Bewitched on Bourbon Street (6 page)

“No angel would—”

“Chessa,” Drake said quietly.

She cast him an irritated glance. “What?”

He held up his hand in a wait motion and then studied me, his expression contemplative. A tickle of air brushed over my skin, followed by a dull ache in my abdomen.

I pressed a hand to my gut and let out a small moan.

“My apologies,” Drake said as the feeling vanished. He frowned, his eyebrows pinched. “Jade’s telling the truth. The signature’s too faint for me to place, but there’s no doubt an angel did this.”

Chessandra’s mouth worked, and an array of emotions passed over her face. Disbelief, irritation, anger, and, finally, acceptance. “I see. Well, this is a problem.”

“You don’t say?” I gritted my teeth, totally disgusted with her attitude.

She ignored me and crossed the room to a small closet. With swift movements, she pulled out her white angel’s robes and tugged them over her slinky lingerie.

“It’s about time,” I mumbled just to piss her off.

I was rewarded with a death glare.

“All right,” Drake said, eyeing us both. “Let’s focus on a solution.”

“This way.” Chessandra pressed a button, and a hidden door in the white paneling slid open.

Kane’s eyebrows shot up as he glanced at me with a silent question.

I shrugged. The door wasn’t something I’d seen before.

Drake swept his arm out, inviting us to go ahead of him.

Kane slipped his hand into mine, and together we followed the high angel through a stark white hallway. There weren’t any doors or windows. Just white tile and white walls. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was taking us into a mental ward. Or maybe she was.

Son of a…
Was she taking us to the room where time stood still? Lailah had speculated that she might. But with Chessandra in front of us and Drake behind us, there wasn’t anything to do but follow.

Within moments, we came face to face with an ornate walnut door. Chessandra strode through, leaving the door open behind her. I stood in the threshold, taking in the rich, warm tones of the hardwood floors and the creamy walls. Bouquets of red and orange daisies graced a side table. And right in the middle of the room were two stark white couches that faced each other. Chessandra had already taken her place at the far end of the one facing us.

“Well?” she said, that signature impatience etched in the lines of her face.

I snapped out of my paranoid trance. Who knew there was a place like this in the cold confines of the angel realm? If it hadn’t been for the white couches, it would’ve been downright inviting. Perhaps it was her private study.

Kane and I sat together across from Drake and Chessandra.

Drake leaned forward, his long white-blond hair brushing his clasped hands. “Do you have any idea how this happened?”

I shook my head, keeping my gaze on Chessandra. She stared across the room at nothing, appearing to be lost in thought.

“You don’t remember any sort of odd magic at all that could’ve been the cause of this?” Drake asked.

“Nope. Nothing.” Turning my attention to my father, I waved a hand at Chessandra. “What’s she doing?”

“Concentrating.” Drake rose and disappeared into another room off to the left.

Kane and I glanced at each other. His eyes narrowed, and that tension that always seemed to pulse beneath my skin when I was in the angel realm intensified.

I stood and placed my hands on my hips. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we need to get down to business here.”

Chessandra turned her head slowly, her eyes flashing pure white.

Whoa.

“We’re waiting for the angel who cursed you to arrive.” Chessandra’s voice was far away, detached.

“I see.” Only I didn’t. Was she able to call angels to her side? Did she have some weird dark-mark-type magic that plucked angels out of thin air?

“Chessandra?” Kane called, his tone hesitant. “What do you see?”

Her pupils turned black again, but her irises stayed white. The only thing that would’ve made her look more evil is if her eyes had turned red. I shivered, wanting to get as far away from her as possible.

“Bad things,” Chessa said in an ethereal voice. “Not safe. Dark forces are coming.”

A ripple of fear ran through me. Not because I was afraid of dealing with dark forces. We’d done it before and we’d do it again. But because of the creepiness rippling from her.

She stood abruptly. “This way.” Her white robes sailed out behind her as she hurried off into the room Drake had disappeared into.

Kane and I didn’t hesitate to follow. Had the angel responsible for this shown up? I could only hope. Whoever it was, he or she was going to regret ever messing with my uterus.

