Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (27 page)

Everything was written in English, not just the instructions on how the Underworld was structured, but the rules that I had to enforce. It would take hours, if not days to figure everything out.

“Where do we start?” I asked.

“From the beginning,” Liam said, touching my chin. “We have all day.”

We’d just reached the section in the book that might contain the mysterious symbol when we ran out of time. The Coven members would be arriving at any second. As part of the ritual, I lit candles around the room.

I’d just lit the last candle when the doorbell rang. Liam squeezed my hand as I sucked in a deep breath and walked to the door. I was bracing myself for the worst—anything less than that would be a success.

Misty, my mother, and a couple of Enchantment Pointe Coven members stood at my front door. I figured I’d never hear the end of it if I hadn’t included my mother and a few Enchantment Pointe Coven members in on the meeting so I’d invited them too. It really didn’t concern them though.

After hug
ging my mother, I said, “We’ll be starting the meeting soon. Please have a seat anywhere.”

I gestured over my shoulder toward the parlor.

“Hallie, are you sure of what you’re doing?” my mother asked.

I shrugged. “It’s what I have to do.”

Before she could ask another question, the doorbell rang again. My heart sped up. Without looking, I knew it was the New Orleans Coven members. I took a deep breath, then forced myself to walk over to the door and open it.

Just as I’d thought, Jacobson and Sabrina stood in front of me. Behind them were the other members who I’d met that first night. The other person standing behind them was a total shock though. I hadn’t expected Nicolas to show up. He didn’t look up at me as I stared at him.

“Hello, Halloween. I’m surprised by the emergency meeting tonight.” Jacobson showed off his dazzling white smile.

Yeah, because he
’d probably figured I didn’t know how to call the meeting. I guess I’d proved him wrong.

“Good evening. Won’t you please come in? I’m glad you came. I’m sorry I had to call the meeting like this, but it is very important.” I stepped out of the way and gestured for
the group to enter.

Jacobson and the other
s filed in, but when I looked at the group Sabrina was missing. I knew she’d been standing at the door with Jacobson, but where was she now? Nicolas had entered the foyer behind the others. He still hadn’t looked up at me. Did he think he could ignore me all evening? I was getting to the bottom of this once and for all. They couldn’t ignore my questions now. I had them right where I wanted them.

The Enchantment Pointe Coven members exchanged pleasantries with the others.

As I entered the parlor, Jacobson looked at me with his usual sly grin. “What, no refreshments? I get the feeling that this isn’t a pleasant social call.”

“Well, this meeting is all business. I’m sorry if you feel
I’m being a bad hostess.” I flashed a fake smile.

He chuckled. “I really didn’t expect anything else.”

Okay, now he was insulting my hosting skills. I wouldn’t have that. Those were fighting words.

“Please everyone ha
ve a seat. This won’t take long.” I gestured toward the various seats in the room.

I looked over at Nicolas. He still didn’t look at me. And where was Sabrina? I knew without a doubt that I’d seen her when I opened the door, but after that she’d vanished. I hoped she wasn’t snooping around in the house.

There was no time to waste, so I got right to the point. “As you know, things haven’t gone as I’d planned since I accepted the leader role.”

Jacobson smirked, but didn’t offer a response, so I continued.

“Nicolas has been accused of attacking your sister, so tell me, Jacobson, why would you forgive him now? Why accept him into your Coven again? You wanted me to punish him before.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest, happy with my line of questioning.

Jacobson shrugged. “Everyone makes mistakes. I guess we worked things out.” 

“I don’t believe that. There is no truth to that statement and I know it. And considering Nicolas won’t look at me and acts as if he doesn’t know me, I know you’ve done something to him. I plan on finding out what that is and reversing it. You can’t play with him like that. He is not your toy.” I looked around at the glares and frowns of the New Orleans Coven members. I knew whose side they were on with this one. “Can’t you all see what he is doing?” I asked while looking at them. They just continued glaring at me. 

Jacobson feigned a look of surprise.
“I have done nothing of the sort and I don’t appreciate you accusing me of something I didn’t do.”

I snorted. “So now you know how it feels.”

“You were so quick to just assume that he was innocent. You had no proof other than you wanted to go to bed with him.” Jacobson smirked.

I stepped closer to Jacobson. So close that I felt his breath on me. “Don’t ever talk to me that way again. I based my decision on what I knew of Nicolas, but I tried to be open to
the facts. If it had been true, then I would have done something about it. You didn’t give me a chance to find out if it was true.”

He shrugged, but didn’t speak. I got the impression he was stunned that I’d actually confronted him and not backed down.

“Now, if that’s settled, there are a few questions I want to ask.” Jacobson’s glare didn’t falter, but I continued anyway. “We noticed the paintings on the plantation wall with the symbols and writing. They’re also at the abandoned home that I believe is your sister’s place.” I glanced around for Sabrina, but she was still nowhere in sight. “Do you want to tell me what you are doing?”

He stared at me
for a moment, then said, “You’re getting around a lot. It’s nice to see a leader who is so concerned for others. But I can tell you that I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“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 h
e 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.

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 real
ize 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 yo
u 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 an
y more of the blackouts.” He brushed hair from my cheek.