Morganville Vampires 4
Rachel Caine
Claire is worried about their new vampire guests, Mr. Bishop and his subordinates. He requests breakfast. Claire joins her friends in the kitchen and explains they need to do what the vampires say because they are all in danger. Claire’s parents join them, but are quickly invited to sit in at the table in the living room with Mr. Bishop. Michael goes to watch over them while Claire, Eve, and Shane cook. After the food is served, Claire calls Amelie and leaves another voicemail. They decide they need more immediate action, so Eve calls Oliver and has Claire explain the situation. Oliver tells them to do whatever Mr. Bishop says while he goes to find Amelie. Michael ends up being pushed into the kitchen by one of Mr. Bishop’s vampires, Francois. Claire tries to hold Shane back while Eve threatens Francois with a knife. The house starts shaking in an attempt to help Michael. Oliver kicks in the door and tells Claire to invite him in. Before she can do that, Amelie arrives. She walks in and says she will take care of Mr. Bishop. She temporarily invites Oliver in as backup. Shane tries to hold Claire back from following and ends up opening up his stab wound. Michael follows the other vampires into the living room to get Claire’s parents and away from Shane’s blood. Eve patches Shane up and then Michael returns with Claire’s parents. He tells them they are all going out to eat.
Michael drives them to a late night dinner where Claire notices vampires watching the drunk college students. Her father tells her she is moving in with them. She is surprised when Shane agrees it is a good idea. Eve tries to tell them Claire is safe where she is, but Michael explains the idea was planted by Mr. Bishop, and they have no hope of changing their minds. Oliver calls Michael to tell him to return to the house. Mr. Danvers insists Claire returns with them, but Michael tells him Claire has to go back to the Glass house. After dropping off Claire’s parents, the four teenagers return to their home. Amelie and Oliver are playing chess while they wait for them. Amelie tells them to avoid Mr. Bishop, who is in fact her father. She sends Oliver away and revokes his invitation to the house before going upstairs and disappearing. While Shane is checking all the locks, Eve lures Michael upstairs. Claire calls her parents and confirms Mr. Bishop is not staying with them. Shane suggests chess, but once they can hear Eve giggling, he changes his mind to video games.
Claire wakes up the next morning and starts walking to class. On the way, Monica and her friends pull up beside Claire to warn her the war between them is still on. A bit later, Jason stops her and tells her he needs to talk to Eve about their dad. Claire promises nothing and leaves him standing in the shadows. She goes to get coffee and tells Eve about her encounter on her way there. Eve insists she doesn’t care about her parents. Claire gets a call from Dr. Mills. He asks her for more information about the crystals she gave Monica. She decides to call Amelie before divulging any information. Amelie answers and tells Claire to work with Dr. Mills, but to keep Myrnin’s lab and the vampire illness a secret. She meets with the doctor after class. He tells her Amelie gave him her notes and he was able to make some improvements as well as a liquid form he has put into a dart gun for her. He wants her to try to measure Myrnin’s blood before administering the drug. In the meantime, he is looking for a safer place for them to conduct their experiments. When Claire gets home, Eve sends her and Shane out to the grocery store. In the parking lot, Shane tells he he did some research at the vampire section of the library. There was a vampire that was a Bishop that killed anyone that got in his way, including other vampires. One day, he just disappeared. When they go inside the grocery store, they split up. When Claire finds Shane, Mr. Bishop’s associate, Ysandre, is all over Shane. After she leaves him, he storms out in a hurry. Claire quickly pays for the food and follows Shane out to the car, who looks like he is about to leave her behind. He peels out as soon as she gets in.
