Storm: The Empire Chronicles (6 page)

S
omething was wrong
. Vera tried to hide it, but the worry was clear on her face. She wasn’t the type to worry much about herself, so it had to be about someone else. My bet was on Casey. There was no one in the world she was more protective of than her little sister.

I waited until we were a few blocks from the Mirrored Rock before asking her. “What was that phone call about?”

She looked out toward the street. “I had to know for sure whether I’m missing from the place where I’m actually supposed to be at this time.”

“And are you?” I already knew the answer. She wouldn’t be upset if she weren’t.

“Yes. Murphy is angry. I don’t have much time.” She sighed.

“We’ll make sure we fix this in time…” Just the mention of Murphy’s name made me angry, but I knew it was worse for her. I didn’t know much about Vera’s past relationship with him, but I knew it couldn’t be good.

“What if we can’t?” She glanced over at me. “We have to accept that it’s a possibility. We need a plan B.”

“Then we get Casey ourselves.” I knew explaining things to her wouldn’t be easy, but we’d do what we had to.

“When?” Vera’s shoulder brushed against mine.

“Let’s get to Levi and Allie now. As soon as we’re done with that we call Casey and see what we can do without messing up this timeline any more than it already is.” We’d done enough damage already.

“We can’t let her get hurt.” A tear spilled down Vera’s face. Vera didn’t cry. She was even more worried than I’d thought.

“I won’t let that happen.” I pulled her into my arms. “I know my history with Casey is messed up, but I care about her. Not only is she your sister, but she’s Levi’s half-sister.”

“Aside from that, do you care about her?” Vera pulled away. Her eyes were wide as she waited for my answer.

I nodded. “Yes. I do.”

“Good. Then let’s get to that meow place.”

“It’s called The Cat’s Meow,” I corrected.

“Whatever.” She started walking again.

I kept pace beside her. “You should know something about it.”

“What?”

“It’s a karaoke bar.” A tourist karaoke bar, which made it that much worse.

“That’s fine, because we’re not going there to sing.”

“No we’re not.” I turned into an alley and pulled off my shirt. “Ready to head down there?”

“Yes. I don’t want to waste any time.” She looked out toward the street and then back at me.

“Let’s do this.” I released my wings and moved behind her. I wrapped my arms around her waist before taking off down toward the French Quarter.

The flight was quick, and I landed a few blocks away from Bourbon. Landing any closer would have put us at a greater risk of being spotted.

After a cursory look to make sure no one had noticed us land, I pulled out my phone and texted Levi.
At The Cat’s Meow?

He texted back.
Yes.
There’s someone here you should meet.

Be right there
. I smiled. He’d met Allie after all. That was one thing checked off our to-do list. I showed the screen to Vera.

She laughed. “I guess when something is meant to be, it happens no matter what.”

“I guess so.” I was in a much better mood as we made our way into the bar.

I glanced around the crowded club. The front bar was packed, as was the area around the raised stage. Two middle aged women were singing a rendition of “Born to Be Wild.” It wasn’t the worst karaoke performance I’d witnessed over the years, and I appreciated that they weren’t singing “Like a Virgin.”

I continued my perusal of the room, and I noticed Levi and Owen at a table in the corner. The seats across from them were pulled out.

“Hey, you made it.” Levi grinned.

“Where is the girl you want me to meet?” I glanced around again for Allie. I hadn’t expected him to let her out of his sight for long. He’d been nearly obsessed the first time he’d met her.

“They went to the bathroom.”

“Okay, cool.” I’d been worried for a second.

“Hi again, Vera.” Levi got to his feet and fixed a smile at her. “I’m glad you decided to show up.”

“I’m not here to interrupt anything.” She hung back at my side.

“What would you be interrupting?” Levi walked around the table and toward her.

Something was wrong. He should have been too blinded by Allie to even notice anyone else. On top of her being his soulmate, Allie was an enchantress. She called to him like a drug.

“Sorry we took so long.” A girl with black hair tied into a braid walked over. Her left arm was linked with a blonde whose face I would never forget.

“Tiffany?” My mouth fell open. She was the last person I’d expected to see, and her presence wasn’t a good thing.

Vera stilled beside me.

