Chapter 25
They hada direct line of sight to Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge from McKinney’s office in City Hall. What was rolling across the sky from the east was not so much a storm as it was a dark pall that would soon engulf the city. Racing ahead of it, an ominous portent that seemed to herald the End of Days, were thousands of birds.
Blood pounded in Bryony’s veins as she rose from her chair, Abraham and Jared at her side. It’s the first part of the prophecy!
“We’re too late,” she mumbled, half to herself.
Jared’s cell buzzed. His shoulders knotted when he saw the number on the screen. He took the call and listened wordlessly, a muscle jumping in his jawline.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said curtly. “Will do.”
The Immortal disconnected and eyed a shaken McKinney coldly. “That was the Special Affairs Bureau. They want everyone out of New York ASAP. General Cooke and his men at the army facility on Staten Island will assist you. Wait for their instructions.”
They left the mayor and his two counselors staring fearfully out the window as they exited the office.
“Isn’t this too early?” Abraham said tensely when they emerged from the building. He glanced at the sky as they headed to where Jared had parked his sedan. “I thought we had at least another ten hours.”
“It’s not as if the Seer’s visions come with a precise countdown.” Bryony shivered. The wind had picked up and was whipping her coat around her legs. “Besides, I can’t feel Vedran’s presence yet. We’ll know when he arrives in the city.” Her scalp prickled as she studied the darkening clouds. “I’m afraid this is only a prelude of what is to come.”
By the time Jared’s car hit Midtown, Manhattan had come to a standstill. The Immortal switched on his dash light and cursed under his breath as he weaved painfully through the stationary traffic.
No one paid attention to him.
Every man, woman, and child was standing on the street and gazing nervously at the menacing sky and the birds streaming silently above their heads.
Bryony had to give credit to the citizens of New York. It was their sheer resilience that meant none of them was running around screaming yet. She wasn’t sure how long that state of affairs would last though.
When they pulled up to the mansion, Barbara and Regina were waiting outside with April and Ludmila. Relief flooded Bryony at the sight of the witch and sorcerers beside them.
“Valentina.” She stepped out of the vehicle and rushed over to embrace the Caracas coven High Priestess. “I’m glad you’re okay!”
Valentina hugged her tightly, her face pale.
Bryony pulled back and acknowledged Sergio Mendes with a nod. “Thank you for coming.”
Anya’s father gave her a weak smile.
Bryony turned to Felipe Cortes, Enrique’s uncle and the current High Priest of the Medellin coven. “I really appreciate you bringing your people here on such short notice. Having powerful Arcane Magic users on our side will come in handy.”
Felipe bobbed his head curtly. “This fight is as much ours as it is yours. It belongs to the entire magic community.” Anxiety clouded his eyes. “Have you heard from my nephew?”
Bryony hesitated. “Not yet. But I’m sure he’s fine. He’s with the Witch Queen, after all.”
Felipe’s shoulders slumped. Sergio touched the sorcerer’s back lightly and murmured comforting words.
Cortes had finally made up with the family and coven he’d thought had abandoned him all those years ago, when his aunt broke his core and nearly killed him. Though he had been reluctant to trust them again, Anya’s presence in the sorcerer’s life had helped ease the difficult reconciliation process.
Eerie magic washed through the city, making everyone stiffen. Even Jared flinched, the divine energy in the switchblade strapped to his ankle flaring briefly in reaction to the corrupt tide.
Bryony’s stomach sank as the twilight engulfing New York deepened, blocking out the sun as effectively as an eclipse. The air grew heavy.
“He’s close,” Barbara warned.
Anya came out of the building with Roman, Violet, Eric, and Miles. The Nolans and the rest of the High Council were close on their heels. Everyone stared at the eldritch clouds roiling above them.
Karin finally dragged her gaze from the forbidding sight. “Did the mayor agree to evacuate the city?”
“Yes.” Abraham furrowed his brow. “But we’ve lost too much time.”
A scream rose somewhere in Central Park. Another followed farther down the avenue.
Shimmering shields exploded around everyone. They raised a battery of powerful spell bombs, their familiars on alert and the jewelry they wore shifting into deadly weapons.
“It’s not him,” Jared said in a hard voice. “I think the people of New York are finally realizing something is amiss.”
Gerard swore. Bryony followed his gaze.
A couple of grizzly bears had wandered out of the park. They were followed by several snow leopards and a growing crowd of fast-moving penguins. A snow monkey jumped from a tree and scampered across the road toward a coffee shop, a lemur clinging to its back.
Miles squinted. “Is that a red panda riding a sea lion?”
“Great,” Abraham said leadenly as more of the Central Park Zoo animals streamed out onto Fifth Avenue. “Biblical scenes of the apocalypse are the last thing we need right now.”
Bryony turned to Anya, her pulse racing. “It looks like we’ll have to go with Plan B.”
