Page 104 of Obsidian and Frost

I turned both my palms up, my magic sparking.

I uttered a low incantation and wove my hands, conjuring several glowing red spheres, no more than an inch in diameter each.

I kept going until I had fifty of them hovering around me.

I called themsnapshot spheres.They would float over the target area and gather photographic evidence, which I’d already magically programmed to be sent directly to Charlie in the form of a glowing red business card. A brief spark of his power would obtain access to the photographic intelligence that he’d need to ensure the Guardian Movement put these fuckers away. I couldn’t worry about taking magical photos myself while I was in the throes of battle, so this was an ideal solution.

The creation was something I’d been using with my vigilante work to gather evidence and data as part of my long-term plan.

I’d taught it to Kai recently during a couple of our breaks outside Arcanum Conclave. He’d been worried about Nyx working fulltime at Crossborn and traveling throughout the supernatural world to further the Crossborn Refuge System that he and Velra had originally developed. There were still hybrid-haters out there and Nyx was more exposed by being everywhere with his work. Not to mention, Kai hadn’t trusted in the quiet fromPuritaslately.

Tonight, I’d learned that had been for good fucking reason, something I’d need to disclose to him after this mission.

For now, he was using these snapshot spheres to monitor Nyx without being too invasive. They couldn’t be detected like aholoscreencould by a being with heightened intuition. And they also dissipated once they’d taken their snapshots, the magic returning to the caster.

I thrust them forward, watching as they passed through the ward with pop after pop, then rushed toward the building.

Three minutes it would take them to complete their task.

I waited as they disappeared into the structure itself to take their snapshots, weaving through corridors and shadows, capturing every damning detail.

In the meantime, I swept a glowing red palm the length of myself, casting a necromantic shield that would repel any death-touched being.

With the power I needed to expend in a moment, I couldn’t afford to take a big hit, let alone fall victim to one of a magic-wielder’s greatest weaknesses—the speed of a vampire. Although, if one were to feed from me, it would likely be their death sentence, but the blood draw would weaken me, so there was that.

Once the shield was in place, I felt a rush of additional power roll over me—thesnapshot spherescompleting their job and their magic returning to me.

I used that to smash my fist into the ward and bring it down fully.

Game on, motherfuckers.

I stormed toward the entrance, my magic flaming wildly on either palm.

Once I was within range, I thrust a blast of raw magical force at the double doors.

They exploded inward, cracking and splintering, and raining down all over the winding staircase of the foyer.

It made quite the shocking statement to the dozen vampires gathered around engaging in a fuck-and-feed with a handful of the magic-wielder hostages. Against the walls, on the stairs, and even on the worn stone floor.

My stomach roiled as I saw the magic-wielders were in various states of undress, some barely conscious. One was beingfelt up against the wall, a vampire feeding on his throat while his hands—like all the others—were bound byInhibitorcuffs preventing magic usage. Other vampires had their fangs in throats, taking magic through their blood, their eyes glazed with it, high as fuck.

Two vampires were on the floor straddling two female magic-wielders, their fangs buried in their bare breasts.

It was beyond sickening and I had to swallow down the bile rising to my throat.

One of the vampires who’d been hit by the portion of the door wreckage that had reached the stairs tossed his magic wielder aside, then launched himself at me.

I thrust my hand out, stilling him instantly.

With another, I swept my red flame to the left at two others coming at me. They smashed into the wall and a twist of my hand snapped their necks in efficient unison.

Another lunged at me, but slammed up against my shield, and was propelled across the foyer floor, smashing his head against the bottom of the wall.

I stormed toward him, firing a blast at another two incoming fools and blowing them high up into the chandelier of the vaulted foyer ceiling. The metal of the chandelier tore into their throats and it had them hanging there from it like macabre decorations, choking and spluttering.

I reached the fool who’d come at me, then smashed my boot into his face, knocking him back before he could spring to his feet. Then I drove the heel of my boot into his face, watching with sadistic satisfaction as flesh scraped and bones crushed, breaking his fucking features, and earning muffled shrieks from him.

Pull up. Take it down.