Chapter 36
“I’m not sure,” Mystia said, “obviously the spell I used on you and your brothers is gone, even with your magic enhancing it. Oracle’s announcement has surprised the Governing Council’s members…especially since they didn’t know of your existence.”
“Now they do,” Carson said, “and they know I’m the Mystic Guardian…
so that should make them behave, right? Also why didn’t the guards sense Remy’s magic?
I’m just shooting in the dark here because I don’t know very much about the mystic realm but shouldn’t those guards have sensed Remy’s powers if he’s the strongest magic user on earth? ”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but…” mused Mystia, pausing before continuing, “about thirty years ago, the last Keeper and Mystic Guardian came to see me. I was flattered, of course, but puzzled as to why they sought me out, since for the first hour or so, our conversation was centered around my mating with Jimmy. I was worried the Governing Council didn’t want a witch mated to a wolf and while I was trying to think of what to do if that were the case, suddenly, the Mystic Guardian handed me a box.
The Keeper bade me to open it. Inside were three very old books.
“I immediately protested they were far too valuable for me to accept but the Keeper insisted I was the right person to keep the books from falling into the wrong hands and when the time was right, I was to give them to their rightful owners.” Smiling at Remy, Mystia added, “Of course, I could never say no, so I vowed to protect them with all my magic. After some more small talk, the Keeper and Mystic Guardian left and I never saw them again. ”
“Are these the books Oracle mentioned?” asked Carson. “She said you had a book for Remy and one for me.”
Smiling, Mystia replied, “Yes they are. When the Fates were given the task of selecting the Keeper, they also commissioned two books, one for the Keeper and the other for the Mystic Guardian. Since no one now has the powers that you two have, they decided it was important for the Keeper and Mystic Guardian to know exactly what those powers were.”
“Have you read them?” asked Carson. “Do you know how I use my gift?”
“No, only the Keeper and the Mystic Guardian can open their books,” Mystia said.
“What was the third book?” asked Remy.
“That book is filled with different myths and legends,” Mystia said, her eyes twinkling. “That one I was able to read. One of them is about a wolf shifter who would become the next Mystic Guardian.”
“It was about me?” asked Carson.
“Yes, apparently so,” Mystia replied. “I now believe the old Keeper gave me the three books because he didn’t want anyone connected with the Governing Council to find out what might be coming along after he was gone.”
“I can understand that if the guards’ reaction was anything to go by,” Carson said. “Can you imagine what the Governing Council would do to stop a wolf shifter from becoming the next Mystic Guardian?”
“Exactly…especially, considering what they’ve done to low-level magic users in the past,” Remy said.
“That certainly explains their reaction…but why did they doubt that Remy is the Keeper of All Magic?” asked Carson .
“Remy’s magic can only be unlocked when he follows the instructions in the book…and the same applies to you too, Carson.”
“So, when you suggested I remove the magic from one of the guards, you knew I couldn’t do it,” smirked Carson.
“Correct,” Mystia smiled, “when I offered those two choices, I wanted to remind the guards about the power of the Mystic Guardian, but since they were acting under orders, I was pretty sure Remy would make the choice he did.”
“Why would the Fates pick a wolf shifter this time?” asked Carson.
“Ahh, yes. That I don’t know but it leads me back to whether the Governing Council members will genuinely accept it,” Mystia said. “I believe most will, but not all. If I were to hazard a guess as to who won’t, it would be those who devised the current laws regarding low-level magic users.”
“How can I find that out?” asked Remy.
“Maybe in the minutes of the meetings,” Mystia suggested.
“If it is there, I doubt it’s accurate,” mused Carson. “Whoever is behind this wants to hide since there was no name on the guards’ order.”
“At this point, I don’t think I should trust anyone,” Remy said.
“I agree,” replied Carson. “Even though not every member is responsible for drafting those laws, they all voted for them. As I see it, before the Governing Council can continue, we have to discover who’s behind everything because their evil is infecting everyone. ”
“Agreed,” Remy said. “If I think I’m getting the runaround, I intend to suspend the Council while I sort through these issues.”
“Good idea,” said Carson. “What do you want to do about the two guards? They might be useful…at least the lieutenant.”
“Hmmm.” Remy thought about his mate’s suggestion, then said, “Let’s see how well Lieutenant Steros follows my orders.”
“Good idea,” replied Carson. “Mystia, any thoughts?”
