Michael Spradlin - Blood Riders

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Hollister drew his Colt and rolled the cylinder along the sleeve of his duster. Each chamber held a round.

“For what?”

“What I said earlier.”

He holstered the Colt. Jonas was jumpy as a cat, wishing the goddamn Archaics would pour out of the mine right now so he could start gunning them down.

She came to him and took his hands. “For hundreds of years we have avoided humans because we considered them enemies, and most of my people believed one day that our civilizations would meet and clash. With so few Archaics and so many humans, my people believed we would die. All of us. The Old Ones chose me to be the leader of my people, to be the one to see us through this. They believe I possess the skills to convince humans that we only wish to be left in peace-that we would continue to live as we have for centuries, without killing or feeding on humans. As long as we can stay in our homeland, left alone, we would remain peaceful. The killing we were responsible for centuries ago would be over. It is over.”

She stopped, unsure of herself. As if she had lost her train of thought. Finally she figured out what she wished to say.

“Malachi may be the death of my people. He is vain, and he is cunning, but most of all he is evil. And if I do not kill him first, I promise you this. He will not murder hundreds but thousands of humans before he is stopped. If he survives and continues on this path, there will be no hope for peace between our peoples.” She let go of his hands and paced back and forth in the shed a few times.

“Have you heard of dinosaurs, Jonas?” she asked.

“Yes, I read about them at the Point. Giant reptiles, lived millions of years ago, they figure.”

“Exactly, they lived for millions of years and then they all died. Extinction, they call it. Many species of creatures gone, as if they had never existed. This is what will happen to us. It is what will happen to me, if I do not stop him,” she said.

“I understand,” Hollister said.

“Do you? I do not mean to be curt, but I do not think you do. There is greatness in you, Jonas Hollister. I sensed it when I first saw you face Malachi on the plains. Malachi saw it too. He drew back from you. Physically, he is your superior in almost every way, but you are brave and you are fearless, and you frightened him, if only for an instant. But what is most important about you, what sets you apart is, you have a sense of compassion that other men lack. Your strength is not just your courage or your abillity to shoot a gun, or the ‘tactics’ you study at this place you’ve called the ‘Point.’ You know what is right and what is not, when to fight and when to stand down. You make instant judgments about men. And you are never wrong. Take Chee as an example. You told me you hardly knew him in prison, but then you saw him fight these men and you judged him. You were right about him. Now he follows you and will continue to follow you without question, forever. You have shown him these same qualities in you that I just spoke of and he will now ride with you through the gates of hell. He trusts you with his life.

“In Absolution you were bold and daring. So much so, that you could have gotten everyone killed, but he followed your orders without hesitation because he trusts you. And from the moment you took him from the prison he will never not trust you.”

Hollister didn’t know what to say. He’d heard his commanders at the Point and generals he’d served under in the war say he was a natural born leader, but he didn’t believe there was any such thing. Apparently, Shaniah thought otherwise.

He had to make her understand something. They were running out of time. “The reason I said what I said, about you covering our flank

… it’s only because… I… I don’t want you to die, Shaniah. You’ve taken something from me, and I don’t know what it is

… but there is a piece of me that belongs to you now and… I don’t want…” He couldn’t get the words out. “I’m no good with words. I know it sounds impossible, foolish even, but it’s how I feel and it makes no sense… but… isn’t that what love is?”

“I love you too, Jonas,” she said. “And you are much better with words than you think.”

She kissed him then. It was a kiss that comes only a few times in your life. When you know you have found the one. Time stops. The world becomes clean and bright. It was that type of kiss. It bonded them forever from that moment. If Jonas believed in God he would have said, “God help me, but I love her so.” But he didn’t believe in God anymore: he just knew that whatever had happened between them over these past few days-he knew he loved her. How could he love her? How could they be together? She wasn’t even a human, not in any way that made sense. It would be like a pirate loving a mermaid. And he didn’t believe in mermaids but he damn sure believed in her.

“I… no one has ever said that to me before,” he said. “And what I told you yesterday, in the valley. I’m with you all the way, I will kill Malachi with my bare hands if it means saving you, because I…

But before he could finish the first of the Archaics emerged from the mine.

It was on.

One came out first. Then three more, then they straggled out in groups. Surprisingly to Jonas, they looked almost like humans waking from a deep sleep. Rubbing their eyes and stretching, as more and more of them emerged.

“They look like they’ve been sleeping. You said that’s good, right?” he asked.

“Yes. Malachi has chosen this place because it is very similar to our homeland. Mountainous. Largely deserted. But he has gone through the surrounding territory, found enough humans, and started raising his army.

“As a result there are few if any humans left nearby to feed on. And what humans they have found have been given to Malachi. Feeding on Huma Sangra makes an Archaic much stronger.”

The Archaics continued to pour out of the mine, more than a hundred so far.

“He’s been feeding,” Hollister said. “But his army hasn’t. At least not as much. So that makes them weaker.”

“Yes, but do not be fooled or careless. Even without Huma Sangra, they are much stronger, faster, more vicious than humans. They likely have been feeding on animals from the woods and plains nearby. Just as I have. They will still be formidable. And Malachi…”

“What? What about him?” Hollister said.

“He will be the strongest of all of them. You must leave him to me,” she said.

“But you haven’t had human blood either, have you?”

“No, it is forbidden by the Old Ones, and I have kept my vow. But they have also prepared me. Do not worry, Jonas. Malachi is strong. But so am I.” She smiled.

He tried not to worry, but it didn’t work. All he could see was Malachi as he had seen him on the plains so many years ago, the bullets bouncing off him like pebbles. Being thrown on the ground like a rag doll. Sitting on Hollister’s chest, Malachi’s fists pounding on his face like anvils dropped on his head. Only he saw Shaniah being beaten this time and the thought terrified him.

“What are you going to do?” he asked. It was all he could think of to say.

“I need you to open fire when Malachi appears. The wind is with us. They will not smell us yet. Pray the wind does not shift. Concentrate on the Archaics. You are unlikely to hit him anyway. He will be too quick for most of your weapons. I will focus on him,” she said.

“What if you don’t find him?” Hollister said.

“Then he will find me,” Shaniah said. “You see, Jonas, he has been waiting for this moment ever since he escaped our homeland. He will not let it pass.”