“Why does everyone keep calling him Mors, and what’s with the Victoria thing?” Kim asked as the hair on the back of neck stood up. The wind whipped around them and thunder boomed in the darkened sky.
“Victoria, Bellum, Fames, and Mors are the names of the four horsemen.” Sabastin let out a slow breath. “But you may know them as Conquest, War, Famine, and Death.” He pointed at Kim. “You may not realize it, but you have the mantle of Conquest flowing around your shoulders like a cloak. It is coloring your every action, every gesture, every thought.” Sabastin jerked his thumb at Malcom. “He wears the mantle of Death. It’s probably why you two feel drawn together because the four mantles are always drawn together in times of chaos and uncertainty.” The man shot them a sad, knowing smile. “Of course, this leaves us with two very important questions. Who wears the mantles of War and Famine, and where are they?”
If what he said was true, then it certainly explained why she felt so drawn to Malcom, why they had stayed together when it made no sense for them to do so… The thought made her cringe. Had their entire relationship been a lie predicated on supernatural chutzpah?
Ian 01:07
Why hadn’t anyone come to save him? Ian shook his head. The thought replayed itself over and over in his mind, never stopping, never slowing. For a while, he had held out hope someone would come to rescue him, but as the days passed, the truth of his situation hit him like a hammer. No one was coming.
The door creaked open, its bottom scraping against the stone. Vali stood there with Amy cradled lifelessly in his arms. He smiled though it didn’t quite reach his eyes and stepped into the room. A gust of heat followed him, raising the temperature from ice cold to sweltering in the space of a breath.
Vali glanced around, looking for something before shrugging. “Oh well,” he murmured so quietly, Ian almost didn’t hear it. Vali knelt down and laid Amy in the center of the floor. Her chest barely moved as she breathed, her lips slightly parted. Vali stood and turned to leave.
Without thinking, Ian lunged at him. His shoulder slammed into Vali’s back, sending them both crashing to the ground. Vali tried to move, tried to throw Ian off, but Ian grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face into the stone with a wet sounding squelch. He felt Vali go still beneath his hands, but still he continued to smash him into the ground. Something inside him roared, filling him up and drowning out everything in a sea of scarlet.
“Ian, stop,” Jesse said, and Ian felt his friend’s hand on his shoulder. Ian shook himself, and the red haze filling his vision faded… a little.
“Jesse,” Ian said. The word felt foreign in his mouth. He paused, sitting back on his haunches as Vali’s blood soaked through the knees of his jeans. For some reason, it wasn’t as disconcerting as it should have been.
“Ian… are you okay?” Jesse asked, grabbing Ian by the wrist and pulling him from Vali’s broken, bloody body.
“I’m fine,” Ian swallowed, trying to ignore the unrelenting hunger burning within him. The urge to feed was so overwhelming, he could barely function. He turned, glancing at Jesse. The veins in his friend’s neck pulsed, and for a moment, he could hear the warm blood shooting through Jesse’s body. All he had to do was lean forward. He could bite down, tear the flesh from Jesse’s throat… let the blood gush into his mouth.
Ian shut his eyes, trying desperately to ignore the hunger welling up inside him like the yearning of a great beast. No. He wouldn’t give in. He wouldn’t eat his friend, and as the thought reverberated in his head a sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Had he seriously just considered drinking his friend’s blood and consuming his flesh? Seriously?
“Can you carry Amy?” Ian asked, turning away from his friend because as much as he hated to admit it, Jesse seemed like food. “We need to get out of here before Vali wakes back up.”
Something slammed him sideways into the wall so hard it made his teeth clamp together. The taste of copper pennies filled his mouth as his eyes shot open. Vali stood there, pinning him to the wall with one forearm. Blood dripped down his face, and his mouth was a horrible, misshapen lump of flesh.
“I knew eventually one of you had to awaken.” Vali shook his head. “I should have been more careful, Fames.” Vali slammed him backward against the wall, and Ian’s vision went hazy. Red clouded his sight, and his stomach rumbled. “You cannot escape.”
