The Four Horsemen_Guardians

by LJ Swallow

  Do any fae cooperate? I understand the race like to blend in amongst humans, but surely it's in their interest to pay more attention to the supernatural war brewing around?

  But he's telling the truth, something Heath wants me to communicate as our eyes meet. I nod my head to confirm.

  "Can we see records of John's last few business trips?" asks Heath. "His death is suspicious. We think there's demon or vampire involvement. Your queen might be pissed off with us, but this still affects you. I take it you're living with your family in the middle of the human world somewhere? How safe are they?"

  Kai hesitates, eyes troubled as Heath strikes a chord. He sits at his laptop and I glance around the room as he types and the printer whirs. "Here. He never submitted his expenses so I don't know if he attended or not. The police have his credit card and bank records, I imagine. Although, I take it you're not working with the police on this?"

  Heath takes the papers, folds them, and places them in his back pocket. "No. We're avoiding involving anyone, apart from who we need to."

  Kai snorts. "As if you could do anything unnoticed." He tips his head at me. "Hang on. Is she your mythical Fifth? Rumours are she made an appearance."

  "I'm Verity," I reply.

  "Truth? Another Horseman to think she can call the shots, huh?"

  "Another to save your backsides!" retorts Heath.

  "Look, I don't know what's going on here but I'd prefer you left before I come under scrutiny." Kai walks to the door and pulls it open. "I've told you everything I know and given you more than I should."

  Heath and Kai stand opposite each other, Heath refusing to move, with a warning in his eyes. "If you hear anything else, I want you to contact us."

  "Like I said, I'll contact the fae authorities. They can decide whether to pass information onto you or not. Don’t contact me again."

  Heath tenses. "For fuck's sake. Your fae pride will be the death of you all."

  Placing a hand in the small of my back, Heath guides me towards the door.

  "Verity?" I look back to Kai. "You need to brush up on your lying skills."

  11

  VEE

  Xander waits in the car, along with Seth. I'm unsure if Xander won't let Seth out of sight because he's concerned he'll run, or if he's worried about Seth's safety.

  Seth sits in the back and snaps his head around nervously as he hears our footsteps and voices. I climb into the back seat beside him, holding the open box on my lap. Heath joins Xander in the front. Seth pokes around in the box with his lips pursed and then sits back gripping the pencil case.

  "How did you go?" asks Xander.

  Heath pulls on his seatbelt. "We didn't find much info. His supervisor gave us a list of places John visited on recent work trips." He hands Xander the paper. "The guy was fae, by the way."

  Xander's brows shoot up. "John was?"

  "No. John's boss."

  Seth leans forward. "No. His supervisor was Kai. There's a girl called Faye who works in accounts though."

  Heath chuckles.

  "I made the same mistake," I say to Seth. "He means fae."

  He looks at me blankly.

  "Fairies." Xander starts the car. "But not your pretty, winged ones."

  "What the hell are you talking about?" Seth asks.

  "Maybe Ewan's idea would work," suggest Heath.

  "What idea?" I ask, irritated I've been left out of discussions again.

  Heath turns in his seat. "Ewan thinks we should hunt and take Seth with us. Maybe he'll see not everything can be explained away.”

  "Hunt what?” Seth asks says in a guarded tone. "I'm anti blood sport."

  "You're not vegetarian too, are you?" asks Xander.

  "I'm vegan, actually. Organic. I don't trust what might be added to food."

  "Oh hell," laughs out Heath. "You'll starve if you stay with us."

  Xander turns the car ignition and the engine purrs to life. "No wonder he's a skinny pale dude."

  "I am perfectly healthy," he retorts.

  "Sure you are." Xander turns his attention to Heath. "Was the fae guy elusive?"

  "Yeah. Nothing suspicious about him though. Nervous, avoiding questions, but they always are. Gave me this."

  Heath hands over the paper to Xander and runs through our meeting with Kai. "Right. We can take a closer look at these companies when we get back." He holds the paper over his shoulder to Seth without turning around. "You and Vee look through the list. Anything suspicious?"

