Witches of Bourbon Street (34 page)

“It’s the circle. I can pick up on certain things. But with your gift a few minutes ago, all your thoughts are coming through loud and clear.”

Crap.

She clenched her teeth. “Tell me about it.”

“All right. Enough. Get on with it.”

“With pleasure.” She raised her hands high above her head. “Goddess of evil. Hear me, your father’s daughter. This woman before you has become a vessel of Hell. Take her darkness as a gift. We ask nothing of you but for her to return to us unharmed.”

The coven members repeated her statement, but I was too dumbfounded to do anything but stare. She was calling a Goddess of evil. Was she crazy?

Who do you think takes the black magic, Jade?
Lailah’s voice rang clear in my head.

Oh my God, she had full telepathic abilities
.

Repeat
what I said, or it has no meaning.

I gulped and repeated the words. Without prompting, the coven joined in immediately. When our voices trailed off, the wind picked up, but only in the circle.

Lailah shouted over the howling force, “Come for the black magic. Free her soul from the bonds that corrupt.”

To my amazement, black strands of power seeped from Bea’s chest. They were scattered upward by the wind, disappearing almost as soon as they appeared. All of us watched and waited as we continued to chant, “Come for the black magic. Free her soul from the bonds that corrupt.”

Finally, Bea rose from her lying position. She glanced around, her gaze landing on me. Recognition streamed off her and I broke into a huge smile. Without thinking, I took a step forward.

“No, Jade!” Lailah shouted.

But it was too late. I was already in the circle, and so was Meri.

Chapter 26

“Where’s Dan?” I demanded.

Meri’s face clouded with shock, and then she laughed. “That’s who you care about? Not your mentor, lying on the table about to be trapped forever in my most excellent graces?”

My attention shifted to Bea. She’d fallen backwards, her arms bent at odd angles as if she’d passed out. I stepped forward. “You can’t have her.”

“She’s already mine.”

“No!” My spark flared. Hot and cold spikes shot to the surface of my limbs. I vibrated with it.

“That’s it,” she coaxed. “Show us the power you wield. Go on. Do it.”

Her taunting only made me that much more determined. My muscles tensed as I focused in on the demon, ready to end her existence. I could do it. My power brimmed with the promise.

Jade!
Lailah warned in my head.
No!

I shook my head violently, as if that would dislodge her voice. “Someone has to stop her.”

“Yes,” Meri hissed.

“Not like this.” Kane’s strong clear voice came from just behind me. “You promised to not sacrifice your soul. Remember?”

I whipped my head in his direction. His eyes bored into mine. “It’s black magic you hold now. Use it on her, and you’ll lose your soul.”

“How do you know?”

“We’re connected.” He reached out and wrapped his big hand around mine. On my other side, a much smaller, smoother hand slipped into my other one.

“Pyper?”

“We’re in this together. Whatever happens to you happens to us,” she said.

Love, clear and pure, wrapped around me. Warmth spread to my heart, and a tingle of something I’d only glimpsed a few times blossomed inside me. Strong protective magic grew from my core. It pushed out all the hate and anger I’d built up, and I knew my soul was safe.

I clamped my hands tighter around my friends’ and pushed the love-filled magic in Bea’s direction. This time a golden cloud circled her, pressing around her body, until it melded into her.

Meri screamed. “Stop! She’s mine.”

“Not anymore,” I said, and when Bea sat up again, looking bewildered but strong, I took all that love-filled magic and threw it at Meri.

I hadn’t known what it would do, but when it hit her, patches of her skin seemed to burn off as she writhed with agony. Horrified, I stepped back.

Her façade of a young beauty melted away until she was nothing more than the thin-faced hag she’d once been in the papier-mâché portrait. She sank to the ground, her energy draining from her.

I moved forward, bringing Kane and Pyper with me. “One last time, where’s Dan?”

Her empty, lifeless expression turned to one of hate. “He’s a demon slave,” she choked out. A second later, all signs of life vanished. Her form faded into nothing, leaving only the remnants of her charred skin.

What had I done? I stood trembling, wondering if I’d killed the only person who could lead us to Dan.

“Not a person, a demon,” Lailah said coming to a stop beside me. “And I doubt you killed her. Demons are almost impossible to kill. My guess is you stripped her power, though I’ve never heard of a witch being able to do that. Huh. Learn something new every day.”

“You can stop reading my thoughts now,” I said.

“It’ll go away in a few days. And as for Dan, now that Meri’s powerless, there’s still hope. There are other ways into Hell.”

I shivered in the cool breeze. I most definitely did not want to go to Hell.

“Who does?” she asked, once again responding to my thoughts. She cocked her head and looked me over. “You had us worried there, coven leader. Who knew you could switch from the black to the white so easily?”

I gaped. “You mean I ended Meri with white magic?”

“Of course. It’s fueled by love. Didn’t you know that?”

With a sad shake of my head, I said, “No. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

“Finally.” Bea stood a few yards away, holding onto Ian’s arm. “We can start real training.”

“Oh, Bea.” I rushed to her side. “I’m so sorry. I messed up. I didn’t know the spell wasn’t complete and that Meri would show up here.”

“It’s all right, dear. You handled it, though I admit it was a little messy. You’ll learn.”

I nodded, making a promise to myself to do just that. I wouldn’t be caught unprepared again. “Let’s get you inside.” I reached for her other arm, but she swatted me away.

“Ian’s got it from here. Go home. See your mother and your aunt. You call me tomorrow and we’ll make a plan.”

“You know about my mother?”

