Jax (Immortals of New Orleans Book 7) (19 page)

“How about you stay here with Jax and I’ll go look in the garage for something to open it? I’ve been in there, too. It’s mostly tools and stuff.”

“It’s beautiful, though.” Katrina observed the ring. Her eyes were drawn to the antique object. She hadn’t noticed it at first, but what she’d thought were geometric shapes were miniscule horse heads intertwined, fitting perfectly together.

“What is it?” Jax asked.

“Do you see it? They look like little ponies…” Katrina’s fingers drifted to the object, and a jolt of preternatural energy ripped through her body. As if she’d been electrocuted, she stood frozen, unable to move her hand. She felt the pinch of Jax’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, his loud voice telling her to let go. But the longer she touched it, the stronger the draw to unlock it. A click sounded in her ears, the door falling free of her palm.

Katrina sucked a breath, willing her dizziness to end. Strong arms caught her as her legs gave out, and she breathed in the scent of her mate. Her eyes blinked open and she deliberately attempted to slow her pulse.

“Hey, baby.” Jax pressed his lips to her forehead. “You okay? You scared me.”

“Scared us,” Jake exclaimed. “I’m shitting my pants right now. How the hell did you do that? Both Jax and I tried to open that thing and you just…”

Katrina caught the glare Jax shot Jake, and she knew it was because he didn’t want to address the elephant in the room. For some unexplainable reason, Ilsbeth’s magick was influencing her. As much as Katrina wanted to believe it was just the house, the shock on Samantha’s face and her foreboding words warned her that something more insidious was happening.

But given the urgency, they didn’t have time to speculate. As the door swung wide open, it occurred to Katrina that if it had opened that quickly, it could shut and lock as well. She forced herself to wake up from the spell, and right herself.

“Where are you going?” Jax asked, refusing to let her go.

“The door. We need to get going.”

“Maybe you need to rest a minute. I’m not going to pretend to know what just happened here, but it obviously did something to you. You almost fell.”

“I gotta go with Jax on this one. What the hell is going on? First the music. Now this.” Jake held the door with his foot.

“I don’t know. I…” Katrina stuttered. How could she explain what had happened when she had no idea what was affecting her? She accepted Jax’s assistance and held his hand as she regained her balance.

“How can’t you know? You saw what just happened, right?” Jake pressed.

“Let her be,” the Alpha growled. “We’ll discuss it later. The sooner we find something, the sooner we get out of here.”

“Fine. But I’m just sayin’ it’s not natural.”

“Leave it,” Jax told him.

“You know I’m right,” Jake insisted.

“Just stop.” Katrina had had enough. The air in the room thickened, making it difficult for her to breathe, and she suspected that whatever was inside the house, it was forcing her to move. She put her hand on her chest, and took a step toward the dark entrance. As she ventured into the darkness, the pressure lifted and she couldn’t be sure in that moment whether the flutter in her stomach was caused by relief or dread.

Katrina breathed in the scent of sage as she entered the great room. Awestruck, she held tight to the railing as they made their way toward the wooden spiral staircase. Floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves circled the oval balcony. She stopped momentarily to gaze up at the stars through the cathedral ceiling that was made entirely of glass. Katrina wondered why it couldn’t be seen from the front of the home, but guessed that Ilsbeth had enacted a spell, creating the illusion of solid stone, which had hidden it.

“This is unbelievable.” Jake ran his hand over the books. “Now this is what I call a library.”

“It must be some kind of a ceremonial room,” Jax noted.

Katrina remained silent as she glanced down into the space, empty save for an altar.

“I’m pretty sure Ilsbeth held coven gatherings out in the gardens, but y’all know it rains quite a bit in New Orleans.”

“Sure does. This place looks pristine, though.” Jax led their party down the steps. He held his arm out, keeping both Katrina and Jake behind him. “Not only that. Do you see any other exits or entrances?”

“No way in or out but through the portal,” Jake agreed.

“It’s special,” Katrina told them. As Jax stepped onto the granite floor, she brushed past him and moved into the center, taking in the sight of her surroundings. “It’s a perfectly closed oval.”