  "Did you find Seth's key card?" I ask.

  "Yeah. In his jacket, in the locker, like he said." Seth holds up a black jacket and smiles. "I also persuaded Seth to stay with us for another day or two."

  "Persuaded? Xander style?"

  "He was polite," Seth replies, and Heath snorts. "Well, he didn't threaten me anyway."

  "Lucky boy," replies Heath. "Maybe he likes you after all.”

  "What's the address for this storage facility?" asks Xander.

  Seth gives Xander the address, which he passes to Heath. "Call Joss and Ewan. I want them to meet us there. Just in case."

  With a nod, Heath pulls out his phone.

  "Just in case, what?" asks Seth.

  "In case we run into trouble. It seems to follow you."

  Seth frowns at Xander's terse tone. "That's not my fault."

  "Hmm." Xander leans across to turn on the car stereo. Loudly. Without another word, he manoeuvres the car to the exit, then pushes the pedal to the floor as we speed away from the secrets.

  I pick up on his mood lifting for the first time in days. For once we're moving forwards and not backwards.

  The storage facility Seth used is located an hour away, close to a motorway exit. The blue and yellow signage points towards a low building, held on an industrial estate amongst smaller industry. The brown, rectangular look seems apt for a storage facility and is located beside a unit advertising bathroom fittings.

  We approach a barrier with an entry keypad; Seth swipes the card and we drive through.

  A number marks each unit, and the external ones have metal roller doors. The car crawls along the roadway towards the building's rear.

  "How long until Joss and Ewan get here, Heath?" asks Xander.

  "Maybe another ten minutes."

  The car falls silent apart from Xander tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

  "If you're expecting trouble, why don't we get in and out as quickly as possible?" asks Seth and opens his door.

  Heath drags his phone from his pocket. "I'll ask them to wait by the car. They can watch for anyone else arriving."

  There's nobody in the vicinity, on foot or in the car, as we follow Seth across the wet roadway towards the building. He hunches down, face covered by his hood and grips the card in one hand. Xander and Heath stand either side, surveying surroundings for surprise visitors. Nothing.

  A grey door, flush with the smooth wall requires a card swipe and a pass code to enter. Once inside, I blink under the fluorescent lights and stare at a corridor lined with uniform metal doors. The place smells freshly painted, and as sterile as the interior looks.

  Seth leads the way forward before taking a right turn and along another narrow corridor. Close to the end, he pauses and pulls the card from his pocket. The door opens into a concrete floored, cupboard-sized space that would struggle to fit two people in. A cardboard box marked with the name of a removals company rests on the floor, a rucksack beside it.

  "What's in these?" asks Heath.

  "A year’s worth of notes and duplicates of anything important," says Seth.

  I prise open the box. "There's a hard drive in here, is that the one?"

  Seth takes it from my hands and turns it over. Small numbers are written in silver on one edge. "Yes. The rucksack isn’t mine though."

  "Whose is it?”

  Seth shrugs so Xander crouches to unfasten the rucksack. He pulls out clothes. "A guy’s and a girl’s, judging by the mix.”

  Seth takes the
T-shirt and looks at the red symbol printed on the front. "This is John’s. That’s a logo for a game we play.”

  "John left a rucksack here? Are any clothes in here yours?” asks Heath.

  Xander blocks the doorway. "Is that it? You think you can bring us here, grab your clothes, and run?”

  "You’re kidding, right? How far would I get?”

  "About two feet,” replies Xander.

  Heath pulls the rucksack away from the wall and reveals a shoebox tucked into a corner. Seth crouches down to examine the box. He runs his fingers along black text written on the lid. "This is new too."

  "Do you know what it is?" asks Heath. "Is it safe to open?"

  "Yeah. John left this. He's written our code on here." He gestures at a series of letters and numbers, then drops onto his backside and removes the lid. He carefully lifts an empty envelope addressed to Casey at her house, which he drops in alarm as he reveals what's underneath.

