by Lynn Collins
“You’re concerned about something. Is that why you decided to send Pru and Derek on this assignment?” She took his hand, not looking directly at him, but instead watched Eric babble to his dog.
“I’m pretty transparent, huh?” He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Something’s going on and I think we need to be here when it breaks. That’s all I can say because that’s all I know. I’m not sure if it’s a pre-emptive attack from Coven X or something with The Council. Or even something with your grandparents. But we need to be here.”
She nodded. A storm was coming. She could feel it.
3
The flight attendant came back from the front galley of The Council plane. “Sorry, I’ve been asked to take your glasses. There’s a thunderstorm brewing in New Orleans and the captain thinks we might run into some turbulence. You should buckle up.”
Pru sucked down the white Russian. She pushed the glass toward the woman. “I’ll put on the stupid seat belt if you make me another.”
“You can’t have glass during a storm,” the attendant protested.
Pru stared the woman down. “Then bring me the drink in a plastic cup.”
Derek rolled his eyes, then leaned closer when the woman left the main cabin. “You could be a little nicer. She’s just doing her job.”
“She’s a Council flunky. I don’t take orders from her.” Pru glanced out the window. “She’s right about the weather though. I haven’t seen clouds like this for years.”
Lightning flashed from cloud to cloud. Pru didn’t love flying. She’d enjoyed taking ocean liners back and forth from Europe in the day, but when she’d had to escape the Titanic in the middle of the night, she’d sworn off traveling by boat. Now she might be removing air travel from her list as well. One of her mother’s favorite sayings came to her – Just think positive thoughts.
Of course, that was right before Mom had been burned at the stake.
Pru took the plastic glass filled with alcohol and smiled at the girl. “Thank you.”
Shock registered on the attendant’s face and she nodded. “You’re welcome. I’ll be up in the front cabin if you need something else. We should be through this in just a few minutes and ready to land.”
As she skittered out of the main cabin, Derek looked over at Pru. “Now, was that so hard?”
She shook her head. “Not hard at all. It just shouldn’t be necessary. When did it become important for everyone to feel good about their jobs? Sometimes life isn’t fair or supportive.”
“I don’t think you got the memo on positive customer service.” He grimaced as the plane dropped a few inches and jerked. “I really don’t love flying, but I don’t complain about it. Do you know how long it would have taken us to drive here?”
“Just a little over nine hours. Which would have been fine with me.” Pru sighed as she stared out the window at the darkening clouds. “But hindsight’s always 20/20. I just hope we make it to New Orleans. I need a Hurricane. Or a gallon of the stuff.”
“I’ve never known someone to drink as much as you. I hope it won’t affect you working our assignment.”
Heat flashed in Pru’s gut. The words formed before she could stop them. “I’ll do my part. You just keep your thoughts on the assignment and off your best friend’s lover.”
Red immediately flushed on Derek’s face. He turned away from her but not before his half-hearted denial. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know if you die with unspoken regrets, you carry those with you into the next world,” Pru said, but this time, Derek ignored her. She hadn’t meant to blurt out what she knew so quickly. She’d wanted to hold it. To save it until she could use it. Now the power of the knowledge over him had lessen. She’d blown it.
Derek stood in the doorway and scanned the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone. The mirrors and gentle spin of the circular bar’s seating made his eyes burn. Well, that and the hangover he had from visiting the French Quarter last night once their plane had landed. Today he needed to focus on their assignment to track down the missing jewel. When he’d tried to research the bauble, The Council had insisted the gem was actually still locked up in their vault, but Derek knew one thing about The Council. They lied.
Ty had asked them to retrieve the stolen gem before it was picked up by someone else. Someone from Coven X who knew how to use the item.
He’d tried Pru’s room first that morning, but the resident hotel ghost, a young boy named Maurice, just laughed at him when he knocked. “She’s in the chair with the lion on the back.”
Derek wasn’t sure what the kid had meant until he arrived at the downstairs lobby. Sure enough there was a lion chair. And a horse chair. In fact, every animal on a carousel had been transferred over to a seat rotating the bar. And even at ten in the morning, the popular tourist site served several happy, vacationing mortals wanting to mark one more spot off their tourist to do lists.
Derek caught Pru’s gaze in the overhead mirrors and she waved him over. A man next to her abandoned his chair and Derek slipped in. He ordered a Bloody Mary, then turned toward Pru. “You know we’re here on a job, right? Not vacation?”
“Don’t be such a Debbie Downer. I haven’t been in New Orleans since before my banishment. I deserve a little fun. And I can’t believe how many things are just the same.” She tilted her head toward the man who’d given up his seat. “I take it we’re heading out of town this afternoon?”
“Ty called earlier. They have an address for us to check out.” He leaned closer. “And there are some rumblings out of Coven X about sending their own recovery team. We need to get this item before Coven X realizes we’re looking for the same thing.”
Pru narrowed her eyes and shrugged. She waved her hand and Derek saw the man leave the bar. “You’re going to owe me. He’s a champion cross fitter from Philly. I touched his abs, and they’re rock hard.” She sipped her whisky sour, raising her eyebrows. “Along with other things.”
