Four Horsemen

by Katie Dunn

  The first trap outside sprung, starting with a snap of a twig, a curse from whoever triggered it, then an air horn alerting us to the presence of the incoming threat. I stood by the broken window with Liam, while Kaden and Trevor stood by the door. We gave Shawna a knife and sent her to the kitchen as the last defense. Kaden had been training her, but her skills were still weak. The first set of people crashed through the front door and chaos erupted. Shawna warned us that John and Peter would most likely bring more Templars with them, especially after our show of strength at their meeting. Looks like she was right. The second trap near the front door sprung sending nails raining down and the first set of people cried out in pain. My traps were meant to be alarms and to cause injury not death, but I cringed all the same when I heard the nails clatter against flesh and the floor.

  I didn’t have time to ask if Kaden and Trevor were okay because a new set of people made their way into the house through the broken window. My third trap sprung, and pepper spray sprayed all over the incoming Templars causing them to scream and stumble around. Those that did not fall back out were knocked unconscious by the butt of our weapons while they were disoriented. The last trap was near the kitchen and had not sprung yet, so it was time to fight.

  Ten more people made their way through the window, stepping passed those that were affected by the pepper spray. I didn’t get to find out how many came through the door because the first blade swung toward my head and I barely deflected it in time. I chose my scythe to fight with since this was the only time I could carry it without people giving me a weird look. I also thought Death carrying a scythe would strike fear into some Templars, giving me an advantage in the fight.

  I was wrong.

  It only made them angrier.

  Two more blades, one shorter than the other, swung at me, one aiming for my head and the other wilder, not caring where it landed as long as it did. I hooked the curved blade of my weapon around the wild short blade and tossed it to the side, throwing the guy’s swing off. Then I brought around the pole at the end of the scythe to intercept the sword. I expected the sword to slice through the pole, seeing as how my weapon was, like, two thousand years old, whereas that dude’s sword looked newer. But my weapon held strong and I was able to push him back. I brought the pole end up and smashed it into the two Templar’s faces, rendering them unconscious.

  More Templars and weapons came at me, but I continued my defensive and offensive moves, feeling like a total ninja warrior at how expertly I wielded the ancient weapon while spinning around my opponents. Kaden taught me well.

  Liam knocked a few around as well but instead of using his Horsemen weapon, a bow and arrow, he used a common sword which he wielded expertly. Between the both of us we managed to reduce the numbers coming in through the window and we hadn’t even pulled out our Horsemen gifts yet. A blonde head appeared briefly in the crowd, but I lost it among the fight. For some reason it had caught my attention and I had the urge to hunt it down. A fist clocked me in the chin, drawing my eyes back to the fight at hand and away from familiar blonde heads.

  “Ow! That hurt!” I shouted as I rubbed my jaw.

  Another fist rushed at me, but I leaned back, avoiding it by a centimeter. My fist came up in reaction and connected with someone’s mouth. I hissed at the pain that now radiated up my arm. The guy across from me laughed at my pain and spit blood from his injured mouth on our floor. I gaped at him in disgust.

  “What the hell? That’s rude,” I scolded then punched him again, making him slump onto the spit on the floor.

  Our area was cleared out for the most part, so I made my way out of the living area to help Shawna defend her spot. I cursed when I saw her at knife point and rushed over to help. Why did the booby trap not work?

  “One step closer and I slit her throat,” the blonde-haired Templar threatened. I recognized him as the brother of the movie theater Templar and as the one who attacked me in the library.

  I stopped and glanced at Dean who eyed the whole thing from his seat. No one had gotten to him yet to untie him, but I kept him in my sights all the same. I risked a glance back, but the guys were still holding off the other Templars. John and Peter could be seen at the front. They were holding their own successfully, but I knew Trevor and Kaden could handle themselves.

  “Let her go,” I said, turning back to the Templar holding Shawna and slowly put my scythe down on the floor to show him I was not going to hurt him. Even though my body screamed for me to jump forward and smash my fist into his stupid face.

