The Four Horsemen_Tricked Read online

  Table of Contents

  A Note

  The Four Horsemen: Tricked

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  The Four Horsemen Series

  Other Books By LJ Swallow

  Books by Lisa Swallow

  About the Author

  The Four Horsemen: Tricked

  A Halloween Story

  L J Swallow

  Copyright © 2017 by L J Swallow

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  A Note

  The Four Horsemen: Tricked

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  The Four Horsemen Series

  Other Books By LJ Swallow

  Books by Lisa Swallow

  About the Author

  A Note

  The Four Horsemen: Tricked is a SHORT STORY of approximately 14,000 words set in The Four Horsemen series world.

  The book has been written as a BONUS for series readers and is not part of the ongoing storyline.

  Tricked will be available for a LIMITED TIME.

  The Four Horsemen is a paranormal REVERSE HAREM series.

  The first book The Four Horsemen: Legacy is available for 99c.

  This book is also written in British English and contains British spelling, grammar and idiom. This may appear incorrect to some readers when compared to US English books.

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  The Four Horsemen: Tricked

  This Halloween the Four Horsemen meet their greatest challenge yet.

  Supervising a children’s Halloween party.

  Everybody knows when the fae queen asks the Horsemen for a favour, there is no way to say no. So when Portia requests they supervise her young daughter’s Halloween party, the guys and Vee are forced to keep their peace with the fae.

  They face many challenges: what to wear, how to avoid party games, teen fae drama... and something deadlier.

  In the town filled with family celebrations and trick or treat, not everybody is safe. Something sinister lurks nearby, and Halloween provides the perfect opportunity to strike.

  Can the Four and Vee help? Or will they be tricked too?

  1

  VEE

  I walk into the room and collide with a zombie.

  “Holy crap, that's realistic!” I say and reach out to touch Joss's face. “Or did you fight with Ewan, and he infected you with an unfortunate skin condition?”

  Joss' pale painted mouth pulls into a grin, and he pokes at the latex on his face. “Damn, you recognised me.”

  “Well, I have seen you in the mornings, Joss. You don't look much different.” I laugh as he gasps in mock disgust and slaps my ass.

  “You look...” Joss trails off then steps back and nods in my direction. “What are you wearing?”

  I brush the skirts on the black and red dress, where the chiffon petticoat reaches my knees. Joss trails his gaze from my heavily made-up face to where my breasts swell above the laced black bodice adorned with red hearts.

  “I'm the Queen of Hearts.” He blinks. “Alice in Wonderland?”

  “You have a lot of this on show.” Joss gestures at his chest. “We have a job to do tonight, and that's going to be bloody distracting.”

  I debated whether to buy the costume, unsure if the guys would understand the irony, but I had to choose something I'd be less recognisable wearing. The red wig and heavy black and red makeup should also help distract partygoers from the real me. Creating my outfit wasn't on my agenda, and I found this little last-minute choice at the shops. As soon as I saw this costume, I had to buy it. Not only because I'm queen of a certain number of hearts, but because I fell down a rabbit hole as strange as Alice's.

  I look down at the hearts sewn into the dress top. “A lot of hearts on show?” I ask and pull an innocent face.

  “Yeah, that's totally what I meant.” He shakes his head and continues to study me, and I self-consciously pull at the stripy black and white knee socks. “You don't look very...you.”

  “Mission accomplished,” I say and grin.

  Joss's costume disguises his face, and the contact lenses change his distinctive green eyes to yellow. With his ripped clothes and peeling latex wounds, Joss is every inch a zombie. I hope he doesn't scare the kids.

  “I can't believe I'm on fucking babysitting duties,” grumbles Xander as he steps into the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a dark grey shirt.

  “Vee, do you—” He stalls as he takes in my appearance. His eyes darken as he flicks a quicker look than Joss’s, but I heat beneath his scrutiny. Joss joked, but Xander's intensity worries me. Was this dress a bad idea?

  “Want a drink anybody?” he continues and switches his attention to the fridge.

  “What are you supposed to be dressed as?” I ask. “You don't look any different.”

  “I'm one of the Four Horsemen,” he says with snark. When I pull a face, he adds, “I haven't changed yet.”

  “We need to be at Portia's by six pm,” Joss reminds him. “It's five.”

  “There's not enough beer in the world for this,” Xander mutters and crosses to the fridge. “Joss? Beer?”

  “I'll ruin my make-up.” He puckers his pale-painted mouth. “Oh, okay, you twisted my arm.”

  I decline. He tosses a bottle to Joss, and they crack open a couple of beers. Joss sits on the table, his tattered trousers ripping further.

  Babysitting duties. I smile to myself at Xander's complaint, but his constant need to keep Portia onside means she hands him tasks like this. If he refuses, she moves onto jokes about cementing their unity by taking him to bed instead. If he didn't show how much Portia's political power bothered him, she'd use it on him less. Because Xander can't tell if she's joking, he complies with the lesser requests.

