“Do you think she’s ready to fight again so soon?” Esther asked.
“What?” Alan said, breaking his gaze from Seraphim.
Esther looked to Alan then to Seraphim. “You were staring at her. She just lost every angel under her command when Gabriel made them go insane. Do you think she is ready to fight so soon?”
Alan looked at Seraphim again and nodded. “She’s stronger than you or I know. Besides, I’m not going to be the one to tell her she has to sit this one out.”
“I see your logic,” Esther said.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Well, let’s go and make Michael proud.”
Chapter 2
Tracy fell faster than Ardat expected. Such a scrawny thing, Ardat had anticipated her falling slower than the average person. It was just as Tracy was about to hit the surface of the water that Ardat caught her in the invisible grasp of gravity.
Tracy was still screaming with her eyes closed as Ardat levitated next to her. Tracy’s cries reminded Ardat of some kind of wounded animal yelling to be put out of its misery. “Enough!” Ardat shouted.
Tracy, still trembling, stopped screaming but refused to open her eyes. “I’m dead. I’m dead, aren’t I? I died somehow during the night and now this is hell.”
Ardat cocked her head to the side, amused despite herself. “You are not in hell and neither are you dead. You are in training. I needed you to think you were going to die because that is one of the ways your ability as a Horsewoman can first manifest itself. Open your eyes.”
Tracy shook her head, her eyes still held closed. “No. If you are going to kill me, then just get it over with.”
“If I was going to kill you, I would have just let you fall. Now open your eyes; you’re stronger than you think.”
Ardat watched as Tracy, still squinting, allowed just one of her eyes to inch open the slightest bit. Immediately, she saw what Ardat was talking about and snapped her eyes both closed. “Nope, nope … I’m not going to do this. This is way too weird. I want to call my lawyer or at least my psychiatrist. Uh, he warned me this could happen.”
“I’m not known for my patience,” Ardat warned with menace. “If you don’t open your eyes right now, I’m going to drop you in the water.”
“You wouldn’t. Do you know how long it took me to do my hair this morning?”
Ardat motioned with her hand, and Tracy lowered in the sky enough for her high heels to be soaked by the water. “Okay, okay,” Tracy squealed.
First her right, then her left eye opened. Wonder showed on her face as she looked at the green dome of energy surrounding her.
“It’s the first of many things you will be able to accomplish as the Horsewoman of Disease,” Ardat said. “I can teach you everything you’ll need to know about your new powers and wings.”
“Wings?” Tracy looked up at Ardat with wide eyes.
“Wings,” Ardat answered, carrying them both to shore. “There is no time to waste. The Battle of the Horsemen will start as soon as the four are brought together. Since you were chosen last, you are at a disadvantage. The other three will have been able to accept all of this and practice their new gifts.”
Tracy nodded dumbly as Ardat let them drop the last few feet to the sandy shore by the sea. “Your powers manifested themselves when I dropped you from the lighthouse because they knew you were in trouble. For now, we’ll have to rely on the urgency of fear and impending harm to evoke your abilities. But soon you’ll be able to call on them whenever the need arises. Shall we begin?”
Tracy was reaching out and placing a hand back and forth through the translucent green shell around her. “Do I have any other choice?”
“Good point.”
---
There was no epic speech before Alan led the angels into the camp of the Fallen. No great battle cry he gave to the men and women fighting on his side. They all knew the stakes. With their numbers depleted and the War of the Horsemen looming nearer, they had to succeed.
Alan was at the front of the first wave as they crashed into the enemy lines. The Fallen angels were ready for them. It was obvious to both Sodom and Alan that the angels of the Light had to make a move sooner or later. They had the most to lose.
His great sword gripped in both hands, Alan slammed into the wall of enemies like a battering ram. Whatever happened, he had to move forward. If Cratos was going to make it to his people, they needed to fight their way through the entire camp and retreat before they were surrounded.
