"Depends on who you are." It seemed mention of Eddie erased all concern about who they were and how they had gotten into his apartment. Even so, Theda opted to keep her mouth shut and cover herself with her Afghan. Let Ezekiel do the talking. Besides, she knew about as much as this new intruder did and was anxious to hear the explanation herself.
"I'm Julio."
The boy looked latino like Theda looked affluent black but she said nothing.
"Eddie is okay," Ezekiel said. He smoothed down his shirt, tucking it into his pants fastidiously, taking his time as though there was nothing odd about being caught with a naked woman wrapped around his hips. Theda's face burned. She pulled the Afghan around herself even tighter, drawing her knees up to her chin.
Julio came into the living room and perched on a rickety chair, pushing his purple streak behind his ear. He put his hand over his brow again, shielding his eyes as he inclined his head toward Theda.
"Didn't I tell you to get dressed?"
She chewed her lip, shrugging. "I don't, uh--"
"She doesn't have anything to wear," Ezekiel said.
Julio's gaze swung back to Ezekiel. "You got a shirt, don't you?" He sucked his teeth in distaste, muttering something about chivalry being dead, then got up from his chair and disappeared behind a Paisley curtain. He came out with a Beyoncé style gold lamé cowl dress in one hand and a Catholic schoolgirl uniform in the other. He proffered both without looking at Theda. "No street clothes," he said. "Just costumes from our sex play."
Might as well stay naked as put either of those on.
"Can't I just have a pair of your jeans?" She looked up at Julio with as much of a pitiful expression as she could manage. He wrinkled his nose again but wouldn't catch her eye.
"And get your cooties?" He shook his head. "I don't think so."
"It's not as though I'm going to be giving you the jeans back," she said to him.
"What do you think this is, the Salvation Army?"
Ezekiel growled and grabbed for the Beyoncé dress, flinging it at Theda. It landed on her head and she peeled it off thinking at least she knew where his proclivities lay.
"I'll take the uniform," she said, reaching for Julio's other hand.
Ezekiel grabbed for her wrist before she could touch the material. "I don't think so," he said.
"I'm not wearing that trashy thing; I might as well run down the street screaming look at me."
"And wearing a religious uniform doesn't scream the same thing?"
She had a retort on her lips when she heard Julio growl at both of them to shut up. He sank into his chair again, putting his head in his hands.
"What a fucken mess," he mumbled more to himself than to Theda or Ezekiel. "I don't have time for this shit. Just get dressed and get out. If you can't give me any information about Eddie then just get dressed and get the fuck out. "
Without a word, Theda pulled the dress down over her head and smoothed it against her hips. She immediately felt better; all she had to do to feel best was to not look down at what she was wearing. Even the feel of the lamé against her bare skin felt wicked and trashy. She eyed Ezekiel, waiting for some idea of what to do next.
"What's all the hubbub?"
"They've got some girl playing on the promo over and over, saying she murdered Henrik. They're searching for her everywhere."
Ezekiel sank to a crouch in front of Julio. "Henrik? The Beast's son? And what's such a fucken mess about that?" Theda could hear the tension in his voice at the question.
Julio peered up at him. "Seriously? Eddie's in a spitters' den, hoarding fuck knows how many of those disgusting vermin for his boss, and you want to know what the mess is?" He eyed Theda briefly as though she were one of the disgusting vermin and didn't warrant any more attention than a quick shot of a glance.
"Enlighten me," Ezekiel said indulgently.
"Are you sure you know Eddie?" Julio turned back to Ezekiel, his gaze narrowing suspiciously. "Cause if you knew Eddie at all, if you knew what he was doing for a living, you'd know why this is such a fucken mess."
He got up, pushing Ezekiel aside and paced back and forth, mumbling to himself. Finally, he stopped in front of Ezekiel, facing him with hands on his hips.
"Tell me the last time you saw him."
"The last time I saw Eddie, he was laying a smear down on a Councilman's tongue."
Julio shrugged. "That could be anyone in a spitters'den, or outside of it for that matter. Proves nothing."