  “She’s a traitor and deserves to die with the rest of you,” he said, with barely contained disgust.

  My heart jumped at his words. Did that mean he was going to kill her no matter what? My friend’s eyes were wide with terror. She gripped the arm holding the knife to her neck, trying to pry the hand away. I shook my head slightly, trying to tell her not to fight back or he would kill her. I held up my hands placatingly, hoping if he focused on me, he would forget about Shawna.

  “Hey, you’re the one who attacked me first in that library.”

  That moment seemed so long ago. I was just an innocent college student who had been attacked by a crazy sword wielding maniac. That was the night I found out I was a Horseman. I was attacked again in a movie theater and harassed when I tried getting a smoothie. Yes, I still had a grudge about my smoothie.

  “Actually, you and your sister are the ones who caused all this. If you both hadn’t attacked me, I would be none the wiser about all this.” I waved my hands around to encompass all the Horsemen and Templar stuff.

  The blonde-haired boy roared, causing me to jump back in an alarm. “Don’t talk about my sister!” His face reddened until he looked like he would explode and his knife holding hand shook. Shawna pressed as far back as she could to avoid the knife, but a thin line of red on her neck told me she didn’t succeed.

  My heart raced. I couldn’t lose someone else. Shawna may have lied to me about who she was, but she has more than made up for it. She was my roommate and my friend. I took a step forward and tried to appeal to him. “You don’t want to be a murderer. Templars are all about saving humans not killing them. Let Shawna go. This is between you and me.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time,” he said, shaking Shawna to show he wouldn’t let her go.

  I took another step forward, my hands still held up in a defensive gesture. “What do you mean?”

  I had a niggling feeling I knew what he meant but I wanted him to say it out loud. He was so agitated and focused on me I bet he forgot Dean was sitting there. My hope was the blonde guy would hang himself with his words.

  The Templar scowled at me. “You killed her,” his voice cracked at the end with grief. “And no one would do anything about it!”

  His hold on Shawna loosened as he fought tears and the ache growing in his chest. I could feel his pain and despair, his anger and grief. They all mixed to form the familiar feeling of loss. It was strange to feel it when it was not my own. In a way I understood how the Templar felt. I was the one who killed his sister and, in his eyes, I deserved to die. I would have been the same way if I met whoever had a hand in my brother’s murder.

  “So, I set you up by causing an epidemic and placing your mark on the dead. That way, the Order would have no choice but to kill you.” He laughed and shook his head. “Worked like a charm.” He was going slightly mad now and my concern for Shawna grew.

  I gasped at his confession. Man, that was easier than I thought it would be. I glanced at Dean over my shoulder to see if he heard. He looked disappointed but resigned and nodded that he heard. I didn’t know if that meant he would call off the attack on me or that he would deal with both of us now. The blonde Templar gave off a loud, pained, screeching noise causing my head to snap back around to him. He was holding his nose and the knife hand had loosened significantly. I noticed Shawna wincing in pain and holding the back of her head. I smiled, knowing she had just headbutted the man holding her hostage. I leap
t forward the rest of the way and snatched Shawna away, pushing her behind me so the Templar only faced me.

  When he took his hand away, I could see his nose was already turning purple. He looked pissed and I readied my talent just in case he did something drastic. This guy was not just fighting because he was told to do it. He was out for vengeance which meant I would need everything in my arsenal to survive.

  “I am tired of waiting for them to act. If they won’t do it, then I will.” Then he lunged for me, his knife held out in front of him.

  I used my foot to kick up my scythe from the floor, expecting to catch it midair like a badass. Instead I ended up kicking it across the floor, making him stumble slightly. Now the scythe was farther from me and his knife stayed on its trajectory to my chest. I backed up until my butt hit the kitchen table, preventing me from continuing my backpedaling. His blade came down, but I grabbed his wrist to stop its motion. He pushed his weight on me causing the blade to come down inch by inch. I stared at its sharp point with wide eyes. I used Kaden’s training and kicked at his shin then dove to the side letting the momentum bring him down. He cursed and spun with me before he hit the table. He swung out again, but I was already moving away. I elbowed him in the face and kicked at his knee.

