by Deanna Chase
It was a no-win situation, leaving me with no outlet for my magic-filled fury. All I could do was open my mouth and scream.
The lights flickered on and off. Zeph knelt in front of me, smirking with satisfaction, unaware of what was happening behind him. Liam had finally sat up, his pale face lined with hatred as he lunged forward and tackled Zeph. The two went down in a tangle of arms and legs, and before anyone could make sense of the fight, a gun went off and Zeph stilled, his blood seeping into the floorboards.
The lights came on. Liam’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he passed out right next to his tormentor. Harper, Willa, and I sat in silent shock for just a moment before the door burst open and the cavalry arrived.
21
Kane rushed into the house, Lucien and Bea right behind him. “Jade!” he called, brandishing his dagger, ready for a fight.
“I’m here,” I said weakly, slumping over in the chair.
He wasted no time cutting off the zip ties, but when it came to my shackles, he swore. “Dammit. Bea?”
My mentor was hovering over Liam, her magic glowing as she went to work on his wounds. “I’m a little busy, Kane,” she said, out of breath.
“I’ve got this.” Lucien stepped in, pressing his hands to the shackles. Sweat poured down his face as he struggled to magically free me from the restraints. “Jade, can you lend a hand?”
I pressed my palm to his arm, sending a bolt of my pent-up magic straight through him. His hands lit up like a firecracker show, and just like that, the restraints disappeared.
“Son of a… That was more than I was bargaining for.” He peered up at me. “Oh my god, Jade. What happened to your shoulder?”
“I was shot.”
“That bastard fucking shot you?” Unadulterated rage streamed off Kane. He was vibrating with it.
“It’s just a flesh wound,” I said weakly, suddenly trembling with shock. Just a flesh wound? Was I sure? It had to be, otherwise I would’ve already bled out.
Kane rolled his shoulders, visibly trying to calm himself. “You’re going to be all right now, love. I’ve got you. Understand?”
I nodded, but tears rolled down my cheeks, all my fear finally getting the better of me. In the next moment, I was in Kane’s arms and he was holding me tight as I shook with sobs.
“It’s all right now, love. You’re safe. You and the baby. You’re both going to be fine now.”
“I’ve… my side… it hurts,” I choked out. “Need to see Healer Hanna.”
“An ambulance is on its way, love.” He glanced at Lucien, his eyes wild. “Right?”
My covenmate nodded. “Yes. As soon as we knew this was the house, I called. They’ll be here shortly.” Lucien quickly moved over to Willa, working on getting her free from her restraints.
“You felt my energy?” I asked Kane.
He nodded. “Bea did a finding spell. We knew you were somewhere in this general area. The storm has your energy signature all over it. But the rain is so heavy and the storm so enormous, it took us a while to find this place. We’ve been trying to penetrate the house for over an hour.” He glanced at Zeph, who was still lying unmoving on the floor. “Who shot him?”
“Liam.”
Bea and Harper were furiously working on saving the young man, and a lump formed in my throat.
“I thought he was behind all this, and it turns out he’s the one who saved us all.”
It wasn’t long before the sound of sirens filled the air. The paramedics rushed in and whisked Liam away, Harper never leaving his side. Lucien stayed with Willa, making sure she didn’t break down. And Kane carried me out while the paramedics did their duty, checking on Zeph.
There was only one ambulance, and Liam was the priority. Kane cursed and started to move toward his car, which was parked behind Lucien’s Jeep. But then a bolt of magic came out of nowhere, hitting him in the back, and he stumbled forward, nearly dropping me in the swampy mud.
Bea let out a cry, also caught off guard with a bolt of fire hitting her right in the chest. The flames took over as she quickly wielded a spell to fight the magic.
Kane put me down and turned to face our challenger.
It was Zeph. He was standing on the front porch, fire licking his hands. “You’re not taking her anywhere,” he roared and then jumped, leaping through the air with impressive height. He landed right in front of Kane and threw a powerful punch that knocked him back two feet, hard enough to dent the Lexus.
