Chapter 19
DAHLIA
"Get inside, now!" I bellowed over the supernatural mayhem, watching another wave of zombie creatures melt under our magical barrage.
The acrid smell of charred flesh and ozone filled my nostrils as I surveyed the battlefield that used to be Willowberry's front yard. This had become my happy place. Seeing it like this made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t relish the idea of leaving it like this.
"Lucas!" I caught his arm as he finished tearing apart a zombie with his claws. My heart skipped a beat when his gaze landed on me. I hoped it always would. "Baby, I need you to stay here with the pack. Keep fighting these things."
His golden eyes locked onto mine. I could see the war between his wolf's need to protect me and his understanding of what I was asking. "You want me to let you walk into the most dangerous situation we've ever faced without me?" His voice was rough with emotion.
"I want you to keep our family safe," I said softly, reaching up to cup his face despite the chaos around us.
"Lucas, if this goes wrong, if we fail at Congo Square, you and the pack are our last line of defense.
I need to know you're here, protecting what matters most." Thankfully, those still at the plantation were able to fight with him. Dre sent her husband, Steve, to their son’s house a couple of days ago, and he hadn’t returned, given everything we had been dealing with.
His hand covered mine, warm and solid and everything that anchored me. "Lia, you are what matters most. How am I supposed to let you go?"
"Because you love me enough to trust me," I whispered, then rose on my toes to kiss him fiercely. "And because I love you enough to trust you to defend our home."
Lucas growled against my lips. When we broke apart, his eyes held resignation along with the love. “You come back to me, you hear? I don't care what you have to do or who you have to kill. You come back.”
“Noted,” I said dryly, then turned toward the house. “Everyone else, inside! Kaveh needs space to work his teleportation mojo.”
Margaret, Sarah, Claude, and Thomas were huddled in the entryway. Their faces were grim but determined. “We heard the plan,” Claude assured me.
“And we’ve been studying our part of the ritual,” Margaret added. “We are ready to do our best.”
“That’s a relief,” I replied before I turned to do a quick headcount.
A familiar figure walked through the melee, making my sisters and me walk out onto the porch.
"Looks like y'all have been busy," Marie Laveau drawled as her dark eyes surveyed the zombie carnage with professional interest. My sisters stopped dead in their tracks.
Phi actually made a small squeaking noise.
"Marie?" I managed. "What are you doing here?" Dani mentioned she was on her way, but I’d forgotten about that.
"I came to help, of course." She flicked her wrist, and three zombie animals that had been shambling toward us simply... stopped. Then crumbled to dust. "We can't have the Collector destroying our city, can we?"
"Our city?" Kota snorted. This could go sideways. Kota had never learned when to keep her mouth shut. "Last year, it was your city, and you were the one sending zombies after us.”
Marie's smile was sharp as a blade. "This argument is getting old, but I see I have to tell it again. I've seen the error of my ways." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Turns out there's a difference between controlled chaos and total annihilation. Who knew?"
"Right," I said. We really didn't have time for this. Although she had been helpful since we stopped Samedi. "Marie, if you're serious about helping, can you keep the zombies off our property while we're gone and help Lucas with this?" I asked.
"That’s why I came," she replied with a frown. “Where are you going?”
“To stop the Collector,” I said as I considered who else we needed to take with us. “Cyran! I need you to gather the bloodline representatives. We can't do this ritual without all seven families.”
Cyran popped up around the side of the house. "I’ve already gathered them." He gestured to the battle-worn individuals standing behind him.
"That's six with Claude, Thomas, and Margaret," Dre noted. "What about the seventh?"
"Michel Drake," Phi said grimly. "The problem is, he's working for the other side now."
"You have his blood and hair," Adèle interjected as she prowled on the staircase inside the house. "In the gris-gris bag. You can bind it to your power, so it carries the signature of his bloodline during the ritual."
“You mean we can trick the Collector,” Kota pointed out. “Is that going to work?”
“It’s the only way you will be able to do the ritual,” Adèle countered. “Cami and I will continue to research the concept. You need to get out of here.”
Nodding, I gestured for everyone to gather close and looked for our transportation. “Kaveh, how many people can you transport at once?”