Ian felt so cold his insides burned. Frost crept along the wall behind him, spiraling outward in an endless sheen. The air filled with snow. The hunger shrieked in his head. It must be fed. His hunger was unrelenting, unending and it felt like it would never be satisfied. It would devour everything.
A scream tore from Ian’s lips and the wind threw Vali backward across the tiny cell in a flurry of snow and hail. The hunger rose up inside him, swallowing everything in his path, dousing the world in unrelenting winter. Ice spread out beneath his feet as he crossed the distance between them.
His hands curled into fists as Jesse scooped up Amy, cradling the unconscious girl in his arms. Ian paid them no mind. The hunger paid them no mind. They were tiny, uninteresting. They would not sustain him. But Vali…
He leapt toward Vali as the man rose to his feet. They hit the ground in a heap, and Vali twisted in Ian’s grip like an eel. Vali seized Ian by the throat and flung him backward. He slammed into the wall, and his breath shot out of him as he collapsed to the ground on his knees. Vali glanced around and darted toward the cell door as sweat fell from Ian’s face, spattering against the stone like tiny bits of sleet.
The door slammed shut as Ian got to his feet and staggered forward. His prey would not escape. Ian reached out, and the door fell away and hit the ground, shattering like it had been doused in nitroglycerin. He stepped through the twisted doorway as mist wafted off the stone.
Down the hall a portal hung open. Flashes of magenta filled the tiny space, and Ian narrowed his eyes, shielding himself from the glare with one arm. Jesse was almost to the portal, but Vali was not far behind. He was limping, dragging himself along with one bad leg.
Why was there a portal open? The thought flitted across Ian’s mind as he charged Vali. The hallway filled with ice. Vali slipped, his feet going out from under him. His arms wind-milled out, nails scraping on the dark stone as he fell. Ian was upon Vali as Jesse dove through the portal and was gone. Light flared, filling the room with sparks of magenta.
“Stop,” the voice cut through Ian like a sword. His throat closed up as fear unfurled itself within his gut, reaching out and spreading itself through the entirety of his being. His hunger receded under the press of something enormous and unstoppable on his mind. He felt himself falling, felt his body slump against the stone. Golden light filled his vision, and he tried to look away, tried to stop himself from shivering, tried to make himself do anything other than think, “Oh god, I’m screwed.”
“Thanks,” Vali said, wiping his arm with his sleeve, leaving a glistening crimson trail on the sleeve of his white button-up.
“You should have told me Fames awakened.” Footsteps padded closer to Ian and the press of something enormous on his mind was nearly overwhelming. “Famine is the one we wanted most. His hunger will be the undoing of them all.”
“It just happened, Jormungand.” Vali stood and shook himself. “The girl escaped. I will go after her.”
“Don’t bother. Polyphemus just went to the earth portal to try for the others. He can surely take back one girl. You’re much too valuable to risk, anyway.” Jormungand knelt down and grabbed Ian by the chin, twisting his head until their eyes met, only Jormungand didn’t have two eyes, she had four. Aside from being lavender, the first pair was normal enough. Above those eyes, in the center of her forehead, was another pair of eyes that sort of reminded Ian of an octopus. They were like orbs of solid gold, and they bored into Ian, drowning his hunger with cotton candy and marshmallow fluff. He felt himself fading, felt himself drowning under Jormungand’s serpentine gaze.
�
�The cyclops won’t be able to take Bellum back by himself.” Vali sighed. “It would be better to have the pair.”
“War and Famine together…” Jormungand glanced at Vali and shrugged, her shoulders moving in an exaggerated motion. “It’s not necessary right now.” She pointed at Ian. “All we need is one. She will come for him, after all. She has to come for him. It is in her nature. As long as we have him, she will walk right into our hands, like a moth to the flame.” Jormungand stood and gestured at Ian with one slender hand. “Can you carry him back to his room? This body is too short for me to carry him myself.”
“I still don’t know why you’ve taken that body. It’s just begging for trouble.” Vali shook his head as he hoisted Ian over his shoulder and began walking back toward the cell, his boots splashing through puddles of melted ice. “They will retaliate for this.”
“My dear, Vali,” Jormungand called back. A smile flitted across her lips as she ran a hand through her lavender hair. “I’m counting on it.”
