The smell of food awakens me from a familiar dream, where the demon skull at the base of Chaoseater becomes animated and speaks to me of its torture. Of eternal, all-consuming hunger. “Let me partake in your victory,” it said this time. “Let me taste Ravaiim blood!” Then it was no longer a demon skull, but Strife’s mask, and it too spoke of dark cravings, but they were of a different kind.
Hearing me stir, Death beckons me to join him by the fire. The meat is lean and bland, but delightfully juicy and I eat in focused silence until there is no more.
“Shall I put on the other half?” he asks.
In place of an answer, I unbuckle my belt so I can breathe.
Death looks at my belly, bulging like that of a pregnant woman, and laughs. If he has eaten at all, he must have done it while I slept. “You look like yourself again.”
“What, fat?”
He laughs some more, then hops on his feet and offers a hand. “Come on. Let us rest till the heat lets up.”
Ruin charges after the long-tailed, bird-like lizard twice his size, setting the ground under us on fire, and I laugh, savoring the thrill of the hunt. Scattered trees fly past us, blurred by the speed, as the open plains reluctantly give in to the woods. The treeline rushes closer. Our prey knows the horses won’t be able to pursue it under the canopy. Its survival instincts are honed by predators both agile and stalwart that stalk the steppes, relying on quickness. But few creatures, on this world or others, can outrun a spectral steed.
With the corner of my eye, I see Death on approach from the right, intent on flanking the beast before it reaches the trees. I spur Ruin on, though he needs no encouragement. It’s always a competition, with Despair and Rampage. Only Mayhem he is content to follow.
The lizard jumps over some obstacle hidden in the grasses, makes a poor landing, and in seconds, it’s within my reach. I lean out of the saddle to clip its hind leg with Chaoseater—
After the events of The Abomination Vault, painful revelations drive a wedge between War and Death just as their fledgling bond was starting to deepen.
Made this cover myself!
Notes:
This story takes place immediately after the ending of The Abomination Vault (the official Darksiders novel by A. Marmell). If you have not read it and don’t want to be exposed to spoilers, best stop reading now. For those who intend to read on, here’s a summary of the book, with an emphasis on the events that figure the most prominently in this story.
Death’s Blessing belongs to the same verse as my previous works. Not Alone, which establishes War and Strife as a couple, happens at the time of Genesis, and Gone Fishing, which establishes Strife as the temporary leader of the Horsemen in Death’s absence, soon after – so about 500 years prior to this. Obviously, I recommend reading these, but it’s not necessary for understanding this story.
The Abomination Vault is the official Darksiders novel written by A. Marmell. My newest Darksiders fanfiction story, Death’s Blessing, picks up immediately after it and leans quite heavily on some details of its plot, so I made this summary to aid the readers who either never read the novel or don’t remember it well. Beware of spoilers!
