CHARMEDIMSUREFINAL_edited_Eleanor

by rose@rosepressey. com

  How did he know Nicolas and I were dating?

  “What the hell are you talking about, man?” Nicolas asked.

  The vampire took another deep breath and then said, “The witches are casting spells against vampires in Enchantment Pointe.”

  This was the first time I’d heard the complaint. How had he found us? It was scary to think that he’d followed us home. The vampire finally secured his belt and then brushed the hair out of his eyes. He clearly hadn’t anticipated Nicolas’ strength.

  “How did you find us?” I asked.

  “Everyone at the Bubbling Cauldron knows who you are.”

  That was true. Everyone knew me there. But who had told him where I lived? That wasn’t cool.

  Uncle Fitz was standing next to me still. “You’re lucky this man didn’t kick your ass, sir.” Uncle Fitz puffed out his chest.

  I stepped in front of Uncle Fitz. I didn’t need him stirring up more trouble.

  “What proof do you have that the witches are casting spells on the vampires?” I asked.

  “We don’t need proof,” he said.

  Nicolas was still tense and ready to throw this guy out on the street. I looked around, wondering how he’d gotten here. I didn’t see a car. Vampires moved faster than humans, but I still doubted he’d run all the way here. Maybe he’d caught a ride like Uncle Fitz.

  I peered out into the darkness. Maybe there were more vampires hiding just out of our view. I figured it was time for us to get out of this situation. My anxiety was increasing by the second. Nicolas, Uncle Fitz and I wouldn’t be able to ward off multiple vampires.

  The vampire pointed at us. “I will fix this.”

  That was a threat as far as I could tell.

  “Who are you anyway?” I asked.

  He glared and said, “I’m not afraid to tell you who I am. My name is Shawn Burns. I live in New Orleans.”

  “Why are you in Enchantment Pointe?” I demanded.

  “Are you lost?” Uncle Fitz asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  Uncle Fitz was only going to make Shawn angrier with his questioning.

  “It’s none of your business why I’m here,” he said.

  “It is her business,” Uncle Fitz said.

  This was going to turn into another fight. I sensed the tension rising again.

  I wished that Liam would come back soon so that at least it would be two against one. I didn’t want Uncle Fitz fighting with Shawn. It looked as if I might have to use a little magic to get rid of this vampire. He would no doubt hate that and accuse me of doing that magic against vampires like he claimed.

  At that moment my prediction came true. Shawn flew in front of me in a blink of an eye. He was now standing right in front of me. His face was inches from mine.

  Nicolas zoomed in between us. That was when the other vampires stepped out from the darkness like zombies. We were in big trouble now. There must have been at least ten of them. It was time for me to do magic whether they liked it or not.

  I called to the elements, earth, air, fire, and water. “Offer us protection, a border around LaVeau Manor. Anyone who isn’t invited will be gone now.” I repeated the words and Nicolas chanted with me.

  Shawn glared at me. “I knew you were doing magic against the vampires.”

  Nicolas and I continued to chant. We didn’t respond to Shawn, which made him even angrier. But the vampires all turned and walked toward the driveway. They were powerless to stop my spell. Their legs moved even though they wanted to stay.

  “You can’t do this,” Shawn yelled.

  “I can do it and I will,” I yelled back.

  He had no right to come here and accuse me of something I hadn’t done. If he didn’t want to leave on his own, then I would force him to. The vampires moved even faster now until they reached the gate. When they were just on the other side they turned to glare at us again.

  “What is that all about?” Nicolas asked as we watched the vampires disappear down the road.

  I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I don’t know, but I’ll have to find out what he means. Why does he think the witches are casting spells against the vampires? Have you heard anything?”

  Nicolas shook his head. “No one has mentioned it.”

  Of course Nicolas hadn’t been the leader for long, so maybe he hadn’t been aware yet.

  “That was one angry vampire,” Uncle Fitz said as he pulled the remainder of his cookie from his pocket. Crumbs landed on his shirt.

  “I’ll find out if anyone has had any complaints about them in the morning. I’ll ask around the coven.”

