Spirits, Rock Stars, and a Midnight Chocolate Bar (Pyper Rayne Book 2)

by Deanna Chase

  Julius nodded.

  “Emotional energy?” Kane asked her, his dark eyes narrowed as he ran a hand through his thick, dark hair.

  “No. It’s not that. It’s like Julius said… unstable and invasive. Like the magic is so entwined in the room it has nowhere else to go, and it’s breaking down. I imagine the effects of that are just as terrifying as the spell itself.”

  Another small rumble filled the room as tendrils of smoke arose from the middle of the bed.

  My eyes widened. Holy fireballs. Things just got real. I released my hold on Julius and backed up out of the way.

  Julius waved his hand and ordered, “Release!”

  The smoke vanished immediately, and the room settled.

  “Nicely done,” Jade said with a smile.

  “Small illusions like that have been happening all night,” Kane said.

  Small illusions? The freakin’ bed had been on fire. Though… there weren’t any burn marks.

  “All night?” I asked, trying to ignore the unease crawling all over my skin. “No wonder people were freaked out. If I hadn’t been standing next to all of you badasses, I’d have bolted.” The energy of the room was just wrong, and the sooner Julius broke the spell, the better. If it’d been my room, I’d have slept on a lounge chair near the pool.

  The memory of Vienna Vox screaming just before she went over the edge of the railing flashed in my mind, and a shiver ran up my spine. Maybe I’d skip the pool area and head for one of the lounges.

  “Okay, everyone out,” Julius ordered.

  “No way.” Jade placed her hands on her hips. “What if you need help?”

  “She’s right. She should stay.” I was in full agreement with Jade. Leaving Julius to deal with some old spell on his own felt reckless when there was a powerful white witch at his disposal. I crossed the room, grabbed Kane’s arm, and tugged him toward the door. “Come on, big guy. Let’s wait out in the hall while these two curse-breakers get their groove on.”

  “Only if there’s a drink involved,” Kane said and winked at Jade. No doubt the spell was a lot less concerning than the many black-magic witches and demons the pair had battled in the past. Because he was a lot less concerned than I was.

  Jade smiled at us, but Julius’s expression remained troubled.

  I paused at the door and peered at him. “What is it?”

  He frowned and shook his head. “I’m not sure. I thought I saw—”

  The lights cut out, followed by another loud rumble and a flash of lightning across the ceiling. Everything went pitch-black. The room seemed to start closing in around me, making it hard to breathe. My thoughts jumbled, and I reached out, trying to steady myself. Red-hot, searing pain flashed through my palm the moment it connected with the wall.

  “Ouch!” I cried, yanking my hand back at the same time Jade yelled, “It’s getting worse!”

  “Pyper?” Julius called out from somewhere in the darkness.

  “I’ve got her,” Kane said, wrapping a protective arm around me as he pulled me to his side.

  “Illuminate!” Jade shouted. Floating orbs appeared in the room, giving the space an ominous glow.

  I sucked in a sharp gasp. The walls were orange-red, the color of embers, and the paint was blistering as the room heated to unbearable levels.

  Kane tightened his hold on me but kept his gaze glued to Jade. She and Julius were in the middle of the room, standing back to back, their arms raised in battle. Magic crackled at Jade’s fingertips. But Julius stood stock-still, his eyes trained on the wall of mirrors across the room.

  “What’s happening?” I asked Kane in a hushed tone. Usually Jade was much more reactive to magical threats.

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  Jade’s long hair whipped around as she jerked her head to look at Julius. “Do you feel that?”

  “Yes.” Julius didn’t move, his body stiff with tension.

  I squeezed Kane’s hand, certain something terrible was about to go down. “We have to get out of here. All of us,” I said to him.

  Kane nodded but said, “They won’t leave. You know that as well as I do.”

  I reached for the door but stopped when I noticed the gold discoloration on the normally silver handle. The heat had reached the door. We weren’t going anywhere.

