by Billi Bell
Death stared him down, almost daring him to vomit. Instead, he asked for a glass of water. The little girl came from the kitchen and brought him a drink. She walked over to a small chair across from them and added the book to a large stack beside it. She sat, and her body language changed from the scared little girl who met them at the door to a monarch waiting to be entertained. She looked into Dominic’s eyes with conviction before turning her attention away to Death.
“I heard you had a second shadow following you around now,” she said smiling at the curious look on Death’s face. “Word travels fast.”
“How exactly did the word reach you in less than two days, Sarah?” asked Death. She didn’t like leaks of information seeping out, never knowing where it might end up.
“Been alive as long as I have, you make some friends. Friends who you like to leave in big houses all alone with no one to talk to,” she said, grinning brightly. Death took a mental note to chastise May later.
Josiah came over to stand behind Sarah’s chair. A guard protecting his queen. The little girl had to be around the age of ten, but Dominic was starting to adapt to his new environment and knew not to take anything at face value anymore.
“Tell me, what else have you heard?” Death asked. Sarah shook her head indicating nothing more. “Well, I’m looking for a rotter. He’s somewhere on the eastern side of the country, and like you said, you’ve made some friends. Heard anything?”
Sarah looked up at Josiah and said, “Tell em what you heard.”
Josiah told her he’d just returned from New York. On his way back, he’d been told a story of a man from England who was stabbed in the heart and didn’t die.
“It was a scouting trip, I was looking for our next place to stay,” he started. “Met a man who offered me some money for a ride back to Philadelphia. White man, alright fella named Eli. He had a bottle in his hand from the moment I met him, til I dropped him off. Told me he saw a man get stabbed in the heart and live. Said the man sounded British. Now, I thought it was just a tall tale or another immortal, but he swore on his dead mama the man’s blood was black as coal.”
This considerably peaked Death’s interest. “We should talk in private.”
She turned to Sarah, "This is Dominic, and he’s over 400 years old. He has only recently become aware of others like him, very recently. You mind?”
Sarah looked over to Dominic and smiled. “Okay, but you owe me one.” Death nodded and walked outside with Josiah.
Sarah asked Dominic what he wanted to know. “Everything.”
“I’m over 600 years old, we don’t have time for everything I know,” she said. “Listen, you don’t look that fresh, so I’ll just say it. How you managed to be alone for so long is strange and it ain’t natural, not even for us.”
“I had someone, a human, but she’s long gone now. Since then, I’ve been a priest in one form or another. I guess I used my flock as my cluster,” said Dominic.
She got up from her chair and went to stir the soup on the small stove. “I don’t know how long she plan on keeping you around, but once she done, find yourself a cluster and stick with them. She checks on us every ten years or so unless we need her sooner than that.”
Sarah explained that she originally from Africa. When her people realized she wasn’t aging they treated her as a god and worshipped her for centuries. “Then the white men came and took us all.”
She worked cotton fields for a few years until Death found her. “People can’t know about us. She can’t mess with history as she say, but she protects us immortals from things like slavery. She say she feel a war coming and slavery is gon be at the center of it, but a lotta death too.”
***
Death and Josiah walked outside and sat on the edge of the porch.
“How have you been, really?” Death asked. Josiah looked over the small community he’d called home for the past few years. He was the groups youngest immortal and only joined a cluster after losing his father, the only family he’d ever known. Death found him and introduced him to Sarah and her family. Despite Sarah’s appearance, she was the matriarchal leader and protector of the cluster. Her life’s experience kept them safe and under the radar.
“I still miss him so much and think about him every day. Alice has been a godsend though. You mind if we don’t talk about that stuff?” Death eased off and changed the subject.
“Fine, tell me more about the man’s story. What else did this Eli tell you?”
If anyone but Josiah had heard the story, it would be chalked up to a drunk’s imagination, but he knew better. “Eli was in a bar named “Filthy Rascals” when he struck up a conversation with an Englishman calling himself Benjamin. He just seemed a little off and kept looking over his shoulder. After talking for a while, Benjamin just started to get angry, attacking people. That led to an all-out brawl.”
Josiah briefly stopped to greet a neighbor walking by, undoubtedly attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation between him and the mysterious woman.
“He kept saying they were trying to take his soul,” he continued. “In the middle of all the fighting that Benjamin fella got stabbed right in the heart. This black stuff, like molasses, came out the hole in his chest. Anyway, that’s when everyone started to run out. Eli swore he saw the wound start to heal when he yanked that knife out. Scared the shit outta him, so he ran too.”
Death was confused, Percival’s blood should still be red. “Has to do with the reaper helping him?”
“It’s him, has to be, rotting from the inside out. I don’t understand how he’s healing, his body should be breaking down,” said Death. She didn’t believe her own reasoning, but it was good enough until she learned the truth. “Thanks, Josiah.”
They were about to head back inside when two women approached the home. One appeared to be in her late twenties, petite with brown skin that matched her chestnut eyes. The other woman looked to be about forty years older and could have easily been her grandmother.
