Witches of Bourbon Street (16 page)

“No. I only altered Jade’s.”

“Too bad.” Gwen laughed and took a sip. “Hope didn’t want to go by herself, so I went with her.”

The thought of my mother ever needing someone by her side to do anything was totally foreign to me. My entire life, she’d always done everything on her own terms. She’d run her own natural healing shop, bought our house, raised me, and did it all without the help of my father, who’d taken off before I was born. For fifteen years, it had been her and me against the world.

You can do anything you set your mind to, Jade. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
She’d say that anytime I ever got discouraged about a grade, a project, or any of the small incantations she’d try to teach me.

This time I’d made up my mind I’d bring her home. And I would, with Bea’s help.

Bea’s face lit with a warm smile. “Turns out, the three of us were cabin mates over forty years ago.” Her expression turned gentle. “Your mother was very talented.”

“She was, and look at what happened to her.” This was my cue to explain all the reasons why exploring my witchy tendencies was a terrible idea. But the possibility of finding her and all the week’s events held me back. I got up and moved to Gwen’s side. Gripping her hand, I stared into her eyes. “We have to help her.”

“Hope?” Gwen’s forehead creased as she frowned. “You know I would do anything for your mother, but after all these years, I don’t even know where to start.”

“But I thought…” Hadn’t she said she’d already known what I had to tell her? “You didn’t have a vision of what happened today?”

“Today? No, I thought you were talking about what you did for Bea.” Gwen’s energy wrapped around me in the way it did when she wanted to protect me. When she spoke again, her voice came out hushed and urgent. “What happened?”

I glanced once at Kane for support then blurted, “I’ve found her.”

Chapter 12

It took a while to explain the portraits and the voodoo dolls. When I got to the part about finding them in Dan’s car, I turned to Lailah. “How did he end up with them, anyway? You had them last.”

She paled. “I’ve been working with him.”

“Yeah, angel stuff. We know. What does that have to do with the portraits?”

“Nothing. Except…”

Bea, who had remained silent through my explanations, finally spoke, her southern drawl thick with authority. “Except what, Lailah? Under coven law, you are obligated to share your knowledge.”

The angel sent Bea a small, grateful smile, and she visibly relaxed. “Thank you. The secrecy bond wouldn’t let me say anything.”

“Secrecy bond?” I asked.

“It’s an angel thing.”

“When isn’t it?” I muttered.

Lailah sent me a look that could freeze oil. She turned to Bea. “I’ve been tasked with overseeing Dan Toller’s soul.”

I froze. Did I hear her right? “Dan’s soul?”

She nodded. “I got my orders not long after we brought you back from your coma.”

“But his soul? What does that mean?”

Bea cocked her head. “Aren’t you aware of what angels do?”

“Make miracles happen? Grant wishes? Spread the word of God?”

Lailah gave me a look of disgust. “I’m not a fairy godmother or a proselytizer.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Dang, I didn’t know angels were so sensitive. “I mean, do God’s work. You know, do good, spread love, that kind of thing.”

Bea laughed, breaking the tension. “Yes, angels do that, but their main job is to protect souls. When one is in danger, an angel is assigned to them.”

“Really?” Gwen chimed in for the first time. “What happens if you can’t save them?”

Lailah’s face darkened. “We lose them.”

“To Hell?” Suddenly I shivered. It was Dan’s soul that was in danger. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering how terrible he’d been acting lately, but something deep inside me ached.

She nodded. “Something like that.”

I didn’t want to know what that meant. “And that’s why you’ve been his anger management mentor?”

“Anger is the first sign of corruption. If we can control that, he’ll have a chance.”

I fell silent, wrapped up in the new information. What had happened after the exorcism that had triggered a soul assignment for Dan? He hadn’t been a part of it, so that couldn’t have anything to do with his current situation. Could it?

I was about to ask when Lailah pushed a long blond lock of hair out of her eyes and spoke again. “What worries me is we were making progress. Dan took responsibility for the way he’d been treating Jade and even apologized.”

“He did?” Kane whispered in my ear.

I held up my hand in a wait motion.

“But then he stole the portraits,” Lailah continued. “How did he even know about them? Or where I live? We only meet at the counselor’s office once a week.”

Everyone turned in my direction.

“How would I know? Before you brought him into the café, I hadn’t spoken to him since the night Kane threw him out of the club.”

“Did you mention anything to Kat?” Lailah asked.

“No, not until I spotted the portraits in Dan’s car.”

Bea stood and strode to the center of the room. “Lailah, stick as close to possible to Dan. I know his soul is your highest priority, but we need to find out what his interest is in these portraits.” She turned to me. “Where are they now?”

“I have them.” Kane spoke for the first time. “I locked them up for safekeeping.”

“Good,” Bea said. “Keep them away from Jade until we can explore them in the safety of the coven’s sanctuary.”

“I want to see this portrait of Felicia,” Gwen said. “Today.” She got up and started moving toward the door, her gray curls bouncing at her shoulders. “Coming, Jade?”

Before anyone could stop me, I jumped up off the couch and met my aunt at the door.

“Gwen,” Bea said. “I know you’re anxious about your sister, but can you wait one more day? Tomorrow night we’ll have the protection of the coven.”

“I’m sorry, Bea. But no. I’ve been waiting for twelve years for a clue to materialize. I will not wait one more minute. Besides, my powers are subtle. I don’t need to touch the portraits. Being near them will tell me what I need to know.” Gwen linked her sun-tanned arm through mine. “Jade will bring me back when we’re done and we can plan from there.”

