Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  A wolf controlling a shift wasn’t uncommon. However, they let humans believe it to be nearly impossible.

  “See, smart thinking like that is why I bring you places.”

  Joseph nodded toward the bar. “You better go after her, who knows what trouble she’ll get into dressed like that.”

  Elijah let out a low growl when he turned and saw Ivy had indeed disappeared around the side of the corner bar. He trotted across the street, sidestepping a drunken tourist with enough Mardi Gras throws around his neck to give him one hell of a stiff neck in the morning.

  It was only after he crashed into him that Elijah realized his mistake.

  A glowing ball of yellow light erupted from one of the necklaces and slammed into his chest, sending him backward into the crowd.

  He was a security system of sorts. They were close.

  “Son of a bitch,” Elijah shook his head and helped a man he’d knocked over stand up. Should’ve changed out of my uniform, there’s no telling how much shit I’m going to get myself in today.

  Elijah tracked the man with his eyes, losing him two buildings away. His mind howled at him to chase after the warlock who obviously was on the lookout for council members to keep them from finding Jared.

  “Ivy.” He needed to ensure she was safe.

  Jogging toward the bar, he found her against the wall, a man leaning over her.

  He snarled and opened his mouth to defend her when the man flew backward so far he crossed the small street and crashed into the building opposite the Bell and Jinx Bar.

  Elijah stopped mid run and stared. “For fuck’s sake.”

  “You can keep coming. I’m done now.” Ivy rubbed her hands together as if wiping them clean.

  He heard the words but didn’t move. For an eighth of a second, Elijah forgot Ivy was the more powerful one in their pairing. He might encompass a physical strength to knock Jared and company around, but the witch could win a fight on her alone. He wouldn’t forget again.

  Unless she can’t cast because her hands are broken or tied. Shaking off the thought, Elijah strolled up to her, smirking at the commotion she caused. She knew how to make a statement.

  “That was something.” He nodded at the man who hadn’t regained consciousness across the street.

  “Yes, well, he didn’t take no for an answer, and we do have a warlock to catch.” She dropped her wand back between the waistband of her skirt and her body. “Unfortunately for him, I did more than knock him out.”

  “In that short of time, I don’t even understand how you got his attention, let alone anything else.” Lie, he probably took one look at you and damn near jumped you.

  “Yes, well,” she tucked a curl behind her ear, “I didn’t realize how often I said that when I’m nervous.”

  Instinct took over. One moment, Elijah had been standing a few feet away, and then next, he’d reached out to take hold of her hand and tugged her closer to him. “Did he hurt you?” She smelled different, like limes and grass.

  She shook her head. “No. I should warn you. I took a truth pulling potion before I met you. So anything you don’t want me to know—well—you shouldn’t speak to me for another fifteen minutes or so.”

  He chuckled. “You’re terrifying. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I can be when needed.”

  “Yes, and it’s a fantastic reminder of all the reasons this is unacceptable.” He let her hand go and stepped away. Remembering who she was . . . what she was . . . would be the only way to stop feeling something for her.

  “Yes, well, I didn’t jump me.” Ivy smoothed out the short skirt. “Anyway, I know where Jared is.”

  Joseph trotted up, his brilliant white coat a glaring beacon in the dark night. Wolves couldn’t speak to one another when they shifted, but packs long ago found a way around that. Body language and signals.

  The massive white wolf put his nose to the ground and turned it to the left indicating they were ready to track as Tonna walked over,.

  “How in the hell did you two get through Bourbon without anyone screaming?” Ivy looked as if she were resisting the urge to pet them on the head. “Right, they’re probably all drunk now that the sun’s down. Must have thought you were dogs.”

  Elijah wasn’t certain if he was appalled, offended or incredibly jealous at the way Ivy looked down at the wolves. “You’ve never been near a shifter in full shift.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No. You know as well as I the accords kept us separate for centuries. Their eyes are so . . . human.”

  “Yes, well, there’s a human connected to the soul of the animal they are bound with. I like to think our eyes remain so we can identify one another when we are not all shifted.”

