Page 33 of Lunar Diamonds (Celestial Magic #1)

RILEY

R hianna leaned against one of two idling black cars outside the mansion gates, surrounded by shadow witches. The security lights blazed across the sloped road, highlighting every single arsehole present.

Six of us lined up together on the other side of the gates—me, Drake, Isaac, and the siblings. The protection spell kept us safe from magic and bullets. Nothing would pass the invisible shield around us.

But that didn’t mean chaos wouldn’t ensue.

“Evening,” she greeted us cheerfully, her eyes on me. “Good to see you again.”

Drake bristled beside me. I thought I felt his anger ripple down our bond.

“And you, Drake,” she threw out, keeping her focus on me. “Sneaky shit. What happened to our engagement? Am I dumped?” She laughed, her cronies joining in like good dogs.

I snarled, that jealousy returning. “Why are you here?”

She narrowed her gaze, her smirk grating on my nerves. “Brave sacred scum hiding behind his walls. Why don’t you come and say that to my face?”

Tempting. So very tempting. If I were a hotter head, I’d be vaulting over the fence.

Isaac stepped forward. “Try coming over here. Go on, give us all a laugh.”

Rhianna’s smirk dropped. “Fuck you.”

“Is that it?”

“You look like shit.”

My brother snorted, grabbing his chest. “Oh, no. Please have mercy.”

The Bramble siblings laughed this time.

Rhianna scowled, moving her furious glare in Drake’s direction. “Is this the company you wanna keep now? Interesting. You can hide all you want, remove the bond, be the traitor you are. It doesn’t change a thing. You’ll pay for hurting me, for humiliating my father. Poor Zara’s a wreck because of you.”

“Or me,” I said with my hand in the air. “Give me some of the credit.”

Go me with a sliver of sass.

Drake said nothing, as motionless as petrified wood.

Isaac joined in again. “Your dad’s humiliated? Fuck yeah!” He punched the air.

Rhianna smirked. “Cocky. But The Sun will be eclipsed, The Moon crushed, The Star snuffed out.”

“I thought Marcus wanted us alive,” Isaac returned.

She flipped him the bird.

He flipped her two.

“Enough of this!” she roared, fishing a piece of paper from her pocket. “Come to the beach below the cliffs. See what we’re made of.”

As if we’d go skipping into another trap.

“You’ll need this, though.” She put the paper on the ground, a minion placing a rock on it to stop it blowing away.

What the hell?

“Trust me, you don’t wanna miss the show.” Rhianna got back in the car, the other witches following suit. The cars tore off down the road, vanishing into the night.

“Anti-cloak?” I said, holding up the paper. “What is this?”

The spell looked to be from a grimoire, the paper crumpled and heavily stained.

Erin held out her hand. “May I? Not even the High Coven are in possession of this. Incredible.”

“The spell’s been missing for a hundred years,” Aaron said, adjusting his glasses.

“Your mother tried replicating it, but failed,” Erin added.

Ugh. I hated any mention of Juliet Aurora being our mum. The issue remained unprocessed; an irritating piece of meat stuck in my molars. Right now, with my anxiety through the roof, it didn’t matter. Because the Kingwoods were making a move.

“It’s not a shadow spell they’re letting us see?” Isaac asked.

“No. Shadow spells are encrypted. You must commit murder to read them.”

April entered the living room. “Can’t see a thing on the beach.”

Which meant they were using their own cloaking within our cloaking already protecting that part of the beach from the High Coven’s eyes.

Ugh. My brain.

Erin folded the paper. “Then we must cast this.”

On the way to the second spell room, I checked on Drake.

“I’m fine.” Always fine, always cold, never giving me anything else. The guy I’d kissed was gone, those sparks fleeting.

It’d all been in my head. A stupid, fanciful moment hoping for rainbows and steamy times now dead.

Whatever.

“You have to be careful,” Drake said, catching me by surprise.

I stopped. “What did you say?” I’d heard him, I just wanted him to use his oral honey on me again, no matter how leaden his timbre might be right now.

Really?

He cracked his knuckles. “The Kingwoods mean serious business. I know that’s obvious, but please take care.”

Damn, he was so cute. “I will.”

He said nothing else, the time for talking over as we entered the basement spell room. It looked identical to the attic, aside from the pointed ceiling. All the shelves were bare, the cobwebs thick.

We got to work on the spell, following each step—paid the toll of spit, basil and a circle of eight candles, poured already boiling water into the cauldron. We then added salt, pepper, and five tablespoons of paprika.

“Seasoning is important,” Isaac quipped.

With the steps followed, my brother and I linked arms, Drake and the others gathering around the cauldron. Erin stayed away, feeling a little unwell. Ollie didn’t join us, either.

This spell would allow us to see hidden magical activity for the next five hours.

The bubbling liquid turned a vibrant scarlet, six tendrils curling upward like a group of worms. They wriggled impatiently, waiting for the clap.

“Anti-cloak!” Isaac cried, prompting our synchronized clap.

The blue energy hit the worms, stirring them to leap at each of us.

A slippery warmth hit me between the eyes. A sheen of red passed over my vision as the liquid in the cauldron stopped bubbling with a whistle.

“Is it done?” I asked.

“Let’s check,” Aaron answered.

We hurried to a room in the east wing of the mansion on the third floor. It was an office area, filled with books and home to a huge computer with four large monitors.

