by Rose Pressey
“I want to know what the paintings mean.” I fixed my gaze on him.
He shook his head. “I have no answers for you.”
“What does the symbol on this necklace mean?” I held the gold necklace up, letting it dangle in the air.
He watched the necklace move back and forth for a moment until I thought perhaps I’d hypnotized him.
Finally, he looked up and glared at me again. “Again, I have no answers for you. I’ve never seen that necklace before.”
Clearly he wasn’t going to budge with this question. I’d have to move on to the next topic.
“Fine, if you won’t answer, then I can explain the purpose of this meeting.” I placed my hands in front of me in my most professional leader of the Underworld stance.
“I’m glad you’re finally getting to the point. I have another party to attend.” Jacobson glanced down at the gold watch on his wrist.
“As leader of the Underworld, I am stripping you of your Coven Leader position. As a matter of fact, you are no longer a member of the Coven. You are relieved of all your duties,” I said with a wave of my hand.
His face grew instantly red. I’d never been looked at like that before. I knew he was wishing me dead at that moment. I prayed he wouldn’t try a spell, but with the necklace, I hoped I had my full powers to fight it.
“You can’t do that.” One of the women stepped forward, but Liam blocked her.
“I can, and I did,” I said without allowing my voice to waver.
“Where will he stay?” she asked, almost in tears.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
My mother handed me the Book of Mystics and pointed at a paragraph on the page in front of me. I glanced at her and scowled.
“Read it,” she said, tapping the page.
I looked down and read the paragraph. “You mean you don’t own the plantation?” I said, looking up with wide eyes.
According to the book, the plantation belonged to the Coven, not Jacobson. The leader was the one in charge of the home and only allowed to live there. Once Jacobson was no longer the leader, he wasn’t allowed to live in the home. He’d have to get out.
I looked up at Jacobson’s angry face. He knew what I was about to say.
“You can place the keys to the plantation on the table.” I tapped on the wood in front of me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said through gritted teeth.
Was there a spell for evicting witches? I glanced down at the book and wondered if I had time to check. No, there was no time. I’d have to improvise.
With my gesture, Liam and Jon grabbed Jacobson by the arms. The others reluctantly followed as they escorted him out the door.
“You won’t get away with this.” Jacobson’s lips twisted into a snarl.
I didn’t know what he had in mind, but I knew he wouldn’t give up this easily. Nicolas followed the others toward the front door.
As he stepped through the foyer, I grabbed his arm. “Nicolas, aren’t you going to talk to me?”
He turned and looked me straight in the eye. “There’s nothing to say.”
I stopped in my tracks when I saw the necklace around his neck. It matched the other necklaces that I’d found. The far-off look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine. This wasn’t Nicolas.
“Who are you? What have you done with Nicolas?” I asked.
Without speaking another word, he walked out the door… whoever he was.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Once I reached the veranda, I stopped. The Enchantment Pointe members stood beside me, looking on in shock. What? Hadn’t they ever seen witches out for revenge before?
“What are they doing?” I asked.
Liam shook his head. “They’re casting a spell.”
This couldn’t end well.
“What do you think it is?” I asked.
“I think we’re about to find out.” He gestured with a tilt of his head toward the jilted Coven members.
The group joined hands, making a circle in the front driveway. They weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they were casting a spell. It was unnerving to say the least to realize that they were trying to cause harm to me. Sabrina stood beside her brother. How had she gotten out there? I’d never seen her walk out of the house. Maybe she’d been outside the whole time. But why? What had she been up to?
The group chanted as the wind blew around them. The trees swayed wildly in the wind. When they’d finally completed their task, they simply climbed into the car and drove off down the driveway. I hadn’t seen Nicolas’ imposter in the group, and I wondered if he’d been a part of the spell.
After we stepped back inside, it took me a while to calm my mother down.
“I can’t believe they had the nerve to do that. Who do they think they are?” she fumed.
“It’s okay, Mom. I found this necklace now, and it’s helping me fight any magic that they throw at me.” I pointed out the gold chain.
She touched the necklace around my neck. “Where did you find it?”
I paused. Did I really want to recount the whole story?
“To cut a long story short,” I said, “we went to see Sierra and she channeled Nicolas’ mother through Annabelle. Anyway, his mother told us about the necklace, then I came home and found it.” I’d tried to keep my voice as calm as possible so as not to freak her out.
It didn’t work.
My mother swayed again. I was giving her dizzy spells. Literally. “Annabelle let a spirit come through her?”
“Well, she didn’t do it willingly,” I said.
Annabelle gave a half smile and waved at my mother.
“Anyway, we’ll talk about this later. I have to get to work right now,” I said.
“Thank you for including us,” Misty said softly. “And I promise we’re going to destroy all the pamphlets we made on how to avoid bad witchcraft that reference your name.”
“You’re welcome and thank you.” I offered a faint smile.
I tried not to hold a grudge. It was good to forgive and forget, right?
