“They’re making sure we haven’t been spelled on any level.” Delilah had softened in some ways. Tosh wasn’t sure if it was him or the fact that she now had dual loyalties. But in other ways, her humanness had muted and that Otherness she had moved to the forefront.

She moved differently and, heaven help him, Tosh thought it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Other wolves cast their eyes down when she walked past, and occasionally, she was the one who did the casting of her eyes away.

Dominance politics were nothing new to Toshio. This was just a different type, but he understood it and felt more relaxed for it.

“I wonder where Molly and Helena are?”

Delilah looked around the huge space. “I don’t know, but there’s something up. It might just be that Simon and Lark’s home was attacked and things are very bad. But it could be something else.”

“Great. Something else. Because we didn’t have enough stuff.”

A woman he recognized as Nina Warden came out, all business. She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Please take your seats. There are cards so do sit where your card is.”

“Hierarchy dominance,” Delilah murmured, explaining.

“Not so different from how we sit on the dais in committee meetings.”

She gave him a lopsided smile. “True.”

Luckily he was seated next to Delilah so he’d be nearby someone who could save him from making a horrible etiquette faux pas.

Helena and Lark came out with several other witches. Helena gave a loud, piercing whistle to shut people up. “If everyone could be quiet for a bit, we’re going to cloak this space and dampen the sound so we can’t be listened in on.”

There was an uproar as people shouted out the question on Tosh’s mind.

Finally, Nina frowned them all into total silence. “We will explain once the process is finished. Now kindly do be quiet as you’ve been asked.”

Tosh kept his questions to himself as he watched the sisters work. Hands moving in concert, speaking under their breath as they traced the outline of the room.

Finally, they stepped back and it was like when a plane reached cruising altitude. His ears felt the pressure and then it eased.

Helena nodded to Nina and the sisters moved to their places at the table.

“Meriel Owen is going to address the committee about some new developments.”

Meriel stood. “Just half an hour ago I received some information that changes everything. What I’m going to say is not known by many people. But it’s necessary now. When we defeated the Magister, several weeks later we received visitors from the other side of the Veil. They had new information for us about how the Magister works.

“We didn’t destroy the Magister. From what we understand, it’s nearly indestructible. It may as well be as no one seems to know how to destroy it. Each time the Magister manifests and is overcome, it is shoved into another world. But the people whose world it attacks don’t know that. We wouldn’t have known it either if those people hadn’t come to tell us. They’re jumping from world to world to find it and stop it once and for all.”

The table erupted into three dozen shouted questions and multiple conversations.

“We’re chronicling all this information in our archives, sharing it as we can with other places on the other side of the Veil. The more we know, maybe it can help in the future. But from what we can tell, the Magister is a being of chaos. The way it comes and goes is part of it. It’s beyond our ability to understand the full scope. Old magicks like that defy explanation, so we’re being clumsy but it’s not on purpose.”

Tosh reeled. Other worlds? Veil?

Delilah leaned close. “I’ll explain later if she doesn’t now.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” one of the Vampires asked.

“Because right after that visit the attacks began and we’ve been dealing with this brink-of-war stuff. We’ve been trying to keep the existence of other worlds out of human knowledge. If they’re this rabid knowing about us, what would happen if they knew there were countless worlds on the other side of the Veil?”

Meriel looked to Tosh. “If the military knew, what would they do?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head, caught in the middle. “This is conjecture, understand, but some might see it as a threat. What’s out there? Can we control it before it controls us? Are they more powerful? If so can we get their technology? Some would want diplomacy.”

“Yeah, not the ones who have been trying to kill us since they found out we existed though. What would they do if they knew Simon and Faine came from a world of beasts who could take two forms? Where those beasts ruled their world in warrior castes? Hm? What if they knew about the existence of Fae? We could not take the risk.” Meriel said this all in a calm, measured voice. Tosh understood it and he agreed. There was no telling just what might happen if and when this information got out.

“We’ve been investigating some leaks within Clan Owen, and the de La Vega Jamboree also had a leak. And this afternoon, Helena got a phone call.” Meriel paused for a brief moment. “It has come to our attention that Carlo Powers, along with Marlon Hayes and the people at Humans First, has been working with the same mages who were helping the Magister. They’re trying to bring it back, thinking that they can either control it or wipe the rest of us out.”

Total silence engulfed the room and nausea rose in a wave through Tosh. If what she was saying was true, Senator Hayes was taking part in a plot that could end in genocide.

Worse, he had no reason to think Helena would lie about it.

“Owen found a leak toward the time we defeated the Magister. This is how we uncovered a network of Others giving PURITY and the mages intelligence on how we operate, who our leadership is. And some of what went down with the Magister.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Our people are working with the rest of the COO enforcement ranks to investigate the leaks in their groups as well. The information seems to have come from several places and we haven’t uncovered anything we believe could actually bring the Magister back. But it boils down to this. We’ve got traitors in our midst and they’re helping our enemies to attempt to bring the Magister back.”

Then chaos erupted once again.

Cade stood and all the wolves instantly got quiet. Max de La Vega stood and all the cats shut up. Another man Tosh had never seen stood and the rest quieted. Then the three sat again.

Helena spoke again. “Here is what we know. The mages have been working with the anti-Other groups for some time. An outclan witch, turned witch, and her human husband were working with one of the de La Vega jamboree members. The cats took care of this issue, though the turned witch is still at large, whereabouts unknown. The mages have been working with the turned witches. Turned witches are junkies. They’ve used stolen magic to boost their own. Each time they do, they eat away at their connection to their natural magick. Until there’s nothing left of that. Their ability to pull magick and use it in any type of spellcraft is destroyed. They have no ability to use the Font of their home clan because it won’t recognize them as witches. They sort of lose who they were before. It changes them into something else. Most of the time a turned witch dies within six months or so of that complete termination with their magick. Some seem to have found a way to live sometimes three or five years after that.

“But they’ve been working with these mages. Just recall, mages are humans who have enough natural ability to steal magick from Others to use to work spells. They don’t die like turned witches do, but they’re crazy and violent . . . and addicted, just the same. So the turned witches and the mages worked together to kidnap witches and Others to steal their magick. It’s how they first got the attention of the Helper, the being who procured for the Magister.”