Death (The Four Horsemen Book 4)

by Laura Thalassa

  “You are his woman, aren’t you?” he says, sounding gleeful.

  I give him an incredulous look. “If you mean his kidnap victim, then yes. Otherwise, no.”

  Why are we discussing my relationship status with Death?

  “Have you tried to kill him yet?” the horseman asks.

  I stare at him. “What do you want with me?” I ask.

  Damn Thanatos for leaving me vulnerable like this.

  “Just answer the question.”

  “Fine,” I snap. “Yes, I have.”

  The horseman watches me carefully, the hazy light making his copper armor and caramel-colored hair glow. “Have you actually killed him?”

  “He can’t be killed,” I retort.

  “Not permanently,” he agrees. “But have you ended my brother’s life for a time?”

  He stares too intently at me, and I find myself looking away.

  “Yes,” I bite out.

  I can feel the horseman staring at me with that unnerving gaze for several long moments. I still don’t know what he wants, though my fear of him is waning the longer we chat.

  He takes a couple slow steps towards me, scrutinizing my situation. “And you’re now tied up here, helpless and at my brother’s whim?” he says. “You are most definitely his woman.”

  I grind my teeth together.

  “I’m not.”

  “You are,” he insists, and now I know that obnoxiousness clearly runs in the family.

  “Hmm.” The horseman considers me. “Your presence changes things.” There’s a calculating gleam in his eyes.

  I lift my chin and glare at him. “If you’re planning on killing me, you’re going to be disappointed.” I’m not so easy to get rid of.

  “Kill you?” he says, incredulously, clearly taken aback. “Woman, we want to unleash you.”

  “We?” I echo faintly.

  I should be focused on the part where I don’t die, but this horseman’s words … they have me nervous in a whole new way.

  The horseman closes the last of the distance between us. He crouches down, setting his scythe aside. “You didn’t think I came here all by my lonesome, did you?”

  My eyes widen and my stomach bottoms out. “The other horsemen are here with you too?” I shift my gaze over his shoulder.

  Out the open doorway, I can see the weather has turned ominous. Dark, angry clouds gather overhead.

  “Well, not all of us,” the horseman admits as the first few raindrops begin to patter on the roof. “We’re still missing our dearest Death. But I’m sure if you’re here, he’ll be back soon. There’s no way he tied you up like a treat only to abandon you.”

  I frown, taking in the horseman’s piercing green eyes and cutting features. “Which rider are you?” I ask.

  “The least pleasant one—excepting Death, of course.”

  I continue to stare at him, waiting for an actual answer.

  He sighs. “Humans,” he mutters under his breath. “Famine. I’m Famine—I also answer to ‘the Reaper’.”

  “Can’t any of you horseman have nice, normal names?” Like Frank or Louis? I don’t think I’d be scared of a Louis.

  Famine smirks again. “I can already tell you and Pestilence are going to get along real well.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, you’ll see.”

  I stare at him for a beat or two longer, while Famine sizes me up.

  “Well?” I finally say.

  “Well what?”

  “If you’re planning on unleashing me, you could start by removing my restraints,” I say, jerking on my rope.

  Famine scowls at me, but reaches for the sword strapped at his side. The sound of rainfall grows stronger by the second.

  Even over the sound of the incoming storm I still manage to hear the distant thud of hoof beats.

  Reflexively, I tense.

  “You can relax,” Famine says, “that’s not your boyfriend.”

  “Death is not my boyfriend,” I snap as rain begins to drip through the many holes in the roof.

  The Reaper flashes me that damn smirk. “Sure, tootsie.”

  I thin my eyes at him. Right about now I wouldn’t half mind Thanatos smiting this brother of his.

  “How do you know that’s not Death riding up to this house right now?” I ask curiously as Famine begins cutting away at my bindings.

  “I can sense him,” he says.

  My bindings fall away, and I sigh as my arms are freed.

