Bewitched on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase Read Free Book Online

gone, he turned to us. “Follow me.”
    I relaxed my hands, trying to let go of some of the overflowing frustration, but failed when I fell into step beside Kane. He was still wound tight, his mood overtaking mine. I didn’t even have the will to erect my imaginary glass walls to block his emotions out. I was too exhausted to care. By the time we were outside Chessandra’s office, we were both on edge.
    But instead of opening the door, Drake paused with his hand over the knob. “Why are you here?”
    Kane pressed his lips together in a tight line, clearly not willing to answer him.
    “Does it matter?” I asked, genuinely curious. He’d stepped up and gone to bat for us before with Chessandra just as he had back in the sanctuary with the guards. But he was still Chessandra’s partner. I was pretty certain they could communicate telepathically. I wanted to see her face when we told her what had happened. Having her know beforehand would ruin that.
    “Yes. Of course it does.” Drake’s expression turned exasperated, but he said nothing else. With a shake of his head, he turned and pushed the door open.
    Chessandra was reading what looked to be a report while sitting on the edge of the desk. She was wearing a silky red satin negligee, her chestnut hair pulled into an elegant twist, as if she were waiting for her lover to come take her off to bed.
    “Drake. There you are. I—” Chessandra’s head snapped up, and she scowled. “Why did you bring them here? They haven’t been invited.”
    Kane pushed past us both and glared at her. “So you can tell us why one of your angels has cursed Jade and our future child.”

Chapter 5
    She dropped the papers onto her desk and then, with the grace of a dancer, she uncrossed her legs and stood on silver high heels. “Excuse me?”
    Drake glanced at me. “Is that true? That you’ve been cursed by one of us?”
    I nodded, staring Chessandra in the eye.
    The high angel stood before us, her expression skeptical. “And what makes you think one of my angels would curse you?”
    I refrained from rolling my eyes at her superior attitude. She might be the high angel, but I wasn’t impressed. If she’d ever shown one grain of empathy, I might’ve felt differently. But she was so cold, impassive. Just about the only time I’d seen her show any emotion was when her sister had been trapped in a void world. And even then she’d been restrained.
    Brushing past Drake, I walked over to a chair and sat, crossing my leg over one knee. It had been a long day. “I did a fertility blessing today, and instead of my friend being blessed, the magic targeted me and revealed a black-magic curse.”
    Chessandra lowered her lashes and gave me a dry, impatient look. “Witches are the ones who dabble in black magic. Not my angels.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest. “Not according to Lailah.”
    “And how would that lower angel know? Such a major disappointment, that one.”
    “You can’t be serious?” I jumped to my feet, unable to stay seated in the face of her ridicule. “Lailah’s the best damn angel out there. A major reason the magical community of New Orleans is still intact.”
    “And yet she can’t seem to find one missing angel.” Chessandra spat the words out, venom poisoning her tone.
    The magic pulsing in my chest intensified. If I’d let my guard down, I’d have strangled her with the sheer will of my power. “And Avery is missing because you sent her on a mission she wasn’t equipped to handle.”
    “You know nothing of the situation, witch. Now leave my office. You’re not welcome here.”
    “She’ll do no such thing.” Hatred streamed off Kane in the form of a red cloud. “You’re going to find out who did this and reverse the curse.”
    Chessandra straightened her back, seeming to grow at least two full inches. “How dare you order me to do anything, incubus? You work for me, remember? You’ll do as I say, not the other way around.”
    Kane’s pupils