by Deanna Chase
Intoxicating Magic
From New York Times bestselling author Deanna Chase comes the third book in the Crescent City Fae series.
Willow Rhoswen is finally coming to terms with the fact that Talisen—the healer she thought was the love of her life—has left town and is trying to get on with her life when a rogue vampire poisons three of Allcot’s guards. With his most trusted security team on the verge of death, the notorious Cryrique leader orders Willow to bring Talisen back to New Orleans before it’s too late.
But when she gets to her hometown of Eureka, California, Willow once again finds herself the target of her brother’s murderer. And suddenly no one is who they seem. With spies, secrets, and undercover missions to navigate, Willow’s determined to not only survive but to do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves and save her friends, all while hopefully getting her happily-ever-after.
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Intoxicating Magic
A Crescent City Fae Novel
Deanna Chase
www.DeannaChase.com
Bayou Moon Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Deanna Chase
First Edition 2014
ISBN: 9781940299181 eBook Version
ISBN: 9781940299211 Trade Paperback
Cover Art: Phatpuppy Art
Typography: Bookish Brunette Designs
Interior Design: The Printed Page
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.
Bayou Moon Publishing
[email protected]
www.deannachase.com
Contents
Intoxicating Magic
Intoxicating Magic
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Other Books by Deanna
About the Author
Haunted on Bourbon Street Excerpt
Chapter 1
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my team: Anne Victory, Red Adept, and Lisa Liddy. You make me look good. Also my Shih Tzu Duncan Donut would like to give a huge shout-out to the readers of the Crescent City Fae series for all of your kind comments about Link. If you weren’t already aware, Duncan Donut is the inspiration for Link, and the two are more similar than you might think…right down to the inner wolf. Whatever you do, don’t get between the Shih Tzu and his mistress.
Chapter 1
“A strip club?” I shot Phoebe a sidelong glance as we stopped outside the front door of Mecca on Bourbon Street. “Seriously?”
Her black eyes danced with something close to giddy anticipation. “This is where he works. Besides, this isn’t a strip club. It’s a burlesque show.”
“My mistake,” I said, amused. Either way, the dancers took most of their clothes off.
I glanced at Link, who was sitting right in front of my feet. Smart dog, considering all the drunken spring-breakers stumbling around us. Flaring my wings, I bent to pick him up. If I pretended he was a purse puppy, they weren’t likely to oust us. I could flash my Arcane badge and they’d be forced to let him in, but announcing to everyone who we were wasn’t going to help Phoebe catch a rogue vampire. But I’d do it if I had to. I wasn’t going anywhere near an unknown vamp without Link around.
“You can leave as soon as you sense him.” Phoebe fished some bills out of her skirt pocket. “I just need to know if he’s here tonight.”
“No. Link and I will stay. What if the vamp has backup? The report doesn’t say anything except that there’ve been attacks. You don’t even know if the vamp’s a male.”
I was gifted in sensing vampires. Phoebe could drop them with one flash of her sun agate, but since vamps had mastered the art of blending in, it was damned hard to pick them out in a crowd. Especially after they’d fed.
“True enough. There could be another Clea stalking about.” Phoebe shrugged, referencing a female vamp who’d tried and failed to take us both down not too long ago. “Either way, I can always use the backup. Thanks.”
We both knew she could handle herself, but the vampire we were after was said to be particularly evasive and vicious. A deadly combination. I wouldn’t leave her alone knowing I could do something to help. Besides, I was still her partner and an agent of the Void—the ghost branch of the Arcane, the government agency that oversees all supernatural activity.
Link snuggled into the crook of my arm as Phoebe paid our way into the club. The tall, oversized bouncer eyed Link, raising his eyebrows curiously. I smiled and scratched Link behind the ears, wishing I’d thought to put a cute doggie vest on him or something. Of course, he’d only tear it to shreds the first time he shifted, but it would’ve helped sell his purse-puppy persona.
“If he gets loose or distracts from the show in any way, you’ll have to remove him from the premises,” the bouncer said.
“Sure. Yeah. No problem. He’s always well behaved.” Except when he was stealing Phoebe’s shoes or ripping a vampire to shreds. But then that was part of his charm.
Phoebe snorted her disbelief and took off for a table near the back, one where we’d have full view of the club. I gave the bouncer one last smile and followed her. Depositing Link on the table, I slid into a seat next to her.
“You’re kidding me, right?” She curled her lip as she eyed Link. “Wouldn’t the floor be a better option?”
“No. He can’t see anything down there in his puppy form. It’ll only make him agitated. Besides, it’s not like we’re eating or anything.” Link was part of our team. When was she going to acknowledge that? He’d saved her ass more than a couple of times.
“He’s just obvious, that’s all.” She turned her attention to the club, no doubt taking in every possible entrance and exit.
