by Liz Schulte
“I added extra sprinkles,” she said sheepishly. “Halloween, I’m really sorry about this. I just thought I was helping.”
I could definitely relate to how she was feeling right now.
“Don’t worry, Lucy, I’ll think of something.” My thoughts raced.
The loud crash caught our attention. Something had to be done right away before this got out of hand. I knew all too well that these things could escalate quickly. Wendy Carter had thrown a vase at Carl Webber’s head. He held his hands up, pleading that she not toss something else his way. They’d been recently engaged. If this continued there would be no wedding bells.
“Oh, this is awful. I can’t believe what I’ve done.” Lucy’s words were full of regret.
I glanced back toward the table to see if Nicolas and Liam had noticed. How could they not? The arguing in the room was now loud. The couples were really going at it. Nicolas was chewing and had one of the heart shaped cookies in his hand. Liam was moving a cookie toward his mouth. I ran over and knocked the treat from his hand. Sprinkles flew through the air like confetti. The brothers stared at me with stunned expressions.
“Hallie, if you wanted a cookie you could have asked.” Liam gave me a lopsided grin.
Chapter Two
“This isn’t funny, guys.” I picked the cookie up from the floor and set it on the platter.
I grabbed the dish and held it close to my body so that no one else could take one.
“They weren’t that good anyway,” Nicolas added with a chuckle.
“Hey, I made those cookies with love.” Lucy placed her hands on her hips.
“Not exactly love,” I said. “The cookies have a spell gone wrong.”
Nicolas’ blue eyes widened. “What kind of spell?”
Liam laughed. “Ha. You ate a cookie. Will it turn him into a frog? Please tell me it will turn him into something.”
I poked Liam’s arm. “Be nice.”
“Dude, you’re screwed,” Liam added.
I grimaced and then said, “It’s a love spell gone wrong.”
When I looked at Nicolas for a reaction, I realized that his eyes had changed. They were now a dark brown, almost black.
“Uh oh,” Lucy said. “I guess the spell is getting to him.”
Nicolas narrowed his eyes. “Hallie, how could you let this happen?”
“I’m going to assume that’s the spell talking, Nicolas,” I said.
Nicolas glared at me. The charm had faded from his eyes. His lips curled downward into a snarl. He’d never looked at me that way before. For a moment my feelings were hurt, but then I reminded myself that it was the spell. It had to be, right?
“I have to get rid of these.” I rushed toward the kitchen to shove the cookies in the garbage disposal.
Liam grabbed my arm from behind to stop me. “You can’t do that.”
I frowned. “Why not? I can’t let them set around so someone else can eat them.”
“Unless you know what kind of spell and how to get rid of it right away, then you should keep them. There could be a clue in the evidence that will tell us how to reverse the spell.”
“What am I going to send it off to a lab for results?”
He raised an eyebrow. “If need be.”
My stomach sank. I hoped it didn’t take that long. Nicolas stood by the table still. His face was blood red as he sent a death glare our way.
“What do we do now?” Lucy asked.
How was I supposed to know? Oh yeah, the leader was expected to have the answers. Blah, blah, blah. “How do I reverse it?”
The room was becoming tenser by the minute. Liam stared at me. Clearly he didn’t have an answer either. Why should he? He wasn’t the leader. This was my job. I motioned for Lucy and Liam to follow me to the kitchen. The room was done in shades of white. Cabinets, shelves full of jars, and an island in the middle were all white. The hardwood floor was a black walnut finish.
“Lucy, tell me exactly what happened? Where were you when you cast the spell?” I asked.
Lucy fidgeted from one foot to the other. “I was in my kitchen.”
“Did anything unusual happen?”
She shook her head and then paused. “Well, wait. Maybe… but I doubt it has anything to do with the bad spell.”
“You never know.” Liam leaned against the counter and crossed his muscular arms in front of his chest.
When I peeked out the kitchen door into the other room, Nicolas was gone. Immediately worry set in. This wasn’t normal circumstances so of course I worried where he’d gone. Now I felt as if I had to watch him like a toddler.
Lucy snapped me back to the conversation. “As I was saying, the lights went out. See, I made the cookies last night. Anyway, this strange feeling came over me when that happened.”
“What kind of strange feeling?” I asked.
She shrugged. “It just felt as if someone was in the room with me.”
I frowned. “That’s odd. Maybe it was just the scariness of the dark.”
Lucy paced across the floor. “I guess. Anyway, I lid a candle and then I thought I saw something shadowy dart around the corner. I went over to the doorway, but nothing was there.”
“You think someone was in your house?” I pressed.
“If they were I don’t know why. It’s a scary thought though. The person could have been there to hurt me.”
“Maybe they were there to do something to your cookies,” Liam said.
I picked up one of the cookies. Red and pink sprinkles fell around me. “Liam’s right.”
Regardless, I wasn’t sure I had time to figure out who might have done something to the spell. Based on everyone’s behavior that would have to come later. First, I would have to try a spell that would allow me to correct the bad spell. Funny that I needed a spell to stop a spell.
