Iris nodded.“You, me, and someone else.”
The way she said that caught Cyril’s attention.“Who’s that someone else?”
Iris moved her fingers on the cover again.“This person is the one who came the closest to the Threshold.They actually crossed over it.”
Cyril had no idea what Iris was talking about.She couldn’t be saying what he thought she was saying.“You mean they died?”But that couldn’t be the same because the other fourteen people were dead.Iris had said that this person wasn’t.
“I suppose that in a way, you can say that they did.They crossed over the Threshold with death, but they came back.They came back because they were so powerful that they were able to.”
Cyril shivered.That sounded like a good thing, but he wasn’t sure it was.“What happened when they did?”
“Nothing good.”
Chapter Six
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VALE DIDN’T LIKE WHAThe was hearing.There were many things he could protect Cyril against, but death wasn’t one of them.It didn’t matter how hard he would try.The Threshold was the one place where Vale couldn’t follow Cyril.
He had to resist the urge to grab Cyril and run out of the cottage.He knew that avoiding the conversation wouldn’t help.The danger would still be there, hovering at the edge of their vision until something changed.
And something would change.Vale had no doubt that the killer, whoever he was, would eventually set his sights on Cyril.
That was something Vale could protect Cyril against.The danger in this mess was twofold.It came from death itself, but also from a real human being who was killing people.
Vale was intimately acquainted with death, although not in the same way as Cyril.He’d seen death more times than he could count.He’d given death, too.He respected it, but he also knew how to fight it.There might be nothing he could do to help Cyril with the Threshold, but Cyril was strong.Vale was sure he would figure out what to do, and in the meantime, Vale would make sure that Cyril wouldn’t have to worry about someone stabbing him here in their world.
“I know this person as Meridian,” Iris explained.“I’ve talked to them a few times over the years, but they avoid having too much contact with me or anyone else.They believe they’re dangerous.”
“Because they crossed the Threshold and came back?”Cyril asked.
“Because they came back different.They survived, but they’re not fully human anymore, not the way you and I are.”Iris snorted softly.“Sometimes, I wonder if we actuallyarefully human.We have abilities no one should have.”
She sounded like she wished she wasn’t a necromancer, but Vale knew how Cyril felt about his ability.Many people would be horrified by it and would refuse to use it, but not Cyril.That was why Vale wasn’t surprised to see his boyfriend square his shoulders and sit up straighter.“I like being a necromancer,” he told Iris.“I like helping people when they need it the most.You might believe that no one should have this ability, but we do have it, and we’re the ones who decide how to use it.I don’t know anything about you and your life, but I never once regretted using my ability.”
Iris stared at Cyril for a moment, then, to Vale’s surprise, she smiled.“I like you.”
Cyril looked nonplussed.“Thank you?”
It sounded like a question, and it made Iris chuckle.“It’s a good thing.You have a good head on your shoulders, and you don’t abuse your ability.In fact, it sounds like you use it in the best of ways.”
“I try.I can’t say that I always have and that I always will, but I never want to hurt anyone.I’m in this to help people.”
“Then maybe there’s hope for you.”
“What happened to Meridian?”
Iris’s smile disappeared.“I don’t know for sure.They never told me what happened when they crossed the Threshold.They also never told me how it changed them.I just know they’re living in isolation because they’re dangerous, and the same would happen to me and you if we went too close to the Threshold.You can’t cross over, Cyril.You would lose yourself.”
“We need to talk to Meridian,” Vale declared.
Iris looked at him, looking almost surprised.Maybe she’d forgotten that he was there.He hadn’t been talking, but he hadn’t needed to.
“Talking to Meridian won’t help you,” Iris said.“I don’t even know if they’ll talk to you.”
“We have to at least try,” Cyril said, leaning forward.“I promise we’re not going to hurt this person.We’re looking for answers, that’s it.”
“Sometimes, even answers are dangerous.I can tell I won’t be able to stop you, though.I don’t have Meridian’s address.I don’t know for sure how to find them or even talk to them.The few times we did talk, it was through emails, but while I’m willing to give you the email address, Meridian might not answer if you write.The only reason they talk to me is because they know who I am.I know some people who have tried and failed.”
