Demons of Bourbon Street (24 page)

It was his turn to shout a word I couldn’t decipher, and with a stream of magic concentrated around the pair of us, Philip reached out and clasped his hand over mine.

The static vanished. Gasps and shouts of surprise sprouted from my friends and wind kicked up, whipping my hair over my eyes. I pushed it back and gaped.

The icy blue light had formed an unmistakable image of Dan splayed out on a suspended slab, slightly above a roaring fire. Flames licked the sides, making him cringe away.

“
Oh, my God. She’s going to burn him alive,” I cried. The image contorted as the magic folded in on itself, forming a ball. A moment later the ball spread, leaving a medium-sized hole in the club floor. Only this time it glowed fiery orange.

Heat warmed my body as I inched closer.

That was it. My opening into Hell. All I had to do was jump. I took two steps. A tingle of familiar energy brushed my psyche and made me freeze. Trembling, I turned to my left.

There was Kane, a deadly combination of terror and anger consuming every inch of his being. He vibrated with it, setting my already frayed nerves on edge. In one look I tried to portray the jumbled emotions tumbling around inside me—love, regret, guilt.

He acknowledged nothing. Never hesitated. Only moved with dogged determination and purpose, coming straight for me.

I stared into his blazing dark eyes. And jumped.

Everything blurred, heat and light searing my vision. I groped about, uselessly searching for purchase, and seconds later, landed with a thud on a cold hard floor.

“
Ugh.” Pushing myself up, I squinted. The dim gray room appeared to be empty.

Good. I was alone.

Until a muffled thunk, followed by a groan, echoed behind me. I catapulted to my feet, simultaneously spinning and backing up toward the wall. Mocha eyes stared up at me.

“
Damn you, Kane. What the heck are you doing in Hell?”

Chapter 16

Kane pushed himself up, that same determined fury flowing from him. “Coming after you.”

I unconsciously took another step back.

“
What were you thinking?” he growled as his frame towered over me.

This time I stood firm. He grabbed my shoulders. I stiffened, sure he was going to literally shake some sense into me.

I stared up into his scowling face, waiting.

Instead, he crushed me to him, holding me tight against his pounding heart.

“
You shouldn’t have followed me,” I said into his chest, my words muffled. Unbridled emotion took over, and I started to tremble as more tears filled my eyes.

He stroked my hair, breathing heavily as we both fought for control. Finally, he pulled away and wiped the last of the tears from my cheeks.

“
I had to do this,” I whispered.

“
Dan would not want you to risk your life for his.” He traced a finger down my jawline. “No man who loves a woman would want that.”

I didn’t bother to debate the implication. Maybe Dan did love me. I loved him. How could I not? We’d grown up together. Been best friends and then lovers. But I wasn’t
in love
with him, and Kane knew it. “I didn’t come because of Dan. If he was the only reason, we could have tried a summoning spell first.” I glanced down at Kane’s thigh, appearing so normal covered in the dark denim. “I came for you.”

A muscle pulsed in his jaw. “I repeat, a man who loves you doesn’t want you to risk your life for him.” He tilted my chin up, giving me no choice but to meet his gaze. “Do you really think I could live with myself if anything happened to you because of me?”

A trickle of indignation coursed through my veins. “And if anything happened to you, what do you think I’d feel? Especially knowing I have the tools to fight this.” I prayed that was true. Already I couldn’t feel the spark of power that usually occupied a place in my chest.

We stared each other down, both of us frustrated.

I raised one defiant eyebrow. “Are we going to stand here all day, arguing, or are we going to go kick some demon ass?”

He shook his head in exasperation. “I’ll settle for just getting out in once piece. Please tell me you have a plan.”

I smiled as I pulled out Mom’s map. “A treasure hunt of sorts.”

Kane took the crumpled paper, turned it over a few times, and handed it back. “It’s blank.”

I swore under my breath, frantically racking my memory for the maze of tunnels Mom had drawn. Green. We needed the green lit one.
Please let us be close
. “Hopefully I can remember the dang thing.” I grabbed the invisible map and stuffed it in my pocket. “Follow me.”

We crept out of the small barren room through a stone arch. Pale light glowed in the distance. I needed to find the main passageway. The map had shown a web of tunnels that all led back to the core of Hell, where Lucifer himself reigned as king of the underworld.

Unfortunately, Meri’s quarters were perilously close to Lucifer’s throne. If we were lucky, the locator spell had dropped us in the correct tunnel. If not, we’d have to somehow cross the commons of Hell unnoticed.

I clutched my infused herbs in one hand and held onto Kane for dear life with the other. Philip had armed me with a few powerful earth spells, but if I had to use them before we encountered Meri, we were doomed. She’d drain my natural power through Kane, and I’d be too weak to fight her.

