“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Some days the numbers in my head depress me.” I knew I had no choice but to find the horsemen. No one could take my place in this fight.
“You’ll get used to it.” She promised.
I hoped she was right.
4
“You’ll keep me updated?” My mom asked as she stood in front of the train station. “I don’t like the idea that your abilities are showing.”
This weekend had been a little rough because of her opinions, but I’d miss her. “I’ll make sure to keep you as updated as I can.” I sighed. “I know this is hard for you, but trust me, it’s not easy for me either.” I hadn’t shared my plan with her to go to the Devil’s Playground with the others. Something about me searching among the dancing lightning made me think she wouldn’t appreciate the plan.
She hugged me and kissed my head. “Send my apologies to your father, I never meant to keep you from him. If I had known…” She shrugged. “Maybe things would have been different.”
“Of course. Let me know when you get back into town.” I squeezed her. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Nothing has really changed since the first day of school.”
“Except now you’re fighting demons, dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins, and you’re able to summon a scythe.” She chuckled, but it didn’t mask the sadness in her voice.
She had a few points. “I’ll be fine.” I said again. She walked into the station and a flood of relief went through me. I couldn’t imagine how life would have been growing up knowing I’d fight demons. The woman probably wouldn’t have let me out of her sight. I loved her, but her over protectiveness would be a problem. I turned around and Ruthie stood right there. I raised a brow. “I didn’t think you were going to come to see her off.”
“I sensed a demon around and I didn’t want you alone again.”
I started to walk back towards the school, but she pulled me towards the parking lot. “I brought the car.” She grinned. “Didn’t think you wanted to walk all the way back.”
“Nope, I can’t wait to find out about my car and see if I can get it back on the road.” I walked with her to the car lot.
She unlocked her car and I got in. “Why do angels have cars?”
“So that we blend in, haven’t you figured that out yet?” She got in the driver’s side. “We do a lot of strange things to blend in. We come in different forms all the time, but the best way to protect you is to always be there somehow.”
I raised a brow. “You haven’t been here all the time.”
“That you know of. I don’t always appear like this. It’s complicated.” She shrugged. “A lot of times guardian angels take the form of lifelong friends, and if something happens to that bond, we reappear as someone right when you need them most.”
I combed through my life and tried to think of who she would have been. She was right though, there was always someone there during the tough times. “I guess you’re right.”
“Now, as for the other Children of the Apocalypse, they blend in because it allows them to see how things are affecting the human population.” She pulled the car out of the parking spot and headed towards the school. “It’s how balance works.”
I tried to imagine leading a normal human life while trying to keep an eye on the death tolls of the world. “Never a dull moment?”
“Not for you guys. My job can get boring sometimes, but that’s not a problem.” The light turned red and she stopped at it. “How was the festival with your mom?”
“Oh you know, a lot of crappy food and some discussion on how the job search was going and my plans. Professor L sat down with us for a moment.”
She glanced at me. “The algebra teacher?”
“Yeah, that one. Something was different about her though. There was this weird red shadowing in her eyes. It was around the irises but I swore it was bleeding into the iris towards the pupil.”
“She’s not of this world then. Remember Death’s eyes?”
“He has skulls in them. His eyes were the first ones I could see anything different in.” I pulled down the vanity mirror and looked at my own eyes. No skulls appeared, but maybe it didn’t work that way with me.
“Yours will be that way when you take over his position.” She said as if reading my thoughts. The light turned green and she turned towards the parking garage for the college. “You’ll start to see it more and more as your abilities come to light.”
I nodded. “My mom said that the professor was a demon. Is that why she gives me such creeps?”
“She must be a high one, a Sin maybe. They tend to create feelings in someone that aren’t there normally or amplify them. If you spend enough time with the RAs you’ll understand.”
“That’s good to know. Are things set for our trip to the Devil’s Playground?”
Ruthie nodded. “We’re all set, let’s hope it’s the only place we have to check.”
“We all know it’s not going to work that way. Fate isn’t that kind. Three horsemen mean at least three different places. I doubt the Devil is stupid enough to put all three seals in the same place.” I glanced out the window and watched as a few people made their way down the sidewalks.
Ruthie pulled the car into the parking garage and flicked on her lights. “I know, but if we can get Pestilence out then we can handle War and Famine without the plague killing people off.”
One less thing to worry about. “Finding any of them at this point would be a good thing. Before World War Three starts, twenty percent of the population dies, and people start starving.” My stomach churned at the numbers moving in my head.
“It boils down to stopping the apocalypse.” Ruthie laughed. “No big deal.”
I wish I had her confidence. I felt like we were missing a big piece of the puzzle. “What’s on the agenda tonight?”
“Pete wants to meet with you, start you on some history lessons of the horsemen. The more you know about them, the better. Get to know him a bit. He’s had a fairly human life, Pestilence wanted it that way. The only thing anyone talks about with you is the apocalypse. You aren’t going to be much of a team if you don’t know each other.” She parked and turned the engine off. “They need to be able to trust you to have their backs.”
