Spirits, Stilettos, and a Silver Bustier

by Deanna Chase

  “Until I give you the signal.”

  “And that would be?” I stood with my hands on my hips, my lips pursed. “I feel very unprepared.”

  Julius chuckled. “How about I just wave you over.”

  “Stealthy,” I said dryly.

  “We only need to evade one person.” He scanned the hallway. Then he nodded and his body took on a slight ghostly shimmer. It looked like I should’ve been able to see right through him, but I couldn’t really.

  “Whoa. What was that?”

  “My invisibility cloak.” He smiled and opened the door.

  That’s what he’d meant when he’d said I could see him in his ghost state, but others couldn’t. I was pretty sure that was the first time I’d seen him not solid. And I had to admit, it was a really cool trick.

  I waited as Julius scouted the small parking area and even the balconies of the surrounding buildings. When he was satisfied, he waved me out. A small sense of excitement bubbled through my core. Is this what 007 felt like? Then I laughed out loud as I climbed into my car. Sure, Pyper. Bond got really excited by VW Bugs and ghostly sidekicks.

  Julius slid into the passenger seat. “What are you laughing at?”

  “Myself. I’d explain, but I doubt you know who James Bond is.”

  “Is he an ex of yours or something?”

  That made me laugh harder. “Don’t I wish. No, just a spy from the big screen. Never mind.”

  We were already late to Jade’s. We’d spent entirely too much time kissing upstairs before deciding to get on with what had to be done. And even though Jade was pacing on her porch by the time we got there, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

  “What went wrong?” she asked as she ushered us inside.

  “Nothing,” Julius and I said together. I grinned at him and continued, “Tyler is nowhere to be seen now. Julius did a thorough check.”

  She eyed us suspiciously. “Is there something going on I should know about?”

  “Nope.” I grinned and headed to the kitchen where I knew Kane and Marc would be congregated.

  The pair was bent over the table, studying a document.

  I leaned against the island bar a few feet away and said, “Hey, you two. Got a minute to say hi?”

  Kane jerked upright and, without a word, tugged me to him for a quick hug. “You’re okay?”

  I nodded. “Fine.”

  “Good.” He kissed the top of my head and let me go.

  “Hello, Pyper,” Marc said, holding out his hand.

  I ignored it and moved in to hug him as well. “It’s nice to see you again, Marc. How’s Hope?”

  He released me and a dopey grin broke out on his face. “She’s doing wonderful, thank you.”

  He’d been married to Jade’s mom until Jade was about seven. They’d recently reconnected and now lived back in Idaho where Jade had been born and raised. Both of them had that shiny new-couple glow. It was nice to see. “Glad to hear it.”

  Marc pulled out a chair for me. “Have a seat. We have information.”

  Kane waved Julius in. “You too. Want anything to drink?”

  “Coffee,” I said and moved to get up, but Jade put her hand on my shoulder.

  “I got it.” She squeezed lightly. “You’re needed at the table.”

  I shot her a grateful smile and turned to Marc. “Did you get information from the council?”

  “Yes. Finally.” He adjusted his reading glasses. “We’ve got what we think are the steps for a spell and possibly an explanation for why Julius is able to walk in the spirit world and this one.”

  Julius sat in the chair next to me and leaned in. I placed my hand on his thigh, just wanting to feel his solid form. His hand slid over mine, warming me straight to my toes.

  “Well, let’s hear it, then,” Julius said.

  “First you need to sign a confidentiality agreement.” Marc handed us each an official form and a pen. “It’s magically binding, so be aware that if you talk of this to anyone who isn’t already privileged with the information, you’ll be punished by the council. And it will be far worse than a night’s stay at the city jail.”

  Julius signed his without a second thought. The blue ink of his signature turned glimmering gold and shot a spark back at him. It landed on his palm and sank into his skin. He shivered slightly and rubbed his hands together as if he was trying to get warm.

  Jade strolled over and handed him a cup of coffee. “Here. It should do the trick.”

  He took a sip and nodded. ‘Better.”

  “Pyper?” Marc stared pointedly at the confidentiality agreement.

  “What kind of punishment are we talking about here?”

  “The usual. Memory wipes, community service to the council, which really does mean anything from mowing coven circles to deboning rats.”

  “That’s disgusting.”

  “It really is,” Jade said. “But I hear the punishments are more in line with monetary fines now that everything has gone political. Huge, thousands of dollars’ worth of fines.”

  “That’s even more disgusting. But what does one expect from a branch in New Orleans?”

  Everyone at the table nodded, having long since given up on any righteous indignation reserved for our city leaders. The greed was too common and the administration too corrupt for anyone to be shocked.

  I picked up the pen and signed with a flourish. The ink once again turned glimmering gold, and just like it had with Julius, a tiny spark landed on my hand. It sank into my skin, immediately sending a shock of cold through my limbs. I felt my teeth chattering but was unable to even move to try to get my blood flowing again.

  “Drink this.” Pyper put the coffee mug up to my lips. The hot liquid shocked my tongue, but I managed to swallow a small bit. Nothing happened. My body started to shake uncontrollably.

