by Deanna Chase
It took a moment, but realization dawned in those gorgeous eyes, and he suddenly had a gutted look about him.
Kat gave me a questioning glance, but I wasn’t about to answer. It was no one else’s business that Matisse had awoken his incubus side.
He looked like he wanted to ask me more questions, but one glance at our audience and he stood again. “I’ll do whatever’s necessary. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get dressed.” He strode off to the back of the house, calling over his shoulder, “We’ll leave in five minutes. Be prepared.”
Chapter 24
“How do you want to work this?” Vaughn asked me. We’d parked a few houses down from another place that looked a lot like the house across from the fairgrounds.
I glanced at his muscular arms and the bounty hunter gear in his back seat. “Can you go in and restrain him before the rest of us get inside?”
“Probably.”
“Is there a signal?”
“Yeah,” he said as he climbed out of the car. “I’ll flash the lights on and off. Give me ten minutes. If there’s no signal, the plan went to shit and I’d appreciate it if you’d bust in and give me a hand.”
Vaughn opened the back door of his SUV, grabbed some zip ties, shoved a stun gun in his pocket, and then jogged down to the dark house.
I waited until he slipped inside to exit his SUV. A moment later I climbed into the back of Lucien’s Jeep where my friends were waiting. With any luck, Vaughn would restrain Mitch and we could get this over with as soon as possible.
But as the minutes ticked by, my nerves started to fray. Eight minutes. No lights. Nine minutes. And then when the clock kicked over to ten minutes, Bea opened her door. “We’re going in. Kat, it’s best if you stay here.”
“But—”
“No,” Bea said and I was grateful I wasn’t the one forcing her to stay behind this time. She was done listening to me. “It’s too dangerous.”
Kat grimaced, but didn’t argue further.
Lucien sent her a grateful smile and then the pair of us followed Bea. But I had to force myself to put one foot in front of the other. It wasn’t that I was scared. Not for myself anyway. But while Bea’s witch’s brew had helped tremendously, I still wasn’t one hundred percent, and I had no idea if I could work the spell to reverse the curse. I prayed to the Goddess we didn’t totally screw this up.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed Lucien’s hand, more to reassure myself than him. “We’re going to get this done.”
He nodded, but it was hard to tell if he had any faith left at all.
We didn’t bother with a sneak attack. It hadn’t worked before. So this time, Bea raised her hands and a sudden blast blew the front door open. The broken door hung at an angle from one hinge. I stood there transfixed, and all I could think about was that it would fall soon.
“Jade. Get it together,” Bea demanded. She stepped through the rubble with her magic sparking from her palms. If Mitch came after her, he would likely be flattened in less than three seconds.
My own magic kindled to life with her blast and pulsed through my limbs, ready to be unleashed at the first sign of trouble. But the house was empty. Or it appeared to be. Shit! Had Vaughn played us? Was he working with Mitch?
I turned to get Lucien’s take on the situation, but as soon as I did a black blast of fire shot straight at him. I jumped in its path, letting my own magic fly. The two streams collided. Fire consumed my hands, burning so hot, I thought I’d pass out. A scream of absolute terror tore from my throat as the fire started to crawl up my wrists and forearms. I fell to my knees, unable to keep myself upright, and focused on the magic inside me. I could fight this. I had to.
But then a third stream hit the connection. Bea’s cooling blue magic joined mine, instantly soothing my burning hands, and slowly, ever so slowly, the fire began to fade. I could barely feel my fingers. Bea’s spell had all but numbed them. And thank the Goddess for that, because the blistering was downright awful.
With Bea’s strength, we quickly forced the black magic back, and as the connection of the three streams reached Mitch, I took perverse pleasure in watching him writhe in pain. His own spell was going to melt his skin right off.
“Stop!” Lucien cried. “You’ll kill him.”
At that moment, I hardly cared. The bastard had tried to kill almost all of my friends and burn Lucien alive.
