by Deanna Chase
“Pyper,” I called. “Introduce your friend to Lailah.” I took off toward Ian, intending to find out what had happened, but Lailah fell in step beside me. “What’s up?”
“I’m sticking with you, remember?” She tossed her honey-blond hair over one shoulder.
I stopped. “I didn’t mean literally.”
“Oh.” Her face fell.
I mentally kicked myself. “Sorry. I didn’t... I mean...” Oh, shit. I should butt out. She’d find someone when she was ready. “Let’s go. You can help Kane.”
She brightened and followed me into the kitchen. I grabbed a tray of crab puffs and headed back to the party. Lailah stayed behind. On the way out, I passed Pyper and Kane’s friend.
“We need to talk to Lailah,” Pyper said, tugging her companion toward the kitchen door.
“She’s helping Kane.”
Pyper smirked. “No. She’s hiding. We’ll be right back.” They disappeared through the door.
Across the room, Kat had Lucien pressed up against the wall, her face glued to his.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“She follows orders well,” a voice whispered in my ear.
I jumped, nearly dropping my crab puffs. Right next to me was a faint outline of a tall, dark-haired woman. She wore a high-necked, pale-pink ball gown, circa 1890. Taking two steps back, I glanced around, wondering if anyone else could see her.
“Who are you?” I whispered back.
She let out a high giggle and floated off across the ballroom.
Holy crap. We had a ghost. I spun, looking for Kat, but she was still plastered against a very disheveled Lucien. Jeez, get a room. Pyper, Lailah, and Kane were in the kitchen. Charlie was in the foyer, appearing to be having an argument with her date. Oh my god! Was that Candy Rhines? The one who starred in the new hit supernatural drama on Showtime? Dang. She was gorgeous.
A few of Kane’s friends huddled near the punch, but I barely knew them, and asking them about a random floating woman didn’t seem like a good idea. I strode over to Ian, who was sulking against the wall.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, not sure I wanted to say anything about the ghost to him, either. Ian was a ghost-hunter. If I told him, he’d have his EMF detector out in five seconds flat.
A muscle in his jaw twitched.
“Ian?”
He averted his pale green eyes and ran a hand through his short blond hair. “Pyper... she told me... ah, shit.”
“Told you what?” Uh-oh, what had she said?
He swallowed. “She wants to get married.”
“To you?” I blurted.
“Yes, to me. You don’t have to sound so appalled.” His lips formed a tight thin line.
“Sorry. I’m just... surprised.” Yeah. Very surprised. Married? They’d barely dated. “I hadn’t ever thought of Pyper as the marrying type. I didn’t mean that the way it came out. What did you say?”
He pushed himself off the wall. “What could I say? I told her I was flattered, but that I wasn’t ready for that. Hell, we’ve only been on a handful of real dates.”
That wasn’t what I’d had in mind when I told her to tell him how she felt. Had she lost her mind? “Yikes.”
“You can say that again.” He took off, heading for the hallway.
A tinkling laugh rang in my ear, and the ghost appeared next to me.
I shivered, but I wasn’t cold. “Damn it! Stop that.”
She smiled and floated across the room again. Lailah burst from the kitchen, Pyper at her heels.
“But he’s perfect,” Pyper badgered. “Lailah, you have to go out with someone eventually.”
Lailah stopped in her tracks and turned on Pyper. “Not tonight, I don’t. The only thing I have to do is help Kane in the kitchen.” She turned to me. “Right, Jade?”
“No. I mean, not exactly.”
Female voices rose in the foyer as Candy and Charlie’s fight heated up. Kat lifted her face off Lucien just long enough to tell them to keep it down.
Pyper started in on Lailah again. “Philip is gone. Kane is taken. Stop punishing yourself.” She grabbed Lailah’s hand and started tugging her toward Kane’s other two friends, who were staring opened-mouthed at Kat all but undressing Lucien right there in the ballroom.
The ghost materialized, glee written all over her face. She spun around, as if twirling in delight.