  I rub my wrists. “So that’s why you barged in here, sure that Death was inside. Because you sensed him,” I say, unimpressed. “The horseman who’s not here.”

  “I can sense him when he’s grounded,” the Reaper corrects, a bit too defensively. “He was here all last night and early this morning—” He cuts himself off. “I’m not going to explain this to you, some degenerate human.”

  I glare at him. All my fear has been replaced by annoyance. Deep, deep annoyance.

  The heavy pound of hooves grows louder, distracting me for a moment.

  “Those would be my other two brothers,” Famine says.

  “Did you sense them too?” I say, giving him a look like he’s an imbecile.

  He glowers at me. “Just when I was starting to like humans, I have to go and meet you.”

  “The feeling is fucking mutual.”

  Outside, the hoof beats come to a halt. I can hear a deep male voice murmuring something, and another man guffaws loudly.

  I stand just as two enormous men lumber through the doors, water dripping off of them. More horsemen.

  My pulse picks up again, my instincts telling me to run.

  They’re not here to hurt me, they’re not here to hurt me, I chant silently to myself.

  At least, I don’t think they are. Famine hasn’t yet revealed why exactly they are here.

  One of the new horsemen carries a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder, and the other has a massive sword strapped to his back. Their eyes briefly pause on me and Famine before they scan the room, clearly looking for Death.

  Eventually, their attention returns to us.

  “Is this a joke, Famine?” demands the older of the two men, his blond hair shot through with streaks of pale silver. Unlike the Reaper, he’s not wearing any armor—nor is the man next to him.

  “Great job locating Thanatos,” the dark-haired one says, and I almost laugh. Clearly I’m not the only person who’s comfortable ribbing the Reaper.

  Famine steps in front of me. “I found something better than our brother—I found his mate.”

  Chapter 26

  Pleasanton, Texas

  January, Year 27 of the Horsemen

  Mate?

  What in the God-fearing fuck?

  Pestilence and War’s eyes sharpen on me.

  I glare at Famine. “I’m not anyone’s mate.” That sounds horribly bestial. “For the last time, Death is my enemy.”

  “What makes you think she’s his, brother?” the dark-haired one says, ignoring my outburst.

  I grind my teeth at his phrasing. Do all these Neanderthals think alike?

  The blond horseman comes over to me, eyeing me speculatively. He’s slightly less intimidating than the others, but that’s entirely because he has laugh lines around his eyes, and it’s hard to be scared of someone who has laugh lines.

  “I found her tied up in this room,” Famine says. He nods outside. “And Death’s horse was down the road when I arrived.”

  He was?

  “You tracked Death’s horse instead of Death himself?” The dark-haired man looks like he wants to hit Famine upside the head.

  Not entirely opposed to seeing that.

  The Reaper gives his brother a withering look. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, but I cannot accurately locate Thanatos when he’s in the sky. So I improvised with the horse.”

  The older, blond-haired man moves over to me, ignoring his brothers’ bickeri
ng.

  “Thanatos bound you up?” he asks, his gaze moving to my wrists, which are still red and raw. I can’t tell if he’s concerned or simply curious.

  I lift a shoulder. “We’ve done worse to each other.”

  The wheels in his mind seem to be turning, but rather than responding to that, he says, “I’m Victor, though you can call me Pestilence.”

  Pestilence.

  I almost don’t breathe. But of course one of them would be Pestilence. My eyes look over him anew as so many turbulent emotions course through me.

  This is the horseman who killed my birth parents. The horseman who should’ve ended my life as well. And now he’s standing in front of me.

  He’s not at all what I was expecting. My throat closes up. “You’re—”

  “Old?” he finishes for me, his eyes gleaming good-naturedly. “I was made mortal long ago. And now—I age.”

  I have to breathe through my nose to control everything it is that I’m feeling. Never did I think I would ever face down this … this monster, and definitely not under these strange circumstances.

