Lethal Rider

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 f**k 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 f**king 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 f**ktwat 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, f**k 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 against Than’s mouth. Thanatos’s brain blanked out as his body was hijacked by fierce hunger and pure animal instinct.

“Ow, f**k.” Hades’s rough voice was a mere buzz in Than’s ears.

At this point, he didn’t give a hellrat’s ass if he was savaging the male’s arm. All that mattered was filling the hole inside him that, when emptied, led to indiscriminate feedings and a lot of death. Fortunately for Than, Hades was one of the few people who knew about Than’s need, although he didn’t know the extent of it.

Time swirled in multi-colored circles until finally, Hades pulled away and left Than leaning back against the tree, his body completely charged. The hunger was gone, but the other, odd tingle of impending danger still vibrated at the base of his skull. It was like a homing beacon, screaming at him to go.

“Thanks, man.” Shoving to his feet, Than flexed his muscles, testing them after so many months of disuse. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of movement in the burned-out forest, and knew he’d get a good workout in a minute.

They had company.

“No problem. I owed you one.”

Keeping one eye on the creatures slinking from out of the shadows, Than casually flicked his finger over the crescent-shaped scar on his neck, and instantly, his bone armor snapped into place. Next, he summoned his scythe. “More than one. I’ve sent you a lot of souls, a**hole.” He was about to send Hades more.

“Yeah, f**k you.”

He started to flip out his standard response of, “Can’t have sex,” but he remembered that yeah, he could. Thanks to Regan and her betrayal, he knew he could. But Hades was a dude, and Than wasn’t that desperate.

But the urge was there, so powerful he suspected that it was similar to what Ares felt, a coil of tension that, if not released, resulted in death and destruction.

Good thing then, that Thanatos was in the mood for a little D&D, and not the role-playing game.

“So, what are you going to do now that you’re not frozen solid?”

“First, I’m going to kill those demons and that fallen angel behind you.” The scorpion tattoo on his throat began to sting his neck, its tail moving like a pulse, reminding Than that death was what he was meant for. Never one to argue with fate, he swung the scythe in a powerful arc, lobbing off one of the demons’ two heads. He glanced back at Hades, who was looking like he might want popcorn to go with the action. “Then I’m going to do the same to the woman who betrayed me.”

Three

Regan sat on the floor, staring at the vampire who had saved her from one threat and was planning to deliver her into the hands of another.

“You can’t take me to Thanatos. He’s incapacitated—”

“Stupid female,” he barked. “I’m taking you to his keep until he returns. Several of us have come up with a plan to get him back.” His voice softened. “And there are things you need to know, warnings I can’t tell you here—” Blood spurted from his mouth, and he jerked forward, catching himself on the podium.

A crossbow bolt pierced his sternum.

“Get away from her!” Lance, one of Regan’s fellow Elders, rushed toward them, crossbow in one hand, wooden stake in the other. More Guardians followed on his heels, including Suzi, who had moved into headquarters to assist Regan in her final months of pregnancy. From the side entrance, Elders Kynan and Decker burst through the doors.

“Don’t kill him!” Regan shouted, but Lance ignored her, driving the stake through the vampire’s heart.

“Dammit, Lance!” Kynan rounded on Lance as the vampire smoldered. “That’s not how we do things.”

“That’s not how you do things,” Lance said. “Not everyone in The Aegis agrees with your squeaky clean new way of treating the enemy.”

Suzi crouched next to Regan. “Are you okay? Should I call your doctor? Oh man, I should have been with you—”

“I’m fine,” Regan assured her, but Suzi wrung her hands, worry bleeding from her pores. “But you know, I could use a cup of your awesome honey chamomile tea.” Suzi grinned, clearly relieved to be able to help. As she took off, Regan remained on the floor, gathering both her thoughts and her breath. “Why were Thanatos’s vampires here? How did they get in?”