Four Horsemen

by Katie Dunn

  Right?

  I was at the kitchen table doing homework when there was a knock on the door. Kaden and Trevor were in the living room watching TV, and they glanced to the door. I tilted my head at it telling them to answer it and went back to my homework. I needed to focus on school rather than an epidemic that I may or may not have caused. Kaden grumbled something about pausing the show so he wouldn’t miss anything before going to the door to see who was there. A friendly and slightly flirty voice reached me making me tense. Kaden stood in front of her chatting and flirting right back not knowing that a Templar stood in his presence. I felt instantly protective of him and my ex-roommate and rushed to the door, sliding in between him and Shawna.

  To anyone else, she would look like her normal, stylish self with dark blue skinny jeans, pink camisole, and impeccable makeup on her soft mocha skin. However, I knew her better and I could see that her smile didn’t reach her eyes and that there was hesitance and sadness within their brown depths.

  “Whoa, careful, you almost stepped on my feet,” Kaden joked and put his hands on my shoulders to steady us.

  I ignored him and crossed my arms in front of my chest glaring at my roommate. “What do you want?” I asked, my voice cold and uncaring.

  Kaden continued smiling but his hands tightened on my shoulders, the only indication he picked up on our tense encounter. I knew Liam would hear about this from Kaden, but I would deal with that later.

  She kept the smile on her face, but it fell slightly. Shawna glanced at Kaden hesitantly then looked at me with pleading eyes. “I was hoping we could talk.”

  “There isn’t anything to talk about.” I grabbed the edge of the door and started to close it in her face, but she held out a perfectly manicured hand to stop it. I glared at the hand willing it to disappear, but it stayed. She dropped her smile and frowned. “Phi, talk to me. I have something you might want to know.”

  I was curious I would admit that, but I definitely did not want to talk while Kaden was standing there. Deciding to hear her out just for a minute, I sighed and stepped out of the house to indulge her. I turned my head to Kaden, raising my brow as if to say he could leave now.

  He glanced from Shawna to me and nodded slowly, confusion in his expression. He closed the door and I led her to the side of the house in case Kaden was standing near the door eavesdropping. I didn’t think Horsemen had super hearing but better safe than sorry.

  “I’m surprised to see you here. How did you find me?” I asked.

  She gave me a look like I was an idiot for asking. “Where else would you go?”

  True. “Why are you here? What if Kaden attacked you?” I didn’t mean to sound concerned but it slipped out.

  A slow grin spread over her face and I rolled my eyes, not wanting to let her know I cared. “I had to take a chance. I figured they didn’t know or else they would have hunted me down already.” Then she frowned and tilted her head. “Right? From the way you have spoken of them I assume that’s what they would have done.”

  I frowned and looked at the side of the house grumbling. Her grin spread and suddenly she sprung forward and hugged me. I tensed, a shout lodged in my throat. The shout turned to a lump and tears pricked my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to see her again as a friend and not a potential enemy until right then. I shook my feelings away and pushed her back.

  “That doesn’t mean we are friends.”

  Hurt flashed in her eyes before she masked it. She nodded and cleared her throat. “Right. But, Phi” I looked up when she paused. “I will not hurt you or them.” She seemed to hesitate a moment before she straightened her back and looked at me with a determined tilt to her chin. “And I know you didn’t cause the outbreak.”

  I searched her face to see if she was telling the truth. I was stunned she trusted me enough to know I wouldn’t hurt people with my Horseman power, even after eight people died from a mysterious illness. I knew Owen said not to trust anyone and he ended up being right, but I perceived no deception from her. I would not be able to trust her completely for a while but at least I could accept her statement and be glad at least one person out there believed in me.

  “Is that what you came to say?”

  “No, well yes, but not just that.”

  I quirked a brow waiting for her to continue. She started murmuring to herself and fiddling with her hands. This was new. I had never seen her so nervous. I picked up the words trouble and Order from her murmuring, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

  “Shawna,” I urged, reminding her she still had not said anything.

  Shawna’s eyes widened and she looked around before bringing her focus back to me. “At the last meeting, the Order talked about bringing in some professionals.”

  I frowned, and my chest tightened with dread. That sounded bad. “Professionals? What do you mean?”

  Shawna huffed in exasperation. “Professionals, like the Inquisition but for hunting Horsemen. You know? They want to get rid of you before any more people fall sick and die.”

  My eyes widened at her announcement. “What, why do they think it was me?” I suspected the Templars blamed the outbreak on me, but I didn’t think they would bring in professional killers. “Outbreaks happen on their own all the time.” My voice rose to almost screechy proportions and I cleared my throat to reset it to its normal tone.

  Shawna nodded but her expression told me she was going to impart bad news. “Yes, but the evidence is against you.”

  I shook my head. “Pshh, what evidence?”

  Shawna started ticking off things on her fingers. “One, the Death Horseman is in town. Two, it’s a mysterious illness that no one can figure out how it spreads or started. Three, every victim had a small mark almost like a scythe on their forearm.”

  I blinked at number three. “Wait, what? A mark? I don’t leave any scythe marks when I use pestilence.”

