Bewitched on Bourbon Street (25 page)

His expression turned to one of detached obedience, and I prayed I hadn’t spelled whatever charm and cunning he had right out of him. He was going to need it.

“Well, what do we have here?” a deep voice boomed from the small crowd of demons gathered at a community table.

“Looks like Wes’s bitch needs some taming,” another one said with a snicker.

“Shut up.” Wes stood and knocked the drink out of the offending demon’s hand. “Don’t ever talk about my property that way.”

Property? Every fiber of my being longed to curse Wes as my guilt intensified for not being able to help Avery. Her existence encompassed my worst nightmare.

“Avery.” Wes circled the table and moved to stand right in front of her. He’d morphed into human form. Nothing about him said demon except his color-changing eyes. He was tall, had dark hair, and if it hadn’t been for the air of aggression coming off him, he’d almost be handsome. “Did you bring me a present?” Wes eyed me from head to toe. An eager grin spread over his face. He turned his attention back to Avery. “Looks like you might have just gained a little favor, sweet cakes.”

Oh, for the love of… “I’m not your present. We’re here on business.”

“Business?” Wes let out a loud laugh. “The only business you’re going to be engaged in is cleaning my suite.”

He reached out to grab my arm, but I jerked back, simultaneously calling up a magic shield that coated my skin. It wouldn’t keep anyone from grabbing me, but if they did, they’d get quite the zap.

Ezra stepped around me. “We’re on our way to see Aiken. I suggest you take us to him if you don’t want him to find out how you got Avery as your bedmate.”

Whoa. I glanced between them and then at Avery. Her face flushed a deep shade of maroon as she glared at both of them. Bile stung the back of my throat, and I wanted to scream for the angel she had been.

“Ezra?” Wes’s eyes went wide and then narrowed. “I heard you traded your life for an incubus. What are you doing back here?”

And there it was again. Another demon who clearly thought Ezra had sold Kane out. I had to clench my fists to keep from striking out at the angel.

Ezra sent him a blank look. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Actually, I think it is.” Wes took a step forward, standing nearly chest to chest with Ezra. “Since I’m the one who brought you to Aiken in the first place, what you do reflects on me. You’re not here to cause trouble, are you?”

A muscle pulsed in Ezra’s jaw, and his whole body tensed. For a second, I thought he was going to snap. Then Ezra said, “I’m bringing him another gift.” He waved to me. “If you want to gain favor with your master, you might want to stop this interrogation and help us get there.”

“What?” I whispered harshly. “A gift?”

Hatred mixed with self-satisfaction gleamed in Ezra’s eyes. “You demanded I get you safely to Rouquette’s side. You didn’t say anything about what happened to you after that.”

“You little—”

He waved a hand, and suddenly my words were gone. My mouth worked, but nothing came out. That bastard! “That’s to make sure you’re done with your commands.”

I raised my hand to strike out, but he blocked my blow easily. “Behave, or I’ll have Avery restrain you.”

Avery smiled, clearly enjoying our battle, and although every instinct was calling for me to silently curse Ezra, I tapped into a self-control I didn’t know I possessed. Instead, I concentrated on trying to break his spell. I couldn’t go into a room with a bunch of demons and not have my voice.

Calling up my magic, I imagined the white light collecting at the back of my throat, and then in my head I chanted,
return
. A sharp pain shot down my throat as my mouth burned, and I had to fight to keep from crying out. I instinctively knew my magic had worked, but the last thing I wanted to do was let Ezra know that. When we walked into Aiken’s chambers, I was going to be ready.

Ezra turned to Wes. “Take us to Aiken.”

The other demon laughed. “You do have a way about you, Ezra. If you weren’t such a conniving weasel, I’d join forces with you. But I’m not interested in finding a knife in my back.”

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Ezra asked.

Wes shrugged. “I only did what I had to in order to survive.”

Ezra glanced at Avery. “Since when does survival mean forcing a demon to warm your bed?”

“Since I haven’t had a woman after your mother left me twenty years ago. I’m done waiting.” Wes’s eyes landed on Avery, and a spark of lust claimed him.

Oh, holy shit. My eyes widened, and I had to stifle a gasp to keep from giving myself away. Chessandra had been with a demon? Or had he been an angel then?