Enemies came at Alan from every side. A small part of him, something newly discovered since his rebirth as the Horseman of War, embraced the battle. Alan hewed left and right as his enemies fell beneath him. A war between the supernatural meant not only physical weapons were used, but also the implementation of each individual’s unique power as a member of the paranormal realm.
As a result, Alan was forced to maneuver around different attacks and defenses when it came to each foe. Alan forced his way forward through the ranks of Fallen angels, ducking and weaving attacks with such weapons as acid, boiling lava, spears made of ice, and even one Fallen angel that attacked him with fingernails as long as knives.
For every bout of attacks Alan received, he gave them back. His blue wings pulsating with energy, Alan was a blur of blue and grey as his wings and sword split through the enemy camp. Sweat poured into his eyes. To his right, Cratos fought, swinging a long pole with an anvil sitting on the end of it. On his left, Esther kept pace with Alan and urged her men onward.
On and on they went until Alan’s arms began to ache. Head on a swivel as he fought, Alan searched the camp for any sign of the prison where they were keeping Kassidy. But there was no sign of her or the enemy captain. Sodom and Rolf were nowhere to be found. Something Alan found concerning.
“This is too easy,” Esther shouted from beside him as she bludgeoned an enemy with her shield. “We’re almost through their camp. This should be harder, we—”
Esther stopped mid-sentence as she stared past Alan. Alan followed her gaze. Shoving his long blonde hair, which obscured his vision, behind him, Alan saw the same thing. Rolf and Sodom stood side by side, Rolf’s dreadlocks falling on his dark armor in a cascade, while Sodom stood tall and motionless in a black robe.
Someone knelt beside Sodom. Alan’s heart seized in his chest as he realized who it was. Kassidy was chained at both wrists, Sodom leading her like a dog. Rage filled Alan’s heart. Without thinking, he lunged forward.
Sodom smiled as if he was expecting the attack. The chain in his hands began to glow with yellow energy as Kassidy screamed out in pain. A yellow force field made up of a million tiny yellow comets formed and raced around Sodom, Rolf, and Kassidy.
Alan reached the wall of energy and battered it with his sword. The sound of steel meeting an impenetrable barrier resonated through the air. Alan’s wings slashed at the force field of energy feeding from Sodom, with no avail. Both his wings and his sword did nothing to the obstruction in front of him. Chest heaving, Alan lowered his weapon. “Let her go.”
A wicked smile came to Sodom’s lips. “Oh now it’s time for words, is it?”
“Let her go,” Alan repeated.
“Do you understand the power the Horsemen are given once chosen?” Sodom asked. “They are provided the ability of gods, even rivaling the power of the Archangels themselves.”
Alan barely heard the question come from the Fallen leader’s lips. His eyes were directed down to Kassidy. The girl looked up at him through strands of dirty hair. She couldn’t mouth the words, but her eyes said everything.
In that moment, Alan knew he would do anything to save her. The battle still raging around them, Alan threw down his sword. “Take me.”
Sodom clenched the chain in his hands even tighter. Yellow streams of energy fed off Kassidy and transferred her power into the demon. “And why would I do that?”
Alan lifted his eyes from Kassidy. Nothing else mattered in the
moment. He didn’t care if Cratos had made it or if his own life was in danger. He wouldn’t let Kassidy suffer any longer. “You feed off the strength of others, is that right?”
Sodom nodded.
“Well, Kassidy is only beginning to discover how strong she truly is. I, on the other hand, have had weeks to prepare and train. I’ll trade my life for hers.”
“It’s a trick,” Rolf said, speaking for the first time. “He’s not going to sacrifice himself.”
“I am and I will,” Alan said.
“Alan,” Kassidy gasped, “you can’t.”
Sodom ignored her words and looked Alan up and down. “I accept.”
“Then let her go,” Alan said.
Sodom nodded, releasing the barrier around him and moving to unshackle Kassidy. “I’ll open the chain on one of her wrists, and you put the shackle on. Then I’ll release her second arm.”
Alan understood the risk he was taking. He had no assurance Sodom would keep to the plan once Alan and Kassidy each had a wrist in the chains. Still, what option did he have?
