Riders

by Veronica Rossi

  Jode shivered like he was feeling the cold water himself. “And you, Dare?”

  Derrr. He made it sound even more formal than her proper name.

  Daryn shifted beside me. Her eyelashes were starting to look heavy. “I haven’t died yet.” She smiled. “I’m hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible.”

  “That’s kind of not funny, Martin,” I said.

  “Agreed,” Jode said.

  “Right?” Bas said. “Don’t even say that. What would we do without you?”

  She laughed. “Oh, stop. You guys would be fiiine.”

  I nudged her arm. “Hey, seriously. We’re not letting anything happen to you.”

  She leaned her head against my shoulder. “And I won’t let anything happen to any of you guys, either. I promise. Marcus’s turn.”

  Marcus immediately bent over his knees and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

  “You don’t have to go,” Bastian said. “No pressure.”

  “What?” I said. “How is that fair? Yes, pressure. Start talking, Reaper.”

  Marcus peered at me, and I saw something in his eyes. A rise to friendly competition, like we were playing horse. I’d made my shot. Now it was his turn.

  He sat up, straightening his wide shoulders. “Beaten,” he said. “Fists, then feet. Then a brick. Then I don’t know.”

  Shit.

  He’d been beaten to death?

  Bas had come halfway to his feet. “Marcus, you got jumped?”

  “No. I went after them. But it was going on for a while.”

  “Them?” Jode asked.

  “Yeah, there was.…” Marcus flexed his fingers a few times. Unlike Bas, he rarely showed emotion on his face, but now I saw him struggle to keep it locked down. “There was five.”

  “You went after five people?” Jode said. “Were you alone?”

  Marcus nodded.

  I shook my head. I had to give it to him. That took a serious pair.

  “Why?” Bas asked.

  No answer. We’d found the limit to what Death would share.

  “Did you lay down some hurt, at least?” I asked.

  A slow smile spread over Marcus’s mouth. “I did all right for a while.”

  Of course he did. Guy was tougher than anything.

  Daryn shifted beside me. Beneath the blankets, a soft hand slid into mine and squeezed. I wove my fingers through hers and squeezed back.

  We were coming together, the five of us.

  We were finally getting it right.

  CHAPTER 50

  A lot changed after that day. We started training better, working harder. Pulling together on all fronts. Jode had some ideas that we incorporated into our arms training. He’d read a ton of military theory and wanted us to practice in the same location, instead of splitting up, for better team morale. He also wanted us to incorporate strategy into our sessions, and to drill at night so we’d be prepared to fight in darkness.

  They were great ideas. Ones I’d been thinking about, too. We used them all. But the main change to our routine after that night was the horses. I couldn’t avoid it any longer; the time had come for us to horse up.

  We started first thing the following morning. As we reached our practice area on the riverbank, the sun was just coming over the mountains. Fog lifted off the water in big curls. It had rained early in the morning, and the grass felt spongy under my feet. We assembled in a circle, and it reminded me of our first day, though we weren’t the same at all. We were united now. A team.

  “I think we should go one at a time,” Daryn said. “That’s probably safest.”

  We’d agreed on the hike down that she and Jode should lead the horse training. Daryn had some riding experience from a few summers at camp. Jode had ridden, too. And Bas already had a good rapport with Shadow.

  I looked at Marcus, and we silently bonded over the soup-sandwich that was about to happen. Neither one of us was looking forward to this.

  “Okay, Bastian. Let’s start with you.”

  His smile was immediate. Sebastian backed up a few steps. A second later, Shadow came out of the darkness, swirling at his side.

  Watching her materialize never got old. Neither did watching her. She was beautiful. All leggy and springy. So deep black, a fog of darkness that lifted from her hooves and mane. She was completely unreal. But Bas stood there, scratching her wide forehead like she was just a regular horse.

  Shadow’s attention moved around the group, taking us in, but she stayed with Bas. Really calm. Right beside him, though she wasn’t even bridled. She had no tack on her at all. She was just a sleek, stunning horse. I wanted Jode’s bow, but I’d have killed for that mare if she hadn’t belonged to Bas.

