A Charmed Cauldron

by Rose Pressey

Still the person didn’t show themselves. Obviously they didn’t care how mad they made me. How long would they play this game? I was impatient and I wasn’t waiting around to find out. I would cast a spell right now and get out of this. Then the person would be truly sorry.

  I ran through the spells that I knew in my mind. I had to get this right. The last thing I needed right now was to panic and screw things up. No pressure. I’d been known to mess up when under pressure. It had been a while, but that didn’t mean I was completely over doing that. I closed my eyes and recited the words for the spell. I did this silently because I didn’t want the person to know what I was doing. I had to use all the power I could pull together.

  I felt so much energy in my body that I tingled all over. I recited the words over and over again. It felt as if there was a hurricane in my mind. That had to mean this was working. At least I hoped that was what it meant. I was usually able to say the words aloud. That allowed the energy to release and manifest around the room instead of in my mind. I’d never been this mad while casting a spell either. I guessed the stress had really affected me. I’d use that to my advantage. Now it was time to see if it had worked.

  Chapter 32

  Mrs. Whitmore walked in front of me. Was I seeing things? I blinked several times. Nope, she was still there.

  “Mrs. Whitmore, what are you doing here? You have to help me. Someone is in the house and they tied me up. Hurry before they come back.” I gestured toward my wrist with a tilt of my head.

  She didn’t budge. She just watched without saying a word. Was she in a state of shock? Maybe the person had hit her on the head too. I knew she didn’t like me much, but I thought for sure she’d help me out of this predicament.

  “You have to hurry,” I said with another tilt of my head.

  The expression on her face was a bit odd now that I looked closely. With narrowed eyes she scowled at me. I supposed she’d never liked me because I had been a below average witch. On more than one occasion faulty witchcraft had drifted over to her place. This was no time to hold onto those feelings.

  Why wasn’t she helping me? I studied her face again. I was beginning to think that someone really had hit her on the head. Or maybe they had cast a spell on her. Yes, that had to be it. That was the only explanation for why she was here and not helping me. Why had they brought her here? I supposed for the same reason why the werewolf had been in her house. Though I wasn’t sure what that reason was.

  Had Daniel done this? Did she really know him all that well? He’d just shown up claiming to be on the run from dangerous people. Yikes, what if the person who had done this to me was the same person who had been after Daniel? The more I played over the possibilities in my mind the worse I felt. I wiggled my wrists again, hoping that the spell had worked.

  I needed to continue reciting the words, but Mrs. Whitmore was distracting me. If she wasn’t going to help, then she needed to step back and let me use my magical energy. I decided to ask Mrs. Whitmore one more time to help me out. Maybe this time I would break through to her.

  “Mrs. Whitmore, please, you have to help me before the person comes back,” I said.

  She stared at me. This time a devilish grin appeared on her face. Was she getting some kind of pleasure from this? It hit me. She was here on purpose, but it wasn’t for good reasons, like to help me out.

  “You did this to me, didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Guilty,” she said in a sing-song voice.

  I knew she was mocking me now, which just made me even more furious. I’d thought I was angry before, but now it was off the charts.

  “Do you think this is funny?” I asked. “This will not end well for you, I can guarantee that. I will get out of this and you’ll be sorry.”

  “I don’t think so, dear,” she said in her sweet grandmotherly voice.

  No longer would I fall for that innocent act of hers. I had to know though.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked.

  “Does it really matter why?” she asked.

  “Well, it kind of does, because if I know why you’re angry maybe I can fix the problem.”

  “Oh, I doubt you can, dear,” she said.

  “And stop calling me dear,” I said. “I’m not your dear or any other term of endearment for that matter.”

  “What should I call you? Skank? Evil witch? Stupid or idiot?”

  “Mrs. Whitmore, I thought you were better than this,” I said.

  “I guess you thought wrong,” she said.

  “There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing.”

  “Oh, yes, there is something wrong with what you’re doing.”