Antique velvet-covered sofas and chairs were set around its perimeter. The scarlet-colored walls on the lower level gave a warm contrast to the cool stone beneath her feet. Katrina approached one of the many paintings adorning its walls.

“I can’t believe this. No, these can’t be real.” Her heart pounded with excitement, noting the canvas that had been set into an ornate filigree gold frame.

“Gauguin,” Jax acknowledged.

“Monet,” Jake called from across the room.

“It’s quite the private collection.” Katrina slid a finger across its border, but unlike what had happened in the bedroom, she felt nothing. She turned her attention to the altar that faced the north side of the hall. Her eyes darted to Jax, who gestured with his hand as if reading her mind.

“Look at all the granite.” Jake slid his toe across the floor. “Some religions consider it sacred. It has magnetic properties.”

“I always thought witches preferred limestone,” Katrina said, approaching the wooden structure.

“Ilsbeth never did anything small. She’s been around for hundreds of years.” Jake came up behind Jax and Katrina and sighed.

“Everything in her bedroom was unique. This hall. The furniture. The paintings. It’s all very personal.” Katrina pointed to the altar cloth. Its detailed embroidery depicted naked women; one in particular was a larger size. Her platinum blonde hair fell to her feet.

“She’s one of a kind. And this place? It looks like no one has ever even been in here,” Jax surmised.

“Maybe.” Jake nodded. “We can check with Dimitri and Leo to see if they know anything else, but neither one of them has ever mentioned this place to me. The only times I’ve been to her house, we either met in the yard or her office.”

“I’ve been around plenty of witches over the years,” Jax told them.

“Bet you’re bummed you missed out on Ilsbeth.” The corner of Jake’s mouth curled, but his eyes remained on alert.

“What she did to my sister’s mate is unforgiveable.” Jax picked up a candle, studied it and set it down. “But I suspect like with many people, she’s neither all good nor all evil. Witches, wolves, vampires…they often skate the edge of both.”

“I don’t know how you could say that after what happened to…” Jake began. Katrina shot him a glare and shook her head no.

“What happened to Nick wasn’t Ilsbeth’s fault entirely,” Jax continued.

“They attacked Dimitri, and he was unable to shift. I saw what she did to him,” Jake countered

“True, but he may never have met Gillian otherwise. My sister is formidable.” Jax fingered through a brass incense bowl and sniffed it.

“I didn’t know Ilsbeth, but the feelings I’m getting from being in this house, from touching her things…” Katrina paused and caught the wide-eyed expression of both Jake and Jax. “What? Can we just acknowledge that something is off with me and leave it at that? I’m not saying I’m some kind of psychic, but I’m not going to lie to either one of you. Maybe Ilsbeth has some kind of spell set so she can make contact with us?”

“I don’t like it.” Jake picked up a copper disc and observed its pentagram design.

“A pentacle,” Jax noted.

“How come you’re so willing to give Ilsbeth the benefit of the doubt after what she did to Dimitri? And Quintus for that matter?” Jake tossed the object not so delicately back onto the table. “You don’t seem like the forgiving type.”

“Because, my friend, Alphas learn to be the judge, the jury and executioner. We must be prudent in our interpretation of the facts. Sometimes things aren’t as they appear. Take Quint.” Jax lifted a small bronze statue of a horned woman and inspected it. “We’ve been friends a long time. Long enough for me to know he wasn’t going to kill my mate. But he’s impulsive. He’s not always a nice guy. In fact, he can be a very nasty vampire at times.”

“Are you honestly trying to tell me that he deserved what Ilsbeth did to him?”

“No, what I am saying is that he may have done something equally as atrocious to Ilsbeth and without knowing all the details, I can’t judge. For all I know, his actions may have been even more egregious than hers. So in the absence of facts, an Alpha must rule on the side of caution. You need to evaluate all the evidence and should it be missing, you can decide whether or not you will take action.”

“Well, I’m not the Alpha. All I know is that she fucked with D. Therefore, ipso facto, evil bitch.”

