Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
GAbrIEL
Well, that went a bit differently than any of us expected. People have this mistaken idea that angels are all-seeing, omniscient creatures. That we know everything that was, is, and ever shall be. Blah, blah, blah. I wish we were so well informed.
The simple truth of the matter was that nothing could be certain while free choice reigned supreme.
All those pesky decisions create massive ripples.
One different choice, a left turn instead of right, and you’d find yourself in a completely new scenario.
Multiply that by every human being in existence, and, well, I bet you can start to understand just how impossible it is to truly ever know anything with certainty.
For instance, none of us were aware of the consequences the horsemen would face after their counterparts were struck down.
Not until the final choice was made and Famine’s weapon was used to end her.
My brothers and I watched on, unable to intervene even though we all realized what was happening to them.
Regret had me itching to look away, but guilt forced my attention to stay on them and their mate.
I’d been here before, on the other side of sacrifice. It never got easier.
“I guess this is what they refer to when they say all’s well that ends well.”
I stared at Evander, my jaw ready to drop at his callous disregard. I probably shouldn’t be surprised he was so blasé; angels weren’t exactly known for their range of emotion, but we’d worked and fought beside these mortals. Surely he couldn’t mean to just leave them.
“I’m not sure they’d agree with you,” I replied neutrally. My way of testing the waters, so to speak.
“They won. What more could they need?” Michael asked, his focus on the scene before us. Merri on her knees, weeping over the bodies of her fallen horsemen. Lucifer at her side comforting her, his tattered wings wrapped protectively around her.
“They deserve more than this. The horsemen made the ultimate sacrifice for the world.”
“For her, you mean,” Michael huffed.
“The world can mean many things to many people,” Evander observed. “Their world is her.”
Michael made a considering sound, as if he wasn’t entirely convinced. I pressed the advantage.
“Does the motivation really matter when the result is the same? Either way, they are a large part of the reason the apocalypse didn’t take. I don’t think any of us would be standing here right now without them.”
“What a novelty,” he muttered. “After all these years, I can’t say I ever predicted that the horsemen would help stop an apocalypse.”
“That’s because you refuse to allow yourself to feel anything more than apathy.”
He stared at me, something akin to confusion in his eyes. “What happened to you, Gabriel?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve softened. Once upon a time, you were the most stoic of us. You did your duty, delivered messages that oftentimes destroyed the recipient, and you never felt a twinge of guilt or remorse for it. Now you’re bargaining on their behalf to lessen their pain.”
“You can hardly fault me for that. After all the time I’ve spent among them, I can’t help that I want to, well, help.”
“What is it you’re after, Gabriel?” Evander asked, his expression unreadable.
I bit the inside of my cheek, an entirely human action that I didn’t recall picking up. “It just doesn’t seem fair that it should end this way.”
“When has anything about human life been fair?” Evander asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, it hasn’t. But that’s the point. After all they have done, shouldn’t they be rewarded instead of punished for their efforts?”
Michael snorted. “This isn’t a punishment. It is the way of things. We can’t change the outcome.”
“Why not?” I asked, stubbornly crossing my arms over my chest. “We’ve done it before.”
“You mean you have done it before. You just can’t help but insert yourself.”
“And where would we be right now if I hadn’t? Hmm?”
Evander nodded and stepped up next to me. “Gabriel’s right. Without his intervention, without Caleb, we wouldn’t be where we are now. Caleb saved Sunday, yes, but he also assisted with the possession and saved Dahlia from death’s door. He has been an instrument since day one.”
Michael huffed, but the tapping of his fingers against his leg told me he couldn’t dismiss Evander’s words as easily as he had mine.
“They almost succeeded this time,” I reminded him. “We have never been this close to a true end before. The world was moments away from being lost for eternity, and you know as well as I, heaven’s army would not have prevailed.”
“Especially against the Princes,” Evander added.
“Yes, yes, all right, fine. What is it you want to do, Gabriel? Bring them back? You know the cycle will merely start up again upon their return. That is the nature of their existence.”
“The board was always going to be reset,” Evander mused. “It always does once we wipe the collective memories of humanity, and a few decades pass. Even this time, with such a near miss, they’ll never know how close they came to oblivion.”
“Bring the horsemen here.”
“Very well, but I have conditions,” Michael said. “This can’t be as simple as returning them to their bodies to go on as if nothing happened.”
Evander’s lips twitched with the smallest of smiles. “It’s never simple, is it?”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Was that a joke?” I asked, pressing the back of my hand to Michael’s forehead. “Are you unwell?”
He slapped my hand away. “Do you want my help or not?”
I wished I were strong enough to do this without his assistance, but the horsemen were not mortals. This was going to take more power than I had on my own. In fact, it was going to take more than just the three of us.
Evander must have reached the same conclusion because his focus had already shifted. “We’re going to need Lucifer.”
“One angel to tether each celestial spirit back to this realm,” Michael murmured, connecting the dots aloud. “But will he agree?”
