Chapter 21
Carson saw Remy’s furrowed brow as he came down the stairs, causing his gut to twist with worry. Hurrying over to the bottom of the staircase, he pulled Remy into his arms. “How’s Lucius?”
“He’s receiving his mate’s blood, but…it’s too soon to tell if he’ll make it.”
“Is that all that’s bothering you?” asked Carson, running a hand lightly over his mate’s back.
Tilting his face up so he could look at his mate, Remy smiled. “You know me too well.”
“There’s something more,” Carson murmured, pressing a kiss to his mate’s forehead. “Wanna tell me?”
Sighing, Remy was silent for a moment before saying, “It was something I heard Brady say when we were sitting in Jackson’s office. Oh, and by the way, I like your brother very much, especially when he pushed back and made Oracle promise not to do anything to influence Brady’s decision.”
“That sounds like my brother.”
“I just never expected him to challenge her,” Remy murmured.
“Jackson has always been that way even when we were growing up. He stood up for us to our father so many times…and paid a heavy price for it…but he never wavered,” Carson said, before kissing his mate again. “Now, tell me why you were frowning, babe.”
“Before Oracle could say anything about Lucius, Brady asked what the Witches’ Council had done to me.”
“I don’t understand…the only thing they did was to invite us to meet them and talk about the orders you issued.”
“Brady said the Council members regarded those orders as threats.”
“Is he a member of the Council?” asked Carson.
“Not that I know…I don’t really know who he is, except that he’s Lucius’s Fated Mate.”
“What tier magic user is he?”
“No idea…I know he’s a warlock but he’s one without any magic,” replied Remy.
“If he’s not on the Council and has no magic…then how does he know how the members of the Council regard your orders as threats?” asked Carson.
“I’m not sure, but neither your brother nor Oracle were surprised by his assertion. There wasn’t time to ask Oracle about it but I intend to when she comes down from Lucius’ bedroom…which should be soon,” Remy said.
Looking up after hearing footsteps, Carson saw Oracle descending the staircase. “Hey babe, here she is now.”
~/~/~/~/~
Mystia didn’t have to wait long. The buzz of numerous low voices fell silent when a Council guard appeared in the hallway outside Zohar Stone’s office.
Moving next to him, she glanced at the first name on his list of appointments with Stone, smiling grimly when she saw it was an ardent supporter of the Head of the Witches Governing Council.
After hearing the guard call his name, Kadin rudely pushed aside everyone in his way, until he was standing in front of the guard. Looking down his nose at the man, he announced pompously, “I’m Kadin Fadington.”
After matching Kadin’s magical signature against the record on file, the guard opened the door, moving aside to allow the magic user to enter.
Standing, Zohar said, “Come in Kadin.”
Shadowing Kadin, Mystia followed him into Zohar’s office; then remembering Oracle’s warning, headed over to an out-of-the-way spot in the corner of the room. From there, she’d be safe while listening to everything discussed by Zohar and his visitors.
Once Kadin was seated, Zohar glanced at the guard.
“Make sure we aren’t disturbed.” After receiving an affirmative response, he waited until the door had closed behind the departing guard before sitting down.
Leaning back in his ornate chair his eyes roamed over Kadin, cataloging all of his nervous tics.
They were more pronounced than in the past; not surprising since Kadin had the spine of a jellyfish.
Not that he could blame him for his uneasiness; the plan Zohar had devised to eliminate the new Keeper of All Magic had the potential to destroy him along with other magic users involved in it.
He knew the only loyalty Kadin had was to himself, so if he was given a choice to save himself or keep silent, Zohar had no doubt the magic user would sing like a canary.
And that was an unacceptable risk as far as he was concerned, which meant Kadin was quickly becoming a liability.
Letting his growing unease about the situation go for the moment, Zohar growled, “Status report.”
“According to the Keeper’s wishes, all records pertaining to low-level magic users are being compiled according to your instructions,” announced Kadin. “Once they are finished, the information will be entered into a new file that can be given to the Keeper.”
“Good,” Zohar said. “What about the arrangements for the transportation of the merchandise?”
“Done,” Kadin said. “Just waiting for your authorization to proceed.”
“Go ahead. The job must be completed within the next three days,” Zohar ordered.
