by Amy Braun
“He wouldn’t stay in the Valley of Fire, no matter how big it was. The terrain isn’t right. Too many exterior variables.”
I stopped talking when we got to the crevice in the wall I’d created. We couldn’t move through it without stepping on the dead, so I forced myself to do so with a hard frown. I made it onto the road by the Strip, looking at the bodies strewn along the road.
Orcus stood about twenty feet away, the death-smoke no longer surrounding him. The Horse stood like a statue, watching us because there was nothing else for him to see. He waited for Logan to come out behind us, and when he didn’t see him, the Horse simply turned and stared at the Venetian past the wall. He knew where his master was, and would wait for forever if he had to.
“Damn, Logan kept his Horse awake? I’d say that son of a bitch was sentimental, but he’s not. Otherwise he’d be coming with us.”
I looked at Kade. “Logan isn’t coming?”
My older brother scoffed. “Of course not. That pussy would rather sit and brood in the shadows. Hell, he’s probably cutting his wrists and coming up with his next poem. Logan would rather whine about problems than try to solve them.”
I didn’t appreciate the jab at my brother’s expense, but I also didn’t like thinking about the truths hanging under Kade’s words. I wanted Logan’s support. Needed it. Of all of us, I thought he would be one of the first ones to stand beside me, given all his talk about wanting to right our wrongs.
But he said nothing, did nothing, and would stay in the Venetian while his Horse waited to be ridden or freed.
“Avery, we need to leave.”
I tore my gaze away from the Venetian, along with any hope I had of Logan running out to join us. Simon was standing by the car he had used earlier. It didn’t appear damaged aside from a couple new dents and a slightly cracked back window. Kade was already sitting in the passenger seat, his massive frame taking up every inch of space.
I jogged to the back door of the car and slipped inside. Simon stepped on the gas the moment I dropped in the seat, before I even closed the door. I didn’t turn my head to look at the Venetian again, but I did look at all the other collapsed hotels and decrepit shops as we sped by.
Not exactly the most picturesque sight Las Vegas had to offer, but for all I knew, this could be the last time I saw the city at all.
***
We didn’t bother trying to find the wild horses Logan took care of when we reached the Valley of Fire a little while later. Simon just drove along the road, following basically the same path Logan had when he led us to the campground. Subtlety didn’t really matter to us right now. Nobody could be subtle if Kade was in their group.
When we reached the campground, it was exactly as I predicted. Empty, except for the RVs, cages, and the dead. The bonfire must have died some time during the night, though the patch where it had been burning before looked just as blackened as the spot where Ciaran and Vance’s underling had fought me in the ring of flames.
Nothing had been touched since we’d been here, except for one thing.
As soon as Simon parked the car, I launched myself out and ran straight for the spot where the big rig had been hoping to see the tire tracks that would lead us to Ciaran’s base.
But nothing was there. The ground looked untouched, as if it were sacred ground that hadn’t been disturbed by human or demon hands.
“Fuck,” I swore loudly, pacing back and forth as I frantically searched for something that wasn’t there. “Fuck!”
Behind me, Kade snorted. “You thought Ciaran wouldn’t cover his ass? You need to stop thinking with your dick and use your head, Pest.”
“Shut up, Kade,” I hissed, not wanting to think about Maddy and the others, and how they were running out of time.
“Careful, now,” my brother warned. “Don’t let my charming smile fool you. I’m still thinking about wringing your neck with my bare hands after what you did to my place.”
I heard the threat, but brushed it off to focus at the problem at hand. Ciaran could transport whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted. He could be on the moon for all I knew. I had no way to track him.
“Um…” came Simon’s voice. “There’s one thing we can try.”
Kade and I looked at him.
“Actually, we should have done it a long time ago,” Simon went on. He looked uncomfortable.
“What?” I demanded.
My brother’s graphite eyes met mine.
“We should call on our Horses.”
Even Kade was silenced by that. My heart rate sped up a notch, thinking about where Bacillus resided inside of me. A dormant volcano, one I never thought would explode again. Hearing the suggestion stirred him, though. It had been a long time since he felt the wind through his mane, the warmth of the air on his skin.
If I let him out, I had no idea if I could control him. I wasn’t sure that I should.
“Not a bad idea, Slime,” Kade said, almost making turning the sentence into a compliment. “The Horses would be able to track Ciaran’s magic, and anything else embedded in the earth. He probably doesn’t think we’d unleash them, since he hasn’t seen them since the Tribulation. It would take him by surprise, give us an advantage.”
Kade grinned, slapping his hand on Simon’s skull and shaking it back and forth. “I always knew there was a brain buried under this mop,” Kade sneered, thinking Simon would continue taking his abuse.
