Ascended (War of the Covens 3)

The magiks from the Council members’ families stared at her in awe, and she could tell they were thinking, “Who the hell is this kid?” Nothing for it now, though. They had agreed to this.

“OK. Let’s get off this street before someone calls the cops,” she cracked. It was dark and there was no one around. She hoped. Caia turned back to the door and used her magik to pop the lock. Like quiet mice in a churchyard, they all made their way inside and followed her to the room with the portal.

“Lykans.”

All except Jaeden began the change, magiks and everyone else looking discreetly away as they undressed and underwent the bone-cracking transformation from human to wolf. After what seemed like forever, the last of them finished.

“Vanne.” She turned to find him. He brushed his way forward with Reuben. They had decided it would be best if he and the vampyre went first because no one would attack Vanne, giving them the element of surprise when the others arrived at their backs.

With that, he put his hand to the glass, and it shimmered and congealed, turning into what looked like liquid mercury. Without another word, he disappeared into it with Reuben holding on to his shoulder. Once they were through, the glass resolidified. Ignoring the flurry of butterflies in her stomach—and the fact she may be sending these people to their deaths—Caia placed her own hand on the glass and reopened the portal. When it was ready, she ushered them all through.

At last it was just her and Jaeden.

“You ready, Cy?” Jae whispered, her usually tan face pale with fear.

She shook her head numbly at her friend and clasped Jae’s hand tight. “Nope. We’ve got to be brave, though.”

“I will if you will.”

They both drew in a huge, shaky gulp of air and stepped into the mirror. She barely had time to get used to the feeling of traveling by portal when the shouts and screams hit her ears. On instinct she dropped to the ground, pulling Jaeden with her, and a blast of power flew over their heads and splintered the wall at their backs.

Heart pounding, Caia looked up to see the Center’s reception area was already a battleground. Lykans were in the middle of chewing up magiks, battling it out with lykans from the Center and bouncing off protective shields. Water, fire, and earth exploded everywhere, mixing with blood and the pressure in the atmosphere created by air magik. She swung her gaze around to see their way out of the reception was blocked by two magiks fighting off a lykan.

“Reuben!” Caia yelled to the vampyre. He was choking the life out of a younger vamp as if he were merely a rabbit caught in a trap. He grunted in question as he shook the boy and let him drop. She indicated the blocked pathway, and he nodded. His body was a blur as he crossed the room and shot his entire weight into one of the magiks. The warlock barely had time to scream as his body flew backward into the wall with such force, the brickwork cracked around him. He stuck there almost comically for a minute before collapsing to the ground. Reuben said something to a lykan—Alexa, it seemed—and she tore off after the injured magik to finish him off.

“Jeez, I never knew he could move that fast. The son of a bitch never moved that fast, not once when we were out hunting,” Jae whispered loudly in her ear.

Caia smirked. She wasn’t surprised Reuben had been careful to keep quiet about how powerful he really was. It was probably one of the many reasons he’d lived as long as he had. She waited and readied herself as he took the other magik in hand. “OK, you ready? We have to move quick.”

Jae braced herself like an Olympic sprinter and gave a determined nod.

“Go!” Caia yelled, and off they shot, dodging fighting supernaturals and trying to ignore the howls and snarls and screams, praying that their side were the ones winning.

They never slowed, even as they made it out of the reception and into the quieter corridors.

“The elevator,” Caia puffed, already feeling the burn in her legs.

They’d almost made it when, out of nowhere, a tall, broad-shouldered vampyre rushed around the corner, his lips drawn back so they could see his lengthened fangs. He swooped on Caia but Jaeden was already in front of her, unsheathing a steel ax from a belt she’d strapped to her hip. Caia watched in awe as Jae ducked the vampyre’s punch and jumped over his side swipe, smashing her elbow into his face in the same motion. Dazed, he staggered back, allowing Jae a few more punches, including an uppercut that sent blood spraying from the vampyre’s nose.

Caia was sure Jae was about to be declared the winner when, with a terrifying hiss, the vamp blocked another of her punches and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back to secure her in a chokehold. Caia didn’t even have time to aid her before Jaeden used her telekinesis to thrust him from her and pin him to the wall. She was on him in a second, slicing the blade of her ax into his neck with such force, it tore through his skin and bones and lodged into the wall behind him. His head rolled off his body and onto the floor before bouncing to a stop.