I pressed forward and got Charlie around so that now I was on top of her. She pushed and shoved her knee into my leg. That was definitely going to leave a bruise. While holding her down with one arm, I managed to get the necklace around her neck.
“You bitch,” she yelled.
I laughed. “You’re right, I am a bitch. And I’m about to practice some bitchcraft on your ass.”
If looks could kill. She was clearly not amused by my answer.
Now I had to see if the spell was broken. Would all my powers have returned? I wondered how everyone else was doing. Would they know that the powers had returned? I worried about my mother, Annabelle, and Uncle Fitz. And of course Nicolas and Liam too. Had the vampires gotten to the witches?
I had to do a spell to get Charlie under control. She was still fighting to get the necklace off. She was reaching for my face. She placed her hand over my face and pushed. I groaned and shoved her hand away.
I recited the words. “I bind you from doing magic. You will no longer have powers.”
I repeated the words and she moved back and forth trying to get out from under me. I held her down tighter but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold her. I felt the energy and electricity in the air. My spell was working. Charlie tried reciting a spell, but nothing happened.
“How does it feel now?” I asked.
“You will pay for this. I will get my revenge.”
“Good luck with that.”
I moved off of her, but I still had her arms in my grasp. She had lost the energy to fight now though. She was like a limp piece of cooked pasta.
“You will not hurt anyone now,” I said.
She yanked her arms, trying to get away. “We’ll see about that.”
Now that my magic was back I had no choice but to do another spell that would force Charlie to walk. If she refused to do it on her own then I would make her with my magic.
I called to the elements, earth, air, fire, and water. Then I recited the words. “Walk where I walk. No way to stop now.”
Charlie stood and when I stepped forward a couple steps she followed me.
“You can’t do this,” she said.
I laughed. “It looks like I can and I am doing it.”
“I will get you for this, Halloween LaVeau.” Her voice shook with anger.
“Yeah, I don’t think you will. Not this time,” I said as I walked around the gravestones toward the witches.
Charlie was powerless and had no choice but walk with me. We moved through the cemetery and I was worried about what I would find when I reached everyone. As I walked around a crypt, the others came into view. I got there just in time to see what was happening… and it made me smile. I released a sigh of relief. It looked as if the magic had returned. And the witches had wasted little time using it.
Charlie had no powers now so there was nothing she could do. The witches pointed at the vampires and the zaps of lightning were like a light show across the graveyard. Energy zoomed and pinged across the air. The vampires saw what was coming their way. They turned around and ran away. I’d never seen them that scared before. I guessed we’d showed them.
Nicolas looked around and spotted me. A huge smile spread across his face. His expression was immediately replaced with a frown when he saw Charlie beside me. He had no idea that I was controlling her movements.
I scanned the crowd. Annabelle, my mother, and Uncle Fitz were standing next to each other. I was so glad that they were okay. Liam walked up beside Nicolas. When I looked around at the other witches I spotted Dave McCoy. I was glad to see him because he could take Charlie off my hands. The board could decide what to do with her. She wouldn’t be doing magic again for a very long time. Most likely never.
Nicolas and Liam walked toward me.
“Great, here come your boyfriends,” Charlie said.
“Shut up. I’ve heard enough from you,” I said.
“Are you okay, Hallie?” Nicolas asked when he was near.
I nodded. “I’m fine now.”
Liam looked at Charlie. “You got the necklace to her.”
“Well, aren’t you a genius,” she snapped.
“Take her to Dave for me, would you?” I asked.
Liam motioned for Charlie to follow him. She had no choice but to follow any witch now. Charlie followed Liam but she had a few colorful departing words.
“The vampires left?” I said to Nicolas.
He wrapped his arms around me. “It was difficult at first, but once the magic came back, they didn’t stand a chance.”
Nicolas leaned down and kissed me. It was just what I needed right now after what had happened.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I’ll make sure everything is going okay with Liam.” Nicolas gestured.
I nodded and Nicolas released my hand.
“Will you be okay?” Nicolas asked.
“I’ll be fine.” I smiled.
The nightmare was over now and I could finally let my guard down. Well, maybe not totally down because I knew there would always be someone wanting to take the book from me. But for the moment, I figured I had a reprieve. And was it ever needed! Nicolas walked back to where the others stood. People talked and wandered around, trying to wrap their minds around what had just happened.
Having a moment alone to enjoy the quiet was just what I needed. Well, it noisy over there, but quieter where I was standing. Across the way, the voices of the witches chatting carried through the air, but I couldn’t make out any conversations. Turning away, I moved down the stone path and studied some of the stones. A few dated back to the late 1700s. I looked at the first names noticed how some had come back into fashion. I turned around to head back because I didn’t want to get too far away from the others.
Halfway down the path, once back to where I’d stood just a moment earlier, a shadow had appeared… a silhouette of a man. His arms were down by his sides and he remained motionless. I knew by his stance that he was angry. But angry with me? Was it a ghost? I stood frozen on the spot. I wasn’t sure what to do next. Was it anther spirit who wanted to be reanimated? I wasn’t in the reanimating business. I avoided it and didn’t want to do it on purpose. If he asked, I would have to tell the spirit no.
