Charmed Ever After (The Halloween LaVeau Series Book 6) (16 page)

I wasn’t sure where to hide. There were plenty of buildings and stores. We could’ve gone back to the car, but he was looking for us. He would recognize us anywhere and if they were tracking me then they would surely find me no matter where I went.

“I wish that I could do something to disguise us,” I said.

“There is something you can do,” Annabelle said.

I shook my head. “No, it wouldn’t work. It can’t be done without the help of an experienced witch. I mean, an experienced witch who is good with magic. That’s most definitely not me.”

“You’ve done it before and now you have the new book. Your spells are in there. I think you can do it. Your mother was able to do it.”

“My magic is bad and it wouldn’t work.”

Annabelle sighed. “Well, if you don’t even want to try, I guess I can’t force you. Negative thoughts bring negative things,” Annabelle said.

She knew how to get to me. She knew that I would now have to do the spell.

I sighed and then said, “Okay, but just for the record, I think it’s a bad idea.”

“Positive thinking,” she said with a wave of her finger.

I paused for a moment so that I could cast the spell. I was still clutching both books in my arms. I handed Annabelle the books, even though I didn’t want to let them go, but I had no choice. After calling to the elements of air, fire, water, and earth, I recited the words carefully and waved my arms in the air. A tingling sensation came over me. It was a good sign. Maybe the spell would work after all. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much though just in case something terrible went wrong. But like Annabelle said, positive thoughts. I was almost afraid to look and see what the spell had done, but I had to do it sometime. I couldn’t put it off forever.

Once I thought the spell was over, Annabelle and I turned to look at each other. At the same time we both screamed. Except it didn’t come out as a scream really, it was more like a bark or whine. Yes, I had now turned us both into dogs.

“You turned us into dogs,” Annabelle yelled. Her reaction was panicked and rightfully so. When I looked down I saw huge paws. Massive paws.

“What kind of dog am I?” I asked.

I wasn’t the same type as Annabelle because she was a tiny little Chihuahua. 

“You’re a Great Dane,” she said. “What am I?” she asked, jumping up and down.

She was even being hyperactive like a Chihuahua.

“You’re a Chihuahua,” I said.

If I had known I was turning us into dogs I would have made us both small and compact so we could hide easier.

“We have to hide,” I said.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to hide now. You’re like a ginormous billboard.”

“We’re just a couple of dogs hanging out. You know, checking out traffic, looking for cars to chase.”

“You think that’s what dogs are thinking?”

“Probably that and about bones.”

“I just hope no one calls the dog pound,” Annabelle said.

“I guess we would be in big trouble then, wouldn’t we?” I said.

I knew how long the spells usually lasted, but I certainly hoped it wasn’t as long this time. What if we stayed this way permanently? I wouldn’t even mention that scenario to Annabelle because she would freak out.

Just then, I glanced to the left and saw the man from the occult shop coming down the sidewalk. At least he would never find us now. The books were hidden behind us in a flowerpot. I couldn’t exactly grab them and hold them since I didn’t have thumbs. I supposed I could try to pick them up in my mouth, but I didn’t think both of them would fit. Plus, it would look strange for a dog to be walking around with books in her mouth.

The man was growing closer to us now. I had to act casual so that he wouldn’t be suspicious. I also didn’t want to draw attention to us and have him notice the books back there. I’d had one book taken away from me and I sure as heck wasn’t having these two taken too.

For some reason when this guy got near us Annabelle started being a little too hyper. She started barking like crazy at him. That wasn’t exactly the way to blend in and have him not notice us. It was the exact opposite.

Just as he got near, Annabelle lurched forward and bit his ankle. He screamed out and kicked in her direction. Luckily, she had moved just in time. What was she thinking? Of course now his actions made me angry and I started barking at him. That was when he kicked at me too, but this time he made contact. I let out a big yelp. That wasn’t very nice. Granted Annabelle had started it, but still he was a bad man. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to try to kick me.

I lunged forward, growled, and tried to snap at him. He darted away, but I figured he would probably call someone to come after us. He might even try some magic on us. We had to get out of here, but I couldn’t leave the books behind. It was time for us to break free of the spell. But how? Simply casting another spell to bring us back to normal? I supposed I had to remain positive and give it a shot. It was all I had. The man was now talking to another man, probably telling him what we’d done.

“We’re going to have to hide in order to do a spell. I hope it will get us out of this,” I said. “I can’t do magic right here with everyone watching. Plus, I think he’s going to call the authorities.”

“What about the books?” Annabelle asked.

“I’ll just have to leave them and hope that he doesn’t find them. After we cast the spell and get out of this, we’ll come back.”

