Shadows of Bourbon Street (27 page)

Kat nodded and sat cross-legged beside Lucien. She’d do whatever I asked. I gave her a grateful smile.

“Jade,” Bea asked, her eyes curious, “what are you planning?”

I took a calming breath. This wasn’t going to be easy. “I need a way of knowing when Lucien is free from the curse. These types of spells like to linger, right?”

Bea nodded. “Yes.”

“Okay, so Kat has the ability to stabilize my energy. She’s done it many, many times over the years. And I’m pretty sure due to her relationship with Lucien, she can do it for him. I’m mostly concerned about what pulling the curse from him is going to do to him.” And to me, but I didn’t say that. I was the powerful white witch, right? “Once I have it all, I want her there to help him stabilize.”

“He has been carrying it around with him for a long time. You’re probably right.” Bea glanced at Kat. “Are you okay with that?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“Kat,” Lucien said softly.

But she held up a hand. “I love you. And if there’s anything I’m capable of doing, you’re going to let me.”

The tender look in his eyes as he gazed at her nearly made me break down. I had to glance away. Swallowing the emotion clogging my throat, I said to Bea, “You have to give him his magic back first.”

“Of course.” She waited until Lucien turned his gaze in her direction and then got to her feet. “Please stand.”

When he was toe to toe with her, she grabbed his hands and closed her eyes. “By the power of the New Orleans coven, I hereby restore your magic.” Their fingers glowed where they touched, faint at first. Then there was a small, brilliant flash and Lucien’s body stiffened. He took a step back and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get words out, his eyes turned pitch back and the dark magic started to crawl over his skin.

“No!” I cried, certain I was the only one who could see it. Bea and Kat were just standing there studying him. I grabbed his hand and yanked him down. With my other hand, I clutched Mitch’s limp one and let my magic build forcefully in my chest. And then I shouted the spell Bea had used not too long ago when we’d rescued Kat. “Goddess of the living, hear my call! We ask for your help, or your mortal son will fall.”

Lucien’s black magic was crawling over my hands, reversing the numbing effect of Bea’s magic. My fingers were on fire again, the blisters screaming in piercing agony. But there was nothing I could do. If I let go, Lucien would be lost for good. And one look at Kat steeled my resolve.

“Reverse the poison that taints his blood. Bring him back to those he loves.” The words came out on a choked whisper. The fire consuming my hand was too much to bear. Tears streamed down my face, but I clutched harder, unwilling to let go.

“It’s there, Jade,” Bea said, cutting through my haze of pain. “The orb you need. Just direct it.”

I squinted through my tears and spotted the silver ball of magic I’d conjured. I focused on it and ordered, “Find Lucien’s heart.”

The orb bounced in front of us and grew brighter as it shot straight to Lucien’s chest. He let out a loud gasp, and his body slumped forward. I felt nothing from him.

Panic coiled through my core. Had his heart stopped?
Please Goddess, don’t take him. Kat needs him.
I sucked in a ragged breath. What had I just done?

Lucien let out a howl of pain, and it was all I needed to hear. He was alive. Nothing else mattered at that moment. I unleashed my magic, pouring it into Lucien, letting it mix with the black curse. My head spun, and before I could pass out, I used every last bit of strength I had and pulled it back from him.

My veins constricted, instinctively keeping the ugly, tainted magic from entering my system. My stomach rolled. My body shook uncontrollably. Every defense I had was trying to ward off the poison that surely would kill me if I didn’t control it.

The agony was such that my thoughts were jumbled. I couldn’t think at all. My world was reduced to red-hot, excruciating daggers of pain that ran from my right hand straight through my chest and down my left arm.

The black curse pooled at my left hand’s fingertips, pulsating with darkness and evil so strong it threatened to poison me. It wanted to stay with me. Wanted to take up residence in my heart. Promised power beyond any I’d ever known.

“Jade!” I heard the sharp call of Bea’s voice but couldn’t see her. There was nothing but pain and hellfire. It beckoned me. I was ready to absorb it. Let it overtake me. Submit to the sweet relief of giving up the fight.

Kane’s face swam in my mind’s eye. He seemed too far away, so far out of reach. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, wanted to touch him one last time.
If you give up the fight, you’ll see him soon
, a voice rang in my mind.
Just let go, Jade. Come to me
.

“No. I won’t let you go!” Two cooling hands grabbed my shoulders and held on. Cool, clean energy seeped into me, warring with the taint.

My eyes snapped open, and I stared into the fierce eyes of my best friend.

“Do not let it take you. Not now. Not ever.” Kat’s face was set into a determined expression.

Tears started to fall again, the tracks leaving a tingling sensation over my skin.

“Do you hear me, Jade?”

I nodded.

“Say it. Say you hear me.”

“I hear you,” I forced out in a barely audible voice.

“Say you’ll fight,” Kat ordered again.

I nodded again. “I’ll fight.”

Lucien’s hand tightened on my burned one and I nearly passed out with the pain. I groaned and forced myself to keep eye contact with Kat. She was keeping me here.

“Focus now,” she said in a soft tone. “Make him take it. Unleash the curse on Mitch. Do it now.” Her cool hand shifted and clasped over the one Lucien held. The fire dulled, and soothing relief rushed up my left arm and coiled around my heart.

My head snapped up, and the dam burst. The black magic concentrated at my right hand flooded into Mitch.

His body jerked and convulsed under the invasion. I held tighter, focusing on the clean energy Lucien and Kat were pouring into me until every last drop of pain and agony was gone, forced from my system and into the broken witch who lay unconscious beside me.

