Page 105 of Witch Queen

Hellreaver transformed. Mae winced. Jared groaned.

Bryony pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered, “This isn’t happening,” under her breath like it would make all of this go away.

McKinney and his counselors backpedaled hastily from the desk when Hellreaver hurtled threateningly toward them, teeth snapping.

“How dareyou, you little shits?!”

Brimstone emerged from concealment.Now, now, Hell, we must not threaten the humans.

Tweedle Dee sucked in air. “Is that—is that afox?” He flushed, shoulders quaking. “You brought a wild animal in here?!”

Brimstone curled a lip on a low growl.Hey, the only wild thing in here is your hairstyle.

Mae swallowed a snort and avoided Bryony’s glare.

Tweedle Dum, whom she was starting to suspect possessed the survival instinct of an amoeba, pointed a shaky finger at the demon fox.

“His eyes are red! Has he,” the counselor swallowed and recoiled, “—has he got themange?!”

“Oh boy,” Mae murmured.

Brimstone morphed into his nine-tailed form with an angry sound. The ceiling creaked as his head pressed against it.

“The mange?!” His roar rattled the windows. “I’ll have you know that I am a divine beast, you festering piles of excrement!”

The fox stamped a giant paw on the floor, causing it to crack. Abraham chewed his lip, eyeing the fresh damage to New York public property.

“Now, bow to me and my Queen, you scum!” Brimstone demanded haughtily.

“And me!” Hellreaver whined.

“And the demonic weapon with the short fuse,” Brimstone added charitably.

“Hey!” Hellreaver protested.

Bryony’s eyes gleamed with an unhealthy shine.

She looked at Jared. “Maybe we could get Anya to do something about this.”

She indicated the cowering mayor and his counselors. They shrank back from her finger. Jared dropped his face in his hands and groaned louder.

“Why don’t we leave?” Mae suggested hastily.

They emerged from the building a moment later.

“All things considered, that could have been worse,” Mae said encouragingly.

Bryony squinted. Abraham’s eyes closed. Jared scowled.

“Wow,” Mae murmured. “You guys were completely in sync there.”

Abraham grumbled all the way back to the mansion on Fifth Avenue. Mae kept half an ear on his scolding, her gaze sweeping the city outside the SUV.

Two weeks had gone by since the day the prophecy concerning the Witch Queen had come to pass. The end of Anya’s Illusion Sorcery had seen the citizens’ lives slowly return to normal, the fake events they recalled of that day sinking into their subconscious like a bad dream.

The city still mourned the passing of those who had died and was planning to hold an official ceremony centered around the unveiling of a monument where the names of the dead had been engraved.

Violet had said they should put a statue of Mae next to it.

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