Riders (35 page)

“What’s up, guys?” I said, and reached down to pat Riot’s neck.

I heard someone snicker, and I peered at them. “What?”

Marcus scratched his jaw. I could tell he was trying not to smile. “Your horse, man. It’s the way he moves.”

“It’s called knee action,” Daryn said.

“Riot’s is quite high,” Jode added. He frowned and pressed his lips together, but I could hear him sputtering.

“It’s cool, G,” Bas said. “He sort of … prances. Reminds me of those Irish river dancers. You know, the ones that—”

He couldn’t even finish. He started howling. Suddenly they were falling all over themselves.

“It’s ’cause he’s so big, you idiots,” I said. “He’s like a tank. And look at all this mud. He has to have permanent four-wheel drive.”

I shut myself up, because I was only making it worse. Riot and I had to just wait it out. But I didn’t really care. I knew we were the best.

When everyone settled down, the rest of the guys mounted up, too. Shadow materialized at Bastian’s feet, and came up with him.
Through
him. I watched as whirling darkness spun around his legs, then moved higher, covering his body. Bas disappeared for a second, consumed by those black ribbons, then there he was, mounted on Shadow, also in armor. Horse and rider, black from hoof to hood.

I’d seen Bas fold into Shadow a few times by then. The other guys, too. They’d also been working with their mounts every day. While Riot and I were jogging, I’d seen them riding along the banks, or in elemental form. Slashes of darkness and light, zipping through the fjords. Or in Marcus’s case, a streak of pale dust. I knew Riot and I would be able to do that as well. That at some point, I’d fold into fire with him. I couldn’t wait for that. We were a little behind, but we’d get it.

Jode’s transition was faster, happening almost instantly—a flash of brightness, then he was mounted on Lucent. Much more than Sebastian, Jode had the Hollywood look, with the white horse and the lighter-colored armor. He was the only one of us who actually resembled a good guy.

Marcus summoned Ruin last. I watched swirls of ash overtake him, watched him disappear in a pale flurry, and then re-form on Ruin’s back. He had his suit’s dark hood pulled up as he settled back into shape, casting part of his face in shadow, but it didn’t hide his smile.

Daryn stepped back, getting a little distance. “You guys look
scary,
” she said.

But we all knew she meant
scary good
.

I looked around me. It was our first time that way, the four of us mounted up.

Red, white, black, and pale.

A bona fide posse.

C
HAPTER
51

“Sounds impressive,” Cordero says, dryly. “I wish I could’ve seen you that way.”

You have,
I think.
You have.

“And your relationship with Riot sounds really touching.”

As I watch her, I can’t help but wonder. Does she have any idea how much I
didn’t
say just now? Can she tell?

My relationship with Riot isn’t
touching
.

Riot
changed
me.

I told him things I’ve never said to anyone.

I told him about my dad.

I remember it—walking along the river’s edge one afternoon, his reflection flickering in the water. Me, talking. Putting everything I’d been carrying around for a year into words. All the anger I felt for sitting in a truck doing nothing, when I could’ve been saving my dad’s life.

I’d lost it. I’d sat down on the gravel and cried like a baby.

Everything became clear to me in that moment. How my anger had actually been guilt. How my guilt had actually been a crutch. How that crutch was what I’d been using to avoid the pain. I felt the pain that afternoon. My heart broke on that riverbank. It felt so broken, I thought it was going to kill me. But then I’d felt hot horse breath on my forehead, and when I’d looked up, there he was. Riot. Looking at me like,
I’m still right here. Get up. Let’s keep going.

And we did keep going. I did. I
have
.

Because of him.

My horse.

I never expected it.

That Riot would give me what I needed to let go. To move on.

But he did.

“I’m curious.” Cordero sits back in her chair and studies me. “How does it feel to become fire?”

“Indescribable.”

Cordero rubs her knuckles, and then taps her fingers on the desk. “Some people might call that a cop-out, Gideon.”

“You’re asking me what it’s like to transform into something else?”

Black eyes hold on mine.

I instantly regret opening my mouth. I’m strapped down. Defenseless.

I glance at the door.

Where the hell is
Beretta
? It’s been at least half an hour since he left.

