Page 10 of Harbinger
“With a lot of foresight and some targeted bribery.” Kazmi sighed at their slightly shocked looks. “There’s enough going on in the world right now what with everything that happened in London.”
Theo flinched.
Kazmi did not miss his reaction.
“The people of this realm do not need yet another troublesome thing to worry about,” the Argonaut mage added tactfully.
Morgan’s brow knitted. “If the Security Council’s calculations are correct, you won’t be able to keep this under the lid for much longer.”
Kazmi’s face grew discomfited. “That’s why I’m here.”
Strickland’s expression darkened slightly, as did Jasper’s. Only Victor and Reuben managed to maintain a neutral air.
Morgan narrowed his eyes. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like what you have to say next?”
Kazmi avoided his suspicious stare and cleared her throat delicately. “The U.N. Security Council will be putting a statement out in full shortly. But the essence of it is this. The Fallen and the otherworldly who came to Earth will be allowed to stay in this realm if you get rid of this problem.”
Adrianne drew a sharp breath. The air became heavy with tension.
Morgan scowled and took a threatening step forward. “What?!”
Cassius laid a hand on his arm. Though his pulse raced, his voice was calm when he addressed Kazmi.
“This is the excuse they’re going to use to backtrack on their original intentions?”
Kazmi’s shoulders sagged a little. A wry smile curved the elderly mage’s mouth as she met his unblinking gaze. “I suspected you would be the first here to grasp the true significance behind their words, just as Victor did.”
Morgan and the rest of their team exchanged puzzled looks.
“What do you mean?” Bailey asked, confused.
Cassius’s nails bit into his palms. “What happened in London created a situation Earth’s leaders had not faced before. They needed to appease the humans who felt betrayed by the Fallen who had put their lives at riskandallay the fears of this realm as a whole.” He paused. “They never dismissed Regina’s prophecy. They just needed to find a reason to allow us to stay here.”
A wretched expression darted across Theo’s face then.
Cassius touched his shoulder. “Stop blaming yourself. Remember, Elios is the real culprit behind what took place.”
Victor rose and came over to hug Theo. “Cassius is right.” He pulled back and pressed a soft kiss to Theo’s forehead. “And I might never have met you were it not for Elios hastening your awakening.”
“Like Cassius said, human leaders have had to find a way to save face,” Kazmi confirmed. Her gaze swept the room. “They’re confident you will find a solution to this problem. And they will fully support your wish to remain on Earth once this is all over.”
Morgan’s face darkened. “By ‘you,’ do you mean Cassius?”
Cassius’s heart twisted at the anger simmering in his eyes. Morgan hated the fact that he’d been used repeatedly by the very people who’d professed to loathe him over the centuries since the Fall. Which was why he’d threatened to take Cassius and leave Earth so as to reclaim his rightful place as the heir to the Dryad kingdom’s throne, if the world’s leaders and the organizations that governed the otherworldly and magic users did not admit to Cassius’s achievements.
The resulting official statements had turned Cassius into a hero almost overnight when they’d been released a few months ago, something the demigod still hadn’t gotten used to.
Kazmi shook her head, her face somber. “No. This one’s on all of you Fallen.”
Theo paled, as did Charlie.
Jasper made a frustrated sound. “Humans may be confident we can resolve this situation, but I’m not.” The demon met Cassius’s uneasy stare. “I know you’re strong, but this?Thisis on a whole other level.”
“This plague takes the form of a black mist that leaves death and suffering in its wake,” Reuben explained. “Those who survive the initial contact with the disease all perish a few days later, and agonizingly at that. This thing is like,” he waved a hand vaguely, “an entity scouring the land it passes through clean of all life.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s an otherworldly at its root.” Crimson glimmered briefly in Jasper’s pupils. “One we have yet to face and who is insanely strong.”
Cassius stilled.
