Bewitched on Bourbon Street (14 page)

“You don’t understand.” Jasper paced the apartment, the sound of his heavy footsteps echoing off the hardwood. “Avery came from a poor family. They’re bayou witches. Very little money. And she has a younger sibling with health issues. The kind that magic doesn’t help. So she was sending most of her money to them. Admin work for the high angel pays considerably better than any other admin job she might get. Besides, even if she hadn’t been engaged to me, she wouldn’t have left the realm to make a go of it in this world. No angel who works that closely with the high angel would do that. It’s too dangerous. If anyone were to find out the knowledge she had, it would’ve been disastrous.”

Family. More often than not, that was what got most of us in a bind. I couldn’t say I’d never made questionable decisions when it came to taking care of someone I loved.

Lailah raised her eyebrows and cast him a side-eye glance. “Looks like the pair of you weren’t exactly hurting for money.” She waved a hand around the luxury condo. “Places like this in the French Quarter aren’t cheap.”

His posture stiffened. “No. It isn’t. This place belongs to a buddy of mine who’s out of the country. He asked me to keep an eye on it since I’ve been spending so much time in this world looking for Avery. And I am.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and blinked at him. “That’s…convenient.”

“Jeez. You want his number?” Jasper pulled out his wallet and started fishing through a small stack of cards.

I reached out and stopped him, hating that our default for every explanation was distrust. I cast Lailah an exasperated glance. “He doesn’t have to prove anything to us.”

She shrugged while Jasper shoved his wallet back in his pocket.

“Okay, then,” I said. “Based on this new information, I’d like to do a calling over in Lakeshore. Jasper, do you know the exact spot Avery met with the demon?”

He nodded.

“Good. I’m going to call in the coven. We’re doing this tonight.”

***

I stared at my phone, willing Kane to call. When I’d gone to contact the rest of the coven members, I’d realized my phone had somehow gotten turned off. And of course there was a message from Kane. I was grateful to hear from him, but his voice had sounded scratchy, worn out, as if he was either sick or hadn’t slept in days. But it was more than that. There was a wariness in his tone that set my alarm bells off. It didn’t matter that he said he was all right; he certainly didn’t sound it, and I couldn’t stop the worry clouding my mind.

“Ready to do this?” Lailah asked.

We were standing next to Kane’s Lexus in the parking lot next to a park on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The wind had died down, but there was still a bone-deep winter chill in the air, and I wished I’d remembered to bring my scarf.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I grabbed a backpack full of candles and herbs, while Lailah held the salt and Bea’s truth potion just in case we needed it for something.

“I want to try Bea one more time,” I said, already hitting her name on my phone.

It rang three times, then she answered. “Jade?” Her tone was jubilant, and upbeat jazz music blared in the background.

“Bea. Can you talk for a minute?”

“Sure,” she yelled into the phone. “Give me a sec.” There was a rustling as if she were holding her hand over the phone, and then everything went quiet. “I’m back. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing really. We’ve got a lead on Avery, and we’re doing a calling. I wanted to ask if you wanted to be here for this, but it sounds like you’re busy.”

“Oh, dear. Well, yes. I’m the hostess of a fundraiser, but I guess I could—”

“Never mind. Lailah and I are on it,” I said quickly, even though a pit was forming in my stomach. We could potentially be calling a demon, and that scared the crap out of me. Not so much for myself. I could deal with one. I had before and I undoubtedly would again. But with my coven here, it was hard not to worry for their sakes. When dealing with demons, one never knew what to expect. “Didn’t mean to bother you. We’ve got it. Enjoy your party. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Wait. Jade?”

“Yes?”

“You really can handle this, you know. But if you need me for any reason, send me a text. I’ll keep the phone on vibrate so I’ll feel it.”

“Sure,” I said, relieved to know she’d be around if the worst happened. “Thanks.”

“I mean it. Don’t hesitate to send me a message.”

I chuckled at her no-nonsense voice. “Yes, Mom. I’ll text.”

“You’d better.”

I slipped the phone into my pocket, and took a deep breath not sure I was ready for this.

