Page 79 of The Darkest Night

Sobol’s pupils flared with a sickening yellow light. He snarled and forced Vlad down. The ground caved where Vlad landed. His feet sank into the concrete. He bared his teeth and pushed back.

A volley of black spell bombs flashed toward him from the right. Mae raised a hand to cast her magic. Her eyes widened when she realized she was going to be a fraction of a second too late to block all of them.

Three of the explosive spells detonated into her crimson spheres. A double-bladed spear streaked across the basement and pierced the last one before it could reach Vlad. The spell bomb exploded, heat washing across Vlad in waves that were too close for comfort. The spear stabbed the ground an inch from his right foot and vibrated slowly to a stop.

Nikolai came over and retrieved his weapon, his crow’s eyes bright with magic. “You owe me one.”

Vlad frowned.

Nikolai looked past him to Mae. “Can you guys handle him?”

He glanced over to where Violet and Miles were keeping two demons and a sorcerer at bay with a shield, the air shimmering purple and gold with magic.

Mae’s face tightened as she studied Sobol. “Yes. Go help them.”

Vlad’s mouth went dry at the fierce light in her pupils. His queen was everything he could have imagined and more.

“Brim! Come!” Mae roared.

The fox leapt onto her shoulder, the creature managing to balance himself perfectly. Magic exploded across the basement, a crimson haze that made the air vibrate.

Mae rose, her hair fluttering wildly in the tempest that was her power.

“Wind Fury!”

Surprise shot through Vlad a second before the spell ignited. The force of Mae’s magic made his eardrums throb and pushed him back a couple of feet.

A red and black tornado wrapped around Sobol. The demon roared as he was lifted bodily off the ground, arms and legs secured flush against his monstrous body. Mae raised a hand. The whirlwind responded to her will.

Sobol smashed through the ceiling and kept on rising. She followed, Brimstone perched atop her shoulder and Hellreaver cackling in her hand.

* * *

Wind Furycarveda hole straight through the upper levels of the club all the way to the rooftop, the spell casting anyone in the way aside to safety under her command.

Mae’s heart pounded as she and Sobol emerged under the night sky, the demon struggling in the grips of the conjuration that had come to her out of the blue, very much likeDevourandEclipsehad during the attack on Grandview. It was as if a repository of dangerous spells resided deep in her hindbrain, the magic only revealing itself when she needed it most.

Plaster and concrete dust fluttered free from her body where she hovered in mid-air. She cocked her head to the side and appraised Sobol for a moment before curling her fingers into a fist.

Wind Furywrapped ever tighter around Sobol, magic cutting into his flesh. He screamed, a sound of rage and pain.

Mae had to remind herself that Vlad needed him alive to interrogate him. She moved closer to the demon.

“Submit.”

Sobol glared at her and struggled violently against the black and red bands binding him.

“Never, witch!”

Mae narrowed her eyes. Sobol grunted as Hellreaver sliced into his left flank and out his back. Shock widened his ochre eyes.

“That’s right,” Mae hissed in the demon’s face. “You’re inside my magic, monster. I can weaken your flesh and tear you asunder!”

Untamed power blazed through her as she watched Sobol squirm, the demon desperate to escape Hellreaver’s vicious bite. Mae took a ragged breath and shifted back a little, conscious her wrath was close to overwhelming her again.

The pressure dropped around her. Mae stiffened and scanned the area warily. A flicker of movement caught her eye. Her stomach lurched.

A portal had appeared silently beneath Sobol. The demon bared his teeth in a triumphant snarl and dropped into it.

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