I’d never seen so much paperwork in my life.

The balcony offered a decent view of the beach. Aaron opened the doors, the angry wind howling into the office, throwing papers everywhere. The drapes thrashed in a frenetic dance, a box of paperclips toppling off the desk.

“Oh, shite!” he yelled, leaning on the balustrade.

There were people gathered on the beach, close to the spill of rocks cutting the shore in half under the cliffs. Witches gathered around a fire, their hands in the air, surrounded by a series of spikes in the sand.

People hung from those spikes, resembling a crucifixion.

My heart leaped into my throat. “What the hell?” I squeaked out.

“We have to help them,” Isaac said, going for the door.

“It might be another trap, sir,” Alice warned.

“Or a blood ritual, by the looks of it,” Aaron said.

“I don’t care. I’m not sitting on my fucking hands anymore.” My brother stormed off.

Crap. “Isaac!”

I ran after him with Drake on my heels. We took the backstairs down to the beachside exit—a heavily fortified and secret route inside the house accessible from each floor.

The exit opened onto a set of sea stairs descending through the cliffs, ending at the sand at the bottom.

Isaac moved faster than me, clearing two steps on the sea stairs at a time. I held onto the railing for dear life, trying to keep up with him.

No matter how hard my heart pounded in my ears, he was right. We couldn’t stand back anymore and let things happen.

I dashed onto the sand, Aurora strength running hot, the hum of the moon boosting my courage.

Drake flanked me as I picked up speed, crossing the uneven ground easier than I expected.

I soon caught up with Isaac.

The closer we got to the fire, the worse things got.

People were strung up on wooden spikes, their feet tied and nailed into the wood. Their arms were fixed behind their backs, their top halves exposed to the elements. A red circle was drawn on their skin, a K in the middle—the symbol of House Kingwood.

They were all unconscious.

“Fuck me,” Isaac said.

Drake gently took my arm. “Blood ritual. Something big is coming.” He let my arm go.

I shuddered, drawing down more energy from the moon hidden behind heavy clouds.

A man in black-and-red robes broke away from the circle, the Kingwood symbol drawn on his bald head. “Welcome, one and all. Thank you for coming.”

The other witches continued to dance around the fire with their hands in the air, each of them wearing the same robes. All of them chanting, the words alien to my ears.

“No sign of Rhianna,” Aaron said, coming up beside Drake.

“Behold the greatness of House Kingwood,” the man declared. “You will cower. You will see. You may even change your mind.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, my illusion power ready to be unleashed.

New day, new creation.

His eyes, reflecting the fire, flicked to my hands. “You will see.”

He moved quickly, clapping off a spell. The shadowy magic leaped from him into the fire. Every witch followed suit, the tips of the flames turning black, then red, spitting sparks in the air.

The fires roared, giving off immense heat.

“I don’t think so!” Isaac snapped, summoning his sunlight.

A gun went off, the bullet hitting him in the leg.

“Fuck!” he went down.

By Hecate! What about the Rubberskin? We’d both taken it this morning, holding each other accountable to make it part of our routine. Even the Brambles took it.

What the hell?

The siblings sprang into action, covering my brother, firing their weapons in retaliation.

“I told you to watch!” the bald guy yelled, a knife in his hand. Dark ripples in the air deflected the bullet. “Stand down or I’ll blow your hands off.”

He directed that last part at me.

If I moved quickly, I could lock them all in an illusion and they’d be screwed. Yeah, I’d do that.

I began to create a terrifying disaster, weaving together the lie of an incoming tsunami. But a loud crack and a sharp pain in my leg cut me off. I listed to the side, landing in Drake’s arms.

“Shit!” he hissed

“What happened?”

I looked down. Shot in the leg, too.

“I warned you,” the bald man said smugly. “Be grateful I spared your hand.”

“You prick!” Alice yelled, firing her gun. The bullet bounced off another dark ripple.

A burning sensation heated my wound. I sucked in air, bending to tear my trousers open. Had they hit me with a poisoned bullet?

Wait. There was no wound, only the burn. A little hole smoked in my trousers, but the bullet hadn’t touched my skin.

The potion did work. I’d felt the impact, but suffered no damage.

Hell to the yeah!

“I’m good,” Isaac said.

“Leave this beach now!” Aaron roared at the bald guy, cocking his gun.

“In Kane’s name!” The bald man laughed and cut his own throat with the blade. I gasped, losing my balance as his blood gushed like a fountain.

Drake steadied me. “Easy there.”

“What the fuck?” Isaac rasped.

The shadow witch fell to the sand, twitching to stillness, blood pooling beneath him.

“For Kane!” the others called, praising the name of their magic’s creator.

A mass suicide played out before us, the chorus of gargling death and sprays of crimson sickening.

The energy of the moon kept my nausea at bay, cooling the threat of a roiling stomach.

“We need to leave,” Alice said.

The fire turned red, growing, growing, growing. A human on a spike screamed, awake now, struggling to break free.

“Help me!” she cried.

“Come on!” Isaac called, darting in her direction.

I followed him, wary of the expansion of the flames. We needed to be quick here.

A mighty explosion of heat and incredible force threw me back. I spun through the air, hitting the sand with a bounce. I yelped and rolled until I slammed into rock.

Dammit!

I sat up, dizzy now, wiping sand from my face. “Isaac?”

A blood-curdling roar answered me.