Read The Mage in Black for Free Online

and more, the ancient and venerable Hekate Council has created the Sacred Order of the Blood Moon to honor you.”
    My heart stopped. I’d never expected to be honored. I looked at Adam, who winked at me and smiled. I watched in shock as Orpheus came forward and handed some sort of necklace to Maisie. She turned to me and held the gold chain over my head.
    “We, the ancient and benevolent Hekate Council, hereby dub thee Sabina Kane, High Priestess of the Blood Moon. May you use your exalted position to protect and serve the mage race.”
    She lowered the necklace around my neck. The gold chain felt cool against my skin. “Behold, all assembled, Sabina Kane is now under the protection of the Hekate Council. Any enemy of hers shall be enemy to us all.”
    I looked down. At the end of the chain, an amulet about the size of a silver dollar nestled between my breasts. A large moonstone sat in the center of a gold setting etched with characters that looked like hieroglyphs. I assumed they were actually Hekatian, the mage ceremonial language.
    I met my sister’s eyes, which glistened suspiciously. “What does it say?”
    “It says: ‘For she is the torchbearer, this daughter of Hekate; she will light the way.’ ”
    My eyes stung, and I had trouble swallowing. “Thanks,” I said, not trusting myself to say more.
    Maisie wrapped me in a fierce hug. “Thank
you
, sister.”
    When the cheering and praises to Hekate finally petered out, Orpheus nodded to a nearby female mage with long silver hair. Wise eyes looked out from a youthful face bearing an impish smile. She wore a purple chiton and an amulet similar to the one I just received.
    “Rhea Lazarus, High Priestess of the Elder Moon, will now commence with the cleansing rites,” Orpheus said.
    I paused. Was this the aunt Adam mentioned? I glanced at him for confirmation. But his eyes were on the female. The fond smile on his face gave me my answer.
    Rhea winked back at her nephew before focusing on me. In her hands she held a bundle of dried herbs. She whispered something and the tip of the bundle sparked. Fragrant smoke rose from it and tickled my nose. She started chanting something I couldn’t understand as she waved the smoldering bundle around my head. Then she moved in a counterclockwise circle around me.
    I tried not to fidget during the process. The rest of the mages watched in silence. I guess they were used to having a weird old lady wave foul-smelling smoke in their faces.
    When she finished her last lap, she snapped her fingers and a young female mage in a gray chiton came forward. She held a golden goblet out to me. “Drink.”
    I took the cup and looked inside. The liquid’s lack of color didn’t give me any clues about its makeup. It could have been water or vodka or strychnine for all I knew.
    I looked up to ask the girl what it was, but she vanished. And when I say vanish, I don’t mean she’d walked away.
Poof
—she was gone. No one else seemed surprised by this.
    I glanced at Adam. He nodded reassuringly. Since Rhea was his aunt, I figured I could trust her.
    I raised the goblet to my nose and sniffed. The scent of lemons and something floral—roses maybe—shooed away any lingering doubts. I lifted the cup to my lips and took a large mouthful.
    Turns out roses and lemon combined with salt and cayenne pepper tastes like burning. What’s worse, the salty magma made my mouth swell and pucker like a monkey’s ass.
    I gasped and thrust the goblet at Adam, but Rhea’s voice stopped him. “No. She must drink it all to complete the cleansing.”
    Adam’s smile was apologetic as he backed away.
    The expectant stares of the council and the crowd weighed down on me. Something told me I wasn’t getting out of there unless I finished the foul drink. So, instead of being a baby, I decided to just get it over with.
    “Bottoms up,” I said. With a flick of the wrist, I tossed back the rest. My throat burned and my stomach roiled. When it was all gone,