by Rose Pressey
“Do we need to find Nicolas in order to help him break whatever spell he’s under?” I asked.
Liam’s frown burst my bit of hope. “Yes, I’m afraid so,” he said.
“I feel so useless,” Annabelle said wrapped around a heavy sigh.
“Annabelle, no. What would I do without your support?” I asked. “Plus, you have more paranormal skills than you know. After all, you allowed Nicolas’ mother to channel through you at the séance.” I gave a lopsided grin.
Annabelle gave a little smile. “That’s true, I did do that.”
I nodded. “See, you helped. Now come on. Let’s go to the kitchen and try a spell.”
We gathered around the cauldron and held hands as Annabelle watched. With any luck, the spell would lead me to the necklace and block whatever junk someone was throwing my way. If it didn’t work, then I wasn’t sure what I would do next. I was at the end of my witchy rope. LaVeau Manor was a gigantic place and it would take forever to search every room. Although I’d try the attic first since that was where I’d found the Book of Mystics. My great Aunt Maddy was eccentric and she could have hidden the necklace or buried it in the backyard for all I knew.
Once the water bubbled, it was time to add the spices. The room began its dazzling show. Annabelle grabbed the counter for balance as the wind whipped around her. The energy zapped from Liam and Jon to me.
I tossed in the last of the spices. “Bring back the spirit near, it should not cause fear. So mote it be.” That wasn’t good enough for me though. I decided to add my own words to the spell. After all, calling to the elements had helped me use the magic to my full potential before. I needed all the help I could get for this important spell. “Element of Earth, I call to you to allow the spirit to rise again. Element of Air, I call to you to push the spirit back to the manor. Element of Fire, I call to you for warmth and protection. Help me have the knowledge. Element of Water, I call to you for force and tranquility. Give the spirit the power to return.”
Blue and red lights swirled up and out from the cauldron and began to make a circle around me. The wind whipped my hair as a fiery wind blew through the kitchen. Smoke bellowed up from the cauldron as the water bubbled up to the top.
Finally, the smoke settled, the water boiled no more, the breeze stilled, the lightshow in my vision stopped, and the smell of Mother Earth vanished.
I released a deep breath and looked around the room. It was the calm after the storm. Had the spell worked? As if on cue, footsteps sounded in the library again. My heart beat faster. With any luck, the spell had worked and Nicolas’ mother had now returned from the dead.
The spell pulled at me, like a giant magnet, willing me to move out of the kitchen and through the house. My whole body tingled from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.
“I feel weird. I think the spell is working,” I said, shaking my arms as if that would make it go away.
“That’s a good thing. Let it lead you to the necklace,” Liam said with confidence in his voice.
As if being guided by an unseen force, I walked through the parlor, then the library and toward the foyer. Everyone followed behind me, anxious to see where this spell was leading me. I hoped it didn’t make me take a wrong turn right out a window because it didn’t seem as if I could stop myself from moving forward at this moment. I turned to the left and moved up the stairs to the second floor.
When I glanced over my shoulder, I was shocked to see that Annabelle had followed me. She never came upstairs. The only way she would have come upstairs was if the house had been on fire and she had to save me. Even then she’d try to recruit a gorgeous firefighter to do the job.
“Annabelle, what are you doing? I can’t believe you’re coming up the stairs.” I glanced over my shoulder to gauge her panicked expression.
She shrugged. “I made it through being possessed. I figure I can make it through a little trip upstairs.”
Wow. She did have a point though. I was proud of her. She was facing her fears—something I should do more often.
When I reached the second floor landing, I turned to my left and continued up the next flight of stairs. This was the top floor of the manor. There was nowhere else to go from there, other than the roof. Please don’t let this spell take me to the roof. I was terrified of heights and that was one fear I was not ready to tackle. We moved up the last flight of stairs and then down the long hallway, finally coming to a stop in front of the little attic door.
“This is where I found the Book of Mystics. Apparently, this was a go-to hiding spot for my aunt,” I said, placing my hand on the tarnished brass doorknob.
As I turned the knob and pushed on the little wooden door, it creaked out as if welcoming us. With a slight pause, I stepped into the stuffy room. Dust motes flooded through the air as I disturbed the space. I’d caught Liam looking for the Book of Mystics in there one night. A lot had happened since then. Liam, Annabelle, and Jon followed me into the room. The men had a harder time fitting through the door, but they twisted their way inside.
“Wow, this place is creepier than I imagined,” Annabelle said with a tense smile. She rubbed her arms to ward off a chill.
There had always been rumors that my great-great-great-grandfather’s bones had been hidden up in the attic. But that was just urban legend, something the kids told each other during Halloween. At least I hoped that was the truth. It did make me wonder what had actually happened to him. I knew very little about him other than that he’d been a famed alchemist. Had he been the leader of the Underworld way back then? That was something I filed away in my mind to look into if I ever got the time.
“I cleared out most of the things. I did find a map with all the books’ locations marked on it under the floor,” I said.
“I wonder if there are more hiding places under the floor.” Jon scanned the area.
