaches.

  The sick feeling in the pit of Mira’s stomach returned. It almost looks as though the last girl to live in this room left it open and may be back at any moment. If I hadn’t cleaned her body for burial myself, I may wonder if she would be walking down the hall to find me here. Mira rubbed her stomach absently, thinking about the fact that she was merely the latest in a series of women who all lived and died in this room.

  Deciding she would never use any of the things on the dressing table, Mira searched the room for something less thought provoking to look at. A dining table with wine glasses, plates, forks, knives, and spoons filled a nook near the fireplace. A pot brimmed with cooking implements sat happily on the hearth near the fire, as if waiting to be used. It reminded her that she hadn’t eaten in quite some time, and her stomach growled loudly in response to the realization.

  I wonder if the elders know that he keeps the sacrifices like this, and it’s left out of the lessons on purpose. After she examined everything in the bedroom, she set about making herself dinner and deciding on plans for how to keep herself busy until Lord Tiernay came to her for his own meal.

  Chapter 2

  Lord Tiernay had been right. It took her a couple weeks to explore the other rooms in her chambers. She found a small library. It didn’t have nearly as many books as the room she found that first day. Even so, there were more than enough books to keep her busy for some time. A couple she found of particular interest appeared to be diaries of previous inhabitants of her rooms. Mira set those aside for
a night she wanted to give herself nightmares.

  Mira found the store room containing meats and vegetables and realized instantly that this was where the items the druids left at the cave entrance went. It appeared as though Lord Tiernay gathered the things and placed them in the store room when she was unaware. Maybe he does it when I’m sleeping. She couldn’t think of any other time he would be able to get into that room without her seeing him.

  A big open room with mirrors covering the walls was particularly beautiful and perplexing at the same time. Mirrors of that size would have been very expensive and even more difficult to bring here, Mira thought as she stood in front of one which was taller than herself and three times as wide. The mirrors all had different sized carved frames.

  The strangely enchanting, eerie room held Mira’s attention for hours. She turned round and round watching herself in all the mirrors by candlelight. She wondered what the room was for. Dancing maybe? There were a number of musical instruments in the store room. Maybe he’s had some sacrifices that could play or dance.

  The next room was smallish and decorated with sea shells and other water things. In the center of the room stood a large, metal, claw foot bathing tub. Space for a small fire or hot coals was beneath the tub, and a warmer for extra water waited next to it. Towels and a dressing gown adorned a rack near a comfortably cushioned chair. There was also a tub for washing her clothes on the far wall, but the bathtub kept her attention.

  Water in the basin next to the tub appeared clear and clean, as did the water in the tub itself. With some excitement, Mira lit the coals under the tub. Then she lit the coals under the warming basin for more water and went to the library for a book while she waited for the water to warm. Returning to the room with a small, leather-bound poetry book, Mira set it on the chair and began to take off her clothes. Momentarily she glanced around. She always wondered if he was watching her, but the feeling was more palpable when she was undressing or trying to fall asleep. Still she managed to undress and quickly got into the water. An odd sense of safety enveloped her when the water covered her body, and she reached for her book.

  As Mira lounged in her bath, it occurred to her that she was being pampered probably as well as any noble in the domus to the south. Lord Tiernay certainly knows how to try and keep his women happy, she thought. Unfortunately, that thought led to morbid ideas. If he’s so good at making sure his women have everything they could want that only leaves a couple alternatives. The women beg for death because he is so vicious in his feeding, or they die from the loneliness.

  Mira grew up with many people always around. Continued explorations of her chambers brought her to realize exactly how solitary this life was. He must keep us alone so that we won’t run away. A person doesn’t long for something as badly, if she’s not being tempted by it.

  After she was familiar with everything her chambers had to offer, she dedicated nearly all her time to reading the books in her small library. They were mostly history books or folklore. Some of them were in languages she didn’t know. Other books were so old they all but fell apart when she picked them up. Perhaps if I get too incredibly bored I could spend some time rewriting the more badly damaged ones. Periodically she glanced at the diaries from the deceased girls before her, but studiously found other things to read.

  Eventually, she set herself a routine. She found that her water was replaced regularly, and her store room was continually replenished. There were occasions that she felt as though she was being watched. But she was never able to catch him in her chambers even when she tried to wait up and see him.

  Several weeks’ worth of her solitary existence, in what she came to see as a prison, eventually made her desperate enough for company, and she ventured out the door at the farthest end of the hall. Carrying a lantern in one hand, wearing one of the simpler dresses, and walking cautiously down the hall, she listened for signs that Lord Tiernay was nearby. She managed to find her way to the room where she originally met him.

  Dark silence permeated the room. The wrought iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which had previously filled the room with warm light, disappeared into the recesses of the ceiling where her lantern light didn’t reach. Suddenly Mira was overwhelmed by the irrational fear that she would never see or hear or speak to another person ever again. “Hello,” she whimpered into the darkness, but there was no answer.

  She walked around the room looking for another door or some clue as to where he may be. She hadn’t really realized how lonely she was. Somewhere in her mind, all this time she thought he was just down the hall. Now, standing here in the empty room where he should be, she felt as though her entire body was going numb. She continued her search for another door, hoping she would find a different way out. When she came back to the door she came in and found nothing, she fell to sitting on the ground in the middle of the doorway and began to cry.

  She didn’t care what he would do to her now. She only wanted some company; any company. As she sat sobbing, a gentle hand gripped her shoulder.

  “Shh. I’m here.” His voice seemed, at that moment, to be the most exquisite sound in the world. She turned to see him bending on one knee behind her, and she flung her arms around his neck. He held her and spoke softly, stroking her hair and waiting for her to stop crying. “I understand. Calm down.”

  They remained on the floor for several minutes, before Mira finally managed to quiet her sobs and stop the flow of tears down her cheeks.

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

  She left the lantern on the floor, holding onto Rillan. He led her through the darkness and set her in a large armchair. She could make out his shape in the darkness on the edge of the lantern light, 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. Stepping over to the lantern that was still sitting on the floor, Rillan picked it up and blew it out, then set it on the floor next to Mira’s chair.

  “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, with his elbows on his knees and stared at her bleary-eyed.

  “Um, is it nighttime,” Mira asked tentatively. 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, as if she had insulted him, or he thought she shouldn’t have asked.

  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 said too quickly.

  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 and 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 exaggerated his smile, making his fangs stand out more. “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 suddenly realized what was going on and 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?”