by L P PATERSON
I looked forward to see the pale ice grey eyes of Death watching me. She lounged on the throne. Her long frame barely contained. Long legs stretched in front of her, one crooked at the knee. Her chin rested on her hand which was propped on the arm of the throne, which I now noticed was constructed of bones. They looked like human bones with human skulls interspersed in between. Piles of them, which could only have come from a lot of bodies. As I stared at the throne, I saw the bones and skulls swirl and shift into a pile of bodies, and still Death sat watching me.
I blinked several times but the pile of bodies still remained and she sat calmly atop them. The image of the bodies was seared into my mind but before I could process and store it the throne morphed again and it changed into a swirling mist of dark fog. In the fog I saw faces shrieking in agony. Mouths open wide but no sound coming out. The faces pushed against the fog as if straining to escape from a sealed void in which they were trapped. Then I saw the bodies again and then the bones. The throne kept changing over and over and still Death watched me.
"Still your mind Loci." I heard Death say the words but I was fixated on the constant shifting of the throne. "Still your mind!" she barked. I forced my eyes away from the throne to look at Death. Her eyes bored into mine and I stubbornly stared back. Her gaze was unflinching and intrusive and I lowered my eyes. Instinctively I knew not to challenge Death further by holding eye contact. I was also terrified at the situation which I found myself in. I had tried to outsmart Death, looking inside her using my Loci abilities, in order to seek out some deep secret with which I could bargain to save Cymon. And now I had no idea where I was or how I had got here along with Death. Although I suspected I might actually be inside her mind. I had never before been more aware of my place at the bottom of the hierarchy.
"Do you seek to challenge me Loci?" Death asked softly.
A room full of eyes were watching me, waiting for my answer. They looked at me with held breaths. Each one probably wondering how stupid could I be, the answer was obvious, clearly. But I knew it was a trick question she asked so I did not answer.
"Do you believe that you can challenge me?" she continued. Wait. Did she really expect an answer? I saw one of the reapers near to me look towards Death before turning back to me. His eyes gleamed in anticipation of my demise. The necromancer beside him was bouncing on his toes, his excitement at my destruction barely contained. They were both eager for my response.
"No." I said.
"Good." she replied. "Because that would not be good for you." She watched me again and shifted on the throne, which I now saw was made of simple stone like the walls and floor, to rest her elbows on her knees. She seemed to ponder for a while. The reaper and the necromancer near to me seemed to deflate. They both looked disappointed that Death had not instantly incinerated me and reduced me to a pile of ashes.
"I just want you to spare Cymon. He-"
"Shush." She spoke gently as if hushing a disobedient child, and continued watching me as if evaluating my worth. I needed to let her know my motive. I did not plan on challenging Death at all. But I knew that she would easily have killed Cymon in the cemetery. When I saw Death standing over Cymon with a sword as tall as a man raised in her hand then I was quite sure that was it! He was going to die. Although I did not yet quite understand how reapers truly died, I was not about to watch anything happen to Cymon. Stupid me.
"But he-"
"I said shush." Again, she spoke softly and I saw the slightest movement in the forefinger of her right hand. I tried to open my mouth again to defend my actions but I couldn't. My mouth was sealed. My hand flew up to my face and I felt smooth skin. No protrusion of lips. Nothing. Just skin stretched across my face where my mouth should be.
The reaper grinned. The necromancer bounced harder.
"You talk too much Loci. Do you not know in whose presence you stand?" she said in that irritating softly spoken voice. But I could not answer. I strained to open my mouth and I began to panic. I clawed at the space where my mouth should be and I could feel a sudden tightness in my throat as I realised that tears were forming in my eyes. A fat tear rolled down my cheek as I dropped to the ground. In a small puddle of water on the stone tile I glimpsed my reflection and drew back in horror as I saw my mouthless face. My mind raced back to Bertran’s bar and the image of the revenant formed in my head. I couldn't stop the fresh flow of tears as they rolled down my cheeks.
"Get up." said Death. I felt my legs move beneath me as Death forced my body to stand. She leaned back in her throne and still watching me seemed to contemplate further. A wide grin formed on the face of the necromancer close to me. He seemed content that he had seen some suffering. The reaper did not smile anymore, he seemed to now realise that I was petitioning for one of his own kind.
"I could kill you." she said. "It would be easy, and the right thing to do. You seem to be... problematic." she barely knew me. If War had made that statement I would understand. "But I see that you are favoured." As she said this my wrist began to itch and burn. I looked down to see the red band of hair around my wrist glowing and swirling. Death stared at it intently and it began to shift and move, jerking outwards and upwards as if an invisible hand was trying to pull it off my wrist. It held tight. She sighed and leaned back.
"You have a place in this world Loci." she continued. "But you have no influence here. We, the Horsemen, rule this place. There are not many above us," she said as she glanced at the red band again, "and even they allow us autonomy. Know your place... or you will meet your end." I swallowed and nodded my head several times, my eyes still gleaming with tears. I was desperate to have my mouth back and I would not speak unless spoken to. I did not care that reapers and necromancers and whoever else were watching me cry like a baby. I had been told that the Horsemen were fair and I now prayed that that was true.
