by Rose Pressey
I’d fought off demons and witches for this book. Nicolas and Liam had wanted to get rid of the thing. In hindsight, maybe that wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. Not only did the Book of Mystics make me the leader, it also gave me the power to reanimate the dead. Let’s just say that hadn’t gone well so far. Since I hadn’t asked for the job, I wasn’t exactly excited about my new talent.
It had brought the aforementioned demon into my life. My substandard spell-casting had accidentally brought back a beautiful blonde disguised as a demon named Isabeau Scarrett. I’d never intended on allowing demons to return to this world; bringing the dead back to life was something I didn’t want to do. That was where my questionable spell-casting came into the picture.
Things had been beyond stressful. On top of the demons showing up, I had feelings for Nicolas and, as much as I tried to deny it, there were sparks with Liam too. I’d fought off demons with the brothers during the annual Halloween bash and with all the time that we’d spent together lately, we were quickly growing close as friends.
Then there was the demon witches Jacobson and Sabrina. It was like an endless stream of people wanting to get their hands on the book. Jacobson had been the leader of the New Orleans Coven before I’d made Liam the new leader. Jacobson’s sister Sabrina had accused Nicolas of turning her into a vampire, but in reality, the brother and sister had just been trying to get revenge for the vampire that Nicolas and his mother had killed; that vampire had turned Nicolas and his mother many years ago. It wasn’t like Nicolas had any other choice. He’d only staked the vampire to save his life.
On top of all that, now I had another witch claiming he had proof that he was the true owner of the book. Soon enough I’d find out if he was telling the truth. I didn’t know how, but I wouldn’t stop until I got to the bottom of his claim.
The road stretched out endlessly in front of us. The darkness consumed us and the clouds now concealed the moon which had been our only source of light on that lonely stretch of highway leading back to Enchantment Pointe. Our surroundings were eerily peaceful until in a matter of seconds, bright lights appeared directly behind us. I looked over my shoulder and was blinded by what I assumed were another car’s high beams.
Nicolas glanced in the rearview mirror. The car continued to follow closely. “I think I’ll slow down so this car can pass.”
I nodded. “They must be in a hurry,” I said.
When Nicolas slowed down, the car didn’t pass. It remained behind us, practically touching our bumper.
“Why aren’t they passing?” I asked.
Nicolas peered into the rearview mirror again. “I don’t know, but there’s nowhere for me to pull over and let them pass.”
With this driver’s obvious road rage, I wasn’t sure pulling over would have been a great idea anyway. My anxiety grew and I wondered why this person was driving so erratically. Had they been drinking?
“Maybe we should call the police and report them?” I asked.
Reporting this driver would be for the best. I didn’t want to give this person the opportunity to hurt or kill someone. I pulled my phone out and before I had a chance to dial the numbers, the engine roared loudly and the car zipped past. It was dark, but I was sure that the car was black. And I was also sure that I’d seen the vehicle very recently. It looked like Giovanni St. Clair’s car. I wasn’t surprised that he’d followed us.
Chapter Two
The aggressive driving was Giovanni’s way of intimidating me. I couldn’t let him get to me. But his driving was close to moving past intimidation and into the dangerous and deadly realm.
“Hey, it’s that Giovanni guy.” Nicolas’ eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
“Yeah, I don’t appreciate that he’s trying to scare me,” I said.
“As soon as I find a spot to safely pull over, I’m going to confront him,” Nicolas said.
The car swerved back into the correct lane and was now in front of us. Giovanni tapped the brakes and the bright red lights glowed ominously in the night. Nicolas slammed on his brakes. My seatbelt locked as my body moved forward and then my head smacked back onto the headrest.
“What’s going on?” Jon leaned forward from the backseat.
“Giovanni St. Clair has caught up with us again. He’s using his car to scare us now.” I inhaled a deep breath and braced myself for what might happen next.
“What does he think he’ll accomplish by making us wreck?” Annabelle asked.
When I looked back at her, I knew we both had the same thought. If Giovanni killed me, he might think it would be easier for him to get the Book of Mystics. Maybe that was his plan, but he’d never find the Book of Mystics, I reminded myself.
“What are we going to do?” Annabelle asked.
Nicolas slowed the car down.
“We’re not going to stop, right?” Annabelle asked anxiously.
“No, I won’t stop,” Nicolas said. By his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes, I wasn’t sure if I believed him.
For the moment everything was calm as we continued down the road. At least Giovanni wasn’t slamming on his brakes. I didn’t want to get lulled into a false sense of security though. He could make another erratic movement at any moment. I was on edge waiting for his next move. When I thought I couldn’t handle the tension any longer, the car accelerated and disappeared into the night.
I released a deep breath. “Do you think he’s gone for good?” I hoped that he wouldn’t be waiting for us around the next turn.
Nicolas nodded. “I think he was just trying to scare you. He’ll probably leave us alone tonight.”
Yeah, he’d leave us alone for now, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. I’d be on edge waiting for his next move. The tension was heavy in the car, but after a few minutes with no car in sight, we began to calm down. I leaned my head back on the seat and tried to relax for the rest of the trip.
