Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau)

by Rose Pressey

  I shook off the pain in my hand as Nicolas rushed forward again. Thankfully, Liam jumped into action and pulled Nicolas off Jacobson. My other hand was spared the pain. I would have thrown another punch to the gut if needed.

  Once the men had stopped throwing punches, they stood in a stare down. I was pretty sure I was supposed to say something at this point. But what?

  “I want this to stop right now. If you touch him again, I’ll have you arrested.” I poked Jacobson in the chest.

  Reflecting back on the situation at hand, my statement hadn’t sounded very authoritative, but what was a newly appointed leader of the Underworld to do? Winging it through this was not the best way to go.

  From out of the darkness, a figure emerged. The silhouette had come from around the side of the house. This night couldn’t get any stranger. One minute I’d been fighting off a demon and a crazy witch, and now it appeared I’d be fighting off a whole mess of crazy witches. But what was this thing walking out of the darkness?

  As I watched with apprehension, the figure moved closer, appearing under the glowing lights from the plantation. The lights highlighted the features of this mysterious creature. Only it wasn’t a thing, but a woman.

  The woman was tall, with deep brown eyes and ebony hair that fell in waves just below her shoulders. She wasn’t dressed as casually as the others. The dark-haired woman wore a long white gauzy dress. Her good looks didn’t disguise the hatred shooting out from her eyes though. She looked from Nicolas, to Liam, and then fixed her stare squarely on me. I got the distinct impression that she didn’t like me. But she didn’t know me. What was her problem?

  The woman walked by, not once taking her gaze off me. Finally, she stood beside Jacobson.

  “This is my sister Sabrina,” Jacobson said with a smirk.

  Was I supposed to be impressed? So this was the woman whom Nicolas had turned. I eyed her up and down. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as she returned my scrutiny. A strange vibe danced around her and came off in waves. Was it magic? Did it have something to do with the fact that she was a vampire now too? I didn’t know what this feeling was, but I wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.

  “I need to question you about what happened.” I directed my comment to Sabrina.

  Jacobson stepped in front of his sister as a shield. “Like I told you, she’s too upset to talk about it right now.”

  “She has to talk to me soon. There is no avoiding it,” I said.

  Sabrina’s creepy silence was weird. All I wanted to do was curl up under the covers in my bed and sleep. I hoped every day as the leader didn’t go like the first day had. There had to be some job perks somewhere, but so far I didn’t see a single benefit.

  “I hope that monster is happy with what he did to her,” Jacobson said.

  “Like I told you before, I don’t know what happened yet. Rest assured though, I will get to the bottom of it and let you know,” I said through gritted teeth.

  I couldn’t make my statement any plainer for him. Jacobson Stratford was good at bullying, I’d quickly discovered. I’d dealt with my share of bullies though and he was no different from the others. As far as I was concerned, this meeting was officially over. I needed to get away from there and figure out what I was going to do next.

  “I assume I will hear from you in the morning?” Jacobson’s lips puckered with annoyance.

  “You’ll hear from me when you hear from me,” I said as I climbed into the front seat of Liam’s car and shut the door.

  “Aren’t you just the badass witch now,” Liam said as he slipped behind the wheel.

  Heat rushed to my cheeks. Never mind that my stomach was a giant tangled knot and I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t be sick very soon.

  “Hallie, I am sorry I put you through this. I had no idea that it would come to this,” Nicolas said from the back seat.

  Without turning around to face him, I said, “You had no way of knowing that I would be the leader of the Underworld and that this would happen.”

  Well, technically I guessed he had known if I possessed the Book of Mystics that I’d be the leader, but that was neither here nor there now.

  It was nice of him to say that, but I was just surprised that he was actually speaking. His glazed-over eyes had been freaking me out the whole time we’d been in the home. It was dark in the car and I couldn’t see his eyes now, but I hoped that he’d lost that strange look.

  Chapter Three

  “That was one of the strangest conversations I’ve ever had. And I’ve had some weird ones lately.” I leaned my head back against the headrest and released a deep breath.

