The Four Horsemen 2 - War (15 page)

War jerked awake at Russell’s exclamation. He glanced around, trying to find whatever had caused his lover to make a noise like that. He stopped when he noticed Russell staring at him.

“What’s wrong?”
“Your hair.” Russell gestured towards War’s head.
“What about it? You’ve seen it before. Nothing’s changed.” He hesitated. “Has it?” Russell nodded, but couldn’t seem to get the words out. War climbed out of bed and

went to the mirror hanging on the far wall. His mouth dropped open at the image reflected there. He lifted his hand to his hair. It was no longer blood red, but black like it had been before he died. War blinked as he realised his eyes were dark brown again.

“Yes.” He paused for a second. “Or at least this is what I saw when I looked in water. I didn’t have mirrors or anything like that.”
Russell joined him at the mirror. They stood staring at War’s reflection.
“What do you think this means?”
“I have no idea.”
Death?
War figured his fellow Horseman might have an idea.
Yes?
Do you know why my hair and eyes went back to their original colour?
Death sighed.
You’re no longer a Horseman, Baqir. You’ve found love and someone who accepts everything you did. More than that, you’ve forgiven yourself. Have a good life, my friend..
War staggered and Russell caught him. Death’s presence in his mind disappeared and War realised he really would never see the Pale Rider again.
“Death said I’m no longer a Horseman. The moment I forgave myself for everything, I became mortal again.”
Russell embraced him tightly. “That’s great news.”
“I think it might take some getting used to,” he confessed.
“I know, but at least you won’t have to leave to start wars somewhere in the world.”
War eased back a few inches. “You do realise a new War will appear. There always have to be four Horsemen. Just because I’m mortal again doesn’t mean another man won’t come to take my place. It doesn’t mean all fighting has stopped.”
“I know, but, since I love you, you’re the man I’m concerned with. I didn’t like it when you were gone. In addition, knowing what you were doing and how much you hated doing it made me unhappy.” Russell kissed him before stepping further away. “You have some decisions to make.”
Yes, he did. The reason he’d lived in Mongolia was to stay as far away from human contact as possible, and because it was a lot like his ancestral lands. Now it didn’t matter and he could go live anywhere he wanted. Yet the thought of living in a town or any place except the steppes caused his chest to constrict and his skin to crawl.
“What would you say if I told you I wanted to stay here?”
Russell thought for a few minutes, and War began to worry what Russell’s answer would be. His lover grinned at him.
“As long as we can go and visit my family at least once a year, I’ll be happy to live here with you.”
“Really?”
Russell nodded and War swept him up in his arms, kissing him with all the emotions in his heart. The way Russell embraced him convinced War the man meant what he said. Oh, he knew it would take a while for Russell to completely accept the nomadic way of life, but, as long as they continued loving each other, it wouldn’t matter where they were in the world.

Death didn’t glance over at Famine as they stood at the top of Victoria Falls. He stared down at the thundering water as it cascaded into the Zambezi River.
“Death, is it true?” Famine elbowed him in the side.
He grunted and shot the Black Horseman an annoyed look. “Yes, it’s true. The War you know is gone. He’s become mortal again, like our old comrade Pestilence.”
“Huh.” Famine’s response was barely intelligible.
Rolling his eyes, Death looked up to study the sky. It didn’t matter what Famine thought or said. It was only a matter of time. A clap of thunder and a man appeared on the riverbank. The red stallion grazing a few feet away from Death lifted its head. It snorted and Death nodded.
“I must go,” he said as he walked away.
“Who is that?” Famine used his chin to point at the stranger.
“It’s War.”
Famine didn’t say anything else as Death strolled off to greet the new Horseman. He didn’t see the grin on Death’s face either. The time was coming when Famine would meet his future and Death couldn’t wait for that moment.

His throat burning with thirst, Ekundayo stared up into the brilliant blue sky. He should move out from under the burning sun, but he couldn’t work up the strength to climb to his feet or anything like that. There was no water to be had in the rocky out cropping he’d taken refuge on.

