Apocalypse's Horsemen (Devil's Assistant Series - Book 3)

Apocalypse's Horsemen [16]

When no one else offered sage words of wisdom, I glanced back at the hotel. The nausea returned but I was prepared this time.  My stomach roiled in protest but I maintained a steady gaze while my teeth were clenched together.

“Plan?”

“We go in through the front door. They won’t expect that.”

Lucius laughed gleefully as he swung his glowing blade through the air.

“I like it. Direct.”

Without waiting for the rest of us, he surged forwards with both hands wrapped tightly around the hilt of his sword.  His steps were unwavering as he progressed closer and closer to the building. I took a step to follow but it felt as if my feet were stuck to the ground with tar. I dragged my body forward with sheer determination, glancing at the man moving further away from me with each second.

“Cass?”

“I feel it too.” He murmured from beside me, his coat flapping in the hot ashy breeze.

“Someone obviously doesn’t want visitors.”

“Or they only want one visitor.”

At the gravity in his tone, my gaze snapped back to the front of the hotel in time to see the doors slamming shut behind Lucius with a sharp crack.

“Stupid man.” I cursed before wrenching my feet forwards, forcing my body to move even when everything within me was trying to pull in the opposite direction.

The doors gave a little resistance as I wrapped my hand around the handle and gave a sharp tug. There was no eerie groan as it swung smoothly on its hinges but I imagined one anyway. The interior of the building was so different to the world and chaos outside that it would be easy for anyone inside its wall to forget the destruction happening just a few feet away.

The carpet was immaculate. I could even detect a fresh lemon scent on the air which was a pleasing respite after the cloying scent of death and destruction that now clung to me like a disgusting perfume. And the most fascinating aspect was the fact that the electrics were working perfectly fine within this building. As a result, I found myself standing in the middle of the lobby, dirtied and sword in hand, while twenty sets of eyes stared at me from their varying vantage points.

Lucius had come to a halt just a few feet in front of me but his sword was gone. Not that it made a difference. We were foreign interlopers in a strangely serene scene. Did these people even know what was happening outside? I shook my head to get rid of the thought. There was no way that they could have ignored the end of the world that was happening just outside of the hotel doors.

I clenched my hand around my angel blade before dropping it to my side. I refused to will it away. Something wasn’t right here and even if these people appeared to just be that, I refused to be comforted by a false sense of security.

Keeping my back straight, I put one foot in front of the other until I approached the check in desk. The girl sat behind it was pale, dark circles were under eyes while her lips were pressed into a thin line. I was no expert at body language but I could see it in her rigid posture. She was terrified. She raised a shaky hand and brushed a mousy brown strand of hair from her face while her reddened eyes never left me. Well, I reconsidered, her eyes never left my sword arm.

“I won’t harm you unless you try to harm me first. Understood?” I stated it calmly, as a simple statement of fact.

Her gaze flitted away for a second before coming back on me. She nodded.

“Okay, can you tell me why you all are here?” I asked the question softly but I may as well have shouted at the poor woman. She flinched away and I had to stop myself from glancing over my shoulder to look for an attacked.