I move through it as I have a hundred houses before. I notice some peeling wallpaper, a broken television, a few ripped children’s books, and some glow-in-the-dark stars that must’ve once been on the ceiling but now lie scattered on the ground.
I pause and really take it all in. A quarter of a century has gone by since this house was affected by the horsemen’s arrival. The child who read those books or stared up at those stars is now an adult—if, in fact, they are still alive. An entire generation—my generation—grew up with our lives upended. And the next generation might not grow up at all.
I hear Death’s footsteps from down the hall.
“I don’t want to stay here.” My voice comes out like a croak.
He pauses in the bedroom’s doorway. “Alright, kismet.”
It’s as simple as that. Five minutes later we are back on Thanatos’s horse.
Behind us, the house collapses. It feels like an old, worn-out dream finally crumbling for good—something sad but long overdue.
I force my mind from the family that once lived there. I have too many ghosts that haunt me already.
I really don’t need any more.
I’ve heard that humans can get used to just about any situation. I don’t know if that’s true, but I have gotten used to this way of life—traveling, then camping, then traveling some more.
I’ve even gotten used to Death’s and my … relationship.
“Tell me another secret,” I say, leaning back on the blankets that cover the ground. A plate of food and wine sits off to the side, and around us the skeletons and their wagons have circled our campsite.
Thanatos lays on his side, wearing only his pants. His tattoos illuminate all the sharp planes of his face.
“Hmm …” He’s been trailing his fingers over my features, but now his hand moves to the buttons of my shirt. “I won’t tell you a secret,” he says, “but I will show you one.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about.
Thanatos unbuttons my shirt then and slides it off my arms. Then he removes my bra. Then my pants—then his.
A laugh slips out. “What are you doing?” I ask. There is nothing about this that is much of a secret between us anymore.
Death finishes undressing me, then pulls me into his arms. He wraps my legs up around his waist, locking us in this intimate embrace.
“You’ve shown me how humans have sex,” he says, lifting me as he rises off the bed. His black wings spread wide behind him. “Now it’s time I show you how angels do it.”
No sooner has he spoken than he leaps into the air. His wings beat at his back, each powerful stroke bringing us higher and higher into the chilly night sky.
I cling to Thanatos, my arms wrapped around his neck and my cheek pressed to his. The horseman’s dark hair tickles my skin. It doesn’t matter that Death has flown with me in his arms before, my fear still rises. The earth is a long way down.
“Relax,” he breathes, “I’ve got you.”
I try to, I really do, but then the heavens rumble around us as a storm rolls in, and I tighten my grip.
“Lazarus, I’ve got you,” he says, running a hand up and down my back. “I swear it.”
Reluctantly, I loosen my grip on him. I manage to even pull my face away when the sky flashes. For a moment, that skull superimposes itself over Thanatos’s features. Then it’s gone.
“Your face …” I trail off. I’ve seen this several times before, but it never gets less unsettling.
“Life and death are lovers, kismet,” he whispers, shifting my hips to align us. “We are lovers. It has always been this way. It will always be this way.”
With that, Thanatos drives into me. A gasp slips out as I grip him harder. There’s nothing to hold onto but Death himself, and it’s as terrifying as it is exhilarating.
His cock stretches me, and has anything ever felt so good?
“I want to hear your moans, kismet,” he breathes against my ear.
When I don’t immediately reply, his lips drop to one of my breasts. He kisses it hard, his teeth grazing against my nipple.
Now I do moan, shifting my legs a little to better accommodate him. He drives into me again and again while, at his back, his wings pound against the wind. He feverishly guides his cock in and out, in and out.
“Thanatos.” I moan his name.
“There is nothing better than being buried in your tight warmth,” he says. He kisses the underside of my jaw. “I want to fill you up with me and make sure you never forget that I was here.”