Page 40 of Crimson Skies

Theo nodded determinedly. Victor wrapped an arm around his lover.

Kalliste exchanged a cautious glance with the Dryads and the Goddesses who had come to Earth that day.

“So, the war starts in four days?” she asked Atropos.

The Moira dipped her head. “The main battle will be here, in this city. Since both Elios’s army and ours need the magic built into the bones of this world, the fighting will likely extend to other locations along the nexus of the planet.I expect fracture lines to appear in those regions as Elios starts to draw on the latent power beneath the Earth.”

Morgan frowned.That’s pretty much the 37th to 39th parallels.

The latitudes enclosing the ley line where Earth’s magic lived crossed the most densely populated areas on two continents. He clenched his jaw. Had it not been for Atropos’s forewarning, the humans and otherworldly living there would not have stood a chance once the war began.

The brouhaha of the armies gathered in Golden Gate Park and the freshly arrived Lucifugous troops on Ocean Beach filtered through the thick material of the private tent where they’d gathered, a distraction that didn’t dispel the somber atmosphere. The rest of his team had left an hour ago to help Hexa and the other agencies oversee the city’s final evacuation plans. Ortega, Wallace, and Yuan had conferred briefly with Eden before accompanying them.

The Magus was to begin their training tomorrow.

The words Cassius spoke next sent a chill through Morgan. “Does the future you saw for us remain uncertain?”

The demigod was observing Atropos steadily.

The Moira nodded. “Yes. Our defeat is not set in stone.” She hesitated, gold gleaming in her eyes. “Moreover, I do not see Elios achieve one of his main objectives. I do not see your death.”

Her prophetic words echoed across the tent. Kalliste fisted her hands. Thetis and Daphne shared a troubled look.

Unease prickled Morgan’s scalp. Once again, he couldn’t help but feel Atropos was keeping something from them. Cassius watched the Moira for a silent moment, as if he could garner a truth no one else could from her expression.

“We should get some rest,” he said quietly.

The meeting ended, everyone leaving for their designated quarters with pensive looks.

* * *

Cassius leanedhis elbows on the terrace railing and looked out over San Francisco. Night had fallen across the Western Seaboard.

He could see the glow of fires from the camps in Golden Gate Park and on the beach through a gap between the high rises, his preternatural vision overcoming the distance and the rare darkness swamping the deserted city. A strained hush thickened the air despite the place having emptied of its human denizens and the magic users and otherworldly too old to fight. He didn’t know if it was his imagination or not, but he could almost see the shroud of expectation blanketing the place.

A cool wind rose off the bay and ruffled his hair. He shivered, unable to suppress the foreboding that was his constant companion these days.

Atropos’s words from a few hours ago danced through his mind for the hundredth time. He wondered if she’d glimpsed the desperate scheme he’d thought of in the last few days. A plan he still had doubts about but knew in his bones he had to try as a last option to save them all.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

He thought of Chaos then, locked in his everlasting prison of darkness. He’d found himself thinking more and more about the Primordial God who had given rise to all the Gods and almost the entirety of creation.

Does he rage at those who put him there? Is he as eager to escape that place as Elios is to release him from it?

Soft footsteps rose behind him. He didn’t have to turn around to know who was approaching. The heat in his soul core gave him the answer with every beat of his heart.

Morgan wrapped his arms around him. “Come inside. It’s cold out here.”

He kissed the back of his head.

Cassius leaned into the demigod’s embrace, grateful for his strength and warmth. “Did everyone settle in okay?”

“Yeah.” Morgan sighed ruefully. “Being a host sure is a pain in the ass.”

Cassius chuckled. They’d decided to give the heads of the otherworldly alliance who’d arrived on Earth and the mages they’d brought to San Francisco their own apartments in the building. Brianna Monroe had reluctantly allowed Eden to stay with the Dryads for the night. Bostrof had taken Izaran to meet Lilaia and Phebei.

Only the captains and commanders of the armies remained in the camps to oversee the troops.

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