Wes tore his eyes from Avery. “Let’s go. The little demon and I have plans later.”

My stomach rolled at his words as I followed Wes and Ezra out of the room and into another crude corridor.

Chapter 26

Kane

A small party of three demons headed toward the heavy wooden door on the other side of the cave, but before one could open it, the door swung open and smashed against the rocky wall.

A tall demon wearing a suit strode in, a smug smile on his face. He had companions, but I couldn’t make them out through the demons now standing and jeering at them.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Aiken’s smooth voice boomed over the growing chatter. “Looks like you boys don’t need to make a trip to the surface after all.”

I struggled against the chair, frustrated I couldn’t see what was going on. Leaning over to Bianca, I said, “Who’s here?”

She stared straight ahead, her expression blank. “Your charge.”

“What?” Craning my neck, I tried to peer around Aiken, but I only caught a flash of pale skin and long strawberry-blond hair that looked very familiar. Fear rippled through me, and my mind whirled.
Jade?

“Kane!” Jade broke through the crowd and leaped onto the raised platform. She fell to her knees in front of me, relief and horror swimming in her eyes. “What have they done to you?”

“Nothing…yet.” I glanced around the room, spotting Aiken. Glee lit up his expression. I swallowed the epithets on my tongue and refocused on Jade, ignoring the mixture of panic and relief I felt at seeing her. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she was unable to hide the love and worry shining back at me. “Neither should you.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“Neither did I.” She placed her hands over mine and instantly drew them back. “They’ve bound you to this chair?”

“Yes,” Bianca answered for me.

Jade cut her gaze to the sex witch, appearing to notice her for the first time. “Who’s she?”

“I’m his reward for signing the contract.”

“His…what?” Her bright-green eyes met mine again. “Contract?”

I shook my head, meaning to say I never had any intention of signing the thing, but Aiken was striding toward us with the tall demon beside him and…was that Ezra just behind him glaring at Jade? “You double-crossing piece of shit,” I spat at the angel.

He folded his arms over his chest and gave me a flat stare. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Aiken flicked a glance at Ezra. “Shut up.” Then he ordered the rest of the crowd to take a seat. When the commotion died down, he eyed the demon in the suit. “You’ve brought me two great gifts today. Your obedience will be rewarded. Jasmine—” he waved toward one of the sex witches still leaning against the wall.

The curvy raven-haired witch moved around the large table in the middle of the room and stood meekly next to Aiken.

“Join hands,” Aiken said to the demon and the witch.

The suit held his hand out, and Jasmine, still staring at the floor, raised hers. The demon clutched it possessively. Jasmine winced, even though I was certain the demon hadn’t hurt her physically.

“Very good,” Aiken said. “I hereby bequeath the sex witch Jasmine into Wes Lancaster’s service for the next fifty years.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Wes Lancaster was the demon Chessandra had pardoned from some unknown sin. Was he in on Ezra’s deception? All I knew was I trusted no one but Jade.

“You two may leave,” Aiken said, waving Jasmine and Wes toward the open door.

Ezra moved with them, but Aiken grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “You’re staying.”

He jerked his arm out of Aiken’s grasp. “Why?”

“Your presence was requested.” Aiken pointed to a chair at the table, snarling at him. “Sit down.”

Ezra shot Jade and me a look of pure hatred as he dragged his feet across the stone floor.

“Very good.” Aiken clapped his hands together, a pleased smile claiming his ugly face. “We can get started.”

“What’s going on?” Jade whispered, still kneeling near me.

“He wants me to sign a contract binding me to him as some sort of warrior.” Her expression was fierce, full of determination. I prayed she had a plan, because I had no idea how we were going to get out of this mess. “He said if I don’t, he’s going to go after you and your first-born child.”

Jade’s expression shifted into one of hardened steel. “Did he now?” She stood, her back straight, magic barely sparking at her fingertips.

I was caught somewhere between gut-wrenching fear for what she had in mind and utter pride. My wife wasn’t letting anyone take her down. Or me, apparently.

“Now that the offering has arrived, we can commence with the signing.” Aiken nodded to Bianca. “Hand him the contract.”

