Charmed Again (Halloween LaVeau)

by Rose Pressey

  I rushed down the hallway into the little bathroom. The reflection in the mirror staring back at me was not my own. I now had a strong jaw, piercing blue eyes, long lashes, full lips and dark hair. Damn. Liam was good-looking. The spell had been a success. Now what? I’d have to hurry out of the house before I was caught.

  I grabbed my purse and headed toward the door. Okay, how ridiculous did I look? A guy carrying a giant pink purse? But what was a female witch who’d changed her appearance to do? I needed my purse. It was practically my lifeline. I’d leave it in the car and no one would be the wiser. What would my mother say when she saw me like this? I felt like I was slipping out of the house like when I was sixteen. My mother had always used her magic to catch me though. I prayed that Liam didn’t use his magic to catch me.

  The ride to my mother’s shop was exceedingly long. Perhaps it was because I was anxious and had a million things on my mind. Specialty shops and boutiques made up the bulk of the historic section of town. The main road ran along the river, twisting and turning through Enchantment Pointe. A stone wall surrounded the outer edge of town with cobblestone sidewalks and wrought-iron accents sprinkled around.

  After pulling up in front of the building which housed my mother’s Bath and Potions Shop in the historic downtown of Enchantment Pointe, I cut the engine and let out a deep breath. I’d started working at my mother’s shop years ago, but she still didn’t trust me to mix the spells. The full beard on Mrs. Stillwell’s face had only lasted a month and it had been a novelty really. In hindsight, she should have thanked me. But because of that and a few other mishaps, I was banned from the cauldron.

  Here went nothing. At the very least my mother would be thrilled with my witchcraft skills. Not every witch could change her appearance.

  I hopped out from behind the wheel and around to the sidewalk. I looked up and down the street. A few people went in and out of other shops, but no one seemed to notice me. No one knew Liam in Enchantment Pointe though, so I’d probably be safe. Just a regular guy standing on the sidewalk, that was me.

  As I pushed through the door of Bewitching Bath and Potions Shop, the bell above the door jangled announcing my presence. Annette LaVeau made all the items right there in her shop. Her merchandise included soaps, lotions, scrubs, and bath salts. She had a special knack for mixing scents—magical oils were her specialty. She was a workaholic when it came to her business: sections of the store were specifically designated for specific items, and you’d better not get them out of place either. Fragrances, oils, powders and herbs on the right. Soaps, shower gels, lotions, shampoos and conditioners on the left.

  My mother immediately popped up from behind the counter. People could tell immediately that we were mother and daughter. We were the same small size—five-foot-one—but we packed a powerful punch. My mother had recently cut her blonde hair in a fashionable bob. She wore the store’s signature polka-dotted apron over her black T-shirt and black and white Capri pants.

  My mother quirked her one eyebrow. My mother had gotten better with drawing on her eyebrows after this many years, but sometimes she forgot and accidentally wiped them off. I’d been responsible for a minor cupcake-related incident involving a partially destroyed kitchen, and my mother had her eyebrows. Other than that, she’d come out unscathed. Never mind that she has to pencil them in to this day, bless her heart. She never had to worry about painful wax treatments though.

  “May I help you?” she asked with a giant smile.

  As I approached the counter, she scowled. Did she recognize me? Or did she suspect that I was behind the male face?

  “Aren’t you that witch who corrupted my daughter?” She waved the wand that she’d been using to mix up a potion.

  “What?” I asked, my voice coming out only slightly masculine.

  I couldn’t believe she’d asked me that. It was so tempting to have a little fun with her, but she’d probably never forgive me if I did, so I knew I had to come clean.

  Chapter Seventeen

  My mother frowned. She was a smart woman and she knew something was amiss. And to think I’d actually entertained the thought of playing a prank on her. It would have taken her seconds to figure me out.

  “Mother, it’s me, Halloween.” I waved my hands through the air.

