I'm so sorry that its taken so long for me to update. I'm been... busy! and had a major case of writer's block! Anyway this isn't the greatest chapter that is in this story so just bear with it please! Enjoy! =) -MS

Characters belong to Rachel Caine

Chapter 11

"Claire? Claire, where are you?" Eve yelled through the now empty house. Shane was with her and had a worried look on his face. They walked into the living room and it was a wreck. "Oh my god! What happened to my lamps?" Eve yelled louder this time, but Shane wasn't worried about Eve's stupid black laced lamps; he was worrying about where Claire went.

"Claire?" Shane said as he ran up the stairs to find all the rooms empty and Claire missing. "Where did she go? She would have called if she left." He wondered out loud as he sat on her bed. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed 4 to call Claire. After about 5 rings Claire's voice said that she wasn't available at the moment and would call you back when she wasn't busy.

"Shane? Claire's phone is down here!" he heard Eve's voice shout from the bottom of the stairs. He put his phone back into his pocket and walked back down the stairs. Michael was now home after Eve had called him and told him Claire was nowhere to be found and him and Eve were talking with tear-filled eyes. "We have to find her! She wouldn't just get up and leave; that's not like her, Michael." Eve was saying as Michael pulled her into his arms. Shane was wishing he could pull Claire into his arms at that moment.

"We will. Don't worry Eve we will find her." Michael muttered. Shane just didn't know what to do. He sat down on the couch. I talked to her just before I got home! She was fine. She said she was watching TV because there was nothing else to do and now she is missing. What happened in the 20 minutes it took me to come home? Shane thought. He knew that he was probably being stupid, that Claire would be fine, but he couldn't be certain. After all, this was Morganville! Who knew what went on, even with the Founder and whatever with Claire and everything… god he was confused about everything! All he wanted to do was to throw something across the room, to hear the satisfying clunk as it shattered into a million pieces, but he didn't have the energy to even do that. He was too worried about Claire; if that made him a sissy, so be it.

"Shane? Hello? Earth to Shane!" Michael said as he waved his hand in front of Shane's face.

"What? What do you want Michael?"

"I called Amelie and she is up in the room. Are you coming or not?" Michael said as he stood up and made his way to the stairs.

"I'm right behind you." Shane stood and met Eve at the stairs and they both went up. They walked down the hall and to the secret room and down another set of stairs. When they entered the room, the hair on the back of Shane's neck stood straight up. With vampires in the room it gave it a cold feel that wasn't there before. Before being the last time Shane and Claire were in here… alone. Yet this time it was to see Amelie, the scariest (although Oliver would try and dispute that) vampire of them all.

Amelie and Oliver were sitting on the couch while four guards stood behind them. Eve just happened to notice that Myrnin was standing in the corner with a grim smile on his pale face. She shuddered and hoped that no one noticed.

"Mr. Collins, when was the last time you saw Claire?" One of the guards asked. Shane looked around at Michael and Eve and they both shrugged. Amelie's guards never talked.

"This morning. She was taking a shower when I woke up. She was sitting on the couch when I left for work." He said as Amelie stood up.

"Shane, do you know where she might have gone?"

"She wouldn't just leave and break a lamp in the progress." Eve spoke up. "I know that much. She would called or something."

"She didn't go anywhere." Michael said for the first time. "I was the first one to walk into the house. Just as I reached the living room, I saw the portal on the far wall. Someone came through the portal into the house, or Claire broke the lamp then left."

"But why would she leave without telling anyone! Michael you know that she would!" Eve raised her voice as she stepped out in front of him. Michael opened his mouth to reply but Amelie spoke up again.

"Myrnin." She whispered the she turned to her guards, "Go to his lab. She has to be there. Go NOW!" She barked as they went out the portal that was opened.

"Claire, sweet Claire, you should stop struggling now. You're making the room smell like raw meat. It's making me sick." Myrnin cooed as he sat in his chair on the other side of the room where Claire was chained to the wall. Claire growled deep in her throat, still trying to get free. Not caring that her flesh was burning underneath the sliver chains.
"You can't keep me here Myrnin! Amelie will find me!" Myrnin let out a wicked laugh and stood up, walking over to Claire, sneering at her. "Myrnin, please! You know that I didn't mean to kill Scarlet! I didn't mean too! You can't treat me like this, please just let me go!" Claire let out a soft sob and finally stopped struggling. Myrnin lifted a hand as if to hit her but then a portal opened.

"Myrnin! What on earth do you think you are doing?" Amelie's voice rang through the lab as two guards stepped through the portal, her following after them. Claire looked up to see them grabbed Myrnin and drag him, kicking and fighting through the portal. Claire whimpered as another guard ripped the chains off and pulled her to her feet. Amelie walked up to Claire and placed her hands on her upper arms. "Claire, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, other than the burns, I'm fine." Amelie nodded and helped Claire walk through the portal and into the Glass living room.