Page 73 of Midnight Enchantment

Pale light poured into the cavern.

“Stay behind me,” Raedan ordered.

Like good soldiers, Lily, Ava, and Mason followed him up the stairs and down a long, narrow corridor until they were outside again.

The Elder Knight was waiting for them, surrounded by his Knights. Lily noted there were many more than twelve now. If the Elder Knight was surprised to see Raedan, it didn’t show on his face.

Moving faster than the eye could follow, Raedan darted behind the Elder Knight, one arm snaking around his chest to hold him immobile. Leaning down, he sank his fangs into the side of the Elder Knight’s neck, but only for a moment. “Do you wish to become a vampire?” Raedan asked, his voice dark and deep and filled with menace.

“N … no.” Wisely, the Elder Knight didn’t move or struggle.

“Do you know the whereabouts of the book Ava is seeking?” Raedan’s teeth grazed the Elder Knight’s throat. Two thin lines of blood followed in the wake of his fangs. “Do not lie to me.”

“Y … yes. I know.”

“Send one of your men to fetch it.”

“None of them know where to look.”

“Tell them.” Raedan licked the bit of blood from the Elder Knight’s neck. “I advise you to hurry.”

“Top shelf, Lance 33. Last bookcase on the right. It has a dark-red cover.”

One of the Knights broke ranks and hurried away.

Ava stalked toward the Elder Knight. “What is the name of the witch who instructed you in the Dark Arts?”

“I dare not say.” He flinched as Raedan’s fangs pierced his throat again. “Hildegaard the Gray.”

“Why have you betrayed me?”

“I read the old records and scrolls. I learned many things about the Brotherhood, things that sounded familiar as I read them. I found the witch and asked her if she could restore my memory and when she did, I knew why they sounded familiar. And I decided to return to the Old Ways.”

Ava’s eyes narrowed. “Pity.”

The Knight sent to retrieve the book burst out of the corridor clutching a thin red volume in his hand.

“Give the book to the witch,” The Elder Knight said between clenched teeth..

“But … ”

“Do as I say!”

The Knight glared at Ava as he thrust the book into her hand, then rejoined his brothers. “We’ll be leaving now,” Ava said, slipping the book into her skirt pocket. “Raedan bring the Elder Knight.”

“No. He is mine.”

Ava stared at Raedan, but before she could say anything, he vanished, taking the Knight with him.

Lily let out a gasp as he disappeared. She had little doubt that the Elder Knight would survive the day.

“It seems we’re going to need a new Elder Knight,” Ava remarked after a moment. Her gaze and her magic moved over the Brotherhood, assessing them one by one. She finally settled on a small, wiry man with cropped blond hair and honest gray eyes. “You, Antonio 55, come to me.”

Having no choice, the Knight moved toward her. “You are now the new Elder Knight.” Magic swirled around them. “You and your kind will not, I repeat,not, hunt Hungarian vampires or white witches. The penalty will be death for all Knights. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

Gathering her power, Ava chanted softly, then unleased the spell that would make it impossible for any other witch to change or diminish the directive she had imposed. She moved slowly from Knight to Knight, chanting a similar spell to reinforce her words with each individual Knight, assuring their lifelong obedience.

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