Demons of Bourbon Street

chapter 27

Silence filled the room as we stared at the seamless wall. I took in the surroundings, realizing for the first time the lack of windows.

We might as well have been in a dungeon. For all I knew, we were.


“Shit!” Lailah turned and headed for one of the bedrooms, mumbling, “Freakin’ power-hungry, no-good pieces of council slime.”

I walked to where the missing door should be and placed my palms on the wall, fingers searching for any sign of an opening.

Nothing. Not even one minor bump grazed the perfectly constructed wall. Damn angel magic. Methodically, I worked my way from

top to bottom and then proceeded to the right, intent on checking every last inch of the surface.

“You’re wasting your time,” Meri said, her voice flat.

“I have to do something.” I eyed her lounging on the snow-white couch, her feet tucked under the shiny gold pillows. “Living the life of

a trapped princess isn’t my idea of happiness.”

She snorted. “Happiness. Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.”

I swallowed, realizing I’d put both feet in my mouth. Fifteen years in Hell with no soul would certainly color someone’s perspective.

“Right. Sorry.”

She shrugged and picked up a gold, leather-bound book from the table.

Shaking my head, I sat next to her. “Can you answer a question?”

She gazed over the top of the book, her eyebrows raised.

“I’m pretty sure Philip transported me here, but what about the rest of you? Did you come willingly? What about Dan?”

“Philip brought me too. Lailah and Jonathon were summoned and because Dan comes from angel blood, he was able to tag along

with me. He wasn’t invited, but now that he’s here, the council will listen to what he has to say.” She went back to her book, clearly

dismissing me.

Jonathon had been at the council meeting? Where had he been hiding?

I fidgeted, acutely aware I didn’t have my tight circle of friends at my side. What I wouldn’t do for Pyper’s sarcasm and Bea’s

wisdom right now. Not to mention Kane’s solid presence.

I put the wistful thoughts out of my mind and focused on finding a way out of the plush cell. After what seemed like hours, I’d touched

every inch of the walls in the main room. How much time had gone by in the real world? Hours? Days? Months?

The thought of Kane giving up on waiting for me made my heart sink to my stomach. How long was too long to wait? He’d have to

move on eventually.

No. We were getting out of here. I stormed into Lailah’s room. She lay face-down on the luxurious white pinstriped down comforter. “

Get up!”

She rolled slightly to peek at me with one eye. “For what?”

“We need a plan to break out of here.”

She sat up, her shoulders slumped in a clear display of dejection. “The room is sealed. No magic can free us—not mine and

certainly not yours. We’re stuck here until the council deems fit. Any planning we do is useless. Trust me. It’s never been done.”

Stubborn irritation crawled up my spine. “I’m a white witch. No one knows what I’m capable of. Not even me.”

“And that’s what we intend to find out,” an unfamiliar deep voice said from behind me.

I jumped and raised my hands in defense.

A black-haired man about my height held his hand out in invitation. He wore a red and gold robe—yay for color!—and had a long

sword strapped across his body.

I took two steps back. “Where’d you come from?”

“Devon.” Lailah moved to stand just slightly in front of me. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Ah, sweet Lailah, I very much doubt that.” His thin lips curved up in a sardonic smile.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I guess you’re right, but I am surprised the council deemed it necessary to start their

interrogation off on such a combative note.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Your witch appears to be highly valuable. Not to mention the prospect of an angel

returning to the fold.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Lailah turned to me and wrapped me in a tight hug.

Surprised, I bristled and tried to step out of her grasp. “What are you doing?”

“It’s okay, Jade. Don’t be scared,” she cooed and then whispered harshly in my ear. “Whatever happens, don’t fight him. Cooperate

no matter what he asks. The consequences are too dire.”

I stopped struggling and tried to process her warning.

“Everything will work out fine,” she continued in her motherly farce. “Go with Devon. I’ll be right behind you.” She released me, glaring

at the angel warrior. “If anything happens to her, you’ll have to answer to me.”

He laughed, a low and seductive sound. “Don’t tempt me.”

I shivered, ready to crawl out of my skin.

With one last slow smile in Lailah’s direction, he snapped his fingers, making my world shift from the pale white reality to a stark

gray one. Rows of reclining chairs were lined up in front of me. Behind them, computers with dangling electrode wires filled the

walls. My field of vision narrowed in on a tray of hypodermic needles.

Oh, God. A test lab.

I whirled around and ran smack into Meri.

“Ouch,” she grunted as our skulls banged together.

White spots filled my vision and my head swam. “You’re here too?”

“Obviously.” She held her forehead with one hand and scowled at me. “Better to be here than our guest quarters.”

“Because being a lab rat is much more preferable to the soft beds and mountains of food we had available,” I scoffed.

Another red and gold-robed angel materialized and guided Meri to one of the chairs.

“What are you doing?” I whispered urgently when she didn’t even protest.

She sent me an impatient look. “Getting this over with. They’ll get what they want one way or another. The longer you fight them, the

longer we’ll end up locked in the time warp chamber.”

“So? We have to try.” I grabbed for the restraint the angel was trying to clasp around her wrist.

He lifted his head, a stern scowl on his face.

Meri slapped my hand away with her free one. “For God’s sake, Jade. Don’t you understand? The time warp room is called that for

a reason. To us it may seem like five minutes, but it could be five years. Years—not months, not weeks, not days. Years.”

I froze, the reality of what she said finally sinking in. “But why?”

“Angels don’t want to hurt humans or cause pain. Their main concern is souls. You know that. The room is to make you as

comfortable as possible. But they will leave you there until they make a decision, and that could be instantaneous or it could be

indefinitely. It all depends on how the council votes. We have no way of knowing how much time has passed.”

Panic took over and I started to tremble. “You mean, years could have passed already?”

