Page 88 of Cupcake

Noah grabbed the box and held it to his chest.

“Whatever you do, don’t allow anyone to get it from you,” Dean reminded him.

“Once it’s safe, I’ll swoop in and cover him,” Gavin offered.

“Be very certain that the barrier is broken,” Dean warned. He couldn’t let anything happen to Logan’s family.

“I can feel the magic,” Gavin informed him. “I won’t endanger myself.”

He cloaked himself in his mage warrior outfit, as Noah called it. The dark blue hood and mask covering his face. The arm bands with spikes for intimidation. The snug leather to protect his body and allow movement. He turned, waving his palm over Noah, hiding him under a long black coat and all-black leather clothing. His mask much cuter in the shape of a cat face with long whiskers. The whiskers served the purpose of blocking magic attacks against the familiar.

Lucifer chuckled before changing himself into all-red leather. His face and hair visible. His black wings spread from his back. Dean approved of the look.

Looking down at the cabin that held the coven leaders, Dean lifted his chin. “Okay, Luci.”

Luci transported them down and in front of the cabin of the coven leaders.

Throwing his hand out, Dean announced his presence in the most spectacular way he knew how. He shook the entire canyon.

Doors opened.

Several people ran out of their cabins with confused and frightened expressions.

As more of the coven revealed themselves, Dean noted who he remembered, who was a real threat, and how their magic butted against his own. When the three coven leaders stepped outside their cabin, Dean was shocked by their appearance. He’d suspected that the leaders had been using some of the magic for their own personal gain and he’d been right. While Dean could see aging in several members of the coven, the leaders looked exactly the same as they had the night that Dean had run away.

Mage Appleton, five-foot nine with long straight blond hair, appeared to be in her early thirties. She was far from it. The two male coven leaders, Mage Johnson and Mage Montgomery, looked forty. They were also nowhere close to that age.

It wasn’t just a charm spell.

Dean sank his magic into the trembling lines surrounding the three.

The final pieces clicked into place.

They weren’t just using and killing shifters for their blood. Somehow, they’d managed to figure out how to also steal the shifter ability to slow down the aging process. But only for the three of them.

Dean was disgusted by the three so-called leaders in front of him.

Lucifer stepped forward, raising both hands into the air. Fire sparked from his fingertips. There were gasps as several people hovered on the edge of running. “You’ve committed atrocities against others,” Lucifer’s voice boomed. “You’ve killed and harmed innocents. This is your reckoning!”

Mage Appleton showed no fear as she laughed. “Who are you to question our methods, devil! You should welcome us into your inner circle. We’re the more powerful coven in this realm.”

Lucifer threw his head back, laughing.

Dean trembled with the power of the sound.

“Foolish mortals!” Lucifer said. “You might have tricked, bribed, and threatened shifters of this realm but you are not the most powerful beings here. Fall to your knees and seek forgiveness before it is too late.”

“And who is going to stop us?” Mage Appleton asked. “You are one lone creature. Even you are vulnerable to magic. This entire canyon is our domain.”

“That’s the thing about domains,” Lucifer told her. “The power can be transferred to another.”

“You are not of this realm,” Mage Appleton argued. “You can’t take our power from us.”

Dean stepped forward. Mage Appleton glanced over before becoming very still. He dropped the spell that held his own power in check. Letting the full effect of his magic be felt by the others.

Mage Appleton stumbled back as she was hit with Dean’s magic full force. Slowly, Dean removed his mask. He watched as the coven members around him shook in fear. “You!”

“I can take the magic,” Dean stated as he removed his hood.

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