Before he could explain further a loud crash sounded, startling all three of us. We all whipped our heads around towards the noise just as a raven-haired man charged into the kitchen clad in a leather jacket and dark washed jeans.

  “I need you guys, now!” He spat barely glancing in our direction before spinning on his heels, exiting the way he entered.

  Both Derek and Tyler shot forward following the dark haired stranger outside. Derek looked back at me waving me to follow. Out back we found the new arriver standing next to an old 1967 red Shelby Mustang. My mouth fell open at the sight of my dream car. Only difference is I’d never choose red. It was too obvious. Leather jacket guy rounded on the trunk once the two horsemen joined him. I stood a few feet back watching what was unfolding, not wanting to get in the way.

  “Demon,” leather jacket stated before opening it. “I need information, but I didn’t have anywhere to hold him,” he explained. Derek and Tyler leaned over looking into the trunk.

  “Jesus, Cam,” Derek mumbled. “Is that Beleth?”

  Cam nodded. “He’s rumored to have a pale horse.”

  I was confused why that was important but before I had a chance to ask, the demon, Beleth, shot out of the trunk slamming his fist into Cam’s face.

  “Son of a…” Cam shouted as Tyler and Derek scrambled to grab Beleth, but he was stronger than he appeared. He was a tall, scrawny man with military cut white hair. He grabbed Derek, tossing him across the yard like the man weighed nothing. Tyler moved to touch the demon, but Beleth successfully dodged the horseman’s touch shoving an elbow into Tyler’s face. Tyler groaned but brushed off the demon’s hit even though his nose was bleeding. Cam jumped on Beleth’s back wrapping his arms around the demon’s neck pulling him into a chokehold. The white haired man thrashed around trying to throw Cam off of him, but the raven-haired man held on with a strength I had never seen before.

  Tyler tried helping. But the moment he stepped into the demon’s path, Beleth thrust himself backwards, slamming Cam against the Mustang before jamming his foot against Tyler’s chest with such force Pestilence was sent soaring getting the breath knocked out of him.

  Beleth thrashed again banging Cam repeatedly against the old sport car. I winced watching the beating the man was enduring. One final hit and he released Beleth with a grunt. The demon, with out missing a beat, spun gripping Cam around the throat.

  “Hey!” I shouted drawing the demon’s attention to me. The moment his black eyes met me, I regretted it. I didn’t know why I spoke up to distract the demon from the stranger. Something deep inside me felt the urge to protect him. I realized I felt the same towards the other two men, but neither of them was facing death. I blinked as Derek’s words from the previous night flooded back. I was Death, not this demon.

  With a confidence I didn’t know I possessed, I strolled forward like I was taking a walk along the beach not facing off with a demon. Beleth released Cam who crumbled to the ground clutching his throat gasping for air. The demon moved to grab me in a similar fashion.

  “Evie!” Derek shouted my name, but I could barely hear him over the blood pounding in my ears as Beleth’s grip on my throat tightened. My eyes bulged, but I watched as the demon began to stiffen. His body grew rigid just before the blood spilled from his eyes like tears. He toppled to the ground, but his grip didn’t release. I went tumbling with him.

  The world around me started growing hazy as I tried gasping for air that I couldn’t draw in. Suddenly, the hand was yanked away and I inhaled sharply. My lashes fluttered open, gazing upon the most beautiful indigo eyes I had ever seen. They were mesmerizing. Laced with a hint of green and dusted with a sprinkle of gold, they reminded me of stars sparkling in the heavens. I wondered if anyone had ever stared that closely at them or if people just assumed his eyes were blue.

  I coughed trying to catch my breath. My sight focused and I took in the raven hair that hung in the stranger’s sea blue eyes. His jaw clenched as he lifted me to a sitting position. It took me a moment to realize his fingers were digging into my arm. My bare arm.

  “War?” I whispered curiously. I could hear a ringing in my ears as my blood calmed, but for the briefest moment I thought I heard someone whisper, “They’re here.”