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Is the spell still pulling you?” Liam asked.
I shook my head. “Sadly, no. I don’t feel anything now. But it brought us to this room. That has to mean something, right?”
“All we can do is look.” Liam raked his hand through his hair.
“We could break up and look in sections,” Annabelle said as she fidgeted her hands.
“That’s a good idea. How about you and Jon do the front half and Liam and I will do the back half,” I said, pointing around the space.
“Sounds good,” Jon said, clapping his hands. “Let’s get to work.”
Liam and I moved to the back section of the room.
I flashed Liam a nervous smile. “This is crazy, right?”
“I’ve seen a lot crazier,” he said.
“I’ll look on this side and you can look on that side.” I gestured around the room.
I pulled out the boxes and painstakingly went through each one with no luck. They were full of old clothes with feathers and silk. My Great-Aunt Maddy had everything in there from utensils to teddy bears. It was a good thing she hadn’t been a hoarder or I never would have finished sorting through her items.
When I reached the last box, it was full of postcards from people all around the world. I flipped through a few, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She sure had a lot of friends. The last postcard caught my eye though. It had yellowed with age, but the front displayed a photo of The Eiffel Tower. My hands froze when I flipped it over and saw the writing. It was in the same strange language as the Book of Mystics.
The postcard had been addressed to my great-aunt from Catherin. What was going on? Catherin had acted as if she had been dead and never returned from the dead. If she had died in the 1800s and the postcard was marked 1938, then how had that happened? She had to be lying to me. If she was lying about this, then what else was she lying about?
“Look at this,” I said, holding up the old postcard.
Liam stopped searching under the loose floorboard and stepped closer. “What is it?”
“Look at the bac
k. It has some of the same strange writing as the Book of Mystics. But more importantly, look who signed it,” I said, tapping the postcard with my index finger.
Annabelle and Jon had stepped closer. “What did you find?” Annabelle asked.
“Catherin sent this post card to my great aunt in 1938, but according to Catherin and the tombstone in the graveyard, she died in 1865. She is lying to me. But what else is she lying about? She had the necklace that connected her to the New Orleans Coven. When she comes back, I will demand answers,” I said.
Annabelle’s face turned a couple shades lighter.
“What does the postcard say?” Annabelle asked straining to look over at the aged paper.
“It says she’ll be back soon.” I looked up at everyone. “That doesn’t say much, huh?”
“Where is the postmark?” Liam asked.
“Far away in Paris.” I pointed at the postmark.
“May I see it?” Liam held out his hand. After studying it for a moment, he said, “We’ll have to ask her about this.”
“I’d like to hear her explanation.” Annabelle shook her head.
The likelihood that there was another Catherin who knew my Aunt Maddy was slim.
“She has a lot of explaining to do.” I felt stupid for falling for her games.
“I have a feeling that she’ll just make up another lie.” Liam handed the postcard back to me.
“We may never know what secret she’s hiding,” Jon said.
Sadly, Jon was probably right.
“Liam was a part of the New Orleans Coven. Didn’t you know what was going on in that plantation?” Jon said.
Liam glared at Jon. The last thing I needed was for them to get into a fight.
“When I was there nothing was on the wall. It must have been a new thing,” Liam said through gritted teeth.
“When we were there the other night I didn’t notice it,” I said in Liam’s defense.
Of course it had been dark… but still.
“We shouldn’t argue about what happened in the past, let’s just worry about right now,” Annabelle said.
“She’s right. We don’t have time to debate this. Let’s get back to looking for the necklace.” I had little patience for playing the blame game right now.
As I stacked the boxes back into the corner where I’d found them, Liam broke the silence.
“I think I’ve found something,” Liam said, drawing my attention away from the boxes.
This place was a treasure trove of hidden secrets. Liam held the linen cloth in the palm of his hand. It had been tied with a piece of jute. A tiny gasp escaped my lips when Liam untied the string and unfolded the cloth. I hadn’t meant for that reaction, but it was hard to hide my shock at what I saw. The item was unmistakable. Inside the fabric was a wooden stake. The pointed end was sharp and looked as if it had been used… more than once.
“Is that what I think it is?” Annabelle asked. Her eyes looked like they would pop out at any second.
“It’s a stake used to kill a vampire,” Liam said softly.
I knew that wasn’t something Liam wanted to see.
“Was it used on someone?” she asked.
“Probably, yes. That’s why it was bound. The vampire who was killed by this stake was not a pleasant person. The witch who did this was trying to bind the spirit of the vampire from ever returning.” Liam seemed transfixed by the object.
I exchanged a glance with Liam. There was never a dull moment at LaVeau Manor.
“What do you think that means?” I asked, looking over his shoulder.
“By the look of the cloth, I’d say it’s been here for a while. I’m not sure if it came from my Aunt Maddy. It may have been before her time. Although she’d lived many years, so it was possible she’d performed the spell when she was younger.”
Liam folded the stake back in the cloth.
“Let’s finish looking so we can get out of here.” I trudged back to the corner that I’d been scrutinizing.
