Incubus of Bourbon Street (17 page)

Being a witch came in handy sometimes, even if it did sort of turn me into a criminal. Kane owned the building, so technically I wasn’t breaking and entering, but if anyone was watching it would look like I was.

The door swung open and with a surge of determination, I entered the building. It was exactly as I’d left it only a half hour before: empty, full of Kane’s incubus signature, and tainted with something evil.

I stood just off to the right of the stage and took a step into the shadows. The energy hit me hard, nearly knocking me off my feet. And this time, even though it still felt faintly like Kane’s energy, it was much more sinister. Unease crawled up my spine as I felt the fabric of the dimension pulse with fear and despair. The desire to curl into a ball just as Charlie had earlier nearly did me in.

But Kane’s face flashed in my mind, and a ripple of strength materialized from deep inside me. I would not let the Goddess keep Kane or Pyper. Wherever they were. I knew it was too easy to think I could enter the shadows and they’d be right here waiting. Genesis could be holding them anywhere.

I had to find her, then I’d find them.

The only thing I knew to do was to search for their energy. Except the only emotions I felt were hopelessness and desire, coming from beyond the shadows. There was no way I was going to be able to connect with either Kane’s or Pyper’s energy signatures. I had to try something else.

Frantic to be out of the shadows of doom, I rummaged through my bag of herbs and came up with dandelion leaf. It was worth a shot. Dandelion was used as a summoning agent for spirits. I could call on those of the shadows for help to find Kane and Pyper.

I hastily formed a circle with the crushed dandelion leaves and stepped into the middle, reaching for my power. Electric magic shot through me and not only did the circle light up, but so did I. Light shimmered over my skin.

Whoa. That wasn’t the plan. Immediately a handful of spirits appeared, hovering around my circle. Two were so old and decayed, I could barely make out the shape of their half-formed faces. Another bounced back and forth, appearing to be mesmerized by the light. But the fourth stood tall, regarding me with interest. Her eyes were wrinkled with age and shone with wisdom. She’d passed on later in life, most likely from natural causes, judging by the shimmering cloud of peace clinging to her.

“Hello,” I said.

“It’s not safe in the shadows,” she said, her tone wispy as it faded into the night.

“That’s why I’m here. I need your help.”

She shook her head. “This is not your place. It’s nobody’s place now.” Her gaze shifted from me to a dark space just beyond my circle. “The longer she’s here, the further his wrath reaches.”

“Who? The Goddess? I’m here to defeat her.”

The spirit floated to me, her eyes full of pity. “No one defeats the wicked.”

“I do,” I said with conviction. “She has my loved ones and I won’t leave until they’re found.”

She froze. Then her eyes turned wild. “He’s coming.”

“Who?” I asked, quickly scanning the area. I saw nothing but the club in a crumbling form.

Her body started to fade and right before she disappeared, she whispered, “The evil one.”

Chapter 17

“Don’t listen to her,” a masculine voice said from behind me.

I spun, expecting to see the evil one himself. Except he didn’t feel evil and he certainly didn’t look it. The spirit was a young man who wore board shorts, a T-shirt, flip-flops, and had some sort of metal leaf pendant dangling from a cord around his neck. “The evil one isn’t coming?”

He shrugged. “It’s possible, but she’s been saying that for days. It hasn’t happened yet.”

“You don’t feel anything?”

“I’m dead. What’s there to feel?” His grin was lopsided, and I couldn’t help the smile that claimed my lips, despite the seriousness of the situation. “Ah, finally someone who isn’t obsessed with death and power.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What are you talking about? Who else has been here lately?”

He gave me an impatient look. “Who hasn’t? The demon hunters are here all the time. And then lately the spirit sucker.”

“Genesis? You’ve seen her?”

He nodded.

My heart raced. If I could find her, I could find Kane and Pyper. “Where?”

His easygoing nature vanished as he backed up and scowled at me. “She truly is evil. A spirit eater. The worst kind of deity.”

The way he said the words made me think he’d suffered a loss at her hands. “Does she consume the spirits of the shadows?” Lucien had said she needed spirits to stay young. Did she come here to feed?

He shook his head. “She needs fresh offerings.”