A thin thread of Bea’s frustration entered my awareness. It stopped me in my tracks. Had she sent it to me or had it escaped her usually tightly controlled energy? By the pinched look on her face, I decided it had escaped. She wasn’t used to anyone telling her no and it showed. At least she still had Lailah to boss around.

By the time we made it out to Kane’s new Lexus, he had caught up with us. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked.

“Yes,” we said in unison.

Gwen gripped my hand and squeezed it before opening the car door for me.

***

I paced in my living room, unable to relax. Despite my protests and many arguments, Gwen kept refusing to let me go with her to Pyper’s apartment.

“I’m sorry, honey, but I don’t want your energy tainting anything I might find,” she’d said.

Gwen’s a psychic intuitive. She picks up things: impressions, events that have happened or are going to happen. The closer she is emotionally to someone, the better the connection. It’s why she almost always knows what’s going on in my life before I tell her. She doesn’t always know specifics, but she knows when I feel strongly about something. Her gift is different than mine in that she doesn’t pick up on random people’s emotional energy—she just knows things. It was worth having her inspect the portraits even though I was uneasy about her being alone with them.

“Fine. But be careful. If anything happens…”

Gwen pulled me into a hug. “Don’t you worry, little one. Nobody’s going to get the jump on this old broad.”

I choked out a muffled laugh. “You’re not old.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Come on. I’ll take you to Pyper’s. Kane said he’d bring the portraits up there for you. She lives next door.”

“That’s convenient.”

I shrugged. “She owns The Grind. It sure makes the commute nice.”

By the time we made it down the three flights of stairs in my building and up the two in Pyper’s, Gwen’s face had turned red and her breathing came out in short, winded breaths. Worry settled in my chest. Gwen owned a farm and spent most of her days either riding her tractor or working with horses. Stairs should not be an issue. “Are you all right? What’s wrong?”

A sheepish smile spread across her lips as a faint trace of guilt reached me. She leaned against the wall and flexed one leg. “It’s nothing. I twisted my knee a few months ago and have been laid up until recently.”

“Why didn’t—”

She held up both hands. “You’re not the only one who doesn’t want people worrying about them.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. You always know when something’s wrong with me.”

“And see how restrained I am about not calling every time something is amiss?” She pinned me with a knowing glare.

I had to admit, she was a lot more restrained than I would be. I supposed she had to get used to letting me go at some point. The fact that we talked only once a week was a freakin’ miracle. “Point taken. But you still should have told me.”

She dismissed me with a wave just as Pyper opened her door. “I thought I heard someone out here. Ms. Calhoun, nice to see you again. Come in, and I’ll get you two something to drink.”

“Thank you, but Jade has a young man waiting for her.” She winked in my direction and, as the door swung shut, I heard her telling Pyper to call her Gwen.

I leaned against Pyper’s door, debating. Should I wait there, outside her apartment? I’d told Kane I’d meet him in his office, but if Gwen had a vision, I didn’t want to wait to find out about it.

After a couple of moments, my phone beeped, indicating a text. It was from Gwen.
Go away. I know you’re still out there.

Crap. Her message instantly propelled me halfway down the hall. A person can’t hide anything from a psychic. The thought made me laugh at myself. No wonder people felt weird around me. With one last glance at Pyper’s door, I headed down the stairs.

At the back door of Wicked, I took a second to collect myself before using my key to unlock the door. The music pulsed in rhythm to a strobe light, illuminating a spinning dancer suspended high on one of the poles. She had positioned herself upside down with her back lying against the pole. Only the impressive grip of her thighs kept her from plummeting head-first to the stage.

With skills like that, she should be entertaining a Cirque De Soleil crowd, not the sex-addled patrons of a strip club. Luckily the club was still mostly empty and I didn’t get bombarded with the usually thick, frustrated lust that always made my stomach turn. Good thing too, because I’d forgotten to strengthen my defenses before entering.

The music faded and the lighting changed to soft overhead mood lighting. As soon as my eyes adjusted, I spotted Charlie behind the bar. Her face broke out into a genuine smile and she waved me over. “Please tell me you’re here to help out? I’d love to spend some time with my favorite girl.”

I laughed. “Every female you’ve ever met is your favorite girl.”

“Not true,” she said with a pout. “I’d be happy to never see Ariel again. That girl was a mess.”

“That’s what you get for dating twenty-year-old bi-curious girls. Why can’t you find a nice, stable woman to go out with?”

“The young ones are much more impressionable.” She smirked.

“You’re hopeless.” I grinned. “But no, I’m not working. I’m supposed to meet Kane in his office.”

Her smile vanished.

“What?”

She glanced toward Kane’s office and tugged on a lock of short, red hair at the base of her neck. Her expression suddenly changed, as if she’d just made up her mind about something. “Look, Jade. Normally I wouldn’t say anything or get involved in any way, but something is off.”

No kidding
. Spells, poison, trapped souls. Talk about weird.

“With Kane, I mean.”

I stiffened. “How?”

She pursed her lips together and studied me, concern radiating from her chest like a beacon.

“Charlie,” I warned.

“Okay, fine. It’s that Lailah chick. She keeps showing up here and disappearing with him into his office.”

Kane? Lailah? What? The words registered, but the full meaning didn’t hit me until she started to speak again.

“I didn’t know if I should say anything. I mean, Kane’s my boss, and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but he acts really weird when she’s around. I just don’t want to see you hurt.” Her face softened. “I know you thought I was kidding before, but you really are one of my favorite people. You have a right to know.”

I turned to stare at Kane’s door.

Charlie moved from behind the bar and stood next to me. The music and lingering emotions in the room seemed to disappear. My Kane and Lailah. It had to be a mistake.