Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

by Jade, Imari

“I have her in my power,” the Soul Gatherer shouted. “You are mere mortals and no match for me.” He made the walls bleed again. “I have captured millions of souls and now I have the great Vanquisher. She will be a worthy opponent in my kingdom of horrors.”

  Isabella opened her eyes but was not conscious of what was going on around her. She saw a light…her guide from Papa Legba. Isabella concentrated on the light, locking her mind with it.

  The Soul Gatherer stopped. “Open your mind to me, Isabella and stop fighting.”

  The magicians kept up the chant.

  Isabella felt her strength returning back to her.

  “Stop it,” the Soul Gatherer shouted.

  “She is with Papa Legba now,” Ernie told the Soul Gatherer.

  “No, she is mine.” It covered Isabella in blood.

  Isabella used her power to drain the Soul Gatherer’s energy so Clifton and Marc could draw it into their trap.

  Terrifying screams called out from inside the Soul Gatherer and rocked the foundation of Lincoln House. The sound grew deafening as the building shook.

  “We got it,” Clifton shouted to the others. “Flip the switch, Marc.”

  Marc turned up the power and it pulled the energy of the Soul Gatherer inside. The demon screamed against the pull but it was no match for modern technology. The machine continued to suck until the Soul Gatherer disappeared. Tiny white souls that inhabited Lincoln House rose to the ceiling and disappeared into the light.

  Isabella still floated after the chanting ended.

  Ernie rushed over to catch her along with Taj and Clifton. The spell broke. Isabella hurled to the floor and down to the men sending them sprawling to the floor.

  “Damn girl, you weigh a ton,” Ernie said trying to sit up.

  “Two tons,” Taj said rising and dusting himself off.

  “You better lay off those beignets,” Clifton added.

  “Go to hell, all of you,” Isabella said from her position flat on her back.

  Collena helped Irene to her feet. “Let’s get the hell out of here. I’ve got to get Irene to the hospital.”

  Ernie helped Isabella to her feet. “It is gone, isn’t it?”

  “Concentrate,” Isabella told him. “Can you feel it?”

  “No,” Ernie answered.

  “Then it’s gone, but not dead. Let’s lock this place up and get the hell out of here like Collena said.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Torrey, Malcolm’s secretary raised her head up when she heard the door open. One of the mayor’s bodyguards stood under the doorsill.

  “Isabella Denning is here to see the Mayor,” the bodyguard announced.

  “I’ll see if he’s in,” Torrey replied as she removed her fingers from the keyboard of her computer. She rose from the chair and walked down the hall and knocked on Malcolm’s door.

  “Come in.”

  Torrey opened the door and entered. “Isabella Denning is here to see you.”

  Malcolm jumped from his chair, grabbing his jacket. “Tell her to come in,” he told his secretary as he buttoned up.

  Torrey nodded and walked out of the office to her desk. “Show her in, Jack. The Mayor will see her.”

  Torrey was anxious to see this Isabella Denning for herself. She was unable to attend the mayor’s party because of illness but heard much gossip around the water cooler when she returned to work. She wanted to see what the fuss was about because no one was that perfect.

  A young black woman, clad from head to toe in black leather, entered the office. Her face was lovely and she had one killer body.

  Oh, well, she was wrong.

  Malcolm came out of his office to greet her. “What a lovely surprise.”

  Isabella Denning smiled back at him. “The pleasure is all mine, Mister Mayor,” she said as Malcolm led her to his office.

  “Hold all my calls,” Malcolm told Torrey as he closed the door behind them.

  Torrey just stood and stared at the door for a moment before returning to her seat. Her behind sank into the cushion, knowing her dreams of becoming the First Lady of New Orleans had flown out of the window.

  * * * *

  “Is it over?” Malcolm asked Isabella as he helped her into a chair. He walked over and sat behind his desk.

  “It’s over,” Isabella told him. “Lincoln House is demon free.”

  “What happened?”

  “You really don’t want to know,” she told him with a little chuckle. “The less you know about these types of things, the better.”

