by Rose Pressey
“Yes, please. That would be wonderful,” I said.
Liam grabbed my arm. “I’m not sure we should go there. We don’t know how many people are there.”
The woman waved her hand. “Oh, no. She lives there alone.”
“How do you know her?” Liam asked.
“She’s been in the bar before. It was a couple times and I waited on her both times. She was kind of talkative. Anyway, she told me that she lived alone.”
“So how do you know where she lives?” Liam pushed.
She shifted from foot to foot. “I’m not proud of this, but she told me that I could have some of her witch’s blood. I wanted to see if it worked and she said she needed the money.”
Apparently witches’ blood gave vampires witchcraft power. Not as much as a witch possessed, but something was better than nothing.
“So you went to her house?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, but when I got there she had changed her mind, which was just as well because she made me nervous.”
“Why did she make you nervous?” Annabelle asked in a shaky voice from over my shoulder.
She shrugged. “It was just a vibe I got. You know how sometimes people just don’t seem on the up and up?”
I nodded. I knew that feeling all too well.
“Did she speak to you when she was in here last night?” Liam asked.
“No. She acted as if she didn’t know me. That was fine with me though. You know, she’d been in here alone before. That’s why I was a little surprised to see her speaking with the man and then Nicolas,” she said.
“But she was definitely talking with Mr. Marcos and another man?” Liam asked.
She grabbed a napkin from the bar and pulled the pen from behind her ear. “I’m one hundred percent positive. I’ll draw a map for you. Sorry I can’t remember the name of the street.”
“Do you have any idea why she was talking with Nicolas?” I asked.
After drawing out a sketch, she handed me the napkin. “I heard the same thing as Ginny. Janet and the man said they wanted Nicolas and you dead.”
I looked at her. “Why are you telling me this?”
Her expression darkened. “I thought it was the right thing to do.”
I nodded. “Well, thank you.”
“Please be careful,” she called out over my shoulder.
As we walked toward the door, Annabelle asked, “How do we know she’s not setting you up?”
“She’s right. We could be going right into their trap,” Liam said.
“Well, that’s the chance I have to take. What if she has information about Nicolas?” I threw my hand up. “Heck, what if she has Nicolas there?”
Liam stared for a second. “All right. But I go check it out first. I’ll leave my gun with you. If anyone approaches and tries anything to harm you, you’ll have to use it.”
Chapter Eleven
We made our way out of the bar and into the bright sunlight. I shielded my eyes until they had a chance to adjust.
“You still haven’t explained how vampires can go out into the sunlight,” I said as we hurried toward the car.
“We take a pill,” Liam said without glancing over at me.
“You take a pill?” I asked suspiciously.
“We don’t really have time to go into the basics. Annabelle, I can drive if you’d like,” Liam said.
“Gladly,” Annabelle said, handing over the keys.
“The least you can do is explain to me what kind of pill. Do all vampires take it?” I asked.
“Leave it to you to be interested in how this works now,” Liam said.
I chuckled. “Hey, I need something to keep my mind off what may happen when we get to this house.”
He paused, then nodded. “You’re right. Okay, well, vampires discovered quite some time ago that there was something in beets that allowed us to go into the sun.”
I snorted. “Beets?”
“I know it’s not glamorous, but it is what it is,” Liam said.
“So how does this translate to a pill?” I asked biting my lip to fend off a giggle.
“They made the beet extract in pill form,” Liam responded quickly.
“Of course.” I shook my head.
“Does that explain enough?” He avoided my puzzled stare.
“Enough for now, I guess. Anyway, about Nicolas, I think it was a glamor spell that was used,” I said as we approached the car.
“That makes sense, but who is pretending to be Nicolas?” Liam asked.
“The better question is why are they using the spell to pretend to be him?” I opened the car door.
“Oh, a glamor spell. I remember those.” Catherin waved her hand.
She’d been quiet since we stepped out of the bar.
I looked at her and frowned, as if to say, Not now.
Had I been crazy for bringing her along? To answer my own question: Yes, I had been completely bonkers. She kept pushing her grandmotherly charm on us.
Catherin gave a little smile, but didn’t say anything else.
“We need to go to this house right now to find out,” I said, climbing into the passenger seat.
“All of this is making me nervous,” Annabelle said from the back seat.
“Oh, don’t worry, dear. Halloween is the leader now, I’m sure she has everything under control,” Catherin said with/ a wink.
Now I felt like she was just mocking me. She wouldn’t do that though, right?
I gave Liam step-by-step directions according to the sketch the woman had drawn out on the cocktail napkin. When we reached a winding ribbon of dusty road with no traffic and no visible homes, I felt Annabelle’s tension from the backseat of the car. She frowned.
“We’ll be fine,” I said with a smile.
I knew I had to say that whether I believed it or not. But what was the worst that could happen? I’d already fought a demon and Jacobson. Could it get any worse? Trees lined both sides of the road. The sketch had us turning on the next right.
