Nephilim

16 - The Interrogation

"Why are we here?" I asked the Horseman. I had gotten over the ability of being able to fly quite quickly. Towards the end, all the superheroes who can fly end up losing something big. I had no intention to do so. I had *nothing* to lose to begin with. The Horseman had flown us to some godforsaken apartment in the suburbs. The apartment building had an elevator and a watchman. I never trusted buildings that came with a watchman.

The owners are out for a month or so. I couldn't take her back to your place. The Erudite will know of that already. They might be staking out the whole area.

Zoya was still unconscious. She hadn't even moved. Why would she? I didn't have to talk out loud to communicate with the Horseman. Now felt like a good time to ask the Horseman why it thought that Zoya was important. Why had it hesitated? I hadn't given much thought while asking her to roll with me.

The fact that you didn't put much thought into it is what makes me anxious. Instinct. You went ahead with your instinct as far as she is concerned. It's a very powerful thing. I am wondering what is it about her that is drawing you to her.

Well, I am pretty sure the Horseman could perform a thorough scan and find anything suspicious, if there was anything suspicious to find. I thought back to the day when I had first met her and then to the day when I had told her about the existence of these supernatural creatures and how I needed her help. She had believed me without batting an eye. Somehow, the idea that Zoya would betray me didn't go down well with me at all. I didn't think this was attraction. No, it was something more base, more primal than that. Hopefully, the Horseman would be able to figure out what was the problem, if there was one.

It becomes very difficult to look for something that wants to stay truly hidden. Even for me.

At that, Zoya started to stir. She was finally coming around. I decided to ask her a few questions. The Horseman didn't react to that so I believe he approved of me interrogating her. However, I was not prepared for the fury in her eyes.

"What on earth?! Why did you do that? I was fine! I was gathering more intel for us! You could've died! Those people are not to be messed with!" Her voice seemed to have amplified since I had last seen her. There was a generally different air about her. I couldn't quite put my finger on the change, but it was very much present. Not good. Not good at all. I am not a big fan of changes. Big, visible changes scare me. However, the smaller, less visible changes terrify me.

"Calm down, woman."  Wow. I should be winning prizes for my subtlety. Or simple good manners. Never mind that now. The look on Zoya's face changed from fury to awe. She stood up, maybe swayed a bit but I think that was just me, and moved around me in a circle, eyeing me as if she had never seen me before. Seriously though, as flattered as I was, it wasn't a very good time for her to notice how good looking I was under the whole filthy-flea market-hippy look that I carried. Hopefully there would be time for that later.

"So it's true then?" she asked, finally looking at my face. "What the Erudite was yelling? You're a Horseman?"

I should have had her unconsciousness before she heard that. I am not sure she can keep her big fat mouth shut for long.

Zoya smirked at me and at the same time, eyed me as if I had grown a pair of horns. Well, I thank heavens or... whatever that that hadn't happened. Being a Horseman was bad enough. Being a demon would be worse. The demon probably wouldn't leave me alive.

"Horseman got your tongue?" she asked me.

Well, figuratively, maybe. Not literally no. Yuck. Gross. "Yes, there is a Horseman inside."

Her smirk turned into a full blown grin. I couldn't be sure whether it was a 'that's-so-cool' grin or the evil grin of the Joker from Batman. If only I had a penny for every thing that I wasn't sure of... I'd have a lot of pennies then. It was my turn to do the questioning now. Although we had covered this ground before, I just felt like it needed to be asked.

"Why help me, Zoya? You don't know me or anything about me. You decided to assist me the second time you met me. And the first time you did, I was talking about crazy ass things that we didn't know even existed. Ghosts and demons and angels and such. Why did you do it?" I asked.

She turned away from me. Silence. It grew heavier but I didn't say a word. Finally she spoke, "You know why. Dead end coffee shop job. I needed something else or I would've killed myself. And I will admit that at first when you spoke of all those things, I didn't believe it AT ALL. I told myself, yeah right. Let's see if any of that is even true or should I be booking a bed for you in the nearest asylum. Turns out, you were quite right. They exist. The ghosts, the demons, the Nephilims, the angels, all of them. And even God, but not as we know God. It's different. I think that at the time, I did it more for me than I did for you. I think I am still doing it more for my sake than for yours."

Lies.

I felt a hiss bubbling in my throat, as my eyes narrowed. A hot red rage seemed to be building up inside me, clawing at my insides, anxious to come out. There was nothing I could do to temper it down. Why would she lie to me? I wasn't really hurt that she was doing this for herself and not me. I never thought it was possible anyway, considering the kind of Grade-A asshole that I am. But something was off. The Horseman was outraged and all of that was spilling into me. Now, I felt horrified. I could feel the anger. It was like the Horseman and I were becoming one. It was difficult to not identify. And most importantly, Zoya seemed to be lying. This girl, who was in a drab coffee shop outfit only a few months ago, now dressed in black slacks and a black shirt, with some newfound strength visible in her visage, was lying to me. Lying to the Horseman. My hand itched to lash out at her. I would have too, but then something happened, and I stopped dead in my tracks. A voice. A new, different, more hoarse voice. It was in my head. It couldn't be the Horseman. I knew what the Horseman sounded like, having kept him company for a while. This was different. It wasn't exactly coming from inside me. It came from outside, but I could still hear it in my head. I looked at Zoya, who was smiling serenely. And then I knew. I knew because it spoke directly to me. Or, more accurately, to the Horseman inside me.

"Hello brother".