We crossed into the second room, and I stopped dead in my tracks. I recognized it. White furniture, overstuffed chairs, and couches filled the living room. There was a fully stocked kitchen and four connecting bedrooms. Poppy-colored pillows were the only color to break up the stark room.

There weren’t any windows and no other exits. My heart started to pound against my ribs.

The room where time stood still.

Dammit! How stupid could I be? Lailah had warned me, and I’d let Kane’s anger drive me to force my way into the realm, right into Chessandra’s clutches. Again.

I spun, intending to retreat into the first room, but the door had already vanished. All that remained was a smooth sheetrocked wall.

Slowly, I turned, my fists clenched in tight balls. “Why are we here?”

“Jade,” Drake started, his tone meant to soothe me. “Please understand.”

“No. I don’t have to understand anything.” I strode across the room and jabbed him in the chest with my forefinger. “What the hell? I can’t believe you were in on this.”

“You’ve been cursed. Don’t you understand what will happen if someone takes your child? We have to protect you until we can figure out who’s behind this spell.”

“I thought Chessandra was waiting for the angel to show up.”

“She is. But it can sometimes take a while. She’s put the spell in place. When the angel lets his or her guard down, we’ll know it.”

“What does that mean?” Kane demanded, his gaze trained on Chessandra. Her head was tilted up and her eyes were closed as if she were worshiping the sun.

“Her magic is powerful, but angels have guards to keep their souls protected. All it takes is for them to relax for just a second, and then Chessa will have them. Sometimes it happens instantly, sometimes it takes a while. That’s why we’ve decided it’s best if you both wait here until we can contain the angel who’s cursed Jade.”

“Stay here? Contained in this room?” Kane shook his head in disgust. “You’re out of your mind. We both have jobs to do. There’s no way we’re waiting around here for an unspecified time.”

I nodded and walked to his side to present a united front.

“Mr. Rouquette, you’re welcome to go. You’re not the one in danger. But I’m afraid we’re going to have to keep Jade here until the threat passes.” Drake ran a hand over the plush white sofa. “Do not worry. Every comfort will be provided for her.”

“No one is staying here,” Kane ground out. “Open the door. We’re leaving.”

“It’s not safe. Danger is coming,” Chessandra repeated.

“It’s your choice, Kane,” Drake said as he crossed to Chessa. He wrapped an arm around her waist, cradling her against his body. “Let’s go, love.”

Chessa turned her head, her gaze focusing on him. She frowned, seeming confused.

“I’ve got you. Everything’s going to be okay,” he crooned and brushed a lock of her dark tresses from her forehead.

“Everything is not fine!” I stood in the middle of the room, vibrating with magic. “Let us out, or I’ll blast my way out of here.”

Drake’s expression turned curious. “Now that would be impressive if you could. You’re welcome to try. So far no one has managed it, though.” He tilted his head, studying us. “But together you might have a shot.”

I scowled. “This isn’t a joke.”

“No, Jade, it isn’t.” Drake stood up straight, his eyes piercing me. “Like I said before, it isn’t often I get to protect you, but I’m doing it now. It’s my job. I won’t let some rogue angel hurt you or my grandchild.”

“Future grandchild,” I corrected. “I’m not even in danger…yet.”

“If you’re cursed, you are. This is the best possible solution.”

Kane stepped in front of me, his dagger in his hand. Only the stone wasn’t glowing with magic as it usually did. “We’re leaving. Together. Now open the door, or we’re going to have this out right here.”

Drake shook his head. “I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”

Kane’s muscles bulged under his T-shirt. He rocked forward on the balls of his feet, and just when he was about to pounce, Chessa and Drake faded translucent.

Drake’s eyes met mine. “I’m sorry to force this on you, but I don’t see any other way. I’ll be back once you’ve seen reason.”

I gaped then shook my head, dislodging the jumbled thoughts in my brain. “See reason? You can’t—”

The pair of them vanished, leaving me and Kane in the room where time stood still.

Chapter 6

“Are we where I think we are?” Kane asked, his voice unusually controlled.

“Yes.” I flopped down on the oversized couch and closed my eyes. I was exhausted, too empty to care about much of anything. My father had just locked me away in a dungeon disguised as a fancy apartment.