"This place needs balance Loci. We make sure that the balance is maintained. You cannot comprehend how difficult it is to do that, every minute of every hour of every day.” She leaned back as she said this and gave a drawn out sigh. “I am Death,” she said “but there is no Life to help me. And War... well, she has no Peace. Famine fights every day to balance the greed and gluttony of the worlds with the hunger and starvation. And Conquest, as mad as she is, she guides us all."
Fuck!! There was a mad Horseman? My head drew back in shock and my eyes opened just that bit wider following that reveal. Absolute power and madness do not partner very well.
Death smiled as my face showed my thoughts.
"Yes Loci. She is lucid most of the time. War, Famine and I are there when she is not. Because we must maintain the balance. I depend on my people to help me do that. Reapers who do not have a scythe and cannot reap are of no use to me." She shifted on the throne as she said this and passed her hand through her white hair before resting her forehead on it. "The smallest thing that breaches the balance can cause Chaos Loci. Do you even know what Chaos is?"
I knew what my idea of Chaos was but I didn't think that was the same thing in this world. I slowly shook my head. Death smiled. She truly was beautiful. The white skin of her cheeks pulled away as her lips spread to reveal white and perfect teeth. It was a genuine smile but there was no happiness behind it.
"Chaos is the end of your world as you know it Loci,” she said in a drawn-out breath. “And mine and every other world around us. And someone is trying to bring about Chaos. The scythe alone won't do it. But it is the start."
"But Cymon has found his scythe now. It is okay." I thought that I had screamed them out in my head but the high pitched words raced past my ears. My hand was on my face in an instant. My mouth was back. I almost fell to the floor again with relief but instead I kept touching my face to confirm to myself that my mouth was really there. I felt my eyes moisten again but this time I refused to let the tears fall.
"Has it been found Loci?" asked Death as she tilted her head slightly "We are not okay."
What was she talking about? I saw the scythe. I
t was in Cymon's hand before we were attacked. When the Horsemen appeared, we were almost overcome but I knew that Cymon had his scythe. "He had the scythe. I saw it in his hands. He can reap now so you don't have to kill him." I knew I was begging but I needed to convince her to spare Cymon. The guy got on every one of my nerves but I had grown to like him and I wanted him to live.
"The Reaper cannot reap, and so is no longer required, so he must die. The scythe is gone Loci. If I discover who has taken it, I will kill them also."
Death stretched her long legs and again shifted on the throne. Then she stood. Every single person in the room immediately dropped to the floor on one knee. Except me. I looked around; every head was bowed low. Death stood tall surveying her subjects and then her eyes landed on me. One white eyebrow slowly rose in question. I looked around confused at what I should do. The reaper who was waiting for my demise just a little while before, now gave me a sideways glance and then rolled his eyes towards the floor. I slowly sank down to one knee and bowed my head.
"Please do not kill Cymon." I said. "If you kill him then whoever is trying to bring about Chaos will have won."
"You do have a point. It might be wise to observe before taking any action." she stated. “And what about you Loci? You failed to locate the artefact.”
What the hell was she talking about? Okay. Maybe I had not actually found the scythe, but I had led Cymon to it hadn’t I? I had connected all the dots with Papa Babash and Mother Annie and the Time Master. I had created the path that we had followed. So what was Death talking about?
That single eyebrow lifted again as she watched me. The necromancer turned to me with a wide grin on his face. His sharp teeth caging his tongue as he barely contained his excitement.
“You failed in your task Loci. The scythe is gone, and Chaos will come. It has begun.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.” she said, still looking at me. “How can you understand. You are new to this world. But there are consequences to everything. There must always be balance. A Loci always finds the artefact. It may take days or even months. But it is always found.”
“But I only had fifteen hours.” I shouted and instantly lowered my head as l remembered my mouthless face.
A faint smile formed on Death’s face. “Yes. War set the deadline because she knew the importance of finding the scythe quickly. But still you failed. And so it has begun”
“So what happens now?” I asked. What had begun? Was I in danger? She couldn’t kill me. I hoped. She had already said that I was favoured, and I gave a silent thank you for being crazy enough to challenge Gabrielle. I was only still standing because of that strand of hair around my wrist.
“Whoever is trying to bring about Chaos cannot do it with the scythe alone. But I have heard you.” she said. “I will wait and observe.”
A little flutter of hope rose in my stomach. If she spared Cymon then I could go home. My job of locating the scythe was over and Cymon could go back to being a reaper that could actually reap. But Death did not seem to be happy. She had given me cryptic responses about the scythe which I did not understand.
"And Cymon can reap?" I asked tentatively. Praying that she would let him live.
She looked at me again, her head leaning to the side. Her hair and clothing floating slowly around her as if lifted by gentle waves of air.
