by Billi Bell
The three Horsemen, Samir, Ling, and Jehanne greeted Death and Adofo before taking their places around the center of the altar. This was Adofo's first time witnessing the ceremony, and he wasn’t sure why she’d invited him, but as most reapers eventually learn, never questioned her motives.”
Death produced her scythe and slammed it to the ground four times before speaking. The sound it produced resembled thunder and with the storm approaching Adofo wondered if it was a side effect of what was happening tonight.
“Jehanne, Horseman of War and protector of the souls that fall to warfare. You have been granted permission to pass to the afterlife. Although I wish you’d decided to stay on longer, you had more than earned the right to rest before you were ever a reaper. May peace be yours forever-after.”
Jehanne thanked Death for the kind words and delivered her farewell speech.
“My time on Earth was both shorter and longer than most, but I’ve made friendships that I hope will carry on to the next life. If I never see any of you again, I must say I wish you all the best and peaceful slumber. Great Reaper, I am ready.”
“I will now take the Scythe of War, so it is passed to your successor,” said Death.
Jehanne handed the scythe to Death and took her place on the North Barrow behind the station stone with Death in front of another stone nearby. On the opposite side stood the empty South Barrow, a third stone and the remaining Horsemen were close by in front of a fourth. Adofo left the altar and stood near the horses, watching the ritual that he supposed not many reapers got to see.
With Jehanne’s scythe, Death ripped a portal open with the blade. At the same time, another portal opened at the South Barrow.
“Give me your hand,” said Death to Jehanne. She placed it into her palm. Death proceeded to cut a small gash into it and then into her own.
She then pressed their hands together and said, “With your duties fulfilled I now unbound you from this world and release you into the next. May you rest peacefully.”
Jehanne walked into the portal, and her horse rode in behind her. The portal closed and on the South Barrow emerged Robert Waterford on a red mare.
Death, Samir, and Ling headed for the altar while Robert rode over and climbed down. Although the large horse was identical to Jehanne, Horsemen were awarded a new horse of their own. It would follow them from the day they were initiated until their transition to the afterlife and thereafter.
“Robert, welcome to the Horsemen,” said Death, shaking his hand. Samir and Ling welcomed him into their small circle as well. Adofo watched from the side as the ritual appeared to be over, he prepared to leave.
“Don’t go anywhere just yet.” He heard Death’s voice in his head and turned to see her shoot him a quick glance.
Back at the altar, the ceremony continued with another blood tie. Death took the Scythe of War, carved with the images of soldiers, and slit a small gash into Robert’s palm. Joining it with her own, she bound him to her.
“Robert, Horseman of War, I bound your soul to me, from now until your duties are fulfilled, and you are let to rest. My word is absolute and must be obeyed without question. You are now the guardian of souls who fall to war, be they soldier or not. Any disobedience will be met with swift punishment, and your soul will be damned for all eternity. Welcome.”
She took his helmet and gave it the power of cloaking. “Keep it safe, Robert.”
“Great Reaper and my fellow Horsemen, thank you for such a wonderful welcome. I am proud to have been chosen for such an honorable position, one I hope to hold for many centuries to come. If it’s alright with you Great Reaper, I like to now be referred to by my new title, War.”
“Fine with me, I think we’re the only two that can,” said Death jokingly. Samir and Ling failed to find it funny. “Have you named her?”
War walked over to the blood-colored horse and stroked her red mane.
“Flame,” he said, eyeing the beast with admiration.
A short time later Death dismissed the Horsemen and joined Adofo by Nella’s side.
“I wonder if I made the right decision, what do you think?” Death asked. Rarely did she ask the opinion of others and knowing this Adofo took his time to answer.
“I think war is not easy in life or death. If you have any reservations about your choice, well, you are the Great Reaper. Change it before your suspicions are confirmed.”
CHAPTER 17
Death reached and took the strands of hair from Ling’s hand. She recognized it immediately, and her initial theory was confirmed.
“War,” said Death, balling her hand into a tight fist. Dominic watched as her eyes turned a familiar red, she was furious. The sky outside the bar darkened, and torrential rain quickly began to pour. One by one people in the bar started dropping to the floor, apparently dead, except for Ling and Dominic.
Death’s anger was affecting her environment, and Ling was more nervous than fearful. She knew what Death’s wrath could do. She had been at her side for over a millennium and never had a Horseman betrayed Death. If War was, in fact, guilty of helping Clara, he deserved punishment, but what would she have in mind? She’d decapitated Clara for delaying death, but what she’d do to War, Ling could only imagine.
“Maybe he found the oasis on his own or followed you on a trip there,” said Ling. “Calm yourself and let us work through this.”
Death began pacing back and forth, unsure of what her next step should be. Her initial reaction was to find him and start slowly slashing a thousand cuts into him with his own scythe. As she continued to pace, Dominic stepped forward.
“Death, I may have some information to help,” he said. “The barkeep, I asked him about the fight. I told him I heard about it through a friend and the victim might be my brother that I’m looking for.”
