He shifted his feet again, this time hesitating as though weighing his words. “Their deaths are viewed as nothing more than a turf war and unrelated to your disappearance.”
He was lying, she could feel it in the air, and the shift in Cassandra and Danu’s gaze in his direction told her they felt the same. Was he protecting the Talons and the Grey Council, or himself and his position on the Council?
She cocked her head to the side. “We discovered a warehouse filled with Oculist stones, harvested illegally and brought here for the purpose of poisoning male Wizards. I reject your theory. This is not a small turf war, as you claim. This is much larger.”
Connor’s eyes widened; the color drained from his face as he slowly shook his head. “It can’t be. Oculist stones were destroyed centuries ago.”
Outside, a score of Air Wizards glided from the sky and landed near where Rowan was speaking. The sight filled her with hope. The Air Wizards had always been loyal to female Wizards in the past, but she never took anything for granted. Vlad wielded a lot of power, and it wouldn’t be the first time a Wizard changed allegiance.
But even with the addition of the Air Wizards, she knew it wouldn’t be enough to defeat the scores of warriors the Talons and the Grey Council had at their disposal. Female Wizards needed the magical community. She would have to trust that once Connor learned the truth, he would persuade the magical community to join them.
Morgan motioned for Connor to join her by the table set with tea and biscuits. “Would you care for tea? It is time we shared what we have learned.”
Connor slid his gaze toward Cassandra and Danu. “Will the two ladies be joining us?”
“I think not.”
He nodded as he sat down at the table across from Morgan and accepted a cup of tea. “I understand. They fear me. I get that a lot. Tell them I’ll not shift into my wolf form and harm them.”
Morgan smiled as she sipped her tea. “They do not fear you. Either one of them is more than capable of ending you if you so much as look like you are going to attack. They simply do not trust you.”
“But you do?”
“It depends on your reaction to the truth.”
Connor looked at his tea. “I wish I had…”
Casandra appeared beside him with a bottle of brandy, pouring a generous amount into his tea, then resumed her place by the fire.
“She read my mind.”
“Among other things. Shall we begin? As I mentioned, we discovered a warehouse where they are turning Oculist stones into poison that kills Wizards. Their delivery system is genius. They crush the stones into a powder and add it to a drug they call Magic Carpet Ride. The drug is then sold on the streets. It gives humans a powerful high, but it is deadly to Wizards. A human by the name of Zacharias was in charge, but he was killed, and as far as we know, no one has stepped in to take his place. We suspect Vlad is at the heart of what is going on, but what we don’t know is the extent of the Talons’ involvement, or if others on the Grey Council are involved. What do you think the Grey Council and the Talons would say if you told them?”
“Hard to tell. It depends on how high this goes. There is a deep rift in ideology between the Talons and the Grey Council. Vlad and the president of the Talons will grasp at anything that will stop the flow of unrest and help them retain power. Allon the board are aware of the magical community’s growing objection to the policies to subjugate female Wizards. Secretly, many view how they are treated as a form of slavery. Because of this, the Talons and the Grey Council are pushing the theory that female Wizards did not leave of their own free will but were kidnapped by our enemies.” Connor hesitated.
“Go on.”
“As a way of testing this theory, Vlad offered the solution of giving Zephra a position on the board, with the theory that if you and the female Wizards were free to return, you would attend Zephra’s confirmation. If you did not return, Vlad made the case they should assume you were being held prisoner, a fate, might I add, they are hoping for. Kidnapping female Wizards would give them the excuse to wage war and dispel the rumor that their policies drove you all away.”
Cassandra and Danu pushed into Morgan’s thoughts. Their emotions were strong and their concerns real. Morgan said, “It is a trap, with Vlad winning whichever way I choose.”
Connor poured more brandy into his tea and downed it in one gulp. “Exactly. What is more, I believe that if you return, Vlad will not allow you to live. You are too powerful an influence over the female Wizards and the magical community. If you refuse, he will send an army here under the guise of bringing you in safely, and in the chaos, you will be killed and every living thing on the compound will be destroyed.”
“A not-so-veiled threat, Connor O’Hara. If I return, I will be killed. If I refuse, not only will Vlad kill me, but he will murder everyone on this compound.”
Cassandra appeared beside Morgan. The light green aura that accompanied her had turned a fiery emerald green. “Connor. Our compound is safe,”she said into Connor’s thoughts as well as Morgan’s. “We are protected on thecompound by powerful spells and wards. Only those we wish to allow can enter. We are safe here.”
Connor rubbed his forehead as though trying to drive out Cassandra’s words. “That’s freaky. She can read my thoughts.” With Cassandra’s shrug and Morgan just nodding as though it was perfectly normal, Connor continued. “I need another drink. Where was I? Oh, yes. Under normal circumstances, I would agree that your compound is secure. Except they discovered that Morgan was here, and if they suspect she is on the Trolls’ compound, it is safe to assume they believe the female Wizards and Wizardlings are here as well. You should consider that there is a spy feeding Vlad information. It worries me that Vlad is too confident. He must have allies we are unaware of. He is single-minded in his quest for power. No place is safe.”
Morgan glanced out the window at the gathering crowd. More Air Wizards had joined Rowan. Was one of them a traitor? Or was it someone on the compound?
What she did know was that even with the reinforcements it wouldn’t be enough to defeat Vlad if he attacked. She knew he commanded an army a hundred times the number of the reinforcements gathered on the Trolls’ compound. If Vlad’s forces attacked, it would be a blood bath. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
But she faced a dilemma. Connor suggested there was a spy on the compound. She had to assume that whatever decision she made would reach Vlad’s ears. She wasn’t even sure she could trust Connor.
She rose, lacing her hands together at her waist. “Inform Vlad that I thank him for his generous offer and will give him my answer in three days.”
“Milady…” Connor began.