"The Councilman in question was dressed as a Renaissance executioner."
Julio's face lit up. "Prusser," he said. "Has to be. And what of Councilman Prusser's companion at the time?" The boy's brows lifted inquisitively. Meaningfully.
Ezekiel turned just slightly enough to draw Julio's attention back to where Theda was sitting on the couch.
It took a long drawn out moment, but realization eventually found its way onto his face. "Holy fuck, it's you," he blurted.
Ezekiel's tone almost sounded proud, as though he was showing off something remarkable. "Councilman Prusser was about to chop off young Anne's head."
"Prusser's snuff girl is the girl on the promo?"
"The same."
Julio fell into the chair again. Shaking his head. "Well this truly is a fucked up mess then."
The boy chewed his fingernail as he regarded Ezekiel. "Prusser went on Promo to say they had a lead on Henrik's killer, on the woman who murdered the Mayor--that she's a spitter, holed up in one of Sasha's boutiques."
Sasha had more than one boutique? That was disquieting. It took Theda a few moments to process how true the accusation actually was--at least how true it had been for a short while, before the boy spoke again.
"They'd let you rot in there and get what's coming to you," Julio said, pulling his fingers from his mouth and crossing his arms over his knees. "Except they want to make an example of you."
That gave her chills. She licked her lips nervously.
Ezekiel's arms crossed in a way that made Theda shiver. He looked threatening; entirely capable of violence as he faced Julio. "And what has that got to do with Eddie?" He asked, and his tone matched his stance.
Julio ignored the imminent warning. "Well, Eddie recruits, doesn't he? And he sells the leftover organs from the snuff action on the black market. Well, if there's anything usable left, that is," he said as an afterthought and Theda found herself wincing as she imagined what her fate could have been if Ezekiel hadn't found her in time.
"You know that's what he does for a living, and it doesn't bother you?" She asked Julio, unable to keep the accusation from her tone.
"It's how I get to live in such luxury." Julio spread his arms wide to indicate the small apartment with a twisted grin on his face. "Eddie knows how to keep his men happy."
Julio didn't sound happy; in fact, he sounded pretty damned sour.
"That's disgusting," she said.
"Judge not," Julio said, eyeing the way her thighs peeked out from beneath the lamé skirt. "Besides, working in that place helps him keep a low profile."
"Still, I wouldn't think a little thing like black market organ sales would be such big deal," Ezekiel said.
Julio shrugged, pouting. "Maybe not. At least not until someone recognizes him."
"Who would care?" Ezekiel seemed to grow bored at the information even as Theda kept having to swallow down her own bile with each new tidbit. She couldn't stop pressing her fingers into her belly, feeling for her liver.
"He's a lover," the boy said. "As if you didn't know that. One of Henrik's harem. That's what makes this such a mess. They sent the horsemen in," he said. "Into spitters'dens all over the city."
"Sweet Fuck," Ezekiel murmured.
"Yeah," Julio said chuckling darkly. "You see the trouble. The horsemen will know him on sight."
Ezekiel swung away from them both, facing the wall, his hands clenched at his sides. Theda watched his hands curl and uncurl into fists. She had heard of the horsemen; everyo
ne knew who they were. An elite army of soldiers set to do the Beast's bidding much like the SS had in Nazi Germany. All ruthless, led by four equally ruthless generals. Not so much to keep the peace, but to keep the mandate of anti-theistical life in the Beast's new Earth.
She wasn't sure why this bothered him so. She thought of Bridget, dark-haired, full-bodied Bridget who, according to Ezekiel, had also been a lover--a movement of people from Henrik's harem, safe now despite her safe house being raided.
"Surely they won't bother with Eddie," Theda said. "If they're looking for me, maybe they'll be too busy--"
"They'll make the time," Ezekiel said, turning. The muscles in his throat worked as he tried to control what Theda interpreted as panic. And if Ezekiel could panic, then maybe Julio was right to call it a mess.
"Damn right they'll make the time," Julio said. "They're re-educating every one of the harem when they find them. All of the lovers."
