Bewitched on Bourbon Street (16 page)

“Okay. Let’s get this done.”

“Everyone back on the circle,” Lucien ordered. “Quickly.”

Lailah and Rosalee rushed around, handing candles to all the coven members. Then, as I took my spot on the northern most point of the circle, Lailah led Jasper into the middle, where the pair of them would act as a catalyst for connecting with Avery, their fellow angel.

“Ready?” I asked everyone.

A subdued murmur of agreement rose from the members.

“Good.” I raised my hands out to my sides and held hands with the witches on either side of me. As our hands connected, worry shot through me. The last time I’d done a group spell, the magic had backfired and sucker-punched me in the gut. Would that happen again? Or had it been a one-time thing? There was only one way to find out. Swallowing my nervous energy, I forced myself to focus and said, “This should go quickly. I just ask that you not break the connection until I say otherwise.”

More nods.

“Thanks.” Closing my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath of the cool air coming off the lake, put everything else out of my mind, and called, “From air, flame, dirt, and sea, hear our call for power, so mote it be.”

A spark of magic zipped through each of the witches straight into me. I was filled up with it, almost bursting with their collected power, no pain in sight. It was heady and intoxicating. The kind of magic that could corrupt a weaker individual. The truth was I could probably do the calling all on my own. I didn’t want to, and it would suck, but I could. This way was much safer physically but more challenging mentally.

I let go of the witch’s hand on my right and then raised my hand palm up, levitating all the candles at once.
“Ignite.”

The candle flames flickered to life, eerily lighting up the faces of all my coven witches.

“With fire, wind, earth, and air, we the New Orleans coven call upon the angel Avery to show us the last time you graced these hallowed shores.”

The lake beach wasn’t exactly hallowed, but the salt circle and our combined magic had turned it into a workable space.

“Chant with me,” I said. “From fire, wind, earth, and air, call upon the angel Avery.”

The coven members chanted, louder and louder, until finally I pointed a few feet from Jasper and said, “That’s enough.”

Everyone shifted to eye the outline of the pretty young woman who I’d only known as Chessandra’s assistant. She was standing next to a car, alternating between glancing around and studying her watch. It was obvious she didn’t see us. Even in spirit form she should have. Something wasn’t right.

Then as she took off toward the lakefront, it hit me—the spell hadn’t worked quite the way I’d planned. Instead of summoning Avery’s spirit, we’d gotten the memory of her meeting the demon.

Jasper let out a strained gasp as he stared at the echo of the girlfriend he hadn’t seen in months.

She had long, dark hair, a tiny frame, and big doe eyes. My hatred for Chessandra only intensified. The angel looked like she could barely handle carrying a multicup coffee tray, much less deal with the evil creatures of the underworld. I was sure she was more capable than my assessment; she just seemed so small, so fragile. As if a demon could snap her in two.

It only made me more determined to find her.

She was carrying a small package, and the boldness in her stride surprised me. She did know she was meeting a demon, didn’t she?

Whether she did or didn’t, she definitely had a nice dose of self-confidence. Or was that naiveté? Seeing her so unaffected by the possibility of meeting a demon was terrifying.

I ground my teeth together and watched as Avery moved to the edge of the lake and tossed in a pebble. As soon as it plopped in the water, a demon materialized out of thin air.

She smiled and strode toward the clean-cut very human-like demon, who was dressed in a light-gray suit. He was relaxed with one hand in his pocket and the other held out to her in invitation. The only thing about him that said demon was his eyes. They were that same electric green. Not exactly scary.

The two stood together talking for what seemed like forever. But it must’ve only been a few minutes at best. Then Avery leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

A kiss? Holy crap. Even if it did stay completely platonic, she’d still kissed a demon. I glanced over at Jasper. He stood frozen, his face twisted into shocked horror as he gaped.

I returned my attention to Avery just as the well-dressed demon morphed into a red, leathery giant. He let out a loud growl. Or was that a mew? Hard to say. The demon had a weird expression on his face. I couldn’t tell if he was happy or mildly irritated.

