Incubus of Bourbon Street

by Deanna Chase

  “I had it put in a month or so ago.” Bea stood in her yard, holding a large watering can as she studied us. “There’s been a lot more nefarious activity in the last year or so.”

  The last year was pretty much how long I’d been in town. It wasn’t as if Bea hadn’t seen her fair share of trouble over the years, but evil seemed to follow me around. I’d been told it was because I was a white witch and those who sought power flocked to those who had it. And I had it in abundance.

  “I take it the club closing didn’t go well?” Bea said conversationally as if Kane and I popping up out of nowhere was perfectly normal. To her it probably was.

  “No. Not well at all.” I moved toward her. “Would it be possible to go inside to discuss this?”

  “Of course, dear.” Bea placed her watering can near the outdoor spigot and waved us onto the porch. “You go inside. I’ll be right there.”

  Kane followed me into the house, but he kept his distance, and for that I was grateful. I was going to have to tell him what I’d felt in the shadows and how it affected me, but not right this moment. Once inside, I headed straight for the kitchen. If there was ever a time for witch’s brew, it was now. Bea kept the restorative herbs on hand at all times.

  I went to work, staying intently focused on my task.

  Kane said nothing as he watched me from the kitchen table in the adjoining room. I could almost feel his gaze boring into me, but I didn’t glance up. Not even when I heard the door open and close softly. I knew it had to be Bea, even though I couldn’t feel her emotional energy. She was skilled at keeping her emotions to herself in a way most people weren’t.

  I was so busy grinding the herbs, I didn’t notice her take the spot beside me until she placed her hand over mine. I jumped, startled she was so close.

  “Have a seat, Jade. You know it’s safe here.”

  Of course it was, and that was probably the reason Kane had shadow walked us here. Bea had layers and layers of guards that kept other supernaturals away. Her property was protected from everything one could think of. Even demons. The only time demons had ever been on her property was when they were summoned. There probably wasn’t a safer place in New Orleans than Bea’s small house.

  “Sure. Right.” I put the pestle down and sat across the table from Kane. Immediately I regretted my choice when his steady gaze met mine, full of questions. Jeez, Jade. Snap out of it. This is Kane. It’s not his fault his energy is tainted in the shadows.

  “Good call bringing us here,” I said to him.

  “I didn’t want anything following us.” His voice was measured, as if he wasn’t sure what to say to me just then.

  Damn. That wasn’t what I wanted. I cleared my throat. “What happened? Was something coming? You took us out of there pretty fast.”

  He nodded. “Lucien felt a disturbance. He and Rosalee should be here shortly. They’re driving. But since we seemed to be the targets, I thought it was best we take a shorter route.”

  “Yeah. I agree.” Though I wondered why I hadn’t felt the disturbance. Was I too drained? My body was still a mess after the magical duel I’d had with the Goddess. I let out a tired sigh and rested my head in my hands.

  Kane’s instinct to comfort me caressed my bruised psyche, and I was instantly soothed. That was the energy I was used to. Relief crashed through me. His energy was normal. No taint in sight. I reached a hand across the table, taking his in mine.

  His eyes searched mine for just a minute, and whatever he saw there had him relaxing into his chair as he stroked his thumb over the back of my hand.

  Bea joined us, placing a fresh cup of witch’s brew in front of each of us. She nodded to my cup. “I spiked it with healing herbs.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Now then, do you want to start, or wait for Lucien and Rosalee?”

  I took a sip of the sweetened tea. The restorative properties hit my system, instantly perking me up. “We can start.” I nodded to Kane to continue, since I’d spent a good deal of time locked in my own personal hell while I’d battled the Goddess.

  Kane put his cup down and turned in Bea’s direction. “We hired a new dancer. Or Pyper hired a new dancer and didn’t tell me about it.”

  “An illusionist,” I said.

  “Right,” Kane agreed. “But she wasn’t one. Turns out she was a lesser Goddess and according to Lucien and Rosalee, she targeted my club because of my incubus energy.” He went on to describe how everyone was enthralled and how I’d battled her until Lucien had used his magic to free me.