Until Simon grabbed Kade’s hand and shoved it off his head.
“Don’t touch me,” he warned. “And if you’re not going to call me by my real name, don’t talk to me at all.”
Kade blinked at Simon, shocked at his reaction. I was too, but I felt a sense of pride to my brother. It meant he was ready to actually give bravery a chance. He wouldn’t let Kade stomp all over him anymore. Kade himself turned and looked at me, a knowing grin on his face.
“Looks like you’ve been a good influence, Pest. This just keeps getting more and more interesting.”
I looked away from Kade to Simon, taking a step closer.
“Using our Horses to track Ciaran… Do you really think that will work?”
“I don’t know,” Simon told me honestly. “But we don’t have a choice.”
No. We didn’t.
I nodded and took a step back. My brothers distanced themselves from each other, until the three of us stood in a wide triangle.
“Ready?” I asked them.
Kade didn’t even reply. His black eyes flared, and almost instantly, a wave of red smoke filtered out of his chest. It churned like a lopsided tornado in front of him, spinning and morphing into a large, blocky shape. I could see it beginning to settle, slowly forming a long neck, powerful legs, and an angrily swishing tail.
Kade’s face was a stony mask of concentration, his mouth straightened into a hard line as he balled his fists and concentrated.
After a few minutes, he relaxed the grip he had on his power.
A massive, red warhorse neighed and stood up on his hind legs, kicking the smoke away with his front legs. Mars, Kade’s Horse, was enormous. He must have been nine feet tall, and five hundred pounds of solid muscle. His skin was smooth and the color of dried blood. A fire-red mane and tail billowed violently as the Horse reared. His obsidian eyes were wild and savage, the perfect match for his master.
Kade held up his hand, soothing the beast. Mars kicked and lashed out, but began to calm down when Kade neared him. Even after all this time, he recognized the power he shared with his owner. When Mars was on his feet, Kade reached out and stroked his muzzle tenderly. My brother didn’t have a soft heart, but if there was one thing he loved more than fighting, burning, and killing, it was his Horse.
Mars bowed his head and snorted. Kade smiled like an affectionate parent. He was clearly happy about bringing Mars back.
On my left, Simon was beginning to draw out his power, too. White smoke filtered from his chest and began to darken as it formed the shape of hi
s black horse, Esuries. I was the last one to use my powers.
I sighed and relaxed my muscles, then dug deep for my power, finding the cage I had locked Bacillus into. I released the bars holding my Horse, and felt him tear free. It was like he was trying to punch his way out of my chest, knocking around my ribcage until he could slither free from my skin. I planted my feet and balled my fists as black smoke trickled out of me, smoothing out and transforming into a wide, stocky shape. My smoke began to lighten, no longer a poisonous cloud of death. It turned into raw power, hardening until the Horse was completely formed. I felt the last of Bacillus leave me, and released my power. It left me a bit light-headed, but I stayed on my feet.
At least until Bacillus tried to kick me in the chest.
I stepped back and avoided his alabaster hooves, throwing up both of my hands to settle him, but he was wild. When I’d locked him away, he’d accepted it. But maybe I’d held him inside of me for too long. It couldn’t have been comfortable. Every horse, supernatural or not, needed to run. To be free.
And I had denied that to him.
“I’m sorry,” I shouted.
Bacillus’s kicks lessened. He was willing to hear me out. That had to count for something.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, daring a step closer to the Horse. “I should have let you run. You deserved it.”
I thought about touching him, but changed my mind. I wasn’t exactly the Horse whisperer. Bacillus’ eyes were shockingly black against the snow-white of his coat. He would be just as willing to bite my hand off as he was to let me touch him.
The tall Horse stood in front of me, fuelled by the same ancient powers living in my chest. Another reminder of things that couldn’t be changed.
“If you can’t forgive me, I… I get it. And I don’t blame you.”
Bacillus stared at me with dark, sage eyes. I almost couldn’t hold his stare. Then he took a step forward. And another, and another. He bowed his long head and nudged my hand until it was resting on his muzzle. Bacillus gave an impatient snort, and I couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was nice to know I had one ally willing to forgive me for the mistakes I had made.
I stroked Bacillus a couple more times to assure myself he wouldn’t kick me, then fisted his mane and swung myself onto his back. He didn’t flinch or buck me off, so that was one problem easily solved. Too bad the other ones wouldn’t be so painless. I tugged on Bacillus’s mane and nudged him in the direction of my brothers. Kade was still seated on Mars, both of them eager for the next move. Simon whispered to his thinner, jet black Horse. The animal looked starved, but I knew when he was pushed, he was faster than both Bacillus and Mars combined.
