Page 121 of Witch Unexpected
“Protocol.” I smile. “I’ll be two minutes, then we can head to the roof.”
Sweeps before any important ceremony are protocol. Something that’s been in place for centuries, ever since the fire in the east wing where intruders had managed to get onto the property.
We no longer take risks.
I take the stone steps two at a time and brace myself for the sting of power that’s about to come because the sublevel is home to the source of our main wards.
Any second…wait… What the fuck?
I hit the flagstones and freeze at the sight of the heavy iron doors, open a fraction.
“Sloane? Is everything okay?” Brie asks.
No, this cannot be happening. I pull open the door and step into the wardroom, a room that should be saturated with light from the many arcane symbols drawing power from the convergence of ley lines beneath us.
Except the room is pitch black.
“Sloane?” Jessie this time. “What’s wrong?”
But I’m already running up the steps. “Code black. We have a fucking code black.”
* * *
CORA
My fingers touched stone, and a crack like thunder ripped the air. I pulled back in shock. Had I done that?
I looked across at Charlotte to find her watching the moon. The moon, which was dappled with black smudges…What the…?
Wails reached my ears.
Oh fuck, I knew that sound.
“Banshees!” an elder witch cried out.
“No. This isn’t possible,” Anna said. “I checked the wards myself.”
But my attention was on the ground, which was bulging and stretching. Oh, fucking hell, no.
Revenants.
“Everybody, run!” Sten shooed Charlotte toward the exit, and the elder witches followed.
Anna looked torn.
“Go,” Arne ordered. “Get the wards up. We’ll hold them back.”
Leif, Rune, and Tor fell into line with the older wolves. Clothes tore and bones cracked as the wolves shifted.
“Come on,” Bramble grabbed my hand and tugged.
“I’m not leaving.”
“We can’t afford to lose you,” Toke said. “Get inside. Now.”
It wasn’t a request.
We surged toward the exit and slammed into an invisible barrier.
