Chapter 44 Alaric
Alaric
Everyone had fallen silent in the wake of Thorrin’s accusation against the mages, and this was one of the many times I wished I could sever the familial link to my father.
If only I’d been born to different parents. Less dysfunctional ones. That said, Zane hadn’t had the happiest childhood either if his comments about his grandparents were to be believed. Normally I’d think he was bullshitting us, but something told me he meant what he said.
“I’ve heard whispers about trafficking,” Maverick admitted after a moment.
“Boon, my contact from the Shifter Council, ran into a bunch of mages a few months back. Their van had broken down on a remote road in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He stopped to help and found two unconscious pixies in the back, both locked in magical handcuffs. None of the mages had an explanation for why they held the females, and when Boon tried to call it in, they attacked him. Unfortunately for them, he’s not that easy to take down. ”
“Shifters aren’t immune to magic,” I pointed out with a frown.
“Most aren’t, no, but Boon is a basilisk shifter, so he is resistant.
Especially to poison attacks. The mages in this case were low-level grunts.
” Basilisks were rare. Most of them worked for the shadier branches of the Supernatural Council.
It made me wonder what Maverick did before he showed up as an instructor at Starfall.
“Did your guy find out why the mages took the pixies?”
Maverick shook his head. “No, their short-term memories had been wiped, and the mages had been very careful not to talk about anything important in front of them. The females had no recollection of what had happened to them. When Boon escorted them back to their home village, their families were unaware they were missing, which tells us there’s an extremely powerful witch involved. ”
“Is this your father’s doing?” Maverick asked me.
I shrugged. “Probably.”
Everyone looked the same way I felt: disgusted.
But what could I do about it? Yes, my magic outstripped my father’s, but removing him from power was above my pay grade.
I’d need to secure the support of at least five council members to oust him, and I knew for a fact they were all loyal to his cause.
Mages were a power-hungry lot. The witch covens too.
A sickness had set in several decades ago, and unless something big happened, the balance of power would not change.
“My hands are tied,” I admitted when the others looked at me accusingly. “I have to be careful about what I say and do.” Honestly, I was surprised they’d let me be a part of this discussion, but the polar bear shifter seemed to trust me.
“Pussy,” Zane muttered with an eye roll. “If he were my father, I’d kill the bastard without a second thought.”
“Yes, but I’m not a complete psycho,” I pointed out. And I refused to put my mother’s safety at risk. Not while she still stood a chance of escaping his clutches.
“Can you at least look into what’s happening?” Maverick asked while Zane made suggestions for how I could kill my father without anyone realizing I was behind it.
Some of his ideas were surprisingly creative. I particularly liked the basilisk venom one.
“Dad has summoned me back to the family estate before the spring semester begins, so I’ll see what I can find out.” He’d threatened to send Rink after me if I wasn’t back in two days.
I fucking hated Rink. The mage was skilled in dark magic and had found workarounds to avoid necrosis. I hadn’t worked out how, but I suspected it had something to do with the unusually high numbers of missing humans in a hundred-mile radius around our estate.
“Good. The sooner we can figure out what’s going on, the sooner we put an end to it.”
I scoffed, unable to keep my feelings to myself. “Do you honestly think you can go up against my father and win? He’s the Mage Council leader for a reason.”
“Power corrupts,” Maverick said. “If we, the most powerful beings of our species, don’t take a stand to protect those who can’t protect themselves, who will?”