Path of the Horseman

by Amy Braun

  The problem with Logan’s sense of “humor” was that I could never tell when he was being serious, or when he was fucking around. I didn’t think Logan would hurt me until it was my time to die, but a man that can kill with a single touch is not a man anyone should aggravate. Logan followed his agenda to the letter, but he had no problem fast tracking certain people to the grave.

  “You don’t seem surprised to see a human with us,” Simon pointed out.

  Logan glanced at Maddy again. She twitched, but when I squeezed her hand, she began to relax.

  “I’m not. I knew there were more of them out there. But I didn’t want to say anything to the three of you.”

  “Why not?” I asked, trying not to sound too demanding.

  Logan stared at us blankly. “Because I hate my job.”

  We all fell silent. Not even Maddy, who must have been confused beyond belief, laughed. Of the four of us, Kade was the only one that I knew didn’t regret his actions. Simon might have moped and complained, but deep down, he cared. He wouldn’t be here with me if he didn’t.

  “Why did you build the wall?” I asked.

  Logan glanced at it and took another smoke from his cigarette, which was past the halfway point now. “I needed a way to pass the time, and saw the brush was dying. I tried to make it grow, but,” he snickered, but wasn’t smiling, “I guess my gardening skills have been left wanting.”

  “You were trying to bring it back to life?” Maddy asked quietly.

  “In a manner,” replied my brother. “I wanted it to stay alive. Every time I found a dying cell, I tried to reverse the decay. It was an experiment, something I was willing to try on a living person if it worked. But it’s clear that I can’t achieve my goal.”

  “But you made the brush bigger than it should have been,” Maddy pointed out. “That has to account for something.”

  Logan stared at her without emotion. “I made it grow, because I filled it with death. The living cells grew and tried to escape me, but they couldn’t. Nothing ever does.”

  Maddy winced and pressed herself closer to me. Logan looked at the two of us, his expression unreadable.

  “Good, then you can help us,” I stated. “We’re trying to stop Ciaran. He has some kind of plan involving us and the humans that are supposed to be in a campground here. The same ones Kade wants to kidnap.”

  Logan finally expressed a readable emotion: puzzlement.

  “Ciaran’s motives I can understand, but why does Kade want humans?”

  “He’s made himself Emperor of Las Vegas,” answered Simon.

  Logan sniggered, waiting for the punch line. He blinked when there wasn’t one. “Really?” We nodded. Logan sighed. “Kade’s ambitions always were through the roof.”

  “Do you know where the haven is?” Maddy asked.

  He took his time answering. “Yes. I have a radio that played the same lie you probably heard.”

  Maddy blinked. “Lie? What do you mean?”

  “That message? The one about food, shelter, protection? None of it is true.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I’ve seen it.”

  Maddy let go of my hand and walked up to Logan, all her fear seeming to disappear. She had to crane her neck to see him properly.

  “You need to take us there.”

  “Did you not hear what I just said? There is no haven. You don’t want to see what happens there.”

  “Yes I do, and I’m going with or without your permission.”

  Logan tilted his head, scrutinizing Maddy again. Something like amusement passed over his face, gone before I could be sure that’s what it was. I took a step forward.

  “We came all the way here, after pissing off Kade,” I said. “We might as well see what’s going on before going back and dealing with him.”

  My brother read my eyes, knowing he could change my mind about as much as he could Maddy’s. Simon let out an exaggerated sigh and stood behind us. “As insane as this whole trip is, I’m with them. I didn’t steal a car and drive them out here for nothing.”

  Logan could say no. He had no obligation to his two younger brothers, let alone a human. If he wanted to go back into the red brick cabin behind him and spend the rest of his days trying to save a dying bush, none of us could stop him.

  Logan exhaled the last of his cigarette, dropping the stub onto the sand and snuffing it out with his boot. “All right,” he said. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Simon, help me for a minute.”

  He turned around and started walking for the cabin, which looked like it belonged in the Stone Age now that I was analyzing it. Logan moved past Orcus, smoothing a gloved hand along the Horse’s strong neck. The animal huffed and turned to follow his master. Simon sighed and trudged after his brother.

  “I really didn’t think we’d see him again,” I muttered.

  “Can we trust him?” Maddy asked.

  “Yeah,” I told her. “Logan’s not a liar and he doesn’t have any hidden schemes. What you see is what you get with him.”

  Maddy nodded slowly, then closed her eyes for a long time. She blinked rapidly and shook her head.