  I nodded. “Good idea.” Just then headlights turned into the driveway. “I hope that is Liam and not my bad magic returning.”

  We watched with bated breath until we saw Liam behind the wheel. He pulled his car up behind Nicolas’ and hopped out.

  “What’s with all the vampires walking down the street back there?”

  Nicolas and I exchanged a look.

  I pushed the hair from my face. “It’s a long story.”

  “I have time,” Liam said with a smile.

  “Would you like some of those cookies now?” Uncle Fitz asked.

  I raised an eyebrow. “I think you’ve had enough cookies today, Uncle Fitz.”

  He popped the last bite of cookie in his mouth and shrugged.

  “Let’s go inside while we explain,” Nicolas said.

  He guided me with a hand to the small of my back as he went back to the safety of the manor. I’d never get over seeing all of those vampires appear out of the night. Talk about what nightmares are made of.

  We entered the parlor. Silence filled the air and I knew we were all thinking about the night’s events. I sat on the soft sofa and leaned my head against the cushion. I needed to take a seat after that confrontation. This had been another crazy day and even crazier night. I hoped this was the end of the madness and we could get much-needed sleep.

  We filled Liam in on what had happened. Just thinking about the vampires again sent a chill down my spine.

  “You say the vampire was from New Orleans?” he asked as he leaned against the fireplace mantel.

  “Yes, that’s what he said.” I massaged my temples.

  “I’ll look into him tomorrow. See what info I can uncover.”

  I nodded. “Thanks, Liam, I appreciate that.”

  Had I remembered to thank Nicolas for speaking with the coven tomorrow? I was afraid that I had forgotten. I wondered if he had noticed.

  Uncle Fitz stood from the sofa. “It’s been a long day. I think I’ll retire for the evening.”

  “Yeah, he’s had a long day of dancing,” I said.

  Chapter Nine

  I tossed and turned but couldn’t sleep. Nicolas looked so peaceful lying next to me. The manor was quiet. I had gotten used to hearing creaks and groans from the old house, so the silence was unusual. I slipped out of bed and over to the door. I looked back at Nicolas. He didn’t move. I decided to step outside for a bit of fresh air. I hoped it would help me sleep once I went back to bed. I eased the door shut behind me, hoping that it wouldn’t wake Nicolas.

  I tiptoed down the stairs, avoiding most of the loose boards on the floor. The grandfather clock ticked in a steady rhythm. The floor was cool under my bare feet. I glanced over my shoulder, as if someone was following me. Of course no one was there. I opened the front door and stepped out onto the veranda. The cool night air glided over my skin. It was chilly, but refreshing at the same time. I inhaled, smelling the fallen leaves and damp earth. Fall had always been my favorite season. I supposed with a name like Halloween it had to be my favorite.

  As I stood there looking out into the night, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. I told myself to remain calm, that it was probably just a bird. There was no need to panic. I peered out into the darkness, hoping to see the bird fly away. Nothing moved so after a few seconds, I relaxed and went back to enjoying the night air.

  I�
�d barely gotten the thought of seeing something out of my mind when something moved to my right again. It was far off in the line of trees, so it would be impossible to know what was out there.

  It was scary to think that there was something out there. It could see me but I couldn’t see it. What if it was human? There had been ghosts who had gotten word that I could reanimate the dead. As soon as they’d gotten the news they had come to LaVeau Manor to see if I could bring them back. Lucky for me it took a lot of energy for a ghost to come back, so I didn’t see them often. I hoped this wasn’t one of the times.

  A shadow moved among the trees. It was a silhouette of a person. Then I spotted another. My heart rate increased. How many were there out there? How long had they been watching me and what did they want? It was hard to tell if they were living people or ghosts. I wasn’t going to stick around long enough to find out. But usually the ghosts would have come up to me by now. I knew that they saw me. I sensed that they were watching me.

  The shadow people inched closer. But they never moved onto my property. Why not? That was when it hit me. They couldn’t come onto my property. It was the vampires and I had cast a spell stopping them. So now they were stalking me just beyond the edge of my property. What good did they think that would do? I saw their faces. I couldn’t make out the features but I knew that it was the vampires who had followed us the other night.

