Chapter 29 #2
Johnny’s theatrical smile falls as he stares at Yorick, then shrugs. “Let’s just go with Johnny.”
I try to remember what his original name was, but… did Morpheus name him? He might have. There’s a possibility he doesn’t remember his name from before Morpheus had him. But I’m surprised he prefers something I gave him over anything else.
“Are you sure?” Yorick presses. “Is Atticus threatening you?”
“You think I care about his threats?” Johnny asks. “I can hear the others gathering in the hallway. We should go.”
Johnny slips out, and Yorick looks over at me. “Suspicious.”
“I think Morpheus might have given him his previous name.”
“Ah. No wonder he prefers the one you gave him. He really likes you.”
I scoff. “You think his reaction to me is a ‘like’? I think you’re horribly confused.”
“Am I?” he asks with a grin. “I think you two are just too stubborn to admit that you’re best friends.”
That makes me grimace. “I have no friends.”
“But you have a boyfriend,” Yorick says. “I need to tell the others.”
“You don’t need to tell anyone,” I growl, but he’s already out the door. I contemplate staying right here and ignoring all of that, but who knows what he’ll say to the others, so I follow him as he meets them out in the hallway.
“I have done it,” Yorick proclaims.
“What? Got a job to make your own money?” Casimir asks.
Yorick shifts his body in a way that cuts Casimir completely off from this conversation. “Everyone but Casimir, I’ve done it.”
“Do you think what he’s done will be on your bingo card?” Ezio asks Cyrus.
“I don’t know. It could be like ‘I did a hair flip’ or ‘I stole an entire house,’” Cyrus replies.
“Puppers, why is everyone mean to me? Let me hold you like you did earlier,” Yorick says as he holds his arms out.
Julian must feel bad for him or something because he gives Yorick a hug that seems to fill what’s left of his delight meter.
“Alright, I feel fulfilled, we can go,” Yorick decides.
“We’re still waiting to hear what you did,” Ezio says.
“You can’t just announce that and wander off,” Cyrus agrees.
Yorick looks almost embarrassed that they’re asking. “You… guys want to know?”
“Of course we do,” Julian says.
I would love to stop all of this so I don’t have to be involved, but Yorick is far too pleased as he announces, “I wooed myself a man.”
“How much did he cost at the end of the night?” Casimir asks.
“It’s the other way around, and he’s cost a lot,” I grumble. “Let’s go.”
Yorick is all smiles while he hurries after me.
“Do you think he’ll cost less now that you’re together?” Julian asks me.
“You cost a lot more now that we’re together,” Casimir tells him. “I have to buy so many canvases and all of that paint.”
“Yes, to paint your dog. Do you know how many of my art supplies have gone toward your dog?” Julian asks. “I wore out my favorite brush painting that dog’s face so often. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, all I can see is his face.”
Casimir ignores that comment and catches up with me. We don’t get very far before I sense a vampire. I recognize her as someone who was at Wick’s party, but we never exchanged words and I don’t plan to start doing so now.
“A moment?” she asks.
“We’re done here and going home,” I state.
“That’s fine, he just wanted to say a couple of things to you before you left. Won’t take five minutes,” she says.
“Famous last words,” Casimir grumbles.
I look at the others but decide that maybe it’s best to keep tabs on Wick since Morpheus will eventually find out I was lying. That way I’ll know where Wick is when I choose to kill him. Or maybe I’ll just kill him now.
Far too many decisions when I just want to go home and fuck Yorick in my bed… and every other semi-flat surface in my house.
“If you guys want to head home, I’ll handle this myself,” I say.
“Why exactly would we split up?” Julian asks. “That’s what foolish people in horror movies do.”
“Are we in a horror movie? I think we’re in a romance,” Yorick says, still over there on cloud nine.
“If we were in a movie, all I know is that the screenwriter is evil,” Cyrus mutters, likely remembering all the shit he’s gone through.
“The best romance ever,” Yorick says, obviously forgetting all about his trauma as well.
“Weren’t you just like… tortured not that long ago?” Julian asks. “I don’t know too many romance movies with a dash of torture.”
Yorick smiles. “All for character growth.”
“He’s far too happy. It sickens me,” Casimir grumbles.
We follow the woman to a door where she taps a key card and holds the door open for us. Wick is seated in a chair next to the bed where his wife lies. The curtains are drawn shut, making the room appear dark and cramped.
“Thank you for coming,” he says.
“You’re not keeping a low profile by being here,” I state.
