Page 71 of Wicked Warlock
Maze’s eyes went milky white, and he hiked his thumb in the direction Cross and Ophelia had taken off. “I’m needed over there.”
I reached my hand out toward Tilly. “Til, come on. I’ll keep you safe.”
She stepped toward Maze but didn’t say anything. He began walking away. “Don’t worry, Astrid. I got her.”
“Astrid, come on.” Beckett shoved me toward the portal. “We have to get up there to see everything.”
I took one last look at my bestie and wanted nothing more than to go to her, to help her. She clearly was not okay. Not even a little bit. She still had her demon strength, but what else lingered? What more was wrong with her? Beckett’s hand wound around mine and he tugged me into the portal with him. The last thing I saw before his magic surrounded me were Tilly’s blond waves swaying as she stood next to Maze as he kicked an Unseelie right in the chest, sending it flying into the one behind it and knocking over three more.
The portal closed and opened right back up onto the top of the Space Needle. Zinnia stood at the edge, alongside Tucker. Silver magic poured from her hands and over the edge of the building. Tucker fired one fire ball after another into the night, hitting his targets below. Nova stood next to her, and purple sparks flitted from her fingertips down below. When I moved to their side, I looked out over the entire city. Gray clouds hung in the sky and a steady rain fell in the distance.
“Where are all the people?” It was the middle of the day. Tourists should be all over the place.
“Serrina’s taking care of that with Tabi.” Tucker responded. Then he pointed across the battlefield. “Look there.”
All the way in the back behind all the warriors, Nylore lounged on the roof of an oversized black SUV. His leg dangled over the windshield, and he rested his sword down beside him. His red eyes met mine, and he smiled and leaned back on his elbow.
“What is he doing?”
“This whole thing makes no sense.” Zinnia fired off more magic. “Why Seattle?”
Before we could think about it, he rose to his feet and lifted his sword in the air. His entire army turned to face him in unison. They dropped their weapons to their sides and began marching toward Nylore.
He rose to his feet and turned his back to the troops. Then he drew his sword across the air behind him, cutting a jagged line in the air that glowed a bright red. The cut ripped open and the wind whipped around us. The Unseelie army was sucked right into the slash. In a flash, they were gone. Nylore turned and snickered at us, then he too was gone through the slash. It sealed behind him, and I stood there in shock.
“Seriously, what just happened?”
One of Ophelia’s portals opened, and she stormed out, looking more pissed off than ever. “What the hell happened? One minute I was all…” she held her dagger, making a stabbing motion, “and the next, they were all gone.”
Cross nodded as he too walked out. “We have got to figure out how to get the damn wall back up and get rid of Nylore once and for all. They can’t keep coming in and out of our world as they please. There’s no telling where or when or who they’ll attack next.”
Zinnia threw up her hands in frustration. “I agree, but I have no idea how to do it. Or even where to start.”
I wanted this to end. The damn Unseelie needed to go and they needed to go now. “Where would Alataris keep all of his secrets? The one place no one will dare go? You had to face him before. Is there anything at all that you can remember that might be of use to us?”
Zinnia’s face lit up and she snapped her finger. “I know. The same place he hid the map of his location… the Furies. It has to be.”
Nova shook her head. “You can’t go back to the underworld. Hades would have a fit.”
Liesin moved to stand next to her and she took a small step away from him. “Well, there’s always another way.”
Zinnia narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t think I like you very much.”
“Not many people do.” He shrugged. “But if a Fury is what you want, then you’ll learn to like me.”
Chapter 36
Astrid
Outside the door, the hustle and bustle of the students of Warwick moving in was in full swing. This room used to be in the abandoned wing of the school but now it was in a wing with so much activity. At the back of the room were shelves that ran from the floor up toward the ceiling. Bottles and bottles of potions all sat there in an array of colors, shapes, and consistencies. Some glowed and others had no color at all. There were no labels or way of knowing what was what. Ophelia marched across the room and dragged a chair to sit in front of the shelves. Cross pulled out his own chair and sat down next to her, spreading out and leaning back on the seat.
Long rectangular tables were pushed up against the walls, making the middle of the room completely empty. Tabi, Serrina, and Ashryn sat shoulder to shoulder on one table, while Logan, Maze, and Tilly took another. Kylian and Soto were silent and still in the back of the room, like if they didn’t make a sound, no one would realize they were there.
“What are you two doing here?” I was debating asking them to leave. This was going to be dangerous and not fit for an audience.
Kylian shrugged. “Never seen a Fury before.”
Catherine and Penny shared a table at the back of the room, and the two of them sat there eyeing each other. Technically they were in-laws… technically. Awkwardddddd.