  I wanted to yell at them to go away but I didn’t want to wake Nicolas. If he saw them then he would just get angry and go after them. That would cause a fight and I didn’t need that tonight. Honestly, I didn’t need that any night.

  I watched them as they stood there. They thought their presence would intimidate me, but I couldn’t give them that satisfaction. I stood my ground. After all, I had done nothing wrong. This was my home and they had come here to harass me. I looked to my left and noticed there were more vampires that way too. They thought they had me surrounded. How long would they stay there?

  I wanted to stay as long as they did so they would know that I wasn’t afraid. But it was getting cold and I didn’t have shoes on either. Thank goodness I’d grabbed the sweater on my way out the door. We stood there like that for at least another couple minutes. They didn’t move and neither did I. Finally, just as I was about to give up and go back inside, they started to leave. One by one they turned around and walked away. I watched until I could no longer see them. At least I had won that small victory.

  The door sounded from behind me and I whipped around.

  “There you are,” Nicolas said.

  I hoped that he didn’t notice the odd expression on my face. If he did he didn’t mention it.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I smiled as he moved closer to me. “Yes, I just wanted to get fresh air. I couldn’t sleep.”

  He wrapped his arms around me. “I guess you have a lot on your mind?”

  I draped my arms around his waist. “A little too much. I guess that’s why I couldn’t sleep.”

  “You know we will work everything out. I won’t stop until I make everything right in your world.” He touched my chin.

  How did he know just the right thing to say at just the right moment?

  “Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, it’s getting chilly out here.”

  He looked down at my feet. “I guess so, since you don’t have shoes on.”

  He looked out into the darkness. I peered out there to where I’d seen the vampires. They weren’t there now. Or if they were, they were hiding. I decided not to tell Nicolas about what I’d seen. It would only worry him more. There was nothing he could do about it so there was no reason to tell him.

  Nicolas placed his arm around my shoulder and guided me back inside the manor. When I stepped inside and waited for him to close the door, I noticed he looked back out into the darkness. He sensed something. Could he sense the vampires? Did he know that they’d been here? Was he keeping that from me so that I wouldn’t worry? I should say something, but I decided to let it go and just head back to bed. He shut the door and then turned the lock. I smiled and pretended that nothing was wrong. He did the same.

  Chapter Ten

  Again sleep wouldn’t come. Sure I’d only given it an hour, but something was calling to me. I suspected it was the vampires. I slipped down the hallway again in my bare feet. As I moved over to the staircase, I peered up to the third floor. It had only been a short time ago when Nicolas and Liam had been staying up there. That was where the attic access was too. And where they thought the book had been located. Too bad for them I had already found the book by the time they’d arrived. I wondered what would have happened if they’d gotten the book. I hated to admit it now, but I still wondered if they only wanted the book so they could become the leader.

  The thought of sneaking up there to take a peek crossed my mind, but then I remembered how creepy it was at night, so I headed down the stairs instead. I’d just reached the foot of the stairs when I thought I heard a noise come from my right. I wasn’t sure if it was in the parlor or the library. It didn’t sound as if it had come from the kitchen. I thought about waking Nicolas, but then realized as leader of the Underworld I had to take care of bumps in the night myself. I hoped it wasn’t a mouse.

  As soon as I stepped into the parlor, I spotted the ghost. I’d seen her before, but I was still startled nonetheless. The last time she’d visited me she’d wanted me to reanimate her. I hoped that wasn’t the reason she was here again. At least I knew who she was this time. Nicolas’ mother stood in front of me. Gina Rochester’s gaze locked with mine. I couldn’t turn around and run. That would have been rude. Making the mother of your boyfriend angry was rarely a good thing. Even more so when she was dead. When she smiled at me I figured at least she wasn’t mad at me yet. Now I had to keep her that way. Her shape was translucent and a halo of white glowed around her whole body, making it perfectly clear that she was of the spirit world. She wore a 1800s ivory lace-covered dress with a big hoop skirt underneath. Rings of dark brown curls tumbled down on each side of her head. I certainly saw Nicolas in her features too.

