Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  “You are . . . different.” The man’s thick French accent reminded Jared of how changed New Orleans was. “Tell me, do you have an athame?”

  Jared took a moment to focus on the energy the man gave off. Ahh, a smirk slipped over his lips. The familiar feeling of magic, like a fuzzy, warm haze, came off the man. Of all the luck in the world, I happen to bump into a warlock. “Why, I do. In fact, if you have a moment to spare, I could use your help with my cloak.” Jared mouthed I’m in trouble.

  “Right away. Please, what is your name?” The warlock’s eyes flashed as if he lived for a moment to meet another of his kind virtually out in the open.

  “Jared Pert.”

  “Yes, Mister Pert. I will leave your name with the desk and personally escort you to your room.”

  Jared blew out a breath. Enough time had passed that Ivy and Elijah were either dead, injured or simply not coming. He’d not ran far, so their absence bought him a touch of relief. He didn’t need Drew or Atreus to complete his task, but did need Caliste.

  “She seems scrappy.” Jared tugged on the tight button-down collar, finally feeling discomfort at everything that occurred over such a small period. Including sending himself to another century.

  “Come, with me. Let us cloak you quickly.”

  Yes, and then perhaps I’ll enjoy a drink while casting a locator spell on Caliste. One had to enjoy one’s victories after all.

  Jared looked behind him once before following the man to the stairs.

  Time travel. I did it.

  9

  The fuzzy gray haze and blinding light finally seemed to melt away from the world after a few moments. The warlock’s body, however, still blazed in the corner of the shop. For the first time since finding Jared, Ivy realized what she’d done. Her wand slipped through her grasp and clinked against the wooden floor.

  “Neró,” she aimed her hand at the warlock and water slowly put the flames out. A cry tore past her lips as she looked upon the charred and broken body of a man she’d never known. “I did that,” she whispered almost catatonically as a tear fell from her right eye. Just a single tear. “I killed someone tonight.”

  Elijah’s hand rested on the space between her shoulder blades. His voice was gentle, so unlike his usual presence. “It’s okay. You probably saved us.” He continued to rub his hand over her back. “The djinn attacked, the warlock may have as well if you hadn’t done that first.”

  Tears filled her eyes, making it seem as if she looked at the world from underwater. “I didn’t have to be so aggressive. I could have shouted a different word.”

  “You casted in Greek—I’ve never noticed that before.”

  It wasn’t a question, but Ivy responded anyway—anything to force her mind to something besides the man whose life she took. She shifted her gaze to his, surprised to see a calm serenity in Elijah’s eyes despite what they’d been through. “We are Greek. The core of who we are rests with the men and women who opened the box and created our kinds. Witches and warlocks have always casted the elemental magic that way. It works in all languages, but we’ve found it to be most powerful if we acknowledge the language of our roots.”

  Elijah’s hand ceased moving momentarily as if he contemplated her words and then continued the gentle circular motion.

  “Interesting. Probably not information you want to give a wolf.”

  She snorted. “It’s common knowledge since we were outed, you’re just rather stuck in your own world.”

  “No, I’m a detective, I’m stuck in all the worlds. Unlike those who came before me, I don’t want to know what makes you witches tick. We have our own sides of the spectrum, and I for one, have been content to keep peace through ignorance.”

  She nodded. In the time since Elijah took over the Crescent Pack, there had indeed been between peace amongst their kind. “Well, it has worked, so I understand, but knowledge is power.”

  “Only to a witch or warlock.”

  Ivy didn’t see the need to respond. Her eyes slipped back to the body. She noticed it then, the detail she missed before.

  “The computer. The one on the desk, it’s gone.” She didn’t have a potion to increase her eyesight, so she walked closer to the room the three of the four escaped just moments ago. “When we first walked in, there was one on the desk. Powered off and almost impossible to see with the chaos, but it was there.” She stepped into the room, wishing she had djinn magic to remove the smell of burning flesh. Ivy glanced yet again to the remains. “I’m so sorry.” Ivy closed her eyes and let the tears fall for a moment before continuing to the desk.