“No…your plan is a good one,” Mystia said, smiling at the Keeper and his Mystic Guardian. “If you have no other questions for me, I have something I need to discuss with Remy.”
“Do you want me to leave?” asked Carson.
“No, not unless Remy does,” Mystia said. “It concerns the recent use of black magic.”
“Stay, Carsy,” Remy said, “this is what I started to tell you about before we were interrupted.”
“Black magic?” asked Carson. “Doesn’t that include summoning demons? Are you or the boys in danger?”
“Not that I know of, unless Mystia says otherwise,” Remy replied.
“I hate to say it, but you might be,” Mystia said, “and yes, it does include a demon in this case. I’ve been searching for two witches who, along with three vampires, used black magic to force someone to steal for them.”
“Are you referring to Reif?” asked Carson.
“Yes, I am,” Mystia answered.
“Who’s Reif?” asked Remy .
“A sea dragon…thought to be extinct, but turns out he and his people weren’t,” Carson said.
“The vampires were killed but the two witches escaped and I’ve been searching for them ever since,” Mystia explained. “There’s been no trace of them until now.”
“The fermenting tanks,” murmured Remy.
“They’re the stainless-steel ones, right?” asked Carson.
“Yes,” Remy said. “Someone destroyed the wine in seven of them by putting toxic bugs into the wine. It wasn’t the first act of sabotage but it was the most recent.”
“When did it happen?” asked Carson.
“It was discovered the morning you arrived in France,” Remy said.
“And the other times?” asked Carson.
“Sporadically…no set pattern. It began shortly after Fionn’s father died,” explained Remy. “I did a spreadsheet documenting the date, the sabotage, the time it was discovered and the cost of the damage.”
“Was black magic used with the others?” asked Mystia.
“Not that I know of, but it might have been,” Remy replied. “Initially, I thought it was an accident one of the workers was trying to cover up.”
“Then what made you think the latest incidents of the wine being contaminated involved black magic?” asked Mystia.
“I didn’t initially, but something didn’t look right to me, so I touched the side of one tank and was knocked on my ass by the residual black magic left there,” Remy explained .
Nodding, Mystia hid her surprise at Remy’s ability to detect something as complex as black magic, especially since he was only a low-level magic user when it happened. “Would you show me tomorrow which tank it was?”
“Certainly,” Remy said.
“Thank you,” Mystia said, as she got up. “I’ll be right back…I just want to get your books.”
“Mystia? Are you going to stay here tonight or go back to Jimmy in California?” asked Carson.
“If it’s all right with you, I’ll stay,” Mystia replied, “and use the bedroom Fionn gave me.”
“That’s fine,” said Remy, trying to hide a yawn. “See you shortly, then.”
Once Mystia vanished, Carson rose before pulling Remy up into his arms. “Babe, go up to bed, I’ll wait here for the books. Okay?”
“Uh-huh.” Giving his mate a sleepy smile, Remy headed for the stairs.
Exhaustion hit all at once; the only thing he wondered was why it had taken that long.
Stumbling up the stairs, he didn’t bother turning on the hallway light as he usually did, knowing Carson would handle it when he came up.
Opening his bedroom door, Remy headed straight for their bed, throwing himself down on it and closing his eyes.
~/~/~/~/~
Pulling into his assigned space at the state park, Sawyer turned off the engine, remaining in the driver’s seat for a minute.
He’d done it! Left his family behind and, for the first time in his life he was free to do whatever he wanted to without Hunter’s cautions, Mason’s disapproval, or Mac’s worry, staring him in the face every time he turned around.
He loved his brothers but only Quin had never passed judgment on him, though it was anyone’s guess what his baby brother really thought of him since he spent most of his time reading romance novels.
Climbing out of his seat, Sawyer pulled the trip folder from his bag before sitting down at the dinette.
Searching through the different documents, he finally found what he was looking for.
The first thing on his list was renting a jeep, the perfect vehicle for him and his surfboard.
Once arrangements were made to have it delivered to him in an hour or so, he proceeded to call the other numbers on his list. Grinning at the end of an hour, he was pleased with what he’d accomplished.
Tomorrow, his instructor would meet him on the Huntington Beach pier at ten in the morning, which meant he needed to buy his surfboard that afternoon.
Checking the time, he got up, deciding to grab a bite to eat before his jeep showed up, though, depending on what was in the cupboard, he might have to forgo that.
That was another thing he’d have to do, food shopping, either tonight or tomorrow, after his lesson.