by Rose Pressey
I considered myself somewhat of a brave person, but being surrounded by the tall trees and darkness was unsettling. If you’d told me a month ago that I’d be running through the woods in the dark of night with a vampire warlock, I would have told you that you’d been drinking way too much. Fallen branches snapped under our feet and the rustling of leaves stirred high in the treetops.
Up ahead under the screen of overhanging branches, I spotted movement. If it was some kind of wild animal I would freak out. Witches, vampires, demons, I could handle. What if it was a werewolf? No, I didn’t want to think about it.
“Did you see that?” I asked Liam as we continued our trek.
“See what?” he asked without looking at me.
“That!” I pointed.
It was that moment that I realized Nicolas was walking up ahead. How had he gotten there? Was it the real Nicolas? “It’s Nicolas… at least I think it’s him,” I hurried forward in hopes that I’d catch him.
“Nicolas,” Liam yelled.
We ran ahead after Nicolas, but within a couple seconds he’d turned to the right. When we reached the spot where he’d turned, we paused and searched for any sign of him. He was nowhere in sight.
“Where did he go?” There was nothing but trees as far as I could see.
Liam shook his head. “I don’t know. Do you know who lives in the house next door?”
“No. I never met them. I haven’t been here long, you know.”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain to me why you haven’t been neighborly. Come on, we’ll continue and see if he shows up there.” He reached out, gently lacing his fingers with mine.
Chapter Thirty-One
When we came out into the clearing, I spotted the house in front of us. We paused under the shadow of the sizeable red brick house. Cupolas, spires, and scrolled balconies decorated the façade. Each window was completely dark. Just what I needed, it looked as if they weren’t home.
“I don’t even want to think about what we’ll do if no one is home,” I said as we crept across the lawn like cat burglars.
“We’ll stay positive. Maybe they’re just sleeping.” Liam tried to sound optimistic.
“Good point. It is late. What if they call the police because we knock on the door this late?” I asked while glancing over my shoulder.
Liam grinned. “That would be a good thing. The police could give us a ride.”
We made our way up the front steps and to the front door. Liam rang the bell and I cringed at the loud noise. If someone was sleeping in there they wouldn’t be after that racket. After I was ready to give up on anyone answering the door, a shuffling sound came from inside the house.
“Who is it?” the little voice croaked through the wooden door.
“Oh no. We woke a little old lady. There’s no way she’ll answer the door for us,” I whispered.
“You talk to her. She’ll be more likely to speak with a woman,” Liam said.
“My name is Hallie LaVeau and I live next door. I’m afraid I locked myself out of my house. We need to use a phone,” I yelled through the door.
I would have attempted a spell to call someone, but it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. Plus, I didn’t want to send out the magic, allowing Claude and Catherin to know where we were.
“Did that sound sincere?” I whispered to Liam.
He shook his head. “Not really. You sound like you’re the big bad wolf trying to talk your way in.”
I poked him in the side.
“LaVeau… Oh yes,” she said as recognition hit her.
The rattling of the lock made me flash Liam a smirk.
“Don’t get too cocky,” he said with a grin.
She opened the door just a little and peeked out. All I saw was an eye and a little bit of white hair piled on top of her head. She looked us up and down but the door didn’t open any further. If she didn’t let us in, I’d have to take back that smirk I’d just given Liam. Finally, she opened the door wider. She wore a blue robe and white slippers.
“I’ve meant to come visit you for some time,” the old woman said.
I supposed I hadn’t been a good neighbor. Maybe I could whip her up a batch of my magically made cupcakes if I ever got my magic mojo back.
“I’m sorry I didn’t stop by and introduce myself earlier. This is my friend Liam Rankin.” I wasn’t about to tell her he was my bodyguard. That would scare her to death.
She waved off my statement with her bony hand. “Think nothing of it. My name is Estelle Fairchild.”
“It’s lovely to meet you,” I said, looking around trying to avoid the awkwardness.
“Again, we are sorry for disturbing you at this late hour. Is it all right if we use your phone?” Liam said, looking over her shoulder into her home.
She stared at him for a moment and I thought she was ready to tell him to get lost. Instead, she said, “I do have some things that belonged to your aunt’s. I think you should have them.”
I hadn’t expected that. What could she possibly have of Aunt Maddy’s? “What kind of things?” I asked.
“Come inside and I’ll get them for you,” she said as she shuffled out of the way and motioned for us to enter.
The inside of Estelle’s home was dark except for the faint glow of light from a room in the back. The house was large like LaVeau Manor and had a lot of the same details. I imagined it had been built around the same time—maybe even built by the same architect. Estelle held up her index finger, then shuffled down the hall, disappearing into a room.
“What do you think she has?” Liam whispered.
I shrugged. “With my aunt it could be any number of odd things.”
When Estelle returned, she handed me a wooden box. Unlike the box that I’d found hidden outside of LaVeau Manor, this one didn’t have a lock. I looked up at her and she just gave me a knowing smile, motioning for me to open the box. By her expression, I assumed she’d already looked inside the box at its contents. I’d never seen Estelle at the Coven get-togethers, so I was almost positive she wasn’t a witch.