  “Jacobson Stratford has always been odd and his sister is right up there with him. Hell, the whole family is strange.” Liam looked straight ahead at the dark road ahead of us.

  “There are more of them? That’s a scary thought,” I said.

  “Yes, there’s another sister. Parents, cousins—like I said, they’re all wacky,” Liam said.

  I massaged my temples. “I really don’t know why we even came here tonight. It seems pointless. Couldn’t they just have emailed me the details and let me get to the bottom of it?”

  Liam chuckled. “They’re not really the email type. Besides, I think they just wanted to meet you and intimidate you.”

  “And you brought me so they could do that? You acted as if they were going to hang Nicolas tonight.” I couldn’t hide the uncertainty in my eyes.

  Liam had pulled me away from a passionate embrace with Nicolas earlier in the evening. I wasn’t sure where things had been headed with Nicolas, but I knew that it had been the best kiss I’d ever experienced.

  “Did they intimidate you?” Liam asked.

  I contemplated his question. It wasn’t an easy answer. “Did I act intimidated?” I passed the question back to him. Maybe I could come up with my own answer in the meantime.

  He paused, then said, “As a matter of fact, you didn’t seem intimidated at all. Remind me never to mess with you.” He winked.

  I bit back a smile. “Yeah, and don’t forget it.”

  I might have acted unfazed by the whole thing, but on the inside I was freaked out. Who wouldn’t be? Anyone would be lying if they said it didn’t. Right now I just wanted to rest.

  “You say that Jacobson has always acted weird. Do you care to give me an example?” I asked.

  When I glanced in the mirror on the visor, Nicolas appeared to be sleeping, although he might have just closed his eyes.

  “He is offended at every single thing, so I guess you can see that what happened to his sister is cause for a beheading,” Liam said.

  “Hmm. In his mind, I guess I can see that.” I glanced back at Nicolas who still had his eyes closed. “To be honest, I don’t know what to think. I don’t know how I would feel if I was turned.”

  “The problem is whether Nicolas did it on purpose or not,” Liam whispered.

  I released a heavy sigh. I didn’t want to continue the subject with Nicolas in the backseat. My heart told me that Nicolas’ account was the truth, but my head told me to get all the facts first.

  We traveled the dark and winding road in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts, although it appeared that Nicolas was sleeping. I must have drifted off to sleep for a brief time too because the next thing I knew we’d pulled up in front of LaVeau Manor.

  LaVeau Manor had a long pebble driveway with an iron gate securing the entrance. The veranda spanned the width of the manor with large columns on each side of the outside staircase. Trees surrounded the perimeter of the property. LaVeau Manor was tucked away in a little world of its own.

  The house didn’t seem nearly as creepy when I was exhausted. When I got inside, I’d collapse into bed and worry about this mess in the morning when I could think clearly… well, when my thoughts were slightly less muddled.

  The first drops of rain began to fall as we climbed out from the car and headed toward the front door. A slight breeze c
arried the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves. Nicolas stopped and stared up at the sky, as if he was looking for something.

  “Are you okay?” I touched his arm and drew his attention away from the dark sky.

  He stared for a beat, then said, “I’m fine.”

  “It’s raining. Let’s get inside,” I said, grabbing his hand.

  Okay, Nicolas was still acting out of it, but maybe he was just exhausted. Nevertheless, my heart ached seeing him like this. In the morning we’d have to talk—a serious one-on-one conversation.

  Memories of when Nicolas had kissed me flooded my mind—his fangs grazing the soft delicate skin on my neck. I’d been vulnerable, and either I hadn’t cared, or I’d been unaware of just how susceptible I had been. Nicolas had had plenty of opportunities to bite me, but he’d never done it. Whether he’d wanted to or not was something I couldn’t answer, but he’d never acted on the urge if he had.