“We’ll be taking off now. Call us if you need anything. Come on, Annette, I’ll drive you home,” Misty said, motioning over her shoulder.
I hugged my mother and waved to the others.
“We’re leaving too.” Annabelle squeezed my shoulders.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I feel fine.” She smiled and waved off the question.
Her expression didn’t offer much confidence, but I’d take her word for it.
When Annabelle and Jon walked out the door, Liam stepped close and grabbed my hands. “You did a great job tonight,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this.” He touched my chin with his index finger.
“I just hope it’s not too late,” I said, looking down.
“At least you haven’t had any more of the blackouts.” He brushed hair from my cheek.
“Yeah, I guess there was something to this necklace after all,” I said, touching the pendant.
Liam looked down at his shoes. “Um, do you want me to stay in your room with you tonight?”
Wow. I hadn’t expected him to ask. The thoughts whirled in my head, but I knew I had to turn him down. I didn’t need him to babysit me. I didn’t know what I needed.
I picked at the hem of my shirt, avoiding his persistent stare. “I think I’ll stay up and look through the book more. I want to know everything about my duties now that I can read understand the book. I’m not saying that I’ll know what it means, but at least I can try now.”
He nodded. “You’ll come get me if you need me?”
I nodded. “Of course. Thank you.”
Liam placed his lips against mine and kissed me softly. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the moment. When I opened my eyes, he turned around and walked up the stairs without looking back.
Chapter Thirty
At some point in the
night I’d fallen asleep sitting on the stool at the counter while reading the book. Looking around the room, I wasn’t sure what had startled me awake. Something seemed off though and a chill ran across my body.
A strange vibe hung in the air again. I’d thought I’d moved past the blackout spells thanks to the necklace. The sound of footsteps caught my attention, so I eased over to the kitchen door, looking out into the parlor. I saw nothing, but I thought I heard voices. Was it Catherin and Claude? Had they returned?
Adrenaline pulsed through my body. I’d have to confront them. If the Coven wouldn’t tell me what the necklace meant, then I expected Catherin to give me a straight answer. She’d obviously known my great-aunt.
I followed the sound of the voices. When reached the foyer, I spotted Catherin and Claude. They stood side by side, watching me as I moved toward them. It was as if they knew what I was about to ask them.
“I’ve missed you two,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
I didn’t sound very convincing though.
“Hello, dear,” Catherin said as they stared at me. “Is everything all right?”
There was no time to be wasted. I’d get right to the point.
“I’m sorry I was in your room, but I found this necklace.” I pulled it from my pocket and flashed it at them.
Catherin’s eyes narrowed. “Thank you for finding it. I’ll take it back now.” She wiggled her fingers.
Claude and Catherin stepped closer, until finally they surrounded me. Liam had said to get him if I needed him, but I couldn’t get past them. And by the looks on their faces, I was sure now was the time I’d need him.
“Are you going to tell me what this necklace means?” I asked. “I’ve seen it at the New Orleans Coven. Plus, I found the postcard you sent to my great-aunt back in 1938. You said you hadn’t been back until now. You lied to me.” I gave her my most evil glare.
Neither Catherin nor Claude answered as their faces darkened. Who exactly was I dealing with?
Catherin reached out and snatched the necklace from my hand, then ripped the necklace from around my neck. “The necklace is mine and I’ll take it back,” she said with venom in her voice.
As much as I wanted to grab the necklace back, I couldn’t. It was like I was unable to move at anything other than a snail’s pace.
Without being able to stop myself, I moved across the foyer and to the front door. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Liam as he walked down the stairs. Thank goodness he’d be able to help me now.
“Liam, I can’t stop,” I said as I reached the front door.
The next thing I knew, I was on the veranda. Liam walked out the front door too. Something had pulled me outside. A force beyond my control. I couldn’t stop the pull. The front door slammed shut with such force that it rattled the wood. I ran over to the door and turned the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Liam ran rushed behind me and tried the door. It still wouldn’t move.
I threw my hands up in the air. “They’ve locked us out. I think they cast a spell that threw me out of my own house. They took my necklace. I can’t believe this.”
Liam pounded on the door, but it was no use.
“That thing is solid, there is no way it’s coming down,” I said.
“Is the back door locked?” Liam asked.
“Yes, and so are all the windows. Safety, you know?” I shrugged.
Liam grabbed my hand. “Come on. We have to stop them.”
Liam and I raced down the steps, but stopped when we reached his car.
“What do you suggest we do now?” I asked.
“You can try a spell that pulls energy from other witches,” he said matter-of-factly, as if this would be the easiest thing in the world.
“You make it sound so easy, but we’ll need to get another witch here,” I said, blowing hair out of my eyes.
“My car keys are in the house.” He pointed toward the front door.
Of all the luck. What would we do now?
“We’ll have to walk somewhere and use a phone. There’s a shortcut through the woods,” I said, pointing at the line of trees at the edge of the property.
He blew out a deep breath. “Okay. I’m getting a bad vibe from this idea, but I don’t think we have any other options.”
