Sacrificed (Creole Curse Book 1) Read online

  Chapter 3

  Dair

  I was acting like a chick.

  I was immensely nervous waiting on Haley to walk out of the bar. My eyes never left the door. I knew all of the girls in New Orleans and I knew them quite well, if you know what I mean. But, Haley was like a breath of fresh air.

  Salem was superficial and vain. Everything had to be her way. She constantly talked about herself. I was done with girls like that, all they were good for was a hookup. And that was only if you were really desperate.

  Seeing the door open, I smiled when I saw Haley walking toward me.

  “Hey,” she said, nervously messing with her hands, “What’s going on?”

  How cute. I made her as nervous as she was making me. None of the vapid bitches I knew got nervous when in the company of a man, they enjoyed it.

  “I wanted to request your company for tomorrow evening,” I said, smirking at her.

  “Why do you talk so proper?” she asked, giggling.

  I wanted to tell her because I’m filthy rich and that’s the way we talk. Everything we do is fancy, but I felt like my designer clothing and my perfect hair had already told her that. You know what they say, money talks.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I said, licking my lips.

  Yeah, I was trying to seduce her into saying yes because she was the only girl that I ever thought might tell me no.

  “Oh, sorry. Yeah, that sounds great,” she said, biting her lip.

  “Great, I’ll pick you up at seven,” I said, turning to walk away.

  That was part of my game, leave them wanting more.

  “How will you know where to pick me up? You have no clue where I live,” she yelled after me, causing me to smile.

  “I have my ways,” I called over my shoulder.

  Glancing down at my watch, I saw that had exactly ten minutes to get to my parent’s house. Family dinners were a huge tradition for us and my mom would be pissed if I was late.

  Hopping in my car, I drove as fast as I possibly could because I was stuck behind a street car. Just my luck. It was like street cars had it out for me, we had a never-ending feud going on.

  It seemed like every time I was in a rush I ended up behind one.

  Letting the impatience take over, I gave the street car a little push with my mind.

  “There that ought to speed things up,” I said, watching the street car go a little faster than usual.

  That was one of the perks of coming from generations of the most powerful witches and warlocks in New Orleans. We had the power to do whatever we wanted and we definitely took advantage of it.

  Having endless amounts of money and power sounds like a dream, right? We literally had it all, but there was only one problem. The firstborn son of all of the four families receives the family curse when they turn twenty-three years old. The curse takes us over and when we can’t take it any longer, it takes our lives.

  That’s what happened to Edge. The curse took him over, it ate him alive. He fought it for almost a year but he wasn’t strong enough.

  I was next and I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t end up like him. I would do everything in my power to make sure of it.

  Turning left, the Garden District came into view. Driving until I saw my parents’ house, I pulled up to the huge wrought iron gates. Focusing on them, I forced them open with my mind.

  The driveway seemed to be never ending. After what felt like forever, I saw the steps and French door. And my mom standing there with arms crossed and a sour look on her face. Classic Vivien.

  Getting out and shutting my door, I braced myself for her wrath.

  “Where have you been?” she asked, tapping her Louis Vuitton clad foot.

  “Pinkie’s with everyone,” I said, dryly.

  My mom and I didn’t exactly have a great relationship. We were too much alike and that meant we fought a lot.

  “Everyone made it here thirty minutes ago. Everyone except for you, what made you late?”

  “I got stuck behind a street car, no big deal. I’m here now, isn’t that all that matters?” I asked, giving her a fake smile.

  “Bowen told me you were with a girl.”

  Bowen was such as ass. He loved to cause turmoil, he thrived off of it. He knew my mother would be on my case if I was around another girl. I knew he was listening in and getting a kick out of it. My mom was still holding out hope that I would get back with Salem, even though I told her countless times that I would rather sell my soul to the devil.

  “Of course he did, she was a waitress. I was paying for my drinks but to be completely honest I took a little longer than everyone else because I didn’t want to be here.”

  “Try to be a little more pleasant. Salem and her family are here,” she said, opening the door like she was Vanna White.

  “Oh goody,” I said, rolling my eyes as I walked through the door, “I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior.”

  Stepping into the grand foyer, I felt a smack against the back of my head.

  “Now, Mother, you know you should use your powers for good, not bad.”

  “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” My mother asked.

  I loved my sister but she was the last person I wanted to be like. She was completely unhappy but plastered a fake smile on her face every day just to make other people happy. She was fragile and I was anything but.

  “Because he isn’t me, Mom,” Lux said, walking out of the dining room and linking her arm with mine.

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling at her.

  My smile faltered a little because when I walked in I saw a huge birthday cake with twenty-three candles. Everyone looked at me with pity as they wished me happy birthday, even Bowen and he took pity on no one. It wasn’t a happy one because I knew at midnight that I would receive my family’s curse.

  Each family had their own but I thought mine was by far the most animalistic. My nose didn’t grow longer each time I told a lie or I was cursed into a deep sleep only to awoken by true love’s kiss. No, my curse couldn’t be found in a children’s story. I had to sacrifice a virgin.

