“What’s going on?” Nicolas asked a woman beside us.
“I don’t know. The spells just stopped working. No one can perform magic.”
My eyes widened. “What? That can’t be possible.”
I spotted my mother and she hurried over to me. “Hallie, what is going on? You have to do something.”
I threw my hands up. “What am I supposed to do?”
She waved her hand. “Well, you are the leader.”
Oh yeah, there was that. I supposed I should know what to do. By the glares I was receiving I knew that everyone was upset. How was I supposed to figure this out? Nicolas and my mother stared at me.
I was getting looks from everyone in the room too. They were looking at me to fix this. I ran over to the woman in charge. She looked like she was terrified.
“How can I make an announcement to the room?”
“I can take you to the office,” the woman beside me said.
I nodded and then followed her out of the room and into the main part of the school. We talked down the corridor toward the office. When we reached the office, she unlocked the door and motioned for me to follow her. I had to figure out what to say to the entire town of Enchantment Pointe.
Were the witches blaming me for the missing powers? Why did they have to blame me? Oh yeah, because I was constantly making mistakes. Everyone made mistakes though, so I didn’t think it was really something I should be blamed for. But what had happened? How did this happen?
The woman turned on the intercom and motioned for me to come over. My heart thumped a little faster. I still didn’t know what to say. I would have to wing it.
“Just try to get them to stay calm,” she offered as if reading my mind.
That was easier said than done.
“Is this thing on?” I tapped the microphone.
She nodded and motioned for me to go ahead. I cleared my throat, released a deep breath, and leaned in close to the microphone.
“May I have your attention please? There has been an incident involving the magical powers. Everyone please remain calm. Bear with us while we get to the bottom of this and get your powers restored.”
I felt like there had been a power outage and I was the electric company trying to get the lines restored.
“Please leave your name at the ticket table if you are missing your powers.”
Oh, that sounded ridiculous.
The woman shook her head. Even she knew how silly I sounded. This leader of the Underworld business wasn’t as easy as it looked. I thanked her for letting me make the announcement and then hurried back toward the gym. What I really wanted to do was run home and forget about the whole mess. But I couldn’t let the witches down.
Chapter Fifteen
I was walking back down the corridor toward the gym when I caught movement to my left. I glanced down the hallway and saw someone who looked exactly like Charlie. So she was here after all. She couldn’t hide from me forever. She wasn’t as sneaky as she thought she was. I was sure she didn’t know that I was watching her.
If I called out to her she wouldn’t stop, so my only option was to run after her. I’d have to be fast if I wanted to catch her though. Once she saw me, she would just run away.
It was weird being back in the hallways of my old school. My locker had been on the third floor while my classes had been mostly on the first. Yeah, I was convinced that the staff had hated me. It hadn’t been my fault that the school’s office had flooded and the cafeteria had caught fire. It was a spell gone wrong. What could I say? Accidents happened. Little had I known back then that someday I would be the leader of the Underworld.
I ran after Charlie. Unfortunately, my shoes squeaked against the hallway floor. It would be hard to sneak up on her. The closer I got, the more she would be able to hear me. So far I was lucky and she hadn’t turned around to notice that I was gaining on her.
Where was she headed? I had no idea why anyone would be back here. As far as I knew all of the doors back here were closed. I slowed down since she hadn’t turned around to notice me.
She was still walking, so I slowed to a fast walk. How could she not know that I was right behind her? It was beginning to freak me out a little. Would she want to fight me when she turned around and saw that it was me? Did she already know that I was behind her and just waiting for her chance to attack? This was the time I had to make my move. My heart thumped in my chest as I reached out for her. I wrapped my hand around her arm and pulled.
Charlie spun around. She yanked her arm away. “What do you want? Why are you grabbing me?” She scowled as she stared at me and stepped back a couple steps. There was a look of terror in her eyes. “Do I know you?” she asked.
Had she lost it?
“Don’t play games with me, Charlie. You know who I am,” I said.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t know you, and my name isn’t Charlie.”
I stared at her for a second. “What are you talking about? It’s me, Hallie, remember?”
There was something different about her face, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Again, I don’t know you. I don’t know any Hallie.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “Funny. We are looking for you.”
She frowned. “I don’t know who you are and you’re scaring me. My name is Angela. I’ve never seen you before and I don’t know what you mean when you say that they are looking for me, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to find out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”
I stepped in front of her.
“If you don’t let me go I will have to call the police.” She moved around me and I followed after her.
“Look, I am the leader of the Underworld. My name is Hallie LaVeau and you have been staying at my manor,” I called out.
She waved her hand as she opened the exit door. “You are crazy. Now get away from me. I already told you that I don’t know what you want or who you are.”
“Charlie,” I said as she stepped out the door.
“My name is not Charlie,” she yelled.
