by Deanna Chase
I craned my neck and ducked around him.
“Jade.” Kane grabbed my arm and staunched the invasion of energy once more. The panic fled until I realized we’d lost the dragonfly.
“Oh, man. Do you see it?” I called over the music blaring from the clubs.
Kane nodded and pointed ahead of us.
And sure enough, it was hovering right over the door of Wicked.
Chapter 3
“Let’s go.” Kane took the lead this time as I held on to him, and considering he was over six feet tall, he was able to cut a better path.
When we got to the front of his club, the dragonfly dropped and fluttered inside. I waved at Jim, the bouncer, and ignored his questioning glance. The two strippers who were trying to entice the crowds weren’t nearly as tactful.
“Kane,” a short blonde wearing two tiny strips of leather gushed. “What the heck are you doing here? You can’t seriously be bringing Jade to the club for your honeymoon.”
“Slight change of plans,” he said and brushed past them.
“Don’t let go of me,” I said to Kane when we got inside. The club’s energy was stale and held an echo of past patrons. I could block it out on normal days, but not after the onslaught of the crowds outside.
“I’ve got you.”
We stood at the back of the club, watching the dragonfly. It hesitated and then took off fluttering in a circle high above the stage and the patrons. It moved slowly at first, then sped up, flying faster and faster until it was making a circle right over the spot where we’d opened the portal.
Kane’s hand tightened around mine.
“She used it,” I said, certain that was the case.
He nodded. “If what the angels said is true, then yes, I agree.”
“But if the other shadow walkers followed it here, why didn’t they see traces of it?”
“Maybe they weren’t looking for it.”
“Maybe.” Snapping my fingers, I whispered, “Return.” The dragonfly zoomed back to us and landed lightly in my palm. “Thank you.” I tucked it into my pocket. “Are you ready?” I asked Kane.
“As ready as I’m gonna be.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.”
It had been a few weeks since Kane and I had peeked into the shadow world. The ability had been an unexpected gift—or curse, depending on how you looked at it. At first, every time we’d touched I’d been plunged into darkness. But we’d finally found some sort of balance. It still happened, but we’d been working so hard to stay in this world it was weird to invite the shadows back in.
We clasped hands, and with a deep breath, I let my guards down. Lust and despair, combined with excitement from the club patrons, rushed into me at the same time the world faded to black and then resettled in shades of gray. The club patrons were still visible but muted now and seemingly wholly unaware of us.
Nothing about the club seemed out of the ordinary. There weren’t any lost souls or even a trace of the portal. “That was unexpected,” I said. “Remnants of the portal should be here.”
“Now what?”
I inched forward, pulling Kane with me. People from our world unconsciously moved aside, parting for us in some mystical way. When we got to the edge of where I knew the portal had been, I crouched and placed a hand on the ground. A tiny spark sizzled at my fingertips. “It’s still active. I think I need to call it.”
Kane tugged on my hand, pulling me up. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
I worried my lower lip and shook my head. “No. I don’t. But Chessandra said Mati was on the verge of death. What if we wait too long? What if she dies wherever she is because I’m too scared to go after her?”
Kane’s reluctance was fierce as it slammed into me. “I won’t risk you. Not now. Not ever.”
My heart did a little flip in my chest. I reached up and placed my palm on his cheek. “I know. I feel the same. But can we just walk away from this? Can we live with ourselves if we do? Wherever she is, she’s there because of the portal we opened.”
“Fuck.” He ran his other hand over the back of his neck. “All right. Call the portal, but at the first hint of trouble, we’re backing away. Got it?”
I stifled a laugh. We were way past the first sign of trouble. “Let’s just take it one step at a time.” I crouched once more and placed my palm flat on the ground. Bolts of energy sparked over my hand. Focusing, I pushed my magic to my fingertips. The ground started to glow beneath my hand, and as I forced more and more magic out, the pool of light grew in a pale circle. When I was confident the light wouldn’t fade, I stood and raised my arms skyward. “Portal of mine, do my will. Open for me. Let me see.” It was a lame incantation, but it was the best I could do on the fly.
There was a low rumble that rolled across the club as the wind picked up. It was doing exactly what I’d asked. Then the world tilted, or at least mine did, because I was knocked off my feet and nearly flew headfirst into the fully formed portal, but Kane grabbed me and crushed me to his chest. He scrambled back and held tight, his heart racing frantically against my own.
“Holy shit,” I said. “What happened?”
“The portal almost swallowed you.”
I lifted my head and realized the wind was gone. All that was left was the glow of light three feet in front of us. “It’s a lot calmer than when we opened it before.”
Nodding, he glanced at it. “It feels different than last time, too.”
He was right. The portal to Hell had been an inferno and completely terrifying. The energy of lost, angry souls had come through loud and clear, even to those not gifted with an empath ability. This one was…empty. Like a pit of nothingness but light.
Cautiously, we moved forward, trying to get a read on the portal and where it went. All there was to see was light. I glanced at Kane. “What do you think?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t exactly feel ominous. You getting anything we should be concerned about?”
“No.” Not sure what else to do, I fished the dragonfly out of my pocket and held my palm out. “Find Mati.”
