Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (22 page)

Her face turned white. “You’ve been bringing back the dead?”

I nodded. “Not on purpose. Well, other than the one time, but the spell I cast didn’t bring back the person I wanted.”

“It doesn’t matter how good at the craft you are, that’s a tricky spell. There’s so much opportuni
ty for something to go wrong.” She shook her head and looked out blankly across the room, as if she was lost in her thoughts about all the horrible things that could happen.

Now she told me. If someone had written that out in the Book of Mystics I never would have had this
problem. Of course if I could actually read all of the Book of Mystics, I wouldn’t have had this problem either. But that was neither here nor there.

“It’s a little too late anyway now,” I said.

“How many spirits have you returned?” Sierra asked in a shaky voice.

“Well, let’s see. There was the demon Isabeau, but I banish
ed her back to hell. At least I hope I did. My magic is a little iffy, you know,” I said a
s
I
used my fingers to count the spirits.

She grimaced and nodded.

“Then there was Catherin and now Claude. I tried to bring back the last leader, but she vanished before I could complete the spell.” I folded my hands in my lap. “So, that’s it, just the three. There are plenty of spirits hanging around though.”

“I bet,” she said, wide-eyed.

“Do you think you can help me?” I asked.

“I highly recommend that you don’t bring any other spirits back,” she said
with an ominous tone.

“Trust me, I don’t intend to,” I said.

The bracelets on her wrists jingled as she spoke with her hands. “Well, I can probably speak with the person you want, but it would be best if we have a séance.”

“A séance?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes, but it’s better if we do that tonight. And I’ll need a couple more people to complete the circle.”

Oh, Annabelle was not going to like this one bit. I wasn’t sure how I could convince her to participate. Maybe the new hunk bodyguard could talk her into it.

“I think that can be arranged,” I said, hiding the uncertainty in my voice.

Liam coughed, but I ignored his warning. Everyone knew by now that Annabelle wanted no part of the creepy stuff. Now it was up to me to convince her to do it. I was such a terrible friend. But I had technically introduced her to Jon. That counted for something, right?

While we waited for night to fall and the séance to begin, we had only one mission to accomplish—find Nicolas. If we found him, as the leader, did I have the right to order him to come with us? Probably not.

We’d decided to check out the most logical place first, Jacobson’s plantation. On our way there, I had to convince Annabelle to take part in the séance. That would be like getting a cat to take a bath. I’d probably end up with a ton of scratches before it was all said and done.

As we drove along, I peered out the car window and casually said, “Annabelle, have you ever been to a séance?”

Okay, that was far from casual and I knew the answer to that question. In fact, it hadn’t been so much a question, but more like my stupid pass
ive-aggressive way of telling her about the séance. It was better than saying,
Hey, do you want to conjure up some spirits in the dark?

Annabelle released a nervous snort that quickly turned into a loud chortle. “Hallie, you are insane if you think I’m going to have a séance with that woman.”

She knew me so well. This was going to be harder than I’d thought.

“You really wouldn’t have to do much other than hold hands with us,” I said, trying to sound breezy.

When I glanced over at Liam, he gave me a ‘good luck’ smile of pity.

She shook her head.
“Yes, then a spirit can take over my body.”

“
That rarely ever happens.” I waved my hand.

She snorted again. “Rarely is not the kind of odds I was looking for.”

I’d have to work on her before nightfall. If she didn’t agree to it I didn’t know what I’d do.

My apprehension grew as we neared the plantation. By the time we pulled down the long tree-lined driveway, my nervousness was off the charts. I didn’t want another fight, but it would probably be unavoidable. Spanish moss swayed in the wind as it dripped down from the old oak trees.
The massive white mansion dripped with southern ambiance. Liam pulled the car right up in front of the place.

We weren’t even making an attempt to be surreptitious. Jon and Annabelle didn’t offer to stay in the car this time as we opened the car doors and climbed up. I scanned the area, then stared up at the magnificent place. Yet again there were no other cars and no signs of anyone around.

“It doesn’t look like anyone is here,” Annabelle said.

I didn’t have the heart to point out the strange vibe hanging around the place. It felt just like the vibe at LaVeau Manor as of late. That couldn’t be a coincidence. Jacobson had probably been trying to cast spells around the manor and I wa
s probably feeling the residue of his magic here.

As we moved up the front steps, Liam walked beside me, and Jon and Annabelle followed behind us. Once in front of the massive entrance, Liam knocked on the door. We waited for several seconds, but just as I suspected, no one answered.

“If they’re not here we should just leave,” Annabelle said with a shaky voice.

Liam didn’t pick up on her apprehension when he said,
“We could do that, but I think we should go in.”

Annabelle shot him a venomous
glare.

“I doubt they’d leave the door open again. Not after we told them that we’d been in the house,” I said.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Liam twisted the knob and the door opened. “There’s our answer.”

I shrugged. “Hey, if they keep leaving the
door open…”

Annabelle grabbed Jon’s shirt as the
y followed us through the open door. The fact that Jacobson kept leaving the door open was odd though. Maybe we were walking into his trap. That was the price I’d have to pay. I had too many unanswered questions and I needed to find Nicolas.

“Hello?” I called out. “It’s Halloween LaVeau. Your friendly Underworld leader.”

