Bewitched on Bourbon Street (2 page)

Most people were nodding their agreement, but I noticed Lailah and Zoe whispering as Zoe shook her head. Lailah was our resident angel and soul guardian. She was dressed in a muted cream skirt and peasant top, void of color except for the red poinsettia hairclip tucked into her honey-gold locks. Zoe, by contrast wore black wool pants and a button-down shirt that made her look ten years older than her twenty-four years. Gone was the fresh vibrant blonde I’d met a few months back, replaced by the somber witch who was struggling to fit in.

A few months ago, Zoe’s soul had been stolen by a lesser goddess and used for evil purposes. But thanks to Lailah and the Angel Council, she’d been given a new one. From what I understood, there’d been some challenges adjusting, and Zoe’s magic wasn’t up to speed. So I wasn’t surprised when Lailah stared at me and then shook her head, indicating neither would be participating. Lailah could, but she was really only here to keep an eye on Zoe.

I nodded and faced the crowd. “Those of you willing to participate, please stand.”

Sure enough, everyone in the room stood except for Lailah and Zoe.

“Great,” I said, smiling. “Now grab your honeysuckle crowns and place them on your heads. When you’re ready, join hands.”

The two dozen or so guests moved to the middle of the room and formed a circle.

“Perfect. Since this is my first blessing, I’m going to let Bea lead.” I stepped back, giving Bea the stage. She was the former New Orleans coven leader, extremely powerful and more than capable of doing the blessing without me. But since I was the current coven leader, it was up to me to bind the magic once the blessing was ready.

“Welcome, friends and loved ones,” Bea said with her arms stretched out wide. “We’re here today to cast a fertility blessing for one of our own. Dani?” She gestured to our hostess. “Please take your place in the middle of the circle.”

Dani smoothed her pure white dress as she slowly made her way into the circle. I followed, placed a white pillar candle in front of each of the participants, and then took my spot on the northern-most point of the circle.

“Jade, raise your candle,” Bea said.

I held the unlit pillar out, and when Bea nodded, I whispered, “
Levitate.
”

The candle floated right in front of me. Pleased everything was going according to plan, I joined hands with Kat and Pyper. Across from me, Rosalee repeated the step, followed by the two witches occupying the east and west points.

With the four candles elevated, Bea raised her arms skyward and called, “Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation, we ask you for your blessing of fertility. We, the friends of Dani, offer our support and our strength in her journey to motherhood. From earth, wind, fire, and sea, we call forth to thee.”

The four candles lit simultaneously with an elegant flare.

Bea met my gaze and gave me a slight nod. I let go of Kat and Pyper’s hands and raised mine, palms up. The remaining candles rose, completing the candle circle. I repeated Bea’s words, ending with, “We call forth to thee.”

Magic glowed in the palms of my hands.

“Everyone except Jade, please place your hands around your candles,” Bea said.

The entire room was silent as they did as they were told. Once everyone had a firm grip on their candles, Bea said, “Now, Jade.”

The magic sparking in my palms glowed brighter the closer I got to my pillar candle. The two were like magnets, wanting to be connected. Good. This was working exactly how it was supposed to. Confidence swelled in my chest as I cupped the candle with both hands.

The flame on my candle shot high in the air, the strength of it surprising me. It flickered twice, then held steady, pulsing with clean energy. Nice.

“With these candles, we call upon the Goddess Aphrodite to bless Dani with the gift of life,” Bea said.

Closing my eyes, I clutched my candle and chanted, “From north to south to east to west, we call upon the earth, wind, fire, and sea to bring a new life to thee.”

Magic burst from me through the candle to the flame. Sparks of fire shot around the circle, uniting with the other flames, and a collective gasp sounded from the participants at the exact moment my magic touched them.

“Repeat the phrase ‘bring new life to thee,’” Bea ordered.

Together as if one unit, the women chanted, “Bring new life to thee.”

The candles blew out, leaving a trail of white smoke. Then a wind kicked up, and the smoke shot toward Dani and wound around her, seeming to seep right into her skin.

“Well done, Jade,” Bea said. “I think that—”

The white smoke separated from Dani, concentrated into a ball, and then shot right at me, sucker punching me in the gut.