  Heath pulls the small handgun out.

  "Fuck! Not mine," replies Seth. "I don't know how to use one."

  Heath turns the weapon over in his hands, and Xander reaches out to pick up two passports beneath the gun. "You think your friends were planning a trip somewhere?"

  "Maybe." He pushes both hands into his hair and stares down in bewilderment. "I didn't know they were."

  "They didn't get far, did they?" Xander flicks through the passports and studies the pages. "Casey by a different name." He drops it back into the box and turns the other image to face Seth. "Is this John?

  Seth nods, jaw set hard.

  "Did you know they had plans to leave?" Xander asks Seth

  "No." Seth's face darkens, mouth turning down as he stares at the items in front of him. "I did not."

  "Why would they leave without you?" asks Xander. "What did you do?"

  "Nothing!" I recoil as Seth's shout echoes out of the door, and he flings the box to one side. "I don't know what's happening to my life anymore! I'm fucking sick of this!"

  "Whoa, tiger," says Xander. "Calm down. Take what you want and let’s go. I'm expecting somebody to follow us, and I'm not in the mood for a fight, even if you are."

  Seth scrambles to his feet and brushes dust from his trousers, snapping back to his calm persona. They're right. He's odd. "Sorry."

  I gather the belongings from the floor and drop them back into the shoebox, which I give to Seth. Xander picks up the large cardboard box, and his face is obscured by the size. Heath places the gun back into the shoebox and then grabs the rucksack.

  Seth stares at the shoebox, face set hard, eyes distant. How does he feel about the discovery? I know little about his relationship with John and Casey, but this is a shock. How isolated is he? Since he's been with us, he hasn't mentioned contacting any other friends or family.

  "You sure you don't have a passport squirrelled away too?" asks Heath.

  "I have one, yes, but with my name on. It’s at my house."

  "I guess they're smarter than you then," replies Xander. "They have false names."

  "And a gun." Heath gestures at the box.

  "Not anymore." Xander pulls the gun out and tucks it into his jacket. "I think I’ll keep this. Let's go."

  12

  JOSS

  I rest against my car bonnet and look around as Ewan joins me. Miserable grey industrial estate meets miserable grey weather. I bloody hate winter. I yank my jacket collar higher against the wind.

  "Did they say whereabouts they were?" asks Ewan. "It's a bloody big place."

  "Nah. They said wait here."

  "Fun times." He kicks at some loose tarmac with his boot. "What do you think about this Seth guy?"

  "I'm not sure yet. Let's see what he comes up with for us. I don't think he murdered anybody though. I don't get that vibe from him; he's terrified right now."

  Ewan's expression shows he isn't convinced. "I guess Vee trusts him. I'll see exactly what is on this hard drive; if there's anything incriminating, I'll wipe it."

  Vee. What the hell is going on with her? The unease from her request won't leave, even though she's calmer this morning. I knew sex with her would be intense, and I was unsure what power exchange would happen, and I'm worried whether I took away some of what she wanted in the moment I lost control. She energised me; hell, I could've spent all night repeating what we did, addicted now I've had a taste. But Vee seems stronger too and more determined.

  Was the only reason she came to me because she wanted me to attempt to drain her emotions with my power? Or was her need something deeper? I spoke to Heath, who shares my concern. Should I say something to Ewan?

  Ewan makes the decision for me. "How does Vee seem to you at the moment? I know you and Heath spent some, uh, time with her recently. Is she okay after her breakdown?"

  I gaze across the car park at the empty boxes piled by the skip and papers blowing across the car park. "Vee told me she doesn't want to be human anymore, and thinks I can starve her of human emotions."

  "What?" I look back to Ewan's incredulous face. "Why?"

  "Because of the breakdown at the hall. She feels she's letting us down. Vee thinks she can't fulfill her role until she loses that side of herself."

  Ewan blows air into his cheeks and stares at the ground. "That worries me."

  "Yeah, me too."

  He side glances me. "Did you?"

  "Did I what? Do what she asked? No, I bloody didn't, but saying no to her goes against everything I feel."

