Witches of Bourbon Street (18 page)

“Not if I do it first.” I jumped out of the Mini and slammed the door. I’d gotten on the porch before I realized Kat hadn’t followed me. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“Yeah, in a minute.” She held her phone, tapping in a message.

“Who are you talking to?” I demanded.

She jerked her head up in surprise. “Pyper. She’s looking for you.”

“You didn’t tell her where we are, did you? The first person she’ll tell is Kane.”

“Um, no, actually. The first person she’ll tell is Gwen, who is worried sick, by the way.”

Oh, crap. All my anger fled. “Right. Sorry. I’m not thinking clearly. Tell her to tell Gwen I’m fine and to meet me here. But make sure Kane stays away. I can’t handle talking to him right now.”

“You got it.” Kat tapped a few more keys then put her phone away. When she reached my side, she held out her hand. “Use me if you need to.”

I bit my lip. “Do I look that bad?” If I got worn down, I could take good energy from people to stabilize. I hardly ever used that particular gift, and when I did, Kat was usually the one to offer. I didn’t like doing it. It was too intrusive, but on a few occasions, I’d depleted my energy far enough I’d had little choice.

She nodded. “Sorry, sweetie.”

“It’s okay. After a day like today, I’m not surprised. But this is only normal exhaustion. And shock. Thanks, though.”

“Anytime.”

Before I could knock, Bea pulled the door open. “Jade? Where have you been? Gwen’s worried sick.”

“I know. Can we come in?”

“Of course, dear. Of course.” She held the door open.

I waved Kat in and then followed. As I passed Bea, she inhaled sharply. I paused. “What?”

She squinted. “You’ve been spelled.”

“You can tell?”

“I’m a coven witch,” she said, as if that explained everything.

“How? Can you smell it?” I brought my blue-stained arm to my nose, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

“Magic leaves a signature. I can read it. You would be able to as well, if you worked at it.”

“I have no interest in being a coven witch.” Exhausted, I moved to the kitchen table and collapsed in a chair.

Bea busied herself in her cheery kitchen while Kat joined me at the table. “Gwen’s on her way,” she said.

“Pyper’s bringing her?”

“Yeah. Is that okay?” Kat plucked at the edge of her black cardigan.

“It’s fine.” I focused on her, taking in her flat-ironed hair, flawless make-up, and emerald green dress underneath the cotton sweater. “Did you have a date?”

She waved a hand. “It’s not important.”

“Yes, it is.” Elated to have something to talk about other than the horror I’d just experienced I pressed on. “With who?”

She glanced once at Bea and opened her mouth, but Bea cut her off before she could speak.

“With Ian.”

“I thought your date was tomorrow.”

Kat shrugged with a shy smile. “With the coven stuff tomorrow, he asked if we could reschedule. I figured, why not?”

“Sure. Why not?” If I’d been in a better state of mind, I might have warned her about Pyper. However, dating issues were the last thing I wanted to deal with.

Bea set a mug of tea in front of me. “It’s infused with a restorative agent.” Before I could protest, she added, “Please, just drink it. Your magic has been compromised and you are more vulnerable than ever to mystical attacks. Drinking this will strengthen you.”

It was all I needed to hear. I gave her a short nod and sucked it down in three gulps.

“Good girl.” She turned to Kat. “Can I get you anything?”

Kat accepted a regular cup of tea, and once Bea joined us, I filled them in on the whole story. Starting with finding Lailah and Kane in a compromising position.

“I’m sorry your young man disappointed you.” Bea grabbed my hand and squeezed hard.

“Disappointed is an understatement,” I muttered. “Anyway, that isn’t the important part.”

“It sounds like it’s terribly important.”

Kat nodded in agreement, anger streaming off her in waves.

“Okay, yes, to me it is, but there are other things to worry about besides my broken heart.”

Bea reached across the table and clasped my hand. “Never underestimate the power your heart holds.”

