The Empty World | The Empty World Sequence [complete | rewriting]

Sixteen

"Wake Shade." Morpheus sneered, disliking the assignment, while certain he had the ability to do it safely enough. "And Morpheus...."

He knew what was coming. "Yes, Opium?"

"Don't get into it."

He started to protest.

"Whatever comes of this. I'll speak to Sleep and Dream, for now. Whatever happens between Vampyres, stay out of it."

"What if Joy or Julien get hurt? Dream wouldn't want Joy hurt, would he?" Morpheus was the one who wanted Julien to live, but he consoled himself somewhat with the fact that Julien would be alive and well in a future time. That had to be a fixed point, now, and not a Might Have Been. They'd met in a mirage, outside of time, and Splendor had confirmed Absidus' involvement in the future plane crash. "Isn't Ganymede our friend?" If they got into it, Athen had the favor of Israfel and Raziel both, and Death was rumored to have some fondness for Shade. Even Lucifer wanted Shade alive, though mostly so he could manipulate him.

"If they get hurt, then you can help them to heal."

Morpheus snapped shut his mirrored compact.

He stood, lifting River from his head and balancing the lizard in his hand.

"It will be OK," Absinthe said, "won't it?"

"The closer I am to them, the harder it is to look." He tried, opened his vision to look across time. The probably futures spread out before him. Morpheus had to shut his eyes. Pain was imminent. Breaking. Burning. But who specifically, he did not see. Morpheus did not want to look and now the percentages with any more certainty.

He walked out into the hall, unable to make himself teleport.

Please not Julien, he prayed, God, don't make me watch.

It didn't make Morpheus feel any better to wish the pain on another.

He entered Shade's room in the west hall. A whisper and a hand over his eyes and the Vampyre woke. "There's something happened in the basement," Morpheus told him.

Shade sat, listening, it seemed. "They're gone."

"Who?" Morpheus asked, as if he did not know.

"Faye and Miranda." Shade stood, hugged himself as if cold. He seemed to look at Morpheus's feet. "I'll speak to Athen, again. Can you see if Julien is awake?" He looked up, attempting a smile, "That is, wake him, please. I'll need him, too."

"No problem." But, it was. Morpheus did not feel he was in any emotional state to see Julien. He was also certain Julien was yet uneasy about the responsibilities Shade was allowing or placing upon him.

"Thank you, Morpheus." Shade placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Leliel. He is your grandfather, in a manner of speaking?"

"Yes, Sir," Morpheus didn't know why he'd responded formally, it was just something in Shade's tone. "I mean, yeah."

"You have the eyes." The eyes, not his, because Opium, Zerachiel, and Shade also had them.

Morpheus felt a little better, after speaking to Shade. He walked to Joy's suite of rooms, passing the various dark and accidentally erotic paintings. Her room was near a crucifixion scene.

She and Julien looked beautiful and peaceful in their sleep. Joy was remembering, while Julien dreamt of rollerskating and ringolevio. Morpheus passed a hand over his eyes and whispered into his dream, "All in, all in, all in, free."

Julien woke with a smile. Morpheus watched as he stretched from fingertips to toes. His back arched, his heels dragged over Joy's black sheets. Julien turned toward the outer edge of the mattress and his eyes fixed on Morpheus. "Mm, hey."

"Hey." Morpheus wanted to climb into bed with him.

"You wanna get in?" Morpheus hadn't sensed telepathy, which meant Julien just happened to want the same thing.

"Can't," he said, but Julien took his hand. He drew Morpheus' hand toward his cheek; his skin was cool. Morpheus just gaped at him, knowing just what this was. He remembered the precious few days they'd been lovers, and how Julien looked when he was hungry and turned-on all at once.

Julien pressed his lips to the palm of Morpheus' hand. "Could make it meaningful."

"Oh, God help me! I'm sorry!" Morpheus pulled his hand from Julien. "I was sent. To wake you. Shade...."

Julien pushed himself up. "Oh." His lips pressed together in a frown.

"Wish it were under better circumstances," Morpheus whispered.

Julien straightened further, until he sat up in the bed. He scanned the area about Morpheus, which was, for the moment, the only part of the room not covered by drapes. Finally, he looked again at Morpheus. "You're still wearing the same outfit from yesterday."

"Yeah." Morpheus shifted his clothing, but without much thought, his subconscious need to feel secure generated nothing more fabulous than black jeans and a band tee. "It hasn't even been a day since- Faye's gone. Athen locked her in the basement, and now she's run off. Shade says he needs you."

Julien bent forward, head almost level with his knees, breathing.

"OK?" Morpheus asked.

Julien looked up. His smile seemed forced; it didn't show in his eyes. "I'm fine. Not eating and sleeping on a schedule can get to me. I'll see you later."

Morpheus made himself smile. "See ya," he said, and left with the sound of wings.