Forever Charmed

by Rose Pressey

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  After going inside, I hurried upstairs to change out of my clothing. I wanted to get back downstairs to say goodbye to my guests and to apologize. It wasn’t my fault Mara had shown up to cause problems, but I felt bad all the same. I had to slip in the shower though, I had caked-on mud in my hair and I smelled like the river. Not the most pleasant scent. And Cinderella thought she had problems. At least she’d only lost a shoe.

  After dressing in jeans and an off-white sweater, I stood at the closet door. I was afraid to look. I knew I’d left the books there and apparently my powers had returned, but I still had that worrying feeling that they wouldn’t be there. It would probably always be that way.

  I had to make a decision. Did I really want to be the leader of the Underworld? There were pros and cons to the job, that was for sure.

  I pulled my secret spot up. The books and boxes were still there. Apparently the books were mine now. I seriously needed someone to explain this whole ‘leading the Underworld thing’ before I officially accepted the job. Did I have to report to an office every day? Did they have an Underworld headquarters?

  When I stepped out from my room, Nicolas was sitting on the front step waiting for me.

  “Hi,” I said softly.

  “Do you feel better now that you got rid of the mud?” He flashed his devastatingly irresistible grin.

  I nodded. “I ruined my dress.”

  “You look beautiful in the jeans too,” he said with a smile.

  He knew how to make me feel better. I stepped down then sat beside him.

  “Tell me something,” I said, looking over at him.

  “Anything,” he said.

  “No more secrets. I want to know why there was so much animosity between you and Liam. And tell me the truth, because you said you’d be completely honest with me now.”

  He ran his hand through his hair and stared straight ahead. He didn’t speak for a moment, then he finally said, “Liam was in charge of guarding my mother when she was killed.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but it explained a lot. Why hadn’t they just told me this to begin with?

  “I’m sorry about your mother,” I said. “What happened?”

  “Liam didn’t lie. He was the detective assigned to my mother. Her death happened on his watch and I accused him of not doing his job.” He shook his head as his eyes glazed over. “There was no proof of that though. I was just taking my anger out on him. He was the easiest one to do that to, you know? I mean, I felt like he should have protected her.” He searched my eyes.

  “That’s understandable.” I touched his hand and he squeezed back.

  “You can understand why I didn’t want you to be involved with the Underworld. I didn’t want to lose someone else who I care about. I now realize that Liam had no control over Mara or her demons. It was something that I refused to accept until now.” He let out a pent-up breath. “There is one more thing.”

  “I’m almost afraid to hear what you’re about to tell.”

  He ran his hand through his hair, then said, “Liam is my half-brother. We have the same father.”

  My mouth fell open. “That’s why you look so much alike.”

  After a few seconds of silence, I whispered, “We should get downstairs so I can say goodbye to my guests.”

  He helped me up from the step. “You sure know how to throw one hell of a party.”

  I smiled. “I think I injured my side, don’t make me laugh.” I chuckled, then said, “Ouch.”

  “Are you okay?” He touched my side and it sent shivers through my body.

  I nodded. “I think I’ll have a big bruise tomorrow.”

  “You’ll probably have several.” He squeezed my hand.

  When we got downstairs the crowd had disappeared. Only a few people had remained. Annabelle was sitting on the sofa with my mother, chatting quietly. They still looked a bit frazzled.

  “Do you feel better?” my mother asked.

  I nodded. “I’m sorry that I ruined the party.”

  “Are you kidding?” Misty had walked up behind me. “You’re the leader now. Everyone in the Coven loves you. We’d like to welcome you into the Coven. That’s if you’ll have us.” She smiled her sweetest smile.

  I looked at my mother and she nodded.

  “You are singing a different tune now. Earlier several Coven members had some not so nice things to say about me. How quickly things change.” I shook my head. “Nope. I think I’m doing fine without the Coven. I think I’ll stick with being on my own.”