  I hissed at a sudden sting in my arm. The Templar smirked at me and the red dripping from the cut on my body. I pushed through the pain and attacked him, this time adding some of my talent. Every time I managed to touch him, I pushed a little sickness and grief into him. It wasn’t too hard to affect him since his emotions were heightened already. After each touch, he cried out and tears leaked from his eyes, but he wouldn’t give up. He got another slice in, this one on my leg. I stumbled back and struggled to stand. It stung so badly.

  He kicked out at my injured leg, connecting with the cut. I cried out and fell to my knee. He towered over me, a sick glint in his eye as if this was more than just vengeance. He was going to enjoy killing me. He raised his weapon and brought it down with force and a smile. On instinct I reached out and latched on to his leg, the closest point of contact I could reach. I pushed all my fear, anger, and despair into him then closed my eyes waiting for the impact. After a minute of no pain, other than from the cut in my arm and leg, I cracked my eyes open to see what happened. The Templar’s knife was frozen a few inches from my chest. I looked up to see what had caused him to stop and black boils surrounded wide blue eyes and a rounded mouth that had opened in surprise. Black spots also dotted his hand and traveled up his arm. The Templar folded in on himself and collapsed, clutching at his stomach and writhing in pain. I stood quickly and backed away. My foot bumped into something and I looked down to see my scythe. I picked it up and held it in a defensive position, watching the Templar die slowly from whatever pestilence I inflicted upon him.

  He attacked me and nearly killed me twice. I was only defending myself, but I still hated to see what my talent could do. It was sickening and heart wrenching. Something no one should ever experience, but here I was having inflicted it three times. It made my heart ache for their lost lives. Eventually the Templar stilled, and I finally glanced away. I hadn’t noticed how quiet the house was until the pained groans from the Templar I fought ceased. Now that he was dead, I noticed no one was fighting anymore. Shawna stood near Dean with a knife pointed at him while she stared down John and Peter, the only Templars left standing. Liam, Trevor, and Kaden switched their focus from me to the Templars and back again. I stepped toward Dean to untie him, but John and Peter jumped in my way, holding up their own weapons.

  I sighed, not ready for another battle. “I am not going to hurt him.”

  “Could have fooled us,” Peter said calmly. Despite his calm voice I could tell from his tense muscles that he didn’t trust us, and he would kill us if anyone made a move.

  I looked over his shoulder at Shawna. “Untie him.”

  Kaden, Trevor, and Liam shouted objections, but I held up my hand silencing them. Shawna looked at Liam hesitantly then me. I nodded to let her know I was serious then spoke to John, the leader of their crew. “If we wanted to hurt him, he would be dead by now.”

  John didn’t reply, instead he turned slightly to help Shawna untie Dean while Peter kept an eye on us all. I continued speaking, hoping to convince them of our innocence, despite the dead body in the middle of our kitchen.

  “Look at him,” I said pointing to the dead Templar. I grimaced at the black boils on his skin then looked at Peter. “This is how my Pestilence kills people. And no scythe mark left behind. Those other students were killed by him.” I pointed to the Templar again to show Peter who was to blame.

  “You guys think you are so good and doing what is right for humanity by killing the harbingers of the apocalypse,” I put air quotes around the last words then pointed accusingly at the dead body again. “When really it was you guys hurting humanity.”

  “That was not us,” Peter scoffed.

  “Wasn’t me either, yet you are about to try and kill us either way,” I said, crossing my arms.

  Liam came to stand beside me and put an arm over my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I relaxed a little, knowing he and my friends were there to fight with me and defend what was right.

  “What makes you think we would believe you?” John asked as if he didn’t care about a single thing I said. He helped Dean stand up and Shawna quickly went to stand by Kaden, getting far from the professionals before she was used as a hostage again.

