“Right!” Vasile replied, his laughter echoing around the room. “Lucius and I are going to my library. Would you please arrange for coffee and some apple turnovers to be sent up? And make sure there’s enough for three since you’ll be joining us. Lucius and I are keen to hear the latest coven news.”
Tugging on Vasile’s sleeve, Lucius whispered, “Don’t you mean gossip?”
“Gossip? You must be mistaken.” Nikolai grinned. “I don’t gossip.”
Snorting, Vasile pointed at Nikolai’s face. “Careful old friend, if you keep that up, your nose will continue to grow. And then what will all the women chasing after you think?”
Quickly checking his nose and finding the joke was on him, Nikolai gave his friend a smirk. “It appears my ability to attract the fairer sex has not been affected.”
“At least for now,” chuckled Vasile. “Come on, Lucius, I have some books you might be interested in.”
Hesitating for a moment, Lucius quickly looked at Nikolai’s nose, relieved to see it hadn’t grown. But before he could follow Vasile, Nikolai smiled and winked at him. Then he spun on his heels and headed for the next room. Grinning, Lucius quickly ran to catch up with his mentor.
~/~/~/~/~
After listening in on their conversations, Brady ascertained that most of the council members currently in the meeting room were ignorant of anything Zohar might be planning. The only one who initially raised a red flag was Kadin Fadington, projecting his usual smugness. But after listening to him, Brady realized it was only his expectation of a reward from Zohar rather than anything else. Fadington was in for a rude awakening when Remy revealed Zohar’s plan to kill him. Spying Zane waiting for him near the door, Brady made his way over to him. “Did you find out anything?”
“Yeah…it seems this is normal for regular council meetings according to the guy in the blue robe. And he’s pissed because there isn’t any food this time,” Zane replied.
Snorting, Brady muttered, “I see nothing’s changed. None of these council members care what happens in our world unless it has an impact on them. That’s why Zohar can get away with all of his schemes.”
“Dumb assholes,” Zane muttered.
“A very apt description,” Brady concurred. “Zohar will be here shortly according to Fadington so let’s get back to Dylon and bring him up to speed.”
Nodding, Zane grasped Brady’s hand. “One…two…three…ghost walker.”
Chapter 16
After nearly all the Witches’ Council members had been seated, Dylon signaled the others of his cloaked group to take their places. According to Glenn, Zohar was on his way and that meant the shit was about to hit the fan. Matching the names he’d memorized to the faces of the warlocks in attendance, he accounted for everyone but Gerard Vonner and Thayer White, but after receiving Logan’s report he hadn’t expected them to be there; they’d have to be dealt with later. Sawyer’s voice came through his earpiece, warning Glenn of Zohar’s imminent arrival.
Watching Zohar enter the room, Dylon smirked at the man’s air of self-importance, knowing that when the meeting ended, it would be gone. Shifting his focus to Glenn, he saw him slip something in the latch just before the door closed. Turning back to the front of the room he watched as Zohar claimed the center chair on the raised dais which spanned the room. It was elevated and larger than the others—throne-like would be a good description, he thought. Shifting his glance to the other warlocks, he saw their reactions to Zohar’s appearance, taking note of the ones whose facial expressions indicated their indifference to him. At the rapping of Zohar’s gavel, Dylon’s gaze shifted back to the leader of the Witches’ Council.
Zohar waited until everyone had fallen silent before making an announcement. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, this meeting is cancelled and we’ll meet again in two weeks. In the meantime, in order to protect its members I must request that you return to your homes until I have dealt with the situation. The only members exempt from my order are Gerard Vonner, Kadin Fadington, Thayer White, and Niam Graves.”
As the murmurs of surprise echoed throughout the room, Dylon realized Zohar’s pronouncement was as startling to the other council members as it was to him. Turning quickly to Remy, Carson and Brady, he held up his hand, indicating that they should wait for further instructions.
Analyzing the new information, Dylon decided it definitely benefitted them by reducing the number of potential adversaries requiring neutralization. But it also raised a red flag; Zohar’s order meant that Remy’s appearance had not previously been announced to the full Council as Dylon had originally thought. It was now apparent that whatever Zohar had planned for the Ruler of the Mystic Realm was only going to happen with his most trusted followers by his side.
More importantly, it also meant Zohar had not informed the full Council that a new Ruler of the Mystic Realm even existed. Everything was beginning to fall into place and he quickly had to come up with a new plan.
~/~/~/~/~
A tender smile graced Norm’s face as he continued to gaze at his sleeping Theo. It was a good thing they were getting married soon before Theo began to show. Otherwise Ki would be fussing about getting his mate fitted for larger-sized pants. Chuckling softly at the picture of a heavily pregnant Theo in his mind, he couldn’t wait until it became a reality.
“Pooh bear?”
The sleepy voice of Theo brought Norm back from his fantasy world. “I’m right here. How do you feel?”
“Better…I think…what happened? The last thing I remember is…” Sitting up, Theo gazed at his fiancé’s face with sorrow. Telling Norm he was dying was going to break his pooh bear’s heart. “Uhmm…Mac took some of my blood…”
“He told me…”
“I hate needles…did you know that? But I let him because Steel told me I had to.”
“He’s worried about you…I am too.
“Yeah, I know…” Theo looked down, unable to continue. He’d never done anything to hurt his Norm, so knowing what he was about to reveal was going to do just that made it nearly impossible to begin. Taking a deep breath, he held it for a moment before slowly exhaling. Then, summoning up his courage, he blurted out, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
