Page 77 of Midnight Witch

The detonations liftedthe trailer and sent it tumbling across the field. Bile flooded the back of Nikolai’s throat when the world started spinning sickeningly around him.

Jared went flying into a wall with a curse. Vlad grunted and Tarang yowled as they were violently knocked about.

“Levitate!” Mae barked.

The spinning stopped with a suddenness that drew a gasp from Nikolai and made Jared go green. They found themselves floating inside a protective bubble of Mae’s magic even as the trailer continued to roll.

Gloria gaped at the translucent globe surrounding her and her cat.

The aura around Mae thickened. “Contain!”

The trailer froze in the grip of her magic.

“Everyone okay?!” she snapped in the ringing silence.

“Yeah,” Cortes mumbled.

He hugged Popo to his chest insideLevitate. Violet and Miles nodded, pale-faced inside their respective spheres.

Vibrations shook the air as the Dark Council launched another volley of attacks at the vehicle, the explosions muffled by Mae’s barrier.

None of them breached her magic.

Mae settled the trailer on the ground and retractedLevitate.

“My witch!” Brimstone warned.

Mae stiffened.

Nikolai’s ears popped as a vile pressure pressed down around them. Goosebumps broke out across his flesh. He followed Mae’s gaze to the ceiling.

“Shit!” Vlad cursed.

Gloria looked around wildly. “What is that?!”

Redness bloomed in Alicia’s pupils as she transformed. “We have company!”

Giant claws sank through the rear roof of the trailer. It peeled open like it was a can of food. Hellwolves appeared against the starlit sky, drool dripping from exposed fangs and obsidian eyes full of hunger.

A hulking figure with ochre pupils clambered atop the trailer next to them. A circus staff badge swung comically from his crooked neck as his black talons scraped the metal.

Nikolai stared at the dark miasma crowning the creature’s head and the torn clothes clinging to his deformed body.

That’s a demon! But—how did he and those hellbeasts get past Mae’s magic?!

“That asshole must have opened a portal inside my barrier!” Mae growled.

Alicia’s eyes flared. “It seems they’ve learned a new trick.”

Gloria pointed a trembling finger at the monsters. “Like, seriously,what the hell are those?!”

More demons appeared.

“Hellreaver, she’s all yours!” Mae ground out.

The weapon levitated defensively in front of Gloria and her cat as Mae conjuredContainto protect them.

A blur of movement to the right caught Nikolai’s eye. Something dark and big was lunging toward the window next to him.

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