  My mother had always called me Halloween and refused to use the nickname Hallie. I’d given up the battle and allowed her to win years ago. It wasn’t worth the energy.

  She stepped back and looked me up and down. Her mouth dropped open and she wobbled a little for added theatrics. “Why would you do such a thing?” she asked while clutching her chest.

  I hurried around the counter and helped her sit on the stool. “I thought you’d be happy with my new talent.” I picked up a piece of paper and waved it in front of her as a fan. I believed she had a case of the vapors.

  She looked at me again, then said, “Well, I guess I am a little happy.” She shook her head. “But no, I still need to know why you did this.”

  I picked at the invisible lint on my shirt. “It’s complicated.”

  “What isn’t complicated with you? I’m your mother, you have to tell me what’s going on. Don’t keep secrets from me. It’s not healthy.” She waved her finger at me.

  She was making up that last part. There was no evidence that keeping secrets from her wasn’t healthy.

  “After you left the Halloween Ball, Liam called for me to go to New Orleans,” I explained.

  “And?” She motioned me to continue.

  “Nicolas has been accused of stealing another witch’s powers, so now I have to figure out if the charges are true.” I rushed my words.

  “Oh dear. What are you going to do?” She clutched her chest.

  I shrugged. “I’m trying to figure that part out.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why you look like Liam.” She pointed at my body, specifically the lower region.

  “Oh yeah, that part.” I frowned.

  I hated sharing the tiny details with her.

  “Yes, that part.” She placed her hands on her hips.

  “There’s a guy who isn’t very happy because Nicolas turned his sister into a vampire. So the Underworld assigned Liam to protect me.” I tested a new shade of pink lipstick on my hand and avoided her stare.

  “Nicolas turned a woman?” Her eyes were the size of the large cauldron in front of us.

  “Well, he said it wasn’t on purpose.” I placed my hands on my hips.

  She picked up the paper and fanned herself again. “That’s not very reassuring. That still doesn’t tell me why you are pretending to be Liam.”

  “I wanted to get out of the house and I knew I couldn’t just go out as Halloween LaVeau. That wouldn’t be very safe, now would it?” I asked.

  “I don’t think it’s safe no matter what you do. You shouldn’t be out without Liam. Not if he is assigned to protect you,” she said.

  “I figured that no one would mess with me if they thought I was Liam.” I flashed a wide grin.

  “You have to change back immediately.” She grabbed my arms and spun me around to face her. Spinning me around wasn’t as easy as she thought considering Liam’s muscular frame.

  “Why?” I asked, looking her in the eyes.

  She averted her gaze and went back to stirring the cauldron.

  “Are you going to tell me?” I placed my hands on my hips.

  She released a heavy sigh, then said, “The Coven members are on their way and I don’t want them to see you like this.”

  “What do I care what they think of me? I don’t have to worry about them and their stupid pamphlets any more. You know that. I’m the leader now. I’m exempt from ridicule.” I moved a couple boxes off the counter and onto the shelf behind us.

  That was a new rule that I’d just made up. No more making fun of my less-than-stellar skills.

  She shuffled papers on the counter and avoided my stare. “Okay, granted they shouldn’t have made that pamphlet, but that
’s all behind us now. You really should try to get along with them if we are going to live in the same town.”

  I scoffed. “They’d like that now, wouldn’t they? I don’t have to get along with them. I guess I will tolerate them, but I don’t want to be friends with them. What do they want anyway?”

  She glanced up. “They want to have a luncheon and they’d like for you to speak. You know, talk about your role as the leader now. That kind of thing.”

  I shook my head. “No way.”

  “You need to learn to forgive, Halloween,” my mother said as she waved a wand over a bubbling cauldron.

  I stepped closer to the big black pot. “What’s in there?”

