“Do you want to kill me?”
Knock!
“Okay, dammit, that did it. We’re out of here!” Gage pulled me by my hand back toward the stairs. “Fuck you, ghost, and the horse you rode in on!” he yelled back over his shoulder as he dragged me down the hall.
“Wait, hold up! I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”
“I believe in whatever the fuck you’re talking to. And I’m not sleeping in this goddamn house tonight. I’m leaving and you’re coming with me!”
He stormed toward the stairs and that’s when we saw it. A misty form standing at the top of the stairs, as if waiting for us. A misty form that looked just like Emmanuel. Gage stopped in his tracks and then pushed me behind him. Sensing how absolutely terrified he was, it was the bravest thing I ever saw.
I stepped in front of him and he grabbed my arm. “No, Rafe. It’s an intruder!” He raised his voice. “You there! What are you doing in this house?”
A deep, sepulchral voice said, “Rafe. You killed my mother. You’re going to die.”
“Your mother was a murderous bitch, and she killed my grandfather. You need to go back to hell and join her by the fire.”
The thing pointed a finger at me. “You will die!”
“Exite! Exite, Mali Spiritus! Get the fuck out of my house!”
The misty figure rushed toward us as I threw up a wall of protection. The mist surrounded my wall, but couldn’t penetrate. “Go away, unclean spirit. Leave this house.”
There was a loud popping sound as if the ether suddenly opened up and then the thing was gone. Vanished completely, like it had never been. I was alone again in the hallway with a very shaken detective.
I turned to look at him, and he shook his head wordlessly. It took him almost a full minute to be able to speak again, and his first words to me were, “I give up. You’re a fucking witch all right. I swear to God, I’ll never doubt you again.”
****
Gage
It took a series of stiff drinks for me to calm down after we got back to my place, and I was still shaking like a leaf. I didn’t slow down for anything when I pulled Rafe out of that haunted house, except for that cat. I told him to take the damn thing with us, though any self-respecting ghost would have steered clear of that little demon anyway. Still, if there was a chance he’d be in danger, I felt safer taking him with us. I couldn’t get over how calm Rafe had been about all of this, while I was still in shock.
“How can you just act like nothing much happened?”
“Nothing much did. Just a bunch of knocking, a mist tried to come at us, though it did seem to be answering my questions, didn’t it? Not to mention threatening me. The Ghost Hunters on tv call that an intelligent response.”
“Hell yeah, it was.” I took another sip of my drink. I felt a little like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. I do believe in ghosts, I do, I do, I do! I was pretty embarrassed by the whole damn thing.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Gage,” he said, like he’d just read my mind. “The first time anyone sees a ghost, it’s pretty shocking. I told you I was able to communicate with spirits. Though I’m still not sure about this one actually being a spirit.”
“I saw it Rafe.”
“I know. I’ll ask Beau about it tomorrow. See if he has any ideas.”
“That was Emmanuel! Unless we had some kind of shared hallucination? Yeah, that would make sense. You think we did? It would make me feel a hell of a lot better.”
Rafe smiled at me and came closer. “Gage,” he said, biting gently on my ear lobe and making me shiver. “I’m afraid we did see a ghost. It was no hallucination. I’m sorry about the ear thing earlier. I shouldn’t have done it, but I lost my temper a little.”
“My ear?”
“I put the ringing in your ear.”
“Huh?”
“That was me. I put a little spell on you, and I’m sorry.”
“Come on, Rafe,” I said, trying to laugh. “You know I don’t believe in that shit.”
“Oh really?” He touched my ear, and I grabbed it, as that damn ringing started up again, only louder this time. I looked at him with my mouth dropping open. He muttered something and touched it again, and it immediately stopped.
“What? H-how did you do that?”
“Just trying to show you that I really am a witch. Want to see something else?”
“No!” I shouted, jumping to my feet and pointing my finger down at him. “No, Rafe!”
He laughed out loud, and his eyes sparkled at me. In fact, little sparkles were floating around his head. I was seeing things. I had to be.