It sounded like that plan would work out. When he wasn’t looking, I motioned for Annabelle to run to the left. There was a restaurant just a couple of doors down.

“We’ll go in here. I’ve been there before. They seem friendly. We’ll just run in, find a table to hide under and do the spell. Then we’ll run right back out,” I said.

“You really think it’ll be that easy?” Annabelle asked.

“Now who’s being a Negative Nancy?” I asked.

As soon as a man opened the door to the restaurant we darted inside. He gave a strange look, but didn’t stop us. Annabelle followed me behind the table. The tablecloth was hiding us nicely.

“What do you think you’re doing in here? Get out of here,” the woman yelled.

When I looked up, a woman with a broom was headed our way.

“What’s with all the hate for the dogs today?” I asked.

When a man opened the door to enter, Annabelle and I raced out, almost knocking him to the ground on our way.

“That was a close one. We almost got clomped with a broom,” Annabelle said.

“And I thought they were friendly. That’s the last time I go in that restaurant,” I said. “Come on, there’s a clothing shop up ahead. We’ll try that place.”

We only had to wait a couple minutes by the door until a woman opened it and stepped out. Racks of clothing were everywhere. A few mannequins lined the front windows. A woman was behind the counter, but so far she hadn’t noticed us. She was too busy watching the
Real Housewives
marathon. That was perfect for us. It would give us time to try a spell and then get out of there.

“What a cute dress,” Annabelle said, pointing to the little black dress with her paw.

“It won’t fit you,” I said, snickering.

“Funny. Get me out of this Chihuahua body right now.”

“Okay, I’m working on it.” I tossed my paw up.

I recited the words and waved my paws around. This wasn’t exactly the best way to do a spell, and I was bad to begin with, but this made it even harder. The tingling sensation had returned again. When I looked over at Annabelle she was no longer the little Chihuahua, but she was a man. I was freaking out a little bit. Was it really her? Had a stranger done something to Annabelle in a split second?

“Is that you?” I asked.

“Of course it’s me,” she said in her voice. “Yeah, you’re a man too.”

“What do I look like?”

“Better than before. You have grayish-blond hair and a little bit of a beard.”

I touched my face. It was stubbly.

Where did I come up with these looks? They were so random.

“Now that we are in human form again we can go get the books. Let’s hurry.”

Just as we were coming out from under the clothing rack, the woman approached.

“What are you doing under there? Are you stealing?” she yelled.

“Run,” I yelled.

Annabelle and I raced out of the building and down the sidewalk. I looked over my shoulder. The woman was standing at the door and shaking her fists at us.

“Hey, I’ve got longer legs and can run faster now,” I said.

“So totally not worth the rest of this package,” Annabelle said.

Finally, we made it back to the spot where I’d hidden the books. I rushed over and reached for them. Much to my disappointment, the books were gone.

“They’re gone,” I said in a panic.

“Where are they?”

I looked around, not knowing where to start. I was sure that he had taken the books, but then to my surprise, I saw a woman crossing the street. She had the books in her arms.

“I’ve never seen her before. She’s got them,” I yelled.

“Let’s go after her,” Annabelle said.

The woman really would be terrified when she looked up and saw two men chasing her. I couldn’t help it though, I needed those books back.

“Where do you think she’s going?” Annabel asked.

The woman stopped at a black car just down the way and then climbed in behind the wheel. She placed the books in the passenger seat.

“There she is. We have to stop her.” I pointed.

We started running across the street and down the sidewalk. She pulled away from the curb and I knew there was no way we would ever catch her now. There was a red light up ahead. Maybe if she stopped at the light we would have time to catch her.

Annabelle and I ran down the sidewalk, and unfortunately, the male bodies that I’d picked couldn’t be in that great shape because I was out of breath. Another huge blow to our mission to retrieve the books. The light didn’t turn red and the lady was able to cruise right on through with the books in the back of her car. There would be no catching up with her now. I continued to run. I just couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to accept that it was over. Now what would I do? I couldn’t keep running forever. I would have to stop soon. My side was hurting and my lungs were burning.

“I don’t think I can run much more,” Annabelle said breathlessly. “Plus, people are staring at us.”

Maybe they thought we’d robbed a bank. 

Finally, I stopped and tried to catch my breath. Annabelle was panting next to me.

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure out something,” she said.

I knew she was just trying to make me feel better. Once I’d caught my breath, I tried to clear my thoughts and figure out what to do next.

“At least the other guy isn’t following us anymore,” Annabelle said.

