Four Horsemen

by Katie Dunn

  He looked up from his desk surprised and his eyes flitted down my semi naked body. My cheeks began to warm under his heated gaze, but I forced my myself to remember why I was there. I held out the bottle accusingly making his eyes narrow. He crossed his arms and sat back in his desk chair comfortably. Anger filled me again at his casual demeanor.

  “You drugged me!” He didn’t answer which only enraged me further. I stalked over to him and pointed my finger in his face. “You trapped me in a closet then when I thought you were letting me go you drugged me,” I accused through gritted teeth.

  Liam had the audacity to smile. That was the last straw. I opened my palm and swung at his face. Suddenly my wrist was held in a tight grip and I was yanked forward into a hard chest. I tried to pull away, but an arm wrapped around my back caging me in. The hand that wasn’t being held continued gripping the bottle of chloroform and I was tempted to toss it at Liam’s head to make him let go but the angle was all wrong and I would have ended up dropping it instead.

  “You don’t know what happened that night,” Liam growled in a low voice. Gruffness was written all over his face, but his eyes held desire and amusement. The mix of emotions coming from him confused me, but I didn’t let it change the fact that I was pissed.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “There is no excuse for using this on me,” I said in just as low a voice and shook the bottle in my hand.

  “After you killed that man, Templars showed up. I shoved you in the closet to keep you safe while we dealt with them. Then I thought the best course of action was making you forget everything and keep you from freaking out. Hence the chloroform.”

  He said it so casually that for a moment I was thrown. Oh yeah, we were just having a party, you know, then fought some people and then drugged our late best friend’s sister. No biggie. I shook my head and yanked at my arm again and bared my teeth like a wolf. I was going for dangerous, but I probably looked like a lunatic.

  “You could have just talked to me like a normal person!”

  Before Liam could say anything, Kaden knocked on the open door. “Um, is everything alright?”

  I craned my neck to see him, difficult though it was, and saw Kaden and Trevor with concerned looks darting from Liam to me who he still had trapped against him. Abruptly Liam let go and I nearly fell backwards but righted myself at the last moment. I was surprised my towel stayed on. Thank you, universe.

  Liam spun his chair around to sit facing away from us. Trevor had his hands partially raised as if he wanted to catch me or pull me away or something. I just shook my head at him and scowled at the two of them. They were just as guilty. I saw a familiar bag in Kaden’s hand and knew they had gone to get me clothes and other essentials. I stormed towards them, grabbed my bag forcefully from him and started to leave. It bothered me how calm Liam was about drugging me. At the last second, I ran to Liam’s bed, grabbed a pillow, and tossed it at Liam’s head. I wanted to elicit a reaction other than his annoying calmness.

  Liam shouted, but I ran from the room and into the guest bedroom before he could reach me. I quickly locked the door and leaned against it. Tears burned my eyes. I had been so vulnerable that night at the party and it irked me how comfortable Liam was with what he did. I held up the bottle in my hand staring at it with determination then opened my bag and stuffed the bottle inside.

  We would see how comfortable he was when it was me drugging him. I know, I know, that doesn’t make me any better than him, but hey, I never claimed to be a better person.

  Chapter 9

  I made sure I was out of the house before they woke. I wanted to get breakfast with Shawna then get to my classes so I could glare daggers at each of the guys when they walked in. I was still royally pissed at their actions, but I knew I still had to meet up with them later to train.

  Shawna met me with a huge grin and hugged me. I let out a grunt from the tight squeeze but hugged her back, glad that at least one person in my life hadn’t hurt me.

  When she pulled back, she waggled her eyebrows. “So, tell me about last night.”

  I rolled my eyes and moved past her and handed over my ID to the lady near the door so she could swipe it and let me in to the dining area. Shawna followed closely.

  “That bad?” she asked. “You know, I don’t understand why you stay over there when you don’t like them.” She bumped me with her hip. “I could always go with you next time.”

