CHARMEDIMSUREFINAL_edited_Eleanor

by rose@rosepressey. com

  “I hope you told them that they can’t do that,” she said.

  I wasn’t sure what they could do, but I needed to find out.

  “Uncle Fitz showed up in New Orleans.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  I peeked out toward the stairs to see if he was nearby. “I mean I left him here and then all of a sudden he was there.”

  “How did he get there?” she asked.

  I massaged my temple. “He says he caught a ride.”

  “Well, he’s eccentric, that’s probably what he did,” she said.

  “Now he says that he’s had no powers since he arrived at LaVeau Manor.” Saying it out loud sent a shiver down my spine.

  “That is odd,” she said in a worried voice. “I’ve never heard of anything like that happening. Well, except for you.”

  “Thanks for the reminder,” I said wryly.

  My mother ignored my tone. “So what did you tell him?”

  I looked over my shoulder to see if Nicolas was still in the room. He’d gone into the kitchen for something to drink. “Liam and I tried to cast a spell that would help him.”

  “Did it work?” she asked.

  “A little. Uncle Fitz tried to start a fire in the fireplace but it was just a little spark. I don’t know what to tell him. Any suggestions? I can use any help I can get.”

  I was feeling a little guilty that Uncle Fitz couldn’t use his magic. He’d been fine until he’d come to LaVeau Manor. Now my bad magic was passing on to others. Wasn’t my ineptness enough for everyone?

  Nicolas was now standing behind me. He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me close to him while I was still talking. His nearness made me forget the festival.

  “Are you still here?” my mother asked, bringing me back to reality.

  “Yes, I’m here,” I mumbled.

  “Well, anyway, back to what we were discussing. I would suggest that you look in the book,” my mother said. “What did he say about not being able to cast spells now?”

  “Actually, he didn’t seem all that broken up about it. He kind of told me in a passing way.”

  “He was never that great with the magic anyway. I think that’s where you get it from.”

  “You can stop reminding me about my bad magic any time now.” Soon enough she’d bring up her missing eyebrow incident and the fact that I’d almost burned the kitchen down. That was all ancient history; things had changed. I’d changed.

  “Of course that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want what little ability he had. You should definitely check in your book,” she said again.

  “I’m afraid there is no time to check the book. I have to be at the festival, remember?”

  “Yes, you do, and I suggest you don’t be late. The ladies of the coven don’t like it when people are tardy. And how will it look if the leader is late to the charity festival?”

  “That would look terrible,” I said. Agreeing with her always made these conversations go a lot smoother. “I’ll have to worry about Uncle Fitz tonight after the festival. Besides, he’s not coming to the festival anyway.”

  My mother snorted. “Does he know that?”

  “Not yet. But he will just steal someone’s girlfriend or who knows what kind of trouble he’ll get into.”

  “Haven’t you learned anything? He’ll just catch a ride with someone.”

  My mother was right about that. It looked as if I would have no other choice than to let him come. I just hoped he didn’t cause any trouble.

  “Okay, I’ll see you soon,” I said and hung up.

  Just as Nicolas spun me around to plant a kiss on my lips Uncle Fitz emerged from upstairs. He was wearing a tuxedo.

  My mouth dropped. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m ready for the festival,” he said with a wave of his arms.

  “Why are you wearing that?” I asked.

  “I always want to look my best,” he said with a smile.

  “The ladies will love you,” Nicolas said as he patted Uncle Fitz on the back.

  I looped my arm through Uncle Fitz’s. “Come on, Uncle Fitz, let’s show these ladies what you’ve got.”

  Uncle Fitz had taken that eccentric label to heart. He climbed into the backseat of my car.

  “Make sure to fasten your seatbelt,” I warned.

  “Why? Do you plan on driving poorly?” he asked.

  “I don’t plan on it,” I said, “but you never know, so fasten up.”

  Traffic was heavy going through downtown Enchantment Pointe. Every witch attended the festival. It was the event of the season. Even more witches came than for the annual Halloween Ball. I hadn’t seen most of the witches since then, when I’d had a battle with another witch. They probably secretly hoped that I didn’t cause another scene like that one.

  I shifted the car into park.

  “Are you ready for this?” Nicolas asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. Honestly, I wasn’t sure that I was ready, but I didn’t want to tell him that.

  Uncle Fitz followed Nicolas and me up to the building. The festival was being held at the high school’s gymnasium. When we stepped into the room, I saw a sea of witches. Mostly it just looked like a large fall festival. No special witches’ hats or brooms. There was a small table set up at the entrance and Nicolas purchased our tickets. It was all for charity so that the coven would have money for the coming year. As soon as Uncle Fitz had his ticket in hand he started to walk off.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  He pulled his pants up a little higher, exposing his white socks. “To get a funnel cake.”

  Of course, where else?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Uncle Fitz took off for the treats and I wondered if I should even let him out of my sight. Of course people were watching him because of his tuxedo. He looked like he was ready to be the circus ring leader.

  Nicolas and I turned to our right. The first booth was the bake sale. The first thing I spotted was cupcakes covered with orange frosting and topped with little witches’ hats. I couldn’t resist and had to buy one. Nicolas got one of Mrs. Amos’ chocolate-chip cookies. With our treats in hand, we continued down the aisle.

