"Yes. Lots of times."

"Good. Form a clear picture of him in your mind, and use all of your energy to bring him to the circle."

"Isn't he already here? Can't you see Pyper's dark shadow?" I asked.

"Yes, her shadow is there, but once we start the spell anything can happen. Just keep focused."

I nodded and closed my eyes, concentrating.

"I'm going to start now." Lailah's light energy circled us as she walked the perimeter of the circle. "I need each of you to stay silent and focus. Expect anything from rain to sunlight to intense heat or extreme cold. Like I said before, I just never know what will happen."

I looked up at the clear night sky, spotted the familiar yellow Louisiana moon and gave a little shudder at the unknown yet to come. I snapped my mind back to the mental picture of Bobby and focused on the brick closest to the center of our inner circle.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lailah reach up and untie her cloak. She tossed it outside the circle and stood barefoot in an almost transparent white gown. Her honey-streaked hair hung loose around her shoulders, and I couldn't help but think she looked like an escaped mental patient.

Her disapproving glare landed on me. I shut my eyes tight, determined to focus.

I heard nothing but Lailah's voice after that. "Selene, moon G.o.ddess of the night, hear me now, High Priestess of the Coven." Her voice was clear and somehow blocked the dull background noise from the people walking Bourbon Street, just feet away. "Bless these women, your three daughters, with your presence. We call seeking wisdom, strength and, above all, the power to protect our sister from all who seek to harm."

Mist tickled my arms. I opened my eyes to a thick blanket of fog. I could see nothing but the dim glow of the candles flickering low on the ground.

"Moon G.o.ddess, we ask you read our sisters' intentions. We give our will to you freely and take nothing but yours in return. We want only to help our sister to be free of the bonds that bind her. Free of the spirit that haunts her. From one to three, and three to one, please let your will be done."

Silence loomed. The foggy mist turned dense, soaking my shirt until it clung to my body. The candles, barely visible, flickered like a faulty light bulb. I held my breath and waited.

And waited.

Then, in a flash, the mist dissipated and the candles stopped flickering. The three of us looked at each other then at Lailah, standing as still as a statue, her eyes closed, head tilted up. I sent Pyper a questioning glance. She lifted one shoulder in a sad deflated shrug.

I let out a barely audible sigh and opened my mouth to speak but was shocked into silence as the blue candles lit and shot a wall of fire straight in the air, blocking us from Lailah and the rest of the courtyard. Kat jerked, trying to get free, but instinctively I held tighter, keeping the circle whole. The flames turned a brilliant sapphire blue before fading to a transparent white.

Through the wall Lailah gestured to me. "Now!"

I yanked Pyper and Kat through the wall without any warning. Instead of heat, sharp stabs of icy cold p.r.i.c.kled my skin. The three of us toppled to the ground, and the flames turned brilliant blue once more. The radiant heat warmed the chill instantly.

I stayed still with my face pressed to the ground, breathing deeply. "Did it work?"

"I have no idea," Kat mumbled beside me.

"Pyper?"

Her motionless body faced away from me, and she didn't answer.

Too tired to move, my eyes flickered to Lailah. She stood like a statue, her face blank.

Crawling up on my knees, I tried to get my feet under me but froze when Lailah's face glowed silver and her features changed, revealing long, white-blond hair and clear, pale blue eyes. Her full red lips moved into a grim line, and the voice that spoke was deep and husky.

"I have fulfilled your intentions. What comes next I cannot control. The events that unfold are up to you, my child." She pointed at me. "Reach deep inside yourself to alter the course now set in motion." The silver glow started to fade.

"Wait! Why me?" I asked in desperation.

"You are my daughter." The image faded back to Lailah, now as pale as a ghost.

The blue wall of flames faded back to translucent white. Lailah turned to focus on the circle and yelped. "He isn't Pyper's black shadow!"

My head snapped to the circle. There stood Bobby, radiating frustration. I was more than a little surprised I could read his emotions.

"Yes it is. He's the one who's been tormenting her."

"No! I know him. His energy is bright white, not black." Lailah dropped to her knees, checking on Pyper still curled up at her feet. "Pyper. Wake up!"

I crawled to her side and cradled Pyper's head in my lap. "Pyper?"

"Her black cloud is gone, but so is her energy." Lailah's voice rose in panic. "Oh my G.o.d! What have I done?" She slumped down next to Pyper.

I opened my mind and tried to get a read on Pyper's energy. Nothing. "She's just pa.s.sed out. Do you have smelling salts in that bag of tricks?"

Lailah fished around and handed me a small jar. I quickly checked Pyper's pulse and breathing. Both were a bit weak, but I let out the breath I'd been holding and put the smelling salts under her nose.

Nothing.

"Come on!"

"What happened?" A male voice, Kane's voice, called in panic.

"She's pa.s.sed out." I tried to sound calm.

"No. She isn't in there. I can't feel her." Lailah crumpled into tears.

Kane's eyes stared into mine for a brief agonizing moment.

Then I heard Kat say, "Yes! My friend has lost consciousness. Send an ambulance."

Chapter 18.