  A paper sat on it dated eighteen ninety-seven.

  “Oh, my goddess,” Ivy gasped, her hands flying over her mouth.

  “Do you think they did it?” Elijah stepped beside her.

  Ivy whirled, forcing her focus outside the window. No neon lights flared from the shop across the street. Without a word, she left Elijah’s side again and walked to the storefront. No light switches were near the door and when she glanced outside, the cars that always traveled up and down the Quarter’s streets were nowhere in sight.

  “I think they did,” she placed her hand against the glass and let her nose rest against the same window. “Oh my goddess,” her voice trembled as the gravity of everything finally came to light. “They did it, Elijah. They traveled across time.”

  “Through time,” he corrected, standing beside her and gazing out the window.

  “Really? At a time like this?” She snorted, resisting the urge to knock him backward for acting like a prick.

  “Seriously. Across time wouldn’t be this cool. That’s like transportation. But this,” Elijah pushed open the shop door, and Ivy was surprised it wasn’t locked since the others had burst through a window to exit. “This is another fucking world.” He sucked in a breath. “It smells different, cleaner almost. I’d forgotten that about the past.” Elijah sucked in a deep lungful of air and smiled at her. “I should be furious they got to this point, but my god, I’m standing in the fucking past.”

  “I can’t believe they did it.” A tingle raced through her body, and she froze. “They’re tracking us. I don’t know who, but I felt the spell.”

  “Is it too late to cloak us?”

  She shook her head. “We haven’t even left the shop. If I cloak us now, they just won’t know where we go. I have to be quick though.” She blew out a breath as her mind raced between the various spells. Cloaking oneself from a locator spell was easy, but would it hold out for wish magic if the djinn was the one tracking them?

  Please let this work. “Shadows bind us. Wrap to us. Hide our secrets. Hide ourselves.” She spoke the incantation three times and closed her eyes. The sensation of ants crawling over her instantly stopped. “It worked, but we have to get out of here.”

  “You have any family alive now?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. “My parents,” her eyes unfocused as a fresh wave of grief washed over her, sending her to her knees to the wood floor. “Oh my goddess, my parents are alive and in this city.” Tears splashed onto her hands and off the floor onto her knees and arms. She turned to look at him over her shoulder. “My parents, Elijah. I could warn them about the fire. I could save them.”

  “Is that wise? You claimed you only wished to turn back time to speak to them and learn what you needed.”

  She froze under his scrutinizing stare. Elijah was correct. If she changed time, she’d be no better than Jared, no matter how different her task was. Wouldn’t she? “I can’t do nothing.” Her nose stung and fresh tears fell. All these years of waiting and she’d be forced to keep her mouth shut or become a villain. Sniffling, Ivy wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater.

  “You have too. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you, but I refuse to let you become a criminal.” He dropped down to squat in front of her. “You’re a damned good person, Ivy. Keep it that way. I don’t want to see you on the other end of the law.”

  Ivy he
ard him, but she didn’t care. “I don’t think I can see them and not tell them.”

  “Then we’ll find somewhere else. Jared shouted something about a hotel. Let’s find one and start there.”

  “I can’t be here and not see them.”

  Elijah let out an exasperated sigh and set his hands on her shoulders. “Look, I get this is hard. I had to kill my grandfather to get where I am. Families are tough, but we already failed once. Please, let’s get these guys and then we can sort out what to do about your family.” He looked at her, his green gaze boring into her soul with all the intensity of a raging fire. “Are you listening?”

  She nodded. “I hear you.” Listening to Elijah and stifling the clawing need deep in her gut to run to the Garden District as fast as her feet could carry her were not the same thing.

  “Why do I feel like your wheels are spinning on ways to go around me?”

