Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (31 page)

Liam and I headed down the narrow hallway, stopping in front of the bedroom door where we’d found the strange paintings. In front of the room, the magic was even stronger now. It was oozing out from underneath the door.

“Do you hear anything?” I whispered.

Liam shook his head. “Not a peep.”

I twisted the knob, but of course it was locked too. When I couldn’t get the door to open, I pounded on the wood with both fists. It rattled, but no one opened up for me. Go figure.

Liam placed his hand on my arm. “Stand back again and I’ll knock it down.”

I stood back and watched as Liam ran toward the door, kicking it like he had t
he front door. With one giant rush, the door slammed open, rattling the entire wood frame. He was getting really good at that.

My feet wouldn’t move fast enough as I charged into the room like a bull.
Annabelle, Jon, and Nicolas were all bound and sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. The fear in Annabelle’s eyes made my stomach turn. Fear erupted through my body when I saw another Nicolas standing by the window.

“Which one is the real Nicolas” I whispered to Liam.

Liam looked just as confused as I felt. “I don’t know,” Liam stammered.

“Hallie, it’s me. I captured my imposter,” the Nicolas standing near the window said.

The pleading look in the gaze of the Nic
olas on the floor gave me pause. Magic filled the room until I thought the walls would burst.

“How can I trust you?” I asked the Nicolas by the window.

Something about his voice seemed off. I’d have to go with my instinct on this one and pray that I had it right.

“You can trust me,” his voice wavered.

Without asking me, Liam rushed toward what I believed was the imposter. Liam slammed him into the far wall. He immediately fell to the floor. As he lay there, limp and unmoving, the transformation began. Before our eyes he changed and soon the Nicolas on the floor had morphed into the woman from the bar. The one who had sent us here in the first place. Her spell had worn off.

I stared in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“Jacobson paid me to lead you here.
”
She said, then drew her lips drawn back in silent snarl.

My o
pponent looked confident that I wouldn’t win this battle.

“
Why did you send us here? You’re not very organized with your plan.”

She bared her fangs
, but didn’t answer.

“
You were the one who turned the waitress. Did Jacobson pay you to do that?”

S
he scowled. “That was an added bonus. No charge.”

Liam pointed at her and magic jumped from his hand. She hissed and tossed the magic back at him. When he fell to the floor, I knew I had
to do something quickly. I spotted the gold pendant around her neck.

“Liam, I need her necklace.” I pointed.

With Liam struggling to get the necklace from her, I knew I needed to get Annabelle out of the room. She didn’t deserve to be drawn into this mess.

“Annabelle, are you okay?” I asked.

She shook her head and spoke only with her eyes. Something held her attention. I followed the direction of her stare. When I turned around, I gasped at the huge creature standing in the corner of the room. So that was what the demon looked like. It was the most hideous thing I’d ever seen. My first instinct was to run, but I quickly remembered why I was there.

The creature that I assumed could only be a demon responsible for this whole mess looked at us. Its eyes glowed red and it bared its yellowed fangs. The thing was a huge humanoid-like beast. This was what the vampires and witches had been a part of? They really were sick.

I was shocked that I was able to somewhat keep my cool. There was only one way I was going to get rid of this thing. I’d have to destroy the necklaces with the symbols. If I could get rid of them while casting this spell, the demon would be banished.

When Liam finally stumbled to his feet,
I realized that he had necklace clutched tightly in his hand.

I held my hand out to him. “Give me your hand.”

“Hallie,” Nicolas said with a weak voice, “take this necklace.” Nicolas ripped the gold pendant from around his neck and threw it in the air.

Liam reached and caught the necklace faster than a blink of an eye.
Liam and I joined hands while I clutched the necklaces tightly. I recited the words for a banishing spell. “Element of Earth, I call to you to banish the evil forever. Element of Air, I call to you to push the spirit back, never to return. Element of Fire, I call to bind the evil to the fires of hell. Element of Water, I call to you for vision and force.”

A shadow fell over the room. The darkness inched and snaked its way across the walls and ceiling. Liam and I grasped our hands tightly and continued to recite the spell. As the darkness grew, my hope faded. We were losing the battle. I’d give up hope, when a loud wail sounded from the demon. The dark cloud engulf the room reversed and was sucked back into the belly of the beast.

After a fiery of twisting black flames, the demon collapsed into a pile of ashes. Instantly, the heaviness lifted from the room. Liam wasted little time running to Annabelle and releasing the rope from her hands.

I raced over to Nicolas. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Thanks to you all.” He exchanged a glance with Liam.

“Annabelle, are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded and offered a grin as Jon helped her up. “What took you so long?”

And to think she’d just started to get over her fear of the paranormal. This would set her back ten years.

Nicolas stumbled to his feet and grabbed my hands. “Thinking of you all this time was the only thing that kept me sane.”

That was one of the sweetest things I’d ever heard.

“Did you get the roses I sent? It took all the energy I had and it was the only spell I could push through. But I wanted you to know I was thinking of you.”

“That was you?”
My lips parted in surprise.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t more. The spell they’d placed ove
r me wouldn’t allow me cast spells, but I did the best that I could.” Nicolas leaned down and in one swift movement covered my mouth with his own. I kissed him with all the pent-up stress from the last several days, allowing myself to be lost in the moment.

“
The roses were perfect,” I said softly.

