Falling for Famine (Brides of the Apocalypse #3)

Chapter One

Limos

Iscanned my surroundings, sharp eyes detecting a disturbance I could track back to my fellow Horseman. I had a hood pulled down over my white hair to aid in masking the terrifying color of my irises.

Red.

Unlike the other Horsemen, I didn’t make a habit of taking on a more human-esque form in the mortal world. I needn’t bother. Humans never saw me unless I wanted them to. But sometimes even I needed to make myself known.

Ares had been here. I sensed her power.

The wisps of icy cold and scorching hot hopped around me, leaving ice behind one while the other skittered to melt it down. My gaze went to them as they flickered and swirled, always desperate for my attention and in constant need of destruction.

“Find her,” I told them, and they beamed their happy approval before shooting off in opposite directions. Like always, they’d broken apart into fragments of their original form and scattered out all over the area.

Before I could sink back into a place unseen, my eyes caught on another. I didn’t have many run-ins with angels, but I’d be rather stupid not to know the face of Michael. She had been one of God’s favorites.

Strike that.

She used to be one of God’s favorites.

“Limos,” she greeted, her arms crossed and her shoulder leaned against the wall next to her.

The sunlight beamed off her short white hair, the length on top flopping to one side while the other side was shaved.

She was in the usual suit, her wings tucked away, but the power she radiated made it clear she was an archangel. “I thought I might find you here.”

I tilted my head, regarding her with my signature apathy. My expression never gave my thoughts away. I’d designed every part of me to stay hidden. The mask of indifference I wore was always in place, especially when it came to ones like her.

“Michael,” was all I said in greeting. I found very little value in words, especially when it was clear they were determined to use them. I made better observations from the actions and emotions that others displayed. I only used words to provoke, and I needn’t bother here.

Michael’s lips were firmly set, suggesting she was angry. But then again, since God cast her out and exiled her to the mortal plane, she’d been simmering in rage. Maybe less so since she’d recovered the soul she’d lost.

“Ares has been impossible to find, but she made a mistake.”

I sunk my hands into my pockets and leaned back against the wall, keeping the interest from my face. “You’ve been looking for her?”

“And found her,” she added, a sinister smile stretching across her mouth. “And the Counter Soul she’s desperate to protect.”

I wasn’t surprised to hear the woman mortals called War was out to protect a soul rather than take it. Ares had a soft spot for them, though I didn’t understand it. I’d heard murmurs she was in hiding, but I never once thought she would distance herself from me.

Ares had always been the closest I’d gotten to family. Her kindness and boundless patience were things I didn’t deserve. Yet, she gave them without expectation or motive.

The thought that she felt the need to hide from even me was a feeling I couldn’t immediately name.

That she’d take every measure she possibly could to stay hidden suggested far more than anything.

And if she made a mistake and Michael found her, then it meant that whoever she protected was important enough to make her stumble—and Ares never stumbled.

It meant I could finally be of use to her.

Ares never once asked for my help. Or anyone else’s, for that matter. She rarely needed it. This was the first opportunity since our creation that I’d been given to do as she’d done for me without ever asking for anything in return.

And I wouldn’t fail her.

None of my innermost thoughts reached my face as I stayed silent and waiting.

My silence made even the other Horsemen uncomfortable.

It was a weighted thing. Creatures with powers that gave them infinite influence over others couldn’t fathom someone they couldn’t read.

I thrived on their discomfort. It always gave them away.

“I came to strike a bargain with you,” the angel went on after the silence had gotten to her. “I’ll leave Ares and the human she’s desperate to protect alone as long as you do your job and collect yours for the apocalypse.”

I leveled my eyes on her. Michael hid her emotions better than most, but I was an expert at reading others.

Very few things escaped my notice. Her body language indicated she was well aware of it.

She did her best to mask most of her unconscious nuances, but I read them like a map to her innermost thoughts.

Her motives were relatively simple. She wanted to please God and regain her place in Heaven. She hadn’t fallen fully from grace, but it was likely all the same to her.

Michael needed the end of the world to advance her agenda. It was the only way she could think of to prove she no longer put her own wants and needs first. Rather amusing when that was the reason she did any of it, and it wasn’t likely to escape God’s notice.

It was tragic how quick these angels were to bend over backwards for a being who never bothered to show their face to anyone and claimed both benevolence and ultimate authority. I still didn’t have a clue what my purpose in any of this was, and I didn’t care anymore.

Ares was all that mattered.

So, like Michael, my motives were simple. The trouble was, ending the world meant hurting the human Ares protected. It wouldn’t mean much if I did as Michael bid, but until I found the other Horseman, I’d need to keep up appearances to distract the angel.

It wasn’t clear how we ripened our souls and delivered them for the apocalypse. I’d exploit that well-known uncertainty and make the most of it.

One way or another, I’d need to find and keep an eye on my Counter Soul so the ones after them didn’t succeed in making Are’s the only one left to use. Which meant wandering around mortals, something I very rarely did on purpose.

After another long stretch of silence, I nodded. “You’ll leave Ares and her Counter Soul alone.”

“As long as you do your part, Horseman,” she snarled, losing her mask of patience.

Another powerful creature run purely by emotion without a whisper of control. Unlike Ares. She utilized her emotions instead of letting them rule over her.

My wisp of fire sparked and flickered into existence.

Michael wouldn’t see it. No one could, much like me when I slipped on my cloak and disappeared, so I cut my eyes to it and gave a slight nod.

It danced and melted its shape, its language not of words but of emotion.

Ironic as it was that I rarely expressed or felt any.

It hadn’t found her. Not a trace.

I slowly returned my gaze to Michael. I detected the shift in her expression—determination, frustration, skepticism, and finally, resignation.

I’d need to track her to see if she’d lead me to Ares, but she’d be guarded for a while. She’d know I’d be watching and wouldn’t likely make that error. Better to give her the illusion of following through on my part and wait until her defenses were down.

Without another word, I embraced my cloak and disappeared from her view. Her jaw strained before her great feathered wings spread behind her and sent her straight into the sky.

It was time to find my Counter Soul.