by Rose Pressey
I put my drink down. “I’ll be back.”
I walked away from Adrienne. She would be shocked that I had left her mid-sentence, but I had to find him. Nicolas came after me.
“I saw him again,” I said as we rushed into the other room.
There was a door that led outside, so I hurried over and peered out into the dark night. I didn’t see him anywhere. “He’s gone.” I tossed my hands up. “I guess he saw us and took off.”
When I turned around, I spotted Liam walking toward us. He flashed his gorgeous smile. “What’s going on?”
“I was sure I saw Arthur and then he vanished. I think he took off out this door.” I pointed.
“Was he invited?” Liam asked.
I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “I have no idea why he would have been invited.”
Liam exchanged a look with Nicolas. “Well, Cora was invited, so maybe they invited everyone who was staying in LaVeau Manor.”
Now my invitation seemed slightly less important. Okay, a lot less important.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
Liam glanced over his shoulder and he seemed a little distracted. “Oh, I just got here.”
“We can ask her if she invited Arthur,” Nicolas said.
“That would make me feel a lot better. But would she know if he came? Or would she even give me that information?”
“Use your authority a little bit,” Liam said.
I knew that he was right… time for me to get tough.
My cell rang and I didn’t recognize the number.
“Ms. LaVeau, this is Sam Brooks from the Enchantment Pointe Antique Shop. I have the information from Neil Machel.”
Liam and Nicolas stared at me. I knew they were curious.
“How are you?” I asked. Honestly, I hadn’t expected Sam to call me. I hoped he had good news.
The thought had barely left my mind when Sam said, “I have good news for you. I found information about the potion bottle.”
I covered the phone and whispered, “It’s Sam Brooks.”
Sam continued, “Turns out the bottle is from a coven in the 1800s. The coven members were strange.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Apparently they wanted to take over the Underworld.”
“What happened to them?” I asked.
“Well, when the town found out what they were up to, they put a stop to it. Soon after they disappeared and they were never heard from again. No one ever knew what happened to them. None of the bottles even turned up until now,” Sam said.
This story gave me a bad feeling, but I wasn’t sure why. Now I had to find out where Cora had gotten the bottle.
“Thank you so much for the information.”
“Let me know if you find out anything else,” he said. “I’m kind of interested.”
“I sure will. If it’s all right with you, I’ll probably stop in and take a look around your shop sometime.”
“I’d like that very much,” he said.
When I ended the call, Nicolas and Liam were looking at me expectantly.
“Come back inside with me and I’ll fill you in on what Sam found out.” I motioned for the brothers to follow me.
Before we reached the door the squeaking noise echoed from somewhere nearby. I’d become really familiar with the sound at this point. That bat couldn’t be far away. I instinctively thought about ducking and looking for a place to hide. This little creature was giving me big panic attacks. I waved my arms through the air as if that would keep it away.
“You look like you’re trying to get away from a fight with an invisible attacker,” Liam said.
“You all can’t hear that?” I asked.
Nicolas and Liam exchanged a look and then shook their heads. Maybe I was imagining things after all. After all, I was stressed. The thought had barely left my mind when the noise came again. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw it coming at me. This was definitely not my imagination.
“We have to get out of here,” I yelled.
I was trying not to freak out, but I didn’t want that thing anywhere near me. Why were Liam and Nicolas being so calm about this? I suppose they were used to being around bats. I knew some of the vampires in town flew around in bat form often. Could Nicolas and Liam turn into bats? Had they just never told me? I certainly wasn’t going to stick around and wait for this thing to get a hold of me.
I ran around the back patio as if running from a burning building. I didn’t know where to go. Sure, I probably looked silly, but since I was freaking out, appearances was the least of my worries at the moment.
“Hallie, you have to calm down,” Nicolas said as he ran after me.
“It won’t get you,” Liam added.
There was no way I was going to listen to them. When I peered up at the sky, I saw the thing circling around my head.
“I think it’s going to attack me,” I yelled.
I ran over to the edge of the patio, as if I would be able to flee the bat that way. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking. I suppose I wasn’t thinking clearly right now. I peered down over the balcony. It wasn’t too far of a drop, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to chance it. I’d never been the athletic type, so could I really safely land from a jump like that?
The next thing I knew, I was tumbling over the balcony. I suppose fate had made the decision for me now. My arms and legs thrashed about as I dropped. I landed in the bushes. Limbs poked me in the back and greenery covered my face. The smell of pine and earth surrounded me. Thank goodness the shrubs had broken my fall. A groan escaped my mouth. I hoped that I hadn’t broken anything. So much for trying to look cool in front of all the celebrities.
This was probably why I’d never been invited to parties before. Clumsy could be my middle name. Of course I hadn’t fallen on purpose. It was just that I wasn’t graceful.
“Hallie, are you okay?” Nicolas called out.
I peered up to see Nicolas and Liam looking over the balcony at me.
“I’m good,” I said, trying to sound calm and casual.
Spread out on top of the bushes I looked far from okay though. I managed to tumble off the shrubs.
