Mordecai who dealt with the more mundane business that Hades didn’t want to be bothered with, like meeting with investment bankers, powerful businessmen and terrorists. They weren’t all that different in Hades’ mind. They all wanted power and wealth and didn’t care what they had to do to get it.
It was Mordecai who ferried contracts back and forth to the humans Hades had dealings with. And it was Mordecai he sent in to enforce the terms of the agreements if the puny humans tried to default on the deals.
Hades set down his goblet of brandy and stood. Ah well, time to get his hands dirty. He had a quick meeting in the Sudan with a warlord who no longer thought he needed Hades. He’d soon discover the folly of such thoughts. Hades had a nice spot on the sixth level of Hell all picked out for him.
When it was done, he’d come back, check the mirror one more time and make his final plans.
Jessica hung up the phone and tried to think what she needed to do next. She needed to get some of her things gathered before she headed out to Sabrina’s place in the bayou. She prayed she’d told her friend the right thing to do. If she was wrong—
No, she wouldn’t think that way. She’d known this was coming, known the evil stalking her friend would not be deterred. All they could do was meet it head-on and fight it.
She went to the antique cabinet that dominated one wall of her dining area. Opening drawers, she began to pull out everything she thought she might need.
The first thing she removed was a small silver box. She reverently lifted the cover and pulled out the amulet that sat there. It had belonged to her grandmother. Jessica lifted it and slipped it over her neck, knowing she’d need it in the coming fight. It was their ace in the hole, the one chance they had to defeat the devil.
Her grandmother’s journal rested in a place of honor on top of the cabinet. She took it down and held it to her heart, drawing strength and comfort from it. She’d read the words over and over, committing many of them to memory. She’d done the same with her grandmother’s spell book as well. But she was taking them both, just in case.
She hurried to her bedroom to dress. She hit the second number in the contacts list on her phone, waiting impatiently while it rang.
“’Lo.” She’d obviously woken Tilly from a deep sleep.
“Tilly, you need to get up. Sabrina is on her way to your place and she needs your car to get out of town.” She carefully set her grandmother’s journal and spell book on the bedside table.
“What?” There was some scrambling on the other end. “What are you talking about? What’s happened?”
“Hope you’re sitting down.” Jessica took a deep breath and plunged onward in her explanation. “Sabrina has freed an immortal warrior from a curse and now the devil is after her.”
“What have you been drinking?” Tilly’s voice got louder with each word she spoke.
“Listen,” Jessica yelled. “Listen to me. There’s no time.” She kept the explanation as brief as possible, cutting Tilly off each time she tried to interject a word. She put the phone on speaker, yanked off her nightclothes and started to dress. “You’ve only got a few minutes until they get to your place and you’ll see for yourself.”
“This is crazy.” She could hear the brush of fabric in the background and knew Tilly was getting dressed too.
“Crazy or not, we have to help Sabrina.” Jessica grabbed an oversized purse and stuffed both journals inside. The amulet around her neck warmed and began to pulse. She paused, wrapping her fingers around it.
“I’ll get a box of supplies ready to go with her and meet her outside.”
“I’ll get to your place as soon as I can,” Jessica told her friend. “I have some things I have to do before we can join Sabrina and her warrior. But they can’t wait. The quicker they can get out of town the better.”
“I’m going to call my granny.”
Jessica didn’t try to stop Tilly. As far as she was concerned, the more help they had, the better. “See you soon.” She ended the call and tossed her phone into the bag.
Jessica hurried to her desk, opened her laptop and sent out an urgent message to her circle of Wiccan friends. She’d put them all on alert a week ago, letting them know she’d be calling on them for help. They would all focus their power on protecting Sabrina.
That done, Jessica typed Lady of the Beasts into the search engine and pressed enter. Immediately, a page with choices popped up and she hit the top one. The website was devoted to this obscure goddess and included the story of the curse. It also included an email address.
“They’ll either be able to help or think I’m crazy,” she muttered as she began to compose a message. When she was finished, she read I aloud. “Wolf is free in New Orleans.” That was vague enough in case these people had nothing to do with the curse. She also included directions to the cabin.
Jessica rubbed her hands up and down her arms, feeling a distinct chill. “Do it.” She pressed the send button and closed her laptop. It was done. If they could be of any help, they would. And if not, Jessica and her friends were on their own.
She had a few more things to do before she left. She had to center herself and cast a powerful protection spell. This was too dangerous a situation to go into without doing everything she could to protect herself and her friends.
Jessica stopped and looked around her tiny apartment, wondering if she’d ever see it again. There were no guarantees any of them would be coming home.
Straightening her shoulders, she strengthened her resolve. She had to do this. There was no other way.
Chapter Nine
Arand didn’t like this situation, not one bit. Someone was watching them. Or at least they had been. He no longer felt the eyes on them, but he was still on high alert.
He glanced down at Sabrina as she strode down the sidewalk just behind him and to his left. He kept her on that side so his weapon hand was free. He could fight with both hands, but his right was the stronger one.
“How much farther?” His words came out more as a growl than a man’s voice. He hated that he had no idea where they were going, that he was dependent on Sabrina for directions. He was the alpha. It was his job to protect her.
“About ten minutes.” Her gaze darted all around and he could sense her nervousness, smell it. He didn’t like it one bit.
“There are two men in the alleyway to the right and another passed out on back of the house over there.” He pointed to show her. “There is nothing paranormal around us right now.”
She stopped and peered at him. “How do you know that?” She pulled her sweater tighter around her body. Arand wished he was wrapped around her body warming her.
He tapped the side of his nose. “I can smell them.” He could also smell gasoline, exhaust fumes, garbage and the dense river air that pressed down on the city.
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
He stood a little straighter before he realized what he was doing. Irritation filled him. It didn’t matter what she thought of him. His duty was to protect her, evade Hades and find his fellow warriors so they could protect the Lady. There was no place in his life for a woman right now, especially a human one.
But his instincts and his wolf weren’t listening. His wolf gave a menacing growl inside him as if to refute his words. The wolf wanted Sabrina as his own, and so did Arand.
“All my senses are enhanced.” It wasn’t bragging. It was fact. He might not have his full powers, but he was still strong, still more than capable of protecting them.
He pressed his hand against the small of her back and urged her to start walking again. “We must hurry.”
“Of course.” She resumed their trek to her friend’s house.
“Tell me about this friend, the one you spoke with.” He was curious about every aspect of Sabrina’s life, including who she spent her time with.
“That was Jessica. She’s a witch and I trust her with my life.”