The younger woman held a basket of produce that was promptly taken by Josiah, who greeted her with a kiss. Dominic and Sarah emerged from the home laughing. The younger woman observed Dominic with a weary look, but Sarah gave a subtle nod.
Sarah introduced the women to Dominic as Alice and Olive, members of their cluster. Alice was Josiah’s wife of nearly 20 years. At 162 years old she was almost a century older than him but looked ten years younger.
“Death, checking in on us again already?” Alice asked. “You’re welcome to stay and eat, well, just stay I suppose.”
“I’m here for other reasons that I’m sure Sarah will fill you two in on,” said Death. “Dominic, we’re leaving now.”
Before they left Sarah gave Dominic a piece of paper, “Write anytime, and when she done with you, we got room, but you gotta carry your weight like the rest of us.”
Dominic smiled, and Sarah gave him a hug. She watched as he and Death headed toward Nella, cloaked to appear as a regular horse. Dominic gave Sarah a short wave before Nella began to gallop.
CHAPTER 15
Death lead in front of Dominic as they rounded the corner of a brick building searching for the bar Percival disappeared from. She had to ask several reapers before one, Simon, recognized the name from a previous reaping and gave her directions.
She spotted a black door with a red stripe, just as he described, but stopped short when she felt someone following them and turned.
“You’re late, where the hell have you been?” asked Death. “If you followed my directions you would have been back hours ago.”
Ling stared annoyingly at Death. “I had to make sure I wasn’t followed. The White Rider followed me to the oasis.”
Death was more disappointed than surprised. She’d hoped Samir wasn’t foolish enough to betray her.
“I’ll deal with him later, what did you find in the mausoleum?”
Ling explained what she saw in the tomb and that the three remaining bodies were still fresh.
<
br /> “How long have they been there?” Ling asked, noting Death’s confused look.
“Thousands of years, before there were horsemen and only a handful of reapers on the planet. They should be dust, but maybe it’s the paradise that’s keeping them from rotting.”
Ling described the mausoleum being unlocked, the animals, and trees. Death became extremely angry and began pacing in the small alley.
“What the fuck is going on? No one is supposed to know that place exists. Something is happening right in front of me, and I have no fucking clue what it is. Ling, go back and see if you can find any other clues of someone being there. If Samir shows up again, you have my permission to rip his throat out.”
“Yes, of course, Great Reaper,” Ling smiled and bowed before disappearing around the corner.
Dominic stepped forward snapping Death from her thoughts and rage. She cloaked herself and headed for the door. Dominic watched as she strolled through the solid wood. He attempted to open the door but found it locked. A large man opened a peephole in the door and asked for the password. Dominic was two seconds away from getting his head bashed in if he didn’t guess correctly.
“Say revolution,” said Death inside his head. Dominic repeated the word, and the door was opened before him.
The Filthy Rascal was an underground bar that catered to a particular clientele, one that usually found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Many men who drank there were wanted for crimes from robbery to murder. When Death literally walked thru the door, she surveyed her surroundings, noting many men who were about to meet their own reapers soon. It was a habit that came with the job of being the Great Reaper. Centuries ago after the first rotter, she’d ever come across was sent to the afterlife, she developed a habit of scanning large groups of people to ensure they were fresh.
Dominic in his priest attire stood out amongst the bar’s patrons. He spotted Death in a trance, standing near the middle of the room. The men in the bar seemed unaffected by the change in energy that surrounded her, except Dominic. He couldn’t describe the feeling, but it was familiar. It was like a distant memory on the edge of his brain, but it caused his head to hurt when he tried to recall it.
Death was attempting to read the room to find out if the reaper aiding him had been there as well. Dominic sat at the bar and ordered a beer, taking advantage of the downtime. He was surprised that he was tired but recalled he had been unconscious for over hours, so he’d probably gotten all the rest he’d need for a while.
He was served a drink in the filthiest mug he’d ever seen. He didn’t care, if he caught anything, it would mean a few days in bed, before he’d start to get better. He’d suffered many ailments over the years, but once he suffered through an illness, he became immune. Sarah advised him to catch everything he could.
Death continued to scan the room until she found it, the reaper’s trail led to War. His presence was strong, and when she opened her eyes, she knew why. He now stood in front of her, cloaked.
All reapers except Horsemen were naturally cloaked. They had the luxury of living in the open when they desired. Their cloaks came in different forms: War had his military helmet, Ling wore a hoodless cape and Samir, a scarf made from his father’s silk.
“War, what are you doing here?” she asked. War led her to an empty table, and they both sat. Just as before in the cemetery, he eyed Dominic with anger.
“You’re still carrying him around with you, I thought you were dropping him off with a cluster?” he asked.
“When I decided to make you a Horseman, not that long after your death I might add, I distinctly remember advising you to never question me,” she said. “So either you have something for me, or my blade is going to be dripping with blood very soon.”
Death glared into his eyes, infuriated he was wasting her time. War quickly reached into his pocket and laid a reaper’s scythe on the table.