  “The magic’s embedded in the walls,” Jade said.

  But Julius shook his head and took a step away from her. “It’s in the mirrors on the wall.”

  I followed his gaze and tightened my hold on Kane. “Holy hellfire. What is that?”

  He frowned and shook his head. “Something a lot more evil than just a special effects spell.”

  No kidding. Fire raged in the mirror, the flames contorting from a solid sheet covering the mirror to a blazing fireball and then into an outline of an angry beast, its fangs bared and smoke streaming from its eyes.

  Julius raised both arms straight out and started chanting something in Latin. Jade followed suit, and soon both had bright white magic spewing from their hands, aimed directly at the fire monster snarling at them in the mirror.

  I was transfixed. The smoke stream dissipated, replaced by glowing amber eyes. The fangs retracted, and the giant monster head slowly morphed into something slightly more human. The room started to cool, and the walls returned to their off-white, neutral color, but the flames still roared as if the spell was retracting all its energy, saving it to fight the two witches.

  “It’s working,” Kane said, trying to reassure me.

  “Only if they manage to neutralize it,” I said.

  He gave me an odd look. “They will.”

  They always did, and there was no reason to believe otherwise now, but there was something about those amber eyes. They were watching me, and I felt as if the monster in the mirror was staring straight into my soul.

  I wanted to run, to get the hell out of there. Be anywhere other than that room. There was only one other time in my life when I’d felt so exposed, so vulnerable. The memory of being trapped in another world while I’d been kept captive by an evil ghost flashed through my mind and made ice run through my veins.

  Kane was right. Evil was trapped in that mirror. I could feel it in my soul.

  “Now!” Julius cried.

  The two witches joined their streams of magic as if they were a team straight out of Ghostbusters, and together they shouted, “Resero!”

  The mass of fire tore from the mirror, once again taking the shape of the growling monster head as cries of rage filled the room. The white electric magic crawled all over the fire, engulfing the evil, coating it until all that was left were those piercing amber eyes that seemed to know me.

  Fear clutched at my heart, making me ache to run. But I couldn’t. I was frozen in place, unable to move as I fought for my sanity. Whatever was there wasn’t Roy, the evil spirit who’d tortured me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was just as bad and wouldn’t hesitate to come after me. Needing to do something, anything other than be a helpless bystander, I shouted, “Never again, you son of a bitch! Your hold is broken!”

  I felt Kane turn his head and gaze down at me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the monster. Instead, I tightened my fingers around his, letting him know I wasn’t actually losing my mind.

  The monster’s eyes narrowed, piercing me with a glare, then widened in shock as the white magic finally swallowed the last of him. The magic instantly transformed into smoke and writhed in on itself as if the monster hadn’t given up and was still trying to break free.

  The four of us stood there watching until finally Jade said in a clear voice, “By the power of the New Orleans coven, I hereby banish you from this earth.”

  The smoke stopped, hovered in the air, and then slowly faded away, leaving the room in pristine condition as if nothing had ever happened.

  “Whoa, I—” My words were cut off by a shimmer of light that surrounded Jade and Julius. “What’s happening?” I asked Kane.

&nbs
p; “Looks like the residual magic is looking for a home,” he whispered, seemingly unconcerned.

  “Is that normal?”

  “It can be. That was a crap-ton of magic those two just freed. Think of it like a boomerang effect.” He gave me a smile. I was sure he meant it to be reassuring. It failed.

  I’d seen too much in the past few years to take anything for granted. But when the shimmering light touched both witches, they both grinned and opened their arms, welcoming the magic home.

  “See,” Kane said, pointing at Jade and her radiant smile.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” The knot in my chest started to unravel, and I moved toward them but stopped midstep. From the corner of my eye, I swore I saw a flash of light, an outline of someone right behind Julius. I blinked and peered at him.

  Nothing.

  Whatever it was had disappeared.

  “Pyper?” Julius asked, holding his hand out for me. “What is it?”