  “That’s highly unusual,” Bea said when he was done. “Lesser Goddesses don’t make themselves known very often. In fact, I’ve only met a handful of Goddesses in my lifetime and that was when they’d been summoned.”

  “This one was definitely full of darkness,” I added. “She tried to burn me alive with some sort of acid energy.”

  Bea’s penetrating gaze assessed me. “Are you all right? Any lasting effects?”

  “I’m okay. Tired. Could use an energy boost, but other than that, I think I’ll survive. Your herbs will help,” I said.

  She focused on Kane. “And you?”

  “I’m fine.” Kane let go of my hand and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t fine. Maybe physically he was all right. But mentally? He was struggling with the accusations against him and the fact that he was at the heart of the issues in his club and the shadows.

  “We need to figure out what’s happening in the shadows. That’s when all this started, is it not?” Bea asked.

  I nodded. “Vaughn’s working on some research on his end, and I have plans to meet up with the Coven Pointe witches tomorrow night to find out what they know. But other than that, we’re not sure where to start.”

  “Where is this Goddess?” Bea asked.

  I shrugged. “She slipped into another dimension, and then Lucien sealed the opening to break her hold on me.”

  “I see.” Bea strummed her fingers on the table. “We could summon her in the circle.”

  I nodded. “That seems like the best plan.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and hit Lucien’s number.

  He answered on the second ring. “Jade. Hey, have you heard from Kat?”

  “No. Not since she told us about the TV show thing she’s doing. Why? Can’t find her?”

  “She’s not answering her phone. I told her I’d call as soon as I knew everything was all right. It’s not like her to go silent on me when coven stuff is going down. Usually she’s calling me a million times before I can even get a chance to talk with her.”

  I stifled a chuckle. Kat really did hate to be left out. “Maybe she’s in the shower. Or taking a nap. I’m sure she’ll call soon. Where was she when you came to the club?”

  “She was on her way to work on her lines with another one of the actresses.”

  “Depending on where they met up, it might just be too loud to hear her phone,” I guessed.

  “Maybe.”

  “Hey, where are you two?”

  “Pulling into Bea’s driveway.” Just as he said the words, I heard the hum of a car engine.

  “Okay. See you in a minute.” I turned to Bea. “They’re here.”

  She gave me a patient smile, and I realized she probably already knew that. Her place was loaded with all kinds of wards and triggers. I was certain nothing happened on her grounds that she didn’t know about.

  A sharp knock came at the door.

  Bea flicked her wrist, and the door swung open.

  “Show-off,” I said with a smile.

  She winked at me while Lucien and Rosalee filed in. “Welcome,” Bea said warmly. She’d been the coven leader before she’d transferred the power to me, although I was still uncertain why she’d done it. I knew it was because I had power, but I was still such a newbie that I always ended up running to her for help when we were in a crisis. She said she’d wanted to retire, but that hadn’t happened. Not really anyway. She should’ve just kept the title and the power.


  “We’re going to summon the Goddess to the coven circle,” Bea said without any preamble. “It’s the only way we’ll find her without using anyone as bait.”

  Bait. Guh. I hadn’t even considered that. If the summoning didn’t work, would we resort to offering up a sacrificial lamb? I hated the idea. And if we did, who would we offer? Me? Kane? One of our friends? Pyper? Or Kat? Lucien’s words of wondering where Kat was triggered another worry in my mind. Where had Pyper gone after the attack? And where had Charlie been all night?

  I pulled my phone out one more time and hit Pyper’s number. While it rang, I asked Kane, “Where was Charlie tonight?”

  He shrugged. “She said she had something important to do. At first I was frustrated, considering how busy we’ve been, but she works so hard and does such a fantastic job I didn’t feel right about saying so. In retrospect, I’m glad she wasn’t there. She didn’t need to get caught up in the good versus evil Goddess B.S.”

