Incubus of Bourbon Street (12 page)

“No,” Lucien said thoughtfully. “She was here for the incubus.”

Chapter 12

“Here for Kane?” I exclaimed. “But why?”

“Power, most likely,” Lucien said. “This place is so highly charged, any supernatural being who’s looking to boost their own powers will be drawn here. It’s why we need to go. The fabric of this place is too vulnerable. And so is Kane, considering he’s had his dagger stripped from him.”

“Is everyone for sure gone?” I asked, glancing around the empty room. Leaving anyone behind wasn’t an option.

“We need to do a sweep of the building.” Kane let go of me, looking slightly stronger. “We’ll do it in pairs. Lucien and I will take the upstairs. Jade, you and Rosalee check the back rooms and next door.”

“Got it.” As the guys took off toward the back hallway, I called, “Make sure to check on that new tenant, Zoe.” Suddenly Duke’s reaction to her hallway took on another layer of worry. Something must have been there for him to react that way. What if it had been this Goddess? Or some other supernatural creature waiting for an opportunity? “Tell her the place is being fumigated for termites or something. Send her to a hotel if you have to.”

“I’m on it,” Kane called back.

Lucien and Kane disappeared into the back hallway, and I cast my gaze on Rosalee. “Where did you two send the Goddess?”

“We didn’t send her anywhere. She slipped away into another dimension, I suppose. But there’s nothing to keep her there. After we broke the hold she had on you, we were trying to bind her, but she got away. She was sucking your power from you, you know.”

My heart sped up as I realized she was correct. She’d said something about feeding herself and she’d meant my magic. “I thought you said she was contained? How did she get away?”

“Lucien was just starting the binding spell when she seemed to slash a hole in the fabric of our world. Orange-red light flowed from it as she dove through the opening. Then when she was gone, Lucien and I sealed the hole, effectively locking her out of the club…for now.”

I nodded. If she could tear a hole in our dimension so easily, there was nothing to stop her from doing it again. They were right. She could be back at any moment. “Thanks for that.”

Rosalee, one of the more powerful witches in our coven, shrugged. She graduated from college not long ago and was currently managing a Wiccan bookstore. “It wasn’t anything you wouldn’t have done.”

I smiled at her. We didn’t say much else as we checked the office, the two storage rooms and then the cafe next door. Empty. Everyone had cleared out. A few minutes later, Lucien and Kane met us back in the club. “All clear?” I asked.

Kane nodded. “Zoe wasn’t there. I left a note and my cell number.”

“We should call her.” Without waiting, I shuffled back into the office and started rummaging through the file cabinets.

My fingers closed over her file just as Kane reappeared. He grabbed my hand and said, “Time to go. Now.”

The world shifted into an array of muted colors. Kane’s strange energy pressed against my skin, caressing me seductively, invading my senses until I was hot all over with reluctant need. My body responded, but my heart didn’t. There wasn’t anything inviting about the lust trying to claim me. In fact, it was just the opposite. All my instincts told me to run.

The world righted itself again as my feet slammed back into the ground, sending a bolt of pain through my back. Damn that hurt. A rush of light blinded me and my eyes watered from the shock of it. I blinked rapidly and yanked my hand from Kane’s.

“Jade?” he asked.

I took another step, putting more physical distance between us. His clothes rustled as he shifted closer, but I raised one hand. “Please, I need space.”

“Sure.” I heard the concern in his tone, felt the pang of it in my gut, but I couldn’t let him touch me. Not right then. Not after what I’d experienced in the shadows. It was still tainted with his incubus energy. But it also had an evil edge. One that had bile rising in the back of my throat. Kane wasn’t evil. I knew that. Knew it deep in my soul. Whatever or whoever had made this happen had used his energy and infected it. But that didn’t stop me from having such a visceral reaction to the awful reality that I now associated Kane’s energy with evil.

I blinked, finally registering our surroundings. We were standing in the driveway of a small yellow carriage house with vibrant hibiscus plants lining the porch. “That’s new,” I said, pointing to the security light that had blinded me.

“I had it put in a month or so ago.” Bea stood in her yard, holding a large watering can as she studied us. “There’s been a lot more nefarious activity in the last year or so.”

