Jinn and Juice (33 page)

The thought alone was enough to raise goose bumps on her skin. She’d do it the same way she had at Comic Con. A couple of good, stiff drinks and the alcohol would dull her senses and make being around so many people bearable. With a good buzz, she could stand being touched. Maybe even find it enjoyable, if things went well. Which was the point.

She was going to New Orleans. The city was practically built on senseless fun and cheap booze, right? If there was ever a place to have one last night of debauchery before heading to the big house, New Orleans seemed custom made for it.

On her Life Management Device, the one she could no longer afford and that would soon be turned off, she checked the weather. Unseasonably warm in New Orleans. Leaving behind the snowpocalypse of Boston wouldn’t be such a hardship, but she wasn’t about to ditch her long sleeves just for a little sunshine. On the rare occasions she had to leave her apartment, she liked as much skin covered as possible.

She jumped off the bed, grabbed her rolling bag and packed. Just the necessities—travel laptop with holoscreen and gaming headset, some clothes, toiletries and the cash. Not like she’d be gone long. She changed into her favorite Star Alliance T-shirt, set her security cameras, locked down her main computer and servers and grabbed her purse. She took a deep breath and one last look at her apartment. It was only for a few days. She could do this.

A few minutes later she was in the car, a jumbo energy drink in the cup holder and the nav on her LMD directing her toward Louisiana.

Augustine tucked away his traveling mirror and inhaled the comforting scent of home. The weeks of rarely staying in one spot for longer than a few nights had worn thin. He’d tried a stint in Austin, Texas, another fae Haven city, but a week there and he’d begun to feel eyes on him. Being back in New Orleans was pure happiness. This was the only ground he’d ever considered home, and this house, the estate of retired movie star Olivia Goodwin, was the only place that had ever
felt
like home.

Protecting Olivia and this place was why he’d run to begin with, but she knew he hadn’t been the cause of the trouble. Not really. That landed squarely on the shoulders of his estranged half brother, Mortalis. They shared a father but that was about it. They’d never seen eye to eye on anything. Mortalis disapproved of Augustine’s life in more ways than he could count and took every opportunity, rare as they were, to make that known.

Despite that, Augustine had helped one of Mortalis’s very pretty, very persuasive female friends gain access to the fae plane, specifically the Claustrum, the max-security prison where the fae kept the worst of their kind. Livie had agreed it had been the right thing to do, but she hadn’t really understood the consequences.

The sounds of female voices reached his ears. Olivia and Lally, her companion and housekeeper, were out on the back
porch enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. He set his bag down and moved softly from the hall and into the kitchen. Their voices were louder now, filtering in through the screen door along with the afternoon breeze. Ice clinked in glasses and the scent of mint and bourbon followed.

He smiled. Livie loved herself a julep on the porch. He leaned in close to the screen, but left the door closed. “Miss me so much you have to drink away your sorrows, huh?”

Both women jumped in their rockers, clutching at their hearts and slopping bourbon and soda over the rims of their glasses.

Olivia shook her cane at him, her shock widening into an unstoppable grin. “Augustine Robelais, how dare you sneak up on two old women like that.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, Augie, you’re home. Praise our lady Elizabeth Taylor. Get out here and let me hug your neck.”

He pushed through the screen door and scooped Livie into his arms. She squeezed him hard, her form somehow frailer than he remembered. He whispered into her silver-white bob, “I missed you more than I have words for.”

“And I, you,
cher
.” Her hand cupped the back of his head as she kissed his cheek. “I am so glad you’re home.” She released him, her amber eyes glittering with tears.

He turned to Lally and caught her in a hug as she stood. “I’m sure you didn’t miss cleaning up after me, huh?”

Lally clung to him, her voice catching when she finally spoke. “Silly child.” She patted his back as she let him go and sat down. “I had so much free time, I read half Miss Olivia’s library.” She laughed. “I’m still not used to seeing you with your horns grown out, but I’m happy to have you back, no matter what you look like.”

He leaned against the porch railing. The warmth of their
love was almost palpable, soothing the ache in his heart from being away. “I appreciate that. I’ll be grinding the horns off soon enough.”

A wash of concern took away Livie’s smile. “Everything all right then? Didn’t have any trouble, did you? No run-ins with any Elektos?”

“Not a bit.” He couldn’t stop smiling. Even the air smelled better. “How about you?”

She snorted softly. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Which meant they’d been here. That knocked the smile off his face. Anger fueled a fire in his belly, but for her sake he just nodded. Obviously she didn’t want to talk about it right now. Or maybe just not around Lally, but there wasn’t much Olivia kept from her.

“You home to stay, Mr. Augustine?” Lally looked hopeful.

“Yes.” He sighed and tipped his head back, inhaling the earthy, heady scent of the Garden District. Tiny green tips were beginning to show on the trees. In a few weeks, spring would overtake the place. “I hope I never have to run again.” He would, though, if it meant keeping these two women safe.

