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

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  Selena leaned forward against the wrought iron railing, her wineglass in hand as she looked down at the people on the street. “We will wait, then, to make sure the timing is right and you have all the strength you need. For now, gather your thoughts and steel your resolve. You are going to need it.”

  * * *

  Mina turned, looking at herself in the mirror. The rose on her shoulder was red and vibrant. She could still feel the slight sting of the needle, but that was quickly healing. The heat in her shoulder, a powerful pulsing, was beginning to radiate through her body. And with it, she could feel an evil that made her blood feel thick and hot.

  “Yes, child, I was afraid of that. With that dirt comes not only the power, but the essence of Antoinette, and I had hoped it would be more good than bad. This is now another battle you will have to fight. But you can do it. You have love and light all around you, unlike Antoinette, who chose to live in the darkness. It’s all about what and who you surround yourself with. Eventually, the good will overcome the bad and you won’t have to fight as hard.”

  Mina shrugged, not liking the heavy feel of the new weight in her body, but she smiled anyway. “If this helps me defeat Catherine, so be it. I’d rather fight this feeling with Sebastian than fight the loneliness I’ve felt without him, and without all of you, alone.”

  Vivian smiled. “We all have our battles to fight. And now, it is time for you to fight once more.”

  Mina glanced at the clock—two a.m. “Yes, Madame. You are right.” She hugged the woman. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome, my child. May all the good blessings light your way.”

  Mina stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway where Ivy and Alcide were waiting.

  “Let’s go kick some ass,” she said, smiling.

  “Damn right.” Ivy joined arms with Mina. “I’ve been waiting a hundred years for this.”

  9

  The moon was fat and full as they walked through the dark cemetery, casting shadows, spirits that still walked around, not ready to cross over. They followed the path and the muffled sound of voices coming from around Antoinette’s tomb.

  As they got closer, they split up as agreed, making a circle around the area. Mina smiled when Sebastian stepped out of the shadows for a moment. His reassuring smile and presence served to chase any lingering fears away.

  Catherine was there, kneeling at a small altar in front of the crypt. On the altar was an array of candles of different sizes and colors, various knives, and a bowl that appeared to be made from bone. A large python writhed around her neck. She stirred whatever evil concoction she needed, chanting softly. The cursed necklace seemed to glow as she spoke.

  “Catherine Rousseau.” Ivy sauntered out from behind one of the crypts, lit a cigarette, and leaned against a statue of an angel. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  Catherine laughed. She looked at Ivy and turned her wrist. Ivy doubled over and took a step back. Catherine’s eyes widened when Ivy straightened and stood tall again.

  “Looks like you may not have as much power as you thought you did. And guess what? I’m not alone.”

  Sebastian, Alcide, and Mina stepped out of the shadows then, forming a cross, with Sebastian at the head, Ivy and Alcide at the sides, and Mina fully facing Catherine.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Catherine said. “I’ve already started the new curse.”

  As Mina approached, Catherine threw up a hand, and Mina felt that spell again. She could not step any closer.

  Fury marked Sebastian’s face, making him look evil in the dim light. He stalked toward Catherine, only to be stopped as well.

  “Damn you, Catherine!” he yelled, his voice echoing through the quiet cemetery. His fists banged against an invisible wall that kept him away.

  There has to be a way… Sebastian’s thoughts crept into Mina’s mind.

  But what? she replied.

  In the shadows behind Catherine, Mina saw Alcide slowly approach. Ivy, spotting him too, took another charge at Catherine, hoping to distract her long enough for Alcide to get to her. She was halfway there when the witch smiled and held up her hand. Ivy bent over in pain. She was still crouched, breathing heavily, when Alcide was halted in his tracks.

  “You will never defeat me. I hold the power of Antoinette Bonaventure. She serves me now, and no one, not God himself, can take me down. I had a feeling you would all try something tonight, so I have a little surprise planned.” She crumbled some leaves into the bowl, then stirred liquid from a vial into it. As she stirred, smoke began to rise. She uttered words Mina didn’t understand.

  A cloud drifted in front of the moon, and the graveyard grew darker. While the smoke rose, Ivy, Alcide, and Sebastian began coughing. Light at first, like a tickle in the throat. Mina watched, horrified, as the cough intensified.

  When they bent over in spasms, Mina’s heart stopped. How could she help them?

  When Sebastian looked up at her and she saw blood seeping from his mouth in the dim moonlight, she nearly collapsed.

  “I will kill them all,” Catherine said. “And you will be left to mourn them. You and your silly ghost. Will you become a ghost too, then, Mina? Walking through the Quarter, looking for the loved ones you will never see again? Will they write stories about you? Mention you on those godforsaken tours?’

