by Rose Pressey
We made our way up the massive steps, but before approaching the front door, it swung open.
“Please come in.” A middle-aged woman with chestnut hair gestured for us to enter as she stepped out of the way.
Once inside, to my left was the parlor and on the right was the library. Books lined the shelves and wingback chairs sat in front of the fireplace. But no one was waiting for us in that room, everyone had gathered in the parlor.
As I stepped into the parlor, I looked around at the expectant faces. Fine furnishings and high ceilings highlighted the opulence of the room. A massive crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room.
New Orleans coven members were sitting around the parlor on the left when we entered. There were many faces that I’d never seen before. They were the coven members who’d recently joined the coven again. A couple men sat next to the window and two more stood by the fireplace. Several women sat on the sofa.
Kelley had suggested that I bring the Book of Mystics with me to fight Giovanni if we found him, but I hadn’t wanted to take it from its safe place.
“We came to help,” a woman said as she pushed to her feet.
I looked around the room at all the people watching me. “Why do you want to help?” I asked.
“We want you to be the leader. We want Liam to be the New Orleans Coven leader. All of that will change if someone else comes into power. Liam has been talking about you nonstop. He has so many wonderful things to say about you. When you got rid of the bad coven members and made Liam the leader, we were able to join the coven again,” she said.
I glanced over at Liam. He was looking out the window and didn’t meet my gaze. When I glanced at Nicolas he had a worried look on his face. I couldn’t believe that Liam had talked about me. I wondered what exactly he’d said.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, running my hand through my hair and releasing a deep breath.
“Just tell us what you need us to do,” she said.
“Well, I’m not sure exactly. We need to find Giovanni.”
A woman appeared from the foyer. She had long blonde hair that swept away from her face. She wore bright red lipstick that looked gorgeous on her full lips. Her black dress hit every curve in just the right place.
“I saw Giovanni get in the car with Misty and another man,” she said, looking right at me.
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“It was about an hour ago,” she said.
“What were they doing here? Did they come inside the plantation?” I asked.
She shrugged as she moved across the room. She sat down on the arm of the sofa and crossed her legs. “I have no idea why they were here and, no, they didn’t come inside. I watched from the window.”
Did the coven members stay here often when Liam wasn’t here? Had there been a meeting?
“Is there anything else you aren’t telling us?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
She stared for a minute, then said, “I overheard that they were headed to that vampire bar. The popular one.”
“Was it called the Graveyard?” Liam asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Let’s go to the Graveyard,” I said, making my way to the door.
We hurried outside and climbed into the car. “I’ll drive if you want me to,” Liam offered.
Good idea considering I wasn’t sure exactly how to get to the bar. I’d only been there a couple of times.
“If they were going to the vampire bar then that means at least one of them had to be a vampire, right? Why else would they go there?” I asked.
“They’d probably go to a witches’ bar instead,” Kelley said.
I sat in the backseat with Nicolas and Kelley sat up front with Liam. When I looked up, Liam was looking at me through the rear-view mirror. I could have sworn he was looking at my lips. Was he thinking about the kiss that we’d shared? Nicolas squeezed my hand, bringing me away from the exchange with Liam. I don’t think he’d noticed that Liam was watching me, but I couldn’t be sure.
We finally pulled up to the bar and found a parking spot. The place was busy and people walked in all directions, coming and going from the bar and surrounding businesses. Music spilled out from the building, invading the night air. After making our way past the large bouncer, we stepped into the bar and it was crammed with people. How would we ever find Misty? Tables surrounded the edges of the space with the dance floor in the middle. Pulsating lights covered the area in an alternating blue, red and yellow glow. Loud conversations, even louder music, and clinking of glasses hurt my ears.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to find them,” I said, looking around the room.
“How about Kelley and I look on this side and you and Nicolas can look on the other side,” Liam said.
I nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”
Nicolas grabbed my hand and we took off across the crowded bar. We weaved through the crowd, looking at the faces standing and sitting around the room. In the corner of the room, I spotted them. Misty, Giovanni and Kevin were sitting at a table, talking and drinking. Giovanni paused as if he sensed me, but so far they hadn’t noticed us.
I nudged Nicolas and pointed them out. “There they are.”
We headed across the room and I didn’t let them out of my sight. I didn’t want them to get away from us. My stomach did a flip. I wondered what kind of confrontation this was going to be. Would Giovanni start a fight right there in the middle of the bar? Before we could make it through the crowd, the men stood and walked away, in the opposite direction.
“They’re leaving.” I pointed.
Misty was still sitting at the table with her back facing us. As far as I could tell she still didn’t know we were there. When we reached the table, I tapped her on the shoulder. When Misty spun around, she jumped and knocked over her drink.
“Hallie!” She chuckled nervously and clutched her chest. “What are you doing here?”
“Maybe the better question is what are you doing here?” I said.