"Leave." said Death. Instantly the room was filled again with smoke of black, silvery white and green. In a few seconds the smoke had dissipated and the room was clear. Only Death stood before me. I took a step back as she began to stroll towards me. She stopped within breathing distance and leaned in. "And Cymon can reap." she said "But not for long. The scythe will not last." she added softly.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "He has the scythe back now. But I don't understand why his scythe was stolen.”
Before she could answer I saw a column of smoke forming. This was the colour of palest yellow with hints of green. Then a column of red smoke followed by another of bluey black. I was surrounded by the four Horsemen.
I took a step back as I felt the true presence of absolute power. It was oppressive. War stood in front of me and I saw that she carried a large sword which was slung across her back. I could see the hilt protruding above her right shoulder and it seemed to glow a reddish gold in the pale light of the room. Famine stood next to War and on her waist hung a pendant in the image of a set of scales. It shimmered and glowed and seemed to grow and then shrink repeatedly, as if it’s size could not remain constant. The other Horseman I saw had a large bow slung across her back and a quiver of arrows hung at her waist.
I had stood very close to War and Death and had felt scared and insignificant with both of them. But in the presence of all four of the Horsemen together, I felt as if I was being enclosed in a bubble of something that was heavy and oppressive and dangerous while at the same time pure and light and innocent. And it was probing.
I felt as if my whole body was being ripped open and spread apart. My soul was being invaded as something dug deep into me, searching for something, anything that it could find. And it found it all. It was as if everything was being drawn out of me. My emotions, my feelings; regrets, hope, fear, loss. Everything was torn from me and I was laid bare. But that wasn’t all. The probe didn’t stop there. It went further. It went beyond my own past and into the past of the Loci. I saw in my mind the terrified faces of my Loci ancestors as they were probed and laid bare also. Everything that Agatha had given me was exposed to the Horsemen’s probing. And my head throbbed. Then nothing. Just a soothing black void which then erupted in an explosion of blinding light and heat. Famine gasped. War shook her head. Death’s eyes closed to slits, and the unknown Horseman said, “She lives.”
My legs suddenly felt weak and I was overcome by a sudden wave of heat. At the same time my head felt light and my chest tightened up. What was happening to me? Then I felt an emptiness within me quickly followed by a fluttery sensation in my stomach. Then a tingling feeling passed through me and I fell to the floor exhausted.
I opened my eyes and I saw a pair of red boots in front of me. “Get up Loci.” said War. I wanted to. I really did. But my body felt as if it would break apart if I moved.
“I can’t.” I replied. What had they done to me?
“Yes. You can. Get up.” said War.
“Leave her.” This from the Horseman in the pale yellowy green. She had to be Conquest. It was a whispered command and I saw War’s boots move away. I slowly lifted my head. The four Horsemen stood around me watching. Waiting.
I couldn’t get up. My body felt as if it was made of lead. I struggled to keep my head up but my eyes could barely open. An intense pain was raging through my head and my stomach burned and heaved. I looked at War, my eyes pleading. She took one step towards me and again said, “Get up.” through gritted teeth.
“Leave her.” The command came again and instantly War stopped.
“I will kill her.” said Death. “She is weak and she has no control over her power.”
What the hell! I was normal. A happy, healthy twenty something focused on living and now I was about to die. Did the angel hair mean nothing?
“She lives.” I heard the whisper from Conquest again. The mad Horseman. I had never met her but I recognised her as the woman from the bridge. Tall as the other Horsemen and slender like War and Death. Her pale brown face was as beautiful as the others but her dark eyes were tormented.
“No.” stated Death quietly. “She failed to find the artefact. She must die. There must be balance.” She was angry, but even in anger she was calm. I watched as my fate was debated and determined by these beings of power.
Conquest looked at me again. “The Fifth. She lives.” she stated, and then she dissolved into a column of smoke and was gone.
I saw Famine watching me and her eyebrows drew close as her face tightened up. She scrunched her mouth to the side and then just shook he
r head as she too dissolved into a column of bluey black smoke and was gone.
War was laughing. She walked towards me and this time I was grateful as she leaned down and easily lifted me from the ground. She placed her palm against my forehead and I felt a soothing sensation pass through me as my strength returned. She stepped back and instantly turned into a column of red smoke.
It was just me and Death again. I watched the Horseman. I had so many questions, but would she answer them? I opened my mouth to ask her.
“Shush.” she said, and I clamped it shut again. “It seems Conquest has seen… something.” she said.
“What? What has she seen?” I asked. I needed to know. “What is the Fifth? Am I going to die?”
Death flattened her lips and exhaled a long breath. She then shook her head. “You are the most stubborn and irritating Loci that I have ever encountered. And I have met them all.” I briefly wondered if she knew about Agnes. “Yes. The Time Master has made us aware.” Shit! They do read minds. She shook her head again.
I had questions. Too many to ask Death and she probably would not answer any of them, but one was still burning inside me. I needed to know more about Cymon. She had said that she would let him live and he could reap. But the scythe, the real scythe was gone. Why?
