Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau)

by Rose Pressey

“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 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.

  An old upholstered chair sat in the corner of the space. Across the way a small table with one chair that had been tipped over on its side sat on the floor. Dust covered the floor and the furniture. 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 and into a room on the left. As I stepped through the door, I stopped. Words and an odd painting covered the wall in front of us. 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 drawings of witches with other creatures that certainly looked demonic to me.

  “What does all of this mean?” I asked.

  “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 hurried
ly 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 approved. 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 soon 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.

  I pulled the napkin from my pocket. “She drew these directions for me.”

  Ginny looked over at the napkin. “Wait a minute. I heard about this place.” She took the napkin and studied it. “There was rumor that a group of witches were performing black magic there.”

  “That would explain the drawings on the walls,” Liam said.

  I took the napkin back. “Do you know who these people are?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t remember. It’s a while back.”

  Annabelle stepped forward and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “So you can’t tell us who this person was who gave us this address?”

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t know,” Ginny offered with a frown.

  “It must have been another glamor spell,” Liam said.

  I didn’t know who was real any more. I couldn’t trust anyone. I looked at Liam, Annabelle and Catherin. Were they real or someone else pretending to be them? Catherin smiled sweetly as if she’d read my mind. Where had she come from? I knew who she claimed to be, but could I really trust her?

  I focused my attention back to Ginny. “Thank you again for your help.”

  “It’s not a problem. Let me know if you need anything else.” Ginny waved.

  We made our way back to the front door, but this time no mysterious woman stopped us.

  “We need to get to the New Orleans Coven right away. I’m going to demand answers,” I said.

  Liam held the door for us as we ushered out and back toward the car. We all piled in and pulled out onto the street.

  “What do you think is going on, Hallie?” Annabelle asked from the back seat.

  “I think someone sent us to that location for a reason, but I don’t know why. Was it to find Nicolas’ wallet? That doesn’t make sense,” I said.

  “Maybe they thought we’d find Nicolas?” Annabelle said.

  Liam navigated the busy street. “I don’t think that’s it. Nicolas wouldn’t go there. He would have no reason to be there.”

  “Then why was his wallet there?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “That I can’t answer.”

  After making our way through the busy streets and around the traffic we made it to the outskirts of town. We pulled into the tree-lined driveway of the plantation. It looked different in the daylight. Not quite as spooky, but still haunting. Day or night, the place was beautiful.

  My apprehension mounted. I wasn’t sure I was ready for a battle with Jacobson again. I knew he could be volatile by the way he’d grabbed Annabelle and I didn’t want a repeat of that situation. No cars were in front o
f the place just as the last time, but that did little to ease my nerves. After Liam came to a stop in front of the plantation, we sat in silence for a moment and soaked in its beauty.

  “Let’s go,” I said, trying to sound brave.

  Maybe if I played the part I could convince myself.

  We walked up the grand stairs of the massive porch and approached the front door. I knocked, then realized there was a doorbell, so I pushed the button. A loud ring echoed on the other side for a ridiculously long time. We waited and I listened for any sound of movement. When no one came to the door, I rang the annoying doorbell again. After a few more seconds and still no answer, I placed my hand on the doorknob. The door inched open.

  “It’s open,” I said, looking at Liam. “Just like the other place.”

  He frowned. “That’s odd. Let me go first.”

  I stepped to the side and allowed him to enter the house. Once he was inside, we followed closely behind. The place was quiet. The only sound was our footsteps across the polished hardwood floor.

  “Hello?” Liam called out.

  No one answered. We stepped into the parlor and looked around. A few half-full wine glasses dotted the top of the table in the parlor. A couple of the glasses had lipstick rings. It looked as if someone had stepped out in the middle of a party.

  Annabelle rubbed her arms. “This place gives me the creeps.”

  I couldn’t disagree with that assessment. It gave me the creeps too. Even the paintings of what I assumed were Jacobson’s ancestors seemed to watch our every move. It was as if the eyes followed us.

  “Where do you think everyone went?” I asked Liam.

  Liam shook his head. “I don’t know. But something isn’t right.”

  “Why don’t we just go back to LaVeau Manor so that I can consult the book and figure out what the heck I should be doing? We’re getting nowhere like this.” I made my way toward the door.

  “I like the sound of that,” Annabelle answered as she stared at one of the paintings.

  “Yeah, I guess that’s the best idea,” Liam said as he looked out the side window, distracted.

  We hurried out into the hall and Annabelle paused by the entrance to the other parlor.