Vlad focused on what Mae was saying.
“Sealshuts down someone’s access to their magic,” she told Serena. “It’s a nasty spell.”
The super soldier raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you have prior experience of it.”
Mae shuddered. “Yeah, well, someone tried it on me a short while back. They got pretty close to scrambling my brains in the process.”
A low growl left Brimstone. The fox was no doubt recalling the incident at the U.S. Army facility on Staten Island, when they had been taken prisoner by the New York coven and the Dark Council.
Mae stroked the familiar’s head soothingly. His hackles settled.
“And you—” Serena waved a vague hand, “just copied the spell?”
“Yes.”
The super soldier clocked Violet and Miles’s uneasy expressions.
“I get the feeling you’re making something very complicated sound very simple,” she told Mae drily.
“She is,” Cortes grunted.
Mae avoided the sorcerer’s piercing stare.
“What about the other spells?” Serena asked.
“Reveallets me track down anyone with demonic powers or black magic if they are close enough for their energy signature to hit my radar.”
Serena narrowed her eyes slightly. “By radar, you mean you can see stuff? Like a GPS?”
Lou glanced at them in the rearview mirror. The super soldier was frowning.
Vlad’s shoulders tightened.Looks like we’re going to have to add keen hearing to their abilities.
“Sort of,” Mae said, either oblivious to the fact that the super soldiers in the van were paying close attention to her words, or not really caring that they were. “But it only applies to magic and demonic energy.” She paused and scratched her head awkwardly. “I, er, can however see all the magic cores in New York without that spell.”
Lou’s frown deepened. A wary stillness came over some of the super soldiers.
Serena was silent for a moment. “And the third spell?”
“That’s the one I’m hoping will do the most damage.” A fierce expression brightened Mae’s face. “It’s reserved for Nikolai.”
Cortes stiffened.
Vlad’s stomach lurched.Wait. Don’t tell me she—?!
“You putDisseverinside Oscar?!” Violet gasped.
Mae smiled savagely. “Yes.”
“Whoa,” Miles mumbled.
Cortes pressed his lips together. “You think Nikolai will trigger your spell and it will somehow counter the Illusion Sorcery he’s under?”
Mae nodded.
“How can you be so sure?” Vlad couldn’t mask his doubt either. “For all you know, Vedran could free Oscar on his own.”
Mae’s jaw set in a mutinous line. “He’s already using Nikolai’s powers to overcome my magic. He will do so again. I’m certain of it.”