  Such as supervising her five-year-old daughter's Halloween party.

  “I bought you a costume, Xander.”

  Joss points at a white bag lying across the kitchen table. “I knew you wouldn't bother, so I decided to help out.”

  Xander swigs from his bottle before setting it down and peering into the bag. His brows tug together as he grabs the bottom and tips the contents on the table. I burst into laughter before I can stop myself, and Xander holds up a pair of pink fairy wings.

  “There's a wand too.” Joss takes hold and waves. The plastic stick chimes a magical sound. “You could cast a spell on Portia.”

  I wait for Xander to retort, but he fights a smile as he shoves the wings at Joss. “Not my style.”

  “Aww, so does that mean you won't wear the pink tutu either?”

  Joss winks at me when Xander isn't looking, and I mouth 'don't'.

  “No. As I said, I have something of my own picked out,” he retorts.

  I take the wand from Joss. “I'll take this. Kailey will like to play with it.”

  Ewan wanders in, and I'm impressed he made as much effort as Joss. He's dressed as Frankenstein in a dark suit and green make-up, and his bulk adds an extra layer of reality. Is this
a plan by the guys? Scare the kids and need to leave?

  I ruffle his hair. “Your scruffiness came in handy.”

  Ewan repeats the other guy's silent appraisal of my costume. “Fuck, you look hot Vee.”

  “Don't hide what you think, huh, Ewan?” says Xander with a laugh.

  Ewan's black lips spread into a grin. “Couldn't help myself.”

  “Is Heath almost ready?” asks Joss.

  “Dunno. An evening with shrieking, sugar-fuelled kids. Fun. Fun.” Ewan takes a beer too. “Here's a plan. I wait outside Portia's house, in case anybody approaches, and you can keep an eye on events inside.”

  Xander snorts. “No way. I’ll wait outside; I’m not supervising the brats.”

  “Xander!” I hit his hand with the wand, and it tinkles, the star on the end flashes as it lands on him. He scowls and rubs his hand. “Don't call her a brat. Kailey is a nice kid.”

  He drains his bottle and blows air into his cheeks. “Compared to her sister. Let's get this over with. I'll change now.”

  I bite my lip in amusement as he walks towards the stairs. I swear the guys would rather spend a night hunting monsters than the horrific prospect of a room filled with children.

  2

  VEE

  Ghosts and vampires roam the streets amongst the neat lawns adorned with plastic gravestones and skeletons dangling from fences. Families pass along the street and the air is filled with chatter and laughter. Some parents’ costumes are as impressive as their kids. A woman dressed as Catgirl holds a tiny demon's hand as he trots alongside holding the pumpkin-shaped plastic bowl and a huge smile. Witches and ghosts are joined by superheroes and villains and a plethora of princesses as family groups wander the street.

  I rub my arms, regretting my costume decision and follow the zombie and Frankenstein towards Portia's house. Heath's werewolf costume includes furry arms and a frighteningly realistic werewolf mask complete with hair. They are definitely aiming at scaring.

  Xander wears a black dress suit and white shirt. He topped his costume off with a cape, and a white mask covering half his face, and claims he's the Phantom of the Opera. Total cop out in my opinion, although there’s something sexy and mysterious about his costume that heightens Xander’s usual overwhelming presence. Certainly a lot sexier than the other guys’ outfits.

  Perfectly arranged and colour co-ordinated decorations hang outside Portia's house but are restricted to pumpkins, cobwebs and the childish versions of ghosts that look like bedsheets. There're no demons or vampires represented at this home.

  The loud music and shrieking inside causes more grimaces and muttering from the guys. I pat Heath's head. “Good doggy.”

  Ewan splutters with laughter.

  “We didn't need to dress up,” Heath says, voice muffled behind the latex mask. “We're the Four Horsemen, for fuck's sake.”

  Joss rings the doorbell, which has been changed to sound like an evil laugh to fit the occasion. “Yeah, well Death's easy to dress up as. Just buy a scythe. What the hell does Famine look like?”

  “A skeleton?” I suggest.

  “You should've been the zombie,” says Xander and points at Ewan.

  “And you could've been a warrior. We completely missed the opportunity,” I say.

  “Yeah but that goes against keeping a low profile, doesn't it?” replies Xander.

  Heath wraps a furry arm around my waist and attempts to kiss my head, forgetting his mask is in the way. “Your costume is freaking amazing, Vee.”

  “So you all keep telling me.”

  The other three guys fail to hide their careful examination. Again. I don't think they're looking at the quality.

  A girl in her late teens, dressed as Wonder Woman answers the door. She barely registers me as she stares open-mouthed at the guys.

  “We were invited,” says Joss with a smile and takes the girl's arm to move her to one side.

  “Teens are here as well?” mumbles Heath. “Why can't they supervise?”

