Page 2 of A Fury Of Shadows

Now that she was regularly accessing the core in her heart, the legacy Ran Soyun had bequeathed her and Na Ri grew stronger by the day.

Na Ri had been as surprised by this as Mae was. And it had caused Mae to question something that had always troubled her.

Is this what Barquiel was afraid of? That our white magic would thrive under the influence of our second core?

Na Ri had remained silent at her questions.

The Archduke of Hell who had sided with the first Sorcerer King and all who had subsequently filled that position had been keen to rip out the core in her heart whenever they had fought one another. In fact, the demon seemed pretty obsessed with robbing her of her secondary source of magic.

Mae’s thoughts turned to Nikolai Stanisic as she evaded another blistering attack by the bewitched Karin and Derrick. She wondered how he was faring.

Almost a month had passed since the events in Concord, when the white magic sorcerer had fallen under the spell hidden inside the altar of the church where he, Mae, Cortes, and Vlad Vissarion had battled Oscar Beneventi and Barquiel. Though they had managed to free Anya and end the Illusion Sorcery that had seen Mae become the most hated figure in the magic community, they had all ultimately failed to grasp the Sorcerer King and his Dark Council’s secret intention to capture Nikolai.

With his ability to access ley lines and his newly acquired Hellfire Magic, the sorcerer’s power was a crucial key in Vedran Borojevic’s scheme to achieve his goals. Chief among those was unlocking theBook of Shadowsso he could get his hands on the soul of the first Sorcerer King. What he intended to do with it no one knew, although Mae had her suspicions on the subject.

That lapse in judgment had cost them one of the most valuable assets they had in the war they would soon have to wage against Vedran, his army of black magic users, and the demonic forces Barquiel commanded.

But Nikolai Stanisic wasn’t just a tool to be used in the upcoming conflict. He was the man Mae had fallen in love with.

Her chest grew heavy with an all too familiar ache as she countered a barrage of spell bombs withDevour.She’d just retracted her magic whenHellreaver shot out of her grasp, startling her. He deflected Derrick’s spear as it crossed her blind spot and let loose an unholy growl.

The voices of the demonic souls that dwelled within him echoed menacingly across the warehouse. Karin and Derrick flinched.

“Don’t get distracted!” Cortes barked.

Mae clenched her jaw.He’s right. Moping over a broken heart isn’t going to help anyone. And it sure won’t give me the satisfaction of punching Barquiel’s lights out the next time we meet.

That’s the spirit, my witch!Brimstone said fervently.

Mae focused her attention on the battle at hand and the presence within her.Are you any closer to figuring out a way to break the spell?

Na Ri replied just as Mae cut down Karin’s whip and Derrick’s spear with Hellreaver and unleashedWind Furyupon the witch and the sorcerer.

No. And I’ve tried any combination of the spells our father bequeathed us since we started these practice sessions.

They had decided beforehand that Mae would concentrate on the physical aspect of their training sessions, while Na Ri directed their magic at coming up with a way to undo Anya’s illusion.

Mae’s stomach sank at the frustration underscoring her first incarnation’s voice.So, nothing’s working?

I’m afraid not.

CHAPTER2

Unease prickled Mae’s scalp.That’s not good. We need to be able to undo this magic if the Dark Council uses it again.

Na Ri hesitated.There was one spell that had a brief effect on Anya’s Illusion Sorcery today.Ice Fortress.

Brimstone’s ears perked up at that.

Mae wrinkled her browwhere shelevitated near the ceiling. Karin and Derrick were cursing up a storm beneath her as they tried to break free ofWind Fury.

Ice Fortress?

Yes. It slowed Anya’s magic for scant seconds, but it was enough for me to discern its structure.

Surprise jolted Mae. She remembered whatIce Fortresshad looked like the first time she’d used it in the New York coven’s infirmary, deep beneath the headquarters on Madison Avenue. They had been able to make out the runes of the spells it had trapped within its frozen cage.

Hope quickened her pulse.Maybe if we get Ice Fortress to pin the spell down for longer, we can figure out how to deconstruct it!

---