“Everything in this world contains magic. It’s why so many paranormals enjoy it here— because compared to their worlds, this magic is untapped. It makes them stronger. But this area is completely bereft of magic. It’s like it was sucked away.” I shivered. “It feels… empty.”
“What could do such a thing?”
I considered it. “I don’t know much about demon power. A high-level mage might be able to wield a spell like this. A black witch would likely feed off the earth’s magic if she could. I don’t know about the fae— they keep their abilities under wraps.”
“Werewolves?”
I shook my head. “Werewolves don’t have power the way we do. Their magic is intrinsic to their biology. It’s why they can see through glamor and most magic doesn’t work on them.”
Silence. I turned to find him frowning at me.
“What?”
“How do you know so much about paranormals?” Suspicion dripped from his voice and I rolled my eyes.
“I work for the Mage Council. And my mother made sure I was educated.”
He seemed to chew on that. “A werewolf was seen running from the scene.”
I blinked. “I highly doubt that a werewolf was involved.”
He simply stared at me and I threw my hands up. “Fine. I’ll go talk to the werewolves tomorrow.” I needed to ask them about Mary, anyway. May as well kill two birds and all that.
I leaned closer, peering at the ground. What could burn away magic like this? I wandered around the parking lot, but couldn’t find anything else. I squinted through the wire fence and down at the empty field, but nothing jumped out at me.
I wandered back to the black smudge and glanced at the brooding demon. “Where’s the body?”
“Cremated.”
Awesome. To be fair, if the demon was old enough, he’d probably naturally cremated the way Vercan had.
“How far up the demon hierarchy was this guy. Or girl?”
Agaliarept stared at me and I let out a low growl. “You want me to find out who did it? I need all the information.”
He shrugged. “It’s not my place to give it to you. You can talk to Samael tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?”
A hint of amusement entered his eyes and I had a feeling anything that amused him didn’t bode well for me.
“Everyone bonded to Samael is expected at Monday dinners. No exceptions.”
I opened my mouth and he shook his head. “Attendance is mandatory.”
Great. Just great. Today was Sunday, so now I had to figure out how to get out of the dinner. I shifted my attention back to the weird black smudge. “What if I need answers before tomorrow evening?”
Agaliarept rattled off a number and I held up a hand, making him repeat it so I could add it to the contacts in my phone.
“That’s Samael’s direct line. If you have questions I can’t answer, you can ask him.”
I shivered at the thought of calling the demon, remembering the burning rage in his eyes. Samael wasn’t exactly the kind of guy you called up for a chat.
Agaliarept’s lips twitched at whatever he saw on my face. How lovely that my terror of his boss lightened his mood.
“You’ll need my number as well,” he said, handing me a card. “Call it and leave a message after you’ve talked to the werewolves.”
With that, he strode away, leaving me frowning at the black smudge on the ground.
