by Rose Pressey
The words came out in Nicolas’ voice.
Isabeau scowled. “Don’t you like me?” she asked, then stuck her bottom lip down in a giant pout.
“I’m sure you’re a very nice person. I’m just very funny about people invading my personal space.” I stepped back, pushing my arms out to fend her off.
“I bet I could change your mind.” Isabeau lunged toward me with her arms stretched out to grab me.
I jumped to my side, avoiding her embrace. She fell to the ground with a thud. Oops.
“What is wrong with you?” she snapped.
If she only knew. She looked up at me expectantly. I sighed. Apparently, I was supposed to be a gentleman and help her up.
After a couple seconds, I stuck my hand out and said, “Let me help you up.”
The words came out way less enthusiastically than I’d hoped. She scowled, but reached up and took my hand. As I pulled her to her feet, she pressed her lips together in anger. Did she know my secret? My stomach turned. What if the spell had worn off? No, if it had she would have said something by now. She probably sensed something though.
Isabeau continued to look at me. “There’s something different about you,” she said.
“Nope. Nothing different. Now if you’ll please excuse me. I need to speak with Mr. Rankin.”
I hurried toward the landing and started up the stairs. When I glanced down at Isabeau, she still stood in the second floor hallway with her hands on her hips, glaring at me. She was suspicious and if given enough time she might figure me out. But it didn’t matter. If I could talk to Liam and reverse the spell quickly, she’d never know the truth.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
My heart pounded in my chest as I knocked on Liam’s door. Every nerve in my body pulsated with anxiety. If I pulled this off, it would be a miracle.
Liam opened the door and glared. “What do you want?”
He’d knocked me off guard by answering the door shirtless, only wearing jeans. It was like staring at a hypnosis wheel. My eyes were fixed on his hard chest.
“Wow, you must work out a lot?” I blurted out.
Heat rose to my cheeks. I didn’t just say that, right? What a stupid comment.
Liam’s eyebrows drew together in a scowl. Was he wondering why Nicolas was ogling his chest?
Finally, I snapped out of the trance and said, “I need to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he responded sharply, not budging from in front of the door.
Liam wasn’t about to let Nicolas into his room.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
He frowned and stared at me a second. Was he on to me? What made me think I could pull this off? Just when I thought I couldn’t stand it any longer, he stepped to the side and opened the door further. I did my best Nicolas walk and entered the room. Lucky for my act, he grabbed a T-shirt and slipped it over his head. I leaned against the dresser and propped my arm against the top. That was the way a guy stood, right?
“So what do you want?” Liam asked in an icy tone.
I wondered why there was such animosity between them. That would be hard to find out though since Nicolas should already know the answer.
“I want to talk about the book.” I stood with my feet apart in my best attempt at a guy stance.
“There’s nothing left to say about the book.” Liam plopped down in the chair. “If I can get rid of it, then maybe Halloween will be safe.”
“Do you really think getting rid of it will help?” I shoved my hands in my pocket.
“You know damn well it will. Why are you fighting me on this?” A shadow of annoyance crossed his face.
“How do I know you don’t want the book for yourself?” I held my breath waiting for the answer.
Liam scoffed. “I expected that from you. What happened was a long time ago. Why don’t you let it go?”
Hmm. Let what go? What had Liam done? There really was something to the hostility between them.
“Halloween as the leader of the Underworld? Don’t you think that’s a bit drastic?” I added sarcasm to my tone.
“Hey, it’s not my decision. I don’t make the rules.” He gave me an unfriendly stare.
“No, that’s why you should leave Hallie alone,” I said in the most commanding voice I could find.
Ha! I thought that sounded good. That was something Nicolas would say, right?
“It’s only a matter of time before Mara arrives.” Liam ran his hand through his hair.
“Right, Mara,” I said.
Liam looked at me. I avoided his stare.
“When was the last time you spoke with Mara?” he asked.
There was too much hesitation. He’d be on to me. But what should I say? Had Nicolas really talked with Mara? Was this a trick question? I pondered the question for a moment, but Liam’s stare was fixed on me. There was no way out of answering his question.
“I haven’t talked with Mara,” I answered.
I sounded less than confident though. I even heard it in my own voice.
“Right, you didn’t talk to her.” Liam stood, shoving his hands into his pockets. “So you don’t agree with what she said the last time you spoke with her?”
Whoa, I didn’t have the answer for that one. It was time to abort this situation. I wished I’d never even tried this stupid scheme. What had I been thinking? It had seemed like such a great idea at the time. How many bad ideas started out that way though? He waited for my answer. I might as well confess my guilt right now. I stood up straighter. This was my one last try to convince him I was really Nicolas.
