Horsemen of Old

by Krishnarjun Bhattacharya

‘Well, Zabrielle?’ Maya asked, staring.

  ‘It is an Infernal,’ the Demon said.

  Maya turned to look at Gray. ‘Victor Sen,’ she said. Gray nodded. ‘Can we kill it?’ he asked.

  Snap. Maya’s mind travelled back to her books. Demonology. The Advanced Species by R. N Guha. Animalistic: Chapter 12. Infernals. ‘It’s vulnerable to shadow and water,’ Maya said. ‘Z, what can you do?’

  ‘I’m not well versed with shadow magic, or elemental magic,’ Zabrielle said. Maya rolled her eyes.

  ‘Can you—can you coat it in a layer of water, like you covered the Old Guard with stone?’ Gray asked, thinking furiously.

  ‘The Cradle is a tricky spell, it brings the basic element outward. It worked for the guards because they were composed of stone. In this case, it would simply coat the Infernal in fire, something it’s immune to. Besides, it drained one out, one lost consciousness. It is too powerful a spell, and like one said, in this case, useless.’

  ‘The Infernal’s not invulnerable to damage,’ Maya said. ‘If we can hammer it enough, we can end it.’

  ‘An incredibly tough fight,’ Zabrielle said. ‘If you have never seen an Infernal before, you cannot imagine what it is like.’

  ‘What if Victor Sen is there alongside the Infernal?’ Gray asked suddenly. ‘We wouldn’t stand a chance.’

  ‘Infernals mostly hunt alone,’ Maya said. ‘Even if it were under the command of a Tantric, there is a chance that Victor has simply let it off the leash. He will not be far behind, I’m sure, but I think the Demon is simply his bloodhound in this case.’

  ‘Speculation,’ Zabrielle said. ‘But what choice do we have? We cannot outrun it for long.’ She paused, and then continued. ‘One has been thinking about this since one saw the sky. Somewhere on our path lies Mughlaa Dur, once a fortress, now ruins. We can set a trap there, make a stand.’

  ‘You’re a Demon too,’ Gray told her. ‘Can’t you talk it down, distract it or something?’

  Maya was already shaking her head. ‘It’s animalistic. A predator. It makes no distinction between Demon and man. Where are these ruins?’ she asked, grim.

  ‘I see them in the distance,’ Zabrielle said.

  ‘Better move then,’ Gray said. ‘We’ll figure out a plan as we walk.’

  They hurried off, raising their lamps, squinting to see buildings in the darkness.

  9

  Maya sat on the only remaining tower of the four Mughlaa Dur once had, her back against the outer wall, the night sky above her. She knew that as soon as she looked out, she would see the beast in the distance. She would see it for the first time. Courage. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and peeked over the wall.

  The Infernal approached in the far distance, their past catching up. It was huge, larger than a warrior Demon, larger than the Old Guard. Its colour was a pitch black. Dark scales rimmed its entire body, giant and muscular—the natural armour Infernals had, she had read of it. It was humanoid; it walked with slow, heavy steps, like a human. Its tail, large and heavy, dragged behind it. She could hear its grunts and snorts, the silence carrying every sound over. She slipped back behind the wall, her breath quickening. Anger. She willed herself to take slower breaths. Then, slowly, she grit her teeth and peeked again, this time with a pair of binoculars. She could see the dark scales in detail now—they curved against one another, running up and down its body. Then, from the crevices in between each scale came a glow, a hellish, red glow that lit the Demon up like a beacon, lending light to all its surroundings and the night sky.

  Maya removed the binoculars and stared at the phenomenon in wonder. The light pulsed and then ebbed, rendering the creature dark again. She studied it once more. Its arms were long and looked powerful, ending in vicious claws. She moved upwards to its face. It had a face like other warrior Demons—deep red eyes, gigantic curving horns, and slits for a nose. Its mouth was half open as it panted, and Maya noticed the familiar red glow emanate from within. It was making a beeline straight for the ruins.

  She had missed something. She squinted, and focused the lenses on the Infernal again. There, on its neck, was a collar-like object, a brace made of metal. There was a chain, a long, long chain attached to the neck of the demon. It was dragging something along as it walked, a dark object. She looked again, but she couldn’t make out what it was.

