“I wish I could.” Irritation washed through those few words. “I’ve got my sources within the Magical Usage Council.”
“My beloved is very well connected,” Leon proudly said.
“Yes… Well…” Phlox sounded flustered. “Honestly, I think it’s more that there have been concerns for years, concerns I’ve only recently learned about. I get the feeling that, individually, those concerns have been mounting but were only brought to the light when one of us spoke up.”
I was curious who that person might be, but considering I only personally knew of one other individual in the council—the medium, Tabitha Clark—I didn’t think a name would help much.
Instead I asked, “Can you clarify what these concerns have been?”
Phlox leaned forward, his petite body framed by the front two seats. Given his position, he’d obviously removed his seatbelt. His increased proximity made his voice louder. “It seems Director Huxley has become increasingly withdrawn over the years. He’s also developed some interesting pastimes.”
“Pastimes?” At this rate, I was going to wind up repeating all the vague words Phlox seemed intent on using.
“Mm-hmm. He’s been searching for something. At least, that’s what Elvira thinks.”
I racked my brain. I knew that name. “The ghost? The one Tabitha can communicate with over long distances?”
“One and the same.” Fondness suffused those few words. “Elvira is in a unique position. She can go anywhere—and when I sayanywhere, I mean it. Tabitha and the other mediums have enough collective juice to make Elvira available to all of us.”
My eyebrows shot up at that. “You talk with her?”
“Not on the regular, but if need be, I can.” Phlox blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s not easy from far away. Technically, Elvira can harness enough energy to work a phone, butelectronics and ghosts don’t really mesh well. Face-to-face, we can chat all day. From this far away, a middleman is required.”
While interesting, what I really wanted to know was what Elvira had found. “Why does she think Huxley’s looking for something?”
“Elvira says when he’s alone, he’s preoccupied. Up until a few months ago, he kept asking Shadow if they’d found anything yet.”
Nausea swept through me, and the road momentarily blurred. I was beginning to think I should have pulled over to have this conversation. “Who’sShadow?”
“An excellent question,” Leon answered instead of Phlox. He’d been silent, allowing Phlox to relate what he knew.
“It really is,” Phlox agreed. “As best we can tell, Shadow is an extension of Huxley.”
“So, not just Huxley using shadows, but an actual entity that bears that name?” Confusion unhelpfully added itself to the noxious soup churning my gut.
“So it seems.” I caught a shrug out of the corner of my eye. “Either that, or Huxley likes talking to himself and has given his imaginary friend a name.” Phlox sounded flippant and unconcerned. I wish I could emulate that sentiment.
“Gaia.” I scrubbed a hand over my face, futilely trying to erase the last few minutes of conversation. “I have no idea what to do with that information.”
Phlox grunted. “Join the club. There’s so much about Director Huxley that no one knows.”
Dismay filled me. “How did he even become the director?” I’d been wondering that for a while.
“Easy. He’s the one that formed the council,” Phlox answered.
“And when was this?” I asked.
“The Magical Usage Council is old—really old. From what I understand, it used to hold a lot more sway too.”
“Before Fairy Law?”
“That would be correct. At least from what I’ve heard. I was born after Fairy Law took effect. You have anything to add to that, Leon?”
I wasn’t sure how old Leon was, but he had to be at least two centuries, most likely more, if he was in a position to be the second to the Southeastern Vampire King.
“That is accurate and true of every governing body prior to Fairy intervention. The Vampire Council is no different.” There was no inflection in Leon’s voice, just a simple statement of fact.
Fairy intervention and their ensuing laws hadn’t just affected humans, although it was arguable that species lost the most individuals. Then again, some species had been completely eradicated, so I suppose it was fair to say that humans didn’t have it as bad as others. From what I understood, Fairy Queen Silvidia had been ruthless when she’d rooted out dissent. Many argued the purge had been necessary in order to save Earth as a whole. Others claimed the fairy queen was merciless and reviled her name. Of course, those curses were said behind charmed and closed doors. While I suspected the fairy queen was too busy to pay much heed to a few disenfranchised individuals, only a fool would test her wrath.