“Yelling at me won’t stop anything, cher. Do you feel this?”
I suddenly felt like a hand was caressing my cock inside my pants. Definitely a hand, and as I looked down at it, turning pale, I suddenly felt a fingertip slip up my ass.
“Hey!” I jumped and started looking around behind me. “How are you doing that?”
“Magic,” he said softly, smiling. “Are you beginning to believe?”
I sank back down on the sofa and put my head in my hands. “Oh, God help me.”
“Don’t be scared of it. I’ll never hurt you. I love you.”
“You-you do?”
“Yes, and you love me, don’t you?”
I nodded my head. “Uh-huh.”
He gave me a beautiful smile. “Sweet. Then take me to bed, and I’ll show you what else my magic can do.”
He stood up, and I did too, and he took my hand in his, and led me to the bedroom.
****
The sound of Rafe’s phone woke us the next morning. It was around ten o’clock, and we’d slept late due to Rafe’s very pleasurable demonstrations during the night of what his magic could do. We spent a long time afterward, wrapped up in each other’s arms in bed as he tried to convince me. I’m stubborn, but not totally stupid, and after he showed me all kinds of little demonstrations and told me he was telling the truth, I had to believe him. And I’d seen that ghost with my own eyes.
It was still almost impossible for me to believe—and for now I was just trying to live in the moment and not stress too much over it. But if I believed my own eyes, and I did, then what he was telling me was true. Rafe said he’d give me some books to read from his old, somewhat moldy-smelling library. Even some old notebooks that were handwritten by his great-great grandmother. The magic was harmless, he said—just little recipes for curing warts and fevers and such, and nothing to be afraid of. No scary sounding ingredients like “eye of newt.” Rafe said it was folk magic, and that his was a little different. He implied it was much more powerful.
Still, I knew he was a good person, and I believed in him. Living in New Orleans all my life, I’d seen a lot of weird things, so gradually, as we talked it over, I became a little less freaked out. Well, marginally.
When the phone rang later that morning, he reached over and picked it up off the bedside table. “Morning, Beau.”
He paused. “Oh, you’re already at Nic’s house? What time is it?” Another little pause. “Really? Yeah, we slept a little late, and actually, we’re not at Ravenwood. We’re at Gage’s apartment on Royal Street.” Rafe looked over at me and smiled before continuing. “We stayed here last night. It’s an interesting story I’ll tell you when I see you.”
I got out of bed to make some coffee, and when I went back to pull on some clothes, he was off the phone. “I take it that was your brother.”
“Sure was. They just got in from the airport. They want us to go to Nic’s house for lunch. For us, more like brunch.”
“They want me to come, too?”
“Of course. They said about twelve o’clock. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure, but I may have to go in to work for a while later on today. I’ll check with Luc and see if he wants me to meet him at the office. You can stay here or at Nic’s when I leave. I really don’t want you to go back to Ravenwood alone, cher. That freaked me out last night.”
&n
bsp; He snorted. “I noticed.” He smiled though and gave me his hand. “You do understand this isn’t my first rodeo? I’ve communicated with spirits my whole life.”
“Have any of them told you they want to kill you?”
He frowned. “Well, no, but….”
“Mm-hm. See? In my mind, there are no buts, no arguments. It’s dangerous for you to be there alone.”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on going alone. I won’t go unless Beau and Nic go with me. Will that be okay, Detective?” He quirked a brow at me.
He knew how to push my buttons. I could barely keep my hands off him. “Listen, I don’t mean to give you orders; I’m just worried about you. Can you tell me one thing?”
“Anything.”
“Did you kill Camille like the ghost said?”
He was silent for a long time and then he slowly nodded. “I think so. It was a chaotic scene and magic was flying everywhere. She was trying to kill me too.”
“Oh God,” I said and I put my face in my hands again.”
“Am I under arrest?”
I sighed. “I know you well enough to know that if you killed her, you had good reason. I’d like to leave it at that for now, if it’s okay. Until I can get my head wrapped around this.”