  “Yeah. That’s true.” The call to Pyper went to voicemail. I frowned. When her message ended and I heard the beep, I said, “Hey, Pyper. Listen, I hate to do this in a phone message, but the club’s been compromised. It’s not safe to be there or the café or your apartment. So far everything’s all right, but to be safe, Kane’s shutting down both buildings. If you need a place to stay, please just come to our house. You have the key.” I hit End and glanced at Kane. “Did you let Charlie know she’s off the hook until further notice?”

  “I did.”

  “Okay, then.” I gestured to Lucien and Rosalee. “I think the next thing to do is summon us a Goddess. Are you in?”

  “Hell yes,” Rosalee said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a good calling.”

  I was grateful for her enthusiasm, but also disturbed. We never called on anyone unless it was of major importance. The intrusion was too great. Of course, I couldn’t care less about the Goddess’s private affairs. No one tried to mess with Kane and got away with it. Not on my watch.

  “Ready?” Bea asked.

  I stood. “Do we need the rest of the coven? Or do you think the five of us can handle it?” Technically, Kane wouldn’t be of much use. He had magic because of his incubus status, but without his dagger, his power was only good for seducing unsuspecting females. It wasn’t the flashiest of powers, but it had its uses. Especially when we needed information out of someone.

  “We’ve got this,” Lucien said.

  Bea nodded to confirm.

  “Okay then. Let’s go.”

  We left the small house and made our way to the two parked cars, Lucien’s Jeep and Bea’s Prius. Just as I was about to slide into Bea’s Prius, my phone went off. The number wasn’t one I recognized. Normally I wouldn’t even answer, but too many strange things were happening. Anyone could be calling.

  Jade?” Lailah said, her voice strained after I answered.

  “Yeah. What’s up? You okay?” I asked.

  “No.” There was crackling over the connection, followed by a sniffle.

  Lailah crying? The world was ending.

  “Where are you?” I asked.

  “At home. Look, Jade, I got a new printout of whose souls are in danger.”

  That ominous feeling in my gut came flooding back. “And?”

  “There are three new names on the list.”

  “Three! Ones you know?”

  “Ones we both know.” Lailah sucked in a breath. “And I’ve been ordered to stand down because of the shadows. I can’t do anything. Do you understand? Nothing. I need you to keep them safe.”

  “Of course, Lailah. Anything. Who are the three in danger?”

  She paused and sniffled again. Then she shot the names off in rapid fire. “Pyper, Kat, and Charlie.”

  Chapter 13

  After Lailah’s phone call, we headed back in the house to regroup. We were brainstorming a plan of action when Lailah showed up on Bea’s doorstep. Her long blond hair was tied up in a messy haphazard bun, stray strands fallen around her blotchy face. She wiped at her red swollen eyes as she flopped down on the sunflower couch. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t just not go looking for them. This is my job. What I was trained for. And they’re all my friends.” She clutched her hands into a ball in her lap and fought back another onslaught of tears.

  Ever since her phone call, I’d been alternating my time from calling each of them, to writing down a plan of action. I sat next to her, pen poised over a piece of paper. “We’ll work on this together.”

  She nodded but didn’t look up at me.

  I locked eyes with Kane. Fear coiled around him tightly. Besides me, Pyper was his only real family. They weren’t related, but were as close as brother and sister. His parents were off somewhere in Europe, pretending to be socialites. His grandmother, who’d raised him, had passed away a couple of years ago. I sent him a reassuring smile, but I was pretty sure it came off as more of a grimace.

  Lucien was outside pacing. He’d been ready to leave to look for Kat the moment I’d relayed the news, but he had no idea where she was. She’d just said she was meeting up with a new acquaintance.

  Kat had been my best friend since forever, and I loved both Charlie and Pyper, too. My heart ached, knowing they were in danger. I’d gladly trade places if I could. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep them safe,” I said to Lailah. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

  “What we need to do,” Kane corrected.

