The Four Horsemen 3 - Famine (11 page)

Famine’s voice rang in Ekundayo’s ears and he shook his head, not wanting to open his eyes to see he was dead.
“Open your eyes. You aren’t dead, and you’re not in Hell or Heaven for that matter.” Famine paused, and Ekundayo sensed Famine was glancing around. “Though I’m sure, to many, Botswana is Hell on Earth.”
Ekundayo took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He looked up to see Famine standing over him, a frown pulling the Horseman’s plump lips down at the edges. Once his mind had grasped the concept that he really was still alive, Ekundayo jumped to his feet and slammed his fist into Famine’s face.
Famine grimaced, but didn’t strike back. Was Famine’s non-reaction because he understood why Ekundayo was angry, or because he didn’t care how Ekundayo felt about things?
“You could have warned me,” Ekundayo accused him.
“What would I have told you? Hold on tight because my horse is going to basically throw us over the falls? Do you think you would have believed me or been willing to get on my mount to begin with?” Famine stared at him. “I know you don’t even completely believe me about the whole Horseman thing, but there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“It’s hard to accept the existence of a legend when there really isn’t any proof.” He gestured towards the pouch around Famine’s neck. “How can I be sure the salt in the bag caused the ground by the river to dry up?”
Even as he said it, Ekundayo knew he’d lied. Seeing the brown grass and the dirt die before his eyes had gone a long way to convincing him there was something to what Famine was saying.
“What happened?” He shot a quick look at the landscape around them. It appeared that Famine had got them back to the exact spot where he’d found Ekundayo two weeks ago. “How did we get here so fast?”
Famine met his gaze, and smiled. “It’s one of those powers Horsemen have.”
A rather loud thud sounded behind him, and Ekundayo turned to see Famine’s horse standing there, red eyes burning into him.
“Ah yes, it’s one of those amazing powers our horses seem to have,” Famine changed his statement with a roll of his eyes.
“How can they do that, though?” Ekundayo waved vaguely before continuing. “Travel through space like that?”
Famine shrugged. “I’ve never been able to figure it out, and they’re not saying. Of course, you do realise they’re creatures who aren’t mortal in any way. They were brought into being to help the Horsemen do their jobs. Without them, we’re unable to travel to all the places in the world we’re needed.”
“I’m not sure causing drought and famine is really needed,” Ekundayo commented.
“Not my problem. I’ve never cared whether I was needed or not. All I cared about was being forced into this job, and knowing there is no way I can get free of it.”
“How does that work? You said the Death I met isn’t the first one you met. Why have there been new ones in his position and no one new in yours?”
Why was he standing around talking to Famine? Shouldn’t he run in any direction away from the crazy man? Plus he should run to the border and go somewhere he could sell the diamond. Yet the longer he listened to Famine, the closer he was to becoming a true believer.
Famine shrugged. “I guess I never found the right person to help me get out. Maybe the others have. I never really asked too many questions. I figured I’d be doing this job forever. It could be Death works things out sooner.”
“But how do you stop being a Horseman?”
“Shouldn’t you be going somewhere? Like towards the border or something? I don’t think standing around chatting with me is going to help you get that diamond sold.”
Famine turned away from him, and Ekundayo realised Famine was done talking to him. He glanced back in the direction of the mines. To be honest, there wasn’t any reason why he should return there. The authorities would arrest him and probably end up executing him for stealing the diamond. It was obvious he had to go over the border into Zimbabwe and see if he could find a black market seller.