"What does that mean?" She looked at Ezekiel for an explanation, hoping it wasn't as threatening a concept as Julio made it sound.
"It means," he said. "Electroshock therapy. Torture. Lobotomies for those who refuse to be re-educated. Death if that doesn't work."
The look on his face, the almost vacant stare that told Theda he was struggling to focus made her believe he had lied to her earlier.
"Bridget," she guessed.
He nodded miserably. "If the horsemen find anyone from the harem during their search for you they'll take them to the sanatoriums."
"I thought you said she was safe. I thought you said she got away."
He swallowed hard. She watched the Adam's apple Bob up and down for several moments before he would answer. "I gave her enough money to buy a week in one of Sasha's rooms." "
"And they're looking for me there," Theda said. "So they'll find her."
"And Eddie," Julio collapsed onto the chair. "Poor Eddie."
"We need to get back in there," Ezekiel said. Almost absently, he tapped his foot and Theda thought of the monstrous knife he stored in there. She imagined him storming the den with a Taser in one hand and a knife in the other: both woefully inadequate weapons under the circumstances.
"Oh, no," she said. "Maybe you need to get back in there but I'm not going anywhere." She crossed her arms over her chest as she halted next to the counter, placing her fingers purposely on the sideboard. What good was a bounty hunter who carried nothing more frightening than a Taser and a knife? No good, that was what.
"I'm staying here."
Julio propelled himself from his chair, rounding the counter, pulling open drawers. "And what makes you think I'm going to let you stay here?" he complained. "Who knows how many people saw you come into my apartment? It's not safe for me to let you stay here."
"Well, then I'll go somewhere else, but I'm not going back there." Theda turned her back on Julio, she could handle him. Instead, she glared at Ezekiel.
"You'll go if I say you go." He informed her with perfectly enunciated words that made her blood boil.
"You can't control me."
"Exactly the problem," he said. "And I can't protect you if I don't know where you are. How do I know you won't go off and take another smear. Get yourself captured."
"Maybe giving me a smear is the best way to control me," she said, thinking of how he'd forced her to take three of them when he'd arrested her. She crossed her arms as she confronted him. They'd come a long way since then. "You know, in books the hero tries to protect the heroine, not drag her back into danger."
"Books are fiction, Minou; they're not real."
"Who the hell are you?" She demanded. "First you arrest me so I can be interrogated and nearly killed. You saved me from that and now you want to take me back into the lion's den? It doesn't make any sense. Why save me only to put me back in harm's way?" Her instinct for survival was in overdrive; and she didn't care if it meant Bridget's life or Eddie's, they were nothing to her, really. She had exactly one person to worry about and that person was getting the hell out of Dodge.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her from the door. "I have my reasons."
"Well, I'm not going."
He gripped her by the shoulders, giving her a shake. "You're going. I can use you as leverage to get to Bridget if I need to, but I won't let anything happen to you."
Julio piped up pitifully, over the sound of rattling silverware as he slammed a drawer closed. "Or Eddie."
Ezekiel looked back over his shoulder. "Sure, or Eddie."
"I'm not going," Theda said.
"I told you I can protect you, Theda. Don't you believe me?"
"I don't know what to believe. All I know is I'm not going back there. I'll take my chances on the street."
"And chances they'll be." Ezekiel said. "You'll be dead before morning. If the horsemen are out in force, it's not just the regular citizens who will be your greatest danger. Trust me."
"You didn't keep me safe before. I almost died in that den."
"Almost died," he repeated as though it mattered, stressing the adverb.
She shook her head. "It's the horsemen, Ezekiel," she said, realizing the depth of the danger she was in, finally. He'd been trying to instill it in her all along, but she'd stubbornly clung to the belief that she was just one small player in a global act, that the anonymity of being so worthless would keep her safe in the end. Now she knew better.
"They're ruthless, Ezekiel. You must've seen them during the Holocaust. You must've watched the devastation they left in their wake." She shuddered as she said this, imagining that the horsemen's path must've been very much like the Vikings in the old world. Vikings and Genghis Khan would have been a bedtime story compared to the things the horsemen did.
