Forever Charmed (The Halloween LaVeau Series, Book 1) (27 page)

I rolled the paper back up and hid it
in the waistband of my pants. I locked my bedroom door and started down the hallway. The door to Isabeau’s room was open slightly. She must have thought I wasn’t home otherwise she would have been lurking around the house trying to follow me. I eased over to the door and peeked in. She was standing in the middle of the room, but she didn’t see me. Her arms were stretched up as she reached toward the sky.

Isabeau
was reciting words to a spell—at least that was what it sounded like she was doing. What kind of spell was she trying? Something told me it couldn’t be good. The words were mumbled, but Isabeau performing magic was probably one of the worst things possible. I decided to get out of there before she realized I was watching her—although technically she’d think that Nicolas was watching her. Which was probably worse. The last thing I needed was another attack.

The map had listed the next item as being behind the manor. It had the spot marked next to the old oak tree. As I headed out the back door,
I was stopped by a grip on my arm. I spun around with my fist in the air, ready to clobber whoever was attacking me.

Nicolas stood behind me. “Please, let me help you.”

I studied his face as he stared. There was a restless energy about his movements. Did it have something to do with the vampire thing? A lock of hair fell forward on his head and I resisted pushing it back. He ran his tongue across his lips as he watched me. The urge to protect my neck came over me. A hunger flashed in his blue eyes.

“
I suppose that would be okay,” I said reluctantly.

It didn’t appear
as if I had a choice.

“
Where’s the book?” he asked.

“
The spell book that will make me look like me again?” I asked.

He nodded.
“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Well, I found this map. It led
me to the book that explains what is expected of a leader of the Underworld.” The thought of me being the leader caused disbelief to come through in my tone. “The other mark was for outside. I’m praying that it’s the book that will fix this. If not, I’ll have a whole lot of explaining to do to the Coven.”

“
I can see where they’d want to know what is going on, yes.” The sides of his mouth curved slightly into a grin.

“I supposed if I’m the leader of the Underworld I could just tell them to mind their own business.” The thought brought a smile to my face.

Nicolas didn’t comment on my snub of the Coven as he walked beside me. We headed toward the tree.

“
Who hid these items all over the place?” he asked.

I cast a sideways glance at him.
“I don’t know what’s going on, so I couldn’t say for sure. My guess is my great-aunt did it, but why, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me? Who was the leader before? It surely wasn’t my great-aunt, right?” I asked. She did have all those postcards from people around the world.

“
The leader was a powerful witch named Gina Rochester.” His voice cracked at the mention of her name.

“
Shouldn’t she have been in possession of the books?” I asked with curiosity.

Nicolas nodded.
“Yes, she should have been. Apparently, somehow your aunt got them. The Underworld has been looking for the books for a long time.”

As we neared the tree, I said, “
Because it needs a leader?” I asked as we neared the tree.

“Yes,”
Nicolas said softly.

And that lucky person was me? The Underworld surely wouldn’t want me. Nicolas’ voice seemed different, m
ore distant, as if his thoughts were a million miles away.

“
So where are we looking?” Nicolas asked.

“
The map pointed out the spot right here between these two roots. I guess it’s buried under there. At least I pray it is.”

“
Me too, because we have to get your appearance back to normal. Talking to myself is freaking me out.”

I nodded.
“That’s understandable. We need to dig it up? I think there’s a shovel in that shed.” I pointed across the yard.

“
Wait here. I’ll be right back,” Nicholas said as he turned and walked away.

I leaned against the tree and watched
his muscular body as he walked away. It certainly was a nice view. As I waited for Nicolas to find the shovel, I scanned the area. I felt eyes on me and I knew the ghosts were watching. Luckily, if they saw me, they’d think I was Nicolas. They wouldn’t confront him. At least I didn’t think they would.

It only took a couple
of seconds until I spotted the ghosts down by the river, unsuccessfully hiding behind a tree. The three of them stood together, staring at me. I pretended not to notice them. After all, a normal person might not see them, right? They obviously fell for it because they didn’t offer to come toward me. They were busy talking to each other, probably plotting on how to get me to change them back to the living.