“Kane!” a voice called, and Pyper appeared. She’d been in the Lexus, waiting for us.
I threw my good arm out, raw power streaming from me, but instead of Zeph being knocked back, he opened his arms wide and accepted my power just as he had before. Dammit. I’d hoped that leaving the house meant his connection to my magic had been broken. It wasn’t. I quickly switched gears and concentrated on a fallen limb. My magic was so charged all it took was a flick of my wrist and the limb went barreling toward him.
He ducked and let out a laugh as he took a step toward me.
“Get away from her, you fuckstain,” Pyper spat out, jumping in front of me.
“Pyper, no!” I cried.
Zeph’s fire magic came right at us.
I grabbed her and pulled her down. We both slid into the mud, getting coated from head to toe as the car behind us went up in flames.
The scene was complete chaos as Kane got back onto his feet, his dagger in hand. Together with Bea and Lucien, the three of them encircled Zeph, closing in on him as he sprayed fire bomb after fire bomb at them. Mini bonfires popped up all around him, making it impossible for Kane, Bea, or Lucien to penetrate his field. The fire grew and started to spread out, tendrils of fire aiming right for each of them. No matter where they moved or what they did, the fire kept coming.
Bea was doing everything she could to direct water from the bayou to put the fire out, but it didn’t work. It was magical. Nothing could squelch it.
Finally, Bea dropped to her knees, raised her hands to the sky, and started to chant. Lucien followed suit, and even though I had no idea what or who she was calling, I did the same while Kane used the jewel in his dagger to slowly push the fire back to keep the three of them unharmed. But it was a losing battle. The moment he pushed one stream back, more came at them. He couldn’t keep it up for forever.
I kept my eyes on them as I chanted an unfamiliar Latin phrase.
Pyper was yelling something, but I couldn’t make it out.
Then she grabbed my hand and shook it, pointing just off to the right.
My eyes widened as I spotted the giant fourteen-foot alligator we’d met at Elijah’s place. The gator was moving quickly, his muscular tail flicking back and forth, propelling him forward straight toward Zeph. The fire intensified, but it didn’t stop the gator. Instead, he sped up and leaped right into the fire.
A loud cry echoed over the storm as the fire rose, turning a light shade of blue and then winking out, leaving the gator sitting in the middle of a burned area, Zeph lifeless next to him.
The storm that had been raging up until then stopped, and Elijah emerged from the trees, two small dogs following him. He walked right up to the gator, patted the reptile’s head, and said, “Well done, Trevor.”
The gator closed his eyes, clearly reveling in the attention, and rested his head on Zeph as if showing off his prey.
“Is he really dead this time?” Kane asked, still holding his dagger, ready for any sudden movements.
“I’d say so.” Elijah crouched down and studied the body. “Looks like Trevor severed the carotid artery.” He pressed two fingers to the other side of Zeph’s neck. “Definitely dead.”
Bea stood over the body and nodded. Then she raised her arms, closed her eyes, and called, “Goddess of the dead, take this man’s dark soul. Remove it, destroy it, purify the body, and let him never rise from the ashes.”
The wind picked up, rushing past her, making her auburn hair fly back. She was radiant in the darkened n
ight, light illuminating her hands as she pressed them to the body.
A faint light in the shape of a shadowy figure emerged and covered Bea’s hands with her own. The light seeped into Zeph, lit him up like a Christmas star, and then rushed into the goddess. She emerged from the dark, glorious with her long white hair, brilliant amber eyes, and golden sun-kissed skin. She smiled down at Bea, thanked her for the gift, and vanished into the night, leaving only a pile of ash where Zeph used to be.
We all stood by silently, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When nothing happened, Kane strode over to me and wrapped his arms around me, his relief and love wrapping me in a cocoon of his emotion.
“Are you okay, love?” he whispered in my ear.
I clung to him. “I think so. Are you?”
“Perfect now that you’re back in my arms.” His hold tightened around me, and even though I was covered from head to toe in mud, I thought he might never let me go.
