by Deanna Chase
He let out a low chuckle. “Which part?”
“The part where you turn into a supernatural being and end up spending two days fighting evil. If that weren’t bad enough, you didn’t even leave me a way to get in touch with you.” There were tears in her voice.
Kane ran his hand over her dark hair. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Jade’s fine. Nothing to worry about now.”
I sank into a chair, startled at her reaction. Pyper was my tougher-than-nails, no-nonsense friend. I think I’d only seen her cry twice before, and one of those times was after a spirit had given her a mystical beatdown. I’d known she was worried about Kane, but I hadn’t realized she’d been this upset.
She pulled away from him and brushed the back of her hand over her eyes. “You damned well better be.” Then she stalked back behind the counter and went to work on a latte and a soy chai.
Kane and I shared a glance, and then both of us slipped behind the counter and helped her get the store ready for what was bound to be one of her busiest days of the year.
***
At eight sharp, Kane and I stood in front of Wicked, waiting for Vaughn. Lucien had texted him for me the night before with the time and place. Hopefully he hadn’t changed his mind. By ten after, I was wearing the bricks down on the sidewalk outside.
“Come on.” Kane pulled his key out and unlocked the front door. “It’s going to rain. We’ll wait inside.”
Reluctantly I followed him into the silent club. Charlie wasn’t even in yet. Kane flipped the lights on, and from the corner of my eye, I caught movement. I jumped and clutched at Kane’s back. “Holy shit. Who’s that?”
Vaughn stepped from the darkness and gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. When I shadow walked, I miscalculated and ended up inside rather than outside.”
“You can just pop in wherever you like?”
“Not everywhere.” He strode over to Kane and held his hand out. “Vaughn Paxton. You must be Kane?”
“Kane Rouquette.” They shook hands and sized each other up.
“You’re new, aren’t you?” Vaughn asked him.
“New?” Kane laughed. “I guess that depends on what we’re talking about. New to the brotherhood but not so much when dealing with demons and other paranormal shit.”
Vaughn nodded. “Yes, by the time any of us make it on their radar, we’ve usually waged a few battles.” Then he turned to me. “What’s the plan?”
“No real plan. There’s a portal. If what Dayla says is true, as a shadow walker and the descendant of a demon, you shouldn’t have any trouble crossing. Ready?”
He nodded. “Always.”
“Okay then.” I grabbed Kane’s hand, and in one blink, the portal appeared just as it had the two days before. “Do you see it?”
“Yeah,” Vaughn said, turning to look at me.
So far so good. All of us were in the shadows together. “Kane, are you coming?”
“I’m going to try.”
“Good.” I glanced at Vaughn again. “Let’s jump together.” The portal was certainly big enough.
“On three then,” he said.
I nodded, and with Kane’s hand in mine, I counted. Then I was falling through the whirling haze, and true to form, when we hit solid ground, I landed on my ass. “Son of a… Am I ever going to learn to do that correctly?”
Someone snickered, and I glanced up through the mist to find Kane and Vaughn grinning. Both had landed on their feet. The fog wasn’t as thick as it had been before. Something had changed.
“Damn. How did you do that?” I scrambled to my feet, rubbing my ass.
“Skill?” Kane arched an eyebrow.
“Shut up.”
He grinned and draped his arm around me. Pulling me close, he pressed his lips to my forehead.
Vaughn was standing a few feet away, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “Where did you say we are?”
“I don’t know exactly,” I said. “It’s a void world in between Hell and our world. Nothing really exists here. And it seems to suck the life from anyone who stays too long.”
“And Matisse is here?”
I nodded. “She was yesterday morning. Give me a second.” Closing my eyes, I sent my emotional energy out, searching for her. Familiar energy tugged at me. I frowned. It felt like…well, my own. That was odd. I pressed further, and the emotional signature that I thought was mine got stronger, but it was also mixed with someone else’s. Matisse’s? I couldn’t be sure.
Matisse, I called with my mind. Lead me to you.
The faint tug pulled me forward. Two steps. Three. Then a dam burst and all I could feel was Matisse’s heartbreak. Tears splattered down my face as my heart constricted and cracked. The empty, gutted sensation of being completely left behind touched my soul, and I had to fight from curling into a ball, from screaming with utter disappointment and hopelessness. She’d given up something precious for the man she’d loved. And he’d betrayed her.
An image of a dark-haired man standing with her at the edge of the Mississippi as he told her goodbye flashed in my mind. It was Vaughn. He told her he couldn’t be part of her life. That he didn’t love her. That he never had. And then he walked away, never once looking back while she stood on the rocks, the cold air chilling her to the bone as her heart hardened right there in her chest.
She’d just been told she wasn’t good enough for the man she loved.
My eyes flew open and I glared at Vaughn, my body alive with righteous indignation. She wasn’t good enough for him?
“Jade?” Kane asked, concern lining his tone. “What’s wrong?”
I pointed an angry finger at Vaughn. “He’s what’s wrong. He used her and then left her.”
Vaughn scowled, and his eyes narrowed as he studied me. “I didn’t use her.”
