"I had my sources." Vaughn brushed it off lightly. "In short, that was basically the relationship between Salem and the Scourers. There was no strong connection between them. The parade organization Tonks and Kingsley encountered might not be related to the incident we wanted to investigate."
"Of course, we shouldn't let this lead go either... The so-called Scourers in the memory Oliver provided might not be the same kind of Scourers as the ones we know!"
"What do you mean?"
Akinbade looked somewhat puzzled. "What do you mean, Scourers aren't the same kind of Scourers?"
Vaughn rose to his feet and gently held out a hand, watching a patch of "viscous" moonlight drift down like fog and clouds, landing in his palm.
A cool, water-like warmth rippled across his palm.
Looking at that patch of moonlight, Vaughn said slowly, "The Scourers as we know them were wizard mercenaries from centuries ago who betrayed the wizarding world and converted to the No-Maj Church. No one understood why they betrayed us or why they converted, but no matter what, they were still wizards—people who wielded great power."
"That's where the problem lies. They possessed power. They possessed magic. In No-Maj society, that was an incomparable advantage. But... Akinbade, the International Confederation of Wizards has been continuously infiltrating America for centuries. And especially since you don't disregard the existence of No-Majs, tell me: in more than three hundred years, aside from the Barebones, have you received any news of any Scourers?"
Akinbade froze for a moment, staring straight at Vaughn. His voice was grave. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying... perhaps the real Scourers ceased to exist long ago!"
Vaughn toyed with the moonlight in his hand and shrugged. "One of the reasons the Magical Congress of the United States was