Page 28 of Midnight Witch

Mae’s stomach churned as she observed the faint aura of darkness around their heads. It wasn’t the same as that manifested by humans who’d been possessed by demons. But it contained a taint of power that reminded her eerily of the dark globe she had touched inside the church.

The sorcerers and witches rocked to a halt when they spotted Mae and Nikolai. Alarm widened their eyes.

“Hey, isn’t that—?” one of them started.

Mae didn’t wait for the rest of their question. She took Nikolai’s hand and pulled him across the vestibule. “Let’s get to Bryony’s office.”

They ignored the rising murmurs of the sorcerers and witches and made their way rapidly to the private elevator at the rear of the foyer. The woman who sat behind the reception desk in the lobby on the top floor wasn’t someone Mae recognized. But she seemed to know Mae. Her face twisted with loathing.

“Witch Queen!” she spat.

A pale spell bomb flared into life in her right hand as she jumped to her feet. She hit a button beneath her desk and backed into the hallway leading to the coven’s official meeting chambers and Bryony and Abraham’s office, her dog familiar growling at her side.

An alarm started blaring inside the building. Mae flinched and looked around. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

The witch had cast her spell bomb at her.

Devourflared wordlessly into life above Mae’s fingers. It swallowed the magic missile in an instant.

Brimstone bared his fangs.How dare she?!

“What is the meaning of this?” Nikolai snapped. “Why are you attacking us?!”

The woman’s expression turned chagrined. She bowed briskly. “I apologize, Master Nikolai.” She glared at Mae. “This evil witch has cast a powerful enchantment upon you. Please, come with me. We can help you regain your senses!”

Mae and Nikolai exchanged a startled glance.

Master?!Mae’s heart thudded against her ribs as she tried to make sense of the woman’s words.

My witch!Brimstone warned.

The fox shifted into his nine-tailed form just as a volley of powerful spell bombs arrowed toward them. Hellreaver transformed and sliced through half a dozen of the attacks. Crimson detonated around Brimstone, his vibrating tails casting a whirlwind that diverted the rest across the lobby.

The spell bombs smashed into a bay of windows. Glass exploded.

Nikolai raised a Moon Magic barrier at the same time Mae drew a shield around them. The glittering fragments filling the air bounced harmlessly off the protective walls.

The sinister foreboding that had been building inside Mae on the ride over here from Marblehead bloomed into an ice-cold conviction that shook her to the core as she stared at the witch and sorcerer who had just attacked her.

“Master Nikolai, step away from that enchantress,” Bryony ground out.

Penley hissed at her feet, the black cat’s pupils blazing jade with magic.

Abraham glowered at Mae. “We shall apprehend Mae Jin and force her to break her wicked spell on you. Come to us, my liege. We mean you no harm.”

He extended a hand toward Nikolai.

Nikolai’s watch extended into a spear. Hellfire licked at his skin.

“I don’t know what’s happening here, but there is no way in hell I’m coming with you,” the sorcerer growled. “You better explain why you’re so intent on—!”

“They don’t remember.” Mae’s nails bit into her palms. She met Nikolai’s shocked stare. “They don’t know who I am.”

Though she couldn’t fathom the name nor the nature of the magic she had set off in the church in Marblehead Neck, its intention was now horrifyingly clear.

Bryony scoffed. “Of course we know who you are. You’re the demon witch who has ensnared our future Sorcerer King in her trap.” Her fingers tightened on the handle of her sword. “Give up, Mae Jin. He will never be yours and neither will his throne!”

Nikolai paled. “What?!”

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