Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,55

said. “Possibly kill him. I haven’t decided yet.” I looked around the room, waiting for an objection, but no one had one.

I walked out of the White House alone, wanting a moment to not think about how we had no idea where an enemy as dangerous as Lamashtu had gone. No wonder Gawain had surrendered; I expected that he’d hoped she’d be able to free him.

One of the Secret Service agents told me where Gawain was, and I set off across the White House lawn to a park bench surrounded by three large tents and at least two dozen human members of the army. They were guarding Gawain, who sat on the bench itself, the runes carved into it appearing to ensure that he behaved himself.

“I’ve never liked you,” Gawain said to me as I was waved past the soldiers guarding him. Gawain’s wrists were adorned with sorcerers’ bands, but other than that and the rune-graven bench, he was not restrained.

“You know, Gawain,” I said, taking a seat on a wooden chair that one of the soldiers brought for me, “you really are a cunt. I know Americans don’t like that word, but I’m pretty sure that the soldiers have heard worse, so I’m just going to say it. I’ve wanted to tell you that for a really long time. It felt good.”

“Fuck you, Nate,” Gawain snapped.

“Arthur is going to die,” I said, my voice completely calm. “Your father is going to die. Everyone who stands with them will die. When we are done, their existence will never again tarnish this or any other realm. I’m going to give you one chance here—one chance to tell me what I need to know.”

“Burn in hell,” Gawain sneered.

“Gawain,” I said softly. “Lamashtu has gone. She ran away. She left you here.”

There was slight concern in his expression.

“I was right when I thought that you’d surrendered because you expected her to save you,” I said. “That’s good to know. No one is saving you.”

“I will remain here until I am needed,” Gawain said.

“You will remain here as everything you built burns to ash,” I told him.

“I will finish my mission,” Gawain said smugly.

“And what mission is that?” I asked. “To be arrested? To be beaten up? Because if they’re your mission, you are a fucking superstar.”

Gawain stared at me with only hate in his eyes. “I will tell you nothing,” he shouted, spitting onto the ground.

“You’re a nobody,” I said. “You always were.”

Gawain darted toward me, but I grabbed his arm and casually backhanded him, sending him back to the bench as several guns were leveled in his direction.

“How do we get to Atlantis?” I asked him.

Gawain laughed. “You can’t kill me and take my memories; you can’t feed me to your wraith; you can’t do a goddamn thing to me. The Horsemen will cometh. They will burn your world to nothing.”

“The Horsemen?” I asked. “Arthur is making new Horsemen?” That was a concerning idea, considering the only surviving members of the last ones that had been made were Judgement, Mordred, and myself.

Gawain looked dismayed. “Fuck off.”

“Atlantis was a destroyed realm. Why go there?”

“A lot of reasons.”

“List them,” I said, feeling my irritation threaten to bubble over.

“Fuck off.”

“Good talk,” I said, getting to my feet as Judgement walked into the clearing. “Just so you know, I’m not going to torture you. I’m not going to hurt you to get information. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“And she is?” Gawain asked.

“I’m not sure we’ve met,” Judgement said. “Not properly. I killed Hera. And I hear you might know where my sister Athena is, so I’m going to tear your brain into tiny pieces and let you put them back together again. Remember what you did to Mordred? Well, the runes you placed on him are the same ones on that bench. Want to see how long it takes you to break?”

Gawain glanced at the runes and showed fear for the first time. “You’re lying,” he stammered.

“Am I?” Judgement asked. “I don’t think so.”

Gawain looked between me and Judgement.

“You wouldn’t,” Gawain said.

“I once tore out a man’s eyes and made him hold them as I tortured him,” I told Gawain. “And of the two of us, I’m pretty sure I’m the nice one.”

Judgement smiled.

“Everyone thinks Atlantis is destroyed,” Gawain almost shouted. “That it was turned to ruin during the Titan Wars thousands of years ago, and it was. Everyone who lived there was killed. But the realm itself wasn’t destroyed, and there’s