Page 139 of Pestilence

Stop. I try to say it, but all that comes out is a moan.

And then the voices are in my head, giving sound to my pain. It builds and builds in my ears and beneath my skin, burning me from the inside out.

I fall into the darkness again, and this time, it’s not so easy to claw my way awake.

I blink myeyes, taking in the muted light. It’s everywhere—above me, below me, to either side of me.

I touch my stomach, but it no longer hurts.I’mno longer hurt; there’s no blood, no broken skin, nothing.

“So this is the mortal my brother has fallen in love with.”

I squint in front of me, at the muted glow of light. From it, a shadow begins to appear, its outline blurry.

“Pestilence?” I call.

“Not quite.”

With each passing second, the shadow deepens, its form sharpening until I can make out the dark shape of a disfigured man.

Wait, notdisfigured, I think as I take in the lumps at his back.Winged.

Thanatos.

The Fourth Horseman.

He stares down at me, and that’s the first I realize that I’m lying on the ground—if you can call this insubstantial thing beneath my bodyground.

After a moment, the horseman reaches out a hand for me.

“Am I dead?” I ask, ignoring his hand.

“Momentarily.”

I’m … dead.

That should bother me—as should the frightening, winged horseman in front of me—but for whatever odd reason, I don’t mind the situation so much. Maybe it’s this place.

Thanatos’s hand is still extended, and reluctantly, I take it.

“I need to get back,” I say as he pulls me to my feet. “Pestilence needs me.”

“Does he now?” Death cocks his head, his black hair shifting, the waves framing his face like a funeral shroud.

He’s quite handsome, I realize. Just like his brother. Only Pestilence’s beauty is overwhelming; Death has a tragic, cutting face.

He still hasn’t released my hand.

“The last time I saw him, he needed no one.” Thanatos continues to study me. “Seems he’s … succumbed.”

No idea what that means.

“And what about you?” Death asks. “Do you need him?”

Like air to breathe.

“Yes.”

Death’s wings open wide, flapping a little, almost in agitation. “Your body doesn’t want you back, Sara Burns.”

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