Angels of Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun Series: Book 4)

by Deanna Chase

  Lailah shook her head again. “Not this time, Hope. I hate to say it, but I think Jade and Kane are going to need to find a new wedding venue.”

  A new venue? Hell no. This was Kane’s family house. We had to get married there. “Lailah.” I grabbed her arm and shook her slightly. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  We all stilled and went silent, waiting for the answer.

  “Shit,” Lailah mumbled. “I wanted to talk to Bea first, but this is too serious to wait.”

  I stared her down, my arms crossed over my chest.

  “It’s your soul,” she said weakly. “The ghost can possess you because Meri has the other half. You’re an easy target.”

  My stomach dropped to my feet. I knew the soul-splitting thing would come back to haunt me. I didn’t realize it would be literally. “So you’re saying anytime a ghost is near, it can possess me?” Lovely. What if I got an evil bastard like Roy again? Jesus. Life just kept getting better and better.

  “I don’t know about any ghost. But this one can. And it’s full possession. That’s what I felt in the car on the way over here.”

  I furrowed my brows. “Why is that, do you think?”

  Lailah’s shoulders slumped. “It’s the angel directive. I’m still connected to your soul. Because the ghost is trying to use yours, I feel it.”

  My chest constricted, and I struggled to suck in a breath. “Are you saying the ghost could steal my soul?”

  Her sad eyes met mine. “It’s possible.”

  Why did this crap always happen to me?

  I slammed my hand down on the roof of the car, barely noticing the pain racing up my forearm. “Goddamned son of a bitch! Can’t a witch catch a break?”

  “Fuck me,” Pyper whispered.

  “So this is why you can’t stay for the caterers. Or be here at all. We need Bea. She’s our best shot for exorcising the ghost,” Lailah said reasonably.

  “But—”

  “Pyper and I will stay,” Kat said. “We’ll let them know you had an emergency. We’ll sample everything and bring you the best of the lot to choose from. Would that work?”

  “What if the ghost tries to possess someone else? I mean, right now I’m the easy target, but with me gone, she might try one of you.”

  Lailah shook her head. “They’re all too strong. She can’t get in. Their souls won’t allow it.”

  “Oh.” I furrowed my brow. “What about Meri? Is she in danger too?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know, to tell you the truth. She’s an angel, so it might be different for her.”

  “We need to call her.”

  “I’ll do it,” Mom said.

  Pyper stood next to Kat and smirked. “As much as you know I love ghosts, I’d be happy to help Kat deal with the caterers. Want us to meet you back in the city in a couple of hours?”

  I sighed, wishing none of us had to be there. Pyper had been tortured in another reality by Roy, the evil ghost, some months back. She was dealing with it by helping her boyfriend, Ian, hunt ghosts. Sort of like ripping off a bandage. But this was much more terrifying than anything Ian dealt with.

  “What’s the point?” I threw my hands up in defeat. “If we can’t get married here, we might as well start over. And no venue is going to be available at this late date.” I closed my eyes and tried not to cry. This was where Kane’s grandparents had gotten married. It was where he’d always wanted his ceremony. It was what I wanted too. I gazed at the beautiful house, sorrow filling my heart.

  Lailah put an arm around my shoulders. “I don’t think there’s reason to lose hope. I’m confident there’s a way to get rid of your house guest before the wedding. Let Pyper and Kat do the initial testing, and you can do the rest of your planning from Kane’s house. Five weeks is a long time to get rid of an unpleasant ghost.”

  “I guess.” I let her stuff me into her car, and I handed Kane’s keys to Pyper. “Be careful. If anything strange happens, just get out. Okay?”

  “Don’t worry, shortcake,” Mom said with a soft smile. “Gwen and I will be here. We’ll watch over your friends.”

  Mom was a powerful witch. If she was strong enough to take on a demon and survive, she was strong enough to take on a ghost. “Thanks, Mom.”

  The four of them stood under the moss-filled tree, watching as Lailah and I sped off down the driveway.

  I turned to her. “If you ever keep information like that from me again, I’ll curse you into next year.”

  She laughed. “I’d like to see you try.”