  I heard groans and shuffling from the other rooms and shifted with worry. The other Templars were waking up and would be there soon to help the professionals in round two. I didn’t think I could las another round.

  “She’s telling the truth,” Dean announced. He rubbed at his wrists where the rope had secured them. “I heard him admit it.”

  He stood between John and Peter and spared a brief glance at the fallen Templar before bringing his eyes to rest on me. “Even though you did not cause this epidemic why should we believe you won’t do something later on?”

  Templars began to appear on the edges of the kitchen, watching what was going down between us and their superiors. If I had to fight again, I would have to rely on my Talent and I definitely did not want to kill any more people. I knew Liam, Trevor, and Kaden would do so if it meant protecting us. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to think of some way for us to get out of this.

  “How about this?” I started. When I had their attention including the other Templars’ I continued. “If a war, or famine, or epidemic happens and only if it was caused by us, then you can go ahead and kill us.”

  Kaden choked on air and coughed, surprised by my willingness to be killed. Trevor patted him on the back, trying to help him breathe easier. Liam smirked and squeezed my shoulder, letting me know he approved.

  Peter snorted. “We could kill you right now and make sure that never happens.”

  Liam snorted back. “You could try.” Then he sent a wave of fear over everyone. Not enough to send them screaming or to attack. Just enough to show them his power and warn them away from doing anything they might regret. “Conquest is not so easily killed.”

  “Is that a challenge?” Peter asked, narrowing his eyes and smiling.

  Liam smirked. “One that you will lose.”

  I smacked Liam’s arm and told him to quit provoking them. He chuckled but backed off.

  “This is how this is going to go,” I told them with authority. “You will all leave and if even one of you tries to attack us again, I will kill you.” I stepped aside so the others could see the body in our kitchen then I copied Liam’s tactic and sent a wave of my power over them, letting them feel what Death was all about. Some of the Templars backed away, fear shining in their eyes.

  Dean was the one to speak up for everyone surprising both me and John. “Agreed. The Templars will leave you alone unless there is cause for us to intervene.”

  “Dean,” John scolded softly, obviously opposed to making a pact with
the four Horsemen.

  I didn’t wait for them to change their mind. “Good, now get your fallen and leave.”

  Each of us sent a wave of our talent over the Templars and professionals, showing them what was in store if they broke the deal. Fear, anger, despair, grief. Any of those could destroy a person.

  They eyed each one of us, finally realizing whose company they stood in. We were the Four Horsemen. Conquest, War, Famine, and Death.

  They rushed to grab their fallen and leave. John, Peter, and Dean paused at the door, looking back at us warily. The four of us stood together with one of their own showing them exactly who we were. Not the bringers of the apocalypse. Just five people who were thrown into unwanted roles and refused to let a prophecy define them. The Templars gave us a single nod then left, finally leaving us in peace.

  Epilogue

  I banged on the door loudly. “Let’s go! You’re the one who said you wanted to be there!”

  Silence.

  I beat at the door again, wanting him to wake up so we could go. Liam and Trevor were already waiting downstairs.

  Giving up on the knocking I opened the door and barged in. Kaden had always told me I was welcome in his room, as long as I knocked first, so I didn’t think it was a big deal.

  Wrong. So wrong.

  It was a very big deal.

  Maybe not to him but to me it was. “My eyes!” I screeched in mock pain.

  I held my hand up to cover the scene, backed out of the room, and closed the door to let them have their privacy. Well, good to know Kaden had forgiven Shawna. I shook my head trying to get the image of their naked bodies from my mind. They were not doing anything… you know, but they were cuddled up and naked and that was already more than I needed to see.

  “Meet us downstairs!” I shouted through the door, then made my way down.

  I saw Liam’s questioning gaze when I came down the stairs, but I only shuddered in response. He chuckled and wrapped me in his arms. I melted against him and let him hold me.