Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up 5)

“Momar intends to go after Austin’s brother’s pack. How do you know?”

“We have cameras all over this place. Don’t worry, Sebastian turned off the ones in your rooms. You had privacy. No one else did. For every camera they found, there were two they didn’t.” She turned a finger to Austin, and I felt a sinking in my gut. We hadn’t even checked for cameras. Hadn’t even thought about it. “And you remember the deal his people tried to make with you?”

“I wasn’t really listening,” he said gruffly. “I was noticing all their weaknesses. Jess mentioned something about this yesterday evening, but…” He tensed, and I knew he’d just held back one of those twitches that were making Elliot so nervous. “I wasn’t in a logical place.”

“Yes, the mating.” Nessa squinted. “Sebastian knows more about that than I do. I confess, I don’t really get it. Regardless, you better get in your right mind quickly. Momar has his sights set on your brother. This is what Sebastian was going to tell you before the vampire ate him. Momar won’t advance quickly, because your brother is the biggest fish he’s ever gone after. By far. Word is, he’s collecting mages to help advance his cause, and he’ll get them because Kingsley hasn’t been quiet about pushing back on the Mages’ Guild’s influence in the magical world. Momar means to hit him with an overwhelming force.” Broken Sue tensed. Nessa noticed it and nodded at him. “Yes, that’s their jam, as you know. They don’t fight fair. They buy grunts to do the dirty fighting and then follow behind with spells. That’s why they didn’t know how to combat you guys in the colosseum. In a fight with equal numbers, the shifters will clearly dominate. But that’s not how mages fight in real life.”

“What kind of numbers are you talking?” Austin asked.

Nessa studied him for a moment. “We don’t know exactly. We’re working on it. We have some time. A couple months. Maybe a few. After that, Kingsley is going to have his hands full.”

Austin nodded but didn’t comment. I studied his face for a long moment, knowing we’d help, obviously. That wasn’t a question. We’d need more guns. More firepower. We were no strangers to fighting against large odds, but Momar was a growing power in the magical world, and he had access to a huge swell of people who hated shifters, would not balk at helping to take them out, and would fight as dirty as possible.

“I can pull in the gargoyles,” I said softly, touching Austin’s arm. “Nathanial can command them.”

“Yes,” Nathanial said, standing taller.

“And if anyone can bring the various alpha shifters together, you can,” I told Austin. He’d already been talking about it before we knew about Momar’s next intended victim.

“Not in three months,” he replied.

“Sebastian can help,” Nessa said. “We are owed favors everywhere. He can’t bring in the shifters, but he can get you an audience with some big players.”

“Other alphas are working with Elliot Graves?” Austin asked.

“Obviously not. A good mage deals in secrets and backdoor discussions. Our network, which Sebastian controls, can get you the meetings. And after this, we’ll have some powerful mages who will either stand with us, or stand aside and not interfere.”

“Why would you want to help my brother?” Austin asked.

“Me? I don’t, particularly,” she said without flinching. “If he wants to reclaim his mantle from Momar, there are safer ways of doing it. Shady dealings and double crossings. The mage way. But Sebastian fought beside your brother, I believe, against the phoenix.”

Cyra nodded. “He is noble, that tiger.”

“Sebastian talks about Kingsley with the utmost respect,” Nessa went on. “He also wants to help Miss Ironheart. She’ll want to help you. You will, without a doubt, help your brother. So Sebastian is connected to this cause. Even if you don’t consent to his friendship or his teaching, Jessie—may I call you Jessie?—he will try to help you. He promised as much when he took you on as an apprentice. Those pledges aren’t ironclad among mages, but it was to him.” She spread her hands and stepped back. “Look, you can figure all that out for yourself. You’ll see what you’re up against pretty quickly. Jessie has a crapload of power, but she doesn’t know dick. She needs a teacher, and you won’t find another mage as powerful and knowledgeable as Sebastian who doesn’t want to use you. It was his sister’s dying wish that he follow this journey to the end of his life. A smart woman would realize what that means.”

“A smart woman can deliver a manipulative speech in the guise of sisterly love,” Hollace said.

Nessa laughed. “If she’d killed Sebastian, I would’ve died trying to avenge him, hopefully taking her down with me.” Austin tensed, and power pulsed through the room. Nessa rubbed her arms. “Yeah, yeah, the bear is protective. I get it. Listen, think it over. And if you decide not to allow him into your life, can you leave behind that jewelry we gave you in the basket? That stuff was amazing. I’ll take it, no problem.”