The Fifth Horseman

Chapter 6: A New Life

  The grass rustled as the manticore moved through it; silently stalking its prey.
  Little did it know, it wasn't preying, but being preyed upon. The lone figure followed the huge stealthy beast, making hardly a sound. The manticore stopped to sniff the air, and scenting its prey, turned around. The hunter struck.
  I raise my head from the gruesome and tiring task of skinning the manticore. I swear, tearing off scales and spines is the last thing I want to do on a Sunday morning, but Fury made me do it.
  It had been a full month already, and Fury had driven me hard. I was, quite literally, kicked out of bed every morning, and made to train from morning to night, working with various weapons, on my stamina, my strength, willpower, and pretty much anything that would tire me to the bone.
  When it was all over, Fury told me, that as a final test, I had to hunt one of the apex predators of the planet. The manticore. Strong, fast, powerful, extremely smart with almost human intelligence, and most of all, tasty.
  Yes, I had to hunt the thing for food as well. Fury eats pretty much anything that moves, and after a month with her, so do I.
  I walked back to the house, dragging the carcass behind me. As I walked, I brooded over my future. The Council had ordered the Horsemen to bring me in within one month. Fury took up the job, but said that she would turn me in after exactly one month.
  Today was the last day of that month.
  I wondered what would happen. Would they kill me? Hide me? Enslave me? Try to torture information out of me? I had no idea, and neither did Fury.
  When I reached the door, I opened it, stepping the trip wire placed at ankle level that shot an arrow from an unnoticeable hole in the wall, walked to the kitchen, and plonked the carcass on the counter. I started removing the bones in body, preparing the meat to be cooked. I pondered on how to cook it.
  Should I bake it and glaze it with honey from a Giant Queen Bee? Or should I fry it with the slightly spicy blood of a Barzoc? Decisions, decisions.
  I decided to go with the Barzoc blood, since I felt like eating something a little spicy. Oh by the way, a Barzoc is an ugly-looking, cockroach-like creature, about the size of a small car, with soft spines all over its back. A bit like a cross between a hedgehog and a cockroach. Luckily for me, it doesn't fly.
And the Giant Queen Bee is, well, a giant queen bee.
  Fury walked in while I was chopping up a carrot, the one normal vegetable that grows here, and sniffed the air. "Mm. Smells good. What's cooking?" She asked. "Manticore ribs with Barzoc blood sauce, chopped carrots, grated rashek, and some averig and Larnock egg sauce on the side." I replied.
  On a side note, rashek is a purple vegetable that looks and tastes exactly like a potato, an averig is a plant that sprouts red pear shaped cloves of an extremely pungent vegetable that tastes like a cross between garlic and ginger, and a Larnock is an insect that's about the size of a normal human, and looks like a caterpillar. The yolks of its eggs are thick and a little tangy.
  "Larnock eggs? Really? You know I don't like them." She pouts. "I'm not forcing you to eat it. It's just a side to the meal." I reply. "Well, it better be good, or I'm kicking your butt." She says. I snort, knowing that there was a huge power gap between us, with me on the lower side. She could, and maybe even would, be easily able to kick my butt.
  "Don't worry, my culinary tastes are much more refined than yours!" I say. She smacks me lightly on the back of my head and walks out of the kitchen.
  I shake my head in amusement and continue working. I sautée the ribs in the blood, and throw them on to the pan to fry, then I make a paste out of the Averig and eggs for a dip. In a separate pan, I fry the rashek with the carrots in a separate pan with the carrots.
  After almost half an hour, the dish is done. I put the sauce and fried rashek and carrots into two bowls and the steaks on two separate plates.
  I pick up the plates and walk into the living room where Fury is sitting. She raises her head when I enter, and her eyes light up when she sees the food.
  I smile and place the food on the table in front of her. Her mouth is practically a waterfall by this point. "Lunch is served!" I say cheerily. "And no dinner afterwards."
  She groans at the last part, but digs in when I hand her a knife and fork.
  While she's busy munching away, I take the opportunity to broach the subject of her turning me in.
  "So, Fury... Any plans on what you're going to do tonight?" I ask. She stops eating and puts down the cutlery. She chews for a while and swallows, but stays silent.
