Spirits, Beignets, and a Bayou Biker Gang

by Deanna Chase

  “I really wish I had my camera set up for this,” Miss Kitty said as Jade’s magic flared to life. “My fans would die to see this.”

  “Miss Kitty, you know you can’t talk about this on social media, right?” I said, reiterating Jade’s stipulation for the woman to participate in the finding spell.

  She waved a hand. “I already said I wouldn’t, didn’t I?”

  “You did,” I agreed. “Just making sure.”

  “It would mean big things for your café if I did though. Can you imagine the publicity? I heard that Mayhem Gator Tours is booked up for two months due to my Ida May video.”

  “That’s true,” Bo confirmed. “Reservations has been swamped for the past two days.”

  “The café is fine as it is,” I said, but I couldn’t help wondering if she was right. There was no doubt that people were highly fascinated with all things paranormal. If I branded the café the home of Ida May, it could help bring in more tourists.

  “Can we focus, please?” Jade asked.

  “Sorry.” Miss Kitty snapped to attention as if she were a recruit in the military.

  “What do you want me to do again?” Bo asked.

  “When I finish the incantation, you’ll need to make a small cut on your palm and let a couple of drops of blood spill into the earth.”

  He grimaced but nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  “All right then. Let’s find Mia.” Static electricity filled the air as Jade unleashed her considerable power into the circle. My body started to hum with it, igniting that spark deep inside me. Once again I was alive, powerful, and reenergized after the long, emotional day. All the fatigue vanished, leaving me ready for anything.

  Jade repeated the incantation she’d used earlier, only this time when she did, an invisible force overtook me, pulling my magic from me to combine with hers before slamming into Bo.

  “Now!” she called, her arms wide and her head tilted to the darkened sky.

  Bo, holding a small pocket knife, let out a hiss as he sliced open his palm. The light breeze vanished, and everything went eerily silent. Bo held his hand out, palm facing me, over our makeshift circle. I watched, transfixed, as a droplet of blood ran down his hand, pooled, and then finally fell in slow motion to the ground.

  The second the blood hit the turf, Jade raised her hands and cried, “Mia! Hear my call. From water to stone and blood to bone, show us how to bring you home.”

  Nothing happened for a few beats, but then I felt it. The ground rolled beneath my feet, followed by a low-pitched, inhuman moan, the kind I’d expect to hear in the engine room of a sinking ship.

  “What’s happening?” Bo asked in a panic.

  Jade didn’t answer. Her arms were out to the side, her head tilted back, power flowing from her like a broken water main.

  “It’s just… the… spell,” I forced out, panting from the effort to stay upright. The magic being forced from me felt like a hundred-pound weight on my shoulders.

  “This is amazing!” Miss Kitty called, mirroring Jade’s stance, her purple-and-silver-streaked hair billowing out behind her.

  “This is crazy!” Bo shouted just as the circle exploded with a giant pool of light, nearly blinding me.

  I blinked, trying to focus, and squinted. It was nearly impossible to make out the dark shape darting around the circle. “What is that?”

  “It’s Mia,” Jade said, her voice steady and clear.

  I studied the shape but couldn’t see anything other than a formless shadow. “How do you know?”

  “I can feel her frustration. She wants to talk to us but can’t.”

  “It’s Emerson. He’s spelled her. I know it!” Bo shouted. “Mia! It’s me, Bo. Can you hear me?”

  The blob shifted, growing larger, then smaller, then folding in on itself before it finally materialized into something sort of resembling the shape of a human. A young woman’s face emerged from the shadows, her eyes wild. Her shapeless body spun from person to person until her gaze landed on Bo.

  Then she started to scream.

  “Mia!” Bo shouted again and fell to his knees, helpless and broken.

  Mia’s screams faded away along with her shadowed body, and all that was left was darkness.

  Jade’s connection to my magic severed instantly and the force of it pulled me forward, causing me to land face-first in the grass. I let out a grunt and rolled over, staring up into the dark sky.

  “Bo?” I heard Jade ask tentatively.

  “She’s alive,” he said, his voice shaky.

