A Charmed Cauldron

by Rose Pressey

  She let out a deep breath. “Okay, if we must.”

  We inched out of the car and toward the manor.

  “I sure hope the thing is really gone.”

  The closer we got to the house the more nervous I got. Finally, we reached the door and I paused, motioning for my mother to stop too.

  “We’ll go in slowly,” I said. “In case we need to run again.”

  “If that spell didn’t work then there’s something seriously wrong with your magic.” She looked at me.

  “Don’t look at me. My magic’s fantastic now.”

  “Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” she said. “Remember you made those cupcakes last week and they were atrocious.”

  “All right, enough about the cupcakes,” I said.

  We looked around the foyer and the area where the wolf had been earlier, but it was no longer there.

  “That’s a plus,” I said. “Let’s go check the kitchen door and see if that’s the way it went out.”

  We went through the house trying not to alert anything to our presence. If the wolf popped out, I’d probably pee my pants. So far so good as we made it to the parlor and then on toward the kitchen.

  Chapter 5

  When we reached the kitchen, we saw the door was open.

  “I know I didn’t leave that door open. I remember looking out the window when the neighbor was here. It was closed. The door was closed,” I said. “You believe me, right?”

  My mother hesitated for a moment. “Sure, I believe you, Halloween.”

  Most of my life my mother had been skeptical of things I’d done or said. I didn’t know why. Maybe I just gave off that vibe. Or maybe I was a terrible witch and she had reason to be worried. Nonetheless, I really believed her now.

  “So how did the wolf get the door open? I mean, it’s not like it has thumbs, as you said.”

  “Well, I don’t know how it got it open, but right now we need to close the door and make sure it doesn’t come back,” my mother said as she walked toward the door.

  Just as my mother reached for the door she screamed and slammed the door shut. I ran over and grabbed her just as she was about to fall.

  “What is it?” I asked. “What happened?”

  She couldn’t speak. All she did was point at the door. The wolf must have been right there. I guided her over to the stool and sat her down.

  “Stay right there,” I said.

  “Don’t you go out there.” My mother held her hand up.

  “Is it the wolf?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s not a wolf.”

  “It’s a ghost?” I asked.

  That wouldn’t surprise me. There was a graveyard a short distance from the manor. Ghosts were always popping up. Well, I used to get my spells wrong and bring them back to life, but that was behind me now. Or was it?

  “No, I don’t think it’s a ghost, but maybe it is.”

  “Well, what is it?” I asked. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “There’s a man out there,” she said.

  “A man? I asked. “Who is it? Maybe it’s the neighbor.”

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “What’s wrong with him? Is he hurt?” I asked.

  Maybe the wolf had attacked my neighbor. Oh, my gosh. This was terrible. I’d known he shouldn’t have walked home like that with that wolf around here.

  “The man doesn’t have any clothes on,” my mother said.

  I stared at her in disbelief. “Did you say he doesn’t have any clothes on?”

  “That’s right,” she said. “Not a stitch… nothing… a birthday suit. I saw way more than I wanted to see, although he is a handsome man.” She waved her hand. “But still, I didn’t need to see that.”

  A handsome man? My neighbor was handsome, but why would he be naked in my backyard? Was he a freak? That was just what I needed—a freak next door. And to think I’d invited him into my house. I walked over to the door and paused.

  “Don’t open it,” she said. “He could jump in here. He’s obviously got something wrong with him if he has no clothes on.”

  “Obviously,” I said. “I just want to take a peek and see who it is.”

  “Of course.” My mother stared at me. “Right, that’s why you want to look… to see who it is.”

  I wasn’t sure what she was implying, but in no way was I looking just because the man didn’t have on clothing. Well, maybe just a little peek because he was nude. I lifted the blinds just a smidgen and then screamed. I fell back onto the floor when I saw the man peeking right back at me.

  “He was right there,” I said.

  “Oh, my gosh. I bet he’s trying to get in. He’s trying to kill us,” she said.

  “I don’t know who it is. Wait. I think I might know who it is. It could’ve been the guy talking to my neighbor, but I saw him at such a distance I just can’t be sure.”

  “We need to do a spell right now to get this guy to go away.”

  “What kind of a spell?”

  We could cast a spell and then I’d call the police and have them take him away in handcuffs. And with any luck find him a pair of pants. I managed to get up from the floor and go stand beside my mother.

  My mother and I held hands and recited the words to the spell. With any luck it would work, and this guy wouldn’t be able to enter the home. After the spell was over I had to go back and check to see if he was there. Just lifting up the blinds and having those eyes staring back at me had been terrifying. What did he want and why was he here? Maybe he was on drugs or something. Had he done something to Daniel? I would have to go over there and check on him.

  When I lifted up the blinds the guy wasn’t there. Thank goodness, but was it safe to open up the door? I supposed if he was gone it would be all right. Perhaps I should just wait for the police and let them look around, although as leader of the Underworld I had magic at my fingertips. I hoped that would keep me protected even if I walked outside now.

