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

Apocalypse's Horsemen [28]

"Binah, are you okay? You didn't hurt yourself last night did you?"

The woman jumped and turned to face me.

"No. No." She shook her head and offered me a poor excuse of a smile. "I'm fine. I'm a little drained but I am well enough."

I grit my teeth and forced my body upright despite the lingering pain and weariness. Panting heavily, I pinned her with a glare.

"If you're fine then I'm a bloody queen. Now what is wrong? Why are you fussing like a mother hen?"

I watched as she fumbled to come up with another excuse. Noting my glare, her mouth shut with a click. She turned her back on me so that I could no longer see her face and then her entire body drooped.

"Tell me the truth, what is wrong?"

Binah buried her face into her hands and trembled.

"I know you are all wondering why I didn't tell you who I was before. Why I didn't come forwards when you started looking for me." The beautiful angel sniffled, the sound masked by her hands. "I couldn't do it. I didn't want you all to feel betrayed and look at me differently."

"We wouldn't. You're family."

She glanced over her shoulder at me and offered me a watery smile then.

"You would have and you did. I saw your face yesterday. You have only known me for ashort while and you reacted with suspicion. Lucius will hate me. I know it." The finality in her tone caused a great sadness to well within me.

"He won't. And if he does, I will give him a thick ear." I slumped back into the pillows and pinned her with another stare. "And you're not telling me all of it. You knew this would be a consequence from the start."

"I just -. Please don't expect miracles from me. I told the old God's how to bind my brothers. They cannot be destroyed. You understand about the balance but even if I knew how to get rid of them, I would not tell you. They are my kin." She clasped her hands in front of her chest as she spoke, her eyes imploring me to understand.

"I understand Binah. Others might not but despite who they are and what they have done, they are your family."

"They won't remember that. I betrayed them all by giving away our secrets. They would not let me live if they ever found out who I was." I watched as the beauty shuddered, her lank dark hair falling in front of her face. "But I will betray them again."

Binah spun to face me properly, looking more dishevelled than I had even seen her.

"I can find the last of my kin. I can find War."

Although it was good news for us, I felt my stomach churn at the sight of Binah's pain. It was etched deeply onto her face, new lines having formed around her eyes and her pinched mouth. It made her look older and more worn.

I didn't smile at her words. Instead I just patted the spot beside me. Her gaze flitted nervously around the room as she tried to look at anything but me. As she wavered, the Horseman moved cautiously around the room like a timid deer, tiptoeing around the very edge while her entire body held taught. Finally she perched herself of the very edge of my bed, on the far side of the mattress. I smiled in spite of myself.

"It's okay not to feel happy about it. They are your family." I murmured.

Binah acted as if she hadn't heard me, her eyes were trained far off into the distance.

"Do you know what my curse is? I can see the conquests happening all around the world. I can see the small battles in the home between husband and wife and I can also see the larger battles that cause the deaths of many. I am cursed with the sight." She shivered delicately before her body started to sway side to side, her eyes intent upon the vision of things I could not see, could not even comprehend.

"What is it? What do you see now that is hurting you so much?"

"War. She is taking delight in the pain and misery of others. Dead. Dead. So many dead." Binah groaned and fell down onto the pillows, her hands clapping over her eyes as if the very action could remove her sight – stop her from seeing. "At least three thousand dead and it will only get worse."

"Where?"

"America. She started a riot in the middle of New York." She whined softly, rolling from side to side clutching her head. "There are so many innocents gone before their time. She just tainted a few and now the taint is spreading. Riots are breaking out in other cities over the world." Binah gasped. "She knows. She knows that I can see. She is trying to hide herself from me."

"Will that work?"

Binah took her hands away and finally met my gaze.

"I don't know. It's never come to this before. I could become Catatonic, locked in the visions until the strife stops if she provokes the situation too much."

Stretching out a hand, I laid it upon her shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do to filter it out."

"I am doing everything I can to filter it out." Binah replied testily. "But these visions, they are not letting me hold them back any more. They want to be seen. They are her message. She is warning me off."

I gulped and nodded my head. Worldwide riots were a warning? That was not something I cared to even think about. What if War decided that she actually wanted to remove us all? A shuddered coursed down my spine at the thought.

"So what do we do?"

The older woman turned her head and stared off into the distance as she allowed herself to see the damage wreaked by her family. Her body trembled and shuddered under the onslaught before she shook her head softly.

Her voice was nothing but a shaky whisper when she finally spoke.

"We capture my sister."