Up ahead I spotted a turn-off. “That must be it,” I said, pointing straight ahead.
When we reached the turn-off, I realized it was nothing more than a gravel drive lined with thick brush. I prayed that we didn’t run into an alligator when we got out of the car. I’d rather fight a bad witch than wrestle an alligator. I wasn’t sure that I had magic to compete with that beast.
The shade of the trees around the house made it appear almost night time. The setting was spooky and hauntingly lovely at the same time. I couldn’t deny the knot I felt in the pit of my stomach. After inching down the gravel drive, we finally came into a clearing. A small white house with a wraparound porch sat in front of us. There was no car or any signs of life. Liam pulled the car up in front of the house and cut the engine.
Liam handed me the small silver gun. “Okay, I’m going in. I’ll check it out and motion when it’s safe. Have you ever used one of these before?”
I stared down at the object, then looked up at him. “No. Why can’t I use magic if someone tries to attack me?”
He shook his head. “The gun is loaded with silver bullets.” He pointed at the gun in my hand. “Point it at your attacker and pull the trigger.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?” I asked.
“Sorry, but there’s no time for a detailed lesson. Besides, I’m sure you won’t have to use it. Just don’t accidentally shoot yourself in the foot.” He pointed at my foot.
I quirked a brow. “Yeah, I’ll try not to do that.”
We watched in silence as Liam walked around the car and up the steps of the house. Once on the porch and in front of the door, he knocked and waited for someone to answer. After several more knocks and no one opening the door, he tried the knob. The door inched open.
Liam turned around and looked our way. He held up his finger, indicating to give him one minute. Why was I waiting? I was supposed to be the leader now. Sure, he was assigned to be my bodyguard, but
wasn’t I supposed to be tough now? A tough person wouldn’t sit in the car and wait for someone else to check things out, would they? Then I thought about Annabelle. My poor best friend that I’d dragged into this mess. I couldn’t leave her alone out there, and I certainly wouldn’t take her inside the house without knowing it was safe. Besides, if no one was home, then there was no reason for us to go inside anyway.
Just then the back door of the car opened. I whipped around and saw Catherin climbing out of the car.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” I yelled.
“What is she doing?” Annabelle asked with panic in her voice.
“I have no idea, but we have to stop her. Come on,” I said, jumping out of the car with the gun tightly clutched in my hand.
Annabelle hurried out of the back seat, although she looked like she’d rather jump behind the wheel of the car and take off. Catherin ran up the steps and through the front door of the house. We trailed her, running up the rickety front steps and across the unstable floorboards on the porch. Annabelle and I rushed through the open door into the darkened front room of the house.
Catherin stood in the middle of the room looking around. No one else was in sight. Not the owner of the house, Nicolas, or Liam. I was beginning to think that my apprehension was rising to Annabelle’s level.
Just then Liam ran down the hall toward us. “What’s going on? I thought you were staying in the car. Did something happen?”
“Catherin ran out of the car and into the house.” I pointed at Catherin. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I couldn’t leave him alone in here. He needed help and you shouldn’t have allowed him to come in here by himself.” She waved her finger in my direction.
That was it. This woman was crazy too. I was back to finding a spell to get rid of her. As the thought of getting rid of her crossed my mind, she offered a warm smile. Her warm smile reminded me of chocolate-chip cookies straight out of the oven and giant hugs—just like Grandma. Again I was forced to consider how it would feel if I banished this sweet grandmotherly woman to the other side. I frowned at Catherin then looked at Liam.
“Did you find anything?” I asked, handing Liam the gun. I wanted to get rid of the thing before I really did shoot myself in the foot.
Liam shrugged his shoulders.
“What does that mean?” I asked, my apprehension growing by the minute.
“Well, there’s something back here maybe you should see.” Liam motioned for me to follow him down the hallway.
“Do you think we should be in here without someone being home?” Annabelle looked over her shoulder.
“I’m not sure anyone lives here, Annabelle,” I said, pointing around the room.
Peach-colored floral wallpaper peeled back from the walls and an old torn upholstered chair sat in the corner of the space. Across the way a small wood table and one broken chair that had been tipped over on its side sat on the floor. Dust covered the floor and the furniture. Outside the trees surrounded the house and shaded every room into darkness. It didn’t look as if anyone had been in this place for a long time. I didn’t want to scare Annabelle any more than she already was, but I was almost positive that the woman at the bar had set us up. Were we sitting ducks just waiting for the witches to attack? I should have known and listened to Annabelle’s warning. She had more psychic intuition than she realized.
I followed Liam down the small hallway, trailing him like a shadow. There were two open doors on the right and one door on the left. Each room was empty, devoid of furniture or even curtains on the windows. We turned into a small room on the left.
Dust floated in the air as I stepped through the door. I stopped when I saw the wall across the room of us. Words and an odd painting covered the wall in front of us like prehistoric cave drawings. I couldn’t read the words, but I knew instantly that it was the same language as in the Book of Mystics. The painting had sketches of witches with other creatures that certainly looked demonic to me.
