Page 88 of Rites of Passage

“Okay.” Mae tapped the earpiece. Her eyes widened.

She grabbed on to the dashboard and almost bit her tongue as Nikolai took a corner without slowing, the tires leaving black marks on the asphalt. Alastair braced his wings on the sorcerer’s lap. Brimstone grunted in the footwell by her legs.

Muffled thuds rose from the backseat. They were followed by cussing and growling.

“Are you trying to get us killed?!” Vlad barked.

“I told you to put your seatbelt on,” Nikolai snapped.

“There’re none for our familiars,” Miles groaned from under Tarang.

They passed a park and joined a main avenue. Nikolai swore and slammed on the brakes. Mae’s belt snapped hard against her chest as the SUV skidded to a stop inches from the rear bumper of a bus. Tension knotted her shoulders.

It was rush hour and the boulevard was jam packed.

“Shit!” Nikolai draped an arm atop Mae’s backrest and started reversing.

A horn blasted behind them. There was a fuel truck right on their ass.

“Dammit, we’re hedged in!”

Mae wound her window down and stuck her head out. There were too many vehicles in the way for her to get a clean line of sight.

Her pulse quickened. “How many lights?!”

Nikolai flashed her a puzzled look. “What?”

“How many stop lights do you see to the river?!”

“Seven!” Vlad called out from the backseat.

Nikolai scanned the avenue ahead and confirmed the same with a curt nod.

“Vi, tell Raven and everyone to keep to this route.” Mae narrowed her eyes. “I’m gonna clear us a path.”

Nikolai stiffened. “How?”

“Just be ready to go when I tell you!”

Magic swirled inside her. Brimstone’s pupils flared with power. She ignored Nikolai’s protest and raised her right hand. Redness bloomed on her fingertips. She gritted her teeth, adjusted the strength and visibility of the spell, and let loose.

“Wind Fury!”

Air whooshed violently ahead of their SUV, driving the vehicle back a couple of inches. The palest crimson and black wave exploded into view. It crashed and surged along the boulevard, a forceful tide invisible to all but those who possessed magic.

Nikolai sucked in air as a cacophony of metal groans rose up ahead. The smell of scorched rubber filled Mae’s nostrils. Startled shouts and screams erupted from the vehicles being shifted aside byWind Fury. Side mirrors snapped. Fenders bent. Scratches bloomed on paintwork.

The stop lights finally came into view. Mae curled her fingers, blood pounding in her ears as she finetuned the spell further.Wind Furywrapped around the poles. Sparks sizzled on metal. The lights went out as the electrics were disabled.

“Go!” Mae barked at Nikolai.

The sorcerer engaged gears and floored the gas. The SUV lurched forward, driving them all back into their seats.

The people tumbling out of the vehicles lining the sides of the avenue jumped back as they zoomed past, mouths agape and wild-eyed stares following their passage.

“What the hell did Mae just do?!” Abraham yelled on the comm line.

Violet grimaced. “She cleared a path for us.”

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