Bewitched on Bourbon Street (23 page)

Her hand closed over mine, and a sharp stab of pain went straight through my palm as if she’d nailed my hand to the wooden throne.

“Ouch!” I yelped, trying to pull my arm back, but it was no use. I was still magically bound to the chair.

“Relax,” she said in a smooth, silky voice.

I stared into her cornflower-blue eyes and got lost in the undisguised despair she couldn’t seem to keep hidden.

“This is going to hurt,” she whispered and then shut her eyes tight.

Her magic radiated from the center of my palm and seared its way through my veins, effectively burning away the demon magic holding me to the throne.

The air rushed out of me, and I grunted, unable to do anything but take the assault. And just as suddenly as it had started, the pain vanished, leaving me slumped over, weak, and at the mercy of every demon in the room.

Humiliation mixed with outrage as I willed myself to stand on my own two feet.

The demons all watched me with rapt attention, and when I took a very unsteady step toward Aiken, a ripple of laughter reverberated through the crowd, followed by a cheer of approval.

“He’s perfect, Aiken. Well done!” one of the demons at the table called.

Another stood and clapped him on the back. “Damn, man. Brilliant. There’s no doubt you’ve got this in the bag.”

I narrowed my eyes and glared at them all.

But the demons were too busy congratulating themselves to pay any more attention to me. I glanced over at Bianca. “Do you know what this is all about?”

She nodded. “They’ve chosen a warrior.”

“What?”

“You. You’re a warrior. Anyone who can fight through the magic I just subjected you to is very special indeed. Aiken needs someone like you if he’s going to rule. They’re pleased with this development.”

“I see.” Standing before them, I arranged my face into a neutral expression. They didn’t need to see the stone-cold determination that had taken over every fiber of my being.

If they wanted me, they were damn sure going to pay for it.

“Rouquette, my warrior,” Aiken said, striding toward me. The meat and the wine were gone, replaced by a towel he used to clean his hands. “The only thing left to do is for you to sign the contract.”

He swept a hand out, and a short demon dressed in a business suit shot out of his chair. With quick movements, he jumped up on the platform and presented me with a gold pen and the official-looking document on a marble clipboard.

“Thank you, Gerald,” Aiken said.

Gerald looked up at me expectantly, his eyes shifting from yellow to green and back again. What was it with the color of the demons’ eyes? Did they shift with power or emotions? Or maybe intent?

“Take it,” Gerald said, his voice kind.

I held my hand out and welcomed the coolness of the marble as I gripped the gold pen with the other.

Gerald bowed in Aiken’s direction and then jogged back to his seat.

“Now then, Rouquette. Because I’m a fair leader and understand you’re making a great sacrifice, I’m willing to make one as well.” The humor left his expression and he turned serious. “As a signing bonus, you’ll receive in your possession the lovely Bianca to use as you please.”

Bianca shifted beside me, covering her mouth as she muffled a gasp. Loud whispers circulated through the crowd as they all stared at me, waiting for my reply.

I ignored them all, tamped down the icy fury building in my chest, and said to Aiken, “I have some conditions first.”

Aiken jerked his head back and blinked. “Excuse me? The sex witch isn’t enough?”

I shook my head. “No. I want the angel Ezra as well.”

A dark shadow fell over Aiken’s face. “The angel has nothing to do with us.”

“I think he does,” I said, my tone matter of fact.

The demon leader walked slowly back over to the table and held his hand out for another glass of wine. After he took a long drink, he rolled his shoulders, visibly forcing himself to relax. “The angel Ezra is no longer in our company. The request is denied.”

“Then no deal.” I placed the marble slab on the chair behind me and crossed my arms over my chest.

A loud protest went up around the room.

Aiken waved his arms for them to quiet down. “You do realize this means we’ll wage an all-out attack on your wife. That she’ll never be safe from our kind.”

I shrugged, pretending disinterest. “My wife can take care of herself.”

Aiken peered at me and then let out a bark of laughter. “You’re right, she can. But I wonder what a dozen of my best demons could do to her before the Brotherhood even so much as scented a whiff of their presence.”

