Witches of Bourbon Street (22 page)

“That will do,” Bea said. “Let’s go.”

We gathered our stuff and followed Bea out the door. Kat and I settled into her Mini, while Bea and Gwen climbed in her Prius.

Bea rolled down her window. “Kat’s place first. I’ll follow.”

I had to bite my tongue to stop the protest poised on my lips. I’d agreed we needed to help Dan, but the selfish girl inside me screamed to find Kane first. It didn’t matter that knowing who or what we were dealing with would be useful once we found him. I just wanted to find him. Now. A small voice in the back of my head chastised me. If only I hadn’t been so stubborn about learning the craft, I might have been able to do this on my own.

“Why are you scowling?” Kat asked.

“Huh?”

“Don’t you trust Bea?”

I arranged my face into a neutral expression. “Yeah. I’m not dealing with this well.”

Kat sent me a small smile. “Considering the day you’ve had, I’d say you’re doing remarkably well. Try not to worry. Bea is one powerful witch, and so are you. You’ll find him.”

I didn’t respond. The lump in the back of my throat wouldn’t let me. I spent the rest of the drive staring out the window, trying to think about nothing.

Kat lived in the French Quarter on one of the quieter residential streets, but the fact that it was a few days before Halloween meant the city was full of Voodoo Fest party goers and parking was limited. Kat didn’t have designated parking, and we ended up four blocks away. By the time we made it up the stairs to her place, my patience had disappeared.

Kat fumbled around in her purse for her keys. After a full minute of her digging, I let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Sorry. I know they’re here somewhere.” She looked up with an apologetic expression.

I cut my gaze to her door knob and focused. A tingle in my belly grew, and a second later the dead bolt released with a distinct click.

Kat froze. “Someone’s in there.”

Bea chuckled. “No. That was Jade. Seems she’s finally found her inner spark.”

Gwen studied me, while surprise from Kat tingled on my skin. I ignored them and strode through Kat’s door.

“So, it was you that unlocked Dan’s car that day. I knew it,” Kat said, standing just inside her apartment.

I set my pumpkin loaf lookalike on the table. “Yeah, but I didn’t realize it at the time.”

“Strong emotions make it easier to tap into magic,” Bea said.

“That’s good, because what I have swirling around in me is likely to explode if we don’t get started.”

“Jade,” Bea chastised, “if this is going to work, you need to calm down.”

“I can’t help it.” How could I be anything other than frantic? My ex was possessed and my boyfriend had disappeared right before my eyes.

“You’re an empath. If anyone understands controlling emotions, it’s you.”

How could I argue with that logic? I crossed from the dining room nook into Kat’s cozy living room. Taking a seat in my favorite purple, plush armchair, I tucked my feet under my bottom and sat cross-legged. Nobody followed me, for which I was grateful. I needed a second to compose the turmoil raging inside.

A moment later, my favorite song, “Sunrise” by Norah Jones, filled the room. I glanced over at Kat standing near her iPhone dock. I smiled and my heart eased. With all the crazy crap in my life, I still had a best friend who always knew what I needed.

I let Norah’s beautiful vocals wash over me as my emotions settled. The worry and anxiety didn’t disappear. Instead, I wrapped them up in my overwhelming love for Kane. I let myself bask in the immediacy of my feelings then set it all aside and welcomed my growing determination.

By the time I sat at Kat’s modern, black, fiberglass table, I was ready. “What do you need me to do?”

Bea studied me. I didn’t react when her steady energy merged with mine. She sat back and nodded. “Very good. I’m going to walk you through the process of casting the spell to reveal Dan’s inner self. If Kat can connect with his goodness, his image and the image of whoever is controlling him should be revealed.”

“How do I do that?” Kat asked.

“Just concentrate on Dan like you did when you put together the herbs.”

Kat fidgeted.

“You’ll be fine.” I nudged a tiny bit of my determination in her direction.

Her shoulders straightened and the look on her face told me she was ready.

“Let’s do this,” I said.