  “So what am I doing that’s so wrong? I was a bad witch for a while. I cast some bad spells. That’s all behind us now. We can live and let live. Forgive and move on.”

  “No, I don’t like the sound of that either,” she said with a shake of her head.

  Okay, this was obviously going nowhere.

  “All right, tell me what you want so that I can help you. We can get out of here.”

  “Oh, why? Have you somewhere you need to be?” she asked with a smirk.

  “The longer you play games the worse it’s going to be for you,” I said.

  She glared at me and after a few minutes, she said, “Okay, I want the book.”

  “And there we have it. I should’ve known that this was what was behind all of this.” I’d had my suspicions, but now they were confirmed. “What makes you want the book? What are you going do with it?” I asked. “You can’t possibly be the leader.”

  “Why because I’m too old?” she asked.

  “No, because you’re not a witch,” I said. “Though I might add a ‘b’ to that word and that would definitely suit you.”

  She shuffled over to me and then smacked me across the face.

  “Ouch,” I said.

  She packed a powerful punch.

  “I’m not giving you the book no matter what you do to me. You can’t have the book,” I said. “You might as well just untie me and we’ll forget all of this ever happened.”

  I told her that, but the truth was I wouldn’t let it go. I’d say anything to get out of here though. In my mind I was trying to continue the spell, but it was hard to focus on that while at the same time having a conversation with her. I’d gotten better at this, but I wasn’t that good. I’d never been much of a multitasker. My face was still stinging where she had slapped me. She wasn’t talking and was just glaring at me, so I continued reciting the words in my mind. I wiggled my wrists. My hands were becoming a little bit freer. Maybe it was actually working. It would be a miracle if they did though because my energy was down. I wasn’t able to concentrate.

  She broke the silence when she said, “I’ll ask you again to give me the book. The next time I won’t be as nice about it.”

  “And I’ll ask you again to tell me who sent you here to get the book. I know it’s not you. Someone put you up to this. Was it Daniel? Tell me the truth now. I’ll get it out of you eventually anyway.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll never tell you.”

  “Why are you doing this? What do you have to gain from it? They’re just using you. You shouldn’t let them use you like that.”

  She frowned and I knew she was thinking about what I’d said. This probably hadn’t occurred to her until now. I didn’t know Mrs. Whitmore well, but I knew she didn’t like to be taken advantage of. So this was something that could possibly work in my favor if I just kept on this track. I wiggled my wrists again and the rope was loosening.

  I continued with this line of talk. “It was Daniel, wasn’t it? He put you up to this. How could you let him use you like this? That’s despicable. I will definitely have a talk with him about this, but you have to be honest with me, Mrs. Whitmore. Why did you do this for him? Did he force you? I can get him in trouble for that as well. He may say he’s a family friend, but a friend wouldn’t make you do this. Now tell me why he put you up to this.”
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  She inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. Then she said, “He’s paying me to do this.”

  “He’s paying you?” I said.

  I knew my voice was a little bit too screechy, but I couldn’t help it. I was in shock. This didn’t make sense.

  “Why didn’t he just do this himself?” I asked.

  “Because it was much easier this way,” Daniel said from over my shoulder. “She broke through the spell that you kept placing on the house since she’s not a paranormal. She was able to get in when I couldn’t.”

  “Why did you come to stay with her in the first place?” I asked.

  Daniel walked in front of me. He stood beside Mrs. Whitmore. “I knew it would take some time to find the book, so I was willing to wait.”

  “But you came in the house and you didn’t find the book, did you? It wasn’t as easy as you thought it would be.”

  “I never said it would be easy.”

  “But you didn’t think it would be impossible and that’s why I’m tied up now. Because it’s impossible for you to find the book.”

  Yes, I was smug, but I had maneuvered my wrists more and I knew the spell was working. I would be able to get out of the ropes soon. I just had to plan my move for when I got free.

  “So all of this was a lie? You made up some excuse about being in danger to be able to stay with Mrs. Whitmore. Is that what you did?” I asked.