A million thoughts raced through my mind. It was strange to think about how much things had changed in such a short time. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around how this had happened to me. Why had I found the book? Why not someone else? All my life I’d wanted for my magic to be better, and now I wasn’t sure what I wanted any more.
I knew my mother was happy with my improved status in the witchcraft world. Much to my mother’s chagrin, I’d never been good at witchcraft. She’d named me Halloween in the hopes that I’d have special magical skills. Unfortunately for her, that had never happened. The only thing that had improved my witchy skills was becoming the owner of the Book of Mystics. Some people claimed that I had to have special magical skills to get the book to work for me, but if I had special talents, then I’d hate to see how poorly someone else used the book.
No matter what they said, I’d messed up plenty since I’d found the book. The local Coven had always tried to distance themselves from me, but now that I owned the book, they wanted to be a part of my life. I never wanted to be a person to hold a grudge, so I was trying to forgive and forget. I believed that people could change and as long as their hearts were in the right places, then I was willing to forgive. I hadn’t blamed them for not wanting me around in the past. My magic had been so bad that I’d made other witches’ magic spells go horribly wrong when I performed mine. Witches from miles around would call and complain that my magic casting had interfered with theirs in a negative way.
We finally pulled up to LaVeau Manor. The massive structure had an unquestionable authority as it towered over us. Old oak trees surrounded the manor with branches swaying in the wind. A long pebble driveway stretched out in front of the manor and an old iron gate with stone columns guarded the entrance. My new place was in the town of Enchantment Pointe. It was a small town, but needless to say it had its share of magic. LaVeau Manor sat next to the river and even had a small family cemetery in the back next to the tall moss-covered trees. Annabelle was so creeped out by the place’s appearance that I could barely get her to enter, although she’d become braver over th
e past few days. She’d even made it upstairs for the first time since I’d inherited the place. I think it had something to do with the good-looking Underworld detective whom Liam had assigned to watch out for her. Since someone had wanted me eliminated, I knew they wouldn’t think twice about going after my non-magical friend.
“It’s been a long night. I’ll drive Annabelle home,” Jon said.
I nodded. “Thank you all for everything. Annabelle, I couldn’t have made it through this without you.”
Annabelle hugged me. “That’s what best friends are for.”
“Call you tomorrow. Love you,” I said with a wave.
When my phone rang, Annabelle and Jon paused. I think we all knew that it couldn’t be good that my phone was ringing at this time of night. They watched as I pulled the phone out and held it to my ear.
I didn’t think to look at the caller ID before answering. If I had, I would have turned the phone off and gone to bed. But I guessed ignoring the problem wouldn’t make it go away. Just hearing Giovanni’s voice made my stomach turn.
“Good evening, Ms. LaVeau.” I imagined that a creepy smile slid across his face.
“It was a good evening until you showed up,” I said through gritted teeth.
He chuckled, then said, “If you think you’ve offended me with your comment, then you’re wrong.”
“What do you want?” I asked, letting him know that I didn’t want to play his game.
“I’m coming to pick up the book,” he said matter-of-factly.
I scoffed. “I don’t think so. What gives you the right to take my book?”
Nicolas stood beside me, touching my arm. “Is everything okay?” he whispered.
I nodded. Everything would be fine as soon as I got rid of this nutcase on the phone.
“This is something that we can discuss when I get there,” he said.
“I told you there is nothing to discuss. I won’t keep having this conversation with you,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said as if he hadn’t heard a word that I’d said.
It was obviously no use talking to him and telling him not to come.
“By the way, I don’t appreciate what you did,” I said.
“What do you mean? When I showed up at the plantation?” he asked innocently.
“Well, yes, I didn’t appreciate that, but that’s not what I was talking about. I didn’t appreciate you driving like a madman and slamming on your brakes in front of us,” I said.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” he said. I heard the snarky tone in his words.
“You don’t know anything, do you?” I asked.
“I know that the book is mine,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Nicolas asked.
“Giovanni St. Clair is on his way to LaVeau Manor,” I said.
Chapter Three
Nicolas and I were sitting in my parlor. I’d tried to make this room more casual and not as museum-like as the rest of the manor. There was an oversized white sofa on one side of the room with chairs placed in front to make a conversational area. It was supposed to be a relaxing room, but that was a tough task to accomplish at LaVeau Manor. No matter the creepiness, I’d started to become more comfortable with the manor. It was my home now.
Silence filled the air. We were too nervous to talk. I just wanted to find out what this man had to say and get on with it. Annabelle and Jon stepped into the room. They’d been out on the front veranda. After I’d received the call from Giovanni, neither Annabelle nor Jon had wanted to leave. I was thankful to have them there for support.
Annabelle touched my arm. “Are you doing okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. It’s the not knowing that’s the hard part. I just want to get it over with.”
“This man is probably full of hot air,” Jon said.
“Don’t worry about it, Hallie. Everything will work out,” Nicolas said, squeezing my hand.