“All right. It appears you’ve found your magic source, judging by your lock-picking abilities.” Bea moved to the middle of the living room.

Gwen chuckled.

“But,” she continued, “telekinesis is a basic skill almost all witches pick up easily. Casting targeted spells takes more than pure determination. You’ll need to focus to pick up on the delicate nuances.”

“I can handle details,” I said, hoping that was true. So far, pretty much everything I’d accomplished using magic had happened by force.

“Then we’re ready. Jade, I need you and Gwen to join me in a circle. Kat, it’s better if you stay there. Go ahead and start concentrating on your friend. No matter what happens here, do not break concentration.”

“I’ll try,” she said.

“Not try, do. Intentions are everything in spell casting. Intend to concentrate. Face away from us if you have to.”

“You can do it.” I patted her hand and got up to join Bea.

Kat stared at the table for a moment. Then she looked up and tilted her head. “Can I use a photo to focus on?”

“Absolutely,” Bea said.

Kat disappeared into her bedroom. It didn’t take long before she returned with a framed picture I’d never seen before. It was Dan laughing with the sun highlighting his features.

A dull ache of regret surfaced in my gut. I hadn’t seen Dan that happy since before I’d confessed my empath abilities. “When was that taken?”

She frowned. “Not too long after we started dating.”

From somewhere deep inside, the buried resentment I’d carried after I’d found out they were dating suddenly shattered. There was a joy in Dan’s expression I’d never known existed in their relationship. Every time I’d seen Dan, we’d either ignored each other or had words. He’d done and said some awful things once I’d moved to New Orleans, but now I wondered if any of it had to do with who possessed him now. Was it possible when he’d attacked me in Kane’s club that he’d already been affected? There wasn’t a way to know. But it would explain a lot. He’d behaved in a way I’d never thought possible.

The sadness on Kat’s face made me pull her into a hug. “We’ll get him back. I promise.” We’d all been friends once. Best friends. And no matter what Dan had done, we owed him our lives.

“Thank you,” Kat whispered and let go. She sat at her table, facing the dining room wall. She turned back. “I’m ready.”

I rejoined Gwen and Bea in our circle. “Do we need to prep anything else?”

“The herbal mixture is all we need.” Bea lowered herself to the floor and sat cross-legged on the cream area rug. “Sit.”

When we were situated, Gwen held the bowl up. “What do I do with this?”

“Set it in the center.” Bea pointed to the empty space in the middle of us. “Gwen, the only job you have here besides completing the circle is to add your strength to Jade. Focus on supporting her intentions. If your psychic abilities kick in and you see anything, keep it to yourself until we’re done. We don’t want Jade to get distracted.”

“Got it,” Gwen said.

“Ready?” Bea asked me.

“As ready as I’m gonna to get.”

Bea pulled a pack of matches out of her pocket and tossed them to me. “I’m going to give you an incantation to repeat. After we’ve spoken the words, you’ll need to use your power to light a match. Once it’s kindled the herbs, infuse the flames with your spark of magic. Then focus on the Dan who kidnapped you. Do you understand?”

“If I’m infusing the flames with my magic, why can’t I strike a match and light it the old-fashioned way?”

“Using your magic to set the herbs on fire gives you control over the spell. Lighting it manually leaves the spell open to any who choose to manipulate it.”

“Oh.” I had a lot to learn. “Okay, so with any luck, Kat will be able to locate Dan using her intentions, and I’ll be able to bring forth the entity controlling him. Am I understanding this right?”

“Exactly. But we’ll only see hologram images. They won’t physically be here.”

From across the room, I heard Kat sigh in relief. I knew how she felt. “Good to know. What happens after they materialize?”

“We might be able to speak to either or both. Or we might just see their images. It depends on the strength of your magic.”

I didn’t know what to think about that. Did we want to speak to them? Dan maybe, to find out what was going on, but what would we say to a soul-possessing witch?
Get the hell out of our friend’s body, or we’ll curse you?
Thank goodness we had Bea. She was the New Orleans coven leader. She probably had plenty of badass in her arsenal.

