Incubus of Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase Read Free Book Online

The high angel will arrive at 7:45 a.m. Be prepared.
    Crap. I glanced at the bathroom, contemplating a shower, but the bacon scent filling the air won out.
    ***
    I was sitting cross-legged in one of the kitchen’s wooden chairs, sipping my second latte, when the brilliant white light shone down inside our kitchen.
    Neither Kane nor I moved. I hadn’t even dressed for the meeting. All I’d done was pull on a pair of fresh underwear and a cotton skirt and then stuff my feet into flip-flops. Kane was in jeans, a T-shirt, and had bare feet. If the high angel was going to show up before eight, she’d just have to live with what she got.
    Chessandra appeared in our kitchen. Her long golden hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and she wore a crisp white tailored suit. She looked every bit the high-powered business woman.
    I raised a questioning eyebrow. “I hope you didn’t get dressed up for us.”
    She barely glanced at me and focused on Kane. “What did you find?”
    I hated when she did that, acted as if Kane was in charge, as if the man was the one who had all the answers. “He’s not the only one who was there last night, you know.”
    This time she met my gaze and held it. “I’m aware, Ms. Calhoun. I’m also aware I’m more likely to get a straight answer from Mr. Rouquette, and as I have another appointment, I’d rather not waste any of my time.” She flicked her gaze from mine to Kane’s. “Report?”
    Kane put his coffee mug down and stood. “We entered the shadows and as soon as we did, my energy was drained. If it wasn’t for Jade, we’d still be there.”
    “I see.” She rubbed her jaw, contemplating. “This is worse than I thought.”
    I stood up beside Kane. “I have to tell the coven. If I—”
    She held her hand up. “That is unacceptable.”
    Clenching my fists, I resisted verbally lashing out at her. “If you want me to try to get to the bottom of things, I need my coven. I need to brainstorm with my mentor, Bea. I can’t fight the entire shadows by myself.”
    Chessandra’s expression turned stormy as she stared at me. “I do not appreciate your tone, Ms. Calhoun.”
    Dammit. I’d actually been trying to be reasonable. “And I don’t appreciate you asking me to fix the entire shadow world without any help whatsoever.”
    We had a stare-down of epic proportions.
    Finally I said, “Beatrice Kelton is the most trustworthy witch I’ve ever met. She has already proven she’d lay her own life down to save Lailah, our resident angel. And you’re still not willing to take a chance by allowing me to work with her?”
    The angel glanced from Kane to me. Then she said, “I never said you needed to fix the entire shadow world all on your own. Your mission is to find out what’s causing the disturbance and then to report back without causing a mass panic.”
    I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off.
    “I came to tell you that one of the angels has woken up. As soon as she’s strong enough, you may interview her.” Her eyes went flat as she added. “You may speak with Mrs. Kelton, but no one else.”
    She raised her arms and despite the absence of the white light she usually travelled through, she vanished into thin air.
    “Whoa,” I said and turned to Kane. “How did she do that?”
    He shook his head. “Special high angel magic, I suppose.”
    “I guess so,” I said, feeling awful about my exchange with Chessandra. She’d come to give us information, and I’d been nothing but hostile. Not to mention I’d misinterpreted the mission. Dang, I was an idiot.
    “Jade?” Kane said.
    “Huh?” I glanced up.
    He was standing in front of me, holding his Demon Hunter dagger in one hand. The design in the hilt was glowing, indicating he was being summoned. “It’s time to go.”
    I clutched his hand, wishing I’d thought to put a bra on as the dagger pulled us into the shadows.

Chapter 6
    I wanted to cry out, to somehow stop Kane from letting us travel through the