I studied my lost brother and noted the emotion painting his face. “For her, I think he will.”
Lucifer glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with me even from a distance. Then he was here, standing on the hill before us, wings spread defensively, gaze filled with mistrust.
“What more could you possibly want?” he spat. “You’ve got your clean slate. You’ve won. Leave us be.”
“Clean slate? Technically your Merri could still birth your antichrist. And the Princes are running free. We’re hardly out of the woods.”
“Michael,” I groaned, shaking my head. “Stop.”
Evander sighed. “Gabriel is right. Leave it. This is not the time to argue. We have a proposition for you, brother.”
Lucifer set his jaw and took a deep breath. “No.”
“It’s for her,” I said, jutting my chin in Merri’s direction. “At least hear us out.”
“Go on, then. I’m listening.”
“We can bring them back. But it will take all four of us to do so.” I knew it was going to be a hard sell to get him to join with us in any capacity.
We’d abandoned him just as much as he had us.
I could barely recall the last time we’d all been aligned.
Unless you counted all agreeing to stop the apocalypse, but even in that instance, it hadn’t felt like he’d been with us so much as with her.
Lucifer’s expression was stone . . . unless you knew him as well as I did.
I could practically read the thoughts flickering through his head as they occurred.
He was debating keeping her to himself and considering what their absence would do to her.
I knew the moment he reached his conclusion, because his eyes dropped and he released a heavy sigh.
“All right.”
It was relatively simple after that. Each of us chose a horseman, found his soul, and called him into being in front of us. In moments, all four of them were present: Famine facing me, War with Evander, Pestilence in front of Michael, and Death standing nose-to-nose with Lucifer.
“What is this?” Death asked. “I’m not alive, but not dead. What have you done?”
Lucifer scoffed. “Of course that’s how you show your gratitude.”
“Gratitude?” Malice asked.
“We brought you back. I didn’t have to help, you know. I could have said no, and then you’d all be gone for good, and I could have had her all to myself. But I didn’t.” He poked Grim hard in the chest. “You owe me.”
Grim’s gaze swept over us, stopping on me. “We are back?”
“Not yet, technically. We have a few wrinkles to iron out,” Michael answered for me.
“Such as?” Chaos asked.
“We need you to take up your mantles once more if you’re to return to your bodies and your mate.”
“Why?” Sin asked.
“Because the universe demands balance. The lack of you four will create a vacuum.”
“Will bringing us back bring them back?” Chaos asked, referring to their counterparts.
“No. In the beginning, it was just the four of you. Now that we’re essentially starting over, it will be so again.”
“Does that mean there will never be horsewomen again?” Malice asked.
Michael shrugged. “It’s impossible to know what the future holds.”
“You angels are always so shifty.”
I shot a glare at Sin but couldn’t offer a retort. He was right.
“We were planning to give up our mantles to have a life with her,” Chaos said, looking over his shoulder at where Merri was still sobbing.
Michael was already shaking his head. Before he could deny them, I placed my hand on his arm and spoke in his stead.
“Give us twenty years.”
Chaos’s eyes were cloudy with suspicion. “Why?”
“The world needs time to recover. To heal. If you were to be replaced this soon, the new horsemen would be compelled to fulfill their purpose. All of this, everything we’ve fought so hard for, would be for nothing.”
“How do you know it will be any different for us?” Malice asked.
“You’ve proven that you are not defined by your mantles,” Evander answered. “Because of your mate, you can stay the course and resist the urge to bring about destruction. Any who replace you will not be able to say the same.”
“Two decades is a drop in the bucket, if you really think about it,” Sin murmured.
“And after we complete our time?” Grim asked.
“You pass on your mantles, but know that once you have done so, there will be no guarantee the apocalypse won’t be on the horizon,” I warned.
“Twenty years of peace before we have to worry about losing her?” Sin mused.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Pretty sure that’s what I heard. Isn’t that what you heard, Malice?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Me too,” Chaos said stubbornly.
“Nothing in life is guaranteed,” Michael said.
“But we’re making a deal with angels, I’m pretty sure that buys us a few guarantees,” Grim said.
“Now you’re sounding more like me,” Lucifer said. “I think I’m rubbing off on you.”
Grim’s eyes narrowed, but he continued. “We want assurances. We serve our duty for twenty more years, you ensure safety and security for our mate and our child.”
“And everyone else!” Sin tossed in.
Michael threw up his hands. “We cannot possibly agree to that. There are laws to the universe, you know that.” He pointed at Grim. “You especially know that.”
“Everyone who helped us fight, then. They get your protection, for as long as we hold our mantles.”
Michael glared at Chaos, but eventually relented. “Fine. Twenty years.”
Sin held out his hand. As Michael went to take it, Sin pulled it back with a warning taunt, “No takesies backsies, Michael. Promise.”
“You have my word.”
“And mine,” I agreed. “After all that you have given, it is the least we can offer you.”
“Then we accept,” Sin said, taking Michael’s hand with a wide grin.
And as it was promised, so shall it be done.