Malcom 01:03
“Are you seriously telling me I’m one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse? Like it’s a good thing?” Malcom waved his hands in front of himself. Sweat ran down his face as he paced back and forth in front of Kim’s car. She still hadn’t moved, hadn’t even blinked since Sabastin had told them who they were supposed to be. “That’s insane. You’re insane.”
Kim glanced from one to the other, a look of vague concern mixed with confusion spread across her face.
“Being given a mantle is not a bad thing, Mors.” Sabastin stood and reached out with one scarred hand. “The horsemen are not always bad. Actually, they are usually not bad.” He shrugged. “You have been given great power. It is your responsibility to do the right thing with that power.”
“Are you seriously quoting Spiderman at me?” Malcom snapped. “I’m being serious.”
“And I am telling you the truth. The horsemen always come when an apocalypse is near. It’s a misnomer that they are the harbinger of it. It’s more correlation than causation. They come to stop it, to pull the world back from the brink.” Sabastin bit his lip. “Usually…”
“Usually?” Kim asked, her voice a pale squeak of mouse whispers. “What do you mean usually?”
“Sometimes, those who receive the mantles aren’t exactly,” Sabastin looked skyward as lightning crackled through the clouds, “the nicest people in the world. Sometimes, even though they have the best intentions…”
“They get put down?” Kim asked, her voice so quiet, Mal had to strain to hear her.
“Something like that,” Sabastin said. “At least that’s what the lore says. I’m not actually that old. They haven’t been around for a while. Not since gods walked among men.”
“What if I say no?” Malcom asked, a half-hearted smile crossing his lips. He had already decided to help because he couldn’t shake the feeling it was true. Something in the core of his being sensed the innate rightness of Sabastin’s story.
He was Death. He was one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and because of that, he had to save the world. If it didn’t sound so insane, it might have made him laugh. Here he was, a poor black kid with a drunken wife-beating father, and he was Death incarnate. His hands curled into fists. Well, that was one problem he could easily solve now. His father wouldn’t be beating them anymore.
“You can’t deny your birthright. Destiny has picked you, and the harder you struggle against it, the more difficult it will be for all of us,” Sabastin said as the sky above them ripped itself asunder, spitting arcs of purple energy through the air.
Mal turned, looking toward the portal as Jesse and Amy burst from it. They tumbled toward them, falling so fast there was no way he could get to them in before they slammed into the ground. Mal gritted his teeth, about to try anyway when Sabastin glanced up at them and snapped his fingers. Wind rushed around them, buffeting the two and slowing their fall. Happiness spilled into Mal as he watched. Amy and Jesse were still alive, and if they were alive was Ian alive too? As he stared at them, hope welled up inside him. Was Ian just through that portal?
As they touched down like a pair of feathers, Sabastin rushed over and knelt beside Amy, completely ignoring Jesse. “Damn,” he muttered. “This isn’t good.”
“How isn’t it good? They’ve been missing for days,” Kim asked, taking a step toward them, but not moving close enough to actually touch them.
“Someone was trying to force her mantle into awakening.” Sabastin swallowed as Jesse shook his head groggily and got to his hands and knees. “Her mantle is all warped.”
“Jesse, what happened? Are you guys okay?” Kim asked, ignoring Sabastin.
“You mean Amy has a mantle too?” Mal glanced from Jesse to Amy and for a moment, he could almost see red flame burning just beneath the surface of her flesh. If that was true, whatever was wrong with the mantle could be fixed, right?
“Yes,” Sabastin replied as Jesse shook his head and retched onto the asphalt. After what felt like forever, he looked up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The sight made Malcom’s belly slosh, and he looked away. He’d never been really good with seeing vomit despite his frequent exposure to it.
“They were doing these weird treatments on Amy and Ian, but Ian went crazy, and the room turned to ice. I managed to escape with her,” Jesse mumbled, his eyes went distant like he was watching a scene play out in his mind.
“They didn’t come after you?” Sabastin asked, removing some chalk from his pocket. He drew a circle around Amy and began to draw geometric symbols all over it.
