Page 125 of Cosmic Power

“I don’t know,” Baizin began, “I think he made some good points. I mean, wearethe dominant species, all of us, and yet we bend to the humans’ rules. Even you guys have to admit, it’s a little ridiculous.”

Draego swallowed the rest of his drink in one go. “The humans outnumber us. Always have. There’s just too many of them. Starting a war with them would bring a death count of millions. It’s not worth it. Not when we’re able to live our lives now with no issues. And, with the fae due to knock on our door any day now and try to take our world, it’s even more important to keep the humans in the dark. The last thing we need is to be fighting a war on two fronts.”

“I think the humans should be made to fight with us.” Baizin scratched his chin in deep thought. “This is their world, too. Why is the responsibility of defending it only on us?”

Lucille gave him the side-eye. “Because it’s our fault. The humans have nothing to do with it.”

“If we’re placing blame here, I think it lands on the Ancestrals. They’re the ones the fae are after,” Baizin retorted.

Bane barely held back his snort. “Did you not listen to a word they said? The fae areworld conquers.That means they would have tried to take over our world, whether the Ancestrals were here or not. The moment they found us, it was on.”

“We don’t know that. For all we know, the fae have only decided to attack us because we’re harbouring their enemies. If we give them up, maybe they’ll spare our world.”

Lucille growled, jumping to her feet. “Say something like that again and I’ll kill you where you stand,” she threatened, holding her black claws to Baizin’s throat.

The shifter didn’t move to defend himself. He simply raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. “It was just a thought.”

“A stupid one,” Lucille spat back. “They are our Ancestors. Without them, none of us would even be here. Show some respect.” She returned to her seat, keeping her death glare locked on Baizin.

A cell phone rang, the sound zinging through the air. Bane glanced down, pulled it out from his pocket and silenced the call. “My phone’s been blowing up ever since they announced this clusterfuck. Did you know they were broadcasting the entire thing worldwide?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Do you have any idea how much power something like that would take? And that Elias guy did it all on his own.”

“Even more proof they are who they say they are,” Baizin said, idly touching his throat where Lucille’s claws had been a moment ago. “The chaos this is all going to create…” his words drifted off, a look of unease streaking across his rough face.

“There is nothing to be done about it now,” Luther said, sipping his drink as he made his way over to them. “What needs to be done now is damage control. You all need to make yourselves available to your people. They’re going to have even more questions once they’ve had a chance to really process this news. Be understanding. Answer as many of them as you can while reassuring them in the process. If there’s something you can’t answer, or you’re unsure of, direct them to me.”

Bane ran his eyes up and down Luther’s large frame. “Your maker is the Ancestral Vampire, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

The light mage gulped. “That’s insane. You’re like…royalty,” he breathed the last word with reverence, and it made Luther uncomfortable.

“I am definitely not.”

“And Barnabas, the former Shifter Regent. He was a descendant of the Ancestral Shifter.” Panic flashed on Bane’s face. “We just badmouthed his great-great-great—” Bane frowned. “How many ‘greats’ do you think are in there?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Baizin barked, straightening his spine. “He’s dead now. Being his descendant did nothing to protect him. If anything, it made him cocky.”

“True, true.” Bane leaned back in his chair. “What are you gonna do if his sons come back to take the Regent position?”

Baizin’s eyes flashed gold. “Kill them. The position is mine now. If they want it, they’re going to have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

“There will be no killing,” Draego cut in, a stern look on his face. “It’s vital now more than ever we all come together to deal with the current threat. We can go back to killing each otherafterthe fae are dead.”

Luther liked Draego’s diplomacy. It’s what made him such an efficient and fair leader.

Lucille stood. “I’ll return to the Demon Kingdom and get a rough number of how many of us will be prepared to engage in the fight. I suspect most. We love to fight. It’s what we live for.” Her lips curved into a sadistic smile.

Baizin jumped to his feet. “I’ll do the same. I’ll reach out to the other Shifter Regents in neighbouring countries and get a feel for numbers.”

Luther inclined his head slightly. “Remember. Any problems, send them my way. My maker will have a quota for each species and if it’s not met, hewilltake matters into his own hands.”

They both nodded. Baizin looked at Lucille. “Care to give an old man a lift?” he winked.

The demon snorted but laid a hand on the Baizin’s arm. They blinked away, disappearing into the air.

Luther turned to the light mage. He was leaning back nonchalantly in his chair, legs spread wide and arms propped up by the back of his seat. He looked like he was right at home, like he was settling in for the night and had no intention of moving.

He arched an eyebrow.

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