Cordero notices. “He has been gone a while, hasn’t he? Maybe he got tied up.”

Cordero stands and rounds the desk, coming toward me.

“Ma’am,” Texas says, “I don’t think—”

“It’s fine,” she says, cutting him off. “I want to take a look at something.”

Cordero’s smart, approaching from my right. Steering clear of any chance I have with my sword.

Texas’s hand drifts toward his sidearm.

“I wanted to see this up close.” Cordero kneels beside me—but it’s Malaphar’s stench that invades my nose. She places her hand on my arm, and my muscles jump. A sick feeling climbs my throat. “Are your abilities linked to this?”

I can’t even answer.

“Let’s try another question,” Cordero says. “You’ve said you can sense the other riders through this, like you’re pieces of a whole. Can you sense them now?”

All I hear is Daryn’s voice.

With the four of you together, they’ll be able to track us faster.

The Kindred are attracted to its power.

I see Alevar on the streets outside the Vatican, pointing at the radio in my hand.

Not at the radio.

At my wrist.

At the cuff.

“You’re not answering. Am I invading your personal space?” Cordero says, except it’s not her voice anymore. There’s gravel in it, and it’s getting slightly deeper.

“Sorry, Gideon. It seems like I’ve made you uncomfortable.” She rises and sits on the edge of the desk, right in front of me. “You’ve been extremely helpful so far, so I’m going to bend the rules a little and tell you something I probably shouldn’t. You’ve been worried about Daryn, I’m sure.
Dare
. I do like it when you call her that. But you don’t need to be worried anymore.” Her smile is mocking. “She’s here. Daryn is right outside with some of my colleagues. Isn’t that great news?”

Breathe, Blake. Breathe.

Cordero smirks. “You’ve gone so quiet on me, Gideon, just as we’re reaching the final showdown. Well, I’m assuming it’s the final showdown. Maybe it isn’t. I haven’t heard the full story yet, have I? Let’s finish up. I’m sure you’re eager to see Daryn. Keep cooperating, and you’ll see that she’s doing fine.” Cordero pauses, giving me a hellish smile. “And still in one piece.”

C
HAPTER
52

In a lot of ways, the night the Kindred showed up was like any other.

The five of us were inside the hut, crammed around the tiny fireplace as we tried to stay warm. Our new hobby was betting on horse races and, not surprisingly, Jode was becoming a rich man. Our betting currency—Norwegian chocolate bars—sat in front of him like a miniature stack of gold bullion.

“Never bet against me,” he said, his mouth lifting in a cocky smile. “You’ll only regret it.”

“Can’t we have other kinds of competitions?” I asked. In elemental form, no one was faster than Lucent. In horse form, Shadow and Ruin ran pretty even. Riot and I were the only ones who never won and it was starting to get old. “Tests of strength, for example.”

Bas smiled. “How about which horse can plow the fastest? That’d be fun. Riot would definitely win that.”

“Or which horse has the finest high-step,” Jode offered.

“Or is the most conspicuous,” Daryn said.

“Weighs the most,” Marcus said.

They were having fun messing with me, but I could feel the tension beneath the surface.

Earlier that day, Daryn had told us she felt one of her headaches coming on. We were all wondering if this was going to be it. If we’d finally learn where we needed to take the key.

As the night wore on, despite our efforts to keep things light, it started to feel like we were on Daryn watch. Then as it grew even later, like we’d gotten our hopes up for nothing.

Jode was telling us about the whales he’d seen that morning when Daryn shifted closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder. Jode stumbled over his words, but he recovered quickly and kept going.

After a few seconds, Daryn closed her eyes.

Jode trailed off, abandoning the whales. “Gideon, do you think…?”

Marcus and Bas both looked like they’d stopped breathing.

“I don’t know.” I wanted to take her out of there. Or make the guys leave. Not because I didn’t trust them—I did. But Daryn had asked me the last time not to let them see.

Why hadn’t I thought about this sooner?

I put my arm around her. It wasn’t a solution. But it felt better.

Then we sat and listened to the snap of the fire and the whistle of the wind as it blew through all the cracks in the hut.

Daryn’s eyes fluttered open in just seconds.

