by Rose Pressey
The group was silent as they filed into the kitchen, all looking at Nicolas and circling around him. They were even poking him.
“He really is deep in that spell, isn’t he?” Tabatha snapped her fingers in front of his face.
Nicolas remained still like a statue.
“That’s why we need everyone’s help. We’ll go outside and cast the spell. I think with all of our energy we can bring him out of this,” I said.
“You’re right, Hallie. Let’s do it,” Bill said, motioning for everyone to go outside.
There were so many coven members in the room that I was having trouble keeping up with who was talking. With all this witch energy, surely we’d be able to accomplish something.
We all walked outside in the backyard. A breeze from the river drifted across my skin. The trees swayed with the movement and increased our energy. I really had a good feeling about this. We held hands and started reciting the words. Oddly enough, I was beginning not to remember the words as I had before, so I supposed it had been the book that was helping me all along. My confidence had been too high. Not that that had anything to do with losing the book, but I just now realized that I hadn’t known what I had until it was gone.
Liam squeezed my hand in a reassuring gesture. His smile always made me feel better. Movement to my right caught my attention and I looked over. A tall man with dark hair wearing a black suit and a blue tie headed toward us. He was definitely out of place since everyone else was dressed casually. I didn’t recognize him as one of the coven members, but he must be one of them. Why else would he be walking back here toward us?
Everyone noticed him at that point, so we stopped the spell, which wasn’t good because now we would have to start all over again. Half of a spell wouldn’t be enough to bring Nicolas out of that trance.
The man focused his attention on me. Once he was close enough, he asked, “Are you Halloween LaVeau?”
I hesitated before saying yes, but ultimately I nodded. “I’m Ms. LaVeau.”
He had papers in his hands. He stretched them out toward me. “This is for you.”
I frowned as I took the papers from him. “What’s this?”
“You’re being evicted from the manor. It’s no longer yours. You have twenty-four hours to be out or the police will be here to get you out.”
My mother ran over. “What? You’re out of your mind.”
Annabelle was on the other side of the man, yelling at him too. This couldn’t be happening.
He held up his hands. “Hey, I have nothing to do with this. I’m just following orders.”
“Orders from who?” Liam demanded.
“The leader of the Underworld. Since Ms. LaVeau is no longer the leader of the Underworld, then the new leader will take possession of the home.”
“That is utterly ridiculous,” my mother said. “This house is hers. She inherited it from her great-aunt.”
“Like I said, that’s something that you have to take up with the leader. I’m just relaying the message and delivering the papers for her.”
“And who are you?” I asked.
“Duncan Smith. Monique has retained my counsel.”
So now she needed a lawyer? Hmm. Maybe I should look into getting one of those.
Chapter 7
It had been a long evening and I hadn’t slept much. The packing was almost finished. My mother said there was no way we were leaving anything in this house for “that evil woman.” My great-aunt Maddy had left a lot of stuff behind. Now we were just waiting for the moving truck to arrive. As sad as it seemed, I was going to the tiny apartment above my mother’s Bewitching Bath and Beauty Shop. At least that was better than moving in with my mother. As much as I loved her, there was no way we could actually live together.
As I walked from room to room making sure I had everything packed, I couldn’t fight back the tears. Memories flooded back as I touched the fireplace mantle, remembering the times Nicolas and I had sat in front of the fire with a glass of wine and talked for hours. The glow of the flames always made his blue eyes dance.
I moved over to the sofa and remembered the time Annabelle dropped her slice of pepperoni pizza on it. She’d freaked out to the point of tears. I’d told her it was no big deal and then smeared more sauce on the cushion. I’d gotten the stains out with a spell, but even if I hadn’t been able to, it would have been no big deal. It would have just been another reminder of our good times.
Sniffles sounded from the other room where my mother and Annabelle were crying too. It was a little surprising that Annabelle was so emotional, considering when I’d first inherited the manor she’d hated to even set foot in the place. Now she went from room to room like it was no big deal. We’d all grown and become more confident in ourselves. I peered up the winding staircase and remembered the day I’d found the book up in that spooky attic. It seemed like forever ago.
It had been that same night that Nicolas had come into my life. Liam had shown up the very next day. That was all behind me now and I couldn’t dwell on the past. This would be a new beginning and I’d have to learn to deal with it. As I walked from the foyer, through the house, and to the kitchen, I overheard my mother and Annabelle talking.
“We have to move Nicolas,” Annabelle said.
“Should we wrap him in bubble wrap?” my mother asked.
“Are they putting him on the back of the moving truck?” Annabelle asked.
I had to stop the two of them before they did something horrible. I hurried into the kitchen before they completely wrapped him in plastic.
“What are you all doing?”
“What do you mean?” my mother asked as she held up the bubble wrap, as if measuring the amount needed.
I grabbed the bubble wrap from her. “He’s not a piece of china.”
“Well, what will we do with him?” my mother whispered.
I assumed Nicolas could hear us even though he was frozen. So it didn’t matter if she whispered or not since he was right in front of us. We were still in the same room with him.