The mine guards called out to each other as they searched for Ekundayo. They were actually moving farther away from where he hid. Not sure why, when the dogs should have been able to find him without any trouble. Maybe they hadn’t got the dogs out since water had been getting scarce for the past several days.

Why had he run away? What moment of madness had infected his brain, and convinced him stealing from the mine was a good thing to do? Ekundayo stuck his hand in his pocket and ran his fingers over the rough edges of the lump. Having worked at the mine since he was ten, Ekundayo recognised the value of the diamond hidden underneath the dirt and rock.

He should have turned it in with the rest of his ore, and taken the food he would have been given. Not that there was much. While the world thought the mines were run according to humane conditions, those who worked there could have told them differently. The miners worked seven days, twenty-four hours a day, for little pay and little food. Most of them were little more than slaves to the owners.

Ekundayo smiled, and his dried lips cracked, blood seeping through the wounds. Madness indeed. Maybe he could go back to the mining offices, and plead for his life, saying the heat and the lack of food had driven him into momentary insanity. Yet it wouldn’t matter. He would be executed as a thief if he returned there.

Should he try to get away? Run somewhere no one would know him, and try to sell the uncut diamond? That probably wouldn’t work because the mine owners would alert officials that one of their workers stole something from them. How did they know he took something? It wasn’t like they had a tracking system or anything like that.

Probably one of the other workers saw him pick up the diamond and stick it in his pocket. They were encouraged to tell on each other. All of the mines jealousy protected their product, and didn’t share their wealth, not even with those who dug the diamonds up. Ekundayo shook his head, closing his eyes as his vision blurred. Idiot. What had he been thinking?

The sound of movement faded away, and Ekundayo rolled over onto his stomach, peering through the boulders. No one was around. Maybe he could make it to the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe. Slipping into the other country might be difficult, but he could do it. Yet again he was crazy to think he could escape that way. The mines would talk to the authorities and they would be on the lookout for him.

He didn’t know how much time had gone by since he came to lie in the circle of boulders. At least two hours or so since the position of the sun moved in the sky. Sweat trickled down his face, dripping into the thirsty dirt beneath him. He needed to go and find some water, somewhere, because he was sweating it out more than he could replenish. Dehydration was a very real possibility outside the city. Hell, it was a possibility even inside the city limits.

Could the gods be mad at them? Had the miners and the men they work for offended them to the point where they had turned their faces away from their followers? Ekundayo knew he could be beaten for not believing in the Christian God, but all his life he had followed his grandmother’s teachings, and she taught of the old gods.

Ekundayo sighed, and coughed as dust coated his throat. Choking, he buried his face in his arm to muffle the noise. Whether the guards were still around or not, there could been other people around. He didn’t want to take the risk of being found by them either. He didn’t have enough strength left to fend them off if they chose to rob him.

When his fit ended, Ekundayo pushed himself to his feet, and staggered down from the rocks on to the trail. His feet dragged on the ground as he stumbled in the opposite direction as the mine guards. He would try to make it to the border, and see how his situation looked at that point.

At what point had he become a thief? He shook his head, hoping the spinning would stop at some point as he walked. When had he given up his integrity and turned into the very type of person he’d usually be disgusted by? His knees buckled and he fell, hitting the hard-packed dirt with a crack. He barely managed to catch himself with his hands before smacking his face on the ground.

He’d become one of those men because of the gnawing hunger in his belly, and the burning thirst in his throat. He chose to take something that wasn’t his because of all the things he would never be able to afford. Mostly he stole because of the empty hopeless eyes of the children in his village whose stomachs were bloated without enough food to eat.

Foolish and ambitious were words his grandmother often used to describe Ekundayo. He would own up to being foolish, but he never really considered himself ambitious. He simply wanted something better than what he had, though he never thought he’d steal for that.

