Demons of Bourbon Street

chapter 9

We held each other, silent, as our breathing returned to normal. After a few minutes, Kane rolled away and sat up, planting his feet

on the floor. He grabbed my hand and tugged. “Come on.”


“Where?”

“Bath time.” He stood and grimaced as he flexed his right leg.

“You okay?”

He smiled. “Yeah, just stiff. A soak will help.”

Trailing Kane into the bathroom, he flipped the hot water on and climbed in the antique claw-foot tub. He propped himself up against

the back, knees raised, and patted the water, inviting me in. Bubbles clung to his chest.

I gazed at Kane submerged in the bubble bath. How could I resist? I lowered myself into the lukewarm water and leaned against

him. The scalding water rushing into the tub burned my toes. Swirling the water to equalize the temperature, I closed my eyes and

heaved a heavy sigh.

“Want to talk about it?” Kane ran his hands lightly over my arms.

I pressed my toes to the faucet and shut the water off. “I don’t know what to think.”

“About which part?”

A lot had happened. Jonathon and Lailah were possible mates? How creepy was that? I actually felt sorry for her. No wonder she

fantasized about Kane. And then there was Philip. Could he be trusted? If what he’d said was true…

“The part about my soul being tainted.” A small tremor ran the length of my body.

Kane tightened his arms around me as if shielding me from any harm. “There isn’t anything wrong with you. If black magic is eating

away at your soul, don’t you think one of us would notice?”

I shrugged. “What about the circle? I did tap black magic when I battled Meri. Thank the Goddess I didn’t use it.” I paused, mulling

my thoughts. “Do you think when I released the darkness, the circle absorbed the magic?”

He paused and ran his thumb over my cheek. “You’d better talk to Bea.”

My mentor, Bea, was the former New Orleans coven leader. During a battle with Meri, she’d sacrificed herself to the soul-eating

magic in order to save the rest of us. We’d had to magically bind her into a coma to keep her from turning all evil-witch, but we’d

managed to bring her back, whole and pure. At least, we thought we had.

Kane was right. Bea was the person to ask.

“First thing tomorrow,” I said.

Kane kissed the top of my head. “You mean later today.” He gestured to the sun-shaped clock on the wall.

Four a.m. We’d been up for twenty-four hours. My eyes watered with fatigue. I stood and reached a hand to helped Kane up. “Time

for bed. We need at least a few hours sleep before we start the next round.”

***

In my own bed, with Kane beside me, sleep was almost instantaneous. But instead of Kane waiting for me in dreamland, I found

myself lounging on a king-sized bed, covered in purple silk. I glanced around at the windowless room. The lavish cherry wood

furniture shone to a high gloss, matching the wood-paneled walls. The placed screamed dark and elegant. Where was I?

A door in the form of a hidden panel swung open. A silver tea cart emerged from behind the panel, rolling silently over the thick

carpet. A pause, and then…Dan appeared. What was he doing in my dream?

“You need to eat.” He stopped the cart next to the bed and locked the wheel.

“Just some tea. I’m not hungry,” my dreamself said.

He gave me a stern look. “You’ve said that every time I’ve brought food to you. You need your strength.”

I pressed into the pillows. “For what? They don’t appear to be interested in letting us out of here.” Confusion swirled in the back of

my consciousness. Who was I referring to and where were we?

He poured a cup of black tea and doctored the Earl Grey with a lump of sugar. “We’ll find a way.” He handed me the cup and tucked

a lock of black hair behind my ear. Black hair? I glanced down at a silver knife on the tray and caught a glimpse of my reflection.

Gray eyes, long, thick hair, angular nose.

Meri.

I was dreaming I was Meri, and Dan wanted to help me.

“I need you to get strong. Dad’s waiting for us,” Dan continued.

A heavy sadness settled in my chest. “Philip doesn’t care what happens to me. Forget about me and save yourself.”

He sighed. “Let’s not argue this again. You know I’m not leaving without you.”

I stared at my slim fingers wrapped around the tea cup. “Fine, but it’s going to take a lot more than apples and cheese slices to gain

any substantial energy.”

“It’s a start,” he said and disappeared through the panel door.

My eyes flew open to the early morning light, sweat dampening my brow. I sat up holding my head in both my hands. What the hell?

“Jade?” Kane murmured beside me and ran a hand down my back. “You okay?”

I lay back down and snuggled into him, comforted by his touch. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a weird dream.”

He pulled me closer and kissed my neck. “Go back to sleep, love.”

Snuggled in his arms, my safe place, I squeezed his hand and willed myself to drift back into oblivion.

***

A loud banging tore me out of my restless sleep. I bolted upright and through blurry eyes spotted Kane answering the door, half-

naked in only his faded jeans.

Pyper, my boss and Kane’s best friend, strode into the room, her dark hair layered with bright pink streaks flying behind her. She

wore a black jeans and a hot pink blouse, a few shades darker than her freshly dyed locks. Without a word, she picked up the

remote and turned the TV on.