  Did she have advice for me? I certainly hoped so. Since Gina was the former leader of the Underworld I figured she knew a thing or two about what I was dealing with.

  “Halloween, I have a message for you,” she said in a soft voice.

  Instead of standing there like a dummy with my mouth hanging open, I needed to speak. Finally, I said, “A message for me?”

  “You need to look in the Book of Mystics.”

  I stared for a moment then said, “I’ve looked in the book a lot. Is there something in particular that I should be looking for?”

  I knew she was a ghost and it was probably almost impossible to get a lengthy message to me, but I needed a little more to go on.

  “The book will show you what you need,” she said.

  Well, the book had been the source of a lot of my problems recently. So I didn’t always trust the ancient tome. Yet for reasons I couldn’t explain, I still cast freakin’ spells from the thing.

  “Is there any other message you’d like to give me?”

  She stared at me for a moment and then shook her head. “You will get what you need from the book. I can’t help you anymore.”

  I guess something was better than nothing. With that, she disappeared. Not even a trace of mist remained. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that I was really awake. Yep, I was still standing at the edge of the parlor. Gina hadn’t said when I should check the book, but there would be no way to sleep if I didn’t look at it right now. I had to see what happened.

  Now that Gina was gone, I turned around to make yet another trip up the winding staircase. Who needed cardio when they had stairs like this? I just hoped I didn’t wake Nicolas this time. I made it to the stop of the stairs, down the hall, and to my door. With my hand on the knob, I paused, wondering if what I’d see had been real. Even if it had been a figment of my imagination, so
mething was clearly telling me to look at the book. But I knew that what I’d seen was real. I needed to stop second guessing myself. I eased the door open, holding my breath as the hinges creaked.

  Nicolas’ chest moved gently up and down and his eyes remained closed. I moved over to the trunk and as quietly as humanly possible, I slipped the book out and made it back to the door. One last time I peeked at Nicolas before closing the door and heading back down the stairs. I walked into the parlor again wondering if Gina would appear again. She wasn’t there this time, so I slipped into the library with the book. Once there, I eased down onto the velvet chair by the fireplace and placed the book onto my lap.

  Pluto jumped onto the arm of the chair and I jumped. “Oh, Pluto, you scared me.”

  He meowed and licked his paw.

  I stared at the book wondering if it was going to open on its own this time. After a minute and nothing happened, I decided to open the cover myself. The pages were blank. Why did they continue to fade away? Were the pages constantly changing? I wanted to know where the book had come from. How had it ended up in Enchantment Pointe? That was a question I might never have the answer for. Slowly the text started to appear, but little good that was because I couldn’t read the language. At least it could make it so that I could read the pages when they appeared.

  Then suddenly the pages began to flip. A slow and steady movement at first. There was no wind causing chaos around the room this time. The book was like a roulette wheel and I had no idea where it would stop. Once the book’s pages had turned to about the midway point, it slowed down even more. Until finally it stopped. The page was blank. This could be a problem. He thought had barely left my mind when the words began to appear on the page and to my delight they were written in English. I could read the words. I waited patiently as the whole page filled in.

  As I scanned the page I realized it wasn’t a spell, but a warning. A warning about the vampires to be specific. It said that certain vampires would try to get rid of the leader and maybe all witches. How was I supposed to know which vampires? Nicolas and Liam were vampires and witches, so I knew they didn’t want to get rid of the witches. Of course the vampire who was here with his warning to stop casting spells against the vampires would be a prime candidate for the vampires mentioned in these pages. The book said that some vampires would think magic was being used against them. Hmm. I knew that was true because Shawn had said as much. Did the vampires who had been here really have something to do with this warning? The chances were likely. It wasn’t a coincidence. I’d take the warning to heart and keep my eyes on them. Plus, I needed to find out more about them. Would I ever be able to convince the vampires that the witches hadn’t used magic against them? Maybe some witches had used magic in the wrong way in the past, but certainly not right now in Enchantment Pointe. At least I hoped that was the case because it would be bad for all of us otherwise.