I didn’t even look at either man when I said it. I just couldn’t. It had been hard enough to decide between the men.
“Nice to meet you, gentlemen.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Nicolas said as he shook Fitz’s hand.
“Good to meet you, sir,” Liam said, giving Fitz a handshake too.
“You’ve got a good friend here with Hallie. Did her mother ever tell you about the time Hallie stripped off her clothes and ran around the yard yelling ‘I a witch, I a witch.’?” Uncle Fitz slapped his leg and laughed. “It was the funniest thing. Her mother had the hardest time catching her.”
“Is this a recent event?” Nicolas asked, biting back his laughter.
Of course Liam was already laughing.
“I was two. Thank you for sharing, Uncle Fitz. Now can we get to the point?”
“Charlie dropped me off this morning at the bakery. You know they have the best éclairs I’ve ever tasted.”
I’d figured that by the way he’d had cream on his chin this morning. “Back to Charlie, Uncle Fitz.”
He gestured with his hand. “Right. Then of course I came into your mother’s shop.”
“We’re looking for Charlie,” I said.
“Is she missing?” Uncle Fitz asked.
Maybe I was being suspicious, but why had he asked that question? Was that really the first thought that popped into his mind? After all, he was the last one with her. Was I really questioning my uncle in the disappearance of another guest? And not really a guest, but an investigator with the Underworld board. That would really get me kicked out of the leader position if my uncle had done something with the investigator. Since she was at my home, I supposed they thought I was responsible for her.
I frowned. “Why did you ask if she was missing?”
Uncle Fitz’s cheeks turned a little red. “It was a natural assumption, don’t you think?”
Yes, I supposed it was, but I couldn’t help but wonder. I was pretty sure that Uncle Fitz detected my suspicion. By the looks on Liam and Nicolas’ faces, they were equally suspicious. Uncle Fitz had a few questions to answer.
“Did she say where she was going?” I asked.
He stared blankly as if trying to remember and then finally said, “No, I don’t suppose she did.”
There had to be some indication of where she went. “Maybe you just need to think about it a little longer and it will come back to you.” I pushed.
Uncle Fitz shook his head. “I’ve thought about it and I’m blank, sorry.”
Liam stepped over to Uncle Fitz and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. “Uncle Fitz, what did you and Charlie talk about on your ride to town?”
Uncle Fitz looked over at Liam in confusion. “We talked about why I was in town. She asked a lot of questions about Hallie. Sadly, since I don’t know Hallie well, I didn’t have answers for her.”
“What type of questions?” Nicolas pressed.
“If I’d seen Hallie cast spells and how well she cast them.” Uncle Fitz adjusted the too-tight apron around his chest.
That was probably why she’d wanted to drive him to town. She wasn’t as sneaky as she thought.
It looked as if Uncle Fitz wasn’t going to remember anything any time soon. We needed to think of another way to find Charlie.
“How long before the board really starts to freak out?” I asked.
“Probably twenty-four hours.”
I felt terrible if something had really happened to Charlie, but I was sure she would show up soon.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
The men looked at me as if I’d asked the question in a language they didn’t understand. I surely couldn’t translate for them. I couldn’t speak any clearer. They had to work with me on this.
Chapter Six
“We shouldn’t stand here in the foyer. You all should come into the parlor and we’ll discuss this further.” I motioned over my shoulder.
The men followed me into the parlor and I gestured around at the available seats.
As Liam walked by, he said, “I a witch, I a witch.”
I smirked. “Funny.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Liam sat on the sofa with Uncle Fitz. Nicolas sat in the upholstered chair across from them.
“If I may ask, how do you know she is missing?” Uncle Fitz said.
“Well, we don’t know for sure. This is all because the board can’t get her to answer her phone,” I said. I paced the length of the room. “So now we need to think of where to look first.”
“Since she didn’t tell you were she was going that could be almost impossible.” Nicolas leaned back in his chair.
Liam folded his arms in front of his chest. “The board didn’t exactly give me a lot of details to go on either.”
Maybe they didn’t really want us to find her. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was just some big hoax. It appeared that they didn’t like me and I wasn’t sure why. I would get to the bottom of this.
“Where to look? Where to look?” Uncle Fitz asked as he tapped his fingers against the sofa’s arm.
“You should try her phone again,” I said.
Liam pulled out his phone and dialed what I assumed was her number. He held the phone up to his ear and after a minute hung up.
“No answer, I guess?” I said.
He nodded.
“I can make a few calls and ask around about her. Maybe see if anyone knows her or saw her,” Nicolas said.
Liam sat up on the sofa. “That could be a place to start. Good idea.”
It was nice to see they weren’t arguing at the moment.
“The problem is I don’t know much about her,” I said. If only I knew what she liked to do or where she liked to go. “One thing I did notice was that she seemed a little too interested in the book.”
Liam and Nicolas both looked at me when I said this.
“What book?” Uncle Fitz asked.
That was right, I hadn’t told him about the book. I didn’t want to give many details though.
“It’s just a book of spells,” I said.
Uncle Fitz looked at me. “A special book of spells?”
No way was I giving more details. He would just have to wonder about the book.