True to his word, Alan approached and allowed Sodom to chain him once Kassidy’s right hand was free. The steel felt cold on his flesh. Alan half expected Sodom to pull some kind of trick once he had him; he wasn’t the only one surprised once Sodom released Kassidy’s second bond and ushered her to go.
“Your worship?” Rolf asked, confused.
Sodom batted his words away as he shackled Alan’s remaining wrist. “She is nothing to me now. I’ve drained her to within an inch of her life. It will take days, if not weeks, for her to recover. By that time, the war will be won.”
It was true. Kassidy was so weak she stumbled away from the group. Her eyes were red and tears flooded down her cheeks as she tried to mouth words to Alan.
There was no time for good-byes. Alan knew this as Seraphim separated herself from the surrounding battle and ran to Kassidy’s side. Already, Alan could feel Sodom sapping his energy.
“Go,” Alan shouted to both women, “go before he—”
Pain rippled across Alan’s body as Sodom drained power from him. A million heated needles tore through his skin and muscles. “Go!” Alan shouted again as he fell to the dirt ground. His eyes were dulling. He welcomed the oncoming darkness that would free him from the torture.
---
“Let me go!” Seraphim shouted. “I can save him. Let me save him.”
Esther, along with a trio of angelic soldiers, wrestled Seraphim back to the Temple steps. Angelica was waiting for them there, holding an unconscious Kassidy in her arms like a baby. “It’s done,” Esther said, fighting back the sadness she heard in her own voice. “It’s what he wanted. He knew what he was doing. Cratos made it through their lines. If we stayed, we would have been slaughtered. Cratos will come back with his people. Then, then we will save Alan.”
Seraphim shook herself free from her captors. Her wings shot out from either side of her back, one jet black and one made of a dull grey steel—the appendage Alan made for her after her run-in with Gabriel. The wing, along with the scar on the right side of her face, was a constant reminder of her weakness, and she hated it.
Seraphim stared down the group of enemies that had chased them to the Temple of Artemis’s steps. She would kill them all before the day was over. Before she could move forward, Seraphim felt a small hand on her arm. It was Artemis; the reincarnation of the ancient prophet had manifested itself in the body of a small girl with wild brown hair. “I know how much you care for him. But if you go now, you will die.”
Seraphim jerked her arm away. “I don’t care what happens to me. I’m a leader without anyone to lead. I’m alone now, and if no one else will go to save Alan then I will.”
Artemis shook her head. “We will save Alan, but this is not the time. Listen to Esther. Cratos will return, we will get him back, we will defeat Sodom. But right now, we have a Horsewoman who needs to be healed, trained, and her steed must be awoken. That is how you fight for him.”
Seraphim hated every word coming out of Artemis’s mouth because she knew the child was right. Seraphim bottled her anger and sheathed her sword. Her wings rested on her back as she stalked back into the Temple to find out what had happened to Kassidy. “We’ll need to get Danielle or one of the other healers to restore her power.”
Artemis ran along beside her. “Yes, Angelica has taken her inside now. I know how angry you are, but I also have some good news.”
Seraphim tilted her head to look down on the small girl struggling to keep pace with her own long strides.
“Raphael is awake.”
If any news could make Seraphim feel better, this was it. The Archangel Raphael had been unconscious since the battle with Gabriel. Using minotaur blood as a channel, he had reclaimed his own power previously taken by Gabriel. Since the event, he had been out cold. If the Archangel was coherent again, he would be a great asset.
“Show me,” Seraphim said to Artemis.
Artemis grinned and ran ahead of Seraphim, through the long halls of the Temple and toward a heavy oak door. Without a knock, Artemis opened the door and ushered Seraphim inside with a bow.
Ignoring the young girl’s strange antics, Seraphim walked to the center of the room, where a large bed stood against the far wall. A man with greyish white hair and a full beard to match was propped up on a mountain of pillows. “She keeps insisting I need more pillows.” He coughed with a wince of pain. “I think she’s cleared out the entire Temple.”
