Page 28 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Leelin bowed low and then returned her attention to Dhara. Aviur gave the earth queen one last look before he opened a portal. “Where shall I come?” he asked the wind, knowing the question would be carried to the air queen.

Nasima’s answer was almost immediate. “We are in Massachusetts.”

“Salem?” he asked.

“Naturally,” she said, sounding amused.

Aviur stepped through the portal and focused on the air queen’s energy. When he appeared on the other side of the portal, he found himself standing on a sidewalk next to Nasima and Kairi.

“Seems a little cliché,” he murmured.

“You know the reason the covens like to stay here,” Kairi said. “It’s not because of nostalgia.”

“No, it is not,” he agreed. They all knew that the covens congregated in areas where power was concentrated and where the veil between realms was thin. Salem had been a place where witches and warlocks had gathered for centuries, and the dark power clung to everything. If there was a way to see between the realm of the underworld to the upworld, a person would see demons clawing at the veil separating the two worlds in this area. They were drawn to the evil and power in the town.

“The Blackhorn coven still uses the same manor house it has occupied for over four centuries,” Nasima said as she motioned toward a large mansion at the end of the street.

“That just takes cliché to a whole new level,” Aviur said as he stared at the black monstrosity. It was as if the witches had watched every scary movie ever made and modeled their house after the prevailing haunted-mansion trope. Black, huge, crooked shingles and metal-grated fencing across the pitched roof, and gargoyle statues to greet visitors.

“Witches are nothing if not traditional,” Kairi said.

“How was Dhara when you left her?” Nasima asked as they started walking down the sidewalk toward the manor.

“She was resting. I left the captain of my warriors along with three other men to guard her. And she was being attended to by three woodland fae when I left,” Aviur answered.

“She is strong,” Kairi added. “She will bounce back from this.”

The fire king agreed. He just hoped they would be able to keep the earth queen safe while she was vulnerable.

“I think we need to agree not to discuss the absence of our mates, especially where others might hear,” Nasima said. “Knowledge of what has happened to our mates must not go beyond us or the group we spoke with today. It will be perceived as a weakness. As far as the rest of the supernatural world knows, there is nothing amiss with the light royals. Our mates would want our focus to be on figuring out what demon has been consorting with the covens and just how badly the soul bonded have been affected by this curse.”

“Agreed,” Aviur and Kairi said at the same time.

When they reached the large double doors of the mansion, Aviur stepped forward and pressed his hand to the blackened wood. A pulse of magic flowed down his arm. “Warded,” he murmured.

“I’d be a little disappointed if it wasn’t,” said Kairi.

He could feel the demonic magic that had, over time, become as much a part of the wood as the individual grains that made up the boards.

“Should I burn it out?” he asked his two companions.

“It might be a good reminder to the Blackhorns that light does not mean weak,” Nasima agreed.

Aviur brought his fire up to the surface of his skin and pressed his palm more firmly against the door. He let the ancient language flow off his tongue as his power flowed into the grain and burned up the demonic magic that warded the entry to Blackhorn Manor.

When he was done, not even the tiniest pulse of magic remained on the doors. He stepped back. Kairi reached up and grabbed the gargoyle-faced door knocker and pounded it three times. They didn’t have to wait long before the large double doors swung open.

A tall woman dressed in a sleek, black pantsuit stared at them with narrowed, black eyes. Her platinum hair was coiled in a tight bun on her head, and though the color might indicate an advanced age, her skin bore no lines or age spots. In fact, her complexion was as flawless as an infant’s.

“It’s been a long time Saphora Blackhorn,” Nasima said, her voice was cold as ice and as sharp as a finely honed blade.

The woman’s lips pursed as she looked at each of them and then back to Nasima. “What did you do to my wards?” Saphora asked.

“The air queen didn’t do anything to your wards, witch,” Aviur said. “I removed them. They were bringing down the property value. Evil tends to do that.”

Saphora glared at him with obvious disdain. She might have been attractive if it wasn’t for the stench of demon rolling off of her.

“Why are you here?” Saphora asked as she turned back to Nasima.

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