Conquest: The Horsemen Series: The Horsemen Series

By Justine Littleton

Here's the problem with myths and legends; they're fiction. At one time, they may have been stories of real people, but over the ages, the story was passed from person to person, so what was once fact, becomes the written fables of those long ago.

This is the true story of Conquest and the five horsemen.

Nicolette "Lettie" Osmond made her dying mother a vow: She would find a way to escape with her brother from the oppressive control of her father and The Order of Decay. Eight years later Lettie finally finds the resources and opportunity, but it means putting her faith in the one group of individuals she has been told since birth to never trust.

Connor "Conquest" Apocalos will do anything to protect his new sister and the happiness Dean has found—even kill his own brother if it comes to it. Hunting for Kayne and running Horsemen Hedge Funds, Connor hires an assistant, never expecting to find the one person fated for him.

Conquest must learn to woo a young woman without his power and is failing spectacularly, but will he still want her when he discovers the truth about Lettie and her connections?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Justine Littleton
• Release date: Dec 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386753520

Justine Littleton

I wear many hats in the book world, but my newest is author. I juggle writing with being a wife, and mother to a family of six, working for Hot Tree Publishing as submissions coordinator, pre-edit beta reading for Hot Tree Editing, and of course, I still admin for Bex 'n' Books' book blog.  Geez, I'm tired just typing all that, but I wouldn't trade a single moment. Not even for all the Chinese food and cheesecake in the universe.

Book preview

Chapter One

Lettie

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That’s him. It has to be, I whispered. Actually, it was more like I was still convincing myself I had the right information. I didn’t want to betray my father and leave my only home on a hunch, but this place had to hold the ironsmith Lord Decay was looking for.

Wayland the smith.

I’d spent the last six months combing every inch of the vast aisles in the tombs of the North American West Coast Chapter of the Order of Decay’s library. Until about a month ago, it seemed like a lost cause. For shits and giggles, I decided to give the internet a try before I gave up. I spent the first week and a half on my search engine binging my butt off before I found some promising names. Most were dead ends, but Wayland fit.

Lord Decay told me the smith he was looking for was a gifted final descendant of the Navah. He’d married a very powerful earth witch, who was a master alchemist. Lord Decay was convinced that together they forged fail-safe athame could kill a Horseman. I’d grown up knowing how facts were twisted into the fables, so even though Wayland wasn’t a complete match, he had enough similarities to have me downloading everything I could on him. I was finally going to fulfill my mother’s dying wish. Well, at least part of it.

Maria Osmond had been a beautiful soul and a loving mother. She too was born into the Order, and married into higher ranks. Her marriage had been arranged to my father on her seventeenth birthday. I would have probably suffered the same fate if my mother had not used my father’s greed and need to be seen as superior against him. Of my two brothers, one older and one younger, it was clear from the start that my older brother, James Osmond III, had inherited both my father’s brawny build and cruel temperament. But he lacked intelligence. Junior was as dumb as a box of rocks. He passed high school and was able to join the army only because he was a star football player and my father paid for his enrollment generously. Which left a void I was to fulfil—by going to college and showing people the Osmonds were not only strong soldiers but smart too.

Only, my mother got sick just after I started my first semester at UCLA. My bastard of a father had never really cared for her. She was his trophy and brood mare. When she became ill, he was in the process of gaining third chair on the Council of Decay and couldn’t be bothered to take care of her. I tried to take leave of my studies, but he wouldn’t allow that either. He needed the conversation piece: My daughter the college student. I probably would have defied him if she hadn’t made me promise to finish my studies and find a way to get Liam and myself free of the Order’s long reach.

Liam had been fifteen at the time. By then, it was obvious my father had written him off. Not only was he sweet and softly spoken, but there were also a few innocent puberty incidents that made it clear Liam liked boys. He’d earned severe beatings from our father and brother before they wrote him off completely. My mother died of cervical cancer three days after my twentieth birthday.

Seven years later, I was able to make good on part of my promise. However, it wasn’t getting Liam away from the Order. Unfortunately, in the last few months, he’d somehow become friends with Lord Decay, of all people. Not only had it garnered my father’s attention in a good way for once, but the whole Order would be watching all who were within their lord’s confidence. It also seemed that, for some bizarre reason, Liam chose to be his… I could only guess… BFF. While teaching Lord Decay all he’d missed in the last couple of hundred years, Liam smiled more often and seemed more at ease in life. It wasn’t until Lord Decay rose and befriended him that I noticed this change in him.

Still, with or without my baby brother, I was getting out of the Order’s clutches and hopefully under the Horsemen’s protection. Providing I could trust them. I contemplated just how I was going to do it as I transferred the files onto the last gift my mother gave me. It was a black pearl bracelet with a memory card built into the clasp, completely hidden and custom made. No one would question me wearing it out of the library.