I stumbled backward, clutching my stomach, barely able to breathe.

“Jade!” someone called, but I couldn’t make out who. I was too busy gasping from the dark magic burning my abdomen.

“Oh, God,” I forced out. “It’s black magic.” I barely heard the horrified cries from the other guests. “Bea!” Tears of pain blinded me. “Help!”

A cool stream of magic engulfed me, and I felt nothing except Bea’s strong, soothing energy, rejuvenating me from the inside out as she pulled the darkness from me.

My vision cleared, and with a powerful force I rarely called on, I shot my own magic at the black cloud hovering in front of me, blasting it into nothing.

I stood there, my breath coming in short bursts as the collective shock in the room left me completely unable to move. The weight of everyone’s emotions was too much to bear, and my knees buckled. I fell to the side, barely missing hitting my head on one of the rented tables.

“Jade!” It was Kat. She kneeled in front of me, worry lines marring her usually smooth complexion. “Call Kane!”

“No.” I pushed myself back up. “I’ll be fine. I just need everyone to take a step back, please.”

Everyone except Kat did as I asked. The relief was instantaneous. My body was lighter and my breathing turned to normal.

Kat placed her hand over mine and squeezed. “Take what you need.”

I shook my head, unwilling to use her energy to fortify myself. I had in the past and likely would in the future, but not unless it was absolutely necessary. “Really, it’s okay. I only need a minute.”

She studied me as if she wasn’t sure she believed me, but after I gave her a reassuring smile, she bent her head in agreement and got to her feet.

Bea kneeled down in front of me and handed me one of her energy-boosting herbs.

I took it without resistance.

“What happened?” she asked, worry streaming off her in waves.

“I have no idea. Everything was going fine, then when the magic hit me, a stream of black magic came out of nowhere.” I glanced around, searching for a rogue witch. How else could I have been attacked? “Did you see anyone? Someone must’ve cast a spell at the same time.”

“No.” Bea frowned, confusion mixing with her worry. “And it didn’t come from anyone else. It came from you.”

My mouth fell open in shock. “That’s impossible. I don’t use black magic.”

“No. Not on purpose, you don’t. But if something’s off with your powers, then you could’ve—”

“Jade’s been cursed,” Zoe said, her voice carrying over the whispers of the guests.

Bea started, and we both turned to eye the young woman. “Are you sure?”

Zoe nodded. “The black cloud is from the curse, not Jade.”

My heart raced, and my hands went clammy. How was that even possible? Wouldn’t I remember being cursed? But the pity on her face and the sudden acceptance on Bea’s spoke volumes. I glanced between them, my stomach turning over from the magic-induced nausea.

“Do you know what kind of curse?” Bea asked.

“Whoever cursed her…” Zoe swallowed, and a pained expression claimed her delicate features.

“Zoe?” I prompted, my voice full of tension. “What is it?”

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, there was despair reflecting back at me. “Someone has laid claim to your future child.”

Chapter 2

“What?” I cried, clutching my stomach. “No. You’ve made a mistake. This can’t be possible.” There was no way I wouldn’t have noticed a curse. Especially one with black magic. And how would Zoe know? She had magic, thanks to her new soul, but she wasn’t yet fully trained as a witch. Not in anything as advanced as black magic, anyway. She was wrong. She had to be.

Bea tightened her grip on my hand, her cold fear sending a shiver up my spine. I knew right then whatever Zoe was talking about was the truth. Beatrice Kelton rarely let her emotions get away from her. She had an uncanny ability to hide them from me. Only something as awful as black magic could tear down her defenses.

“Bea?” I forced myself to my feet, doing my best not to panic.

She turned, her shoulders rigid, and tried to smile, but it came off more as a grimace. “We’ll figure it out, Jade. I promise.”

My heart sank to my knees, leaving a hollow ache in the middle of my chest. “I don’t understand how this happened. No one cursed me.”

Bea glanced at the spot Zoe had been sitting in, but the new witch was already headed toward the door. “Zoe!” Bea called in her teacher voice, the one that made everyone stop and listen. Only Zoe didn’t get the memo and kept right on going out the front door of the house.