She picked up her glass and tried to soak up the spilled liquid with her cocktail napkin. She was avoiding my gaze.
“Why did you come to this bar with them? Why are you in a vampire bar?” I asked.
Nicolas and I stood in front of her, staring down, waiting for an answer. She shook her head as if she didn’t want to answer.
“You know I won’t let you get by without giving me an answer and don’t even think about lying to me,” I said.
“Okay,” she said, holding her hands up. “Giovanni said he was going to be the new leader of the Underworld and that I should help him. He said that he would give me a special position in the Underworld. We came to meet a vampire Giovanni knows, but he never showed up.”
I glared at her. “I should have known.”
“I’m sorry, Hallie. But I really wanted the new job,” she said.
“You think he was going to really give you some great position with the Underworld? The man is a liar.”
She shrugged as if to say she wasn’t so sure he was lying.
“Where did they go?” I demanded.
“They were headed to another bar, but I don’t know which one,” she said.
I glared at her. “I swear if you are lying to me, you will be sorry.”
“I swear, Hallie, I don’t know which bar they were going to. I know it was a witches’ bar here in New Orleans,” she said.
I studied her face to see if she was really lying to me. I wasn’t sure if I was a good judge of character, but it seemed as if she was being honest for a change.
“We have to find out where Giovanni went,” Nicolas said. “Misty, you’re coming with us.”
She stood without protest and we followed as she walked through the crowd. I wasn’t about to let her get out of my sight now. I figured she’d take off running the first chance she got. I’d give her one more chance to tell me what she knew.
“Misty, now
that I’m the leader I don’t think you should keep anything from me. If you know where they went now is the time to be completely honest,” I said.
She looked over at me with apprehension in her eyes. Finally, she said, “They went to Spells and Spirits.”
“Thank you.” I knew she hadn’t wanted to give me the name, but now wasn’t the time for her games.
We made our way through the crowd and finally spotted Kelley and Liam. They were at the front of the bar, talking with a group of men. Liam was gesturing around the bar. It didn’t look as if this was a friendly confrontation. Before we approached the men turned around and walked out the door.
When I approached Liam I asked, “What was that all about?”
Liam shrugged. “They were just drunk, that’s all. They told us to get out of the bar.”
Kelley attempted a smile, but I felt like they were keeping something from me, as if something was wrong. I didn’t have time to debate it now though. Liam looked at Misty and she had to know he wasn’t happy with her either.
“I see you found Misty,” Liam said.
I glanced over at her. “She was with Giovanni and Kevin, but before we could get there they took off. She claims they were headed to some bar named Spells and Spirits. I have no idea where that is.”
“I know where it is. Let’s go.” Liam headed toward the door and we followed. Did he know where every bar was? I made Misty walk in front of us.
As we walked outside into the warm fall air, Misty glanced back at me. “Who is the girl with Liam and what’s with her clothes?” Misty asked.
There was no way I wanted to tell her that I’d brought Misty back from the 1980s. “I think she’s a friend of Liam’s,” I said as I quickened my steps.
“You think?” Misty frowned as she matched my pace.
“Okay, yes, she is,” I said, not looking over at Misty.
“She looks very familiar,” Misty said. “I know her from somewhere. Where’s she from?”
I glanced over at her. There was no way she could know her, right? “I’m not sure where she’s from,” I said quickly.
Misty quirked an eyebrow. “I’m shocked that you haven’t asked a million questions about her. Are they dating?”
My stomach did a flip at the mention. “Um, no, I don’t think they are, but I don’t know.”
“She’d be pretty if only she wasn’t wearing that clothing. Does she have a thing for Eighties? Madonna?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think that’s it,” I said quickly.
“Well, I don’t know where I know her from, but it’ll come to me eventually. I never forget a face,” she said.
When we finally reached the car I realized it was going to be a tight fit. Liam and Kelley sat in the front again. I was stuck in the backseat between Nicolas and Misty. Her strong floral perfume was already giving me a headache. A little went a long way. We were stuffed into the car so tightly that I wondered if we’d ever get out.
Misty leaned forward in the seat. Oh no, she was going to start asking Kelley questions. Why couldn’t she just let it go? Didn’t she have enough to worry about? Like me possibly stripping her of her coven leader status?
“Excuse me.” She tapped Kelley on the shoulder. Kelley looked back with a confused stare. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Misty asked.
Couldn’t Liam turn up the music or something?
“Probably not. I just got here,” Kelley said. Oh, thank goodness she didn’t tell on me.
“Where are you from?” Misty pushed for more details.
“I’m from Enchantment Pointe,” Kelley said.
Misty frowned. “Then why don’t I know you?”
“That’s because I just came back after a very long time away,” Kelley said.
Misty seemed to ponder this for a moment. Finally, she leaned back in her seat. I hoped that she’d finally let it go. But I knew by the look on her face that she’d probably approach the topic again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Liam navigated the French Quarter streets and we rode in silence. It was actually quite awkward. The bar wasn’t far, and I was thankful when we finally arrived so I could get out of the cramped backseat.
