Forever Charmed (The Halloween LaVeau Series, Book 1) (21 page)

“It is important to me,” I said.

“It was a long time ago.” He looked away.

“What are we talking here?
A hundred years, two hundred years?” I focused on his face.

“It was around the Civil War. I just got caught up with the wrong crowd. We don’t need to discuss me right now. Like I said, you are in danger.”

Nice way to change the subject. “Why am I in danger? Did one of you come here to kill me?” I asked.

His eyes widened.
“Of course not. Well, I can’t speak for that witch Liam, but I did not. I came here to help you.”

Liam stepped into the room. His jaw was tense, mouth clamped, and eyes fixed on Nicolas. “Thanks for the introduction, Nicolas. But if anyone is here to hurt
Hallie, it’s you.”

I didn’t know what to think. My head was spinning. I grabbed the table next to me to steady myself.

Nicolas exposed his fangs to Liam as some kind of warning, I guessed. “You’re walking on thin ice,” Nicolas said.

Liam ignored Nicolas’ threat. “I came here to get rid of the book,” Liam said.

“You know about the book?” My mouth dropped open.

The room spun even more and the last thing I remembered was hitting the floor hard. I woke with Liam and Nicolas standing next to me arguing.

“You’ll never get your hands on the book,” Nicolas said.

“It’s the only way to get rid of her,” Liam said.

I blinked, trying to focus my vision. Not wanting to hear another word, I jumped up from the sofa.

“Whoa. I think both of you need to leave now.” I pointed at the door.

“Look what you’ve done. You’ve scared her.” Liam’s eyes glowed with anger.

“Do you blame me?” I asked.

“Hallie, you’re in danger because there’s another witch looking for you. It’s only a matter of time until she tracks you down. She’ll want to eliminate you.” Nicolas spoke in an urgent tone.

“What do you mean, eliminate me?”
My voice raised a couple levels.

Liam looked at Nicolas and they both frowned. It was the first time they’d looked civil to one another.

“She’ll want to kill you,” Nicolas said bluntly.

My legs wobbled again. I had to get a hold of myself. “Why would anyone want to kill me?” I asked. “I’ve done nothing wrong, other than a few botched spells. I’ve never harmed anyway too badly with them.”

“Mara Abney is an evil and powerful witch. She’s desperate to take charge of the Underworld. She’ll be coming for you soon,” Liam explained in a calm tone.

“What is this Underworld I keep hearing about?” I folded my arms in front of my chest.

I was convinced that both men were crazy. I should have known it was too good to be true. Two crazy men were after me. One was a vampire, one was a witch and to top it off I had a crazy ex-ghost in my house and other ghosts wanting in. My life had gone from wacky to full-on insane.

“I’ve never heard of Mara Abney and there is no reason for her to want me dead. If she is after me, then I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”

I looked at both men but their expressions didn’t change. Apparently, they were convinced that this woman really wanted to cause me harm.

“Why do you want my spell book? Is that why you were upstairs in the attic?” I stared at him accusingly.

“Never mind that,” Liam said. “Where is the book?”

I snorted. “Wouldn’t you like to know? There is no way I’m telling you that. And there’s no way you’re getting your hands on it.”

Liam blew out a deep breath. Apparently I had frustrated him. But what did I care? He was talking nonsense.

“Let me try to explain this to you.”

“Oh, please do.” I waved my hand through the air.

“The Underworld has been without a leader for some time now.” Nicolas sat on the edge of the desk.

Liam paced across the room.

Liam continued Nicolas’ sentence. “Because of that, things have quickly turned chaotic. Vampires are violently turning people again. They’re drinking witches’ blood.”

I whipped around to look at Nicolas. Was that why he was here? To drink my blood? He must have realized what I was thinking because a hurt look flashed in his eyes. But was he being sincere or was that all part of his act?

“Not all vampires are drinking witches’ blood,” he said defensively, then glared at Liam.

Liam shrugged, then continued. “Anyway, the witches are performing black magic too.”

“I’m not performing black magic,” I said in my defense.

Or was I? I had brought back someone from the dead. That sounded a lot like black magic. But it wasn’t as if I’d done it on purpose.

“Can someone please tell me what the hell the Underworld is? I keep hearing the phrase repeated over and over yet I know nothing about it. Is it really underground?” My lack of knowledge was embarrassing.

