Demons of Bourbon Street (41 page)

White spots filled my vision and my head swam. “You’re here too?”

“
Obviously.” She held her forehead with one hand and scowled at me. “Better to be here than our guest quarters.”

“
Because being a lab rat is much more preferable to the soft beds and mountains of food we had available,” I scoffed.

Another red and gold-robed angel materialized and guided Meri to one of the chairs.

“
What are you doing?” I whispered urgently when she didn’t even protest.

She sent me an impatient look. “Getting this over with. They’ll get what they want one way or another. The longer you fight them, the longer we’ll end up locked in the time warp chamber.”

“
So? We have to try.” I grabbed for the restraint the angel was trying to clasp around her wrist.

He lifted his head, a stern scowl on his face.

Meri slapped my hand away with her free one. “For God’s sake, Jade. Don’t you understand? The time warp room is called that for a reason. To us it may seem like five minutes, but it could be five years. Years—not months, not weeks, not days. Years.”

I froze, the reality of what she said finally sinking in. “But why?”

“
Angels don’t
want
to hurt humans or cause pain. Their main concern is souls. You know that. The room is to make you as comfortable as possible. But they will leave you there until they make a decision, and that could be instantaneous or it could be indefinitely. It all depends on how the council votes. We have no way of knowing how much time has passed.”

Panic took over and I started to tremble. “You mean, years could have passed already?”

She met my terrified gaze and nodded. “Yes. That’s why as much as I don’t want to be prodded, I’m willing to endure this to get on with whatever life I may or may not have. I advise you do the same. The longer you fight it, the longer they’ll keep you here.”

Kane’s image flashed in my mind. I stared at the emerald secured to my finger and my stomach ached with a sick emptiness.

Meri lay back in her chair and closed her eyes.

I barely noticed as Devon guided me to the one next to her. They were angels. They might take my soul, but they wouldn’t torture me. Right?

I had to get home. To Kane and my family. Gwen would be heartsick. A pinprick in my arm brought me back to reality and I flinched, but the restraints kept me in place. Magic flared in my chest as the urge to escape seized me. The machine to the right started flashing and a high-pitched alarm filled the room.

“
Good. It’s working.” Devon adjusted the volume to something slightly lower than deafening levels.

I glared at him, holding on to the magic, not afraid to use it if I had to.

He winked and pressed a button.

Hot fire burned through my veins. “Argh!”

Beside me, Meri grunted. I tried to turn and look at her, but my vision blurred and my whole body felt heavy. One last thought flashed in my mind: I’d been drugged.

I came to in a cozy farmhouse. A sense of familiarity put me at ease, except I didn’t recognize the furnishings, and I was certain I’d never set foot in the place. I found myself at the old white porcelain sink, hand-washing a stock pot. Clean dishes were lined up on a rack beside me, drying in the warm summer air.

The back door banged open, and Philip strode in, his face breaking into a wide grin. “There you are. Get back out here. Everyone’s waiting.”

“
Just a sec, I’m almost done.”

“
The dishes can wait.” He grabbed my hand and tugged.

The pot slipped from my hands, clanging loudly in the sink. I laughed and tucked a dark strand of hair out of my eyes. “All right, but if I forget, you’re in charge of cleaning the dried-on food in the morning.”

“
Meri, hurry up!” a female voice called. “It’s time for cake.”

Somewhere in the depths of my consciousness, I realized this was Meri’s memory, not mine, but there was nothing I could do to block it.

Philip laughed and kissed Meri on the temple. “Come on, birthday girl. Someone else can worry about the dishes.”

She smiled and let him lead her to the backyard, where her friends and family were gathered.

A few minutes later, Meri had a piece of cake in her hand as she sat by a pool, taking a moment to observe Philip from afar. He was interacting with her sisters, Felicia and Priscilla, laughing and describing a spell Meri had botched a few days before. She smiled, warmth and love filling her heart.

A fierce protectiveness settled over her and she knew she’d do anything for her family. Anything at all.

The scene shifted, and panic flooded Meri’s chest as she ran down a darkened street, desperate to catch up with Philip. He was in danger. Life-threatening, game-changing danger.

Her lungs screamed in protest as she pushed herself harder, ignoring the cramp in her side. A demon was loose in the city. And Philip had been sent to meet with him, but he wasn’t prepared. He thought he was meeting a witch. His directive had been mistaken.

