Wicked Unveiled

by J. N. Colon

  Chills ran down my spine. The voodoo king himself. A wide smile spanned his entire face.

  I skimmed over the passage. Thankfully, this one was in English. Baron Samedi was keeper of the dead, healer of life. His favorite things were rum and cigars. He enjoyed debauchery, especially of the sexual nature.

  Flames licked at my cheeks. The dark loa had been drawn in by the energy I helped create at Le Revenant last night. How embarrassing.

  I shook my head and flipped to the next page. The baron was dressed the same, dancing with a mob of children. Smiles were everywhere, their little hands reaching for him.

  They wanted to be near him. According to this book, Voodoo Loa and Their Gifts, Baron Samedi was also known to love and protect children.

  Protect them? Tricking me into a deal at ten years old didn’t support that claim.

  A cold feeling spun through my gut as I continued reading about the baron. Nothing in this book or any other one I was able to read declared him evil. He was simply on the darker side of the spectrum. Dark didn’t always mean evil.

  Either he wanted something so bad—and needed me to get it—he turned his back on his true nature, or Maman Brigitte was right. Baron Samedi was being affected by some internal voodoo imbalance.

  I shuffled along the street, prolonging my return to Le Revenant. I was more confused about Baron Samedi than ever. Was weakening him really a good idea when we didn’t know why he was doing this or what consequences it could really pose? We were screwing with something on a cosmic level, and if magic had taught me anything, nothing came without a price.

  A long, frustrated groan slipped free. Etie wasn’t going to hear me out. First, he was going to be pissed I snuck away. Second, he was determined to keep me safe, meaning weakening the baron. He didn’t care about any fallout.

  The pouvior bokor loved me to a fault. He couldn’t see straight when it came to this.

  A tingle suddenly drifted down my spine, stealing my attention from my alimèt. An electric tang leaked through the air.

  Magic.

  I shoved my hands in my jeans’ pockets. It wasn’t unusual. Tons of voodoo casters and witches could be walking down the street. A club for the magically inclined was a few blocks away. I glanced up, the sky darkening with every passing second. A cold wind whipped through the street.

  It was just the change of weather with autumn here. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  Laughter resonated, and three figures turned the corner, their eyes all carrying a purple hue. Witches.

  I licked my dry lips. Stop freaking out! They were headed to Le Revenant. I’d been around plenty of witches and casters now, and not one of them had noticed I was a conduit.

  The three of them slowed when they caught sight of me. The two guys flanking a petite brunette smiled politely. The girl did not. Her smile spread into something predatory.

  Knots filled my stomach. I recognized her.

  “I’ll be damned.” She pulled the guys to a stop, her light-gray eyes slowly surveying me. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

  I glanced around the empty street. Where the hell had everyone gone?

  “Especially not without your voodoo protector,” she continued in a sweet southern accent.

  There was nothing sweet about her.

  “He’s around.” I crossed my arms against my chest, glaring at the young witch from Liseria’s coven. She had run away after Etie and the others arrived. “But I’m quite capable of protecting myself these days.” I sounded more confident than I felt.

  She arched a perfect brow. “I’m sure.” Her eyes flicked toward her partners. “Heath, Lex, this is Angel. She’s a conduit.”

  Chapter 16

  The beefy strawberry blond male on her left scoffed. “No way, Taylor. This tiny little thing couldn’t have that much power.”

  “Yeah, Lex’s right.” The other one was wiry and tall, but both outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds. “I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary.”

  “She’s a conduit.” Taylor released her hold on the boys. “She’s just better at hiding it now.”

  A trickle of power rippled over my skin. The evil witch was trying to force her way through my barriers.

  I quickly reinforced them, shoving her out. “Back off, Barbie.”

  She stumbled from the force of my shields. “I see someone learned a few new tricks.”

  “Babe, what are you trying to do?” The tall, lean one asked, his wary gaze traveling between Taylor and me.

