Page 92 of A Fury Of Shadows

Vlad noticed Nikolai’s red eyes and the tear stains on his face for the first time. He recalled the horrors the palace outside Budapest had revealed about the sorcerer’s past. A bolt of remorse churned his belly.

Alastair hopped onto the ground and greeted the other familiars with a nervous sound. They crowded around him and butted him gently, the tiger sending the bird bowling over twice.

Cortes came up to Vlad and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s clear he regrets what he did. No one can fight an Illusion Sorcery as powerful as Anya’s.”

“I’ve forgiven him,” Mae told Vlad stiffly. “I hope you can do so too.”

There was an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before. One the incubus didn’t like. Serena seemed to notice it too.

What happened down there?

He took a ragged breath, conscious he’d lost this battle.

“We good?” Nikolai said.

“I haven’t given up on her,” Vlad snapped. “And you’re still an asshole.” A thought came to him then. “Did she tell you she moved in with me?”

Mae pretended to stare at the ground.

Nikolai narrowed his eyes slightly. “No, she didn’t.”

“How about we save the rest of this for later?” Serena indicated the map on Tom’s tablet. “What’s the fastest way of getting in there undetected?”

* * *

Violet eyedthe opening of the culvert with a doubtful look. “Isn’t this the sewers?”

“It used to be, before they installed plumbing,” Nikolai said.

He bent slightly and headed inside the conduit. Mae followed.

Nikolai had skirted the woods at the edge of the island and brought them to the rear of the castle. Mae could feel Vedran’s black magic and Barquiel’s corruption somewhere above them. They made her fingers twitch.

From the tension thrumming through Brimstone and Hellreaver and the anger burning through Na Ri, they were as eager to confront their enemy as she was.

Distant shouts echoed down the tunnel minutes later.

“We’re close,” Nikolai warned.

They emerged into an empty chamber where several culverts met. Boots clattered noisily on a metal grating some ten feet above them.

A familiar voice had Nikolai’s shoulders knotting and Mae clenching her jaw.

“Find him! Find that bastard!” Oscar screeched somewhere close by.

Serena spoke. “You know, the five of you could leave with Nikolai.”

Mae turned. The super soldier was studying her with an inscrutable look.

“Your goal was to rescue him.” Serena indicated the sorcerer with a tilt of her head. “We can probably extract Dietrich without the Dark Council being any the wiser.”

“She’s right,” Lou murmured.

Nikolai frowned. Mae had told him about the super soldiers and their mission before they’d left the nexus.

“I’m afraid that’s going to be impossible,” Mae said in a lifeless voice.

Serena frowned at her tone. “Why is that?”

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