Demons of Bourbon Street (31 page)

The bell chimed, and in walked Charlie, the manager of the strip club next door. “Hey, pretty ladies. Lookin’ sexy as usual.”

I laughed, and Pyper rolled her eyes. “You need new contacts,” Pyper said, scanning the milk-stained apron she wore. She tilted her head toward the carafe of premade Columbian. “Coffee?”

“
No, thanks. I’m here on a mission.” She walked behind the counter and grabbed a metal pitcher then rummaged through the refrigerator.

I stepped up. “Need help?”

“
I’ve got this.” She reached out and untied my apron. “You look like you could use a break. Take a load off. I can cover you.”

I retied my apron. “That’s sweet, but no. I need to help Pyper. We close in an hour and there’s still a lot of cleaning to be done.”

Charlie put on a no-nonsense manager face I’d never seen before. “It’s not a request. The boss sent me to check up on you.” She scanned the length of my body. “I’m sorry to say, despite finding you hotter than a fried green tomato, I’m going to have to insist you call it a day. If Kane walks in and sees you dead on your feet, I’m gonna be the one who has to deal with his cranky ass all night.” She poured soymilk and some chai tea concentrate into a cup, filled it with ice, and handed it to me. “Now go. I’ll help Pyper clean up.”

I sent Pyper a questioning glance.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to deal with his cranky ass either. Go on up to your apartment. We can manage from here.”

With my chai in one hand and my danish in the other, I took off through the back door and headed up the first of the three flights of stairs leading to my studio apartment. At each landing I had to pause, taking bites of my snack to regain some energy. Stupid soul-stealing angel-demon. I couldn’t even get up to my apartment without a major sugar injection.

When I finally stopped in front of my door, I frowned at the tiny sliver left of my danish. Darn it. I should have taken another one for later. Deciding it was too hard to hold the pastry and unlock my door at the same time, I stuffed it in my mouth.

I jiggled my key, forcing the sticky lock that had been acting up for over two weeks. Since I hadn’t been home much, I hadn’t gotten around to telling Kane, who also happened to be my landlord. I made a mental note. He needed something else to focus on other than me.

Inside my apartment, I didn’t stop to change out of my café clothes. All I cared about was my bed.

Five steps later, and I flopped on the goose down comforter. Ah, the soft pillow top was better than heaven. Better even than the chocolate cinnamon danish. The bed shifted. I squinted at Duke, my golden retriever ghost dog, now lying next to me, his head on the second pillow. “Enjoy yourself while you can, buddy. Once Kane shows up, you’re back to the couch.”

The dog let out a muffled snort and in seconds was snoring.

I closed my eyes, more than ready to follow him into dreamland.

My reality faded and a moment later I found myself in a rustic shack with white paint peeling off the wood plank walls. The floors were constructed of the same thick wood planks, but no one had bothered to ever paint them. Swollen with years of humidity, the grain was rough against my bare feet as I moved to the only window in the old structure.

Unfortunately, the glass was completely obscured with layers of caked on dirt. I paced with my hands laced behind my back. A heavy dose of anxiety rippled through me, but I didn’t know why.

Female voices carried from the hall into the small room. Nervous energy made me bite my nails, but I quickly dropped my fingers from my mouth as the door creaked open.

I stood stock-still, terror and hope fighting for my dominating response.

My shoulders hunched with disappointment when Dan filled the doorway. I didn’t mind seeing him. I just expected someone else.

He smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry so much. Everything’s going to be fine.”

I grimaced. Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one sharing his soul.

“
You’ll see.” He stepped into the room, leaving the door wide open, and gestured to me. “Ladies, Meri’s waiting.”

Meri?

Holy shit! He meant me. In my dream I was Meri. Was this happening right now, and I was witnessing it? My excitement was squashed by the turmoil churning inside her.

A second later, a woman with long, pale blond hair and striking Caribbean blue eyes hesitated in the threshold. Meri held her breath. The last time she’d seen her sister, she’d been wielding enough magic to bring down half the state of Louisiana.

An incredible amount of relief rushed through Meri. Felicia was safe.

“
Where’s Priscilla?” Meri asked, her voice quiet and strained.

A slow smile crossed Felicia’s face, and she headed straight toward Meri.

“
Felicia!” A fierce voice carried in from the hallway, followed closely by its owner. Priscilla stomped into the room, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed. “Don’t go any closer.”

“
I can assure you she’s safe,” Dan said mildly.

Priscilla shot him a skeptical look and then dismissed him with a cut of her eyes back to Felicia. “If what he says is true, her soul is still compromised.”