  She hurried down the ladder. Gray and Zabrielle were waiting for her. Maya looked at them. There was nothing here for them in these ruins, nothing to create a trap with, no hidden benefactor, no stashed weapons or a group of mercenaries camped for the night who would decide to fight alongside them. Nothing. There was only silence, and they did not know what exactly to do.

  There was no plan. Adri’s gift had always been to go in guns raised, without the need for a plan, always figuring out things by the middle, the entire structure somehow fitting together in the end. Maya felt a growing resentment for the Tantric in the heat of that moment, a resentment birthed in the cave with the kahuna. He was not there with them, but his gift remained, his style of operation, because Gray, having seen Adri pull it off so many times in the past, was convinced they would somehow see themselves through this one.

  Zabrielle looked worried, but at least she did not give them false hope. Not like her idiot brother with one arm, willing himself to believe that as the Demon walked in through the front arch, the three of them would, somehow, be able to kill it. Maya felt her hands getting hot, along with her entire self.

  The three of them stood like that in silence, as the thumps on the ground became louder. The temperature of the air had gone up as well, it was not just Maya and her magic.

  ‘We can kill this thing,’ Gray said, his voice unsure. ‘Zabrielle, you and I can take both sides of the entrance. Maya, you can be in the middle of the courtyard. You’ll be the first thing it sees, and Zabrielle and I can hit it from behind.’

  ‘I’m the bait, you mean,’ Maya said, her voice dry.

  Gray chose not to reply. Zabrielle did not say anything either, and simply took her place. Gray pulled his shotgun out and moved to the other side of the arch. He gestured to Maya. She walked to the middle of the courtyard, and then turned around to face the entrance.

  The Demon came into sight soon. It advanced with footsteps that made the ground shake, bestial, primordial in its approach. Then the Infernal summoned its second skin. A moist, heavy liquid, burning orange, was secreted by the Demon’s body immediately. It travelled on the surface of its scales, quickly spanning the entire body, dripping down to the ground heavily, sizzling into smoke on contact. Then the crevices opened and the heavier skin emerged and slid into place, using the liquid as lubrication. Thicker, denser scales, each perfectly defined, locked into one another, moving down its body like a ripple, starting from its deep eyes and ending at the tip of its tail. It flared again, the Infernal, lighting up, and with a short, harsh motion it unhitched its metal collar and the chain, abandoning the two, and whatever it was that it had been dragging along.

  Maya could see it now—in a direct line of sight—and it could see Maya. She noticed the changing of its skin. It looked heavier and slower, but stronger. If one were to tell the truth, Maya knew, right then, that they would not be able to defeat it. Scratch it, even. But the mind seeks hope, in whichever way it may find, and Maya sought to somehow be wrong in her estimates, to somehow see this goliath fall.

  The Infernal registered Maya, and quickened its heavy steps as fast as the added weight would now allow. Grunting, roaring loudly, exposing fire in its open mouth, it passed under the arch and into the courtyard, towards Maya.

  Gray raised his shotgun—noticing how heavy it felt with one hand—and fired two holy rounds at the Demon, aiming roughly at its neck. There were sparks as the shells glanced off. The Infernal did not even bother to look back, and continued to head straight for Maya. It was now ignoring the ghost swords attempting to pierce its back. Gray reloaded clumsily and shouted ‘Hey! Over here, you dumb brute!�
�� He fired again, almost in panic.

  Maya stood her ground in the semi darkness, watching the Infernal approach. Its thumps were deafening now, and it was almost upon her. Its last few steps were easy, and it came to a stop before her. Maya did not move. She only looked up at it in silence. The air around it was hot, nearly blistering her skin.

  Then the Infernal opened its mouth. Orange flames flared within. Maya expected a burst of fire, some sort of an inferno, a weapon unleashed, yet she made no move to run.

  ‘Maya!’ Gray screamed. ‘Get away from it!’

  He was running towards the Infernal, but he would be too late. Maya looked at its open mouth and saw the flames turn blue. Then, with another burst, a voice pierced the silence. A voice that came from within the Demon. A human voice.

  ‘Hello, Maya,’ it resonated in the courtyard.

  Gray came to a running stop.

  Maya did not know if the others recognised the voice, but she did. Immediately. The smoothness, the nonchalance. The careless spite. Victor Sen. Was he inside the Demon somehow?