After a brief silence, I said, “I’ll call my mother and Annabelle and tell them that dinner is postponed.”
Uncle Fitz looked disappointed. I would have preferred to enjoy his dinner, but this was important. My leader title was on the line. Although I did contemplate whether I really wanted the title.
Once I’d talked to my mother she seemed confused about what was going on, but told me to call her later. Annabelle had insisted that she come over to help with the search. The more help the better.
When I hung up everyone was still silent. I paced across the floor, which was probably driving them crazy.
Finally Liam broke the silence. “Uncle Fitz, which direction did she go when she dropped you off?”
“I didn’t pay much attention, but I believe she headed north on the Main Street.”
I thought about all the different places in that direction. It would be hard to narrow it down. “The Bubbling Cauldron was that way. Maybe she stopped by to ask about me.” That was the local witch hangout.
“Yes, the Bubbling Cauldron. I saw that place. It may help us to go there.” Uncle Fitz waved his finger. “We should go to town now.”
If Uncle Fitz was willing to help look for Charlie then that must mean he had nothing to do with her disappearance, right? I was talking as if it was a given that she was missing. But honestly, I still thought she would return soon. I wasn’t convinced that this wasn’t some kind of setup by the board. If Charlie was missing they would have even more reason to get rid of me. Why were they so convinced that I would do a bad job as the leader? I hadn’t even been given a chance to tackle the job. I thought I’d done okay so far.
Liam tapped his fingers against the sofa arm. “Did you look in her room to see if
she left a note or any other info?”
I crossed the room again with big footsteps. “No, I just learned about this when you came to the door, remember?”
“Right.”
Liam jumped to his feet and, not to be outdone, Nicolas was right behind him. Uncle Fitz was a bit slower, but he climbed from the sofa and followed us up the staircase. Liam reached the bedroom door first, followed by Nicolas. They waited beside the door since I had the key. Plus, Uncle Fitz and I moved at a slower pace.
I took the master key and opened the door. Nicolas and Liam motioned for me to go first. I would rather they have gone first, but I guess it was my responsibility. Technically, I shouldn’t even let them in the room. I was breaking my guest’s privacy, but since she wasn’t a real guest and this was an emergency I did it anyway.
When I stepped into the room I knew something wasn’t right. It looked as if she’d never even slept in the bed. It was neatly made just the way I’d left it. A large wood bed covered with a rich burgundy comforter and one too many pillows sat in the middle of the far wall. I’d placed a velvet-covered chair by the window with a small table in case my guests wanted to relax and read.
The floor creaked as I stepped across to the bed. Liam and Nicolas stepped just inside the door, but Uncle Fitz stayed out in the hallway. I looked over at the dressing table and the nightstand—both had only the items that had been in the room. So far I saw nothing of Charlie’s.
Being in the room brought back memories of other so-called guests of LaVeau Manor. Based on prior events it seemed as if I was running a bed-and-breakfast for the creepy and downright evil. I hoped Charlie didn’t turn out to be the same.
“I don’t see any of her things,” I said as I moved over to the closet.
Grabbing the knob, I pulled the door open. Not so much as a single shirt or pair of pants hung on the shelf. The hangers were empty. I rushed over to the dresser. I pulled out the drawers and discovered that they were empty too.
I placed my hands on my hips. “It looks as if she isn’t missing at all. She simply left.”
Actually I felt a bit of relief, but if the board still couldn’t find her and they thought I was responsible, this could turn out very bad for me. I turned around and blew the hair out of my eyes.
“Why would she leave?” Nicolas asked.
I shook my head. “That’s a good question that I have no answer for.”
Something pink caught my attention and I glanced over at the floor toward the dresser. A wallet was on the floor. I reached down and picked it up. When I opened the wallet I saw Charlie’s identification right away.
I held the wallet up. “It’s Charlie’s.”
Liam frowned. “What’s inside?”
I looked through. “Credit cards, cash, a driver’s license. Everything she would need. If she doesn’t realize that it’s missing yet she will soon when she has no money to spend.”
This just added to the mystery.
“She probably didn’t go far without credit cards,” Uncle Fitz said.
“We should cast a spell to try to find her,” Liam said, catching me off guard.
That would be the best idea for Liam and Nicolas. Me, not so much.
I was always worried that my spells wouldn’t work. I supposed that would always be the case. Would I ever have confidence? I placed the wallet on the dresser in case Charlie came back for it. We filed out of the room and I locked the door behind me.
Uncle Fitz descended the stairs first and I followed behind Nicolas and Liam. Better than having them behind me. We made our way back down the stairs so that we could cast the spell.
“We can do it outside where there is plenty of room and we can connect with the energy from nature,” I said.
The men nodded in agreement.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs I said, “Wait. I didn’t get the book.”
Nicolas touched my arm. “You don’t need the book. This is a simple spell.” He must have noticed the apprehension in my eyes because he said, “Don’t worry. You’ll do just fine.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I nodded and agreed to leave the book behind. All we would use would be our energy and words. No special spices or herbs. No cauldron and no book to guide the way. It was funny how I’d come to rely on the book so much. I guessed it was because my spells had always sucked before the book had come along.
