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reached them, my mother stepped forward.
    “No!” Mom’s arms came up and power exploded from her. A brilliant white force spread out, protecting each of the coven members from the demon’s toxic magic. But inside, the two other witches and my mom were powerless against it. The demon’s eyes blazed black and back to gray. Then in one swift movement of her hand, all four of them vanished.
    The panicked coven members and their cries of dismay faded away, and I was left once again in the empty coven circle.
    Felicia appeared once more. “That’s what happened to your mother.”
    The terror in my heart threatened to seize my entire body. I willed myself to calm down. It couldn’t be real. My mother wasn’t the coven leader. She didn’t perform blood magic. Someone would have told me.
    “You expect me to believe that?” I crossed my arms defiantly.
    Felicia’s eyes narrowed. “You think I made that up? You think I’d show you my demon sister and how she ended the three innocent lives of those who were only trying to save her?” Pure rage strummed through her. “Think carefully, Jade Calhoun. For one of your own is on the verge of the same fate. Help me, and I’ll help you before it’s too late.”
    The world turned white for an instant, and once again I was in my tiny apartment on Bourbon Street.
    “Jesus Christ, Jade,” Pyper said, now holding the portrait. “Where did you go?”
    “Put it down,” I yelled from the floor at her feet.
    Startled, Pyper dropped the portrait onto the couch and stepped back with her hands raised. “Sorry.”
    I concentrated on air filling my lungs. In, out. In, out. “No. I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “I was back in Idaho. I saw…” The words clogged in my throat. I swallowed. “There are spirits trapped in those frames, and I think it’s best if we put them away.”
    “You can’t be serious. I thought they just held an imprint of emotions,” Pyper said.
    I studied my friend, the twinges of fear seeping from her. I didn’t want to think about what had happened, much less talk about it. I needed time to process, but since they’d both seen me check out, I had little choice. “Felicia’s in there. She sucked my consciousness into another dimension. Different than what we experienced with Roy, though.”
    “How?” Lailah asked.
    “I don’t know exactly. Partly because I was in a place I knew, here in this world. But the other part was it felt different. With Roy, I was trapped. With Felicia, I wouldn’t say that was the case. Just pulled there, but not imprisoned.”
    “What did she want?”
    “To be freed,” I said softly.
    Lailah’s energy reached out, engulfing me.
    I jumped to my feet and stepped back with narrowed eyes. “Stop it. I don’t want to be read.”
    She cocked her head. Her voice turned airy and dream-like. “Something happened while you were gone. Your aura changed. Deep sadness has settled over you. Whatever it was, Felicia touched a nerve.”
    “It’s none of your business,” I snapped, not caring if I hurt her feelings. It was rude to read someone when they didn’t want you to. Even worse to comment on it. Lailah and I just weren’t that good of friends. Not even friends. More like acquaintances. At least when I read people’s emotions, I kept the information to myself.
    Pyper kept her gaze on the portrait as she moved to my side. She took my hand and squeezed it. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I’ll tell Ian he’s on his own.”
    The contrition in her voice had me sending her a small smile of acknowledgement.
    “No, he isn’t.” Lailah moved forward and grabbed all three of the portraits. “I can’t leave them in there.”
    “But—”
    She cut me off. “No. I have to figure out a way to free them. It’s an angel’s duty to help the lost souls.” Lailah sailed through my front door before either Pyper or I could say a word.
    “Damn it!” I followed her, suddenly worried Felicia’s warning was about Lailah, but