  Shawna nodded like she already suspected that. “And now professionals have been summoned to take you out before it gets worse.”

  I shook my head trying to dislodge the information she just gave me, but it only dug itself deeper into my mind. “Oh no, this isn’t good. I’ve gotta tell them right now.” I moved toward the front of the house, but Shawna gripped my arm stopping me.

  “They will be here within the next two weeks, that’s all I know. They don’t usually tell us anything but since they will be on campus, we were told to be aware of their presence and help them get around.” She stared at me with worry and fear.

  That scared me more than anything. If a Templar feared these hunters then we should too. Great, I just couldn’t catch a break. I touched her hand that was still gripping my arm. “Thank you for telling me.” I started to walk away but turned back, hesitating a moment before asking, “could you keep me updated?”

  She nodded emphatically. “Be careful, Phi.” Then she walked away leaving me to think over her words. I had a class in a little bit but there was no way I would feel comfortable going now, despite Shawna saying the hunters wouldn’t be there for a couple weeks.

  I breathed in and out deeply to calm myself. I couldn’t barge into the house telling them about this new threat. They would question where I got the information from. Kaden would remember the way I acted around Shawna and they would figure it all out. No, I couldn’t do that to her. She risked herself to get me that information.

  We needed to prepare and find some way to get rid of these professionals. I would figure out a story then tell the guys. I walked into the house, schooling my expression and went back to the kitchen table where my homework was laid out. I felt Trevor and Kaden’s questioning eyes on me, but I ignored them. I would have to fake being sick in a bit so I could get out of going to class with minimal questions being tossed my way.

  I went back to completing my homework but jumped when a hand landed on the textbook I was reading. I hadn’t heard anyone approach. I looked at the hand and followed it up the arm to broad shoulders and a smiling Liam looking
down at me. I rolled my eyes and pushed his hand off, going back to my homework. He put his hand back on the book and I sat back, huffing at him.

  “What do you want?”

  His smile grew. “Let’s go for a ride.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He rolled his eyes and stood up straight, crossing his arms. “You know what I mean.”

  I narrowed my eyes. What was his angle? “Where to?”

  “A place,” he answered and gave me look daring me to ask about it.

  I knew if I asked what place he would give me another vague answer. At least this was a good way to get out of going to class. However, going anywhere mysterious with Liam sounded like a bad idea. Instead of accepting or asking where we were going, I turned away and drew my textbook to me. “No thanks.”

  Liam sighed and snagged my book, making me protest. “C’mon, trust me. You’ll like it.”

  I eyed him suspiciously, but he didn’t seem to be tricking me. I glanced around him to see if Kaden and Trevor knew where we were going but they only looked at us curiously, which told me they didn’t know. I looked back at Liam and raised my eyebrow. I was curious about where he wanted to take me, but it was Liam. Who knew what his actual plans were? He probably wanted to torture some poor kids by making me practice my talent or to interrogate me about Shawna and our odd behavior. Either way I wouldn’t fall for it.

  “Just tell me where we are going,” I tried.

  He sighed in exasperation and grabbed my arm pulling me up from the chair. “Why do you have to be so difficult? It’s just a ride.”

  I shot a look to Kaden and Trevor mouthing help me as we passed them on the way to the door. They only chuckled and went back to their TV show. Liam led me outside, his hand still on my arm in case I ran away. There is a high possibility I would have done just that. He didn’t let go until we were in front of his white motorcycle where he handed me a helmet.

  “Get on,” he ordered after settling himself on it first.

  I threw my head back and sighed loudly before getting on the back as he instructed. “Fine. But don’t think you can order me around all day.”

  I thought I saw him smile but he turned away before I could be sure. “Hold on tight.”

  Another order, but I let it slide since the engine’s roar would drown out any protests. Despite my wariness of his destination and the new threat hiding somewhere out there I squealed in delight as we zoomed away with the air flowing through my hair and speed making my heart race with adrenaline.

  Chapter 14

  I lost track of where we were by the fourth turn and eventually, we were on a highway. I settled against Liam and let the noise and breeze wash over me. Riding on a motorcycle made me feel free of worries. Like I could go anywhere and do anything. Riding on a motorcycle was one of my favorite things, even though I had lost it when Owen died. If there was one thing I loved about becoming a Horseman it was finding my love of motorcycles again. Well, that and the fact that I could talk to my brother again.

  I must have closed my eyes at some point because the next thing I knew, we were slowing down. My eyes popped open and took in our surroundings. I had no idea how long we were driving but we somehow ended up in a largely forested area and I swore I could smell water. Well, I could smell the air that a large body of water creates. I didn’t know how to explain it, but I smelt it and felt excited at the possibility of going to a lake. I knew it was not the ocean because Penn State was nowhere near the ocean so lake was the only thing it could be.

  I took my helmet off when we stopped and handed it over to Liam. He grinned at me mischievously and grabbed my hand, leading me down a hiking trail near the bike. I waited a few minutes but when he continued the silence my impatience grew. “Where are we?”

  “In a forest,” he replied without turning around. He continued holding my hand even though I had eyes and could have followed him fine without the guiding hand.