  Fury pumped through Mina’s body. She felt the tattoo grow warm. The leaves of the roses felt like they were twisting in harmony with the snake that continued to undulate around Catherine’s neck.

  Antoinette… she pleaded as she watched her loved ones collapse to the ground.

  “The snake,” a woman’s heavily accented voice whispered.

  Her tattoo began to burn, as did the blood in her veins as it flowed through her body and to her hands.

  “The snake,” the voice repeated.

  Mina’s right hand felt like it was on fire. She held it out, palm up, gasping as it began to glow. She turned it so her fingers pointed to the sky.

  She stared at the snake, and as she did, it went still for a moment, its head pointing at Mina. Slowly, she clenched her hand closed, making a fist. The snake began to move again, faster this time. Catherine’s eyes widened as the snake tightened its grip around her neck, cutting off her air. She pulled at the reptile as she gasped, but she was powerless to stop it. The python glistened in the moonlight as Catherine slowly sank to the ground. Her lifeless eyes looked up at the tomb of the voodoo priestess, and the snake released its prey.

  10

  “What the hell was that?” Still groggy, Ivy limped over to Mina. After checking Catherine’s pulse, Sebastian shook his head and Mina breathed a sigh of relief. She looked down at her hands that were no longer burning, neither was the tattoo.

  She turned her palms one way, then the other. “I have no idea. Antoinette didn’t like that Catherine had taken her power. She wanted her gone as well.”

  “Whatever it was, it worked,” Sebastian said. “Catherine is dead. We will need to burn the body and bury it in unconsecrated ground. And we’ll need to give Vivian the necklace so it doesn’t fall into someone else’s hands. But first…” He took hesitant steps toward Mina.

  Mina shivered as he took one step, then another. She waited for that familiar feeling, that overwhelming need to flee his presence, but it never came.

  He reached out for her and Mina flew into his arms. He rained kisses on her while his hands touched her face, hair, and ran down her arms.

  “It’s over.” His hoarse whisper was Mina’s undoing. Blood tears began to fall down her cheeks. Sebastian pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe them away. “Now, there will be none of that.” He smiled and cupped her face with hand. “Nothing but smiles.”

  He handed another handkerchief to Ivy. “I think you need one too.”

  She sniffed before responding. “It must be that grave dirt you all have been throwing around all day.”

  Mina laughed, then hugged her. “Thank you, my friend.�
��

  “I didn’t do anything except take a couple of mystical jabs. And almost bleed out” She rubbed her stomach. “That bitch had some punch. That second one almost took me down.”

  “Still. We won.” Mina’s laughter rang out through the courtyard. “We won!”

  * * *

  “I can’t believe I’ve never been here,” Mina said as she stepped into Sebastian’s apartment. She reached out for his hands, not wanting to let him go. She was half afraid if she did, she wouldn’t be able to touch him again.

  “Your place is lovely.” It was completely Sebastian, old world furniture mixed with new touches here and there. A wide-screen TV, modern art from local artists, combined with an antique desk by a window and a fading tapestry on the wall.

  “Come here, I want to show you something.” He gently pulled her over to the desk that sat in front of a set of French doors. He took a frame from the desktop and handed it to her. It was the letter she had written to him on her birthday. It was faded and hard to read on the now tea-colored paper. The lip print, though, was still a vibrant red.

  “You kept this?”

  “Of course I did. And now, a hundred years later, I get to claim that kiss I’ve been holding onto for all this time.”

  “You’ve gotten kisses from me before.” Mina smiled.

  “Not one like this. Tonight, my Mina, I can touch you for as long as I want. And I mean to take full advantage of that.”

  She shivered.

  “Come.”

  He led her to his bedroom. The room shined with the light of a multitude of candles. Crystal vases held bouquets of jasmine, and the sweet scent made Mina smile.

  “You were quite sure of yourself, weren’t you?”

  “Not of me, Mina. Of us.”

  He reached out for her, and she sighed as his arms wrapped around her.

  Slowly, he pulled her shirt off, careful not to brush the tattoo that was still fresh on her arm. Seeing it exposed, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss near it, and said a whispered thank you. To whom, Mina didn’t know.

  He then kissed her deeply, his mouth devouring hers in a rhythm she matched with a passion denied for a century. He was hers. Not for an hour. Not for a night. But forever.

  She pulled at the front of his shirt, and smiled when the buttons popped off. She slid the soft fabric off his shoulders and it fell to the floor. He groaned as she slid her hands across his stomach. She loved the feel of him quivering under her touch.

  He gently pressed her to the bed, covering her with his body. He teased and tantalized her. A bite on the inner thigh here, a caress across her breast there.

  When Mina felt like she couldn’t take any more, he slowly slid into her. She wrapped her legs around him and met his urgent tempo. When he buried his fangs in her neck, it was her undoing.