  The next booths were set up with crafts and artwork the coven members had created. But the thing that had captured my attention the most was the cauldron toss. The witches had lined up to take turns trying to toss apples into the black cauldrons. Hey, I guessed that was better than toad’s legs or something equally gross. Nicolas and I stepped up to watch the action.

  “You want to give it a try?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I’d better sit this one out. I don’t have a very good aim.”

  He laughed. “You’re probably better than you realize.”

  I pulled on Nicolas’ arm. “Let’s keep walking.”

  We weaved around a crowd of people. Surprisingly no one was paying attention to me. I’d figured after the Halloween Ball everyone would have at least glared at me. Blending in with the crowd was just what I wanted though.

  We stopped in front of the next booth and I looked at the banner on the wall. ‘Best Spell Contest,’ it read.

  “That’s interesting. What is the prize?” I asked.

  Nicolas looked over at a flyer on the nearby table. “Looks like vacation for two in Miami.”

  “I could certainly handle that,” I said. Getting away for a while might just be what I needed.

  He pointed toward the table with the entry forms. “You should enter.”

  I shook my head. “I doubt the coven would let the leader enter.”

  He reached down and picked up a form. He silently read the rules and then said, “It doesn’t say anything about that. No exclusions.”

  I took the paper from his hand. I scanned the words and didn’t see anything written. “Well, regardless, I shouldn’t enter. I’m not good at magic, remember? I hardly think I should enter the best spell contest.” I glanced around to see if an
yone was listening.

  A couple of women looked my way, but quickly turned their attention back to the spells being cast. There was a table with three judges watching the action.

  “It says it’s open for spells for another hour. You really should give it a shot.” He flashed that sexy smile at me and I almost instantly said yes.

  Resisting his charm, I shook my head again. “You are crazy. I don’t know any spells that I am good at. Everything I do turns into a disaster. That’s the last thing I need to put on display here. It would embarrass my mother worse than her missing eyebrow.”

  “What about that spell you did?” Nicolas asked.

  I frowned. “What spell?”

  “That one where you turned yourself into Liam and then me.”

  Oh, yeah. There was that spell and I had surprisingly pulled that off. But that wasn’t a spell that I had made up.

  “Doesn’t it have to be an original spell?” I asked.

  “No, just a spell that you do well,” he said.

  I looked around again to see if anyone was listening. “I don’t know, Nicolas. I don’t think I need the attention and this would draw attention to me. Right now everyone is ignoring me. I like it that way.”

  He gestured around the gym. “Look, you’re getting attention whether you like it or not.”

  The spell that Nicolas was talking about had worked, I had to admit. But people would think it was because of the book. I watched as some of the other witches cast spells for the judges. There was a fee to enter, so it was a good cause for charity. I should do it just for that, but in the back of my mind I wondered if I would mess up again in front of all these people. They already thought I was a screwup. Did I really want to give them even more to talk about?

  I continued to watch with my thoughts going back and forth. I needed to make up my mind one way or the other. Most of the witches were casting simple spells, but they were doing them flawlessly. I’d never felt this much magical energy in one place before.

  “What do you think?” Nicolas asked after a couple minutes.

  I’d thought it over and made a decision. “I’ve decided that it’s better that I just leave the spellcasting up to them.” I motioned with a tilt of my head.

  Nicolas kissed my cheek. “I understand.”

  We’d just stepped away from the booth and I scanned the crowd, looking out over the many faces. Some I recognized and others I’d never seen before. There was one face I knew looked familiar though. And I knew that he wasn’t there for a funnel cake or hot cider. The vampire who had come to LaVeau Manor to confront me, Shawn Burns, was standing by one of the exit doors. What was he doing there? A chill went down my spine.

  I touched Nicolas’ arm. “Look, it’s the vampire from the other night.”

  Nicolas’ arm tensed under my hand. “What do you think he wants?”

  “Trouble,” I said.

  “He won’t find it here. I’ll tell him to leave.” Nicolas had placed one foot forward when I stopped him by pulling on his arm.

  “Look over there at the other door.” I gestured with a tilt of my head. “I saw that guy at the manor too. He was with Shawn. I recognize that smarmy look on his face.”

  When I looked over at the other door, I spotted another vampire. “There’s another one. They have all the doors guarded. If they plan on causing problems then they’d better realize there are a bunch of witches here who have kickass powers.”

  I thought I’d made it perfectly clear to Shawn the other night that I wasn’t playing his little game. This whole ridiculous idea that the witches were casting spells against the vampires had to stop.

  When I looked back at the main door, what I saw really made my stomach drop. Annabelle was talking to Shawn the vampire. He was smiling and laughing and she was doing the same. No doubt he had turned on his charm for her. There was no way I would let that happen.

  “He’s talking to Annabelle. That creep is totally up to something.”

  “He won’t be for long,” Nicolas said.

  “We have to go stop him,” I said.