  “Pyper!” Jade’s voice rang in my ear, followed by a warm tingle of sensation that started at my fingertips and worked its way all the way through me, thawing the icy bonding spell. Somewhere along the way, someone had draped a blanket over my shoulders, and I clutched the two ends together, snuggling down into the chair.

  “Better now?” Jade asked.

  I met her gaze and nodded. “That was intense.”

  “I’ve never seen anyone react that way to this spell,” Marc said, his brows furrowed. “Do you feel okay?”

  I nodded. “I think so. It felt like someone had pushed me into the Arctic.” I shuddered. “It was not pleasant.”

  “No kidding.” Jade slid the coffee mug closer to me. “Drink it. It has an herbal additive that will restore your strength.”

  “Thanks.”

  With the drama of my binding spell behind us, Marc passed three pieces of paper to us. The instructions had been photocopied from something that appeared to have seen better days. There were small wrinkle lines and blotches picked up by the copier that made it hard to read. But at the top, the spell was labeled.

  Time Keeper

  I frowned. “Time travel?”

  Marc shook his head. “No. It actually has nothing to do with time other than generating more of it.”

  Kane handed me another sheet that had a diagram of three people and a witch. “Each sacrifice adds thirty years to the life of the spell caster, with the last one solidifying the ritual.”

  I studied the sheet. “It looks here like the witch is stealing the life of these women to extend his own.”

  Marc nodded gravely. “That’s exactly what you’re seeing. Did you notice this symbol right here?” He pointed to a drawing of a dragon eye. The pupil was bursting with light.

  “Yes. What does it mean?” The art was gorgeous, and if I ever got a chance, I’d do my own rendering on canvas. Or a human during a body-painting project.

  “It’s the symbol for intuitives. Those who
do not have magic but have other abilities. Telepaths, empaths, mediums, seers.” Marc pointed at me. “People like you and Jade’s aunt, Gwen.”

  Gwen was a seer. She had visions every now and then, though she never talked about them. And I was a medium. “Okay. So you’re saying this symbol represents us?”

  “Exactly. This ritual demands the life of two women who don’t have any special abilities. Mundanes, if you will. It is completed only when the life of an intuitive is taken. At that time, the witch conducting the spell gains a truncated portion of the victims’ life force. Approximately thirty years for each.”

  “So basically a new lifetime?” I barely got the words out it was so awful. Three young women were the price for one unworthy life. He’d already taken two. And I was next on his list. At least I knew why I was being targeted. Not that it helped much.

  “Yes.” Marc shuffled through his papers and passed us a hand-drawn diagram.

  Julius took one look at his copy and crumpled it into a ball. I knew without looking at it that it was the case he’d been assigned to and had ultimately failed to stop. “Grace was a seer.”

  “She was.” Marc paused and took a sip of coffee. “It’s important for us to understand what happened with this case.” He peered at Julius. “To understand why you’re still here.”

  Julius shrugged and leaned back in the chair. “Hell if I know.”

  “We think we do,” Jade said softly, interjecting for the first time. She leaned over my shoulder and pointed to a small rendering of a silver hairbrush, an ornate hair comb, and a silver locket. “In order for the ritual to work, the caster has to collect something important to his victims and magically tie their life energy to it for safekeeping until it’s time to complete the ritual. In this scenario, the brush and comb belong to the two mundanes. The locket belongs to the intuitive. The brush and comb would be held until the third and final life is taken. Then, in order to complete the spell, the witch must burn all three items to claim the life energy from his victims.”

  Julius leaned forward. “I stopped the witch before he was able to completely burn those items.”

  Marc nodded. “Exactly, and because you interrupted him in the middle of the spell, when you killed him, the magic transferred to you. Only the spell went terribly wrong and killed you. Somewhere along the way, the life force of those women transferred to you, and that’s why you’re able to be here with us right now.”

  Julius’s face turned white and I thought for a moment he might pass out. “I’m alive because those women died?”

  “No!” Jade said, with conviction, her green eyes flashing. “You died because that witch was messing with dark magic that never should have been cast. And you’re here now because it’s happening again. Without you and your information, we might never have known what to look for. You’re the reason we’re going to get this guy.”

  “But I’m alive because the lives of those women were stolen.” Julius’s tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.

  “But you didn’t steal them,” Marc said, compassion in his expression. “You have to remember two things: you were a victim of the spell, and you stopped that witch. He died and the cycle died with him… until now. The council has no record of one of these rituals since then. The fact that you’re here isn’t something you had control over. And I think everyone here knows, as does the council, that you’d never have taken the life essence of those women if you’d had a choice in the matter.”

  He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. “So they know, then?”

  “The council?”

  Julius nodded.

  “Yes. And they want you to officially come back to work with them. I’m here to extend the offer.” Marc pushed a manila envelope across the table. “You can read it when you’re ready.”

  I sat still next to Julius, keeping my hand on his knee just to let him know he had support. His struggle was understandable. He already blamed himself for Grace’s death. The guilt at surviving, even almost a hundred years later, must be devastating.