Annabelle chuckled. At least she wasn’t so scared that she’d lost her sense of humor. I stepped over to the staircase and peered up. Annabelle’s anxious breathing was audible from across the foyer. When Liam walked over to the parlor, I followed close behind. It looked as if someone had cleaned up since the last time we’d been there.

“At least we know they’ve been here since our last visit,” he said, pointing at the empty table.

I stepped around the room, picking up a small metal statue on the table near the window. It was an abstract piece that didn’t quite fit in with the inside décor or outside façade of the plantation. I placed the piece back on the table and stared out the tall window. Movement in the flower garden at the edge of the property caught my attention. It must have been a bird, I thought. The others were talking as I stared out the window. Their voices became muffled. It was as if I was in another world, on the outside looking in. The walls seemed to be closing in on me and the room grew smaller by the second. My vision turned black, and after that, I remembered nothing.

When I opened my eyes, everyone stood over me, their expressions filled with worry.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked.

“Hallie, what happened?” Annabelle knelt beside me.

“Let’s sit her up,” Jon said.

Rubbing my head as
I sat up, I remembered being overcome with the strange sensation again, but this time it had been amplified by about one hundred.

“This weird feeling came over me and the next thing I knew I was on the floor.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’ve felt the same at the manor recently. You know, when you found me outside?” I said to Annabelle.

Jon nodded. “I’ve seen this before. The witches are casting a spell and taking away Hallie’s powers. It happened to a witch from Baton Rouge not too long ago.”

“What happened to the witch?” Annabelle asked.

“They never found out who was doing it to her.” Jon shook his head.

I hadn’t been messed with
this much since I’d botched that spell in high school and my teacher’s hair had been green for a month. The Coven had really come after me over that one. How was I supposed to know that my teacher was the coven leader’s sister?

Liam’s expression was filled with worry as he helped me to my feet. “We need to get you out of here.”

I nodded. “We should go back to The Graveyard and ask Ginny Love if she has any updates.”

Liam helped guide me toward the foyer. As we moved across the small space, I couldn’t help but look into the room across from us. The strange drawings and words were still on the walls. Without saying a word, I stepped away from the group and entered the room.

“Where are you going?” Liam called.

They hurried after me, probably worried that my energy would be zapped again and I’d end up flat on my face. I just had to take a look at the wall one more time before we left. What did it al
l mean? How would I discover its meaning? Since the painting and markings had been in the house that had supposedly belonged to Sabrina too, I knew whatever its meaning, it couldn’t be good.

I paced the length of the room, staring at the wall. Stopping in the middle of the room, I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. Maybe I could match the writing on this wall with word
s in the Book of Mystics. It might be a long shot, but it was all I had.

“Come on, Hallie, we need to get you out of
here before you black out again.” Liam touched my arm.

I nodded and put the phone back in my pocket. As I turned to walk out of the room, something shiny on the floor in the corner of the room caught my attention. I glanced over and noticed a gold object on the floor. It looked like a necklace.

“Hold on a second,” I called to Liam.

He paused at the door as I reached down and picked up the necklace, holding it in the palm of my hand. The chain was gold with a gold pendant. In the middle of the pendant was a symbol that looked familiar. That was when I realized I’d seen the pendant before. Holding
the necklace up, I studied the wall painting again. Just as I’d thought—the symbol on the necklace was on the wall too. How strange was it that the necklace matched the painting?

By this time Liam had stepped back over to where I stood. “What is that?” he asked.

I held the necklace up for his inspection. He stared as the chain swung back and forth, the gold sparkling in the glint of the sunlight.

“The symbol on this pendant is the same as the one that’s on the wall.” I pointed.

Liam grasped the necklace in his hand. He looked down at it, then up at the wall. “It does match. But what it mean?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, but we should go back to the house while we wait for nightfall. I want to see if this necklace matches the painting on that wall too.”

“What if it does? Do you think there’s any connection?” he asked, handing me the necklace again.

I touched the pendant.
“Yes, I think there is a connection. Whatever this means it has to be significant to the Coven. Why else would they go to the trouble to make a necklace with this on it?”

“That’s a good point. Come on, let’s get over there,” Liam said, grabbing my hand.

After showing Annabelle and Jon the necklace, we hopped in the car and headed for the abandoned house. It was a good thing I’d kept that napkin with the directions on it. A nagging voice in my mind had told me that I’d need them again.

“Hallie, if you really need me, I’d be happy to do the séance with you.” Annabelle leaned forward in the seat.

Wow, I hadn’t expected that from Annabelle. But instead of making me feel better, it just made things worse. I shouldn’t have asked my friend to do something that made her feel so uncomfortable. But on the other hand, I really did need her in order to make the séance more powerful and to ensure that Nicolas’ mother came through. I had quite the dilemma.

When I looked over my shoulder at Annabelle, she held up her hand.
“I know what you’re thinking, Hallie, and before you say no, I understand what I’m getting into and if I didn’t want to I wouldn’t volunteer. I won’t take no for an answer.” She waved both hands through the air.

I let out a deep breath and reluctantly said, “Okay… but I’m going to owe you a huge favor, aren’t I?”

“I’m keeping a list of all the favors you owe me.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

I grimaced. “That bad, huh?”

Liam laughed. “You owe her big time for saving you with the burnt pancakes.”

They’d never let me forget about those blackened disks that I called pancakes.