“How are you feeling?”he asked as he sat down at the tiny table.There were only two chairs, but it was all they needed.
Cyril sighed.“I’ve been better,” he said, picking up his fork.
He didn’t start eating, though.He used his fork to poke at his breakfast, but none of it went into his mouth.Vale let him be, at least for now.Cyril was an adult and he wasn’t going to force him to eat if he didn’t feel like it.That didn’t mean he wasn’t worried.
“You want to talk about it?”he asked.
“Not really, but maybe I should.I just hate this.”
“I know.”Vale was surprised that someone who dealt with death as much as Cyril did was still as affected by things like these visions.Of course, it wasn’t just a dream.Vale had never experienced someone’s death from inside their mind, as if he was them.There was also the fact that Cyril’s ability was changing, and he had no idea what was happening or why.They had a lot of questions but very few answers, which was one of the reasons Vale was worried.
“I wish I knew why I saw this man’s death,” Cyril said.“Is there something I need to investigate?”
“You don’t need to investigate anything.You’re not an investigator, private or otherwise.You’re a necromancer.”
“There has to be a reason I saw his death.”
“I don’t know.Was there a reason you saw Melissa’s?”
“She was linked to you.I don’t think I would’ve seen her death if she hadn’t been.”
Did that mean that this man was linked to Vale, too?“Who was the guy?”
Cyril shrugged and finally picked up a piece of potato with his fork.“I don’t know.I didn’t see his face.The room he was in was dark, although there was a light on the desk where he was working.”Cyril hesitated.“I’m pretty sure he was a necromancer.”
Vale frowned.“Maybe that’s why you experienced his death.”
“That’s possible, but Melissa wasn’t a necromancer.I don’t think the only reason I experienced his death was what he was.”
“Maybe there’s no reason.Maybe it’s random?”
“It feels like too big a coincidence to be.”
Vale agreed, but he wasn’t sure how they were supposed to find out what it meant.He wasn’t sure theycouldfind out, even if they tried.He didn’t have any experience when it came to necromancers, and Cyril didn’t know what was going on.They really needed to find someone who knew more about Cyril’s ability than they did, but did that someone exist?Vale had asked Rachel to look into it as a personal favor, but she hadn’t gotten back to him yet.Hopefully, she’d find someone they could talk to, and they’d discover a reason behind Cyril’s nightmares and everything else.
Vale eyed Oscar, who was sitting by the window, sunning himself.He hadn’t been behaving any more strangely than he usually was these days, but there was no denying that he was bigger.Cyril had no idea how it had happened.Vale certainly didn’t know.
Cyril dropped his fork.It hit his plate, startling Vale out of his thoughts.He was about to ask his boyfriend what was going on when he realized that Cyril was staring at the TV.
Vale looked at the screen.The news was still on, but he didn’t know what they were talking about.The reporter was standing in front of a building, though, and there was a photo of a man next to her.The man looked to be in his late thirties, maybe slightly older.His hair was starting to gray, and there was silver in his mustache.He had kind brown eyes, and he was holding a cat.Vale wasn’t sure why his attention went to the cat, but he knew that the animal wasn’t the reason Cyril was staring at the TV screen as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What’s going on?”he asked.
“When did this man die?”Cyril asked.
Vale frowned and reached for the remote control.They hadn’t been watching, so the volume was low, but he quickly turned it up.
“Last night, apparently.”It wasn’t a surprise that the man was dead since he was on the news.Vale kind of felt sorry for him.He seemed like a nice guy.
He wondered when he’d become that kind of person.He’d never had any problems with death.Hell, he’d dealt with death more times than he could count.He knew better than a lot of people that the way people looked didn’t mean they were nice or not.This seemed to have hit Cyril particularly hard, though, and Vale had a problem with that.
“In the middle of the night?”Cyril asked.“Maybe right around the time I had a nightmare?”
Vale blinked.He understood what Cyril was insinuating, but he didn’t know how Cyril could be sure.“Did you see this man’s reflection while you were in him?”he asked.
Cyril shook his head.“I only saw his hands.I recognize the tattoo, though.”
Vale squinted at the hands in question.The tattoo was clearly visible, so he believed that Cyril had seen it in his dream.That didn’t mean it was the same man, though.“He might not be the only person with that tattoo in that position,” he pointed out.
