Pestilence turned to face the newcomer, but Death’s empty black eyes remained on me.
“I finally found you, Uriel,” Michael said. The angel’s deep voice rolled and reverberated like thunder. “My vessel’s brethren were most helpful in locating yours. These mortals are surprisingly resourceful.”
Was that why the police had chased us yesterday? Because Michael put out an APB on me? And the other angel closing in had to be the source of that burning sensation I kept feeling. Uriel must have known… and hadn’t told me. That bitch!
“And I have arrived just in time, it seems,” Michael said. The angel pointed to Leo and Pestilence. “Go now! The final battle shall be fought when we are all gathered, as was agreed. Stand down, horsemen!”
“Your unyielding adherence to the law will only end in your defeat,” Pestilence buzzed.
The horsemen have no respect for order, Uriel said. I felt my lips forming the words as Michael’s presence strengthened the archangel within me.
“Death, restrain your brother!” Michael boomed. “This is not the time for our battle!”
But Leo’s eyeless gaze remained fixed on me, and he didn’t answer. Pestilence laughed and its hovering cloud of bugs drew together into something glistening and solid, ending in a terrible needle point. It flew at the winged motorcycle cop like a massive black arrow. But light flared around Michael and the storm of insects caught instantly aflame, falling out of the sky in burning orange embers.
“Uriel, take your vessel and go find the others,” Michael said. “We must gather our strength!”
“Death!” Pestilence shouted. “It is time to fight!”
Michael spread four luminous, sharp-looking wings and rose into the air. Pestilence snapped its fingers and the Baracca’s wheels spun, churning up thick black smoke and the stink of scorching rubber. Greenish fog and shadows billowed out from the seams of Pestilence’s suit, covering the horseman in a cloudy cloak as it leapt into the seat of the already charging motorcycle.
At Pestilence’s touch, the Baracca’s bright cherry finish darkened, turning the red-black of infected blood. The powerful engine rumbled, as dry and rasping as a death rattle.
Fiery golden light exploded from Michael to collide with the rancid shroud surrounding Pestilence and its diseased-looking motorcycle. The fire struck and deflected, carving a molten line across the blacktop. The earth shuddered and I stumbled as one of the crashed cars collapsed in on itself, cut entirely in half by the celestial blast. The gouge went right through the highway and down into the ground so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom of the sudden crevasse.
I screamed and threw myself down on the highway. I didn’t need any angels to tell me it was time to get the hell out of there. But smoke and dirt obscured Leo and his hollow eyes. Could I really abandon him to Death while Michael and Pestilence tore the entire road to pieces?
Pestilence isn’t touching Leo anymore, I thought desperately to Uriel. Can I still get him back from Death?
The horseman’s hold is incomplete, Uriel admitted. Death’s vessel fights to maintain control, just as you do.
I can’t leave him here with those… things!
Your mortal form is no match for Michael’s power and that of a fully manifest horseman, Uriel said. And if you are destroyed, then the four warriors of chaos will fight against only three of light and we will fail.
But if I get Leo away from Pestilence, he might be okay? I asked.
You cannot take that risk, vessel!
Leo came to help me when Gabriel showed up in Arrow and you took over. I can’t just abandon him when Pestilence is doing the same thing!
Michael dove at Pestilence, all four fiery wings pointed at the horseman. The dark red Baracca may have sounded like a dog on its last legs, but it sure didn’t move like one. The street racer screeched around in an impossibly tight arc and Michael missed, slamming to the ground like a lightning strike and blowing a house-sized crater into Highway 44. Pestilence charged at the grounded archangel with an arm outstretched. The limb lengthened and sharpened into a barbed lance dripping with poisonous-looking green ichor.
Uriel pushed and shoved from inside me, pulling me away from Leo. I was too damned close to Michael… I groaned with the effort of taking a single step toward Leo’s indistinct shape in the dust and darkness.
The road shuddered again as a huge oil tanker barreled into the cloud of insects and smoke, horn blaring, but the driver was slumped down in his seat. Michael rose from the sundered earth beneath the truck, lifting it as easily as if it were just a toy, and flung it at Pestilence. The tanker slammed into the horseman hard enough to crumple like a tin can, but then the metal began to blacken and blister.