  Ivy shook her head slowly, still staring at Tonna who returned her stare. “Right, well,” she looked up at him. “I know where he is. There’s a crystal shop toward Canal. He’s there. The warlock couldn’t give me details, so I hope their noses can fill in the missing pieces.”

  Elijah sucked in a deep breath and blew it back out. “The streets are chaotic thanks to Muses rolling tonight, but we can’t go that far as two humans and two wolves without someone spotting us. They’ll get reported for shifting where humans are, and I’m not endangering them.” He hated what he had to do next. “Can you do anything for that?”

  “I don’t have potions on me that could. I should have thought of an invisibility potion, but I didn’t.”

  “There’s nothing you can cast?”

  “Casting isn’t as quick as it seems. When it’s a physical cast, sure, but when I have to bend space and time—that requires creating a circle, and I don’t see anywhere to do that on a Thursday night downtown.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Elijah did his best to remain calm. His body twitched at the thought of putting his pack at risk. They couldn’t ever expose Jared or risk utter chaos.

  “Are you okay with doing this?” He looked to two of his best trackers who would be sentenced to death if they were caught.

  “I can hex them,” Ivy spoke quietly, and the noise of Bourbon Street almost swallowed up her words.

  “As in hurt them?” The snarl slipped out as Elijah’s arms crossed.

  “As in dark magic used on them. It won’t hurt, but they won’t be visible to anyone but me until I take the hex off. It’ll be dangerous if something happens to me.”

  Tonna sat at Ivy’s feet and turned his head to look at her. His shaggy black hair nearly faded into the alleyway darkness. He consented. Joseph quickly followed suit without so much as looking back at Elijah.

  “They agree.” Elijah’s fingers dug into his biceps. “That position, it’s their consent.”

  Ivy’s mouth parted as if she were about to ask a question but quickly closed. She nodded and rolled her hands in circles without touching them together. A small purple glow formed between her hands. It wasn’t like the fire witches threatened people with, but a lilac smoke swirled between her hands.

  Elijah grew uneasy as the fog grew in size as her motions continued. Tiny tendrils began to wisp out of the gaps. He knew hexes were dangerous, but nothing else about them. His skin seemed to crawl in warning to get the hell out of dodge.

  Ivy squatted before the wolves and gave them a sad smile. “I’m sorry to do this to you. I promise to do my best not to die. If something happens, find Perrow’s Charms, Cures and Curses Uptown. Step in ink and write if you can. The Perrow’s might be able to help you.”

  Elijah knew Tonna’s small whimper for what it was—the young wolf was afraid. Duty shouted at him to shift and comfort both the wolf and the man who got ready to make the sacrifice. He couldn’t, not even in an alleyway near the end of Bourbon Street where houses replaced bars.

  Ivy’s lip puckered, and Elijah knew she blew on the smoke when it danced across Joseph and Tonna’s snouts.

  “Fuck me,” he whispered as the pair of wolves vanished before his eyes. “Are they still there?”

  Ivy put her han
ds on her knees and pushed up. “Yes, they are.”

  “You don’t like to cast hexes, do you?”

  “No, they go against the light energy a witch uses. We cast them in protection.” Her lip quirked into a smile for a second before slipping back into a frown. “Can you imagine how useful it would be to make a problem disappear? Not as dark as death, but nearly as effective.”

  Her voice wavered as if tears would slip down her cheeks at any moment.

  The unease he encountered while Ivy worked the hex magic vanished, leaving just his senses heightened to the chaos around them singing with annoyance.

  “Okay then, lead the way to Iberville, and I’ll follow.”

  He’d never given up control of his pack before. Elijah prayed Ivy truly was the person he thought she was and remembered to unhex his men before following her lead toward Iberville.

  * * *

  Jared slid the athame over the djinn’s palm, intrigued at the almost iridescent quality to the man’s blood. He didn’t need to ask Atreus to flip his hand over to drain the blood into the waiting vial. Slowly, the vile filled with almost glittering blood.

  “I apologize for this, but we need to make at least four hops.” Jared switched out the vial and twirled his wand over the cut to circulate the blood faster.

