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

Eight (Draft 3 WIP) "Possessions"

"Know happened."

"Know. Sigh. Murph, something unknown has happened, 'cause I don't believe you or Joy would lie to me, but the way she's acting and the way you came here acting do not match up."

"How—?"

"I don't know. Do you want to just show me?" She looked right at him.

Morpheus blinked slowly. "I'll tell you. I'm not sure where to start."

"It has something to do with Julien being a Vampyre?"

"Yeah." Morpheus knew she'd seen him.

"Did he hurt her?"

"Yes. But that might have been consensual."

Mother's expression changed, eyes downcast, softer. It was glamor, but her image showed how her soul felt. The expected follow-up didn't come. Instead she said, "He didn't look well, I mean, even for a Vampyre. He knows."

Morpheus nodded.

"How did they end up together? Was it...Blade?"

Morpheus paused to think about it. He hadn't questioned the coincidence of it before, but now he had doubt. "Indirectly it was definitely Blade. Joy was painting a jacket for her, after they met on Halloween. But, I don't know if It was more. I don't know, because I lost track of her Friday morning. I mean." He swallowed. "I wasn't watching her."

Mother nodded.

"I have no excuse. I just thought—I did send the Djinn to check. I got distracted by Splendor and Pam. It was my fault, and—"

"Splendor Splendor?"

"Yeah. Xe was the one who told me Julien was dead."

"How did...?" Mother trailed off.

Morpheus answered anyway, "Splendor and I have been friends for a while now and Xe knows how I feel about Julien. And Xe was there when Psyche said whatever made Julien want to kill himself which!" Morpheus sucked in a breath. "Made Athen give him the blood, I guess. But none of this is important now! Joy can't be OK."

"It is important, to me, if Psyche drove a soul into my domain and handled it without me. Her duty hasn't passed to me."

Morpheus scrubbed his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry. I should have called you right away. I just—Splendor was telling me in confidence it seemed, but that's my assumption. And I didn't call you. I—I revealed who I am to Pam and then I heard that the jackets were gone. And I didn't call you then."

Mother moved towards Morpheus. She took his hands in hers such that he could feel her presence and the pressure of the air she manipulated. "I don't judge you. Even if it becomes my place, I couldn't make a judgement against you."

"Mom."

"You were hurting. Julien was hurting. You knew Joy might be taking the jacket to Blade."

"But I got there after. They'd been there and left. But I used the sight. I saw Julien: bloody, shivering, drawn into himself. And Joy came. And it did seem she let him bite her, but I didn't hear the words. No one else stopped them."

"Well, they're Vampyres." Mother removed her hands and sat down on the rooftop.

Morpheus nodded. "Even Splendor says Athen is terrible to most Humans."

Mother nodded.

"They left with him, I found them in the underground, in one of those abandoned stations. I couldn't get in without revealing myself, and the Djinn offered. But we got delayed by Troy, that's their wolf guardian. And," Morpheus hesitated a moment. "We found another of the Djinn there who helped us. But..." Morpheus winced remembering it.