Shadows of Bourbon Street (23 page)

“That’s it,” Mitch coaxed. “Take it all in. Show me what you’ve got.”

In my horror, I hadn’t noticed Mitch building his own magic. It was subtle, and if I hadn’t caught the faint glow around his fingertips, I’d have never known. I didn’t know what spell he was building, but he was clearly waiting for Lucien to cast his first. A deflection spell maybe? Whatever it was, it was sure to be too horrible for words. The glee dancing in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

I took two painful steps and shifted so I was between Lucien and Mitch. “Lucien,” I said in my calmest voice possible. “You don’t want to do this. Trust me. This is exactly what he wants.”

Lucien scowled and glanced away from me, his magic still building.

“Think of all the love you have for Kat,” I continued, panting from trying to stay upright.

“Yeah,” Mitch added with a sneer. “Think of how much you’ll hate me when she’s dead. Think of Rissa and how young she was when she died. All because you loved her.”

I couldn’t stop my own magic from rushing to the surface. And Goddess above, I wanted to unleash it on that asshole. Wanted to call on a portal and send his ass to Hell. Only the veil was closed and my body was too crippled by whatever spell he’d hit me with to do anything.

Was there
any
way to use my magic to counteract it? I was willing to try no matter how excruciating it was, but I had to make sure Lucien didn’t turn Vader on me. “Lucien,” I said carefully. “He won’t get away with this. Do not listen to his bullshit. Listen to me. Your coven leader.”

The black magic stopped growing around him. It didn’t dissipate, but the cloud turned stagnant. He let out a long, frustrated breath and the magic fled.

I stepped forward and held my hands out to him. He was reaching for me when the house started to rattle around us. I shuffled forward, grasping onto Lucien, and huddled against him. The floors rolled and the lights flickered on, then off, and settled on a dim glow.

“What the hell was that?” I asked no one in particular.

Out of nowhere a loud boom crackled through the house. Lucien and I both ducked and crouched near the floor. When I looked up, three hooded figures hovered over us.

They looked exactly like the one we’d encountered at the amusement park.

Demons!
Terror rolled through me. We’d never survive this.

Chapter 21

“You’re late.” Mitch scowled at the demons.

One of them turned to Mitch, his red eyes glowing. “We don’t work for you, witch. We’re here for him.” The demon pointed at Lucien.

I instinctively shifted so I was blocking Lucien. “You’re not taking him.”

“Step aside, white witch.” The other two demons lowered their hoods. They all had the bright, fiery eyes of a demon, and I was struck by the fact that Chessandra’s eyes had looked exactly the same when she’d been talking about Matisse. The difference between angel and demon was very small.

One of them jerked his head toward the back of the house. He took a long sniff and his eyes turned black for a moment. “Angel.”

Oh, son of a bitch. He knew Lailah was there. Fear for her exploded through me. If she was captured by the demons, it was only a matter of time before she fell. We were all incapacitated and surrounded by a black magic user and three demons. Plus I still had no idea what had happened to Bea. Life had never looked so grim. My resolve started to fade, and acceptance that I might not be able to pull us out of this set in. I had to try, though. I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“Go,” Mitch told the demons. “She is an offering for your assistance in this matter.”

A look of deep satisfaction spread over the demon’s face, and without a word, he took off in search of the angel.

“No, dammit! What did Lailah ever do to you?” I raged at Mitch.

He shrugged. “Nothing.” He moved into the room toward Kat.

Lucien shuffled backward and stood over her protectively. “Stay away from her.”

Mitch shook his head the way one would at a petulant child. “I don’t want your bitch. I just want you to lay a simple spell on her.”

Kat pushed up on her knees and touched Lucien’s thigh. “Do what you have to,” she said with conviction in her voice. “Even if it means hurting me.”

I hurried to her side as fast as I could. Grasping her arm with both of my hands, I said, “No, Kat! We can fight this.”

“How?” she demanded. “Neither of you can fight him without dire consequences. He’ll use both of you to get what he wants. And in the end you’re going to hate yourselves for what you do to me. So don’t do anything. Let him hurt me. I’d rather that than let him use you against me.” Tears streamed down her face.

Lucien let out an audible groan and fell to his knees. He pulled her to his chest protectively. “Jade, we have to do something.”

The pain running between the two of them, combined with the unconditional love, made something inside me snap. I didn’t know what it was or where it came from, but my magic shot from the depths of my being like a meteor. Unbearable pain seized my entire body, but instead of collapsing, I rose a foot off the ground, my muscles taut and unyielding. It was as if my magic was keeping me glued together when Mitch’s spell was trying to tear me apart.

Power burst within me, traveling the familiar path to my fingertips. The two remaining demons gathered around me, their arms spread wide. Pain pulsed deep in my bones as the magic pressed and pulled at the same time, leaving me tied in knots. The pressure built, and I was certain I was going to snap in two. This was it. I was going to be taken down by a jealous asshole. Not even a demon. No, Mitch’s curse was doing this to me and while the war raged, I couldn’t even control my magic. It had a will of its own.

“Contain her,” Mitch demanded.

But the two demons didn’t do anything of the sort. They inched closer, held their hands out, and touched the magic wafting off me. Their faces lit up in sheer ecstasy. And then my body spasmed once more, but not in pain. The spell broke, and all the magic I’d built rushed from me straight into the demons.

They writhed with it, soaked it up, and latched their grubby demon hands on me, determined to steal every last precious drop.

Panic. Sheer terror. Remorse. It all soared through me, overwhelming me, crushing my spirit. But then Kane’s image filled my mind. His dark, expressive eyes gazed at me as they had yesterday when we’d lain in bed together, completely full of love. I felt the way his hand pressed to my lower back when we walked together. His soft, demanding lips on mine. I heard his voice whispering our plans for the future, and I saw his profile as I watched him when he wasn’t looking.