  I stopped and stared at her with a raised eyebrow. “Which one is on your radar?” I asked knowing why she suggested going over there.

  Shawna sighed, and walked over to the closest food buffet. “Kaden is smokin’ hot and funny don’t you think?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Meh.” I smiled thinking about how Kaden would have given a dramatic pout about my meh comment. He was good looking just like the other two, but I didn’t think of Kaden that way. “Good luck.” I grabbed a plate of food and led us to a table nearby.

  “It will happen one of these days, it is inevitable,” Shawna said with surety before taking a bite of her scrambled eggs. “So, I was thinking of joining some clubs.”

  I was startled by the change of subject but grateful. “What kind of clubs?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. Would you like to join some with me?”

  I beamed at the idea, but my smile immediately died with the realization I wouldn’t have time if I was going to train every day. I pouted down at my food. “Maybe next semester.”

  Shawna gave me a half smile. “Well, I will let you know how they go then.”

  I was the worst friend. I barely hung out with her and the one time I agreed to go somewhere with her I had ended up unconscious. She probably thought I was avoiding her. I vowed then and there to spend more time with my roommate because without her I might just go insane.

  We talked about our classes for the rest of breakfast and the projects we were working on. It was nice to talk about something besides the guys and think of something other than Horsemen business. I was also grateful because she reminded me of a project that was due in Engineering that I had completely forgotten about. I would have to find time to do it before the end of the week.

  After classes I made my way to the house where the guys said they would meet me for training. I was both nervous and excited to start swinging around a scythe and knock them on their butts. Imagining Liam on the floor after I swiped his legs made me smile. My smile died when three sets of frowning gazes met me once I reached the house.

  “I am not staying tonight so let’s get this over with,” I told them, trying not to show how excited I was to train or how upset I was for being drugged by them. My new goal was to show indifference from here on out.

  Liam led the way inside. The first thing I noticed was the open living room, devoid of furniture. In place of the couch and tv was a large mat which I had seen in gyms before for wrestling and gymnastics. Liam continued into the house, and up the stairs, leaving the rest of us in the living room. I stared after him with a mix of confusion and annoyance. Was he not going to stay? Whatever.

  “The first hour we will work on fighting and defense. The second hour will be talent training,” Kaden explained as he passed me to stand on the mat. He waved me over and positioned me in the middle.

  I’ve punched someone before, even though it was my brother, but it counted. I would totally ace this training. I quickly threw my backpack to the side, tied my hair back into a braid, then bent my knees a bit and brought my fists up in front of me. Kaden would be surprised by how well I could defend myself. I watched him, waiting for the first move but he only smirked. Something heavy suddenly slammed into me from the side and I fell with a whoosh of breath.

  Trevor stood over me with his arms crossed and a huge grin on his face. “First rule. Beware of your surroundings.”

  I clenched my jaw at their obvious humor over my lack of skills, but I didn’t say anything. Instead choosing to hang on to indifference. I got back up and positioned myself, so I
was facing both of them. This time it was Kaden who charged me but instead of facing him fully like I knew Trevor wanted I stepped back and stuck my foot out. Kaden saw it just in time and did a little hop dance to avoid it. Using his poor balance against him, I stepped forward and tapped his chest, making him fall into Trevor.

  “Ok, you got lucky on that one,” Kaden grumbled, righting himself.

  For the next hour, we practiced offensive moves and defensive ones. I found that, yes, I can indeed punch but doing it repeatedly hurt. I was a sweating, heavy breathing, lump of dead muscle by the end. So much for indifference. The annoying part was that Kaden and Trevor seemed unfazed by the exertion.

  “So-” I took a deep breath trying to get my breathing under control. “So, when do we fight with weapons.

  Trevor smiled but it was Kaden who answered. “When you’re ready,” he chuckled.

  I waved my hand at them and let it flop back to the mat where I lay. “Pshh, I’m totally ready.”

