Page 72 of Arcane Entanglement

“Still, it would be in everyone’s best interests if you allowed us to take a look around the place.” Rufus’s face was a mask of professional detachment.

“Of course,” the priest mumbled, contrite. “Please, come this way.”

It took Evander a moment to fathom why something felt off about the man as they headed for the church entrance.

His eyes never quite met theirs and his smile seemed too wide and forced.

Evander wondered if Rufus had picked up on the faint, sickly sweet odour coming from the priest. He was almost certain it was the scent ofNoctis Bloomhe’d smelled in Brown’s lab yesterday.

The officers looked around uneasily when they entered the church, eyes darting to murky corners and hands hovering near their weapons. Even Griffiths looked nervous as he studied the layout of the building.

Evander shared their disquiet. The church’s interior was even more depressing than its exterior, the faded pews and windows covered in a layer of filth that seemed to absorb whatever light illuminated the inside.

“Evander,” Rufus said quietly, his tone laced with fresh tension.

Evander followed his gaze. His pulse quickened.

“I see them.”

Chapter30

A groupof cloaked figures loitered in the shadows at the far end, their faces obscured by their hoods. Evander counted a dozen men at least. Though they stood still, their posture projected an alertness they failed to mask.

“Griffiths,” Rufus muttered warningly.

The sergeant gave a silent signal to the constables. They removed their truncheons from their waists, the runes on the wood glowing faintly as they engaged the defensive magic contained within.

“Oh, don’t worry about those men,” Father Smith said hastily when he noticed their weapons. “They are student priests joining me for prayer this evening.”

Evander reluctantly entered the nave and headed after him with Rufus and the other officers, the unease coiling inside him intensifying with every step he took.

Father Smith was already halfway towards the chancel, the priest moving as if the devil himself was on his tail.

They were twenty feet inside the building when he shot a glance at Evander over his shoulder. A smirk twisted his mouth.

Evander stiffened, the dark mage from the alley where Millbrook’s body had been found coming immediately to mind. The man had worn a similar expression when Evander had chased him on the rooftop.

He barely had time to fathom the priest’s strange expression and its uncanny resemblance to Millbrook’s murderer when his senses were assaulted by a wrongness that made his scalp prickle.

The air inside the church suddenly felt thick and oppressive, as if trying to smother him. A bitter taste coated his tongue at the same time an ominous buzzing filled his ears. But worst of all was the bone-deep chill that seemed to emanate from the very walls, a cold that had nothing to do with the autumn weather outside.

Dark magic!

Every instinct screamed at Evander that something terrible was about to happen. There was a malevolent energy growing around them, like a storm about to break.

Power blossomed in his chest and raced through his veins.

“Get out!Now!” he barked at Rufus and Griffiths.

The inspector and the sergeant startled and froze.

Before Evander could say more, the sinister energy drenching the inside of the church surged. A sixth sense had him erecting a barrier of wind and ice around them a heartbeat before the world exploded in a violent flash of searing light and sound.

The force of the blast sent Evander staggering backward even behind the magic shield. He shot an alarmed glance at Rufus and the officers. Relief rendered him weak for a brief instant when he saw they were unharmed. Motion captured his gaze.

His ice magic had begun to melt, revealing the shadowy figures emerging from the smoke and debris.

A vile power bloomed around several of the men. Tendrils of darkness reached for Evander through the wind barrier, hungry and cold. He deflected them with his magic, his heart slamming erratically against his ribs.