The last year was pretty much how long I’d been in town. It wasn’t as if Bea hadn’t seen her fair share of trouble over the years, but evil seemed to follow me around. I’d been told it was because I was a white witch and those who sought power flocked to those who had it. And I had it in abundance.

“I take it the club closing didn’t go well?” Bea said conversationally as if Kane and I popping up out of nowhere was perfectly normal. To her it probably was.

“No. Not well at all.” I moved toward her. “Would it be possible to go inside to discuss this?”

“Of course, dear.” Bea placed her watering can near the outdoor spigot and waved us onto the porch. “You go inside. I’ll be right there.”

Kane followed me into the house, but he kept his distance, and for that I was grateful. I was going to have to tell him what I’d felt in the shadows and how it affected me, but not right this moment. Once inside, I headed straight for the kitchen. If there was ever a time for witch’s brew, it was now. Bea kept the restorative herbs on hand at all times.

I went to work, staying intently focused on my task.

Kane said nothing as he watched me from the kitchen table in the adjoining room. I could almost feel his gaze boring into me, but I didn’t glance up. Not even when I heard the door open and close softly. I knew it had to be Bea, even though I couldn’t feel her emotional energy. She was skilled at keeping her emotions to herself in a way most people weren’t.

I was so busy grinding the herbs, I didn’t notice her take the spot beside me until she placed her hand over mine. I jumped, startled she was so close.

“Have a seat, Jade. You know it’s safe here.”

Of course it was, and that was probably the reason Kane had shadow walked us here. Bea had layers and layers of guards that kept other supernaturals away. Her property was protected from everything one could think of. Even demons. The only time demons had ever been on her property was when they were summoned. There probably wasn’t a safer place in New Orleans than Bea’s small house.

“Sure. Right.” I put the pestle down and sat across the table from Kane. Immediately I regretted my choice when his steady gaze met mine, full of questions.
Jeez, Jade. Snap out of it. This is Kane. It’s not his fault his energy is tainted in the shadows.

“Good call bringing us here,” I said to him.

“I didn’t want anything following us.” His voice was measured, as if he wasn’t sure what to say to me just then.

Damn. That wasn’t what I wanted. I cleared my throat. “What happened? Was something coming? You took us out of there pretty fast.”

He nodded. “Lucien felt a disturbance. He and Rosalee should be here shortly. They’re driving. But since we seemed to be the targets, I thought it was best we take a shorter route.”

“Yeah. I agree.” Though I wondered why I hadn’t felt the disturbance. Was I too drained? My body was still a mess after the magical duel I’d had with the Goddess. I let out a tired sigh and rested my head in my hands.

Kane’s instinct to comfort me caressed my bruised psyche, and I was instantly soothed. That was the energy I was used to. Relief crashed through me. His energy was normal. No taint in sight. I reached a hand across the table, taking his in mine.

His eyes searched mine for just a minute, and whatever he saw there had him relaxing into his chair as he stroked his thumb over the back of my hand.

Bea joined us, placing a fresh cup of witch’s brew in front of each of us. She nodded to my cup. “I spiked it with healing herbs.”

“Thanks.”

“Now then, do you want to start, or wait for Lucien and Rosalee?”

I took a sip of the sweetened tea. The restorative properties hit my system, instantly perking me up. “We can start.” I nodded to Kane to continue, since I’d spent a good deal of time locked in my own personal hell while I’d battled the Goddess.

Kane put his cup down and turned in Bea’s direction. “We hired a new dancer. Or Pyper hired a new dancer and didn’t tell me about it.”

“An illusionist,” I said.

“Right,” Kane agreed. “But she wasn’t one. Turns out she was a lesser Goddess and according to Lucien and Rosalee, she targeted my club because of my incubus energy.” He went on to describe how everyone was enthralled and how I’d battled her until Lucien had used his magic to free me.

“That’s highly unusual,” Bea said when he was done. “Lesser Goddesses don’t make themselves known very often. In fact, I’ve only met a handful of Goddesses in my lifetime and that was when they’d been summoned.”

“This one was definitely full of darkness,” I added. “She tried to burn me alive with some sort of acid energy.”

Bea’s penetrating gaze assessed me. “Are you all right? Any lasting effects?”