The silver bug fluttered its wings and took off, right into the ball of light.
I turned to Kane. “I think we should follow it.”
He hesitated then nodded his agreement. At the edge, I stopped and glanced up at Kane. “At least we’re jumping together this time.”
“If you jump, I jump, right?”
I snorted out a laugh. “Right, Jack.”
He smiled down at me and brushed a thumb over my cheekbone. “Don’t let go.”
A strange mix of joy and disappointment clutched at my heart and made tears spring to my eyes. I blinked them back. “I can’t believe we’re joking about this right now.”
“Better than hitting something.”
“True. Ready?” I tightened my hand on his.
“On three.” He counted, and a few seconds later we plunged into the light, our hands firmly clasped.
The world rose up and slammed into me, and Kane’s hand ripped from mine as I crashed to the cold, hard ground. “Ouch. Damn, that hurt,” I said, glancing around. I seemed to be sitting on a brick pathway with mist closing in all around me. “Kane?”
Eerie silence met my cry.
“Kane?” I called again, louder, a bit frantic. Had he hit his head? Landed somewhere else? Where the hell was he? “Dammit! Answer me.” I scrambled to my feet, twisting and turning, seeing nothing but mist. “Shit!”
Crouching, I frantically swiped my hands over the ground, searching. He had to be here. We’d come together.
“Kane!” I tried again when all I felt was brick. Standing, I moved cautiously, both anxious to search and also terrified I would put more distance between us. Instead, I sent out my emotional energy. If he was here, I’d get a read on him. Fear, mix
ed with intense curiosity and hope, brushed against my psyche. But it wasn’t Kane. Every emotional signature was unique, like a voice, and I’d know Kane’s anywhere. Whoever I was feeling definitely wasn’t him. He was either knocked out or not close enough for me to reach him.
“Banish the mist,” a feminine voice called from behind me.
I spun. A solid wall of gray met me. “What? Who are you?”
“Who are you?” she demanded, the irritation in her tone mirroring the irritation filling her.
“Mati?” I asked.
More silence.
“Matisse? If that’s you, your sister sent me. Chessandra.” I stood in the mist, becoming more terrified by the second that Kane appeared to be missing. And whoever this was wasn’t helping matters. “Come on. I’m here to help,” I said angrily. “It’s my freakin’ wedding day of all days. Now I’m stuck here, my fiancé appears to be missing, and if you’re not Mati, then I’m seriously in the wrong place.”
“It’s your wedding day?” the woman asked, her voice high pitched with disbelief.
“Well, not anymore.” I crossed my arms over my chest and clutched both arms out of pure frustration.
“Damn. That sucks. Chessa’s such a bitch.”
“Yes, it does. And yes, she is.”
“Are you a witch? Or just a shadow walker?”
“Both.” I took a step toward her voice. “Now what did you mean when you said to banish the mist?”
“You need to cast a banishing spell.” Confusion rippled from her to me. “You said you’re a witch, right?”
I huffed in frustration. “Yes. But I don’t normally banish things unless we’re talking about evil spirits.” Now her energy turned to amusement. Seriously? “Look. If you want my help, you might want to start cooperating. Otherwise, I’m out of here.” That was a lie. I wouldn’t leave until I was sure Kane wasn’t here, but dammit, this chick was pissing me off.
“You’re the white witch, aren’t you?”
I paused. She knew who I was? “Yes,” I answered cautiously.
“Figures.” She let out a long sigh. “This is the spell. By my mind, by my heart, by the power of my will, may the mists part.”
“Okay…but why don’t you do it?”
“I can’t.” Her words were clipped, full of anger. “My magic has…well, it’s not working.”
“Oh.” My heart broke for this girl. Ever since I’d come to accept my magic, it had become so thoroughly a part of me, I couldn’t imagine it not working. Couldn’t imagine how awful and helpless it would be to be without it. Anxious to find Kane and to see something other than mist, I touched the magic deep inside and repeated her words.
The mist retreated, leaving us standing on what appeared to be the waterfront of the Mississippi River. The dark-haired girl sat on the rocks, staring out at the normally brownish water. In this dimension it appeared to be black. She was rail thin but otherwise appeared unharmed.
I searched frantically for Kane but didn’t see him anywhere. “No! Dammit, this is not supposed to happen.”
The girl—no, woman—turned and regarded me with defeated eyes. The dragonfly pin was resting in her hand, no longer animated. “What wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“Kane is supposed to be here. He jumped through with me. Where is he?”
Shaking her head, she closed her eyes. “Unless this Kane is a powerful witch, he likely can’t come here.”
“What? Where are we?”
She shrugged. “Damned if I know. But it doesn’t mist in the shadow world, and this place is void of other souls.”
Shock rippled through me. She was right. There wasn’t anyone else here. Just us two. “We’re not in Purgatory, are we?” I’d seen it before. Kane and Lailah had been stuck in a rundown shack. I hadn’t seen anyone else then, either.
She shook her head. “No. This…feels different.”
Of course she was right. Kane and I had already picked up on that. There weren’t any lingering emotions. Most places had an echo of those who’d come before. This one didn’t. My heart started to thump hard against my ribs. “Holy shit.”