When they get back to the house, Shane immediately goes to his room. Claire eats with Michael and Eve, but her mind is wandering. When Eve starts making fun of Shane for pouting, Michael tells her to leave him alone. She questions his odd behavior. When he snaps at her, she leaves the room. Michael promises Claire he wouldn’t hurt any of them. Claire goes upstairs and into Shane’s room. He tells her he is upset because Ysandre got in his mind and made him want her. She comforts him and they end up sleeping next to each other all night. The next morning, Shane wakes up and immediately goes to the bathroom. Claire hears Eve’s boots heading for her bedroom door and goes out in the hallway to see what she wants. Eve is not happy about Claire staying the night in Shane’s room, but believes they only slept. She tells Claire that Michael left in the night and still hasn’t returned. The doorbell rings and Eve answers to sign for an envelope addressed to Shane. He comes down to open it and tells Eve to burn the contents. Eve reads the invitation to a ball Ysandre has ordered Shane to accompany her to. Eve and Claire go down to Common Grounds and talk to Sam. He says he will call when he finds Michael. Shane is by the phone and answers when it rings. He hangs up immediately. Eve uses the callback feature and hears her brother, Jason, on the other end. He tells her their dad’s liver is failing and he only has a few days to live. Shane offer to take Eve to the hospital to see him. After they leave, Sam calls and tells Claire that Michael is on his way home. When Michael arrives, he explains he was with Amelie. Claire tells him where Eve and Shane went. Michael plans to join them at the hospital, so Claire asks him to drop her off at Myrnin’s lab on the way.
When Claire reaches Myrnin’s cell, she can tell he isn’t right and won’t be able to get a blood sample as Dr. Mills requested. She ends up shooting him with the dart of the liquid formula and it brings him back. He asks to be let out, but she refuses knowing he could turn back at any moment. She tells him Bishop is in town and he explains the older vampire only sees humans as food. Amelie tried to kill him once, so Myrnin guesses he is in town for revenge. When the formula starts to wear off, Claire goes to the refrigerator and starts handing out packets of blood. She uses the portal to get back to Myrnin’s lab and then decides to walk home from there. When she arrives, Richard Morrell (Monica’s brother) is there because Shane is behind on his taxes. Claire realizes this means Shane hasn’t been donating blood. She says she will go with him and donate as well, but Shane still refuses. She reminds him there are worse things going on and that she needs him. He agrees to go. Richard makes a call on his walkie and the blood mobile arrives. Shane refuses to go inside the mobile donation unit because people tend to never come out. Richard agrees to drive them to the donation center instead. They get into his police car.
They get to the donation center and the receptionist recognizes Shane because she used to play cards with his mother. Shane goes back to have his blood taken and Claire fills out forms to donate her own. During the process, she freaks herself out thinking about where the blood will end up. Shane tells her he once went to the blood mobile with his mom. A man was brought in and taken away and no one saw him again. As they are getting ready to leave, Shane finds a door. He opens it to see a line of vampires at a pharmacy-like counter. Michael gets a bottle of blood and drains it quickly. Afterwards, he sees them watching them and tries to explain. Shane says he understands and they leave. Back at home, they learn Eve’s father died. They go to the funeral at the church the next morning. Eve is appalled at her mother’s behavior and they try to get out as quickly as possible. Jason shows up, but leaves quickly rather than getting into it with Shane. Then Ysandre arrives to remind Shane about the invitation she sent him. They go to Denny’s for food. There is a flyer posted to advertise Michael performing at Common Grounds. He doesn’t want them to go, but they all insist.
Michael and Eve leave early. Shane and Claire are tempted to stay in, but decide to take advantage of his temporary safety and walk down to Common Grounds for Michael’s show. Claire is amazed at how crowded the place is when they get there. Michael is a huge hit. Later back at the house, Claire is getting ready for bed when she hears Eve scream. She rushes down the stairs after Shane to find Miranda bleeding in Michael’s arms. He passes her over to Eve and goes to get away from the blood. Claire goes to check on him and he admits he is hungry after the show. She sneaks down to the refrigerator to get him an emergency bottle. He is better after he drinks it. Claire joins Eve and Shane downstairs as they listen to Miranda, who is in a trance. She tells them it is spreading and they will all die. Michael eventually joins them and says she is talking about Bishop destroying Morganville. The next morning while Claire is getting ready to go to class, her mother calls. Mrs. Danvers admits she never would have sent her to Morganville if she had known the truth. She apologizes. Claire tells her she is staying in the Glass house with her friends. Mrs. Danvers says she is proud of Claire before she hangs up.