I closed my eyes and chose to ignore her words. I could not focus on that right now. When I resumed talking, my voice came out monotone and detached as I described Dan, his apartment, his crazy behavior. When I finished, I glanced at Kat. “I don’t know what to say, other than I think he’s turned into a sociopath.”

Tears rimmed Kat’s beautiful hazel eyes. I knew how she felt. Dan had been our best friend and we’d both loved him. Now he was beyond help from either of us.

Bea excused herself from the table and came back a moment later with a thick leather-bound book. “Your friend is not a sociopath. Or at least, the behavior you described doesn’t make him one.”

I stared at Bea in disbelief. “How could you know? You’ve never met him.”

She flipped through her book until she found the page she was looking for. “Here.” She turned the book around so Kat and I could read it. “Look at this counter spell.”

The recipe in front of me contained a lot of herbs and obscure ingredients one could certainly never find in a regular grocery store. I glanced up. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“Look at the last ingredient.”

I scanned the list. “Bachelor Buttons? What’s that?”

“It’s a flower,” Kat said. “A vibrant blue one.”

“Exactly. It’s the main ingredient used in spells designed to neutralize magic.” Bea took the book back. “It’s obvious your friend was spelled, and once you deflected the neutralizer on him, he returned to himself. Did he seem normal after that?”

Normal? I didn’t know what normal meant for Dan these days. I shrugged. “He seemed more like the Dan I used to know, except for all the fear, panic, and stress.”

Bea nodded. “Yes. Being bound to a magical entity will do that to people.”

“You mean Jade?” Kat asked. She glanced at me, trepidation pressing down on her aura.

“No, dear. It takes a powerful spell to bind someone to them. Once completed, the witch has the power to control the person. It would appear your Dan is fighting it. The jerky movements are telling. Plus, there’s the fact that he let her go as soon as the potion temporarily neutralized the curse.” Bea picked up a pen and started scrawling in a notebook.

Confusion radiated off Kat. My head started to spin and I leaned back in the chair, letting her feed Bea the questions. “You mean the potion didn’t free Dan from the binding?”

Bea sent her a sympathetic smile. “No. Jade said his energy disappeared. That was a sign the witch had taken over again. Normally that potion doesn’t have an effect on bound souls. But if a soul is strong enough, it can help them break away for a short time. He’s most definitely not a willing participant in whatever this witch is up to.”

“But what would another witch want with Dan—or Jade, for that matter?” Kat asked.

“That’s what we need to find out.” Bea shifted her gaze toward the front door. “Good, it’s Gwen. She’ll be useful.”

I strained, listening for whatever Bea had heard, but came up with nothing. Minutes ticked by as we waited. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I rose and moved to the window. Outside, the driveway was empty. “You must have heard someone else. No one is here yet.”

“They will be.”

A minute later, the hum of an engine died and car doors closed, signaling Gwen’s arrival. I sent Bea a “you’re crazy” look and went to open the door.

Gwen folded me in her arms and hugged me so hard I started to cough. “Sorry. Don’t ever do that again. You disappeared, not only physically, but mentally too. I don’t like it.”

“I’ll try not to.”

Pyper followed her lead and wrapped me in a fierce hug, but stopped short of cutting off my airflow. When she released me, I turned to close the door, but a tall shadow filled the doorway.

I took one look at his troubled, chocolate brown eyes and slammed the door.

Chapter 14

“Jade.” Gwen touched my arm. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear what he has to say?”

“No. Not after what happened.” I turned to Pyper. “I thought Kat told you not to bring him.”

She winced at my accusing tone. “I’m sorry, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He literally forced his way into my car.” Judging by the sympathy radiating off her, someone had filled her in on the details.

“I know you’re hurt, hon,” Gwen said. “You have every reason to be angry. Goddess knows I would be. But he’s been so worried ever since you disappeared.”

“He wasn’t so worried about me when he was making out with Lailah,” I snapped.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Kat moved to stand next to me. “Jade doesn’t want to deal with Kane right now, and she shouldn’t have to. She’s had a rough night.” She turned to me. “I’ll go talk to him.”

