by Deanna Chase
I groaned. It wasn’t unusual for tourists to want proof of Ida May’s existence. A lot of them read the article and then scoffed and made statements about ghosts not being real. I usually just shrugged and let them believe whatever they wanted. Bo did too. If he’d gotten exasperated enough to call Ida May, the customer must’ve been making a pain of herself. “Was she holding up the line?”
Bo nodded. “Yep. She wouldn’t budge, and we were starting to get a line out the door. I guess that’s when Julius showed up, because one moment it was just me and Reagan and the next, he was there. He sort of took charge, leading her away from the counter and talking to her about ghosts.”
Ida May let out a whimper and wrapped her arms around herself.
Holy shit. Ida May was traumatized. Fear crawled over my skin as I tried to not imagine the worst. “What did the woman do?”
“She cast some spell that looked like a lightning strike. It hit Ida May and then Julius. At first they were both completely frozen, but then the spell crackled through Ida May, leaving her stunned. But Julius…” Bo took a deep breath and wiped his eyes.
“Just tell me,” I whispered, pressing one hand to my heart and another to my belly.
“He turned into a white ball of light, and when it faded, he was gone. He vanished into thin air, and so did the woman.”
Even though I’d known the news was going to be awful, his words still hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. Julius had been spelled with something nasty, but from the sounds of it, they weren’t sure he was a ghost. Ida May might still be traumatized by the spell that had zapped her. “So the witch spelled him and they both vanished at the same time, do I have that right?”
Bo nodded.
“Then he’s probably wherever she is,” I reasoned. “It means we have to track them somehow. I’ll call Kane so the Brotherhood—”
He’s a ghost, Pyper, Ida May insisted as she turned to look at me. Her eyes were still wild, but this time they were full of fear instead of confusion. I saw him with my own two eyes. After the witch disappeared, he was standing there right next to me.
I relayed what Ida May said to Bo and then asked her, “Did he say anything?”
Yeah. He said, “Fuck!” Then he faded away with a scowl on his face.
I closed my eyes, concentrating on taking deep breaths. When I opened them again, Ida May was gone.
“What is it, Pyper?” Bo asked cautiously.
“Julius is a ghost again, all because some woman got freaked out that Ida May haunts the café,” I forced out, my voice cracking on the words. And as the tears started to fall, I said, “We need Bea and Jade to summon him.”
“Pyper?” Bo’s voice broke through my fear haze, and I rolled over to face the door of my bedroom.
“Are they here?” My tone was emotionless. After my conversation with Bo and Ida May, I’d escaped to my bedroom and let myself have a good cry. But once my tears had dried, everything inside me had turned to stone. There wasn’t time to waste being upset. The sooner we found Julius, the sooner Bea and Jade could help us untangle this mess.
“Yes. So are Kane and Charlie.” He walked over to the bed and set a Grind coffee cup on the nightstand. “I thought you could use this.”
I sat up and took a sip of the mocha latte he’d brought me. “Thanks.”
“You sound… better.”
“Just determined.” I stood. “Let’s go.”
He hesitated for a moment, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then he closed it and shook his head.
“What is it?” I asked.
Before he could answer there was a knock on the door and then it swung open. Jade rushed in and threw her arms around me. “We’re going to fix this. I promise.”
I automatically hugged her back. And dammit, those tears were back again. I closed my eyes, willing them to go away. She squeezed harder, making it almost impossible to breathe. But I didn’t care. At that moment I was glad to give up my breath just to feel her love engulfing me.
Another strong pair of arms embraced us. I knew without looking the second person was Kane. He was behind me while Jade clutched me from the front.
“Don’t worry, Pypes,” he said. “He’ll be back.”
I knew he would be. One way or another, he’d find his way back to me. It was just a question of whether that would be in human or ghost form.
“Okay,” I said, dropping my arms from around Jade. “Let go. We have work to do.”
The Rouquettes released me, and with steel determination running through my core, I led them out into the living room.
The first person I saw was Charlie. She was sitting on the couch, clutching the hand of— Was that Candy Rhines from the popular supernatural show on Showtime? She sure looked like her with dark, sleek hair and long legs.
“Charlie? Are you okay?”
Her head snapped up, her tired eyes finding me. “I’m fine now.” She rose and walked over to me. Exhaustion appeared to have settled in her bones. She moved slower than usual and she was pale, as if she hadn’t eaten or slept in days. “What about you?”
“I’ve been better.” We hugged, neither of us needing to say anything else. We’d known each other a long time and knew without a doubt that whatever the other needed, we’d do it. Before I let go, I whispered, “Is that who I think it is on the couch?”
She pulled back and gave me a wry smile. “Yes. She flew all the way here from California to spring me from jail.”
“Candy bailed you out?” I asked, astonished. And although it should’ve been obvious at first glance, it finally dawned on me that the two must be dating. Holy cow. I knew they’d met before. Charlie had taken Candy to a holiday party at Kane’s plantation house south of the city one year, but I’d never heard a word about her after that. Was it possible they’d been dating the entire time and Charlie never said a word? Yes, it was. While Charlie had joked about all the women she dated, I hadn’t actually seen her with anyone in a very long time. Now it was obvious why.
