Charmed to Death

by Rose Pressey

  I hit her with another spell. She didn’t budge of course. That was when she cast another one my way. I was knocked backwards again. I got up quickly, but I wasn’t sure how many more times I could handle that. I cast another spell her way and then she counteracted it with another one. We had a tennis match going on, back and forth. Who would be the first one to give up? I was getting tired and it didn’t appear that she was at all. I didn’t know how she had so much strength.

  She moved forward and I knew she was about to attack me. I couldn’t let this happen. I used every ounce of energy I had and blew one last spell at her. If that didn’t work I wasn’t sure what I would do.

  The spell hit her. She stopped in her tracks. She didn’t move. Her expression was blank. I walked over to her.

  “Hello?” I said, waving my hand in front of her face.

  She didn’t move. She was in a trance.

  “Now who’s the best witch?” I said, taunting her.

  If she snapped out of the trance I would be in big trouble. So far I was good to go. Though now I just needed her to talk.

  “Tell me where to find my friends. And I know you had something to do with the vampires and the disappearance of the detective and my mother.” I stood in front of her with my arms crossed in front of my chest. “I demand that you tell me now. Where can I find them?”

  Finally she moved her arm, pointing toward the drive. She didn’t offer to cast a spell, but she didn’t speak either.

  “I’m supposed to go that way?” I asked.

  She continued pointing.

  “All right, you’re coming with me,” I said.

  I had to trust that she was telling the truth. After all, that was part of the spell—to get her to tell me where to find them. I had no other option. We couldn’t stand there forever. Time was running out. The longer they were missing the less chance I would have of finding them alive. I hated to admit that, but it was the truth and I knew it. It would be getting dark soon, so we needed to hurry. I wouldn’t let her out of my sight though. She was going to lead me to them if we had to walk forever.

  We set out walking down the drive. I had no idea how far we were going or if she was even going to lead me to Nicolas, Liam, and Annabelle. Plus I had to find my mother. I had no idea what had happened to my phone. It was gone now, so I was out here isolated and alone with this witch. Lucky for me I’d been able to put her under this trance. How long would it last?

  We reached the end of the drive and then started out down that road. There were no cars and I felt even more isolated. I glanced over at the witch. She was still walking along beside me. Her eyes had turned to a dark deep brown and no longer glowed. She stared straight ahead. I tried to come up with a plan in my mind for what I would do if this spell wore off. All I would be able to do was try the spell again.

  That was when I noticed a car up ahead. I was almost certain it was the detective’s car. I instantly became excited, hoping that my mother and the detective would be in there. I hurried my steps and made her hurry as well. As I got closer to the car, I was almost positive it was the same one. But unfortunately it didn’t look as if anyone was inside the car. When we reached the car I stopped.

  “Don’t move,” I said.

  She just stood there without speaking. I looked in the car, but saw no one. Fortunately for me, the keys were in the ignition. How had the car even gotten here? I had to take it. At least this would be better than walking. I was in a hurry and this would help get us there faster.

  I opened the car door. “Get in.”

  She did as she was told.

  I slipped behind the steering wheel inside of the car. I couldn’t believe I was driving with the witch right beside me. This was so odd.

  “You have to tell me where we’re going,” I said.

  She pointed again straight ahead. Why didn’t she speak? Soon we had reached Enchantment Pointe again. It was dark now. There were hardly any cars on the street.

  “Tell me where I’m going,” I said.

  I made the right turn.

  We passed my mother’s shop and my heart sank. I’d never felt this terrible in my entire life. Not knowing where she was made me sick. We continued on the road until we left the downtown area. This was the way back to the manor.

  “You have to tell me how much further. Where are we going? I’m going to need some gas in this car,” I said.

  Chapter 21

  I was driving along, thinking that I was making progress when I glanced over and realized that I was alone in the car. The witch had disappeared. How did she keep doing that? How did she get her magic? It couldn’t be that much better than mine. I couldn’t make myself disappear like that. Well, maybe I could for a short time, but it wasn’t anything like hers, where I could actually be somewhere else and never have to come back.

  I reached over and touched the area where she had been sitting. Sure enough, there was nothing there. I remembered back to the time when I’d changed my appearance to look someone else. That was the best magic I had ever done. Apparently, my spell against the witch hadn’t lasted long enough. Now what would I do? I wouldn’t be able to find everyone without her. The only thing I could think to do was to go back to the manor.

  Pulling up to the drive, I raced inside. The house stood silent. As I moved from room to room it felt as if someone watched me. The uneasiness crept along with me. I glanced over my shoulder several times. No one was there. Coming back here had been a waste of time. I needed to get out of here, but where would I go to find them now? I had to solve this mess that I had found myself in.

