Free Merrick by Claire Cray Page B
Authors: Claire Cray
dismissed on account of
logistics. For, I had been sure, Merrick was not a vampire. I had been sure
there could not be enough blood for a vampire to drink in these sparsely
populated parts.
But here he was,
extracting my blood with his mouth, having opened my vein with his sharp teeth
in his candlelit cave, and it seemed clear that…
“It’s so much,
sir…” I whimpered as I myself falling backwards. My fingers flexed and found
his cheek, trying and failing to push him away. I was growing weaker, tumbling
faster and faster into darkness, and he looked farther and farther away. My
eyelids fluttered as I sank down through the earth and into oblivion.
Chapter 13
I awoke to the
sound of crows.
My eyelids felt
like they were sewn together. It took enormous effort open them just a small
amount.
“What were you
thinking?” Merrick asked beside me in a voice as black and heavy as iron.
“I’ve lived,” I
whispered, surprised.
“You are alive,
yes. After steeping over a tablespoon of wolf’s foot in an act of idiocy I
cannot begin to comprehend.”
He was beside the
bed. I turned my head with difficulty and found him seated on the wooden stool
and looming over me. A pungent resin was burning and the smoke rose behind him
like dark halo. He looked furious, and also entirely aghast.
“Were you trying
to kill yourself, William?”
“No, sir,” I
replied, surprised. “What is…what is wolf’s foot?”
“It is a poison.
You claim to have mistaken it for thyme .” He spat the name of the herb
as though he could not believe the stupidity of it. “What would compel you to
such carelessness when I have warned you repeatedly of the potency of natural—”
“I’m sorry, Master
Merrick,” I interrupted.
“Explain
yourself,” he snapped.
My mouth felt dry
again, but this time I knew it was not from poison. “Am I recovering, sir?”
“Yes. I have
drained you of the poison. You will be all right by tomorrow.”
“I beg your
pardon, sir. I was simply trying to make tea.”
“Out of thyme ?”
he demanded sharply. “What was your motive, William? Do not lie to me.”
My throat was
tight. My eyes felt funny. I closed them. “Master Merrick,” I whispered. “May I
rest? I will explain…”
He was silent. At
last he muttered his assent, and a cool cloth was laid on my forehead.
I was too tired to
think, and sleep was pulling at me impatiently. There was that blessing.
Chapter 14
The trinkets above
me greeted me familiarly.
I gazed at them
for awhile. The room was dimly lit by a flickering candle, which meant Merrick
was awake. And hearing no birds, I supposed it was night.
What I recalled in
the next several minutes should have alarmed me, but it seemed I was out of
alarm to spare.
Would Merrick tell
me all that had transpired?
My throat
tightened at another, more pressing thought:
Would he forgive
me for this?
I lay for a long
while before I slowly climbed out of bed. My body felt clammy and smothered in
my nightshirt, and I wondered how long I’d been asleep. Cautiously, I ventured
into the main room. Merrick was nowhere to be seen.
I supposed he was
in the cave. It seemed to me I might have been in the cave, as well. From what
I remembered, it seemed Merrick had taken me there and…
I lifted my hand
to look at my wrist. There were no marks there.
Had it been a
fever dream?
Or had he really
bitten me, and healed the marks afterward?
I felt such
dismay. There were so many puzzles to untangle, and I was so tired.
Perhaps a bath, to
start. I headed outside, unsteady on my feet.
The soap and water
were a relief, and I allowed myself not to think as I bathed my tired skin. I
wearied sooner than I had expected, however, and had to brace my elbows on the
tub and lean heavily upon it for a moment.
My heart sank when
I heard Merrick enter the lean-to. I could not bring myself to open my eyes.
“You will weaken
yourself,” he said gruffly. A rustling
logistics. For, I had been sure, Merrick was not a vampire. I had been sure
there could not be enough blood for a vampire to drink in these sparsely
populated parts.
But here he was,
extracting my blood with his mouth, having opened my vein with his sharp teeth
in his candlelit cave, and it seemed clear that…
“It’s so much,
sir…” I whimpered as I myself falling backwards. My fingers flexed and found
his cheek, trying and failing to push him away. I was growing weaker, tumbling
faster and faster into darkness, and he looked farther and farther away. My
eyelids fluttered as I sank down through the earth and into oblivion.
Chapter 13
I awoke to the
sound of crows.
My eyelids felt
like they were sewn together. It took enormous effort open them just a small
amount.
“What were you
thinking?” Merrick asked beside me in a voice as black and heavy as iron.
“I’ve lived,” I
whispered, surprised.
“You are alive,
yes. After steeping over a tablespoon of wolf’s foot in an act of idiocy I
cannot begin to comprehend.”
He was beside the
bed. I turned my head with difficulty and found him seated on the wooden stool
and looming over me. A pungent resin was burning and the smoke rose behind him
like dark halo. He looked furious, and also entirely aghast.
“Were you trying
to kill yourself, William?”
“No, sir,” I
replied, surprised. “What is…what is wolf’s foot?”
“It is a poison.
You claim to have mistaken it for thyme .” He spat the name of the herb
as though he could not believe the stupidity of it. “What would compel you to
such carelessness when I have warned you repeatedly of the potency of natural—”
“I’m sorry, Master
Merrick,” I interrupted.
“Explain
yourself,” he snapped.
My mouth felt dry
again, but this time I knew it was not from poison. “Am I recovering, sir?”
“Yes. I have
drained you of the poison. You will be all right by tomorrow.”
“I beg your
pardon, sir. I was simply trying to make tea.”
“Out of thyme ?”
he demanded sharply. “What was your motive, William? Do not lie to me.”
My throat was
tight. My eyes felt funny. I closed them. “Master Merrick,” I whispered. “May I
rest? I will explain…”
He was silent. At
last he muttered his assent, and a cool cloth was laid on my forehead.
I was too tired to
think, and sleep was pulling at me impatiently. There was that blessing.
Chapter 14
The trinkets above
me greeted me familiarly.
I gazed at them
for awhile. The room was dimly lit by a flickering candle, which meant Merrick
was awake. And hearing no birds, I supposed it was night.
What I recalled in
the next several minutes should have alarmed me, but it seemed I was out of
alarm to spare.
Would Merrick tell
me all that had transpired?
My throat
tightened at another, more pressing thought:
Would he forgive
me for this?
I lay for a long
while before I slowly climbed out of bed. My body felt clammy and smothered in
my nightshirt, and I wondered how long I’d been asleep. Cautiously, I ventured
into the main room. Merrick was nowhere to be seen.
I supposed he was
in the cave. It seemed to me I might have been in the cave, as well. From what
I remembered, it seemed Merrick had taken me there and…
I lifted my hand
to look at my wrist. There were no marks there.
Had it been a
fever dream?
Or had he really
bitten me, and healed the marks afterward?
I felt such
dismay. There were so many puzzles to untangle, and I was so tired.
Perhaps a bath, to
start. I headed outside, unsteady on my feet.
The soap and water
were a relief, and I allowed myself not to think as I bathed my tired skin. I
wearied sooner than I had expected, however, and had to brace my elbows on the
tub and lean heavily upon it for a moment.
My heart sank when
I heard Merrick enter the lean-to. I could not bring myself to open my eyes.
“You will weaken
yourself,” he said gruffly. A rustling