“And I need to be able to trust them.” I finished the thoughts. “Who wants to trust a bunch of strangers with your life?”
She got out and looked at me over the car. “Exactly.”
“Well, what does he like to do?”
“He was a soccer player in high school, he played rugby when he was in England a few decades ago.” She locked the car and we walked towards the stairs that led out of the parking garage.
“Okay, there’s some type of sports event going on at the stadium tonight. Maybe I can talk him into going.”
“No, it’s football. Try the common room with the soccer game turned on. It’ll get him to relax and open up a bit.”
I wasn’t sure if getting him to open up and talk would be a good idea, because his dad went missing first. Of course, maybe it would ease the stress a bit. “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”
Ruthie and I had dinner alone. She’d let Pete know I would meet him at his dorm and we’d study history in the common room. One on one wasn’t something I’d done with the guys since I’d met them and I hated that I was nervous. It wasn’t a date, it wasn’t anything remotely romantic, and neither of those facts helped me calm down. His dorm was safer than ours since we had two Sins currently working in our dorms. I stood outside the building waiting for Pete to come down and let me in. Security measures for the school called for each visitor of the dorm to be escorted by a resident student. Most of the time, students just followed others in, but on a Sunday evening there weren’t a lot of people moving in and out of the building.
Pete pushed the door open and smiled at me. “Ready for some old history?”
“Sure, it sounds a lot less dangerous than facing demons.” I walked in an
d followed him to the first floor common room.
The soccer game was already on the television and I relaxed a little, I wouldn’t have to awkwardly ask to turn it on. I didn’t know much about soccer other than the ball went into the goal and it wasn’t as big as football season.
“I’m a soccer nerd, so I hope you don’t mind that I have the game on.” He sat down in one of the couches with a pile of books in front of it.
I shook my head. “I don’t, but I don’t know how much of a conversationalist I’ll be if it’s about the game.” I said honestly. “Ruthie said that you played when you were in high school.”
“Yeah, this most recent time, when I had to have the cover to get into this school after we found out you’d be here. I really enjoyed it.” He smiled. “High school is such a hell hole that I hate having to do it for a cover. I was at a school we thought you might be at. I had to stick around just in case you showed up.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting to relive high school.”
“Not my favorite thing, college is much more fun.” He shook his head. “When I was raised, there weren’t limits on alcohol, it was just there and part of life. Now that it’s restricted, people go crazy for it. It makes life a lot more interesting when you’re hanging around with a bunch of drunk humans.”
“Can I ask you a question?” He nodded and I continued. “Does it get lonely? You only have a few friends who are as old as you.” I leaned back in the chair.
His eyes focused on the screen but after a few moments he nodded. “It does, and it really sucks when you find a human you like and they age at a different rate. We can change our appearance to make us seem older or younger as needed, so they never notice. But it sucks when Death comes to claim their souls and you know you’ll never see them again, or have the same connection.”
I thought about having to be the person to take a loved one’s soul away and my heart ached. “How long will you live?”
“We’ll live forever. We get the choice to retire from our jobs at some point, but we’ll live on until someone decides to kill us.” He glanced at me. “That means you too. You talk like you aren’t one of us. You are, and you’ll come to that realization soon enough. Let me give you a piece of advice?”
I nodded.
“Don’t fall in love with a human. You don’t want the heartache.” He pushed the books towards me. “On to business.”
I wondered if he had experienced the heartache of losing a human lover. With his change of subject, I didn’t want to push. I picked up the first book. “It’s a Bible.”
“So are all the other ones, various translations and publishing years. I want you to read Revelations, and when you’re done, tell me what conclusion you’ve come to.” He leaned back and his eyes went back to the television.
So much for having a conversation. I wasn’t sure how this would help me to learn the history of it. “Wait, if we don’t die of natural causes, does that mean the horsemen from the previous generations are still alive and just, retired?”
“A couple of them, yes.” He nodded. “I don’t know what happened to the other two, but I know they are dead.”
“Can they come out of retirement?” I flipped through the first Bible until I hit Revelations.
He grinned at me. “You are brilliant!”
I blinked. “So that’s a possibility? How come you guys haven’t thought of it before?”
“No one bothers the horsemen after they retire, they want to be left alone, but I think these are dire circumstances, don’t you?” He reached for his phone, but froze when breaking news bulletin popped up on the screen.
He grabbed the remote instead and turned up the volume.
“Twenty people on the western slope have died tonight due to complications from the plague. The doctors have confirmed that it is the bubonic plague and can be transferred via infected fluids as well as fleas from infected rats. With two hundred more admitted to the local hospitals, they are calling this an epidemic. Over four hundred have been hospitalized total in the state and they expect those numbers to rise.” The news anchor glanced up at the camera. “They are urging people to take precautions as they handle all animals and if they show symptoms they need to go to their local health care facility immediately.”
