Chapter 7
The white light and the pentagram vanished as the lights dimmed and Maroon 5 blared from the sound system. My friends turned from nineteen-twenties swing dancers to sexified Halloween revelers.
Lucien strode over to Kat and gathered her in his arms, while Kane, sporting his kilt, wrapped one arm around me and his other around Pyper. But she was staring at Julius.
He stood by himself, watching her, a wistful expression on his face. “He’s gone.”
Pyper nodded.
“For good this time.”
“Yeah.”
We were standing in the packed party, surrounded by partygoers, and yet I felt as if I was intruding on something deeply personal. I tucked my hand into Kane’s and gently tugged him back. “I think they might need a moment,” I whispered to him.
He glanced down at me and frowned. “He’s a ghost. I don’t think—”
“You don’t need to think,” I said mildly. “He isn’t dangerous.”
Instinctively, I knew my words were true. Earlier I hadn’t been able to feel anything radiating from Julius, but I did now. There was only goodness and love and regret.
Kane reluctantly took a step back with me as we watched Pyper move toward Julius as if she was mystically drawn to him in some way. And when she stopped in front of him, he smiled down at her, cupped her cheek, and whispered something in her ear.
She shook her head slowly and placed her hand over the exploding heart she’d drawn on his chest. The sadness radiating off them just about brought tears to my eyes. Pyper rose to her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to Julius’s lips. They were frozen in the moment, the perfect zombie couple, and then Julius faded away. And Pyper was left alone in the middle of the ballroom.
She stood there, her shoulders slumped and her head inclined.
“Excuse me,” I said to Kane and hurried to Pyper’s side. I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you. Let’s get out of here.”
She shook her head, still staring straight ahead. “We have work to do.”
I made a show of glancing around. “Na. Kane and Charlie have everything under control. We’re free to do anything we want. Including grabbing a bottle of tequila and doing shots until we pass out.”
“Tempting,” she said dryly. “But maybe just a few beers.”
“You got it.” We walked together to the bar, where I grabbed four beers and a bottle opener. I waited a beat for Charlie to finish mixing a few drinks. The night’s events hadn’t fazed her at all. She was back at work, flirting with males and females alike, raking in the tips as always. “We’ll be in the meeting room just outside the ballroom if you need us.”
She gave Pyper a sympathetic smile. “Sure, but I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will.”
I handed one of the beers to Pyper and followed her out of the room.
We slipped into the adjoining room, and instead of sitting on the chairs lining the wall, Pyper walked to the middle of the room and sank to the floor.
I joined her and watched as she downed half her beer.
“Better?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not really.”
“Roy is gone. That dagger of Kane’s is magical. He won’t be coming back.”
She nodded. “I know.” Glancing up at me, she pierced me with a flat stare. “I wasn’t afraid of him, you know. Roy, I mean.”
I jerked back slightly at her remark. “Really? I was.”
“No you weren’t. You were worried about everyone, but you weren’t afraid of him. Not this time.”
She was right. I’d been afraid for her, afraid of anything she was feeling, but with Kane and Lucien there, I hadn’t been frightened by Roy. Only concerned with how best to get rid of him. Luckily Kane had found his opening. “Okay, but I did have a minor anxiety attack when he first showed up. Any ideas on how that happened?”
She grimaced. “I didn’t know he was a ghost at first, you know.”
I frowned, confused.
“Julius. You didn’t either.”
“Damn,” I said under my breath. “You’re right. I didn’t. Why didn’t you say something?”
Her face got even brighter red. “I was going to. Later.”
“Later? Later than what? How long have you two known each other, really?”
She hesitated and stared at her hands. “You know since Ian’s been gone, I’ve gotten into hunting ghosts as a hobby. Well, he showed up at an investigation about a month ago. And then at the two after that.”
“He moves around?” That was unusual for ghosts. Mostly they haunted specific places.
“He was a witch.”
“So?”
She shrugged. “The rules are different for him. He can pop in and out of wherever he wants to, but his time is limited. He only has so much energy, you know.”
I wanted to ask about the relationship they’d obviously started, but I didn’t know how to broach it. Instead I asked, “And what about Roy? Do you have any idea why he showed up here tonight? Or what happened with the time warp?”
“I...oh, damn. Julius said he wanted to have just one dance from his own time. But seeing as it’s Halloween and forces are, I don’t know, different I suppose, his spell didn’t quite work the way he intended. We were just supposed to slip into the twenties for one song and then back, but then that bastard Roy showed up and leeched his energy. It wasn’t supposed to affect anyone else. I’m so sorry, Jade. It was an accident.”