  I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see and tried again. “Yes, but where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  I frowned and decided to do to him what he once did to me. I focused on the feeling of loss and sickness that death causes and shot it out of my hand that Liam held. I knew it worked when he jerked to a stop and started breathing deeply. He bent over a little to contain the feeling of sickness but a second later I yelped and pulled my hand away when a shot of fear entered my system.

  He stood up straight, the sick feeling having left his body, and chuckled. “You don’t want to mess with me.”

  We would see about that. I decided I was more curious about our destination, so I kept my talents to myself for now, though I promised myself I would get him later. We came across a bridge and I stopped. It looked rickety and the drop may not kill me if I were to fall but it would definitely hurt. I was not a big fan of heights. Well, actually I was fine with heights but not falling and that bridge looked like it would give way any moment.

  “Tell me we are not crossing that.”

  Liam walked onto it and looked back at me, giving me a smile that dared me to get closer. I inched closer until I met him a few feet on the bridge then looked down. It was a small drop, about fifteen feet down but far enough that I didn’t want to fall. I started to back up to solid ground, but Liam reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward him. I expected him to move but he stayed still, and I ended up crashing against his chest. I felt his heart beating fast and looked up into his eyes to see something I wasn’t ready to acknowledge. I pulled back but he maneuvered us until he was behind me and I had nowhere else to go but forward to the other side.

  Liam brought his lips near my ear and whispered, “Trust me,” causing shivers to race down my neck and arms.

  I moved forward to avoid the heat his body radiated and tried to calm my emotions. This was no time to be developing a crush. A little voice in my head tried saying the crush had already been there but I squashed it down. I gripped the ropes on either side of me and slowly made my way across. Somehow, I made it and breathed a sigh of relief when my feet landed on solid ground again. Liam came up beside me a second later and took charge again, leading us farther. This time we didn’t have to walk far, and I jumped in delight when I saw water.

  “I knew it!” I shouted punching the air in victory.

  Liam raised an eyebrow at my delight, but I knew it amused him if the small smile was any indication. “No, you didn’t.”

  “Yes, I did, I totally smelled it.” I raised my chin in defiance and put my hands on my hips.

  “You…smelled it?” He shook his head and chuckled as he pushed my shoulder playfully. “You’re a dork.”

  I scoffed but couldn’t stop my own smile. I enjoyed seeing Liam open and happy, but I was a little tense waiting for his mood to change and ruin the moment. At least I could enjoy the light heartedness while it lasted. We walked over to the rocks by the water and I got a good look at our surroundings. It was too small to be a lake but too big to be a pond. I had no idea what it was, but the water was clear and there were boulders nearby that acted as barriers. Liam stripped off his shirt and my breath caught.

  “Uh, what’re you doing?”

  My eyes roamed over his chest and arms, taking in all the muscles and tattoos he had. There was one of a bow and arrow on his left bicep which I knew was his Horseman symbol. On his left side, along his ribs under his arm, in descending order were the other Horseman symbols: sword, scales, and scythe. He turned to put his shirt on a nearby rock and I saw a date with a cross on his right shoulder blade. It was the date Owen died. I wanted to step closer and run my fingers over the marks on his skin. To trace the lines of his muscles and feel his warmth.

  “We are going to swim,” he said turning back to me with a frown like it was obvious.

  I blinked, remembering I had asked him a question and forced my eyes to meet his rather than looking at his bare chest. “We?”

  “Yes, we.” His hands went to his pants and he started unbutt
oning them.

  I squeaked and turned around. “Um, no, I’m good. I don’t really want to go swimming.” That was a lie. I loved swimming. However, there was no way I was going to take my clothes off and swim around with a mostly naked Liam.

  “Suit yourself.” I heard a splash and turned around to see the surface of the water disturbed. A second later, Liam popped up from underwater and grinned at me. “The water is nice, you’re missing out.”

  I crept closer and peered into the water. I couldn’t see his body, the water just dark enough to cover him but I still refused. I sat next to his clothes and noticed only his shirt, pants, and shoes were on the rock, meaning he had kept his underwear on. Good.

  For a second, I thought about grabbing his clothes and making a run for it, but I discarded that idea. No need to cause trouble. Yet.

  I took my shoes and socks off, then drew my knees up and hugged them while looking around at the beautiful surroundings. How had he found that place? The water was hidden by the trees and in order to get to it, one had to drive to who knew where and cross a suspicious looking bridge. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, taking a large inhale. The air was so fresh. I could spend hours there.

  I opened my eyes and looked back to the water, looking for Liam to ask him about the place but he was nowhere to be seen. I dropped my knees and inched closer, looking for any disturbance in the water so I knew where he was at. My heart started racing in panic when I found no trace of him. Oh my God. Did he drown?

  No. No. No. No

  I jumped down from the rock and took a few steps into the water. “Liam!” I called out.

  Silence reigned.

  “Li- ah!”

  He suddenly popped up in front of me from under the water and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me into the water with him until I was fully submerged. He let go when I was completely soaked and I swam upward, breaking through to the surface and spluttering. He followed and laughed deeply at my appearance.