  Every time I thought about it, I suddenly felt sick. I wasn’t a gentlemen but I also wasn’t a monster. I was going to have to sacrifice someone’s life to save my own.

  “Happy Birthday, Brother,” Thorn said, patting me on the back as I sat down beside him.

  “There’s nothing happy about it,” I replied, looking at the twenty-three candles mocking me.

  Small talk filled the room. I didn’t engage in it because I wasn’t in any mood to talk.

  Hearing the doorbell ring, we all turned to face the foyer. To anyone else, it would have just been a visitor at the door but for us it signified something dark.

  The clock struck midnight and when I opened that door I knew there was going to be a black envelope with my name on it. Inside it would tell me my curse and what I had to do to fulfill it, like I didn’t already know.

  I felt like Cinderella except I was a dude and there was no happily ever after midnight for me.

  Chapter 4

  Haley

  “Has lover boy arrived?” Julia asked.

  “Not yet but he should be here any minute,” I said, holding the phone in place with my shoulder while applying clear lip gloss.

  “I’ll be home when you get back. I get off early tonight. Have fun,” she said, hanging up.

  Fun. I wasn’t sure if I knew how to have fun. When I was with Jesse, our dates revolved around him and what he wanted to do. He enjoyed himself but I didn’t. A night with us consisted of him talking and me nodding and smiling when the conversation called for it. See? It was no fun.

  Every piece of clothing I owned screamed, “I’m not from here!” So, I raided Julia’s closet.

  Looking at myself in the mirror, I thought that the slinky black slip style dress and strappy black heels made me look more like the girls Dair was with at Pinkie’s.

  The doorbell caused me to jump. Quickly tossing everything I needed in my bag, actually Julia’s bag, and bolted for the door.

  Opening it, I saw Dair standing in front of me dressed to the nines. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead on the spot.

  He seemed like the boy your daddy warned you about but you couldn’t leave alone. He was what temptation looked like.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, holding out his hand for me to take it, so I did.

  “Thank you,” I said, looking down at the ground.

  “You blushed when I called you beautiful, why?” he asked, putting his finger under my chin to tip it up.

  “Because no one has ever called me that before,” I admitted, looking into his eyes.

  “You have obviously been surrounded by idiots your whole life,” he said, shutting my door and leading me to his car.

  “How did you find my address?” I asked, wanting to know if he was a professional stalker or something.

  “When we met you were lost and you showed me the address you were trying to find before I saved the day,” he said, laughing.

  “But how did you know it was my home address?” I question further.

  “Because under your address it said new home in hot pink ink,” he said, wrinkling his eyebrows and smiling.

  I knew I had just gotten out of a not so ideal relationship and I needed to take things slow and focus on me, but something about him made me want to jump right in head first. He was different I could feel it, but I kept telling myself to watch out because as much as I liked him, I knew absolutely nothing about him.

  “Where are we going? I asked.

  He opened the passenger door for me, “It’s a surprise.”

  Watching him walk in front of the car and get inside, I admired him. His face, his hair, and
even the way he moved. He was so different from anyone I had ever met and I had to admit that I liked it.

  “How are you liking New Orleans?” he asked, pulling me out of my head.

  “I love it so far but I haven’t gotten to explore a much as I would have liked,” I said, taking in all of the sights as we passed them.

  “You’ll love this date,” he said, smiling and turning his focus back on the road.

  Feeling the car come to a stop, I saw a street car and a man standing by it holding a bouquet of red roses. He was waiting on some lucky girl. Jesse never gave me flowers, he always said they were going to die anyway. He didn’t have a romantic bone in his body.

  “This is our stop. Don’t get out of the car, that’s my job.”

  Nodding, I stayed in place as he walked around and opened the door. Dair helped me out and led me to the man holding the flowers. Stopping in front of him, the man handed the flowers over to Dair who handed them over to me.

  “These are for me?” I asked, smelling the gorgeous flowers.

  Nodding, he helped me in the street car and climbed in after me.

  “Where is he taking us?” I asked, smiling from ear to ear.

  “Everywhere,” Dair replied, smirking, “James is taking us all over New Orleans.”

  That stirred up excitement inside of me. That sounded like a perfect date to me and being with Dair was just the cherry on top.

  “What are you thinking about?” Dair asked, studying my face.

  “How excited I am to be on this date,” I answered honestly.

  Smiling, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. The street car came to a stop in front of a small café.

  “This is a must go place in New Orleans. Haley, welcome to Café du Monde,” Dair said, getting out of the street car and then helping me out, “I rented it for the night.”

  My jaw dropped. He rented out the entire café for me? For us? How much did that cost? Who had that kind of money? Oh, that’s right, Dair Bordeaux did.

  “This must have cost a fortune,” I said, walking through the door.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said, showing me to a candlelit table in the middle of the room, “Time for some beignets and coffee.”

  The small town girl inside of me wasn’t sure how I ended up on a date with the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on in a café he rented out just for me. But she wasn’t complaining, not in the slightest.