  She frowned and stared at me for a moment, but didn’t say a word. What could she say? Finally she said, “Well, thank you for hosting the party. We’d love to have another one here sometime.”

  I nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Well, thank you again. I’ll be going now. The caterers will clean up everything,” she said in a clipped tone.

  “Thank you, Misty.” I tried to project a calm, in-control tone.

  “I’m proud of you,” my mother said when Misty stepped away.

  “You’re not upset?” I asked with wide eyes.

  “Screw them. Annabelle told me what happened. You don’t need them and neither do I.” She folded her arms in front of her chest.

  Wow, I couldn’t believe my ears. My mother prided herself on her good standing with the Coven.

  “My daughter is the queen of the Underworld now.” She beamed.

  Oh no. She was already bragging.

  Annabelle stood. “Well, I’m going home and collapsing into bed.”

  “Thank you, Annabelle. You’re one tough cookie.”

  “You call me tomorrow. We still need our girls’ night. And I want to know everything about a queen’s duties.” Annabelle wiggled her finger.

  “I don’t think they call me a queen.” I snorted. “But I’ll make sure to let you know as soon as I find out.”

  After walking Annabelle to the door and watching as she drove down the driveway, I felt eyes on me. I peeked out onto the veranda. Liam was sitting on the step, peering out into the dark night sky.

  “There you are,” I said as I stepped outside.

  He turned around and took in my whole appearance. “You clean up good,” he said with a grin.

  “Thank you,” I said as I sat down beside him. “Thank you for everything.”

  He nodded. “Just doing my job.”

  “Is that it? You were just doing a job?” I searched his face questioningly. I wasn’t sure what else I wanted him to say.

  He glanced over at me. “No, it was much more than that. I think you know that.”

  My stomach flipped. I did feel that it was more than a job for him. I just wasn’t sure how much more.

  He reached over and held my hand. “I was never out to destroy you, Halloween. But I can see why you were so confused.”

  I touched his cheek. “Nicolas explained everything to me. How you were protecting his mother the night she was killed.”

  “He blames me for her death and I can’t say that I blame him. She was my responsibility and I let her down. I let him down.”

  I shook my head. “I talked with him. He doesn’t feel that way anymore.”

  “Halloween, you know he’ll always feel that way,” Liam responded softly.

  I looked away. What could I say? Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t.

  “Are you ready for the job?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I have to admit. I’m a little nervous about the whole thing. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do.”

  “The book will tell you everything you need to know. Some people will be by tomorrow to speak with you now that you’ve decided to take the position.”

  “I can’t deny that this whole thing has been overwhelming.” I picked at a loose thread on my jeans.

  Liam’s clean-shaven face gleamed in the moonlight. “I’m sorry we gave you
such a hard time. It was complicated and there were a lot of hard feelings between us that we shouldn’t have put you through.”

  I squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  Liam leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. My heart thumped wildly in my chest. His kiss was just as passionate as the first time he’d kissed me and with the same sense of urgency. My thoughts spun.

  When he stopped kissing me, he ran his finger across my cheek. “I’ll be leaving tonight. My work here is done. You don’t need me hanging around.”

  I nodded. I would miss seeing his handsome face, but I knew there was no way he was staying. I had to see what my feelings were for Nicolas. And I thought Liam knew that without me even having to tell him.

  Liam stood and reached for my hand. He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. After one last hug, he grabbed his bag and stepped off the veranda toward his car.

  “Aren’t you going to talk with your brother before you leave?” My lips were still warm from his kiss.

  “There’ll be time for that another day,” he said with a wink.

  I watched as Liam drove down the driveway and pulled out onto the road. The thick cover of trees concealed his car soon enough and he was out of my life. But for how long? Surely I’d see him again, right? Would I need protection like Nicolas’ mother? I hoped not. It was a scary thought.

  He just wanted job security and to make up for not being able to save Nicolas’ mother by helping me. If he helped me, he’d still have a place in the Underworld. Had Nicolas and Liam finally realized that their long feud had to end? Or had it ended for just the time being? I thought they needed to talk to each other and clear the air once and for all. It would have to wait for another time though.

