Page 81 of The Darkest Night

The cores of magic in her heart and belly seemed more focused than before. Mae frowned. The only thing that remained was making sure she didn’t lose control in the heat of battle. Sobol’s monstrous form appeared before her mind’s eye. She clenched her teeth.

The difference between Sobol and Antonovich had been worryingly clear. Even if Antonovich had not been disadvantaged by the fact that he’d been dead and divested of most of his organs when he’d attacked Mae, he still would not have been as devastatingly strong as the demon she and Vlad had faced tonight.

The thought of an army of such creatures roaming New York made her shudder. They had to stopOniksand the Sorcerer King, come what may.

By the time Dickson and Calvarro walked into the interrogation room, Mae was entertaining asking Brimstone and Hellreaver to help her find the others and smash their way out of the building. She couldn’t help but feel that time was running out and that the window of opportunity to put an end to whatever scheme their enemy was concocting was fast closing.

Brimstone stirred where he’d coiled his tail around her legs, his orange eyes focusing on the pair who’d just entered the room.

Mae registered his curious interest.What is it?

Hmm. The incubus was right.

Mae was about to ask him what he meant by that when Dickson spoke.

“Would you like a drink, Ms. Jin?”

She observed the cop as he took the seat opposite her, his tone affable. Calvarro leaned against the wall to Mae’s right and crossed her arms and ankles.

“You should switch it up some time,” Mae said.

Dickson gave her a puzzled look.

Mae cocked a thumb at Calvarro. “You should play bad cop and let her play good cop.”

The pair’s expressions grew a fraction chillier.

“You appear pretty relaxed for someone who could be facing murder charges,” Calvarro said thinly.

“Really?” Mae sat back in her chair, her hands lying slack on the table. “And whom, pray tell, are you accusing me of killing?”

She was surprised at how calm she felt considering the situation. There was a good chance this could lead to her losing not only her job, but her medical license as well. Still, something told her it would not go that far.

This had more to do with what Brimstone and Vlad had implied regarding Dickson and Calvarro than her newfound powers and the status she hadn’t even been aware of a week ago. Even though she was supposed to be the prophesied queen of the magic world, she still didn’t feel that way.

Dickson and Calvarro’s silence only added to her impression that they weren’t who they said they were.

“We’ve heard from Vlad Vissarion and your other friends,” Dickson said stiffly. “Care to tell us what happened tonight?”

“We went to a club. Two gangs clashed. A fight ensued.”

Dickson’s brows drew together.

“Funny,” Calvarro said silkily. “That’s exactly what the others stated too.”

Some of the tension left Mae.

Good. They stuck to the story.

It was Vlad who’d told them what to say if they got arrested tonight, before they’d ventured into the basement of the strip club and come face to face withOniks. By the sounds of it, it was a tale the incubus was used to spinning.

Dickson changed tactics. “Would you happen to know anything about the people we found in a building a few hundred feet from the club?”

The lieutenant had dropped his good cop act and was watching her with steely eyes.

Mae studied them blankly, genuine for once. “What people?”

Dickson and Calvarro traded a guarded glance. Calvarro nodded.

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