  “Gideon, your turn,” Daryn said.

  “I’ll go last.”

  “Okay. Jode?”

  “All right,” he said. “I have to warn you, though. My horse is spirited. I’ve only seen him once, but it was memorable. Best you all be on the alert.”

  Awesome. My stomach already felt shaky. Jode had experience with horses, and if he was nervous about handling his mount … my situation was not looking great.

  Jode stepped away from our circle and his eyes fluttered closed for a beat. A whirl of light sprang up from the earth beside him, brilliant slashes that wove together to form a pure white stallion—the light-positive version of Shadow, except much thicker and broader.

  Jode’s horse had barely formed when he spotted Shadow, laid back his ears, and charged.

  Shadow lowered her head and let out a sound unlike any I’d ever heard a horse make before. Part shriek. Part roar. All terrifying.

  Jode’s horse stopped, his thick muscles bunching, his legs locking, but he slid a few feet, gouging long treads in the damp grass before he finally came to a halt. He tossed his head and snorted, steam rising from his nostrils like a cloud into the chilly morning air.

  Shadow wasn’t having any of it. She stood really still, like Bring it. I am so ready.

  Jode’s horse swished his tail a few times, then made a lazy turn and trotted over to Jode’s side. Suddenly he seemed hugely bored, looking around him at the steep walls of the fjord. At us. Just super unimpressed with everything. Even Jode.

  “Did Shadow just lay down the law?” I asked, trying to interpret horse behavior.

  Sebastian grinned. “Yeah, dude. Without even moving.”

  “Mares,” Jode said dryly.

  “Females are stronger than men in all species,” Daryn said as she slowly approached Jode’s horse with her hands out. “I’m surprised you guys haven’t figured that out yet.”

  I pretty much had.

  Jode’s horse watched Daryn with intelligent eyes, his neck bent in a high arch. The stallion’s coat was the kind of blinding white that seemed to glow from the inside, putting off a halo of light, like the moon.

  Daryn extended her hand as she reached him. The stallion sniffed, moving up her arm. Then he got a whiff of her hair, which made her laugh.

  “Hey, big guy,” she said. She scratched behind his ears, looking totally at ease.

  I wasn’t totally at ease. You could’ve bounced a quarter off my stomach. This whole nature special that was happening was going to go south in a hurry once my horse showed up.

  “Does he have a name, Jode?” Daryn asked.

  “I haven’t given it much thought,” he replied.

  “He’s so pretty. Almost like a lantern. What about calling him Lucent?”

  Jode grinned. “Brilliant.”

  “Good boy, Lucent.” Daryn patted the stallion’s broad neck, and then turned to Marcus. “Ready?”

  His eyes slid over to me. It was early stages in the two of us getting along, but I was already pretty good at reading his mind. Since he barely talked, that was how you understood him, by his eyes or his posture. We all became good at it, but I’m completely fluent in Marcus.

  At that particular moment, what he was thinking was, I’m only doing this because I w
ant to see you do this.

  He stepped back from the circle, rolled his shoulders, and then bowed his head.

  Seconds passed. I was beginning to think he couldn’t reach his horse when a pale flicker of movement stirred on the grass in front of him. Movement like gray leaves, spinning in an eddy of wind. As it grew into a small tornado, I realized I was looking at ashes. They solidified into longer threads that formed a hoof, an ankle, legs. On up until the horse was fully formed, as real and solid as me.

  Like Shadow, Marcus’s horse was a mare. Smaller than Shadow, though. Much smaller than Lucent. She was compact and lithe. Perfectly proportioned. Just by looking at her, I had a feeling she’d be fast. Her coat was a color I’d never seen before in a horse. Pale, pale gold.

  She stood, looking from me to Sebastian to Daryn. Then Shadow and Lucent. Making the rounds. Sizing everybody up. Then she saw Marcus, and that was the end of the rest of us. She was all eyes for him.

  Marcus hadn’t moved. He looked more anxious than I’d ever seen him, up on the balls of his feet like he was about to take off sprinting. He looked like he had no idea what to do.