  The inside of LaVeau Manor was just as imposing as the outside. Every room was trimmed with rich wood and intricate moldings. A large staircase swooped down as if it wanted to grab you and force you up to the other floors. Hardwood floors echoed each step through the house. Tall windows adorned each room except for the library. It was a dark space with wood shelves loaded with books. Even with several lamps in the room it was hard to read the books.

  As we entered the foyer, Nicolas grabbed my hand and pulled me aside. His actions took me off guard, considering this was the first sign for the entire ride back that he was not just an empty shell.

  He brushed my cheek with his finger. “How can I prove this to you?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. This wasn’t the type of thing that could be settled in an hour. “You did nothing wrong. We’ll find a way to prove it.”

  My voice probably hadn’t sounded convincing, but I’d given it my best shot.

  Nicolas placed his full lips on mine and my heart sped up. I wasn’t even sure if Liam had gone upstairs or into the kitchen, but why was I worried about where Liam was at this moment anyway? There was an unexpected hunger in Nicolas’ kiss as he eagerly moved his mouth across mine. At least he was acting more like himself now. He gently sucked on my bottom lip.

  Just as I’d erased the jumbled thoughts from my mind and given in to the pleasure of his kiss, we were interrupted by a loud rap on the door. Nicolas and I froze, both turning to gawk at the door. Who could it be? Not another bed-and-breakfast guest, right? I prayed it wasn’t someone looking to take the Book of Mystics away. I’d hoped that I’d put that all behind me now. It seemed like ages ago that Nicolas and Liam had shown up at my door on that dark and stormy night. Well, actually Liam had shown up the next morning in the sunshine, but I digress. Nevertheless, it had been a scene right out of some silly vampire movie. As it turned out, Nicolas really was a vampire. How ironic was that?

  There was only one way to find out who was on the other side of the door— answer it. I moved over to the door and peeked out. The rain was coming down steadily now. A man and woman huddled close to the door. They were exceptionally good-looking, like they’d stepped off the set of a soap opera. The woman had dark hair and the man had a thick head full of gray hair. Both were dressed in dark suits as if they’d just stepped out from a board meeting. They stared straight ahead as if they saw right through the wood and knew I was staring at them.

  “Who is it?” Nicolas asked from over my shoulder.

  “I don’t know. A man and woman,” I answered.

  My best friend Annabelle Preston would freak out when she found out I had more guests. She was terrified of LaVeau Manor. It wasn’t just LaVeau Manor that gave her the heebie-jeebies, all paranormal stuff really creeped her out. I couldn’t say that I blamed her, although this Underworld stuff was turning out to be good for business. It was bad for my sanity, but perfect for filling up the empty bed-and-breakfast rooms.

  One thing was for certain, I knew it was no coincidence that this couple had shown up on my doorstep. LaVeau Manor wasn’t the must-see travel destination. I’d bet the last bit of cash in my purse that they were here because of the Underworld. I supposed I’d have to open up the door and find out what exactly they wanted. Couldn’t they have waited until the morning? Didn’t these paranormal people ever sleep?

  “Is someone at the door?” Liam asked from over my shoulder as he stepped into the foyer.

  Apparently, he had been in the kitchen after all.

  Nicolas stepped around me and placed his hand on the doorknob. He wasn’t going to give Liam a chance to handle the situation. Liam moved next to Nicolas, leaving me standing in the background. Hello. Who was running the bed-and-breakfast here? Nicolas peeked through the peephole for a second, then looked back at Liam and nodded. What was that supposed to mean? Was it some kind of secret code?

  Nicolas opened the door and stepped to the side, giving space for the couple to enter. Maybe I didn’t want them to enter. Had they ever thought of that?

  “Good evening.” The woman brushed the wet hair from her forehead and flashed a forced smile my way.

  Good evening? That was easy for her to say. By the smiles and nods exchanged, I knew that this wasn’t their first meeting. I just wished they’d hurry up and include me in their little club. Or did I? I was probably better off not knowing what this was about.

  “We’re sorry to drop in so late, but we figured we’d better get to Ms. LaVeau before something happened.” The man looked at me and smiled, then winked at Liam and Nicolas.