  After a few minutes, she says in a low voice: "Tonight, at exactly six, be ready, and be outside. I have already contacted the Crowfather, and he will be here in a while to escort you." She quickly finishes off her meal and leaves. I quietly and slowly eat mine, brooding on my near future again.
                                 ~
  At exactly six o'clock, I was waiting outside. Fury was nowhere to be seen. I was wearing a loose leather tunic with a shortsword she had lent me tucked into my belt. I was carrying a bag with a few supplies for about a week of survival.
  A few minutes of tense waiting later, a figure appears in the distance. As it strolls closer, the outline slowly takes shape, as well as a few distinct features.
  It was the old man I met in the woods when Fury sent me out to do some light chores. He strolls closer, the staff in his hand with its mysterious glowing ball on top swaying with every step.
  Suddenly, he's standing right in front of me, his lined, wrinkled face close to mine, his pitch black, intelligent eyes boring into me. I take a step back, a little surprised by his sudden appearance. He holds out his hands, wrinkled and knobbly with age. How old was he, really?
  "Come. It is time. The trial must begin." He says in a low, sinister voice. Hesitantly, I reach out towards his hand, and as soon as I touch it, the landscape disappears. I hear a strange sucking sound, like when water gets pulled down a small pipe, and I start feeling a tingle creeping up from my feet. I look down, and see my body slowly being blown away like sand in the wind.
  When the tingling reaches my eyes, everything goes dark for a few seconds before I can see again.
  The first thing that hits me is the heat. Waves and waves of scorching heat. So hot, that I start to sweat in a matter of seconds.
  I take a look around, scoping out the area. I seem to be in some kind of a cavern so huge, it would put Ali Baba's to shame. The only downside was, the walls were stacked with lava.
  Lava was everywhere. On the walls, the floor, dripping from the ceiling, and pretty much everywhere convenient for it.
  The Crowfather appears next to me, and fearlessly walks forward. I follow behind, careful to step exactly where he steps, like a shadow cast on a wall.
  Eventually, we reach a small alcove in the wall at the end of the cavern. The Crowfather waves his hand in front of the alcove, and it dissolves into a winding staircase.
  My eyes widen slightly at the sight, and I follow him up the stairs. Up and up and round and round we go, until I finally lose count of how many steps I take and start to get a little dizzy. After walking for what seemed like hours, I finally stumble into another cavern.
  This one was huge, but not as large as the one below. But the contents were certainly more awe-inspiring.
  Four figures stood in front of three mammoth carved stone heads with a strange glowing light emanating from within.
  From what I could see of the figures, one of them was pale, with his upper and lower body covered in simple rags with a crow on his shoulder, another wore plated armor that cover his entire body, with a set of revolvers hanging from his belt. The third was Fury, with her whip hanging from her belt, and the fourth, who was chained by his arms to the floor, I recognized with shock, was War.
  The stone heads were huge, reaching up halfway to the roof of the cave, and were carved in the likeness of some ancient monster, with huge horns protruding from the top, and jagged teeth surrounding a glowing mouth.
  The stone itself was dark, almost blood red, and for some reason, made me feel uneasy whenever I looked at it. One of the heads faced the left, one seemed to stare down at the figures, and one faced the right.
  "Greetings, mortal." One of the heads, I think it was the left, suddenly booms. "The last human..." The one on the right says. The figures turn their heads to look at me, scrutinizing me from every angle. I feel naked and powerless under their stares. It's almost like they can see right through me.
  "Come forward, human." The middle head says. Despite every instinct in my body screaming at me to turn and run, I step forwards. I turn to look at the Crowfather to see if he was following me, but he has disappeared. The Horsemen, I assume, since Fury is standing with them, turn to look at me. I can feel their eyes on my back, boring into me like worms into earth.
  I stop a few feet away from the pool of lava the heads are in. The heat coming off the lava this close is insane. I'm sweating from every pore of my body. "Tell us what happened." The left head asks. "On Earth?" I ask. My voice comes out as a quavering tremble. To say that I was awed would be an understatement.