  “I guess then I really don’t want to know. I’m still finding all of this hard to believe. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes…”

  “Then we wouldn’t be here having this conversation.”

  “So, is it safe to send my people in to clean up the place?”

  “It’s already clean. The Petres sent over a crew. The place is sparkling and ready for your next party.” Isabella studied his face. My, he’s handsome.

  Malcolm gazed over at her. “There will be plenty of time later for dancing, Isabella. Have you had dinner yet?”

  “No,” she answered.

  “Then would you like to join me? I know of this little place in the French Quarters that serves the best Gumbo in the world.”

  Isabella was not one to pass up a free meal or the chance to be alone with Malcolm. “Sounds yummy,” she said.

  Malcolm rose. “I’ll call for my car.”

  * * * *

  Alesandro Roma entered the Cajun Cartel conference room. All the others present rose until he sat at the long mahogany table. It had been a long time since the Cartel met but things were getting a little out of control.

  “Nice to see you again, Carlo,” Alesandro said to a dark-haired Italian next to him.

  “Same here, Alesandro. I hear things are getting crazy in the city.”

  Alesandro nodded. “Bodies are popping up everywhere. Some have even been identified as a few of the casino patrons.”

  “That means the police have questioned you,” Carlo replied.

  “Not I,” Alesandro assured him. He pointed to Lucius who sat next to Octavia, one of the three female members of the Cartel.

  “Yeah, the heat’s on but we’re clean,” Lucius replied.

  “I suspect the Vanquisher will be around soon,” Galen, one of the other females seated on the other side of Alesandro, replied.

  Alesandro smiled. “Miss Denning has already paid us a visit.” He watched the smile disappear from Galen’s face. “Once again, Lucius had the pleasure of her company.”

  “You allow her to live, Alesandro, so expect her to be on your ass like white on rice,” said Xavier, the Cartel’s lawyer. He was a wolf with an impeccable style of dress.

  “I have my reasons for keeping, Miss Denning alive,” Alesandro replied.

  “You owe Darius nothing,” Thaddeus, one of the other vampires said. “He knew what mating with a mortal meant. Where is he now—hiding from the same daughter he created?”

  Alesandro raised his hand to silence Thaddeus. “I keep her alive because I choose to. It has nothing to do with Darius.”

  Thaddeus muttered something under his breath.

  Alesandro smirked. Thaddeus knew better than to cross him. “We are not here to discuss my personal life or Isabella Denning. We came here to do something about all these murders.”

  Vinnie Martinelli was sitting quietly next to Xavier and Peter Brown, the other bodyguard for the Cartel. “Baron Samedi and Kubol have arrived,” he announced.

  Alesandro nearly fell from his chair and everyone turned to face him. “You’ve got to be joking.”

  “I wish I was,” Vinnie replied. “The two of them showed up about the time the realm opened.”

  Alesandro thought about it. Apocalypse. Shit. Only six more days left in the year twenty-twelve. His precious Isabella was right. Maybe the world ending wasn’t such a bad idea.

  “The Keeper of the Cemeteries and his evil henchman don’t show up,�
�� Amanda, a female wolf replied. “Someone must have summoned them.”

  “I’m afraid not,” Alesandro said. “Many years ago the Mayans predicted the world would end on December 21, 2012, which we all know didn’t happen. Well, they also predicted during the last week on the calendar, which is this week, a realm between the mortal world and the Underworld would open and demons would come forth.”

  Amanda scratched her head. “I’ve never heard of that.”

  Alesandro smirked, remembering the wolves weren’t as old as the vampires. “Do you remember feeling a tremor the other night?”

  Amanda nodded. “I thought it was an earthquake.”

  Alesandro shook his head. “When have we ever had an earthquake in New Orleans?”

  Amanda shrugged. “There is always a first for everything.”

  “No, it wasn’t an earthquake. The realm opened and those two came through.”

  “Why them?” Carlo asked. “I’ve heard of them but I have never had the pleasure of their company.”