Nicolas placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I’m glad you liked them.”

How long have you been here?” I asked, wiping a smudge of dirt from his cheek.

“Too long,” he said
, running his hand through his hair. “I’m glad I was finally able to rip that necklace off.”

“That was the former vampire turned demon who turned you and your family
. And that woman was pretending to be you,” I said, pointing at the witch across the room.

Nicolas rubbed his wrists where the rope had been secured tightly.
“I figured that out after a while. Jacobson and Sabrina brought me here.”

“W
e came by here and found your wallet. You weren’t here then,” I said.

“
I was here the whole time with the leader of the New Orleans Clan of Vampires. Jacobson staked him.” A troubled look crossed his face, remembering the scene. “Jacobson and Sabrina cast a spell so that you all couldn’t see me. I called out to you, but I was completely invisible.” Nicolas stared at the witch who had slipped over by the door.

That sent chills down my spine. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t help you.”

I didn’t want the witch to get away, so I motioned for Liam to grab her. But before he realized what I wanted, she’d slipped out the door and ran down the hallway.

“I’ll try to catch her,” Liam said, as he dashed out of the room.

Nicolas focused his attention on me again. “I guess you’d given up on me.”

“No, w
e didn’t give up on you.” Seeing the flash of joy in his eyes made my insides dance.

Nicolas glanced over at Liam as he spoke with Annabelle and Jon. I knew he was wondering what had happened between us since he’d left LaVeau Manor. My feelings were more confused than ever. Liam was so kind and gentle, but Nicolas was sweet and caring too. I needed to stay far away from both of them, but I knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t be able to pull that off.

Helping everyone outside of the house, we joined my mother where the Coven members were still casting the spell.

I stepped up to my mother. “The demon is gone. It’s over now.”

She whipped around. “Oh my goddess. I was so worried about you.”

She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly, then released me to grab Annabelle.

“I don’t think I can handle you being the leader of the Underworld,” my mother said.

That was a topic for another day. Right now I had to get everyone back to some sense of normalcy.

“What happened in there?” Misty asked.

“The demon was holding Nicolas, Annabelle and Jon. The demon had used the power from all the witches he recruited
, but it had to be a slow and steady process. Once I destroyed the necklaces with the symbols, he could no longer fight us. He’s nothing more than a pile of ashes now,” I said with a sense of satisfaction.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Misty said.

I couldn’t believe she’d actually complimented me. “Thank you,” I said with a proud smile.

Movement from behind me caught my attention and I turned around. Liam was walking toward me. His expression was grim. I hoped he didn’t have more bad news.

“Well, I guess my work here is done.” Liam looked down to avoid my stare.

I looked around for Nicolas
, hoping that he hadn’t vanished again. He stood at the bottom of the steps, pretending not to watch us.

“What are you talking about?” I asked
softly.

Liam continued to focus his attention on his shoes, not meeting my stare.
“You’re not in danger any more. Nicolas can be with you now,” Liam said.

I was a little insulted that he just assumed that I wouldn’t want him around. But in fact, I didn’t know what I wanted. N
icolas was back in the picture, but as far as I was concerned he’d never been out of the picture.

Without thinking, I blurted out, “I want you to be in charge of the New Orleans Coven.”

“What?” he asked while looking me in the eyes.

“Now that Jacobson isn’t in charge, I’ll need someone there. You are already a member of the Coven. Naturally, you’re the perfect person for the job,” I said, handing Liam the keys to the plantation.
“I’m going to ask Nicolas to lead the New Orleans Clan.”

He glanced down at the keys, then back at me. “That would mean I’d be living in New Orleans.”

I took his hand in mine and said, “We’ll have to be in contact every day though.”

He smiled. “It doesn’t sound like you’re confident I can do the job if you think I’ll need guidance every day.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s not an easy job.”

How would Liam restore the New Orleans Coven? He would need my help, right?

“No, I guess it isn’t. You’re right… I could use the help.” A broad grin split his face.

“Does that mean you’ll take the job?” I smiled. “I could really use your help.”

He leaned down and kissed my lips softly. Was Nicolas watching us? Of course he was. I felt his eyes on us.

After a moment, Liam leaned back and said, “I’d be happy to help you
, Ms. LaVeau.”

He had the softest lips.

Liam glanced over his shoulder at Nicolas. “I think a conversation with my brother is long overdue.”

I nodded. “I think you’re right.”

As Liam walked toward Nicolas, headlights caught my attention. Who could that be? No one other than Jacobson and Sabrina would know we were here. It was too late now. Their powers would be gone since the demon was finished. The only thing left for them to do was apologize.

The fog still rolled across the ground
, swirling around the wheels of the black car as it inched toward us, adding to the mystique of the scene. The car proceeded down the dirt driveway, finally coming to a stop next to Enchantment Pointe Coven van. The car had black tinted windows, making it impossible to see who was inside. For all I knew, there could have been one or six people in there. Everyone turned their attention to the mysterious vehicle. I held my breath waiting for what was about to happen.

After a few seconds, a man climbed out from the back seat and approached us. He was looking straight at me, so I knew this wasn’t a chance encounter. He probably wasn’t asking for directions. He wore a black suit with black tie. He looked
like a movie star from the 50s, immaculately dressed and groomed.

Once he’d stopped in front of me, he said, “My name is Giovanni St. Clair.”