  “Daryn?” he said, shooting her an uncertain glance.

  “Go ahead,” Daryn said. “Go to her.”

  Marcus took a few steps toward the mare and stopped. Then the mare took a few steps of her own, closing the last of the space between them. She lowered her head. She was so close her ears brushed his chest. Marcus reached up, running his palm along her smooth forehead. The mare closed her eyes and leaned into him.

  And that was it. Marcus’s shoulders loosened. His entire body loosened. He kept his hand on the mare as he moved next to her, and it was a done deal. They were good.

  I shook my head. Seriously? That easy?

  Marcus grinned at me, really loving how this was shaping up. “Ruin,” he said. “That’s what I’m calling her.”

  It was a good name for her. She looked ancient. Like she’d been dug up after a couple of thousand years in some crypt and dusted off.

  “All you, War.”

  “Thank you, Death. I’ve been following along.” I let out a breath as my gaze moved around the circle. Bastian and Shadow. Jode and Lucent. Marcus and Ruin. Daryn, steady as ever. Such a peaceful formation. I’d never been faced with a challenge that actually made me want to run the other way before. This came close, but there was no way I’d be the only guy who didn’t deliver. No possible way.

  “Okay,” I said. “You’ll all want to back up. My horse is extra spirited. He’s kind of intense, actually. Maniacal.”

  “Shocking turn of events,” Jode said.

  “You’ve got this, Gideon,” Bas said.

  Daryn smiled. “It’ll be fine.”

  “Totally.” I was starting to sweat and my heart was racing. I had to get this over with.

  Summoning the sword and my armor had become instinct, but I felt clumsy searching for Fire Horse. I was stumbling in the dark again as I searched for the zone where I felt focused, in line with my intentions to serve, to defend, to yield even as I found strength. Finally, I felt the thread that was him. I locked in and thought, Come on out, you hellion.

  Everything happened pretty fast then. My horse came up like a blowtorch at the center of our circle. Rearing up, big burning hooves scraping at the sky. Pure blazing fury. Bad attitude in horse form.

  All the humans in the circle scrambled back—myself included—but not the other horses. They went full-throttle—right in for a fight. Instantly, it was manes and tails whipping all over, teeth flashing, dirt flinging, an all-out horse battle.

  The five of us stood at a safe distance and watched. What else could we do?

  These horses were wicked and fast. Their power was incredible. And their fighting was vicious. My horse and Lucent had the advantage on size and strength, but Ruin and Shadow had the edge on speed and agility. Every movement created blurs of shadow and light, ash and fire in their wake, and the sounds they made cracked through the silence of the fjord.

  “Are they ever going to stop?” Bastian asked.

  “Yes,” Daryn said, but she didn’t sound sure.

  “They’ll sort it out,” Jode agreed. But he looked worried, too. Even Marcus looked like he wanted to get in there and break things up.

  Not me. I had no attachment to my horse. I didn’t even know if I could touch him since he was, you know, burning.

  As I watched, he took a wicked bite to the neck and scrambled to the side, his dinner-plate-sized hooves flinging mud and rocks everywhere. He crashed into Shadow. She slammed into a piece of driftwood and stumbled. She was going down, and my horse was, too. Big Red was going to land on her and crush her.

  Shadow disappeared before he could. She unraveled into a twisting black cloud that shot away, flying off along the riverbank. Ruin broke into a gallop after her, hooves pounding along the gravel. She took a few strides, and then she transformed too, shifting to ashes. Now dark and pale blurs soared along the riverside.

  Lucent and my horse, the giant slowpokes, were last to follow. Lucent became light, like sun rippling on water. Then Big Red turned into a flurry of flames, and he was gone, too. There were no horses anymore. Just slashes, shooting across the water.

  It all happened in seconds.

  We ran to the edge of the bank to watch them. Streaks of light and dark, fire and ash, twisting and threading through trees. Climbing suddenly into the air, and then plunging to fly over the glassy water again. My heart didn’t beat for a solid minute as I stood there. Of the four horses, mine drew my attention most. I’d never seen anything so incredible. Never.

