Bewitched on Bourbon Street (5 page)

“Open the gates, Chessandra,” I ordered. “It’s urgent we see you tonight.”

Kane’s frustration intensified, nearly knocking me over with the weight of it.

“Come on, Chessa. We need to see you. It’s an emergency.” Power tingled under my skin. And because the high angel was ignoring us, I did nothing to hold it back. “I said, let us in!”

A shot of pure white magic burst from my fingertips at the same time a searing flash of pain just above my left eye blinded me. My knees gave out, and had Kane not been hanging on to me, I would’ve crumpled to the ground.

“Shit!” I clutched my head, focused on the pain trying to break me, and said,
“Evanesco.”

The pain escalated, consuming me as the magic pulsed with ever-growing intensity.

“Jade?” Kane’s concerned voice pushed through the pain.

I let out a loud roar as my power broke through a barrier and rushed to the throbbing claiming my head. Cool relief doused me, and all the pain vanished, leaving me almost numb with relief. I glanced up at Kane with squinted eyes. The light from the angel realm shining behind him blinded me. I blinked rapidly, trying to keep my eyes from tearing.

“Let’s go.” I straightened, my voice all business. “We don’t want to miss our window.”

“Are you all right?” Kane’s arm tightened around my waist.

“I am now,” I said, full of confidence. Whatever had been plaguing me, I’d neutralized it. I felt powerful and in control for the first time all day.

The world spun, blurring white as our bodies were pulled through the veil into another realm. A second later, our feet hit the gold-and-white tile of the angel world’s version of Saint Louis Cathedral. It was exactly the same, except everywhere there should be color was now white and gold, including the murals on the walls.

We stood at the back of the empty sanctuary. An ominous cloud settled over me, leaving me uneasy. It was as if we were breaking and entering. “Where is everyone?” I asked.

Kane shrugged. “Out partying?”

I snorted out a laugh. “Please.” But then I sobered. “It’s weird, right? Usually they’re here with buckets of judgment and disdain.”

“Not to mention we basically broke through their wards. You’d think an alarm would sound or something.”

He was right. “Something’s wrong.”

“More wrong than one of them cursing you?” His eyes were narrowed again and full of contempt. Then he shook his head. “Never mind. You’re right. They should be here with pitchforks by now.”

I slipped my hand into his and sighed. “Come on. Let’s go find out what the issue is this time.”

Kane and I made our way up toward the dais unimpeded, but as soon as we turned left down the hall that headed toward Chessandra’s office, their alarm finally sounded, echoing through the building. Within seconds the noise abruptly stopped, followed by rapid footsteps.

We glanced at each other then retreated into the sanctuary to wait.

“I guess we have our answer.” I sat down in the front pew as if I belonged there. Kane stood beside me, no doubt feeling like he had to protect us. I wasn’t that worried, though. Chessandra was too fond of forcing us to do the work she deemed too dangerous for her minions.

A half dozen security guards ran out of the hallway, each one with a different weapon. The leader had a sword brandished in one hand, while the one right behind him had an amulet sparking with magic.

Kane stood his ground, while I leaned forward and said, “We need to see the high angel. It’s important.”

Sword Guy came to a stop a couple of feet in front of us and glared. “How dare you invade our inner sanctum without an invitation?”

Kane stiffened, and his indignant irritation crawled all over my skin.

I placed a soft hand on his arm while I spoke to the guard. “My apologies for arriving unannounced, but I assure you we’re here on official business.”

Okay, so that wasn’t exactly the truth, but it would be when I demanded she let me out of my contract.

The short, dark-haired guard moved forward, pointing his amulet at me. Without him saying a word, magic shot from the stone and hit me straight in the chest.

Red-hot bolts of fiery pain erupted above my heart, paralyzing me for just a second. I opened my mouth, trying to form words, but none would come. Rage boiled in my gut, eating me from the inside out. I sucked in a shallow breath and then called on my own magic once more. It rose up instantly and squashed the fire in my chest. Only a small ache remained where the magic had entered my system. I rubbed at my breastbone, glaring. How dare this jackass unload his amulet on me when all I’d been doing was sitting there? Freakin’ angels.

Kane’s outrage filled the space between us, and right before he lunged forward, I stood and gripped his arm.