“What does all of this mean?” I pointed toward the wall.
“I’m not quite sure,” Liam whispered. “But I know it’s not good. We should get out of here.”
I’d never seen this look of distress on Liam’s face before. If he felt the need to get out of there, then I was right there with him in his thoughts. We headed out the door and back down the hallway. When we reached the front door, Annabelle approached.
“Look what I found,” she said, stretching her hand out toward us.
I looked down and saw a wallet in her hand. “What is it?”
“It’s Nicolas’ wallet,” she said.
Chapter Twelve
I hurriedly grabbed the wallet from her outstretched hand. When I opened the brown leather wallet, I saw a picture of Nicolas looking back at me. It was definitely his driver’s license. My head was spinning. I handed Liam the wallet. How could it have gotten here? If Liam had been there this morning, then we’d just missed him.
“So someone pretended to be Nicolas and that person was somehow connected to this house. And now we figure out that Nicolas has been here too?” I asked.
Liam ran a hand through his hair. “It appears that way. We need to find out who owns this place.” He looked around. “Or if it’s just abandoned.”
“It looks like no one has lived here for years. Maybe we should go back to the bar and speak with that woman who sent us here. She has a lot to answer for,” I said.
“Anything to get out of this place.” Annabelle shivered.
“You okay?” I asked Annabelle.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to know what the hell is going on. That woman who sent us here is going to answer to me.”
Annabelle stomped out of the house. She might be a scaredy cat when it came to the paranormal—but when someone made her mad, look out!
“Oh, dear. I’ve certainly been pulled into a strange situation.” Catherin shook her head as she followed Annabelle down the stairs.
I felt terrible about dragging both of them into this mess. The more involved this situation got, the more I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I needed backup.
“After we speak with the woman at the bar, we have to go to the New Orleans Coven right away. Maybe we should call for more security. You know, so Annabelle and Catherin don’t have to come with us. They could go home and maybe someone else could watch over them.” I gestured toward the back seat with a tilt of my head.
“No way. I’m here to help you, Hallie. I can’t let you handle this alone.” Annabelle leaned forward from the back seat.
“If she stays, then I stay.” Catherin folded her arms in front of her ample chest.
I looked at Annabelle. “Are you sure?”
She quirked a brow. “Don’t I look sure?”
Okay, I knew there would be no talking her out of it.
Liam backed the car up and pulled out onto the road again. We headed back to the bar for answers. I didn’t know what kind of game that woman was playing with us, but I intended on getting to the bottom of it.
After retracing our trip back to the bar, we pulled up to the curb in the same spot. The French Quarter was growing more crowded, so we weaved our way through a group of people on the sidewalk and headed back into the bar. A few patrons had arrived by now, but the place was still quiet. The same woman was behind the bar and looked up at us as we approached. Again I was reminded of what an odd group we must have seemed. We looked more like tourists than a group involved in a paranormal investigation.
I hurried over to the bar with determination in my eyes. Maybe if I looked the part someone would fall for it and think I knew what I was doing.
“You’re sexy when you’re on a mission,” Liam whispered.
I bit back a smile. This was no time for flirting.
The woman frowned when she saw that I was walking her way. “I didn’t expect for you to be back so soon,” she said.
“I didn’t expect to be back so so
on either,” I said.
“We’re looking for the woman we spoke with earlier.” Liam cast a stern look her way.
“You mean Ginny?” She gestured toward the back of the bar toward the room we’d been in earlier.
“No, I mean the woman we spoke with over there by the door on our way out.” I pointed.
A scowl covered the bartender’s face. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
I exchanged a glance with Liam. Annabelle scoffed and Catherin was looking out the window as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“The woman who works here. She stopped us on our way out.” I pointed again.
She shrugged. “I can get the owner for you.”
I nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Someone is playing games with us,” I whispered when she walked away.
Liam frowned. “I wish I could disagree with you, but it seems that way.”
I moved over to Annabelle. “We’ll get out of here soon. Are you doing okay?”
She stood a little straighter. “I’m fine, just pissed that they are playing games with us.”
“Language,” Catherin warned with a wave of her finger.
“Sorry,” Annabelle said quietly.
After a couple seconds, Ginny appeared from the back room. She looked shocked when she saw us.
“Is everything okay?” She frowned.
“I’m not sure.” I studied her face. “I’m looking for the woman who works here who gave us false information.”
She looked from me to Liam and back. “I don’t know who that is. What did she look like?”
“She had brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore the t-shirt with the bar’s logo on the chest and jeans,” I said.
Ginny shook her head. “Elaine and I are the only employees here right now. Other than Marisa in my office. That’s the way it’s been all day. I don’t have anyone who works here who fits that description.”
I didn’t know what to say. How did I know she wasn’t lying to me? Someone was lying because I knew we’d talked to someone.
