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

Twenty

"Should I come back?" Morpheus asked.

Shade turned away from his mirror, fingers in the process of untwisting a lock of hair; a few sections at the back were still bound in leather thongs. "Now is better for you, isn't it?" When Morpheus focused on Shade's eyes, he understood Shade had already guessed why he was there. Maybe he didn't have Faye's particular range or precision with telepathy, but he was very likely the most all-around powerful Vampyre on Earth, now. Mad Sarah was dead, and no one had heard from the Old Fathers since before the hunts.

Morpheus sighed, relieved he wouldn't have to explain as much. "I need to go away for a while, and I don't know when I'll be back, but I want to be able to come back."

"The palace is your home, too." Shade removed one of the leather ties, then began to gently separate the next twisted lock of hair. "Sit for a while."

Morpheus saw a cushioned, wooden stool within a few steps of the vanity. He sat down, removing his cap, and setting it and his backpack on the floor. "Thanks," he said, "I mean it. For everything."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

Morpheus sucked in a breath, and released it unevenly. "A Vegas rule has been enacted."

Shade said something, only a whisper, but Morpheus thought he might have cursed in some unfamiliar language. "Leaving is your choice?"

"Yes!" Morpheus replied quickly, still wanting to defend Julien. "I mean, no one's making me. It's just for space. For now."

"I used to quarrel with Star then go sleep on my ship," Shade said. It looked like all the ties and twists were out of his hair. He straightened some items on his table. "It was intense when he and I were together, physically, but we differed greatly in philosophy and our view of our relationship."

"But, you did separate?" Morpheus was uncertain of the details, but he thought this fit what he knew.

Shade nodded, then lifted a wide-toothed comb to pick at the roots of his hair. "He fathered two beautiful girls. I found a wife. Yet, I was there at his death bed with the rest of our family. We were still family. There was still love." He paused then spoke in Greek, "Έχετεμάθει τη γλώσσα?" Had Morpheus learned the language he was speaking?

Morpheus nodded. "Ναι, από Raphael," he explained, then continued, assuming Shade meant to speak of the many forms of love described in the language, "Υπάρχουν πολλές μορφές της αγάπης."

Shade switched back to English, laughing softly. "There are. Your accent is more ancient than mine, though you are young."

"Relatively." It occurred to Morpheus then that the switch in language had been intended as guard against eavesdropping. "Does ἐρώμενος μου not speak the language, yet?" He used the term "my beloved" instead of Julien's name.

"Correct. Are you...the elder?"

"Getting to be." Morpheus felt like he'd misunderstood that last question. "Did I say it wrong? I can speak it, but I don't always understand jokes or puns, except the horn and ivory thing."

Shade laughed aloud, likely knowing the lore of the Gates of Dream. "I do not always know which it is with you. But, to answer: to some, it would make a difference whether one is called 'lover' or 'loved'."

Morpheus considered, "Such as Remiel or Hyacinth were beloved of their lover Raphael, even though they were followers, even pursuers?"

Shade pointed a finger, briefly, toward Morpheus. "Now we are speaking the same language. Star was exactly that kind of boy, even when he wasn't a boy anymore."