Exile of the Clave

Exile of the Clave - Chapter 16

Sera's eyes narrowed at Zeke. "What plan?"

The Stripped Shadowhunter held up his hands to absolve himself of all responsibility. "I'm not saying anything. Let Cassius explain; this is his brand of crazy, not mine." He sipped from what was left of his spiked tea and then folded his arms, refusing to explain further.

As if saying his name had summoned him from the back room of the book shop, Cassius reappeared with a stack of three progressively thicker tomes. Each book was hand-bound in leather and was roughly two feet square, a strange size that was more reminiscent of a photo album to Sera's curious eyes. She watched as it he set them down carefully on the table and then she waited expectantly to hear The Plan.

The Faerie's dark leather wing rippled slightly as he adjusted it so that he could lean back against the table comfortably. "How much do you know of Fey heritage, lovely Sera?"

Sera blinked in confusion. "What? Just Sera," she corrected reflexively. "And I don't know... not much? Demons and angels..." Her right hand made a suggestive gesture and Zeke snorted into his mug, his shoulders shaking.

Smiling broadly, Cassius nodded appreciatively but did not apologize again for his slip-up. "You are partially correct, and any gap in your understanding of my kind is to be forgiven. Of all the supernatural creatures with whom they share this world, the Nephilim know the least about the Fey, though they work hard to conceal their ignorance by borrowing from myths and legends."

"I thought all the stories were true," Sera challenged him.

"And the truth is a fluid thing in the mouths of Faerie-kind," he finished for her. "Please allow me to expand upon your knowledge of my people."

Sera looked at him doubtfully. "And this is all necessary to explain The Plan?"

With the faintest of sighs, Cassius turned his grey eyes down to the slimmest of the three books that he had brought back with him. "Mortals. It is easy to forget the impatience that drives your kind, so I will make an effort to be as brief as possible. I do, however, believe that it is important for you to understand this. After all, it is also Rayce's heritage."

If Sera could be completely honest with herself, she was more than a little intrigued to hear what Cassius had to say, even if she didn't understand what it had to do with The Plan. She was still recovering from the double-whammy of the fight with the Hellhounds and applying Hunter's Fortitude rune, so maybe a bit of break wasn't such a bad idea.

"Alright, let's hear it," she said, picking up her own mug again and casting an unconscious glance over her shoulder at the heavy curtains that shut out the Rift. Knowing that the magic was unstable made her edgy, but so did knowing what kind of dark creatures were living out there. She didn't think she would ever forget seeing the cages of live virgins for sale on the boulevard.

Cassius bowed his head graciously and spread his hands. "Let us begin with a question that is often overlooked. What is the difference between the Seelie and the Unseelie?"

Sera opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her brain stalled, and she tried to jog her mnemosyne rune into helping her out, but she drew a blank. How have I never thought about this? "Um... well... the Unseelie are... evil. And... the Seelie are... less evil?" Her voice turned up questioningly, and she felt stupid even as she said it.

Cassius laughed out loud, a clear, ringing sound that sweetened the air around her. She couldn't decide whether it was calming because of its tone or annoying because of its context.

"A good understanding, for a Mortal," he chuckled. "It is true that the greatest among us descend directly from the union of angels and demons. The children of these trysts are what we call 'Greater Fey'. The dominance in their blood determines the alliance of a Greater Fey; those who are more strongly angelic join the Seelie Court, while those who are governed more heavily by their demonic half swell the ranks of the Unseelie. Their children follow after them within that alliance thereafter."