  “You’re certain there will be room for djinn alongside the warlocks?” Atreus made no eye contact with Jared, preferring to stare at the vial of blood.

  “For any species who helps me invoke the proper fear in humanity. Should some not wish to join the new order, I will not force them. Nor will I persecute them. All will be free to do as they wish so long as the humans remember their place amongst the rest of us.”

  “Funny,” Caliste, the witch from Europe, lay out a circle of salt a foot away from them. “We were all human once. Full of sin and gluttony. All it took was seven stupid souls to open a cursed box, and here we are.” Her ebony hair swished behind her as she turned.

  “Yes, thank goodness for those of us with power.” Drew stood beside his desk.

  His wife didn’t join. Jared was more than a little certain Marlene turned the statement into Angela, but out of respect for his friend, he wouldn’t turn on Drew’s wife. Not yet.

  “Run this by me again.” Caliste set down a brilliant blue sapphire carved into a heart for air and moved to set an oval fire opal down for fire. “This doesn’t seem too hard to crack. Why did no one do it before?” Setting down a circular blue oval for water and a jade shard for earth the circle was complete.

  “Simple. No one thought to harness the power of a wish. A djinn alone cannot weave such powerful magic.” Jared pulled a vintage brass pocket watch from his bag. His father’s watch, almost one hundred and fifty years old and still ticked perfectly. “A witch and warlock will open the circle together. A djinn’s blood will spill over an item created during the time one wished to travel, and someone will smash the object. If I’m correct, the wish magic when paired with the energies of the elements should be enough to invoke a slice in time.”

  Caliste cocked her head to the side, the diamond in her nose catching in the light and glimmering as beautifully as any of the crystals Drew supplied for the circle. “That doesn’t even remotely sound like the potion we can brew for short time travel.”

  “No?” Jared looked around. “We use sand from a smashed hourglass with the blood.”

  “And that’s where the similarities stop.” Her hands landed on her hips, and she stared at him from across the room. She had agreed to help, damn near volunteered, hesitation made no sense.

  Jared opened his mouth to say as much when the security alarm he’d set up went off. The calm shifted away, and his heart began to beat in his chest. The conversation around him vanished as Jared focused on the source of the alarm. Talon—halfway down Bourbon.

  “We need to move this shindig along. Now.”

  “What happened?” Atreus finished the final bottle and closed his eyes. A moment later, the wound on his hand sealed up.

  “I set sentries around the Quarter. I knew the Council would follow. I could only hope to conceal myself from locator spells for so long. Those loyal to me wore an amulet. When pushed, it sends out a signal directly to my own.” Jared taped the simple gold signet ring on his ring finger. “They’re on Bourbon. I don’t know how many or who, but if they’re as smart as they’ve appeared to be these last three years, they’ll have paired off.”

  Jared pointed his wand at the candles at the four corners, and a flame sprang to life on each. Drew hit the lights, plunging the office space into almost darkness. It hadn’t been the plan, but without a glowing light to show the store was open, they stood a better chance at finishing before the others caught up.

  “Let’s get this show on the road.” Drew stood up, sending the rolling chair backward. He grinned at Caliste, his teeth an almost alarming white since his dark skin nearly blended him into the darkness. “Ladies first.” The order wouldn’t matter, casting a circle would always be unique to the caster.

  Caliste gave a small huff and turned her back on them. “Oh great, North. I call to you. Lend your powers to this circle.”

  “Powerful fires of the south.” Drew picked up. “Lend this circle your flames. Ignite this request.”

  “Oh great, East. I call to you. Lend your powers to this circle.” Caliste’s summon offered far less showmanship.

  “Powerful waters of the west, lend this circle your water. Drown out those who seek to destroy this request.”

  The room grew full, the open circle added another presence to the room. Four specifically. The small office began to feel crowded. Jared nodded to Atreus as he passed him the watch, the gleaming gold refracting the candlelight.

  The snarl of wolves drew his attention toward the front of the shop—but only Elijah and Ivy stood where the sound came from.

