Page 120 of Seduce Me in Shadow

Fury creeps into Mathias’s murky black magical signature. I hold my breath, terrified he’ll end her with a flick of his wrist.

“Enough! You don’t get to question him, you insolent little human.” Shock grabs Sydney and drags her to the door.

But I’m grateful to Shock for every centimeter he puts between her and Mathias.

“Stop.” Mathias commands. “The wizard I scent on you doesn’t smell like Zain.”

My heart threatens to explode. Sydney’s flush betrays her, but her retort is pure fire. “If you’re not inclined to tell me yourintentions concerning the book or your past actions, I hardly feel obligated to explain my sex life.”

“It’s in your best interest to reconsider. Are you fraternizing with my enemies? Maybe one of the Doomsday Brethren?”

Terror floods my veins.

Sydney’s glare could melt steel. “Would I be bringing you the book if I was?”

She turns and strides out, the picture of defiance.

Then all hell breaks loose.

As she crosses the threshold, the Doomsday Diary vanishes from Mathias’s hands. The wizard’s horrific roar echoes as he whirls for her, eyes blazing with fury.

I don’t wait for a signal. I kick in the window, leaping through and rolling into a crouch, gun drawn. I’ve got one chance to surprise this fucker, and I’m taking it.

Mathias spins toward the noise, wand raised, blue eyes ringed in red. The gun’s plastic grip burns in my hand, its weight nothing compared to the gravity of his magic. Again, I wonder if I would have been better off with a wand.

Cursing, Bram jumps through the window beside me, distracting Mathias. I fire. The bullet tears through Mathias’s stomach, malice transforming his expression as blood darkens his shirt.

“You’re going to die,” he growls. “Along with Rion.”

His wand jerks our way. Bram deflects but stumbles back, gasping. My next shot misses as Mathias dodges.

Mathias flicks his wand. Bram waves his own and deflects the incoming spell. But the effort costs him. As he stumbles back, I pop off another shot. But the element of surprise is gone. Mathias dodges my bullet.

Bram brings down the wall behind Mathias in a tumble of plaster, revealing Sydney, clutching the book and her bag. Bloody hell, why hasn’t she left with Shock?

As Mathias raises his wand toward her, I leap forward with a roar. Marrok and Tynan crash through another window, Ice charges the front door, and Duke teleports behind Mathias.

We’ve completely surrounded the evil wizard. Time to play…once Sydney leaves.

“Go!” I shout at her.

She ignores me. Fury and fear surge, my adrenaline on overdrive. I itch to snap Mathias’s wand—and neck—in two.

“You’re done tormenting and raping magickind, tearing apart families,” Bram vows. “You’ll never get your hands on the Doomsday Diary.”

“You overestimate your ragtag band, Rion.” With a wave of his wand, the wall behind Duke vanishes, revealing a sea of Anarki zombies. Not dozens or hundreds, but thousands—all with grave-white faces and vacant expressions.

“So many. How?” Bram gasps.

Clutching his bleeding gut, Mathias smiles. “You have your secret weapon; I have mine.”

The Anarki lurch forward as one. Over their heads, I see a U.S. Marine fighting two wizards. They overpower him, strapping him to a slanted dais. As a round object passes over his skull, he lets out a spine-chilling yell of pain. Moments later, he’s an Anarki zombie, eyes vacant as he joins the attacking horde.

Fuck. If I had a wand, maybe I could have freed him.

The object is yanked away and moved to the next victim. He was strong and vital only moments ago. That man is gone now. In his place is an Anarki zombie, like all the others coming toward me, a puppet whose flesh is already rotting. The eyes staring back are devoid of life as he melts into the attacking crowd.

At least fifty more soldiers await the same fate, lined up one after the other against the warehouse’s back wall. The two wizards are passing the round object over one head at a time,all to horrific screams. A few moments later, they leave behind corpses, alive only by Mathias’s magic and will.

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