“Do you need my help?” Uncle Fitz asked.
I exchanged a look with the men and they nodded.
“Sure, that would be nice, Uncle Fitz.” I said.
I was glad that he’d offered. The more people to perform a spell, the more energy we could gather and the easier it was to cast a spell. We didn’t stop at the bottom of the stairs, we just kept on moving toward the front door, and then down the steps and out onto the front lawn. This wasn’t the first time that Liam, Nicolas and I had cast a spell together. This would be the first time casting a spell with Uncle Fitz though. I hoped he knew what he was doing.
Nicolas grabbed my hand and squeezed for reassurance. The four of us had gathered on the lawn. Drooping branches of old oak trees swayed with the breeze that came off the river in the rear of the manor. A raven cawed and took flight as we stepped out onto the lawn. On one side I held Nicolas’ hand and on the other I grasped Liam’s hand. I was pretty sure that I’d had a dream like this not long ago. Now that all of us were holding hands we’d be able to get started.
“Would you like to lead?” Liam asked.
I shook my head. “No, really. Why don’t you or Nicolas start the spell?”
I didn’t know Uncle Fitz’s magic skills just yet, so I didn’t like the idea of Uncle Fitz doing magic so soon after we’d met.
We gathered around in a circle. Liam called to the elements of earth, air, fire, and water.
Then he said, “Bring to light what we need to see. Will you now lead us to Charlie?”
Gray-tinged clouds rolled across the sky and thunder rumbled even though it had been clear moments earlier. When I peered up at the sky, there was a scene in the cloud above us. It showed Charlie in what looked like a store. The scene faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. Thunder boomed again and the cloud shifted away, bringing back the bright sunshine.
I was still holding the men’s hands. Liam and Nicolas were still staring up at the sky as if the image might reappear. I was pretty sure it was gone for good though.
Uncle Fitz looked at me with a confused frown. It looked as if our spell was over, but at least we’d caught a glimpse of something. We had to find out where that scene had taken place. Was it happening now or had this been in the past? Liam and Nicolas looked at me.
“Did you see that?” Liam asked.
It would have been hard to miss.
After releasing my grip on Liam’s and Nicolas’ hands, I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “Yes, I saw it.”
“Where do you think it was?” Nicolas asked.
I bit my lip in concentration. I had seen the store before, but where was it? It was slipping my mind at the moment. Then the vision of all the books on the shelves clicked.
“I know where it is,” I said.
They looked at me in anticipation.
“It’s the occult shop in Enchantment Pointe. It’s where most witches buy their supplies.”
“We should go there now,” Liam said.
Nicolas nodded. “Let’s not waste any more time.”
Just then the sound of gravel crunching underneath wheels caught our attention. When I glanced over my shoulder I spotted Annabelle’s little black car cruising up the driveway. She’d made it just in time. I wasn’t sure if she was up for a visit to the occult shop. As far as I knew in all her years in Enchantment Pointe she’d never set foot in the place.
She parked her car and hopped out. “Is everything okay?” she asked with a look of alarm.
I chuckled. “It’s LaVeau Manor… of course everything isn’t okay.”
Chapter Seven
“Hallie, dear, I think I’ll stay behind while you go to town. It’s been a long day and I need a nap.” Uncle Fitz wiped his forehead with a handkerchief that he’d pulled from his front pocket.
“Sure, Uncle Fitz. You call if you need anything, okay?” The question of whether it was safe to leave him alone did cross my mind. He’d given me no reason not to trust him, but I worried that he’d have a mishap in the kitchen and accidentally burn the manor down. Or maybe allow a spirit or bad witch in while I was gone.
He smiled widely. “That’s so thoughtful. Yes, I’ll be fine after a little nap.”
“Lock the door behind you,” I said.
He pivoted, walked up the steps to the front door, and then turned to wave goodbye.
“Ready to go?” Liam asked with a tilt of his head.
“Who’s driving?” I asked.
Nicolas and Liam exchanged a look.
“Why don’t you just say you think I’m a bad driver?”
“We never said you were a bad driver,” Nicolas said with a tiny grin.
I harrumphed. “You didn’t have to.”
Liam motioned toward his black BMW. “I’ll drive and you can tell me where to go.”
He walked over and held the passenger side door open for me. I supposed he was used to me riding in the front with him. Now that I was with Nicolas, I couldn’t do that. Nicolas opened the back door and I slipped onto the leather seat. Annabelle sat up front with Liam.
“When will Jon return? Wasn’t he supposed to be back today?” I asked Annabelle.
“It was postponed until next week. Apparently they need him in Atlanta,” she said.
Jon had been called away in the middle of the night. I wished he was still around because we could use all the help we could get to find Charlie. Jon was Annabelle’s boyfriend-slash-bodyguard. She’d needed a bodyguard when a demon had attacked and threatened her. Thank goodness that was all behind us now.
“So where is this place exactly?” Liam asked as he pulled out onto the street.
When I glanced back at LaVeau Manor I spotted Uncle Fitz standing at the door watching us. That was kind of odd. Did he need something? I’d told him to call me if he did.
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