  My hand itches to reach for a dagger that isn’t there, and I am so close to crying right now, which is the last thing I want to do, but Pestilence is so damn civilized and he has kind eyes and laugh lines but he killed my parents.

  He is my enemy too.

  Before I can respond, War ambles over, his eyes scrutinizing me. “So you’re Death’s wife.”

  Screw. This.

  I walk out of the house there and then.

  I stride past the idle horses, down the overgrown driveway with its rusted junk. The rain quickly drenches me, but I don’t care. I’m no longer bound up, I don’t need to stay inside that decaying house with those terrible men, and—

  My eyes catch on an opening in the hedge circling the property.

  I can escape.

  I’ve been so distracted by my present situation that I lost sight of my single most important goal—getting away.

  I pick up my pace, afraid the unnatural overgrowth is going to close up at any moment.

  “Wait!” I hear heavy footfalls behind me.

  My steps falter.

  If I leave now, I will slip through Death’s clutches. If I linger, then I might learn why these horsemen are following Death.

  I stare at the thicket surrounding the house. Rain drips from all those hundreds of leaves, making the plants glisten everywhere but that one break in the foliage. That opening is mocking me.

  “I know we’re a bit much,” Pestilence calls out after me. “My brothers and I are not trying to heckle you. We’re here to stop Death, once and for all.”

  I don’t think I breathe.

  I spin, facing down Pestilence.

  For a moment, I forget about all of the bad blood I have with this horseman.

  “You’re here to stop Death?” I say, disbelieving. I mean, they’re the Four Horsemen. All of them are here to destroy our world.

  I search his gaze. “Why would you—any of you—” I gesture vaguely to the house where the other two men are, “want that?”

  Pestilence sighs. “It’s a long story. One that Famine, War and I are willing to tell you, if you’ll listen.”

  I search his face as rain drips from my hair and my lashes. He sounds truthful, and if he is, then … perhaps Thanatos could be stopped, permanently.

  I ignore the way dread coils inside me at that thought. Death needs to be stopped. This is bigger than me and my feelings.

  Then I remember who exactly it is I’m talking to. This is the horseman who wiped out my first hometown.

  “Why do you think I would want to help you?” I say. “You killed my parents.” My voice breaks over that old wound. I have witnessed more recent, more painful deaths at the hands of Thanatos, but oh how I have made him pay for them.

  This horseman, on the other hand, he robbed me of the life I might’ve had, and now he wants my help? Because of him, I’ll never know the parents who brought me into the world, I’ll never get to hug them or memorize their faces or learn about who they were and where I came from. And though that life would mean erasing the one I did grow up with—a life full of love and laughter—it’s still a future that was stolen from me all the same.

  Pestilence looks taken aback. His eyes search my face anew.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, and there is genuine remorse there. I wish I couldn’t sense it.

  I work my jaw and look away, suddenly overwhelmed by this confrontation.

  “I was a different … man then,” he continues. “Probably not so different from how Death is now.

  “We horseman can change our ways. All of us have changed our ways—except for Death. And unfortunately for you and the rest of humanity, he’s the one horseman who gets the final say on whether you all live or die.

  “That’s why the three of us, including that odious beast you know as Famine—”

  “I heard that, asshole!” the Reaper calls from just inside the house.

  “—are here, looking for Death,” Pestilence continues smoothly. “We want to stop him—we are going to stop him. But we could really, really use your help. And I am truly sorry. I cannot bring your parents back, but perhaps together, we can spare many other families the same fate.”

  I need to sit. My legs don’t feel like they want to support my bodyweight any longer.

  “You’re really trying to stop Thanatos?” I say softly.

  I can’t believe it.

  “We really are,” he says.

  His words—and his apology—hang heavy in the air between us. I don’t want to forgive him—and I don’t want to work with him—but this last year has forced me to deal with all sorts of impossible, horrible circumstances. Hell, I just spent the night in the arms of Death himself, the man responsible not just for my family’s death, but for everyone’s demise.