But Bea pulled her magic back, and the shock of it startled me enough I dropped mine, too. But it didn’t matter. Mitch was crumpled on the floor in the corner.
Lucien stalked across the room, kicking debris as he went. He kneeled down and touched the witch’s neck. “He’s still alive. But just barely.”
I struggled to get to my feet, unable to use my burned hands. “Where’s Vaughn?” I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to be afraid for him or afraid of him. If he was working with Mitch, he could be waiting to ambush us again. Son of a bitch. How could I’ve trusted him so easily after everything that had happened already? I was only slightly comforted by the fact that Bea had trusted him too.
“Jade, use your magic,” Bea said.
“I’m not sure I have anything left.”
“Your empath gift, dear. See where Vaughn is.”
“Right.” As exhausted as I was, I would’ve thought I’d have no barriers at all. But something was in place, because I was having trouble reading Lucien and Bea. I shook my head and tried again. Then I frowned. “I can’t read anyone here.” I glanced at Mitch. I’d never been able to read his emotions. And now this very old house appeared to block everything. Was it a spell? Maybe.
Screw it. “Vaughn?” I yelled. “Where in the Sam Hill are you?”
A grunt came from the next room.
I followed, it and when I nudged the door open with my hip, I almost laughed. There was Vaughn, chained to a heavy armoire by his own zip ties. “What happened?”
“The bastard jumped me. Fucking brother. He blames me for what happened earlier today. He’s figured out it was me who sent the demon hunters. Did you dust his ass?” he asked, eyeing my hands.
“First of all, he isn’t a vampire. And second, no. We need him in order to force Lucien’s curse to reverse itself.”
Bea came up behind me and spelled Vaughn’s zip ties away.
He rubbed his wrists. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
“One day you’ll return the favor,” she said. “Now, let’s get Lucien’s heart taken care of.”
We all moved back into the living room.
I turned to Bea. “How is this going to work?”
She pulled a wooden chair over and sat a few feet from Mitch. “Remember the spell we did when you extracted the curse from Kat and forced it back into Lucien?”
Frowning, I nodded.
“That’s what we’re going to do here. You’re going to take it from Lucien and force it back into Mitch.”
I opened my mouth but closed it when I realized I had no idea what to say to that. Curing Kat had been hard. Damn hard. But I’d had everyone I loved around me for support. And transferring the entire curse from Lucien to someone else sounded dangerous as hell. But when I thought of Kat and the hope that had been shining in her hazel eyes, I couldn’t say no. She’d been my best friend for over twelve years. She’d always been there for me no matter what, and after all this time, she’d finally found someone to love. If I didn’t do this, what would happen to him? Or her for that matter?
Saying no wasn’t an option. I closed my eyes and wished with all my heart Kane were here. He gave me strength in a way no one else did. Not that he made me more powerful or anything. Not that I knew of, anyway. But his emotional support, the love between us, it always gave me something to hang on to and made me stronger.
I let out a tiny gasp of revelation. That thought had given me an idea. It was no secret Kat was also one o
f my great stabilizers. If she could do it for me, why not for Lucien?
After fetching Kat from the Jeep, I took a seat on the dirty hardwood floor and motioned for Lucien and Kat to join me.
Kat took a step toward me, but Lucien said, “Wait. Maybe Kat should stay over here. You know, away from the spell, just in case.”
I shook my head. “No. She’s going to be useful here. Come.” My tone was commanding, and all hints of apprehension had left me. I had a plan.
Kat moved first, and Lucien reluctantly followed.
“Lucien, sit next to me.” I gestured to my other side, the one Mitch wasn’t on. “And Kat, you sit next to Lucien. Then take his hand.”
“No,” Lucien said. “Not until this spell is gone.”
We’d been careful to not let him taint her because she couldn’t fight any of the magic off, so he had a point. But if this was going to work, we were going to have to take some risks. “Okay. Yeah. Let’s hold off on that for a second. But I still need her. Sit next to him at least.”
