Free Bewitched on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase

relaxed as she sank into the hug. “Jesus, we were worried.” She pulled back and searched my face. “Are you both all right?”
    I nodded. “Except for Kane’s arm, I think so.”
    “We’re fine.” Kane gave Charlie a look of gratitude. “Thank you. I’m sure it’s you who kept this place running.”
    “And Pyper.” She waved a hand. “You know that one could take care of anything even if she was on her death bed.”
    “You’re right about that,” Kane agreed.
    I sat in a chair, utterly exhausted.
    Charlie glanced around the room, her gaze lingering first on me and then Kane. The thick wave of her relief was so strong it nearly suffocated me. She made her way to the door, and just before she slipped through, she turned and said, “You have no idea how glad I am to see both of you.”
    She’d been more than worried. My heart squeezed for what Chessandra had put our friends through. Two weeks we’d been gone. Cripes. Kat was going to be a mess as well.
    “I think I might have a clue.” I sent her a ghost of a smile.
    She let out a small chuckle. “I guess you do.” With a nod, she strode back into the club.
    While Pyper and Kane talked, I picked up the phone and called Kat. No answer. I tried Lucien and ended up leaving a message. The same with Lailah. “Damn, where is everyone?”
    “They’re with the coven most likely,” Pyper said.
    “For?” I asked, curious.
    “They’ve been looking for you. With no luck, I might add. Apparently the angel realm is impenetrable.”
    “Even Lailah didn’t know?” How could she not?
    Pyper shook her head, a lock of her blue hair falling into her eyes. “Nope. If she did, she didn’t tell anyone. But I don’t think so, because she’s been worried sick as well.”
    “Damn Chessandra. And Drake too.” He was just as much to blame as she was. Maybe more. Wasn’t he the one hell bent on protecting me?
    I clutched the arm of the chair, hatred forming a ball in my gut. They were both way over the line. Stealing two weeks of our lives in that room when we hadn’t committed any crimes. Keeping us locked away because someone had cursed me wasn’t any kind of acceptable.
    “We should go stop them. There’s no need for them to keep this up.” I stood, ready to head to the coven circle.
    “Don’t worry, dear,” Bea said from the door. Her salon-dyed auburn hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she was dressed in a full-length, form-fitting, shimmering, pink-beaded dress. She was truly the bell of the ball. Whoa. Where had she been? “In about five seconds you’ll be speaking with them anyway,” she added.
    “Why? Are they coming here?”
    “No. You’ll be going there.” She gave me a patient smile and then it hit me. They were summoning me.
    Of course. I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs as my body started to tingle with a soft caress of magic.
    Bea was already inspecting Kane’s arm. He grimaced in pain as she tested his movement. I raised a hand, trying to get his attention, but my arm was transparent…again. I let out a tiny gasp. I was fading into the ether.
    My world turned to dark shades of gray, and static filled my ears. Chaos seemed to be my now-normal state of travel. So when I appeared in the middle of the coven circle, I was barely fazed at all.
    My eyes adjusted, and instead of the moonlit night I’d expected, I was in a bubble of color. The circle’s ground was lit with electric blue. Beyond the circle was an opaque sheet of green, blocking out the trees I knew resided there. But most interesting was the fact that Lailah glowed with traces of lavender, while all the witches were tinged red. All except one. Zoe was the only colorless soul in the clearing.
    “It’s working, keep chanting,” I heard Lucien call from his spot on the northernmost point of the circle. But I only had eyes for Zoe.
    Her head was down, her arms out and hands clasped with fellow coven members. But the only magic coming from her was the