Corrupted Magic is the second book in the Grimoire Society of Dark Acts series. Episode 30 is up on my Patreon—it’s pay-what-you-like—and it’ll go up three days later on Kindle Vella. Here’s an excerpt from this latest episode.

Finnegan and Carmichael creep into Grimoire Assassins’s basement to try to find Gertrude. What they find changes everything.

In my Patreon post, you’ll get exclusive content, which includes the real-life Victorian basements that inspired Grimoire Assassins’s basement!

What Corrupted Magic is about:

Grimoire Society of Dark Acts’s hard-won defeat of the brutal Harpe brothers should have been a relief… But through a forced double blood-binding, Gertrude disappears right in front of their eyes. The Ruin Rats, a vicious magical street gang, is out for Dark Acts’s blood. Knox calls on the deadly gang from his past for help, but is the physical cost too high to pay? As if that’s not enough, a new corrupt form of magic is throwing the entire magical universe off balance.

Episode 30: If Walls Could talk

FINNEGAN

Slowly and as silently as possible, Carmichael led the way as they descended the stairs to the pitch-black basement, his miniature Grimoire held open in his right hand. With no banister for balance and almost no visibility, anyone could attack them before they reached the floor; one good hit and there would be nothing either of them could grab hold of to keep from tumbling down the flight of stairs.

The lack of light made Finnegan question whether Morton’s hypothesis was right about Gertrude being kept in the basement. Regardless, they had to check. He held his shillelagh at the ready.

Carmichael murmured something, and yellow light shone from the Grimoire, expanding forward so they could see a little better than if they’d had candlelight. He reached a very small square landing, only a stone wall a few feet ahead of them. The landing turned left, away from the wall, a few more steps leading them off the stairs and onto the floor. Carmichael ignored the additional steps, moving down to the floor off the landing without having to jump, a benefit of his long legs. Finnegan stepped off the landing and dropped down to the floor, immediately feeling it wasn’t even but unable to see it to tell why.

Moving left into the room with his back to the walls, Carmichael whispered, “Rethgirb,” and the yellow glow expanded farther all around him, almost reaching the corners of the deep rectangular room.

It wasn’t a solid wall behind Carmichael. It was another room. In the center of the wall, a doorless arched entryway gaped into blackness. Finnegan peered into the dark, unable to see more than a couple of feet.

“Carmichael,” he hissed.

Carmichael spun, the sound of gravel crunching beneath his feet and echoing around the area. If anyone was down here, they certainly knew they weren’t alone anymore.

He held the Grimoire out toward the new room, lighting most of it.

No one.

Carmichael held his hand down to light the floor as he quietly turned back to their current room, and Finnegan was surprised to find it was dirt and rubble. Walking farther into the current room, Carmichael lit stone walls that had rough chunks missing, their remains littering the floor.

“It almost looks like a practice area,” Finnegan said softly. “Why would there be so much damage to the walls if they hadn’t been using magic down here?”

Enjoyed this excerpt? Please join my Patreon to continue the story—it’s pay-what-you-like, and Patreon gets all episodes first before any other platform, plus exclusive details no one else will ever know about! 

You can also head over to Amazon to read and like this episode. While you’re there, hit +Follow on Corrupted Magic so you’re always notified when there’s a new episode: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7GGRRQ7/

© Christie Stratos 2023