“I understand that, but my wife needed help. Where exactly could I have driven with her in that state? I was afraid even the slight sunrays that come through the specially tinted windows of the car could kill her. We’re being quiet, and I’ve made sure only those I explicitly trust know I’m alive and here.
Are you guys leaving?” he asks, noticing our bags.
“This is not our problem,” I say.
“Is it not? If this poison gets out, it could kill everyone. Niles must have poisoned the blood before the attack. The number of people who died is significant. Many of them were ancient vampires. But the sun was brutal, and combined with their inability to heal, they were unable to recover. He has made a mockery of me. He’s killed so many good people. ”
“I’m not yet convinced of who poisoned the blood. I never saw Niles go near it. Did you know about the poison before this?”
Wick shakes his head. “I did not. Did you?”
I think about my answer, not wanting him to imply that we did nothing to warn them in advance. “No, it’s our first time coming across it as well.”
“Yet you avoided drinking the blood,” Wick says.
I raise an eyebrow. “Live with a monster for as many years as I have, and you’d avoid everything anyone else offers you as well.”
Wick watches me closely, but it’s not like he can pin any of this on me. There’s no reason I’d have brought all of these people with me if I’d known this was how it was going to end.
“Any word on Niles?”
“No. No one saw him after the explosion, but we don’t believe we’ve recovered his body. It’s hard to tell with the condition the bodies are in, but I have to assume he was standing in a place he believed himself safe. Please, we can’t deal with Niles alone, especially not in this state.”
I’m not quite sure what to say in response.
I want to tell him that it’s not our problem, but I do suppose we had a role to play in it.
I glance over at Yorick, who I know feels guilty about the whole thing.
Why? I’m not sure. He’s not the one who set this whole thing up.
He’s not the one who caused Lou to attack him.
Even thinking of blaming him would be like blaming a victim for fighting back, just because they won.
But he has a kind heart and still has enough good in him to feel guilty.
I’m not sure I do.
His eyes are tracking mine while I contemplate the best way to answer Wick because dealing with Niles is, in a way, dealing with Morpheus.
And that’s the very last person I want to deal with unless it means killing him for good.
If we had to take Morpheus down, would Wick have enough manpower behind him to help us accomplish that? There is not one single person who I’ve ever met who is as strong as Morpheus, but if there were a whole group of us…
“This is not our problem. Why should we make it our problem?” I finally ask. “I was kind enough to tell you that Morpheus was after your head.”
“I don’t know why he is,” Wick says.
I can see Yorick fidgeting, and I give him a pointed look. He really needs to keep from giving anything away if we’re going to use Wick.
“You know I can’t protect myself from him, and if he finds out I’m alive, he’s going to come after you too for lying to him,” Wick continues. He’s acting desperate, and desperate men are easier to manipulate.
“You have people here who can fight for you, don’t you?”
“Yes, but many aren’t old enough. None are like you.”
That’s what I’m afraid of. Would they just get in my way during a fight with Morpheus? Would they just die? I could use their deaths as a distraction, but Yorick would cry about that if I suggested it.
“I’ll think about it. Come,” I tell my group, and they follow me out of the room. We have to get far enough away that we can discuss things without Wick overhearing, so I head outside, hoping to find a quiet area where I’ll be able to monitor if anyone is nearby.
“Thoughts?” I ask as I look up at the night sky. I feel like Morpheus is out there somewhere watching me. Does he already know that I opened myself up to Yorick earlier? Is that the very thing he’s been waiting for to cause me more pain?
“I just don’t understand the reasoning of it all.
Morpheus said that he directed Niles here to get rid of the ones involved in distributing poison…
but… he still encouraged Niles to kill everyone for a chance at taking them out?
” Julian asks. “He wouldn’t even know whether he killed the right people or not. ”
“One thing I know about Morpheus is that he cares very little for the lives of others, especially if they don’t benefit him in any way,” I say. “The only reason I’d even consider helping Wick is his potential to help dispose of Morpheus. But I don’t think his group is strong enough.”
“They’d just distract him with their dead bodies,” Johnny agrees.
“I don’t want more people to die,” Yorick says, which I knew would be his response to this. He’s not cut out for the ruthlessness that’s required to put an end to Morpheus. He’s not…
My thoughts come to an abrupt halt when I sense a strong presence heading toward the hotel.
“What is it?” Yorick asks before cocking his head. “I see Niles found this place. Oh joy.”
“Do you think he knows Wick is in there?” Julian asks.