Chapter Four
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CYRIL WASN’T GOING to be able to go back to sleep. How could he when once again, he’d been too late? When there had been nothing he could have done to save Diana, when he’d seen her death from her own eyes?
He felt nauseous, and while he didn’t think he was going to throw up, he knew for sure that going back to bed wouldn’t help. It was three AM, but he knew that the only thing he’d see when he closed his eyes was Diana’s death, and he couldn’t deal with it.
He rubbed his forehead as he walked into the apartment. He was going to have to find a way to deal with this. He couldn’t lose sleep every time he had one of these nightmares. He hated what was happening to him, but he also needed to learn to live with it. He doubted it would stop anytime soon.
Unfortunately for him.
He flopped onto the couch. Vale didn’t say anything, but Cyril knew he wouldn’t be going back to bed, either.
When Vale disappeared into the kitchen, Cyril suspected it was to get some coffee ready, which was probably the worst thing they could drink at this time of night, but he didn’t care.
Since he wasn’t going to sleep, he might as well get some work done.
He’d seen Marcus and Diana die. He knew enough to be sure that their killer wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.
He didn’t think he was in danger yet, but he would be eventually.
He was a necromancer, just like Marcus and Diana, and he was involved because of the nightmares.
He wanted those to stop. He wanted the deaths to stop, and there was only one way to obtain that.
He had to find the killer.
He opened his email and scrolled back down to Diana’s. He reread it, hoping he’d missed something. The words hadn’t changed. There were some things he hadn’t paid much attention to earlier that he noticed now, though. In fact, there was a name that he hadn’t noticed before that gave him pause.
“Have you ever heard of Iris Bellamy?” he asked Vale when he walked back in, carrying two steaming mugs.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name, no. Should I know who that is?” Vale asked, setting the mugs down on the coffee table and sitting next to Cyril.
“She’s almost a legend amongst necromancers. She’s a necromancer herself, and she’s powerful.”
“As powerful as you?”
The question was innocent, but it made Cyril feel some kind of way to hear himself put on the same plane as Iris.
“I don’t know. I’ve always heard her mentioned as one of the strongest necromancers ever.
I don’t know anyone who’s ever met her, though.
I was never sure she was a real person. Everything I’ve heard about her sounds too outlandish, you know? ”
“A little bit like how some of the things said about you are?”
Cyril shrugged. “Maybe. Anyway, Diana mentioned Iris Bellamy in her email. She said that she went to talk to her.”
Vale took a sip of coffee. “So the woman exists.”
“She does.”
“And she’s involved, even if she has nothing to do with this mess. If she’s as powerful as you say, she might know what’s happening to you.”
“Maybe.” Cyril did want to know what was going on with him, but he wanted to find Marcus and Diana’s killer even more.
Unfortunately, he thought that the two were probably linked.
It couldn’t be a coincidence that the change in his ability had made him live through Marcus and Diana’s deaths the way he had.
“Which means we need to find her.”
Cyril wasn’t surprised that Vale had come to the same conclusion as he had.
“I think we do. I don’t know if she has any answers when it comes to my ability, but she met Diana.
She has to know something. Whatever it is, it wasn’t enough to save Diana, but I still have to try.
” He’d go alone if Vale didn’t support him, but he didn’t think he would have to.
Vale would do everything in his power to protect Cyril.
Cyril didn’t think that Vale cared much about Diana and Marcus, but he did care about him.
If there was even one possibility that Iris knew what was going on and could help him, Vale would want them to talk to her. They just needed to find her.
“Do you think that we can find her?” he asked.
Vale gave him a crooked smile. “Us, maybe not, but I think that there are very few people in the world that Rachel wouldn’t be able to find. If Iris Bellamy isn’t just a legend as you initially thought, Rachel will know.”
He was already taking his phone out of his pocket.
Cyril watched him, wondering what he would’ve done if all of this had happened and he hadn’t known Vale.
Hell, he wasn’t completely sure that his abilities would have started to change if he hadn’t met Vale.
If they had, though, he would’ve been completely alone dealing with it.
He didn’t know if he would have survived.