"Ruthless doesn't describe it," she said.
He shrugged. "I know."
"You can't know," she argued. "Because if you did, you wouldn't be expecting me to let myself be your bait for a woman I don't even know."
"She's got a point, there," Julio said and Ezekiel's glare made him take a step backward, fumble for the counter.
"A woman who gave you the clothes off her back and a place to sleep," Ezekiel said without taking his eyes off Julio.
She looked down at her dress, thinking she'd give anything to have those simple jeans and T-shirt back, but she'd stripped them off before she'd taken her last smear, back before Ezekiel had pulled her from the house when they were raided. Assuming they had been raided. She didn't even know for sure; all she knew was what he told her.
"I'm grateful to her," she said. "But that's asking too much. I'm not going. Nothing you say can convince me."
"Theda, I'm one of the horsemen."
He looked at his boots as he said this, as he let her take in the full measure of his statement. And it took her several moments for it to completely sink in. His casual, almost thoughtless acceptance of violence and killing. The men from the night he abducted her, his killing of the Mayor. Despite his admitting that he worked for the Beast, she'd assumed his taking of those lives had been a measure of how pressed he'd felt to do so, not because it was a natural inclination for him.
She shivered involuntarily as she realized it, because only then did she realize how close to danger she had actually been all this time. Ezekiel, one of the horsemen. That was how he knew Bridget; that was how he knew Eddie: because as a horseman he would have known the Beast's son, would have met the people in Henrik's harem. She felt a strange sense of betrayal that she couldn't articulate; she could only stare at her feet until she heard him speak again, and even then she couldn't meet his gaze. She could only hug her chest tighter.
"I know full well the ruin of the Holocaust," he said, taking deliberate steps toward her even as she fumbled her way backwards, searching for a glass, knife, something to wield as a weapon. And to think she had almost given herself to him. Believed for a moment he cared about her.
"I saw it all up front. All in living color."
She felt Julio's hand slip into hers as Ez
ekiel spoke, heard his breath change to something less rhythmic and she realized Julio understood things that still managed to escape her.
"I was there, Theda," Ezekiel said, ignoring the ragged way her chest had begun to move, the way she sucked air in desperate measures, coming close enough that she could smell his cologne and the heat from his body. She thought she was going to be sick.
"I was there during the Apocalypse because death is my business. I'm the Pale Rider."
Chapter 22
The Pale Rider. Death himself. Theda knew it all so well. A girl didn't live as the daughter of an evangelical preacher her entire life and not learn a thing or two about the end of times and the four most powerful riders in the history of religion. But the Apocalypse, the idea of tribulation, rapture, of judgment of the just hadn't exactly occurred the way her father always believed or taught. And not just him, either. None of the religions had gotten it truly right. Little bits and pieces of it, yes: just enough that a girl could easily compare the accuracy of the world's religions and their predictions to prophesying an entire novel from a random sentence in the middle.
Even so, Christianity had gotten one thing correct. Four things, actually. Men from all corners of the earth with a particular and specific specialty on their roster of skill sets when the Beast took over the Earth. All equally frightening in prophetic notions, and equally frightening in their reality.
And here she was standing in front of the most terrifying one of the four.
"You didn't bring me to the mayor because I was religion mongering," she said to him, the full weight of her realization making it difficult to speak. "And you didn't save me from him because you saw something that tweaked some dormant sense of humanity in that vision."
He shook his head in response, looking wholly miserable.
"You took me there because you thought I posed a threat to the Beast and his religion-less world and you needed to know for sure. How stupid am I--you tried to tell me that, but I didn't know what it really meant." She choked on a spurt of laughter and put a finger to her temple, thinking it through, trying to remember everything he'd told her. "I thought we shared something in that lifetime that made you care." She chortled humorlessly, feeling the freefall grasping at her throat. "When all along you saved me because you realized it was true. That the Beast would want me alive."
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