  I needed to take care of the situation myself. If he was trying to get in LaVeau Manor, it wasn’t going to work. Wolves could come in, sure, but people, absolutely not. I eased the door open just a little bit and looked to the left and then to the right. But that was when I caught movement straight ahead. The guy was walking into the wooded area. Sure enough, he wasn’t wearing any clothing. I had a full view of his rear. He was definitely fit with muscles and not an ounce of fat on his body, but what I wanted to know was who he was and why he had on no clothing. Why was he walking into the wooded area? Did he know there was a wolf hanging out around there? My mother came over and stood behind me.

  “Is he around?” she asked.

  “He’s walking into the wooded area,” I said. “At least he’s gone for now. We don’t have to worry about him coming in.”

  But that was when it hit me.

  “What if he’s a werewolf?” my mother and I said at the same time.

  “That has to be it. That explains why he’s around and why he has no clothes on.”

  “Because he’s a werewolf, of course,” my mother said.

  “He was in the house and he changed back when he got outside.”

  “That is even more disturbing.”

  “The fact that he was in the house is scary, but he’s a werewolf,” my mother said.

  “I want to know how he got here and furthermore why he’s here. I saw him talking to the neighbor.”

  “Who’s this neighbor that you mentioned?” she asked.

  “He moved in with his grandmother. His name is Daniel and he lives right next door.”

  “I think we need to have a talk with him,” my mother said. “And the sooner the better.”

  “We’ll go right now,” I said.

  My mother and I headed for the front door.

  “I don’t take kindly to strangers in the manor,” my mother said as we walked out the front door.

  “You and me both,” I said.

  “This is strange,�
�� my mother said as we walked toward her car.

  We would have walked to the neighbor’s house, but I didn’t want to encounter the naked werewolf again. We got into the car and headed down the driveway. Maybe Daniel knew nothing, but it seemed as if he knew the werewolf.

  Chapter 6

  It took about thirty seconds before we were driving down the long, gated driveway of my neighbor’s beautiful mansion. Mrs. Whitmore lived there all by herself, so I wasn’t surprised that her grandson had come to help out. I often worried about her being there alone. Sometimes I would go check on her, but she didn’t want me to visit. So I tried to help without intruding at the same time, which was nearly impossible.

  We pulled up in front of the house and my mother cut the engine.

  “I hope that wolf doesn’t come over here while we’re walking to the door,” she said.

  “Oh, no. What if the wolf got inside of her house as well? What if it did something to her and her grandson?”

  “Don’t have negative thoughts, Halloween. Everything will be fine,” my mother said.

  Was she serious? She was the one who was always having thoughts like that. She had made me paranoid like I was today. We got out of the car and hurried up to the steps, looking around the entire time to make sure that the wolf didn’t pop out and chase after us. Once I got in front of the door, I pushed the doorbell. It made an elaborate musical tone.

  “Well, there’s no way she won’t hear that, right?” my mother asked.

  “I think she’s a little hard of hearing, but yeah, she should be able to hear that.”

  “What did you find out about her grandson?”

  “Not much other than his name is Daniel and he’s handsome.”

  “Well, that certainly doesn’t tell me much,” my mother said. “I want details about this guy. What does he do for a living? Is he married? Divorced?”

  “All of these things aren’t important,” I said.

  “Well, at the very least you could’ve asked if he’s a serial killer,” my mother said sarcastically.

  I rang the bell again. “I suppose they could’ve gone out for a bit.”

  A few more seconds and I decided to knock on the door, just in case they didn’t hear the doorbell. Though I supposed if they didn’t hear the bell then they surely wouldn’t hear me knocking. Nevertheless, I grabbed the huge knocker and pounded it against the wooden door. The door moved slightly when I used the knocker. It was unlocked and open. This was very disturbing. My mother and I exchanged a look.

  “What do you make of that?” she asked.

  “This isn’t a good sign. I think we need to check it out,” I said.

  “I think this place might even be spookier than LaVeau Manor,” my mother said. “Do we really have to go in?”

  “I have to go in, but you can wait in the car if you’d like,” I said.

  My mother sighed. “Yeah, like that’s really going to happen. I can’t let you go in there by yourself.”

  “All right, let’s go in.” I eased the door open just a bit more. “Hello, Ms. Whitmore?”

  As I called out my voice echoed across the huge room. The inside of her home looked a lot like LaVeau Manor, with a giant winding staircase in the middle of the foyer. A library was to the right, a parlor on the left, which then led on to the kitchen and the dining room. Ms. Whitmore had taken me on a tour once so that was how I knew the layout was similar to the manor. Of course, no one answered when I called out.

  “Where should we look for them?” my mother asked.

  “I guess we could split up and check the rooms,” I said.

  She shook her head. “No way am I walking around here by myself and I’m not going to let you do it either. We have to stick together.”

  “Okay, let’s go toward the kitchen.”

