A Halloween LaVeau Box Set Books 1-3: Forever Charmed, Charmed Again and Third Time's A Charm: A Witch Cozy Mystery Box Set - Books 1, 2, 3 (The Halloween LaVeau Series)

by Rose Pressey

  “Are you ready for the job?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I have to admit. I’m a little nervous about the whole thing. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do.”

  “The book will tell you everything you need to know. Some people will be by tomorrow to speak with you now that you’ve decided to take the position.”

  “I can’t deny that this whole thing has been overwhelming.” I picked at a loose thread on my jeans.

  Liam’s clean-shaven face gleamed in the moonlight. “I’m sorry we gave you such a hard time. It was complicated and there were a lot of hard feelings between us that we shouldn’t have put you through.”

  I squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  Liam leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. My heart thumped wildly in my chest. His kiss was just as passionate as the first time he’d kissed me and with the same sense of urgency. My thoughts spun.

  When he stopped kissing me, he ran his finger across my cheek. “I’ll be leaving tonight. My work here is done. You don’t need me hanging around.”

  I nodded. I would miss seeing his handsome face, but I knew there was no way he was staying. I had to see what my feelings were for Nicolas. And I thought Liam knew that without me even having to tell him.

  Liam stood and reached for my hand. He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. After one last hug, he grabbed his bag and stepped off the veranda toward his car.

  “Aren’t you going to talk with your brother before you leave?” My lips were still warm from his kiss.

  “There’ll be time for that another day,” he said with a wink.

  I watched as Liam drove down the driveway and pulled out onto the road. The thick cover of trees concealed his car soon enough and he was out of my life. But for how long? Surely I’d see him again, right? Would I need protection like Nicolas’ mother? I hoped not. It was a scary thought.

  He just wanted job security and to make up for not being able to save Nicolas’ mother by helping me. If he helped me, he’d still have a place in the Underworld. Had Nicolas and Liam finally realized that their long feud had to end? Or had it ended for just the time being? I thought they needed to talk to each other and clear the air once and for all. It would have to wait for another time though.

  The ghosts peered out at me from the tree lines. It didn’t look as if they were going anywhere any time soon. I avoided looking directly at them and went back inside. My mother had Nicolas cornered and I knew I’d have to rescue him.

  “Your mother was just telling me about the time you turned your date into an ass. I have to say this is a little disturbing.” He scowled.

  I chuckled nervously. “I’m sure your feet are killing you in those shoes, Mom,” I said as I grabbed my mother’s arm and ushered her toward the front door.

  I said goodbye to the remaining guests and rushed my mother out the door before she could recount another embarrassing story. It was just Nicolas and me now. Well, and the ghosts outside, but there was no way I was letting them ruin what was left of the night. Life was going to be nothing like it had been before. Did I really know what I was getting myself into? Only time would tell.

  So now I was the witch in charge? Take that, Coven! I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I’d vowed to embrace my new talent for this day forward. But if I was the new boss, could I rewrite the rules that had been around for centuries? Dating a vampire might be frowned upon, but I was going to rewrite that rule. Would Nicolas want to hang around LaVeau Manor?

  After everyone had gone, Nicolas took my hand and guided me into the parlor. He pushed on the music again. The steady melodic rhythm floated across the air.

  “I think we need to finish that dance.”

  He held out his hand to me. We swayed to the music, but it wasn’t quite the same now that I wasn’t wearing my ball gown. Nicolas kissed me again and I was lost in his embrace. His hands moved across my body with ease. We were in our own world and this time no one would disturb us. Or so I thought.

  Nicolas’ cell phone rang, cutting off the music. We paused.

  “I’m not answering that,” he whispered, then planted soft kisses against my lips.

  “What if it’s important?” I whispered back through his kisses.

  “It couldn’t possibly be.”

  The ringing stopped and Nicolas continued his exploration of my body with his strong hands. The phone rang again. Still, Nicolas ignored the rings. Not that I was complaining because his touch made my skin tingle and my heart dance. The phone sounded again and Nicolas pretended that he didn’t hear it. I couldn’t ignore it so easily though.

  I grabbed the phone and said, “Hello?”

  “Hallie? Thank goodness. I’ve been trying to call your cell, but you didn’t answer.”

  “Liam, is that you?” I asked.

  Nicolas shook his head. “Perfect timing again.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “The Underworld needs you,” Liam said matter-of-factly.

  “What do you mean?” My hands shook as I cradled the phone to my ear.

  “I’m turning the car around and coming to get you.” I’d never heard this much stress in his voice.

  I looked at Nicolas. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  I covered the phone with my hand. “It’s Liam, he said he’s coming to get me, that the Underworld needs me.”

  “Let me talk to him.” Nicolas outstretched his hand and I handed over the phone.

  After several ‘uh-huh’s and ‘yes’es, Nicolas clicked off the phone. The sound of a car screeching to a stop sounded in front of the house.

  Nicolas grabbed my hand. “Come on, we have to go.”