  Dair’s phone started to ring and he looked at me to see if it was okay if I answered it. I nodded to let him know it was.

  “It’s Bowen. I’ll be right back,” he said, excusing himself.

  Watching him walk out of the door, I heard my phone alert me that I had a text message.

  Julia- You’re never going to believe what I just found out.

  Me- What??

  I saw those three infamous dots dance on my screen implying that she was texting me back but she never did. The dots disappeared.

  Me- Julia? U there?

  Still no reply. My mind started to go into panic mode. Dair walked in and sat on the seat across from me. One look at his face and I saw that his phone call didn’t go so well.

  “You okay?” I asked, biting my lip.

  I didn’t want to pry but I had to know if he was okay.

  “What? No. Yeah, Bowen’s an asshole. He’s always causing trouble. That was Lux calling from his phone,” he said, running his fingers through his already tousled hair, “Are you okay? You look a little worried.”

  “Oh, Julia texted and told me she found out something important but not she’s not replying,” I told him, checking my phone again.

  “Maybe she’s dead,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  That caused me to look up at him with my eyes browsed raised.

  “Excuse me? What did you just say?” I asked, placing my phone on the table.

  “I said maybe she’s dead as in maybe her phone is dead,” he said, cracking a strained smile.

  “Yeah, maybe,” I said, feeling that something was definitely going on with him.

  I was having mixed feelings about Dair after that statement.

  He was being a tad bit creepy but damn it why did creepy have to be so sexy?

  Chapter 5

  Dair

  “Bowen, what in the hell were you thinking?” I yelled, storming into Lux, Garner, and Salem’s house.

  “He’s never thinking,” Saint said, scoffing.

  As much as I hated to admit it Saint was right, Bowen never thought before he did anything. He was impulsive and reckless. He was dangerous.

  He loved to live life on the edge and that’s why when someone used magic in public I knew it was him. It was always him.

  “Fuck you,” Bowen said, trying to break free from Thorn’s grip trying to charge Saint.

  “Just a normal night in with the gang,” Salem said, sitting down on the couch with a drink in her hand.

  Everyone ignored her because to be completely honest no one liked her, we only put up with her because we had to. Okay, maybe I was being a bit over dramatic, not everyone hated her but I did. That was for damn sure.

  Turning my attention back to Bowen, I saw the he was rolling around on the floor with Saint and Lux was in tears.

  “Stop it! Both of you,” she screamed, crying into Synn’s chest.

  Hearing her crying, they both stopped immediately. Those three needed to sort out their issues. It was like an episode of Gossip Girl but with voodoo.

  “Why were you using in public again, Bowen?” I asked, waiting for his excuse and hoping it was a good one.

  But I already knew it wasn’t. He wasn’t really the type to think about stuff before he did it. He was an impulse kind of guy.

  “Saint was pissing me off,” he said, folding his arms over his chest like an overgrown child.

  See? I knew he excuse would suck.

  “Saint, what did you do?” I asked, rubbing my temples.

  “I kissed my girlfriend,” he said, walking over and putting his arm around Lux.

  I should have known it was over Lux. They always butted heads over her.

  “And Bowen, what did you do?” I asked.

  “I beat the shit out of him with my mind,” he said, smirking.

  “You’re lucky that Thorn got it under control because if she would have gotten away, Julia would have blew it all over town and it would be on you,” I said, sitting on a chair.

  “I know,” he said, pacing back and forth.

  Bowen was a hothead to the extreme.

  “So, how was your date?” Salem asked, sipping on her drink.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” I snapped.

  “Judging by your mood, I’m guessing not so well,” she said, trying to get under my skin, “You didn’t get lucky?”

  It wasn’t happening because Salem didn’t matter to me. She was just showing me that she still wasn’t over me which was pathetic.

  Smiling, she downed the rest of her drink before pouring herself another.

  “Alcoholic,” Bowen said, pretending to cough.

  “Really, Bowen? You’re the loser that’s in love with a girl who wants nothing to do with you and you almost fucked everything up tonight. You’re a screw up. The bad boy act is getting old,” she said, flipping him off.

  Bitch was savage.

  “She’s right,” Saint said, glaring at Bowen.

  “Leave him alone,” Lux said, getting everyone’s attention, “He’s been through enough. Let’s focus on what’s important.”

  Saint give her a look letting her know he wasn’t happy with her outburst and she give him one letting him know she didn’t care.

  “Like what?” I asked, feeling a headache starting.

  “Like the fact that Julia found out about us. Or even the fact that she was going to tell Haley and only god knows who else. The spell is only going to last so long then she’s going to get her memory back. What are we going to do then? And what about you, Dair? Huh?” She said, giving me an irritated look.

  “What about me?”

  I had no idea what she was rambling about.

  “The curse, you idiot!” she yelled, shaking her head, “While your frolicking around with Haley, don’t forget what you have to do! This is not a joke, it’s life or death. We already lost Edge, we can’t lose you.”