  The ghosts peered out at me from the tree lines. It didn’t look as if they were going anywhere any time soon. I avoided looking directly at them and went back inside. My mother had Nicolas cornered and I knew I’d have to rescue him.

  “Your mother was just telling me about the time you turned your date into an ass. I have to say this is a little disturbing.” He scowled.

  I chuckled nervously. “I’m sure your feet are killing you in those shoes, Mom,” I said as I grabbed my mother’s arm and ushered her toward the front door.

  I said goodbye to the remaining guests and rushed my mother out the door before she could recount another embarrassing story. It was just Nicolas and me now. Well, and the ghosts outside, but there was no way I was letting them ruin what was left of the night. Life was going to be nothing like it had been before. Did I really know what I was getting myself into? Only time would tell.

  So now I was the witch in charge? Take that, Coven! I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I’d vowed to embrace my new talent for this day forward. But if I was the new boss, could I rewrite the rules that had been around for centuries? Dating a vampire might be frowned upon, but I was going to rewrite that rule. Would Nicolas want to hang around LaVeau Manor?

  After everyone had gone, Nicolas took my hand and guided me into the parlor. He pushed on the music again. The steady melodic rhythm floated across the air.

  “I think we need to finish that dance.”

  He held out his hand to me. We swayed to the music, but it wasn’t quite the same now that I wasn’t wearing my ball gown. Nicolas kissed me again and I was lost in his embrace. His hands moved across my body with ease. We were in our own world and this time no one would disturb us. Or so I thought.

  Nicolas’ cell phone rang, cutting off the music. We paused.

  “I’m not answering that,” he whispered, then planted soft kisses against my lips.

  “What if it’s important?” I whispered back through his kisses.

  “It couldn’t possibly be.”

  The ringing stopped and Nicolas continued his exploration of my body with his strong hands. The phone rang again. Still, Nicolas ignored the rings. Not that I was complaining because his touch made my skin tingle and my heart dance. The phone sounded again and Nicolas pretended that he didn’t hear it. I couldn’t ignore it so easily though.

  I grabbed the phone and said, “Hello?”

  “Hallie? Thank goodness. I’ve been trying to call your cell, but you didn’t answer.”

  “Liam, is that you?” I asked.

  Nicolas shook his head. “Perfect timing again.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “The Underworld needs you,” Liam said matter-of-factly.

  “What do you mean?” My hands shook as I cradled the phone to my ear.

  “I’m turning the car around and coming to get you.” I’d never heard this much stress in his voice.

  I looked at Nicolas. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  I covered the phone with my hand. “It’s Liam, he said he’s coming to get me, that the Underworld needs me.”

  “Let me talk to him.” Nicolas outstretched his hand and I handed over the phone.

  After several ‘uh-huh’s and ‘yes’es, Nicolas clicked off the phone. The sound of a car screeching to a stop sounded in front of the house.

  Nicolas grabbed my hand. “Come on, we have to go.”

  Nicolas rushed me out onto the veranda. Liam was sitting behind the wheel of his idling car.

  “Where am I being whisked away to?” I asked as I jumped in the passenger seat.

  Apprehension took over. I’d never been in charge of anything before other than my mother’s store a few times and now the bed-and-breakfast. I hardly thought those were worthy mentions on a resume. Why were the men being so quiet?

  “When are you going to tell me what has happened?” I asked.

  Liam hesitated as he steered the car out onto the road. He glanced in the rear-view mirror at Nicolas, who was sitting in the backseat. “Nicolas has been accused of stealing another witch’s powers.”

  Uh-oh. This was going to be one hell of a ride.

  The End.

  About The Author

  Rose Pressey is an Amazon and Barnes and Noble Top 100 bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.

  When she’s not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.

  Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son, and three sassy Chihuahuas.

