by Katie Dunn
Kill. Pestilence. I guess that really was my destiny. I slammed the book shut, angry at the destiny it portrayed. It made us evil and the bringers of the end of the world. No wonder the Templars wanted to kill us. Why were the Horsemen even created? I opened the book, remembering something from each verse. It was a lamb that opened the seals and released the Horsemen. The lamb of God apparently. How is the end of the world our fault then? The Templars needed to rethink who they were hunting.
“Don’t you have a class soon?” My roommate’s voice dragged me out of my thoughts of lambs and Horsemen.
I bolted up out of my chair and grabbed my bag. “Shoot, right, thanks!” I shouted as I rushed from our room.
Thank goodness I got my bike back. I only had ten minutes to get to my last class of the day. I wondered who would be in class with me. War, Famine, or Conquest.
I got to my class just in time to watch the professor walk in behind me. Hey, if I got there first then I wasn’t late. I took a seat in the back of class since those were the only ones left open and pulled out my notebook. Even if I was going to keep with the theme today of not doing notes, I could at least act like it.
Someone plopped into the seat beside me and leaned in. “Almost thought you weren’t going to make it,” Liam joked.
I glared at him then turned my attention to the professor who began his lesson. Liam sat back with his hands behind his head but did not say anymore. His silence allowed me to focus on my education, but I was still aware of his presence. I wanted to ask about what I read in the Bible about the apocalypse, but I had learned my lesson. I wouldn’t get any answers from Liam so there was no point in pestering him about Horsemen stuff.
At the end of class, the students shuffled out, and I stood to join them. I turned to Liam but didn’t know what to say so I waved awkwardly and headed out with my backpack slung over my shoulder. Liam caught up to me and grabbed my shoulder turning me to face him. I was about to slap his hand and scold him for forcing me to stop but the look on his face stopped me.
He studied me with a frown but not angrily, rather, curiously. “You’re not going to stop, are you?” he finally spoke.
I huffed in annoyance. “Stop what?”
“You’re going to hurt yourself if you try to learn more on your own. C’mon.” With that he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked from the classroom.
I frowned at his back, confused by his words. I ran to catch up to him and found him next to my pale colored bike outside. He stared at it with a small smile but lost his amusement when he saw me looking.
“What did you mean earlier?”
He turned to face me fully and chuckled. “You’re too stubborn so if we are going to do this then let’s start by going for dinner.”
I shook my head and held out my hand to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, if we are to do this? Do what?”
He looked exasperated and begrudgingly said, “If we are going to teach you about us.”
My eyes widened at his announcement. I was bursting with excitement and a little pride at getting Conquest to back down. I didn’t want to say anything that might make him change his mind, so I took a deep breath and spoke calmly, “Dinner you said. What did you have in mind?”
I followed him back to his house, guiding my bike alongside. Once we gathered the others, Liam led us around the house to the parking lot where many other college students parked their cars. We stopped in front of three motorcycles and I froze.
My heart raced in terror and anger at the machines in front of me. I used to love motorcycles, but my brother had died on one and I had burned the guys’ motorcycles afterward. I suspected they replaced them, but I hadn’t realized we would be riding on them today. I continued to stare in terror. Then again, there wasn’t anything to actually be afraid of. My brother had been killed by Templars not a motorcycle. For a year I had been angry and afraid of the wrong thing.
I studied the three motorcycles looking for some reason I should say no. They were beautiful and each one a different shiny color. I took a deep breath deciding to give the vehicles another chance. All I had to do was tell myself they were not dangerous and try to move past my previous disposition. They were better than horses at least. I blinked, realizing the meanings of the colors and laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Trevor asked going to the black bike and grabbing his helmet.
“I think she has finally gone crazy,” Kaden muttered as he passed, going to stand by his red bike.
I looked to Liam with amusement, finally understanding his smile when he saw my bicycle earlier. Without meaning to I had chosen my Horseman color when I bought my bike. Liam offered me a helmet and guided me to the white motorcycle, the ride of Conquest, and started it up.
Getting on the back of a motorcycle brought back so many memories and feelings that I gasped at their intensity. Nervousness. Grief. Anger. Excitement. Liam must have sensed my tension and grabbed my hands, pulling my arms tighter around his midsection and then we were off. Liam led the way while Kaden and Trevor followed close behind.
At first, I stayed tensed, not having ridden in over a year. Then the wind and roaring of the engine soothed me and soon I was shouting my happiness into the air.
Oh yeah, I definitely preferred motorcycles over horses.
Chapter 8
We ended up stopping at a local diner, not too far from campus. I quirked an eyebrow at the theme. The diner was going for a post-apocalyptic theme with a Mad Max vibe and graffiti. Crazy outfits hung about, with spikes, masks, and grunge. There was even a wall full of knives. Before I could make fun of their choice, Liam grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a table.
I waited until we sat down and ordered before grilling them. “Were you serious about teaching me?” The guys looked everywhere except for me. I flung my foot out under the table and felt it connect with a solid, fleshy leg.
Kaden cursed and bent down to rub his leg, his eyes shooting daggers at me from across the table. I wasn’t aiming for anyone specific but at least I got the attention of one of them. I sighed when they continued the silent treatment.