Artemis giggled. “Please, who doesn’t love pillows? I’m going to leave you two to talk now.”
Seraphim raised an eyebrow at her cryptic words.
“Just trust me,” Artemis said as she left the room. “You two need to talk.”
“She’s wise far beyond her years,” Raphael said. “A little strange the prophetess chose a child’s body, but she was always strange … and she was right; we do need to talk.”
Seraphim nodded slowly. She still wanted to go out and save Alan from his prisoners, but Raphael’s presence was enough to hold her in check for the time being. He was one of the last three Archangels remaining after the many years of war. Gabriel was chained in the Temple’s dungeon and Michael was missing.
“I’ve been updated with the events of the last few hours. The Battle of the Horsemen is approaching quickly,” Raphael said, pushing himself further up to a sitting position. “I wish I had been there when you rescued Kassidy. It should be me, not Alan, held as a prisoner.”
Seraphim remained silent.
“I am breaking promises I swore I’d never even bend. I was done with killing, but I can see that violence is sometimes the only answer. So many more people will die on both sides. Are you ready for what comes next?”
Seraphim looked Raphael directly in the eye. “I am.”
A sadness, laced with determination, settled over Raphael. “Then God forgive us for what we do now. The Apocalypse must be stopped at all costs. Only then can we concentrate on finding Michael and uniting the supernatural and human plane once again.”
“Kassidy will have to be healed and prepared in the next few days,” Seraphim said.
“Yes,” agreed Raphael. “And I’ll be ready to fight once Cratos and the Minotaur Nation return. The steeds must also be awoken. I understand Alan met his ‘horse’ during his time at the Temple, but Kassidy must awaken hers.”
“I’ll make sure it’s done,” Seraphim said, turning to go.
“Seraphim.”
She hesitated with her hand on the door and looked over her shoulder. “I know how much you have lost. I cannot only sympathize, but empathize, with your pain. Hiding your emotions will only serve to cripple you from the inside out as it did to me for so many years. Trust me.”
“I’m fine. The Death Angels are abandoned. I can accept that. They all died, and for whatever reason, I survived. I’m done being a leader.”
Seraphim opened the door, but before she could close it and hide the tears forcing
themselves from her eyes, she heard Raphael’s last words. “The best leaders in history never wanted the responsibility.”
Chapter 3
“Again.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like the kind of woman that kids?”
“Ahhh,” Tracy said in exasperation, “come on, Ardat. We’ve been at this for hours. The sun is setting and we’re on a beach. I’m tired and hungry and—”
“Have you always whined this much?” Ardat asked.
“I’m not whining. I didn’t want to be chosen for this thing. I’ve never fought anyone before. Come to think of it, I’ve never even hit anyone before.”
“Food and rest once you can call on your wings,” Ardat said for the hundredth time.
Tracy let out a low growl of frustration. In the hours they’d been practicing, Tracy had been able to create and recreate the dome of green energy that shielded her from an attack. Ardat had shown her some hand-to-hand moves, but now trying to push wings from her back that she didn’t even know she had was too much.
“This is crazy,” Tracy said again after another failed attempt. “I’m not meant for this kind of thing. I’m not a fighter or a warrior. I like nice things like shoes and iced coffees. I’m—I’m too weak.”
“You’re not weak,” Ardat said with a sigh.
“How do you know that?”
“Because you’ve accepted your new reality so far and you’ve even begun making improvement. A weak person’s mind would still be struggling to grasp the situation. A weak person would be scared and perhaps even crying right now. You are not weak. I’ve seen weak, Tracy. I’ve killed weak.” Ardat waited for a moment for her words to settle in. She took the silence to eye Tracy up and down. “You’re not weak. Spoiled and ignorant, maybe.”
A look of confusion wiped some of the exhaustion off Tracy’s face at Ardat’s backhanded compliment. In truth, Ardat herself was surprised she had said something she would consider “kind” to Tracy. It wasn’t exactly in her nature to coddle someone, even if it was preceded by tough love.
Alan Price and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse Page 2