  Visit her online at:

  https://www.rosepressey.com

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  Book 2 of the Halloween LaVeau Series, Charmed Again. Chapter One.

  The idea of vampires had rarely crossed my mind until now. I’d been too consumed in improving my witchcraft skills to give it much thought. That had all changed the night two gorgeous brothers showed up at my front door. They both claimed they had come to protect me, but for different reasons. That was how I’d ended up in a sleek black car headed for New Orleans in the middle of the night.

  Fog had settled over Enchantment Pointe, making visibility difficult. I held on tight as the car sped along, hugging the curves of the road. Nicolas Marcos sat in the back seat of the car and Liam Rankin navigated the wheel. Unfortunately, I had no idea where we were headed. All I knew was that Nicolas had been accused of stealing another witch’s powers. As the new leader of the Underworld, apparently this was my problem now. That put me in a bit of a pickle because Nicolas’ sexy eyes and gorgeous body had distracted me for some time now. What did they want me to do about it anyway? Was there some ki
nd of punishment for stealing powers? I had no idea.

  My name is Halloween LaVeau and up until now the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me was that I’d been named Worst Witch of the Year for the past few years running. Yeah, I was that bad. Luckily, my skills were improving thanks to the Book of Mystics, but more about that later. Honestly, sometimes I wondered if my mother’s decision to name me Halloween had been more than just a cruel invitation for me to be teased while growing up. Had my name somehow sent the paranormal powers-that-be directly into my path? Heck, maybe I was putting too much thought into it, but nevertheless, my world had been turned upside down just a few short days ago.

  Nicolas and Liam had shown up on the doorstep of LaVeau Manor under mysterious circumstances. It hadn’t been a coincidence that I’d just discovered a strange old book written in an unknown language right before their arrival. Much to my chagrin, I still hadn’t figured out most of what was written in the book. The words and spells appeared of their own free will. Anyway, this old book had unleashed a power within me that I’d never come close to possessing before. Apparently, whoever owned the book was the leader of the Underworld. Lucky me. Heck, I still didn’t know what the Underworld was— how was I supposed to lead it? But as we headed away from town, barreling into the night, I knew I was about to find out. My heart beat faster at the thought.

  “Do you want to tell me more about these charges?” I asked, looking at Liam, then over my shoulder at Nicolas.

  Tension emanated from the backseat. Nicolas’ strong jaw was set in a straight line. He glanced down, avoiding my stare, and I took that as a message that he didn’t want to discuss the matter. But if I was the leader now, I had to set some rules, right? I had to push the lust-filled thoughts of Nicolas to the back of my mind and ask for answers. I might be new at this gig, but I wanted to take the duties seriously.

  I couldn’t deny my feelings for both of the men. But for some strange reason I felt as if Liam would be just fine without me. Nicolas, on the other hand, seemed as if he needed me. I wasn’t sure what had given me that impression. Wishful thinking maybe.

  I studied Liam’s handsome face, half lit by the sliver of moonlight coming through the car window. Liam and Nicolas were both amazing specimens of masculinity. Not to mention they exuded irresistible levels of charm. They had the same high cheekbones, dazzling smiles with full lips, eyes the color of a bright summer sky, and thick dark hair that you just wanted to sink your fingers into.

  It was no surprise that they looked alike though because I’d recently discovered the two men were half-brothers. There was one thing that set them apart from each other. Yes, they were both witches, but Nicolas was a vampire too. I still didn’t know the full circumstances of how that had come about. But his mother and aunt had been turned at the same time back in the 1800s. Now that I thought of it, why hadn’t Liam aged? That thought hadn’t occurred to me until now. Yes, witches lived long lives, but we aged. Liam looked to be around the same age as Nicolas.

  It was funny now I realized just how little I truly knew about them. I’d have to ask more questions. Nicolas’ mother had been the leader of the Underworld… but that was a story for later too. Right now I had to find out why Nicolas was being charged with such a ridiculous crime.

