Demons of Bourbon Street

chapter 6

The air blowing off the Mississippi held a slight chill, and I shivered as we made our way through the old oak trees to the coven

circle. A faint trace of oil and gas mixed with the muddy stench of the river. I covered my nose with the sleeve of my sweater and

wished for Lailah’s soothing scent charm.


The trees gave way to the hidden clearing. Candles flickered brightly around the edge of the coven circle, illuminating Lucien and

Rosalee as they placed more candles in the center.

“What’s all this?” I gestured, indicating the massive amount of tea lights.

Rosalee, a tiny, wide-eyed witch in her early twenties, faced me. She held up a diagram. “We’re creating a map of the two-hundred

-mile radius you want to search.”

“With candles?” I asked.

Lucien crossed the circle, careful to not knock over any tea lights. “Yes. See how we marked each city?”

Rosalee passed me the diagram. I inspected it, finding a candle marker in the circle for every decent-sized city within our target

area. I nodded.

“After we work the spell, if any other angels are near, their image will materialize over the candle, representing the city they’re

closest to. That will give us a starting point.” Lucien pulled the diagram from my grasp and compared it to the scattering of candles

on the ground. “I think we’re almost ready.”

“Really?” I glanced around. “Where’s the rest of the coven?” There were thirteen of us. Spells had a much better success rate if the

entire group was present. We could work the spell with the three of us and Lailah, but I’d have less of a collective to draw from. It

was likely our reach wouldn’t cover as much distance as I hoped.

Lucien spied his watch. “They’re on their way.”

“Jade!” a familiar voice cried. I spun, finding Kat stalking toward me. “Why didn’t you call me? You’re searching for Philip and you

didn’t say anything?”

I stared at Kane, my eyebrows raised in question.

He shook his head and held his hands up in a ‘not me’ motion.

“Sorry, Kat,” I said. “It’s just an information-seeking spell. I figured I’d fill you in on the details tomorrow.”

Irritation swirled around her and then dissipated. She had an uncanny ability to control her emotions, something most people never

got a handle on. “Please. Have you ever conducted a spell that didn’t go wrong in some fashion?”

“Hey! That’s not fair. I banished bugs from Kane’s yard. Bea taught me.” I eyed the silent man beside me. “Right?”

A sheepish smile spread over Kane’s face. “Sort of.”

I groaned. “What?”

“You banished them, but when they came back, they tripled in number. I had to call the exterminator.” He grabbed my hand and

squeezed lightly. “You never see them because they’re dead.”

“Crap,” I muttered. The spell was supposed to temporarily relocate any vicious type of bugs. You know, fleas, chiggers, red ants.

When humans left the yard, they’d come back. My blunder had resulted in a mass genocide of bugs. Icky bugs, but still.

Kat stifled a laugh. “See? You need moral support.”

The words ‘shove it’ were on the tip of my tongue, but I quickly decided it was good to have her around. She was my best friend and

had just as big a stake in finding Dan as I did. “Hey, how did you know the coven was meeting?”

“I told her,” Lailah said from beside me.

I jumped. She hadn’t spoken once since we’d arrived. I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Why?”

She shrugged. “Does it matter? It’s not like it was a secret.” She walked off in Lucien’s direction.

“Did she call you?” I asked Kat.

“Yep. A couple of hours ago. She had some questions she wanted answered.” She fingered the sterling silver, oak tree pendant at

her throat. Kat was an accomplished silversmith; she’d made the piece herself. “The coven thing just came up. I don’t think she was

trying to interfere.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I lowered my voice. “What questions did she ask?”

Kat didn’t get a chance to answer. Right then the rest of the coven burst through the trees. Friendly chatter filled the air as they each

made their way to their specific spots on the circle.

“Showtime,” I said.

Kane grabbed my wrist, stopping me before I could join the coven. He pulled me to him and clamped his mouth over mine. The hot

fierce kiss heated me to my toes.

“What was that for?” I asked, breathless after he released me.

“Luck.”

“With luck like that, what could go wrong?” I quipped. Then frowned. “Sorry. Bad choice of words.”

He shook his head and walked toward a wrought iron bench set in front of one of the giant oaks. Kat gave me a hug and joined him.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” I turned to Lucien. “Do you have the incantation ready?”

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his jeans pocket. “This should do it.”

I focused on the other members, noticing for the first time their casual wear. “No robes?”

He raised one pale eyebrow as his gaze traveled the length of my body.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not wearing mine either. It’s at home, and I haven’t been back to my apartment since we landed.”

He smiled. “Relax. You were right when you told Kat this spell wasn’t a big deal. Really minor in the grand scheme of things. It should

only take a few minutes, and then we’ll have a plan.”

He moved to take his place on the circle, but I touched his arm to stop him. “What about the angels we locate? You said they’d be

really unhappy to have their privacy invaded. ‘Angry angels’ doesn’t sound minor to me.”

“True. But you’ll only have to worry about that once you catch up to them.”

“Well, that’s something.” I followed Lucien and took my place at the northernmost point of the circle. Emotions sparked from the

members, everything from excitement to boredom to indifference. And maybe even a little irritation. I’d probably be annoyed if my

coven leader sprung a meeting on me at the last minute, too.

I clapped my hands and cleared my throat. “Thank you, everyone. I’m sorry if I ruined any plans, but I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t

important.”

Most of them murmured a casual “you’re welcome” or “no problem.” Only one stayed silent, and the irritation I’d felt grew.

Emotional energy is distinct. I can recognize it much the same way I can identify a particular voice or scent. I followed the thread of

irritated energy with my mind to a young male witch. Before now, he’d almost always been ecstatic to be working with the coven.

