Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau) (3 page)

Jacobson motioned toward a plush velvet armchair. “Please have a seat.”

For a moment, I hesitated. All eyes were still on me. Finally, I walked over and eased down into the chair. Why did it feel as if he was in charge of this meeting? Sure, he was the leader of the coven, but they’d called me to settle this situation. I didn’t like his bossy attitude. I’d find out what he wanted, then we’d be out of there. And none too soon either. Jacobson sat in the chair next to me while Nicolas and Liam sat across from us on the sofa. The other members stood around the room as if on guard. This environment was more than a little hostile.

I looked at each woman in the room. Was the woman who had accused Nicolas of stealing her powers and turning her in the room with us? Everyone was staring at me, as if they were waiting for me to start this meeting.
It finally struck me that this was the meeting—nothing special or grand. I supposed it was time for me to stumble my way through this whole thing. I’d do my best to pretend that I knew what I was doing.

I sat up straighter in the chair, then folded my hands in my lap. It wa
s my best professional business like posture. “I’ve been called here because there’s a problem. When does the meeting start?”

Jacobson stared for a beat with a sly smile on his face, then finally said, “Yes, there is a problem. This is the meeting.”

Just as I’d suspected—this really was the meeting. I figured there would be some big elaborate production. This was just a bunch of people sitting around in a living room.

“I’m glad you brought the accused with you.”

He looked at Nicolas with a slight sneer. Of course Jacobson’s reaction to Nicolas made me dislike Jacobson even more. Jacobson was assuming Nicolas was guilty right away. There was no way I would rush to judgment like that. This guy was really rubbing me the wrong way and I’d only known him a few minutes. Enough of the chitchat, I wanted to get straight to the point.

“Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on so we can get this settled.” I glanced at my watch.

“Do you have somewhere else to be?” he asked with disdain.

As if that was any of his business. I looked him in
the eye. “As a matter of fact, I do. I’d like to be in bed right now. It’s late and I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”

He smiled. “Yes, I heard. You fought off Mara. That is very impressive.”

I wasn’t sure how impressive it was, but at the moment I didn’t care. Mara was the last thing I wanted to think about.

She was
the witch who had killed Nicolas’ mother, her own sister. Mara had wanted to be the leader of the Underworld and she’d come after the Book of Mystics… and me. With Nicolas and Liam’s help, I had banished her and her demon friend Isabeau to hell. And I hoped that was where they stayed.

“Anyway, back to the reason why you’ve called me here tonight.” I was determined not to allow Jacobson to lead the conversation.

He leaned back in his chair, all casual and relaxed-looking. “I’m sure you can understand that the charges against Nicolas Marcos are quite serious.” He glanced at Nicolas again, then back to me. “We just can’t allow this kind of thing to happen. He’s very dangerous.”

A smile crossed his face as he said that, as if he got great pleasure from the words as they rolled off his tongue.

“With all due respect, Mr. Stratford, I don’t think Nicolas is dangerous at all.” I cast a quick glance at Nicolas.

His expression was still blank, almost catatonic. Was he in shock? This was no time for him to freak out. If I could hold it together and feel my way through this leader thing, then
he could help me out by not zoning out into some zombie-like state. I wanted to snap my fingers and bring him out of the trance. Liam looked like he was ready to kick Jacobson’s ass.

“How long have you known Mr. Marcos?” he asked with a smug smile.

Oh, well played, Mr. Coven Member, well played.

“Well, I haven’t known him long, but I am a good judge of character and I feel he is a decent man,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

Okay, even I knew that sounded ridiculous. Nicolas gave a half-hearted smile. At least I’d gotten some reaction out of him, which was more than I’d had in the past hour.

“Let’s get right down to the charges, shall we?” Jacobson folded his hands in his lap.

Well, that was what I’d wanted about ten minutes ago. It was about time.

“Please. I’d love to,” I said, drily.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but my sister Sabrina was attacked by Mr. Marcos,” he said.

I bit my tongue. The overwhelming need to defend Nicolas came over me, but I had to listen to what this man had to say before I dismissed him. It was only fair that I got to the truth about what really happened.

Holding my composure, I said, “I was filled in on what happened from Mr. Marcos. With all due respect to your sister, he has a different version of the story.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure he does. That doesn’t make it true.”

“You’re right, but that doesn’t make what your sister says true either.” I stared him straight in the eyes.

He glowered. “Are you calling my sister a liar?”

I had to remain strong. “No, that is not what I’m implying at all. But I need to know the facts behind the whole situation. Is your sister here? I need to speak with her.”

“She is too upset to speak.”
He cut me a sharp look as if daring me to argue.

This conversation was going nowhere.

“I can’t just take your word for it, Mr. Stratford.” I looked at Nicolas again. “Or Mr. Marcos’ either, for that matter.”

“The fact of the matter is she is a vampire now. There is no denying that. Mr. Marcos is even admitting to biting her.” Jacobson gestured wildly in Nicolas’ direction.

He had me there. Nicolas had admitted to that much.

“As I’ve been made aware, she asked him to turn her as a last resort over death. Mr. Marcos felt he had little choice and was only trying to do what was right. Aren’t you grateful that he saved your sister’s life?” I returned the annoyed gleam in his eyes with an angry glare of my own.

He focused his attention on Nicolas. “There was nothing to save her from. It was an unprovoked attack.”

Nicolas shifted in his seat. I felt his tension. I knew he wanted to say something, but in order for this not to turn into an all-out war, it was best if I did all the talking. Even Liam was letting me handle the situation. Was I really stepping right into my role as leader? Sure, I had no idea what I was doing, but
I was giving it my best shot. The local Coven wouldn’t believe it. I used to screw up witches’ spells for miles around and now people were coming to me to solve their problems.

