Not sure about witch etiquette, Sydney followed Ilsbeth’s nonverbal cue and sat down next to her. She couldn’t help but admire Ilsbeth’s deep, violet eyes. Sydney was not sure what she thought a witch would look like, but she certainly wasn’t expecting this. Maybe a green nose and a broomstick? No, but she was expecting someone a little scarier looking, certainly older. But, Ilsbeth was anything but scary, or old. She looked barely twenty-one years old with an angelic face.
Once everyone was seated at the table, Ilsbeth spoke a protection prayer. Sydney guessed it was your basic, ‘keep evil spirits out of this house prayer’ from what she could tell. Hell, she wasn’t even sure she believed in witchcraft mojo, but in order to catch the killer, she would give angel girl the benefit of the doubt. Sydney was getting anxious, but could tell that Ilsbeth was running the show. All the vampires at the table stayed silent as they listened to Ilsbeth finish her prayer.
Sydney nearly jumped out of her seat as Ilsbeth’s eyes flew open and all the candles on the table and along the shelves in the room flared to life. Okay, nice trick. Ilsbeth glanced at Sydney and then to Kade. “My dearest friends, there is a great evil in our city. She may have initially come for you Kade, but now she is here for all of us. I felt it a week ago when I was working in my shop. It was a rumbling at first, but now there is a constant state of unease. As you know, most witches can sense good and evil. And the wind of evil has blown throughout our streets. It has stayed. Something bad is coming for all of us…something that wants to take over this city. I will help if I can Kade, but I must know why this evil woman is here for you?”
Kade told Ilsbeth the story of Simone, her banishment and of the recent killings in Philadelphia. Sydney filled in the missing pieces with regards to the oil, the rope fibers, and needle marks. Ilsbeth listened carefully and spoke with great seriousness, “If all that you told me is true, there must be someone helping Simone, a witch or mage perhaps, or possibly a Voodoo priestess. Simone may have some of this knowledge, but a practitioner would need supplies to help to carry out these killings and spells. It is possible that Simone is experimenting...using a living girl as a Voodoo doll. She seeks the assistance of evil spirits to help her with her goals.” Ilsbeth stared deep into Kade’s eyes. “Kade, Simone may have started off with a simple goal of revenge, but the darkness of her practices points to a monumental goal, perhaps to have power...power over all the supernaturals in the city. If her experiment showed any promise the first time, she will kill again until she takes over this town.”
Kade blew out a breath. He knew Simone was capable of the most heinous torture he’d ever seen. So in some way, it didn’t surprise him that she wanted to control all the supernaturals, but she would fail if he had anything to say about it. “Thank you for your insight Ilsbeth. As always, you bring profound knowledge and perspective to the problems we face. Tomorrow night, we are going to follow a lead on Simone. Do you have any recommendations about how to proceed with regards to the witchcraft? Do you know who in the witch community would want to help her? Someone must know. It is hard to keep secrets within covens.”
“You are correct in your assumptions. I plan to scour the books, seeing who made the purchases necessary to create the oil and rope. These ingredients are widely available online, but any self-respecting witch or mage from New Orleans would buy them in our shop. We certify the authenticity of ingredients for all our products and supplies, which includes Van Van oil as well as hemp and hair. And if a vampire attempted purchasing these supplies at any stores in the city, I am confident someone would remember. That would not go unnoticed.”
“Thanks, Ilsbeth. Look back a year or two in your records, just to be safe. We aren’t sure how long she’s been in the city. If you send us the list of possible suspects, Kade and I can check it out from there. We really appreciate your help on this. If you saw what was done to those girls...well, we’ve got to stop it,” Sydney interjected. While she didn’t understand witchcraft, Sydney had to admit that she felt glad the witch was helping them. It was possible Ilsbeth could lead them to tangible clues so they could nab the killer.
Ilsbeth nodded. “I will contact you if I find anything. Like I said, I have been with my coven the past week. I will need to go back to the shop for the records. My escort, Zin, has been with me. He is my cousin, a practicing warlock, but most importantly, he’s trained in security. I will be going everywhere with him. We cannot be too careful. Okay, I must go. I will be in touch.”
After everyone said their goodbyes and thank yous, Sydney quickly retreated to her room. She wanted to give in to her desire to be with Kade, but she was on business and had to get up early. Being around Kade was beginning to cloud her judgment. If she could only get some sleep and shopping therapy, she’d be good...okay, maybe not good, but she’d be ready to go out tomorrow night. They needed to catch a break on this case.
Chapter Twelve
Dressing up to fit into a vampire, fetish club was a bitch. Sydney spent the better part of the morning shopping for clothes that would say, 'I roll with kinky vampires,' She hoped she’d fit in. She knew better than anyone that people had a tendency to clam up around cops, and the supernatural crowd was even more tight lipped when it came to revealing secrets. They had their own code of honor and laws.
Xavier accompanied her on her shopping expedition to help her choose just the right outfit. She wasn’t above letting Kade pay for everything, after all he was the one who dragged her ass down here to New Orleans. Xavier promised not to reveal the details of her 'costume' to Kade. Oh yeah, baby, she wanted this one to shock him. They all needed a good laugh she supposed; a human girl dressing like some kind of sex-crazed dominatrix. She was planning on cracking the whip all right.
She finally managed to get the damn, thigh-high, fish net stockings attached. Garters were not as easy to put on as they looked. She had to admit, glancing at herself in the mirror, that she looked smokin’ hot. Sydney would prefer to look dangerous, but tonight she was playing a part: sexy, wanton; open to handcuffs, whips and paddles.
Sydney had chosen a black, tight, fishnet camisette with garters and a black, leather miniskirt. The fishnet cami was tightly woven and see-through, so it showed off her pert, rosy nipples underneath. She topped the outfit off with a sexy pair of Christian Louboutin, black, leather, over the knee boots that were adorned with silver zippers that ran all the way up from the back of her ankle to the back of her thigh. Xavier had given her slim, silver stakes that fitted into the boots nicely, no one could even feel them if they patted her down. She also concealed a small, silver knife and chain in her right boot that she could easily pull out if necessary.
Sydney conceded that she could not do much about her long, blond hair to make her fit in well. There was no way she was dying her hair black, or any other freaky color just for one night. She tried on a few wigs, but they were too hot, so she stopped by a local salon and had them tightly curl her long locks. Her hair looked amazing: perfectly spiraled, golden curls flowing over her shoulders.
She grabbed a small, gray bag off the bed and added the finishing touch. While in Jackson Square, she walked over to Masquerade and made a few purchases. She held the mask to her face and fastened the ribbon behind her hair. The incredibly beautiful mask was crafted of fine, swirling, black metal with diamond rhinestones. Worth every penny, it added an enigmatic flair to her sexy, fetish look.