by Deanna Chase
He took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“You didn’t try to stop her from summoning Meri, knowing Meri could’ve already turned demon?” His mistake had gotten my mother and Meri’s two sisters trapped in Purgatory for twelve years.
His neck flushed red as the blood crept toward his face. Guilt overwhelmed his emotional energy and he forced out, “I’m the one who taught her the blood spell.”
Chapter 15
An angel, my mother’s soul guardian, had taught her blood magic. Magic that comes with terrible consequences. Magic that ended up costing me my mother. For twelve years, I’d had no idea what had happened to her.
I stood so fast I almost knocked the wooden chair over. The buried resentment of those twelve lost years manifested, and I was ready to explode. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Outrage seized my brain.
The floors creaked behind me, and I spun. My mother, with her shoulders straight and her witchy nerves of steel demeanor, stepped into the kitchen. She put a light hand on my arm. “Don’t blame Philip. He was only trying to help.”
“But—”
“No. I was going to do the spell with or without him. He did what he could to keep me as safe as possible.” She wrapped an arm around my waist. “I think you know a little something about being stubborn when it comes to people you love. Is anyone going to stop you from helping Dan?”
A memory flashed in my mind. In the middle of the Idaho coven circle, my mom summoned Meri, only to find out she’d already turned demon, and then stepped up to sacrifice herself in order to save the members.
It was exactly what I would have done. It’s what I would do. I just couldn’t understand why she’d done the spell in the first place.
“Why did you risk leaving me?” I asked her, my voice small, child-like.
Mom hugged me tight and whispered, “Meri was my friend.”
I stiffened and pulled back in horror. “You…you knew her?” Is that why she’d been defending her when we’d been back at Gwen’s? Could she not see Meri was beyond help?
“Yes. She and Philip moved from Idaho when you were little. No reason you’d remember them. Meri was a very close friend.” Her gaze shifted and landed on Philip. “They both were.”
He rose from his chair, bittersweet love running through him, and pulled Mom into his arms. I barely heard him whisper, “I’m so sorry, Hope. You have no idea how much I’ve agonized about that night.”
She leaned back, tilting her head up and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m pretty certain I do.”
Philip let go. He stared at her, taking her in, as if to make sure she really was standing right in front of him. He clasped both her hands. “I would’ve done anything. Tried anything I could think of. Except…”
“I know.” She put an arm around me and pulled me close. “You had to stay to take care of my girl. And Dan.”
“Wait, what?” I jerked out of Mom’s embrace and turned to Gwen. “What’s she talking about?”
My aunt glanced at Mom and Philip and then back at me. “He’s always been your soul guardian, honey.”
Now I was pissed.
Why had I just met this man? He was Dan’s father. My angel. And the person who’d been at the center of all this craziness. Frustration and intense betrayal jumbled my thoughts.
I couldn’t focus. I did not need this right now. We needed to find Dan and free Kane.
Lailah got up and moved to my side. “Come with me.”
“Where?” I forced out as she dragged me to the back of the kitchen.
“Outside.” She pulled the screen door open and nudged me onto her deck. “Let’s get some fresh air.”
I stopped in the doorway. “I don’t want air. I want answers.”
“I know. Just move.”
My feet responded on their own, and the next thing I knew, we were alone in her tiny barren backyard. Good Goddess, her house was a mystery. The deck gave way to a dry patch of dirt and weeds. “Why don’t you have any plants or a lawn?”
“Really?” She threw her hands up. “That’s what you want to talk about? My yard? If you must know, I was in the process of redoing the landscaping. Then demons started showing up.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I’ve been a little busy.”
“Tell me about it.” I took a seat on the deck steps and stared at a white rock, shining up from the dirt.
She stood behind me at the rail, unease running through her.
“Just say whatever you have to say.” A red fire ant scuttled around the rock. I resisted the urge to crush the toe-biting, evil creature.
