Jake (Immortals of New Orleans #8)(32)

"Holly," Samantha called into the foyer. "Bring Zella to us." The feisty redheaded witch turned her attention to the group. "Please sit. All of you. Do not be surprised by what you see."

"Zella?" Quintus asked.

"We have changed her name. For she has changed. Please." Samantha gestured to the sofa. 

"Stay with me," Jake said, tightening his hold on her hand.

Kai allowed him to lead her to the couch. He sat at one end, deliberately arranging Kai protectively between Quintus and himself.

A thick silence filled the air as the fragile woman entered the room. Kai recalled Ilsbeth's appearance when they'd met long ago, astonished at the change. Her iconic thick platinum hair had been cut short into a brunette pixie. Instead of the expensive fabrics the high priestess favored, she wore a yellow sundress that dusted the floor as she walked. The female ignored the guests, listening only to Holly as she directed her into the winged chair.

"Do see, Zella. We have company." Ilsbeth looked through Kai as if she weren't there, and quickly gazed back to Holly.

"Come now, you must remember Jake." Holly flipped her hair, and gave him a flirtatious smile. "Hey, stranger. I hope you'll stay afterwards. We can catch up."

"Thank you, Holly. Would you mind taking a seat so we can talk?" Samantha asked.

A flare of jealousy sparked as Holly winked at Jake. Kai glanced to Jake, whose stare was focused solely on Ilsbeth.

"You may ask her questions, but since her injury she has no recollection of who she was. She does not practice magick," Samantha said.

"What happened to her hair?" Quintus asked, his tone terse.

"When she returned to the coven, it fell out. It just started growing in a month ago. We suspect her magick influenced the color. As you can see, it's no longer the same. Nothing is the same."

"Ilsbeth," Kai began.

"Zella," Samantha interrupted. "We prefer not to speak the high priestess' name for she is no longer with us."

Kai glanced at Jake, who rolled his eyes in response to Samantha's explanation. "My name is Kai Beckett. I came here a long time ago. I am a Pixiu. You did a spell to hide my magick."

Ilsbeth wrung her hands in her lap, and innocently looked to Kai. "I live with many witches. I'm not sure who my parents are or how I got here but Samantha and the others, they take good care of me. I do chores in return for their kindness."

"I need you to think. To remember. Please, I need you to do this spell."

"I'm very sorry but I don't do magick. My name is Zella. I'm human." Ilsbeth wore an expression of innocence, her words sincere.

"Oh Goddess," Kai said softly, resting her head against Jake's shoulder.

"Don't do this, Ilsbeth." Jake glared at her.

"I am Zella," Ilsbeth repeated.

Although she presented an empathetic disposition, Kai questioned Zella's story. Nothing about the high priestess was ever transparent. It was how she'd climbed her way to the top of the food chain, how she'd led the coven for over five hundred years. Deception. A clever sleight of hand in her dealings with everyone around her kept her allies in debt and her enemies cowering in fear, that was if they lived. To imagine her simply without magick seemed impossible. As long as life breathed through her cells, a trace of magick had to exist.

"Stop with the shit," Jake growled.

"Did you really think we'd believe this act? There's no way if she's sitting here she doesn't practice magick," Quintus barked, his eyes roaming over the ancient witch. "Look here, Ilsbeth. I don't know what kind of game you're playing but I'm not in the mood. If you think … "

"Mr. Tullius, I'm afraid I won't tolerate you berating our guest," Samantha chastised.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Quintus countered. He stood and turned, plowing his fingers though his hair. "Me berating her? That's rich."



       
         
       
        

"You must remain calm. We cannot have negativity brought to our sanctuary," Holly interjected.

"You," Jake pointed to the attractive witch, "have no place here. I don't even know why you are here."

"I am her caretaker," Holly stated. "And besides, Jake," her eyes narrowed, darting from Kai to the wolf, "you know me. Intimately, one might say."

Kai's blood boiled at her assertion. Jealousy stabbed her, its white-hot pick boring into her chest.

"If you're only her caretaker, your job is done. I do not want her here," Kai told Samantha.