“Joel?” I asked. “Everything okay?”

“Sure…I mean…yeah. Fine,” he stammered, confusion joining the swell of frustration taking over his body. He ran a nervous hand

over his face and shuffled his feet.

Rosalee left her post and took Joel aside. She leaned in to whisper in his ear. He nodded, but made eye contact with no one. I bit

my lip. His mood hadn’t improved in the slightest. Rosalee wrapped an arm around him, giving him a half-hug, and spoke again.

This time whatever she said brought him a reassuring calm. She stepped back, grabbed him by both shoulders, and stared him in

the eye. “Ready?”

His gaze found mine. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Rosalee moved back to her spot next to me. “Let’s find some angels.”

Hmm, what could that have been about? Whatever it was, I made a note to thank Rosalee.

I extended my hands to her and Anne, a tall, graceful witch in her sixties. When we touched, the circle glowed to life, fueled by the

coven’s collective power.

Lucien’s voice rose clear in the still night. “Goddess of the light, send your protection to our circle. Guide us in our quest for

knowledge. Keep us sheltered from the power of the black. Our hearts are pure, our intentions sound. From north to south to east to

west, blessed be in our quest.”

The coven echoed his prayer, strong and unified.

The magical spark jumped to life in my chest. The warmth spread through my limbs, sending electric shocks vibrating through my

core.

Alive. In this state, I could do anything.

But right now, all I needed to do was say the spell Lucien had dug up for me. “From here and there, to near and far, Angels of this

night, show yourselves with all your might.”

The circle brightened, turning glaring white, almost blinding me. I squinted, trying to make out the activity within the circle. Faint

familiar energy pulsed, energy not attached to any of the coven. It grew stronger, calling to me with its purity. Tears of emotion

sprang to my eyes. I blinked them back, waiting as the shadows materialized into translucent forms.

Rosalee’s hand tightened on mine, and someone gasped from across the circle. The brilliant light slowly separated, seeming to

funnel into two beings. As they formed distinct shapes, my attention stayed trained on the one closest to me. The energy, so

intimately familiar and yet foreign, held me captive. I couldn’t place the signature, but something inside me recognized it all the

same.

A blanket of electric blue magic flashed over the circle and then vanished. The candles winked out, leaving us standing in the dark,

transfixed on the two glowing figures.

The one nearest me met my gaze.

His stocky build and pale emerald eyes were exactly as they’d been in Lailah’s memory. I’d been prepared for that. But I had no way

of knowing his emotional signature would touch the part of my heart I’d locked away a long time ago. So familiar to the Dan I’d

known and loved for all those years. Pure. Welcoming. Good.

I swallowed the sob forming in my throat and took a deep, ragged breath. He wasn’t my Dan. Not that Dan was mine anymore or

even that I wanted him. But this man—Philip, Dan’s biological father—had all the emotional goodness I’d loved so much in the

teenaged boy I’d grown up with. He brought back all the hopes, dreams, and fears of the young, scared girl I’d been.

With one incantation, I’d been transformed into someone I’d hoped to never be again.

“Philip,” Lailah said from right behind me.

Standing next to the candle indicating the city of New Orleans, Philip inclined his head. “Lailah.”

She broke my grasp on Rosalee’s hand and pushed through our arms into the circle. “It’s protocol to announce your presence to the

resident angel when you come to town. You know that.”

“My apologies. You are, of course, correct.”

“Had you not invaded my space and taken my memories, I’d be inclined to let you off with a warning. Instead, I think I’ll command

your cooperation and bind you to me until a formal inquiry can be conducted.”

Philip took a moment to study her, amusement coming off him in streams. “You think you possess such power?”

“Yes. And I’ll prove it as soon as I find your sorry ass.” She sounded more exasperated than angry. How well did they know each

other?

He chuckled. “I look forward to the challenge.”

Lailah stepped back, annoyance clouding her emotions. She turned her attention to the other angel and groaned. “Jade, we have

the information we need. You can let the spell go.”

I followed her gaze to the second angel. He was turned away from me, hovering over the candle representing Baton Rouge.

Great.

While the capital city wasn’t too far away, it was the second largest city in southeast Louisiana. It could take days to find him.

Sighing, I let the magic drop and waited for the angels to disappear. Instead, they floated to the ground and their images shifted

from translucent to solid flesh.

“Umm…” I stared at the second angel’s profile. He rubbed his temples in confusion. “Looks like the spell didn’t go quite as planned.

Instead of illusions, we summoned them body and spirit.”

The coven erupted with questions and gasps of surprise.

Lailah took a second to assess the situation and then advanced on Philip. She snapped her fingers and said, “By the bond you

created, you’re now bound to me until your secrets are revealed.”

A silver band appeared from thin air and wound its way around his wrist. He frowned and plucked at the cuff. “That wasn’t

necessary.”

He moved forward, reaching for her, but she jumped from his grasp and took up position beside me. “Don’t mess with me, Philip. I’

m in no mood.” She glared at him. “Did you notice what this witch did? She transported you here. Do you have any idea what that

means?”

He relaxed his stance and smiled. One of those cocky, shit-eating ones. “Yes. Do you?”

She ignored his question and yelled in my mind, Jesus, Jade! You could’ve killed someone with that stunt. People die during

magical transportations.

I flinched, more from the fear and worry behind her reprimand than the actual words. What had I done?

The other angel finally spotted me and found his voice. “You! How dare you bring the gates of Hell to my feet with your blasphemous

witch magic?”

“Mr. Goodwin,” I said to the reverend I’d met on the plane hours earlier. “It appears you are a messenger of God after all, in the form

of an angel.”

“Jesus,” Kane whispered from behind me.

My thoughts exactly.