Shadows of Bourbon Street (19 page)

I sent Lucien a questioning glance. “You still want to go in?” Trespassing wasn’t exactly something I made a habit of doing.

“Do you feel any emotional energy?”

I made a face. In general, I tried not to let my barriers down in heavily trafficked areas. Especially ones like an abandoned park. The emotions that lingered were usually the unpleasant ones. But if no one was there, I didn’t want to waste time exploring a deserted location. “Give me a second.”

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” Kat said.

“Thanks.” She was really good at calming me after an emotional overload. I hated to do that to her, though, since it left her a little weaker. And that was the last thing I wanted for her or any of my other friends right then. I paced in front of the gate for a few moments, and after I gathered my courage, I sent out an energy probe.

An onslaught of every emotion imaginable slammed into me. The most prominent, terror and despair, collided in a tornado of chaos. My stomach lurched as I stumbled forward, clutching the chain-link gate. Bile rose from the back of my throat and I coughed, trying not to gag. There was a trace of excitement and joy as well, but the emotions were so faint they had zero effect on me.

“Jade,” Kat said softly from behind me.

If I reached back and touched her, it would all go away. I’d find peace. But if I did that, we wouldn’t find out if Mitch or anyone else was around. “I’m okay,” I said, though I wasn’t. Not really.

You can do this.

I had before and I would again. Pushing all the stale emotions aside, I let my gift take over and searched for those active emotions. The ones that belonged to a specific signature and were always changing. It took a few moments, but then a trickle of annoyance, mixed with greed, filtered through the noise. Faint traces of other active emotions brushed my psyche, but I couldn’t quite place them. We were too far away.

I slammed my walls into place and stepped away from the gate. “There are people here. But they must be a ways away. I can barely feel them through the echoes.”

“Echoes?” Lucien asked.

“Emotions left by people who were here before,” Kat told him. She held her hand out to me.

I shook my head. “I’m okay.”

“For now. But what about when we get closer to them? You look a little pale. Come on, Jade. This is what I’m good at. Let me do it.” She stretched her arm farther, waiting for me to accept her touch.

I couldn’t help but smile. That was what best friends were for. Taking her hand in mine, I let her calm energy give me the boost I needed to feel whole again. I squeezed her fingers gently and let go. “Thanks. Are you okay?”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “Jeez. That was sort of intense.” Before I could apologize, she held her hand up. “I meant all those echoes. That was something else.”

“You felt that?” Normally she just got a little tired. It was rare for her to feel what I did.

“Yeah. Weird. Anyway. Let’s do this.” She glanced at both of us and then slipped through a hole in the fence.

Lucien and I looked at each other. I shrugged. “You heard the lady.”

Chapter 17

The amusement park was a ghost town of creepy despair. We entered what must have been a quaint main street of shops at one time. Now the buildings were deserted, the windows broken, and debris lined the streets.

“It looks like a zombie apocalypse,” Kat said, clutching Lucien’s hand.

I had to agree. We walked in silence past each deserted and rusting ride, past the decimated building of what used to be Gotham City, and when we got to what used to be a Mardi Gras ride, I shivered at the giant, grinning, broken mask that had fallen and was propped against the wall. It was almost worse than the beheaded clown that stared at us from the asphalt.

“Now that’s creepy,” I said, pointing at it.

“I’ll never sleep again,” Kat added.

“It’s just plaster,” Lucien said, but he quickened his pace, and I had to stifle a laugh.

He was right. It was just plaster. But most of the buildings were covered with graffiti that depicted hopeful messages such as
NoLa Rising
. Eight and a half years later, there wasn’t anything hopeful about it. The destruction was just sad.

I led our little group to the back of the park, where a small film crew was set up in an open lot. Lucien left us to talk to a production assistant with a clipboard. Kat and I stayed back far enough to not be in the way. After a few moments, Lucien returned. “She says he’s probably at the production trailer.” He pointed behind a building that used to be the center of a food court. “This way.”

