Kiss of Death

KISS OF DEATH LINSEY HALL CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Epilogue Thank You! Acknowledgments About Linsey Copyright 1 Cora All around, the street was vibrant with life. On either side of the road, the crowd cheered and shouted. Parade floats drifted down the road, resplendent with colorful banners and sparkles. People stood on the decks of the floats, throwing beads and candy to the joyous crowd. New Orleans was famous for its parades, but this was the first one I had attended. I'd planned to stay behind and keep working on my mother's bookstore—my bookstore—but Rei, Mia, and Fiona had dragged me out of the house, insisting that I accompany them. Quite aggressively. Now that I was here, surrounded by the energy of the crowd, I was glad I'd agreed. "Isn't this phenomenal?" Fiona shouted over the noise of the people surrounding us. Balthazar, our shadow cat, was draped over her shoulders. His dark fur wafted smoke, and his red eyes were trained on the parade floats. Once Fiona had started to leave the house regularly, Balthazar had decided he wanted to accompany her. "It's amazing!" I shouted back. And it really was. I’d been so focused on my work and my fear that Marek, my old boss, would find me that I hadn't been enjoying the best of what New Orleans had to offer. My new home was incredible, even though it was hard for me to really think of it as a home. I'd never belonged anywhere, and it just felt…weird. A parade float drifted by, decked with blue sparkles and enough glitter to sink a warship. Mermaids waved from the deck, hurling beads at the crowd. Fiona leapt up to grab some, then handed them to me with a grin. "You don't even have to show your boobs!" "That's really a thing?" "On Bourbon Street at one a.m.? Definitely." “Yeah, then this is better." I draped them around my neck. My friend Mia appeared at my side and handed Fiona and me a plastic tumbler full of sparkling liquid. "One of my newest concoctions. Champagne and passionfruit juice, with a little shot of magic for extra buzz." I accepted the drink from her with grin. "Thanks." The first sip was divine, sparkling on my tongue with a bright sweetness that made me want to swoon. “This is delicious!” Fiona said. “Seconded.” I took another sip, watching the parade floats glide by. A court jester wearing purple and green silk danced a jig on the front of a float as he hurled candy bars into the crowd. One flew right at me, and I reached up to grab it. Candy was way better than beads. I tore the package open with my teeth but caught Balthazar giving me an interested look. "You like chocolate?" I asked him. He meowed, his red eyes keen on the chocolate. I ripped the wrapper off and held the bar out for him for him to have a little nibble. Instead, he opened his jaws wide, white fangs flashing, and devoured the whole thing in one bite. I yanked my hand back. "Hey! I almost lost a finger there. And we were supposed to share." "He's terrible at that." Fiona grinned at me. "Don't even try to eat a chocolate sundae around him." Balthazar licked his lips, and I shook my head at him. “I’ll know better next time.” He just grinned. I turned back to the parade and kept my eyes peeled for another float that threw chocolate to the crowd. Balthazar looked between me and the parade, clearly wondering if I would be sharing more of my loot. Not a chance in hell. If I had to eat it in secret, hunched over like a squirrel with an acorn, that’s what I would do. I had dignity, of course, but not when it came to chocolate. My gaze was drawn to the clouds overhead. Dusk was falling, and the sunset glowed golden on the horizon, so the clouds should be a beautiful array of colors. Instead, they were a gun metal gray that didn’t reflect the pretty light. I looked at Rei. "Have you heard anything about a weather advisory?” She looked up, frowning at the dark clouds growing thicker and thicker with every second. "That doesn't look like normal weather." “Yeah, that’s what I thought. The clouds are forming too quickly.” “And they’re too dark.” Lightning cracked amongst them, and I flinched at the accompanying thunder. All around me, people began to murmur, shooting anxious glances overhead. Unease skittered across my skin. "Do you think we should go?" Mia asked. I couldn’t respond. The clouds had begun to glow with an eerie green light, and magic vibrated in the air. The scent of it reminded me of burning tires mingled with despair. Black magic. “Yeah, I think we had better head out,” Rei said, tilting her head toward home. “We’ve only been here a little while!” Fiona protested. She'd been a ghost when we'd met, and she'd only returned to the living a few days ago. Consequently, there wasn’t a party she wanted to miss or an event she wanted to leave early. The thunder crashed again, so loud that it vibrated my bones. “On second thought, we can go,” Fiona said. Overhead, the clouds began to vibrate. Intense magic filled the air, sending a shudder through me. The crowd felt it, too. Their anxiety was palpable. The floats sped up, and the occupants no longer threw beads or candy. In a matter of moments, the entire atmosphere of the event had changed. What the hell was going on? Suddenly, leaving felt like the wrong thing to do. I hesitated. Maybe I should stick around. Before I had time to decide, a massive bolt of lightning struck me from above in a