I followed her out the door but she took off in a sprint across the parking lot. I threw my arms up. I figured there was no use in running after her. The conversation had gone nowhere. I was sure she was lying to me. That was Charlie. Clearly it was Charlie, right?
I peered across the parking lot to see where she’d gone. She claimed her name wasn’t Charlie, but I didn’t believe it. She looked like Charlie and talked like Charlie, so she had to be Charlie. Where had she gone? I placed my hands on my hips and blew the bangs out of my eyes. There was no way she could have gotten away that quickly.
At first she was nowhere in sight. Then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to my right and looked toward the side parking lot.
That was when I spotted her. She didn’t notice me, so I just stood there and watched her. She had her hands on her hips and was looking straight ahead as if she was waiting for someone. I figured if I yelled at her she would just run off. Besides, it didn’t look as if she was going to stop and talk to me anymore. I couldn’t figure out why she’d said she wasn’t Charlie. I didn’t know if she was the real Charlie or if the Charlie who had been at the manor was the real Charlie.
A black sports car whizzed around the side of the building. It pulled up next to Charlie. She leaned down to talk with the passenger. I couldn’t get a good look because she was blocking the view. I moved over a couple steps, hoping they wouldn’t notice me watching.
That was when I recognized who she was talking to—the vampires. I knew they were up to something. Charlie was somehow involved with the vampires. How did she know them? What was the connection? She wouldn’t get away with this.
Charlie stepped back and the vampire opened the door. He looked my way but I ducked next to the doors. When I glanced over I realized he must have not seen me. Charlie was climbing into the back seat with them. Apparently they didn’t hate witches too much, because they seeme
d friendly with her. The vampire got back into the car, closed the door, and then they sped off.
I watched the car as it drove through the parking lot. Where were they going? Charlie seemed happy to be leaving with them, so I didn’t think she was in danger.
I couldn’t believe that I’d let her slip through my hands. I had her and yet couldn’t get her to answer any of my questions. Why had she acted as if she had no idea who I was? Had someone placed a spell on her?
Just then the car reappeared, coming through the parking lot. My heart thumped in my chest. Why were they coming back? I jumped behind the nearby bushes. Not a great hiding place, but it was all I had at the moment. Had Charlie told them about seeing me? That I had asked her about being Charlie?
This was all so confusing that it was giving me a headache. The car circled around the parking lot and I was convinced that they were looking for me. I held my breath as I waited for the car to pull away again.
I released a deep breath when the car drove off across the parking lot again. What had made them return? After a few more seconds, I eased up from my crouched position and inched over to the school’s door. I moved so that I wouldn’t have to turn my back on the enemy. I turned to go inside.
Just as I reached to open the door, a woman called out to me from behind. I whipped around to see one of the witches from the Enchantment Pointe coven. I’d seen her before at the Halloween Bash and in my mother’s shop a few times. Her name was Helen, or was it Harriet? I couldn’t remember. She was always smiling though. She had short blonde hair and today she wore black pants and a brown sweater.
“Hi, Hallie. I thought that was you. It’s me, Harriet.” She walked toward me.
Thank goodness she’d shared her name so I wouldn’t be embarrassed.
As she neared she said, “Are you okay? You look like something is wrong.”
It must have been written on my face that something was majorly wrong. I wasn’t sure how much information I should share with her. I didn’t really know her well at all.
I nodded and glanced around. “I’m fine.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s a lovely time.” I tried to pretend that everything was fine.
In the meantime, I knew that everything was crazy inside the gym. I had to ask her about her powers.
“Have you had problems with your witchcraft since you arrived at the gym?” I asked.
Her stare told me that she thought I’d lost it. “My witchcraft is fine.” She looked at me as if to say it was me who needed to check my witchcraft.
“Have you tried a spell in the last few minutes?” I asked.
She gave a nervous chuckle. “Not in the past hour.”
“Would you mind trying a simple spell to see if it works?” I asked.
She flashed an irritated look and then pointed her finger at the bush. Nothing happened. She pointed again and a look of panic gave over her. “It’s not working.”
“Sorry to break it to you, but the witches’ powers are gone.”
“When did this happen?” she asked.
I didn’t have time to go into details. “If you go back in the gym I’ll make sure someone explains.”
She looked as if she might cry. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No, nothing like that.” I tried to change the subject. “Did you happen to notice that car driving through the parking lot when you walked up?”
She nodded. “Yes, I saw it.”
“Did you see the witch inside the car?”
“Yes, I saw her.”
“Do you know that woman?” I asked.
“She is a witch from Enchantment Pointe.”
“Do you know her name?” I asked.
“Her name is Angela. She lives not far from here. She’s very nice. A sweet girl.”
“Her name isn’t Charlie?” I asked.
Harriet shook her head. “No, it’s not Charlie.”
She looked so confused. I knew she must be freaking out about the no-magic thing.