“I’ll just climb back up,” I said as I pulled twigs out of my hair.
The guys were still staring at me. I hoisted myself onto the side of the balcony, but it was high and I couldn’t quite get my footing. Again I tried to heave my body up, but it was no use. This was slightly embarrassing.
“I’ll come down and help you.” Nicolas tossed one leg over and then the other.
He effortlessly climbed down. It looked as if we were trying to escape. At least the bat had disappeared. Was my reaction to the bat overreacting? Sure. I never claimed I didn’t have issues. Everyone has something. Nicolas had almost reached the bottom when I spotted Liam coming down too. At least everyone was in the party and couldn’t see us… I hoped.
Once they reached the ground, Liam said, “Just start climbing and we’ll give you a hoist.”
“That’s easier said than done. Have you witnessed my athletic ability?” I started to climb, placing my foot on the little ledge.
Liam reached up for me, but Nicolas stopped him. “I’ll give her a boost. You just make sure she doesn’t fall.”
I grunted and groaned as I climbed. Finally, half my body was over the balcony. Only problem was my dress had shimmed up. Good thing I wore underwear. Could this get any worse?
“Don’t look at her,” Nicolas said.
“How can I not?” Liam asked. “I have to watch in case she falls and I need to catch her.”
“Funny how that works out for you,” Nicolas said.
“No time for fighting guys,” I said breathlessly.
Just then a flash of light flooded the area in rapid succession.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Someone’s taking pictures,” Nicolas said. “I think it’s the paparazzi.”
Oh great... just when I thought it couldn’t
get more embarrassing. My fifteen minutes of fame would be in my underwear that read 99 Problems But A Witch Ain’t One. I couldn’t see what was happening back there, but I heard Liam talking to the paparazzi.
I couldn’t made out what he said exactly, but he was probably telling them to get out of there. Finally, reached the top and shoved my body over onto the patio. Thank goodness no one from the party seemed to notice what had happened. When Liam and Nicolas climbed back onto the patio again they were laughing.
“This isn’t funny. What if they put my picture in the tabloids?” I asked.
“It’ll just show that you were having fun.” Liam wiggled his eyebrows.
One last time I looked around for the bat. Much to my relief, it wasn’t there. I needed to get back inside before it came back. As I moved closer to the door, I spotted the guy.
“What’s he doing here?” I said.
“Who?” Nicolas asked.
“He said his name was Phillip. You should know him, he’s in the Enchantment Pointe coven.”
Nicolas leaned over and looked. “I’ve never seen him before.”
“Is that the guy you saw in town?” Liam asked.
I nodded. "That’s the one.”
Liam glared in Phillips’s direction. “So what is he stalking you now?”
“Why didn’t you tell me,” Nicolas said.
I filled Nicolas in on the situation.
“I’m going to talk to him and find out what his deal is. I’ve never seen him and he’s not part of the coven,” Nicolas said.
Nicolas and Liam marched inside to confront Phillip, but he was nowhere is sight. He’d managed to slip away too. We stepped back into the other room and I scanned the area for any sign of Arthur and Phillip. Adrienne spotted me and hurried over.
Adrienne giggled. “I thought I lost you.”
The others gathered around too. When I moved across the room, the crowd came with me. This was too weird. Something wasn’t right, and I began to suspect there was some not-good magic at work. I just didn’t know what or who was responsible. It was time for me to get out of there before things escalated.
Now that Adrienne was here with me, I was going to ask about Arthur. “Did you invite other people who are staying at the manor?”
She furrowed her brow. “No, why do you ask?”
“A woman who’s staying with me, Cora Smythe, came to the party. She had an invitation and then another guy who’s staying with me, Arthur White, is here too. He’s a bit strange… I really don’t think he should be here.”
“I can have my security look into it,” she said. “Just let me know what he looks like.”
“He’s tall with dark hair. Charming good looks, I suppose.”
“If he’s good-looking then he should definitely be here,” Adrienne said.
A commotion in the corner of the room caught my attention. Cora was causing a distraction.
“That’s her,” I said, pointing to the corner of the room. “You should get security.”
That was when Cora met my gaze. “That’s her. That’s the reason why I can’t do magic,” she said, pointing at me.
This was turning out worse than I’d imagined. It was time for me to get out of here. This was turning into a circus show.
As I moved through the crowd, people started following me. Just as I had suspected, everyone was acting strange around me and I didn’t know why. I just had to get out of there. I felt as if the walls were closing in on me. Breathing had become difficult. The people continued to follow me as I headed toward the door. Having Nicolas and Liam beside me helped. People were actually standing in front of the door. Would they try to stop me from leaving? Now I wondered why they had really invited me to the party. Was it to take the Book of Mystics? That seemed to be the case every time there was trouble lately. But no one had even mentioned the book lately.
I still had my purse, which had the key inside. Now I had to hurry and secure the key before someone snatched my purse. More and more I realized I needed to get out of there.
Nicolas gave the keys to the valet and we stood on the sidewalk waiting for him to return with the car. From out of the darkness the bat flapped over our heads. I covered my head with my arm in case the thing wanted to attack.