“When did she give this to you?” I asked.
“Hmm. Well, I guess I don’t know. My memory isn’t what it used to be,” she said with a wave of her hand.
Apprehension ran through me as I eased the lid of the box open. My stomach turned when I saw that inside was another bound item, tied in the fabric with the same jute cord as the stake we’d found in the attic. I glanced over at Liam, but his expression remained resolute. In addition to the bound item, a small leather-bound book lay inside as well. It looked well-worn and the gold letters on the front had faded years ago. Without even peeking at the bound item, I shut the lid of the box. I’d look at the items later. Right now we needed to use the phone and get out of there.
“Is it all right if we use the phone now?” I asked.
“Oh, please help yourself.” She gestured toward the small walnut-colored table in the corner of the room.
Liam picked up the receiver on the outdated phone and dialed the number. It took forever with that rotary spinning each number.
Estelle and I awkwardly watched each other.
“You look like your Great Aunt Madeline.” She pointed at my face. “You have the same clear blue eyes and small button nose.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
After a minute, Liam placed the receiver back and returned to my side. “Jon and Annabelle are on their way.”
“Would you care for some tea?” she asked as she stood.
I waved my hand. “Oh, no. We’ve taken up too much of your time already. We’ll just wait for our ride outside.”
She frowned as if I’d just given her the highest insult possible. “It will only take a moment.”
Liam shrugged.
“Okay. That would be lovely, thank you.” I flashed a giant smile.
Estelle shuffled off to the kitchen. I couldn’t believe we were drinking tea when we needed to be looking for Nicolas. I felt Liam star
ing at me.
“What could I say?” I whispered after she left to make tea.
“I don’t even like tea.” Liam leaned back in the chair.
I lowered my voice and said, “Pretend to drink it.”
After placing the water on the stove, Estelle returned, sitting directly across from us in the white wingback chair. The room was packed with an assortment of furniture—cherry, walnut, and mahogany pieces covered almost every available space. Massive wood bookcases took up the wall across from us. I wondered if she had spell books too.
She placed her hands in her lap. “I am sorry about your great-aunt. She was a delightful woman.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“So are you enjoying your new home? I heard you had a party the other night.” She eyed me suspiciously.
“Um, yes. It was just a one-time event though.” I shifted in my seat.
Her relentless stare made me feel as if I was in the principal’s office. I hadn’t been there since I’d accidentally changed his suit into a dress in the middle of the school assembly. High school had been a tough time for me. Thank goodness that had been years ago now.
I was already making excuses for wild parties and I’d only just moved in. There was no way she’d heard the party. It was too far away.
The headlights from a car spilled through the window and flashed across the room.
I stood and said, “Well, there’s our ride. Thank you again for everything.”
Estelle was a lovely woman, but I was ready to get out of there. She followed us as we walked toward the door.
“Your aunt used to bring me her homemade desserts.” One corner of her mouth twisted into a little smile.
I glanced over at Liam and he smiled. I took her comment as a hint. “I’d be happy to make you something if you’d like. It would be my way of saying thank you for holding on to my aunt’s belongings.”
She grinned bashfully. “Well, don’t go to any trouble.”
I was unable to hold back a chuckle. “Oh, it’s no trouble. Thank you again for the box.”
I waved as we stepped off the porch and climbed into Jon’s waiting car. Annabelle was sitting in the front seat. When I jumped in the backseat, she said, “What happened? What’s going on?”
“As it turns out, Catherin and Claude aren’t so nice after all,” I said, buckling my seatbelt.
“They actually locked you out of your own place?” Jon asked as he backed the car up.
“Yes, and they stole the necklaces. Catherin ripped it off my neck. I would have snatched it back, but they’d placed a spell on me. I did nothing but walk right out the door while they slammed it in my face. Liam was affected too. He walked right out the door with me.” The more I spoke the louder my voice grew. Excitement had a way of causing that reaction from me.
“So you didn’t get to ask Catherin about the postcard?” Annabelle asked.
I ran my hand through my hair and let out a deep breath. “I asked, but she didn’t answer. I did get this box from the neighbor though. She said it was my great-aunt’s.”
“What’s in it?” Annabelle twisted in the front seat and looked back at us.
I opened the box and unfolded the fabric from the item. It was just as I’d suspected.
“It’s another stake. Plus there’s a small book that I haven’t had a chance to look at until now.” I pulled out the little leather book.
When I flipped open the cover, I realized that it was my great-aunt’s journal. Written in cursive, the pages were yellowed and very fragile. It consisted mostly of simple spells for gardening or baking. I’d almost given up on finding anything interesting written in the book when I flipped through a few pages and saw the symbols.
“It has the symbols,” I said breathlessly.
“What?” Liam leaned over in the seat.
“Look, it talks about the symbol we found on the necklace from the plantation and from Catherin’s room. It’s part of a demonic cult. They were vampires and apparently staked.”
Liam’s face turned white. “It’s all coming back to me now.”
