Page 41 of The Unseen

T HEY SPENT THE EVENING LAYING OUT A PLAN . S ITTING AROUND THE kitchen table, they went over their options. Lucas was the expert, of course, but Nicole had seen enough to know that exorcising an entity as powerful as Simone was going to be extremely dangerous.

“I can’t face her in the house,” Lucas said. “What you saw the other night was only a sample of what she can do. She’s not going to want to leave. She’s going to fight us with everything she has.”

Nicole thought of the violence in the parlor, the terrifying scene at the gallery, and a shudder ran through her. Fear for Lucas painfully contracted her stomach. “What about you? If you go against Simone, you could be injured.” Could she actually kill him?

“I won’t lie. She’s a bad one. I can feel her strength. Over the years, her power has grown immense. When Francois’s bones were found, all of this was set in motion. We have no choice but to deal with her or abandon Belle Reve. Even that might not be enough, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Francois has clearly chosen Rachel over Simone. Even if your aunt left Bell Reve, Simone might hate her enough to follow.”

Nicole’s chest squeezed. “It all seems so impossible—and yet I know it isn’t. What are we going to do?”

“We need a place to deal with her. A place she’s linked to where she’ll feel she has the advantage.”

Nicole knew instantly where Lucas was heading. “The old shack on the bayou.”

“Yes,” he said simply.

Nicole nodded in agreement. “Even if she tears the place apart, it won’t matter.”

“Exactly. The cabin’s linked to her past, as well as to Francois and what is happening in this place and time.”

“This place and time,” she repeated. “Simone died long ago, but she’s here in the present. How does that work?”

“Years are merely instants in God’s domain, cher. ”

The endearment washed over her as it always did, settling her a little. She had never thought of time that way, just a flicker in the rhythms of the universe.

“I’ll make a couple of calls,” Lucas said. “Arrange to take the week off from school. First thing in the morning, I’ll go over to the cabin and take a look inside, see if it’ll work for what we need. Maybe I can use the old pirogue at the dock to cross the bayou to the other side.”

“It’s still sturdy. Sean’s floated around in it. But the shack is falling completely into ruins.”

“If it’s safe, I can clean it up enough to make it work. The problem is, if we’re going to use the cabin, we’ll have to find a way to lure her out there.”

Nicole’s mind sifted through everything that had happened and how they had put the pieces of the puzzle together. Her paintings were a large part of it.

An idea sparked. “I know how to get her there, Lucas. I’ll go over to the cabin with you and do a painting of her.”

Lucas firmly shook his head. “No.”

“I think it could work. She followed us to New Orleans. If I go over and start painting her portrait, there’s a very good chance she’ll show up.”

His gaze pinned hers, his jaw hard as granite. “No way in hell.”

Nicole knew better than to smile at the pun. “It’s a good idea. At least admit that much.”

“The painting might draw her, but it’ll also leave you vulnerable. You could be badly injured. I won’t allow that to happen.”

Nicole walked over and slid her arms around his waist, leaning into him. “You can’t control everything, Lucas. Unless you can think of a better idea, if the cabin is in good enough shape to use, I’m going with you.”

Very early on Monday morning, using the pirogue to cross the water, Lucas managed to forge a path through the heavy foliage to the cabin, which sat on a slope, propped up in front by stilts.

The place was in shambles: half the corrugated tin roof torn away, the moldy interior as bad or worse than he had imagined.

Still, the construction was basically sound.

He was sure he could make the cabin work.

Returning to Belle Reve, he went in search of Nicole and found her in her studio.

She turned at his approach. “So, what did you think? Are we going to be able to use the place?”

“It’s got to be cleaned up, but it’ll do.”

“How can I help?”

“You work on the painting. I’ll handle the physical labor.”

Nicole smiled. “So we lure Simone into our trap, and you take care of her—once and for all.”

Lucas couldn’t quite muster a return smile. Nicole had no idea how difficult the task was going to be.

Leaving her in her studio, he went out to the toolshed to collect the implements he was going to need for the task ahead: a broom, shovel, rake, hoe, and a pair of long-handled gardening shears to hack away enough of the heavy foliage to forge a path to the back door.

He carefully loaded the equipment into the car, along with a push broom and whatever miscellaneous items he thought he might need and drove down to the dock. The flat-bottomed boat was solid and well-balanced. On the other side of the bayou, he unloaded the pirogue and went to work.

By afternoon, as the heat continued to build, he had worked up a major sweat and exhausted a variety of different muscles that hadn’t been tired in years.

Satisfied with the progress he had made, he returned the tools to the boat and poled back across the bayou to the dock, leaving the cabin ready for the next phase.

With that in mind, he drove to Baton Rouge to collect the spiritual tools necessary to fight a malevolent being. Back at Belle Reve, he hauled much of the gear back across the bayou to the cabin. Evening was approaching by the time he returned to the carriage house.

Nicole looked up to see Lucas walking into the studio in a pair of worn, faded jeans that outlined his hard thighs and the masculine bulge beneath his zipper.

A ripped, sweaty khaki T-shirt stretched over his sculpted chest, which made her mouth water.

She smiled at the amount of dirt, leaves, and cobwebs that covered his clothes.

Even his dark hair had a layer of fine, powdery dust.

“Looks like you’ve been hard at work,” she said.

Lucas glanced down at himself. “I’m on my way to the shower. The good news is, I got enough done that we’ll be able to use the place for what we need.”

“That’s great.”

She watched him disappear down the hall. A few minutes later, he returned in clean jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, his hair still slightly damp. His gaze ran over her painting.

“Nice work. You think you’ll be done with it in time? If not, I might be able to use the painting you took to the gallery opening.”