  Nicolas rushed me out onto the veranda. Liam was sitting behind the wheel of his idling car.

  “Where am I being whisked away to?” I asked as I jumped in the passenger seat.

  Apprehension took over. I’d never been in charge of anything before other than my mother’s store a few times and now the bed-and-breakfast. I hardly thought those were worthy mentions on a resume. Why were the men being so quiet?

  “When are you going to tell me what has happened?” I asked.

  Liam hesitated as he steered the car out onto the road. He glanced in the rear-view mirror at Nicolas, who was sitting in the backseat. “Nicolas has been accused of stealing another witch’s powers.”

  Uh-oh. This was going to be one hell of a ride.

  THE END of Forever Charmed….

  Please read on and enjoy Charmed Again!

  Charmed Again

  Rose Pressey

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter One of Charmed Again, Book 2

  The idea of vampires had rarely crossed my mind until now. I’d been too consumed in improving my witchcraft skills to give it much thought. That had all changed the night two gorgeous brothers showed up at my fr
ont door. They both claimed they had come to protect me, but for different reasons. That was how I’d ended up in a sleek black car headed for New Orleans in the middle of the night.

  Fog had settled over Enchantment Pointe, making visibility difficult. I held on tight as the car sped along, hugging the curves of the road. Nicolas Marcos sat in the back seat of the car and Liam Rankin navigated the wheel. Unfortunately, I had no idea where we were headed. All I knew was that Nicolas had been accused of stealing another witch’s powers. As the new leader of the Underworld, apparently this was my problem now. That put me in a bit of a pickle because Nicolas’ sexy eyes and gorgeous body had distracted me for some time now. What did they want me to do about it anyway? Was there some kind of punishment for stealing powers? I had no idea.

  My name is Halloween LaVeau and up until now the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me was that I’d been named Worst Witch of the Year for the past few years running. Yeah, I was that bad. Luckily, my skills were improving thanks to the Book of Mystics, but more about that later. Honestly, sometimes I wondered if my mother’s decision to name me Halloween had been more than just a cruel invitation for me to be teased while growing up. Had my name somehow sent the paranormal powers-that-be directly into my path? Heck, maybe I was putting too much thought into it, but nevertheless, my world had been turned upside down just a few short days ago.

  Nicolas and Liam had shown up on the doorstep of LaVeau Manor under mysterious circumstances. It hadn’t been a coincidence that I’d just discovered a strange old book written in an unknown language right before their arrival. Much to my chagrin, I still hadn’t figured out most of what was written in the book. The words and spells appeared of their own free will. Anyway, this old book had unleashed a power within me that I’d never come close to possessing before. Apparently, whoever owned the book was the leader of the Underworld. Lucky me. Heck, I still didn’t know what the Underworld was— how was I supposed to lead it? But as we headed away from town, barreling into the night, I knew I was about to find out. My heart beat faster at the thought.

  “Do you want to tell me more about these charges?” I asked, looking at Liam, then over my shoulder at Nicolas.

  Tension emanated from the backseat. Nicolas’ strong jaw was set in a straight line. He glanced down, avoiding my stare, and I took that as a message that he didn’t want to discuss the matter. But if I was the leader now, I had to set some rules, right? I had to push the lust-filled thoughts of Nicolas to the back of my mind and ask for answers. I might be new at this gig, but I wanted to take the duties seriously.

  I couldn’t deny my feelings for both of the men. But for some strange reason I felt as if Liam would be just fine without me. Nicolas, on the other hand, seemed as if he needed me. I wasn’t sure what had given me that impression. Wishful thinking maybe.

  I studied Liam’s handsome face, half lit by the sliver of moonlight coming through the car window. Liam and Nicolas were both amazing specimens of masculinity. Not to mention they exuded irresistible levels of charm. They had the same high cheekbones, dazzling smiles with full lips, eyes the color of a bright summer sky, and thick dark hair that you just wanted to sink your fingers into.

  It was no surprise that they looked alike though because I’d recently discovered the two men were half-brothers. There was one thing that set them apart from each other. Yes, they were both witches, but Nicolas was a vampire too. I still didn’t know the full circumstances of how that had come about. But his mother and aunt had been turned at the same time back in the 1800s. Now that I thought of it, why hadn’t Liam aged? That thought hadn’t occurred to me until now. Yes, witches lived long lives, but we aged. Liam looked to be around the same age as Nicolas.

  It was funny now I realized just how little I truly knew about them. I’d have to ask more questions. Nicolas’ mother had been the leader of the Underworld… but that was a story for later too. Right now I had to find out why Nicolas was being charged with such a ridiculous crime.

  “Who is the witch who’s accusing him?” I shifted on the leather seat. It was impossible to get comfortable with the waves of apprehension flowing through me.

  Liam steered around a curve. “Her name is Sabrina Stratford. She’s from the New Orleans Coven. Her brother is the leader of that Coven.”

