Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (23 page)

A short while later we were driving down that dirt drive again. My head still reeled from that strange vibe—I had to fight it off. As the quiet little house came into view, I wondered how long it had been since someone had lived there. And who had brought Nicolas there? Had he come here on his own?

Liam cut the engine. We were silent as we stared at the house. It definitely gave off a creepy vibe. Any sane person would give pause before entering the place. And I’d thought LaVeau Manor had been creepy. What was even more shocking was that I’d been able to get Annabelle within a hundred miles of this place.

With the necklace clutched securely in my hand, I hopped out of the car. “Well, let’s see what we can find.”

Annabelle and Jon followed us up the rickety s
teps. Jon hadn’t been with us last time and I wondered if he could offer insight into the mysterious drawings. After all, he’d seen a witch succumb to the same strange pull as me. Could it be related?

When Liam rapped against the wood door, it swung open. Something scurried across the floor in the dimly lit room and I jumped back, clutching my chest. Annabelle leapt off the porch in one
giant motion, making it half-way back to the car before Jon caught up to her.

“It was just a mouse,” Liam said with a chuckle.

“Are you okay?” I asked Annabelle.

She smoothed back her hair and stood up straight. “I’m good.”

Annabelle climbed the steps again and grabbed the back of Jon’s shirt as we stepped inside the house. The surrounding trees shaded the sun from coming in the window, making the space dark and spooky. The space looked the same as the last time we’d been there. Unfortunately, as far as I could tell, there was no sign that Nicolas had been there again.

“Who lives here?” Jon asked as he looked around the space.

“That’s not entirely clear. I’ve been told that a witch owned the house. But based on the layer of dust, I’d say she hasn’t been here in a while. Either that or she’s a very bad housekeeper,” I said, stepping through a stream of dust motes.

“And why are we here?” Jon
took in the full view of the room.

I motioned for him to follow me down the hallway. “I’ll show you.”

Annabelle hesitated, but ultimately shadowed us down the short hallway into the back room. The hardwood floor under our feet had many dings and dents. The walls that I assumed had once been white had yellowed with age.

Once everyone was in the room, I pointed at the far
wall. “That’s why we’re here. They’re the same markings that are on the wall in the plantation.”

Everyone stared at the paintings on the wall as I pulled the necklace from my pocket. I held it in the palm of my hand, then looked up at the wall. The symbol on
the necklace matched the markings on this wall too. This place was obviously connected to the plantation since I’d found the necklace there. A thought nagged at the back of my mind, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. I knew that I’d seen this symbol before… but where? Then it hit me. Nicolas had been wearing this necklace.

“This is the necklace that Nicolas had on last night at the Bubbling Cauldron,” I said breathlessly.

Liam looked at the necklace. “Are you sure?”

“I’m almost positive,” I said
almost apologetically. I wished I wasn’t so sure.

“We could cast a spell to see if it’ll give us a glimpse of what happened in this room,” Jon offered.

Liam gestured toward Jon. “He’s got a point, but a spell might allow us to see things we might not want to see.”

My stomach turned. “Like bad things that happene
d… possibly to Nicolas?”

Liam looked dow
n. I knew the answer was yes. No matter what I saw though, I had to know the truth. We’d have to cast the spell. Perhaps with the help of Liam and Jon, I wouldn’t mess this one up.

“Let’s do it,” I said
with resolve.

Liam stared at me. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “It’s about the only option we have right now.”

Annabelle shifted from one foot to the other. “Oh, what the hell. I’ve helped you with a spell before.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Annabelle.”

“Let’s join hands.
” Jon motioned for us to form a circle.

Once we’d all joined hands, I began to recite the words: “Element of Earth, we call to you. Empower us with the energy to see.” Liam and Jon repeated my words. I continued, reciting the words: “Element of Air, we call to you to push the unnatural forces from this space.” Once again, Liam and Jon repeated my words, but this time, Annabelle joined in too. I recited the words: “Element of Fire, we call to you for protection and deep perception.” Reciting the last words of the spell, I said: “Element of Water, we call to you to allow our eyes to see.”

With my eyes shut, I waited for a vision of what had happened in the room. But instead of having scenes painted in my mind, there was nothing but black. There was no action, no life in the past of this room.

“It’s completely black,” I said.

We released hands and I opened my eyes. It was hard to hide the disappointment on my face as they stared at me.

“Sorry, Hallie,” Annabelle said.

“I guess it wasn’t meant for the spell to give us answers.” I shrugged.

Jon’s eyes widened with concern.
“Maybe the blackness means something. This stuff is black magic, so there could be a black cloud over this room, so to speak.”

After the others had stepped out into the hallway, I snapped a few pictures of the wall. I’d compare them to the photos of the other wall later. The same symbols and words adorned both walls, but I figured I might discover a pattern or spot something that I hadn’t before.

When I walked back to the front room, they were waiting for me by the door.

Annabelle rubbed her arms. “This place gives me the chills. Let’s get out of here.”

“We should get dinner, then head over to your psychic friend’s house for the séance,” Liam said, casting a glance to Annabelle.

Luckily, she didn’t react by running away. That was a good sign.

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s all we can do at this point.”

I took one last glance over my shoulder, then headed outside. My thoughts were going a million miles a minute, but I had a few ideas of what I needed to do next.

Liam pulled the car down the gravel driveway toward Sierra’s house. The overgrown bushes surrounded her place, shielding the house away from the world in its own little cocoon. The house was a white cottage style with splashes of color from the vast amount of flowers she’d placed in pots along the porch and sidewalk.