“It’s that bat again,” I yelled.
“I’m getting rid of that thing once and for all,” Nicolas said.
Just then the guests came outside of the party, taking our attention away from the bloodsucking creature. The crowd was now standing around watching us. Talk about awkward. What did they want from me?
A strange sensation fell over the area. It prickled my skin and made my stomach dance from nerves.
When I glanced over at Nicolas, he had an odd look in his eyes, almost as if he was in a trance. He reached out and took my hand in his. Then, before I even knew what was happening, he was down on one knee staring up at me.
“What are you doing?” My voice trembled.
“Hallie LaVeau, I love you. I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. Your smile, your sparkling eyes, and your love for life. I can’t imagine spending one day without you in my life. Will you marry me?”
It felt as if someone had smacked me. I didn’t know what to say. My mouth wouldn’t move. Plenty of thoughts raced through my mind though. All those magazines my mother had left around the manor popped into my thoughts. Truth be told, I’d picked out which style dress I’d like… the colors for the wedding… the bridesmaids dresses. Of course the ceremony and reception could be held at LaVeau Manor. What was I thinking? I hadn’t even answered him yet. Nicolas stared at me, waiting for an answer. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, I opened my mouth to speak. Before a single word left my lips, the valet ran over.
He yelled, “Your car is on fire, your car is on fire.”
Nicolas looked at me with a strange expression and then sprinted off with the valet toward the car. I looked around and saw Liam wasn’t there. The rest of the crowd was surrounding me now. I tried to get through so that I could run and help Nicolas.
Finally, I spotted Liam and he rushed to me. He pulled me away from the crowd, although strangely the people didn’t seem to notice that I wasn’t there.
Liam took my hands in his. “I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I have this overwhelming need to do it now. This isn’t something that can wait.”
“What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”
Liam dropped to one knee. My eyes widened. This wasn’t happening. Someone needed to tell me this wasn’t happening.
“What are you doing?” I managed to ask.
“Hallie, I’m crazy about you. The way you move. The way you laugh. The funny things you say. I can’t get you out of my mind. Will you marry me?”
Everything spun around me and my legs felt like they were about to give out. Again, I couldn’t speak. The thoughts whirled in my mind though. The type of flowers for the wedding…red roses with red tulips mixed in. The wedding cake would be red velvet with cream cheese frosting. Liam peered up at me with his big blue eyes.
Nicolas’ voice caught our attention. He was yelling for me.
Liam jumped to his feet and grabbed my hand. “Nicolas needs us.”
More confused than ever, I followed Liam. We rushed toward the area where the cars were parked. By the time we arrived, Nicolas had already put out the fire on the car.
“What happened?” I asked.
Nicolas shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“I guess you won’t be driving this car back to Enchantment Pointe,” Liam said.
Of course the questions were still on my mind, but I was glad that I had a moment away from the proposals. I honestly didn’t know how to answer. There were a lot of thoughts on my mind, like was it too soon? Were they serious or was this spell somehow involved in their asking? They were busy looking at the car, so I stepped over to the side to take a minute and relax now that I was somewhat alone. My mother would all but disown me if I told Nicolas
no. I would just have to keep it from her for now.
Arms wrapped around me and pulled me back. I started to scream, but the person secured a scarf around my mouth. Now no one would hear my pleas for help.
I couldn’t see the person behind me, so I had no idea who was responsible for this. I couldn’t see where they were taking me. All I knew was that I was being dragged away from Nicolas and Liam. The only thing that would help me now was my magic. I was placed in a car. I felt a seat in front of me, so I assumed I was in the backseat. After a couple minutes, the person opened the door and got in. They started the car and drove away. Nicolas and Liam would never find me.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
Of course the person didn’t answer. Not being able to see the person who’d taken me or where we were going was terrifying.
“Arthur, if that’s you, I won’t forget about it. You won’t get away with it,” I called out.
Still no response. Now that we were driving, I was trying to figure out where this person was taking me. That would be impossible though. I thought of trying to do a spell, but they had planned for this and had placed some kind of spell on the car so that I couldn’t practice my magic. I tried to sense who had me, but picking up on signs was tough. I tried to recognize a scent, but it was as if the person had tried to mask it.
We weren’t in the car long before the car slowed and then stopped. I still had no clue where we were.
“You can’t keep me like this forever,” I said.
The person would have to speak to me eventually. Soon the door was opened and I was pulled out of the car. I didn’t resist and walked where I was guided. Running now would likely get me nowhere. Whoever had me was probably big and strong and would stop me before I even got a few steps away. I moved forward. The person guided me toward whatever location we were going into. My anxiety was at an all-time high. The door squeaked open and then the person shoved me through.
I stumbled forward and then was yanked across the floor. The person pushed me down into the chair, but I still didn’t sense anything. Suddenly my hands were being secured to the chair with rope. This was terrifying. I had no idea what they were going to do. The person pushed me down into the chair, but still didn’t say anything. Then they took my legs and tied them to the chair. Were they going to kill me? My mind went a million miles a minute.