  "You had sex with her though. What was that like?"

  I scowl at him in warning. "Ewan."

  "Jesus, no. I don't mean what it was like. I meant what happened with your power. Did it trigger like Heath said his did?"

  "Uh. I guess." I shift. "I feel more connection to her, and she seemed calmer since. Maybe I half did."

  "So you think she took your power? Or you gave her it?"

  "Honestly, Ewan, I was caught in the moment, you know. Can we stop talking about this?"

  "Do you think she's had sex with Xander?" he continues.

  I'm bloody sure she has. I'm not stupid; I know what I saw the aftermath of in the hotel room. It's odd they're still distant though. Xander's bloody good at maintaining his front.

  "I’d lay bets he has. Why are you asking?”

  "I just want to know what happened." He catches my half smile. "You know what I mean! What if something weird happens to her once she has sex with all of us?"

  "I thought you’d dropped the 'Vee's trouble' thoughts you had back when she first arrived."

  Ewan digs hands into his pockets. "Have you ever had a girl affect you the way she does? She can be in a different room, and I sense her. Not just sense her, but I'm drawn to find her. Touch her. Protect her. If she's too close, I have to struggle to think straight. Does that happen to you?"

  I nod.

  "And how she reacts sometimes—that crazy sex drive. She doesn't understand who she is, nor do we. Now you've told me this, I'm worried."

  "Don't you start overthinking too, Ewan." A nearby car engine distracts me, and a blue sedan passes the security gates and drives further into the estate. I elbow Ewan in the side. "Just don't succumb to her charms if you're worried about what she'll do to you."

  "No, Joss. I'm worried about what I'll do to her."

  The car travels back again, driving slowly by the gates. With the car window up, I can't see the driver clearly, but I'd swear he's looking our way as he passes again.

  Something catches my eye to the left, further along the roadway towards one of the facility doors. A tall figure, dressed in black, a coat flaring around his body. I straighten. Forget the car. "Ewan."

  I grab his arm and point, but the figure has gone.

  "Someone there?" he asks.

  "Yeah. Come on." I stride away, down the small slope towards the door I swear I saw the guy walk through. If he was a guy. Ewan follows, and texts Xander as we walk. Numbers on signs outside the doors indicate where units are located. I halt outside the door t
he person walked through.

  "Wrong number," Ewan says. "Xander said Seth’s is 2698. This is 2500-2600. You can't get in without a card."

  "I'll wait for the guy to come back out then. You wait up by the car in case this is a decoy and others arrive."

  One thing I hate in life is the constant suspicion. We interact with people every day, but we look for sinister motives in normal activities. No wonder we have trouble trusting Seth. We could be stalking a guy going about his daily business unaware two of the Four Horsemen follow him.

  Ewan walks away, and I rest on the wall by the door.

  Another thing I hate? Hanging around waiting to see if I'll be attacked or not.

  The door clicks unlocked and I straighten, ready to walk in as if I have business here. The heavy door opens and a man carrying a box almost walks into me. We perform the weird stepping side to side ritual, as we attempt to pass each other but end up standing back opposite. He wears a suit beneath the long black coat and a hassled look. I grab the door and apologise for getting in his way. As a typical English guy, he apologises in return.

  Now we’re close, I’m aware he’s human and nothing else. I watch him walk away in the opposite direction to Ewan and our car. Where’s his car? Still holding the door, I debate what to do.

  A quick look won’t hurt.

  "Ewan!”

  I gesture at the door, and he sets off back towards me as I walk inside to a sterile building. Rows of padlocked doors stretch before me. Pausing, I listen for other footsteps or the metal creak from a unit door.

  Nothing.

  I head stealthily along the corridor for a fifty metres or so, then jump, adrenaline flooding as the door behind slams shut. Hopefully that’s Ewan, so I turn to head back to the entrance. As I approach, I pass a corridor on my left lined with units and swear I can I detect a sense of something odd. A movement catches my eye and a black shape shifts around another corner.