“Where did she go?” asked Remy.
“She didn’t say…just that she would be back soon,” Dylon replied. “Let’s get back to who knew. Would it be fair to say Zohar did?”
“He absolutely would,” Brady replied.
“That would explain it,” mused Dylon.
“Explain what?” Carson asked.
“Hear me out,” Dylon replied. “After acquiring the magic of a number of magic users and finding out he was no closer to finding the next ruler, the demon met the real Gerard Vonner and assumed his identity and magic. That was when he found the last piece of the puzzle. Changing his tactics, the demon…now Gerard…brought Zohar into his scheme, appealing to his greed and lust for power.”
“And that’s when the Council started targeting low-level magic users!” exclaimed Brady.
“Exactly,” affirmed Dylon. “The goal of the demon was two-fold: find the low-level magic user who would become Ruler and kill him by assuming his identity.”
Brady thought about Dylon’s explanation, which made perfect sense, before saying, “Then it would only be a matter of time until the fake Ruler-to-be met his fated mate and all the power of the Mystic Realm would belong to the demon.”
“My thoughts, precisely,” Dylon concurred.
“And in order to speed the process along,” Brady continued, “Zohar devised a scheme to easily identify low-level magic users as soon as they were born. Once that became law, it was easy to summon each to be tested to see if they could conjure up a light sphere.”
“And if they couldn’t,” Remy said, “they were slated for sale to the highest bidder.”
“Making Zohar the richest…and most powerful magic user in our world,” said Brady, shaking his head in disgust.
“It seems like a win-win for both Zohar and the demon,” said Cody.
“It is…or I should say, it was,” Dylon agreed. “Zohar realized their plan had failed when the message from Oracle arrived, informing him of the new Ruler of the Mystic Realm.”
“The demon must have been furious when Zohar told him,” Brady mused.
“I’d normally agree with you, but I don’t think Zohar told him,” Dylon said.
“But he knows now,” Carson said. “Only the Ruler can make a light sphere.”
“Granted, but as far as he knows,” Dylon reminded him, “it can also be done by the next Ruler even if he hasn’t found his Fated Mate.”
“And that was what testing low-level magic users was supposed to reveal,” Brady added.
A grin broke out on Carson’s face. “So when the demon was pulled into a light sphere he probably thought their plan to find the new Ruler had finally succeeded…which, in a way it had, but not exactly with the results they’d anticipated.”
“And that would explain why Zohar was so nervous when Remy began questioning him and the truth emerged,” Brady muttered.
“How does the bomb fit into all of this?” asked Cody. “Did Zohar think he could kill Gerard that way? I mean, I can see it killing the others he wanted to get rid of, but is it even possible to kill a demon?”
“I’m pretty sure it would work,” Brady replied. “Remember, the demon is in Gerard’s body so anything that could kill the magic user would also kill the demon.”
“If that’s true then Zohar would be the only one left standing,” Cody said. “Remy, Carson, the demon…all would be dead along with Zohar’s accomplices.”
“More importantly, there would be no one to contradict whatever lies Zohar used so he could seize power and control the Mystic Realm,” Dylon pointed out.
“Our world would fall into chaos with no Ruler,” Brady said.
“But therewouldbe a Ruler,” Dylon said. “Zohar planned to make himself the Ruler.”
“Magic users wouldneverstand for that!” exclaimed Brady, angrily
“I disagree,” Dylon said. “The unexplained destruction of the Witches’ Council Building that caused the death of all of the Council guards along with four Council members would cause magic users to be fearful; they’d be desperate for someone to assure them their world wasn’t under attack. Someone they knew and trusted.”