From underneath the ruined truck, Pestilence let out a laugh that sounded more like a loud, racking cough.
“Leo!” I shouted.
The tall biker’s silhouette turned away, marching toward his Packmaster. His steed. The engine roared as he climbed into the black leather seat. Death brought the growling bike around to face me.
Go! Uriel urged. Run or fly, but move now! Death will ride you down, vessel!
Leo won’t, I thought desperately.
Uriel felt my terror. You can’t hide much from the voices in your head. And the angel fought me for every inch as I faced Death and its steed. It was like trying to walk into a tornado.
Out in the darkness, the Packmaster revved again – a growl from the throat of hell – and the back tire spun up a billowing cloud of black smoke. The churning cloud clung to Leo in a dark cloak and he gunned toward me.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I shrieked as Leo’s motorcycle raced down the highway at me. Uriel grabbed the reins of my body with both metaphorical hands and pulled, trying to throw us out of the way. I could feel the urge to fly, to fling myself up into the air and away from all of this.
Move, vessel! Uriel demanded.
But I fought the angel and the terror, and stood my ground. Because I’m a stubborn idiot. The Packmaster went from zero to sixty in a single fear-sped heartbeat, shooting toward me like an oversized bullet.
“Leo!” I screamed. “Stop! I’m not your enemy here. Pestilence killed your friends!”
Leo screeched to a halt two inches from my knocking knees. The sudden stop should have thrown Leo right over the handlebars and into the road, but he still sat astride his motorcycle, as motionless as a statue.
“My friends…” Leo said.
The words echoed hollowly, as though they rose up from the bottom of a deep, empty hole.
“Yes! The Knights,” I answered. My voice cracked with fear. “Audrey, Sam and Jack… No, Jett! Pestilence killed all of them trying to find you. Remember?”
Leo lashed out, reaching over the front of the Packmaster to grab me by the throat. He yanked me close. I writhed, but his grip was like steel. Death stared down at me and I would have given anything right then to see Leo’s dark brown eyes instead of those bottomless pits.
Fight the horseman! Uriel told me. I will give you the power!
I’m not fighting Leo!
Something glowed at the edge of my vision. Michael…? Was the other angel flying to my rescue? But the radiance came from my own hands. They blazed with Uriel’s power and I clenched my fists. Light flared between my fingers.
“Leo…” I gasped. “Leo, please…!”
He didn’t let go of me, but Leo’s head turned slowly toward the gray-green shape of Pestilence.
“You killed them,” Leo’s hollow voice grated. “You killed my Knights.”
“Yes,” Pestilence hissed. “War knew your vessel was bound by mortal ties. They gave him strength. But alone, he is weak.”
Leo’s hand remained around my throat and no matter how I kicked and thrashed, I couldn’t break free. Uriel’s light blazed in my hands. Michael circled overhead, parting the black cloud of insects in a searing arc.
“Uriel, leave this place!” the archangel was shouting. “Find the others!”<
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I cannot! My vessel is a fool! Uriel snarled.
I had no idea if Michael could hear Uriel without control of my mouth, but there wasn’t enough time to find out. Michael folded their luminous wings for a dive and Pestilence snapped its attention skyward again. The horseman coughed and disgorged a swirling pillar of green from its mouth that rose unnaturally fast toward Michael. Pestilence’s cloud engulfed the angel, but then lit up with an orange glow like a sunset. Four molten wings sliced through, cutting the horseman’s venomous smoke into ribbons.
I was running out of breath. My throat ached where Death gripped me and my lungs burned for air. Michael rained fire down over the highway, but Pestilence’s demon-Baracca hissed and raced between the lances of golden flame.
Leo pulled me in until our faces almost touched. His eyes were closed, but tears streamed down his cheeks, reflecting fire and shadow.
“Leo…” I whispered.
“Jaz, I can’t do this,” he said, voice still hollow. “Pestilence is right… I’m too weak on my own. I can’t fight Death without the Knights.”