Kat nodded and sat cross-legged beside Lucien. She’d do whatever I asked. I gave her a grateful smile.
“Jade,” Bea asked, her eyes curious, “what are you planning?”
I took a calming breath. This wasn’t going to be easy. “I need a way of knowing when Lucien is free from the curse. These types of spells like to linger, right?”
Bea nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay, so Kat has the ability to stabilize my energy. She’s done it many, many times over the years. And I’m pretty sure due to her relationship with Lucien, she can do it for him. I’m mostly concerned about what pulling the curse from him is going to do to him.” And to me, but I didn’t say that. I was the powerful white witch, right? “Once I have it all, I want her there to help him stabilize.”
“He has been carrying it around with him for a long time. You’re probably right.” Bea glanced at Kat. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“Kat,” Lucien said softly.
But she held up a hand. “I love you. And if there’s anything I’m capable of doing, you’re going to let me.”
The tender look in his eyes as he gazed at her nearly made me break down. I had to glance away. Swallowing the emotion clogging my throat, I said to Bea, “You have to give him his magic back first.”
“Of course.” She waited until Lucien turned his gaze in her direction and then got to her feet. “Please stand.”
When he was toe to toe with her, she grabbed his hands and closed her eyes. “By the power of the New Orleans coven, I hereby restore your magic.” Their fingers glowed where they touched, faint at first. Then there was a small, brilliant flash and Lucien’s body stiffened. He took a step back and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get words out, his eyes turned pitch back and the dark magic started to crawl over his skin.
“No!” I cried, certain I was the only one who could see it. Bea and Kat were just standing there studying him. I grabbed his hand and yanked him down. With my other hand, I clutched Mitch’s limp one and let my magic build forcefully in my chest. And then I shouted the spell Bea had used not too long ago when we’d rescued Kat. “Goddess of the living, hear my call! We ask for your help, or your mortal son will fall.”
Lucien’s black magic was crawling over my hands, reversing the numbing effect of Bea’s magic. My fingers were on fire again, the blisters screaming in piercing agony. But there was nothing I could do. If I let go, Lucien would be lost for good. And one look at Kat steeled my resolve.
“Reverse the poison that taints his blood. Bring him back to those he loves.” The words came out on a choked whisper. The fire consuming my hand was too much to bear. Tears streamed down my face, but I clutched harder, unwilling to let go.
“It’s there, Jade,” Bea said, cutting through my haze of pain. “The orb you need. Just direct it.”
I squinted through my tears and spotted the silver ball of magic I’d conjured. I focused on it and ordered, “Find Lucien’s heart.”
The orb bounced in front of us and grew brighter as it shot straight to Lucien’s chest. He let out a loud gasp, and his body slumped forward. I felt nothing from him.
Panic coiled through my core. Had his heart stopped? Please Goddess, don’t take him. Kat needs him. I sucked in a ragged breath. What had I just done?
Lucien let out a howl of pain, and it was all I needed to hear. He was alive. Nothing else mattered at that moment. I unleashed my magic, pouring it into Lucien, letting it mix with the black curse. My head spun, and before I could pass out, I used every last bit of strength I had and pulled it back from him.
My veins constricted, instinctively keeping the ugly, tainted magic from entering my system. My stomach rolled. My body shook uncontrollably. Every defense I had was trying to ward off the poison that surely would kill me if I didn’t control it.
The agony was such that my thoughts were jumbled. I couldn’t think at all. My world was reduced to red-hot, excruciating daggers of pain that ran from my right hand straight through my chest and down my left arm.
The black curse pooled at my left hand’s fingertips, pulsating with darkness and evil so strong it threatened to poison me. It wanted to stay with me. Wanted to take up residence in my heart. Promised power beyond any I’d ever known.
