by Billi Bell
Ling rushed over and pulled Samir away from the fire. It began to grow faster and soon the flames were outside of the fireplace and as tall as the ceiling. Ling looked closer into the fire, and when she noticed a hand coming out of the flames, she grabbed Samir and pushed him towards the door. “They’re coming!”
The two Horsemen ran outside of the manor and straight into Victor and Captain Adofo. They had seen them coming and were already ready for battle. At Victor’s insistence, they separated outside the manor, taking the lead at various points of exits and waited for what seemed like hours.
The first knight of Hades’ army emerged from the fire and headed straight for the front door, and it wasn’t long until more followed. The souls from the underworld carried long Haladie swords, double-edged daggers that could slice through a reaper with ease.
The knights exited the house from every door and window, dressed in blood red clothing, they were almost a mirror image of the reapers. Counting the ones still inside the home, Victor estimated there were at least a thousand of them. The collection was outnumbered.
Hades’ army, The Jaded Knights, did not engage and instead stood only feet away from the Collection, staring. Victor knew exactly what they were doing. He used his thoughts to speak to his comrades.
“They’re sizing us up,” he said. “We need more reapers, can either of you call more?
“Not with the barrier up and Death missing,” said Ling. “If any reaper attempts to cross on either side, they die if she’s not here. We need to retreat and put more space in between—”
Ling was interrupted by the sudden simultaneous movement of the army. They’d started engaging the Collection in battle and were attempting to single out the leaders.
Adofo and the Horsemen were each surrounded by their strongest fighters while the Collection battled. For the moment the reapers had the upper hand, but the knights were only briefly injured before rising again. Victor knew he wasn’t going down and that Death was counting on him. She trusted him to defend the barrier, and he desperately needed to prove her right.
Adofo was horrified to see reapers being stabbed and not getting back up. Hades’ had designed weapons that could kill reapers for good and Death had no idea.
It was Victor who made the first move. He had been eyeing the biggest guard and rushed him, dodging the sword a second before it would have penetrated his heart. He was able to get his scythe into his neck, temporarily disabling him. He kept swinging and eventually decapitated the large man. Victor was elated to see he did not rise again. By this time, the others were now in combat with the other knights.
Victor screamed as loud as he could, “Take their heads!”
CHAPTER 32
Dominic’s breath had left his body, and he was close to passing out when Eve placed a hand on his chest. “Breathe, my boy.”
Death’s reaction was entirely different, her eyes went blood red as she stared daggers at Abel. She instantly changed her attire from her black dress to form-fitting pants that would make it easier for her to maneuver in.
He lightly chuckled at her change in clothing, but she failed to find any humor in the situation. Abel’s vessel of an 18th century Englishman had effectively fooled her for nearly two centuries, and she was furious. “How the hell did you get so close without me noticing who you are?”
Abel’s only response was laughter, and this pissed her off even more. This level of disrespect was not going to go unanswered. She kept her eyes on him as he strolled back and forth in front of the small cottage. She recognized the large sword in his hand, it was a gift from her to Hades during the good times they shared. It couldn’t kill her but it could do enough damage to slow her down.
“The Great Reaper wants to know a “great secret,” said Abel joyfully. “Well, when I was killed by my brother, I was already dead. Everything that happened on that mountain was for your entertainment. We knew you were coming for Cain anyway and I was due to die soon after from fever, so it had to happen on that day.”
It took her only a second to realize what had actually occurred. At some point, Abel sold his soul to Hades in exchange for eternal life. “You didn’t want to die. After all that pain you inflicted on your brother, you knew where you were going.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t going to go, ever,” he said. “So, I gave my soul, and my master awarded me with all of this.”
When Adam and Eve died, their souls were intercepted and sent back to the cottage to spend eternity with Abel as part of his deal.
“But, why us?” Dominic screamed at Abel. “Why would Hades give you all this? We were just simple people, working our land.”
It was Death who answered Dominic. “You were His first-born creations. How did I not realize this, you’re twins. I only focused on your deaths, not your births. First borns of any species are the most powerful, and you would never have agreed to Hades’ plan, you have a virtuous soul.”
The pieces were finally coming together, and she realized she would have never seen of this coming if I hadn’t been for Dominic. When his soul was confined to his body, it was for her sake. If she had reaped him, it would have been unattainable for whoever put him inside an immortal’s body. It was no mistake that he had been at the Vatican at the same time she was.
“You recognized Dominic at the cemetery, that’s why you were so aggressive toward him. You knew you had to speed up your plan, didn’t you? You feared he would recognize who you truly were inside and tell me.”
Abel’s smile had faded, and he looked over to his brother, still holding onto Eve. “All that planning, nearly gone to waste. I was supposed to get you here alone and distract you long enough for the army to rise and lay waste to those miserable people out there.”
“How did you bleed black?” Death asked. She wanted to keep him talking while she figured out a way to disarm him. Adam was of no concern, she knew she could take down quickly.