  “Yes. She is. Now we need to make a plan.”

  “What plan?” He scoffed. “The spell didn’t tell us anything.”

  “It told us plenty,” Jade said. “We now know she’s alive, has likely been cursed, and she’s within a day’s drive.”

  I pushed myself up, my head spinning.

  “Need a hand?” Miss Kitty asked, kneeling beside me.

  “I’m okay. I just need a second,” I said, concentrating on my breathing. Was this how Jade felt after all her magical encounters? If so, that sucked donkey balls. Because dang. Talk about draining.

  “Pyper?” Jade called.

  I glanced up to find her motioning toward Bo. He was sitting in the middle of the circle where Mia had been, tears staining his cheeks as he held his head with both hands.

  That ache in my chest came roaring back, making it nearly impossible to breathe. The pain that kid had suffered was unbearable. I crawled over to him and, without a word, wrapped my arms around him.

  A small sob escaped his lips.

  “It’s going to be all right, Bo. I promise. We’ll find her. We won’t stop until we do.”

  He turned, buried his face in my shoulder, and cried softly.

  I lay in the bed I’d shared with Julius the past few days, with only Stella to snuggle me. Petting the little dog, I stared at the ceiling. It was just before dawn, and even though I’d gotten only a few hours of sleep, I was wide awake. I hadn’t heard from Julius since he and Kane had taken Emerson to the council. But I had sent him a text letting him know we’d found Bo. Jade hadn’t heard from Kane either. It was hard not to worry even though we both knew they could handle themselves.

  Then there was Bo. After his breakdown in the magic circle, he’d disappeared into one of the other bedrooms. When I’d knocked to see if he was okay, he’d asked to be left alone. It had taken all my willpower to honor his wishes. I barely knew the kid, but my protective instincts had taken over while he’d cried in my arms. And I knew right then and there I’d do whatever it took to ensure he felt loved and safe for the rest of his life.

  Stella wiggled out from under my hand and then moved to lie on my chest, her little head snuggled up on my neck. The weight of her body was comforting after such a trying day. “Hopefully we’ll be going home soon, little one.”

  She let out a soft whine and gently pawed my cheek. Smiling down at her, I felt my eyes grow heavy. A moment later, I fell back into a fitful sleep.

  The pounding entered my consciousness just before I heard Julius’s voice call, “Pyper, wake up!”

  I bolted upright, blinking the sleep out of my eyes. “What it is?”

  “It’s Bo. He’s gone.” Julius threw a pair of black jeans at me. “Get dressed. We’ve got to go after him.”

  My heart leaped into my throat. What was he doing? Did he go to find Mia without us? Thirty seconds later, I was in my jeans, a light blue T-shirt, and my running shoes. “Any idea on where he went?”

  “Miss Kitty thinks he went for coffee.” Julius’s bloodshot eyes darted around the room and finally landed on my dagger sitting on the nightstand. “Bring that.”

  “To do what? Stab the barista?” I joked. Even though I wasn’t happy Bo had left the inn on his own, it was unlikely any of the bikers were up this early, waiting for him at the local café.

  “You don’t understand. Emerson escaped last night.”

  “What!” I grabbed the dagger and sheathed it
against my hip. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I called, but you didn’t answer.” He held the door open for me. “Kane is with Jade now, and Miss Kitty is downstairs talking to Ida May.”

  “Ida May? Is she in ghost or human form?” Not that it mattered either way. But I’d assumed that after she dissipated into dust the night before that she was back to her ghostly ways.

  “Human. How did that happen?”

  I scooped up Stella and headed out into the hallway. “Yesterday we did a finding spell for Bo and somehow she managed to feed off my magic and turn into her human form. But it wore off later in the evening. I’m not sure why she’s back now.”

  I glanced back at him. “Did anyone fill you in on everything you missed?”

  “No. Kane and I just got back about ten minutes ago. We sat down to have breakfast and before I took the first bite of my coffee cake, Miss Kitty came running in, arms waving about Bo being gone. Apparently she saw him leaving his bedroom, mumbling about coffee, but when she went to bring him a cup, he was nowhere to be found.”

