Chapter 30

Coming out of the airport was an awakening call.

I had learnt a new life lesson after that excruciating experience - never fly on airplanes with Angels. It was probably worse that spending the day in Tartarus. It was the wings. As they were used to flying without the aid of a heathen mechanical contraption, the lot of them regarded the journey as a great opportunity to air their disdain for airplanes and helicopters. I almost wished that we had called Hades and asked him to use some of his special magic so that we could cross the world quick sharpish. It would have been less of a headache. Unfortunately, he was more than a little preoccupied with his other duties.

Instead, I found myself preparing for yet another battle. This time however, my two best friends were nowhere in sight and I was stuck with a group of grumpy and slightly hostile angels. Binah had been almost unresponsive the entire journey, her hand clasped firmly around Gabriel’s as she fought back wave after wave of visions. They were coming harder and faster now. The toll on her was worse than I had ever seen it before.

Taking a step forward, I watched the stream of cars winding their way back down the road and tried not to panic. It was chaos. People were milling about everywhere and no one seemed to stop. They were all rushing to get into the first taxi before someone else could climb in.

“Where do we go?” I asked, more than a little dumbfounded.

I had always wanted to travel to New York. It was one of the places on my list. And at this time of year, it was going to be busy. Christmas lights hung everywhere and there was a distinct chill in the air in preparation for the first snowfall of the season. It was mayhem.

“We get a taxi to Times Square and go from there.” Zeke offered unhelpfully.

“Yes I know. But we need more information than that. Binah, have you see anything more.”

Gabriel’s head shot up and for the first time that I could ever remember, the father of my child glared at me as if I was the enemy.

“It will happen soon. We have only a few hours. There’s an event this evening the square. It will happen then.” Her voice was thin and reedy, the strain of her visions taking a greater toll on her body as the moments passed.

“Right, taxis it is then.” I muttered, nudging Zeke in the side.

“Hail some cabs, you might have more luck being seen than me.”

My words were literal too. The angel had decided that his thermals had to be not only warm but fluorescent too. He had donned a shockingly bright yellow jacket that could be seen from a mile away.

It took far longer to get across the city than anticipated. If it wasn’t for Binah’s fragile state I would have suggested that we cross the city on foot. It probably would have been quicker. Instead we were forced to sit in back of the yellow cab for over an hour.  I found myself caught between Caius and Caine. The twins refused to be split up and in the absence of Lucius and Castiel, had taken to following me around like my own little security team.

“So, are you both okay now? With Binah.” I prompted.

Both men grunted but I had no idea whether that was meant to be a yes or a no. I made several more attempts to draw them in to conversation before giving in and leaning back into the seat.

We had landed at four in the afternoon so by the time that the cab pulled to the curb a block away from Times Square, the sky was already darkening and the temperature had dropped. I shivered as I pulled myself from the vehicle, my hands rubbing up and down the lengths of my arms to add some warmth into them. Our trip into the Arctic Circle had been cold but the New York freeze seemed to cut through my clothes quicker, chilling me to the very bone.

“So what do we do now? We’ve blindly followed HER word that the last horseman is here. What do we do now?” I turned my head and glared at Caius.

He clenched his fists at his sides, his eyes trained at a spot behind me. I didn’t have to look to know that Binah would be somewhere a bit further down the sidewalk with Gabriel close at her side. She had refused to release him from her death grip. The look upon Caius’ face was enough to give a person a nightmare. There was a promise of retribution in that look.

“It’s not her fault you know. She may have lied but everything important, who she is as a person, you know that side of her well. Don’t let this come between you. You fell together and you have fought alongside each other your entire lives. Don’t let it all go to waste.”

The man ground his teeth, his muscled arms bulging as he tried to restrain himself. Finally he levelled the glare on me.

“She is the enemy. She had fooled us all and I refuse to made a fool a second time.” He spun away from me and stalked towards the gathering crowds.

“Where are you going?” I called after him.

He glared at me over his shoulder and then with that parting look he disappeared into the crowds. I looked at his twin and smiled weakly.

“Go after him. He needs you.”

Caine gave a stiff nod, his face not giving anything away before he turned on his heel and followed after his brother. Despite their impressive figures, I quickly lost sight of both of them as they were swallowed up by the gathered people.

“Where did they go?” Zeke asked as came up beside me, his arm slung around my shoulder. He pressed his cheek against mine for a second before releasing me.

“They just went to scope the place out. We’re outnumbered. How we are supposed to help here?” I shook my head as I stared into the crowds. “Maybe we should just call the police and state that there is a bomb. They will be forced to evacuate the area.”

The Angel shook his head, his hand coming up to scratch at the stubble that had formed on his chin.

“No, that won’t work. It will cause panic and it may prompt them to attack sooner.”

“But not everyone is here yet. I know it is bad to think it but less will die if we act now. If we leave it until later there will be more people. There will be too many for us to try and save.” I glanced out at the crowd and tried not to feel sick at the words I had just spoken.

There were families here; mothers, fathers and their children. And I had just stated that they were a loss we could risk. Who was I becoming?

“No, father would not be happy with that. We will just have to try and find War before it unfolds. It’s the only way that we can contain the collateral damage. If we go after War, maybe we can stop anything from happening at all.”

