Demons of Bourbon Street (39 page)

“
What’s going on?” I demanded.

“
Jade.” Lailah, who for some crazy reason wore one of the gold-thread-embroidered robes, rose from the front row and joined Dan and me. “We’ve been summoned to the angel council.”

Philip, who’d been sitting next to her, stood, revealing his matching robe. Meri, still in her burgundy shirt and ripped jeans, followed his movement and faced the dais.

Holy cherubs. We weren’t in the French Quarter Saint Louis Cathedral. We were in an alternate angel realm, just like we’d been in an alternate New Orleans underworld when we were in Hell. Was this Heaven?

An ominous bell chimed, and everyone stood. Dan took a few steps toward Philip and Meri and then looked back at me, indecision clear in his eyes. His inner conflict made me queasy.

I glanced away, unable to deal with his turmoil. What was he doing here, anyway? Had the council summoned him, too? If so, why?

A tall, white-haired angel stepped forward, ethereal in her graceful movements. Her undeniable beauty triggered an intense desire to weep. I’d be happy to bask in her presence forever. Then her cold blue eyes locked on mine, sending a startling ripple of fear through me. I shivered and took an involuntary step backward. How could someone be so beautiful and scary at the same time?

Lailah pushed me forward and whispered in a harsh tone, “Do not show weakness.”

“
Jade Calhoun,” the woman said, her face void of all expression. Her emotions were hidden from me as well, though most angels’ were. “How exactly has the ex-demon, Meri, obtained a piece of your soul?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Couldn’t someone have prepped me on the correct way to answer? I glanced at Lailah, but she stared straight ahead, just as blank as my inquisitor. Fine. What was the worst they could do to me? My soul was already compromised.

I raised my chin. “She stole it.”

The ice blue stare didn’t falter or soften. “Speak truthfully, or you’ll suffer the consequences.”

Was she calling me a liar? I narrowed my eyes, too irritated to temper my reaction. “I am speaking the truth. When Meri was a demon, she stabbed my fiancé in the thigh. Even though the wound healed, somehow she maintained a connection to him. Through him, she began slowly sucking away at my soul. We managed to sever his connection to her, but mine remained. Earlier today, she almost succeeded in killing me as she tried to claim the last of my soul. I demand you put a stop to it.”

“
Jade!” Dan and Lailah gasped at the same time. While Lailah reprimanded me, Dan’s tone was one of shocked surprise.

I ignored both of them and took a step forward.

“
Plus, Philip over there—” I waved a disgusted hand in his direction, “—the one you put in charge of my soul?”

The woman glanced at Philip.

“
Yeah, him. He bailed on me, opting instead to worry about his ex-mate. Seems kind of unethical, doesn’t it?”

One of the other council members joined the ice queen angel. He had long hair that hung perfectly straight in a sheet of the palest blond I’d ever seen. His mane barely moved, not one strand out of place as he stepped up to the microphone. “Ms. Calhoun,” his voice boomed. “You will address the council with respect, or you will not address us at all.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Dan strode over and put a hand up in a wait-a-moment gesture. “What do you mean, she almost killed you?”

“
Exactly how it sounds, Dan. She’s been surviving off me. We can’t share my soul forever. One of us will die. And today when I burst into the cabin, Meri almost won the battle.”

His face paled, matching the council members’ stark white robes. Fear and an overwhelming burst of anger shot through him. The sharp stab of his emotions pierced deep inside me. I clutched my chest, trying to dull the pain as he whirled on Philip.

“
Is that true?” Dan took three steps, his fists clenched.

Philip met his eyes, staring him down, unapologetic. “Yes. That’s why we’re here, to let the council decide the best course of action.”

“
You son of a bitch.” Dan’s right fist flew, followed by a sickening crunch as he broke Philip’s nose. Philip recovered quickly, trying to stem the blood flow with one hand and raising the other in defense as Dan came at him again. “This whole time you were aware Jade’s life was at risk and you never said anything?”

Lailah inserted herself between Dan and Philip. Meri stood to the side, staring at me. I met her gaze, trying my damnedest to sense her emotions. But I got nothing. You’d think with our connection, she’d be the one person I could read.

“
Fucking bastard,” Dan spat, reaching around Lailah.

“
Dan!” she cried. “Now isn’t the time.”

“
It’s the perfect time.” Dan reached out and grabbed Lailah by the waist and lifted her off the ground.

“
Stop it. Put me down.” Her arms and legs flailed as she tried to dislodge herself.

He set her off to the side. “Stay out of this, Lailah. This is between me and my father.”

“
It’s angel business,” she reasoned with him, but he’d already turned his back on her.

“
You used me,” Dan accused, advancing on his father once more. “You abandoned me and my mother and only connected with me when you thought I could help you get your lover back.”