My jaw ached from keeping my mouth clamped shut, and I resorted to trying to solve complicated math problems in my head in order to block out the disturbing images running through my mind. When I got a grip on myself, I said, “If you want me to sign this, you’ll bring me Ezra. Otherwise we’re at an impasse.”

I had no idea what I planned to accomplish once Ezra arrived, but at that moment, I needed to stall. And I couldn’t think of a better candidate for Hell than the double-dealing angel.

Aiken’s pockmarked face turned red and his demon fangs grew, indicating I’d thoroughly pissed him off. Good. What was he going to do? Kill me in front of his guests after they’d all cheered for their new “warrior?” He slammed the wine glass down on the table and said, “Fine. Sign the contract, and I’ll bring you the angel.”

I shook my head. “The angel first. Then I’ll sign.”

He let out a loud roar, and I thought he might lose control and rip my head off right there in the cave. But he quieted and stared at his feet. And then he suddenly turned to Bianca. “Restrain him.”

Bianca gave me a pained look and touched my arm.

A thousand white-hot knives prickled my skin, the magic spreading over me as if it was a poison. All the energy drained from my body. Fog clouded my thoughts, and I watched Bianca reach out in slow motion to retrieve the contract from my chair. Sighing, she pressed her other hand against my chest, applying just enough pressure that she pushed me back into the chair.

I fell hard, unable to control my reactions. And the minute I connected with the throne, the restraining magic was back, once again invisibly tying me to the chair.

Aiken turned to his companions at the table. “Find Ezra and bring him to me immediately.”

Chapter 24

Jade

Avery opened her mouth, and black magic spewed toward Chessandra. The high angel froze, her eyes wide with shock.

“Move,” I cried, harnessing the coven’s collective magic to mix with my own. The power burst from me, barely colliding with Avery’s right before it engulfed Chessandra. What the hell was wrong with her? She had magic of her own. Wasn’t she even going to try to save herself?

I sucked in a steadying breath as the dark magic inched its way forward, eating away at the coven’s lighter magic. She was strong for a new demon. Or just really pissed off.

Avery snarled in Chessandra’s direction, barely paying any attention to me at all. Yes, she was pissed. And if she did decide to put her full attention into warding me off, I was going to be in trouble. My power was probably at half speed since my activities with Kane, and right then, I was giving it all I had and losing.

“Bea!” I called, noting my mentor wasn’t feeding the coven’s collective. She was focused on Chessandra, who’d finally taken action and was casting a protection spell. Flashes of light sparked over the high angel’s skin, cocooning her in a shimmering layer of magic. It wouldn’t keep the demon from overpowering her, but it would give her enough time to either flee or fight back. “A little help, please?”

Bea’s gaze landed on the spot where the coven’s magic met Avery’s, and she cursed. A second later, her magic joined seamlessly with ours, and with her in the mix, we easily gained control of the situation.

Avery growled and turned her attention to me. “This is between me and Chessandra. She owes me a life and I’m going to collect.”

“I can’t let that happen,” I said, not backing down for a second. No matter what Chessa had done, I wasn’t going to let a demon snatch her into Hell. Even if I did think that was a just punishment, she’d only turn demon, and that would be one more enemy we’d have to fight.

“She’s been making deals with demons for over twenty years,” a male voice said from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder and spotted a tall young man with spiky blond hair. “Who are you?”

“Her son.” He walked the perimeter of the circle until he was only a few feet from Chessandra.

She turned to him, relief shining through her guarded expression. “Ezra. You’re okay. Where have you been?”

“Hell. Where do you think I’ve been?” he spat and produced a piece of paper, waving it in front of her. “Gathering proof of your double dealings.”

It was the contract to pardon the demon Kane had told me about. And he was confronting her right here in front of everyone.

Avery redoubled her efforts, her black magic stream eating away at our combined attack, and moved slowly in the direction of Chessandra.

I stayed focused on Avery, and dug deep into my own reserves until we were locked in a standoff.

“Ezra—” Chessandra started.

But he cut her off. “It says here, the high angel granted a pardon to a demon by the name of Wes Lancaster in return for his silence. Good old Wes killed someone and blackmailed Chessandra here into letting him live.”