“You could try that. It might work. It might not. My way is better. I’ll be ready to go when you are.

Once we’re there, I’ll flesh out the details, make it compelling.

She’ll want to watch me work on something that involves her.

She’s vain. Destructively so. That’s why she’s so angry that Francois chose Rachel over her. She’ll come to watch, I know she will.”

Lucas started to shake his head. He was worried about her, she knew.

“Belle Reve is going to be mine one day,” she said. “Like it or not, I’m going with you.”

He looked at her hard. When she didn’t relent, he sighed. Bending his head, he took her mouth in a soft, but thorough, kiss.

Lucas’s big hand cupped her cheek. “You’re a stubborn woman, Nicole Belmond.”

“I am,” she said proudly.

And she intended to be there in case Lucas needed her. She wasn’t sure what she could do, but she might be able to help in some way. He didn’t want her getting hurt—well, she didn’t want Lucas getting hurt, either.

She took the lead this time, went up on her toes and kissed him. She had never really desired a man. Lucas stirred a hunger deep inside, made her want him to do wicked things to her.

Lucas gently ended the kiss. “You, Ms. Belmond, are a temptation few men could resist, and I’m certainly not one of them.

Unfortunately, now that we’ve made the commitment, there are things I have to do, protocols I have to follow.

” He tipped her chin up. “Promise you’ll give me a rain check as soon as this is over? ”

When she didn’t answer fast enough, he bent his head and kissed her. “Promise me,” he said, more a command this time than a question, and it filled her mind with all sorts of fantasies.

“I promise.”

Lucas pulled her close and Nicole’s heart squeezed. She fell a little deeper in love with him every day. She wished she could read his mind, know his true feelings for her. Wished all her doubts would fade.

She couldn’t think of it, not now, not until Belle Reve and her family were safe. She would deal with all of it later. It was the only sensible thing to do.

On Tuesday, Nicole continued to work on her painting, careful to sketch only a vague outline of the picture she intended to finish at the cabin, nothing that would attract Simone’s attention until Lucas was ready to face her. He planned for that to happen before Sean came home on Friday.

“One thing you should know,” he said. “No matter how much I prepare, it doesn’t always work.”

“But I thought—”

“My successes far outnumber my failures, but it’s happened. I wanted you to know just in case.”

Worry trickled through her. “What do we do if she won’t leave?”

“Figure another way to attack the problem and try again.”

She felt a little better. Lucas wasn’t going to give up. She probably should have guessed that. The man was steadfast—a rock she could cling to in the roughest storm.

When he leaves—

She broke off the thought, refusing to give in to her fears.

Instead, she picked up her brush and carefully returned to working on the painting: the image of the cabin and a vague, indiscernible outline of the beautiful woman who had betrayed, then ruthlessly murdered, the man she hoped to marry.

Satisfied the cabin was ready for the next steps, Lucas began his spiritual preparations. Driving down Ferdinand Street, he headed for Our Lady of Mount Carmel, his mind on the task ahead. Until the exorcism was over, he would fast, remain celibate, and pray.

He parked the Jeep and walked past the bubbling fountain into the small wood-framed white church, with its tiny boxlike steeple on top.

Father Donovan, a stoop-shouldered man with gray hair, wise eyes, and a gentle smile, walked toward him.

His white-collared black cassock swayed from side to side as he walked up the aisle in Lucas’s direction.

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows.

A handful of people sat in pews facing the altar.

Father Donovan came to a halt in front of him. “It’s good to see you, my son.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“What has brought you to us today? You look as if you have come with a purpose.”

Lucas nodded. “I’m hoping you’ll hear my confession.” He explained to the priest that he would be performing an exorcism and he needed to begin the steps necessary to prepare himself.

“You were a priest once,” the old man said.

“That’s right.”

“I have heard of your special talents. The gift God has given you is one of great value.”

“Yes,” he agreed.

The priest led him a few steps out of the way, over to the side of the church. “Can you tell me a little about the situation?”

Lucas explained that the exorcism involved an entity from Belle Reve’s past, a malevolent presence that had recently returned and taken up residence in the house.

“Her name was Simone St. Denis before she married Jules Villard. She was a murderer, Father, a wicked deceiver, and she gloried in it. Now she’s back, more evil than ever, and a terrible danger to the people who live in the house.”

“I’ll hear your confession, of course. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I need to prepare for the battle ahead. I’ll be spending a great many hours here in the church. I need to cleanse my soul and absorb as much of God’s strength as possible. This one won’t be easy to defeat.”

“Our doors are always open. You’re welcome to come at any time and stay as long as you wish. If there is anything I can do to make your task easier, please let me know.”

“I will. Thank you, Father.”

Lucas made his confession, then took a seat in one of the pews.

Bowing his head, he began to pray. He asked for God to cleanse his soul and prayed for assistance in his coming confrontation with one of Satan’s minions.

He asked that when the time came, God would send his warrior, the Archangel Michael, the defender of humankind against evil.

He remained in the chapel for the next twelve hours.

It was late and he was tired when he got back to the carriage house.

He’d considered driving back to Baton Rouge and staying in his condo, but things were unsettled at Belle Reve.

Josh wasn’t there, and he didn’t like Nicole and Rachel being alone.

Nicole was already in bed when he arrived. As he had warned her that morning, he would remain mostly in solitude. After a meal of clear vegetable broth, he went into Sean’s room to sleep. Tomorrow he would return to the church for another day of prayer. Tomorrow night, he would be ready.

He prayed for God’s grace and the strength to defeat the evil he would be facing. He prayed that while the battle raged, everyone around him would be safe.