“
That’s not how it happened,” Philip said in a calm, steady voice, despite the blood trickling from his nose. “I’ve never been more than a phone call away.”

Dan’s anger ratcheted up to fury, making my stomach turn. “This isn’t about my daddy issues,” he said with disgust. “It’s about Jade. A friend of mine. Someone I care about very deeply. How dare you use her? Use me to get to her?”

This time, when Dan pulled his arm back for another blow, Philip countered it with a block and sucker-punched him in the stomach. Dan staggered then found his feet. After a small moment to catch his breath, he launched himself on Philip, and the pair went down in a heap, brawling right in the middle of the church, with the angel council looking on.

Meri stomped over to them and yelled, “Stop it. Both of you.”

Neither of them listened. They were too far gone, duking out whatever personal battle they needed to wage. Sure, for Dan it was partly about me, but not all of it. I suspected not even most of it.

My shoulders sagged as a bone-wary exhaustion settled over me. Would anyone care or notice if I sank to the floor?

Lailah moved forward, giving the brawling men a wide berth. “Members of the council, please, I beg of you to put a stop to this unproductive display of male aggression. Before you stand two women with one soul. Your wisdom and assistance is humbly requested for a resolution in this unusual circumstance.”

The pale, long-haired councilman gestured off to the side and nodded to Philip and Dan, who were grunting and rolling around on the tile, steadfastly trying to kill one another. Or at least Dan appeared to want to kill his father. Philip was doing his best to hold Dan off as long as possible and to avoid any more bone-crushing strikes.

Two large bouncers, both resembling some sort of angel giants, emerged from the wings. In no time they had Dan and Philip restrained. Dan did his level best to break free from his captor. Philip relaxed, despite the guard securing his arms behind his back.

“
Take them below,” the councilman said.

Dan twisted and called to me, “I didn’t know.”

I nodded, a piece of my heart mending. Even though Dan had been helping Meri, he hadn’t chosen her over me. My turbulent emotions overwhelmed me. I longed for a quiet place to curl up in the fetal position.

The bouncers guided the duo out of the room.

Lailah seemed to sense my weariness because she stepped up beside me and linked her arm through mine. “Lean on me if you have to.”

“
Ms. Farmoore,” the ice queen angel on the dais said. “Wasn’t Mr. Toller’s soul assigned to you?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then I suggest you join him.” She waved a hand toward the hall leading out of the sanctuary.

Lailah tightened her grip on my arm. “I don’t think so. Philip was assigned to Ms. Calhoun, but he’s abandoned her. At this time, Ms. Calhoun is in far more danger than Mr. Toller. She deserves an angel in her corner.”

She stared down at Lailah as an eerie silence filled the church. None of the parishioners spoke or even moved. Finally, she murmured something to the councilman to her left. He nodded and headed for the pair of us. He stopped on the other side of Lailah and whispered in her ear.

Lailah didn’t make any indication she heard him. The ice queen’s cold gaze passed over me and then she said, “Though we don’t agree that Mr. Pearson has neglected his duty to guard Ms. Calhoun’s soul—part of it does reside within the ex-angel Meri—we find your request acceptable.”

“
Thank you,” Lailah said.

“
You have been granted permission to guard Ms. Calhoun’s soul,” the councilman confirmed. “Do you understand since you claimed her, her fate is yours?”

Lailah nodded solemnly. “I understand.”

Her fate was mine? Holy shit balls, what did she just agree to? I clutched her arm tighter. “Lailah?”

“
Not now, Jade.” My new angel guardian moved to stand in front of Meri. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, hands settled on her hips. “You know what that means, right?”

Meri raised her head and gave Lailah a grim smile. “Yes, I know what that means.”

“
Good. Then you know I won’t be giving up.”

Meri gazed at the floor and mumbled, “I never expected you to.”

The lead councilwoman stepped up to a mic. “In light of recent events, the council will recess until further notice. Ms. Farmoore, you and your associates will be shown to guest quarters. We’ll summon you when your presence is required.”

A short, redheaded angel materialized from behind us. She held a hand out in the direction of the hallway and nodded, indicating we should follow her. We did as instructed, and I fell into step beside Lailah. “Want to tell me what that meant? My fate is yours?”

She sighed. “When an angel abandons an assignment for another, she is then forced to suffer the trials of her new charge. That means anything that happens to you, I will be forced to experience it with you.”

I froze in horror. “You mean if I lose my soul, you will too?”

“
Keep up, please,” the redhead called over her shoulder, not slowing down.

Lailah grabbed my arm, propelling me forward. “No, I will remain unaltered, but I will experience the extraction as if it were my own.”

Oh, Jesus. What had she done? “So you will feel all my emotional and physical pain?”