Liam parked the car out
in the drive. Luckily, I didn’t have to drag Annabelle out of the backseat. If she was having second thoughts about the séance, she didn’t mention it and her behavior seemed surprisingly calm.

“Annabelle, if you don’t want to do this
then just say the word and we’ll stop, okay?” I said.

She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

A bird fluttered from a treetop, making me jump. I looked over at Annabelle, but she didn’t meet my gaze. She had a laser-like focus on Sierra’s house, as if she’d change her mind and run away if she looked over at me. The sun was setting quickly and darkness would surround us soon. Once that happened, would Annabelle retain her bravery? Would I?

I knocked on the door and waited as Sierra unlocked and opened the door.

“You made it back,” she said with a smile.

“You’ve already met Liam,” I said, gesturing toward Liam. “This is Jon.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said with a nod.

“Likewise.
” Jon stretched his hand toward her.

“And you remember Annabelle.” I gestured.

Sierra smiled. “Oh yes, how are you, Annabelle?”

“I’m okay,” Annabelle stuttered as she looked around at Sierra’s eccentric décor. “How are you?”

Annabelle’s eyes widened and I followed her stare to a skull that sat on the bookshelf. I knew what Annabelle was thinking and I hoped it wasn’t real too.

“I have to ask if everyone is mentally ready for this? We don’t want to allow any negative spirits to come through because of our own negative thoughts,” Sierra said.

I looked around at everyone for a sign that they wanted to back out. “We’re ready.” 

“Okay then, we can get started.” Sierra pointed at the table and chairs set up in the middle of the room.

If I hadn’t thought I’d mess up a spell again, I would have tried to reanimate Nicolas’ mother one more time, but I didn’t need another lively ghost with a spell gone wrong. There was probably something written in the rules about how many mistakes a witch could make with one spell. So Sierra was the only option. But could she really bring Gina back via a séance?

“Why do we need the round table and candles?” Annabelle whispered.

She’d directed the question to me, but Sierra overheard and answered, “It’s part of the ritual and it’s what allows the spirit to channel our energy.”

Annabelle nodded but by the look on her face, I didn’t think Sierra’s answer was all that comforting.

Sierra placed three white candles in the middle of the table, then lit them. We all pulled out a chair and sat around the white fabric-covered table.

“Will you be able to communicate with her?” I asked.

“I’ll give it my best shot.” Sierra sat at the table, then said, “Please, if you’ll all join hands, we’ll get started.”

My hand tingled when I grasped Liam’s strong hand. When I felt his gaze on me, I surreptitio
usly looked over at him. I’d tried to play it cool, but my attempt was mostly pathetic. His stare sent a shiver through my body.

To my right, I held Sierra’s hand. The room fell silent as she closed her eyes and began to summon Nicolas’ mother’s spirit.

“Gina Rochester, we bring you energy from life into death. Please come forward and communicate with us. Gina Rochester, we need your help and guidance,” Sierra intoned.

Sierra’s grip on my hand grew tighter, while my other hand continued to tingle with desire from Liam’s touch.

“Everyone repeat the phrase with me,” Sierra urged.

We chanted, “Gina Rochester, we bring you energy from life into death. Please come forward and communicate with us. Gina Rochester, we need your help and guidance."

In spite of our best efforts, nothing was happening and I began to worry that this plan would fail faster than one of my lousy spells. Opening one eye, I peeked over at Annabelle. She seemed to be doing fine, so that was one worry off my mind. If she started to freak out, I’d end the séance right away.

Just then the candles flickered, casting a glow across everyone’s faces. The room was eerily still.

“Please make a sound, tap on the walls, move something, or just give us some kind of sign that you’re here.” A deep line furrowed Sierra’s brow.

No noises came and nothing stirred in the room. Sierra shifted in her seat and I knew she was growing anxious.

“We’ll have to try the Ouija board,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I’ve never liked the idea of using one of those things.”

“Well, I don’t recommend novices using them, but I have a lot of experience with them. Trust me. I know what I’m doing,” she said confidence.

“Okay.” I exhaled slowly. “I trust you.”

Sierra pulled out the board from under the table and placed it in the middle of our circle. Annabelle’s face drained of color.

“Are you okay?” I whispered to Annabelle.

She nodded. That was about the only answer I’d get out of her at the moment.

Sierra placed the wooden triangle in the middle of the board. “Now please gently place your fingertips on the planchette, but don’t add pressure. If the ghost is here and wishes to communicate with us, she’ll be able to use our combined energy to move the planchette and answer our questions.”

I reluctantly released hands with Liam and placed my fingertips on the planchette. He looked over at me and gave a reassuring smile.

“The spirit may have never done this kind of communication before, so she may not know how to channel our energy. We’ll need to coax her into talking,” Sierra
urged.

“She appeared to be in spirit form,” I offered.

“Well, that’s a little different. We’re calling to her now, so she won’t be expecting our invitation.” Sierra watched us with a serious stare.

“
Please, Gina, can you use our energy to move this glass? Can you please give us a sign to show us that you’re present?” Liam’s voice wavered. It was evident that he wanted to speak with her badly.

I added, “We wish you no harm, we only
want to communicate with you.”

“We’ll have to be patient and wait for her to come through,” Sierra said
with authority. “She may be quiet because there are strangers here.”

“But she knows me,” Liam
offered.