“No, Kane,” I demanded through gritted teeth and stepped in front of him, staring the angel down. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but that spell was completely unnecessary. We told you why we’re here. Attacking me was uncalled for.”

Kane stepped up beside me, and in a low, dangerous voice, he said, “Do not attack my wife again, or you’re going to have a very unhappy demon hunter on your hands.”

“You dare to threaten us, incubus?” Sword Guy thrust his weapon toward Kane.

Kane didn’t even flinch. “You’re damn right, I am. Hurt her again, and we’re going to have a problem.”

The other four guards fanned out, brandishing daggers, an ax, and two other magic-wielding stones.

Power shot from my center to my hands, making sparks of magic crackle in my palms. Even though we were in the angel realm, that didn’t mean everyone was aboveboard. I’d be damned if I sat back and let a six-on-one fight go down. “Back off, assholes.”

Amulet Guy chuckled. “Look, boys. The white witch is white as a sheet. Any bets on how much effort it’ll be to take her down?”

No doubt I was pale from the magic I’d already expelled. But if he thought that made me weak in any way, he was an idiot. White witches had legions of power.

I sent the guard a twisted, saccharin-sweet smile. “You can test my abilities now or you can take us to Chessandra. If you choose the former, you’ll also have the privilege of explaining to the high angel why her shadow walker kicked your ass. Because I will. Trust me.”

My power intensified, consumed my hands, and climbed up my forearms. I raised my hands, ready to blast them if they struck a blow.

Kane laughed, but it was humorless as he pulled out his Brotherhood dagger. It had a special stone that would not only stave off their magic but would absorb it, making him that much more powerful in a magical battle.

Realization dawned in Amulet Guy’s eyes. He muttered an oath and pocketed his weapon. The others with magical stones did the same.

“What are you doing?” Sword Guy demanded, glaring at them. “They can’t take all of us.”

“Yes, they can. Especially the incubus. That dagger, it’s a game changer,” a familiar deep male voice boomed from the back of the sanctuary.

I twisted to see Drake, my biological father, making his way toward us.

He met my gaze and frowned. “What’s wrong, Jade?”

“We need to see Chessandra,” I said, lifting my chin.

“Fine. I’m sure that can be arranged. But why are you so pale?”

“I had a migraine. It’s gone.”

His eagle-eyed gaze turned to Sword Guy. “Retreat. Now.”

“But—”

“I said retreat. Do you have any idea who this woman is?” Drake took two steps toward the guard, his frame appearing to grow larger with each movement.

“Yes, sir. She’s the New Orleans coven leader, but I thought—”

“I don’t give a damn what you thought. Drop your weapon and get the hell out of here.”

“I’m under orders to apprehend any intruders,” Sword Guy said, his chest puffed out in defiance.

Drake narrowed his eyes and glared at the guard. “Did you realize that not only does she work for Chessandra, but she’s my daughter?”

“No.” Sword Guy’s tone was clipped, full of righteous indignation as he sheathed his blade. Fuming, he closed the distance between them and stood defiantly in front of Drake. “That’s not my concern.”

“It should be,” Kane said mildly.

Drake turned to the other guard standing off to the left and pointed at Sword Guy. “Apprehend him. Then wait in my office.”

The guard gave Drake a curt nod. “Yes, sir.”

“Hey!” Sword Guy struggled as two of the guards pulled his hands behind him and bound his wrists with plastic ties they’d pulled from pockets in their tunics.

I sucked in a breath, barely able to contain my impatience. “Can we go see Chessandra now?”

Drake pointed to the guards holding Sword Guy. “Take him to the holding tank. I’ll be there to deal with him when I’m ready.”

I had to hold back a smirk. Even though my daddy had come to my rescue, so to speak, I still took great pleasure in the incredulous look on Sword Guy’s face.

“Let’s go.” Drake gave me a tender look I’d never seen before.

“Thanks,” I said awkwardly. Drake and I didn’t have much of a relationship, much less a special father–daughter one. “For taking care of the guard. You really didn’t have to. We could’ve—”

“Yes, I did. You’re my daughter. As your father, one of the perks is that I get to protect you. But since you’re so strong, that’s not something you need often. So don’t try to deprive me of my parental right. I’ve already missed too much.”

