Chapter Eight
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CYRIL WAS PRETTY SURE that his apartment was about to explode. It wasn’t big enough to contain this many people. He didn’t even have enough chairs, which was why Rachel was sitting on the floor, her computer in her lap. Cyril had offered to let her sit in his spot, but she’d refused.
He looked around. He’d been surprised when Rachel had appeared at his front door, but maybe he shouldn’t have been.
She and Russell had always been there for Vale, and since Vale loved Cyril, they were here for him, too.
Cyril had become friends with them, and he knew they would work as hard as Vale to keep him safe.
That meant stopping the killer, which was why they were all gathered here today.
Russell and Robbie were there, too, sitting together on the couch.
Morgan and Alex had taken chairs from the tiny dining area so they could sit, while Cyril and Vale were squished on an armchair.
It was an extremely tight fit, which was probably why Rachel had refused it.
She seemed more comfortable on the floor.
“Let’s go over what we know again,” Rachel declared.
Cyril noticed Alex leaning closer to Morgan.
Oscar was in Morgan’s lap, looking blissful as Morgan petted him.
Cyril wasn’t offended that his pet was dedicating time to Morgan.
The poor man needed some comfort, and he’d been delighted and in awe when he’d met Oscar.
Alex was a little worried, which wasn’t a surprise since he wasn’t a necromancer.
He’d looked mildly panicked when Morgan had asked Cyril to teach him how to make himself a pet, so maybe Cyril would wait to do that.
They had other things to focus on first, anyway.
“Morgan, you were in your apartment,” Rachel said. “You don’t know how this guy came in.”
“I have no idea,” Morgan told her. “I came home from work, and everything seemed normal. Now, I’m starting to wonder if he was hiding in the closet or something.”
“Wouldn’t he have attacked right away if he had been?” Alex asked.
“Not from what we know from the other murders,” Rachel told him. “This isn’t his first rodeo. He was waiting for the right moment. It felt like he wanted Morgan to know why he was killing him. He definitely wanted Morgan’s attention.”
“And he got it,” Morgan grumbled. “The guy was creepy. What did he mean by saving my family?”
Cyril didn’t want to go into the details, but Morgan should know so that even if they found the killer and managed to stop him, Morgan could never get close to the Threshold.
Something told Cyril that he wouldn’t. From what Cyril understood, Morgan didn’t use his ability.
He had a normal job, and he wasn’t a very strong necromancer.
There was still a chance he might get closer to the Threshold, but it didn’t seem likely.
It made Cyril wonder why the killer had chosen Morgan.
Was he moving on to killing every necromancer he found?
Any of them might one day get closer to the Threshold, after all.
Or had Morgan been an opportunity the killer hadn’t been able to say no to?
Maybe Morgan had been the easiest target to get to tonight.
Except he hadn’t been because he was here and alive.
“It has to do with our ability,” Cyril said.
“Some of us are very strong necromancers. The stronger we get, the closer we get to something called the Threshold. It’s like the barrier between life and death.
I haven’t reached it, so I can’t tell you more about it, but I know it’s dangerous and not something we should cross. ”
“It’s good that I have no intention of crossing it,” Morgan said. “I don’t use my ability. It’s not very strong, and I have no interest in working as a necromancer.”
“Good. Then all you need to know is that this killer seems to think he would be helping your family by killing you before you reach that point. He’s already killed several times before.
” Cyril hoped it had only been Marcus and Diana, but what were the odds?
It was clear this guy knew what he was doing, so Cyril suspected he had more victims. They needed to stop him, and the sooner, the better.
“It’s impossible for me to find out anything about this guy,” Rachel said, sounding unhappy. “I checked all the cameras in the area, but it’s clear that this guy knows where they are. Even with your description and seeing him run, I can’t identify him or his car.”
“So how do we catch him?” Alex asked, leaning forward. “Because I don’t want anything to happen to Morgan. I don’t care what this guy thinks of necromancers. Morgan has never hurt anyone, and he never will.”
“We’re going to need to use Morgan as bait,” Vale declared.
Cyril groaned. He already knew how that would go down without being asked.
“You’re not going to hurt Morgan,” Alex snapped.
“We’re not talking about hurting him. In fact, we’re trying to save him,” Vale pointed out.
“But I suspect that the killer will want to finish what he started. That means we need to make a point to get Morgan back to the apartment on his own. It’s probably going to take a few days, but Russell and I will stake out the apartment while the two of you go back to your lives.
I don’t think it’ll take more than a few days, if even that.
This man seems to actually believe that he’s doing people a favor by killing necromancers. He’s not going to want to wait.”
Alex looked like he wanted to continue arguing, but Morgan put an end to that. “I’ll do it,” he declared.
Alex made a strangled sound, clearly not okay with it.