Nicolas smiled. “No, it’s not literally underground.”

Okay, now I felt like an idiot. I should have known that detail.

“The Underworld is the overseer of all things paranormal. Vampires, witches, fairies.” Liam sat on the edge of the sofa.

“Why haven’t I heard of this before? I’m a witch.”

Nicolas shrugged. “If you haven’t done anything wrong, it’s not surprising that you’ve never been aware of it.”

“What about all my botched magic spells?” I asked.

“Minor offenses,” Nicolas said.

“Yeah well, tell that to my mother and her eyebrows.” I smirked.

The men looked at me as if I’d lost it.

“Never mind,” I said. “So it’s kind of like a court and law enforcement?”

Liam nodded. “You got it.”

“What has this got to do with me? The spell book is linked to the Underworld somehow?” I blew out a deep breath.

“Do you have the spell book now?” He searched my eyes.

“Yes,” I answered reluctantly.

“Then Mara wants it because she will be the leader of the Underworld once it’s in her possession.”

A chill ran down my spine. That was a pretty high-stakes reason to want the book. I had so many unanswered questions. Did my mother know anything about this Underworld? How did the book get in Aunt
Maddy’s attic? Most importantly, how the heck would I ever find the answers to those questions?

“Are you okay? Maybe you should sit back down?” Nicolas touched my arm.

I backed away and walked clear across the room, putting distance between us. I wanted to be near the door in case I needed to make a fast getaway. Nicolas looked nothing short of hurt by my actions.

Liam cleared his throat. “Anyway, like I said when I first arrived, I am a detective with the Underworld.”

“You failed to mention you weren’t a normal detective though. And that one…” I pointed at Nicolas. “He never told me anything about what he does.” A sense of controlled power coiled through my body, waiting to burst out.

Liam stood. “I’m a detective with the Underworld and I took an oath to uphold the law.”

Nicolas stepped toward Liam. “You have no law here,” he snapped.

I frowned. What was that all about?

“I do have law here and the law says that Halloween is now the leader of the Underworld. She must take the position,” he said forcefully.

The dizziness overcame me again. My stomach turned and the room spun out of control. This was craziness. Had he really just said that I was the leader of the Underworld now?

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” I held my head in my hands.

Maybe this was all one big dream. I’d wake up soon and this mess would all be behind me.

“You are in possession of the book. This means you are now the leader of the Underworld,” Nicolas said matter-of-factly.
 

“I don’t want to be the leader. I tried to lead an aerobics class in college one time and I had everyone bumping into each other. I’m not good at leading. I think I’m better at blending in with the background,” I said with anxiety evident in my voice.

“You are far from blending in with the background.”

“Well, maybe I do perform spells poorly but that doesn’t mean I stand out in a crowd. Furthermore, that is even more reason why I shouldn’t be the leader of anything.”

“You’re upsetting her.” Nicolas gestured at Liam.

“She has to know the truth,” Liam said, fixing his stare on Nicolas.

The air around us seemed electrified. 

“You don’t know that to be the truth,” he said, challenging Liam’s words.

I had to get out of there. I didn’t know what to think any more or who to believe. I didn’t want to believe either one. I wanted it to be the way it was from the beginning when I first inherited the manor. This was all too complex and confusing.

“The fact of the matter is,
Hallie, if you don’t join the Underworld I will lose my job.”

“Oh, no pressure there,” I quipped.

Liam looked at Nicolas. “Besides, now that Halloween has performed a spell from the book, Mara will be able to track her down. You know that.”

Nicolas was silent for a moment. The tension rippled off him in waves. 

“Is this true?” I asked him.

He looked down at his shoes for a moment, then back up to me.

“So I take it by your silence that you refuse to corroborate or refute Liam’s story.” I didn’t take my eyes off Nicolas.

“I’m sorry,
Hallie. I am not behind Liam’s plan.” He looked down, avoiding my stare.

“What exactly is the plan?
For me to be the leader of the Underworld. I can’t say that I’m on board with that plan either.” I shook my head.

“Nicolas knows Mara is evil. Why he’d want you to have any interaction with her is beyond me.”

“Are you saying that I don’t care if Hallie is harmed?” He stepped closer to Liam.