  "Yes." The right head says. "We need a testimony as to what this man," I assumed he was talking about War, who was in chains, "Was doing on earth."
  "Well, I was at home," I say, trying to focus on the facts. "And then I hear this weird sort of bellow, almost like a horn. I look outside the window, and the first thing I see is a demon." One of the figures behind me murmurs something. "Describe this demon." The left head says.
  I struggle to control my emotions, not wanting to remember that horrible night when my life was turned upside down. "It was ugly." Is all I manage to get out. The pale figure behind me chuckles. "Well, the child is right. Demons are ugly." He snorts.
  "Silence, Death. Your word will be called upon when needed." The right head says. Death lowers his head in apology. "What other demons did you see?" The left head asks. "There was a huge flying one with more demons on its back, and these armoured demons riding undead horses." I say. "How did you escape?" The right head asks. I shrug.
  The middle head, which has been oddly silent up to this point, suddenly asks, "When did you see War?" I frown and try to remember. "It was when I was heading to the middle of the town, when I saw him. He was sitting on a pile of bones." I say. "What was he doing?" The middle head asks again. "Sitting on a pile of bones." I say. Death snorts again.
  The flames in the hollows of the middle head brighten a bit, almost like it was angry. "What he meant was, did you see him holding anything? Some disk shaped objects maybe?" The left head asks. I shake my head.
  All is quiet for a few minutes. "Did he challenge you to a duel to save your life?" A voice in the back asks. I turn to look at him. "Yes. Yes he did." I answer. The man mutters something that sounds suspiciously like 'Of course he did.' Before resuming his silence. "Well, now that we have established that this human did not see War with the seals, what do we do with him?" I wasn't really sure whether they were talking about me or War.
  "For starters, we know my brother is innocent. So how about we let him go?" Death says. His voice is deep and somewhat lilting. The Council goes quiet for a few minutes. "But we have not recovered the seals, which leads us to believe that War may have hidden them somewhere." The left head says. "I didn't even take them!" War yells. "Silence!" The middle head booms.
  His head droops back onto his chest.
"I think the more pressing question is, now that we have established the fact that this human hasn't seen the seals, what do we do with him?" The middle head asks. I tense as four (possibly seven) pairs of eyes focus on me. "Kill him. He's served his usefulness." Says Death. I glance at him in surprise. "Let him live. The boy is a good fighter." Says War. "I'm staying out of this one." Says the Horseman at the back. "I say, we give him a chance to avenge those he lost." Says Fury.
  "We could use him to investigate what happened on earth." Says the left head. "I like Fury's idea." Says the middle head. "I think we should kill him. He shouldn't even be alive in the first place." Said the head on the right.
  A few minutes of silence.
  "Since the votes to let the mortal live are more than the votes to have him killed, the boy shall live." The middle head says, and my tension flows out along with his words. "However, the child is weak, and cannot survive as he is. So, we shall make a one time allowance." The left head says. One time allowance? What one time allowance. My question is immediately answered.
  "The boy shall become a Horseman." The middle head says.
  My head spins. They're going to make me a Horseman!?
  "Come forward, child. Accept your role." Says the middle head. At this point, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was selected to be a Horseman. "Hold on," I say. "What happens if I agree?"
  "They will grant you powers you have never seen before." Says Death. "And if your body can't handle it, it will explode, and you die." He says matter of factly. I gulp.
  "Do you want to go ahead with this?" The left head asks. I ponder the question for a moment, then decide I have nothing to lose anyway.
  I nod.
  "Step forward and accept our gift." The middle head says. I take a few  steps, then realize that I would walk right into the lava. I stop short and look up at the heads. They give no sign of treachery, so I continue onwards.
  Once I'm standing at the edge of the lava pool, I steel my nerves and step into the lava.
  I was expecting pain, but the lava seems to be bearably hot, rather than instantly melting my body. I take a few more steps towards the heads, until the one in the middle commands me to stop.
  I feel a tingling sensation creeping up my feet, and look down. The lava is slowly moving upwards, encompassing my limbs. It crawls upwards until it finally covers my head.
  And then all is dark.