“I’m sorry,” Lailah said as she rushed after her.

Kat appeared beside me and wrapped her arm around my waist. I leaned into her, grateful for the contact.

The front door slammed behind Lailah, the sound echoing through the silent room. Most of the guests were clumped together on the far side of the room, keeping as far away from us as they could get. Or, more to the point, as far away from
me
as they could get.

Rosalee and Dani were off to the side, separate from the group. Dani stood completely still, her face stark white, while Rosalee performed a cleansing spell, no doubt to make sure my black magic hadn’t tainted her sister.

“We should go,” Bea said.

I nodded but said, “Not until we’re sure Dani’s okay. Rosalee’s spell is probably sufficient, but I’d feel better if
you
checked her for any dark spells.”

Bea glanced between us, and I could tell she was fighting with leaving my side.

“Go,” I said. “I’ll be all right.”

“Okay, but don’t go anywhere. I want to explore the spell attached to you and see if we can find a magical signature that will point us to the witch responsible for this.”

“I didn’t think that was possible. When Lucien was cursed, we never did that.”

“Of course I did, dear.” Bea gave me an odd look. “It was there, but was so old it was too faint to identify. Yours has to be fairly recent. We have a much better shot of tracing it.”

I nodded, forcing down the unease trying to choke me. Could someone I knew actually have done this? I’d made a few enemies over the past year, but most of them were demons or black magic users who’d been neutralized or incarcerated. Had one escaped? I wrapped my arms around myself and shuddered.

Whoever it was, the person must’ve wanted my future child for his or her power. Kane was an incubus, and I was a white witch. The chances of having a mundane child were almost nil. “I’m yours when you’re ready.”

Bea touched my hand in a motherly gesture and then took off across the room.

I slumped into a chair and picked up the nearest drink.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Pyper said.

“Huh?” I froze, my lips inches from the straw.

“The last thing you need is a penis in your mouth.” She smiled gently and took the drink from my hand and replaced it with a highball glass. “Vodka with a twist. I think it’s clear you could use something a little stronger.”

“Where did you get this?” I eyed her. “The bar is serving wine and daiquiris.”

She shrugged and patted her bag. “I brought backup, just in case.”

I let out a sad chuckle and forgot I’d sworn off alcohol as I took a sip. The liquid hit the back of my throat and burned pleasantly as it went down. My nausea from earlier had vanished. Thank the gods. I drained the glass and smiled lazily at Pyper. “Thanks. That helped.”

“Pyper to the rescue.” She held a small flask up. “More?”

“Yes.”

She mixed me another drink, and then another, both gone seconds after she’d handed them to me.

I slammed the glass down on the table, relieved the panic that had been trying to seize me had been buried by the booze buzz.

“You okay?” Pyper asked.

“As okay as can be expected, I guess.”

Kat sat next to me, and the three of us watched Bea talk with Rosalee and her sister.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Pyper said.

I turned to meet her gaze. “No? Maybe not, But I always seem to be the catalyst when this stuff goes down.”

“You know why,” Kat said. “Dark forces seek out power. But that still doesn’t make any of this your fault. It’s just a fate you were born into.”

I nodded because I knew that was what was expected of me. But her words made my heart sink. Could I bring a child into the world knowing what she was going to be subjected to? Suddenly I understood why my mother had kept my power from me for all those years. If I’d stayed in Idaho and continued to live my quiet life, would any of this have happened?

Maybe not, but it was clear darkness would’ve found me anyway. And then I wouldn’t have Kane. I straightened, putting my shoulders back. Second-guessing my choices would get me nowhere. What I needed now was a plan.

I stood, swaying a little, as Bea made her way back toward us.

“You ready to go home?” Pyper asked me. We’d ridden to the blessing together in her car.

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

“We’re headed to my shop to see if we can pinpoint who cast this spell,” Bea said to her. “You and Kat are welcome to come with us if you want.”

“I would, but I need to pick Lucien up across town. His Jeep is in the shop,” Kat said.

“And I have a body-painting job I have to get to,” Pyper added, glancing at her watch. “I assume this means you’ll be riding with Bea?” she asked me.

“Yes,” Bea said before I could answer.