Page 56 of Midnight Witch

Crimson flared in her pupils.

Nikolai drew a sharp breath as scarlet lines exploded across the item, mapping out the runes that had been there.

“Whoa,” Violet mumbled.

Mrs. Son-Ha sipped her tea and watched avidly.

Hope sent Nikolai’s heart racing. “Can you trace the altar and the woman you saw in your vision using this stone?”

Mae hesitated. “I doubt it, but I’ll try.”

Everyone watched breathlessly as she closed her hand around the object and focused. Redness bloomed around her. The plates on the table vibrated.

Her magic warmed his skin as it washed over him.

“Reveal.”

Tension knotted Nikolai’s stomach.

Mae wrinkled her brow. “Like I thought, it’s not enough on its own.” Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “And I can’t decipher this magic either.”

Nikolai’s shoulders slumped.

The dragon bell hummed.

Mrs. Son-Ha started to rise. “Who is it now?”

Everyone tensed when the front door of the house opened. The dogs yipped excitedly and bolted out into the hallway. Their host narrowed her eyes. Cortes entered the kitchen with a drooping Popo.

“Did you just use your magic on my front door?”

“Yes,” Cortes said shamelessly.

Mrs. Son-Ha grumbled something under her breath. She headed for the stove. “You had dinner yet?”

“I’m not hungry.” Cortes noticed Jared and Alicia’s presence as he pulled out a chair. “What are they doing here?”

“Alicia came to our rescue after Jared and the New York coven arrested us,” Mae explained.

Cortes stilled.

Jared sighed at his deathly glare. “Mae broke the spell I was under.”

Cortes arched an eyebrow at Mae. “You broke the mirage magic?”

He jumped a little when Mrs. Son-Ha put a loaded plate in front of him.

“Here, eat.”

“I said I wasn’t hun—”

The rest of his words were muffled by Mrs. Son-Ha shoving a forkful of beef stew and rice in his mouth.

“I won’t have it said that I let my guests starve,” the old woman said sharply.

Vlad smirked.

Cortes cut his eyes to the incubus, chewed, and slowly swallowed. “Are there carrots in this?”

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