Chapter 21
Carson saw Remy’s furrowed brow as he came down the stairs, causing his gut to twist with worry. Hurrying over to the bottom of the staircase, he pulled Remy into his arms. “How’s Lucius?”
“He’s receiving his mate’s blood, but…it’s too soon to tell if he’ll make it.”
“Is that all that’s bothering you?” asked Carson, running a hand lightly over his mate’s back.
Tilting his face up so he could look at his mate, Remy smiled. “You know me too well.”
“So there is something more,” Carson murmured, pressing a kiss to his mate’s forehead. “Wanna tell me?”
Sighing, Remy was silent for a moment before saying, “It was something I heard Brady say when we were sitting in Jackson’s office. Oh, and by the way, I like your brother very much, especially when he pushed back and made Oracle promise not to do anything to influence Brady’s decision.”
“That sounds like my brother.”
“I just never expected him to challenge her,” Remy murmured.
“Jackson has always been that way even when we were growing up. He stood up for us to our father so many times…and paid a heavy price for it…but he never wavered,” Carson said, before kissing his mate again. “Now, tell me why you were frowning, babe.”
“Before Oracle could say anything about Lucius, Brady asked what the Witches’ Council had done to me.”
“I don’t understand…the only thing they did was to invite us to meet them and talk about the orders you issued.”
“Brady said the Council members regarded those orders as threats.”
“Is he a member of the Council?” asked Carson.
“Not that I know…I don’t really know who he is, except that he’s Lucius’s Fated Mate.”
“What tier magic user is he?”
“No idea…I know he’s a warlock but he’s one without any magic,” replied Remy.
“If he’s not on the Council and has no magic…then how does he know how the members of the Council regard your orders as threats?” asked Carson.
“I’m not sure, but neither your brother nor Oracle were surprised by his assertion. There wasn’t time to ask Oracle about it but I intend to when she comes down from Lucius’ bedroom…which should be soon,” Remy said.
Looking up after hearing footsteps, Carson saw Oracle descending the staircase. “Hey babe, here she is now.”
~/~/~/~/~
Mystia didn’t have to wait long. The buzz of numerous low voices fell silent when a Council guard appeared in the hallway outside Zohar Stone’s office. Moving next to him, she glanced at the first name on his list of appointments with Stone, smiling grimly when she saw it was an ardent supporter of the Head of the Witches Governing Council.
After hearing the guard call his name, Kadin rudely pushed aside everyone in his way, until he was standing in front of the guard. Looking down his nose at the man, he announced pompously, “I’m Kadin Fadington.”
After matching Kadin’s magical signature against the record on file, the guard opened the door, moving aside to allow the magic user to enter.
Standing, Zohar said, “Come in Kadin.”
Shadowing Kadin, Mystia followed him into Zohar’s office; then remembering Oracle’s warning, headed over to an out-of-the-way spot in the corner of the room. From there, she’d be safe while listening to everything discussed by Zohar and his visitors.
Once Kadin was seated, Zohar glanced at the guard. “Make sure we aren’t disturbed.” After receiving an affirmative response, he waited until the door had closed behind the departing guard before sitting down. Leaning back in his ornate chair his eyes roamed over Kadin, cataloging all of his nervous tics. They were more pronounced than in the past; not surprising since Kadin had the spine of a jellyfish.
Not that he could blame him for his uneasiness; the plan Zohar had devised to eliminate the new Keeper of All Magic had the potential to destroy him along with other magic users involved in it. He knew the only loyalty Kadin had was to himself, so if he was given a choice to save himself or keep silent, Zohar had no doubt the magic user would sing like a canary. And that was an unacceptable risk as far as he was concerned, which meant Kadin was quickly becoming a liability. Letting his growing unease about the situation go for the moment, Zohar growled, “Status report.”
“According to the Keeper’s wishes, all records pertaining to low-level magic users are being compiled according to your instructions,” announced Kadin. “Once they are finished, the information will be entered into a new file that can be given to the Keeper.”
“Good,” Zohar said. “What about the arrangements for the transportation of the merchandise?”
