Four Horsemen: Chapter 4 Part 3 of 4 (Patreon)

“I agree, I think I trust you all, but an oath protects us all. The whole stronger than the individual,” Valter said.

“I miss a good old haggle,” Mya grumbled. “Valter let me negotiate for your clothes. I agree.” She didn’t wait for him to respond.

“I..,” Petor pressed his lips together, his face hardening. “I agree.”

Desari worked hard to keep the relief from her face, but Petor sensed it like some sixth sense.

“What do you need?” Valter asked.

“Some blood and some power,” Desari flipped through the pages in her book on oaths. “I can write the contract, I don’t have all the power I need to complete it, but by using alchemical reagents I can boost its power.” She pulled out a travelling table, kneeling on the floor she placed parchment and inks on the low table.

“The contract will be that we will not lie or attack one another. Simple but powerful.” She, withdrew her inked pen, writing as she talked, flowing and clear script equal parts beautiful and clean.

She cleared away her inks, wiping her pen clean, leaving the parchment on the table. “There, read it over and check it.”

Mya pulled out a monocole and studied the contract.

“No hidden bindings in the sides, nor woven into the fibers of the parchment. I’m almost offended,” Mya put the page down.

“What’s the monocole?” Petor asked.

“Lets me see through illusions and other trickery.”

“Looks good to me,” Valter raised his head from studying the wording.

“Fine to me,” Petor shrugged.

“Okay, I need you to all prick your fingers, hold a corner and infuse in some of your power,” Desari pricked her thumb and raised the contract, staining the corner underneath red. Petor used a blade on his belt and held onto the corner beside her. Mya grabbed opposite and Valter to Desari’s right.

“How do we put power into it?” Petor fidgeted.

Desari read the wording in her book she’d laid to the side, memorizing the words.

“Reach into yourself,” Desari’s eyes became unfocused. “Reach for that point you pulled from in the fight, draw your essence forth through your chest, down your arm and your hand,” Her veins danced with colors, green, red, blue and white mixing and spreading down her arm, elemental veins.

Valter’s eyes glowed as embers in a fireplace, rising in brightness, lines of magma traced through his veins into his hand, a shimmering grey fog coiled around Mya’s arm and flickered in her eyes, her eyes becoming milky.

Petor’s green flames ignited in his eyes, a snake of green flame, weaving down his arm.

She was so weak. Each of them strained to even draw this much essence.

Petor grunted as more pushed out of that place in his chest.

“You dare.” A voice called, three creatures of black shadow and green flames as tall as toddlers formed in the shadows of the room, ready to attack.

“Hold,” Petor reached out his spare hand, the three shadows lowered themselves, green eyes of flame flickering to the others.

“Master.” One acquiesced, lowering his head.

Magma spread across the parchment like cracks in the earth, from where Valter held the contract, mist left grey lines from Mya, Desari’s rainbow lines and Petor’s green flames joined the others in the middle of the parchment. The power mixed together, by blood, by soul, by contract. The page burned apart, a tether and oath a binding in four parts ran up Desari’s arm, and joined with the space where she’d drawn her essence, her power from.

It was like having a ball of inward spikes clamp over her heart, becoming part of it.

They grunted, holding their chests.

“Mother of a hornbacked whales uncles fucking arsehole drunk shitpan,” Mya cursed. “I need a fucking drink.”

She pulled out a bottle and took a swig, wiping her lips on the back of her sleeve as she passed it to Petor. “Shit a fucking anchor.”

“That was shitty,” Petor took a swig and handed it to Desari, letting out a hiss and looking at the three demons at the edges of the room.

Desari took a sip the burn working against the pain, passing it to Valter. “Soul oaths are, rough.” She admitted.

“Now, who are these lovely little murder urchins?” Mya rested her fists on her hips. “Aren’t you just too cute!”

Desari wouldn’t term the living flame and shadows as ‘cute’ nightmare fuel might be more accurate.

The one that talked smacked another’s hand as it started to raise it. The second looked hurt, but used to it.

“They’re demons,” Desari turned her gaze from them to Petor. “Bound to you.”

“Yeah,” He gestured to them, they melted into shadow, two disappearing, a third appearing on his shoulder.

“Huh? Wait, aren’t you supposed to be trying to be a paladin? I’m pretty sure having demons under your control would invalidate that,” Mya said.

Petor shrugged. “Who are you?”

“Ilizar, your bound and cloak.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“The master.” The demon bowed.

“Do you know why we came here?”

Ilizar cocked his head to the side. “I do not understand these things of the material plane.”

“Do you know what we were doing in this city?”

“I do not, I live to obey, to support you master.” He bowed again.

“How are you bound to me?” Petor asked.

“Your essence sustains us, as we grant you our power according to our contracts. Our binding came undone, we thought we would lose the master, but your soul emerged once again. Your essence is low now it can barely sustain us.”

Desari noticed the sweat on Petor’s forehead, the way his clothes stuck to him.

“You don’t know who we were before today?”

“These your companions for long time. Ilizar told not to harm them. Not understand more, much weaker.” The little shadow’s looked like he wanted to spit. “The Devil, he will know.”

“Devil?” Valter asked.

“Your boot master.”

“The ring,” Petor pulled off his boot and spotted the ring hidden in the bottom again.

“I sleep, conserve, call upon us if you need us master.”

The spear and armor demons disappeared into Petor’s chest, a growing tightness relaxing slightly.

Petor opened up the heel of his boot, and pulled out a ring.

“Broken spear, a burnt piece of paper, a sword and a playing card.”

Desari touched a carved hairpin she’d pulled from her ‘body’ and Mya pulled off her hat.

“I think,” Desari frowned, withdrawing it and studying it.

Mya looked into her hat.

“One creepy ass chest that looks like its spent the better part of several centuries at the bottom of the ocean, got some funds and contracts, lots of contracts. A playing card of midnight black, blood red tracing and a golden rune.”

“A blade, more magic books, a medallion of a scorpion, stealth armor for an assassin. Various stealth weapons,” Desari looked up from her hairpin. “And a card.”

Petor pulled out his.

The gold rune flared and the blood red rune brightened.

The golden rune turned into words scrawled over the card.

Petor read it twice before placing it on the travelling table.

[Unable to complete connection]

Summon me once your out of the city and away from prying eyes.

Each of them looked at one another, more questions than answers.

***