  Nicolas was already thinking the same thing because he rushed forward. The crowd had grown in size in just the few minutes since we’d been standing there. We weaved around the people. A woman dropped her hot dog in front of us. She cursed then reached down, picked it up and placed it back between the bun. I didn’t even want to think about all the germs on that floor. We finally maneuvered around her only to be stopped by a large gathering of people again. I peeked around to make sure Annabelle was still there.

  We’d only made it a few steps with a woman jumped out in front of us. She had long gray hair and pale blue eyes. She glared at me as if I’d done something wrong and then instantly changed her expression to a smile. I tried to step around her, but she moved to the side right in front of me again. What did this woman want? I peered over her shoulder and saw Annabelle still standing with the vampire. If we didn’t hurry something bad could happen.

  “May I help you?” I asked, trying not to sound too irritated.

  “Aren’t you going to buy a homemade wand? I make them myself.” She gestured at her table of crafts.

  I exchanged a look with Nicolas and then scanned her table. “They are lovely. Unfortunately, we have an important matter to address at the moment.”

  She waved her hand in the direction of the table. “Won’t you take a look?”

  “I’d love to, but like I said I have to talk with someone. It’s very important.”

  “We’ll be back in just a bit to take a look at the beautifully crafted wands,” Nicolas said as he took my arm.

  He knew that if he didn’t pull me away from there that I would end up buying a wand first before getting to Annabelle. The woman frowned, but I couldn’t let that stop me. Nicolas maneuvered us around the woman. She stared at us, but didn’t say anything else. She probably knew that we wouldn’t be back.

  There was no time for shopping now. I had to get Annabelle away from that creep. He had to know that Annabelle and I were friends. He probably remembered seeing me with her the other night at the Bubbling Cauldron.

  As we grew closer to where they stood, Annabelle started to walk away with the vampire. The exit door apparently led into the other part of the school. Where was he taking her? And why was she going with him? It would do no good to call out to her because my voice would be drowned out by the chatter of the crowd. We had to hurry so that we wouldn’t lose her. If he got her in the other area we might never find her again.

  Nicolas grabbed my hand and we ran through the crowd. I bumped into a woman.

  She frowned and I said, “Sorry. So sorry.”

  Nicolas pulled me through the gym and I thought my legs wouldn’t be able to keep up.

  When we grew near, I yelled out. “Annabelle, stop.”

  She stopped and turned around. I was glad that she’d heard me. The vampire wasn’t so happy though. I glared at him. He knew that I was on to his little game.

  Nicolas and I ran over to her. The vampire took off and I grabbed Annabelle’s arm.

  “I think the vampire is mad at us.” I chuckled.

  “He’ll get over it.” Nicolas stared in the direction of the vampire. When I looked closer I saw that the tips of Nicolas’ fangs poked into his bottom lip.

  “Annabelle, why were you talking to that guy?” I asked.

  She scowled. “He was asking about the festival. What is wrong with you?”

  I released my hold on her arm. “Oh, well, he was the one who came to the manor and threatened me.”

  Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know. I’m glad he left.”

  “I hope he doesn’t come back,” I said.

  Annabelle spotted my mother. “I think I’ll go talk with your mom.” Annabelle was clearly shaken by the latest event.

  I nodded. “Okay. Watch out for that guy.”

  She nodded and headed toward my mother.

  “Clearly, we need to keep an eye out for him,” I said
.

  Nicolas ran his hand through his hair as he scanned the crowd. “Maybe we chased him off.”

  “I have a feeling he’ll be back.” I looked out over the crowd and that was when I spotted her. “There’s Charlie,” I said, pointing across the room.

  Nicolas looked in the direction of my pointing finger.

  “Do you see her?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No, but let’s go get her.”

  My adrenaline spiked. This was exactly the break that I needed right now. I should have figured that she would show up at the festival. I didn’t know where she’d been, but I planned on keeping track of her this time. Nicolas and I took off across the room.

  I yelled out to Charlie, but she didn’t turn around. With all the noise, I wasn’t sure that she heard me, but even if she did she probably wouldn’t stop. I had to block her from leaving, so I did the only thing I knew. I recited the words, speaking out loud as I ran through the gymnasium.

  I heard my name called out, but I didn’t turn around to see who it was. I was pretty sure it was my mother. She probably wondered why I was running through the building. Nothing should surprise her at this point.

  Nicolas was still running beside me, but I didn’t think he knew that I was casting a spell. It wasn’t working though because Charlie wasn’t slowing down. Apparently my spell wasn’t working. Big surprise.

  “She’s getting away,” I yelled.

  Nicolas picked up his speed. Charlie ran out of the exit door at the side of the gym. Nicolas reached the door before I did and opened the door. When I got there I stepped outside. Nicolas was standing there.

  “Where did she go?”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “She disappeared.”

  I was sure that I’d seen her.

  “You saw her too, right?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Yeah, I saw her. I’m going to look around the building.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I said.

  Nicolas and I walked around the entire building but there was no sign of her.

  “Let’s go back inside,” I said.

  I knew she wouldn’t be there this time. When we stepped back into the room all hell had broken loose. A cloud was swirling around under the ceiling. Witches were using their hands to attempt a spell, but nothing was working.