“No, I don’t agree with her.”
Liam narrowed his eyes and nodded. I couldn’t read his expression. Had my answer been right or wrong? Tension hung in the air. I needed to say something, but I had no idea what to say. I’d already made a mess of the situation. Did I really want to make matters worse by opening my mouth again?
Finally, when I didn’t think I could stand the silence any longer, Liam said, “Nice try, Halloween.” He flashed a sly smile.
“What do you mean?” I asked, avoiding his unrelenting stare.
“I know what you’ve done,” he said with amusement in his tone.
Should I continue with the charade or admit to what I’d done?
“Your powers are much better than you ever let on.”
This whole situation was so disturbing.
“What powers?” I asked. My voice even faltered.
He chuckled. “Wait until Nicolas sees another version of himself.”
My stomach dropped. He really did know it was me. Had it been the walk? Yeah, that had to be it. Maybe I had missed some kind of guy movements. I should have had more of a swagger or something.
Movement caught my attention and I whipped around to find Nicolas standing in the doorway. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open. I’d never been more embarrassed in my whole life. This was even worse than the time I’d turned my date into a donkey. In my defense, he had been an ass. How would I explain this? There was no explanation… only the truth. I’d said I wouldn’t lie if I was caught. It was time for me to admit what I’d done. I wished I could crawl under the bed and stay there until they both went away. No, I’d gotten myself into this mess and it was time I owned up to it.
I cleared my throat, then pushed forward with my words. “I’m sorry,” I said softly.
Nicolas laughed. “It’s strange to hear myself talking.”
I looked down. “Yeah, well, I have to go figure out how to get rid of this spell.”
Nicolas had a strange look in his eyes. “You didn’t check the spell before you did this? Are you sure there’s a spell in the book you have?”
I looked from Nicolas to Liam. “There’s another book of spells, isn’t there?”
Finally, Liam nodded. “Why aren’t you trying to find all of the books? The other two are useless without the first one. Whoever owns the first one possesses the power.”
“Luc
ky me,” I said drily.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nicolas said. “I’m sure there is a spell in the first book.”
There was only one problem that I didn’t want to tell them about yet—I hadn’t found the book that must have the counter-spell in it. I’d been so eager to try the appearance spell that I hadn’t looked for the counter-spell. Now I had to find the map and look for the book’s location. If that book wasn’t there then I was screwed. I’d made yet another stupid mistake.
“Hallie, let me help you,” Nicolas pleaded.
Not looking back at the men, I ran out of the room. I didn’t want them to know just how incompetent I really was. And they thought I was capable of running the Underworld? They seriously didn’t know me at all. Heck, I’d been voted most likely to cause a disaster in my high school yearbook. I ran down the stairs and bolted for my bedroom before Isabeau the human leech found me.
Taking the map from its hiding spot, I unrolled it again, I laid it out on the bed. There was a big problem though. The last place marked on the map was outside. Oh, for heaven’s sake. Did Aunt Maddy really expect me to go outside and find something hidden when I had ghosts roaming around looking for me?
I rolled the paper back up and hid it in the waistband of my pants. I locked my bedroom door and started down the hallway. The door to Isabeau’s room was open slightly. She must have thought I wasn’t home otherwise she would have been lurking around the house trying to follow me. I eased over to the door and peeked in. She was standing in the middle of the room, but she didn’t see me. Her arms were stretched up as she reached toward the sky.
Isabeau was reciting words to a spell—at least that was what it sounded like she was doing. What kind of spell was she trying? Something told me it couldn’t be good. The words were mumbled, but Isabeau performing magic was probably one of the worst things possible. I decided to get out of there before she realized I was watching her—although technically she’d think that Nicolas was watching her. Which was probably worse. The last thing I needed was another attack.
The map had listed the next item as being behind the manor. It had the spot marked next to the old oak tree. As I headed out the back door, I was stopped by a grip on my arm. I spun around with my fist in the air, ready to clobber whoever was attacking me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nicolas stood behind me. “Please, let me help you.”
I studied his face as he stared. There was a restless energy about his movements. Did it have something to do with the vampire thing? A lock of hair fell forward on his head and I resisted pushing it back. He ran his tongue across his lips as he watched me. The urge to protect my neck came over me. A hunger flashed in his blue eyes.
“I suppose that would be okay,” I said reluctantly.
It didn’t appear as if I had a choice.
“Where’s the book?” he asked.