“I told her she shouldn’t have, but you know how actresses are.” She gave Candy a grateful smile. “They do whatever they want.”
Kane shrugged. “Candy beat me to it.”
I nodded at him and turned my attention back to Charlie. “Listen, I have some leads to follow up on about what happened at Sam’s the other night. But first I need—”
“Don’t worry about that now,” Charlie insisted. “Do what you need to do to find Julius. Sasha is dealing with my case.”
I hesitated. “But what if I’m needed?” Ghosts were communicating on her case, and I was the only one who could talk to them.
“We’ll worry about that later,” Charlie said. “Right now you need to find Julius.”
Hearing his name sent a bolt of panic through me, and I felt the loss of him with a fresh wave of despair. What if he couldn’t be saved? What if he was just gone? My breathing became shallow and my vision blurred slightly.
“Pyper,” Kane said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to steady me. “Look at me.”
I did as he said, meeting his dark brown eyes.
“Deep breaths. I’ll do them with you.” His voice was steady as he held my gaze. Then he sucked in air and I automatically followed. It only took a couple of moments before my breathing was back under control.
My face heated with embarrassment as I scanned the room, taking in all the people who loved me. I was falling apart, and Pyper Rayne never fell apart. She was the calm, cool, collected one. Of course, aside from being abducted by an evil spirit a few years ago, I’d never felt so helpless or vulnerable. What would I do without Julius? We were supposed to be getting married in a few weeks.
“Pyper, come sit here.” Bea’s silky Southern voice filled the room. I immediately did as she asked. The older witch was wearing a dark green suit with a violet blouse, making her look like the sophisticated old-world New Orleanian she’d always been.
“You look amazing, as always,” I sai
d, leaning against her when she pulled me in for a side hug.
“So do you,” she said and kissed me on the top of my head. “But enough of the niceties. We have a summoning to do. And the quicker the better. Are you ready?”
I sat back up, straightening my spine. “We’re going to do it here?”
She shook her head. “No. Down in the café. That’s where he vanished, right?”
I nodded. “It’s also where the witch clocked Ida May and addled her brain.”
“Okay then. Get something of Julius’s, something that means a great deal to him, and meet us down in your shop. It’s closed now, right?”
I glanced at the clock. “No, but we can shut it down.”
“Good. Then let’s get moving.” She stood and moved to the door. Jade and Kane were right behind her.
“I’ll tell Reagan we’re closing,” Jade said. Technically she was an employee of the café, but since she’d had Juliet, she’d been on leave.
“Hey,” I called to her. “Who’s watching the baby?”
“Kat. Lucien is on his way here to see if he can help.”
“Good. That’s good,” I said absently, already trying to think of what to bring of Julius’s for the finding spell. The three of them disappeared into the hall, leaving me with Bo, Charlie, and Candy freakin’ Rhines.
I disappeared into the bedroom I shared with Julius and glanced around. Julius wasn’t a collector of things. Or at least not most things. Right there in the middle of his dresser was the pocket watch I’d picked up for him at an antique store. It was the same style as the one he’d carried when he was alive in the 1920s, and he loved it. But this one had stopped working, and I’d meant to take it in to get repaired. It was the perfect thing to use for the summoning spell.
Bo was waiting for me by the front door while Stella and Stanley were crawling all over Charlie and Candy. I raised one eyebrow at them. “You okay with them?”
“Yep,” Charlie said, putting a protective hand on Stella. “Do you mind if we stay here for a while? There’s a bunch of paparazzi out on Bourbon, waiting for Candy to show her face.”
“There is?” I asked, astonished. New Orleans was usually a chill place that was referred to as Hollywood South due to all the filming that went on. It wasn’t uncommon for celebrities to move freely through the city without getting harassed.
“Someone heard she’s dating a woman who was arrested on murder charges, and now they’ve lost their minds,” Charlie said, not meeting my gaze.
Candy let out a sigh. “Babe, I told you I don’t give two fucks about that.”
I took a liking to Candy immediately.
“But I do,” Charlie insisted. “I won’t let my troubles interfere with your life. We can sneak out the back later when they get bored.”
“Stay as long as you like,” I said. “Or, you know, there’s an empty apartment above Wicked. The one Jade used to rent back in the day. It’s even furnished. You’re welcome to hide out there too if it’s just too intense.” Because I was certain that the press would already know where Charlie lived, and there would be no hiding from them if they’d set up camp on her street.
“Thanks, Pyper. We’ll let you know,” Charlie said.
I waved a hand. “The key is in Kane’s office at the club. You know where to find it.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Candy turned her attention to me. “Thank you. And if you need anything from me, just name it.”
I gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Candy. The only thing I want right now is my fiancé.”
“Right. I hope the finding spell works.”
“Me too.”
Chapter Nine
“What’s that doing there?” I asked, staring at a plate of maple eclairs sitting in the middle of a table. Kane, Jade, and Bea were already forming a circle around the table while Bo was rummaging around in the back.