  My guess was that we’d find Ms. Whitmore and her grandson there. Maybe they were having some lunch. How they hadn’t heard the doorbell was beyond me. Nevertheless, my mother and I walked through the house. It was so quiet, much quieter than the manor ever was. The parlor looked as if it belonged in a museum. Nothing was out of place. We made it through the room and over to the kitchen. The condition there was different from the parlor, but still not messy. There was a gallon of milk on the table and half-full glasses. Plates with half-eaten sandwiches were also there.

  “This is strange,” my mother said. “It gives me the chills.”

  “It looks as if they just left at a moment’s notice.”

  “Or vanished into thin air. Have you been performing spells again?” my mother asked.

  “I’m not even going to answer that question,” I said.

  As a matter of fact I had cast spells. What if something had gone wrong? I’d thought all of that was behind me now, but I never knew when it could come back. Maybe the Book of Mystics wasn’t working anymore. There could be any number of reasons why something would go wrong. I guessed I would always be paranoid about that happening, but in the meantime, I had no definitive proof that I had done anything wrong. I had to just assume that they had stepped out for a moment. I’d never seen anyone just leave without finishing food unless it was an emergency.

  “What should we do now?” my mother asked.

  I stood in the middle of the room, looking around and hoping that I would notice a clue. Perhaps there was a note where they had written down an appointment time.

  “They could have had somewhere to go and forgotten about it. Then when they remembered they just jumped up and took off,” I said.

  “That’s true,” my mother said. “You do have a point, but do you see any note or a calendar anywhere?”

  I went around the room opening up the drawers and cabinets. There was nothing that would let me know where they were now. What if they came in and saw me looking through the kitchen cabinets? That would be extremely odd. I’d already made a weird impression with Daniel—now he would think that I was crazy.

  “I don’t see anything. I suppose we could check the rest of the house.”

  “If we must,” my mother said around a sigh. “But let’s hurry up and get out of here, okay?”

  We headed for the parlor again. My mother was right beside me. It still felt strange going through Ms. Whitmore’s house. The eerie feeling that something was amiss wouldn’t leave. I hoped they had just gone out for lunch, but I really didn’t believe that deep down inside.

  My mother and I made our way upstairs. There were so many rooms I wouldn’t know which one to check first. At least most of the bedroom doors were open, so we could just peek inside to see that no one was in the room. When we came to the end of the hall on the second floor there was a door that was shut. I paused in front of the door. Maybe I could just call and tell Mrs. Whitmore that I’d stopped for a friendly visit.

  “Hello?” I called out. “It’s Halloween from next door. I’m just stopping by to check and make sure you’re all right.”

  No sound came from the other side of the door. I guessed that no one was in there, but I couldn’t know for sure. What if they were in trouble with somebody? What if someone had kidnapped them?

  Chapter 7

  “How do you think we should go about doing this?” my mother asked.

  “Well, I can’t really break the door down. I suppose if the door is locked then we should let it go. We look incredibly nosy as it is,” I said.

  “That’s because we are incredibly nosy,” my mother said.

  “Yeah, I guess we are. I just wanted to make sure they’re okay though. After seeing the werewolf in the manor and having no idea how it got in.”

  “I still say you left the door open,” she said.

  “I know you say that, but it’s not what happened. Okay, we should just get out of here,” I said. “I need to call the woman who oversees the werewolf clan and find out if she knows who this werewolf in the woods is. Although the one we caught in the house is not the werewolf I saw in the woods earlier.”

  “You mean two werewolves are tryi
ng to get into the manor?” my mother asked.

  “I’m afraid so,” I said.

  “Have you spoken to this woman before?” my mother asked.

  “Briefly,” I said. “But I don’t really know her at all.”

  A noise caught my attention. My stomach dropped. I immediately knew what it sounded like. Slowly my mother and I peered to the left. I was correct. A wolf was standing at the end of the hallway. This was the werewolf that I had seen first in the woods. At least I knew where the werewolf had gone, though this made me fear for Daniel and Mrs. Whitmore even more. My mother gasped.

  Momentarily I was speechless. I wasn’t sure what to say. Was this werewolf going to attack us?

  “Who are you and what do you want?” I asked.

  “Can werewolves speak?” my mother whispered.

  “No, I don’t think they can when in werewolf form.”

  We spoke in hushed tones as if trying to keep the conversation from the werewolf. Okay, the werewolf wasn’t going to answer me right now, but he could understand when I spoke with him.

  “Do you know who I am?” I asked. “I’m the leader of the Underworld. I can’t have you marching in people’s homes.”

  The werewolf moved toward us. He was large with a lean body and shiny black fur. I grabbed my mother’s arm and we backed up a few steps.

  “Don’t make any sudden movements,” I said.

  The werewolf continued a few more steps toward us and then he stopped. If we turned to run down the stairs he would probably chase after us.

  “There’s only one option right now,” I said.

  “What’s that?” my mother asked.

  “We have to cast a spell on him.”

  “Oh, right. Yes, that’s what I’ll do,” she said.

  What did she mean what she would do?

  Before I had a chance to say anything my mother raised her arms and recited the words to a spell.

  “What are you doing? I thought we’d do this spell together?” I asked.

  “Now is not the time to pout. I can handle this spell on my own,” she said while waving her arms.