Felicia sighed, and Meri could almost hear her praying for patience. “Yes, but she isn’t tainted.”

“
Not yet,” Priscilla said.

Felicia moved closer, carefully studying Meri from head to toe. She squinted. “Your posture is different.”

“
What?” She straightened, pulling her shoulders back.

“
You’re carrying yourself differently.” Felicia walked around her in a circle, nodding. “Yes, that’s it. You’re less confident, and it shows.”

“
You’re right.” Meri’s shoulder slumped in defeat. “This can’t last. Two people weren’t meant to share the same soul. One of us will eventually overtake the other. Then what happens? I want a normal life, but not at the expense of someone else.”

Dan’s face clouded. “What do you mean, one of you will take over the other?”

Meri stared at him for a minute, sadness squeezing her heart.

“
She means two people cannot share the same soul forever.” Philip leaned against the door frame. How long had he been standing there? Meri’s heart started to hammer with excitement, quickly replaced by disappointment and rejection.

He uncrossed his ankles and stood straight with his hands shoved in his pockets. “They can for a little while, but when one becomes too weak, the soul will migrate to the stronger individual.”

“
Do you think Meri’s stronger?” Dan asked.

Philip nodded. “She’s an angel.”

“
No, I’m not,” Meri said.

“
You’re not a demon anymore. What else would you be?” Philip countered.

“
What about Jade?” Dan frowned, worry creasing his brow. “What will happen to her?”

“
That’s for the council to decide.” Philip moved to stand in front of Meri, his eyes filled with longing, regret, and something tortured.

Meri’s two sisters retreated from the room. Dan hovered near the door, uncertainty clear in his expression.

With Philip’s gaze so intently locked on her, Meri asked, “Why didn’t you come for me?”

“
I…” He swallowed. “I wanted to, but I had Dan to watch over. By the time I formed a plan, it was too late.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t begin to imagine what all you—”

“
No, you can’t. So don’t even try!” She curled her hands into fists, nails biting into her palms as unbridled anger rippled through her. Meri’s mind filled with dozens of unwanted memories, all shared and stolen moments with Philip. The pair of them sitting on a porch swing holding hands. Their first kiss. Their first…

“
You’re not my mate,” she spat. “Whatever the witch did to me dissolved our connection. Including the mating bond everyone says is unbreakable. Lucky you. Now you can go off with your airhead hippy girlfriend and forget about me. Like you’ve been trying to do for the last twelve years.”

Philip moved closer.

She bristled. “Leave me alone, Philip. Go take care of your witch’s soul. There’s nothing left for you here.”

He took a long time before answering. When he did, he raised his chin and met her haunted gaze. “I gave up on you once. I won’t do it again.”

Chapter 21

My eyes flew open and my survival instinct kicked in, adrenaline racing through my veins.

No way was Meri keeping my soul. It was mine, damn it.
Mine.

So what if I’d been the one to destroy what was left of hers? She’d been a demon at the time. It was justified. She’d tried to corrupt Bea with black magic. It’s what demons did. What they were conditioned to do, once they fell from angel status.

My breathing returned to normal, and after a while, a tiny bit of guilt touched my heart. Hadn’t I said Meri was a victim too?

Sure, she took my mom from me, entrapped Dan in Hell, and stole half my soul, but should she be held accountable for those things? She wasn’t a demon anymore. Maybe she was responsible for the soul-stealing thing, except I wasn’t sure she had control over the connection.

Until I had the chance to talk to her, I had more questions than answers.

***

My newest mission was to find Meri so we could share information.

Of course, all my friends thought I’d lost my mind, but they hadn’t had the benefit of sharing Meri’s emotions in the dream like I had. I’d witnessed firsthand her aversion to keeping my soul. Why she still held on to it, I didn’t know. Maybe she didn’t have a choice. What would happen to her if she didn’t?

“
Somebody has to know how to fix this,” I whined to Lailah, Bea, and Kat. The four of us had met at Bea’s to discuss my dream.

Some sort of silent communication traveled between Lailah and Bea before they both shook their heads.

“
Don’t think I didn’t see that.” I waved an accusatory hand. “What about the angel council? Or whoever you take orders from?” I asked Lailah.

“
That’s not a good idea,” she said slowly.

“
For who?” I stabbed my fork into a baked potato. “You or me?”

“
Now, Jade,” Bea said. “There is no need—”

Lailah held up her hand. “It’s okay. She has every right to be frustrated.” She turned to me. “The council is unpredictable. Asking them for help might result in…an undesirable outcome.”