  Chapter 3

  Lailah drove through the gate of Bea’s family home in the Garden District and pulled around to the back, where her carriage house sat among the rows of blooming azaleas.

  I peered out the window and frowned. “Her curtains are shut.”

  Lailah shrugged. “Maybe she was vacuuming naked.”

  I sent her a flat stare. “Funny.”

  “I thought so.” Lailah smiled, put the car in park, and opened her door.

  Slowly, I followed. Besides my half-soul and the danger of being possessed, there was something very wrong. Over the last seven months, I’d never once seen Bea’s house closed up. She loved cheerfulness and sunshine. The inside was even painted yellow, and practically every soft surface was covered with sunflower fabric.

  “I don’t think she’s home,” I said, dragging my feet across the cement.

  “Her car is here.” Lailah gestured at the gray Prius and then knocked on the door.

  I stood at the bottom of the porch. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to move any closer. The whole house seemed to be vibrating with bad juju. My mind tingled as if I could sense its energy, but not quite. I narrowed my eyes, trying to place the sensation.

  When no one answered the door, Lailah stepped to the side, trying to peer through the covered windows. What? Did she think she had X-ray vision? Or did she have some weird angel gift I didn’t know about?

  Something foreboding grew in my gut, making my stomach churn. It was as if a dark force had crawled into my soul and manifested into an early warning system. “Lailah,” I said, my voice low, but commanding, “step away from the door.”

  “I know she’s here, Jade. Give me a minute.”

  I pressed my palm to my stomach as the ball of trepidation grew in my core. I squeezed my eyes closed and focused. This wasn’t someone else’s fear. This belonged solely to me. Every instinct was on high alert. And right then, deep in the fiber of my being, I knew danger was lurking in the shadows, just moments from striking.

  “Lailah!” With two steps, I bounded up the stairs, wrapped my arms around her middle, and yanked her backward.

  “Oomph!” she cried, stumbling into me.

  My foot slipped off the top step, and with yelps of alarm, we both tumbled off the porch.

  Shit, that hurt! Darts of pain screamed through my elbow and my hip as I tried to roll Lailah off me. “Move!” I pushed her away and scrambled to my feet, ignoring the twinge in my ankle.

  “Jade! What the hell?” She pulled herself up on her knees, not appearing hurt in the least. Of course not, she’d landed on top of me.

  “Look.” I pointed toward the window.

  She almost had her feet under her when she glanced up. Then she froze. “What the…?”

  Right there on the porch, in front of the window, stood an ethereal couple. He was tall and thin with a narrow mustache, wearing a three-piece suit. She was a foot shorter, adorned in a sleeveless sheath dress and long pearls. I could see right through them.

  “Get in the car,” Lailah ordered, backing up.

  I was already pulling open the passenger door. Holy Jesus. Was I going to see ghosts everywhere I went now? The pair floated inches from the ground, their eyes fixed on me. I couldn’t tear my gaze from them. The fear gripped my stomach, making me catch my breath. “Get me out of here,” I whispered to Lailah once we were both in the car.

  Her tires squealed as she whipped the tiny car around and
sped down the driveway.

  “Are you all right?” she asked when we stopped a few minutes later at a red light.

  I took a deep breath, willing the unease in my stomach to settle. “Just take me home. To Kane’s, I mean.” Kane and I were already living together in his shotgun double in the French Quarter. Well, when we weren’t at the plantation house. I used to live in the apartment above Kane’s club on Bourbon Street. Technically, it was still mine. My furniture was still there. So was my ghost dog, Duke.

  Duke.

  Was he okay? Would these new ghosts have any effect on him? Maybe he could protect me. Oh, God. Would he be able to possess me? I did not want to go through life drooling like a golden retriever. I slumped against the window. “Since when does Bea have house ghosts?”

  Lailah shook her head. “I’ve never seen them before. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t always been there.”

  “They’re new.” I closed my eyes, trying to block out the creepy figures burned in my mind. “Wouldn’t I have noticed them when I was staying there?”

  After my soul split, I’d spent a week recovering at Bea’s house while she watched over me. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened during my stay. It had been the most peaceful week of my life.