“That wasn’t me, yet,” he said. “I knew one day, I would have to deliver on my part of the deal and Robert was perfect. He was the first Horseman that we knew could be turned.”
Hades had come to Robert shortly before his ceremony and offered him reincarnation in exchange for this shell. “He gladly took it, and when he came home to this beautiful gift of yours, I took over and made it…comfy. Now that stupid bastard is dead for good.”
“The spies, Lila and the rest of them, they didn’t know anything about you being Robert, did they?” She slowly moved closer to him as they talked. She knew she’d have one good swing before he could react and she wanted it to count.
“No, Lila’s job was to go along with the ruse on the mountain, she had no idea who I was. The master knew if you discovered any spies, you’d break one of them eventually and—.”
Abel was interrupted when Death rushed and struck him with her scythe. The blade penetrated his neck but did not sever it. She quickly pulled it out and started to swing again when Adam sideswiped her with a large block of wood. She fell to the ground and her vision blurred. Abel held his neck tightly, stopping the flow of blood.
Dominic and Eve watched in horror as the large wound began to heal. Adam ran over to Dominic and pulled Eve from his arms, throwing his wife to the ground. Her head landed with a hard thud and Dominic rushed to his mother’s side, but he found her unresponsive. He calmly stood and walked back to his father, eyes now filled with rage.
“What are you going to do you little —.” Adam started to say but was interrupted when Dominic impaled his scythe into his neck. He kept swinging, even after Adam was beheaded. Dominic was soaked in blood as held his father’s head in his hands. He held an emotionless stare as he looked down at the man he once feared.
“Fuck you, father.”
Dominic checked on his mother and saw she was now awake. He soon turned his focus on Death. She had recovered in time to block a swing from a now fully healed Abel’s sword. She and Abel were now in the midst of a bloody battle. His strength was near equal. Hades had pa
tiently waited thousands of years to get him ready for her.
The fight eventually stretched across the plains, and each time she’d make contact with her blade, the wound would heal before the next swing. They were directly in front of the mountain when Dominic screamed to his brother.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Abel looked over to find Dominic holding the head of his beloved father. “What have you done?”
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Dominic repeated louder, his face red and filled with anger as he stared into his brother’s eyes with pure hatred.
“Yes, you are,” said Death. A light bulb had gone off in her head. She backed away from Abel and approached Dominic. “It has to be you, that why he had you “murder” him, he could have just had Adam do it. You’re older, stronger and a first-born, you’re the first-born. Only you could kill him then, and only you can kill him now.”
Dominic and Abel locked eyes and charged at one another. Death watched as the two brothers engaged in a battle that thousands of years overdue. Dominic was no longer the small boy that was towered over by his brother. They might not have matched in height, but he was much stronger. He strength overpowered Abel, and his cuts did not heal.
She smiled proudly as Dominic slammed his weakened brother into the ground and stabbed his scythe into Abel’s heart. He pulled the blade from his brother’s chest and watched the crimson blood flow. Death grabbed Abel by the throat and dragged him up the mountain as he choked on his own blood. Dominic watched as she held him over the edge of the mountainside.
“I would ask you to send Hades a message, but I’m sure that’s exactly what he wants. So, this is where you will spend all eternity.”
She held up an empty orb with her free hand and watched him breathe his last breath. Once she was sure he was dead, she tossed his body off the edge of the mountain. It landed not far from Dominic’s feet. He walked over and just as with his father, took his brother’s head.
Death turned to find Abel’s soul behind her, looking down in shame. His demeanor surprised her.
“Don’t expect me to fight this,” he said. “I will take my punishment as I should have, long ago.”
“Why now?” she asked. “Why didn’t he wait until you were further embedded?”
“Can he get to me in there?” Abel asked, pointing towards the orb. Death shook her head no. “He’s getting weaker. In another millennium there will be no God of the Underworld, and without him, the underworld will cease to be an all souls within it.”
Her reaction was not one that he expected. She smiled brightly and even began to laugh. “I knew it.”
When she turned and saw a bloodied Dominic and Eve had joined them, she handed the orb to Dominic. “I think you’ve earned it.”
Before Abel’s soul flowed into the orb and it slowly changed to the familiar shade of red, he walked over to his family. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to be the son I thought I was supposed to be.” Death inserted the orb into her scythe as she didn’t want Hades to any chance of acquiring his soul again.
Dominic cradled his mother in his arms as she wept. When his brother was gone, Death gave him the bad news. “I have to take Adam’s soul...and hers.”
“No!” he screamed and stepped in front of his mother. “I just got her back, please don’t take her.”
“You haven’t forgotten about Percival have you,” she said. “She cannot exist in this world, let her rest.”
He knew she was right, and so did Eve. She pulled herself away and kissed his cheek. “I will wait for you, however long it takes.”
“You know what you have to do,” said Death. While the tears flowed down his face, he hugged his mother one last time before shoving the scythe into her back and through her heart.
