Chapter Nine #2
There had been a man standing at Morgan’s door, but that didn’t last long.
Russell swung it open, reaching for the guy, but unfortunately, the killer seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to that kind of thing.
He jumped out of the way, turned, and ran down the hallway before Russell could grab him.
He didn’t go for the elevator, which was smart.
He went straight for the stairwell Vale and Cyril had taken when they’d been to Morgan’s apartment the night Cyril had dreamed of Morgan dying.
The killer was fast, but so was Russell, and they had a secret weapon.
Cyril wasn’t sure how Rachel had gotten access to this many cameras or if she’d placed some herself, but he was glad for it because it meant he was able to see Vale run into the building.
He didn’t hesitate, either. He went to the stairs, which meant that when the killer finally reached the ground floor, he ran straight into Vale’s arms.
Cyril squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn’t really afraid that Vale would get hurt, but it was a possibility, and he didn’t want to see that. He didn’t want to see whatever the killer was going to try to do. The man had killed several people. He had a knife.
Cyril wasn’t sure how long it took, but someone eventually patted his thigh, causing him to open his eyes. He peeked at the screen, but there was no one there anymore, which confused him. He turned to Rachel, who’d been doing the patting, and she smiled. “It’s over. They’re taking him to the van.”
Cyril blinked. “The van?”
“What do you think we’re going to do with him? We can’t interrogate him in that stairwell.”
Cyril hadn’t actually thought about what they’d do with the killer. Considering Russell and Vale’s jobs, he’d expected them to kill the guy. They wouldn’t do so without getting answers first, though.
Part of Cyril wondered if he should be horrified by how easily he was accepting that the guy would die.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d seen the man do.
He’d killed Marcus and Diana. They hadn’t done anything to him.
They hadn’t been dangerous, no matter what this man seemed to have thought.
They’d just been living their lives, and now, they wouldn’t be able to continue doing so.
Not only that, but Cyril had been forced to see it as they died.
For the first time ever, he kind of wished he could be the one to kill this guy.
He shook his head slightly as he got to his feet. As angry as he was, he knew he could never do something like that. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t let Vale and Russell take care of it, though. The world would be a safer place for all necromancers if this killer wasn’t in it.
“I don’t know if I want to see this next part,” Robbie grumbled. “But I also don’t want to be left out.”
“You can stay in the van when we get there if you want,” Rachel said as she packed up her stuff. There was a bounce in the way she moved, as if she was excited for what was coming next. Maybe she was.
“There’s no way I’m staying in the murder van,” Robbie snarked. He was moving, too, which meant he was coming with them. Cyril wasn’t surprised. As little as he liked all of this, he would be present, just like Robbie. He was curious and needed answers.
He was happy to let Rachel take the lead.
They climbed into her car, and since she knew where they were going, she took the wheel.
Cyril wasn’t surprised to see her drive past Morgan’s apartment building.
He made a mental note to reach out to Morgan to make sure that he was okay, but knew that with no one coming after him, he definitely would be.
Still, even though Morgan wasn’t a strong necromancer and wasn’t planning on using his ability, maybe he wouldn’t mind having someone to talk to when he needed it. Cyril would be happy to be that person.
“So what’s next?” Robbie asked.
“We’ll get answers out of him. It’s what we want, right, Cyril?” Rachel answered, looking in the rearview mirror at Cyril, who’d been happy to take the backseat.
“I want to know what he knows about the Threshold,” Cyril told her.
“And I’m curious to find out if he knows about Meridian.
” Because, from the way this guy spoke, it was clear he knew something they didn’t.
He’d mentioned saving the families of these necromancers he was killing, and that they were getting closer to the Threshold.
Did the killer know what happened when necromancers crossed it?
How? And why did he feel the need to protect the necromancers’ families?
It felt like he knew nothing good would come out of this, which led Cyril to believe that the killer had personal experience with the Threshold or, at the very least, with a necromancer who’d crossed it.
Maybe the killer had lost someone. That didn’t excuse him from killing anyone, though.
It certainly didn’t excuse him from killing anyone who hadn’t yet reached the Threshold.
Marcus and Diana hadn’t been dangerous. They could’ve become dangerous, but they hadn’t deserved to die the way they had.
They didn’t drive as long as he expected before Rachel turned into a parking lot. Cyril frowned when he saw a white van parked at the back of it. They weren’t going to do this in a parking lot, were they?
Rachel must have seen his confusion because she grinned at him. “There’s no way Vale would have driven all the way without knowing that you were okay. Besides, we all thought that you’d want to see the killer.”
Cyril grimaced. “Not really, but unfortunately, I have to.”
“Just remember that you’ll be safe. Vale is in the back of the van with the guy, while Russell is driving. If you want, Robbie and I can come along, or we can follow in the car.”
From Robbie’s expression, it was clear he wanted nothing to do with the van, and Cyril wasn’t going to force him to get involved more than he already was.
The only reason Robbie was here was that he cared about Cyril and wanted him to be safe.
His heart was soft, though. He didn’t have Cyril’s experience with death.
“You can follow in the car,” he said, already reaching for the door. “But I want to see Vale.”
“That’s what I thought. We’ll see you soon.”
Cyril quickly left the car. Rachel had said Vale was in the back with the killer, and while Cyril wanted nothing to do with that guy, there was no way out of it.
He moved toward the back of the van, relieved when it opened before he reached it.
Vale stepped out, and while he didn’t close the door, he stepped away as well, toward Cyril.
Cyril hugged his boyfriend, closing his eyes as he reminded himself that Vale was okay. Once again, he’d come out of one of their messes in one piece.
“I’m okay,” he reassured Cyril.
“I didn’t watch you fight the killer. I couldn’t,” Cyril informed him.
“I promise that everything went well. The guy didn’t expect me to pop up in front of him when Russell was running after him. I took him down with one punch.”
Cyril heard Russell snort from inside the van. “You make it sound like I didn’t do anything,” Russell complained.
“You helped me drag the guy to the van,” Vale offered.
“Don’t worry, Cyril,” Russell reassured. “I’ll show you what I can do.”
Cyril wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He let Vale guide him toward the back of the van, but they paused before stepping in. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Vale asked.
“Not really, but I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“You always have a choice. If you don’t want to talk to this guy, I can do it. I might not know exactly what questions to ask, but you can write them down, or maybe tell them to me in my earbud. You don’t actually have to talk to this guy.”
“Marcus and Diana deserve for me to do this. They didn’t have anyone to help them when they died. This is the least I can do, and before you say it’s not my responsibility, whose is it, then? Who’s going to do this for them if not me?”
Vale sighed. “One of the reasons I love you so much is your heart, but sometimes, I wish it was a little harder. You’re hurting yourself for people who are already gone.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“You’re not wrong.” Vale gently pushed Cyril toward the van. Cyril squared his shoulders and told himself not to hesitate. He didn’t want to do this, but he had to.