  “Nothing, I—” Shaking my head, I did my best to dislodge the fear that was still invading my chest. Roy had done a number on me, and for months afterward I’d jumped at my own shadow. That’s all this was. Residual trauma. Whatever the evil spell had been, Julius and Jade had taken care of it. Neutralized. Gone. “I just thought I saw something. It must’ve been the lights.”

  Julius wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into him as Kane did the same to Jade.

  Jade tilted her head and eyed me. “That was a little unusual. Seems your words were able to help with the spell a little bit.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know about that. It was probably just a coincidence. It’s not like I have magic or anything.”

  “No,” Jade agreed. “But you know a lot of this stuff feeds off intent. It’s possible your energy helped.”

  Julius glanced from her to me, then shrugged. “Jade’s right. It’s possible.”

  Well, I didn’t exactly want it to be. Being a medium was one thing, but a witch was entirely another. Working for the council or fighting off evil all the time sounded exhausting. I was quite happy at my café, thank you very much.

  “I think it’s time for a drink,” Jade said, smiling up at her man.

  I sucked in a breath, leaned into Julius, and nodded. “Make mine a triple.”

  6

  The party was in full swing at the One-Eyed Fish. Apparently it was the hot spot for passengers who wanted to get their groove on. Julius tugged me through the crowd as a high-energy tune blared from the surround sound and blue lights flashed in concert with the beat. I half expected the crowd to start producing glow sticks as they moved over the dancefloor.

  Jade and Kane held hands and bent their heads together at the bar, her strawberry-blond hair contrasting against his dark locks. Their easy way with each other, their obvious love, had me aching for the intimacy they shared. I stopped short and turned to Julius. “Do you mind if we skip the drinks?”

  He frowned. “Are you all right? Did something—”

  I held up my hand, smiling. “I’m perfectly fine. I was just thinking that rather than spend the rest of the night with half the ship, I’d prefer to be back in our room… alone.”

  A glint of mischief sparked in his gaze. “Ms. Rayne, I can’t think of anything I’d like better.”

  “Then let’s go.” I grabbed his hand and started leading him back through the crowd.

  When we made it into the main corridor, he paused. “You don’t want to let Jade and Kane know we’re turning in?”

  I placed both hands flat on his well-defined chest and stared up at him. “They’ll figure it out.”

  His dark eyes smoldered with heat as he gazed down at me. Tucking a runaway lock of hair behind my ear, his voice turned husky as he said, “I’ve been waiting a long time for a night alone with you.”

  “I know. Me too.”

  Using his thumb, he gently caressed my temple. “You’re sure? I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  I stifled an amused chuckle. You could take the man out of the 1920s, but you couldn’t take the twenties out of the man. “Trust me when I say I’m not the one who’s going to be taken advantage of.”

  His hand tightened on my hip as he pulled me closer. “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I whispered as I rose onto my tiptoes and brushed my lips over his.

  He let out a small murmur of appreciation and slid his hand around to cup my bottom.

  A ripple of pleasure skirted through me as he teased the seam of my lips with his tongue. I pressed myself against him and opened my mouth to his, savoring the faint taste of the wine we’d had hours before at our interrupted dinner. Everything started to tingle, and I deepened the kiss, suddenly overtaken by the ravenous hunger I harbored for this man.

  “Damn, Pyper,” he said against my lips, his breath already short. “You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my hundred years.”

  “Room. Now,” I demanded and kissed him again, my tongue laving at his in slow, luxurious strokes.

  He didn’t hesitate. In one swift movement, he lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing and strode down the corridor.

  “I could’ve walked,” I said, already undoing his tie.

  “This was faster.” He caught an empty elevator before the doors closed and set me on my feet just as he hit the button for our floor.

  “Hmm, really?” I closed the small distance between us, snaked my hand around to the back of his neck, and pulled his head down slightly so our lips met once again.

