Page 9 of The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark 20)

Asif the words were pulled from her, she said, “Mysisters andIlive in an oldVictorianmanor.”Iknow.Beenthere.“Andour kitchen isn’t huge.Wedon’t have enough room for concoctingandmaking meals.Somethinghad to give, so we don’t cook as much as we’d like.”

“Ithought all of youLouisianawitches wanted to live amid your coven.”Andoain, the newly inaugurated seat of theHouseofWitchesin this realm, was located outsideNewOrleans.

“TheAndoainwitches are a bit . . .”

“Overserved?”Thecoven was like a party-hearty sorority house from a slasher flick.Exceptthese sorority girls would slash back.Withmagic.

“Iwas going to sayyoung, but your observation is fair.Whenmy parents left the realm for a stint, my sisters andIvoted to stay at their place.”

Herfolks were the rare witch/warlock superpower couple living in perfect mystical symbiosis or whatever.He’dheard they were hard-core practitioners, teachers of the occult.Aftertheir daughters had all reached immortality, the couple had returned to theWiccaedimension ofAkelarreto hone their deep witchery for the comingAccession.

Thisone was shaping up differently from pastAccessions.Insteadof unrelenting skirmishes,Loreansfeared a great war between an alliance of factions in this realm and the enigmaticMøriør. . . .

WhenPoppychecked some of the cupboards,Röksaid, “Idon’t scent a crumb of food here.”Afew decomposed rats dotted the tiled floor, confirming that no food existed—and that the sealed castle prevented even a rodent’s escape. “Idon’t suppose you’ve got a never-ending energy bar in that bag of yours?”

“Nope.Onethermos of tea and a muffin.”

“Well, that’ll certainly keep us till the nextHalloweenfull moon.”

Sheblinked up at him. “Us?”

Skitteringsounded from the corners of the kitchen. “We’renot alone.”Hefreed his sword and scented the air, detecting something unexpected: scales.

Redeyes appeared in the shadows, what must be a legion of small, befanged creatures with scaly green skin. “Arethose . . .”Hefrowned, recalling where he’d seen such creatures before. “. . . gremlins?”Heturned toPoppyand read her expression: zero surprise. “Youknew they’d be here?”

“Justignore them.”Sheheaded toward the kitchen doors.Adozen more of them blocked her way.

“Staybehind me.”Swordraised, he hastened in front of her, cursing his inability to trace her away. “Howis this possible?Theydon’t exist in theLore.”Theydidn’t exist at all, except in the minds of humans.

“Isaid to ignore them.”Shesidled around to face him. “Theycan’t hurt you.They’rejust illusions.”

Heririses had turned purple like sunstruck lavender. “Youreyes are alight.”Hisnarrowed.Awitch’s eyes could glow from emotion, but also from power. “Areyoumaking these?”

“It’sinvoluntary, okay?”

Herability reminded him ofSabine, theSorceriQueenofIllusions.Sabinewas considered the queen because she could conjure sights and sounds better than anyone else alive.Butothers could also dabble with the same talent. “Howdo you know these are just illusions?”Thegremlins climbed the countertops, positioning themselves to strike. “Ican scent them.”

Poppymarched up to the mass of slavering creatures. “Look.”Shereached toward a larger one. “Itcan’t hurt me.”

Thething gave a snarl, baring its mouth full of fangs.Thenit leapt for her face.

THREE

Poppyhad trained herself not to react. “It’sjust an illu?—”

Rökvaulted in front of her, wielding his long sword.Slash.Hesevered avery real gremlinin two!

Notime for shock; the remaining creatures attacked, springing off the countertops.

Rökcut through a swath of them. “Illusion, huh?Theywet my blade readily enough.”Greenblood coated it.

Shesnagged a pouch from her bag.Itdisintegrated into her palm as battle magic churned through her—like a hit ofHecate’sdivinity.Purplelight shone from her hands.Whenmore gremlins leapt for her, she released beams from her palms.Thecreatures burst, reptilian body parts painting the walls. “Thishas never happened!”

“Whatthe hell is going on here?”Röksent fang-filled heads tumbling.

Shepicked off any that got past the reach of his blade. “Ithink someone cursed me, turning any conjuring potentialImight have against me, forcing me to fuel the illusions.Maybeit was a rogue warlock.Ora rival merc hired a traitorous witch.Ifwe’d met sooner,Imight have suspected you!”

Hescowled. “Whendid it start?”Slashwent his sword.

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