“Stop it!” I shouted. “Everyone just stop. This is a party, not a free-for-all.”
Kat froze and then slowly untangled herself from Lucien. She turned to me with wide, shocked eyes and mouthed, “Oh my god.” Color rose high on her cheeks. Lucien cleared his throat and straightened his rumpled shirt.
The shouting in the foyer suddenly became one-sided as Charlie seemed to retreat from Candy.
But Candy advanced, her finger pointed. “You’re a disgrace. I can’t believe you. I’m not a fucking puppet you can string along, thinking I’ll do anything just because you’re a great lay!”
Pyper, standing next to me, let out a surprised laugh but covered it with a cough. “Sorry.” Her gaze travelled to Ian, and she abruptly turned around and hurried into the kitchen. Ian stared after her, then set his shoulders and followed, the muscle in his jaw pulsing with determination.
“Babe,” Charlie pleaded. “You misunderstood. I don’t want to break up.”
“That,” Candy pushed Charlie, making her back up under the mistletoe, “is exactly what you stood here and said. I quote, ‘Before this gets out of hand, I need to let you down easy.’ Unquote.”
“I meant...” Charlie turned to me, her eyebrows pinched.
I held up my hands. “Don’t look at me. I was only joking when I said to let her down easy because of what happened before. I didn’t know you were even thinking of breaking up.”
“Damn it.” Charlie banged a frustrated fist against her thigh. “I meant if we ever did break up. Not today.” She held out her hand to Candy. “Babe?”
Candy stared at her as if she’d grown three heads, but then her expression softened as she took Charlie’s hand.
“Kiss her,” I whispered.
To my surprise, even though I was positive Charlie couldn’t have heard me, she pulled Candy close and dipped her back into a breathtaking kiss. The kitchen door swung open. Lailah stomped out, Pyper and Kane running to catch up.
“Wait,” Pyper called.
Lailah froze and stared at Pyper. A look of horror flashed over her face before her brow crinkled in confusion. “Please tell me I’m hallucinating. That whatever just happened was a dream.”
Kane stepped up beside me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You’re never going to believe what I just witnessed.”
I leaned into him, exhausted by all the emotional turmoil, not to mention the blatant sexual energy running through the room. “In the kitchen? Did Pyper kiss you this time?” I teased.
His face broke into a wide grin. “No. Lailah.”
“Lailah? What?”
He nodded at where Lailah and Pyper stood. “Like that.”
Sure enough, right in front of us, Pyper had her arms around Lailah, and they were going at it like two randy teenagers.
“Stop hogging.” Kat appeared from behind us and edged Kane out of the way. She planted another kiss on my lips before I could move.
“Kat!” I pushed her away.
Lucien stepped in. “Hey, I thought that was my job tonight,” he joked.
“You had your turn.” Kat moved toward Pyper and Lailah. She placed one hand on each of their backs and leaned in.
“What the hell!” I shouted. “What is wrong with all of you? This is an engagement party. Not a bath house.”
Charlie had Candy pinned against the stairs, her tongue down the woman’s throat. Lailah, Pyper, and Kat were all kissing each other in some alternate lesbian reality. Pyper was bi-sexual, but my other two friends weren’t. None of them paid any attention to my outburst. Lucien, Ian, Kane, and his friends all stared with their mout
hs gaping.
“That’s it. No more mistletoe.” I raised my arms and focused on the illuminated bunches suspended around the room. “Ignite!”
Four tiny fireballs erupted from my fingers and flew high in the air. Each hovered under the bundles for a moment, then all at once, they erupted in mini infernos, turning the mistletoe to dust. My girlfriends didn’t even seem to notice, not even when the small amount of ash started to rain down on them.
Lucien whistled. “That was a fine piece of magic, Jade.”
I huffed. “Didn’t seem to help.”
The tinkling laughter sounded from behind me again. “This is too much,” the ghost whispered in my ear. “Best party ever. Even better than when Kane’s grandmother threw her tea at the society ladies for gossiping about the young widow who took a lover. Oh my, the looks on their uptight faces when they realized their favorite silks were beyond repair.”