“I need you all to help me.” Since it looked as if Nicolas had disappeared in his anger-induced trance, it would be just the three of us.
“What should we do?” Lucy twisted her hands together. At least she was no longer pacing.
“I can cast a spell that will, with any luck, tell us what ingredients we need to counteract against this spell.” I tapped my finger against my bottom lip as I studied the shelves full of witchcraft ingredients.
I would have gone to the spell book for help, but I’d memorized a lot of the spells from doing them over and over. On the other side of the kitchen was a large stone fireplace. That was where I kept my cauldron. It had been my great aunt Maddy’s. When I first moved into the manor, I hadn’t utilized it much, but now it was used almost every day.
The fire was already flaming underneath the water. I suppose something had told me that I might need the cauldron tonight. Liam and Lucy watched as I rushed around the room, gathering herbs and spices to add to the water. Cinnamon, cloves, and sage should work nicely.
“This should do the trick,” I said as I hurried over to the fireplace.
My arms were full as I placed each item on the mantel. One by one I added them to the cauldron.
“Come hold hands with me.” I motioned for them to join me by the fire.
Liam wiggled his eyebrows. “Gladly.”
We held hands as we stood by the water. It bubbled and popped after I’d added the ingredients. Slowly blue and red lights emerged from the water. Easily at first like movements of a ballerina. Then the lights sped up. They danced and swirled from the water toward the top of the fireplace.
“Wow, I’d heard you were good with magic now, but I’ve never seen water act that way before.”
“It’s too early to tell if the spell will work. Repeat after me,” I said.
They nodded, so I said, “Element of Earth, I call to you… empower me with the knowledge to reverse the bad.” I continued, “Element of Air, I call to you to ease the forces of the bad spell.” The lights swirled even faster. “Element of Fire, I call to you for protection from harm.” To complete the spell, I recited the words, “Element
of Water, show me the way to stop the bad spell.”
The more we talked the more the water bubbled. Finally, when I thought it might overflow, I peeked into the cauldron.
“What do you see?” Lucy leaned closer.
“There’s an image of a four-leaf clover.”
“What is that all about? It wants you to add a four-leaf clover?” Liam asked. “Who messed up Lucy’s spell? A leprechaun?”
“Where would I find a four-leaf clover?”
“Don’t you have clovers in the back yard?” Lucy asked. “I noticed them during the last coven meeting that we had down by the water.”
Now that she mentioned it, I did remember seeing clovers down there.
“It’s night. How would we possibly find one?” I asked.
“It’s impossible,” Liam said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said.
Chapter Three
We made it out of the kitchen and back to the parlor where the party was supposed to be in full swing. This was anything but a party. If I put an octagon ring in the middle of the room it would be like one of those MMA fights. Okay, they weren’t actually wrestling each other into head locks, but the tension was thick. I guess some people hadn’t eaten the cookies because they were looking around in shock. Some of the couples were headed for the door. I’d prefer to keep everyone here until I found the antidote. There was nothing I could do to stop them. Or was there?
What if I cast a quick spell to make everyone stay here? Just to give me enough time to figure this other spell out. It was the only way, right? I raised my arms and recited the words, concentrating on what I wanted to accomplish. “Element of Earth, I call to you. Place the action on hold.” I turned to face the other section of the room. “Element of Air, ease everyone’s tension until I return.” Looking at the other side of the room, I said, “Element of Fire, I call to you to protect this group from any more harm.” Now that I thought I’d covered everyone in the room, I finished, “Element of Water, I call to you for patience and time for me to figure out how to reverse the negative.”
Within a few seconds, everyone had stopped. They weren’t exactly frozen in one spot, but they couldn’t really move far and they’d quit bickering for the moment.
“There, that should do the trick for now,” I said.
Liam and Lucy were waiting for me by the massive mahogany front door.
“Hey, we could just leave them like this,” Liam said.
I shook my head. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I just feel so bad about this.” Lucy followed me out the door.
“It’s not your fault. Somebody did something to the cookies and I intend to find out who and why.”
“Still it’s my fault.” Lucy trailed behind me as I hurried around the side of the house.
LaVeau Manor was three stories of brick and stone. It had a huge veranda on the front. Peaks and spikes embellished the roofline. A stone fence separated the property from the main road and surrounding properties. The manor stood near the river with a creepy old family cemetery nearby. Trees surrounded the place and added that creepy feeling.
The smell of damp earth drifted in from the nearby water. The moon peeked out from the edge of the cloud, giving us just a hint of a slivery glow. I stopped when we reached the spot in the backyard. Clovers were all around, but I had no clue how we were going to actually find a four-leaf clover. Maybe this was impossible just like Liam had said. It wasn’t like me to give up so I got down on the ground.
I motioned for them to follow me. “I can’t do this alone.”
Liam groaned as he got down on his hands and knees. Lucy was next. We scurried around, probably looking like idiots out there. Thank goodness no one saw us. I was just glad Liam hadn’t pulled out his iPhone to record. If he put this on any social media site he’d be in big trouble.
“Find anything yet?” I asked.
They both shook their heads.
“Nothing,” Liam said.
This made it easy to become discouraged. I pushed to my feet and blew the hair out of my eyes. “I guess we could maybe try to buy one somewhere.”
“Do you know of a shop that sales four-leaf clovers?” Liam asked in a mocking tone.
“What about the Internet?” Lucy suggested.
I smiled and said, “They do sell everything on the Internet.”
“Even with overnight shipping it'll take a week,” Liam said.
I started to wipe the dirt from my hands onto my dress and then stopped myself. “That’s true… one day shipping usually turns into five days.”
I moved forward to go back to the house, but stopped abruptly. Lucy smacked into my back.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
As if something had led me to this specific spot, I looked down.
“There’s a four-leaf clover.” I reached down and picked it up. “I found it,” I yelled out.
Liam shook his head. “I can’t believe it.”
Lucy clapped her hands together. “This is fantastic. Now we can reverse the spell and everything will be fine.”
I loved that Lucy was confident, but it rarely worked that way. I headed back toward the house with Liam and Lucy beside me. The four-leaf clover was clutched securely in my hand so that I wouldn’t lose it. I just hoped that this worked. I’d never used a four-leaf clover for a spell before.
I took one more step and then froze. Literally I couldn’t move my feet. My legs or my arms wouldn’t budge either… nothing. The wind filled the trees with a roaring growl, as if they knew they needed to protect me.
“What’s going on?” Lucy asked with panic in her voice.
“Someone’s doing a spell stopping us. I feel it,” I said.
“Who would do this,” Lucy whispered.
Liam stepped forward, standing in front of me like a bodyguard. He puffed his chest out a little too.
Apparently, someone didn’t want me to find a four-leaf clover or reverse the spell.
“Okay, come out wherever you are,” I yelled.
Lucy called out to the hidden person. “You can’t do this. It won’t work.”
I liked what she had to say, but unfortunately, it seemed to be working pretty nicely right now considering I couldn’t move.
“Don’t be a coward,” I snapped.
Whoever was doing this listened to my command because the figure appeared from around the side of the house. He was dressed in black with a mask on his face.
“There you are,” I said. “You coward. Come out here and face me. Show yourself instead of hiding behind a mask.”
I was being awfully bold for someone who couldn’t move. Regardless, I wouldn’t let this person get the upper hand. Sure, he already had the upper hand, but I wouldn’t let him keep the upper hand. In order for that to happen I had to figure out why I couldn’t move. What spell had he placed on us?
“Any ideas on how to get out of this?” I asked.
“Not a clue,” Liam said.
“You’re not helping,” I said.
Okay, I had to remain calm. I’d gotten out of other situations like this. But would this be the end for me? Finally this was how it was going to end. Someone who couldn’t even show their face to me had total control.
I threw the worst parties ever. I thought I would’ve learned my lesson by now. Apparently not because I kept having parties. It was like I needed an excuse to make more cupcakes or something.
“Now what do we do?” Lucy asked.
“Do you recognize anything about this person?” I tried to move my arms, but still nothing happened.
“It looks like the person I saw at my house,” she said.
I had to act quickly because the figure was coming closer.
“Don’t come any closer,” I ordered. “I’m the leader of the Underworld.”
My title had little input on this person obviously. I wondered with my limited movement if I could cast a spell to get out of this. I suppose it couldn’t make things any wor
se to try. Quickly I thought of the words for the spell. I’d only done this a couple of times. So I hoped I got it right. I focused my attention on the person and recited the words.
“Element of Earth, I call to you to banish this hold on us.” I tried to move my arms, but nothing happened. Next, I recited the words, “Element of Air, I call to you to unbind the evil power on us.” I had to keep reciting the words. It was the only way to break the spell. “Element of Fire, I call to you for power to break free. Help me move again.” I pushed forward with my legs. They moved a little. I was almost sure it was working. “Element of Water, I call to you for force to stop the bad spell. Give me the force to banish the evil.”
Lucy and Liam followed along once they knew what I was doing. Now that this person knew what I was doing, he lunged toward us. It was still three against one, so I thought we could handle him.
Lucy released a whimper and I thought she might run and hide. I hoped she didn’t jump into the water and try to swim away. To my complete astonishment, she did the exact opposite.
Chapter Four
Lucy lunged toward the mystery man, hiding behind that dark mask.
“Lucy, what are you doing?” I yelled.
At least now I knew the spell had worked. I couldn’t let Lucy fight this person alone so I ran for him too. I’d completely forgotten about Liam until he joined in the fight. I was screaming as we rolled around with the masked man on the ground. At least I’d hidden the four-leaf clover in my bra. No way would I let that thing go.
The man squirmed around, trying to get away from us. Lucy was attempting to get him in a headlock. Somehow he managed to break free from us and took off around the side of the house. Lucy jumped up like a ninja and took off after him.
“Lucy certainly has a lot of energy,” Liam said as he scrambled up from the ground.
Finally, I got on my feet and ran toward Lucy and the guy. Liam was somewhere right behind me. Lucy didn’t need to worry about anyone breaking into her home because I was pretty sure she could take care of herself. Where did she learn to fight like that?