The presence moved to the left slightly and the shade of the tree that had been concealing his identity was now removed. Shawn, the vampire who had accused the witches of casting spells against the vampires was standing in the graveyard shooting a death glare my way. I looked toward where Nicolas and Liam had been, but couldn’t see them. I knew this wasn’t going to end well. Why was he still obsessed with the witches? It had been proven that we hadn’t cast spells against them. He needed to let it go. His expression let me know that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, if ever.
“What do you want?” I called out.
He didn’t answer me. If he thought the silent glare would scare me then he was wrong. Okay, I was a little intimidated, but I wouldn’t let on to him. I scanned the crowd again but couldn’t catch anyone’s attention. Shawn had me trapped. A confrontation with him was imminent. That was exactly what he wanted.
“You’re not scaring me,” I said.
He continued to stare without speaking a word. I couldn’t stand like this much longer. Soon Nicolas would look for me, right? I didn’t want Shawn to fight with Nicolas though.
The vampire moved. Just a few steps at first, but then his stride grew wider. I moved back in a hurry until I bumped into a headstone and stumbled.
“Don’t come any closer,” I warned.
He stopped, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last.
“I have magic and I’m not afraid to use it against you, remember?” I smirked.
“I’m all too aware that you like to cast spells on the vampires, witch.”
“I’ll only use the magic against you if I have to. Don’t make me have to use it.”
I didn’t want to cast a spell against him, but I wasn’t going to let him attac
k me either.
“It’s all over now anyway. You don’t have the help from Charlie.”
“I don’t need her help,” he said.
The howl of the wind echoed through the trees. A sliver of moon slipped in and out of view from behind the cloud. He inched a little closer. My heart thumped in my chest as I scanned through spells in my mind. I would use something to stop him. A spell that would make him frozen on the spot and give me time to get away.
“You can’t get away with intimidating me,” I said, trying to sound confident. “If it’s revenge you want then you’re not going to get it. You might as well not even try.”
He moved a little closer and I knew I had to cast the spell now.
“I can get revenge,” he said calmly.
“There is nothing you can do to me.” I voice wavered.
“Yes, there is. What if I kill you?” A sly smile spread across his face.
I knew that he wasn’t joking. Fear raced through me.
“Why are you so determined to harm me? I have never done anything to you.”
He flashed his fangs. “I told you I know that you’ve been placing spells on the witches.”
“And for the last time that hasn’t happened. What does it take for you to understand that?” I asked.
“I already understand.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I cast spells against the vampires. Bad me.”
“So you admit it,” he said.
“No, you idiot, I was mocking you.”
“How dare you mock me? Now I must kill you. What other choice do I have? Bye, bye, you’re dead.” He waved his hand.
“Oh, you think you can?” I asked.
“I know I can,” he said with an evil smile.
Yes, I was a little intimated by his evil look, but I had the magic to help me now. He would be no match against my spells. Not long ago I would have never said that, but now I knew that positive thinking would get me through this.
I raised my arm and pointed toward him, ready to cast a spell to stop him. But before I had a chance to do anything, he had zoomed across the path and slammed me to the ground. He was now on top of me. I struggled moving back and forth trying wiggle my way out from under the weight of his body. It was no use. I would have to try a spell against him right there on the ground. It would no doubt make it a lot more difficult, but what other option did I have?
Casting a spell against him was proving extremely difficult. I couldn’t collect my energy. The words for the spell wouldn’t form in my mind. The fact that the vampire had his fangs in my neck might have had something to do with it. The energy drained from my body like a leaking balloon and I knew that he was the reason. Losing my blood was taking my witchcraft powers from me. How would I get away from him? I moved my leg so that I could attempt to kick him and break his hold on me.
The weight of his muscles on top of me made this virtually impossible. His mouth was pressed against my neck which made my stomach turn. The smell of blood filled the air and I shivered at the gruesome thought of knowing that he was draining me. Where was Nicolas? Where was Liam? Anybody? I needed help over here. When would they find me? After my body was lifeless? Would they know who had attacked me or would this vampire get away with murder? He made a disgusting slurping sound as he continued to suck on my neck.
“Get off me,” I managed.
My words of course didn’t stop on him. Not that I had expected them to though. There had to be a way to get him off me. But how? I tried to think of the words for the spell again, but my mind was blank. I never dreamed that he could have done this to me. I never knew that I would just forget the words so easily. Even when I’d been bad at magic I’d managed to remember a few simple spells. This time was different though. My vision was becoming blurry now and I knew it wouldn’t be long.
No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get my strength. There was no way I could give up this easily though. Not after all that I’d been through. And I’d come so far. I wiggled underneath his body again, but even my movements had slowed down. I was almost out of ideas. But there was one thing I hadn’t tried yet.
