Six Times a Charm
Page 1
About the Books
A Look at Haunted on Bourbon Street
Jade loves her new apartment—until a ghost joins her in the shower.
When empath Jade Calhoun moves into an apartment above a strip bar on Bourbon Street, she expects life to get interesting. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with an exotic dancer, attracting a powerful spirit, and developing feelings for Kane, her sexy landlord.
Being an empath has never been easy on Jade’s relationships. It’s no wonder she keeps her gift a secret. But when the ghost moves from spooking Jade to terrorizing Pyper, the dancer, it’s up to Jade to use her unique ability to save her. Except she’ll need Kane’s help—and he’s betrayed her with a secret of his own—to do it. Can she find a way to trust him and herself before Pyper is lost?
“Haunted on Bourbon Street sucked me in faster than I expected and once I reached the end, I kept looking for more pages. The supporting characters are all unique in their own rights and I can't wait to read book two.” —Stacy~Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
A Look at The Accidental Demon Slayer
Newly anointed with demon-fighting powers and suddenly able to hear the thoughts of her hilarious Jack Russell terrier, a preschool teacher finds a whole new world of dark and dangerous, including a sexy shape-shifting griffin she’s not entirely sure she can trust.
It’s never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet bowl. For Lizzie Brown that’s just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking and her long-lost biker witch Grandma is hurling Smuckers jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she’s seen it all Lizzie learns she’s a demon slayer-and all hell is after her.
Of course that’s not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you’ve never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn’t work how dangerous could a little seduction be...?
A Look at Carpe Demon
Kate Connor is your average, everyday mom with two kids, a husband, and one very big secret…she used to be a Demon Hunter. Now retired, she’s more interested in the domestic than the demonic. So when she catches sight of a demon in Wal-Mart, she tells herself it’s some other Hunter’s problem. But when that demon attacks her in her kitchen, retirement is no longer an option.
Now Kate has to kick a little demon butt, figure out why the creatures are trying to take her out and take over her home town, and at the same time take care of her 2 year old, deal with a hormonal 14 year old, and try to keep her past a secret from her daughter and her husband.
She’s a little out of practice, but hey…if she can juggle two kids and an impromptu dinner party, ridding the town of demons should be a piece of cake. Like the saying goes, Carpe Demon…and Kate intends to do just that.
“This book, as crammed with events as any suburban mom’s calendar, shows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret. It’s a hoot.”—Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author
A Look at How to Date a Werewolf
Romance can be a hairy business--especially when you're a werewolf.
As the owner of Get a Mate Dating Service, Rylie is more than happy to step in and lend a hand to lonely lycanthropic hearts all over town. No matter how hopeless Rylie might be in finding her own soul mate, she has a knack for helping others find theirs.
Convinced that she is stuck with a family curse, Rylie is positive she will never find her true love. But when drool-worthy Jack Chandler shows up at her door, Rylie wonders if maybe the curse is finally broken.
But Rylie's life is about to become complicated courtesy of the after-dark crowd. When she begins receiving strange notes and harassment from a jilted client, events careen out of control.
Jack knows she's more hassle than he can handle. What he doesn't know is whether she's seriously in trouble…or simply delusional.
A Look at Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft
Jane Madison has a problem. Or two. Or three. She’s working as a librarian, trapped in absurd period costumes and serving up expensive lattes, all in an effort to keep her employer’s budget in the black. She has a desperate crush on her Imaginary Boyfriend, a professor who regularly uses her library. Her doting grandmother is determined to reunite her with her long-absent mother. And now she’s been told that the library can’t pay her a well-deserved raise – instead, she can live for free in an ancient, dusty cottage on the library grounds.
When Jane settles into her new, allergen-infested home, she discovers a hidden chamber lined with ancient books – a world-class collection on witchcraft. She begins to read a spellbook, never suspecting that she has the power to work actual magic. Her first spell awakens a smart-mouthed feline familiar. Her second makes her irresistible to men, starting with her geeky, shy co-worker. Those magical workings attract the attention of the local coven, specifically the warder David Montrose. Jane resents David’s interference even as she watches her powers spiral out of control. Before long, Jane doesn’t know who she should listen to: her well-meaning grandmother, her down-to-earth best friend, her bitchy familiar, her besotted co-worker, her coming-around Imaginary Boyfriend, or her overbearing astral enforcer.
Mindy Klasky’s newest work, Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft joins a love story with urban fantasy and just a bit of humor….Throw in family troubles, a good friend who bakes Triple-Chocolate Madness, a familiar who prefers an alternative lifestyle plus a disturbingly good-looking mentor and you have one very interesting read —SF Revu
A Look at Easy Bake Coven
For Selene Warren being a witch is no big deal. She dabbles in harmless magic with her friends and never thinks much about it. However, when a stranger who seems to know her shows up at her studio and her grandmother is brutally attacked, her simple life becomes complicated.
