by Amy Braun
Those words stung me as much as any other pain I’d felt tonight. I was almost glad it would be over soon. I couldn’t take any more hurt.
I grimaced and forced myself to sit up. My body cramped and burned, the pain sharper than before. Logan noticed, but did nothing. I breathed as evenly as I could, but the edges of the world were growing dark.
“I know you won’t stick around after this, but can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.” Logan’s voice was quieter than mine. Or maybe that was my senses starting to shut down.
“Make sure Simon takes care of Maddy. Not Kade. Simon.”
My vision was fuzzy, so I couldn’t see Logan’s expression with clarity.
“Do you care about her?” he asked softly.
Her smiling face drifted through my mind. Her laugh whispered in my ears. Her kiss ghosted my lips. It all mixed together perfectly in my heart, filling it to the brink with something I never imagined I would experience.
“I love her,” I breathed.
Logan didn’t speak for a moment. “Then I won’t need to ask him.”
My brother took one last hit from the cigarette, then flicked the burning stub into the middle of the room next to Ciaran’s sloppy remains. He removed his gloves, and looked at me.
“Are you ready?”
I couldn’t see, so I closed my eyes. “Yeah.” My voice was slurred.
Logan’s hand pressed against my right temple. His hand was cold, his smoke filtering through my brain turning into a cool breeze that would put me into the deepest sleep. I could feel the pain leaving me, along with every sense and feeling I’d ever known.
“Goodbye, Avery,” was the last thing I heard before I succumbed to the power of my big brother Death.
***
Dying didn’t feel like I thought it would.
Yeah, I was cold. Yeah, I couldn’t see a damn thing. But I could still feel my limbs working. My lungs absorbed oxygen and released carbon monoxide. My heart continued to beat.
“You can open your eyes now, Avery.”
Logan was taunting me from beyond the grave? Seriously? And here I thought we’d parted on a kindhearted note.
A hand slapped my chest. “Come on, Avery. Humor me.”
Humor. Fine. I can still do that if I’m dead.
“Asshole,” I mumbled.
“Sorry. I didn’t catch that. Open your eyes and say it to my face.”
Knowing the jackass wasn’t going to let up until I did as he asked, I sighed and opened my eyes.
And found that I could see.
I blinked rapidly, seeing Logan’s pale face and long black hair, and the basement ceiling over us. I turned my head– actually turned my head– and wiggled my fingers. They worked, responding to the commands of my brain. I sat up too quickly, getting a head rush that almost had me collapsing again. Logan caught my shoulder, his black gloves back on his hands, and held me upright. I looked back and expected to see my corpse, the way most ghosts saw their former bodies.
But there was nothing behind me. No empty shell, no shadow, nothing.
I was alive.
I looked at my oldest brother, the one who killed me, and tried to think of something to say. What came out of my mouth was a mess of words.
“What…You… I… How… But–”
Logan smiled, warmth filling his eyes. “You didn’t really think I stayed in the hotel moping the whole time, did you? When I saw your death was coming, I knew I had to find a way to save you. Some of Kade’s soldiers were dying so…” Logan shrugged, “I experimented. Some of them I wasn’t able to save. I sent them straight to death. But there were a couple I managed to revive, because I knew they didn’t want to die. They told me they had something to live for, and I found a way to stop their hearts before reversing my magic.”
I gaped at him. “That’s possible?”
Logan’s smile faltered. “Not with everyone. I don’t think it will work on the Plagued, though I’m willing to try. And now that Ciaran is dead, so are the Soulless. But their lives don’t matter to me as much as yours does.”
I didn’t know what to say. After everything I’d done and endured, I’d been ready to face my end and accept I wouldn’t see the future I had died to save. I’d been ready, but not exactly willing.
Logan had known this. He saved me.
“Logan…”
My brother waved my words off. “There’s no need, Avery. You earned your right for a second chance ages ago.”
I was still speechless when my big brother helped me to my feet. He did a quick scan of my wounds. “I’d take it easy if I were you. Your wounds will heal, but you have almost no powers left. You’re very close to being completely human, Avery. Don’t abuse that.”