“Is everything okay at the café?” I rasped out as I sat up, covering my bare body with a blanket. Pyper had given me time off from my

job at The Grind while I dealt with finding Dan. But my impromptu absence had left them severely shorthanded.

“It’s fine. Holly has everything covered.” She pointed to the television and ordered, “Watch this.”

I blinked, trying to focus on the small nineteen-inch screen. A tall, thin, Hollywood-type, blond reporter stood in front of a giant oak

tree, speaking into the camera. I tugged the blanket around myself and got up to move closer.

“Standing with me,” the reporter said, “is the well-known evangelist Reverend Jonathon Goodwin.” The camera lens zoomed out and

Goodwin came into view, projecting a self-important smile. “Reverend, this morning you filed a complaint with the city that last night,

here in this clearing—” she gestured and the camera panned, revealing nothing other than the coven’s circle, “—a group of so-

called witches performed some sort of dark magic.”

“That’s right, Sybil.” Goodwin nodded. “I did.”

The reporter’s eyes went wide with curiosity and mock disbelief. “That’s quite an accusation, Reverend. Do you have any proof?”

“Obviously there are the burn marks in the shape of a pentagram and the circle surrounding it. That’s a sure sign of the Devil’s work.

”

“The Devil?” Sybil’s eyebrows rose. “I thought you said witches were the culprits?”

Goodwin’s tone turned condescending. “Where do you think the dark magic comes from, Sybil? We, as a society, need to come

together to fight against these misguided individuals.” He stared straight into the camera. “Tonight at six p.m., I’m hosting a rally in

Jackson Square. I urge all of God’s children to join me in protest of such evil doings.”

“One more question, Reverend?”

He nodded.

“Rumors of witchcraft in New Orleans have been circulating for years. Why battle the practitioners now?”

Goodwin’s eyes turned hard. “The great city of New Orleans has been a breeding ground for social and moral indecency for years.

God has sent me. It’s time to stand up for what’s right. With no moral stronghold on the city, the youth are being corrupted. We must

all seek to follow God’s word. That means the impropriety of Bourbon Street must be challenged, youth need to be educated on

right and wrong, and dark magic users need to be neutralized. Evil comes in many forms. If we want a safer New Orleans of

tomorrow, the time to act is now.”

A cheer went up from somewhere off camera. My stomach turned, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d brought his own sound

track.

“There you have it, New Orleans,” Sybil said cheerily. “Tonight at six p.m., join the reverend in Jackson Square to fight moral

indecency and dark magic.” A smile blossomed on her full lips. “If we’re lucky, maybe a boy with a scar on his head will show up and

fight the evil for us. This is Sybil Tanner for WNNO, signing off until tomorrow. Back to you, Mike.”

The newscast flicked back to the studio where another reporter started a rundown on the weather.

Shock paralyzed my limbs as thoughts raced through my brain. Witches weren’t a secret. People knew we existed and that we

could produce spells, though most assumed we were harmless or fake. We liked to keep the big stuff under wraps. Non-magic

users were too much of a liability.

Damn Goodwin! He’d announced to the whole city where the coven usually meets. Outed our circle.

I stalked across the room and yanked my coffee pot from the machine. “He called us out on live TV so we couldn’t go back there

and use a tainted circle.”

“He couldn’t have just asked?” Kane pulled a T-shirt over his head.

I yanked on the faucet with more force than I’d intended, and the handle came off in my hand. Water sprayed straight up, drenching

me. “Son of a demon’s whore!”

Kane calmly reached under the sink and had the water turned off in no time. I hadn’t even known the shut-off knob was there.

“Someone want to fill me in on the creepy Bible-thumper?” Pyper said, handing me a towel.

“He’s a TV evangelist from Georgia.” I eyed the coffee pot longingly. No water, no coffee. “I was unlucky enough to get assigned a

seat next to him on the plane. Surprise! It turns out he’s an angel, too.”

“Not just any angel,” Kane said, handing me a Diet Coke from the fridge. “He says he’s Lailah’s mate.”

Pyper’s mouth dropped open and a small sound got caught in her throat. She coughed. “Excuse me?”

“Weird, right?” My phone started vibrating. I glanced at the screen and answered. “Bea?”

“Jade?” My mentor’s worried voice came through the line.

“Thank goodness. We’ve got more problems.” I scooted over to my dresser and started pulling out clean jeans while Kane and

Pyper huddled together, Kane filling her in on the night’s events.

“I can see that, dear,” Bea drawled, her accent heavier than normal. “How did Goodwin get mixed up in this?”

I winced and gritted my teeth. My fault. Again. “Uh, we were searching for any other angels in the area and…well, had I known we’d

summon Goodwin, I never would have asked the coven to work that particular spell.”

