The wind whipped up, sending a spray of icy water cascading over the bridge. I gritted my teeth as icy pins and needles tore at my body.
“Arf, arf!” Oscar scrabbled against the bridge. Heathcliff grabbed his paws and set them on the planks.
“You stay here,” he growled at the dog. “Get Mina to safety. This bridge doesn’t look strong enough for all three of us.”
He shoved past me and ran to the other bank. I gripped the railings, fighting with my Docs on the slippery surface as Heathcliff’s bulk threw the bridge around in the howling wind. Oscar whimpered as the bridge pitched and more icy water splashed over the side.
“What are you doing?” I yelled over the roar of the waterfall.
Heathcliff turned back. The moonlight caught the mania in his eyes, the wild set of his strong jaw. “What do you think? I’m going to save that idiot from himself.”
“Heathcliff—”
He leaped off the bridge and disappeared from view. Oscar whimpered again. I gripped his leash with everything I had and commanded him to turn.
“Get back, gorgeous.” Morrie’s voice came back to me. “I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“I can’t see a bloody thing,” I shot back as Oscar took another shaking step toward safety. “And I’m not leaving. Don’t be so bloody foolish. Why are you sitting on the edge of a waterfall in the middle of the night?”
“I told you, I’m thinking.” Morrie had never sounded so certain. “I’m thinking about what Sherlock said, that there’s only one way this can end. I’m a scourge on the world, Mina. Even when I try to do a good thing, it turns to shit. Innocent people get killed.”
“Kate made the decision to become a murderer. That’s on her, not you.”
“Yes, and she teamed up with Dracula’s plaything and came after us. We got lucky this time, but how much longer before one of my nefarious dealings puts you in danger again? Or Quoth, or Heathcliff? I’d die if something were to happen to you, but the bitter truth is thatIhappened to you. I’m the biggest danger to you. I’ve done too many evil things in my lifetime, Mina. I don’t deserve your kindness or your love. You and Heathcliff and Quoth would be better off if you’d never even known me. So I’m thinking that maybe I’ll go fight Dracula on my own. Maybe one evil will triumph over another. Or perhaps it’s best for all of us if I go now, in a blaze of glory. It’s the way my story was always supposed to end.”
“You call this a blaze of glory?” Tears streamed down my cheeks. Not even the bitter wind could stem their tide. My arms ached to hold him. “I call it a coward’s way out, and I’ve pegged you for many things, James Moriarty – but never as a coward.”
Morrie’s chin dipped as he peered down at the maelstrom. “I’d do it, if it would keep you safe.”
“But it won’t, will it? Look, the fake death business was probably one of your less clever ideas. You messed up. We all do that. Don’t go throwing yourself off a waterfall just because things didn’t go your way for once. Do you know how many times I thought about ending it all after I got my diagnosis? I can’t tell you how many times I pulled a bottle of painkillers out of the medicine cabinet and poured them into my hand just to feel the relief of knowing I was one step away from oblivion.”
My body trembled at memories I’d locked away in a dark and secret place, of a time when I’d truly believed I wasnothing. The futility that haunted me flooded my body, and Ihatedthe idea that Morrie could possibly think that about himself…
All Morrie’s strange behavior over the last couple of months rushed at me with clarity. He’d had his heart cracked open, and it made him doubt everything he knew, most especially himself.
“No, Mina.” Morrie’s voice strained with emotion. “That’s not you.”
“Damn right it was me. It was part ofmystory. And now I can’t relate to the person who had those dark thoughts. She’s like a stranger to me, but I must remember and acknowledge her, because if you hide from the darkness then it creeps up on you unawares. Just like you’re not that person anymore. You’regood, Morrie. You’re no longer the spider devouring humanity like flies. You don’t bear the weight of the world’s evil on your shoulders. You could have chosen any criminal enterprise, and yet you chose this one – giving people a fresh start. That’s what you did for me.” I sniffed. “So don’t youdaresay I’d have been better off not knowing you. I owe you so much, you have no idea. You gave me a fresh start. You made me see myself as beautiful, and clever, and fun. You make every day an adventure, and it would be a fucking crime to deprive the world of your kissing skills. You have worth, Morrie. And I need you to remember that and get your gorgeous arse off that rock before you slip.”
I was hysterical now, my whole body trembling. Oscar tugged on the leash, dragging me toward the bank as the bridge swung wildly. “Please, please, please…” I could barely speak now, I was crying so hard. “If you can’t do it for yourself, then do it for us – for Heathcliff, for Quoth. For me. I c-c-can’t bear it if you left me—”
“Gorgeous, please stop crying.”
“I w-w-won’t, until you step away from the edge.” I hiccuped, the cold torture on my lungs. Oscar kept dragging me, kept trying to pull me to safety, but I couldn’t move until I knew Morrie was safe.
Morrie took a step back, his hands in the air.
“You’re right, Mina.” His voice wavered. I couldn’t see, of course, but he sounded like he was crying, too. “I’ve been a selfish git. Coming out here must have scared you so much. I didn’t… I think seeing Sherlock has me all twisted around inside. But this was a silly indulgence and I’ve got a vampire to slay. I’ll come back now. I’ll—”
Morrie yelled as his foot went out from under him on the slippery rock. He dropped on his chest on the rocks and started to slide toward the edge. He thrust out his hands, scrambling for purchase. The waterfall had worn the rocks smooth, so he couldn’t grip.
“Morrie,” I screamed.
The Napoleon of Crime lifted his head, his mouth open in a silent cry, dark with pain and regret, as he plunged over the waterfall.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The wind swallowed my scream.