“She’s not coming, I take it,” Lailah said, pulling her wool coat tighter around her slim frame.

“Nope. Some fundraiser. But she’s on call if we need her.”

Lailah nodded, and the pair of us took off across the grass to meet up with the rest of the coven members who’d already arrived.

Lucien, wearing a suit, stood in the middle of the group, trying unsuccessfully to answer questions.

I grimaced. I’d pulled him out of work. He’d had a gallery showing and had left early. Everyone else was dressed in normal casual wear. I only hoped I hadn’t ruined their plans as well.

“Listen up, everyone,” I said over the chatter. “The angel Avery has been missing for months. It’s come to our attention that this was the last place she was before she disappeared.” I met Jasper’s gaze as I relayed the information he’d disclosed earlier. “It’s possible she was with a demon.”

Small gasps and whispers erupted among the members.

“I don’t have to tell you this is a potentially dangerous situation since this place has a history of demon activity. If another one shows up, the most important thing is that you don’t panic. Don’t break the circle. And under no circumstances do you engage the demon in any way. Let Lucien and I deal with it. Understood?”

There was a murmur of agreement, but tension hung in the air, and I couldn’t help the weight that settled over my shoulders from potentially subjecting my coven to demons. But we had to do the calling here. It was the last place Avery was seen and the most likely place the spell would work. If all went according to plan, Avery would show up in spirit form and we’d be able to get information about what’s happened to her.

I nodded to Lailah. She nodded back and enlisted a couple of the members to help her form a thick salt circle. It was always dangerous to deal with demons, but since we weren’t at the coven circle, we had to make one, and a strong one at that. Salt was the first line of defense.

Rosalee took the candles and went to work placing them on the circle. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore skinny jeans with a tight V-neck sweater. She looked about twelve. My nerves took over, sending me into a jittery state. Damn. I needed to calm down.

Moving away from the group, I headed toward the shore, where the lake water was lapping gently against the manmade beach. I concentrated on the sound, letting it soothe me.

“I can’t believe someone is finally doing something,” Jasper whispered.

I jerked, surprised he’d followed me.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” He gave me a half smile, appearing grateful.

My heart pounded. It wasn’t often anyone could get that close to me without me noticing. I was too sensitive to human emotions. However, Jasper was an angel. It was possible he was hiding them from me. But he hadn’t been back at the apartment. His frustration and pain had been clear as day. Was there something different about him? Me? Or this place?

I couldn’t tell. And I didn’t want to try and probe his emotions. If he was concealing them from me—which he had every right to do—he’d feel me intruding. I shook off the thoughts. My empath ability was more of a burden anyway. I should’ve been grateful I wasn’t listening in on him.

“It’s all right,” I said. “I might be a little nervous, but as soon as we start up, I’ll be fine.” That was true enough. When I wielded power, everything else faded away, and it was all I knew.

He smiled and tossed a small rock into the dark lake.

I heard the faint plop when it entered, and that was when I felt it. Another presence. Someone…no, something other than the two angels and group of witches waiting to start the spell.

I spun, my breath coming in quick gasps.

Right there about two feet from Lailah was a creature with electric-green eyes glowing in the darkness.

A demon. One was here.

Chapter 15

Kane

Two seconds after Ezra dropped his bomb of meeting the demon in question, the healer arrived with a dark-haired, petite female in tow.

“We’re going to need to ask you to wait outside, son,” my original healer said, gesturing for Ezra to leave.

He grumbled something about them needing better chairs in the lobby and then shuffled out.

“All right, Mr. Rouquette. This is Healer Haymoore. She’s going to fix you up enough so that you can get out of here.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Home would be infinitely better than this stark cinderblock room.

“On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in?” Haywood asked in a husky voice. She had a small penlight in her hand and was staring at me expectantly.

“Six?”

She chuckled softly. “Tough guy, huh? Seems to me since your meds are all but worn off and you were walking around, you’d be closer to an eight or nine. But I guess if you had any power reserves, it might not be that bad.”

I’d lied. My power was completely depleted, and it was getting hard to breathe. But I’d suffered through a lot worse situations. So a nine on the pain scale would be one step from death. Which might have been more accurate.