The witch did as she was told, but Jade grabbed it out of her hands. After quickly scanning it, she let out a humorless laugh. “Kane will never sign this.”

Aiken glided toward us, an amused expression on his face. He stopped right in front of Jade. A full foot taller, he stared down at her, making her appear small and weak by his sheer bulk. But I could feel the magic building in her and knew better.

“He will, white witch,” Aiken said. “Otherwise we’ll take you instead.”

“I doubt it,” she said without even a hint of fear coloring her tone.

Pride welled in my chest. I had to hand it to her. She had brass balls and wasn’t afraid to show it.

“You’re way out of your league, little witch,” Aiken sneered. “Now sit down, or I’ll have you chained to the wall.” He jerked his head, indicating a section to the right that had shackles bolted to the stones.

“Why do you want Kane?” she asked, ignoring his command.

Her question seemed to surprise him, and he stepped back, shaking his head.

“Political reasons,” I said. “Something about needing a warrior so he can take over as leader or something.”

Aiken looked at me. “You don’t know? Neither of you do.” The realization made him belt out a laugh. “This is too much.”

Jade and I glanced at each other, both of us remaining confused.

“Mr. Rouquette, you’re my direct ancestor. When the two of us join forces, my power will be unparalleled. No one will dare to challenge me. Not even my father Malefant, the oldest demon of the realm, our oldest living relative. Life in Hell will change. We’ll no longer be required to collect souls for the oldest among us to further their power. The souls we harvest will feed our own magic. We shall rise up, be free to roam the surface, and take what we want for ourselves, not for those who only wish to exploit us.”

The demons in the cave roared their approval and cheered by pounding their fists on the wooden table.

“Gods.” Jade whispered and reached for my hand but pulled away before she touched the magic coating my skin. “We have to do something.”

I nodded. If I signed my soul to Aiken, one evil would be traded for another. Conditions would be worse, in fact. As it stood now, these demons were tasked with harvesting a certain number of souls for the elders. If things changed and it became every demon for himself, the soul harvesting would be a thousand times worse. Demons would be taking over our world and wreaking more havoc than ever. It was a rebellion of devastating consequences.

“As per our agreement,” Aiken continued, “the angel Ezra and the sex witch Bianca will be awarded to Mr. Rouquette once the contract is signed. His wife—”

“You can’t do that!” Ezra shot up from the table, his face stark white with fear. “We had a deal. I brought you the incubus in exchange for my freedom. You agreed.”

“Do you have a contract?” Aiken asked calmly.

“I have your word and witnesses!”

Aiken scoffed. “I’m a demon. My word means nothing.”

“Then I want a revised contract,” I interjected. “If your word can’t be trusted, then I require written confirmation that Ezra and Bianca will indeed be under my charge.”

“Kane?” Jade’s voice was barely audible.

I gave her a tiny shake of my head and met Aiken’s stare once more. “And I want a couple of hours alone with my wife before I do anything.”

“Not acceptable,” Aiken said.

“You’re expecting him to give up his life, but you can’t even spare a few hours for us to say our goodbyes?” Jade asked.

“Sit down, witch, or I’ll have you removed.” Aiken ordered.

I ground my teeth. “You have two choices. Let us have a little bit of time. Or you can just forget having me as part of your operation. I’m not doing anything until I say goodbye and know Jade is safely back at home.”

Aiken’s chest puffed up, and a muscle in his already strained neck twitched. He was seconds from losing control. “You’re done calling the shots, Rouquette.”

“All I asked—”

He turned toward Jade and unleashed a stream of dark-gray magic that hit her in the chest. Her eyes went wide with shock and then narrowed in pain. Her mouth dropped open, but no sound came out as Aiken’s magic lifted her into the air, her feet dangling a few inches from the platform floor.

“Stop!” I demanded, straining against the magic binding me to the chair. My muscles bunched and protested. Sweat poured down my back. Welts cut into my wrists from the invisible restraints. And through it all, the only thing I felt was a sharp pain centered deep in my chest. “Put her down. She’s not a part of this.”

Aiken growled and lifted her higher in the air. “She is as long as you’re more concerned with her than with the contract. Consent to sign, and I’ll let go.”