I stifled a laugh. “I’m already planning my vacation, trust me.”
Logan smiled. “Then you should get started with it.”
I saw something in his eyes. “Are you not coming up?”
He shook his head. “No. Simon and Kade don’t know I’m here. I’d prefer it stay that way.”
“Where are you going to go?”
Logan shrugged. “Around. The world is a lot bigger now that it’s been emptied. It will take some time to fill it again. If I value my solitude, I better start exploring while I can.”
I understood, but was saddened by it. I held out my hand. “I guess I’ll see you around, then?”
Logan shook my hand, that grim, knowing smile on his face. “For real, one day. But not for a long time. I give you my word.”
My heart ached with relief. “Thanks, Logan.”
He nodded, let go of my hand, and backed into the shadows. “Do yourself a favor, Avery.”
“What’s that?”
Logan turned and smirked over his shoulder. “Stay out of trouble for once.”
Before I could make him a promise I couldn’t keep, Logan stepped into the shadows and disappeared.
***
The climb out of the hangar was harder than it should have been. By the time I made it outside, I felt like a wet noodle. I was barely out of the hangar before an overwhelming force bashed into me.
“What the hell took you so long?!” Maddy demanded.
I looked down at her, seeing her adorable, angry pout and the fierce worry in her deep blue eyes. She must have been coming straight back to me, because she still wasn’t wearing pants, and still not caring. I decided not to answer her, choosing to collect what she owed me.
My hands cupped the back of Maddy’s neck, making it easy to lift her face to mine and begin a long, deep kiss. She didn’t stiffen or push away, instead putting her hands on my arms and pulling me closer. My fingers stretched back until they were lost in her hair. I let her eyelashes tickle my cheek, and breathed in the warm smell of her skin.
If hope could have a taste, it would taste like Maddy.
Knowing she was human and needed to breathe, I broke the kiss. Maddy hovered close to me, smiling and blushing.
“Okay,” she sighed. “I forgive you.”
I laughed and pressed my lips to her forehead. When I drew back, Maddy laced her fingers through mine. I walked away from the air hangar with her, looking at the amazing scene before me.
Not a single Plagued was left standing. Kade stood by Mars, looking at the bodies layering the sand. He had killed almost every single one of them. Across from him, keeping a careful distance, was Simon, Eusires, and the hundred or so humans we’d saved. They huddled together, afraid of the world and the dead bodies around them. It would take a long time for their minds to repair. If they ever did.
A soft, chuffing noise came from behind me. I turned around, and faced Bacillus. The Horse sensed I was hurt, nudging my chest with his head, asking me to take some power from him and heal myself. I stroked the Horse’s neck.
“Later, old friend.”
Maddy looked at my Horse, her eyes widening as she understood what she was looking at. But she didn’t seem scared. Just interested.
&n
bsp; “You can touch him,” I told her. “He won’t hurt you.”
Maddy glanced at Bacillus again, then tentatively put out her hand on the Horse’s shoulder. When nothing happened, her strokes became more deliberate. A smile broke across her face, and Bacillus turned in her direction for more of her affections.
“He likes you,” I said.
She smiled. “Guess he has good taste.”
I laughed, turning to look at the desert again. I found myself looking at Simon and Kade instead.
“So you killed Ciaran, huh?” Kade stated. He crossed his enormous arms over his chest. “Gotta say, I wasn’t sure you had it in you.”
I shrugged. “It’s not my fault if you underestimated me.”
Simon flinched and Kade’s eyes hardened, but I didn’t care. Right now, I felt like I was on top of the world. Nothing could tear me down.
Kade erased the tension by bursting into deep, thunderous laughter. “I should be pissed at you, Pest, but honestly, I’m in too good of a mood.” He nodded at the Plagued baking in the fading sun. “I think I broke a world record. I’m gonna have to start a book or something.”
That made me want to erupt into laughter, but I decided not to push my luck. “So are you going back to Vegas?”
