"We could use someone like you. You've grown incredibly powerful over these last few weeks, so I'm not asking you just because you're family. I'm asking because soon you're going to be kicking some serious magickal ass, and I want you at my side.”

Mira smiled and hugged him. "I'm glad you're my cousin, Thomas.”

"Now I'm speaking as a cousin. I know I'd have to tie you up and lock you in the bathroom to keep you from coming with us and not even that would work because of your magick. So, I'm putting you with Brian," he pointed at the blond witch who was built like a tank. "And Craig, and Alex," he pointed at two more witches built like tanks.

"Thomas...”

"And James," he pointed to a good-looking witch with curly short-cropped red gold hair, glasses, and power that fairly radiated from him. James was an earth witch, she could feel it. A strong one.

She started to protest, but he put his finger to her lips. "No. Not a word. You left Jack behind. That means I get to say who you go in with. You don't leave their side. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

Thomas sighed. "I wish Jack was here.”

Mira did, too, but she didn't say it.

They had the element of surprise until they were actually in the building. When the warding broke, all the witches in the Duskoff Building knew it.

Mira clapped her hands over her ears when Thomas and Andrea used the potion to dissolve the warding. It twanged like a heavy cable on a bridge snapping when it went.

Thomas had taken fifteen of the best and brightest from the Coven, but more witches had joined them in New York. They all had converged at Thomas's apartment during the day, trickling in by twos and threes. He'd broken them into groups and given them instructions before they'd left to break the warding. While they were busy breaching the Duskoff's defenses, the witches left his apartment piecemeal so they wouldn't attract attention.

Even though their cover was blown, Thomas sent in witches with the specific task of taking down the building's surveillance, so that Crane and his minions wouldn't know exactly where in the building any of them were located.

The group that went in right after that group had orders to engage the warlocks who would rush forward to defend their building. Those witches were their first line of defense... well, offense in this case. The Duskoff were on the defensive now.

Mira liked that a lot.

The rest of the Coven witches entered from several different points on the ground floor after Thomas had confirmation the security cameras were down.