Demons of Bourbon Street (16 page)

“
Go.” Kat gave me a gentle nudge. “There isn’t much time. We’ll do a search for any rubberneckers.”

“
Bea’s ready for you.” Ian patted my arm awkwardly and flashed me a tight smile, sympathy shining from his light blue eyes. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Who could argue after that enthusiastic endorsement? I gave him a flat smile of my own and turned, finding Kane waiting for me at the edge of the tree line. His serious eyes and crinkled brow told me he’d been watching me.

“
Ready?” he asked, snaking an arm around my waist.

“
I think so.” His solid form steadied me. “I noticed your limp. Leg still aching?”

“
Yeah, I’ll get a healing pill from Bea later before she slips one in my drink.”

I laughed. Bea had been known to spell my tea every now and then when she thought I needed a boost. Since I usually stubbornly refused to take her pills, she improvised. What could I say? I didn’t trust magic. Too often things went wrong. I was happy to wait out my particular ailments.

Kane didn’t have my hang-ups. He’d willingly take whatever she gave him.

“
In fact, if I keep hanging out with you, I’m probably going to need to stock up,” he teased.

I mock-punched him in the arm. Still, I didn’t argue. As Kat has been known to say, weird shit happened around me and healing herbs were just about as tame as one could get.

The wind shifted, bringing with it the stench of decaying river rot. The awful smell always reminded me of death. Of road kill left on the side of the road, baking in the sun after a thunderous rainstorm. I took shallow breaths, trying not to gag. Even Hell had to smell better than that.

“
There you are,” Bea called from the northern most position of the circle. “I need you to stand in the middle of the pentagram. And Kane, stand directly across from me in the southern position.”

“
Why?” I gripped Kane’s arm and pressed close, as if to shield him from the answer.

“
We can’t use members of the coven because of what happened last time. They’re too sensitive to magic. Kane, Pyper, and Kat are the best choices to complete the circle since they’re who you’re closest to.”

“
What about Philip?” I glanced around for my so-called guardian. “And Lailah? They didn’t come?”

Bea shook her head. “They had council business. Besides, we don’t need them for this. I’ve got it covered.”

“
It’s fine.” Kane gently pulled his arm from my death grip and took his place on the circle.

“
Good. Pyper, you take the eastern point,” Bea ordered as she picked up a black pillar candle.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to grab them both and tuck them away in Kane’s house until this was over. Not that I didn’t think they could take care of themselves. They’d both been victims of paranormal craziness in the not-so-distant past. If anything happened to either one of them, I wouldn’t be able to function. Enough was enough.

But Kat and Ian reappeared before I managed to formulate a response. Kat shook her head, indicating they hadn’t found anyone, then took the western position without being asked. Clearly they’d discussed the procedure while I’d been in the trees. She sent me a determined look, obviously bracing for the coming argument. I let out a long breath, knowing I’d lose this round.

Please, Goddess. Keep them safe. Do what you will with me, but protect them from the darkness.

“
What’s Ian doing?
”
I asked as I slowly dragged my feet to the center of the pentagram.

“
I’m keeping watch in case anything goes awry.” He held a small electronic device that looked suspiciously like one of his ghost-hunting EMF readers. A green light came on after he flicked a switch. He nodded and moved to stand next to Kane. “I’m ready.”

I placed my hands on my hips and stared him down. “What are you doing?”

Ian fiddled with a knob on the black piece of equipment, and when no one answered me, he finally made eye contact. “Oh, you mean me. I told you, I’m keeping watch.”

“
No, Ian.” I didn’t bother to temper the impatience in my voice. He had a bad habit of studying every last odd occurrence that went down in my life. Even though his readings were sometimes useful, it didn’t stop me from feeling like a lab rat. “What are you doing with that thing?”

A blush crept over his cheeks. “You never know when some readings might come in handy. Do you mind?”

The contrition in his voice, combined with the cloud of anxiousness clinging to him, pushed my irritation aside. Why was I so moody? This was what Ian did. I should expect it by now. Heck, I’d even asked him for help on more than one occasion. I waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. I guess you just caught me off guard. Don’t worry about it.”

The slight tension in his shoulders eased. He nodded at Bea. “Better get started. The production crew can only cover us for twenty more minutes.”

“
No movie?” I asked.

Ian shook his head. “Not here. They’re filming something uptown at the college. I called in a favor.”

Shame washed over me for being irritated at him. My reaction to his reading was due more to my own issues with the paranormal. Ian was one of the good guys. I caught Pyper staring at me, her eyes narrowed accusingly. I sent her an apologetic smile and focused on Bea. “Let’s get this over with.”

“
Face me,” Bea said and held up her candle. “After I say the incantation, light this with your mind.”