Avery reached a tentative hand up to the demon’s face and cupped the sunken area of his would-be cheek. The gesture was so tender. It would’ve been moving if I hadn’t known he was a demon. A true beauty-and-the-beast moment.

“Avery! What are you doing?” Jasper cried from the middle of our circle. I heard Lailah whisper something, but I couldn’t make it out. My heart broke for him. To be standing here watching this knowing there was nothing he could do must’ve been torture.

The demon glanced down at Avery. He let out what I thought might be a moan of frustration and, in one quick movement, scooped her up into his arms. She seemed frozen in the moment, her eyes wide with fear. Then panic set in and she started flailing her arms and legs, punching and kicking as she fought for her freedom.

“You son of a bitch!” Jasper yelled. “Let her go.”

I wanted to call out, too, do something to save her, but we were only watching an impression. She wasn’t really there, and neither was the demon.

The demon tilted his head down so they were eye to eye. Avery stilled, her fists clenched, ready to strike as she watched him study her. His expression softened, and for a second I thought he was going to put her down, but a fiery pit opened up right there in the sand.

Avery opened her mouth wide, no doubt unleashing a horrified scream just as the demon stepped forward, both of them disappearing into the pit of Hell.

Chapter 17

Jade

“No!” Jasper cried, running into the circle. He slid to his knees at the exact spot Avery had vanished from.

Silence filled the air. No one even moved, too stunned to do anything.

“Why?” Jasper pounded his fists on the earth, gut-wrenching agony pouring from him. His emotions filled the circle, pressing in on me from all sides. Tears filled my eyes as I struggled to erect my barriers to shut him out. But it was useless. The force of his pain was too much for me to escape.

I took a few steps back, distancing myself from him, trying to maintain even a modicum of sanity. But my efforts were fruitless, and no matter what I did, I was trapped in his grief.

Lailah moved forward, bright-white light shimmering around her. When she reached his side, she wrapped an arm around him, rocking with him through the pain. With her help, the intensity of his emotional energy was reined in, and I was able to breathe easier. Thank the gods she was here, or I’d have been sobbing right beside Jasper.

I took a deep breath and turned to address the coven members. “Okay, everyone. I think that’s enough for tonight. Thank you for coming. I appreciate it.”

Most of them answered with silent nods and then started heading back to the cars. Everyone except Rosalee. She stood on the circle watching Jasper, her posture rigid. Anger and bitter disappointment consumed her and streamed off in the form of red smoke.

“Rosalee?” I positioned myself beside her but was careful to keep my distance. The raw emotions were too much for me to handle. “Are you okay?”

She turned to me, fire blazing in her dark eyes. “No. Not even close to okay. We have to summon her. Avery, I mean. We can’t leave her in Hell.”

“Yes, we do. But we can’t right now. Nor can we do it here. It’s too dangerous. We have to do that at the coven circle. You know that.”

“But she could fall at any minute.” Rosalee clutched my arm, her fierce determination rushing into me, warring with common sense.

I pulled back, fighting to keep from being overwhelmed by her intensity. It was all I could do to ignore my own convictions of what I wanted versus what was safe and practical. If I could, I’d summon Avery right then and there. She was an angel. When angels were trapped in Hell it usually didn’t take long before their souls were corrupted and they turned demon. If she’d already suffered that fate, we’d put everyone at risk. I was already acutely aware that what had gone down with the first demon earlier wasn’t normal. Not at all. It was clear he’d only been here to deliver a message. If he’d wanted to, he could’ve caused considerable damage.

A long time ago, my own mother had tried to save an angel from falling by summoning her from Hell. Unfortunately her friend, Meri, had already fallen. The result was that two other witches along with my mom had been taken that day and had gone missing for fifteen years. It was unthinkable to put my coven at that kind of risk. I wouldn’t under any circumstances. Precautions needed to be put in place.

“I promise you that tomorrow we’ll do the summoning. One way or another. We’ll get Bea and Kane and whoever else we need to be on hand in order to safely bring her back. But you have to be prepared for the worst possible outcome. If she’s already turned, we can’t help her.”