  “Maybe,” Lailah mumbled and took a sharp right onto Saint Charles. “But Camille has always been in the plantation house and this is the first time she’s come after you. Haven’t you and Kane been spending a lot of time there since Christmas?”

  I chewed on my lip. “Yeah.”

  “Something’s different, then.” Lailah gripped the wheel. “Something’s changed.”

  I let out a hollow laugh. “Yeah. A ghost tried to take my body.” A shiver ran through me, and I curled inward, wishing I were in bed with the covers pulled over my head. “We need to find Bea and make sure she’s okay. What if the ghosts are terrorizing her, too?”

  Lailah sped through a yellow light. At the last second, she swerved left.

  I eyed her. “Where are you going?” We shouldn’t have turned for another dozen blocks.

  “To get answers.” A few moments later, she pulled the car into a narrow driveway and parked between two brick buildings.

  “The Herbal Connection? I thought you said Bea wasn’t there.” I pushed open the door and climbed out.

  “She could be in the back working on spells. If not, her plans might be written on her calendar.” Lailah hit the remote on her key, and the car beeped, signaling it was locked. “Let’s go. I don’t want you on the street any longer than necessary. Anything could be hanging around out here.”

  I glanced around. “Like what? Tourists?” The French Quarter was always full of people, and definitely a lot of odd people, but it was rare to run into another witch or angel. There just weren’t that many of us.

  She let out an impatient huff and grabbed my arm. “Ghosts, Jade. Ghosts. You know the Quarter is haunted.”

  Jesus Christ on a cracker. Of course there were ghosts. My heart thundered. Would I be safe anywhere in the city? What about Kane’s house? Or my apartment? It had already been haunted once. The ghost had left, but what if there were others hanging around? I let Lailah pull me to Bea’s shop and waited as she unlocked the door. In addition to being Bea’s guardian angel, Lailah was also her shop assistant.

  We shuffled into the dark store. The smell of fresh rain and sea salt permeated the air, and for a brief moment, my shoulders actually relaxed. It was the welcoming charm Lailah had invented, unique to each patron, bringing the person whatever his or her favorite scent was. Mine happened to be the beach and Kane’s cologne. In any case, the calm was short-lived. I tensed. What if the store had lingering ghostly visitors?

  “This way.” Lailah tugged on my arm, pulling me through the neatly organized rows to a door marked Witches’ Sanctuary.

  At least I thought it was a door. But there wasn’t a knob. Lailah placed her hand flat on the surface and whispered her name. The area around her hand glowed blue and then turned white as it melded with her aura.

  I squinted, fighting the desire to shield my eyes. Holy crap, her inner light was bright.

  The door gave a soft click and swung open.

  “Illuminate,” Lailah said. Hundreds of candles lining the walls flickered to life.

  “Wow. I guess that’s one way to keep the electric bill low.”

  Lailah rolled her eyes and strode to the writing desk farthest from the entrance. While she rummaged around, I stood in the middle of the room, noted this side of the door had a handle, and then took in the two stainless steel work stations. The one to the right was impeccable, not a beaker or jar out of place. The one to the left had half-filled jars of brightly colored liquid weighing down a bunch of scattered notes. I moved closer, eyeing the concoctions. Each one had a label naming the contents, and upon careful inspection, I realized the papers beneath were detailed notes of the experiments.

  “What’s Bea working on?” I asked, sniffing the beaker with the electric blue liquid.

  Lailah turned and raised one eyebrow. “Nothing, apparently.” She tilted her head toward the empty work station.

  Ah, I should’ve known. Lailah had once mentioned that she was a skilled inventor. I put the liquid down and jammed my hands in my skirt pockets. “Any luck?”

  She tossed the day planner on the desk and shook her head. “No.”

  I leaned against the counter. “Now what?”

  She frowned, pulled out her phone, and called Bea. Sighing, she left a short message. “It went straight to voicemail.”

  Damn, where was she?

  Lailah stared at her phone and then closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead with one hand as if praying for strength.

  “Lailah?”

