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

Apocalypse's Horsemen [29]

“Okay.” I dropped my arms to my sides and glanced around all of the faces.

None were strangers. At least they were not complete strangers. I had either met them before or they had fought alongside me in London only a few days ago. It was amazing that days had passed already since we had taken down Death and Famine. It felt like it had only come to an end just a few short hours ago.

“I asked Gabe and Zeke to come because I have been given some information.  This information can lead us to where War is hiding.”

“Where did you get this information? We’ve all been on the lookout for the Horsemen but so far our encounters have just been pure luck.” Clem piped up from her spot on the sofa.

She had somehow ended up between two muscular angels. She looked perfectly happy to be in between the two hulking forms, leaning back into the cushions while at ease. The two men however appeared to be strangely apathetic o the situation with their blank faces but the stiff way that they held their bodies told another story.

“I –.”

“She got the information from me.”

I jumped at the sound of Binah’s voice. We had agreed that she would stay out of the way for this. I met her eyes and received a small smile before she turned her attention to the others.

“I know all of you. I have known you all since you were but a mere thought in your Father’s mind.” She smiled at them all as if they were her children, bestowing warmth and love on each of them. She glowed in that moment. The weariness that had held her captive over the past few days fell to the background. “But I am not what you are. I was not created by your Father. I was there when even he came into existence.”

I noted the unease that started to sweep through them all at her words. Gabriel turned his dark eyes on me, looking for the answers. I shook my head.

“I am older than even the creation of this earth.”

“No. You can’t be.” Zeke whispered, shaking his long hair out of his eyes as she stared up at her.

“Yes, I am Binah but I am also the one you have been seeking. I am the Forth Horseman.” Her eyes were wide as she spoke and I could see the terror that lingered in her eyes.  

She had told me but despite the relationship that had formed since our first meeting, I didn’t really matter. These people, the ones in this room, they mattered. They were her family. The ones that she had watched from childhood into the fully grown beings they were now.

“NO.”

I yelped at the sudden burst of anger that overwhelmed the room. My head whipped to the side in time to see Caius turn and throw a punch into my wall. I winced as the plaster cracked under the impact. When he pulled his fist away, there was a hand sized hole.

My mouth opened and closed as I watched Caine amble over to his twin just as he was preparing for the second strike. His hand closed around his brother’s arm before he could make another hole in the plaster.

“I am so sorry – so sorry that I did not tell you who I am.” Binah whispered, her voice carrying easily through the room.

“Why? Why did you lie to us? Why did father lie to us?”

“He didn’t lie to you. He just didn’t tell you the truth.” She brought her hands up to wipe the moisture away from her eyes. “We thought it best. Knowledge of me and my kin needed to fade and vanish. And it did. For a long time we were nothing more than just a story except to those who were there when my family were captured before.”

“You should know that lies do not get you anywhere in the world. How many lifetimes have we watched over the humans and seen entire cities burn because of lies?” I balked at Gabe as he spoke.

He moved to stand before Binah, his eyes boring into the top of her head as she stared down at her hands. When she did not look at him, he stretched down a hand. She flinched away, expecting him to strike her, and smacked her head on the wall behind her. He reached out again, his finger gently curling under her chin and tilting her face upwards.

“You could have told me the truth. You are my sister.” He leant down so that there was barely any space between them forcing her to look at him and no one else. “You are my sister no matter what.”

Binah choked out a sob before jumping forwards. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, clinging on to him tightly. Gabe wavered for a moment before his strong arms embraced her back. I smiled at them but quickly allowed a frown to make its way on my face as I stared at the others. I noted that a few had pulled their swords out at the sudden movement from the Horseman.

I glanced back at Binah but she was too busy crying to take note of the other. I shot a glare at the others urging them to put their blades away. I knew that if she saw this, Binah would be hurt by their actions. This would have been a betrayal to her.

Zeke waved his hand and glared at some of the more resistant Angels. They tilted their chins in defiance and refused to put away the blade.  He took a threatening step towards them and stared them down. Finally the last blade was sheathed but the tension in the room was palpable.

It took several minutes for Binah to release her grip on Gabriel. There was still some unresolved issues and the trust would need to be rebuilt but I could see that a weight had been lifted from the woman’s shoulders. She stood just a little bit straighter and despite the puffiness to her eyes, she seemed brighter and happier than she had for a long time.

“So what do you know? What can you tell us?” Zeke asked as he casually put and arm over Caius shoulder and held him to his side.

“I have seen her.” She took Gabriel’s strong hand in hers and held on tight. The look that passed on to her face next was one that I knew well. Binah gasped. “I can see her. She is hiding – always hiding. She’s in New York. She’s working with a small group of radicals. Her words are ever twisting and turning their thoughts.”  

Her body trembled and her head was thrown back. I clenched my fists into my t-shirt as I remained a bystander to the onslaught of images she was seeing. There was nothing I could do for her in this moment I could only watch.

“She sees me. She knows that I watch.”

Her breath flew out of her in a harsh rasp. I felt my heart stutter in my chest as her eyes rolled back in her head. And then it was like another force had a firm grip on her. Binah’s body lifted up and up until her feet were no longer touching the floor. Her free hand scrabbled at her throat to remove the invisible hand that was clamped firmly around her throat.

Gabriel was still holding on to her hand and instead of moving to help her, he just stood beside her and watched her looking more than a little helpless.

“Men,” I muttered before crossing the space between us.

I took hold of Binah’s arm, pulling it and the rest of her back down onto the ground. She was gasping for breath as her sister continued to try and choke her from the other side of the world. I knew she wasn’t human but could she die from being strangled by her own kin? That was one question I really didn’t want the answer for.

“Let go Binah, let go of the vision. Come back to us.”  I placed a hand on both sides of her face, my thumb stroking across her cheek as I stared into the sightless depths of her eyes.

There was silence in the room as we all waited with bated breaths. And then Binah gasped, her eyes looking wildly around the room searching. Finally she stared back at me, her body heaving as she struggled to regain her equilibrium.

“It’s bad Savannah.  The terrible things she is planning - so many will die.” A tear formed at the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.

“What is it?” I asked, using my hands on her face to stop her attention from wandering.

“She convinced her group of radicals to carry out an attack.”

“Where?”

She closed her eyes and tried to turn her face away.

“Where Binah?”

“Times Square.”