Page 48 of Rites of Passage

Since they weren’t witches, Ryu, Yoo-Mi, and Ye-Seul would not be attending the reception or the covenstead. Instead, Noah would be acting as their guide on a three-day tour of the city and its surrounding tourist spots. Mae was grateful to the sorcerer for having come up with the last-minute plan the night before. She wanted her family as far away from the High Council as possible, now more than ever.

The afternoon visit to the secret government facility overseen by the Immortals had proven more fruitful than she’d thought it would be. She’d had her reservations about whether the scientists Bryony had recommended would be able to get to grips with the entity that had possessed the dead sorcerer and Agnes. Having met Madeleine and Mila and seen their labs, she had no doubt she’d left the samples in the best hands possible.

“Give us twenty-four hours,” Madeleine had told Mae before they left. “We should have some preliminary results by then. And Mae?”

“Yeah?”

“Welcome aboard.” Madeleine had given her a quick hug and smiled warmly at Nikolai. “We’re so glad to finally meet you.”

Though Nikolai had still expressed some doubts about their new allies while they were driving back to the hotel, Mae was certain that what Violet and Miles had told them about the Immortals in Chicago and the others scattered across the world was true.

There was a bond between them. A thread of fate buried deep in their bloodlines that connected them to a common cause. She’d felt it in her bones, as had Brimstone and Hellreaver.

“You and Noah seem to be getting along well,” Mae told Ryu presently.

“We do?” Ryu said breezily.

Mae wrinkled her brow. She was distracted by the sound of the door being nudged open. Brimstone padded inside the room.

The fox was back from exploring their suite.

“Need a hand getting dressed?” Ryu asked brightly.

Mae studied her evasive expression with rising suspicion.Is there something going on between her and Noah?

“I’ll be fine. Have fun.”

Ryu left hastily.

“How are things looking?” Mae asked Brimstone.

I cannot sense anything untoward. The closest demon is at least a dozen blocks from here.

Relief filled Mae. “Good. After everything that’s happened in the last two days, we could do with an evening of R&R.” She grimaced. “I say R&R, but I feel like we’re about to walk into Goliath’s cave.”

Do we eat soon?Brimstone asked.

Mae shot the familiar a sharp look. “You had two cheeseburgers at the lab.”

That was a snack,he protested.

“There’ll be food at the reception. Although it’s likely to be canapes.”

Brimstone eyed her dubiously.What are those?

Oh, I know!Hellreaver perked up.They are bite-sized nibbles.

The fox growled.How bite-sized?

“How the heck do you even know what canapes are?” Mae asked Hellreaver.

The eyeball of a hellboar is one such demonic delicacy in Hell.

The fox did not look happy at that answer.

Mae wrinkled her nose. “You guys mentioned helldragons the other day. So, you have hellboars too?”

Yes.Hellreaver hummed.There are lots of hellbeasts. And the hellboars are the tastiest of them all.

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