Easy Magic (Boudreaux #5)

“Are you okay?” Lena asks aloud.

“Yes, I just haven’t been this open in a long time,” I whisper, letting my mind reach out through the house and the whole property. “There have been hundreds of people who lived here. Slaves.” I scowl at the sight of someone being whipped, but then cared for immediately by who I assume is a family member.

“There are many spirits on this land,” Lena says, her grip on me tightening.

“Yes, but they’re not in distress,” I reply in relief. “I don’t sense any evil here.”

“I agree,” Lena says and we both open our eyes to the others. “We’re safe.”

“Your eyes are so dilated,” Kate whispers.

“Because our minds are open,” I reply and look at the man standing behind Gabby. “There’s a man named Cyrus here.”

“So you weren’t bullshitting Beau,” Van says.

“No.” I smile at Cyrus, who smiles back. He’s tall, with dark hair and eyes, and he’s wearing clothes from at least a hundred years ago. “Do you know him?”

“He was one of our great grandfather’s brothers.” Charly looks at Van and then back to me. “And Beau has his grandfather clock.”

Cyrus winks at me. “Well, that I knew. Do you want me to say anything else to them?”

He shakes his head, tips his head to me, and disappears.

“Let’s hope they’re all as gentlemanly as Cyrus,” Lena says softly.

“There’s only one other who’s coming forward,” I reply and close my eyes again. “I can’t see her, but I can feel her.”

The room is quiet as I clear my mind, opening myself up to a young woman, only in her teens. “She’s young.”

I like it here. Please don’t make me leave.

“She says she doesn’t want to leave. She likes it here.”

“I don’t mind if she stays,” Gabby says with a smile. “I’m just curious about who she is.”

I close my eyes again, listening.

Larissa.

“She says her name is Larissa.”

I don’t know why I’m here. I’ve been here a long time.

I frown and silently ask her, do you know that you’re no longer alive?

“What is she saying?” Gabby asks.

“That she doesn’t know why she’s here.”

Yes. I died on a cliff.

“She never lived here when she was alive,” I say and squeeze Lena’s hand. I’m okay, I just like feeling her. “She says she died on a cliff.”

“Holy shit,” Van says. “Is she the French girl who was ripped from her slave lover?”

Yes.

“She says yes.”

“Holy fucking shit,” Gabby says.

Are you trying to transition? I ask her.

I just want to stay here until Douglas can find me.

“Poor girl,” Lena says. “She says that she wants to stay here until he finds her.”

“Oh, how sad,” Kate says.

I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to find him for you. I can help you move on though, Larissa.

Maybe he’s there? she asks.

Maybe. I don’t know for sure.

“She’s asking Mal if Douglas might be waiting for her in the next life,” Lena says. “She’s quite sad.”

“I don’t know where he is,” I say aloud, “but I can help you move on, Larissa. You don’t have to stay here.”

I won’t leave without him.

And then she’s gone. I can’t sense her.

“What is she saying now?” Gabby asks.

“She’s gone.” I let out a long sigh and open my eyes. “She said she doesn’t want to leave without him, and she’s not talking to me any more.”

“Poor girl,” Van says. “She said her love’s name is Douglas?”

“Yes.”

Gabby’s tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I have all of the slave records. If he was sold to our family, I can look for a boy named Douglas. He would have also been a teenager, or just a little older.”

“That would be great,” I reply, but I’m exhausted. “Maybe you could look for that, and we can try again another time.”

“Are you okay?” Charly asks.

“I’m fine, just tired.”

“You should stop,” Lena says.

“Yeah, I’m done.” I close my eyes, ready to close all of the doors, when I suddenly feel something…different.

Lena’s hand tightens on mine.

“What the hell?”

I can’t answer her. It’s a being, but it’s not a spirit.

This person isn’t dead.





Chapter Eight


Beau

“Yellow stripe in the corner pocket,” Eli says as he leans over Ben’s pool table and taps the ball in the hole.

While the girls are having their séance, Eli and I decided to hang out at Ben’s house, raid his beer fridge, and kick his ass at pool.

“What’s new?” Ben asks and sips his beer.

“Beau’s been bouncing on the psychic chick,” Eli replies and taps another ball into the pocket.

“How old are you?” I ask him, scowling.

“Well, you have been.”

“I’ve been seeing Mallory,” I reply.

“I’d already heard,” Ben says and claps me on the shoulder. “She’s pretty hot.”

“Don’t make me kick your ass.” I narrow my eyes at him, but Ben just smirks.

“Right. ’Cause that could happen.”

“How did you already know? I’ve barely been on two dates with her.”

“News spreads quickly in the Boudreaux family,” he says with a shrug. Ben’s last name may not be Boudreaux, but he’s been a part of our family since middle school. One of Eli and my best friends, Ben’s always been around, and we were always welcome at his house too.

“By the way,” Eli says, “you need to tell Mama.”

“I need to tell Mama that I took a girl out on two dates? That hardly constitutes a proposal.”

Eli holds up his hands. “All I’m saying is, the girls have been talking, and we all know that they’re talking to Mama too. So you might want to talk to her yourself before she’s convinced herself that the proposal is just around the corner.”

“You know, the bad thing about big families is they can’t keep their noses out of your fucking business.”

“We love you too,” Eli says with a wink. “I have to say, I was surprised that you’re interested in Mallory. I didn’t know you were into all that hocus pocus phooey stuff.”

I cock a brow. “She doesn’t cackle while stirring a cauldron at midnight,” I reply dryly. “And she’s not a witch. She says she’s psychic. Which I didn’t think I believed in either.”

“But you’ve changed your mind?” Ben asks.

“I don’t understand it,” I reply, choosing my words carefully. I know they want to rib me; they’re my brothers, and that’s just what we do. But they also care about me. This isn’t an interrogation, it’s a conversation to make sure I know what I’m getting myself into.

But does anyone understand what they’re getting themselves into when they start a new relationship?

“How could she know about the grandfather clock?” I ask.

“Maybe one of the girls told her?” Eli suggests.

“I don’t think so. It was an off the cuff comment,” I reply. “So, no, I don’t fully understand it, but I believe that she believes it, and she’s not crazy.”

“I totally believe it,” Ben says casually.