Witches of Bourbon Street (19 page)

“And he spent a lot of time with her in the woods, did he?” Pyper quipped.

“Ha!” Gwen laughed. “No, because Hope got so mad, she spent all night envisioning the pair of them with a severe rash. And wouldn’t you know it? The very next day they both ended up with poison oak, even though the camp swore the plant didn’t exist on their grounds. The head witch had spelled the property herself.”

“That’s mean,” I said.

“I think Pixie might have deserved it,” Bea said with a wicked smile. “I remember that girl. She was four kinds of awful.”

Gwen shrugged. “Maybe, but since Hope had worked the spell, she had to reverse it. As soon as she put her mind to it, Thomas’s rash cleared right up. But Pixie’s didn’t. Hope couldn’t get over her grudge long enough to let the spell go, so poor Pixie spent the rest of the summer hiding away in a private cabin covered in calamine lotion.”

“That’s the risk you take when you mess with another witch’s man,” I muttered.

Gwen chuckled. “I don’t think Hope did it on purpose—leaving her that way, I mean. She’d been so stubborn holding on to her anger, she hadn’t been able to reverse the spell.”

“What happened to Pixie?” I asked. Poor thing. Her only crime was liking a boy. I frowned. Liking boys at any age wasn’t worth the B.S.

“She made herself a neutralizing potion. It was actually ground-breaking work and landed her a scholarship at Boston U. Their humanities department is actually a secret witch’s program, specializing in history and spell development. Last I heard, Pixie was working at Witches Against Curses, the institute for spell reversal research. She’s very highly regarded, actually.”

“So Mom kind of did her a favor?”

“That’s one way of looking at it. I bet Pixie would have found a way into BU’s door anyway. She was an academic sort of witch. Unlike you and your mother.”

I sat back and crossed my arms, wondering if that was an insult.

Silence filled the room. Then Bea asked, “Gwen, did you find anything about your sister when you checked out Felicia’s portrait?”

Gwen sighed. “No. Not a damn thing.”

“Nothing?” I asked.

“Not with the portrait.” She softened her voice. “But then, shortly after I tried to tune in, a stone settled on my chest and all I could see was red, followed by a gray haze.”

“I’m sorry.” The stone always represented something painful involving me. Gwen always knew when I was hurt. Emotionally and physically. “Did you have enough time to check before my…situation arose? Or do you think you should try again?”

“Not tonight, sweetie. This old lady needs some rest.” Gwen stood. “Bea, if you don’t mind, I’d like to retire for the evening.”

“Of course.” Bea stood and waited for Gwen by the stairs.

“Come by the café in the morning for breakfast,” I told Gwen. “We’ll talk more then.”

She gave me a hug and disappeared to the second floor.

The minute Bea reappeared, I asked, “What are we going to do about Dan and the trapped souls and spirits?”

She took her time getting situated in her chair then gazed at me with intense eyes. “What do you want to do?”

“Obviously we need to help them.” Hadn’t we already decided that?

“Even Dan?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

“Really? Even if he bound himself willingly to his master?” She picked through her knitting basket and pulled out a skein of lavender yarn.

“He didn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know, okay? Dan hates everything to do with the unexplained. I don’t know how he got mixed up in this, but I know he didn’t go willingly.”

“And you’re sure about that?” She didn’t even look up as she questioned me.

“Bea?”

When I didn’t elaborate, she finally looked up, her knitting needles clicking in a smooth rhythm. “Yes, dear?”

“Do you know something you’re not telling me?”

“Well, technically I know a lot of information that you have yet to learn. But nothing pertaining to our current conversation.”

“Oh, good Lord!” Pyper jumped up. “You two are more dizzying than a tilt-a-whirl. Bea, Jade wants help with the trapped souls and Dan. Jade, I’m pretty damn sure Bea is going to require you to do the heavy lifting.” She turned to Bea. “Am I right?”

Bea laughed. “I like you.”

Pyper tilted her head and raised her eyebrows in question.

I chewed on the side of my cheek. I would do what was needed to help, but if I had to do all the work, they were doomed.

“Yes,” Bea said. “And not just because she needs to learn so she can protect herself and the ones she loves, but because she has a strong connection to Felicia and Dan.”

“I don’t—”

Bea silenced me with a pointed stare. “You do. Look at how adamant you are about helping them. You share a connection with Dan, and now through your mother, you have one with Felicia as well. Even if she’s lying, the link has been made. I’ll help you, but you need to perform the rituals.”

I stood. “Fine. When can we start?”

“Tonight, as soon as Lailah arrives. We’ll walk you through what you need to know for tomorrow night.”

“Lailah?” My voice came out high-pitched and strangled. There was no way I could stomach being around the boyfriend-stealing backstabber. “Why her? She isn’t even a witch.”

Bea went back to knitting. “She’s good with rituals.”

Pyper snorted. “Yeah. Look at how good the last one turned out.”

Three months ago, Lailah had worked a spell intending to rid Pyper of a black shadow. The result ended with Pyper in a coma and her soul trapped in another dimension.

“The ritual worked perfectly,” Bea said, not even missing a beat. “She asked Jade to focus on the spirit haunting her, and when Jade focused on Bobby, he became trapped in the circle. It’s a shame no one realized there were two spirits.”

I hated to admit it, but the ritual spell Lailah used had been impressive. “True enough,” I said. “But I’m not willing to work with her. There must be someone else, or I’ll learn it on my own.”

A squeak from the front door grabbed my attention. Kat’s red curls obscured half of her face as she poked her head in. “Jade? Can you come here for a moment?”