“Here’s the plan,” I said.
A loud roar of an engine reverberated through the manor.
“The moving van must be here. Don’t do anything to him until I get back, promise?” I pointed at my mother and Annabelle.
They nodded. Before walking out the door, I grabbed the bubble wrap… just in case.
The windows in the manor were devoid of any draperies. My mother had taken them down and insisted they were coming with us. Because of that, I saw out the parlor windows that in fact the moving van had arrived. The heavy feeling sat in my stomach like a rock.
“Enchantment Pointe Moving Company,” the man said when I opened the door.
“Everything you see goes,” I said as I gestured around the room.
Should I mention that even the lifelike man statue in the kitchen went too? I wasn’t sure where they were going to fit everything on that van. It was the size of a semi and I still didn’t know if it was big enough.
A scream rang out across the manor. The guys jumped and practically clutched onto each other. I recognized the scream. It was my mother. What had she done now? I ran across the room, almost slipping into the men. I rushed around the stacks of boxes. The guys moved behind me, but I figured they were hesitant to come too much farther into the house.
I raced into the kitchen to find Nicolas was now sitting on the stool by the kitchen island. He had snapped out of the spell. Before saying a word, I wrapped my arms around him.
Finally, I looked at him and said, “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I think I’ll be all right.”
“How did you snap out of it?” I asked.
“When I overheard your mother and Annabelle wanted to wrap me in bubble wrap, I knew I had to do something. I just kept trying a spell in my mind over and over and it finally worked.”
Annabelle and my mother looked as if they were still in shock that he’d come out of it.
“I gues
s you heard everything that happened,” I said.
He frowned. “I’m sorry, Hallie, but you know I’ll do everything I can to make this better for you.”
“You just got back from being a stone statue, I think you need to take it easy. Plus, I have to be out of the manor tonight. I’m moving my stuff into the apartment above my mother’s shop.”
“Monique can’t get away with this,” Nicolas said.
“She had me sign the manor over to her when I thought I was signing a contract for the wedding planner.”
“Well, like I said, I will find a way out of this.” He ran his hand through his hair.
One of the movers peeked around the corner into the kitchen.
“Come on in.” I waved.
Good thing I hadn’t bothered to tell them to pack Nicolas.
“Does everything in here go too?” he asked.
I nodded. “Everything goes.”
My mother sniffled again. She wasn’t handling this well.
“Nicolas, I’m just glad so that you’re out of the spell. The manor house and being the leader means nothing if you’re not okay.”
“You shouldn’t have to deal with this, Hallie.” Nicolas stood so that the men could take the stools. “At least they don’t have to put me in the back of the moving van now.”
His legs were still a little wobbly. Annabelle and I each took him by the arm and helped him walk over to the door.
“Don’t forget the cauldron,” I told the movers as we headed out of the kitchen.
The cat strolled along beside us. Annabelle picked her up. “Don’t worry, Pluto. We’d never forget you.”
The cat meowed.
“Do you think it was the cupcake that put the spell on you?” I asked.
Nicolas shook his head. “I didn’t eat any of it. The spell got me before that. I just hope it never happens again.”
Not knowing what had caused it was unnerving. How would we know how to prevent it from happening again if we didn’t know what had caused it in the first place?
Nicolas took my hand in his. “Just walk out the door and don’t look back. It’ll be easier that way.”
I pushed my shoulders back, held my head up high and then started walking toward the foyer. Nicolas, my mother, and Annabelle were behind me. We moved through the massive wood door for the last time. I told myself to listen to Nicolas and not look back, but it was too special for me to just leave it like that. LaVeau Manor had a soul, a personality of its own. I had to say goodbye.
When we reached the bottom of the front steps, I stopped, turned around, and peered up at the looming manor. For a moment, I thought I heard a voice, but I figured it was just the trees. There were times when it had felt as if the trees talked to me, usually giving a warning.
Nicolas took my hand again and guided me toward the car.
“I’ll drive,” I said. “You just came out of being frozen for twenty-four hours, I don’t think it’s safe.”
My mother and Annabelle wiped away their tears and climbed into Annabelle’s car.
“I’ll see you at the shop.” My mother waved her handkerchief and then wiped her eyes again.
The moving van cranked its engine and I followed it down the long pebble driveway.
“We won’t let her get away with this.” Nicolas was looking in the side mirror back at LaVeau Manor as he spoke.
I glanced in the rear-view mirror one last time. Would this be the last time that I saw LaVeau Manor?
Chapter 8
We had arrived at the apartment and the movers brought in all the boxes and furniture that would fit the place. It was jam-packed. What wouldn’t fit in there we were taking to my mother’s place and a storage unit I had rented. Pluto roamed around the tiny space and then went over to the window to look out. He started meowing, probably wanting out. I didn’t blame him. I wanted out of there too. It would definitely take getting used to our new surroundings.
Now I was all settled in and everyone had left except for Nicolas.
“How about pizza?” Nicolas picked up his phone.