Forcing himself back on his feet, Ekundayo shoved his hand in his pocket to reassure himself the diamond was still there. It hadn’t fallen out when he went down. He glanced up at the blazing sun, and licked his cracked lips. He really didn’t have a clear map in his head of where he was going. He’d never been outside of his village for any reason.

Ekundayo didn’t know how long he’d been walking, but slowly the chill of night began to cause him to shiver. The heat of the desert disappeared, and he shuddered, wrapping his arms around his waist. He should go find shelter, yet if he did, he would sleep. He knew he could do a lot of travelling during the night when it was cooler, and those searching for him would be less likely to be out. Of course, more dangerous creatures hunted in the night.

Lions and hyenas stalked their prey during the night, and he had nothing to defend himself with. Finding shelter until morning seemed like a wiser decision. Ekundayo wandered off the trail and through the brush, searching for a place where he would be safe for the night.

After finding a tree with several large branches creating almost a platform high off the ground, Ekundayo climbed up and curled up the best he could. His hands and feet were scraped and raw by the time he settled in for the night. He wished he had some water or food, yet knew there wouldn’t be any around for him.

In the morning, he would see if he could find something to drink. It had been almost a full day since he’d had water, and he swore his skin was drying from the inside out. All his muscles ached, and even his hair felt sore. He checked the diamond one more time, and allowed his eyes to drift shut. Hopefully, tomorrow would be easier.

The cries of the zebras woke Ekundayo up the next morning. He gathered his thoughts around him before he stretched, remembering where he’d fallen asleep the night before. He held onto the tree trunk and stood, staring around him to see if he could spot any water.

In the distance, early morning sunlight glinted off the clear glass-like surface of a watering hole. Zebras, gazelles, and antelope gathered around it, and it was the herds’ calls he heard. He placed the direction of the watering hole in his mind before carefully climbing down from the tree.

As he made his way to his destination, he kept a sharp out for Cape buffalo, elephants, and other creatures that called the savannahs their homes. On foot, he was vulnerable and could just as easily be killed by one of them, as by the men hunting him. Nothing stalked him, so he gained the oasis without incident.

Ekundayo hung back, waiting until the herds moved on. When there were no other animals approaching the watering place, he slipped out from the bush, and knelt by the bank. He scooped up the murky water and drank. He knew better than to drink too much. He would only throw it back up.

As he bent down to take another drink, he felt the crawling sensation of being watched skate across his back. He didn’t think there were any humans out there with him, so it could only mean one thing. One of the continent’s big animals stared at him. Was it preparing to attack or was it merely studying him to figure out what he was?

Straightening without rushing, Ekundayo began to make his way around the pool to where he saw the trail in the distance. He didn’t rush or run, knowing it would entice whatever stalked him to attack. Once his feet hit the ruts where vehicles, wagons, and people had wandered by, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. The feeling of being hunted disappeared, and he trudged on.

As Ekundayo walked or actually shuffled like a mindless zombie in the direction of freedom, he tried to figure out exactly what he was going to do with the diamond. Selling it on the black market was the best idea, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. With his luck, the man he tried to sell it to would be working for the diamond companies, and Ekundayo would find his ass being dragged back to the mine.

If he did sell it, how would he get the money back to the people in the village? It wasn’t like he could return because he was a wanted man, and always would be. Shaking his head almost caused him to fall over. Ekundayo stopped, and locked his knees to keep from tipping over. God, the lack of food and water had made him crazy. He looked in the direction he was headed before glancing back over his shoulder.

He pulled the diamond out of his pocket and held it in his hand, rolling it around between his fingers. It wouldn’t be the biggest gem he’d ever found, but when cut and set, it could bring him hundreds of dollars. The money could buy food, and bottled water for his village. The knowledge rolled around his brain, and was the most important thing he thought about every minute of his race to the border. Okay, so it was more of a plod toward the border. He barely had the energy to breath, much less run.