Vale held him.He didn’t know what else to do or if therewasanything he could do.They both needed more help than Vale could provide, but at least they were together.
“She shot you,” Cyril muttered.
“She did, but I’m fine,” Vale promised.“I lost some blood, and I’m in pain, but I’ll survive.”
Cyril looked down.“She hurt Oscar, too.”
“I know.I’m sorry.”Vale wanted to say that maybe Cyril could create a new pet once he was feeling better, but he didn’t.It would never be the same, even for Vale.As weird as he’d found Oscar, he’d also been endeared by the pet.He’dlikedOscar, and he’d always be grateful for what Oscar had done for Cyril.
Cyril shook his head.“I’m not letting her win.”
Vale had no idea what that meant until he noticed one of Oscar’s tentacles twitch.Cyril was completely focused on his pet, and Vale had no doubt that he was the one causing it.
Cyril was pushing his power into Oscar and trying to reanimate him again.
“I know you care about Oscar, but you’re weak,” he said, even though he knew he wouldn’t change Cyril’s mind.
Cyril ignored him.He had an intense look of concentration on his face, and it was like nothing else existed.Maybe to him, nothing did.He wanted Oscar back, and he was determined to achieve that.If he’d been anyone else, Vale would’ve been impressed, but right now, he couldn’t feel anything but worry for Cyril.
Cyril started shaking.Vale hugged him tighter, but he couldn’t stop Cyril unless he knocked him unconscious, and that wasn’t something he was willing to do.That meant he’d have to convince Cyril to stop, and he didn’t think he could do that.
Oscar suddenly perked up.He curled his tentacles and reached one of them toward Cyril’s cheek.Vale saw Cyril smile, and more blood dripped from his nose.
That was when Cyril collapsed.
* * * *
CYRIL HAD DONE IT.He’d reanimate Oscar.He could feel Oscar moving against his chest, but his eyes had slid closed, so he couldn’t see him.His arms dropped, and Oscar jumped out of them.Cyril wanted to ask him to come back, but he didn’t have the energy to do it.He didn’t think he even had the energy to stay upright.The only reason he was able to was because Vale was holding him up.
He took a deep breath and snuggled closer.He was safe.He was with Vale, and Helena was dead.Vale and everyone Cyril cared about were safe, which was all Cyril had wanted.He hated the way he’d obtained that, but he also didn’t regret it.Helena had wanted to play with fire, and she’d paid for it.
Cyril heard people speak around him.He wasn’t sure he was fully conscious, and he didn’t think it mattered.He couldn’t speak or move.He could hear the people around him, but he had to focus to understand what they were saying, and he was too tired to do that.He allowed them to move him, and when he tried to cling to Vale when they pulled him away from his boyfriend, he couldn’t.
That was okay.He wasn’t afraid, and he knew that Vale needed medical help.He was sure that Rachel and Russell would take care of him.
Just like Vale would take care of him as soon as he could.
Cyril sighed.They’d done it.He could go to sleep without worrying that someone would hurt Vale.
So he did.
*
FOR A MOMENT, WHENhe woke up, Cyril wasn’t sure where he was.He blinked at the wall, but his vision was slightly cloudy, so he reached up and rubbed his eyes.When he dropped his hands, he finally recognized his bedroom and jerked into a sitting position, frantically looking around.
He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten back to his apartment, let alone into his bed.The last thing he remembered was being on the ground in the cemetery with blood dripping from his nose.
He reached up, but his fingers came back clean after he rubbed at his nose.He wasn’t wearing the clothes he’d been wearing earlier, either.These were blood-free and soft and familiar.
A clicking sound made him smile.Oscar was cuddled against him, and Cyril reached for him, eager to ensure that he was okay.He grabbed his pet, only to blink and cock his head.
“What the hell happened to you?”he asked.
He’d been the one to create Oscar.He knew every part of Oscar’s body and how they fit together.Oscar was made of bones and a necromancer’s power, so he didn’t age or grow.
Or at least, he wasn’tsupposedto grow.
He definitely had, though.His tentacles were longer and thicker.He felt sturdier under Cyril’s hands.Cyril had no idea how that had happened because it was impossible.He remembered putting Oscar back together and pushing his ability inside of his pet, but the bones he’d used were the same bones he’d used when he’d created him.He’d just been putting Oscar’s body back together, not creating a new one.