  It was probably better if I didn’t know. Why had I asked? I tried to remember not to ask what was in my mother’s spells. Some things are better left unspoken. I didn’t want to know that I was smearing toad’s butt on my face. Luckily, my mother had learned a long time ago not to tell people what was really in her potions.

  She waved off the question, the bracelets on her wrist jingling with the motion. “Oh, just a few herbs and spices. Nothing too special. It’s all in the words.”

  Just then the bell on the door announced a visitor. Much to my chagrin, it was Misty Middleton. She was the leader of the Enchantment Pointe Coven. We’d gone to high school together. I’d tried to keep my distance ever since. It had been years and I was pretty sure she knew how I felt by now.

  Misty was dressed in her usual business attire of dark-colored suit, crisp white shirt and towering heels. She made me feel like an ant. Her eyes met mine and a flicker of flirtation sparkled in her gaze. Uh-oh. Please don’t let her start flirting with Liam. That was the last thing I needed this evening.

  “Hello,” she said coyly, batting her eyelashes.

  My mother looked panic-stricken. I knew she didn’t want me to divulge my secret, but I wasn’t about to endure flirting with Misty Middleton.

  But as I opened my mouth to tell the truth, Liam burst through the door.

  “Oh dear.” My mother swayed on the stool and I righted her.

  Misty gasped, then backed up toward the door. “More magic and mirroring images. We don’t approve of this type of thing in Enchantment Pointe. What do you have to say about this, Annette?” Misty glared at my mother.

  “She has nothing to say about this and neither do you,” I said, walking from around the counter.

  Liam was ignoring Misty as he glared at me. He was not pleased with me at all. The bulging veins in his forehead were a dead giveaway.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

  “Hallie, is that you?” Misty asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

  I nodded. “Yes, it’s me.”

  “Why would you do this?” Liam’s voice was full of frustration.

  “I needed to speak with my mother,” I said defiantly.

  “You could have done that with me escorting you.” Liam’s eyebrows slanted in a frown.

  “What’s going on, Hallie?” Misty asked with her eyes wide.

  “There’s a situation with the New Orleans Coven,” I said in a curt tone.

  That was more than I should have told her. She would just run back and tell the Coven the gossip.

  She stepped closer. “Really? I saw that Jacobson Stratford over at the Bubbling Cauldron.”

  That was the local bar for all the witches. I didn’t go often because the number of witches singing with the karaoke machine was terrifying.

  “What was Jacobson Stratford doing there?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. He was there with another woman. They were having quite a few beers.”

  “Was the woman his sister?” Liam asked.

  She shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever met his sister.”

  “We need to go to the Bubbling Cauldron right away,” I said.

  Liam ran his hand through his hair. “I suppose you’re right. But you can’t go as me. We have to do the counter-spell.”

  I tapped my fingers against the counter. “You know, I could go as someone else to the bar.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think you can do more than one mirror spell a day.”

  I frowned. “How do you know that?”

  “It’s in the book,” he said as if I should have known that little detail.

  This was ridiculous. How did he know what was and what wasn’t in the book? Half of it was still in a language that I didn’t understand. How could he read it? Was this common knowledge for everyone but me? If that was the case I wished they’d clue me in.

  “How can I do the counter-spell? I don’t have the book,” I said with a heavy sigh. Nothing was going as planned.

  “We’ll have to go and get it,” Liam said.

  “I’m going with you,” my mother said, jumping up from the stool and grabbing her purse.

  Liam shook his head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Ms. LaVeau.”

  My mother poked Liam in the chest. “Don’t push me, young man. And call me Annette. I’m not that old.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Liam nodded.

  My mother scowled.

  “I mean Annette,” he corrected.

  “I was going to the Bubbling Cauldron too. Do you mind if I go with you?” Misty asked.

  “Oh no. That’s not a good idea.” I frowned.

  “Actually, that’s not such a bad idea,” Liam said.

  I whipped around and stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

  He shrugged. “We could use the extra witchcraft.”

  Misty waved her hand. “That’s true. I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”

  I couldn’t believe that I was currently headed to a bar with Liam, my mother, and Misty Middleton. That karaoke was sounding pretty good at this moment.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Night had fallen over Enchantment Pointe. It was a mild fall evening, not quite cool enough for a sweater, but not so hot that I was sweating buckets. Misty and my mother were sitting in the back seat, Liam drove, and I sat in the passenger seat.

  We pulled up in front of the bar. People gathered around in front of the black double entry doors, but at least there wasn’t a line to get in. A neon cauldron with bubbles rising up from the top was on a sign above the door with the words The Bubbling Cauldron.

  “Are you ready?” Liam asked, squeezing my hand.

  My insides tingled. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go.”

  We climbed out of the car and made our way down the sidewalk. I wasn’t sure what exactly we would say to Jacobson if he was actually in the bar, but he had quite a few questions to answer. Number one: I wanted to know if he’d seen Nicolas. I also wanted to know about the strange markings on the wall at the deserted house and at his plantation. Not that he would tell me, but if he didn’t, I knew it would be time to force him to talk. There had to be a way to make that happen.

  As soon as we walked through the door, the caterwauling of someone’s rendition of Funkytown assaulted my ears. That was one way for the bar to sell more liquor. Everyone needed to drink after listening to the singing. People filled every corner of the bar and I didn’t see an empty table in sight.

  “Do you see him?” my mother asked.

  I shook my head. “Not yet. I don’t see him, but it’s really crowded in here.”

  I had to raise my voice to be heard over the singing in the background.

  “I see a table over in the corner.” Liam pointed across the room.

  We made our way across the bar. In the middle of the dance floor was a huge cauldron. Fake smoke and bubbles billowed up from the top toward the ceiling. The lights underneath the cauldron changed from red, blue, white, yellow and purple every few seconds. People swayed to the rhythm of the music, grinding their bodies against each other.

  As I shimmed through the sea of bodies, I felt a burning stare. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a brown-haired woman across the way.
When I glanced up, she shifted her gaze and hurriedly walked away. I recognized her from somewhere… but where? Oh yeah, she was the waitress from the bar.

  “The waitress who sent us to the house looking for Nicolas was just over there.” I yelled into Liam’s ear.

  Liam whipped around, scanning the crowd. There’s no way we’d find her now.

  “She’s probably gone now,” Liam leaned down and whispered in my ear.

  He was right. She’d probably left when she spotted me. I scanned the room as we walked toward a table, but I still didn’t see any sign of Jacobson or Sabrina. We had probably made a wasted trip. To my surprise, no one seemed to pay attention to us. I had expected that they’d whisper about the new leader. They had probably had so many drinks by now that they didn’t even care. Heck, they’d had so much to drink that I thought they were actually enjoying the singing.

  Liam pulled out the stools for all of us.

  “What a gentleman.” My mother beamed.

  I offered Liam a little smile. Maybe it was the dim lights obscuring my sight, but I thought for sure Liam blushed.

  I sat at on the stool and scanned the room. I still hadn’t seen anyone who looked familiar. A waitress approached.

  “You need anything to drink?” She pointed at us.

  “Bring us four beers?” Liam looked at us for confirmation.

  We nodded in agreement. It would look odd if we were just sitting there and not drinking like everyone else. We needed to blend in with the crowd. After a couple minutes, the waitress returned, placing the bottles down on the table. Liam grabbed the bottle and took a drink. As he set the bottle on the table, I spotted Jacobson across the room. Luckily, I didn’t think that he’d seen me. My heart rate increased. What was I going to say to him?

  “Okay, don’t look now, but Jacobson is in the corner of the room.” I took a drink of my beer so that it would look as if I hadn’t been talking about anything serious.

  Everyone turned their heads and began scanning the area.

  I grabbed Liam’s arm. “I said don’t look now. What part of that do you all not understand?”