  “Hello!” A little blonde girl, dressed as a fairy in a pink chiffon and tulle dress with rainbow wings, rushes towards us, eyes shining to match the glowing wand which she waves in the air. A familiar chime sounds.

  “Told you, Xander, you should've brought your wand,” says Joss with a snicker.

  “Trick or treat!” she enthuses.

  “Hello, Kailey.” When we've visited Portia's home since the night of the attack, I haven't seen Kailey. Each time, Portia told us Kailey was with friends, or at school activities. How difficult is it to balance living in both the fae and human worlds? Unlike her sister, Elyssia, Kailey is half-human. Does Portia parent her half-human daughter differently? The conflict she has with teen Elyssia is bad enough; perhaps she wants to avoid that with her younger daughter.

  A woman in her mid-twenties appears and rests a hand on the little girl's bare shoulder. “Jamie's mum, these are the Pony Boys!” exclaims Kailey as she looks up at her.

  I bet the Horsemen are delighted Portia's nickname for them continues across the generations.

  “I'm Ellen,” she says and receives a nod in response. She plainly has no clue who the four men, crowded into the small hallway, are.

  “Has Portia left yet?” Heath asks Ellen.

  “Yes. She had to visit family in London at the last minute. There's a family crisis, but she didn't say what.”

  That's not true. Portia never intended to be here—she asked the boys a week ago. Portia's reluctance to take part in the human tradition led her to ask the boys to keep an eye on her daughters, paranoid that someone may use Halloween as an opportunity for disguised enemies to approach her house. The issue here is this isn't an overreaction; the possibility is real. Elyssia has been instructed to stay and help too, but Portia doesn't trust her supervision. Portia's enlisted help from other mothers but believes the Horsemen are needed.

  Kailey strokes Heath's furry arm. “You look funny.”

  “So do you,” he says.

  She switches her attention. “Will you play some games with me, Xander?”

  Xander's mask partially hides his shocked look at her singling him out. “Uh. No. Joss likes silly games.” He gives Joss a light shove.

  Kailey's voice takes on a tone to match Portia's. “My mum says you will look after me. So you have to play a game.”

  The girl takes Joss's painted pale hand and pulls him toward the next room; Joss looks back and pulls a face.

  “Let's join the poor guy,” I say and step after them.

  “Nope,” mutters Xander, backing up. “I'm out of here. I'll patrol for real vampires and werewolves?”

  “You don't need to,” I whisper. “Real vampires and werewolves don't attack. Or that's what you told me.”

  Joss and Xander glance at each other with their bloody annoying 'should we say something' look.

  I make a mental note to ask the guys to elaborate as soon as there's a quiet moment, although I'm unsure I want them to.

  “You have to endure this too, Xander,” replies Ewan. “Move.”

  We walk into the room Joss and Kailey entered. The huge table we dined at with Portia and her advisers has been removed along with the chairs. Cheap Halloween decorations cover the expensively furnished room. Black and orange balloons intermingle with bat garlands and spiders on webs, and a banner printed 'Trick or Treat' stretches across a smaller table covered in party food. A skeleton is propped up on a chair in front of a black cauldron filled with sugary treats.

  Boys with faces in frightening masks, or with horror makeup, chase screeching and giggling girls around the room. A small group of mothers stand nearby chatting and drinking blood coloured drinks. One or two have dressed in sexy witch or vampire costumes, not unlike mine, and watch with smiles, but most look bored.

  Unsurprisingly, nudges and whispers happen when we walk into the room. And, as usual, the guys are sized up, and curious looks hit me. Heath rests his masked chin on my shoulder. “Okay?”

  “I'm fine. I lik
e Halloween.”

  Or I did until I discovered how much horror lives in reality.

  “You do?” asks Ewan in surprise.

  “It's fun seeing how excited kids get,” I say to him beside me. “When I was a kid, I—”

  Ewan turns his head away, unable to meet my eyes as the reality of my words hits. When I thought I was a kid. I swallow. The memories and emotion at the thought are why I don't want to be human. Why won't Joss help remove that part of me?

  “Oh well!” I say in a light tone. “Kailey, show me your favourite game.”

  3

  EWAN

  I wander into the kitchen, hoping for quiet away from the chaos in the dining room. Five minutes here and my head hurts already. I swear Portia asked this as one of her stupid loyalty tests. We spend Halloween patrolling each year; this is a popular time for the paranormal creatures' tricks and sometimes deaths. The worst culprits are the younger vamps and lower rank demons who can glamour themselves. The vamps cause us constant headaches, especially once they reach the point they need to find lifetime donors. And what better place to start than starry-eyed girls on the day they love sexy vampires more than usual?

  A couple of girls stand at the kitchen counter beside a large white bowl that smokes with dry ice. They ladle a green drink into clear plastic cups and glance up as I walk in. One of them wears a Harlequin costume, but it's obvious who she is.

  “Hey, Ewan,” she says in a low voice and gives me her inappropriate lip-biting and coy smile.

  “Elyssia.”