She rounded the corner and came to a dead stop at the mouth of an alley. In front of her, Philip kneeled, using every last bit of his magic to fend off not one, but two demons. They had him trapped between them, each throwing ropes of invasive black magic.

Time had run out. The demons had succeeded in binding him. His strength would be depleted in mere seconds.

“
No!” she cried and leaped forward, unleashing all the power and love she harbored. White met black in an impressive monochromatic starburst.

Philip collapsed at her feet. Anger and fear bubbled up, mixing with her powerful love. A cloud of black fog circled her and when it cleared, Meri’s magic had turned black.

The knowledge came to her immediately and despite Philip’s moan, she lowered her arms and stepped back. Even through her rage, she knew Philip would never want her to turn to black magic. She’d sooner die first.

“
Meri.” Philip opened his eyes and stared at her.

“
I’m here,” she got out before the demons advanced on her.

“
Run!” Philip rolled over and a lightning bolt of power shot from his fingers, straight into the closest demon.

The agent of Hell staggered and then froze right before he toppled over.

“
And miss the excitement?” Meri laughed as her magic turned white again. She hurled a ball of power toward the remaining demon.

But he was ready for her and somehow sucked it in, using it as an energy source. “You’re mine now, angel. Here I thought today wasn’t going to be any fun. Looks like it’s two for the price of one.”

The demon redirected Meri’s magic and attacked Philip, but she jumped in the way just before it hit him. Her body convulsed. She fell, her limbs paralyzed. Fully conscious, she couldn’t do anything but pray Philip got them out of this mess.

Philip let out a roar, his magic crackling, and lunged at the demon.

The demon’s eyes went wide and then he vanished, barely avoiding the attack. He reappeared inches from Meri.

She stared up at him, fear churning through her veins.

In one motion, the demon scooped Meri up and vanished into the earth.

Into Hell, where Meri waited for Philip to come rescue her.

For months.

Only he never did, and Hell claimed her soul.

The scene faded. Familiar energy reached me before my vision cleared. Stale lust and desperate excitement. There was only one place I connected with those particular feelings.

Kane’s club.

It was just like any other night—dancers working the pole as men threw dollar bills at them, Charlie mixing drinks with one hand and popping bottle caps with the other, and music reverberating through the entire place.

Except I floated in the air over a glass box, and Kane was across the room trying to beat up a ghost. We were floating because Kane had dreamwalked us there. Below me, Pyper was trapped in the glass case, her hands and feet nailed to the bottom.

My heart thundered as I relived the terrible night I’d switched places with Pyper and become a prisoner of the resident ghost. The vivid memory of being held captive and mentally battling with Roy to keep him from torturing me seared my insides and made me tremble. By the time the scene faded away, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.

Only I couldn’t because I was once again forced into another of Meri’s memories.

Chapter 28

I pried my heavy tongue off the roof of my mouth and tried to swallow. “Water?” I croaked.

One of the lab techs brought a cup with a straw up to my lips. Not caring if the liquid was tainted with some other sort of drug, I sucked it down until the straw gurgled with air.

“
Better?” Meri asked.

She was already sitting up, her restraints shed. Someone had given her fresh clothes, a white cotton shirt and white linen pants. I glanced down at myself and scowled. Mud caked my sneakers and dirt stained my jeans. Not to mention I was still a prisoner in the lab chair.

“
How’d you end up with the spa treatment?” I asked.

She smiled. “The dream-inducing drug wears off faster for angels…or former angels. I’m sure they’ll let you shower before the hearing.”

I tried to sit up and groaned in defeat. “The what?”

“
They’re going to make a decision today.” The smile vanished from her face and her voice became barely a whisper. “We’ll find out which one of us gets to keep your soul.”

Instead of panicking, my whole body went numb. The drugs had taken us through another round of Meri’s memories and one of my own. Both focused on the same theme: Each of us sacrificing ourselves for someone else.

After experiencing her fear for her loved ones and her unwavering courage, even I couldn’t say who was more deserving. If Meri was saved and restored to being an angel, wouldn’t she be in a better position to help people? I didn’t speak for a while. Finally I turned to her. “At least we don’t have to go back to the time warp room.”

She gave a noncommittal shrug. “I guess.”

Sadness blossomed in my chest. Room or no room, either way I had a fifty-fifty shot I’d never see Kane again. Wrap my arms around him. Feel the gentle caress of his lips. I slammed my fist down on the counter. A metal tray clamored to the floor, the noise echoing off the walls.

Meri didn’t even flinch.