  "So, child. What do you wish to call yourself?" A voice sounding like one of the Council heads filters through the darkness. Call myself? My name is Arryk. Do they want me to call myself something else? "Yes. Your name will no longer be Arryk Marys. You must chose a name other than the one you were born with." I think for a while. A name is something important, after all.
  I decide to settle for the thing that scared me most when I was a child. The dark.
  I decided to call myself Darkness.
  "Darkness. An interesting name. Very well. Now, this might hurt a bit..." Says one of the heads.
  A sudden pain spreads through my whole body. I scream. The pain is so bad, it makes all other pain seem insignificant. I feel my body slowly dissolving and restructuring at the same time. At some point, I pass out.
                                   ~
  I wake up back in Fury's house. I sit up and look around. I'm in my room. Her guest bedroom, but I took to calling it mine. I look around. Was it all a dream?
  Fury walks in. I try to raise my hand to greet her, but drop it down on the bed when a sharp pain shoots through it. I wince. "Don't move. Your muscles are still recovering from the transformation." She says. "Okay." I croak. My throat is dry and parched, like I had decided to swallow sand instead of drinking water.
  "Oh, by the way, you look a little... different, now." She says. "How do you mean?" I ask. She turns to the mirror, walks over to it, and lifts it off the wall. She walks back over to me, puts the mirror on the ground, and flips the quilt off me. She then picks up the mirror and turns it my way. I gasp in shock when I see what I have become.
  My appearance has changed drastically.
  My skin has turned jet black with a dark grey area extending from just below my chest to my groin; the whites of my eyes have turned liquid black, and the irises dark grey; and my muscles have grown larger and more powerful. I have also grown to six feet tall.
  "What the hell have they done to me!?" I croak. Fury sets the mirror down, picks up a glass of water from the side table, and helps me drink it. Feeling better, I ask again, "What the hell did they do to me!?" Louder than before.
  "They turned you into a Horseman." She says. "We are all made to look like what we represent. Death, for example, is pale, like a corpse. War has permanent blood streaks on his face, and Strife, well, he's a pain in the ass." She continues.
  "And I suppose I got the same treatment." I say bitterly. "Hey, you got plenty of benefits with it too. Regeneration, for one. You'll be fine by evening. I guarantee it. Just wait and see." She says before walking out.
  And she's right. By evening, I'm perfectly fine. I get out of bed and run downstairs. Fury looks up from her cup of what smells like coffee when I burst in.
  "Hey, don't break my door down, cowboy." She grunts. "Oh my god! You were right!" I laugh with exhilaration. She nods and goes back to drinking her coffee. "Oh by the way, Death will be here to pick you up in an hour." She says.
  "Pick me up? For what?" I ask. "Training and getting settled in." She says. "Define getting settled in." I ask. "He's going to take you through the process of becoming a proper Horseman, plus give you some magical training." She says. Then she smiles. "I'm glad you got the chance to do this." She says. I nod, not needing to ask her what she means.
  After an hour, Death comes and knocks at Fury's door. I open the door. "So, Darkness. Are you ready to become a proper Horseman like the rest of us?" He asks. I nod. "I warn you, this will not be as easy as you think." He says.
  "I don't care what it takes. I'm going to get enough power to kill whoever sent those bastards to Earth and killed everyone I love." I say coldly. Death nods approvingly. "Good. That's the kind of attitude I need. But you might not want to hold on to the feeling of vengeance too long." He says.
  "What do you mean not hold on to vengeance too long?" I ask. But he simply turns his back and motions for me to follow. Confused, I follow quietly.
  He leads me deeper and deeper into the woods. After a while of walking in silence, we come upon a flat stone etched with markings in a language I can't make out. "Read it." Death says. "How? I don't-" I stumble to a halt as the words translate themselves before my eyes. 'Gateway between worlds and times' it says. I stare at the stone in shock until Death says, "Perks of being a Horseman. You have a lot to learn, young one..."
  He steps onto the portal and chants a spell in a guttural tongue, and then steps back. As soon as he steps off, most of the stone turns into a swirling black and purple vortex, leaving just the edges of the stone intact. He motions for me to jump in. And after taking a deep breath, I jump into the portal to follow my new life.