  ‘Merely speaking through my servant,’ Victor’s voice clarified. ‘How are you?’

  Maya did not reply.

  ‘I’m talking to you,’ the voice continued. ‘The Infernal will not attack when I’m talking. You have my word.’

  Gray opened his mouth, but Maya spoke before him. ‘Long time no see, Victor,’ she said, looking up at the Infernal calmly.

  ‘First names now, is it?’ Victor asked.

  ‘I had harsher names in mind,’ Maya said. She hadn’t moved. Not a step back.

  ‘Dear, dear Maya,’ Victor continued. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Holding up,’ Maya said, shrugging. ‘You?’

  ‘Fine, my dear. In the pink, as they say.’

  ‘Why are you talking to us?’ Gray spoke loudly, walking towards the beast.

  ‘Oh, what do we have here? That must have hurt,’ Victor said, the Demon looking at Gray now.

  ‘Some,’ Gray said, glancing at his own stump. ‘You can see through that Demon?’

  ‘The Infernal is bound to me, in various ways Tantric law would frown upon,’ Victor said. ‘I can step into its eyes and ears, yes. One would want to avoid the nose, though.’

  ‘Ha-ha,’ Gray said drily.

  ‘The reason why I’m talking to you is that the bunch of you have impressed me,’ Victor carried on. ‘You are a very resilient group of people, Maya, Gray, Fayne—and your newest addition,’ the Demon turned the other way and looked at Zabrielle. She stood quietly, alert.

  ‘You’re handing out medals now?’ Maya asked. Gray laughed, a real laugh.

  ‘I’m a reasonable man,’ Victor said, sounding slightly annoyed. ‘I have always been known as a reasonable man.’

  ‘The Apocalypse is just what I wanted for this year’s pujo—’ Gray started, but Maya interrupted him. ‘You want to cut a deal,’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ Victor said. ‘It’s simple, really. You’re fighting against the inevitable here. I mean, there are four of you—pardon me, three—against me. If that weren’t unfair enough, I’ve got the Four Horsemen of Old Kolkata on my side. And something far more vile, of course, once it awakens after the Apocalypse. Look at this realistically. You can’t even put a dent in my Infernal. What would happen if I sent, say, ten to fifteen of them after you? You know I’m capable of that.’

  ‘So you want the soul gem,’ Maya said.

  ‘I want my son back,’ Victor said.

  ‘So that you can bring about the End of Days,’ Maya said.

  ‘Doesn’t matter, and that is what I’m trying to tell you. Ba’al is not powerful enough to stop this—he won’t even move out of his throne in Old Kolkata. He does not understand. You do not understand. This is fruitless, this attempt of yours. You cannot stop this. The new age will be ushered in, one way or another.’

  ‘You know us already, Victor,’ Gray spoke up suddenly. ‘You know the fight we’ve been putting up. Why will we buckle now? You know we’re going to try.’

  ‘Or die trying,’ Victor said. ‘Listen to me. The new age calls for new people, people to lead. People to take up the mantle of changing the order of things. New governments, new rules. People will still live. You can be a part of this, all of you.’

  Gray sighed. ‘You’re promising us our lives,’ he said.

  ‘Yes. I give you my word that you will not be harmed if you hand over the soul gem. You’ve seen this Infernal. You’re not killing this and you know it by now. I can kill all of you and still have enough time to find the soul gem, catch a good film, and be home for tea. I have all the time in the world. You don’t.’

  Gray looked at Maya. He did not know what his sister was thinking—suddenly, somewhere he feared that Maya might have had enough. But Victor Sen was not done talking.

  ‘I will also give you the assassin back,’ he said.

  Gray opened his mouth in shock, but Maya interrupted him. Again. ‘The deserter? I would not have him back.’

  ‘Come on!’ Victor sounded exasperated. ‘Mazumder has been talking to me. I know you have bonds with Fayne. He’s here right now, in fact, and I will spare him if you clear your heads and think, for a change.’

  ‘Where?’ Gray asked. The Infernal looked back at Gray.

  ‘Yes, it is you he’s closest to,’ Victor said. ‘My Infernal would have had you months ago. It had tracked you down after you fell in the river, but the assassin distracted it, fought it, and led it on a wild goose chase across the Shadowlands for months. Months! Tell me, Maya, while you were looking at my Infernal from the tower, with your binoculars, did you notice a chain?’