“Do you see her?” I asked Kane.
“Huh?” He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off my friends going at it three feet from him.
I turned to the resident ghost-hunter. “Ian?”
He, at least, had the decency to acknowledge me. He walked over to stand beside me. “Yeah?” He kept glancing at Pyper, an unnatural scowl gracing his normally genial face.
The ghost spun around, giddy in her delight of the chaos.
“Do you see that ghost?” I asked Ian.
His expression cleared, and he suddenly snapped to attention, eyes alert. He glanced around. “Where?”
I sighed. “If you could see her, you’d have noticed her by now.” She’d moved to twirling around the threesome and laughing like a loon.
“Stop it,” I yelled at her. “You’re making me crazy.”
The two make-out sessions ended abruptly. Pyper, Kat, and Lailah all stepped backward, putting about ten feet between each other. Kat covered her mouth with her hand. Lailah stood frozen, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Pyper glanced around in confusion, met Ian’s eyes, and took a few more steps back.
“Jade?” Kane whispered. “Did you just spell them?”
“No.” I would have noticed a little spark of magic if I’d had. Right? I wasn’t so powerful that I could make things happen without even knowing about it.
Except... I had with the candles earlier.
Candy pulled Charlie toward the front door. “Let’s go. I can think of better places we can... you know.”
Charlie wrapped her arm around Candy’s waist but shook her head, a small smile touching her lips. Candy started whispering in Charlie’s ear, and although Charlie laughed, she didn’t let Candy drag her out.
My other three friends were all avoiding each other’s gazes.
“What was that?” I demanded.
All at the same time, they said, “You told me to kiss her.”
“Huh?” What were they talking about? I’d mumbled for Charlie to kiss Candy, but not the rest of them.
“Hahahahaha. Oh, I do love the effect of mistletoe,” the ghost sang as she floated near me. “It always makes for an interesting party.”
“Is the mistletoe spelled?” I asked her. “Did you have anything to do with this?” Ghosts did carry energy, and if she’d been a witch in life, she could have altered them.
“Who are you talking to, Jade?” Kane asked.
“The ghost,” I snapped, losing the last of my patience.
Beside me, Ian pulled his EMF detector out of his jacket pocket and flipped a switch. A red light lit up, indicating it was on.
I rolled my eyes and pushed him aside. Did he take that thing everywhere?
“Oh, wow,” he said. “The reading is off the charts.”
“Of course it is. She’s right next to you.” I shook a finger at her. “Tell me what’s going on right now. Or I swear I’ll let him exorcise you right out of this house.”
She stopped her girlish twirling and peered at me. “He can’t do that. In ninety years, no one has managed it.” She smiled and started to glide over to the stairs.
“He’s done it before. In fact, we all sent one to Hell last year. You could be next,” I lied. While we could probably open another portal to Hell, I wouldn’t risk it on a ghost who, while annoying, seemed relatively harmless.
That stopped her mid-float. Kane put his hand on my back in a show of support. The rest of my friends started to move closer together, though they showed no signs of making more sexual advances. Thank the gods.
Lailah took a spot next to me, her gaze trained on the ghost. She narrowed her eyes and said, “Reveal.”
The ghost’s eyes went round with shock as she shimmered and suddenly appeared almost solid. Everyone in the room gasped, and chatter erupted.
“Nice trick,” I told Lailah, our resident angel. She had skills unlike anyone else’s. “Did you not see her before?”
Lailah chewed on her lip and stared at her feet. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Oh.” Right. I moved closer to the ghost. “Now spit it out. What’s going on here?”
Ian stepped away from the crowd, his hands full of even more beeping electronics. He actually glowed with excitement. I couldn’t stop the Ghostbusters theme song from running through my brain.
“You did it,” the ghost blurted. “When you used those spelled candles from the lilac room to find the mistletoe.”
“Spelled candles?” I asked.