“You should know angels don’t usually reveal themselves to their charges. And in Philip’s case, there was Dan as well, making things even more complicated.”
I twisted, wanting more of an explanation. How come Philip left Dan’s mom? Why was Philip never around if he was watching over Dan? Why all the secrecy?
“Sorry, that’s their business and not for me to disclose,” Lailah said, obviously hearing my thoughts. “What’s important is Philip has been your guardian all these years, and if you want to help both Dan and Kane, you’re going to have to trust him.”
I turned back around and eyed the ant crawling over a withered leaf. “I trust you.”
“You do?” The surprise in her voice made me chuckle.
“Yes. It’s shocking, but I know you’re not going to let either of them suffer at the hands of a demon.” I got to my feet and met her gaze again. “You may not care about me, but you do care about them.”
She bowed her head and gave it a tiny shake. “I care about you.” Her lips quirked. “You just irritate the hell out of me.”
Surprised at her candor, I laughed. “Fair enough,” I sputtered, still chuckling. “You push my buttons as well.” I held out a hand. “Truce?”
“Truce.” She took it and right before she let go, a faint shock ran the length of my arm.
“What was that?”
“A little magic to seal the deal.” She tilted her head toward the door. “Come on, we need to work out a spell if we’re going to get you into Hell today.”
“Today?” My heart sped up.
“No time like the present.”
I followed her back into the kitchen to find Mom bent over the table, sketching. Peeking over her shoulder, I asked, “What’s this?”
“Knowledge.” Mom pointed to a maze she’d drawn. “A map of Meri’s section of Hell.”
I touched the edge of the paper. “You know I’ll do whatever it takes to save Dan. Including destroy Meri.”
Mom straightened. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a daughter of mine. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Nothing is black and white.”
Biting my tongue, I shrugged a half-hearted acceptance of her advice and turned back to the map. “Looks like I have some work to do.”
***
“I don’t think this is going to work.” I tossed the notebook down on the bar and longed for a Guinness. The bottles lined up against the wall mocked me. Stupid club filled with alcohol. A little liquid courage would go a long way to calm my nerves. Too bad booze and spells didn’t mix.
Pyper grabbed the book and thrust it back at me. “You haven’t even tried.”
“We’re running out of time.” Lailah gestured to the digital clock glowing beneath the counter.
Pyper craned her neck and nodded. “Yeah. Kane will be back within the hour. If you plan to use the club’s dark energy, you need to get started sooner rather than later. Because once he shows up, the shit’s gonna hit the fan.”
Besides the spell, the biggest obstacle we faced was finding a portal into the Underworld. Ideally we’d use a coven circle, but since ours was under a constant media watch, that wasn’t going to work.
Bea’s house was full of old mystical power after generations of witches residing there. It would’ve been my next choice, except I wasn’t willing to risk her sanctuary to any rogue demons.<
br />
I didn’t particularly like the idea of using Kane’s club, Wicked, either, but we were out of options.
A few months ago, Bea and Lailah had joined together to banish an evil spirit. According to Lailah, the club was now magically marked as a portal. We only needed to make sure and open it near Dan. Otherwise I’d likely get lost in an entirely different dimension.
“Ugh.” My nerves clamored away at my confidence. I glanced over at the stage, where Philip, Lucien, Kat, and Rosalee stood in a tight circle, wishing to high heaven Lailah hadn’t called Kat about Dan’s Celtic knot pendant. But we needed a focusing object and it was the best fit.
Once Kat found out what we planned, she’d rushed over to the club. She would not stay home wringing her hands with worry. Not with both her best friends’ lives on the line. She’d probably follow me into Hell if she got the chance.
I’d tie her up first before I let her do that.
I turned to Pyper. “When we get started, I’m counting on you and Kat to get yourselves out of here. No matter what happens. Got it?”
She downed a shot of rum, slammed the glass down on the bar, and rose from one of the blue, crushed velvet stools. “Got it.”
