Page 38 of Witch Queen

Popo released a worried squawk.

“What I want to know is who taught him to say scumbag,” Nikolai commented dully.

The helldragon noticed their presence for the first time.

Vlad’s knuckles whitened on his diamond-edged swords as it lowered its head and squinted at them.

Cortes cut his eyes to Mae. “Didn’t Violet warn us about a purple helldragon called Vozgan?”

“Oh.” The helldragon blinked, surprised etched across his face. “You know Vi?”

“Yes.” Mae lifted her chin. “We are friends of Violet and Artemus Steele.”

The helldragon brightened. “You’re pals with Art too?”

“Seriously, why is he talking like that?” Nikolai hissed to Cortes. “It’s freaking me out!”

Cortes shrugged. “At this point, I’m willing to believe anything.”

Mae hesitated. “So, you’re Vozgan?”

The helldragon straightened to his full height and thrust his chest out. “I am indeed the Almighty Vozgan.”

Vlad pursed his lips. He was willing to bet the dragon had added that title to his name himself. From Mae’s narrow-eyed expression, she was thinking the same thing.

Vozgan watched them broodingly.

“What?” Mae said uneasily.

“It’s a shame. I was just thinking it was time for a snack.”

He licked his chops. A sliver of drool fell from his jaw and splattered ontoContain.

It would have drenched them had it not been for the spell.

The aura that detonated around Brimstone startled Vlad and made the dragon’s tail stiffen.

“How impertinent of you, dragon!” the demon fox snarled.

The air outside the barrier whineddespite the spell containing most of the power the familiar had unleashed. Rocks and dirt lifted off the ground.

Vozgan studied the violent storm of magic and demonic energy bubbling around Brimstone uneasily. “Sheesh. It was just an observation.” He turned toward the battlefield. “Hey, Dad?” the helldragon bellowed. “There are some humans here!”

A black beast of a helldragon raised his horned head in the middle of the combat zone and spat out the body of the helltigress he had just impaled with his teeth. “That’s impossible, son!”

“Well, there’s a bunch of them right here and they say they know Artemus and Violet,” Vozgan whined.

He pointed a claw atContain.

Alicia’s gaze found them through the warring armies. Her expression turned horrified, which was saying something for a skeleton.

Mae waved weakly.

Crimson bloomed in Alicia’s orbits. “What the hell are you guys doing here?!”

Her voice boomed across the battleground and resonated in their ears.

“Sound sure carries well in this place,” Nikolai muttered.

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