Incubus of Bourbon Street

by Deanna Chase

  “I’m worried you’re not one hundred percent.” We’d just come from the coven circle and were on our way home to regroup when he’d pulled into his parking spot behind the club.

  His hand slid up my spine and cupped the back of my head. “Don’t worry about me, Jade.” He tapped the dagger now safely tucked back into his belt. “I’ve got what I need.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do.” He seemed so solid, so sure of himself, my unease faded into the background.

  The door creaked open, and silence greeted us. None of the hall lights were lit, and the place was darker than I’d ever seen it. It even felt dark. Ominous. But not from Kane’s energy this time. It was deserted. Empty.

  All the lingering lust and excitement that usually filled the club was gone. None of the residual emotions that never failed to turn my stomach were present. There was just nothing. “Does anything feel differently to you?”

  Kane paused. “No. But it does to you. What is it?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. That’s the thing. I can’t feel any residual energy at all.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  I squinted through the darkness. “I don’t know yet.”

  He took two steps and then stopped again. “You don’t feel my incubus energy?”

  “That I feel.” Sort of. I was aware of his energy, but it wasn’t overwhelming me like it usually did. Not at the moment anyway. “But the taint is gone.”

  “Completely?” There was a faint trace of relieved hope in his tone.

  “Yes. At least in the club anyway. When you reopen, you probably won’t have people lined up down the block like you did before. The allure just isn’t here.”

  “Good.”

  I chuckled. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you say anything positive about the club not having customers.”

  He laughed with me. “You’re right. And it’ll probably be the last.”

  As we neared the office, Kane flipped the switch that illuminated the lights on the walls. Sure enough, no one was there. But the place looked like a hurricane had hit it. The chairs were toppled over, empty booze bottles were strewn over the stage, and something had clawed at the blue-velvet walls.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered. “What happened here?”

  Kane walked slowly around the room, taking in the destruction. Red-tinged anger swarmed around him. His jaw worked, but he said nothing as he kicked his way through the debris.

  I had no idea who could’ve done such a thing. The back door hadn’t been tampered with. I was willing to bet the front door hadn’t been either. There just wasn’t any residual energy in the club at all. And it was very strange. An attack like this one would invariably leave something behind.

  “Kane?”

  He jerked his head up. “Yes?”

  “We need to search the building. I can’t feel anything at all. I don’t know what’s going on, if the place has been cloaked in order to hide energy from me, or if it’s been cleansed or what. But since everything about this is off, we need to do a sweep and make sure no one else is here.”

  “Yeah. You’re right.” Together we walked the perimeter of the club, finding nothing but debris. Then we checked the office. Interestingly, nothing was out of place there except the door had been broken off the hinges.

  “This is beyond weird,” I said.

  Kane nodded, but tugged me into the hallway and upstairs. Nothing was out of place in any of the apartments except for Zoe’s. There were marks on the wall from where she’d been tied up, along with the large spikes. But she was nowhere to be found and all her things appeared to be accounted for, including her purse, which housed her wallet and her keys.

  “Do you think Genesis still has her?” I asked, clutching my throat.

  “She has to.” We both stood staring at the wall where we’d last seen her in Kane’s dreamwalk.

  “We have to find her,” I said.

  Kane nodded and before I could say anything else, he ushered me toward the door.

  “Where are we headed?” I asked.

  “To the shadows.”

  My internal alarm went off. “We can’t do that. Not without notifying someone.”

  “Then call Lucien. Or Bea. Or Lailah. We cannot leave here unless we check for her. And since that’s the last place she was seen, we don’t have a choice.”

  I had to run to catch up with him as he flew down the stairs, and a few moments later we were standing in his office.

  “Hold on.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and grimaced when I saw the red light indicating the battery was almost dead. There was only time for one text. I sent a group message to Lucien, Lailah, and Bea.

  Kane and I are checking the shadows for Zoe. If you don’t hear back from us within the hour, send reinforcements. I nodded in satisfaction at the Sent notification. “Done,” I said.

