“Ten that I know of, but there may be more,” Zohar muttered.
Without warning, Remy flicked his fingers, making Zohar’s light sphere opaque once again. Looking at Brady, he asked, “Have you ever heard of this being done? Can a demon do this?”
“Normally…no. What’s distressing is the number of times the demon was able to do it,” Brady replied. “Ten magic users dead…I can’t believe that it escaped the notice of the Witches’ Council.”
“There could be more,” Carson added.
“Exactly! Which makes it all the more improbable the Witches’ Council didn’t know about it.” Brady asserted.
“I agree,” Remy said. “So the question is, who knew, and why they didn’t do something about it.”
Telling the rest of the group to remain cloaked, Dylon asked Sawyer to uncloak him and appeared in front of the others, asking, “More importantly, what is the demon after and what did it have to do with low-level magic users?”
“Magic?” asked Cody.
“That’s a fair assumption,” Brady replied, “But it doesn’t explain the targeting of low-level magic users. The demon would be better off going after the first level magic users if that was his goal.”
“I thought demons had their own magic,” Cody said.
“They do, but it’s limited,” Brady answered.
“Magic isn’t the answer,” Dylon said. “There’s something else behind this. We now know Zohar reported to Gerard, not the other way around.”
“That may be true,” said Carson, “but we also know Zohar has been the one benefiting as head of the Witches’ Council from the sale of low-level magic users.”
“Which begs the question…what is Gerard getting if not more magic, power or money?” Cody asked.
“That’s not what he’s after,” growled Dylon.
“Then whatishe after?” asked Carson.
“Remy.” Dylon replied. “Or to be more specific…he wants to become the Ruler of the Mystic Realm.”
Shock skittered across Carson’s face before it was replaced with anger. “No fucking way would I allow that to happen!”
“I don’t think it can happen,” Brady said. “Only the Fates can decide who becomes the Ruler of the Mystic Realm.”
“But what if the demon doesn’t know this?” asked Dylon. “What if the reason the witch summoned the demon was to help her find the low-level magic user who would become the new Ruler?”
“I don’t see what good that would do her,” Brady replied. “The low-level magic user who’s chosen to rule doesn’t gain his full powers until he finds his Fated Mate.”
“Yes, but what if the witch didn’t know that?” asked Dylon.
Puzzled, Carson looked at Remy. “But isn’t that common knowledge in the mystic world? About the Fated Mate?”
Shrugging, Remy replied, “I didn’t know it, but then my parents kept a lot about our world secret from me.”
“To answer your question, Dylon,” Brady said. “That particular piece of information is not known among most magic users. Normally only certain high officials are privy to it.”
“What about you, Brady? Did you know it?’ asked Dylon.
“Yes…but only because I read it in an ancient book about magic I acquired at an auction. But therearea few others who also possess the information…Mystia for one.”
“Mystia found out about it through the last Keeper of All Magic…I think,” Carson murmured.
“There’s only one way to know for sure,” Remy said, and that’s to ask her.
“Mystia’s gone,” Dylon said. “After she heard about the demon, she asked Sawyer to keep her cloaked for five minutes after she’d left and then uncloak her.”