“Fine, I will just go then. Thanks for wasting my time.” I made to stand up but Liam’s hand on my shoulder stopped me from completing it.
“I said what I said,” he grumbled.
I placed my elbow on the table and put my head in my hand, facing him. “So, what’s first then?”
The waiter brought us a serving of bread and our drinks. The guys waited until he left before answering my question.
“A little history.” Trevor grabbed a piece of bread, buttering it as he spoke. “How much do you know already?”
My cheeks reddened at my ignorance. “Only what the Bible says.”
The guys nodded. “Not bad. It is not far off,” Trevor replied, then stuffed the bread in his mouth preventing him from saying more.
“It took us a long time to figure everything out,” Kaden added, making me feel a little better about my lack of knowledge.
“What we know so far is that the Horsemen have been around for thousands of years,” Trevor added once he swallowed the food in his mouth. “Stories and art from all over the world depict some variety of the Horsemen. The Bible only made it popular.”
I was shocked to hear that they had been around that long but surely, the guys were not actually that old. I was not over a thousand years old and my parents had baby pictures of me and Owen from eighteen years ago to prove it.
My face must have shown my thoughts because Kaden chuckled. “We are not thousands of years old. Every time a set of Horsemen die, a new set are born and always in the order the Bible speaks of.”
I nodded, showing I understood. That was wild though. So, if all four of us died then a new set of Horsemen would be born starting with Conquest. I glanced at Liam wondering what his thoughts were, but he was a closed book.
“Around the Middle Ages, the Templars created an Order with the Pope’s guidance and set out to eliminate the Horse
men after they caused the black plague,” Trevor added.
I gasped. “The plague was the Horsemen?”
“And the Crusades too,” Liam said, finally participating in the history lesson. “Basically, anytime a major war or disease breaks out it is because of the Horsemen.”
I looked at the three of them horrified. I would never do anything like that. I never asked to be a Horseman. Even though the guys at that table were known to be violent sometimes I couldn’t believe any of them would do something like that either. “Is that why that Templar attacked me? Because he thinks I will start a war or pandemic?”
They nodded solemnly and I sat back trying to process that tidbit of information. Great, so I was going to have to watch my back for the rest of my life. How long did a Horseman last in such a world? I was too afraid to ask, especially after my brother was killed at only seventeen.
“Why are we being targeted though? I’ve read the Bible, I know it is the lamb that opens the seals. The Templars should find that lamb.”
The guys stared at me dumbfounded then burst into laughter. I blew air into my cheeks and gave up that train of thought. Ok, it was a little ridiculous to blame a lamb but still, anything would be better than being hunted for something out of my control.
I would never do anything to bring the end of the world closer. If only there was some way to make the Templars believe that. However, history was on their side. I gasped as a thought struck me. “Is there any way to give up my role as a Horseman?”
They shook their head looking down at the table. “We’ve tried,” Kaden said defeated.
I clenched my fists in anger, not ready to accept that I would be hunted forever. “Well there has to be a way to get them off our backs. We won’t do anything crazy like past Horsemen did!”
I was shocked to see fear on their faces. Even Liam looked scared and I do not think I have ever seen him express that emotion. Then I realized why. “You guys think you might do something crazy, huh?”
“It’s not like we want to. I would rather give all of this up,” Kaden said angrily.
I nodded but waited for them to finish. I knew there was a but coming.
“But history shows that the Horsemen always cause some major world event. Always,” Trevor said, sounding a bit exasperated.
“So, even if we don’t want to cause a war or pandemic, something might happen accidentally someday.” Liam threw the piece of bread he had in his hand onto his plate. “That’s why I didn’t want you to be part of this or learn anything about it.”
The three of them wouldn’t meet my eyes and the mood became depressing as we thought of what might happen. Then anger filled me again. I slammed my hand on the table causing them to jump and stare at me in confusion.
“I refuse to let anything happen.” I turned to Liam, frustration obvious in the way I frowned at him. “If I don’t learn who I am, and what I can do, then an accident will surely happen. Look at what happened at that party! It is better for me to know then randomly stumble upon it and hurt people.” I now looked at the other two to make sure all three of them knew how serious I was. “I don’t know what the past Horsemen thought or why they did those horrible things, but we are good people and the new generation, and we control what happens.”
They stared at me with wide eyes. If they were going to say anything, they were interrupted by the waiter bringing our food. It was a pleasant way to bring us back to reality and I was grateful. I dug into my steak but paused when they continued staring at me. Trying to lighten the mood I decided for a joke. “You know, it’s a surprise that no one has found you when you frequent a place having to do with the apocalypse. That’s kinda holding up a flag saying here I am, isn’t it?”
Kaden was the first to chuckle setting off Trevor in the process. Even Liam smiled and stopped staring at me, instead focusing on his prime rib. We stayed away from the Horsemen topic for the rest of dinner, which helped lighten the mood, but I still felt it hanging in the air. The diner had surprisingly good food. In my experience, diners that were heavily themed lacked tasty meals. However, my steak was delicious and from the way the guys ate, their food was equally good. Even Trevor’s vegetarian dish looked yummy.