  “Are you ready?” he asked me.

  “Ready.”

  Our fingers slipped together and the world shifted.

  I blinked through the grayness and instantly knew that the energy in the shadows had been restored. “It’s not tainted,” I said to Kane, relief flooding through me.

  But he didn’t answer. He was staring off to the right, righteous indignation building from deep inside him. “Let her go,” he commanded and took a step away from me.

  I peered past him, still unable to see what he did. “Kane?” But he didn’t seem to hear me, and the farther he walked away from me, the harder it became to read his emotions.

  “Kane?” I said again and tried to catch up, but as I took another step, suddenly a strange ripple reverberated through the fabric of the shadows, distorting my view.

  I rubbed at my eyes and squinted.

  “Keep moving, Jade,” I heard Kane call from a far-off place. “Just take two more steps.”

  I felt as if I was frozen in place, unable to move forward or backward. I saw nothing but blurry lines of gray. Where was I? What had happened?

  “Jade!” Kane gripped my wrist and the next thing I knew I was being yanked through the distorted magic.

  My bare arms and face stung from the contact. I blinked rapidly, rubbing at my watery eyes as the cool air brushed over my stinging, sensitive skin. “What was that?” I asked, still unable to see.

  “A magical barrier to keep us out,” Kane said, his tone rough and dangerous.

  “Keep us out of—” My vision cleared, and what I saw made my stomach turn.

  Zoe was laid out in the shadows, her arms and legs shackled together, an IV jabbed in her arm. Leaning over her was a hunchbacked old woman with wrinkles lining her face. The woman glared up at us and snarled. Her long white hair shifted, and that was when I saw it. The syringe.

  The old woman was extracting blood from Zoe’s chest just over her heart.

  “Stop!” I sprang forward.

  But I was too late. The woman ripped the syringe from Zoe and jabbed it into her own neck.

  Flashes of dark magic blossomed over the old woman as her body seized. Rising a few feet in the air, her arms spread out and the black magic consumed her.

  I took a step back, unable to control the powerful magic strumming through me, brought on by just the hint of dark forces. I’d fought against black magic before and won. I could do it again. But whatever was happening to her in that moment, she’d done to herself, and I wasn’t quite sure what I’d be fighting just yet.

  “What the hell?” Kane said and gripped my arm, pulling me to his side.

  My eyes widened with disbelief. The woman’s skin rippled as her body straightened. Then out of nowhere, a billowing burst of black smoke consumed her. And when it cleared, I stared straight into the eyes of the Lesser Goddess, Genesis.

  Chapter 24

  “Genesis,” Kane barked. “What have you done?”

  She laughed, that high-pitched giggle of hers grating on my nerves. “Only what I should’ve done years ago.”

  “Steal the life force from a
n innocent woman?” My voice shook with anger and magic clung to my fingertips, ready to be unleashed.

  “Innocent?” Genesis raised her eyebrows and gave us an incredulous look. “There’s not much of anything innocent about that girl. Not anymore. Not after what she’s done for me the last few weeks.”

  I glance at Zoe, wondering what that meant, but then quickly discarded anything the Goddess had to say. If Zoe had been forced into anything, it didn’t matter what she’d done. Genesis was the one using black magic to make herself appear young again by stealing Zoe’s essence. I hadn’t felt anything sinister from Zoe before. Whatever Genesis was referring to didn’t make her evil.

  “You’re lying,” Kane said and flashed his dagger.

  Genesis hissed. “You can’t hurt me with that blade, incubus. I know the rules.”

  She was right. The dagger given to Kane was to be used only when fighting demons…or in self defense when he was magically attacked. “You’re mistaken,” I lied, taunting her. “Black magic is fair game. One flick of his wrist and you’ll be history.”

  It was a gamble. Kane wouldn’t use his dagger unless she attacked him first. But as a white witch, I didn’t live by such rules. As soon as she stepped away from Zoe, I’d take her down.

