Page 32 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

“Who the hell are you?” the younger woman asked with an authority that belied her age. No one that young spoke with such gravitas if they couldn’t back it up with a healthy amount of power.

“High priestess?” Nasima asked.

The younger woman’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll ask again. Whothe hellare you?”

Nasima blew her breath out in a slow, steady stream as if she were blowing out a candle. The air came out like a monsoon and hit the younger woman in the chest. Much like Saphora, this witch was pinned against the wall.

“I hate repeating myself,” Nasima said. “We are the royal elementals, here to question you regarding your involvement in summoning demi-lords from the underworld. And we are really,reallytired of dealing with witches.”

“Really tired,” Aviur added.

Nasima narrowed her eyes on the witch. “You are going to identify yourself, and then you are going to tell us who you’ve been summoning. Got it?”

The woman nodded as she clenched her jaw. Nasima released her. The instant she hit the ground, she spewed a mouthful of words in Latin and flung out her hands. Ursula copied the words and flung her hands out as well.

Nasima glanced down at the ground. Thousands of scorpions, insects, and spiders rushed toward them. She would have laughed had she not been so irritated.

Kairi raised her hand, and a rush of water exploded forward, washing the witches’ magic away. “You dare attack us?” The water queen asked, her usually kind voice full of rage.

Nasima placed her hand on Kairi’s shoulder, hoping to keep the queen of water from destroying the house and all the other houses on the block.

“This is a fight you cannot win,” Nasima told the young witch. “The fact that you think you even have a chance tells me how very young you are.”

“We do not answer to you,” the woman snarled. “Our ancestors’ power is ours to wield as we wish, and you have no right to come—”

“WEhave no right?” Aviur roared. “We have been here since the beginning of time. We have wiped entire nations from the earth with a simple wave of the hand. Andyouhave the nerve to saywehave no right? Have you been doing drugs? Are narcotics part of the initiation rights in a coven now?” Flames ran up and down Aviur’s arms as he paced. The woman’s mouth opened and closed several times before she finally snapped it shut tight.

“Oh, now you’re going to show you might have some brain cells in that skull of yours?” the fire king asked.

Maybe the flames coming from Avuir’s arms made the human decide to stop talking, Nasima thought.

“Have you been summoning demi-lords from hell?” Nasima asked the woman point-blank. She really didn’t want to be here any longer than necessary.

“Yes,” the witch answered.

“Who?”

The woman’s mouth clamped shut, and her eyes filled with defiance.

“Really?” Kairi asked, tilting her head.

The woman’s eyes went wide with fear. “I … cannot answer you.”

Nasima narrowed her eyes on the woman. “You can’t or you won’t?”

The woman grimaced. “Can’t.”

“It must have something to do with their agreement with the demon,” Aviur said.

“Ahh.” Kairi nodded. “He’s bound the coven to silence in order to protect himself.”

Nasima folded her arms and rested her chin on her fist as she thought. There had to be a way to figure out who it was they were dealing with. “Have you summoned multiple demi-lords or just one?”

“Why should I answer?” the woman asked.

“Because if you don’t I’m going to burn the flesh from your bones,” Aviur said.

Nasima breathed out. “Okay, that escalated quickly. We went from passing out Hollywood witch names to burning flesh.”

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