  “Who is the witch who’s accusing him?” I shifted on the leather seat. It was impossible to get comfortable with the waves of apprehension flowing through me.

  Liam steered around a curve. “Her name is Sabrina Stratford. She’s from the New Orleans Coven. Her brother is the leader of that Coven.”

  Nicolas remained tight-lipped in the back seat. Was this too stressful for him to talk about or was there truth to the allegation?

  “Do you want to give me your side of the story before we get to wherever it is we’re going?” I asked as sweetly as possible.

  Nicolas ran his hand through his thick black hair. “I’m not sure where to begin…”

  “How about you start from the beginning?” I said, forcing myself to remain calm.

  After exhaling, he said, “She was being attacked and asked me to turn her into a vampire.”

  Whoa. That was a little more serious than I’d expected. I exchanged a look with Liam. He must have read my mind because he frowned in response.

  “When did this happen?” I asked, keeping my tone deceptively composed.

  “It was just a day before I came to LaVeau Manor.” A look of discomfort crossed his face.

  This was almost too much to wrap my mind around. I’d had enough to deal with learning about my new leader status and now this. I knew my Great-Aunt Maddy had just been trying to help me by leaving me her beautiful home, but it had been nothing but a disaster since I’d moved in. LaVeau Manor was an imposing structure with a large veranda and three stories. The manor stood near the river with a creepy old family cemetery nearby. Not knowing what else to do with the place, I’d decided to run the it as a bed-and-breakfast. Shortly thereafter Nicolas and Liam had shown up.

  “Aren’t you supposed to stay with her or something after turning her?” I asked.

  I had no idea how the whole vampire thing worked. Clearly now that I was the leader of the Underworld I needed to learn a few things.

  “You’ve been watching too many movies,” Liam said with amusement in his voice.

  “Well, excuse me for not having the paranormal handbook memorized.” I didn’t know what to do with myself so I nervously tapped my fingers against my seat.

  After all, until recently I had been the butt of all the witches’ jokes. My lack of powers had been famous for miles around. Enchantment Pointe Coven members had even written a pamphlet about my abysmal witchcraft skills.

  “She didn’t give me a chance to help her. After I turned her, she took off. I hadn’t heard a word about it until Liam called just now.” Nicolas’ voice was smooth, but resolute.

  “You said she asked you to turn her? What does that mean?” Maybe I should have read those Twilight books because I had no idea how any of this worked.

  He let out a deep breath. “I went out for a jog by my house and that’s when I heard a lot of noise, then a scream.”

  “What did you do?” I pushed.

  “I ran toward where I heard the noise. That’s when I saw the woman with a beast hovering over her...” Nicolas’ voice trailed off.

  My eyes widened. “What kind of beast?”

  A grave look fell over Nicolas’ face, as if he didn’t even want to picture the thing in his mind.

  “A demon beast,” Liam answered for him.

  I must have led an extremely sheltered life because I’d never heard of such a thing until now.

  “A demon beast? What is that? How is that different from Isabeau?” I asked.

  Isabeau was a demon I’d accidentally brought back with my substandard spell-casting. Looking back, I guessed I understood why the Coven had named me Worst Witch of The Year.

  “A demon sent here from hell,” Liam offered.

  I shivered at the thought. “What does it look like?”

  I probably didn’t want to know, but I asked anyway.

  “The demon is big and midnight black. The thing looks like a shadowy figure until you get up close.”

  “Have you been close to this thing?” I asked with wide eyes.

  He hesitated, then nodded. “I came closer than I’d have liked once.”

  “What else does it look like?”

  “The demon has long arms that reach almost to the ground and claws that curl under like hooks,” Liam said.

  I tried to seem unfazed by the startling description, but there was no way to hide the fear in my voice.

  “What does it want?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? It wants different things, I guess. But mostly it just wants power and to take a soul back to the devil.”

  “Kind of like a token or prize?” I never wanted to be one of their prizes.