A world of elves, half-elves, fae—and one peculiar Sekhmet named Femi open up to her. She will discover that fairy tales are real, politics are ugly in any world, and there is a lot more to her life than she ever dreamed possible.
This new reality threatens swallow Selene whole, but with a forgotten past beating down her door, she will have to dive in to save her future.
Six Times a Charm
Haunted on Bourbon Street
Book One of the Jade Calhoun Novels
Deanna Chase
Beginning
Mid-Point
About the Author
The Accidental Demon Slayer
Book One of the Biker Witches Novels
Angie Fox
Beginning
Mid-Point
About the Author
Carpe Demon
Book One of the Demon Hunting Soccer Mom Novels
Julie Kenner
Beginning
Mid-Point
About the Author
Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft
Book One of the Jane Madison Novels
Mindy Klasky
Beginning
Mid-Point
About the Author
How to Date a Werewolf
Book One of the Riley Cruz Novels
Rose Pressey
Beginning
Mid-Point
About the Author
Easy Bake Coven
Book One of the Easy Bake Coven Novels
Liz Schulte
Beginning
Mid-Point
About the Author
Thank You
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 Bayou Moon Publishing
Copyright © 2011 by Deanna Chase
Copyright © 2008, 2011 by Angie Fox
Copyright © 2005, 2006, 2012 by Julie Kenner
Copyright © 2006, 2011, 2012 by Mindy Klasky
Copyright © 2013 by Rose Pressey
Copyright © 2012 by Liz Schulte
Cover Design: Stephanie Nelson
Interior Layout: The Printed Page
ISBN: 978-1-940299-03-7 eBook Version
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
Contents
About the Books
Six Times a Charm
Contents
Haunted on Bourbon Street
Chapter 1
Midpoint
About the Author
The Accidental Demon Slayer
Chapter 1
Midpoint
About the Author
Carpe Demon
Chapter 1
Midpoint
About the Author
Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft
Chapter 1
Midpoint
About the Author
How to Date a Werewolf
Chapter 1
Midpoint
About the Author
Easy Bake Coven
Chapter 1
Midpoint
About the Author
Thank you
Haunted on Bourbon Street
Book One of the Jade Calhoun Novels
Deanna Chase
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to my first readers: Susan, Angie, Kaye, Fay, and Suzanne. Without your encouragement and enthusiasm for more chapters this book may never have come to completion.
A special thanks to Jenn, my hard working critique partner; Angie, my diligent proofreader; Rhonda, my editor; and Lisa, my book designer. Your hard work and support has helped turn my dream into reality.
To Greg, my husband, thank you for being you.
Chapter 1
There was no way I was sharing my new two-hundred square foot apartment with a ghost. To be honest, I didn’t know if the speculation was true, but I’d gotten the place at a steal because my landlord couldn’t keep it rented. Considering the abundance of documented ghost lore in the French Quarter, I wasn’t taking any chances.
On moving day I walked the two blocks to The Herbal Connection. The front window housed an elaborate book display of the title, Vampires of New Orleans. To the right were neat rows of Suck It wine with blood-tinged fangs on the labels. I grimaced. All signs led to the likelihood of just another tourist shop. Still, it was possible they had basic supplies I could work with.
As soon as I walked in I knew I’d found the perfect shop. The sandalwood scent dissipated and a gentle, salt-filled sea breeze tickled my senses. My favorite place on earth was the beach. Whoever ran the place was doing an excellent job. It took a highly skilled practitioner to cast an illusion tailored to each individual patron.
“Can I help you?” A southern drawl floated from the back of the shop. As she stepped from behind a display, my eyes settled on a more expensive, classier version of my Aunt Gwen. The two could almost be twins, except the shop lady had salon-dyed auburn hair and wore white linen slacks, topped off with a coral blouse, while Gwen had natural gray curls and always wore her standard red T-shirt and coveralls. Of course, Gwen rode her tractor daily, and I had no trouble picturing this woman sipping mint juleps on a veranda.
I smiled. “Hello. Yes, I need a sage and cedar smudge stick if you have it.”
“Of course we do, dear.” She crossed the room and held out her hand. “I’m Bea, owner of the shop.”
My clammy hand met her cool grip. “Jade. Nice to meet you.”
“Cleansing negative energy?”
I nodded.
She grinned. “You must be new in town.”
Looking down at my faded jeans and simple cotton T-shirt, I wondered if I had a fresh-from-Idaho vibe radiating off me. It was possible. I’d only been in New Orleans for a month. “Is it that obvious?”
She laughed. “No. I would have remembered if you’d been here before.”