“All I can say is that you’ll learn what it’s like someday.”

“Many witches are benevolent with their spells. But these horns?” Katrina gestured to the large headdress that sat in the center of the altar. A pair of antlers extended from the headband. “It gives me the creeps.”

“She’s the high priestess,” Jax answered. “They belong to her.”

“Not anymore. There’s a new sheriff in town,” Jake said in his best western accent. “Mick Germaine. That should be interesting. Would love to get Logan’s thoughts on that.”

“How’s that?” Jax asked.

“Nothin’,” Jake sighed.

“Doesn’t sound like nothing.” Katrina reached for a small silver bell, but paused as Jax cocked his head and made an observation.

“Now that’s interesting.”

“What?” she asked

“That bell there…”

“Yeah?” Katrina pinched its tip and rang it; the audible chime sounded loudly. She looked inside and ran her finger against the smooth metal before setting it down.

“Well, there’s only supposed to be one of those. I’ve been to a few ceremonies. Granted they weren’t typical, in that it was a special occasion, but the bell? I recall them ringing it at the beginning and end. That there,” Jax pointed to an object. Its oxidized metal finish bubbled in shades of red, “that looks like another bell.”

“Well this one here is just an ordinary bell. And this one…it looks…it’s an antique. Maybe it’s why she has two.” Katrina reached for it, and the second her skin touched its surface, the energy hummed through her hand. “Oh my God…”

“Let go,” she heard Jax order but compelled, she held tight.

Katrina gave a firm shake and although nothing sounded, a small item fell onto the cloth below. The rusty article, smaller than a quarter, rolled toward Jake, who snapped it up with his fingers. As Katrina released the bell, it dropped onto a knife handle, the tip of which tipped upward, slicing her finger.

“Ow.” Katrina snatched her hand away from the altar.

“What the hell?” she heard Jake exclaim.

She turned her attention back to the table. The sickle-shaped instrument glowed where her blood had stained its shiny blade.

“Are you okay?” Jax asked. He tore off a piece of his t-shirt and reached for her hand.

“It’s just a tiny cut.” Katrina bit her lip, the sharp pain resonating up her arm. “What is that thing?”

“It’s a boline,” Jax commented, tending to her wound.

“I thought they used an athame?” Jake lifted the knife into the air, where the color slowly returned to its original state.

“It’s not used for the same purpose. They use it for cutting things other than flesh. You okay?” Jax wrapped the torn cloth tightly around her pinkie.

Katrina nodded and brought her bandaged hand to her chest. “What fell out of the bell?”

“It’s a ring.” Jake inspected the rusty metal object. “I’m pretty sure it’s a poison dispenser.”

“What would that be doing on the altar?” Katrina’s heart raced. “Something about these things…we need to figure out what’s going on. I could feel the energy in it.”

“They go back to the medieval times. Pretty clever really.” Jake fingered the ring. “This one? My guess is early fifteenth century.”

“But why would Ilsbeth own one of those? It’s so…
human
. She’s a powerful witch. She could probably poison someone much more easily with a spell.” Jax pinched the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t making sense.”

“True, and look at this house. Ilsbeth has money. I was in her closet. Designer clothes. Every last shoe in its place. I can’t exactly see her wearing that ring,” Katrina said.

“Maybe she didn’t wear it.” Jake attempted to jar the circular bulb, using his nail to scrape away the dirt. “Like everything else in this damn place, not opening.”

“Maybe she collected it like the paintings, but after what just happened here, my gut’s telling me it’s important. Jake, get the boline and the bell too. We’ve already been in here an hour and we still need to search the rest of the house.” Jax turned to Katrina and gave her a sympathetic smile. “You sure you don’t want to go sit in the car? I’m almost afraid to see what other tricks this witch has going on in here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“No. After what happened in the foyer, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to leave you guys alone.” Katrina scanned the room one more time, almost expecting Ilsbeth to materialize before them. “This house. I don’t know why, but I’m meant to be here. It wants me here.”