Forever Charmed (The Halloween LaVeau Series, Book 1) (41 page)

She’d used her powers to take on a new image. This was not good. I was frozen.
I didn’t know what to do next.

“
You didn’t think you would get away with hiding the books from me forever, did you?” Her lips twisted into a cynical smile.

I didn’t know what to say to her. I was never giving those books to her though. She’d have to kill me first. With the thought
, I looked over to find Nicolas. He wasn’t outside and neither was Isabeau.

“
Now be a good little witch and go get the books for me.” Mara cackled.

She really had that witch laugh down pat.

“What do we do now?” Annabelle whispered.

I
f I acted like I was scared Annabelle would freak out even more. I had to keep it together for Annabelle’s sake. I knew this was going to turn into something that I wasn’t sure I was prepared for. How did I fight a powerful witch like Mara? A witch who had already killed the last Underworld leader. Not that I was the leader anymore. I was sure the leader had to have powers to lead, and I had none.

I stood a little straighter and tried to come up with a plan.
“The books aren’t here.”

Wind began to blow in
the trees around the manor. Mara’s eyes glowed a red hue. “I know you are lying to me.”

“W
hat are you going to do about it? Without me you can’t get the books. I demand that you leave my property immediately.” I pointed toward the gate at the end of the driveway.

The wind blew even harder. Annabelle stepped closer to me.

“Annabelle, why don’t you go inside and get the other Coven members for me, okay?”

Annabelle didn’t answer. S
he just turned and ran away toward the house.

Some of the Coven members
had started a bonfire at the back of the property near the river to perform the annual ritual to their loved ones in the spirit world. The clouds had rifted enough to allow the moon to poke through. I kicked off my heels and ran in my bare feet around the manor toward the fire. I hoped someone could offer help for my fight with Mara.

The flames flickered high toward the sky as I rounded the manor. I glanced over my s
houlder as I ran, but saw nothing. I found it odd that Mara wasn’t running after me. I knew she was up to something though. She wasn’t going to let me get away that easily.

Where was Nicolas? As I looked through the crowd of people gathered around the fire, I spotted a fam
iliar face. I’d never been happier to see Liam.

He looked up and saw me.
As I rushed toward Liam, he looked up, then ran over to me as I neared.

“
What’s going on?” he asked.

“Mara is here,”
I said in a panic.

He looked over my shoulder.
“Where is she?”

“
She was on the veranda, then I took off running around here. She didn’t follow me.” I looked behind me. “But I know she didn’t go away.”

Liam held my arms.
“You have to get rid of her, Hallie.”

I stared him in the eyes.
“What do you mean I have to get rid of her? I’d love to, but how do you propose I do that?”

“
You have to fight her for the power.” He lifted my chin with his index finger to meet his gaze.

Looking down,
I shook my head. “She took my power, remember?”

“
She can’t keep it forever. The spell she cast can only last so long. You can be stronger than her now. You’ve got the books, remember?” There was defiance and challenge in his words.

How could I forget?
It was all that I’d thought about since the moment I found the first one.

“
You have the power of the earth, air, water and fire,” Liam stated.

That did sound quite impressive, but I had no idea what to do with these powers.

“You must destroy Mara once and for all and take over her power.” His voice was firm.

“
Nicolas said I need to destroy the books. That I shouldn’t be the leader.” I searched his eyes for a reaction.

Liam scoffed.
“Of course he would say that. He has other motives for wanting you to do that.”

My stomach was twisted into a knot.
“Why do you say that? You two have done nothing but pull me to each side and I don’t know who to believe.”

“
You can believe me. Nicolas is only there to steal your blood.” Liam touched my arm.

My eyes widened.
“What? What are you talking about? Why would he want my blood?”

“
He wants your blood because it holds special powers for him,” Liam said. “Vampires seek out witches’ blood. I told you how the Underworld is in chaos. Stay away from him, Hallie. He is not good for you.” He touched my chin.

My world was spinning. Liam’s handsome face stared down at me.

The wind started to whip again. The tree branches swayed back and forth as if a huge storm was brewing. I knew that it was.

Liam pulled me close and held my chin in his hands.
“You can do this, Hallie. I am here to help you.”

“Get your hands off her,”
Nicolas yelled from across the lawn.

