“You really were prepared for everything.”
“I have to be if I’m going to protect you.”
Cyril settled on the small bench closest to Vale.A sense of dread was filling him, and it didn’t get any better as they drew closer to the island.If anything, it got worse, especially when Oscar started to grow agitated.There was a reason he was reacting like that, and it couldn’t be good.He was tense in Cyril’s arms, angled toward the island, tentacles curled tight.It was only Meridian on the island, though.If someone was going to threaten Cyril, it would be him, and that wasn’t something Cyril wanted to happen.They needed answers, not a fight.
“I don’t like this place,” he murmured as they reached the island.“It doesn’t feel right.”
“I’m not a necromancer, and it doesn’t feel right to me either, so I can’t imagine how it feels to you,” Vale said.
“Like we shouldn’t be here.Like no one should be here.”
“We’ll be quick.”
Cyril nodded and swallowed.It was an empty promise, because it would take as long as it took.There was no way out of this.They were here to get answers from Meridian, and until they did, they wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Even though every instinct Cyril had was screaming at him that he shouldn’t be here and that the only thing that belonged on this island was death.
* * * *
VALE WASN’T A NECROMANCER, but even he could tell there was something very wrong with the island.
From the outside, it looked perfectly fine.There were trees and bushes, and even a few flowers poking up through the cracked stone path that wound toward the building.Vale wasn’t sure he could call it a house, even though it seemed to be Meridian’s home.It certainly didn’t look like a house.
It took Vale a second to realize what was missing, and when he did, dread settled in his chest.There were no birds.He couldn’t hear a single one, and the only sound came from the wind moving through the leaves.No flies, no insects, nothing buzzing or chirping or rustling around them.It felt as if he and Cyril were the only living things on the island.
But that couldn’t be true.There was a second boat tied up at the pier.It was empty, but it was a clear sign that someone else was here.Vale was glad they hadn’t come for nothing.They had to face Meridian.He wasn’t sure he’d feel glad about that part once they did.
Even though every instinct screamed at him to turn around and take Cyril back to the car, he did the opposite.He got the boat as close to the pier as he could, hooked it up, and turned the engine off.Once he was sure everything was secured, he clambered out and offered Cyril his hand.
Oscar was very much awake now.Cyril put him down so he could get out of the boat, and Oscar immediately jumped onto the pier and planted himself between Cyril and the building.If he’d had fur, Vale was certain it would be standing straight up.
“This isn’t good, is it?”Cyril murmured.
“He doesn’t often react like this,” Vale murmured back.There was no reason to keep their voices down, but it felt right.
Cyril looked around.“This place feels dead.”
“Well, if Meridian lives here, that makes sense.”
“Does it?Because even if he’s changed, he’s still alive.”
Vale didn’t understand necromancy or how the Threshold worked, so he had nothing useful to offer.Maybe technically Meridian was alive, but that could mean a lot of different things.
The building wasn’t far from the pier.Up close, it was even stranger than it had looked from the shore.It was tall and narrow, built from dark stone that was almost black and clearly damp.It looked a bit like a lighthouse, with thin vertical windows spaced irregularly along the upper floors.
But there was no light here, and no one could ever want to come here.The stone was cold-looking even in the afternoon light, and the plants at the base of the walls had been left to do whatever they wanted—and clearly, that was climbing the stone wall and engulfing part of the building, including a few windows.With every step Vale took toward the place, the urge to turn around, grab Cyril, and run grew stronger.He held it down because he knew Cyril needed this, but it wasn’t easy.
“I can feel him watching us,” Cyril said.
Vale agreed.He couldn’t see anyone in the windows, but the sense of being observed was unmistakable.He stepped closer to Cyril without thinking about it.Whatever happened next, it was them against whatever waited inside.
They moved slowly but steadily, and Vale only stopped when they were standing in front of the building’s front door.It was made of heavy wood, dark and scarred with age.Once there, they paused and looked at each other.Cyril was standing slightly behind Vale, Oscar tense at his feet.The pet’s tentacles were fanned out as if he were bracing himself for something.
“Ready?”Vale asked.
Cyril chuckled darkly.“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for this, but sure.Let’s say that I am.”
Vale turned toward the door.
