by Rose Pressey
She stared for a moment and then picked up the bottle. “I suppose.”
Movement on the sidewalk in front of the shop caught my attention. A couple of guys were walking down the sidewalk in front of the shop.
“Hey, there are the guys.” I hurried over to the window.
Annabelle and my mother raced over behind me.
“What guys?” they asked in unison.
“The ones who were outside the restaurant last night. Thomas was talking to them. He said he knew them, but they’re not from Enchantment Pointe.”
“What are the odds that he would run into people he knows who aren’t even from Enchantment Pointe?”
“Thomas isn’t from here either.”
“This is not good… not good at all,” my mother said.
“I think I should go after them.”
“Oh, that’s too dangerous,” Annabelle said.
“I’m just going to follow and see where they go. There’s no harm in that, right? Annabelle, do you want to come with me?”
My mother would probably pout that I hadn’t asked her. I didn’t want her to get into trouble.
Annabelle hesitated for a moment, but then finally she said, “Yeah, okay.” She took off her apron off and laid it on the table next to the door.
“We’ll be back soon,” I said to my mother.
“Just be careful,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron. “I worry about you.”
“We’ll be fine,” I said. “After all, I have my fantastic witchcraft to help.”
She attempted a smile, as if she was still hesitant to think that my witchcraft could be anything other than disastrous. Annabelle and I hurried along the sidewalk. The guys hadn’t looked back to see us, which was a good thing. I wanted to keep a low profile
“Where do you think they’re going?” Annabelle asked as we hurried down the sidewalk.
“I don’t know. I hope it’s nowhere dangerous, but then again, where is dangerous in Enchantment Pointe? This town is safe… well, except for the vampire murders, and bad witchcraft. Okay, never mind what I said.”
Annabelle looked more nervous the more I talked about the all the stuff that had happened. We continued down the sidewalk, following the men. When they turned we made a left turn down the alleyway too. I was hesitant at first to go down there because I’d had bad luck with alleyways recently—there was always some kind of bad spell at the end. Bad magic waiting for me. Regardless, after a few seconds, we walked down the alleyway too. At the end the men passed the next street and we headed after them. Before long we had arrived at the graveyard.
I pulled Annabel’s arm. “I don’t want them to see us.”
We moved behind a nearby oak tree. After a few seconds, I peeked around the side of the tree. The men were walking through the graveyard.
“Maybe they’re going to visit someone,” Annabel said.
“That could be the reason they’re in Enchantment Pointe,” I said
Annabelle nodded. “That makes sense.”
I would feel bad if I had been so suspicious of them just because they were visiting a family grave. That was when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. At the edge of the cemetery I spotted her. I gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Annabelle asked, grabbing my arm as if we might need to flee at a moment’s notice.
“It’s the woman. She was outside of the manor last night.”
Annabelle peered around the tree toward the end of the graveyard.
“Do you see her?”
“I see her. She’s dressed all in black,” Annabelle said.
“Yes, like she’s not even from this time period,” I said.
“Who is it?” Annabelle asked.
“I don’t know, but I think those guys are in the cemetery for a reason. The fact that she showed up at the same time means that this is connected. I have a bad feeling about this cousin. He is involved too.”
We watched the woman as she moved around a headstone and then poof… she was gone again. Annabelle’s hand flew to her mouth. “I can’t believe she just disappeared.”
“That’s what she did last night,” I said.
“Do you think she’s a ghost?”
“I don’t think so. I think she’s a witch… a very powerful witch.”
Chapter 7
Annabelle and I watched the men for a bit longer. They stood in front of a grave. Then they left and got into a black car that pulled up down the street in front of the graveyard. Someone had picked them up, so that meant they had to know someone in town. Maybe they would use Thomas’ excuse and say that they had used an Uber. Of course Annabelle and I hurried into the graveyard to check out the grave they had visited.
I wasn’t positive which headstone it was exactly since we’d been too far away to see for sure. When we reached the spot though right away I had a feeling I knew which one it had been. Though now I needed to know why. The name on the headstone was the name of one of the recently murdered vampires. People assumed that vampires would live forever. Not so. A stabbing anywhere in the body was the one thing that would do them in for good. This was the vampire’s final resting spot.
I wasted little time going back to the manor to confront Thomas. I stormed through the door and immediately up the steps. I was just glad that I had put him on the second floor. That meant I didn’t have to go up three flights of stairs right now. I was too angry for that.
When I reached the second-floor landing, I marched down the hall and right over to the door. I knocked on it gently at first because, well, I didn’t want to be too rude, even though I shouldn’t worry about it. I thought he was up to something shady.
I knocked again—this time I really pounded on it. I was almost positive he was in there. He had left the door closed with the little ‘do not disturb’ sign on the knob. And why didn’t he want to be disturbed anyway? He was probably plotting more of whatever nefarious scheme he had going on. Still, he didn’t answer so I knocked even harder this time. There was no noise or movement in there. Maybe he was sleeping. Perhaps that was why he had the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. I was so torn between being rude or really getting to the bottom of this and confronting him for what I thought he was doing.