Fresh offerings
. Spirits that came from live beings was what he meant. “Right. That’s what I thought and also what I’m trying to prevent. If you have any idea of how I can find her, the information would be most helpful.”

His eyes darkened and then flashed with fiery rage. “No one can stop her. The demon makes sure of that.”

A bolt of fire came out of nowhere, consuming the surfer-boy spirit. The flames sputtered and sparked and just as quickly vanished, leaving nothing behind.

“Shoot!” I scowled, frustrated and worried the spirit had been taken somewhere horrible…like Hell.

Clapping sounded from beyond my field of vision, followed by a familiar tinkling laugh.

“Genesis!” I cried. “Show yourself.”

The Goddess strolled up to my circle. Her skin still sagged with the passage of time, though she appeared thinner, more toned that she had when I’d seen her last. “Are you here to surrender yourself, white witch?”

“Hardly.” I reached into my herb bag and clasped my fingers around a smile vial. “I’m here for Kane and Pyper.”

She stared at me, her expression incredulous. “You think I’m going to just hand them over to you? Those two delicious beings? I’d heard you were naïve, but I hadn’t expected you to be stupid.”

I stared at her blankly. “You’re the naïve one if you think I’m going to let you take either of them.”

“Take?” Her laugh filled the air, making my ears ring. “I already have them.” She snapped her fingers and light illuminated the area around her, revealing Pyper and Kane locked together in another shimmering cage.

Pyper clung to Kane, her head buried in his shoulder. But Kane was staring straight at me, his eyes boring into me as if he was trying to talk to me telepathically. I shook my head, indicating I couldn’t pick up on whatever it was he wanted to tell me.

“No?” the Goddess mocked, misinterpreting my communication with Kane as a denial of her statement. “They belong to me, and you’ll never get them.”

Kane’s gaze shifted from me to Genesis and back to me again. Then he mouthed,
Take her.

It was all I needed. If he wanted me to fight her, then I would. Still clutching the small vial, I let the circle of light fade away, leaving no barrier between me and the Goddess.

Her eyes went wide with lust and opportunity. “You’re mine now!” She flew at me full force, but before she could reach me, I flung my arm out, releasing the contents of the vial.

Liquid Lily of the Valley splattered over her as I cried, “
Pello pepulli pulsum!”

She threw her hands up in defense and hissed, smoke coiling from her skin as if I’d drenched her in acid. Screaming, she reached out, trying to grab for me, but it was useless. Her body was being propelled backward away from me in rapid speed.

Jade!
I heard in my mind and startled when I realized it was Kane calling to me. I turned and met his determined gaze. He pressed his hands to the shimmering barrier, barely wincing at the shock it must’ve given him. Then he pointed from the barrier to me and back again.

Break it,
he mouthed.

The magic rushed through me as if he’d commanded it. An electric current of power burst from my fingers. But before it hit the shimmering box, I held my hand out, halting it. Then with my mind, I imagined the magic pooling into itself until it was a large, flat surface. Instead of one powerful thin bolt, it was now a large circumference designed to crush instead of pierce.

Putting all my energy back into the magic, I let loose and it crashed into the shimmering box just as Kane wrapped himself around Pyper, shielding her from the shattered shards of magic.

The ground rumbled under my feet and a roar of energy filled my ears, but all I saw was the angry gashes covering Kane’s skin.

“Kane!” My heart nearly pounded out of my chest as I ran forward. He lay limp over Pyper’s body as she struggled beneath him.

“Jade?” Pyper called back. “Help.”

“I’m coming.” I fell to my knees, blocking out the ever-growing ominous sensation that something was seriously wrong. Something worse than Kane being injured. I didn’t care. All I could focus on was Kane.

I pulled him off Pyper just enough so she was able to roll out from underneath him. She immediately scrambled to her knees, helping me position Kane on his stomach. I needed to attend to his multitude of wounds.

“Oh my God,” I whispered and ran my hands over his back, forcing bits of my magic into him. I couldn’t heal his wounds. All I could do was transfer enough energy into him to wake him so we could get out of there.

“He’s going to be okay. He has to be.” Pyper’s voice rose in a high-pitched panic.

“Yes, he will if I have anything to say about it,” I agreed with confidence, hoping my insistence would calm her. Unfortunately, other than the fact that Kane was still breathing, he hadn’t responded.