Time seemed to stand still as Pyper lay crumpled in my arms. If Bobby hadn't been attached to Pyper, then what was? And where had it come from? A cold chill snaked its way through my body. She hadn't been affected until after I'd moved in. Had Ian's ghost hunting triggered it somehow?

And what about Bobby? How come Lailah hadn't seen him attached to me? Even if he didn't follow me everywhere, she'd been in my apartment earlier that evening. Surely she would have seen him then. Maybe she had been too caught up in Kane. I scowled and forced the petty thought out of my head.

The roar of the siren snapped my mind back to reality. I tore my tear-filled eyes from Pyper's face and peered up at the gate, trying to mentally urge the paramedics to move faster.

"What are you doing?" Kat asked.

I turned to answer her, but she was staring at Lailah. The wall of flame had disappeared, and Bobby was gone from the circle.

"Closing the spell," Lailah said in a barely audible whisper.

I cleared my throat. "Where did he go?"

"Bobby? I let him out. There was no reason to keep him." Lailah gathered up her supplies and stuffed them in her paper bag.

I said nothing but wondered if that was true. I'd thought Bobby had been interfering with Kane and me every time we got close. But was it really Pyper's black spirit, or something else entirely? Anything seemed possible now.

"Excuse me. You're going to have to let her go," a paramedic said, gently pushing me to the side.

Kat pulled me to my feet as the emergency workers loaded Pyper on the gurney. Kane stayed by her side, and the rest of us followed as the EMTs rushed her to the vehicle. An argument broke out when Kane was told only family was allowed in the ambulance. Lailah stepped forward, laid her hand on the paramedic's arm and said something I couldn't hear. After that, Kane climbed in, sat next to Pyper and took her hand.

We watched as they raced away.

"Lailah, what did you say to him?" I asked.

"Nothing significant. I just bent his will a little bit with my energy." She looked at her feet. "It was the least I could do."

"Come on. I'll drive." Kat pulled out her keys and led us to her car.

The antiseptic smell burned my nose as I made my way to the nurses' station. Kat and Lailah trailed behind me.

"I doubt they know anything yet," Kat said.

"Probably not, but we need to know where she is." Plus, I needed to see Kane. My eyes burned with unshed tears as I thought of the anguish on his face before the ambulance took off.

Kat grabbed my arm. "Have a seat. I'll get the information."

I shook my head. "It's okay. I'll go." I left them in the back of the full emergency room and returned thirty minutes later, after insisting the nurse personally check on Pyper.

"She's here, but there's no change. They're running tests. As far as I can tell, Kane is still with her." The nurse had said a family member was with her. It could only be Kane. I sat next to Kat, with Lailah on her other side.

"Here." Kat handed me a Styrofoam cup. "Coffee."

"Thanks." I held the cup, warming my chilled fingers, even though the night was thick with humid summer air.

"What happened back there?" Kat asked in a low voice.

I turned and saw her peering at Lailah.

"Which part?" Lailah focused on the white wall in front of us.

Kat glanced at me and raised her eyebrows.

I cleared my throat. "Let's start at the beginning. You were trying to trap the black spirit attached to Pyper, but instead you trapped Bobby. How is that possible? I thought they were the same being. Bobby is the only one I ever saw."

"I already told you, Bobby has white energy. He's Bea's brother."

"I know. That's why we were trying to get in touch with her. I didn't know you knew him. You've seen him before, I take it."

She nodded. "A few times with Bea. When we were working on some spells together."

"Okay." What kind of spells? I shook my head trying to focus. "But you said before you could see things. You saw the black spirit, so why didn't you see Bobby's energy?"

"Because of you, I guess. Your aura is purple, but surrounding that is brilliant white energy, like all intuitives have. If he was near you, it would have been hard for me to see him."

"Oh." I sat back staring at the admittance door, wishing Kane would appear.

"So because Jade was focusing on Bobby, he got trapped in the circle and not Pyper's ghost. We are talking about two ghosts here, right?" Kat asked.

The people next to us turned and openly stared after hearing her statement. She stared back until they turned away. In spite of myself, I smiled.

"At least two," Lailah said.

"At least!" I sat up straight.

"I don't know!" Lailah finally met my eyes. "I have totally f.u.c.ked up. I don't know anything anymore."

"Calm down," Kat said in a hushed tone. "No one is blaming you."

I suppressed a grunt of disagreement. Kat must have heard me, judging by the elbow she nudged in my rib.

"We're just trying to figure out what happened. Tell us about the vision we saw," I said.

"The vision?" Lailah furrowed her eyebrows. "What vision?"

"The one where you turned into another person and told me I was the one who would have to fix this mess." I jumped out of my chair and stood in front of the two of them.

Lailah's eyes went wide as her head turned from me to Kat. "She came..."

"Who? Who came?" Kat asked.

"The G.o.ddess. It had to be." She sat up straight. The remorse faded, replaced by an excited glow.

Kat and I stared at her in silence. She looked around, as if aware for the first time where we were. Standing, she grabbed a hand from each of us. "We need to talk a little more privately."

I glanced back at the admittance door, while Lailah dragged us outside. Still no Kane.