Page 86 of Witch Queen

Determination knotted Nikolai’s shoulders. Heat flowed through his belly and filled his veins as he invoked a spell that would augment Azazel’s shield, Alastair strengthening his magic with an angry squawk.

“Shield!”

The wall that blossomed into view crackled with a light that blinded the ghouls and devils crowded at the base of the bluff and caused them to fall back to a safe distance.

Azazel’s eyes widened. He shot a dazed glance at Nikolai.

“You managed to fuse white magic with Moon Magic?!”

“Yes.”

“That won’t hold Barquiel off for long,” Alicia said bitterly. “He knows how to overcome white magic. That’s how he’s succeeded in keeping Ran Soyun down here for thousands of years.”

Nikolai’s voice hardened. “That’s not the only trick I’ve got up my sleeve.”

* * *

Dampness soakedinto Mae’s skin and hair when they emerged under an ominous sky outside the temporary headquarters of the New York coven.

Vlad swore. “What the hell?!”

Mae’s scalp prickled. She stared at the black clouds roiling above them. A light rain was falling across the city. It did nothing to mask the stench of magic and ozone imbuing the air, nor the suffocating pall of terror hanging over the deathly silent metropolis.

“What on Earth happened while we were away?” Cortes said numbly. “We were only gone for a couple of days!”

Na Ri’s anger flooded Mae’s insides.I can feel Davor’s soul. He’s close!

Mae dug her nails into her palms. “Vedran brought death to our doorstep.”

Her gaze found the shimmering dome rising above Central Park. She detected Bryony and Abraham’s cores and those of their allies inside the barrier.

They were fighting hordes of monsters.

Surprise jolted Mae when she clocked Gloria Espenoza’s core and the Illusion Sorcery she was wielding against the enemy.

More monsters approached across the sky from the east and south.

She narrowed her eyes. “Let’s go!”

The magic vibrating off Brimstone’s tails warmed her cold body as they headed across the road, just as Hellreaver’s newly awakened core filled her with a power that made her blood sing.

She just hoped it would be enough to fight Vedran.

“Hell.”

“On it, my witch.”

Her bond with the weapon grew so hot Mae was surprised it didn’t scald her insides. A thick, crimson aura laced with black magic whooshed into life around Hellreaver. He moved, his jagged blades slicing a doorway into the shield with an effortlessness that made Vlad and Cortes pause.

Mae closed the opening behind them and extended her magic to form a secondary shield outside the original barrier. A savage smile stretched her mouth when she felt dozens of monsters bounce off it, their attempt to enter the western boundary of the park thwarted.

They moved swiftly toward the sounds of a battle.

Vlad and Cortes cursed at the sight that met them when they emerged from under the trees. Mae clenched her jaw.

There were thousands of people inside the park. Non magic users clueless about the supernatural war that had been fought in their city for hundreds of years. Even now, their expressions were glazed and they appeared oblivious to the bloodied conflict taking place around them as the New York coven and the allies who had come to aid the city maintained a thin line of defense against the hellish creatures trying to claim their lives.

Mae frowned. She tasted a familiar magic around the subdued citizens.

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