Pressure built around us as if the walls were closing in on us. I had to focus. Had to do anything to awaken Kane.

“Jade,” Pyper whispered, her voice hoarse.

“What?” I pushed Kane over on his back, wincing at the thought of all those wounds hitting the dirty ground.

“We need to go. Now.”

I glanced up and barely held back a cry of horror. The fabric of the shadows was ripping right before our eyes. Long red-leather claws poked out of the tear and slid down, slicing a long gash. One black eye peered at me, followed by an ominous laugh so evil it seemed to touch me deep in my soul.

My body recoiled, pain clutching at my gut, but I couldn’t tear my attention away. The demon trying to crawl right into the shadows felt…familiar. I focused on Kane and placed my hand over his heart. His energy rushed into me, mixing with the demon’s, and suddenly I knew why the demon’s energy was familiar.

The awful, gut-wrenching evil that streamed from the demon also had a tiny hint of Kane’s incubus energy. An undeniable allure that was probably used to seduce souls into Hell. My stomach rolled with the association.

“Kane, wake up,” I pleaded and forced my magic straight into his heart.

He woke with a gasp, his eyes wide with shock.

“We need to go,” I said to him, trying to tug him to his feet.

Pyper grabbed his other arm and the two of us got him upright.

“Hang on,” I said to Pyper then looked Kane in the eye. “We need to do this together. We’re going home.”

He seemed to understand and when I nodded, we both took a step.

The three of us tilted and a second later, we landed in a tangle of limbs in the middle of the club, not home. Good enough. At least we were out of the shadows. I scrambled to my knees, quickly taking inventory. Pyper was sitting up, holding her head, and Kane was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

Hot tears welled in my eyes at the sight of them. I hadn’t truly believed I’d find them in the shadows. Or that I’d be able to get them out by myself.

“You did well,” I heard Bea say from somewhere nearby.

I jumped up and spun.

My mentor stood next to Rosalee and two of the younger witches of the coven. They were holding tapered candles and the scent of sage filled the air. They’d come to the club to do some sort of cleanse. “Lucien called you.”

Bea handed her candle to Rosalee and nodded as she walked over to me. “We wanted to be here in case there was anything we could do to help.” She glanced down at Kane and frowned. “He’s hurt.”

“It was me,” I forced out. “To free them I had to…” I couldn’t get the rest of the words out. Emotion choked me.

Bea patted my arm sympathetically. “We all do whatever it is we have to do. Let’s get you three home and we’ll work on mending everyone’s wounds.”

“Thank you,” I said, grateful she was here and taking charge.

***

I sat next to the bed, holding Kane’s hand, while Bea doctored Kane’s wounds with an herbal cream. Rosalee and the other coven witches had gone home, while Bea had escorted the three of us to our house. Now she was on a mission to put Kane back together.

“These will heal in no time, Jade,” she said, swiping healing balm over one of Kane’s cuts.

“It looks awful,” I said, eyeing one of the ugly gashes.

“Only the first bit when she applies the cream,” Kane said, opening his eyes to meet my gaze. “After that, the area goes numb.”

“Well, that’s something at least.”

“How’s Pyper?” he asked and flinched again.

“She’s resting in the other room with Charlie.” I clutched the bottle of water I was holding.

His penetrating gaze bored into me. “That’s not what I asked.”

I grimaced. “Not that great. She’s nauseated and has a headache. I can’t get Ian on the phone, though she doesn’t seem to care that much.”

Kane scowled. He’d never been a fan of Ian’s, especially since I’d gone out with him once before Kane and I had gotten together. But he’d been trying, since Pyper was dating him. “Where is he? Chasing ghosts again? While his girl is fighting off crazy Goddesses and demons?”

“He was asked to work on that traveling ghost reality show. He’s been gone for a week.”

“He should be here.”

“Why? So he could set up his equipment and study the supernatural?” I sat back in my chair. “That’s not what she needs right now.”

All the conviction drained from Kane’s face as he closed his eyes. “No. It isn’t.”

Bea finished her administrations and signaled for me to join her in the other room.

“I’ll be back,” I told Kane. “I have to talk to Bea and then I’ll check on Pyper.”