Page 1 of Harbinger
1
Cassius Black steppedout of the elevator on the top floor of his and Morgan King’s building and headed for his apartment. His phone buzzed with an incoming message when he reached his front door. He juggled the grocery bags in his arms, slipped the cell out of the back pocket of his jeans, and checked the display.
It was a text from Lilaia.
He smiled, tapped out a reply, and opened his apartment, only to be greeted by the sounds of an argument.
“Now look what you’ve done!” Loki’s singsong voice declared out of sight.
“Look what I’ve done?!” Morgan snapped. “I’m not the one who damaged the apartment with his giant head, you damn imp!”
Cassius’s shoulders slumped.What now?
He trudged inside, rounded the corner of the living room, and rocked to a halt. “What happened to my ceiling?!”
Loki and Morgan jumped guiltily where they stood beneath a two-foot hole in the plaster, hair and fur covered in dust and chunks of debris littering the ground at their feet.
Cassius dropped the bags on the kitchen counter and scowled at the exposed metalwork and wires. He directed an accusing look at the imp and the demigod. He could hazard a guess as to what had transpired in the brief time he’d left to do some last-minute grocery shopping for Lilaia’s belated baby shower.
The animosity between Loki and Morgan had gotten ten times worse since their return from Europe. It seemed the imp had not appreciated the detour Morgan had encouraged Cassius to take on their way back from London. A detour which had involved Paris, a decadent five-star hotel suite, and room service for the entire time they’d spent in the city.
“Sightseeing my demonic ass!” Loki had growled at Morgan when they’d come back. “I bet the only thing that saw any action during those five days is that snake between your legs, you depraved demigod!”
To his chagrin, Morgan could not exactly deny this. They hadn’t left their hotel suite once. Cassius had actually been grateful to catch up on some sleep on their flight back home.
Still, their side trip didn’t fully explain why Loki seemed so tense these days. Cassius was certain something was worrying the imp. What that was he still hadn’t figured out.
Maybe I should just ask him outright. But first things first.
Cassius crossed his arms.
“Well?” he said coldly.
Loki’s tail and ears drooped. Morgan opened his mouth before closing it again.
Cassius surmised from this that they were both equally at fault for the damage to his ceiling. The doorbell rang. His eyes shrank to slits.
“Don’t think the arrival of our guests is a get-out-of-jail card for you two. You’re both in the doghouse.”
Loki shrank down to his demon cat form and slinked off in the direction of the bedroom, a forlorn meow rumbling out of his chest. He paused on the threshold and cast a wretched look at Cassius over his shoulder.
The demigod resisted the imp’s limpid eyes.
“In. The. Doghouse,” he repeated in a steely voice.
Loki made an annoyed sound and disappeared, tail swishing with irritated flicks.
Cassius met Morgan’s contrite gaze. “Youcan explain later.”
He twisted on his heels and headed down the hall to open the front door.
“What’s wrong?” Julia Chen asked right away.
Cassius accepted the drinks the Terrene angel handed him. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”
“There’s a muscle twitching in your jawline,” Adrianne Hogan said in a helpful tone.
“Considering you have the patience of a saint, something must have happened,” Suzie Myers drawled.
