by Rose Pressey
“Pull over.” I motioned.
Ben was in the passenger seat. When she stopped the car, we ran over.
“We need a ride,” I said as I opened the back door.
Annabelle hurried over to the other side and we slid into the backseat.
“You both look like hell,” my mother said. Leave it to my mother to notice and actually tell us. “You look like a couple of stray dogs.”
Annabelle and I glanced at each other. I looked into the rear-view mirror to confirm that the spell hadn’t returned.
“Okay, now step on it,” I said, pointing forward down the main street.
“Where are we going?” my mother asked.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Well, Halloween, I have to know where I’m headed, now don’t I?”
“I’m looking for a particular car,” I said as I scanned the area.
“What have you gotten yourself into this time?” she asked as she changed into the left lane.
“Through no fault of my own… the other book kind of disappeared. Actually, make that two this time for a grand total of three books.”
“You lost the other book? And what do you mean two books this time?” she asked.
If she was shocked by the books, what would she say when I explained to her why we had been dogs?
“The woman at the occult shop gave me another book that might explain some of the book that man gave me. A man was chasing us so we left with the books, but then Annabelle and I were turned into dogs and we couldn’t carry the books.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait,” my mother said, peering into the rear-view mirror at us.
“You were turned into what?” Ben stared at us in astonishment.
“Dogs, but that’s a long story,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I’ll tell you later.”
When my mother stopped at a red light I spotted the car.
“There it is. That’s the one I’m looking for. I hope she doesn’t get away before the light turns green,” I said.
“Where’s she going?” Annabelle leaned forward in the seat.
The woman pulled the car over at the side of the street and parked. She climbed out of the car.
“I don’t know, but she’s got the books in her hands.”
“She’s going into the shop right there,” Ben said.
“It’s the bookstore. We have got to stop her. Park right there.” I pointed at an empty spot.
My mother whipped into the space. She was better at parallel parking than I’d thought. We all jumped out and headed down the sidewalk toward the bookstore. It was a small place with books stacked up in the windows, luring people in for a literary treasure hunt. Ben opened the door for us and we stepped inside.
“Thank you,” my mother said with a bashful little grin.
“I think I see a little love happening here,” Annabelle said.
“You’re just now seeing it?” I focused my attention on the bookstore instead of thinking about their love life.
I quickly looked around and saw the woman who had taken the books. Except she didn’t have the books in her arms now. I wanted to yell out at her to hand over my stuff. Where had she put the books? I scanned the area, hoping to see if she had set them down somewhere close by. I would just grab them up and then take off. After all, they were rightfully mine.
The woman spotted us. “May I help you?”
“She must work here,” Annabelle said.
“Where are the books?” I asked.
She gave me a confused look and then said, “Is there a particular book you’re looking for?”
“The books you just brought in here. I saw you carrying two big books and I need them right now. They’re mine.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play games with us, missy, we know you took the books.” Annabelle shook her fist at the woman.
“We can do this the hard way or the easy way,” my mother said. “Now you have her books, kindly return them.”
My mother got really angry when someone tried to wrong me. When my mother said something, she meant it too.
The woman shuffled some papers on her desk, and then finally said, “Well, the books are mine now. I found them, so I don’t know what to tell you.”
My mother stepped up close to the woman and then puffed her chest out. “Now listen here, lady, hand over the books or else I will be forced to do something that will make you unhappy.”
The woman glared at my mother. It looked as if she wasn’t scared of my mother’s threat. If she knew my mother, she’d be wise to take her seriously. My mother was sweet as pie until you pushed her in a corner.
“Yes, well, if you don’t leave my store, I’ll be forced to call the police and I think you won’t be so happy when they arrive.”
I definitely didn’t want this to escalate to that point. I pulled my mother back.
“Mom, we’ll find another way to get the books,” I said.
When I glanced to my right I noticed a slot where books were dropped. Considering the woman wasn’t holding the books, and we’d come in right after she’d entered the store, maybe she had dropped them down that slot. It was certainly worth a try. I inched over to the spot so that the woman wouldn’t see what I was doing. Apparently, she figured we would leave right away.
Now that I was close, I was able to peek down. A big cart of books was just below it in the basement. I was positive she had slipped the books down there. Was that the corner of one of the books? Now I had to figure out how to get down to the basement without her catching me and calling the police. I would hate to be arrested. I’d be thrown in jail and then I would never get out to find Nicolas or Liam. Well, at the very least it would slow down my search considerably.
I motioned for my mother, Annabelle, and Ben to walk out of the bookstore with me. Once we were on the sidewalk, Annabelle said. “What are you doing? We have to get the books.”
“She’s not going to hand them over, so we have to be covert in our mission.”
“Do you have a plan?” Ben asked.
“Hallie always has a plan,” Annabelle said. “Not necessarily a good one, but a plan nonetheless.”
“This calls for more spells. Changing our appearance again.”
“Please don’t make me a dog again,” Annabelle said.
“I think we will be able to do a better spell now that my mother is here to take over,” I said.
“Yes, but we don’t have the spellbook that has the spell in it that you wrote down,” my mother said.
She had a point. I had forgotten about not having the spellbook. I had memorized the spell, but the book seemed to hold energy that we needed. Now for a different plan. I had to be quick and think of something.
“I’m not sure that the woman paid attention to Ben. Maybe he could slip in and distract her while I sneak down to the basement.”
“Seems like that’s about the only chance we have of getting the books back,” my mother said.
I was surprised and glad that she was on board with my idea.
“I’m all for it,” Ben said. “Just tell me what to say.”
“Make up a title of a book. She’ll be searching forever because it doesn’t exist,” I said.
“I can do that.” Ben smiled. “She’ll look all night if we need it.”
“I doubt we’ll need that much time. At least I hope not.”
“Just be careful. Annabelle and I will wait right over here. Close enough so we can run in if you need help.” My mother gestured.
“Ben, I’ll watch from the front window to see when the woman is distracted,” I said.
He saluted. “Here goes.”
“Good luck,” I said.
“I won’t need it,” he said as he opened the door.
I gave it a minute and then peeked in the window to see what Ben was doing. There was a glare on the window from the sun setting behind me. I couldn’t find Ben or the woma
n. They could probably see me looking in through the glass. What if she had already called the police? That would be bad, but then again, maybe it would be for the best. I could tell them she’d taken my books. Of course I had no proof of that.
There would be surveillance video showing me hiding the books, but then it would also show us as dogs. Plus as men coming back for the books. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to explain that well, even though people knew my magic was bad. I strained and looked again. That was when I finally spotted them toward the back of the store. Ben was doing exactly what I had asked him to and she was searching shelves for a book that didn’t exist. Now was my chance to slip in.
I grabbed the knob and then I remembered there was a bell that rang when someone entered. She would definitely hear that and turn around. My only chance was if I didn’t open the door wide enough for the bell to move. I eased the front door open. So far it hadn’t made a noise, but I would really have to be careful as I squeezed my body through the little crack in the door. After getting through, I slowly closed the door behind me. She didn’t even look my way. I tiptoed across the floor toward the hallway stairs that led down to the basement.
I was practically home free now as I walked down the stairs, although I had to make sure that the treads didn’t make any noise. I wasn’t sure if she could hear all the way up there. I eased down the stairs. Just a few more and I would be at the bottom. My mission would be half over.
As I put my foot down on the next step, my foot slammed through the wood. I fell face forward, landing on the palms of my hands.
I stayed there for a couple of seconds, trying to register what had happened. Searing pain ran through my shoulder and the back of my arm where I had landed as my body had twisted. I peered up at the top of the stairs, but no one was there. I couldn’t believe that they hadn’t heard me. I scooted a little and apparently nothing was broken. I had to finish this and get out of there. There was only one problem though, my foot was stuck. Voices carried down the stairs as they moved closer to the stairs.
I pulled and tugged on my leg trying to break free before she discovered me. How would I explain being in her basement? Easy answer: I couldn’t.
“I can look downstairs and see if I have any books on the subject if you’d like, but I just can’t find the one you’re looking for,” the woman said.
“Ben, you have to stop her from coming any closer,” I whispered.
I frantically yanked on my leg again. It was really stuck in there.
“Oh, no, it’s not necessary. I think I saw another book over there that I’d like. Follow me and I’ll show you.”
“Good job, Ben,” I said.
I pulled one more time and finally my leg was released from the wooden trap. I groaned in pain. At least I was free now. I needed to get up from the floor and stumble over to the area that had the slot for the books. It was kind of hidden and tucked under the steps. I hurried as fast as I could with my banged-up leg.
Footsteps sounded from above me. Ben wouldn’t be able to hold her much longer in spite of what he’d said. Plus, I still had to grab the book and get out of there.
Chapter 23
I’d found them! Now that I had the books in my hands, I had to sneak upstairs without her catching me. That would be just as hard as it had been going down. At least now I knew that I needed to step around the broken tread, but what if something else broke while going up? That would land me in big trouble. Thank goodness I hadn’t been hurt worse the first time. I could’ve landed a lot harder.
I rushed over to the stairs with the books securely in my arms. One by one, I eased up the stairs. Once at the top, I peeked around the corner. Ben was still talking with the woman. She looked as if she was increasingly getting tired of his conversation.
Ben should’ve tried flirting with her. Though she probably would have tried to punch him or something. When I thought that they were distracted enough, I inched my way toward the door. I almost bumped into a table of books, I was so distracted by watching them. I weaved around the rack of books and made the rest of the way to the door. I was almost free. I could see the finish line… my mother’s car. Now I had to worry about getting out of there without letting the woman hear the bell.