  This time when I looked up at him, my smile was genuine.

  Lailah took a deep breath. “You need to make them aware they are vulnerable. But that means you have to find them first. The fact that none of them are reachable tells me they’ve already been compromised.”

  A sharp pain darted through my heart. No. The word reverberated through my mind. This isn’t happening.

  “Okay, so we summon them first.” I wrote the directive down, as if I’d forget. Right.

  “If you do that, you risk pulling in whatever it is that went after their souls.”

  A stone-cold determination settled over me. “Good.” The word came out hoarse, full of emotion. I felt Lailah turn to stare at me. Without looking up from my paper, I said, “If anyone has harmed or is planning harm to our friends, nothing is going to stop me from ending them.” I glanced up then and met Bea’s hardened eyes. “Nothing.”

  She gave me a short nod.

  It was all I needed. I stood and faced Lailah. “We’re heading to the coven circle now. We’ll call you as soon as we know anything.”

  Bea grabbed a supply bag full of candles and herbs. She paused as she walked past Lailah. “Stay here. It’s the safest place for you.”

  Lailah nodded mutely. She was so utterly gutted it startled me. The angel I’d come to know was strong and proud. She wasn’t willing to walk away from anything. Not when a soul was on the line.

  “Let’s go.” Bea strode out the front door, her shoulders stiff. A cloud of determination clung to her and brushed against my skin. But there was also a hint of frustration mixed with fear that surrounded her, and that unsettled me. It was rare for me to feel her emotions. It meant she was just as unnerved as Lailah, but she did a good job of hiding it from everyone else. Her head was held high and she had a false air of confidence about her.

  I straightened my own shoulders and willed myself to calm down.

  Three people had come up on Lailah’s list of endangered souls, and all of them had gone missing within a few hours. The implications were unnerving. That meant the being responsible for the abduction was powerful. We’d need to bring our A game.

  I took Kane’s hand and just because I could, I forced some of my energy into him. He shivered from the intrusion but said nothing. He squeezed my fingers in acknowledgment.

  The five of us piled into Lucien’s Jeep. In just five short minutes, we were parked and headed through the thicket of trees to our coven circle.

  Bea took the lead, and I was all too happy to let her. Summoning spells were tricky
at best. The stakes were too high for me to mess it up. There were two ways to do this as far as I knew. We could summon them using a specific distance, like within a two-hundred-mile radius. That was easier and more accurate. The other way was a general summoning, although the only time I’d done that was when I’d been calling my father. DNA had been used from my blood as a connection. I didn’t think blood would work for people we weren’t related to.

  “What type of summoning are we going to do?” I asked, placing votives along the edge of the coven circle.

  “A general one.” Bea stood back and eyed the moon. “If Pyper, Charlie, and Kat have really been abducted, they could be anywhere by now. What we really need is to talk to them. So we’ll summon their spirits. The connection Kane has with Pyper and the one Lucien has with Kat are deep enough that we should be able to reach at least one of them. But hopefully we’ll find Charlie as well, and see if any one of the three has a clue where they are. Then we’ll go from there.”

  I’d actually summoned a couple of angels straight into the circle before. Transported them through space. I wished with all my heart I could do that now, but I wasn’t even sure how I did it. It had been an accident. “Blood sacrifice?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Bea pulled a couple of ceremonial knives from her stash and handed them to me and Kane.

  Lucien and Rosalee already had theirs. Damn. That made me feel like a neglectful witch. Mine was at home in my witch stash.

  “That will work?” I asked.

  “To summon their spirit, yes. But we won’t be able to transport them.”

  That was what I was afraid of.

  “Take your spots on the circle,” Bea ordered.

  I hesitated, not knowing if I should take the northern most point, the leader’s spot. Bea was the better choice, but she handed me a bag of herbs and gestured for me to take over.

  “Here you go, dear.”

  With the small pouch in one hand and the knife in the other, I waited for Lucien to take his spot opposite me and for Bea and Rosalee to fill in the east and west spots.