“I had to kill the necromancers because it was the only way to help their families,” Asher explained.
It didn’t look like he was going to keep his motivation a secret.That should make things easier for Vale.“How are you helping them by killing people they love?”
“You know, you should protect yourself, too,” Asher said instead of answering.“He’s going to hurt you when he crosses over.Hell, he doesn’t even have to cross over to hurt you.Things are going to get bad a while before then.”
So this guy had known someone who’d crossed the Threshold.He knew what he was talking about when it came to that, and for some reason, he’d decided to take it upon himself to kill necromancers before they could because he’d been hurt.
“Who?”Cyril asked softly.“Who hurt you?”
“Both my parents crossed over.One of them came back, the other didn’t.But sometimes, I wish neither of them had.It would’ve made things so much easier for me.I lost both of them, and I never want anyone to have to go through the same pain I had to go through.”
Vale understood the reasoning, but that didn’t mean he agreed with it.He didn’t.He was terrified of losing Cyril, and he knew that if he ever did, it would be the worst pain he would ever feel, but he wouldn’t go on a killing rampage because of it.
But what did he know?He hadn’t lost Cyril, and he hoped he never would.Maybe he would react differently than he expected.Maybe he would be angry and scared like Asher no doubt had been, and he would lash out.He knew for sure that he would make whoever had hurt Cyril pay, and maybe that wasn’t that different from what Asher had been doing.
“Well, just like you want to protect people by killing necromancers, I’m going to kill you to protect Cyril,” he said, wanting to be sure that Asher understood.“So you better be careful what you do and say.Cyril is the most important thing to me, and while I’m sorry for your loss, it doesn’t excuse what you did.”
“Maybe not,” Asher said.“But I don’t regret it.Necromancers shouldn’t be allowed to exist.They shouldn’t be allowed to hurt the people who love them.If I saved even one of their family members from the pain I had to go through, then I’m glad I did what I did.”
Vale leaned closer.He wondered how Cyril felt about all of this, but he couldn’t afford to look back.He couldn’t afford to be distracted, and he knew that if he saw Cyril’s expression now, he’d want nothing more than to hug his boyfriend and tell him that everything would be okay.
But he didn’t know if everything would be okay.
Chapter Ten
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CYRIL UNDERSTOOD WHATAsher was saying, and it scared him.He didn’t want what had happened to Asher to happen to Vale.He didn’t want to lose himself in the Threshold the way Asher’s parents had.He would fight for that not to happen, but he wasn’t sure he’d have a choice.The Threshold wasn’t something he could avoid, not if he continued using his ability, but it wasn’t just his job.Being a necromancer was who he was, and his ability was a part of him.
He swallowed.As much as he understood Asher’s pain, it didn’t make what Asher had done right.He’d killed people who hadn’t done anything to him or anyone else.From what Iris had said, neither Marcus nor Diana had been anywhere close to crossing the Threshold.They’d been headed that way, apparently, but no matter what would have happened, they hadn’t needed to die.
Asher had decided that they should.He’d said that he was helping their families, but all he’d done was hurt them.They’d lost people they loved for no reason.They would probably never find out why Marcus and Diana had been killed, either.Cyril was pretty sure that Vale planned on killing Asher, and while he wanted to argue against it, he wasn’t sure he could.Asher was dangerous, and Cyril was certain that if he was allowed to leave, he’d continue killing.He’d probably come after Cyril himself eventually, and then Vale wouldn’t have a choice.Hewouldkill Asher, and he’d do so happily.
But before any of this happened, they needed answers.They needed to know more about Meridian and where they could find them.Hopefully, by the time their conversation was done, Asher would understand that what he’d done was wrong.Cyril wouldn’t count on it.From the way Asher spoke, it was obvious that he didn’t have any regrets and didn’t see what he’d done as wrong.He fully believed he’d been helping people by killing others, and he seemed to think that this was his duty or something.
“Tell us about Meridian,” he told Asher, hoping he didn’t sound too shaky.He didn’t want Asher to think he was afraid of him.He wasn’t sure that he was.Asher couldn’t hurt him right now, but in a way, he was terrifying.It was easy to imagine what he would’ve done if he’d gotten to Cyril before Cyril had gotten to him.
Asher stared at Cyril long enough that it made Cyril nervous.Cyril stared back, knowing Vale would intervene if something went wrong.
“Why do you want to know about him?”Asher finally asked.
“I think you know.”
“He’s gone.”
Cyril sucked in a breath.Was Asher saying that Meridian was dead?
“Stop bullshitting us,” Vale snapped.“We know Meridian is alive.Who is he?”
“You mean whowashe?He died when he crossed the Threshold.”
Cyril told himself to relax.Asher believed that whoever crossed the Threshold died in a sense, so of course if Meridian had crossed, he was dead in Asher’s eyes.Maybe Asher wasn’t wrong, but Cyril needed to believe that he was.The thought of crossing the Threshold was scary, but the thought of losing himself while he did it was worse.He would do anything in his power to come back as himself.
He just wasn’t sure it would be a possibility.
He’d spent hours trying not to think about it.It was easier to focus on finding Asher and stopping him, and they had.Now, Cyril couldn’t avoid thinking about the Threshold.Sitting here in the back of this van, watching Asher watch him with that certain look, Cyril couldn’t pretend that the Threshold didn’t have anything to do with him anymore.The Threshold was real, and it was waiting, and the only question was whether Cyril would reach it knowing how to deal with it or stumble into it the way everyone else seemed to.
He refused to stumble.He wasn’t planning on crossing it at all if he could help it, but the fear that he might not be able to help it sat in his throat like something he’d swallowed wrong.He breathed through it.He’d gotten good at breathing through things lately.
