Page 34 of Witch Queen

Something rose in the murk ahead of them, distracting him from his wretched thoughts. His pulse quickened as they approached it.

It was a mound some fifty feet high and nearly twice as wide.

It was made of the bodies of the familiars and Dark Council members Vedran had killed so as to absorb their magic. Though he could not leaveVoidfor the time being, the Sorcerer King had made use of his portals to send his demonic henchmen to track down all those who’d once sworn allegiance to him.

Metal glinted inside Vedran’s cloak as he used his powers to sift through the corpses, in search of yet another familiar to bond Oscar with.

Oscar avoided staring at theBook of Light.

The damage Mae and Nikolai had inflicted on the Sorcerer King’s core during their last encounter meant he still hadn’t managed to manipulate the artifact to find theBook of Shadows. Oscar knew this state of affairs would not last long. Not given the rate at which his father was consuming the magic of others.

The Sorcerer King hadn’t let theBook of Lightout his sight since they’d become trapped in here. He was so paranoid about it he’d even killed a couple of devils he’d thought were looking at it.

Even if I somehow manage to get my hands on that thing, there’s nowhere I could hide it in this infernal prison.

Vedran stiffened. Oscar peered curiously past him.

He had uncovered the body of a black wolf.

Seconds ticked by while the Sorcerer King gazed at it unblinkingly.

“No,” he mumbled to himself. “That won’t do at all, Balkin.”

Oscar frowned.Who’s Balkin?

Vedran finally unearthed an animal he deemed compatible with his remaining heir. Ice filled Oscar’s veins.

It was a fox. One that looked eerily like Mae’s demon familiar.

“This one is perfect,” Vedran crooned.

Oscar gritted his teeth. The Sorcerer King animated the corpse and used his black magic to force an unnatural bond between his son’s damaged core and that of the undead creature. Oscar’s nails sank into his palms as he resisted, just as he had done with the last three familiars his father had wanted to impose on him.

Drabek was still alive. He could feel it in his bones.

Oscar had become certain of two things in the time he’d been confined inVoid.

His father had gone mad and would kill him and absorb his magic if he managed to make his core whole again, just as he intended to kill Nikolai and Mae and consume their powers.

And his brother would never forgive him for his crimes against Gabriela Stanisic and their siblings.

Still, Oscar wanted nothing more than to help Nikolai achieve his dream of defeating Vedran. Because if the Sorcerer King won, the world was doomed to enter a dark era from which there would be no escape.

His thoughts turned to the woman his brother had chosen to side with.Hurry up, Witch Queen. You’re the only one who can stop him now.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Tension knottedMae’s stomach as Violet and Miles drew a circle on the ground.

They were inside the basement of the condemned New York coven headquarters, on Madison Avenue. Though the building remained unstable, the magic built into its foundations still made it the most secure place in the city from which to attempt to teleport to Hell.

Light stabbed through the scaffolding enclosing the high-rise above them, the beams painting pale lines on the runes surrounding Mae, Nikolai, Vlad, and Cortes.

It was early Sunday morning and the city was just waking up. The unnamed victims whose remains were yet to be identified occupied the headlines of all the news channels. Rumors of mass abductions and ritual killings abounded on the internet and social media. Bryony and Abraham had spent most of yesterday fielding calls from concerned covens around the country and abroad.

Magic hummed through the air as the powerful witches and sorcerers who’d gathered in the gloom-filled space prepared to pour their powers into the divine barrier Violet and Miles planned to erect.

“Any last words of wisdom before we do this?” Mae asked Violet.

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