  “Dammit! Well, there’s only one way to find out.” We stopped in the kitchen where I deposited Stella on Ida May’s lap.

  She grinned up at me. “Don’t I look pretty this morning?”

  I eyed the black leather corset, lace skirt, and knee-high boots. “Where did you get those?”

  “In Moxie’s closet. When I woke up like this”—she waved a hand down her body—“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to borrow them since she left town. You don’t think she’d mind do you?”

  “You just woke up in human form?” I asked, skeptical.

  “Yep. Isn’t it great? Now I can do that interview with Miss Kitty. I’m going to be an Internet star!”

  “Great. Just make sure you feed Stella and take her on a walk.” I didn’t wait for her to answer before I turned to Kane and Jade. “We’re going to go look for Bo at the café. Text us if he shows up.”

  “You got it,” Jade said.

  Kane stood and walked us to the back door. “Be careful, okay?”

  “We will,” I said, patting my dagger. “I’m armed and dangerous now.”

  My best friend’s eyes flashed with pride. “That’s my girl.”

  24

  I quickly filled Julius in on the revelation that Bo and Mia were siblings and that Bo was my brother.

  “Wow. That’s remarkable,” he said, tightening his grip on my hand.

  “Yeah. It’s a little overwhelming.”

  He glanced down at me as we crossed the street, heading toward Bettie’s Beignets. “It also explains why that finding spell I used right after he was abducted attached itself to you when it lost his trail.

  Holy hell, I’d forgotten all about that. He was right. I was about to say something about it when my phone dinged with a text. It was from Bo.

  I know where Mia is. Meet me at Otis’s camp ASAP. Miss Kitty knows where it is.

  “Ohmigod! How is he getting there? Dammit.” I showed the text to Julius and then typed one of my own. Where are you? Meet us back at the house. We’ll go together. Emerson escaped.

  I bit down on my bottom lip as Julius and I hurried back to the inn. “Why isn’t he texting me back?”

  Julius frowned. “He’s probably too wound up to think clearly. He just found out Mia’s alive after she’s been missing for five years. Can you blame him?”

  “No. But that doesn’t mean he should go off by himself when we’re here to help. And what about Otis? Does Bo really think that sweet old man is holding her captive?”

  Julius gave me a hardened look. “You never know who people are until they reveal themselves.”

  I stared up at him, wanting to push back, to yell, to tell him he was wrong. But I couldn’t. Because time and time again, people I’d thought could be trusted turned out to be psychopaths. Finally I shook my head in exasperation and then stormed into the inn, more worried than upset.

  “Miss Kitty!” I called.

  “Yes, dear?” The older woman poked her head out of the pantry.

  “We need to get to Otis’s camp. Can you give me directions?”

  She stepped out of the walk-in closet, her hands full of plastic Ziploc bags. “I’m sorry. No. You’d never find it. I’ll just have to show you.”

  “I don’t think— What are you holding?” The bags in her hands had one item each and they looked like… voodoo dolls?

  “The cat was playing with them. I found two in the pantry, one in the upstairs bathroom, and another in the living room. I didn’t want anyone to accidently touch them. These things are dangerous. I mean, this one here? It’s Bubble, Bubble, Crotch Rot, and Trouble. I don’t know what Moxie was doing with these, but this right here? It takes the saying ‘digging for gold’ to a whole new level.”

  “Oh for the love of…,” Julius said.

  I clasped my hand over my mouth to muffle the laugh and sputtered, “That’s not funny.”

  “Yes it is, or you wouldn’t be laughing.” She placed the plastic bags on the counter. “Now, what’s this about getting to Otis’s camp?”

  “Right. Bo is there. He thinks that’s where he’s going to find Mia.”

  “I’ll grab my keys.” She spun, ready to run upstairs.

  “Wait,” Julius called.

  She paused and turned back.

  “No need to drive. We’ll take Kane’s SUV. Besides, it’s probably not a good idea to drive yours around right now.”

  “Right.” She calmly walked back over to the counter and picked up the plastic bags.

  “What are you doing with those?” I asked.