We wound our way through broken plastic tables and eventually came to a gate with a rusted turnstile. The gate was closed, and instead of trying to open it, I jumped over the rusty metal bar.

Kat laughed at me and went through a section of the fence that had been cut away.

I shook my head. “Showoff. I didn’t see that.”

“Obviously.”

Lucien ignored us as he stared straight ahead. I followed his gaze and locked eyes on a black-haired man in his early thirties. He was tall, maybe six-two, with a narrow waist. His chest and shoulder muscles bulged against his white T-shirt. There was no mistaking he spent a lot of time at the gym.

Lucien strode forward, his hand stretched out. “Mitch, it’s been a long time.”

They were a mixed pair. Lucien had blond hair, was a few inches taller, and was long and lean with corded muscles. But the biggest difference was that Lucien had kind eyes and exuded goodwill. Mitch had suspicion swimming in his piercing gaze.

Great. This would go well
.

“Boulard, what are you doing here?” Mitch, holding a coil of cable over his shoulder, took a step back.

“Actually, we came to talk to you if you have a moment.” Lucien smiled pleasantly, seeming totally at ease. But the tension spiraling off him was making me dizzy. He didn’t trust this guy at all. This wasn’t a matter of a few nudges of will. Something had happened between the two of them that Lucien hadn’t told us about. I was sure of it. Because the emotional vibe I was getting from Lucien made me certain he would spell Mitch’s ass into Hell given half a chance.

Mitch glanced over his shoulder. “Dude, I’m working here.” But then his gaze landed on me and Kat and his entire demeanor changed. The scowl disappeared and he stood up straighter, interest replacing the suspicion in his eyes. “Who do we have here?” he said with a charming, dimpled smile.

Wow. That was some transformation. He went from creepy loner dude to cutie-pie dude in two seconds flat. However, seeing the way he reacted to Lucien before he realized he had an audience meant I didn’t buy his act for one damn second. Not to mention his emotions were locked down tight. It was almost as if he knew someone might be able to read him, and he was actively keeping his energy to himself. That didn’t usually happen unless the other person was an intuitive. And he wasn’t. His aura would’ve been tinged purple. His was a dark shade of maroon, suggesting his normal aura color was red, but right now it was tinged black, making it appear darker than it should.

Tinged black? That could mean he was dabbling in black magic. It could also mean he was sick or severely depressed. After what Lucien had told us, my heart sank. All signs pointed to black magic.
Please let Bea and Lailah show up soon.

Was that why he had his energy locked down? Was he afraid another witch would sense it?

A tickle of magic crept over my skin and made me want to recoil from the sheer sliminess of it. But Kat smiled and tugged me forward. “Lucien, aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?”

Lucien gave her an odd look and then turned to me with a question in his eyes. I shook my head. I couldn’t say it out loud, but I knew exactly what had happened. Mitch had used his magic on us. Lucien hadn’t been able to feel it because his power was benched. But I had, and he’d clearly had an effect on Kat.

Magic surged through my limbs as I imagined unleashing a magical takedown on Mitch’s ass, but that wasn’t going to help us find Vaughn or rescue Matisse.

Lucien cleared his throat. “Mitch, these two lovely ladies are friends of mine.” He pointed to me. “Jade Calhoun. She’s our current…well, soon-to-be current New Orleans coven leader. Bea’s holding down the fort until Jade…uh, never mind. She’ll be back in charge soon enough. And this—” he draped an arm around Kat possessively, “—is my girl, Kat.”

Girl? Had he just publicly claimed Kat in front of this psycho? Idiot! He could’ve just put her in danger. I glanced at Kat to find her beaming, and I suspected this was the first public declaration that they were indeed a couple.

Damn Lucien. Obviously he was marking his territory. But she didn’t seem to mind in the least. I struggled to keep from reaching over and smacking the back of his head.