  “You could say that, yes,” Liam said, as
he negotiated a curve in the road.

  “But why would she want you to turn her just because this beast had attacked her? Couldn’t you just save her from the demon? If it took off, then what was the need to turn her?” With each question I grew more confused.

  “The beast had tried to kill her. She was dying and I was her only hope of survival.” Nicolas’ voice lowered.

  No doubt the scene was playing on loop in his mind. I hated to remind him of what had happened, but I needed to know the details.

  “So she knew you were a vampire ahead of time. It wasn’t like you’d flashed your fangs at her or anything,” I said, shifting in my seat again.

  “No, I wasn’t showing off my fangs.” Nicolas tried to sound casual, but I wasn’t convinced. He looked out the window into the darkness.

  We sat in silence for a few moments while we all contemplated the situation. I had no idea what I was getting into. What did they want me to do about this? I couldn’t make it all better. I couldn’t un-turn the woman. Or could I?

  I’d recently figured out that I had the power to reanimate the dead. I’d mistakenly brought a demon back to life. Thank goodness the demon I’d dealt with looked nothing like what Liam had described. Isabeau Scarrett had popped up at LaVeau Manor, a demon disguised as a beautiful blonde. Needless to say, bringing demons back was a power I didn’t want and I certainly didn’t want to start bringing vampires back from the other side as well.

  We’d made it to the outskirts of Enchantment Pointe, yet I still had no idea where we were headed. The darkness of night coupled with the fog had left me disoriented.

  “When are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked, turning my attention back from the window.

  “It’s a place just outside New Orleans. We’ll be there soon,” Liam said without glancing at me.

  “Well, that’s a vague answer. I don’t think it’s fair to toss me into this situation without telling me what I should expect to see,” I said, not hiding the frustration in my voice.

  “She’s right. She needs to know,” Nicolas said softly as he leaned his head back against the seat.

  “Nicolas’ fate is in your hands now. You’ll hear the charges against him and decide what happens next,” Liam offered.

  “What? I’m supposed to decide his punishment?” I asked with a high level of excitement coloring my words.

  When I looked at Nicolas he offered a half-hearted smile. “Everything will be fine, Hallie.”

  I didn’t agree. Things would be far from fine. How could I decide something like that when I had feelings for Nicolas? We’d just fought off another demon together. Well, with the help of Nicolas and Liam I’d fought off the demon at the annual Enchantment Pointe Halloween Bash. It would be All Hallows’ Eve soon, my birthdate and the reason my mother had named me Halloween in the first place. Call me crazy, but I’d rather go back to celebrating the holiday by passing out candy to the cute kids than going to New Orleans and deciding another witch’s fate.

  “We’ll hear what this witch has to say,” Liam said.

  “You mean we’re going to meet this woman?” My chest tightened and heaviness sat like a weight in my stomach.

  “Yes, like I said, her brother is the leader of the New Orleans Coven. She has been an outstanding member of the coven for many years,” Liam said.

  I rubbed my temples. “Why did she just take off after this happened? It doesn’t make sense.”

  And they expected me to sort this mess out. Had she been afraid of Nicolas? I supposed that made sense. But didn’t she recognize Nicolas right away? The brothers had been around the coven members often.

  “With any luck, that’s what we’ll get to the bottom of,” Liam said, tapping his fingers nervously against the steering wheel as he drove.

  I expelled a long, tired breath. “Yeah, with any luck. So we’re going to this plantation. What happens once we get there?”

  “You’ll meet all the coven members. They’ll share the charges and then it’s in your hands.”

  Liam glanced at me as if to say he was sorry. No reason to be sorry. It wasn’t his fault.

  My stomach sank again. Was it too late to turn back? I needed to speak with Nicolas more. And face to face, not over my shoulder. I couldn’t discuss this with him sitting in the backseat of this darkened car as we sped down the highway. Would he look me in the eye and tell me the truth? I’d always believed he was honest.