A few days pass with little excitement. Claire tries to get Shane to talk about the ball he has to attend with Ysandre. He acknowledges that he hates the vampire, but still has to go. Claire is frustrated and ends up storming off to her room to cry. He tells her he is only going because Ysandre threatened to kill her if he refused. Claire goes to Myrnin’s lab and finds Oliver there going through his journals. He tries to explain they are united against Bishop, but Claire knows Amelie wouldn’t have let him in the lab without someone watching him. She gets Myrnin out of his cell and tries to get him to help her work, but only does the minimum by giving her a bit of blood. He calls the ball a welcome feast for Bishop and gives her a book that describes Ysandre. She was a famous murderess working politics even before she was a vampire. He warns her to let Shane deal with her. A few days before the masked ball, Claire is sitting in the university coffee shop. When Eve takes her break and comes to sit with her for a bit, Monica comes over to show her the invitation to the ball she received from Michael. Claire calls Amelie to try to get some information on what is going on. Amelie agrees to meet her in the secret room of the Glass house. She tells Claire that what Myrnin told her is correct; she doesn’t intend to fight her father. However, she is unconcerned with the romantic dealings of Claire’s friends. When Claire asks for an invitation, Amelie makes it very clear that Myrnin and Claire are not to attend. She reminds Claire that while she is important, she is replaceable. Claire goes to leave the room and has to beg Amelie to let her out before she actually does. That night, Jason comes to the back door to talk to Claire. Shane answers and refuses to let him in. Jason pushes his way in and grabs Claire. He puts a gun to her head and says he has information from Oliver. He gets her into a car, but Michael comes and pulls him out from the roof. Claire tries to get Shane to keep Michael from committing murder. Michael stops when he sees Eve looking at him. Richard Morrell shows up with Detectives Hess and Lowe because of a call that Michael was killing his roommates. Richard chases after Jason and catches him easily. Claire assures Shane she is fine.
The four roommates spend the rest of the night watching a movie on the couch and all fall asleep there. Friday morning arrives and Claire goes to her classes. The professors all seem to be in an especially bad mood. Claire goes to the bathroom before her history test that has a test that day. Monica comes in with Gina and Jennifer. When Claire goes out of the stall to wash her hands, Monica pulls out a set of handcuffs and uses them to trap Claire in the bathroom. Luckily, they allow her to keep her book bag, but they flush the key down the toilet. Claire gets her cell phone out and calls the police department. They put her through to Richard Morrell, but he is on his way to a domestic disturbance call. When Claire is finally free, she goes directly to her teacher to explain what happened. However, one of Monica’s friends is there and tells the teacher she fell asleep in a common room before the test. The professor sends her away telling her to drop the class or attempt to pass with a low grade by taking the second and final test. Claire skips the rest of her classes and goes home. Ysandre and Francois come to visit even though it is the middle of the day. Claire refuses to let them in and calls for Michael. They pull Miranda out from hiding and threaten to suck her blood if they don’t let them in. Michael invites them in and Ysandre goes immediately for Shane. Claire is furious and uses the power of the house to expel them. She decides she needs to talk to Oliver and goes to Common Grounds. She finds Eve sitting with Oliver, but her roommate doesn’t notice her when she leaves. Oliver sits with Claire and says Bishop came to him with an offer to team up, but the knowledge is useless now because things are moving too fast. She asks what Eve was talking to him about and he says he is taking her to the masked ball. He tells Claire to keep herself locked inside that night. When Claire gets back home, Shane is waiting for her. He tells her he wants to do something with her. They end up going to a restaurant, playing a ton of music on the jukebox, and swaying in each other’s arms.
Shane and Claire don’t get home until nearly dawn. When she wakes up, Claire finds she is the only one in the house. Richard Morrell stops by figuring Claire would be Amelie’s guest. When he goes to leave, he makes sure she locks the door behind him. Claire decides she still has plenty of time before the sun goes down and goes to work with Myrnin. When she gets into Myrnin’s lab, she feels like someone is watching her, but can’t see anyone. She continues through the portal to the prison. She hands out blood and finds her boss in the last cell. He seems more sane than usual and insists he is fine. He gives her a sample of his own brain tissue for study. He then breaks the lock on his cell joins her on the other side. He tells her the vampires are each bringing a human to the feast for Bishop to choose which ever offering pleases him. Amelie and Oliver combined don’t have the power to challenge Bishop, so they are playing the long game at the expense of the humans. Myrnin says he is going to the feast and invites Claire along. she agrees to go with him. In a secret attic in the Glass house, they find costumes. Claire is dressed as Harlequin and Myrnin as Pierrot. The pulls out a large case filled with weapons and gives Claire holy water and a cross. He reminds her that if she were to kill a vampire, the judging on her would still be harsh even if coming from Amelie. He grabs a knife for himself.
