Page 1 of Hers To Keep

Part One

Revelation

Golden child,

Lion boy;

Tell me what it’s like to conquer.

Fearless child,

Broken boy;

Tell me what it’s like to burn.

Oh darling, even Rome fell // p.s.

Prologue

ACE

From the early age of seven, merely a boy amongst the most infamous of men, I’ve known what was to be of my life. I knew who and what I’d become, and it was exactly what I wanted - power, influence, privilege, prestige, amongst other glorious things. The most important of them all was purpose.

I had a purpose.

To rid our town of the evil that threatens to destroy the empire my family had long built. A mantra I recited day in and day out, to remind myself and those around me of the importance of my purpose. Evil lurks within the walls of my home, my city. What I’d later come to find, is the most destructive of forces, lives within me. Those I thought I was protecting would turn out to be the very forces that would destroy me.

Though I would be the one to destroy her.

My uncle tells me I must remember my place in all of this, what I was born for. To wash away the sins of those who poison ourworld. To rid our town of the evil that threatens to consume it. To cleanse our empire from sinful forces on the outside who want to control it, or worse, destroy it.

Though that’s not what I value anymore, if I ever truly did.

I still don’t understand how I was so blind before. How I didn’t realize that he who turned me into this fiend, into what I am, is the one who needed to be destroyed. He’s the villain, a ruthless monster, but he’s also a con, the most cunning of devils who fools us with his trickery.

I was made into a weapon to use against his enemies. He created the perfect warrior he so desperately needed - loyal, cruel, obedient, and he knows I’ll never turn on him. Before, it was because I looked up to him, and I so desperately wanted to be just like him. I blindly obeyed his orders, no questions asked. I was foolish to think he was all-knowing. But now he knows for sure that I’ll never betray him. That I’ll never try to overthrow him, to bring him down. He knows this because of her and the unfamiliar, but the carnal feelings she stirs inside me.

But it’s a dangerous thing for her to be a part of this world, for her to be so deeply involved, for her to be by my side. If anything were to happen to her, it would destroy me.

And he’s counting on that.

Nevertheless, I’m a selfish bastard, and I have no intention of setting her free.

The Four Horsemen are who he needed, so that’s exactly who we became. The fearless riders of the apocalypse he was about to unleash on his enemies.

Our job was always a simple one.

Loyalty. Obedience. Silence.

Those three simple words were the ideals instilled into every part of our being, embedded deep in our minds, and bound to the very core of our dark souls. A code we faithfully lived by. When we turned sixteen, they finally showed us what they’d groomed us for.

My uncle, and my best friend’s father, Stephan Silver, are at thefront of a perilous drug empire. And they’ve relentlessly, and without shame, used us to do their bidding. We are their recruitment officers. We assemble teams of teens from the Academy and the surrounding high schools in a fifty-mile radius, to deal their drug, The Devil’s Kiss.

It’s a synthetic mixture of methamphetamine and cocaine, laced with fentanyl. Highly addictive and in high demand. We round up the poor fools showing them what a privilege it is to be in business with the Wesley Servite, to be at his command. They eat that shit up and jump at the opportunity to make an easy buck and be in his good graces. They become so addicted to the drug and the high it produces, they keep coming back for more.

And those who don’t, are condemned to a life of hardships at our hand. They’ll never get into an Ivy League University or see the inside of a Fortune 500 company. And for those in the pitiful neighborhoods that surround Hillcrest, they’ll never see the light on the outside of their dark, destitute tunnel.

Then, there are those who want out. In our world, there is only one way out.

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