“Of course. Gage, you have to realize that I really can take care of myself. I’m pretty powerful, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of that, since whoever or whatever this is has admitted that he wants to kill you.”
“I know. I do understand that, and that’s why I said I wouldn’t go out there alone. If Nic and Beau and probably Taylor are there with me, I’ll be perfectly safe.”
Taylor? I felt a little spark of...was that jealousy? “Isn’t Taylor that guy that works for Nic?”
“Yes, the tall, muscular good-looking one.”
“How well do you know him?”
“Not that well. I met him for the first time when Nic came down here after Abel was killed, but he seems to be a nice guy, and he’s very loyal to Nic.” Rafe frowned at me. “Why are you asking me so many questions about him? Surely you don’t suspect him of anything.”
“No. Just wondering. Is he here in New Orleans too?”
“I assume so. He goes everywhere that Nic goes.”
“And it wouldn’t have anything to do with how good-looking you are, right?”
“Me? No, of course not. He’s not interested in me.”
“Funny that’s the first thing you mention about him, though. How good-looking he is”
“Why, Detective, are you jealous of Taylor?”
“No.”
“Mm. Okay, if you say so. Then you won’t mind that he’ll be driving Nic’s car.”
“Doesn’t bother me a bit. ‘Cause you’ll be riding in the car with me.”
Chapter Ten
Rafe
We arrived at Nic’s house right on time. As soon as I knocked on the door, Beau opened it and grabbed me in a big bear hug. Nic stood behind him, laughing. “Let him get his breath. You’re going to suffocate him.”
Beau let go of me and turned toward Nic. “I can’t help it. I’ve missed him.”
I touched my brother’s arm and said, “I’ve missed you, too, Beau. I don’t think we’ve ever been separated this long...well, except for that time that Abel sent you away.”
Nic came forward and hugged me. “Let’s not ruin our reunion with memories of what that old bastard did. Look at Thibeau now, Rafe. Doesn’t he look better?”
I stepped back and studied my brother for a few seconds, and then I smiled. I looked over at Nic and then back at Beau. “You look wonderful! You look happy, cher.” Not only that, but he wasn’t as pale and sickly looking as he had been when he left for New York. He’d gained weight, which he needed to do, and the deep sadness was gone from his eyes. It was wonderful to see him looking like the brother I remembered growing up.
Suddenly, I realized that Gage was standing quietly behind me. I turned around and took his hand, pulling him forward so that he was standing beside me. “I’m so sorry, Gage. That was rude, leaving you standing there like that.”
“No problem. I know you’ve missed your brother.” He reached over to shake Beau’s hand. “Nice to see you again.”
Nic stepped forward too. “How are you, Detective?” They shook hands, but a little more warily, and neither of them seemed all that happy to see the other.
Gage said, “Since I’m not here in an official capacity, call me Gage.” He looked over at me and smiled. “It appears that I’m going to be around a lot more now.”
Taylor appeared in the doorway between the living room and dining room. “Boss, I know your guests just arrived, and I don’t want to seem like I’m rushing everyone, but the food has been delivered and is on the table. If you’d like to wait, I can try to keep it warm.”
Nic said, “No, that’s fine, Taylor. I’m actually hungry, and I’m sure Beau must be. He didn’t eat anything before we left this morning. I think he was too excited at the prospect of seeing his little brother again.”
We walked into the dining room, and Nic noticed that there wasn’t a place set for Taylor. “Taylor, why aren’t you eating with us?”
“Well, I was going downtown, boss. Unless you needed me for something”
“Go get yourself a plate and some silverware and join us. We have some things to discuss, and you may have to be involved.”
Taylor nodded, and once everyone was seated and had served themselves, Nic continued talking. “I invited Gabriel and his new boyfriend, or whatever he is, for lunch too, but he said that he couldn’t make it and that he’d come by later. I was really hoping to meet this guy, Marchand, but I don’t believe he’s coming with my brother.” He frowned. “I’m worried, and I wonder what they’re trying to hide.”
