Page 67 of Rites of Passage

A stunned silence befell the room.

“What?!” Karin choked out.

Gerard scowled. “That’s ridiculous!”

Barbara tapped her cane sharply on the floor.

“Do you people have a short memory?” she snapped. “I explicitly told you the same thing regarding our allies in Chicago. The divine beasts can communicate with their hosts telepathically too.”

Mae straightened in her seat.Oh.

Brimstone’s ears perked up.

“They’re not magic users, Barbara.” Lines knitted Ephra’s brow. “And their lineage is totally different from ours. I have never heard of a witch or a sorcerer who’s been able to do that in all the history of our kind.”

“Na Ri could,” Mae stated.

Her words were greeted with a confused hush.

“Na Ri?” Derrick repeated.

“Azazel’s daughter. The Witch Queen who I am the reincarnation of.”

“I—” Ephra blinked and faltered. “That’s a lot to take in.” She flashed a stern look at Bryony. “Some warning would have been good.”

Bryony sighed. “I confess to being at fault for not telling you sooner, but you didn’t leave me much choice either.”

Karin’s face hardened. “How do we even know what you’re saying is the truth?”

Mae only got a second’s warning before Brimstone sprang from her lap and landed inside the circle. Startled gasps erupted as he transformed into the nine-tailed spirit, his magic making the air throb and the curtains flutter.

“Because I say so!”

The fox’s growl rattled the windows.

Mae winced.Ah, shit.

He’s SO pissed,Hellreaver observed in a gleeful tone.

Brimstone loomed over Karin and lowered his massive head. The witch shrank back in her chair, face ashen.

“Do not make me break my promise to my bond, witch,”the fox snarled. “Hellreaver and I pledged not to harm any of you unless she gives us permission, but you are truly testing the limits of our patience.”

Hellreaver detached himself from Mae’s neck and joined the fox, his blades hissing into life as he morphed. Karin’s familiar burrowed into her lap.

Mae blew out a sigh. “You guys. What did I say about threatening people?”

Brimstone and Hellreaver flinched.

“You know what this means, right?” she added sharply.

“Yeah, yeah,”Brimstone muttered.“No steak for lunch.” The fox bared a fang at Karin’s familiar. “Cat meat sounds like a good alternative.”

He shifted back to his smaller shape and returned to Mae’s lap.

“He’s kidding,” Mae told Karin hurriedly as the witch cradled her trembling cat to her chest.

Penley let out an anxious meow.

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