Morgan squeezed his arm that he was still holding.
“I get it. I’m scared, too, but what’s the alternative?
We can’t stay here forever, and I don’t want to move or go into hiding or something.
This guy managed to get into the apartment without anyone noticing.
He’s going to do it again, and maybe next time, I won’t be as lucky as I was this time.
I don’t want to risk that. Vale and Cyril are offering to help me not have to fear for my life, and I want that. ”
For a moment, Alex looked like he was going to continue arguing. Cyril was surprised when, instead, his shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “Fine. But only because I want this to be over. I want you to be safe.”
“It’s what we all want,” Cyril said gently. “And as soon as we stop the killer, the two of you can go back to your normal lives. I know it’s going to be hard to forget that all of this happened, but you can put it behind you.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, okay. So, how is this going to work?”
“Well, Cyril is going to stay with Rachel,” Vale declared.
Cyril groaned. He wasn’t surprised that his boyfriend wanted him to know what he was supposed to do while this was going on or that his place would be with Rachel, safe and away from the killer, but did Vale really have to do it in front of everyone?
Morgan snickered. “Hey, you have a bodyguard, too. He sounds as protective as Alex.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
* * * *
VALE HAD WANTED CYRIL to know exactly what he would be doing while they were staking out the apartment. He could tell that Cyril was annoyed, but now that that was out of the way, Vale could focus on planning everything else.
He wouldn’t have to focus on protecting Cyril.
He would know that Cyril was safe with Rachel, who was more than capable of defending herself and him.
She might be a computer genius and his handler, but that wasn’t what she’d always been.
Vale could trust her with his life, and he would definitely trust her with Cyril’s.
Not having to worry about keeping an eye on Cyril meant that Vale could focus on catching the killer before the asshole decided to set his sights on his boyfriend.
Vale had no doubt that it would happen eventually.
Cyril was too powerful for the killer to ignore.
Vale wasn’t sure if the man had found out about Cyril yet, but he would.
Vale didn’t want things to get that far.
“How do we do this, then?” Alex asked.
He sounded like he was willing to fight the killer himself, but that would only end in trouble.
Vale needed him to know that and to stay out of the way.
“You’re both going to go back home and get back to your normal schedule,” he explained.
“That means that you need to stay out of the apartment as much as possible,” he told Alex.
“And yes, I know it’s counterintuitive. You want to protect Morgan, and you know the killer is going to come after him again.
You don’t need to worry about protecting him, though. That’s what Russell and I will do.”
Alex didn’t look like he trusted them, which wasn’t a surprise or offensive. Vale wouldn’t trust himself, either, in this situation. Alex didn’t know them. He didn’t know what they were willing to do to help or that they had the capacity to do it.
“These two are trained to handle this kind of situation,” Cyril said.
“I know you’re both worried, but they saved my life several times.
They’ll take care of Morgan and ensure that nothing happens to him, and hopefully, they’ll manage to stop the killer.
We don’t want anyone else to get hurt by this man. ”
“I’m fine with all of it,” Morgan said. “I want this to be over, so the sooner we do it, the better.”
He and Alex had stayed at the apartment for only one night, and while Vale would be okay with having them around a little bit longer, he agreed.
He needed to keep Cyril safe, and the only way to do that was to make sure that the killer couldn’t get to him.
That meant catching the asshole, and Vale was ready to do just that.
“I’ll be staying in the apartment,” Russell declared. “That means you’re going to have me as a roommate for a few days at least. I promise I don’t snore.”
“I’ll find a spot close by,” Vale continued, not wanting Russell to derail the meeting. “Both of us will be ready to intervene as soon as something happens.”
“What if the killer is watching the building?” Cyril asked, sounding worried. “He might see Russell go in.”
“Trust me, he won’t,” Russell said with a wink. “I know what I’m doing when it comes to sneaking into places.”
“I just don’t want anyone to be hurt.”
“The only person who will be is this killer,” Vale promised.
That was one promise he was eager to keep.
This man hadn’t hurt Cyril physically yet, but he’d forced him to watch two—almost three—people die.
It had done damage, and Vale wanted to spill a little blood for that.
He wouldn’t kill the killer until they had answers to their questions, but he could hurt him a little.
“I’ll stay with Cyril,” Rachel said. “I’ll keep everything under control from here.
I have the cameras and everything else. Now that we know who we’re looking for, it’s going to be easier to identify him in the feeds.
I’ll let you know right away if something’s going on, and I’ll contact Vale and Russell. ”
“And you’ll keep Cyril safe,” Vale added.
Rachel rolled her eyes. “And I’ll keep Cyril safe. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Vale doubted there was ever going to be a day when he stopped worrying about Cyril being safe, but having to deal with a killer who was targeting necromancers wasn’t making things easier for him.