Jake (Immortals of New Orleans #8)(70)

"I'd probably keep it under here. Like maybe it's in the headboard somehow." Kai reached her hands forward, sliding them under the pillow and onto the cold wooden surface. Frustrated, she pushed with her toes until her fingers edged further down near the mattress. Swiping along the smooth wood, she stilled as the pads of her fingers pressed into a roughly edged divot.

"I found something. It's … I don't know. It's an indentation of some kind. A rectangle, maybe. No … it's a cross. Yeah, definitely a cross." Kai shoved up onto her knees and lifted the pillow, setting it aside. "Dammit, I wish I had a flashlight."

"Here." Quintus lifted his phone, the bright light shining far into the crevasse between the bed and mattress.

"Look, I can see it … this opens. Maybe there's a lever."

"Or maybe," Jake reached for the wooden rosary, and stretched it into the space, "it needs a key."

"Yes!" Kai exclaimed as she guided Jake's hand into place. As they set the cross into the indentation, there was an audible click. "Did you hear that? It's here. Wait … I feel it."

A curved metal pull ejected from the smooth wood, and Kai hooked her finger around it. The plank slid inside itself, revealing a hidden compartment. Light flickered off its metallic surface as she reached for the knife.

"Careful. Last thing you want to do is get cut by that thing. It's probably loaded to the hilt with dark magick."

"I've got it," she whispered, her heart pounding in excitement as she wrapped her fingers around its thick hilt. "Look."

Kai pressed back, kneeling on the bed. Rotating the foot-long Kris in the air, she smiled, her eyes wide in amazement.

"Dom sure knew how to hide that sucker. We might have found it eventually but the girls definitely helped," Jake said.

"It's born of demon magick. It bears the blood of children." Quintus shone the light onto the blade.

"We need to get going. We'll figure out the rest when we get home," Jake said.

The blade appeared to quiver in the light and Kai prayed it was playing tricks on her eyes. Its hilt was banded in striated pewter. The blade had been etched with unfamiliar markings, its curved metal snaked six times before ending in a razor sharp point.

Kai imagined how it had pierced Serafine's flesh. Cold and dark, its demonic history remained a mystery. What does it do? How is this supposed to help me? Kai wished she still had her book, recalling seeing a similar knife many years ago. 

"Careful, sweetheart. I think maybe we should wrap it in something. We don't know exactly what sort of fucked up demon magick is warped into that thing."

"Is there a blanket or something we can use?" Kai asked. Fear twisted through her as she studied the intricate designs. This weapon had killed three children, and she suspected it hadn't been the first time it had been used.

"Here. Lay it on this," Quintus directed, placing a hand towel onto the bed.

"I can't believe we found it." Kai gently set down the Kris, carefully wrapping it. She lifted it, and gave it to Jake. The wind howled, and she jolted upward. "Do you think she's found us?"

"Her demons are looking for you, but this place … it's sealed tight with some kind of magick." Quintus crossed the room and gazed through the glass doors. "Even though they were on our trail, it will confuse them."

"It makes you wonder though? Like what the hell did Dominique go through?" Jake reached for Kai's hand, helping her off the bed.

"Kade turned her," Quintus stated flatly. "He was young when he did it. Can't remember the exact circumstance."

"I thought you were like the granddaddy vamp. Don't you keep track of all your boys and girls?" Jake asked.

"Not my responsibility. I've only sired a few vampires in my lifetime. Should they choose to turn someone, that's on them. Leo knows I'm here if he needs me. As for Dominique, I'm not certain of her nature. She endured the torment of the witch. It's likely the demon touched her magick."

"It definitely messed with her head. Leo said she doesn't speak anymore." Jake sighed. "And the thing is, it doesn't surprise me. I saw her in that cave. She was barely alive. I hardly recognized her. I don't know if that's something you can recover from."

"We're immortals. But we're not invincible," Quintus mused.

"But what happened to her children? This was done when she was human. I can't imagine her heartbreak. She must have been devastated," Kai said, following Jake out of the room and into the dark hallway.

"I'm sure she was. I'm just wondering how she got the Kris. Whatever went down in this house, it hardened her. Dominique is … was tough as nails," Jake said.