Riders (Riders, #1)(44)

I didn’t have a chance to answer. Marcus had just produced a scythe. It materialized in a dusty swirl, extending from his hand to the desert earth.

A freakin’ scythe.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Wasn’t Death—the Grim Reaper—always shown with a scythe? Still, this was the first one I’d ever seen in person and let me tell you—a staff with a massive curved blade at the end? Terrifying. This was no ordinary scythe, either. The thing glowed in the night, soft like the moon, but it put off enough light to illuminate Marcus’s face. His eyes were steady and cold. Pure glacial fury. All for me.

He extended his arm to the side like Looky here, *. I’ll see your sword and raise you a scythe.

A cautious man would’ve backed off. Not me. Yielding would basically have told him he’d won. I was tougher and I’d prove it. If it cost me a limb, screw it.

“You really want to take on War?” I shrugged. “All right.”

“What did you say? You’re War?”

“Yes, he did.” Daryn said. “Now put your weapons down. Both of you.”

With no warning, Marcus swung the scythe in a low, sweeping arc. The thing had range, clearing eight, nine feet around him. The blade came to within about a foot of Daryn. She stood without even flinching as the sickle sliced past her, but I practically threw up my heart. I was moving before I knew it.

I shot at him while he was still on the backswing, avoiding the business end of the weapon. The scythe wouldn’t be a close-range weapon. If I could get inside, I’d be safe from the blade.

Marcus had anticipated my move, and brought the back end of the staff at me. I saw it coming and blocked with my sword. The sound as the two weapons met was deep. Thundering. A roar I felt in my chest. The collision point sent off sparks, a burst of brightness in the dark. We kept going, dealing and receiving blows. Neither of us was very good then, at that point, but what we lacked in technique we made up for in passion.

I was in the middle of a follow-through when the strength left my legs suddenly. Wham. Fast. One second I was getting ready to tee off on Marcus’s face, the next I was on my back staring at the thunderheads above. My sword thudded out of my grip. I hadn’t even known I could let it go.

I turned my head to look for it. That small action took all the energy I had. The sword rested on the desert soil only a few inches from my fingers. I wanted it back, but I was never going to be able to reach it. I had nothing left. Lifting a car over my head would’ve been easier. Straining to look to my right, I got a glimpse of Marcus’s shoes. He was sprawled on the dirt next to me.

Daryn walked up with Sebastian. She crossed her arms, looking down at me, her blond hair blowing in the storm winds. Her expression was disappointed and more than a little pissed off. “How long will they be this way?”

“I don’t know,” Sebastian said. “Maybe a few hours? It could be longer. It’s the first time I’ve wiped anyone out this strongly. This is awful. I can’t believe I did this.”

“They weren’t going to be any help to us dead. Anyway, I asked you to.”

They kept talking, but their voices sounded farther away. Sleep was calling to me. No. Not sleep. Exhaustion. Fatigue. A huge lack was yawning open inside of me. Lack of strength. Lack of hope. Lack of joy. My body felt brittle, a million years old. And fragile. Like my limbs were made of glass threads.

A fat drop of rain landed on my forehead. Another on my forearm. Painful drops. Sharp as rocks.

“It’s starting to rain,” Sebastian said. “Should I pull the Jeep up? I can probably get them both inside.”

“Sure, let’s,” Daryn said. “But no need to hurry. A little rain won’t kill them.”

They left us there.

Above, the clouds pulsed with light, electricity splashing across the night. It was just me and Death now, getting pummeled by raindrop meteors.

And the creature, beating its wings as it flew across the stormy sky.





CHAPTER 27

The sun was rising in a clear blue sky when I awoke in my Jeep once again—this time with a pounding headache, my stomach in cramps, and my Giants sweatshirt thrown over me. My body felt like it had been tenderized.

Through the grimy windshield I saw Daryn, sitting on the hood. Her hair was up in a knot and she was talking to Sebastian and Marcus, who stood in front her. I saw no trace of the storm, or of the winged creature.

“I know you guys want answers,” she said, “and I wish I could give them to you. I really do. But right now, all I can tell you is that bringing the four of you together quickly is the only way we’ll succeed. As soon as I can, I’ll tell you more. I promise.”

“All right,” Sebastian said, nodding. “We’re almost there. We’ll find Conquest, then play the rest by feel.”

By ear, I wanted to say. Play the rest by ear.

“Man, forget that,” said Marcus. “It’s not all right with me.”

He had the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head and his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans. His face was in shadow but I saw a cut on his cheek. I hoped his clothes hid a lot more damage, because I could barely draw a breath without talking myself into it first.

Hunkered into his shoulders and with his head slightly bowed, Marcus struck me as guarded and dangerous. And I couldn’t help feeling like by adding him, our team had taken a big step backward. I hoped I was wrong. But I felt like I was right.