“Sorry to ruin your day. If we find something, we’ll be heading straight to the airport, so please go to your room and pack your bags. I’ll meet you down at the concierge’s station.” He drank some of the Bloody Mary and watched her leave.
The bartender cleaned her spot, holding up the empty glass. “You should keep an eye on her. She threw back several of these this morning.”
“She hasn’t been out for a while.” He removed a credit card from his wallet and gave it to the guy. “Put her drinks on my bill.”
“The drinks are covered. That guy over there paid for all of them. She has quite the charm spell.” He looked at the credit card. “Derek Chandler. We’ve been expecting you.”
Surprised, Derek met the guy’s gaze. He instantly increased the wards he’d instituted around his body during the plane ride. This could be bad. “You have?”
The man leaned his forearms on the bar. “Don’t freak out. My name is Beau Mercer. I’m not with either camp. We have our own kind of non-denominational witchcraft down here. There are too many different practices to have a strict structure like The Council. And we’re a little lazy to hide ourselves from sight like the other guys, the ones you call Coven X.”
“What do you call yourselves?” Derek hadn’t done a lot of research in Louisiana. They’d never had an assignment to the area to track down a rogue witch before. And this trip was so far off The Council’s radar, he had dropped hints of a vacation with his usual contacts. That way, no one would question his presence here in Louisiana.
“We’re play it loose so we don’t have a name. It’s kind of like family. You always know who’s in trouble and who’s making mischief.” He nodded to a new customer and the other bartender hurried over to help. “I’ve been told to give you the following information. The girl you need to talk to is Opal Deco. She lives with an old woman down on the edge of the Manchac Swamp near Frenier. Can’t say they’ll be happy to see you. From what I’ve heard, they’re trying to stay out of the fig
ht.”
“But you knew I was coming.” Derek signed the credit card receipt and drained the last of his drink.
“Some of us think there needs to be a change in the management, so to speak. We’re not ready to throw behind your little rebellion, but we’re willing to help you mix up the water a bit.” He took the slip and tucked it into his cash register. “Good luck to you and your companion. She’s a wild one. I think you’re going to need all the luck you can get!”
By the time Derek got to the concierge station, Pru was already there with her five suitcases. He put his one case on top of her stack and addressed the woman at the desk. “Derek Chandler. I requested a rental car.”
“It’s out front waiting for you.” She pushed a page toward him, glancing at the pile of luggage. “Just sign here for the rental company. Do you still want us to hold your rooms?”
“Please. We may be back tonight or we may find a little bed and breakfast to snuggle up at.” Pru ran her hand up the sleeve of his suit jacket and leaned her head into Derek’s shoulder. “My man likes to surprise me.”
The woman smiled and made some notes into the computer. If the fact they had two rooms surprised her, she didn’t let it show on her face. “We’ll hold them for the week. I hope you enjoy your trip.”
As Derek made his way through the narrow streets toward the freeway, he threw a GPS unit and a sheet of paper onto Pru’s lap. As usual, The Council had been less than specific with their directions. Ty had come across the possible location of a gemstone in a private collection. One that was known to grand wishes. “Key in that address. I want to see if it’s even close to where the bartender told me to go.”
“Beau revealed himself to you?” Pru huffed as she played with the GPS. “He acted mortal when I was at the bar.”
“He might be just human. Honestly, I’m not really sure what he is. There’s power there, but it feels different down here.” Derek changed lanes and passed a slower car. “Maybe he was too busy watching the show. He said you spelled your Philadelphia guy into buying all the drinks this morning.”
“A lady should never buy her own drinks. It’s not natural.” Pru frowned at the paper in her lap, then ignoring the GPS, she waved an interactive map onto the bottom of the windshield large enough for Derek to see as he drove. She pointed to a miniature car moving on the map. “We’re here. And the address you gave me from Ty is here.”
Derek saw a star growing northwest of their current location. “Is it near Frenier?”
Pru cocked her head and studied the map. “No. It’s near Baton Rouge.” She wiggled her fingers and an arrow pointed to the address on the paper. “The place Beau gave you is on our way to Ty’s address in Baton Rouge. Do you want to stop there first?”
“I’m always up for a little help when it arrives. And Beau seemed to think this girl and her grandmother could help us, so yeah, let’s stop there first. We should be back on the road around noon which puts us close to Baton Rouge in time for a late lunch.” Derek closed the map Pru had cast. “What kind of music do you like?”
She removed a black sleep mask from her purse. “As long as it’s not hard rock, I can sleep through anything.”
Derek considered using the Bluetooth connection to call home. As he did, he considered the woman pretending to sleep next to him. He could feel her magic reaching out, trying to identify any negative forces looking for them.
Following orders from the standing Council, Derek had released Pru from her banishment, and now the witch seemed to think he was her partner. Noticing her pull her sweater closer, he turned down the air conditioning in the car. Glancing in his rearview mirror, he noticed a black Ram truck behind them. He increased their speed. The truck stayed with them. They’d been on the freeway for about five minutes.
A rest stop marker told him he had a mile to go and fifty-six miles to the next stop. He waited until he almost missed the stop and turned sharply into the exit. Pru, jostled awake from the movement, uncovered her eyes. Instead of yelling at him for waking her, she pointed back toward the road. “Did you see him?”