  Sebastian was hooting and yelling his head off. Daryn and Marcus were laughing and jogging along the river, following the horse race. Only Jode and I stood there, incapable of even moving.

  Jode shook his head. “Caused a bloody riot, your horse.”

  That was him, I thought.

  Riot.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, with the rest of the guys up at hutquarters working on a fire and a delicious dinner of rice, beans, and canned peas, I recruited my favorite horse trainer and great buddy to give me a private lesson.

  Daryn gave me instructions as we hiked down to the water: Keep talking while I worked with Riot. Be firm, but also understand that horses had different personalities, like people.

  “Some are confident,” she explained as we reached the training field, “but others are timid and—”

  “Timid isn’t his problem.”

  “But what if it was?”

  “It’s not.”

  She gave me a smile with a little eyebrow waggle. “I think you’re timid.”

  “You do?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “Really?” I took a step toward her.

  She saw what I was up to and took off running. She was fast—I had to step on the gas—but I chased her down. Then I lifted her onto my shoulders and windmilled her until I had to bring us in for a soft crash landing.

  “You’re pretty easy to do unremarkable things with,” I said as I waited for the sky to stop rotating.

  “I was thinking the same thing. It’s going to be so easy to forget all about you.”

  Painful. Every moment with her was awesome and painful.

  The clouds were gray and thick above us, an unbroken expanse of steel wool, stretching from mountain to mountain. We’d been there just over a week. How much longer until I saw Alevar’s black wings soaring across that sky?

  Daryn rolled onto her elbow. Her hair spilled over her shoulder, covering the key. “You’re thinking about the Kindred, aren’t you?”

  She already knew I was, so I just looked at her.

  Daryn sighed, her eyebrows drawing together. “I know it’s not in my hands, but I feel responsible. Why can’t I just know what to do next?”

  “You will.”

  “But when?”

  “When you’re supposed to.” I couldn’t stay there any longer with her lying right next to me. I
hopped to my feet and reached down, pulling her up. “Let’s get to work.”

  I summoned Riot for the second time that day. He appeared in licks of flame, fire one second, horseflesh the next—charging horseflesh.

  I lunged in front of Daryn, calling up my sword and armor in an instant, knowing that even with those I stood almost no chance against the two thousand pounds of fiery animal bearing down on us.

  “Gideon, it’s okay,” Daryn said. “Just stand firm.”

  It didn’t feel okay. I waved the sword in front of me. “Riot, back!”

  His front hooves dug into the dirt when he was almost on us. His eyes bulged; then he jumped to the side like a cricket. Then he was off, galloping away before he doubled back and charged me again. On Daryn’s instruction, I stood my ground.

  Riot freaked out again, sped off, circled back, and that was how it went for about thirty solid minutes, time after time, until foam sizzled and dripped from his mouth and he finally settled to a quivering, steaming, burning stop a dozen paces away.

  I glanced at Daryn. “Well, this feels like a good place to wrap for—”

  “We’re just getting started.”

  I shook my head, eyeing my horse. Riot looked spent, but still scary as hell.

  Daryn had prepped me on how to approach him slowly. Talking. I had to do that now, before I lost my nerve. I got rid of my sword and armor, and then took a step forward.

  “How’s it going today, Riot?” I said. “I’m Gideon.”

  Nice. Two sentences and I’d already managed to embarrass myself. In front of Daryn and a horse. I hadn’t even realized the last part was possible. I continued speaking as I stepped closer. “I’m sure we have a lot in common. You’re clearly a stallion in top physical condition. Extremely dangerous. Badass. Impressive looking.”

  “Wow,” Daryn said behind me.

  That made me smile, which I needed. I was nervous as all get-out. The muscles in Riot’s legs were twitching. His breath lifted in puffs of steam. He had gold eyes—and they hadn’t unlocked from mine. He looked like he wanted to eat my head.

  “Keep going,” Daryn said. “And maybe try to be positive and nice? I think he can sense what you’re saying.”