“That’s what she thinks.”
Kane placed a steadying hand on my shoulder, and Matisse’s emotional energy fled, replaced by Kane’s concern.
I shook my head and blinked. “Whoa.” I’d never had a vision like that before. Was it a memory? Or some sort of conjured dream state?
“Where is she?” Vaughn asked quietly, his face impassive now.
Frowning, I waged an internal war with myself. Matisse was in enough emotional pain. His presence would only make that worse. But what if he was her only shot to get home? No matter what had or hadn’t happened between them, we needed to try. We didn’t have any other option.
“This way.”
I followed the ever-strengthening trail of Matisse’s energy. The mist began to fade as the river and the brick pathway stretched out in front of us. Then I stopped mid-step and gasped.
Matisse was standing on the rocks, her arms stretched out toward the river and her hair blowing in a nonexistent wind as tears streamed down her cheeks. Gut-wrenching pain was written all over her face. Power sparked around her, a turbulent storm cloud ready to burst. And nestled against her chest was my pendant, calling to me. It had kept us connected. Was that why she hadn’t faded more in the last twenty-four hours? Perhaps my talisman had kept her safe.
The broken witch, with nothing more than a whisper of power, was gone, replaced by a dangerous powerhouse sex witch. What was driving her power? The talisman? No, that couldn’t be strong enough. My gaze landed on Vaughn. His skin was glowing with magic. It was him. The fact that he was near her was giving her the strength to tap her magic.
But she didn’t even seem to be aware of us, much less the world around her. If I had to guess, I’d say she was reliving the memory of the day she and Vaughn had broken up, and that was why I’d witnessed it.
“Matisse?” I said quietly, not wanting to startle her.
A bolt of lightning came from the sky and cut through the grayness, striking the water.
Kane tightened his hold around me and pulled me back.
; “No,” I said. “She needs to come out of this.” I touched the magic sparking in my chest and let it pool at my fingertips. I didn’t want to spell her, but I would if I needed to protect myself. Or Kane. After the vision, I was leaning toward letting Vaughn fend for himself.
“Matisse,” I said forcefully and put a tiny bit of magic behind it.
Her head swiveled and she stared me straight in the eye.
“You’re okay.” I lowered my arm and walked ever so slowly in her direction. “We’ve come to take you home.”
“I don’t have a home,” she said, her wide eyes onyx. “He stole it.”
“Who? Vaughn?”
She laughed humorlessly. “You could say that.”
“Mati,” Vaughn said, sex appeal radiating through his deep voice as he moved to her side.
The sex witch stiffened, and her power grew into a force of purple light. She focused on him and her tears vanished. “You’re not welcome here.” The words were meant to be harsh, but her tone was soft.
Slowly she lowered her arms, but the purple glow only brightened with her turmoil of emotions.
Love, betrayal, and desperation were all mixing together, and she couldn’t control it. “Why did you come?” she demanded, angry again.
To his credit he stood his ground. “To restore what I took from you.”
His words only added to her agitation. Magic sparked from her fingertips, sending a stream of power to the rocks below her.
Crack! One large rock split entirely in two. Another shattered.
Vaughn held his hand out to her in a silent offering. His emotions intensified and spilled over as he gazed at her beautiful face. Longing consumed him, along with regret and bitter resentment. For the first time since we’d met, his emotions had come undone, and I had no trouble reading him. “Come back from that place, Mati. Don’t let it take you.”
Her eyes never left his, and the longer she stared at him, the calmer she became. Her magic continued to come in small bursts, but the uncontrollable whirlwind of power lessened. And when she took a step forward, the sparks disappeared. She seemed almost in a trance, drawn to him in some odd way.
He continued to hold his hand out as she slowly made her way to him. Finally as they came together, Vaughn wrapped his arms around her. They gazed at each other, passion burning between them. Even if I hadn’t been an empath, the way they looked at each other, there was no denying the electricity coursing through both of them.
Vaughn’s gaze turned tender as he searched her soft features. She stared back, and when her hand came up to rest on his neck, heat sizzled between then, sparking in both of their eyes.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “I wouldn’t have—”
She placed her finger over his lips, silencing him.
He kissed her palm softly then pulled her to him abruptly, wrapping his arms around her protectively.
She pressed her head into his shoulder and held on for all she was worth. The desperate emotional need streaming off both of them almost knocked me to the ground. These two cared very deeply for each other. Whatever had happened between them wasn’t permanent. Not if they had the courage to work through it.
“Time to go,” I whispered to Kane.
“Huh?” he said, barely able to tear his eyes away from the scene in front of us.
But I didn’t answer. I just clutched his arm and imagined us back in the club. The world tilted again, and this time when the spinning stopped, we were in the middle of the empty club and I was cradled in Kane’s arms.
I laughed. “Why are you carrying me?”
He smiled down at me. “I didn’t want you to bruise your backside again. It’s too sexy for that.”
“That was thoughtful.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a slow kiss, grateful we were together, grateful the changes in our lives only seemed to bring us closer together. But mostly just grateful we understood each other.