“Of course. Gwen told me all about it while I was at the hospital.” When she noted the shock on my face, she added, “I was bound, not dead—except for that one unfortunate incident at your apartment.”

God, that must have been awful. To know what was going on and not be able to do anything. I shivered.

She stroked my arm and then waved her hand in a shooing motion.

I took two steps and stopped. “Wait. Now that you’re whole again, can I transfer the coven leadership back to you?”

“Oh, no,” she said. “Why do you think I pressed so hard to get you to train? I needed a replacement if I was going to retire. And who better than a white witch?”

“Retire?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll still be your mentor.” She patted Ian’s arm, and they moved toward the house.

Pyper handed Kane her keys. “Take my car. I’ll catch a ride with Ian later.”

I smiled. “Have fun.”

She grinned. “I’ll try.”

“What was that about?” Kane asked when we got to Pyper’s car.

“What, Bea? She wants me to remain coven leader.”

“I got that part. I meant, what was going on with Pyper?”

I slid into the passenger’s seat and sighed in relief. Kane followed suit and tucked himself into the driver’s side. He turned the ignition over, waiting for my answer.

“They’re dating now.”

“And Kat?”

“She’s a mess, but she’ll get through it. We’ll help her.”

He reached over and smoothed the hair away from my eyes, loyalty and protectiveness radiating from him. “Of course we will.”

The familiar connection we’d always shared was firmly back in place. My heart burst with all the love I’d been bottling up. And that’s when I noticed it. The shimmering golden glow of a person’s aura when one’s in love. Only this time it wasn’t Kane’s. It was mine.

Grinning, I leaned in and kissed him.

When we broke apart, we were both breathless. He reached for me, but I swatted him away, much in the same manner Bea had just done with me. “Home. Food. Sleep first. Then we can…”

“What?” His eyes blazed, matching his desire caressing my skin.

“I’m sure you can figure it out.”

His cocky grin made me laugh, and this time when he reached for me, I met him with fervor.

***

Kane and I found Gwen watching over my sleeping mother.

“She crashed about ten minutes after we got here,” Gwen said.

“Did you get her to eat anything?” I sat next to my aunt and grabbed her hand.

“No. She got down some water and asked to lie down.”

“Okay, I’ll make some soup.” I stood and headed for the door.

“Jade?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t expect too much from her. Twelve years is a long time to be gone.” Gwen’s sadness mingled with my hope, dimming it just enough to cause a pit of unease in my gut.

“You think she’s different?”

“How could she not be?”

I nodded, realizing Gwen was right. But right now, all I cared about was having her back. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

After a half-hour of chopping vegetables for the chicken soup, I almost felt normal again. Kane emerged from his room, freshly showered and dressed in jeans and a navy blue T-shirt. He looked as if nothing had ever happened. He’d been gone for almost forty-eight hours, but to look at him, you’d think he’d been off for a short weekend trip.

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“What?” He snuggled up behind me and kissed my neck.

“Appear so normal after what happened.”

He stepped back. “For me, being wherever I was wasn’t that bad, other than the pain. I mean, nothing happened to us there. I think we were in a holding pattern. So really the only awful thing that happened was I couldn’t help you. That, and worrying about you.”

“So I nearly killed myself freeing you from Club Med underground?”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t call it that. I just meant what you went through was far worse than what I had to deal with.”

“What about your leg? Did the pain go away?” I narrowed in on his stance, noting he kept most of his weight on his left leg.

He shrugged. “It’s phantom pain. I’m sure it’ll fade soon enough.”

“I’ll ask Bea about it.”

“Fine.” He moved in again and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “What about you, love? How are you holding up?”

“Surprisingly, I’m okay. But I do need to go see Kat.” I placed the lid on the soup pot and set the stove to simmer.

“I’ll take you,” Kane murmured into my hair.

I wiggled out of his arms. “She’s only two blocks away. I think I’ll be okay.”

Frustration rippled from him, but he tried to rein it in. “Indulge me. After the last few days we’ve had, I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

When I opened my mouth to protest, he held his hand up.

“I’ll stay out of the way. I’d just feel better keeping an eye on you.”

He had a point. If he was leaving to go see someone right now, I’d be tagging along, too. I reached up and caressed his cheek. “Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to go.”

In Kane’s room, I changed into clean clothes. He’d given me half his dresser weeks ago. Then I stopped by the guest room to let Gwen know where we’d be. “I don’t know when we’ll be back, but there’s soup on the stove. Can you watch it for me?”

“You got it. Give Kat a hug for me.”

“I will.” I bent and hugged Gwen, squeezing hard enough to make her cough. “Sorry.”

She smiled. “Don’t be. I love you, too.”

***

All the lights were out at Kat’s apartment, but when we stepped onto her porch, I knew she was in there. Her worry and sadness reached me through the door. I’d called to tell her the news, but when I’d gotten to Dan, she’d said she already heard, choked back a sob, and told me she’d call me later. I didn’t know who told her. It could have been anyone. But my guess was Lailah. With her being assigned to Dan, it wasn’t unreasonable to think she knew a lot more about our history than I wanted her to.

I hesitated before knocking. What would I say? I’d managed to save everyone except for Dan, the person I’d spent the last two years hating. I owed him my life. And now my mother’s life, too.

Before I could work up the courage to knock, the door opened. Kat stood in the doorway, eyes bloodshot and her face splotchy. “What are you doing out here?”

In answer, I moved forward and wrapped her in my arms. She hugged me back, and with one sniffle, her body started to shake with sobs. Tears spilled down my cheeks and ran unchecked as I cried with her.