I stared at him, stunned. Drake was my biological father, but neither of us had known it until recently. We weren’t close and had almost no relationship outside the fact that I worked for Chessandra, who happened to be his significant other. I swallowed. “Okay.”

He gave me a faint smile and then shooed the guards away. Once they were gone, he turned to us. “Follow me.”

I relaxed my hands, trying to let go of some of the overflowing frustration, but failed when I fell into step beside Kane. He was still wound tight, his mood overtaking mine. I didn’t even have the will to erect my imaginary glass walls to block his emotions out. I was too exhausted to care. By the time we were outside Chessandra’s office, we were both on edge.

But instead of opening the door, Drake paused with his hand over the knob. “Why are you here?”

Kane pressed his lips together in a tight line, clearly not willing to answer him.

“Does it matter?” I asked, genuinely curious. He’d stepped up and gone to bat for us before with Chessandra just as he had back in the sanctuary with the guards. But he was still Chessandra’s partner. I was pretty certain they could communicate telepathically. I wanted to see her face when we told her what had happened. Having her know beforehand would ruin that.

“Yes. Of course it does.” Drake’s expression turned exasperated, but he said nothing else. With a shake of his head, he turned and pushed the door open.

Chessandra was reading what looked to be a report while sitting on the edge of the desk. She was wearing a silky red satin negligee, her chestnut hair pulled into an elegant twist, as if she were waiting for her lover to come take her off to bed.

“Drake. There you are. I—” Chessandra’s head snapped up, and she scowled. “Why did you bring them here? They haven’t been invited.”

Kane pushed past us both and glared at her. “So you can tell us why one of your angels has cursed Jade and our future child.”

Chapter 5

She dropped the papers onto her desk and then, with the grace of a dancer, she uncrossed her legs and stood on silver high heels. “Excuse me?”

Drake glanced at me. “Is that true? That you’ve been cursed by one of us?”

I nodded, staring Chessandra in the eye.

The high angel stood before us, her expression skeptical. “And what makes you think one of my angels would curse you?”

I refrained from rolling my eyes at her superior attitude. She might be the high angel, but I wasn’t impressed. If she’d ever shown one grain of empathy, I might’ve felt differently. But she was so cold, impassive. Just about the only time I’d seen her show any emotion was when her sister had been trapped in a void world. And even then she’d been restrained.

Brushing past Drake, I walked over to a chair and sat, crossing my leg over one knee. It had been a long day. “I did a fertility blessing today, and instead of my friend being blessed, the magic targeted me and revealed a black-magic curse.”

Chessandra lowered her lashes and gave me a dry, impatient look. “Witches are the ones who dabble in black magic. Not my angels.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Not according to Lailah.”

“And how would that lower angel know? Such a major disappointment, that one.”

“You can’t be serious?” I jumped to my feet, unable to stay seated in the face of her ridicule. “Lailah’s the best damn angel out there. A major reason the magical community of New Orleans is still intact.”

“And yet she can’t seem to find one missing angel.” Chessandra spat the words out, venom poisoning her tone.

The magic pulsing in my chest intensified. If I’d let my guard down, I’d have strangled her with the sheer will of my power. “And Avery is missing because you sent her on a mission she wasn’t equipped to handle.”

“You know nothing of the situation, witch. Now leave my office. You’re not welcome here.”

“She’ll do no such thing.” Hatred streamed off Kane in the form of a red cloud. “You’re going to find out who did this and reverse the curse.”

Chessandra straightened her back, seeming to grow at least two full inches. “How dare you order me to do anything, incubus? You work for me, remember? You’ll do as I say, not the other way around.”

Kane’s pupils dilated, and I started to fear he was going to wring the high angel’s neck.

“Chessa,” I said.

She whipped her head around and glared at me. “It’s Chessandra.”

“Right.” I swallowed a snarky reply and said, “Beatrice Kelton cast an identification spell, but the test was inconclusive. Apparently that spell doesn’t work on angel magic. Only we didn’t understand the problem until Lailah arrived and said she felt an angel signature. There’s no reason to doubt this, but feel free to cast your own spell or whatever you need to do. Because we’re not leaving here until this is resolved.”