“I’m okay. Tired. Could use an energy boost, but other than that, I think I’ll survive. Your herbs will help,” I said.

She focused on Kane. “And you?”

“I’m fine.” Kane let go of my hand and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t fine. Maybe physically he was all right. But mentally? He was struggling with the accusations against him and the fact that he was at the heart of the issues in his club and the shadows.

“We need to figure out what’s happening in the shadows. That’s when all this started, is it not?” Bea asked.

I nodded. “Vaughn’s working on some research on his end, and I have plans to meet up with the Coven Pointe witches tomorrow night to find out what they know. But other than that, we’re not sure where to start.”

“Where is this Goddess?” Bea asked.

I shrugged. “She slipped into another dimension, and then Lucien sealed the opening to break her hold on me.”

“I see.” Bea strummed her fingers on the table. “We could summon her in the circle.”

I nodded. “That seems like the best plan.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hit Lucien’s number.

He answered on the second ring. “Jade. Hey, have you heard from Kat?”

“No. Not since she told us about the TV show thing she’s doing. Why? Can’t find her?”

“She’s not answering her phone. I told her I’d call as soon as I knew everything was all right. It’s not like her to go silent on me when coven stuff is going down. Usually she’s calling me a million times before I can even get a chance to talk with her.”

I stifled a chuckle. Kat really did hate to be left out. “Maybe she’s in the shower. Or taking a nap. I’m sure she’ll call soon. Where was she when you came to the club?”

“She was on her way to work on her lines with another one of the actresses.”

“Depending on where they met up, it might just be too loud to hear her phone,” I guessed.

“Maybe.”

“Hey, where are you two?”

“Pulling into Bea’s driveway.” Just as he said the words, I heard the hum of a car engine.

“Okay. See you in a minute.” I turned to Bea. “They’re here.”

She gave me a patient smile, and I realized she probably already knew that. Her place was loaded with all kinds of wards and triggers. I was certain nothing happened on her grounds that she didn’t know about.

A sharp knock came at the door.

Bea flicked her wrist, and the door swung open.

“Show-off,” I said with a smile.

She winked at me while Lucien and Rosalee filed in. “Welcome,” Bea said warmly. She’d been the coven leader before she’d transferred the power to me, although I was still uncertain why she’d done it. I knew it was because I had power, but I was still such a newbie that I always ended up running to her for help when we were in a crisis. She said she’d wanted to retire, but that hadn’t happened. Not really anyway. She should’ve just kept the title and the power.

“We’re going to summon the Goddess to the coven circle,” Bea said without any preamble. “It’s the only way we’ll find her without using anyone as bait.”

Bait. Guh. I hadn’t even considered that. If the summoning didn’t work, would we resort to offering up a sacrificial lamb? I hated the idea. And if we did, who would we offer? Me? Kane? One of our friends? Pyper? Or Kat? Lucien’s words of wondering where Kat was triggered another worry in my mind. Where had Pyper gone after the attack? And where had Charlie been all night?

I pulled my phone out one more time and hit Pyper’s number. While it rang, I asked Kane, “Where was Charlie tonight?”

He shrugged. “She said she had something important to do. At first I was frustrated, considering how busy we’ve been, but she works so hard and does such a fantastic job I didn’t feel right about saying so. In retrospect, I’m glad she wasn’t there. She didn’t need to get caught up in the good versus evil Goddess B.S.”

“Yeah. That’s true.” The call to Pyper went to voicemail. I frowned. When her message ended and I heard the beep, I said, “Hey, Pyper. Listen, I hate to do this in a phone message, but the club’s been compromised. It’s not safe to be there or the café or your apartment. So far everything’s all right, but to be safe, Kane’s shutting down both buildings. If you need a place to stay, please just come to our house. You have the key.” I hit End and glanced at Kane. “Did you let Charlie know she’s off the hook until further notice?”

“I did.”

“Okay, then.” I gestured to Lucien and Rosalee. “I think the next thing to do is summon us a Goddess. Are you in?”

“Hell yes,” Rosalee said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a good calling.”

I was grateful for her enthusiasm, but also disturbed. We never called on anyone unless it was of major importance. The intrusion was too great. Of course, I couldn’t care less about the Goddess’s private affairs. No one tried to mess with Kane and got away with it. Not on my watch.