“I took this from the Paladin who I believe assisted Percival and I’m ashamed to say he’s one of mine, a soldier. His name is Victor, and I received the information he was in a relationship with Clara. I have him tied up at my home in Ireland, shall we go?”
He expected her to be thrilled, but Death’s face was expressionless. She was clearly unimpressed by the report, and it left him baffled.
“I am not going anywhere and let Victor go with a very genuine apology,” said Death. “Captain Adofo has already cleared him.”
During their walk to Clara on the bridge, Adofo advised Death that he checked the alibis of all the reapers she was closely associated with, and Victor was one of the first ones cleared. They were still being monitored as a precaution by lead reapers.
“Now tell me, how did you take him without being seen?”
War grew frustrated at Death’s apparent distrust in him and offered to turn in his own scythe.
“Answer my question, or I’ll rip every limb from your body,” she said.
Dominic had been watching the tense exchange from the bar, and the barkeep had been watching him looking at an empty table.
“I took him when I opened a portal underneath his feet that led to my home,” said War. “I was able to catch him off guard and take his scythe.”
“Don’t ever do that again, in fact, fuck up again and I’ll remove you as a Horseman and place you in an orb. Got it?”
War acknowledged Death’s threat and was excused to continue the search. Dominic came over to the table and sat with his beer in hand.
“Before we go to the next part of our journey, can I ask you a question, please?” he asked. Her mind was elsewhere, but she managed to absently nod approval.
“The painting on the wall in your living room, I gathered that you painted it. Where is the location that inspired it, and why is it the only one in the room?”
This brought her back to the present, and she searched a memory where she’d seen the mountainside.
“I don’t know, I’ve seen every corner of this Earth, but I’m afraid the location is lost to me. Even I have my faults Dominic, and it’s the only painting because I want it to be. It’s one of my favorites. Why are you so interested in the location?”
Dominic explained the dream he had every night except the previous one, and the location appears to be the same place as her drawing. He also expressed confusion, if she’d read his memories, wouldn’t she know already?
“I didn’t see those images in your dreams, maybe they’re beyond the wall. If that’s the case, then when you fall asleep, you can access it. I should knock you unconscious again to test this theory.”
Before Dominic could protest, Ling appeared again, this time with strands of red horse hair in her hands.
“When I opened the sarcophagus of the young man, I found this at his feet, and I think you should look at it. If this is what I think it is, we’ve got a huge problem.”
CHAPTER 16
1765: England
Death rode Nella cross the field at a quarter to midnight, the massive stones came into view, and she increased her speed. Tonight was an important gathering and as the Great Reaper, being late was unacceptable. An impending storm was on the horizon, but even mother nature wouldn’t dare scatter a drop before Death had declared the meeting over.
The ceremony was to begin at the stroke of midnight, with the passing of a Horseman to the afterlife. She left Nella a few yards away from the ancient site known to all as Stonehenge.
The ruins were far from what they’d been in the years after its drawn-out completion. During a brief period when she lived openly amongst humans, these ancient peoples worshiped her. When she asked for a location to commence her Horsemen departures, they built it. She assured safe passage to the afterlife for them as gratitude.
Death arranged it to be cloaked, so the site appeared to deteriorate, but once the boundary was crossed, it was just as new. This assured privacy and no interruptions during the sacred ritual.
“Adofo, you beat me here. Are you trying to make me look bad?” s
he jokingly asked her friend. He bowed to his superior and welcomed her arrival. They stood at the center of the altar, awaiting the guests of honor.
“Of course not Great Reaper, why would I do a thing like that?” said Adofo giving her a smile and wink. Death had never known the feeling of having a father, but she assumed this was the closest she’d ever come to it.
“You know you could still change your mind, this job has your name all over it,” she said. “Robert will understand, or I’ll make him. I know if anyone can last in this position it’s you.”
Adofo couldn’t help but laugh, this was the fifth time she’d asked him to reconsider. “If I take the position, it means I have to leave the water. Battles are mostly fought on land, and if I became War, I would need to be there too.”
Becoming a Horseman was an honor, and it had its perks. Other than being able to roam visible to the living, they were allowed their own homes, were given a prized mare and could travel via portals all over the world. Lesser ranked reapers lived in cloaked buildings that resembled apartment buildings and could only venture out to designated areas.
Death suspected another reason for him turning down such a coveted position, his past. Adofo drowning in the Atlantic tied him to it after death, and he reaped other slaves who met a similar fate. It was this work that initially brought him to her attention. The once enslaved souls were confused and angry, usually refusing to go into the afterlife. Adofo could find ways to comfort them resulting in smoother transitions. This work was important to him, and he didn’t want to give it up.
The position of War had never been held for more than five hundred years, and Death could never figure out why. She could only guess that even after death, the effects of war still weighed heavy on the soul and even reapers had their limits.
The sounds of hooves interrupted them and in the distance were three riders closing in. Two women and a man came into view as they hitched their horses alongside Nella, who was almost twice the size of them but welcomed the company.