“I don’t know,” Jesse said as he got slowly to his feet and took a wobbly step toward, Sabastin. Just as he was about to touch the man, Sabastin lashed out, flinging him several feet backward. Jesse struck the parking lot hard and lay there, not moving.
“What are you doing?” Kim screamed, rushing over to Jesse and kneeling down next to him.
“Don’t touch me. We don’t have time for your questions. I can smell that damn cyclops. I can feel the wind changing. The air is getting heavier. The portal is already open…” Sabastin looked up and frowned. “You guys need to get out of here. I’ll take on Polyphemus, buy you guys time to escape.” He glanced at Amy and waved his hand. Lightning exploded from the sky, slamming into each of the symbols he’d drawn. Red light flashed from each and flames leapt into the air. “Take her with you. This spell will fix her mantle, given enough time.”
Sabastin waved his hand, and brilliant pastels shimmered in front of him, the air around him warped and pulsing. “Go through,” he muttered just as a huge hammer slammed into him. He flew across the parking lot, skidding across the asphalt like a broken doll.
The huge cyclops glowered and moved toward the fallen man, each lumbering step cracking the pavement beneath his feet. Sabastin scrambled to his feet, spear in hand. His green Hawaiian shirt was soaked with red from where he’d been struck, and as he moved, pain flashed across his face.
“Go now,” Sabastin called, raising his spear above his head. Lightning arced through the air, striking his weapon and zipping along its surface. He darted forward and swung his spear at the cyclops. Electricity exploded from the tip of the weapon as Polyphemus side-stepped and kicked the man in the bloody spot on the side. Sabastin howled, his weapon slipping from his grasp and clattering to the ground as the cyclops smacked him across the face with his hammer.
Sabastin wobbled backward, anger filling his features as Polyphemus’ huge hammer came down. Sabastin reached out, catching the cyclopean wrist with one hand. The man’s muscles strained, cording beneath his skin as he rolled backward, flinging the humongous creature across the parking lot.
Polyphemus hit so hard, the ground shook. He skidded backward, tearing up the asphalt before slamming into the chain-link fence surrounding the parking lot. The metal bent under the force of the impact. The cyclops laid there, eye glazed as Sabastin turned toward them, blood dripping from his lips.
“Why
are you still here?” he asked, clutching his side with one hand. Crimson oozed through his fingers as he spoke.
His voice seemed to shake Kim into action and as Malcom turned toward her, she scooped Jesse into her arms and moved toward Sabastin’s portal. Without a second thought, she dumped him unceremoniously into the void. Jesse hit the spot with a splorch, his body hanging there, suspended in space for a moment before vanishing in a flash of emerald light.
Malcom shook himself and bent down to grab Amy by the arm. Her skin was so warm, that for a moment, it reminded him of using the slide at the park when he was a kid. The metal had been so hot, it had nearly burned him.
“Go on, Kim. I’m right behind you,” Mal called, hoisting Amy’s burning body over his shoulder and taking a wobbly step toward the portal. Kim nodded once and leapt in. She vanished just as Mal got there. He dropped Amy into the portal, and as her body hung there, suspended in the gelatinous air, a monstrous roar made him leap out of his skin.
He spun to see Sabastin flying through the air. The man slammed into Kim’s car, shattering the windshield and crashing into the front seats. Polyphemus’ lips curled into a horrific grin as he hefted his hammer.
“You expect one pathetic old man to save you from me?” the cyclops asked as he walked right by Mal and reached into the wreckage, seizing Sabastin by the throat and tearing him free in a spray of safety glass. Sabastin hung there, blood dripping down his body. One eye was closed completely, and the other looked distant and empty. The cyclops raised his hammer high above his head, readying himself to deliver a death blow.
“Stop!” Malcom cried. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed the cyclops with one hand. His fingers closed around the monster’s bronze flesh as he jerked the creature’s hand backward. Sabastin slipped from the cyclops’ grip as Polyphemus shrieked. The man struck the asphalt with a wet-sounding thud, reminding Malcom of the time he’d dropped a wet sack of laundry on the laundromat floor.
Death's Mantle: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Revelations Book 1) Page 9