I opened the door slightly and squeezed my body through the open space. My mother and Annabelle were watching with frowns on their faces the entire time. I smiled widely when I was on the sidewalk headed their way. I was proud of myself that I’d been able to sneak in and out without being noticed. Waving the books through the air, I showed my mother and Annabelle my accomplishment. They still had the same looks on their faces. Were they still worried that I would get caught? No need to worry now. I was safe.
Then Monique stepped right in front of me and my stomach sank. Now I knew why they had been frowning.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked with an evil smile.
I had to stand my ground and act as if I wasn’t scared of her. “I’m walking down the sidewalk and if you’ll get out of my way I’ll continue.”
Some might argue that I should have been nicer considering her status in the Underworld. But she already had it out for me, so it didn’t matter what I said or did. Baking her cupcakes definitely wouldn’t help. I figured I had nothing to lose by speaking my mind.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said with her hands on her hips.
It looked like this might end in a fight. “While I have you here, why don’t you tell me what you’ve done with Nicolas and Liam? I know you’ve done something with them and I will find them.”
“Perhaps they just got tired of you and left.”
“I know you want me to believe that, but sad for you, I don’t.”
“I don’t have time to talk to you. Give me the books now.” She wiggled her fingers.
I laughed as I tightened my hold on the books. “If you think you’re getting these books then you’re crazy. No way am I handing them over you. You’ve got one book of mine already and you’re not getting these too.”
Her eyes darkened and narrowed as she glared at me, then she cackled. “I’ll get the books and I’ll get them now.”
I was fully prepared to put up a fight, although I knew I would lose. Her magic was substantially greater than mine. At least I would have the satisfaction that I’d tried. There was integrity and reward in that.
“Give me the books and no one gets hurt.”
Since I couldn’t win against her in witchcraft, I was left with only one other option. Making sure that I had a good hold on the books, I took off in a sprint as quickly as my legs would take me. I didn’t know where I was going or how far I would get before she caught up to me, but I had to make a run for it. I also hoped that she didn’t do anything to my mother and Annabelle. Where was Ben? She was probably looking for him too.
When I reached the end of the street, magic hit me in the back. I instantly fell to the ground. The books flew from my arms. My face was now against the concrete. That was one heck of a zap with magic. Maybe I was just being self-conscious, but I’d never seemed to have that kind of power when I’d had the spellbook. Now was not the time for self-doubt though. I had to get out of this mess. Monique had told me she was going to get the books. Now it looked as if she was right.
I reached out and tried to grab the spellbook. It was the most important one, but then Monique’s shoe planted firmly on my arm. I screamed out in pain. There was no reason to be that mean. She could’ve just taken the books.
“Leave her alone,” my mother yelled.
When I looked back, I saw that a couple of men had my mother and Annabelle. Ben wasn’t around. Maybe he’d seen what was going on and hadn’t come out of the bookstore.
“Get up from there right now,” Monique demanded.
“As long as you don’t continue to step on my hand, I will try my best,” I said.
When she moved her foot, I scrambled up from the pavement. She glared at me the entire time. I had expected for her to may
be take me back down again. The men still had my mother and Annabelle at the car. If my mother and Annabelle tried to move the two men might hurt them. I scanned the area, trying to think of a way to run, but I was trapped.
“Don’t even think about trying to run again,” Monique said. She motioned for a man standing near to us to pick up the books. “I’ve been looking for the second book,” she said.
What did she mean, the second book? How did she even know about this book?
“Plus, I see that you were trying to do a little research.” She smirked. “Too bad you don’t know as much as I do.”
She was so arrogant.
“Not all of us can be as conniving and evil as you,” I snapped.
“You only wish you were half as good as me,” she said.
“I don’t want to be anything like you,” I said.
The man reached out and grabbed my arm. “Come on, you’re going with me.”
I tried to yank my arm away, but he had a tight grip on me. Then the other man came over and grabbed me by the other arm. They led me over to the black Mercedes that had just pulled up to the curb. The man behind the wheel climbed out and rushed over to open the back door. They led me to the car and then stuffed me inside. I had no choice but go with them.
It wasn’t as simple as just getting out of the car. They had locked the door. I couldn’t unlock it. Trust me, I was trying, but they had cast some sort of spell on me that made me unable to go any farther than a few steps in each direction.
The man climbed behind the wheel. The other man got in the passenger seat, but unlucky for me, the new leader of the Underworld sat in the backseat with me. I supposed she wanted to keep an eye on me.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
She laughed as if I’d told the most hysterical joke she’d ever heard in her entire life.
“You can’t possibly think I’m going to tell you that. What benefit would it have for me?”
“Well, I’m going to find out eventually because we’re going there, so why not just tell me now?”