“All right, then. I think after we’re done here, you might have a new understanding of just how bad this was.”

I didn’t need a new understanding. If I hadn’t been an incubus with power streaming through my veins, there was no doubt I’d have died. “Just go ahead and do your thing, doc,” I said, closing my eyes.

“Healer,” she corrected.

“Whatever you say.”

Her warm hand pressed against my forehead, and just for a second, I felt a tingle of magic ghost over me. My entire body relaxed, the pain subsided, and then everything turned fuzzy and my world faded to black.

***

I woke, groggy and more than a little achy. The kind of ache that came after lying in the same position for too long. Shifting in the unfamiliar bed, I stretched my legs out in front of me and groaned with pleasure. Damn, that felt good. And more importantly, there wasn’t any pull in my abdomen.

The healer had really worked some magic. I glanced around the dark room, trying to make out my surroundings. I’d been moved, that was certain. I was no longer in the hospital bed surrounded by beeping machines. No, the bed was a high-quality queen with thick, warm blankets, and beside it there was what appeared to be a wood nightstand with a digital clock. Four a.m.

I wondered how long I’d been out. Six hours? Or twenty-eight? There was no way to tell. I sat up, pleased I only had to deal with some stiff muscles, and swung my feet out of the bed. My hospital gown was gone, replaced with a T-shirt and sweat pants.

A vague unease rippled through me at the thought of not remembering someone changing my clothes. But I put it out of my mind. My body had been healed, and that was all that mattered. Except getting home. I’d shadow walk if I had to, but first I needed to find out where I was and if Ezra had tagged along.

In my bare feet, I slipped out of the room into a hallway lit with wall sconces. Medieval paintings depicting angels and demons in battle lined the walls. Walking soundlessly over the hardwood floors, I made my way to the end of the hall, where a light shone under a closed door.

Before I could knock, it opened on its own, and Maximus, the leader of the Brotherhood, glanced up from his desk. He was a tall, dark-haired man, with a powerful presence even when he was sitting down. He smiled. “Good morning, Kane. It’s good to see you awake.”

I cleared my throat. “How long have I been here?”

Maximus turned his head toward the clock and said, “A few hours. The healers needed your bed. So they brought you here.”

I rubbed the stubble on my jawline. “Ah, well, what I really want to know is how long have I been unconscious? Just one night? Or multiples?”

“Oh, I see. Just one.” He stood and waved toward a comfortable-looking leather chair. “Have a seat. I’ll have food brought up.”

“Thanks.” My stomach rumbled at the thought of something to eat. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday.”

He nodded. “Sounds about right.” After picking up the office phone and ordering enough food for the entire Brotherhood, he sat back down. “I hear you met someone interesting yesterday.”

My eyebrows rose. Was he talking about Ezra or the demon? “Someone or something?”

“Someone.”

“Yes. I did. Any idea where he is?”

“In another one of my guest rooms.”

I glanced around the book-lined office, noted the old leather-bound books, bronze statues, and more medieval paintings. It was nicer and more personal than any of the rooms I’d seen at the Brotherhood, including Maximus’s main office. “Is this your private residence?”

He nodded. “It’s not often I have guests. I hope the accommodations were adequate.”

I swallowed a laugh. “Adequate? You could say that. Much better than that hospital bed, that’s for sure. Though I haven’t seen much of it.”

“I’d give you a tour, but I imagine you’re probably not up for it at this hour.”

I shook my head and then ran a hand down my face, unable to shake the fatigue plaguing me. My wounds had healed, but it would obviously be a while before I was one hundred percent. “Maybe another time, but I do need to talk to Ezra before I leave.”

He leaned forward, his elbows on his desk. “There’s a lot to discuss before you go home, but first, breakfast.” Gesturing to the door with his chin, he said, “Just put the tray on my desk, Victor. Thank you.”

The aging man’s hands shook as he placed a large tray of metal-covered plates on the desk. Another younger servant followed him with a silver serving tray of what I assumed was coffee. I’d never known Maximus to be a tea drinker.