  He glanced at Mrs. Whitmore. “So what?” he said. “I did what I had to do.”

  “See, Mrs. Whitmore, I told you he was using you.”

  Her face turned a little red and I knew it wasn’t because it was hot in the house. She was now realizing that she had been played. He’d been using her all along and I knew she didn’t like that. Now if I could just get her to help me instead of him. I didn’t have money to pay her for this either. Exactly how much was he giving her? It had better be a significant sum of money. But the money wasn’t important right now. All I needed was to get free and get rid of Daniel. Where were Liam and Nicolas when I needed them? They were probably somewhere fighting each other.

  Chapter 33

  The doorbell rang. I was surprised by the ring, but Daniel didn’t react. I hoped it was someone coming to help me out, but not my mother or Annabelle. I didn’t want them in this situation. Liam still rang the bell, so maybe he had returned. My mother and Annabelle didn’t always ring. Sometimes they came on in if the door was unlocked or they remembered their key. If it were anyone else like the security guy he would wonder why I was sitting here tied up. So much for the alarm system working.

  Daniel walked over to the door and opened it without asking who was there or peering out the little peephole. That meant he must have been expecting someone. That didn’t bode well for me. If only I could concentrate on the spell, then maybe I could get away. The ropes were secure, so it would take a lot of magic to finally break free. Though I was close. I still had to come up with a plan for when I broke free. I could try a spell that would freeze them on the spot. But after using so much energy to untie the ropes, I wasn’t sure if I had it in me. I recited words while Daniel was at the door. I’d use every chance I had to work on the spell.

  When he opened the door wider strangers walked in. Well, at first they were strangers, but then I recognized a couple of the guys—the one who’d been in my house and the one who’d been with Daniel at Mrs. Whitmore’s place. And they’d acted as if they didn’t know the werewolves. In fact, they were werewolves all along. They thought they were so clever.

  “What’s going on here?” I asked.

  Now that the spell around LaVeau Manor was broken they were taking full advantage of that.

  “Do you have the book yet?” one of the men asked Daniel.

  “No, he doesn’t have the book yet,” I said. “And he won’t get it either.”

  Daniel shook his head. “See what I’m dealing with here?”

  “Just make her give you the book,” Mrs. Whitmore said.

  “Mrs. Whitmore, no offense, but mind your own business,” I said.

  She glared at me. “This is my business. I don’t get paid until he has the book.”

  “Did you get that in writing?” I asked. “I wouldn’t trust him to follow through with that. Something tells me he’s not that trustworthy.”

  Daniel laughed.

  “I’m glad you find that amusing. See, Mrs. Whitmore, he’s laughing at you.”

  She eyed him up and down.

  He held his hands up. “What? Don’t listen to her. Of course I’ll give you the money.”

  I scoffed.

  While we were distracted by this conversation someone else had walked in. The movement caught my attention. When I looked over, I spotted the clan leader Jessica. For a split second I thought maybe I could ask her for help. Then when she started talking with Daniel and the others I realized she was in on this too. I should have known by the way she acted.

  “I thought this would be wrapped up by now,” she said, looking over at me with disdain.

  “You are so fired when I get out of this,” I said.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Right, like that’s really going to happen.”

  “She won’t tell us where the book is,” Mrs. Whitmore said.

  “Of course she won’t. You have to force her to do it,” she said. “Just untie her and force her to take you to the book.”

  “Yeah, I guess we have to do something,” Daniel said.

  Now was my chance. Once they untied me I’d make my move.

  Daniel walked over to me as the rest of the group stared at me. I wasn’t going to lead them to the actual location of the book. I had a plan though. He untied one wrist and moved to the other. Once the other wrist was undone he pulled my arm to lift me to my feet.

  “Take it easy,” I said.

  “Now take me to the book.”

  I stared at him. When he pushed me I tumbled backward but managed to remain on my feet.

  “If you keep doing that I won’t help you at all.”

  “Where is the book?” he asked with his voice getting more agitated.