She sighed. “Angels come in all different sizes and shapes, unfortunately.”

I threw a clean T-shirt on the bed on top of my jeans. “I have to talk to you about something. In person. Is now a good time?”

“Of course. And Jade?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t work any spells, no matter how benign for the time being.” She ended the call before I could say anything else.

Yikes. Had Lailah already filled her in? I grabbed my clothes and headed for the shower. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes,” I told Kane.

Thirty minutes later we pulled up to Bea’s Garden District carriage home. The small white house gleamed in the November

sunshine.

“Something’s different,” Pyper said from the backseat of Kane’s Lexus. She’d insisted on tagging along and left Holly in charge of

the café.

“It’s the flowers,” I said, eyeing the vibrant rows of blooming marigolds in front of her porch. After banishing a spirit to Hell, Bea had

been too weak to tend her gardens over the summer. It had taken three months of practice, but I’d finally found my magical spark

and restored her energy. “I’m glad she’s getting back to normal.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” Pyper climbed out of the car.

A chill crawled over my heart. There was no doubt I’d need Bea’s help, even if Philip was wrong about me. One doesn’t go into Hell

and expect to get back out again without a witch casting an anchor spell on the other side. And Bea was the only one I knew

powerful enough to handle such advanced magic.

Kane put his hand on my thigh and squeezed lightly. “You all right?”

I took a deep breath. “I think so.”

He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my temple. “I’ll be by your side no matter what.”

Emotion bubbled in my chest. I nodded, too afraid to speak. A moment later, Kane got out of the car, then walked around to my side

to open my door. I took his hand and stood on shaky legs. “Thanks.”

Determined to find out if I was, indeed, a vessel of black magic, I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other. If anyone had the

skill to detect the taint, it would be Bea.

“They’re here,” Lailah called from the front door.

Philip appeared behind her, his face pinched with impatience. “Finally. We’ve been here for hours.”

I waved at Lailah and sent Philip a cold stare. Who cared if he’d been waiting on us?

Lailah nodded a greeting as I brushed past her to join Bea in her dining room.

“Be nice, Philip,” Lailah said. “We’re going to need to work together, especially now that Jonathon’s in town.”

I sat next to Bea, noting her freshly dyed auburn locks. She was every bit the southern lady in her beige linen pants and violet silk

blouse. Strong and confident, exactly as she had been the first time I’d met her. “Did you see the news?”

She nodded and passed me a notepad. A simple incantation filled four lines.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

Her sympathetic brown eyes stared into mine. “It’s the spell to let us know if your soul has been tainted.”

Panic rushed through my limbs, and without thinking, I pushed the notebook out of my reach.

“Jade, you don’t have anything to be ashamed of. After our encounter with Meri, I should have thought of this sooner, but I wasn’t

quite myself, and you were out of town. We’ll do the incantation together. We’re both at risk. If what Philip says is true, we could both

be compromised.”

Her words held little comfort. “No one sent an angel to watch over you.”

A small, bitter laugh escaped her lips.

Startled, I turned to give her my full attention. “Bea?”

“Why do you think I put you in charge of the coven?”

“You had to. You were being consumed by black magic.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I had the opportunity to take the position back when you offered. It was my right and, to

be honest, my duty. As powerful as you are, you have no business running a coven. You barely even know the proper way to conduct

a smudging.”

I said nothing. She was right. I’d spent my entire adult life shunning the magical community, not knowing I had power. Just recently, I’

d been forced into embracing my witchy side. But I knew next to nothing and almost everything I attempted ended in disaster.

Bea studied her aging hands. “You see, Lailah works for me because she was sent to watch over my soul.”

My gaze flickered between Lailah and Bea. Finally I focused Lailah. She hadn’t done a very good job. A few weeks ago she’d

almost killed Bea with poison. Lailah winced. I sent her an apologetic smile then eyed Philip. What kind of mess could I expect from

him?

“Wait,” Pyper said, breaking the silence. “Lailah is your guardian angel?”

Bea nodded.

“I thought she was assigned to Dan.” My heart squeezed. Did that mean Dan was already lost? I stood, knocking the chair over with

a loud crash to the floor. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Philip moved to stand beside me. “Guardian angels are usually kept secret.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem telling everyone you’re mine.” I glared at him, frustrated I couldn’t sense any of his emotions.

He shrugged. “They’re in danger. They had a right to know.”

One. Two. Three. I sucked in a breath and mentally finished counting to ten. It didn’t help. Through clenched teeth, I asked, “And

Dan? Is he…I mean, since he’s gone, does that mean…?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

“He’s still assigned to me,” Lailah said with a huff of impatience. “I am capable of watching over more than one soul at a time. For

the record, I’ve been assigned to Bea for about a year now. Long before Dan was put on my radar.”

I gaped at them. “But why?”

Bea placed a reassuring hand over mine and squeezed. “Because you were coming, dear.”