I heard what she said, and though it was unnerving she seemed to be having a romantic interlude with a ghost, who was I to judge? I’d had one once with a ghost who’d invaded my dreams. At the moment, I was more concerned with the evil spirit I’d thought we’d sent to Hell over a year ago. “Any idea where Roy came from?”
“No.” Her answer was final, leaving no room for doubt she was telling the truth. She took a long swig of her beer and flopped backward on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. “No idea at all.”
“I do,” a male voice said from our left.
I jerked and caught sight of Julius’s outline. He was only an apparition hovering just above the floor.
Pyper rose from her position on the floor and faced him, her head tilted to one side. “You’re back.”
“Sort of. But not for long.”
I took in his long pants, suspenders, and sports coat. If I didn’t know he was a product of the twenties, I might assume he was a hipster. He was certainly cute enough, if he wasn’t a spirit, that was.
“I felt that other spirit a couple of weeks ago when you were investigating one of the big hotels. I didn’t think about it much, because being a witch, spirits are attracted to my energy and try to feed off it. That’s what this Roy did. I deal with it by shutting myself down, making my energy unavailable to them, and they usually go away. Except he happened to catch me off guard tonight. As soon as I realized he was here, I cut off my lingering magic, and that’s what caused us to get stuck back in time. My apologies to everyone.”
That would explain why I hadn’t been able to feel many emotions. Julius’s odd ghost magic had suppressed them, all except his and Pyper’s, which were running really close to the surface. It was also why I couldn’t feel his magic. Or it could just be because he’s a ghost. Hard to say. “So he’s been hanging around you lately, and because he saw an opening, he tried to take Kane’s soul? Or someone else’s so he could live again?”
Julius nodded. “Yes. Considering his fascination with Pyper, I suspect he’d been watching her for some time. But because of whatever y’all did to him last year, he didn’t have the resources to get to her. And, well, now he’s nothing.”
Pyper climbed to her feet and walked over to where Julius was floating. The way they looked at each other made me feel as if I was intruding, but I had more questions.
“If Roy was in another dimension or in Hell, could he have still latched on to you?”
He nodded. “Yes. When I’m strong, spirits can and do try to infiltrate my energy. It’s a burden, but usually I deal with it better. My apologies, Mrs. Rouquette. It won’t happen again.”
I had experience with attracting unsavory beings while not being able to control my magic as well as I’d hoped. And considering he was a ghost and not completely in control of his fate, I had some sympathy for him. Being a witch never got easier. “No apology needed, Julius. Sorry we thought it was you causing all the problems. I had no idea Roy was on the loose. Thank you for watching over Pyper. If our paths cross again, please consider us friends.”
He bowed. “It will be my pleasure.”
I smiled and waved as I left, giving them some privacy.
When I got back to the party, Pyper’s client was on stage introducing his new band. Kane was standing near the bar, nursing a beer.
“Hey, highlander,” I said, walking up behind Kane.
He turned and his sour expression vanished, replaced by one of concern. “Hey, pretty witch. How’s Pyper?”
“She’s just fine.”
“You sure about that?” He glanced over my shoulder toward the side door.
“I’m positive. She’s taking a moment to...ah...relax. I’m sure she’ll be along in a few minutes.” I ran my hand lightly down his chest, ready for some quality time with my man. “Care for a spin on the dance floor?”
His lips turned up into a slow smile. “Only if the devil comes out to play.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You don’t want to be classified as a sinner, do you?”
His heated gaze traveled the length of my body. “I think I’ll risk it.”
Then he pulled me to the dance floor, and the only thing left on my mind was Kane and that damned kilt. I placed my hands on his hips, curling my fingers into the rough fabric. “Think you might be willing to wear this once a week?”
His heated gaze dropped to my exposed cleavage. “If you wear that, I’m game.”
“Deal,” I said breathlessly. “Halloween, every Friday night.”
His gaze met mine, and we both laughed.
“Well, maybe not Halloween, but kilts and corsets,” I amended.
“You got it.” He clutched me to him, pressing his hard body into mine. “Now kiss me.”
And when our lips touched, a spark of magic zipped from me to him, sealing the deal.
~***~
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The Jade Calhoun Series in order:
Engaged off Bourbon Street (A Short Story)
Spirits of Bourbon Street (A Novelette)
The Pyper Rayne Series: