Charmed Ever After (The Halloween LaVeau Series Book 6)

by Rose Pressey

  “Listen to me, Hallie. We’ve been friends for way too long for me to abandon you now. Would you leave me if something like this happened to me?”

  “Of course not,” I said.

  “Exactly, then I can’t leave you.”

  “I’m glad to have a friend like you,” I said. “I came here to ask you about a book that was recently given to me.” I pulled the book from my bag and handed it to the shopkeeper.

  “It’s big,” the shopkeeper said as she took it in her arms. “Do you mind if I set it over here on the counter?”

  “Go right ahead,” I said.

  She placed the large tome on the counter. She traced the intricate details of gold around cover with her index finger. “It’s beautiful and old.”

  “I’m hoping to find out exactly how old,” I said. “And any other information you might have.”

  “Where did you get this book?” she asked.

  “It’s kind of an interesting story,” I said. “This man gave it to me. He said that a woman years ago gave it to him and said that he would know the right time to give the book to someone else. We stumbled upon his house when we were being chased by Monique. I guess he figured it was the right time.”

  “What had you told him?” the shopkeeper asked.

  “I told him that I used to be the leader and that I needed to work on my spells. So he suggested I write them out on the blank pages of this book.”

  “That’s quite an interesting story,” she said.

  “Definitely crazy,” I said.

  She turned to the back of the book. “What about these initials?”

  “Well, that’s another thing that I wanted to mention. They weren’t there before when I first got the book.”

  “That’s most fascinating,” she said.

  “Do you think it’s a coincidence that they would show up now and they happen to be my initials?” I asked.

  She traced the gold-embossed letters with her finger. “No, I don’t think it’s a coincidence.” She seemed as if she was in a trance as she ran her fingers across the front leather cover. Finally, she looked at me, and said, “I’ve seen this style before.”

  “So have I,” I said. “The spellbook that made me the leader is just like this one.”

  “Fascinating,” she said.

  “Where have you seen the book?” I asked.

  “That I can’t exactly remember, but I’m going to try to find out. I know the information is in one of these books.” She waved her hand, gesturing across the room.

  The walls were lined with shelves as far as I could see with stacks of books one right after the other.

  “I hope you have them indexed,” I said.

  “Well, I do, but I don’t remember which book has the information about this one.”

  “Oh, dear, this could take a long time.”

  “Don’t worry, I think I know where to start looking.”

  “I’m not sure how much time we have,” I said.

  “Just give me a couple minutes. I’ll look right now.” She ran across the room.

  “Do you think she knows what she’s doing?” Annabelle asked.

  “For my sake, I sure hope so,” I said.

  “Maybe we should help her look for it,” I said.

  Annabelle shrugged. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

  Just then we heard a rattle at the door. I spun around and saw the man who had been with Monique standing there trying to open it. It didn’t seem as if he’d seen us, but when he moved over to the window I was sure he would spot us if he peered in.

  I hid behind a rack of books and yelled out to her. “Have you found the book? They’re trying to get in the shop to find me.”

  The shop owner dropped a bunch of books onto the floor. “I’m so close. I think I’ll find it soon. If you can give me just a minute more, I’ll find it.”

  Annabelle and I ran back to where she stood. “Okay, but we have to hurry. He’s going to want inside soon. He’ll be suspicious.”

  “If you tell us what kind of book you’re looking for maybe we can help you find it,” Annabelle said.

  “It’s leather and has the word ‘spells’ in the title.”

  I looked at the books on the shelf in front of us. “That pretty much sums up every single book on the shelf.”

  “You’re going to make her nervous and then she’ll never find it,” Annabelle said.

  The shopkeeper was dropping books or just tossing them on the floor in her haste to find the correct title. The guy was peering in the window, but I still didn’t think he could see all the way back to where we stood. He ran back over to the door and pounded on the glass. If he kept that up he would break the door. He was so persistent that he must know we were there. Did they have some sort of GPS tracking device on me? I’d gotten the new phone, but could Monique still somehow trace me?

  “Found it,” the shop owner yelled, waving the book through the air. She climbed down from the wooden ladder and then shoved it into my arms. “Now you have to go. Hide it and I’ll get rid of him.”

  “Where do we hide?” Annabelle asked.

  “In the back, in my office. I’ll get rid of him. Just go.”

  We did as we were told and ran to the back. I was nervous that he would search for us even if she told him we weren’t there. I could hear the conversation when he walked in.

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” the woman said.

  “I know she’s here, so you can quit the act.”

  “Well, if anyone came in then they’re not here now. It’s just me.”

  “We have to get out of here,” I whispered to Annabelle. “If we run right now we can probably get away from him.”

  “I think it’s probably better than staying here and getting caught,” Annabelle said.

  We ran out the back door. I hated to leave the woman in there to deal with him, but he would come looking for us and probably leave her alone. We ran down the back alley.

  I didn’t see him yet, but I knew he was coming for us. At least I had the book now. I hoped she had found the right one.

  “Do you see him?” Annabelle asked breathlessly.

  “No, but we should cut down the street right here,” I said, pointing to the right.

  “Do you want me to carry one of those books?” she asked.

  I hoped she didn’t take offense that I wouldn’t trust anyone with these books. Sure, I had control issues. I had a lot of issues other than that too.

  Chapter 21

  I wasn’t sure where to hide. There were plenty of buildings and stores. We could’ve gone back to the car, but he was looking for us. He would recognize us anywhere and if they were tracking me then they would surely find me no matter where I went.

  “I wish that I could do something to disguise us,” I said.

  “There is something you can do,” Annabelle said.

  I shook my head. “No, it wouldn’t work. It can’t be done without the help of an experienced witch. I mean, an experienced witch who is good with magic. That’s most definitely not me.”

  “You’ve done it before and now you have the new book. Your spells are in there. I think you can do it. Your mother was able to do it.”

  “My magic is bad and it wouldn’t work.”

  Annabelle sighed. “Well, if you don’t even want to try, I guess I can’t force you. Negative thoughts bring negative things,” Annabelle said.

  She knew how to get to me. She knew that I would now have to do the spell.

  I sighed and then said, “Okay, but just for the record, I think it’s a bad idea.”

  “Positive thinking,” she said with a wave of her finger.

  I paused for a moment so that I could cast the spell. I was still clutching both books in my arms. I handed Annabelle the books, even though I didn’t want to let them go, but I had no choice. After calling to the elements of air, fire, water, and earth, I recited the words carefully and waved my arms in t
he air. A tingling sensation came over me. It was a good sign. Maybe the spell would work after all. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much though just in case something terrible went wrong. But like Annabelle said, positive thoughts. I was almost afraid to look and see what the spell had done, but I had to do it sometime. I couldn’t put it off forever.

  Once I thought the spell was over, Annabelle and I turned to look at each other. At the same time we both screamed. Except it didn’t come out as a scream really, it was more like a bark or whine. Yes, I had now turned us both into dogs.

  “You turned us into dogs,” Annabelle yelled. Her reaction was panicked and rightfully so. When I looked down I saw huge paws. Massive paws.

  “What kind of dog am I?” I asked.

  I wasn’t the same type as Annabelle because she was a tiny little Chihuahua.

  “You’re a Great Dane,” she said. “What am I?” she asked, jumping up and down.

  She was even being hyperactive like a Chihuahua.

  “You’re a Chihuahua,” I said.

  If I had known I was turning us into dogs I would have made us both small and compact so we could hide easier.

  “We have to hide,” I said.

  “Well, it’s kind of hard to hide now. You’re like a ginormous billboard.”

  “We’re just a couple of dogs hanging out. You know, checking out traffic, looking for cars to chase.”

  “You think that’s what dogs are thinking?”

  “Probably that and about bones.”

  “I just hope no one calls the dog pound,” Annabelle said.

  “I guess we would be in big trouble then, wouldn’t we?” I said.

  I knew how long the spells usually lasted, but I certainly hoped it wasn’t as long this time. What if we stayed this way permanently? I wouldn’t even mention that scenario to Annabelle because she would freak out.

  Just then, I glanced to the left and saw the man from the occult shop coming down the sidewalk. At least he would never find us now. The books were hidden behind us in a flowerpot. I couldn’t exactly grab them and hold them since I didn’t have thumbs. I supposed I could try to pick them up in my mouth, but I didn’t think both of them would fit. Plus, it would look strange for a dog to be walking around with books in her mouth.

  The man was growing closer to us now. I had to act casual so that he wouldn’t be suspicious. I also didn’t want to draw attention to us and have him notice the books back there. I’d had one book taken away from me and I sure as heck wasn’t having these two taken too.

  For some reason when this guy got near us Annabelle started being a little too hyper. She started barking like crazy at him. That wasn’t exactly the way to blend in and have him not notice us. It was the exact opposite.

  Just as he got near, Annabelle lurched forward and bit his ankle. He screamed out and kicked in her direction. Luckily, she had moved just in time. What was she thinking? Of course now his actions made me angry and I started barking at him. That was when he kicked at me too, but this time he made contact. I let out a big yelp. That wasn’t very nice. Granted Annabelle had started it, but still he was a bad man. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to try to kick me.

  I lunged forward, growled, and tried to snap at him. He darted away, but I figured he would probably call someone to come after us. He might even try some magic on us. We had to get out of here, but I couldn’t leave the books behind. It was time for us to break free of the spell. But how? Simply casting another spell to bring us back to normal? I supposed I had to remain positive and give it a shot. It was all I had. The man was now talking to another man, probably telling him what we’d done.

  “We’re going to have to hide in order to do a spell. I hope it will get us out of this,” I said. “I can’t do magic right here with everyone watching. Plus, I think he’s going to call the authorities.”

  “What about the books?” Annabelle asked.

  “I’ll just have to leave them and hope that he doesn’t find them. After we cast the spell and get out of this, we’ll come back.”

  It sounded like that plan would work out. When he wasn’t looking, I motioned for Annabelle to run to the left. There was a restaurant just a couple of doors down.