Liam and I
both looked over to see him running toward us. Annabelle was attempting to run in her heels behind him. Finally, she stopped and yanked the shoes off, then continued across the yard.

Liam let go of me and turned to face Nicolas. The last thing I needed was for them to fight. I had been between whatever weird fight they had with each other since the day they’d arrived. I didn’t want to be in the middle any more.

“What is going on?” Nicolas demanded. “Is he hurting you?”

I shook my head.
“Mara is here. Liam says I must fight her for her powers.”

Nicolas shook his head.
“No. No way. Don’t listen to him.”

“Why don’t you stay out of this? You’re going to get her hurt,”
Liam said.

“
If anyone is going to get her hurt, it’s you.” Nicolas pointed at Liam.

Annabelle stood behind Nicolas.
“Are you okay, Hallie?”

I nodded, but I knew that was far from the truth.

“Hallie, don’t listen to him. You can’t fight her. You can’t trust Liam.”

“
I wish you all would stop telling me that. Liam has done nothing to make me not trust him. Tell me why I shouldn’t trust him!” I demanded.

Nicolas stared at Liam,
then looked at me. “Because Liam is out to destroy you.”

I stared at Nicolas
.

He continued,
“He wants the books so that he can take over the Underworld. It was never for your protection. That’s not why he came here.”

The
y stepped closer to each other and I thought at any second they would reach out and grab each other. The wind whipped harder and the flames danced. Everyone was looking to the sky and staring at us.

I looked to Liam.
“Is that true?” I asked.

“
Of course not. It’s all part of his lies,” Liam said.

“
Enough!” I threw my hands up. “I’ve had enough.”

I turned around t
o run away, but I got halfway across the yard and froze. The wind blew so hard that I could hardly stand up. A strange light came from the side of the yard. It grew brighter and brighter as it came closer. I couldn’t run toward the house. I looked to my left and saw the ghosts under the bright moonlight. They were at the edge of the trees, waiting for me to come near so they could grab me and take me away. They’d drag me away and I’d never be seen again. I had nowhere to go.

Liam and Nicolas called after me. I turned in the opposite direction and ran toward the water. The groun
d was slippery and I stumbled but righted myself and continued toward the water’s edge. I didn’t know what I would do next. Where would I go? If I jumped in the water I’d likely drown. The light followed me. For a moment, I was blinded by its brightness.

The area was washed in nothing but the white glow.
Making out anything was extremely difficult. I had to stop running because I knew I was at the water’s edge, even if I couldn’t see the water. I turned around and looked directly into the light. The light began to diminish and a silhouette was visible through the light.

The long dress flowed with the fury of the wind and her hair whipped around wildly. The light finally vanished completely. Mara was standing in front of me. I looked behind me and stepped even closer to the water. I couldn’t go much further before I’d fall in.

A wicked smile spread across her face. “I told you I would get the book. You have nowhere to go,” she said with a cackle.

She was purposely pushing me closer and closer to the water. Why had I been stupid enough to let myself
be cornered like this? I stepped back again. I couldn’t go any further. The ground was wet and slippery. My feet slid in the mud and I fell to my knees. Liam and Nicolas watched nearby, but Mara was somehow keeping them at bay. It was as if we were in a bubble. She had me trapped like a wild animal.

“
Go get the books and hand them over and I won’t kill you. Doesn’t that sound like a fair tradeoff right now?”

I struggled to get to my feet, but slipped again. I looked up at Mara.
“Why should I believe a word you say?” I asked.

“
You have no other options. They can’t help you.” She gestured at the Coven members with a tilt of her head.

“
You can’t hold off their powers forever. You’re not that strong,” I said.

“
I don’t need forever. Just long enough to get the books.” She beamed, obviously proud of her words.

Isabeau
had no problem walking through the protective bubble that Mara had placed around us.

“Give her the book now,”
Isabeau yelled. “She’ll kill you if you don’t.”

I tried to conjure up enough energy to cast a spell against Mara, but nothing would happen. There had to be a way to hide her powers. Couldn’t one of the many witches in the
Coven help me? Or did they not want to help me? Where was my mother? My stomach turned. What if Mara had done something to her?

“
I demand that you hand over the book now.” Venom spewed from her words.