  Get to me? What did they want to do to me? Okay, enough was enough. I had to know what this was about.

  “Hold on a minute. It seems everyone knows each other except for me. Maybe you’d care to introduce yourself?” I said, folding my arms in front of my chest.

  “I’m sorry. My name is Miles Shepard and this is Nina Watson.” He motioned toward the woman standing next to him. “We are members of the Underworld Committee. And on behalf of the Committee, we’d like to welcome you as the leader of the Underworld.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Nina said, stretching out her delicate hand toward me.

  A welcoming committee? How nice. What was next? A fruit basket?

  I reluctantly stretched my hand toward Nina, then Miles. “It’s nice to meet. Um, thank you for the welcome, I guess.”

  In spite of being tired and fantasizing about being in my comfortable bed, I decided to be a gracious hostess and invite the pair into LaVeau Manor. By the way they were looking around, it looked as if that was exactly what they wanted.

  “Would you like to come into the parlor?” I gestured toward the room.

  They both smiled widely.

  “We’d love to,” Nina said.

  They seemed nice enough. So far they gave no indication that they wanted to kill me. Their attitudes were far from the way Jacobson had behaved. I wondered if they were witches, vampires, or some other paranormal beings. It didn’t matter right now though. I’d save the small talk for another day. I still didn’t know whether there was an actual Underworld or that was just what they called it. And they thought I was suitable to be their new leader? What a joke. I definitely questioned their method of choosing me as the one in charge. In my opinion, it was a flawed system.

  When we stepped into the room, I motioned toward the sofa. “Please have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?”

  My mama hadn’t raised a rude hostess. At least the caterers had cleaned up the mess from the Halloween Ball. It seemed like ages since that had happened instead of just hours ago.

  Nina waved her hand. “No, thank you. We know it’s late, so we won’t take up too much of your time.”

  Smart woman.

  “We just wanted to speak with you about the Underworld before you are called to look into any broken laws or other urgent matters.” The corners of her mouth lifted into a wide smile.

  “It’s too late for that,” I said matter-of-factly.

  Nina’s smile quickly faded. The room fell silent. O
nly the amplified tick-tock of the grandfather clock remained. Nina and Miles looked at Liam, then to Nicolas with wide eyes. Obviously my answer had taken them by surprise.

  “She knows?” Miles asked Liam.

  Odd looks were exchanged around the room. Was there something they hadn’t told me?

  Chapter Four

  “If you’re talking about what Nicolas did to the witch, then yes, I already know. We went to New Orleans tonight,” I said.

  The pair remained silent for a minute.

  Nina stammered, then said, “Well, what happened?”

  “As expected, Jacobson isn’t happy.” Liam folded his arms in front of his chest.

  “Do you plan to consult the book for this?” Miles asked with curiosity.

  I shifted in my chair. “I haven’t really had a chance to read the book from cover to cover, but yes, I plan on it.”

  This book better have a whole lot of details because I needed them… like yesterday.

  “So you do have the book with you?” Nina asked while scanning the room.

  “Yes, it’s in a safe place,” I said.

  It seemed as if they didn’t trust me with the book. I’d been through a lot to hold on to it, I wasn’t about to lose it now.

  “We know this seems overwhelming right now, but we’re sure you’ll settle right into your new role,” Miles said with a critical expression.

  He didn’t appear too confident about his statement. “Thank you,” I said.

  Miles cleared his throat and then said, “There is one other matter. In light of recent events, we feel it’s best that you have protection right now.”

  I looked around the room at the faces staring back at me. “What do you mean protection?”

  “Just like with the last leader, Liam would be assigned to protect you,” Nina said.

  “Why would I need protection?” I asked in a louder tone than I’d intended.

  They wanted Liam to protect me? That meant that he would be around all the time. As I glanced at Liam’s sexy face, his gaze locked with mine. This would not be good. Breaking free from his stare, I looked to Nicolas. He had that same far-off look in his eyes. It was as if he hadn’t even heard what they’d said.