I shrugged. “I don’t know…”
“Extra cheese? Stuffed crust?”
Even in my down mood, I couldn’t hold back the smile. He figured that comfort food would cheer me up. I didn’t think even that would work now, but I wasn’t turning it down either.
While we waited for the pizza, I asked him to describe the spell again and how it had made him feel.
“I knew everything that was going on around me, but I couldn’t move. There was little warning that anything was wrong.”
“But you felt a tinge of magic before it hit?”
Before he answered the doorbell rang, and for a moment, I was hesitant about allowing Nicolas to answer. I reached out to grab his arm and stop him.
“It’s the pizza, Hallie,” he said as he walked toward the door.
I couldn’t live my life in fear, but I also couldn’t let my guard down either.
Somehow I managed to force down a couple of thin crust slices of cheese. The world would have to come to an end for me to refuse pizza. I just needed to go to bed, wake up, and all of this would be a nightmare.
Nicolas and I walked over to my bedroom. No more canopy bed and wardrobe. There was no way it would fit in this room. Instead I’d used one of the smaller mahogany beds from the manor. Storage for all that furniture was going to cost a fortune. As I walked across the room, I bumped into the bed. I jumped up and down a few times holding my leg.
“Much smaller room than at the manor, huh?” Nicolas asked.
“I don’t like it.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. “It’s cozy and romantic.”
Again, I couldn’t hold back the smile. “Why don’t you show me how romantic it can be?”
“Gladly,” he whispered as he lowered his mouth to mine.
***
Sunlight streamed through one tiny sliver of the blinds on the window. It was the only window in this place. I was still in bed, even though it was twelve o’clock. I just didn’t want to get up. A week had passed since I’d come to this place. I really wasn’t sure what had happened since that day because I hadn’t been outside. I didn’t know what was going on with the world. Were people driving around in hovercrafts now? I had no idea.
A knock came at my door. I pulled the pillow over my head and tried to ignore it. Nicolas had left a couple hours ago and I’d fallen back asleep.
“Hallie, I know you’re in there and that you hear me. If you don’t answer the door, I’ll have to have the police come and knock it down.”
Annabelle totally would do that. But I wouldn’t put it past her to try something else either. Like trying to knock it down herself. I hadn’t talked to her in the past week. I just hadn’t left my bed other than to eat and shower. I wasn’t so bad that I’d skip a shower. I was depressed, but I wasn’t gross.
She banged on the door again. Sighing, I finally crawled out of bed.
“I’m coming. Quit banging on the door before you knock it down,” I yelled.
When I opened the door, Annabelle was standing right in front of me, tapping her foot against the floor with her hands on her hips. Today she was wearing a gorgeous black skirt and black and white blouse. It looked as if she’d been shopping for some designer duds.
She waved her hand and motioned at me. “This is not going to work.”
I look down at my sweats and T-shirt. “What?”
“This whole homeless look you have going on. It’s not in fashion, so stop trying to make it that way.” She stepped inside of the apartment. “Now go put on your best outfit because you’re going outside in the real world.”
“I don’t want to face the real world,” I mumbled.
“You have to snap out of this because we have things to deal with.”
I picked at the lint on my sweats. “What type of things?”
When I glanced up, the expression on her face changed.
&nbs
p; “What? This can’t be bad news. What else can happen? I’ve already dealt with the worst news possible.”
The look on her face wasn’t encouraging.
“Something worse?” I asked.
She sighed and then said, “All right, I do have more bad news.”
I waved my hands and headed back toward the bedroom. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”
“You can’t ignore this,” Annabelle said as she followed me to the bedroom door.
“Watch me,” I said.
“It’s about your mother.” She rushed the words.
I stopped instantly and spun around. “What about her? Is she okay?”
“The new leader has ordered that her shop be closed for good.”
My nostrils flared. I was surprised that steam wasn’t coming from my ears. “On what grounds?”
Annabelle shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“That’s it. Nobody messes with my mama. I’m going to straighten this out right now.”
Annabelle’s eyes widened as I ran across the room and grabbed some clothes. I had no idea what I was even putting on. I thought I was wearing jeans and an old T-shirt, but I didn’t care. I stuffed my feet into a pair of tennis shoes and ran for the door.
“Who does she think she is? I’m going to let her have it. You can mess with me, but you can’t mess with my mama.”
“I knew you’d be mad,” Annabelle said as she ran behind me.
Mad was an understatement.
When I reached my mother’s shop, I found her in the middle of the room with boxes all around. She was putting items from the shelves inside. I expected her to be crying, but instead, her face was red and she was cussing. My ears hurt. I’d had no idea she even knew words like that. If I said something like that she would stick a bar of soap in my mouth. I didn’t say anything though because I knew exactly how she felt. I would not let Monique get away with this.
My mother tossed her arms up. “I’ll have to sell the building. Without the income from the shop how will I survive? I don’t have enough for retirement yet. Not to mention I’m way too young to retire anyway.” My mother tossed more items into a box.