  Gray felt something cold in his stomach. Maya’s face was impassive, and he wanted her to respond, somehow, something. Nothing.

  ‘He’s half dead and not in his senses. My Infernal has dragged him across the Shadowlands for days now. But he’s here, lying just outside the ruins. And you can have him back.’

  ‘You’re an animal,’ Gray spat.

  ‘An animal would have eaten his innards by now,’ Victor said. ‘Look, I’m going to be frank with you, all right? Because that is the way I negotiate. Honesty. Tell me, why do you think you have not come across any of the Horsemen yet? Do you think Death is really incapable of hunting you down and finding you when you’ve been holed up in a Wanderer Lodge for months?’

  A good question, Maya thought. But she would not like the answer. Something unpleasant was on its way.

  ‘It’s because something I had not thought possible has happened,’ Victor said. ‘Another akshouthur has been found, someone who has come of age, someone on whose mother the Oka Draugr was performed as well.’ He paused to let the effect of his words sink in. ‘We have multiple avenues to the Apocalypse now, Maya. Death is hunting this new akshouthur as his soul will also work for us. The seal will break, one way or another. Tell me now, will you find and protect this new soul as well? Will you take on the burden of the world? What is simpler?’

  ‘You’re bluffing,’ Gray said loudly. ‘You wouldn’t be after us if another soul had been found.’

  ‘Why would I lie when I’m seconds away from killing all of you?’ Victor laughed. ‘You’re just looking for reasons to not believe me. We’ve simply divided our search. The Horseman hunts this new carrier, and I hunt you.’

  The Infernal suddenly shook its large head.

  ‘The Infernal begs for control,’ Victor said. ‘It wants to decimate this place, all of you. My offer, however, stands. Tell me yes or no, and things will happen accordingly. Yes, and you walk away from this. No, and, well, it’s simple. Even if you survive this encounter, somehow, which is not really possible, I will hunt you down and I will kill you, Apocalypse or not.’

  He paused.

  ‘You don’t have to be martyrs for Adri Sen,’ Victor ended.

  Gray looked at Zabrielle, her face as calm as ever, and briefly wondered what the Demon Mage was thinking, what she was processing, if she was ready to die for
the task Ba’al had entrusted to her. Every book she had ever read, every bit of who she was would burn a fiery death in the next minute. She was looking at Maya, impassive, trusting her to make the choice, offering her more power than the Demon Commander. Maya looked at Gray, and he knew what was coming.

  ‘Maya?’ he called out, hesitantly.

  ‘I don’t want us to die,’ Maya said shortly.

  ‘You want to go with the deal?’ Gray asked gingerly. He had known all along that Victor would get to her, Maya had shown signs. But this—this could not be happening.

  ‘Yes, I do,’ Maya’s face was still unmoving.

  ‘A smart decision—,’ Victor began, but Gray cut him off. ‘We can’t give up like this!’ he shouted at his sister.

  ‘And do what?’ Maya asked coldly. ‘Die? Here, before this Infernal we can’t seem to touch?’ She reached out and rapped on its scales, a metal clank.

  Gray fumbled for words.

  ‘I know you’ve been travelling alongside Adri Sen,’ Maya continued. ‘It might be inspiring, the way he crawls out of every fight, somehow defeating his enemies without preparation. But there’s no dumb luck here. Victor is making a deal which is reasonable, something Adri never was.’

  Victor started to say something again, but Maya cut him off with a glare. ‘This is between us. You keep out of it,’ she drawled.

  ‘What of the Apocalypse?’ Gray asked, summoning his strength. Another fight with his sister, like many others, only a different place. Different stakes.

  ‘Let it come,’ Maya said.

  ‘You’re the one who wanted to step up!’ Gray roared. ‘All that big talk before! You owe Adri, you have to pay up!’

  ‘I’m sick of repaying Adri’s debts,’ Maya replied dispassionately. ‘There are too many of them. I hate the fact that I’m always hunted, always looking over my shoulder. Through no fault of mine—it is always someone Adri offended, Adri pissed off. Why must I bear this weight?’

  ‘Adri Sen saved you from the Ancients!’ Gray was still shouting. ‘He let Mazumder into his body to see you live!’