“Hey!” a voice called from behind us.
I smiled against Kane’s lips, recognizing Pyper’s voice.
“Put her down. What do you think this place is? A brothel?”
“Now there’s an idea.” Kane lowered me to my feet.
I placed my hand in his and pulled him over to the bar, where we could sit and wait for Matisse and Vaughn.
“Do you think they’ll make it back?” Kane asked.
I nodded. “There was so much power bouncing between the two of them, all they need to do is balance it. And now they have that chance.”
“Wait, what?” Pyper asked and poured a Diet Coke. She placed it in front of me and then poured one for herself and handed Kane a bottle of water. She knew us well. “Tell me what happened.”
I spent the next twenty minutes explaining what I’d seen in my vision and then went into as little detail as possible about the magic exchange between a witch and an incubus.
“So,” she said with a sly smile. “Y’all get it on and magic is actually shared between you. Like, when one of you gets off, magic is then exchanged?”
Kane turned a deep shade of red and cleared his throat.
I giggled. “Yeah, something like that.”
“And now those two are in some alternate reality getting down and dirty?”
Kane shook his head, but I shrugged and said, “I hope so. It’ll probably make it easier for them to get home.”
Pyper slammed her hand down on the bar. “Holy shit! Why can’t anything like that happen to me? All I get are asshole ghosts following me around. You? You get ghost sex, dreamwalking sex, and now incubus sex. Dude! Life just isn’t fair.” She shook her head and threw a towel under the counter.
“I could’ve done without the ghost sex.” Kane squeezed my hand.
“But the dream sex was pretty good.” I grinned and leaned in, kissing him softly.
“Yeah. Still is,” he agreed.
“Oh, God! Stop. I don’t need to hear any more. I’m already thinking I might need to slit my wrists.” But she laughed and flipped her pink-streaked hair over her shoulder. “Okay. New topic. About this wedding. If you two are done with this mission, what do you think of a Mardi Gras ceremony?”
“You mean today?” I asked, totally surprised.
“Yes.”
Kane and I exchanged a glance. Then his lips turned up into a slow smile. “I’m game if you are.”
“Of course I am.” I glanced at the spot in the club where I knew the portal was hidden. “But what if they don’t make it back?”
“You just said you were confident they would,” Pyper said. “Right?”
“Sure, but…” Damn, I hoped they did. I turned back to Pyper. “I thought you had a gig body painting tonight.”
“I do. But I can spare an hour or two to get you hitched.”
I bit my lip. “There won’t be any food for the reception.”
Kane chuckled. “Are you looking for an excuse to say no?”
“No!” I stood and started to pace. “Just thinking about the logistics. There’s the minister, food, getting everyone there, and Pyper has had that party lined up for weeks.”
Pyper came around the counter and hopped up on one of the barstools. “After the fiasco the other day, I’ve been checking into options, and I think I’ve got everything covered. Ms. Bella has a friend in Cypress Settlement who’s registered with the Parish to perform ceremonies. He says for the right price, he can be available pretty much any time we need him.”
“For the right price?” Kane asked.
“Hush.” She swatted his arm. “You can afford it. And as for the reception, who cares? It’s Mardi Gras. Everyone can come to the party I’m working. The man hosting it is a good customer here.” She gestured around the club. “He’d have no problem letting the owner, his new wife, and a few friends crash.”
Kane tightened
his hand around mine. “It isn’t exactly what you envisioned. But it would be today.”
My heart skipped a beat and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Yes. I wanted to marry him. My family was still in town, and so was his. That was all that mattered, right? And making sure Matisse and Vaughn made it back from the mist. I knew my answer. I just needed to confirm our mission was complete.
Time seemed to stand still as I burned a hole in the club floor with my stare. I shook my head. “I’d love to. You have no idea how wonderful that sounds, but—”
Light lit the entire club, blinding me momentarily, and was gone just as fast. I blinked and then shot to my feet.
There they were. Matisse and Vaughn. He had his arm around her shoulder and was clutching her to him. Both their faces held looks of wonder, combined with total confusion, as they tried to orient themselves.
“It worked?” Matisse asked him. “We made it back.”
“Looks like it.” He pulled her into a hug, and the pair held on to each other as if they’d never let go.
My heart did another little flip-flop. It had worked.
She was back safe and sound. Her hand clasped around my pendant as she met my eyes. “This kept me whole while I was down there.”
I reached in my back pocket and pulled out the tin. When I opened it, a small ball of magic clung to the stud earring. “Looks like this may have been trying to protect me, too.” I held it out to her, but Vaughn took it from my palm. He smoothed her dark hair back and secured it into the top of her ear as if he’d done that a million times before. They seemed so comfortable together it was hard to reconcile the vision I’d had.
“Thank you,” Matisse said and reached up to unclasp the necklace.
I held my hand out in a stop motion. “No. You keep it. Please.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. It’s too much.”
“No, it isn’t,” I insisted. “For some reason, it’s fortifying your magic right now, and I don’t want to mess with that.”