After searching through the last box, and not finding another postcard like the one from Catherin, I closed the boxes and looked around the room. I’d exhausted all my options.
“I found it,” Annabelle yelled.
She ran over with the necklace clutched tightly in her hand. “It’s the necklace, right?” she asked breathlessly.
I took the necklace from her outstretched hand. How would I know if this necklace was the right one? My aunt could have had a hundred pieces of costume jewelry hidden away. There was only one way to find out if it worked.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The necklace was similar to the one I’d found at the plantation and the one I’d found in Catherin’s room. However, the symbol on this one was a little different. It had a circle in the middle with small circles running through it, then scrolled patterns at the top and bottom.
Like the other necklace, this one was gold and had the same gold chain. Unlike the other necklaces though, this one had an energy emitting from it as I held it in the palm of my hand.
“I have a feeling this is the necklace,” I said as I studied the necklace.
“It has a lot of magic around it,” Liam said.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out if it’s the right one. I’ll see if the magic works when I’m wearing it. And the first spell I plan to cast is a call to meeting, just like the Book of Mystics said.” I tried hard to keep the insecurity out of my voice.
Liam smiled as if I’d just learned how to ride a bike or figured out how to tie my shoelaces.
“Let’s get out of this creepy room before we find something that I don’t want to see,” Annabelle said.
Annabelle and Jon hurried down the stairs, but Liam grabbed my arm as we headed toward the staircase. I stopped and spun around to face him.
“Are you sure about calling the meeting? Things are unpleasant with Jacobson now, but when he finds out what you want to do, it will get a lot worse,” Liam said.
“So I’m supposed to allow him to continue to be a bully? You are the last person who I thought would want to put up with that.” I fixed him with a stare.
Liam exhaled. “No, I don’t want to allow him to get away with that, but I don’t want him to come after you.”
“That’s just the chance I’ll have to take. It’s my job now. Besides, I have to get Nicolas back,” I said.
Liam looked down. I knew he wanted to say something, but was currently having a debate in his mind about whether to speak up or keep his mouth shut.
“Don’t you want to help your brother?” I asked.
He looked up and met my gaze. “No, I do want to help him.”
There was more to that sentence. Liam wasn’t telling me everything. After all that had happened, I didn’t know what my feelings were for Nicolas and Liam. I was more confused than ever, but I knew I had to help Nicolas.
Liam grabbed my hand and we headed downstairs. I couldn’t deny the way his hand felt in mine. I couldn’t lie and say that the thought of calling a Coven meeting didn’t leave my anxious, but it had to be done. I had to put on my big girl witch panties and do the right thing for once.
Liam and I gathered around the cauldron while Jon and Annabelle stayed in the parlor. I thought she needed a break from the magic for a few minutes. Besides, if things went as planned and the necklace worked—I know, my plans never worked out—then I wouldn’t need anyone’s help performing magic from this point forward. I’d get rid of the spell-blocking someone had placed on me and find out who was doing it in the first place.
As I placed the book on the counter, I didn’t even have time to search for the spell before the book started turning pages on its own. The pages flipped with the wind until finally stopping. When I glanced down at the page, the spell was written in English. Another spell that I could understand. I’d have to check the other pages and see if the language barrier was finally broken.
“It stopped on a spell,” I said, glancing up at Liam.
&nb
sp; “Let’s do it before it disappears,” he said, tapping the page.
Liam and I ran around gathering the items listed on the page. Finally, I began to recite the words: “Element of Earth, I call to you. Strip the power that is binding me.” As I threw herbs into the cauldron, I recited the words: “Element of Air, I call to you to push the unnatural force from this place.” Grabbing more herbs and tossing them into the water, I recited the words: “Element of Fire, I call to you for warmth and protection while I oversee the call of witches.” With the last of the herbs, I splashed them into the water, and said: “Element of Water, I call to you for force and tranquility. Give me the force to change the power and banish the evil.”
When the herbs hit the water, flames flicked and crackled from the cauldron. The necklace vibrated around my neck. Only time would tell if this spell had worked.
“If this spell worked, then they’ll be here tonight,” I said, touching the pendant around my neck.
“Where do you think your guests are?” Liam asked.
I’d been so distracted that I’d forgotten we had to find Catherin.
“I don’t know, but I have an idea whatever they’re doing isn’t good,” I said with a click of my tongue.
“We could look for them, but I wouldn’t even know where to start,” he said, peering down into the cauldron.
“Which reminds me, I have to check to see if I can read the rest of the Book of Mystics.” I moved over to the book and flipped the pages.
Everything was written in English, not just the instructions on how the Underworld was structured, but the rules that I had to enforce. It would take hours, if not days to figure everything out.
“Where do we start?” I asked.
“From the beginning,” Liam said, touching my chin. “We have all day.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We’d just reached the section in the book that might contain the mysterious symbol when we ran out of time. The Coven members would be arriving at any second. As part of the ritual, I lit candles around the room.
I’d just lit the last candle when the doorbell rang. Liam squeezed my hand as I sucked in a deep breath and walked to the door. I was bracing myself for the worst—anything less than that would be a success.