“Hello.” I held my hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Mitch stared at my hand as if I’d just offered him a flaming bag of dog shit.

“Something wrong?” I asked, not backing down.

“No, no.” He quickly shook my hand. “Just in a bit of a hurry. The crew is waiting.”

I let my arm fall to my side and actively forced myself to not wipe my hand on my jeans. It was itching with unease. There was something seriously off about him. If Vaughn was anything like this guy, Matisse was right. We wouldn’t want him anywhere near her. I prayed he wasn’t.

Kat held her hand out to him, and he smiled, taking her hand and holding it in both of his. Interesting. He was definitely hiding something from me, either because I was an empath or because I was a witch. But he knew Kat was neither. I’d guess he was trying to spell her, but I couldn’t sense any magic.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Kat.” Mitch flashed her a thousand-watt smile. She smiled shyly and didn’t seem to notice he hadn’t let go of her hand yet. I glanced at Lucien, who was scowling.

I tugged on Kat’s other arm, gently pulling her away from him. “You don’t want to hold him up.” I gave Mitch a fake smile. “If you don’t mind, can we wait here for you? There’s something we need to ask you about.”

The alluring charm he embodied so well slipped, and irritation flashed over his features for a second. Then it cleared just as fast. “I don’t know how long I’m going to be. It might be better if—”

“We only need a few minutes, Mitch,” Kat said with that flirty smile of hers. “If you don’t mind, maybe we could walk back with you and we could chat on the way.”

He regarded her with what appeared to be genuine interest, and although I couldn’t sense anything he was feeling, I got the impression he was calculating something. But what? And why? He had no idea what we were going to ask about. Or did he? “Sure, sugar. You can walk back with me. I think that’ll be just fine.”

Lucien stepped forward, and I thought he was going to burst a few blood vessels, judging by the veins trying to pop out of his forehead.

I put my hand on his arm, holding him back. Leaning in, I whispered, “Let her schmooze him.”

Lucien gave me an incredulous look. “You’re joking, right?”

Kat fell in step beside Mitch, and the pair slipped through the fence back into the amusement park.

“No,” I said to Lucien as we trailed behind him. “He’s clearly not pleased to see you and he’s suspicious of me. But Kat? He’s interested.” I took a breath, gathering courage. Letting her deal with a snake like him put me on edge, too, especially if he was a black magic user. But I was right behind her. I could step in at the first sign of any trouble. “And this gives her the opportunity to help us. You know how hard it is for her, always being on the fringe of the supernatural world.”

A thick fog of jealousy clouded around him as he shot eye daggers at the back of Mitch’s head.

“Deep breath,” I said. He turned his murderous gaze on me, and I held my hands up in defense. “Hey, I’m on your side.”

“Just watch him. He’s bad news.”

“Oh, I am.” We quickened our pace, catching up with Mitch and Kat. We walked behind them, listening in on their conversation.

“I understand you’re an assistant producer on this movie,” Kat said to him. “What does that entail on a daily basis?”

Mitch awarded her attention with a smug smile. “Why don’t you spend the day with me and find out?”

Lucien ground his teeth together but said nothing.

Kat laughed and playfully touched his arm. “Oh, I doubt your boss would be too thrilled about that.”

He gave her a mock frown. “A gorgeous girl like you? The boss wouldn’t mind. Not at all. Now that guy—” Mitch jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Lucien “—his ugly mug wouldn’t be welcome for long.” He laughed and shot Lucien a smirk.

Lucien didn’t take the bait, but Kat was going to need to do some major sucking up to coax him out of his shitty mood after we left.

Kat’s emotional energy was a whirlwind of disgust and irritation, but she did a fantastic job masking her body language. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled at Mitch as if he was oh so amusing. “Do you get to bring guests to the set often?”

“Nah. Most days it’s not that exciting. Like today, we’re just filming scenery shots.” Mitch waved at the cameras.