Her trepid tone and energy baffled me. Kat was many things, but meek wasn’t one of them. I met her at the door and asked cautiously, “What’s going on?”

“I think you need to hear something.”

I raised my eyebrows and waited.

“But you need to hear it from Kane.”

“No. I have more important things to deal with right now. Send him home. Or call him a cab if he needs one.” I gently nudged the door, but she braced it open with one hand.

Her energy changed to one of pure insistence. “Jade, please. He isn’t going to leave until he gets to speak to you, and I really think you need to hear what he has to say.”

I stared hard at her and delved deeper into her energy. Confusion, determination, and frustration all mixed together and showed in the tension on her face. “Fine. It’s a good thing you’re the one asking.”

“That’s what I told him.” She pushed the door open and stepped aside.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Bea and Pyper.

“Take your time,” Bea said, reaching to dig into her knitting basket.

Bea’s blasé attitude was really starting to irritate me. Lives were hanging in the balance and she was acting like it was just another night. It took all my willpower to keep from scowling.

“I’ll be in here if you need me.” Kat stepped into the house.

“I’d prefer if you stayed as moderator.” With Kat around, I’d be less likely to start crying or, worse, begging for answers. Her presence always made my emotional energy stronger. One of the perks of having a best friend.

“You’re not going to need me this time.” She closed the door with a soft click.

I stood there facing the door, trying to find the will to turn around. Knowing Kane was nearby, but not being able to sense him, made me shiver in the warm breeze. For three months I’d been connected to him in a way I’d never been with anyone. The loss brought a deep sadness to my soul.

My body twitched, itching to go back inside. How could he have been seeing Lailah, and I’d never sensed it? Not even once. Had I ever even known him at all? The love I’d been so certain of had soured in that awful moment back at the club. There wasn’t anything he could say to undo it now.

Finally, wondering if he was still there, I turned. The moonlight highlighting his chiseled features would have made my insides gooey if the vision of him and Lailah hadn’t been imprinted on my brain. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared.

“Are you all right?” He took a step forward.

I glanced down the length of my body then back at him. “It would appear so.”

He stepped back and leaned against the rail.

“Kat says you have something to say. So say it. I’ve got more important things to deal with.”

“More important than us?” he asked in a hurt tone.

“Us? There’s an us? It sure as hell didn’t look like that when you were horizontal on the desk with the
angel
.” My anger took over and I strode to him. “When did it start? The first night she showed up in your dream, or earlier? Have you been seeing her this whole time? God! I should have known three months ago when I first saw you two together. I thought it was weird you could turn your emotions on and off. You’re getting really good at it.”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Damn it, Jade. I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Whatever. Play innocent if you want to.” I turned to go back in, but he caught my arm.

“Wait!”

I stopped and stared at his hand on my arm. “Let go.”

“Not until you hear what I have to say.”

This man, the one I’d been so head over heels in love with for the last three months, was now actually making me sick. Though for once, it wasn’t an empath side effect. It was all my own conflicting emotions making me nauseated. All I wanted to do was run away, but some morbid curiosity took over. What kind of pathetic excuse had he dreamed up? “Fine. You have five minutes. Then I’m going in.”

“Okay, good enough.” He let go and stepped back. “Can you tell me what you saw when you walked in my office this afternoon?”

I gaped. “You want me to describe the scene. In detail?” What was wrong with him?

“No, but a brief overview would be helpful.”

“So you can work on your cover story? Sorry, Kane, but seeing you lying on your back with Lailah straddling you and savaging your body with her mouth pretty much means you’re screwed in the excuses department. Nothing you can say is going to make this go away.”

He grabbed the railing behind him, tightening his grip until his knuckles turned white. “What if I told you I don’t remember any of that? What if I said I have no knowledge of even seeing her today? What if I told you I lost a whole two hours of my day, and I have no recollection of what happened at all?” The tone of his voice softened, and his deep chocolate brown eyes searched mine. “Would that make a difference?”

“Denial? That’s your strategy?”

“No. I don’t have a strategy. Do an energy probe if you have to. I’m not trying to weasel my way out of anything. If you say it happened, I believe you. But I don’t remember it. And I sure as hell don’t have any interest in Lailah,” he said angrily. Or was it frustration? I couldn’t tell.

“I would,” I spat, “but you’ve been concealing your emotions from me, so I can’t.”

“I am?” His eyebrows pinched in confusion as he paced the length of the porch. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I shrugged. “You’re entitled to privacy if you need it. What would I say anyway? How come you aren’t sharing every little feeling with me? I guess I have my answer.”

This time when he spoke, there was no denying the anger. “What answer? I haven’t been hiding anything from you. I thought our relationship was built on trust.” His voice softened and his eyes pleaded with me for understanding. “Here I am, telling you I don’t know what happened today. I sure as hell wish I did. Then maybe I could make sense of everything.”

The built-up hurt that had been clenching my heart lessened. Unless he’d been taking acting lessons, he wasn’t lying. Vulnerability wasn’t something he showed often, and at that moment, I no longer believed he would intentionally hurt me in such a way.

I moved forward, intending to lean against the rail beside him, but the sound of a car stopped me. “Who’s that?”

A white Ford Mustang came to a stop behind Pyper’s Bug. A moment later, Lailah unfolded herself from the driver’s side. Kane’s eyes narrowed and he took a step in her direction.

That’s when I flew past him, down the stairs, and ran full force toward the angel.

Chapter 15

Before I even realized what I was doing, my hands wrapped around Lailah’s slender neck and squeezed. Not enough to totally cut off her airway, though I wanted nothing more than to do just that. Instead, I shook her a few times and backed her up until I had her pinned against her car.