Page 83 of Rites of Passage

The Immortal exchanged a guarded glance with the aide.

“The pineal gland insideIce Fortressand the blood you took from that witch contain a virus,” Mila said quietly.

Dread squeezed Mae’s heart.

Karin frowned. “A virus?”

“A modified one.” Mila’s face hardened. “The technique used to make it undeniably originated from an Immortal.”

Mae’s mouth went dry. “Is Agnes going to be okay?!”

“I only found fragments of the virus in her blood.” Mila indicated Nikolai. “Whatever he did to her destroyed the infection.”

Karin looked troubled at that. The High Council had been informed of Nikolai’s abilities with relation to ley lines. Mae could tell it worried not just them, but the Council of the Sun too.

Is that why Marlena wants him? Because of what he can do?

Mae instantly chastised herself for her suspicions. It was clear how much Marlena cared for Nikolai. Whatever her motivations were for wanting him at her side, it wasn’t because she sought power.

“What does this virus do?” April asked stiffly.

“We can only extrapolate from what Mae and Nikolai described to us, but Madeleine and I believe it allows a ghoul to enter the body of a magic user and control it.” Mila sighed at their blank expressions. “The virus acts a primer. It makes the body of the host ready to receive a parasite. We think it only works on magic users.” The Immortal knitted her brow. “One thing we couldn’t decipher was the genetic material it contained. We’ve never seen anything like it. And there was something bound to it.” The look Mila gave Mae made the hairs rise on her nape. “Something that resembles the spells you froze insideIce Fortress.”

Ephra looked between them, confused. “What?”

Bryony paled.

Violet drew a sharp breath. “Magic? You’re saying there’smagicin that thing?!”

Mila grimaced. “It’s our first time analyzing something like that, so we can’t say for sure. But as scientists, all Madeleine and I can tell you is that the core characteristics of your spells match what we found inside those samples.”

Mae’s mind raced. She scowled at the floor. “So, they need magic users to act as recipients for the ghouls.”

“And they want the ghouls to be sacrifices for something,” Alicia said slowly.

“The ghouls were guarding the key,” Nikolai murmured.

Vlad frowned. “They came to Philadelphia to get their hands on the key and theBook of Light.”

Bryony clenched her jaw. “A book of power that contains fragments of magic souls.”

“They combined magic with a new kind of DNA,” April said stiffly.

A ringing sounded in Mae’s ears. Her breath locked in her throat, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place.

Nikolai straightened, his eyes fierce. “What is it, Mae?”

Mae’s heart thudded painfully against her ribs as she turned to Vlad.

“You’re wrong,” she said numbly.

Vlad stared. “What do you mean?”

Mae shuddered, the enormity of their mistake sinking into her bones like shackles.Oh God! How could I have been such a fool?!That’swhat Oscar meant!

“They weren’t just after the book and the key.”

Brimstone growled when her thoughts reached him. Hellreaver hummed dangerously and came over to her side.

---