“No, you don’t have to do that.” Couldn’t we just leave him out there to stew? He didn’t deserve any explanations. He’d forfeited those rights the minute he decided to let Lailah paw at him.

She shook her head. “I know I don’t. But I have a few things I’d like to say.”

“Kat,” I said with a sigh.

She dismissed me with a wave and disappeared out the front door.

Pyper took Kat’s place by my side and led me to the living room.

“I’m fine.” I tried to dislodge myself from her grip, but for such a tiny woman, she proved to be a lot stronger than I would have thought. It must have been all the pole-climbing she did at the club when she was filling in.

“You don’t look fine. You look like you’re one razor blade away from the mental ward. Now, sit.” She pointed to the couch. The expression on her face told me it wasn’t worth arguing.

I sat, and a moment later, Pyper covered me with the softest knitted blanket I’d ever come in contact with. It took all my willpower to keep from pulling it over my head and pretending the night—hell, the whole day—had never happened.

Gwen took a seat next to me. The worry wrapping around me made my eyes burn with tears. Again. Having Gwen by my side finally made the horror of my abduction sink in.

She put her arm around me and pressed my head to her shoulder. “It’s okay now. Aunt Gwen is here.”

I sniffled into her sweater, letting her comfort me until my eyes had dried. Then, with Bea’s help, I filled her and Pyper in on the night’s events.

By the time I’d finished, Gwen’s face had turned pale. When she finally spoke, she said, “Poor Dan. He’s been through so much.”

I jerked back. “Poor Dan? What about me? For God’s sake, my mother mysteriously disappeared. I have this terrible gift. My ex is bound to a witch and the pair of them kidnapped me for any number of unknown reasons. My boyfriend was making out with a so-called-angel bitch. And a spirit, trapped in a ridiculous papier-mâché portrait, claims if I set her free, she can lead me to my mother.” I threw my hands up and yelled, “This is not a normal life. And you’re worried about what Dan has been through?”

Gwen patted my thigh. “There you go. Get it all out.”

I gaped.

“No, it isn’t a normal life,” Bea agreed. “The sooner you realize it, the better off you’ll be. White witches attract undue attention. There will always be those who want to tap into your power.”

I groaned. “Enough with the witch stuff. I’ll do whatever it takes to find Mom, but I’m not going to embrace my witchy side on a regular basis.”

“She’s always been stubborn,” Gwen said, as if I wasn’t sitting right next to her.

“I’m sure she comes by it naturally.” Bea cradled a cup of tea in her hands.

Gwen laughed. “Hope was as stubborn as they come. I remember this one time at witch’s camp—”

“Lord, help me.” I curled the blanket around me, and this time I did cover my face.

“I think he has better things to do at the moment,” Gwen said, and went on to relay the story of how my mother had first tapped into her magic. “Do you remember Pixie Maythorn?”

“The one from the east coast who never stopped talking about how she was missing out on her Martha’s Vineyard vacation?” Bea supplied.

“That’s the one. Anyway, Pixie had her eye on Hope’s boyfriend. She kept inviting him on midnight strolls, suggesting skinny dipping, and asking him to help her with her love potions.”

I pulled the blanket off my head and stared at Gwen. “Love potions? You can’t be serious?”

Gwen laughed. “Oh, yes. Pixie could mix powerful ones, too. The problem was, the camp didn’t stock most of the ingredients and Pixie wanted someone to help her find plants and herbs in the woods. Since no one was allowed to leave the camp alone, she kept hitting Thomas up to help her. And he was too polite to say no.”

“Much to Hope’s dismay.” Bea chuckled.

“Thomas was Mom’s boyfriend?”

“Sort of. I mean, they both liked each other, but we’d only been at camp two weeks. It’s hard for fifteen-year-olds to form a solid relationship in that amount of time. Hope had yet to demonstrate any real magical ability other than basic telekinesis, which everyone could do. But Pixie could whip up almost any potion spell if she knew what ingredients it needed. Anyway, Thomas was intrigued.”