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

Apocalypse's Horsemen [20]

“I thought I wouldn’t get to see you again.”

Unable to stop myself, I threw my body into his arms and clung onto him tightly while gripping tightly on my blade. He stumbled back a step before wrapping one arm around me, his other hand maintaining his grip on his own sword.

And yet, I never forgot that Hades was only a few feet away.  Or at least it was what appeared to be Hades. The tension returned to my body as I stared at the big and bulky body that had the potential to cause me and mine harm. Lifting my head, I pressed my lips to Lucius ear while staring at the hulking man only a few feet away.

“Why is Hades here?” I murmured, struggling against my body’s natural impulse to blink. I didn’t want him out of my sight even a second. “Are you sure it is him?”

Lucius pulled away and stared into my eyes. He only gazed at me for a few long seconds before he let out a breath between his teeth. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and then forced me to look at him and only him.

“He’s here because I asked him to come.” In his agitation, Lucius lifted his sword and used the tip to sweep the hair from his face. “I couldn’t find you or Castiel and none of the other fallen can travel across country as fast as he does. Not with all this horseman magic in the air. It would be like flying through syrup.”

He shrugged his shoulders before glancing back at Hades. The God had lowered his hands and was doing his best to make himself appear small of a threat as possible. It wasn’t working well because no amount of slouching would diminish his size.

“I called the only one I knew that was neither angel nor horseman nor human.” His hand came up to stroke my face.

I winced. I had forgotten about the blow that Famine had struck but it appeared my body had not. Now that I remembered the injury, it began to throb and make itself heard.

“And I know it is him because, like you and I, Hades and I have a bond.” He laughed when he caught the expression that flashed across my face. “Not like that. Our bond is forged from sharing dominion over the underworld. We rarely utilise the bond we share but it is there nonetheless.”

I gulped and nodded my head. It all sounded so rational and completely plausible in this strange and magical world. Yet the doubts kept shouting from inside of my head.

“I know but the horseman can change their faces and bodies like they were nothing more than a cheap mask to be disposed of at a moment’s notice. “ I shuddered as the vision of my doppelganger acting like a raving lunatic flashed within my mind. It all felt like a bad dream. I knew that it wasn’t me and yet it was imprinted in my mind. I hoped that Lucius never got to meet my doppleganger.

“I know.”

I pulled away and shoved a hand through my hair. I paced from side to side as I tried to formulate my thoughts. I glanced over my shoulder at the body on the floor.

“No you don’t.” I retorted, waving a hand at the beaten pulp lying just a few feet away. “Castiel never came back to us in London. He’s been here the entire time. They’ve had him all along.”

Lucius moved past me, a cuss escaping his lips as he knelt down beside his battered and bruised comrade.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” I spoke the words no more than a whisper but he nodded his head, his unruly hair falling to cover his eyes.

“It means that they know everything about us. They know all of our plans. They know all about the other Halflings. They’ve been spying on us and we didn’t even know it.”

He spoke softly but I shivered at the barely restrained fury beneath his tone.

Lifting one of Castiel’s arms, he wrapped it around his neck before sliding his arm around the injured angel’s waist. He pulled them both to their feet with ease. He nodded to us both and without any further words we all turned and headed back towards the lift.

Hades moved with the agility of a warrior as he scoped out the way ahead of us. I had only ever seen him as the mountain man who ruled hell with Lucius but in this moment I truly realised that there was more to this mane than a strong man. He was a god – even if he did look human.

We all stepped in the lift and kept ourselves on guard even as the doors to the lift closed. I couldn’t help but feel relief. We were leaving this palace of death and cruelty behind. The war wasn’t won but this battle was nearly over.

The progress down through the building was smooth. There was no hint that the world was going to hell outside. That most of the hotel staff had been murdered. The lift doors opened up to the lobby opened and I was again reminded at how untouched this building was from the sickness that had infected the city. Holding my sword before me, I stepped into the lobby while my gaze swept from side to side. The room was still. My breath hissed out from between my teeth as I lead the way forwards. The lobby doors were still propped open so I pushed my shoulder against the door to make the gap wider so that both Lucius and Castiel could pass through.

I sucked in a deep breath of the outside air, expecting the choking smog and stench of destruction but there was no smoke to be seen and the air was sweet. I breathed in deeply relishing the freshness.

Lucius took a deep breath from beside me, a furrow forming between his brows. The buildings were still crumbled all around, tinged with soot from the fires which has been raging hours before. The skies however were completely clear. Sun shone brightly upon the city. The fires had been put out and the black lined clouds were all but gone.

“How?”

I didn’t really expect an answer but a single dove came down from above, dropping onto my shoulder and offering me a small branch.

“It’s an olive branch.”

I frowned at Hades as he stroked the head of the bird with the back of his large forefinger, his head dipping to bow at the small white bird.

“Do you not know your bible stories Miss Holmes? It is a message that the storm is over.” He laughed at my befuddled expression.

“It means that the horsemen have left – for now.”

I breathed out a sigh and rested my cheek against the bird’s wing, drawing comfort from the symbol of momentary peace.

“So what do we do now? Do we just wait for the horsemen to attack us again or do we regroup and try to create a new plan. Everything we have come up with so far has not worked. Not that we actually believed it would.”

The dove rubbed its beak against my cheek and I was sure that it was an offer of comfort from Him. My entire being flooded with warmth at the simple touch.

“We take Castiel home so that he can heal. When he regains consciousness he can tell us everything he knows about the horsemen.  He’s been around them for longer than any of us.” He shifted the limp angel’s dead weight against his body.

The dove cooed softly in my ear, stroking my cheek once more before beating its wings and lifting its body into the sky. It cooed softly once more, circling above our heads before flying towards the sun so that our eyes were unable to follow its path. The warmth and comfort that it offered continued to linger even with its disappearance.

Hades patted my shoulder and nudged me forward into the street. He glanced around. Then, once he was satisfied that there was no one else around, Hades waved his hand through the air. His palm glowed, lit by an unseen light, and then the air shimmered before him.  Sucking in a sharp breath, I stepped closer as curiosity took hold of me.

I could see it there through the haze. Hell.

I knew from my last visit that it was more than a pit of fire and torment I had been told about as a child but it still shocked me to see the fully functioning city based within the underworld.

“How did you do that?” I whispered as he took my hand and pulled me through the shimmering portal. My next step found me in the one place that many people had nightmares about but I secretly loved.

Hades shook his blonde hair which had grown past his shoulder and laughed.

“Now a god can’t reveal all of his secrets. Even Lucius does not know how to open the door to hell from anywhere in the world. I was created at the same time as the underworld. I know all of its secrets.”