  His tongue was hot, insistent, and sent shivers of desire everywhere with each demanding thrust against mine.

  I melted and the world around us fell away. All I knew was him, his lips, his fingers digging into my flesh, and the heat radiating from him. And I gladly would’ve stayed right there, molded to him, had it not been for the chime of the elevator indicating we’d reached our floor.

  The doors opened and a polite cough, followed by an irritated clearing of the throat, interrupted us.

  Julius released me but immediately slipped his hand into mine, tugging me out of the elevator. He mimed tipping his hat at the older lady who was staring at him, her cheeks flushed bright red. Her male companion glared at us through his wire-rimmed glasses.

  “Now that’s what passion looks like, Carl,” I heard the woman say, wistfulness in her tone. Then she turned on him and added, “You should take notes before I decide to move to one of those assisted-living homes. I hear those places are full of randy old buggers.

  “Pearl!” he admonished. “Don’t be crass.”

  “I’d rather be crass and satisfied by a lover. If I have to reach for that vibrator one more time—”

  The doors closed on the couple, cutting off her next words.

  I giggled, loving her sass.

  Julius glanced down at me. “That’s one thing you won’t need tonight.”

  Grinning, I leaned into him. “Oh? You have plans for me?”

  “You have no idea.” He was so fast opening the door I didn’t even register the key card. Then we were alone.

  Finally.

  We both stilled, gazing at each other as if taking in the moment.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on,” Julius said.

  I felt a pleased smile tugging at my lips as I moved in, my hands reaching for the buttons on his shirt. “I hope that’s not the only thing you plan to lay on me.”

  He brushed his thumb over my cheek, the moment so tender it almost brought tears to my eyes.

  “Stop that,” I whispered as I tore my gaze from his, not quite ready for all he had to offer. That look… it held promises and happily-ever-afters. That was something that happened for women like Jade. Not me, the girl who came from a broken home and had put herself through college by managing a strip club. Not that I was ashamed of anything I’d had to do. But I’d seen enough of the real world to know that things usually didn’t end with promises of forever. Not promises
that were kept anyway.

  “Why?” He ran that same thumb lightly over my lips. “Your skin is so smooth. Flawless like porcelain.”

  “It’s not…” I tilted my head to gaze up at him and got lost in the intensity staring back at me.

  “Not what?” He brushed his lips over mine, the heat of them nearly bringing me to my knees.

  Yes, my body screamed and swayed into him. All my previous thoughts vanished as I pushed his shirt off his shoulders and ran my fingers over his chest, reveling in his perfection. “Goodness. It’s a crime you ever get dressed in the morning.”

  He chuckled and slipped his hands under my shirt, caressing the bare skin at the bottom of my ribcage. “Something tells me I’m going to be saying the same about you.”

  Now this place, the flirtatious one right before we really got down to business, was right in my wheelhouse. I took a step back, putting just enough distance between us that he could no longer reach out and touch me.

  He extended his arm and took a step forward, but I held my hand up and danced backward just a touch.

  I shook my head while giving him my most seductive smile. “No touching. Not yet. I want to show you what you’ve been missing these past few months.”

  His eyes darkened with desire, and as I slowly inched my T-shirt up, revealing my midriff, he licked his lips.

  Holy smolder. It was all I could do to not just throw myself at him. I wanted that tongue—

  “Pyper?” a high-pitched voice said in my ear, followed by a loud popping sound as Ida May materialized beside me.

  “What the hell?” I glared at the floating ghost. “Ida May! We’re in the middle of something here.”

  She glanced from me to Julius, let out a low whistle, and fanned herself with one hand. “I’d say. Damn, that man’s hot.”

  Julius shrugged his shirt back on and fastened one button, appearing very uncomfortable with Ida May’s attention.

  I pointed toward the door. “You can leave now.”

  She shook her head, her wild dark curls bouncing around her face. “Oh, no. I can’t leave here without you. There’s a problem.”