  “You’re too late,” Jared smirked, daring to break for just a moment to gloat. “There’s a barrier spell. Try as you might, you won’t make it through. So, please, sit back and enjoy the moment.”

  Elijah snarled a moment before Ivy’s purple fireball smashed into the barrier and fizzled out. Jared kept his eyes on the witch. He knew she sought time travel magic, and had she not been such an uppity rule follower, he would have included her on this mission. Still, there was irony in knowing she would witness the end of the beginning of a new world even if she wouldn’t remember.

  “Douse it.” Jared slipped vials into his pocket, preferring to have it on hand should the Djinn die on the mission.

  Atreus didn’t have a cork his vial and twisted his hand to let the oddly beautiful blood coat the top of the pocket watch.

  “No!” Ivy shrieked, turning away from him to face Elijah.

  She knows.

  With a snarl, Jared dropped the giant crystal Drew used as a paperweight onto the watch. Amidst the blinding flash of light, he heard Ivy attempting a binding spell.

  All’s well that ends well. Jared closed his eyes and rode out the blinding flash of light.

  When the light vanished they sat in the blackness. Regardless of if it worked, the magic blew the candles out.

  Slowly, he opened one eye and then the other. They’d all drank an illuminating potion before starting, so he could see fine in the dark. Of course, they remained in the shop, it was well over a hundred years old. The first glance told him all he needed to know.

  Drew’s computer wasn’t on the desk. Jared let his gaze dart to the street and saw no headlights. It worked.

  The joy never got to grow because there were two figures in the shop.

  “Fuck.”

  Elijah and Ivy stood, a small glow of purple coming off her hands to light their way.

  “The barrier spell failed! Go to the meet spot!” he shouted and grabbed his wand from his back pocket. “Aspida!” He hissed and flicked his wrist.

  “What the fuck did he just say.” Elijah snarled, grabbing onto his head as if in pain.

  “A barrier
spell. Jared blocked himself from us. We can’t touch, only follow him.” Ivy turned to one of the three behind him. “He cast nothing. Fotia!”

  Jared paused in his rush toward the door as she shouted the Greek word for fire and Drew’s howl filled the shop. Protect him. Jared began to turn. He knew the risk. Get to the hotel.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Elijah growled, throwing his arms out to block Jared.

  And failed.

  Jared slipped through as if greased thanks to his spell. He could only hope the other three did as well. He had to move quickly and recast the cloaking spell, or they’d find him too fast. Jared assumed Marlene wouldn’t even remember her husband since he died in the past. Guilt almost slowed him down, but there was no time to mourn a friend.

  In a spray of glass shards, Jared crashed through the door and signed in relief he felt nothing thanks to the quick incantation. Drew’s howls followed him up Iberville until he turned on Royal. They echoed through his body as if Jared took the heat of Ivy’s fire.

  His body shook as he ran. Dodging puddles and nearly colliding with a mule and buggy, he slammed into the Hotel Monteleone’s front room. He heaved, trying to take in both enough air to breathe and the truth of the situation before him. Jared patted his pocket, thankful to feel the weight of his cell phone, a brand new 2019 iPhone, in his top jacket pocket.

  “My word.” He spoke on a breath, staring at the room he stood in.

  The opulent chandelier dangled above, but when he looked to the right, the famous Carousel Bar was not there. No crowd of people stood crushed together for a chance to stand around the strangest of New Orleans’ favorite attractions. Instead, there was just a wall.

  The famous bar opened in 1949—nearly fifty years from the moment he stood in.

  “We did it.”

  “Sir, how may I help you?” A man in a crushed velvet green suit with a mustache stepped up to him.

  No name badges in the late eighteen hundreds then.

  “I need a room for the evening. I have associates joining me, they’ll need to be given my room.”

  The worker eyed Jared up and down, but Jared’s heart remained calm. They’d dressed the part. The eighteen hundreds were as far back as the four of them needed to travel. His clothing should not cause so much as an eyelash to bat. A gray frocked jacket from a photo studio in the Quarter covered over black slacks and a tailored white shirt. He fit in, and yet, the man looked at him differently.