Witches of Bourbon Street (10 page)

The slight edge in his voice when he mentioned Kane made my face burn. Ian and I had never talked about the one and only date we’d had just before I’d gotten together with Kane. It had been obvious Ian had a thing for me. But he had to be over it by now, especially since he was dating Pyper. With nothing else to do, I ignored the barb and waited for him to continue.

“I’m not sure what it was he didn’t like about me, or if it was because I was interested in Jessie, but he made it his life’s mission to humiliate me as much as possible when she was around. He’d offer to set me up with his castoffs, pretend he thought I was gay when I declined, and tell jokes at my expense. He’d do things like trip me or dismantle the spark plugs in my car when he knew Jessie and I were getting together. Nothing too serious, but enough to erode my fragile seventeen-year-old ego.”

Crap. Hadn’t I asked for a happy memory?

As if he’d heard my thought, Ian laughed. “Then one day, Bea came by while I was scrubbing the shaving cream ‘I heart Ally’ from my car.”

“Ally?”

He shook his head. “A poor freshman who’d taken to following me around school. Anyway, I was cursing Jay, not only for messing up my car, but because I was late for school too. No way could I let Ally see that.”

“Obviously.”

“And Bea told me not to worry about it. She’d take care of everything. I didn’t know what that meant. Actually, I sort of forgot about it until Jay told Ally I wanted to take her out on a date. Or at least, he
tried
to tell her that. He actually ended up asking her out himself. Imagine this cocky guy strutting up to this poor girl to tell her some other guy was asking her out, but when the words flew from his mouth, he ended up professing his undying love to her.” Ian’s laughter burst out in full force as he doubled over at the memory. He gasped in a breath. “He couldn’t control what he was doing, and the harder he tried to correct himself, the more insistent he became about wanting to date her.”

A flash of pity ran through my gut for the poor girl.

“From that moment on, anything Jay tried to do to me came back on him two-fold. Aunt Bea had hit him with one powerful curse.”

The love for Bea radiating from him filled the room. Strong and pure, it was the exact thing she needed. I imagined a conduit running from Ian’s hand to Bea’s heart and tugged. Ian’s energy met a wall of resistance, refusing to budge. It shouldn’t be that hard. I could take energy into myself pretty easily. I pulled harder, straining with the effort. Nothing moved. Ian’s energy held steady at his hand.

He started talking again about how Jay’s declaration had ended up turning Ally into one of the most popular girls in school, but I ignored him.

I had to get that energy into Bea. Her own had become all but nonexistent while Ian had told his story. Damn. Abandoning my conduit imagery, I let Ian’s emotions flow into me, through my core, and redirected them toward my hand on Bea’s heart.

The effect was instantaneous. Bea’s eyes fluttered open as she sighed with relief. Her energy pulsed with the radiant white light it usually held. I collapsed in relief at her side.

“Well done, Jade,” she croaked.

“Welcome back.” Ian took her hand and smiled a wide grin.

“Ian,” she whispered, “I told you to never tell another soul I cursed your friend.”

“You heard that, did you? I thought you might. I can’t help it if I think it’s funny. Jay was being an ass. It’s not like it hurt him to learn some manners.”

She patted his hand. “He was messing with my favorite nephew. I had to do something. Still, I’m not proud of it.” She grinned, negating her claim.

“What happened with Jessie? Did you get the girl?” I asked.

“Sure. We dated for a few years.” His smile dimmed. “Until she went off to college.”

“It happens. And Ally? What happened to her?”

Ian laughed. “She ended up prom queen and had her pick of any guy at school.”

“Except you,” I said.

He shrugged. “She forgot all about me.”

I doubted it. Ian was too nice of a guy for anyone to just forget.

Bea stirred, trying to sit up. Ian automatically reached an arm out to help her while I positioned the pillows against her headboard.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked.