“You’re right. I thank you for taking care of me. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you and ended up causing issues on the island.” He reached out to touch Famine’s shoulder, but a snort from Famine’s horse warned him off. “I guess I won’t be seeing you again.”
“No. I learned my lesson—no helping mortals. You cause nothing but problems. If you’d learned from your mistakes, maybe I wouldn’t have to be a Horseman any more.” Famine tossed Ekundayo a canteen. “Here’s some water. It should be enough to get you to a village or place you can refill it.”
Ekundayo caught it. “Thank you.”
Famine nodded, and turned away from him. Ekundayo stepped back as Famine swung astride the black horse. He didn’t speak again when the stallion whirled around and trotted away. Ekundayo fought the need to cry out to Famine, to plead with the man to take him as well. Bowing his head, Ekundayo stared at the ground, not wanting to watch Famine ride off. Why did it feel like his entire world was crashing around his feet because Famine was leaving? He wasn’t in love with him, was he? It couldn’t be possible, because a person can’t fall in love that quickly, and he didn’t know anything about love.
A crack of thunder boomed, and he lifted his gaze to glance around. Famine was gone, as though he’d disappeared into thin air. Ekundayo searched the area. There wasn’t even a dust cloud marking where Famine might have gone. It was another example of the magic hiding inside Famine and his mount.
Ekundayo stuck his hand in his pocket and encountered the diamond. He pulled it out and studied it. Once it was polished and cut, it would fetch a good price. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the skills to do that, so he’d have to sell it in the rough and that would bring the price down.
He started walking in the direction of the border. After getting across, he’d head to Harare and see if he could find someone to take the diamond off his hands. He’d overheard a few of the other miners whispering about where to take stolen diamonds. Did Ekundayo have the courage to approach those people? They were just as dangerous as the authorities, but Ekundayo needed to deal with them if he wanted to sell the gem.
As he trudged along, Ekundayo thought about Famine and what the Horseman had told him. Could every bad thing happening in the world have a higher purpose? He’d never considered that before. If humans could manage to treat each other with respect, maybe the Horsemen wouldn’t be needed any more. Yet Famine had said they did stuff even when things were going well. There couldn’t be too much good or too much evil in the world. Everything in nature lived or died according to a delicate balance, and the Horsemen were there to preserve it.
How did Famine do his job? Ekundayo could only imagine how difficult it was for Famine to travel the world, or just Africa, spreading drought and starvation. There didn’t seem to be any way for Famine to leave his position. Ekundayo still didn’t quite understand how Famine had been chosen to become a Horseman.
Could it have been because Famine had been training to be a shaman? He’d already learned how to communicate with the Gods, and all of the Horsemen stuff certainly seemed as if touched by a higher power. Whether it was the Christian God or the older Gods, it didn’t matter. Famine had been trained to accept the word of the Gods as the truth, and, if he were ordered to do something by Death, he’d do it without question, assuming a higher power had given the original orders. That blind obedience might have held true once, but Ekundayo thought Famine might have started to question why he did what he did.
He took a small sip from his canteen. Famine had said there was enough to get him to somewhere he could refill it, but Ekundayo wasn’t going to risk running out before he hit a village or watering hole. He sent a silent thank you to Famine before forcing all thoughts of the Black Horseman into the back of his mind. Ekundayo had to come up with a plan for when he got to Harare. Setting up an appointment with an illegal diamond buyer wasn’t going to be easy.