  “Mhm,” Trevor sounded disbelievingly. He held out a hand and I grasped it, letting him pull me into an upright position. Trevor then gave me a wave and walked up the stairs to his room. I glanced from the stairs to Kaden wondering about Trevor’s departure, but he waved my silent question away. I guessed this next part was only a two-person thing.

  Kaden sat down, cross legged, in front of me. “Now for talent training.”

  Suddenly, nerves wracked my body. This was something I needed to do to get better control, but I was terrified of what harm I could cause. “I’m Death, right? Maybe we shouldn’t practice.” I bit my lip imagining black boils erupting over Kaden and shivered.

  He laid a hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, you can’t kill me. We may be able to cause emotional disturbances in each other, but we cannot kill each other.”

  I calmed a bit at that knowledge. I was still skeptical, but I figured he knew what he was talking about. “Ok, let’s do this.”

  “First, let me show you what I can do and how I control it. We may find that your control is the same.” He reached out and touched my arm.

  At first nothing happened, and I started to ask what was supposed to happen when my hand suddenly came up and slapped him in the face. I put a hand over my gaping mouth in horror.

  He withdrew his touch and held a hand to his face. I thought he would be mad, but he looked amused.

  “I am so sorry Kaden. I don’t know why I did that,” I rushed to say.

  He chuckled. “I do. What did you feel right before that?”

  I frowned trying to remember. At first, I was confused because nothing was happening but then a strong current of anger rushed through me and I needed to retaliate. I gasped at the realization. “You made me angry!”

  He nodded. “Right. Anger often leads to war which is why that is my talent.”

  I looked at him in wonder. “Can you teach me that?”

  He shook his head. “You will not be able to cause anger. Death’s specialty is illness and loss.”

  He reached forward and touched my arm again making me tense. I was determined this time to be aware of the anger and control it. I focused on his touch waiting for the inevitable.

  “First we start with a touch, then I focus on what makes me angry and imagine pushing that through my arm and into the person I am touching.” With that, a burst of simmering heat filled my chest and I gritted my teeth. I wanted to slap him again, but I refrained. “With a few words, I can use your anger to target others.” Another burst of anger raged through me but before I could lash out at him, he whispered, “I can’t believe Trevor thought you were weak.”

  Suddenly I was up and storming toward the stairs. That Horseman was in for a treat. I would show him how strong I really was. Only when I reached the bottom step did I freeze and realize what Kaden did. Dang he was good. Even when he warned me he was going to do it I still reacted to the false anger. I turned around embarrassed and made my way back to the mat where Kaden sat smirking.

  “Do you always have to touch someone?” Memories of the library incident came to mind. Liam didn’t need to touch the Templar to send him running in fear.

  Kaden bobbed his head. “It depends. Most of the time yes, but under extreme circumstances when our own emotions are running high, we can project them. However, it takes enormous energy.”

  I nodded slowly. That means Liam was extremely emotional that night. That made me warm inside to know he cared. Not that he would ever admit it.

  “Now your turn.”

  I bit my lip nervously and reached out. I touched Kaden’s knee with the tips of my fingers, but I didn’t know how to continue. Seeing my struggle Kaden advised, “Just think of making me feel sick.”

  I imagined my stomach roiling and head spinning with fever. Then I imagined pushing those feelings out of my hand to Kaden. After a couple minutes, Kaden grabbed my fingers and moved them away from him, breaking my connection.

  “That was decent. My stomach was a little upset, and I am fairly sure my head began to feel fuzzy. Maybe. But it was not nearly strong enough to do any damage. Try again.”

  For the rest of the hour we practiced using our talents on each other. I did not make much progress because I could not figure out the trigger to make the emotion strong. Kaden called it a night around eight and I stood up groaning from stiff muscles. I needed a hot shower and a good night’s rest. Two sets of footsteps bounded down the stairs until Liam and Trevor stood before us.

  “You’re staying here tonight,” Liam ordered.