“Hallie, is that you?” Nicolas called up from the bottom of the stairs.
Damn it. I was hoping to speak with Thomas without Nicolas knowing anything about the conversation. I walked over and peered down the banister.
“I’m up here. I’m looking for your cousin.” The irritation in my voice was hard to control.
Nicolas started up the steps. “Is there something wrong?”
I headed around to where he was standing in front of him. “Actually, I think there is something wrong.” I lowered my voice in case Thomas was really listening. “While I was at the shop today I saw those guys your cousin was talking to last night.”
“What guys?” he asked.
I stared at him. How could he not remember? “Outside the restaurant.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay, what about them?”
“I followed them into the graveyard.”
Nicolas held up his hand. “Wait. You followed them? That could be dangerous, following strange guys around.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “You do remember that I have great magic now?”
He sighed. “Yes, I remember your great magic.”
Was everyone tired of hearing about my magic?
“So what happened?” he asked, pushing the conversation along.
“Well, anyway, guess who was there?”
Nicolas stared at me for moment. “I don’t know, who was there?”
“The woman from last night. The one dressed in black who was here. The witch.”
His eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Completely serious. I think that this is somehow related to those guys and your cousin.”
Nicolas chuckled.
“Why all of a sudden did the woman just pop up as soon as T
homas arrived? That’s too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?” I asked.
Just then Thomas’ door opened and he peered out at us. I was going to confront him now. Even though I knew it had to be done, I still had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I pushed my shoulders back and marched over to him.
Thomas stepped out into the hallway. “Halloween, is everything okay?”
I smirked. “Maybe you can give me some information.”
Thomas smiled just a bit and looked at Nicolas. “Sure, I’ll give it a try. What do you need to know?”
If he thought he was going to try that dazzling smile thing on me and I would fall for it, then he was wrong.
“The men you were talking to… I saw them. Anyway, they were in the graveyard with this woman in black and I know you’re involved.”
The look on his face let me know he was confused.
“I think what Hallie is trying to say is she’s a little upset right now,” Nicolas said. “She’s worried that there’s a possible intruder around. Then she saw the guys that you were talking with the woman.”
“It seems like too much of a coincidence,” I added so that Nicolas wouldn’t leave that part out.
“Well, I can see where she would be upset by that. I really don’t know those guys that well, and if there was someone here then it must’ve really been an intruder. Maybe we can track this person down. Sorry I don’t know who the woman is.”
I stared at him for a moment. Did he really expect me to believe that? He attempted another smile, but I wasn’t budging.
Nicolas touched my arm. “Well, then I guess that solves that. We will try to find out who that was.”
I glared at him. “What?”
“Hallie, are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“Are you kidding me? Are you really going to believe this guy?” I asked.
Thomas turned and headed toward the room, leaving me to talk with Nicolas. “I’ll see you then, buddy.” He went back into his room and closed the door.
“So that’s that? You are just going let it go?” I glared at him.
“What?” Nicolas asked.
I motioned for him to follow me down the stairs. I didn’t want Thomas to overhear our conversation since I just knew he would be listening from the other side of the door. Nicolas followed me down the stairs. Anger brewed inside of me.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I motioned for Nicolas to follow me into the parlor. I still didn’t trust that Thomas wouldn’t listen in from the top of the stairs.
The second we stepped into the room, Nicolas said, “What’s wrong?”
I stared at him for a moment, as if I couldn’t believe he didn’t know what was wrong. “You actually believe what he said?”
“He seemed sincere, and plus, I’ve never known him to lie.”
“I can’t believe you believe him. It’s just too much of a coincidence. I don’t believe him.”
Nicolas took me by the arms. “You’re just upset right now. Things will be fine, I promise. I really don’t think he had anything to do with the woman who was here. It’s just a coincidence.”
The doorbell rang, stopping me from telling him it was ridiculous to believe Thomas. I stared at Nicolas for a moment longer, and then headed out into the foyer. I couldn’t wrap my mind around why he wanted to believe Thomas. Regardless, now I had to worry about if that witch was at the front door.
I swung the door open, ready for a battle. To my relief, it wasn’t the witch.
Liam quirked an eyebrow. “That’s not how I expected to be greeted.”
I motioned for him to come inside. He looked over and saw Nicolas.
Liam started to back away. “Maybe I should come back at a different time.”
“Get in here. I want to talk to you.”
Liam and Nicolas exchanged a look, as if to say, Uh-oh.
I placed my hands on my hips. My stare shifted from Liam to Nicolas and then back again.
“This must be serious,” Liam said when he saw my stance.
“Yes, it is serious,” I said.