  He grabbed my forearm none too gentle. Turning it over, his gaze narrowed on my horse head birthmark. His eyes locked with mine like he was seeing me for the first time.

  “Death,” he stated like the word left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Derek was by my side in a moment followed closely by Tyler. Cam stood letting the other two men look me over.

  “You all right?” the blonde man asked.

  I nodded.

  “Good,” Cam spat. “Then how about you explain why you just took out a King of Hell?”

  “What?” I asked confused. The demon had been about to kill him. I thought I was doing him a favor. So I said just that.

  “A favor?” Cam hissed. “I needed information otherwise we would have killed him the moment I opened the trunk.”

  “Cam,” Derek sighed. “She didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “Don’t defend her, Derek. She should have tried to subdue him.”

  “It’s not my fault he touched me,” I yelled back at Cam. I was getting the impression that I was not going to like him and it was a damn shame. He was definitely easy on the eyes, but the man was turning out to be an asshole.

  “Touch you?” Cam asked.

  “Cameron,” Derek yelled. It was the first time I’d heard him raise his voice in anger. The all-American boy was definitely something to behold. He didn’t seem the type to get angry, but now that he was, I wanted to make sure I was never on the receiving end of his glare. “She has no idea how to shut it off.”

  “It’s called control,” Cam spat.

  “Fuck you,” I spat back. He turned his fiery gaze on me. “Control, you say? Well, why the hell didn’t I think of that before I accidentally killed seven people? Control? Huh? I guess I should have tried that.” I stood brushing the grass from my clothes. “Thanks for that tidbit.” I turned putting my back to Cam intentionally because I didn’t want to see his devilishly handsome face, which I was craving to put my fist in and faced Derek. “Can you take me home or should I call a car?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll take you. You sure you don’t want to stay for breakfast first?”

  “No thanks. I seem to have lost my appetite.” I turned my head to Tyler. Giving him the best smile I could muster under the circumstances I said, “It was nice meeting you and thank you for breakfast. I’m sorry for all the trouble you put in it.”

  “It was no trouble at all. I look forward to seeing you again?” Tyler said it like a question to which I didn’t reply other than giving him a tight-lipped smile.

  Derek’s hand found the small of my back as he led me to his SUV. We didn’t speak the whole drive. It wasn’t until we pulled up outside of my apartment that Derek broke the mounting silence.

  “Evie, I’m sorry about Cam. Guy’s a bit of an ass, but once you get to know him…” he sighed. “Did you really kill seven people?”

  I nodded slowly. “The death toll would be higher if it wasn’t for you last night, so thanks.” I moved to grab the door, but Derek reached over grabbing my arm, stopping me.

  “I know today wasn’t great, but I can promise that not all days would be like this. You are the fourth horsemen. We do need you.”

  “I feel like I’m in a Marvel comic. Next you’re going to tell me with great power comes great responsibility.”

  He chuckled. “A woman after my own heart.” I couldn’t help the smirk that spread as his words warmed me. Derek was a classic nice guy, but I didn’t know if he was being kind because that’s who he was or if it was to get what he wanted. “But no, I’m not Uncle Ben.”

  “Uncle Ben only quoted it in the movie, not the comic.”

  “I love that you’re nerdy enough to know that,” he teased. His face grew somber. “But seriously. This destiny isn’t something you can avoid. With us, you’d never have to hide who you are. You wouldn’t have to live in fear in your own home.”

  I tensed as he struck a nerve. I hated the way things were with Charlie. It was the very reason I left home in the first place. Derek was right. I wasn’t comfortable in my own home. I slept fully clothed. I wouldn’t even take my gloves off because what if the apartment was on fire and for some reason I had to carry Charlie or someone else out. I couldn’t waste time looking for gloves. Or what if something happened and I accidently touched her?

  He watched inquisitively as I thought over his words. “Promise you’ll think about it?”

  I nodded.

  “Can we try this again? Say… Thursday?”