Ekundayo’s stomach growled, but he ignored its demands. He didn’t have any money to buy dinner, and he didn’t want to leave the cafe where he was sitting. The contact he’d made had told him to wait outside the cafe for someone to approach him. They would take him to the buyer, and he would finally be able to get rid of the diamond in his pocket.

He glanced up as a boy stopped next to his chair. The child didn’t make eye contact with him.
“Follow me.”
The boy took off like a shot, and Ekundayo was hard pressed to keep him in sight as they wove through the crowds of the market. By the time they stopped in front of a rusted, falling down building, Ekundayo had lost all sense of direction and where he needed to head to find safety. The boy kicked the metal door twice before disappearing into the shadows of the alleys around the building.
Ekundayo gasped as the door cracked open, and a muscled arm snaked out, grabbing his shirt, and yanked him through the crack. He stumbled into the darkness, holding his hands out in front of him, not wanting to run into anything.
“Stand still.” A voice emerged from the darkness like crude oil from the earth, black and oozing.
Ekundayo froze, his skin crawling as hands ran over his body, patting and searching, though, unlike Famine’s touch, this was impersonal. Ekundayo decided they were searching to see if he had brought any weapons with him. He laughed silently. With no money, he couldn’t even afford to buy a butter knife to protect himself with.
“He’s clean.” Another voice, deeper and somehow more violent, came out of the darkness.
His vision had adjusted to the faint light coming through broken windows, and he counted five men standing around him. One of them had to be the person he was supposed to be meeting with, while the others were probably bodyguards. Ekundayo assumed they were armed.
“Did you bring the diamond?”
“Yes.” He didn’t move to pull it from his pocket.
“Let me see it, and we’ll discuss how much I’ll be paying you for it.” The oily voice slid over Ekundayo like dirty water, making him wish for a shower and soap.
All of a sudden, Ekundayo wanted to leave. Every instinct in his body yelled for him to get out of there while he still could. Gods, when had he got so stupid? There wasn’t any doubt in his heart that he was going to die at some point today. At least he wasn’t going to die a virgin. His thoughts skittered over to Famine. What was the Horseman doing? Did he ever think of Ekundayo? Or had Ekundayo been a diversion from his usual wanderings?
One of the bigger shadows grabbed his arm and shook him. “The boss said to give him the diamond.”
Ekundayo swallowed, and the sound echoed through the cavernous room. He swore they could hear his heart pounding in his chest. His hand shook as he reached up to tug the pouch out from under his shirt. Ekundayo should’ve dumped the diamond in the desert and just run away to a different city. He might have been able to find a job that wouldn’t have killed him.
“Here you go.”
He tossed it at the main man’s feet, and steeled himself for the gunshot. The man leant down, and snatched up the bag. After opening it, he shook the diamond out into his palm. Ekundayo watched as he held it out in the dim light, and turned it back and forth, studying it.
“It’ll do.” The man tucked it away, and stuffed it in his pocket. “Get rid of him.”
As two sets of hands gripped his arms to keep him from running, Ekundayo bit his lip. He wasn’t going to beg for his life or protest his treatment. He should have known something like this would happen. He was one man against many, and he’d taken a foolish risk by trying to sell the diamond on the black market.
The first fist hit him in the stomach, driving all the air out of his lungs, and Ekundayo tried to double over. He choked and gasped. The second punch landed along the side of his head, and darkness descended. Ekundayo didn’t even get a chance to reflect on his life before it was over.

Famine watched the last grain of salt fall to the dirt, and he turned away before anything happened. He didn’t want to watch the ground shrink and crack as all the moisture evaporated from it. He walked off before he could see the plants shrivel up and die.

He’d never liked his job, but he did it without thought. Yet, for some reason, right now he couldn’t help but think of all the people who were going to be affected by the drought, and whether Ekundayo knew them. Every thought in his head went back to Ekundayo.

Was the mortal all right? Had he found someone new to make him happy or have sex with him? Had he chosen to sell the diamond? Or had he thrown it away, and tried to find another way to get free of his life?

Horseman standing next to his horse. He walked up to them.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He looked away from Death’s knowing gaze
to stare off into the distance.
“And I’m the tooth fairy.”
Famine shot Death a glance. “Is there a tooth fairy? I didn’t know it was real.” “Shut up. Are you moping because your mortal isn’t around?” Death sounded
surprised.
“No.” Famine winced because even he could tell he didn’t mean it.
“Yes, you are. I need you focused on your job, not thinking about some mortal you can’t
have. Did you see what he did to that island you love?”
Famine tugged on his braids. “I know, but it’s not really his fault. I never told him
about the salt in my medicine bag. How was he supposed to know what damage he could
cause?”
Death snorted, but didn’t reply to Famine’s question. “Just get your head out of your
ass, Famine. It’s over, and you have to move on. There’s no point in dwelling on it.” Famine knew Death was right, but he couldn’t get the memories of making love to
Ekundayo out of his head. He doubted he would ever forget Ekundayo and how the mortal
made him feel.
“I need you to travel to southern China, where the drought needs to get worse.” “How much worse can it get?” Famine whirled to look at Death. “Seriously? How bad
does it have to get before I can stop doing this? How many animals and people have to die
before I can quit?”
He wanted to rip the bag from around his neck, and throw it as far away as possible. He
even lifted his hand to do so, but Death reached out, and grabbed his hand. Famine waited to
hear the lecture about there always having to be four Horsemen; that there would never be
an end to his job.
Suddenly, Death let go of Famine’s hand and stepped back. The Pale Rider whistled,
and his ash grey horse appeared beside him. Death swung astride the stallion before looking
down at Famine.
“Just do what you were chosen for. You can argue and rail against Fate all you want,
but it’s not ever going to change. I have to go. Remember you need to get to China.” With the order said, Death nudged his stallion, and they swung away, taking two
strides before disappearing. No boom or flash of light. Nothing so dramatic for Death.
Famine sighed, and mounted his own horse.
“I guess we’re going to China.”
Without any encouragement, Famine’s stallion leapt into the air, and they dissolved.