Dominic paused, unsure if she even cared about Percival at the moment, but she let him continue.
“He said that a man who seemed to come out of nowhere helped him up and out of the bar. The person he described greatly resembled War, except he wasn’t wearing a uniform.”
“He’s not stupid, he would’ve stood out too much,” she said. “Besides this isn’t the type of fine establishment the authorities would be welcomed. They would have tried to eat him alive. Good job, Dominic.”
Ling asked what the next step would be, War probably suspected Death was on his trail. “Should we get Samir involved?”
“No, as much as I would like to believe that he had nothing to do with it, he followed you to the oasis. That may have been a lie, and he was already there, to begin with.”
“What is that place and why is it so hidden?” Ling asked. “It seems to be very important to you, but I’ve never heard you mention it.”
Death returned to the chair and sat down, her mind seemingly elsewhere. The wind and rain began pounding at the door. “The oasis is well known by another name, The Garden of Eden.”
It was Dominic and Ling’s turn to sit this time. Dominic couldn’t believe that in such a small amount of time his faith had been tested so much.
“The actual Garden of Eden? It actually fucking exists, wow,” said Dominic, shocking even Death with his language. “How is it still there? People are exploring every inch of this Earth, if they haven’t come upon it now, they will soon.”
Death explained that the Garden was cloaked and would never be found. “It was in one of the hottest and uninhabitable places in the world. No place for a human or reaper to be found. It can be moved in an emergency situation, and since this was one of those situations, I’ve already done so.”
The Garden of Eden stood empty for many years after the banishment of Adam and Eve. The mausoleum was built as a resting place for their remains, but after the murder of Abel, room was made for him and Cain as well. God feared their remains would be used for nefarious reasons after their notorious deaths.
“The bodies of the older man and woman were those of God’s first creations. The other two were of Cain an
d Abel. They—”
Before Death could continue, Dominic began to scream and grasped his head in pain. Both Ling and Death rushed to his side, and Death placed her hands on each side of his head. She attempted to find where the pain was coming from.
Thru the darkness, she saw the wall in his brain was cracked, and it was rapidly breaking down. The barrier looked different with Dominic awake, more invulnerable. She realized she’d seen one like it before and she could possibly fix it if she wanted to.
Death knew she had only two options, repair it and ease his pain, or go thru it and see what it was built to protect. The latter option would almost certainly cause more pain to Dominic.
The allure of what was beyond the wall was enticing, but she’d made a promise to Dominic to keep him safe. Her attempt to repair the crack seemed to be working. Soon the wall was complete again. The tension in Dominic’s body began to ease, and he was no longer in pain.
The wind was nearly at hurricane speeds as the weather outside grew worse. Ling assisted Dominic into the chair, and they gave him a few minutes to recover. She called Death over to the side and attempted to calm her down.
“You know you’re doing this right, the weather? You need to calm yourself.”
Death insisted she was calm, but Ling brought her attention to the people still on the floor. “Your energy is going to kill them.”
Death looked around the bar, finally noticing people lying on the floor and immediately started to calm herself. The consequence of early death was close to torture. The soul could not be reaped until the moment they were supposed to have died, and until then they were damned to roam.
One by one people began rising from the floor unaware of how they got there. The atmosphere in the room was so oppressive that the patrons started to leave, and the barkeep decided to close the bar.
Dominic prepared to leave when Death stopped him. She took a red jewel from her dress and placed it into his hand.
“Hold it tight and don’t drop it,” said Death.
Dominic watched as the barkeep quickly cleaned and locked up the alcohol. After giving the bar another look, he extinguished the candles and bolted the door.
“He didn’t see me?” asked Dominic as he glanced down at the stone now glowing. Death took the ruby back, placing it back on her dress.
“No, he did not,” said Death. “Now, shall I continue?”
They all returned back to their seats to find a beer waiting for each of them, and to Dominic’s delight, in clean glasses.
Death took a long drink from her glass before placing it back on the table. Ling gave her an annoyed look, pointing at her beer. With a wave of her hand, Death turned the beer into a cup of tea. She took a deep breath and finished her story.
“We all know the story of how and why Adam and Eve were banished and what was written of their lives after, but not everything you read in books is true. Adam was not as innocent as he is written. He resented Eve for their dismissal from paradise and never failed to remind her. Once the children were born, the two oldest sons Cain and Abel became a reflection of him. Abel grew to be bigger and stronger with a temper worse than his father.
As Cain grew, Adam saw he was becoming more like his mother, gentle and good-natured. Cain preferred to work alongside his mother than to hunt with Adam. He viewed this as a weakness and punished his son in bouts of anger. When Adam wasn’t bullying his son, it was Abel. As much as Eve tried to help Cain, it was never enough.”
Death paused, and the sound of thunder grew louder, she was getting upset again.
“When the boys were older there was a great conflict involving a deity and one brother killed the other...”
“Cain killed Abel and was doomed to roam the Earth. Wait...War is it possible he is Cain?” asked Dominic.