“Won’t be a problem.”
Dismissing him with a wave of his hand, Zohar said, “Send Niam in.”
Giving a short nod, Kadin left the room, stopping briefly to inform the guard of Zohar’s instructions, before weaving his way through the magic users still waiting to be summoned for their appointments.
Spying Niam, Kadin headed for him, wondering if he’d been as successful as himself in accomplishing his assignment for Zohar.
If Kadin was lucky, Niam would fail, giving him a chance to replace him as Zohar’s Second on the Council.
It was a position he’d aspired to for years, but no opportunity had arisen for him to show why he’d be a better Second than Niam.
Cursing at being born a second-level magic user, Kadin knew he was fighting an uphill battle since the Second on the Council was always a first level magic user.
But he’d never let things like that stand in his way in the past and he wasn’t going to begin now.
Reaching Niam, Kadin placed his hand on the man’s shoulder, then leaning in, whispered, “Zohar is waiting.”
Tilting his head in acknowledgement, Niam Graves excused himself from a group of warlocks he’d been chatting with before moving quickly toward the office at the end of the hallway.
Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, he waited until the guard confirmed his identity before slipping into the room.
Claiming a chair, he sat down, waiting for Zohar to speak.
Glancing up at his Second, Zohar smiled at his friend. “Kadin’s hoping you’ll fuck up this time so he can take your place.”
Rolling his eyes, Niam said, “So what’s new? If I were in his shoes, I’d be more worried about staying alive than becoming Second.”
“He’s too stupid…and that makes him a risk,” Zohar muttered. “After he’s done, I want him gone.”
“Agreed. Have you spoken to Thayer yet?” asked Niam.
“I will shortly,” Zohar said, smirking. “Did you find the proof we need?”
“I did…she’s definitely broken our laws,” replied Niam. “I also have everything in place as we discussed. All that’s required is your order to proceed.”
“Go ahead and arrest her but make sure she can’t contact anyone.”
“Got it covered already. The last thing we want is for her to inform the Keeper,” Niam agreed.
Mystia’s blood ran cold as the words washed over her.
She had no doubt Zohar was referring to her as the one who defied the Council laws, thereby putting a wrench in his plan to seize control of the Mystic Realm.
The problem she was wrestling with, though, was how arresting her and charging her with a crime would help Zohar get rid of the Keeper or the Mystic Guardian.
Mystia didn’t have that answer yet, but in the meantime, there was someone she had to warn.
Slipping her phone out of her pocket, she found his name and sent him instructions, hoping he’d follow them to the letter.
There was only one other person Mystia had to warn and, after that was done, she put her phone away, thankful her actions couldn’t be detected by any magic users.
While she’d been sending her messages, Niam had left the room and Thayer had just entered.
“What did you find out about the new Keeper?” asked Zohar as Thayer sat down facing him.
Waving his hand, a report appeared on the desk.
“Everything in there has been verified. The Mystic Guardian is indeed a wolf shifter from a very small pack in California…definitely not one we have to worry about. There are numerous laws the Keeper has broken, including failure to register as a low-level magic user, committing fraud and bribery in order to take custody of his brothers…”
“Are his brothers low-level magic users?” asked Zohar.
“No, according to the records, they are first-level magic users.”
“Hmm…” Zohar continued reading the report and, when he got to the end, looked at Thayer. “You say the Keeper’s brothers are protected…how?”
“Yes, they are, but I don’t know how. One of my men tried to get close to two of the boys he spied playing but was unable to. I haven’t figured out what the Keeper did, but whatever it was, it prevented my man from translocating there.”
“What else?”
“So far, the news of a new Keeper and Ruler has been restricted to the four of us. And until you want that to change, that’s the way it will stay,” answered Thayer.
“What about the two guards who met him?” asked Zohar.
“I removed their memories of that encounter.”
“Have you checked to see if the High Council was notified?”
“I have, and no, they haven’t. It seems the Oracle who sent you notice, followed protocol by only notifying you, leaving it up to you to follow up with the High Council.”
Grunting in satisfaction, Zohar twitched two fingers, making the report disappear. “Have you selected the guards for each of the assignments yet?”
“Yes…but I haven’t given them orders, yet.”