“Do you know anything else about her?”
“Not really. She has lived in Enchantment Pointe all her life. Her father works at a law office in town. She works at the dentist’s office. I think she graduated high school only a couple years ago.”
I’d thought she’d looked young. Maybe even younger now than when she’d shown up at the manor.
“She told me her name was Angela, but I have reason to believe otherwise.”
I didn’t have time to go into the full details. Besides, it looked as if Harriet didn’t want to hear the whole story anyway. I knew she wanted to get inside.
“What she told you was the truth,” Harriet said. “I’m not sure why you have the other information.”
I was really confused now.
“I really need to find out why my magic isn’t working,” Harriet said. “Did you make it stop?” She looked at me with wide eyes.
I snorted. “Me? No, I didn’t take away your powers or anyone’s for that matter.”
So this Angela had been telling the truth? Why had she lied before when she told me her name was Charlie? Or had she not lied and the other person who showed up with her identity at the manor had lied? Either way I had to find out what was really going on with this mysterious witch.
“We should go inside now.” Harriet pointed at the door.
I nodded. “Yes, we should.”
I wasn’t looking forward to what we were about to witness. But I knew everyone would be looking for me.
I opened the door. Harriet stepped inside first. I looked back over my shoulder. No one back there. The car hadn’t returned this time. Was the woman just faking it? Harriet had seemed certain that she knew Angela to be an Enchantment Pointe resident.
“Thanks for the information,” I said as we walked inside the school.
Harriet glanced at me with that same stunned look on her face. Then she waved her hand. “You’re welcome. I wish I could help more. Why can’t you tell me why I don’t have any powers?” she asked.
“To be honest, it’s because I don’t know. No one in Enchantment Pointe has powers now.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but it sounded as if she was accusing me of messing up the powers too.
We reached the gym door and I paused. “I hope you are ready for this.”
Her eyes widened. “Is it bad?”
“Let’s just say that everyone is panicking.”
“Well, rightfully so,” she said.
“I just want you to know that this isn’t my fault. I had nothing to do with this. Well, maybe I had a little to do with it, but it was completely out of my control.” I didn’t want to take the blame for this. Regardless, I had a feeling everyone would blame me anyway. I needed to remember not to worry about what others thought of me. I was a nice person and if they couldn’t see that then that was their problem.
I had to tell Nicolas about seeing Charlie or Angela, whatever her name was.
“By the way, Harriet, if you go to the ticket table and give them your name we can start the process of getting your magic back.” I walked away, not wanting to see her stunned expression.
When I entered the space, I saw the line at the ticket table for witches to register their complaints. Apparently every single witch in town was now missing powers.
Nicolas was talking with a few women, trying to calm them down. When I approached, he darted away from then and over to me. “It looks like this will be a while. The line is all the way around the gym.”
This was more than a little embarrassing.
“I saw Charlie,” I said.
“Where is she?” he asked, looking around the room.
“She’s not here. She took off with the vampires.”
He shook his head. “I knew they were involved in this. Obviously, we can’t trust Charlie.”
“Well, here’s the thing. I confronted her in the hallway and she c
laimed she wasn’t Charlie. One of the witches from Enchantment Pointe said that wasn’t Charlie either. She said her name was Angela. We may never find out who is telling the truth.”
“It sounds as if someone is just playing tricks,” he said.
“I need to go home and get the book. It’s the only thing I have right now that will even come close to telling me how to fix this.”
Nicolas nodded and guided me toward the exit door. A couple women jumped in front of us.
“Where do you think you’re going?” one woman asked.
I pushed her out of the way. “I’m going to try to figure this out.”
“You can’t just leave,” the other woman said.
“I have no choice,” I said.
“That is not very nice,” the woman said.
“Look, if you want me to fix this then I have to go get the Book of Mystics. Now the longer you stand here arguing with me the longer it will be. And you can explain to everyone why it took so long.”
The women reluctantly nodded and moved out of the way. I hated to be rude, but they gave me little choice.
My mother came to the door as I was leaving. “What do I tell them?”
“Tell them I am getting the Book of Mystics. I will be back soon. I promise.” I waved over my shoulder.
At least I hadn’t promised that I would be back with an answer to everyone’s problems.
Nicolas and I got into his car and headed back to the manor. In all the chaos, I had forgotten all about Uncle Fitz. My mother would just have to take care of him until I got back. That was when it hit me that Uncle Fitz had lost his powers too. Was it for the same reason? It sure seemed like there might be a connection. But did it have anything to do with me?
Chapter Sixteen
Where had Charlie gone? Did her disappearance have anything to do with everyone losing their powers? I had no idea how that would have been the case. She had come to the manor to check on me, not take everyone’s powers. But she had been with Uncle Fitz and then he’d lost his powers. I couldn’t deny that that was a little odd.
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