Why? Did she have a photographic memory? While I’d been told my willowy frame and long strawberry-blonde hair combined with my pale Irish skin was striking, I hardly stood out in the sea of characters who wound their way through the French Quarter on a daily basis.
She rushed to explain. “Most people who come in here don’t know what they’re looking at. I know almost everyone in New Orleans who has knowledge of the craft.”
Oh. Doing a simple cleanse was miles from using craft. I didn’t particularly like being mistaken for one who manipulated spells.
She hummed softly as she packaged my items, and when I handed her my credit card she peered at me. The beach breeze vanished, replaced by the sandalwood scent. A warm sensation wrapped around me in a slow circle. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from Bea. She was reading me with a witch’s spell. Instantly I dropped my barriers and sent out my senses. If she could read me, I could do the same to her. Only, I wasn’t a witch. Empaths don’t need spells to read other people.
Excitement mixed with a heavy dose of curiosity radiated from her in light, feathery waves. I realized her energy was a lot like mine. Most people’s emotions are a little thick and sometimes hard to wade through. Hers felt light, inviting and familiar. What exactly could this woman do, and what had she learned about me? I’d assumed she was just a witch practitioner; now I knew she was also some sort of intuitive.
I stepped back, blinked, and the sea-salted air returned.
“There’s something special about you,” she said.
More like a curse. I pasted on a smile and pretended nothing had happened. “That’s what my mother always used to say.”
Her eyes sparkled, and she leaned in closer. “Very interesting, indeed.” She placed her hand over mine, and a spark sent a jolt to my shoulder.
Jumping back, I pulled my hand out of her grasp.
Her smile turned to a grin, and she clapped her hands together in delight. “Oh, my dear! You simply must come by my house for tea some afternoon. We have much to talk about. Here’s my card.” She slipped it in the bag.
I grabbed the handle and turned to go. “Um, okay. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Jade. I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
I waved as I pushed the door open to the street, knowing I wouldn’t call her. My last memory of my mother blowing me a kiss as she headed off to her coven meeting flashed in my mind. Tears burned the back of my eyes. I blinked them back. Bad things always seemed to happen when witches and intuitives got together. No. It didn’t matter how curious I was about Bea, I knew it was best to keep to myself.
***
Buildings, especially old buildings, often retain an imprint of emotions from previous residents. When I’d first visited my new place I’d sensed a profound sadness. It was easy to understand why new tenants hadn’t felt comfortable there. People didn’t need to be empaths for negativity to unknowingly work its way into their being.
Fortunately, after a thorough smudging, when I opened myself up the place felt brand new. No sadness, and no evidence of a ghost. If there was one, it was gone now. Satisfied, I spent the next few hours hauling my stuff up the three very steep flights of stairs, and by the time the delivery men arrived with my new mattress, I’d sweated enough to soak right through my shirt. I’d sent them off with their tip and was headed toward the shower when a knock sounded
at my door.
I cast a longing glance at my bathroom before I answered. Mortification rooted me to my wide pinewood floors, and my face burned as I stared at the man who never failed to make my stomach quiver.
“Hey,” Kane said.
“Uh, hey.”
He held up a box wrapped in elegant gold paper. “I come bearing gifts.”
Did my landlord bring presents to all his new tenants?
“Pyper asked me to bring it up.”
Of course. Pyper was my boss and Kane’s business partner. Kane owned the building and, with Pyper’s help, managed the attached strip club. Pyper also ran the coffee shop next door, where I worked part time. I wasn’t certain, but I thought maybe they had something going on the side. “Thanks. That was sweet of her.” I opened the door wider. “Come on in. It’s moving day, so the place is a little messy.”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to bother you.” His gaze traveled the length of my body. I couldn’t help myself. I knew I shouldn’t do it. Reading someone’s emotions was such an invasion of privacy, and I knew at that moment I resembled a character from a Tim Burton movie, but I let down my barriers and probed anyway.
To my surprise, mild appreciation mixed with humor filled my senses, until his gaze landed on my face. His energy changed to something close to pity. I flinched and raised my shields. Pity? The man felt pity for the way I looked. What else could I expect from a guy who owned a strip bar? Stupid, shallow, piece of… Whatever. It wasn’t like I would actually ever date him anyway. The strip club thing aside, he was taken. I think.
I tried to hide my scowl and reached for the gift. “Okay, then. Thanks for stopping by.”
“No problem.” He turned to go, then looked back. “Hey, do you want to come down to the club later? It’s ladies night.”
The invitation caught me off guard. I blinked. “Ladies night?”
“Yeah, free admission and free drinks all night.”
Right, because my idea of the perfect evening included watching naughty librarians and pussycats strip down to their dental floss, while drinking myself into oblivion. “No, thanks. It’s been a long day.”