His unbreakable grip was tight around my throat, as cold and hard as steel on my trachea, but I wasn’t trying to get away from Leo.
“Your friends died fighting,” I gasped. “Fighting that… thing. Fighting for you, Leo. Now fight for them!”
What are you doing? Uriel cried. You cannot argue with Death, vessel! Use my power and fly!
The iron grip on my throat jerked, tightening with bruising force, but then wrenched open again. The ground beneath us heaved in another explosion and I fell to the buckling asphalt. I didn’t know if that was the work of Michael or Pestilence, but when Leo opened his eyes, they were brown again.
I sobbed in relief, then threw myself down flat on the road as a flaming engine block whistled through the air. Leo ducked over the Packmaster’s handlebars, then straightened and shook his head. Fire and blackened metal rained across Highway 44. Leo held out his hand to me.
“Jaz, get on!” he shouted.
I took Leo’s hand and he heaved me back to my feet. I leapt onto the Packmaster behind Leo, flinging my arms around him. The swift, strong beat of Leo’s heart pounded through his body and I felt the throb of it against me. Pestilence snapped its head toward Leo.
“Death!” the horseman bellowed. “Join us!”
Something boomed and buzzed behind us like thousands of angry hornets. I didn’t dare look back, but I heard the roar of Michael’s celestial fire and the sky lit up above us in red and gold. Heat blasted out in a burning wave, whipping my shirt and making the sweat on my skin sizzle.
“Uriel!” Michael thundered.
Leo stomped the Packmaster into gear, but the motorcycle snarled at him and refused to move. It didn’t want to leave Pestilence and its horrible clotted-blood-colored brother.
“I said go!” Leo growled right back.
The big motorcycle’s engine guttered, but Leo tightened his grip around the handlebars until his whole body went hard with the tension of… whatever fight for control was going on between Leo and his bike.
The Packmaster ground, groaned – and then finally roared. Leo twisted the throttle and I hung on for dear life as the motorcycle leapt into motion, racing away from Michael and Pestilence. I buried my face against Leo’s shoulder as the thunderous sounds of their battle faded into the distance. Within moments, the only ominous rumble left was the demonic Packmaster beneath us. But I kept my eyes squeezed shut and let the hot wind whip my tears away.
Fire trucks, cop cars and ambulances raced past us toward the dark cloud on the horizon where Pestilence and the archangel fought. We shot right through a storm of red and blue flashing lights, but the police and paramedics had more important things to worry about than one speeding motorcycle.
Or maybe Michael was covering my exit… I didn’t know and I was too frightened to care.
Why did you do that? Uriel asked. Death was gaining control… Why do you fight for its vessel?
Wind and sirens howled in my ears, but it didn’t drown out the voice in my head.
Leo’s my friend, I answered. He didn’t ask for any of this, either. And I couldn’t just leave him there with the thing that killed his gang!
Why? Uriel asked. He is not like you.
The question sounded innocent and curious, not disapproving. I hesitated and struggled to answer.
Because Leo’s a good guy, I thought at last.
He is a criminal, Uriel argued. He violated your mortal law. This man is a vessel well-suited to the leader of the horsemen. They are forces of chaos and darkness.
I remembered Pestilence’s swarm of bugs and shuddered. Uriel wasn’t wrong about the horsemen… but that didn’t mean they were right about Leo.
You don’t give a shit about our laws either, I thought. I’m pretty sure there’s a rule somewhere about not possessing mechanics who just want to get out of their shitty little hometowns. But that’s never stopped you.
I am not mortal, Uriel said. I am above your laws.
And in a way, so is Leo. He cares about more important things than rules, too, I told the archangel. He’s a bit of a bad boy, sure, but he’s not a bad guy.
I do not understand the distinction.
I sighed. Neither did I, exactly…
Leo fights for the people he loves, I thought. Whether it’s against Pestilence or the police. He’s been through some serious shit in his life, but it hasn’t turned him cold. Leo’s tough and kind of rough, but he cares a lot.
And these qualities are… admirable? Uriel asked. Worth risking yourself?
