Lethal Rider

Crazy? Try ceiling-licking, rabies-frothing, dish-ran-away-with-the-spoon in-fucking- sane. Limos and Ares had been keeping him up to date on Pestilence’s exploits, but they hardly needed to. Thanks to his curse, Than could feel mass casualties around the globe, was drawn to them like a junkie to heroin. Obviously, being paralyzed had put the brakes on his ability to travel to them, but the pull was still there, swirling around his insides like smoke from a crematorium.

“It’s about to get worse,” Ares said. “Pestilence’s plagues have caused war and famine and death all over the globe. It’s why we haven’t been around much. We’ve been spending way too much time at the sites of the worst of it.”

Limos and Ares suffered similar curses as Than; Ares was drawn to scenes of large-scale battles, and Limos was tugged to famines. And yeah, Than had noticed that they hadn’t been around to keep him entertained. At least Cara, Ares’s wife, had been there. She read to Thanatos a lot, and he didn’t think he could ever thank her enough for that.

So why is it about to get worse? He wanted to scream at them, could feel his left hand, which was concealed at his side, begin to curl into a fist.

“Last week, Pestilence claimed Australia in the name of Sheoul.”

Oh, shit. Demons who were normally bound to Sheoul—what humans called hell—could now occupy Australia. A country that size could host millions of demons and allow for them to set the stage for a massive global attack. Demons had, since the beginning of time, desired to kick off the Apocalypse in order to defeat mankind and take the Earth as a trophy, and with Australia in their pockets, they’d just lobbed the ball that much closer to the end zone.

What about the humans?

Limos, who had always been in sync with his thoughts, answered as though she’d heard him. “Any humans who didn’t evacuate are … lost.”

“We got a few out.” Ares’s voice turned bleak. “Kynan, Limos, Arik and I got a few.”

“It’s bad,” Limos said. “But the good news is that The Aegis found a way to close the hellmouths. It’s temporary … the magic they’re using is being eaten away by demon countermagic, but it’s slowed mass demon movement.” She patted his arm. “Be patient, Than. Only a couple of weeks left to go, and we’ll release you.”

A couple of weeks? Why then?

Ares squeezed Than’s foot. “Someone will be here in a couple of hours for your next injection. We’ll be back when we can.”

He and Limos left, and hell, no, Thanatos wasn’t planning to be around for the next injection. For some reason, he could move again, and he was getting the fuck out of here.

Summoning all his willpower, he rocked his body until he built up enough momentum to roll out of bed. Hitting the floor hurt like a son of a bitch, but the pain only spurred him on. Something was tugging at his insides. Danger. Death. Both. Except the pull toward danger was a different sensation than anything he’d ever felt. It was almost as if he was the one in danger… but the feeling was distant. Whatever it was, it called to him, and he had to go.

He ripped the IV catheter out of his hand and dragged himself to the sliding glass door. Grunting, he shoved onto his hands and knees and crawled outside. Death and danger still yanked at him, two distinct ropes pulling him in opposite directions. The danger rope seemed more … urgent, but in his current, weakened state, he couldn’t risk dropping himself into what could be one of Pestilence’s traps. Death, however, filled him with energy.

Right. Death first, danger second.

Letting the tug to death guide him, he opened a Harrowgate and lurched through it. Instantly, hot, humid air hit Than like a furnace blast. The stench of rotting flesh and burning wood stung his nostrils. Weakly, he lifted his head and frowned at the sight of scorched earth and fallen trees. Than’s internal GPS was telling him he was Down Under, but he’d never seen it like this before.

So much death. Explained why he’d been drawn here.

“Hey there, man.” Thanatos jerked his head around to the shirtless male in skin-tight pants that kept shifting colors to blend in with the smoky gray and black background.

“Hades.” His voice sounded like he’d swallowed shards of glass. “Is this … Australia?”

“Yeppers.” Hades strode several feet, his boots crunching down on charred bones that appeared to be both human and demon. “Since it’s been claimed in the name of Sheoul, I can hang out here.”

Of course. Hades was as bound to Sheoul as a demon, although for a very different reason. A fallen angel, he’d been forced to run Sheoul-gra, the place where demon and evil human souls were kept, unless Azagoth, also known as the Grim Reaper, allowed him out.

“Azagoth let you … leave Sheoul-gra?”

“He gave me an hour,” Hades said, his voice degenerating into a sarcastic drawl. “His generosity knows no bounds.” He nudged Than with his boot. “Now I guess I’m stuck helping you. Recover quickly. I want to hit one of those new succubus whorehouses before I have to head back to the Gra.”

A million pinpricks stabbed Than’s muscles as he struggled to prop himself against a fallen tree. The blue- haired bastard just stood there and watched.

“Why…help…me?”

Hades’s face went as hard as the landscape around them. “Because your fucking brother is pissing me off. While I can appreciate what he’s trying to do, starting an Apocalypse and all, I get ticked off when he noses in on my business.”

Thanatos wiggled his toes, relieved to feel them again. “What are you talking about?”

The blue veins that spiderwebbed Hades’s pale skin grew brighter and started to pulse. “He’s trying to dismantle Sheoul-gra and destroy Azagoth.”

“Oh, shit.” Without a Sheoul-gra, any demon or evil human killed in the human realm would be free to wreak havoc in their phantom form.

There was also a running theory that Azagoth might be the Horsemen’s father, but so far, no one had been able to verify that. Until the rumor could be confirmed, Thanatos would rather the guy not be killed.

“Oh, shit, is right. Who’d have thought your screwball brother could have gone so serial-killer fucktwat insane?”

And that was the big problem. Reseph had been the kindest, most even-tempered of all of them. For him to have turned so evil did not bode well for Ares, Limos, and Than.

He became aware of a branch biting into his back, and at the same time, a low-level vibration started in the pit of his stomach. His body was coming to life.

And it was hungry.

Along with the hunger, the tug toward danger grew stronger, became a pulsing awareness in the back of his brain. What the hell was it?

“He grows stronger every day, Thanatos. The souls I watch over are starting to reincarnate at rates I’ve never seen.”

Than frowned. “You think Pestilence is responsible for that?”

“Maybe not directly, but as the Apocalypse grows closer, souls are leaving me faster than they’re coming in. Pestilence is getting a big boost in the demon population, and I’m growing weaker. You need to kill him.”

Thanatos rocked his head back against the tree trunk. “I intend to repair his Seal, not kill him.” Than had found evidence that Reseph’s Seal could be repaired, but only if Than stabbed him with a specific dagger at a specific time. Problem was that he hadn’t figured out the “time” detail.

“Criminy. Whatever. Just do something. My very life comes from those souls. I need them.”

“Criminy?” Than stared. “Seriously? Big, bad, mohawk-haired demon says ‘criminy’?”

“Yes, criminy.” Hades rubbed his bare chest. “And, fuck off.”

Than closed his eyes. “That’s better.”

The vibration in Than’s core became a gnawing hunger, threaded with malevolence. The scent of blood hit him, and he snapped open his eyes. Hades was on his haunches next to Than, a knife in his hand. Blood flowed from his slit wrist, and Than’s fangs punched down as the starvation that had been kept at bay for eight months roared to the surface.

He lunged at Hades, but the male caught him around the back of the neck and slammed his bleeding wrist