“What’s all coming back to you?” I asked. What dreadful thing was I about to discover? I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle.
Liam paused, then finally said, “Nicolas and his mother, Gina staked the vampires who turned us. I was supposed to be there that night to help him, but I didn’t make it in time.” Liam gazed out the window for a second before continuing, “The vampires who turned them were part of a demonic cult. The cult was led by a vampire and he vowed revenge if anything ever happened to them. I guess that means he came back as a demon. Gina’s sister, Mara… claimed she wasn’t a part of the cult, but we know how that turned out.”
Jon glanced at us in the rear-view mirror. “So they’ve come back for Nicolas? Then why is Nicolas acting this way?”
“Jacobson and his sister have to be a part of this cult. And so do Catherin and apparently Claude,” I said.
“We haven’t seen the real Nicolas since the night he left,” Liam said.
“What does that mean?” Annabelle asked.
“Someone is using a spell and pretending to be Nicolas. We just need to find out what happened to the real Nicolas.” Liam exchanged a worried glance with me.
I flipped a page and saw another name that I recognized. Sabrina Stratford’s name was mentioned as a vampire. She had been turned by the same group who had turned Nicolas and his family. I couldn’t believe that this information had fallen into my lap, so to speak. Poof, it had appeared at just the right time. I didn’t think that was a coincidence. There was some other magic in play.
As I continued to leaf through the book, I realized one thing. “Wait. I think we’re going to need more witches to fight this thing. Annabelle, can I use your cell phone?”
“Sure,” she said, handing me the phone.
With a shaky hand, I dialed my mother’s number. “
Hallie, what’s wrong?” she asked with panic.
My mother always thought something was wrong when I called at that time of night. So what if she was right this time.
“Mom, I’m fine. Take a deep breath.”
I heard her take a couple deep breaths, then she said, Okay… I’m calm.”
Now that I’d calmed her somewhat, I laid the big whammy on her. “Can you get the Coven members together and come to LaVeau Manor right away?”
“What’s the problem?” she rushed her words.
“I’ve been locked out of LaVeau Manor by a couple of demon witches,” I said.
Coming from me, I knew that wasn’t such an odd admission.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Within a minute, we were pulling up in front of LaVeau Manor. A chill ran down my spine at the thought of Catherin and Claude taking over LaVeau Manor. In the short time I’d owned the place, I’d grown attached. The thought of someone harming the manor made me furious.
“Are you sure you want to take on these witches?” Jon’s voice seemed less than confident.
I fixed my gaze on him and answered with as much assurance that I could gather up. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Jacobson and Sabrina will probably be here soon if they know Catherin and Claude are about to battle it out with you,” Liam said.
“I hope there is no battle.” I released a deep breath and opened the car door. “We’ll sneak up and try the door again while we wait for the Coven members to show up,” I said as we all climbed out of the car.
The four of us stood in front of the house, peering up at it. Silvery light from the moon pierced the thick cover of darkness. A night wind ruffled the nearby trees as if sending us a warning. The open veranda stretched the width of the house as the four towering columns rose skyward, gleaming in the moonlight. The manor’s lights shone brightly in the night sky, but there was no movement from inside.
“Maybe Liam and I should check the door while you all stay down here and keep an eye on the place. Yell if Catherin or Claude c
ome from the back,” I said.
“You got it,” Annabelle said in her bravest voice.
When Liam and I made it to the front door, he turned the knob, but it still wouldn’t budge. Using the strength of his body, he pushed on the door, but it was no use. I stepped over to the window and cupped my hands over my eyes, peeking in the parlor. The bright lights made it impossible to see anything.
“They have to come out sometime, right?” I asked, peering in the window again.
“Yeah… at least I think so.” His eyebrows drew together in an exasperated expression.
When we turned around and headed back down the veranda steps, Annabelle or Jon weren’t standing where we’d left them.
“Where did they go?” I asked as we neared the car.
Liam scanned the area. “I don’t know.”
By the look on his face, I knew he was concerned. They wouldn’t have just walked off.
“Someone took them, didn’t they?” I asked, searching Liam’s eyes for a truthful answer.
Finally, he nodded. “Yes, probably so. I can’t imagine where they’d be, but let’s check the back of the manor.”
As we eased around the house, I peered in each window, but still couldn’t see any sign of Catherin or Claude.
“I don’t think they’re in there. They must have taken my keys and left,” I said.
“They probably went to the plantation,” Liam said.
As we rounded the corner and came back to the front of the manor, the Coven members pulled up behind Jon’s car. We’d have to cast a spell that would get rid of this demon once and for all.
My mother was the first to climb out from the van. “What’s happening?”
As I filled her in on what had happened to this point, the other Coven members joined us.
“We need to cast a spell that draws them out of the house if they are still in there.” The level of panic in my voice was a dead giveaway to my current freaked-out state.
“You think they’re not there anymore?” Misty asked.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think they’re in there and I think they took my friends too.”
The worry line deepened between Misty’s eyebrows. “Tell us what we need to do.”