Incubus of Bourbon Street Read Online Free Page B

What’s going on?” I twisted, craning to look up at him, but the shadows were too dark. I couldn’t see anything except his outline.
    “Everything feels… off,” he said so low I barely heard him.
    “It is off. Someone or something is here.” I leaned in closer and whispered, “Whoever it is, is full of hatred.”
    “Jade?” Kane said again.
    “Kane?” Had he not heard me at all? Alarm took over, making my head spin. “What’s happening?”
    He swayed next to me and before I could do anything to stop him, he lurched to the side and fell, landing hard on his shoulder.
    “Kane!”I cried again and dropped to my knees, rolling him onto his back. Finally my vision had adjusted enough to make out his features. His eyes were closed and a trickle of what appeared to be blood ran from a small gash on his cheek. “No, no, no. Not now.”
    It suddenly dawned on me that he was reacting the exact same way the angels had. Whatever the evil was that lingered here was draining all of his energy. If I didn’t get him out of here… I didn’t even want to contemplate the consequences. It was too awful.
    Clutching his hand with both of mine, I closed my eyes and imagined the pair of us walking back into the club’s office. The thought should have been enough, but nothing happened. The world didn’t spin and when I opened my eyes, we were still in the desolate grayness that was the shadows.
    Except this place was filled with hatred. Anger. Desperation. The air pulsed with it. And as I concentrated on the evil trying to worm its way into my consciousness, my limbs became heavy and the world started to fade. The problem was we weren’t headed back to the club. We weren’t headed anywhere.
    My defensive walls shot up in a last-ditch effort to shield myself from whatever was stealing our energy. Instantly, my head cleared and the shadows came into focus. What was usually a mirror of our world, cast in shades of gray, was now a crumbling ruin. We were sprawled across a room that resembled Kane’s office, with peeling walls and rotting floors. The ceiling was caved in, and crumbled paper and garbage lay strewn across the floor.
    An image of Kane and Lailah trapped in an old ruin came back to me. Purgatory? Is that where we were? Or a remote part of Hell? Kane and I had been there once. It hadn’t looked like this, but it had been full of destruction and despair.
    We had to leave. One way or another, we were getting out of here. If I couldn’t walk Kane out, I’d just have to use my magic.
    “Kane?” I said as I gripped his right arm. “Can you hear me?”
    His eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t open them.
    “I’m going to cast a spell tied to home. When I start to speak, just imagine our home and that we’re back there. I’ll do the rest.”
    He didn’t make any indication that he’d heard me, and panic started to crawl through my veins.
    I forced it down, focusing on the magic that pulsed just below my heart. It was fainter than it usually was, but I pushed away the doubts trying to claim my mind. I was a white witch, leader of the New Orleans coven. Nothing was going to keep me here in this hellish place.
    Magic warmed my chest and spread, fortifying my weakened state. I gazed down at Kane, waiting for the magic to build. He was completely still, his chest barely rising.
    A gasp caught in my throat and tears blurred my vision. “No, damn you. Don’t even think of leaving me.” Reaching down, I let the magic spark over his chest and pushed some of my own energy into him.
    His body bowed as he sucked in a sharp breath. Groaning, his eyes flickered open.
    “Kane?”
    “Jade?” he said through cracked lips.
    “We’re going home now, you understand?” My words came out in short, choked sobs. “Home. Just picture us at home, and we’ll be there in a few moments.”
    “Home,” he said, his eyes closing again.
    My insides were churning with raw, desperate fear, something I’d never experienced before, even