  She straightened her pristine white sweater and licked her lips. “I want a taste of that conduit power, Heath. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

  “Woah.” Heath stepped in front of her, blocking the girl’s icy gray eyes from me. “She’s a conduit. So what? You don’t need her powers.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Lex was looking at me with a crocodile smile. Soon drool was going to start dripping down his big chin.

  “You should listen to him.” I jerked my thumb toward Heath. “He’s obviously smarter than both of you put together.”

  Taylor’s hand flew up, throwing a wave of magic toward me.

  My pulse skyrocketed, and I dodged her hit. The street lights began to wink out one by one. Purple melted through Lex’s eyes.

  Son of a biscuit.

  My body was trembling with not only fear but adrenaline. Why did these witches think I was some thing to be used? It wasn’t right. I was a person. How would they feel if someone wanted to stalk them for their powers?

  They wouldn’t like it, not one damn bit.

  The ground began to tremble beneath my feet. I’d released the walls around my conduit magic. It was ready to teach these jerks a lesson.

  Heath backed away, his hands lifted in surrender. “I want no part of this.” A lock of jet-black hair brushed his sharp cheekbone.

  “Then leave,” Taylor hissed, standing her ground. “The little conduit is all show. She doesn’t really know how to use that power.”

  She was dead wrong. And I was going to prove it.

  An invisible receptor shot out, hitting her in the chest. I sucked on her power like a slurpy.

  Taylor gasped, and her knees hit the sidewalk. “You… are going to pay for… that.” Her gaze flicked to the left.

  A purple energy ball zoomed off the tips of Lex’s outstretched fingers, heading directly for me.

  My heart lurched. On instinct, I reached out and caught it, cradling it in my palm. The swirling orb was now mine to command.

  “I’m so out of here.” Heath pivoted and ran the way they came, not even bothering to look back as he turned the corner.

  “You two made a big mistake.” My eyes burned violet, and my entire body was alive with magic. This was the first time I faced off with anyone besides Rafe since Ramsey’s coven nearly took me. Even though there were only two of them, it felt pretty damn good to protect myself.

  Lex let out a battle cry as he charged forward, demolishing my warm and fuzzy moment. The street lights above shattered, raining glass.

  Shit! My arm flew up as a shield against the falling debris. Like the time I’d popped my bathroom lights, not a single shard touched me. They fell around my feet, hitting the sidewalk with a tinkling chorus.

  I was surrounded by a protective bubble.

  Lex threw himself at me with an angry snarl. I flinched in anticipation of his attack. Instead, he rebounded on the invisible shield. His body was airborne for several seconds until it finally slammed to the hard concrete with a sickening crunch.

  My stomach churned as his agonizing scream tore through the dark street. He curled into a ball, grabbing his foot. It was twisted at an odd angle.

  Acid oozed up my throat. Oh hell. I didn’t mean to break a bone.

  Taylor scrambled to her feet, fighting off the connection with my powers. “You’re not getting away, conduit.” Rapid Latin poured from her mouth. Wind whipped, and thunder rumbled. She was brewing up some hellacious magic.

&n
bsp; I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. I needed to stop this psycho Sabrina before she overwhelmed me. I had no idea what her special witchy talent was. Instead of latching onto her again, my receptors sucked up the magic lingering in the air. It wasn’t magnifying her spell. It was simply eating up the bits drizzling down.

  “You think you can take me?” Lightning flashed through the sky and hit the road, veining out around Taylor’s slender form. She wasn’t much bigger than me. Locks of chestnut hair blew in the wind. “I’m more powerful than I look.”

  She must have been in Liseria’s coven of her own volition. From the look of things, she could have been her bestie.

  I took a shuddering breath, searching deep inside for more courage. Etie always told me I was strong. He knew what I was capable of. And Rafe was teaching me to protect myself so I didn’t end up like his mother.

  My jaw clenched, and I nodded to myself. I could do this. I could take her.

  The remaining restraints around my magic melted away.

  My lids lowered as I gathered my power. Conduits were one of the strongest born witches in the Wiccan world. We could live normal lives if we learned to harness the magic flowing through our veins. Others hunted us because of that magic.

  It was time they learned to fear us instead.

  My eyes snapped open just as Taylor sent a streak of lightning my way.

  It happened in slow motion, the band of electricity arcing toward me. I focused on it and opened my palm.

  The bolt dissipated into smoke upon contact.

  A gasp left the young witch. “How did you…?” Her hard expression faltered.

  “We need to go, Tay.” Lex shakily stood, putting his weight on one foot. His face was colorless and coated with sweat. “I think we bit off more than we can chew this time.”

  This time? Like Liseria, had Taylor taken other conduits?

  Fire seared my veins. Neither one of them was getting away. They needed to pay. They needed to be held accountable for their actions.

  A massive churning orb formed between my hands. “You’re not going anywhere.” The ball was bigger than the one I’d conjured with Rafe, swirling with deep violet, magenta, and lilac. My arms widened, splitting the churning mass of energy in two.

  Both witches were ashen gray.

  A smile twitched my lips. Their fear sweetened the air.

  My toujou tingled as I readied to toss my weapons.

  “No, cher!” Etie stepped in front of me, clasping my wrists. “Ale.”

  The swirling purple balls poofed into thin air.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” I blinked at the empty space between my hands. I had no idea he could affect my magic like that.

  His jaw dropped. “I couldn’t let you kill them.”

  I scoffed. “I was only going to throw it at their feet.”

  Rafe appeared in front of Taylor, his teeth bared as he gave her a feral smile. “I would have let her kill at least this one.” His hands curled into tight fists. “She’s a real piece of work.”

  Lex began to limp away until Etie uttered a Vondou word. The witch’s entire body shook as he tried to overcome the voodoo spell that had him frozen to the spot.

  “Don’t even think about sneaking off.” Etie’s voice dipped low and dangerous. Lex was smart enough to stop fighting his hold.

  Bastien sauntered out of an alley, his glowing amber eyes illuminating the dark area. “What do we have here? A couple of witches picking on my little brother’s alimèt?” He tsked. “Bad move.”

  “You two got this?” Etie asked over his shoulder.

  Rafe gave me a proud nod. “We’ll take care of them, Etie. You just take care of Princess Badass over there.”

  I rolled my eyes even as a grin tried to break through. I had been kind of badass for a minute.

  “You really want to smile at a time like this, Angeline?” There was no humor in Etie’s tone.

  My mood sank, remembering I’d snuck out of Le Revenant without so much as a note. He’d probably been worried sick.

  “Come on.” Etie’s hand slipped around mine, and he tugged me down the road. Anger simmered through his body. And disappointment.

  I swallowed back the lump of emotion growing in my throat. “I’m sorry, Etie. I just wanted to—”

  “To what?” he interrupted. “To throw me into an early grave?”

  My brows dipped. “Don’t you think that’s a little dramatic?”

  His eyes narrowed, and he stepped so close our shoes were touching. “No, it’s not. Dramatic would be locking you up and holding you prisoner until after Fete Gede.”

  “You wouldn’t do that.” When he didn’t protest, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You couldn’t.”

  A shadow crossed his features. “Want to try me?”

  Oh my voodoo gods. Was it wrong to be a little turned on by him right now? “I took on those witches, didn’t I? I totally kicked ass.”

  Etie didn’t back down. Power hummed around him. “What if there had been more?”

  I shrugged. “I could have handled it. That’s what I’ve been training for.”

  The tendons in his jaw tightened. “You’ve been training to protect yourself, not to go looking for trouble.”

  I tossed my hands up. “I wasn’t looking for trouble. I was just out alone. I can’t always rely on someone to be with me. You know that, Etie.” I motioned around us. “This could happen anywhere, anytime. Not all witches and voodoo casters are interested in using and abusing conduits, but some are. I have to be able to live my life even though they’re out there.” I knew he was going to have a hard time letting go of this protective obsession. Would he ever be okay with me fighting my own battles?

  Etie’s shoulders unexpectedly loosened, and he released a long sigh. “We can’t keep fighting about the same things, Angeline.” His hand ran down my arm, his expression pained. “I know you want to be independent. And you’re strong. You are.” He swallowed hard. “I just worry about you so much.”

  “You don’t need to.” I blinked back the tears trying to surface. “I can handle myself.”

  Etie made a harrumphing sound. “I’d worry less if you didn’t sneak off. At least tell me next time you decide to go for a walk.”

  “Right.” Etie would have just followed me.

  “What was it this time, cher?” His fingers danced along my arm, spawning hot tingles. “Why’d you leave?”

  “I wanted to find more information on the baron.” Damn it. I hadn’t meant to blurt that out. I’d wanted to ease into the conversation. The Cajun Casanova was lulling me into compliance with those moving fingers.

  His brows dipped. “The baron? Why didn’t you ask me? I do know a thing or two about him.”

  “I think you’re a little biased on the matter.”

  “Damn right, I am.” His hand fell from my arm, and he dragged his fingers through his luscious brown locks. “He’s trying to destroy my alimèt. I’d kill him if I could.”

  I gnawed on my bottom lip and kept my mouth glued shut. Etie wasn’t thinking clearly. All he could see was me in danger.

  “What is it?” he asked, his all-too-knowing eyes lingering over my face. “What aren’t you saying?”

  “I don’t think we should weaken him.” The darkness converging over his eyes was already making me want to suck my words back in. But I couldn’t. He had to hear this. “I think we should focus on finding out if he really is out of balance.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  My jaw unhinged. “That’s it? You won’t even hear me out?”

  Etie’s fists curled by his sides. “We don’t have time, and it doesn’t matter if the baron’s internal balance is off. He still decided to do this. The evil he’s done is his own choice, Angeline.” He shook his head. “Maybe this is what the bondye wants, to strip Baron Samedi of his powers as punishment. Did you ever think of that?”

  I wasn’t an expert on voodoo, but Etie was reaching pretty darn far. He thought the creato
r of voodoo was working through him to punish the baron?

  Etie took a deep breath and wrapped his hands around my waist, tugging me close. “I’m not going to keep fighting with you about this either, cher.” His warm breath blew across my cheeks, making me shiver. “I’m the pouvior bokor. Let me handle the voodoo loa, and I’ll let you, the conduit, handle the Wiccan enemies.”

  Oh crap. His eyes were doing that smoldering thing. He knew I was a sucker for it. He also admitted I could handle myself with the witches. “Okay,” I breathed, caving so easily under his intoxicating charm. Maybe Etie was right. He was the expert on voodoo. What did I know?

  Chapter 17

  Fete Gede was getting close—too close for comfort. We hadn’t pinpointed a way to permanently weaken Baron Samedi. This wasn’t sitting well with Etie. His balance was precarious. I could feel it swaying back and forth inside him.

  But what had he expected? The baron was a god for crap sakes. Weakening him until his powers were so diluted he couldn’t hurt me wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. When Baron Samedi stabbed Papa Legba in Marcus’s altar room with some kind of special knife, the light loa had only been out for a few days.

  A few days wasn’t going to cut it. We needed a long-term solution. Etie didn’t want to waste time—as he’d put it—trying to find out if and why the baron was out of balance. The bokor was convinced striking at him was the only way out of this deal once and for all.

  On the plus side, no other power-hungry witches had pounced on me. I’d even gone out alone a few times. Etie nearly had a panic attack the first time until I returned to Le Revenant.

  Baby steps. My alimèt was going to get there.

  To celebrate the harvest season, Le Revenant was throwing a game night. I wasn’t talking about boardgames or cornhole. Well, there was a version of cornhole toward the left. The object was to toss gris-gris bags through the open maw of an alligator skull using magic.