  “There’s nothing pleasurable about them,” Alesandro said. “You weren’t born the last time those two came to the mortal world.”

  “Don’t we have enough trouble without those two causing more?” Lucius asked angrily.

  “We most certainly do,” Thaddeus replied. “Maybe we should get Miss Denning to handle them.”

  Alesandro sneered at him. “A few minutes ago you were all up in my face for not destroying her. Now you want me to ask her for help.”

  “I’ve already told her what I’ve suspected,” Vinnie said. “She thought I was crazy.”

  “Isabella knows of the legend and the myth but was not around during their realm of terror.” Alesandro didn’t know if he liked the idea of Isabella getting involved with those Loas. This wasn’t vampires or lupines. These deities sat high up on the food chain. Forces he feared would be a little too much for even Isabella to handle.

  * * * *

  Malcolm had been a charming dinner companion but even Isabella knew she couldn’t get involved in a serious relationship with him or any man at the moment. She stepped out of the shower and dried off. Cold water dripped from her hair, chilling her shoulders. She raised the towel, rubbed herself dry, and then slipped on a pair of blue satin pajamas. Isabella walked barefoot on the carpeted floor to her room, turned off the lights and jumped into bed. She reached for the remote control and turned on the television set across the room.

  Her body felt tired and achy after dealing with the Soul Gatherer. She had been running on adrenalin all evening. Now the motors were shutting down and she looked forward to watching a documentary about Egypt on the television before dozing off.

  Isabella stopped surfing channels when she reached the late night edition of the news. She figured she’d watch that since there was still a few minutes before the documentary began. She needed to see what else was going on in the world.

  “A major train accident.” Isabella listened. “Two hundred deaths. The train collided moments before it pulled into New Orleans.” Isabella gasped. “It ran straight into another train that was leaving New Orleans.” What were two trains doing on the same track at the same time?

  Isabella surfed over to one of the other news channels, finding the same report. The authorities suspected someone had tampered with the controls.

  Now who the hell would do such a thing? She sighed and answered herself. Someone who doesn’t have anything better to do. She had seen enough. Isabella turned to the History Channel. Five minutes later she felt sleepy, turned off the television and closed her eyes.

  * * * *

  Baron Samedi and Kubol sat high atop a building, looking down on the train accident as emergency workers toiled long into the night to extricate bodies from the wreckage. Flashing blue lights and sirens were still going off, while ambulances raced to and away from the scene. News reporters tripped over each other, trying to get one perfect story for their stations that would make them a household name, while the police crime unit held people back behind the yellow crime scene tape.

  “So much death and so little time to enjoy it,” Samedi said to Kubol, who watched the scene intently. Samedi removed his cigar from his mouth and tapped the ashes from the tip with his bony finger. “You know I really enjoyed this. We haven’t had a nice accident like this in a long time.”

  “It has been a long time,” Kubol agreed. “Maybe we can see something like this again real soon.” The two demons laughed but sirens blocked out the sound.

  “Let’s go find something else to do before we reap these souls,” Samedi suggested. “The night is still young and I’m not a bit tired.”

  Both deities disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

  * * * *

  “Okay, bodies don’t walk away from death scenes,” Anthony said to Luke, one of his deputies.

  Luke was short in statue but muscular and didn’t take offense at his boss’ bad disposition. “I’m only the messenger,” he replied. “It’s already on the news. Most of them were the victims of the train accident last night.”

  Life used to be so much easier, Anthony thought. Except for a few murders, robberies and racketeering, New Orleans wasn’t any different than any other city. He turned on the news.

  A phone rang in an outer office and one of his people stuck their heads in through the door. “It’s the Mayor,” the man said. “He sounds pissed.”

  “Put him through,” Anthony told him. He answered his phone on the first ring. “Yes, sir. “I’m watching it on the news right now. I’ll send some of my men out shortly and get back to you.”

  Anthony quickly hung up the phone, picked it back up again and dialed Isabella’s number. She answered on the first ring.

  “This is Anthony Norris. Did you hear about the train accident last night?”

  “That’s old news,” she replied.