“Hi, Jared.” Tiffany smiled, letting me know she wasn’t surprised that I knew her. That could only mean one thing. She knew we were in the veil.

“You two know each other?” Levi looked between us. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Jared and I go way back. We know each other extremely well.” Tiffany laughed.

“Too much information,” Owen muttered. He’d been so silent I’d nearly forgotten he was there.

“The girls asked for a tour of the quarter. You want to help me give it?” Levi was speaking to me, but his eyes were on Vera.

“We’re meeting someone else here first.” Vera looked panicked. I felt exactly the same way. Not only was Allie nowhere in sight, but Tiffany was here? Things had gone from bad to worse. Way worse.

“Oh, why don’t you call and let them know your plans changed?” Tiffany’s voice was sugar sweet. It was fake like the rest of her. Even her appearance was borrowed from someone else.

Vera’s hand was fisted at her side. “I don’t have her number.”

Levi smiled. “Her number? I guess we could wait a few minutes.” He definitely hadn’t met Allie yet with the way he was checking Vera out.

“I’m in a bit of a rush.” Tiffany stepped toward me. “You don’t want to leave me waiting, do you, Jared?”

My skin crawled. “We can wait.”

“Or we can leave Vera here by herself. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. And who knows, maybe she’ll find her friend here after all.” Tiffany grinned wickedly.

Levi didn’t seem to notice the smile, but he did hear her words. “You know Vera too?” His forehead furrowed. “When did you all hang out?”

“Vera, Jared, and I have had a lot of time to get to know each other.” Tiffany ran her hand down my arm. I pulled it away.

“Vera?” Levi looked at her with new eyes. “Really?”

“Ugh.” Vera shook her head. “I have no idea what she’s talking about.”

“You don’t?” Tiffany’s lips twisted into another smile. “Are you sure? Should I detail exactly how I know you guys then?
When
we first met?”

“No. That’s fine.” Even if I was forced to explain to Levi about the time travel thing, I wasn’t doing it in the middle of a crowded club. “No reason to be embarrassed, Vera.”

“I’m not an idiot. Something is going on here, and one of you is going to spill.” Levi’s expression darkened. He was annoyed, and that was also a bad thing.

“Not here.” And not in the present company.

“That’s a great idea.” Tiffany nodded. “Why don’t we go back to my hotel room?”

“Where are you staying?” Levi asked.

“The Crescent City Hotel. Have you ever been there? I have a suite.”

I was seized by panic. Allie was in danger. I knew it. I could almost guarantee what room she’d be taking us to. Not only had Allie missed meeting Levi, but now she was in harm’s way. “Let’s go.”

Levi grinned, completely misinterpreting my urgency. “What he means is we’ve been there many times.”

“Great. I’ve had a lovely visit so far.” Tiffany twirled a strand of her blond hair around her finger.

The other girl who’d been quiet before turned to Owen. “Want to do something else? It seems stupid to go back to the hotel already.”

He shook his head. “I think I’m going to go home anyway.”

She seemed unmoved by his response, which begged the question of why she asked him to hang out in the first place? There had to be a reason. There was always a reason. “Oh ok.”

Owen shrugged. “But have fun.”

“Sure.” She half waved. And that was it. She wanted to get rid of him.

Owen walked off. I wanted to scream at him not to. We could use all the help possible, but I couldn’t do that. I needed to get Levi alone.

I didn’t recognize the other girl, but I assumed she was also a witch. There was nothing innocent about her. She knew exactly what she was involved in. I couldn’t worry about her yet. There were so many other things to worry about first.

I'd started to accept we were back in time. I was close to accepting that I might not be able to erase the veil for a while and would have to fix things while I was there. What I couldn't accept yet was that Tiffany was here, and she knew what was happening. That changed things. What If I hadn't made the veil? What if she had made it and pulled me back, and I'd pulled Vera back? What if things were even worse than I thought?

From Vera's expression, she was as freaked out as I was.

I wanted to get as far away from Tiffany as possible, but that didn't mean I was ok leaving Levi with her. He was the strongest Pteron I knew, but Tiffany was powerful too. If he let his guard down he might step into one of her traps. There was no way I was going to let that happen.