He was glad he would never have to find out.
* * * *
VALE PUT THE CALL ON speaker so that Cyril could hear the conversation.
This was about him, and he shouldn’t be left out, even though Vale wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in bubble wrap and hide him in their bedroom.
He felt like he’d spent most of their time together protecting Cyril from one thing or another, and while he didn’t mind being Cyril’s protector, he did wish that Cyril didn’t have to deal with that kind of mess regularly.
He deserved a peaceful life, but instead, he kept getting drawn into mysteries, including one about himself.
“This better be important,” Rachel grumbled as she answered. “Because I went back to bed an hour ago. I’d barely fallen asleep when this phone started ringing.”
Vale grimaced. “You know I wouldn’t be calling you at three in the morning if it wasn’t important.”
That got her attention. “Are you okay? Is Cyril?”
“We’re both fine,” Cyril told her, leaning toward the coffee table where Vale had placed his phone.
Rachel sucked in a breath. “Are you sure? How are you?”
“I’ve been better.” Cyril hesitated. “The dreams are changing, Rachel. I don’t think it’s normal, but right now, what it is or isn’t is the least of my problems. I’m seeing people die as it’s happening.”
There was a pause before Rachel answered. “You mean you’re not seeing the past?”
“Not anymore. The first time it happened, it was a past death, but not these times. When the dreams start, I know these people are still alive. There’s nothing I can do to help them.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Me, too.”
“What can I do for you, then? How can I help?”
Vale cleared his throat. “We were reading through the email one of the victims sent Cyril. She mentions a woman, Iris Bellamy. From what Cyril told me, that woman is an extremely well-known necromancer, so much so that he thought she might be a legend rather than a real person. Diana, the last victim, met her, though. We need to know where.”
“Everything I’ve heard about Iris was so fantastical,” Cyril explained.
“It sounded like too much for one person, you know? I kinda thought that it was the experiences of several people put together, or maybe that people changed things every time they told the story. If Diana met her, though, it means she’s real. ”
“If she is, I’ll find her,” Rachel promised. “Can you forward me the email Diana sent you?”
“I’ll email you everything we have on her and Marcus,” Vale promised.
“I’ll get on it right away.”
“You should go to bed first,” Cyril said. “In fact, we shouldn’t have called you this late. It could have waited.”
“I’ll go back to bed only if you do,” Rachel said.
Vale could’ve kissed her. He could tell that Cyril didn’t want to go to bed, probably thinking he wouldn’t fall back asleep, but he was exhausted.
Vale was sure he would fall asleep eventually.
He understood why Cyril was wary, though.
It seemed like every time he closed his eyes lately, he dreamed of someone dying.
Cyril grimaced, but he nodded, even though Rachel couldn’t see him. “Fine. I’ll go to bed.”
“Good. We’ll both get some sleep, and I’ll call you tomorrow morning. I know you want to help, but you won’t be able to do anything if you’re exhausted.”
“Good night, Rachel,” Vale said as he reached over to hang up.
For a moment, he and Cyril stayed silent.
It was a bit heavy, so Vale was happy for the distraction when he heard the clickety sound of Oscar coming toward them.
He wasn’t surprised to see him climb into Cyril’s lap, or to see Cyril relax.
As weird as the pet was, Vale was grateful for him.
Oscar helped Cyril in a way that even Vale couldn’t, and he’d sacrificed his own life for Cyril.
Vale would always be grateful for that, which was why he didn’t argue when Cyril got to his feet and took Oscar to bed.
The thing would probably sleep between them, wrapped in Cyril’s arms, and Vale would have to accept it.
He would, and he’d do so with a smile on his face because Oscar made Cyril feel safe. He helped him relax. He helped Vale keep an eye on Cyril and make sure he was okay. Just for that, Vale was willing to share his bed with him.
Whatever was going on with Oscar, Vale suspected it had something to do with the way Cyril’s abilities were changing. Oscar had been impacted, but that hadn’t changed his loyalty and his love for Cyril. That was all Vale cared about.
If Cyril was happy cuddling a bunch of bones while he slept, Vale wasn’t going to stop him.