Page 90 of Witch Queen

A shudder shook Hellreaver. He coughed and spat out the skeleton key she’d given him for safekeeping.

Mae snatched the artifact out of the air. Her pulse spiked.

It was vibrating.

TheBook of Lighttrembled in her other hand, matching the key’s resonance. It could only mean one thing.

We need to find it, Mae!Na Ri urged.

Blood thrummed in Mae’s veins.

She met Oscar’s steady gaze. “Where’s theBook of Shadows?”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

Alicia’s scythesliced a group of ghouls neatly in two. Nikolai blasted the devils dropping down on him withHell Flare. The spell obliterated the monsters and scorched the air inside the tunnel, painting its walls with a bright glow.

The light sparked off Azazel’s spear where he clashed with Barquiel farther down the passage, his expression focused and his movements confident as he delayed his archenemy’s advance.

With Barquiel’s army nowhere near as large as they’d expected it to be, they were more than halfway to the location where the demon had hidden Ran Soyun’s soul and her mortal remains.

Nikolai could see Barquiel’s desperation growing with every step they made toward their final destination.

We need to hurry!

Alastair crouched on his shoulder, the crow’s power amplifying his own as he cast spell after blinding spell, obliterating the enemy even faster than the Reaper queen’s blade. White magic was the one weapon few in Hell could overcome and the reason why Ran Soyun had been so powerful down here.

Soon, the last ghouls and devils fell, clearing the path ahead.

Alicia flew back to where Azazel fought Barquiel. “Go, Zaz!”

Crimson brightened the Reaper queen’s orbits. She moved in front of the demon and slammed her scythe on the ground. Her blade expanded in a flash of light, forming a glinting, metal lattice that blocked the passage with a thin wall sharp enough to cut the air. Darkness swarmed Alicia as her form grew, her cloak billowing and casting long shadows all around them.

“I will keep this bastard here,” she growled. “Take Nikolai and free Ran Soyun!”

An unholy sound left Barquiel. He slammed his broadsword into Alicia’s barrier.

It held.

Azazel whirled around, shot toward Nikolai, and grabbed his wrist. Nikolai’s stomach lurched as his feet left the ground.

The demon flew rapidly, his wings skimming the walls of the tunnel whenever he swerved inside one of its many branches, his face brightening with every bifurcation and chasm they crossed.

They could both feel Ran Soyun’s magic growing ahead of them.

A faint light finally glimmered in the distance.

Azazel’s breath caught. “Ran!”

The demon accelerated, his speed bringing tears to Nikolai’s eyes and causing Alastair to crouch even lower where he sank his claws in his shoulder.

They rounded the corner of the widening passage and came upon the cave holding the first Witch Queen’s prison.

Azazel landed lightly on the ground and folded his wings. He let go of Nikolai, his eyes glinting with unshed tears as he marched toward the dome of demonic energy trapping the brilliance of his wife’s incredible magic.

Ran Soyun’s eyes rounded where she floated above her sarcophagus. “Az?!”

A wretched sound left Azazel. His knees buckled. He fell before Ran Soyun and bowed his head, tears rolling down his face and darkening the floor where they landed.

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