She met my terrified gaze and nodded. “Yes. That’s why as much as I don’t want to be prodded, I’m willing to endure this to get on

with whatever life I may or may not have. I advise you do the same. The longer you fight it, the longer they’ll keep you here.”

Kane’s image flashed in my mind. I stared at the emerald secured to my finger and my stomach ached with a sick emptiness.

Meri lay back in her chair and closed her eyes.

I barely noticed as Devon guided me to the one next to her. They were angels. They might take my soul, but they wouldn’t torture me.

Right?

I had to get home. To Kane and my family. Gwen would be heartsick. A pinprick in my arm brought me back to reality and I flinched,

but the restraints kept me in place. Magic flared in my chest as the urge to escape seized me. The machine to the right started

flashing and a high-pitched alarm filled the room.

“Good. It’s working.” Devon adjusted the volume to something slightly lower than deafening levels.

I glared at him, holding on to the magic, not afraid to use it if I had to.

He winked and pressed a button.

Hot fire burned through my veins. “Argh!”

Beside me, Meri grunted. I tried to turn and look at her, but my vision blurred and my whole body felt heavy. One last thought flashed

in my mind: I’d been drugged.

I came to in a cozy farmhouse. A sense of familiarity put me at ease, except I didn’t recognize the furnishings, and I was certain I’d

never set foot in the place. I found myself at the old white porcelain sink, hand-washing a stock pot. Clean dishes were lined up on a

rack beside me, drying in the warm summer air.

The back door banged open, and Philip strode in, his face breaking into a wide grin. “There you are. Get back out here. Everyone’s

waiting.”

“Just a sec, I’m almost done.”

“The dishes can wait.” He grabbed my hand and tugged.

The pot slipped from my hands, clanging loudly in the sink. I laughed and tucked a dark strand of hair out of my eyes. “All right, but if I

forget, you’re in charge of cleaning the dried-on food in the morning.”

“Meri, hurry up!” a female voice called. “It’s time for cake.”

Somewhere in the depths of my consciousness, I realized this was Meri’s memory, not mine, but there was nothing I could do to

block it.

Philip laughed and kissed Meri on the temple. “Come on, birthday girl. Someone else can worry about the dishes.”

She smiled and let him lead her to the backyard, where her friends and family were gathered.

A few minutes later, Meri had a piece of cake in her hand as she sat by a pool, taking a moment to observe Philip from afar. He was

interacting with her sisters, Felicia and Priscilla, laughing and describing a spell Meri had botched a few days before. She smiled,

warmth and love filling her heart.

A fierce protectiveness settled over her and she knew she’d do anything for her family. Anything at all.

The scene shifted, and panic flooded Meri’s chest as she ran down a darkened street, desperate to catch up with Philip. He was in

danger. Life-threatening, game-changing danger.

Her lungs screamed in protest as she pushed herself harder, ignoring the cramp in her side. A demon was loose in the city. And

Philip had been sent to meet with him, but he wasn’t prepared. He thought he was meeting a witch. His directive had been

mistaken.

She rounded the corner and came to a dead stop at the mouth of an alley. In front of her, Philip kneeled, using every last bit of his

magic to fend off not one, but two demons. They had him trapped between them, each throwing ropes of invasive black magic.

Time had run out. The demons had succeeded in binding him. His strength would be depleted in mere seconds.

“No!” she cried and leaped forward, unleashing all the power and love she harbored. White met black in an impressive

monochromatic starburst.

Philip collapsed at her feet. Anger and fear bubbled up, mixing with her powerful love. A cloud of black fog circled her and when it

cleared, Meri’s magic had turned black.

The knowledge came to her immediately and despite Philip’s moan, she lowered her arms and stepped back. Even through her

rage, she knew Philip would never want her to turn to black magic. She’d sooner die first.

“Meri.” Philip opened his eyes and stared at her.

“I’m here,” she got out before the demons advanced on her.

“Run!” Philip rolled over and a lightning bolt of power shot from his fingers, straight into the closest demon.

The agent of Hell staggered and then froze right before he toppled over.

“And miss the excitement?” Meri laughed as her magic turned white again. She hurled a ball of power toward the remaining demon.

But he was ready for her and somehow sucked it in, using it as an energy source. “You’re mine now, angel. Here I thought today

wasn’t going to be any fun. Looks like it’s two for the price of one.”

The demon redirected Meri’s magic and attacked Philip, but she jumped in the way just before it hit him. Her body convulsed. She

fell, her limbs paralyzed. Fully conscious, she couldn’t do anything but pray Philip got them out of this mess.

Philip let out a roar, his magic crackling, and lunged at the demon.

The demon’s eyes went wide and then he vanished, barely avoiding the attack. He reappeared inches from Meri.

She stared up at him, fear churning through her veins.

In one motion, the demon scooped Meri up and vanished into the earth.

Into Hell, where Meri waited for Philip to come rescue her.

For months.

Only he never did, and Hell claimed her soul.

The scene faded. Familiar energy reached me before my vision cleared. Stale lust and desperate excitement. There was only one

place I connected with those particular feelings.

Kane’s club.

It was just like any other night—dancers working the pole as men threw dollar bills at them, Charlie mixing drinks with one hand and

popping bottle caps with the other, and music reverberating through the entire place.

Except I floated in the air over a glass box, and Kane was across the room trying to beat up a ghost. We were floating because

Kane had dreamwalked us there. Below me, Pyper was trapped in the glass case, her hands and feet nailed to the bottom.

My heart thundered as I relived the terrible night I’d switched places with Pyper and become a prisoner of the resident ghost. The

vivid memory of being held captive and mentally battling with Roy to keep him from torturing me seared my insides and made me

tremble. By the time the scene faded away, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.

Only I couldn’t because I was once again forced into another of Meri’s memories.