  I scoffed at his authority. What gave him the right to boss me around? He better not think that since I was a Horseman he had control over me. “No.” I grabbed my backpack and walked toward the door.

  Liam was suddenly there, holding it closed with his palm. “You need to stay here where it is safe. I overheard your training. You’re not ready to protect yourself.”

  I rolled my eyes. He didn’t want to help train me, but he was fine judging from upstairs? “I will be fine.” I turned to Kaden and Trevor. “Tell him I will be fine.”

  “Well-” Kaden started.

  “Go upstairs,” Liam said, cutting Kaden off, and kept his eyes trained on me.

  I quirked a brow and crossed my arms, refusing to move. I knew trying to remove his hand from the door would be fruitless, so I waited. When I didn’t move after a minute of our intense stare down, Liam grabbed my upper arm and started to drag me toward the stairs. I protested but nothing I said would make him let go. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my pepper spray. I had gotten a can after the library incident. Before he knew what I planned, I jumped in front of him and sprayed his face.

  He abruptly let go and wiped at his face as he shouted in pain. I felt a twinge of regret, but I used the moment to dart away from him and to the door. I left Kaden and Trevor laughing hysterically and Liam cursing me. I knew he would get his revenge but for tonight I had won. See? I could protect myself just fine. I hopped onto my bike and sped back to my dorm.

  Shawna was at her desk with books and papers laid out when I walked in. She beamed at me and stood up from her desk. “Nice to see you! What have you been up to?”

  “I pepper sprayed Liam,” I said with a straight face then threw my bag on my desk chair. There was no way I would get any work done tonight. My phone buzzed constantly but I ignored it, not wanting to read the angry messages from Liam. I was starting to regret adding his number to my phone.

  “You what?” Shawna shouted. Then anger tinged her tone, “What did he do to you? Do I need to pummel him?

  I chuckled, the anger from a few moments ago seeping from my body. I walked over to her and gave her a bear hug. The breath whooshed from her, but she hugged me back.

  “Thanks,” I said against her shoulder.

  “For what?” she chuckled.

  “Thanks for being willing to beat up people for me.” We both laughed at my words and I pulled back. “I’ll be back, I’m going to go take a shower, then we can hang out and tal
k for the rest of the night.”

  Shawna nodded and sat at her desk again while I grabbed my shower stuff. I was glad to have at least one friend who didn’t try to control me and who wanted to hang out with me for me and not because I was a Horseman.

  Chapter 10

  The rest of the weeks went by in a blur. If I wasn’t training, I was in classes, and if I wasn’t in classes or training, I was doing projects in my dorm. I hated that the sanctuary of the library had been ruined for me but until I found a new quiet place, the dorm it was. I was enjoying all my classes, especially Engineering Design. Shawna was often at her club meetings in the evenings and occasionally on outings during the weekends. We had found some time to do stuff together though which I was grateful for. Thankfully I had no more run ins with Templars, and I had avoided Liam like the plague. Haha, plague. I was more likely the one to cause that.

  The other two Horsemen I did not mind much and had even grown closer to them. I considered them friends now, but it always got awkward when Liam was around. Maybe if he got off his high horse then we could make peace but until then awkward it would be.

  Knocking sounded at my door and I rose from my chair to answer it curiously. I did not know many people and Shawna did not need to knock. I opened the door cautiously and two sets of beaming smiles met me.

  “Mom? Dad?” I asked though I could see it was obviously them. I stepped back to let them in, wondering how they even got into the building. Did speaker boy let them in without an ID? I really had to find that guy.

  My mom sprang forward and crushed me in a tight hug. She had on a yellow and brown poncho and her brown hair was styled short. “Oh, we missed you! How are classes? Is your roommate nice?”

  I had answered those same questions on the phone last week. I wondered what caused them to come all the way to Penn State without notice. “Um, yeah she’s great. Not that I don’t love seeing you, but uh, why are you guys here?” I pulled back and hugged my dad in greeting.