Beau smiled at Nic. “Now, who’s being an overprotective brother, hmm?”
Nic smiled back at Beau, but then his expression changed back to a worried one. “I know, minou, but that whole…” he glanced over at Gage and stopped talking. He shrugged. “The, uh, connections Marchand has in the Quarter disturb me.”
“We saw Gabriel at dinner the other night with a young guy. He had kind of purple hair. Is that the one you’re talking about?”
“Oh yeah, the little vampire,” I said.
When Gage turned shocked eyes toward me, I smiled. “Well, I could hardly tell you then. You didn’t know about my magic yet. But yeah, he was a vampire. I could smell it on him. Cute though. Very cute.”
“Wait a minute...hold up!”
I looked over at Gage and saw his eyes wide at the mention of vampires, and I almost laughed, but I knew I shouldn’t have sprung it on him that way. The existence of vampires was a lot to take in., Taylor, who was sitting next to Gage, reached out and patted Gage’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.
He spoke quietly, but I was able to hear what he was saying. “Don’t worry about it. Believe me, I know it’s a lot to take in at first, but you’ll get used to it. Just remember—these are the good guys. Nobody here will hurt you.”
I waited to see how Gage would respond, but he didn’t get a chance because someone knocked on the front door and then walked in. It was Gabriel, and he was alone. He apologized for disturbing our lunch, but Nic told him to pull up a chair. He did and for a few minutes, the conversation faltered a little. Nobody seemed to know what to say, and Nic glared at Gabriel a lot. To try to lighten the mood and avoid what looked like a scene about to happen, I explained about what had been going on at Ravenwood—about seeing the man that I’d thought was Emmanuel.
“He was knocking on the walls last night, in fact. At least I think it was him. He answered questions and everything.”
“Scared the shit out of me,” Gage murmured, and everyone smiled.
“There’s an interesting twist to this story that Gage just learned during a murder investigation he’s conducting,” I broke in. They all looked at me
expectantly. “Beau, did you know that Emmanuel had a twin brother named Emil?”
Beau shook his head. “What? No, I didn’t, but you know the problem I have with my memory. A lot has come back to me, but there are still pieces missing. I’ve found that if I focus for a while on whatever it is I’m trying to recall, I can usually get at least a partial memory back. But I had no idea about that.”
“Well, since Gage found out about the twin brother, he’s not at all convinced that I’ve been seeing Emmanuel’s ghost. He and his partner, Luc, haven’t been able to locate where Emil is living, but Gage feels very strongly that I’ve been seeing Emil and not Emmanuel. That makes sense because I’ve always felt something was off. Like the man I’ve been seeing wasn’t a spirit.” I looked directly at Beau and Nic. “I told you both that he didn’t feel like a spirit to me once. Remember?”
“Then who the hell was knocking on your damn walls?” Nic asked. He glanced at Beau. “Did this ever happen before?”
Beau shook his head.
I jumped into the uncomfortable silence again. “I think we should conduct a séance at Ravenwood, and I should be the medium in charge of it. I’ve done them before and have always been especially talented in contacting spirits.” He looked at his brother. “If I do say so myself. Beau, I’d like you to be there, since that used to be one of your strongest powers as well.”
“Not anymore. You know I lost most of my magic, Rafe.”
“I’ll help,” Nic said. “And Gabriel too.”
As soon as Gabriel nodded in agreement, I asked, “When would you want to do it?”
“The sooner the better—tonight if you can manage it.”
“That won’t be a problem. I have everything I need at the house. Now, as to the people, I need at least three, but I can have more, as long as the number at the table is divisible by three. So, here’s what I’m thinking—we have enough here. Nic, Beau, Gabriel, Taylor, Gage and me. That’s six.” I looked over at Gage. “Are you up for it, love?” He nodded, but he sure as hell had a deer in the headlights look on his face.
Haunted (Witches of the Big Easy Book 3) Page 13