“What?”
“I think we’re in a place where time stands still. It feels just like that room.”
“What is today?”
“February twenty-first.”
She shook her head again. “Not unless years have gone by since I went missing. As far as I can tell, I’ve been here about a week.”
Relief flooded through me. “Yeah, that sounds right. Thank God for that.”
She grunted. “Yeah, you hang here for a week by yourself with no one to talk to and no food or water. See how you like it.”
That horror filled me again. How was she surviving? “No food or water?”
She shrugged. “Besides being really weak, the lack of sustenance doesn’t appear to be a factor. But still, I’m about to go crazy with boredom. It’s like I’m in limbo, waiting all the time for nothing. Because nothing comes.”
“I did,” I said. “And I’m going to get you out of here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “How?”
“However I leave, you’re coming with me.” I glanced around again. No Kane. Where was he? Still back in the shadow world? Jesus, I hoped so. Otherwise I’d never find him. “How did you end up here? That portal I used was originally a gate to Hell.”
Mati sat back down and buried her head in her hands. Then she jerked her head up. “I was working on closing the veil from the shadow world to Hell. Chessandra’s orders.” Self-righteous anger engulfed her and for a second I thought her eyes turned red. Whoa. Just like Chessandra’s. “The spell seemed to work, too, but then it backfired and rushed through me.” She shuddered, and a look of terror claimed her face. “I was on fire. It literally felt like I was burning alive.” Her voice was low, shaking as she forced the words out. “I thought I was going to die.”
The absolute horror of what she’d gone through rushed from her and slammed into me. Even the pain she’d felt hit me hard, making my knees almost buckle. I took deep, cleansing breaths, forcing the energy out of my system, praying I wasn’t pushing it back on her. “What happened then?”
Tears streamed from her big whiskey-colored eyes, the red completely gone now. “I don’t know. The rest of my magic sort of exploded, and when it was gone, I was left with nothing. Not even a spark.”
She’d saved herself with her magic. “You must be a really strong witch.”
“Not anymore.”
“Bea can help,” I said with confidence. No matter how much I learned, there was always something that I couldn’t speak to. But Bea could. Or she’d help find an answer.
“Bea?”
“Beatrice Kelton. The New Orleans coven leader.” I smiled. “She’s back in charge until after the wedding…whenever that’s going to be,” I added, no longer irritated, just resigned.
She stiffened. “I don’t think that’s going to work.”
“Sure it will. We just need to get you out of here.” I was getting super anxious now. I prayed to the Goddess that Kane was waiting for me in the shadow world. Because I was not going to lose him today of all days. That was a hell. Fucking. No.
“I belong to the witches of Coven Pointe.”
“So?” Most witches belonged to a coven. The collective power could accomplish what most witches couldn’t by themselves.
She twisted her fingers together nervously. “You don’t know, do you?”
Oh, crap on toast. Know what? I sighed and shook my head. “Obviously not. Why don’t you fill me in on whatever it is?”
Maybe it was my eye roll that made her laugh. Or the fact that I seemed so clueless. But whatever it was, she seemed amused now. “You’re the white witch who took over for Beatrice and you have no idea. This is just…” She shook her head. “She sure ha
s her secrets. The witches of Coven Pointe live across the river.”
“You mean Algiers Point?” It was the second-oldest neighborhood in New Orleans. They had a coven? I thought I knew all the witches in New Orleans.
She raised a sardonic eyebrow and nodded. “We call it Coven Pointe. Have you ever been there?”
“No.”
“There’s a reason for that. Before Algiers Point was founded, it was claimed by my ancestors and was called Coven Pointe. Over time, they were driven out. But fifty years ago, my grandmother and her siblings reclaimed what is ours. We’ve been at war—if you will—with the New Orleans coven ever since.”
“What?” It was as if she were talking a different language. I’d never known Bea to not welcome a witch into the fold…unless… “Do your people dabble in black magic?”
“No,” she said, clearly offended.
“Thank the Goddess for that.”
“But we do experiment more than the NOLA coven.”
“How?”
She gave a noncommittal shrug. “We just embrace more unorthodox methods.”
I didn’t have any idea what that meant. I didn’t really want to know, either. The angel of the high council had sent me to get her sister. Whatever magic they used, it couldn’t be that bad. I mean, her sister was a freaking angel, for God’s sake. The high angel at that.
“But that’s not why there’s a war,” Mati added.
I raised both eyebrows. “Are you going to fill me in? Because I have to say, this vagueness seems to be a family trait I’m not particularly fond of.”
That actually got a smile out of her. Her entire face lit up, and just like that she morphed into a carefree, vibrant young woman. “Ha. Yeah, Chessa and I do that sometimes. Sorry. All I know is my auntie Dayla and Beatrice had a falling out over some man, and from that point forward, we never talked of or spoke to anyone in the coven on the east bank again. The details are vague, but for as long as I can remember, we’ve been kept isolated from the rest of the witches of New Orleans.”
“That seems…crazy. No offense.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But Auntie Dayla is our coven leader and she’s fair. I assume she has good reasons.”