“Jade!” I heard the sharp call of Bea’s voice but couldn’t see her. There was nothing but pain and hellfire. It beckoned me. I was ready to absorb it. Let it overtake me. Submit to the sweet relief of giving up the fight.
Kane’s face swam in my mind’s eye. He seemed too far away, so far out of reach. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, wanted to touch him one last time. If you give up the fight, you’ll see him soon, a voice rang in my mind. Just let go, Jade. Come to me.
“No. I won’t let you go!” Two cooling hands grabbed my shoulders and held on. Cool, clean energy seeped into me, warring with the taint.
My eyes snapped open, and I stared into the fierce eyes of my best friend.
“Do not let it take you. Not now. Not ever.” Kat’s face was set into a determined expression.
Tears started to fall again, the tracks leaving a tingling sensation over my skin.
“Do you hear me, Jade?”
I nodded.
“Say it. Say you hear me.”
“I hear you,” I forced out in a barely audible voice.
“Say you’ll fight,” Kat ordered again.
I nodded again. “I’ll fight.”
Lucien’s hand tightened on my burned one and I nearly passed out with the pain. I groaned and forced myself to keep eye contact with Kat. She was keeping me here.
“Focus now,” she said in a soft tone. “Make him take it. Unleash the curse on Mitch. Do it now.” Her cool hand shifted and clasped over the one Lucien held. The fire dulled, and soothing relief rushed up my left arm and coiled around my heart.
My head snapped up, and the dam burst. The black magic concentrated at my right hand flooded into Mitch.
His body jerked and convulsed under the invasion. I held tighter, focusing on the clean energy Lucien and Kat were pouring into me until every last drop of pain and agony was gone, forced from my system and into the broken witch who lay unconscious beside me.
I slumped against the wall behind me, barely able to even hold my head up. The room was completely silent. I lifted my head and caught sight of Lucien and Kat sitting next to me, both of them staring straight at me, appearing just as spent as I was. I met Kat’s eyes and mouthed, Thank you.
Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head, indicating there was nothing to thank her for. Lucien had a tight grip on her hand. His look of gratitude told me everything I needed to know. We’d talk about the specifics later. They’d be fine. We all would.
Then I heard someone clear his throat and Vaughn s
aid, “You better call the Witches’ Council.”
“Of course,” Bea said quietly.
Magic tingled around me in a soft whisper, and a moment later, the air shifted and everything became cooler.
An elderly witch, dressed in a linen suit, appeared from thin air. “What do we have here?” she asked in a surprisingly strong voice.
“A witch consumed with black magic. He’s been wreaking havoc for a while now. You’d better take him in,” Bea said.
The witch from the council didn’t seem interested in talking to anyone but Bea. And that was just fine with me. Someone else could take it from here.
A few moments later, the council witch snapped her fingers, and both she and Mitch disappeared.
I blinked. “Damn. That was easy.”
Kat let out a strangled laugh.
I gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I meant the removal of Mitch.” I grimaced, catching Vaughn’s gaze. “Sorry,” I said again. “I know he’s your brother.”
His eyes darkened. “Stepbrother. And he got what he deserved.”
Bea held out her hand, three healing herbs nestled in her palm. “Each of you take one. It’ll help.”
“Here,” Kat said, grabbing them. She handed one to Lucien and held one up to my mouth. “Take it.”
I didn’t hesitate. There was a time I would have. But not anymore. I swallowed the pill dry and then closed my eyes and waited for its magic.
“Jade?” Bea said.
I opened my eyes. “Hmm?”
“We need to do something about those hands.”
I glanced down and gasped as my body started to tremble with delayed shock. “Oh my God.” They were bad. Much worse than I thought they’d been. They were lobster red and covered in white blisters.
“We need to get you to my place. I have a poultice that will all but cure that.” Bea’s expression was confident, and I prayed she was right.
Vaughn walked over to me, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
“Are you available tomorrow? I need to recover before we go after Matisse. If you’re still willing, that is,” I said.