A strange feeling gathered in the air. It was like trying to breathe through soup. The others sensed it too because we all exchanged a look. “What’s happening?” Annabelle asked.
“It feels like magic,” I said.
Nicolas jumped up and rushed over to the window. He peered out across the front lawn and driveway.
“Do you see anything?” I asked, joining him beside the window.
He shook his head. “I don’t see anyone, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out there.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t be filled with any more dread, this happened. Was someone placing a spell on LaVeau Manor again? We’d just dealt with that when we’d been locked out of LaVeau Manor by Jacobson and his sister, and I didn’t want to deal with it again.
“I’m going outside to check it out,” Nicolas said.
“I’ll go with you,” Jon said, following Nicolas out of the room.
Annabelle and I watched from the front veranda as Nicolas and Jon stepped out onto the lawn and then disappeared around the side of the manor.
“I doubt they’ll find anything. If someone wants to place a spell on me, they certainly won’t let themselves be seen doing it.” I tried to control my frustration. I wouldn’t let bad witches get under my skin.
“Who do you think it is?” Annabelle asked.
“It could be Giovanni. After all, he said he was on his way here,” I said, looking back at the door and worrying about the book.
I knew that it was locked away in a secure location, but that still didn’t make me one hundred percent confident that Giovanni wouldn’t somehow get the book. I was probably being paranoid, but I couldn’t help it.
After a couple minutes, Nicolas and Jon returned.
“Did you see anything?” Annabelle asked.
Nicolas shook his head.
“The strange feeling seems to have disappeared,” I said.
“We’ll just have to keep an eye out for anything else strange,” Jon said.
We stepped back inside and returned to the parlor. I sat back on the sofa and leaned my head back onto the cushion.
“How do you think this man found out that you have the book in the first place?” Annabelle asked.
I threw my hands up. “I’m sure everyone knows by now.”
“My mother had a lot of this stuff happen when she first got the book,” Nicolas said a little too casually.
“And you’re just now telling me this?” I asked with an edge of frustration in my voice.
“Would it have changed anything if I’d told you before?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I guess not. There’s nothing I can do differently.”
Nicolas sat beside me and squeezed my hand. He didn’t have to say anything. I felt his concern just by the simple touch of his hand. He lifted my hand to his mouth and placed his soft lips against my skin, delivering tiny kisses up the length of my arm.
The doorbell rang, echoing through the parlor. My stomach flipped and I jumped up from the sofa, making my way to the front door. Footsteps sounded behind me and I knew that everyone was following me to the door.
I peeked out. Giovanni St. Clair stood in front of the door with a smirk across his face. Other than his name, I had no idea who this man was or what made him think that he should be the leader of the Underworld, but it looked as if I was about to find out. Maybe he was the reason for the strange vibe that we’d sensed moments ago.
“Is it him?” Annabelle asked, trying to get a peek out the front door.
“Yeah,” I whispered, as if he could hear me through the door.
The heavy wooden door creaked ominously as I opened it, giving us a warning signal that this visitor was nothing but danger.
“Hello, Ms. LaVeau,” he said with a devilish grin. His tone was full of disdain.
I was in no mood for pleasantries with this man. He wasn’t a bed-and-breakfast guest, so my hospitality responsibilities were out the window.
“Mr. St. Clair.” I paused as he stared at
me.
I supposed he wanted me to invite him in. I sucked in a deep breath and gestured for him to enter the manor. “Please come in.”
It was all I could do to be nice to this man. I supposed if he truly did have a right to the title, I should be nice and not hold it against him, but after all that I’d been through it was hard to deal with. Just in case this man was going to be the leader of the Underworld, I figured I would try to be a little nicer.
“Won’t you join us in the parlor?” I pointed toward the room to our left.
He smiled and nodded, then walked toward the room with a strut that let me know he fully expected the title to be his.
“Thank you,” he said over his shoulder.
I figured he knew by the scowl on my face that I was trying hard to be nice, but really wanted to tell him to get lost. Nicolas, Annabelle, and Jon followed me into the parlor. Giovanni hadn’t waited for me to tell him to have a seat. He’d already taken position at the end of the sofa. I was trying to be civil, but if he thought I was going to serve him tea and cookies, then he was dead wrong.
“So do you want to tell me what you were talking about?” I asked, getting right to the point. The faster we got this over with the faster he would be out of LaVeau Manor and my life.
A wide grin spread across his face. “You get right to the matter, don’t you? I like that.” He stared me up and down.
Nicolas moved closer, protectively. I felt his body tense.
“I’m sure you can understand that I am suspicious of your claims. I’ve had to deal with quite a few people who wanted the book since I became the owner,” I said.
He nodded. “Oh, I completely understand. But I’m sure you’ll understand my position when I tell you that you are in possession of the book illegally.”
I didn’t like his tone and I didn’t like his words either.
“All right. That’s enough of your games.” Nicolas moved forward and I grabbed his muscular arm. The last thing I needed was for the two of them to fight, although it would be two against one because Jon and Nicolas had been friends for quite some time and I knew he wouldn’t let Nicolas take on Giovanni alone.