I sighed and wrapped my arms around my body.

“I hope you are right.”

Time passed quickly for us. My head was pounding by the time that the sun had disappeared completely and the sky had turned black. Not that there was darkness here. The lights were shining down from every side of us like a glaring beacon. It was spectacular, beautiful. There were too many words to describe it. It was a place that I had always wanted to see in person but right in that moment I could not allow myself to feel the glee that was bubbling up deep within me. I couldn’t enjoy this, there was no time. The people standing around me were in mortal peril and I was one of the few who knew it.

“What’s happening here tonight anyway?” I asked, my breath causing a white cloud to form in front of my face.

“It’s a benefit concert for charity.”

I closed my eyes.

“They’re going to attack a charity concert? That’s just…” I trailed off. There were no words.

“We won’t allow that to happen.”   I nodded, my hand twitching next to me. I wanted nothing more than to draw my sword in preparation for what was to come but it would cause panic. Or cause me to be arrested. Police were patrolling the outer edges of the crowds, a few looking more than a little twitchy and harassed as they kept the influx of people in check.

There was a crackle of static as someone fiddled with the microphone. It cracked on all sides while the bright boards above us dimmed to black.

Right in the middle of where the roads would normally run a stage had been set up. Light had been turned on, lighting up the round platform causing square to come alive. Lights of varying colours twinkled and flashed erratically as a small woman stepped on to the stage. The boards above our heads changed and we could all see her face. She was familiar to me but I couldn’t place her. My knowledge on American TV personalities was rather limited.

The woman beamed at the spectators, eating up the attention as she teetered across the stage in fluffy winter boots. Her arms waved and pointed at the people surrounding her as if she knew some of the faces staring up at her. The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping.

“Welcome to the first ever Times Square Disaster Relief Concert.” The crowd roared and cheered. “Yes, welcome. Now, before we get to the festivities, let us all be reminded of why we are all here tonight.  In light of the recent catastrophes worldwide, we are holding this concert to raise awareness and much needed relief for those affected.”

As she spoke, the boards which normally boasted advertisements and logos changed so that pictures of the devastation caused by the horsemen lit up on the big screens. The crowd fell quiet, many closing their eyes and whispered a word of prayer to the dead and dying,

“It’s such an important cause so please do dig deep into those pockets.” The mock solemnity that had been plastered onto the red heads face was swept aside in the next second to be replaced by glaring white smile. “And while you do, we have some amazing entertainment for you all.” The woman stood in the midst of all of the spotlights in her expensive glitzy thermals with a beaming smile on her face. She turned to face us all, her chatter holding the audience captive. “Now who’s ready to have some fun?”

Her red hair caught the gleaming light and her eyes actually twinkled as she stared over the gathered crowd. But there was something about her that made set my nerves on edge.

“Please welcome the hottest band around. Put your hands together for the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

My heart thudded hard inside my chest even as the crowd roared around me. Bile forced its way up my throat. With wide eyes I turned to the Angel beside me.

“I think I’ve found our horseman.” As I spoke, I pointed my hand at the red head as she danced off of the stage. We were definitely in the right place.

My words were quickly lost in the thunder of the drums as the band took to stage. The audience, completely oblivious to the trouble that was just about to start, screamed while their hands were outstretched towards the stage. I shook my head and started shoving myself towards the side of the stage where the red head had disappeared from my view. I pushed and shoved trying to move but the people just shoved back, a few giving me sharp digs in my ribs in response.

Progress was slow. By the time I got anywhere near the stage precious minutes had passed. Trust a damned horseman to choose a public spectacle to make their statement. I pushed and shoved until I reached the metal barrier separating the spectators from the stars. It would be simple enough to climb over the top but it was then then that I came face to face with the next issue. There were bouncers, dozens of them pacing up and down on the other side of the barrier, their faces hard as their eyes watched the crowd with suspicion.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. There were cameras too.

Despite everything that had happened so far over the past few years, we had managed to prevent the leakage of any footage onto the internet of angels, demons and any other beasty that crawled from the netherworlds. But this was different. If were exposed here, there were people just waiting to take pictures and spread the word.

“Damn it.”

A malicious laugh reached my ears. I opened my eyes and tried not to balk at the face that was suddenly so close to mine.

“I wondered when you and your winged friends would show.” War smiled, her face looking anything but genial as she stood just out of arms reach.

I considered briefly what would happen if I leapt the barrier and stabbed my sword through her chest. Imprisonment – maybe death row. What were the penalties for murder in New York? I could work with either of those.

Instead I just smiled back at her. “When we heard you were going to do a show, we just had to come for a visit. We’ve wanted to see you again for so long.”

War laughed again, her eyes sparking. It was unsettling.

“You should be careful what you wish for. You might not like what you get.”

There was no hiding the promise in those words. If I was a weaker woman I might have backed down but I was here and I was ready to end this.

“Give me your best shot.”

She gave another mirthless laugh.

“Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Stand back and get ready for the show.”

With that, she smiled and pranced back to the stage with her human façade firmly back in place.

Kicking the metal barrier, I cussed loud enough to draw a frown from a disgruntled mother. I grimaced and looked away. And then I cussed again. Things were going to turn ugly and fast.