I proceeded to tell Liam the entire situation and how Nicolas thought that Thomas was being truthful.
“Well, Thomas is a pretty stand-up guy. If he says that he doesn’t know anything about it, then I believe him.”
My mouth dropped open. “What is with this guy? It’s almost as if he has you all under his…” I paused. “Spell.”
Liam and Nicolas exchanged a look again and then started laughing.
“Now you’re just being silly,” Nicolas said.
“So now I’m silly? I’m just so mad at you guys right now. I’m not even going to talk to you.” I stormed out of the room and headed for the kitchen.
Maybe I’d bake something, anything to get my mind off of the current situation and calm down. As I stepped into the room, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was my great-great-grandfather. That sounded really strange every time I said it. And yes, he had figured out how to use a cell phone now. Actually, he usually preferred to text me. This must be serious if he was actually placing a call.
“I thought you were having a great time in Florida. What are you doing calling me?” I asked.
“Halloween, my dear, how are you?” he asked in his soothing voice.
No need to bother him with my problems.
“I’m just fine. What’s up?” I asked.
“You know, I was lying on a beach enjoying the waves, and something hit me.”
“Bird droppings?” I laughed.
“No, not yet. There is something in LaVeau Manor. You have to look for it.”
“What do you mean? A ghost?”
He chuckled. “No. Well, there are ghosts, but that’s not what I’m talking about. What I mean is that there is something hidden and you have to look for it.”
“Other than the Book of Mystics?” I asked.
“Yes, something other than that.”
“What is this object?” I asked.
“I’m not quite sure.” The sound of waves carried through the phone.
“Then how do you know I have to look for something?”
“I just remembered that there is something else that holds magical powers in the house, but that’s all that I remember. I hope that it will come back to me. You have to forgive my old mind. I don’t remember everything. Perhaps it will come back to me soon, but for right now, you should start looking.”
“I’ll try my best,” I said.
This was a confusing conversation.
“Okay, I have to go now, dear, my margarita’s here. Do call me if you find it, and make sure to look for it.”
“I will,” I said and then the phone went dead.
I stared at it for a few moments, wondering if I’d really just had this call. Was this all just a dream? No, it was all real, and now I had to figure out what in the world he was talking about.
Chapter 8
I spun around and smacked right into Liam.
“Why do you smell like cookies?” I asked.
“Oh, you like that? It’s a new cologne,” he said with a smile.
I wasn’t even going to comment about how delicious he smelled.
Nicolas stepped into the room behind Liam.
“We just came in here to tell you that we’re really sorry,” Liam said.
I eyed them suspiciously. “So you believe me now?”
“Oh, no, we didn’t say that,” Nicolas said.
They offered half-hearted smiles..
I rolled my eyes. “Then why even come in here to apologize?”
“We don’t want you to be mad at us.” Liam grabbed a cookie from the dessert dish.
“We will have to put this discussion on hold because right now I have something else going on.” I handed Liam a napkin so he wouldn’t get crumbs on the floor. “I got a call from my great-great-grandfather.”
“Good ol’ Edwin called? How’s Miami?” Nicolas asked.
I wasn’t sure why I didn’t just say his name. It was much faster than adding all the greats. Maybe I could just call him Gramps.
“Is everything okay?” Nicolas asked.
“I suppose he’s having a great time. He was drinking a margarita when I hung up.”
“Sounds like a good time to me.” Liam stuffed the last of the cookie into his mouth.
“That wasn’t the reason for his call,” I said. “You know he’s a bit eccentric.”
Nicolas laughed. “More than a bit.”
“I guess it runs in the family.” Liam wiggled his eyebrows.
I smirked. “This is serious. Well, at least I think it’s serious, or it could be serious. It’s just strange.”
Maybe this would explain the weird stuff that had recently happened.
“Anyway, he called and this is the weird part…”
“And what is that?” Nicolas asked.
“He said there’s something else in the house that I need to look for.”
“Okay, but what is it?” Liam asked.
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. He said he didn’t know. It just came back to him. You know his memory is spotty.”
“And he doesn’t know where this item is?” Nicolas asked.
“No, I’m afraid not,” I said. “It could be anywhere in the house.”
“If he is right and the thing is really here. Maybe he’s not even remembering correctly,” Nicolas said.
“And what is this thing supposed to do?” Liam asked.
“I don’t know. He wants me to look for it.”
Telling Liam and Nicolas about this made it sound even crazier. Was I supposed to look through the entire house for an object when I didn’t even know what it looked like?
“I’m assuming it has something to do with witchcraft. He made it sound quite important. I guess I should at least give it a shot and try to find this thing. Who wants to help me?” I asked, looking at both men.
“Of course we’ll help you,” Nicolas said.
Well, it was the least they could do after bringing Thomas here under unknown circumstances.
“All right, that was just the answer I wanted to hear.” I motioned for the guys to follow me. “So we should get started.”