  “They aren’t.” Not yet. Blowing out a long slow breath she wiped at her eyes again. Her parents had to come second to saving humanity. Even if it meant she had to wait a little longer to see them. “You’re right. We are the only ones who can stop Jared and his associates. I’ll have a pity party after.”

  Elijah gave a sharp nod. “Tonna, Joseph, things will smell a bit funny, but let’s go find our warlock.”

  Ivy turned, her gaze sweeping the shop. With everything going on, she hadn’t bothered to look for the wolves. “Tonna?” She crept closer toward the office again. “Joseph?”

  Spying her wand where it fell in the middle of the shop she scooped it up. “Phos.” A bright white glow, as powerful as a flashlight, illuminated the space.

  Ivy scanned, looking for any sign of white or black fur. She moved about the shop front, not understanding how two large wolves could hide from sight, even with the crystal sculptures around the shop.

  “Ivy?” Elijah called, following a few steps behind her. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing,” she moved toward the staircase in case they’d gone up to look for others. “Yet,” Ivy muttered under her breath as she came back down the stairs.

  The magic busted through the barrier spell and grabbed hold of her both Elijah and her, but there was hide nor hair of the other shifters.

  “The hex,” Ivy gasped, realizing what happened. “The magic couldn’t find them.” She let her gaze lock on Elijah’s. “They aren’t here.”

  “You mean they’re stuck in our present day with absolutely no way for anyone to see them?” Elijah seemed to howl, his eyes glowing with fury as his wolf woke up. “My men trusted you.”

  “There was always the chance I could die.”

  Ivy held her ground as Elijah walked closer, his nostrils flaring as rage turned his face a hint of red as blood rushed to it.

  “How could you not think of that? Of the hex causing these problems.” He stood before her, body quaking with fury.

  Ivy did not ready a ball of witch fire. She knew Elijah, and though his temper ran hot, he wouldn’t endanger her. He wouldn’t threaten an innocent person. “I don’t make it a habit to hex people or get caught in other people’s spell work.”

  Despite knowing he wouldn’t harm her, instinct kicked in, and Ivy took a step back as he took another step closer as his body crowded hers.

  “You left my men to die!” he snarled, his hand snaking out and sending a lamp smashing into the floor. It shattered, sending shards across the space and at least one into her leg.

  “Ow,” she flinched and bent over to wipe at the back of her leg. A small amount of blood stained the tips of her fingers.

  “Ivy,” Elijah hissed, the anger dissipating as he did take hold of her hand then, staring at the blood. “I’m sorry.”

  Jerking her hand from his grasp, she wiped in on her skirt before focusing on a ball of healing light to the slice across her calf. Despite not feeling much pain when the glass sliced her, Ivy felt the sensation of skin knitting back together. Healing magic without a potion was extremely limited, but thankfully this cut was small.

  “It’s fine. Maybe control your emotions the way you’re telling me to control mine.” She stepped away from him again.

  Elijah stayed silent for a moment, his lips pursed so tightly together they may as well have been sewn shut. “You’re right. About all of it. You hexed them at my request. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.” His eyes flashed. “I did this to my pack.” Elijah’s shoulder’s sagged with remorse. “We have to get Jared so we can get home and take the hex off them.”

  “I know.” She took a step closer to him and put her hand on his arm. “I know what happened between us earlier is complicating this. Maybe we should have discussed it before dashing off.”

  He grunted. “What happened is I acted on an attraction I shouldn’t feel. I’m partnered with a woman I’ve essentially been told to hate my entire life, and all I can think about is how fucking sinful you look in that outfit.”

  “My outfit,” Ivy turned to look at the curtains, completely lost in her thoughts at her clothing. “We’re going to have another problem.”

  “Seriously?” Elijah threw his hands up into the air. “What more could wrong? I kissed a witch. I then asked my men to allow a witch to hex them. We failed to stop Jared from time traveling, and you’re telling me there’s more?”