As I finished wiping the hard drive and installing a system-wide reboot, the smell of lilies hit me, so strong I almost gagged. My heart jumped into my throat and my hands shook when I looked over my shoulder and found Lord Decay staring at me with his head cocked and his face contorted like he was working out a complex math problem. Then, in a blink, he straightened with a grin, and the floral scent receded enough I could bow without vomiting. My lord.

Rise, my young friend, he ordered. I didn’t want to. If anything, I would have preferred to crawl under the table and yell, I didn’t do anything. But instead of letting my panic take hold, I took to my feet and noticed his face—though still not complete—had lost a bit of the decomposing gory look. He’d been feeding. Liam had said he was working on pulling smaller amounts of life force without killing the donors. However, I knew sometimes he still struggled to stop before killing. It kind of scared the crap out of me that my baby brother was helping him during these feedings. All it took was one mistake and Lord Decay could consume an entire room. The lord no longer needed to touch to consume, but Liam said he used it in those sessions to anchor himself and prevent just that from happening. That little nugget wasn’t exactly as comforting as I thought he meant it to be.

How go your endeavors? Have you yet located the ancestors of my friend from long ago? he asked, and smiled in a way that if he wasn’t a crazy powerful cult leader, I would think he was kind of cute. A whole nose could help too.

My heart raced in my chest as I answered, S-sorry, Lord, I haven’t found anything in the tombs here. Would you like me to start looking through one of the other libraries? Thank God, I was able to steady my voice, since I had basically told the truth. He’d never asked me to search the internet, and I damn well wasn’t going to tell him what I’d discovered.

Lord Decay sighed. I did not have high hopes after meeting the greedy dolts running my council. That is very well. I have another assignment for you.

It took all my self-control not to snort at my father being called a greedy dolt. I found it very fitting. I bowed my head and responded with a respectful, As you wish, my lord.

Delightful. I need you be at the Horsemen Hedge Funds offices tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. You are meeting with Ms. Higgins about an assistant job. Ms. Higgins is Connor’s personal secretary. You are to learn everything you can, and find us a weakness to cut the Horsemen’s funding that comes from his company. We will be in contact for updates. Good day. He graced me with another smile and began to turn to leave.

My belly sank. Lord, I called. I don’t wish to question your judgment, but is there a reason I was chosen? We’ve others who are trained in this type of work. Is there something in particular you need me to watch for? I dropped my eyes as he turned back to me. Crap, I’d just about been home free. Nearly on my way out with him leaving, and I had to open my big-ass mouth. Damn it, Lettie, never question the crazy leader’s requests. Especially when they’re going to help you reach your own goal.

What pretty wording for one so young, only continuing to prove you are the correct choice. If you must know, your father volunteered you for his own reasons, but Liam seconded the recommendation. Those others who have mastered deceit don’t have the education and knowledge to fool my brother. Connor may be brazen and immature, but he is no half-wit. He took a breath and canted his head to the side, as though he was assessing the best piece of meat to throw to the lions. Yes, you will be perfect for Connor. With a clap of his hands, he straightened and headed to the door, only to stop himself half way to say, "My powers have no effect on you, sweet Nicolette. Did you know? I find that very interesting. Very interesting indeed…. Now, I must go prepare. Tonight is movie night! Your brother and I are watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

With a gulp of dread, I simply stared at our very own Dark Lord as he left to get ready for movie night.

What in the world had he just sentenced me to?

Then again, I had wanted to get close to the Horsemen for my own reasons, so in a way, the lord had done me a favor.

Strange.

Chapter Two

Connor

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Are you listening to a damn thing I’m saying to you, boy? Ms. Higgins harped from the right side of my desk where she prattled on as I signed the stack of documents she’d placed in front of me ten minutes ago. Fuck, I was tired. It had been six months since that night at the creepy-ass clown motel.

Six months and we had nothing.

None of us were happy about that fact. Dean would damn well be losing his bloody mind if he didn’t have Julie to ground his emotions. God, the prick looked happy. That only upset me even more—that we hadn’t heard anything about Kayne’s whereabouts. There hadn’t even been a whisper, and I wasn’t about to have my new sister put in danger again. Granted, the Order of Decay’s little turd minions had kept us busy, causing messes all over the damn place for us to clean up. This, at least, gave us reason to believe they were up to something bigger. Unfortunately, the pipsqueaks we’d been picking up had zero clearance or information; they’d only been cannon fodder.

A swift smack to the back of the head dragged me back to Ms. Higgins. What the hell, Ms. H? What was that for? I asked as I rubbed my poor abused noggin.

