Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance) (48 page)

He panted, his breath so toxic it worked like smelling salts, and she gagged even as she became alert.

“Ugh.” She wheezed, waving her hand in front of his mouth to ward off his stench. “We have to do something about your halitosis from hell.” God, she was talking like this was real.

It wasn’t. Couldn’t be. She was probably still in her bed, and this was a dream.

Suddenly, Halitosis was on his feet, crouched over her, a growl vibrating his deep chest. Not a normal growl, either. It was smoky, serrated, something she’d expect to hear from a dragon. Or a demon.
Freaky
.

The door burst open in a crash of splinters, and four men filed through the doorway.

A scream welled in her throat, but lodged there, blocked by terror.
Not again, not again.
Memories of the home invasion that had ruined her life collided with current events, and she froze up, so paralyzed that her lungs couldn’t expel her held breath.

There was a gunshot, a snarl… and then godawful screams. Blood splattered on the floor, the walls, on her… and she broke out of her paralysis to scramble to her feet.

Hal slammed one of the men to the floor, his claws—which somehow had extended like a cat’s—tearing into the man’s chest as the other two slashed at him with strange bladed weapons.

Cara scanned the room for a weapon of her own, anything at all. She lunged for a heavy glass jar of cotton balls but reeled back at an explosive, blinding flash of light. A beautiful blond man appeared in the middle of the room. Flames erupted from his fingertips as a ball of fire flipped into the air, bursting into a gold net that fell on Hal, who went down in a tangle beneath it.

“No!” She dove for the dog, but someone grabbed her
from behind. Hal went crazy, a mass of teeth and claws as he struggled to get out of the net.

Curses flew, and someone fired a shot at the newcomer, who took the bullet in the chest with no more reaction than if he’d been stung by a bee. He scooped up the net, Hal with it, and in another flare of light, he was gone.

The man tightened his arms around Cara, and one of the men limped toward her, his left arm dangling, his face mottled with rage. “What are you?”

She blinked. “W-what?”

“I said,” he snarled, “
what are you?”

“I don’t understand.”

His hand lashed out so fast she didn’t see it until her cheek stung from the blow. “What kind of demon are you?” he screamed, his spittle spraying her face.

Oh, God, these men were crazy. This whole situation was crazy. This was Crazyland, and she was the queen.

“Why…” She sucked in a ragged breath and tried to stay calm. It wasn’t easy when the man holding her in a vise grip against him was squeezing the air out of her lungs. “Why would you think I’m a demon?” Maybe they were religious fanatics, like the ones who had accused her of practicing witchcraft before she learned to hide her healing gift.

Her theory was blown out of the water when the third guy, the one who had been kneeling next to the dead man on the floor, stood and picked up the bullet that had been lodged in the dog. He held it out to her. “Because,” he said, in an eerily calm voice, “only a demon would heal a hellhound.”

O
ne of the most common questions I hear is, “How did you come up with the idea to write about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?”

Well, put simply and vaguely, it just popped into my head. No, really. I can’t remember any kind of trigger, like an article or a TV show or even the sight of four horses standing in a field. I just remember that several years ago, before I’d even sold the Demonica series, I wanted to do something with the Horsemen.

I just didn’t know what.

It wasn’t until I was writing
Ecstasy Unveiled
that I had the glimmer of an idea of what to do with them. I could create a brand-new series with a brand-new world… or I could incorporate them into the Demonica world.

But how?

The answer came during revisions to
Sin Undone
.

See, I wanted to stay in the Demonica world, but Underworld General needed some time to recover from five books of mayhem. I also needed a little space, but at the same time, I didn’t want to stray
too
far from my beloved hospital and characters.

Enter the Horsemen. On horses. With deadly weapons and nerves of steel and bodies of solid muscle. These boys were meant to fight. Except, oops, one of them was female. Limos tossed a wrench into my plan. She’s mischievous that way.

So the Horsemen were born, and oh, the possibilities for their stories! Right away I envisioned some of the big events, while others came during the course of writing and revising. But all the while, I had a specific arc in mind, one that would keep our Demonica characters front and center and then take us right back to Underworld General.

As the Demonica/Lords of Deliverance world expanded, so did the need for another compendium. There are more characters, more species, and more supernatural abilities to keep track of. And, of course, there’s a short story to give you more background into how it all began. “Eternal Damnation” will take you back to the Horsemen’s very roots, when they were but a twinkle in Lilith’s evil eye.

Read on, Riders, and enjoy!

First Horseman of the Apocalypse: Reseph aka Pestilence
—Born to the evil succubus Lilith and the angel Yenrieth and given up as an infant to an Akkadian princess who believed herself to be a goddess. Reseph was spoiled, given everything, anything, and any
one
he wanted. Though he had a rude awakening when he learned the truth about his origins and was cursed to be a Horseman, he never truly lost his carefree attitude or playboy lifestyle. He lives to have fun. His favorite things include country music, margaritas, women, and vacationing anywhere it’s warm.