  Ivy nibbled on her lip to stop from chuckling. Everything sounded so absurd when she heard it out loud. “I’m not dressed to fit into this era. Why don’t you help me get the curtains down so I can fashion a shift or a skirt or something? We can’t leave me with looking like a harlot, or we’ll have more problems than tracking down Jared.”

  Elijah said nothing. He merely walked to the window and tugged on the thick, beige curtain. The rings tore from the curtain rod, and he held it out to her. “How are we going to find him?”

  “We’re going to wait. Magic like they just did takes energy—a lot of it. I don’t think Jared cast anything, but without his buddy,” she swallowed the sorrow threatening to take over again. “With his buddy gone, he has a to cast next time because I assume there’s a reason for all three magic casters being present. The witch with them should be tired, too. They can’t stage an attack at this hour of the night with no energy reserves. It’s still early though, so we need to move.”

  “So we go hotel to hotel, and you attempt to locate the witch?”

  “No, I need blood to locate someone. I’ve never seen her before, she’s as good as in the wind.”

  “So the plan is?”

  “Find a hotel for the night. I’m just as drained as they are after so many short casts back-to-back.”

  Annoyed didn’t cover the look on his face, but he didn’t argue. “Okay, so you get the skirt on. Maybe they’ll look past your jacket, or we can claim it’s the newest fashion from Italy to get us by.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t think they know Italy is the center of the fashion world.”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “Nope,” she wrapped the curtain around her waist, coiling it as she went to make a belt to tuck the rest into. “And about the other thing, I’d prefer it if we could pretend it didn’t happen. You are a handsome man, Elijah, but you are also a wolf. Desire has no place between us, and the sooner we go back to ignoring our mutual attraction, the better working together will be.”

  Ivy blew out a breath. Acknowledging her attraction to Elijah’s face had never been a part of the plan. Neither had falling into his arms and kissing him until your body buzzed with desire.

  Doing her best to ignore the sensation of him standing directly behind her, Ivy wrapped the skirt so it fell to her ankles and then draped it before tucking it into the waistband she’d created. Glancing in the window, she knew the outfit wouldn’t work during the day—unless there just happened to be a Mardi Gras parade she could pretend to be with.

  One problem at a time. There never was a more straightforward thought harder to put into action. In six hours a traitor had been unmasked, she’d
kissed a wolf, hexed two other wolves, and traveled to sometime in the eighteen hundreds. Boring could not be a classification for her day.

  10

  “Patience is a virtue,” Ivy drew her finger down the map she lifted from the hotel lobby.

  “No, right now, action is a virtue.” Elijah snorted, continuing to pace alongside the window. Three stories up and he had little trouble seeing the debauchery occurring on Bourbon Street in this timeline. Bars were more tavern-ish, but they still served booze. Harlots shimmed their fluffy skirts and showed off their ample bosom in front of brothels all too similar to the erotic dancers who lured men and women in back in his present. “Over a hundred years in the past and everything is nearly the same.”

  “Yes, well, the city was built on a few qualities that even time didn’t dare change.”

  Elijah glanced away from the street and back to Ivy. She chewed on her thumb as her eyes scanned over the map. It stirred his gut in ways a simple act like that shouldn’t. It’s because you started something you didn’t finish—will never finish—thanks to your pasts. When Elijah stepped into the role as her husband and protector to get them a room at the Royal Sonesta she’d practically bristled beside him. Whether she was annoyed at the lack of women’s rights or pissed he took such liberty, he’d never know. Still, watching her study was the single most erotic thing he’d seen her do. Women with brains weren’t his usual type, but then neither were witches. Ivy Lancaster evoked feelings in him no other woman ever had, and once this mess was over with, he’d find a way to rid himself of them as expertly as she’d suggested.

  He knew what she was looking for and would have offered to help if he thought she’d let him. He was older, but so much of his time before the unmasking of Supernaturals had been spent in the bayou—not the city. The Royal Sonesta remained one of a handful of hotels that withstood the test of time. They’d started there purely because it was closest to their starting point. Even still, she shouldn’t have to try to remember every hotel on her own.