  “Well, maybe this isn’t. All the bodies have disappeared,” Anthony told her. “Someone stole them.”

  “So, you want me to go check the cemeteries to find out if someone dumped the bodies there, or to talk to the ghosts to find out if they know anything?”

  “Stop toying with me, Bella. If you don’t mind and take that big partner of yours with you.”

  Isabella laughed. “He’s not going to like this. He hates visiting cemeteries at night.”

  “Well, it’s not safe for you to go alone,” Anthony reasoned.

  “I’m touched by your concern but I wouldn’t dream of going without my partner.”

  “I’m serious, Bella. Take Ernie with you. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

  “I’m only kidding, Chief. I’ll take the big lug and Otto too. Maybe the three of us can figure out what happened to all those bodies.”

  “Let me know what you find out.”

  “The Mayor is on your ass, isn’t he?” Isabella asked sarcastically.

  “Big time,” Anthony admitted. “I’d like all of this to end before the first parade rolls.”

  “We’ll find them,” Isabella said. “I’ll call you as soon as we get back.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Anthony said hanging up the phone.

  * * * *

  Ernie entered Isabella’s office moments after she got off the phone with Anthony. “Grab your coat. We’re going to search for two hundred missing bodies.”

  “Then you’ve seen the news,” Ernie said, pulling his long leather duster from the coat rack.

  “Nope, I talked to Anthony Norris. The Mayor is on his ass again.”

  “I don’t see the Mayor joining us,” Ernie replied sarcastically.

  “We’re taking Otto. He would be more useful than the Mayor. At least he’s not afraid of things that go bump in the night.”

  They decided to take Otto’s van because of its size and it was well-equipped with state-of-the–art gizmos courtesy of Marc. It was large enough to throw a couple of bodies into the back, should the need arise.

  “Where to first?” Otto asked after Isa
bella summoned him and told him to meet them outside. He climbed into the driver’s seat, admiring himself in the mirror while they climbed in.

  “Let’s try Holt Cemetery first,” Ernie suggested.

  Isabella frowned. “The grasshoppers are as large as rabbits there,” she said, trying not to sound irritated at her partner’s suggestion. Ernie knew this was her least favorite cemetery to visit. It didn’t matter that it was cleaned and the grass cut. It was still the cemetery she remembered as a little girl, where she’d fallen into an open grave and started talking to the dead.

  “You’re a big girl now,” Ernie teased as if reading her mind.

  “You’re a dead man if you try anything funny,” she told him. Ernie had a wicked sense of humor. He’d tried on several occasions to put a grasshopper down her back. It always ended the same way, with her screaming like a girl and him laughing.

  “Holt it is,” Ernie said.

  Otto started up the van and headed toward City Park.

  * * * *

  Alesandro removed his mouth away from the throat of his latest victim, a young Asian male who happened to catch his eye earlier in the evening in the casino’s bar. The young man was about twenty and for all medicinal purposes, human and gay. Alesandro had that much figured out, from the time the young man made eye contact with him.

  Alesandro wasn’t opposed to a little boy-on-boy action since he’d had many of those types of relationships in his lifetime. It wasn’t hard to capture the young man’s attention, even though he sat in a booth in a dark corner, surrounded by four very beautiful female vampires vying for his attention.

  It had been a long month and he’d grown tired of playing diplomat. He dispatched the last captives through the portal, when he decided to treat himself to a little snack. He’d been in the bar only a moment when the vamps arrived. A few minutes later, his Asian conquest walked past the bar in tight leather pants and a sleeveless shirt, displaying a feminine build and budding muscles.

  After another few minutes of listening to the vamp girls bitch about which one of them was going to take the young man home, Alesandro made the decision for them by sending a burning mind warp to their brains which sent the girls scurrying from the booth.

  Another young man approached the booth and Alesandro watched them. He sent drinks to their table to get their attention. He fancied the idea of taking on both of them but changed his mind. An hour and three drinks later the Asian cutie walked over to him at the bar, promising all sorts of sexual depravity meant to shock him.