“Help,” I screamed as loud as I could. “Someone help.”
He didn’t seem to care if I screamed. I guess he figured no one would hear me. He was probably right about that. There was too much noise over there.
Maybe the sound would carry across the wind though. No doubt about it, I needed help. I couldn’t even act tough right now and pretend that I didn’t need help. Everyone needed help every now and then. Acting strong at other times was fine, but this was one situation that required a little bit of assistance.
Something was happening though. An almost dreamlike state had taken over my mind. Words were forming in my mind, even though they didn’t completely make sense. Was it a spell coming to me? Even if it wasn’t, I had to give it a shot.
I recited the words that came to my mind. “Break the hold of evil upon me. Break the hold of evil upon me.”
Nothing happened. I was sure that no matter if the words came to me, I didn’t have enough energy for it to work. No matter though, I continued to cast a spell. I repeated the words over and over again. A tingle started at my feet and eased slowly up my leg like a snake. Maybe my energy was returning. Maybe the spell was working after all. Just then the vampire fell to the side and off me. The spell had worked. I’d done it after all! I rolled over onto my hands and knees and started to crawl away. Weakness wouldn’t even allow me to get on my feet.
I’d only made it a short distance when Shawn jumped on my back and I fell to the ground. He yanked me and rolled me over to my back again. His mouth was on me in an instant. Again I had to remember the words. If the spell had worked one time maybe it would work again. It was all that I had. He shoved his fangs into my neck again. His job wasn’t complete. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he had completely drained me. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I’d gotten away from him. Actually, I wanted more than that.
I wanted to make sure that he would never do this to anyone again. Was my blood making him stronger? Because it sure felt like it. The words weren’t coming back to me and I didn’t know what I would do this time. Just when I’d almost given up all hope, the vampire fell to his side and off me. He groaned a little, but didn’t move. What had just happened? Had I done that? Someone’s presence emanated around me, so I looked to my right. That was when I realized that I wasn’t alone. It wasn’t my spell that had stopped the vampire.
Uncle Fitz stood by a tall gravestone. His face was set in a frown and his eyes practically glowed red.
“Nobody messes with my family,” he said.
My eyes widened. “Uncle Fitz?”
He hurried over to me in his usual shuffle then reached down and helped me up. “Are you okay, dear? Did the bastard hurt you?”
I touched my neck. It was sore and bloody, but I figured I’d be okay once the bruise healed. “I’m okay. Thanks to you.”
“Just taking care of you, dear.”
Shawn thrashed around, but was unable to get up. Uncle Fitz had used his magic to make him powerless just as I’d done to Charley.
Nicolas and Liam ran toward us. I spotted my mother and Annabelle behind them.
“What happened?” Nicolas asked, breathlessly.
I motioned toward Uncle Fitz. Uncle Fitz cast a spell on Shawn.
Without uttering a word, Liam yanked Shawn to his feet, practically dragging him down the path.
“Another one for the Underworld to handle,” Liam said.
“You’re hurting my back, asshole,” Shawn said.
“Hey, if you don’t want to be hurt then walk like a man. The courts are going to be full in Enchantment Pointe.”
My mother examined my neck. “We should rub Neosporin on that.”
My mother, the witch who had endless amounts of potions, always wanted to smear Neosporin on everything from a rash to an amputated arm. Go figure.
Annabelle hugged me. Glad you’re okay, H
allie. That was scary.
“We should go over to the others.” Nicolas took my hand in his and we walked the rest of the way to the group.
As we made our way across the graveyard, my mother said, “Hallie, I was so worried about you.”
I shrugged. “It’s all part of the job.”
When we reached the entrance, commotion caught our attention. Charlie was trying to break free from the spell, but all she could do was move her arms a little. She walked with the leader to his car.
“We should do a spell to make her shut up,” Uncle Fitz said.
I recognized one of the witches in the crowd. “Nicolas, isn’t that the witch who was hiding behind the car in the parking lot?”
He scanned the faces. “Yeah, the one we thought had used magic.”
When we walked her way she spotted us. Her eyes widened and she looked as if she wanted to run.
“We’re not trying to hurt you,” I said right away before she had a change to flee.
“I didn’t do anything,” she answered.
Nicolas and I stood in front of her. “Were you doing magic in the Bubbling Cauldron parking lot?”
She twisted a strand of her long hair around her index finger. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t play dumb. Just tell the truth,” I said.
“You’re the leader of the Underworld, right? Won’t I get in trouble?”
I flashed a smile to make her feel more comfortable. “You didn’t do anything wrong, right?”
“My magic caused you to fall down.” She rushed her words.
“What do you mean?” Nicolas asked.
She waved her hand. “The hot vampires in the parking lot. I was trying to cast a spell so one of them would like me. But something went wrong and it hit Ms. LaVeau. My magic sucks.”
I laughed and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “Have we ever got a lot to talk about.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The next morning, I’d invited everyone over for brunch. Uncle Fitz had finally gotten to cook for us. And I’d saved everyone from my food.
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