  “I understand that vampires are trying to steal witches’ blood. But that’s not me and that’s not what I’m about. Liam can tell you that,” Nicolas said as if he’d read my mind.

  There had been a tension between the brothers from the moment they had arrived at LaVeau Manor. Heck, they’d kept the fact that they were brothers from me until earlier tonight. I’d thought for quite some time that they might kill each other. Liam was a detective with the Underworld and had been in charge of protecting Nicolas’ mother. But she’d been murdered by her own sister while on Liam’s watch. That had caused a great deal of animosity between the brothers. They were far from mending fences and I wasn’t positive that Liam would vouch for his half-brother.

  I looked to Liam for his response.

  After a pause, he nodded, then said, “Nicolas hasn’t done that as far as I know. Of course we haven’t exactly been on speaking terms until recently.”

  At first, Liam had led me to believe that Nicolas had been at LaVeau Manor only to collect my blood. Had he been? I didn’t know who to believe.

  “So this beast was attacking the witch and she asked you to turn her.” I felt as if I was interrogating Nicolas, but the questions had to be asked.

  Apparently I wasn’t getting out of this Underworld leader thing tonight.

  “Just before she took her last breath she asked me to turn her.” He shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of the memory.

  His response sent a chill down my spine. I was envisioning the scene in my mind and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

  I braced myself for the next question I was about to ask. “Can you tell me more about this demon beast? What does it do? Can you tell me more about what it looks like?”

  Nicolas scrubbed his hand across his face. “I’m not an expert on these creatures. But it looked like a giant werewolf and attacks like one too.”

  “How do you know it wasn’t a werewolf?” I asked.

  “It disappeared as soon as I approached. Meaning it didn’t run away, but disappeared into thin air,” Nicolas said.

  I contemplated this for a moment. “I wonder why it vanished.”

  Nicolas nodded. “I couldn’t begin to guess.”

  Picturing Nicolas biting anyone’s neck was tough, although since he was a vampire I knew he’d done it before. But had he ever killed anyone in the process? Just because he was a vampire didn’t mean that he’d caused anyone harm, right? Was that just wishful thinking on my part? Probably. He had come close to biting my neck, but I’d thought of that as more of a nibble… a love bite.

  “Did you experience anything from turning her?” I asked, unsure of my wording.

  Like I said, I’d never dealt with this. How was I expected to know the correct terms?

  “Are you asking if my powers increased?” He met my gaze.

  A pang of sympathy ran through me. “Yes, I guess that’s what I’m trying to ask.”

  Nicolas looked down and didn’t respond. He didn’t have to answer. His silence was all I needed to know. This wouldn’t help Nicolas’ side of the story.

  In the distance lights came into view. My heart rate picked up and my stomach turned. I didn’t have to ask to know that the lights came from our destination. They must be waiting for me. I had no idea if the Coven would consist of two members or two hundred. But I assumed since it was New Orleans then it would be quite a bit larger than Enchantment Pointe’s Coven.

  As we turned onto the tree-lined pebble driveway, I knew I’d soon find answers to some of my questions.

&nbs
p; The driveway seemed to stretch out forever as the plantation came into view at the end. Moss-draped oak trees dotted the landscape. For a moment the thought of alligators popped into my mind. I knew the area was surrounded by the bayou. Alligators might be the nicest thing I’d encounter tonight.

  Clouds completely cloaked the black night sky now, blocking out the last slivers of moonlight. Two large porches wrapped around the home on both the bottom and top floors. Massive columns decorated the front of the white façade. Light shone brightly from every window, casting an eerie glow into the vast and foreboding black sky. If not for the lights, it would have been unnervingly dark. Was I really ready for this? I knew the answer to that question after one second—no.

  When we pulled up in front of the house, several people stepped out onto the porch. Obviously they’d known I was coming and they hadn’t wasted any time in coming outside to check me out. By the expressions on their faces, I knew this visit wouldn’t involve eating cupcakes and playing with puppies.