Page 80 of The Darkest Night

Mae endedWind Fury, alarmed. “Hellreaver!”

The weapon ripped from Sobol’s flesh and darted toward her. His blades skimmed the boundaries of the closing portal as he returned to her hand, too close for comfort. The gateway vanished with an anticlimactic ‘pop.’

Silence rang in her ears for a couple of heartbeats. It was replaced by the drone of New York traffic.

“Was that Barquiel’s doing?” Mae asked Brimstone stiffly.

Yes.The fox jumped to the ground as she alighted on the rooftop. He turned and watched her, his expression pleased.You are getting better at controlling your power, my bond.

Hellreaver spoke.Did I do well?!

The weapon waited expectantly, like a puppy hoping for a pat on the head.

A smile tugged at Mae’s mouth despite their circumstances. “Yes, you did. I almost lost you there. I’m sorry.”

She stroked him. Hellreaver rumbled happily. He shifted back into the pendant and returned to her neck, still humming.

Ambulances and patrol cars were pulling up outside the strip club, sirens screaming and flashing lightbars sending red and blue pulsing against the facade of the nearby buildings. By the time Mae and Brimstone took the service stairs and returned to the basement, Vlad, Nikolai, Violet, and Miles were surrounded by armed officers.

“Ms. Jin,” someone said behind Mae as an array of guns swung to cover her. “We meet again.”

Mae raised her hands and looked carefully over her shoulder. Dickson and Calvarro had strolled inside the chamber. The NYPD lieutenant and the FBI agent wore tactical vests and grim frowns.

Mae met their irate stares and swallowed a sigh.

Great.

Chapter 37

The 17th Precinctwas located on East 51st Street, in Midtown. Despite the late hour, the station was busy. The perps waiting to be processed eyed Mae and the others curiously as they were marched straight through reception to a secure door leading to the back offices. Vlad had already been divested of his gun. To Mae’s surprise, Nikolai had also been packing, the handgun strapped to his leg small enough to avoid detection by curious eyes when they’d been at the club. They were escorted to separate interview rooms that stretched along two intersecting corridors.

“We should contact Bryony,” Miles told Violet as he and Vlad were led down the passage to the left.

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Vlad called out to Mae, his bored face drawing the ire of the cops beside him. “I’ll have my lawyers get us out of here soon.”

“Move!” a detective snapped.

He pushed Vlad.

Vlad stopped and eyed the man coolly. “Mind the suit, monkey-face.”

Tarang’s growl was audible only to Mae and the others. The tiger rose on his hind legs and snarled, his deadly claws and teeth inches from the unsuspecting cop’s throat. The familiar paused and looked at Vlad, answering his silent command. A disgruntled huff left him as he dropped onto all fours.

Mae chewed her lip.To think he and other familiars like him have been wandering around New York without anyone being the wiser.She wondered if there were any animals bigger than Tarang out there. A grimace twisted her mouth at that thought.And now I have acid.

Mae, Nikolai, and Violet were guided into the opposite corridor. Mae watched the other two disappear into rooms a few doors down from hers. The officers led her inside the chamber they’d assigned to her interrogation, told her to sit, and left.

“Hey, don’t I get a phone call?”

The door slammed closed in her face. She cursed under her breath, glanced at the cameras on the ceiling, and headed over to the metal chair and table.

Mom is going to kill me if she finds out about this.

Mae drummed her fingers on the armrest.Ryu and Ye-Seul, on the other hand, would want every sordid detail.

Dickson and Calvarro left her to stew for two hours. Mae spent that time mulling over what had happened at the club, Brimstone snoozing at her feet and Hellreaver similarly napping where he hung around her neck. Though she felt hungry, it wasn’t the famished feeling she’d experienced after her fight with Oscar and the devil at the cemetery. She looked at her hands.

Are my powers starting to stabilize?

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