AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eva took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Logan—”
He shook his head, subject closed, and then led her over to the people she already knew were his parents. “Eva, this is my mom and dad, Thanatos and Regan.”
In Eva’s line of work, she met a lot of bigwigs. Politicians. Entertainers. Even a few world leaders. She never got tongue-tied and was rarely anxious.
She was so nervous right now that she would have asked about a bathroom if she could form the words.
Thanatos was still in his armor, one arm wrapped around Regan, supporting her against him. His pale-yellow eyes reminded her of a hawk, sharp and merciless. He said nothing, but Regan smiled. Barely. Still, Eva was going to call it a win.
“Hi, Eva.” Regan’s hand fell to her rounded belly. “Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.”
“I agree. But it’s good to meet you. Logan speaks very highly of you both.” A ray of golden sunlight spread over the beach in the distance, and she stared in awe as the clouds dissolved like cotton candy in the wind. “Oh, wow. Look.”
As if by magic, the sticky blood that had coated everything melted away, disappearing as if it had never been. Their clothes weren’t even stained. Was this happening in Jerusalem as well?
“I’ve seen some weird shit,” Thanatos said, “but this is next-level weird. Humans are going to freak out.”
The Horseman was right. Eva was on the verge of doing it right now, and she had a front row seat. How was the world at large going to handle this event?
With a growing sense of urgency, Eva wheeled around to Logan. “Can I borrow your comms? I want to see what’s coming out of The Aegis.”
He unclipped his device from his wrist and passed it to her. She secured it quickly and then flipped on the eye screen, allowing her individual implant chip to operate Logan’s device. Instantly, her brain was flooded with video and photos from people near Temple Mount.
She used the eye tracking to turn on The Aegis app and let out a silent growl at the sight of her boss, Jennifer, speaking with Stefani at her side.
That should be me, dammit.
“…to be clear,”Jennifer was saying, “we don’t know the origins of the phenomenon, nor do we know if the substance that fell is blood, let alone to what—or whom—it belonged. We are calling for calm at this time.” She nodded at a reporter with her hand raised. “Molly Baker from BBC.”
Eva would bet a million dollars that she knew what Molly would ask.
Molly stood.“Is there any chance this may be a sign that Satan has broken free of his prison?”
Ding, ding. Winner. Reporters asked the question every time something big happened. Every. Time.
Of course, that had been Eva’s first question to the Horsemen, as well.
“We have no reason to believe the apocalyptic timeline has been altered.”
Standard answer.
“But the Dome of the Rock and the entirety of Temple Mount are central in some apocalyptic prophecies. Surely, this bizarre occurrence isn’t a coincidence.” Molly again.
Jennifer’s smile was somehow both comforting and condescending.“Molly, how often is the Dome of the Rock the site of some sort of disturbance? It’s a historical site of great importance and powerful energy. It’s highly doubtful this event is in any way a precursor to any kind of apocalyptic activity.”
She’d made it sound so ho-hum and run-of-the-mill. Jennifer was truly talented at that.
“Could this be a sign from God?” another reporter called out. “Or a punishment?”
“We have no reason to believe the phenomenon is of Heavenly origin,”Jennifer said, completely in sync with Eva as she mouthed the rote response. “Ladies and gentlemen, we ask again that everyone remain calm while we investigate—”
“Will you be working with DART to get to the bottom of this?”
Eva saw the surprise of an unanticipated question in Jennifer’s expression. But she was a pro at this, and Eva doubted anyone else watching would have noticed the slight flare of her eyes or the split-second glance at her prepared notes before she recovered with a reassuring nod.
“We will use all the resources and assistance available to us,” Jennifer said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get the latest information. I’ll be back with you shortly.”
Eva clicked Jennifer’s call code without thinking, but at the second unanswered tone, an incoming call blared in her ear.