Kade snorted. “Obviously. It’s my city. I need to fix it again, since one of my noble-hearted, dickhead brothers came for a fucked up visit.” He narrowed his dark eyes on me. “I’d say you’re welcome back for another round of mayhem, but I think I’ll arrange the reunion next time.”
Over my permanently dead body.
“Don’t drag the humans with you,” Simon commanded.
Kade glanced at him, raising his copper eyebrows. Simon looked fierce and defiant. Almost challenging. For the first time ever, Kade actually looked impressed. Even proud.
“Fine by me, Slime. Malnourished meat-sacks are your thing, anyway. Have fun babysitting them.” Kade’s eyes turned back my way, but fixed on Maddy. “If you ever get tired with the anorexia-inducer and the walking disease, look me up, Goldilocks.”
Maddy scowled, getting an unwelcome wink from Kade. My brother laughed and turned, spinning his war hammer and walking toward his Horse. We didn’t move until he straddled Mars and rode into the desert, far, far away from us.
Simon slumped, looking at the humans. “He’s got a point, though,” my brother complained. “What are we supposed to do with them? How do we help?”
As if I knew the answer to that. I was almost human now, and I was still grasping the realities that came with that. A shorter lifespan. Less power in fights. The inability to heal diseases if I ever needed to. Some dangers had been stripped from the world, but there were still challenges ahead. Things I wasn’t ready to face.
But my brother was standing beside me. The girl I loved was holding my hand like she would never let go. There were a hundred humans in front of us, all of them eager to live again.
“No clue, Sime,” I admitted. He looked at me ungraciously, and made me smile.
“But we can make our own cure.”
THE END
Acknowledgments
Path of the Horseman was a story that took more work than I ever imagined it would. I can’t even count all the hours I spent creating, writing, and editing this piece, all the while biting my fingernails and hoping that it would simply be good. But at the end of it all, reading back and knowing the challenge I took on, I can say with confidence that I’m proud of what I created. It’s not easy writing a story with the Four Horsemen as the main characters in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas with zombies and demon-controlled vampires as the central villains. But it is definitely fun.
Of course, none of this would be possible if not for the support I received from my friends and family. Having them believe in me helped create what I think is a memorable, exciting story, and not what one would typically come across in the post-apocalyptic horror genre.
The fantastic cover was created for me by Curtis Lory and Dan Friel. Your hard work is evident and incredibly appreciated. I definitely recommend checking out their work on DeviantArt (lorycurt.deviantart.com and danf83stock.deviantart.com).
I have to give a huge amount of praise and thanks to my hard working editor Eden Royce, who gave welcome advice and helped turn this story from a crazy idea into something ironclad and real.
I also give tons of love to the wonderful and talented ladies of the GIAM community, who supported and encouraged me to take on this novel, pushing me to continue even when I passed my expected word count.
And of course, I thank you, reader. Picking up an independent novel and giving it a chance is the greatest compliment indie authors can receive. It makes us want to write more, to challenge ourselves, to reach for the stars and take on projects others would shy away from. Your support means more than I can ever say, and I hope that you give other independent authors a chance.
More From Amy Braun
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NEEDFIRE
ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS
LOST SKY in AVAST, YE AIRSHIPS! by Mocha Memoir Press.
SECRET SUICIDE in THAT HOODOO, VOODOO, THAT YOU DO from Lincoln Crisler and Ragnarok Publications.
BRING BACK THE HOUND in STOMPING GROUNDS from April Moon Books.
HOTEL HELL in DEATH'S CAFE by Mocha Memoir Press.
CALL FROM THE GRAVE in TOIL, TROUBLE, AND TEMPTATION by Mocha Memoir Press.
CHARLATAN CHARADE in LOST IN THE WITCHING HOUR by Breaking Fate Publishing.
DARK INTENTIONS AND BLOOD in AMOK! by April Moon Books.
Amy is a Canadian urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters, magic, mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and intense action. She is the recipient of April Moon Books Editor Award for "author voice, world-building and general bad-assery."
Website: literarybraun.blogspot.ca
Twitter: @amybraunauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amybraunauthor