“And take care of Kane,” I whispered, hating that I’d lied to him and dragged Pyper into this mess. She’d sent him on a wild goose chase across town to pick up an unneeded part for one of her espresso machines.
I’d promised Kane we’d fight this together, but I didn’t see a way to do that without losing him to Meri, and I couldn’t let that happen. Pyper would have to pick up the pieces if anything went wrong.
She flung her arms around me, squeezing tight, then pulled back and braced her hands on my shoulders. “Come back to us and take care of him your own damned self.”
Unable to speak, I nodded.
“Good.” She let go and her tone softened. “’Cause you know I have a life to worry about. I can’t be his keeper forever.”
I gave her a small smile and led the way across the empty club to join the others at the stage.
“All right then,” Lailah said. “Let’s get started.” She went into full-on sergeant mode, barking orders. “Philip, stand here.” She maneuvered him to the exact same spot Bea had sat when she’d opened the portal the first time. The Celtic pendant glimmered under one of the spotlights as she held it out. “Take this.”
“Why is she in charge?” Pyper asked.
“Because she’s Dan’s soul guardian and that’s who we’re trying to find,” I said. “She’s going to start the spell and then the circle will team up with her to guide my soul to Dan’s.”
Lucien turned to me. “Once you do this, you’ll no longer be able to call on the coven for power.”
“Forever?” An unexpected sense of loss filled me. I hadn’t asked to be the coven leader. Didn’t even want the job. In fact, I’d tried to give it back to Bea a few times. “Does that mean I’ll forfeit my status?”
“No, if…I mean, when you come back, the position will be yours again.” He glanced at Rosalee, his posture stiff. Unease flowed from him.
“What?” I asked.
Rosalee raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to respond. When he didn’t, she stepped forward. “You’ll need to name one of us as leader before you go. Otherwise the entire coven will be vulnerable.”
“Oh. Is that all?” I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, no problem.”
Lucien’s head snapped up. “You don’t understand. Making the transfer drains your power. It takes a few days to regain your strength, but you don’t have that kind of time. Which means you’ll be in Hell and weak.”
“I’m going to have to break into Hell in a weakened state? Why didn’t anyone inform me of this all important piece of information?” I balled my hands into fists, fighting to keep my anger in check.
Rosalee held her hands up in defense. “It’s really rare for a coven leader to give up their position of power. Most of us have never witnessed it. When Bea did it, she was already weakened. We just found out. Bea warned us.”
Pyper shifted to stand in front of me, hands on her hips. “Then she can’t go.”
I gently pushed her to the side and took a calming breath. “Okay, what do you mean, the coven will be vulnerable? What happens if I don’t transfer the leadership?”
“Anything you endure there will affect the members here. In essence, if you die, we die,” Rosalee said, her tone flat and clinical. “You can’t use the collective because the mystical properties of Hell neutralize the power needed to form coven magic. However, as leader, your connection to us isn’t completely severed, and demons will exploit the bond. They feed off physical and emotional pain. Don’t think they won’t use that.”
Son of a … Yes, they did feed off pain.
It’s what Kane was experiencing now.
Before anyone said anything else, I grabbed Lucien’s hands. My magical spark grew warm in my chest. “I, Jade Calhoun, transfer the leadership of the New Orleans coven to you, Lucien Boulard.”
Magic kindled between us until a wave of tiny electric shocks fired from my fingertips. Emptiness blossomed in my gut. The connection I’d never paid attention to was suddenly gone.
“Whoa,” Lucien said softly as he took a few steps back. “That’s intense.”
I watched him, saying nothing. When Bea had named me leader, I’d barely noticed a difference. Had I transferred some of my magic to him? I’d done it before. It’s what had created the psychic bond between Lailah and me.
Lucien? I asked.
I studied him carefully as he flexed his fingers, working through the aftershocks of the magic.
Can you hear me?
Nothing.
Lucien!