I um… guess so, I answered. Look, I didn’t have much time to weigh my options. I just knew I couldn’t abandon Leo.
And for this man, you risked the loss of light over the darkness? Uriel asked.
Fighting is all you think about! That’s why you didn’t tell me Michael had gotten so close, isn’t it? I had that weird feeling since yesterday. That was mister fiery cop-angel and you didn’t say a word!
I did not warn you, Uriel admitted. Michael’s proximity made me stronger and I could not risk you evading them… I did not realize that Pestilence had gotten so close, however. You sensed the horseman, as well, but not until it was too late.
I sighed. I’m too tired to be pissed. But Uriel, you want me to go racing off across the world to collect the other three angels–
Yes.
–and you don’t even know what else exists, do you? All the other stuff you’re missing out on. You made a universe full of things that you never bothered to learn about!
The archangel went quiet and I figure they were off to sulk in my medulla oblongata, but then Uriel spoke again.
Like what? What am I… missing?
I let out an unexpected laugh and hoped that Leo couldn’t hear me over the rush and hiss of wind. Was he having his own internal conversation with Death?
How about chocolate? I asked Uriel. Or sex?
There was a sort of fluttering sensation somewhere behind my eyes as the angel rummaged through my brain for answers. I winced a little at what they might find, but decided to let Uriel have a look around. I was too tired to fight them much more today, anyway.
But if I was giving Uriel an all-access pass to my thoughts and memories, I figured that I had better show off some of the good ones. I remembered how proud my parents were when I graduated from high school – not everyone in Crayhill did – and hoped they were okay without me. There were probably a dozen panicked voicemails waiting for me if I ever got a new phone.
I thought of the day I got my Bonneville and the tantalizing taste of freedom that it represented. The first time I rebuilt a motorcycle engine. And then the second time, when I actually got it right.
When I saw Leo outside Golden Touch Auto, riding into my life to change it forever.
These things are important to you, Uriel said. You resist me for their sake. Your strength has been… unexpected.
Uh, I guess I’ll
take that as a compliment.
It is one, the angel told me. We did not know what form our vessels would take. Only that they must be strong enough to bear us. To fight. You are not what I thought you would be…
I felt that soft fluttering, searching sensation behind my eyes again as Uriel went looking for some other bit of information.
…Jasmine.
That was a first. I wasn’t sure how any of this had upgraded me from vessel to an actual person in Uriel’s ephemeral eyes, but decided to cut the archangel a little slack. For an immortal and omnipotent force of light and order, Uriel didn’t know very much about the universe. The entire cosmos was just a machine to churn out the equivalent of guns for their divine turf war.
That is… accurate, Jasmine, Uriel agreed.
Jaz, I thought. You can call me Jaz.
You are more than you seemed, Jaz, Uriel said.
And so is Leo. Don’t try to make me abandon him again.
Uriel quieted once more. I wasn’t sure how much respect I had earned from the angel, but I doubted it was enough to talk them out of trying like hell to murder Death. You think human biases are entrenched? The hatred between the archangels and horsemen was older than our universe. I didn’t think they had ever known anything else.
I watched the highway over my shoulder for the rest of the afternoon. There was no signs of smoke or a billowing green-black cloud of bugs on the horizon now, or even the police cars and ambulances that had answered the call. Were any of them Michael’s buddies? Well, friends of his vessel, at least…
I didn’t feel that electric sunburn tingle anymore, either. Even if Uriel wouldn’t warn me about other angels, I knew what that sensation was. If I felt anything like that again, it was time to run.
We were doing a lot of that these days.
But for now, I hoped it meant that Michael was far behind us. The angel would come hunting after Uriel again, but maybe we could make it to San Diego and Carlos’ solution before that happened.
Once we put some distance between us and the Pestilence-Michael battleground, highway traffic picked up again and Leo had to slow down to sub-demonic speeds. It wouldn’t do us very much good to escape our fellow horsemen and archangels if Leo plastered the Packmaster across the back of a garbage truck.
400 Horsepower of the Apocalypse Page 15