We all run inside. I suddenly realize I have my sword in my hand and am face to face with Wyatt's evil mother Gretel and his ex-fiancé Sarah, in the foyer of the large estate. I don’t even recall pulling it.
Gretel laughs. I glare at her.
She shakes her head, "You think I can't hurt you, sin eater? You think I need the sin to weaken you? I can kill you just fine the way you are."
I flex my back, shooting my wings out of my back and ruining, yet again, another shirt. Her eyes widen, "No. It's not possible."
I point my sword at her, "Still feeling confident in your original statement?"
Her face is as pale as my shimmering wings. Sarah stares at them in awe, "So pretty."
Gretel looks at Wyatt, "What did you do to her? Why would you help her this way? How did she become an angel? The world is falling apart and you are to blame for betraying us and helping her."
I can almost feel his anger in the room. His body is completely tight and his voice is eerily soft when he speaks. "Want to tell me about my father, Mother?" He says her name like it is poisonous to his tongue.
Her lips tighten.
He laughs bitterly. I can almost feel the wounds inside of him. "I think not. Don’t you dare tell me any of this is mine or hers. This one is you, you and all the old ones. You people are disturbing. The length you have gone to live by the oaths we swore, and yet, you are nothing but a hypocrite."
She looks defeated. The mention of his father has pulled away her anger and made her small and weak looking. The others inside of me scoff at that notion and remind me not to be fooled by it. I still watch her, but lower my sword, pulling my wings back in, using the mental distraction and relaxation Wyatt taught me. I just wish he could touch me or kiss me without it burning and making me nauseated. I have a longing to soothe him; it’s odd since I don’t seem to feel anything else.
Stella walks in front of me, looking down on Gretel and Sarah. They both grow wide-eyed. Gretel tries to mask her fear of Stella with a smug smile, "How have you been?"
Stella nods, "Excellent. Seeing the sin eater destroy everything you have banked on has been delightful."
Gretel swallows hard. Constantine pushes his way between us all, "Ladies, ladies. Please. You are all welcome guests. We have matters far more important than this to attend to."
Gretel gives me a sneer. God, I want to feel my hate for her. I know it's in there. She drives me insane. Sarah can't stop looking at Wyatt and then me. Her eyes dart back and forth.
Wyatt steps in front of me completely, "We have something bigger than any war between our kinds. The black rains came, Mother."
Her eyes grow pained and shocked simultaneously as words leave her lips softly, "Then the Red Horse is also upon us."
The Red Horse
“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come and see!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.”
Revelations.
One
The fire is lit and we are huddled around it for heat. The castle is drafty, just as I recall it being. Maria won't stop hugging me, and crying. Regardless of being a vampire's servitor, she is very Catholic. Her desperation and despair at the loss of her religion weighs heavily on her. I wish I had a way of helping her, but I have nothing.
"You have wings now, Miss Ellie. You are the hand of God. You must give me last rights, in case I die. I cannot go to hell for being a servitor."
I kiss her forehead and hug her, "I don’t even know what the words are. I'm not Catholic."
She cries and shakes her head until Constantine comes to her. He tilts her face, so her eyes meet his, "You will not be afraid of the events that are taking place. You will be loyal and strong."
Maria releases me. She smiles, "Would anyone like tea?"
I frown but Michelle nods, "Can I have some liquor in mine?"
Wyatt nods, "Me too."
Mona raises a hand from the sofa, "Here as well."
I roll my eyes and look at Gretel, "I need you to explain it one more time."
She sighs, pacing in front of the massive hearth, "The four horsemen of the apocalypse have long been believed to be a lie. A rumor. A myth. Recent events have obviously proven that wrong. The first rider is conquest and strife. According to legend, he looks exactly as the witness claimed him to be in Jerusalem. Riding a white horse, wearing a crown and carrying a bow. The second rider brings war. Where the first caused nations to segregate themselves, the next horse brings war, nations against each other. The red horse is the destruction of civilization by fire. We are assuming that in modern times that would be bombs."
"What about the other two?" Mona asks.