  “Just in case one of those bikers tries to get handsy like they did last night. Cursing them with crotch rot would be poetic justice.”

  “Okay then.” I turned to Julius. “Tell Jade and Kane we’re ready.”

  Kane turned the Lexus SUV down a narrow dirt road and cringed when the overgrown vegetation scraped against the paint.

  “That’s what insurance is for, honey,” Jade said, patting his knee.

  He let out a long sigh. “We just got it back from the body shop from the last situation.”

  Being a demon hunter meant Kane usually couldn’t go a day without getting into some sort of altercation. It was to be expected. “I told you to buy the used Jeep,” I said, still wondering why he’d dropped so much money on a car he knew would get trashed.

  “This one has better handling.” Kane tightened his hands around the wheel and swerved to the right to miss a giant pothole full of water and managed to end up with a grill full of wisteria.

  “Good one, Mario Andretti,” I said.

  Jade, who was riding in the front passenger seat, snickered, but when Kane gave her an irritated look, she quieted down. Still, she glanced over her shoulder and sent me an amused smile.

  “The camp is down the road to the left,” Miss Kitty said. She sat to my right, her face plastered to the window. Julius was on my left, leaving me to ride in the middle.

  Everyone went silent as we waited for the camp to come into view. Bo still hadn’t texted me back, and my gut was starting to churn. I’d somehow managed to ward off the anxiety long enough to get through the car ride, but now that we were almost there…

  “Stop the car,” Jade said. “See ahead? Looks like we have company.”

  “Crap,” I muttered, eyeing the half dozen motorcycles and familiar black SUV.

  “We’ve got this,” Jade said, all business now. “Three witches, a demon hunter, and Miss Kitty. No one is taking us down.” She opened her door and hopped out, already making her way toward the camp. Kane quickly followed.

  “You should stay here,” I told Miss Kitty.

  “No way!” She jerked her door open, clutched her large shoulder bag, and before I managed to slide out, she was already running after Jade.

  “Great.” I made my way around to where Julius was waiting for me. “Someone has to keep an eye on her.”

  “Well will, but I have a f
eeling she knows how to take care of herself.”

  “Probably, but if we end up in a magical battle…” I couldn’t even finish the thought. “Why didn’t we think to bring Ida May?”

  “I’m right here,” she said from behind me.

  I spun around and my jaw dropped when I spotted her in her Victoria vixen outfit. “How did you get here?”

  “Ghost, remember?” She winked and jerked her head toward the camp. “I’ll make sure the kitten doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

  Julius and I followed as she ran to catch up to Miss Kitty. There was no point in trying to be stealthy. There was only one way into the camp. Quietly sneaking up on them was out of the question. Going in guns blazing was pretty much our only choice. Not that I minded. If Emerson Charles was here, I was more than ready to bring him down.

  We heard the first sounds of battle before we saw it. Jade yelled out a warning, and a loud crackle of magic followed. Grunts and shouts rang through the bayou. When we cut through a line of trees, we spotted Jade and Kane fighting off what appeared to be an army of bikers. But neither Bo nor Emerson was among them. And there was no woman in sight.

  “This way.” I tugged on Julius’s arm and took off for the stairs leading to the raised cabin. I was halfway up before I realized Julius wasn’t with me. He’d gotten caught in the magical battle below, helping Jade fight off a tag team of bikers who were lobbing green ooze in their direction. One blob hit the dirt near Julius’s feet and burned a hole in the earth instantly.

  “Go!” Julius called. “We’ve got this.”

  I didn’t hesitate. If Bo was in there, I had to get him out. I burst through the door and came to an abrupt stop. Emerson Charles stood right in the middle of the room. Bo was pressed up against the wall, watching his every movement.

  But a woman who looked to be close to my own age, stood between them, her hands spread wide. She had thick, wavy, black hair that nearly reached her butt; big, round, ice-blue eyes; and was dressed in jeans, an off-the-shoulder red blouse, and silver high heels. Silver bangles climbed one arm, and big silver hoops were in her ears. All she needed was the designer bag and she’d have been ready for her cover on a fashion magazine.