Bewitched on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase Read Free Book Online Page A

dilated, and I started to fear he was going to wring the high angel’s neck.
    “Chessa,” I said.
    She whipped her head around and glared at me. “It’s Chessandra.”
    “Right.” I swallowed a snarky reply and said, “Beatrice Kelton cast an identification spell, but the test was inconclusive. Apparently that spell doesn’t work on angel magic. Only we didn’t understand the problem until Lailah arrived and said she felt an angel signature. There’s no reason to doubt this, but feel free to cast your own spell or whatever you need to do. Because we’re not leaving here until this is resolved.”
    “No angel would—”
    “Chessa,” Drake said quietly.
    She cast him an irritated glance. “What?”
    He held up his hand in a wait motion and then studied me, his expression contemplative. A tickle of air brushed over my skin, followed by a dull ache in my abdomen.
    I pressed a hand to my gut and let out a small moan.
    “My apologies,” Drake said as the feeling vanished. He frowned, his eyebrows pinched. “Jade’s telling the truth. The signature’s too faint for me to place, but there’s no doubt an angel did this.”
    Chessandra’s mouth worked, and an array of emotions passed over her face. Disbelief, irritation, anger, and, finally, acceptance. “I see. Well, this is a problem.”
    “You don’t say?” I gritted my teeth, totally disgusted with her attitude.
    She ignored me and crossed the room to a small closet. With swift movements, she pulled out her white angel’s robes and tugged them over her slinky lingerie.
    “It’s about time,” I mumbled just to piss her off.
    I was rewarded with a death glare.
    “All right,” Drake said, eyeing us both. “Let’s focus on a solution.”
    “This way.” Chessandra pressed a button, and a hidden door in the white paneling slid open.
    Kane’s eyebrows shot up as he glanced at me with a silent question.
    I shrugged. The door wasn’t something I’d seen before.
    Drake swept his arm out, inviting us to go ahead of him.
    Kane slipped his hand into mine, and together we followed the high angel through a stark white hallway. There weren’t any doors or windows. Just white tile and white walls. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was taking us into a mental ward. Or maybe she was.
    Son of a… Was she taking us to the room where time stood still? Lailah had speculated that she might. But with Chessandra in front of us and Drake behind us, there wasn’t anything to do but follow.
    Within moments, we came face to face with an ornate walnut door. Chessandra strode through, leaving the door open behind her. I stood in the threshold, taking in the rich, warm tones of the hardwood floors and the creamy walls. Bouquets of red and orange daisies graced a side table. And right in the middle of the room were two stark white couches that faced each other. Chessandra had already taken her place at the far end of the one facing us.
    “Well?” she said, that signature impatience etched in the lines of her face.
    I snapped out of my paranoid trance. Who knew there was a place like this in the cold confines of the angel realm? If it hadn’t been for the white couches, it would’ve been downright inviting. Perhaps it was her private study.
    Kane and I sat together across from Drake and Chessandra.
    Drake leaned forward, his long white-blond hair brushing his clasped hands. “Do you have any idea how this happened?”
    I shook my head, keeping my gaze on Chessandra. She stared across the room at nothing, appearing to be lost in thought.
    “You don’t remember any sort of odd magic at all that could’ve been the cause of this?” Drake asked.
    “Nope. Nothing.” Turning my attention to my father, I waved a hand at Chessandra. “What’s she doing?”
    “Concentrating.” Drake rose and disappeared into another room off to the left.
    Kane and I glanced at each other. His eyes narrowed, and that tension that always seemed to pulse beneath my skin when I