EWAN

I sit at the table with the guys and Vee, inside the house we currently call home. Another kitchen, another space we gather to discuss and plan. Vee barely spoke on the drive back and stared at her trembling hands, turning them over and over.

I’m unsure how much conversation Vee heard once she turned pale and her eyes grew distant. I had a bloody difficult time processing what the angels said too. Seeing Vee like this was a shit reminder of the day I hurt her with the truth about who she is. A truth that doesn’t exist. I could’ve smacked Erzla in the face for his amusement at her name.

My laptop rests beneath my palm and when I move my hand, a mark from perspiration remains. I wipe it away with a sleeve.

Mind. Fucking. Blown.

We knew we didn’t have all the facts, but this?

The only Order I’m aware of is Ripley’s bunch of arseholes. Not once, in any book, or research snippet has Order existed in connection with us.

Never did anything refer to Chaos having an equal opposite.

Man, they hid this well.

I’m struggling to process the information and pissed off we didn’t ask more about ourselves. But the information about Vee hit our brains like a stun gun. Thoughts wouldn’t join into anything coherent. Their words tangled our emotions.

Nothing makes sense.

We are all part of each other, the way we always knew, but not as Horsemen. What are the Horsemen? We have other powers to protect portals. Played a role in this world. Vee has them all. Did she take them? Or always had them? The Horsemen are more than vessels containing a fifth of a god’s power. They need to explain. Everything.

“What now?” Xander doesn’t demand or bark out a plan, just talks in defeated terms as he sinks back on the kitchen chair.

“Nothing has changed,” says Vee quietly. “They just gave me a different name.”

“Vee, they just told us you were a bigger power than we thought.”

“God powers.” Joss sits beside her. “You’re a goddess. That’s insane.”

“No.” She swallows. “What’s insane is this makes me part of Seth. And I’m not a goddess. You heard the angels—Order’s power is split between the five of us.”

“Not anymore, Vee,” whispers Heath.

I rest my hands on my laptop again. “Vee just strengthened herself with the Order inside us. Maybe she could give the power back.”

Heath frowns. “How?”

“No, she needs the power to defeat Seth,” puts in Xander.

“Yes, but the book says the power is too much and can kill her.”

“I already feel different.” Vee looks up with troubled eyes. “Heath knows—I told him I’m losing track of who I am. Joss feels it too.”

“We all do,” I say and Xander nods.

“But what if…” I trail off. Solutions have turned over and over in my mind since the bombshell earlier. I’ve analysed every sentence, every new snippet of information. Numbers and facts crunched in my head. I push away any information about who the Horsemen are, or where we came from, to focus on one thing.

Who we are to Vee.

And how that will help her.

“When she faces Chaos, we’ll be there, right? On this so-called prophesied day?” I ask.

“Of course, we bloody will,” retorts Xander. “I know that isn’t clearly written in the book, just Order, but no way does she walk into the end alone.”

“Listen, if we take back the power we gave Vee, then Order is spread between the five of us again. What’s to stop us focusing that power against Chaos when it’s spread into five bodies instead of just Vee, alone? Maybe power divided, the human bodies will survive. And we can still kill Chaos.”

Vee shakes her head. “And maybe that will just kill you all too.”

“Heath!” Xander stands and points at him. Heath looks back with a bewildered expression at Xander’s sudden outburst. “If we just split between the four of us and we die, Heath can bring us back.”

His eyes widen. “I don’t know if I can bring Vee back. Or any of you in this situation.”

“This is a crazy idea,” replies Joss.

“Why?” I snap. “If what we’re told is true, there’s no need for Vee to face him alone. When our powers united inside her, we gave a part of ourselves.”

Xander heads to the fridge and pulls out beer. His ‘thinking juice’. “If Seth tried to keep us apart, he must know something.”

“Yeah, he probably thinks it’s just Horsemen power—that she’s a stronger version of us all.” Joss smirks. “Man, he’s gonna get his arse kicked.”

“Until an hour ago, that’s what we thought too,” mutters Heath.

“All four Horseman powers and a god power. No way will I piss you off again.” Joss nudges Vee, who gives a weak smile. Seriously, dude? How is this funny?

“Okay. We need to take back some Order power.” Heath takes a bottle from Xander and cracks the lid. “That could be interesting.”

Xander looks at him in confusion but I know what he means. I always knew Vee was taking something from us. Was I right to hold back?

“Okay, I’m going to be blunt here. Sex is how the Order passed to her. Can Vee pass some back if she has sex with us all again?” Heath asks.

The room quiets. This isn’t a topic we discuss. There’s acceptance and love, but discussion about sex? Nope.

“I honestly think this is the answer. We divide Order’s power back between five again and face him together.” I pause. “And if this does kill us all, at least we die together.”

Vee bites her lip. “This is awkward, guys. I don’t want you forming a queue outside the bedroom. Or more than one of you at a time.”

Xander half-chokes on his beer. “Uh. No way.”

She looks between us and her cheeks flush. “I know this isn’t a conversation we have, but I need to point something out. In the last few days I’ve....” She pauses. “I’ve had sex with three of you.”

We look at each other and it’s clear we’re trying to figure out who hasn’t. I shake my head at the other’s poker faces.

“I’m not saying any more about that, but each time I’ve felt more connected to my human self. Maybe I give you back some Order? The last could do something.” She glances at me. “Like with Ewan in Scotland.”

“Yeah, but look what happened then,” I say. “You changed.”

“Because the last part of Order united. I think this was always supposed to be a sex thing. A physical need satisfied, end of story, goodbye Vee. I was supposed to walk away after Ewan because Order was complete. But that didn’t happen. There’s more to us because our emotions are involved. We love each other.”

Heath nods. “This is where we change the prophecy. We’re united by our love for each other. By our human bond. I don’t think we were supposed to stay together. But we will. We’ll win together.”

“And Vee will survive,” whispers Ewan. “Yes.”

Xander straightens. “Side by side, we’ll share the power, and take him down together.”