I slumped against the wall behind me, barely able to even hold my head up. The room was completely silent. I lifted my head and caught sight of Lucien and Kat sitting next to me, both of them staring straight at me, appearing just as spent as I was. I met Kat’s eyes and mouthed,
Thank you.

Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head, indicating there was nothing to thank her for. Lucien had a tight grip on her hand. His look of gratitude told me everything I needed to know. We’d talk about the specifics later. They’d be fine. We all would.

Then I heard someone clear his throat and Vaughn said, “You better call the Witches’ Council.”

“Of course,” Bea said quietly.

Magic tingled around me in a soft whisper, and a moment later, the air shifted and everything became cooler.

An elderly witch, dressed in a linen suit, appeared from thin air. “What do we have here?” she asked in a surprisingly strong voice.

“A witch consumed with black magic. He’s been wreaking havoc for a while now. You’d better take him in,” Bea said.

The witch from the council didn’t seem interested in talking to anyone but Bea. And that was just fine with me. Someone else could take it from here.

A few moments later, the council witch snapped her fingers, and both she and Mitch disappeared.

I blinked. “Damn. That was easy.”

Kat let out a strangled laugh.

I gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I meant the removal of Mitch.” I grimaced, catching Vaughn’s gaze. “Sorry,” I said again. “I know he’s your brother.”

His eyes darkened. “Stepbrother. And he got what he deserved.”

Bea held out her hand, three healing herbs nestled in her palm. “Each of you take one. It’ll help.”

“Here,” Kat said, grabbing them. She handed one to Lucien and held one up to my mouth. “Take it.”

I didn’t hesitate. There was a time I would have. But not anymore. I swallowed the pill dry and then closed my eyes and waited for its magic.

“Jade?” Bea said.

I opened my eyes. “Hmm?”

“We need to do something about those hands.”

I glanced down and gasped as my body started to tremble with delayed shock. “Oh my God.” They were bad. Much worse than I thought they’d been. They were lobster red and covered in white blisters.

“We need to get you to my place. I have a poultice that will all but cure that.” Bea’s expression was confident, and I prayed she was right.

Vaughn walked over to me, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Are you available tomorrow? I need to recover before we go after Matisse. If you’re still willing, that is,” I said.

“Of course,” he said, his expression carefully blank as he headed toward the door.

“See you in the morning?”

He nodded and disappeared.

Exhaustion claimed me. My limbs were lead and I wondered what it must be like to be a normal person. I’d never know. But I could dream. Like the mature witch I was, I squeezed my eyes shut and thought of nothing but puppies and chocolate. And maybe Guinness. ’Cause Lord knew if there was anything I needed right then, it was a drink. Or two.

Chapter 25

I must have passed out on the way back to Bea’s, because the next thing I remembered was lying in her guest bedroom with Kat beside me. She was gently brushing my hair while whispering something I couldn’t quite make out to Lucien.

“Hey,” I said in a faint voice. “How long have I been out?”

“Hey, yourself.” She smiled down at me. “About an hour or so.”

I brought my hand up to brush a lock of hair out of my eyes but paused when I saw all the gauze. My other hand was wrapped, too. I held them up, studying them. My hands and wrists were completely covered. “How bad is it?”

Kat wrinkled her nose. “It
was
bad. Like, really bad. You saw them.”

I groaned.

“I said ‘was.’” Kat smiled. “Dude, I can’t believe how awesome Bea is. She put that poultice on them and the blisters started to go down almost at once. She said they’d be gone in a few hours.”

Relief flooded through me. If I never saw a blister again, it would be too soon. Then I shifted to sit upright. The room spun from my sudden movement, and I brought my gauze-wrapped paws up to hold my head in one place.

“What is it, Jade?” Lucien asked.

“Just dizzy. I’ll be all right.”

Lucien got up from his chair and came around the bed to sit on the opposite side from Kat.

I blinked and wanted to touch his hand but settled for smiling at him. “How are you?”

“Perfect. Exhausted. But perfect.”

“And your magic…?” I couldn’t bring myself to ask the rest of the question. I wanted to know if he was back to the witch he’d been. If his magic was safe. But I wasn’t sure if now was the right time to talk about it.

“My magic is fine. Purer than ever, thanks to you.” He touched my arm. “I owe you my life.”

I shook my head forcefully and regretted it when my vision blurred. Did I have a concussion? A magical hangover for sure. I steeled myself and met Lucien’s eyes. “No. You don’t owe me anything but friendship. We’re here for each other, always, right?”

“Yes,” Kat said softly and smiled at us both.

“Of course, but—”

“No buts,” I said, gently. “Seriously, none of us would be here without the others. I’ve relied on you. You’ve relied on me. And that’s the way we’ll continue. We’re coven members, but more importantly we’re friends, and I know you’d lay down your life for any one of us.”

“So would you.” His green eyes flashed with emotion.

I blinked back the threat of tears. “Don’t do that,” I said with a laugh. “I’ve cried enough for one day.”

Lucien leaned in and gave me a light kiss on my cheek. Before he pulled away, he whispered, “I’ll take care of her. I promise.”

Nodding, I punched him in the leg.

“Ouch. What was that for?”

Wiping away the lone tear with my gauzed hand, I shook my head. “I told you not to make me cry. Now get off the bed. We need to go downstairs. I need something to eat.”

They both got up and Kat held out a hand for me.

I brushed her off. “I got this.” But when I went to swing my feet out of the bed, my left one got caught in the sheet and my upper half toppled over.

Laughing, Kat caught me. “Yeah, you got this.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and grinned as my heart swelled. She shook her head and held her arm out again. This time I braced myself against her and managed to stand without flailing or knocking myself out.

The three of us, battered, bruised, and in need of a week’s worth of sleep, walked arm in arm down the hall until we got to the stairs.