Rosalee stared at her feet. Frustration replaced the righteousness that had been overwhelming her. “Tomorrow. What time?”

“I’m not sure, but probably at night. The moon helps.” I shifted close to her and squeezed her hand briefly, just enough to let her know I understood.

She glanced up, meeting my gaze head on. “Avery was a friend of mine. Whatever I can do to bring her back I will.”

“I understand,” I said, blinking back the tears in my eyes.

She nodded once and left without another word.

Weariness washed over me as I watched her go. A lot had happened in the last two days. All I wanted to do was go home, find Kane, and sleep for a week.

Most of the coven had already dispersed, anxious to get away from anything demon related. The only people left were Lucien, Lailah, and Jasper.

Lucien was collecting the candles, while Lailah did her best to calm Jasper. I hesitated and then joined Lucien, grateful for something to do.

“We’re going to have to summon Avery tomorrow,” I told him.

He nodded. “I figured as much.”

“You can’t tell Kat.”

He straightened, a grimace claiming his lips. “You know that’s not going to work out. It never does.”

Dread formed in the pit of my stomach. “You’re right. But she’ll want to be there if she knows. And as much as I hate it, she’s a weakness for both of us. If a demon does show up, not only is she at risk, but so are we. You and I both know we’ll compromise whatever we’re doing to keep her safe.”

Kat didn’t have magic. When it came to demon battles, she was a liability mostly because she could be used to manipulate me and Lucien.

“Don’t you think honesty might work better?” he asked.

I gave him a look. “And how’s that worked for you in the past?”

“Crap.”

“Exactly.” Guilt settled in my gut, and I softened. “Listen, I’m not asking you to lie. Maybe just don’t tell her exactly what we’re up to?”

His dubious expression didn’t do anything to put my mind at ease.

“Okay, fine. Tell her if you must, but be sure to also say that I forbid her to join us for this one.”

Lucien snorted, and I knew he was thinking this wasn’t a battle either of us would win. Kat was too invested in both of us. It was highly unlikely she would sit around waiting to find out what happened.

“Just do your best.”

He saluted me. “Whatever you say, chief.” Holding the box of candles, he waved and took off for his Jeep.

Lailah had Jasper tucked under one arm and was walking him toward Kane’s car.

I stood on the shore, staring out at the vast lake, feeling small and insignificant against the inky darkness. And utterly alone. It was time to go home. To find Kane. And to settle into his arms and pray the events of the last two days weren’t a sign of our year to come.

***

Kane

I stalked down the hallway from Maximus’s office, throwing doors open as I went. His private residence seemed to have more bedrooms than Summer House, my family plantation home in Cypress Settlement. For a single man, his space was somewhat ridiculous.

Grumbling to myself, I reached for the doorknob to the room at the end of the hall, but it swung open, and there was Ezra, his face scrunched up in confusion.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’re getting out of here.” I gestured for him to join me, but he just stood there, blinking. “What?” I barked.

“Where are we?”

“My boss’s private residence. And we’ve worn out our welcome.” I jerked my head, and without waiting, I stormed back to the room I’d woken up in. Inside, I searched high and low for my dagger, but it wasn’t anywhere to be found. “Son of a bitch.”

“Problem?” Ezra asked, sounding much more awake.

“No. Let’s go.”

He followed me to the stairs, down to the first floor, and out to the grounds. The damp grass was cool on my bare feet, reminding me I didn’t even have shoes and pissing me off all over again. Depriving me of my things and my dagger was Maximus’s way of showing me who had the upper hand. I didn’t much care about my clothes or my shoes or even my phone. The dagger, though, that was another thing altogether.

I’d have to find a way to get another one. Fast. They were assigned, so it’d be tricky, but perhaps I could borrow one from the Brotherhood’s arsenal. I glanced to the left at the main house, considering. But then I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time. The place was locked up tight for another few hours.

“Where are we going?” Ezra asked, keeping pace with me as we headed toward the gate.

“Home.”

He glanced around. “You live around here?”

“Nope.” The moment we crossed the property line of the Brotherhood compound, I held my hand out to the angel. “Take my hand.”