Pete looked at me and I nodded. “Five hundred dead tomorrow.” I stated. “It’ll be three thousand in the state before the month is out.”
“How many in the country?” He clenched his fists and started gathering up the Bibles.
I concentrated. “Thirty thousand.” They were supernatural numbers for the plague in this day and age. A case occasionally wasn’t unusual, but something like this would be considered impossible.
“Come on. We’re postponing history. We’re going to go get some help.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me towards a dorm room. He took a moment to drop all the Bibles off and grab a coat. He remained silent as he led me outside and to his car.
“We’re going to go see my grandfather. I hope you’re ready.” He unlocked the car and we both got in. “He’s not far from here. A few hours’ drive, we’ll be back late, but in time for classes tomorrow.”
I wasn’t planning on a long car ride, but I wasn’t going to argue. Seeing the numbers, I knew we needed to try anything. I buckled up and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Three hours later we drove into a tiny town. A motel, a gas station, a liquor store and a few houses dotted the side of the main road. The plague occasionally popped up in rural towns like this, a farming town with high populations of rats because of low human population and inadequate pest control. For some reason I wasn’t surprised a past horseman would be living in this type of town.
Pete pulled up to an old house nestled on an overgrown lawn. We got out and rats scattered into the weeds. I didn’t know what I expected. This wasn’t the place I’d want to retire to, but then again, I wasn’t a super old horseman that used to control the plague. Pete motioned for me to walk up the cracking and overgrown path.
I moved forward and he followed me. The old wood of the steps creaked as we walked up them. Wood slats bowed down while some of them had disappeared completely. I found myself waiting to fall through, but all it did was groan as it bore the weight. Pete knocked and the door swung open.
The man who stood there looked no older than thirty. His red hair was styled and his blue eyes met mine before widening a bit. He turned to let us in and I glanced at Pete. The man that greeted us didn’t look like a centuries old horseman.
“Told you, we can change our appearance as we need.” He walked in and I followed. The inside of the house didn’t match the outside. The house was fitted with modern appliances, a computer and television. Every surface held no dust and shined in the light.
The man turned back to us. “Pete, what brings you here? Did you and your father get into it again?”
“No, dad’s missing and the plague has gone wild. Daniel, I hoped you’d come and pick back up the sickles to help us out.”
“Can’t you pick them up?” He asked and sat down, he motioned for us to do the same.
Pete shook his head. “I can’t find dad’s. I still have mine, but I haven’t come into his actual abilities, just mine.”
“Which means that he’s not dead. I can’t help you then. You know there can only be one horseman at a time.” He steepled his fingers.
“Can’t you at least help us fight?” My brows drew together. “Even the fallen angels still have some skills in fighting.”
He turned towards me. “I could, but I’m wary in my old age and chances would be I’d die on the battle field. You might try contacting the others who are in retirement. Maybe they can help you. Was this your idea, Pete?”
He shook his head. “It was Sammy’s, but I thought she might be on to something.”
“Your new girl sent you on a wild goose chase.” He shook his head. “Have you contacted the others?”
He nodded. “The other childre
n are all together, but Famine and War are both missing. Death is the only one who isn’t.”
He considered for a moment. “I’ll try to help you, but I’m not sure what good I’ll be.” He glanced at me. “What do you know about all this?”
I held up my hands. “Only what the others have told me. I’m just coming into my abilities. I’m working hard to get up to the skill level everyone else is at. I know that the horsemen can be sealed away and that might be what’s causing all these problems. I know that by the end of the week over thirty thousand people in the country will die of the plague.”
“Where have you started looking?” Daniel paused and energy flooded into the room. We all stood up and Pete and I summoned our weapons. The weight of the scythe in my hands eased the panic that tried to surface. A woman appeared in the room. Her red hair twisted in out of control curls down her back and her shoulders. The color contrasted with the black leather that hugged her body. She tapped sharp nails against her thigh. A strange smile crossed her face. “Oh, this wasn’t what I expected. Two children and a retired horseman. I suppose that will be enough to ease my hunger.”
“Gluttony.” Pete hissed out. “She feeds on souls.”
That sounded terrifying, but I dropped into stance anyways. Daniel stood up from the couch and stared at the demon. “You aren’t welcome here.”
“Yeah, well, what are you going to do about it, old man? You don’t have weapons and these two are merely children compared to me.”
At the end of the battle one person would end up dead and I assumed that it would be her. We could take her. I tightened my grip on my scythe, trying not to bask in my confidence.
Gluttony smiled and raised her hand as shadows moved up from the floor and swayed towards us. I swung my scythe at one and it disappeared. A parlor trick. Something tackled me from behind, my face hit the floor and my scythe fell from my hand. It disappeared and I summoned it back. I rolled over and tried to push at what pinned me to the floor, but my hands went right through the shadows. This was ridiculous; I should have been able to push it away if it pinned me down. A gaping mouth with long vicious teeth appeared and started towards my throat. Two blades crossed and sliced the creature in half and it disappeared. Pete stood over me with wide eyes.
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