Height:
6'8"

Hair:
Very light blond

Eye color:
Ice blue

Location of home:
Caves in the Himalayans Mountains

Personal weapon/symbol:
Bow

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Stallion glyph on right forearm

Horse’s name and description:
White warhorse named Conquest

Agimortus (trigger for breaking Seal):
An event defined in prophecy

Weakness:
Drawn to scenes of great disaster and disease

Armor:
Plate metal armor that must be fed blood in order to stay strong

Most memorable historical event:
The Black Death

Daemonica Prophecy:
She of mixed blood who should not exist, carries with her the power to spread plague and pestilence. When battle breaks, conquest is seal’d.

Second Horseman of the Apocalypse: Ares aka War
—Raised to be a warrior from the moment he was switched at birth with a human child, Ares lives to fight. The curse brought down upon him and his siblings that turned them into Horsemen made him even better at warmongering… and it also causes humans to become agitated and violent when in his presence. Because of this, he has lived apart from humans and keeps his distance when forced to deal with them. He is a fan of classical music, Greek food, and ouzo.

Height:
6'9"

Hair:
Brown with reddish highlights

Eye color:
Black

Location of home:
Private island in Greece

Personal weapon/symbol:
Sword

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Stallion glyph on right forearm

Horse’s name and description:
Blood bay stallion named Battle

Agimortus (trigger for breaking Seal):
Death of person as defined in prophecy

Weakness:
Drawn to scenes of large scale battles; close proximity to his agimortus-bearer dulls senses, strength, and weapons, softens armor

Armor:
Leather made of Gerunti demon hide

Most memorable historical event:
The Battle of Hastings

Daemonica prophecy:
An angel’s mistake shall bring about War, and her death shall break his sword. But be wary, a hound’s heart may yet defeat.

Third Horseman of the Apocalypse: Limos aka Famine
—Limos, the only female Horseman, is also the only one of the four to be raised by the mother that gave birth to them. Brought up by Lilith and betrothed to Satan, Limos became an expert at deception and lies. When she left Sheoul, the demon realm known as hell to humans, she found and united her brothers. She is a girly-girl to the core, preferring to dress in ultrafeminine, bright-colored clothes. Her favorite color is pink, she loves fruity drinks and flowers, and painting her nails is practically an obsession.

Height:
5'8"

Hair:
Black

Eye color:
Violet

Location of home:
Secluded island in Hawaii

Personal weapon/symbol:
Set of weight scales

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Horse glyph on right forearm; set of scales on shoulder; navel piercing

Horse’s name and description:
Black hell stallion named Bones

Agimortus (trigger for breaking Seal):
Tiny cup

Weakness:
Drawn to scenes of any mass shortage, usually food; unable to give herself to any man

Armor:
Croix viper–skin, Samurai-style tunic and breeches

Most memorable historical event:
Irish potato famine

Daemonica prophecy:
A Horseman, should he drink from the Cup of Deception and Lies, will loose Famine to ravage the Earth.

Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse: Thanatos aka Death
—Of all the Horsemen, Thanatos was the most changed after he was cursed. Raised in a peaceful pre-Druidic clan, he grew up happy and well adjusted. When cursed as the Horseman who is fated to become Death upon the breaking of his Seal, he sank into an abyss of misery and pain. With the help of his siblings, he adjusted, but his inability to control his anger leads to death and destruction, requiring him to live a solitary life. The things he has done torture him, and the only escape is to have his emotions “transferred” to his skin in the form of tattoos. A serious bookworm, he has an extensive library and spends his spare time hunting for rare, ancient tomes to satisfy his thirst for knowledge—and his father. He loves classic rock, Mountain Dew, and pineapple upside-down cake.

Height:
6'8"

Hair:
Shoulder-length blond, usually braided at the temples

Eye color:
Pale yellow

Location of home:
Castle in Greenland

Tattoos/identifying marks:
Entire body is covered in tattoos, layered on top of each other, but each distinct; most prominent tattoos are stallion on right forearm, scorpion on neck; both nipples are pierced

Horse’s name and description:
Pale dun stallion named Styx

Agimortus (trigger for breaking Seal):
Believed to be his virginity

Weakness:
Drawn to scenes of mass causalities; armor loses strength as it loses souls

Armor:
Bone plate armor that collects the souls of those he kills

Most memorable historical event:
Construction of the Notre Dame cathedral

Daemonica prophecy:
Behold! Innocence is Death’s curse, his hunger his burden, a blade his Deliverance. The Doom Star cometh if the cry fails.

Arik Wagner
—Soldier in the U.S. Army’s Ranger-X Regiment, which is responsible for dealing with supernatural phenomenon and demonic activity. Also brought into The Aegis as a middleman, allowing for exchange of information and cooperation between the two agencies. Brother to Runa.

Height:
6'2"

Hair:
Short, dark brown

Eye color:
Dark brown

Profession:
Soldier

Species:
Human

Cara Thornhart
—Formerly a veterinary assistant with a supernatural ability to both communicate with, and heal, animals, Cara is now married to Ares. She bears Ares’s
agimortus
, meaning that if she dies, his Seal will break. Fortunately for her, she is bonded to nearly all hellhounds in existence, and their life forces have given her immortality.

Hair:
Sandy blond