Kane slowed and I glanced back. “What’s wrong?”

He rubbed his thigh. “Nothing. Just a twinge.”

Fear bloomed in my chest. Did Meri know we were here? All the more reason to hurry. I nodded as Kane fell in step beside me.

The pale light brightened as the stone walls closed in on us, narrowing our path. I stopped. Were we going the right direction? I glanced over my shoulder. Darkness loomed behind us.

No, Mom said to follow the light. We slowed, inching our way along the wall, listening for any movement of nearby demons. Nothing permeated the air except the dank smell of mold and rot. I crinkled my nose and pressed further.

We passed two closed doors, both covered with dust and cobwebs.

Deserted. Good.

The rough stone floor turned smooth, indicating centuries of wear. We rounded a bend in the tunnel and came to an opening in a larger passageway. Bright white orbs of light blinded me.

Shit. We weren’t in the right place. According to Mom, each section was color-coded by the magical orbs suspended near the ceilings. Meri lived in the section illuminated with green light. I raised my hand to shield my eyes and was suddenly yanked back into the narrow pathway.

“
What the—?” I got out before Kane’s hand clamped over my mouth as he pressed me against the wall.

“
Shh,” he barely whispered.

Seconds ticked by. Then someone grunted and the distinct sound of something being dragged filled the passageway. I stopped breathing. The sound dimmed, and I gently pulled Kane’s hand away from my mouth, took a deep breath, and peered around the corner.

A squat, round man with a head full of thick, black hair walked backwards while dragging a canvas sack. The contents appeared to be heavier and larger than the person hauling it.

I twisted back into the passageway before the man could spot me. Though, judging by his heavy breathing, he didn’t appear to be too focused on his surroundings. “Not yet,” I whispered.

When the noise faded, we once again ventured into the passageway. All clear. Not hesitating, we took off. Depictions of Bourbon Street buildings, rotting and in various states of disarray, lined the walls. People with deadened eyes filled the brick-lined streets. The illustrations resembled a post-apocalyptic New Orleans. I had to avert my gaze from the disturbing, never-ending mural.

We ducked into each smaller passageway we came to, carefully scoping each section of our journey. Eerie silence grated on my nerves. Besides the one dragging his haul, we hadn’t seen or heard anyone.

“
Where are we going?” Kane finally asked.

“
To Meri’s dungeon, where hopefully we’ll find Dan and a jewel that we can use to break Meri’s connection to you. Then we’re out of here.” I leaned against the stone wall and took a second to send out my awareness. Kane’s heightened sense of worry and unease filled me. I pushed his energy aside and pressed deeper. Only a whisper of emotion reached me. Something close to lustful glee. The dark kind that fed off destruction.

I shuddered, but kept the line open, wanting to sense when we got near to whatever was feeding that emotion.

We pressed on. The air warmed, and the old rotting stench shifted to a rancid plume of burning smoke. I gagged, my eyes watering. “Oh, God.”

Kane pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth.

Where were we headed?

One more turn around a bend, and my question was answered. The passageway opened up to a large, enclosed auditorium, the roof at least five stories high. Directly in the middle, a snow-white bonfire of gigantic proportions burned, contained by thick glass walls. An electric spiral staircase wound its way to the top, where the squat man we’d seen stood with his canvas bag.

Kane and I shrunk back into the shadows of the passage opening and watched.

A 360-degree screen flickered to life on the walls of the auditorium. It was broken into four sections, each one showing a different decaying part of the city of New Orleans: A Garden District home overrun with withered vines and rodents; The Mid-City Park, barren of all vegetation and filled with demons; a burning French Quarter; and Uptown, deserted of human life and flooded with blood.

I stifled a cry, unable to tear my gaze from the nightmare before my eyes.

The screens went blank and the images were replaced by a close-up of the man at the top of the bonfire, now reaching into his bag. Directly behind him was an empty red velvet chair, high enough to reside over the entire area. Lucifer’s throne. It had to be. Thank the Gods he didn’t appear to be in attendance.

Sweat covered man’s face and neck. He smiled an evil grin as he slowly pulled the object from the bag.

I gripped Kane’s forearm, nails digging into his skin. “What is that?”

His mouth dropped open then he shut it.

“
Kane?” I glanced back up at the screen. My stomach rolled. I swallowed, my throat quivering as I forced myself not to vomit.

The demon, now obvious by his saucer-wide black eyes, held a severed arm above his head, turning it in all directions.

A cheer went up from an invisible crowd. Using the limb, the demon saluted his audience and tossed it into the fire.

I gagged, barely holding down the contents of my stomach.