Anya swallowed and nodded. Sable straightened on her shoulder, the blue flames of their magic sparkling in the eagle’s pupils.
Sergio’s confused gaze swung between his daughter and Bryony. “What Plan B?”
“This place is about to be gripped by mass panic, which will make evacuating people a nightmare,” Bryony explained stiffly. “We suspected as much, so we came up with some ways to deal with all the possibilities we could encounter ahead of this battle.”
Anya met her father’s wary stare. “I’m going to use an Illusion Sorcery spell on New York. It will persuade non magic users to abandon everything and leave in an orderly manner.”
“Anyone that doesn’t make it out in time before the Sorcerer King gets here will be guided to the safe zones where we’re erecting defensive barriers,” Abraham added. “Half the covens gathered in New York are already there, preparing for evacuees.”
Valentina’s eyes widened. “You planned all that in a day?”
Bryony smiled faintly at Barbara and the others. “I had help.”
Felipe fisted his hands. “Is that safe?” He studied Anya with a heavy frown. “You’ll be messing with a lot of innocent people’s minds.”
Bryony registered the dread and anger in the sorcerer’s voice. His family and the Medellin coven had lost his nephew because of an Illusion Sorcery spell after all.
Anya faced the sorcerer squarely. “I promise you. I will not harm them.”
“You can trust my daughter, Felipe,” Sergio murmured.
Felipe hesitated. His shoulders slumped.
“It’s a shame, though,” Regina told Bryony. “We could do with someone who can use Illusion Sorcery when we fight Vedran.” She squinted at Anya. “She did a number on the Dark Council when they attacked your coven.”
“Let’s not forget the warehouse incident where she made them believe they were chickens,” Eric remarked.
Anya flushed in the face of a battery of impressed stares. “They totally deserved that.”
Sergio’s expression hardened. “Unfortunately, the few sorcerers and witches we knew of who could use Illusion Sorcery have all disappeared. No doubt, the Sorcerer King went after them when he lost his hold on my daughter.”
Abraham rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ll have to make do with Anya for?—”
A cheerful beep from up the avenue cut out the rest of the sorcerer’s words. They turned.
A green Vespa was puttering around the vehicles stuck in the middle of the road. A Chihuahua in a yellow coat sat barking at the sky in the front basket.
Eric’s eyes bulged. “Is that Mrs. Son-Ha?!”
“Who’s Mrs. Son-Ha?” Valentina asked, puzzled.
“She’s a Shaman who’s been helping us,” Karin explained. “You’ll like her.”
Mrs. Son-Ha pulled up at the curb. She patted Dexter’s head and eyed the churning clouds with a jaundiced stare before meeting their surprised gazes.
“Looks like we got here in time.”
Jared drew a sharp breath at the sight of the middle-aged woman in a gypsy outfit sitting on the back seat of the scooter. She was holding a black cat in her lap and studying them warily.
“Gloria?!” the Immortal spluttered.
“What are you doing here?” Violet asked, similarly shocked.
Recognition darted through Bryony. This must be the witch from the circus! The one who helped Mae find Anya when we were all under the influence of her Illusion Sorcery.
“Who’s Gloria?” Regina hissed as the woman climbed off the scooter behind Mrs. Son-Ha.
“She’s a witch who can use Illusion Sorcery,” Miles explained excitedly.
Sergio stiffened when the sorcerer explained the circumstances under which he, Violet, and Jared had met her.
Felipe’s face darkened. He took a menacing step forward.
“You!” he snarled at Gloria. “You were the one who helped Raya fool us all!”
Gloria eyed the Medellin coven High Priest guardedly. Anya stepped between them.
“Enrique already explained what happened, Felipe,” she said steadily. “Gloria was forced to use her magic to protect her daughter, just as I was tortured to use mine. She helped Mae and Enrique save me.”
“I’m sorry,” Gloria said quietly. “I know it’s too little too late, but I truly am.”
Felipe fisted his hands. “Why are you here?!”
“To help,” Mrs. Son-Ha replied in Gloria’s stead. The Shaman walked up to Felipe and furrowed her brows as she tilted her head and looked up at him. “The past is the past, sorcerer. Right now, you need to work together to stop what is to come.”
She glanced pointedly at the sky.
Jared sighed and ran a hand through his hair in the fraught hush. “When did Mae give you the keys to Betsy?”
Mrs. Son-Ha flinched. She mumbled something.
“What?”
“I said she didn’t,” Mrs. Son-Ha said sourly. “I had spare keys made.”
Regina sucked in air and clutched her chest. “You stole the Witch Queen’s scooter?!”
Mrs. Son-Ha sniffed. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. She’s in Hell, after all.”
“Wait,” Valentina said to Karin. “Mae rides a Vespa?!”
Karin grimaced. “The coven gave her a car, but apparently she got that many speeding tickets she almost lost her license.”
Abraham shook his head. “That woman is a menace behind the wheel of any vehicle.”