  Fear flashed through Genesis’s eyes. But she blinked it away and raised her arms, the black tendrils of magic curling from her fingers and around her wrists. “Prove it.”

  The dark energy shot from her hands straight at Kane. The bolt was so fast, I didn’t even have time to react. But Kane did. Instead of attacking Genesis with his dagger, he held it up and reflected the black magic using the large stone in the hilt. If she’d been a demon, he would’ve sent it straight back to her, but instead he aimed it off in the distance away from Zoe and the Goddess.

  Genesis stumbled a few feet to the right, trying to break Kane’s hold. It was enough that Zoe was out of the line of fire. My white witch magic curled up from my depths and instead of battling the magic she was unleashing on Kane, I focused on her and whispered, “Bind her.”

  Six separate streams of magic shot from my fingers, each latching on to a different part of Genesis’s body.

  “What the—” she started as she tried to jerk backward.

  But a rope of power wrapped around her mouth, effectively gagging her, while four of the others clasped around her wrists and ankles.

  The black magic streaming from her hands started to fade to just barely a whisper of power.

  “More, Jade. Cut her off,” Kane said, steel in his tone.

  Genesis bucked against my magical bindings. Her eyes turned jet-black as she glared in my direction. Then a tendril of her dark magic slipped under the band that was gagging her. The stream shattered and she sucked in a hard breath. “You stupid bitch!” She opened her mouth, and a torrent of evil escaped from the depths of her soul.

  Shadow after shadow of broken spirits flowed from her, each of them screaming a high-pitched cry of agony. All the ones she’d fed off of over the years. I recoiled in horror, unable to even fathom such a terrible existence.

  They flew around Genesis in a whirlwind of energy until finally Genesis broke free of my hold. My magic slammed back at me. A sharp pain hit me right in the gut and I cried out as I doubled over, gasping for air.

  “Get back!” Kane stepped in front of me and raised his dagger, using the stone to shield us from the spirits.

  I fell to my knees, unable to stay upright, and peered at the spectacle in front of us. Zoe wasn’t moving from her shackled position behind Genesis. I wasn’t even sure she was still alive after the Goddess had stolen her essence. God, what if she didn’t make it? That would be three people we’d lost in a matter of days.

  My heart got caught in my throat. But then anger took over. The world was too full of selfish, power-hungry beings. And immortals like Genesis were the worst kind of awful. She literally had the world at her feet, and it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t stand by and let her sacrifice one more innocent.

  I leaped to my feet in front of Kane, ignoring the pain in my gut, and shot bolt after bolt of magic at the spirits shielding Genesis. One by one they each slowed and faded away into the shadows, leaving nothing between me and the Goddess.

  If anyone had ever asked me if I thought I could take a Goddess down, I’d say no every time. But right then, the conviction filling my heart said otherwise. I wouldn’t let her go after one more person. Wouldn’t let her get a chance to take Pyper again. Was willing to die before I’d let Pyper’s spirit turn into one of the creatures controlled by the Goddess.

  With the broken spirits out of the way, I tapped into all the fear and rage and horror of the last few days and focused my energy on targeting the Goddess. “Genesis,” I called.

  Her head snapped up and her big black eyes stared right at me.

  “Eat this.” White-hot magic burst from me and flowed straight at her head.

  The Goddess did as I commanded and opened her giant mouth, sucking down everything I had to give. I stood there, feeding her all my power, every last bit of strength I had until my muscles started to give out. I fell to one knee and gritted my teeth, calling up the remaining power from the depths of my soul.

  One last bubble of magic left my fingertips, and I fell forward onto my hands, utterly empty.

  “Jade!” Kane called and lifted me up by my shoulders. He held me, both of us watching Genesis’s body glow bright with my magic. Her eyes shifted from black to white and then back to black as she howled in obvious pain.

  “I have to finish what I started,” I gasped out.

  “No, Jade. You’ve done enough,” Kane said into my ear.