“The guy in the black truck, no. Did you?” He pulled the car to the back of the lot and watched the exit road. Whoever was following them might not worry so much about rules and come in the rest stop the wrong way. After a long minute, he took a deep breath and turned off the ignition. He looked at Pru who still stared out at the road. “Pru?”
“It was the guy I’d been talking to at the bar. Do you think he was there for me?” She pulled the sleep mask the rest of the way off her head and shoved it to the bottom of her bag. “I’ve been stalked before, but I can see the Coven X members. Why couldn’t I see through his mask?”
“Maybe he’s mortal. The Coven knows you can see them. Maybe they’re recruiting from the normal bad guys for their dirty work.” He nodded to a pay phone. It was a rare sight so he hoped it was still functional. “I’m calling Ty and reporting this. If we don’t show up at the original sight, at least he’ll know where we stopped and what’s going on.”
“Why a pay phone?” She held up his cell and twisted it. “Modern technology, right here.”
Derek shrugged. “I don’t know. Cell calls can be hacked. But a good old land line is a lot more secure. Too bad they’re almost extinct.”
“I’m seeing if they have some coffee in that shack.” Pru pointed to the rest stop’s welcome center.
“See if they have a real map. I don’t want to depend on anyone messing with our resources. We might have to go totally old school this trip.” Derek picked up the receiver and let out a sigh of relief when he heard a dial tone. He dropped in coins then punched in the number.
“What’s up?” Ty’s voice cracked with stress. “Why are you on a landline?”
Derek leaned against the phone stand, watching the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary. “Just being cautious. Although it didn’t fool you for a second.”
“I’m special. So what’s going on?”
Derek outlined the events of the day including Beau’s instructions and the guy following them. “Pru’s kind of freaked out, but I think it’s worth checking this place out. Can you do some research for me on Beau Mercer? I’d like to know who our benefactor really is besides a bartender.”
“Sure. You want me to text or call you?” Ty’s clipped voice had Derek guessing that his friend was at his day job as a practicing attorney. An attorney who had taken on fewer and fewer clients since the whole blow up with The Council and Coven X. And of course, his new training assignment with Parris McCall. Part of Derek was glad Ty had finally found a life partner, but sometimes he missed the old days when it was just him and Ty tracking down missing witches for The Council. He wished he could control his feelings about the woman. Now they had an entire house full of people who were part of the new gathering.
Derek watched Pru exit the building with two cups of coffee and several bags of processed cookies and chips from the vending machines. The girl must love her road trip food. Pru was one of them now and he needed to protect her. Whether she liked it or not. “Text me the info. I’ll have Pru watch for it.”
She paused when she saw him still talking on the phone and held out the coffee. He took the cup, then a cautious sip. Not bad for a vending machine. Ty was going on about some conflict at the house about the chores list. “Look, I need to get going. Can you ask Robert and Matilda if they know anything about the witches down here? I’d like to be forewarned if we’re heading into a trap.”
“I’m on it. Good excuse for me to get out of here anyway. The partners are having problems filling the intern pool.” Ty hung up and Derek returned to the car. If there was info available, Robert and Matilda, Parris’ grandparents, would know the gossip. They kept in touch with several groups within The Council and had their finger on the pulse of the community.
He started the car and unfolded the map. “Looks like we can follow back roads to Frenier if we get off at the next exit. Maybe your stalker won’t
see us changing plans.”
“I could spell the BMW to look like a soccer mom van. If he’s human, like we suspect, he won’t see underneath the spell.”
“Do it.” Sometimes Pru surprised him with her ideas in a good way. This was one of those times.
They found the exit and started driving rural roads. Old farm houses lined the road along with small towns where most of the original businesses had shut down. The day grew hotter and the air muggier through the vents as they got closer to the swamp land. Finally, his unattached GPS beeped and he slowed down to find a dirt road veering off to the right.
Derek glanced behind them. He hadn’t seen a car for miles and definitely not the Ram truck with Pru’s body builder. “Here we go.”
His phone buzzed and he handed it to Pru. “What’s Ty got to say?”
She read the text aloud. “Beau checks out. Part of a voodoo group in the city that’s not aligned with The Council. Rumor has it there is a jewel of power in the area, but no one knows its purpose or location.”
“I guess that confirms what we’re looking for now. A powerful jewel. One that some on The Council swears is in their vault.” Derek slowed the car even more as the ruts in the road got deeper. Water shimmered in the grass on both sides of the road and the vegetation got heavier.
“Resurrection moss.” Pru pointed to the growth hanging off the large trees. “It dies out when it’s dry and revives when the rains come.”
Looking up at the moss almost dripping off the trees, Derek figured the area must have had rain recently. Which could be the source of the water. Or they could just be driving directly into the swamp. He slowed even more, looking for any sign of someone living out here. Or anything in the water beside him.
As he drove around a curve in the road, a shack appeared on the left side. The building was small but seemed taken care of, and an old rusted out Jeep sat in front of the house. The gravel road dead-ended a few feet farther with a large barrier and Road Closed sign.