Nodding, Zohar replied, “I’ve given the other Council members a two week break starting in three days. Nothing is to be done until everyone has left.”
“Just let me know when the coast is clear and I’ll take care of it,” Thayer said.
“You’ll be the first to know,” Zohar smirked. “Go…and we’ll talk later. And tell the guard to send in the next one on his list.”
Standing, Thayer grinned. “Today’s going to be a profitable one, if the number of magic users outside is any indication.”
“Yeah…but don’t forget I have to sit through hours of incessant whining and begging first.”
“I love it when you sing the blues, old friend,” replied Thayer, chuckling. “See you later.”
Leaning back in his chair, Zohar waited for the first magic user to be shown into his office. His friend was right, it was going to be a very good day.
~/~/~/~/~
When the last appointment of the day arrived, nearly all of Mystia’s patience had evaporated after being forced to sit through the countless meetings between Zohar and the magic users she’d seen lining the hallway.
Disgust was her constant companion as she listened to the pleading of each magic user for whatever they wanted, followed by a presentation of an expensive gift to Zohar.
Then and only then would a decision be made regarding their requests.
Waiting for the meeting to end, Mystia spent the time calculating the value of all the gifts—the amount was staggering.
And while Zohar’s greed was outrageous, his willingness to ignore the laws and the rights of low-level magic users was worse than she ever could have imagined.
She’d seen enough and it was time to go.
Moving over to the door, she paused before slipping out along with the last magic user.
Retracing her steps, Mystia hurried down the stairs leading to the unguarded door, ignoring the questions that kept popping up in her mind.
Right now, her focus had to be on whether her messages to Jimmy and Jackson got through and making sure they were safe before finding Oracle to share what she’d learned.
~/~/~/~/~
Looking up, Brady watched as Logan substituted a new bag of his blood for the empty one before returning his focus to Lucius.
Nothing had changed so far; his mate was still unconscious but his belief in Lucius’ recovery was still strong as ever.
Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss on his mate’s pale, full, lips as his thumbs continued to caress the back of Lucius’ hands.
“Take your time, leelan,” he whispered, “I’ll be here when you finally wake. ”
Smiling at Brady, Kieran asked, “What does leelan mean?”
“Dearest one,” Brady murmured, glancing at the Shaman. “It’s found in the vampire’s ancient language. That’s what Lucius is to me…and what he’ll always be to me…my dearest one.”
“I didn’t know vampires had their own language,” Logan said.
“They don’t anymore,” Brady replied.
“Why not?” asked Logan.
“The same reason a lot of languages disappear…as the population of vampires grew, so did the number of covens. The human population surrounding the covens wasn’t big enough to support all of them, so a number of covens were forced to leave and find new locations where different languages were spoken.
As years passed, vampires learned those and eventually abandoned their own language.
Now it can only be found in ancient manuscripts and is spoken by a few scholars who seek to preserve vampire heritage. ”
“Do you know the language?” asked Kieran.
“I’m able to read and speak it…not very well but passable for my needs,” Brady said.
“What needs? Did you know your Fated Mate was going to be a vampire?” asked Logan.
Shaking his head, Brady murmured, “Many of the laws governing vampires of today are based on the ones found in the ancient manuscripts, so in order to understand the nuances of the old laws, I learned it. It was the only way I could be sure of what the intent of the old laws were.”
Moving his hands to Lucius’s arm, Kieran said softly, “Lucius’ pain is less intense now. I still can’t remove all of it but it is not being replaced as fast as it was before he began receiving your blood.”
“I’ve never heard of a Shaman that could do what you’re doing,” Brady murmured.
“That’s because before my mate came along, there wasn’t one,” Logan replied, his pride of Kieran clearly evident in his voice.
Hovering on the edge of consciousness, Lucius fought against it, wanting to stay in his dream world longer.
It was a place without pain, a place where he wasn’t a vampire, a place where the scent of apples reminded him of warm summer days he spent with his brothers and sisters climbing fruit trees on his family’s farm.
For the first time since Valerian had stolen his life, Lucius was happy and that, alone, was worth never having to wake up.
Ignoring the buzzing of voices around him, he concentrated on hanging onto the place where nothing bad would ever happen to him again.