“Like I said, not everything you read in books is true; it was Abel who slays Cain. Abel, however, does not roam the Earth. He is the body Ling unwrapped in the mausoleum. It is impossible for War to be Cain; an immortal being cannot be a Horseman. You have to die to become a reaper, remember?”
“If that was Abel, then where is Cain?” Ling asked.
Death took a deep breath turned to Dominic, “He’s right here.”
CHAPTER 18
About Two Weeks Earlier
Clara returned to her apartment in Paris after reaping her last soul for the day. It was late in the day, and she’d just finished her shift. She was grateful for today’s short list of names, Percival’s birthday was coming up, and it was always a depressing day. She’d recently heard, by way of another reaper, that he’d just got married to a lovely young woman named Lizzie. She wondered how long until he was a father and hoped they would be better parents than her and his own father, Samuel.
Her arraigned marriage was one of convenience that elevated her family’s status and wealth. Giving birth to Percival secured a lineage and her part of the union. She had as little as possible to do with his upbringing, something she’d come to regret in her second life. Both she and her husband carried on affairs without much discretion, but she still grew restless.
Everything changed when her lover convinced her to run off with him to America. She was still young and dreamed of starting a new life with someone who actually made her happy. That night, as usual, her husband had found a reason to not be home. She put Percival to bed with a lullaby and kissed him goodnight.
She grabbed her hidden luggage and met her lover at the port. The ship they boarded hit bad weather and sank. She woke up to the beginning of her career as a reaper. Her transition was initially difficult, but she got through it with the help of Captain Adofo.
The last twenty years flew by and during that time she’d made peace with her actions and hoped to see her son again one day. Meeting Victor was a blessing, and they were eventually allowed to live together. Tonight she’d get a chance no other reaper was allowed, to see her son and possibly save his life.
Clara entered her home, and as expected, she found it empty. Victor wasn’t expected home for a few hours. The small apartment was cozy and all they would ever need. As she did every night, she lit a fire and put on the kettle for tea. She was just getting settled in when a knock at the door got her attention.
Assuming it was a neighboring reaper, she got up from her chair and opened the door without looking through the peephole. A swift breeze flew past her, but the hallway was empty. She walked over to her next-door neighbor and knocked on the door. A young black woman answered with a welcoming smile. She was dressed in a white floor-length cotton dress that had been embroidered with flowers.
“Hello, Lila, did you knock on my door?” Clara asked. A look of confusion flashed across Lila’s face.
“No, I just got in from my last soul. I had nearly a full list today, and I was about to go to bed,” she answered in a Caribbean accent. “You look scared, is there something wrong? Would you like to come inside and talk?”
“No, thank you, I thought I heard a knock at my door, but I must be tired. I’m sorry to have bothered you,” said Clara. She returned back to her apartment and found a cup of tea waiting for her.
“Victor, are you home?”
The only sound was of the fireplace crackling until the kettle began whistling. She looked back to the steaming cup of tea, and fear set in.
“Victor?” she said softly. “Darling, are you home?”
She walked over to the stove and took the kettle off. Her instinct told her she wasn’t alone, but there were few places anyone could hide in such a small space. She grabbed her scythe and checked them one by one but found nothing. Opening the bedroom door slowly, she entered the room preparing to strike anything that moved but again found nothing.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, Clara.”
Clara screamed as a man’s deep voice filled her head. “Please, sit and have a sip of tea. Now.”
“Who are you and what do you want?” Clara asked. She cautiously sat in the chair and picked up the small porcelain cup.
“I want to help you and Percival.”
This got her attention immediately. “What’s wrong with my son?”
“He’s going to die soon after his birthday, but you can save him.”
Clara panicked, she wasn’t the best mother, but she cared for her son. She asked the voice again who he was.
“If you want to save your son, I can tell you where he is, and you can save him,” he said, ignoring her question again.
Clara knew the consequences of knowing of her son’s death and what would happen if she tried to save him. She didn’t want her son to become a rotter, destined to meet Death’s wrath. Her best option was to let Captain Adofo know and hope he would let her guide his soul to the afterlife. This way, one day they could be reunited.
She declined the mysterious offer and headed out the door, nearly knocking over Lila.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to check on you,” said Lila. She looked at Clara with worry in her eyes. “Are you sure everything is okay? I could have sworn I heard you scream, but maybe we both are hearing things.”
“I’m fine, thank you. If Victor comes looking for me tell him I’ve stepped out, please?”
Lila nodded and watched as Clara descended down the stairwell. She returned to her own apartment and walked over to the fireplace and gazed inside the flames.
“She’s left again, but I suspect she will take your offer, master,” said Lila. “She is most likely going to her lead reaper, but she’ll be back. They will never allow her to reap him.”
Clara walked through the streets of Paris, occasionally looking over her shoulder for her mysterious visitor. She entered a small cafe and sat at an empty table. Reaching into her holster, she laid her scythe on the table and held it tightly.
“Captain Adofo, I wish to speak with you, sir,” she said. She waited for only a few minutes, but they felt like hours.
“This better be important, Mrs. Lewis.”