“A demon beast
attacked her. Nicolas was saving her,” I said with too much panic in my voice.

It was funny how quickly things could change because I suddenly
felt as if I was losing control of this situation fast. The Coven members laughed, a cacophony of humiliation.

“That is an absurd story. There was no such beast. Why would this demon run away simply because Mr. Marcos approached? Wouldn’t the beast just attack both of them?” Jacobson looked at me with an unflinching glare.

“I can assure you that I am no expert on this matter, so how can I answer that question?” I cut him a warning look, letting him know that I would be a fierce enemy if crossed.

“You can say that again,” a
woman scoffed from across the room.

I glared at the women. I was
so
going to get her name and write her up. Was there some kind of ticket system? Could I fine her for being a jerk? Probably not. If that were the case I would have been fined for my crappy magic ages ago.

“Have you not noticed that Mr. Marcos
’ skills have greatly improved?” Jacobson flashed a smug smile.

He had me again. The facts were not going in Nicolas’ favor at the moment. There had to be a way to prove his innocence, but at the moment I had no idea how that was going to happen.

I stood from the chair. “I think it’s time for us to go.”

“Aren’t you going to take care of this?” Jacobson demanded.

I scoffed. “Am I going to take care of this tonight? No. Without looking into the facts and getting the truth? No.”

He glared at me.

“What did you expect, Mr. Stratford? For me to find Mr. Marcos guilty tonight based on your version of the incident? That is not going to happen.” I wouldn’t allow him to have the upper hand.

“You are the leader now. This is your job to take care of this.” He pointed.

“I will take care of it, but not tonight.” I stepped closer to him. “And if you don’t like it, well, then that is just tough.” My finger was so close to his face it almost touched his nose.

Who did this guy think he was anyway? I wasn’t a member of his Coven and I didn’t have to answer to him. What would he do? Call my mommy? I wouldn’t lie and say that my adrenaline wasn’t pumping because of this confrontation, but it had to be done. I would not let him boss me around.

The group neared the door and I feared we would soon have a fight on our hands if we didn’t get out of there. We were being surrounded. Did my leader of the Underworld status mean nothing? Apparently they didn’t care. What had I gotten myself into? I wasn’t sure I wanted this gig. One hour in and it was already a headache.

Nicolas and Liam followed me to the door. The energy changed in the room. It was thick like walking through a bag full of cotton balls. Was someone trying to cast a spell? I hoped they were
n’t trying any funny business.

“The allegations against me are false and you know it, Jacobson. Just because I’m a…” Nicolas stopped before finishing the sentence as if someone had stuffed a sock in his mouth.

“I should have known better than to allow vampires into the coven.” Jacobson turned his lips up in a sneer.

Liam whipped around. “You didn’t have a choice in allowing us to join.”

Underneath the fabric of Liam’s long-sleeved shirt, the muscles of his strong forearm tightened when I grabbed him. I pulled him toward me before the venom-laced words turned into a physical confrontation. Liam had said Jacobson hadn’t had a choice in allowing
them
to join the coven, but only Nicolas was a vampire, right? There wasn’t time to think about that now. We needed to abandon the meeting right away.

“Come on, guys. It’s time to go.” I motioned for the men to hurry.

As we walked out the door and down the porch steps toward the car, I felt the presence of the others right behind us. Magic flew across the night sky with silent stealth.

When I turned
around, Jacobson’s face at turned red and his eyes slits of rage. Within seconds, Jacobson slammed his fist into Nicolas’ face. Nicolas grabbed Jacobson, throwing him to the ground. Jacobson hit the pebbled driveway with a groan. The men struggled, pounding each other while the rest of the group gathered in a circle and watched the fight unfold.

If I didn’t act quickly, this could turn deadly. The men broke free for a second, but they stood in a showdown ready to pounce again. During a momentary lapse in judgment, I ran over and shoved my fist into Jacobson’s stoma
ch. His stomach muscles were harder than I had anticipated. In hindsight, I should have handled the situation in a more professional manner. But that Jacobson really set my temper on fire.

I shook off the pain in my hand as Nicolas rushed forward again. Thankfully, Liam jumped into action and pulled Nicolas off Jacobson. My other hand was spared the pain. I would have thrown another punch to the gut if needed.

Once the men had stopped throwing punches, they stood in a stare down. I was pretty sure I was supposed to say something at this point. But what?

“I want this to stop right now. If you touch him again, I’ll have you arrested.” I poked Jacobson in the chest.

Reflecting back on the situation at hand, my statement hadn’t sounded very authoritative, but what was a newly appointed leader of the Underworld to do? Winging it through this was not the best way to go.

From out of the darkness, a figure emerged. The silhouette had come from around the side of the house. This night couldn’t get any stranger. One minute I’d been fighting off a demon and a crazy witch, and now it appeared I’d be fighting off a whole mess of crazy witches. But what was this thing walking out of the darkness?

As I watched with apprehension, the figure moved closer, appearing under the glowing lights from the plantation. The lights highlighted the features of this mysterious creature. Only it wasn’t a
thing
, but a woman.

The woman was tall
, with deep brown eyes and ebony hair that fell in waves just below her shoulders. She wasn’t dressed as casually as the others. The dark-haired woman wore a long white gauzy dress. Her good looks didn’t disguise the hatred shooting out from her eyes though. She looked from Nicolas, to Liam, and then fixed her stare squarely on me. I got the distinct impression that she didn’t like me. But she didn’t know me. What was her problem?

The woman walked by, not once taking her gaze off me. Finally, she stood beside Jacobson.