Chapter 29 #4
Yorick rushes forward, which isn’t good.
He’s putting himself in danger, but I don’t want to draw attention to him by calling out to him.
That doesn’t matter much since Niles’s eyes are on Yorick once he begins shouting, “Stop! Leave them alone! Just take me. I did it! I killed her! So please just take me—”
“NO!” I yell as I grab hold of the sword. It cuts into my fingers while I try to push it out of me. Niles’s attention is on Yorick, but he’s keeping the sword pressed tight against me. I can just barely reach him, but when I do, he bats my hand away.
“Let him go,” Yorick says.
“I will after you’re dead—”
Niles is thrown back, and it happens so fast that I don’t even realize what’s going on until it’s happened. It just puts into perspective how easily I could have died all these years.
“I do not approve of this, Brother,” Morpheus growls as he cuts Niles off from Yorick and me. He pulls the sword out of my chest and drops it at my feet. “I did not give you permission to play with my things.”
“He killed my wife, and you’re going to protect him? You’re going to protect either of them?” Niles demands. “How long will you insist this game go on? Atticus killed your daughter. Just kill him and end this.”
“I would like him to suffer like Anna did. Death would be far too easy of an out. And Yorick is mine, you know that. You do not touch him.”
“Suffer? She died with one strike to the throat, so do the same to him! Now let me have Yorick. He murdered Lou! He and Atticus were in on it together. I know they were.”
“One strike, you say?” Morpheus asks, his voice icy. I know that tone means grave things, but maybe he’s never used it on Niles for him to realize that he’s fucked up. “How strange that I don’t recall telling you how exactly she died.”
“Of course you did.”
“No, I hadn’t seen you for years, and I didn’t see you for years after. How exactly did you know how she died, Brother?”
I can feel Morpheus’s rage as he starts toward Niles.
“Atticus, tell me what happened that night?”
Morpheus knows this story, but maybe neither of us know it as well as we thought we did.
“I had escaped and was trying to flee when I was stopped by some guards, one of which included Anna’s husband.
I fought them off but they nearly killed me.
You woke me up when you found me next to Anna’s body and claimed I killed her. ”
“Did you?”
“As I told you back then, I don’t know who I killed. I killed whoever was trying to stop me, but in their uniforms I couldn’t discern faces. I only cared about getting away from you.”
Morpheus is standing there between me and Niles, face unreadable. Is he implying that I didn’t kill Anna? That he has tortured me all these years and killed all of those innocent people because I was set up by Niles?
“Did you set me up?” I snarl at Niles.
There’s the slightest hesitation in his response. “I wasn’t even there!”
“You were supposed to be!” Morpheus yells, and Morpheus rarely yells. Even after all the shit he’s gone through, he’s usually cold and calculating but rarely loses his emotions enough to yell. “You were supposed to arrive that evening, yet you claimed you never did! How did Anna die?”
Niles barks out a laugh. “You’re going to believe him over your own brother?”
“I’m the one who stabbed Lou with the poison she was toting around. It is not my fault she died by it. If she hadn’t brought it into this world, she wouldn’t be dead right now, would she?” Morpheus growls.
Niles pauses, his expression hardening. “Did you think we were going to use the poison on you? Do you know where she first got it? From Anna, all those years ago. Lou and I killed your daughter to keep it secret. Anna had discovered that her entire family had been killed by vampires. She was going to eradicate them all. So we killed her to save your life.”
Morpheus laughs harshly. “She would never have killed me. You think I’ll believe the bullshit you spew out now that I know you’ve lied to me for a thousand years?
If you truly thought Anna was going to kill me, why didn’t you come to me first?
The lies just keep falling from your mouth.
If she wanted to kill all the vampires, I would have happily killed them all for her. ”
“Maybe it was you she wanted to kill. You played a hand in her family’s death, did you not?”
Morpheus gives him a cruel smile. “The only one who knew that was you. What tales did you whisper into her ear? Did you tell her why they had to die? I’m sure you just made me out to be a monster.”
“Just let me have Yorick and we will forget all of this ever happened,” Niles demands.
“Forget it? Just forget this? Who here can forget this?” Morpheus moves toward Niles, who draws back.
Niles doesn’t seem to think he’ll be able to beat him like this.
The closer Morpheus gets to him, the faster he retreats, and those protecting him rush forward but Morpheus tears them down with ease.
Niles doesn’t care who has to die or that so many are risking their lives for him. He only cares about getting away.