Page 83 of Midnight Witch

“Moon Fire!”

Pale flames detonated across the church in a violent boom that consumed the monsters in his path. Their screams of agony made his ears throb as they dropped to the ground and convulsed.

Nikolai panted and straightened, his body tight and his belly quivering with the unholy energy throbbing through him. He felt stronger. Much stronger than he’d ever felt in his entire life. He glanced at the red orb filling the sky through a broken section of roof above him.

Is it because of the Harvest Moon?!

Scarlet drops splattered the pews to his right as Vlad slashed a demon in half and disemboweled another one. Tarang snarled and tore out the throat of a hellwolf.

The incubus glanced at Nikolai, his pupils aglow with demonic energy.

“Go!” he yelled. “You’re the only one who can break that altar!”

Nikolai swallowed and bolted toward the chancel. Barquiel cursed where he struggled with Alicia in the vestibule.

Nikolai caught motion out of the corner of his eye. Two hellhounds sprang toward him from the left.Hell Flareate them alive, the heat of the spell so intense it melted the tiles where their charred bodies fell. He skidded to a halt in front of the altar.

Anya Mendes’s eerie magic washed across his skin as he gripped his spear.

He scowled at the fiery blue runes licking the obsidian stone, directed his Moon Magic into his weapon, and smashed it down upon the altar.

He didn’t make so much as a dent in it.

The blue flames at the base of the obsidian stone flickered.

Nikolai froze.Did Mae and Cortes free Anya?!

Frustration churned his stomach as he watched the fire slowly sputter out. The chances that the witch would reverse the spell in time were slim at best. The midnight hour was almost upon them.

I have to shatter the altar!

“Alastair!”

The crow’s claws sank deeper into his shoulder.

Nikolai closed his eyes, adrenaline surging through his veins. His blood heated up as he drew on all his magic and that of his familiar. He needed a different spell to break the stone. One more destructive thanHell FlareorMoon Storm.

His chest tightened. Pale runes flickered into life deep inside his mind. The glowing letters slowly weaved themselves into a fresh conjuration.

Nikolai’s eyes slammed open. He took a deep breath, reached for the altar, and opened his mouth to shout out the spell.

Mae’s voice reached him a heartbeat before his fingers made contact with the dark stone.

CHAPTER34

Mae’s heartpounded violently as she emerged into the chancel with Brimstone and Hellreaver. She saw Barquiel force a cursing Alicia inside a portal near the rear of the church and glimpsed the mocking light in the demon’s eyes as he glanced at her.

Her gaze found Nikolai. Acid burned the back of her throat.

“Stop!” Mae lunged toward him, her body moving as if her legs were made of treacle. “Don’t touch—!”

“RUPTURE!” Nikolai roared.

His head snapped around at the sound of her voice.

Surprise rounded his eyes a second before she collided into him and took him to the ground.

The altar detonated with a sound that made Mae’s ears throb. A violent storm erupted inside the church. The blue flames of Anya’s magic flickered out as fragments of obsidian stone pelted the interior.

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