“Seltzer water mixed with crushed vanilla and a teaspoon of lime.” Bea picked up a silver hairbrush and started putting her normally immaculate hair back in order.

What were we doing, making some sort of weird cocktails? I was almost through the doorway when she said, “Bring Lailah with you when you come back up.”

Her tone sent a shiver that had nothing to do with the frigid air up my spine. “Will do.”

“Ian,” I heard her say in her normal cheerful voice. “Can you do something about the thermostat?”

Downstairs, Pyper stood with her arms crossed in front of the door.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I headed into the adjoining kitchen.

“The angel—” she stressed the word
angel
, indicating she thought Lailah was anything but, “—tried to spell her way out of her binds. I tried to cover her mouth, but she erected some sort of shield and I can’t get close enough.”

Lailah cowered into herself at Pyper’s words. She didn’t at all resemble the gorgeous, confident woman I’d come to know. Her face turned pale and she turned to hide from my penetrating gaze.

Without thinking about it, I sent my awareness toward her. My unwelcome probe bounced back. Yep. The barrier held. “Bea wants to see you. Let down your guards and we’ll cut away the duct tape.”

The air around Lailah shimmered. I knew without checking she’d dropped her shield.

Pyper cut the tape at her feet first. When she got to her wrists, she said, “If you even think of trying anything, remember I’ve got scissors in my hands.”

Lailah only shook her head.

I waited by the stairs with the concoction Bea had requested. As soon as Pyper had her free, Lailah moved toward me. Her panic thrust into my awareness and crawled up my skin. I stepped back, trying my best to separate myself from her. “Calm down. She’s fine.”

Lailah shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. “I almost killed her.”

“Almost,” I said without sympathy. Maybe it was cruel, but I couldn’t help remembering it was her spell that made it possible for Roy to take Pyper into another dimension. “But she’s better now and wants to see you.”

The coldness of my tone seemed to ignite some fight in her. She straightened her spine and, without another word, took off up the stairs.

“Was it something I said?” I asked Pyper.

She rolled her eyes and fell in step behind me.

Back in Bea’s room, the window had been opened, letting in the warm fall breeze. Bea was dressed in an elaborate deep plum witch’s robe, embroidered with delicate gold thread vines.

Lailah dropped to her knees in front of Bea and bowed her head. “I didn’t know. I mean, I don’t know what happened.”

Bea reached out and tilted Lailah’s head up. “The supplements were tainted. You were the one who altered them.”

“Yes,” Lailah whispered. “But…”

Two green pills appeared in Bea’s palm. “They contain traces of your spelling signature. No one else’s.”

Lailah fingered the giant horse pills then snatched her hand back. The tears she’d been holding back spilled silently down her cheeks. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t remember spelling them.”

Bea dropped the pills into a small pillbox. “Stand, Lailah.”

Trembling, Lailah did as she was told.

“You are hereby banned from accessing your magic until further notice. A formal inquiry will be conducted. You’ll be informed of the hearing once the council reconvenes.” Bea held her hand out. “Jade, can I have the seltzer water please?”

Startled, I stumbled to Bea’s side and handed her the bottle.

The carbonation sputtered as she twisted the top. When the bubbles settled, Bea poured a small amount in the palm of her hand. She recited a phrase in what I think was Latin, flicked the liquid at Lailah then raised her hands over her head. In a strong, commanding voice, she spoke. “Angel of the earth, heed my command. No magic shall be woven. No spell shall be spun. No curse shall be uttered. Your threads of power are now tied. By the power of your coven mistress, your Wiccan status has been denied.” The air around them shimmered momentarily.

“Shit,” Pyper whispered.

My thoughts exactly. I’d known Bea was powerful. She’d demonstrated that when she’d banned a ghost to hell a few months ago. But I hadn’t known she had the power to revoke someone’s privileges. Not that Lailah didn’t deserve it. I’d ban her too if she’d almost killed me. In fact, I was ready to ban her just for invading Kane’s dream the night before.