  “Upstairs.” I pointed.

  He gestured. “After you.”

  I stared for a moment and then turned and headed up the stairs. I looked over my shoulder. At least all of the werewolves weren’t following me. Oh, wait. I spoke too soon.

  “Is it necessary for everyone to come? It’ll be too crowded.”

  He looked over his shoulder. “Hey. Stay down here.”

  Mrs. Whitmore frowned. “I want to make sure she gets it.”

  “She’ll get it, don’t worry,” Daniel said.

  The group paused. I headed up the stairs with Daniel and Jessica right behind me. I moved as slowly as possible. I wanted to save my energy for what I was about to do. Plus, I just wanted to irritate them because they’d made me mad.

  “Can you speed this up a little?” she asked. “I know you can move faster than that.”

  “Actually can’t. Daniel pushed me and that caused an injury.” I said.

  “Yeah, right.” Her words dripped with sarcasm.

  My anxiety spiked as we neared the second floor.

  “Where are you taking us?” she asked.

  “The book is in my bedroom.”

  “See, I knew it was there,” Daniel said.

  When I set foot on the landing I knew it was now or never. I sprinted forward and down the hallway. This was a risky move since the werewolves were so fast. Surely they would be able to catch up with me. By some miracle I reached the bedroom door. I practically fell into the room. Thank goodness I’d left the door open. That was something I didn’t normally do. I slammed the door shut and locked it. Seconds later they reached the door and started pounding on it.

  Now that I was inside the room I decided to cast a spell through the door to set them back a little. It wasn’t a major spell and it wouldn’t take much energy. I called to the elements. North, south, east and west. I recited the words and the energy f
lowed from my fingers as I pointed toward the door.

  “Open the door,” she yelled as she pounded on the wood.

  “You have to come out some time,” Daniel said.

  That was it. After his sentence there was silence. That must mean that the spell was working. It would send them back downstairs and give me a moment’s peace while I figured out what to do. I wasn’t going to open the door to see if it had worked though. Now I had to figure a way out of there. I could do a spell that would disguise my appearance. That took a lot of energy though. I needed something simpler than that for now. I’d save the bigger spells for later. I looked around the room to see if anything sparked an idea. My gaze landed on the window. It was the second floor, but I had a plan.

  I shoved the window, but it didn’t budge. The thing was so heavy that I didn’t have the strength. Now I’d have to use even more energy to cast a spell to open a window. What a waste. Though it had to be done. This was my only way out. And to top it off I was afraid of heights. At least it was only the second floor. It could have been worse—I could have been in the attic on the top floor.

  After reciting another tiny spell, I tried the window again. This time it budged. I lifted the window. Heaving one leg over the side, I was halfway out the window now. Just don’t look down, I reminded myself. There was a ledge at the window. I intended on climbing onto the nearby peak on the roof. From there I could cast another spell to help me get down. I lifted my other leg around and sat on the windowsill. My legs shook and I looked down. Why had I done that? I inched over to the little ledge, trying to keep my balance. My knees wobbled and I thought for sure I’d fall at any moment.

  Now that I was on the roof I had to take a moment to calm down. It was high up there as I peered down at the front lawn. I could safely say this was the first time I’d ever been on a roof. Even with all the spellcasting and the weird things, never had I been on a roof. Not to mention I was afraid of heights. I had to remain calm and not look down. If I looked down then I’d be on the ground before I could say ‘bad witch.’

  When I took another step, my foot slipped. This was my worst nightmare. I slid and landed right on my butt. Somehow I managed to stop myself from sliding right off the roof. I felt like I was on a slide at a kids’ playground. How had I thought that I’d be able to avoid danger on a roof? Of course my adrenaline was pumping. I had to calm myself down and get back on my feet so that I could get off the roof. I should have cast a spell for safety before actually climbing up here. There was so much to think about before trying anything like this. I couldn’t keep up with all the spells I needed. Maybe if I just enclosed myself in a giant bubble.