Bea reached her hands out to each of us. Gwen and I followed suit, and once our linked hands completed the circle, Bea started to speak. “Power of the coven, your mistress commands your will. Your strength is called upon. Flow freely and bend to our wishes. By the power bestowed upon me by the southern witches of the ethereal plane, I command you.”

I waited, since the incantation wasn’t the one I was supposed to repeat. Nobody had bestowed anything on me. Invoking power that hadn’t been given freely didn’t bode well in the craft. Despite my refusal to engage in anything magical, I had grown up with a witch. I knew some things.

Bea nodded to me. “I, Jade Calhoun, seek to reveal the inner spirits of Dan Toller. Come forth and be seen.”

I didn’t only say the words. I dug deep and repeated them with conviction.

Bea kept her gaze locked on mine. “The power I wield commands it. Let the ties that bind you to the earth break free. Come forth, be seen.”

It was as if something rich and important had taken me over. My words came out strong and forceful. The effect made me sure I could accomplish anything.

“Appear before us,” Bea continued. “I, Jade Calhoun, niece of Gwen Calhoun and daughter of Hope Calhoun, force your spirit to our circle. Come now. Be free. Bind yourself to me.”

A current flowed through my veins. The words took on a magic of their own, flowing from me without thought. As I finished the last line, “bind yourself to me,” my voice rose, echoing through the room.

Without releasing my hand, Bea gestured to the open matchbox in my lap. When had that happened? It didn’t matter. It took barely any effort to move one with my mind over the herb bowl. The match hovered exactly where I directed it to go. What was it Bea had said? Right. Kindle the match and herbs with my spark and focus on evil Dan. No problem.

My magical spark jumped at the mere thought of using it, instantly lighting the match. I guided it carefully into the bowl and coaxed the herbs into a burn, using both the flame and my magic. The mixture went up in a whoosh of fire. I stared into it, imagining Dan’s features as he’d stumbled toward me with the blue potion.

Nothing changed.

I focused deeper, seeking his image, and let myself experience all the fear and hatred I’d felt in his apartment. I was so absorbed, I almost missed Gwen’s tiny shudder. The white, flickering flames started to fade, and I began to lose confidence, convinced I’d failed.

Then, as the herbs turned to ash, a mist rose from the smoke and formed a loose ball. The matter split in half. One took the shape of Dan’s smiling face. The other folded in on itself, reshaped into a vague, unrecognizable form, and twisted, only to refold in on itself again. The ball repeated the process a number of times. It wasn’t until Bea tightened her grip on my hand that I looked in her direction. The expression frozen on her face was one of outright dismay.

I peered at the fumbling mist, trying to make out what she saw. The shape took on a slightly solid form, and for a minute, I thought I might be able to make out a slender face with long, full locks of hair, but it shifted again. The image that materialized made me gasp in shock. “How is this possible?”

Tears rimmed Bea’s eyes. “She’s fallen. I can’t believe it. Lailah’s fallen.”

“Lailah?” What was she talking about? “What does Lailah have to do with Meri?”

Bea reached up and wiped the tears cascading down her cheeks. “Meri?”

“Yeah, the evil demon trapped in the third portrait.” I nodded to the now-solid form in front of me. “The image is identical. Right down to her skeletal face. You haven’t seen it yet, so I guess that explains why you don’t recognize her.”

Bea’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What are you talking about? All I see is an image of your friend Dan, and Lailah hovering beside him.”

I turned to Gwen. “What do you see?”

She shook her head. “Just mist.”

A cackling, ominous laugh filled the room. I was so caught off-guard that it took me a moment to realize it was coming from Meri. Her eyes locked on mine, and I almost thought I could see right into her soul. A vague image of decayed blackness flashed in my brain. I would have physically recoiled if I could, but my body seemed locked in place. Her cackle faded then cut off abruptly when both images vanished.