When I glanced back toward the shed, Nicolas
had the shovel clasped in his hand. He didn’t appear to notice the ghosts watching him as he walked across the back yard. Would the ghosts think it was strange to see two of Nicolas? Maybe they’d think he was a twin. What must Nicolas think of me? Who was this crazy witch who had changed her appearance to look like him? Wait until Annabelle found out what I’d done.

“Found it,”
Nicolas said as he approached. “Where should I start?”

“
I think right there would be a good spot.” I pointed.

I prayed that the map had been correct. I was pre
paring myself mentally if it hadn’t been.

Once back at the tree
, Nicolas stabbed the earth with the shovel and dumped the fresh dirt in a pile nearby. The smell of musty earth tickled my nostrils. After several shovelfuls, another box came into view.

“
Right there,” I said as I pointed at the ground.

Nicolas stood
up and plunged the shovel into the ground. He knelt down and dug the rest of the dirt out with his hands. Nicolas reached down and pulled the box from the ground.

“
That’s it. It looks just like the other one I found,” I said breathlessly.

“
It’s locked,” he said.

“T
he key I found is upstairs in my bedroom. I hid it,” I added bashfully. It seemed kind of ridiculous to hide it now that I said it out loud. But I couldn’t be too cautious.

“
You’re something else.” He chuckled. “How about I put the shovel away while you get the key?”

I wanted to tell him that I could handle it from here.
Having him hang around while I tried a spell from the book would make me nervous. That was if there really was a book in the box. I surely didn’t want him around if it didn’t contain a book.

“
That sounds good,” I said finally.

After grabbing the key, I
slowly lifted the lid of the box. A pent-up breath escaped my lips when I saw the book nestled between the velvet lining. It looked exactly like the others. To my relief the table of contents listed more spells. I scanned the list until I spotted the spell that I’d been looking for. Finally, I could be myself again. I clutched the book in my arms and carried it back to the kitchen. At least I didn’t have to worry about walking like Nicolas anymore. That had been hard work.

Nicolas was standing in the kitchen when I entered. He was looking through Aunt
Maddy’s herbs. When he turned around, he smiled. His expression quickly turned into a grimace when he saw his own reflection again.

“
I found the book,” I said, holding the book up.

“That’s a relief,” h
e said. “I can help you with the spell.”

“
If it’s all the same, I’d rather do this myself, if you don’t mind.” I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

He stared for a beat,
then nodded. “Okay, yeah. Let me know if you need anything.”

When Nicolas had disappeared out of sight, I flipped through the pages until I had the correct spell. If this didn’t work I would be completely screwed. What would the Coven say about this mistake? They’d have to revise the ‘what not to do’ pamphlet.

I pulled all the ingredients together, dumped them in the cauldron and recited the words faster than ever. This had to be some kind of record for fastest-performed spells. After I was finished and nothing had happened, panic set in.

The click-clack of my shoes rang in my head as
I ran to the bathroom down the hall. My stomach was twisted into a knot. I eased the door open and shut my eyes. Slowly, I opened them and said, “Oh, thank you. Thank you.”

M
y own reflection stared back at me. Thank goodness that nightmare was over. One thing I’d noticed though: other witches weren’t calling to complain that I’d messed up their spells while performing mine. That was definitely not a coincidence.

***

I woke the next morning to my phone ringing. Without opening my eyes
, I fumbled for the phone on the nightstand.

“
Halloween, we have a serious problem.” My mother had never sounded so freaked out, even when I’d eliminated her eyebrows.

I opened my eyes and sat up.
“What’s wrong?”

“
The Coven wants to speak with you.” She rushed her words.

Uh-oh.
“What do they want?” I asked innocently.

“
I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” she asked with resolve.

“
I have no idea.” I tried to keep my voice casual.

“
Halloween, your lying has never worked on me. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on.” She had that tone I’d heard so many times when I was young. Why was I still hearing that tone as an adult?

I wasn’t ready to have this conversation right now.
This was something I needed to tell her in person. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and slid my feet into my slippers. Had the Coven told her the truth? Did the Coven know that I’d improved my magic by leaps and bounds?

“
I guess I’ve been messing up my spells more than usual,” I said.

“
Oh, Halloween. What are we going to do? They may make you stop the magic this time.” Disappointment sounded in my mother’s voice.

I highly doubted that. I kne
w what they wanted to discuss, but how did they know that my magic had improved?