Spells and Spirits was in an old building, but it had lots of neon lights with potion bottles and other gimmicky symbols splashed across the front. We finally made our way through the crowd on the sidewalk and got inside the club.
The music was pumping. Bodies were packed into the place and the pace at which people were moving across the space was incredibly slow.
“There is no way we’ll ever find them in here.”
“You need to try a spell,” Nicolas said.
I quirked a brow. “What? What kind of spell? What if something goes wrong?”
“What could go wrong?” He bit his lip. “Oh well, I’m sure things will be fine. It will be better if you do the spell because you are the one looking for Giovanni the most.”
I began reciting the spell. It was specifically stated on the outside sign that no spells were allowed—just like every witch bar. But I was the leader and this was an emergency—surely there would be no problem with that.
Suddenly the crowd thinned out and the men came into view. The club seemed to come to a halt. Giovanni and Kevin spotted me. Giovanni glared and raised his arm up. He pointed at me and I braced for the spell that I knew was about to hit me. Multi-colored lights zinged across the room. It was like a light show. Screams and gasps rang out across the room.
I fell backward and landed on my butt. He’d definitely knocked the wind out of me. The men must have cast a spell on everyone, because people seemed to be frozen to the spot. I stumbled up and pointed at them, reciting the words. I pulled energy from Liam and Nicolas. Of course Misty and Kelley didn’t offer to allow me to use their energy.
Giovanni and Kevin took off across the room and disappeared down a dark, narrow hallway. Liam, Nicolas and I took off running in that direction. When we reached the hallway we spotted a door. We opened it and stepped out into the alley, but the men were nowhere in sight. Nicolas checked behind the Dumpsters, but didn’t find the men. When I caught a whiff of the nearby trash, I regretted inhaling. And the last thing I wanted to see was a rat.
“They got away again,” I said, letting out a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” Nicolas asked as he grabbed my arm.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” I nodded.
“Let’s get back inside and ask if anyone knows where they were headed,” Liam said.
When we returned inside the main area of the club, the music had stopped and people were standing around talking. All eyes were on us when we entered. They stopped talking and stared at me. The frowns on their faces took me off guard.
A man stomped over to us. “What the hell is going on here? Didn’t you read the sign?” he asked with venom in his voice.
“My name is Hallie LaVeau. I’m the new leader of the Underworld. I’m sorry about the magic, but we have a bit of a problem with those men. Do you know them or where they might have gone?” I gestured over my shoulder.
The man didn’t look impressed that I was the leader. “I know who you are. He told me all about you. You should give him the book,” he said.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. People had gathered around now and I was beginning to think that we should get out of there soon. They seemed to be forming a mob and it looked like they were ready to knock me out.
“All these people aren’t happy with you either and they want you out as leader,” he said. They all glared at me.
This definitely wasn’t going as planned. It looked like it was time for us to get out of there. “If you’ll excuse me, we’ll be leaving now,” I said.
I couldn’t believe that Giovanni had already told people about me. Who else had he already told about the situation? Soon he’d have the whole Underworld against me. I had to get to the bottom of this soon. There was no telling what would happen if I didn’t.
Peo
ple gathered around, circling us. “I think it’s time we get out of here, Hallie,” Liam said.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Everyone watched us as we moved across the space. Misty and Kelley were still waiting by the front door. When I looked back, everyone had stopped moving and seemed to be frozen in time. This was not a good sign.
“What is going on?” Kelley asked.
“I don’t know, but Giovanni told these people that I’m the enemy.”
“I can see that,” she said as she looked around the room.
The room was still standing still. I had to stop the spell that Giovanni had cast. I reached my arms out and recited the words. Lights and wind flashed and flew across the space. But it did nothing but make everyone collapse onto the floor. That definitely wasn’t the right spell.
Kelley stepped forward. “I’ve seen a spell like this before. Can I help?”
I shrugged. Where had she seen this spell before? Why did her magic work and not mine?
She whipped her arms around and the wind and lights seemed to do the right thing this time. Everyone climbed up from the floor. They seemed dazed at first, but soon their confusion turned to confrontation and they were glaring at us. We had recreated a hostile environment. Nicolas grabbed my arm.
“I think we’ve made a few people mad,” Liam said coyly.
I needed for Misty to tell me everything that had happened. “If you don’t tell me everything, I will have to take away your position as the leader of the Enchantment Pointe Coven,” I said.
Her mouth dropped open. “You can’t do that.”
I stared at her.
“Well, I guess you can, but I don’t know anything. All he wanted was the book and I told him I wasn’t sure if I could get it,” she said.
I knew what she was thinking. She thought that I didn’t have the right to fire her. She felt that Giovanni was the leader and should make that choice. But as of right now I was still the leader, and it was still my job to make sure the coven leaders did the right thing.