Page 64 of Bones

BURN

AURORA

“B-but they’re the harbingers ofthe apocalypse,” I stammered out.

It wasn’t just that I was stunned by the possibility of the end of days. Even hearing it preached week after week, I’d always assumed it was also an analogy. Or a worst-case scenario that was predicted to show what would happen to unrepentant sinners. Maybe something that would happen eons in the future.

It being real was surprising but not as shocking as finding out Deke was part of it. Thecauseof it.

Thoughtful, gruff, quietDeke.

“That’s the way it’s been twisted.” He lifted his shoulder in a nonchalant shrug, but I could see the pain in his tensely clenched jaw and dark eyes. “It’s easier to let your urges run rampant when you have a boogeyman to blame. Or four of us. My brothers, Death and Pestilence. Our sister, War. And me.”

Famine.

I opened my mouth.

And then I closed it again because I had no argument to that.

Pastor Gideon had portrayed himself as a pristine vessel of God, doling judgment from his position on the elevated pulpit before going home to terrorize his wife and daughter.

At least Ryan had been slightly more honest about his shortcomings. He’d endeared himself to everyone—including me—with his relatability as a flawed man. He just hadn’t shown how flawed he truly was.

In the six years since my accident, I’d seen countless visions of countless sins. Not egregious ones from every person I encountered. Most people were good. Imperfect, sure. Misguided, definitely. Butgood. In every congregation I’d attended over the years, starting in Arkansas and ending in Georgia, a few were always different.

Alcohol.

Drugs.

Sex.

Violence.

Every vice ticked off over the years by people who sat in the pews, not as sinners connecting with God, but as haughty hypocrites.

Always angling. Always out for themselves. Always seeking more, more,more.

And that was just the limited glimpses my curse had shown me.

But Deke wasn’t like that. My mind reeled as I thought about how different he was from everything I knew about Famine.

I would’ve smacked myself in the forehead if it weren’t for the fact I was too stunned to move.

Famine on hisblack horse.

The name had been right there in front of me. I’d seen it dozens of times each day for a week, but I’d just assumed it was because of the farm area around.

But it wasn’t. It was a play on his depiction even though he used that restaurant and the room at the side to feed people. He kept expansive gardens of produce that he shared freely, including driving far out of his way to drop supplies off in areas that were food deserts.

He was fair and just with his employees. I’d heard them talk about how overpaid they were for the limited hours they worked. How he approved time off, even if it meant he was the one filling in. How balanced their lives were compared to when they’d worked in other restaurants.

None of that made sense with who he claimed to be.

Unconsciously echoing my thoughts, Deke leaned closer and said, “Know it’s only been a week, but think of everything you’ve seen from me. Everything youknowabout me.” He reached out and lightly tapped his fingertip to my upper chest. “In here.”

The familiar phantom burn flared to life under his touch. It didn’t just warm. It ignited across my skin until it engulfed all of me.

One moment, I was on his couch. And in the next, I was continents away.

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