  Just as I was moving toward the foyer the doorbell rang. I stopped in my tracks. Like I’d said before, every time that bell rang I figured it was something bad. Usually, it was. There was no way I could ignore the bell. Was it the witch? It had to be, right? I mean, the person would just stay there, and if they were bad they would probably just try to break in. Plus, I needed to get out of here and look for everyone. What if it was Nicolas, Liam, or Annabelle? They would just come on in. I probably didn’t have time to do a spell, so I would just have to answer. I sucked in a deep breath and pushed my shoulders back, taking off for the front door. I prepared myself for a battle every time I opened the door. Nevertheless I swung it open, this time ready to fight. That was when I saw the collapsed vampire right at my feet.

  “Are you okay?” I knelt down beside him.

  Based on the stake through his heart, I knew the answer to that question. Another murdered vampire. This vampire was only half-vampire. That was why he wasn’t just a pile of ashes now. Only the full vampires turned to ashes when staked. And I recognized this guy. It was the one who had also been talking with Thomas. Now both of them were gone. Why was he here at the manor? Something told me he was either here to cause harm or to relay a message. Now I wouldn’t know which one.

  The more important question was if someone had murdered him right here on my porch then where were they now? Were they lying in wait for me? I glanced around to see if anyone was hiding. Not that I would have been able to find them if they had a good hiding spot. Nevertheless, I looked.

  I rushed back in the house and closed the door, locking it behind me. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t help him at this point, so I had to save myself. If someone was out there ready to jump at me, then I couldn’t be out there as an easy target. So now I needed to call someone, but who? This would be terrible news for Cassandra, as well as for everyone in the Underground. What had happened to her?

  This had to stop and I still had no clue who was responsible. I had to call the Enchantment Pointe Police so that they could come and investigate. There was only so much that I could do. The more people I had on this case, the better off I’d be. Plus, they could help the poor guy lying on my front porch. I dialed the phone with a shaky hand and told them what had happened. I hoped they were here quickly. I peered out the window to see if anyone was around. It was so quiet out there. Eerily quiet.

  Even th
ough I knew the detective had Cassandra’s cell phone, I couldn’t help but call. Maybe she’d shown back up at the office and the detective had given her the phone back. I dialed the number and waited. Someone answered the call, but they didn’t speak. There was noise on the other end on the line, but I couldn’t place exactly what was going on in the background.

  “Cassandra? Is that you?” I asked.

  “She’s not here,” the female said in a clipped tone.

  I recognized the voice. It was Marissa.

  “Where are you?” I demanded.

  She laughed and then the phone went dead. I immediately dialed again. This time she wouldn’t answer. Sirens echoed outside. I raced over to the window and peered outside again. Thank goodness they were here. I didn’t like being alone in this situation. Now I had to talk to the police so I could get out of here and back to looking for everyone. I hurried over to the door and opened it to find officers already surrounding the body.

  “Another dead vampire.” The officer stared down at the body.

  “Yeah, obviously, and we don’t have a clue who did it,” I said.

  “Well, we’ll look around here and see if we can find any clues for you,” he said.

  “Thanks a lot. I have to get out of here.”

  “Where are you going? You have to answer questions for us.”

  “There’s no time for that now. I have to find my friends and family.”

  He shrugged and went back to examining the body. I assumed they wouldn’t suspect me because I was the leader. Of course that didn’t mean I hadn’t done it. They’d probably have a lot of questions for me if I didn’t find the killer soon. I had to locate this person before the police started pointing fingers at me.

  I eased around the vampire and down the steps. Something told me they wouldn’t find clues and they probably would never catch the killer without a little magic help. I couldn’t sit around and wait for them to find a clue. I had to get out of there and find the killer on my own before they had a chance to do this again.

  I took off down the driveway. The police didn’t even seem to notice that I was leaving. This was a little disheartening. The killer could have been around all along and they would never even have noticed. I pulled out of the driveway and headed for downtown Enchantment Pointe again. Where I was going once I got there, I had no idea.

  The witch had been around both of the vampires, so what was the connection there? I had seen them talking to Thomas. He had been there when the first one had been offed. Had he been there this time as well and I just hadn’t seen him? Thomas had popped up out of nowhere and now he was gone the same way.

  After the short drive, I arrived in Enchantment Pointe. I made a few turns and found myself near the National Vampire Association. I really didn’t want to go in there again. What if Marissa had returned though? What if she’d done something to the other detective who had been waiting at the building and that was how she’d gotten Cassandra’s phone? It was just too dark and creepy in there. I got the shivers every time I had to go in.

  I was close to my mother’s shop too. Before I went to the vampire building I decided to swing by my mother’s shop… just in case. I felt lost and alone. What if I never found them? As I neared I thought for sure I spotted a woman by the front door of Bewitching Bath and Beauty. I parked the car and took off toward the shop. Once there I realized it was just a shopper wondering why the store was closed. This made it even more difficult. I had to tell her I wasn’t sure when the store would be open again.

  Everything else was just as my mother had left it. Now it was time to get back to the vampire building. As I hurried back down the sidewalk toward the car, the woman who ran the bakery next door to my mother’s beauty shop stopped to me.