  Her calm, take-charge attitude had left the building. She gave her head a little shake. “Sorry. It’s just I haven’t talked to him since the hearing.”

  “Who?” I asked with no small amount of suspicion. “You’re talking about Philip, aren’t you?”

  The pain in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. I took three long steps and pulled her phone from her hand. “No. You don’t need to call him. We’ll wait here for Bea. Or Lucien, he might know. Or hell, even Ian. He’s a ghost hunter. He knows a few things about keeping them away.”

  She placed a light hand on my arm and led me back to her work station. “See this?” She pointed at the blue liquid I’d asked about.

  “Yeah.”

  “The scent tricks you into thinking everything’s fine. It’s a soothing potion. And this one?” She picked up the scarlet-red potion. “Its scent is an aphrodisiac. Guaranteed to lower your lover’s inhibitions.”

  I eyed it, and an image of Kane stepping out of the shower, wet and warm, and smelling of fresh rain, flashed through my mind. Hmm. What exactly would happen if I—

  “Jade.” Lailah waved a hand in front of my face. “Now isn’t the time.”

  I swallowed. “Sorry.” Heat flooded my cheeks, and I smiled sheepishly.

  “For the love of…never mind. The point is, my skills lie with illusion. I can trick the brain into thinking pretty much anything. It’s quite useful for healing enhancements, actually. If the brain thinks you’re well, then it usually provides the body with what it needs to get better. But I can’t keep ghosts away from you or trick your soul into being more than it is. Even if your brain believes, your soul has its own power. It isn’t ruled by your mind.”

  “So? What does any of that have to do with calling Philip?” He was an angel who guarded souls. Well, technically he was supposed to guard mine, but he was sort of MIA. Lailah had taken over. And good thing, too. If I saw him, I’d likely curse him into another dimension. The traitor.

  “He’s been your soul guardian for twenty-seven years. No angel is better equipped to help you than he is.”

  “You are,” I said dismissively. No way was I dealing with Philip. He’d tried to give my soul to Meri, the angel who’d turned demon and the
n turned angel again. And Philip still thought he’d made the right decision.

  Lailah reached out, hesitated, and then took my hand.

  I stared at the union with more than a little shock. Lailah and I had become friends since our stint with the angel council, but we weren’t close. Not close enough to be touchy-feely, anyway.

  She squeezed my fingers. “I can’t protect you from possession. Remember what happened last time with Pyper?”

  Six months ago, Lailah had tried to perform a ritual to free Pyper from her evil spirit. Only it had gone horribly wrong, and Pyper had ended up in an alternate reality. “That was different. Roy was evil. You couldn’t tell what was going on.”

  “And I can’t now, either! Look, as much as I hate to admit it, Philip does know something about ghosts. He’ll probably have a decent idea of what to do.”

  I scoffed. “Oh, really? Then where was he when I was being haunted by Roy? Huh? According to him, he’s been my guardian since I was born. But he sure as hell wasn’t around then.”

  She shrugged her shoulders slightly. “The thing is, you weren’t haunted by Roy. Pyper was. You were haunted by Bobby, who was protecting you. As far as Philip could see, Bobby would’ve gone on protecting you if I hadn’t trapped him with that spell. There wasn’t anything Philip needed to do.”

  Shit. She was right. While Pyper had been suffering at the hands of Roy, I’d had Bea’s brother haunting me. And it hadn’t been unpleasant. Not in the least. Except when Kane was around. The ghost had been a little jealous. But he’d moved on when he realized I wasn’t who he thought I was.

  I ground my teeth, hating that I needed to rely on the good-for-nothing piece of angel turd. “Can we go home first? I’d really like to be on my own ground if we’re going to have to endure the bastard.”

  Lailah glanced around the work area. “It appears safe here.”

  “I know, but I want to see Kane.” God, I was starting to sound like one of those clingy housewives. What was wrong with me?

  The frustration lining her face made me take a step back and study her. The one thing about Lailah was that, even though I no longer had my empath ability, I pretty much always knew how she was feeling about me. She was almost always either exasperated or angry. Our relationship was special like that. Except now, she appeared a little scared. “Lailah?”