  “You sure you don’t want to stay here and sleep?” Maddy looked at me. “You’d be safe, and we wouldn’t be gone very long.”

  She narrowed her eyes and pouted. “And give up my chance to see what this haven is like? No way. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re asleep on your feet. You’ll start hallucinating soon.”

  Maddy crossed her arms and glared. “If you have any ideas, please share it.”

  I looked in her eyes, then asked her the most dangerous question I could ever ask.

  “Do you trust me?”

  Her lips parted as she thought about my question. After learning the truth about me, Maddy had no reason to trust me ever again. I’d helped her as often as I could, but I was still a monster and a genocidal killer. After our moment on the hill, she might have softened her animosity toward me, but that didn’t mean she trusted me.

  “Yes.”

  How about that? More miracles.

  I faced Maddy directly and held out my hands. She eyed them nervously.

  “I use my power by directly affecting the human body,” I explained. “I know how to manipulate every cell inside you.”

  She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Not really filling me with confidence here, Avery.” Her uncomfortable smile proved that.

  “What I’m trying to say is that when I touch you, I’m going to fiddle with your brain so it will keep you awake. I’ll boost your energy levels and make your stomach think it’s full. The effects should last at least a few hours. It’s not going to hurt, I promise.”

  Maddy looked at my hands skeptically, then raised her eyes to mine. She read me carefully, and slowly relaxed.

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s give it a shot.”

  Nodding once, I lifted my hands and pressed each palm against Maddy’s temples. She only went stiff for a moment when she saw the black smoke rising from my skin, but looking in my eyes seemed to calm her nerves.

  My power slipped into her skin, and she frowned at the alien sensation. I knew I wasn’t hurting her, because I was avoiding as many pain receptors as I could. Still, she probably felt a weird tingling in her head. I worked quickly, finding the neurotransmitters at the base of her brain and tweaking them so they remained active. Maddy’s eyes widened almost instantly.

  Still keeping my hands on the sides of her head, my smoke trailed around her brain until it found her hypothalamus. I worked with the signals it was sending out, tricking her brain into thinking her stomach was full rather than empty. Then I decided to give Maddy just a little bit more.

  While her alertness and hunger were dealt with, it was an illusion. Maddy would still need sleep and food as soon as she could get them. The more exertion she used, the faster she would tear the façade down. So I strengthened her muscles. I didn’t make her She-Hulk, but with a stronger body, Maddy would be able to f
ace any trials ahead at nearly full capacity.

  Satisfied with my work, I let the smoke slip back into my skin. Maddy blinked, looking around with a rejuvenated clarity in her eyes. Her smile widened when she looked at me.

  “Wow,” she breathed. “Is it weird that I kind of liked that?”

  I chuckled. “No, but don’t get used to it. Next time I’ll ask for cash.”

  Maddy pouted and crossed her arms, but her eyes glittered like sapphires. “Boo. You’re no fun.”

  I laughed again, and noticed that my fingers were still threaded in her hair, and she wasn’t asking me to take them back. I twirled the soft strands between my fingertips, loving how healthy and soft it was. Taking a risk, I drew my hand back until it rested on her neck. Maddy still didn’t tell me to stop. If anything, she seemed expectant. I rubbed my thumb along the curve of her neck, feeling her pulse pound with fresh adrenaline.

  My own pulse was hammering, racing with my desire to be consumed by Maddy. She made me forget all the things I had done, and pushed me to become more than what I was. She had no idea how much she’d done for me, though I wondered if that had changed. I started leaning down toward her face, wanting to let her know–

  “Are you kidding?”

  I jerked away from Maddy, taking my hand back to my side. I glared at Simon, who fucked up the moment yet again. I wished he could read my mind, so I could tell him what I thought about cock-blockers.

  If he knew what I was thinking, he couldn’t have cared less. In fact, the only person who seemed to care less was Logan, who was looking from Maddy to me with all the emotion of a rock. They each carried saddles in their hand, though Logan carried a third one and a slim grey messenger bag at his side because he was taller and had more muscle than Simon.

  “What are those for?” Maddy asked, nodding to the saddles and acting like I hadn’t just tried to kiss her.

  “Trying to revive the plants I kill isn’t my only hobby,” Logan said. “I also have a small herd of wild horses that I look after.”

  That was all he said before he handed me a saddle. He turned his head and clicked his tongue at Orcus, who was patiently waiting behind my brothers. The tall, strong animal snorted and followed Logan. Simon rolled his eyes at me and walked after his brother.