  I gazed over at Derek’s pleading blue eyes and nodded again.

  “Here,” he handed me a card. I peered down at it as my gloved fingers brushed his. I had replaced my gloves the moment I entered the vehicle. Regardless of whether he was safe, I felt more comfortable with them on, especially after getting my ass handed to me for accidently killing a demon that touched my skin. I hadn’t even had time to process that I had just found out, first hand, that demon’s existed. “Call me if you need anything. Even if it’s just someone to talk to. I mean it,” he stated when I simply nodded. “Day or night. You’re one of us and I just want to help. I’ll also talk to Cam about lowering the douche antics.”

  I chuckled. “Thanks Derek. I’ll see you Thursday.”

  “Or sooner if you pick up the phone,” he teased just before I shut the door. He waited until I was safely inside my apartment before he drove off.

  Chapter 5

  All week, I thought about Derek’s offer until Thursday finally arrived. Living with them made sense for all the reasons he had stated, but I didn’t really know these men. They seemed nice enough; all but Cam, but they were still strangers. I’d be a woman in a house with three men, none of which were affected by my power.

  “I don’t think I can give up everything that I know, that I’ve built for myself, just because you claim that I’m some fourth Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” I explained as I sat in the guys’ house. Tyler was busy in the kitchen tending to the finishing touches on dinner. Derek and I were alone in the living room, although calling it that seemed too mundane for how extraordinary it was.

  One wall was stark white, which contrasted with the one that held the large flat screen. Mounted beside it, against black damask wallpaper, were two decent size speakers. The room only had the two walls. The thirds was a solid floor to ceiling window that was covered in shear drapes. A black leather couch, with no arm rests, created the fourth barrier of the room. Mirroring each other were two gray sofas that rested against the white wall and window. At the end of each were tall, black lamps. There wasn’t much else there besides a framed band poster that appeared signed and a fake plant resting in the corner.

  Leaning forward, he grasped my hand. “I can understand how you see it as giving up, but you’d be gaining so much more. We’d be your family.” Just like the other day, when we arrived, Derek insisted I take off my gloves so it came as no surprise when I felt the warmth of his hand engulf mine. I closed my eyes briefly savoring the touch I had been denied for so long. It wasn’t about his particularly, but just the feel of someone’s skin against mine. “We’d help you hone your gift. See how it can stretch into other things. Take mine for example. As Famine, you’d think I was made to starve people, but I can also make them gluttonous. In fact I’m gaining control over several of the deadly sins. You saw how I handled lust the other night. I’m also good with greed. The others I’m still working on.”

  “You think there’s more to my…gift?”

  He nodded. “I also think that you should be able to shut it off, if only temporarily. My gift is through touch as well. I have to focus on what I want for it to happen.”

  “And the others?”

  “War exudes rage when he chooses. He can make a whole room break out into a fight like that scene on Kingsmen. Plus the dude is crazy strong.” His fight with the demon where he showed strength I hadn’t anticipated made more sense.

  “Pestilence?”

  “He prefers his computers, but his is similar to War’s. He just concentrates and a virus, whether it’s one mankind is familiar with or something of his own design, radiates out of his fingertips. He can also control whether or not it’s contagious.” He shifted towards me eager to elaborate. “We were taking out this demon horde once. We were out numbered so he released this deadly virus. Really quite impressive. It spread like wild fire. One of the demons escaped and began running towards people. Cam and I freaked, as you can imagine. We started chasing this guy to stop him before he infected people.” He laughed remembering. “Tyler didn’t even try to stop us, the bastard. The instant he realized the demon was risking infecting humans, he changed the virus in his head for it to no longer be contagious.”

  “And he didn’t tell you?”

  Derek shook his head with a smirk tugging at his lips. “Cam and I raced after the demon. We caught him before he made contact and we put him down. Then Tyler comes strolling up with a calm demeanor wondering why we were chasing down a dying demon. I wished in that moment I could have turned my gift on him.”

