Isis' Betrayal by Brenda Trim, Tami Julka Page A

causing their invisible barrier to slip. Isis prayed that the power of three was enough to combat dark magic. An instant before orange light shot from the tip of the wand, Ronan took Pema to the floor, shielding her with his body and breaking their connection. As he huddled over her sister, he shifted into his bear, his angry growls filling the room.
    The first bolt of light passed over them, destroying a wall display of candles. Wax melted and puddled on the floor, bubbling from the impact. As the dust settled, a ten-foot, brown, grizzly bear rose with its enormous teeth bared. Suddenly, Ronan lurched toward Cele with his jaws wide, but Cele was faster as she repeated the curse and orange light burned a path through his left shoulder.
    “Noooo,” Pema screamed and crawled to her mate’s side as the bear collapsed to the floor, instantly shifting back into his male form.
    “Suvi, get over here, now,” Isis shouted, dropping next to Pema and Ronan.
    “No, I don’t think so,” Cele screeched as she spat another foreign word and orange light erupted from her wand once again. Isis let her anger take hold and it rumbled through the building. When the floor shook, Cele lost her balance and her next blast from her wand went wild, destroying several shelves of product. She shrieked and continued chanting words as she alternately aimed her wand at the three of them.
    Suvi deflected some of the blows with a shielding spell that sent the light rebounding back to Cele, yet she managed to duck the magic. Before Cele could cast another spell, Isis grabbed Suvi’s ankle, keeping hold of Pema and felt the rush of their combined magic. Unaware they had joined together, Cele let another volley fly and it rebounded off of Suvi’s shielding spell and hit Cele square in the chest. Unfortunately, the witch absorbed the Dark magic and seemed to grow momentarily stronger from it. Suvi dove next to Isis and they both lay next to Pema, who was on top of Ronan’s still body.
    Cele shrieked like a bird of prey and Isis could feel her calling Dark energy to her. A thick, dank, grey fog filled the room and surrounded the High Priestess. Isis made sure she had a tight hold on her sisters and automatically, and in unison, they called upon the power of the Goddess, the moon and the power of three.
    Black lightning shot from Cele, while at the same time, silver-white lightning left Isis and her sisters. The two energies met and exploded in the middle of the room. The resultant blast sent them all tumbling backwards. Isis recalled the bomb blast the month before as she heard glass explode and felt debris pelting her body. Instinctively, she threw her arms up to cover her head and neck.
    The moment the noise stopped, Isis lowered her arms and looked around the room. Their shop was in ruins, yet again. She cursed as she scanned to see where Cele was. The glass from the front windows was in pieces on the sidewalk, along with the High Priestess. Sirens sounded in the distance, indicating that the human authorities were responding. She searched for her cell phone to call Orlando and Santiago, two of the Dark Warriors, to ask for interference with the police department.
    Cele surged to her feet and turned towards them. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot,” the High Priestess promised before stalking off into the night.
    Isis glanced around at the destruction and spotted Suvi. She pushed debris off her sister, trying not to panic when Suvi was unresponsive. Isis touched a large lump on the back of Suvi’s head and was instantly worried until she heard her voice. “Ouch, that hurts, dammit,” Suvi muttered weakly.
    She brushed glass off Suvi’s back and smiled. She sounded like Isis did when she had to wake up early in the morning, but luckily, she was going to be fine.
    Pema sat up slowly as several police cars pulled up with their lights flashing. “Ronan is hurt. Call Jace and tell him to get here,” Pema ordered before crawling over to her