That was one way to look on the bright side.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a car driving slowly beside us. I kept my eyes focused in front of me. Had the cloaking spell worn off? If it was the man from the occult shop, then I would ignore him and act as if he wasn’t there. Then the first chance I got I would run. The car continued slowly beside us. It became obvious that this person wasn’t going away.

Finally, I glanced to my right. My mother was behind the wheel.

She yelled through the open window. “What are you doing?”

It was just then that I realized that the spell had faded. Annabelle and I were back to normal. At least I knew the spell that disguised us as men had worn off.

“Pull over.” I motioned.

Ben was in the passenger seat. When she stopped the car, we ran over.

“We need a ride,” I said as I opened the back door.

Annabelle hurried over to the other side and we slid into the backseat.

“You both look like hell,” my mother said. Leave it to my mother to notice and actually tell us. “You look like a couple of stray dogs.”

Annabelle and I glanced at each other. I looked into the rear-view mirror to confirm that the spell hadn’t returned.

“Okay, now step on it,” I said, pointing forward down the main street.

“Where are we going?” my mother asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Well, Halloween, I have to know where I’m headed, now don’t I?”

“I’m looking for a particular car,” I said as I scanned the area.

“What have you gotten yourself into this time?” she asked as she changed into the left lane.

“Through no fault of my own… the other book kind of disappeared. Actually, make that two this time for a grand total of three books.”

“You lost the other book? And what do you mean two books this time?” she asked.

If she was shocked by the books, what would she say when I explained to her why we had been dogs?

“The woman at the occult shop gave me another book that might explain some of the book that man gave me. A man was chasing us so we left with the books, but then Annabelle and I were turned into dogs and we couldn’t carry the books.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait,” my mother said, peering into the rear-view mirror at us.

“You were turned into what?” Ben stared at us in astonishment.

“Dogs, but that’s a long story,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I’ll tell you later.”

When my mother stopped at a red light I spotted the car.

“There it is. That’s the one I’m looking for. I hope she doesn’t get away before the light turns green,” I said.

“Where’s she going?” Annabelle leaned forward in the seat.

The woman pulled the car over at the side of the street and parked. She climbed out of the car.

“I don’t know, but she’s got the books in her hands.”

“She’s going into the shop right there,” Ben said.

“It’s the bookstore. We have got to stop her. Park right there.” I pointed at an empty spot.

My mother whipped into the space. She was better at parallel parking than I’d thought. We all jumped out and headed down the sidewalk toward the bookstore. It was a small place with books stacked up in the windows, luring people in for a literary treasure hunt. Ben opened the door for us and we stepped inside.

“Thank you,” my mother said with a bashful little grin.

“I think I see a little love happening here,” Annabelle said.

“You’re just now seeing it?” I focused my attention on the bookstore instead of thinking about their love life.

I quickly looked around and saw the woman who had taken the books. Except she didn’t have the books in her arms now. I wanted to yell out at her to hand over my stuff. Where had she put the books? I scanned the area, hoping to see if she had set them down somewhere close by. I would just grab them up and then take off. After all, they were rightfully mine.

The woman spotted us. “May I help you?”

“She must work here,” Annabelle said.

“Where are the books?” I asked.

She gave me a confused look and then said, “Is there a particular book you’re looking for?”

“The books you just brought in here. I saw you carrying two big books and I need them right now. They’re mine.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play games with us, missy, we know you took the books.” Annabelle shook her fist at the woman.

“We can do this the hard way or the easy way,” my mother said. “Now you have her books, kindly return them.”

My mother got really angry when someone tried to wrong me. When my mother said something, she meant it too.

The woman shuffled some papers on her desk, and then finally said, “Well, the books are mine now. I found them, so I don’t know what to tell you.”

My mother stepped up close to the woman and then puffed her chest out. “Now listen here, lady, hand over the books or else I will be forced to do something that will make you unhappy.”

The woman glared at my mother. It looked as if she wasn’t scared of my mother’s threat. If she knew my mother, she’d be wise to take her seriously. My mother was sweet as pie until you pushed her in a corner.

“Yes, well, if you don’t leave my store, I’ll be forced to call the police and I think you won’t be so happy when they arrive.”

I definitely didn’t want this to escalate to that point. I pulled my mother back.

“Mom, we’ll find another way to get the books,” I said.

When I glanced to my right I noticed a slot where books were dropped. Considering the woman wasn’t holding the books, and we’d come in right after she’d entered the store, maybe she had dropped them down that slot. It was certainly worth a try. I inched over to the spot so that the woman wouldn’t see what I was doing. Apparently, she figured we would leave right away.