He finally stopped staring at his hands and backed up, taking a spot on the temporary circle we’d drawn around the stage.
Thank the Goddess. At least I hadn’t messed that one up.
“Are you done yelling, Jade?” Lailah asked. “’Cause you’re giving me a headache.”
I ignored the statement. “Let’s get moving. Kane will be here any minute.”
Pyper crushed me with another hug. “Be safe.”
She let go, handed me a bundle of herbs, and quickly headed for the bar. But not before I saw the tears glistening in her eyes. I met Kat’s gaze, silently telling her how much I loved her.
Her lips formed a thin line and she shook her head. The message was clear. I would not fail today. She forbade it.
Her fierce denial filled my heart with courage. I turned to Lailah. “I’m ready.”
I stood in the middle of the circle, Dan’s pendant in one hand and the earth-magic-infused satchel of herbs in the other. My only aids for finding Dan and getting out of there as fast as possible. They wouldn’t help me break Meri’s connection to Kane, though.
Our research showed the only way to do that was either destroy Meri or redirect the connection to someone or something else. Something important to her. Like a prized jewel she kept locked away.
With the map Mom had drawn, my mission was to break into Meri’s apartment in Hell and steal a large family ruby she’d once worn as a ring. When I made it back, we’d work on the redirection spell. All I needed to do was find the jewel…and Dan.
No problem. Breaking and entering in Hell was no sweat, right?
A wave of dizziness made me stumble. I took a deep breath, planted my feet, and willed myself to keep it together. In a few moments, Lailah would open the door to Hell. I had to be ready.
Lailah positioned herself on the northern section of the circle, Philip to the south. Lucien and Rosalee filled in the east and west. Lailah raised her hands, and instantly the temporary chalk-drawn circle lit up the club.
I glanced over at the bar. Pyper’s face had turned stark white. Fear paralyzed her as no doubt the memory of being tortured by Roy’s ghost came rushing back.
“Kat, get her out of here,” I called.
Pyper didn’t move as Kat tugged at her arm.
“I’m fine. We’re not leaving.”
“Stop being so stubborn. Go. Keep Kane occupied until I get back.” I’d tried for confident, but ruined the effect when my voice cracked on Kane’s name. I eeked out, “Just go. Please. Be safe.”
Kat finally managed to pull Pyper toward the back door. My eyes burned with unshed tears.
Not now, Jade. Not now.
I blinked and faced Lailah. “Let’s do this.”
She nodded and made eye contact with Philip. “Ready?”
“Remember the incantation?” he asked me.
“Yes.” I patted my back pocket. “I have a copy just in case.” As soon as I got to the other side, I was to invoke a tracking spell. If done properly, Philip would be able to track me and yank me back home if anything went terribly wrong.
“Make sure you have it engraved in your memory. You don’t know what can happen to things when you cross over.” His eyes were hard, unyielding.
“Got it,” I confirmed, resisting the urge to snap at him. The longer they dragged this out, the harder it would be. My resolve started to wane. I didn’t know if it was from nerves or the coven leader transfer to Lucien. Either way, I could feel myself weakening by the second.
“Ready,” Philip confirmed.
Lailah started a chant in Latin, soon joined by the other three. “Portas inferni, portas inferni.”
A black pillar candle started to rise in front of me, and when it was almost eye level, Lailah shouted, “Flamma!”
The candle came to life with a sudden spark.
The others continued to chant in soft undertones, “Portas inferni, portas inferni.”
Lailah stretched her arms up. A shimmery light appeared around her form, making her glow in the dim room. “Goddess of Hell, hear my words. I, Lailah Farmoore, sanctioned angel of New Orleans, command your will.”
I stared at the candle still hovering in front of me and prayed Lailah didn’t end up possessed. The last time Lailah had called on a Goddess, she’d actually showed up…in Lailah’s body.
Talk about freaky. Of course, nothing was freakier than purposely trying to get into Hell. I wrapped my arms around myself and squeezed.