When we were finished, I attempted to add my card to pay for my meal, but Liam held up his hand. “I got it.”
I wanted to argue but knowing Liam, I would get nowhere so instead I said thanks and put my card away. Once everything was wrapped up, I followed them out to the bikes. Suddenly, our situation was back in the forefront of our minds and tension thickened the air.
“Um, so what now?” I asked, swinging my arms by my sides feeling awkward.
Liam got onto his bike and held out a helmet to me. “Now we train you.”
He started up the bike, making the engine roar. Trevor and Kaden did the same to theirs, but I continued standing on the sidewalk.
“Now?” I shouted over the engine. “It’s late. I’ve got school tomorrow.”
Liam quirked an eyebrow at me as if saying ‘so you don’t want to learn?’
After a moment of an intense stare down I grumbled and put the helmet on, getting on the back of Conquest’s bike once more and letting him lead.
For now.
I made sure I had a list of questions ready when we got to their house, hoping to wring as much from them as I could before they clambered up again.
“You can take the guest room again,” Kaden called over to me as we headed inside.
I nodded showing I heard him before making my way to the kitchen table and taking a seat. The others joined me, and I found myself amused that we unintentionally claimed that area as our meeting spot.
I didn’t wait for them to change their mind. “How are you going to train me? How do I recognize a Templar? How did you guys discover your talents? Were you friends first or did this whole thing bring you together?”
I had more questions but the uneasy look on their faces prevented me from asking more. I would let them answer those first then continue.
Liam took his leather jacket off and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt showcasing a set of impressive muscles and a black tattoo of a bow and arrow.
I pressed my lips together and nodded with a frown, trying to convey I liked the tattoo but didn’t understand what it had to do with my questions.
“Each of the Horsemen have a symbol and for some reason we have a talent for that particular weapon,” Liam explained. “I am talented with a bow and arrow, Kaden is talented with a sword, and Trevor is talented with pretty much anything that will tip the scales in his favor.”
I remembered seeing Trevor’s tattoo of a set of scales, but I never realized their meaning. So, each of them had a tattoo of their Horseman symbol. Did that mean I would have to get one? I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but I thought my first tattoo would have been a gear or a dragon.
“So, what is my weapon?”
It was Trevor who answered by laying it on the kitchen table. I hadn’t even seen him get up let alone leave the room long enough to grab it. A long pole, the size of my arm, ended in a curved blade. It looked old and used.
“A scythe?” I mentally facepalmed. I should have known. Death was like the Grim Reaper. Did that mean I could reap souls? “I am going to train with a scythe. Won’t it look weird carrying it around school?”
The others chuckled. “You’re not going to carry it around. This is the original scythe used by the first Horseman,” Liam explained.
My eyes widened and I stared at the weapon with new interest. Then I wrinkled my nose. “Won’t it break then?”
They ignored my question and decided to answer the first ones I asked. “There are not many ways to identify a Templar,” Kaden said. “Usually their crest gives them away seeing as how they are very prideful of their Order.”
I assumed the crest was a cross with a sword since the maniac in the library wore it. I feel like I had seen the crest elsewhere before but couldn’t remember where. Well, if I ever saw it, I w
ould run the other way. That may make me sound like a chicken, but I did not want to be stabbed.
“As for the other two questions, I don’t really feel like sharing my personal business with you,” Liam said in a cold tone standing up and dismissing the meeting.
I glared at him. He didn’t have to answer all my questions, but he didn’t have to be a jerk about it either.
“You will stay here tonight. We will start your weapon and talent training after classes tomorrow.” Liam didn’t wait for a response. He left the kitchen and I heard him stomp up the stairs.
I turned to the other two. “What got his panties in a twist?”
They held their hands up and shrugged in the universal sign of I don’t know but avoided my gaze. Fine, I will find out later. I touched the scythe on the table and sighed. It will be a long time before I accepted that I was Death. I left Kaden and Trevor at the table while I trudged up the stairs, texting Shawna about my plans to stay. I should go back to my dorm, but I was tired. Stopping in the bathroom first I decided to take a long, hot shower. The warm water soaked through to my bones until all the tension drained from my body. I didn’t know how long I was in there, but my pruning fingers told me long enough.
I shut the water off and got out of the shower, only realizing then that I didn’t have any clean clothes. I looked to the towel rack and noticed a couple wrinkled towels. Eww. I wasn’t about to use one of the guys’ towels to dry off or wrap myself in. I rifled through the cabinets searching for a new towel so I could go to the guest room and figure out my clothes situation. Finally, I found a stack and reached for the top one only to freeze as a bottle next to it caught my eye.
My hand drifted to the bottle instead and pulled it from the cabinet. Then my mind started to spin. They had chloroform in their bathroom. The morning after the party my roommate told me I was brought home by the guys since I passed out from being drunk. However, the bottle in my hand proved that my dream was true. They had drugged me. I should have remembered that tidbit sooner but better late than never. Rage filled my body. I had the decency of mind to grab a clean towel to wrap around me before I stormed from the bathroom and into Liam’s bedroom, clenching the bottle of chloroform.