  I shook my head. “No. She’ll never stop. Please. Let me go.”

  “I can’t. You’ve used too much.”

  I glanced up at him, desperately pleading with him. “I have to. I can do this. Trust me.”

  His worried gaze glanced from me to her and back again. “Here,” he said and placed my hand on his heart. “Take what you need.”

  “Are you sure?” My breath came in short, desperate gasps.

  “I’m sure.”

  My fingers dug into his flesh as I concentrated on his energy engulfing me. I knew him so well, had been in tune with him for so long, it was second nature to meld into his emotional energy. Except that wasn’t what he was telling me to do. No, I was to take some of his power.

  “You got this,” Kane said.

  I wasn’t so sure, but when I glanced back at Genesis, my white magic was just starting to fade. If I didn’t act now, I’d lose my chance, and everything I’d done would be all for nothing.

  “Take it!” Kane demanded.

  And with his words, I felt the first twinge of his power merge with mine. It was enough. Kane’s power flowed effortlessly into me and churned in that place just below my heart, mixing with mine. My power jolted and suddenly I was alive with it. With one hand on Kane and the other outstretched in front of me, I called, “Finis!”

  Nothing seemed to happen for a moment. Then my body bowed and everything left me in a whoosh. In the next second, the Goddess’s mouth dropped open as she gagged. Her hand came up to her neck, her eyes bugging out and she choked on nothing.

  That’s it, die, Goddess, I thought with vengeance. Die!

  A disturbance filled the air in the form of an ominous rumble, followed by light shooting from her center, her eyes, her mouth, until she literally exploded apart and vanished into nothing.

  Sparkles of light floated down around us as I slumped against Kane.

  “You did it,” he said softly. “She’s gone.”

  I nodded, so tired I wasn’t even able to speak.

  Kane brushed his fingers over my forehead. “You did good, love.”

  I sighed into him just as my eyes landed on Zoe. “Oh, God.” I let go of Kane and moved toward her.

  “Wait,” Kane said.

  I paused and glanced back at him, swaying on my feet. “Why?”

 
“We don’t know what kind of condition she’s in.”

  “There’s only one way to find out.” I held my hand out to him and together we made our way over to the fallen girl. “Her shackles are gone,” I said as I stared down at her. “How?”

  “It was probably Genesis’s magic. You demolished her and any of her lingering magic.”

  “Good.” I kneeled. “Zoe?”

  The girl didn’t move. She was very pale and her skin was clammy.

  I glanced up at Kane in panic. “We need to get her out of here.”

  He bent and picked her up.

  “Is she breathing?” I asked.

  “Barely. Let’s go.” Kane and I clasped hands and a second later we were standing outside of Bea’s compound. We were on the sidewalk outside the main gates. Her house was the carriage house behind a larger family home in the garden district. Because we had Zoe with us, we couldn’t shadow walk right to the front of her cottage due to her wards. No one who hadn’t already been granted access could get that close. Which was why her place was one of the safest in the city.

  I waved my hand in front of her locked gate, and it opened immediately. Her security was set to let certain people in at all times. I was one of the lucky few.

  By the time we rounded the corner to Bea’s cottage, she was already standing on her front porch. She ran to us. “What happened?”

  “Jade destroyed the Goddess,” Kane said matter-of-factly.

  Bea raised a curious eyebrow. “All by yourself?”

  I shook my head. “Kane helped.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Kane strode up the steps and waited for Bea to open the door. “Zoe’s in bad shape.”

  Bea nodded. “I can tell. Take her straight up to the guest room. I’ll be up in a second with healing herbs.”

  After my impressive display of magic, my body was barely cooperating. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I shuffled to the sunflower couch and collapsed.

  “Your power’s getting stronger,” Bea said as she opened one of her living room cabinets.

  “Hmm?” I curled into myself, my eyelids suddenly very heavy.

  “Destroying a Goddess isn’t something you could’ve done on your own a few months ago.”