I nodded. “What is the goal of the spell? How can we tell if I’m tainted?”

“
Don’t worry. You’ll know when you see it.”

Standing in the middle of the pentagram, surrounded by my loved ones, I should’ve been nervous. This was the moment I’d find out if my soul was in danger.

Instead, I concentrated on the love filling my heart. These people were my family. Emotion welled in my chest. After years of trusting no one but Kat and Aunt Gwen, I never thought I’d be part of such a group. They’d be by my side no matter what.

Bea closed her eyes and held the candle straight out toward me. “From the points of north to south to east to west, let the glow of the candle represent the inner light. With the spark of flame, search for the hidden darkness.”

Her eyes flew open, dark brown pools of intensity. Magic pulsed from her in tight, controlled waves. She held her power back, waiting for me. My spark rose from my chest and rushed through my limbs, pulsating at my fingertips.

I raised one hand and aimed for the black pillar. “Ignite.”

The candle sprang to life, a perfect tapered flame glowing bright in the afternoon sun.

Small threads of apprehension bubbled from my friends surrounding me, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the flame, now growing larger with each caress of the gentle breeze.

“
Search now,” Bea rasped, her voice husky and strong.

Tendrils of gray smoke rose from the mini-inferno and snaked its way around the circle. Kat shuddered as it passed through her. Pyper stood rooted to her spot, as if to ignore the intrusion. Kane’s body trembled as it invaded him. And then the smoke shot straight at me.

Icy probing fingers pressed into my skin, reaching deep into my body. I writhed, blinded by the smoke, clutching my chest as something resembling an ice pick stabbed my heart. I cried out in terror, debilitating fire burning through my veins.

But no one heard me over the gut-wrenching scream coming from the east.

“
Pyper,” I called, stumbling in her direction. My skin warmed, erasing the icy pain, and the smoke vanished, giving me a clear view of Pyper’s empty spot on the circle.

I spun, catching a glimpse of her hot-pink-streaked hair. She was on the ground, arms around Kane’s shoulders. Black, translucent ropes had wrapped around his limbs, binding him to the earth.

“
Kane?” My voice came out weak, useless.

“
Jade.” His eyes met mine just before he slumped backwards in Pyper’s arms.

Chapter 11

Numb with horror, I stared at Kane and Pyper. I could tell by the exaggerated movement of her lips that she was yelling at me, but I was trapped in a cone of silence. The world stopped momentarily until Bea’s words flashed in my mind.
You’ll know when you see it
.

Somehow my feet managed to move. One step. Two. Then three. Pyper’s terror broke through my protective walls. Noise rushed into my brain. I couldn’t decipher any of it.

Kane’s soul was in danger.

I fell to my knees beside him, hands stretched out. Darkness had threatened to take Kat once. I’d redirected the corrupted magic to myself then; I could do the same now. My power erupted from my fingertips, causing thin black threads to peel off the ropes binding Kane. They clung to my hands and crawled up my arms in an intricate net, weaving a tight pattern around my skin.

Invisible knives stabbed deep into my muscles. I focused my magical spark, welcoming the intrusion. I’d fight it one way or another.

Desperate to free Kane, I grabbed the ropes binding his wrists. A fiery ball of energy hit me in my chest the moment I touched them, knocking me back and breaking my hold on the tainted magic. No!

Frustration consumed me as my breath came in shallow gulps. I grasped clumps of rough grass, my hands twitching with the effort. “Kane?”

“
He’s fine,” Bea said from somewhere nearby. Her face came into view and her auburn hair fell forward. “Sorry to hit you so hard with that spell, but anything less and I wouldn’t have been able to free you both.”

My vision swam. I blinked. Her calm words didn’t hide the concern strumming through her. I propped myself up on my elbows and glanced over at Kane. He was sitting up, clutching his wounded leg, face white. I crawled to his side. “What happened?”

His dark, serious eyes met mine. He looked down and removed his hands from his leg. A blackened, singed hole in his jeans revealed a puncture in exactly the same spot Meri had stabbed him with a wooden stake when she’d taken him to Purgatory.

My mouth went dry. I tried to swallow and forced out, “I thought the wound had healed.”

“
It had.”

Pyper whipped off her cotton blouse, leaving her in a skimpy camisole, and started tearing the hot pink shirt into strips. With deft hands, she quickly bandaged Kane’s oozing wound and tied the ends into a neat bow.

“
Nicely done, Pyper.” Bea inspected her handiwork.

“
What happened?” I asked again, this time getting to my feet.

“
Not here.” Ian scanned the clearing. “We’ve run out of time. The production company has to leave, and if Goodwin finds us here, we’re going to end up in the middle of a media circus.” He extended his hand to Kane.