I looked up at the house one last time. “What are they doing in there?”
Every light in the house had been turned on, but other than that, there was no sign that Claude and Catherin were even still in there. Liam grabbed my hand and we took off across the yard into the dark woods. We could have traveled down the road, but since it looped and curved, the distance through the woods was much shorter. The nearest house was about a quarter mile away. With any luck, the neighbor would let us use the phone.
I considered myself somewhat of a brave person, but being surrounded by the tall trees and darkness was unsettling. If you’d told me a month ago that I’d be running through the woods in the dark of night with a vampire warlock, I would have told you that you’d been drinking way too much. Fallen branches snapped under our feet and the rustling of leaves stirred high in the treetops.
Up ahead I spotted movement. If it was some kind of wild animal I would freak out. Witches, vampires, demons, I could handle. What if it was a werewolf? No, I didn’t want to think about it.
“Did you see that?” I asked Liam as we continued our trek.
“See what?” he asked without looking at me.
“That!” I pointed.
It was that moment that I realized Nicolas was walking up ahead. How had he gotten there? Was it the real Nicolas? “It’s Nicolas… at least I think it’s him,” I hurried forward in hopes that I’d catch him.
“Nicolas,” Liam yelled.
We ran ahead after Nicolas, but within a couple seconds he’d turned to the right. When we reached the spot where he’d turned, we paused and searched for any sign of him. He was nowhere in sight.
“Where did he go?” There was nothing but trees as far as I could see.
Liam shook his head. “I don’t know. Do you know who lives in the house next door?”
“No. I never met them. I haven’t been here long, you know.”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain to me why you haven’t been neighborly. Come on, we’ll continue and see if he shows up there.” He reached out, gently lacing his fingers with mine.
Chapter Thirty-One
When we came out into the clearing, I spotted the house in front of us. We paused under the shadow of the sizeable red brick house. Cupolas, spires, and scrolled balconies decorated the façade. Each window was completely dark. Just what I needed, it looked as if they weren’t home.
“I don’t even want to think about what we’ll do if no one is home,” I said as we crept across the lawn like cat burglars.
“We’ll stay positive. Maybe they’re just sleeping.” Liam tried to sound optimistic.
“Good point. It is late. What if they call the police because we knock on the door this late?” I asked while glancing over my shoulder.
Liam grinned. “That would be a good thing. The police could give us a ride.”
We made our way up the front steps and to the front door. Liam rang the bell and I cringed at the loud noise. If someone was sleeping in there they wouldn’t be after that racket. After I was ready to give up on anyone answering the door, a shuffling sound came from inside the house.
“Who is it?” the little voice croaked through the wooden door.
“Oh no. We woke a little old lady. There’s no way she’ll answer the door for us,” I whispered.
“You talk to her. She’ll be more likely to speak with a woman,” Liam said.
“My name is Hallie LaVeau and I live next door. I’m afraid I locked myself out of my house. We need to use a phone,” I yelled through the door.
I would have attempted a spell to call someone, but it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. Plus, I didn’t want to send out the magic, allowing Clau
de and Catherin to know where we were.
“Did that sound sincere?” I whispered to Liam.
He shook his head. “Not really. You sound like you’re the big bad wolf trying to talk your way in.”
I poked him in the side.
“LaVeau… Oh yes,” she said as recognition hit her.
The rattling of the lock made me flash Liam a smirk.
“Don’t get too cocky,” he said with a grin.
She opened the door just a little and peeked out. All I saw was an eye and a little bit of white hair piled on top of her head. She looked us up and down but the door didn’t open any further. If she didn’t let us in, I’d have to take back that smirk I’d just given Liam. Finally, she opened the door wider. She wore a blue robe and white slippers.
“I’ve meant to come visit you for some time,” the old woman said.
I supposed I hadn’t been a good neighbor. Maybe I could whip her up a batch of my magically made cupcakes if I ever got my magic mojo back.
“I’m sorry I didn’t stop by and introduce myself earlier. This is my friend Liam Rankin.” I wasn’t about to tell her he was my bodyguard. That would scare her to death.
She waved off my statement with her bony hand. “Think nothing of it. My name is Estelle Fairchild.”
“It’s lovely to meet you,” I said, looking around trying to avoid the awkwardness.
“Again, we are sorry for disturbing you at this late hour. Is it all right if we use your phone?” Liam said, looking over her shoulder into her home.
She stared at him for a moment and I thought she was ready to tell him to get lost. Instead, she said, “I do have some things that belonged to your aunt’s. I think you should have them.”
I hadn’t expected that. What could she possibly have of Aunt Maddy’s? “What kind of things?” I asked.
“Come inside and I’ll get them for you,” she said as she shuffled out of the way and motioned for us to enter.
The inside of Estelle’s home was dark except for the faint glow of light from a room in the back. The house was large like LaVeau Manor and had a lot of the same details. I imagined it had been built around the same time—maybe even built by the same architect. Estelle held up her index finger, then shuffled down the hall, disappearing into a room.