“Wes Lancaster!” Avery cried. Her magic vanished, and she ducked below the coven’s stream of power, surging forward, her arms outstretched as if she was going to strangle Chessandra. “It’s your fault I’m like this, you selfish bitch. I’ll kill you.”

Before I could process what had happened, Avery tackled Chessandra, and the pair went down in a heap of arms and legs. Avery got the better of her almost instantly and climbed on top of her, straddling the high angel with her hands wrapped around her throat. “You’re coming with me.”

Avery’s black magic spiraled out into ropes, wrapping itself around the angel.

A collective gasp rose from my coven members, while I stood frozen, watching the angel–demon fight in stunned fascination.

“Jade!” Bea called from across the circle.

I shook myself and gathered up the magic still pulsing from the coven. I met Bea’s gaze and said, “Now!”

Our magic blasted full force into Avery, lifting her right off Chessandra and slamming her into the spelled earth in the very center of the coven circle. A sad wail of music shot from the music box, and then winked out as the box was crushed. Tendrils of white magic grew out of the ground and shackled all four limbs of the demon, anchoring her to the earth.

“Whoa,” Zoe said, her face pale.

Without hesitation, I stepped into the circle, gesturing for Zoe to join me.

The young witch shook her head and tried to step off the circle, but Lucien reached over and grabbed her arm. “No. If you disengage, you’ll weaken our power, and the magic holding the demon might fail.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, but I don’t want to go inside, either.”

“You have to, dear,” Bea said. “You were the vehicle that cursed Jade, weren’t you? We need to use you to break it.”

I smiled at Bea, pleased we were both on the same page. Now that the demon was temporarily restrained and we had Chessandra trapped in the circle, I wasn’t letting this moment go by without reversing the black magic clinging to me.

Tears filled Zoe’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to. I had no choice.”

I held my hand out to her. “I know. But now’s your chance to help correct this injustice.”

The tears spilled down her cheeks, and my heart ached for her. Not long ago she’d been trapped in the Shadows and had most of her spirit as well as her soul stolen by a lesser goddess. Luckily she’d gotten a soul back, but her spirit was still rebuilding. Now she’d been a pawn of the high angel. Trust couldn’t be high on her to-do list.

“We’ll also break the connection Chessandra has to you,” I said. “This is as much for you as it is for me.”

She hesitated, and then with a decisive nod, she took a step into the circle.

“Lucien?”

“Yeah?” he said.

“Can you keep the demon restrained if Bea withdraws her magic for a few minutes?” I’d already broken off from the coven when I walked into the circle. And while I was determined to reverse the curse on me, I wouldn’t do it at the risk of the coven.

“As long as Lailah stays connected,” he said with an air of confidence.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Lailah said.

Thanks
, I mouthed to her.

She nodded and her stream of power brightened with intensity as she refocused on the restrained demon.

I felt a burst of power surge from Bea into the coven’s collective, and then she too walked into the circle.

“Didn’t anyone hear me?” Ezra bellowed from behind me. “She deserves a trip to Hell.”

“We heard you, son,” Bea said evenly. “But no one except that demon is going to Hell today. The Angel Council will deal with your mother for any perceived crimes.”

“You’re making a big mistake.”

“No, we’re not,” I said quietly, staring down at the high angel, who was kneeling in the grass.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “I failed with him.”

“You failed to give me the life I deserved,” Ezra said, hatred in his tone. “Now you’ll pay for it.” He raised his arms, magic crackling all around him.

I let out a sigh, already tired of his hysterics. He couldn’t get past the coven circle, but any magic he threw at us would weaken the circle wall. I had to shut him down. Fast. “Ezra?”

“What?”

“I’d cool it if I were you.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, witch. She’s my mother. The one who abandoned me to strangers. Let me—oomph.” A bolt of magic came from behind him, knocking him to his knees.

“It’s about time you guys showed up,” I said to Vaughn, one of the demon hunters.

“Our apologies.” The handsome twenty-something incubus smiled at me. “We got caught up.”

I glanced past him at two other demon hunters I didn’t know. “Where’s Kane?”