  Pestilence gives me a long look. “Please, come back inside—” He pauses, leaving an opening for me to say my name.

  I size the horseman up, not entirely sure that getting my hands dirty in whatever mess they’re up to is a great idea.

  Better than staying Death’s unwilling captive.

  “Lazarus,” I finally say. “My name’s Lazarus.”

  Pestilence smiles.

  “Lazarus,” he repeats. “It’s nice to officially meet you.” He nods back to the house. “As soon as you’re ready to get out of the rain, my brothers and I have a lot to tell you, and I don’t think we have much time.”

  Chapter 27

  Pleasanton, Texas

  January, Year 27 of the Horsemen

  They do share their story. It all comes tumbling out like some horrible nightmare. How these horsemen came to earth and broke our technology. How they went back into the ground, only to arise again like cicadas. Each one of them has traveled the world, determined to eradicate us all. But each of them changed their minds somewhere along the way.

  And, in every single case, a woman was responsible for that.

  I realize now why they care so much about my relationship with Death.

  “So you see,” War eventually says, sitting back on his haunches as rain plinks on the roof above us, “we cannot let him succeed, and not just because we love our wives and our children.”

  Famine stands next to him, arms folded, glowering.

  Pestilence adds, “We gave up our immortality and the vast extent of our powers because we believe that despite our task, humans are worthy of living.”

  Famine huffs, glancing away.

  “Ignore him,” War says. “He’s still bitter that Death didn’t find his motives pure enough to strip him of his immortality.”

  “Humans are retched,” Famine says. “I don’t know why I must change my mind about that first.”

  I sit on the edge of the worn recliner, reeling from it all.

  “Where are these families of yours?” I ask. “The ones you’re fighting for?” It’s obvious enough that they aren’t here.

&nb
sp; “Far, far away,” War says, his eyes sharp. One of his hands fists, and I notice with fascination that on each knuckle there are red, glowing markings. “And it will remain that way until Death is dealt with.”

  His words draw my attention back to his face.

  Dealt with sounds so ominous and final.

  “What are you planning on doing to Thanatos?” I ask. It comes out as a whisper.

  “Whatever we must,” War says grimly.

  Famine breaks away from the group, striding over to the open doorway.

  “And you want my help?” I say slowly.

  Pestilence nods.

  I can barely form the next words. “What would you have me—?”

  “War, Pestilence—” Famine interrupts.

  “Victor,” Pestilence corrects.

  “I don’t care about your fuckwit name. Death’s coming.”

  “Oh, so now you know where he is?” I say.

  Famine gives me a dark look over his shoulder. He turns to his brothers. “You two need to leave.”

  Pestilence—Victor—and War are quiet, but neither of them makes a move to leave.

  Famine exhales loudly. “Must I be the sentimental one? You two need to go, now. You’re mortal,” the Reaper reminds them. “This is a fight you’ll lose, and today is no longer the day we make our move.”

  My eyes leap from man to man, even as a shiver runs down my spine. I don’t know who I’m more concerned for—Death, or these three.

  Reluctantly, War and Pestilence head out front, where their horses wait. The rain is beginning to come down harder, and for once, I’m legitimately grateful to be in this rotting house.

  “I’ll come for you,” Famine calls out to them, “after I have a little chat with our brother.”

  I get chills at the threat in the Reaper’s words.

  “So you’re going to face him alone?” I ask.

  The Reaper turns back to me reluctantly. “Would you care to join me?” he asks, raising his eyebrows skeptically.

  “I have fought that man more times than I can count. I’m happy to sit this one out.” After a moment, I add, “Can you kill Thanatos—for good?”

  A mean little smile spreads across Famine’s face. “Does that frighten you, tootsie?”

  “I swear if you call me that again, I will take off my boot and clobber you with it.”