You’re woolgathering while I’m trying to get you to pay attention and finish up. It’s four in the afternoon and I still have a lot to do before I can call it a day. With you out of the office all the damn time tracking that loon brother of yours, I have double the work now. Boy, I’m seventy-three. I should be in Florida perving on cabana boys, not typing memos and taking your conference calls from Guam.

Mary Louisa Higgins was so darn cute when she ranted. She had been working for me since her early twenties. Like the Order of Decay, we too had a handful of trusted followers to help us keep our Horsemen secret. But our group were family, consisting of a number of descendants from either the last of the Navah or our own mothers. Ms. H. was most likely of my own mother’s line, due to her strong natural resistance to my gift. Though since my mother had done her duty to humanity, popped me out, and moved on, leaving me behind, we couldn’t be sure.

I put my elbow on the desk, my chin in my hand and smiled. You know, Ms. H, you’re awfully adorable when you get all hot and bothered.

My efforts only earned me another smack, this time knocking my head right out of my hand. Don’t try that shit on me, boy. I ain’t buying it. Now concentrate. First, what are we doing about the tabloids?

I leaned back in my chair and laced my hands behind my neck, with my elbows out and relaxed as I answered, I spoke to Fallon last night. She said to leave it. I don’t have the time or interest in dating at the moment, and she said tips have never been better for her at work. Apparently, every trust fund baby within one hundred miles has been down to the bar looking to slum it and be the one to steal ‘my girl.’ For Ms. H.’s benefit I made the air quote around my girl. Fallon and I had grown close over the last few months. She filled a bit of the void left by Dean after he found Julie, and I sensed I did the same for her. Not to get me wrong, Fallon was smoking hot with a great personality, but she was more my snarky twin with boobs. Another little sister that I never knew I wanted. The first month or two we hung out as a group, but we since hang on our own and complain about how gross Dulie are—always kissing and humping all over the damn place. Side note: Dean hates the couple nickname Dulie, so we of course—as good friends—use it all the time.

Well, that brings us to my other issue then. You need to be here at 7:00 a.m. to interview assistants. I can’t keep doing both your job and mine. I need a runner. I don’t run anymore, boy, and you don’t pay me enough to try. Unless George Clooney arrives with white chocolate Lindor Truffles and a marriage proposal, I don’t get above sloth speed. I put an ad on the Craigslist like Julie told me, and we had a shitload of responses. Over twenty-five men and women are due in for fifteen-minute interviews. This needs to be sorted. I want someone starting by Monday morning…. Why are you staring at me like that?

Have you lost your bloody mind? Has the dementia finally kicked in? I don’t have time to deal with this. Besides, if they’re not a descendant, they’ll be nothing more than horny, obedient fucking lap dogs, I tried to explain, disgust filling my tone.

Okay, I’m failing to see the issue here. She adjusted her weight to stand a straight four foot eleven and three quarters. Ready for war, she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. Sounds like the ideal assistant, minus the horny part. Connor, I understand that finding your bother and protecting Julie take precedent, but this company is what floats the cost of the Horsemen’s endeavors. It has to continue to run as though nothing has changed, and I don’t mind stepping in for you. You boys are family to me. I would give you my left tit—

Dear God, please don’t. Keep that sucker tucked away, I pleaded.

She continued speaking over me, ignoring my plea, but also kept her top on. Thank fuck. —if I thought it would help. But I just can’t handle twelve-hour days doing both your work and my own anymore. I need someone to pick up the slack, returning e-mails and calls, setting appointments, maintaining the filing, things of that nature.

Sighing, I gave in. Fine. But when tomorrow goes to shit, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

---

I have an associate degree in business and management. I was a valued intern for Schumer, Schumer, Schumer, and Wolowitz for six months. I have no pets, and no children, though I do love both and hope to have them once I settle with the right man. I own my own car, but like to switch it up and walk too. I am outgoing, energetic, funny, a Libra, and a true blonde. Mr. Simons finished his ludicrous list of qualifications with a purr and wink.

Please, someone shoot me and put me out of this misery.

As promised, I was there at seven when Ms. H’s circus began. It was now two in the afternoon and I was done with the bullshit. This was my seventeenth interview. It would have been my twentieth, but three of the overeager candidates had to be removed by security. I had warned Ms. H it’d be a waste of time. Damn stubborn old goat.

I’m sure you are, Mr. Simons. Your résumé looks great. I will have Ms. Higgins phone you in the next few days giving you an update on the position. Thank you for your time. I dismissed him and quickly dropped my gaze, but not before catching the look of devastation that crossed his features. You would think I’d run over his puppy, not told him the interview was over. That was one of the things I hated about my gift. Everyone thought charisma was the best gift to have. A power that gave an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people, most would love that, right? To be instantly loved, and respected, to use it however