  “Halloween, can I talk to you for just a moment?” she asked.

  Maybe she knew something about the investigation. Probably not, but the look of concern on her face had me worried.

  “I just found out something that I thought was quite curious and I wanted to let you know.” She wiped her hands on her apron.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Well, it seems there’s a woman who is a witch, of course, but she’s up to no good. Maybe it’s nothing, but I wanted to tell you anyway. Sometimes I just can’t seem to mind my own business.” She smiled.

  “Well, in this case it might be a good thing. Why don’t you tell me what she’s done and I’ll be the judge on whether you should mind your own business or not?”

  I had a feeling I knew which witch she was referring to.

  “Sounds like a good plan,” she said. “Apparently she’s been recruiting people, telling them that she has special powers now and that she can help them out of anything.”

  My stomach turned at the mention of this. “Why does she have special powers?”

  “She claims she found something that gives her extra-special powers now. This could just be a rumor and all. You know how people love to talk,” she said with a wave of her hand.

  Now I knew we were talking about the same witch.

  “Do you know what she looks like?” I asked, just to be sure.

  “She has a tendency to wear all black, all the time. I guess she’s really into the whole witch look, if you know what I mean.” She laughed. “As if witches have to wear black all the time.”

  “Right?” I said as I looked down at my pink outfit. “I think it’s best that you told me.”

  “I thought it was the right thing to do,” she said with a smile, happy with herself.

  “Do you happen to know what this item was that she found?” I asked.

  “No, I wasn’t told that specifically, but I may have overheard somebody say it was jewelry.”

  This made me lose my breath for a moment. I wondered if it could be a brooch as well. I definitely needed to look into this more. Where was the witch?

  “Do you happen to know where she found the item?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No, I didn’t get that much information, but I can keep asking around if you’d like.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I’ll look into it. Thank you.”

  I didn’t want her involved in this anymore because it could quite possibly be dangerous. I would never forgive myself if I had her ask questions and she was hurt or worse. This could be serious.

  “Are there any other details you can tell me about her? Like perhaps where she lives,” I said.

  “I heard she lives in a small town as you’re headed toward New Orleans. It’s an old plantation-style house on several acres. You could probably find it pretty easily if you asked around,” she said.

  “Yes, I will have to do that. Again, thank you for all the information.”

  She looked at me seriously. “Do you think this is bad?”

  “Well, there are a few things that have been going on lately. I wasn’t sure if you knew about that, but yes, it could be bad. I’ll check it out.”

  “Just be careful, Halloween, I worry about you being the leader of the Underworld. It’s no easy task.”

  “You’re telling me,” I said. “But I will be careful, I promise.”

  “By the way, when will your mother be back?” she asked.

  That made my stomach hurt. “I’m not quite sure, but soon.”

  I didn’t want to tell her everything. I immediately got in the car and headed out for my little road trip. I didn’t like the idea of going alone, but I had no other option at the moment. I guessed I could’ve asked the lady at the bakery to go with me, but that was a bad idea. Again, I didn’t want to get her involved in this. I was the leader. I could handle this on my own. I didn’t need anyone to hold my hand. Sometimes I had to be alone, that was just life.

  When I reached the small town I didn’t know where to go, so I knew I would have to ask someone for the whereabouts of a woman who liked to wear black and lived on some land. That didn’t sound crazy at all, right? I pulled into the nearest gas station and headed ins
ide. I described the woman I was looking for and immediately got an answer. I guessed now that I thought about it she was a unique individual. She would stand out in this small town. I wrote down the directions and got back in the car, headed that way.

  I pulled down the long driveway toward the house. It was secluded, which was a bad thing for me. If I got into a fight out here I certainly wouldn’t have anyone to call for help. But again, I was a leader, I shouldn’t need help… but I did. Everyone needed help sometimes. Anyway, the point was, I had to get out of the car now.

  I shut off the ignition and climbed out from behind the wheel, going toward the front porch. The house was white with a front porch that wrapped around the entire house. There were other little buildings, like a guest house and smokehouse perhaps. If this was the witch I was looking for, wouldn’t she be surprised to see me at her front door? I knocked again, but still there was no answer. This wasn’t looking good for me. I didn’t even know if I had the right house. I could be on a completely innocent person’s porch.

  Apparently no one was home now. What would I do? As I contemplated my dilemma, the door opened just ever so slightly. If this was an invitation to come on in then that made me suspicious, of course. I knew that this must be some sort of trick. I wanted to find everyone though, so I had to go in. I pushed the door open just a little bit more and peeked inside the room. It was full of furniture, as if someone was definitely living here.

  There was no person in sight. I moved into the house now, trying to keep my footsteps light so that whoever was inside wouldn’t know for sure if I had entered. They would probably sense my presence. I would have to check all the rooms. As I moved through the rooms the house was eerily silent. When I stepped into the back room, I realized there was no furniture in here. That was kind of odd. Then the door slammed behind me. I was trapped.