  Nicolas remained tight-lipped in the back seat. Was this too stressful for him to talk about or was there truth to the allegation?

  “Do you want to give me your side of the story before we get to wherever it is we’re going?” I asked as sweetly as possible.

  Nicolas ran his hand through his thick black hair. “I’m not sure where to begin…”

  “How about you start from the beginning?” I said, forcing myself to remain calm.

  After exhaling, he said, “She was being attacked and asked me to turn her into a vampire.”

  Whoa. That was a little more serious than I’d expected. I exchanged a look with Liam. He must have read my mind because he frowned in response.

  “When did this happen?” I asked, keeping my tone deceptively composed.

  “It was just a day before I came to LaVeau Manor.” A look of discomfort crossed his face.

  This was almost too much to wrap my mind around. I’d had enough to deal with learning about my new leader status and now this. I knew my Great-Aunt Maddy had just been trying to help me by leaving me her beautiful home, but it had been nothing but a disaster since I’d moved in. LaVeau Manor was an imposing structure with a large veranda and three stories. The manor stood near the river with a creepy old family cemetery nearby. Not knowing what else to do with the place, I’d decided to run it as a bed-and-breakfast. Shortly thereafter Nicolas and Liam had shown up.

  “Aren’t you supposed to stay with her or something after turning her?” I asked.

  I had no idea how the whole vampire thing worked. Clearly now that I was the leader of the Underworld I needed to learn a few things.

  “You’ve been watching too many movies,” Liam said with amusement in his voice.

  “Well, excuse me for not having the paranormal handbook memorized.” I didn’t know what to do with myself so I nervously tapped my fingers against my seat.

  After all, until recently I had been the butt of all the witches’ jokes. My lack of powers had been famous for miles around. Enchantment Pointe Coven members had even written a pamphlet about my abysmal witchcraft skills.

  “She didn’t give me a chance to help her. After I turned her, she took off. I hadn’t heard a word about it until Liam called just now.” Nicolas’ voice was smooth, but resolute.

  “You said she asked you to turn her? What does that mean?” Maybe I should have read those Twilight books because I had no idea how any of this worked.

  He let out a deep breath. “I went out for a jog by my house and that’s when I heard a lot of noise, then a scream.”

  “What did you do?” I pushed.

  “I ran toward where I heard the noise. That’s when I saw the woman with a beast hovering over her...” Nicolas’ voice trailed off.

  My eyes widened. “What kind of beast?”

  A grave look fell over Nicolas’ face, as if he didn’t even want to picture the thing in his mind.

  “A demon beast,” Liam answered for him.

  I must have led an extremely sheltered life because I’d never heard of such a thing until now.

  “A demon beast? What is that? How is that different from Isabeau?” I asked.

  Isabeau was a demon I’d accidentally brought back with my substandard spell-casting. Looking back, I guessed I understood why the Coven had named me Worst Witch of The Year.

  “A demon sent here from hell,” Liam offered.

  I shivered at the thought. “What does it look like?”

  I probably didn’t want to know, but I asked anyway.

  “The demon is big and midnight black. The thing looks like a shadowy figure until you get up close.”

  “Have you been close to this
thing?” I asked with wide eyes.

  He hesitated, then nodded. “I came closer than I’d have liked once.”

  “What else does it look like?”

  “The demon has long arms that reach almost to the ground and claws that curl under like hooks,” Liam said.

  I tried to seem unfazed by the startling description, but there was no way to hide the fear in my voice.

  “What does it want?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? It wants different things, I guess. But mostly it just wants power and to take a soul back to the devil.”

  “Kind of like a token or prize?” I never wanted to be one of their prizes.

  “You could say that, yes,” Liam said, as he negotiated a curve in the road.

  “But why would she want you to turn her just because this beast had attacked her? Couldn’t you just save her from the demon? If it took off, then what was the need to turn her?” With each question I grew more confused.

  “The beast had tried to kill her. She was dying and I was her only hope of survival.” Nicolas’ voice lowered.

  No doubt the scene was playing on loop in his mind. I hated to remind him of what had happened, but I needed to know the details.

  “So she knew you were a vampire ahead of time. It wasn’t like you’d flashed your fangs at her or anything,” I said, shifting in my seat again.

  “No, I wasn’t showing off my fangs.” Nicolas tried to sound casual, but I wasn’t convinced. He looked out the window into the darkness.

  We sat in silence for a few moments while we all contemplated the situation. I had no idea what I was getting into. What did they want me to do about this? I couldn’t make it all better. I couldn’t un-turn the woman. Or could I?

  I’d recently figured out that I had the power to reanimate the dead. I’d mistakenly brought a demon back to life. Thank goodness the demon I’d dealt with looked nothing like what Liam had described. Isabeau Scarrett had popped up at LaVeau Manor, a demon disguised as a beautiful blonde. Needless to say, bringing demons back was a power I didn’t want and I certainly didn’t want to start bringing vampires back from the other side as well.