“The pillars. They have magic. They’ve been here forever. This is only the third time a witch has lit them. Usually, the magic enhances the power of the witch, but since you used them to find the mistletoe, it made people want to kiss you. Then it gave you power over those who did.”
She backed up, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at Ian, a sneer on her lips.
“Oh, stop it,” Pyper snapped. “He isn’t going to do anything to you. He just likes data.”
I would’ve been pissed at Pyper for spoiling our upper hand with the ghost, but a light bulb had popped up over my head with her explanation. All the weird behavior my friends participated in had been a direct result of something I’d told them to do. Pyper telling Ian how she felt. I mean, I had no idea she wanted to marry the guy. I’m certain she never would have said anything like that of her own free will. She kept her emotions pretty close to the vest.
Charlie had let Candy down easy, though she had no intention of breaking up with her. Kat attacking Lucien had been at my suggestion. Though I’d only said to kiss him, not have an almost X-rated adult show. Lailah stayed in the kitchen all night, helping Kane. Pyper tried to set Lailah up with Kane’s friend. And finally, the kissing episode. I’d prompted all those things. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Guys?” I opened them to everyone staring at me. “This is all my fault. All the crazy stuff everyone did was something I’d said to do, only taken literally. Very literally and not at all in the way I intended.”
I bit my tongue. So much for helpful advice. That would teach me to stay out of other people’s business. No one said anything. They only stared expectantly at me as if I could erase their embarrassing behavior.
“How do I void the spell?” I asked the ghost.
She glided toward the stairway.
“Camille?” Kane said.
She stopped and eyed Kane with a look of wonder. “You know me?”
He shrugged. “I know of you. Come back over here until Jade is satisfied with your answers.”
She pursed her lips and balled her fists, but she floated back.
He smiled. “Mamaw once told me she’d heard a rumor about a ghost bound here, and that she had to obey any direct orders from the owner. Looks like we’re in luck.”
Jesus. I loved how Kane took everything in stride. I beamed up at him. “You’re amazing.”
He kissed the top of my head. “You too, love.”
I turned to Camille. “How do I free my friends from this spell?”
She glared.
“Answer her,” Kane demanded.
By then, everyone had formed a circle around Camille, most of them awed by the ghost sighting. It was remarkable none of them had run screaming from the house. But my friends had been through a lot the last year. An 1890’s ghost was probably pretty tame compared to demons and black magic.
Camille’s shoulders sagged as if she’d lost a great battle. “Fine. Repeat after me.”
I nodded.
“Candles of Summer House, release your hold. Bind your will to mine and rest for another season.” She stared at me, her steel-gray eyes raging with defiance.
“Try again,” I said quietly and released a thread of coven magic, just enough to form the five-point pentagram at Camille’s feet but enough to let her know that I knew what that spell meant. I would not be bound to any foreign magic, and that was what a binding did.
Panic flashed in those gray eyes. “I mean...uh... sorry, it’s been a long time. And I’m dead.”
“Handy excuse,” Pyper said, her trademark sarcasm firmly back in place.
Camille tried to back up, but the unintended circle held strong. “Okay. This should do it. Candles of Summer House, release your hold. Your magic is not welcome this night.”
I met Lucien’s gaze. He gave a slight nod. Yes, I thought that was safe enough. I repeated Camille’s words and added, “Contain your power within your wick, for the leader of the New Orleans coven shall control your magic from this day forward.”
Camille gasped. “How dare you? That was my only access to power, and you just took it away from me! I’m dead. Don’t you understand? It was all I had left.” Her image flickered as she shot straight up in the air. “You’ll pay for this, Jade Calhoun. Mark my words. You’ll pay.”
“Not tonight, Camille,” Kane said, his voice calm. “Go away now. You’ve caused enough trouble.”
Before she could open her mouth again, she vanished.
“No! Damn it.” Ian waved his EMF detector in the air. “Those were some of my best readings ever.”
Pyper burst out laughing. “Ian, dude, the ghost was right in front of you. Just enjoy that for now.” She grabbed his hand and tugged. “We need to talk.”