“Where’d you see the whales, Jode?” she asked. “I missed it.”

No comment about delivering the key.

She’d only nodded off.

We all looked at each other like,
Shit. We need to chill out.

Bas let out a long, stressed-out sigh. “I’m getting some more firewood.” He hopped up and headed outside.

“The whales,” Jode said. He narrowed his eyes. “Ah, yes. I saw the whales—three of them, there were three—near an inlet west of Gjende.”

We talked about that for a while. The whales. Then Gjende, which was beyond my reach with Riot. Travel over land was slow and laborious in these mountains. But folded in with Lucent, in elemental form, Jode was almost invisible by day, like Shadow and Bas were at night. They could travel far. It gave them a lot more range than Marcus and me. Flying mini-clouds of ash were pretty noticeable, and fire? Riot and I didn’t leave the immediate area very often.

After the false alarm, I was starting to settle down when Daryn’s hand slipped into mine and squeezed. I looked at her, but she was staring at our linked hands.

She’d gone white. Then her eyes lifted to mine.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Dread shot through me and I looked to the door. Sebastian wasn’t back yet.

“What is it?” Jode said. Marcus had frozen.

I shot to my feet and barreled through the door, out into the night.

Several fires burned across the clearing, lighting the area.

The Kindred were everywhere. Not just the seven.

Dozens.

Jode and I had guessed right. Ronwae and Bay commanded hordes.

Ronwae was the one I noticed first. In her scorpion shape, she had Riot’s heft, but she sat low to the ground on six segmented legs. Her thick shell looked redder than when I’d seen it before. Her claws were as long as my arm, and they opened and closed slowly, in anticipation. But they were nothing compared to the stinger that rose from her back, swaying back and forth.

She looked like more than enough to contend with on her own, but in the darkness behind her, around her, there were dozens of Ronwae replicas. Not exactly the same. Slightly smaller. Their armored shells not as deep red as Ronwae’s. But still incredibly real threats.

Further away, Bay stood on top of the stone where I’d huddled under a blanket with Daryn only a few nights earlier. Even from a distance, I could see the power in her shoulders and legs, her mangy pelt and sharp claws. She lifted her head to the night—her canines were so long they resembled tusks—and scented the air, small clouds issuing from her nostrils.

Like Ronwae’s scorpions, Bay’s multitudes stacked the darkness behind her, each more misshapen and gruesome than the next—a funhouse-worth of beasts.

A burst of fire erupted by the trailhead, drawing my attention. Pyro stood there, proudly showing off his fangs and the fire in his hands. Like that would intimidate me. If it weren’t for Daryn and the guys, he’d mean nothing.

I didn’t see Malaphar but Sebastian stood in the middle of the clearing, at the center of everything. He was standing at attention, eyes straight ahead. He wasn’t focusing on me.

It
looked
like Sebastian, but …

I didn’t think it was him.

I didn’t see Ra’om, but Samrael stepped forward from the darkness in his human form, wearing a reflective jacket and pants, like an ad for outdoor gear. He smiled, totally at home with the horror show around him.

“Gideon, it’s good to see you again.” His gaze moved past me.

Marcus and Jode had followed me out of the hut. They had drawn their weapons, scythe and bow. Daryn stood between them.

When Samrael saw her, his smile vanished and his eyes filled with hunger. Instantly, I remembered Ra’om’s image—Samrael attacking her—and rage ignited inside me. Rage that burned from my core.

“At last,” he said. “I knew I’d find you.”

Daryn came to my side. The key hung around her neck, gleaming against her dark jacket. She stood with her usual confidence, but I saw that her fingers were shaking.

“I wouldn’t be gloating if I were you,” she said. “We’ve been here for weeks.”

Samrael’s smile came back. “Yes. You were well hidden. But what’s a few weeks of delay when you’re building a kingdom?”

“You won’t get the key, Samrael. You’ll never get it.”

He tipped his head. “I don’t know about
never
. Why don’t we do this simply, for your sake, Daryn. For the sake of Gideon here, who’s so very fond of you.” He held out his hand. “Bring it to me.”

“You heard me,” she said.

“Another refusal?” Samrael said. “I thought that might be the case.”