“Really?” I jerked my head to the side, indicating a tall man who’d just emerged from a door marked Employees Only. “As obvious as that?”
Her gaze shifted, and her scowl transformed into a shocked O. She gave a tiny shake of her head as she closed her mouth. “You might have a point.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from my throat as we both stared at the pasty-white, tall, thin man dressed in a purple leotard, a gold lamé belt, and matching knee-high boots. To complete his eccentric vibe, draped over his shoulder was a monkey outf
itted in overalls and a lime-green tank top with a matching fedora.
“Sexy,” Phoebe said dryly as she turned away from him.
The man was freaky enough, but what I found more disturbing was the gorgeous brunette who had her tongue in his ear. She was dressed to the nines, her off-the-shoulder silk dress exposing her flawless skin and toned shoulders. Everything about her was pure perfection. And he was pure freak. Please, Goddess, let them both be part of the show. Otherwise the pairing was too unbelievable for words.
“Anything?” Phoebe asked.
“Huh?” I tore my gaze from Mr. Purple Leotard and focused on Phoebe’s narrowed eyes. Oh. Vampire. Right. I shook my head. “Nothing so far.”
She nodded and got up. “Then I’m getting us drinks. You and Link sit tight.”
As if we were going to go anywhere in the overcrowded club. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself while Phoebe checked out the nooks and crannies of Mecca under the guise of seeking libations. I tucked my wings against my back and sat back in my chair, waiting for the show to start.
A few moments later, the lights went out and the red velvet curtain rose, revealing a circular stage with a shiny black piano on a raised platform.
“Good evening, ladies and gents,” a voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “Tonight you’re in for a special treat. So grab your cocktails or grab your crotches and get ready to drool, because no one can tease you like Lady Victoooooria Gilman!”
The lights went out, leaving us in pitch-black darkness as catcalls and wolf whistles filled the smoky club. I put my hand on Link, soothing him. His little body was vibrating with the urge to shift. As a wolf, his golden eyes would be able to see everything as clear as day. As a Shih Tzu, he was as blind as I was at the moment.
“Don’t worry, buddy,” I whispered. “It’s all just part of the show.”
But even as the words slipped from my lips, I felt the heavy, sticky weight of vampire energy and stiffened. “Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.
Link jumped to his feet, making the table rattle. A growl escaped from his small muzzle. I didn’t even try to stop him. There was a vampire roaming the pitch-black club, and I had no idea where Phoebe was. If Link sensed enough danger to shift, then by God, I wanted him to shift. No matter what the bouncer had said.
One lone spotlight shone on the empty stage as a slow, seductive melody from the piano filled the club. The music ceased and the loud clatter of heels on hardwood pulsed through the club’s sound system. Like everyone else in the room, I craned my neck, searching for the source of the footsteps. The spotlight winked out and immediately reappeared, shining on the abandoned black piano. A lighthearted giggle, followed by the quick succession of those same heels running across the stage, kept our attention as we waited for Victoria to appear. I was just as enraptured as the rest of them despite the fact I was supposed to be searching for the vampire.
“Ladies and gentlemen. We have a special treat for you this evening.” Mr. Purple Leotard appeared in the spotlight. Using the piano bench as a stepladder, he climbed on top of the piano and spread his arms wide. “Prepare to be delighted and thrilled as she and her guest ratchet the heat up to blistering level. And if that means you need to shed a few layers of clothes, then all the better.” His eyes gleamed as he stared out into the crowd. “You know how we like to take it off here on Bourbon.”
Laughter rippled through the audience, followed by a rustling of clothing. My eyes had finally adjusted, and they widened as I realized a large number of women were stripping their bras off and dangling them from their fingertips.
Purple Leotard laughed. “That’s it, my pretties. You’re well trained, aren’t you? I’m sure Miss Victoria will reward you for your obedience.”
He snapped his fingers. The monkey climbed down his leg and scrambled up the red silk curtains covering the wall behind the stage. He swung back and forth, a huge grin on his adorable monkey face.
“Remember,” the emcee said, waving to the monkey. “Chester sees all. If anyone gets out of line, your punishment is waiting.”
The monkey reached behind a mirror dangling from a cable and produced a hose. With one flick of his finger, misty fog filtered out into the audience, winding its way through the club until it was so thick it was impossible to see the wooden floor.
I scooted my chair back, shivering in the air-conditioning. Link let out a low growl, but the patrons and staff were too busy cheering and eating up the emcee’s words to even notice my Shih Tzu start to glow with his shift. I reached out to soothe Link, to delay him, but the vampire energy thickened and I yanked my hand back. My heart sped up. A thin sheen of sweat coated my brow. Panic took over, and I wanted nothing more than to bolt from the room.