  “Jessamine.” His voice was ragged as he climaxed.

  As their breath returned to normal, he hugged her close, kissing the top of her head. “I love you, Jessamine Santiago.”

  “I love you too. For now and all eternity.”

  11

  Mina stood on the balcony of Sebastian’s apartment, looking down and watching the French Quarter come alive. She smiled, taking it all in. If those humans only knew what really went bump in the night here, they probably wouldn’t leave their hotel rooms.

  “Mina, ma cher,” Sebastian greeted her with a wine glass. He was dressed in a tuxedo for the evening’s Vampire Ball, traditionally held on All Saint’s Day, November 1st. Seeing him in his formal attire sent her pulse racing. She kissed him softly on the lips, then rested her head on his shoulder.

  He brought his hand up and caressed the back of her head. He then let his hand travel down to the tattoo that was exposed by the black dress she was wearing.

  “This is such beautiful work. Does it still bother you?” He referred more to the darkness she felt since receiving the tattoo.

  “It’s still churning in there, but Madame says it will pass. She says I need to surround myself with good friends and feelings.”

  “You have that. Speaking of which, isn’t it time to meet at the Chateau Rouge?”

  She looked down at her watch. “Yes, it is. I can’t wait to dance with you all night long.” She grinned. “Think you can still dance the Charleston?”

  He pulled her into his arms and pressed a long, lingering kiss to her lips. “I think you will find you may have a hard time keeping up with me tonight.”

  She laughed as he raised her hand and spun her around on the balcony. Her skirt twisted around her legs just as it had one hundred years ago.

  Now he was hers, in the flesh, and forever.

  THE END

  * * *

  Read the first book in the Chateau Rouge Series, That Voodoo That You Do.

  Three love stories, one enchanting weekend in New Orleans!

  * * *

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  About the Author

  Jolie St. Amant fell in love with all things New Orleans after reading Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Now, a frequent visitor to the Crescent City, she can often be found getting inspiration from ghost tours or sipping cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde.

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  Stolen Magic

  Char Webster

  Mystic Magic Series

  Stolen Magic part 2 © May 2019 by Char Webster

  Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Created with Vellum

  Stolen Magic – Part Two by Char Webster

  Aria Renault is one of the best magical guardians Legacy has ever seen so, of course, the High Council teamed her up with one of their best Enforcers, Damian Faustus. The only problem is they hate each other, or at least, they do now. Hundreds of years ago, Damian had walked out on their wedding with no explanation.

  They say time heals all wounds, but bitter disappointment and heartbreak are still burning strongly in both of them. As they open up about the past and start looking toward the future, they are faced with additional tragedy. Thinking they had destroyed the evil mass murderer responsible for killing dozens of supernaturals, they are now investigating more deaths that have an eerily similar magical signature.

  Did they really put an end to the evil immortal who was stealing magic and life force to gain more power, or is a copycat terrorizing the magical community?

  To Karen, no matter how far away you are, you will always be my best friend forever.

  1

  Everything was working out just as he had planned. It had been almost too easy, and some of the anticipated thrill wasn’t there. Disappointment was something he hadn’t dealt with often, so he wasn’t sure how to handle it. Cracking his neck, he moved away from the sand dunes and made his way back to the street.

  The sun had not yet risen, but it was only a few hours away. He had plenty of time to find a diversion.

  He spent an hour watching Aria and Damian stroll along the beach before they had gone inside her ocean front condo. He could have carefully opened a portal inside her home to continue to watch them, b
ut his energy and magic were depleted. He could feel his mystic magic rolling through him in search of more power.

  The Florida beach town would offer half naked distractions for him, but it was not teeming with magic or supernaturals. He’d used too much magic to escape from the trap Aria and Damian had set for him in New Orleans that night. They were foolish if they thought a simple crystal fire circle would hold one of the greatest supernaturals to ever exist. And one of the deadliest.

  Reaching out with his powers, he could feel his magic pulsing. He needed to replenish it, or he couldn’t put the second half of his plan into action. The street was deserted, but he knew the bar a couple of blocks away would have a better selection of people. It happened to stay open late. He hoped a mystic was there so he didn’t have to go looking somewhere else.

  Manipulating people had always been a specialty of his, and he was attractive to both men and women, so finding someone to leave a bar with him would not be a problem. He had spent time with both genders but much preferred the company of a beautiful woman. If they annoyed him, he would simply drain their magic and toss them away. There was always someone else willing to hang off his arm.

  He entered the bar, and several heads turned in his direction. He ran a hand through his pale blond hair and smiled at a few human women who shifted in their seats to view him better. If humans weren’t so lacking in any kind of magic, he would offer to buy both of them a drink.