The djinn leader looked up from where he'd been talking to Kaitlyn. "All of you, but it'll drain me significantly. And teleporting into an active magical zone carries risks."
"Everything we're doing carries risks," Kota muttered. That was the story of our lives. "At least this way we're taking the fight to the bastard instead of waiting for him to pick us off one by one."
"Don't worry about your house," Marie called out. Following her gaze, I noticed she was looking at Dani, who was chewing her lower lip and looking around the property. “I'll keep it safe and sound. After all, I have a reputation to maintain."
"This is so weird," Dre whispered to me as we gathered close. "A year ago, she was trying to kill us."
Kaveh moved to the center of our group and waved to Cyran.
His face was already showing strain. It made me pause and wonder if this was a good idea.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as his djinn fire began to spiral in a tight circle around him.
The flames changed and grew into towering pillars of djinn energy.
"This is... significant," he said through gritted teeth. Kaitlyn placed her hand on his back as his usual composure started cracking. "I've never attempted a mass teleportation of this magnitude, so huddle close."
The shuffling of feet on the porch drowned out the sounds of fighting as everyone crowded close. Bodies pressed in from all sides. I had to fight the urge to elbow my way to some breathing room.
Being squished against Dre wasn't the worst thing in the world—at least I knew she had my back. But feeling someone breathing down my neck without knowing who it was? That made me twitchy as hell.
"Personal space, people," I muttered, but nobody was listening. We were packed tighter than sardines in a can, and about as comfortable.
That was when the air started to change. It grew thick and electric, like the moment before lightning strikes. My skin prickled with Kaveh’s energy, and every nerve ending was suddenly on high alert.
Kaveh's djinn power spread outward from where he stood in the center.
It rolled toward us in waves of barely contained power.
The energy created a perfect circle that encompassed our entire group—Guardian families, my sisters, supernatural allies, and everyone else crazy enough to follow us into this mess.
“Kaveh,” I said, worried by how much he was already struggling. “Are you sure you can—”
"I can do it," he interrupted. "But everyone needs to stay within the circle. If someone steps outside while I'm weaving the spell..." He didn't need to finish. We all understood the consequences.
The energy began to pulse in rhythm with Kaveh's heartbeat. "Hold on," Kaveh gasped, as his knees buckled slightly. "This is going to be rough."
Between one breath and the next, I felt like I was being torn apart at the molecular level. The sensation of traveling through space was magnified tenfold. Instead of a smooth transition, it felt like being shot through a cannon made of lightning and thorns.
Screams echoed around us—whether from our group or from the fabric of reality itself, I couldn't tell. The energy consumed everything. For a terrifying moment, I thought we might be lost forever in the space between worlds. Then, as suddenly as it started, we crashed back into existence.
We materialized in Congo Square with all the grace of a meteor impact. Half of our group stumbled and fell when we hit solid ground. Kaveh collapsed immediately. His energy evaporated, and his face was gray with exhaustion.
"Is everyone okay?" I gasped as I looked around while trying to keep my legs steady.
"Define okay," Dre groaned from where she'd landed in an undignified heap next to Thomas.
A smirk lifted one corner of my mouth as I noted we were all there. In one piece. And somehow still alive. Which, given what Kaveh had just pulled off, felt like a miracle.
"Elena, take the northern perimeter," Kaitlyn said as she knelt next to Kaveh.
Having members of the coven already there was the second blessing of the day.
"Sophia, establish confusion charms along the walking paths.
Maricella, I need you coordinating redirection with the street performers.
Make them think there's construction work or a permit issue. "
Kaitlyn then turned to a group of younger practitioners.
"You guys need to start on a concealment dome.
It should be a forty-foot radius, anchored to the oak trees.
Make it look like the park is empty to anyone outside the perimeter.
Anyone who tries to enter should get a sudden urge to use the restroom or go for some beignets. "
I watched with growing respect as the coven moved with military precision.
Within minutes, the square was becoming a supernatural fortress disguised as empty parkland.
Tourists walked past without a second glance.
It was fascinating to watch their minds slide away from what should have been an obvious gathering of magical practitioners.