Gretel shakes her head, "Let's cross that bridge when we get there. If we can find them, we can kill them and maybe the next two won’t come. They come in order, and they wait for the horseman before them to finish his task before they come."
Wyatt points at her, "No ‘we’. Don’t ‘we’ us. We are not a ‘we’. It is us and it is you. I am on the side of my family—this is my family. You lost that right when you tried to kill me, two weeks ago."
Gretel looks hurt, actually hurt. Her cold exterior looks melted. She pleads, with not only her words, but also her eyes, "Wyatt, we are your family. We love you. We made a mistake, asking you to choose between Rayne and us. I see now, we are all on the same side. I put duty before motherhood, and I have to ask you to forgive me."
"BULLSHIT! YOU THINK I WILL EASILY FORGET THE HATRED ON YOUR FACE AS YOU FOUGHT AGAINST US?"
Sarah opens her mouth but he points at her, "SHUT THAT NOW!" She closes her mouth. He turns back to his mother, "YOU STABBED ME, YOUR OWN SON!"
Gretel rolls up her sleeve, revealing a massive burn, "I never knew she could do this. She has never done it before. She has never had wings before. The dead fought for her. Rayne has released the first two of the four horsemen. She is the hand of God, and I believe you that we must help her end her parents. You know what Fitz saw her as, he always did. The churches are wrong, not you. She is the answer, not the problem. It took me nearly dying, nearly losing my son for my beliefs, and nearly plotting with the Catholic Church, to see it. This is the right way. This bizarre group of people you are part of is the answer. I think this strange combination is the answer. We have spent so many years fighting against the Dracula family that we have never considered we were all made for a purpose." She takes a step forward, “And you, my special son, you too were born for a reason.”
Her hateful eyes turn on me, she drops to her knee. I don’t know who looks more shocked, me or Sarah, but she bows her head, "I swear by my sword and my heart, I will die protecting you." I can hear her choking the words out. I almost choke and Mona snorts.
My eyes dart to Constantine. He twitches a no. I look at Wyatt, he does the same. I smile, the smile Willow taught me to use when I wanted to tell someone to eff off. "Thank you. I accept your help."
She rises, smiling. She looks at Sarah, "I cannot tell you what to choose, but what more proof do you and your family need?"
Sarah nods, "I agree. I will fight to help you, Rayne." Her, I actually believe. There is no production with her, and unlike Gretel, I see no demons in her eyes.
Constantine clasps his hands together, "Not that I don’t enjoy seeing you on your knees, Gretel, but let's see if the TV has any idea of the wars starting." Wyatt’s eyes dart open and Michelle and Stella burst out laughing. It takes me a second to realize what he has said.
When he realizes the comment he has made Constantine’s lips struggle with the sinister grin he wants so badly to let loose. Instead, he turns on the TV and instantly we see it. Massacres of tourists in every country, bombings and hate everywhere.
I walk to Mona and sit on the couch next to her. She looks tired and rests her head on my shoulder, "You smell."
I nod, "I need to take a shower, but I'm scared I might get murdered."
She scoffs, "You so will. His mom is gonna roast your ass, the minute she gets a chance."
"Can you believe this?"
Her dark eyes water and her glossy lips tremble when she whispers, "No, and I can't reach my dad or my mom. She isn’t answering and his phone isn’t even ringing."
I don’t have anything for that. What do I say? I hug her to me, "I bet They’re safe. They probably have places for people to go. The US is a strong country. We'll be fine."
Constantine comes over to us. He kneels in front of us, "If you reach her, tell her to go to Montana. I have a house there; I've sent you the text with the address."
I start to laugh, "How is it you are more savvy with technology than I am and you're old, like scary old?"
He sighs, "Technically, you're older." My mouth drops open, “Look at you and all the zingers tonight.”
"Is the US getting bombed yet?" Mona asks.
He nodded, "There are bombings. She might be at the university. I know someone there; I will see if I can reach her."
Mona looks frozen, scared to move and feel. She sniffles back her tears, "Thanks."