  We both chuckled.

  Derek sighed. “Is there anyway I can convince you?”

  I was about to open my mouth to reply when Cam came bounding down the stairs causing me to turn.

  “Jeez, you’re still not going on about her moving in, are you? The girl wouldn’t be happy here with a bunch of dudes,” Cam announced grabbing his keys off the table without looking at either of us. I wanted to be glad he saw things from my prospective, but instead I was only more furious with him. I didn’t understand why. He was agreeing with me, but it only provoked me with the way he was going about it. This was the first time I’d seen him since he yelled at me for not controlling my gift. “And having a girl here would just cramp our style.”

  “Excuse me?” I hissed.

  He shrugged. “Come on, sweetheart. You really think living with a bunch of guys that can’t clean up after themselves, who’s idea of fun is tracking down and killing demons or bringing home random women for a quick pickle tickle is going to be where you want to live?” Cam didn’t wait for a reply before he headed to the door.

  “Dinner?” Derek hollered after him.

  “Plans,” Cam yelled back without breaking a stride.

  “Ignore him. We have a maid that comes in weekly to clean everything but our rooms and there aren’t random women coming and going from our house. You’d be safe here, I swear.”

  Tyler walked in announcing dinner was ready. He asked about Cam, but Derek just gave him a small shake of his head causing Pestilence to sigh. We were all seated at the dining room table that we hadn’t made it to the other day at breakfast. It was a large rectangular table that easily sat eight with the gray upholstered chairs. Derek led me to the head of the table where Tyler graciously pulled out my chair. Directly across from me was a large window overlooking the front of the house. Tan drapes were cast on either side of it allowing the view of the woodlands in the distance to be the focal point. A huge mirror was positioned on the wall to my left. It didn’t look mounted but rather was leaning against the wall. The thing was taller than I was and looked like it weighed a good bit more. The wall was painted brownish beige and was lit up by accent lighting along the ceiling with a chandelier hanging above the table.

  “Thank you,” I told Tyler over my shoulder as I sat. Dinner was something off of Martha Stewart. There was braised beef surrounded by carrots, onions, and red potatoes. I looked at it in awe as the scent washed over me.

  “You’re not a vegetarian, are you?” asked Tyler when I didn’t immediately dig in.

  “No. Just appreciating the appeal. Charlie’s version of a home cooked meal is takeout from Panda Express.”

  I could see a smile tugging at both men. Home cooked meals were one more thing that I had here that I didn’t have at home and I think that was part of their plan. I already knew the pros out weighed the cons. If I was to make a list I knew which would be the obvious choice. But part of me didn’t want to leave Charlie, even though it would be safer for her if I did. She was the closest thing I had to family here. I rarely spoke with my mom and sister down in Florida. My absence wasn’t entirely noticed since I spent most of my childhood barricading myself in my room to keep away from them. Charlie and I had grown close these past two years. Even though she didn’t know the truth, I knew I could still count on her in other ways. But if I left, I’d feel like I was abandoning her.

  The clouds that had moved in earlier released as rain pelted against the window. We ate dinner in a strange ease that seemed oddly familiar. We didn’t talk about us being horsemen or about the demons we needed to kill, like I thought we would. I figured this dinner was about trying to familiarize me with what was expected of me as a horseman, but instead we joked and found things that we had in common. Neither of them pressed about my moving in. We were settling into the living room to watch a movie when someone’s cell buzzed.

  We all moved to grab our phones, but Derek was the one that answered.

  “Cam?”

  I watched as Derek’s face morphed from curiosity to concern as he listened to whatever Cam was saying.

  “We’re on our way,” Derek hung up. “He’s near the community college. There’s a succubus over there trying to feed on men at a fraternity party.”

  “I’ll grab the bags,” Tyler stated leaving the room.

  “I’m sorry Evie, but I can’t drive you home. You’re more than welcome to stay here until we get back,” Derek explained grabbing my hand in his like his touch would somehow help me realize how sorry he was.