When we reached the hotel Tiffany walked right toward the elevators. “We’re on the top floor.” She pressed the button and the door opened. I stepped in with her and the still unnamed friend. Levi was about to join us, but Vera suddenly pulled him back as the door closed.

I sent a silent thanks to Vera. She’d gotten him away from Tiffany. Hopefully she could use his attraction to her to get him to listen.

“Damn it.” Tiffany hit the door open button, but it was too late. We were already heading up. The elevator stopped at the next floor. Tiffany pushed through an oncoming crowd. I followed, squeezing off just as the door slammed shut. The other witch didn’t make it.

There was still a crowd waiting for the next elevator, so Tiffany trudged through and started down the hall, stopping in her tracks when a wide room service cart came to rest in front of her. She moved around it and hurried toward the glowing exit sign at the end of the hall. She was going for the stairs.

“Why such a hurry?” I taunted as I hurried down the hall after her. Pissing her off might not be advisable, but if it slowed her down it was completely worth it. There were too many people around to take the risk of doing anything more drastic.

“You know exactly why.” She wrenched open the doors to the stairwell and started down. I followed close on her heels.

Satisfied no one else was with us, I grabbed hold of her wrist and stopped her.

She spun around toward me. “If I scream right now you’ll be arrested.”

“You’re not going to scream, because then you’ll have to go through questioning. That will slow whatever plan or mission you’re on right now.”

“I have all the time I need.” She grinned. “Thanks to you.”

Footsteps on the stairs announced we had company, and I released her. She continued down stairs and burst through the door and into the lobby. I was one step behind her.

A cursory glance sent a wave of relief through me. Levi and Vera were nowhere to be seen. Maybe my short lived stalling had worked.

Her nostrils flared. “I’m going to kill that stupid bear.”

“No you’re not.” My blood boiled. No one was touching Vera.

“Like you can stop me?” Her face reddened.

“I can.” And I would.

“Are you sure? Do you really know what impact your magic will have? Do you know how to protect your mind?” She grinned. She was enjoying herself despite having missed Levi and Vera.

“I haven’t had the magic awakened in this veil. Nothing’s changed.” Even if it would have simplified things, at least I didn’t have to worry about another potential weakness.

“You going to play that game?” She smiled again and seemed to be focusing on me.

“Are you going to do anything?” Taunting her came second nature.

Her face tensed, but then it softened. She smiled. “You’re stuck. That’s what this is. You can’t figure out how to erase the veil. This is perfect.”

The elevators opened and a crowd spilled out into the lobby. This crowd included the other witch. She hurried over to us.

“Find them.” Tiffany seethed.

The witch nodded. “I will.” She hurried off across the lobby.

“It means you’re stuck too.” I wasn’t 100% sure about that, but it was likely.

“I can escape a veil.” Her eyes twinkled.

“Glad you’re so confident.”

“I’m always confident. One of these days you’re going to understand nothing and no one can hurt me.”

“Many things can hurt you. You just don’t know it yet.” I glanced around for the other witch. Hopefully Vera had gotten Levi far away.

Tiffany’s eyes were searching the lobby as well. “Not nearly as many as can hurt you.”

“Pterons are stronger.”

“Physically yes, but you have a weakness I don’t.” She started a slow walk around the bar. I stayed by her side.

“And what’s that?” There was a time when I didn’t believe I had any weaknesses, but I wasn’t that naïve anymore. Underestimating an enemy’s strength was bad, underestimating your own weaknesses could be far worse.

She stopped short in front of me. “You care.”

“And that’s a weakness?” It was. A big one, but that didn’t mean I was going to admit it.

“You’d put others before you. You’d give up an advantage. That makes you weak.” She scrunched up her face.

“It’s also a strength. It’s why I never give up.” And I never would.

“I never give up either, and it has nothing to with caring.” She walked toward the desk.

“Then what is it? Power?” I knew what power could do to someone. I’d seen it with my own family.

“Revenge.” Her eyes seemed to have an iridescent glow to it I’d never noticed before.

“Still can’t get over Robert?” I couldn’t resist another rib. The sight of Tiffany made me sick to my stomach.

“The Laurents will pay.” She walked toward the courtyard.