“Jade?” Pyper asked, pressing her hand to my back.
I pulled away from Kane but didn’t let go. “Yes?”
She frowned as she stared up at the large Victorian. “Is there anyone else in the house?”
I glanced around, spotted Willa with Lucien and Harper climbing into the ambulance where they’d taken Liam. “I don’t think so. Why?”
Her brow furrowed. “I hear something.”
Kane stiffened as she moved toward the house. “Pyper, no. Don’t go in there. Not until it’s been searched.”
“I have to,” she said, her voice sounding ethereal. “They’re calling to me.”
Bea strode over to her, took her by the arm, and said, “I’m going with her.”
“So am I,” Kane said, but as the words left his lips, he glanced down at me, clearly struggling with leaving my side.
“No,” I said softly. “I don’t think they need you.” I tilted my head up and eyed the window in the attic. “Pyper’s got this one.”
He frowned, and then recognition dawned in his gaze. “Ghosts?”
“I think so. Previous victims.”
“Dammit,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“There was nothing we could do. I think they were gone before I even got here.” Exhaustion washed over me, and my head started to spin. I clutched at him and said, “I think I need to sit down.”
“Of course.” He tucked me into the back seat of the Lexus and then turned to shake hands with Elijah.
The man clapped Kane on the back. “You were impressive, my man. If you ever need backup again, you know where to find me.”
Kane glanced at the alligator sitting at Elijah’s side. “That’s one hell of a familiar you have there.”
Elijah laughed. “That he is.” The man knelt down, said something the two pups that had followed him, and then pointed to Willa and the ambulance. The two schnauzers bounded away, one jumping into the ambulance and the other hurling itself at Willa.
“Elijah,” I called, watching Willa’s pup plant kisses all over the girl’s face.
“Yes, Jade?”
“Do you have any idea why Flame—err, Peanut—kept coming to my house while Harper was missing?” I asked, genuinely confused. “Why didn’t she just go back to you or stay with Willa?”
He gave me a patient smile. “Because, my dear. Familiars do their masters’ bidding. If Peanut kept coming back to you, it’s because Harper ordered her to. I’m guessing Harper thought you were her best chance of surviving this nightmare. With her familiar around, you weren’t likely to give up on her.”
“I wouldn’t have anyway,” I said, knowing that to be the truth. I’d never been able to walk away when someone was in trouble. Clearly that was never going to change.
He reached through the window of the car and squeezed my hand. “Then you’re a rare one, Ms. Calhoun, and Harper was smart for putting her faith in you. Just don’t give up on her now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
He glanced at Willa and the ambulance leaving the clearing. “She’s going to need your influence with the council. I fear she’s stepped out of one nightmare only to end up in the middle of another one.”
Crap on toast. He was right. The council would never let dragons roam free. The fact that Harper and her cousins all had dragon traits put them in danger of being eradicated. Would the council lock up their souls too? The idea was so disturbing that my stomach turned.
I stared him in the eye and said, “I’ll do whatever I can. That’s a promise.”
He mimed tipping his hat, shook Kane’s hand, and then with Trevor by his side, he disappeared back into the bayou.
“How did you hook up with him?” I asked Kane.
He opened the back door and sat next to me while we waited for Pyper and Bea. “We found him while looking for you. When he heard you were somewhere in the bayou, he offered to act as a guide of sorts. Brought us straight here when I described what you told me. Strange fellow with his alligator familiar. It’s interesting that the two dragon familiars ended up back with him when you and Willa both went missing.”
“Yeah, interesting,” I agreed. But as I watched the area where Elijah had disappeared, I had a feeling that Elijah had found my search party, not the other way around. I strongly suspected that Elijah was a seer of sorts and knew almost everything that went on in the bayou. If that was the case, then he’d probably been waiting for someone powerful enough to help him bring Zeph down. Good. It never hurt to have friends in the most unexpected places.
The front door of the Victorian swung open. Bea and Pyper emerged with Bea holding Pyper tight, keeping her steady. My friend’s face was colorless, and she looked like she was going to throw up.