“The spell book that will make me look like me again?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Well, I found this map. It led me to the book that explains what is expected of a leader of the Underworld.” The thought of me being the leader caused disbelief to come through in my tone. “The other mark was for outside. I’m praying that it’s the book that will fix this. If not, I’ll have a whole lot of explaining to do to the Coven.”
“I can see where they’d want to know what is going on, yes.” The sides of his mouth curved slightly into a grin.
“I supposed if I’m the leader of the Underworld I could just tell them to mind their own business.” The thought brought a smile to my face.
Nicolas didn’t comment on my snub of the Coven as he walked beside me. We headed toward the tree.
“Who hid these items all over the place?” he asked.
I cast a sideways glance at him. “I don’t know what’s going on, so I couldn’t say for sure. My guess is my great-aunt did it, but why, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me? Who was the leader before? It surely wasn’t my great-aunt, right?” I asked. She did have all those postcards from people around the world.
“The leader was a powerful witch named Gina Rochester.” His voice cracked at the mention of her name.
“Shouldn’t she have been in possession of the books?” I asked with curiosity.
Nicolas nodded. “Yes, she should have been. Apparently, somehow your aunt got them. The Underworld has been looking for the books for a long time.”
As we neared the tree, I said, “Because it needs a leader?” I asked as we neared the tree.
“Yes,” Nicolas said softly.
And that lucky person was me? The Underworld surely wouldn’t want me. Nicolas’ voice seemed different, more distant, as if his thoughts were a million miles away.
“So where are we looking?” Nicolas asked.
“The map pointed out the spot right here between these two roots. I guess it’s buried under there. At least I pray it is.”
“Me too, because we have to get your appearance back to normal. Talking to myself is freaking me out.”
I nodded. “That’s understandable. We need to dig it up? I think there’s a shovel in that shed.” I pointed across the yard.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” Nicholas said as he turned and walked away.
I leaned against the tree and watched his muscular body as he walked away. It certainly was a nice view. As I waited for Nicolas to find the shovel, I scanned the area. I felt eyes on me and I knew the ghosts were watching. Luckily, if they saw me, they’d think I was Nicolas. They wouldn’t confront him. At least I didn’t think they would.
It only took a couple of seconds until I spotted the ghosts down by the river, unsuccessfully hiding behind a tree. The three of them stood together, staring at me. I pretended not to notice them. After all, a normal person might not see them, right? They obviously fell for it because they didn’t offer to come toward me. They were busy talking to each other, probably plotting on how to get me to change them back to the living.
When I glanced back toward the shed, Nicolas had the shovel clasped in his hand. He didn’t appear to notice the ghosts watching him as he walked across the back yard. Would the ghosts think it was strange to see two of Nicolas? Maybe they’d think he was a twin. What must Nicolas think of me? Who was this crazy witch who had changed her appearance to look like him? Wait until Annabelle found out what I’d done.
“Found it,” Nicolas said as he approached. “Where should I start?”
“I think right there would be a good spot.” I pointed.
I prayed that the map had been correct. I was preparing myself mentally if it hadn’t been.
Once back at the tree, Nicolas stabbed the earth with the shovel and dumped the fresh dirt in a pile nearby. The smell of musty earth tickled my nostrils. After several shovelfuls, another box came into view.
“Right there,” I said as I pointed at the ground.
Nicolas stood up and plunged the shovel into the ground. He knelt down and dug the rest of the dirt out with his hands. Nicolas reached down and pulled the box from the ground.
“That’s it. It looks just like the other one I found,” I said breathlessly.
“It’s locked,” he said.
“The key I found is upstairs in my bedroom. I hid it,” I added bashfully. It seemed kind of ridiculous to hide it now that I said it out loud. But I couldn’t be too cautious.
“You’re something else.” He chuckled. “How about I put the shovel away while you get the key?”
I wanted to tell him that I could handle it from here. Having him hang around while I tried a spell from the book would make me nervous. That was if there really was a book in the box. I surely didn’t want him around if it didn’t contain a book.
“That sounds good,” I said finally.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
After grabbing the key, I slowly lifted the lid of the box. A pent-up breath escaped my lips when I saw the book nestled between the velvet lining. It looked
exactly like the others. To my relief the table of contents listed more spells. I scanned the list until I spotted the spell that I’d been looking for. Finally, I could be myself again. I clutched the book in my arms and carried it back to the kitchen. At least I didn’t have to worry about walking like Nicolas anymore. That had been hard work.
Nicolas was standing in the kitchen when I entered. He was looking through Aunt Maddy’s herbs. When he turned around, he smiled. His expression quickly turned into a grimace when he saw his own reflection again.