“We’re going to summon Ida May first,” Jade explained.
“Did you try calling her?” I asked. It was how I usually got her to show her face when I wanted to talk to her.
“Yep. Nothing. Not even a hint of her.” Jade could feel people’s emotions. Her power was so strong she could feel ghosts’ emotions even though she usually couldn’t see them. That was my specialty.
“So we’re going to summon her with eclairs?” I frowned at them. “Shouldn’t we find Sterling or something?” Sterling was her ghostly boyfriend. If anyone could get Ida May to come running, it was him.
“How would we do that?” Jade asked. “We don’t have anything to connect him to us.”
“Right.” He only showed his face in the café when Ida May was there. “But eclairs?”
“And chocolate truffles,” Bo added as he appeared from the back and strode toward us. “We just need to make up one of her inappropriate displays and we should be good. Or at least as good as we’re going to get according to Bea.” He glanced at the older witch, who nodded her approval.
“Twigs and berries,” I said. It could work. It was one of Ida May’s favorite gags. Every few weeks our resident ghost arranged the eclairs and the donut holes suggestively and then named it the Twig & Berries special. And the funny thing was that ever since Ida May introduced her naughty creation, customers started asking for the combo even when the pastries weren’t arranged in a phallic display. “The change from donut holes to truffles is an interesting choice. Do you think it will matter?”
Bea shrugged. “Bo said there aren’t any donut holes, so we’ll have to make do. I guess we’ll find out.”
Once Bo had the offering arranged to resemble a man’s junk, he wrote the special on the board and then joined us for the circle. “Ready.”
“Good. Hold hands. Jade is going to lead us in this one,” Bea said.
Jade grabbed my hand, and in the next moment she chanted the summoning spell, specifically calling to Ida May. The magic was strong. I could feel the pressure of it crawling over my skin, which was unusual. Jade’s magic was light and airy unless she was fighting a dark curse…
“Wait!” I cried. “Stop. Do you feel that?”
Bea pulled her hands from Bo and Kane, taking a quick step back. Her face was pale, and her mouth had dropped open in surprise.
“Feel what?” Kane and Bo asked at the same time.
“There’s a curse lingering in here,” Jade said, her eyes narrowed in irritation. “What’s worse is that it took Pyper mentioning it for me and Bea to feel it.”
Kane automatically reached out for his wife’s hand. “Are you all right?”
“Fine. Just pissed.” Jade pulled her hand from Kane’s, crouched down, and placed her hand right on the floor. “It’s black magic.”
“You’re right,” Bea said, kneeling beside Jade to place her own hand right next to her former student’s. “White magic leaves cleaner traces.”
“So what do we do?” Bo asked.
I rocked back on my heels, focusing on the phallic pastry arrangement. An inappropriate bubble of laughter crawled up my throat. It was so ridiculous. And yet it was so perfectly Ida May, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Pyper?” Jade asked. “What’s funny?”
As I met my friend’s eyes, all the humor left me. I frowned and bit down on my lower lip. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Can we just move on to whatever it is we need to do? Or is this out of the question now?” I scanned the area, meeting Bea’s eyes. I’d been looking for answers, but instead all I saw was compassion. The look nearly broke me in two.
I tore my gaze away and focused on Jade again. She’d gone from treating me with kid gloves to being a pissed-off witch who didn’t appreciate being duped by black magic.
“Do you have salt? Candles?” she asked.
I nodded. “Anything else?”
“Sage. We need to clear the stench from this place. Now that I know the black magic is here, it’s making me nauseated.” Jade pressed a hand to her already flat belly. The woman just had a baby six weeks ago. It was entirely unfair
that it was obvious she’d have her pre-baby figure back in no time.
Almost as if I were in a trance, I disappeared into the back, grabbed the salt, the emergency candles, and the bundle of sage I kept in the desk drawer that I always threatened to use if Ida May stepped too far out of line. Anxiety coiled in my gut as I stared at the bundle. If Jade used it, would it cast Ida May out forever?
“Ida May!” I called out, gripping the sage so hard that my fingers actually started to cramp. I ignored the pain and clutched tighter. “Get back in here before Jade smudges the place and you’re locked out for good.”
You wouldn’t do that to me, Ida May’s unmistakable voice called out. How many times have I told you that your life would be boring as hell if I wasn’t around to keep you entertained?
“More times than I can count. And the truth is, you’re right. Now come with me. Bea needs to see you.” I opened the door that led to the front of the café and waved Ida May through, even though doors weren’t an issue for her. And for once, the ghost moved toward the door without any sass. I should have been elated, but it just made me that much more scared. What exactly did she know about Julius’s whereabouts? And if she knew something terrible, would she tell me? It was a toss-up as to which way she might go.
Before we made our way back into the front of the café where Jade and Bea were waiting for me, I paused. “Ida May?”
The ghost jerked to a stop, her hair sticking out as if she’d been electrocuted, but at least she was coherent. Yes?
“Do you know what happened to Julius?”
My ghost paused and stared at me. Of course not. If I did, I’d have dragged him back here no matter what shape he’s in.