“Pyper?” I called, ready to climb out of the car. “What is it?” I met Bea’s gaze. “Is she all right? What happened?”
“I…” Tears rolled down Pyper’s cheeks as she shook her head. “He’s a monster.”
“They’re free now,” Bea said gently and pulled her in closer with a sideways hug. “You freed them. They won’t have to live that nightmare ever again.”
“His victims,” I whispered. “They were trapped in the attic.”
“And reliving their deaths over and over again!” Pyper yelled, fury streaming off her. “If he wasn’t already ash, I’d burn his worthless human shell.”
“So would I, dear,” Bea said with venom. “But we’ve already obliterated him. He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
Pyper trudged through the mud and without saying another word, she climbed into the front passenger seat.
I reached between the seats and squeezed her shoulder. “You did a good thing, Pyper.”
She bowed her head and silently wept.
I leaned back, pressed a hand to the side of my abdomen, and said, “Kane. Take me to Healer Hanna.”
He glanced at me, worry in his dark gaze. “You’re not okay, are you?”
“I’m… I don’t know. I’ve had a pain in my side. I think the baby is fine, but—”
Kane jumped into the front seat, cranked the engine, and waved at Bea and Lucien as he peeled out of the clearing, spraying mud with his back tires.
22
The steady beep, beep, beep of the monitor was a familiar sound. It seemed that ever since I’d moved to New Orleans, hospital stays had become somewhat commonplace. But I welcomed the sound, relieved that our daughter was fine. Zeph hadn’t managed to hurt her. But because of the stress and trauma I’d endured, I’d started to go into premature labor. As a result, I was on a prescription of special herbs and bed rest. The pain in my side had indeed just been a pulled muscle. And I’d been right; the bullet hadn’t hit anything vital. My wound was already sealed thanks to Healer Hanna, who said I was one hell of a lucky witch.
I had to agree.
The door swung open, and Kane walked in. “Morning, beautiful.”
Smiling up at him, I patted the edge of my bed. “I missed you.”
He chuckled and place
d a cup from the Grind on my side table. “I was only gone for forty-five minutes.”
“I know, but it’s lonely in here.” I exaggerated my pout. I’d been in the hospital for three days already and was going out of my mind with boredom. “Please tell me you’re taking me home today.”
He sat next to me and handed me a bag. “I am if Healer Hanna signs off.”
I opened the bag and breathed in the vanilla-and-cinnamon scent. “Oh man. Tell Pyper she’s my favorite and I’ll love her for forever.”
“Never. You’re mine.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over my forehead. I knew he meant the words to be light and playful, but they came out gruff with a side of caveman. He wrapped his fingers around mine and squeezed. “Do you know how hard it was to leave you just to get breakfast?”
Of course I did. Kane had barely been ten feet from me since he’d carried me into the hospital three days ago. He’d slept by my side, carried me to the bathroom, helped me shower, and in general tended to my every need. “Kane?”
“Yes, shortcake?” He brought my hand up and pressed his lips to my knuckles.
“You do realize that if you keep this up for two months, I might have to hex you, right?” I gave him a sweet smile to lessen the blow.
He raised one eyebrow, taking my criticism in stride. “Are you saying you’re tired of my hovering?”
“Not exactly. But once I get out of here, I’m pretty sure I will be. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. I do. It’s just—”
“I know.” He pressed a hand to my belly and stared down at me, his dark eyes soft and vulnerable. “You have no idea what it was like for me when you went missing. When we found the spot where you’d dropped Bea’s latte and the bag of pastries, I could feel your fear concentrated there. And I thought…”
I squeezed his hand, willing him to finish.
He blew out a breath and shook his head. “Never mind what I thought. But panic settled in my gut, and even though we found you and you’re here with me, I still can’t shake that feeling. It gripped me from the inside out, and Jade? I’m still reeling from it. Being away from you physically hurts. So forgive me if I’m a little overbearing. Okay?”