I didn’t realize I was scowling until Bea spoke. “It’s standard procedure, Jade.”

“Huh? Sorry, I was thinking about something else.”

Lailah got up and silently left the room. My gaze stayed locked on her until she turned the corner to head down the stairs.

“Want me to keep an eye on her?” Pyper asked.

“Oh no, dear. Lailah’s leaving.” Bea caught my eye. “Jade, I need your help ridding my body of the rest of the poison.”

“Poison? Ah, right.” It dawned on me Ian had said she’d need my help, but after the power I’d just seen her possess, I’d forgotten all about it. I scanned her small bedroom. “Where should I…?”

“Let’s go out on the porch.” Bea swept past me, looking no more like she’d been inches from death just minutes before than any of the rest of us.

Pyper followed her and Ian had to nudge me out the door before I moved. “What just happened?”

“Bea rendered Lailah powerless.”

“She can do that?”

Ian chuckled. “Sure looked like she could to me.”

I stopped and turned to face him. “You’re telling me Bea has spells to bind an angel?” If so, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about Felicia’s warning. Without magic, it would be hard for Lailah to fall.

“Yep. She doesn’t like to flaunt it, but she possesses more individual power than most covens do combined.”

I gawked. When covens combined their power, it could reach dangerous levels. Life-threatening levels. Bea could do that all on her own. A shiver ran through me. What was
I
doing here?

“Jade,” Bea called from the bottom of the stairs. “I don’t want to rush you, but the sooner we can work the spell, the easier it will be.”

A wave of sickness rolled in my stomach. I was actually going to cast a spell, something I’d sworn I’d never do, with quite possibly the most powerful witch I’d ever meet. My eyes landed on the woman I’d come to call my friend. The image of her lying helpless in her bed flashed in my mind. Would she end up right back there if I refused?

“Go on,” Ian urged in a hushed whisper. “The poison spreads fast.”

Indeed, Bea was already starting to pale. Damn. At least if I was going to turn witch, I’d learn from the best.

Chapter 8

The sun hung low in the sky, illuminating the backyard with a soft orange glow. Bea headed down the stairs of the wooden porch and out into the middle of the neatly manicured lawn. “This way,” she said.

Ian and I followed her. Pyper and Kane stayed on the deck. I envied them. Heck, I’d have stayed in the house. Or left.

“Jade,” Bea said. “Take off your shoes.”

“Um…” I stalled. No shoes? Was she crazy? There could be red ants, fleas, chiggers, or any number of painful, vicious bugs in the grass.

“You need the connection to the earth to harness your power.” Bea threw off her thick robe and sat cross-legged on the ground.

“But what about the bugs?”

Ian laughed.

“What?” I demanded in a hushed whisper.

“There have never been any bugs in Aunt Bea’s yard except ladybugs, butterflies, dragonflies. Things like that. Don’t worry about your toes being bitten. They’re safe here.”

Slowly, I kicked off my shoes. “Does that mean they’ve been magically removed?”

“Something like that,” Bea said. “Please take a seat.” She indicated the area directly opposite her.

I crossed the soft, lush blanket of grass and lowered myself until I sat cross-legged in front of her. “You aren’t worried about messing up the ecosystem by banishing God’s smallest creatures?”

Bea gave me a patient smile. “They aren’t banished. Just relocated while we’re out here. Once we leave, they’ll come back.”

“Oh.” I fell silent, wondering what else she had altered around her house for convenience’s sake. Did the dishes clean themselves? What about the shower? Or refrigerator? Maybe I wouldn’t mind being a witch if it cut down on my chores list.

Bea’s voice snapped me back to reality. “To work a spell, you’ll need to find your inner spark. Every natural-born witch has one. It’s where you draw your power from.”

“My power.” I spread my fingers wide on my thighs, as if I could somehow reach out and grab it. “Where would I start looking?”