He scanned the room. “Do you know where the main door is?”

I waved a hand toward the plain wall to the left. “That’s where it was last time. But my magic wasn’t able to penetrate it at all.”

When my soul had been compromised, the angels had locked me and Lailah, along with another angel, in this prettied-up hellhole. I’d spent hours trying to blast my way out. Nothing had worked. I didn’t see why it would now.

“You didn’t have a demon hunter’s dagger.” Kane pulled his blade from the sheath and held it out in front of him. The stone on the hilt glowed eerie red and then winked out.

I raised a curious eyebrow. “What happened? I noticed the stone wasn’t lit before when you showed it to Drake. Is the room making it faulty, or did you shut it down on purpose?”

“No, I didn’t shut it down. I’m not sure what’s happening.” He pressed his lips together in a thin line as he inspected it. After running his hands along the edge of the blade, he glanced up at me. “It didn’t exactly fail. It’s more like it’s weak, as if it needs a power source.”

“It won’t take it from you?” I sat up, concerned. “Or has it already taken too much?” My fingers dug into the couch cushions. This was crazy. Kane was an incubus. Incubi maintained power through sex. If Kane was weakened, he’d need me. And the last thing I wanted to do was get busy in the room where time stood still. Who knew who was watching us? Not to mention being a prisoner was about the least sexy thing on the planet.

He put the blade on the table in front of us and closed his eyes. After a moment, he nodded. “I still have plenty of power. The stone won’t take it from me, though.” Glancing around, he frowned. “Does this place have wards?”

“I’m sure it does.” My steps were silent as I floated over the plush carpet toward the door I knew was concealed in the smooth white wall. I placed my palm straight out and ran my hand over the light texture. A faint ripple of magic tickled my hand. “Yes. They’re there.”

Kane nodded, picked up his dagger, and crossed the room to stand beside me. The stone in the dagger remained dark and lifeless. Then he pressed the hilt of the weapon to the wall and turned to me. “I need your help.”

I nodded, casting him a curious glance. “Sure.”

He gestured to the hilt of the dagger. “I need you to pull the magic from the wall into the stone.”

Surprise stirred my magic coiled in my chest, followed by determination. That stone collected magic to neutralize enemies. If it could steal the magic from the wall, we might have a chance of breaking out. I placed my hand over the dagger and focused on the tiny thread of magic pulsing from the core of the stone. A small burst of my own magic shot into the hilt.

The moment my magic connected with the power of the stone, a wave of warmth slammed into me, and something inside me connected to the ancient magic. I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. As I slowly let it out, I tugged, pulling on the magic from the stone.

My body went rigid and vibrated from the first jolt of mixed magic, and then everything came to an abrupt stop as if the power had collided with an invisible wall. My mental hold struggled to maintain the connection, and sweat broke out on my brow.

“Jade?” Kane asked, his voice sounding a million miles away.

I shook my head. I had to focus. Losing concentration for even one moment meant the connection would be lost. Something told me if we didn’t break out of there, we’d be in there for years. Chessandra wasn’t stupid. She knew if someone had control over our future child—who no doubt would hold considerable power—she’d be screwed. This was our one shot. And between the two of us, we had to get it done.

“Put your hand over mine,” I ordered Kane.

I felt his movement beside me and then the brush of his flesh against the back of my fingers. “Pull the magic with me.”

“On three?” he asked.

I nodded and counted. When it was time, a blast of his magic pinned not only my hand but my forearm to the wall. Our streams of power mixed, and the spell embedded in the wall slowly began to move.

The effort was so great I felt as if we were pushing boulders uphill. But it was moving, and as I watched the wall, a faint outline of the door flickered into view.

“It’s working,” I assured Kane.

He let out a grunt and increased the pull on the magic.

A dam burst, and just like that all the magic that had been collecting into the stone shot into my hand, up my arm, and straight to my heart.

My body convulsed, and all control of my magic vanished. Sparks of power and remnants of the spell shattered through me. I saw nothing but the horrified expression on Kane’s face as I rose in the air, floating at least a foot off the ground.

The spasms in my muscles vanished, and I hung there serenely as if I were a fairy godmother come to grant Kane a wish.