All that love filled my heart and put me at peace.
No regrets,
I told myself.

“Stop!” Kat yelled, and I watched, completely helpless, as she tried to stagger to her feet.

“Kat, no!” I tried to scream over the roar in my ears. But the house was rumbling again, the walls shaking and the floor rolling. Someone or something was coming.

Lucien,
I cried in my head, praying he would hear me.
Use your magic. Do what you have to. Blast a hole in the wall of the house. Just get out. Both of you.

He turned his head and studied me.

Do
it! Save yourselves. More demons are coming
.

I swear I saw him give me a tiny nod, and magic built up around us. Black and white, it all mixed together, tainted and ugly. There was nothing pure or good about any of it. All I wanted was for Kat and Lucien to get out. I had no idea where Bea or Lailah were. But I knew the demons were taking everything I had and the three of us didn’t have a way to fight them.

The rumble intensified and all of a sudden the door burst open once more, but it wasn’t Vaughn. Four men barged in, daggers raised. Light shone from the familiar scrollwork on the handles. Shock and relief flooded me, even as I felt the last of my magic slip away from my control.

Kane.
He was here with three other demon hunters.

The hold on me vanished. My body crumpled to the floor. The two demons hissed, and balls of black magic flew at the hunters. One flew straight at Kane. He lifted his dagger, and the magic flowed straight into the scroll symbols on the handle. Another of the hunters aimed his dagger at the demon, and a beam of light seared him in the abdomen. The demon doubled over and then dove to the side and rolled to his feet, coming up fighting.

“Jade?” Kat said, crawling toward me.

I focused on her, too weak to answer. My elation at seeing Kane had fled, and now I was just an empty shell of nothing. No magic. No energy. No strength.

Kat’s bound hands landed on my arm. “Take it.”

I shifted my gaze from the fantastic magical battle raging around us to meet her eyes.

“Take my energy. You need it,” she said.

A lump clogged my throat and tears burned my eyes. I was empty. Had nothing left to give those around me.

“Jade.” Kat shook me, panic consuming her. “Do it. Now. Take my energy. We need you.”

I shook my head. They didn’t need me. I’d failed.

“Look!” She pointed to where Kane and another of the demon hunters were battling one of the demons. The demon was throwing magic, my magic, all over the room. Plaster and brick splintered and cracked. The house was coming down around us and the demons were winning.

Lucien was standing behind us, all that black magic still clinging to him. He was frozen, unable to unleash his only weapon.

“Do it, Jade,” Lucien said, his deep green eyes so dark they were almost black. “Take the only gift she has to give.”

The love pouring off him, despite the fact that he was so utterly consumed with darkness, touched me deep in my soul. I shifted my gaze to Kat. She tightened her hold on my arm and nodded.

With tears still streaming down my face, I reached for her cooling energy. My own energy was so spent that nothing happened at first. But just as I was about to give up, a trickle of relief flowed into my veins.

“More,” Kat said in a tired voice.

Reluctantly, I latched on to the gift she offered and let her energy bring me back from the edge. She clung to my arm, almost willing her strength into me.

“Enough,” I forced out and tried unsuccessfully to pulled my arm out of her death grip. I was going to drain her.

She shook her head. “Take it.”

“Kat, stop!” I cried, frantic now. She gripped tighter, and her energy flowed freely now. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

She shook her head harder and now tears were streaming down her face.

I snapped my gaze to Lucien. “Get her off me.”

“I can’t,” he said through clenched teeth. “If I touch her, you’ll be tainted.”

Shit! I jerked, trying to dislodge her grip, and rolled. Her nails dug in, but I brought my knee up and caught her in the hip. She grunted and rolled away. I scrambled to my feet and turned toward Kane.

He was blocking blow after blow from the demon. My magic welled into a pool in my gut. The back spasm was gone, and I was once again myself. The first thing I did was blast away my restraints, then Kat’s and Lucien’s. Raising my arms over my head, I tapped into the power pulsing in my chest. It was weaker than it had been, but it was enough.

I focused on the light streaming from the demon, felt it calling to me, and yelled, “Return to me.”

The demon froze and then turned in my direction, his body vibrating.

“Return to me!” I yelled again with conviction.

The demon’s mouth opened and light shot from him, streaming straight to my fingertips. My familiar magic pooled there. Time seemed to stop as we remained suspended in the moment. My fingers started to burn and the magic burst through, rushing into me, until I thought I would explode with the heady power.

The magic stream suddenly broke and the demon stumbled backward. Kane and one of the hunters charged forward. Two daggers flew, each landing with perfect precision right in the demon’s heart. Light swirled around them and fire erupted, instantly incinerating the demon. All that was left was ash.

I spun, frantically searching for the other two demons. “Where are they?”

A loud bang, followed by the sound of flesh pounding on flesh, came from the back of the house.

Kane and the other demon hunter tore down the hall.

I spun back around to Lucien and Kat. She was propped up against the wall, and he was sitting cross-legged in front of her. They were gazing intently at each other but not touching. It damn near broke my heart.

Bea had to restore his magic. How else was he going to combat the blackness eating him from the inside out?

“Are you okay?” I asked Kat.

She gave me a weak nod. “Go, do what you have to.”

I sent Lucien a questioning glance. “How about you?”

“I’ll live.” He closed his eyes, clearly trying to gain control of his emotions. “For now, anyway.”

I had to do something. I knew I should wait for Bea, but I couldn’t leave him in that state. I gently brushed my fingertips over his shoulder and unleashed a tiny bit of my magic.