Page 70 of Rites of Passage

“Linus Jarrett will not be turning up for this gathering,” Bryony said coldly while startled murmurs rose around them at the absence of Charlotte’s bonded animal. “He passed a note to Mae last night, before he vanished from the hotel. He warned her that someone in the High Council was working for the Sorcerer King.”

“Isabelle West isn’t sick. She’s been taken hostage by the Dark Council, probably to force Linus to do their dirty work. I sent a team to Phoenix last night.” Raven fisted her hands. “They reported back to me at dawn today. Isabella was nowhere to be found. Her home was a mess and her butler and housekeeper were discovered buried in shallow graves in her garden. They’d suffered injuries consistent with black magic attacks.” A muscle twitched in her cheek as she studied Charlotte. “Linus was probably forced to hide all of this from his coven by the Dark Council.”

Outraged gasps and cries erupted across the chamber.

Nikolai never looked away from the Atlanta coven High Priestess. Neither did Mae and Vlad.

The elderly witch sighed and put down her knitting needles. “So, that fool betrayed us, huh?”

Crimson energy burst around Mae. Brimstone and Hellreaver transformed. Nikolai unleashed his spear and a sphere of white magic. Vlad’s black-diamond studs extended into a pair of swords as they dropped from his ears, incubus power pulsing violently around him and Tarang.

Panic laced Karin’s voice. “What is going on?!”

Mae vaulted over the table.“Now, Raven!”

Charlotte cut her eyes to the young witch just as runes flashed into life on the floor beneath her. The rest of the High Council backed away from their tables, chairs clattering to the ground.

Ephra gasped. “What the—?!”

Horror rounded Karin and Gerard’s eyes. Nadia cursed, the bangles on her wrists morphing into curved sabers that glowed with sun magic.

Something was happening to Charlotte. Something unreal. The old witch twitched and jerked in her chair, clothes rippling and flesh quivering with macabre eeriness.

“Bind!” Raven roared.

Her spell exploded upward, trapping the Atlanta High Priestess inside a viridescent prison. Nikolai’s stomach churned as a pall of demonic energy bled the light from the room, the air so heavy with corruption it burned his eyes and throat.

Dammit! That barrier is barely holding her back!

Charlotte stood up, body growing taller and hair regaining its brightness. She snapped her fingers.

Raven’s prison cracked and splintered.

Nikolai blinked.How—?!

Mae stiffened, pupils flaring with surprise.

“Tsk-tsk.” Charlotte’s voice changed, the pitch shifting to that of a much younger woman. “And here I thought we’d all have a pleasant morning getting to know one another. What a shame.”

Nikolai’s chest tightened as the one who had taken on Charlotte Brix’s form finally shed her disguise, the remains of Raven’s magic crumbling around her.

“Rose!” Mae hissed.

The demon in Rose’s skin acknowledged her glare with a mocking smile. “Hello, Mae. It’s been a long time.”

She raised a leg and kicked her table violently across the chamber.

Derrick swore and jumped out of the way as it sailed toward him. The table missed him by inches and smashed into the wall. Golden light exploded in his palms and in his hawk’s eyes.

“Who the hell is that?!” the sorcerer barked, his ring shifting into a double-ended spear.

“That’s Rose Blake, Mae’s best friend.” Raven cast a stiff look at Mae. “She was possessed by Barquiel during the incident in New York!”

Black lightning blossomed on Rose’s fingertips.

She raised her hands, her smile turning savage.

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