Using the portals again, Claire and Myrnin arrive at the Council building. They find themselves in a janitor’s closet and make their way to the party. Claire thinks they are just going to blend in, but Sam notices them. He and Myrnin get a little heated about their presence. Claire calms them both down. Myrnin has them introduced and Claire can feel everyone staring at them as they enter. She sees Michael dressed as a priest and Eve as Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas. It takes her a moment to realize Shane is in a dog mask and literally on Ysandre’s leash. Dinner is served and Claire notices how hungry Myrnin seems. Afterwards, the tribute starts. When it is Sam’s turn, he refuses to swear fealty. Bishop asks him to leave his human behind. Sam refuses and Amelie backs him up. He doesn’t ask again until Oliver presents Eve. Oliver leaves Eve behind and Shane decides to ditch his date and escort Eve out of there. Amelie says they belong to her and Bishop lets them go. More and more vampires refuse to swear fealty. Just when Bishop is about at his tipping point, Myrnin’s name is called. He takes Claire’s hand and they make their way to him.
When they reach Bishop, Myrnin is disrespectful, but Bishop thinks he is just being his usual foolish self. When he starts to really insult him, Bishop goes after him and Ysandre grabs Claire. Myrnin slashes at Bishop with his knife and Claire uses the Holy water on Ysandre. Myrnin takes off running leaving Claire behind. Bishop tells Ysandre to leave Claire alone. He asks Amelie to swear fealty to him, but she refuses. He tells her he will leave her town if she gives him the book she took from him when she thought she killed him. People and vampires start standing in a group to back up Amelie, but many vampires have already sided with Bishop. Jason Rosser stabs her in the chest with a stake. Sam and Oliver rush to Amelie. Claire tells her parents to get out and watches them leave. Sam picks up Amelie while Claire goes to follow Michael, Shane, and Eve out. Ysandre grabs Claire and starts to strangle her. Oliver saves her and carries her out while she looses consciousness. Claire wakes up at the Glass house. Bishop has his vampires out burning houses. Shane tells her there are about 30 people and vampires in their house. She goes to check on Amelie and takes Miranda to her bed on the way. The guards let Claire up into the secret room where Sam and Oliver are helping Amelie. Same pulls the stake out of her chest while Oliver gives her blood from his arm. Amelie says Claire has to leave because she is too hungry. Claire goes to get blood out of the refrigerator, but remembers their isn’t any left. Shane calls Richard Morrell for a delivery, but the donation center is burning. The blood mobile is brought to the house and the humans start donating. Claire uses the portal to get to the jail. When she sees Myrnin isn’t there, she goes to his lab instead. She finds him there studying slides in a frenzy. He shows her that not only is Bishop’s blood not infected, but it is the cure. He explains getting the sample of blood was his and Amelie’s plan all along. She fills him in on what happened after he left. Myrnin apologizes for leaving her in danger. He tells her to let Bishop think he is winning to bide time. He also needs to talk to Dr. Mills. Claire leaves saying she will get him there somehow.
Claire has some trouble figure out the portals with the power out because she can’t see where she is going to end up. She hears the people inside the Glass house, but suddenly, Bishop is behind her. He pushes her through and then goes after Myrnin. Claire finds herself in her parent’s house and calls Richard for a ride back home. When she gets there, she tells Amelie what is going on. Amelie says they cannot loose the founder houses, Common Grounds, or the University. She starts splitting everyone up to cover certain areas. The humans will be taught how to stake vampires. Oliver objects at first, but agrees with Amelie’s statement for equality. She tells Claire that she will go back to Myrnin’s lab with her. Shane demands to stay with Claire, but Amelie tells him she needs him in the blood mobile and gives him the book Bishop is after.