Turning again, I dug my heels into Bacillus’ side and eased him into a trot. We stopped at the spot where the big rig had parked, and I put my hand on Bacillus’s neck. Some of my black smoke leaked into his skin, but it didn’t hurt him. Instead, it opened up my connection to him, allowing us to see and think as one.
Find the demons, I asked my Horse.
He snorted in reply, and lowered his nose to the ground. Our Horses weren’t exactly bloodhounds, but they reacted to signatures of supernatural power. Telling him to look for demonic magic would narrow things down considerably.
After a minute, Bacillus jerked his head up and brayed sharply. He had the scent, and was already turning in its direction. He took off without me needing to command him. I think he just wanted to run again.
I couldn’t say I blamed him, especially since he was leading me to my enemies.
***
For an hour, I enjoyed the ride on my Horse. I didn’t know where he was leading us, but I wasn’t in a hurry to care. Riding the wild horses Logan had offered us had been fun, but it was nothing compared to the speed and power of a Horse of the Apocalypse. It was like riding a fighter jet. You moved at a breakneck speed, watching the world blur as you kicked up dust and left it all behind. I imagined this would be how a bullet felt when it left the barrel of a gun, spinning and flying through the air until it slammed into its target.
We were riding so fast I barely felt Bacillus moving beneath me. I didn’t bother trying to connect with him again. He was having too much fun, and so was I.
This was probably the last fun thing I would do before I died. Other than take Ciaran’s head, of course.
Too soon, my Horse began to slow down. I watched the streaking world beside me settle into tangible shapes. Thick, navy blue lines on the horizon became jagged, bumpy mountains. Dark splotches on the ground turned into sparse, dying brush. Heat from the unforgiving sun beat down on my head, forcing sweat to trickle down the back of my neck. My skin felt parched and dry, matching the cracks in the desert floor under us.
Ciaran would of course choose a place with a significant name, intent on making sure that name was lived up to. Why else would he choose Death Valley as his home?
In the middle of the open, uninhabited desert stood a single concrete building. It looked like an old air hangar with a carefully shaped dome of netted barbed wire draped over it.
Probably to keep out the thousands of Plagued surrounding the place.
They pushed against the barbwire net, not caring if the metal shredded their flesh. Some of them were even trying to climb the net, dragging their bellies across the spires and letting their insides spill onto the sand. They didn’t get very far, but I had to respect their efforts, moronic as they were.
We were on a small hilltop about two hundred feet away from them, so the Plagued hadn’t seen us yet. But when they did, we would be drowning in them.
But if we spaced them out, drew them away from the base, getting inside would possibly be less difficult.
Possibly.
“We need to make an open path to get inside,” I said. I looked at Kade. “How many do you think you can take out?”
Kade laughed. Without hesitation, he kicked Mars in the side. The Horse reared and bolted down the hill like fire tracing down gasoline. He would clash with the Plagued in seconds.
Simon and I glanced at each other, nodding and saying nothing. We didn’t know what would happen down there. This could be one of the last times I would see him.
Knowing that didn’t stop me from drawing the machete from my back, and forcing Bacillus to charge down the hill toward the legion of dead.
Chapter 22
As Kade entered the mass of walking corpses, Mars began trailing fire.
Kade was wrapped in red smoke, sharing power with his Horse until the animal burst into blood red flames. The inferno wouldn’t hurt him, but it made him look truly frightening. He was the image of everything that made up his name– his true name.
Kade swung his hammer down on any Plagued close to him, crushing their skulls or snapping their necks. Blood sprayed and bone shattered, with Kade laughing through it all. He suddenly kicked Mars, speeding the animal to the left. The flaming Horse torched the Plagued around it, turning them from dead humans to pillars of fire.
The Plagued followed him, slogging toward the tasty human and his Horse, thinking they could catch either.
My brother jumped off his Horse, swinging his war hammer even before his feet touched the ground. The heavy weapon slammed into the head of a Plagued on Kade’s right, bending its neck until its head knocked against its shoulder and the broken bones protruded from its rotten skin.
While Kade laughed and went to town, Simon and I broke apart. He darted to the right, white smoke trickling out of his body and draping over Esuries, whipping over the Plagued that tried to catch him. Their skin shriveled until their bodies were too weak to stand. Simon let his Horse take control, reaching over his back to grab his bow. He rode gracefully, drawing and aiming his shots so they became direct hits. Plagued collapsed into wilted heaps of flesh as his starving smoke snaked through the crowd. The arrows Simon fired weren’t directed at any Plagued near him. He knew that as long as he was on Esuries and oozing power, he was safe. So Simon concentrated on the ones attacking Kade and
me.