“I know you’re all squirming in your seats,” Purple Leotard drawled as I frantically scanned the room.
The vamp energy intensified, pressing in on me from my left. In the next moment it shifted, coming at me from the right. He or she was on the move.
“But sit tight, because once you’re under her spell, you’re going to be so wet you’ll need a change of drawers.” His eyes glinted under the light as he stretched his arm out and pointed in my general direction. “Without further ado, I present the fabulous and incredibly sexy Miss Victooooria!”
The spotlight winked out once more. A new light flashed brighter than ever, blinding me. Squinting, I covered my eyes with one hand as I felt rather than saw Link shift. He landed with a soft thump and pressed his body against my thigh.
“Link,” I whispered, automatically placing my hand on his back, keeping him from lunging. He was vibrating under my touch but wasn’t growling. That was something at least.
“What do we have here?” The sultry voice of Miss Victoria filled the room. “A fae? In New Orleans? How positively delicious.”
I stared up into the heart-shaped face of the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. Her vibrant eyes were sapphire blue, accented by her chestnut hair piled high on her head and the open, inviting expression on her face. She looked like a woman whom every girl wanted as her best friend and every man dreamed of taming. I was no exception. For some reason, when she smiled at me, it was like a drug. I wanted her attention. Wanted to be part of her inner circle.
And when she held her hand out, I took it and let her pull me out of my chair. I could barely feel the weight of the vampire’s energy anymore and vaguely wondered where he’d gone. Every other thought vanished from my mind as Miss Victoria ran her delicate fingers down my neck. Tingles of something close to desire shivered through me.
Whoa. I tried to step back, but her hold on my wrist tightened just enough to keep me in place. My movements stilled as I gazed at her jeweled eyes. They were kind, indulgent.
“Where are you going, darling?” she asked into her microphone. “Don’t you want me to dance for you?”
Before I could answer, she was tugging me over to the stage. My feet glided along with her, my mind clouded in a haze of excitement. And when my wings twitched with anticipation, a cheer of encouragement grew from the captivated crowd.
Victoria paused and turned back to her audience. “It’s a special occasion, my lovelies. I had no idea when the night started that we’d be lucky enough to experience such a wonderful treat.” She ran her fingertips through my long auburn hair. Her voice turned husky as she leaned in. “We could be twins if only I had wings.”
With the mention of twins, my body stiffened and whatever spell had overtaken me shattered. The magic lifted, leaving me staring at an enraptured audience. Even Link seemed to be tamed by Miss Victoria’s presence. He sat near our table, his puppy-dog eyes full of adoration for the seductress. In full wolf form, however. It was weird. I shook my head and scanned the room for Phoebe. Nowhere in sight.
“What’s wrong, love?” Victoria whispered in my ear. “Did you get cold feet?”
She reached out to touch me again, but I backed away. Whatever she’d done to me and to the audience wasn’
t right. We were all pawns in her game of seduction. And this time the shiver that ran down my spine had nothing to do with desire.
Foreboding overtook me. Something was very wrong.
“No,” I said, my voice chilly with judgment. “I don’t appreciate being compelled to do something against my will.”
Her eyes crinkled in amusement. “Feisty. Roberto said to watch out for you. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon.” She spun and opened her arms wide. “Welcome to The Carnevale, a place where the absurd becomes normal and the normal becomes absurd.”
She snapped her fingers and the lights shifted, cascading across the room in a filtered red haze. More of the misty fog materialized along the floor, but this time it morphed into tendrils and clung to the patrons with a sinister vibe that made my skin crawl. I backed up, trying to fade into the shadows, determined to find Phoebe. Everything about this was wrong. Maybe even evil.
But Victoria crooked her finger and magic spilled over me, forcing me forward. I moved in slow motion, my eyes locked on hers.
Her lips curved up in a self-satisfied smile. “That’s it, sweet Willow. Come to me.”
Willow.
She knew my name. This wasn’t a random, chance meeting. She’d known I’d be here. Every bone in my body screamed to walk away. To call Link to attention and to leave this place. I couldn’t concentrate. Couldn’t do anything but obey her command.
Teetering on my red suede pumps, I stepped forward, another tingle of pleasure winding its way through me. It wasn’t sexual in nature but was intoxicating all the same. Euphoric even. My hand slipped into hers and together we glided our way to the stage.
With careful, deliberate steps, we climbed the stairs, stopping only when we were midstage, facing the rapt audience. Their faces were turned up in lustful anticipation as the lights dimmed, casting us in a soft glow.
The soulful sound of a sax filled the room as Victoria moved slowly around me, her heels showing off the sexy lines of her toned legs. She eyed me like a sleek panther, her hips swaying. A man dressed in all black materialized and let out a low, seductive whistle before taking his place at the piano.