“Good.” Lally smiled. “We had enough of you bein’ gone.”

“That we did.” Livie sipped her mint julep, then held it up to him. “You want a drink, darling?”

“No, I’m good. All I really want is to sleep in my own bed.”

She took another sip before setting the drink down. “Well, I’ll be. You mean you’re not heading into the Quarter to see what young thing you might woo into your arms for the night?”

He laughed. Olivia didn’t need to know he’d already been there. “I thought I’d take one night off. Besides, tomorrow night is
Nokturnos
. I’ll do plenty of wooing then.”

“Is that tomorrow? With you gone, I guess it slipped my mind.” She looked at Lally. “Did you realize it was the new moon?”

“I knew that much, but I can’t be bothered with the rest.” Lally waved her hand. “All that mask wearing and kissing strangers and carrying on like fools. Humans do enough of that during Mardi Gras.”

Augustine raised a brow. “We don’t carry on like—well, okay, a little bit like fools, but it’s the fae New Year. There’s got to be some celebration. Plus the fae need their own party before the tourists invade for carnival and the town isn’t ours anymore. This is a big one, too. Since the covenant’s been broken and humans know we exist, it’s the first
Nokturnos
we can celebrate publicly.” He shook his finger at Olivia. “You’ve got a good bit of haerbinger blood in your system, Ms. Goodwin. You should be celebrating, too.”

She waved him off. “Please,
cher
. I’ve had enough celebrating in my days.”

“My lands,” Lally exclaimed with a smirk. “You sure came back from your sojourn with a lot of sass, didn’t you, Mr. Augustine? Hmph.”

He laughed.

“I missed this, I surely did.” Lally tipped her head up toward Augustine. “So you’ll be kissing a stranger tomorrow evening? Guess that’s not much different than most of your evenings.” She laughed, clearly tickled with herself.

“And I’m the one full of sass?” But he grinned. “Hey, you want me to have good luck for the New Year, don’t you?” A yawn caught him off guard. Before he’d returned home, sleep had eluded him the last few nights, replaced by nightmares so real, they’d driven him to return home. Probably earlier than was prudent, but enough was enough.

Livie immediately looked concerned. “You really are tired, aren’t you,
cher
?”

He hadn’t slept much last night, either, but he wasn’t about
to tell them that. He scratched the base of one horn. “You know how it is when you’re not in your own bed. It’s just not the same.”

Lally nodded. “I hear that. You going to make it till supper, Mr. Augustine, or should I put up a plate for you?”

“Depends on what you’re fixing.”

“Nothing special. Just a little RB-and-R and some hot sausage.”

“Nothing special.” He snorted. “You know I love red beans and rice. Especially yours. Yes to supper, but first I should probably run down to Jackson Square and see if Dulcinea is around. Let her know I’m back.” He’d stayed clear of the Quarter’s main areas last night, too, keeping as low a profile as he could without becoming completely invisible to the pretty tourist girls he so enjoyed.

Lally stood. “I’ll just go take another sausage out of the freezer.”

After she left, Livie gave him a sly smile. “I’m sure Dulcinea’s missed you.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know it’s not like that between us.”

“Mm-hmm. I know what you two get up to.” She swirled the liquid in her glass. “I know you’re both adults and consenting and all that.”

He knew what Olivia was hinting at, but the past was the past. “We’re just friends.”

“Friends with benefits, that’s what they used to call it in my day.” She lifted her glass to her lips as Lally came back out.

“Y’all still talking about Miss Dulcinea?”

“Yes, why?” Augustine answered.

Lally settled into her chair and pointed toward the back corner of the yard. “She was out here one night. Just sitting in the gazebo past the pool there. I gave her a little wave, but
she didn’t wave back. Didn’t see her again after that, but the next night, a stray cat showed up. Sleek gray thing with darker stripes and these two different-colored eyes that just looked right through a person’s soul.”

Augustine looked at Livie the same time she looked at him and in unison, they both said, “Dulcinea.”

She was one of the oddest fae he knew, not just personality-wise, but because even she didn’t know her bloodlines other than that they included fae and varcolai, or shifter. The strange stew of her lineage had given her some rare powers, including the ability to take on random animal forms. In othernatural terms, she was a remnant, a label applied to anyone with mixed othernatural heritage. But in the neighborhood, most called her a changeling.

Lally sat back, resting her arms across her plump stomach. “I figured that was her.”

He nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.”

She lifted one hand to shake a finger at him. “You definitely should go see that girl. She’s pining for you.”

Augustine laughed. “Dulce pines for no one. Except maybe this city.” It was nice to know she’d kept an eye on Olivia and Lally while he’d been gone. He hadn’t asked her to do that and was a little surprised she had, but then maybe he wasn’t. Nothing Dulcinea did could really be considered shocking.

Jinn and Juice

Tempest Rising

Tracking the Tempest

Tempest’s Legacy

Tempest’s Fury

Tempest Reborn

Something Wikkid This Way Comes

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