Now that I was close, I was able to peek down. A big cart of books was just below it in the basement. I was positive she had slipped the books down there. Was that the corner of one of the books? Now I had to figure out how to get down to the basement without her catching me and calling the police. I would hate to be arrested. I’d be thrown in jail and then I would never get out to find Nicolas or Liam. Well, at the very least it would slow down my search considerably.

I motioned for my mother, Annabelle, and Ben to walk out of the bookstore with me. Once we were on the sidewalk, Annabelle said. “What are you doing? We have to get the books.”

“She’s not going to hand them over, so we have to be covert in our mission.”

“Do you have a plan?” Ben asked.

“Hallie always has a plan,” Annabelle said. “Not necessarily a good one, but a plan nonetheless.”

“This calls for more spells. Changing our appearance again.”

“Please don’t make me a dog again,” Annabelle said.

“I think we will be able to do a better spell now that my mother is here to take over,” I said.

“Yes, but we don’t have the spellbook that has the spell in it that you wrote down,” my mother said.

She had a point. I had forgotten about not having the spellbook. I had memorized the spell, but the book seemed to hold energy that we needed. Now for a different plan. I had to be quick and think of something.

“I’m not sure that the woman paid attention to Ben. Maybe he could slip in and distract her while I sneak down to the basement.”

“Seems like that’s about the only chance we have of getting the books back,” my mother said.

I was surprised and glad that she was on board with my idea.

“I’m all for it,” Ben said. “Just tell me what to say.”

“Make up a title of a book. She’ll be searching forever because it doesn’t exist,” I said.

“I can do that.” Ben smiled. “She’ll look all night if we need it.”

“I doubt we’ll need that much time. At least I hope not.”

“Just be careful. Annabelle and I will wait right over here. Close enough so we can run in if you need help.” My mother gestured.

“Ben, I’ll watch from the front window to see when the woman is distracted,” I said.

He saluted. “Here goes.”

“Good luck,” I said.

“I won’t need it,” he said as he opened the door.

I gave it a minute and then peeked in the window to see what Ben was doing. There was a glare on the window from the sun setting behind me. I couldn’t find Ben or the woman. They could probably see me looking in through the glass. What if she had already called the police? That would be bad, but then again, maybe it would be for the best. I could tell them she’d taken my books. Of course I had no proof of that.

There would be surveillance video showing me hiding the books, but then it would also show us as dogs. Plus as men coming back for the books. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to explain that well, even though people knew my magic was bad. I strained and looked again. That was when I finally spotted them toward the back of the store. Ben was doing exactly what I had asked him to and she was searching shelves for a book that didn’t exist. Now was my chance to slip in.

I grabbed the knob and then I remembered there was a bell that rang when someone entered. She would definitely hear that and turn around. My only chance was if I didn’t open the door wide enough for the bell to move. I eased the front door open. So far it hadn’t made a noise, but I would really have to be careful as I squeezed my body through the little crack in the door. After getting through, I slowly closed the door behind me. She didn’t even look my way. I tiptoed across the floor toward the hallway stairs that led down to the basement.

I was practically home free now as I walked down the stairs, although I had to make sure that the treads didn’t make any noise. I wasn’t sure if she could hear all the way up there. I eased down the stairs. Just a few more and I would be at the bottom. My mission would be half over.

As I put my foot down on the next step, my foot slammed through the wood. I fell face forward, landing on the palms of my hands.

I stayed there for a couple of seconds, trying to register what had happened. Searing pain ran through my shoulder and the back of my arm where I had landed as my body had twisted. I peered up at the top of the stairs, but no one was there. I couldn’t believe that they hadn’t heard me. I scooted a little and apparently nothing was broken. I had to finish this and get out of there. There was only one problem though, my foot was stuck. Voices carried down the stairs as they moved closer to the stairs.

I pulled and tugged on my leg trying to break free before she discovered me. How would I explain being in her basement? Easy answer: I couldn’t.

“I can look downstairs and see if I have any books on the subject if you’d like, but I just can’t find the one you’re looking for,” the woman said.

“Ben, you have to stop her from coming any closer,” I whispered.

I frantically yanked on my leg again. It was really stuck in there.

“Oh, no, it’s not necessary. I think I saw another book over there that I’d like. Follow me and I’ll show you.”

“Good job, Ben,” I said.

I pulled one more time and finally my leg was released from the wooden trap. I groaned in pain. At least I was free now. I needed to get up from the floor and stumble over to the area that had the slot for the books. It was kind of hidden and tucked under the steps. I hurried as fast as I could with my banged-up leg.

Footsteps sounded from above me. Ben wouldn’t be able to hold her much longer in spite of what he’d said. Plus, I still had to grab the book and get out of there.