“You should leave and wait for me in the cellar,” said Death. “Don’t look back.”
Dominic began the long walk to the door, fighting his hardest not turn around. He took one last look at the land before him and walked through the door. After the door shut closed Death took Eve’s soul and escorted her to the afterlife, again.
“Take care of my baby, please,” she said. “He deserves a second chance at life more than any of us.”
“I know, and apparently someone else does too.”
Once Eve was gone, she slowly descended the mountain and placed Adam in an orb. The old man was not as remorseful as his son. She made a mental note to actually create the depth.
Still recovering from the fight with Abel, she made her way back to the door. Halfway there, she heard a loud explosion behind her. The house was being engulfed in flames.
“This is not over,” a man’s voice spoke from the flames.
“It will be the next time you crawl up from your hole,” she replied, turning away.
She exited into the hallway and found Dominic leaning against the wall. “I’m sorry,” she said as she walked past him into the cellar.
CHAPTER 33
Victor pulled his scythe from the head of the last knight just as Death and Dominic emerged from the manor. Death examined the sight before her. She estimated the loss of reapers at less than a few hundred, far more than what she’d expected. She knew that if the Knights had risen, they do some damage, but nowhere near this much.
Death was relieved to find all the Horsemen and Adofo were okay, she congratulated them all before hugging Samir tightly. They couldn’t help but notice she was still recovering from serious injuries.
She called all the remaining reapers before. “For some of you this has been the first battle in centuries, some the first ever, and for an unfortunate few, the last. I am grateful for the sacrifices you all have made and though they will never know what happened here tonight, so is mankind. I only wish I could have been here to fight with you. We must protect this world for as long as possible. Thank you all.”
One by one the remaining reapers and Horsemen raised their scythe’s to the skies. “Great Reaper!” they yelled in unison.
Death painfully raised her scythe to air and smiled. “Go home and rest,” she spoke loudly. “I will take care of everything here.”
She dropped the barrier to allow them to leave. “Victor, I’ll see you in England in three nights. Ling and Samir, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
They bowed and joined The Collection as they crossed the wall and were sent home. Samir rode away only after Death repeatedly assured him that she was okay. A still silent Dominic received a ride back to the manor from Samir at Death’s insistence.
Ling approached Death and told her of Zhang. Without a word she turned and headed upstairs with Ling close behind. When they opened the door, Ling gasped and ran inside the now empty and much smaller room. “Where are they?” she asked Death, hoping she had an answer, but Death looked at her with solemn eyes.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know.” Ling collapsed and desperately searched the room, hoping to find a clue but found it was spotless. Death helped her up off the floor and down the stairs to her horse. “Go home to Yi and rest, and that’s an order. I’ll see you soon.”
Ling rose off and disappeared into a portal. Death looked over the bodies of her fallen reapers and mourned for their souls. Hades had them now, and there was nothing she could do about it. She raised her palms upward and closed her eyes. When she opened them their bodies and the manor were gone. Walking over to the cliff side, she called for God, and a large hawk circled the cliff before landing on her shoulder.
“I believe my part of the deal is complete,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me Adam and Eve did not cross over.”
“The afterlife is none of your concern, remember?” he said. He was right, but she was still upset about not knowing. “There was no way for me to know they were a part of his plan. I assumed they went to the underworld for the mistreatment of Cain. As you know, neither one of us has authority there. Nevertheless, she is safe now, and I thank you.”
“You owe me,” she said. “You said it could be done.”
***
Dominic and Samir arrived inside Death’s home and parted ways. He had not spoken a word since leaving the underworld, and Samir didn’t bother engaging. He was still not sure of Dominic and honestly didn’t care for him. During their long relationship, he had asked many times to be open with their affections and live together. She declined each time, giving many reasons why it couldn’t be. The most common being that she didn’t want people to think he held any favor with her. Her authority could be questioned, and that wouldn’t stand.
Samir entered a large bedroom, one that he and Death had shared many nights and began to undress. He laid in the soft bed slowly and waited for her to return.
Dominic stepped inside his room and sat on the bed. He didn’t know what to do with his life now. The reason he was brought back had come to pass, and he felt no purpose to go on. His mind kept drifting back to Eve and her waiting on him. She didn’t know he was immortal now and that they’d never see each other again.
“Unless I become mortal again!” he exclaimed loudly. “I have to find who put my soul in this body and maybe they can undo it.”
He rushed over to the desk and began to write a goodbye letter to Death. If it took him until the end of time, he would become mortal again. After completing the message, he packed a small bag and headed toward the library. He placed the letter on the small table between the two chairs and turned to leave. The painting caught his eye once again, and he walked over, it had been repaired. He recognized the face right away as his own.
“Mary Mae?”
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring at the painting, but when he turned to leave, he found Death sitting in her chair. She was reading the letter with a peculiar look on her face. She motioned for him to join her.