  “I think I’m in trouble,” I muttered, trudging after them.

  “Why? We didn’t do anything wrong,” Maddy defended. She glanced up at me. “We just came close.”

  She winked at me and walked after Simon and Logan. I swear there was a spring in her step.

  Even with all my implanted memories, I still didn’t understand human women.

  ***

  The walk to Logan’s horses wasn’t far. Once we cleared the mess of branches surrounding my brother’s home, we were led through the rocky terrain to a low patch of sand in front of a cave. Three horses– one black, one brown, and one white– stood in front of the cave, their ears perking up when the light from our torches illuminated them. They seemed healthy, if a little thin. They didn’t seem alarmed at the sight of Logan, but they neighed and kept their distance from Orcus. Logan’s horse stood like a statue, his pale tail swatting against his flank.

  Logan approached the wild horses with the saddle in one hand and used the other to lift the messenger bag over his head. He tipped the bag upside down, piles of oats and dried fruit spilling onto the sand. The horses moved on the food eagerly, forgetting about everything else. While they were eating, Logan walked over to the black horse and began placing the saddle on his back. The animal snorted, but never lifted his head.

  Simon approached the dark brown horse and put the saddle on his back. Which left me the white horse.

  I walked over to him, saddle clutched in my hand, telling myself he wasn’t Bacillus. But he looked enough like him that I couldn’t stop another memory from creeping into the back of my mind…

  I stood at the foot of the derelict city, pressing my forehead against Bacillus’, knowing this would be the last time I saw him. I smoothed my hand down his long neck, feeling the supernatural strength powering through him.

  My power, for Bacillus was a conduit to me. His strength became mine, a reservoir that helped me complete my mission.

  A constant reminder of all the horror I had wrought.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to my only friend.

  Bacillus nudged my head with his, as if to tell me that he understood. He would accept whatever fate I bestowed him. He was loyal to me, and no one else. Which caused this sacrifice to shatter my heart.

  I held my hands on either side of Bacillus’ head, pushing out the power that dwelled within my mortal body. The black smoke churned around the snow-white Horse, shielding him from my vision. It was not long before the tendrils of smoke had fully encased Bacillus, turning him into a shadow of his formal self. I could still feel him beyond the smoke.

  Then I sent out a jolt of power, and dissolved him.

  Bacillus was a manifestation of my powers. A fragment of me held by my masters until they unleashed us in the Tribulation. In essence, Bacillus was not a real animal. But that did not mean I had no care for him, or that drawing him out of existence and back into me was not painful.

  The humans would have claimed that I was honoring his memory, that he would truly always be with me. But they did not know Bacillus. My Horse desired freedom. His greatest thrill had been racing through the cities with me, fuelled by my power as I spread disease like an assassin spreading death. He accepted that one day the thrill would end, and he would return to me. But I wanted him to be free.

  When Bacillus was absorbed back into me, I let out a heavy sigh. The power of the Horse taking root in my human body was enough to bring me to my knees. I clutched the dirt and hissed, wishing he had fought more. With a powerful enough surge, Bacillus could break out of my mortal shell and destroy me. It would be a release for both of us.

  But of course he would not do that. He had no defiance in him. Only the deepest devotion.

  Something I did not deserve.

  “Avery?”

  I tuned out the memory and followed Maddy’s voice. She was standing by her already saddled horse, the black one, watching me with a concerned expression. I smiled weakly at her.

  “I’m good,” I told her.

  I took a step closer to the white horse, holding out my hand to show that I meant him no harm. The horse looked at me, ears flicking back and forth. I gently touched his muzzle, rubbing my hand up and down it. The horse snorted and leaned into my hand, accepting that I was a friend.

  After petting the horse, I moved to its side and tossed the saddle onto his back. When he didn’t freak out and bolt, I patted his shoulders and hauled myself onto his back. I shifted to get comfortable, looking over when I saw Maddy swing herself onto her horse.

  “Nice,” I commented. “I wasn’t sure if you’d get up on the first try.”

  Maddy grinned. “I might not be a horse-master like you three, but I do have some hidden talents.”

  She winked at me and dug her heels into the horse’s flank, urging him forward. I watched her ride away, grinning like an idiot. Simon eased his horse after her, and I followed him. Logan turned Orcus in front of me, causing my horse to stop. He backed away, not liking the creepy pale horse, but respecting the man who rode him. I stared at my brother, sitting bareback on his horse, not sure what he was waiting for.