  “We’ll go in here. I’ve been there before. They seem friendly. We’ll just run in, find a table to hide under and do the spell. Then we’ll run right back out,” I said.

  “You really think it’ll be that easy?” Annabelle asked.

  “Now who’s being a Negative Nancy?” I asked.

  As soon as a man opened the door to the restaurant we darted inside. He gave a strange look, but didn’t stop us. Annabelle followed me behind the table. The tablecloth was hiding us nicely.

  “What do you think you’re doing in here? Get out of here,” the woman yelled.

  When I looked up, a woman with a broom was headed our way.

  “What’s with all the hate for the dogs today?” I asked.

  When a man opened the door to enter, Annabelle and I raced out, almost knocking him to the ground on our way.

  “That was a close one. We almost got clomped with a broom,” Annabelle said.

  “And I thought they were friendly. That’s the last time I go in that restaurant,” I said. “Come on, there’s a clothing shop up ahead. We’ll try that place.”

  We only had to wait a couple minutes by the door until a woman opened it and stepped out. Racks of clothing were everywhere. A few mannequins lined the front windows. A woman was behind the counter, but so far she hadn’t noticed us. She was too busy watching the Real Housewives marathon. That was perfect for us. It would give us time to try a spell and then get out of there.

  “What a cute dress,” Annabelle said, pointing to the little black dress with her paw.

  “It won’t fit you,” I said, snickering.

  “Funny. Get me out of this Chihuahua body right now.”

  “Okay, I’m working on it.” I tossed my paw up.

  I recited the words and waved my paws around. This wasn’t exactly the best way to do a spell, and I was bad to begin with, but this made it even harder. The tingling sensation had returned again. When I looked over at Annabelle she was no longer the little Chihuahua, but she was a man. I was freaking out a little bit. Was it really her? Had a stranger done something to Annabelle in a split second?

  “Is that you?” I asked.

  “Of course it’s me,” she said in her voice. “Yeah, you’re a man too.”

  “What do I look like?”

  “Better than before. You have grayish-blond hair and a little bit of a beard.”

  I touched my face. It was stubbly.

  Where did I come up with these looks? They were so random.

  “Now that we are in human form again we can go get the books. Let’s hurry.”

  Just as we were coming out from under the clothing rack, the woman approached.

  “What are you doing under there? Are you stealing?” she yelled.

  “Run,” I yelled.

  Annabelle and I raced out of the building and down the sidewalk. I looked over my shoulder. The woman was standing at the door and shaking her fists at us.

  “Hey, I’ve got longer legs and can run faster now,” I said.

  “So totally not worth the rest of this package,” Annabelle said.

  Finally, we made it back to the spot where I’d hidden the books. I rushed over and reached for them. Much to my disappointment, the books were gone.

  “They’re gone,” I said in a panic.

  “Where are they?”

  I looked around, not knowing where to start. I was sure that he had taken the books, but then to my surprise, I saw a woman crossing the street. She had the books in her arms.

  “I’ve never seen her before. She’s got them,” I yelled.

  “Let’s go after her,” Annabelle said.

  The woman really would be terrified when she looked up and saw two men chasing her. I couldn’t help it though, I needed those boo
ks back.

  “Where do you think she’s going?” Annabel asked.

  The woman stopped at a black car just down the way and then climbed in behind the wheel. She placed the books in the passenger seat.

  “There she is. We have to stop her.” I pointed.

  We started running across the street and down the sidewalk. She pulled away from the curb and I knew there was no way we would ever catch her now. There was a red light up ahead. Maybe if she stopped at the light we would have time to catch her.

  Annabelle and I ran down the sidewalk, and unfortunately, the male bodies that I’d picked couldn’t be in that great shape because I was out of breath. Another huge blow to our mission to retrieve the books. The light didn’t turn red and the lady was able to cruise right on through with the books in the back of her car. There would be no catching up with her now. I continued to run. I just couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to accept that it was over. Now what would I do? I couldn’t keep running forever. I would have to stop soon. My side was hurting and my lungs were burning.

  “I don’t think I can run much more,” Annabelle said breathlessly. “Plus, people are staring at us.”

  Maybe they thought we’d robbed a bank.

  Finally, I stopped and tried to catch my breath. Annabelle was panting next to me.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll figure out something,” she said.

  I knew she was just trying to make me feel better. Once I’d caught my breath, I tried to clear my thoughts and figure out what to do next.

  “At least the other guy isn’t following us anymore,” Annabelle said.

  That was one way to look on the bright side.

  Chapter 22

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a car driving slowly beside us. I kept my eyes focused in front of me. Had the cloaking spell worn off? If it was the man from the occult shop, then I would ignore him and act as if he wasn’t there. Then the first chance I got I would run. The car continued slowly beside us. It became obvious that this person wasn’t going away.

  Finally, I glanced to my right. My mother was behind the wheel.

  She yelled through the open window. “What are you doing?”

  It was just then that I realized that the spell had faded. Annabelle and I were back to normal. At least I knew the spell that disguised us as men had worn off.