Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel by Stacey Kennedy Page A

to a remote part of a forest that had a large area of flat grass.
    The night was dry, dark, and oh-so-eerie, which was amplified by the inhuman growl echoing the night sky. Nexi looked to Haven first, seeing her hands raised high to the sky and her magic pulsing like raw energy out of her. When the growl came again, Nexi narrowed her eyes on the tall, lanky vampire a few feet away from her as he snarled, “Your death will bring no mercy. Your blood will be our revenge.”
    She held her breath, unable to look away, as Haven’s magic showed more than twenty vampires now in the field. To her horror, she realized Zia hadn’t been wrong—the guardian, Trefan, slowly backed away—outnumbered and all alone. The scabbard across his chest lay empty as he held his mighty sword—his only defense—and it shook like a wet noodle.
    Stomach churning, she spotted the fear resting heavy in Trefan’s blue eyes as the vampires attacked. Desperate to defend himself, he swiped his sword, roaring with both fright and urgency, frantically trying to hit anything or anyone.
    Nexi wrapped her arms around herself as she watched in absolute repulsion as a vampire grabbed Trefan’s blade, tossing it aside. The silence in the air was crippling. The scent of fear was so thick that Nexi could almost taste it. Then, with a roar that sent chills down her spine, every vampire with fangs glistening under the moonlight plowed into Trefan. Pushed down to the grass face-first, Trefan screamed out in agony as the vamps drank heavily from his body in any spot they could find.
    Her heart shattered into pieces, and she looked to the grass beneath her boots, refusing to watch Trefan die. Even as witch and guardian, she was unable to help him now. He, sadly, had already died, as this was a vision of the past.
    Only when Trefan’s screams went quiet did she bring herself to raise her head, discovering that the vision had frozen. Trefan lay dead on the ground with the vampires still on top of him.
    Dead.
    Deep-seated grief nearly sank her to her knees, as she wasn’t sure what to do, what to say. The visions she’d seen before this hadn’t been of someone she knew. Sickness roiled through her. Trefan didn’t deserve this fate. Tears prickled her eyes as she turned to Haven, and now she fully understood Haven’s emotions earlier.
    A hard lump formed at the base of Nexi’s throat as everyone stood in shocked silence; only insects chirping cut through the night air. Her body lost some of its strength, her knees weakening, and she couldn’t understand how or why this had happened. She dug her fingernails into her palms, on the verge of tears, yet also knowing that breaking down wouldn’t help anything. Trefan didn’t need her tears. He needed her to get revenge and find out who murdered him, and also to discover the reasons behind such a grim death.
    Before she could say as much, Zia said, “These weren’t vampires lost in bloodlust.”
    “Didn’t seem that way,” Nexi agreed, ignoring the blast of cold and empty sadness flowing through her.
    She assumed that Haven had finally accepted that Trefan had died. For now, Nexi didn’t comfort Haven; she stayed focused on their next steps and turned to Kyden, who stood next to Trefan’s body. Then she glanced to his feet and heavy despair dropped right into the pit of her stomach, shattering her heart.
    Finn knelt on the grass with his head bowed, and Kyden had a hand on his shoulder. Her throat thickened as she regarded Kyden’s distant, empty stare. This was a blow, not only to the Council’s Guard but to one of Kyden’s closest friends, Finn.
    Nexi’s eyes shut without her say-so, understanding Finn’s pain, maybe more than most. Not allowing this moment to become about what she’d suffered, she approached, knowing Kyden’s misery didn’t come solely from Finn’s pain at the death of his brother. Kyden and Finn were close, and Kyden cared deeply for the people he loved.
    Maybe even Kyden was damn