  He shook his head. “I don’t think I can. I’m not even sure how long I’ll be around in this form. If it’s ninety years, I’m coming up on my expiration date.”

  My heart squeezed painfully at the thought.

  “Some tests could be run by the council, but according to Beatrice Kelton, we think your current state is permanent.” Marc made a note in his paperwork and then glanced up at the now-empty spot where Julius had been sitting. “Where’d he go?”

  “He vanished,” I said and took another sip of my coffee as relief from his words wound through me. “He does that when he doesn’t want to deal with something.” Like every time he saw the police. Why was that anyway? It’s not like they could really do anything to him. If they locked him up, he could walk right out of the place.

  “I’m right here.” Julius strode back into the room. He gave me a side-eye glance of irritation before turning to Marc. “I thought I’d demonstrate just how real I actually am. If I can disappear into ghost form at will, then I’m most definitely not in permanent human form.”

  Marc studied him and then made another note. “Interesting. Have you disappeared and not known where you are or not been able to get back at will?”

  “No. Not since the day at Bea’s house.”

  Marc nodded. “I think you’ll find your current state to be your new normal.”

  If he wasn’t exactly a ghost anymore, he’d need a place to live and a job. He’d have an actual life. That tiny seed of hope that I’d been harboring started to blossom. I raised my eyebrows and turned to Julius. “Where have you been since you left my place yesterday?”

  He waved toward the front of the house. “Here.”

  I whipped my head around and stared at Jade.

  She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “He needed a place to stay. And he’s a witch. You didn’t think I’d make him sleep on the street did you?”

  “Of course not. But someone could’ve told me,” I mumbled and took a large sip of coffee.

  “It’s been a crazy few days,” Kane said quietly.

  “You can say that again.” I put my mug down and moved into the kitchen. “Do you have dessert?”

  Jade laughed. “When don’t we? There’s stuff for strawberry shortcake on the bottom shelf.”

  Chapter 22

  “We need a plan,” I said, pushing strawberries around my plate. “I need to get into Tyler’s place to see if he has any items connected to Ruby or Shelby.”

  Julius wrapped his hand over mine, and in a low, forceful tone he said, “No. It’s a bad idea for you to go anywhere near there.”

  “Maybe.” I licked a dollop of whipped cream off my fork, unfazed by his opinion. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I shouldn’t do something, well… “But who else is going to be able to talk to them if either of them are there?”

  We never did go to Shelby’s after Jade and I found her address at Ruby’s. After I’d been arrested, going anywhere near her house would’ve put me right back behind bars. But now I knew where Shelby’s spirit was and I had to do what I could for her.

  “I have to agree with Julius.” Jade stood, leaning against the edge of the table. “You’re his target. It’s too dangerous.”

  I dropped my fork and sat back in my chair with my arms over my chest. “Then what do you suggest? Julius could go in, but he won’t know what he’s looking for. And I can’t just ignore the fact that Shelby’s trapped in there. Her spirit is terrified. And what about Ruby? She could be there too.”

  Jade sighed. “You said his place is right behind Ruby’s right? And the day we were there, you heard someone say they were trapped. If we went there while Julius searches the apartment, that might work.”

  “I’ll go with Julius,” Kane said. “If Tyler’s there, I can find a way to keep him occupied long enoug
h for Julius to do what he needs to.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Marc picked up his phone. “I’ll alert the council. They’ll be on standby in case he turns out to be the perpetrator.”

  “So that’s it?” I turned to Jade. “No coven. No extra spells?” When something was going down, she usually called in at least Lucien and Rosalee, her two most powerful witches.

  “No. Not right now.” She tied her long hair up into a haphazard bun. “This is mostly a reconnaissance mission. If all goes well, we’ll be in and out. And no one will be the wiser.”

  “If you say so.” I stood up. “No time like the present.”

  ***

  Jade and I stood in front of Ruby’s vintage shop. Luckily this block of Royale was mostly retail shops with a spattering of residential units above them, and everything had long closed for the evening. The street was all but deserted. Only a lone homeless man slept in a nearby doorway, curled into a heavy, well-worn wool jacket.

  I glanced around. “I think the coast is clear.”

  “I’m on it.” Jade ran her fingers lightly around the metal door frame, leaving a trail of silver magic in her wake.

  “That’s not conspicuous. Not at all,” I said dryly, trying not to let what we were doing mess with my mind. Breaking and entering for the second time in three days. My stomach rolled at the thought.

  Just don’t let us get caught.

  I repeated the mantra over and over until I heard the telltale click of the metal deadbolt.

  “We’re in.” Jade grabbed my hand and tugged me into the store with her.

  “Crap,” I muttered. It was pitch-black with no way to turn on any lights without calling attention to ourselves.

  “This way.” Jade tugged on my arm as she put her other hand out and whispered, “Ignite.”

  A small light glowed in the middle of her palm.

  “Back room,” she said, leading the way straight into the storage room. It was so dark I couldn’t see anything other than her glowing hand.

  “This is crazy,” I said softly.

  “Here.” Jade brought her hand up to her lips and blew. Five small individual orbs rose in the air, casting a glow over us. “Better?”